Claws and Kisses

The following evening, I snuck out of my house, happy in the knowledge that Avel would still be waiting for me once I reached the cave. Time seemed to travel at a slow pace when it wasn’t spent with a dragon of incredible power. My days, which used to be full of fruitless activities and meager chores, proved uneventful. In comparison to my secret friend, what pleasure was there to be found at home?

I scampered into the woods, holding no bag this time. Avel was healing on his own now and no longer needed the help of man-made medicines. As it was, he probably no longer needed my small meat offerings either.

I was just about to make it through the last bit of the forest when something stopped me. Standing only a few feet from me was a young boy. He must have been at least a couple of years older than me, judging from the opposite height difference between us. No shirt adorned his body. Instead, he wore leather pants, making way for the many dark tattoos that marred his torso and chest. With the moonlight shining down, his hair almost appeared silver in nature. His skin was gold and glowing, contrasting with his bright blue eyes.

Upon seeing him, I slowed to a stop, watching him from behind a thick tree. He simply stood, eyes closed with crossed arms and a bit of a frown on his face. It looked as if he was sniffing the air. No bags, no horses, no family. Where could he have come from?

A few minutes ticked past. After deciding that he wasn’t a threat and must just be lost, I sidestepped my tree and crept forward. Even though I knew he couldn’t see me, something told me that he knew I was there. Watching.

“Hello.” I greeted nervously to his back, twisting my fingers together. The only thing that kept me calm was knowing that Avel was just beyond the hill and would be able to hear me if I screamed. “Are you lost? The closest village is just a few miles from here.”

The boy slowly turned until he was facing me, his sapphire orbs focusing in on my green ones. For a moment, they almost appeared slitted. Then he blinked and his eyes were those of a normal human being. His eyebrow rose slightly, in a conceited kind of way. “I’m not lost.”

“Oh.” I nodded, and started backing up towards the hill. “W-What are you doing out here then?”

The boy took note of my ginger steps backing away from him, as well as the way my fingers were anxiously running through my hair. A dangerous glint shone in his eyes when he replied. “I was looking for someone.”

I stumbled, almost tripping over an upturned stone. “Was?”

The cave was so close. Yet I paused as the boy took a sure-footed step towards me, seeming to gauge my reaction to the sudden movement. A smirk tugged on his lips as well. “Was.”

Climbing up the hill at a much faster pace now, I kept my gaze trained on him and the rapidly decreasing space between us. “L-Look, I don’t want any trouble mister. A-And you don’t want any trouble with m-me either because my friend is really s-strong. He’ll b-beat you up real bad.”

He stopped a few feet from me, tilting his head to the side with that stupid, threatening smirk still on his face. “Friend, huh? And who would that be?”

I shook my head. “You don’t k-know him.”

“I wouldn’t say that.” In a flash, his cocky smile was gone and replaced with a hard line. Before I could blink, I was being shoved to the ground as the boy suddenly filled my vision. He was glaring down at me with a hellish kind of fury. His nose was flaring slightly with the uncontained anger in his eyes. “All of you humans are the same. Don’t your lies ever get old? Don’t they taste sour on your tongue?”

His fingers curled around my throat. The scream that had been trying to escape was cut off, as well as the words I’d been planning to shout. Avel won’t be able to help me if he can’t even hear me.

“Where the hell is he, human?” The boy growled in an animalistic tone. “I know your people have him. Tell me!”

My head started pounding with the loss of air. Instead of letting go however, his claws only prodded further. Choking frantically, I gripped and pulled at his fingers, trying my best to get him off me. My attempts were futile. His strength was not that of a human boy. It was of something greater. Terrifyingly so.

“Romeo!”

Immediately, his grip loosened. I doubled over on the ground, gasping in bouts of air with my hand clutched to my throat. The boy - Romeo - stepped over my body, forgetting my presence entirely. His attention was now wholly focused on something behind me. “Avel?”

Avel?

The thought travelled like slush through my brain. I twisted around to see if what Romeo said was true. And froze.

Standing like some kind of child-like god in the starlight was Avel, in his human form. With creamy skin, midnight blue hair, and those amethyst orbs of his, he was absolutely beautiful. Breathtaking. He was adorned with the same kind of tattoos as the other boy, and wore leather pants of slightly lighter material than Romeo. Avel was an inch or two taller, with broader shoulders and a stronger chin.

“Avel!” Romeo rushed toward the dragon-turned-human, tackling him into a hug. Avel managed to stay on his feet, and smiled softly at his friend, who in turn grinned wildly. “I can’t believe it’s you! The whole Horde has been searching for you for weeks now! What the hell happened?”

Avel stepped out of the embrace, still clasping Romeo’s arm. “On my hunt, a pack of humans ambushed me. They had set traps all over the forest and were waiting for one of us to go hunting. I ended up getting shot in the neck and almost died in the process.”

Romeo exhaled sharply in disbelief. “Drachen Poison?”

The taller boy nodded. “Luckily, I was nursed back to health before the poison was able to enter my bloodstream.”

“Nursed back to health?” Romeo frowned, pushing hair out of his eyes. “By who?”

Avel’s eyes flickered back to my struggling form on the ground. I stilled when I noticed his attention on me. His eyes were slitted and were kind of creeping me out. “I was saved by the harmless girl you just throttled.”

Romeo seemed to remember that I was still laying on the ground a couple of feet from them. With an exasperated sigh, he looked at my pathetic form and raised an eyebrow. “That thing is the reason you’re alive?”

To my surprise, Avel growled low. “Watch it.”

Only Romeo’s surprise surpassed mine. He looked back at me, as if really seeing me for the first time. His gaze swept over my rumpled dress, my tangled hair, and the dirt caking my face like a second skin. The corner of his lip curled in contempt. “I can’t say I’m not surprised that you aligned yourself with a human.”

Avel now watched me too. Feeling uncomfortable, I climbed clumsily to my feet and clasped my hands behind me back, taking an involuntary step backwards. Avel tracked the small movement and frowned. “Come here, Wendy.”

I pursed my lips and thought of arguing with him. He seemed to read my intentions and, without saying a word, conveyed his silent order to me with a glare. I blew out a puff of air and trudged forward to the pair of boys, making sure to stay far away from Romeo. That meant that I was standing close to Avel, who’s eyes hinted at approval of my obedience.

“Well, I’d like to personally thank you for taking care of Avel.” Romeo graciously said. Although, with the way his words dripped with faux sweetness, it sounded more like an insult that anything else. “As a reward, I promise not to eat you for dinner. Now go on before we change our minds.”

Gulping audibly, I took a step away from him - and backed straight into Avel’s chest. I looked up with frightened eyes into Avel’s amused ones. His gaze turned to Romeo’s and hardened slightly. “He’s joking, little tiger.”

Romeo opened his mouth to reply but Avel’s glare cut him off. With another sigh, Romeo slouched and kicked the ground. “Yeah. I was just joking.”

I twisted around to fully face Avel, and made sure to meet his gaze as I asked my next question. “Does this mean that you’re leaving me?”

This time, not even Avel’s glower could stop Romeo from blurting, “Of course.”

The ground tilted. I dropped my eyes from Avel’s and tried my best not to cry right then and there. Something in my chest seemed to deflate at the thought of Avel leaving. This past week had been so exciting. If he left, I’d be left with nothing. My life would go back to being boring and dragonless.

And . . . and I’d miss him.

“Romeo,” Avel placed a hand on my shoulder, standing protectively behind me. “I promised this mortal my time in exchange for her healing. I’ll come back with you during the day, but will return in the evenings for her. Clear?”

The other boy turned red. “Are. You. Kidding?”

Avel stuck to his stern demeanor. “Without her, I’d be dead. The least I can do is offer my presence for a few months or so.”

“Months?” Romeo and I spoke at the same time.

“Enough.” Avel crossed his arms and shot Romeo a loaded look I couldn’t decipher. “I will speak of this no more. Romeo, go home. I will speak to you and the rest of the Horde later. Come on, Wendy. I’m taking you home.”

Romeo looked ready to fight longer but Avel shut him up with one cold, meaningful glance. He gritted his teeth and spun around, storming into the woods. After a moment or two, I heard a roar and the flapping of birds’ wings as a silver figure shot into the sky. There was no mistaking Romeo as he flew from us, away from the direction of my village.

“Who was that?” I asked once he was gone.

“Romeo?” Avel started to walk down the hill, picking his way through branches and rocks. I knew that he expected me to follow him and I did so without pause. Avel, despite his youth, had an aura of safety about him. When I was with him, I knew that nothing bad would happen.

After I nodded my confirmation, Avel began to explain. “Romeo is a close friend of mine. Within the Horde I’m building, he is a dragon in my inner circle. That basically means he is one of my most trusted companions.”

My nose wrinkled in distaste. “Your building a . . . a whore?”

The dragon beside me barked a laugh, flashing his white teeth at me. The sight was oddly endearing. “I’m building a Horde, little tiger. A Horde is to dragons like . . . kingdoms are to humans. And, in this situation, I’m like their king. But they refer to me as their Dragon Lord.”

I eyed him up and down with doubt, scrutinizing his boyish features. “No offense, Avel, but I think you’re a little too young to be the king of anything.”

Avel offered a half-smile. “You forget, little tiger. I am not an ordinary human child. Our brains just develop earlier on. Besides, the Horde is small right now. I left mine in hopes of creating a new one. But, as soon as the war starts, we will be able to recruit many young dragons.”

His words made me halt. “What . . . what war?”

Avel stopped and turned to face me with a serious glint in his eye. “The war. The War to End All Wars.”