Naren - The First Journey
Fhorbach woke as evening approached. Normally, he slept during the night, but he was being sent on a short mission to deliver a message to some lost lucaja in the central mountains. His old master would have never sent him on such a mission. In fact, he had never sent him anywhere except shows with other fancy lucaja. However, Fhorbach had sustained an injury to his left wing, and now the end of it bent at an odd angle. His old master stopped showing him, painting gold on him, giving him cute outfits to wear, and taking him outside, until finally, he was sold to his current master.
His current master did paint him sometimes. The gold paint always felt cool against Fhorbach’s skin, and he really liked the designs. However, he also sent him on messaging missions— Something Fhorbach was not accustomed to doing though his body was built for it. This mission was strange in that it wasn’t to another dragon’s lair. It was across the desert and into the central mountains.
His master had given him specific instructions. Some of the others had reported seeing some lucajas living in the mountains without any dragons to take care of them. Fhorbach had heard the rumors before his master had told him, and he hadn’t believed them at the time. How could a lucaja survive without a dragon to care for them? The entire idea seemed like something one of the more disobedient pets would make up, but then his master confirmed it. Fhorbach did not expect he’d be the one to carry a message to these lucajas to tell them to come west where they would have a home and be cared for, but here he was.
He stepped out of his daytime hiding place. Nighttime flying was safer. No one would see him in the sky, and he could use the stars to navigate. He stretched his wings before deciding he would walk the short distance to the stream. He stepped down carefully, his talons gripping the ground as he made his way into the valley. He was silent, which is why he stopped when he heard a twig snap. It was not from his foot. He tucked his wings in close against his back and hid behind a tree.
He could see a light bobbing some distance away. It seemed to be following along the edge of the stream. He did not see the carrier of the light until the elf made his way closer. His ears pressing the edges of his hat upwards gave him away. He stopped occasionally along his way to pull something up out of the water. It looked like a trap of some sort, but it didn’t appear the elf had caught anything in his traps. Fhorbach was not too close to the stream and felt safe in his spot behind the tree.
Until he noticed the elf’s face. He had no horns, no wings, no tail, and his feet were strange small flat things, but his face drew him in. His strange eyes twinkled in the light of his lantern, and the scruff of hair on his chin was something Fhorbach had only seen on elder dragons before. However, the elf did not look to be very old. His skin was all the same color, unlike Fhorbach’s brown with white spots, but still, Fhorbach felt himself wanting. What was this strange attraction?
He frowned with the realization that he could not follow up on it. The elf could be armed, and in all likelihood, hadn’t seen a lucaja before. Fhorbach’s horns, yellow eyes, and feathered wings would probably be enough to frighten the elf before he even before he saw the claws. The elf was much bigger as well. Fhorbach was small, even for a lucaja. He decided it would be best to just watch until it was safe to continue on his mission.
