7- The New Dew

No matter how much time passed, Dew still couldn't get what happened to him out of him.

The memory of his virginity being stolen from him; stripped from the drake like a rank of honor, like a toy from a clinging child. 3 long years had passed, and in those years Dew had trained, practiced, and fought constantly; improving himself for the day he knew that the vampire could seek him...as well as another encounter. The mere thought of falling again burned his newfound pride; he refused to let it happen again.

Dew perched atop a tree, his restraints opened, allowing him to grip the tree with his winged claws as he scanned the horizon. He had changed much, becoming more streamlined and slim, as he now was a large 6'5; utterly massive when compared to his old height. Though his flight was still a little choppy, it had definatly improved to the point where he could fly short distances without rest, not miles. But it was still a dynamic change in the drake; he felt a new sense of freedom; able to go further than he ever could when he was younger, to be better than he was in days of old. He looked into the horizon, his eyes stern and serious, before  he kicked off from the tree and spread his wings; flapping them steadily as he began to rise before he angled his wings and tail fins so he could turn downwards. He flew over a large stream; his wings flapping a bit as he swooped over the water, dipping his head down into the water for a second to grab a fish in his jaws; biting down to kill it quickly. Dew didn't just change physically; his morals were warped as well, twisted beyond how he lived when he was younger. He was nowhere near the same as he was in the past.

 

 

Landing in the village an hour later, Dew folded his wings up a bit as he walked upright, having taught himself to walk upright like a man more often. Many of the villagers greeted him as he walked by, as he towered over most of them now. despite this, Dew was still seen as one of them, as he visited a merchant booth and asked for a cup of tea; dropping some gold pieces onto the table as he walked off with it; knowing he gave the merchant one extra gold piece. Dew walked along the dirt path; rounding a corner before walking back to his house; as usual finding Solomon on the porch. His father had aged a bit more, his beard longer as his hair was white as snow; lines of age along his face and hands, as he sharpened a dagger with a stone. He didn't even need to look up to see it was Dew.

"Son, did you practice flight again?"

"Yeah dad, I did." Dew's tone wasn't spiteful or grim, just neutral, as he trekked past his father and entered the hut, sitting down in his father's old chair as he sipped his tea; feeling the warmth flood his body as he relaxed a bit. He always enjoyed relaxing; it made him feel a bit more secure and calm, despite the threat looming in the distance and how soon everything could collapse on him once more. It was actually miraculous Dew remained so level headed. The door opened and closed suddenly, and Dew raised his head to see his father standing there, a scowl on his face.

"Dew, I need you to run an errand for me," He tossed Dew a black and red canteen, the drake easily catching it without even batting an eye, "The natural springs are a bit covered by those weird rat things; head down there, scare 'em off, and gather some water. The healer needs it to make an antibiotic." Dew felt it was redundant, but regardless he got up and walked out the door, clipping the canteen to his belt before taking flight. Solomon watched his son fly away, then turned around and walked to the side of the house, and then to a tree a few meters near it...and with a simple utterance of a phrase in forgotten tongue, it shook, and the front part of it slowly opened to form a door, leading down into a dark staircase. Solomon slowly shook his head, and backed away, letting the ancient door seal once more.

"When he's ready...he needs to find out what I left for him down there..."

Dew perched on another tree branch, looking down at the ground as his hands gripped the branch. The spring was just up ahead, and already Dew could smell the rancid odor of those rat things. He had a run in with a few before; they were basically furry men with rat heads and tails, and often ran around with stolen weapons. They were supposedly invaders from the outside world; the main land’s Dew had never been able to reach; he never had the heart to go there, but these rat men were always a danger to the home he knew well. However, they were always in a state of disarray, and often cluttered and flopped just to get to one foe. It was rather pathetic; the first few clashes against them teaching Dew they weren’t to be taken seriously. Dew leapt to another branch, and could now see his enemy as they crowded around the spring; thankfully none defiled and poisoned it yet, but they seemed occupied with something else. They were as expected; they had human furry bodies and large rat heads; wearing an assortment of armors and clothes they scavenged from those they defeated. All of them had dark matted fur, beady red eyes, and long tails, but aside that they were pretty lackluster. Regardless, Dew dropped down behind them silently, and made his presence known the best way he could.

"The drake!" One shouted, his beady eyes falling on the charred corpse of one of them that Dew had mercilessly incinerated with his fire breath. They all turned to look at him, and Dew counted at least 12; not a major issue thankfully. They all barreled at Dew in a split second; running over each other to get to him with swords, daggers, and maces, and they all smashed into the ground after Dew spread his wings and took to the sky.

"

Hey rodents!" He shouted, as they all looked up bewildered, and watched a green ball of energy fly from his jaws, and impact the ground. Everything happened in seconds; the ground suddenly shifting and rocks bursting from the impact point; sending several of the rat men into the air, and for each to be struck with a shard of ice; Dew couldn't tell if the impalement or the fall was what ended them. The last few were finished off when Dew opened his maw, and sprayed forth a shower of lightning bolts; electrocuting them. In his time spent training, Dew had not only learned more control of his elements...he also decided that killing was a needed thing now in order to preserve peace; rat men don't go to jail. He was doing them a favor by killing them his way. Landing near the spring (and the charred corpse) Dew was about to fill his canteen with water, but stopped for a moment. Something or someone was on the ground in front of him. Dew couldn't tell who it was, but he smelt blood; and when he smelt blood, the one oozing it usually didn’t have much time left. He loomed closer, and he finally saw who it was.

A Werebat; but not just a normal one. It was her; the one who stole his innocence, the one who defiled him! She lay on the ground still; Dew already identifying several wounds on her, namely her side, leg, and stomach; both from blunt strikes and also from a few stabs; she must’ve been caught by the Rat men; they no doubt intended to abuse and rape her...or worse. He approached her tentatively, seeing if she was still conscious. His answer came when he turned her head towards him, and hissed warningly. Dew ignored this, and knelt down in front of her, the Werebat already able to see the pure hate in his eyes. She took his innocence, inflicted Post Traumatic Stress on him, and made it impossible for him to sleep well...he could get revenge. Already the Werebat could see his claws, as he raised his hand above her; prepared to finish her off; to restore his self innocence, or at the very least what he could. However, he stopped when some of her hair parted when she turned her head, and revealed one of her red eyes. It was tear soaked, as the look in her eye told him everything; she was scared to die. She feared dying, yet at the same time was submissive; she didn't wish to die like a coward; she wished to die like a monster, with honor and pride. Dew crawled past her, and dipped his maw into the spring; sucking some of the water into his jaws as he closed his mouth and approached the Werebat. She wearily turned to him as he opened his jaws, and sprayed a jet of water onto each wound. She expected the burning, stinging pain before the cold embrace of death, but she felt only heat before the very little pain dulled. She looked down, and saw her wounds were gone; the only reminder of them being.

"You did rape me..." He hissed to her, as she looked up to him, "But it was your instinct; your natural thoughts. It'd be wrong to kill you just for how you act; like a beast. So I'm following my own instinct; healing and protecting those who can't."  She stared at Dew with disbelief, as he stood and turned away. He was stopped when she darted into his path; Dew's arms rose in defense for a moment before she cocked her head, and emitted a slight screech, not from fear but from trying to tell Dew something. He was sadly unable to tell, though a question did come to him.

"Do you have a name?" He asked her a bit timidly, despite what happened between them years ago he still felt some of his childish shyness he dealt with. She shook her head, and Dew cocked his head in thought before speaking again. "How about Lily?" She made another screeching noise; this one voicing confusion."Lily; a type of plant that according to my father I consumed like candy when I was a toddler for some reason; don’t remember why. It suits you a bit." She nodded a bit excitedly, as Dew knelt down and pet her head a bit. He pulled his canteen off his belt and walked back to the spring; gathering some water inside before placing it back and spreading his wings. Lily's sudden screeches prevented him from taking off; as he turned to look at her. She spread her own wings and motioned to Dew, then to her own wings. Despite it being hard to get, Dew somehow managed to understand.

"You can teach me better flight?" She nodded ecstatically, as he lowered his wings from flight; folding them into their restraints. His flight was choppy still; and Werebats do have very good flight capabilities. He thought about it for a moment or two, before nodding.

"When I get back," He spoke, flapping his wings as he flew into the air, "I must learn everything you can teach me Lily." With one of her wings she waved to him as he flew back towards the village. As he flew, Dew let all of this sink in as he flapped his wings bit by bit to keep into the air. He could learn better flight, and he also reclaimed his lost dignity. He actually felt something he hadn't felt for the past 3 years; security. His PTSD was still present yes, but at least he faced the one who inflicted it onto him, and didn't inflict the same onto her or worse. He actually felt that things could go a bit better than usual.

 

 

...the poor child really doesn't know...

 

To Be Continued...       

Author's Note

I know it's rated Adult but I insist that before you read this you need to read the previous chapter; else you won't understand anything that's going on. I know it's work but trust me it'll work out.