Stories from Burundi

Chapter Seven Investigation     "It can only be two things. At least, that I know of." Winter had invited me over to his den that night to talk things over, and I had reluctantly agreed. Maybe Guardian guy wouldn't want to spy on me if there was a dragon right next to me. But something told me it was going to be harder than that to shake him off. Now Winter and I were sitting, discussing the observatory crisis.     "But it's possible it's something you've never heard of before."     "It's always possible it's something I've never heard of before." I leaned back against the wall, picturing Bull's body. "But in this case, I doubt it."     "What do you think they are?" Winter asked doubtfully.     "See, that's the thing. The only two things I know that have black venom are, one, RainWings. But it can't be them," I added, as Winter opened his mouth to protest. "They don't actually s

  Okay, I've figured out a few more storylines. I'm not sure what their names are, though. Maybe I should come up with something. Chapter Six Something Goes Wrong     I rubbed my forehead. Who knew how hard it would be to get dragons and people to cooperate with each other? I felt like a bridge. Suspended over water, braced against both the sides, and being trampled on. A few of Winter's friends (or not friends, as Winter said, but I didn't believe him for a second) came to visit and we had to explain to them what was going on. Thankfully Winter had enough tact to keep me out of the conversation. I didn't want to be announced to Pyrrhia yet. Then there had been the effort of keeping the observatory folk under control. A few of them said they had never seen a dragon before in their life, besides Winter and sometimes Kinkajou, and the arrival of four other dragons didn't exactly help.     I lay down. That had been a very hard day. I wasn't complaining or anyth

  Just a heads up here, I think that every five chapters or something I'll do something like what I did in the prologue where you hear some people that you don't know talking about things you don't understand, so this isn't really essential to the story and you can skip this if you want. Okay? Good. Chapter Five Staying Hidden     He was waiting. He didn't usually leave his charge very often, considering she might try to kill herself again without him watching, but this was important. He had been watching her for sixteen years now, and he was going to be visited by the Leader. He shifted uncomfortably, thinking about it. Would he be displeased by his performance? She had  almost killed herself, anyway. But he had saved her, so she wasn't dead, right?     He rubbed his forehead. He had to stop worrying. Calm yourself. His mother's patient voice echoed in his ears, although it had been ten years since she had left him, with the occasional visit to catch up on

  This is kind of a short chapter. Sorry. Chapter Four The Scavenger Observatory     All in all, I was pretty sure I was hiding my nervousness from Winter pretty well. It probably helped that he couldn't see me, too. We had decided that the fastest way there was for me to ride him, with much misgivings from each of us. Mostly when I thought of riding something, I thought of riding a horse or donkey. Now I was riding a dragon about 100 meters in the air. I guess that's why they invented the phrase, "Expect the unexpected." My whole life has been full of unexpected things. Speaking of which, who was the boy in my room? It seemed kind of suspicious.     But anyway, the reason I was nervous was because I was going to see people. I had never actually had a conversation with anyone besides Winter before. I could hear the word "nervous" repeated uncountable times in Winter's wingbeats. Nervous, nervous, nervous, nervous,  nerv-     "Here." Winter'

Chapter Three Like an Injured Bird     Winter's reply hit me harder than anyone, even me, could have guessed. Not only were my high hopes shattered, but it felt like something in my chest was too. I had always wondered why people relate feelings to their heart, and know I knew. There was an iron hand gripping my chest with superhuman strength. I hadn't realized how much I had relied on the dragons helping me.      Death  would be better than this. That was what I was thinking when I finally made my way back to my house which consisted of a large hole in the ground in between two roots of the tree I had been climbing when I saw Winter earlier that day. I curled into a ball on the thick moss floor. I didn't exactly have a soft feather mattress I could sleep on. And I waited. Waited to die. The world didn't want me. I  didn't want me. I was a disgrace to the people and the dragons. I didn't fit anywhere. My parents tried to kill me, the dragons couldn't help m

Chapter Two Meeting Winter     I watched the dragons for a long time. Around three years. By then I was about fifteen. I almost seemed like another person. My time watching the dragons brought a huge change in me. I was happier, and woke up each day with a sense of adventure. My awesome quick-learning skills actually made me fluent in dragon by now. I was climbing a tree. It was the tallest tree in the forest and the best spot for me to be a lookout. No one knew I was doing it, but whatever. I emerged above the treetops and found myself covered in sunlight. Not a cloud in the sky today.     I shielded my eyes against the glare, looking towards what I now learned was called Jade Mountain. Where was Winter, the blue dragon I had seen the first time I followed him? He usually came alone now, his friend Kinkajou off doing something somewhere. I gathered that usually he was collecting people for his "scavenger observatory". Where was he, anyway?     Wingbeats behind me made me fre