Chapter 1
Madreena woke from her deep slumber to the plip-plop of water against her nose. She yawned and nearly choked on the smell of the moist air. Her mate, Nadrak, discovered this wet and depressing cave for their hibernation months ago. She wasn’t very fond of it, preferring the sunny outside where she could stretch and sunbathe.
"Get off me, you big lug!” she said to Nadrak, playfully shrugging off his wing. She got an annoyed groan in response. The sweet scent of exotic flowers tickled her nose as she barreled outside. The soft grass between her claws served as a refreshing relief from the harsh cold earth of the cave she’d spent the past few months in.
"Don't you just love the smell of the flowers in springtime, Nadrak?” she exclaimed jubilantly, letting her wildflower mane soak up the warm morning sun. Nadrak lumbered up beside her with his head down.
"It's far too early to be romping around out here, Madreena. You're making spring come far too early.” He let out a massive yawn and curled up against a nearby tree, resting his tail atop his paws.
"If you insist on galavanting around the forest, at least be careful that none of the humans see you," he said, eyeing her suspiciously.
"How rude! When have I ever gotten in trouble with them?" Madreena said innocently. Nadrak lifted his head sharply for a retort, but she had already bounded away. While bouncing through clusters of fireweeds and marigolds, she heard a faint cry from above. As she gazed up at the tree, a furry gray cat, whiskers twitching, greeted her from one of the tallest branches.
"What are you doing up there, Fang? Come on out. My hibernation is finally over," she called joyfully up to him. Two years had passed since she first found him curled up against a tree, starving and weak. After hours of begging and pleading, Nadrak had finally agreed to let her keep him on the condition that she was responsible for raising Fang. Nothing gave her that same feeling of pride and joy as watching him grow and get stronger.
"I was starting to worry you would never wake up," Fang mewed as he picked his way nimbly down the branches. Watching him, Madreena remembered the countless hours it had taken her to teach him how to speak and how proud she was of his first word “mango.” It was one of her favorite fruits in the springtime. Teaching a cat was far more challenging than she had anticipated. It was rewarding when he often crept up to talk to her about his favorite interests, which usually consisted of excited chatter about the newest birds and rodents he’d discovered.
"I didn't mean to worry you, Fang. I'm sorry we've been away for so long, but mother nature needs her time to rest and regain her strength," she said, stretching her wings up into the air as far as she could, feeling the blissful pop of wingbones as she did.
"So, what exactly do you do out here all winter?” she asked after furling her wings back in.
Fang sat back on his haunches and scratched his ear furiously with a hind paw. "Not much really, mostly watching the humans in that little town near the river. You know, they're quite peculiar creatures; always doing the strangest things."
Madreena’s mind raced with questions like it always did when the topic of humans was brought up. “Really? What do they do? I barely ever get a chance to watch them ‘cause Nadrak always pulls me away and scolds me like I'm a naive little dragonet.” An image of two children playing in the forest rose from the back of her mind only to be smashed by a rough voice yanking her back. “Oh, I just got the best idea ever. We should go see the humans today. You did say they would be having a celebration this spring.”
Fang let out a chuckle. “Come on, Mom. You really think their celebrations are that great? All I ever see them do is gather around fire, flailing their arms wildly like they don't have the common sense to stay away from it! Guarantee you that all their celebrations are just as ridiculous!”
Madreena contemplated that image until a faint cry rose from deeper in the forest. She whipped her head around to scrutinize the nearby trees as she nudged Fang behind her with her tail.
"Did you hear that, Fang? I-I think there's something in the trees," she whispered as he perked his ears up, straining to hear more.
"Yeah, but I don't think it's a good idea to go investigate. It's probably an injured animal out there.”
She did anyway. It was, in fact, an injured animal - a large bull that had grievous injuries from an unknown source scored across its body. It was still alive, but barely. As its faint cries hit Madreena’s ears, the smell of blood slammed into her nose. The acrid metallic scent was so powerful, she nearly gagged, recoiling in disgust.
"What in the world did this?" she whispered to Fang, hoping the killer wasn't still lingering in the area.
"Don't know. But it's a pretty gruesome injury," he said and stopped for a second to quickly sniff the air. His fur bristled as he reeled back.
"What in the world is that smell?!" he said as he spun around wildly as if looking for an unknown assailant. He glared with disgust at the myriad of trees surrounding the road.
There was only silence from the forest. Nothing stirred, but a repugnant scent of rotting carcasses hung in the air. It was as if an entire village had laid decomposing for weeks. Madreena had the strange feeling that someone was watching them, lurking just out of sight. The thought made her wings tremble a bit.
"That smell is rancid, but I don't see anything that could be causing it," she said through gritted teeth, trying to keep her voice low so she didn't alert any unfriendly wildlife.
"We should get a move on or we’ll miss the human festivities," she said, knowing there was nothing she could do for the creature. She tried to pull her mind away from it as she nudged Fang away from the body. The foul scent slowly faded behind them. She was relieved when fresh air hit her nose again.
"Really, Mother! Aren't you a little too old for such distractions?” Fang said as they walked. His fur still bristled, but he seemed happy to have a change of subject.
"Wha…of course not! It's always a good time to celebrate. Besides, Nadrak never wants to leave his gloomy old cave," she said. “Come on Fang. Aren't you even just a little bit interested in them? I want to see what all the excitement is about, don’t you?”
"Fine, but we stay out of sight. Okay?" he finally sighed, giving her his sternest look. Excitement surging through her wings, she gave him an eager nod and raced off in the direction of the village.
Much to Madreena’s chagrin, Fang outright refused to let her get as close as she wanted to the humans. Instead. he insisted they distance themselves on the outskirts of the village. Buzzing with curiosity, she couldn't help but wonder about the customs of the humans. She knew of some of their habits and behaviors, but she had never actually seen them celebrate any occasion. Now here she was, finally getting the chance to watch as they scurried to and fro, adorning their little huts in multitudes of vibrant colorful flowers. She glimpsed a group of them exit one with a wooden platter full of fruits and the far less-desirable-looking slabs of meat and fish.
"Oh, I wonder what they're celebrating? Maybe one of them is having a birthday!” Madreena said, barely containing her giddiness as she watched them and impatiently kneading the ground with her talons. Fang, however, seemed neither impressed nor interested.
"Eh, I've seen enough humans to know they're just a bunch of nutters," he said, scratching his neck furiously. "They'll celebrate over the smallest of things. Once, I saw one bring a bag full of fish back, and they acted like it was the best thing ever."
"But I thought you adored fresh fish," she said, bemused. He gave her an annoyed scowl in return.
"I do, but you don't see me shouting and celebrating over it. I just sit and enjoy it like a sensible, non-crazy cat would.”
The murmur of the village went quiet as everyone gathered around a bonfire in the middle. A portly older man stepped out of the largest hut. His face held a tired yet joyful smile as he looked through the crowd of people who stood around him.
"Welcome, everyone, welcome! I know this day has been a long time coming," he said loudly and cheerfully. "Today is a rather special day for the chief family, and I'm thrilled to have the chance to share such an occasion with all of you."
As he spoke, he gestured to a young woman who had been standing in the doorway of the hut. She nervously twirled a strand of her auburn hair as she looked out at the crowd.
"I'm proud to announce that my daughter shall be giving birth to yet another little one any day now!" he cried out, and many of the women of the village murmured fervently to each other.
Indeed, the daughter was quite visibly pregnant, and by what Madreena could tell, she was probably very close to her due date. A mix of envy and excitement made her tail twitch at the sight.
"And tonight," the man continued, his face nearly reaching the peak of pure ecstasy. "We will feast in honor of the new arrival!”
The entire town burst into resounding applause as everyone cheered for the mother-to-be. Madreena could feel the ground under her claws shake as their triumphant cries reached her. Though the news had nothing to do with her, she couldn't help but be excited at the prospect of a new life.
As soon as the cheers died down, men and women burst through the doors of the various huts. Each of them held different platters full of meats and cheeses. The entire village was absolutely buzzing with activity at this point, and Madreena struggled not to join in.
"So this is what it's like with humans. How amazing would it be to live among them?" she wondered. "Just imagine what they could teach us."
Fang huffed dismissively. "Humans are crazy. Remember, the only thing they could teach you is how to get fat and run around barking like wild animals."
"Why are you so hostile about them? Whatever did they do to make you so bitter?” she snapped back at him.
"They left me out here to die, Madreena. That's what they did," he said through gritted teeth. His answer shocked her as she recalled finding him starving and near death. Back then, she assumed his mother had lost him, and he couldn't survive on his own.
"I-I didn't realize," she stammered. There was a tense silence between them for a few moments, as if they both struggled to find the right words.
"It's alright, Madreena. You were the one who nursed me back to health after all," he said, rubbing his head against her affectionately. "I didn't want to ruin your curiosity, but you have to realize humans are nothing but bad news."
"I understand, but…," she broke off as a sharp crunch rang out nearby.
"Did you hear that, Fang?” she whispered but only saw his tail disappear as he slunk into the shadows. Panicking, Madreena whipped her head back and forth frantically, heart pounding in her chest until she found the source of the sound.
The young pregnant lady from the evening's celebrations stood mere feet from her, clutching a small wooden necklace that looked strangely like a sloppily-crafted dragon. Her eyes were wide and fearful but with a hint of curiosity as she gazed up at Madreena. Neither of them moved as they studied each other cautiously.
Eventually, the girl broke the tense standoff as she performed a rather clumsy curtsy and reached her hand out as if to pet Madreena’s snout. She was wary of the girl's intentions, but her curiosity got the better of her. Madreena hesitantly allowed the contact.
The girl's hand rested gently on her nose. Instantly a spark of warmth shot through her straight to her heart like a lightning bolt of energy that coursed through her body, rushing to the tips of her wings and claws. It was intense, but strangely soothing at the same time. It faded just as quickly as it came. When she opened her eyes, the girl was gone.
When the buzz of energy faded she realized that the foliage surrounding her had blossomed into bright white flowers that glowed a soothing light.
