The humongous beast let loose a world trembling roar as it soared over the woods. Light glinted off of its white scales. Each bat of its wings rattled the ground. It was less than a minute before the homes of the villagers were shaking as well. With a final warning roar, the dragon's mouth erupted with ice. It was then Mue realized the answer to her riddle. It wasn't winter, the dragon's breath had touched everything in the surroundings. They had willingly made their home in a dragon's claimed territory.
"Mue! Vell! Where are the boys." Boreen had made his way over to the girls. They both looked around and spotted them.
"There father!" Vell pointed down towards the center of the village where her two brothers were attempting to organize the chaos in the village.
"Good, I trust them to do what they must. We must start helping as well. All we can do is minimize our losses." Before Boreen had finished what he was saying the two women had split up to help the people of their village. Vell felt the rush she had felt before. Now was her one big chance to help people and gain honor for themselves. Looking around she found a group of lost kittens.
"Little ones come here!" She shouted as she ran towards the separated kittens. The last of the kittens got to her just as a chunk of ice fell where they had been huddled together just moments before. "Where are your parents, little ones?"
"Papa was still in the house." The eldest said. Vell looked at the house he pointed to seeing it crushed by a boulder of ice. She looked around and saw the rest of the kittens in years. The boy was hardly holding the tears back.
"Where is your mother?"
"She was in the trade market."
"Come, we will find her." Vell picked up the youngest and placed her on her back and began to run. The rest of the litter followed behind her. She stuck to less crowded areas so she didn't lose any of the kittens. A few moments later they arrived at the trade market. It was pure chaos and yet with some luck, The kitten on her back recognized their mother in seconds. Leading the rest of the kittens to their mother, Vell instantly felt that rush she had before. Seeing the family reunited felt perfect to her. She nodded her head to the mother and instantly left looking for someone else who needed her help.
"Vell! Please come help!" She turned to see her brother trying to lift a large amount of ice off of a elder man it had fallen on. She sprinted over to the two and assumed the position needed. "1, 2, 3, Now!" She began lifting as much as she could. She felt the muscles in her back and legs strain as her hands started to burn from sheer cold. Sudden warmth filled her hand. She looked down to see blood from her fingers where the flesh was cut by the edges of the ice. After what felt like five minutes but was closer to twelve seconds she felt the heavy chunk of ice begin to lift. "That's it Vell! Don't let it fall! Sir crawl out as far as you can, we will carry you afterwords." The man beneath the ice started crawling slowly out from his trapped position.
"I'm clear!" The two dropped the ice and heard it crack under its own weight. The elder man's leg was obviously crushed just below his hips.
"Brother I will take him somewhere safe, you go look for another. Your strength could be of more use out there." Her brother just nodded and took off. Vell went to the man and bent down next to him. "This is going to hurt." He nodded but said nothing. She could still feel the ground shaking below them from the beats of the dragon's wings, its roars still echoing around. Vell lifted the man and shimmied herself under him, supporting most of his weight. Slowly she took him to a nearby shaman giving out medical help. When she dropped the man off she noticed something was missing. The dragon was no longer in the air, but the ground was still shaking.
She followed the rumbles the best she could and found her father, Boreen, fighting the dragon one on one. Boreen was jumping around, fluid and agile. Weaving around the limbs of the massive creature. It was the first time she had ever seen her father so elegant. She then noticed something different, her father was completely silent. She had never seen him that quiet in a fight in her entire life. Panic began to thump in her chest. What was going to happen to him? She watched closely, analyzing his every move. As the dragon pulled its claws back Vell spotted a grave problem, her father was getting tired. The dragon's claw flew through the air removing Boreen's right leg completely from his body. Boreen fell hard to the earth. Before she knew it Vell was running towards her father. To her left and her right ran her brothers, full speed. The brothers began slashing their claws and swords at the dragon backing it up, but to Vell, the dragon only looked annoyed. Still, Vell appreciated the opportunity. She grabbed her father and carried him away from the fight. She spotted her mother creating a hole in the crowd. Vell funneled into it without hesitating. The two brothers kept fighting with all they had until the dragon left, angry. Mue slammed into their home door, busting it open as Vell walked into the home. She didn't have the strength to carry her larger father any farther and collapsed on their stone floor. That was fine for Mue. She began shouting orders to Vell instantly.
"Get the fire started and put a sword in it. Grab the bandages fast." She started requesting herbs and plants to be soaked in the water. Vell did everything she could until she felt herself stagger. She looked at the door just as her two brothers came running in to help and then everything went black as she collapsed.
