Through Smoke and Ashes

Fourteen||The Hunter & The Hunted

I had been on the island of Aeberuthey long enough to see the bright green forest turn to an orange and yellow hue. The summer months had not lasted long and the air was beginning to acquire a foggy chill.

I was glad to have Naxan to navigate the island for me. He had found a cave where we would be able to live through the winter months to keep warm.

Currently, I was in the middle of making arrows. Alec had critiqued my work until I had made a proper looking bow that would be sturdy and shoot straight. It lay beside me. It was not the nicest looking weapon around, but I was proud to have made this on my own. Even if the thought of it still made me queasy, I was, in a way, grateful to have someone to teach me such things.

My arrowheads were made of stone that I had sharpened. Arrows in today's age were normally made out of smelted metals, but seeing as how I didn't have the proper tools or ways to make such things, stone would have to do. I felt like I was living in another time.

Alec had shown me how to skin an animal to acquire every part of the animal as it wouldn't go to waste. Naxan had captured a buffalo calf to eat, but I used some of its parts for myself. Its hide and fur I used for a new bed mat and its leg tendon to string my bow.

I was alight with excitement upon completing my weapons. I could finally hunt for myself and not depend on someone else to do it for me.

The day was well past noon before I finished my weapons. I was confident that I would be able to hunt properly now.

Looking at Naxan, I watched as he sniffed the air. His head slightly bobbing as he did so. His head turned to look at me. "Smells." He constantly reminded me of my unlikeable scent.

I let out a heavy breath while gathering my things. "Thanks for reminding me, Naxan." In my pack amongst the other things, I saw the stone that had started it all. I hadn't seen it for quite some time or really even thought about it. Its sooty darkness swirled like a rising storm. A quick flash of light broke through the darkness.

Naxan's body coiled around mine as he peered into my bag. His nostrils flared as he breathed in. I stood and watched him as he put his head into my pack, rummaging through its components. I laughed when the bag got caught on his snout. He tried shaking it off, but all that did was cause him more frustration and slight embarrassment. Removing the bag from his head, I pat his cheek lovingly, enjoying the sight of such a fearsome animal losing a battle with a piece of fabric.

I inspected my weapons once again, an idea forming in my head.

"Let's go hunting." I smiled brightly.

Naxan huffed and shook out his body, extending his dark wings. "Slow I down."

"Slow me down." I corrected him. "And I need to hunt for myself."

He growled, but he walked with me. I watched my dragon walk through the undergrowth. He had grown in the time I had spent with him. Before my head was just at his shoulders. Now I could walk under his belly, barely having to crouch. It amazed me, and I wondered how big he would grow to be.

A bitter feeling ran through me. I wish I knew more about my dragon. I knew he was young as he was still growing into himself every day. His age showed through the way he spoke and how broken his language was compared to other dragons, but that could also be because of his lineage and how secluded his breed was. But that's how they liked it. I could see the appeal. I didn't have to prove myself to anyone when living on this island alone. It allowed Naxan and I to bond better.

The school rejecting me was still an upsetting memory, and I resented those damned fools who turned me away. How could they live with themselves knowing the things they've done to potential dragon riders? Females were rejected and never seen again. Their dragons had to live a life without their other half, missing a part of their soul and never feeling whole again.