....Roygbiv....

[roygbiv]

;249;....Jello!!!!!!! this is my very 1st time on this web site! this is also my very 1st time doing a fanfict period! Please comment on this stry. if it's not good, i understand. one needs positive criticism in order to suceede in life. anyway, here it is! i hope u all like it!!! P.S: some of the chapters MAY contain graphic scenes. (PG 13)........:172bros:

Ch1: The Egg

It was raining harder than it ever rained before. The wind howled hard against the trees making the leaves sway in its wake. The animals ran to their hiding places to avoid the storm for they knew that this storm was different from all others. The rain pounded on the ground and trees so hard it sounded like bullets.

A small figure was running in the rain; it was a little girl. She was told by her father to hunt that day for they were in short supply of meat. Her family was poor and she was the only one who could hunt in the woods. She and her father spent many years perfecting her hunting skills just in case her parents couldn’t hunt in those cursed woods anymore. Her parents had had close calls before, but they had no choice.

Strange things have happened to whoever tried to hunt in those woods, but she was left unharmed. The woods weren’t given a name; they just called it a haunted forest. The girl, however, called it The Claw because of the deep claw marks she saw when she first went into the forest at the age of three.

Her bow banged into her wet shirt as she ran back home; her arrows tied behind her back hit her head and left shoulder with every sharp step she took. The twigs cut her legs as she ran past them; her long amber hair seemed to grab the small twigs and leaves as it swayed from side to side. Her grey eyes were full of fear when she heard the thunder rumble behind her; her small feet ran faster longing to be home.

Lightning suddenly crashed 20 feet in front of her making her scream and fall back in shock. She got back up quickly when she heard the thunder only to feel a sharp pain on her left shoulder. She had a deep cut from a rock she fell on; with her right hand firmly on it, she continued running.

Suddenly out of nowhere, the clouds parted making a small circle as a rainbow-like object fell from the sky; beautiful rainbow colors trailed behind it making the rain stop. The clouds disappeared as the object landed; a loud boom was heard as it touched the earth and made debris fly in its wake.

The girl stood flabbergasted; the object was 100 feet away from her. She ran to it only to see dust. When the dust settled, she saw a rainbow rock no bigger than her head; she grabbed an arrow and poked at it. Nothing happened. She hesitantly picked it up; it was as light as a feather. She turned it in the sun only to see it shine beautifully in all the seven rainbow colors.

An idea popped in her head, she could sell it for food and clothing. It looked so valuable that it just might sell enough money for the whole year. She was sure she solved all her and her families’ problems.

She turned and found the path home. Excited, she ran as fast as she could only to stop when her shoulder throbbed with pain. She had completely forgotten about it. She sighed and slowly walked down the path that would lead her home.

Along the way, she found some poppy plants her father used to heal his hunting wounds; the seeds would numb the pain and the leaves along with the seed juice would keep the wound clean. She found a rock and began smashing the poppy seeds and rubbing it on her wound. She neatly laid the poppy leaf on top of her cut and sat down for a 20 minute rest.

She began to study the rainbow rock closely and realized that it felt like leather, it was also very warm and easily bent when she poked it. She could have sworn that when she gently ran her finger along its leathery surface something stirred inside.

The sun began to set coloring the sky blood red. She sighed and began to find shelter; it would have taken her at least two hour to get to her house. If she tried to walk home, it would be dark before she even had a chance to reach her house.

She luckily found a tree stump with a large hole in it; it was old, but it would serve as a good place to sleep. She gathered moss and grass to make a bed and wood to make a small fire.

She searched for a deer or small animal somewhere near her sleeping place for dinner. She knew that she only had and hour more or less of sunlight left and finding prey this late would be pure luck.

Suddenly, she heard rustling in the bushes on her left side; it was a large brown rabbit. The wind was on her side tonight, the rabbit couldn’t smell her. She readied her bow and arrow holding it steady as she aimed for the rabbits shoulder. She pulled the arrow back and released it. The rabbit heard it and began to run but the arrow was faster. It hit the rabbit through the shoulder and out the other killing it instantly.

The fire licked the rabbit hungrily burning the skin off and cooking the meat. Fat dripped off the meat and fell into the fire with a snapping sound. Smoke flew into the air as the fire fed on the wood; ash was flying burning anything on contact.

The little girl turned the rabbit over. Her father showed her how to place the meat on the stick and how far the other two sticks supporting the meat should be so not to be burned thus making the catch fall and spoiling it. He also showed her how to turn the meat to fully cook it and to know when it was safe to eat it.

When the rabbit was fully cooked, she took it down and ate it. When she was finished she threw the bones in the fire so other animals wouldn’t smell it. She cleaned herself with water she found and settled down for the night.

The following morning she placed the rainbow rock in her shirt, packed her stuff and was off. She found the path and eagerly walked home hoping it was as untouched as the Claw was in the aftermath of the storm.

She was relieved when she touched Canyon Valley soil. It was called that after a great storm that had formed the once river into a canyon. After that, many years later, the river vanished making it a suitable place to live. As time progressed, life grew on the eastern side of Canyon Valley attracting light rain to pass over every 8 weeks. No one knows how the forest became magically enchanted, but legend has it that every 40 decades it grows stronger and more violent to whomever comes into it. Therefore, everyone steers clear of it.

Canyon valley had little population; only the poorest of the poor lived there, the others lived 2,000 miles away in their sister valley named Iuka Valley. Iuka Valley was named after their King who fought many battles and was known as the most fearsome of all kings. He also had a bad reputation of killing anyone who would defy his word for his word was law. No one ever saw King Iuka’s face unless they are to be executed or sent to the dungeons; He felt that he was too great to show his face to his low life citizens. Aside from the King, Iuka Valley had many trees and much better game, more rivers, ponds, and much better houses.

Despite all of that, Canyon Valley had many travelers who would only come twice every six months. Only the most desperate travelers would come with unbelievable bargains to put food on their plates. With such luck, the travelers and the citizens of Canyon Valley could survive the horrid winters with the items bought and sold; the travelers mainly brought foreign food and little supplies. They would also allow trades in hope of making more money; Canyon Valley had little places to buy food and supplies but with such valuable or interesting objects might persuade the owner for whatever it is they needed.

As the girl made her way home she found her home and the clustered houses completely destroyed; and ominous wind howled making the destroyed village more eerie. The girls’ body was completely numb with shock as she stared at the village she grew up in.

She ran to her destroyed home in fear of her mother and father buried in the rubble. She knew she wasn’t strong enough to lift the large logs but she had to do something. Images of her family and friends flashed through her mind as she pulled the smaller logs away from what she hoped wasn’t her parents bodies.

Exhausted and defeated, she curled up in the ground she was able to clear and cried; she knew her parents weren’t strong enough to get away from the storm. She was almost positive that the citizens were dead for they mostly were elderly people or children too young to survive the storm. She was hopeless, homeless, and alone.

She wished bitterly that she should have listened to her mother when she warned that she shouldn’t go out today because it looked like it was going to rain. But being the stubborn child she was, she went against her mothers wishes and went into the Claw to hunt for her family needed the meat.

She forced herself up she needed to be strong; she knew her parents weren’t going to be here forever. She searched through the ruble and found a skinning knife, a small ax, cooking pots, utensils, bowls, fox furs, deer fur, clothes, long Sib strands, long rope, a needle, a large roll of blue thread, and a necklace her mother made for her. It had her name on a small blue rock her father found when they first went into the Claw. She ran her fingers along the letters N-I-X-A in sorrow.

Nixa put the necklace on and began to make a bag out of the deer skin. She used the skinning knife to cut holes all around the cut-out belly and tied the cut-out legs together; she used a long strand of Sib bark and put the strand through the cut out holes and tied a smaller piece of Sib bark into a tiny circle that would easily slide up and down the two ends of the long strand; she put that on the ends of the Sib strand so it would be a place to push the bag close when she pulled it and tied a loose knot in front of it when needed. She finished it by tying knots at the end of the Sib strand on the bottom of the bag so it wouldn’t fall down and pop open, thus spilling all her supplies on the ground. It looked a bit odd, but it would serve its purpose.

A Sib tree is a common smooth, lime green tree found in the outskirt and sometimes in the middle of all forests used to tie things together. It’s a very difficult tree to cut down but once cut down, the bark is taken off in strand and the rest of the tree was left for the animals to make a habitat out of it. The bark of a Sib tree is strangely flexible and capable of withstanding anything; it’s the ideal building and traveling rope. It is a long lasting tree that will outlast anything. It’s also the largest tree in all the forests; therefore, people only harvested the small or shedding trees.

Nixa put the items along with her bow, arrows, and the rainbow rock, which she guessed was an egg, into the pack and closed it. She paid her last respects and put the cut out legs over the left side of her head so the bag would rest on one side without falling or completely getting in the way. After a few moments she turned around and walked into the second home she knew by heart, the Claw.

When Nixa was sure she was far away from Canyon Valley, she looked for a place to live. She saw an old Sib tree with its roots arched in such a way that it made a perfect place to stay. Under the roots was the base of the tree which was bent up so sharply that twelve 6 ft people on top of each other would be able to stand comfortably in. The roots in front of the entrance were bent in such angles that a buck would have a difficult time charging into her house to attack.

She set out and collected moss and grass to make a bed and to find food. She would need a large kill to make the bed more comfy with its skin as a cover sheet and, if it’s big enough, a blanket as well.

Nixa set a trap her father taught her to make when trying to get big game. First, she would need something that this creature liked. She got the first thing that she saw, an old honey comb with the sweet sent still strong on it.

Next, she would need a strong tree and some rope. She chose a tall, immature Sib tree and tied a rope around the top and pulled it down in such a way that it resembled an upside-down “U”, and then made a loop that would instantly tighten when set off.
After that, she needed something heavy but that would easily be pulled off on the rope to secure it. She chose a medium boulder and set it less than halfway on the rope.

Finally, she needed to set the bait in a way that the animal would easily set the trap off. She chose to tie a Sib strand through the honey comb and tied it around the middle of the rope so that the animal needed to lean on it, pushing the boulder off. It was a slim chance that it would work, but she was willing to make it.

She had no choice but to come back later and see if it worked or not. She set out to find some berries to eat in the meantime with her bow and arrow just in case.

After three hours of walking around, she heard a loud roar and a loud thud along with a whipping sound. She ran back to her trap with her bow in her hand to find a medium orange Mania bear, one of the few and the largest of bears that lived in the Claw. The large claws proved that it was the one who made the claw marks on the trees. It flailed its long arms around in anger and pain; its left let was caught in the trap and looked like it was broken.

She patiently waited for the Mania bear to grow tired of struggling to get free. It hung with its claws touching the ground as it panted and growled softly in pure frustration leaving itself open to her finishing move.

She got an arrow and pulled it back until she couldn’t pull it anymore. She stared at the exhausted creature for a few moments and aimed for its heart. At such close range she couldn’t miss she was sure of that. She released it and it pierced the bear’s chest and went strait through its heart and out the back. The bear didn’t have time to react, it died on contact.

Nixa knew that the bear had more meat than she needed and she had nothing to put the meat in to keep it fresh. She sighed and cut the dead bear down; she tied the remainder of the rope around its neck and dragged it to her new home. After she finished skinning it, she cut the stomach out and put it in the biggest pot she had. Even though it was a medium bear, it was four times her size (She’s 5 ½ feet tall).

The Claw had many creatures, but the biggest and most dangerous were the Mania, Nab, and Irna bears. The Mania bears were the largest of the three, the tallest recorded so far was as tall as the inside of Nixa’s house. They had long razor sharp black claws and yellow bone crushing teeth. Unlike the Nab and Irna bears, they had orange fur and hunted alone. Their diet consisted of meat of any kind, any type of berries, and honey. They could live as long as a human could or longer if left alone. The cubs were dark yellow for three years and turned orange at the age of four.

The Nab bears are a deep plum color and as big as the medium Mania Nixa killed. The cubs did turn deep plum four weeks after they’re born, but until then were a bright violet color. They have long, pale purple claws and fangs; unlike the Mania, they hunted in packs. Their diet consisted of deer and fox meat and different kinds of berries; Nab bears, unlike the Mania, only killed humans when they got too close to their violet cubs.

The Irna bears are a forest green color and are half the size of the Nab bears. The cubs were a lime green color for six years, and then turned forest green. Their diet consisted of different berries and an occasional deer. Because of that, their white claws and teeth are short and somewhat dull. Don’t be fooled however, their bite and paw blows can easily break bones. They also didn’t eat humans unless they got too close to their cubs like the Nab bears.

As Nixa got the fire started several meters away from the Sib tree, something in her pack began to stir; it made a low ringing sound that Nixa mistook for a bird’s squawk. Ignoring it, she began to boil the stew and hang the two arms of the Mania bear over the fire. She sighed irritated at the large amount of food she was wasting; it was more than enough for her family to eat for a few months.

She went outside for the last time that night to gather some poppy plants for her wound and some sand colored flower called Nightwillow weed; night was drawing near and she needed to hurry. She returned quickly and tended her wound. It was healing quite well, to her surprise, and didn’t hurt so much anymore.

After she finished eating, she dragged the bear as far as she could away from her home. She covered her tracks with Nightwillow juice; it was the foulest smelling plant used to drive unwanted guests away. The only way to be rid of the smell was to rub Poppy juice on the unlucky spot and leave it overnight.

She rubbed the remaining Poppy juice on her hands and settled down for the night; she put the upper part of the Mania bear on the floor and covered herself with the rest. She got up to bring the rainbow egg with her; she believed if she made it warm enough it would hatch. Finally content, she fell asleep with the bag as her pillow and the egg in her arms.

Ch2: Roygbiv

The sun slowly crept across the fading deep blue sky; red, violet, and orange colors were seen as the sun gently rose across the sky. The sun’s rays danced along the sleeping forest waking the creatures of the Claw to welcome the day.

Nixa stirred and woke up; she rubbed her eyes and welcomed the new day. She made her bed, put the egg in her shirt, and went to the river several yards away to wash up. Even though she didn’t have toothpaste, her father showed her a plant that would clean teeth just the same. It was a light gold plant called Ninbrum; the juice from the plant was taken out by biting on it and rubbing the yellow liquid with the finger on the teeth. She quickly brushed her teeth and washed her face to go gather berries for breakfast.

She returned full and content for the time being and began to make clothes for the winter out of the fox fur and a better pillow with some of the Mania fur. She measured herself with some of the Sib strands and marking it with a small cut on the fur every few inches. She made the winter clothes loose just in case she couldn’t find more furry animals for later years. She made the pillow by cutting ¼ of the large Mania fur, stuffing it with grass and moss, and sewing it closed. It was fairly large, but it would last as long as it remained undamaged and dry.

Once she was finished, she sat outside the Sib tree to make out objects on the clouds floating lazily in the sky. A rainbow suddenly appeared across the sky making it all the more enjoyable.

She suddenly felt the egg shake violently in her shirt. Terrified, she pulled out her shirt and let the egg fall to the soft ground. It started to glow in all the seven colors as it did when she first saw it. It began to make a low humming noise as it began to glow even brighter. Bewildered, Nixa took several steps back fearing that the egg would explode.

A loud cracking sound came from the egg as a large white crack ran along the eggs surface. More and more came until the egg had cracks all over creating a weird diamond pattern. Suddenly, it broke sending the egg shell everywhere with a loud noise that sounded like glass shattering. The light dimmed revealing a small glowing blob standing on some stray egg shells. The blob stood up carrying a small piece of egg shell in its mouth; the glowing dimmed revealing a baby dragon.

The baby dragon was as small as a full grown Chihuahua, but looked very slim and strong. The scales were in a rainbow pattern starting with a larger orange strand on its back and neck followed with a yellow strand outlining it. It had red stripes that were only on the orange and yellow strands with lavender fur running down the back of its thin triangular head and neck. Green followed suite along with blue ending with a large indigo strand underneath the jaw, neck, belly, and tail with a hint of violet on the tip. The legs followed the same pattern but the feet were violet and had long white talons. Its eyes, however, were a mixture of indigo and violet which made it all the more stunning. And if that wasn’t enough, it had wings that followed the same suite as its body did along with tail feathers that covered the sides of the tip of its tail that followed the same pattern.

It stared up at her with unblinking eyes; the egg shell in its mouth was shaped like a feather with the rainbow pattern on it. It cocked its head as it studied her terrified face and began to walk forward when Nixa fell down on her butt with shock.

Nixa nearly screamed when the dragon walked to her. She wanted to run, but her small legs wouldn’t move. She thought that dragons died a long time ago. The story of their death seemed to be nothing but lies now that one was alive and walking to her. A soft purring noise was heard when from the dragon.

The purring seemed to soothe her as she curiously reached out her right hand to touch it. The dragon seemed to enjoy her touch and arched its back like a cat as she ran her hand along its smooth back. When she placed her fingers behind its small head to scratch it, the baby dragon pressed the egg shell to her hand. Surprised, she quickly pulled her hand back and examined it.

The egg shell seemed to melt into her skin as the feather shape branded itself as a tattoo on her hand. She rubbed her fingers on the tattoo but felt nothing but skin. The rainbow feather seemed to glitter in the sunlight as she stared in awe.

The dragon flew onto her shoulder gently gripping with its sharp talons. It rubbed its small head against her cheek and purred loudly. It leaned its tiny head against Nixa’s rubbing fingers enjoying every moment of it.

Nixa never had a pet before and was overjoyed that the little dragon seemed to like her. She studied the hatchlings color and decided on a name.

“Little dragon” she whispered, "I’ll call you Roygbiv on behalf of your beautiful rainbow colors” The little dragon seemed to understand as it lifted its head, looked her in the eyes and nodded.

.......;381; PLZ COMMENT!!! thank u for ur time.;250; ..........

 

[roygbiv]

.......sry! this 1 took a while, but here's Ch3, 4, nd 5!!!!!! Note: things get a little graphic here, so be warned......

Ch3: Dragon Rider

Morning came once again. Today was different; it took a long while for the sun to rise. The weather was hotter than ever making the animals cower away in their cool dens. Despite the weather, there were a few clouds roaming here and there making the day seem less horrid.

Summer had come at last. Nixa was now a 6ft healthy little teen going on 15 this year while Roygbiv was a well built, four month old, 22ft tall hatchling and still growing a few feet every week.

Throughout the months, Nixa taught Roygbiv how to speak English. Nixa figured if Roygbiv understood her then it would catch on quick. On top of that, Nixa tried to teach Roygbiv how to write every single word she knew.

Tempers grew short as the struggling Roygbiv tried to learn all it could. Nixa was surprised at how hard it was for Roygbiv to learn everything and tried to end the suffering for her poor dragon, but the hard headed Roygbiv was determined to learn everything so it would be able to communicate with Nixa. Luckily, it only took Roygbiv two months to speak without a heavy accent and to write every word it spoke with ease.

One evening as both Roygbiv and Nixa came back home with their freshly caught prey, Nixa decided to ask Roygbiv a very important question.

“Roygbiv are you a boy or a girl?” Nixa turned to her tall and slim rainbow dragon.

Roygbiv seemed startled by this sudden question but answered anyway. “A girl, why are you so interested all of a sudden?” amused by Nixa’s sudden shock, she cocked her head slightly to the side and smiled, “You thought I was a boy uh? Well, male dragons of my species have bat-like wings and have a bigger built than us girls” She flexed her wings and took her kill to the built fire.

“I’m sorry” Nixa whispered, “I didn’t mean to offend you I just thought…” Her voice trembled with such fear and sadness that she couldn’t go on. She was so terrified of offending her friend that it tore her up inside. She mistook Roygbiv’s smile for an offended frown and quickly turned away from her and cried.

“Hey, hey, it’s ok” Roygbiv purred, “You didn’t know, it’s normal for humans to question what they don’t understand” and quickly trotted to Nixa’s side to comfort her. She wrapped her tail around Nixa’s waist and gave her an affectionate lick on the cheek. “Now, let’s go set up supper so we can be ready for our first flying lesson tomorrow” Roygbiv chirped happily.

“Our first what!?” Nixa gasped, “Did you say flying lesson? Us? Up in the air? Where we could fall and die?” She shivered and gripped Roygbiv’s tail. She was terrified of having her feet off the ground. Sure she saw Roygbiv fly and it did look like fun, but she never thought of accompanying Roygbiv on her daily flights.

Roygbiv roared with laughter, “Yes our flying lesson” Roygbiv giggled, “C’mon! It’s fun to feel the wind in your hair! I’ve seen the looks you give me when I’m flying in the sky; you want to try it too. Now, we’re gonna eat and get a good nights rest for tomorrow!” Roygbiv sang and gave Nixa one last quick hug and went to prepare dinner.

Nixa tossed and turned in the ‘bed’, her mind ran with the horrid images of falling off of Roygbiv’s back, Roygbiv crashing, or of them being attacked by a flying meat eating creature. But she reassured herself that Roygbiv was a pretty good flyer. Finally calm, she went to sleep.

Roygbiv gently snored next to her. As soon as Roygbiv hatched, she made adjustments for the baby dragon to sleep with her. Nixa was relieved when Roygbiv grew no wider than the entrance of their home. However, Roygbivs’ wings did get caught in the roots every now and then. The roots didn’t damage her tough rainbow hide when she would make her way into the house. Either way, it was nice to have someone with her in the big wilderness of the Claw.

The next morning, Nixa woke to the endless nudging of her restless Roygbiv. It was time for their flying lesson. After a quick wash up, they set out to find something as a saddle for Nixa to ride on.

Luckily, Roygbiv saved the hide of a Nab bear she caught a few weeks ago just in case Nixa needed more clothes for the winter. It was a bit dirty, but it would do.

Nixa cut it apart with the skinning knife and measured it on Roygbiv’s back. Once measured, she made it so she could stuff the pieces she would sit on with moss and Sheep beard; a fluffy white cotton weed found near Nightwillow weed. With the left over strands of Nab fur, she cut them down to strands and measured them around Roygbiv’s belly, upper part of the legs, upper tail, and lower neck. Once she had everything measured, she sewed them together. She made the strands around the neck, belly, tail, and legs loose so Roygbiv wouldn’t outgrow them in the coming months.

Once everything was finished, Nixa put it on Roygbiv. It fit almost perfectly with the exception of the loose strands; it would still hold anyway.

Roygbiv looked at herself in their pond “Well, how do I look? I think I look like a horse…” she snorted glancing at Nixa’s reflection.

Nixa fumbled her fingers nervously “I think you look all right. If a horse saw you, they would be green with envy” Nixa giggled looking proudly at her hard work.

Roygbiv looked startled for a moment “I didn’t mean you did a horrible job!” Roygbiv squeaked, “I just mean that I’m not used to seeing myself with a saddle on that’s all! But I like it, I really like it! All the horses it the world would line up for a saddle like mine.” Roygbiv hummed and gave Nixa an affectionate lick on the cheek relieved that she made Nixa laugh at her comments.

Roygbiv kneeled down low enough for Nixa to climb on. She felt the little girl tremble and hugged her neck as Roygbiv stretched out her long wings and flapped. Once she hovered in the air, she made harder flaps with her wings to get more airlift. When she was sure she had enough lift to take off, she made one last powerful flap of her wings and soared into the sky.

Nixa screeched with fear when Roygbiv took off. She squeezed her eyes shut with the fear of seeing the horrid images she saw last night. ‘We’re gonna die, we’re gonna die! I want down! PLEASE DON’T LET US DIE! I DON’T WANNA DIE!!’ was all that was going through her mind.

‘Woman! Open your eyes! We’re not gonna die!’ a loud voice snapped making Nixa open her eyes in surprise. Was she hearing things? Did the air do something horrible to her mind? ‘Wh-Who’s that?’ Nixa whimpered.

‘It’s me, Roygbiv. We can talk telepathically to each other. No matter how far we are, we can always talk to each other.’ Roygbiv hummed looking over at the surprised Nixa. ‘It’s a special bond that the Rider, you, and the Dragon, me, share. I chose you as my rider; we’re partners in a way. That was the reason why I put that tattoo on you. It signifies that I belong to you and you belong to me. I can feel and hear whatever you do and visa versa. And’ a wide grin appeared on her face, ‘that tattoo also gives you magical powers so you can fight along side me when needed.’

Nixa was completely confused ‘I’m a what? Not that I’m not grateful, but why did you choose me? And magic? Me?’ the fear of flying had completely evaporated from her bewildered mind.

As they flew, Roygbiv explained about Dragon Riders. ‘They used dragons as a weapon for good or evil in the old days when wars against all magical creatures began. The good Dragon Rider’s ended the magical war and brought peace to the land. I chose you because, one, I like you and, two, peace between the magical creatures of the land has been broken by an evil group of Dragon Rider’s called ‘Ajoon’ who believe that Dragon Riders should rule the world.

Now, Rider’s weren’t made to be helpless in battle. As I told you, they were used in the Great War and thus were blessed by the race they protected with magic. Dragons already have magic that’s stronger that the Rider’s magic. But when combined, it’s far more powerful than all the magical armies put together. However, if the Rider and its Dragon aren’t trained, they can be easily defeated.

Here’s the fun part! In order to use the magic, you need to picture what you want to happen and concentrate hard on that image in order to make it happen. For example, water rises from the pond in the shape of a ball or a pebble floating in the air. Now, the catch is that you can’t make impossible things happen like a rabbit turning into a tree or a cloud turning into a bird. Only I can do that. And I can change into anything I want as you can with my help. It’ll take time to master it, but I’ll teach you all I can. Now back to FLYING!!!!’ Roygbiv tooted joyfully and did a back flip.

Nixa was confused. ‘I’m just a little girl surviving in the woods with a pet Dragon. Well, maybe not a pet, but still a Dragon. I’m no different from the other kid’s right? Sure I’m the only one who can go into the Claw, but that’s a coincidence right? Oh, who am I kidding, it kind of makes sense now that I think about it. I mean, Roygbiv DID choose me. I guess I’m made for this’ She sighed and tried to enjoy the ride.

Roygbiv turned this way and that, up and down, loops to the left and dives to the right. Nixa quickly began to enjoy herself and even raised her arms in the air. They even swam under water for a few minutes.

After several hours of flying, they gathered berries as they landed for lunch. After a quick bath, they set off to explore the Claw.

CH4: Friend or Foe?

Colorful birds chirped and brown bunnies hopped. Crickets jumped from one weed to the next trying as if to avoid something in the woods. A fox lurked from bush to bush as it calculated ways to get a quick lunch. Wind swayed lazily in the forest making the trees and plants dance left and right.

Nixa and Roygbiv were walking through an old hunting route; the brave men who dared to enter hunted around the wild untouched part of the Claw for better game.

The trees were all bent and twisted together making it difficult to see the sky. The grass wasn’t any better. Due to the lack of light, it grew in groups around the tree trunks desperately trying to reach the sun. Flowers were big and bright but deadly; one must learn never to go near anything bright, poisonous vapors rise from the seed head every once in a while.

Strange creatures roamed this forgotten part of the forest. The survivors who made it out alive told strange tales about humanoid monsters much smarter than any animal they’ve ever seen, they grabbed men and took them deep inside the forest screaming; only when a loud snap was heard did the screaming stop.

Nixa shuddered at the thought of seeing humanoid creatures, but relaxed knowing that Roygbiv would protect her. No matter how big and scary those monsters were, they were no match for an angry dragon.

The weeds grew more and more difficult to walk through; Nixa had many cuts around her arms and legs. Roygbiv took the weeds in her claws and pulled them away making it wide enough for the two of them to walk through safely.

As they continued deeper into the Claw, they started to notice something watching them. At first they thought it was nothing, but then they would hear a twig snapping or the sound of weeds crunching under something’s foot. They’d turn around every now and then, but see nothing.

Out of pure fear, Nixa rode Roygbiv for protection. She would constantly look around as Roygbiv made her way through the untamed woods.

After a while, the noise got closer and closer. Nixa squeaked with fear and Roygbiv growled. It wasn’t until the noise was right behind them that Roygbiv lased out her long tail at the creature and slammed it against a tree. It hit the tree with a sickening snapping sound of bones breaking.

The creature gasped for air and struggled against Roygbiv’s might; neither Nixa nor Roygbiv could see the creature for Roygbiv slammed it into a tree surrounded with bushes. Only when the creature stopped moving did Roygbiv loosen her grip and wrapped her tail around it to bring it safely forward.

It looked like a Kappa, but then it didn’t. It was as tall as Nixa and had human like body except for the shell, skin and nails. It was all scaly like a lizard with random yellow stripes all over its brown body. Only one long vertical stripe could be made out on spine and its long brown tail. It had short white spiky hair and slim white eyebrows. The dark brown shell covered almost the entire body with the exception of the arms, legs, tail, and head. A circular gap surrounded those areas making it easier for it to move the arms, legs, head, and tail freely. The shell was made to fit its slim body like a wet t-shirt would; it was also surprisingly flexible. On its hands and feet were long white claws that looked more dull than sharp. But what made it even weirder were those piercing hazel eyes.

It raised its bloody head at them and glared at them for a minute and went limp in Roygbiv’s firm but gentle grasp. It seemed dead until it started to make a wheezing noise as it struggled to breathe.

Roygbiv and Nixa exchanged confused glances. The boy or at least they thought it looked like a boy, made no attempt to resist its capture. He reminded them of their prey admitting defeat as it waited to die.

Nixa nudged Roygbiv on the leg, ‘Roygbiv, what should we do with the thing?’

Roygbiv snorted, ‘kill him I guess’

Nixa nearly fell over with shock, ‘WHAT!? Kill him? Why? Shouldn’t we try to help him?’

Roygbiv turned to her, ‘You WANT to keep him?’

Nixa turned red with embarrassment, ‘Well, we can’t just leave him here! He could die. Can’t you hear him wheezing?’

A sly smile stretched across Roygbiv’s smooth face, ‘Ok, ok, I’ll let you keep him’ she paused when Nixa threw a half shocked half embarrassed look at her, ‘Unless you want Kappa for lunch?’ she giggled, completely amused at Nixa’s shyness of boys.

“What…..are you….waiting for?” a weak voice wheezed making the both of them turn to the Kappa, “just…. kill me…..and….*WHEEZE*… get this over with….*WHEEZE*…. Unless you plan on…*GASP*…killing me slowly….*WHEEZE*” His face twisted in pain as Roygbiv absentmindedly constricted her tail around his hurt body making even more blood spill on the ground.

Without a second thought, Roygbiv and Nixa quickly put the Kappa on the saddle and raced back to their house. The Kappa passed out just as they left the untamed jungle.

Nixa went to fetch some water as Roygbiv set him on the bed. When she returned, his wheezing turned into a hard cough.

Nixa grabbed a cloth and gingerly cleaned his wounds. Roygbiv nudged the Kappa every now and then to help him breath.

“Nixa you need to heal him with magic” Roygbiv said breaking the silence between them.

Nixa faced Roygbiv fearfully “Magic? Me? Roygbiv, I don’t even know how to. We never tried it” her voice trembled.

Roygbiv locked eyes with Nixa “I know but you need to try. Just remember, put your right hand to him and imagine him healing and concentrate on that. I know it’ll be hard, but you must believe you can do it” she purred and gently nudged Nixa to the Kappa.

Nixa was horrified, how could she heal him on her own when she’d never tried it before? Would she fail and end up killing him? She forced those feeling away and held out her right hand.

She pictured the boy healing and breathing normally; that was the easy part. She squeezed her eyes shut and concentrated. Beads of sweat rolled down her face as she tried to heal him. She wanted with all her heart and soul for the boy to heal for she hated to see things suffer.

Suddenly a loud humming noise erupted from her hand making her open her eyes with shock. A large rainbow ball of energy floated inches away from her outstretched hand. She moved it to the boy for it felt like the right thing to do. When it touched him, it covered his entire body with a see through rainbow sheet and completely healed him. It stayed on his body for a few seconds and disappeared.

Nixa panted, she felt like she put her whole energy into that ball. She leaned on Roygbiv for support for she couldn’t balance herself anymore. Everything was fading, her head was spinning, and she felt like throwing up.

Roygbiv licked Nixa on the forehead “You did well little one” she purred as Nixa passed out. She set her on the bed and curled up with her. She stretched out her long arm and pulled the unconscious Kappa closer to keep an eye on him.

Ch5 Old Wounds

A cool breeze brushed against the ripe trees, a grape tree received the most wind. Heavy purple grapes swayed dangerously back and forth. One large vine full of grapes made small snapping sounds as it twisted from side to side. Suddenly, it fell with a loud snap from the tree and plunged to the ground. Before it even had a chance of reaching the ground, a young woman held a large bowl in its path and caught it.

Nixa smiled, today was the perfect day for picking the ripe fruits. She was to pick from the trees while Roygbiv hunted for fish. Today was also surprisingly cool for summer, maybe it’ll rain today.

The Kappa was still asleep ever since they ‘captured’ him. Nixa was practicing her magic ever since that day four days ago and was getting pretty good at summoning her powers. However, she had trouble shooting her power at long distances, it tired her out much more than healing did.

Once she gathered enough food for the day, she went to the house and prepared lunch. She washed her fruit and separated them into smaller bowls. She set out four large bowls for Roygbiv’s fish for Roygbiv seemed to like having as much fish as the large bowls could hold. When she finished, she went to the lake to take a bath.

She set her clean clothes in a bowl with a cloth near the lake and took off her clothes. She stood naked and looked at her reflection in the lake. She didn’t look like a little girl anymore, now she was a tall, thin, muscular, large breasted, and large hipped woman. She glanced at her dirty clothes that were too tight for her and wondered what she could wear until she made bigger clothes to fit. Sure the clean clothes were looser, but it made her breasts and butt too noticeable. She sighed and jumped into the water completely unaware of someone watching her every move.
***
Roygbiv, on the other hand, was as busy as a frustrated baby dragon could be. She had caught more than enough fish for today, but wanted more. She knew that if she fished anymore, there wouldn’t be anymore fish to eat. She had cleverly put the fish in bags that Nixa made out of the legs of the Mania bear; it was fairly large and long, but it was good enough to carry the fish in.

She spread her large wings and set off. She had grown six feet these past four days. She felt that she would be growing at a much slower rate after the summer.

She could see the lake that Nixa was bathing in with something a few yards away from her. It was….she couldn’t see she needed to get closer.

Using her magic, Roygbiv teleported the fish to their house and made a sharp turn to Nixa and the creature advancing on her. But wait; now there were TWO creatures coming! The second one was running to the creature now a few feet away from Nixa. What was it? She got closer and saw….. THE KAPPA!! It was awake and running to her defenseless Nixa! NOW IT WAS DEAD MEAT!!! No one goes near her Nixa without permission!
***
Nixa swam to the surface and flipped her head back making her amber hair fall behind her with a splash. She was fully refreshed and ready to prepare lunch.

She was just about to grab her clothes when she heard a low growl in the bushes. Terrified, she grabbed her things and swam to the middle of the lake. A dark figure slowly crawled out of the bushes. It was a green Kappa. It was far bigger than the brown one they “captured” it had longer nails, a beak like mouth, a hole on top of its head that held water, and a bigger shell.

It turned its big head to Nixa and roared. The ground seemed to shiver as it roared. The water in its head splashed ever so gently in its head.

What happened next was so fast that Nixa didn’t know what happened. The brown Kappa tackled the larger one in the middle of its shell. The large Kappa squawked in surprise and fell to the ground spilling all the water in its head to the lake. The creature screamed in agony as all of its power left with the water. Its large body went limp and it started to make an angry whistling sound.

Out of nowhere, Roygbiv roared so loud that the whole Earth seemed to shake. Nixa stared at her baby dragon as she came closer. Slowly, she realized that Roygbiv was twice as large as she was last time and had two thick, enormous white horns on her head. What made her the more terrifying was the fact that her eyes were glowing and she was breathing white fire.

Roygbiv advanced on the helpless Kappa as the brown one dove into the water out of her reach. She brought her massive head to the Kappa’s shell and bit down hard. The Kappa screeched with pain and made weak attempts to defend itself. Roygbiv responded by biting harder into the shell. Suddenly, there was a loud cracking sound as Roygbiv broke the Kappa’s shell. A horrible bone-chilling screech escaped the Kappa’s beak making Roygbiv bite down harder.

Nixa was too absorbed in the fight that she didn’t see the brown Kappa rise from the water behind her. It wasn’t until she heard splashing did she turn around to see her savior. She nearly screamed in surprise when the Kappa grabbed her by the torso and took her to shore opposite of Roygbiv. Nixa clutched her load to her chest as the brown Kappa kneeled next to her; he was trembling from head to tail.

“Are you ok?” his voice trembled not from the cold but from fear.

Taken aback, Nixa slowly nodded. Not only did he have a nice and gentle voice, but he could speak English! She thought he was speaking gibberish when they first met! He looked so cute. She blushed at that thought. ‘He’s a turtle and I’m a human! It would never work...right?’ she turned away from him completely embarrassed. But both turned to Roygbiv when the heard a sickening snap of bone.

Roygbiv had broken the Kappa’s back; it was now more helpless than before. Roygbiv mercilessly ripped its limbs slowly from their sockets. The louder the Kappa cried the harder and more severe Roygbiv attacked. Once she was satisfied, she let the Kappa lay in its pool of blood for a few minutes. The Kappa wheezed weakly as the blood gushed out of its shoulders and hips. Covered in blood with a look of pure satisfaction in her eyes, she bent down and tore off the Kappa’s head. The body jumped for the last time and went limp.

Nixa watched in horror as Roygbiv devoured the remainder of the Kappa in two gulps. She felt the brown Kappa trembled and shivered with horror; his eyes were wide, but his hold on her was gentle.

Roygbiv looked up at the sky and roared triumphantly, bits of the Kappa’s flesh fell from her mouth. After a few minutes she turned her head towards Nixa and the brown Kappa. Eyes glowing and nostrils flared, she lunged at the remaining Kappa with a terrifying blood-thirsty look on her face.

The brown Kappa let go of Nixa and began to run but tripped over a rock. He looked over his shoulder just in time to see Roygbiv two feet away from him with her mouth wide open, bits of the other Kappa’s flesh still in her mouth and teeth. He quickly curled up in a protective ball as Roygbiv loomed over his trembling body. He felt her massive claw on his back and her nose at his head.

Nixa was horrified as Roygbiv prepared to torture and kill the brown Kappa. He had saved her life and now he was going to die for it. Nixa’s suddenly turned from complete terror to rage as Roygbiv picked up her head, opened her mouth wide, and pressed her claw down so hard that the Kappa was wheezing once again. Before Roygbiv could do her damage, Nixa jumped on the Kappa and Roygbiv’s claw.

Completely surprised, Roygbiv snapped her mouth shut and gently picked up Nixa with her free claw. Nixa didn’t resist, but wouldn’t let go of the Kappa. Roygbiv released the Kappa and grabbed him with the same claw Nixa was in so she would let go. Once Nixa let go of the Kappa, Roygbiv raised them at eye level just six feet away from her face. Seeing that Nixa wasn’t dressed, she used her magic to put the clothes on her.

The Kappa was completely terrified and confused at the two of them. First he saved the human, then the dragon tried to eat him, then the human tried to die with him, and now the human had subside the dragon, which didn’t make it any better because instead of being able to run away the two of them were in the claw of the monster and would be killed any second. He looked from the dragon to the girl as the two of them were locked in a stare down; the human seemed to be winning for the dragon didn’t bite off her head. The brave girl had a stern face while the dragon stared emotionless as if hypnotized by her stare.

The Kappa turned pale when Roygbiv turned and looked at him. He stared into those violet-indigo eyes that seemed to look into his soul and judge his very being by what it revealed. His whole body was so numb with fear that he felt as if he was floating on air. He saw her mouth moving but he couldn’t hear the words she was saying if any. He then felt something nudge him hard on the shoulder. Terrified, he quickly turned to the left to see the human, now fully dressed, look at him with a mixture of concern and anger.

“Well? Aren’t you going to answer her?” Nixa snapped as she gazed into his hazel eyes. It was hard enough to stop Roygbiv from eating him but now he wasn’t going to answer any of their questions?

Bewildered, the Kappa blinked at her and tried to talk, but his voice seemed to have gone. He didn’t think the dragon was able to talk much less let them live to see tomorrow.

Roygbiv snorted, “I asked you what your name was Kappa” she growled glaring at him. How dare he try her patience! She couldn’t see why Nixa wanted to spare this Kappa whom probably led the other one to them and now is trying to cover it up.

The Kappa licked his lips, “My name is Kaya, dragon” he opened his eyes wide when Roygbiv glared icily at him, “What is your and the human’s name?” sweat dripped down his hair and stung his eyes. The dragon was testing him! If he didn’t play his cards right, it’ll be the end for him and the human as well.

Roygbiv snarled. So Kaya was trying to be brave huh? That proves it! He is hiding something and he doesn’t want us to find out. Well, two can play this game, “Why did you save my Nixa? Were you and that Kappa planning to do something to her?” her voice was calm which, to her delight, made Kaya squirm.

Kaya hesitated for a moment then he turned to Nixa, “So, her name is Nixa. That’s a pretty name for the woman who saved me” he smiled when he saw her blush and turn.

Roygbiv roared making both of them turn to her, “YOU DIDN”T ANSWER MY QUESTION YOU USELESS PIECE OF MEAT!!!!!” she bellowed as her eyes glowed with a mixture of violet and indigo.

Kaya trembled and swallowed hard, “You didn’t fully answer my question either dragon” he whispered, some courage returned to him when Roygbiv seemed to consider that.

Roygbiv glared icily at him, “Very well” she growled, “I suppose we should complete our answers. My name is Roygbiv and the female next to you is Nixa” All of the patience she had before erased completely from her face in pure frustration that the Kappa had bested her.

Kaya sighed in relief, “I saved Nixa because she saved me when we first met. And no, I had no connection to the Kappa whatsoever. I didn’t know what he wanted, but I had the idea that he wanted human flesh for dinner” he felt Nixa shiver beside him. She would be spared, he knew that now, but he would be killed after Roygbiv was finished with him, he was certain of that.

Roygbiv stared at him dumbfounded. He was telling the truth, she could feel it. The only thing that surprised her was his relief when he found out about Nixa. Did he like her? Roygbiv snorted, it would never work they were totally different species.

Kaya turned to Nixa, “Thank you for saving my life again even if it’s for a short while” he gently whispered. Nixa looked puzzled for a moment then smiled warmly at him. He blushed and quickly looked away from her, she was a human and he was a Kappa it would never work.

Nixa turned to Roygbiv, “Can you put us down now?” she pleaded, it wasn’t that Roygbiv was hurting them that made her want to get down it was Kaya.

Roygbiv glanced wearily at Kaya for a moment then put the two of them down. Once they were on the ground, she shrunk down to her normal size and wrapped her tail protectively around Nixa.

Kaya was confused. Roygbiv put them down without a fight and was now trying to protect Nixa. Were they the legendary Dragon Riders everyone’s been talking about? Could they help the magic kind defeat the Ajoon? He shifted nervously as the two of them continued to stare.

After a very long moment of awkward silence, Nixa finally spoke, “Roygbiv and I are friends as well as Dragon Riders. I hope I said that right but anyway, we mean you no harm as long as you cause none.” She politely smiled. She felt as if she said something stupid because Kaya was grinning at her.

Roygbiv snorted, “Wipe that smile off your face Kaya. You may have won my Nixa’s trust, but you’ll need to earn mine. I still feel that you’re hiding something from us, but I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt on behalf of you saving Nixa.” She paused for a moment, “However, what puzzles me the most is that you are a Kappa, I can feel it, but you don’t look like one. What made you look like that? Did someone curse you or something?” Roygbiv cocked her head to the side as Kaya’s expression turned from weary to embarrassment.

Nixa was shocked at Roygbiv’s bluntness. She did have the same question going through her mind, but Roygbiv could have been a little more considerate for poor Kaya.

Kaya felt his face get hot. He didn’t expect such a question, though it was understandable. His story was a little embarrassing and complicated to tell in one day.

Kaya kept his head down, “Umm…….” He shifted his feet and scratched the back of his head, “It’s kind of a long story-“

“You have more than enough time to tell us” Roygbiv interrupted. Secrets, so many secrets! How she hated that. She wasn’t going to let him get away with it that easily.

Startled, he looked up “Umm…….ok” his face was full of fear, “Sit down I guess” he moved to a soft field of grass and sat down. He saw Nixa and Roygbiv exchange confused glances before following him and taking a seat a few feet away from him.

After settling in a comfortable position, he began, “As I told you, it’s a long story-“

“Well make it as short as you can. I want to hear it today and only today, got it?” Roygbiv demanded, once again interrupting Kaya.

Kaya could only stare at her, but continued “Ok……..but anyway, it all started when I was a baby tortoise on a walk into the forgotten forest, my nest was in a large tree that once stood in that old trail I saw the two of you walk on. Anyway, as I was saying, I was walking into the forest to see what I could see. My brothers and sisters warned me not to go, but I didn’t see the harm in taking a little walk. You see, I loved to explore and once my mind was made up nothing anyone could do or say could stop me.

I saw many things that aren’t here today, such as the three eyed frog, fairies, Trolls, dragons, several kinds of demons, and so on. Now-a-days, you can only see Kappa, normal animals, unicorns, elves, griffins, maybe dragons, and humans. Maybe there are many more creatures out there but who knows?

I was so excited in this forest that I lost track of time. I couldn’t find my way home in the endless jungle of grass and trees. I soon became thirsty and decided to find some water and food before it got dark. I eventually found fairly large pond that was so clear you could see the rocks on the bottom. I dunked my head in and drank so much I felt as if I was going to explode. I soon got sleepy and went to a tree trunk not far from the pond to take a nap.

As I lay there, I felt a strange tingling feeling engulf my body. At first I dismissed it thinking my body was asleep before I was, but then I felt that tingling grow stronger and stronger until it turned into deep pain. I wanted to scream, but my throat closed up to the point where I couldn’t breath. My body grew longer, taller, stronger, and human-like. Once the pain finally stopped, I was the size of a human toddler. I tried to move, but it hurt too much. I soon found out that not only did I change, but I was stuck inside the tree trunk! I struggled, ignoring the pain, and somehow broke the trunk in two. I tried to stand up, but my body felt heavy. I stumbled a few times before I could finally stand up. Me, stand up! I couldn’t believe it, I could reach things I could only dream reaching. It took me a few days to master standing, walking, and running, but I managed. I tried to go home, but I still couldn’t find the way.

I figured it was the water that changed me, though I still had to see things to believe it. I saw the Kappa that Roygbiv killed turn into a full grown Kappa after he took a good, long drink. He was weak at first, but after filling his head with water, his full strength returned. I followed him and found out that Kappa’s ate human meat. It sickened me how he could mercilessly eat a child and its family without a second thought. I wanted to stop him, but I knew I was no match for a fully grown Kappa.

Despite that, I tried to befriend the Kappa’s. However, they didn’t want a mutt like me in their clan; I didn’t look or act as they did. But nevertheless, I tried to win over Eaki, the head Kappa, but she was as mean as the others. Whenever they saw me, they would roar at me and throw rocks or sticks till I went away.

Years slowly went by and I learned, to my liking, that I aged every six decades. It wasn’t until I was eight “years” old when the humans began chopping down the forgotten forest in search of new game. It was horrible; all the creatures I knew and liked were slaughtered right before my eyes. The humans those days didn’t like us magic folk and wanted all of us to die, but only a selected few humans and dragons were there to help us.

I remember it like it was yesterday, a female human and her blood-red dragon saved me from death. You see, I saw a fellow Kappa trapped in a cage with a strange silver wire digging into its leg. Naturally, I went to help it only to be snared in the trap as I freed the Kappa. I looked for it and saw it fleeing for that loud snap of the cage made the humans come to see what they caught. They were carrying many knives of different shapes and sizes that already had blood stains on it. They brought those knives down to the cage, ripping it apart. Some of those knives cut me deep, which made the humans all the more excited. They continued stabbing me to the point when I thought they would never stop. As I lay there dying, a human and her dragon came to my rescue. They scared the humans away and healed me. I thanked them and asked them why they helped me. The human female said ‘You saved others even though they wouldn’t return the favor; that’s more than a reason to spare your life.’ She then put her hand to my forehead and whispered, ‘You have a good heart, it doesn’t take and expert to see that. I will give you a special gift, I hope you use it well’ and with that, her hand started to glow in a bright red color. I don’t know what she did to me, but when the red light was gone so was she.

I continued rescuing all I could no matter if it was a human or not, I still believed that there was some good in all the creatures. I even helped some Dragon Riders escape the mob of humans or creatures. Some thanked me while others just glanced wearily at me and left. Till this day, I can’t find the creatures and humans I saved. I can only hope they made it out alive.

It wasn’t until I was ten “years” old did the fight stop. The Dragon riders saved the world and brought peace to the land. They also bewitched all the forests containing magic creatures from humans for they were the ones who started the war. Only the ones who were destined to be Dragon Riders were allowed into the forests but with a twist: the forests they were allowed in was the forests they were destined to protect.

Slowly after that, the forests began to rebuild themselves. The Dragon Riders who defended the forest patrolled it including the female who saved me. It was very peaceful to roam the forests freely once again. I even found my way home, but it was destroyed and my brothers and sisters were dead. I didn’t know how I knew, but I could feel it.

When I turned fourteen, the evil Ajoon began to kill off all the remaining dragons and their riders to make way for a new age of “rightful” Dragon Riders. Very few lived, and those who lived made secret bases somewhere in the forest to make a comeback and overthrow the heartless Ajoon. Though, I don’t really believe that’s true because it’s been a good while since I’ve seen any dragons till I saw the two of you.

At first, I thought I was dreaming. So I decided to follow you to make sure. And now, well, here we are. That’s my story of how I came to be.” He sighed; he was somewhat relieved he got it all out in the open. He looked at their shocked faces in hope of them sharing their stories as well.

Both Nixa and Roygbiv were speechless. How could a simple pond turn creatures into magical ones? What would happen if humans drank from that lake? Would they turn into creatures or remain unchanged? They turned to each other and silently agreed that Kaya was telling the truth. How they knew, they didn’t know they just felt it. They argued, however, over who should tell their story or if they should tell it at all. Roygbiv frowned as Nixa won the right to tell the story for she pointed out how inconsiderate her baby dragon was to poor Kaya.

Nixa smiled warmly at Kaya and told them her story of how she and Roygbiv met, learning about Dragon Riders, her first magic healing done on him, and how her family died on that stormy day. She was a little puzzled when Kaya’s expression turned serious when she mentioned her family; she guessed it was due to the fact that his family also died in a fire or something similar.

Kaya’s heart raced; she didn’t know what really happened to that human clan. He felt sad knowing that he was the one who should tell her. He lowered his head to hide the pained expression on his face, no she shouldn’t see that.

His family also died in a fire, he could picture their cries of fear and pain as the fire advanced on them, slowly cornering them. He could still see their burnt bodies all huddled together, the oldest ones in the front and the youngest ones in the back. His vision blurred as tears slowly fell down his cheeks to the ground. ‘They didn’t have a chance… Why did they attack them? They couldn’t even defend themselves’ He put a hand to his mouth to stop himself from making loud gasping sounds. It did little to hide his crying he knew that. He then used the other hand to wipe the tears from his eyes. He suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder and quickly looked up; it was the girl, she was crying.

Nixa couldn’t help it. She too knew how it felt to lose family members and friends, she knew it too well. She didn’t see their bodies, but she knew they were buried somewhere under there. She saw Kaya crying even though his head was down. It brought tears to her eyes for she thought she caused his tears to fall. She nearly ran to him and put a hand on his shoulder. He looked up, startled at first but his expression quickly turned back to sorrow. She kneeled down and hugged him.

When Nixa hugged him, he wasn’t expecting it. At first he didn’t know what to do, but quickly returned the hug. He slowly settled down and began to enjoy the hug. Her hug was so loving and warm, he wished they could stay like this forever, but she loosened her grip. With a small smile, he too released her from his hug. Her face was still sad and tears were still falling. He brought a hand to her cheek and wiped the tears away. She brought her hand to his and held it there for a moment and looked at him smiling. He didn’t notice that her eyes were a stunning color of grey, which looked even more beautiful when she smiled. He returned the smile and looked deep into her eyes. She stared back and slowly moved her face closer to his.

Nixa was completely surprised when Kaya wiped away her tears. She didn’t notice how gentle his touch was despite his clawed hands. It felt good. She brought her hand to his and smiled; he was surprised, but not angry. He smiled at her, which made his face look even more gentle and friendly. She locked eyes with him and slowly brought her face closer to his. He looked startled and even a little scared but didn’t back away. She continued to smile warmly which made him relax. She then continued to bring her face closer and closer till they nearly touched each others noses. He tilted his head to the left and she tilted her head to the right. They kissed.

Kaya didn’t know how to react when Nixa was moving her face closer to his. He saw her smile which somehow soothed him, he loved her smiles. She then continued to move closer till they were nose to nose. He didn’t know why, but he tilted his head to the left and she, in turn, tilted her head to the right. When he kissed her, he felt as if he was floating on air. It was the most wonderful feeling he had ever felt. He wanted Nixa to be his so he could protect her. He didn’t want anyone else to have her or touch her, oh no, nothing would hurt his Nixa. He would do anything he could possibly do just to make her smile again. Suddenly, he felt a hard tug on his shoulder. Who would dare interrupt their special moment!? He quickly turned to the left and saw Roygbiv’s furious face.

Nixa was completely happy when they kissed; it was a wonderful feeling. She felt safe and secure in his arms. She wanted him to stay with her, to love her, and to possibly live with her. She loved everything about him, his touch, his eyes, everything. She would do anything just to feel his warm embrace, see his gentle smile, and to possibly hear him laugh. How would he sound when he laughed? She imagined a gentle or a lighthearted laugh along with his gentle smile. Oh how she would love to be with him every moment of her life! She suddenly felt a gentle paw on her shoulder, she felt Kaya back away from the kiss. Angrily, she turned to the left to see who disturbed them and saw Roygbiv’s furious face inches away from Kaya’s nose.