Sel
Is
A
Red
Dragon
I slowly repeat the words in my head.
Something about it doesn’t feel right. It can’t actually be true. But here she is before me. Red and gold scales shimmer under the sunlight between the clouds above.
She’s beautiful. I think as well. I have never seen a dragon as beautiful. Granted I had never seen another dragon. I have seen wyverns, wyrms, drakes, but never a dragon. Even until right now, I wasn’t sure that Sel was a dragon at all, only heard rumors.
Sel takes a large step towards me. Or I guess all her steps must be large. What is she? Thirty feet long? Maybe even longer.
“Do I scare you?” she asks.
A minute ago she looked furious, but I swear something has changed in her demeanor. Sel is almost smiling as she approaches me. Giving me that smirk she always does, it just looks different on her as a dragon.
“No,” I tell her and it’s not a complete lie. Do I find her incredibly terrifying? Of course. She could eat me whole in less than ten seconds right now if she wanted to. But she hasn’t. She hasn’t harmed me other than dropping me four feet onto the ground.
I wonder why she hasn’t harmed me. I know she hates me. She has every ability to end me forever right now.
“Why?” she asks me, and her voice rumbles in a way that shakes the ground around me.
“If you were going to kill me I don’t think you would want to do it so easily,” I say and it’s the only answer I can justify telling her. There’s no way I’m going to tell her that half my thoughts are currently about how beautiful she is.
Sel picks up one of her claws and inspects it. “I guess not. More fun if we are on equal footing.”
“Exactly,” I tell her.
It takes a few seconds but Sel transforms back into a human. It looks odd to watch like I’m watching someone change their clothes, but I also can’t seem to get myself to look away. Her body contorts and shifts, scales turning into skin, hair sprouting from her head, muzzle flattening into her face.
“What are you looking at?” she asks me, now completely human.
“Nothing,” I say looking to the side. In my peripherals, I see the book in her hand. My desire to snatch it away from her and bring it to the headmistress isn’t completely gone, but it is significantly diminished.
“Well keep looking at nothing,” she tells me as she walks past me, her shoulder hitting mine as she does.
I don’t even let myself be offended by it. I am alive for now. Sel hasn’t killed me just yet.
***
My stomach growls as the sun sets in the distance. I don’t know exactly what time I started walking the gardens, but it must have been hours ago. It’s with that realization that I have another, I haven’t eaten at all today.
I make my way out of the garden, only stopping a few times to look at the flowers. I should probably be headed to dinner faster but who can blame me for stopping when fire roses are in bloom?
When I do get to the dining hall I find a few more students have shown up. Not many, and most of them are from Stormbend, but more is more.
I make myself a plate and I pile up so much food that the mashed potatoes are one wrong step away from falling off the edge.
I look around the room, seeing if anyone is worth sitting with. Sel is in the back corner surrounded by other Stormbend firebreathers. Keli, a wyrm, is over there, and if she wasn’t with Sel I would consider sitting with her. Same with Liliana, a wyvern, who is also sitting with them. Why they even bother with Sel I will never know.
Liliana turns to me and waves before Sel shoots her a look and she puts her hand down.
I turn to the other side of the room. Maybe sitting by myself will be alright, it’s not like I’m not used to it anyway.
I’m halfway through my meal when someone taps me on the shoulder. I turn, unsure of what to expect when I’m met with an unfamiliar face.
“Can I sit with you?” he asks me. The first thing I notice about him is how tall he is. He’s far taller than anyone else in the room. The second thing I notice are his clothes, he’s wearing a green scale jacket and black hand wraps. Either he’s a firebreather, fire slayer, or an especially gifted mage and I honestly can’t tell which. The bottom line though is he’s powerful, and I don’t intend on offending him.
I nod and he takes his place at the seat next to me.
“First year here?” he asks.
I shake my head.
He looks me over. “You sure about that?” he asks me.
“Positive,” I tell him. “Year three,” I say.
His head is quirked to the side now and he stares at me intently. “Well then why haven’t I seen you around in the mages tower?”
“Not in the mages tower,” I tell him before I take a bite of food on my plate.
“A fairy then?” he asks.
I swallow my food and glare at him. He deserves it. I look nothing like a fairy. “I’m a micy,” I tell him, though I’m not so fond of the nickname they gave us “miscellaneous” students.
His eyes go wide. “A firebreather then?” he says.
I roll my eyes. “I wouldn’t share that with a stranger.”
He puts his hand out and takes mine to shake it. “Jessuper Albernacky,” he tells me as he shakes my hand. “Fourth year, mage, and if I don’t say so myself completely astounded by you.”
The last part makes me laugh.
“And why is that humorous?” he asked. “I’m being honest.”
I don’t trust him. I don’t trust anyone. But I like him decently enough. “Miranda Leerou,” I tell him.
“So you know me now. Going to tell me what you are?” he asks.
Instantly my liking for him decreases significantly. “That’s my business.”
He shrugs and stretches his arms over his head. “I’ll figure it out eventually.”
“Be my guest,” I say. At this point I think if someone did figure it out I’d be indebted to them for life. I live with myself 24/7 and even I have no clue. The older I get the more I think even father doesn’t know.
“So Mystery Micy,” he begins. “Can I at least know where you are from?”
I try not to let the new nickname bother me. “Drunstan,” I say before shoveling a scoop of mashed potato into my mouth.
“And you’re really not a mage?” he asks in disbelief.
“If you would like to bring it up with the school headmistress feel free. But they will just say what they told me 2 years ago. Completely something, just not human, or mage for that matter.”
He nods and stares at me and I realize he hasn’t eaten a bite of his food since we sat down.
“You don’t need to keep staring.” I tell him. “I’m not about to explode or anything.”
“I know,” he says. “I just worry you're about to disappear.”
“I won’t be teleporting if that’s what you're implying,” I tell him as I move the green beans on my plate around with my fork. I’ve never been fond of the rubbery vegetable, why I put it on my plate in the first place is a mystery to me.
Jessuper laughs. “I worry you will be avoiding me all year now, not that you will disappear this very second.”
I sigh and look at him. “You don’t even know me. Why would you care?”
“Exactly,” he says. “I want to get to know you. Can’t do that with you avoiding me like fire pox.”
“You want to be my friend?” I ask him.
He nods, but the look on his face has a look to it that I can’t quite place.
I take in a deep breath and then shrug. “I guess— I guess I won’t avoid you.”
A big smile creeps onto his face. “Thank you, that’s all I need.”
The rest of dinner goes by uneventfully. A few teachers come in and talk to Jessup who formally asks that I call him “Jess” from now on. I learned very quickly that he is rather liked by the school staff, even the ones that students usually avoid.
I started to wonder how I never noticed him. He seems popular enough. How could I miss his existence entirely? Then again my time here has been mostly focused on survival and little else, I haven’t had much time to make a list of all the students at SUC.
When we finish with our food Jess walks me to my dorm tower before going to his room.
I am alone by the time I get to my room. Sel must be doing something with her friends, or sneaking more books out of the restricted section, maybe both, how am I supposed to know?
I lean back in my bed, absolutely exhausted but also excited. Jaylin will be here tomorrow
ns216.73.216.75da2
and then Add to home screen.