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It was a regular morning, the sun had just started peeking out from behind the clouds, the air was still damp from the previous night’s rainfall. Bdubs was standing in the single stable attached to the side of the tavern, brushing Isana.
She was the most pampered horse in the whole village, and everyone knew it. Her golden coat was always shining, her platinum mane silky and never-tangled, her hooves polished and her feathering pristine. Isana was Bdubs’ whole world, he put her above everything.
It was all business-as-usual; just another day. Until, Bdubs felt the ground tremble beneath him. It was sudden, and only lasted a second, but he noticed it. It was like something very large had hit the ground nearby, but Bdubs hadn’t heard anything! It was a quiet morning, whatever was big enough to cause that definitely would’ve made a noise while landing. All of this piqued his curiosity quite substantially, and he decided to find out if he could see anything unusual.
Bdubs peered around the door to the stable, and just beyond the large birch on his left, he spotted the culprit. There was a dragon! Only a few meters away from him!! It was one of those small dragons- very rare. Only about 1 in every 20 dragons carries the genetic marker, and if one is born, they usually don’t survive long around the rest. Dragons are huge . Like, Bdubs was probably the size of just one of their talons. But these ones- the minis -are a lot smaller. Small enough that some people have managed to ride them.
It’s quite the feat, dragons are also incredibly intelligent; way smarter than people. So you don’t really ‘tame’ a dragon, you befriend it. Or make a deal with it. Either way, it’s near-impossible, and because of that, there are only about a dozen known dragon-riders throughout history.
All this to say, Bdubs was in absolute awe when he spotted the man dismounting the incredible beast. An actual dragon rider! It’d been decades since anybody has seen one. The dragon itself was gorgeous , a mix of smoky-grays with little highlights of silver gave it the effect of a swirling storm cloud. Its eyes were thin and dangerous, but the color was a sparkling deep blue- like the night sky -which added to the all-around ethereal look of the creature.
The rider was tall and thin, his face shielded by the hood of his cloak as well as a piece of cloth that wrapped around his nose and mouth. He walked to the front of his dragon and scratched just below its jaw. It made a noise that was not far off a purr , and leaned into the man- clearly enjoying itself. The rider chuckled lightly before stopping and resting his hand upon its snout and whispering something to it. The creature blinked then dipped its head, as though indicating that it understood him. Then it spread its giant and majestic wings, and took off into the air- disappearing from sight almost instantly.
The rider turned away and pulled his hood down, revealing a mess of ivory hair- even lighter than Isana’s mane! It also gave a good view of his eyes, as well as the massive scar running from his left eyebrow, over his eye, and continuing under the mask. This finally seemed to snap Bdubs back to reality and he stepped out of the stable, coming to a stop under the tree and leaning against the trunk.
“Now what the hell is a dragon rider doing here, all the way in The Outskirts?” Bdubs asked, his sudden appearance making the stranger jump slightly. But he recovered quickly, his eyes narrowing. “My apologies, I didn’t think anyone was around… Listen, if you could keep all of this - all of what you saw -to yourself , that’d be much appreciated.” he said it with a firmness in his tone. Bdubs had a feeling that if he blabbed, he might mysteriously disappear , or something like that. Suddenly, he understood why no one knew there was a new dragon rider in the lands. The last time one was around, everyone knew about them. From the very edge of The Outskirts to the center of The High Kingdom- they were revered and beloved, a status practically as high as royalty.
Bdubs held his hands up as if surrendering. “I won’t say a word, swear.” he said with a wink. The rider nodded before turning and making his way down the road, heading into the center of town. Bdubs stared after him, watching until he disappeared, before going back to the stable.
⧫⧫⧫
Later that evening, Bdubs was sweeping up the tavern. It was how he paid rent, you see. The owner of the place kindly let him stay in the small attic space- and Isana in the stable -in exchange for helping out with the chores.
He was just finishing up, when he noticed a familiar figure take a seat at the bar; the rider . Bdubs decided to watch him for a moment, see what he did.
Not much, as it turned out. He just sat there, fidgeting with his coin pouch and staring at the counter. Bdubs grew bored quickly and decided to make his presence known. He slid behind the bar, his back turned to the counter, and started messing with some of the bottles in the cabinet, just trying to appear busy.
“Hey, do you know somewhere I could get a room for the night?” the same voice from earlier- although this time far more pleasant -came from behind him. Bdubs turned around, a small smirk on his face as he saw the rider’s eyes flash with recognition.
The man stared for a moment, before speaking again. “Are you following me?” Bdubs was not expecting that- he almost laughed, before realizing that a reaction like that would probably not be taken too kindly. So instead, he decided to banter.
“Wow, how paranoid are you? I work here . Y’know, the place where you arrived earlier and we met? It’s literally right outside. I live in the attic.”
The man seemed to accept this, nodding, although Bdubs could see a touch of hesitation in his eyes. “Anyway, to answer your first question; yes, I do. There are three rooms upstairs that you can rent for a night or two, I think one is already occupied but the other two should still be free.” he crossed his arms and leaned against the cabinet behind him. The rider sighed before grabbing his coin pouch. “How much for tonight?” he asked, untying the bag. Bdubs turned and took the record-book, setting it down between the rider and himself on the counter. “Seven gold.” he supplied as he opened the book and flipped to the right page. He paused and looked up when the man hadn’t said anything more after a few moments, he was staring at the book like it was going to bite him. Finally, he spoke again. “And how much to keep any trace of me out of that book?”
Bdubs should’ve expected that, honestly. He closed the book before looking the rider in the eyes. “The seven gold is fine. I’ll keep your secret. I get it- you don’t want any evidence you were ever here. I don’t mind this staying between us. Except, there is one thing you could do for me…” He paused and scanned the other man’s face as he let the suspense build. Bdubs had to hold back a smirk as he watched him tense and narrow his eyes. “I want to know your name.” he finally said.
The rider stared at him for a long moment. “Just your first is fine, and I swear I won’t say it or write it or anything- it will stay in the privacy of my mind only .” He expected the man to question his request, but he surprised Bdubs by leaning in, and motioning for him to do the same.
“Etho.” he said, so quiet Bdubs barely caught it- but he did. He nodded then held out his hand, and Etho dropped the gold into his palm. Bdubs pointed to the staircase in the corner, and the rider was off.
⧫⧫⧫
A few hours later, Bdubs was making his way down the short, second-floor hallway- as he did every morning -when, out of nowhere, a flash of movement. Something shiny flew past him in a blink, he felt a tug on his sleeve and heard a dull thunk a few inches from his head. He had just managed to process the fact that a knife had been thrown at him and was trapping his right arm to the wall, when suddenly there was a body pressing his own into the rough wood. A hand grabbed the wrist of his trapped arm and pinned it up, a forearm slammed into his chest and Bdubs felt something sharp under his chin.
For a second, everything went still. Bdubs held his breath, waiting for the blade to pierce his throat, but it never came. “Oh, it’s just you.” A familiar voice said, his stature relaxing. “Again.” he added as an afterthought, sounding annoyed. Etho released his hold on the shorter man and stepped a few paces back, pulling his mask down as he did. Bdubs took a moment to catch his breath before staring at Etho with wild-eyes.
“What the hell???” he exclaimed as quietly as he could. Instead of giving an explanation, however, the rider squinted at him curiously. “Are you sure you’re not following me?” he asked, crossing his arms. Bdubs gaped at him in disbelief. “Oh my gods- I’m not following you!!!! ” he hissed. Etho shrugged, seeming to accept the answer. “Well, sorry. I didn’t think anyone would be up this early.”
Bdubs blinked at him before deciding that playing along and pretending like they were having a totally normal conversation would just be easier. “I always get up at this time, actually. I take Isana on a ride every morning, we go a different route each time and I sketch it out. We go until we find a spot to watch the sunrise from, then we come back. I’m slowly mapping out the whole area.” he explained. Etho looked at him for a second, thinking. “Isana?” he finally said. “My horse.” Bdubs clarified, which earned a nod from the rider.
“So… You, uh- would you mind-” he gestured at the dagger still trapping his sleeve. Etho’s eyes widened and he hurried over to Bdubs. “Yes, of course- sorry.” he winced slightly. Bdubs could read him so much more easily without the mask, Etho seemed distracted; he wondered if he even realized he wasn’t wearing it. It had looked like a reflex, to uncover his face once the threat was gone. Bdubs thought he might’ve forgotten that they’d only met yesterday and were still basically strangers.
Etho stepped right up to him, grabbing onto the hilt and jiggling it a little, testing how stuck it was. Bdubs was watching, but after a second the pale-haired man took his chin and pushed his head so he was facing the other direction. Before Bdubs could say anything, the rider swooped in with a comment. “Keep your face away, the force I need to use to pull this out means I won’t have perfect control. I don’t want to cut you.” he muttered, focusing back on the knife. Bdubs conceded and kept turned away, although he noticed rather quickly that Etho was still holding his chin. While he was busy thinking about that , Etho pulled the blade out and sheathed it away somewhere on himself, far too fast for Bdubs to make out in the dim lighting.
He was thinking about where the hell that knife went- as he’d realized the lack of visible pockets or straps on the rider -when he felt eyes on him. He came back to reality to find Etho standing very close. He seemed to be lost in thought, his gaze stuck on Bdubs’ mouth. His thumb drifted up and made contact with Bdubs’ top lip, he lightly brushed a vertical line, running his finger down, his touch like a feather- barely there. The movements were slow, Bdubs wondered if Etho even knew what he was doing. He pursed his lips, just a bit, more like a twitch of muscle than anything- but it was enough to bring Etho out of his weird daze. He jolted and stepped back, shaking his head. Bdubs thought he saw a little color rising on the taller man’s face, before he turned his head away. He wasn’t sure, with it being so dark it could’ve easily just been a shadow. Bdubs chose to believe it was blush.
He cleared his throat awkwardly and started wandering over to the staircase. “Well- thanks uh I should probably… Get going… Don’t want to miss the sunrise and all that…” he stammered, then quickly turned away. But, before he could begin his descent down the stairs, Etho stopped him in his tracks with just a few words.
“I know where to go for the best view of the sunrise… I- I could show you, if you’re interested.”
⧫⧫⧫
Bdubs was following Etho into the forest that stood at the edge of town- according to the snowy-haired man, they were looking for something. He stopped suddenly and Bdubs nearly ran into him. He followed Etho’s gaze into the bushes ahead of them, there was a strange blue light coming from somewhere in the brush? It was very dim, but the shade from the trees made it dark enough to just see the faint glow. “There.” Etho said quietly. Then he gave a short and sharp whistle in that same direction.
A second later, an entire dragon emerged from the foliage- the same one Bdubs had seen the morning before. Except, there was now a slight glow emanating from under its skin, shining through the small gaps between scales. Etho smiled and ran over to the creature. “Morning, Volana.” he muttered sweetly, scratching that same spot behind its jaw like he had yesterday.
After a moment, the rider looked up, locking eyes with Bdubs. “Come on, she doesn’t bite.” he called the other man over. Bdubs raised an eyebrow at that. “Are you sure?”
Etho laughed and pet Volana on her head. “Well, she won’t bite you .” he admitted. Bdubs accepted that and stepped over to them, he wasn’t embarrassed to say that he was a bit nervous around Volana- I mean, who wouldn’t be? A giant, fire-breathing, genius, reptile that can fly, and has razor-sharp claws and teeth. Bdubs just has a strong sense of survival, really.
Etho motioned him closer and he followed. The taller man took Bdubs’ hand and laid it gently on Volana’s snout. The dragon was warm, and her scales were much smoother than Bdubs had expected. After a moment, she dipped her head slightly and huffed, blowing small clouds of smoke out of her nostrils. Etho moved over to her side, and now that Bdubs was this close, he could see the gorgeous leather saddle sitting on her back. It was dyed a dark gray, and had elegant silver and quartz detailing.
Etho swung his leg over and took a seat, turning to nod at Bdubs once he was settled. The shorter man hesitated slightly, but shook the nerves off and hopped on, just as Etho had.
“Okay, now hold on to me. Tight .” he said as Bdubs wrapped his arms around his torso. The dragon’s middle was much warmer than her head had been, and he noticed the light was fading- it seemed to be coming from inside her, glowing bright enough to shine through layers of muscle and tissue and blood. It was fascinating, he’d never seen anything like it.
Etho pat Volana’s neck once and with a huge jolt, they were in the air. She flapped her massive wings rhythmically, propelling them up very quickly. Bdubs felt his stomach drop, his heart was racing, he squeezed his eyes shut and clutched onto Etho for dear life.
“You can look now, we’re up.” the rider said after a minute, chuckling lightly. Bdubs slowly blinked his eyes open, and took in the scene around him in awe.
They were gliding through the air slowly, Volana only flapping her wings every minute or so, they had flown up above the clouds . It was damp, and cold, but so worth it . Everything was lighter up there than it’d been on the ground, the early hints of dawn gave the sky a rosy-glow. It was beautiful.
The air was fresh, it was so quiet and peaceful- Bdubs could’ve stayed up there forever.
They flew for a while in silence, the sky swirling all shades of pink, orange, and gold around them.
About an hour later, they had landed on a shelf of a cliff side, there was no way to get there without flying. They sat together on the plush moss, their backs against the face of rock, Volana resting nearby. They watched as the sun drifted further up the sky and the colors of dawn were slowly overtaken by blue.
“Thank you, for this.” Bdubs said quietly. Etho turned to him then, and asked the question that Bdubs had been waiting for.
“Why did you want my name?”
The shorter man smiled and met Etho’s eyes. “I was already one of the lucky few people to be aware of the secret dragon rider’s existence, I wanted to be one of the even luckier, even fewer, to know his name.” Etho looked at him for a moment, like he was thinking. Then he leaned in, put his hand on Bdubs’ cheek, and connected their lips.
Bdubs was surprised, but adjusted quickly. He tangled his hand in ivory hair, and deepened the kiss. After another minute or so, Etho finally pulled away. “And now, you’re the very lucky, only person, to do that .”