Ukrainian dragons

For a moment, everything darkened in his eyes. Not surprising considering the force with which Kes hit the stone vault. The dragon has a paw the size of Kes himself. So the creature swatted him away like a fly. Wolf was shouting something nearby. It's hard to understand. Even in his normal state, Kes seldom understood him. And now, almost unconscious, it was just a scream in the background. "I wonder if I will end up in dragon paradise?" — was the last thing that crossed his mind… *** 12 hours before. Carpathians. Polonyna Mokryn, a tract of the Milky Way. The search party reported that this could be the dragon's lair. Kes and Wolf were suspicious of their messages. Too often, instead of a dragon, they got scared students who just decided to make a joke. Then the car will not come. Well, it's a classic. Where have you seen mythical creatures living near roads? Кеs gave Wolf a backpack. — Don't even think about transforming. I'm not going to pull it myself while you run howling through the Carpathians. Wolf silently took the backpack. He was a turnskin. And like all such creatures, he appreciated the opportunity to experience animal form. But not on time. Now the main thing is to catch the dragon before competitors get to it, if, of course, there is a dragon. An hour later, Wolf spoke. Either he stopped being angry, or he forgot that he was angry. — So what is known about our client? We left Odesa so quickly that you didn't say anything normally. — And what can be said here? The search team recorded strange posts on the social networks of local people. They talk about ghosts, strange sounds, shadows... — Has anyone disappeared? — Not yet, but I'm not going to wait for another group of "researchers" of the paranormal to get into his teeth either. A roar suddenly swept through the forest, shaking the birds from the larch trees. The guys mechanically stopped and sat down, looking into the green crowns with veins of sunlight. Wolf spoke first. — Well, I never! A real dragon! To be honest, I didn't believe that the search team would finally find anything. They have not been useful for years. And what does your father pay them for? — Don't forget that he is paying you and me also. And our part of the work is still ahead. Again the roar. — Does it fly over the villages? — I won't believe it until seeing it myself. The last time dragons allowed themselves to do this was in the Middle Ages. The flaps of the wings lifted last year's fallen leaves. A shadow of the dragon floated across the ground. But it happened so quickly that the guys only managed to see the tip of the tail. — What a Defile! Straight to you, as if to order! — the Wolf did not calm down. — Did you notice? — What? A huge dragon? Yes. I paid attention. — Golden tail. He is from the first generation. — Wow, the royal family. Can we even touch it? — Generally, the father gave the go-ahead to capture any dragons who do not follow the code. — But he is from the first generation. He could be your father's best man, brother, or father-in-law. You are sure that we will not have to apologize for a very long time. — It is better to apologize to this creature than to my father. Let's catch it. — Well, let's catch. But we need to hurry. The weather is getting worse. And we still have to get to the lair before it returns. A few drops of rain fell on Kes's face. The sky was completely black with clouds that were periodically pierced by lightning. Such weather is unpleasant, but now it is more useful for them than ever. The dragon is less likely to be spotted by humans, and it is less likely to notice uninvited guests trying to sneak into its cave. — How quickly the weather changed! — Wolf tightened the laces of the hood so that only the nose remained from the face. He protected himself from bad weather. — There are rumors that some dragons possess water magic. — Don't talk nonsense. Everyone knows that they can only control fire. And there is some order in everything. If only it were possible to research. — Yes, of course, I can see how your father or that creature peacefully turns into a guinea pig. And if this technology gets to people. Hello, third world war. — That is why we do everything possible so that people do not find out about our world. — Do you think the dragon could hear that bad weather is approaching and take off right at that time? — Then it is not a crazy creature, but an intelligent being with extraordinary abilities. Why then does it not change its form, but remain a dragon, so close to people? After a few steps, something changed. The air seemed to have become heavier and pressed down on the guys with all its mass. Wolf was the first to startle. His animal instincts were quick to pick up on such things. — Wow, did you feel it? Looks like we're pretty close to the lair. — Yes, the protective field is good. — Good?! And that's all? If the human part of me had any autonomy, I would have been somewhere across the ocean a long time ago. To be honest, the wolf is not comfortable here either. — Focus on the road before your human and animal essences quarrel. I wouldn't want to have a werewolf with an internal personality disorder in addition to a dragon. — Don't worry. I am harmony itself. What about the dragon part of you? This field should have a different effect on you. — Dragons do not tolerate anyone on their territory, not even other dragons. — That's true. I can count the number of times I was in your house on my fingers. Kes was silent. He had been busy with his thoughts for a long time. This happened often because Wolf's mouth did not close even in his sleep. And the problem wasn't that he had an opinion about everything, but that he just needed to share it with the rest of the world. But the rest of the world felt the turnskin instinctively. Such creatures are doomed to loneliness, unless, of course, they find others similar to themselves. Wolf was lucky. The dragons found him. It was not difficult, because there are not so many families left that give the world turnskins. A few thousand years ago, every tenth person was a turnskin. Now everything has changed. Man is more and more immersed in his separate world, far from nature. Man no longer needs to transform into other animals to survive. Although masks still have to be worn. Who knows what fate Wolf would have had if Kes's family hadn't found him? However, it doesn't look like a family, it's more like a clan. Although turnskin babies do not show their abilities (the instinct of self-preservation kicks in). Society instinctively throws them out of their range. Over time, this leads to such creatures simply disappearing. After months without returning to the human form, they forget that they were once human. How many people go missing on the planet every day? And how many of them are not like everyone else? Wolf's parents still do not know who their son really is. They rejoice in a fatherly way when Wolf comes to visit. And they rejoice even more when he leaves. It happens to most people. Like donkeys, they carry something in their genetic code. And what is there, they do not even suspect. There are many turnskins in the dragon clans. Their unique abilities bring great benefits. Descent into the dragon's lair is a dubious pleasure. The entrance seems unremarkable. You can't tell right away that it's a deep cave. It's even surprising how the dragon managed to get through here. Next is a huge perfectly round mine. Here the dragon could fly. But it is not easy for wingless mammals to descend, especially when you are on a rope in flight and somewhere in the distance, you hear a familiar roar. Wolf began to descend much faster. — Hurry up! Our kitty is coming back. But Kes almost flew down anyway. The prospect of tripping and falling was less frightening than the possibility of ending one's life in the dragon's mouth. Now he and Wolf were swaying on the rope like toys for a cat. And it is already flying. Its roar cannot be confused with anything. — Our kitty says "Hello!" He seems to be unhappy with something. — The dragon smelled our scent even on the approach to the cave. Now flies to hunt. — Something tells me that while we are on this rope, the hunt will be fast. The guys found themselves almost at the bottom of a deep cave. Easy prey. Involuntarily, they looked up. A small circle of light was visible there — all that was left of life. But it also disappeared when the dragon flew into the cave. Another second and they will be gone. Kes understood this well. He shouted to Wolf, "Jump!" and simply released the rope. Perhaps the ground is a meter away. And there you can hide in a side cave. This small "perhaps" was the hope that the guys grabbed. On the other side was only death. It was not a meter to the ground... and not two... But not so far that Kes would be smeared with a thin layer on the stone. However, the tendons will say "Hello!" tomorrow. If he lives to see tomorrow, of course. It was a little easier for Wolf. He instinctively landed on all fours. The older the turnskin, the easier the transformations happen. And sometimes, in times of danger, even instinctively. There was no time to look for side caves. The dragon breathed out flames in flight. So, the guys rushed wherever they could. They got into a side crevice, so narrow that they barely got through. When the flames burn your ass, you start moving much faster. The scramble in the cave ended with Kes getting stuck. The situation is interesting, Moving further is impossible. Behind him is a dragon, which is beating its fangs against a stone with all its might. Kes only had five minutes to live. That's how much time is needed for a new portion of the flame. It is impossible to shout at the dragon. Even if it had some consciousness left. — Crawl further! You can crawl here! Kes thought, "Who is this? Wolf or my inner voice? God forbid, my inner voice will start to sound like Wolf". — Crawl faster! This creature will fry you now! — Wolf, is that you? — And who? Let's move! — Can not! I'm stuck! How did you get through? — You damn Winnie the Pooh! Kes was in complete darkness. Suddenly something cold slid down his arms, wrapped around them, and the next moment, tearing off clothes and pieces of skin, Kes was pulled forward with all his strength. It was just in time because flames shot out of the cave he was in just now. The dragon recharged. Kes rested his cheek against the cold vault wall. Not a single ray of light made it possible to see where he was and what happened to him. The whole body ached, but the bones seemed to be intact. — Wolf, are you here? — And where else should I be? — What was that? — That was your extra weight. You need to eat less. — You're also not a model. — But I can turn into a snake. — Wow, I thought only the wolf form is easy for you. — Out of fear, I can probably turn into Jennifer Lopez. A pause for reflection. — Phew, a snake touched me! — Kes shook his head in disgust. — Who would say? You're half a snake yourself. — Dragons are not snakes. And you know I can't transform. And I don't think I will ever be able to. — Fine, forget it. Does your cell phone still work? Kes took out of his pocket a wonderful rectangle, over which the entire planet slavishly bows its head, and... Oh my god, the stuff is working. Wolf looked at the screen with interest. — Which company is it, and who glued the protective glass? Friend, you have Optimus Prime in your hands. Only the transformer can work after such a roll on the stones. Kes surveyed the cave. It was noticeably hot in jeans and a T-shirt. He even envied Wolf, who had only Kes's shirt on. A sharp change in shape leaves little to wear. Using his shirt as a loincloth, he looked like a true native. A spear and a necklace of skulls would complement the image successfully. Somewhere behind the stone wall, a deranged dragon was roaring. But the guys are already used to those screams. People generally get used to everything. Now their attention was much more attracted to the walls of the cave. More precisely, what was on them. — Wow, Kes, look! Your family's history. Images of people next to dragons were clearly visible on the walls. — It's good that people didn't see it. Otherwise, the theory of evolution would have to be changed. Textbooks would have written that in the early days of their history, people rode dinosaurs like horses. By the way, you never told me the history of your family. Where did the dragons come from, anyway? — To be honest, I don't know much myself. For some reason, they don't talk about it. — Yes, I noticed. But you, Kes, are the king's son. You should definitely know more than us ordinary turnskin. — Ordinary turnskin! Don't laugh! You know very well yourself that there are many dragon children. All search commands and cleaning commands consist of them. And turnskins are a rarity. You are valued much more. — So it means that you were lucky to work with me, and not the other way around. — By the way, it is believed that the turnskins descended from the dragons. — So you and I are related? — You can say it like that. — Look here, why do dragons look so much like dinosaurs? — You probably also heard that dragons evolved from dinosaurs. — I heard, but I didn't believe it. It turns out that evolution does exist. Darwin did not lie? And I always liked the version of the origin of humanity from aliens more. — Well, there is a lot of truth here. Our dinosaurs died out 60 million years ago, but in the world of dragons, everything is different. — How did they get into our world? — To be honest, I don't know. Apparently, there was a way. However, this opportunity disappeared several thousand years ago. — It is interesting how ancient people perceived dragons? — Like gods. Look at these images. The figures of people and dragons were written with red and white paint. These were scenes of worship of new gods. — Dragons brought culture and civilization to people. Wolf was interested in something. — Oh, look, the people in this picture are different. — Yes, I heard about it, but I didn't fully believe it. There are rumors that dragons have bred a new species of humans. The Old Ones were quite difficult to civilize, so the dragons mixed their DNA with human DNA. And that's how we got Homo sapiens. — Wow! Biological laboratories in the ancient world! — You know that dragons have a different science. At first glance, it looks more like magic, and from the second, not a single person has had the opportunity to take a closer look. — So humanity is a kind of dragon farm? — Wolf made a face. — Rather, people are ungrateful descendants. — Wait, then how did the dragon children appear? You are the son of the Northern king. — In the same way that ordinary children appear. Take a look here. The image showed a dragon with a human body, and it was depicted as a normal human, but slightly larger than the others. Kes made a guess. — Dragons can also turn into anything, not just humans. They are also turnskins. Wolf had blood rushing to his ears. That's where their lineage came from. Kes continued. — Dragon is the main form. But they can change it. In our environment, they talk about it as a semi-legendary thing. — That's true. Nobody knows anything. And if you ask, they look at you strangely. — Of course, suddenly you are a spy? — Yeah, whose? — I don't know, but I suspect that there is some kind of competitive organization. — So you want to say that dragons fight with dragons? Kes thought about it. — I don't know, but I have this feeling that someone wants to attack us. — Perhaps this is the creature that is currently trying to chew its way through the stones. Do you think it would have eaten us? — No, most of all, it would just chew up and spit us out. Dragons feed on sunlight and radiation, at least in their basic form. — Kes, if dragons can take on any form, where is the guarantee that our kitty will not crawl after us with a snakeform? — No guarantees, but as long as I can hear the growling, all is well. — Maybe we'll find a way out before it decides to reincarnate. — Transformation requires consciousness and intelligence. And our kitty is not much different from a rabid dog now. — How did it go wild? — Apparently, it fell into a trap and sat alone for thousands of years. I have heard such stories. — Rumors again? — Rumors are all we have. Dragons do not write chronicles, and they carefully guard their secrets. — Well, I understand hiding from people, but we are something else. You can say, family. — I think the dragons have a different opinion. We are either slaves or descendants of them. From the cave still comes the roaring and fangs hitting the stones. Wolf raised his shoulders involuntarily. — And how long will it scream there? — If we don't get out of here, then our bodies will have time to rot, and this dragon will still punch through the tunnel with its forehead. — How stubborn. — And what is left for it? The dragon lives almost forever. If the main difficulty for humans is to survive, then for the dragon, on the contrary, it is to die. — Then how do they die?