Author's Note

I don't usually put an author's note before a chapter, but there's something I want to address quickly here—I don't know how common awnings are in the rest of the world, but in the UK they're basically room-sized plastic tents that you stick onto the side of a caravan to give yourself more space. Just wanted to make sure that was understood, enjoy!

Rowan

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Chapter 9 – Durness

Since that night, I noticed a visible change in Ashburn's behaviour. He became more affectionate—even more than he was already—and began acting more playful and silly around me. Whenever my emotions overwhelmed me and I needed to cry, he was there in an instant.

I was always glad for somewhere I could hide my face.

I still really wasn't particularly relaxed around Mum and James, but I knew Dad understood me. He always had; a lot better than everyone else…until Ashburn came along.

Now we were soaring above the brown landscape of the Highlands, heading north, north-west following my family in their car below, caravan in tow. I think we both very much preferred this to me being in the car.

The journey wasn't nearly as long as the bus trip north, only two and a half hours, but James' constant treatment of Ashburn like an animal made me feel extremely guilty that I was doing the very thing I'd penalized him for, riding on Ashburn's back all day.

"I just don't want to be a burden; I feel like I'm using you…"

"You aren't!" Ashburn grinned over his shoulder at me. "You aren't heavy, and I love flying with you! Plus, if I didn't fly you places I'd have to put up with your silly human walking speed," he stuck out his tongue.

I sighed, unable to stop the small smile that spread across my face.

"Okay well…if you ever think I'm using you, tell me 'no' okay?"

"Okay! But I don't think that will eeeever happen."

I rolled my eyes, and looked up to focus on the distance. We could see the north-western coastline approaching, and the tiny village of Durness. Just beyond that was a beach surrounded by cliffs, with the campsite atop them.

"Let's put up the tent along the coast, between those two hills," I pointed west and Ashburn followed my directions, setting down in the dip, which would give us decent cover to stop anyone spotting it. I somehow doubted the campsite would appreciate my tent being near their property.

"You want to hunt while I put this together?" I unslung my rucksack from my shoulder.

"Mhm!" Ashburn gave me a quick nuzzle before leaping off the cliffs and gliding out over the ocean to fish.

"Watch out for boats!" I called after him.

I breathed in relief at being back on solid ground, and got to work.

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Once Mum and Dad had the caravan and awning set up, Ashburn and I made a quick and stealthy trip into the campsite, and got him inside the awning without anyone seeing. There were only a couple of other campers at the site—October weather in the Highlands is never particularly appealing—but I still rolled down all the covers over the see-through plastic 'windows' to make sure.

Ashburn was practicing more English phrases and short sentences, when suddenly I noticed a strange silence. Normally James was making some noise or another, or the radio was on, or—

"Happy Birthday to youuu—"

Oh God.

Ashburn's ears perked straight up as Mum came down the steps of the caravan, a cake with lit candles held aloft.

"Happy Birthday tooo youuu—"

Dad and James joined in, and the former gave me an apologetic shrug.

I had completely forgotten the whole reason we were on this caravan holiday.

"Happy Birthday dear Aaiideenn—"

There's something incredibly embarrassing about birthday songs, despite the fact they're for you. I could only sit and grimace while turning red until it was over.

"Haaaappy Biiirthdaaay toooo yoouu!"

Ashburn was completely baffled, looking rapidly between everyone as they finished, but he still managed to join in the last couple of syllables.

Mum set the cake, nineteen candles ablaze, on the plastic table in front of me. "Make a wish!"

I inhaled, and paused, not sure what to wish for.

I had to think for a moment, and ended up letting out the breath to think. What did I even want? Exploring without having to work would be nice…

Then I looked up, and locked eyes with Ashburn, and it became incredibly clear. I decisively took another deep breath and blew them all out.

"I'm confused…what's happening?" Ashburn cocked his head, speaking in English.

"It's my birthday…I kinda forgot about it," I was still awkwardly grimacing, my cheeks warm. I told myself to get a grip.

"Birfday?"

I chuckled. "No, it's a 'ttthhh' noise, with your tongue between your teeth. Basically, we celebrate the day we're born each year and give that person presents."

"Speaking of which…" Dad reached back inside the caravan, and pulled out a medium-sized colourfully-wrapped parcel.

"We all decided to get you one present this year, since we know you'll be camping through the winter," Mum smiled. "Although I do consider my baking a present in itself."

I carefully unwrapped the box, finding it reasonably heavy, to reveal 'Tent Insulation'. It was apparently a waterproof, thermal padding I could put in between the layers of my tent to keep it warmer, along with a 'carpet' for the bottom.

"Oh, that will be super useful, thank you," I grinned.

Especially since Ashburn wasn't exactly fond of the cold at night…

"Can we have cake now?" James asked impatiently, and I snorted.

"You're assuming Ashburn won't eat all of it himself."

He was sitting there, nose twitching away and licking his lips every so often while staring at it. As I said his name he snapped out of his trance and blinked a few times. "Wh-what?"

"Would you like some cake?" Mum asked, beginning to slice it up.

"Yes please!" he was practically drooling.

I took a bite of my own slice as Ashburn tore into his, taking half of it into his mouth on the first go. He'd never had anything even remotely sugary until now, so I was interested to see his reaction.

And what a reaction I got.

His eyes widened, all of the little earfins on the sides of his head spread out, and he gobbled the rest in a flash. He sat there a moment, his entire body twitching, before his eyes slowly slid towards the rest of the cake.

I quickly stood up, moving between him and all the extra sugar he definitely did not need. "Oh no you don't, I think you've had enough," I pushed his snout back as he tried to get closer. He could have easily bowled me over and scoffed it, but instead he sat back and started flopping his head from side to side, tongue hanging out and his tail slapping the ground.

"Uh…"

That was the general consensus from everyone.

"I think he needs to go and burn off that energy outside, or he'll just run circles in here," I poked my head out of the awning, glancing around before unzipping it fully and allowing Ashburn to bounce gleefully out. "Okay, come on you mad dragon, let's go and-URK!"

I was cut off as he catapulted me onto his back with his nose and started sprinting, and I was just barely able to cling on with my legs before adjusting myself and wrapping my arms around his neck. He started babbling as he sprinted relentlessly along the coast, and I could only hold on and try and keep an eye out for anyone that might see us.

"Wow that cake was really good I feel so fast and I think I understand birthdays now everyone gets you a present right? I really want to get you something but I don't know what I would do I can't really get you anything because I don't have any money can I get a job maybe?"

I would have had a hard enough time understanding him at the speed he was speaking without being sat on his back at the time, but the rushing wind and the thumping of his paws against the ground made him almost incomprehensible.

"Okay, okay, stop, stop, just stop for a second!"

As soon as he skidded to a stop, I got off his back and tried to catch my breath as he continued to jump around as if there were invisible butterflies he was trying to catch.

"Bloody hell, I'm never giving you sugar again," I shook my head, smiling at his antics.

"OOH! I know what to do! I know what I can give you for your birthday!" he bounded up to me, falling onto his haunches while continuing to jump on his front paws.

"Ashburn you don't need t—"

"But you'll really love it, I know you will, it'll be great! Get back on!" he gestured repeatedly to his back.

"It's really not—"

"Please please please please please—" he got right up close so I had no choice but to meet his puppy-dog eyes.

I had no idea what he was planning, but how bad could it be really? It was Ashburn.

"…Alright," I reluctantly started to climb back onto his neck before he pushed me up with a front leg, and as soon as I was settled, he spread his wings and took off.

I inhaled sharply and clung on for dear life as he quickly gained altitude. I made the mistake of looking down briefly and saw Durness, the campsite and all the surrounding area swiftly falling away from us. I pressed my face into his scales and simply waited for the movement to stop. It steadily got colder and colder as we rose, and soon our body heat was fighting against the altitude chill.

"Okay, we're high enough!"

I felt Ashburn flatten off into a glide as my stomach settled, and I tried to slow my heart. I gradually raised my head and gasped at the view that surrounded us.

We were above the main cloud layer, a mottled grey and white carpet lay below us, to the point where I couldn't even see the ground through it. Thin wisps of white floated lazily miles above us in the endless blue.

"Are you ready?" Ashburn looked back at me with a grin, and I felt a jolt of adrenaline as I realized this wasn't what he was going to show me.

What was he up to?

"Uh, wait—"

And then he rolled.

By the time I was able to respond to the panic there was nothing I could do.

"ASHBURN!" I yelled, plunging backwards away from him. As I flailed and screamed, I saw him fold his wings in and dive towards me, coming not-quite close enough for me to reach him.

"It's okay! I'll catch you before you get to the ground!"

"WHAT?!" I howled, trying to tumble towards him, but he kept moving away from me. Was he smiling?!

I flipped around and saw the cloud layer rushing up to my face. With only moments to react I curled into a ball as tight as I could, expecting some kind of impact. All I felt was a wave of cold moisture covering me as the wind whistled in my ears. If I was trembling, I couldn't tell past all the adrenaline and shock.

When I opened my eyes again, the ground and ocean were below us.

"You just need to think logically, and you won't need to be scared anymore!" Ashburn was still following, just out of reach as I tried to manoeuvre towards him.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?! JUST CATCH ME, PLEASE!" My throat was raw but the words were stolen by the wind as soon as they left my mouth.

"If you know I'll catch you then you don't need to be scared at all, it's easy!"

"NO IT FUCKING ISN'T!"

I stared down at the green rapidly accelerating towards me now, my heart thudding in my throat so hard I thought I would vomit. I couldn't make sense of any of it between the panic, confusion and desperation, only that I needed it to end.

Ashburn was still tantalizingly close, but no matter how hard I tried to push towards him he never got any closer, like some horrible nightmare.

I could make out details now. Trees, roads and buildings were visible.

He wasn't smiling anymore.

"PLEASE!" I wailed, tears now stinging my eyes and being dragged away by the ripping winds.

I could do nothing but cry and beg.

There was a moment where I thought I was truly going to die. My heart stopped and I squeezed my eyes shut, preparing for the hit.

Then I felt something grab me, my stomach lurched as my speed changed, and after what felt like an eternity sinking, I was on the grass again.

I didn't move for the longest time. I stayed curled up as tightly as I could, almost crushing myself with my arms; I dared not move in case I woke into that nightmare again. I was sobbing and crying without much sound, my throat felt like it was covered in blisters.

I gradually registered warmth spreading across my body and tried to breathe like normal, slowly releasing my grip. As I allowed myself to unclench, my whole body started shaking uncontrollably, I could barely control my own muscles.

I tried to find solace in the solid ground underneath me, the grass against my face—I wasn't falling, nor would I. I pulled my head away from my knees, eyes still watering from the fall, mixing with tears.

Ashburn had curled himself around me on the ground, and I met his saddened eyes with my own, feeling utterly betrayed.

"H-how c-could you?" I croaked.

"I'm s-sorry…I really thought it would work…!" he drew me closer to his chest, and if I'd had any strength, I would have fought him. Instead, I was more of an observer, torn between wanting to run away from him and take comfort in his embrace. I could only wait for my trembling to die down as I soaked in his warmth.

I slowly but surely regained my strength, and when Ashburn felt me shifting around, he let me free of the scaly cocoon he created. I rolled onto all fours, cautiously putting my weight onto my feet and rising to stand again. Once I felt like my limbs wouldn't give out from under me, I fixed Ashburn with a scowl.

"What…the HELL was that?!" My voice cracked and I almost lost my balance simply standing there.

He lowered his head down and couldn't meet my eyes.

"I…thought I could…remove your fear, if I showed you there was nothing to be afraid of…to think about it logically…because I'll always catch you," his green-yellow eyes shone with moisture.

"On what planet did you think that would—" I groaned in frustration and clutched my head in my hands.

"It worked for me," he said quietly. "I was scared of swimming on my own…but then I thought about what you said…and I knew you wouldn't lie to me so I just…did it. And I wasn't scared anymore. I thought I could do that for you…as a birthday present…"

I sighed, slow and drawn out. Of course it was for a completely pure reason.

"That might have worked for you, with your…trans-dimensional super brain, but it doesn't work for humans. We call them irrational fears for a reason—logical reasoning doesn't work."

"I'm sorry…"

A jolt of fear went through me as my mind snapped back to falling, terrified for a moment, before coming back to reality. I shuddered at the memory and Ashburn stepped forward to press against me in reassurance.

"I'm…not going to be able to fly with you for a while. Not after that," I half-heartedly rubbed his neck, before starting to walk shakily back towards the campsite.

He didn't answer.

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I felt awful.

I thought it was such a good idea, that Aiden would panic at first and then see sense, and I had so much excitement for it…

I wanted to cry, but I held it back as much as I could.

Cheerlessly, I flew up into the air as we got near the campsite again, watching him approach his family's caravan. But I noticed something really strange going on, and they seemed to have noticed it too.

All the campers had gone down the steep cliff stairs to the beach, and were writing things in the sand. A line of people from the village were making their way towards it too, completely ignoring everyone else. My confusion and curiosity quickly drowned out my earlier thoughts, and I watched Aiden wave a hand in front of one of them, to no reaction. They weren't even looking.

I slowly descended, and when nobody reacted to my low flying, I landed in front of them.

They just went around me and kept going towards the beach.

"Um…" I glanced around at the loose crowd, who seemed to be in some kind of…trance? I really didn't know.

"This is creepy," James said, and we all agreed.

"Maybe it's some kind of local tradition…" Aiden's dad, David, mused.

"Th-he last person who saw me was really scared…it's like th-hey don't even know I'm here," I said in English, struggling with the 'th' noise still.

We all watched, a little scared but intrigued, and followed them to the cliff's edge. They were all going down to the sand and picking a spot, before crouching down and writing with their fingers just one number, over and over, covering the entire beach.

"..Three?" I tilted my head. Internally I gave myself a pat on the back for pronouncing it right.

"I…have no idea…" Marcie breathed.

They kept writing, smaller and bigger, criss-crossing until the entire surface was either footprints or that number, then suddenly, they all stopped.

And turned in unison, to look straight up at us.

I took a half-step back in shock, my eyes widening and one paw hanging in mid-air, ready to run. I knew humans were not meant to do that.

In my peripheral vision, I saw that Aiden was looking away, and managed to tear my eyes from the creepy crowd to ask him what had caught his attention.

"Uh…" he blinked a few times, looking back and forward from the distant hill, before rubbing his eyes and turning to me. "…Nothing."

Then we both went back to staring at the number-writers, and found they weren't so uniform anymore. They were all glancing dazedly around, as if they had just woken up. I heard chatter begin to pick up from across the crowd, and we realized what was happening far too late.

"What happened?"

"Why are we on the beach?"

"What is that?!"

They began pointing up at me and I was stunned for several seconds, before I quickly backed away, bounding back to the relative safety of the awning as the clicks and beeps of phones and cameras started going off. Aiden and his family followed, and even though it was just people moving past outside, I couldn't help but find them a little scary.

"What...just...happened?" Marcie stage-whispered.

"Why were they all...they looked almost robotic!" David said.

"What was the 'three' for?" James asked.

Aiden turned to me slowly. "...You think this is the Chaotics again?"

"I...don't think so…" I tried to recall everything Tutor had told me about them, but there was so little we knew. "I don't even know how they might have done that. There's no record of anyone from the Above being able to...influence people's minds. Did...you see something?" I remembered how I'd caught Aiden looking away along the cliffs, which considering what was happening down on the beach, seemed really out of place.

He seemed to wince internally, then shook it off.

"No, I don't think I did."

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The next day, David came back from the shop with a local newspaper. I could read parts of it, but there were so many words I still didn't know, so I asked him to read it out loud.

"'Mysterious Event & Creature Baffles Townsfolk'. That's…very vague," he began.

"Well, what would you have called it?" Aiden prodded.

David opened his mouth, raised a finger, and then lowered it again. "…Fair point. It doesn't look like they know who we are, which is good," he looked down at the paper again, and I could see the picture someone took from down on the beach, focused on me with Aiden's family to my right. There was another showing all the three's written in the sand, and the entire village gathered down there.

"'On the 23rd of October, at 3 PM in the village of Durness, over 300 people were subject to an unknown event, causing them to travel down to the beach and write the number 'three' in the sand, over and over, without any memory of the occasion. Witnesses all recall 'waking up' at the same time, and seeing a strange being up on the cliff, alongside some unidentified people. Some believe that this creature may have caused the anomaly, but no one really knows who, what or why this all happened. However, we have had numerous anonymous tips and photographs sent of this creature, from across the UK. Is it a creature of myth and legend, or extra-terrestrial? Let us know if you spot this creature, you can contact us at ross-shire…' blah blah blah."

"Why do they think I did it?" I asked.

"Because creating shock and spreading speculation makes them money," Aiden deadpanned.

"They're just scared," Marcie reasoned.

"Whatever. The fact is, people are looking out for Ashburn now. There's pictures, they'll start putting the locations together, the government will get involved…and they'll start trying to capture him."

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Author's Note

Well that was the shortest chapter I've written since chapter two. It was originally going to be merged with what will now be chapter ten, but I decided to split them up because it's been MONTHS since I've posted anything, and I figured you deserved it after the wait. I'm now out of college and have a part time job, so I will be writing a lot more, and regularly from here on (I hope).

Thank you to my beta readers netWARIOR, SteenGooier and ItsYaboi for also waiting for months. I also have a sort of big announcement to make! People have made fan art for this story, and Ashburn (because he's the best boi), and I've been trying to figure out the best way to share it while giving the incredible artists the credit they deserve. I've also had people asking for progress reports, whether because they didn't know about my word counter on my profile, or because they wanted specifics (which is fair, like I said, its been MONTHS).

So I've created a discord server! It's mainly just for the fanart, and discussions about my stories, but you could also meet other writers and artists there. If you'd like an invite, send me a PM—not gonna put that on my profile because then all sorts of randoms and spammers would join.

Thanks for reading! (and hopefully reviewing :) )

Rowan