Chapter 2: A New Friend

Thirwyn woke with a start. It was like lightning had hit him and shocked him awake. The spines on his neck stood straight at the shock. Adrenaline surged through him as he frantically surveyed the den only to see the den of dragons sleeping peacefully. The glowing red stone in the middle was dimmed low enough so the dragons could sleep, though it was still bright enough to keep the young hatchlings and nestlings' fears away. Thirwyn had his own nest now. It was smaller than the one he had shared with his father when he was only a nestling. This one was made for a young dragon in a corner with more small nests.

Thirwyn shook his head to ward off the shock. The spikes flattened slightly. The sense of danger had been so real to him to wake him from his sleep. He hadn't even been dreaming. He was thinking of nothing, and then he heard the words: Don't turn around. Don't turn around. There was a sense of dread and fear that filled the words, like a warning of danger that he needed to address.

Thirwyn had grown to be much more than a nestling over the ten years. The shape of his head had become more of a trapezoid than an oval as it was when he was a younger. His green scales took on a new brightness. The ram horns were more prominent on his head, though they were still growing in. The spikes on his back had fully developed and would rise and flatten in accordance with his moods. His claws were sharper, more dangerous, and better adequate to slice. The muscles in his legs, though they were also still developing, were more defined. He had long since learned to breathe fire (a trait dragons learn as nestlings) and could now control it. The most important growth however was his wings. They were now just the size to carry him in flight. He had heard Leah talking it over with Miren and Arithoth. They would soon be taken out to fly.

Tiredon of course was only too eager to take to the skies. Cadmon seemed more fascinated by the idea and often talked to Thirwyn about his thoughts about it. Thirwyn was the only fledgling that didn't seem to care about much about flying. Few things seemed to pique his interest. When he breathed fire, he just listened to his father and tried not to set anyone on fire. When the older dragons commented on how his horns were growing in, he would just nod a thanks and move on.

Thirwyn looked up to see Cadmon staring at him from his nest. His silver eyes looked at Thirwyn curiously. Like Thirwyn, Cadmon had also become more dragon-like in the last ten years. He retained his onyx scales. He grew to be more slender and smaller than Thirwyn. If ever in a fight he would be better off evading the enemy rather than facing them head on, though he was still larger than a horse and had the spikes and horns to scare off any human.

“You all right, brother?” Cadmon asked.

Thirwyn nodded, still a bit shaken. “Yeah. I'm fine.”

“You sure? You looked like something was going to kill you right there. Your spikes stuck up and everything.”

“Just a bit of irrationality. The usual. I'm fine.”

“A nightmare?” Cadmon asked in astonishment.

Thirwyn shot him a look. “You know I don't dream anymore.”

“I know. I was just curious if you started again.”

“No. I didn't dream anything. It was more of a... I don't know. More of a feeling. A thought.”

“But not a dream?”

“No. Stop asking about it.” Thirwyn changed the subject. “You sleep at all?”

Cadmon shook his head. “I can't. My head's too full of ideas about flight.”

“You sound excited.”

“No so much excited as fascinated. The sky will be our new ground.”

“You know what it's like to fly. You rode on Ledah's back on the way here.”

Cadmon nodded. “I know. But still, it'll be so much different doing it yourself. You make the calls. You work your wings, and you determine your altitude. It's scary but still fascinating. I can't help but imagine what it'll be like here.”

Thirwyn nodded. “It should be interesting.”

“Yet, you are not taken at all by the idea.”

“I'm just not that excited about it.”

“Thirwyn, brother, I'm usually the indifferent one around here, and even I show some interest in this subject.”

“Why do you?” Thirwyn asked. What Cadmon said was true. Cadmon rarely took any interest a subject. He only took an interest in Thirwyn because Thirwyn was the first to befriend Cadmon as a hatchling.

“I don't know. I guess the idea of flying off or escaping into an open sky appeals to me. It provokes thought.”

Thirwyn gave a grunt as a show of accepting the comment. “It's something a dragon must learn to do I guess.”

Cadmon looked at Thirwyn curiously. “You really aren't that enthusiastic about it, are you, brother?”

“Not really,” Thirwyn yawned. “Why do you keep calling me that?”

“What?”

“Brother.”

Cadmon shrugged. “Because.”

“Tiredon is closer to your brother than I am.”

Cadmon grimaced. “No he's not.”

Thirwyn sighed. “You right, but I wish it was different.”

“When I first came to this clan you were the one who treated me like a brother. Tiredon did not. Do you regret doing so?”

“Never. But you should at least try to accept Tiredon as your brother, for Ledah's sake. At least he didn't kill you as a hatchling,” Thirwyn said with a smile.

Cadmon smiled as well, happy to get a bit of humor out of his friend. Thirwyn was usually as uninterested as Cadmon was. Only Cadmon took an interest in something that he thought important. For instance, when he started breathing fire, his mother had to take him to an island on the lake nearby because he wouldn't stop shooting fireballs. Thirwyn however, rarely had a passion for anything. He only ever concerned himself with the well being of others. Over the years, Thirwyn had defended Cadmon furiously when the other nestlings and fledglings would pick on him.

But there was still part of Cadmon that remembered what Thirwyn was like before they came to the den. Even after his mom had died, Thirwyn still had shown enthusiasm in almost everything. Now Cadmon's friend was almost always serious. It was rare to ever see Thirwyn smile or laugh genuinely, but it was always great for Cadmon to see Thirwyn do so.

Cadmon looked over at the small nest next to him and grimaced. It was empty. “Speaking of my beloved brother...” he said the word sarcastically that time.

Thirwyn voiced Cadmon's thoughts. “Tiredon gone again?”

Cadmon nodded.

“Probably out hunting,” Thirwyn suggested.

Cadmon growled softly. “He shouldn't be taking off like this. He's worrying our mother.”

“You know what Leah says. Let fledglings be fledglings.”

“I still don't like it. I always get such an awful feeling when I see that nest empty.”

Thirwyn did a dragon's version of a shrug. “If you want to try talking to him about it, go ahead. Though I doubt he'll listen.”

“I know,” Cadmon growled.

Thirwyn curled up tucking his head under his wing. “I'm still tired. I'm going to sleep. Night.”

“You and I both know you aren't going to sleep.”

“Night, Cadmon.”

“Good night, brother.” And then Cadmon, too, curled up, and, like Thirwyn, waited through a sleepless night.