Waltz Of A Dying Dragon

11

"I'm home now. I'm finally home."

--

"Thank you for taking me all the way here," a young archer spoke to the driver of a cab she rode. She handed the man some jenny and exited the vehicle. (Y/n) took in a deep breath, taking in the air that smelled crisp. The sounds start to surround her. Birds chirped and small animals cooed. Everything felt...peaceful, but the archer knew that everything would get livelier.

Just as soon as she gets home of course.

The archer starts walking but eventually starts sprinting when she feels giddiness rise from her. She was excited to see her people again and they'll probably be the same towards her too. It's been a few months since they talked to each other. With all that's happened, it had been difficult to send letters to each other. (Y/n) hadn't had the time to write letters anyway, as she had too many things to do.

She knew how her family would be a little frustrated by her absence but surely they'll forgive her for not writing as soon as possible.

(Y/n) runs out of energy midway to the path home. She was a little disappointed in herself but she was okay with it since she knew it would be okay for her to arrive there a little late. There was plenty of sun left in the sky, which meant plenty of time for her to talk about what she did during her time away from home.

As the girl kept walking, the trees felt like they were getting closer and closer to each other. The presence in the trees felt dead as if animals ran away from this place. There was nothing to be afraid of, or at least the girl hoped. Usually, at this time of year, the animals would be scared of getting near the village since there would be larger animals hanging around.

But...something felt different about this aura. The archer couldn't explain why it was so different. All she knew was that...it was definitely disturbing. Still, (Y/n) tried to brush it off as some sort of weird animal thing where the forest just felt dead.

A hum comes from the archer as she kept walking forward, her feet hitting the dirt path that paved the way to her home. The sun was quick to shy away, as clouds hovered over her. The sky was feeling off today too. The puffs above her were gray, almost to the point where it looked like it was ready to pour rain all over the land.

The sight was another disappointment to the archer, as she wanted it to be bright. How else was the welcome home festival supposed to happen? She knew her family won't do anything in the rain, for they fear getting sick by something. That...was a major bummer, but still, the archer kept her hopes up. Maybe they'll plan something as some sort of second choice for her. Maybe they've planned a family bonding day where all they do is talk and perhaps do some indoor practice.

If it were to rain today then the festival may happen tomorrow.

The girl was filled with so much joy, no matter how offputting her surroundings might be. She had a smile on her face and always had hoped for the best.

She never knew that the hope inside her chest would die down as soon as she saw the entrance of her home.

Silence wraps around her as she stopped in her tracks. Her eyes stare down an empty village. The middle firepit had been extinguished and usually, that doesn't happen. A dead fire meant that there was trouble nearby. The threat must be so great that even the torches around the houses were dead.

(Y/n) took in a deep breath as she looked around. The hope that she had in her was replaced by worry, panic almost.

"If this is some kind of sick prank, I'm not fucking laughing," (Y/n) spat out as she took another step in her village. As soon as her feet hit the dirt her people used to walk on, she felt a shiver run up her spine. At first, she had small suspicions, with the animals and clouds above her, but now they were even bigger. These suspecions influenced her thoughts, increasing her panic.