Diplomatic Pt.1
We awoke to the sound of people screaming. It was coming from the village. Looking up, I noticed that there were things that looked like bats flying in the sky. Instinctively I took to the sky, followed by Aliona. She was much faster than me and soon was relaying to me what was going on. The village was being attacked by the dragon people. I summoned my bow. As I got closer to the village, I charged energy and formed an arrow. As I got closer to one of the dragon people, I took aim and released my arrow, piercing its wing. It fell to the ground below, screeching as it hit.
I could see Taylor making her way to the village. She wouldn’t be able to take care of the creatures in the sky, but she could take care of them as they entered the village. Focused on those who were in the sky. I loosed another arrow, this time piercing its let. It staggered and then changed its focus to me. Now able to fully see what it looked like, I was a bit surprised. Although it had scales and skin that was the same color as the scales, it looked almost like us: humanistic face and upper body.
In a fit of rage, it charged after me. I wasn’t able to summon another arrow in time. Instead, I had to pull a feather out of my wing. If t weren’t because the feathers grew back pretty fast, I would wonder when I wouldn’t have any feathers left. I waited for it to get close. I remembered what Stoneskin had taught me. I took my stance, though there was no ground to stand on. As it took its first swing at me, I raised my sword to block myself. The impact of her claws against my sword almost sent me flying. I was a bit surprised at its strength. Or hers, I should say. As she attempted to attack me, I could fully see the makeup of her body.
As she took another charge at me, I dodged the attack this time. I wanted to get her to stop so that I could ask her why they were doing this. It seemed like the best tactic. I needed to watch for an opening. I could hear the screams of others around me as my fight continued. I needed to end it with this on quick so that I can. I waited patiently. When she was close enough, I opened my wings wide. I could feel energy pouring into them. Using my bow again, I pulled an arrow back, and when she was close enough, I let it go, willing it into rope. It bound her, and she fell from the sky. I raced down after her so that I could catch her.
Once I caught her, I brought her the rest of the way to the ground. I knew that Taylor and Aliona were taking care of the ones nearer to the village. The dragon girl squirmed as I laid her on the ground. She was yelling something in a language I had never heard before. I tilted my head and looked at her, ears sticking up.
“I do not understand what you are saying. Do you speak this language?” I asked. She gave me a look then glared at me.
“Yes, I speak the human tongue. Do you think me primitive?” the girl snarled. Now that I could really see her, I realized that she didn’t look much older than me. It was the first time seeing another race other than us. She continued to struggle as I came closer.
“Why are you attacking this village. The villagers are good people who don’t deserve it. Maybe there is some kind of agreement that your people and these people could come too. There is no reason for all this death and destruction,” I said, trying to reason with her. She looked at me with evil eyes.
“You don’t know? It was these people who started it. They would hunt our kind as a sport. They pretend that they are friendly to other races, but they are not. Our elders finally had enough and ordered the attack,” she said. Although I didn’t want to believe her, there seemed to be true in her eyes. Sighing, I released her. For a moment, I thought she was going to attack me, but instead, she looked at me curiously.
“Why would you release me? I would not show you the same kindness,” she said, keeping her distance. I smiled and looked at her.
“I am not from this world. Where I come from, we have been working on a way for all races to be treated as equals. So I understand wanting to get revenge for what these people have done, but let me ask you this. If you continue attacking these people, does it really solve the problem? Sure, you may kill them all, but more would just come,” I said. I watched her reaction. She looked as if she was thinking about what I had said. Then she turned to the village. More people were screaming.
“I do not wish for my brothers and sisters to die because of this, but we can’t allow them to keep coming for us. I don’t know what to do.” The dragon girl said. This time there was sincerity in her voice. I didn’t know how I could help, but I wanted to.
“First, I need to get to the village and try to find the mayor. I need to talk to him. Then I will need to speak with your elders. I am hoping that I can end this peacefully, but if not, I may have to try something else,” I said. She looked at me curiously, her big eyes filled with confusion. She grabbed her brown hair and twirled it around her index finger.
“Okay, you go find this mayor, and I will go and see the elders, ask them to see you. Hopefully, we can end this bloodshed,” the dragon girl said before turning around and flying away from the village. When she was gone, I turned my eyes to the village. I needed to find a way to stop this attack. Then I would go to the mayor and the elders of the dragon people. I knew that this would take time out of finding that man and Maddison, but I couldn’t stand by and watch innocent people be killed. I tried without any luck to call upon my wolf form. This was just another issue that I seemed to be having since coming here. I didn’t know why I could use my wings and bow, but anything else didn’t seem to work.
After subduing a few more dragon people on my way to the village, I spotted Taylor and Aliona. They were both fighting some of the dragon people who had landed and were terrorizing the people. I swooped down and darted for them, landing right beside them as dust, and small rocks flew in every direction. This caused the dragon people to stagger for a moment in the confusion. I relayed my encounter with the dragon them. They seemed a little confused but agreed nevertheless.
After we had subdued all the dragon people around us, I flew around trying to find the mayor. Surprisingly, he wasn’t as hard to find as I thought he would be. I was standing outside his house, trying to hold one of the dragon people off. He wasn’t doing very good, as she slashed his arm pretty badly. I ran in and stood in front of him. I didn’t want to protect someone capable of causing so much grief, but it was the only hope I had at saving this village and the dragon people.
“You would help someone who would have you hunted down and used as a slave or killed for sport?” the dragon-man asked—the fury in his eyes shown.
“I want to stop this fighting before the innocent are killed for something stupid. One of your people is heading back to talk to your elders as we speak. I wish to speak with them, just as I wish to speak to him. Please allow me to take him into my charge. I will not allow him to escape,” I said. The man stared at me but then backed away.
“If you truly want to deal with him, then I will not stop you. And as far as the elders are concerned, there shall be no peace for this village till the debt has been paid,” he said as he watched me. Slowly I reached for the mayor and dragged him back into the house. I could still hear people being attacked. It made me sick.
“You and I need to have a talk,” I said, looking at the mayor. There was fear in his eyes, unlike what I saw just yesterday. Sighing, I motioned for him to sit. He obeyed without any argument. “Now, let’s start telling the truth."