Want my mate.
Her dragon whispered fiercely.
Hang onto your pantyhose. I want to see what they do.
Trisha replied. It was always good to study those who were hunting you so you knew what to expect the next time.
Watch later.
Her dragon snarled impatiently.
Oh, come on. Just for a few minutes.
Trisha said quietly an idea forming in her head. She bit back a grin as she slowly reached down into her back pocket. A bow wasn’t the only thing she had made during her time in the cave.
Kelan lowered his head as relief washed through him. She was here. He charged up the slope when he heard Gunner yell down to him that the cave had been used recently. Kelan’s large frame could barely fit through the narrow opening but he squeeze until he was through. Inside he could see the neat circle of stones and the emptied moist ashes from the fire in a far corner. A small palle
t with a woven leaf cover was l
ying near the fire pit. He saw the remains of several empty seed pods. It looked like she used the empty hulls as dishes.
“Look.” Jaguin said, pointing to the wall.
Kelan looked at the wall and felt his breath leave him in such a rush he was almost dizzy. Trisha left him a message, written in his language. She said she was heading home to the palace. She missed her true mate. Kelan’s fingers trembled slightly as he reached out to touch the words that went to his heart. She acknowledged him as her true mate. She accepted they were one.
Gunner, Jaguin, and Kelan turn as one towards the entrance of the small cave when Kor’s surprised shout filled the air. Kor was yelling they were under attack while Palto was cussing up a blue streak. Gunner moved out of the entrance in a blur of speed. He leaped down the twenty feet to the moist forest floor below. His feet no sooner hit the soft surface when a bright red stain soaked the front of his shirt right over where his heart was. He stared down in disbelief as the stains dripped down in a river of red.
Jaguin yelled for Kelan to stay back just as he was hit in the side of the head, throwing him back into Kelan. Bright red was splattered through his hair and ran down his neck in a stream of sticky ooze. He shook his head as he tried to clear his vision.
Kelan lowered him to the floor with a growl and burst out of the cave, shifting into his dragon. His symbiosis quickly formed thick gold armor over his chest, arms and legs. Long claws covered in gold glimmered from his front and back claws. A helmet of gold formed around his elongated head, protecting his forehead. He snarled as he landed in front of the other men who were busy trying to get the red, sticky pulp of the fruit they had been attack with off of their bodies. Kelan’s eyes narrowed as he searched the dense forest for the slightest hint of where the threat might have come from. His dragon rose up on his hind legs and roared out a challenge. No sooner had the roar left his mouth than a piece of red fruit came at him, striking him in the throat. Luckily, his symbiosis was able to deflect it.
Move to the left, Palto.
Kelan snarled in rage. He was not about to let anything stop him from reaching his mate.
Kor, you go to the right. Gunner, Jaguin go up.
Trisha watched carefully as the men separated. It was a typical military maneuver. Trisha knew her scent was covered by the plants she used and she was well camouflaged. The only way they would see her is if she moved to rapidly. She remembered her daddy’s instructions.
Wait them out, baby girl. Let them come to you. Take out the leader if you can. This way you cut the head off th
e snake. Remember to be patient
. It could mean the difference between life and death. Always think about your opponents and study them. Everyone has a weakness, including you. Your job is to make sure they don’t find it.
Trisha sank back down under the dense growth already moving from where she fired last. She slowed her breathing until it seemed she only took a breath every couple of seconds. She gripped the slingshot tightly in her hand and carefully crawled on her belly, moving so slow a snail would win a race against her. She was looking to get to the rock outcropping about eight feet away from where she fired her last shot. She chose the spot for several reasons. It was thick enough to hide her, she was able to move without leaving any tracks, and once she moved a couple more feet she would be out of their line of sight, even from above. She would use the rock overhanging to give her the cover from above and the rock surface she was now on covered her tracks. Her objective was clear – capture the leader a.k.a. Kelan. Trisha wiggled and crawled until she was on top of a small ledge. She was now behind the men. If Kelan moved about six feet to the left, she would be able to drop down onto his back. From this view, she could see the symbiosis covered him with armor in all but one vulnerable place, the junction between his wings. It left the dragons susceptible to an attack that could kill them. She would have to point that out to them. Her dad would love it here. He could train all the warriors on guerilla warfare, Trisha thought wistfully.
Kelan reached out with his senses trying to discover the scent of their attacker. His dragon growled in frustration. All it could smell was the natural forest around it. It did not scent anything out of the ordinary. Kelan’s eyes narrowed as he watched the men with him spread out silently in the hope of surrounding whoever was attacking them. He crouched down onto all four of his powerful legs and moved slowly to his left, keeping the rocky slope to his back. He growled menacingly while swinging his head back and forth. Where was the bastard? Kelan thought in frustration. Since the last piece of jaka fruit was fired at them there was nothing. He let his gaze sweep over to where Kor and Palto were. Each gave a negative shake of their head as they moved silently through the dense undergrowth. He let his gaze turn to where Gunner was in one of the high trees above them. Gunner motioned with his hand that he saw nothing. He was just turning to check with Jaguin when he felt a flash of warning right before a wet river of jaka spilled down his side from between his wings.
Kelan let out a roar at the same time as a small figure leaped onto his back. It gripped him tightly with its legs, wrapping its arms around his neck. Kelan lowered his head twisting at the same time as he struck out at the figure with his spiked tail. The figure let go of his neck and did a flip over his shoulder, rolling across the ground. Before Kelan realized it, his dragon let loose a long stream of dragon fire at the creature that attacked him. Kelan’s cry of horror was echoed by his dragon and his symbiosis as they recognized the tiny figure of his mate a split second to late.
Trisha was expecting Kelan’s defense. It only made sense. It wouldn’t matter because if this were a real military situation, all of the men would be dead by now. Technically she ignored the others as she killed them with each of her first shots. She knew their symbiosis could heal them in most cases but a kill shot was a kill shot; hit the victim where the damage could not be healed fast enough to recover. With Kelan, he would have died the moment she drove the lance, or in this case the piece of fruit representing it, through his heart. If by chance he would have survived the initial blow, her second attack would have finished him off. She made a provision for his being able to throw her from his back and the knowledge he might use his dragon fire on her. By the time the flames where within reach, she was already disappearing into the undergrowth like a ghost. She sank down becoming one with the native flora.
Two of the men with Kelan ran by her without even seeing her. The ones in the trees had shifted and landed heavily on the ground next to Kelan. She heard one of them growl out something in a deep voice.
“Who is that?
!
”
Gunner growled to Kelan in dragon-speak. His sharp eyes were sweeping back and forth as he tried to see where the figure disappeared.
Kelan stood stunned for a moment. How in the hell did she do it? One minute she was there, the next it was as if she vanished into thin air. When his dragon let loose the stream of dragon fire he was sure his mate was doomed. As the flames died down, he thought he would see nothing but her ashes. Instead, it was as if she had never stood in front of him.
His dragon rumbled in frustration.
Whip your mate’s ass.
It snarled.
Your mate
crazy. Scare me!
Kelan laughed.
Yes, she scared me too.
“It is my mate. I think she is playing a game with us. One she told me about. Her father would send her in after the warriors he was training. She called it tag. I believe we have all just been tagged. That is what the fruit was for. If you look at where she struck us, we would all be dead.”
Kelan chuckled proudly.
Jaguin swung his head to look at Kelan like he had lost his mind.
“Her father did what?!”
Kelan was about to reply when the small figure of his mate rose up out of the undergrowth not more than ten feet from them. She startled Kor and Palto who took a step back as she emerged almost between them. He watched as she approached him slowly, a small knowing smile on her face, as if she knew what he was telling the other two dragons near him.
Kelan’s eyes grew heavy as she reached out her hand, caressing the ridge of his left nostril. “Tag, you’re it.” She said tenderly.
Kelan was about to transform when he heard her soft request. “No, don’t shift, not yet. I want to see you like this.”
Trisha ignored the other two dragons and the two men standing behind her. She was focused only on the beautiful jade and silver dragon standing in front of her. She vaguely heard Kelan growl out something to the other men. Whatever it was, all four must have understood as the two dragons soon became four. All four nodded respectfully to her before leaping up and swiftly flying away, leaving her alone with her mate.
“You are so beautiful, just as my dragon said you were.” Trisha murmured as she ran her hand down along Kelan’s jaw.
Kelan lowered his head to give Trisha better access. He understood she needed to explore him in his dragon form. While he missed her dreadfully and wanted to claim her, he learned from his previous mistake about not giving her time to explore and accept who and what his world was. Kelan slowly lowered himself all the way to the ground so Trisha could walk around him. A shiver ran down the length of his dragon as he felt the soft, tentative touch of her hands as they moved over his head. His symbiosis dissolved, reforming into the shape of a huge dog.
Trisha smiled at Bio. “I’m sorry I hurt you. I shouldn’t have done that to you.” Trisha said softly to the huge, golden beast as it came to rub against her side. She let one of her hands brush across its head. Trisha couldn’t hold back the wobbly smile as thin bands of gold formed around her wrists. “I’m so sorry.” She repeated softly.
Bio sent a wave of warmth through Trisha letting her know all was forgiven. She also caught the waves of relief at finding her safe and sound. It worried about her and would do anything to protect her.
“I know that now.” Trisha said quietly as she bent over and gave it a kiss on the top of its huge head. Trisha watched as Bio trotted over and began exploring some of the trees around the area near the cave.
Trisha turned back to see Kelan studying her intently through flaming, golden eyes. “I’m sorry for scaring you, for running away. I shouldn’t have. It’s kind of a bad habit of mine when I need time to think.” Trisha bit her bottom lip as she gazed up into the beautiful eyes
of Kelan’s dragon.
Trisha couldn’t hold back the giggle as a long, rough tongue came out and swiped her face from her chin all the way up to her forehead. “Oh, gross!”
Kelan’s dragon coughed out a laugh. He nudged Trisha gently with his head, encouraging her to continue exploring him. He liked the feel of her hands on his scales. He purred as she moved her hands up to trace around his eyes and ears.
“You are so soft.” Trisha said in wonder as she traced the shape of the scales on his neck.