Unlikely Friends: Chapter 1

The sun shone brightly overhead as a proud red, yellow and gold kainu trotted down a forgotten dirt road toward an old barn. His multicolored scales and mane gleamed in the warm afternoon light and it took every ounce of his self control not to toss his head and gallop the rest of the way to the dilapidated building. This was his favorite kind of day, warm sun on his back, light breeze winding through his mane and tail like the cool fingers of a lover, and not a cloud to be seen in the sky. It was simply perfect.

He lifted his knees a little higher with each step, unable to help himself as he pranced toward the wide barn doors, long tail sweeping back and forth behind him as he held it high off the ground. His golden eyes lit up in delight as he approached the side of the barn, examining the faded red paint that had long since begun peeling away from the old wood. 

"Ancient, dirty, likely to give me an infection if I step on a rusty nail...how marvelous!" he mused aloud, trotting toward the side of the barn. There was a fence in his way that looked to have been recently repaired--did someone actually live here? Or were they simply repairing it in their spare time? He didn't see a farmhouse nearby...strange. He surely hoped he might see someone here, as he had found himself in a bit of a tight spot.

As if on cue, the breeze kicked up and blew the kainu's main forward, the fence against his chest saving him from being knocked head over heels. It surprised him, but not nearly as much as when he turned around to find a massive creature staring down at him from less than a hundred feet away. It was blue from nose to tail tip with a flowing white mane and long white fur on its tail. Its fur gleamed in the sunlight, and as the kainu lifted his gaze to meet the creature's stunningly bright blue eyes, he realized this wasn't just some serpentine creature, it was another drakiri! The pronged horn growing from the center of its forehead should have been his first clue, but he had been rather distracted by the long claws that grew out of its fingered front hands, the sharp teeth that it bared at him. Even the long, tufted ears couldn't detract from that menacing stare, and the kainu felt his heart beat a little faster.

"Oh my," the kainu breathed, his eyes widening. He took a hesitant step forward, tail held carefully without lashing so he wouldn't startle the creature and said, "Hello there! My name is Icarus--"

His voice was drowned out by the furious roar that erupted from the drakiri and he stumbled back a step, whiskers twitching in alarm. This drakiri's breed was unfamiliar to Icarus, did he speak the common tongue?

"I'm sorry if I startled you but--"

Once more he was cut off by a loud snarl that made his whiskers vibrate and the stones under his hooves tremble. 

"Turn around and leave," the stranger growled, voice low and as threatening as his posture. 

"Oh you do speak the common tongue!" Icarus said excitedly, looking up at the aggressive drakiri in wonder.

"Do you?" the drakiri countered, taking a step forward as his back arched. "I've told you to leave, yet here you stand!"

"Oh!" Icarus said, letting out a blustery little laugh. "I certainly do speak the common tongue! My apologies, let me start again. My name is Ocarus Sinbad and I am horribly, irrevocably lost. I've been walking for a few days now and perhaps a few days before that, I'm not entirely sure. But I've seen neither hide nor hair of another soul, let alone another drakiri!"

The blue drakiri stared at him for a moment in silent incredulity, then shook his head and lashed his thick, strong tail behind him. 

"How is that my problem?" he demanded. "Go back the way you came."

"Ah!" Icarus said eagerly, smiling sheepishly. "I thought you might say that. You see, I've no water and my hunting skills leave much to be desired, so I've eaten nothing more than a mouthful of berries that luckily didn't poison me. So I ask you, as one drakiri to another, for a sip of water and directions to the nearest town. That's all!"

"Counter offer," the stranger hissed, blue eyes narrowing as he took another step forward, forcing Icarus back until his ankles touched the rough wood of the fence. "Walk away now and I won't make you fertilizer for my pasture."

Icarus fell quiet for a moment before his ears pressed flat against his skull and he asked, "Pretty please?"

The other drakiri lunged at him and Icarus sprang away, leaning into a gallop as quickly as his legs would carry him. He bolted down the road until it was a speck on the horizon, where he skidded to a halt and coughed in the dust that settled around him.

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