Tooth and Claw

Chapter 3

"H-hello." I was petrified.

Dragons are notoriously infamous for cold massacres, in small towns. They have such powerful magic, being thousands of years old in one lifetime. They're separated into 6 elements. Air, water, earth, ice, physic, and fire. Some can be hybrids, but that's super rare.

But they were wiped out by a disease a couple years ago. The Black Pox, they called it. It sucks up all your blood and you cough it out, until your body is shriveled and ashy like you were dropped in a pit of leeches. Then your skin sprouts little black plants, piercing your skin, leaving little scabs and blood holes, which is excruciating painful, as imagined.

Once the dragons were weak enough, humans advanced and killed them. It only took a month for most of the dragons to be murdered.

So you can see how sceptical I am.

The dragon met out a long breath, her eyes softening gently.

"Hello..." I spoke softly, my hand stretching towards her.

It felt like a connection. She wasn't gonna hurt me, and she knew I wouldn't hurt her.

But something was wrong. Her eyes held desperation and was gray and plain.

Her leg.

It was gone. Blood covered the cave ground, trickling and giving off a metallic stench.

I gasped. Horror struck my head. Her body was flopped on her side, her stumped, bloody leg mess raised up in the air. Blood covered her body, her long scaly tail curled around her remainder legs.

I rushed forward and stared at the would. Wincing, I closed my eyes. When I reopened them, she had pushed her snout into my face, giving me gentle lick.

I started petting her neck, her starting a warm, rumbling purr. I smiled a bit, but reality struck quick.

"Oh no... I need to get you some help."

I raced for the exit, her tail blocked the path. She gently shook her head. Her remainder legs stretched out, revealing...

an egg.

Spotted with light blue blotches, the egg was shining white. It was cold to the touch, with bits of frost surrounding the side.

"Is this.. your baby?" I whispered, my hands feeling the coldness.

She blinked.

"Is it... dead?"

She blinked twice.

"What about you?! Who's going to take care of you? Who's gonna raise this dragon?"

Her gentle eyes stared at me. Her tail was moving slow, but it raised towards me, pushing the scaly white into my face.

"I can't. I really can't." It hurt me. Her heart ached to just curl up next to her, clutching her egg close to my heart for eternity. Her eyes blinked. Her tail curled around her egg, pick it up gently.

She turned her head away from me, and curled her tail into her remaining claws, her claws acting as protective bars around her baby.

I reached for her, but she fluttered her wings weakly. Blood slowly trickled from her gash.

I whirled around and raced for the pathway.

Her tail crashed before me, letting rocks rain down from the walls. I turned, her rising to her full heights looming like a shadow above me. Her claws dug into the jagged stone, sharp pebbles springing from the marks. The dragon roared, beating down like a thousand layers of sand, slamming into me.

Her leg was severely bleeding.

But she softened, her head reached down towards mine. Her snout pressed up against my nose. She let out a long exhale, her tail extending with the egg towards me.

Her eyes were almost closed, and she collapsed.

The sudden fall send dust and pebbles scattering across the entire cave. I screamed, ducking and clutching the egg tightly. Sadness struck me.

I need to keep this egg safe.

I need to.

But with whatever courage I had left, I whirled around and raced off.

I could feel tears come to my eyes, but I swallowed it down. The colors raced past me, green, white, blue.

I made to the wall. A squirrel with a head full of spikes chittered wind at me, then ran up to the tree. I ducked into the hole, shoving the tied rocks into the hole. I shoved the egg down the front of my jacket, then ran off.

Follow the wall, follow the wall.

The dusty back alley was empty, so I didn't have to worry about big bulge in my jacket. The alley soon emptied out into a grassy, forest setting. My hand traced the stone wall. But soon I crashed into a house.

I wrapped my arms around the egg, feeling for any scratches or cracks. I felt around for the doorknob, vines and leaves covering my sight. I gripped the rusty metal doorknob and swung open the door.

I stumbled into the room.

"Aurora? Sembri freddo! vieni vieni presto, sembri affamato." My ma, a short lady with bushy short brown hair and kind chocolate brown eyes.

(Translation: Aurora? You look cold! come come quickly, you look starving.)

I shuddered. "Ma..."

Exhaustion crashed over me. I fell to the ground, the egg falling out of my jacket.

All I heard was my mom gasp, before I fell asleep.

Hello! I hoped you like this chapter. The next few chapters will be pretty boring, just a heads-up. But anyway, goodbye. 

Word Count: 878