The Forest Witch's Home for Magical Creatures

Chapter 6: Stuck

He followed her at a leisurely pace. He wasn't worried about losing her in the dense forest. She was a noisy creature. She was easy to find. For her sake, he hoped he was the only one looking for her. He silently leaped from tree to tree, stealthy staying in the shadows.

This was not a trail he'd seen her use yet. Slowly the meandering trail started uphill. She took the inclines with grace. She was red-faced but smiling, seeming to enjoy the exercise. They continued to follow the trail until he couldn't follow her anymore. The trees thinned out as the trail went up to a rocky ledge. He watched her finish the climb up to the ledge and drop herself onto the ground. Wren climbed up the tree he was perched on. His kind was gifted with enhanced senses. He could easily see her lying in the dirt. He assumed she was taking a break. That last stretch of the trail seemed to tire her out.

He made himself comfortable on his branch. After her break, she got up and stretched. Then she started...to collect rocks? Was this a witch thing? He leaned forward and watched her intently. She was rather nimble and she navigated the rocks, even jumping from rock to rock. She would pick up a rock and turn it around in her hands. She would feel the sides of it. Some she put back down, others she put in her pack.

He knew what it looked like. It looked like she was collecting, like she was hoarding, which was something he was very familiar with. All dragons felt the urge to collect, or hoard. Dragons with a sense of stability could hoard all sorts of things. Gold, clothes, art, decapitated heads of enemies. It was a biological urge that his kind shared. Dragons without a sense of stability, like himself, had to suffer. It was an ache that never went away. An itch he couldn't scratch. To surround yourself with things that bring you joy is to have joy. To surround yourself with things you love is to feel love. He hasn't felt those things in a long time. All he had was a small pouch on his hip that he could put small trinkets that caught his eye.

He watched the witch as she collected. He watched her pick up promising rocks and measure their worth. He watched the bright smile that broke out on her face each time she put one in her pack. He felt a deep pull at his core. The deep impulse to find somewhere safe and settle. To surround himself with treasures that brought love and joy. Dragons were not meant to be solitary animals but he had been alone for too long. Maybe he could join the little witch. He hadn't seen any indicators that she was dangerous. He could help her collect. He bet she would let him put some rocks in her pack too.

Wren shifted his weight on the branch he was perched on. A loud 'CRACK' echoed through the forest as the branch snapped. He fell down to the forest floor, smacking harshly into branches on his way down. He landed in an undignified lump. He hasn't fallen out of a tree since he was a hatchling. How embarrassing. He checked his wings to make sure he didn't make the wounds worse.

He quickly scaled a nearby tree. He scanned the rocky cliff but didn't see the witch. Wren leaped through the tree line. He scanned the ledge and found the witch. She was sitting on the ground shoving at something with a stick. He hopped a few trees closer, stopping at the last line of trees. Her face was red and she was sweating. She had the stick wedge under a large rock and was using her whole upper body to push on it.

In the last few days of watching her, he'd seen her do some pretty idiotic things but this might be the worst. There was no way she was going to be able to lift that rock off herself. He grinned while he watched her struggle, he wondered how long it would take before she gave up and used magic. Witches were always so depended on their magic. The branch snapped and the witch threw herself back with a visible groan, then immediately rubbed the back of her head where it hit the rocks. She would have to use her magic now that her pathetic attempt failed, but she didn't. She laid back on the rock and appeared to give up on life altogether. He stayed perched in the tree waiting for her to give up and use magic. He waited and waited and watched the most pathetic witch in existence stay stuck under a rock.