#nolvin

So yes, Markus felt absolutely justified in some snooping. His knees, however, were not happy for the amount of time they'd been crouched behind a bush. But it was worth it, ok?

Or, well, it would be, if Markus could understand most of what they were saying. Narn and Colvin sat side by side, Narn listening as Colvin explained his latest truth-discovery. It was completely innocuous and therefore completely boring to Markus.

He was about to make his sneaky escape when he heard Colvin say, “You know what they say about big hands?”

Markus quickly brought his fist to his face, nearly punching himself as he bit down on his fist to keep from gasping out loud because was Colvin putting the moves on Narn? He held his breath and waited.

If Narn had eyebrows, they would be raised. "... Noooooooooo, what... do they say about biiiig haaaaaaaaands?"

Colvin took one of Narn’s far bigger hands and curled their fingers inward. With wide eyes, Colvin looked up to Narn. “Bigger fists!”

Markus bit down harder, his pointed teeth starting to get painful as he tried to keep from laughing because wow, he hadn’t been expecting that.

Narn looked to Colvin and, somehow their ever permanent grin widened. They unclenched their fingers and remade the fist, this time with Colvin’s fingers interlocking theirs. “Yeeeeees, but together, we make an even bigger fissssst.”

The morning air was cold, properly cold. Not the pleasant chill of summer mornings, the kind of biting chill that told of winter's fast approach. It was silent, too. That eerie kind of silence where the few noises that could be heard became deafening. The metal handle of the lantern creaked; a fish jumped up out of the water, creating a slight splash, and waves gently rocked Colvin's little boat.

    He sat quietly for a moment, oars pulled aboard as he floated on the water. The air was heavy with the promise of rain, further proven by the dark blanket of clouds that covered the sky. The sun wouldn't rise for a while yet and no light of star or moon was strong enough to find its way through the clouds. The rawhide lantern at the front of the boat burned steadily, the only true light in the darkness.

    With considerable effort, he wrenched himself out of the sluggish heaviness that lay on his limbs and noted that he had floated a fair ways away from where he had cast his net. He wasted no more time in rowing back and pulling up his catch. It was a decent one, two large cod and a few smaller, oily fish had gotten themselves stuck in the net. They would definitely be good additions to his stores for the winter.

    This year had been kind to him. He was relatively secure in that he would not have to ration his food too heavily this winter. Of course, a flock of Terrible Terrors could show up at any moment and attempt to ruin that plan, or the winter could be longer and harsher than usual, so he wasn't about to let himself relax completely.

    Once the whole catch was in the boat he set about swiftly making his way back to his island. The trip was short since he never cast his nets far from his home. Partially because the further out he fished the more likely it was he'd lose both the fish and the nets to a dragon. He reached the shore within minutes and jumped out of the boat, pulling it a fair way up and securing it to a tree. Once the boat was secure he grabbed the net and the lantern, making his way with springing steps up to his house.

    It was more like a small cottage than a house, really, but he only needed room for himself and his cat so that wasn't a problem. He hung the lantern from its hook on the outside wall and started to clean the fish in the light provided by the dim fire in the hearth. This was always the most time-consuming part of the process, and he had grown adept at the steps over the years.

    He worked fast, and the catch was small enough for him to be done by the time the heavy cloud cover above him started to gain some light. The dawn that settled over the world felt more like a blanket than anything that was supposed to wake him up, urging him to go back to sleep. He'd be lucky if it didn't rain, so for the moment the drying cod would have to survive in the wood shed, rather than out on the cliffs, where they were a little more vulnerable to Terrors if he wasn’t careful, but exposed to better air. Once he'd left them there to dry in peace he quickly set about starting to smoke the rest.

    Inside the walls of his home, it was now blissfully warm. Message jumped down from her perch on one of the shelves, watching intently as he set up the smoking rack. The look on her face was, of course, one he knew well by now.

    “No, Message those aren't for you,” he said, crouching down and scratching her lightly behind the ear. She meowed and shoved her head against his hand. This did not sway him. Conceding defeat, she jumped up onto the bench in front of the fire instead. Colvin wasn't far behind, sitting down soon after to let warmth properly seep back into his body.

    Clearly, he had chosen the right moment to return to the shelter of his home. He had barely been inside long enough to be wholly warm again before the rain started abruptly, heavy rain drops falling quickly. Colvin could hear it hammering down on the world outside even through his overgrown roof. It was unlikely he'd do much more outside today. Message didn't seem to mind too much. She was very content where she was. Her rumbling purr along with the crackling of the fire and the fall of the rain outside made for a soothing combination of sounds.

    Colvin breathed out slowly and deliberately, centring himself and focusing inward. He closed his eye and let the sounds envelop him entirely. He let his mind wander as he breathed as steadily and evenly as he could. Message shifted, shoving herself against his leg slightly. He continued to meditate as the rain pattered outside.

  It was around midday when it finally stopped. The world outside was soggy. Heavy droplets dripped from branches, thudding where they hit the ground. Still, that nature after rain smell hung in the air. A clean yet earthy scent, as was expected so late in the year. Colvin stepped out of the house, taking a moment to enjoy the freshness of the air before picking his way carefully down to the beach where he had left his boat. With some effort he grabbed hold of the still slippery side and tipped it, letting the water run out and onto the rocky shore.

    His foot slid against the dangerously wet rocks of the shore as he straightened. He flailed for a moment, almost losing his balance before he managed to find safe ground with his other foot and save himself. With a small skipping type of motion, he stood up and continued on his way back towards the cottage, unfazed.

    Message was waiting for him on the roof. She watched his approach carefully with a kind of feline calculation and Colvin prepared himself to receive a tag along. Just as he passed below she leapt down onto his shoulders, quickly finding a comfortable perch. He reached up and quietly pet her head.

    The rest of the day was quiet, for the most part. Most days were. The only time Colvin saw other people was when he sought out trade ships on their way to more important harbours. No Terrible Terrors tried their luck at his stores. It made for an excellent day to sit back and just think. His tiny island was, of course, also perfectly suited to this. It was called the Isle of Truth after all. To be fair that was the name he had given it. No one else had been there so he had taken that duty upon himself.

    As he sat deep in his thoughts, he missed Message walking up to him. So, naturally, when she jumped into his lap and gently smacked him in the face with her fluffy tail, his concentration was broken with a start. She didn't seem to care about this, curling up contentedly in his lap. He smiled and obliged her, petting her soft fur. It was in this unfortunate position that Colvin fell asleep, sitting cross-legged on a bench in front of the fire with a purring cat in his lap. Comfortable in the short term, but it would not remain so.

***

When Colvin awoke he first noted was that his back was killing him and his legs were stiff. He had, at some point, managed to actually lay down, but he had been on a bare bench completely free of the usual fur bedding, which was still tucked away in a box under the seat. He sat up slowly, most every part of him protesting in some way. Message raised her head, looking at him from across the room.

    Slowly, he got to his feet, stretching and looking around for anything that might be out of place. Things seemed normal, nothing was out of place in the house, the night outside was quiet, from what he could hear. More than likely it was just the uncomfortable sleeping situation that had woken him.

    He relaxed somewhat, kneeling down to pull the furs out and set them up so he could get some proper sleep. Message perked up, her eyes following what he was doing with interest. He laid the bedding down as he usually did, working by the dim light of the fire. He glanced back at it with a small frown.

    Perhaps it was a good thing that he had woken up, after all. He got to his feet again, walking to the fire. It was definitely dying down. Quietly, he walked to the entrance, pausing when Message jumped down from her perch, padding over and fixing her eyes on the door. He recognised her suspicion for what it was and frowned.

    Carefully he listened. A noise from outside was his first clue, coming from the shore if he were to guess. It sounded like something moving, probably not a small animal. Looking about again he spotted a faint light shining on his wall. A blue-ish light, different from any moonlight or aurora he had ever seen.

    Slowly, he returned his attention to the door, pushing it open to peek outside. There, by the sea, as he had guessed, sat a dragon with her head in the water. Eating, it seemed. More impressive still, both she and the sea below were glowing with that blue light that now shone more brightly into his home. The door creaked as Colvin pushed it further and he winced. The dragon stopped, lifting her head and turning around. Her teeth, though short and few in number, looked deadly sharp and her eyes, situated near the front of her snake-like triangular head, were a pale blue and nothing else. A skin-covered horn was situated right between them, bending backwards over almost the entire length of her head. Her wings were folded but he could still clearly see the long, trailing pieces of them that would move unnaturally as she flew.

    Before Colvin could react properly, she had bounded up to his cottage, her snout concerningly close to his face. Without a thought, Colvin pulled back his fist, prepared to defend his home. Now, what he hoped to accomplish by punching a dragon this size he was unsure, but he never got a chance to land that blow. Sensing his hostility, the Flightmare reared back, opening her mouth and breathing a chilled mist in his direction. Message gave a startled yelp of a meow and jumped quickly out of the way as Colvin was frozen in place.

    On the other side of the island, Narn was snapped out of their near-sleep by Blueberry's alarmed roar. In an instant they scrambled to their feet and headed over towards the source of the sound as quickly as they could. They came to a halt on the other side of the small island, taking a moment to survey the scene.

    A cottage door stood open, a stranger, the owner of the house no doubt, stood frozen in place on his doorstep, looking as if he had planned to fight Blueberry with his bare hands. The dim light of a dying fire shone out from the doorway. Blueberry had taken a good few paces away from the cottage.

   “I...i...i thought this island was deserted...” Narn mused aloud, walking up to Blueberry and gently scratching her under her chin. “My apologies.” She laid down, curling up, but kept a watchful eye on the person she'd just paralysed. Narn turned to look more closely at the unfortunate victim.

    They moved forwards, taking their glove off of and reaching forwards to touch the stranger's neck, though they doubted Blueberry had actually killed the guy. A brief check proved them right, his heart was still beating. Slowly, for the moment, but he would recover.

    A hiss brought their attention from the stranger to a small figure, perched on a nearby shelf inside the cottage. A grey Norwegian Forest Cat in an obviously hostile position, back arched and her fur standing further on end. Her eyes, an odd colour, veering more towards purple than any cat Narn had previously encountered, caught the light and gleamed in a somewhat threatening way. Narn stopped and raised their hand but she didn't back down so they obliged her and backed off, sitting near Blueberry and beginning the wait for the stranger's paralysis to wear off.

    Once the intruder moved to a suitable distance Message jumped down from her perch, landing on Colvin's shoulders and curling up.

    Narn could feel the cat's stare burning into their back. Blueberry shifted restlessly, opening one of her eyes to stare up at the cat. Narn placed their hand on her head quickly, making a soothing sound in an attempt to dissuade her from any further action. Blueberry shook herself slightly and settled back down with a soft growling noise. The cat hissed but didn't leave her post by the stranger's side.

***

Colvin came to with a strangled noise of surprise and a graceless fall out of the house and onto the ground below him. His entire body felt heavy, but still he rolled over, staring up at the clear night sky above him. He focused for a moment on merely breathing. As he saw it, trying to figure out how he was alive could wait for a moment.

    “How do you feel?”

    Colvin jumped at the unfamiliar, raspy voice, sitting up quickly and turning to look in the direction it had come from. A tall figure, armour-clad, and decently intimidating, sat calmly next to the Flightmare. Their armour covered their entire body, only their gloveless hand currently visible. The helmet that hid their face went on into chainmail to cover their chin and neck. A blue pattern was painted above the eyes and down where their nose probably was. Their other arm seemed to be entirely made of metal if the way it rested at their side was any indication. Around their shoulders a red cloak was wrapped. Message hissed, placing herself between Colvin and the stranger.

    “Ah, right. My name is Narn.” They stood up and Colvin realised he might have underestimated how tall they actually were. “Sorry about Blueberry, she was startled.” The Flightmare raised her head and looked in Colvin's direction.

    Colvin got to his feet slowly, dusting himself off as best he could. Message walked behind his legs, looking out at the strangers with suspicion and hostility, but finding it safer to be behind him now that he had proven he could stand.

    “Colvin,” He replied, still collecting the pieces of his scattered brain. “This is Message.” At the mention of her name the feline sat, continuing her steady stare in Narn's direction.

    “I don't think she likes me,” Narn said, peering down at Message. Colvin laughed, crouching and gently petting Message's head.

    “I think it has something to do with your formidable companion,” he said, eyes moving to Blueberry where she lay, carefully observing her surroundings. “How did you train her?” he asked, standing up again. Despite not being able to see Narn's eyes, or any part of their face, really, he could sense the strange look they were giving him.

    “Most people don't react like this,” they said. “Do you want to meet her?” Colvin hesitated for just a moment before approaching Narn and Blueberry. On the doorstep Message made a complaining meow, but when it became clear that she couldn't dissuade him she settled for sitting down and worrying from a distance.

    Standing beside Narn, Colvin assessed Blueberry. She was easily the biggest dragon he'd ever been so close to, and she didn't even belong to the largest dragon species out there. Flightmares were on the small side if Colvin was remembering correctly.

    “You don't have to be scared of her, she won't harm humans. Even if she was wild, Flightmare mostly live off of algae, don't you?” Narn reached down and gently scratched the underside of Blueberry's chin. In response she raised herself up somewhat, a content trilling noise resonating from somewhere in her throat.

    “What do I do here?” Colvin asked, looking up slightly, trying to catch a glimpse of Narn's eyes, or any part of their face really, behind the helmet they wore.

    “Just hold out your hand. She'll do the rest,” Narn said, taking a step back to give him space. Colvin stared at Blueberry for a second before extending his hand. Curiously, she padded forward, sniffing his palm and eyeing Narn out of the corner of her eye to read any signs of alarm. When nothing pointed to Colvin being a genuine threat she closed her eyes and gently bumped her snout up into his palm.

    Her skin was cold, scaly and smooth. Her breath hit his arm, a great puff of cool air. Very carefully he moved his hand, gently caressing. Colvin felt vaguely like he was floating. He trusted himself enough to judge that this was real, but it still seemed too amazing to be true. Behind him Narn stood, a wide grin spreading slowly over their hidden face.

    “Are you hungry?” Colvin asked, turning in Narn's direction. They took a moment to respond. Of all the words they had been expecting Colvin to say, food wasn't high on the list.

    “Yes... why?” they cocked their head to the side slightly, the chain mail part of their helmet clinking slightly as it moved.

    “Then you can tell me more about Blueberry over a meal.” He grinned. Narn looked from Colvin to the small house, where Message was still sat on the doorstep, her tail shifting slowly in warning. Colvin caught onto their unspoken concern and walked back to his house, gently coaxing Message up into his arms.

    “She'll warm to you eventually,” he assured, stepping out of the doorway and indicating to Narn that they were free to enter if they wished. They shrugged and with a few long steps they were at the door. Message gave them a highly displeased look as they ducked their head slightly and entered the small house.

    “Nice place,” they mused as they settled on one of the benches. Colvin nodded.

    “Thank you, I built it myself,” he said, placing Message back down and turning towards the woodshed, going to gather more firewood to revive the fire. Narn and Message stared at each other. Neither one of them moved for a moment that seemed to stretch for longer than it had any right to.

    Finally, as Colvin's footsteps signalled his return, Message jumped up onto the bench opposite Narn, her suspicious cat stare still digging into them. Colvin's return was a welcome break. Message turned her eyes to him and meowed happily.

    He paused for a moment to pet her before he set down the firewood in its corner and took the suitable amount from the pile to revive the sputtering flames in the fireplace. Narn watched in relative silence as he continued to move about the house, taking down the small table that hung in the rafters and pulling various containers off of shelves.

    Not long after Colvin had set down a plate in front of Narn and taken his seat across from them. Quietly Narn removed their helmet and set it beside them on the bench. Thin dreadlocks hung around a narrow, dark brown face. In the firelight the amber in their eyes grew stronger, mirroring the flame back at itself as they quickly brushed their hair back. Despite Colvin's suggestion that the two talk more while they ate, the actual meal passed in silence, both of them finding that upon reflection, they were too hungry to focus on a conversation at that moment.

    It was Narn who finally broke the silence, once they had finished their meal “Why do you live out here alone?” they fixed their eyes on Colvin, leaning their chin in their hand as they waited for an answer. Colvin leaned back against the wall.

    “I'm not alone, I have Message,” he said, without missing a beat. Narn glanced at the cat, who seemed suddenly to have quite the smug air about her.

    “She's very protective of you...” Narn grinned. “A good quality.” Colvin gently placed his hand on Message's head, scratching behind her ears.

    “How did you get here?” Colvin asked, facing Narn. He did have his theories, obviously, but he wanted to hear Narn's story to see if they matched up.

    “On Blueberry,” they replied with ease. “Her saddle is on the other side of your island, if you want to see it.” Colvin jumped to his feet almost before they had time to finish their sentence. Narn rose quickly with a kind of fluid elegance one wouldn't expect someone to be able to achieve when clad in so much armour, picking up their helmet and putting it back on their head.

    As the two of them walked out of the house with Message following close behind, Blueberry raised her head and took notice. Narn made a strange noise that seemed to come out of the back of their throat and Blueberry got up, walking up next to them and matching their stride.

    Colvin had to hurry his steps somewhat to keep up with Narn, but he did so easily. Narn seemed to take notice of this but didn't comment and Colvin was too focused on their goal to notice Narn's swift glance in his direction.

    The saddle Narn had mentioned was hanging from a high tree branch, protected from possible rain and from the dampness of the earth by thick evergreen branches. Swiftly Narn moved forwards and picked it off the branch, setting it down against the trunk. Colvin came up beside them, carefully looking the mechanism over.

    It was fairly plain, designed for practicality above all else, clearly. Blueberry perked up, pushing her snout against Narn's back. Colvin took a step away, watching with interest as they turned and began securing the saddle to her. She stayed completely still as they moved around her until they gave what Colvin could only assume was the signal that all was well.

    At that she shot up, eager to get going. Colvin sat on the nearest big rock and continued to watch as Narn got into the saddle and the two shot off into the sky, sending a shock of wind in his direction that blew all of the hair out of his face.

    They flew through the early dawn only just beginning to light up the sky. Blueberry's path was easy to follow, shining with a clear blue light in the still dull morning. Colvin sat spellbound by the display. Both dragon and rider seemed in sync with the other, creating a seamless display of teamwork and power.

    A trail of mist hung in the sky behind them, creating a spiral pattern. Her relatively smaller size and the shape of her body made Blueberry very fast, something Narn appeared accustomed to, as they rode with their body low to avoid wind resistance as much as possible. With a final spin Blueberry balanced out to a slower flight and Narn sat up, looking down towards Colvin.

    Despite being almost entirely protected from the wind by armour Narn still felt slightly windswept when Blueberry slowed down again. They surveyed the land and sea below them. The trail of glowing algae had moved on, floating east towards the sunrise. Colvin sat on the rock they had left him on, though they couldn't quite make out his facial expression from where they were.

    With a brief word to Blueberry they descended back to the island. Colvin looked somehow more windswept than even they felt, his hair was somewhat in a disarray, more so than it had already been, and he seemed stunned. With a grin they dismounted and took off their helmet, shaking their head to reorganize their hair as best they could.

    “You want to come along?” they asked, nodding in Blueberry's direction. Colvin frowned slightly, clearly going into deep thought for a moment.

    “No, I don't think humans were meant to fly,” he said finally, though his tone directed no judgement towards Narn. It could easily have been taken as such but Narn, instead, looked slightly surprised.

    “I'm not flying,” they said. Colvin's brow furrowed further. “Blueberry is the one who flies.” They stated this plainly, as if it was the most obvious truth in the world. Colvin leaned back slightly.

    “You're moving through the air without anything to connect you to the ground. That's flying,” he said. Narn sat down quickly, crossing their legs.

    “I am riding a flying creature, yes, but I'm not actually doing any flying,” they countered. Blueberry laid down, plainly recognizing this was going to take a while to resolve, if it got resolved at all. Colvin looked thoughtful. This was not a question he'd had any reason to contemplate before, mainly because he had never thought it possible.

    “You work so closely with each other, though. From what I could see you become part of the flight.”

    “That's just knowing how to move with the dragon to get the best speed and manoeuvrability, I'm part of the flight but I'm still not doing any flying.”

***

Aryn groaned quietly, letting her head fall onto the back of Firestorm's head. The great dragon that bore her high above the archipelago barely even seemed to notice the sudden shift. She really should be used to this by now. Whenever Blueberry needed to refuel on the glowing algae that was her main food source, she and Narn would vanish without a trace. They'd always leave with a promise to return before sunrise, sure, but more often than not they failed to uphold that.

    Not that they were ever that hard to find, in the end. Firestorm was a Typhoomerang, she covered distance well and her eyes were sharper that Aryn's could ever hope to be. Blueberry usually also helped, with her glow freshly brightened from the glowing algae she wasn't exactly hard to spot, even in daylight. Still, the fact of the matter was that it was almost noon. She had been up in the air since the early morning and still no sign of Narn. She had barely eaten anything and the hours were beginning to weigh on her.

    “You'd think with the longer nights they'd actually manage to get back by sunrise,” she muttered against Firestorm's scaly skin.

    As if called by her complaint, a familiar roar made her look up. Blueberry had drawn even with them and gotten Firestorm's attention. Normally Blueberry showing up without Narn would have alarmed Aryn, but she was showing no signs of distress or hurrying them along in any manner, so Aryn felt she should hold off on judging the situation just yet.

    “Lead the way,” Aryn said, looking to Blueberry, though she didn't really need to. Blueberry had already turned around and started leading them towards what was no doubt Narn's location.

    Aryn hadn't been far off, actually. It wasn't long before Blueberry started to descend towards a small middle-of-nowhere type island. It would have looked deserted, had it not been for the thin line of smoke rising out of what appeared, from her vantage point, to be just a mossy hill. She frowned. Usually people were a deal breaker when it came to Blueberry’s grazing areas.

    Firestorm landed shortly after Blueberry, laying down as best she could without crushing any trees or dipping too much of herself into the water. This island was definitely not meant for dragons of full grown Typhoomerang size. Firestorm’s other passenger, however, rolled down and onto the ground with much delight, pawing at the moss and making small noises not all that dissimilar to a kitten. If a kitten were the size of a sheep.

    Spark was the baby Moldruffle which she had taken under her wing, much to Narn's obvious delight. They were terrible at hiding their glee whenever it came to convincing someone dragons were not all that was wrong with the world and more. Blueberry huffed, clearly waiting for Aryn to follow her.

    “One second.” She turned back to Spark and lifted him up without much trouble. He squirmed slightly for a moment but settled down soon enough. Firestorm lifted her head and watched as the three considerably smaller beings made their way into what little forest this small island contained.

    It didn't take long to reach the small cottage Aryn had spotted from above, more obvious now that she was on the ground. The door stood open and voices floated out to greet her. One was definitely Narn's, the other a stranger. In the time it took her to reach the door she had managed to figure out the topic of their conversation. She was less than surprised.

    Not that she had actually come across Narn debating the technicalities of what did and what didn't count as flight with a stranger before, but it was definitely not something she'd put past them provided they found the right stranger. She almost regretted that she would have to interrupt their conversation. Almost.

    With a cough and a sharp knock on the door frame she made her presence known, snapping Narn and the stranger out of their debate. Narn stared at her in silence for a moment, as did the stranger, though their silences were markedly different. Narn was waiting for her to speak, the stranger was trying to figure out who she was.

    “It's midday,” she said finally in as flat of a tone as she could manage.

    “Time got away from me,” Narn replied. “This is Colvin.” They gestured to the person sitting across from them. Aryn looked him over once more.

    “Aryn,” she said, expecting no reply.

    Without another word she walked away from the cottage, leaving them to resume their debate if they so wished. Clearly they did as she had barely found a comfortable place to sit before they started again. Quietly, she rolled her eyes and wondered if she was going to have to spend the next week on this tiny island.

    Luckily, she did not have to wait quite that long. It was late in the afternoon when she and Narn left the island. Colvin had conceded after a good-natured arm wrestling match, the victor of which was Narn, that a human riding a dragon was technically not the one doing the actual flying, though he still remained adamant on that he would not actually be joining Narn for a ride unless they could give him some reason apart from fun.

***

Perhaps the idea that nothing about his life would change after his encounter with Narn was silly. Actually, scratch that, it was frankly ridiculous. One did not discover such earth-shattering things as the fact that dragons could be trained and just go on living life. Moreover, when Colvin looked back on this period in his life years later, he would often wonder how in the world he managed to convince himself Narn would go about their business and forget about him.

    Then again, that could be chalked up to not knowing them well enough at the time. Whatever the case, the fact remained that Narn returned less than a week later.

    Colvin was quietly meditating in a soft patch of grass when he heard the flap of wings and felt a brief shock of wind as Blueberry landed. He opened his eye slowly to look at Narn as they dismounted, removing their helmet, grinning down at him.

    “Are you joining me for dinner?” he asked, closing his eye again as Narn sat down in front of him.

    “Are you offering?” they questioned. Colvin hummed a response that honestly could either have been a denial or a confirmation. Narn shrugged and laid down, staring up at the sky as the clouds rolled by. It was because of this that they missed the angry grey blur bolting in their direction until Message had jumped over them and clambered her way up onto Colvin's shoulders, glaring her very best cat glare at Narn.

    They sat up, staring back, somewhat perplexed. While they didn't expect Message to be instantly friendly with them when they returned, they hadn't expected her to hold this much of a grudge. Colvin didn't seem to react much to Message's presence though, so this might just be a normal thing for them that Narn was intruding on.

    The rest of the day proceeded much the same. Narn would try to help Colvin with the cooking, Message would come in as a bolt of grey lightning from a clear blue sky and steal any and all tools Colvin gave them. Narn tried to talk to Colvin about what interested him, Message pretended to pick a fight with Blueberry. Narn tried to tell Colvin more about Blueberry, Message got herself stuck up a tree. Though that one might actually have been accidental, Narn wasn't fully sure.

    They watched with an irritated look on their face as Colvin descended the tree with Message in hand. At this rate they would never find anything that interested Colvin enough to get him up into the air. Why exactly they felt such a strong need to show him the world from the back of a dragon they weren't entirely sure. Because he had accepted dragon training as a reality so quickly, perhaps?

    “Narn?” Colvin's voice broke them out of their thoughts and they looked back up at him. “I'm handing Message over to you.”

    “I don't think that's a good idea,” Narn replied, even as they reached up to receive the cat that Colvin was slowly lowering to them. As predicted Message was not happy, but Narn got away with only a few scratches on their hand as she wriggled herself free of their hold. Any other part of them she might have tried to get her claws into was still armour clad, save for their face, but she was more concerned about removing herself from their presence than actually trying to do serious damage.

    Colvin quickly descended the rest of the way after that. Once he was on the ground, he took hold of Narn's hand and inspected the scratches with a critical eye. Narn had, of course, received much worse over the years, but they didn't entirely feel the need to mention that.

    “These aren't bad,” Colvin said finally. “But I can treat them if you want.” Narn looked from Colvin to the scratch and nodded.

    Inside the cottage, Colvin sat them down and started going about the slightly stinging process of treating Message's scratches. As he was doing this the culprit herself turned up and curled up in Colvin's lap, staring up at Narn with judging, disapproving eyes. Their next line of action became clear to them then. They needed to befriend Message.

    As if she sensed their thoughts she quickly jumped off of Colvin's lap and ran out the door. A few seconds later Colvin pronounced the cleaning of the small scratches done and Narn stood up, walking over to the door and looking around. Message was sitting near the shore, staring at the house, though the moment she saw Narn she turned away.

    Colvin watched Narn from his seat in the cottage and was, understandably, taken by surprise when they began to methodically remove their armour. First the left arm, followed by everything else. As Narn stood there and stretched slowly, freed from the weight and bulk of their protective gear, Colvin found himself questioning reality for the second time in a week. This time how a stretched out beanpole of a person was the one inside of so much armour. Before he could comment, however, Narn had vanished from the door.

    Narn made their way down to where Message was sitting, taking a seat a bit away from her.

    “I'm sorry Blueberry paralysed Colvin?” they tried. Message ignored them. A very purposeful kind of ignoring, too. They sighed. “I'm not going to steal him away if that’s what you’re worried about.” Again, no response. They leaned back slightly, staring at the back of her head. They remained seated there for a while until Narn eventually gave up, standing up and going back to gather their armour before mounting Blueberry and taking off, back towards where they and Aryn had set up camp.

***

    “Aryn.” Narn's sudden calling of her name and even more sudden rising from what Aryn had thought was a deep sleep made her jump with surprise. She squinted at them over the fire, halting her gentle scratching of Spark's head for a moment.

    “Yes?” she yawned.

    “One of your dragons acts like a kitten, how do I get a cat to like me?” Aryn frowned.

    “What?”

    “Message, Colvin's cat. She doesn't like me. Spark acts like a kitten. Tell me how to fix this.” They were staring at her now, in that slightly disconcerting way where they didn't ever seem to blink.

    “That's... not even nearly the same thing,” she said, but she knew from the look on Narn's face that they were not backing down. She sighed and ran a hand through her hair, staring down a Spark where he gently dozed. “Bribe her with food and then leave her alone. Now can I get back to going to sleep?” Narn nodded absently, clearly already working on their plan. Aryn shook her head and sank down into her sleeping bag, quickly falling into a dreamless slumber.

    She woke the next morning to the smell of roast duck. Slowly she sat, staring at Narn. They were, from the looks of it, just about finished cutting the meal into suitable cat sized pieces.

    “Did you sleep at all?” she asked. Narn looked up from their work and blinked. From the look on their face and the redness of their eyes she judged the answer to be no.

    “It's very hard to find a duck this late in the year,” they said in place of a proper answer. Definitely a no, then. She didn't even want to think about how far they'd had to fly to get their hands on the duck.

    “Why is this so important to you?” she asked. Narn stopped cutting up the duck for a second to look at her before resuming.

    “He needs to see it,” they said. Aryn laid back down and stared up at the sky.

    “Why?” she asked.

    “Because he does,” Narn answered. Or rather didn't answer. Aryn decided that she was too tired to keep badgering them for more details at the moment. Let someone else deal their weirdness for once. Though Colvin had seemed fairly weird himself so maybe he was equipped to handle someone like Narn right from the get go.

***

The sound of Blueberry landing, Colvin suspected, would soon become very familiar. A few seconds after the final noise of wings stopped Narn knocked on the door. Colvin set down the beginnings of a new, bigger and better net that he was making, and walked over to the door, opening it and looking up at Narn, who had this time chosen to forgo their armour entirely.

    “Can I give Message some roast duck?” they asked. Colvin looked at them for a moment, taking them in and noting that yes, they did smell of roast duck.

    “Go ahead,” he said, stepping out of the way and letting Narn in before heading back to his net making.

    Message looked up at their entrance, interested in the smell of the plate they were carrying, but still with a heavy dose of scepticism aimed at Narn. They gently set the plate down in front of Message and backed away.

    Message stared down at the roast duck in front of her. It was rare that she get a treat like this. She sniffed one of the pieces experimentally and, plainly, could find nothing wrong with it as she quickly bit into it. Not long after the plate was entirely clear, though Message still didn't acknowledge Narn's presence as they retrieved it. Still, it seemed to be a somewhat less hostile ignoring.

    Narn sat down next to Colvin. They would be lying through their teeth if they pretended they weren't a little bit relieved their duck cubes had been accepted. Colvin looked sideways at them but didn't say much, continuing to work on his new net. A few moments passed in comfortable silence as the fire crackled merrily.

    “Winter's gonna be here soon,” Colvin commented. Narn nodded somewhat absently. “Do the dragons keep you warm?” he asked. Narn sat up a little straighter.

    “Firestorm does. Spark will when he's grown a little I think.”

    “Blueberry's too cold?”

    Narn nodded. Before they'd met Aryn winters in the archipelago had been a bit challenging, but they liked the cold. They were used to it. Still they weren't going to pretend having Firestorm around wasn't a huge help.

    The two of them lapsed into silence again as Colvin continued to work on the net.

***

Winter started soon after. Or rather, there was absolutely no question that it was no longer autumn, but the first snowfall seemed to be staying stubbornly away. Narn's visits continued, and at this point Colvin would have found it strange if they stopped coming around. Message still didn't like them, though the duck may have convinced her they were worthy of reevaluation.

    Colvin’s surprise when a familiar glow joined the Northern Lights in the sky one cloud free evening was minimal. Blueberry landed and quickly Narn jumped off her back, shedding their armour easily as they approached Colvin and sat down next to him. In his lap Message bristled slightly but remained calm.

    “Do you ever think about how small we are?” Narn asked, ignoring any more traditional greeting as they stared up into the vastness of the night sky above them. More stars than anyone could ever hope to count accompanied by a dance of dazzling colours.

    “Do you ever think about how big everything else is?” Colvin countered. Narn chuckled.

    “That's the same question I asked,” they said. Colvin's lips twitched.

    “Seen from a different perspective. I like mine better.” He held out his hand towards the sky, blocking part of it out as he stared into the distance. He would have said he was trying to solve a riddle, but he rather felt that in this case he didn't have the entire riddle clear, just some meagre scraps of the whole puzzle. Narn hummed thoughtfully.

    “Marvelling instead of shrinking before things so big we can't really understand them,” they said. Colvin nodded.

    “Do you ever feel like the Gods are watching you from somewhere behind the stars?” he asked. Narn shrugged.

    “I don't think about the Gods much,” they said, also staring deep into the abyss above them.

    “What if we could actually travel among them?” Colvin said quietly and Narn could not in truth tell if he was speaking to himself or to them.

    “I can get you a little closer to them, you know,” they said, looking towards Colvin. “The stars.” Colvin sat up suddenly, an expression on his face like he in all seriousness had never considered that before. Narn grinned, standing up and extending their hand to Colvin, who took it without question and let himself be pulled to his feet. Message jumped off of his lap with a displeased noise.

    Narn let go for a moment and sprinted to the cottage, grabbing Colvin’s winter cloak from inside and on the way back stopping to snatch the cloak that usually served only as decoration on their armour. Colvin grabbed his cloak, throwing it on as Narn did the same with theirs. Blueberry, noticing the activity, stood up, reading the situation correctly.

    Narn took their customary seat on her back and looked to Colvin, who seemed to be trying to puzzle out exactly where he should sit. Narn gently patted the spot right behind themself and Colvin obliged, mounting and wrapping his arms around Narn's waist to secure himself to the spot. Narn grinned and with a soft word to Blueberry they were off.

    This flight was much different than the one Narn had shown Colvin the first day they met. That one had been showing off, and Narn would never deny that because there was no point in doing so. This one was... well it was still showing off, but in a different way. They weren't showing off their skills, or even Blueberry's, they were showing off the world from a new angle.

    Colvin opened his eyes after the first initial rush of wind, when everything seemed to have evened out. He wanted to look up first but his eyes were drawn downwards. His first reaction was the initial shock of just how high up he was, the second was one of wonder. They were well above the archipelago, and Colvin's island wasn't exactly isolated for all that he was its only human inhabitant. They could easily see others, lights flickering in peaceful ways on islands Colvin had never been to, both close by and far in the distance. Signs of life dotted so many of them, though some of those fires were different, created by dragons rather than humans.

    His eyes moved skyward and his grip on Narn tightened just a little. Above him, still seeming as far away as they were on the ground, the stars shone, accompanied by the colourful twists and turns of the Northern Lights. Despite the distance, though, this was different. He wasn't on the ground. He was caught between the stars and the world below him and for once in his life he didn't know what to think. He was entirely caught up in the moment, a feeling of awe washing over him and leaving him stunned.

    “Do you ever think about how small we are?” Narn asked again. Colvin leaned his forehead against their shoulder and shook his head, laughing.

    “Narn we're gigantic,” he said.

    “Well I know I am,” Narn said. Colvin snorted and pushed his forehead further against their shoulder as they laughed. They supposed Colvin had a point. From up here human life, to them, had always seemed so fragile and small, but looking over it now they could see how perhaps the opposite could also be observed.

    Several villages persevering in this world where, for the most part, dragons and humans were at war. The size of the settlements, the size of the populations, all the tiny fires that meant life. That people were able to not only survive, but to thrive in this environment. It was a rather breathtaking sight.

    “I don't think you ever told me why you live alone,” Narn said, looking back at Colvin. He raised his head and looked up at the stars above them again, not breaking his silence. Not that Narn minded if he just ignored the question, they could live without the answer, and they would rather he remain silent than tell them anything he didn't want to share.

    Colvin would be lying, truly, if he said it didn't feel like he could have tumbled into the stars at any moment, falling the wrong way off of Blueberry's back. He'd felt it before, when looking at the night sky from his roof or a particularly high tree, but never like this. At those times there had always been a direct connection to the ground present. He wasn't entirely sure which feeling he liked better. Before he would have said he didn't mind the thought of tumbling into an endless night where all he had to do was think. Would have preferred it even, if it hadn't meant leaving Message behind. Now he was less sure of that.

    He felt a soft laugh bubble up in his chest. Wouldn't it be so terribly ironic if his most powerful tie to the solid earth ended up being the person who convinced him to leave it in the first place.

    In front of him Narn bent down slightly and spoke to Blueberry. A short sentence in a voice that seemed to carry a hint of tiredness. Blueberry obliged them and swiftly descended, bringing them back to Colvin's island.

    Colvin swiftly dismounted, heading for his home to make sure the fire was strong enough to keep him warm through the night. Message got to her feet, taking one good long look at Narn and Blueberry before deciding that Colvin looked unharmed enough for her to give them a pass.

    Narn stretched, yawning and trying to blink a surprising exhaustion out of their eyes. Blueberry gave them a quick nudge and they stumbled. Gently they turned and gave her an affectionate scratch under her chin before shaking their head to clear it of any more ideas of sleep and heading for Colvin's tiny cottage.

    Colvin heard Narn come in as he was coaxing more life into the fire with his back turned to the door. Of course he knew it was Narn, they were the only other biped on his island after all. Still their gate was probably distinct enough for him to have recognized it without that fact. They seated themself on one of the benches, a little closer to the door and Colvin rose, sending them a quick glance before he settled on the other bench and Message jumped into his lap, demanding more of his attention.

    Neither one of them had intended for Narn to stay the night. It just sort of ended up that way, like such things sometimes do. Colvin looked up again after a while to find Narn had dozed off, leaning their back against the wall of his small cottage. He could have woken them up, true, but he found he didn't particularly want to.

    If they were tired enough to fall asleep sitting up he probably couldn't trust they'd make it all the way back to Aryn without falling off of Blueberry's back, anyway. Not that he doubted she'd catch them, but he didn't really want to make them take that risk at all.

    As quietly as he could he pulled out his box of furs, taking the largest one he hand and draping it over Narn as they slept. It didn't quite cover them, but it would do. He was very careful not to wake them as he slowly shifted their position into one that wouldn't leave them in quite as much pain come morning. They didn't so much as twitch.

***

Colvin and Narn woke early the next morning, within a few minutes of each other. Colvin yawned and stretched, looking over at Narn. He was still in his night time clothes while Narn, naturally, had slept in their daytime wear.

    “I definitely don't have anything big enough to fit you,” he said finally as he tugged his nightshirt off, heading towards his own daytime clothes to change. Narn noted with some curiosity the many scars that crawled across his torso. Most of them from dragons, definitely. Terrible Terrors, judging by the marks the small teeth had left, but there were one or two there that definitely came from man-made weapons.

    Their musing was cut short as Colvin pulled on his tunic and tied his usual belt around his waist. He looked around, a small frown creasing his brow and Narn noted that the piece of cloth that usually covered his right eye wasn't in place.

    “I haven't seen it,” Narn said, before he could even open his mouth to ask.

    Colvin sighed and raised his hand to tug at a strand of his hair as he glanced around again.

    “Help me look for it?” He glanced in their direction again. Narn got to their feet and joined the search. The house was small, of course, but that didn't mean things couldn't get lost. No matter how small the space things always seemed to be extraordinarily good at doing that.

    The search took longer than Narn honestly thought it had any right to. It was almost time for the day meal by the time Colvin made a sound of triumph and pulled a long piece of blue fabric out from inside the box of furs, where it had nestled down comfortably near the bottom. Colvin sighed a relieved kind of sigh and quickly tied it back in its usual place.

    By the door Message meowed. Colvin turned to her and she looked from him to the door. With a quick, long step Narn was at the door and had pushed it open. Message gave them a rather affronted look before quickly darting out into the fresh air. Narn pushed open the door further a blinked at the sight that greeted him.

    Aryn was seated with three dragons curled around her, which was not that impressive, and Message calmly setting about settling into her lap, which was much more impressive. Narn stepped out, followed close behind by Colvin. Aryn looked up, leaning calmly against Firestorm’s back.

    She gave Narn a look. Narn sighed and sat down. Colvin looked between Aryn and Narn, trying to decide if he wanted to stay and listen or get his day started. The latter won out, quite quickly at that, and he vanished back into his house.

    “So.” Aryn crossed her arms. Narn cocked their head to the side.

    “So?” they asked. She sighed, gently petting Message as she looked at Colvin’s door.

    “Well at least I don’t have to scour the whole archipelago for you anymore,” she said in a musing tone. Narn was relatively sure her comment hadn’t actually been directed at them so they didn’t feel the need to answer. Which proved a good enough choice as Colvin came out a moment later and dropped a plate into their lap, handing Aryn one as well.

    “I’m running out of dishes,” was all he said before settling down with his own meal.

    “I’ll make you some more,” Aryn said between bites, glancing at Narn as she did so. “I get the feeling you’re going to need them. While I’m at it I should bring you more food, too. Before Narn eats you out of house and home.”

    Colvin shrugged and the rest of the meal passed in silence.

    Aryn and Colvin stayed just long enough to help Colvin wash up before leaving. Colvin watched thoughtfully as they vanished into the distance. Behind him Message had curled up on the warmest spot of floor she could find. Shaking himself off, he retreated back into his home and headed directly for the small collection of books that he had.

    He had had every intention of rereading his newest addition for the tenth time, but his hand stilled as he reached for it and he stopped, taking a seat and staring up at the ceiling instead. Message looked up at him with a lazy kind of curiosity, but didn’t move from her spot. Absently, he picked up the closest object, a knife as it so happened. He stared down at it, not really properly registering it as he slowly turned it over in his hands. His thoughts drifted in the direction of a wide grin and amber eyes set in a thin face.

    So, as he so often did, he began to contemplate life. It wasn’t often these thoughts veered in towards his own life, that had up until recently been simple and straightforward. He frowned. Narn had comfortably settled into his routine by now and he found himself recoiling at the thought of returning to his old life. Moreover the thought left an uncomfortable feeling in the centre of his chest.

    Colvin set the knife down beside him and stared into the centre of the fire in the hearth. Clearly this warranted more examination, but for the moment he would content himself with the fact that Narn had positively impacted his life and that he didn’t like the idea of his life without them anymore.

***

Narn stared at Aryn for a long moment, trying to figure out if she was kidding or not. They were leaning towards not, judging by the look on her face as she stood above them, holding out a sack of ingredients in their direction.

    “I don’t know what to do with this stuff,” they said flatly, turning their stare on the bag. Aryn rolled her eyes.

    “You say before you even know what’s inside it,” she countered. Narn raised an eyebrow.

    “Not anything I can just throw up to dry, smoke, or grill,” they guessed, quite accurately. Aryn sighed and sat down, leaning her chin in her hand.

    “You can make a good stew, and I got enough for a few failed attempts,” she said, tossing the bag over. It landed with a heavy thud next to Narn. Spark raised his head and padded over, sniffing at the bag curiously. Narn gently directed his attention away from it while still staring at Aryn.

    “I don’t think that’s for a stew,” they said, pointing to the emergency stone oven Aryn had put together. She leaned back and crossed her arms, sending a pointed look at the bag but saying nothing. Narn sighed, recognizing that she would not budge on this, and grabbed the bag.

    “Besides,” Aryn added as Narn opened it to take inventory. “You can ask me for help.” Narn looked up at her again, holding a smaller bag from inside the big one.

    “You don’t know what to do with this either,” they said. She shrugged.

    “We’ll figure it out together. Besides I got a recipe off one of the traders.” She threw one of the coins she had still been holding up into the air for dramatic effect before putting it back in her coin pouch. Quickly she jumped back to her feet and dusted off her hands.

***

Colvin, as a rule, woke up by himself. Sometimes Message would judge that he’d slept long enough and come wake him, but usually he managed to wake up by himself before this. So his surprise at being awoken by a knock at his door was reasonable, even though knocks at his door had become a common occurrence as of late.

    Message squirmed out from under his arm and stretched, jumping quickly up onto one of the shelves instead. Colvin sat up, pushing some of his hair out of his face. He grabbed a log on the smaller side and threw it onto the fire before stumbling out of bed. He grabbed his eyepatch and tied it in place, but ignored putting on more suitable clothes as he approached the door and opened it.

    Narn and Aryn stood there, but that wasn’t what caught his attention. He stood up straighter and stared out over a light cover of snow on the ground. Light flakes were still falling from the sky in a twirling dance, determined to cover as much of the world as they could in a cold, white blanket.

    “Morning,” Aryn said, looking him over once. He leaned against the doorframe and yawned as he gestured for them to come in. They squeezed past him without much trouble and shook off what little snow had managed to cling to them, Narn removing their armour and Aryn taking off a very warm-looking winter cloak.

    “We made you something,” Narn said after they got out of the last of their armour, picking up a previously discarded thing wrapped in cloth and handing it to him. Colvin blinked and took it, noting with some curiosity that it was warm to the touch. He unwrapped it carefully, the smell of fresh baked bread filling the cottage almost immediately.

    “I know this kind of bread is pretty useless for long storage but I figured you’d need something nice as a thank you for putting up with Narn,” Aryn said in a light and teasing tone. Narn laughed as they walked over to one of the benches, seating themself in front of the fire. Colvin handed the bread back to Aryn before removing the table from its usual place in the rafters.

    She set the bread down on the table as soon as it was on the floor and Colvin went to fetch what was left of the soup from last night. It was a little early for the day meal, sure, but he didn’t care. With quick efficiency he’d cut up three slices of bread and shared the soup into three bowls, or things that would pass as bowls anyway. One of them would have to make due with a mug.

    “I’ll take the mug.” Narn spoke up from behind him before Colvin had time to raise the question.

    “Well, that settles that,” Aryn said, grabbing the bowl with the large chip missing from one side. Colvin couldn’t really remember what had done that anymore. He shrugged it off and took his own bowl and handed Narn the mug along with a piece of the bread before seating himself next to them.

    Curiously he took a bite of the bread without dipping it in the broth of the soup. Narn tried to make their watch for his reaction go unnoticed, but Colvin was fairly sure Narn had never in their life managed to make a direct look in someone’s direction unnoticeable. The bread was good, at least. Not that Colvin would have lied to spare their feelings if it hadn’t been.

    “I like it,” he offered before continuing his meal. Narn smiled and fixed their concentration back on their own food.

    “It was Aryn’s idea,” they said. On the other side of the room Aryn shrugged.

    “Neither of us ever baked before,” she admitted. “Took two failed attempts before we got this.” Colvin looked down at the piece of bread in his hand with a new appreciation, but said nothing more.

    “Does Message like snow?” Narn asked after a moment of silence. Message’s tail twitched slightly and Colvin looked up at her. He was relatively sure she’d gone back to sleep up on her shelf.

    “She doesn’t hate it,” he said. “I don’t think she cares.” Aryn laughed.

    “Good, I’d hate to see what would happen if she were cooped up in here for the entire winter.” Colvin nodded sagely.

    Above them, Message stirred, disturbed by their talk. She got to her feet and stretched, looking down at them before quickly leaping from her perch. She used Narn as a stepping stone on her way to the floor and Colvin got up, opening the door for Message. She quickly ran out into the snow and over the pile of curled up dragons, settling herself next to Spark. Colvin watched for a moment with a smile before a chill wind blew past him and reminded him he needed to close the door again.

    “I think you’re the only one she doesn’t like yet,” Aryn gestured at Narn with her spoon. They leaned back, setting their empty mug down on the table.

    “She’s warming to you,” Colvin said, retaking his seat and leaning back against the wall. Narn inched slightly closer to him. Aryn hid her knowing smirk by biting into a piece of bread. Now was not the time for teasing.