Part 10. Impressions - Reaching for Ice.
Rubbing his nose, Zriss looked up at the nearing mountains. The range had been dubbed Fylaris, though he didn't know why they would name it so. He looked back to the two young men behind him. It was like looking at mirror images. Nick and Rick were twins, both 18 blond and blue-eyed. It was not that he didn't like them, he just liked to stay on his own more. At least then you knew what you were dealing with. 
"Are you coming?" he called back to the two, dawdling at the edge of Sparen Forest.
It had taken them days to get here, even using the cars as much as they could, but once the savannah had started to become hills covered with grass and trees, they had had to leave the vehicles behind or risk losing them in the forest. Losing them had not been an option. At one point though, cars might not be needed any longer. Zriss had seen the dragons the commanders had brought to the base. They were interesting creatures to say the least. They were babies, but even now they could carry one human on their backs and seemed not even bothered by the added weight. In time, Zriss estimated they'd be able to transfer up to 4 people without effort.
Rick and Nick looked up, their smiles too open and too friendly. Zriss had come to be suspicious of smiles like those. Usually it meant that someone was going to take advantage of him. Most of the time that didn't matter much, Zriss was content to float on the waves that others cast, finding his luck and peace in whatever situation, but this time it was different. 
While his blond, almost white, thick eyebrows contracted in an angry-looking gaze, he kept watching the mountains, and thought, not for the first time about the icy plains behind it. Life would be hard there and he would envy no man who hatched a dragon there...

***

"So you're sure we can pull it off?" Rick asked his brother, looking up at the towering shadow of Zriss, standing on a stony bluff in the forest.
"Of course I can pull it of." Nick answered, it was true that he usually followed his brother, but this plan needed subtlety, something Rick lacked. He had his own impulsive charm that made up for it quite a bit, but that wouldn't do the trick with Zriss. The man was far too pensive to be drawn into their way fast enough for them to make their move.
"I don't know." Rick answered, "I think maybe he won't fall for your plan either."
"If he doesn't, it's because you ruined it. Play along, will you?" Nick said, casually quickening his pace until they caught up with the Scandinavian. For a while, Nick just walked along the two others, watching the forest grow denser around them. The forest really was splendid, he pondered, all tall pines and some birches growing straight to the sky where the mountains loomed over them. The ground was mushy, with not much grass, but it was pleasant to walk on, like walking on a cushion of air. It was just the place Nick enjoyed to be in, and if it was up to him he would stay here to hatch his dragon.
"Excuse me, Zriss." he said, hesitating slightly on the unfamiliar name the Scandinavian had. Then he waited until Zriss had shown some sign of answer - a groan in this case - and continued: "Have you seen the surroundings? I think we could hatch an egg here. What are the plans for the rest of the mission?" Nick asked sweetly, knowing that there were none.
Zriss looked with those angry brows down upon Nick who did not even flinch, because he knew that was saying he was guilty. Really he wasn't, surely Zriss himself would do best in Arachnida Ice, used to the cold as he was.
"If you want to push me toward the ice, that won't work." Zriss answered.
Trying to keep his face smooth, to not let through that that had been his goal, Nick started: "I wasn't suggesting any of the sort...Not me..." he continued with big innocent eyes that showed no evil within.
"And what if he was, I haven't seen you make plans." Rick threw in his opinion.
Nick cursed his brother inwardly and then tried to make him shut up: "I wasn't trying anything of the sort." he repeated, "But you do know we have no plan, other than to wander. If we were to split up, we could cover this mission in half the time..."
He let that thought hang for a while, seeing it take hold. Zriss loved being alone, well he would get all the time alone he needed should he go into Arachnida, Nick wasn't intending on following him. 
"So why don't you head to Arachnida..." Rick started, before Nick shook his head, widened his eyes in anger and held his hands in a strangling gesture to silence his brother from a distance. Luckily, Zriss was so deep in thought he hadn't paid attention to the words Rick had spoken. Nick opened his jacket and pulled out three straws, nodding to Rick and making sure he had seen the straws.
"I know!" Rick called out, showing his dominant side again, a side that only few men could oppose, since it was oddly practical "Why don't we let Fate decide, Nick has some straws we could use to determine who goes to Arachnida.
"I don't know..." Nick said, trying to sound reluctant enough to make Zriss accept the offer.
"That might be the quickest way to decide it honestly." Zriss said.
Inside Rick started to party already. He could imagine that his brother was doing the same now that his plan had worked. Rick waited for Nick to show them the straws and then saw him tap twice with his feet against a stone. He should pick the right one then.
"Ok, there are two short straws in my hand and one long one. The one who draws the long straw goes to Arachnida. Fair?"
Zriss nodded. What he didn't know was that Nick actually carried a set of extra straws that he was holding now. Nick offered the straws to Rick and let him take one he had broken earlier.
"Guess I'm lucky." Rick said, waiting for Nick to let Zriss pull one of the longer ones.
Zriss looked at the straws suspiciously, but could do nothing more than pull one of them and see that it was longer. In the moment that Zriss examined his straw, Nick broke the last remaining straw and showed his own 'short' straw.
"Guess you're going to Arachnida." Nick shrugged, sounding sympathetic. Somehow Rick doubted they had fooled the older lieutenant, but the look on his face wasn't angry at all, just accepting. If they had pushed him long enough, Rick thought, he would have given in too.
"And what of you two?" Zriss asked, "You can go either to the mountains, or stay here in the forest."
"I'd like to stay in the forest." Nick said, quirking an eyebrow at his brother.
"Fine with me, I'll join you tomorrow for the first part of the journey into Arachnida." Rick said, feeling guilty and relieved at the same time.
"Well if you can wait another day or so, I can hatch an egg and I can go with you." Nick offered, feeling the mood his brother was experiencing. There was no more talk of each going their own way now. That had never been the plan anyway...
"That isn't necessary." Zriss said.
"Nah, we'd love to tag along." Rick said, his carefree charm at it's highest level, "Unless you don't want us too."
"I would enjoy your company." Zriss said, with only a little bit of strain in his voice that told Rick that he did actually like them.
"Tomorrow then." Nick said.

***

A day or two had passed, hiking and trying to hatch an egg every few kilometres. But nothing had seemed to happen with Nick's egg yet, it stayed serenely white and oblivious to their wishes for it to hatch. And so they hiked on.
Nick walked in front of Zriss now, trying to find a secluded spot to hatch his egg, strapped safely in a backpack they all wore, on top of their survival gear. It wasn't handy to say the least, and Nick more than welcomed a chance to hatch the egg and have someone to help him and the others carry their stuff. A dragon would be wonderful to have at this point in time...
Stumbling, he more fell than ran into a clearing of considerable size in the depths of the forest. Waiting for Rick and Zriss to catch up with him, Nick thought this was as good a place as any to hatch his egg. The clearing was alive with the sound of unknown birds and insects and in the sky above the trees he could see the mountains, covered in white clouds and white snow. This would be a marvellous place to live, Nick thought, placing the egg firmly between two trunks of a birch to keep it safe. A calm place with a great view and one that would not obstruct a dragon, no matter how large they eventually would become, to land.
In his mind, the huts were already visible, a village with sturdy square houses, disappearing into the forest. And then the image suddenly changed, becoming a vision of colour composed of streamers and cloths, hung on ropes and platforms with winding stairs reaching into the trees to gigantic treehouses in every shape and style. 
Shaking his head, the vision vanished, but the feeling of rightness remained. 
"That's how it should be." an unknown voice decreed, "No other way would ever make me happy."
Looking down from the treetops, Nick startled to see a creature, almost twice the size of the hatchlings he had seen before standing beside him, seeing eye to eye with him already. The dragon was black with silver wings and feathers, and a yellow beak that he had never thought might be a feature in dragons.
"I like this clearing, Nick." the dragon said, "It will be a perfect place to hatch more of my kind, gryphons to share the skies of the dragons as it was so long ago."
"Gryphon?" Nick asked.
"Don't they teach you humans anything anymore? I'm clearly a gryphon! Note my beak, my feathered front, and sexy furry behind!"
Those last words made Nick grin, "I shall not forget it, Duisterniss."
"Good."
How would he ever explain this to Rick and Zriss? 

***

Sharing rides on Duisterniss, who was big enough to carry two of them at the same time, though a bit clumsily, they reached the mountains in no time. Maybe only 5 days after they had entered the considerable-sized forest, they were through it, standing on the first slopes of the Fylaris mountains.
Rick stood beside Zriss while they waited for Duisterniss to return with Nick and their bags. Without that they could not do much. Not that you could do much with Zriss. Though the man had seemed to defrost a bit after they had scammed him, he had reverted to his old silent self, seeming lost in thought. Rick might just as well have been alone.
"Sooo..." he said, making an awkward start of a conversation, "How are you today?" It wasn't a very good ending, but it hadn't been a very good beginning either.
Zriss looked up with a sleepy expression and said: "What?"
"How are you."
"Good, good. Is that all you wanted to ask?"
Rick shrugged, "No, Is it ok if I go off to explore the surroundings a bit?" he asked. Nice save.
"Be my guest." Zriss said before reverting to whatever he had been dreaming about.
"Nick better get here fast." Rick muttered before he stalked off to find some action. In the end there turned out to be none to be found. Rick spend his time kicking some rocks about and talking to himself, a development he found very disturbing. When he heard the beating of feathery wings, he ran as fast as he could to hear from his brother.
When he reached that night's campsite again, Zriss was already setting up a tent - something they hadn't needed in the forest, but here out in the open the wind was colder - and Nick was unstrapping the last of the bags from Duisterniss.
"Thank God you returned." Rick said in a whisper, "I was going insane being alone with Zriss."
"I thought you liked him."
"When he's babbling, I like him, when he is normal it's like being alone with a moving statue."
"At least you got movement." Nick joked, "What do you plan to do about it?" 
"Hatch an egg so we don't have to make two trips every time we move a mile again. That way I won't have to spend time alone with him anymore."
"You've got a point." Nick smiled, "Go ask Zriss to give you an egg, he's watching the backpacks."
"Why?" Rick asked.
"I don't know, he took them with him. Who knows, maybe he wants to push you into Arachnida with the only remaining egg. Nick had meant it as a joke, but the look on Rick's face spoke of anxiety and worry.
"Zriss!" he shrieked and then ran to the tent to get his egg. Minutes later he was holding it, feeling foolishly enough to walk very very slowly to find a good place to hatch it. Turning a sudden corner, he found a small indentation in the wall that had probably been cracked during an earthquake. Looking at the walls, Rick swallowed, earthquakes didn't sound so good...
Putting the egg at the entrance of the crack, he did not shelter it at all, more like he put it into a colder environment... but the egg reacted, it split in half within seconds, revealing a female blue tinted dragoness. Her long dark blue hair, covered her head and shoulders, and her feathery wings seemed to have double the amount of feathers telling Rick that he should not count on nice weather in the Fylaris mountain range.
"Gita?" he asked, picking the first name that sprang into his mind. Odd, he had once known a girl named Gita in elementary... before his mind could trail away, the dragoness spoke.
"Yes, that's me, Rick. I'm rather hungry, do you think you could persuade your friends to give me some of those eggs and bacon they're cooking?"
Rick sniffed the air, but couldn't smell a thing. Somehow though, looking at his dragon - his, he could hardly believe it - he started to smell the meat cooking as well and felt the hunger he knew he shouldn't be feeling.
"Heh." he said, "This is funny, will it always be like this?"
"When I want it to be." Gita said, "And when you let me."
The feelings cut off and Rick relaxed, but he remembered the hunger of the dragoness and quickly showed her to the cooking fires.

***

Shoving Zriss over the edge, Rick smiled: "Just pushing you that extra bit, my friend."
The look he got back from the Scandinavian didn't bother him at all anymore after Gita had told him that Zriss really wasn't angry with him, just cautious. How she knew was a mystery to him, but she did not let him doubt her. The two dragons had sped up their journey even more and even Zriss had admitted that that was good. The weather had gotten colder as they went higher, trying to reach the summit and then go down on the other side. And now Arachnida lay within their viewing range.
Zriss stopped and looked at the field of ice, swirling and sparkling in front of him. It was beautiful, but nothing at all like his home country. Despite what he told the twins, they did not understand that he hadn't lived on the north pole. Scandinavia meant cold weather, ice and snow, hence he must be accustomed to this weather. At one point he had tried to tell them he had been stationed on the Bahamas for 5 years at the start of his career and hadn't been home in 8 years to enjoy a winter, but he hadn't so much as gotten the words out or they had laughed, telling him that it was a good joke.
"Are you coming?" Nick asked, "The ice won't wait for us." The youth laughed and hurried into it. Zriss shook his head. Crazy. He followed more cautiously, feeling the ground and how steady this ice really was. The two dragons followed him, seemingly unperturbed by the icy surroundings and most likely better prepared for it than the humans as well with all their feathers and fur.
"Guys!" he called after them, "Let's just plant an egg and be done with it!"
"Don't you want to explore the surroundings a bit more?" Nick asked, "Have a little fun in the snow?" Rick added.
"Not really." Zriss stated dryly and then returned to following the edge of the mountains, he would not dart away into the waste too carefree. He doubted those mountains would be visible in the night, and the sun was already setting. Arachnida suddenly turned a dazzling pink-orange that seemed to set the ice ablaze, reflecting the colours of the sun. 
Flying in front of him, Gita suddenly started to turn circles in the sky. Hurrying to see what the dragoness had found, all three humans rushed toward her.
"Caves." Rick said not believing his own eyes.
"Hot springs." Zriss nodded, I think this is the best place we could spend the night. Anyone for a bath in hot water?"
"Anyone for hatching an egg?" Nick suggested.
Rick immediately pulled out the last egg, handing it over to Zriss with grand gestures, "The honour is yours."
Placing the egg delicately on the floor, Zriss asked: "What if this doesn't work?"
"Then we're screwed, and we'll have to go all the way back for a new egg." Nick smiled, "It will, it has to."
Five pairs of eyes watched as the egg wobbled softly, as if the dragon inside was testing the boundaries that held him. Finally, it started to push harder, thrusting out limbs and wings. The head that emerged from the egg was white, with limp purple-black feathers stuck to it. As the dragon emerged from the egg, anyone who could count noted something different with this dragon. It stood on four legs, yet it still had two arms ready to grasp Zriss' pants and crawl closer to him.
"This is a first..." Rick uttered, getting a shove from Nick: "As long as he is healthy."
The dragon hissed at the twins.
"Awww! We made it angry." Rick squealed.
"Ehm...?" Nick asked.
"What? I got carried away by the moment. Never mind." Rick said, returning to normal but he couldn't resist another: "But he's just so cute, being angry!"
"Smeltir does not think you should find him cute when he can freeze you into a cube of ice within seconds." Zriss said, "That's what he says anyway and why don't we take him up on the offer?"
Nick smiled at the face his brother made. "He got you good!"
"How can something that small be that violent?" Rick asked.
"I think because he has to live here." Zriss mused, "But tonight he won't have to worry about finding food."
"Or keeping me company..." Rick whispered in his brother's ear.

Continue to Part 11

LIBRARY