Young Writers Society

Travien walked away, touching Helena's mind with his own. We can finish this conversation later. I understand your concerns, nymph, but know that I have my own. Let us not forget what just happened to me and what kind of relationship humans and dragonkind have. That's one thing I cannot risk yet.

He blocked her before she could retort; he strode away, leaving the area so she would have no influence on him. He hated to abandon Aurora like this, but he had to be alone. He touched the girl's mind. It's me, Travien. Sorry I left, but I need to be alone right now. Find me on the limestone ledge, about ten minutes to the south of the there.

He kept walking, finally coming upon the ledge.

Aurora's mouth fell open as she heard Travien's voice in her head.

"I-I've got to go-go." she stuttered as she left.

Aurora rushed to the ledge. She saw him standing there and her breath caught. Gosh, he was gorgeous. "You okay?" she asked timidly, touching his shoulder lightly and sitting down beside him. "Everything alright? Your not hurting still, are you? I know we can't make it back tonight...but they're not starting to bleed again, are they?" she asked worried.

**I want to get them to be "together" (lovers, if you don't mind) before the secret is spilled. Make it more dramatic than it would be right now. XD**

Travien shook his head. He stared at the sunset as he calmed down. It always did that for him... And now that he thought about it, sunset was when he had been wounded yesterday...

He finally sighed. "I'm sorry. It's just...hard for me to be around other magical beings right now."

Aurora nodded, but the worry didn't fade. "Can I ask why?"

"It's a long story...one I'm not too comfortable sharing right now. I trust you, yes, but I'm still...afraid and uncertain. Okay?"

**Lol. sounds good to me. But I'm getting anxious for them to be together! Lol.**

Aurora sighed and nodded. "That's fine."

They sat there a long time in silence, just watching the sunset. Once it was gone, Aurora shivered. it was cold for her. She wasn't wearing much in the first place because of the heat of the day, but now she was freezing! Her teeth started chattering as she rub her arms trying to keep warm.

As nighttime settled over the land, Travien's eyes were drawn to Aurora. She was still, quiet, but fidgetty. She shivered occasionally, and never stopped rubbing her arms. He watched her for a moment, trying to figure out what was wrong.

"Are you okay?" he finally asked the girl.

She nodded, but her teeth chattered slightly. "It's just cold."

Cold! That was it! Yet...Travien felt nothing. He was as warm as ever, unfazed by the temperature change. Of course, he was a dragon. Naturally, his body was warmer than a human's, and he had natural protection against the weather. Thick skin, a strong heart, and enormous lungs kept his blood full of oxygen - heated by tiny bloodvessels in his mouth and nose - and moving.

He stood up and offered Aurora a hand. She moved stiffly as she followed him to a small cave, the opening sheltered from the weather by a giant fir. He ushered her inside and passed her his shirt before moving to gather bits of wood for a small fire. The least he could do was take care of her, keep her warm.

Before too long, he had a small fire burning near the mouth of the cave, the smoke carried out and away by a little shaft. He sat against the back wall, next to Aurora, who still seemed cold.

"Is this better?" he asked, putting a hand against her shoulder. Even so chaste a contact, even through the two shirts, he could feel her temperature. She was like ice against him!

Aurora nodded. "Be...better." She stuttered.

Instinctively she laid her head against his warm skin. She started to get warm against him. "You're not cold?" she asked incredulous.

He smiled. "I don't get cold. I've always been hot natured."

She nodded and smiled. She liked the feel of his arms holding her...the feel of his skin under hers. She sighed and smiled. "This is nice." she breathed.

Travien finally pulled her closer, lifting her so that she was sitting on his lap. Her head rested against his chest. He felt a little awkward at first, but he quickly got used to their contact. It felt good, gave him courage he didn't know he had, made him aware of his physical abilities.

He sighed as he responded to her own statement. "Very much so."

Aurora smiled and closed her eyes peacefully. it felt amazing being this close to him. It was...destiny? Did she even believe in destiny?

She pushed those thoughts aside and felt herself drifting off into a dream world. Here her parents were alive. They were all going for a picnic in the woods. It was Aurora's ninth birthday and she had begged her parents to taker her. Suddenly there was a roar over head. Several dragons were circling around them. Aurora screamed as one of them dived and grabbed her mom in his claws.

Her dad jumped in front of her, but then a dragon attacked him too!

Aurora saw their bloody faces as the dragons took off with throaty laughs, leaving the little girl broken and alone.

* * *

She woke up in sheer panic, screaming. Tears streamed down her face and a cold sweat covered her body.

Travien jumped when the girl shrieked, withdrawing from his touch completely as panic shook her. Her eyes were wild in fear, but unfocused, as if she had been dreaming.

"Aurora, what's wrong?" he asked, voice shaky as he held her tighter, closer. "What happened?"

"They killed them!" she sobbed, finally clinging to him. She buried her face against his chest, gripping his shoulders firmly. "They killed them!"

"Who, Aurora? Who killed who?" He kept his voice gentle. He didn't doubt it now; she had been dreaming. "Come on, tell me. You'll feel better, I promise."

She cried forever, and he just hushed her, rubbing her back and making soft, caring noises. He hadn't expected her to answer him immediately; he didn't expect her to answer at all, yet. But, he would still be there for her, to support her and comfort her.

Aurora just cried. She felt empty...but not alone. This time, she had someone there. It felt good, having Travien's arms around her. His voice was soothing.

Her tears slowed to just soft sobs, almost hiccups.

"What's wrong, Aurora? what happened? Tell me! Please?"

"Dragons...killed...parents...fun..." She gasped out, burrying her head in his shoulder and crying harder.

**OOH!!! I JUST GOT AN AWESOME IDEA FOR A PLOT TWIST!!!***

Travien concealed his shock and anger well, and just held her even tighter, closer. He got his back off the wall and rocked with her, stroking her red hair gently.

"I'm sorry. I wish there was something I could do," he told her softly.

It took a few long moments, but Aurora finally stopped crying. Even so, she just laid in his arms.

Aurora looked up at him. It was nice being here. "S...sorry. I just...I was nine. It was my birthday. I begged my parents to take me out on a picnic. It was a gorgeous day. we were all laughing...having fun. Then th roar came. Dragons circled us. The swooped down and ripped at my mother...clutching her in their claws. She was all bloody...My dad jumped in front of me. Then they grabbed him. They left me...alone...their crackling laughter was th last thing I heard."

She waited for his response. she had never told anyone what had happened to her parents before...what would he think?

Travien was silent for a moment, thinking. He had never heard of an attack like that, and it disturbed him. What would compel dragons to attack humans so heartlessly, so cruelly? Certainly not anyone from his clan... Or could it be possible...?

He knew the faces and body of every dragon around; he had spent enough time away from his own clan to recognize everyone else. If she could recall the dragons' appearances, especially the main one, maybe it would help.

"This is very peculiar," he finally spoke. "I've never heard of anything like this is the dragon world... These attacks aren't supposed to happen. W-" - he quickly caught himself - "Dragons are supposed to mind their own, leave humans alone entirely. I just can't imagine the importance or the motivation for them to have attacked you..."

He looked at her, face serious now. "Can you remember what the dragons look like? Do you remember any of them, the leader in particular?"

Aurora shuddered as she recalled that scene. Theen the one...the one that laughed, came into view.

"Black. All black. sinister expression. Old. I can't remember any others. That's it...does that help?" She asked looking up at him, tears hinting at her eyes again. It hurt. She had loved them so much! And then they were gone. Played with like cast off toys.

She felt the tears burn her face again.

Black. Old. Black and old. Which meant it would be a large creature. The older the dragon, the larger it was.

Travien thought about all the black dragons he had ever seen. There were many young ones, but few older ones. The blacks generally died first... Why? He had yet to figure that out.

He sighed and looked at Aurora. "I want to help you, Aurora. And I will. But you have to trust me. Completely. Understand?"

She nodded.

He began again. "Before anything else happens, though, you must be familiar with what we're dealing with. As of now, there are three major dragon clans in this area. They are das konigliche, das gemeine, and versteckt.

"Das konigliche is the second largest but most influencial. They are the current... rulers of this region. They generally stay away from humankind and are highly elusive. If they see a human, they will generally roar at you or take off, never to be seen again.

"Das gemeine is the largest one. This is the clan you need to stay away from. To humans, you're knats and annoying. The dragons of this clan are very aggressive and will attack if they see a stranger, but it's no funny thing. They kill to protect, not to have fun.

"Versteckt is one I'm not too sure of. I know it's the most secretive clan in the area, but that's about it.

"So, you understand? I want to find the beast that did this and make it regret its actions. If it had friends, I'm going after them too. What we need to do now, though, is figure out who the dragons are."

"How do we do that?"

He looked at her, then, and frowned. How to answer the question without giving it away... Difficult, difficult, difficult... He finally settled with, "Let me in so I can see the memories. I can identify the dragon myself."

"How? Why?"

Another wild explanation. "I've studied dragons all my life. I've memorized most of the ones in this area."

With that, he put his hands on either side of her head, stroking her temples with his thumbs so as to relax her. As soon as she was relaxed, he would be able to enter. Otherwise, he could seriously hurt her.