#eagon

Sat on the shore of a lake, Ramoth watched on as Caelignis and Eagon chased each other and splashed around in the water. No-one was even the slightest bit concerned of anyone's wings getting too wet to fly, since the sun was high and warm enough in the sky to dry them off by the time evening would come around. 

Emrys had left that morning to find Rodan - she said she saw other drakes, from the Eyrie, circling around the area lately, not many, just a few, and wanted to ask the volcanic kaiju if he knew of anything. Valkor thought it best to search for himself if there were others. That left Ramoth and his one working eye to watch the children. 

He'd never hold any complaints about having this job, mind. He was a father, and that meant it was part of his daily responsibilities; it also meant he could be there to watch his daughter grow up (even now she was already nearing  the end of her years of adolescence), and he couldn't ask for much more than that. 

Still, some part of his mind nagged him to take some degree of action, like going off to scout with Emrys and Valkor. But the more sensible part of him knew that him leaving would put Caelignis and Eagon's safety at risk. They were each perfectly capable of caring for themselves at this point, but Ramoth was not going to take that chance.

Instead, he let his focus wander between the two young drakes playing their games in the shallower water and the ripples of the lake. Underneath the surface, tiny flecks of light darted in and out of the translucent shadows. Small fish which, to Ramoth, were hardly any different to the ground beneath them. He continued to watch the creatures as they idly went about their business, blissfully unaware of the world outside of their lake. At one point, Ramoth caught a glimpse of a slightly larger shape in the water; darker, too. As it slowly grew larger, the splashing and games from the children ceased entirely.

"Dad?" Caelignis called out.

Ramoth looked up to see her and Eagon staring upwards towards the clouds. Following their gazes, he realised that the shadow in the water was really a silhouette in the sky. A silhouette that was moving rapidly towards them. 

"Get out of the water and stay behind me." Ramoth rose to his feet and moved himself between the shape and the young drakes. 

A grey drake landed harshly a few places away from them. 

"Well, well, well," the stranger sneered, revealing a row of jagged fangs. "This is certainly a surprise."

"Who are you?" Ramoth growled. 

"A scout."

"For what?"

"Our king's command."

Ramoth felt a vicious heat rising in his chest and throat. He spoke through gritted teeth. "Morsen is no king of mine."

The stranger chuckled. 

"Of course, how could I forget, Prince of Treason?"

Ramoth stood a little taller, baring his teeth  as he hissed: "Leave, scout. I will give you this one chance."

"Now why should I? Your head would make for a valuable prize." Ramoth noticed the stranger's gaze flick to Caelignis and Eagon. "I shouldn't let your spawn go free, either."

The stranger reared up into his hind legs and, wings spayed outwards, half-ran and half-flew in a charge at Ramoth. He was significantly larger and stronger than the grey drake, and so he clamped his jaws around the stranger's neck and hurled him towards the water, where crashed in the shallows. The stranger picked himself up and lunged again. This time, he leapt upwards, slashing with his talons at Ramoth's torso. 

Ramoth threw him off by the shoulder. When the drake landed in a heap on his back, Ramoth raised one foot and brought it down on the stranger's wing.

Hard.

A sickly snap filled Ramoth's ears as the drake below him hissed and screeched. 

"I gave you a chance to flee," he said lowly. "You threatened me and my own. You decided your fate."

The grey drake opened his mouth as if to say something, but Ramoth cut him off. He snatched the other's throat in his jaws and wrenched to the side. 

Another rapid series of snaps, and the grey drake's body went limp. Dead. 

Ramoth turned back towards Caelignis and Eagon. "Are you two alright?"

The both nodded without a word.

"Good," he continued. Approaching them, he nudged them both away from the scene. "We should leave here, get you to home where it's safe."

"Can you fly?" Eagon piped up. When Ramoth shot him a quizzical look, he nodded to Ramoth's left wing. 

It stung as he unfurled it. He smelled the blood before he properly saw it. 

Two thin slashes marked the membrane between his elbow and first digit. They had both torn through the flesh, but the bleeding was already subsiding. 

"I'll be fine," Ramoth replied. "It might slow me down a little, but it looks worse than it is."

After some further encouragement to the two young drakes, all three took to the sky in the direction of home. When they arrived, they found Valkor already in the cave, nursing a series of scrapes and a few harsh gashes. Ramoth and the children sat beside him.

"You too?" Valkor asked.

"Believe it or not."

It was almost sundown by the time Emrys returned to the cave, sporting a few scrapes herself. They exchanged a gloomy look, each knowing what the other was thinking. Without a word, Emrys nestled in beside Ramoth as he draped his wing over her. The five of them made idle conversation, not directly addressing the events of the day (they would have that conversation when the children weren't near enough to hear it), until, one by one, everyone had fallen asleep. 

Everyone, except Ramoth. 

Original image