Brynn fingered the harness that his partner Ignis had lovingly threaded together out of strips she had peeled from an Ashcon tree, and metal from the mines in the Spinebacks. The halter glinted, as he softly placed it over Eterness’ buttery soft neck, and bound the straps around her nose.
Brynn thought about his woman. Ignis had been such a good addition to the Dragon Ryders. He had been right to lure her from the Southern Dragon Bank. If she could only understand that his spoofs hurt no one. But then, she’d understand, eventually.
Eterness pushed her long nose into Brynn’s chest and snorted, perfuming the air with the scent of char and earth. Brynn grinned as he stroked the long strip of cartieledge along her nose. “Firm but pliable, just as it should be. You’ve healed well, Doddie. The broken bones are gone.”
Eterness snorted, raised her eyes and flapped her translucent purple and amber wings. She leaned into Brynn’s touch and then suddenly began to twitch violently.
“Eterness…Doddie… what’s wrong?” Brynn began examining the dragon’s head looking for further injury. From beneath Eterness’ strong wings, a purple mass with glowing yellow eyes flew up and sat on the tip of Eterness’s nose.
A small sound, like a bird cooing, erupted from it. It grew louder until Brynn recognized the sound as a chuckle. Brynn squinted and looked closer at the object. He jumped back and began fingering his dragon tooth necklace.
“Doddie, it’s a spirit.” Brynn held up two fingers and then crossed them. “Be gone! This be a place for the dragons. Not for the dead!”
The spirit’s eyes turned toward Brynn. They glinted and danced in the sunlight as the spirit zoomed downwards to Eterness’ back. It disappeared behind her and Eterness began to flap her wings. She snapped her huge head towards her back, knocking Brynn down onto the hot stone beside her.
Eterness began to sneeze repeatedly.
HHHAAATCHI!
HHHAAATCHI!
HHHAAATCHI!
A shower of harmless gold sparks flew through the air and around the dragon den. As she continued to sneeze, sparks flew to three small lanterns that had been placed in the corner for the Spirit Ceremony. Their flames lit, sending a warm glow across the cave.
“Ignis is not going to be kind. The lanterns shouldn’t be lit from three hours.” Brynn’s long hair flapped in the hot stale air, as he zipped around Eterness trying to catch the spirit.
The spirit giggled loudly, and whistled in a high voice that was higher than a squeal of a lava rat who was eating tube roots.
Four more spirits zoomed into the room. They zipped around Eterness and began tickling her feet, her tail, her back, and her chest. Eterness hissed and screeched. She opened her mouth, her pointy teeth snapping together quickly as her dragon breath sparked orange sparks at the spirits. Her eyes glowed pumpkin as small strands of zazzymane grass near her began to smoke.
Brynn stomped on the grass until the smoke dissipated. He reached forward and tried to grab one of the spirits, but it zipped sideways and around him. It chortled behind him, grabbed his hair and pulled.
“By my foul universe!” Brynn pulled his hair away. He reached out and tried to catch two spirits this time, but they dashed away and floated above one of the dragon hatching pods. The spirits jumped haphazardly up and down,as they shrieked.
From behind, the smallest spirit hurtled towards Eterness’ thick chest. If flew upward and began tickling underneath her chin.
Eterness roared so loudly that a weak stalactite began to vibrate and crack.
CCCRRRIICCKKK
CREEEECCKKK
KAABOMMM
The stalagtite dropped to the floor as Eterness’ eyes popped wide and glowed crimson. She took a breath from deep in her chest.
“Eterness, wait!” Bryn dived behind a boulder, lowered his body to the floor, and pulled his hands over his head.
Eterness sneezed and roared, sending sparks of crimson flame towards the spirits. Wind from the flame circled around the cavern sending Brynn’s boots into the bathing pool, empty dragon shells onto the walking paths, and pulling bats from the ceiling and dropping them onto the floor where they lay dazed. A sour smell of char mixed with egg fluid, and rank water filled the cavern.
“Eterness, Doddie, are you well?” Brynn stood and raised his hand in front of him. He pushed his way through the smoke towards where Eterness had been.
When the smoke finally cleared the spirits had disappeared, leaving nothing but a strange lime goo on the rocks around the dragon. She had one of the empty eggs hanging from one of her horns, and her eyes flashed from pumpkin to crimson to black repeatedly. Her wings were raised to the sky and her head was moving quickly back and forth.
A small woman with long black hair, and a tattoo of the mountains as red as the lava, walked in. Ignnis’ eyes bore into Brynn’s face. “Who took down the sign? Brynn, was it you?”
“No, Ignis. I wouldn’t.” Brynn grinned at Ignis. He turned his body away from her and ran his hand slowly through his hair.
Ignis took a sign from under her arm and raised it above the entrance. She pounded it into the rock. “Brynn, it says NEVER TICKLE A DRAGON! Do you understand?”
“But Ignis … I didn’t.” Brynn held his arms out to the side as he looked towards Eterness to defend him. But, Eterness’ eyes were still dodging around the cavern.
“NEVER, Brynn. NEVER, ESPECIALLY DURING THE CELEBRATION OF SPIRITS!" Got it?” Ignis looked towards Eterness, who was trying to remove the shell from her horn unsuccessefully. “And help Eterness out.”
“Ignis…”
Ignis stomped out of the cave ignoring Brynn. Five purple spirits swooped into the cave’s opening just as Ignis left. They floated upwards and laughed loudly. Suddenly, they rose as if choreographed, and flew upwards into the aurora where they dissipated.
Brynn sighed. It was going to be a long day. He turned towards Eterness. “Come, Doddie. I’ll take the shell off…”
Eterness was now lying on the stone snoring and huffing. One wing was tucked under her chin. The shell swung back and forth as she breathed in and out.
From behind a boulder green goo began to trickle across the floor and a tiny giggle came.
“Universe!” Brynn sighed and moved towards his dragon. “Spirits, the rule is you never, ever tickle a dragon!”
The sound stopped. Could they have actually listened>?
Then, near the goo, a broken voice whispered, “What about her nose?”
Brynn groaned and thought, how many days until the Celebration of Spirits is over?
☪️ Celebration of Spirits ☪️ Dragonveil Earthside ☪️vLife on Erudus ☪️
☪️ Lexicon☪️