Dragonkind -The Return of Dragons, Book 1-

Chapter 7 -Mixed POV's-

-Rose's POV-

The dragon flew and flew until her wings hurt and ached. She flew further than that, by half a league or so. Rose forced herself to fly farther than she had before, her rider and the other two were in danger of being found out if she didn't get far away, and fast. After a half hour's riding, in which time she had traveled far, and found a rock formation that had a large outfacing edge. The edge hooked around and provided reasonable shelter for a dragon and three people. Vita noticed her dragon's line of vision and agreed on her decision. Rose swerved, and began to fly in small, tight circles. Flying ever lower, and lower, she landed with a big splash in the river. Spero, who was still in the dragon's paw, screamed at the sudden burst of coldness, swallowing water in the process. The dragon then lifted the paw holding Spero, and deposited him to the shore.

Spero, still sputtering, spit out several mouthfuls of water. Vita, giggling softly, hopped off and sat the guard next to her on the ground. She joyfully scratched her dragon's ear, right above the spot where their mark mirrored each other. Rose grinned and leaned into her touch. After a moment, Rose touched her nose to her rider's palm and they exchanged glances. Vita grinned and nodded. Rose had asked if she could try and hunt, Vita agreed, seeing as her dragon would need to learn to hunt for herself in the future.

Rose leapt into the forest, with a fleeting glance at her rider, who had assisted the two men up further onto the shore. Her rider nodded and shooed her away. Rose smiled, and bounded deep into the leafy forest, flying most of the way. Scents of carnivorous animals, and herbivorous animals assaulted her sensitive nose. She tracked down the scent of a herd of four-legs [A four leg is a small animal, in this case it is meant as a herd of deer]. Rose swiftly catches three of the startled creatures. Her belly rumbles, and she swallows one of them down, eating some bone in her haste. No matter, bone would not effect her- a dragon's digestive system was impeccable. The second and third she tore into and ate only flesh. Her nostrils flared and she thought of flaying the hides from the four-legged creatures. She used her smallest claw on her two front paws [Not her dew claw, as before, but sort of something like a pinky toe] and swiftly stripped the four-legs of their hides.

Rose smirks and lays the hides to one side, face down in the bright orb of the sky. After this she proceeds to sniff around the area, she was no longer hungry, but Rose figured that her rider, Vita, would be unable to feed her and the other two two-walkers [A two-walker is a human, or someone who walks on two legs. I don't want to copy Warriors by Erin Hunter by saying twoleg, or upwalker from another series, so bear with me!] by herself. Rose leaps onto a sturdy treetop -perhaps an oak?- and scans the forest. Her vigilant eyes spot a straggly group of the four-legs, and she pounces. A swipe of her paw here, and a bite there and four more of them are dead. Rose grins. Vita might not be able to finish these off, but she could possibly use the rest of the body. The horns would make a point sharp enough to pierce soft armor, and the hide could be used as many things.

Rose collected the two skins from before, and the new four-legs and splayed them across her wide back. She wouldn't be able to fly with this much weight, but she could still move swiftly on the ground. By now other predators would have smelled the blood and fear of the animals she hunted. Rose set off at a medium pace that she could keep for a long time. The meat smelled putrid to her, she knew that dragons were primarily carnivores. For whatever reason, Rose found herself closer to the herbivorous side of her nature. In order to sustain her large, still growing body, however, she would need the extra protein in her meal. Several minutes passed and Rose realized she had covered more ground flying than she had thought. A half hour passed and Rose was at the river where her rider and two-walkers' had stayed. Her body tensed.

'Rose! Hide, no-'

Her rider's frantic thought was cut off by nearby yells. Footsteps ensued, and several armed two-walkers appeared. There was about a dozen, or so, all armed with the stick-like spears, and their half moon [Bows] weapon. They stopped dead in their tracks when they saw the mighty dragon before them. A few two-walkers trembled, some shrilled in that high squeaked voice that only they had. The one in the front yelled, a deep tone; not afraid nor very calm. This two-walker was wary, and nervous. An interesting, yet surprisingly common seeming reaction. Rose opened her mouth wide, and roared. The men fled and her eyes flashed with satisfaction.