Days 12 & 13: A New Arrival
Shadowstrike had never regretted a kill before, let alone killing a dragon. Living alone in a massive jungle, traveling as she pleased, led to a carefree life. As a manticore, local Beasts and Dragons left her alone. She marked her territory with her poison to keep them wary. In a rain forest full of resources anything that would hunt her had other, less dangerous, options. Except dragons.
Numbers made them braver, and more careless.
Returning from a predawn hunt she found a large furred dragon in her cave. It bared large fangs and charged her, to attempt to convince her to leave. She dodged its approach and brought her stinger over her head, lodging it in its side. Her venom stilled it immediately.
Dragging the body further inside, she closed her jaws around its neck to finish it.
Searching her prize over she found little. A large bag, smaller bottles and a bundle of dried herbs. Setting the smaller items aside she inspected the bag. At her touch it lurched then a small head appeared. A dragon cub, so young that it's eyes and ears were still closed. It mewed at her.
It's mother had trespassed, but the baby had not. She had no interest in becoming the mother of a dragon, and didn't feel a child deserved it's mother's fate. Patting the head back into the bag she slung it over her side and set off to search for a clan to drop it off with.
Each day of wandering had a routine. First it woke her with it's insistent whining. Next gather it food and water. The first night she learned it could chew meat, but couldn't keep it down. She tried everything she could think of, and eventually found it could eat fruit. Rainforests were full of plants so it never took long to feed it. Time not walking felt like a waste, but if it died before she found a clan she'd have wasted the whole trip.
After it ate, she'd walk for as long as she could. Keeping her senses tuned for signs of dragons. For days she sensed nothing, and then she picked up the faint smell of smoke. Following it took days too. Getting it food took her off the scent, causing her to wander off track for a while. Then she would find it again.
Each day the hatchling grew larger. Before she found the smoke, its eyes had opened. It's pupils were sideways and ink black, but the rest was a deep blue. Like the lake near her den.
The night she smelt the smoke its ears had opened too. They swiveled about as she moved. And when she picked somewhere to sleep it would make noises at her. Was it trying to talk to her? It climbed around on her back. Ever curious. It leapt on her tail
and tried to pin it down.
"Stop that." She growled back at it.
It flattened it's ears and stepped to the ground. Making itself small by her legs.
After a moment of quiet, it mimicked her words babbling senselessly to itself.
After that development she didn't sleep well the rest of the trip. Every night it grew bolder. When she let it down to stretch and sleep it would try to wander off. She had to pin it down or feed it enough that it fell asleep on its own. Mornings sometimes lead to her stretching in the underbrush to find it curled between her paws, face pressed to her side.
Every time the smell of smoke would pick up she'd get closer, until even when she couldn't smell smoke she could track the dragons themselves. Four toed tracks of different sizes meandered paths through a wide stretch of rainforest. Following them back to where they overlapped she finally found it.
The dragons had made a cave out of wood and mud. Circling the strange structure she found two ways in, but with no way of knowing how many thete were, she decided to leave it by one of the doors. Gathering it several fruits, she stuffed the food into the bag, and slung the bag over the hatchling's side. It had outgrown the bag quickly during the trip, but with the bag full of food would weigh it down.
"Stay here. Do not follow me." Shadowstrike said. She pointed for emphasis, and then turned and left, dragging her tail to indicate that she wasn't to be followed.
Weeks on the island had given the trio time enough to make a proper lair for themselves. Picking out a spot they all liked took a few days but it had been worth it.
A wide, mostly even spot of ground not far from the lake was the perfect spot. Dragging their meager supplies there, they set about digging up the underbrush and picking a spot for their main lair.
They sharpened stones for tools, and used those to cut short trees for posts. Placing these posts in a wide circle, they then dragged their belongings inside. The blanket was spread out against a far wall to be the sleeping area. Then they piled scraps of wood in the center, just far enough away to prevent a future fire from spreading. The metal emergency kit was placed opposite the sleeping area. Holding what remained of their dried food, and the still unused bandages. Farrha flew above their campsite, and tied the two pieces of sail cloth to the tops of the posts as a temporary roof. It wouldn't do to get rained out while their campsite was so new.
Next came walls, the longest task. Zudal and Layem worked together to drag rocks of all shapes and sizes back to camp twice a day. Farrha spent that time gathering water to make mud and placing the rocks between the posts with mud to seal the cracks. Big chunks of wood were used to make doorways, and windows higher up, everything else was walls. It took all of the first day to get even halfway to the roof. But by then the scraps they hadn't used for walls were dry enough for a fire.
Having been hatchlings when they'd left their homeclans none of them were experienced, but they did know the basics. Gathering dry tinder around a stick in a dry space, with a log as a base, Zudal made the first attempt. Spinning the stick between her forepaws the tinder just began to smoke as her pads began to sting. Layem took over from there and once the tinder held smoke without spinning they dropped it in the circle of rocks and covered it in small twigs and dried scraps. It roared to life after that.
With a fire, food was more filling and they could eat more at once. Plus the warmth meant they all slept better. After the fire they made a proper roof, with long branches, and broad leaves. They left a hole in the middle for a chimney.
With no plans in particular they just worked to make the camp better, and cover the basics. Clay was abundant along the riverbanks, so they gathered it for plates, cups, and jars. Layem was best at that. Thin reeds grew by the river so they wove them into cords and wove the cords into nets for fish and traps for bugs and small animals. Farrha preferred that task. It gave the young couple the luxury to talk as they worked inside and outside.
Zudal however preferred to hunt and explore. Knowing the pair could use privacy and wanting to get away, she took the job of laying out the nets in the river and lake, and checking them every morning. After that, she'd run out anyway she wished, chasing smells and sights. Alone she couldn't catch anything large but lizards and frogs were better than nothing. If she didn't eat it for herself, she carried it home. That was their routine, until one morning.
Farrha woke to the sound of a distressed hatchling. After waking the others she went to find it. Zudal, being the fastest, had a quick sprint of the perimeter as Farrha brought the child inside. Returning she announced,
"Manticore. There's tail tracks out to the forest, and it marked the fence post."
The little one smelled odd, probably from the manticore, but looking her over they found her unharmed.
"She's too young to know how she got here I'll bet." Farrha mused, holding the excited child aloft. She pawed at the air by the spiral's face. Trying to grab her horns.
Farrha chuckled.
"Absolutely not."
Layem turned the bag over and tipped it's contents onto the floor. It was all just local plant food. No name markings or maps or anything.
"Who would just drop a kid outside?" Layem mused.
"Like I said, a manticore." Zudal deadpanned before dropping down alongside them in the dirt. Farrha sat the child on the ground between the three of them.
Discovering the Mirror for the first time, the Tundra, babbled excitedly, reaching for her crested face. Zudal chuckled, folding her crests forward and blowing a raspberry at the kid, who squealed in delight.
"Why not just kill her?" Layem mused. "No idea." Said Farrha and Zudal in unison.
This is a lot, but I didn't want the manticore to stay so I had to write around her.
Another girl! That's 3 girls one boy now. Layem and Farha will be RTB soon though.
The baby is already an adult but I wanted to write a baby, since I couldn't think of a way to convince an adult dragon and a manticore to travel together to an isolated location like this. Plus a little fast forwarding. We are roughing it in the wild guys.
I hope you like it!
How do you write dialouge pls help. ALSO I just realised that Dancer's Bells are trinkets not materials so I owe you art! I'll draw soon I swear.
Shadowstrike had never regretted a kill before, let alone killing a dragon. Living alone in a massive jungle, traveling as she pleased, led to a carefree life. As a manticore, local Beasts and Dragons left her alone. She marked her territory with her poison to keep them wary. In a rain forest full of resources anything that would hunt her had other, less dangerous, options. Except dragons.
Numbers made them braver, and more careless.
Returning from a predawn hunt she found a large furred dragon in her cave. It bared large fangs and charged her, to attempt to convince her to leave. She dodged its approach and brought her stinger over her head, lodging it in its side. Her venom stilled it immediately.
Dragging the body further inside, she closed her jaws around its neck to finish it.
Searching her prize over she found little. A large bag, smaller bottles and a bundle of dried herbs. Setting the smaller items aside she inspected the bag. At her touch it lurched then a small head appeared. A dragon cub, so young that it's eyes and ears were still closed. It mewed at her.
It's mother had trespassed, but the baby had not. She had no interest in becoming the mother of a dragon, and didn't feel a child deserved it's mother's fate. Patting the head back into the bag she slung it over her side and set off to search for a clan to drop it off with.
Each day of wandering had a routine. First it woke her with it's insistent whining. Next gather it food and water. The first night she learned it could chew meat, but couldn't keep it down. She tried everything she could think of, and eventually found it could eat fruit. Rainforests were full of plants so it never took long to feed it. Time not walking felt like a waste, but if it died before she found a clan she'd have wasted the whole trip.
After it ate, she'd walk for as long as she could. Keeping her senses tuned for signs of dragons. For days she sensed nothing, and then she picked up the faint smell of smoke. Following it took days too. Getting it food took her off the scent, causing her to wander off track for a while. Then she would find it again.
Each day the hatchling grew larger. Before she found the smoke, its eyes had opened. It's pupils were sideways and ink black, but the rest was a deep blue. Like the lake near her den.
The night she smelt the smoke its ears had opened too. They swiveled about as she moved. And when she picked somewhere to sleep it would make noises at her. Was it trying to talk to her? It climbed around on her back. Ever curious. It leapt on her tail
and tried to pin it down.
"Stop that." She growled back at it.
It flattened it's ears and stepped to the ground. Making itself small by her legs.
After a moment of quiet, it mimicked her words babbling senselessly to itself.
After that development she didn't sleep well the rest of the trip. Every night it grew bolder. When she let it down to stretch and sleep it would try to wander off. She had to pin it down or feed it enough that it fell asleep on its own. Mornings sometimes lead to her stretching in the underbrush to find it curled between her paws, face pressed to her side.
Every time the smell of smoke would pick up she'd get closer, until even when she couldn't smell smoke she could track the dragons themselves. Four toed tracks of different sizes meandered paths through a wide stretch of rainforest. Following them back to where they overlapped she finally found it.
The dragons had made a cave out of wood and mud. Circling the strange structure she found two ways in, but with no way of knowing how many thete were, she decided to leave it by one of the doors. Gathering it several fruits, she stuffed the food into the bag, and slung the bag over the hatchling's side. It had outgrown the bag quickly during the trip, but with the bag full of food would weigh it down.
"Stay here. Do not follow me." Shadowstrike said. She pointed for emphasis, and then turned and left, dragging her tail to indicate that she wasn't to be followed.
Weeks on the island had given the trio time enough to make a proper lair for themselves. Picking out a spot they all liked took a few days but it had been worth it.
A wide, mostly even spot of ground not far from the lake was the perfect spot. Dragging their meager supplies there, they set about digging up the underbrush and picking a spot for their main lair.
They sharpened stones for tools, and used those to cut short trees for posts. Placing these posts in a wide circle, they then dragged their belongings inside. The blanket was spread out against a far wall to be the sleeping area. Then they piled scraps of wood in the center, just far enough away to prevent a future fire from spreading. The metal emergency kit was placed opposite the sleeping area. Holding what remained of their dried food, and the still unused bandages. Farrha flew above their campsite, and tied the two pieces of sail cloth to the tops of the posts as a temporary roof. It wouldn't do to get rained out while their campsite was so new.
Next came walls, the longest task. Zudal and Layem worked together to drag rocks of all shapes and sizes back to camp twice a day. Farrha spent that time gathering water to make mud and placing the rocks between the posts with mud to seal the cracks. Big chunks of wood were used to make doorways, and windows higher up, everything else was walls. It took all of the first day to get even halfway to the roof. But by then the scraps they hadn't used for walls were dry enough for a fire.
Having been hatchlings when they'd left their homeclans none of them were experienced, but they did know the basics. Gathering dry tinder around a stick in a dry space, with a log as a base, Zudal made the first attempt. Spinning the stick between her forepaws the tinder just began to smoke as her pads began to sting. Layem took over from there and once the tinder held smoke without spinning they dropped it in the circle of rocks and covered it in small twigs and dried scraps. It roared to life after that.
With a fire, food was more filling and they could eat more at once. Plus the warmth meant they all slept better. After the fire they made a proper roof, with long branches, and broad leaves. They left a hole in the middle for a chimney.
With no plans in particular they just worked to make the camp better, and cover the basics. Clay was abundant along the riverbanks, so they gathered it for plates, cups, and jars. Layem was best at that. Thin reeds grew by the river so they wove them into cords and wove the cords into nets for fish and traps for bugs and small animals. Farrha preferred that task. It gave the young couple the luxury to talk as they worked inside and outside.
Zudal however preferred to hunt and explore. Knowing the pair could use privacy and wanting to get away, she took the job of laying out the nets in the river and lake, and checking them every morning. After that, she'd run out anyway she wished, chasing smells and sights. Alone she couldn't catch anything large but lizards and frogs were better than nothing. If she didn't eat it for herself, she carried it home. That was their routine, until one morning.
Farrha woke to the sound of a distressed hatchling. After waking the others she went to find it. Zudal, being the fastest, had a quick sprint of the perimeter as Farrha brought the child inside. Returning she announced,
"Manticore. There's tail tracks out to the forest, and it marked the fence post."
The little one smelled odd, probably from the manticore, but looking her over they found her unharmed.
"She's too young to know how she got here I'll bet." Farrha mused, holding the excited child aloft. She pawed at the air by the spiral's face. Trying to grab her horns.
Farrha chuckled.
"Absolutely not."
Layem turned the bag over and tipped it's contents onto the floor. It was all just local plant food. No name markings or maps or anything.
"Who would just drop a kid outside?" Layem mused.
"Like I said, a manticore." Zudal deadpanned before dropping down alongside them in the dirt. Farrha sat the child on the ground between the three of them.
Discovering the Mirror for the first time, the Tundra, babbled excitedly, reaching for her crested face. Zudal chuckled, folding her crests forward and blowing a raspberry at the kid, who squealed in delight.
"Why not just kill her?" Layem mused. "No idea." Said Farrha and Zudal in unison.
This is a lot, but I didn't want the manticore to stay so I had to write around her.
Another girl! That's 3 girls one boy now. Layem and Farha will be RTB soon though.
The baby is already an adult but I wanted to write a baby, since I couldn't think of a way to convince an adult dragon and a manticore to travel together to an isolated location like this. Plus a little fast forwarding. We are roughing it in the wild guys.
I hope you like it!