The Custodians

There weren’t always dragons in the Valley. But actions have consequences, and even little actions have a way of escalating. Now, dragons soared in the skies, tunnelled into the hillsides, and snaked swiftly through the lake – iridescent, elegant masters of their chosen element or terrain. They were beautiful, terrifying creatures, and Sigrid both regretted and rejoiced in her part she had played.

Since their little acreage home was higher in the foothills, from her vantage, Sigrid had a clear view of her surroundings, including the town, lake, and the mountains in the distance. She had always loved the natural, untouched area she grew up in and was more than happy to return to Lanniton after finishing university when she had been offered the research position with NuGeo. She was able to move into her great aunt’s empty place when she had retired down south; Sigrid relished the extra space.

Lanniton was a small town in the foothills, on the east side of the mountains, with the usual forestry and mining industries forming the core of their economy. Farms were dotted around in the flatter areas outside the town borders. A small, isolated community, it housed many residents who enjoyed a more natural lifestyle, away from the crowding and hustle of bigger cities, although the isolation was harder on the younger ones, especially the teens.

Sigrid turned to look out from the kitchen window while starting supper for herself and her son, Tomas, who should be coming from school soon. Katka, their black labrador, trailed behind, nails clicking on the kitchen tiles.

Mere pinpricks in the distance, Sigrid could see what looked might be a couple of dragons, although she couldn’t see clearly against the sun. Sigrid didn’t worry – at least consciously -- about Tomas’s safety from the great beasts too much, although, hidden in the depths of her mind, was always that niggling doubt. The dragons’ alien natures made them somewhat unpredictable, so it would be foolhardy to underestimate them, but she felt fairly confident. She was concerned about the dragons, though, now they had started to be noted. The first reported sightings by the locals had been disregarded as absurd and explained away by ‘good, rational reasoning’. Likely, there were even more potential spottings, missed because of inattentional blindness, so not seen, or mistaken for something more commonplace. Most people wouldn’t say anything even if they did think they saw something as crazy as a dragon.

Recently, though, the dragons were becoming impossible for the locals to overlook any longer. The posts on social media and discussions were starting to be taken more seriously, although obviously no one was thinking ‘dragon’ yet. Plus, the news she had just heard on the radio about an unusual attack by a large brown creature against one of the boring machines that were being used to tunnel through the mountains as part of the new highway upgrade project was also extremely disturbing. She was convinced it was Tank, who must have been taken unawares in the tunnel, causing him to attack. The situation was going to escalate quickly now. This would put an end to any possibility of the dragons remaining inconspicuous.

***

Four Years Ago

It seemed an eternity ago to Sigrid when she was a soil specialist with NuGeo, doing local environmental sampling, and she discovered the eggs that spring, just visible below the bottom of her sampling core she had removed. At the time, she felt they were highly unusual because of their shape and texture. She showed them immediately to her co-worker, Glen, who shrugged them off as “cool”. Others were equally indifferent, gauging them as novel in appearance but insignificant. However, they accepted her interest equably. Her tests, non-destructive to avoid damaging them, yielded no clear results. Clueless as to what they were, she found herself referring to them as eggs, while the others seemed increasingly ambivalent or forgetful about them. The eggs remained in the lab solely due to zombie-like adherence to process.

Sigrid, however, felt an increasing calling to them.

Later, she would claim that she was compelled, and powerless to resist her urge to whisk them away. Of course, in her heart, she knew that there was always a choice, and that really, really wanting something is not the same as being forced. However, thoughts such as those are uncomfortable and unpleasant, with a niggling sense of culpability, so best pushed to the back of the mind and ignored, which Sigrid sensibly did, promptly, whenever those thoughts emerged.

A couple of weeks after the discovery, humming as she worked, she first heard their calls, trilling, not truly audible but within her consciousness, responding tunefully to her humming. She was sure, if one could be sure that ‘inaudible singing’ could come from anything, that it was emanating from the eggs.

Over supper that night, wanting to get her craziness off her chest by voicing it, so her silly imagination could be laughed at and diminished to a moment’s fleeting madness and then promptly forgotten, she mentioned the incident to Tomas. As expected, Tomas laughed with her, accusing her teasingly of old-age senility, and she was able to forget about the incident by bedtime.

However, when she arrived at work the next morning, and for the rest of that week, she heard the trilling, even more insistently and more often during the day. It felt like a personal plea to her and found herself feeling increasingly protective of them. “They can’t stay in the cold, hard lab, all sad and lonely”, she decided finally. She called Tomas to warn him she would be late, then stayed that evening until all others had left.

Wooden and automatic, Sigrid quickly wrapped the eggs in paper towel and took them out, two at a time in her arms, avoiding security cameras and feeling furtive … and brought them home.

Once home, she showed them to Tomas, silently unwrapping them.

“Are you crazy! What the … isn’t that corporate theft?” Sigrid was silent, embarrassed. She couldn’t put to words why she had done it, not really knowing herself. Tomas, stunned by the raw confusion and embarrassment in his mother’s face, quietened and turned back to the eggs. They both started at them, while Katka kept trying to rear up and investigate them on the table.

“They seem warmer … and leatherier … not sure why we ever thought they were stones …” Sigrid trailed off, pushing Katka away from them for the hundredth time. Looking more closely now, she noticed they also seemed to be changing colour. Stones could often appear somewhat different – more vibrant when wet, or different tones coming out in natural or artificial light, but these were noticeably different colours. On discovery, they were all a dull, uniform grey, but now, they seemed shinier, and each looked a different hue.

“They can’t be eggs though,” Tomas negated his crazy idea himself even as he thought it, expressing it, and taking it back, all at once. What he thought was too bizarre. If they were eggs, they weren’t like any he had ever heard of. Anyway, they surely couldn’t still be viable. Despite all that, he was sure he was starting to hear the trilling his mother had talked about – perhaps some shared delusion. Nevertheless, a little thrill of excitement gripped him, and he grinned at his mother, looking suddenly quite a bit younger than his thirteen years in his animation.

“Just in case, let’s wrap them up in blankets, and keep them in the laundry room, by the water heater, to keep them warm. And then, if they are eggs not stones, let’s Google them to see what temperature they need or whatever else we can do.” Sigrid started gathering them, and Tomas joined in to help.

Nothing was found on Google, unsurprisingly, so the two decided to just keep them ‘warmish’ and hope for the best. Sigrid was surprised there was no issue or follow-up at work about the missing samples. Everyone seemed to have forgotten about them, and Sigrid was happy to let the eggs stay forgotten. She did remove the records from the online log, in case, but there was no further mention of them. She and Tomas kept the find completely secret, by unspoken agreement, partly out of fear of work repercussions, but mainly because it was too strange to speak of.

About a month later – on a Saturday lunchtime, Sigurd remembered -- Katka was insistently snuffling at the bundles of eggs. Sigrid went to protect them, calling for Tomas to pull Katka off and put her outside. As Tomas arrived to help, he noticed the first crack. Simultaneous shocked and unsurprised, he shouted:

“Mum – look!!” A hint of panic started to touch his voice. Helping him hold Katka back, Sigrid looked.

The crack had widened even more, and the tip of what appeared to be a beak was poking through. The next couple of hours were surreal. Afraid to touch what they now had confirmed were eggs, knowing you can’t help creatures hatch, they gathered more clean towels and bedding. Katka had finally settled – perhaps as shocked as mother and son, simply lying nearby, watching with her nose on her paws. One by one, the tiniest little things pushed their way out of the eggs.

Lizardlike, with iridescent scales, each with different colours roughly matching the colour the eggs had shifted to, the little creatures mewled and trilled, wriggling around. Like all baby creatures, they were utterly appealing and endearing, cutting off any fears that Tomas and Sigrid might have had about what they would be once they grew a bit. Tomas grabbed milk, and warmed it in a dish in the microwave, unsure what else to give them. He needn’t have worried, as they devoured the lot, lapping at it catlike, and then trilling loudly to demand more. Sigrid and Tomas grinned at each other, watching them eating and thriving.

The dragonlings all had long, slender reptilian bodies and tails, with unusual looking buds on their shoulder blades, but they were each very differentiated beyond just their colouring.

The gold was larger than the others, with a head frill like a triceratops. Tomas called her Bahamut, after the gold dragon god in Dungeons and Dragons, but the name seemed grandiose for the little thing, and the name got shortened to a more affectionate ‘Baha’. They did not see Ebony, the black, very much after the initial hatching, but could hear him prowling round at night. He would appear during the day for feeding and company before retreating again to snooze, sometimes on a lap or alongside a sleeping Katka, but more frequently sneaking off to find a dark, quiet spot. Indigo, or ‘Indi”, the dark blue was smooth and delicate, with no horns and frills. Both Indi and Olive, the murky green one, had notable webbing along the legs and tail, as well as between their toes. They called the silver one ‘Silver’, laughing at themselves for their unoriginality. Opal, the white, had a smooth face with a large plate-like jaw and snout that curved into points. The dark green seemed gentler and quieter. He had frilly-looking spines, almost like a seahorse’s fins, and instantly migrated to the nearest plant, so they named him Fern. The brown, named Tank for his sturdy looks, had a stubbier head with little spiky points, and much longer forearms and larger claws. Finally, Scarlet, or Scar, had deep red horns covering her face. Its scales were shimmering, with several hues of reds that played across her back in the light. She was a bit cheeky, nipping at the others, often getting put in hers place though by Baha or Ebony if necessary.

As the dragons grew, they continually surprised Sigrid and Tomas, especially with how diverse they each were. Each dragon had its own specific preferences. After initially feeding them milk for the first few weeks, Sigrid and Tomas started trying them on different foods. They suspected the creatures were carnivores, so tried them on insects and feeder fish at first, and then on to bits of chicken or other meat. It soon became apparent that the little dragonlings enjoyed more than just meat and would eat leaves and vegetables as well. Tank would use his impressive claws to good use, burrowing in any dirt he could find; he even seemed to eat dirt. Sigrid ended up getting a fish tank of feeder goldfish for Olive and Indi, who loved swimming and fishing in it. Sigrid also bought more houseplants, for all of them, but especially for Fern, who quickly showed an affinity for the houseplants, both to eat and curl around. Not knowing what plants might be poisonous to the little creatures, she picked ones that were generally pet-friendly. Sigrid was relieved to discover that they weren’t too voracious or predatorial.

She watched the dragonlings carefully, especially around Katka, but the dog loved them, and they could often be seen to play with him, either him chasing them around the house, or the other way around, leading to a mass ‘dragon-proofing’ of the house. Gradually, Sigrid and Tomas started to learn all the little preferences each of the babies had, as well as their other quirks, loving learning about the adorable little dragonlings. Occasionally, an old story flitted across Sigrid’s mind – one where a boy raised a dragon from birth, feeding it drops of his own blood, but when it was fully grown, it turned on the boy, true to its nature, and ate the boy. Sigrid would be apprehensive, but then she would see them playing with Katka, or nestling in Tomas’s lap, and she would melt. She could not help but love them.

If there were still any doubts as to what the little beasts were, those evaporated as the little buds on their shoulders sprouted into little winglets, which grew rapidly, so soon, the dragons were not just scuttling around the house, but making clumsy initial flight attempts, further driving Katka wild.

For Sigrid, it was a golden time, to have such an experience to share with her son, bringing them closer. She had always been grateful for her quite easy relationship with him, but this gave them something more in common, especially as he got older.

Together, they got to watch their little ones grow, each developing into unique characters. This often puzzled Sigrid and Tomas, since the eggs were found all together, in what Sigrid had assumed was one nest, but they had no way of knowing what would be common for these creatures. Sigrid and Tomas loved caring for and cuddling with the dragons, discovering what they each dragon liked best, and watching them play with Katka, her youthful puppy energy a match for the dragons’. Keeping the dragons hidden and secret was a constant trial, especially when Tomas had a friend over, but protecting the little beasties seemed critical.

***

Sigrid was amazed that the dragons had not been discovered before this incident with Tank especially over the last few months when the dragons were more independent and moving further afield. She was aware it was just a combination of luck, the human nature of willful denial, and fear of ridicule. However, she suspected that a couple of reported missing chickens and other animals may have been dragon-related, since the signs did not point to coyotes or other predators. She expected that these cases might make people look more closely, but the dragons seemed safe until now.

The dragons were clearly intelligent, and seemed tame, if not fully domesticable. Sigrid trusted them -- mostly. They seemed bonded to her little family, but they were foreign creatures that could behave erratically. Factors like their mating season or nesting behaviours -- situations that could trigger aggressive or protective behaviour – were a mystery, and their ignorance about the creatures prevented any meaningful precautions. Tomas, though, appeared completely confident with them; he was relaxed and seemed unencumbered by doubts. “Typical teen,” she thought, “frittering about the oddest things, and completely unafraid of massive lizardy creatures.”

On the other hand, most people would be utterly uncomfortable with the dragons. They would likely be frightened and despise them, seeing them as pests or fiends. Farmers would start to blame the dragons for missing livestock, which Sigrid had to admit would be a reasonable assumption. They might not be rapacious carnivores, but they were hunters – large ones. Additionally, there was Tank’s attack. That was guaranteed to create panic.

“Even if the dragons could escape being slaughtered, someone would likely want to capture and study them,” Sigrid thought; she couldn’t bear the thought of a life of cold captivity, or worse, for them. She couldn’t deny that their very existence and the wonder of their impact on the world around them was not worth scientific study; there was so much to learn, but knowledge should not be at the expense of the dragons’ welfare. Sigrid embraced the environmental changes emanating from the dragons as a rare gift, and hoped others would too, regardless of fears. They must be protected, if not for their own sake, then for their potential.

***

Two Years Ago

When the dragons were two years old, they were already growing too large for the house. It was nigh impossible to keep them hidden downstairs if anyone came over, which was proving to be hard on Tomas, who was older and keener to have friends over. There was an old rundown outbuilding on the property that had not been used since Sigrid’s grandparents, but was still relatively sound, so the dragons were moved into that. The old door was left open, so they could come and go as they wished. They also could no longer be kept inside for very long, and it seemed cruel to do so.

Sigrid still fed them, to discourage them from going too far afield, as well as to ensure they did not become bad neighbours to the nearby farms. She suspected, nevertheless, that they were beginning to hunt on their own. At least they’re not like cats, and don’t bring any surprises back for us, Sigrid thought on more than one occasion.

It was as they became more ‘outdoor’ creatures that their impact on their surroundings became more obvious.

Indi and Olive moved into the large pond that ran along the edge of their acreage and were rarely seen out of it. The pond had become quite disgusting over the last several years, becoming overrun with blue-green algae. Throughout that summer, though, the water cleared, the blue-green algae disappearing, allowing for healthy, natural diversity to return. Katka was even eventually allowed to drink from the pond again and swim in it, much to her great pleasure. Where the dragons were, things seemed to thrive. Trees and bushes were lusher, and it was the best year ever for the blooming plants.

The soil was richer wherever Tank dug. He started disappearing more often; they only ever saw the one tunnel hole, which seemed too small for him, in a nearby hillside. There seemed to be no issues with sinkholes or caving, fortunately, but Katka and Tomas were strictly forbidden from ever exploring any tunnels or holes.

Fern, the notorious houseplant nibbler, continued her propensity for enhancing the vegetation around her. Once she moved outside, everything around their property grew surprisingly lush and thick.

As the dragons became more independent and more distinctive, some started to leave. Opal was the first to go. Since her hatching, Sigrid found her often trying to creep into the freezer or lying alongside any frosted windows through the winter. Sigrid took pity on Opal and would leave the spare room window open a crack for her, despite the energy inefficiency, or leave tubs of ice for it; Opal would reward her with a grateful little squeak. Everything seemed a little colder around the white, as though she absorbed and exuded iciness. As soon as they tried letting the dragonlings outside the house, Opal was gone. She was not the best flier yet, but she darted off as best she could, seeming to head to the mountains. Sigrid wondered if she was able to make a home there, amongst the peaks, or travelled further. She was upset, but not surprised to see her go, knowing her need for cold. Tomas was inconsolable.

Scar, the utter opposite, was always seeking heat, snuggling right next to the fire or any other heat sources, was the next to go, leaving right after the hottest part of summer started to subside. Tomas and Sigrid were a little more emotionally prepared for her departure, stoically accepting this part of their nature, but extra grateful for those remaining.

Indi and Olive also moved away in the fall, after the pond was cleared. They were quite cramped in it, so it was not a surprise to see them move on, too. They left at the same time, at dusk, exuding a sense of farewell; it looked as though Indi headed to the valley lake, while Olive seemed to head west, possibly towards the ocean.

The others all stayed, although Ebony became fully nocturnal, and rarely seen, except for occasional glimpses at dusk.

Sigrid frequently researched online for any indicators of what might have happened to the dragons who left but discovered nothing. Surprisingly, though, they had occasional ‘visits’ from Indi and, more rarely, from Olive, so she held out hope for visits from the others.

***

The pinpoints in the sky that she had seen were now visible as dragons, and as they approached, she could see they were Baha and Silver. There was something a little unusual about their appearance and gait. The blood drained from Sigrid’s face. She could now begin to see there were two people, one on each dragon, riding, and had no doubt Tomas was one. She ran out of the house, terrified in her helplessness. As Baha swooped in, with Silver a few minutes behind, she ran towards Tomas, terror turning to anger, as the relief in seeing him reach ground safely flooded her.

Spluttering and babbling a little in her anger, she finally found words. “You utter … muppet! What were you thinking? How could you? Get off, now!” She could see Tomas’s face screen over, his face which had been filled with joy, smiling, proud of himself and exhilarated, cloud over, and go completely blank, like a screen fallen over it. She knew he was angry at her reaction, and shutting himself off, knew that keeping on at him wouldn’t help, but she couldn’t stop herself from shouting. Baha was tossing its head and swishing its tail, like an angry cat, obviously affected by her rage, and noticing that, Sigrid took a deep breath. Silver then swept in, too, and she noticed the rider was Seb, Tomas’s best friend. They had often done some crazy things together, but this was too much. As Sigrid’s rage left, she drooped, no longer bolstered by her anger, she was left weak in the knees, but stumbled forward to hug Tomas, just to hold him.

Tomas was still cold, angry at her for overreacting, and embarrassing him in front of Seb. He did ease a little, eventually hugging his mother back. He was surprised at the intensity of her volatile reaction. “Why is she so weird about me riding Baha? We raised them since hatching. I put the time in to make safe saddles and Mum hadn’t even noticed them. And, how stupid --upsetting Baha like that?”

He knew really that there was a reason why he hadn’t told her of his plan to try riding them, knowing she would probably refuse to let him, so did understand her reaction. But he had been successful, had worked it all out, calculating out how to use industrial safety harnesses to do it safely. And Baha and Silver had been so gentle, seeming to fly extra smoothly. The wind was still bad, really bad, but the goggles and his dry suit he had thrown on had helped. So he had been sensible … and he had flown, really flown, like nothing he had ever experienced. He had once been taken on a tandem hang glider, but that was nothing compared to this. All he could think about, despite his mother’s wailing, was to do it again.

He also knew that riding them was symbolic, a way of showing others that they weren’t monsters to be destroyed, now the dragons were spotted. “We need to start showing everyone they’re not brutal or nasty before everyone gets worked up and scared. Yes, they probably could be dangerous, but … all the more reason to be open about them, so everyone can accept them and learn”, he thought. Secrecy, now the dragons were grown, could make them seem mysterious and potentially unpredictable, vicious monsters. Which would then need to be put down. He too had heard about Tank’s attack and knew that now word would spread that this was not just some hicks-ville small town Instagram hoax. He needed to show everyone that the dragons were special, and good -- quickly.

Seb took his time dismounting Silver, holding back as he was a little stiff and unsteady, and more than a little awkward at intruding on an uncomfortable moment. Sigrid broke off holding Tomas. He seemed to have eased, and she know there would be no point talking to him further until they had both cooled off more, and they couldn’t really discuss anything too much with poor Seb there, looking pained. However, she and Tomas would need to talk at some point. She started to hustle them into the house, offering to get snacks, feeling quite numb.

“Gotta get the harnesses off.” Tomas muttered.

“Oh, of course,” Sigrid replied, actively noticing the harnesses for the first time. They had obviously taken a while to assemble, so the ride had been planned … without her knowing anything. “OK, bring them in then when you are done, and we can have a look at them.” She wanted to check them out, anxious to see how safe they were, or what damage they might have taken, to see just how close of a call the stunt might have been, but also, the beginnings of something else – curiosity?

A small, dull pang of jealousy might also have been there. She couldn’t deny that it would have been an experience of a lifetime, and she did feel a bit hollow that she wasn’t involved, when she and Tomas had been alone in their secret for all this time. She never begrudged him time with friends, but the dragons had been something that was just between them. This feeling was something to push away and forget about until she had time to sort it out sensibly on her own, she decided.

That nudged another unwanted thought to the front of her mind; how much had Tomas said to Seb to convince him it was safe to ride the dragons, especially when most people were just beginning to acknowledge their existence? How did Tomas explain why he was so confident in handling them? Although Sigrid was no longer with NuGeo and not worried about getting fired, she wasn’t ready to be branded as the one who brought these creatures into the world, since there would those who would hate her and, as a reflection, Tomas, if they knew about her part. She didn’t want Tomas to suffer if people decided to turn on them if there were any troubles with the dragons. It was her burden to bear, and Tomas should not have to live with the consequences of her action.

The boys stumbled into the house, somewhat dragging their heels, in case Sigrid was still angry and there were more lectures. After some lighter, careful conversation about nothing in particular, tensions eased, so Sigrid started looking at the harnesses with the boys, and talking very generally about the dragons, although the topic of where they came from was quite pointedly avoided. Sigrid also had no idea about what to say to Seb’s father about what had happened, or just pretend it didn’t happen and not mention it to him. She knew that wasn’t really an option, but decided for now to put that awkward conversation off until she could think what to say – as long as the boys didn’t ride again. Seb’s father was very strict, and she didn’t want to get Seb in trouble unnecessarily -- if they promised to never do it again. She also worried that getting too angry would just mean they would want to do it again even more, but just keep it a secret from her, which would be the worst situation.

Later, after Sigrid and Tomas had driven Seb home, they talked, Sigrid remaining silent to encourage her son to speak.

“Everyone had been talking about the dragons. Even if everyone was laughing about it as a joke, but all the kids were starting to wonder. I didn’t tell everyone, just Seb. Just when there were starting to be lots of Instas and SnapChats about it. Some were starting to get scared and that would be just dumb. People need to know, Mum. That they’re OK. So, I just started to tell Seb, and then we got to thinking about the saddles and climbing gear to try riding …”

Tomas then mentioned he had been experimenting with ‘calling’ them, with limited success. Some were more amenable than others, and he couldn’t always predict which one would come.

Despite Sigrid’s misgivings, Tomas eventually convinced her to try riding the next day – just a quick hop -- if only to giver herself experience and fodder for the argument that would arise about future flights. The glimmer of her envy at missing out on the first flight, with the sense of excitement that was just a bit too irresistible, tipped the scales, and she gave in.

Tomas called, and Baha and Fern came. Sigrid felt encouraging vibes – positive emotions – from the two dragons, but especially Baha, as she helped with the saddles, carefully double checking all connections.

“Wrap up – it’s super cold when you get going.” Tomas cautioned.

“Duh-uh!” Mocked Sigrid, teasing, but appreciating his consideration. He retorted with some good-natured profanity under his breath, and she just smiled.

Sigrid found the flight exhilarating, until the ‘short hop’ was hijacked; Baha didn’t respond to Tomas’s guiding directions, as she had the day before. He grew nervous but could only wait and wonder. Sigrid, atop Fern who trailed behind Baha, wondered at the change, hoping there was no issue, and simply hung on as well. The reason for the longer, impromptu flight became apparent once they arrived at the edge of a steep cliff. In a little sheltered pocket near the edge, were two new eggs. They were smaller than the originals, with the shells already shifting colour: a light blue and another dark green.

*Mine - ours*. Sigrid’s stomach flipped as she realized this came from Baha. “When did they start communicating like that?” Sigrid was shocked to see new eggs already; she was not expecting to see new ones so soon, if at all, especially with the eggs already shifting colour. Since these were creatures that had not verifiably been seen in recorded history, she had almost convinced herself it would be another eternity before another litter was hatched. This was much faster than she had foreseen. Baha was emanating pride, but Sigrid had a sense of misgiving. She could not tell what Tomas was thinking, as he stared at them.

Suddenly, in the distance, she heard gunshots. Looking sharply, she saw Silver flying in the distance, swerving sharply; someone was trying to shoot him down. Sigrid and Tomas shouted in horror, helpless. Relief flooded them as Silver seemed to swoop safely away, his wings flashing in the light, as he flipped around again. To their even greater shock, he then let out a piercing shriek, audible across the valley, that seemed to warp the air in front of him.

***

Three months ago

The snow was still on the ground, and Katka was bounding through deep drifts of it. It was a moment etched in Sigrid’s mind, because suddenly, Silver, who was flying overhead, had dove directly and aggressively at Katka. A moment’s terror flooded Sigrid, sure Silver was going to attack and snatch Katka. Breathlessly, she saw Silver then up safely, Katka barking happily and running to chase the dragon, playing still as they had when the dragons were little.

***

“What was that?” Asked Tomas tightly. Sigrid had no real answer for him, but hazarded: “Some form of defence, I’d guess.”

“Like a sonic boom or something … They’re evolving, aren’t they?” Tomas commented, already getting into Baha’s saddle.

A war of some sort was inevitable; it had already started. Sigrid now knew where she stood, sure Tomas felt similarly, even if the dragons were still full of unsettling surprises. She needed a plan, to make sure their right to exist was protected. She had no idea how yet.