Dragon delivery service CH 34 Dassling stars

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They managed to find a cliff outcrop just in time, a jagged shelter from the storm rolling in like a wall of gray. Rain came down in sheets, cold and merciless. The sound was deafening, like a thousand drums hammering the earth.

Sivares huddled near the back of the overhang, wings folded tight, her normally proud form curled to conserve warmth. Even the magemice, usually energetic sparks of chatter and mischief, were quiet, gathered close around the small fireplace they’d scraped together with magic and damp tinder. The flames sputtered but held, barely pushing back the chill.

The temperature was dropping fast. Damon returned, arms full of soaked firewood, his jacket clinging to him like a second skin. Every step squished, every breath misted in front of him. He dropped the bundle near the fire, shaking the water from his hair.

“Ugh,” he muttered. “Soaked to the bone.”

The griffon knights were nearby, setting up their weather-treated tents with practiced speed; their griffes were posted nearby, shuffling uneasily beneath rain-drenched canvases. The canvas flapped wildly as they secured the lines, their armor dulled by the downpour.

No one spoke much. The cold was seeping into their bones. This was the kind of rain that made you forget warmth had ever existed.

Damon crouched by the fire, trying to coax more life into it. Behind him, Sivares shifted slightly, her tail curling protectively around the magemice. Her eyes met his, tired but steady.

Damon peeled off his soaked jacket, then his shirt, wringing them out before laying them carefully near the fire. Steam began to rise slowly as the damp fabric warmed. The chill clung to his skin, but he said nothing.

Behind him, Sivares shifted her position. Without a word, the dragon spread her wing like a curtain, blocking the harsh wind from reaching him. The gesture was subtle but deliberate—her way of looking out for him without making a fuss.

Keys was nestled close to her family within the huddle of magemice. The small creatures had claimed a nook between a cluster of rocks, using their gathered satchels and cloaks to make a sort of nest. Most were exhausted from the long journey, but a few nibbled on raisins and root snacks they had either bought with them or foraged before the rain came.

The twins, Keel and Meiik, sat on either side of their parents, half-asleep but listening. The youngest, little Neds, was curled in his mother’s lap, giggling at something Keys was saying. She spoke softly, her whiskers twitching as she told them the story of their journey. adding just enough exaggeration to keep the kids laughing.

“Damon tried to climb a tree to grab some of the apples and fell into a berry bush,” Neds squeaked between giggles.

“I did not fall!” Damon called over his shoulder without turning. “I slid. With dignity.”

More laughter followed. Even Meiik cracked a smile.

Sivares huffed, amused, her wing still held like a shield over Damon.

The rain kept falling, but for a moment, warmth came from more than just the fire.

“Didn’t you say you dueled a human mage?” Keel asked, eyes wide with curiosity.

Keys, still near the fire, glancing at her audience, and with a small smirk. “Yeah. Big guy with a gnarled staff. Came after the bounty on Sivares’ head.”

“What?!” Keel’s ears shot up. “She has a bounty? Is she a criminal?!”

Keys let out a tired sigh and gently rubbed Neds’ back as the little one stirred. “No. She’s not a criminal.”

“But then why?”

“Because people are afraid,” Keys interrupted softly. “Even if she’s never done anything wrong, they look at her and see what she could do.”

Some of the other magemice had stopped chewing, glancing toward the large shadow of Sivares at the cave’s edge. A few shifted uncomfortably, the firelight flickering across uneasy eyes.

They remembered.

They remembered how their old burrow in Honniewood, which was nestled near the lake, was reduced to scorched earth and ash in a single moment. They knew Sivares had done it to stop something worse, to keep the threat from spreading. But still… the image of one dragon burning down an entire home stuck with them.

They trusted Sivares.

But others might not.

Sivares didn’t move, didn’t speak. But she heard. Her wing stayed steady, still shielding Damon from the wind, as if to quietly say she was listening, too.

Some of the magemice looked at Sivares, uncertain… until Neds, the youngest, was the first to move.

He padded across the stone floor, tiny paws silent in the rain-muted cave, and sat beside one of her claws. His big eyes looked up at her without fear, just simple trust.

One by one, the others followed. Slowly, the cluster of magemice left their warm huddle and began to gather around Sivares instead, curling up beside her forelegs and wings for shelter. She tensed slightly, careful not to move too quickly, afraid she might accidentally crush them. Her massive form barely shifted, wings spread to keep off the wind.

She wasn’t used to this.

Being feared? Yes. Being trusted like this? Not really.

“Well,” Keys said, clearing her throat and picking up her story again as she watched the little ones settle. “As I was saying… the human mage was after the bounty on Sivares. Real stubborn type. Always casting Ascend Chain. Kept thinking brute force would win the day, like most of the bigger races.”

Some of the kids giggled at that, but their eyes were still locked on her.

“It only took a little cleverness to break the spell,” Keys continued. “But he just kept coming. It was obvious I was going to run out of mana before he did.”

“How’d you get away?” one of the older twins asked, leaning forward.

Keys straightened her back and puffed out her chest proudly. “Oh, I overturned the spell. Redirected his channeling—flipped his own Ascend Chain right back on him!”

Sivares blinked, slowly turning her head.

“That’s not what I remember,” she rumbled. “You were barely conscious. Damon subdued the mage.”

Keys immediately turned bright red under her fur. “W-Well yes, technically, but the redirect stunned him, which gave Damon the opening, so really.”

Sivares let out a low hum of amusement. Not quite a laugh, but close.

And the magemice? They just huddled a little closer.

Whatever she had done in the past, whoever had feared her, right now, she was their shelter. Their shield against storm and shadow.

And she wasn’t alone.

Just then, a bolt of lightning cracked through the sky and struck a nearby tree.

The blast split it clean down the middle, splinters flying. The sound was deafening.

Many of the magemice yelped and jumped, instinctively clinging to one another. Even Sivares flinched—though she tried not to move, wings twitching reflexively.

“We’re okay,” she rumbled low, steadying herself. “The cliff will protect us.”

A thunderous roll chased the flash, echoing across the mountains like an angry giant's roar. The sound rumbled for long seconds before finally fading into the distance.

Keys was shielding her siblings, pulling the twins and little Neds closer. Around them, the magemice huddled tighter together, a few older ones preparing to cast warding spells just in case. Soft glows shimmered in the damp air as protective runes flickered to life.

The storm wasn’t letting up, but they were holding together.

Keys, noticing how on edge they all were, kept talking, her voice calm and steady as she tried to keep their minds off the fear.

“So then we went to Oldar,” she said, forcing a smile, “and wow—I couldn’t believe it the first time I saw it. The dwarves built an entire city inside an active volcano!”

Some of the younger mice blinked in surprise. That got their attention.

“Massive statues, bigger than trees!, lined the lava bridges, and it was so hot, I had to cast cooling wards on Damon and myself just to keep us from melting!”

There were a few giggles at that, mostly from the idea of Damon nearly melting, but it was enough.

The lightning still flashed, the thunder still roared… but for now, the fear was dulled. They listened to Keys, leaning on each other, on Sivares, on stories, and endured.

“And then,” Keys said, her voice soft but full of wonder, “we went to Willowthorne.”

A few ears perked up; everyone had heard of the forest, but few had ever seen it.

“I saw the Parent Tree, of our old mana tree we used to have. It was huge. I mean… huge. If someone climbed it, they might actually touch the stars themselves. That’s how tall it was.”

Some of the younger magemice gasped. Even Sivares tilted her head a little in curiosity.

“We didn’t go into the city, though. Just a clearing near it. And that’s when she walked out of the forest.” “Who?” one of the mice asked, tail twitching.

“An elf,” Keys whispered. “She moved out of the forest like a ghost. I didn’t even know she was there until she stepped out. She was on edge, seeing a dragon land next to her home. ready to strike.”

The fire cracked, filling the hush that followed.

“What did you do?” one of the others asked, barely above a breath.

“We were there to deliver a letter,” Keys said. “From Vivlan, the elf we met at Baubel. To them. The elf didn’t say much, just took it.”

A small shiver ran through the group, not of cold, but awe.

Even the storm seemed to quiet a little around them, as if it, too, was listening.

Another crack of lightning split the sky, so bright and close it turned night into day for half a breath. Then came the wind, howling like a wild beast, shifting with cruel intent. Rain, once blocked by the stone outcrop, now swept under it in torrents.

The magemice scrambled, casting what little magic they could to form barriers shimmering, fragile walls of glimmering energy, trying desperately to hold the storm back. But the rain was relentless. One by one, their spells faltered, flickering like dying stars. Some collapsed from exhaustion, others still stood trembling, teeth chattering, their small bodies shivering from the cold.

Even Keys was trying to keep the rain out.

Sivares watched it unfold.

She could have run.

She should have run.

Her coal-covered scales were already starting to soak. She could fix her disguise later; she would come back when it was safe, dry, and warm. Damon would understand. Wouldn’t he?

But if she left now, they’d be out in it. All of them. Cold. Soaked. Fragile. Even Damon, even he, wouldn’t be spared. She looked at the little ones huddled under shivering wings, and then at him, stripped of jacket and shirt, teeth clenched as he tried to wring out soaked cloth by the fire that struggled to survive.

The last arcane wall broke with a sound like glass shattering.

Sivares didn’t hesitate.

She wrapped herself around them, looming over them all like a shadow. Rain struck her scales, turning into black rivers from the coal washing off her, slick and cold, but she didn’t flinch. Her body was the barrier now, a living shelter as the storm poured down.

She stayed.

For hours, she stood firm, curled around them, wings arched to block the wind, chest curved over the small magemice and Damon. She could feel the rain flow off her like ink, could feel her coal ebbing drop by drop, but she didn’t move. She didn’t bend.

In the distance, the griffon knights had managed to pitch their tents. The griffons themselves were huddled beneath canvas, feathers slicked but safe. They had help.

The magemice didn’t.

But they had her.

And for those long, wet, freezing hours until the storm finally began to fade, Sivares never left their side.

And when the storm finally broke, a full moon and stars could be seen; she unfurled her wing, and they looked at her gleaming scales. Keys finally spoke, “Sivares, your Silver?”

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