Heir of the Dragon

Nightmare

The last of the sun's rays were disappearing behind the distant mountains, and a chill ran down my spine. There was still a dull ache in my hip from yesterday, and the pain in my shoulder had gone from irritating to throbbing. My mind had lost itself to adrenaline in the events of this morning and without realizing it, I'd caused even more damage. I'd been wandering through the woods all day, with only the vague memory of the direction Shadaii had gone off in to guide me. I wanted to believe he would eventually just show up beside me if I looked long enough, but that hope was beginning to fade.

I'd unfortunately gained a new appreciation for the old mystic's creation. Without it I would be wearing nothing but my cloak, which had miraculously managed to stay tied around my neck throughout the whole ordeal.

At once the devastation I'd felt was rekindled. I was so alone in the world.

I sighed and folded my arms over my stomach, which had begun to growl uncomfortably. I needed to find some way to get food...before I starved. Without a weapon that was going to be difficult.

Something jammed itself into the bottom of my foot, and I let out a quiet yelp.

"Okay. I like being barefoot, but not when I can't see where I'm going." I grumbled to myself.

Now with an even heavier limp, I searched for a decent spot to hide for the night. The dragon senses I'd given up an hour or so ago confirmed the fact that there were elves in the forest searching for me. I'd begun to think that I would be harder to find if I weren't huge, winged, and covered in scales, and since I'd already tried everything I could think of to find Shadaii, I could see no further use for tromping through the woods as a beast. If I could just sleep for a few hours, maybe I would think of something else.

I just needed somewhere to hide!

I'd managed to cover plenty of ground, so I was sure I had at least a little while before even the fastest elves would be able to find me.

Suddenly, leaves crunched somewhere behind me. I stopped dead in my tracks and spun around.

"Shadaii?" I croaked, staring into the darkness, hoping desperately that the universe wasn't about to prove me wrong.

A pair of glinting eyes caught the waning light, one reflecting a bright blue, and the other an iridescent green. They danced a little as the creature they belonged to took a tentative step closer.

My heart froze in my chest and my body tensed, ready to fight or run.

The pair of eyes drew closer, and as the light passed over him, I was able to discern his features. The oddly paired eyes were set in the face of a young wolf.

Before I could muster the proper reaction to meeting a wolf in the woods at night, I felt my heart soften. The curious little creature reminded me too much of a long lost friend.

Although I could tell by it's disproportionately large paws that it was just a pup, it was big. If it had been standing next to me, it would have stood almost up to my shoulders.

Could he be Ze'evan? He must be! There was no other logical explanation...but why was he so far from where the packs hunted?

The wolf continued to take hesitant steps toward me, his glossy black nose twitching as he took in my scent. The beast advanced, but oddly, I felt no fear. The little wolf's eyes held no malice, or hunger...he looked to be simply curious.

And if he attacks, I reasoned, I can most certainly defend myself.

I stretched out my hand to him, letting him take the final steps to reach it.