Iseult, Aslesa, and Radiance winged over the plateaus of Dragonhome, until they could see smoke creeping along the ground below them. Aslesa and Iseult carried baskets of food, water, and blankets in their front talons, and the heavy baskets slowed their flight. Iseult’s wings ached.
“No dragons,” said Aslesa, peering into the smoke. The charred ruins of what looked like an old watchtower lay below them. Her antennae twitched, sensing the air. “I can’t feel much...” she added nervously. “But maybe they’re just...blocked. Underground, or something.”
As they alighted, Iseult looked around nervously. The air was acrid with smoke, and her nose twitched. Radiance landed delicately on the ground, then chirped quietly.
Nodding to a cave mostly hidden in a tumble of charred rocks, the nocturne suggested, “Maybe they’re in there?”
Cautiously, Aslesa and Iseult moved forwards. Iseult angled her head towards the cave, sniffing the air. “I don’t know,” she said doubtfully. “Aslesa, are you picking anything up?”
Suddenly, there was a flutter of feathers and two harpies popped out of the rocks, fluttering their charred feathers. One was a masked female, her feathers gleaming white from behind a cover of dark ash, and the other was a male with large golden eyes. The dragons could see other pairs of eyes blinking out from the darkness.
Spreading her wings warningly, the female shifted to place herself in front of the male. “What do you want?” she asked in broken Draconic.
“We’re here to help,” said Iseult, setting down her basket and nudging it towards the harpies. Warily, the female relaxed and reached forwards with a talon to flip open the top of the basket. She tilted her head towards Iseult and chattered a phrase in her own language.
“What did she say?” Radiance asked.
“She called me Dancing Fire,” responded Iseult, and bowed slightly towards the harpy. “My Beastclan name.”
The male harpy chirped something at the female, who bristled and chittered back angrily. After a moment of exchange, she turned back to the dragons.
“Few harpies left,” she said regretfully. “Not many warriors. We cannot protect him.” She gestured a wing towards the male, who ducked his head. “Must be protected. He is... the harpy future.”
Iseult sat back on her haunches. “You want us to protect him?”
The harpies clicked and nodded, and the male spoke up for the first time. “My name is Kaerio. It would be a great favor to all harpies should you take me into your custody.”
“We can do that,” said Aslesa, nodding. Iseult turned to the female.
“When your numbers have grown again, we will return him,” she said with a smile. Kaerio hopped into the air and alighted on Iseult’s head, between her ears, and she smiled faintly.
In a fluid movement, the dragons leapt into the sky, leaving the smoldering remains of the roost behind them.
