Without Us

Ruins and Aftermath

    As I began to eat regularly, I grew again, and soon I found the forest too dense to fit in. So I began to fly farther and farther up, seeking out a new place to live. Eventually, I gave up and picked a direction. I flew that way, intending to keep flying around until I found somewhere to live.
    Then I saw the ruins.
    I had happened upon my old village. It was nothing but scorched earth and stone, the wood all burned away. There was the road I had so often walked on at my human's side. Then I saw the foundation and stone skeleton of my old house.
    I walked slowly over. The bed where my humans had died was gone. The rug I had slept on was gone. My old life, my humans, my home, all gone. I was left to curl up in the ruins and roar my grief to the sky.
    The house's remains had been reclaimed by nature. Various wildflowers sprouted up here and there in the stone. Ivy crawled all over. Grasses grew in the cracks, dense and swishy.
    I had now grown to the point where I filled the house, which was, I'm pretty sure, bigger than dragons got in the stories. At the time, that just reminded me of how far I was from the days when I was carefree, living happily with my human and his mate and manlets. I missed them.
    Once more, hunger stopped me from moping too long. I set out to get something to eat and was soon enjoying a nice young buck. The past was the past, and I was done mourning.
    Not far away, I found a nice little cave in the side of a cliff and made myself at home. A nice large circle of floor, fire-roasted to coals, served as a wonderfully warm bed. A spring from the cliffside gave me a wonderful water source, and the forests close by made prime hunting grounds. I also developed the useful skill of using my extra-sharp claws to scrape stone, and could make my cave home bigger and add an indentation for my bed.
    Eventually, a beautiful female dragon happened upon my cave, and I learned what had become of the other dragons.
    The rest of the dragons had thought it best to stay together, but some, overcome by grief,simply lay down and returned to the earth. Some of the others had taken to fighting over food, space, and a turn at a stream to drink, and many were killed off in these battles. Still others couldn't get food and starved. Very few dragons were still left.
    The female decided she was very happy to stay with me forever. She is now my mate, and we have eggs we expect to hatch soon. I made my bed big enough to fit us both, and we sleep curled against each other and I hunt for her while she watches over our eggs. We are very happy together.
    I can finally explain the growing. Apparently, a dragon doesn't start growing until it first eats raw meat. All the humans in the village thought raw meat was dangerous to everyone, even the dragons. All the meat we ate was cooked to prevent sickness.
    I still make an annual pilgrimage to the ruins of my village. I used to spend a night curled up in my old house, but then I grew still bigger and couldn't fit. So I spend a night curled up right outside the village. I watch as grasses were replaced by trees and ivy pulled down the remaining stone. Now the village is simply a particularly rocky area in the forest.
    My mate and I are the supreme beings of Narestrom. Huge, strong and smart, we hold more wisdom in one claw than all the wisest men put together.We are deadly predators, able to kill any beast we want for supper. Our claws and teeth are sharper than daggers, our legs and backs are muscled and armored. You would think our bellies would be vulnerable, but we spend most of our time in the air, not on the ground.Our wings carry us up; then we can fight with all four legs. So the belly is just as armored as the rest of us. We are nimble and strong and smart and quick and if we want any beast for supper, it's as good as dead.
    And our lives are better than they ever were.