Glass Soldier REWRITTEN

Chapter 21

           Watching as a cussing Averin was dropped from a relatively safe distance from the sky. Rolling roughly against the ground and barely getting to his feet, brushing himself off he glared at the dragon that did not hesitate to growl back, landing with more force than necessary. The rough demeanor disappeared as he turned to look at me, a soft shrill, and a gentle nudge to the arm asking a question that left me laughing.

         "I am not dying, calm down," I hummed with a smile, taking his snout into my lap as my utterly agonizing back pressed into the still-warm scales. "Where's Yastum?" I asked without looking away from my Vitreus.

           "... You killed the dragon?" Came a disbelieving question instead. My gaze moved to him while he stared at the beast I leaned against. A beast with its stomach torn open and guts pooling out about three feet to my right. A mana core to my left.

          "Yes, well, I didn't exactly have another choice," I said sarcastically, rolling my eyes and hissing as Vitreus pressed his head into my lap a little too hard. He jolted up in an instant, looking me over while I just put my hand to his nose. "It's fine, I'm fine," I shook my head

           "Fine? You look half dead," Averin deadpanned, trying to approach only to be met with the bared teeth of a dragon that whipped in his direction without hesitation. Those wide pupils slits and spines tall. "... She'll die if left," He sneered at the dragon, a hum on my lips while I closed my eyes, leaning my head into the corpse behind me.

          I could hear a huff after a long silence, footsteps getting closer not long after. Opening an eye as he crouched beside me I raised a brow while he carefully looked me over. "I won't die," I corrected letting him take one of my wrists to look at my hand, scrunching my nose at the pain that raced through my arm.

           "Yastum said you fell from the ceiling of a building easily four stories tall," He muttered, carefully raising my shirt while I whistled at the sight of my stomach. Splotches and patches of red mixed with bruises and blisters. "I'm assuming you sent your dragon to fetch us because you can't get back on it,"

         "Correct assumption," I admitted with a hiss and a glare as he pulled me forward to look at the mess of my back.

          "... Well, you're conscious," He sighed making me snort, a gentleness I didn't know he was capable of used to lean me back against the dragon. "Follow my finger." Doing as told I followed his finger as he moved it slowly. "How's your neck? Can you move your toes?"

          "Fine and yes." His gaze dropping down to my feet, a quick hand had removed one of my shoes. Grunting I wiggled them as he so needed before his calm gaze found my neck, a gentle hand sliding behind it before he met my gaze again, expectantly. With a sigh, I slowly started to move it, moaning as my shoulder pulsed, he stopped my moving. "It was my shoulder," I rolled my eyes.

            "Your shoulder?" He asked, turning his attention to it, carefully hands holding my wrist and bicep.

          "I think it popped out of place," Probably when I decided to mount a dragon going the exact opposite way as me.

          "Can you move your arm?" He asked, moving it his damn self while I glared at him, pain quick to find it.

        "Yes," I pressed while he raised a brow.

         "You didn't pop it out of place, probably just tore something. Dizzy? Nauseous?" He asked putting my hand back in my lap while his forearms found his knees.

        "Oh, incredibly," I didn't bother to pretend, my stomach in my thought and a pounding in my head.

          "Well, the biggest issue I can find is some horribly severe internal bleeding and a burn that has the majority of your damn back a bloody blister," He said calmly while I gave a sarcastic smile. "Congrats! You'll live," He smiled, patting my cheek rougher than needed while I didn't even bother to swat him away. "Now let's get you to a healer so I don't become a liar, little dragon slayer,"

        "I can't fucking stand," I deadpanned, hardly raising my trembling arm while it watched it fall.

       "Yeahhhh, while, your dragon's out of the question, and this is the middle of the fucking forest so you'll be in for a horrible ride!" He chirped pressing himself back to his feet, looking at my less than enthused dragon, who bared his teeth upon the attention of the horrible man. "Actually..." He hummed with a grin. Dread pulling at me.