This story is my very first post independently. It’s also the fist time I’ve put my work out for people other than my family and friends to read. I don’t plan on adding anything else aside from this one piece, but if people enjoy it enough, I guess I can add more. I’ll be posting other stories that I hope to publish one day. I guess this is kind of my writer’s debut. I’m probably boring you. Please let me know what you guys think. Enjoy!
-Eridanus Star
Ahara’s eyes strained to see through the falling snow before her. She had one hand over the bleeding wound in her right shoulder. The blood flowed through her fingers and dripped onto snow beneath her.
A white dragon with a gold head and red eyes walked beside Ahara. He was the size of a large cat. Ahara stumbled, and the small dragon looked up at her, concern in his cat-like gaze. “Are you alright?” He asked. The dragon’s name was Eros Firesong.
Ahara had slightly tanned skin, but dark red scales covered her left shoulder, partway down her fore-arm, and up the side of her neck and cheek. The scales just reached her left eye which was pure gold with a black slit for a pupil. Her right eye looked like a normal human’s and was brown. Her blonde hair reached just below her shoulders in the back and just above in the front.
Ahara wore a red shirt, and black pants that reached just below her knees. She was draconic. A human in the process of transforming into a dragon because their blood had mixed with a dragon’s.
“I-I’ll be fine.” Ahara told her little friend. He looked up at her worriedly, but Ahara focused on the land before her. She roared again, calling for her thunder. She knew they couldn’t hear her through the snow.
The snow was starting to lighten up though. They just had to get to the forest, and Ahara would be heard. “We’ll make it home.” Ahara growled.
They had to.
~*~
Kendric strained to see beyond the snow. The lantern’s light reflected off the shimmering powder and flakes. He looked to his father beside him.
Kendric had dark brown hair, pale skin, brown eyes, and a dusting of freckles across his nose. His dad had the same dark hair as him, but his skin was a slightly darker shade and his eyes were blue. His father held the lantern, a sword in his other hand.
Behind them was a group of men, each carrying a lantern and a sword. There were several hunting dogs as well. They followed a trail of blood in the snow, and footprints of a person, and some kind of four-legged claw-toed creature.
“Tell me again.” Kendric’s father said, keeping his gaze ahaid on the footprints and blood trail.
“I heard something in the barn so I went over. There were these two... creatures. One looked like a person, but I only saw one of its eyes. Its eye looked like a cat, and the light reflected off something red on its shoulder. The other creature had something white and gold all over it. It was small and had wings. They growled like dogs. I threw my knife at the bigger one, and it screeched. The smaller one flew into my face, and I couldn’t see anything. Then they were gone. My knife was on the ground with blood on it.” Kendric explained.
He had been on watch that night. When Kendric had told his father, he had rounded up some of the men from the village, and they had been pursuing the creatures since Kendric had alerted his father. The only reason Kendric got to go was because he had wounded the creature. All the other boys in the village had been told to stay behind.
He held the knife he had used in his hand, the creature’s blood still on it, though it had dried by now. The hunting dogs that had been helping them track the creatures gave out barks and howls. They suddenly ran forward to the front of the group. It was clear to everyone what this meant.
They had found something.
~*~
Ahara groaned, and got to her knees. The cold bit at her skin. Eros stood beside her, and let out a small breath of flame. Ahara did the same, though her flames were smaller. She hadn’t fully developed the things she needed to create streams of fire.
The heat, however minimal, was helpful, and her body was heating up just from the creation of fire. The heat did not bother her like it might have a human.
Ahara had stumbled on an unseen dip in the snow. Her vision was starting to blur a little. “We have to hurry!” Eros exclaimed, his tail waving quickly with nervousness as he glanced over to where they knew the mountain was.
They could make out the pine trees visible a few yards away, and if the snowstorm would die, they could call for help. They heard the barking of those strange wolf-like creatures the hunter humans kept. The humans were close.
Ahara was breathing hard, and was getting light-headed. She needed to get back to the thunder. They could heal her. She had to get Eros to safety. She tried to get to her feet, but her legs wouldn't work.
“Eros, fly home.” She growled. She didn’t want him to get caught. She knew those heartless humans would probably hurt and kill him. “I’m staying with you. We’ll call for them together when the storm dies.” Eros stated. The snow was getting lighter. They could mostly see the mountain now.
Out of the flurry, a group of wolf-like creatures ran and surrounded them, snapping and snarling. “Fly!” Ahara roared. Eros took off, but barely got a foot from the ground before one of the wolf creatures leapt up and pulled him from the air. It pinned him on the ground beneath it’s paws.
Ahara was about to roar at the beast when she heard footsteps. All she could do was manage to turn to face the sound. A group of male humans emerged from the falling snow around them.
Ahara glared at them and growled, her left hand still over the wound on her shoulder. The blood seeped between her fingers and dripped onto the snow, the bright red in stark contrast with the shimmering white. The red stained her hand.
They stared at Ahara. She dimly noticed one of them looked younger than the rest. A little older than her actually. “What is it?” One of the humans asked. Ahara didn’t speak Common often anymore, but she still knew how. She knew what they were saying. She wasn’t going to speak with humans though.
Ahara fought back the black spots dancing across her vision. She had lost too much blood. The snow was light enough for her to easily see the mountain if she turned. It stopped suddenly.
Ahara tilted her head back and roared. The sound echoed off the mountain. She fell forward, and caught herself with her bad arm. It only paused her fall, and she collapsed, passing out.
~*~
“Is she dead?” Kendric asked, looking worriedly at the mountain. He had no idea what she had said, but it sounded like some kind of call, and he didn’t think he would like what responded.
He had at first thought she was just a normal girl, but she roared like a lion, and had scales on her shoulder, up the side of her face, and down her fore-arm. Her hair was in wavy nots, and she had two different eyes. He had no idea what she was, or what the small strange creature with her was.
“No, she’s still breathing. Kendric’s dad said, pointing his blade at her. Now Kendric noticed the faint rise and fall of her chest.
The tiny scaled creature that the dogs had pinned roared and shrieked in fury. It clawed at the snow, unable to claw the dog or bite it.
Kendric watched the tiny creature turn its head to look up at the dog, open its mouth, and breath out flames onto the dog holding him. It took off as soon as it released him, the dog howling in pain. It roared at Kendric and the men, though it was a roar that wasn’t very threatening.
Suddenly, a sound like a giant wings filled the air, and the tiny creature’s roar was joined by a loud vicious one that sounded like thunder. The men backed away as giant monstrous creatures covered in scales with wings like bats soared around the mountain. Kendric couldn’t appreciate the beauty of the beasts for his terror.
The tiny creature looked back as it’s kind came. Their approach was swift and loud, the huge creatures did not care much for subtlety.
There were 13 dragons approaching, the largest of which had mud brown scales, yellow eyes, and was about the size of three elephants. They all had varying colors, shades, and patterns. Kendric could not spot the two small green dragons and single silver one diving down into the trees. The ten remaining dragons approached swiftly.
Kendric stared at the ten huge beasts, taking a step back as the men got their weapons ready. He noticed the tiny winged creature land beside the girl. It roared again. Kendric could have sworn it sounded triumphant. The beasts had reached them now.
The largest one landed behind the men, it’s claws digging into the snow. It roared, it’s voice like thunder. It’s tail flicked behind it, the end of it looking like a club. Kendric could see it’s malevolent intent gleaming within it’s eyes. He took several steps away, terror griping him.
The men charged, but the large dragon easily grabbed one of them in it’s jaw, tilted it’s head up, and the man was gone. A sweep of its tail, the crack of bones, and another was flung away, dead before he hit the ground.
Kendric tried not to scream at the horrid sights as two of the beats circling above let out streams of flame, engulfing several. Another dove down from its place high in the clouds. Lightning raced across it’s scales and killed the man as it’s claws touched him. It carried the body high into the sky, then flung it down with a sickening crunch.
Kendric stumbled back as elemental chaos killed the men of his village. Some tried to run, but they could not pass the large brown one. Kendric looked to the woods. He saw the green as safety, unaware of the three small dragons waiting there for any who tried to escape that way.
Kendric ran. He considered stopping to help the unconscious girl, but the creature had called these beats here. He caught the shine of the sun on something within the wood and stopped. There was one waiting for him. He turned and ran for a different entrance to the wood, but in a flash, he was pinned to the ground, staring into the dark green eyes of one if the beasts, it’s claws holding him there.
Kendric called for his father, trying desperately to pull himself free. The beast looked ready to kill when a call came from the trees. It was clearly another one of the beats. It growled. The beast about to kill Kendric looked to the trees and growled back. The other green one emerged. It seemed the two were talking. The one pinning Kendric looked down at him again. Kendric was certain he was about to die, and closed his eyes, tensing for the pain of death. Instead, it’s claw lifted.
Kendric got up and tried to run, but one of the dragons lept in front of him. Wherever he turned, a green dragon would be there blocking him. One of them shoved him forward towards the brown dragon. He was powerless to do anything.
The brown dragon looked down at Kendric, and he was suddenly trapped under its claws as if in a cage. This one would kill him, Kendric was certain.
~*~
Ahara groaned, searing pain through her shoulder. She felt warm, like she did whenever she was in her cave in the thunder’s cavern in the mountainside. She felt something soft around her like the furrs she piled up to use for her nest. Something small was curled up beside her.
Ahara opened her eyes, certain she was dead. Instead, she stared up at the rough stone ceiling of her cave. She sat up, gritting her teeth against the fire of pain that shot from her shoulder as she moved. She was in her nest. Eros was curled up asleep at the end of her bed. Leaning against the other wall was a girl slightly older than her.
The girl had long black hair that was wild and uneven. Her skin was pale, and her eyes were hazel. She had black horns and black scales all down her left arm. Her fingers on that arm had claws on the end. She wore a simple black shirt and pants. A leather belt around her waist held a dagger in its sheath.
She held a leatherbound book, her eyes focused on the page. She looked up when she saw Ahara sit up. “About time you woke up!” She exclaimed, glancing at the page number then dropping the book and flinging herself on Ahara.
Fiery pain shot from Ahara’s shoulder. “Ow! Watch the shoulder, Roya.” Ahara complained. “Oh, sorry.” Roya said, getting off Ahara. Roya Nightclaw. Ahara’s best friend. “What happened?” Ahara asked. She had been sure she was going to die.
“The watchers heard your call and sent some soldiers. They killed most of the humans.” Roya explained. “Most?” Ahara asked, slightly confused. The soldiers never missed a single one unless they wanted to. “They let one of them live. He’ll become one of us once he calms down enough to the point where the elders can give him his name.” Roya told her.
They had both been human once. When someone was claimed by the thunder, they were given a new name at the same time as their first scale. After the first scale appeared, they became draconic.
“How long do you think this will take to heal?” Ahara asked, nodding to her injured shoulder. It had strips of cloth wrapped around it. “Probably a couple weeks. At least you’ll have more scales.” Roya said with a shrug. If a draconic ever got cut, it would heal over as scales. “That is true. Still hurts though.” Ahara said.
Roya smiled. Ahara smiled too. Roya sat beside her and opened the book she was reading. Ahara closed her eyes and leaned against her friend as she read aloud.
She was home. She was safe.
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