shake my belief completely. Foolish as it was.
******
The dragons stopped clashing at some point before the orange rays of dawn rose over the mountain range.
It was now the middle of the day, hours after that had occurred. The sun was bright above, beaming its warm rays against my olive skin. A gale passed through trees, rustling my auburn hair and leaving my clothes pressed tight against my shapely breasts and curves.
Despite wanting nothing more than to stay at home, I had to earn my living if I wanted to continue eating. There was another village some ways out that bought the medicines mother had taught me to make. They weren’t kind to strangers, and less so to me, but they needed medicine as much as anyone else.
I didn’t delude myself into thinking that there wouldn’t be a day when they drove me off. It was simply that I was useful to them for the time being and kept to myself. As long as I remained that way, they wouldn’t bother with me. Really, the only problem I ran into constantly was the wretched animals that liked digging up my herbs and making a snack of them.
Today though, I admit I did run into a bit of a snag—what with the little clearing I grew my herbs in housing one of the dragons from last night.
I had thought seeing their fighting in the moonlight had made clear how fearsome they were. I could see I was wrong now that the sun cast its rays down on the wounded beast. It was easily the largest thing I had ever seen, covered in crimson scales that seemed like fire made solid. Gashes in the scales leaked golden fluid that trickled down its hide, and its pinions were as limp as they were still.
It was beautiful, but at the same time it was a sad sight to witness. It seemed to either be dead or near-death after its bout with the other one. A creature of legend brought low, weeping blood onto the flora of my clearing and unmoving as a stone.
Few would ever see a dragon up-close and live to tell about it. Perhaps that’s why I was drawn to get closer to it. I took slow steps towards the downed behemoth, only to step on a twig as I neared its maw.
Crimson lids snapped open at the sound and revealed golden-rimmed slits that made me freeze in place. Fear—pure and simple fear kept me frozen in place. I couldn’t even twitch a muscle while it peered at me. No, even more than that, I felt like it was staring past my body and into my very soul with those piercing eyes.
A warm gust blew through the hollows in its snout as it exhaled. A colder one followed as it inhaled with enough force to make me fall onto my knee as its lips peeled back. The unveiling of the parting fangs no doubt spelled my end.
I closed my eyes and waited, expecting it to either devour me or sear the flesh from my bones. Instead of a fiery death, what came out of its maw was a pained warble. I risked opening an eye to see that it had closed its eyes and laid its head on its side.
The warbling came with every exhale. No doubt due to what looked to be a tree limb the size of my arm lodged through the underside of its throat. It must have been suffering so much that it couldn’t bother with eating me. Not that I wanted to test that theory.
I crawled backwards until I neared the edge of the clearing and rose to my feet. A soft, relieved breath left my mouth. I had escaped death, but I didn’t think I would be able to gather any herbs until the dragon either left or died. The latter was looking more likely all things considered.
I turned around to head home, but the dragon’s warbling echoed through the trees. It was really sad to hear, and my heart ached listening to it. I covered my ears to block it out, but it still slipped through.
“ This is foolish of me ,” I muttered under my breath as I turned around to head back. I didn’t know what I could do for it in all honesty. I was no expert on dragons, but those wounds looked rather vicious at a glance. I should just let nature take its course….
But I
******
The dragons stopped clashing at some point before the orange rays of dawn rose over the mountain range.
It was now the middle of the day, hours after that had occurred. The sun was bright above, beaming its warm rays against my olive skin. A gale passed through trees, rustling my auburn hair and leaving my clothes pressed tight against my shapely breasts and curves.
Despite wanting nothing more than to stay at home, I had to earn my living if I wanted to continue eating. There was another village some ways out that bought the medicines mother had taught me to make. They weren’t kind to strangers, and less so to me, but they needed medicine as much as anyone else.
I didn’t delude myself into thinking that there wouldn’t be a day when they drove me off. It was simply that I was useful to them for the time being and kept to myself. As long as I remained that way, they wouldn’t bother with me. Really, the only problem I ran into constantly was the wretched animals that liked digging up my herbs and making a snack of them.
Today though, I admit I did run into a bit of a snag—what with the little clearing I grew my herbs in housing one of the dragons from last night.
I had thought seeing their fighting in the moonlight had made clear how fearsome they were. I could see I was wrong now that the sun cast its rays down on the wounded beast. It was easily the largest thing I had ever seen, covered in crimson scales that seemed like fire made solid. Gashes in the scales leaked golden fluid that trickled down its hide, and its pinions were as limp as they were still.
It was beautiful, but at the same time it was a sad sight to witness. It seemed to either be dead or near-death after its bout with the other one. A creature of legend brought low, weeping blood onto the flora of my clearing and unmoving as a stone.
Few would ever see a dragon up-close and live to tell about it. Perhaps that’s why I was drawn to get closer to it. I took slow steps towards the downed behemoth, only to step on a twig as I neared its maw.
Crimson lids snapped open at the sound and revealed golden-rimmed slits that made me freeze in place. Fear—pure and simple fear kept me frozen in place. I couldn’t even twitch a muscle while it peered at me. No, even more than that, I felt like it was staring past my body and into my very soul with those piercing eyes.
A warm gust blew through the hollows in its snout as it exhaled. A colder one followed as it inhaled with enough force to make me fall onto my knee as its lips peeled back. The unveiling of the parting fangs no doubt spelled my end.
I closed my eyes and waited, expecting it to either devour me or sear the flesh from my bones. Instead of a fiery death, what came out of its maw was a pained warble. I risked opening an eye to see that it had closed its eyes and laid its head on its side.
The warbling came with every exhale. No doubt due to what looked to be a tree limb the size of my arm lodged through the underside of its throat. It must have been suffering so much that it couldn’t bother with eating me. Not that I wanted to test that theory.
I crawled backwards until I neared the edge of the clearing and rose to my feet. A soft, relieved breath left my mouth. I had escaped death, but I didn’t think I would be able to gather any herbs until the dragon either left or died. The latter was looking more likely all things considered.
I turned around to head home, but the dragon’s warbling echoed through the trees. It was really sad to hear, and my heart ached listening to it. I covered my ears to block it out, but it still slipped through.
“ This is foolish of me ,” I muttered under my breath as I turned around to head back. I didn’t know what I could do for it in all honesty. I was no expert on dragons, but those wounds looked rather vicious at a glance. I should just let nature take its course….
But I
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