The New Planet (closed)

Kylikki and Irma had been busy sorting the fish. Some had been eaten from, some were already stinking, especially those were the men had been close too. Their body warmth had been enough to send the fish over the edge.

Those they threw away with a swing from their strong arms, the fish landing somewhere down the hill. It would rot quickly and fertilize the soil. Those that felt fresh, those that were firm to the touch, they handled carefully, putting them apart.

Now they were sitting opposite each other, straddling a rowing bench, and cleaned the fish, sorting them further. Some would be good to feed the pigs, others they would smoke or cook for tonights meal.

Both of them jumped up from the bench, Irma a bit later than Kylikki.

"Hello," Kylikki said to the dragon who had suddenly appeared. A grin crossed her face when he scratched his jaw. "Thank you for bringing my father and the others back." She bowed from the waist. Irma, who had turned, bowed her head a moment.

After getting the sand from the little niche it had lodged itself, he put his claw back on the ground. He tilted his head to the side as the two women spoke to him, thanking him. He didn't understand their words yet, but understood they were trying to communicate with him. He blinked for a moment, lowering his head a little. He laid his head down on the ground, just continuing to watch them.

The smell of fish mixed with everything else, but he ignored it since he wasn't hungry. It would take them awhile to sort the fish, and he didn't have anywhere to go. As his sleeping area was setup, it was time for him to learn about these more-dominant, and obviously intelligent creatures on his island.

He spread his wings once more, shaking out sand for a few moments before folding them back against his back.

"Thank you very much!" Kylikki murmured annoyed when a load of sand settled on the fish she was cleaning.

She had sat down again, after he blinked and lowered his head for half a breath. It had looked as if he understood what she said and acknowledged it before he laid down. Since he seemed to want to watch, she had seen no reason to stay on her feet. Kylikki kept glancing at the dragon while she scraped the scales of the fish Irma had cleaned.

The dragon glistened in the sun. Despite the sorrow in her heart, Kylikki smiled when her eye fell on her hands. She was covered in scales and glistened too. The scales flying around after each stroke of her knife, glistened too.

And then the dragon had deemed it a good moment to shake the sand out off his wings.

The next three weeks were a learning experience for Draco. When he went hunting, every couple of days, he also brought different kinds of sea life to the villagers for them to eat. He felt they were his subjects that he had to take care of, as this was his island home. Though they could probably fend for themselves, he did it in his way of creating dominance.

He divided his time between exploring the ocean waters around the island, hunting, and watching over the village. He had found a few shipwrecks beneath the waters, draining them of their treasures which hid away in his cave. A few pieces of gold were lost over the island in transport, getting buried in the sand and over parts of the island.

During his observations of the village, he picked up their language quickly, but gave few signs of understanding them yet. He also noticed that Kylikki was the one one who would approach him closely, talking to him more. She treated him nicely, while the rest of the village try to steer clear of him without offending him.

Björk and his father recovered within two days -they had only been dehydrated- but Kylikki's father's broken arm healed slowly. Grandfather slipped in and out of consciousness for a few days and had massive headaches for quite some time before he felt strong enough to sit outside.

The weather was sonly changing. The nights were longer, the days less warm. It hadn't rained much, they had spent a whole day working hard cleaning the well. Bucket after bucket of salty, dirty water they scoped out off it, and later bucket after bucket of dirt. At that time Kylikki stood in the mud at the bottom, her cousins on a makeshift ladder and beside the well Irma passed the buckets to the others who passed them in long line to empty them on the beach. The water which seeped in tasted still a bit salty.

Two days later they repeated the work, and then the water tasted almost normal.

On the second day after the dragon brought the men back, they mourned for the two who had died at sea. They build a fire, sat around it and remembered them. The fire wasn't a proper burial pile, they simply hadn't enough wood and peat.

It was that late afternoon the dragon dropped a beak-ful of fish just beside the last hut in the row. They had frozen in fright when he flew direct at them. They had gotten somewhat used to him flying around, they watched him dive in the sea, and fly to the back of the big hill. Kylikki decided to climb it before it would be covered with snow, she wanted to see what he did there.

To see him land, his wings spread wide and to see the fish tumble out off his mouth was a sight. He looked at them, looked at the fish and took off again. Kylikki's family debated what they should do, they asked themselves why he had done it.

"Well, the pigs will be pleased," Kylikki's father murmured. "I am not going to eat what that beast had in its beak! It will stink, I actually doubt the pigs will eat it."

Kylikki got up, and picked a fish, a shiny mackerel, as long as her arm. It still twitched. She lifted it high to show the others.

"We'll eat it," her mother said with a grim face. "It hasn't hurt us until now, I doubt it would poison us before gulping us down."

The first meal had been awkward, no-one except Kylikki and the smallest children ate the fish with an appetite.

A few weeks later they were used to the dragon dropping them a fair amount of fish every few days. Kylikki thanked him whenever he was close enough. Often he choose a place to rest where he could watch what they were doing. At night he often kept an eye on them.

The first week they had kept up with keeping guard, and Kylikki had often seen his dark form -sometimes sparkling when the moon shone on his scales- and often she thought she saw him open an eye and look at her.

The coming cold didn't bother him at all, but it was going to make his hunting more time consuming as the aquatic life began to migrate for warmer waters. During his time of watching the villagers, he could get a sense of dread and uneasiness from all of them except Kylikki.

It was the end of the two weeks that he decided she would be the chosen one to convey his thoughts and position on the way things would stand. It would also be a great starting point for him to start communicating with the two-legged creatures.

He waited in his usual observation spot at the stone wall, curled up in a large ball with his head resting on the wall. His red eyes flicked skyward as a few white flakes floated down to light on his snout before melting. His attention was diverted as the familiar scent of the young woman came to him on the soft southerly breeze across the island from the village. He soon caught her lovely form heading towards the well a small distance away.

It had been awhile since he had spoke to another, so he hoped his skills weren't wasted. He concentrated for a few moments before his words echoed in her mind.
I am Draco.

I am Draco.

Kylikki dropped the two empty buckets, slapped her hands over her ears and bend almost double as the words boomed in her head. Gasping she looked up, turned her head to see where the voice had come from, expecting to see Jörn or Jurc behind her, trying not to laugh.

There was no-one behind her. She was alone, the others were or up on the hill, minding their business, or already at the foot, dragging the sleigh to the nearest peat field. She was alone, close to the wall, only the dragon was near, in his usual spot, watching her.

Kylikki looked around again. Locked her eyes on the dragon.

"Was that you," she stammered.

He hadn't quite expected her to jump like she had, his eyes watching the buckets roll a few feet away from her. He did find her reaction interesting, glancing around weary for anyone else. When she finally focused on him, he lifted his head up slowly, strecthing out his neck.

Yes. That was me.

He looked towards the dark clouds that had been slowly gathering above the island, dismissing them after a few moments. He looked back down at Kylikki as he sat up on his hunches where he was.

I have been watching you.

Yes. That was me.

Kylikki's mouth dropped open. She had not expected this answer. She still suspected Jörn or Jurc until the dragon answered her. She was sure it was the dragon. She was sure she had not heard the voice of one of her cousins. She had heard the dragon. Not with her ears, but in her head. The words rung through her mind.

He looked up to the skies, Kylikki closed her mouth. He looked back at her and pushed himself up on his front legs. Now he sat like an overgrown dog, a pose she had never seen him take before.

His head towered far above her, he looked down at her.

I have been watching you.

Kylikki fought the urge to cover her ears, to run away. She took a deep breath and tried to sort her thoughts. Was this what Ingrid described as hearing voices in her dreams? Was she like Ingrid? Was she dreaming, did this mean a disaster was on its way? Another one, didn't they had enough? Or, the dragon had a name, he spook her language, directly in her head, but how? Why?

"You talk in my head," she stated. "How, why? I don't hear you, but you talk. With words in my head. Am I dreaming it, or do you really talk?" Hesitantly she took a few small steps towards the dragon.

"Your name is Draco? I am Kylikki, it means abundance, I was called that because the year I was born in was a very good one." She realized she was starting to gibber and closed her mouth.

He gave a grin as best as he could, the tips of his mouth curling upwards at her over abundance of questions. Her eagerness to question him was more than the others had shown him, avoiding him most of the time. He lowered his head down towards her as she moved closer before answering her questions.

A pleasure to meet you Kylikki. If I scared you, that was not my intention. You hear me in your mind because I use what some might call telepathy, but I am not certain that is the right word for you to understand.

He opened his mouth a bit, lowering his forked tongue out so she could see it for a moment before pulling it back in.

I do not currently have the proper tongue to form your words, or make the proper facial gestures. Though you are the first, what do you call yourself as a species, I have seen to do such a thing for communicating. I can see there is much to learn about my island.

Kylikki didn't understand the word the dragon used to describe how he talked to her, but his other words she understood well. Too well maybe, she thought. It was frightening. She asked herself if this was what Ingrid experienced when she was told about things which would happen to the family when she dreamt. She wondered if she was like Ingrid, if this all was a dream. She dearly hoped she would wake up soon in her bed, in her parents' house, and discover the last weeks all were a just a nightmare warning her changes were to occur.

The wind blowing a few strands of her hair in her face felt too real though. Her aching muscles felt real. The sorrow in her heart felt real. She looked down at where the village had been, up again at the wall, at the last rests of her grandfather's boat. They had used most of the wood to reinforce the huts and to enlarge them. She looked at the huts. Most had a layer of peat bricks on the outside now. It would insulate them against the icy winter winds. Several stacks of peat and hay were drying against the rock wand of the hollow. The fire place in the middle looked more like a living room everyday. Peat-walls surrounded it. The repaired sail was spanned above it to protect the fire and the family against rain and snow. It was where they sat down to eat, to talk, to spin and weave and do other chores.

With a tear in her eye Kylikki looked back at the dragon, Draco, she supposed she should call him now, just in time to catch the upturned edges of his mouth. When he lowered his head, she had halted her steps.

So it was a pleasure to him he met her? She wasn't sure she could say the same. During long conversations the family had decided it was his coming which had caused the flood that had destroyed their homes.

Kylikki gasped when Draco opened his mouth and slid his tongue out. She had caught glimpses of it before, when he yawned or pushed a last fish out off his mouth. Now she saw it was forked like a snake's tongue. Not that she had ever seen a snake, but she had read about them and heard stories about the snakes in the warmer lands her Grandfather and Irma had visited when they fought for the king.

I do not currently have the proper tongue to form your words, or make the proper facial gestures.

Kylikki nodded. That she understood. She never heard an animal had been able to speak. Unless some of the god's companions were real animals. But since they were the god's companions ... She fervently shook her head. This was not the time to get lost in ponderings. She listened to the words the dragon kept pouring in her head.

Though you are the first, what do you call yourself as a species, I have seen to do such a thing for communicating. I can see there is much to learn about my island.

"People," she blurted out. "We are people." What did he mean with the rest of that sentence?

"Talk? We talk with words? We speak them? Aloud?"

"What!"

She balled her fists as the last words registered in her brain and took two big steps forward, raising her fists.

"This is our island! It is my grandfather's island! This is Olaf's Island!

We lived here wonderfully before you sent the wave and destroyed our homes and fields." She ended sobbing, her fists still raised.

If he could have chuckled at the girl's actions, he would have. She was a fiesty one, with quite the firey spirit. He was amused and delight to find someone like her among the "people" who were living there. Instead he just craned his head down so that he was just above her level, his red eyes looking down at her.

You may call yourself people as a group, but what are you as individuals? And you did not contest my call to claim when I did so. My nest is here, so I claim this island, Olaf's Island as you call it.

He snorted for a moment when she laid the blame for the tidal wave on him.

That wave was not of my doing. I may be powerful, but I do not control the element of water. I do not know what caused that wave to do what it did. This is the first I am hearing of such a wave.

He lowered his head lower towards her, his nostrils moving as he pressed close, sniffing of her scent. A thought was beginning to form in his mind on how best to deal with her, and the most logical thought to him was to make her his mate. He knew their differences were vastly different at this point, but he knew he could change that.

You have quite the firey spirit in you, Kylikki. Much different from the rest of your "people". Show me your tongue.

Kylikki lowered her hands, wiped quickly over her eyes with her sleeve, and rested her right hand on her hip, just above the hilt of her knife. If only she had her sword with her! She had picked it up from the beach, the day after the dragon took his stones away but left her sword.

It had gotten a bit rusty already, but with elbow grease and Irma's scolding eyes upon her, she had brought it back to perfection. If she had it with her now, her sword in her right hand, her knife in her left ... No. It wouldn't have been a good idea. She just might have given in to her rage a few moments ago and attacked the dragon. And that, she feared, wouldn't have ended well. For her, not for the dragon. Kylikki looked him straight in his eyes, didn't leave them when he lowered his head.

For now she would play along.

"We are not just a group calling itself people. All people are people, even the dark brown ones on the other side of the world. There are much more people on the world than grains of sand on the new beach." She thought it a good idea to explain him there were a bit more than twenty-three people on the world. She dearly hoped he was the only dragon.

"We are men and women. I am a woman." She had no idea what he wanted to know. Their names? She took a breath.

"My grandfather is called Olaf; my father, his eldest son, Jörn Olafson; his wife, my mother is Edna, I am Kylikki, their eldest child and the first of Olaf's grandchildren. I have two brothers, one lives on the island my grandfather was born, one is in the army. I have two sisters, one has married a fisherman from the mainland and lives there, the other one was born three years ago when my mother thought she was way past childbearing age and is called Agnes. She lives mostly with my youngest aunt Mara, who nursed her because my mother got terrible ill right after Agnes was born. Mara had born Dirk just a few weeks earlier. Mara has no husband and is grandfather's youngest daughter. She is only three years elder then I am. Dirk's father was a cast away my grandfather picked up. He went back to his own people before Mara knew she was pregnant.

Ingrid is grandfather's eldest daughter, Björk, my eldest cousin is her son, Britta and Elsa her daughters. Ingrid's husband died eight years ago, a year after Elsa was born.

Irma is my grandmother's cousin, Irri her adopted daughter. Irma was soldier in the King's army for many years.

Uncle Petir, who died at sea during the storm after the wave, was grandfather's second eldest son. Jörn is his son, Erika his daughter. Their mother died a long time ago." Kylikki sighed.

"Uncle Bjorn died in the storm too. He was my grandfather's third eldest son and aunt Silvy's husband. Hannes is their son, he turned thirteen last week, and Evi their daughter, is five years old.

Aunt Becca is grandfather's niece, uncle Irv her husband. Her family didn't want her to marry him, so they came here. They have two sons, Mark and Harold, thirteen and ten years old, and a daughter, Ella, who is eight. That are we. Olaf's Clan from Petir's Clan from Hannes' Clan from Bjorn's Clan." Kylikki could follow her lineage back another three clans, but four was deemed enough to mention at a formal introduction.

"When you came her, you were just a strange boulder on the beach and I poked you with my sword. Only a long time after that you reacted in any way, got up and flew away. If your return with the stones was your claim to our island, it was not a thing we recognized as a claim. Had we, we would have made it clear to you you are welcome as a guest but nothing more." Kyiliki wrapped her fingers around the hilt of her knife. She decided not to mention his nest.

"Well, if it is the first time you hear of the wave, it was big, very big, it reached up to the fourth loop of the path around the hill. It destroyed all our houses. They were around the well, against the hills on the other side of the valley. It ruined our fields too. If not Ingrid's dream had warned us, we might have died all. Thanks to her dream we saved ourselves and most of our supplies and belongings." Again she ignored some of his words. He might be powerful, but didn't have control over the element water? No-one could control the sea.

She also ignored -or did her very best to do so- that he had moved his head even closer and sniffed at her. The direct view into his nostrils hadn't been the best sight Kylikki had seen in all her twenty-two years. It took her a moment or two to respond to his last words.

"My family is not less fierce than I am," she stated calmly. "I am only the only adult with no children." Without saying another word she pointed her tongue at him, farther than she ever had pointed it at one of her cousins.

He had to admit her naming off of all of her family was impressive, but it hadn't answered his question. She was very spunky, and that made her all the more interesting. And her calling herself unmated, as far as being the only adult with no children, made her the best choice for his plans.

Her mention of other parts of the world having more of her kind told him he was no longer on his own world. He had no idea where he was, but he would have to deal with it however he could.

As she stuck her tongue out at him, he turned his head to one side as he peered closer at her. After a moment he pulled back, finding it interesting she had complied so readily.

You can pull your tongue back in, thank you.

He lifted his head up higher into the air as he focused on the dark clouds. Deciding to show some of his power, he inhaled a large amount of air into his lungs. After a moment he exhaled, releasing a long and steady stream of fire towards the clouds. The flame extended up to twenty feet, which he kept up for several seconds before cutting the flames off. He lowered his head to look at her again.

Kylikki almost stumbled back when the dragon turned his head and moved it closer to peer at her with one eye.

You can pull your tongue back in, thank you.

As the words formed in her head, Kylikki stuck her tongue even farther out off her mouth for a moment. Without really wanting it, her left hand moved into the rude sign she had seen her cousins make quite often before a certain amount of missed treats had taught them to only make it when no-one saw it. When her arm started to rise, she just in time folded her middle finger into her fist and crossed her arms over her chest.

Her feet planted firmly on the ground, shoulder wide, she turned her head to the sky, following the movement of the dragon. The clouds, heavy with rain, swirled over the sky. She really hoped it would start to pour soon, that way the freshly dug cisterns on the hilltop would fill with water. It had been a chore to dug, break rocks away, line the walls with flat rocks, and cover them and the bottom with clay (which had to be brought in from the valley). The only easy part had been to burn fires inside to harden the clay.

Kylikki staggered back. It took her all her will-force to not run away. She had been prepared for a growl, a roar, as she absentmindedly noticed the dragon taking a deep breath. For the enormous flame shooting high up in the air, she not been prepared.

All color drew from her face. She pressed her arms against each other, against her chest. She struggled to get her stance back. Abruptly the flame died. The cold wind blowing in Kylikki's face felt even colder now.

She swallowed hard when the dragon turned his towards her again. She glanced away, and seeing her mother with a pitchfork, her father with a sword in his left hand, her grandfather with a spear, and a few others beside them with whatever weapon had been handy, ready to run down and help -or revenge- her she locked her eyes on the dragon again.

He wasn't surprised by her reactions to his display of power, but was at her bravery at staying where she was. Most creatures fled from him when he had done that, unless they were trying to fight to the death. He noticed the rest of her family gathered further up the hill with weapons, but he didn't make any movements to suggest the display bothered him.

You can tell your people they don't need to worry. If I was truly interested in harming you, I would have done so before. No, you have no reason to fear me, yet. Nor I have I done anything yet to incur your need for violence against me.

He watched her family for few moments longer before looking back at Kylikki. Seeing one of the buckets near his right foot, he lifted his foot up for a moment. He grasped the wooden bucket carefully between his talons before holding it out to her.

Here is your, whatever you call this thing. You can pass on my claim of the island or not, your choice. However, I have shown kindness towards you, just remember that.

Kylikki gasped as the word "yet" formed in her mind. And again. They stuck out from the other words. Made what the dragon said menacing.

"Nor did we," she stated. "I apologized for prodding at you when I thought you were just a strange boulder. My mother gave you a basket for your stones when you returned with them. We thanked you when you brought the boat back to us. We thanked you for the fish you brought us. We gave you no reason to get angry with us. We have had no reason to get violent against you. Yet."

She turned her gaze to her family, and waved reassuringly at them.

"Bucket," she said and stepped forward to take it. His talons were black and shiny, and quite intimidating from up close.

"You remember we have showed you nothing than kindness either." She turned, picked up the other bucket and placed them side by side at the wall before turning her back to the dragon and climbing up to her family. She pondered if she should tell them about his claim.

"He talked with me," she said softly when she was close enough. The smaller children appeared from the hut they had been sent to. Kylikki explained how the dragon had talked to her, and what he had told her.

"We'll all think about it while we get on with the work," her grandfather said, "and we'll talk about it tonight at dinner. Draco, you said is his name?"

Kylikki nodded. She wondered why he had wanted to see her tongue. He had shown her his, maybe it was something polite to do amongst dragons?

"I have never met an animal that could talk," Grandfather mused. "Except that bird, that parrot, a foreign king sent our king as a gift. But that bird only repeated what one said to it, and only a word at the time after one repeated it uncountable times. It then screamed the new word mixed in with other words it had learned. It didn't make much sense." He shook his head, looked at the dragon and back at the others. "We have lost enough time. Lets get on with the work."

Kylikki got the buckets and climbed down the hill to get fresh water from the well. On her way up it started to rain, softly at first but harder soon. Soon it dripped out off her braids, and her soaked her clothes. Her woolen tunica clung to her linen undershirt which clung to her body. Only her legs stayed dry beneath the leather leggings she wore. She emptied her buckets in the water vat beside the cooking hut, and put them under the drip running off of the sail above the fire. A few breaths she warmed her hands over the smoldering peat fire before she turned her head towards where the dragon, Draco, had talked with her. Such a fitting name, she mused. Did he know his name sounded almost like the name they used for his species? How often a dragon had been here, at the world, that they had a name for it? Why did all the people she knew about know about dragons? In one off Irma's books were quite a few tales about dragons. Not much off it fitted Draco though.

"Here, Ky," her mother called her, "I put the sleeves in your leather vest. Come in and take those wet clothes off. Then go to he peat field, they'll need help pulling the sleigh back up."

He settled back on all fours as he watched her gather up the water, staying quiet despite her words. He closed his eyes against the rain, feeling it hit his scales and run down his massive bulk. He remained where he was for the rest of the day, not bothered by the damp weather. It was just after midnight that he went into his nest, a thunderstorm brewing and crashing across the sky.

He spent the next two days practicing his magic, pushing forward his plans on the island. Much of his time was spent using his shape-shifting powers, a technique he had not used in a very long time. It took several tries before he finally placed himself in the form he felt would be most accepting to them. It was probably going to scare them more, after all, they seemed like an easily frightened people.

He stood seven feet tall in his new humanoid form, his scales forms into a more solid skin over his body. His wings had shrunk down, but still had an impressive fourteen foot wing span. His tail was five feet long and almost had a mind of it's own. He didn't have anything for what passed as clothing, so a portion of his body was shifted into a front and back flap to hide his crotch. His fingers ended in sharps claws, just like his toes. Black flowing hair extended down to the bottom of his shoulder blades.

After a night of sleeping in his humanoid form, it was on the third morning that he went to the beach to see what the different viewpoint was like. His wings were extended out behind him as he sat on the beach, watching the first rays of the sun come up.

The next two days it rained. Sometimes hard, and then they stayed inside, made their huts more comfortable, sorted through stacked chests and baskets. The winter clothes got unpacked, aired and repaired if necessary and Irma sat down with the smaller children and taught them more letters.

If it only drizzled, the work outside went on. They shaved the sheep once more.

Grandfather hadn't felt the time was right to talk about what the dragon had told Kylikki on the first evening, and ordered them more time to think, without talking about it with each other.

Early in the evening of the second full rainy day, he called them all together. Only Edna and Ingrid were missing.

"I talked with them earlier," he opened the meeting, "I know what they want. When they bring our dinner, they'll tell you themselves but for now, I want to hear once again what "Draco" told you, Kylikki."

She repeated everything. Explained how it felt when he talked to her. Her eyes stayed on her hands, on the wool she was cleaning and combing. When she finished her tale she looked around.

For a little while nobody said anything. Then they started to talk among each other. Grandfather only listened, sitting once closer to this little group, once closer to another one. After he made a second round amongst the groups grandfather called for attention.

"We leave in the spring, it is decided? The first boat that arrives we'll tell to come back with more boats and we'll move back to my clan, to Petir, until we find another place to settle. If the dragon wants this island, he can have it. We won't fight it. We won't risk our lives. Kylikki, you stay away from it. If it wants to talk, it can talk with me." Grandfather sat down, and took the bowl Edna had filled for him.

"What do we do if he brings more fish?" Kylikki asked.

"We'll eat it. We'll dry it, smoke it, use it." Edna stated. "We'll thank the dragon, we'll give it the baskets I'll make out off the fish leather, if you'll help me cure the shark hides. There was again a half grown blue in the last "delivery". I smoked the vins, but the rest I fed the pigs."

Kylikki nodded. The blue shark's vins were a well sought after delicacy. But the rest ... If grandfather caught them, they cut the vins off, skinned the fish, and threw the rest of the it back into the sea.

Making leather of the hides was a tedious task. It sold well though.

That night, before they went to bed, they stood on the top of the hill and looked over their island. It wasn't raining, and as if nature knew what they needed, the stars twinkled in the light of the full moon. From that moment on, their island wasn't their island anymore, but just a place where they would live for a while until they moved on.

Kylikki's heart was heavy when she woke up very early in the next morning. The light was eery. The moon had settled and the sun had not yet risen.

Slowly she walked down the hill, this time following all the loops of the path. It was her private goodbye to the the island. She had timed so, that she would arrive at the beach with sunrise. Lost in her thoughts she walked, with her inner eye seeing the island as it had been at the height of the last summer.

About fifty man lengths away from the beach her steps stocked. Something was sitting on white sand. Long wings were draped behind it on the sand. Slowly she neared it a bit more before she stopped.

He watched the sunrise for a little longer before looking down at the beach. He dug his hands into the sand for a moment, holding the wet sand before letting it flow slowly from his hands. The new sensations were a little more intense for him, rather than just feeling it crush beneath his talons. He wondered for a few moments if this was the right thing to do, pushing the thought aside after a moment.

He knew he was alone on this planet, having no signs that any others of his kind here. Perhaps it was the loniness that was driving him, but he couldn't say for sure. He took a deep breathe for a moment before releasing it slowly.

He soon caught the scent of Kylikki on the wind for a moment, bringing a smirk to his lips. He made no movement of his own to look for her, letting her come on her own. Shifting his legs beneath him, he leaned forward, running his fingers through the wet sand. His tail moved through the sand behind him, digging shallow grooves with the spikes.

He could have reached out to her, but choose to remain silent. He remained sitting there a few moments longer before standing up, still facing away from her. He folded his wings behind himself as he lifted his right arm up for a moment. He made a follow me motion with his hand before dropping it and moving further down the beach. He continued til he reached a point out of sight of the village, but still remaining turned away from her.

He waited to see if she would actually follow him.

A long moment Kylikki stood at the edge of the beach, looking at the creature.

The colors were Draco's, the tail looked somewhat like his too, and the talons on its hands and feet. He glittered somewhat in the sun. His jet-black hair gleamed. The hair wasn't as long as the men in Kylikki's family wore it, but the color was almost dazzling.

The creature was big. Tall. Kylikki watched his tail sweep through the sand. Just like Draco's tail did sometimes. Could it be it had arrived at the same time as the dragon? Was it the dragon, or a dragon-slayer? Or was it kin to the dragon?

Tentatively she took two small steps and stopped in her tracks as the creature moved. It stood up and towered at least three heads over Kylikki. It moved its hand, beckoned Kylikki to follow it. It didn't turn its head towards her though. It simply walked away from her. Almost against her will, Kylikki followed it.

Her steps were much smaller than those of the creature. It moved with fluid grace. Muscles moved under its skin. Slowly Kylikki followed it, her hand on the hilt of her knife. She wasn't sure if she shouldn't have called for the others.

He stood there silently for a few moments before he opened his mouth to speak. However he knew he didn't know how to form the proper sounds, despite having the right tongue. Instead his voice was inside her head once more.

In case you were curious, it is still Draco. I only used magic to change my form into something more acceptable to your kind. It's not perfect, but it works, right?

He turned to face her now, licking his lips for a moment. He stretched his wings wide for a moment before folding them again, speaking once more.

I can only imagine how the rest of your people reacted to my claim, but I won't ask now. Instead, I ask of you, Kylikki, a favor for a favor. You teach me your language, and I shall continue to provide for you and your people. This winter will mostly be harsh for your kind as it stands. What do you say?

Kylikki didn't stumble back as Draco's voice sounded in her head; she was half expecting it.

He used magic? He used magic! Now she stumbled back. He used magic to change his appearance. He 'only' used magic to change his appearance!

"It kind of works," Kylikki said sotto voce. "It is not perfect, no." She wondered why. If he could do magic, and change his shape with it, why didn't he look like the people he had been studying for weeks? Her eyes lingered on the spiky horns on his head, on his legs, his tail. Maybe he didn't feel safe without them?

She gasped when he turned to face her. His face looked human in a very disturbing manner. The way his tongue flicked over his lips ... Kylikki felt a shiver running down her spine.

"What do you say?"

Kylikki pondered his words. He wanted to learn her language? But he was already speaking it!

"Try to not catch as many sharks. They are not really edible. My mother is tanning the hides of the ones you caught already and we'll wave baskets with it, for you to put your things in. We saw you carrying golden trinkets. You dropped a few, and some of those we found. We'll put them in the first basket that is ready. When it is ready, we'll put at the spot you usually drop the fish. Unless you want us to put it somewhere else?"

Kylikki couldn't say more, she had to talk with her Grandfather first.

He was quiet for a few moments as he pondered the terms that she had put forth for him. They were easy enough for him to deal with, so it was simple enough to agree to. However he felt he needed to add one more condition, judging from the reaction her family had given when he had spewed fire the day before.

It seems that we are able to come to an agreement then. Placing the gold where I lay the fish is fine, but there is no need to be in a hurry about it.

He moved closer to her, closing the distance between them to only a couple of feet. Even as a hunamoid he had his full draconic senses, so he was able to inhale her scent deeply for a moment. It was an intoxicating scent to him, enjoying it for a moment before quickly surpressing it. He reached his right hand up, one of his claws touching the soft flesh of her left cheek. His finger shifted so that the pad of his finger was against her flesh, feeling the warmth of it as he talked once more.

However I must add one codition to our terms. Judging from the react of your people, I think it would be best if they did not know of my shapeshifting magic, for now. Call it a need for protection on my behalf. I have liced long and don't wish to be killed in my sleep due to unnesscary fear. If asked why, perhaps you could tell them I am trying to expand my knowledge of my new home, which is the true. Will you do that?

He knew he was asking a lot of such a seemingly young creature, but he was taking it more as a test to see how she could be judged character-wise. His ran softly down her cheek and along the side of her neck before he pulled his hand from her, looking down at her with his red eyes.

Kylikki had half turned to walk away -to climb the hill again, hoping she could catch grandfather before the others were awake- when Draco walked up to her. She had to tilt her head backwards somewhat to keep looking him in his eyes.

Her heartbeat quickened as he raised his hand. She kept her stance, clenched her jaws together as his talon landed on her cheek. She felt the sharp point digging in her flesh a moment before he turned his hand and placed his fingertip against her skin. Kylikki's breath stocked. And words streamed into her brain once more.

Pondering what to answer now Kylikki sought to buy some time. She didn't want to answer in a too affirmative way, just like she did with his first demand. She simply had to talk to her grandfather first. Draco stroke her cheek with his fingertip and all her thoughts left her brain. Feeling his warm finger glide down her cheek, over her neck before it left her skin and body at the seam of her shirt, she blinked and started to breath again.

"I'll talk with my grandfather," she said before she turned and walked away with long strides.