New Friends

The stars were beautiful tonight.

Xan was on another trip and Wreng, of course, accompanied him. Sivadul did not need much convincing to join them, delightfully happy for a new journey. They were getting close to their destination, likely another day or two ahead of them before they reached it. Dark had finally fallen and they had settled down into their little camp. Usually, Wreng would have slept close to Xan’s side, ensuring that no one would dare to get close to his resting rider. 

The stars had called for him though. He had become agitated at this, not liking the idea of leaving his rider alone for a single moment. What if something happened and he was not there to protect his rider? Siva had chided him for that, reminding him that she was there and was as good of a protector as him. Wreng could not argue with her, he knew how deadly she was when either of them were put in harm’s way.

Siva did seem quite delighted that he was taking some time for himself. Wreng ignored her cooing noises and the ever pleased smile she wore. 

Still, the stars were very beautiful. 

Wreng had settled himself down into the meadow, a wide opening away from the tall trees that his family had decided to camp in. He would be able to come quickly to their aid if needed. The meadow was cooler than the forest, a cool breeze in the air that ran past him. It did not bug him.

As he admired the stars, he wondered if he could do some hunting. He had yet to eat and Siva might enjoy it. Give him a better reason to be away from his rider instead of just watching the stars. As pretty as they were, they were not a good enough reason in Wreng’s eyes to leave his rider unprotected. Or at least… leave his rider alone at all.

A snapping of twigs was a good reminder for why he should not have left his rider’s side. Immediately, his head shot up, his muscles tense as he prepared for whatever was to come. His ears twitched, swiveling around to catch whoever made the sound. They had to be close by. 

There was more snapping of twigs, his ears giving a flick as they seemed to be heading closer to him. Good. He preferred that then them running up on his resting rider and companion. His tail lashed, ready for the fight.

And suddenly, a blur of white fur dashed out from the trees. The moment he heard the scampering paws, Wreng had risen up and quickly turned to face whoever was disturbing him. Which, he didn’t get quite a good look at them. He caught flashes of whites and red and blacks before they ran around him. He snarled, his lower mouth gnashing its teeth as he whirled to follow them with their gaze. 

The white blur ran around him in a circle until his tail snapped out to trip them. The thing was an idiot because they immediately tripped over his tail, nosediving into the ground. The beast let out a whine, immediately flopping into the ground. Not a very good attacker or stalker with how loud they were.

Wreng looked at the beast before him, raising his head high to make himself seem even bigger. His tail lashed out behind him. The creature looked like a wolf except for the set of antlers they had and the patches of armor on their body. Their wings were made of similar metal, virtually useless for flight. They gave a single twitch but hovered above, staying still. An oddity considering the whirlwind the beast was tumbling.

He snarled when suddenly, the beast popped back up. He expected for them to attack but instead, the thing immediately sat down and tilted its head curiously at him. He barred both teeth when something hit him fully.

‘Friend!’

What?

The beast was grinning, tongue rolling out of their mouth at the words. He looked at them curiously, now a bit confused at what they were playing at. They only barked and that word loudly echoed in his head again while they wagged their tail. 

What a strange way of making friends.

“Leave,” Wreng growled finally, lashing his tail again. The beast didn’t, only giving another bark. Maybe they didn’t get the message. He barred his teeth again and snarled, “You are not wanted.”

The beast seemed to not care as suddenly, they were raising their head to look up at the stars he had been gazing at. Despite not wanting to, he could feel the nagging presence behind his eyes, repeating the words of friend, show! Annoying metal dragons. Reluctantly, he raised his head and before him, the stars were somehow shining even more brightly. A quick look back and he could see that the beast was amused with themselves.

For friend.