“No, she’s not off pouting somewhere.” Jaax sounded aggravated. “More likely she has fallen asleep in some secluded corner second guessing her actions today. She gave up pouting long ago, but I’ll admit she hasn’t moved far from it.”
Jahrra stopped dead in her tracks. How could he possibly know that? She had been sure he was gone from sight before she set off towards the trees, and she would have noticed if a fifteen foot tall, twenty foot long dragon had been following her. Jahrra scowled. She had only met Jaax a handful of times in her entire life and each time it was only for a day or so. How could he know so much about her character when she knew nothing about him? Maybe it was a trait he had gained over time. After all, dragons had plenty of time to develop such a skill. Jahrra shook off her aggravation and strained her ears once more to listen to the conversation. She knew it was wrong of her to eavesdrop, but she was determined to find out who this other dragon was and why she herself was such an important object of interest.
“Honestly Jaax, we cannot go wandering through these woods at night. She could be anywhere, let’s just wait until morning.”
Jahrra detected something insincere behind the feigned concern in Shiroxx’s voice. She’d had plenty of practice from listening to the children at school as they tried to impress Eydeth and Ellysian. She wondered if Jaax could detect this deception as well. She was a little disappointed when it seemed he had not.
“Very well,” he said on a sigh. “But she’ll get the bad end of it in the morning.”
Jaax started to move back towards the Ruin, but Shiroxx held back. The dark form that was Jaax turned to look back at the other, waiting patiently for her to speak.
“Actually, I wouldn’t mind watching the stars from that clearing over there. Would you like to join me? I have forgotten most of the names of the old constellations, do you know them?”
The voice was perfect sweet politeness and had such an inviting charm that Jahrra made a face. So, she thought haughtily, maybe Jaax does have a life outside of Oescienne after all. She suits him. Those two stuffy, assuming creatures can go live in the wilds of Felldreim for all I care.
Jaax’s dark form nodded once and then headed back towards the other dragon. Despite her better judgment, and due to her overwhelming sense of curiosity, Jahrra continued after them. She knew it was very rude of her, but she couldn’t help it. If they continued their discussion, perhaps she would learn what Shiroxx had been talking about earlier, about an icy mountaintop and why Jaax had wanted to come back to Oescienne.
Jahrra continued silently through the field until she reached the edge of the tree line, crossing the small foot bridge over the Danu Creek as the dragons crossed the larger road bridge. She made her way from one shadowy trunk to the next, making sure she was silent as she moved further and further away from her awaiting bed and closer to the dragons. After several minutes, Jaax and his companion reached the tiny meadow at the edge of the forest and stopped. Jahrra had stopped too, no longer able to rely on the noise of the dragons’ footfalls to drown out her own racket. She strained her ears, listening for their voices once again, but they were just out of earshot.
Drat! she thought. They’ll surely see and hear me if I turn back now. But she didn’t want to turn back; she wanted to hear what they were saying. Jahrra took a deep breath and slowly began to inch towards them. She knew that if she made any sound at all they would hear her, and with her luck, wouldn’t just dismiss her as a scavenging animal. After several minutes of slow and patient progress, Jahrra had edged within twenty feet of the pair and could now clearly make out what was being said.
“ . . . I don’t see why you must stay connected to this child, Raejaax. Hroombra obviously has everything under control–”
“You can’t possibly believe that, Shiroxx!” Jaax cut in irritably. “She does anything and everything that flies into her mind.”
“Jaax, I only wish you wouldn’t worry so much. When was the last time you took a break from this chaos you call your life?” Shiroxx asked pleasantly. “In fact, I believe we all need a vacation. It’s been seventeen years and nothing has happened, I think we can relax our guard a little.”
Jaax didn’t answer, but growled and moved away. He turned his back on the smaller form across from him and stared further into the starry, moonlit sky.
“Raejaax,” Shiroxx said calmly, a pleading note in her voice.
Jaax interrupted in a cool tone that gave Jahrra chills. “Shiroxx, what you want can never happen, and I’m not talking about taking time off from our duty to Jahrra. You’re grasping at something that cannot be had. I’m sorry, but I’m afraid it will always be that way.”
As Jahrra listened to Jaax’s cold words, she couldn’t help but feel a little bit sorry for Shiroxx and a little bit guilty she had eavesdropped on this private conversation. Her reaction was both one of irritation and confusion, for although Jahrra had decided she didn’t like this new dragon, she disliked Jaax even more for his harsh rejection. What he had just said was spoken without kindness, and it only added fuel to the fire of Jahrra’s dislike of him.
Her anger was only fleeting, however, because she was focused on something else they had said, something that confused her. What had Jaax meant by “Our duty to Jahrra”? Whose duty? And what duty to me? If anything, Jahrra was even more perplexed than before. She gritted her teeth and tried to keep from going crazy.
“Very well,” Shiroxx answered after some time, matching Jaax’s chilling tone.
The female dragon turned her back on him, slowly making her way back towards Jahrra. Jahrra froze for just a second, but then quickly shifted out of the dim moonlight. She settled behind a screen of black leaves and took this opportunity to look the strange dragon over. She resembled Jaax, smaller with less prominent features, but built in the same athletic way that he was. Jahrra would guess she was reddish in color, for she looked dark purple in the dim light of the moon. She walked with ease and a sort of grace, something Jahrra didn’t expect from such a large reptile.
Shiroxx stopped and turned her head back towards Jaax’s brooding shape. He still stared at the stars, sitting down now, with his back to her.
“She’ll never make your dreams come true either Jaax, those ridiculous ambitions of yours,” she said with some spite. “She’ll never be the one to heal the wounds of your past, no matter how much you hope for it. She is of a weak race as you very well know; you’ve studied enough of their history. Time to wake up Jaax, for dreams are only real when you are asleep.”
Shiroxx spread her wings and took off into the night. Jahrra watched closely as her dark figure disappeared into the black sky, and then she stole a glance at Jaax. He stared at the stars like a great frozen jade statue, their faint light caught in his eyes the way a mirror captures the faint flicker of a distant candle. Not once did he turn his head to watch Shiroxx leave. Jahrra stared at his still silhouette, growing more and more bewildered as the minutes passed. Sometimes, but only on very rare occasions, she wished she could read the dragon Jaax’s thoughts.
Jahrra turned and quietly made her way back to the Castle Guard Ruin, her mind once again ablaze with questions. Who exactly had this Shiroxx been and why was Jaax angry with her for coming here? Why was there so much friction between them? What had she meant about Jaax’s dreams coming true? What dreams could the boring, dry Tanaan dragon possibly have, and what part, if any, could she, a simple Nesnan, play in them? And even though she was a simple Nesnan, Shiroxx had no right to imply that Nesnans were weak. Did she not just beat a plethora of Resai in the most competitive race in all of Oescienne? It all made her head hurt.