Distinctly Dragon

Finding Francis

It's been a few long days since Victor ran into Beelze. While the dragon was once petite, Bee had grown at a rather astonishing rate and was half the size of a small dog. However, Victor found himself dangerously low on food and in punishment, Bee nipped at his ear every now and again, as if to remind him of their plight. 

When Victor offered Bee a few found berries the uproar it caused in the small dragon left Victor quite startled. Clearly meat was Bee's food preference. 

Hiking for hours on end Victor finally stopped and practically shoved the tiny reptile from his shoulder. "Well my friend, I'm afraid it's time to rest," patting Bee gently on the head Victor hung his head slightly and sat down. 

Bee sat with him, annoyed. They'd hardly been walking at all, Bee didn't feel a thing in his little legs! Bee nipped at the man's trousers trying to pull him up. The man grunted and turned away. Bee tried harder, tearing a small hole in the mans clothing. The man shouted something at him, picked him up, and placed him in the stinky bag. 

When Bee was sure that the man wasn't paying attention, he poked his small head out of the flap, and brought his two front legs out, and then he ran. 

Quick as his little feet could carry him, tiny Bee ran. Victor leaped to his feet and galloped after him shouting, "Bee you tiny bugger get back here! Bee!" Bee paid no heed and tromped onward.

The little dragon jumped behind what looked to be a normal tree to Victor, but what turned out to be a window. Victor was just as startled as the occupant behind said window when he went bursting through after his little reptile into a quaint cottage  in the woods. 

"Oh my," the occupant stated, sipping tea. "Seems I have a visitor."

Victor crashed to the ground in the shattering glass and sliced his hand on a rather large shard. Bee stumbled to a halt not far in front of Victor and looked at him quizzically.

"Are you alright?" the stranger asked, calm.

Victor stood up and clung to his hand. It began to bleed profusely and Victor squeezed his hand shut. "Um, I'm-"

"Clearly not, huh?" The stranger laughed. "Here, let me help you."

Victor looked around him in confusion. What sort of person would live in a small white cottage in the middle of the woods? The design of the cottage was bright but with an antique feel, like a home. The interior was a mint green with white windowsills. Books and vases holding dead flowers littered all available space. 

"I'm in here," the stranger called, Victor followed his voice into what might have been a kitchen save for the live plants creeping their way inside. A low rumble startled Victor and Bee put a comforting claw on the man's brown boot. The stranger laughed again, a light chuckle filled with mirth. "Don't worry about that, I'm known as Francis, by the way."

In the sunlight filtering through the large windows Victor and Bee had more time to observe the stranger-known-as-Francis. His brown hair was peppered with gray and a light beard was growing along his sharp jawline. Aged, wise amber eyes expertly wound a white bandage around Victor's injured hand and tied it in a knot. "Thank you," said Victor, and twinged as he tested the bandages durability.

"I was quite surprised when you came busting in through that window," Francis explained as he tied the spare bandage up into a ball. "I don't get many visitors around here."

"Really?" Victor responded, thick sarcasm coating his voice.

Francis let out another low, guttural laugh. "Walk with me-?"

"Victor."

"Ah, good strong name. Victor" Francis picked up what looked to be a pail filled with meat and opened the side door in the would-be kitchen with the other arm. "Follow."

Victor listened and soon after came little Bee dragging what looked to be the carcass of a mouse behind him. Victor was startled by the large creature that came thundering around the corner, it was in fact, a full grown yellow dragon.

"Whoa there," Francis smiled, and pulled the pail behind his back, hiding it from the hungry dragon. 

"This is insane," Victor gasped, trying to guard tiny Bee behind his back from the massive dragon bumbling forward snorting at Francis. "It's huge!"

"This is Pippin," Francis said as he pulled a large hunk of meat out of the bucket, "she's a Bay Dragon, I found her abandoned in Koh Desert. Poor thing, has a missing eye."

"That's awful," Victor mumbled as the Bay Dragon took a few tentative steps forward. He'd never seen such a person as Francis, one with similar beliefs. He'd rescued a dragon! My goodness isn't that a silly notion! 

Pippin drew eye level with Victor and he could feel the hot breath on his face. It reeked of carrion. An empty eye-socket drew close and Victor could feel the dragon sucking in air through its nose, drinking him in. 

The dragon called Pippin relied heavily on scent and when inhaling the new human, smelled mostly dragon. This calmed her, as it was not the first time she'd run into a human. Other times they had not been kind. Turning her bright green eye to the human she viewed his face. He was clearly a he, and much younger than the one who cares for her. Pippin drew back to the man who feeds her and gives her affection to eat, paying no more attention to the stranger. 

Victor exhaled the breath he was holding in a rush and moved a hand to his pumping heart. He'd never been so close to a dragon before, other than Bee of course. 

"Pippin likes you," Francis said as he threw some more of the chunks of meat into the air. "Bay Dragon's are quite shy, you  should feel honored."

"I do," Victor said, shocked. "How did you train her to be so domesticated?"

"Same way you got your little friend there," Francis pointed to Bee. "I got her when she was young. I've been watching after her ever since."

"She's beautiful," Victor smiled.

"She is," Francis smiled back. "Follow." Francis went walking off again and left Victor, Bee, and Pippin alone in the garden filled with shades of green and yellow. 

"Wait," Victor shouted, "where are you going?"

"Why, to feed the rest of course!" Francis rounded a corner and that's when Victor noticed the true expanse of Francis' property. What must have been miles of lush green forests was kept in by a high fence. Within the fence Victor could hear muffled snorts and breaking tree branches.  Out of the woods burst a Mud Dragon similar to the one Victor saw when he was young. The dragon was short, only reaching Victor's shoulder, however the length of it must have been almost twenty feet. More baby Mud Dragons followed and they immediately took a liking to Bee, much to his chagrin.  "This young lady here is Maple, she just had these little hatchlings."

Francis grabbed a young dragon by the horn and began to inspect the dragons eyes. "These dragons tend to go blind, the steam given off to create their little den tends to react poorly to such young eyes." Francis frowns and looks deep into the young dragons eyes until even Victor began to feel uncomfortable. "Here, look." Francis offered Victor the dragons horn and Victor took it, hesitantly.

Looking into the dragons eye a faint white spot could be seen mixed with the amber color. "What is that?"

"A cataract," Francis disclosed. "We've got to bring this one in, can you check the others?"

Victor slowly, cautiously snatched another horn from one of the other two and peered into the eyes. The dragon struggled under his grip and let out a mournful bleat. The mother Mud Dragon  came over and looked over Victor's shoulder, Victor tried to ignore her. Seeing nothing he moved onto the next, there, in the right eye of the rather large baby dragon, was a white spot similar to the one he'd seen  before. 

Both Francis and Victor brought their own dragon back to Francis' cottage and Bee followed soon after. Both to save a life, and preserve the integrity of a dragon.