"Hello, Stranger!" you say to me, as I sit at your table and pull the pitcher of beer towards me. "It's been quite awhile since you've been around here, telling your tales." I grab a mug from a neighboring table and toss the dregs onto the straw-strewn floor and wipe it out roughly with the bottom of my shirt before filling it from your pitcher. I meet your gaze and down all of it before slamming the mug down with a satisfied sigh.
"Indeed it has," I answer. "But, I'm back!" I grin and chuckle to myself before adding, "For a time, anyway."
--//--
So much time has gone by since I've updated this space! It's hard to believe; it feels like it's been forever, and at the same time, like no time has passed at all. But, here I am! With more to share! More words to write and thoughts to give shape!
I've been writing up a storm since my last update and have jumped from one project to another, at least twice. In that time, I've learned a lot about who I am as a writer and have realized what it is I want to write.
Romance.
"But, Devon," you say, disbelief in your voice, "you don't strike me as someone who would be into that!"
I totally am. Really. I love reading romance. I love the discussions, the interactions, the tension, the arousal, the release, the betrayal, the hurt, the drama, the emotions! Yes, I read a lot of different things, but I'm always happiest and get invested the most in the stories that focus on relationships and love. And sex, of course. Yes, I want to write sex, but I don't want that to be the focus of my writing. I'm going to be writing steamy scenes and hot love and desperate desire and all of that, but the focus has to be the romance.
And, realizing that, I've been much happier with my writing projects. I even abandoned one after hitting more than ten thousand words to start it over as a romance, as opposed to a science fiction adventure. Then, I put that one on hold to indulge in a burning need to write a fantasy story. So, in finding my focus, I guess I sort of lost focus, a bit.
But, that's okay! Any endeavor involves learning and exploring and finding the path to follow, or the path to blaze. That's what I hope I'm doing and I hope that it will lead me to the happiness and fulfillment I seek.
Now, because I really, really want to share my writing, even if it's not in very good form, what follows is the start of my fantasy romance, Dragon Rider's Bond.
--//--
Fall’s teeth rattled as the fireball exploded in the air nearby. The heat washed over her in a powerful wave and made her dragon mount surge up in the air column. In the back of her mind, she heard the dragon hiss in pain.
Trix, are you all right? she called out, mentally, even as she scanned the ground for the source of the fireball. The two of them were on their way to an outpost at the edge of their king’s realm and it seemed that whoever had thrown that fireball wanted to stop them from arriving.
Or, they just hated dragons.
Trixahlbegn, or Trix for short, snarled audibly, but answered Fall through their mind-link, I am hurt, but I do not believe it is a grave injury!
Fall grinned as the wind whipped at her short hair. Good, she thought back. We owe this wizard some payback! Trix’s angry scream agreed with her.
The dragon banked to the left, tilting Fall enough so she could see straight down onto the ground. The wizard was down there somewhere, likely preparing another spell to throw at the two of them. Fall didn’t want to get hit with another fireball, for sure, and even though Trix said she was good enough to keep fighting, she worried for her friend.
A flash appeared on the ground: another spell! Image and emotion flashed through the mind-link and Trix banked away from the tiny ball of light rising from the ground, and dove down. The sunlight glinted off of Trix’s bronze scales as she swept down through the air towards the ground. Fall’s heart leaped up into her throat as they fell, but her grin told the true story of her ecstasy. The fireball exploded harmlessly above them.
Quickly, she grabbed up her bow from the hooks that held it to the dragon saddle and drew an arrow. With speed born of intense training, she nocked, drew, and released the arrow in the blink of an eye. The arrow soared through the air towards the wizard, striking the figure in the shoulder.
The impact caused the wizard to stumble, and the magical energies he’d been gathering between his hands flashed and dissipated. The figure looked up at the glorious terror falling down on him as Trix opened her mouth and screamed her rage down on him. The wizard threw his arms up over his head, as if trying to protect himself, then Trix’s lightning breath washed over him.
Trix wheeled around and quickly slammed down to the ground, facing the ruined corpse that had been their attacker. Fall slid down from the saddle and rolled when she hit the ground, and rushed towards the body, drawing her sword. The wizard was obviously dead, but she’d never known a wizard to travel alone before. She had to be ready for his party members, wherever they might be.
But, there was no one. Fall stood over the corpse, sword drawn, and watched the nearby tree line until she was satisfied that no one was coming. Returning her sword to its sheath, she examined the wizard’s body.
He had obviously been of orcish descent, though those traits were faded from mingling with other humanoid bloodlines. Small canines jutted out from his bottom lip and his jaw was very square. His shoulders were much wider than most wizards she’d seen. They tended to be thin, sickly individuals, who spent their lives hunched over books and rare spell components. He had dressed in the thick furs of the Northern kingdom.
She frowned at that. They were hundreds of miles away from the border with the Northern kingdom. What was he doing all the way down here? And, attacking one of the King’s Riders? She set about the distasteful task of rifling through his pockets, needing to see if he carried any kind of letter, orders or something to explain his presence.
Dimly, she became aware of Trix’s heavy breathing behind her. Then, she felt emotion through the mind-link, pain and fear.
Fall, I– Trix began, then the ground trembled as Trix collapsed.
Fall turned in panic, forgetting about the corpse, and rushed over to see her friend. “Trix!” she shouted. The bronze dragon lay on the ground in a haphazard heap, limbs and wings splayed out, eyes closed. Fall rushed over, desperate to find what was wrong with her mount.
The injury was easily found; a burned and blistered swatch of skin and scales across Trix’s belly and feet. It oozed blood and other clear fluids. Dirt, leaves and sticks stuck to the wound where Trix had fallen to the ground. The wound was nasty, and would have made Fall a little sick to her stomach if she weren’t so preoccupied with being afraid for her friend’s life.
Even though they were new to the King’s Dragon Riders, they had spent months training together and she knew exactly what to do. They carried medicines, potions and salves to deal with injuries. She just had to get them. Fall scampered up Trix’s foreleg, careful to avoid all of the burns, and worked her way up to the dragon saddle. One of the bags was full of healing potions, magically brewed to heal injury and restore consciousness to both dragon and rider.
Fall yanked one out of the leather bag, careful to fasten the buttons that would keep the lid closed and its contents from falling out during aerial maneuvers. She clamped the bottle between her teeth and started to make her way back down her friend’s flank, but paused.
The potions, saddle and other supplied in the saddle bags wouldn’t survive if Trix thrashed around while injured. The potion would heal her, a little, but they tasted vile. She couldn’t know how Trix would react when she administered the potion, so she scurried back up to the saddle and yanked on the quick release. The fastenings all popped open and the saddle slid down Trix’s back to fall on the ground.
There, that was as safe as she could make their supplies. Trix needed her help!
Fall turned and slid down the dragon’s neck, bumping into Trix’s large jaw. The step up from neck to jaw was large, almost more than Fall could navigate, but, with the potion in her teeth, she could use both her feet and hands to get to where she needed to be. Soon, she was sitting on Trix’s cheek, staring into her large mouth through her razor sharp teeth.
“Okay, Trix, don’t bite off my arm,” she muttered as she pulled the stopper from the potion bottle, and reached through the razors to pour the potion into the dragon’s mouth.
She yanked her arm back just in time as Trix’s mouth snapped shut and her eyes flew open. The dragon reared up, dumping Fall to the ground, and shook its head with a mighty growl.
“Yeeuch!” she cried, smacking her scaly lips around her black tongue. She blinked, then looked down at her wounds, which were itching like crazy. Fall watched as the blood seeped back into her skin and scales and the clear ooze dried up. The sticks and leaves that had stuck to Trix’s body fell away, though the dirt was left smeared on.
Trix looked over at Fall, and Fall felt Trix’s gratitude through their mind-link. Thank you, friend, she said.
Fall smiled and nodded, and blew out a sigh of relief. “I’m glad the potion helped. Part of me was afraid that they wouldn’t do anything and you’d–“ she herself off with a shake of her head. She felt understanding flow through the -link and smiled up at the dragon.
I believe we can continue, Trix said, as she tried to stand up. The action obviously took great effort, as her muscles trembled underneath her metallic scales and her breathing huffed and puffed. She managed to get to her feet and tried to stretch her wings out, when she recoiled with a loud groan and collapsed back to her side.
Perhaps I need some rest, she admitted. Fall smiled at her and pushed hair up off of her own forehead.
“You definitely need some rest,” Fall said. The dragon nodded sagely.
Fall stepped closer to Trix’s supine body and looked at the wounds. They no longer weeped any fluids, but the skin was still red, raw and puckered around burned scales. “I’m no healer,” she began.
I know, Trix answered, sending Fall her memory of their Healer training, in which Fall had failed to properly apply a bandage to a fake wound on Trix’s ankle. No matter how many times she’d tried, the old tutor had shook his head and told her to do it over again. After the greater part of an hour of failed attempts, the old man had finally sent them away, telling Fall to always stay close to a Roost, where Dragon Riders gathered when not on missions, because if she had to apply a bandage in the field, they would both die.
Fall rolled her eyes dramatically and softly backhanded Trix’s massive foreleg. “You stop,” she laughed. They shared a moment of levity before Fall continued what she’d been saying before. “Like I said, I’m not a healer, but I think your wound still needs some treatment.” She paused, giving Trix an opening for a sarcastic comment, which the dragon did not take.
“So, I’m going to have to look around. Surely there are herbs around here that I can use to make an ointment.” Fall looked up at Trix, her eyes asking the question, “Agreed?”
Trix again nodded her giant head. A pause drew out as they stared at one another, then Trix asked the small woman, Would you like me to tell you what to look for?
Fall burst out laughing. “Yes, please! I am horrible at herbs,” she chuckled. Mirth flooded Fall’s mind through the link as Trix’s body rumbled with the draconic equivalent.
Yes, I know, Trix answered.
Images flooded Fall’s mind from Trix, as the dragon showed her what herbs and other substances she needed to collect to make a proper ointment to treat the burns. Fall walked into the woods and went about the time-consuming process of finding the necessary ingredients.
An hour later, she was spreading her attempt at medicine on Trix’s body. The mixture stank and made the dragon hiss as she applied it, which she was pretty sure wasn’t supposed to be the case. “Is it that bad?” she asked.
The dragon shook it’s massive head. While I do think there’s much room for improvement in your healing skills, this does appear to be working. After the initial sting, it is numbing the pain.
Fall wanted to believe her, but part of her, no small part, if she was being honest, had trouble believing anything that smelled of praise. But, she needed Trix better, so she kept wiping the ointment on the burns, wincing every time her friend hissed in pain.
Later, she sat on the cold ground next to the small fire she’d built for warmth, and to cook her small dinner. Trix lay just outside the firelight, breathing slowly and deeply in a healing rest. The wood crackled softly, lulling Fall to relax. She looked over at her friend. The dancing yellow light just caught the edge of Trix’s hip. Fall admired the lines of her body, and the way the scales reflected the light. The reflections seemed to be brighter than the fire, but she knew that couldn’t be true. That’s not how light worked; the reflections only seemed brighter because of the curved surface of the scales.
Fall thought about how the scales felt under her hands while she rode Trix as they flew through the air. They were smooth and hard, but warm. When the two had first met, she’d expected the metallic dragon to feel like metal, but Trix was the warmest person she’d ever met. It was no surprise that she’d kindled warm feelings in her rider.
Riders had, in the past, fallen in love with their dragons. It wasn’t all that rare, but it was looked down on. Both Rider and Dragon were supposed to put King and Kingdom first, and the leadership felt that wasn’t possible when the two were bound by love. Still, there wasn’t much they could do about it. And, bonded pairs rode and fought better than unbonded pairs. So, when it did happen, everyone turned a blind eye to it.
Would she and Trix bond? She smiled at the thought. She found that she was very attracted to her dragon, especially when Trix morphed into humanoid shape. Granted, the dragon could choose any shape she wanted, so it wasn’t a specific humanoid form that Fall found so appealing. It was her mind, her personality. They flew well together, fought well together. They understood each other and didn’t fight when they were off duty. They enjoyed each others’ presence.
And, she enjoyed fighting at Trix’s side.
She looked over at the dragon again and smiled. If Trix weren’t wounded and in a healing sleep, she might have invited her to share her bed roll. The thought brought an inner warmth and the tickle of need, but she pushed it away and lay down. Sleep came quickly.
