Cliffton, Moone, and Stevie arrived at the Great Western Bridge about two weeks after they were attacked. They'd seen a lot more resistance, but they'd persevered.
Cliffton was getting better at fighting supernaturals and shook himself, looking at the bridge anxiously. "I have a bad feeling..."
"Always trust your intuition." Stevie said. "Let's be careful."
Cliffton nodded and followed Stevie and Moone onto the bridge. Cliffton had clenched his fists and looked around nervously. The tight feeling in his chest got stronger and stronger, until...
When they were about halfway across the bridge, there was a distant roar. Cliffton's eyes widened and Moone cursed under her breath.
A giant dragon reared out of the abyss below them, where they could hear the crashing waves. Moone and Stevie unsheathed their swords, so Cliffton followed suit. The dragon let out a screech and flew directly beneath the bridge.
"Absolutely puny...what are you doing on MY bridge?! And WHY do you have the FAERIE SEED?"
Cliffton only heard the words in his head, but they rumbled with so much might that it gave him a headache. Moone turned so that she was facing the dragon. "Let us pass and we'll consider sparing you."
The dragon roared and Cliffton hunched his shoulders, resisting the urge to cover his ears. "HA! AS IF "YOU WOULD BE THE ONE SPARING ME??? IS THIS ALL THAT YOU HAVE? A PUNY HUMAN CHILD, AN ELF WITH NO MAGIC, AND A BLOODY FAE?! HAHAHAHA! YOU HAD BETTER THINK OF GOOD AMUSEMENT, BECAUSE I'M QUITE HUNGRY AND IN NEED OF FOOD...AND IT SEEMS LUNCH HAS JUST WANDERED INTO MY CLUTCHES! HA HA HA!"
Moone was not amused. She clutched her sword and vaulted herself off the bridge. Cliffton screeched in shock, staring at her, but as she fell, she twisted so that her sword pierced the dragon's tail. He let out a roar. "HOW DARE YOU ATTACK ME, PUNY FAE?! YOU WILL PAY FOR THAT-!"
Moone didn't seem to think so, however, because she continued scaling the dragon's back. "Go!"
Cliffton's eyes widened and he turned to Stevie, who had the seed. The elf looped it around Cliffton's neck and they began running.
The bridge jolted and Cliffton was thrown forwards, smacking his nose on the wood face-first. He pushed himself up and, with Stevie's help, continued running.
There was another roar and Cliffton heard Moone screech before a shiver ran through the bridge. Cliffton spared a glance over his shoulder to see that Moone had been thrown onto the ground and was struggling to her feet. She reached towards her sword, but the dragon brushed under the bridge again, knocking it into the abyss.
...Or so Cliffton thought, but the sword just zoomed into Moone's hand once she stood up. The dragon roared again in fury and suddenly...
Cliffton screeched as he was shoved forwards without warning. He fell, twisting so that he fell on his bum.
The dragon's jaws parted and fire licked at its teeth, soaring out towards Moone, who stood on the bridge. She yelled some kind of insult at the dragon and in what was a few seconds but felt like a few years, her sword became a scepter again. Time seemed to slow down as the fire engulfed her, though she didn't seem worried. When the fire had passed, she was untouched, but the bridge was not. She was running after Cliffton and Stevie. "Run!"
Cliffton twisted to get to his feet and screeched as the bridge lurched before snapping in half. He twisted and managed to grab one of the broken boards just in time to stop his fall. Stevie was half-standing on one of the boards as best she could and Moone had managed to snag one of the ropes. All three of them were hanging by a mere thread, one that looked like it was going to snap at any moment.
The dragon roared again and turned, flames licking at its jaws. It prepared another fireball and Cliffton squeezed his eyes shut, his heart lurching as he heard the fire. Still, he couldn't help but watch.
Suddenly, the fire was flung away and there was a screech. A brightly colored bird descended upon the dragon, screeching and scrabbling at its eyes. Fire danced across its wings and while the bird was nowhere near the size of the dragon, it was big.
Cliffton's eyes widened as a gryphon came to hover below them. "Hop on," It seemed to say. Cliffton nodded and slid towards him, settling on his back. Moone and Stevie joined him and the gryphon flew the three up to the secluded, towerlike island that they had been heading for; the western isles!
Cliffton stared in shock as what he could only describe as a dragon without front arms began to join the attack, scratching at the bigger dragon. The dragon roared and Cliffton's eyes widened as he though of his arrows. He nocked an arrow, drew back the string, and released it.
The string pierced the dragon right in the heart. It screeched and began to plummet downwards. The fiery bird sent a fireball soaring after the dragon, but it burned out before it could reach him.
"The Wyvern is Skyline, and the Phoenix is Bullseye. My name is Peregrine."
He sounded vaguely familiar. "Weren't you at the castle once?"
"Once. Quite the while ago."
"What are so many different shifters doing together?" Moone asked.
"You should meet Callisto." Cliffton jumped as a new presence joined them; he assumed it was Skyline. "We had to leave him because he couldn't fly. We saw the bridge collapse and had to go check on you, mostly because of Bullseye. He said he knows you, Cliffton."
Cliffton jumped and glanced over at the Phoenix, who wouldn't meet his gaze. They landed and Cliffton slid down, holding the Faerie Seed in his fingers. He turned and glanced around. It was a mostly open field, and it stretched on for long enough that he couldn't see in the mist. He wondered what it would be like if a building were placed here...
Shaking himself, Cliffton dropped to his feet and placed the seed on the ground. For a moment, he wondered if he had to burry it, but suddenly, the earth began to move around it.
"Thanks, uh, nature." Cliffton smiled. There was a soft rumble for a moment and then a small, pink sapling sprouted from the ground where the seed had been. Cliffton glanced over his shoulder. Stevie looked both exhausted and proud and Moone's usually grumpy expression was now of approval, and she nodded her head slightly. Cliffton let out a sigh and allowed himself to flop down onto the ground.
"We'll take you back when you're ready." A strangely familiar voice said. Cliffton sat up, staring at the Phoenix in shock. "Buckie?"
ΔΙΑΒΑΖΕΙΣ
The Last Flame - Crystal Bow
ΦαντασίαςClifton Wilkerson has been living in White Bridge for his entire life, until it's burned by dragons. His family is gone and he is sent to his aunt's house to take shelter and refuge. But a meet up with a determined fae and an energetic elf might ch...
