“This is ember root. When you set it on fire it burns for a long time.”

Kuro gestures a wing towards the hole in the ground she just dug with her talons. At the bottom is a meandering, dark-colored root running through the moon that originates from a nearby shrub.

“Hmm! A thick, fibrous structure with a deep black tinge to the epidermal tissue, how curious…” I mumble to myself, examining the sample up close. “Just how long will a sample burn when ignited?”

Kuro blinks. “You’re really not from around here, are you?”

I stare at her, shaking my head slowly.

She exhales and loosens her wings. “Well, I’m not sure how long they’ll burn. I always kick moon over the root when I no longer need a fire. Days, maybe?”

“Days?!”

Kuro looks at me like all the fire in creation should burn for days at a time.

“Please,” I say, moving out of the way. Kuro shoots me a quirky glance and lowers her head down into the hole. Using her jaws, she separates the root structure at the side of the hole, then on the opposite end.

“Alright,” she says, holding the root in-between her fangs. “This is all we’ll need. Let’s head back.”

I nod, skeptical that a single root can provide all the light needed for a campfire. But after all the trust Kuro put in me today, I think I can afford to place some in her.

We set off for the clearing where Enyll and Kuro saved my life, making our way through the underbrush, the warm scents of late afternoon hanging in the air like fresh fuchsia. By this time of day, the forest was turning dark, making Kuro’s plumage invisible against the strange and unfamiliar environment. I jog a short distance to close the gap between us and keep myself from losing sight of her completely.

After I convinced the air destroyer to leave, I asked to return here and finish off the remainder of the Redaga that Kuro and Enyll killed. Flying for 3 days straight and scaring away an airship had left me exhausted and in need of a full meal. After some convincing from Kuro, Enyll agreed to let me eat the rest of the Dragon, and so all five of us set off back here.

By the time we arrived the sun was setting, so Gima suggested starting a fire with something called, ‘ember root’. She wanted to see my face while I explained the whole story of what happened to me and how I got here. Apparently, this root is quite common in the Northern Continent and is used by Lithans when they need a fire for warmth or visibility. While Enyll and Ykuvi worked to dig out a safe spot to burn the root, me and Kuro left to retrieve one from the forest.

A fuel source that burns for days… to think, this is only just the beginning of the amazing things I’ll find out here. It makes me giddy all over again just thinking about it.

Kuro steps through a patch of ferns that would be taller than me if I were still a Lemur. Despite being by ourselves, she hasn’t spoken much during our walk through the forest. She was so friendly to me when we first met, but now she seems quite passive. I wonder why?

“I hope I can explain everything before I get drowsy tonight,” I chuckle to myself, trying to engage in some small talk with the larger female.

“Mmh,” she mumbles with the root in her mouth, keeping her eyes focused on the path ahead of her.

“Kuro,” I ask, moving closer so I can be heard more clearly. “Are you and Enyll partners?”

She freezes in place and cranes her neck towards me. “Partners?”

“Y-yeah!’ I stutter, not expecting quite that response from her. “Like, um, you know. Bonded together. Mates.”

“Oh,” She says flatly. “No.”

She snaps her neck forward and begins walking again. I stand there for a moment, feeling stupid for even asking the question. Of course, they aren’t partners, Asha!!

“Oh! Well, um, I didn’t think you were,” I say, trying to save face and catch up to Kuro. “But then why were you two flying together when you saved me?”

“Enyll is my den mate for the season,” she explains, with the tiniest huff of frustration in her voice. Is she frustrated because I asked her the question, or because she didn’t want to be den mates with Enyll? “We hunt well as a team, and the mothers must be well fed for frostwing. So, we work together.”

That makes sense, I can imagine prey becoming scarce in the winter. For mothers who are expecting in the spring, they must be well fed now while prey is still abundant. Teaming up the best hunters to maximize the amount of prey they catch is certainly a good idea. If Kuro and Enyll aren’t partners though, do Lithans in bonded pairs do the same thing?

“Do all, erm, Kin have den arrangements like that?” Ykuvi explained to me I should refer to them as ‘Kin’ from now on instead of simply ‘Lithans’.

“No,” she says. “Just the ones who don’t have mates.”

Oh!

…I see.

So that’s why it’s a bit of a sore subject for her. They are both single, and neither of them particularly like each other. Even if there was another Kin they had eyes on, they wouldn’t be able to spend any personal time with them because of their den arrangements. I’d be a bit cross about that, too. Unwilling to continue the line of conversation further, I hold my silence.

We move under the trees until we pass through a thicket and find ourselves back in the clearing. Not far from the Redaga, Enyll and Ykuvi are preening themselves next to a newly cleared patch of moon. On the far end, Gima is taking advantage of a break in the clouds, holding her wings half open to warm herself in the last rays of sunlight the day had to offer.

“Alright, are we ready to begin?” Kuro asks of the assembled Kin.

“Oh!” I chirp. “Just a moment!” I bound past Enyll and Ykuvi and over to the remains of the Redaga. When we arrived here from the edge of the continent I had my fill on the rest of its meat. Being my first full meal in two days I’m certain I could have finished it off, but I wanted to save a piece for someone in particular.

I rip off the final edible chunks attached to a thigh and carry it over to Enyll, who’s still at work preening the flight feathers of his left wing. “Here,” I say, dropping the meat near the side he’s busy with.

Enyll lifts his wing to get a look and stares at my offering. “What’s this?” he asks pointedly.

“It’s for your sister,” I reply, swaying my tail back and forth. “I felt bad for eating the rest of the false-kin when she deserves it more than I do, so… I saved this for her.”

When we were here earlier in the day, I overheard Enyll mention that his sister was expecting a brood in the spring and wanted to save the rest of the Redaga for her. But after I explained I had been flying for days and hadn’t eaten a full meal in just as many, he agreed to let me finish off the remainder instead. That was very generous of him, but it made me feel sour eating prey that was destined for his sister.

Surprise flashes in Enyll’s eyes. “Asha…” he trails off, trying to collect himself. After our confrontation at the edge of the continent, I think I’m the last Lithan he was expecting compassion from.

“I know it’s not much…” I confess, tearing at the grass below with my talons. I ended up eating more of the Redaga than I thought I would. I should have saved a bigger portion for her...

“No, no,” Enyll retorts, shaking his head. “It’s fine. My sister needs all the prey she can eat before frostwing. Um, thank you, Asha.”

Ahh!

He appreciates it! He appreciates me! I smile and shake my wings out in satisfaction.

“But we’re not flying to Flat Rock until tomorrow morning,” he continues. “Leaving fresh prey out overnight will only attract scavengers. It’ll be gone by sunrise.”

“Oh,” I deflated, letting my wings droop to the ground. “Fwegh, that’s right. I forgot you can’t leave food out in the wild.”

If Enyll’s raised eyebrow is any indication then this must be some extremely basic knowledge for a Dragon. Well, cut me some slack! Until this whole crisis happened, the most removed I’d been from Varecia was the times we went to our family’s summer home on an island in the middle of nowhere. And even then, it’s not like I was allowed outside to wander very far from the house. I’m about as familiar with what to do in the wild as Enyll is with piloting an airship.

“Enyll,” Ykuvi stirs, lifting his head from preening. “Me and Gima will leave for Flat Rock tonight. We’ll bring Asha’s offering with us so your sister gets it.”

Enyll looks across the clearing to see Gima approaching the group. “Is that alright with you?”

“Yup,” she says, shifting herself between Enyll and laying down next to Ykuvi. The two Kin — whom I now recognize to be older than the rest — brush up and nuzzle their heads together. “I wanted to sleep there tonight, anyways. It’s not a problem.”

Enyll inclines his head. Not used to receiving compassion he mumbles, “Mmh. Um, thank you, everyone.”

“If you’re flying tonight then we should start before it gets late,” Kuro suggests, dropping the root into the center of the dirt clearing.

“I’ll say!” says Gima. “I’m ready to hear this fress’s story.” According to Gima, ‘fress’ is a slang term used by Kin women when addressing a girl younger than themselves. Kuro called me that earlier, I wonder how much older she is than me?

Kuro nods and moves in close to the root, positioning her face at an angle almost directly above it. She draws a breath and coughs, allowing a small wisp of fire to escape her mouth. It falls onto the root and ignites it instantly, simmering and popping as the flame spreads and grows in size.

“Eep!” I squeak, caught off-guard by the speed of the reaction. I was expecting it to combust slowly like the wood you toss into a wood-burning stove. But In just a few seconds the entire length of the root is engulfed in a flame that climbs past the tips of the grass. Incredible!

The fire taken care of, Kuro lays down near Ykuvi and splays her talons out in front of her, resting one on top of the other. Thinking that to be a good idea I move to settle directly across the group so all four can see me, and mirror Kuro’s relaxed pose. It’s pretty comfy, actually.

With that, the scene was set: Four Kin ready to hear the tale of the Farlander who was thrust into the body of a Lithan. The first time our cultures have ever mingled.

“Well, then,” I say to the group. “It’s, um, difficult to know where to start.”

This is the first time I’ll be sharing the story of what happened to me in the hollow. Turning into a Dragon through supernatural means by an enchanted ring would be a hard enough story to tell to an ascendant animal. So how am I supposed to explain it to a group of enlightened ferals?

Perhaps I should get a better grasp on what they know about us, first. Then I can tailor my story around the things they’re already familiar with. “Let me ask a question: What do your teachings tell you about how Farlanders live?”

Ykuvi cocks his head. “How you live?”

“That’s right,” I say. “I’ve only just begun to learn about Kin, but I’m certain our way of life is quite different from yours.”

Kuro’s nose wrinkles. “The teachings of the Farlands don’t tell us how you live,” she explains. “Whenever I fly there, Farlanders run to hide in their dens. I’ve never seen one that wasn’t doing that.”

“How come you make your weird dens so close to one another?” Gima blurts out. “That’s stupid. Prey know to stay away from areas with lots of predators. You won’t even catch a squirrel that way.”

“Oh, well that’s—”

She keeps talking. “And another thing! How come you herd prey around in large groups but never eat them? You have to know we just come and take them all the time, right? Why don’t you do something about it, huh?”

Before I can explain horse and cattle pastures, Enyll cuts in. “Enough of your insipid questions,” he growls over the blond plumaged drakaina. “Do you want to hear Asha tell her story or not?”

Gima’s hackles rise and she returns a hiss to Enyll who responds in kind with a short grunt of his own. The two stare at each other, brows furled and lips drawn for a tense moment before relaxing themselves and backing down. Ykuvi keeps a close eye on Enyll, but Kuro seems unmoved by the verbal tussle.

Sheesh. Kin sure do a lot of bickering amongst themselves. How can they be so kind one moment, and then at each other’s throats the next?

Kuro’s wings rustle. “Please, Asha. Tell us what happened.”

I nod and release a breath. I’ve got my work cut out for me.

It’s clear that Kin see Farlanders in the same image as themselves — feral creatures who hunt for prey and live off the land. The fact that they believe airships are living beings means they can’t even comprehend our technology for what it is. I’m going to have to do some serious dumbing down for my story to make sense to them.

“Well, it all happened two days ago…”