Stolen Friend

It is said that there is a strange creature that lives amongst the mountains that towered over the forest, far outside of the city. There have been countless attempts to reach the cavern, the home of the beast.
"We should be close by," whispered the assistant to the paleontologist, "just past these trees and we'll be there in no time!"
As they continued walking, the trees became sparse and up came the mountains, standing tall above them, poking at the sky with its jagged rocks near the top. They continued to walk, green turning into gray as they approached the mountains.
Thump, thump, thump came a sound deep from the forest. Little critters ran into their homes, the trees, a burrow, all out of view as a large creature came passing through. Its head layered with hazel fur, paws large with claws as pointed as needles came treading through the bushes as the creature stretched out its large wings, they glistened in the light that shined through the leaves, a desaturated reddish brown was the color of the wings. The large beargon, a hybrid of a bear and dragon, was making its way through the forest to their home, a cave in the mountains, with little ruby colored berries it had forged earlier.
"Move quickly now, we aren't sure when the creature will return!" the paleontologist hurriedly told the assistant as they carefully dug out a skull. It resembled a bear, but with a characteristic that made it stand out, horns on the forehead that curved inward with small scratch marks that came from the rocks that surrounded it. It looked old like it had been there for days, or possibly months.
"Unless you'd rather return with a broken artifact, this is as fast I can go without causing too much damage." retorted the assistant as she continued to dust away debri, carefully lifting the skull up into the light, the pale yellow color gleamed, though it still had specs of dust on it. After a few more minutes of making sure there was no noticeable damage, they carefully wrapped the fossil with a red silk cloth, storing it in a large leather bag the assistant brought.
As they neared the entrance of the cave, they spotted movement coming from the forest only realize it was the beast. Quickly, they ran down the mountain, making sure not to trip, keeping an eye on the beargon as it opened its wings to fly up. Managing to not get caught, the paleontologist and assistant sprinted through the woods. The trees seeming like blurs of brown and green, the grass crunching beneath their feet, rays of heat beating down on them as the sun radiated its light. Several minutes passed by till they saw ocean blue sticking out from the greenery, it was rheir car that had been parked to the side of the road that stretched out towards the city where the museum was located.
Unaware of the current events taking place, the beargon flew into their home, dropping the berries on a large stone that layed on the ground. After eating a few of the berries and storing the rest, he picked out a berry and brought it to a pile of leaves and rocks in the back corner of the cave. Panic struck his heart as he looked frantically started to look for something, something that meant the world to him, something that they had guarded with their life for years. Leaves had scattered all over the cave floor, rocks were thrown to the side till the pile was no more . . . it was gone.
He flew out of the cave, soaring over the forest to see if he could spot the culprit who trespassed into his home. Out of the corner of his eye, a small blue machine could be seen rolling away. It looked like a toy car rolling down the road from where he was at.
A furious roar spread across the land, causing the car to shake as it went down the road back to the city. Birds were startled, squirrels shook in fear, forest creatures sought shelter as a large dark mass passed over them.
"W-what was that!?" yelped the assistant as she promptly looked out the window. Though there was nothing in plain sight, she continued to stare, unaware that not too far behind there was a large beast soaring towards them. However, he stopped in his tracks, losing sight of the car as it passed under dense forestry which also split into different directions. Defeat washed over him as he realized he probably lost his most prized artifact, possibly forever. After a few minutes he glided down to the ground after making sure he couldn't spot the thieves anymore.
Hours passed till the paleontologist and her assistant reached the museum that was deep into the city. Large columns stood, holding up the ceiling of the entrance, large pale stairs led to glass doors with golden handles. They parked in the back and carefully picked up the bag that contained the fossil. They entered and went to the manager of the museum to give him the good news.
"That's amazing!" he exclaimed looking at the skull that sat on his desk. The paleontologist and the assistant smiled with pride, glad that they were the first to bring back the sought after beargon skull. The manager gathered a few other employees to help set up the exhibit to showcase the fossil, congratulating the two once again.
Night had fallen. The beargon laying deep within the cave, wondering what to do next. If it was them that took the skull, then that would mean they might have headed off to the place with. . . he thought quietly as he dreaded the possibility of having to fly over to the city to retrieve the stolen artifact. Without it, the beargon felt like a small ant, easily able to get squished at any moment, for him losing the skull made him feel useless and alone. Seeing how easily someone was able to take it made him feel even worse, that skull meant the world to him, he had it propped up on the pile, "fed" it the berries he got, told it about his travels, whether it be something exciting like seeing a strange human object floating down the river, or something mundane like simply walking through the forest. It was as if there was somebody else with him, being alone was saddening to him, he wanted to make friends however everyone would run and hide due to his intimidating appearance. The crickets chirped in the distance, the crescent moon casting a light glow, highlighting the leaves on trees. I guess a little trip over the tall mountain land of the humans wouldn't hurt. With that thought in mind, he slowly drifted off to sleep, reassuring himself that everything would be fine and that maybe the humans would understand.
The sky lit up with the warm glow of rays radiating from the sun as the employees at the museum prepped the place, excited to reveal the skull of a beargon, a never before seen fossil. The paleontologist and assistant were especially overflowed with excitement ready to tell the tale of how they managed to avoid the wrath of the large creature as they made their way out of the cave with the skull. Meanwhile in the outskirts of the city, the beargon readied itself for the long trip ahead of him, worried about what the humans would think of his sudden appearance. Before he left, he walked toward the long path that snaked through the woods that the humans used to travel to the land of tall mountains. Memorizing the path he finally took off.
There was just a few minutes left before the museum opened but already there were people buzzing around inside making last minute preparations, wiping the glass case that contained the skull to the point you could see your own reflection, exhibits being moved around to surround the fossil which stood in the center of the large room, the floor shined, reflecting the lights, the other cases with different artifacts were also gleaming.
"Okay everyone, to your places!" announced the manager to the staff. With that, everyone scattered to their positions, the paleontologist covering the beargon skull's case with a black cloth big enough to just barely reach the edges of the case, finally ready for its big reveal. The doors opened and a few minutes later, people started to walk in, gradually, a crowd started to form, all there to see the fossil of the rare beargon after hearing news of its arrival the previous day.
Fur was blowing in the wind as the beargon could see the tall mountains in the distance where the humans lived, his heart beating faster as small little contraptions sped across the dark paths that surrounded each mountain, it looked like there was a whole colony of ants swarming around on the sides of the dark paths. He realized that they weren't ants, but humans! Looking around, he spotted the light blue contraption that had carried the humans who took the skull standing behind a smaller, pale mountain that was shaped like a box. Not wanting to be spotted from down below, the beargon turned and landed behind the tree line that surrounded the tall mountain land, he watched the humans as they walked around, some carrying a strange rock slab, others walking with smaller humans that carried little sacks on their backs, he assumed they were probably carrying berries, or whatever humans ate, back to their dens after going out to hunt. Roaring past him on the dark path was a larger, scarier contraption that moved the humans. It passed by so fast that his fur swayed in the little breeze it left. Minutes passed till the beargon finally gained enough courage to step out, flap his wings, and fly back above the city, scanning for a spot to land that was near the little pale mountain where he assumed the skull was.
Down below, people looked up, seeing a dark mass pass them overhead. Parents held their children close, stopping in their tracks, cars slowed down. Looking up they could see large wings, its red-brown scales reflecting the light that came from the sun, seeing this set the people into a frenzy. However as this was going on, back in the museum came time for the big reveal, the moment everyone was waiting for.
"Ahem," one of the employees said as he walked in front of the exhibit, slowly catching the attention of the people who started to gather. "Everyone make sure to mark your calendars because today is your luckiest day! Not only will you be the first to set your eyes on a rare fossil, but also be a part of the first city to find the rare fossil of a beargon!" The employee announced enthusiastically, hyping up the crowd.
"But first, we shall hear the tale of the impossible, merely escaping death, the two brave souls that brought back the artifact, meet our paleontologist and her assistant!" he introduced, walking off to the side of the room as the two walked to the front of the exhibit, ready to give their speech.
"Hello everyone!" the paleontologist greeted, her voice echoing throughout the room, "I am proud to say that we were finally able to discover and retrieve this mythical creature's fossil. Of course I cannot take all the credit, my magnificent assistant played a big role in our quest as well!" she said, looking over to the assistant with a smile, she smiled back.
"It may have been a challenging journey climbing up the mountain, and certainly a dangerous one when it came to climbing back down, but we are glad to bring back what everyone was waiting for." said the assistant, continuing on from where the paleontologist left off.
The employee interjected, "Please, enlighten us, what happened out there?"
"Well, it was a long trek through the forest, the trees shielding us from the sun." the paleontologist continued on with the story, her assistant also telling how it was hard trying to unearth the fossil without causing great damage.
"We thought we weren't going to get away, but-" Before the assistant could continue, there was a loud boom heard from above them, it was as though there was a thunderstorm outside despite there not being a single cloud in the sky. Suddenly a crack started to form near the corner of the room they were in. In a panic, the crowd dispersed, running towards the entrance to get to safety, the paleontologist and her assistant quickly following.
As the beargon tried to land perfectly on top of the museum, he miscalculated the landing and ended up almost falling off the edge of the roof causing it to start crumbling underneath his feet. His heart raced as he frantically tried to climb back up, his wings flapping wildly as people around ran away and screamed, terrified of the sight in front of them. Despite his effort, the corner of the ceiling caved in, taking the wall down with it along with the beargon. The wall came apart, dust fogging the area for some time. All was still. He stood up, shaking his fur as debri flew out of it. Cautiously, he looked around hoping nobody had been injured.
Everyone stood still, both in shock and in fear, they couldn't believe what was standing before them. For a few minutes that felt like hours everyone was standing in their spots, the beargon and the people staring at each other, suddenly someone screamed which seemed to break everyone from their trance. Just like that, people started to scream and run in different directions as the beargon tried to reassure everyone that he wasn't going to hurt them by lowering his head and tucking in his wings. The paleontologist and assistant stood at the back corner of the entrance, assessing what to do next. The beargon noticed that despite his best efforts, there was no way of conveying the message that he wasn't going to injure anyone, so he decided to look for the fossil instead to see if they had taken it. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a little clear box, a large cloth that spilled to the side allowed the pale surface of the skull to be seen. Both surprised and filled with joy he jogged over to where it was, however he tripped on a piece of the wall causing him to lunge forward and knock down the exhibit, shattering the clear case into small little reflections of the world around it, and along with it, his old friend.
"NO!" Yelled the paleontologist. She fell to her knees in disbelief, not only had the large creature trash the museum, it also shattered the most prized possession in the whole building. "How could you, after years and years of trying to bring back the fossil, only now have you shown your face just to ruin this special moment! You, you beast!" she cried in a rage to the beargon as he sat, looming over the fragments of what was once a skull, his friend. Real or not, it was always there to keep him company. Slowly, he stood up, processing all that had just occurred. A beast? No...no it can't be, there's no way I am the beast, they're the beast for taking it! he thought to himself as he breathed heavily, starting to get infuriated with the two who had taken his friend.
Suddenly, he stood up and swiped his large paws at what was left of the exhibits in that room, filled with rage. Crash, smash was all that could be heard at that moment as things were attacked by the large creature. He turned to face the paleontologist and the assistant, getting back down onto all fours, he started towards them until he came across a shard of glass in front of him just at the right angle to were he could see himself. He realized in that moment he really was the beast they declared him to be, causing him to stop in his tracks. The two were huddled together in the corner, shaking with fear. The sight of this crushed him, he was filled with guilt now, stepping away from the two and looking back at the spot where the fossil's exhibit once stood, now torn apart. He slowly walked over to it, picking up a large shard of the skull that was a piece of the eye socket and snout with his mouth carefully. Facing the paleontologist and assistant again, he walked towards them still keeping a safe distance so as to not scare them, placed the piece of skull down, and lightly nudged it over to them, giving them a smile and turned away.
Curled into a ball as best as they could, the paleontologist and her assistant were absolutely terrified of what the beargon would do to them as he started to sprint towards them. The paleontologist shut her eyes closed, bracing herself for whatever was to come, but after a few seconds she felt a tap on her shoulder, her eyes opened again to see the wild creature, stopped in the middle of the room. They were confused about what was happening until they saw him turn to the spot where they had set up the exhibit for the fossil, he took a large piece of the fossil and turned back in their direction, startling them. The beast slowly walked towards them and placed the piece down, sliding it towards them.
Dumbfounded, they just sat there, looking at the fragment, then at him. After a moment, it turned away and walked back to the pieces of the skull and picked them up with his mouth. He stood there and looked back at them with worried eyes, then out came his wings, giving a bright shine as they started to flap up and down. Just like that, he flew away, the silhouette shrinking as he flew farther and farther away, they assumed back to his home in the mountains. They continued to sit there trying to take in all that had just happened. What was supposed to be an exciting day for them turned into a slew of events that were both horrifying and surprisingly heart-warming near the end.
"Didn't it kinda seem like it felt bad at the end there?" the assistant asked, finally breaking the silence that lingered for a few minutes.
"I guess so," replied the paleontologist thinking for a moment before continuing, "maybe it's for the best that we don't disturb them anymore. We don't want another disruption to happen again." she said as she stood up.
In the distance, sirens could be heard as ambulances and police sped to the museum after receiving multiple calls of a wild beast that tore through the building. Rays of sunlight slipped through the cracks in the wall landing on the piece of skull the beargon had left behind. The assistant bent down and picked up the shard, maybe the beast isn't really a beast after all. With that, the paleontologist walked out through the hole in the wall and made it back to the front to get tended to by an officer. Hours passed till night came, the sky littered with stars that shone brightly alongside the moon, casting light through the ruins of the museum which had later been taped off to the public. Light streamed into the beargon's home. He layed, staring at the shards of the fossil it had taken back, laying on a small pile where he had originally propped up the skull. He laid there, staring at the small pile, thinking about what had happened that day, the destruction caused by his rage, and although he still felt guilt tugging at his heart, he thought about the kind gesture he gave towards the two humans and hoped that this would allow them to feel a little better. A few minutes passed till the large creature drifted off to sleep.
Back at her house, the paleontologist sat at the kitchen table with the piece of skull laying in front of her, luckily she was able to hide it away in her purse without getting spotted as they retrieved her belongings from the building. She sat there staring down at it, the dusted pale surface of the skull shard stood out from the dark wooden table that had small cherry red cloths laid out in front of the four chair, the ticking of her clock was the only thing heard for a few moments before she let out a long sigh and rose up from her seat, pushing the chair in. She carefully picked up the piece and walked out to her room, turning the light in the kitchen off with a small click.
News had broken out the next day as countless channels reported about the terrifying beast who tore through the city and wrecked the museum. Although it left people with a bad impression of the beargon, the assistant and paleontologist knew that deep inside he was just a kind creature who only wanted to retrieve his stolen friend.