Chapter 2. Winger's tale.
A close up of Winger, talking to someone we can't see. He's inside, it's dark but seems like a home at night time. He begins talking.
I guess it began with my Mom, Dad, elder brother and sister. They were the whole world to me. Well, them and my elder brother Zak and sister, Flare. They were there when I first chipped out of the shell, when I first stepped out of the nest. I didn't know what dangers the world could hold back then, because it was filled with them, and only them.
Dad was just so… solid. He was like the realest thing that had ever been and he loved my Mom so much. She was pretty feisty and had a temper, but they never fought, they just disagreed sometimes. And they always respected each other.
Zak was really strong and so brave. He was just amazing. Flare was almost the same, but she was way smarter. She sometimes saw things even my Mom didn't. Not that Zak wasn't smart, but he followed his heart more than his head and it got him in trouble.
We cut to an island. Peaceful. Sun is shining, sea is calm. The island rises from beaches in the east, upwards and further up, until ending abruptly at a tall cliff wall on the west side. After that, sea stacks dot the water around it. Zoom in to the cliff side, racing over the water, almost to the cliff and then soar up, up to...
Our nest was a cave near the top of a cliff - that doesn't sound like much, but it was actually pretty cool. We were close to some great fishing waters and there was no way anyone who couldn't fly could get into our home. That made it feel safe and I guess it's why Mom and Dad chose it as the place to raise their family. On top of that, the other side of the island had some great forests and canyons which were perfect for racing through. Zak was the fastest, of course, but he let us win, sometimes.
So there we were, the happiest family in the world. Flying, racing, fishing and having fun. And that's how I'll always remember them, in the days before it was taken away forever.
Mom and Dad were away for the day, checking out rumours of a Leviathorgen further north. They'd left us some chores and Zak was in charge. Flare had been blasting holes in a canyon by the woods, digging out a cave for winter. Zak was on fishing duty. I was supposed to be clearing out our cave, but I wanted us to have a competition. We perched on a sea stack near some really big shoals of fish and the idea was to blast the water and see who could get the most fish. I left my chores, met Flare and we flew out to meet up with Zak. It seemed like pretty harmless fun, unless you were a fish.
Three young dragons playing, skimming the waves and raking up fish from the surface. The smallest fires a blast at the water. Grabs fish. The largest of them spins up in the air, hovers and gathers himself for a mega blast. The orb of powerful energy shoots forth, hurtling into the water, sending up a huge spray and with it, tentacles.
I didn't know Leviathorgens hate loud noises. This one certainly didn't enjoy hearing our blasts. I guess it had come to complain about the noise? Or. I don't know. But Zak's blast must have hit it and it… lashed out. A tentacle caught Zak, not much but it still knocked him out of the sky. Flare tried to save him but the Leviathorgen had - so many - tentacles and they just dragged her down too.
That left me. I was higher up and I had no idea what to do. I flew at the thing, blasting it, but I only had one shot left and it just sank in the water. I was too little, I didn't know what to do. Flare came to the surface briefly. She… yelled at me to fly, get away.
I didn't know what to do.
I thought Mom and Dad would be able to rescue them. I flew as fast as I could north. They weren't there. I flew further and further and then, there they were. I nearly collapsed when I met them, I'd been flying as fast as I could.
Mom and Dad got me back to our island but it was too late. We found their bodies washed up on a beach. Dad went out to kill the monster. The following day his body was left on the beach, a single spear of bone sticking straight through his chest. In 24 hours my whole world had fallen apart, all because of my stupid game and one careless mega blast.
Winger sighs. A tear rolls down his face. He gathers himself and continues.
Mom didn't speak for a few days. She just held me. Eventually we got hungry enough to move. She decided we'd leave the island. It was just too painful to stay. She had family, a sister away to the east we could stay with for a while. We were both in shock. How could something so devastating happen so suddenly. But I guess life can be like that. We set off.
We see the pair gliding high above the ocean. Mom looks determined. Steady. Winger is uncertain and subdued.
The second day of travelling we had to go over a wide stretch of water. A human boat was beneath us, but we were way too high for them to spot. We made it to land but there was no shelter. We settled down for the night on a sand spit, me under Mom's wing.
Out of nowhere a storm blew up. Waves were crashing up and we were soaked. Mom and I flew up to get above the clouds. Then, through a gap in the rain, Mom saw it. The Leviathorgen was in the water. It looked to be three or four times Mom's size, speeding through the sea, headed straight for the human boat.
Mom yelled at it, "No. No one else dies because of you." It was way too far away to hear.
I followed her, even though I was so full of fear and confusion. I pushed it all down and flew in behind her, careful of the winds and worried about losing her.
It was about to grab the boat and Mom timed it perfectly. She wound up and blew a hole in the side of that thing which sent it surging forwards, missing the boat, turning and diving, thick blood staining the water. The boat took a hit from its tail, or something, and went skipping away in the other direction. We hovered, waiting.
Mom shouted over the storm "Watch out for it spitting a spear!"
And then there it was, coming head on, jaws wide and a bone spear shooting towards us. Mom and I spun out of the way, but Mom twisted back into the charge, battling the beast with claw and fang, I spat some blasts at it too. She broke from it before it could drag her under, some severed tentacles still hanging from her skin.
"Back to the shore!" she yelled.
We went. It followed.
"If we can get it up on the land, I can kill it." Mom was breathing heavily.
"Mom, it's ok, we can just leave." I cried.
"No. This ends today." She was fierce, angry. Impossible to argue with.
We flew above the centre of the sandy spit, the waves were huge, almost submerging it completely. We wove in the air, denying an easy shot. The Leviathorgen kept coming, it seemed angry, the tentacles it had left were thrashing the water and it was jumping out of the waves to get to us, humping itself up the beach and rearing its head to try and spear us. Bone spears started flying, 2, 3 zipping past us. Mom let rip with another mega blast and followed with a dive, pinning the huge monster to the sand.
It was dead. I rolled Mom away from the corpse and tried to clean her up, get her away from the surf.
When the storm ended, a full moon showed how much it had taken out of her. My Mom had two deep wounds in her chest and was bleeding from lots of small cuts on her back.
"Winger." She sounded feverish. "Rescue them. They're in the water. Find them. Bring them home. I… I need them to be safe."
I didn't understand what she meant. We'd buried Dad, Zak and Flare.
"Winger, please. Find them." She pleaded, then passed out.
I went looking, not knowing why. But I did find something. I found… you guys.
We see now that Winger was in a cave. A fire burns warmly. He is talking to two human children with red hair. The girl sits inside a chest, the lid hanging open, the boy is closer to the fire, poking it with a stick. They are listening to Winger, but look blank.
I know, you can't understand me. But it helps to talk about it. To let it out.
From deeper in the cave, Mom's head moves out of the darkness, she smiles, sadly.
"It's ok, Winger. They can learn. They can be part of our family now. After all, they lost theirs to that thing, too. And you found them. You rescued them and brought them home. We have a family again."