Shadow's Rising {Wing 6} Chapter 5 (part 1)

Chapter 5
Warm scales and cold metal

Shadow felt himself being drawn in by Bellum’s offer. It was everything he never knew he wanted. He could feel himself salivating at the sweetness of his deal. It felt like a no-brainer, but at the same time something held him back. Could he really trust this dragon?

At the back of his mind a whisper in his own voice answered him. Do I really need to trust him? If I just say I will trust him and play along, I can get what I want while keeping my suspicion intact. What could be the harm in humoring him for a bit?

Shadow nodded to himself. Yeah. I suppose there’s no harm in it.

Bellum chuckled. You know I can still hear your thoughts, right?

Shadow recoiled, but there was humor rather than threat in Bellum’s voice.

I never expected you to agree right away. A thoughtful and kind dragon like yourself shouldn’t need to worry about who they can trust. I am fully prepared to earn your trust in the time we have together. A kingdom isn’t built in a day, and not without sacrifice. I will endure your naivety until you believe I can be trusted. Until then, consider what I have to offer.

Bellum’s presence in Shadow’s mind faded and the silence abruptly ended. The voices of Shadow’s friends and the humans above crashed back into his mind in a painful torrent of unintelligible chaos.

Shadow clutched his head as the pain he had been handling on his own up until now felt so much worse. He could hardly bear it.

Isn’t there anything I can do to block them out? It’s too much. Their hopes, fears, desires and pain. I want to help but I can’t. Stop. Please stop!

Shadow tried to block them out with all his strength and the voices faded for a moment but he couldn’t hold it for long and they all came roaring back. Tears started to form in his eyes.

Please stop. So much pain. I can’t bear it all. I can’t help you. He could feel the weight and pressure of the humans above him all bearing down on his shoulders and burning into his brain.

Then a gentle talon was placed on his shoulder. The weight lifted slightly as the touch grounded him.

“Are you ok, Shadow?” Aurora asked, concerned. What could have happened? I wish I could help him.

Her thoughts were comforting but the soothing gentleness seemed so trivial compared to the blissful silence a moment before. It was like drinking a cup of water in a blazing desert after swimming in a cool, peaceful oasis.

Shadow turned to her with his face downcast, wiping his eyes and rubbing his temples in a vain attempt to ease the pain. “I’m fine. I’ve just had a bad headache since we got here. Everything’s too loud all at once. But it’s not any worse now than it was before.”

Even as he said the words, he realized they weren’t true. The pain had always been in the background before. It was something he couldn’t do anything about. But now that he knew what it was like to have true silence…?

Aurora gasped. His extra strong hearing! How could I have forgotten about it? And in a noisy, crowded place like this… I can’t imagine what he must be going through.

“Are you sure?” She placed her talons on his face and lifted it so she could look into his eyes. “Does this help?” She placed her talons over Shadow’s soft horns and ears. 

Shadow didn’t know how to tell her that his telepathy couldn’t be blocked by something like covering his ears. His mouth tried to form words but his awkward attempt told her it wasn’t enough.

“How about this then?” she asked, as she pulled his head in and spread her wings around him as much as the bindings would allow.

Shadow felt his forehead being pressed against the warm, soft scales on her chest, and suddenly the world seemed to narrow to just the two of them. He couldn’t help but wonder at the gentle warmth surrounding his entire body. He could feel his cheeks burning with embarrassment as his mouth went dry and he lost the ability to swallow.

He couldn’t speak or even make coherent sentences in his head. He wanted to push away and melt into her embrace simultaneously. His arms twitched with uncertainty and his tail seemed to gain a life of its own as it stiffly wagged rapidly back and forth.

Aurora held him tight and gazed down with empathy at her friend. I hope this helps. I can’t bear to see him like that… Wow. His horns are so soft. I never realized how cute they were, she thought as she rubbed his horns caringly.

Shadow felt like his heart was exploding in his chest as tense energy flooded his body. He couldn’t breathe, his chest tightened. The pressure in his head had reached the boiling point. He had to get out of there! 

He ducked his head and pulled back, while rubbing his horns to try and get rid of the feeling that was making his stomach do flip flops in his belly. He could only hope the heat he felt throughout his body wasn’t causing his scales to steam.

Shadow could feel the disappointment and sadness Aurora felt as he pulled away from her, like jaws clamping on his heart, and quickly reassured her. “It’s not you Aurora. Thank you for trying. It helped but I just… I just can’t handle that right now.”

He tried to make his words sound as kind as possible but he could hardly keep his voice from shaking. He clutched his chest and tried to slow his breathing as his heart continued pounding in his chest. In truth, her actions had very effectively taken his mind off the voices around him. He could still hear them, but he didn’t feel the same desperation as before.

As Shadow realized this, he smiled gratefully at Aurora. “I mean it. You’ve helped me far more than you know.”

Aurora’s face brightened slightly as warmth mixed with concern floated about in her head. “Are you sure? Your face looks weirdly pink.”

Shadow felt his cheeks burning even more than before and quickly hid his face behind his wing. “It’s nothing! I was just feeling a little warm after you hugged me.” How could I let her see that? It’s so embarrassing! What if she stays away from me because of this? What if…? No. She wouldn’t do that. Argh, but I can’t stop thinking about it!

He’s trying not to let it show, but he must be just as nervous about what will happen to us as I am. Aurora’s compassionate thoughts helped calm Shadow’s racing mind.

She’s not thinking about it. Just calm down and we can move on without any more weird feelings. Shadow took a few deep breaths before quickly moving towards the rest of the group while gesturing for Aurora to join him.

“I’m feeling much better now. Let’s go see what the others are up to.”

Aurora smiled and followed behind. Even when he’s nervous he still acts so brave. I wish I could be like that.

Shadow stiffened slightly and tried to keep himself from blushing again at her compliment.