Lou

  Lou pressed himself against the wall of the cave while the dragons talked. He heard them hissing, growling, and rumbling. It sounded eerie and reminded him of the terrible teeth of the bck dragon. By now he knew their names. There was Narcisse, who was on his way, and his little sister Nour. And their two parents, Ina and Dinko.

  Nour was very stormy. She was constantly trying to get Lou to py. According to her mother, this was very normal for a fourteen-year-old dragon, and her daughter was generally very restless. She apologized for that, while Lou tried to become invisible. Nour, however, tried very hard to get his attention until her father pulled her away from Lou by the wings.

  "The boy is afraid. Let him be!", he whispered to his daughter.

  "I'm just trying to help!", protested Nour, but she stayed with her parents.

  Help?

  Lou wanted to go home. But there probably wasn't much left of it. And even if some of it was left, no one wanted him there. And if he just walked out of the cave? Until he fell down the cliffs? Then he wouldn't have to go anywhere. Then he didn't bother anyone anymore. He was about to get up when he heard the beating of huge dragon wings again. Frightened, he covered his ears and closed his eyes.

  Thundering, another dragon nded in the cave. And then another. "Vivi!" That was Veit's voice. Perplexed, he opened his eyes again. Lou could see a lot of white in the cave entrance.

  "Vivi!", the dragon repeated. White moved slowly towards him. The other dragons snorted.

  "Veit!", replied Lou, reaching out his trembling hands to his friend until the dragon held its muzzle to Lou's palms. Lou didn't notice that the other dragons reacted in surprise when Lou addressed the dragon as Veit. Instead, he was anxious not to see his friend as the bck dragon. But the images returned. Lou closed his eyes again and pulled his hands away, whimpering.

  "Are you okay?" Veit asked.

  Lou could only shake his head. He thought he could smell the foul breath of the bck dragon.

  "Lou?"

  He shook his head again. His friend snorted in frustration. "Narcisse? How close did the dragon get to him? The bck one?"

  "Too close!", he answered. So Narcisse had come here with Veit. Lou shuddered. Narcisse's family was silent. They didn't want to disturb their reunion. Especially since Lou was so scared that they feared he might faint. Of course, Lou didn't notice any of this. For him, there was nothing but fear, until suddenly he felt something warm, soft. Frightened, he opened his eyes and saw white feathers. Veit's feathers. Lou stroked the beautiful wing, which Veit held over him, and then sat down next to him. The other dragons growled and hissed in the background. Lou was startled and pressed himself against Veit's warm body.

  "They're just talking to each other!", he tried to reassure him. "Nothing bad."

  Lou nodded and looked at the shimmering scales. They were pretty. Veit nudged him, pushing Lou further under his wing. Here it was warm and soft. With a sense of security, he embraced the body of the giant dragon. At the same time, gloomy thoughts haunted his mind, bming him for the warmth he was taking.

  It shouldn’t be. He didn't deserve this. Lou didn't deserve any of this. He should have been dead long ago... Why had the dragon saved him?

  Why, was he born? If it only meant despair? For his family, for the city...

  For him.

  Again he saw the teeth of the bck dragon. Lou's tears fell on Veit's beautiful scales.

  Harper

  Lou cried again. It was horrible.

  The sight of him hurt, but there was nothing I could do for him but offer him some warmth. Narcisse watched me. He looked worried. Before that, he had expined to his parents why he had brought me here so that I could take care of Lou. But now his sister crept cautiously closer.

  'You're really friends!' Nour tilted her head. But Lou was shaking so badly that I didn't want her next to him. I growled at her warningly. But that caused Lou to whimper softly. Damn.

  'Be careful, Nour! Humans are smaller than us!', I grumbled. 'And he is afraid. Please keep your distance.'

  'But he's under your wings! I'm not going to step on him! Why are you friends with a human?', the girl wanted to know.

  Her brother hissed, annoyed. 'Nour! Don't interrogate him! You pain in the ass...'

  "Narcissus, don't be mean to your sister", Ina reprimanded. ‘Nour? Come back to us. The boy needs rest.' While we were talking in our minds, they were rumbling and hissing. Lou didn't seem to appreciate the sounds, so I tried not to make any dragon sound . The smell of his anguish filled the cave.

  'You're scaring Lou!', I reminded them. I felt him tremble under my wings. I felt his tears, the warmth of his thin body. He didn't appear to be hurt. I sighed in relief. Lou looked frightened. Of course, he was. A bck dragon almost devoured him.

  'Nour's question is appropriate, though', Dinko grumbled now. 'How come you know the boy? Harper? And why does he call you Veit?'

  'That's my name.' I wanted to roll my eyes. Carefully, I sat down closer so that Lou could make himself comfortable under my wings. Well, he was more likely to hide. That was good, too. The main thing was that he was very close and I could protect him. Of course, I was careful not to sit on him. That would be bad. I didn't want to crush him.

  'Harper!' Dinko hissed. 'It's not your first name.'

  'And?' Now I actually rolled my eyes. "He only knows Harper as a human. But I use Veit when I... Well... When I’m me. At first, I just didn't want to scare him... Or...' In fact, I didn't really know why I was doing it. Did I do this so he wouldn't be afraid of Harper? Of me? But in the end, he was more afraid of Harper the human than of the dragon Veit. 'I'll leave it like that for now.' Until he truly trusts me. Then I'll tell him. That Harper and Veit are the same person.

  'If that’s your wish!', growled Dinko.

  I heard Lou's stomach growl. He was hungry. The others had heard it too. 'I'm assuming he won't like raw meat!', Ina commented on the sound. Since we talked telepathically and didn't include Lou in the conversation, he didn't know why we were growling and rumbling. Even I, in spite of all my efforts, made such a sound from time to time. I could feel him trying to make himself as small as possible under my wings. "Shall we find you something to eat? Lou?", I asked as quietly as possible, looking cautiously under my wing. There Lou crouched, crying, shaking his head. "Are you sure?"

  'As soon as Remy is here, we will take him back to the city. He can get something to eat there', Narcisse told me.

  'No one is giving him food!', I grumbled.

  Narcisse snorted and looked under my wing as well. 'So thin... Like a small, tender twig. Why do you care about this person? You know it's forbidden! As cute as he is. Really delightful!' The older dragon looked as if he wanted to cuddle Lou, my Vivi. But you're scolding me, huh?

  'I know it's forbidden. We stay away from the human and don't interfere in their affairs, bh bh bh. But...' I liked him. Why I liked a human of all people was not clear to me. Nevertheless... I couldn't leave him to his own devices. Not if it meant getting hurt or going into sandstorms. Why had Lou done that? 'You said he's Remy's friend too? So this is no longer a matter only of the human, is it? After all, the wizards with a covenant are part of our community!' I argued. I didn't like the wizards, but I was able to take advantage of this. 'The wizards are helping us keep the bck dragons away. In doing so, we also protect the city and are respected, right? And the wizards put our needs before those of their people. But Lou is Remy's friend. And my friend! So it's our business!' Somewhat defiantly, I lifted my chin. My arguments were a bit weak, but I hoped they would be enough.

  Narcisse looked at me with amusement. 'If you look at it that way, I guess he is', he agreed. 'How did you meet him? Veiiit?’ I snorted. Should I tell him that Lou had gone into a sandstorm? But now didn't seem like a good time for it. Why had he done that?

  Does he want to die so badly?

  Then I'll make you happy! That's a promise. Vivi? You'll ugh and smile.

  sasi