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3430 A.S.
The desert sands were soft against Evergreen’s feet.
She stared out into the bright, cloudless sky as the sun beat down just enough to make her feel like she was baking alive. It was the first time in her long, long life that she’d gone anywhere near the desert, and it had become evident to her very quickly why that had been the case. LeafWings were not meant for the desert and dunes.
LeafWings weren’t meant on Pyrrhia, either, and yet here she was. Maybe leaving with my own tribe so long ago would have been the better choice. There was no way to know what could’ve happened. All that matters is that I’m here.
She had an enchantment that could make her look like a dragon from any tribe. Not that it changed anything about her - she’d made sure to clarify that - but it meant she wouldn’t stick out like a sore claw in a continent where LeafWings no longer lived. That same enchantment was the only thing preventing her capture.
There were only a few spells that she’d cast on herself, but all of them had seemed to work. An immortality, youth, and memory spell; ordinary dragon minds could only retain so much. The immortality also came with an off switch. So that I’m not around after the end of the world. The disguise spell that was making her appear as a SandWing at this very moment. A spell of binding to make her magic unaffected by any other animus, and herself completely immune to all animus magic other than her own. And finally, a spell to seal away her own magic until it was actually, truly necessary. Because if the rumors about its corrupting effects were true...
Evergreen shook off the thought. It was far too late to be doubting herself now; two thousand years too late. No matter how much she sometimes wanted to be able to do something with her magic, she could never cast a new spell again. Disappointing, but probably for the best. Instead, she lived in a small tree shack in the middle of the ruins of the now-buried Leaf Kingdom, eating the occasional animal and trying to spend her time alone. For as boring as life often was, death was worse.
Being alone was also her preferred state of mind. Not just that others would get on her nerves, but if they ever got close enough... her spell had stopped any attempt to make him immortal, too. And after another millennium, all that remained of him was hazy memories, buried longing, and a pile of bones that were probably dust by now.
The older she got, the less time she spent in the present moment. With a sigh, she turned her attention back towards the expanse of sand. The heat was really getting to her.
Focus. One step at a time.
...
Truthfully, while living for so long often became tedious, it was never... unappealing. Maybe it was the fear of what came after, or maybe it was just that this world had so much to offer one could never truly run out of things to do. Either way, she had no desire to take the way out just yet.
In the last seven years or so, Evergreen had taken a keen interest into scavengers. They were fascinatingly smart, and she’d taken the time to learn their language. There was a pair in a cave, hiding from... me, probably.
“Leaf, stay. We shouldn’t alert it to our presence.” The voice was almost impossible to make out. Evergreen thanked her good hearing. The other voice made a quiet reply.
“Who cares if it finds us? I’ve always wanted to slay a dragon.”
“Leaf...” A long pause followed. “That’s a silly daydream. Be quiet and don’t get us killed.”
For a long minute, she listened curiously as their breathing slowed down. ‘Leaf’ is an odd name. At least I know the word. Evergreen decided to wait outside, still, almost completely so. The faint rustle of leaves in the wind was the only sound for another few minutes. Other than that, the silence stretched on in the bright, sunlit forest.
Eventually, tiny steps approached the mouth of the light gray cave. It carried a small spear, though quite remarkably crafted; the tip was made out of some metal. Probably iron. After all, they were capable of metallurgy. She locked eyes with the creature.
It froze, taking a step back. Then another. “Stay- stay back!” This one didn’t seem to be particularly good at using its weapon; it was swinging it around with a lot less precision than most others Evergreen had seen with the same kind of spear. She took one talonstep forward.
“Hello?”
The scavenger paused. “You can... you can talk?”
“With practice.” She stopped, taking a moment to look around. “What are you doing here? This is the middle of nowhere.”
“Hunting. For food. Taking it back to our village.” It glanced around testily, trying to buy time, it seemed. Quite honestly speaking, she was surprised it wasn’t more in shock that she could talk. Usually there was a bit more wonder than that.
“Really? How many live there?”
“Why do you need to-?” Their conversation was cut off by what could be assumed to be a war cry by the younger one. It charged at her with its spear out. “What are you doing?”
“Saving you!” The stick bounced harmlessly against Evergreen’s scales. I suppose the enchantment did make me impervious to all attacks. She looked down at the scavenger, who had an unreadable expression on his face. Then, they both started to run.
It took one sweep of the tail to block their path and make them fall over. “Hold on! I haven’t asked everything yet. How big are your settlements usually?”
The one that attacked her went wide-eyed. “It can talk?”
“Just- go with it. Maybe it won’t eat us if we play along.”
“For your information, I don’t eat scavengers.” They both glanced at each other uncertainly before turning back to Evergreen. The light of the sun was still high in the sky. “And I can hear you. Anyways. What’s your settlement like?”
Leaf - or who she assumed to be Leaf - piped up. “It’s full of a few hundred people. And they all follow the dragonmancers, who tell everyone to stay underground and not to get eaten.”
“Dragonmancers?”
The second half of the word wasn’t familiar. The older scavenger spoke up. “Yes. They keep us safe. They keep us all safe. And in exchange, we give them some of our harvest and treasure.” It seemed very confident on this. “It’s a more than equal exchange.”
“What kind of dragon are you? Your wings look like big leaves.” Evergreen refocused her attention. She decided she liked the smaller one more. “I’ve never seen wings like that before. And are all dragon scales that tough?” It seemed... oddly eager to talk for a creature who had wanted to kill her a few moments ago.
“Mine are... stronger than most. And the rest of my tribe is gone.” Never before would Evergreen have guessed she would feel this way talking to a scavenger. “I would have to request you don’t slay a dragon.”
“Why not? It’s been done before.”
“Leaf!”
“Really? When?”
“The Dragonslayer did a few years ago.” If this was true... I really need to catch up on the news. “It was a sand dragon. He said it was the queen of them all. Is it- true?”
Evergreen thought for a moment. “I suppose it’s not... impossible. I’m not the most up to date.”
“Leaf, let’s go. We’ve wasted enough of its time.”
“But-“
“We will ask the dragonmancers later. Let’s go.” Briskly, he took Leaf by the arm and dragged him forward. Reluctantly, Leaf walked forward. Evergreen took to the air, tugging her jade necklace once, shifting into a SkyWing look-alike. I suppose it would be hard to trust the creatures that you hide from on a daily basis not to eat you. Maybe the younger ones are less unreasonable, though.
Just a few hundred meters away, there appeared to be a ceremony happening. There were scavengers were gathered outside, near a river; quite a few, actually. In the midst of it was a small and somewhat violent one. She was being tied to a stone slab. Out of curiosity, Evergreen dove back down into the canopy nearby, returning to her LeafWing form. After all, looking down and seeing SkyWing scales is... very odd. And uncomfortable.
Voices once more returned, though it was less talking and more screaming and talking over the screaming. “We make this offering to the dragons of the sky...”
She watched the events play out in relative silence. The scavengers finished preaching, and before long it was just the bound scavenger and her. It had already freed one of its arms and was tugging on the ropes binding the other, seemingly oblivious to Evergreen’s existence. She quickly walked up to it.
A few long moments later, they were face-to-face. It started making breathing sounds, accelerating rapidly. It was still bound by its feet to the granite slab, unable to move. “What are you doing here?” It seemed... greatly taken aback by this.
“W-well, some IDIOTS tied me to a piece of ROCK so I could get EATEN BY DRAGONS. And NO ONE said anything, so now I’m here and they can live their stupid, Wren-less life. STUPIDLY.” Any fear the scavenger may have had immediately turned into some kind of burning anger. A bit strange I found so many in this area. Perhaps I’m closer than I think; Leaf did say it was underground.
“I... see.” Evergreen looked around the riverbank. “Well. Do you need help?”
The scavenger huffed irritably. “I can do it MYSELF.” It eyed her warily. The LeafWing just observed its movements as it struggled to get loose. After about ten solid seconds of uncomfortable silence, Evergreen sliced the ropes off anyways. “You’re not gonna eat me, right?”
“No.”
“You don’t want to eat me, right?”
“Also no.”
“HA! I KNEW IT!” She crowed. “They were LYING!”
“What?”
“The dragonmancers! They said they got a vision saying the dragons wanted to EAT ME IN PARTICULAR!” Evergreen processed the information for a moment. Scavengers who called themselves ‘dragonmancers’ and told the others that they got visions of the dragons’ wants and needs. As far as I know, that’s not possible. “They... did it because they don’t like me, didn’t they?”
The LeafWing paused for a moment. “...yes. That would appear to be the case.”
“Well- It doesn’t matter now, even if Mom and Dad didn’t... it doesn’t matter! I have a DRAGON on my side right now! Who can talk and breathe fire!” Evergreen suppressed a laugh. They were... fiery, for lack of a better descriptor. “You should go in there and BURN THEIR HOUSES DOWN! Except Leaf’s.” She stopped for a moment, in thought. That name... “Have you... seen Leaf?”
“I did meet another scavenger named Leaf not too far away. His elder said they were on a hunting trip.”
They seemed a bit too worked up for Evergreen to make any further comments. “They- they distracted him! They distracted him so they could say ‘boo-hoo, she got eaten by dragons’ and then hope that he forget!” For a moment, she breathed, grunting.
“Would I be wrong in assuming you are a girl?”
“What? ...no?” She glanced around helplessly. “It doesn’t matter. We should go back! And get revenge!”
“That seems... a bad idea.” She didn’t exactly know the world for unwise. “Will they not just leave you to die again?”
“Well, maybe, but- you’re here! You can just set ALL OF THEM on fire! You can, right?”
Evergreen shook her head. “I can’t breathe fire.”
Wren took this information in, processing for a moment. They were at a bit of an impasse. The LeafWing was good at suppressing her emotions, but purposefully leaving a dragonet to die... Or rather, whatever their word was for their young. That is unimaginably cruel.
Scavengers were no less subject to such cruelty, it turned out. She thought for a moment before Wren snapped her back into the present. “You can still be all big and scary, though...!” Their voice trailed off a little uncertainly.
“I think you need to take some time off of this. Perhaps you could leave for a few days, and see how you feel then.” Evergreen’s wings started to spread, just a little bit.
The scavenger looked around a bit apprehensively. “Could you stay with me a bit? I’m not.. scared or anything. Just... it would be safer. For me.” Her shaking said otherwise, however.
“If you insist.” It’s not like I have much better to do with my time. She sat down for a moment, offering a talon for Wren to climb onto. There was little to no hesitation between that and suddenly having a scavenger nestled between two of her spikes.
“To the skies!”
...
“Do you ever wonder what happened to Leaf?”
Evergreen looked behind her, at the scavenger riding on the pale orange SkyWing in the gray-blue sky. “Not particularly. He either died or is still alive somewhere in Talisman.”
“Don’t worry, Wren! I still think he’s alive!” Sky chirped happily. “From what you said, I think he’ll be just fine.”
Wren had grown considerably in the last few years. Not just in size, either; she was at least somewhat more rational now. And less stubborn. When she found Sky’s egg, I doubt any amount of convincing could’ve shaken her off of the name ‘Sky’. At least she was confident in herself.
“Hm.” She stared at Evergreen. “You know, you never told me what you benefitted from this whole... helping me out thing. Not that I don’t appreciate it.” For a moment, they glided in thoughtful silence.
“I don’t benefit.”
“Then... why? You just felt like it?”
“You were a child abandoned by your own kind because you wanted to read the dragonmancer’s books.” The memory still burned something bitter. “It felt right.”
Wren rolled her eyes, but lacked a snarky reply. “I still think my plan where you go in there and make all of them shit themselves is the best one. You know, just in case they forget.” She had a somewhat malicious smile on her face. “I haven’t forgotten.”
“That sounds kind of mean, though. You could... talk about it?”
“Well...” Evergreen often found herself in doubt in whether what she did was evil or not, but it was hard to deny the idea of being someone’s savior. Even if that someone is a human. “It can’t hurt, can it?”
Neither of them knew how literal that phrase was. Wren just shrugged. “So, could we go after the next visit to the Indestructible City?” Her excitement was almost childlike, though highly amusing nonetheless. So was the pompously named human settlement.
“You know, in my years of living, never before have I seen a name so amusingly arrogant be given to a city. Especially not for a settlement of... humans. No offense meant.”
The only response was a shrug. “You’re not wrong. Also, the people in there. Ick.”
Evergreen thought for a moment.
“Humans and dragons alike are shaped by their experiences. Perhaps the reason you dislike humanity so much is that they have more reasons to be cruel? Dragons often do not have much to fear except each other.” She turned towards the sky ahead, the sun starting its descent. “Is it possible humans and dragons are not so different?”
“I don’t think that’s... She has a point, Wren.”
For a long few moments, Wren just thought atop Sky. “You’re worse than Mom and Dad sometimes.”
“How so?”
“Just being so... I don’t know. But you’re... right. Most of the time.” No one is always perfect, after all. “It’s annoying.”
“I see. Well... how have your escapades with Undauntable been?” Wren just looked at Evergreen with a severe irritation. It was hard not to laugh. Wren looked towards the Indestructible City; or rather, in its general direction, with an extreme look of distaste.
“He asked me to marry him.”
That sentence broke Evergreen. She started laughing uncontrollably as Sky nearly dropped out of the air. He had the same tone of voice that a boar dropped into the ocean likely had. “What? No way! You said no, right? Please tell me you said no, Wren.”
“She wouldn’t. From what I’ve heard, this Undauntable character is... interesting.” She did her best to hold together her already shattered composure. “And not Wren’s type.”
Sky looked over a bit curiously. “I’ve never seen you laugh before.”
The comment caught her off-guard. “I- suppose not, no.”
“He’s right,” Wren pointed out. “You’re so quiet sometimes.”
“It’s just the... way I am.”
The pale SkyWing whispered to Wren, just within earshot, “I think she needs more snails.” This earned him a slap. “What? Everyone needs more snails. It’s the best thing for if you’re sad! Or pandas.”
Another small smile reached Evergreen’s face. “I understand. Thank you, Sky.”
Somehow, everything felt right at that moment.
...
Maybe...
Even if they don’t stay around forever
Even if they’ll die someday
I should enjoy their company while it lasts.
Because even if it’s fleeting
I suppose it’s better to have experienced it at all.
What was the saying?
“Don’t cry that it’s over, be glad it happened.”
Evergreen looked at the pair though a cloud of hazy memories and smiled softly. Those two are unlike any others in Pyrrhia. They were in the middle of an argument of who was whose pet, somewhere in a forest. “Evergreen! Tell Wren she’s my pet because I’m bigger than her.”
“But Wren’s older. She raised you from hatching.”
He just pouted and sighed. Wren, meanwhile, made an enthusiastic yell. “HA! See? You’re my pet. Two versus one.” The dappled sunlight barely made it through the canopy above, leaving most of the ground in a shaded, darker state.
“No fair!” Sky frowned, talons raking wet leaves together. He turned around in a circle, tail sweeping the underbrush.
“YES. We should have Evergreen settle all of our debates.” Wren sat on top of a half-rotting log, a proud expression on her face.
The SkyWing made an unhappy face. “You just say that because she likes to take your side.”
“That’s only half the reason.”
...
“Wren, you always go into your human city! Can I go in there? Please please please please please?” Sky was practically hopping up and down on the spot.
She sighed. “I don’t- Evergreen. Just... make sure he’s okay, yeah?”
“I can do that.”
The human thought for a long moment, burying her face in her hands. “It’s just- Sky, will you be okay? Can you be back by noon, at least?”
“I’ll be back then!”
“He will be fine. He is a dragon in a dragon city. Besides, I will keep him safe.” Evergreen hadn’t gone into a city without her disguise charm for years, but hopefully no one would notice all that much. “No sane dragons will pick a fight with us.”
A moment later, she sighed. “Alright. I trust you, Evergreen.”
...
It was the dead of night. Evergreen watched the human and her SkyWing sleeping. I should probably get some food for tomorrow. She tugged on her jade pendant, disguising herself as a MudWing before stalking off into the underbrush silently. It was supposed to be a quick mission to make tomorrow just a little bit easier for Sky to get up.
Only thirty paces away from the dying fire, however, Wren confronted her. “What did you- Why are you a MudWing?”
“Wren-?” The human was getting damn good on sneaking up on her. “I was just-“ She pulled on her necklace, reverting back to her LeafWing form with a deep breath. “Hunting. For tomorrow.”
She narrowed her eyes. “You just- again! What is that? Is that why you’re always wearing it? Do dragons have illusion magic? What aren’t you telling me?” They stared at each other for a long moment, the silence momentarily broken by some night animal’s call.
“Evergreen... what the actual fuck.”
“I- It-“ The LeafWing was at a loss for words. For someone who’s lived so long, you’re not very good at this. “I didn’t think you would believe me. Or trust me. If I said anything.” Her voice dropped shamefully quiet.
“Well I sure as hell don’t now!” Wren cried. “What else? You’re secretly a human, too?”
She felt a twinge of irritation. “I’m not a human.”
“You know what I mean! What else aren’t you telling us?” Wren was angry. More than that; she looked ready to blow her top off if it meant finally udnerstanding Evergreen. Even if she didn’t want to be understood. “I-I thought dragons were supposed to be better. You weren’t supposed to lie and go behind my back, and- and...” The human was crying angry tears now.
“I didn’t- it didn’t have to happen.”
“So you were going to keep hiding this from us? For how long? What else can you do?” Evergreen took a step back. “I’m leaving.”
“Wren, stop-“
It was too late. She was already storming back towards the campsite. Suddenly, the LeafWing was left alone in the forest.
Alone.
Again.
Gently, she took off the small necklace. Examined it for a long minute. There was an undeniable part of her that wanted to toss the useless thing into the forest, never to be found again. Or to throw it into the ocean. But it was too useful for that; even if it had been the reason everything had broken apart.
No. It was because you didn’t tell them everything. Lying by omission is still lying. Realistically, she had two options: try and reconcile with Wren, tell Sky about her secret, and trust that they wouldn’t freak out, or to fly away and not look back.
Evergreen looked down with a growing pit of dread in her stomach, slipping the necklace back over her head.
...
“Wren. Can we... talk?”
Sky was still fast asleep. The fire was now just a warm pile of charcoal, but Wren was still tending to it. She looked up at the LeafWing. “Are you going to tell me what I want to know?” Wren looked sideways towards Sky, before standing up and tapping her foot on the mossy floor.
Evergreen nodded. “Do you... what do you want to know?”
“I- First. How does that necklace work?”
“It’s a disguise. It just makes me look like any other tribe when I pull on it.” Talking was harder than she remembered; her words didn’t seem to want to leave her throat. Despite the size difference, the human felt imposing. “My tribe doesn’t live here anymore.”
“Did you make it? Or was it just something you found?”
“I made it.”
“So you’re magical?”
“...Yes.”
Sky stirred for a moment in his sleep before returning to his peaceful rest. Evergreen wished, perhaps selfishly, that this would all be over and done with and things could go back to how they were. Some kind of insect scuttled over her talon. “What else have you made... magic?”
“Just myself. I enchanted myself to live... for as long as until I wished to die.”
Wren looked at her in shock. “You’re immortal?”
“That’s- yes. I am.”
“And you didn’t think that this would be at all useful information?” She shook herself off, taking a moment to breathe. Evergreen shifted uncomfortably. “If... if you’re immortal, Evergreen...” Quietly, she looked up at the LeafWing. “How old are you?”
She didn’t want to say anything. Maybe a half-truth would suffice. Though I don’t think Wren is in the mood. Slowly, eventually, the LeafWing managed to swallow her doubt. “3,200 years.”
Wren took a while to process the information.
“I need to think for a moment. Alone. Just me. Got it?” Quietly, Evergreen nodded and stepped backwards until the fire pit stood between her and Wren. The faintest hint of light from the sun was starting to peek out. She opened her mouth but had nothing to say. Instead, she just watched and waited.
Minutes turned into an hour. Evergreen had gone into the forest to hunt for some food. Her heart wasn’t really in it, however; many otherwise easy catches escaped through her talons or when she wasn’t looking. Still, she managed to catch enough for breakfast and returned. Wren was waiting by the unlit fire, scrutinizing her. “You really should’ve told us.”
“...I know.” The animal carcasses were put down next to the fireplace. Her tail swished back and forth anxiously as the human stared at her.
Uncomfortable silence overcame the both of them.
“Why?” A momentary pause. “Why didn’t you tell us? Why didn’t you trust us? I trusted you!” Wren’s voice faltered a little.
“I’m sorry.”
She made a surprisingly dragonlike snarl. “Sorry isn’t going to cut it. Is it because you didn’t trust us?”
“I don’t know.” Evergreen felt blank, almost numb as the human kept interrogating her, trying to figure out why when she herself couldn’t know. “I can leave.”
“Just- look. I don’t know why you would hide all this, okay?” A small pause. “But can you tell me that... at least what we had was real?” Her voice was quiet, hopeful as she looked up at the LeafWing. “Please?”
“...I suppose so. If it helps... I did enjoy our time together.”
Wren rubbed her eyes, refusing to let any tears out. “Okay. Okay.” Perhaps anger stops the sadness. That I caused.
...
Evergreen was incredibly good at feeling like shit. Maybe she should
“-I get it now.”
“What?”
“Why you didn’t tell us.” Wren sat down on a fallen log near the LeafWing. “Because... I don’t think I would’ve, either. If I was an immortal three-thousand year old dragon.” They fell into a bit of a tense silence. “And I don’t think you did it because you hated us or anything.”
She felt a bit like a wall, or at least felt an immense desire to become part of it. “So... I guess it’s not all bad. What you did. Not totally forgiven, though. Not yet.”
“I understand.”
“Still. No more secrets?”
Evergreen shifted on her talons, getting into a more comfortable position. Her form was straighter, lifted of the weight of her past. “No. I promise.”