When I Cry, Chpt. 4

Chapter 4: Bittersweet

“How long have you been in the Underworld, Tessa?” Mama Rae asked.

“You already know that,” Tessa said cautiously but firmly, wary of the older woman.

Mama Rae looked back at her with what might have been an eye roll and said, “Yes, Tessa, I know that. But I want to hear it from you.”
“Well, about two weeks now,” Tessa said.

“Before or after bonding with Kass?”

“Oh.” How much detail did the woman want? And what did she have up her sleeve? “I knew about the Underworld for about a week before I found…Kass found me.”

“Yes, before Kass found you,” Mama Rae repeated, leaning down to scratch Kass behind his dark, leathery ear. He crooned happily, leaning into Mama Rae’s hand to be scratched harder. “It was Kass that chose you, not you that chose him,” she said, continuing to scratch behind Kass’ ear. After a few more seconds of rubbing, the pleasure began to seep across the bond in little drips, irritating little droplets that sent ripples across Tessa’s concentration and made it difficult to focus. They stung, but not painfully, almost like miniature adrenaline rushes in each little drop- just enough to distract her, but not enough to ease her mood. Then the drops became a trickle, a tiny stream that felt good, a back massage for her mind. The moment Tessa felt herself start to relax, she jerked up out of the enjoyment leaking through her bond and tightened her guard. Never knew what Mama Rae had in store, and it wouldn’t help to be caught off guard. Mama Rae grinned softly and stood up, letting go of Kass. The little dragon immediately began whining pitifully and rubbing the bottom of his throat against the woman’s legs as he looked up at her entreatingly, begging for more attention. Mama Rae crossed her arms and said, “Kass, you are a little over six feet long, snout to tail. Chop your tail off, and you’re about the size of a terrier. You behave, or I’m going to mistake you for a stray mutt and put you in a kennel.” Kass dropped his head in shame, his ears flopping down over his eyes, and he crawled back with a whine to Tessa’s legs and curled up on her feet. She sent soothing, comforting sensations across the bond, and when she was satisfied his feelings weren’t hurt too deeply she looked at Mama Rae.

“He’ll live,” Mama Rae said with a grin, then her face went stern as she looked across the plaza at the great doorway that led to the Underworld. “Tell me what you see.”

“I see the Portal Door,” Tessa said, glancing between the door and Mama Rae, who nodded for her to go on, “And the University Hall, and next to that the High Sanctum.”

“And what is opposite the Training Grounds?” Mama Rae asked.

“The Dragon Hold,” Tessa replied, looking over at the building that, size-wise, matched the warehouse of the Training Grounds.

“And what building is to our left?”

Tessa looked over, although she already knew, and saw the rectangular building, slatted with brown-painted siding today, and said, “The Mages Dormitory.”

“And what building is directly behind us?” Mama Rae asked the dreaded question. With a shiver Tessa shook her head.

“You know that, too,” she said defiantly. Let Mama Rae ask her questions. If she was trying to convince Tessa to ever consent to living in the Dragonmates’ Barracks, she was out of her mind.

“Tessa, look at me,” Mama Rae ordered, her voice commanding. Tessa did, and saw those two green eyes as hard and unyielding as stone. Maybe that was the most terrifying aspect of the woman: her eyes. They could go from soft and comforting to icy and withdrawn in a blink, and in the very next moment livid with fire and anger, only to cool or transform into playfully energetic. You never knew what to expect to find in those eyes, or what was going on behind them. But right now those eyes stayed firm, and Mama Rae said, “Don’t beat around the bush, Tessa. Burn it.” Then her eyes did one of their characteristic shifts, and they took on a softer, more playful look. “What is that building called?”
“The Dragonmates’ Barracks,” Tessa said coldly.

Mama Rae nodded and said, “The Dragonmates’ Barracks. If you are late one more time, Tessa,”

“I will die before I stay in there!” Tessa shouted, startling her dragon up off her feet. Oh great. That probably just blew everything. Tessa felt her gut go cold, and even Kass whimpered from his side of the bond. Mama Rae’s mouth hung slightly open, as if she had been paused in the middle of her sentence, then slowly she pulled out of the pose, closing her mouth and eyes to take a breath. For a moment she just stood there, calm and erect and unmoving, and Tessa felt panic spike through her chest. Whatever advantage she’d had or could have garnered from the situation, she’d succinctly burnt it into crisp ashes, then ground the ash into powder, thrown the powder to the wind and set her throat under Mama Rae’s heel. It was out of her hands, she was way out of her league, she should just go back home and forget all of this ever happened…And then Kass’ presence, barely on the edge of her consciousness, snapped her back to the present as her thoughts absently brushed against it, shattering all the panic and fear-driven thoughts she’d almost fallen to, again. The last time she’d let panic get ahold of her had been when she, BAM! She slammed the mental door shut, slid the steel crossbeam shut, and sealed the vault and all the dark, suffocating emotions inside it. She wasn’t going back there, not now, not ever. Her emotions back in check, she steeled herself as Mama Rae looked back at her. Uh oh. Now her eyes were cold again, hooded, as if Mama Rae had pulled back all the friendship she’d just previously extended. Tessa gulped as Mama Rae spoke.

“I was going to say, Tessa,” Mama Rae said slowly, her eyes flashing like miniature green gems as she stared directly at Tessa, “that I would not know what the Council would do with you, should you have to stay in Othia. Your relationship with the other ‘mates is…delicate at best. At this time, our solutions are still in the works. Perhaps you could stay with the Mages.”

She wouldn’t have to stay with the Dragonmates? Talk about a dream come true! Well, she’d be much closer to them than she wanted to be, but at least she wouldn’t be fighting for her bed too close. Kass garbled something that sounded like a hiccup and a purr trying to come out at the same time and rubbed his head up against her leg, drawing her attention back to the real world. Tessa reached down and appreciatively rubbed her bond’s smooth, scaly head, then glanced back at Mama Rae. Oh, she wanted her opinion on that. Oops.

“Um, yeah, I guess I could,” Tessa said, inwardly sighing with relief as Mama Rae’s crossed arms relaxed and her eyes shifted to a less hostile glow. “But Brook said I could stay with her.” Okay, so she hadn’t been too keen on staying with Brook, but Tessa would rather have to put up with one person instead of a handful (at least) of elves constantly wanting to practice their meditation or snaga bending. They could be crazy at times, but they weren’t psychotic like some of the Dragonmates. Still, Tessa needed her space.

Mama Rae’s eyebrows twitched downward into a slight furrow before returning to their original state, and her eyes shifted to inquisitive, as if searching for Tessa’s motivation. Tessa smiled encouragingly, if still weakly, and Mama Rae grinned slightly as she said, “That will have to go through the Council first. But it might work.” Tessa stood up a little straighter, feeling a spark of hope. “But,” Mama Rae held up her hand, “Brook would be responsible for supervising you and making sure you were obeying the rules. That means, Tessa, that Brook would basically be your babysitter.”

Ooh, that grated. Why’d she have to put it that way? Tessa tried to hide a frown, but failed. Mama Rae grinned openly now and said, “Tessa, it’s your choice, not mine. Make sure you’re on time, and we won’t have to go through that.” The shorter woman turned to face the Portal door and walked towards it. Once again its uniqueness struck Tessa. Made of chalky gray stone, it looked like someone had pulled up the foundation of a castle dungeon to make the rounded arch that was the Portal Door. The bricks were square, and rose up six feet on each side before changing shape and curving across the top to form the completed doorway. Streaks of dark ash, earth, and moss ran in sparse lines across the uneven surfaces, adding to the musty appearance of the stone. A short shadow spread towards the Mages’ Dormitory, cast by the sun on its downward journey. Mama Rae walked over and stood by the Barracks’ side of the Portal Door, then motioned Tessa over. Kass immediately took off, digging his claws into the sandstone as he shot across the ground. His ears flopped against his head like miniature sails, his wings clasped tightly against his sides to keep from catching air, and his tail whipped wildly about in his wake. Tessa laughed as she followed her little dragon, who scuttled with claws upturned as he tried to skid to a stop. His momentum overtook him, and he tucked his head under as his hindquarters rolled him across the stone into Mama Rae’s legs, who wobbled as she tried to regain her balance. Kass uncurled himself from his protective ball, poking his head up through his legs like a blue periscope as he blinked to regain his bearings. Flapping his wings and wriggling his legs, he righted himself and waddled over proudly to Tessa, wings spread and tail erect as he crooned happily. Tessa scratched her bond behind his ears and stopped a few feet from Mama Rae.

The three now stood on the right side of the Portal Door, which was in the center of the Plaza. The six buildings were situated in a giant hexagon around this door, the Training Ground situated as the hexagon’s top point. Then, counter-clockwise, the University Hall, High Sanctum, Dragon Hold, Mages’ Dormitory, and Dragonmates’ Barracks, completed the shape, ringing them into the sandy Plaza. Tessa knew from memories Kass had shared with her that from the air, Othia almost looked like a giant sundial, with building instead of numbers. And all the building-numbers had matching, sandy-colored exteriors, except for the Mages Dormitory, which the Mages were constantly redecorating. Like last time, the building had been painted to look like it was submerged underneath a giant wave, and the wave was threatening to wash away the city of sand. Tessa stood near Mama Rae uncertainly, not coming any closer but not moving any farther away. A slight breeze blew through the stillness, gently lifting Mama Rae’s short, wavy black hair. That same breeze pushed loose strands of Tessa’s hair into her face, and she pulled them back as the doors to the Training Grounds flew open. Tessa froze, and Kass shot off. He was sitting on his haunches one second, blasting across the ground as fast as he could the next. A few more steps, and with a flap of his wings he jumped into the sky, putting on a burst of energy to get higher. Tessa watched as her little blue dragon got several feet off the ground, flying towards the group of brown-clad Dragonmates and rainbow of different colored dragons coming from the giant warehouse. Most of the dragons were small, around Kass’ size, but then one dragon reared its large head and pushed itself into the sky. Corban. Tessa felt every muscle in her body tense at the sight of Ryan’s yearling, a big, violet-colored yearling that was almost three times larger than any other dragon bond. In the shadows, Corban’s scales almost looked black, but when he took off the sun scattered shards of light across his scales, revealing deep purples, rich amethysts, striking spinels, and a few specks of rose quartz. Corban’s wingspan was close to twelve feet, and he was almost sixteen feet long from tip to snout, just pushing the minimum size required to carry a rider. His wings were a pale lavender, etched with dark, plum-colored veins, and his claws, frill, and eyes were as black as ebony. The scales on his underbelly were fuchsia, flecked with violet. Overall an imposing sight, and even more threatening on a battlefield. Tessa had seen what that dragon could do in practice, and for a brief moment worried about Kass, who looked even smaller in the air then on the ground. But then a warbling cry rose into the air, undulating up and down like a sheet of metal being shaken. Kass replied in a shorter, lower tone call, his warble softer than his sister’s. An emerald dragon, Mercedes, jumped into the air behind Corban, leading the pack of smaller dragons that also took to the sky. The membranes of Mercedes’s wings were milky white, spotted here and there with webs of green veins in clusters, disjointed where the veins disappeared beneath the leathery surface. Mercedes’ scales were an array of emeralds, beryls, agates, and demantoids. Long tendrils of bloodstone frill ran down the dragon’s neck like a horse’s mane, changing into short, triangular spikes that ran the length of its spine. The green dragon was the largest of the dragons, outside of Corban, and outdistanced the pack to race straight at the flying speck of blue. Kass wheeled and charged straight at this new challenge, and with grace that only dragons can muster the two forcefully collided, spinning out and away from each other in aerial acrobatics as they snapped and nipped at each other’s tails and limbs that got within range. Tessa felt a huge grin envelope her face as Kass’ excitement grew while he wrestled with his sister. Tussles broke out among some of the younger dragons still in the pack, while the rest, including Corban, followed their bonds back towards the Barracks. One Dragonmate in particular stuck out from the crowd, his dark brown training uniform setting him apart as a rebond. Tessa felt the hairs on her neck and arms stiffen, and Kass paused from his play long enough to snarl a challenge at Corban, who flew above his master. Ryan strode with unkempt dark hair, thin brows, and soft eyes that hid his animosity well. His brown eyes locked with Tessa, even before he’d gotten to the front of the Dragonmates heading back towards their rooms, and his cocky grin spoke volumes. He thought he had her beat, and knew her dragon couldn’t even compete with his. And Tessa hated it. Kass wasn’t small, but he couldn’t hold his own against a dragon that big. There was just no way. Tessa loved her dragon, but she knew his limits, too. And Corban was definitely outside those limits. Ryan made sure his antagonism was clearly understood, then made a show of turning away from her to talk with Blake and Luke, the two Dragonmates closest to him, before the group reached the doors of the Barracks and went in. More Dragonmates followed, their dragons peeling away from the line to fly over Tessa and Mama Rae towards the Dragon Hold and back to their stalls. The roughhousing broke off, and even Mercedes joined the stragglers headed back to the Hold, splitting off Kass like a jagged crystal breaking away. Kass bayed after her, a roar that was too high-pitched to sound even remotely threatening, and Mercedes responded with the same warble she’d greeted her brother with. The two flew towards Tessa and Mama Rae, and Kass descended and slid across the ground like an oiled hockey puck while Mercedes glided over them and landed in front of the Hold with all the dignity of a lady.