"Joltiera, run!"

"Dad, no, please don't leave us!"

"Raze the village!

Mother, no!"

"Ahhh!" Joltiera screamed, as she jolted awaken, shaken by her nightmare. It was the same one that had haunted her for the past few days. Since the apes razed her home…

She looked around at her surroundings A cave, simple as that. Judging from the lack of light shining into the cave, it was still really early in the morning. She looked around and note her sister asleep nearby and sighed in relief. Her gaze shifted to the teen dragon who saved her, sleeping right next to her. . She felt the wing over her back and gave a slight smile. They both seemed too exhausted to bother noticing her scream. They were in deep sleep. For the first time, she got a better look at the ice dragon. He was about double her size and had the light blue of an ice dragon. He had ice-like protrusions on his 'shoulders' and around his mane but had a white underbelly, white wings membranes, and white horns that simply stuck up. He also had blue eyes.

She could not believe it. They really were safe. Last night had not just been a dream. She and her sister thought they were as good as dead after the apes had found their hiding spot in the woods. She and Aurora had gone to sleep that night fearing it to be their last. That they would be skinned for their scales and horns after they woke up.

She thanked the ancestors Colreus had found them. She did not know how he caught wind of them to begin with, but she did not mind. Much better than being skinned.

It seemed so peaceful right now. Being under his wing was a funny feeling. She felt almost… safe. Protected. Like the war and the apes could not reach her here. She would savor this moment for everything it was worth.

Yawning again, she felt herself slowly falling back to sleep, comforted by Colreus' protection.

It was likely about noon by the time the ice dragon shook awake. The sunrays had finally risen enough to hit the cave's entrance, though it was still mostly seeped in darkness.

Colreus yawned as he slowly got up, being mindful not to disturb the sleeping hatchlings. He looked at the two of them. Both were bruised and covered in cuts. He had not seen the full extent of their conditions in the darkness of last night. He growled slightly.
"Damn apes." He muttered. They never had a reputation for treating their prisoners well. What made it worse was just how thin the pair of them were. By his guess, they had not eaten much in a few days.

His stomach growling reminded him of his own hunger as well. The realization then hit him that he had to now provide for these kids. Not that he intended to abandon them or anything, but at the moment he had rescued them, he did not think ahead enough to take into account how hard it would be to watch over them. He was having trouble catching prey to feed himself as is; teen dragons were hardly apex predators, despite his species' abilities. Bigger things lurked out there. But with two dragonlings in tow, that effort would have to be doubled or tripled even…

He shook it aside. He would do what have to make do, somehow or someway.

He heard murmuring behind himself and looked back to see the pair of kids waking up. Both the electric and wind dragons were blinking their eyes awake. They yawned one after the other. After collecting her bearings, the electric dragon stared at Colreus.

"Good morning, sleepy heads," Colreus said.

"Morning," Jolteira replied.

"Yeah, good morning, Mr." Aurora replied.
Joltiera yawned again. She spoke up after finishing. What time is it?"

Colreus thought for a moment. "A think a bit past noon." He said, looking through the cave entrance towards the sun.

Joltiera blushed. "Whoops, sorry. We… haven't slept so well in a few days now." She answered.

Colreus laughed a bit. "Yeah, neither have I. I just woke up myself. "He stated. "I was going to-" but he was cut off by a yawn. Sure enough, the sisters followed suit shortly after he yawned

They each shared a laugh but then an awkward silence fell over the cave again. It seemed to collectively dawn on everyone present that they had no idea who each other was. He had rescued them, sure, but they were still complete strangers.

He would have to fix that soon. However, as he thought of something to say, he heard a low growling.
Everyone looked to Aurora, who blushed. "Sorry."

Colreus smiled. "Someone seems hungry," he said, turning to look at the cave entrance.

"You two stay here and don't leave the cave. I am gonna find us some breakfast. After that, then we can talk." he said.

Jolteria nodded. 'Alright, thank you…" she said, drawing a blank.

"Colreus. I don't expect you to recall much of last night, given the… state I found you in." He said. "It's Aurora and Joliteira, right." He asked for confirmation.

"Yes. Thank you… Colreus." Jolteira responded

He gave a nod and set off, walking out of the cave and taking flight. He noted his surrounding as he flew into the air; the area he was in was mountainous but covered in trees, with forests along the base of the mountains. The cave they slept in appeared to be a top of a cliff face. It offered a rather breathtaking view, but he did not have time to sightsee.

He had some hunting to do.

A little bit after leaving the cave, he found himself back in a forest again, at the lower base of the mountain the cave was in. He stalked around, looking for just about anything edible. He needed to find something substantial; the poor kids had not eaten in a few days. Dragons could go longer than other species without food, maybe even a week, but it did not mean it was healthy to do so. With all this magic in their bodies, they burned through energy a lot and needed a substantial diet to keep their energy up. He would need to find something decently large, like a deer.

As he stalked through the forest, he took the moment to reflect on a few things.

Just what was he getting himself into? He had barely been able to survive on his own as is. He did not know what kind of capabilities these girls had, of course, but he doubted they would have gotten very far on their own. From his guess, the youngest seemed about seven or eight, and Joltiera seemed to be pushing only a few years older. Eleven maybe.

Dragon only began learning the basics of their element at seven. It took years of practice to be able to wield it effectively. Most eleven-year-olds with the normal amount of training could at least breathe their elements, but any kind of attack of theirs would not be particularly strong. Plus, their small sizes would make them easy prey out in the wild for any of the large predators lurking around.

The dragon realms were full of dangerous creatures. He would have to protect, he knew.

But that was just the tip of the iceberg of responsibilities he now had, he realized. Actually guiding and caring for them could be hard. He did not have any siblings, and he rarely integrated with children in his old life outside of his own age group. Was he really ready to guide and protect a pair of dragonlings out in the wild, in the middle of a war?

He did not know. He doubted his own abilities; he could barely survive as is.

But by the ancestors, he would try. He knew he had only just met them, yet already he was feeling protective of the girl. Up until he found them last night he had nothing left at all. Anyone he knew or cared about had been killed in the raid on his home. They were all he had.

He has no idea what they would do now, but he would figure it out.

To his relief, he saw the moment of a deer future ahead. He smirked. Should be easy enough if he keeps his head down…

Joltiera sat in the cave, pondering their situation. She and her sister were too hungry to bother moving.

Both just sat in collected silence. Jolteira could not help but think about what happened.

They were captured by apes about to be skimmed and a convenient stranger intervened right before they were slated to be killed. But now what do they do?

She guessed the first thing to do is rest up and eat. Maybe get to know this teenager a bit more. Where does she even begin with that? Already, she had so many questions to ask; about their situation and the war. The most confusing thing about this war to the child was how little she understood about it. Why were the apes doing all this? Why were they conquering the realms? Why were they trying to kill off the dragons? Why did they raze her home and murder her parents? What did anyone in her family do to deserve this anyway? Their hometown was not even involved in the war. What do they do now?

Why did any of this have to happen to begin with?

She did not know the answers to any of these. It both frustrated and scared her, that so much was happening, and hurting her and her loved ones as well as many others, yet she did not, and could not, understand any of it. She doubted Aurora did either. But maybe Colreus would?

She hoped so. For now, all she could do was sit and wait.

"Joltiera, are you ok?" She heard her sister's soft voice ask.

Jotiera turned. "Y-yeah… just thinking, ya know?" She replied.

Aurora tilted her head curiously. "About what?"

"Just… everything I guess. "She admitted.

Aurora hummed and moved over to sit by her older sister. She nudged her and rested her head on Jolteira's back.

"You think too much…" She said.

Joltiera felt herself calm down in the comfort of her sister.'s embrace. "... I know…"

Aurora hummed. "Remember what mommy always says… take it one step at a time." The younger dragon said.

Joltiera teared up slightly at the mention of their mother, but she knew Aur was right. They had to take it slow… there was still so much to figure out right now. The elder sister sighed and the two sisters sat in silence, enjoying the company of one another. Joltiera knew she was thinking too much but she could not stop herself from doing so. There was too much on her mind.

So much had happened in the past few days, all tragic save for last night. She and her sister spent the better part of a few days just crying into each other's embrace until hunger drove them to search for some kind of food in the wilds. Which was how they were captured by apes.

However, she soon heard rumbling again. She laughed, knowing it was Aurora's stomach.

"Sorry." Aurora said sheepishly.

Joltiera just laughed a bit.

"Don't worry. He should be back here soon enough."

As if on cue, she heard the sound of wing flaps, followed by a familiar shadow approaching overhead.

"Well, that was conveniently timed." She joked.

Colreus landed in front of them, dropping a mid-sized deer in front of them.
"You're back!" Aurora said.

"So it seems. With breakfast." He noted. "That's not all though." He said, reaching into a pouch of his on the side. He pulled out a pair of red crystals. The sister's eyes lit up. "Found these while I was out. You both seem like you could use them," he stated. He held them out with one of his paws. The two sisters got up.

"Oh, thank you, thank you." Jolitera said escatlcailly.

'Yeah, thank you." the wind dragoness added.

Corlreus nodded. "No problem." He replied.

Both dragons applied them to their bodies at once. Their wounds were mostly healed, and cuts closed up and bruises faded. It did not heal everything injury the sisters likely had, but it helped a ton. At least most of the superficial and serious would be dealt with. Any aches Joltiera had felt were finally gone. It did help her injuries were only superficial for the most part.

The ice dragon smiled and then turned towards the deer.

"Alright, let's dig in. Introductions can wait until after breakfast." He said, bluntly.

With that, each dragon took their share of the meal. Jolteriea and her sister scarfed their bits down like it was the best food they ever had. Neither had eaten in days at that point. This was by far the best meal she had in a long time…

It was only a few minutes later when the meal was done. The three dragons had finished every last bit of meat from the deer. Colreus nonchalantly kicked the skeleton over the side, seeing no further use for it.

The ice dragon felt calmer. Now, he could finally talk to the pair. They all sat just out front of the cave, Aurora still licking her lips after enjoying the meal.

"Alright. Sorry, this was a bit prolonged but… hi?" He started. He had no idea how to break the awkwardness of the situation. The two girls just blinked at him.

he sighed. "I apologize about the… less than ideal situation we met in…" He tried again. "If you don't mind me asking, how did you end up in the camp to begin with?" He asked. He did not want to force them to recall horrible memory, but he was curious. And it was at least a starting point to get to know them.

Jotleira was silent.

"You don't have to tell me anything if you don't wish to." The older dragon said.

Joliteira looked at her sister and looked back at Colreus.

"... it's alright. I think you deserve to know, at least. After saving us. We were from a town called Stormwind, a bit of a ways north of the area where you saved us. We lived with our parents there and went to school." She said, beginning to tear up slightly. "The apes… attacked. Our parents sacrificed themselves to save us. We flew as far as we could to escape, but the apes caught us while we were out looking for food. And I guess you know the rest…" she said, tearing up slightly.

Colreus frowned. Of course, they lost their parents. He was an idiot for not guessing that. He moved forward to comfort her, draping a wing on her back. "I'm sorry." He said.

Joiltera wiped the tears from her eyes with her wing. Her sister moved in to comfort her, tearing up a bit herself.

Colreus felt guilty about causing this. He truly was clueless. 'I'm sorry I asked… I shouldn't have…" he said.

Jotleirea wiped away her tears and looked at him, as the wind dragoness gave them a bit more space.

"No. It's fine. You didn't know, and I… feel a bit better just venting it to someone." She admitted.

Colreus nodded. What she said… triggered bad memories of his own.
"If it's of any consultation… I understand your pain. I went through something similar. My family…" He said, looking aside. "They didn't make it either." He said, not wanting to say anything more.

"I'm sorry," Joltiera said.

Auauroai perked up. "Where are you from?" She asked, shyly.

"... Just some random town. Nothing really special." He said, not wanting to elaborate more.

"I'm sorry too." The little wind dragon said.

Colreus did everything he could to stop himself from crying. He had to be strong, he knew. To protect them. He had accepted his family was gone already. He had no choice but to do so in the wild.

"... not your fault." He said. He quickly shifted the subject, wishing not to dwell on their tragic circumstances.

"Look, we need to talk about what we need to do next." He stated, ensuring both girls were paying attention.

"The way I see it, we are on our own for a bit, unless we can find help. Understand, I will do everything I can to protect and care for you two, but it is only such much I can do by myself, and out in the wilds. If we can reach civilization, I think we could get the help we need." he stated. He did not feel compelled to remind them of the fact the apes had ravaged and conquered much of the continent. There were probably only so many cities left intact by this point.

"What should we do? Joltiera asked.

Colreus hummed. "The way I see it, we should make for one of the major cities. If it is anywhere safe from the dark armies, it would be at one of those." He stated. It did not take a genius to realize how preferable living in a walled city protected by an army was compared to trying to survive out in the wilds alone with two young children, during a war nonetheless. He had seen firsthand just how dangerous the wilds were.
"Where should we go exactly?" Aurora inquired.

"Warfang." He stated simply. There were other major dragon cities out there, of course. But he was not sure about their current statuses. Warfang was the capital of the dragon realms, at least for the dragon society. It was the largest, and very likely the most well-protected.

"I remember before my home was attacked, dragons were talking about a mass exodus towards Warfang. It should still be standing."

"I hope." He thought to himself.

The sisters looked at one another and back to him. "Fair point, then." Aurora said.

Joliiera raised a brow. "Ok, but how do we get there?"

"We fly, silly." Auroaur said. Joltiera blushed.

"Yes but where even are we?" She pointed out.

Colreus responded by digging into his pouch and pulling out a worn map he kept on his person. After studying it for a few seconds, he hummed.

"Well, based on the nearby landmarks, I would say we are a bit of a way to the east of the Valley of Avalar. How many miles at the moment, I can't say, really." the ice dragon said. "You see, before I found you, I was actually trying to make my way toward Warfang. Got a bit turned around by the ape's patrols though," he said, bitterly. "Their dreadwings patrol the skies; I've had to completely change course many times over." he replied.

"Then how will we know which way to go?" She asked.

"We use the landmarks to guide our path."

Joltiera nodded eagerly.

"Guess it's settled then. We head for Warfang, and figure out the rest along the way." The ice dragon said.

To his surprise, however, Jolteira looked at him, almost pleadingly.

"We'll be safe right?" She asked, nervously. "Mom and dad said there were all kinds of dangers out in the wilds. They won't get to us, right?" She said, looking up at him.

Colreus looked her over. The girl seemed a bit shrewder but he could still see the child-like fear and nervousness behind her eyes, seeping into the tone of her voice.

"Of course." He insisted.

She did not look convinced. "And you promise we all will be ok when we get there?"

"Yes, I promise."

Jolteira looked at him still. "And we all will stay together, right?" She inquired, a hint of desperation ni her tone.

Colreus was getting the feeling there was something more to this. He was only a stranger to her, he thought. But, the look in this girl's eyes, and the desperation in her tone… was worrying, like she was in her last shred of hope. He did not know her full mental state right now. Of course, she had just lost her home and parents at a very young age. There was no way, the teen knew, she had gotten over what happened yet…

If he was that hope, well… he had to do his best then. If this was a way he could help her, help both of them, he would do it.

"You have my word. We will get through this together. "

He stated.

"Claw promise?" She says, offering out her claw.

It took him a moment to recall that 'claw promise' was just a term used by kids to 'certify' a promise.

He offered his claw. "Yes, claw promise." He said.

The girl smiled. "Thank you…" she said.

To his surprise, she came up and nuzzled him. As did the younger hatchling, who came over to join in.

Corleus' heart melted. If they were already putting all their faith in him… it only emboldened him to make sure he did not let them down. It felt strange to him that they were so willing to do so, so quickly nonetheless, but then it hit him.

"They have nothing left. They must be as desperate as I am…" The ice dragon thought. He stayed dead silent but returned the embrace.

"I won't let you down. I promise." He affirmed inwardly.

After a few more moments of their embrace, the dragons broke off.
The ice dragon smiled at the pair. He thought of something that might lift the mood even more.

"Well, now that we've got that figured out, you too look a bit bored. Did you by chance know any good games?" He asked.

Aurora jumped up eagerly. "Oh, oh, I do! 'SHe said. She turned towards the cliff incline.

"Follow me!" She said, running off a bit.

Her sister joined her, bolting in her direction.

Colreus rolled his eyes playfully and followed. If anything lived their spirits, he would gladly partake.

The rest of the day passed by rather quickly after that. They just spent a few hours playing various games with one another. After that, Colreus hunted for and brought dinner and instructed everyone to get some rest. He had intended that they leave early in the morning, to avoid any potential ape movements in the area. They had reframed from leaving that afternoon, he said, to allow the girls more time to rest and heal.

Aurora could not be more thankful. She would have been lying if she said did not feel exhausted. She had barely had the energy in her to play but summoned what strength she could to do so still. It certainly livened her spirits and brought her a much-needed mental respite. She could not help but think about how different she felt.

Over the past few days, she had been nothing but sad. Grief and sadness were all she could think about. She had not even been done mourning her parents when the apes had caught them.

But now she and her sister were free. And on their way to hopefully something better. It was a funny feeling to her, but she already trusted this ice dragon. He had done so much for them. And she trusted him for that. Under his wing, she felt safe, and protected. With her sister and Colreus around…Maybe they would be ok after all.

Yawning, she gave in to her exhaustion and fell asleep

"Mind the wind gusts as we descend," Colreus said, as the three flew down the mountainside.

It was early the next morning, just an hour after sunrise. . The dragons had gotten up only a bit ago. Colreus had gotten up early and caught breakfast for them again. Now, the three were heading towards the east, hoping to find their way to the Valley of Avalar.

"This is awesome!" Aurora said happily, as she used the gusts to boost her momentum. She was happily flying around, without care. It was a bit jarring to see her acting so differently from her gloomy mood the previous day. But perhaps he should not complain about that. It was certainly good to see that the young dragonling liven up; as if processing a renewed sense of hope. "I the wind is so... exhilarating! I have never flown so fast!" She called.

"Race ya!" Her sister called back.

Even the electric dragoness seemed to be acting a bit better.

Colreus watched as the sisters flew a bit ahead, riding on the wind gust down the mountain. The ice dragon smiled at the pair; it was good to know they still had that spark of joy within them, despite their losses. He was sure they had not gotten over their grief quite yet, but he knew the value of a respite. For now, he would focus on the moment at hand, and enjoy it for what it was worth. He allowed himself to spread out his wings into a glide, riding the gusts down the mountain. It was a pleasant feeling, riding a gust like this. For a moment, he nearly forgot his worries, as the girls seemed to be with theirs.

"Don't go far!" He called to them, as he kept his eyes trained on them. Somehow or another, he was already starting to regain a sense of... hope? Belonging? He was not sure. But why waste time overthinking things? For now, he would indulge in the joy of the moment. He could only wish it would last.

The three dragons flew further along the mountainsides, keeping low to avoid any kind of detection. The teen dragon kept his eyes peeled for anything. He did not know if any apes were moving in the area right now. It was a bit of a risk flying to begin with. But there was little another choice; hiking down the mountain was perilous and would take too long. Plus there could be predators lurking about. They had to take their chances.

As they flew further, the girls chased one another in mid-air, sharing a few laughs. Colreus was about to fly closer to join them when, out of the corner of his eye, he thought he saw something moving a bit further along the mountain ridge. He could not get a very good view, but he saw the outline of a rather large winged beast flying along the mountain side. As if to highlight what he was thinking at the moment, the wind dragoness spoke up.

"Hey guys..." she said nervously, looking down. "Are there any big birds flying around here?" She asked.

Her sister looked at her with a raised brow. "Of course not..." she said, before a look of realization crossed her face.

Colreus went dead silent... could it be an ape patrol? Were they searching the region for the trio? He could not think of many big birds that might be lurking out here. Maybe they should be concerned? Could it be dreadwings, maybe?

A cross bow bolt nearly grazing his wing put to rest any uncretaines he had about what the winged beast beneath them could be.

It happened so suddenly, yet Colreus did not even have to look back to know who sent it. He had done this song and dance a number of times over the past several weeks. A bolt like that, up here, could only mean one thing...

"Dreadwings near!" He yelled, ensuring the girls knew what was going on if they had not noticed the bolt flying by. Sure enough, though the two had already begun taking evasive maneuvers.

While they did this, the teen dragon risked a glance behind them.

Sure enough, two dreadwings were hot on their tails, ridden by a pair of apes. Each ape had grey fur and was wearing a red tunic, but wearing a pair of goggles. They each had a quiver with bolts in them, strapped to their backs and their hips. In hand, each had a crossbow, clutched tightly. They were both riding their dreadwings, strapped into satchels fastened on the beast's backs.

"Found ya, you rats!" One of the riders growled. Said rider took aim again, his bolt barely missing the younger wind dragoness, who shrieked in shock.

But before any of the dragons could even think to counter attacked, several more dreadwings, who were riderless, started flying in from below. Out of the corner of his eyes, the ice dragon saw the shapes of others of the bat-like beasts starting to convene on them from further down the mountain.

'Damn. Flew right over a patrol, it seems." The ice dragon thought to himself. "Move faster, there's too many to fight!" He screamed to the girls.

All of the dragons started increasing their flight speed as much as they could. Luckily, dragons were superior flyers to the dreadwings, thanks to their more aerodynamic shapes. However, as they increased their momentum, he could not help but notice Aurora falling behind.

"Sister, hurry!" Jolteira yelled as she increased velocity. Her younger sister, however, was still falling behind.

"I can't go any faster, my winds are too small!" She yelled back. It was true, her sister's wing span was greater than hers, as was Colreus. The teen had not even thought to take that into account.

He shot a glance back. The riders were drinking this scene for everything it was worth. One was loading his crossbow at that moment.

Colreus growled. Thinking fast, he pulled closer to the wind dragoness as he caught up from behind her. "Brace yourself!" He called to her. He quickly grabbed her by the scruff, as gently as he could, and barreled out of the way of a bolt, missing it by a split second. The wind dragoness yelped in shock, but he had no choice. If they were going to survive, they had to think fast...

Increasing his pace, the dragons dove down, hoping, and praying to the ancestors, that they might be able to shake off the ape's beasts...

Oh snap, just as they thought they were going to be safe, things go to crap.

Sorry, this chapter was so long, but the first part was a bit boring, I know. But for the sake of development, it had to be this way. I needed to give a more thorough idea of the main character's mental state. I mean, you can infer why they might bond with each other from the implications of their backgrounds, but I feel is a bit more overt and helps lay solid foundations for the rest of the story. Just to clarify, no way I am not keeping the main character's backstories that concise. There is of course more to each of them, but you will learn that info in time…

I hope the chapter wasn't too boring. I did decide to extend it's length a bit and include stuff from the third chapter here just so we have something more exciting happen. I hope the pacing is not too far off. Also, I know the dialogue was a bit awkward, but I was trying to capture the awkwardness of the situation for the characters.

About Colreus spawning a pouch, just pretends he had it there before but I did not bother mentioning it. I kind of forgot to, as it did not come up in context before that scene.