The Elves of Loth

Chapter Five

With their eggs safely nestled in the sacks that hung in front of them, the eight riders and their mentor began the descent. Aspen-leaf was troubled by her own actions just moments before. When Cliff-breeze had suggested they leave the extra egg where they had found it – that perhaps it was meant for someone else – an awful feeling came over Aspen-leaf and she exclaimed without thinking, “No!” Then, with a little more composure she clarified, “Let’s bring it with us.” Why had she done that? What did it matter what happened to that egg?

“Look! It’s hatching!” Hidden-stream exclaimed, and they all gathered around to watch the little creature immerge. Hidden-stream seemed like he didn’t exactly know what to do with himself – contrary to his normal composure and sense of popularity. It was funny to see him so awkwardly pulling fragments of shell away, rather than tossing his perfect blond hair and bragging to the girls back in Loth about being a combat hunter - charming them with his sweet blue eyes.

First, the nose horn pocked out, breaking away pieces of shell as it made way for the rest of the body. Once it got its first leg out, it pawed and kicked the ground, lashing out in its attempts to free itself. In the end, they were all pushing and shoving to reach the inside of the circle so that they could help remove the fragments. In her attempt to see what was going on over the heads of the other teenagers, Aspen-leaf was knocked to the ground. A sharp stinging sensation struck her wrist, and she grabbed it instinctively, gritting her teeth against the pain. Trying to stay calm, she backed away from the crowd, pushing herself with her feet. As soon as she was out from between her comrades’ feet, Aspen-leaf was able to think clearly again. A glance down at her egg revealed no visible cracks, but she scoured its surface none the less. Cradling her left arm between her knees, she used her right to spin the precious egg inside its sling, rotating it until she’d looked over every surface at least three times. She would have continued, but by that time her wrist was too painful to ignore. For a second Aspen-leaf was worried that it might be broken, but she could still move her fingers – although her wrist hurt each time she did.

“Are you alright?” Cliff-breeze inquired, a hint of suspicion creeping into her voice. As Aspen-leaf’s mentor stooped down to see what was the matter, her dark brown hair fell from her shoulders in a great arch, sweeping down to hang next to her concerned face. Aspen-leaf wasn’t so sure she wanted Cliff-breeze to know she was hurt; it would seem stupid, week. However, her cool exterior wasn’t going to hold up much longer if the pain continued. Maybe it was better to just let Cliff-breeze check her out. If it wasn’t a big deal then it would go away on its own anyways, and at least she wouldn’t have to worry that it was something major.  It took a few seconds before Aspen-leaf had made up her mind, and in that time Cliff-breeze’s expression turned from suspicion to concern.

“I think I did something to it when I fell.” She stated finally, unsure of how Cliff-breeze would react, but mostly just concerned that they would deal with it quickly, the others had finished with Hidden-stream’s dragon’s egg, and were now marvelling at its appearance and lining up to hold it. Aspen-leaf felt bad for Hidden-stream who was barely getting a chance to hold it, himself. Mostly, though, she felt bad for herself – missing the whole thing because of an injury she couldn’t afford to be seen with.

“Almost done.” Cliff-breeze mumbled through a mouthful of pine bark bandages. Glancing down, she watched as Cliff-breeze skillfully wrapped the injury. She’d done this before, and by the looks of it, she was practiced in getting it done quickly. Had Aspen-leaf’s mentor been in the same situation?

“Aspen-leaf, you’ve got to see this!” Hawk-wing turned in search of Aspen-leaf, and she cringed – not from the pain in her wrist, but from the agony of having him see her like this. “Aspen-leaf? Are you okay?” He ran over to her, and she found it concerning how willingly he just left his friends – not to mention the newborn dragon – to see her. He was second youngest in their program – next to Frost-raven – so it was kind of cute how eager he was to see her, but at the same time she had to wonder what was going on in his head.