Path of the Sun: The First Grassland (A Dragon Adventures Story)

Chapter 16: Domum Dulce Domum

     "Hop on my back, I'll fly you there." Tooth said, in one of the kindest voices I've ever heard. "It might be a little bit of a rough fight, but I'll try."

     I hopped on his back, trying my best not to draw blood with my claws. He seemed like he would die if I hurt him any more.

     "Hold on, tell me when you're ready." he said.

     I gripped my claws on his back fluff, and braced myself.

     "Ready." I said nervously.

     He began to flap his wings, taking flight. He then proceeded to lift his legs off the ground and go forward. I instinctively gripped harder, and clenched my teeth. Sooner than I could see, he made it off the ground and was flying towards a cave.

     I looked around at the beautiful sight of the ground. I could see a pack of Sauriums dozing in the sun, some bulls grazing. I saw the waterfall, it's water shining in the sun. I looked back at Tooth, who was slowly going landing at the mouth of a cave.

     I'll admit, it was a bad idea to go off with a strange adult I barely knew. To be honest, he didn't seem intimidated by me, like he already knew me. It was nice being around somebody who didn't look at you like a creature, a child, or a sibling. He just saw me as a friend, and that was all I needed.

     When we landed, I let go of his back and slid off onto the stone.

     "Sorry for holding so tight." I apologised.

     "Oh, it's fine, my first time flying I nearly jumped off my father's back out of fear." he reassured me. At least, I think it was reassuring.

     I peered into the dark cave. It was dark, probably wet.

     "It's a little," I was searching for the right word, "gloomy."

     He looked at me disappointed.

     "Sorry, I know it's not much, but I promise that it looks better inside." he apologised.

     I hesitantly walked in, even though I really didn't want to. He took me to his den so he could patch me up, make sure I was well fed, then send me on my way. All for no reason. I had no right to not accept his help.

     He followed me in. When we got to the main space of the den, it was huge. Big enough to fit a Solarizon. Big enough to house multiple, if needed. Maybe not that big, but pretty big.

     Wait a minute, what's a Solar-

     "It's cool, isn't it?" he said, somewhat enthusiastically.

     I looked at him, he was smiling, I then looked around more. There was a hole at the top allowing sunlight to get in. There were animal pelts along the floor, to keep paws warm. There was also a bed made of hay, most likely for Tooth. There was a small stream coming through allowing fresh water to get in.

     "Yeah." I said, not wanting to hurt Tooth's feelings with how I really felt. It came off a bit more foul than expected.

     "Look, I'm sorry, maybe we can adjust it a bit so you can stay here and not die from bad sense. I've never really had others around, so I have no real sense of what's good and not." he explained.

     I thought about what he said. It was reasonable, but for some odd reason I just hated the idea of this place. Then it occurred to me exactly what he said.

     "What do you mean, 'adjust it a little bit so you can stay here'?" I asked. There was no way I was staying with Mister Animal Pelt Floor.

     "I mean," he began "I know you want to be on your own and all, but what if you get hurt? Not everybody wants to help a kid. If you go around attacking random animals, you'll just get hurt more than when you started. Look, I know you're probably a really smart kid, knowing other dragons weaknesses and all that, but how will you survive? You can live off of other dragon's occasional help, or you can live off of my help for the rest of your childhood. Which is more beneficial to you?"

     I stood and processed what he said. He had a point. Tooth helping me was just pure luck. I could've been weakened by one, then finished off by the other. If they did help me, there's no guarantee they would offer me to stay with them until I'm ready to leave. I thought for a little while longer.

     "Fine," I said sternly "but I'm staying until I'm ready to go, no exceptions."

     Tooth smiled.

     "Got it, no exceptions."

     We then proceeded to fix up the den to how it would look and serve best until dark.

Later

     "Alright, what about that?" Tooth asked me eagerly.

     "Looks good! Thanks again for this, you didn't have to."

     "Nonsense, I've been wanting to redesign anyway."

     I looked around the cave, my new temporary home. It looked a lot nicer, that's for sure. The pelts were now on the wall, drying after being washed, and we would sort out the freezing paws later. There were two beds now, one big, one slightly smaller. It was simple, but it would do.

     "Right. Goodnight, Sunny. Sleep well." Tooth said, heading to his own bed.

     "Yeah," I said, heading to mine, "goodnight Tooth."