The sun was setting on the eastern horizon, casting a golden glow on everything the light touched. The sharp sword-like mountains around us rose high into the sky, cutting into the clouds above. The wild forest world around me was slowly becoming dark and silent. Birds and butterflies slowly disappeared from the meadows, being replaced by small flickering lights of fireflies and the occasional song from a cricket. The wind softly blew over the treetops and fields of grass, combing my own hair. I looked back down to my belt, double checking I had the two rabbits I caught. They flopped lifelessly beside me every step I took. Feeling the temperature drop around me, I swiftly picked up my pace up my path leading to a small two story cottage on top of a hill.
It was a big benefit to live in the Mountain range of dragon's, especially if you're trying to raise a child. I could hear the thundering sound of bear feet and small dragon talons on the second level as I approached the cottage. Cautiously, I snuck up to the front door and opened it. It slowly creaked from weathering and all noise inside the house stopped. I cautiously walked into the cottage, seeing the fire needed attending to. I heard a small giggle from above, but I didn’t turn my head. I knew what was happening, this game happened every time I came home. Swiftly, I turned just in time to see two dragonet silhouettes pounce from the balcony and land directly onto me. For a second, I lost my breath, but I quickly recovered.
Swiftly, I got out from under the two dragonets who were soaking my face in dragon kisses. The first one was lighter shades of green with wings the shape of leaves and glowing green eyes, the sign of a nature dragon. The second was black, which was harder to read. He had bird wings, phoenix shaped, but they were black like a raven, and had the slightest bit of lime green at the tip of each feather. His eyes were a glowing light green, almost brighter than Ivy’s eyes. He looked more like a winged panther than any other dragon. Both the let out loud dragon giggles as they pounced on each other and rolled around.
Brushing myself off and standing up, I saw one last figure jump down from the canopy. This wasn’t a dragonet, but something else, something dangerous...
“DADDY!!!”
The small toddler sprinted out of the darkness and jumped into my arms. I caught him, spinning him around in the air. He squealed with delight and I brought him down, hugging him tightly.
“Hello my little one.”
I mumbled into his ear, scratching him with my short beard. He giggled, flinching away and scratching his ear. I chuckled, then let him down. He ran off, his fat little feet thumping loudly on the wooden floor. I crouched down by the fire and added two logs, then blew the fire to get a brighter blaze. I noticed a final pair of glowing yellow-green eyes from a large part of the balcony. The massive figure growled softly, shaking leaves down from a hidden nest. I smiled, seeing my dragon in a good mood. Ivy lowered his massive head, his crown of leaves mixed with his two very powerful looking horns seemed to flow like a mane. His eyes were amazing, they always seemed to move in unique ways. Tonight, they were shifting like falling leaves.
“Hello my rider.”
“Hello Ivy, in a better mood I see.”
He snorted loudly in disagreement and I laughed,
“You and your attitude.”
He looked away from me, though I could tell Ivy was grinning slightly. I turned around and attended to the fire again, preparing to cook the rabbits. Ivy climbed down from his nest on vines that hung from it. The little dragonets reappeared underfoot, playing another game of tag mixed with hide and seek. My son reappeared as well, following the small dragonets. I smiled as the three ran around yelping and squealing. There were too many things that this world kept apart from both dominant species, here in the hidden forests of the dragon mountains we were inseparable. Ivy did eventually get drawn closer to the fire from the sweet aroma of cooking meat. I found it surprising that Ivy liked cooked meat, or meat in general. Nature dragons don’t have fire, so they eat mainly herbs and fruits that they can find. Over the years Ivy had acquired the taste of cooked meat, now it was his favorite.
As I began dicing the rabbit meat into chunks and putting the chunks into a pot full of boiling water, then added a few vegetables and herbs. I stirred the pot till I was happy with the color, then I motioned to Ivy, and he grabbed the pot softly with his giant jaws. He set it down on the cobblestone floor near the fireplace and sniffed the aroma. He was about to take a sip out of the pot when I smacked his wing. He jumped and looked back at me as if injured.
“You know you'll burn yourself, besides, this is for everyone.”
I pointed out. Ivy backed up, but kept close as I poured the soup into bowls for me and my son, then Ivy poured the rest into dragon sized bowls for the dragonets, then he had the rest. As we all ate, I looked longingly into my soup. My wife had taught me how to cook, this was her favorite. Looking longingly at the spoon as I stirred it, Ivy noticed my mood. He had already finished his meal, his mouth covered in soup. He silently wiped his mouth and walked over to me. He curled his leafy tail around my left arm, then set his head on my right side. I patted him, taking a steady breath. My wife was one in a million. She had never found her dragon, so she had made a strong connection with Ivy. we both missed her...I missed her...
I finished my meal slowly, then set all the bowls and pot aside to wash in the morning. I sat down next to the fire again and kept it burning brightly. I set another final log on and watched it burn. I heard my son stop running for a moment, as if he had vanished. I then heard his feet waddle up beside me. He pointed at Ivy’s saddle necklace next to the fireplace, which created a small dim glow of green light. It was in the shape of a leaf, the chain was brown and decorated like plants and leaves weaved together. It was royal in origin from the lost nature kingdom, but now all it was was a fancy saddle kept as a trinket for later use.
“No my little shadow, you can’t ride Ivy, he needs to eat then rest.”
He didn’t care, he just yelled, “Ride Ivy! Ride Ivy!”
I sighed, turning away from the fire and picking up the small boy. I looked at him and spoke softly,
“Not now my little shadow, let me tell you a story.”
“Yes! Yes!”
He shouted, completely forgetting about Ivy, who had disappeared back into his balcony. I walked over to the two dragonet’s nest, who were now sound asleep, there little bodies rising and falling with soft quick breaths. I set my son down on his bed next to the dragonet’s nest, both basked in bright moonlight. I looked up, out a large window designed for the dragonets to fly out when they were old enough and saw the bright full moon. I started off,
“it all started years ago, when I met your mother…”
