Broken Heart; Broken Wings

Chapter 1: 'Twas magic

Holy fucking shit. That's.. a goddamn dragon. I had no clue that they made those as well! I thought it was dinosaurs, and dead elephants, not myths, or a legend. Did they really exist? Or is this some new form that was created? I didn't have much more time to dwell on it, as the beast rose a scaly lip and snarled, seemingly in pain, or anger. My first instinct was to run, of course. If it was dead, I'd salvage it for meat, or weapons, and then book it. Government was quick to clean up their little toys. Although.. no, no. This one was still alive. There wasn't a scrap of metal on this thing, just puncture wounds, bullet holes, burns on its vulnerable belly, and tears in its wings. It looked... so hurt. This beautiful winged lizard didn't deserve to be pitted into battle like it had been. With this thought in mind, I began to step carefully towards its forleg, to evaluate the extent of its cuts and wounds. I kept a tree at my back as much as I could. It could sweep down that oak just as easily as a wet corn stalk, but, the tree gave me something to hide behind. It had not moved the past couple of minutes, so I took that time to really look it up and down. I got to say; this thing is downright gorgeous. Its scales glimmered like fine cut diamonds, braided with dew droplets that shine in morning light. The smell of snowfall, that metallic tang in the air, surrounded everything around it. Its claws gleamed with a turquoise, pearlescent shine. It had to be an ice dragon, what else could it be? Those beautiful pieces of artworks were stained in blood at random intervals. A jagged, claw like rake in it's right armpit. A cluster of bullet holes -shotgun, buckshot like- arranged haphazardly on the neck, a gaping, meaty hole in its side. The worst one was a huge, deep gouge in it's back. It looked burned as well as torn, so my guess is a propane fueled fire sword. Maybe another dragon? A fire one, breathed fire onto it's own tail, therefore heating it like hot steel, and swept it along this ice one's back? Who knows. I began to mutter to myself quietly, as I ran my fingers down its side, like I did with my horses, to let them know I was there. This reptile didn't react, it just let out a massive, bellows-like breath as I brushed the bloodied holes in the leathery wings. Kind of what you'd expect a bat's to feel like. A low hum made it's way out of my throat, to the melody of a song I hadn't heard in years. Blackbird, Paul McCartney. I took a moment to note that its scales felt like you were brushing the surface of a frozen pond in the dead winter. Thick, strong, and you could feel the cold almost 2 feet away. I finally made it to the head. Its scaly lids opened with an audible clack, the dinner plate sized eyes immediately locking onto mine. I should have been scared. I should run. I should do all of these things, but those icy, steel blue eyes froze me in place. I could feel my own golden ones widen considerably, but, once again, no fear. Just a strange, lulling feeling, almost as if I could fall asleep. No..! This thing could kill me in an instant. I've survived this long. I'm not losing all of that to some scaly little frosty lizard. The dragon opened its mouth, as if to speak, but no words came out. Just a hissing, crackly gasp. This sound was cut off just as soon as it started, and its head rolled back onto the ground where it had originally landed. I was expecting something to happen. It would disappear in a sudden shudder of light, an explosion, something. What really happened was not a single one of those things.