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"A fire! " A voice calls out from the dark.
The man huddled around his campfire startles at the sound. He has all right to be; here in this dense forest, night has long fallen and he has not expected companions, and least of all for them to be human. His eyes dart about for the source, but there is none to be found, save that of leaves crunching somewhere in rhythm, like heavy steps in rhythm to the crick-crackling of his fire. The man rubs his eyes tiredly, and looks again.
"Kind sir, would you be able to part with some warmth for this lonesome soul? "
The voice comes again, hopeful and low.
He spies him this time, the image of the speaker becomes clear through the faint white smoke as he steps forward just enough to be illuminated by orange flames. His appearance is that of a tall, slender man, face framed by long dark hair. His head is tilted, eyes inquisitive as he looks between the man by the fire and the unsettling, cloying blackness that surrounds them.
The man slowly nods, relaxing slightly, for more pairs of eyes are surely better to guard against the night. A sigh of relief comes from the other as he enters the circle of light and takes a seat rather unceremoniously on a rock opposite his benefactor.
"You've really saved me this time, haha... my thanks."
The visitor speaks, rubbing the back of his neck and grinning rather sheepishly. The man shakes his head: it is not an issue for him, in fact he is rather happy that there is another person with whom he may whittle the night away with.
At this point, the visitor's entire visage is revealed. He looks to be rather youthful, wearing a thick dark red hoodie and jeans that are slightly ripped. His shoes are spotted and worn with dark muddy streaks and grass, as if he has been walking for quite a long time. The stranger lowers his arm to his side and speaks once more.
"Ah apologies, I should introduce myself in this situation, right? My name...is Hong Lu. Nice to meet you." He reaches out with his right hand.
The man answers with his own name, taking the offered hand to shake it firmly. He wonders aloud how long the other may have been wandering around lost, for the chill of the night is very evident on the other's skin.
Hong Lu laughs, and it is a light, tinkling, refreshing sound.
"For a couple of centuries!" He jokes, gesturing at his pants. "These jeans did not start off ripped, you see." His eyes seem to glow with amusement, and only now does the man notice that the other's left eye has a bluish tint to it. Hong Lu points to it, noticing his gaze.
"This?" A nod.
"I was born with it!" Hong Lu speaks with pride, " My family treasured it greatly." The words come out rather flatly for some reason, but this is not noticed. Hong Lu smiles, and dips his head slightly. His eyes seem to stare off into the distance.
He may be rather shy about it, but the color of it is rather pretty , the man thinks.
A brief awkward silence hangs in the air, prickling it with tension.
"Say." The voice comes out quiet before there is a clearing of the throat and a polite cough. The other waits patiently.
"Would you like to hear a story?" Hong Lu asks.
A story? The question is returned, along with an expression that reflects confusion.
"Not my entire life story, if you're thinking of that! Nothing of that sort! It would take way too long!" Hong Lu exclaims, shaking his head at the notion.
"No, no. A fairy tale! One similar to those my grandmother used to tell."
He leans back, arms crossed, eyes closing, thinking.
"Hmmm...a fairy tale in exchange for your fire." He slides a single blue eye back open, dropping his posture into a slouch, acting in the mimicry of a sagely old man, complete with a rubbing of the chin, speaking his next line with sly playfulness.
" What say you, owner of the warm embers?"
His companion seems a little taken back at first, but Hong Lu's charming nature has won him over. He, of the warm embers laughs at the title,and agrees to the deal, slowly nodding in response. Hong Lu cracks a grin, then returns to a normal sitting position, opening his eyes fully. The blue hue of his iris seems to be gleaming , the other has noticed, but chalks it up to be an illusion of the light.
"Make yourself comfortable." The man nods, feeding the dwindling fire back into a warm, eager, blaze. Hong Lu is appreciative of this, stretching stiff limbs in the newfound heat. His new friend smiles and leans against his pack.
His story begins then, with the three of them in the small clearing, shrouded by trees and a darkness that seems to hide even the moon from view, and nothing but hungry flames to illuminate his words.
"Once upon a time, there was a family of .... wait, no. Perhaps it was many years ago. '' Hong Lu begins, then stumbles or hesitates, as if he's forgotten how it was meant to start. He rubs at the back of his neck once more, his eyes darting about as if embarrassed.
It was rather endearing to watch, the man thinks bemusedly, relaxing a little more as he waits for him to find his footing and start again.
Hong Lu smiles a little bashfully at his clumsiness. It has been quite a while since he's told this story, and all the versions have jumbled together in his brain.
Now sorted out, he opens his mouth again, his voice begins low and steady.
"Long, long ago, a family of dragons lived on a tall mountain surrounded by deep valleys and rich forests,"
"Similar to the one we now occupy." A hand sweeps to gesture at their surroundings before it raises and the thumb pinches together with the middle and fourth fingers to make a horned head.
"They were proud, elegant, beautiful beings who ruled over the inhabitants below. Magnificent curved horns adorned their lofty heads like crowns and when they flew, their great snake-like bodies were like colorful ribbons that sliced through the sky."
The false head waves back and forth slowly to mimic this motion, amplified by the multiple shadows that the fire helps cast.
"The inhabitants of the valleys would often proclaim that the very sight of these powerful dragons flying above them would bring them wealth and good fortune. They were correct in a way, as the family had an endless amount of gold and riches that lay pooling in piles within their nest, a deep abundance that stretched back and back through many generations.They lived rather lavishly with this wealth, feeding on the finest of things, adorning their bodies with jewelry, and were known to exchange generously for whatever caught their fancy."
Hong Lu pauses to hold his other hand up, fingers curled around something he'd picked up from the earth.
"A favorite pastime of theirs was to share this richness with the various peoples that lived below."
His voice drops lower, almost a whisper.
"Jewels, coins, and other precious things would rain down like this."
His hand opens slightly, and the pebbles he holds are released, dropping slowly and methodically back to the dirt. The man watches, enraptured by the sight. He can almost hear the metallic clinking as they fall.
"It was rather benevolent of them, was it not?" The words are phrased like a question. He withdraws his hands and continues without waiting for an answer.
"Their lives carried on like this for a while, generations coming and going, living in splendor, until there came a time in which a young dragonling hatched into the waking world along with his siblings.”
Hong Lu procures a twig that had missed the fire’s hungry jaws, turning it in his hand and bringing it up to his eyes.
“He was like any other, but where a dragon's pearl should have been,” He breathed, “There was instead an unrefined piece of brilliant jade.”
“Some took this as an auspicious sign, others whispered of impending disaster. “
“Of course, it was all superstition and hearsay.”
He threw the twig haphazardly over his back , grinning as he did so.
“Regardless, the hatchling was raised and fussed over by his doting grandparents, as most grandparents do and as a result of this, grew up rather spoiled. He was kept inside much of the time, and dreamed only of seeing the outside world for himself."
Hong Lu's words had taken a slight bittersweet tinge at this point, but it was banished as he drew another breath. He recites the next part with ease, letting his gaze fall over his listener as if gauging the man, searching.
"I have been told many times by a friend that this would be a rather boring story without conflict."
He smiles.
"Fear not, for it comes."
"Not in the form of an evil being that suddenly comes to haunt them," A finger is raised.
"Nor does it come in the form of a natural disaster that threatens their home." Another finger.
"And definitely not in the form of the inhabitants of the valley uniting together and overwhelming them to lay a claim to their treasure. Dragons are too powerful after all." He declares, lifting a third.
The man raises an eyebrow. Hong Lu lets the silence ripen a little before he wets his lips and speaks again.
"No. It comes from within."
"Over time, the endless wealth they once held has dwindled. Each generation came and went, each growing complacent, preferring to rest on their laurels all their life. “
“This is tradition.” He curls one finger.
“This is how it has always been.” He curls one more.
“And this is how it will stay. For this is how dragons are.” The last one curls.
The hand opens to emptiness.
“There is almost nothing left, and the few contributions they have are meager in comparison.”
His hand once more withdraws to his side, and his voice becomes light and airy again.
“Mind you, it is still plenty enough to support a small family for ten generations perhaps, but to dragons used to pleasures and extravagance...."
The sentence trails off into silence as Hong Lu locks his gaze onto the other, a smile still curling his lips. His eyes however, are icy cold and piercing, and elicits a prickling sensation of goosebumps from his listener.
"It is a death sentence."
The chill dissipates as he raises his shoulders in a shrug.
"Some try to save and skimp, plans are made, and some executed but there are leaking holes, and more of them every time. “
A sharp crack rings through the air as fire eats through a thick branch and causes it to fall. It makes them both jump at the noise, breaking the story’s immersive hold for just a moment.
There is a comment about how the flames too are eager to participate in the telling of this tale, to which Hong Lu laughs at before composing himself and continuing.
“Petty squabbles over who's expenditures are justified, and bickering over assets add to mounting tension. The heads of the family attempt to reign it all in, and manage to calm the storm for now, tape over the cracks and holes, still clearly visible.”
“The inhabitants know nothing of this, the servants have sealed eyes and ears and mouths, but in spite of this, gossip spreads like honey,” He licks his lips again.
“And honey attracts flies.”
“As the pile shrinks and shrinks, our young dragon and siblings are sent away by their grandparents in hopes they may be able to grow their own fortunes elsewhere.”
“The dragons now are not as rich as they once were, but they have many powerful connections and friends left, and under the watchful eyes of the elders, they might just make their wealth back once more."
He clasps his hands together in mock prayer for a moment of silence, then breaks it.
"Although…,"
Hong Lu raises a thread he has taken out from somewhere, long and red, wrapping it around the base of his index finger.
"The elders are old, and haven't long to live. Who's to say that those connections or their prideful desperation to uphold their grand appearance won't end up strangling them after they’re dead and gone?"
The circling line stops as he whispers the last words, and the thread completes its binding, very quickly turning the constrained flesh into a choked purple. It holds oh so tightly for a moment, then he releases the end, and it unwinds itself quickly to the relief of the onlooker, who exhales a held breath.
Having finished, Hong Lu rests his chin on his hand, tapping the side of his face gently.
"Well? What did you think of that tale? Is it enough?"
The fire has long since dwindled again, the remaining light dancing across their silhouettes, a ghost of its previous self, but the man does not feed it. It is no longer needed, as creeping fingers of light are visible on the distant horizon, promising the start of dawn.
Hong Lu’s singular audience member compliments on his storytelling, but expresses sadness at the open ending, wondering about the circumstances of the young dragon and his siblings. The feedback brings a somewhat amused gleam to Hong Lu's eyes, and he pauses a while as if to let it stew through his brain.
"It is something my grandmother told me a long time ago, stories with a life lesson and all that."
He replies with this, waving a hand. There is another pause.
“I do have my own ending to this tale, if you’d like to hear of it.” The other nods eagerly, leaning in.
It is only then, due to the rising light, that the man notices that the original color of Hong Lu’s robe is white.
The dark red is splotchy and dripping, splattered like a dye all over his front, spilling down his legs and bare feet. Odd . His heart beat rises a little.
“His siblings have vanished and gone, to better pastures, or so he hopes.” The tapping continues. "What becomes of our dear young dragon, you ask? Hmm.."
"He escapes from the mountain and flees into the forest, perhaps…” Hong Lu muses, partly to himself.
He isn't looking at the other man, but the same chill from before has returned somehow, icy and piercing.
The man feels rooted to the spot, but is rather confused at the information his eyes bring, attributing it to the lack of sleep. His heart knows otherwise and is beginning to beat faster and faster, lifting itself into the back of his throat like a sticky lump..
"There he tastes the mortal pains for the first time. Of hurt, loneliness..,"
Hong Lu runs his tongue a third time over his lips, over his teeth, continuing in a rambling drone.
"Of hunger."
"His body itches, and many of his scales have been torn out, scraped out, stolen."
His fingers rise to rub at his neck again, itching at the gaping wound there, and it weeps a fresh coat of deep red, bringing blissful warmth. Regardless of pain, he continues to scratch at the spot, faster and faster.
Something instinctual snaps inside his captive onlooker’s brain, screaming for him to flee, but his body remains frozen.
"His horns are broken, and his limbs so sore. He only has the knowledge of a dragon, and his pretty, petty, useless dreams that he cannot fly to, no matter how hard he tries."
The words are achingly mournful and are spit out wetly.
"None of the inhabitants understand him, or when they try to, become bitter at his lost lamentations of a world they can only begin to imagine."
He smiles, and it splits his face a little too wide this time.
Hong Lu turns to regard the other with the empty socket that has always lined the right side of his skull, covered by dark clumps of hair, the other a swirling wisp of cyan flame.
The man’s fear is palpable, he wants to scream he has no breath to do so, for a crushing weight so icy and heavy has appeared to make itself a new home in his lungs and legs.
"There is one who listens, however. A striped beast who lives within this forest promises him release, promises to return him to those sweet, sweet dreams.” He says, breathlessly through his shredded lungs.
“This is of course, in exchange for something of value. It makes the dragon laugh, for he thinks has nothing of value left.” A bony finger waggles at the lone spectator, as if to scold.
“So he agrees, and the beast grants his wish with a twitch of his tail."
He laughs happily and giddily to himself at this ending, but it slips out distorted and eerily gurgled through his broken neck bones. His robes have slipped from his withered frame, displaying a torn rib cage and the numerous teeth marks that have gnawed upon them.
“He is free to dream again….but the beast… It is not yet sated. It wanders still.”
The heavy footsteps that have circled them for so long come to a stop behind him, the last impacting crunch of crisp leaves making the man flinch and make his eyes break away from the corpse in front of him to stare at what stands behind him.
“And it is still so very, very hungry.”
Two large golden eyes stare back at him.
It finally sends the man into a panicked scramble as his body finally obeys him. He screams and takes off into an unknown direction, kicking up a flurry of debris as he does so.
Hong Lu watches all this amusement. He has renewed his appearance, looking no longer like a corpse as he cranes his neck backward to gaze at the beast, who fixes him with a placid stare.
“Such a description of gluttonous behavior does not befit you, you say?” He grins, feigning innocence.
Standing up from his perch on the rock, he stretches and yawns, dodging a swiping paw as he does so. The beast makes not a sound in response but there is a slight irked glint in its eyes.
“What am I up to?” He rotates his shoulder, getting a few good pops out of it. The tiger’s ear twitches.
“Looking for my replacement, since you say I am tolerable at best.” Hong Lu sighs, shrugging.
“I really thought I would have them this time. What a shame. Well, not that you’d ever eat them anyway.”
They walk off, disappearing into the dense woods.
The clearing is quiet once again, and nothing remains to tell the tale of the night before, save the discarded pack of a traveler, and the white, bleached bones of a man, slumbering deeply underneath a rock, dreaming of dragons.