Prrt!

The Dragon Soul

A week later they were back on solid ground. The Dragon Soul was big. A deep crater dominated the sight for miles and in it was the entrance to several dragon places. But Jan had his heart set on exploring the nexus first.
"A walk in the crater will be fun!" he said.
"It's just walking..." Katinka said.
Jan grabbed her arm and dragged her into the crater.
"You've been putting this off, but I really want to see it." he told her.
"I've got a bad feeling about this." she said.
"Those are just superstitions. Nothing can happen here."
At that exact moment a dragon flew down and landed right in front of them. The dragon was quite big and looked intensely at them. The whole thing got Katinka afraid enough to change. She shrunk down into her cat-form and clawed her way up Jan, leaving a series of painful claw marks on his body and perched down on his shoulder, hissing and clawing at the dragon.
"Woah." The dragonrider said, "My dragon means you no harm. We were just looking for some candidates for one of our clutches and he thought you would be a good choice."
"I'm sorry." Jan said, "My friend here isn't used to dragons yet."
He stroked Katinka until she was calm enough to climb down into his arms.
"I can see that. Well if she changes her mind about them, please apply for the clutch."
The dragon flew off and Jan hurried back to the room they had hired to save Katinka from more indecent changing.
"You're safe." he said as he closed the door.
"Oooh, that was scary." she said and hugged the bed sheets tight.
"Yes, but we should consider his offer. A dragon!"
"Not in my lifetime!"
"They actually don't hurt humans..."
"And what about cats? I bet you they eat them for breakfast."
"They can sense when an animal or person is sentient."
"Yeah, but that doesn't change the fact that normal cats might be eaten."
"Somehow I doubt they'd eat cats...cats are so small compared to dragons."
"Are you sure?"
"Relatively."
"Because flying would be cool..."
"Yeah, a lot of room to explore."
"Maybe I should."
"You should."
"ok."

It took Jan another week to convince Katinka entirely but the prospect of having a dragon could even pass Katinka's natural instincts to distrust anything bigger than her. There was one thing however they did not agree on.
"Why the Odd Frenzy?" Jan asked.
"We have had this convo over and over." Katinka answered.
"We have, but I want to have it again..."
"And again I tell you it's my choice."
"And I support your choice, but wouldn't you want anything more normal?" Jan asked.
"No." Katinka said.
If she wanted to have a dragon from that one clutch she would get one. Jan would most likely understand her reasons but she wasn't ready to explain them yet. Something about the eggs had touched her. There parentage most likely.
Katinka knew Jan wanted a dragon a bit more powerful, to protect her in time of need. He could be such a knight in shining armour sometimes. Not that she minded that bit, not at all. In fact it was fine for him to get a dragon more suited for him... but she wanted something special for herself. A kindred spirit, something as freaky as her. These eggs had actually been bred just for that purpose. To produce something unusual... if only she had had a purpose.
Besides, who needed to hide when you had a dragon?
Jan took one last look at his companion and sighed. He could see that she was determined and felt in no way the need to start the argument all over again. She was strong-minded this one. A thing he liked about her. He would join the hatching and see what would happen though he couldn't shake the feeling this wasn't the clutch he was supposed to stand for.

"Last call for candidates!"
"Hurry!!!" Katinka called shifting in cat form and ended that sentence in a weird meowy grouch. Alone and as a cat she could run faster. Just her luck to be on the other side of the nexus adoption place when the eggs started hatching. Her heightened senses told her Jan was following her, but he wouldn't keep up this rhythm.
Katinka stopped and turned, looking a bit at crossroads. She wanted to wait for Jan, but what if the dragons hatched quickly?
"Go on!" Jan called, "I'll be along."
But of course he wasn't. Katinka had raced over roads and trees, jumping to the lower ground of the crater. She entered and saw the hatching still going on in full progress. Looking in she shifted back, not many people were looking at her anyway, the eggs were vastly more interesting.
Carefully Katinka walked to the center. She was surrounded by other candidates, some people, some clearly not. Somewhere in the middle of her move forward she found herself feeling lucky. Not all of these candidates at her luck to at least be part human... but then if they were here smiling and joking they most likely didn't grow up in the back streets of Kalhar.
"I didn't grow up in the back streets of Kalhar... but could you imagine me becoming part of your life?" a voice suddenly sounded very close.
Katinka turned around, but she was too slow for the dragoness that had taken a liking to her. The calico marked female hatchling moved around her with an ease that dumbfounded some of the spectators. She wasn't big, but neither could she be called small enough to hide behind Katinka's slender back.
The game didn't go on for long. Hunger drove Prrt to a faster ending then she would have liked. Katinka nearly jumped when she felt the small nuzzle push gently in the small of her back. When she turned she could finally see the dragoness. And from the moment she laid eyes on little Prrt Katinka knew she had been right to come to this clutch.

Calico Cat-Eared Female Prrt

Continue
___________________________________________
The Dragon Soul
Cathair Fionabhainn
Back to Lantessama