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Raemos ran as fast as he could back to where their Kargoth herd clumped and grazed in the distance. He slowed as he approached, not wanting to startle the beasts.
He often wished he could fly like the others in his family, but he could not and, despite having met full grown oblivionites, felt like he never could and never would. It was terrible, but he knew himself as a freak, and also that he would just have to be used to running everywhere. He was fairly agile as a runner, though, so it worked out.
"Dad!" he called, enough to carry but not enough to startle any of the Kargoths. He weaved through them expertly- like he'd been doing all of his life. "Dad!" he called again. His father would be somewhere here among the herd, checking on them and taking care of them.

"Raemos?" came the answering call, and Raemos looked up to see his father on their biggest bull Kargoth, tending to a skin infection that had plagued the proud creature. Raemos did envy his father's glorious wings. They were magnificent and so strong... He bet they were a brilliant color, too. He wished he could see in color- but that was just another freakish fact of his freakish life. He couldn't fly, he couldn't see in color, and all he wanted to be, ever, in his whole life, was one of them, an orderite like his family. "How's that calf?"

"I think..." Raemos shivered, "I think a dragon got 'im!" he called up, "It pounced up out of the brush over that way and took 'im down!" his voice was full of excitement and residual fear. It had been the first time Raemos had seen a dragon, and it had been so close, so personal, so deadly. He knew he was no match for it's grasping plant magic, but his dad killed dragons all the time. Raemos knew that, for all his horrible flaws, one day he would be that good, and be able to protect the family as his father did.

"A dragon?" called Mallew incredulously down to his son.

"Yup! Teeth and claws and everything!" replied Raemos, "ARe you going ta hunt it down?"

"You didn't kill it?"

"I couldn't! It made plants come at me!" honestly, it was also Raemos's first exposure to real, harmful, magic. Nobody in his family was a caster, and his exposure to mages was limited- primarily in town. And there, they were still sort of enigmatic and aloof. "I thought I should run an get you!" Raemos felt suddenly unsure and afraid. Afraid not of what his father could do to him- Dad never hurt him, not even once, not even by accident. He was afraid that he had done something wrong, that he had been clumsy or made a mistake. The silence was too long.

"No, Rae..." his father said, finally, "You did the right thing. How about this. We hunt the dragon down together later, after I finish with Marco here?"

"Yes sir!!" said Raemos, delighted. His father had told him he'd done the right thing! His father wanted him to go with him to hunt the dragon! Rae was so excited!

"Meantime, could you get the Silx out of the barn? They're getting into anything. I don't care what you do, just get them out."

"Yes sir!" said Raemos, hustling off to the barn.


He opened the door to find a whole group of silx sitting boldly on their supplies, helping themselves to the food that was supposed to hold his family through the days in this harsh land.
"Hey!" shouted Raemos, drawing his sword and charging them. They dispersed, chittering at him as if they laughed at his efforts. He swiped as they ran away, barely missing one.

He followed them into the rafters of the barn, cornering one- so he thought, on a single small beam near the roof. He drew his sword as if duelling an opponent. He loved the stories of heros on the battlefield, dueling it out for the sake for justice, and he took that pose, pretending to be one of the great orderite warriors. "En garde!" he called to the bemused Silx as he charged with surprisingly adept balance.
It chittered gleefully and darted away, and Raemos realized he had made a huge error: he had fallen into a trap. The other silx came from the roof above and piled onto him, chittering as they wiggled playfully around him, tickling his nose with their fur. He swung wildly, annoyed, but they dodged him effortlessly. Suddenly, they leapt away to the safety of the wood, leaving him tottering on the beam. He teetered one way, than another, his arms outstretched and windmilling to try to keep his balance as gravity threatened to pull him down.
If he had been an orderite, with wings to summon, it wouldn't have been a problem. But he had no wings, and that fall seemed more dangerous every time his eyeless sight saw the ground below him. Finally, as was inevitable, he teetered too far, and fell, terrified, right into his fathers arms.
His father gave him a tired, if amused look. "Too much for you, huh?"
Raemos said nothing, his heart pounding. He felt ashamed- more than ashamed, he felt terrible and useless.
His father set him on the ground, smiling reassuringly. "Its fine, Rae. They're clever creatures, and they'll get you if you're not careful." he gave Raemos a pat on the shoulder, dusting him off a bit.
"Now." he said to his son, "Lets go get that dragon, hmm?"