Chapter 8: Back Home

            When I reached the south entrance to the town, there was a humorous sight waiting for me. The problem with Frain’s plan was that between the town and the southern curve of the river was a small harbour where the trade ships would anchor. Where these trade ships came from or went, I did not know but there were clearly many families here. It resembled a small village and Frain had caused quite a stir when he had landed.

            He had always liked the attention of children and he had a lot of it right now. The river children had run out to see him but none would come too close to touch him. Frain did lower his head, as I approached, and the children gasped and shuffled back. I smiled and giggled to myself. Hopping onto the ground, I told Aspen to stay where he was and walked over.

            ‘You aren’t causing any trouble I hope, Frain,’ I spoke to him. He lifted his horned head and shook it at me. As I got nearer, the children starting whispering to each other and I did hear ‘Tamer’ among the muffled words. ‘Hehe, hello, young ones,’ I acknowledged them. It sounded strange to say that but, then again, I was called it all the time. ‘He will not hurt you,’ I told them as I put my hand on Frain’s snout.

            A young boy, around the age of ten I believed, came up to me and pulled on my sleeve. I knelt down so he didn’t have to speak up to me. ‘Can we touch him?’ he asked.

            Nodding my head, I giggled. ‘Why don’t you ask him yourself? He can understand you. Frain, come here.’ And his head appeared from behind me.

            ‘Hello, hatchling.’ I suppressed my erratic laughter inside.

            The boy looked a little frightened but I stayed where I was so he could sense that Frain wasn’t about to eat him. ‘May I touch you?’ he asked the dragon. To him, I guessed that Frain looked very menacing and a lot bigger than he did to me.

            ‘Of course,’ Frain answered. There was a twinkle in his eye as he peered at me as if this was my fault. The boy reached out his hand and touched his fingers gently onto Frain’s snout just below where I had put mine.

            I stood up and saw how the others ogled at Frain letting another human stroke his scales. Stepping around him, I went over to them. ‘He will not hurt you,’ I repeated. ‘If you take care with his claws and wings, I’m sure he won’t mind if you all want to feel his scales.’ They all smiled and one by one went over to Frain who, when he saw them, lifted his head up and watched them carefully.

            He did rustle his wings to scare them a little and then lowered his head and spoke to them. I didn’t hear what he said as the same young boy was now in front of me again.

            ‘Are you a Tamer?’ he asked, just as curious as before.

            Smiling sweetly, I nodded my head. ‘Yes, I am but I’ll be leaving today. What is your name?’

            He shuffled his feet. ‘Nera,’ he answered simply.

            ‘Well, Nera, I’m sure you’ll have met other Tamers but you would never have known it. You’re quite a brave young lad but you should never be scared of a dragon unless you have angered one.’ With that, he walked off and I followed him with my gaze as he went over to his mother who was stood outside their home. She looked worried until she listened to what I had said to Nera. She smiled at me and bowed her head to which I responded in a similar manner.

            Having diffused the mass of children that had now gathered around Frain, we were now heading off along the river. We had crossed the bridge to get to the other side as there were no such crossings further along the eastern curves. Frain soon launched himself into the air and flew low above the grass, keeping in plain sight. Aspen was galloping at a steady speed and rhythm and I was letting the wind blow over me and rustle my hair up. It would be a long ride to get back to Dracona but I had made the journey once before just not on the ground.

            Flying from Itra to Dracona would have taken about four hours or so but I had to ride and there wasn’t much in knowing how long that would take me. It might have been three days or more but now that I had done what I went on this small journey for, I didn’t pay much attention to the time. We didn’t canter or gallop all the way, sometimes Aspen just trotted along casually and that was fine by me. Frain didn’t show any impatience as he flew where he liked which was a start of him knowing I can take care of myself.

            It was about four or five days since we left Itra (I had lost count) and it was a few hours into midday when our company grew. There was a slight breeze blowing around us, and I was gazing around as usual. Then I looked up at the floating clouds; at first I thought it was a bird but then I watched how the creature’s wings flapped. It was only when there was a roar that carried on the wind that I realised it was another dragon. As it was grey, it blended in well with the clouds (up until I spotted it) and I only remembered who it would be by the time they landed.

            ‘Storm, what are you doing here?’ I asked as Mya’s dragon curled in her wings.

            It was only then that I thought that maybe she was one of the few sentinel dragons that watched around the city for incoming travellers. ‘Wanting to make sure you got back alright,’ she said whilst looking around her. ‘Where is Frain?’ she asked, sounding concerned.

            Just then, as if he heard his own name, Frain landed a few yards away. ‘I am here, drakess,’ he replied using the formal address for an older female dragon.

            Mya clearly wasn’t with Storm but nonetheless, I still felt like I was being watched over as if I were only a child. ‘Thank you, Storm. Is it far to Dracona from here?’ I asked, having been riding for some time.

            ‘It is about an hour’s fly from where I stand. I do not know how long it might take riding.’ Unfurling her wings, she took the few large steps that smaller dragons took and then took to the air with Frain soon behind her. They seemed to fly off and leaving me there but then they circled around just as Aspen began to canter after them.

            As Storm had hinted, it was quite a way still but with two dragons in the sky there was an impossible chance that I would turn off the route a little bit. Storm flew a lot higher than Frain and I guessed that it was due to her bigger lungs and she could breathe in more of the thin air. It was either that or just that Frain had become a bit more watchful again.

*****

            It was another few hours before I could first see the looming walls of the dragon city, yet when I saw it there wasn’t much holding me back except that Aspen couldn’t run any quicker. I would have asked Storm to carry me the rest of the way if it wasn’t for my revered respect. At the idea of flying again (especially getting over my fear of heights), I began to wonder when Frain would be strong enough to take the extra weight.

            It sounded ridiculous that dragons couldn’t carry much even at his size but it took all of about five years for them to build up enough muscle and strength. It was all explained in my book back in my room and it wasn’t often (whilst I’d been here) that I forgot to take my notebook with me; it had notes that I found might be more important to remember hence why I didn’t need to remember them right now.

            Eventually, we passed under the southern archway into the city with a great yellow dragon perched on the battlements staring down. Storm passed over and flew off to the east, either to the nesting cliffs or for a longer fly. Frain had disappeared, I had noticed, though I had no idea where to. I let Aspen go on his way just as we passed into the first street; he went on his way back to the field whilst I walked home. Doran might be home or he might not, that wasn’t much of my concern. So, instead, I turned down the wrong road (on purpose) and went for a mindless wander.