Fire burned all around, the air heavy and thick with smoke. Chattering of sinister laughter and anguished moans echoed through the dead forest. Amidst all the chaos, a young black dragon ran for his life. His paws ached and his blue wings lay tattered on his back. Arrows and spears had ravaged his only way of flight. The owners of the weapons followed close behind, still attempting to slay the dragon.

Wrapped in frayed bandages, the hunters varied from many races; demon, fae, angel, mortal, and surprisingly even a dragon. Yet as their races were distinguishable… they all shared similar traits. They were rotten. Black pus seeped from sores dotting their forms as well as eyes white and void of light. The reason the beings wore bandages was to keep themselves together and to prevent much of their poison from leaking out. Fallen is what the dragon’s father called them before ordering him to run. They had attacked suddenly and already had nearly killed all of the dragon’s tribe. Now they were after him, chasing him through the trees.

Suddenly, the dragon stumbled and fell; his limbs giving out from sheer exhaustion, leaving him unable to run any further. The fallen closed in, cackling. They raised their weapons and just as they were prepared to make the final kill, a voice called out.

“Hey uglies! You leave him alone!”

The fallen turned, all a bit surprised. It was a young girl; brown hair a bit wild and her purple eyes piercing as she scowled at the bullies. A great amount of power was surging within her, violet shimmering around her. This power made all the fallen step back in fear.

“Get!” She yelled, picking up a rock and slinging it at the largest fallen. It nailed the fallen in the head, causing it to fall flat. All the fallen yelped and scrambled to run away, tripping over each other and falling over themselves to escape. The girl waited until they were out of sight before sprinting towards the injured dragon. “Hey! You okay?” She exclaimed. “Don’t worry! You’re safe now!” The dragon murmured something unintelligible before passing out, body going limp.

When the dragon came to, he was met with a warm herby smell and a tiny amount of sulphur wafting in the air. His blue eyes glanced around with fear before seeing the girl from earlier. “Granny! He’s finally awake!” She yelled out before leaning in. “What’s your name? Where are you from?”

“Aira, give the poor dear some space.” An older, frailer woman chided.

Aira pouted but sat back, letting her grandmother take over. The dragon seemed cautious at first before relaxing as the old woman check his wounds. She had smiled and her pale blue eyes were filled with kindness.

“I hope you are feeling better.” She remarked calmly. “That must’ve been a horrible experience.”

The dragon nodded before doing something incredible. His form changed in a blue light before it faded and he now appeared to look human. Dark skinned with shoulder length black hair, but his blue eyes remained the same. Granny smiled knowingly. “I thought so. You’re a special dragon, aren’t you?”

He nodded slowly. “Senshi… My tribe is-“ The dragon winced, tearing up. “Was… known for their shifting abilities. It helped keep us safe from mortals…”

“Cool!” Aira exclaimed excitedly. She had never met a dragon before.

“What is your name dear?” Granny asked kindly, wrapping a blanket around him and passing a steaming mug of lavender and chamomile tea to him.

“Shadow…”

“Well Shadow, you are safe now. You’ve met my granddaughter Aira. I am Rosa Whiteheart but you may call me Granny if you’d like. You’ll meet my daughter later tonight.” Granny explained.

Shadow gave a bemused nod. “Where are we?” He asked softly, nostrils flaring at the slight scent of sulphur again.

“My daughter’s shack outside of Ragnorak.”

“Ragnorak?! Home of demons!?” Shadow gasped, nearly dropping the tea as he feared it may be poisoned.

Granny placed a gentle hand on his shoulder to calm him. “Unfortunately yes but no we are not of the demon race. My daughter and I are witches of the Pura Rosa clan. Aira here…. Well she is part demon. She’s a half-blood. Her father was a demon but is no longer with us. Aira is more witch than demon compared to other half-bloods.” Granny explained. Shadow looked terribly confused.

“So… Why are you here?” He asked meekly.

“My uncle is a big bag of dicks.” Aira muttered before being silenced by a severe look from her grandmother. Shadow just tilted his head.

“Lord Ares had tricked Aira’s father and bound him as a slave to a human. Elizabeth, my daughter has been a servant to the lord as punishment for being married to Donovan.” Granny continued to explain.

Shadow glanced to Aira before looking back to Granny. “That’s not fair…”

Granny sighed. “I’m afraid life isn’t. But Ares is a jealous brother because of the gift that Donovan has and the fact he found love outside of this place. So he punishes them to try and mend his envious heart.” The older woman slowly got to her feet and went towards the fire place where a large cauldron of rabbit stew was boiling.

Shadow looked to Aira again. “So you’re prisoner here just because of who you are?” He asked.

“Yeah… But hopefully we’ll be free soon…” Aira remarked optimistically. He nodded slowly before giving a wide yawn. “You should sleep more. You’ll feel better.” Aira commented before watching the dragon drift off, head landing on the soft pillow.

Later when he awoke again, Granny had left but he was able to meet Elizabeth. Thick iron chains etched with dark sigils were wrapped around her wrists. She was apologetic for their situation and that she could not provide more for the dragon. Shadow did not mind, he told her. He was grateful to be alive and promised to help the family as much as he could. It was the least he could do since they saved his life. Elizabeth appreciated the sentiment before turning to her daughter who had tried slipping out of her mother's view.

"Aira Uhtric. You have some explaining to do." Elizabeth started in a scolding tone. "I understand your uncle gave you a break and you never returned! You do know that he's going to punish you now right?"

Aira gave a sigh and shuffled. "It's not my fault, really... I mean that door appeared and I couldn't help myself! It is how I saved Shadow from those weird bandage folk." She explained, glancing back at the dragon who continued to listen from his spot on the couch. Elizabeth had a confused yet concerned expression on her face. 

"Bandage folk?" Her mother questioned.

"Fallen." Shadow piped up. "My father called them fallen."

Elizabeth's jaw dropped. "Fallen?! You were attacked by fallen? Where were the reapers? Didn't they show up?" She gave a gasp before turning back to her daughter. "You confronted Fallen?! Weaponless?! Aira, you could have been killed!" 

"What's a reaper?" Shadow asked quietly though his question was ignored for the moment as Aira was cornered by her mother's concern.

"Mom, it's fine. I threw a rock at one of them and they ran off. It was weird. It was like I scared them or something." Aira countered, confused as to why her mother was freaking out. 

"Aira..." Elizabeth sighed, shaking her head. "Aira, you are gifted a strong soul. A soul strong enough to defeat the Fallen... BUT, you are untrained and tied to this damn place. You mustn't act so carelessly. No more wandering off. Do I make myself clear?" Elizabeth pressed. 

Aira nodded solemnly before jumping at the sound of a knock on the shack door. Shadow flinched as well and looked at Elizabeth. "Mother told me of your gift, Shadow. You best shift into something quick." The woman ordered in a hushed tone as she went to open the door. Shadow gave a shaky nod before a light flash of blue and he turned into a small, black, mouse. He trembled and gave a squeak when Aira picked him up. 

At the door was a demon guard. When he spotted Aira, he made a satisfied sound. "I see you found your spawn." The guard commented to Elizabeth. "Have her report to King Ares at once." 

"Must she go now? It is late?" Elizabeth countered, causing the guard to growl.

"She is to report to the king now! That is an order, witch!" He snapped.

Elizabeth sighed, turning to her daughter with a worried expression. " You heard him... You best go quickly to not upset your uncle worse." She told her daughter, taking the small black mouse from Aira. Aira nodded and departed with the guard, she was already steeling herself for the abuse and yelling. Her mother closed the door after she left.

Elizabeth placed Shadow back on the couch where he was resting. In a flash, he transformed back into a human form. "Is she going to be okay?" Shadow asked carefully. 

"I hope so. Her uncle is really unpredictable though..." Elizabeth trailed off before remembering Shadow's earlier question. "You don't know about reapers?" She asked.

Shadow gave a weak shrug. "My father had never told me about them. Our tribe had never dealt with outsiders before." He explained. Elizabeth gave a nod as she sat next to him. 

"No need to fret, dear. Allow me to explain." Elizabeth started. "Reapers are a race of beings who take care of the souls of everything in the universe. They are there when a being passes and carefully hold onto the soul until Lord Death can process it." 

Shadow tilted his head in confusion. "Lord Death? Processing it?" He asked.

"Lord Death or D'aeth is the leader of the reapers." Elizabeth paused, seeming to think of how to explain the man as simply as she could. "He has powers that allow him to see a soul's life and he records that. Lord Death then sends the soul to its final destination where it can rest for eternity or be reincarnated." She explained. "Lord Death also commands the reaper army. They are some of the best fighters against the fallen. When there are attacks, they are usually the ones that are able to stop the Fallen and save the souls..." 

Shadow slowly nodded. "I don't know if they showed up to my tribe... My father... Before they..." He trailed off for a moment before continuing. "He told me to run. So I ran as those monsters chased me.They threw spears and arrows at me... I couldn't fly anymore." 

Elizabeth put an arm around Shadow. "Hush now dear... You don't have to say anything more. I have heard of the terrors that the Fallen bring during their attacks. I don't want you to pain yourself anymore over those terrible beings." She told him kindly. Tears welled up in Shadow's eyes before he collapsed forward into Elizabeth and began to weep. The seriousness of everything had finally hit him. His family was dead and not only was he injured, he witnessed the horror of what the Fallen did during their raids. The dragon was safe now but even his rescuers were in a hopeless situation. Whatever was he supposed to do now...?

Elizabeth held the dragon close and comforted him as he cried. She remembered how traumatized her adopted sister was after her own experience with the fallen. The witch rocked him softly to calm him and once he managed to settle down a bit, Elizabeth withdrew and stroked the tears off of the dragon's cheek. "There, now... Why don't you rest some more, love? You've been through a horrific experience and need to recoup." She told him kindly before making up the couch into a bed. As Shadow curled himself up under the blanket and rested his head on the pillow, he looked up at the witch. 

"W...what can I do to help you? And Aira?" He questioned softly. Elizabeth gave him a small smile.

"Right now, you can help by resting up and perhaps once your strength returns, we can figure something out. But I don't want you worrying about that yet, okay? Get some sleep, Shadow." Elizabeth whispered as she tucked him in. "I'll see you in the morning, love." The dragon nodded softly as he drifted back into a deep sleep.

When Shadow woke up the next morning, Aira had returned sporting a vicious black eye and a few cuts along her arms and back. She still managed to give him a encouraging smile when she noticed he had woken up. The young girl scooped some porridge out of the pot on the fire and offered the dragon a bowl and spoon. "Sorry it's not much. Mom just left for her morning duties." Aira explained. Shadow just stared at Aira's wounds with wide eyes. Aira sighed and sat next to him. "I'm fine you know. This wouldn't be the first time or the last my uncle does this." She told him before eating a spoonful of porridge. Shadow frowned before blowing a breath of cold air into his hands. The cold air solidified into snow which he packed together into a ball. He then carefully pressed it against her swollen eye. Aira winced for a moment before giving another smile. "That's a cool spell you used. I didn't know dragons could perform magic too."

Shadow gave a weak smile back. "Sure. We use lots of magic. That's how we stay hidden from the humans so well." He explained. "My father taught me that spell for when I tripped and hurt my knee. Ice makes some wounds feel better."

Aira nodded before offering the bowl of porridge again. "You should eat too. It's not too bad. Granny gave us a bowl of berries so I added that into it." Shadow took the bowl and began to dig in after giving Aira the snowball to hold against her eye. He gave a hum after the first bite, really enjoying the sweet blueberries mixed with the porridge. The dragon began to shovel spoonful and spoonful of breakfast into his mouth causing Aira to chuckle as she finished her own breakfast. 

After they finished their meal, Aira offered Shadow some new clothes since the ones he arrived in after shifting looked ragged. The pair cleaned up the breakfast mess and tidied the room up. Before long, it was time for Aira to report back to her uncle for her daily duties. "You better stay here. Granny has left me some books or you can um...." She trailed off.

"It's okay. I understand. Your mom said we would figure something out for me later." Shadow explained. "I can continue cleaning if you don't mind." He offered.

"That would be really nice." Aira commented. "Thanks Shadow. I'll be back at lunchtime. We can talk more then!" She added with a smile before departing. Shadow smiled softly and watched her go before starting to clean the small shack.