Chapter One: Seeking Comfort.
A girl with long wavy brown hair would look for shelter in the chilly winter weather, quite common for this time of year. So when she sees a cave over to her left side she goes to it only to find it a little bit warmer than outside, but a lot more bearable and better protected from the blood freezing winds. She places herself close at the end of the cave before falling to sleep not knowing what was actually lurking within the shadows, dark depths.
A pair of young, glowing, cold blood red eyes stares at this human girl as she sleeping blissfully, unaware of the danger that this being could pose to her. But what left him wondering the most was the reason that she was here as most of the humans that live around here knew that this was a cave of death and would steer clear of his home giving him the peace that he sometimes wanted.
If she is not from around here, then where is she from? He wonders.
He knows not of what to make of, let alone what to do with her. But seeing that she is here and the first to visit this cave in a long time he might let her stay, for as long as she wished in fact. He could use the company and hopefully make a friend, if she didn't run away screaming in horror like most of the humans he tried to approach normally would do. Then they would return and try to kill him, but failing never the less.
He moves from shadow to shadow and slowly towards the human girl with great caution for if anything in his life had taught him it is to be careful of anything and everything, no matter how small it may be, for it could bring you a very swift death. And this young dragon wasn't ready to die, not for a long time anyway and not without leaving some mark of his on this world for any who would care to remember it.
The sound of something striking a stone makes the young girl's piercing violet eyes pop open instantly as the sense of someone or something's presence within the same cave as she. And it was moving towards her. She could hear the soft tapping of feet but couldn't tell if it is an animal or...
Oh please, I just got out of that god damn light forsaken, retched place! If my Papa beats me one more time I think I'm going to die! She stays stiff, still acting as though she is sleeping. With her dagger clutched tightly in her hand she hopes she won't have to kill her father. Though little does she know she has something else, to worry about. And that something would change her life forever.
Then, an amused laughter rings loud and clear. But it wasn't a human's laughter it sounded like an elder creature's laughter. "Do not worry human I will not harm you."
The sound of something moving, something like a large snake, agented the ground makes the girl tense, intensely with fear.
Oh by the gods known and unknown, I'm going to be eaten! She takes in deep breaths, trying her hardest to steel her nerves, but the fear of the unknown was gaining a foot in her. Her breaths soon came and went in short, shuddering moments.
"I... I could leave... please! I'm sorry I didn't know this was your home!" The girl stumers as her hand tightens further on her dagger, ready for anything, but is also very afraid of what it could be.
There is no way I am getting eaten by this thing! Whatever it is... Oh this could be very bad, why did I have to pick this cave? The fear was winning control over her. Unknowingly the young girl slowly curls in to a small ball holding the dagger close to her.
The amused laughter rings louder. "Please, I am sorry to say but your steel claw will not harm me, and nor am I going to eat you. I have already have had my fill for today and was intending to sleep it off when I felt your present within my home."
Its voice sounds male to the girl as his amused laughter sounds again.
"Not that I am complaining, I have been waiting for some company for a very, very long time." He tilts his head to the side in wonder thinking that this human was too tired to run or was locked in fear. His guess was that she was locked in fear.
Interested in what it was, she slowly turns her body around not wanting to startle the unknown creature. What she looks up she sees something that makes her mouth drop and her eyes widens in shock to what she sees she only thought was a myth or a legend. A black scaly dragon was sitting before her and it was staring at her with deep glowing blood red eyes, but what scares her mostly are its unknown intentions, but it said it wasn't going to eat her but still the black dragon could change its mind at any given moment.
Dragon! Then another though came to her. Hey since when could dragons read minds? Oh he can hear me right now... Oh this is very embarrassing. A reddish tint shines on her cheeks, reviling her awkwardness.
Soon remembering her manners she stumers: "H- hello."
Once again the dragon's laughter sounds. "Not many of us can read the minds of any but our own kind. Only a few can and I am one of them." The dragon stands and walks over to the girl and looks at her with a critical eye.
She would sit still fearful of what might happen.
The dragon made the conclusion that she would stand at about six feet tall and saw that she has shoulder length silky brown hair and a pair of deep violet coloured eyes. But there was something else about this girl, something unique, but the dragon could not it make out so he then goes back to where he sitting and closes his eyes, thinking very carefully about what to do.
I wonder if it is okay if I can stay here the night... She thinks, so she asks. But as she finishes her question a gust of wind comes in, startles her and then her little thin dirt smeared dress is fluffed up only for her light blue silk panties to be shown. Blushing quite heavily she pulls her dress back down. But she finds that the dragon's eyes are still closed. The girl wonders if the black dragon had seen her panties let alone had he even heard her question at all. Another awaked feeling was burning within her.
The dragon opens his eyes after a few minutes smiling. "Of course you can stay here. I have not got a problem with that." Then the black dragon slips in to a more maintainable position so he could sleep. And then he seemed to remember something very important that would affect the human girl. "Although you might consider sleeping next to me since the fire I breathe will not be suitable to make you a fire to sleep by and with this winter weather wind about, and it would not last long anyway.
"So if you lean up agented my stomach you should be warm enough to suit you finely." The dragon opens his left wing planning on forming a living tent for the girl, knowing how easily she could get cold on night such as this one.
She nods and carefully she curls up next to his stomach sighing deeply but is a little alarmed when his wing closes around her, but her fear is soon groundless as she notices that the dragon's wing was just covering her, shielding her from the cold. Happy for the warmth she leans against the large dragon. It reminded her of her own warm bed, but thinking on this brought up unwanted memories and she hopes the dragon doesn't sense them.
"Thank you kind dragon, may I ask for your name?" she asks, trying to change what she was thinking about. She is quite comfortable laying there listening to his heart beat but she was not as comfortable as she would like. Something was poking her in the leg and it was quite sharp.
He didn't reply for some time then, to the girl the dragon seemed to already be asleep, and then. "My name is Valek."
"Strange name." the girl replies as she finds and removes a sharp rock from under her leg. She lifts Valek's large scale wing and tosses it out of her and his way, hearing it clatter agented the walls of the cave.
There was another long uncomfortable silence but Valek was thinking as his own memories of the past as they came to him. "The name was given to me before the war, by my Mother. The name itself means fear in your tongue and when I fought that is what I was."
Confused the young girl was, she knew of no wars, but she lived a very sheltered life. Then she guesses that Valek was much older then he looks but still she continues to ask him questions about his past since her interest was at its peak. "You were in a war and you were its symbol of fear?" What's strange is that the young girl didn't feel any fear around the dragon. She thinks the war was a long time ago.
His reply was slow and full of heart ache. "A very long time ago, long before you were born." He sighs long and low as more memories riddled Valek's mind with torment. "The past seems noting but old ghosts to me, but never the less they still haunt me."
She could hear the pain in his voice and it saddens her to see him in such a way. She wishes she did not ask at all."I'll take the hint that you don't want to talk about it then?" She whispers. "I will understand if you don't."
"Thank you human." Finlay being able to banish the memories from his mind the last words he said to the girl was 'good night' and he then lays his head down trying to get to sleep.
Again taking the hint she says, before she closed her own eyes, "Ok then Valek, good night and sleep well." Then she too slips in to her own dreamscape.