Noah

"Hey, ma?" the fluffed up tundra chirped, still gazing up at the night sky.

"Yes, darling?"

"When is mom-mom coming?"

The pearlcatcher sighed, shaking her head sorrowfully; "I'm right here, hadn't you asked multiple times already?"

The tundra looked up at her, his red eyes glowing under the influence of the moonlight, as if to say something. "I know, but I wanna see her, I wanna go back."

Noah, a young tundra that seeked shelter at Sybaa's lair, would often cry out for a mother that neither matched the identity of his biological or his adoptive. Sybaa, a pearlcatcher well-known through the lair, had taken the hatchling and nursed him back to health, as he was scratched up from, as he says, "searching for his ma."

"Noah," Sybaa started, lowering herself to meet his eye level, "I want to help you, but I need to know who mom-mom is to do anything, cookie."

Suddenly excited, Noah burst; "Mom-mom is the best! She could control the night stars and consciousness of the beings that fell to sleep under her realm! I'm not as good as she is but-"

Noah continued rambling on, Sybaa struggling to keep up. Noah had, several times, told her about his mother. She apparently held supernatural powers and seemed to be the leader or empress of the sky; as if she was a deity. Often times, Noah would also display some weird traits that would scare away wandering dragons within the lair.

Noah, barely a toddler by dragon standards, could predict the weather, knew how to hunt owls and other nocturnal species, could read and interpret dreams or thoughts, and could see into the mind of the unconscious.

Pretty unbelievable until you see it yourself, Sybaa thought.

"- but, my town was burnt down.." Noah stopped, and finally returning his gaze to the far-off mountains, asked;

"Why'd they do that?"

Sybaa caught onto the pain in his voice, and asked "Who did?"

"The man, he brought fire, and he- he burnt my town down. My dog, Charlie died. My friends died! Then, he threw me into the lake, and he held my head down- I couldn't breathe, I blacked out- and, and..." Noah stuttered, his face giving a blank expression; unreadable, but ever so distant.

"And then what?" Sybaa stroked the tundra's coat, as if to distract him from any hurtful thoughts and comb them straight out and through his fur.

"And then I died." His eyes located hers, locked on, and said, "Then I came here. I came here, ran away, and found you."

She was startled. For goodness sake, most other hatchlings his age in the lair would barely sit down long enough to eat supper, but Noah could sit all night and grieve over a pain she couldn't imagine.

Sometimes, his maturity would surprise her, his knowledge of certain subjects would overwhelm her, and his skill with weaponry would scare her. She'd love him all the same though.

"Then, why did you stop here?" Sybaa questioned. His mind was way ahead of his time, he could probably have continued on to his journey, but he didn't. After staying in the lair a couple days, he would not show any sign of leaving.

His eyes saddened, and he looked up at the night sky once again. "I found my ma, but she hasn't found me yet." His gaze followed a shooting star that streaked the night sky. "She died before I did, but I didn't know. I found her though!" Noah perked up, readjusting his position.

"While I was running, I saw a mind, it was clouded, soft, and blocked.. I couldn't see inside of the mind. When unconscious, I can't see the dreams either; they only look like fragments of the night sky to me." Noah let his head drop to his paws, this time his eyes were tracing the first rays of light in the night sky.

Sybaa rested her fluffy tail on top of the tundra's frail, small body. "I hope she finds you soon.. you deserve to have a peace of mind." She said softly, before letting a yawn escape and break the mood. Sybaa had stayed up all night with Noah for the past several days, as per his request, and would sleep during the early morning hours.

"Noah, I'm sorry, will you let me go get some sleep, cookie?" Sybaa stood up, realizing her legs had fallen asleep. The sizzling feeling in her legs rattled through her body like an echo.

"Sure, ma." Noah stood up as well, probably to go grab a bite of food.

"Thanks," Sybaa started toward the sleeping den. She waved him off, dismissing him; "Don't cause too much trouble."

"I won't!" Noah called back. He watched her enter the den, before quietly wishing to her, "Sweet dreams, mom-mom."