novelraw Chapter 109 35, Day 100, Part 2: Third Contact
Chapter 109 35, Day 100, Part 2: Third Contact
Gordon watched as the dragon descended, awe and disbelief warring in equal measure. It was obvious that Celeste was big, but only in the last minute of his descent did he begin to realize how large he was.
And then he got closer.
And closer.
The three humans had to brace themselves as the buffeting winds threatened to knock them over. Gordon struggled to watch the dragon land through squinted eyes, and was glad to have done so – the creature somehow landed with barely a thud despite his ridiculous size.
Traditional depictions of dragons varied throughout the ages, but they were generally shown as a mix of various creatures – a crocodile's scaled body, a tiger's head and claws, and a hawk's wings were often seen in historical artworks, while modern day depictions tended to give them a more natural appearance.
This creature, however…
"By the Twins," Scott whispered under his breath, and Gordon was not inclined to disagree; the dragon before them stood with grace and poise beyond what any painting could ever convey. Not even the bulky package attached upon his head could diminish his presence…at least, not by much.
Gordon shifted from side to side and saw no one on the dragon's back. It seemed that Celeste really was alone.
"Hello," Celeste said, and Gordon realized that the odd brassy inflection he had interpreted as distortion was actually the dragon's natural voice. "My name is Anvonh, but humans can't pronounce it, so you can call me Celeste."
"Greetings, my name is Martin Siebert, and I am the captain of the ship," Siebert said, introducing himself with a slight bow. "These two men beside me are Gordon Callan and Scott Harris."
"You can just call me Gordon," Gordon said.
"And you can just call me Scott, but are you sure you don't want us to use your real name? Avouh…no that's not right. Avounm?"
"Just…call me Celeste. It is easier for everyone," Celeste growled, the penetrating rumble causing all three humans to take an involuntary step back. The dragon tilted his head, looking oddly confused. "Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."
"No apologies needed, you merely surprised us," Siebert said, sounding only a little strained.
"Pryce never seemed very afraid of me, but he did spend a long time talking to my father first," Celeste mused. "I will try not to scare you, but it might be difficult; you are all very small."
"Thank you?" Scott said, though it came out more as a question.
"Is there anything you wanted to ask me?" Celeste asked as he stretched in an almost catlike manner. "Or can I ask about your ship now? It looks very similar to the Horizon."
"Yes, where is the Horizon?" Siebert asked.
"Over there," Celeste said, pointing somewhere north-west. "I can lead you to the ship, but it might be better to wait for Pryce."
"Alright then," Gordon said, clearing his throat. "I'd like to ask about Jane, if you don't mind. I'm glad she's alive, but is she alright?"
"Oh. That is an interesting story. Callan fell into the ocean during a storm, but she was saved by a whale who brought her to a small island. She survived alone until a dragon named Qnaro found her and helped bring her back to the ship."
"Saved by whales?" Gordon echoed blankly. "Is that a joke?"
Celeste shrugged, his wings shifting up and down. "That was what she told us."
"I don't see why you're so surprised," Scott said, glancing at Gordon. "We are talking to a dragon right now, so a clever whale isn't exactly all that far-fetched." He paused, tilting his head as a thought occurred to him. "By the way, how are you speaking Murian so well? It sounds like Pryce had to teach you, right?"
Gordon furrowed his brow; it was a good question. Celeste did speak with an oddly stilted cadence, but it wasn't nearly enough to make him difficult to understand.
"My father was the one who found Pryce first," Celeste replied. "That is how he first learned Murian, and then he started teaching me twenty days ago."
All three men stared in bewilderment at the dragon.
"Did…you just say that you started learning Murian twenty days ago?" Scott asked, his eyes wide with surprise.
"Yes, your language is very difficult to learn," Celeste said, in what seemed to be a mildly chastising tone. "My father speaks it better than I do, but he has had longer to practice. Is it my turn to ask questions now?"
"Er...yes, of course," Siebert said, shaking his head. "Though I suppose first we should thank you for helping our comrades."
Celeste blinked. "What's a comrade?"
"A comrade is…like a friend," Scott said, gesturing vaguely. "Someone who wants the same things as you."
"Oh. Like an ally. Then you are welcome," the dragon said, nodding graciously before turning to Gordon. "Why are you so curious about Callan? And why do you have the same last name?"
Gordon stood flummoxed for a moment, surprised by the personal question. "Of course; she is my wife."
Celeste cocked his head. "I don't know what that is."
"Oh…" Gordon rubbed the back of his neck, not at all prepared to define such a basic concept. "When a man and a woman want to spend their lives together, that man is called a husband and that woman is called a wife."
"Oh, so you're Callan's partner," Celeste said, his head bobbing in realization before lowering to peer more closely at Gordon, who tried not to balk at the sudden inspection. "Hmm. You three don't have any white hair like Pryce does, and your faces have less wrinkles."
"Doctor Pryce is an…older man, and that's what happens when a human gets older," Captain Siebert explained. "I think we've given the men enough time to see that you mean no harm," he said, and signaled Lieutenant Baker to stand down.
"How many humans are on this ship?" Celeste asked, eyes darting around as he watched the crewmen exit onto the deck, though none of them immediately moved to approach the dragon.
"Twenty-five in total. Normally there would be more, but…we hoped to leave room for survivors," Siebert said. The Captain turned away and cleared his throat as the men began to assemble. "Well, gentlemen, I'm afraid I have bad news: we have received confirmation that the crew of the Horizon were met with the worst of luck, and all crewmembers – with the exception of Doctor Pryce and Doctor Callan – lost their lives before the Horizon could make landfall."
"According to this dragon, I take it," Dean Clarke said, his brow furrowed with skepticism, "With all due respect, sir, my brother was on that ship. You're not saying you're just going to believe this dragon, are you? How do we know if we can trust him?"
Celeste flattened his…spines? Frills? Whatever they were, they didn't make him look very happy. "My father will arrive soon with Pryce, so you can ask him if you want, but I have no reason to lie. Also, I am female, so there is no reason to call me a 'he'."
"...Oh," someone in the crowd said.
Celeste swung her head around, surveying the crowd. "I understand how you would not be able to tell if I was male or female, but why did you all assume I was male?"
Gordon abruptly realized why the dragon had been given a feminine name, and felt rather abashed – he was fairly certain he was the first to refer to Celeste's voice as 'he'. "Human males are larger and have deeper voices," he said, feeling somewhat responsible for this situation. "I didn't know you were a dragon, and your voice sounded like a man's. I apologize for not asking."
"Humans are so strange," Celeste muttered under her breath – an action that was well audible given the volume of her voice. "Does anyone have any other questions?"
"...You uh, aren't going to eat anyone, are you?" Leonard asked.
Celeste drew her head back, her spines flattening against her neck. "Of course not! Why would I do that?"
The chef scratched his neck. "Well…er…you're very big, and…you have very long teeth…?"
"That's not a good reason at all," Celeste snorted. "Being bigger just means I have more meat, so if you think about it, it actually makes more sense for me to be afraid of being eaten by you than it is for you to be afraid of being eaten by me." She shifted a little upon delivering this conclusion, and suddenly looked somewhat uncomfortable.
Most of the crew seemed too stupefied to notice, however, and they were slow to appreciate her bizarre yet admittedly sound logic.
"I…suppose that makes sense?" Leonard asked, and silence fell upon the ship, with no one moving to speak for a few incredibly awkward moments.
Out of the corner of his eye, Gordon saw Scott raise his hand and step through the crowd to approach Celeste. "Sorry if this is rude, but…can I touch you?"
Celeste cocked her head. "Okay, but only if I get to touch you first."
Scott glanced down at her formidable talons, each one the length of his forearm, and back up at her face…or rather, her jaws.
"I promise not to hurt you," she said, evidently sensing his hesitation.
"Er…okay then." Scott shuffled forward, then stood stiff as a mannequin as Celeste slowly raised a forearm. The crew watched with baited breath as Celeste slowly patted Scott on the head.
"Hmm," she rumbled, then nudged his face with the backside of a talon. "Your body is very soft. Is that why you all wear clothes?" she asked, poking at a button.
"I think so?" Scott said, eyes still locked on her talons. "They can look nice too. The clothes, I mean."
"That is true. You can touch me now, if you want," Celeste said, extending her head. "Just don't touch my ears; they're sensitive." She raised a taloned hand to point at her spines, which flicked for emphasis.
Scott cautiously raised his hand, and gently patted the dragon's forehead. The scales were tough, as expected, and surprisingly warm. The sensation itself was not uncomfortable, but it wasn't anything like petting a dog – especially not with how Celeste simply stared at him throughout the entire process.
"Okay, that's enough," Celeste said, pulling her head away.
Scott lowered his hand and looked around to see that the rest of the crew had gotten closer, apparently emboldened by the fact that he hadn't been eaten.
"...I did not realize there were so many of you," Celeste said, drawing back in an almost…anxious manner? She glanced around, then shuffled back to sit against a bulwark. "There…now, how about this: you tell me something I don't know about humans or the ship, and I let you touch my head, okay?"
"I'm sorry about your sister, sir," Gordon said. The captain had been standing off to the side, watching as the crew gradually became more comfortable with approaching Celeste once they were convinced that the dragon wasn't going to eat them.
Siebert did not immediately answer, and Gordon was beginning to think he hadn't been heard when the captain finally answered.
"She never did have the best luck," Siebert sighed. "...We should have been on that ship," he said, after a moment.
"We should have," Gordon agreed. "But we weren't."
"No. We weren't." Siebert closed his eyes and breathed deeply. "And now there's nothing I can do for her. Not with…" he gestured towards the dragon, who was currently complaining about her wings being ticklish. "That."
"Yeah. I don't think anyone expected talking dragons," Gordon said drily. "Shit. Got any idea what we should do next?"
"We don't have enough information to commit to anything yet," Siebert sighed. "Apparently Doctor Pryce and Doctor Callan will be here soon, so for now, we wait."
"...Right," Gordon murmured. It was intensely uncomfortable to mention Jane's miraculous survival when the captain's own sister had perished.
"Gordon," Sibert said. The engineer looked up, and saw a ghost of a smile on the captain's face. "You're a lucky man, you know that?"
"...Understood, sir."
"This is Doctor Alexander Pryce speaking. Daybreak, please acknowledge," Pryce said. He'd begun repeating the request ever since Fathom had seen the plume of smoke emanating from the Daybreak, but he had yet to receive a reply.
Still, that didn't worry Pryce – he was more concerned with the fact that Celeste may have already found the ship. The young dragon was usually quite level headed, but she was notably impatient when compared to her seniors.
"Still nothing?" Fathom asked, also not for the first time.
"Nothing," Pryce said, just as he heard a crackle.
[Doctor Pryce!] a familiar voice said over the radio. [There…are. 'Celeste' told us you…]
"Hello? Your signal is weak, I can't understand you!" Pryce shouted into the radio.
[Damn radi…land on deck, talk later?]
"Copy, land on deck, talk later," Pryce confirmed.
[Copy…you soon.]
"It sounds like Celeste found them first," Pryce said as he fiddled with the antenna.
"Oh. That's good, I suppose," Fathom grumbled. "At least she can do most of the explaining for us."
Fathom reported seeing a good number of humans on deck as they approached the Daybreak, most of which were gathered in a lineup extending from Celeste – though the congregation swiftly fell apart to watch as Fathom made his descent.
"How did you reach the ship before me?" Fathom grumbled as Pryce detached himself and clambered down onto the recently cleared-out portion of the deck.
"I had good wind," Celeste said, her head held high in a self-satisfied manner.
"Doctor Pryce," Captain Siebert greeted, "I'm glad to see you well."
Pryce smiled, a bittersweet expression. "Likewise, Captain Siebert."
"Is it true, then? That you and Doctor Callan are the only survivors?"
Pryce's eyes wandered to the rest of the crew, their faces a mosaic of vain hope and dread. "I'm afraid so," he said, drawing several expletives from the crowd.
"How did this happen?!" Dean demanded, stepping towards Pryce. "How the fuck did only two people survive in a crew of forty?"
Pryce braced himself, clasping his hands behind his back. "I don't know. I believe some kind of engine malfunction caused a backflow of carbon monoxide to asphyxiate the entire crew, but I didn't have the resources to confirm the identity of the gas."
"That shouldn't have been possible…were the engines damaged?" Gordon grimly asked.
"That's the confusing part. After I cleared out the bad air the engines seemed to work fine, and I was able to man the ship myself to make landfall a few thousand kilometers away."
"That doesn't make sense at all," Gordon said, furrowing his brow. "We should examine the Horizon as soon as possible, especially if the disaster was the result of a design flaw shared by the Daybreak."
"Indeed," Captain Siebert grimly replied. "Doctor Pryce, what did you do with the bodies?"
Pryce grimaced. "I buried them with Fathom's help. I have the coordinates, of course, but…"
Siebert pressed his lips into a thin line. "The families will want the bodies returned to the Mainland. I will need to give this matter some thought."
"Well I don't know about you, but I'm not going to let my brother rot halfway across the world," Dean spat.
"That's enough, Mr. Clarke," Captain Siebert warned. "Do try to remember that you're not the only one who has lost family today."
"Yes, you are being very rude," Fathom added, his words rumbling with a dangerous undertone. "Pryce almost died trying to bury his crew. Why are you mad at him when you weren't even there?"
"Why you-" Dean stammered, "I was injured, you-"
"Enough!" Captain Siebert barked. "Sailor Clarke, If you have nothing better to do, then you may go and see if the engineers require any assistance."
This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.
"Don't take it personally," Gordon said to Pryce as Dean stormed off. "He was…quite close with his brother."
"Regardless, it's no excuse for improper behavior," Siebert austerely replied.
Pryce nodded grimly. "I understand. But I'm sorry about your sister, Captain. Doctor Siebert was a valued colleague."
Siebert nodded woodenly, his lips pressed into a thin line. "We must mourn our losses on a later day. Now, when can we expect Doctor Callan's arrival?"
"They should be here in half an hour," Fathom said, peering at the insignia upon Siebert's uniform. "So, you are the leader of these humans?"
"I am," Siebert nodded. "Celeste says that we may call you Fathom, and that we have you to thank for helping Doctor Pryce."
"That is correct," Fathom nodded complacently. "But you do not need to thank me; I helped Pryce because I wanted to."
Siebert raised an eyebrow. "Still, your help is appreciated," he said, and turned to Pryce. "Since we have time until Doctor Callan arrives, would you mind telling us everything that happened in detail?"
"Of course," Pryce nodded, and began recounting his story.
"So, any questions?" Pryce asked when he finished giving the abridged series of events.
Only a few crewmen were required to keep the ship on course, and given the extraordinary nature of events Captain Siebert had allowed the majority of the crew to stay and listen to Pryce's story. Most of the sizable crowd consisted of men who Pryce barely recognized.
"I have a question," a stranger said. "So when you two first met, Fathom – who you didn't know was intelligent at the time – lands on the Horizon, kills a bunch of these color-changing raptors, and the first thing you do is to talk to him?" he asked incredulously. "You got a hell of a pair on you, doc."
Fathom shared a confused look with Celeste. "'A pair' of what?" he asked, looking to Pryce for clarification. "It sounds like a Draconic expression, but humans don't have horns."
Art by Rackiera
Pryce pressed his lips together, resisting the profound urge to sigh. "It's a stupid human expression. I'll explain later," he said, glaring at the careless man who at least seemed to realize his error, judging by his mortified expression.
"I have a question too," another man said.
"Of course," Pryce said, turning to the inquirer. At first he had been merely relieved at the distraction, but his eyes widened as he recognized the young man. "Mr. Harris? It's been some time," he said, shaking Scott's hand. "I'm surprised to see you here, but I'm glad to see you're doing well. Scott Harris here was one of my students, five years ago," he explained to Fathom.
"Oh!" Scott said, surprised. "I'm honored that you remember me, but please, call me Scott."
"Well, Scott, what was your question?"
Scott paused, his eyes darting between the dragons uncertainly. "Do you mind letting Doctor Pryce ride on your back?" he asked Fathom.
"Of course not," Fathom chuffed, "He is very light, so I barely notice his weight."
"Great, then you have no problem taking me flying right? Please?" Scott asked, eyes shining bright with excitement.
Fathom flattened his spines and eyed the young man with a dubious air. "Why do humans want to go flying so badly? You don't even have any wings!"
"Maybe they want to fly because they don't have any wings?" Celeste suggested.
Fathom paused as he considered this. "Hmm…that makes sense, actually."
Scott's eyes widened. "Does that mean you'll take me flying?"
"I didn't say that," Fathom huffed, "and no, because if I say yes then everyone here will want a ride, and besides, I can see Aurum flying towards us."
Pryce looked up, and saw that there was indeed a vaguely dragon-shaped dot in the sky.
"That's her?" Gordon asked, raising a pair of binoculars to his eyes.
"That's her," Pryce confirmed.
Five minutes later, Aurum landed upon the ship.
"Hello," the golden dragon said as a familiar woman dropped to the ground, her eyes locked onto Gordon despite her stumbling gait.
"Jane, I-" Gordon said, but was interrupted by Jane pulling him close and-
«What are they doing?» Aurum asked in hushed tones.
«I don't know,» Fathom whispered back. "Pryce, what are they doing?"
"It's called kissing," Pryce said tiredly as he and every other human aboard the ship averted their eyes. "It's a thing humans do to express affection to their partners."
"Weird," Fathom huffed as Jane and Gordon broke apart.
"Sorry," Jane said unrepentantly. "Promised myself I'd do that if I survived…that and apologize."
"I'm sorry too," Gordon said before sheepishly noticing the awkward atmosphere. "But, ah, we should talk about that later."
"Doctor Callan," Captain Siebert said, evidently ignoring her momentary indiscretion. "It is good to see you survived such a disaster."
"It's good to see you, Captain," Jane said, "and yes, I'm…very lucky to be alive."
Gordon leaned over to Jane. "Is it just me or is your dragon staring at me?" he whispered.
"I am not 'her' dragon," Aurum chuffed. "And she spoke about you very much, so I was curious to see what you look like." He sounded a little disappointed.
Siebert cleared his throat as he looked up at Aurum. "You're Aurum, yes? Thank you for saving one of our own."
Aurum cocked his head, likely confused by the expression. "If you are saying thank you for saving Jane, then you are welcome," he said, dipping his head. "I can not speak your language very well. Please use simple words, or explain what they mean."
"Ah. Apologies – er, sorry," Siebert said, stumbling before swiftly recovering his composure. "I will try to use simple words. Doctor Pryce just told us about your plans, and how you two have been gathering allies. Tell me, how many dragons would you expect to be at this gathering?"
"Normally there would only be about one or two thousand at this location," Fathom said, "but many will be interested to learn about humans, so it will probably be closer to five or six thousand."
"Your plan was to meet six thousand dragons by yourself?!" Gordon demanded incredulously.
"It's not as bad as it sounds," Callan said defensively. "I'm sure Pryce has already told you about how they've known about us for hundreds of years, so they're all eager to learn more about us."
"This is the best plan we have," Pryce said. "Dragons have no unified body of government or any form of mass leadership, so broad appeal is the only viable path."
"I see…" Siebert said, chin in his hands. "Are you sure going to this…festival is a good idea?"
Pryce frowned. "What do you mean?"
"The rest of mankind knows nothing of this island nor its inhabitants," Siebert began. "Not only does that not change if we fail, but we condemn every subsequent expedition by sending them to an island of hostile dragons." He paused, letting the weight of his argument sink in. "Your allies must already know much about humans, and I see no reason why they cannot be the ones to teach the other dragons. As such, the most sensible plan of action is to bring this intelligence back to our homeland."
"...What did he say?" Aurum asked Jane, who stood dumbstruck.
"You want to leave? Now?" she asked, baffled.
"Captain Siebert brings up a good point," Pryce said, "but I don't think it's a good idea to jeopardize their first impression of us by disappointing them."
"Leaving now is a very bad idea," Fathom rumbled, "You can't expect us to tell everyone else that 'oh humans can do this and this, but they left so everyone just has to trust me'."
"That is a fair point…" Siebert murmured. "What is the state of the Horizon?"
"Superficial damage to the hull," Pryce answered. "The ship has about 40% fuel left, and some of it will have degraded a little in the past hundred days, which might impact engine performance."
"Why not just do both?" Fathom asked. "You have two ships, so one group of humans can stay, and the other group can go home."
Siebert paused as he considered this. "I…would need to ask for volunteers to stay here," he said slowly, and turned around to see a crowd of crewmen standing expectantly.
"Where's Xylem?" Pryce asked as the crew of the Daybreak boarded the Horizon.
"Still gathering the others, I think," Fortitude said. "This other ship looks very similar to this one," she noted, watching curiously as the humans clambered from one ship to another.
"She looks the same, but she's got a better engine," a passing crewman said.
"She?" Celeste asked, "Why are you calling it a 'she'? Ships can't make smaller ships...can they?"
"Of course not," another crewman said, "but the Daybreak's still a beautiful lady, isn't that right boys?"
Several other crewmen called out their agreement, and their laughter only confused Celeste further.
"Humans just like to refer to ships as female," Pryce explained.
"Hmph," Celeste snorted. "Humans are weird. They also thought I was male before I told them I wasn't."
"Makes sense, since their males are larger," Fathom said as he watched the laughing crew. "I thought these humans would be sadder about your crew," he quietly murmured to Pryce.
"I don't recognize most of these people. Director Kirk should've been the one who selected the crew of the Daybreak. She must have chosen people who weren't too close to the crew of the Horizon in case the worst happened." Pryce paused, frowning. "But it is strange that she allowed Captain Siebert to come when his sister was on the Horizon."
"He was the original captain," Callan shrugged. "He must've been most qualified."
"That must have been the case," Pryce murmured. "Speaking of, where is the captain?"
It didn't take long for Siebert to pack his scant few belongings, but he ran through his checklist twice to be certain.
Nothing was amiss.
Task done, he sat down in his chair and opened a drawer to retrieve a framed photograph. It was a family photograph, taken shortly after the outbreak was declared to be over.
Siebert stood smiling with her husband and son, who was now an orphan at 10 years old.
He wondered if he would ever see him again.
A knock on the door broke him out of his reverie.
"Come in."
"Captain," Doctor Pryce said, walking into the room. "I would like to talk to you about transferring food from the Daybreak-" he paused, apparently seeing the packed belongings. "I…wasn't aware that you'd be coming with us," he said after a moment.
"These people are under my command, and their welfare is my responsibility. A captain must naturally be with the crew in times of crisis," Siebert said, turning to face Pryce.
"...Of course," Pryce said, his eyes flicking away from the photograph on the table. "I've spent the last few days organizing the belongings of my crewmates, and I feel like you should have these." He offered two objects to Siebert, who accepted them with a raised eyebrow.
"I've put everything I've learned since my arrival into that notebook, while the package contains Doctor Siebert's personal belongings."
For a time, the captain merely stared at the package in his hands. "...Thank you," he eventually managed.
"You're welcome. I'll leave you to finish your packing," Pryce said, turning to leave the room, "We can discuss the supplies later."
The captain continued to stare at the package for a few more moments, then moved to place it under his desk. He paused, reconsidering, then ultimately decided to bring it along with the rest of his possessions.
On the beach, Helsha, Kharno, Lakath, Nanzo, and the twins Yantha and Karoth sat as the two ships drew nearer.
«Are you sure there's not enough room on the ships?» Yantha asked.
Kharno shrugged. «There might be, if there were no humans around.»
«I see,» Yantha said, and the group fell into an awkward silence.
«So…can you really hear well enough to fly?» Yantha asked Lakath, who snorted dismissively.
«I got here somehow, didn't I?» she asked, tossing her head.
«Oh. Right.»
The uncomfortable silence returned, and Helsha was beginning to mildly regret having left his home.
«So, what does everyone want from humans?» Kharno asked.
«We want to travel to other lands,» Yantha said, with Karoth nodding his agreement.
«That would be quite interesting,» Kharno agreed. «What about you two?»
«We're here to help Jooral-ǂ and Ghorrah-ǂ» Lakath said, «But these humans are quite interesting. I think I'd like to hear their music, if they have any.»
Helsha was hesitant to answer, but he supposed talking was somewhat preferable to uncomfortable silence. «It is hard to decide on one thing in particular, but I am very interested in their medicine.»
The stilted conversation continued a little while longer, and soon the ships were only a few lengths away.
The great steel vessels plowed through the sand as they ground to a halt, then what appeared to be thick metal ropes dropped into the ocean, though Helsha wasn't sure of their purpose.
The dragons aboard the ship leapt onto the beach as a hole in the metal shell opened up, and a hesitant stream of humans began to trickle out.
"Don't go into the forest," Pryce warned before the humans stepped onto the beach. "The beach is fine with the dragons around, but remember what I said about the raptors. You won't see them until it's too late."
With this last warning, the hatch was finally opened.
Scott was one of the first humans to leave the ship, though he wasn't sure which dragon to talk to first – they came in so many colors! Ultimately he decided that the green dragon with the frosted scales and patterned wings seemed most interesting, and approached him until he arrived at what felt like a respectable distance.
"Wow," Scott said, "you dragons come in all sorts of colors, don't you?"
"I can not under stand Murian," the verdant green dragon said, with incongruously good pronunciation.
"He only started learning your language today," the old grey dragon named Fortitude explained, "I can help translate if you want."
"Thank you, I appreciate it," Scott said, "It's not insulting to ask why he looks a bit different, does he?"
"Our colors change depending on our diet," Fortitude explained. "Green is a common color, but his green is darker than most. He also is older than the rest of them, which is why his scales are a bit white, but he is still younger than Devotion and me."
"Okay, so scales are like hair," Scott nodded. "That reminds me, how old are you?"
"I am three hundred-and-thirty-seven years old."
"...Oh."
Pryce brought the phonograph out onto the beach, encouraged by Celeste's insistence that Echo wanted to hear human music. It was a good idea, and it would give the unfamiliar humans and dragons something to bond over.
"Any suggestions?" Pryce asked as he set the device upon the beach.
"Dancing Under the Moonlight is a classic," Gordon suggested.
"If you want a classic you should play Harper's Seventh Symphony," Dr. Hart said. "Can't go wrong with good ol' Harper."
"How about…Like The Morning Dew?" Captain Siebert suggested.
"Like The Morning Dew it is," Pryce said, ignoring how the dragons peered at the phonograph as he filed through the vinyls.
«What is that?» Yantha asked as he peered closely at the device.
«It's called a 'phonograph', and it's something that can talk and make music,» Fathom explained.
The twins stared incredulously. «That thing can talk?» Karoth demanded.
«Just wait,» Fathom said smugly. «You'll see soon enough.»
«What does it look like?» Echo asked, clicking as she tried to locate the subject of their conversation. «There's too many humans standing around,» she grumbled, «I can't tell what's going on.»
«I…don't know how to explain it,» Nanzo said apologetically. «Most of it looks like a box with legs, but on top is a strange thing that almost looks like a conch shell.»
«Be quiet, it's starting soon,» Fathom hissed.
True to his word, melodic notes began to trickle out of the phonograph, though the music sounded quite different from what Pryce had played for Fathom so far.
Have you heard of Coalburn town?
There lived a girl dressed in blue
Memories of her warm as the sun
Glittered in my mind like the morning dew
Then came the day our township bled
Though comrades cheered 'the day is won'
Battles continued, only just begun
Have you heard of Coalburn town?
There lived a girl dressed in blue
Memories of her fade come the sun
Vanishing away like the morning dew
The last few sorrowful notes trailed off before the track ended, leaving only static to play over the stunned silence.
"Did they like it?" Siebert asked into the silence.
«I…have never heard anything so beautiful,» Echo said, the first to speak.
«This…how can this thing make music like that?» Yantha asked hesitantly.
Fathom shrugged. «It's too complicated to explain, but they can show you more music if you want.»
«Of course!» Echo exclaimed, rousing a chorus of similar agreements.
The dragons spent the rest of the day listening to various pieces from various regions, though none of them learned that their reactions were being filmed by a camera from the deck of the Daybreak.
The sun had set by the time the Horizon had finished refueling, and Pryce sat in a chair to watch as humans and dragons clumsily communicated with each other. Fathom, Celeste, Fortitude, and Devotion were the only ones who had any degree of fluency, and they grew weary after several hours of translating. Pryce could understand most of their words if they spoke slowly and clearly, but of course his efforts at translating human speech into Draconic were met largely with confusion – though he was understood on rare occasions.
"Humans can…talk…away…from ocean?" Xylem asked in his stilted Murian.
"We can talk across the ocean, but we need special tall machine," Gordon explained, gesturing animatedly. "Very big, very tall, ship no can carry."
"You have…hrrn," Helsha growled in frustration. "«Hironh», what is human word for «reiska»?"
"Proof," Fathom tiredly said.
"You have proof for this?" Helsha asked Gordon.
"Humans on Mainland use machine, machine can talk across ocean every day, same time…I can show you that," Gordon offered.
"Good. You show me this tomorrow."
"It's pretty nice, isn't it?" Pryce sighed as he sat down next to Fathom, exhausted by the long day.
"What is?" Fathom asked.
"Humans and dragons. Talking and eating together," Pryce said, gesturing vaguely to the scene before them.
At some point someone had mentioned human cooking, which led to the dragons swiftly hunting down several prey items for the crew to cook. Now the scent of spices and herbs intermingled with the roasting meat, and the twins had to be waved off from eating the meat before it had finished cooking.
"A little, I guess," Fathom grumbled.
"Only a little?"
"It is…a nice feeling," Fathom admitted, "but I will feel nicer when I've had some food. Let's go get some before everyone else eats our share."
The sun had fully set by the time everyone had eaten their fill, the new moon making the milky way seem far brighter than usual.
"Excited for the eclipse tomorrow?" Scott asked, yawning as he sat down next to Pryce.
Pryce blinked. "Oh, I can't believe I almost forgot! Are you prepared to record the data?"
"Ready as we'll ever be," Scott chuckled. "By the way, Captain Siebert wanted to see you about how much food the Horizon has."
"Ah, thank you for telling me, I'll go have a word with him," Pryce said, standing up to leave.
Scott watched as Pryce left, and realized he was standing alone with Fathom.
"So, was meeting Doctor Pryce as surprising for you as it was for him?"
"It was more surprising for me, I think," Fathom said, chuffing in amusement. "Especially when he started explaining what 'science' was."
"I can imagine that," Scott chuckled. "But Doctor Pryce was one of the best professors I've ever had, so you were pretty lucky to have him be the one to teach you."
Fathom tilted his head thoughtfully. "...Yes, I was," he said, though Scott didn't know why he sounded so hesitant about it. Maybe he was just shy?
"Well, he was just as lucky that you found him too," Scott said, "Being all alone like that, I can't even imagine what it was like."
Fathom blinked. "Is being alone so bad for humans?"
"It depends, but yeah. Some people probably would've gone insane if they had to be alone for so long…Doctor Callan must have had it rough." Scott paused. "Oh, right, some dragons like to live alone, so I guess things are just different for you. For humans, having someone to talk to is really important. You probably saved his life just by talking to him."
Fathom lowered his gaze, apparently deep in thought. "It didn't seem like it was that important to him," he said, after a moment.
"Well, it is a bit awkward to talk about," Scott said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Anyway, I ought to try and get some sleep now, though I'm not sure how well that's going to go. See you tomorrow!"
"Yes, see you tomorrow," Fathom said absently, his head still lowered in contemplation.
Sharnha stuck his head out from his hiding spot and looked up at the night sky.
The sun had long since set, and anyone who would've noticed his departure would have surely fallen asleep by now.
His wings silently carried him to the east under the cover of the black moon. In the morning he would arrive at the human ship with an important message; Vosae had finally arrived at the Plateau, and she had brought along with her fifteen other members of her clan.