Me: Yay new chapter! Sorry it took so long. I was hoping to finish "The Hidden Pair" and this atabout the same time, but I decided to say screw that and post it all at once.
Chiro: She decided she was geting tired of writing the chapters on paper, bringing them to school, and typing them up. she's taking advantage of the flopy disc she is borrowing from her English teacher.
Declaimer: I don't own SRMTHFG! But I have kidnapped them and are holding them for a ransom of 300 billion dollars. Until the randsom is paid Chiro and themonkeys are my presoners. They are mine to do as like to them until the randsom is paid. Thank you for listening to my rambolings.
Chapter Seven: Disastrous Plains
Chiro groaned when he woke. Icefire was still galloping tirelessly, and the sky showed no sign of dawn. Chiro reached up and brushed his fingers across the cut on his head and flinched as pain throbbed from it. No one knew it was there except him and his monkeys. His wild black hair had done a good job of hiding it. The small cut had healed very little, so it still stung. The sand from the desert getting in it didn't help either.
More grass appeared as Icefire ran, soon she was chest deep in grass. She had no problem bounding through it. Icefire came across a watering hole with deer. She caught a few of the deer for her and Chiro to eat. They ate and drank their fill then continued on their way. Chiro drifted off to sleep once more.
Icefire's muscles burned from running so she slowed to a walk. The silver moon shone brightly in the ink black sky. The light illuminated the dew on the grass. A bellowing cry split the peaceful night air.
Icefire froze in her tracks. Chiro woke with a start. "What was that?" Chiro asked quietly, fear gripped his voice. The cry shattered the night air once more, this time much closer.
Icefire lowered herself to the ground in a futile attempt to hide in the grass. Obviously her bulk was much too big. She hated being a dragon with glittery violet scales that reflected the moon's pale, silver light. "A belzomar." She answered her voice barely above a whisper.
"Blezomar?"
"Its a creature about my size. It has an awfully bad temper. It has the back end of a cheetah and the front end of a bear. On its back is a pair of large dragon-like wings and attached to its paws are sharp claws. It has a horn on its forehead and one on its nose. It will attack any thing even a 100-year-old dragon. As you might, or might not know, we dragons never stop growing. And we are in tiptop shape at 100, for we are immortal. Unless we are murdered we do not die." she shuttered at the thought that a belzomar would attack such a large dragon.
Chiro could feel Icefire quivering beneath him. He stroked her neck in an attempt to calm her, but no avail. Her senses were on extra high alert. Her nostrils were flared as she smelled the air. Her leathery ears twitched at every sound. Yet she nearly jumped out of her scales when the belzomar's cry split the air. It was just to her right.
With lightning speed something jumped out of the grass from where the cry had sounded. Icefire quickly acted on instinct and lunged forward out of the beast's way. Icefire whirled about to face what had attacked. The silver moonlight shone on the beast's dew covered fur, illuminating it. Icefire's heart stopped in mid-beat, her worst fear stood before her. It was the ferocious belzomar.
The belzomar roared and launched it's self forward. /Hold on tight Chiro/ Chiro did as he was told, he didn't stop to think about how Icefire had told him in his mind. Icefire jumped and landed on the belzomar's back. She let her talons sink into it's back. Blood oozed from the gashes on the beast's back and stained its fur.
It screeched in pain and bucked. Icefire's talons tore even bigger wounds as she was thrown. Icefire easily landed on her feet. Her yellow-green eyes fell upon the belzomar's wing then focused on the beast it's self. /Breathe fire, ice, something. Or fly away/ Chiro's voice rang in her head.
/I can't it's against the rules! You heard Simon/ She cried as she dodged the belzomar's claws.
/I don't think they would mind if you did it to defend yourself/ He retorted.
/The rules state never are the dragons allowed to use their fire or, in the rare case, ice breath or fly/ Icefire stated as she ducked to avoid having her head torn off. /Plus if you want to save your monkeys I'm unable to cheat! Now if you don't mind I need to focus on the belzomar/
Icefire saw an opening in the belzomar's defenses and lunged. She swung her paw and it collided with its head. The belzomar shrieked as Icefire's talons left a gash across the side of its face.
The belzomar swung its enormous clawed paw at Chiro. Fear coursed through the boy and Icefire moved in the way so it slashed her neck instead. Luckily she had tough scales for armor. But the claws still pierced her flesh after it tore through the scales leaving half-inch deep wound.
/Chiro! Are you alright? I could sense your fear./ Antauri's voice reached Chiro's mind.
/Yes, but I can't say the same for Icefire though.../
/What do you mean? What has happened/ Chiro explained from the point where the belzomar showed up, to Antauri. /I see.../ Chiro kept Antauri in contact so he could see and hear what he (Chiro) saw and heard.
The rest of the fight seemed to happen in moments to Chiro. Icefire reared up and screeched in pain. This was foolish, it gave the belzomar a clear shot at her tender underbelly. The beast took the opportunity and slashed Icefire's belly. This brought her front paws to the ground.
Icefire reacted from furry and her survival instincts. Her head lashed forward and her sharp teeth sunk into the belzomar's neck. It tried to escape by squirming away but Icefire's teeth held it. The more it struggled the more pressure Icefire applied. A sickening cracking of splintering bone reached Chiro's ears.
Icefire felt the belzomar go limp and dropped it. She turned and began to walk again. Her head bent so low it almost touched the ground. Each breath was labored and every step was agonizing.
/Chiro did you happen to notice the belzomar's left wing/ Icefire asked mentally, for she was to exhausted and sore to use her mouth.
/Yeah... it looked as though it had been torn by a claw./
/Yes, that was from... my father./
/Your father/ Icefire could feel two different sources of surprise but she was too tired to care.
/Yes, he fought the belzomar to protect my mother, my.../ Her voice choked for a moment. A wave of immense sorrow collided with both Chiro and Antauri's minds.
/You don't have to tell me if you don't want to/ Chiro said.
/No it would be better if I told both you and your monkey friend./ Again the two sources of surprise. /Yes I could sense your presence the whole time, I could sense your emotions./ She paused to take a shuttering breath and flinched./ I was going to say, my brother and I./ She could sense more surprise. /My father died fighting, leaving only a tattered wing for injuries on the belzomar. My mother tried to protect my brother and me. She told us to run as she started to fight. We did as we were told. We were only 100 feet away when we heard our mother's death cry... We lived on our own after that./
/I'm so sorry.../ Chiro said sadly.
/Don't be, you were not the cause of my pain./
/Well put, but what of your brother? Was he older, younger, twin/ Antauri asked.
/My brother and I were born from the same litter. Our eggs hatched at the same time. As for where he is I don't know, we were separated not long after the death of our parents. I know he is alive though... I can sense it, as dragon lings we found that we share a connection./ Icefire stiffened as a wave of pain hit her. Antauri and Chiro felt her pain through the mind link. Icefire whimpered pitifully.
/Icefire! Are you alright/ Chiro cried.
/Yes... for now. Though the smell of my blood will surely attract the attention of many vicious beasts. Now... I must focus on the race at hand./ Before Chiro could protest Icefire closed her side of the link and focused on her surroundings.