Harper
Shit!
I landed breathless in my parents' cave. Lou had seen chaos erupt in the city. He had to watch the temple burn... Exactly what he didn't want. We let the city, well only the temple, burn. Contrary to his wishes.
But that wasn't what shocked me.
Deeply shocked me.
When I snatched him away from the gallows, he hadn't even cried. When he looked at the noose that would end his life, he even looked peaceful. He ignored the hustle and bustle around him. He didn't look at his executioner or me. Lou's gaze rested on the gallows. For the first time, I saw him smile properly.
Lou was beautiful when he smiled.
But I didn't want to see his smile like that. Not in this way. I held him carefully in my claws. My Vivi didn't move. Throughout the flight, after a brief fright when I grabbed him, he barely moved. Carefully, I placed him gently on the soft cushions that had been waiting for him here. Lou pulled up his knees and stared in front of him.
I slowly bent my head towards him, very slowly so as not to frighten him, and nudged his cheek with my muzzle. Lou smelled of dust, soot, and smoke. In the meantime, his own smell came back. The spell of the wizards was gone. He smelled sweet again. And like blood. On Vivi's wrists, I discovered blue, bloody welts. I wanted to bare my teeth angrily, but my anger wasn't directed at Vivi. So I didn’t.
He didn't even react when I nudged him. Lou just stared straight ahead.
"Harper? Are you back?" Mom rushed towards us. In human form. She had been deeper in the cave. "Me and your father were sick with worry... Do you have Lou? Is he okay? Is he injured? I smell..." Before I could answer her, she was standing in front of Lou. Horrified, she discovered the wounds. "Lou!" She knelt next to him and hugged him gently. Lou didn't respond to that either. As if he were just a shell. "My poor boy!"
I also took on human form and sat down next to them, exhausted. I wanted to hug Lou as well, but I didn't dare. I remembered the kiss that scared Lou away. "Where's Dad?"
"He's in the back. We checked to see if we still had enough firewood. Luckily, Remy brought us supplies and water for Lou this morning. We had nothing left. Bojan is putting everything away, and he wanted to heat up some water. We figured Lou must need a bath... How is Remy? Your siblings?"
I shook my head. "I don't know. Remy is..." Could I tell? In front of Lou? My Vivi? He looked fragile. Mom stroked Lou's back and wiped some dust from his face with her hand. Then she looked at me. "I'm proud of you, Harper."
"Thank you."
"What happened?"
"It was bad, Mom." I shook my head. In the face of death, Lou had smiled. Vivi... "But Lou is here now."
"He is. And I'll never give him back!" She winked at me. But this could not hide the concern I saw in her eyes. "And now tell me, where are your siblings? Remy? Narcisse, Basil and Renan? Are they okay? Are they still fighting? Did something happen to them?"
"They have to fight the disgusting spells of the wizards and witches. I hate magic!", I hissed. "They actually dared to use these spells against us! They are only allowed for use against black dragons! Right?"
But Mom sighed. "They are allowed to be used in a dragon attack. And we attacked. Harper! Are they okay?"
"I don't know", I murmured. “I left with Lou as soon as I could. But I've seen a big whirlwind... I... I don't know."
Mom nodded and kissed Lou's forehead.
"Well! The water is warm! It was warmed with the most beautiful flame I've ever created!" Dad came over to us. He held a jug of water in his hands and a piece of clean cloth. "Who wants to bathe?" He looked around the cave hopefully, but when he saw only Lou and me, he frowned. Then he smiled again. "Good! You two are here! Who wants to bathe? While we wait for the others!" Dad had a lot of trust in my siblings. They would come back. Definitely.
"Our boys! Harper wants to bathe!" Mom pointed at me. "Full of filth! Harper? You first. We should leave Lou alone for now." She stroked his hair. The red ribbon hung crooked in it and was full of dirt. Mom looked at his sore wrists and took Lou's hands in hers. "Luckily, we still have some ointment. Wash yourself, Harper. We take care of Lou and wait for your siblings. I'm sure they're fine."
When I had finished washing, only roughly, because I planned to swim in the river later, my siblings finally came home. I breathed a sigh of relief. Our parents immediately ran to them. Mom cried and reproached them for making her anxious for so long. Dad laughed and announced that he knew they were fine. Well, relatively fine. Ross and Sally were injured. Connie and Max were seething with rage. But for Lou, they remained calm.
Vivi hadn't said a word yet.
"What happened?" Dad asked. He pointed to Ross and Sally. Ross rolled his eyes. Dad was still in human form. Max and Connie, too, took their human form after a quick glance at Lou. Only the two injured remained in dragon form.
"Sally probably has a mild concussion. And Ross..." Max grimaced. A pointed wooden beam was stuck in Ross's right wing. His feathers were full of blood.
'I fell on the beam when a wizard caught me', Ross growled. 'It’s not too bad. All I have to do is pull the beam out. This heals quickly. I'm more worried about Sally.'
'I just feel sick. And I've got a headache', Sally grumbled. 'It's going to go away quickly.' She was right. She would only have to deal with the concussion for a few hours. Hopefully, she didn't puke in the cave. Yuck! I sat down next to Lou again. Vivi stared in front of him, but he flinched when he heard Sally and Ross snorting and hissing.
Mom ran to Sally and stroked her forehead. In human form, she looked tiny next to Sally. "Remy? Narcisse? Renan and Basil?"
"They were caught in a hurricane", Ross said. Then he tore the beam from his wing with his teeth. He roared in pain, then shook himself and laid the beam on the floor. 'Firewood. How's Lou?' Well, as Ross roared, Lou flinched again next to me. But that was all there was to it from Lou. I was thankful that he hadn't been able to see Ross tearing a large piece of wood out of his body. It wasn't a pretty sight.
"He's in shock. And he's got a few injuries", Dad frowned. "What are these Wise Men thinking? To do such a thing to a child?"
"I don't think they are thinking at all", I hissed. And the dumbest was Remy! He couldn't protect Lou. He should have left him with us! With me!
I still didn't dare touch Lou.
