Exposition, how does it work?
Me, upon remembering that Tera is specifically a fire drake: Connor has burn scars.
Is it two years if the second year is still happening, or… like, Tera is definitely two years old but like, it hasn't been an exact year?
15. Κοννορ και Τερα
To whom it concerns:
If you've found this note, it means I fell in my attempt at defending the last thing I had, and you have found her. I took plenty of precautions to ensure only a drake like us would be able to find the nest, and I'm terribly sorry to ask this of a stranger, but I have no one else to turn to.
Her name is Tera, she's a fire drake she's one t-
It stated on summer break of freshman year.
Connor, throat still burning from yet another round of the loudest one is right, forget the signs, and ignore the scent of desperation; as if he had found a way to fake his biological reactions for his favor. Found solace in escaping to the only place that had ever felt safe.
He had once upon a time wanted to believe Cynthia to have a good reason not to say a thing in his defense, but he's been exhausted and shot down as actor; as if being a pariah were an option anyone took willingly, or they did, but only after being worn down to nonexistence.
The left over prints of fire would not have warranted even a second glance had it not been for their nature; too deliberate, too contained, and with the leftover scent of fear and consequent anger. There had been a fight here, and Connor felt his feet moving on their own, in the direction the burns seemed to stem from.
There's a silence hanging heavily in the orchard, the kind one associates with a tragedy, that is broken jarringly - as Connor trades deeper into the overgrown greenery - by a loud cry. It's instinct that moves him forward, and guides his actions once he finds her; that's not an advantage he'll count on very frequently.
Taking care of an infant, no matter their species, is messy work, hard work; there are moments where he's oh so tempted to tell someone about her, but there's an urgency to the words she's left with, a warning that sinks deep into Connor's very soul. He thinks of Cynthia, but to get to Cynthia he'd have to pass through Larry, because he doesn't trust her to keep it from him, and Connor has no reason to believe his mother would take Tera in anyways; taking care of a young drake when they're your blood is one thing but a stranger's kid?
The first year is a mess of failures, google searches, and burns; Tera doesn't trust him at first, has no reason to, especially considering he's an alpha, but even when she warms up to him Connor burns, she's only one year old and hardly has any control of her flames. Connor starts wearing long sleeves, and lets his hair grow without really meaning to, but Tera likes to play with it, sometimes it calms her, so he doesn't mind.
Eventually he finds out how to make aloe plants happen, steals what's apparently called an offset, and plants it in the back portion of the building that hides the nest; to keep at hand while also away from the curious infant.
And then he teaches her how to make short flights, how to keep balance on branches, how to camouflage herself, how to sneak, and how to make smoke with her nose; in short, how to hunt and move around the orchard, by shifting through a wide variety of animals that are around her size.
The second year starts with a newfound confidence, for both him and Tera, as she presents him with her first successful hunt; it marks the first time she sees him in his preferred leopard form, and the main reason why he's so convinced she's actually crazy smart, because he swears the look she gives him just says 'That's not what you are'.
.-. .-. . ... . -. - / - .. - .
Destroying the nest is a bit of a heartbreaking process, especially because they only get to keep so much of it as the Hansen's don't exactly have the space for it; but Tera remains surprisingly quiet through it, Evan only translates one line of what's going through her mind to Connor, and for once he thinks he isn't omitting anything.
"She's asking if the bad people are coming back? Do you know what she might mean?"
Connor swallows, remembering the charred note left behind.
"Not really, but I- you said you knew what they would do to us if they found out, or implied it I guess"
Evan bites his lips.
"Only a bit, hunting us used to be considered a good thing"
"It was probably something of the sort, only they never found Tera"
Connor turned to them; Tera had her face hidden on Evan's neck while the omega's entire demeanor seemed to be protective.
"I'm gonna take her to your car and come back to help, is that ok?"
Connor picks up one of the newest blankets and puts over the two.
"Yeah, tell her to keep hidden though"
Evan smiles at him amusedly.
"She says she's not stupid"
"I'm a bad influence on her"
Evan snorts, which is unnecessarily adorable, what the hell?
"Definitely a bad influence"
"See that just tells me she made a sarcastic comeback, I must know"
Evan simply grins at him before taking a hold of the blanket with his free hand and making to leave.
"Too bad!"
Connor watches him go with what he knows to be a lovesick look, apparently he's made an influence on Evan too; and that is a thought that should not make him this stupidly happy.
If the project really did get off the ground, Connor hoped above everything, that they wouldn't ruin the place, so he would be able to bring Tera back, if only to see it once more once she was older. Because if Connor - or Evan now, because the alpha trusted him - had any say in the matter, she would live long after he (they) died.
Some draconic heads by Strikethedragon who understood exactly what I meant with beack snout: /0215yy8bj402
