Disclaimer: That which belongs to the glorious Tamora Pierce belongs to her. The rest belongs to me.
Author's Note: Sorry I was gone so long. You all are wonderful. Love you and stars bless! -StarWitch
Athis sighed. The tatters of her left wing fluttered at her, despite all her attempts to heal it. –Note 28 to Oran- Athis said to herself –not only do human healing spells not work on dragons, a dragon's center of magic is in a different location that the comparative spot of humans. - Oran would have a very complete book at this rate…
Would have had…
Athis forced her mind off the subject to the men who had surprised her earlier. Why had then men not seen her? A blind man would have noticed her. Athis shook her head. She would have expected the men to see her large green form and start yelling "Dragon!" at the top of their lungs. The dragon rested her long muzzle on her front paws, then wrapped her tail around herself. Meditation had always helped Athis think before, and this position felt right. A strange thing, considering dragon was not a normal state… She closed her eyes, slowly forgot the warmth of the earth, the pain of her wing, the scent of shrub and evergreen from the mountains, the taste of the sandy desert soil…
There had been a tingling sensation in her belly when she had tried to hide from the men. Athis drifted her mind to that point again. A tingling sensation rushed over her, reminding her of swimming in the Inland Sea as a child, with the sand wafting against her skin. She opened her eyes, giving a smile as the pearly violet film of her magic faded back into her.
-Better. Much better. -
The mage crawled back to the muddy stream she had used earlier when trying the few healing spells she knew. Tapping the core of her magic, Athis started reforming the patterns of magic that would make the wing whole. Delicate in the bindings, strong as a whole…
The spell dissipated as soon as it touched her wing.
-Note 29 to Oran: human spells really don't work on dragons. -
Athis studied the sky. The sun was almost gone, and here she was with a ripped wing miles from her safe cave. Without Oran too, Mithros show him light. Athis bowed her head, the only mourning she could grant her friend now.
Well if I stay out in the desert, the hyenas will send me to Oran very quickly, the sensible part of her said. And she needed a whole wing to get to the mountains any time soon. Her Gift couldn't do the healing. –Hm…-
-True healing magic, wild magic if it exists…-
-The men didn't see me because my magic hid me. They were on the road to the eastern parts…-
Athis smiled again, a fierce expression on a dragon, and shuffled toward the road, listening as hyenas barked in the distance.
~*~*~
The hyenas' barking was still far off, but it was making the group of men and their camels twitch. Maybe it could have been the camels also sensed the large green dragon studying their passengers with calculating eyes. The men, like the other two groups she had observed, had no clue that she was there, putting down any nervousness to the sound of the Hag's precious hyenas.
This group was slightly different though. Two of the men were obviously guides, another two merchants on the road to the eastern ports where their ships would dock. It was the remaining three men who had captured the mage's attention. One was an older man, his light hair silvered and thinning, but his hands still large and hard. The next was a servant, much like those many of the noble houses of Carthak had, but far better dressed than those Athis remembered. The man had sharper eyes too, not the subservient blank eyes she saw on the slaves or poor servants near the college. However, the youngest man took her attention. He wore the tan robe given to a foreign mage, with the leaf green patterns of a healer on the sleeves. His skin was pale, with reddish-brown hair and freckles across high cheekbones. He also seemed inquisitive. The elder man seemed to constantly be calling back to the young healer, as if afraid the man would wander off.
Athis smiled. Perfect.
The men took a while to settle, but finally the camp fell silent. Athis shivered, then made sure to make sure her magical cloak would keep her invisible. Keeping quiet as a large lizard could, she crept to the bedroll on the edge of camp with a thatch of reddish hair. Her paws settled softly next to the man, then slipped about the tall slim form. He stirred, forcing Athis to murmur a sleep spell over her breath. She gave a slight smile as she watched the magic slip about the man's body, making him go limp. Suddenly the camels started snorting loudly, raising shouts from the other bedrolls. Athis froze. What was she to do now? Her sensible mind took control. Her cloak of invisibility fell about her and the healer as the bedroll and its blankets fell from the young man's body. The older man, who now bore a sword in one hand, jogged from a tent set at the center of the camp. He noticed the tumbled bed, then looked about for any sign of its occupant. Athis stopped breathing. The man might walk into her, and then what would she do? She did not want to hurt the man, who had to be a knight. She concentrated on the invisibility spell, staring through it at the knight. The knight frowned, then whirled and stalked to the others of the group. Athis crept away, then allowed herself a soft sigh. No one followed her.
~*~*~
Athis sat curled at the rock she had first hidden behind, watching as the sun rose and made heat shimmers rise from the desert sand. A soft groan made her arch her head over to where she had settled the healer last night. The man had one hand to his head and was staring at the dawn sky. Athis padded over. –Are you well?- Athis asked. –I fear I was rougher last night than I meant to be.-
Wide eyes, the same green as her scales, studied her with amazement. "Dragon?" the man whispered, his voice soft. "That's impossible." He shook his head, as if to clear the clouds from his mind, then glanced up again. His hand drifted to his waist.
Athis shook her head. –You don't have your sword, and I am very real. - Athis lowered himself to her front paws in the closest approximation to a bow she had found. –Athis Termari, sir healer. And you are called…? -
The man gave her a wan smile as he took his hand away from his waist. "Sir Nathaniel of Queenscove, at your service, my lady." He paused. "Athis Termari is a draconic name? I would have thought it would be more like Windrider, or maybe Songcloud," the man commented. "Although you don't look like a Songcloud."
-Athis is my name, Sir Nathaniel, - Athis told the man stiffly. –Now, I would appreciate your help. -
"Oh?" Sir Nathaniel said. "How could I help you?" Athis dangled her torn wing in front of the healer. Nathaniel whistled between his teeth, wincing. "A moment, Lady," he commented. His long fingers toyed with the scraps of skin of Athis's wing, tugging the tatters together for a moment. Sir Nathaniel crossed in front of her. "You want me to heal this?" he asked her.
Athis nodded. –Could you fix it? -
Nathaniel frowned. "It will take time," he said. "You'll need to be still too, while I do the work." Nathaniel wiped at one eye. "And no eating of the hired help, right?" He quirked one eyebrow at Athis, almost making her smile before she realized it would likely cause the man to fear.
-You have a deal, Sir Nathaniel of Queenscove. -
"Call me Neal and you have a deal."
-Agreed. -
Neal grinned. "Then let's start working!" he commented cheerfully. "After all, who wouldn't want to claim he saved a dragon?"