Resolve
By Evan Drake
© 2019, Evan Drake, All Rights Reserved


Jaim always hated breaking in the new bloods. They were always so impulsive, so eager to prove themselves. A colossal pain in the ass. And it was his job to teach them how things worked and to keep them in line. A bigger pain in the ass. Putting up with their ignorance and arrogance wasn't his task. Raising whelps was the nest keepers' job.

The latest whelp to be released into his care was a young Ramscale who went by Raol. The red-gold drake strutted into the cavern with a smug smile on his face. No doubt his head was stuck in the clouds after being chosen to be a candidate to become her next sentinel by the Matriarch. It likely didn't help that he was often praised as the best hunter the clan had seen in decades. That was what Jaim hated about the young ones the most. They didn't understand the dangers of overconfidence. A proper sentinel couldn't protect the matriarch if they had their head stuck up their ass.

Once the young drake approached, Jaim slapped his tail against a nearby rock to show his displeasure. “You're late."

“Late for what?"

“You were supposed to be here by sunrise."

Raol looked back at the cavern entrance. The sun could be seen peeking over the horizon, it's light slowing creeping over the rest of the valley. He snorted and said, “It's still early. Relax before you hurt yourself."

A heavy sigh escaped Jaim's muzzle as he slapped his tail against the rock again. Better to take out his frustrations on the rocks than the whelp before him. Sethra, their matriarch, wouldn't like it if she had to choose a new replacement so soon.

Raol took his place on the other side of the entrance to the matriarch's den then leaned against the wall and scratched at his side. “I don't get why we have to stand guard anyway. It's not as if anyone is stupid enough to attack the Matriarch."

“Never underestimate your enemies, whelp. Another dragon may not try anything, but the humans might."

A short bark of a laugh was the young drake's response. “ A human? What could a human do against a dragon?"

“Did you forget the humans are capable of hurting us?"

“Whatever. I'm the best hunter this clan has seen. As if some lowly human could be a threat to me."

Jaim sighed again. This wasn't going to work out. This new whelp was far too full of himself and that would put the Matriach in danger. But he really didn't enjoy the prospect of having to train another one. Sethra chose this one for a reason. If nothing else, he would trust his beloved's decision.

He pushed his aversions aside and explained to Raol how things would work from now on. The Matriarch had the task of ensuring the clan was taken care of, and as her chosen sentinels, their task was to see to her needs. Bring her food, ensure she got enough rest, care for if she became ill, and keep her enemies at bay. Between rival Matriarchs vying for power and disgruntled humans unhappy with living under a dragon's tutelage, they had to be careful.

During the explanation, he could tell Raol wasn't really listening. He expected as much when he had to explain it in the first place as the drake should know all this already. At that age, he wasn't the most attentive either, but Raol's lack of interest made it all the harder to accept that he was supposed to leave the care and well-being of his beloved to this uncaring fool. This was how they lost the last sentinel she chose because the stubborn drake believed he could handle things on his own.

But dragons always preferred actions to words. The drake had skills—no denying it. It would come down to how the drake reacted in a situation.

With the explanation over, the two sat in silence and watched as the sun rose in the distance through the cavern entrance. Raol remained attentive and alert.

Perhaps there's hope for this whelp after all, Jaim thought.

“So is it true?" Raol asked.

“Is what true?" Jaim asked stiffly. He already had an idea of what Raol was getting at, but he hoped to be wrong.

“That as a sentinel, there's a good chance I'll be chosen as the Matriarch's mate?"

Jaim sighed again. Turned out he wasn't wrong. It wasn't uncommon for a Matriarch to choose one of her sentinels as her mate. Normally, it wasn't something he thought about, but as the Matriarch's chosen mate, he couldn't help but take the question personally.

Some dragons practiced polygamous pairings, but in most cases, a single mate was chosen. The last thing he wanted was for this young drake to decide he was an obstacle. Sentinels fighting each other to gain the Matriarch's favor wasn't unheard of either.

“You really think she'll choose you?" Jaim asked.

“Why wouldn't she? Half the females in the clan have approached me."

“So choose one of them," Jaim grumbled under his breath.

“Excuse me," a male voice said.

Jaim quickly turned to a human standing before him. The man was a thin one and had long since entered adulthood. Not yet old, but certainly not young either. What bothered Jaim was the man's eyes. They burned with the strong determination of someone who would not be denied.

“What do you want, human?" Jaim asked.

The man took notice of being addressed and stepped forward, declaring in a loud voice, “I want to speak to the Matriarch."

“She's sleeping. Come back later."

“Shouldn't we find out what he wants first?" Raol asked.

Jaim fought back a growl as he replied, “That's for the Matriarch to know, not us. But she's sleeping. He'll have to come back later."

“I'm afraid it can't wait," the man said. “You dragons have been taking the best hunting spots, and now because of it, my family could starve. I need to talk to her now."

“I don't think I like your tone, human," Raol said. He stepped toward the human who backed away and reached for the weapon strapped to his back.

Jaim quickly spoke up, hoping to defuse the situation before it got any worse. “If you want her to listen to your request, you'll have to wait until she wakes up."

“I'm supposed to wait around while she sleeps the day away?! You go in there and tell that—"

Raol leapt onto the man before he could finish, pinning him to the ground. The man let out a single yell that was also cut short when his throat was torn out.

Jaim stared at the drake in horror. “Why did you do that?! Killing him was not your place!"

“He wasn't listening," Raol replied calmly. “Besides, Sethra doesn't need to waste her time on human requests. Fool was too weak to hunt himself and came to us begging for scraps then had the nerve to demand something of us." He nudged the corpse away as if disgusted by it. “Fool got what he deserved."

Jaim sighed for what had to be the hundredth time that day. This wasn't going to work out after all. This one was too reckless, too arrogant. Whether that human was worth her time or if she should consider his request wasn't Raol's call to make. Anyone who couldn't serve their matriarch faithfully couldn't serve her at all.

He calmly and quickly approached Raol from behind. The drake was so lost in his ramblings and gloating over his kill, he didn't acknowledge the threat behind him.

In an instant, Jaim was on Raol's back, shredding the drake's wings and limiting his movements. He then seized the back of Raol's head in his jaws, gave a sharp twist of his neck, and the breaking of bone filled his ears. Raol's body immediately went limp beneath him. With one last sigh, he walked away to find someone to clean up the mess.

He really hated breaking in the new bloods.