Dawn Dragon - Part 3

[Mark Robson]

I won't post the previous bits here - you can go look at them in past posts if you wish to read them in sequence. Hope you all continue to enjoy this...

Once he had taken the first two or three reluctant steps forward, Elian began to feel as if he had lost control of his feet. A compulsion to run started the acceleration, the downhill slope adding momentum until his body threatened to overtake his legs. Before he knew it, he was hurtling down into the Haleen valley with all thoughts of stealthy movement gone.

In his mind, he justified the speed of his descent by telling himself that if he reached the near side of the woods before the dragon finished feeding, he would be able to creep through the trees to a concealed vantage point. From there, he would be able to view her in relative safety. He repeated the plan over and over in his head as he ran, determined to make it work. When he reached the edge of the wood, however, things did not quite work out the way he envisioned.

Chest heaving from the running and desperately trying to keep his panting as quiet as he could, Elian entered the trees. There were some bushes and ferns growing between the tree trunks, but for the large part the woods offered sparse cover. The stand of trees was only a few hundred yards wide at most, so he had hardly entered the upper edge of the wood before he could see the orange/gold colour of the dragon ahead. The glowing colour mesmerised him with tantalising thoughts. There was no turning back now. Elian felt an overwhelming desire to see more. Flitting from tree trunk to tree trunk, he pressed forward.

It was strange, for he did not feel afraid. He knew he should be terrified, yet he simply felt curiosity and a weird premonition that this encounter would end well. He did not know where his certainty came from, but he knew that it was not his fate to die today. There was something more.

A particularly large tree trunk stood like a timeless pillar a few yards ahead. Elian darted forward to take advantage of the cover it offered and peeped around the edge. The dragon was curled in a semi-circle, chewing gently with her face towards the forest. He ducked quickly back behind the tree, as he suddenly realised that she was looking straight at him, her great eyes sparkling.

The sound of laughter filled his mind - gentle, friendly, female laughter. Elian shook his head slightly and looked around amongst the trees in surprise. The laughter intensified slightly before slowly dying away.

‘Come to me, Elian. I’ve been waiting for you.’

[Silk]

Wonderful

[dwndrgn]

Just lovely. With enough hooks to land a school of fish... making us all want more. Now I know what soap opera addicts feel like!

[polymorphikos]

Cool. You gone the interesting choice of sentient dragons, which is also cool, although moderately errie. Kudos.