To Limbo and Back: Chapter 2
Coming back to life was far from glamorous, at least that what Volga was coming to realize. He woke where he'd died, in the dirt of the Valley of the Seers. Blood and dirt caked his armor and skin and he smelled nothing but the stench of sulfur, sweat, and rotting corpses. Every bone in his body ached and every muscle sang with pain, yet nothing could match Volga's joy. He died in his human form and awoke in it as well.
The weary knight struggled to his feet. Luckily his spear remained next to his body and it provided a handy crutch to push himself up with. Upon standing, he could see nothing around him but corpses. They were all those of bublins. They Hyruleans must've retrieved their fallen long ago. For some reason the notion brought him a sense of relief; for all their incompetence, at the least the worms treated their dead with honor.
Focus Volga. He shook his head, quickly regretting it when his head swam. I need air.
Taking to his original form, Volga spread his wings and took to the skies. His dragon form ached even more than his human form, but he didn't care. He was alive. Alive. The word echoed again and again in his mind.
As a creature of fire, Volga often expressed himself with the flame that burned in his chest. With a triumphant roar, he released a storm of flame into the sky, looping back around through it. His own fire felt fantastic upon his wings. Feeling again itself was a gift he wished to revel in until his body gave out beneath him. He'd missed that full feeling in his breast, the freedom of the sky, the feeling of fire in his throat. The emptiness and power of the darkness was nothing compared to the fullness of a soul.
No matter how alive he felt, Volga couldn't fight the weakness in his body. While he was alive, he was only barely so. The true pain of battle began to settle into his bones. He'd no choice but to land. Exhausted eyes searched the rocky, harsh land for a place to rest. Finally he spotted a comfortable cave that he could've sworn beaconed to him.
Come...rest here...come...
So he stepped into it.
He paid no mind to the fact that the cave was a shrine of sorts, a carefully carved room with a time worn, grey tiled floor. A semi-circle pool of crystal clear water sat at the end. Despite all of the fire in his heart, even Volga desired a drink once in a while. Without as so much a thought he lumbered over to the water and lapped up greedy mouthfuls. It tasted so sweet against his tongue.
Rest. Come here. Rest your weary wings.
Was the water talking? Maybe he was just delirious. Who knew what coming back from limbo would do to his mind. Honestly, he didn't care. With sore paws he stepped into the shallow pool. The water barely came up to his dragon body's knees, so he transformed into his human form. Removing his armor and the clothes beneath always took time. Once it was off, he sank down into the water, letting the grit and blood wash away from his skin.
When he sat up, he looked down at his reflection that danced in the water. His short, blonde hair was brown and matted with blood and grime. A large wound still bled on his forehead. No need to risk an infection. After a deep breath, he dunked his head down in the pool. He allowed himself a few moments of rest down there as the mess washed away.
Let me heal you...I can help you...
The water was definitely talking. Confused, Volga opened his eyes beneath the water. There a woman's face smiled at him. A loud swear escaped him, but it came out as a gurgled mess and he ended up inhaling water. He scrambled to the surface as his lungs burned with water. Before he could so much as grab the edge of the pool, two massive hands with long, painted nails scooped him up.
Volga only struggled more as the hands attempted to move his naked body around in them, but he was too weak. He could only cough and choke as he stood in the palm of a hand on all fours. Whoever it was had him in their powerful grip. He couldn't even focus enough to transform.
"Oh my, what do we have here!" A woman's voice giggled. Strong hands turned Volga around.
The dragon knight looked up and found himself gazing at a giant woman. She wore nothing but a wrap of twisted, lush vines that even wrapped around her two pink ponytails. He'd wandered right into one her fountains. The Great Fairy.
"Oh, aren't you a cute one." The Fairy cooed.
Volga found his hands covering his nether regions. "What do you want?"
She threw her head back and laughed. "A fiery one, aren't you? You're the one that came here. I call all injured and weary to rest here."
"And watched me naked."
"When you stepped into my spring, I realized that you were something..." The Great Fairy paused to think with a few bats of her long lashes. "Something worth looking at. Something different."
"You've a sick sense of voyeurism."
"And you've an awful lot of nerve, trying to call me a peeping tom."
She could've very well crushed him in her palm, but that was not the nature of fairies. Instead she held him up to her face. Despite any attempt Volga made to appear intimidating, there was little that an injured, naked dragon knight could do to appear threatening.
For a while the two just simply stared at one another until Volga spoke up. "Put me down. Now."
The Great Fairy furrowed her brow. "You've an awful lot of gall. Ask nicely."
"Now!"
"Fine." The Great Fairy turned her hand over, letting him fall into the water with a splash.
Disoriented, Volga sputtered after he quickly resurfaced. He grabbed the side of the pool and looked rapidly around. The Great Fairy had vanished. Good. Exhausted and now annoyed, he plopped down on the tile floor and dried himself with his own flame. Who did that fairy think she was, manhandling him like that? Audacious.
Once dry, he slipped on the black and red-scale patterned clothing that he wore under his armor. Grunting, he stretched and let loose a loud yawn. When he turned to his armor, he saw that it was gone. "What the-where is it?!"
It's right here.
Volga whipped around. There the Great Fairy floated once again above her pool. His armor rested in her outstretched hand. Anger boiled in his veins and he snarled up at her. "Give. It. Back."
"I don't think so. No one insults the Great Fairy and gets away with it. Especially after how nice I was to you!" She giggled. With a close of her palm, his armor vanished into a cloud of fairies.
"NO!" It took only a moment before Volga transformed to a dragon lunged at the Great Fairy. Flaming jaws snapped in a fury as fire poured from his mouth. A pillar of fire poured out from his maw, but she simply floated to the side. He tried everything, swiping, biting, fire, but the Fairy dodged easily, almost lazily, from his blind rage. She even dared laugh at his failed attempts. His exhausted body had little fight and rage was only demanding energy that he didn't have. With one last swipe, he finally collapsed on the floor.
The Great Fairy hovered casually over her pool. "Are you done?"
Volga panted, his sides heaving with the effort. He could barely even keep his eyes open, lest speak. An insult burned on his tongue, but for once he bit it. …yes. He grunted.
"Good." She beaconed her hand. Several fairies floated up from the water and drifted lazily over to him with an elegant wave of her hand. When they settled on his wounds, he felt a slow but noticeable relief. "You've been a naughty dragon, but I suppose you're not that bad."
Volga only sighed a bit of steam at her comment.
"Why don't you sleep? Then maybe I'll have thought of something you can do to get your armor back, mm?"
Do I have a choice? He barely managed to ask, not bothering to open his eyes.
The Great Fairy laughed heartily. "Unless you want to run around in your skivvies! Now sleep, you silly beast."
With no other real option, and pure exhaustion pulling him down, Volga allowed himself to relax. There was a sense of safety in the Great Fairy's fountain, for whatever reason. Why she liked him he could never say. Maybe she was just bored, cruel, or maybe both. He didn't ponder it much before dozing off. He dreamed of fairies and the gentle kisses they left on his wounds.
(author's note: This chapter just sort of came to me and I couldn't shake the idea of the Great Fairy having a bit of a mischievous side. As always, feedback is greatly appreciated and will help new chapters come along more quickly! Thanks!)