Upon Dragon Wings
Abby Ebon
O.o.O.o.O.o.O
AN: Oh happy days - Chaos Silk, who some of you might remember is the one who I originally set out to write this for, in exchange for Inu-Yasha smut, has finally post the first wonderful chapter! –cheers- Here is the info if you need– it, like my own story is rated 'M'.
Title: By the Light of the Moon
Summary: It was the night of the full moon, a night that drove all canines into a frenzy. Most especially the demons. KouInuSess. Incest. Written for AbeoUmbra.
….Now I really ought to get around to writing the next chapter of our story "Inappropriate Conduct" …heh…oops?
Probability…
Elva's fingers ran gently through the hair of the shaggy-haired boy whose head rested in her lap. She wore a dress, though she wished to ware breaches – it simply was not "proper", no matter how many times the dress was dirtied or torn in her efforts to actively act as a shield for the people.
An accidental curse lay upon her by the Dragon Rider Eragon. She chanced to glace down at the boy half asleep in her lap, and her forehead, caught in the sunlight, glittered as the star on her brow gleamed.
Her tiny feet were sandaled and swung doll-like back and forth, she had a pensive frown on her face – one that should not be on the face of a four year old, for all that she was truly only supposed to be a babe.
The boy whose head laid in her lap was larger then her – old enough to look like he belonged on a battle field when he brought the dagger hidden in his ragged belt that was hooked to the faded pants he wore, they were low slung on his hips and did not leave much to the imagination – for all that "improperness" did not apply to him.
He was no real boy at all – he was a werecat, his eyes gave him away as they changed between wild red and amber, as he saw something Elva did not. He was a mystery to her – one she enjoyed puzzling about, the largest puzzle piece was that for no reason other then his own inclination, traveled with the woman they waited so silently to acknowledge them.
Both boy and girl watched the curly brown haired woman - known as the witch, Angela – who sat at a window sill, seeming to look out of it. Both know that her eyes were closed, and her face expressionless. She was attempting to scry for Eragon, so far – other then determining that he was safe and that something had occurred to "settle" him, she had had no success.
It had been like that for a day.
Elva knew this worried the witch, for normally Angela had no problems finding what she wanted. Then – as if summoned out of the trance by Elva's thoughts, Angela's body seemed to slump, defeated once again.
"Do I need to ask that you found anything useful?" The werecat boy – Solembum spoke up, proving he was not in fact asleep as Elva had suspected he might be – it would not be the first time she had caught him "dozing".
"I found out many things useful – but nothing, unfortunately, that applies to either Katrina or Eragon…" Angela told him, her normally eccentric air somewhat shattered by her unsuccessful attempts.
"They will be where trouble is – of that I have no doubt." Elva murmured softly, purple eyes resting assuredly on Angela. The elder woman smiled slightly, coming over to sit beside them on the small cot.
"I know that as well – I just wish I could be near them when the trouble hits…" Angela said softly, and Elva tried to smile –it was hard to, she constantly felt and sensed the coming pain of others, and though she did her best to make them stop hurting - it was quite impossible to make sure everyone was safe all the time. Angela, upon meeting her, had tried everything – the end assumption being that only Eragon could at least in part have better luck in lifting the curse.
"If you asked me, I'd say both of you underestimate him." Solembum stated insistently as he sat up, one knee beneath him - the other tucked against his chest where his arms wrapped around himself.
"We, as you may remember, do not have your sources for knowledge." Angela murmured to him – for all that her tone was soft and controlled, she might as well have been grumbling.
"You have what you have, that should be enough to keep faith that Eragon can survive a day without you." Solembum told her shortly, his feelings ruffled, he abruptly – and quite rudely – turned into a cat before their eyes, signaling an end to the conversation. Angela sighed, a small amused smile playing on her lips as, beside her, Elva tensed up.
"Roran, Nasuada, Arya, Orik, and Trianna are coming – they worry for Eragon." Elva whispered to Angela, her hands clenched in her lap and her eyes on them as she tried to calm herself – tried to ward off the feeling that crept along her skin like spiders – something was wrong, but nothing yet endangered anyone…
Angela patted her shoulder, then rose walking to the door and opening it before they could knock – as Elva had said, they stood there before her awkward and determined.
"Good day, Lady Angela…we were wondering, if you could find…" Nasuada began awkwardly, and Angela smiled softly at her, halting her words.
"Eragon is, as you suspect – gone. I have searched for him, but wherever he may be, it is not a place I have laid eyes on, a sure way for him to hide himself from all of us…." Angela's tone was strangely bitter, and it was obvious – at least to Elva that she had not liked implying that Eragon had run away.
Elva knew he had not – of that, she knew – his magic lay within and around her, reminding and binding her to the curse – he would not have had such magic if he too was not determined to do as she was.
"Or just Murtagh…" Trianna insisted her eyes narrowed on Angela – disliking the implication that Eragon had run away. Roran merely met Elva's eyes – as Nasuada had, and knew that was not the case. Where ever Eragon was – he was close to Murtagh, unharmed, and had no run away.
"No – he is with Murtagh, and unharmed." Elva said abruptly before speculations could begin.
"Just what are you implying?" Orik demanded – but having read something from Elva's expression, Arya merely stood by, startled by implications.
"There has been a great change in the future – something I had not expected, for now I'm not implying anything – I am stating merely the facts." Angela reassured, and from behind her Solembum gave a very cat-like cough. Angela turned to him, frowning down at him – almost glaring but not quite.
"Is there something you'd like to add?" She demanded of him, he flicked his tail, his eyes telling her plainly she was acting oddly – even compared to the amount of strangeness the people gathered at her door were used to.
At his silence, she turned her attention back to them.
"Will he return?" Arya asked softly once her attention had shifted from Solembum.
"Yes." Elva answered quickly before Angela could.
"Will Murtagh?" Roran asked, his expression pensive, having remembered how confused his cousin had been when Murtagh had revealed himself to be Eragon's half brother.
"They will not be parted." Solembum – who had been a cat mere moments before, reappeared as a boy – starling them, but his answer was heard and he did not seem concerned that they knew him to be something other then a cat or boy.
"What do you mean by that?" Nasuada demanded of him, Solembum smiled slowly, and Angela could tell he was about to say something she would not like explaining.
"Ask Angela – he prophesized his love life, not I." Solembum teased, glancing to Angela – she had been right at what he had chosen to say, though she wished she hadn't been. As if to mock her, he changed again, and padded out of the room, tail held high as he left her to answer their questions.
"Well?" Ronan asked it – and he seemed more amused then anything.
"It is a personal matter – I do not think Eragon would want you to know." Angela tried, but before she could shut the door, Roran held it open his once amused expression now closed.
"My cousin trusts us – you should try to." Roran whispered softly to her – she jerked away, expression shuttered. Elva reassuringly placed her tiny hand on Angela's arm, and Angela looked gratefully at her – then turned her attention upon Roran.
"And you should learn to let a matter drop when it does not concern you." Angela told him in turn, glaring at his hand in her door – fearing she might hurt his hand, Roran jerked his hand away from it.
"Please, Angela – just tell us what you're hinting at." Arya pleaded softly, reluctantly looking Angela in the eye.
"I told Eragon he would fall in love with a noble – I assumed a lady, I was wrong." Angela shut the door before all of them quite understood the undertones of her hint.
Arya had at first looked guilty – then startled as she connected what Eragon had said about his father to Eragon's current interest. His father had been noble – it stood to reason that Murtagh, and – in turn, Eragon himself was as well.
Roran did not need Arya's glance in his direction – he had pieced it together, it had unsettled him – but he would wait to speak to Eragon before letting himself get too carried away.
Nasuada, who also knew Eragon's origins was unreadable – for all that, Orik and Trianna were quick to understand – though they did not know who Angela had hinted at – both assumed it was Murtagh, who was absent along with Eragon.
Roran chuckled softly, not pausing to take in the expressions of the others as he left them, still gathered – though more awkwardly then determined now – around Angela's door.
O.o.O.o.O.o.O
Spine dared not land, for all that he was a day or more old (for he did not know exactly) – he was as big as a cat, easy prey for those that had a taste for him and did not mind that he looked odd to them. He found it easy to use the wind currents to his advantage, as he did not need to flex his wings nearly as much as usual.
Despite liking flight - he was afraid for his Rider, she was alone – and without him, she was vulnerable – they both were. He understood then what he needed to do – he needed to find another Rider – one that would not pose a danger, would help him free his Rider.
Near panicked with this need he reached deep within himself, touching the magic that made up his very essence. A moment later, he flickered out of the air – only to reappear far away from his Rider and very tired.
His forked tongue flicked out – tasting the air around him, attempting to find danger.
He found it – in the form of a cat, it looked as startled to see him as he was to see it. It hissed softly, teeth gleaming threateningly – Spine realized with a jolt that compared to the cat – he was smaller. He hunched onto his belly, wings flared open trying to appear more trouble then he was worth.
It had worked on the Ra'zac – but the cat only seemed amused at his efforts. Without a sound, the cat waved his tail in a "follow me" gesture – intrigued, Spine wobbled after. Just as he was rounding a corner the cat had rubbed against – Spine shrieked to feel small but strong hands around his belly, clamping his wings to his sides so he could not escape.
The boys eyes were what gave him away – the cat had had the same eyes – red and amber. It was only then that Spine realized what he was dealing with – his instincts and the knowledge passed to him by generations of dragons told him assuredly he was dealing with a werecat…
What convinced him was that when he inhaled, taking in the werecats scent – he sneezed, sniffing indignantly when the werecat laughed at him.
"Look what I caught, Angela." The werecat spoke then, having entered a room which held two other humans. At least Spine assumed both were just humans until he got a good look at the elder female who had turned toward the werecat to see what he had to show her.
"Oh my goodness – a dragon hatchling, do you think it has a Rider, Solembum?" There was hope in her tone – hope that what Spine knew, that he was the last of the dragons – was not true.
Katrina is my Rider. Spine tried to mentally say, or rather impress upon Angela with images – she jerked away, her eyes wide.
"I'd guess from your expression that the answer is yes…" Solembum muttered, shifting his weight in a way that made little Spine want to growl his annoyance. Unfortunately the werecat had been wise, and pressed his maw together with his other hand – it also prevented Spine from snapping at the wercat's fingers.
"Yes, this is the third hatched dragon…its Rider…" Angela paused, pressing her lips together as she tried to make sense of the images Spine was pressing into her mind. Finally, after wading through images of a tower – of a city, of the Ra'zac, Angela saw from Spine's perspective as he had lifted his head and seen Katrina, who Roran had described to her in such detail she would recognize the girl anywhere.
"…Katrina is this dragon's Rider." Angela murmured, her surprise showing though her tone.
"Katrina… as in the Katrina that will be Roran's future-wife?" Elva asked, as she sat on the cot, her purple eyes trained on the squirming green dragon.
"Yes." Angela leaned against the wall, her eyes gazing upon the little dragon.
"She is, as Eragon guessed, trapped in a tower in Helgrind, the little one is familiar with Ra'zac… the brave girl sent him away to find help…" Angela smiled somewhat sympathetically at the dragon, whose heart beat fluttered against Solembum's hand.
"How did he get here?" Solembum asked as he loosed his grip, sure now that Spine had learned his lesson and would not attempt an escape.
"The need in magic is in him, but of course." Angela answered in a tone that reflected her thought that Solembum should have known such a thing. Red-amber eyes caught Angela's – there was a wary anger in the werecat's eyes.
"What I meant was why seek us out? None of us have ever met Katrina." Solembum's words were precise and clear, for all that the implication that he disliked Angela's hint that he was less knowledgeable in magic then she was, was clear.
"That is an easy answer, Solembum." Angela assured softly, carefully peeling off her gloves. Elva took them from the witch, folding them and setting them on the table. The little girl carefully did not look at either of them, knowing this was something personal between the two. Solembum – who looked about to demand a answer, had paused, seeing something in the way Angela stood that only he – as her longtime friend, would recognize.
For all that, Solembum did not know everything about Angela, he had met her while she had been wandering, and followed her, intrigued by the woman who faced the world bluntly without aid or plan.
"Spine was looking for a Rider." Angela said so softly Solembum almost did not hear.
"I am not a Rider." Solembum spoke bluntly – he had no need to look to Elva, the girl was carefully avoiding looking at him.
"No – you are not…but I think I was." Angela admitted to him her expression pained as she lifted her palm, the silver scar of a Rider showed bluntly against the tan skin, she was carefully not looking to Solembum – but to Spine, who took advantage of Solembum's surprise and leapt from his hands, fluttering his wings hastily to fly onto Angela's shoulder.
"Where is your dragon?" Solembum choked out, his expression hurt as he turned to look away from Angela more aware now of the secrets between them.
"I do not know…" At Angela's helpless tone, he had looked up – to Elva it looked as if he wanted to comfort her.
"I thought it had died, and I had forgotten it…" Angela managed to explain, Spine nudged her cheek comfortingly, trying to purr. Solembum sighed, knowing he could not stay angry with Angela – some things though made more sense now as he looked back on them.
"I think Spine coming here means that your dragon is not dead at all, Angela." Elva spoke soothingly, not wanting them to fight – or to have hurt feelings. Solembum's head tilted, his eyes going to Angela's hand - then to his friends face.
"I think the little one is right – you would remember the death of a dragon." Solembum's tone was so convinced – had such faith in her that Angela only smiled at him and paused in soothing the little green dragon that had perched on her shoulder when Solembum smiled back, teeth glinting as he spoke.
"We then must find your dragon." Angela raised an eyebrow, the corners of her lips twitching in a frown.
"And how do you propose we find something like a dragon?" Angela asked in turn, Solembum's hands were on his hips, he leaned foreword – and standing on tip toe, whispered in her ear.
"We let it know you want to be found." Elva, for all that she should not have heard him speak, nodded in agreement, her purple eyes far away.
"All you must do is connect with it once more…" Elva said, and Angela sighed softly, sitting back on the window sill, the dragon having crawled down into her lap, and sat there, looking up at her comfortingly.
"I…I am afraid…" Angela admitted, and Solembum nodded, walking towards her to lay his hand on the shoulder Spine had vacated.
"Nothing worth doing is without a little fear – but Elva and I will be here, and nothing will hurt you so long as we are around." Solembum assured, awkwardly patting the witches – no, the Riders, shoulder. Angela's reflection in the window smiled, and Solembum watched as she closed her eyes, trying to reconnect a bond he suspected had been severed by another.
O.o.O.o.O.o.O
Note; keep in mind, Spine is the size of a small cat – a bird that size would have no problem flying the distance shown on the map of the Eragon/Eldest books in perhaps the time span of three days – I see no reason that a small dragon can not do the same or better.
As for Shruikan's Rider – I needed a reason, a why, if you will - I can not believe a sentient dragon would serve anyone without heavy blackmail over its head. Or magic, but the book implies dragons are more magical then anything else, so I see the flaw of reason with Galbatorix right there…
Also, I hurt myself a fair amount the weekend before Christmas, so updates will likely be slow in coming.