Well, one reader asked me to write a short story with her explanation, and so I did! It's only a couple of thousand words, but hopefully it will provide some explanation as to why she decided Anzig was not worthy for her.
Enjoy!
***
The Sxinix Mountains had long been
a natural divide between the drakes and the humans of Kernow, a boundary
between the two races. To the drakes, they were safety. Without wings, many
parts of the great mountain range were completely inaccessible, and these had
become refuges for the western clans in times of need. Of these, the most
defensible was the mountain of Kxisila. Known only to the clan of magic, the
mountain was a last resort should the Nixan lair ever be breached, though such
a scenario had never once occurred.
Shielded by sheer cliff walls that
offered no nook or cranny for grip, Kxisila was utterly unclimbable. Locked to
the ground, humans didn’t have a chance of reaching the gentle slopes over five
hundred feet above their heads. Above the cliffs, the mountain was thick with
trees on the gentle slopes that rose up to the great peak, towering over
everything around it. Kxisila was one of the tallest mountains in the Sxinix,
and to any Nixan it was a beacon of safety second only to the comfort of their
own lair.
As the sun started to sink to the
uneven horizon cast by the mountains, the slopes of Kxisila were no longer
empty and silent. Nine drakes had landed amongst the trees, exhausted from
their long flight from the northern reaches of the Sxinix. Ddraig Anzig led
them, Isikian by his side to guide him down to a suitable place to rest. The
mountain had seen heavy rainfall recently, small streams bubbling down the
grassy slopes before cascading down the tall cliffs, a fine mist descending to
the distant flat terrain at their base.
There were a number of large caves
dotted throughout the mountainside, and it didn’t take long for the small band
to find refuge in one of them, with more than enough room to spread out.
Kxisila could house a whole clan if needed, the nine drakes would have plenty
of space, but it still didn’t feel like enough to one of them. As the others
disappeared into the cave, Keita lingered behind, perching on the edge of the
cliff and looking down over the dusk-tinged landscape. Most of it was little
more than a blur to her imperfect eyes, but she had long ago learned to cope
with her poor vision.
As conversations started to spring
up inside, the dragoness became aware that she wasn’t alone. She turned,
expecting to see Anzig there, as he had so often been as they had grown up
together, but it wasn’t. Instead it was the Nyrian dragon Okazuni who
approached. Though she had not known the diminutive dragon for very long, he
had quickly become a close friend, her near constant companion on her wingtip
during the long flights they had endured.
“Is everything alright?” he asked,
settling down by Keita’s side. His eyes tracked a distant eagle the dragoness
had no hope of seeing.
It was a while before Keita
answered, just staring out into the gold and green blur the setting sun cast in
her eyes. She sighed, pulling her tail tight around her legs. “Just a lot to
think about I guess,” she said quietly.
“You know I’ll always listen to
what’s on your mind,” Okazuni replied, lying down on the damp grass with his
head resting in his paws.
Looking across at the Nyrian, Keita
couldn’t help but smile. There was something about the Nyrian that made her
comfortable. She had enjoyed his conversations from the moment they had met. It
had been refreshing to hear from someone from outside her clan, having only
rarely getting the chance to meet someone from beyond the Laxtal borders
before. Despite having a powerful father, she had never been given any
significant role in the clan by Ddraig Astar. She hoped that now his son ruled
Laxtal, things would begin to change, but Anzig was the cause of most of her
worries. She didn’t even know where to begin.
“Carlee told me a long time ago
that she thought Anzig had really strong feelings for me, that he utterly
adored me,” she said slowly, glancing back to make sure no one was around to
overhear her. She couldn’t see anyone, though she doubted anyone would know if
Nataik was around, the colour-changing scales of the Xigax dragoness able to
hide her from even the best of eyes.
“I can’t say I blame him,” Okazuni
said softly, half-turning away from the dragoness as he looked down the sheer
cliff. “You’d be a great catch for any dragon.”
Keita swished her tail, but said
nothing for the moment. Okazuni had told her that several times before, ever
since she had been captured by the humans in the farmhouse, what felt like so
long ago now. She had rejected his advances until now, working hard to keep the
Nyrian as a much needed friend but nothing beyond that. Though he had respected
her wishes, he still made the occasional effort to see if he could change her
mind.
“Maybe that would be true if I
could see,” Keita whispered eventually, tucking her tail tight around her legs.
She knew her limitations, the reasons why she had never become a respected
dragoness in the clan like her father had once hoped of her. “I can’t hunt, I
can barely fight; I know that I’d make a pretty worthless mate. Maybe that’s
why Anzig has no interest in me.”
Okazuni growled and shook his head.
“Then he’s a fool. You could outwit any drake that dared face up to you. Does
the Ddraig think that’s worthless?” he snarled, snapping a small branch in his
paws. He thrashed his tail against the ground in his frustration.
Keita shook her head. “Our clan
isn’t the same as yours. Laxtal prides itself on being a strong clan of
warriors, second only to Axaatl. The weak have no place. Just look at Azlak,”
she said, glancing back towards the cave, where the seer would be lying down,
probably some distance away from his companions as usual. As she looked, she
noticed Anzig come to the mouth of the cave and look out at them. She was sure
the Ddraig’s eyes narrowed a little, but then he’d turned away back into the
darkness. The Nyrian had noticed as well and his head bowed down to the ground.
“I should go back,” he said
timidly. Before Keita could stop him, he’d turned tail and started bounding
back up the slope towards the cave. Sighing, she wondered if she should return
back as well, but she decided against it. More than anything else right now she
wanted to be alone, but especially to be away from the pitiful gaze of Anzig.
She was getting tired of his constant doting stares, yet never making any
attempt to approach her with them.
Her decision made for her by her
growing discontent, she spread her wings and took flight, not caring if anyone
happened to see her. She just needed time away to think by herself, without any
distractions from her companions. Soaring down to the distant trees, she kept
her descent steady and controlled so she didn’t crash into anything her weak
eyes failed to spot in the growing gloom. She knew it was a little foolish
flying at this time, but she was beyond the point of caring.
But for a few birds squawking and
screeching as she landed, Keita couldn’t detect any sounds of any large animals
in the forest that encroached upon the sheer cliffs of Kxisila. The ground was
littered with wet mulch, leaves that had been torn down by the storm that had
almost caught them out the previous night. Most of the detritus was amber and
red already, autumn not far from giving way to winter. Most of the beauty was lost
to her, the leaves underpaw reduced to just an orange blur mixed in with brown.
Her paws were soon sodden and dirty from the mud, but she felt no desire to
turn back.
***
Keita was starting to panic. She
had been alone in the darkness for so long now, unsure what the way back was.
She didn’t dare take to wing as she was still deep within the forest, with
little light getting through the canopy of trees. Almost blind, she stumbled
over tree roots she was sure were writhing up to snag at her legs.
Finally though, after what felt
like hours of searching, her weak eyes found another source of light that
wasn’t the moon. She followed it, not once blinking in case she happened to
lose it, until she stumbled out into a small clearing. The light was on the far
side, but she allowed herself to be distracted by the sound of wingbeats and a
dark shadow leaping into the air.
She didn’t know whether the drake
was friend or foe, but she hurried after it, leaping into the air and following
in desperation. She called out to the drake. They yelped in shock, slowing
their flight and turning around.
“Keita? I’d have thought you’d be
back by now.” It was Nataik, Keita realised. She quickly beat her cooling wings
to catch up with the other dragoness.
“I got lost,” Keita replied, her
head low. Somehow she knew that the Xigax dragoness had followed her out from
the cave, remembering the occasional rustling of leaves behind her. That had to
have been Nataik.
“What were you even doing out
here?” Nataik asked, slowly beating her wings as they started to fly back
towards Kxisila. “You of all drakes should be staying where it’s safe at
night.”
Keita scoffed at the rebuttal. “I
can look after myself,” she said, growling softly at the other dragoness. “But
I had to come out to think. Okazuni and Anzig have given me a lot to think
about.”
“Choosing which to be your mate?”
“How did…”
This time it was Nataik’s turn to
scoff. “It’s really not that subtle. The Ddraig swoons over you but is too
scared to act. He’s weak, and will lose control of Laxtal the moment he sets
wing back there. Okazuni may not be a Ddraig or Haeraig, but he is the much
stronger dragon. Choose the Nyrian and you’ll thank me for it later.”
“But I have been friends with Anzig
almost since the day he hatched,” Keita protested, more for the sake of arguing
than anything else. She heard and understood the truth in Nataik’s words. It
almost perfectly echoed what her thoughts had been before she had realised she
was lost.
“Better to be mated to a respected
Nyrian, than with the disrespected overthrown Ddraig of Laxtal,” Nataik said
harshly. “I may not always do the right thing, but I do know a thing or two
about males. If you only have to listen to me just once, then make it this
time. You will not regret it.”
Keita remained silent, and Nataik
respected this and didn’t speak again on the flight back to the cave. Though
many hours had passed, no one seemed to have even noticed their absence. No one
had remained awake for them, and the cave was silent and still when they
finally slunk back inside.
A fire was burning on the rock,
kept alive from Inilta’s magic. It would burn for days on end if needed without
any additional input from the Nixan, and the two dragonesses appreciated its
warmth to help shake away the night’s chill.
Nataik immediately curled up right
next to the fire, pushing Carlee out of the prime spot. The aging veteran
didn’t even rouse.
Keita just stood by the cave
entrance for a few moments longer. As though to emphasise her choice, Anzig
and Okazuni were lying at opposite sides of the chamber. Anzig by the fire to
her right; Okazuni to the left.
She turned left.
Curling up beside the little Nyrian
dragon, she found his tail in her own, entwining together. His eyes opened
slightly, a gentle smile forming on his lips.
Her decision had been made.
