Persimmon's Tree

Chapter 3

Persimmon had collapsed on the ground before she could run any further. The tension in her muscles was overbearing, and she knew there wasn't much else she could do besides rest. It was strange, though. Even though her brain was a bit fuzzy, she could tell that she was not in the pine forest where her home was. This seemed to be different. It was filled with many different smells that were strangely difficult to breathe in. The air seemed thick and foggy, almost like she was breathing in lake water that had been ignited with dragon fire.

Something crawled on her snout which caused her to jerk up and smack it off. She peered down at it, noticing it was a little green caterpillar.

Hmm. What an interesting shade of green. She thought skeptically. She blinked an unbelievable sight as her eyes were filled with multiple different colors underneath a thick canopy of trees. She gasped as there were red and green birds flying underneath the many beautiful leaves of the rainforest.

I'm in the rainforest! Did I run all the way here and not remember it? She asked herself, completely confused but in awe.

She heard the sound of leaves crunching behind her, and she snapped her head around to find an unfamiliar pink and red dragon blankly staring at her.

"Finally, you're awake. I thought I was going to have to stab you with this stick to wake you up, but that seems unfortunately unnecessary now." The dragon said with a frown.

"Are you a RainWing? Did you bring me here or did I wander here on accident?" Persimmon said.

"Many questions, IceWing. I can assure you that you are not intruding. I rescued you." She said, pointing at Persimmon's side.

Persimmon turned her head, noticing a bunch of leaves wrapped around her. "Did you do this because of the wound I had?" She asked.

"Your horrific stab wound? That was disgusting, if I may say. Luckily, I was able to work my uncanny healing abilities to fix it for you. Give it a few more days to heal, though. That wound was pretty deep." She said, nodding at a spear beside Persimmon.

"Soo... Are you a RainWing?" Persimmon asked, intrigued.

"Yes, I'm a RainWing." She said, shifting the color of her scales to be a blackish blue.

"Woah! I never knew how pretty that was!" Persimmon said with wonder.

The RainWing gave her a gentle smile, then turned to a gathering of tree bark and leaves that seemed to form a home.

"Follow me, IceWing. Let us get you inside and away from the elements. I'm assuming you're hungry." The RainWing gussed.

"Very." Persimmon admitted.

The two began walking into the hut made of various rainforest supplies. It was rather surprising to see the walls lined with shelves filled with wooden bottles. There was a bookshelf that seemed to be carved very intricately and was complimented with various scrolls and parchment. A large stone cauldron was placed in the middle of the room, illuminating the ceiling for a reason Persimmon was unaware of. The entirety of the interior building smelled eerily of lake water and herbs. It wasn't gross, but it was definitely something Persimmon was not used to smelling. The RainWing was setting down a jar of leaves on a shelf. Beside her was a tattered drawing of what looked like a SkyWing. Persimmon almost thought the RainWing glanced at her when she noticed it.

"How long have you been living in a forest, IceWing?" She asked, still adjusting the jar of leaves.

"Seven years." She said as the dragon stumbled for a moment.