Prequel: Mitana

As a new territory dragon, Mitana was intimidated by the council, so even though she wasn’t thrilled with the idea of having to watch the beasts that arrived in the flying baskets, she did. As her clan grew, she sent representatives to watch them, but those first ten cycles she watched them herself. Those poor pitiful beasts ate non edible food. They dug holes and lit fires. They made boxes to hide in. She only saw one, one time without covering and they looked odd with their flesh exposed. As beasts they had fur in the wrong places and the males displayed their genitalia. She had observed him bathing alone, so she did not think he was arroused, but who could be sure.

In any case, they seemed to work very hard and sometimes even in cooperation with others of their kind, but not always to accomplish an identifiable task. They were driven by fear and caution and she suspected they had some vocalized language. They did make and use tools, utilize fire, and tame other beasts not just for meat and skins, but to use for labor. That was interesting. Some of their tools their rescuers must have given them. They were advanced beyond the beasts’ comprehension.

No matter how much information Mitana collected, the council always wanted more. She had shared the first images and every observation she could think of. Her second and third observations were not specific enough. The fourth cycle she took some of their tools, a hide and some cloth and brought it to the council. It was difficult to return, but she managed. The return of the ship was something that concerned her, but other than taking water and a brief rest, the visitors left no trace, removing only the offerings that the beasts gave them, probably in payment for their safe passage.