A tall, lanky old man with a thick, bushy white mustache stepped out from the trees. Tryton had changed his appearance in case Lov woke up. He looked to where his grandson slept, then turned his attention to the beast.
"Good, Fifi. But he didn't go where we wanted him to." The beast cocked her head listening. Tryton pointed to the mountain. "We need him up there, so disappear and try again."
The beast moved through the jungle, melting into the thick underbrush. Tryton sauntered over to stand under the tree's branches where the young half-dragon slept. He willed himself to levitate until he was eye level with Lov. "You better figure this out, kid. You're the only one who can save your mother, and get the Titans on the right track." He levitated down to the tree's trunk and took one last look back up at his grandson. As he walked into the forest, he grew in size. From the size of a man to the size of a wagon, then to the size of a house. His blue and orange scales glowed lightly in the night as he took off from the island, headed to his own battles he had to fight.
Lov gave a start grabbing for a nearby branch as a gust of wind blasted him in the tree. It was still dark, but he could see. He searched for the beast that had chased him earlier, unable to spot it. He waited patiently, making sure that the beast was gone. The half-elf slowly lowered himself from the tree, feeling the jungle for any changes. As he passed where the beast scaled the tree, his fingers slipped into the gouges it had made on the trunk to his second knuckle. He snatched his hand out, shocked by how deep the claw marks were.
His foot slid on the trunk, and Lov scrambled for a hand hold on the tree, but was unable to find one. He tumbled along the same path the beast had, even landing on the branch it busted off. A sharp pain filled his side, and Lov looked down to see a piece of the branch buried there. He groaned as he twisted around trying to get a better look at the stick. It was as thick as his thumb, and it hurt. He ripped a strip of cloth from his shirt and pulled the stick out, bandaging the wound as best as he could. He felt the wound stretch as he stood. It was painful, but Lov chose not to let it affect him.
He heard a sharp familiar bark from behind him and headed deeper into the jungle, away from the sound. After several hours of traveling, he climbed another tree to get his bearings. He heard the sea from behind, but it sounded distant. From time to time, he would hear the beast making noise from that direction. The mountain rose from the jungle floor in front of him, and Lov noticed that he was much closer to it than a couple of days ago. Lov could see a small building on the mountainside, about halfway up. He decided to push for it, since he needed shelter.
Lov returned to the small shed on the mountain he had been living in for the last few months. Built to house an altar of some sort, it didn't offer much in the way of creature comforts, but it kept the water off while he slept. The wet season had rolled in, bringing much needed precipitation to the jungle, but it hampered Lov. It was hard to keep an ear out for the beast with the splattering of droplets on the ground. Twice he had almost run into it. The rain masked its sounds well.
He rounded the corner to his shelter, and went in through the open front. He nocked an arrow lightning quick, aiming at the immense snake that was curled upon the altar.
"Put your toy away, kid. I mean you no harm." it said, sounding like his grandfather.
Lov rubbed his eyes, as if to wake from a dream. "Tryton?" He asked, thinking himself hallucinating.
The snake morphed, turning into a tall, hard looking man. His hair was long and black, and he wore a braided band around his temples. A hard hawk-like face glared at him with deep blue eyes. "I'm disappointed in you, kid. I leave you here for a couple months, hoping you'll show me some spirit. And what do you do? Survive. No fun, no pets, nothing." He threw his hands up in exasperation. "I do have to say, you've done an admirable job of surviving."
Lov heard a snap behind him. He turned in alarm, knowing the sound of the beast's beak clacking together. "Why do you jump?" His grandfather asked, coming forward to grab the beast by the scales under its beak. Tryton began to scratch the eye ridges roughly. His voice light and endearing, he cooed. "Who could jump at such a pretty girl? Fifi's so sweet, yes she is!"
Lov was startled. The creature, Fifi, flicked out a tongue long enough to lick his grandfather from two feet away. Tryton turned away from the beast and back to Lov. "If you had only turned and faced her as a dragon, she would have done you no harm."
Lov slowly blushed, turning black in the face, feeling his dragonhunger building up within him. "What in the hell do you think you're doing? You're insane! I ask for help to avenge my people, and you drop me on an island, with your crazy ass dog to keep me company? Only, you didn't tell me it was your pet! Instead, it chases me the whole time I'm here like I'm dinner!"
Tryton seemed to grow in size. His hair brushed the top of the shelter as his shoulders broadened. "Watch your tone with me, young man!" Tryton replied, his eyes glowing with a purple light. "What have you done to help your mother while you've been on this island?" The old dragon demanded.
"Nothing, there's nothing I can do from here." Lov shot back petulantly.
"There's plenty you can do from here." Tryton replied, his voice and size returning to normal. "How are you doing at lighting a fire?"
Lov pointed to the corner where some coals burned. "I've kept that going."
Tryton gave a small laugh, then sucked the air away from the embers. "That's not what I meant." He stated as he killed Lov's fire. "I don't want to know what you can do with sticks and tinder. I want you to light that fire. Using our power, not your muscles."
Lov swallowed the anger that wanted to burst forth. Instead, he took a deep breath. "I still don't see how fire will help." He said calmly.
"Really?" His grandfather asked. "Let me show you."
The young half-dragon watched as he was surrounded by tall walls of flame. He started to reach through it, since fire didn't hurt dragons, but stopped when his grandfather told him to.
"One day, you might be able to save yourself from the flames of a fully grown dragon, but now isn't that time." Tryton dropped his flame walls and walked out the front of the building. "I'll be back in a couple more weeks to check on you." He said as he walked into the jungle. "Be sure to work on your magic! Fire is easiest, but if you can master another element, it'll do!" Tryton shouted out as he disappeared into the trees.
Lov absently reached out and scratched Fifi on her eye ridge. "Well, looks like it's just you and me, girl." He said to the hulking beast. Fifi shook her head, as if to deny, and took off into the jungle, leaving Lov alone in the dark.
His anger smoldered inside him. He could hear a phrase his father used to say. Think, Lov. Don't get angry. Your anger makes you stop thinking, when you stop thinking, you lose.
He needed to calm himself before he'd be able to do anything. Lov sat cross legged and took some deep breaths. Slowly he felt himself calm. His dragonhunger cursed his tranquility, demanded he do something besides sit there, but he pushed it aside, and felt his anger dissipate.
The young half-dragon sat as he had with his mother many times before, relaxing and drinking in the world around him. She taught Lov that you don't need your eyes to see what is around you. He felt the wind kiss his face, felt the earth beneath him welling with power. Felt the trees around him swaying. He heard the little animal sounds, chattering of squirrels and other rodents on the forest floor. The many mysterious calls of monkeys back and forth. And the birds, the wonderful strange melodic sounds they made. He didn't know how, but he tried reaching for the immense well of power he felt beneath his feet. Lov grasped a small part of it, and struggled for control. He thought he had it, when he lost it with a physical slap. It threw him to the ground, knocking the wind from him.
Lov sat up from landing sprawled on his stomach and resettled into a cross legged position. Something told him that wasn't the way. He started his breathing exercise again, this time drawing from the well of power within himself. He felt himself reach out and seize the power within. It twisted and writhed in his grasp, like an eel, slipping away from him faster than thought.
The young half-dragon tried again, wrestling the eel, and managed a form of control. He felt his mind guided, following a path laid before it.
Warmth began to come to him from where his fire was situated. He turned, a smile upon his face, until he saw what he had done. A full half of his shelter was in flames. Lov gave a startled cry and lost control. The fire swelled and burned hotter. The young half-elf grabbed his weapons and beat a hasty retreat from the burning building. Smoke billowed out behind him as he ran. He wasn't sure if that was dragon fire, but he didn't want to stick around to find out. The shelter collapsed with a whoosh shortly after he escaped. Late in the night, the collapsed shelter's embers finished burning out.
Lov walked out into the jungle, looking for a roof to place over his head. He found a cave and approached it cautiously. Rocks tripped him sending him stumbling into the cave. The darkness from the back of the cavern unnerved Lov as he lay on the ground, thankful he wasn't hurt. He decided to stick to the front of the cave. It went deeper, but he just wanted a dry place to sleep, in case the rains came. The young half-elf curled up in a ball and went to sleep.