Chapter Eight: The Healing Jungle
Despite the pain in her burning muscles and throbbing wounds, Icefire ran. She took care to keep the mind link closed so the other two would not know the pain she felt. Icefire's eyes widened as she remembered something. She opened the link /Chiro, I know you must be hungry but in my shape I'm unable to hunt./ Icefire could no longer sense the silver monkey's presence. /Where's your friend? I can't sense his presence./
/He had to return to the others and I don't mind you being unable to hunt. I'm not that hungry right now./ Chiro replied. Icefire closed the mind link again.
More and more trees were beginning to appear. Soon trees surrounded the dragon and her rider, they were in the jungle. Icefire, being small, could easily squeeze in between the trees. Icefire found a clearing large enough for her to lie in.
When she stopped she lowered her head so her snout was almost touching the ground. She opened and closed her mouth as she took agonizing gasps for air. Chiro un-strapped himself from the saddle and slid from Icefire's back to the ground. Icefire collapsed onto her side.
Icefire lay on her side feeling dizzy from blood loss. Her breathing was now shallow and ragged. Chiro knelt by her large head and stroked her scaly cheek. "Icefire... is there anything I can do for your wounds? Its all my fault after all..."
Icefire lifted her head so she could look Chiro in the eye. Once again to tired to talk Icefire used the mind link. /I don't blame you for my injuries little one. But you can help me by finding this herb./ She sent him a mental image of a plant with star like leaves and silver flowers. /Go find the plant and bring back plenty of its leaves. I'll give you further instructions when you come back.../
Chiro let the "little one" slide, but he wasn't going to let her call him that forever. "Alright, but keep the mind link open just incase." Without waiting for a reply he ran off into the dense jungle.
Icefire lay there alone for what seemed like hours. She felt weaker and weaker with every drop of the precious, ruby liquid she lost. Her vision was darkening around the edges and she was feeling quite light headed and dizzy. The wounds on her neck and belly pulsed with pain. The wounds throbbed continuously. Breathing became more and more difficult for her. /Please...hurry Chiro...I can't last much longer.../
/I'm trying Icefire: His voice was panicked and urgent. /But I can't find- never mind I just found some./ Silence. A sudden wave of surprise then fear came through the link. /Icefire help/ Chiro was in trouble.
Some how Icefire got to her feet. She felt an overwhelming amount of an instinct entirely new to her. It was an instinct all full-grown female dragons felt often. It was called the motherly instinct. Right now she felt motherly toward Chiro and that's what had encouraged her to feel the new instinct. And no smart creature would deal with a mother dragon if they could help it.
Smoke was pouring from her flared nostrils toward the starry sky abovethe trees. /I'm coming Chiro/ Ignoring her pain and weakness she bolted and ran at full speed. She dodged trees, jumped over rocks and logs, and crashed through the underbrush that got in her way. She could sense Chiro's location through the mind link. She followed the signal, honing in on it.
/Please hurry Icefire/
Chiro was backed against a large tree. A large tiger almost the same size as Icefire stood before him. It was black with red stripes. Spikes ran along it's back to the tip of it's tail. A horn rested behind its snout. It had a spiked club at the end of its tail. It had its menacing blood red eyes set on Chiro. It growled as it crouched, tail twitching. It growled again and bared its teeth. It was preparing to pounce on Chiro.
/Chiro! What is wrong! All I can sense is your fear/ It was Antauri. Chiro sent him a mental image of the tiger before him. /Chiro, where is Icefire/
/She is on her way as we speak. Which I was surprised to hear./ Just then Icefire came crashing through the trees. The silver moonlight reflected off her blood stained scales. :Speak of the devil, or should I say, dragon, here she is now./
/Exactly what did you mean by 'which I was surprised to hear'/ Antauri asked. Chiro sent him an image of Icefire as she was standing before him, her bloody scales shining in the silver light. /She does seem to be suffering terrible wounds. /
/No kidding. / Chiro replied and opened the link wider so Antauri could hear and see what he did.
Icefire roared ferociously, her cry of fury echoed through the night air. She bolted forward so Chiro was shielded from the tiger, behind one of her forelegs. She lowered her head so she was eye level with the tiger. Icefire's eyes narrowed to slits and she growled viciously. The spines along her back, neck, and tail rose to make her look more intimidating.
The tiger was frightened only a moment before it realized that Icefire was injured. The sent of her blood filled it's flared nostrils. It roared and lunged.
Icefire stood her ground. When the tiger was close enough Icefire swung her paw and it collided with the tiger's head. She knocked the tiger over and pushed its head into the ground. She put all her weight on the beast's head thus crushing its skull. Now that the threat was over the spines on her back lowered. "Well I guess we have dinner." Icefire commented. Then she fell over sideways and landed with a loud thud.
Chiro hastily picked leaves from the herbal plant. "What do, I do now?"
"Put the leaves in the wounds..." Icefire closed her eyes. She flinched when Chiro did as instructed. "Eat your fill of the tiger. I will eat when I awake from my nap."
"I thought you didn't need to sleep." Chiro said playfully.
"Usually I don't, but I have to now. Sleeping helps wounds heal faster. That's why it's called a healing sleep. The herb will help speed up the healing pace..." Icefire drifted off to sleep, but not so deep that she was not alert.
Icefire opened her eyes the newly risen' sun shining through the tree branches. Chiro was waiting expectantly. "Morning!" He cried. "You were right your wounds healed really fast! There are new scales already growing in!"
Icefire couldn't help but chuckle at Chiro's enthusiasm. She stiffly got to her feet. She stretched her stiff muscles. She yawned, her long, pink tongue curled at the tip. And her sharp, white fangs gleamed in the morning's light.
Icefire sat down and started to lick her scales clean of dried blood and dirt. When she came to the more sensitive new scales she was slower and gentler. Once her violet scales sparkled in the sun she laid down again.
"There is still a lot more of the tiger left. You need strength so I think you should eat it." Chiro said. Icefire did not argue and ate the tiger.
When she had finished Icefire licked her chops free of any blood. Then gently as a mother dragon would clean its dragon ling, she began to lick Chiro. Her tongue gently cleaned Chiro's face and hands, removing the dried blood and dirt. Chiro giggled the whole time. "That tickles!"
When he was spotless Icefire stopped. "There all clean. Ready to go?" As an answer Chiro mounted and strapped himself into the saddle. Icefire stood and trotted off. Being smaller than the other dragons she had no problems weaving through the trees. The pine needles provided comfort for her paws as she trotted along.
"I'm going to go into my trance. You have to guide my body for a few minutes."
"Okay I'll try." Chiro replied hesitantly.
Icefire's eyes glazed over and Chiro used the reigns to guide the dragon through the trees. Of course it was his first time guiding a dragon, he caused Icefire to bump into trees now and then. But because of her hard scales Icefire was unharmed. She only scraped the bark off the trees.
When Icefire snapped out of her trance she stopped dead. If she had taken one more step she would have ran headfirst into a tree. She snorted, a ring of smoke came from her nostrils and rose to the treetops. "You need lessons on how to guide a dragon my friend, but not bad for your first time." She began to trot onward as she talked.
'My friend'! "I'm actually your friend? I thought you were to proud for that sort of thing." Chiro said.
"I was," Icefire said sheepishly and ducked her head. "But I've changed my mind now, about you anyway. Your not half bad you're actually beginning to grow on me, if you know what I mean."
"Is that a bad thing? 'Cause if it is I'm afraid already." Chiro teased.
Icefire snorted. "Ha, ha, ha, your such a comedian." Icefire said sarcastically. "And yes it's a good thing. Would you rather I leave you to some monster and fly away free as a bird?" Icefire teased.
"No, I'm good!" Chiro said hastily. "By the way how did your search go?"
Icefire became less cheerful, Chiro noticed this and became concerned. "The others aren't far behind. We better get going." Her trot quickly became a full out gallop. Even at the speed she was going Icefire was able to dodge rocks and trees. Chiro leaned forward for less wind resistance.