Fantasy Flash fiction dragon story: Into the Cave
I turned and adjusted my sash so that my sword was in a better position if I needed it. I had the trail in my sights and the opening of the cave was not far from where I stood. I took in the smell of wildflowers around me and the haze as the sun vaporized the water from the ground. It had rained for days as I made my trek across Hesponth Point in search of Darlon, my dragon. We had parted ways when she was ready to give birth and left me to seek out a safe cave to have her babe in, but I wanted to camp near where she went to keep her safe from Darwiks. Darwiks were creatures that trapped and imprisoned dragons so that they could harvest eggs from them and use their scales to make weapons. They aren’t super clever with their tactics, but they are strong and nimble, so it is more of a problem when faced with a fight. I had plenty of vials of replend, which cast a spell over whoever it douses and slows them down and it was my best defense if I were to keep them away. I had a small hand cart with my supplies that I was wheeling behind me as I went, and I was sure I could dismantle it enough to hide it near the cave so I could better hide myself from intruders and have the upper hand in a fight.
As I slowly padded closer to the cave entrance, I emitted the call that I normally use to let Darlon know it was me coming and not an intruder. I heard a snort and a short whine in response letting me know she was there and that she knew it was me. I wheeled my cart near a pile of boulders and wedged it so it couldn’t roll away while I entered the cave. “Darlon, I came to keep you safe while you raise your babe. I am coming in the entrance to make sure you two are okay”. I used my power to tell her this and broadcasted calming influence over her so that she could relax and let me help her. We have a common thread between us, a connection that allows us to communicate through broadcasting and mental imagery.
I came to the cave entrance and took a deep breath taking in everything around me, smells, the air temperature, the wind, any sort of magic or other influence that might be in the air, but there was none. I was confident that Darlon was safe, and I opened my palm to light the cave entrance. I could see the remnants of twigs, crushed rock, leaves, and some bones from Darlon making her home inside. I was happy to see she had grabbed enough material to make a nice large nest for her babe and I could see a bit of broken shell on the ground. This means the babe had hatched and it was there in the nest being quiet and hiding from me. I sensed a tiny thread of fear, but it immediately dissipated which meant Darlon was doing her motherly duties of disguising her offspring. Darlon was lying near the nest, but she had piled up debris to allow her to sort of hide behind it if she needed to. She peeked her snout around the corner and rested her head on the edge of the nest. She gave me a wary look of relief and seemed very tired from her duties. I walked to her and rested my hand on the spot between her nostrils to help comfort her and let her know she was a great mom. She blinked at me and let out a small puff of smoke presenting me with warmth which meant she was happy, so I peeked over the edge of the nest to try to see her babe. Looking back at me were two eyes as round as saucers and a scale pattern in the shape of a heart below one of her eyes. She instantly registered me as familiar and tried to bound towards me to say hello. Darlon let out a sigh and closed her eyes as if saying she was tired, now that I was here, I could watch the babe for a while. It made me smile that she trusted me and that I could start getting bonded with her babe so we could protect and help the babe grow strong. I climbed into the nest to get a better vantage point so that I could present myself to the baby dragon for it to smell me and become familiar with my powers and my scents. I also wanted to see if I could tell if the dragon is a boy or a girl so that we could properly name it.
I was successful in not being eaten and identifying the sex of the baby dragon. It was a girl, who I then realized we would have to put a protection spell over until she was old enough to fend for herself. She was at a higher risk of being abducted and we needed to keep her safe at all costs possible. Dragons are not scarce, but they are important to different creatures and for different reasons, so precautions must be put in place to protect our dragons from creatures who wish them harm. I had been partnered with Darlon for five years and we were very familiar with each other and the ways that things work between humans and dragons since we live in a plat area that is inhabited by powerful humans and other dragons. We have lived this way for centuries and it has been a relationship between dragon and human that thrives on the trust and interaction of both. Being able to connect with your dragons mentally and spiritually allows us to talk back and forth with them and allows us to know things that we wouldn’t normally know or understand because they tell us things.
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