Chapter Text
As he stood against the blustering shore, a lone boy gazed at the water searchingly. For what exactly, he had no idea. It was just a feeling that got him here. Well, a dream, more like—an indistinct and inexplicable dream. And yet, despite any uncertainty about what exactly he was there to find, he was sure of nothing else but his need to be there.
Suddenly, a terrible cry pierced the air—a deafening and proud thing.
The sound of strong, beating wings quickly joined the riotous cacophony, and from the sea emerged a great beast. Waves crashed together from where it rose. With frightening speed, and a thunderous roar, it landed right before him.
The very ground shook.
But the lone boy felt no fear—it looked the very picture that his mother’s tales had weaved. With a jolt, he realised it had the exact same bright blue eyes as his mother, too. And oh, how he desperately missed her.
The beast gave a prolonged deep, resonant sound—a growl, perhaps?
Ah.
This must've been its nest then.
Just as the boy was sure he was about to be incinerated, the beast leaned in… and sniffed him? Slowly, it turned its head towards the water, and the boy followed its gaze. Bobbing to the surface were the remnants of what could only be eggs and a nest. The boy felt his heart ache keenly for the loss.
He looked back towards the beast, only to find its unsettling gaze was already on him. Another realisation struck—did the beast think it was he who did that?
But instead of opening its maw and unleashing fiery destruction upon him, the beast simply leaned in and sniffed the boy once more. Even more surprisingly, it began to softly rub its nostrils against his body. The beast gave what could only be a miserable whuff.
A poignant understanding of the situation washed over the boy—she was a mother without children and he was a son without a mother.
Its mouth—fit with razor-sharp teeth, naturally—could probably fit him whole. But for once, his anxious instincts were silenced—only compassion remained.
The boy spent several silent minutes, simply basking in the presence of the beast, eyes closed. His chest felt tight with the knowledge that it was probably experiencing the same keen grief that he did. Then, he felt the nose of the beast nudging his torso and opened his eyes—to which they nearly boggled out of his head. Its head and neck were lowered to the ground, a clear invitation to climb on.
The boy felt his face twist in the first unpretending smile of what was probably months.
In a surprising display of tenderness, the beast gently assisted him with his ascent with its nose. After a few minutes of struggle, he finally crawled on the beast's back—just as he knew great men and women of old were able to do.
On top of the beast, he gripped tightly on its impressive, gleaming horns—and only held tighter as the beast spread its tremendous wings and began to beat them with great vigour. Within what felt like hours—but was probably only thirty seconds—the two were airborne.
Chilly air nipped at the boy's face as they got higher, and higher, and higher.
In a wonderful, heart-stopping moment, the beast ceased beating its wings—it simply spread them, wingtips scraping the sky. Eyes wide, and mouth agape, the boy watched as the wings eclipsed the moon and covered the grounds below in shadow—and he smiled.
