Tate held his breath along with Koda and his guards. He wasn't sure why they were acting like this but he took his cue from their tense postures to keep his silence. He heard a rustling noise come faintly from somewhere and moments later he spotted three shadows flying away from them.
"Do you think they saw us?" One of his guards whispered.
"No, I don't think they looked back, now hush." The other replied in a harsher, quieter tone.
Koda took another step back almost pushing him into a shrub. The garden was closed off so Tate didn't know why Koda was using his body like a shield. Did he expect an assassin to come through the gate?
Long, quiet moments passed. Tate could hear his heartbeat and breath. For a brief moment, he remembered the last time he'd been this tense and hiding. Aliya's young face flashed in his mind as well as the scene of a familiar dark forest and a wave of nostalgia washed over him.
What was going on? Obviously, with their superior hearing, the dragons surrounding him were picking up something. Their faces were turned so that one ear or another was tuned to the shrubbery that lined the main path. Their faces darkened and a few times there was a flash of shock or surprise. When his human ears finally picked up something the dragons outside the garden were so close that he could also hear their footsteps crunching on the gravel of the path.
"Old hag...knew Nihal wouldn't go for it...somethings got to give..." He strained his ears to make out the conversation but it was almost impossible. It was definitely two voices, but there may have been more of the dragons he'd seen before being shoved in here.
"We've got to start moving. Those humans should have been put down on sight, what is she even thinking?" Now that statement and question were clear as day. He didn't need to try to piece anything together and he was missing no context.
"I know, what on earth is going on with that? She's even got the Royal Guard of all Orders watching over them like some younglings. She's losing her mind."
"Hush, both of you." Okay, so three voices so far. It seemed that the four dragons he'd seen in a flash had not been all the dragons exiting that garden.
"We've already heard all this, why are you being so reckless you don't know who might be listening." The voice continued at a much lower tone.
A scoff. "There's no one here. My senses are exquisitely sharp. I'd know if there were other presences in the gardens. We are completely alone."
Koda snorted silently at this outrageous statement.
"Either way, we can discuss this all again another time. Good day to you both, I have a meeting."
Rustling was heard and then footsteps going in different directions.
It was a long time before they all relaxed. Koda turned to him and raised an eyebrow. Tate didn't know what he wanted from him.
"What was that about?" He asked.
Koda looked uncomfortable. "I don't really know either. I'm sorry you had to hear that though."
It was Tate's turn to shrug. "I wasn't anything I didn't already know, at least the part about thinking I should have been killed already. I don't know who the 'hag' was they were referring to, do you?"
Koda seemed confused for a moment then shook his head. "How good is human hearing?" He inquired.
"I have no idea, but I expect you have better hearing," Tate stated.
Koda didn't say anything else. The guards went to the door and opened it. They looked both ways then one of them went out completely. He eventually came back and announced that there was no one in the gardens.
Unlike the dragon with "exquisite senses," Tate did trust his guards. They exited the little garden and soon were upon the main path to the lake. Although the guards and Koda remained vigilant it was also clear that they were lost in their own thoughts. The long walk to the dock which was becoming ever clearer, was silent and heavy.
When at last the path came to its end and the shrubs angled off the view he was greeted with was beautiful. The lake itself was huge and the clear view of the waterfall on its opposite shore was imposing. The landscape was unique to him. The lake seemed to stretch on forever and as it curved and dipped into hidden inlets the land around the lake began to rise. To the sides of the lake and beyond foothills started to take shape stepping ever higher until they became small mountains. It was from one of these that the waterfall tumbled down in the distance. It was not directly centered but you could see it in its entirety from where he stood.
Even from this distance, the size of the waterfall was awe-inspiring. He'd never seen anything like it. Now that he was at the shore he could hear it, ever so faintly in the distance, the low roar of the falls.
He couldn't fathom how loud such a large mass of falling water sounded up close if it could even be heard from this far away. A small part of him hoped to find out one day.
His eyes scanned the surroundings of the lake and he discovered that The Nest was in a large area of plains land. There were the odd clump of trees here and there as he had seen when he entered the nest itself but from the back of the Nest Proper, he could see the open and untamed land that was "the nest" it was cradled by the mountains in a half moon shape. The rest of it, which he had seen more of from his vantage points up until now was rimmed by dense and wild-looking forest. He could only see from his standpoint of the dock to whatever was visible beyond the corner of the hedges. However, he remembered when they'd first arrived that the forest line continued past where he could currently see. The effect was an entire land mass that was perfectly hidden from the outside. He had to wonder given the manner that they had entered "the nest" if there was magic involved too.
He didn't know how long he'd stood there taking it all in. The beauty and magnitude of the land around him had amazed and delighted him. He'd gotten distracted for a long time by the dragons in their natural forms frolicking across the open plains. He'd seen groups that looked to be doing training maneuvers and some who just seemed to be out to stretch their wings. Closer to the actual Nest just beyond the edge of the hedges, he'd even spotted a small group of dragonlings playing in the air and stalking a deer on the ground.
It was a sight designed to overwhelm and delight him, it was also uniquely designed to make his chest ache with longing. If only Aquana were here he could join in. The desire to be in that sky, to fly, to play, to fight was an overwhelming force.
He was so involved in his surroundings that he'd not even noticed when Koda sent one of his regular guards away with a whispered word. He'd also not noticed when Bezhar had come striding up and after a few exchanged words with Koda and taken his place along with the returning guard. He did notice however when the wind kicked up from Koda's wings almost knocking him a step forward.
He jumped in surprise and looked back to see Koda transformed into his natural form. He flew away back towards the Nest Proper. Tate shot Bezhar a questioning look.
Bezhar sighed and kept his mouth shut. Tate had an idea of what Koda might be running, or rather flying off to do. He and the other guards had seemed concerned about who had been in the gardens and what they had been saying. Maybe he was going to make a report?
"How do you like it, human?"
Tate smiled deciding not to dwell on answers he couldn't get right now. "I like it a lot." He's still not taken his eyes off the roaming dragons.
"The lake and falls are this way, why are you looking at the Outter Plain?"
Tate shook his head. "It's so beautiful."
========
Tate couldn't see it but Bezhar shook his head at the human, once again this creature made no sense. "What are you talking about, I'm telling you that the sightseeing is over here."
Tate turned his head and glanced at the lake and the falls. Geological features and landforms that were renowned in all the realms. Any being who was invited to the nest, or ventured here of their own free will wanted to see the lake and the falls, as well as the wonders of "The Nest." The human was looking towards the ordinary when the extraordinary was right in front of him. Bezhar was coming to the conclusion that humans just didn't make any sense. He'd learned too much about their species now to think any differently.
"Of course that is beautiful," Tate's chin nodded in the direction of the lake, "but, Bezhar, don't you see it?"
Bezhar squinted at the flying chaos stretched out endlessly in front of him. Honestly, all he could see was a security nightmare. He spotted a few of the Blue Order roaming around but at times such as this with the volume of dragons enjoying a beautiful day law and order were hard to keep.
"See what?" Bezhar humored him at last.
"Everyone is so free." The human spoke the words in a tone that was foreign to Bezhar. His face twisted and he didn't particularly like the feeling those words gave him. It made him remember a few things he'd learned about this specific human, made him wonder something else. Had this human ever been free? If not, then yes, maybe it did make snese that Tate was more entranced by the tumbling chaos of the skys, than one of the wonders of the world.