Science Fiction Story Aimee 3

He was asking me to become the friend and lover of someone who, as he admitted, was a dark and depressing soul. But a Dragon soul, nonetheless. And I had come to Hakkana to learn from him, so I supposed that would be the price I would bear. Not that I was completely against his plan, Aimee', for it had been several months since I had loved, or even touched, another, and I think my youthful manhood got the better of me. I agreed on the spot, a bit overwhelmed by lustful images of myself entwined with a Dragon.

"Do you accept?"

I spoke immediately, anxious to move forward. "Sir, I do."

He nodded. "Excellent. Come with me, and I will introduce you to your new teacher." He stood and led me out into the street.

As he led me out amidst the youthful construction, I marveled at the sights surrounding me. The city was huge, Aimee', indescribable. I have seen only one city this large since then, Aimee, and that is Arisanti. Yes, I have been there.

The low domes and bubbles that were the Megassi homes cast shadows on one another, and I was to learn that arguments about who possessed the right to another's heat were vocal and common. Although the circle wherein the young abounded in trees and bushes, beyond was only plain red stone upon which their marvelous houses were built.

"This is his," Desa announced, pointing to a dome immediately to our right. As large as others nearby, it was the brown of a duck's egg, and it glistened with the sunlight. Desa led me around. "The door is at an angle to the regular direction of the wind. In that way, a Dragon may leave his home open and not have wind blow about inside, but may step out and take wing instantly." We came to a seam in the side of the dome, a seam that ran up many feet out of sight. He knocked.

I know not the construction of the Megassi doors, but I would like to know. Like the wings of a beetle, the doors spread open, making barely a sound as they did so. "Inside," Desa said.

The smell inside had a slightly stale taste to it. Desa looked at me curiously. "Describe it."

"Sir?"

"The smell. It's foremost in your expression, young human. Describe it to me."

I did, including the stale taste and an odd, burning smell, like old rope set ablaze. He nodded. "Ryu has not been keeping his house in order." He cupped his mouth with his hands as if to amplify his voice, and shouted "Ryuchitoran!"

"Master!" As my eyes adjusted from the blazing sun outside to the darker interior, I began to see details. The center of the house rose many feet above my head. Along the interior walls platforms circled at regular intervals, providing many landing spaces for a creature used to life airborne. A bright circle of light landed on the stone floor of the dome, indicating an opening at the center of the dome where Dragons could enter while airborne. From the opposite side of the dome, two rings up, a Dragon shuffled to the edge, gripped a cylindrical brass railing and launched himself into the air. His wings spread wide and he floated down to the central floor. "I am at your service."

"That is good, Ryu, because my request of you is very difficult. I have an apprentice that I wish you to train."

"Me? Sir..." I examined Ryuchitoran closely. He was as Desa had described him; a fully formed Dragon, but only eight feet in height, a four-foot tail behind him. His scales appeared soft and supple, white tinged lightly with green, much as I had described Kirustan. His body was wide in the middle, and his wings spread out at least as long as his body in each direction. On his tail the fans that helped control his flight opened and closed reflexively. His face expressed every feeling, and even I could read them.

"Yes, Ryu."

"When do I meet him, sir?"

Desa's silvered shape turned to me. "Ryuchitoran, this is your junior apprentice, Darynn. Darynn, this is Ryuchitoran."

"A human?" I was concerned that Ryuchitoran would view me with disdain, but instead he seemed earnestly pleased to have me as his apprentice. "Wonderful! But please don't call me Ryuchitoran. All those syllables get in the way. Ryu is fine."

"Ryu, then," I said, laughing. He was certainly not what I had expected. "It's still Darynn."

"Of course it is!" Ryu returned to his teacher and said, "What are my duties, sir?"

"We have provisions for him, Ryu. He needs lodging, however, and occasionally a translator. He will be learning the basics from us, although I believe he has a broad knowledge already."

Ryu looked at me. "How long have you been studying?"

"Three years."

"Can you fly?"

"A... A little," I admitted. "I need practice."

"Then your first lesson will be about sleeping," Desa said. "Ryu, you know where to lodge him."

"Indeed I do," Ryuchia said. "There are six rings to my home, counting the floor, and you will sleep on the second." I breathed a sigh of relief; the second ring did not seem so far away. Ryu smiled, showing his teeth, a sight which I admit frightened me somewhat. "We Dragons are of the air, and we do not measure our homes the way you do." I realized his meaning and my gaze moved up to look at the two rings all the way at the top of the dome. Ryu followed my gaze and nodded. "Exactly."

"I... I can't make it all the way up there."

"Of course you can," Desa said. "Even I can see that. Ryu, I leave you with your apprentice and his devices. Darynn, take care. I will see to you in two days. In the meantime, take your learning from Ryu."

Ryu spread his winds and kicked into the air, circling around his home until he reached the second ring. "Come on, Darynn. Join me."

I swallowed hard, closed my eyes, and remembered what Thomorr had taught me about flying. I leaned my head back and opened my eyes. My destination grew closer, and I began to feel the great drag of the ground as I moved further and further away from it. The ground is jealous of the bodies that rise from its dust, Aimee', and is not so giving when we want to leave it.

As the railing grew closer the lift grew easier. I reached out for the brass rail that was apparently a fixture of each level. On beautiful metal supports it hung away from the wall, just above the level of the floor, giving Dragons something to hold.

I climbed over the railing and sat down on the stone of the ring before realizing that I had not removed my pack. I had managed to fly back. I felt good. "Is it the air?"

"It is you!" Ryu said, laughing. "You looks so stunned, Darynn. In any event, this was once my home, when I was a youth and so had a youth's bed. My father, who used to live in this dome, moved far away, and I inherited it from him."

It had a bed, although when I pulled the top sheet up dust flew, making me cough. "Sorry," Ryu said. "I haven't had time to really clean this place the way it should."

"I'll manage. Where might I find a broom?"

"Fourth ring," Ryu replied, grinning. "Over there." He gestured with a wing, and a beam of light shot from a wingtip to indicate the broom.

I surprised myself again by retrieving the broom and returning to the second ring, although by that time I was worn out and quite sure that I was done with flying for the day. "What brings you to Hakkana, Darynn?"

"I was sent to find Desa at the request of my former master, who had taught me all he could."

Ryu's head tilted slightly, as if confused. "You sound sad when you say that."

"Do I?" I asked. "I was not measuring my love for him on the basis of his teaching. His sending me away hurt a great deal. Moreso than that I left my parents, for they would not understand the son he returned to them."

"What is your teaching, then?"

I tried to think of a big word for what I was, something ostentatious. But I could not, and eventually I told the truth. "Sex magic."

Ryu didn't laugh at me as I expected. No, he took me quite seriously. "I thought that was difficult for male humans to learn. Not enough partners to practice with or something."

"It can be," I said. "There are exceptions."

Ryu nodded and didn't press the matter. "I'll leave you to clean up your room. If you desire privacy, there are sheets that can be hung from the hangers that ring this room and the next. I used the room to the right for ritual research."

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written by elf