Chapter Text
The forest isn’t quiet.
The rain is pounding, finding every possible leaf to smack on its way down. The river nearby is swelling with water and churned by the downpour. Thunder crackles in droves, lightning keeping the ground lit. I hear a stick break as something tries to find shelter. Mud squelches beneath my talons. I don’t even try to stay quiet in all this racket.
It hasn't rained like this In a while… I hope it stops soon. I prefer the sun instead.
I follow along the river for a while, heading toward my home. I had hoped to find some food this morning, but with this rain I can’t see more than a few feet ahead of me. Much too dangerous out here for that.
I find the oak tree that I’ve marked, so I’m getting close. I move a bit faster, anxious to be out of the rain. I weave through a few more trees and I find myself home.
Anyone who wasn’t looking would think it was another part of the forest. I planted some strategic bushes in front of a little cave I found. There’s a nice thicket of trees around it too. Best of all, rain doesn’t get inside.
I shake off the water as I step into the cave, grateful to no longer have raindrops smacking my snout and horns. I take off my pack, bringing it over my head, and place it in one of the alcoves I carved into the wall. I debate on whether I want to make a fire when I hear something.
It could easily have been a branch breaking in the pounding rain. But maybe not. I grab my knife wrapped around the other wrist, crouch low, and wait.
A couple minutes pass, I glance around me and listen for anything approaching.
More rain… More thunder… A frog… Rain some more…
I inch out of the cave in case I need to make an escape. I don’t want to corner myself and end up…
I wait a few minutes more and nothing happens. I’m about to go back inside when a shadow behind a tree shifts. My head snaps to where it was. I don’t even blink as rain gets in my eyes. I stare at the shadow a few yards away, still unmoving.
The shadow moves again and there’s no mistaking it’s a dragon. As they approach, I lose all hope that they’re here for a chat.
I slowly start toward them. If this is someone unfriendly, and it very likely is, then I don’t want a mess near my cave. They continue toward me as well. I watch their every move, more and more sure that this will end in a fight.
I stop as I hit a small clearing. It’s far enough away from the cave. And they’re finally close enough for me to notice some details.
It's a SkyWing. She's got the enormous wings they all have and long twisted horns. Her scales might be tangerine, but she’s got so much muck on her it’s hard to tell.
But the first thing I notice is her missing front leg. If looks like it was ripped off at the elbow. The muscle and tendon are in shreds at the end. There might even be bone sticking out.
I then notice her face. The right half of it is totally gone, and looks as if someone burned a hole into it. I can see into her mouth and under her eye. Her tongue hangs out of the hole as well, which unfortunately didn’t make her look as silly as you’d think. Her eyes are unfocused and yellow and she steps toward me.
The wind shifts a bit and I get an involuntary whiff of her. She’s smells musty, decayed, putrid, like a corpse left out to rot.
Mainly because she is.
But she doesn’t look like she’s been wandering as long as others I’ve found recently. Her wings look in pretty good shape and she’s not walking too stiffly.
She’s close enough to me now that I start the attack. I’m still hungry and it’s still pouring rain, so I’m ready to get this over with.
She doesn’t bother opening her mouth when she blows a huge fireball at me. I duck and roll to avoid the flames. I’m about to slash her back ankle with my knife when she whips her tail at me, setting a nasty gash on my arm. I reflexively pull my arm back out of pain, but I only allow it to last a moment. I dodge her wing coming down on my head. I grab and slice it a few times. If she can’t fly it’ll be much easier to end this.
I think the worst part about fighting these things is that they don’t make a sound. They just stare unblinkingly as they attack. No grunts. No growls. No speaking. No screams of pain. Nothing. But maybe that’s not too bad. I don’t know what I’d do if I could talk to them. Even as I’m cutting her apart, she doesn’t make a sound.
She snaps at me with her teeth which I narrowly avoid. I jump in the air and hover a few feet above her. She looks up at me and I take my shot. I throw my knife down at her face.
I hear her eye squelch as the blade is buried in her eye socket. Blood gushes out around the knife handle. The SkyWing crumples to the ground as I drop back to the forest floor. I wait a few seconds for her to really be gone. I yank my knife from her skull as she lies still.
Just to be sure, I start to cut at her neck. Blood seeps out and coats my already slick claws. It takes a few minutes, but soon her head is severed. I toss it a few yards away.
By the moons she’s huge… Her grave is gonna take some time to dig.
I decide I’ll eat some food and then come back to bury her. I wipe my knife on the foliage beside me and turn to-
“Three moons, how did you do that!?”