The Dragon's Consort

Chapter 1

Zara shuffled in the tree canopy, looking at her prey. A young buck, meaty enough to last at least two months, and whose antlers were large enough to make tools and trinkets. Not to mention the fact that she needed more furs.

She watched as it's tail flicked up, then it's head, clearly smelt something downwind. Probably a mountain lion, prey had been scarce the past few weeks, and it'd be hungry.

She kneeled down on a secure branch, wanting to hurry up the hunt. With a quick movement, she sent a bola flying, it tangled around the creature's legs. It flailed helplessly on the forest floor. She jumped from the branch, her knees absorbing the impact. Taking a hunting dagger, she cut it's throat, giving the deer a swift end. She'd had to hurry when it came to hauling the creature to her camp, considering how much noise it made, and the blood it left behind.

She retrieved the bola, and slugged the animal over her shoulders and hauling it with her. She marched through the woods, making sure she didn't leave a trail behind her. Once she caught sight of her tent, she started scaling the oversized oak tree she had set up in. She found the thickest branch and made quick work of the animal, skin it, butchering it, and removing the antlers.

She hung the pelt up to tan, and hacked up the meat further, then salted it before before leaving it out to dry on the rack she had stationed on the top of the tree canopy. The salt she had used was developed by dragons, and made meat last for years if given the chance. The hide was washed with a draconic chemical that would cause it to tan much quicker, so she would not have to wait for it.

Once the meat was dried and the pelt ready, she'd sleep the night, and leave at first light. She hated staying in one place for a long time. It was safer to keep moving, like the rest of dragons, the ones she didn't want to cross paths with.

She never bothered with fires, always ran hot enough to keep warm, and never needed to cook food, since dragons could eat raw meat. So she spent the rest of the night carving a new trinket into one of the hunks of antler. A fat little dragon, with comically small wings and chubby stature. She chuckled to herself, and thought about turning it into a necklace.

She soon allowed herself to enter her tent and drift to sleep, not wanting to risk waking up too late the next day.

* * *

That morning she awoke before everything else, and started packing up brining only some twine that she used to set up tanning racks, the new hides and meat, and her old clothes and tent. That in itself was heavy, but she could handle it, dragons were strong.

Zara couldn't walk as fast as she liked, between the weight, and the discomfort of having her breasts bound, as they always were when she travelled. It was far easier to pretend to be a boy rather than herself. Women were a rare commodity, all other female dragons had gone extinct, and human women had started slowly disappearing as well. She kept her pair of horns, and scaled left arm on display, it scared off most humans, and she'd been lucky enough not to meet any dragons.

She kept on high alert, constantly listening and watching for any threats, staying upwind to avoid alerting anyone, or anything, of her presence. She preferred travelling in the trees, but it was hard to balance while lugging around over a hundred pounds in meat.

She countinued, walking until the sun was high in the sky, before taking a break to eat. Sitting up in a tree, so she could watch the birds chirping about, she chewed on her bland jerky. Flavors were a luxury, and she didn't have time for luxuries, not that she needed them anyways, food was food.

Just as she was about to climb down, a small flock of ravens was disturbed, flying past her. She crouched in her position, hunting through the maze of branches, keeping low. She felt the wind change, and caught a whiff of an odd scent.