The Chosen One- Book One (Editing)

Chapter 12- Night Visions

Silverfang felt Steamblade stir next to her. He woke up, careful not to rouse her. Silverfang shifted, letting out a low growl. Steamblade stiffened, afraid he had woken her up, but Silverfang was already awake. She opened her eyes, stretching. "I'm awake," she said. Steamblade looked worried. "Did I wake you up?" he asked. "No, I was kind of half-awake when you woke up." He sighed in relief. "Do you want to gather?" Silverfang asked. "Sure." The two dragons walked out of the clearing. Silverfang leaped into the trees and darted after a bird while Steamblade gathered medicinal plants and food on the ground. Both of them returned to an agreed spot, showing what they gathered/catched. Silverfang got one of the birds from two days ago, along with a strange boar-like beast and a tree rat. Steamblade showed his finds. He got a large batch of several different medicinal flowers and plants, along with some nuts and a few fish. "How are we going to carry this all back to camp?" Silverfang asked. "No problem," Steamblade replied. "I brought a hunting bag." He pulled out a sleek black bag with two sections. "Here, put all of the animals here." Silverfang tilted her head, confused about how she would stuff a dead boar-creature into a tiny bag. "It's made of some kind of material that allows you to fit things that are much bigger than it. I tried it before." Silverfang shrugged, picked up the boar-creature and shoved it headfirst into the bag. The bag's opening expanded and the creature slid into the bag. Silverfang also threw in the bird, the tree rat, and the fish that Steamblade caught. In the other opening, Steamblade carefully put in the herbs and the nuts. "Let's go back to camp."

Silverfang arrived at camp, helping Steamblade carry the bag. They set it down and Steamblade started the fire while Silverfang skinned the food. She cracked open the nuts with a claw and poured some water from her canteen into a pot to boil. Once it finished, Silverfang threw the nuts into the pot, adding some edible plants that Steamblade got. The dragons concentrated on cooking the food. Silverfang took out the nuts and plants, throwing in chunks of the beast that she skinned. The water turned murky white while the creature boiled. Silverfang took it out, leaving the water on the campfire. Silverfang checked the meat of the creature. It seemed well cooked, but she wasn't sure. The tree rat was okay to eat because Icetail recognized it. Silverfang turned to Steamblade, who was storing away the medicinal herbs in his bag. "Steamblade, come here." He turned, putting the herbs down and following Silverfang. "Do you think this is edible?" Steamblade stared at the creature's meat. "I'm not sure. I think that we should just put it aside for now. It looks familiar, but not quite." Silverfang nodded, wrapping the meat carefully and then packing it away. Steamblade finished organizing his plants, padding toward Silverfang. They sat down and Silverfang leaned on Steamblade while he wrapped his tail around her's. Silverfang closed her eyes, sighing. "Thanks, Steamblade. For everything." she whispered. The dragon gave a barely noticeable nod. After a long while, Silverfang opened her eyes. She watched the sun rise slowly, filling the sky with colors. "We should wake the others now," Steamblade said. Silverfang nodded, standing up and padding over to Icetail. She use a claw to shake the dragon awake.

Icetail got up, yawning and stretching. After splashing herself awake with cold water, she went to inspect the meat of the boar-creature. "It's definitely a crucis. I'm pretty sure it's okay to eat, but I've never seen any of the kitchen staff cooking crucis before." Silverfang nodded. "But if we throw it out, it'll be a waste." Icetail added. Silverfang walked toward the meat, picking it up and unwrapping it. She carefully took a bite, chewing thoroughly. "Mmmm... It tastes like pork. I think it's okay to eat, but the meat's slightly tough and you need to chew it a bit." Icetail nodded. "Cruci are usually hunted for their tusks. Each tusk is work about three thousand drakens." Silverfang began dicing the meat, putting it back into the pot to heat. The nuts and plants were best eaten cold, so Silverfang ignored them. She also threw in the bird meat and the tree rat into their own seperate pots, and when everything was done, she took it out. Silverfang divided the cubes of tree rat, bird, and crucis into eight equal piles, one for each dragon and a small pile for Serpentis. She added some plants and nuts, then took some small plates from her bag and placed the piles onto their own individual plates.