FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Embryo had never felt so free as she swooped over the mountains, the feel of the air under her wing beats, how it flowed across her scales, the smell of pines and fresh snow on the jagged mountain peaks, for the first time, she actually felt like she was fully herself.

But after awhile, her wings began to grow tired. She had never flown this far before; she had never figured the Claw of the Cloud Mountains to be this big.

Finally, she noticed what looked like a small village bellow, tucked away nicely in a narrow, wooded area between the mountains. She noticed other dragons pacing along the streets and was somewhat surprised to notice their scales were shades of red and orange, unlike the whites and yellows and other eggy colors from her village.

Still, her wings were getting sore from all the flying, and she wasn't rather fond of the uncomfortable feeling they were giving her (If this is bothering you, imagine how you'll feel when you finally lay your first egg). Perhaps she could find out more info about the world outside at large, there wasn't much of it in the library in her own village, as they mostly focused on the feats of Egg Laying over the centuries. Did dragons here care as much about eggs as her village did? She would have to make herself inconspicuous until she figured out more about these strange dragons.

So with these thoughts, she banked in for a landing.

She landed on the cobblestone streets and looked around. A few of the dragons briefly looked at her curiously, but then went back to their own business.

As she walked down the street, she felt the cobblestones under her talons. It was interesting how smooth and freshly polished they were. Her own village wasn't bad, but it was clear this one went to the extra effort to remain neat for its residents and visitors.

Embryo found a tavern at the end of a street. She felt her tummy rumbling. Maybe it was time to get some food.

She had already had eggs for breakfast, and she knew that even OmeletWings needed other foods to survive (Eggs could only be produced by the protein that was already in the body, which meant the other protein had to come from somewhere), but she figured this tavern would already have a surplus of her favorite, so it couldn't hurt.

She entered the tavern to find a brightly lit place. A delicious whiff of food hit her nose, and tables were lined up where dragons were eating and discussing things with each other. A band was playing a jolly tune in a corner, and a couple of dragons were even dancing to it, and the beat made Embryo's heart want to soar. This place was clearly designed to positively overwhelm all of your senses, and Embryo loved it.

Embryo stepped up the counter where a female dragon was watching her curiously.

"Can I help you?" The Dragon asked her politely.

"Yes," replied Embryo, "I was wondering, do you have any eggs?"

"Eggs," pondered the dragon, "you mean like chicken eggs, or falcon eggs. Summit even brought in a batch of eagle eggs the other day, we still have a few of those left I believe."

Embryo hesitated for a moment, she was confused on how this dragon could misunderstand. Sure she knew chickens, falcons, and eagles all laid eggs, but...

Okay she'd let this dragon off, perhaps they tried those eggs around here too.

"No," replied Embryo, "I mean, do you have dragon eggs?"

The dragon just stared at her blankly. "Dragon eggs..."

Embryo was now even more confused, "Yeah. Dragon Eggs? Don't you have them?"

The dragon continued staring blankly, "No... I'm afraid not..."

Embryo sighed. Oh well, she could find something else to eat.

The dragon at the counter looked at her again, her gaze softening. "Here, why don't you find a table and I'll bring you a menu."

Embryo nodded gratefully, and found a nice table to sit at. The dragon came back a few moments later with the menu, and poured her a glass of water.

Embryo sat there, reading the menu. It was really strange. Along with a large variety of foods she never heard of before, there was no mention of dragon eggs. Perhaps it was a result of culture, maybe they ate differently from the way she ate at home. Which was weird. She knew she had flown all morning, but she didn't figure she'd flown far enough to enter an entirely different civilization entirely.

Well, there still were some things she was familiar with on the menu, even if the eggs weren't from her preferred species (hmm, did eggs from these different looking dragons taste any different than the eggs that the dragons in her village laid?). In the end, she settled on some partridge eggs and sausage.

As she was ordering, she didn't notice the new dragon coming in. He was bright red, a face full of life, about the same age as Embryo. He was carrying a few birds he had hunted down, and brought them up to the dragon at the counter.

"Summit," said the dragon, "I see you brought in another catch."

"Absolutely," Summit replied, "That's four birds, so that'll be..."

"Here you go," said the dragon handing over some coins. Summit counted them and smiled back. Good pay for a job well done.

"Would you like anything to eat while you're here?" asked the dragon.

"Hmm," thought Summit, "Yeah, I think I'll have something."

"Okay, take a seat, and I'll be with you shortly."

Summit nodded, and looked around the tavern.

Then his eyes stopped. Around him was a large assembly of the typical SkyWing that he was so used to seeing, maybe the occasional MudWing and SandWing here and there...

But then, at one table, all by herself, was the most interesting dragon he'd ever seen. She was not like the average SkyWing. Her scales were a pale yellow, her body slightly rounder than a regular SkyWing. But there was something else about her, something he couldn't place...

Summit had always something snapping into place when he met his Soul Mate, like a broken link finally clicking together, but at this point, it felt like something different entirely, like a link had always been there, inside of him, but now he was seeing who it was connected to. He could imagine himself growing old with her, the happiness they'd share as they raised dragonets together, all of it.

Slow down! He told himself, you don't even know her. You're just jumping to conclusions.

Still, it wouldn't hurt to get to know her a little. Besides, how do relationships start but with two dragons introducing themselves to eachother?

"Hello," he said, approaching her table, "I'm Summit, mind if I join you?"

Startled, Embryo looked up. "Oh no, I don't mind."

Summit took the seat opposite her and gave her a friendly smile.

"So, you from around here?" He asked.

"Um, no," Embryo replied, "I flew in from a village a few hours from here actually."

"Could I have your name if you don't mind?" The SkyWings asked.

"Uh, Em... My friends call me Em." Embryo wasn't used to having conversations with strangers, so she wasn't sure if she was coming off properly.

"Cool." Summit eyes lit up. "You don't mind if we got to know eachother do you?"

Embryo looked the newcomer up and down. He didn't seem a threat at all to her. Being out in the world alone for the first time, she knew she was prone to naivety, but examining him with all her attuned senses, he seemed sincere. Obviously, he had a crush on her or something, but he seemed genuinely interested in getting to know her.

Still, she didn't know how she felt about how she, just by the act of existing in another's presence, could somehow become some sort of attraction, just because she was a somewhat cute girl.

She shook her head. It was completely normal to have a crush on someone, she might have a crush on him as well. But was he having thoughts about their potential future together? About her laying eggs... She shuddered. Why did it always come back to that? Those thoughts of her writhing and screaming in agony as she'd heard other dragons do, were those inevitable?

But still, there was this comfortable feeling she had being around him, like there was an instant connection. Was this how she'd expected to feel when she met the one she was meant to be with. She wasn't sure, but at the very least, she thought it would be helpful to ask him for information.

"So this village," Embryo began, "Where exactly are we?"

"This village?" Summit answered, "This here is Valley, in the Claw of the Cloud Mountains, in SkyWing territory."

"SkyWings?" Embryo asked, "Are those a type of dragon."

Summit looked at her quizzically. Embryo realized she might sound ridiculous, but she had to find out some way or another, right.

"Yes..." Summit replied. He noticed her expression, "Don't worry, I'm about to come off as just as ridiculous, because... I'm not sure I know what type of dragon you are either."

Embryo looked at him, "Me? Well, I'm from a tribe that calls ourselves OmeletWings."

Summit gagged.

"What?" Summit tried to keep a straight face, but it was hard. He really liked this girl, but there was just something about the term OmeletWings that got to him. "I'm sorry, please forgive me."

Embryo looked away, "It's okay. I have a feeling things are quite different here than they are at home anyway."

They were both silent for a minute, neither knowing what to say. It wasn't exactly uncomfortable like they would have expected though, it felt like just two dragons, sitting at a table, taking in the atmosphere of the tavern.

Finally, the waitress dragon came out with Embryo's order. The dragon glanced at Summit, and Summit shrugged.

"Know what you want?" She asked him.

Summit took one last glance at Embryo, then placed his order. Fired Mountain Goat Steak and Gravy.

As the waitress left, Summit took out the coins he'd received earlier and fiddled with them. Embryo, curious about the clanking sound they made that rang through the air, looked at him.

"What are those?"

Summit looked at her, "Just coins. We use them to trade for things, houses, scrolls, food-"

Summit stopped what he was saying, realization rising on both of their faces.

"You have to trade for food!" Embryo exclaimed.

"You don't know what money is!" Summit exclaimed at the same time.

Embryo looked down at her plate.

"How do you not know you have to pay for food?" Summit asked shocked.

"I don't know," Embryo cried out, "In our village, we do trading, but we all help with the food, and we all share the food. I didn't realize it was different here!"

Embryo looked at her plate, guilt filling her up. "What do I do, what do I do?"

Summit looked at the food, then back at Embryo. "Don't worry, I'll take care of it."

When the waitress came back a few minutes later with Summit's dish, he paid for both of their meals. Embryo looked at Summit gratefully.

"Thank you," Embryo replied.

"No problem," Summit answered back.

Embryo, her concerns settled, finally sat back to eat. She took a bite of her food. Hmm? The flavor wasn't quite the same as the eggs back home, not bad, just different. She figured she could enjoy a meal or two like this, even if it wasn't the same.