Fight or Flight

Chapter 4

Enola

The warm afternoon sun beat pleasantly down on my back as I stretched my wings out around me. The grass was soft and cool beneath me, even with there still being a spot of bare dirt where that human had set up his fire... to cook my food...

I exhaled and tried to ignore the frustration returning at the thought. It had been three days since the intruder had bothered me, but the audacity of that uppity pipsqueak to rob me of food... Ugh. It was done, and there was no sense ruining a perfectly nice afternoon by thinking about some meaningless human who had more courage than sense. Really.

Drifting off into a nap was generally a bad idea, since without magic I had no way to warn me if something was trying to sneak up on me, but closing my eyes for a few minutes would be fine – I would still be able to easily hear anything trying to climb up the hill. The gentle warmth of the sun and the familiar smells and sounds were nice and peaceful. Thoughts of silly humans would only spoil the relaxing afternoon. Much better to just appreciate how calm and relaxing everything was...

~

"Hello again!" An annoyingly familiar voice broke through the icy panic of my dream, and dragged me from one nightmare into another. I frowned as I tried to wake up, already berating myself for having fallen asleep out in the open, and slowly opened one eye to look in the direction of the noise.

The human was back. And he was smiling.

"I'm terribly sorry, but I seem to have forgotten your name. Would you be so kind as to forgive me for having to ask it again?" The strange man sat down in the grass and began taking the pack off his back. "I am certain it was something pretty sounding, but try as I might, I just can't seem to remember it."

I narrowed my eyes at the man. "That is because I did not tell you my name, human."

"Well that explains it!" If anything, the man's annoying smile only grew wider. "And here I was feeling ashamed that I had forgotten the name of such a memorable creature as yourself. Still, I am quite certain it must be a pretty name, to fit the dragon it describes." He paused and brought one hand up to rest on his chest. "My name is Simon. May I ask for your name, mighty dragon?"

I stared blankly back at the man. What was this human's problem? "What do you want, human? I am in no mood for games. You are disturbing my nap." Which was yet another reason to nap in the safety of my lair, instead of out on the vulnerable hillside. No matter how good it felt to nap in the sun. I lifted my head up from where I had rested it on my hands, and swung it in his direction in what I hoped was an intimidating fashion. "And you are what we dragons consider, 'bite-sized'."

"I want to know your name, that's all. Won't you do me that small favor? Especially after I've been so kind as to tell you mine." Something in the man's expression was suddenly curious and focused, as if he was intently concerned with how I would respond. "One favor in return for another?"

"If I tell you my name is 'Go Away', would you leave?" The pleasantly drowsy feeling of the warm afternoon was starting to fade, and I was left with only the annoyance of a ruined nap.

The man's smile remained just as bright and annoying as ever, and his voice sounded even more cheerful when he answered. "There's only one way to find out!"

"...my name is 'Go Away'." I made a point to leave my mouth slightly open after I finished talking, so that the human would get a good glimpse at my teeth. My sharp, pointy teeth. That tended to scare creatures his size, so maybe that would get him to leave.

It did not.

"Impossible. No parents would have given such a magnificent creature such a silly name. Be honest – your name is Celeste, isn't it? Because of how only the stars in the sky can be compared to one such as you?"