Today was my birthday. May 28th, 1996. I am now twenty four years old. It also means that it has been three years and ten months since the Haze appeared. The Haze came six months after my twentieth birthday. Usually I would head out to Galveston beach with my friends, but now it was just me and Hestia. She was adamant about celebrating, since creatures of her world never celebrated their own births. So here we were, flying through the sky in the early hours of the dawn to have a nice, relaxing day on the beach. It had been a week since we had seen any sign of soldiers and their traps. Hess and I decided to wait until we had a clear idea of where they were before moving locations.
{_Maybe we should move to Galveston, it would be a nice change from the forest._} Hestia commented.
"We'll see about that." I muttered. I was still on edge after the last encounter.
We touched down half an hour later, Hestia was particularly excited to be in the water. After all, we weren't near large bodies of water that often, so she had little experience with what lies beneath the surface. Even I loosened up some more, it is my birthday and watching Hestia skipping in what had to be atleast thirty feet of water was just the boost I had been missing. I had on a bikini I had taken from a mall (no judgement, it's not like anyone else was gonna use it) and so swam out after her. Usually I would stay in the shallow zone, but since I'm already a capable swimmer, becoming a dragon rider has boosted my other physical abilities. I was able to laugh and splash with her in the salty water, well more like Hess splashed and I dived under to avoid a five foot wave. She thought that was hilarious, me not so much. Then I rode on her back as she paddled out into the open sea.
It was breathtaking to see. The ocean had been filled with amazing and a little terrifying creatures along with the normal inhabitants. We saw a few mermaids swimming along with dolphins. They were beautiful woman that had colorful fish tails. their hair was long and flowy, blowing softly in the breeze. The ears were pointed and had a web of membrane extending from behind them. The most striking feature was their eyes. They were doe shaped and seemed to change from various shades of blue and green. When they spotted us, the eyes turned a bright sapphire blue. They quickly swam over and stroked Hestia, as if she were they're pet. One with bright red hair and blue eyes took my hand and pulled me into the water. It was quite a scare, but she meant no harm, instead she just helped me over to the dolphins and let me play with them. Some of the others came and started a splashing contest. All of us giggled and doused eachother with water. It was kinda nostalgic, like being with my girlfriends again. They seemed to communicate with Hestia, and even I could partially understand their words.
After our time with the mermaids, we decide to see what else was out there. With me back on Hestia, the mermaids bid us goodbye and we continued our little adventure. Not before one gave me a pendant. It was a thin string of colorful pearls with a crystal shell in the middle. Hestia explained it was a blessing of the sea, which allowed me to survive underwater if needed to. I gladly accepted the gift and the hug that came with it. After that, We swam out further and continued to encounter other creatures. Pods of dolphins and whales. A shark hear and there (they were clearly scared to come to close.), even what looked to be a megalodon. Thankfully it was still too small to contend with Hess. There were also some serpentines and some leviathans in the water. It was as fascinating as it was terrifying to see.
{_Don't be afraid. They wouldn't DARE touch you with ME around._} Hestia claimed, a clear edge of killing intent in her voice.
I chuckled at her passive aggressive comment. She will be just as overprotective as I am. With that exchange, we decide to head back to the beachfront. After all, it was already sundown, and as curious I am of the sea night life, I would prefer not to risk something bigger coming out to eat us. Hestia agreed and started to paddle back to the shore.
As we were heading back, I got the feeling of being watched. Hess felt it to, but couldn't pick up on anything out of the ordinary. Still she decided to paddle faster. We were a few miles from the shore before IT erupted from the water. At two hundred and fifty feet in height, it was formed from blue scales with a golden undertone. Its fierce golden eyes were trained directly on us. It was a look of fondness and dedication. I knew immediately what this was. A dragon, but not just any dragon.
{_It has been a long time..._} Hestia's mother said. She was bigger than before, her scales were now a blue and gold pattern, and her eyes looked to be a mix of gold and violet.
"Why are you here?" I asked in disbelief.
{_Mother?_} Hestia whimpered. So much shock and pain in her voice, but she was trying to hold it in. Trying to be strong.
Her mother's eyes sadden at the sound of her voice. Clearly she was hoping for a more cheerful tone, but the past won't let that be. I still have dreams about my first interactions with them. I couldn't help but feel annoyed by the mother's presence. Still, she was Hestia's mother and only Hess would be the one to end this interaction.
{_I want to tell you both to be careful._} She said, {_You both have a long road ahead, and must stay together to build the world stronger than before. You must lead the others to make sure that your kind survive._} That was all she said before flying away.
Hestia had to dart in the sky, since her mother's departure caused major waves to emerge. Even though, the mother dragon was long gone and Hestia was just as dazed as I was. We decided to return to the beach and sleep on it. As we were setting up our campsite, Hestia had become silent and closed off. I was changing from my bikini into something more comfortable, Hestia was curled around my tent and the fire. She clearly had too much on her mind. With some coaching she was able to finally open up. This was our most important piece of information since Hestia's mother had left three years ago.
"What do you think she meant by "your kind". Do you think there are more people who have bonded with dragons?" I asked. This was my current question.
{_I don't know?_} Hestia muttered.
We sat in silence, thinking about this warning. Eventually I retired to the tent and cozied in a sleeping bag. Still thinking about what Hestia's mother had said, I decided stay at the beach for a few more days. Maybe she will come back and tell us more about it.
When I woke up it was to the flapping of wings. Immediately leaving the tent, I saw that Hestia was standing over it, hunched over in a defensive position. The flapping was strong, and loud. Hess was growling low and deep. I couldn't help but think about our discussion last night, about there being other riders. I reached out with my sense of hearing. At first it was just Hestia's heartbeat, but after a few minutes I picked up the sound of more. Seven to be exact, three sounding much like Hestia's, four sounding like mine. As I continued to concentrate I also picked up on voices. This was enough to scare me shitless, I packed up as quickly as possible and signaled to Hess for us to move. She was reluctant at first, but she knew this was to dangerous explore any further. Since it was still early morning, we could hopefully sneak away before these creatures could come for us. We don't know what was going on, thus could end up getting us killed. Now with expert foot work, one that could come from years experience, Hestia and I were able to sneak away. Hestia was itching to confront the mysterious voices, but we had to move. Nothing good would come out of this if we stick around, not now atleast. She was still reeling from her mother's appearance, and I had no weapons.
Once we were a good ten miles from our make shift campsite, I strapped everything to Hess's side and then saddled up to leave. We decided to move to a different location in Galveston, instead of heading back to the shack. Hestia flew to a different place on the coast, just on the edge of the city line. I reset up our site then tried to take a nap. Hestia was also tired, but wouldn't let herself go back to sleep. I know she was worried about us being followed. So instead of insisting, I let her be since it would only make her feel worse. I was settling in when she finally spoke to me.
{_I think mother did mean there are other dragon riders._} Hestia concluded.
I sighed, knowing she was right. After all, since Hestia's knew she could choose me, then it only made sense that other dragons did too. Perhaps I wrong and this was something else, or perhaps we're right and there are others.