A Dragon's Quest

Part Six

“DRAGON!” A cry shot out the morning of the next day. “RUN!” Everyone in the village scrambled to get out his way.

The beast had four strong and hefty legs. Spikes lined along its back and reached all the way to the edge of his tail which ended in a sharp curved blade. Horns noted where his nostrils were as did the smoke that leaked from them. Metallic red scales coated his body but thinned out underneath his great big belly which held fire itself within. If a person bothered to listen close enough, as he flapped his great big crimson translucent wings, the scales clinked together, indicating they were capable of movement. As the fire drake neared its intended target, the heat given off from its body roasted anything that got near.

He eyed his prey for today and enjoyed watching them scrambled about and running away. He let out a mighty roar, furthering the panic and hysteria. The dragon showed it’s glistening white, needle teeth out of joy. The hunt made him all the more excited.

“Hey! Pick on someone your own size!” A voice rang out to this massive beast. He looked around and followed his keen sense of hearing to where provocation was made. He eyes a tiny human wielding the silvery toothpick which was pointed right at him. The dragon breathed out a puff of smoke to choke the fool but when it all cleared the human was gone. He turned his head ever so slightly to see the human running away along what these humans called rooftops. It had been awhile since he was last challenged so he decided to give a little chase, for the amusement. 

He flapped his wings, twisted his body and was racing after his first meal of the day. Strange as it was, the dragon didn’t seem to be gaining any ground; in fact it seemed that the stupid human was actually getting away from him.

Angered by this, the dragon picked up his speed in this chase of his. The human looked over his shoulder as if to make sure the dragon was still following him. But of course the insect would look out his shoulder when a hunter such as a fire drake is after him. It’s an honor and a terror at the same time. It wasn’t long before the tiny man ran out of roof. He had stopped and looked behind him once again. The dragon showed his soon to be food his forked tongue as it ran over his lips. With nowhere to run the human had run out of luck.

But suddenly the human jumped off the roof and disappeared for a few moments. The dragon stopped and hovered for a bit. The little human must have rather kill himself off then be killed by a dragon. But to the dragons get expectations, the human was now on horseback and heading into the woods. Pleased with this turn of events the dragon continued his chase, enjoying it to its fullest.

The little human must of thought that the woods would provide cover so he could make his escape but that human must have forgotten that this dragon had a belly full of fire and he was more than ready to use it. Taking in a deep breath, the dragon let out a stream of fire, burning all the trees and allowing the beast a better view.

The fool of human hadn’t even changed course yet, probably thought he could outsmart a dragon. Stupid really, but you can’t expect much from humans. This chase lasted a few more minutes before the dragon began getting bored of it. It used to be more fun, there used to be more humans to chase and more humans who dared to fight against him. Guess the age of dragon slayers are over and the reign of the dragon to begin once more.

Ah, the little human broke into a clearing. Horrible mistake. Now the fire drake had a clear shot to cook his meat. Just as the dragon sucked in his breath to end this chase, a cold sensation came over his right wing. He looked over to see that it had been frosted. Frosted! Quickly scanning down below to see where the shot came from, his left wing got the same treatment.

Soon the great winged beast of the skies was falling to the ground. Though he tried and tried, he could shake the frost off. In fact, it was actually increasing the amount of space it encompassed. The great beast instantly knew what had happened. The little human who had been running away had actually been leading the dragon to this place. For once in a very long time he who usually had done the hunting was being the hunted. Rather than being angry, the dragon was once again amused. It must have taken some human in order to trick this century old creature. The dragon fell to the ground in an earth shattering thud, like a god had been knocked off his throne. The dragon rolled to his feet and looked about for that little human, wanting to fight him.

The human stepped into sight.

For some reason this human seemed less human than the others this all mighty hunter has faced. He seemed more beast if anything else. The dragon glared at his new opponent, trying to figure out what magic this must be to disguise a beast as human.

“Let’s dance.” The human spoke, though the dragon knew better. The human had not simply spoke. He provoked. He sneered. He roared. The dragon raised his head to the sky and let out an deafening roar, meeting the human’s.

The fight had begun.