Hal scrambled to her feet, completely forgetting about the rider as panic set in. She felt half-crazed, so disoriented from lack of sleep that she almost forgot about the events of yesterday. But as another terrifying roar, guttural and menacing, reverberated around them, she immediately felt wide awake and panicked.
"Denu, stay here and keep an eye on the rider," she ordered, running past him and ignoring his protests and the irony of her command. Outside, she barely made it five feet out of her courtyard when a dark shadow flew overhead. Many of the villagers were in the fields some distance away, but Hal and a few others were standing in the creature's direct line of sight.
The dragon landed awkwardly on top of a hut and Hal could see that it was still gravely injured, its wing bent grossly out of shape. Its legs crumbled underneath it as the small hut collapsed completely to the ground. She gasped in horror, hoping no one had been inside. It was chaotic on the ground, people either running over one another in fear or completely frozen in place. One such child of seven, Layla, was standing on her own and the dragon narrowed in on her and roared so violently that the girl burst into tears. Hal reacted heatedly, her mind racing as she scoured her immediate surroundings. She found a rock the size of her hand and lunged for it, taking a brief running start before hurling the stone at the dragon, striking it across the cheek.
"Leave her alone, you oversized lizard!" Hal snapped, backing away quickly as the dragon turned and stalked towards her, its nostrils smoking. Its eyes narrowed in on the Hal's blood-stained clothes and roared again. It was limping with such a predatory gaze that its injuries hardly seemed to hinder it in its rage.
"Hal!" Layla screamed, terrified. But Hal, despite the fear rising up her throat, had a sturdier resolve.
"Your rider is safe," Hal shouted, hoping to get the creature to see reason. But all it did was let out a roar so loud and powerful that Hal frightfully tripped over her own two feet and fell back. She scrambled as the dragon came up on her, and all she could do was lie flat and press herself against the dusty earth. She could smell the dragon's breath, but most of all, she could feel its fear. But that did nothing to appease her own.
She forced herself to hold its gaze and she spoke slowly. "My people had nothing to do with this." It snorted and she swallowed nervously. Okay, so it did seem to understand her. "I saw you fighting the Nïdhwal, and I alone pulled your rider from the water. I brought him here because he was gravely injured…he's weak. But he's alive." For now, at least.
The dragon let out a pitiful moan before it suddenly jerked its head towards the hut Hal shared with Denu. The same hut where the rider lay. Did the creature know?
Hal was able to turn onto her stomach sensing movement as she barely heard Denu begin to speak softly. There was a tense silence and Hal wondered, terrified, that the man had died and the dragon had felt it. But her eyes widened in disbelief. Coming slowly out of the entrance to the hut was the dragon rider himself, the blanket wrapped around his hips and tucked in securely so it didn't cause any further shock to the villagers. His pace was slow, his face twisted in pain. He limped, inhibited by the heavy splint on his leg and his damaged torso, but aided by Denu's walking stick. He put so much weight on it, Hal feared he would break it. He shouldn't have been able to walk at all. And just because he could certainly didn't mean he should.
"You shouldn't be up," Hal finally spluttered, shocked to see him awake even this long. The pain alone should have already rendered him to the point of unconsciousness. And she could see in his face that he was fighting it back. She told herself she was not responsible for any further damage he caused himself, although she felt infuriated that he would put himself at such risk.
The dragon let out another low moan and Hal fell silent in understanding. The rider didn't acknowledge her anyway. The creature sidestepped Hal and lowered its head, crooning as if crying tears of relief. She laid there, transfixed, as the man finally reached the red dragon, and he placed his palm on the dragon's body for support, dropping the walking stick. Then he laid his forehead on the bloodied scales. Hal realized he was quietly weeping and she bit her lip, feeling as though she were intruding on a private moment. And yet, she couldn't look away, transfixed by the open vulnerability on his face.
He began to murmur and a bright, crimson light — the same color as the vibrant scales on the dragon — was emitted from his hand; the dragon roared angrily, as if in protest. Hal's eyes widened and the villagers stepped back, shouting in surprise as the glow consumed his hand. She stared in awe and fear as the dragon's wounds healed, the cuts closing, and the bones in the crooked wing straightening.
The man immediately passed out afterwards, falling to the side, and Hal rushed to catch him before he hit the ground, potentially causing further harm. She reached him in time, but his dead weight was too much, and she herself began to fall back. Before she could attempt to catch herself, the dragon's tail uncoiled quickly and caught her, gently leading her to the ground so that she could kneel and better support the rider's weight. She watched its glowing red eyes with trepidation, saying nothing. She pressed her ear to the rider's chest, listening to his heartbeat, and violently swore. It was even weaker than before!
"Halen, get him inside," Denu instructed. He was standing in the doorway, eyeing the dragon warily. "That amount of magic in his condition might have weakened him considerably. Keep a close eye on him."
Hal convinced two men she knew, Eli and Cado, to carry the man back inside. She took a final look at the villagers, their faces twisted in fear and more coming to inspect the source of the noise only to reel back in surprise at the hulking red dragon before them. A few were examining the destroyed hut, attempting to move the heavy mud and stone, and Hal realized the gravity of their situation. She had put these people in danger. She had thought trouble, if it came, would be from the empire, not the dragon. She immediately made a move towards the destroyed hut to help check and see if anyone had been inside and to begin salvaging parts. Denu stuck out his walking stick and stopped her.
"Just keep an eye on the dragon rider. I will deal with everything else."
People slowly began to leave, wanting to be out of the dragon's range but shooting it fearful and mistrustful gazes. A few were even directed at Hal, betrayed that she had brought such dangerous strangers into their midst. That hurt her more than she expected and she bristled with fury. Hal walked up to the dragon and gave it a harsh look, pointing to the hut it had destroyed. "I hope to gods there was no one in that house. We will take care of your rider, on that you have my word. But afterwards, take him and go, before you cause any more harm."
It did not acknowledge her, and it hardly blinked. She stormed off, infuriated with herself. The tension began to build in her muscles again, her stomach twisting into knots. Maybe, against her better judgement, she should've left them both in the ocean to fend against fate alone.