anything and everything

Drake

I wrote this and my brain immediately died so here's a little Drake. Not my best quality but hey, it's a story
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"Drake!"

Drake heard his mother call but knew to wait for the second one before he could come out of his hiding spot. This was how she kept him safe, hide until you get the signal.

"Drake!" On the second call of his name, Drake came out of his hiding spot in a clump of bushes and ran over to his mother.

Drake was only five winters old but living in the forest forces you to mature fast. He spent most of his days hiding waiting for his mother to come fetch him and let him know it was safe.

Drake hugged his mother's leg and she patted him on the head in a quiet greeting. They didn't talk aside from commands from his mother. Drake had learned a few words from her as well but they didn't need it to communicate.

Drake mother turned and started walking, likely leading him to food or water. Drake held her tail as they walked so she'd know if he got separated.

There were some big predators in this area that could cause them a threat. They lived in a heavily forested area so there were wolves, bears, and moose. Drake had seen all three of them but most left them alone. Bears wouldn't engage unless they were starving and wolves hunter in packs so you needed to get off the ground.

But it was spring which meant moose were a big threat. They were always aggressive and even worse now that they had babies.

Drake pulled on his mother's tail lightly when he heard the heavy steps of that frightful animal. She stopped as well and pulled Drake closer to her legs, looking around.

The moose's groan sounded more like a growl to Drake. He moved as close as possible to his mother when he saw it emerge from the trees, jogging towards them.  It must have a baby of its own somewhere around here.

Drake felt the telltale shifting of his mother's skin and took a few steps back to make room for the large grey dragon that stood before him a second later.

The dragon gave her own roar, spreading her wings to make herself look even larger and attempt to frighten the moose away.

The moose slowed and groaned at them again, almost as if it didn't know if it wanted to attack them or not.

Drake's mother stared it down a minute longer before slowing starting to back away, going to disengage without turning her back on the beast.

The encounter thankfully ended peacefully as the moose turned and went to recollect it's child before moving onto grazing grounds.

Drakes mother shifted back into her human form and he held onto her tail again as she continued down her path to lead him to their meal.

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Eight winters Drake had been living in the forest with his mother. She didn't return to him this winter.

Drake spent all of the cold season on his den eating stored food and sleeping on hot coals. Usually his mother would rest there too with him. She would light the fires and tell him how much he could eat at any time. She made sure their food lasted all winter and they survived.

Without her here, Drake had more food than he could need. It was food stored for two after all, and it only fed one.

Staying warm was much harder. Drake didn't know how to light a fire but he'd watched his mother do it before. He'd spent many nights cold but thankfully was still alive.

So cold season became the rainy one. Spring was teaching it's end when Drake finally ran out of food and his mother still hasn't returned.

He wasn't supposed to leave the cave without her.