The Beast and The Brain.

I didn’t hear J’s scream, but I’m sure it happened. The other Beast collided into my stomach with the force of a large boulder. He wasn’t expecting me to drop J without hesitation like that, so when he hit my stomach instead of my back it was too late for him to realize his mistake. My claws cut his skin like soft butter. The life left his eyes instantly and I folded my wings against myself and dove after J. The Beasts’ body fell ungracefully towards the ground in a tangle of feathers, no one that found him would ever know he was a man.

J was falling fast, but I was faster. Like an arrow I sliced the air with precision and in a matter of seconds I reached out and caught J. I opened my wings and ascended back into the air and soon we were gliding peacefully as if nothing had ever happened. There was a long moment of silence, and I wondered if J had lost consciousness, but before I looked the silence was shattered.

“You idiot!” J yelled and punched me though she couldn’t move very well. I held her securely so she didn’t have a chance to fall.

“At least now you won’t fall.” I couldn’t help but grin and show of my sharp teeth.

“Not unless you choose to drop me! I swear when we land I’m going to cut off something precious of yours and toss is to the dogs! Then I’m going to find a large boulder and leave you there!”

I chuckled and opened my hand and J fell again. She didn’t even have time to scream it happened so quickly. I let her fall for a second then I dove and caught her again and resumed our gliding.

“Any other threats you would like to voice?”

J remained silent. I knew that when I got on the ground I would probably pay for what I had done, but this was my domain. While we were in the sky I made the calls, and what I said went. It felt good to be in charge for once, not that I wanted to be in charge all the time, but it was good for J to know that she wasn’t the only one capable of making decisions. Besides, I had put my life in her hands often enough, it was about time I returned the favor.

The rest of our journey was spent in silence, J was brooding. I could feel her emotions without even trying. But I didn’t worry about what would happen once we were on solid ground; I just enjoyed my time in the sky with my wings stretched out and the fresh air in my lungs. By the time we neared Gwen and Joe’s house the sky was just beginning to lighten in the horizon. I swooped silently down so we were just above the trees and then landed in their back yard. Let go of J and then turned back into a Human.

As soon as I was standing on my own two feet J punched me in the jaw, then she ran her foot down my shin and pushed me over so I was on my back and sprawled out. She pulled out her knife and flipped it around. “Shall I do good on my threat?”

My eyes widened slightly, J was crazy enough that she might actually do some damage. I swallowed and folded my legs. “There’s no reason to be rash J.”

“No reason to be rash? No reason to be rash? You dropped me while you were flying hundreds of feet in the air and you’re telling me that there is no reason to be rash?”

“I did the only thing I could!”

“By dropping me?” She raised her eyebrows.

“I killed him didn’t I? And you’re still alive! I’ve been flying for a long time, I know what I’m doing. And I knew you wouldn’t agree with my maneuver so I didn’t ask for permission, but thanks to me we made it here safe and sound and no one followed us. So stop being so pissed off all the time and thank me already.” She stared at me and she wouldn’t look away finally the back door of the house opened.

“Am I interrupting something?”

Finally J blinked and looked at Joe. “Not at all.”

Joe walked over to use with a frown, “Where is Gwen? Has something happened?”

“No, nothing happened. Gwen is riding back with Moss and our horses. She will be a ways behind but we needed to travel fast. If you don’t mind we could use some basic supplies, I’ll pay of course.” Joe nodded his head and went back into the house then J turned and looked at me again. “If you ever drop me again I will do some serious damage…”

She helped me onto my feet and I brushed off my pants. “You’re welcome.”

J rolled her eyes and headed into the house and I followed. Joe was packing a leather sack and J grabbed a paper and quill while he was doing that for us. I went and sat at the table where leftover food was sitting and stuffed my mouth, I knew I had a lot of flying cut out for me. J scribbled something onto the paper and Joe tied off the sack and placed it next to the door. “I’m afraid that’s the best I can do for you two.”

“It will be enough, thank you.” J said but didn’t look up from the paper, finally she finished and folded it. “Please give this to Gwen when she returns and take this, thank you for everything.” J handed him a good amount of gold coins then motioned for me to get up. I stuffed some more food in my mouth and headed outside, Joe followed us out to say goodbye.

“Keep out of trouble.” He smiled.

I snorted. “I doubt that will ever happen.” I turned into a dragon and J threw the sack over her back.

“Wait a moment J.” I said, “Get some rope from the barn.”

J guessed what I was thinking and nodded her head, “Good idea.” She disappeared into the barn and came out a moment later with a length of rope in her hands. I dropped my head so she could wrap it around my neck in a place where she would be able to grab it. “At least now I can hold on when you try to drop me.”

I grinned but said nothing. “He dropped you?” Joe asked surprised.

“On purpose.” J said coldly and I winked at Joe. He shook his head and J climbed onto my back and got herself settled and held onto the rope.

“All set?” I asked and stretched out my wings.

“Ready.”

“Good bye.” Joe waved and stood on the base of the steps.

“Good bye Joe.” And with that I leapt into the air and pointed my nose north, J and I were headed for the swamp and possibly to the end of our lives.

~ ~ ~ ~

I had to fly high, with sun now in the sky anyone who looked up would have been able to see a gigantic dragon flying over their heads. J huddled deep into her cloak and laid against my warm skin while the world passed us by like tiny ants below. The air was thinner up here, and for J it was harder for her to breath so she didn’t talk much, but my lungs were used to this, they were made for it.

Every once in a while J would comment about the scenery but for the most part we simply enjoyed this time in silence. And I was enjoying it a lot. Flying was my favorite thing, but flying with J for some reason made all of it even better. I wanted to show her how beautiful the world looked from up here. I wanted to show her everything. I never wanted her stop leaning against me like she was right now, and I felt that I could fly forever if it meant that she would.

I knew going to the swamp was the right decision. Sometimes there were battles that you simply had to fight, but yet, I also felt that it was wrong. With each stroke of my wings and each gust of wind I carried J towards her possible death. It went against everything that I felt for J, I wanted her safely in my arms, I wanted her to keep telling me I was an idiot for the rest of my life. But I couldn’t, and would not turn a blind eye while innocent people’s lives were in danger.

So I flew north with J on my back and my concerns unvoiced. When the sun finally fell over the horizon J finally spoke up. “Find somewhere for us to land.” I instantly tucked my wings in and lifted my tail and began to descend to earth at a gradual speed. I knew J wouldn’t appreciate a full scale dive.

It didn’t take me long to find a concealed location located near fresh water. When I landed J slid off me and stretched her stiff muscles. “Go find something to replenish your energy, I’ll set up camp.” I nodded my head and took off. It didn’t take me too long to sniff out some deer. I ate two of them and then disposed of the carcasses away from civilization.

When I came back to camp J had a small fire started and my bed roll was laid out and ready for me. “You should sleep since you’re doing all the work. I’ll keep watch.”

“Do you think that’s necessary? I doubt there will be anyone around.”

“I never take chances.” J pointed to my bed roll and I shrugged and curled into it. J sat facing the fire and chewed on some dried fruit and nuts.

“How come you get human food and I have to eat the deer?”

“Because there isn’t enough here for the both of us and you could eat all of it in five minutes and still not be satisfied.” She popped a handful of the mix into her mouth and chewed while smirking at me.

I rolled over and grumbled to myself. “Big baby.” I heard her mutter.

I was asleep before I even realized that I was exhausted. I dreamed of flying with J and when I woke up the sky was red and pink and long shadows covered the ground. I sat up and stretched, J was asleep a few feet away from the fire. She was leaning up against a tree and her mouth hung slightly open. I smiled and stood up and stretched out my stiff legs. I was surprised that I had been able to sleep straight through the day without waking up. I must have been using more energy to fly than I thought

I stoked the fire with a couple of logs and then walked away from the campsite. I went hunting. J might be able to live off nuts and dried fruit but I was a predator. So it wouldn’t be difficult for me to find some meat. By the time I came back the campsite with a fresh strip of meat from the hip of a deer J was awake and packing our things.

“You should have woken me up.” She said as soon as I came close enough.

“You looked like you needed rest.”

“And what if someone snuck up on me while you were away?” She demanded.
“But they didn’t.”

“They could have.”

I rolled my eyes and lifted the meat. “I brought some dinner for you.”

“We don’t have time to cook that.”

“Then cut off a few stripes and cook some, stop being so negative.”

“I’m not negative I’m being realistic.”

“Well your reality is a dismal place.” We were standing face to face now. She had her hand on her hips and my hands were covered in deer blood but suddenly I wanted to kiss her. In this stupid situation I had the overwhelming urge to drop the meat pull J against me and kiss her. But then it was gone, and she took the meet from me and took it to the fire without saying a word and I was left standing there blinking like an idiot wishing I knew the taste of J’s lips.