I Succeeded--In Two Different Places

They were best friends.                                       

The dragon would fly, and the snake slithered along on its back, but today, a heated debate was like an erupting volcano—Ashes spewed out the lava, but Hehe retorted, blinking away the smoke of indifference.

“You left the baby dragon egg back in the nest and then slithered away, ignoring his pitiful cries!”

“But he’s newborn. ‘Mommy, come rescue me!’ and ‘Daddy, please help me!’

“But you’re not the parents!”

“Yeah, and you’re not the parent.”

“Nor am I the babysitter. So why do I need to care about the baby?”

“Because you said you’d ensure his safety! I trust you. We’re best friends.”

 The snake mumbled something under its breath.

“That’s not an excuse!” The dragon landed so hard on the water its tail made a huge splash, sending a huge wave towards Hehe. The snake recoiled, hissing vehemently at it crashing against the rock and then turned its head nonchalantly. It rolled its half-closed eyes. “Give me a break! I left the nest, because the hay—”

“I know what a nest is!” The dragon said. “You don’t understand what goes into raising hatchlings—”      

“I have three snakelets at home! My wife’s as busy getting them all these mice—”

“You don’t need to go into irrelevancies. All I asked is for Uncle Hehe to watch my hatchling!”

Hehe shook his head, saddened about something else.     

“See?” The dragon chided. “See? You’re ignoring me. All I ask is for you to watch someone. You don’t need to laugh at me.”

“Who’s the father around here, huh?”

“MY HATCHLING WAS IN DANGER, AND YOU’RE THINKING OF YOUR OWN SNAKELETS?” The dragon’s booming voice could have awakened the nearby volcano. Hehe, eyes wide with terror, looked around on land and across the sea, coiling tighter on the huge rock on which he lay. Then he glared at the dragon, having settled down. But before he slid his forked tongue in and out of his mouth, he stood still.

“What? Scared your snakelets are going to end up like your sister?” The dragon’s voice emanated sarcasm. “What is it you’re so afraid of—”    

“Shush!”       

Hehe moved his head cautiously, his forked tongue flickering. “It’s…a human. I smell it. I think I can make out who it is…” He slithered towards the grass and then stopped when he saw a long silver thing appear from behind a huge bush. Then a silver man emerged, both animals staring.

“Ah! I am lucky today. A dragon and a Water Moccasin (to which Hehe bared his fangs). What a tale for the feast tonight! And a promotion if I catch both of them!” The silver man drew his long silver thing. Hehe and Ashes continued watching, their eyes on every jab and thrust and swing.  When the silver man threatened Hehe with it, the enraged snake ducked and then hissed.  He retreated to his rock, where he lowered his head and bared his fangs, about to attack when he saw the silver man’s, well, silver. He’s all covered up. With this shiny metal stuff. What do I do?

The snake ignored the dragon’s words about attacking.  But he saw this stupid shiny man running away! Laughing to himself, the snake relaxed, turning to the dragon.

“See that? What a coward! He didn’t even attack me. Or you.”

"Hehe, I don’t get it.  Before we even continue the day, we get attacked—”

“We weren’t attacked, Ashes. We were taunted!”

“You know what.”   The dragon stretched out its wings for Hehe to board.  “Let’s tour the lands beyond the castle and monarchy of Silver Man and Adorned Woman Land. Let’s stop them together!”

“We’ll get speared from the ground!” Spat Hehe. He backed away as soon as he felt the cool liquid touch his waxy scales.

“Oh, come on! You’re a Water Moccasin!”

“Yeah, well,” Hehe muttered, “they’re also found near water. Not always in water. There’s a difference.”

“Come on!” The dragon spread its wings. “You coming, or not—coward?” He chuckled.

Hehe gulped at the water. “You sure that silver man is gone? I don’t want it to be cutting me up and selling me to some lady with a snake tattoo. She’ll make a mean snake boot out of me!”

“Here’s my wing. Just slither over.”

The dragon’s tail slowly but surely moved towards the fearful snake. When all was perfectly quiet, the tail suddenly thrust the snake into the water and then the snake, sputtering and screaming, slithered onto his rock again. Baring his fangs, Hehe glared at the laughing dragon.

“I could’ve drowned.”

It was true (at least in Hehe’s mind). Hehe’s sisters were playing in the water, while Dad was off teaching his brother. One of the snakes lost her balance on a log and struggled to swim up towards land. The other sisters didn’t know how to swim. They screamed for their mother, but she wasn’t back from hunting for eggs and rats. So they cried for their sister to swim as hard as she could, but her head slipped underneath, she flailed and then just lay there, her thin body floating. Hehe, horror shining through those widened eyes, slithered away, screaming for help.

“You know why you couldn’t have done that! You—you almost drowned me. I…”

“Learn to swim, Hehe. What if you have to dive off me?” The words but you’re a Water Moccasin suddenly inflamed Hehe. Hehe lunged for the dragon. He roared in pain, his fiery breath almost scorching the snake had Hehe not slithered courageously out of the way. “Don’t you ever attack me like that again!”

“I can’t believe you. You—you just laugh at others.”

“You refuse swimming lessons —”

“Just—leave me alone, will you? Just go away. I don’t need the silver man ordering me around. Besides, I’m perfectly happy on this rock. If you want to go burn down the villages and kingdom, go ahead—be a hero. Other than that, stay out of my way!”

Muttering to himself about how Hehe just watches the water ripple and wave away, the dragon disappeared over the land. Hehe, who was looking the opposite way, knew this because he couldn’t hear the flapping of wings anymore. Suddenly, something flipped and splashed. “Who’s there?” A soaked Hehe narrowed his eyes at the water. “Is that you, Ashes?”

“No!” The creature appeared, blindingly, blinkingly white and bright-eyed. “Me.” It smiled cheerfully.

“Stop it.” Hehe shook the water off himself. “Why are you looking at me like that?”    

The creature continued talking. “Because I’m important, too. We can be friends, right?”                                

But Hehe’s answer venomously shot out towards the creature. He watched with satisfaction at how it jerked back, fear gleaming in those big eyes. Hehe moved his long thick body dancingly. “Mm-hm!”   

“Well,” it shot out, “you’re afraid of the water!” Then it quickly changed the subject, flying around after shaking itself dry. “See? I have wings! I’m a dragon, too. All colorful and pretty. Not boasting. Just showing off!” It laughed. And whirled around in the sky, its surprisingly big wingspan blocking the omnipotent sun. “See? See my wingspan?”

“Yeah—” Hehe put his tail to his forehead, shielding it from the blazing sun. “Why doesn’t anyone else? It’s beautiful!”     

“Because they’re not having any fun watching me fly around. They don’t believe in me.” Hehe actually exhaled understandingly. He looked at the dragon. Should he spill his tragedy to a stranger—however fun it was?

“But I assume you’re friends with dragons, right?  So they’d have wingspans like yours. So why aren’t they mocked? Hey—Ashes, that fiery dragon. He’s a mammoth of a dragon.”

“They mock me because I’m a lot smaller than they. My wingspan’s big. I guess, bigger than I.” It shrugged, scratching its head. “Anyway, I’d love to see you go along with me. Let’s take a little adventure down the lake! I’ll watch you, and you keep your eyes on me, is that alright?”  

“No—” Hehe shook his head adamantly. “I can’t let that happen. I’ll drown.”

“But,” it spoke as if treading on eggshells. “You’re a Water Moccasin!”      

“Yeah—don’t remind me.” Hehe said icily. The dragon appeared in front of him, and the snake looked up disgruntled.

“Hey—don’t be so down.” It held out a paw. “Let’s…here, I’ll let you onto my back.” Suddenly, a huge splash told the snake Ashes was back. “Yeah—what is it, Ashes?”      

“You won’t believe it! There’s a whole village of silver men. I saw them—with my own eyes.”

“Tell me something I wouldn’t know already.”

“Well, you can come and see. Hey—who’s this?”   

The dragons met, Hehe watching them quickly birth a friendship. However, the snake wasn’t in the mood to go see whether he could count silver men being given orders to thrust their spears into two animals, Ashes a frenemy or not. Hehe loved Ashes, but it just would get to the point where his nagging really rattled his tail. Wasn’t the proximity enough? Did he have to let it soak his body, pull him downwards, trap him, suffocate him—kill him? Murder! It was worse than the silver men. The snake shook his head no when the dragon offered to go for a ride.                

The dragons spoke to each other a while, and then Ashes was gone, wings becoming a thin black line and then disappearing over the cloudy horizon. The other dragon landed softly on Hehe’s rock.           

“You know,” it said, “I can’t believe we’re arguing over this.”

“Yeah, me neither.” The snake said.

 It let out a huge breath. “I hope you win a race or something! Maybe your sisters are swimming. You never know. It’s not worth the headache. I mean it’s worth trying. I don’t mean to control you, but I was afraid of flying until I forced myself off a cliff. And then I was up high with the birds, smiling down at the rocks and dirt and—”

Hehe’s eyes went wide with terror. “Did you get shot by those silver men? We—Ashes and I—saw one. Did—did you get hurt?” He immediately started checking the dragon. “What’s your name?”

“Wait—” The dragon backed off, its paws motioning for space. “Ashes and you saw them? How did you not get hurt? What in the world is going on here?”  

Hehe couldn’t believe he was hearing this—from a dragon! “Ashes is the only dragon left in this kingdom. Silver men are going to exterminate him. He’s gone now, and the one we saw was already making plans to capture and kill us. We’ll be a snake boot and a dragon drink for the lady at the tavern. Or worse, the king. Or worse, meat for his dragons. What if—”

“You mean knights in silver armor?”

“If that’s what they’re called.” Hehe nodded uncertainly. “Whatever! But don’t you need to be on your guard?” He whimpered. “I hope Ashes doesn’t get stabbed or killed. He’ll burn them down, but they’ll come back. They always do. To turn dragons into boots and belts and knife handles and—”

“How do you know all this stuff?”

“Ashes told me. He’s heard the tavern talk.”

“Oh.” The dragon nodded, and then cute dimples showed on its face. “Well, better stay positive. Kills the frustration.” Hehe secretly despised this dragon. He was always smiling and cheery. Constantly in the air, flying so high, yet coming down to talk to a fearful animal like him. What…a friend. Hehe ducked and swallowed. Feeling like he just got fed a spoonful of mice droppings, he coiled up, wary of this creature.

“I was—until my sister passed away.”

“Oh,” the dragon said tenderly. “So sorry!”

“Never mind. Never mind—it was a long time ago. I don’t want to bring it up. I don’t want to bring you down.”

The dragon thought this was the funniest thing in the world.  He crashed onto his wings, roaring. Soon, when he was done, he sat on his rear, his paws out behind him. “That was funny.”

The unnerved snake moved his bottom eyelids upwards. “Liked it?”

“Yeah!” The dragon blinked. “Don’t you—wait! We never met. I’m—”    

The snake attacked. The dragon narrowly dodged, slipping on the edge, his back paws entering the water. Hehe just scoffed. The dragon flew out of the water, away from Hehe. Hehe scrunched up, his head poised. Who was it to convert him? He was perfectly fine on his own. Ashes and he were a duo. Until this guy tried to uncoil him!

“What do you want, anyway?” The dragon admonished.

“It’s none of your business, dragon.”

“You’re not even interested in your own friend Ashes. How are you going to meet new creatures?”

“You better not call me ‘Water Moccasin’! Besides, Ashes is a friend. A special friend.”

“As special as you are kind. Ashes doesn’t even like you.”

The snake didn’t respond. When Ashes returned, inviting the dragon and the snake, Hehe refused.

“Suit yourself.”  When they got back, Hehe was even more poisonous than before. It flew above him, narrowly missing his deadly fangs. He wasn’t trying to hurt him; he just wanted to be left alone. Ashes wouldn’t. Hehe wished he was with his family, playing in the water. He sighed. Does anyone care about me?

Over the years, Hehe, the dragon and Ashes were all flying (Hehe on Ashes’ back) over the sea. When the dragon wouldn’t shut up about the stupidity that was fish flying in and out of the water without ever being caught by even a dragon, he finally snapped at him—literally. And almost fell overboard.

The dragon stared at Hehe, its piercing eyes and open mouth radiating hurt and anger. Hehe continued, indifferent. One time, Ashes circled Hehe’s rock and then blew fire onto it. Hehe roared, but Ashes yelled that he couldn’t hear him above the howling wind. When Hehe was screaming now, Ashes shook his massive charcoal head.  

“Hey—that’s my rock! Take me back there.”

 Ashes and the dragon laughed.             

“I’ll bite you.”

“You have a fatal bite, Hehe. You going to kill me over water—literally?”

This time, Hehe was speechless. He looked at the dragon. It was flying silently beside Ashes. He closed his mouth and looked back at the glowing rock. He moved towards the water but stopped. He bit his lip. Fear jolted through him. Thoughts of himself flying high into the air and then splashing down upon the water entertained him, but when Ashes encouraged him, he shut it all out. No, I won’t. I can’t. What if I drown? I’ll be with Daisy, but I won’t be here. “Did they ever make plans to kill us?”

“What if your siblings are swimming?” Ashes asked. “Are they brave? If so, could you be? And no, they’re making plans on how to capture me!”

“I…” Hehe watched the water. “Yeah—they are.”

The snake went closer to the water. Then his head was about to brush the glistening stuff the setting sun made so orange and beautiful. “I’m so thirsty.” The dragon and Ashes slowed to a stop, he felt. Then there was a splash, and a slurping sound.

“Hey—you’re not afraid of your first species name anymore!”

The snake gulped down the sweet, cool water, his eyes filling with relief at the refreshing liquid.

“Hey—what’s his name?”

“Hehe.”

“Oh! Hey, Hehe—”

“Shush! He’s basking in the water!”

Hehe opened one eye, and then the other. He looked back—his whole body was near floating on the surface. He grinned up at the two dragons. “If the Silver men won’t bother us, then who will try us when we’re breathing down fire on them?”

“Huh?” Hehe threw himself up out of the water. “Huh?”

“Get the water out of your ears, snake!” The dragon laughed. “Come on—swim like a real reptile!”

“I…” Hehe plunged in. But then he started drinking the water. He choked. He gagged. He sputtered. The dragon pulled him out, holding him with one paw.

“There.” He clutched him and then dropped him, instructing him. “I’ve seen others. Do the same thing! Like this.” He mimicked other Water Moccasins, paddling with his paws.

Hehe tried. He then found himself able to both slither through the water. He drank some more. He felt free.

Ashes left him.

The snake warned the dragon that if Ashes returned, he’d bite him.  

The dragon nodded, not agreeing. Ashes did return. The snake stealthily crept up to Ashes and sunk his fangs into the dragon. Ashes roared, scorching the earth before him. He shook and trembled, foam dripping from his mouth.  Then he landed with a huge wave crashing onto land. Ashes’ wings lay with him. Forever.

The dragon widened its eyes, terrified of Hehe. Hehe turned on him. “I did that because I had to.  No dragon’s going to tell me that I was afraid of my own first species name. Everyone knowing a freaking dragon taught me to swim, when I could decide for myself whether I wanted to. I have to right to make my own decisions! I’m not just a submissive coward!” Then he smiled smugly. “No silver man’s going to hunt me now. I just killed a dragon myself. He’ll know when he sees a dead beast in this sea and me hissing at him!”

 “How did I know he did that? He said he would—a long time ago. Label me a coward!” Hehe said resolutely.

“Yes—yes, Your Majesty!” The dragon flew off, returning only when the snake was dead. He taught his snakelets to swim, and they grew up nonvenomous in attitude.  The dragon mourned soon cared only for Ashes, mourning him forever.

And that’s what counted.