Apparently Fire CAN Hurt Dragons
Sorry for the late update! I've been super busy with school, my actual story I'm publishing, and Marching Season! Band season ends this week, so I'll have more time to flesh out some stories for all of you guys! Again, these works I'm writing aren't yiff of any kind, so if you're eager to read a story full of characters and adventures, Lux Pendragon is the place you'll be! I'll have more stories up, like a Zootopia AU, a story labeled 'Prototype', and other short stories! I have art on Naltar, but I still haven't figured out how to upload characters to my stories yet. Anyways, I'm working on the third chapter as soon as I can, so hang in there and thanks for the support!
It was early morning when I returned to the encampment. Or, at least where I was sure it was. Morning came, and I dragged the Yai bear by its hind leg through the soft snow. When I reached the encampment, which resided in a large field next to the forest, there was no tent, no fire, and no living soul. Panicking, I dropped the bear and ran into the large clearing, eyes wide and searching frantically. The only evidence of any recent encampment was ashes left over from a fire.
I rushed around, calling the names of those whom I new, yet no one shouted back. Nothing greeted me but the harsh winds of silence, which made me shiver. For the first time since I could remember, I was truly alone. I felt cold, desperate, and weak. The memory of me triumphantly killing a feared predator was gone, and I began to cry as I sunk to the ground.
"U-Uncle must've forgotten about me..." I said, my breath and voice trembling. "T-The bear must've scared them off, a-and they couldn't reach me in time..." I wanted to believe it was true, and in my youth self, I did. I got back to my feet, wiping my tears and shaking my fear off. Dragons don't cry, and I was no different. I searched around the clearing in hope for some clue as to which direction they went. All I found was the bear tracks, which confirmed my hypothesis on why they left me. Feeling better that their abandonment of me was accidental made me relax a little. I left the bear where it was, since my pouch was full of meat, and I found a side trail that led to the river.
I followed the trail in the early morning light - the sun had yet to poke its head above the trees - until I reached the icy river. Isank River, as we called it, was frozen over. My clan had the ability to dispel fire, so getting water was no difficult task. Well, at least the adults could dispel it. Nonetheless, I inspected the icy top to see if there were any tracks of my clan. None. Sighing, I sat down on the bank, thinking of how to find them. Maybe this was a secret part of the ordeal?
I knew better than that, though.
Grunting, I tightened my straps, my mind at a loss for what to do. With no tracks or scents to follow, I couldn't find them. I had nothing. Nothing but protection and food. The river was surrounded by trees, with only trail, which was on the other side. My ear twitched, hearing rustling in the forest around me. Not wanting to stay in one place for too long, I got up and shook myself to get the recently fallen snow off of me. I turned to my right, and began to follow the river. It was my only option.
I don't remember how long I followed that river. I walked and walked until I got tired. When I got tired, I drank the fresh, clear water, sat down and ate. When I finished eating, I'd get back up and continued to follow the river. I followed it for days and days, until my food ran out. I didn't see another soul nor creature, which was odd because of the river's clean water.
I stopped to fish in a river that rested next to an open plain. As far as I could tell, the plain's tall wavy grass stretched as far as the eye could see. After I had cut out a hole in the ice with a makeshift knife that was in my pouch, I fished for most of the day, glad that the Isank fish were more active during fall and winter. Yawning, I stretched out on the bank, my tail coiled around the pole I had constructed, and took a nap. Since from a very young age, I was able to wait after I laid traps or fish while sleeping. Being a light sleeper, keeping an ear or nose out for danger was usually an easy feat.
A sharp crack, like breaking ice, made my eyes snap wide and my ears perk. I slowly sat up, eyes scanning the horizon, looking for the source. Across the bank sat a tall dark creature. It reminded me of a black wolf - though it was the size of a feral horse - it didn't seem to have any irises, but it had black slits for pupils, which reminded me of my own. It's veins (what I assumed was veins anyways) were not normal, since they were glowing like embers. It placed a paw, almost as if it was being cautious, upon the ice, and it cracked, followed by a sizzle as the ice began to melt. It then stuck it's mouth into the water and began drinking.
I remained absolutely still as the creature drank. My sword was above me, just in reach, but I didn't just yet want to reach for it. I had a hope it would drink then be on its merry way. I could hear it swallow the water from across the bank, which sent a shiver down my spine. I had never seen such a horrifying creature. It reeked of burned flesh, like someone lit another on fire and left him to burn in a trashcan.
It stopped drink, and turned to leave, but stopped, its eyes focused on a peculiar object: my fishing line. My body shivered as I watched its head moved, following the line right up to my tail, then it looked fully at me. I remained still, trying to look away, but still somehow focused on those empty eyes. I was frozen, unmovable, scared. That is until it gave a predatory growl. My instincts kicked back in, and I turned sharply to grab my weapon. I dived for it as my ear caught the crack of ice as the creature lunged. As soon as my hand wrapped around that steel handle, I rolled to my left fast, hearing it roar as it landed in the spot I was recently laying in.
As I rolled over, I popped up and dived out of the way again right as I felt its claws tear straight through my pouch. Grunting, I rolled forward and got up to face the creature, which was in a low stance, its tail swishing back and forth as it watched my every move. I had both claws on the sword, heart thrumming in my chest. Then the beast roared loudly, as if to scare me, then slowly began stalking forward.
In the spur of the moment, I recalled something the older warriors did against predators that us hatchlings loved to do for fun. My maw opened, and I let out a roar. I haven't tried a real roar in three years, so imagine both of our surprises when an earth-shaking roar erupted sounding louder than even a full mature feral dragon. The creature let out a startle screech and backpedaled away from me. Taking the opportunity to attack while it was distracted, I threw off my short surprise and charged at the creature, yelling softer than what I previously roared.
It recovered fast. Almost too fast. It came at me, and I was ready to fight, Anila versus feral. I went to the right, and when it did to, I feinted and twisted around the the left. As it went past me, I dug my blade into its shoulder, really hoping to hit its side. It screeched in pain, and when I pulled my blade out, I noticed that the end that went in was now a dripping liquid. There's no way... I thought, but dismissed it as I refocused on the creature. It got up turned around, and nearly froze me in place; I had assumed it had no irises, however it now displayed a red that seemed to reflect its current mood.
It came at me again, and I tried to dodge around it and give it another stab, but this time the creature's teeth found my swords and soon it was swallowing my sword whole, completely ripped it from my claws. I jumped back as one of its massive paws swiped forward, and I thought about pulling out my knife. I thought for solutions to kill this thing, and I came up with an idea. Perhaps...if I used my claws, I can wound it better than a metal blade! It lunged at me again, and this time I was ready. As its paw came at me, I ducked under it and grabbed the creature's paw. Its paw felt a little warm, warmer than what would have been a nice warmth, but my adrenaline ignored that. I threw it over me, slamming it into the ground, and quickly swiped my claws at its face, raking across its left eye.
The creature may have screeched in pain, but it was nothing compared to mine. Searing hot blood splattered all over my arm, forcing my arm to erupt into a painful burn. I've felt fire before, which hardly hurt, but this was like touching the sun. My arm steamed from the heat, and I jumped away from the dangerous creature and plunged my arm into the snow, trying to cool the pain down.
I watched it get back up, surprised it could move so well with an injured foreleg and my mind raced for answers. I stepped back, and nearly slipped as my claw tried to find leverage on a slippery surface. The river! I thought, looking back at the icy water and briefly remembering what happened to the ice when the creature made contact with it.
A growl snapped my attention back to the threat, and I barely had time to jump out of the way as it lunged again. I heard a loud crash, followed by the large splash of the creature falling into the river. It's claws had grazed my back, leaving me with a claw mark not too deep, but burning worse than the Inanis ever could. I let out a pained screech, feeling hot fire on my back, and began rolling the snow, not realizing I had no fire on me. Fight back the pain, I stood up, sword at the ready, while the creature gave out a pained moan, clawing its way out of the river.
The ember veins didn't look too hot, as if they were dying, and it looked really weak. Confirming my theory, this creature was weak to water, but could somehow drink it to survive. It flopped onto the bank, its side heaving as it struggled to breathe. I crept forward to it, knowing damn good and well it wasn't about to get up. It looked up at me, almost pathetically, and gave a warning growl. I scoffed, "Like you could be some threat, beast." I shook my head as I raised my sword to strike. Dragons could thrive in fire, heat, and extreme weather. This creature made me wonder why the hell it's heat hurt. My sword was over my head, point pointed down towards the wounded animal, and I prepared to strike.
But I didn't.
My memory suddenly brought back the beginning of this encounter; it was just drinking water. As the thoughts came in, I lowered my sword, staring at it. What if...what if this was its territory? Its river? Or what if it's like me, just trying to find a place to live? I sunk to my knees before it, staring at the creature. It raised its head, almost as if saying, "Seriously? Just finish me!" Sighing softly, I got up and limped over to my pouch.
It was ripped to shreds, and no amount of stitching could save it. It had a lump of meat inside, and I pulled it out, hoping that what my heart was doing what my mind was telling it not to do. The creature looked fine to me, with no serious injuries that would let it die, so I did the only thing I could think of: I tossed the meat at the creature, landing beside its head and making it flinch. "Have at it. Not hungry, dog." I didn't even know if it was a dog.
Sighing to myself, I stood up, with only my claws and a knife barely even allowed to be one, turned right, and began to follow the river yet again.