Chapter Four
Flying didn’t come naturally to Trill. She was the last fledgling to grow strong enough to do it, and she tired easily, but it was worth the effort. The wind rushing over her wings, the sun warm on her back; seeing the white-frothed ocean spread beneath her, all the way to the world’s edge; it was glorious.
During one flight, other dragons caught her eye, further out to sea. Trill wondered if she ought to greet them; but they’d probably ignore her. They were flying towards the nesting place, but surely she’d have noticed if so many flock-mates were …
Those dragons were not of the flock – but trespassers! Trill flew the way she came. Her flock had to be warned. She glanced back and felt a jolt of terror. Some intruders had spotted her and were flying faster; they were chasing her!
“Intruders!” she shrieked at the top of her lungs, “intruders are coming!” Heads came up to stare, but no one leapt to their paws and took up her cry. Trill made a clumsy landing on the edge of the caldera, where the highest-ranking dragons were resting. He Who Endures reared up to challenge her.
“What do you want?” their alpha demanded, looming over her.
Head bowed submissively, Trill answered. “Trespassers – strange dragons, not of the flock. I was flying east and I saw them, they’re coming this way.”
“Did they see you?” he rumbled, eyes narrowed. “Did you lead them here?”
“No,” she lied. They had seen her, and followed, but Trill couldn’t admit that.
He was about to ask how many intruders there were, when another dragon roared a warning. Trill felt a bitter pang. She had tried to tell everyone, but they hadn’t listened to her. He Who Endures took to the air and went to challenge these trespassers. One broke away from the rest and faced him.
Trill slipped away to reunite with her friends and parents. They were relieved to see her. Their alpha and the intruder’s leader landed opposite each other. Everyone stayed out of the way as their alpha faced the newcomer. “You will call me He Who Endures. Who are you, and why have you come here?”
“My name is Loyal to Flock. Our nest was attacked by wingless ones two months ago. We tried to drive them away, but many of our flockmates grew sick and weak. I was our alpha’s mate; he told me to flee with as much of our flock as I could, whilst the rest held off the wingless ones. We have been searching for a new nest, but no island has been right for us.”
He rumbled in thought, eyes narrowed. “How did you find our nesting place?”
“We were searching for a fire-mountain, when a few of us spotted a dragon flying alone. They saw us too and fled back here, so we followed them.”
Upon hearing this, Trill cringed, regretting her earlier lie. It didn’t matter much whether the strangers were allowed to remain, or forced to leave in a battle, Trill knew she’d be blamed for them finding the nesting place at all.
“He Who Endures, I beg your leave to join you, on behalf of my flock-mates.”
Endures’ tail flicked back and forth. He declared: “This fire-mountain has enough space, and enough firestones, for us. The ocean around it has enough fish for us to eat. If your flock lives here, there will not be enough. What can you offer, beyond taking our nesting spots and eating our food?”
“We will not take more than our share. I will punish those that try to,” Loyal replied firmly. “My flock-mates and I are used to having little, and we will seek firestones elsewhere if we must. We are strong and healthy. Many of us are fully-grown, but with no mates.”Some dragons looked interested.
“You will punish them? So you wish to be dominant over them. If you were to join my flock, I must be dominant over all of you. I cannot have a rival.”
“Of course. We would want to earn higher status.”
“You do not know our traditions, or our rules.” Trill was confused; he could simply tell them to leave, so why didn’t he? Did he want them to stay? Why not merely say so? He was the alpha, he could do whatever he wanted!
“My flock-mates and I will do our best to learn the rules, if you will let us.”
Endures tilted his head to the side. “What you say makes sense, and having new blood may be useful,” he admitted, stretching and arching his serpentine neck. “But I must think about it. You may stay here temporarily, until I have had more time to make my final choice.”
“He Who Endures … if I may, your flock is thriving, and mine is all but lost. I would do anything to keep the remainder of us alive. If you ask us to, we will move on, but I humbly offer to join your harem, if you will let us live here.”
Trill couldn’t believe her ears. Loyal to Flock lost her mate … and she was willing to join a harem? The alpha’s harem, no less; so she would have almost the same status as in her old nest. How was that loyal? Her mate had been part of her flock too! Trill shivered; the idea of a dragon betraying their mate made her stomach twist.
She looked at Endures, expecting him to see it as a betrayal as well. Instead he rumbled thoughtfully. “I will keep your offer in mind, but for now, call your flock-mates down to rest.” Loyal bowed, and roared to the dragons hovering above. They came down to land. Endures growled an order for everyone else to disperse. Many of her flock-mates glared at Trill as they passed.
“Nice going, runt,” Growl-Hiss spat, knocking into her. Trill wished they had never seen her, never been forced to leave their nest and come to hers.
~~~
It bothered Trill that the newcomers’ leader joined their alpha’s harem and kept her high status, but the flock-mates she’d led there had fallen in the hierarchy. To make matters worse, many of her flockmates blamed Trill for leading the strangers here, and shunned her even more than usual.
“I don’t want to stay here anymore,” Trill admitted to her friends one day, about three months after the newcomers had been allowed to join their flock.
Click-Coo’s eyes widened. “You want to leave? Where else would you go?”
Trill ducked her head. “I don’t know,” she admitted. “I want to fly out there and see something new … I want to find my Special Thing, and earn a great name, like my sire. Only, without getting hit by lightning,” Trill warbled sheepishly.
Snort-Snarl asked: “Why leave now? In a year or so we’ll be old enough to go on mating flights, and there are a lot more possible suitors in the flock now.”
“That’s the problem. Ever since the new dragons came, this nest hasn’t felt like home,” Trill crooned sadly. “Besides, even if there are more suitors, it’s not like any of them will court me. I’m a runt, remember?”
Chirr-See insisted, “You shouldn’t go beyond our territory alone, it’s not safe.” Trill’s eyes narrowed. Before she could protest, he added, “I’m coming too.”
“You want to come with me?” she asked, pulling back in surprise. He nodded. “I don’t need protection; I can take care of myself. I’m clever, agile – ”
“My friend,” he interrupted, batting her playfully. “You’re my friend. That’s why I want to come. Then we can protect each other from the wingless ones.”
“You shouldn’t go near wingless ones!” Click-Coo whined. “They’re monsters! Don’t you remember what they did to those dragons’ nesting place?”
“Of course we do, but I’m not afraid of them,” Trill boasted. When she was a hatchling they seemed terrifying. Now she was full grown … well, more or less … and though she might be a runt, she would still be larger than them!
An unwelcome voice interrupted. “Good riddance,” Growl-Hiss snarled at Trill. “Maybe if you leave, the intruders you led to us will follow you away again.”
Snort-Snarl retorted, “They’re flock-mates now. Are you gonna defy the alpha?” he demanded, with an unimpressed snort. “I’d like to see you try.”
“It’s not her fault they came!” Chirr-See insisted. “They would have found our nest eventually. This is the only fire-mountain anywhere in these waters.”
Growl-Hiss bared his fangs defensively. “Whatever,” he spat, “you don’t belong in this flock anyway, runt,” he told Trill cruelly. “You never have.”
Shaking with rage, Trill growled, “What are you talking about? I was hatched here; my sire and dam are part of the flock, so I am too. That’s how it works.”
“You weren’t even supposed to hatch!” Growl-Hiss snapped. “My dam was there, she said you were too small and weak to break out of your egg.”
Trill flinched. It can’t be true … can it? She heard and saw nothing of Chirr-See shrieking and lunging at Growl-Hiss. Trill scrambled away and leapt into the air, flying to find her sire and dam, and ask them: “Was I meant to hatch?!”
Fee-Bee and Lightning blinked down at her. “Of course you were meant to hatch, sweetling,” her dam warbled, nuzzling her. “Why wouldn’t you?” Trill didn’t want to be comforted; she wanted the truth, so she pulled away.
“Growl-Hiss said his dam was there and she told him I was too small to break my egg,” Trill explained, rearing back on her haunches to make herself seem bigger. “I know I am small, and weak, but … it’s not true, is it?” she whimpered. Trill didn’t want to believe Growl-Hiss, but she had to know.
Lightning gave a rumbling sigh, and curled his tail around her. “We should tell her the truth,” he said to Fee-Bee, “she’s old enough to know by now.”
Trill tucked her wings and tail in close as if to protect them from an unseen threat. Her dam crooned sadly, and replied, “You’re right. I’m sorry, sweetling. I hoped you’d never have to know this … you didn’t hatch on your own,” Fee-Bee revealed. “I cracked your egg for you, because you were dying in it.”
She was already cringing, but Trill flinched nonetheless. “Dying? I … I really wasn’t meant to hatch. I was too weak. You had to help me.”
“There’s nothing wrong with being helped,” Fee-Bee declared, “and there’s nothing wrong with you. We’re glad you’re here, no matter how it happened.”
Trill was reminded of her desire to leave. They told me the truth, she acknowledged, I should tell them the truth too. “Mother, father … there’s something I have to tell you,” she revealed, uncurling from her hunch. “I want to find a Special Thing to name myself after. I … I want to leave the nest.”
Their eyes widened; they twitched. “Leave the nest?” Fee-Bee repeated. “Darling, this is your home! You belong here, and it’s dangerous out there … ”
“I’m not scared,” she replied, baring her throat. Wingbeats sounded, and Trill turned to find her friends behind her. “We’re going with you,” announced Chirr-See; he was bleeding from a gash on his snout. She cried out and hurried over to lick at the wound. “Don’t worry!” Chirr-See warbled. “I bit his nose even harder! I couldn’t let him say those horrible things about you.”
Trill purred at her friends, especially Chirr-See. Then she turned back to her parents. “Are you sure you want to do this, sweetling?” Lightning inquired.
She drew herself up and declared: “I’m sure. I’ll miss you both, and I promise I’ll be careful, but I really think I need to go.” Trill swept her tail around to gesture to the nesting place. “No matter what I do, I’ll always be a runt here; maybe out there I can find out what I’m really meant to be,” she explained.
“We’ll miss you as well,” her mother crooned, “and we are so proud of you. No matter what happens out there, remember you will always have a home here. Promise you’ll come home, when you find what you’re looking for.”
“I promise, mother,” replied Trill. “When I find my Special Thing I’ll show you.”
“Your friends need to ask their parents as well. I don’t want their sires and dams asking us why we let you all fly off to the edge of the world,” warned Lightning. They nodded and scampered off to get permission.
~~~
Trill felt nervous, but also excited. Today they were leaving the nesting place. They bid farewell to their sires and dams before they set off. “Be careful out there,” Lightning urged Trill in concern. “Stay away from the wingless ones.”
“Don’t waste fire if you don’t need it, and if you get tired whilst flying, stop for a rest. There are sea stacks out there to land on,” Fee-Bee reminded her.
Trill knew her parents meant well, but she wasn’t a hatchling. “I know. I’ll be careful,” she promised. “I’ll come home in summer, for the hatching season.”After all, if her dam laid another egg, she wanted to meet her new sibling. She’d love to have a little sister to play with, take for rides, and protect.
After a few more nuzzles, Trill stepped away. “Goodbye mother, goodbye father. I’ll make you proud,” she declared, spreading her wings. With a heave she threw herself into the sky, and joined her friends. They wheeled higher and higher, looking down at the only home they’d ever known. One by one, they peeled away, turning their eyes south towards the edge of the world.
They flew in a diamond shape. Snort-Snarl at the head, Chirr-See and Click-Coo on either side, and Trill at the back. It was easier to be at the back, riding eddies made by her friends, since she wasn’t the strongest flier.
Chirr-See trilled and craned his head round to look back at her. “Are you sure there’ll be islands this way?” he asked. “All I can see is the ocean.”
“Yes, I’m sure,” Trill answered. “Birds fly south, remember? I’ve seen them go past on their way to … wherever it is they go. There must be islands for them to land on. We need to go east a bit as well, that’s the way the newcomers were coming from.” They oriented themselves with the sun and changed course.
Click-Coo asked, “How will you know when you’ve found your special thing?”
She confidently replied, “Because I already know what it’s going to be.”
“Really?” Click-Coo warbled. “What will it be?” she chirped curiously.
“First we need to look for a fire-mountain. If we find one, those newcomers who joined our flock can live there instead. Then everything will go back to normal, and we’ll be praised for helping two whole flocks,” she announced.
~~~
Trill and her friends landed on many islands. Most were too small to be good nests. Now they had found a larger island, with a huge lake at one end, but it was home to wingless ones. The strange nests clustered around the lake, and from the sky, they saw small creatures scurrying about. The dragons began to veer away from the island.
“Wait!” yelped Trill, panting. “I don’t think I can make it to another island,” she admitted, beating her wings to hold herself aloft. “Let’s rest here tonight.”
Click-Coo rumbled and protested, “There are wingless ones down there!”
“Lots of them,” added Snort-Snarl, “and there’s only four of us.”
Chirr-See looked down at the wingless ones. “They’re only at the shore and that lake,” he chirped. “If we land amongst the hills, they won’t be able to see us. It will be safe.” Suddenly he realised that Trill was already flying down. “Wait, Trill!”
When they flew over, no shriek of “trespasser!” echoed out. They landed on the far side, and no territorial dragons or wingless ones attacked. “You were right,” Trill purred to Chirr-See. “I bet they don’t even know we’re here!”
“Let’s find a place to rest,” suggested Chirr-See. It wasn’t long before they discovered a valley with a stream running through it, and slaked their thirst.
“I’ll keep watch,” Trill volunteered. She doubted they would be attacked. There were no wingless ones nearby, and if any other dragons lived on this island, she and her friends would have been chased off as intruders by now.
Chirr-See warbled, asking: “Are you sure? We thought you were tired.”
Trill insisted. “It’s only my wings that were tired. I’ll be fine.” She waited until it was dark, and her friends were deep in slumber, before slipping away. When she reached the nearest flock of wingless ones – or was it one huge flock with lots of nests? – Trill hunkered down on the cliffs and watched them.
Their nests were strange, like the wingless ones themselves. They scurried on their hind legs, balancing without a tail. Their hides were strange; around their waists it was loose and brightly coloured, orange and yellow and green, but the rest of their hide was a deep brown colour. Almost all of them had black fur on their heads, either very short or long and twisted.
Some had feathers in their fur and firestones on their chests. Their sounds were a mess of chatters and shrieks. Trill couldn’t make sense of it at all.
They didn’t look dangerous; no thick hides, no sharp claws. They were so small. Even if they were right beneath her, they couldn’t reach to swat at her nose. These wingless ones would be harmless to her and her friends.
Three of them climbed onto a raised bit of ground. They must have been high ranking, maybe the alpha and two of his mates. They held their forepaws straight out in front of them. A thumping noise rang out over and over. It was accompanied by an odd warbling noise that several wingless ones made.
Suddenly, the one in the centre breathed fire above its paws, and the flames stayed in mid-air. Trill’s eyes widened. The wingless one moved its paws, and the fire moved. It breathed fire again and another flame hovered there.
The other two breathed fire, and those flames burned in mid-air. Trill stared, entranced, as the fireballs began to spin. Round and round, blurring into circles and spirals. The wingless ones were making the fire move, without touching it! They began to spin as well, twisting and flipping their bodies in a display of physical prowess, the fire never scorching their bare skin.
The other wingless ones shrieked and slapped their forepaws together. Some waved flames above their heads. Trill crouched on the cliff, tail lashing, eyes fixed on the swirling flames. She had never seen anything like this before. It seemed as if, because they had no wings, these peculiar dragons had found a way to dance with fire on the ground. It was incredible.
They finished their display with the middle one – who had to be the alpha – standing on the others’ shoulders. They breathed fire again, sending plumes of flames out over the heads of their flock-mates. Trill was so fascinated that she forgot where she was, and threw her head back to flame as well.
The thumping and warbling went silent. A wingless one shrieked. They looked at the cliffs, at her, stretching out their forepaws, yelling. Trill cringed nervously. They would surely attack her now … and then she remembered how small they were. Compared to the wingless ones, she wasn’t a runt. Trill reared up on her hind legs, spread her wings for balance, and roared.
Shrieks filled the air, and the wingless ones fled. They didn’t try to flame at her, and Trill’s chest swelled. It was probably for the best if she went back to her friends now. Chirr-See, Snort-Snarl and Click-Coo might have noticed she’d gone. Her wings were rested enough to fly back to their nesting spot.
Just as she thought, they were looking for her. “Where have you been?” Chirr-See demanded. “Are you alright?” He sniffed her to check for wounds.
Trill pranced. “I’m fine!” she chirruped. “I saw the most amazing thing, guys. I went to see what the wingless ones are like, and they can make fire – ”
“You went near wingless ones?” Snort-Snarl yelped. “Have you gone mad?”
She was in a good mood, so she mock-snarled at him. “Of course not. I just wanted to look. I think they were doing a mating display. They can make fire float on its own! And move it without touching it. You should have seen it!”
“Did they see you?” Click-Coo whimpered. “Please say they didn’t see you.”
“Yes, but I roared and the wingless ones ran away! They were scared of me,” Trill declared smugly. It felt good to be the intimidating one for a change. She was tired, and curled up next to Chirr-See. “I’m sorry if I worried you,” she crooned, “but I really am fine. The wingless ones here aren’t a threat.”
Snort-Snarl huffed. “I’m still staying on watch in case you sneak off again,” he warned. Trill purred and closed her eyes, resting her head on Chirr-See’s flank. A moment later she felt him begin to purr as well, lulling her to sleep.
~~~
They found mangroves with tiny dragons hiding amongst the branches. These dragons couldn’t think-speak, only hiss and shriek and spit little bursts of fire. Trill liked them; she was pleased to encounter dragons smaller than her. They found coral reefs full of brightly-coloured fish, beaches with sand so white and soft it felt like resting on a cloud, and strange furry creatures, with long tails and big eyes that leapt shrieking through the trees when they came near.
They hadn’t yet found a fire-mountain where dragons could live. The large islands were home to wingless ones. They weren’t so frightening, but there were so many of them. Too many to be scared away by four dragons.
“All the good nesting-places are overrun by wingless ones!” Snort-Snarl complained, tail lashing. “We should go home and ask the other flock to help drive them away,” he declared, chest puffed out. “Then they can live here!”
“Don’t be such an egg-for-brains,” Chirr-See retorted. “No one is going to listen to low-ranking dragons like us. Besides, the wingless ones will fight back.”
“Let’s go west. We know there are mountains there. One is bound to be a fire-mountain with no wingless ones around,” Snort-Snarl announced firmly.
Trill protested, “We can’t! There’s too much ocean that way. We won’t find anywhere to rest and fall in the sea and drown.” She flicked her wings. “You know I can’t fly as far as you guys. We can find somewhere in the east.”
Click-Coo whimpered, “What if we can’t? Wingless ones are everywhere.”
“We won’t let you fall,” Chirr-See promised. “I’ll carry you.” Trill didn’t want to be carried, she wasn’t a hatchling anymore! Still, her friends all wanted to go west. Trill knew she couldn’t win that fight, so she reluctantly agreed.
They set out the next morning. There was nothing but ocean all around, far as the eye could see. The sun floated across the sky; the Agates flew across the water. Even when she glided on the eddies of her friends' wings, Trill tired. She felt relieved when Chirr-See roared, “I see land! We made it!”
In the distance was more land than they had ever seen. It covered the horizon, great mountains stretching to the skies, peaks so high they pierced the clouds. Flying closer, they saw peculiar dragons – not merely strangers, but a different species entirely. These had shorter necks and lighter hides, with flashes of colour around their necks, but that was all the four could see.
Faltering, the four slowed to a hover. Click-Coo cried, “There’s a flock here already! They’ll attack and drive us away, let’s find somewhere else.”
“There’s nowhere else to go,” Chirr-See reminded her. There was only the vast ocean. Trill snarled silently. Didn’t she tell them this was a bad idea?
“Let’s ask if we can rest on their island,” she insisted. Her wings burned with every beat. Then she raised one, and the other did not come with it. Trill flailed, veering and tumbling out of the air with a screech. Chirr-See dove after her and caught her in his claws. “Thank you,” she gasped out.
Several of the other dragons flew to confront the young Agates, snarling with sabre-toothed fangs. They had manes of stiff hair coloured in scarlet, sky blue, sea green, sun yellow and every shade in between.
“Who are you?” a drake with a blue-green mane demanded. “Why are you here?” Snort-Snarl hissed, even as Click-Coo tried to crouch in mid-air.
Trill felt very foolish dangling from her friend’s paws. She called out, “No threat! We didn’t know this was your territory, we’re sorry. Please, my wing is hurt.” This wasn’t quite true, but Trill wanted to be put down now. “Please, let us land,” she begged. To her relief they escorted her and her friends to land.
As soon as Chirr-See put her down, Trill stretched her wing. She glared at it, hating that she was so weak. Her friends gathered around her, and she rolled her eyes, ducking out from behind their wings. “Thank you,” she told the new dragons, lowering her head in respect. “We were flying all day.”
Only some had colourful manes; others had short brown or tan manes. One, a drakaina, inquired, “What are you doing so far from your nesting place?”
“We’re looking for a fire-mountain so dragons who made our nesting-place too crowded can live there,” she explained, “that will earn us our names.”
The other female tilted her head, as did her flockmates. “How can you earn a name?” she questioned, snorting. “Your dam should give you a name, like Sunset – that’s mine – or Rainfall, that’s my mate.” She tossed her head to gesture at the drake standing at her side, and he curled his tail around her.
The Agates didn’t understand. Names were too important to just be given. “Back home, you have to find or do a Special Thing to earn a name,” Chirr-See tried to explain. “Something important that makes you stand out.”
Rainfall huffed. “You don’t need to stand out to have a name!” he protested; he was the same drake who had challenged them. “Besides, you must call yourselves something,” he insisted. “Or you would get confused.”
“We use the sounds our dams called us by,” Chirr-See told him. They took it in turns to introduce themselves. The Tourmalions stared at the four of them in bewilderment, as if they had gone crazy. Which they hadn’t, of course; these new dragons were the crazy ones, giving each other any name!
Two more dragons arrived; a male with a blue-green mane and a female with a yellow-brown mane. Their flock-mates bowed to them, so they were surely the alpha and one of his mates. Trill and her friends lowered their heads; this, they understood. Strangely, the alpha’s mate spoke first. “Why have you let these strangers trespass on our island?” she asked calmly.
Sunset warbled, ducking her head. “Forgive us, elder. We let them land because their youngest is injured.” She gestured with her tail at Trill.
“I’m not young … I’m just small. I was exhausted,” Trill admitted. “We all were, weren’t we?” she asked her friends. They quickly nodded in agreement.
“You don’t seem to mean us harm … but why have you come here?”
Before they could explain, Rainfall growled. “They’reliars, mother. Or mad. She says they’re looking for a mountain on fire so intruders to their nest can live there, and they don’t have their own names, they have to earn those.”
The Agates snarled. “That’s not what she said at all!” Chirr-See insisted. “We’re not lying or mad, we really are looking for another nesting-place!”
“Enough! Son, control yourself. Your mother and I will judge whether these strangers are lying,” the alpha warned his son sternly. Rainfall flinched. He looked at Trill and her friends, eyes narrowed. “So why have you come to our home?” he questioned. “Does your kind not nest in the eastern isles?”
Snort-Snarl saw himself as the leader, so he boldly replied, “Our nesting place is too crowded, alpha. We’re not searching for a mountain on fire; only somewhere with plenty of firestones. Do you have many of them here?”
“You’re here to steal our firestones?!” Rainfall snarled. His sire growled, and he protested, “but father, he said that they’re looking for firestones!”
“We heard what he said,” his dam replied. “The question is what he meant.” She turned her light green eyes on them with an expectant tilt of the head.
“We’re not here to steal your firestones,” Trill promised. “We flew west in our search and there was nowhere else to land. A dragon flock – dragons like us – lost their nest to wingless ones. They found our nesting-place and our alpha let them join our flock, but it’s too crowded now. My friends and I are looking for a new nesting-place for them to live, so we can earn our names.”
“What do you mean, earn your names?” he questioned. “Names are given.”
“Our kind earns our names when we find or do a Special Thing. My sire is called Scarred By Lightning because he survived a lightning strike. We tell each other apart with our senses and thought-speak until then.” Trill hesitated, then asked, “Can we rest here for a while? We won’t stay long.”
The alpha hesitated. “We won’t steal your firestones, or your prey,” Click-Coo assured him, remembering how their own alpha had been persuaded. Trill dreaded trying to fly back east, or worse, further west. It was just too far.
She and her friends, along with the Tourmalions, waited as the alpha turned away and spoke with his mate. At last he looked at them and declared, “You may remain until you have rested and can continue your search. Welcome. My name is Rolling Waves, and this is my other half, Early Star.”
Other half? They’re heart bound! Upon hearing that, Trill purred. If this flock was led by a heart bound pair, like her parents, she felt sure she’d enjoy her time here.
~~~~