Pain wracked Nona's mind and body forcing him out of his mind space and a scream escaped from his lips. The stallion tilted its head as Nona fell to his knees.
The excruciating pain only lasted a minute, but to Nona it was several lifetimes. Images and words flashed through his mind so quickly he could barely understand it all. Deep in his mind the thought of this being someone else's memories occurred but the pain did not allow him to pursue this thought further.
The pain finally subsided allowing him to become aware of his surroundings once again. The first thing to greet is eyes wa the fiery ed stallion looking at him quizzically. The stallion started neighing but halfway through it turned into, "alright?"
Nona was struggling to process what this word meant when the stallion repeated himself. "Are you ok?"
This time Nona understood the words. "Yes, I am fine just a major headache."
"Good it would be bad luck indeed if the first dragon to visit our herd in generations got hurt while in our care." came the whiny from the stallion.
"How do you know I am a dragon?"
The stallion gave Nona a long look before replying. "I know you are a dragon the same way you know I am a stallion. It is not something to be questioned."
Nona rolled his eyes at the unhelpful answer as he rose to his feet. "Does this knowledge also extend to why I am here?"
Again there was a long pause before the stallion responds, "How can one know the intent of the other upon first meeting. Has your sire line taught you nothing?"
"My sire line?" Nona was stumped momentarily before grasping what the stallion meant. "My sire line left long before I hatched." Sorrow stabbed at Nona for the first time about his parents. He had always assumed that he was abandoned since none knew what he was, but now that he had a glimpse of what happened in ages past he was hopeful that this was not the case.
"Are you not able to talk to those who have gone before you?" confusion was evident in the snorting of the stallion.
Nona paused before responding thinking about how Merle and Skelly never asked about this. "This is something I am unfamiliar with. Those that I grew up with never mentioned it." Nona diliberately left his response vague to try and aquire more information.
"This is not surprising since you walk like the two legs and they show no respect for those who came before, but as a dragon you must not follow this example."
Nona's suspicion was confirmed and he bowed his head, "I will endeavor to do better."
The stallion let out and affirmative snort that was unique to his language and therefore did not translate, but the meaning was clear. "Now than why have you come to my humble herd?"
Nona hesitated on answering. He had just learned that his manners were lacking and the stallion seemed to look down on the two legs. Where as Merle and Skelly were waiting on him to aquire a willing mount. In the end he decided to be as cautious and polite as possible. "I have come seeking a companion to help me traverse long distances quicker."
Once again the stallion snorted before responding. "My herd has no flyers and would be left on their own once you have your wings. This is unacceptable as I will not allow one of my young to endure such conditions."
Nona was stunned. He had not thought about having wings but now he felt dumb and childish. Every myth of dragons had always talked of their ability to fly, and here he was wanting a mount he would only use for a few years before he himself would get to places faster. "Do you know of anywhere near here that has a flyer?" He asks with a crimson face.
"There is a young griffin that has been orphaned and on the verge of going feral. I can not promise it will be friendly and it is not yet old enough to fly but it is the best choice around here. After all one simply cannot allow a dragon to ride on anything but a noble creature." The stallion replied with some excitement.
Nona only paused momentarily before nodding. He was not in a rush to fly since he did not know how he felt about heights, but at the same time he had no idea about taming a nearly feral anything let alone a griffin.
The stallion led the way through the herd of blessed horses. As they went by several foals would approach them and bow respectfully to the stallion before looking on in wonder at Nona. One with green markings even tried to play with Nona before the stallion blew at it and it scurried off. "I must apologize for the young. It has been a long time since a dragon has been seen and they do not yet know how to contain their curiosity."
"It truly is ok. I myself am still coming to gripes with what I am."
"Are all those who walk on two legs as silly as you? What is there to understand? You are what you are, there is no changing it and it would be silly if the trees wished to be the river." The stallion replied seemingly forgetting the reverence it held for dragons.
The rest of the hike was carried out in silence. It was only a short time until the duo arrived to an area that was silent of wildlife. The grass was taller and whole, completely void of the signs of small game. Goosebumps covered Nona's arms as they entered this area. The stallion remained silent and on high alert as if expecting something to leap out at them at any minute.
Sure enough the grass started shaking and out came a creature. It had the head and front paws of a majestic eagle with the rear of a lion. The feathers seemed extra fluffy as if it was a mane. It unfurled its wings which were a golden brown as it tried to make itself look bigger. The only thing that detracted from the noble image in Nona's mind was the blood red eyes and the shriek of anger.
"Here is the griffin. I wish you luck in taming it dragon." With those parting words the stallion did not hesitate to flee leaving Nona alone.