War is a time for honor and relentless work. Arrogance is dishonorable. A Ryn must remember that those who have fallen beside and before them will accompany them in spirit.

This is Our Law. 

~ From the Dragonling Grimoire

"Anita, it's time to change the bandages." May said, slipping into the cave where the medical center was set up. The crash had broken my right foreleg and I was pissed. Not only did it hurt and I couldn't shift in case I 'jarred the bone into fracture,' but Queen Dominique had revoked our little deal because I couldn't finish out the war.

But that didn't mean I could leave.

Because I had enlisted with the intent of completing the war, leaving now would be deserting, which was an offense punishable by death. Dmitri assured me again and again that it would be okay, but it still just... sucked. The rest of my squadron were also put on patrol duty along the new borderline and weren't too happy about it.

Leon and Derek assured me otherwise, but Morgana, Ariana and Cody made their feelings pretty clear. They refused to even come visit me, sending Sylvester or Saul in their place when it was their turn for "medic duty."

As Ryns, we learn the basics of warzone healing. Dragonlings have hollow bones and are subsequently prone to broken bones. Thus, we have to learn where to find knitbone, goldenrod and calendula and how to use them, how to weave bandages, and where to apply pressure to stop bleeding. It was no substitute for a trained medic, but warzones were simply too dangerous for them. If a squadron of Ryns had happened across a stray enemy Lira, the results would be swift and deadly.

I found that May not only excelled in impromptu cooking, but healing too. She had pried the scales of my leg off (the only way to get topical medicine on) and applied a soothing knitbone poultice to the swollen flesh. The wyk repeated the process every time she arrived and the rest of the squadron just stood around during their shift.

That was about as much entertainment as I got in a day. Derek and Ruth would often stop in to try and cheer me up, but they had a lot of work to do. Border patrolling a warzone wasn't a desired job for a reason. It was all the hard work of war without the fun of actually fighting.

That's right. Paperwork.

Endless amounts of paperwork.

Because I was bedridden, I got most of the paperwork. It was mostly filing reports of the fallen dragonlings, what territory markers we had won, and things like that. I hated it to no end. The others went to meetings, got to talk with the soldiers and even occasionally went to settle disputes along the ever-shifting border while I was stuck in the medic cave.

And it was all worthless anyways. I wouldn't be free after this.

"Anita?" May nudged my side to pull me from my thoughts. "Hey. What did I say about thinking too much?"

"That I would turn into a Lira." I mumbled, rolling onto my back and lifting my leg up for May to inspect. "But at least they can't enslave a Lira."

May sighed and shifted into her human form to prepare the herbal mixture. It was a little odd to talk to her while we were in differing forms (it was a sign of disrespect), but she didn't seem to mind. "You need to relax. It's not that bad. You've got Dmitri and Alek helping you. How much do you have saved?"

I glanced at the pile of letters nearby. As soon as Alek had learned that I was injured, he sent mail daily. The topics ranged from the most benign ideas in the world to helpful tips (among which was a list of herbs for May to try out) and even ranting about his students. I was endlessly amused by finding out Jordan couldn't tell the difference between the clavicle and cervical bones. Truthfully, neither could I, but I wasn't exactly looking to save anyone's life and could risk mixing them up.

"Alek says almost two thousand iyres. It should go up to five thousand once Dmitri's war payment comes in."

May was removing my scales in a rather callous manner (she may have been good at the herbs, but May lacked the trademark gentleness of Lira healers) as she answered. "See? That's not too bad. Maybe you'll have more mates soon who can help you pay for it."

I groaned and closed my eyes. "Don't even start. Dmitri and Alek are enough for me." It was true: I couldn't imagine having a third mate, not with Dmitri as jealous as he was already. Alek and I hadn't exactly had enough time to bond, but I had a feeling he would hold a similar sentiment. "Too much testosterone follows me around already."

"I suppose having Ralov as a mate can ruin mates for you." May chuckled darkly.

"Dmitri isn't that bad." I protested. "He's just... protective."

May hesitated as she finished applying the knitbone mixture. "Yes... I reckon that makes sense considering everything."

I flinched and splayed my paw, opening my eyes to inspect my claws. Several of the smaller scales were missing, but there was leathery skin underneath it that would prevent infection. I busied myself with cleaning the remaining scales to ignore May's comment. She seemed to understand and didn't say anything more as she finished her task.

Taking great care to make sure the hooks on my tongue would remove any dirt or dead skin, I tried to keep my mind off May's words. As always, it didn't work. My thoughts spun out of my control.

Was Dmitri really this protective because of what happened to our eggs? What would have happened if Jackie... hadn't happened? Would Dmitri have even approached me or would he have continued to hide away?

"Anita?" May's sharp voice snapped me out of my contemplation. "You were right about that boy caring for you." Oh. Was I that transparent in my thinking?

If May read the question on my face, she didn't show it. She just cleaned the sticky herbs from her hands before shifting. Stretching out, she growled out in satisfaction. "Ah. That's better." She gently nudged my shoulder with her nose. "Keep your chin up. Your leg will heal soon enough. Everyone breaks a bone once in their life."

I sighed and gingerly got to my feet, favoring my back leg. "Yeah, yeah. Dmitri has told me a thousand times already." I grumbled. "Let me finish my work."

Because dragonlings are less-than-graceful in the finer arts while in dragon form, we can't use paper and ink. Instead, we use clay tablets with symbols instead of words when we decide to work. The clay was stronger than paper and we could carve into it with our claws instead of using a quill.

Huddled off in the corner of the room were about fifteen clay tablets I had to sort through. The first was a weekly tally of the enemy deaths - nineteen puncture holes to indicate the amount of fallen dragonlings - and the second was allied deaths - a measly seven. I settled down in an awkward position to start the mind-numbingly mundane work.

It was close to sundown when I finally finished my work. Ruth was quietly reading in the corner of the cave, evidently content to stay in her humanoid form.

I sighed and heaved myself to my feet, lumbering over to the mouth of the cave to inspect the dusk through the breaks of the mountains.

It was a warm and lazy summer day, the kind we skipped school to enjoy when I was younger. The buzzing of insects filled the air alongside the crisp fragrance of the mountain breeze. The dying sun lit the sky with gold, coral and rose, creating a dazzling corridor of light framed by the mountain peaks.

Shifting so I could lay, I rested my head on my forelegs and watched the scenery. It had been a long while since I could just enjoy my surroundings. Years, in fact. Training had taken up most of my time during my adolescent years. Dragonlings aren't close with their parents, but my only clutchmate had died in the egg. I was born alone, just me and my mother against the world. When she had died, I was lost and horrified to find that I would be saddled with her contract with Lord Edgar.

I hadn't even seen my fifth winter and already my life was forfeit.

My training was rough and brutal. I had too few friends growing up; my spare time was spent with tutors learning about the Law and my obligations as Lord Edgar's servant. He wanted me to be an asset, not happy. I was forced into extra weapon training, courtesy classes (yes, believe it or not, I was trained to be polite), and even diplomacy.

In short, I really wasn't kidding when I said my schooling life had been hell. Sure, I was prideful about being better than my peers at what I did... but I wished I had been able to have friends instead. It was something I hated about myself and I often threw myself into work to try and ignore it.

The past months had helped me forget - settling into the role of a retainer at Lord Edgar's estate, Dmitri and the eggs, Jordan and school, and finally Alek and the war - but now my old resentment creeped back to me.

"Ani." Dmitri's voice broke through my thoughts and I glanced up in surprise. I was so deep in thought I hadn't heard him arrive.

"Dmitri." I murmured and lifted my head, feeling a rush of mixed surprise and relief. Somewhere in the back of my mind I had been worried about him. He just laid beside me and began to groom my neck scales.

I sighed and closed my eyes. The strokes felt soothing after my recent stressed thoughts. Dmitri seemed comfortable with the silence and it wasn't until I heard something scrabbling around that I broke it.

"Dmitri...?" He gave me a curiously sly look before moving his tail to bring forward - of all things - a blanket-covered cage. "What is that?"

Dmitri gave me a mischievous wink. "Well, the Kestreldive colony called a ceasefire earlier because we found this wedged in a cliff wall." He paused and my curiosity increased, a fact he obviously knew, given the smug look on his face. "And, according to the Intercontinental Agreement of Belain, we couldn't risk hurting such an endangered creature."

I flicked my tail over to remove the blanket, but Dmitri caught it with his paw. "Ani, be patient." His voice was annoyingly teasing. "I was telling you-"

"Dmitri." I nibbled on my mate's jaw. "Let me see or I'll go spend the night with Leon." He froze, gave me an annoyed grunt and a deathly glare before tugging away the blanket. Underneath was a beautifully crafted cage made of gold and fashioned with diamond-studded decorations, but that wasn't what made me gasp.

Nesting with its head underneath its wing was the most beautiful bird I had ever seen. It had satiny feathers the color of burnished gold and scarlet that were the length of my forearm. With a soft trill, it slowly stood up and fixed its liquid black eyes on me. They were deep pools of wisdom and reminded me vaguely of the moons.

"Dmitri..." I murmured, reaching one of my claws through the bars to touch it. Its feathers were softer than ermine and warm to the touch. When the bird chirped curiously at me, its voice was like windchimes.

"A phoenix."

I looked over to see Dmitri, who was watching me with glee. "I thought you would like it. Those elves said it would be okay for us to keep it if we don't put it into any war zones."

The phoenix gently stuck its head through the bars to peer at us. It gave a light coo and nuzzled against my leg. Something inside of me sparked with joy. In all honesty, I had forgotten about the phoenix in Alek's class. It seemed to have happened a lifetime ago, yet it couldn't have been more than a few months.

Dmitri crouched beside me to inspect the phoenix's cage carefully. "I remembered that you liked the phoenix." His words were prideful, yet I could still detect a hint of sheepishness. "I thought that you might want some... livelier company."

I turned to Dmitri and tackled him to the ground, snuggling into his chest. "Thank you." I whispered. My blood thrummed with excitement and I felt lightheaded.

Dmitri laughed, a deep, rich sound that made a heart skip a beat. He wrapped his wings around me and moved around so we were laying down. "I hated seeing you so upset. I always do."

Laying my head on the curve of Dmitri's neck, I closed my eyes and sighed softly. "Thank you." I murmured. Warmth bubbled up in my chest and I couldn't express my gratitude enough. It was stupid, really. Just a pretty bird in a gilded cage. But it was so much more.

Dmitri just hummed quietly, the rumbling echoing in his chest like a small earthquake. His tail curled around the cage and moved it to rest beside us. The phoenix inside began quietly singing a lovely melody that made my eyelids heavy. Soon I was fast asleep.

The morning brought rain and death.

Morgana had been struck by lightning when flying. It usually wasn't too dangerous - our scales usually absorbed the electricity. It was temporary blindness that really shook us up. For Morgana, it as deadly. She careened into a mountainside before rolling off a cliff and crashing to the ground hundreds of feet below. Her neck broke on impact.

Dmitri was stressed about it, which stressed me out. The phoenix, which I had affectionately named Mishal, had unlocked its cage in the middle of the night and perched stubbornly in my shoulder even as I paced. Thunder crashed outside, the pounding rain against stone only adding to the chaotic ballad.

Derek watched me lazily from his position on a pile of soft elk pelts. He reminded me of Jack - a calm jokester in the eye of the storm. Or maybe he was just too lax to care about... I actually didn't know why Dmitri was so stressed out, but it still bothered me anyways.

"Anita, sit down." Derek called out finally, evidently sick of my senseless anxiety. "You'll make that poor bird sick." He paused and curled his tail thoughtfully. "Can birds get sick?"

"Don't ask me." I muttered before sitting down and focusing on my claws. They were unsharpened, blunt from the days of disuse in this stupid cave. It sent a flash a shame through my scales and I stood up again to find a clawfile.

Derek chuckled and rolled on his back, splaying his feet into the air. "You're the one who went to school."

"For a season." I mumbled as I found the rough metal of the clawfile. Using slow, methodical strokes I turned the dull edge of my first claw into a sharp point. "It hardly qualifies me for mastery."

Rolling back to his feet, Derek walked over to me and offered his paw for Mishal to perch on. The phoenix jumped on it readily, turning to peer at me with its liquid coal eyes. Traitor.

The heavy stomping of a landing dragonling drew my attention to the cave entrance. Dmitri and Cody landed, both fyns shaking the water off their wings. The former immediately walked over to me, rubbing his cheek anxiously against my next. I could practically feel the tension in his body.

Cody was the one to break the news. He fixed me with his pale red gaze, malice glittering in the ruddy depths. "Queen Dominique has made peace with the Kestraldive colony. We are to go as her diplomats to visit Queen Gertrude." His muzzle curled in a sneer. "Just make sure you don't screw us over again."