Cardverse Hetalia ~ Kingdom Of Spades ♠️

Chapter 38 - An encounter with a beast

With determination, Arthur proceeded at a fast pace through the forest while on the trail of where the creature’s moans and the sounds of calamity came from. Matthew was barely keeping up, calling out to his friend a few times. “Arthur! Slow down!” He cried breathelessly. Arthur didn’t respond but could tell he had to change course. he swayed to the left and found a hill, the sounds were clearer; indicating that they were close now. Arthur, without breaking momentum, escalated up the hill and paused at the top to be able to finally see the source of the distress. His eyes slowly widened. He could not believe what he was seeing.

Matthew finally caught up and even he was amazed by what they saw. A large blue dragon covered in dark navy scales along the top and some muted blue on its belly. Its wings were majestic in size, though one appears to be red from being wounded midflight. Gold claws that seemed strong enough to tear up anything, even walls of stone. His horns were as long as a grown man and an impressive set of teeth. Certainly impressive but could be tempermental, not to mention his wounds were the main reason for his crash landing.

“I don’t believe it. It’s a dragon.”Arthur spoke calmly. Matthew was ready to grab the queen’s arms in case anything happened. “I’ve never seen one in real life before. Only in books. I have a feeling it may not be friendly.” He spoke in a quiet tone, being wary. Arthur soon spotted the scratches and scorn parts of the left wing. “Matthew, look. On the left wing where it’s red. That’s why it crashed… poor creature.” Arthur spoke again, naturally stepping forward only to be stopped by the ace.

“Be careful, Arthur. It might see us as a threat.” He said to him. The queen placed his hand on his arm that was holding him back. “I appreciate your concern, Matthew. I’ll be fine. Just trust me.” He calmly responded. Though reluctant, Matthew nods before letting go of Arthur’s arm and watched as the queen proceeded down the hill cautiously. 

The dragon saw a figure approach it and started to growl before presuming a defensive stance. Seeing the change of body language, Arthur raised both hands up towards the beast before speaking softly. “It’s okay...easy there...I’m here to help you. I won’t hurt you.” He said, as he proceeded to lunge down to the ground. The creature wasn’t sure at first, but sees what the man before it is doing and slowly lowers its guard. In the meantime, Arthur removed both gloves, showing off the marking on his left hand that was glowing blue. This caught the dragon’s eye and was confused. Arthur continued until he was doing what could only be described as a bow of respect to the creature. The dragon returns the gesture, much to the surprise and curiosity of Matthew. The silence was broken by Alfred’s call to his brother. “Matthew!” He called, leading to Matthew putting his finger on his mouth with his right hand up to stop his brother. Alfred was quick to respond and stopped. He gestured to his brother a confused face and his hands flicking up. Matthew glanced behind him and gestures to come up quietly. 

The king did so without question and finally saw the reason for the silence. At this moment, Arthur had his left hand up towards the dragon, anxious on its next move. Surprisingly, the dragon sniffed the hand and didn’t hesitate to rub against it. This gave Arthur permission to pet him, he smiled gradually. “Good dragon. nice and calm.” He whispered before petting with the right hand.

Alfred looked over to Matthew just as bemused. “How did he know to do that to a dragon?” He asked. Matthew shrugged in response before answering. “Maybe he read it in a book. That’s my guess.” 

Arthur turned to the men before gesturing. “It’s okay guys. He won’t harm you. He trusts me.” He said, allowing the boys to approach the beast. Matthew cautiously approached the creature and to his surprise, allowed him to stroke his side without resisting. Though Alfred was eager, he decided to refrain himself from letting the dragon. “I’ve never seen one of these in real life. It’s pretty cool though.” He said trying to contain his excitement. Matthew turned to Arthur as he was looking at the injured wing. “How did you know what to do for approaching him?” He asked. Arthur turned his face towards the man. “I’m not sure. I’ve only read a paragragh on them once, but somehow, It just came to me. Not to mention, I’ve seen this one before.” He said at the end. Matthew was shocked on the last part.