: Frozen LuckChapter Text
Money.
That was the only thing on Bakugou's mind. He didn't care about the growl of hunger in his stomach or the ice cold chill of winter that pricked his skin. Two weeks out hunting the wilderness for big-game had all but diminished his packed resources, and what did he have to show for his efforts? Three fox pelts, two deer pelts, and one set of antlers that he hadn't even considered bringing along with him. All the meat he had gathered had been devoured at this point, both by him and his companion. The fact that said companion was a sixty-five foot long and twenty-five foot tall dragon - give or take an inch or two - didn't exactly help the situation. The giant creature was probably more hungry than Bakugou was, but there was nothing the young Lord could do about it.
Well, previous Lord. That's why he needed the money. His inherited land, his tribe that had been in control by his family for generations had been taken over, and he was determined to get it back. But, he needed money for that. Lots of money. Gathering it was turning out to be a lot harder than he expected, but there was no point in pouting about it. He had to act if he wanted to succeed, and there was nothing in heaven or hell that could stop him. Except starving to death, maybe.
A sigh escaping his lips, Bakugou gave a few soft pats to the top of the dragon's head, speaking loudly to him over the roaring ice cold wind. "Let's land. I need to hunt for food." With a low grumble in understanding, the creature descended from the sky, landing in a clearing right outside of a thick forest. Having been sitting between his horns, Bakugou slid down the bridge of the dragons nose as he rested his head down. He glowered down at the ice coated grass as it crunched beneath his boots, hating it. At this point, it was hours after sunrise, and the grass still had yet to thaw. There was no snow, but the morning dew had gotten to the point where it coated the grass, freezing it.
Bakugou knew that he didn't have much longer to be out here before snow began to fall. He was desperate at this point, to find something worth a good sum of money. But, once the snow arrived, he would have to return home. Or, well, to the nearest city that would accept having a dragon so close. Home was something foreign to him at this point, having been cast out of his land years ago. What he called home was here and there, everywhere and anywhere.
Turning back to his friend, Bakugou took a moment to shrug off the cape he wore, switching it out for his bow and quiver full of arrows. Around the dragon's neck was a leather collar that had pouches, hooks and ropes hanging from it to hold whatever the traveler may need. For now, it held their killed game, what little food they had, water, weapons and blankets. As Bakugou stored away his cape, he glanced up at the bright orange eye peering down at him, listening to the soft high pitch whine that caught his attention. "I get that it's cold, but it will get in my way. I don't need it." After placing the quiver across his back, he rolled his shoulders and his neck, the bones popping along with the rattling of the necklaces that adorned his neck.
"I'm not going far, just around the edge here and to the stream. Make sure you kill anything that you see come through here." Bakugou gave his large friend one last pat on the nose as he headed towards the forest. With a low hum, the dragon laid down, chin resting comfortably on a large patch of fluffy grass. Bakugou gave a small click of his tongue as he watched, noticing that the frozen grass in the path of the dragon's breath melted, springing back to life. "Lazy ass. Don't slack off just because I'm gone." He got no response as he vanished behind the forest edge, swallowed by the darkness of the thick brush. These trees could hold up against the cold, at least until the snow began to fall, so he knew there would be some type of life in here that he could eat.
The thought of eating another rabbit made him a bit nauseous, wishing that he could find some type of pheasant or even a couple snakes. For now, he focused on searching for a sign of any animal that would be worth the effort. Bow and arrow at the ready, Bakugou crept through the forest as quietly as he could, and after nearly an hour, he found no sign of edible life. Defeated and angry, he broke through the brush to a riverbank, gazing upon the slow moving river. If there was nothing on land, fish would have to do.
