Lou

  "Lou? Sweetheart? Can we talk?" Yante looked at her son hopefully. "Please?"

  "You're already talking!" growled Nour.

  "She means alone, I think." Harper rolled his eyes and pulled Nour by the nose. Indignantly, the girl stuck out her forked tongue.

  "Hm. Talking? Hm." Lou blinked. His mother's question echoed in his thoughts, he didn't know how to answer. Then he pulled Harper's cheeky hand away from Nour, as he continued to tease her. "Harper!"

  "What? Naughty brats get pulled by the nose!" his friend defended himself. "Or am I wrong?" Then he turned to Lou's mother, whose gaze rested solely on Lou. "You want to talk to him alone, right? I don't know if I like it. Please don't get me wrong, I know you're his mother and stuff. But... You weren't there. You left Vivi to his fate instead of defending him. Dragons would never do such a thing! He now belongs to us. We won't give him back." He tried to pull Nour's nose again, while he didn't let Yante out of his sight.

  Nour hissed as she slid her head and nose under Lou's arm so Harper wouldn't pull it again. Lou stroked her soft hair and returned his mother's gaze thoughtfully. Well, at least he tried. After all, he could hardly see her. He felt that she was looking at him. "Hm." Won’t give me back? Like an object? I'm not a dragon. Is that something good? Do I want to talk to her? Without Harper? Nervously, he hugged Nour and looked up at Harper. He could vaguely see the dragon's face. Harper didn't seem angry. Just worried.

  Yante sighed. "I asked Lou, my boy. Please let him decide."

  "Hm", was Lou's answer.

  "Honey?" Yante repeated her request. "Let's talk, okay?"

  Harper just snorted, while Lou finally nodded. He wanted to talk to her. And now, now she was there. Here. In the mountains. With the dragons. In Lou's new home.

  Hesitantly, he followed his mother out of the cave. Outside, the sun was shining down on them mercilessly, so Lou pulled the scarf over his head, which he had previously worn loosely around his neck.

  "Lou? Come on, let's walk a bit!" His mother's voice was soft and loving. Just as he remembered. He also knew her colors. Everything about her was familiar and yet... When she wanted to take him by the hand to help him along the path, as Harper always did, Lou was startled and moved aside.

  "No!"

  "Honey?"

  "No! Don’t... ", Lou stammered startled. "I... Hm. No."

  "Oh. Sorry... I thought..." Yante looked at him with concern. "Can you manage to walk along the path alone?"

  "Yes." Lou pointed to the fence and in the direction of the rope, things he could hold on to. He didn't see it, but he knew it was there.

  "Good. Let's go. It's nice here."

  "Hm", Lou confirmed.

  After this short, nervous exchange, his mother was silent for a long time as they walked along the narrow path until the railing stopped. They came to one of the many pces in the mountains that were wider. Ptforms, so to speak. This was where Lou had met Olive and Masson for the first time. "Lou?"

  "Yes?"

  "I'm sorry. We weren't good parents. Your friend is not entirely wrong. But we never wanted to leave you."

  "Hm." Lou wanted to contradict her, tell her that it wasn't her fault, but he couldn't say the words.

  "We love you very much. Your father and I. We always have. I regret it, you know? We should have thrown the Wise Men out of the door. We should have given you the love you deserve."

  Lou thought about that for a moment. "No. Then we would all be dead by now. And there would be no Nina. Then Louise would never have gotten her magic. The Wise wouldn't have forgiven you for that, would they? If you had contradicted them."

  "You may be right." Yante looked around. She looked at the many caves and watched a few dragons flying high above. "These mountains. Idyllic."

  "Yes." Lou didn't know the word 'idyllic'. But he didn't dare to ask about it. He didn't want to seem stupid. "I like it here. The dragons are soft."

  "Soft?" Yante raised her eyebrows, then smiled. "Are they? How nice. Your friends are very friendly. Harper called you Vivi? A nickname?"

  "Yes."

  "Yes?" Yante wanted to touch him again, but she decided otherwise. Instead, she looked at something that Lou couldn't see. "Strange. These two eagles have been flying after us for a long time..."

  "Eagle?"

  "Yes. You rarely see them here... They sit over there. And they are staring at us."

  "Oh. Mom?"

  "Yes, Honey?"

  "Do you really love me? As much as Louise and Nina? Even though you lost everything because of me? I'm sorry."

  "What? Lou! It wasn't because of you, Sweeety. Of course, I love you very much. Just like your sisters. I would take you home in a heartbeat if the Wise would leave us alone!"

  Lou heard one of the eagles fpping its wings indignantly. A thought came to him. Smiling slightly, he chewed his lower lip. "Ah. They say I'm an honorary dragon."

  But his mother was increasingly worried about the two eagles. "Lou? Let's go back. I still have to buy medicinal herbs before the market is dismantled. For your father. Against the cough."

  "You said he was feeling better." Pouting, Lou crossed his arms. "Will he come here too?" I want to see him. I don't want to see him. I want... Both. Can Mom stay longer? But... I don't want that. Or do I? Lou's feelings fluctuated back and forth between joy and fear. Everything had just been fine. He didn't understand. It came so suddenly.

  "He wants to, yes. Lou? If I could, I'd take you home. Truly. Your room is untouched. Everything is waiting for you there. I love you very much. But you wouldn't be safe with us." Carefully, his mother raised her hand and touched the red ribbon in his hair. "I can see that the dragons take good care of you. You look pretty. The bow looks good on you, although bows are actually for girls. When Louise told me you were wearing one, I thought it was a joke. You look cute. I’m very proud of you. I've never told you that either, have I?"

  To Lou, these words sounded like a foreign nguage. He looked skeptically at his mother's hand. The hand was so close, but he couldn't lean against it. His body refused. "Hm." He shook his head.

  "Come on. We're going back."

  The two talked the entire way back, with Yante holding the rger part of the talk, as Lou had to struggle with his confusing feelings until they were back at the cave. "Strange. I don't see your friends... Wait here for a moment." Yante entered the cave, she called for the two dragons, and then she came back. Nour and Harper were no longer inside. "Have they gone?"

  "Hm." Lou heard the cry of an eagle.

  "I wanted to say goodbye to them." His mother looked at something again that Lou couldn't see. The eagles, he suspected. Yante sighed. "Well, they may have followed us. Lou? I'm leaving now, but I'll be back, I promise. May I hug you?"

  Lou blinked. He wanted to back away again, but then he forced himself to nod. He knew he wanted a hug, even if everything in him resisted. So he kept quiet. Shortly afterward, his mother wrapped her arms around him again and kissed his cheek. She had never done that before. "I love you, my Sparrow!"

  Lou's breath hitched. "Hm."

  A little ter, as he watched his mother's colors disappear along the path, tears rolled down Lou's cheeks. He wanted to run after her, tell her to stay. And at the same time, he was relieved that she was leaving. The emotions overwhelmed him until Lou sank to his knees.

  "Vivi!" cried Harper. Lou heard footsteps, then Harper was already kneeling next to him and wrapping his arms around him. Nour sat down with them.

  "Should I get her back?" the girl asked. Lou shook his head, then he cried bitterly.

  Finally, Harper lifted him effortlessly and carried Lou back into the cave. Nour followed the two.