An Unexpected Visitor

Phantom hummed one of his eerie melodies as he lazily drifted through the air before Aether. It wasn’t true humming. It wasn’t  audible to anyone but her, a strange echoing scratching song that reverberated through her mind, but he seemed to enjoy it. It had been incredibly unnerving to Aether the first time, along with nearly everything else about this creature, but she’d grown inured to it. It was almost comforting now— a reminder of the new bond she’d forged. Dragons, and their care… she’d never have even dreamt of all this a few weeks ago, before falling through that crack in reality and meeting the strange vampire elf. But now she had her own. For as monstrous of a creature as her baby Phantom was, he was oddly endearing, and she’d thrown herself into his care. Fade hadn’t even needed to endorse it, even though he had. She smiled as she watched her dragon’s languid twisting through the air, his shadowy form further silhouetted by the moonlight and stars through the window behind him.

She felt him snap to attention. It was almost like whiplash for her. His gentle drifting form grew rigid as he stared out into the shadows outside of her room in the cabin with his many eyes.“What is it?” She asked through their bond, the worry in her mind seeping through. She could almost feel Fade behind her eye now too, simply watching.
“Family.” Was Phantom’s only telepathic reply. The word didn’t carry any of the standard warmth or comfort it might bring others, just a flat calm. But more importantly, how did he know it was family? Aether had hatched his egg herself, found it in her bag somehow not long after meeting the strange vampire. She hadn’t met his family, and neither had he, at least as long as he’d been hatched for. Aether tensed up.

Two massive heads emerged from the shadows outside to glance through her window, each bearing many glowing eyes and too many limbs. Its sides were messes of teeth and gnashing maws, with hands on the tongues and its eye-studded tail. Its massive frame was shrouded in the same starry miasma as Phantom, but with shimmering strands of gold hanging in the air around it too. She could certainly see some relation, although this creature was far more nightmare than dragon or flesh. And most concerningly, its many eyes seemed to be locked directly onto her, sparing only a fleeting glance towards Phantom. Where was its rider? Didn’t the elemental dragons need riders? She couldn’t see one, but with only one working eye, she couldn’t see much of anything. She had a sense the walls here wouldn’t help anything against that beast, and it was here for her. It wouldn’t do to try and hide from it. She needed to face it head on, whatever the Nightmare wanted.

She opened her door and walked into the cool night air, Phantom drifting behind her. She didn’t bother with her shoes or her coat, she simply stepped into the dewy grass to meet the Nightmare in her nightgown. It loomed over her, its impossibly cold breath stinging her face. It took every ounce of willpower within her not to flinch beneath its overwhelming presence. It leaned down to take a great sniff of her, its pupilless white eyes seemingly staring through her. She felt Fade flinch beneath its gaze.

“It sees me.” He whispered within her mind.

Her blood ran cold, and she held her breath without a thought. The Nightmare’s mouths parted, and she became hyper aware of his massive tusks, each the size of her hand. It wouldn’t hurt her, would it? That would damn Phantom, who seemed to think this was family. Yet, every inch of her was screaming to run, to hide. She had to stop herself from recoiling from it, and forced herself to stare the Nightmare in the many eyes. Its gaze sharpened, and it only stared into her harder, seemingly puffing up. Was it trying to intimidate her? Phantom still seemed wholly unbothered by the dragon’s display, and she chose to trust that, hoping to any gods that might bother to listen to her that it was the correct choice.

“Stop that. Whatever you came here for, it certainly wasn’t to kill me, was it?” She sounded far braver than she felt, and hoped the Nightmare didn’t notice.

Of course, that was merely hope. The Nightmare threw its two heads back and laughed, a horrible scraping noise. “A thing so scared, making demands of me?” It finally asked, the laughter still coloring its horrible echoing voice. “Oh, dear. Perhaps you and your ‘friend’ were a good one to hold onto that egg after all. Phantom, you call him…” it smiled, exposing too many teeth. “I suppose it suits him.”

Aether frowned. She could feel Fade glaring at the Nightmare, and Phantom’s unshakeable calm watching the whole scenario, and this thing… it was laughing at her squirming. Stubborn irritation rose within her, and she could feel herself calming. “Well, thanks for the vote of confidence. Is that why you’re here? A wellness check?“

The Nightmare’s laughing had died out by now, and it drew its heads back to gaze down at her for more proper conversation. “Mmm… yes and no. I wished to see if he would actually hatch for you. And if not, to find him a rider elsewhere. If he had actually hatched… I wanted to see for whom. And what an odd pair you and your… parasite are.”

She could feel Fade’s irritation and discomfort pricking at the back of her mind, and tried her best to ignore it. “And? Now that you have seen?”

“I think I’d like to observe. I have a hunch that this will be interesting.” The Nightmare grinned.

“What does that mean? Don’t you have a rider somewhere? I’m not much in the mood for an adventuring party, nor an ‘observer’— and do I think my current mentor is, either.” She stared at it warily.

“No, little starry one. I am an independent dragon.” She could feel its chest puff up with that statement. “I need no rider. However, I might be willing to stick around for a bit with you… just to see what Phantom sees in and around you. And ensure that he’s been provided proper care.”

Aether stared up at the behemoth, mouth slightly agape. “What?”

The Nightmare’s grin sharpened. “Consider yourself my personal caretaker for a little. As a method of making certain you’re doing it right. And maybe, if you prove to be worth my time, I’ll stick around even longer.”

“I can make sure you don’t want for anything while you’re here, but you’re not going to just show up and eat my food and fuck off afterwords.” Phantom curled around Aether’s arm, and she frowned up at the massive dragon. “If you mean to stay here with us, you’re going to have to act like you’re with us at the very least. I’m still new to all this stuff, and you could probably help me.”

“Oh, begging me for help now, are you? The mystery monster outside your bedroom window in the middle of the night?” It laughed.

“I’m not begging for anything. But if you want to stay here and eat my food and have me care for you, I would ask for your help in return, yes.”

“Mmmmm… perhaps. Depends on how good of a job you do. But I can certainly tell you what you’re doing wrong.” The smugness was palpable in its harsh voice.

“Hmph… Fine, you have yourself a deal.” Even if she only learned what she was doing ‘wrong’, it would help her learn how to handle doing things right. He had thrown her a bone, but she suspected this beast was too proud to admit it— however she suspected she couldn’t let herself show gratitude to it either, or risk losing its respect. It was a game. She couldn't let it have any one of its many legs up on her, metaphorically speaking.

The Nightmare’s form rippled and warped, shrinking down into a size comparable to a large dog’s as it approached. She still felt uneasy, but kept her face straight. “Well then… I suppose you people tend to need rest. I’ll see what you’re made of in the morning. I do hope you have a suitable bed for me.”

“I’m certain Meilyr has something.” She sighed. This was going to be a long night.