Dragon shock, D-shock, or even just catch-up. It had several names but everyone went through it and in different ways. When the surreal feeling faded and the reality of the situation hit them. Sometimes it hit them like a truck full of bricks and reduced them to a unresponsive, sobbing state. Other times, people just brushed it off, carrying on with their lives the best they can.

A day did not pass without the sound of sobbing echoing through the temporary encampments that littered the city. Occasionally, a body of those who couldn’t take it would be discovered.

With the curfew and rations came another problem. A black market had sprung up virtually overnight, selling everything from guns to chewing gum at ludicrously inflated prices. Of course, money started to lose its value too. The government ceased to print money, those who still held jobs didn’t get paid, and stores no long sold commodities.

America sat on the edge of anarchy. Anarchy that was prevented by one thing: Dragons. The enemy was the only thing keeping what remained of the country from falling into chaos.

Captain Lee walked around an abandoned mall, using his free time before the next mission to escape the world for a brief time. He had already gone through his shock by spending almost seven hours staring at a wall, remembering everything he had held dear. Tears welled in his eyes but never spilled.

Looters had struck the mall quickly, shattering the glass displays and denting the gates in an effort to take what they could before rationing made it impossible. He walked by an electronics store that had been stripped of everything including most of the metal shelving.

“Of course…” He muttered as he walked by. The end of the world that the only thing people could think about was stealing TVs and video games. Next to a little lounge, there was a vending machine that looked relatively undisturbed. “Hmmmm… Might as well.”

Soda was definitely becoming scarce and would only become more and more rare until it vanished altogether.

Hands in his pockets, he walked up to the darkened machine and inspected it. Aside from a crack in the glass, it was undamaged and the metal lock was in pristine condition. Not wanting to risk cutting up his own hand, he wandered to a nearby store and found a piece of metal that looked like it had been ripped out of the wall.

Tool in hand, he walked back over to the vending machine, keeping a safe distance to avoid any flying pieces, and threw the metal. It spiraled end over end until it collided with the glass, sending cracks through the surface and finally bringing the thousands of pieces cascading down with the sound of them tinkling against the tiled ground.

With the obstacle out of the way, he reached in and grabbed his bottled beverage of choice. It opened with a refreshing hiss, telling him that it wasn’t flat yet, and he took a long gulp. Warm soda definitely wasn’t as good as cold soda, but the sugary goodness was still there.

With his unhealthy drink in hand, he continued to walk the lines of stores. Undoubtedly, this mall would be transformed into housing for the army of refugees that were camping outside, but the cleanup would take a while.

The better part of the hour was spent wandering the mall. When he had looped the entire complex, he walked back into parking lot and shielded his eyes from the falling sun. Drink in hand, he started back to the base.

He passed a group of children playing in the abandoned streets, running around unattended, oblivious to the apocalyptic scenario that they were facing. The sounds that they made hinted they were playing dragons vs. humans.

Lee couldn’t help but feel jealous about the carefree world they lived in.

As he returned to the real world, his mind went to the mission he had been hearing rumors about. He preferred solid facts, but rumors often held a hint of truth in them. Word was, something big was about to happen. “Big” as in, it was going to involve a nuke.

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A scream tore through the woods, scattering a small flock of birds.

Jay stumbled away from the very groggy and confused dragoness and Fletcher, slapping at himself.

“Whoa! Whoa!” Fletcher chased after him, catching up with Jay as he tripped over a tree root. “Jay, what the hell is wrong with you?”

Jay’s arm scrambled over his own body, checking to make sure it was clear. “Spider. Fucking spider. Big one.”

Fletcher sighed and helped him get off the dirt. Varis pad over a moment later and yawned, flexing one of her wings. “Why did you try to punch your way through my wing?”

“Sorry. Waking up and seeing a giant spider sitting on your arm is… Not the way I want to start my day.” He was panting because of the early morning scramble

She nodded. “Luckily, that spider woke you two about two hours earlier than usual. Let’s get moving.”

As usual, they ate a quick breakfast that consisted of water and a few pieces of leftover venison then packed up what they had. They rolled up the tarp and stuffed a few containers back into the pack before they began their day’s trek. 

“I don’t want it. You carry it.” Jay tried to hand the pink backpack to Fletcher

“Pink suits you better.” He pushed it back “Anyways, who cares? There’s no one here.”

Grumbling, he shouldered the pack again. “Then you carry it tomorrow.”

“No, I was going to make you carry it the entire trip.” Fletcher rolled his eyes.

They trudged on, taking occasional breaks to eat some venison and to sate their thirst. Every step made their calves burn, and their thighs screamed in protest as each movement made them ache. Varis got increasingly irritated by their slow pace and their frequent complaining.

“Can we keep moving?” Varis asked irritably

Jay stood up, rubbing his aching legs “Come on. If you wanted to move faster, you should’ve picked someone who participates in cross-country…”

Nudging him with her snout, the green dragoness urged him on.

“Maybe… If I could-”

“You’re not riding me.” She said sternly before walking away, leaving the two humans to catch up.

“You should stop asking her… She might come to the conclusion that we’re more trouble than we’re worth.” Fletcher reminded him that she was still a dragon capable of killing them with a misstep.

“Good point.”

They kept walking, trying to keep up with the frustrated dragon.

When they finally settled down for another night, fire made and meals eaten, Varis excused herself, taking off into the darkening sky to clear her mind.

As her wings sliced through the air, she took some time to just contemplate her situation. Was this worth it? Were the humans worth saving?

She sighed and shook her head. The fact that she was asking herself that made her worry.

Spotting some prey, she dove into the woods and killed a small deer. Settling down in front of her meal as the other deer scattered, she removed the guts and dug in, crunching through bones and all as she filled her belly. The loud sounds of bones snapping covered the sounds of a predator approaching.

A few twigs crunched under the creature as it stalked towards the unsuspecting dragoness. For its size, it was incredibly stealthy, its dark color making it invisible to all but the most attentive prey.

Before she could react, the ink black dragon charged her. The sounds of him tearing through the trees made her spin around to face the threat, but it was too late.

“Varis!” The dragon yelled as he crashed into her, sending them tumbling through the trees.

Varis, unaware of the attacker’s benign intentions, flailed and thrashed, trying to free herself from under the larger dragon. The voice sounded familiar, but it was a distant concern.

“Varis! Stop struggling!” The dragon hopped off of her, letting her scramble to her feet. “It’s me!”

Crouching low, she growled and distanced herself. A spark of recognition flickered across her eyes as she realized who it was.

“Noc?” Her mighty heart was pounding as her body prepared for a fight.

The black dragon sat on his haunches and spread his wings, putting his body on display “Who else?”

She snarled and pounced, toppling the male and pinning him “I thought you were attacking me!”

Snickering, Noc lay still with the smaller female on top of him. “You going to mount me?”

“You wish.” Snapping her jaws at him, she backed off and let him up “How did you find me?”

With a talon, he motioned towards her half eaten meal “I heard a commotion and came to investigate.”

“I mean… Why are you here?” Despite her hostile tone, she was incredibly happy to see another dragon let alone a long time friend.

“I was hunting. The question is: What are you doing here?” his eyes turned into slits as he cast her an accusing look “You were forbidden from leaving…”

“The elders changed their minds.”

His accusing look vanished “You are standing here, so I would say so.”

Glad that he had accepted it so easily, she let out a sigh of relief. “It’s good to see you, Noc.”

“Is it now? You’re glad to see my beautiful, powerful, shiny, body?” A smirk spread across his muzzle as he inflated his own ego.

“No. I’m glad that of all the dragons in the world, I ran into you.” She rolled her eyes

The black dragon proceeded to stand up and strut around, displaying his onyx scales and showing off his impressive wingspan. “And?…”

“ And... I am glad to see your impressive body…”

“Thank you.” With a victorious smirk, he sat back down “What brings you out here?”

“Same as you. I was hunting.” Her body was tense, knowing that if her lies failed, he couldn’t be allowed to leave.

“The elders let you come this close to the humans to hunt?”

“No… They gave me permission to come out to hunt, but they don’t know I’m this far West.” She looked at the ground, feigning a bit of shame at being caught “Don’t tell them. Please.”

Making a show of considering it, he drummed his talons into the dirt, making soft patting noises. “Hmm… That’s a big secret you’re asking me to keep… Got anything that would lighten my burden?”

Rolling her eyes again, she sensually walked over to the sitting drake, her body swaying with every step. As she brushed past him, she flicked her tail over his muzzle, smacking him hard. “I know that’s what you were thinking.”

“Ow!” Rubbing the tip of his snout, he followed her walk, hoping to get a glance under her tail. To his disappointment, she kept her tail low. “It was one of many…”

Sitting next to him, she leaned against him, feeling the warmth of her old friend.

“Anything else I could do?”

Another show of contemplation along with a hum was his response. “So many possibilities.” The drake stood up and paced around her “But… Being a kind dragon, I shall settle on spending some time together.”

Varis thought about it. Would it be smart to leave the two humans alone? She had built them a fire and they had food, water, and that gun they had found. They’ll be fine. “Sure. I have a few hours.”

Noc cocked his head and looked at her “Just a few hours? What do you have to do?”

“Oh… Nothing. I just have to get back.”

“Then let’s make the most of the few hours we have.” Noc took to the sky with a few powerful flaps of his wings, leaving Varis in his wake. She followed a second later, tearing through the thin branches of a tree as she took chase.

They remained silent until they reached a high altitude started to glide, letting gravity drag them down slowly. The moon was almost full and provided plenty of illumination as they flew side by side.

“What’s changed?” Varis asked when she felt the silence needed to be broken

Roc beat his wings to maintain his speed as his larger body started to lag behind the green. “Since the last time we met? Nothing. I still fly alone.”

The last time they had met was just before the outbreak of the war. Varis and Noc were incredibly close to becoming mates when their varying views on the treatment of humans had severed their connection. Especially when Varis was moved deeper into the caves with the other dragons that had expressed concern over the genocide of the human race.

Another moment of silence passed as the bitterness in his voice caused her to feel guilt. He had begged for her to reconsider her stance but she had refused. In a way, their sudden division was all her fault.

“I’m sorry, Noc. I never intended for that to happen.”

“Of course not.” Even over the rush of wind, his tone softened “And you know the rest. Now I’m here, doing what you hate in the hopes that we’ll someday be able to raise hatchlings that see the sky instead of a cave ceiling.”

She sighed, not wanting to defend her view which would only create conflict and question her story. “I know.”

“What about you? What has changed?” He asked her the same question.

She couldn’t tell him the truth but he probably knew the happenings of the underground for the past few days better than she did. “Nothing’s changed. When the caves cleared, I had to stay. I read, I slept, and that’s about it. Then the elders had a change of heart and allowed me to see the sun and touch the sky.”

“It’s a shame about elder Gant, he never got to see the outside world before he died.”

She nodded in a agreement, having been on the surface the past few days on her mission, she had no idea that the elder had passed. “It was. At least his children will.”

More silence followed as they tried to think of other topics aside from the current conflict.

Without warning, Noc tucked his wings against his sides and dove towards the trees, his black form almost invisible against the darkened ground. Angling her wings, she slowly followed him, looking for him.

“Noc?” She called out, worried that he had failed to pull up in time.

A blur of movement caught her attention as he flew directly at her from below. Almost colliding, he shot past her and settled into another glide slightly above and behind her.

“Come on! Follow me if you can!” He challenged her before beating his wings to climb.

Silhouetted against the slightly brighter sky, she followed suit, staying as close to him as possible. Once again, he tucked his wings in and started to plummet towards the earth, spiraling and roaring in joy. Varis copied his maneuver and started to fall, wondering what the point of this was.

Noc loved every second of flying. He spread his wings to stop his spin and pull out of his dive at a safe height. The feeling of the wind tearing at his face and rippling over his sensitive wing membranes made him feel alive. Looking behind him, he saw Varis pull out of her dive with ease.

“What are you doing?” Varis asked as she caught up with him. He started to gain altitude again, wanting another dive.

He laughed, as he flew over her. “Having fun. Remember how to do that, Varis?”

She couldn’t help but giggle a little “The humans probably heard you!”

“And I don’t care. If I die now, I’ll die a happy dragon.”

Varis flew behind Noc, copying his dives, twists, and flips until she got sick of being the follower. She beat her wings to gain speed and twisted her body, looping over Noc and almost flying wing tip to wing tip.

Their maneuvers got progressively more complex. They dove in symmetry, spiraling towards the ground before splitting away at the last moment. They looped over each other, teasing as one slowly overtook the other and nipping at each other’s tails.

For the first time in a long while, Varis felt genuinely happy. Her worries faded away as her mind was filled with nothing but the enjoyment of flying. Before long, both of them were roaring with excitement as their hearts beat furiously.

When they finished, they glided side by side again, panting and laughing.

“I think I need a drink.” Varis said as she felt the exertion on her body catch up to her. The powerful muscles in her back throbbed slightly as they demanded a break.

“Me too.” Noc agreed

Following their senses, they found a river that reflected the moonlight. They lapped up their share of the cold, crisp water before flopping onto the riverbank.

“That was fun.” Varis nuzzled the black dragon

A low purr came from him as an agreement. They lay side by side, purring happily at each other’s company. When their adrenaline faded, Noc rested his head on his forepaws and Varis rested hers on top of his.

“Do you have to leave?” He asked

Her purring stopped “I do. I’m sorry.”

His sigh was laced with disappointment “Can you at least spend the night with me?”

After taking the time to think over the situation, she came to the conclusion that the humans would be fine without her. In fact, they could probably use the break. “Yes. I can.”

“That makes me very happy.” Noc readjusted his position and curled around the smaller female, intertwining his tail with the green’s.

Varis purred happily as they cuddled. “I wish I could stay longer than that…”

They rested together, purring contently as they spent the night in each other’s presence.

At first, it was nothing but a quiet suggestion in the back of her mind, but as she spent more time with the handsome drake, she started to feel her body respond. It started subtly, but her scent was undeniably permeating the air around them.

Noc shuffled uncomfortably, his mind instantly identifying the pleasant smell. Varis continued to lounge, unaware of the discomfort that she was causing him. Unconsciously, her mind wandered to the handsome drake that was huddled against her back. The same dragon probably would’ve been her mate had they been given more time.

Noc extended a wing a pulled Varis closer to him, enjoying the feeling of her body against him.

“Varis… The day we had our argument… Do you remember where we were?”

“A thermal spring.” She lifted her head off of him and gave him a questioning look. He had brought up the topic of humans and it had spiraled out of control from there. It ended with her storming away, unable to hear any more of propaganda influenced anti-human blabber.

“I had more planned for that night… I didn’t intend for it to end as it did.” His tone made it clear that he wasn’t bringing it up just for the sake of rekindling the argument. “Can… Can I redo it? Just pretend that I never brought up humans?”

“You can’t just retry like that, Noc.” The pleading look on his face and her curiosity made her relent “But… I guess you can.”

His ears perked up happily “Okay. Imagine we were swimming around in the nice, warm water for a while. Then, after a while, pretend I said something in an attempt to make you impressed with me… Which is what you’re going to be pretending never happened. Then, I casually drop the phrase ‘our hatchlings…’”

“Our hatchlings?” Varis asked

“Exactly. Then, when you are confused, I would’ve presented the small claw-carved piece of variscite that I made as a gift…”

Playing along with him, she smiled. “That’s very kind of you.”

Looking at his own paws, Noc thought again about what he was about to ask and if he should ask it. “At this point, I would’ve been hoping that our years as friends, the gift, and the relaxing spring would’ve given me a good chance at getting a ‘yes’ as an answer…”

“An answer to what?” Varis had a good idea of what the question was, but there was a part of her that was sure that it wasn’t it.

“Varis of emerald green scales, and swift wings… Will you take me to be your mate?” He rose to his feet and held himself proudly,

Shocked into silence, she sat and looked at the black dragon, unsure of how to answer. “Noc… I can’t.”

His wings slumped a little. “Can’t?”

“I can’t. I’m sorry, Noc.” She nuzzled him apologetically.

“Your humans take priority over me?”

The green dragoness immediately took a defensive stance, distancing herself from him.

“That confirms my suspicions.” He made no indications of being angry, just hurt. “Elder Grant isn’t dead, Varis… If you’d been home for the past few days, you’d have known that.”

She didn’t respond, instead looking around for potential escape routes.

Please, Noc. Don’t fight. She desperately wanted to flee, but made it clear that he had no intentions of attacking her or even trying to stop her. “How’d you know about the humans?”

“The smell of campfire… When was the last time a dragon needed the warmth of a fire?”

The burbling of the river and the rustling of the trees were the only noises as the two faced each other.

“Now what?” Varis finally broke the silence.

Noc folded his legs and laid down again, gazing at her with his head on the ground. “Nothing. Do what you will, I won’t stop you.”

Varis flared her wings and started to beat them, gaining momentum to leave.

“Varis, before you go.”

She stopped, the least she could do was to hear him out before leaving him.

“I fight the humans because I want my hatchlings to live on the surface. If I die, then I did it for the next generation.” He stood up but made no movement towards her. “There is no other ‘ness I want besides you.”

“In other circumstances, I would’ve said yes, but I’m sorry, Noc. I can’t.”

“What if I help you?” The desperation filled his eyes.

She hesitated, her wings still posed to fly at any moment. “Noc… I’m sorry.”

Not wanting to hear more saddening attempts to salvage their relationship, she leapt into the air and beat her wings. Gaining altitude, she flew in a random direction, not wanting to fly back to the humans just yet. She started to glide over the treetops to listen for the sound of another set of wings. When she confirmed that Noc wasn’t following her, she angled her wings and lazily banked until she was heading back towards the humans.

The two were asleep when she landed, huddled around a rapidly dying fire. Careful not to wake them, she extinguished the fire and settled next to them, covering them with a wing to protect them from the chill of the night.

Sleep eluded Varis. Giving up on attempting to get rest, she got as comfortable as she could and played through the last few hours again in her mind. She loved Noc, that hadn’t changed since their disagreement, but she had been foolish enough to let her involvement with humans known.

Then, the anger came. If the others in her group were still here, she knew what they would say. She fought back tears shook her head to clear her mind.

It’s just you now. Use his teachings but don’t punish yourself about what he would’ve said if he was still alive.

Resting her head on her paws, she thought back to when it all went wrong.

Painfully slow, the sun slowly rose over the trees, beams of light slicing through the foliage as dawn finally arrived. Varis continued to wait until it was an acceptable time in the morning before waking the humans. Not a minute of sleep in her system, she roused the humans and before long they were traveling again.

“Does she look a little more fidgety today?” Jay whispered to Fletcher

“She came back when we were sleeping. She’s probably tired.” He remembered waking at the touch of the dragoness but couldn’t remember if she had actually gotten any sleep. Usually, he would wake up during the night and return to sleep after hearing the sounds of her soft breathing. Last night, she had moved around a lot and her breathing was labored, like she was silently angry. “Give me a second.”

Speeding up to a quick trot, he caught up with the green dragoness who was making no effort to go around smaller obstacles. She tore through a few low-hanging branches as Fletcher jogged up next to her.

“Hey, Varis?” He tried to make eye contact with her, but she focused ahead.

“What?” She was clearly agitated and it bled into her voice.

“Are you alright?”

She sighed and finally matched his gaze. “No, I’m not alright.”

“Tell me what’s wrong. Maybe I can help.” He had to speed walk to keep up with her

Varis eyed the human. “Why would you want to help me?”

“Because you’ve helped us.”

“No I haven’t.”

“Yes you have. We probably would’ve frozen to death, starved, died of dehydration, or eaten by another dragon without you.”

She turned her head to look at him with both eyes “You wouldn’t even be out here if I wasn’t here.”

“True… But we’re here and it’s in our best interest to keep you at your best… So that other stuff doesn’t happen.” He chuckled lightly

“The problem is complicated and something that you don’t need to know about.”

Fletcher gave her a nod “Okay. Well, if you want to talk about it, you can talk to us.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” They walked side-by-side for a few minutes before a question popped up “May I ask something?”

“Sure.”

“Why do you trust me?”

When he didn’t answer, she explained. “From when you met me to now, I have done nothing to earn your trust, yet you travel with me on a mission you know nothing about when you could be with your own kind in your own settlements.”

The question was more complicated than he had expected and it took him a few moments to come up with an answer. “Uh… To be honest. I don’t. I’m taking a risk. You dragons killed my entire family and almost all of my friends. Of course, I cried, I mourned but I came to the conclusion that I could either die or live and be a survivor. I chose to live in the hopes that I could prevent humanity’s extinction, at first, I thought it would end with the death of every dragon and I was ready to fight.”

Fletcher checked that Jay wasn’t within hearing range. After he checked that his friend was still plodding after them a fair distance away, he continued.

“Then we found you. I had no idea dragons were… intelligent. I thought you guys were just stupid, mindless, powerful beasts that really hated humans. I have no problems shooting a deer, but shooting something… someone that was literally asking for it is something I couldn’t do. Keeping you alive was a risk. Then Jay really wanted to break you out and come with you on this trek… I didn’t want to let him go alone and I saw a way to end the war. It’s all a… calculated risk. Not trust.”

Varis hadn’t expected that deep of an answer but she was thankful that he had told her the truth. “So… You don’t trust me?”

“I do! But that trust comes from a dependence. We would’ve died or turned back a long time ago without your help. We depend on you so we trust you to provide.”

She nodded. “That’s fair.”

“But… I am trusting you not to tell Jay that I wouldn’t expect him to survive for long by himself… Or what I told you a few nights ago.”

The dragoness giggled which made Fletcher do a double take. It wasn’t an unpleasant noise, but he had not expected dragons to giggle in the first place.

“I won’t… Yet. Might have to blackmail you.”

“And that’s one way to lose the little trust I have in you…” He started to regret his decision.

“Trust me. If I decide to, you’ll enjoy it as much as I do.” She stopped as the human clambered over a small fallen tree. “Can I ask you something else?”

“Depends on the question.”

“What does ice cream taste like?”

“Uh…” This time, the pause was because he didn’t know how to properly describe it. “It comes in a lot of flavors. It’s… creamy and cold.”

“Mmmm… I hope I can try it one day.”

“I’m su-”

The sound of something fluttering interrupted them.

“What is that?” Fletcher looked around, trying to located the source of the noise

It slowly grew louder as they both tried to identify it.

Jay caught up with an equally confused look.

“Hide!” Varis herded them towards a denser part of the trees, trying to find a place where they would be out of sight.

It had taken her a few seconds to recognize the noise. It was the sound of gliding dragons.

And they were heading right for them.

Fletcher and Jay hid in the roots on a partially uprooted tree, carefully ducking behind it, they waited and listened.

One by one, three dragons punched through a thin area of foliage and landed, quickly moving out of the way to allow for the one behind them to land.

“Noc.” Varis directed it to the black dragon in an emotionless tone.

The dragon in the middle was an imposing figure. Two gold eyes shone and heavily contrasted its black scales. Flanking it were two others, one had a set of scales that were a dark, jungle green while the other was dull yellow. 

“Hello, Varis.” The one that she called ‘Noc’ stepped towards her.

“I guess your word isn’t as good as I thought it was.” Standing her ground, she sat and glared at the approaching drake.

“I just want to know why you’re here.”  He sat a short distance in front of her, the tension sat heavily in the air.

The dragoness huffed “You can’t fight me alone so you bring two of your… Mindless puppet friends?”

“No. We’re here to take you home. I just wanted to see if I could get that information from you before we left.”

“You’re going to need more help if you think you three are taking me back.” A low growl rumbled from her as she bared her teeth.

A hint of pink piqued the yellow dragon’s interest and he slowly walked over to investigate.

“You’ll stay where you are if you value your life.” Varis snapped at the dragon who ignored her threat

The dragon slowly crept around to where the humans were hiding.

“Oh shit!” She heard Fletcher yell from behind the tree as the dragon lunged towards them.

Lunging at the yellow dragon, she aimed for his neck, hoping to kill him before she had to deal with the other two. Before she could reach her target, the green dragon lunged at her, smashing into her and sending them both tumbling.

She felt teeth sink and tear the sensitive membrane of her wing as twisted under him. Her claws skittered over his armored scales, looking for weak spots where they could plunge into his flesh, but all she managed to do was scratch the tough plates. The movement of getting under the drake made her wing rip more, blood covering the muzzle of the other green as she tried to find a vulnerable spot.

A few gunshots rang out as Fletcher and Jay scrambled away from the tree roots in separate directions. Fletcher had the pistol and had managed to land a few shots into the dragon’s neck, cracking a few scales but not doing any major damage.

“Don’t kill them!” Noc ordered the dragon who opted to use his claws to capture the humans.

Jay fled away from the commotion, ducking behind trees and rocks to avoid fire that never came. A short distance away, he stopped, suddenly aware that the dragon was chasing Fletcher.

As he formulated a plan to help, something unexpected happened. The black dragon pounced the unsuspecting yellow dragon and clamped down on his neck. The two struggled and thrashed as they both vied for the top position.

Then, there was a second black dragon. He moved so fast it was almost like he had materialized out of thin air. Colliding with the dragon that was fighting with Varis, he wrapped his teeth around the neck of the confused dragon and ended his life with a single, echoing crunch.

Noc continued his struggle as the other dragon managed to throw him from his back. Squaring off with the slightly larger drake, he looked for an opening.

A loud pop drew the yellow dragon’s attention as he felt the insignificant 9mm round ricochet off one of his neck scales. The split second of distraction gave Noc the opening he needed. Lunging for the neck, the other dragon reared up and pushed him away with his paws, separating them again.

As the drake landed, Noc launched another attack. They both slashed at each other with claws as they lashed at each other with their teeth. Their talons ripped scales out of their flesh, leaving them bloody and vulnerable to another strike.

Realizing that he was outnumbered and outmatched, the yellow dragon tried to turn around and escape. Taking advantage of the dragon’s turned back, Noc pounced and latched his jaw onto his lower neck. The trashing yellow could do nothing as the life was slowly squeezed from him. His lungs were deprived of air and his body started to shut down, trying futilely to provide oxygen to his brain.

The flailing became weaker and weaker as the dragon’s vision started to blur and his lungs started to burn. His struggling ceased, allowing Noc to finally twist his jaws in a way to break his neck.

“Are you okay, Varis?’ Noc quickly dashed over to her and checked her for severe wounds.

Varis didn’t respond. Her eyes were locked on the other black dragon and her lower jaw dropped slightly as she recognized him.

Jay and Fletcher trot towards the three dragon, wondering where the other black one had come from. Fletcher carried the pistol in one had and an empty magazine in the other. Jay had the pink backpack in his hands, one of the straps torn during the hectic running.

The only way they could differentiated between the two drakes was that one had several discolored marks on his scales. Noc’s scales were almost perfect aside from the injuries he had sustained from the fight.

They both sat a short distance from each other, sizing each other up as Varis slowly approached the new drake. Noc’s tail flicked to and fro nervously as he waited. Blood dripped from his newly acquired wounds but it didn’t seem to bother him.

“Who’re the new guys?” Fletcher asked as he and Jay positioned Varis between them and the new dragons, safety on the glock still off, just in case.

“Noc…” She jerked her head in the direction of the one that had arrived with the other two, now dead, dragons. “The problem I was having…”

Then she looked at the elderly looking dragon “And… Alatum…”

“You made a mistake meeting with him.” His voice rumbled. It sounded like the dragons in Hollywood movies, deep, powerful, and full of wisdom.

Varis lowered her head and looked at the ground “I know.”

Scrutinizing the other drake, he waited for Noc to make a move.

“What are your intentions?” Alatum directed at Noc

The more they watched the situation unfold, the more differences the two humans noticed. Alatum had gray eyes that looked wary but ever vigilant. His wings were laced with faded pink streaks where wounds had healed and scarred. Even his pose was regal and strong compared to the submissive stance of Noc.

“I… I thought she could use some help.”

“And you thought the best way to help would be to bring two others?” Alatum snapped his teeth at the two dead drakes.

“They intercepted me! If I had turned back, they would’ve been suspicious!”

Varis stepped in between the two “What’s done is done. We should move before they come looking for them.”

Eyeing Noc disapprovingly one more time, he nodded in agreement and turned to Jay and Fletcher who were more confused by the minute at the sudden addition of two dragons.

“So… Where did he come from?” Jay asked, looking back at Alatum who was trailing the pack.

She looked back, still unsure if she was hallucinating or not. “The dead… Or I thought he was. I’ll tell you when I learn the full story.”

“And him?” He motioned towards Noc, who was trailing Varis.

“When I was gone last night, I ran into him. He’s an old friend that fights for the wrong side.”

“But he’s here now. Change of heart?” Fletcher assumed that’s why he was with them and still alive

“Possibly… It’s more likely that he is trying to reconcile with me. He has good intentions but he is blind like the others.”

“The more the merrier, right?”

“Bigger groups attract more attention.” She looked at the two humans. “The next few days are going to be exhausting. I’m sorry, but there’s no other way.”

“What’s so bad about it?” Jay inquired

The past few days of their journey, their surroundings had gradually changed from the densely packed leafy trees to spaced out pines. The ground became more uneven and rocky as they headed towards the mountains that loomed overhead.

“Because of your… Limited mobility, we’re going to have to walk along the road. Once we’re over this mountain, there’s a relatively flat valley. There’s no where to take cover there so we’ll have to move fast and be extra cautious.”

“Or…” Alatum caught up to them, still keeping a weary eye on the other dragon “You can swallow your pride and we can fly them there is a day.”

Varis opened her mouth to protest but decided against it, snapping her jaws shut to express her dislike of the idea.

“I said: swallow your pride.” He turned to the humans “We’ll walk as much as we can today and tomorrow, you’ll have the honor of being the first humans in hundreds of years to ride atop a dragon. Tonight, I’ll explain your part in this mission if Varis hasn’t already done that.”

Jay and Fletcher responded almost simultaneously, but their minds were occupied with the sudden addition of two menacing, black, drakes.

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Okay, so what I was originally planning was to have Varis kill Noc after a very long scene where they rebuild their relationship and have some hot dragon on dragon sex. For various reasons I decided that Noc would be more useful to the plot alive than dead. Alatum would've been introduced later on when Varis, Jay, and Fletcher ran into some trouble. However, after wonderful road-trip through the mountains, I learned that between the mountains is a relatively flat plain (If you know the scientific term for it, please let me know!)