Daughter of Dragons

The pleasant scent of smoke wafted through the air as Ember soared over what used to be a thriving village. The fire was still smoldering in spots. She would never have risked flying so close to a human collective if she hadn't seen large amounts of dark smoke coming from that general direction the day before. Now she regretted giving in to her curiosity as the stench of burnt flesh reached her. Most of the figures below her were charred beyond recognition. Ember shook her head and continued toward the forest. The body of a female human lay motionless a few hundred feet from the forest’s edge. She appeared less damaged but no less deceased than the other villagers.

Ember landed in a nearby clearing and shrugged off the empty sack hanging from her neck. It had fallen off a cart a couple of years ago when she had inadvertently spooked the driver and his horse. At the time, she wasn't sure what to do with it, but the dried corn inside had been delicious, especially after she tried roasting it. The resulting fluffy white pieces had been unexpected but most pleasing. Once she had discovered the strap was long enough to fit her head through, she realized it would aid in her foraging. She could carry more food with the bag than in her claws.

She tucked her wings tightly against her body to avoid snagging the delicate membranes in the trees. Her dark grey scales tipped with red looked like a smoldering fire. Ember was smaller than most female dragons, so she could move through the forest with minimal difficulty. For that matter, she was smaller than most adult male dragons. Ember had been the only surviving dragonling from a failed nesting, but her mate, Zephyr, blamed her diet.

A rustling in the underbrush startled her as she ripped up soft ferns to line the nest. Ember backed up with a warbling scream as a tiny human tumbled out of the bushes to land at her feet. Her head whipped around frantically, looking for any signs of other humans. They tended to travel in packs and poke dragons with pointy sticks. Rationally, Ember knew they couldn't do much damage unless their weapons found a weak spot in their newly molted scales or were jammed directly into an eye. Even with her diminutive size, she was much larger than the humans. That didn't allay her fear. Sometimes the humans sent their strongest and most well-trained fighters directly into their lairs in search of treasure or retribution for harm done to them by the dragons.

That is what had happened to her father. Ember and her mother had returned from hunting to find him lying dead, sticky ichor drying on his scales and the ground. He had brought it upon himself by eating the humans on the outskirts of the town. Her mother had often warned him that his taste for human flesh would be his undoing. Ember shuddered at the memory. The events of that day coupled with the smell of her father's spilled ichor had turned her off of consuming meat. She had always preferred eating the various vegetation found around her home anyway. Her father could never comprehend this choice and often forced her to eat meat - animals and humans alike. Of course, if it had been up to her father, he would have culled her upon hatching for being weak. He had grown to love her but had never understood her.

Ember couldn’t see any other humans, although they could be well hidden, waiting for her to make the first move. It would be especially problematic if the child's mother were nearby. Like a bear, like Ember herself, a human mother would fight to the death to protect her baby. In some ways, they were more dangerous than the men.

The little one was jumping around, clapping its hands together, and emitting a high-pitched sound that hurt Ember’s ears. The screech was occasionally interrupted by what she assumed were words. “Dwagon! Dwagon!”

Ember had never learned the human language, so she had no idea what it meant. As she watched cautiously, she took in the child’s singed clothing. The skirted garments were what Ember had seen the smallest of human younglings clothed in. Unfortunately, it left her unable to determine the child's sex.

It must have come from the village. Perhaps the female she had seen had been trying to save her baby from the destruction. Ember’s fear faded as she realized no one was coming to rescue it.

When the child rushed forward in a bouncing manner like that of a wolf pup, Ember found herself skittering back again. “Me Ee-sa. Eesa-bel. Mama. Mama. Dwagon, Mama.” It looked around the forest. Suddenly its face clouded over. Its dark eyes filled with tears. “Mama?” The sound that followed was heart-wrenching and much worse than the excited screeing it had first emitted.

Ember tentatively reached her nose forward to touch the child. She was surprised when it flung its arms around her snout with a sob. The child smelled like burnt fabric and waste, its dark hair caked in dirt. In short, it smelled horrible. Ember wanted to back away, but the mother in her resolved to support it as it cried. She squirmed as the wetness from the child’s eyes and nose left the tiny scales on her snout feeling sticky and itchy.

Finally, the child let her go to plop dejectedly on the ground. Ember rubbed her nose against a tree to rid it of the revolting fluid it had left there. She determined she had enough ferns, so she grabbed her bag and moved on to her favorite spot to harvest mushrooms. As she walked, she grabbed berries and other edible plants. Ember tried to ignore the child following behind her, quietly babbling to itself.

As she pulled up the mushrooms, she smiled. In an attempt to help, the child was tugging on various plants hard enough to fall on its bottom several times.

When Ember was ready to return to the lair, she watched the child for several minutes. She slipped her head through the strap and then sighed. She couldn't do it. Ember blamed her mother. She hadn't abandoned her weak runt of a dragonling. Ember couldn't leave this child now. Zephyr was going to be huffing fire over this. She rearranged the items in her bag so the ferns would protect the food and the child.

“Alright. Come on, little wolf,” she said, nudging the little one toward the sack. It might not understand her words, but it seemed to get the intent. It crawled into the bag with a bit of help from Ember.

The child squealed and beamed at her as they shot into the sky from the clearing. Ember began to rethink the wisdom of this method of transport after they were miles above the ground. While carrying the child in her taloned hand was not practical, she had no way of ensuring it didn't tumble out of the bag. It was pure luck that the child seemed to have enough sense not to lean out of the sack. It quickly fell asleep nestled cozily among the ferns

Zephyr roared a greeting as Ember came in sight. Their six dragonlings echoed the sentiment. The children swarmed toward her noisily as she landed. They reversed quickly as the little one awoke and stretched.

“Baby dwagons!” it gasped, revealing its nubby teeth.

“What is that?” Zephyr bugled, putting himself between the child and the dragonlings. Her mate’s scales, various shades of blue, glinted in the sun.

Ember rolled her eyes at him. “It's a child.”

“It’s a human child!” he exclaimed.

“Obviously,” she replied.

“It's a little small to feed the kids. They’ll only get a few bites each. You know they’ll fight over the head.” he said.

Ember stepped in front of the child. “Zephyr Dragon! You know damned well I didn't bring it here to be eaten.”

“Mama cursed,” Flame snickered, scratching at his dark yellow scales tipped with orange.

Her mate shrugged his shoulders. “Well yeah, it doesn't make sense given your taste in food, but why else would you bring it here?”

“I found it wandering in the forest. It's probably the only survivor from that incinerated village.” Ember said. “I couldn't leave it there. It would starve to death, or worse.”

“And you felt a need to be responsible for it?” Zephyr sounded exasperated.

“Yes,” she replied. “Especially since its your fault it was out there alone.”

“My fault?” he gasped. “How is it my fault?”

Reddish orange Inferno poked his head around his father's leg. “Are you sure we can't eat it?” He backed away sheepishly at the look on his mother's face.

“You’re telling me you didn't set fire to that village?” Ember asked.

“No. That was Tsunami and Lightning. At least, I saw them heading in that direction.” Zephyr paused. He knew she didn't believe him. “Look, I know I used to do that sort of thing with them when I was younger. I changed my ways when I met you. It took a lot of convincing, but I understand why you avoid antagonizing humans.”

“Then where were you while they were destroying the village?” she asked, still not convinced.

Zephyr peered at the ground, shuffling his foot in the dirt. “I...I went hunting.”

“You what?” Ember cried. “How long have you been going behind my back and behaving like a carnivore?”

“I am a carnivore! Or maybe an omnivore. It's in our nature.” he replied. “I’m sorry. I get why you don't eat meat. I really do. But I can't live on plants alone. And while we are discussing that, I don’t think depriving the children of meat is good for them. We are dragons, for Maker’s sake!”

“They are not going to eat humans!” Ember shouted, startling the little one, which was amusing itself by pouncing on her tail.

“Of course not. I agree with you on that. Humans aren't even that tasty - far too stringy. Well, the plump ones aren’t bad, but they are totally not worth it.” Zephyr insisted. “I still don't understand why you brought it here. You hate humans. Why didn't you just drop it off near the next town over?”

Ember sighed. “I don't know. It's so small. If it grows up here unharmed, the other humans may stop hunting us. It has to go both ways, though.” She unpacked her bag, shaking out the ferns and adding them to the indention where their dragonlings slept, then nosed the food into a pile that her family could pick from when they were hungry.

The children were creeping forward to get a closer look at the new member of their family.

“It's so cute,” Gale cooed. Mistral nodded vehemently. She always agreed with Gale. They were nearly the same shade of blue-grey.

Dark green Jade pushed smokey grey Pyre out of the way to sniff at the little one. His scales, tipped in orange, were the most similar to hers. “What is its name?”

Ember smiled at how willing her dragonlings were to accept the child. It, in turn, was fearless in the face of what most of its species would consider monsters. “Well, it may be called Eesa. It repeated that sound often.”

“Eesa? That's a funny name,” Pyre drawled.

“Well, humans do things differently. Now, it's time for all of you to bathe.” Ember replied, picking Eesa up with one hand while herding her children to the nearby lake.

“Awww. Mama,” they all whined.

Inferno shook his head in disgust. “I don't need a bath, but Eesa sure does. Pee-yew.”

Flame fake sneezed, sparks flying dangerously close to Eesa. “I think I'm allergic to it,” he snickered.

Ember ignored them and walked into the water. She stripped the ruined cloth away from the child. After a thorough soaking, she sat back, watching Eesa play with the dragonlings in the shallow water at the lake's edge.

“Is it supposed to be that shade of blue?” Zephyr asked as he settled down next to her.

Ember took a closer look. There were tiny bumps all over Eesa’s shivering body. Its teeth were chattering. “I don't know. I wouldn't think so.”

Zephyr sighed in defeat. “Alright. I’ll see what I can find to cover it with.”

“Be careful,” Ember said as he flew away.

She took the children back to the lair and instructed them to gather fallen branches, leaves, and twigs. They piled the items as best they could. Ember sent out a plume of flame to light it. Gale and Mistral kept Eesa out of the fire while Ember sorted through the food supplies in search of something the child might eat. She shouldn't have worried. Eesa devoured everything handed to it.

Ember smiled as the dragonlings tumbled over each other to feed themselves. Mistral patiently waited alongside her revered sibling because Gale felt that fighting for her food was beneath her. They politely picked through the remains when the others finished.

Zephyr returned with a length of crimson cloth. It had metal clasps on one end.

“Is that one of those coverings the humans with the pointy metal sticks wear?” Ember asked.

“Why, yes. Yes, it is,” he replied, averting his eyes.

She took it from him and wrapped it around Eesa as best she could. “And did its owner survive you taking it from him?”

“Definitely - maybe.” Zephyr kept his back to her as he ate a few mushrooms.

“Zephyr!” Ember reprimanded.

He turned to her. “I didn't intend to hurt him. It was perfect. He was alone on the plains. I swooped down to grab the cloth, but it didn't come away as easily as I thought it would. His horse spooked and ran out from under him. I was already rising again. The cloth finally gave way, and he fell.”

Ember shook her head. At least it wasn't likely anyone would search out the dragon who stole the man’s cloth. She sat beside her mate and watched their children settle for the night. Eesa, fearless child that she, was snuggled in among them.

“What are we going to do with your pet?” Zephyr asked, laying his head across her.

“I don't know,” Ember sighed. “Taking care of a human child can't be much different than dragonlings, right?”

“We’ll see,” he said sleepily.

“Zephyr, I thought about what you said. When the children are grown, if they want to eat meat, I won't stop them. But it's not something I can encourage.” she eventually said. Her mate didn't answer, but she knew he had heard.

Keeping Eesa warm and fed was more difficult than Ember expected. The child was far more delicate than the dragonlings. It had no scales to protect its body, so it suffered many cuts and scratches wandering around the mountainside or playing with the children. It never seemed to mind, though. The piece of red cloth worked to keep it warm while sleeping, but no one could figure out how to keep the material from falling off when Eesa was moving around.

Over time Eesa began communicating in growls, snorts, and bugles like a dragon. Ember was amazed when they started to understand each other. Her heart swelled the day Eesa leaned against her leg and called her Mama.

One day Zephyr came back from hunting and began pacing around with a worried expression.

“What’s wrong?” Ember asked.

“Several humans are congregating by Eesa’s village. I'm concerned they are here to seek retribution for its destruction,” he replied.

Ember gasped. “That was months ago. Why bother with it now?”

“Humans move slowly. It would have taken time for word to get to the next enclave. Then more time to build up the numbers they would need.” Zephyr said. “If they know that dragons destroyed the village, they will search the mountains soon.”

“We live closer to the village than Lightning and Tsunami. If they find our lair, they won't care that we aren't the dragons they are looking for.” she cried.

“That's why I'm worried,” he said.

“Zephyr, what are we going to do?” she asked. Although he had accepted Eesa into their lives, Ember worried that he might want to return it to the humans in an attempt to protect his family.

Zephyr gazed out over the valley. “I’ll fly over the next mountain range and find a new lair to move into.”

“All of us?” she asked tentatively.

“Yes, Eesa, too,” he assured her.

Ember busied herself with sorting through everything in the lair. She tasked the children with going through everything they had accumulated and tossing out what they didn't need. Zephyr liked shiny things, so there was an assortment of various stones and metal pieces lying around.

“Why do we have to move?” Flame whined.

“For our safety,” Ember replied. “The humans don't take kindly to dragons killing them and destroying their homes.”

Jade last looked up from the gems she was sorting into piles. “But we didn't burn Eesa’s village.”

“I know. Humans think all dragons are dangerous,” Ember said. While there was some truth to that, most dragons were content to keep to themselves and avoid humans. It was dragons like Tsunami and Lightning and her father that brought trouble down on the others. Ember was happy that Zephyr had left that life behind when he met her.

“Are they going to come after us because of Eesa,” Inferno asked. He had accepted the child into their lives but hadn't yet formed a bond with Eesa as the others had.

“No. They don't know Eesa is with us.” Ember said.

Eesa scampered over to lean against Ember’s leg. “I come too, Mama?”

“Of course, you are coming with us,” she replied, nuzzling the child’s hair.

The children were long asleep by the time Zephyr returned. Ember should have been sleeping as well, but she was restless. Despite his insistence that it would be several days before the humans reached the mountain base, she felt a need to protect her family should they attack before her mate was back.

“I’ve found a lair I think you will like. It's large enough for us, even as the children grow. And it's further away from the human settlements than this lair.” Zephyr said after greeting her.

Ember felt her body relax. “We’ve made good headway with packing, but your dragonlings are far too much like you. I'm not sure how we will carry it all. I can only fit so much in my sack, and I’ll need to carry Eesa in there.”

“If you think Eesa can ride on your back, I can carry the bag,” he said. “The child does well riding on Pyre when they are playing.”

“I don't know. Walking is one thing. Flying is another thing entirely. What if Eesa fell?”

“Let’s revisit this conversation in the morning. I'm exhausted,” he said, closing his eyes.

The next day, Zephyr wandered off while the kids were eating. He returned with a long twisted vine. They pushed their most treasured baubles into the bag. Zephyr wound the vine around Ember’s neck until it seemed secure. They instructed Eesa to tuck its legs under it and hold on tightly. Ember couldn't help but smile as her adopted child shrieked with delight when she launched herself into the air.

The dragonlings were excited when they first left but weren’t used to such a long flight. They had to land frequently so they could rest. That was just as well since Eesa needed to run around to stretch its legs.

Finally, the dragon family reached their new home. Zephyr had found the perfect lair. The view from the flat stone surface outside of the large cave overlooked a beautiful scene of sky, foothills, and a distant rolling valley. A winding river sparkled in the sun. It was amazing the humans hadn't cultivated the land.

As she lay resting from the trip, Ember saw a thin plume of smoke weaving up through the trees about halfway down the mountain. She wasn't overly worried about it. There wasn’t enough smoke for it to be a village that Zephyr hadn't noticed. It was most likely a solitary home or even someone passing through. She resolved to check it out when she foraged for food the next day.

Ember crept forward quietly as she neared the source of the smoke. All she could see was a small cottage with a large garden. The rutted path leading away was overgrown. It was doubtful that anyone traveled over it often. Just before she turned to walk, the door opened, and a human walked into the yard. Ember could see it was a female of advanced age. The woman chittered as she threw seeds on the ground for the birds that flocked to her.

Over the next couple of years, Ember checked on the human periodically. She seemed very in touch with the natural world.

Jade nudged Ember awake one morning. “Mama, Eesa isn't acting right.”

Mistral and Gale looked worried as they lay on either side of the child. Eesa leaned against Pyre listlessly. Dark smudges showed prominently below its eyes. It sniffled with difficulty through a redder-than-normal nose. Its otherwise tanned skin shone palely through a sheen of sweat.

Ember gathered Eesa to her and sent the others to play in the woods. While it had grown since they had taken it in, the dragonlings were now much larger. They jostled for space on the stone to watch while Ember investigated Eesa to determine what was wrong. Flame and Inferno wrestled in the area above the lair, unconcerned. Zephyr flew off to bring water back in a hollowed-out gourd.

“I don't feel good, Mama,” Eesa said after a wet cough. By evening it was barely conscious. It panted in raspy breaths. Breathing too deeply brought on terrifying fits of coughing. Heat radiated off of Eesa’s body. Even the two boys who treated Eesa more as a pet than a sibling were worried.

“Jade, bring me my bag. Gale and Mistral gather some ferns to pad it.” Ember said.

“What are you doing, Mama?” Pyre asked. He had a sweet nature and was much closer to Eesa than the other boys.

“I’m going to get help for Eesa,” she replied gently.

Zephyr watched with concern as Ember loaded Eesa into the sack. “It's bad, isn't it?”

“I think so,” Ember replied. “I’m not familiar with human illnesses.”

She flew a short distance toward that ever-present plume of smoke. The startled woman dropped an armful of plants as Ember pushed her way through the trees into the yard.

“I don't know what you want, dragon. I won't make much of a meal for you,” the female said.

Ember ignored her, not understanding the words. She nudged Eesa from the bag.

Eesa leaned against her unsteadily. Tears streamed down her face as Ember pushed her toward the woman. “Mama?” she growled.

“It's alright, little wolf. You need to go with her. She can make you better.” she choked out.

The woman rushed forward to grab Eesa. “Oh my, she’s burning up.” She gave Ember one last curious look before carrying the child inside.

Ember cried silently as she flew back to the lair. She had grown to love the child as much as her dragonlings. She knew she had done the best thing she could for Eesa, even if it meant never seeing it again. It hurt more than she could imagine.

The days passed slowly. Ember knew she should put it behind her. Eesa was where it belonged. Still, she worried that the illness would be too much for the child to withstand. What if it died, and Ember didn't know? Who would properly mourn for it? She wasn't the only one in a melancholy mood. Even the children were more subdued since Eesa had left.

Zephyr brushed his nose across her head. “Go check on Eesa.”

“Are you sure?” she asked. “It might be better if we...if we just...”

“Eesa is a part of our family now. We couldn't forget about it if we wanted to. You said the woman didn't seem frightened of you. She might be willing to let you see Eesa.” he replied.

Ember nodded and rose. Pyre looked up from where he was lying. “Can I go too, Mama?”

“Us too?” Gale and Mistral echoed. All of the dragonlings looked like they wanted to go.

“I’m not sure how much the woman would like being inundated by dragons. Pyre can join me this time. If she seems amenable to us returning, you can take turns going with me.” Ember said after a moment of deliberation.

The kids responded with various forms of disappointment. Pyre launched himself into the air. Ember followed him aloft and then led him to the cottage.

Once on the ground, Ember held Pyre back. She tentatively moved out into the open. After a few minutes, the woman came out and gazed at her.

“Have you come back to check on your girl? I see you’ve brought one of your younglings. Isa will be alright, but she has a long road before she fully recovers. She was hit hard by that lung disease.” the woman said before shaking her head. “Ah, you don't understand me.” She gestured for them to come closer.

Ember crept forward until her nose pressed against a piece of glass. She saw Eesa inside the cottage, sleeping on a platform by the fire. It could have been the flames casting a warm light on the child, but it didn't look as pale as before. As if it could sense her there, Eesa opened its eyes and looked in Ember’s direction. A joyful smile spread across its face, and it lifted a hand to wave weakly.

Every few days, Ember brought another of the children to visit. Even Zephyr joined her on occasion. The woman would chatter to them despite the lack of understanding between them.

Several weeks later, Ember arrived to check on her human. This time when the door flew open, Eesa ran out to hug her. It wore human clothing again. No, not it, she. Ember mentally corrected herself. She wore the same attire as the woman.

“Mama!” Eesa cried with a wide grin. She turned to listen to the woman, then nodded uncertainly. “Lisbet says I am well enough now to go home. But she asked if I wanted to stay with her.”

Ember was elated at the thought of taking her human daughter back to the lair. The thought that Eesa might choose not to leave was like a knife to the heart. “What do you want to do?”

“I don't know. I want to be with you and Papa and my brothers and sisters,” she said. “But I like Lisbet too.”

“I want you home with us,” Ember said. “But we can't give you what the humans can.”

The woman, Lisbet, spoke again. After a short conversation, Eesa nodded enthusiastically, then ran back into the cottage. She returned with a small cloth bag. A crudely constructed figure of a dragon created from several scraps of fabric hung over the top of it.

“Lisbet said I should go be a dragon. I can come back every day if I want and learn to be a human too.” Eesa said. She scrambled onto Ember’s back. Lisbet handed her a large bundle that Ember later learned was cozy bedding.

All of the children bugled with joy when they realized that Eesa was back. The girl slid down and ran to greet each of them. Ember smiled as Zephyr almost broke down in tears when Eesa hugged him.

“What’s in the bag?” Inferno asked, sniffing it.

Eesa shoved it into a nook in the lair with her foot. “Eh, just some human clothing. Lisbet makes a big deal out of wearing them.” She kicked off the leather foot coverings and long tubes of woven material that encased her legs and threw them on top of the bag. Eesa had a look of delight on her face as she wiggled her toes in the moss that grew on the stony ground outside the lair. While she didn't remove all of her clothing, it was obvious that she wasn't all that enamored with being clothed.

“What is she like?” Jade asked. “She doesn't seem so scary as far as humans go, and she isn't afraid of us.”

Eesa smiled. “Lisbet told me she’s a hedge witch. She makes cures from the plants she grows. She says if you know how to live within nature, there is nothing to fear from it.”

“Then she was the right human to take you to when you were ill,” Zephyr said.

Eesa nodded. “Lisbet goes to some city every summer to trade. She is going to look for books on dragons. She thinks she can treat you if you get sick.”

“Hmm. I might be able to help her with that.” Ember said. “I’ve done quite a bit of research on which plants dragons can tolerate. You’ll need to translate for us, Eesa.”

She nodded. “She's teaching me to speak human.”

That night Eesa retrieved the dragon toy from her bag before taking her usual place among her dragon siblings. Over time that changed. The children needed space to stretch out and stopped sleeping in a pile. Eesa began to curl up in her warm bedding, including the now frayed red cloth, lying against Pyre’s side.

Although Eesa would ride any of them, she and Pyre were nearly constant companions. Even after the children had grown and found mates, Eesa stayed with him. Their lair was the closest to Ember and Zephyr, and they often visited.

In time, Eesa and Pyre became the first representatives to improve dragon and human relations.