Attanya

Kaleigh

Melody

            Light rippled down her scales as the beast turned her head sideways; one great silver eye looked down at Melody. It looked Melody up and down; the Dragon then opened her jaw to reveal sharp teeth as she spoke. “Are you not afraid?” She kept one eye fixated on the girl as she lied down with a thud. The Dragon’s voice was that of a woman’s, curious and teasing. Melody might not have been able to understand her facial expressions but the tone was undeniable. The Dragon ignored the gathering crowd and only glanced at the approaching red lights.

            “How are you talking?” Melody stared at her in disbelief. Her voice sounded nothing like Melody thought it would, if she had ever dreamed of a real Dragon could actually before her.

            “How could you know that we are not meant to talk? Everything is possible if you try hard enough.” The Dragon laughed as she said the last part. “You certainly tried hard enough, and look here I am. So, yes or no?” She looked at the girl expectantly, her breath streamed over the girl’s fragile face like steam from a pot.

            Melody staring in confusion, Melody looked into her dilated iris. “What are you talking about?”

            “I said yes or no.” She stared down at the small human in return; the Dragon spoke as if it were as obvious as her existence before Melody.

            “I… I don’t understand what you’re getting at.”

            “Do you want to come with me or not?”

            A laugh threatened to crawl from her lips as she blurted out, “Are you serious?”

            With a bored look, the Dragon arched a scaled brow. “Are you coming or not?”

            “Yes.” Melody’s surprise was as much as anyone when that single word crossed her lips. “Why wouldn’t I?” Melody glanced at Grey, his startled brown eyes flashed with concern. Without intention, her hand moved of its own accord, Melody reached out to touch the great Dragon’s glittering white nose. What happened next was something she couldn’t have anticipated. Cold flew through Melody’s arm. Lurching back, she gasped in pain then surprise as her gaze stopped on a single mark intertwined on her wrist, it slowly traced up her forearm.

            The vine created a bracelet of reflective skin.

            Now on her hand was a crescent moon with vines that encased her hand and arm, in the same glittering shade of white as the Dragon’s scales. She leaned into Grey, when she lurched back he grabbed her, momentarily afraid. When the shock subsided, she marveled at the glistening skin. The pain was gone as well. “It’s beautiful.” Melody touched it gently; she felt a cold tingle run through her fingers. It felt softer than silk, much softer than her skin had ever felt.

            Grey reached out and traced her finger, he then flinched as a single band of while encased his wrist. It was no wider than a finger nail but it was the same as hers.

            “You’re a strange one.” The Dragon, no Kaleigh, looked down at them; she tilted her head to the side in a curious way. Melody stared into her silver eyes as she wondered how that name could have come to her. “Let’s go.” Kaleigh momentarily glanced at the police cars that barreled toward them.

            Not sure what to do, Melody walked to the Dragon’s side and used the crook of her fore-leg to pull herself onto the back of the towering animal. It was the only way to scale her besides shuffling up her tail which Melody could now see were covered with sharp spikes that could only be bone.

            On Kaleigh rested a white saddle, what dangled from it was what looked like thick leather belts. Melody guessed at what they were for while she tied them to her upper and lower legs. When Melody finished, she glanced down at the bewildered Grey.

            “What are you doing?” Grey looked like he was tempted to try and get Melody away from the Dragon.

            In all honesty Melody felt completely insane, but she wanted nothing else but to go with this Dragon. Oh what adventures she could have. “I don’t know Grey; I can’t explain it but I want to go with her. I’m sorry; tell my mom I love her. I’ve got to go.” Melody practically whispered it, like a secret only they knew.

            To her surprise, when Melody looked at Grey again he took a step away while he nodded. “When you come back, take me with you. If there are Dragons there are bound to be wizards.”

            Just like that the tension broke. His smile made it like a blessing. Melody closed her eyes at that realization; she touched Kaleigh’s side with a shaking hand, a real true Dragon and said. “I’m ready.” Melody glanced around as if this was the last time she was going to see this place.

            In response she takes off, Melody clamps closed and hung on tightly. Nausea threatened to send up her breakfast as they launched into the air. They were almost ten minutes into flight before she risked peaking to the passing sky, and she adjusts to the angulating rocking of the great beast’s back. When Melody opened her eyes for the first time, she saw the rolling landscape below them; back roads and dirt trails, then miles and miles of pasture land. Random dots traced the land showed them were the herds of cows roamed. The ground was green from the early showers that rained down a few weeks ago.

            Unable to handle the sight of the ground, Melody looked to the sky. Clouds hovered around them, so close the young girl could almost touch them. All she felt she had to do was to lean over and reach out her hand, the world that surrounded them was of mist.

            Melody’s mind drifted, the more it ran everywhere and before she realized gentle words whispered at the edge of her thoughts. It was like the voices Melody heard as she drifted off to sleep. They were soft, just at the edge of her hearing but loud enough that it attracted Melody’s attention. Melody frowned when a familiar woman’s voice filled her head.

            :So, bright hair, you learn fast.: Kaleigh’s voice tingled with amusement as Melody’s jaw dropped.