This is a bit shorter than i had planned. I have a lot of college homework to catch up on. School is tomorrow . . But there will be another chapter again tomorrow.
"It is not the mountains which make one feel so small;
but perhaps mother nature herself. Her vast beauty, authority, power,
and love leave one truly feeling like a single pebble within the ocean."
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Reborn in Fire
Chapter 2
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The little dragon seemed annoyed when I got up from our position; a little huff left its small mouth almost as if in defeat. It crawled its way to my shoulder taking its perch; very much so like the parrots the fishermen in the village kept around. I raised my brow in amusement at the little creature continuing on my way. If it was not for the strong connection I felt for the dragon, and the unfaltering understanding of what had happened that had previously come over me; I would probably be freaking out right now.
It was nothing that I was unused to. For as long as I could remember I had a certain ability that others didn't seem to have. Clairvoyance they call it. However, this time was different. It felt almost exactly the same. It is as though you knew something; you are absolutely certain of it; you do not know how or why you know it, but you do.
Except this time it felt as though I knew because the dragon had told me through our connection. It wasn't as if the dragon had bothered to ask me if I accepted this connection, but somehow it felt as though I would have said yes no matter what.
I sighed, placing my hands on my hips and shaking my head. Now wasn't the time to be pondering over what had transpired. Though really, any sane person would take the time to seriously question such. I had to gather supplies and then we would have to travel further. Otogakure was a good month's travel by horse. I have not been there since I was child.
Regardless I knew the way. I knew these forests by heart. I have been traveling these forests by my father's side since before I could even remember. My mother had died to illness shortly after giving birth to me, so sadly I do not remember her. Due to my father's special career, he often took me alongside him instead of leaving me home. Dangerous many would say; even more would say that it was irresponsible. However, I was never safer than with my father. He was a cunning man, and an incredible fighter. He taught me all he knew.
I clicked my tongue at Zephrya twice. She snickered at me in understanding and continued to graze. It was the sign to stay here while I went elsewhere. Dragon in tow I went away from the small clearing and into the thicker part of the woods. The first objective in my mind was to make a bow and some arrows. It wouldn't be a first class weapon for I was no weapons master, but it would do.
I leaned down and lifted the dark green hosen pants I wore to remove the knife that was placed around my calve. Carefully I removed it and adjusted its weight in my hand. It was a gift from my father on my most recent birthday. 19 is usually a marrying age. Yet here I was in Basilisk's path with a dragon no less. Much more fun than a marriage.
I snickered to myself as I scanned my eyes around looking for decent sized branches that were low enough for me to reach. I hummed to myself and the dragon as I gathered branches and rocks of varying sizes. There was an almost humming sensation coming from the dragon as it listened to my soft voice and I couldn't stop the small smile from stretching across my face.
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When I had collected a satisfactory amount of supplies I brought them back to the small clearing dropping them onto the ground near where I had slept. My stomach growled in anguish at the prospect of having no breakfast before so much manual labor, and an eye from the dragon seemed to agree.
"I cannot hunt without a bow little one. We must be patient." There was what I could only describe as a small grunt in response. I sat back down against the tree I had slept in and began cutting the wood into the shapes I needed. As I worked I allowed myself to muse over everything.
Dragons weren't unheard of. A vast majority of them lived to the far north. Dragon eggs were however very rare. It is said that a dragon egg is only brought into the world when a being of purity was born. Dragons and man had a very difficult and long history. Man does not only include humans for even the elves had a part in this ancient history. We are connected to one another just as every being on the earth are. However; legends say that the connection between dragon and man run much deeper.
It is said that dragons were created not too long after man by the Great Spirit. Dragons were sent here to guide us on this earth. Dragons taught us survival, wisdom, strength, and magic. Sadly humans are not perfect and one of our imperfections led to our downfall. Greed. A human man became greedy of the dragons great power; believing that the dragons were keeping their true power all to themselves. Blinded by ignorance and rage the man began to mislead other humans onto his side. Humans had a great divide; those who stayed with the dragons and those who followed the man's fury.
A war broke out amongst the two sides. The war is said to have lasted a hundred years before a woman came forward in the middle of the battlefield. Legends talk endlessly of her beauty; a woman so beautiful that the war stopped to watch her. A woman who had seemed to be a goddess brought to the earth to end the war around them. She walked up to stand beside the dragon in the front lines; her hands placed outwards in a stopping motion.
"What has this war brought us but pain and death?" It is said her piercing blue gaze met the eyes of all of the onlookers as she spoke in her mystical voice. "None of us have gained anything over this war. My fellow humans." She is said to pause while looking at the opposing side, her gaze filling the men with guilt in their hearts. "Let us reach an improvisation. Let us reconnect with our fellow brothers and sisters. We are all creatures of this land. Let us walk together instead of apart."
It is said that she held her hand to the leading dragon placing her small delicate hand upon his giant forearm. The name of the dragon and woman are told differently in every legend. A story passed on for so long names have seemed to have gotten confused. It is said that the woman then asked the dragon to connect its life force with her, so that forever on the dragons and the humans could share power and work together. They were the first dragon and human to connect lives together.
With this agreement it is said that dragons will only connect themselves to those who are of pure heart. Within a life time only twenty dragons shall connect themselves to man. Elves, dwarfs, and humans alike all have the chance to be connected but only if pure of heart. Thus a dragon egg is only brought into the world on the day a child of pure heart is born, one day to be brought together by fate.
Corruption and greed were of course never fully gone from mankind. Dragon eggs were at times stolen and purchased in secret by the rulers of the seven kingdoms in hopes that their heirs could be lucky enough to hatch an egg. The egg is then forced to wait generations for a match to be born. No matter how high a price I don't believe my father would be involved in such a trade. He had morals. So the question remained. Why did papa have a dragon egg? I suppose it is possible that he didn't know what was within the package. Though he wouldn't risk his life without knowing what was inside. I pursed my lips in thought. He must have known it was stolen from a royal kingdom. No one would send soldiers to destroy a village unless provoked. My eyes drifted over to the emerald green dragon as it watched me put together the bow. It wasn't Konoha if he was heading there, and it wasn't Otogakure if he is sending me there. So I wonder which kingdom was wicked enough to hold a dragon egg hostage.
Without a doubt losing the egg may have been bad for the kingdom, but being found out they had stolen it would have been reason for a full out war on them. My shoulders dropped slightly at the thought of my village. The fire and screams echoing in the back of my mind. A single tear slid down my face.
I shook myself out of my thoughts wiping the wet streak from my face as I reached into the bag the dragon egg had been in. I took out the string I knew my father always carried; slicing off a large piece and tying it to the end of the bow. I pulled it back a few times to check for strength and then continued to tie my arrows together. I had enough supplies to make a total of fifty arrows. It wasn't much but it would have to do. If I was to make it to Otogakure I would need to make some money and stop by a village on the way.
I made a mental check list of the ones that would be safe to visit. There was a small tea village about five days travel of here that would more than likely would be the last place the soldiers would look. It was a remote village with no ties to any kingdom. The village was between two mountains where Basilisk's path was the only other route into getting there without a steep climb. Even if the soldiers did think to search there, I would get there much faster. I delicately placed my fingers on my mother's necklace. If I didn't make a good enough kill I'd have to sell it. My heart felt heavy at the very idea.
I gently grabbed the dragon off my shoulder; its sharp talons trying to dig into my shirt in protest. I placed it down in the crook of the tree.
"I am going to get us breakfast." At the word the little creature perked up, its golden eyes seeming to have a happy shine to them. "Stay right here."
I knew that even if the creature didn't understand the exact words I had spoken it understood the signals I was emotionally giving it. I clicked again towards Zephyra and turned back out of the small clearing. With two arrows in hand, and my bow ready to shoot I silently crept along the trees. The small clearing was where the river flowed; meaning animals were to be close by to the life giving stream.
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I allowed the raw land to consume me; allowing the very trees to guide me; to lead me. I was led by intuition, my thoughts clear as I felt the invisible string pull me along towards my prey. Ahead of me was a large hare. It was silent; it did not shy away from me. This deep in the woods animals had no fear of humans. I brought my arrow to the bow, pulling the string back against my cheek; my eyes aiming at the hare's head. I didn't want to cause it unnecessary pain. The arrow whizzed through the air and the hare went limp.
I went over to it bowing my head in thanks. I prayed for the animal's spirit to return to the Great Spirit and thanked it for its sacrifice. Gently taking my arrow out so I could reuse it again, I picked up the hare and began walking back to the clearing. I did not enjoy hunting and it was something I usually left up to my father.
Once back to the clearing I cut up the meat and washed it in the river. I then took the extra wood I had and put it together to start a fire. Placing the meat in the fire to cook I cleaned off the hares skin. The furs would sell well in the village. Ripping up parts of the bag I wrapped the fur inside the cloth in order to keep it clean, and placed it into the remainder of the bag. I then buried the bones offering the animal my last prayer.
By the time I had finished taking care of the remainder of the hare the meat had finished. I could sense the little dragon's impatience as I tried to convey the message that it needed to cool. I wrinkled my nose at the meat. The outside of it had been charred by the fire and there were no herbs on it. I sighed as the dragon began to pace around the meat, staring at it intently. Once a piece was cool enough for me to grasp I brought it over to the little creature. It rapidly grabbed the meat out of my hand taking no time in devouring the entire piece.
I giggled as I prepared our rations. I put a pile in front of the dragon listening to it as it made that purring sound again as it ate contentedly. I did my best to chew the rough meat and swallow it down quickly in order to at least calm down my hunger. Once we had our fill I wrapped up the rest of the cooked meat for later and placed it into the bag. Zephrya, the dragon and I had our finally drinks of water before getting ready to start moving again.
The little emerald dragon made its way back to my shoulder, tickling me with its talons as it climbed up. I looked over to it and smiled. "We are going to have to come up with a name for you later." Without a response I climbed onto Zephrya giving her a small pat on the side of the neck. I didn't want to overwork her after last night. We took off down the river at a slow pace and I allowed my mind to be blank. It was just Zephrya, the dragon and I. There was nothing in the world but us and the wild around us. I was at peace even if only for the moment.
Again sorry it was cut a bit shorter than i intended! New chapter up tomorrow. :3
Ja nae!