Minka

The burden we carry...

It is yours. It is mine. It was never meant to be carried alone, by one single dragon. One would struggle, collapse under the weight of the burden of a hundred, a thousand. But many could survive the strife of this world, and remain strong through another day. But no one escapes pain unscathed...

...we will show it all.

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Minka lifted her head, talons raking across the ground as she skidded. Everything in her was bone-tired, telling her to sleep... sleep... no. She couldn't, not now. Lunging forward, she reached out with her talons to grab at her enemy, knocking him down into the dirt. Sand flew up at the contact, and she heard a crack as his shoulder hit the ground.

He flared his wings, sending dust into her eyes. She could feel his body writhing beneath her talons, but her grip didn't falter. He was cackling now, and his eyes met hers. Dark, blood-filled, evil eyes met her own. And he smiled.

"You think this is monumental, don't you? That your life will change because you took down a dragon like me?" His neck lifted, and he pulled his face right beside hers. "Nothing will change."

Her claws gripped his horns and forced his head back down, talons moving onto his muzzle. Even though she couldn't see, it didn't mean she couldn't fight. "It's funny you think I want to change." She drew her claws deep across his exposed skin, and, goal satisfied, scrambled to her feet, breathing heavy.

For such a malicious dragon, he sure was a lousy fighter.

Or, perhaps, after living a life so drawn out and futile, he had simply given up. She saw it in his eyes. Not fear, no- he hadn't had the sense of fear for a long time. But a desire to... come to a conclusion. The final chapter in a long, deathless life. It almost made her regret what she'd done. Almost. But if she faced what she should've done, she would've fallen apart at what she had done.

It was a cycle, you see.

Where love and loss met, life and death collided. Where life and death clashed, love and loss were born anew. She had loved that dragon, once. Perhaps not as a lover, but as a friend; that was long ago, a different time- one where the barrier of friend and enemy were as brittle as bone. And she had lost him to herself, as she had with far too many now. It was hard to keep count, after all this time.

She was tired, so tired. She just wanted to sleep. But no, she couldn't fall now.

She was stronger than this; she could handle the first felled by her vicious claws. Smaller dragons had slain thousands, and here she was, torn about her very first. Pick yourself up now, her mother had said. The world is full of scratches, so get up and deal with yours.

Why was she remembering that now?

Taking a heavy step forward, she ignored the laughter of the male as she walked away. He had set a torch to her skin, parts of her face feathering into bright, colored ash. But it was better to have a scar from a moment you learned than a lack of any, wasn't it?

She adjusted her armor, now ripped and torn. It would serve her well in these coming times.

Writing credit to: Ebanon

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Artwork by SairentoTsuki


Giginka/Human Version by WelcomeToKell



Artwork by Waslala

Sparkly Version!