Supernova

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This is a story about Supernova, but it follows another one of my dragons, Ewan. If you want, you can read Ewan's lore by clicking here!

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Ewan the dragon and Yew the Harpy trekked through the woods tirelessly, eyes darting around, hoping no one recognizes either of them. Their legs grew weary, but they both knew they had to keep going forwards, lest they risk being caught.

Suddenly, they both stopped. Hidden amongst the dark, shadowy trees and brightly glowing mushrooms was the vague shape of a lone house. One window had dim yellow light pouring out of it.

"Hey, Yew," Ewan said. "You think whoever's in there is friendly?"

"Wouldn't risk it," Yew answered bluntly.

Ewan nudged Yew. "C'mon, we have to stop somewhere," he said, "And a random hidden house in the middle of nowhere is better than, y'know, the middle of nowhere, period."

"But what if whoever is living in there knows about Triton?" Yew protested. "Or maybe they've heard about the missing Harpy archivist? Or-" Yew stopped once he realized Ewan had already walked ahead and was about to knock on the mysterious house's door. "Ewan!"

"What?" Ewan asked innocently, knocking.

Yes sighed in defeat and walked towards the house.

As the two waited, they both inspected the house further. It was old-looking, covered in vines and mushrooms. It had one story, a few windows, and a chimney. The back area appeared to have been fenced off with a crudely-made stone wall, and the front had a row of dead flower bushes, as if the owner of the home attempted to made the house look more presentable before giving up after the bushes died.

The two could hear the owner of the home undoing multiple locks before the door swung open, revealing a white, tired-looking Bogsneak dressed in the formal-looking clothes typical of nobility from the Light flight. Contrasting his elegant robes and windrapes was a birdskull covering his face, and on his shoulder perched a strange, many-eyed bird.

"Can I help you?" the Bogsneak asked, his voice sounding weary.

"Umm," Ewan said. "Can we stay here for the night? We were, uh, passing by, and-"

"No," the Bogsneak said. "Can't risk anything happening."

He nearly closed the door, but Ewan grabbed the handle quickly. "Please, sir, it'll be for just the night, and then we'll leave," he pleaded. "We'll stay out of trouble and everything!"

The Bogsneak looked at the two, and his eyes narrowed. "What are you two even doing here?" the Bogsneak asked. "You," he gestured towards Yew, "Are a male Harpy. And you," he said, pointing at Ewan, "Look like you're a performer of some sort. One from the Aquila Clan, from the looks of it."

"We... uh," Ewan tried to think of an explanation that didn't expose the fact that they both were essentially fugitives.

"We lost our homes," Yew quickly chimed in. "We're heading to the Sunbeam Ruins because my friend here has family there, but we've walked so far already and we need to rest."

"That's very sad, but..." the Bogsneak paused for a moment. "Fine. Come in," he said, swinging the door open.

Ewan and Yew entered, looking around. They were in what appeared to be a living room, with a worn-out couch, a coffee table, and a fireplace. The Bogsneak closed the door behind them. "Would you two like anything? Tea? Coffee? Actually, no coffee. I'm running out."

"Tea would be nice," Ewan said. Yew simply shook his head.

"Alright. Make yourself at home."

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"I haven't introduced myself," the Bogsneak pointed out as he handed Ewan a hot cup of tea. "My name is Supernova."

"Mine is Yew," Yew responded, stretching out his hand.

"And mine is," Ewan paused, trying to think of a random name. "...Vynlee." He extended his hand as well.

Supernova shook both of their hands. "It's very nice to meet you both."

Yew nodded. "You too."

Ewan suddenly slammed down his tea cup. "Hold on..."

"What?" Yew and Sunbeam both asked, concerned.

"Everything here, everything that happened to me... it's just like a book I used to read all the time!" Ewan exclaimed, grinning widely.

Supernova stared blankly at him.

"It is?" Yew asked. "What was the book about?"

"Well, it's about a dragon named Vynlee, who has the same name as me due to sheer coincidence, and his home gets attacked by evil dragons, and so he escapes," Ewan explains. "And then he meets a Serthis outcast named Thornberry and a mysterious and creepy old scientist named Kethis!"

"And I'm the mysterious and creepy old scientist?" Supernova questioned.

"Well, yeah," Ewan answered, before realizing what he just said. "N-Not that you're mysterious or creepy old i-in any way, shape or form!" Ewan cleared his throat and continued talking. "Anyways, they find out that both Kethis and the evil dragons from the beginning were messing with the Shade and turned into things that could control it called Shadecallers. Kethis was outcast because of that, and so he refused to work with anyone ever again until Vynlee and Thornberry came up and convinced him to help them defeat the evil guys!"

Supernova nodded. "Sounds like a very interesting book."

"And terrifying!" Yew responded. "There are dragons out there that can control the Shade?"

"Of course not! The book never actually happened," Ewan pointed out. "But it is super cool. Imagine if Shadecallers actually were real!"

"They're real," Supernova mumbled. "People call them things like Shadetouched and Shadeborn. All you need to know is that if you're lucky, you'll never meet one."

Supernova turned around and trudged out the room with a sigh. The two watched as he left.

"...That was ominous," Ewan commented.

"Indeed," Yew said. "Anyways, Ewan, who in their right mind writes a story that never actually happened?"

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Ewan and Yew were sleeping in the bedroom. They initially protested to it since Supernova would have nowhere else to sleep, but Supernova insisted, stating that he was going to stay awake for the night anyways, and they finally relented.

Yew opened his eyes, seeing a tiny bit of light pouring out the window. 'It must be dawn,' he thought to himself. He wished he could go back to sleep, but they had to keep moving. He stood up, yawning and stretching, and turned to shake Ewan awake.

"Ewan, we should go now," he whispered.

Ewan opened one eye. "Let me sleep another hour?"

"Now, Ewan."

Ewan sighed and got up, stretching.

Before they left, Yew took a piece of paper from his satchel, grabbed a nearby pen, and wrote a quick message saying they appreciated Supernova's hospitality but they had to go. Ewan placed down a few coins he found in his outfit and placed it by the note.

Something behind them moved.

Ewan and Yew both spun around, startled. They saw Supernova, prowling towards them. His eyes were dark, and from his paws flew smoke-like tendrils of shadows. His stance and movement was threatening and precise, completely unlike the tired yet peaceful Bogsneak they met the night before.

"Supernova?" Ewan said hesitantly. "Are you okay?"

Supernova sprung, tackling Ewan. He bared his fangs, fully prepared to lunge forwards and kill him.

"Ewan!" Yew swung his satchel at Supernova, striking him in the head. Supernova seemed to be stunned... and then he suddenly slumped and fell over.

Ewan quickly scrambled away. "Wh-What just happened?!" he yelled. "Why did Supernova just try to kill me?! And did you just knock him out??"

Supernova stirred again. Ewan and Yew backed up cautiously until he stood up. His eyes were once again white, the tendrils were gone, and his posture was once again weary and tired. "Wh... Why am I inside again?" he asked, yawning. He looked over to Ewan and Yew, and his eyes widened as he suddenly realized what had happened. "I... Are you...?"

Ewan and Yew said nothing.

There was a tense moment of silence.

"You two should leave," Supernova said.

Ewan and Yew nodded. They slowly made their way out the house and back into the gloom of the Tangled Woods.

Supernova watched them leave before he closed his door.

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