The Dragon and the Hybrid

(2) The Visitor

"If life were predictable it would cease to be life, and be without flavor." -Eleanor Roosevelt

Rogan

It’s midnight, and I can’t fall asleep knowing that a dangerous Draconi shifter is just in the next room from me. Ragor is safely tucked beside me, which is a relief, but then my parent’s room is just in front of where the stranger is.

The worry kept me awake. My parents have told me that I worry too much, but I only worry about things that would harm my fragile human mother. Dad had always made it a rule to remind my brother and me that she’s different from us. We’re ore hardy compared to her, even being hybrids.

Mama used to scoff and roll her eyes whenever Dad reminds us, but he’s not wrong. She’s so prone to accidents that the three of us often just worry or fret over her for being clumsy. Dad often hovers her because of it, and though it irritates her, she knows he’s right.

The heat of my blood keeps me awake as well, my flames haven’t been listening to me at all, and it does bother me. It’s been a while since I’ve experienced this. My flames manifested when I was four years old when we ran away from a crowd of humans that wanted us gone from their town. Before I know it, flames erupted out of me while Dad held me, and thankfully it was him and not Mom.

Ragor stirs in his sleep and finally let’s go of me to move on to his side. I hear a loud groan, which made me sit up. That could only be one person in the house to groan like that, and I don’t want him to shift in the middle of our home when everyone is sleeping.

Hopefully, Mom and Dad are too tired to hear him. They did wrestle him to the bed, and Dad had to carry him from where he saw the Draconi to his carriage then at home. Mom’s work as an on-call doctor is labor-intensive with how long she needs to walk, especially when Dad had to take the horses to go to the town center.

Sneaking into his room, I see him writhing on the bed. His muscles straining under his skin. The blanket on the floor and his hands shifting into claws and dragging onto the mattress. His face is in turmoil, and he scowls. This sent an urgency in me as I look around and see the painkillers laid out on the nightstand beside the bed. I take it and quickly went to the man’s side.

“Hey” I softly whispered. I touch his arm. He is sweating profusely that the bed is soaked as well as his bandages. “I’m here, you’re safe”

He groans. His eyes opening just a bit for me to see a glimmer between them. He does not say anything, probably still lucid. He doesn’t know what is what or where he even is. I mix the painkiller in a glass of water and help his head up.

“Drink this, it’ll help with the pain” I whisper again. My eyes fixated on the claws that were still out and scratching the bedding. His eyes aren’t focusing, but he still took a sip from the glass I tipped towards his lips.

Putting my fingers on his throat, I make sure that he’s swallowing the liquid and not choking on it. He sighs, and a few seconds later, his body is relaxing, and his claws retract back to human nails. I let his head go.

“Wait” He rasps. His hand catching the sleeve of my nightgown, and he tugs on it. His human fingers look large and muscly. “Where… am I?”

I take a seat on the space of the bed on his side. “Adellaide, near the ports, but we’re in the other way, just in the outskirts of town. You’re safe”

I should be scared. I know I should, mostly because he is a frightening-looking Dracone. Ever since the moment, he got here, but right now, all I see is an injured person. His scars say he went through a lot, and even if he was Draconi, meaning he has a youthful look, he looks older than I am by a few years. Dad says I inherited my Mom’s soft heart and coldness, which is a strange combination, but Dad likes it. He says being too soft or hard is not suitable for any daughter of his, and he’s glad that I have both.

It’s not this Draconi’s fault that I have this power that could hurt my Mom. It’s not his fault I’m frightened of any other Draconi who labeled us mutts and mongrels.

His face constricts. “How…long till the capital?”

“For you? A month at best” I look at the horrible gash on his midsection. Mom did what she can to stitch him and clean the wound, but only fate can say what would happen. Fate and antibiotics.

He growls. “No, I meant distance”

“If you have an engine, a day at best, but sadly everything here is by horse-drawn carriage. So, a week.”

He lets out a frustrated sigh. His head drops back to his pillow, and he lets my sleeve go. He blinks, and finally, his indigo eyes focus and glimmers as he glares at the ceiling. The veins on his neck protruding as his jaw clenches. “Aegir’s flame” he hisses.

Mom used to believe that the holy Aegir gave me the gift of flames. A dragon with saint-like powers that was believed he made Dracone what it is today. In the capital, the palace is constructed on top of his old nest. A small hill with an alcove in the middle, where he used to slumber and release white flames. The imperial family was said to have been descended from the holy Aegir by mating in their dragon forms.

“Your wounds would need more than a month to heal. What’s the hurry?” I don’t know why I said those words when I wanted him gone a few hours ago. He’s too dangerous to be in the same house if he knew what my brother and I are or just put two and two together with my parents being of different species. He could react violently.

He’s a shifter. He can easily hurt my family and me if he wanted to, especially with a large body like his that looks battle-hardened. We’ll quickly be slaughtered even if Dad knows how to fight. A shifter is just impossible to contend with.

The shifter’s gaze finally focuses enough to meet mine. His look is softer as his violet eyes pierce my own slightly darker ones. He goes silent for Aegir knows how long, and I find myself fiddling with my dress in anticipation.

“I…a month…” he whispers.

“Yes, or more for your wounds to be fully healed. It was not an easy feat what my mother did” I take a look outside my window. It’s dark, but the moon is full and lit the inside of the room enough for me to have an obscure look on his face. I must admit how beautiful the outside is right now.

“Thank you.” He says.

Looking back at him, it’s easy to tell that he’s not the kind which quickly says those words. He’s a large man with what looks like a rough life. The tone of his voice bespoke of dominance and a way with him. He doesn’t take words lightly, even though he’s been itching to get to the capital. I don’t blame him for wanting to run from this side of the country.

“I didn’t heal you” I pat his arm. “But I think you should sleep and get some rest.”

“You still have my thanks. It’s coming to me now that I would’ve died on the side of the road if it wasn’t for your family”

Licking my lips, I nodded. “Rest, and if it’s starting to hurt again, there is medicine on the nightstand. Take it, and it’ll relieve enough for you to be lucid.”

“Wait” he says just as I was closing the door behind me.

I c***k it open to let my head in. “Yes?”

“What’s your name?”

“I would tell mine if you tell yours” I smile at him.

He grins. I could see the whites of his teeth as well as the sharp edges of it. “Call me Arius”

“Rogan” I answer back. “Good night”

It wasn’t until I laid on my bed that I realized that I felt no sizzle or boiling in my blood when I was in that room. My flames were almost nonexistent and utterly silent in me, which made it even harder to sleep that night.

In the morning, I Ragor wakes me, he looks down at me with that perplexed look, and I could only chagrin as I wipe the sleep off my eyes. I’ve never been the one who sleeps in when the sun is up. We have chores, and I prefer to finish them as fast as I can to have the time to read and study with my mother if we can.

“I got dressed first before you” he says. His brows knotted together.

 I nod. “A rare occurrence that would never happen again”

He frowns. “Never is a strong word”

I smile. Poking his chest, I push him back to have the space to stand from the bed and change my clothes. He quickly turns away when I stripped. I keep forgetting he’s at that age now. When he was young, this was no big deal. He has seen us all naked, and we’ve seen him naked. He’s a growing boy now, and that somehow pains me even more.

“You won’t see me sleeping in again. Go to Mom for breakfast before she calls.”

Ragor nods. “I-I’ll wait for you at the breakfast table then”

He leaves, and I take out the plainest brown dress that I have. Its collar is large that it shows my collar bones, and I don’t like that. I take a white collared blouse to wear under the dress before marching out of my room. I linger on Arius’s door but hurried to the breakfast table once I passed.

Mom is already sitting together with Ragor on the table with plates and food laid out. I hear Dad in the kitchen, whistling and making his usual noise in it. His cooking would often surprise people since he doesn’t look like the type who enjoys the chore, but as reckless as he is, he’s a very organized man in the kitchen. He often gets mad when we label things wrong.

“You’ve woke up late” Mom says the moment my butt lands on the chair. She gives me a questioning gaze with her brows raised. Elbows on the table and hands clasped together to support her head laying there.

I purse my lips. “Yeah, had problem sleeping”

“Did I keep you up?” Ragor asks me.

“No, there was just a lot in my mind” I answer with a smile.

Mom’s face starts to get worried again. “My dear, my hand is fine”

Glancing at her bandaged hand, it clearly wasn’t, but it’s odd that I haven’t thought of that until now. I smiled at Mom and nodded still. “Ma, what are we going to do with the shifter in Ragor’s room?”

Mom shrugs. “What we always do. We help and let them go”

“My bed is going to be so soaked in blood” Ragor says with a smile. “So cool”

“I would never understand, little boys,” Mom says with a strange look on her face, but there’s a warm expression to it.

I can’t help but smile as well. Ragor is a pure boy through and through. Dad comes out of the kitchen with our breakfast, and he gives me that look of wonder, which I know is because of me waking up late. We usually eat breakfast after I’m done with chores, so this is an unusual sight indeed.

“Tired and couldn’t sleep” I answer before he could even ask me about it.

Dad sits beside Mom, and his face is just filled with worry. “Do you need any medicine for it?”

“It’s just once, my love” Mom says to Dad. “Though if it does persist, then I expect you to tell me, young lady”

I nod. Not telling them about my encounter with Arius is safer. I went to him to make sure that he doesn’t shift due to the pain and kill my family.

“I’ll give him some food” Dad rises from his seat and walks to Arius’s room without any qualms about it.

The three of us just started eating while waiting for him to come back. Ragor smiles at me, his grin from ear to ear while I look at him questioningly. He is still a kid who likes to joke around and often pranks us when he wants to. I’ve seen him put horse poop on the front steps of our house to prank us or tease me from time to time.

“What is it?” I poke his side.

“Can we go to town?” He asks me.

“You know that I can’t come with you, perhaps you should go with Dad” it’s our rule that whenever we show ourselves to the public, then I have to go with Mom since we have the same hair color and the same with Dad and Ragor. Eyes are readily justifiable since some Draconi have dark-colored eyes, and a scarce few humans somehow inherited violet eyes due to some old Draconi mucked blood.

He frowns. “We never go out together”

“You know why” Mom says to him. A gentle warning

He sighs. Pouting

“Maybe someday” I say

He shrugs. Dejected now

I was about to say something but stopped when I smell the familiar scent of blood and dirt sitting beside me. My eyes widen to look at the dirty and injured Draconi wincing but don’t say anything as he sits with his injured body.

Dad resumes his seat while putting the plate he prepared for Arius in front of him. Everyone is suddenly quiet, but even I see the interest in Ragor’s face. Mom seems relaxed, like this is how we’ve always had our breakfast, but I’m tense. He would understand now that this family isn’t typical and isn’t considered normal. He’ll hate us and say spiteful words.

I don’t even know why I care if he hates us.

“Forgive me, I smell and look deplorable” was the first thing he said to break the ice.

Mom looks at him with a soft but cautious smile. “That’s easily fixable. Are you sure you don’t want to rest in your room? That injury of yours is not to be taken lightly”

He shakes his head. “I’ve had had worst. I can manage pain well”

Mom doesn’t look convinced, and even I’m not. Just hours ago, he was in a considerable amount of pain that he’s scratching the mattress of his bed, and now he’s saying he can handle the pain well? But I keep my mouth shut since I don’t know how my parents react if they knew about what I did.

“What is your name?” Ragor asks him.

“Arius” he answers as if already expecting it.

“What were you doing on the side of the road?”

“Ragor” I say to him. “Don’t be rude”

“It’s fine” Arius says. “I just got back after years of servit—service, and I forgot how dangerous being on foot and on my own it would be.”

“Now, ease up with the questions and be nice, kid.” Dad says to Ragor. “He’s recuperating, and he’s our guest. Be polite”

Ragor sighs but nods anyway.

I try absolutely my hardest to not look at him. I don’t want to look as if I’m too familiar or it’d be too suspicious to my parents. I just eat as if he’s not there beside me, sitting a few inches from me.

“I’m Regalia, by the way, and this is Ragor and Reon” Mom says. “The one beside you is our daughter, Rogan”

I gave him a slight glance and nod before going back to finish my soup.

“Nice to meet you” he politely says.

“Also, you’re free to use the bathroom if you need to. There is working water and as well as a heater,” Mom says to him. “Although this is the countryside, so saying that we do have them is a fifty-fifty lie and truth.”

“I would like that thank you, especially after this. forgive the smell”

“we’re used to it” Dad shakes his head. “Not when Ragor still doesn’t know how to shower properly”

“Dad!”

We all laugh. Even Arius chimed in. the atmosphere suddenly better, but I still don’t look in Arius’s direction. After finishing my meal, I excused myself to do some chores in Mom’s clinic and started my day.

I clutch the small bottle of medication when I realize again that I don’t feel the heat of my flames at all. I try to let it out to heat the small bottle's contents, and it comes to a slow boil. It seems nothing has changed, but why is it peculiar right now.

I throw the small bottle away, knowing that the boil has killed its properties, and I just list it in the list that says we used it at some point. I feel it now, though, the heat of my flames igniting in my veins and keeping warm. It’s close to impossible to make me feel cold, not when I have this.

“How is the stock going?” Mom says as she enters the clinic. She ties her long hair in a braid and puts an apron around her waist.

“We don’t need to urgently stock soon. So, it’ll do.”

Mom smiles. “Well, let’s open the clinic. Shall we?”