*Chapter 7*
~Campfire Stories~
A few hours later, a miracle, the rain finally stopped just as the group decided to make camp. Several yards from the "road" they found a clearing within a small grove of elm trees that would suit their purpose perfectly. Piotr and Bobby tied up and cared for the horses while Kitty and Jean set up the camp and Logan tried to start a fire. "Tried" was the key word here as the rain had soaked all the wood in the area. But Logan is a stubborn creature and with a lot of effort, time, and a generous amount of swearing he somehow managed the impossible. By the time the fire was lit the others had completed their tasks and all settled around the now cheery fire to eat their supper.
The meal consisted of dried fruit, smoked meat, and biscuits to eat and water to drink. It wasn't much, but after a long day of riding through the rain with few breaks it was just fine. Once they had each eaten their fill, the members of the group turned their attention to the crackling, popping campfire. All seemed mesmerized by the fire as they sat around it, watching it burn. No one spoke, as if they feared speaking might somehow break the peace that had settled over the clearing. But such things never last and the quiet was broken.
"Does anybody know any good campfire stories?" Bobby asked. For several minutes there was silence, no one volunteered anything. Iceman looked at everyone in turn; seeing no one wished to share he took it upon himself to tell a tale. "Alright then, since no one has one, I'll make one up! So what kind of story do you want to hear?" He asked. Jean saw he was serious about telling a story and decided it was best to humor him.
"How about you tell a story that has a dragon in it?" Jean suggested.
"Excellent!" Bobby exclaimed. He was then silent for several minutes as he pondered the tale he would tell. Iceman then straightened, took a deep breath, and launched into his story.
- - -
Long, long ago there were no men. The forests, plains, mountains, and lakes were populated only by animals. But the land was not without a ruler, instead of man, dragons ruled over all. One clan ruled the forest; another ruled the plains, another, the mountains, and another, the lakes. They lived together in an uneasy peace, each wary of the other. Times of peace were rare and short-lived between the clans; fighting of some kind was the norm. The goal of all the clans was complete domination of all the realms, but all were cautious not to lose what they already held. This is the way things always were and always would be.
One day, a young drake of the fiery mountain clan decided to go exploring. He had heard many a strange and exciting tale of the world beyond the territory he knew. Fire-Scale, as he was called, decided to fly to the south and see what there was to see. After several days of flying, the mountains melted to foothills to flat, vast plains. The fire-red drake soon tired and landed near a stream to drink. The air here was thicker than he was used to and the sun was warmer, this caused him to become drowsy and he slid into a deep slumber.
Meanwhile, a dragoness of the golden plains clan set off to her favorite spot, a stream within sight of the mysterious mountain realm. The mountains had always fascinated Golden-Sun, she always wondered if any of the stories about that place were true. But she would never know, she was of the plains and there she would remain. She swooped low, gracefully landing a short distance from the stream, and then walked the remaining distance to her destination. When she arrived, she was shocked to find another dragon there, a fiery colored drake.
He was very strange, she noticed, his wings appeared larger than her own, his neck and tail seemed oddly elongated, and his chest was larger and deeper than was normal. Who on earth was he? No dragon of the plains clan looked this way, or was this color. The only explanation was that he was of another clan. But how could that be? Dragons of different clans only leave their territories to attend special meetings or fight in battles, and they only do so in large groups. So why was he here, all alone? She let out a hiss, stalked up to him, and attacked.
Fire-Scale never knew what hit him. One moment he was in the middle of a wondrous dream, the next a vicious golden dragoness had him pinned in the middle of the stream he had recently drunk of. He let out a snarl of surprise and fury, how had he, the great Fire-Scale, been caught un-awares by a female?
"Get off me!" He roared. The dragoness looked at him confused, as if she did not fully understand what he said to her. He growled, and tried again, this time in formal Dranconis. "Get off I said!"
"Why should I?" Golden-Sun hissed.
They argued for many hours until Fire-Scale convinced her to release him. He explained to her why he was here, and while she wasn't sure if she should believe, she let him leave. Fire-Scale returned several times to visit with Golden-Sun; both were wary of each other but also extremely curious. After a time, they came to trust each other to a degree.
One day Golden-Sun requested something of Fire-Scale, she had hidden his existence from the rest of her clan for a long time now, allowing him a chance to explore her realm. Now could it be possible to visit his homeland at least once. Fire-Scale took a long time to consider things before he agreed. They took off together and headed towards the mountain realm. As they flew farther and higher Golden-Sun grew tired, cold, and short of breath. Fire-Scale was afraid something like this would happen; she was used to the thick, warm air of the plains, not the thin, cold air of the mountains. This forced them to rest often in valleys, wasting valuable time. Golden-Sun, nevertheless, was impressed by what she did see, and gratefully thanked Fire-Scale for it.
During this journey and through their earlier meetings the two had grown closer to each other. On the return trip to the plains they ran into trouble with a group of patrolling mountain clan dragons. The patrol cruelly attacked Golden-Sun. This enraged Fire-Scale and he dove into the fray, attacking his clan-mates to save his friend. The two fled from the mountains to the plains, seeking refuge.
They had even less luck there. The plains clan dragons refused Fire-Scale's plea for sanctuary and exiled Golden-Sun for hiding Fire-Scale from them. The two young dragons were now clan-less and exiled, they drifted along the borders of clan lands for years. When they were fully grown, they became mates and had many strange adventures in all the realms, making many friends and enemies as they went. The two became legends in their own lifetimes and eventually helped form a lasting peace between all the realms of the dragon race. But it would not last, for man had appeared. Barely a few generations later man and dragon were locked in a conflict that lasted one thousand years. In the end the dragons were all slain and men inherited the earth. And the story of Fire-Scale and Golden-Sun was seemingly lost for all time.
- - -
The fire had burned down to embers by the time Bobby finished his tale. The others sat in awe of such a unique and interesting story, they had a hard time believing that it was Bobby who had come up with such a story. Iceman took a sip from his water pouch and yawned, betraying his exhaustion.
"So how did I do?" Robert Drake asked.
"That was surprisingly very good Bobby. If you told stories like that to Nathan maybe you would get along better with him." Jean replied.
"You really think so? I didn't think it was much good, there wasn't much detail to it or anything." Iceman said, rather humbly.
"No it was very good Bobby. So what if it was lacking a bit in details. If you put in more details it would take a month to tell. It's fine the way it is, I really liked it." Kitty admitted.
"Really? You really think so? Well, thanks, thanks a lot!" Bobby said. He was now grinning so broadly Kitty was afraid he'd break his face or something. Inwardly Kitty groaned, she'd encouraged him again, now he'd annoy her even more. But what she said was true, his story was great, maybe someday he'd put in all those details and write it down in a book. If he ever did she'd want a copy. Katharine had never heard dragons portrayed that way before, it was different and intriguing. It reminded her of her old stuffed toy, Lockheed the dragon, who she had left her chest back at the mansion.
As she settled into her warm wool blanket for the night, her mind was filled with dragons in flight. She didn't need to count sheep this night; dragons would do just fine tonight. She heard the sounds of her companions as they settled down for the night. Logan leaned against a tree, ever vigilant against intruders, even in sleep. Jean took a spot close to the dying fire, seeking what little warmth remained. Bobby chose a spot between where Kitty slept near a tree and where Piotr rested up against a large rock. As they all slipped into the blackness of sleep Kitty wondered what this night's dreams would bring.