Kala shot Alphonse and Delyth an apologetic look. “Mother, those were just children's tales.”
“All stories come from somewhere, Kala.”
Brande nodded in agreement.
Delyth shifted. It always seemed to come back to the Gods and the war that had changed everything. Somehow, it felt as though even if Delyth were to find a way out of her oath to Enyo, she would never be truly free of them.
Instead of talking more of the Gods, who Delyth knew to be more than mere tales, she instead focused on the God Children. “If the Fish Skin and Shark Teeth make their homes here, alongside the sea, where can I find the others? The Cloud Catchers and the Dragon Kin?”
A very long time ago, Delyth had dreamed with Tanwen of finding her people, but in all those years, she had never once heard mention of them. The idea that there might be some hint here, something to point her in the right direction… It made Delyth’s pulse quicken, her gaze sharpen.
The old Cabot cackled as though the answer were obvious. “Where do birds like to nest?”
“Trees,” Alphonse said.
The grandmother nodded and slurped another gulp of her stew. “The stories said the Cloud Catchers lived amongst the skies, in the tallest forests. And where do dragons live?”
Alphonse looked towards Delyth, brows pinching together.
“Caves.” Delyth propped her chin on her fist. She had met the great sisters of Dawn and Dusk and heard the stories of D’draig in the sea. Her people were not built for the ocean, but the mountains, with their caves and thin air…
And cold. She was certainly well suited for the cold. Delyth had flown most of the span of the Brig’ian mountains in service to Enyo, but perhaps… Perhaps she had not flown far enough North.
She sat up again, buoyed by the prospect of something new to try. “Thank you for the insight.”
❀
The grandmother only laughed again and tucked into her stew with gusto. Alphonse interlaced her fingers with Delyth, giving the warrior’s hand a comforting squeeze before the conversation turned to the benign. How were their families? How was life?
While it was clear that Brande and Kala lived meager lives,it was also clear how very much they loved each other. How happy they were. Brande was constantly crooning over Maiak and the baby, and the way he gazed at Kala was romantic. Alphonse wondered if the people who saw her and Delyth together could see their love as evidently as she could see Brande’s. The healer liked that idea, and in the safety of the home of her friend, she felt comfortable enough to curl up alongside Delyth on the bench in Brande’s garden as supper was finished and dessert passed around. The grandmother took Delyth aside after the meal, and they spoke in hushed voices before the older woman gripped Delyth’s upper arm in support and headed to bed with the children.
Brande started a small campfire, and Kala brought the tea, and Alphonse looked up at the stars and laid her head against Delyth’s shoulder. Their life was peaceful now, even with Enyo popping up from time to time, but it was solitary and quiet. Mostly Alphonse liked that solitude, but the feeling of being surrounded by friends was a welcome change.
Kala and Brande were talking to one another, so Alphonse turned to Delyth. “What did the old woman say?”
༄
Delyth looked down from the smattering of stars above them to find Alphonse gazing up at her, curled close and sheltered by the protective curl of a wing. They must have sat like this a thousand times since they had met on the road to Thlonadras so that now it felt almost like Delyth’s body was made to mold into this position, one black sail around Alphonse.
“She gave me a warning,” Delyth said, sighing out a heavy breath of air. “She says that the Dragon Kin are fearsome warriors, fire breathing berserkers. Evidently, I am soft compared to what she knows of my kind.”
The idea was a strange one to Delyth, who had always known herself to be bigger and stronger than most humans. She was an excellent warrior. She wielded a God’s Companion Blade.
If she was soft, what did that make the others?
It had the unpleasant tang of the stories told about her at the temple, and it made her stomach turn with worry. What if she found her people only to be dismissed by them? She would always have a home in Allee and a sort of family in Etienne and Brande and maybe one day in the greater community of Cabots, but she still longed to be among her kind. Then again, there were many stories at the temple that were just that, stories. They had considered her a monster, though she was not one. Perhaps these stories were similar. Over exaggerations. Jibes half-invented by those who feared the Dragon Kin.
“Do you think she’s right about them? She did also say that she was glad we had met, for all that my loving you means that I will not produce more of my kind.” A spark of humor danced behind Delyth’s eyes.
Alphonse’s brows knitted together before a little smile tugged at her lips. “Oh? I hadn’t realized I was holding you back… Perhaps we should go off on a journey to find a nice, big strong male Dragon Kin so that you two could make a hatchling?”
Delyth just snorted. The idea was entirely inimical. Even if she had ever been attracted to men, she could not see herself with anyone but Alphonse. Teasingly, she leaned over to press a kiss just under the healer’s ear, hidden in the shadow of her wing. “I like things just the way they are.”
“I do too,” Alphonse agreed. “But, in all seriousness, Del… I think a lot of stories only show one side of things. As you know, life is more complicated than that. You won’t know the truth if you don’t ask. Right?”
“Right,” Delyth
