I'd seen one of them before, the shorter one—perhaps it was the young one who was left behind in my cave so many days ago.

I was sure when I recognized its eyes, fearful like they had been that day, and its body as still as the trees behind it. Eyes locked into mine, not blinking.

Honestly, this is getting tiring.

My claws were as pristine as they were before when I was finished with them. I focused on the other human—the older looking one with fur on its face. The unfamiliar one, its typical human smell fused with dogs' and forest's rich scent. Almost the same as—

Ah. It was similar to the smell that was mixed with the deer's. The one that had confused me when I first got my hands on the running prey.

I turned my head to check the deer, sniffing carefully. Yes, this was definitely the same smell, and the source was the stick in the deer's neck. I tilted my head. Didn't this look like one of those twigs the humans kept throwing at me in the beginning of winter? What a strange coincidence.

Meanwhile, the humans were making low noises and backing off into the trees slowly.

"Stay back, Tom."

"What are we going to do? We need that meat, Thorn!"

"... We'll go back and search again."

It suddenly dawned on me.

This prey had been hunted by that human. The deer was being chased by the dogs that belonged to that human—just like the stick embedded in its flesh. The deer had been that human's prey from the beginning. That’s why it had that peculiar smell on it.

This changes things.

I took my claws off the deer, for it wasn't my prey to keep.

Hunting was to be done with rules. The Law was ancient, and respected among dragons—even if it was unspoken most times. It touched our lives in so many ways, and hunting was no exception.

If a prey had been caught by one dragon first, then it belonged to that one and that one only. It was outright disgraceful to snatch one another's rightfully earned food, and the ones who did it were deemed filthy thieves, treated with scorn.

I wasn't a filthy thief.

The deer wasn't dead when I had caught it, I simply couldn't have known it was already hunted. I hadn't recognized the mark the human made in its flesh with the stick, it was too small. I wasn't a thief.

I wasn't.

I could fix this.

I whipped my head, focusing on the humans. They were almost behind the trees, their steps slow and secretive.

Wait!

The snarl had been involuntary, but it made them freeze where they stood nonetheless. Good. It wouldn't do if they went and disappeared into the forest.

I got to my feet and approached the border of the clearing slowly. With the tip of my tail, I was dragging the deer after me—careful not to touch it in a claiming way.

The young one was standing behind the older human, its eyes not leaving me for a second. The older one's eyes were different. They were calm, with a strong heat behind them. I had a feeling that this was no ordinary human. Not like the ones I've met before.

I tried to look apologetic and harmless, but it was hard with the vast size difference between us. Also, not knowing what these creatures considered regret looked like didn't help.

Even so, I made the effort to lower my tail and my wings as I dropped the carcass of the deer in front of them. I even bent my head enough to touch the ground—the universal greeting of 'no harm' among dragons—and stared them in the eye to convey the message. I even nudged the deer a few times for good measure.

Take the prey, it's yours. I'm sorry for grabbing it. It was a misunderstanding.

I waited. The silence stretched.

They didn't move. Were they angry? Even though I gave it back?

Scared? But I've done nothing to cause them harm!

"Tom. Stay right here."

The older human stepped forward, along with an unintelligible sound. It waited between every step, checking me for a reaction. I stilled my body as much as I could. I even stilled my breathing.

I am not sure what I was thinking exactly back then. What I had planned to do, or what my expectations were… I only remember that I had no idea about how to handle that encounter with humans.

But I remember clearly what I didn't want to happen.

I didn't want these creatures to be afraid of me.

Particularly, I didn't want that young human to look at me with those eyes.

When the older human grabbed the deer carcass after what felt like days, I let out a relieved breath. It rose in a puff of white smoke, startling the young human in the back that was hiding and shrieking behind a tree.

"Be careful, Thorn!"

"It's okay. Just stay where you are."

I watched as the human lifted the deer laboriously, arms and legs straining under the dead animal. They are really weak, I thought as I watched its struggle. When the deer was finally settled on its shoulders, it turned and stared at me in the eye.

What-what now?

Then, very slowly, it bent its neck. Eyes still on me. And stayed like that for two breaths.

Was I imagining things?

Because it seemed to me like a human—one of the most illogical, ridiculous creatures that had been giving me headaches since I've met them—was trying to tell me something. Maybe it knew what it was doing, or maybe it was just copying my 'no harm' message… Even then, it was something extraordinary.

It… It felt like it was acknowledging my efforts. At the very least, it wasn't yelling or throwing things at me, and I would gladly prefer this over that any day. I hadn't been this happy since the last time I had seen my treasure shine under the moonlight.

I snapped out of my reverie with a sudden noise coming from the little human.

"Thorn! Are you alright? Did you see what happened?"

The older one was walking backwards, slow with the heavy burden, and made a gruff sound as it reached the small one's side.

"I saw. We got lucky. Let's go back before he—"

"I know, I know, I saw it too! But I can't believe-why would it do that? It was incredible-I was so scared-but it's very strange, don't you think so, Thorn? I can't wait to—"

"Tom. Slow down, for God's sake."

They dropped out of sight into the forest, but I could still hear the young human's voice, fast and shrill.

"Do you think it can understand us? You saw how it looked at me, right in the eye, right? Maybe there's a way to speak to it-we could…"

Even when the last sound faded into the air, I was still sprawled there, stuck on the ground. It felt like everything would fall apart if I were to just twitch my tail, but apparently my heart wasn't feeling the same, as it was beating hard in my chest.

What had happened that day? I didn't know. But it was different from all my previous encounters with the humans. I didn't know if that was good or bad.

But it was a change for sure, an interruption to the familiar pattern of my wide-awake days. Still, I didn't dare hope for the better—that was too much to expect—I just wished things wouldn't get worse.

And who knew, this could be the first and the last time it had happened, too…

And then came a windy day at the seaside.

***

I was certain of two things before I opened my eyes.

One, the sun was setting, and the wind was speeding up. It felt like it was going to be a cold night.

And two, I was surrounded by humans. A lot of humans.

Lucky for me, they didn't startle me awake with agitation anymore, because I had woken up to their antics too many times till then. Somewhere along the way, opening my eyes to see these creatures had become a common part of my life. Just like what staying awake through the whole winter had become for me—something to accept and endure until it passed.

In truth, they weren't standing that close to me. The closest ones were between me and the sea, and even they were a distance away twice my length. The others were perched up on the rocks behind me or scattered across the sandy shore. They were staring at me quite intensely though—and they had those shiny little things in their hands again—but since they weren't doing much apart from that, I chose to continue to lie down, lazily.

Ah, the breeze is nice and strong. It keeps the human smell away, too.

As I was keeping watch from behind my half-lidded eyes, the humans started taking tiny steps and getting closer to me. I wasn't sure if they decided to change their lifestyles—from fast and energetic to slow and tedious—or they didn't want to alert me to their presence. The latter was ridiculous, because I would have to be blind and deaf to not know about the existence of dozens of humans surrounding where I was napping.

I was wondering how long this was going to continue when I heard a shout coming from afar—the young one was running towards the shore with something in its hands. The sound was coming from it, and it was loud as usual.

"Wait! Hold on! Please, wait! Don’t do anything yet!"

"Tom? What are you doing here?"

"Go back you fool, quickly now! Before it sees you!"

"It's dangerous, boy. Stay away!"

Its arrival made the other humans loud as well, they started to yell and scream, and for once it wasn't directed at me. I didn't know what the conflict was about, but I was going to have to leave my favorite napping spot if it were to become even noisier than before. I could come back when they’d resolved their fight—whatever human reasons they had to start it in the first place.

“Why aren't you at the village?”

“I-I came to help! I have an idea. Maybe, I mean, it can work…”

“You idiot! We don’t need a feeble child’s help! We are here to kill the dragon!”

“Tom, head back to the village. Does Kendra know you’re here?”

“Uhm… No. But hear me out! We can try something else. We just need to make it understand!”

“What the hell are you on about?”

They didn't seem like they were going to calm down anytime soon… They were huddled around the young one—communicating, I supposed—one voice over the other. My right side was still surrounded by humans, but the ones on the other side were gathered together, like one loud cluster of newly-hatched dragons. The comparison was fitting in my opinion—they might've even overwhelmed the younglings’ ruckus back in the Hive.

Well, I guess this is it for today. I better return to my lair.

I lifted my head up and yawned largely, dispersing the drowsy mist filling my head. With one quick glance at the sea, I checked if there were any changes to its bleak state—which there were not.

“Look out!”

“It’s moving!”

“Hurry! Everyone to their positions!”

Oh, now they were interested in me again. Hard to understand why, but then, what was easy with them? Nothing to fret about though… They couldn’t possibly hinder me from leaving even if they tried, since they didn’t have the strength to.

I was getting ready to get on my feet and fly away, but then something darted out of the crowd and stopped beside my tail. With a startled glance to the back, I realized it was the young one.

Seeing that, I had to be especially careful not to move too much. I had learned my lesson back in the cave. Apparently, a human was very easy to push away—or send flying away—even if you weren’t meaning to.

With it being so close to me, I wasn't able to get up anymore. My earlier thought about the humans not being strong enough to stop me from leaving… I understood that I was being naive again.

My tail and my wings were stock-still while the small human approached closer to my front. It kept its eyes fixed in my eyes, carrying something within its arms. Meanwhile, all the humans had become erratic.

“TOM!”

“Tom, damn it! Get back here!”

“Oh dear God, help us!”

A cacophony erupted from all around, making me jump out of my scales. The surrounding circle was getting smaller and smaller.

“He went mad!”

“You are going to die, Tom!”

“Come back this instant!”

"Don't make any sudden movements!"

The young one was shouting as well. “No! I can do this-this might work. Just give me a chance!”

I wasn’t liking the way they got closer, and the way they turned hostile on the young human. It all happened so quickly.

Wasn’t it one of their own? What was all this hostility about?

I didn’t have enough space to open my wings. I didn’t even have enough space to turn around without knocking the little one down.

“But, but-don’t you see we can’t kill him even if we tried? The dragon is too big, too strong for us! We have to use another way.”

“He’s crazy! John, get him back here!”

“Someone get Kendra, his boy is going to get himself killed!”

“Please, if you just let me try—”

I was staying still till one of them rushed towards the young one. It had a shiny stick in its hand, eyes glinting dangerously, mouth spewing out unintelligible things—surely they were filled with malice and threats.

It wanted to harm the little human.

No.

This was wrong.

With a quick move, my tail was between them. I separated the little one from the other humans, with my tail being a barrier against them. Whatever they were planning to do with one of their younglings, they were not going to do it on my watch.

Foolish humans. I’ve remained silent to your atrocities for far too long.

The human who was threatening the young one stopped in its tracks, body frozen, eyes still. Silence fell on others behind it as well… Only the young one was still moving, slowly closing in on me.

Finally, some peace and quiet.

I could see, as well as smell, what it had in its hands now. There was a piece of meat barely fitting into its arms, looking like it could drop any second.

Was the meat something it hunted on its own? Why was it roaming around with it?

It’s better to eat it right away or take it back to your lair, young one.

“See, it’s working,” it spoke.

“Are you out of your damn mind?”

The voice of the older human came, quieter than before. It still stayed behind the barrier I’d made with my tail, and spoke with the young one over it instead. “That thing is a monster, Tom. A bloody beast that can kill you any second. Get back here right now.”

“Yes, he can kill me-he can kill us all anytime, but has he ever? Has he killed anyone till now? Or hurt? I mean, think about it, people, he had the chance to do it, right? But everyone is safe and sound.”

“You of all people know it better than anyone else here, Tom. That thing smashed you to a wall! We saw with our own eyes.”

“Yes! And it kept you in its cave like livestock. You barely escaped its claws, now you say it never hurt anyone?”

"Maybe he hit his head again…"

“He is delusional. Someone distract the dragon, we have to save the kid!”

I lowered my head to have a better look at the little human and its hunted meat while they talked with each other. The meat was a good amount considering its size and age, perhaps it would grow to be a good hunter in the future after all.

It turned its head my way, away from the other humans, and put the meat on the ground. We were at the same eye level, and less than a head apart now.

I could sense this meant something. That this was more than just gloating about its own hunted prey to others. It had to be, with the way it kept its eyes staring directly into mine.

What do you want, little human?

It started making sounds again while keeping its eyes on me. “I told you before, John, I didn’t escape. I mean, I did, but-the dragon let me go. If he didn’t, I could’ve never left that cave. None of you would.”

One of them from the middle of the crowd came forward. It held a long stick with a shining end, but didn’t do anything with it—like throwing it or stabbing—but I was still wary. I moved my tail closer to the little one, in case it decided to use the sharp stick against it. It stopped coming closer and spoke.

“What are you doing, Tom? It's like you want to get yourself eaten by that monster. Think about your mother. What would she do if she lost you too?”

“Uncle Lark… No, I-I have an idea, and I think it can solve our problems. Just listen for one minute, please. "

"Tom… Get away from that thing first, and then we'll talk."

"He's not a thing. Thorn said it's a male dragon. Not a thing."

"What-what are you talking about? Did he tell you that?"

"Did that creep tell you to do this, Tom? That damn Thornton!"

"We should've known! That bastard doesn't care about any of us! He wants to get the boy eaten!"

"No! No, he didn't tell me to do anything! He just said it was a male dragon, that's all."

"When did this happen? How often do you speak with him?"

"He-he helps me find food in the forest. For everyone. He is a good man, he really helped—"

I let out a deep growl when I saw their faces change. All looking wild and ready for an attack, just like a predator. Against one of their younglings.

Unacceptable.

I had been very patient. I understood that these creatures were miserably lacking in strength and in lifespan compared to my kind. My teachings told me that it wouldn't be a fair fight if I were to confront these humans. And I didn't want their wrath and combined revenge in return.

Even so, I won't be holding back if they were to start killing their young ones.

A voice came from under my head. I realized I had raised my head, towering over the little human while facing against the other humans.

"It's okay, it's okay. Calm down. We were just talking, right? Just talking. Uncle Lark, keep your voices down, you're scaring him."

"We're scaring him? Have you lost your mind, Tom?"

I couldn't understand what was coming out of their mouths, I could only grasp that the young one's voice was calm and the other's was enraged. Hearing the little human, I figured it wasn't scared or disturbed by their threats.

Good. It didn't need to be.

I turned my head down to see it better.

"That's it. Easy, easy. It's okay. I know you can understand me… to some point. I think we can come to an agreement. Here, you see this?"

It was saying something and pointing at the meat on the ground. I looked up to see if the other humans did the same thing or anything similar to it. No. They were watching with the same disturbed faces as before, some scared and some angry. But there wasn't a clue among them as to why this young human was showing me its hunted prey.

Very confusing. I blinked.

"Look, this is food. It's for you. If you eat this and not us, the people, it would be great. Eat the cow, not me, understand?"

It was making weird movements with its arms and hands, much to my bewilderment, and kept pointing at the meat.

"No, no, don't look at me. Look at the food. Right here. Ugh, how did Thorn do it? Like this, maybe?"

Now, it was bending its head down. Now, that one had a meaning for me, but was the human doing it with the same intentions? And wasn't it too late for a peaceful greeting?

I tilted my head, more and more clueless with every passing breath.

It raised its head up to check me, and then with a huff, started to push the prey towards me.

"This is for you. So you don't eat us. We can give you food every day, even if it's not too much. And maybe… you don't attack us in return? Understand?"

…

"He really went crazy."

"Oh, poor Tom… Poor Kendra…"