Dreamtrail Dragons |
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Chapter 2 |
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| It is late at night and in her bed, a girl is waiting, half fearfully, for sleep to come. As she waits her eyes stray towards the book resting in her lap. The cover, clearly visible in the light of the full-moon, shows a dragon, curled up asleep in a cave. She finally gives in and, opening the book, begins to read. By the end of the first page, her eyes are drooping; by the end of the second, she can hardly see the words for yawning. At last she gives up, and, tucking the book out of sight, allows sleep to take her. Pulling her into her dreams. [ligne][/ligne] I am pulled out of sleep by a roar. I cringe as it echoes around the cave, a feral sound of rage and hunger, proclaiming dominance. As the sound fades, I slowly uncurl myself, struggling with a body bending in unfamiliar ways. I walk to the cave opening, pausing at the entrance to look out. The setting sun has set the sky ablaze, streamers of orange and gold flowing among the puffy pink clouds. On the peak ahead of me I can see a dark shape, silhouetted against the flaming clouds. It lifts its wedge-shaped head and I realise that it is another dragon, blockier than myself and with blood red scales. I pull back into the shadows of the cave, knowing instinctively that this other dragon is the source of the threatening roar. It is not long before I hear the other dragon take off, wing beats fading slowly into the distance. I venture out of the cave again, keen to explore my surroundings. I leap into the air and glide off in the opposite direction to that taken by the red dragon, some instinct telling me that it is dangerous. Ahead of me I can see the ocean, mirror-smooth yet glittering with light, the salty, briny scent spreading to where I glide. I fly out over the water, stars racing past all around me. Just as I begin to think of turning back, I see a shadow, dark against the moonlit waves, rising up out of the water. Swooping in for a closer look, I see that it is a pillar of rock, sticking up out of the waves like a post. Perched on top is a ruined building, the first sign that humans inhabit this world. I fly closer. It is a huge, grey stone mansion, the forbidding walls pocked with slitted windows, the main entrance gaping emptily. Piles of rubble show where walls and towers have collapsed. A name floats into my mind. Obernewtyn. I feel a sudden urge and land in a courtyard, looking around. The yard, easily big enough to fit two dragons of my size, is partially covered by the building, the open end blocked by a greenthorn thicket that might once have been a maze. The floor is stone, drifts of dust and sand forming around the edges. The only sign of habitation is a few old birds’ nests. I feel strangely attracted to this place. Despite the air of abandonment, it feels safe and welcoming. I shake off the feelings and leave, flying back to the beach on the mainland. There I play, a shadowy cluster of stars diving through the glimmering waves while the moon rides high above me. As the moon begins to lower, I become restless and take to the skies, soaring inland over the plains. Suddenly, I hear the roar again, directly below me. This time it is followed by a weaker cry of pain and fear. I stop and hover for a moment, surprised by these signs of life intruding on my private world. [ligne][/ligne] The girl turns restlessly in her sleep, long buried instincts forcing her awake to safety. But the full moon’s spell is too strong. She quietens, sinking deeper. [ligne][/ligne] I sink lower, trying to see what is happening without being seen myself. I know that I should leave now, before the red dragon notices me, but something in that other cry pulls me, demanding help. The red dragon is directly below me now, crouched over something smaller on the ground. It shifts and I see that it is another dragon, smaller and pearly white, shimmering with silver like the moon above. I notice, then, a difference between the two dragons, more than colour or size. Part of it, I realise, is that the white is slimmer and more delicate like myself, although both are female. She is also missing the wild rage of the red; but it is more than that. I feel a kinship to the white, a connection that does not exist with the red. I am jerked back to the present as the red lunges, the white scrambling to avoid teeth and talons. She moves clumsily and I can see a gash on her left foreleg, oozing blood. With a shriek of rage I dive at the unsuspecting red, claws outstretched. I rake them across her back before rising up out of reach. Circling around, I dive at her again, trying to keep the bigger and stronger dragon on the ground while buying time for the white. I see the white dragon take off, dipping at the start as her bad leg puts her off balance then straightening and gaining height. I dive at the red once more, narrowly missing her teeth, then climb higher, urging the white on. As the enraged red leaps into the air I take the lead, heading toward the island and possible safety of the mansion. I can see that the white is tiring rapidly, and hope we have enough of a head start that we can make it to the island before the red catches us. At last I see the island ahead of us, dark against the imperceptibly lightening sky. At the same moment, the red dragon lunges forward, almost catching the white’s tail. With a last burst of speed, we cross the distance to the tower and crawl inside the greenthorn courtyard. At once a feeling of calm and safety flows over us, accompanied by a sense of being part of a greater community. It is at this point that we realise we can no longer hear the other dragon. When I crawl to the entrance and carefully look out, I see that the red dragon is hovering a way away from the building. Every so often she darts in towards us, then shies away, as though afraid. He makes one final pass, coming in closer than before, then wheels away, heading back towards the mainland. I turn and see that the white dragon has come up beside me. Now that she is standing beside me, I can see that she is not as small as I first thought, only slightly smaller than myself. Her scales are also not pure white but pearly like the inside of a shell, and shimmer with silver, pink, green and blue. The gash on her foreleg is no longer bleeding, but is still red and angry. We stand there for a time, each examining the other. We move together until our noses touch then separate, satisfied by our inspection. As the colours of dawn leak into the sky we curl up together on the tower floor and sleep. [ligne][/ligne] The girl sits up yawning as the other girls begin to move around. As she gets out of bed she glances at the book before quickly hiding it again. The cover shows two dragons, one rainbow the other white, entwined together in a ruined courtyard. A smile creeps across her face as she glances at the new girl getting out of the next bed. She is scowling and clutching her injured arm but the girl is unperturbed. Somehow, she knows she can trust this girl, and perhaps, they can even become best friends. |
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