Chapter Two

About three hours into the hunt, the storm was starting to recede a little bit. It was still raining, but at least the wind had died down, along with the lightning and thunder. Signs of the sun rising were starting appear as well. Ukiah would pause every few steps to listen for anything that would give its own position away. He's been at this for hours and hasn't even found as much of a sign that the Night Fury was even in the forest. Or any dragon for that matter.

"By this time it could be half way around the world!" He thought angrily to himself. He knew he was being idiotic and rash for even thinking about hunting a dragon, especially the one that no one's ever seen. Shaking his head angrily at himself, he then stopped as soon as he remembered that he was still on the hunt. Even though the dragon might be gone from the Fallis Woods, he knew the game hadn't gone anywhere.

Switching his attention from the dragon to the game, he began searching for animals that would make him a profit, rather than a trade. Fox pelts sold quite well if they were in decent shape, and in a beautiful color. Leather apparel sold well also, but he didn't have the time, nor the aptitude to even consider making belts, boots, gloves, and bands; well, minus a little project he was working on. He just wanted at least one good fox pelt.

An hour went by, and the sun was just peaking a little bit over the hills and trees. Ukiah found himself accomplishing his goal. Having found one fox that was holed up trying to take cover from the rain, he made quick work killing and skinning it. "Heh, this will make some quick gold…" He quietly muttered, smiling while holding the red pelt to carefully observe it. With this, maybe he could get a new quiver! At least tools for him to make a new one."

Rolling the pelt up and tying it to his vest with one of the few remaining straps dangling from it, he then began to make his way back to his cave. Thinking of the huge waste of time he spent trying to track an animal that can fly, and frankly never shows itself, his body sent him a message that he was starving. Mainly due to the activities in the past few hours, and not having eaten anything before heading out. Shaking his head, he sped up to get to his cave.

Just as he was arriving, he looked down the cliff and scanned the shoreline a quarter mile away. With the humidity from the storm, and the heat from the ever rising sun, a thick fog began to rise from the sea and sandy shore. Ukiah loved fog, as it seemed to calm him and make him think for some reason. He guessed that it was just because of the sense that he got from it, almost making the area mystical. Smiling, he walked into the cave and set his crossbow down, reaching to grab a large bag of jerky. Strapping it to his vest, he then grabbed another small sack, this one full of berries. With a day like today, he decided to take his meal to the beach.

Just before he left his cave a second time, he then gently reached for a leather headband. It was the project he was working on for a couple of days, and sitting on the beach would be a perfect time for him to work on it.

The thought of sitting on the beach seemed to visibly relax him. It wasn't very often he got to sit and do nothing. The warming morning, the fog rolling off the ocean, and the ability to not worry about food seemed to amplify a majestic feeling in the air. It was times like this that he let himself think about his past, not that he knew that much about it to begin with. It was mainly him contemplating the 'what if's?' of his life; such as who he really was, or who his parents were. All he knew for certain, was that he was a Crevite, from the island of Crev. His guardian told him that, for the short amount of time he had her in his life. Shaking his head out of frustration on the subject, usually because of what it entailed, he continued on his own path towards his destination. With the sun rising, the grey mist turned into a blazing orange.

The trek down was a little steep, as it was a path that he forged himself. Though not directly off the cliff face, it zigzagged down, which turned it into a small hike. Inspecting the headband as he walked, he looked at the carvings he was working on. The headband was littered with small etches of Swallow birds, each one in a unique pose. It took him forever to get where he wanted with it, wasted two perfectly good headbands practicing.

Arriving at the beach, the fog was beginning to dissipate. Picking a large rock to sit on, he promptly sat down and pulled out a handful of his berries; inspecting the head band in more detail. Seeing one bird with an unfinished tail, he drew his dagger and began to etch at it carefully; performing small and simple strokes. He didn't know why he was spending so much time on this particular leather apparel. He usually just did a simple etch here and there, and then called it good.

"Guess this one seemed a little special to me…" He whispered to himself, answering the question in his head. Finishing the tail, he extended his arm out to inspect the Swallow. Not completely satisfied with it, he dug into his jerky bag and pulled out a handful. Putting a couple pieces in his mouth, a few fell out of the bag. "Ugh, great…" He growled, chewing the jerky as he kneeled down to pick up the few pieces. Just as he was doing so, the sand suddenly erupted from under him! The rock he was sitting on was shifted over as a torrential storm of sand whirled around him, throwing him onto the ground.

Rolling onto his back, he stared in horror at a dragon that had inhaled the pieces of jerky that he dropped. The dragon had buried itself in the sand, and he had no idea he was camped right over it! It was dark brown with black stripes running along its wings and spikes. It had to be the same dragon he saw last night! On four legs, still sleek looking, minus the spikes along the back; and for a dragon, it wasn't that big. But seeing it in the daylight, he could see rows of razor sharp teeth.

"Is this…a Night Fury?" Ukiah whispered, his blood freezing. He swore his heart stopped a few times.

The dragon hissed at Ukiah, making its teeth even more visible. It began to circle around him, though tenderly and slowly; like it was hurting. Finally getting his composure back, Ukiah propped himself up on his elbows. Staring at the angry dragon, he then got an idea. Slowly, he reached for his pouch of jerky. Unstrapping it from his vest, he then held it out for the dragon to see.

Almost immediately, the dragon stopped growling. Eyeing the jerky hungrily, it just waited to see what Ukiah would do. Seeing that the jerky pulled the dragons attention away from him, he whispered "All yours friend." At that he tossed it away from him. The dragon then hurriedly chased the bag, picking up the pieces of jerky that spilled out around it.

Ukiah promptly rolled to his feet. Grabbing the dagger that fell on the beach, he sprinted away from the dragon, who was busy trying to claw out the jerky from the bag. Getting to the pathway that led to his cave, he turned to see the dragon still working on getting the jerky out. That's when he noticed something that he never saw before. A single arrow was protruding from the side of the dragon. Staring at it with confusion, he finally realized why the dragon wasn't chasing him; and walking tenderly. It literally had a pain in its side. That would explain why it was more interested in his food; it couldn't hunt!

Torn, Ukiah wanted to run to get away from the near death experience he had; but he hated seeing an animal suffer. Yeah, he was a hunter, who had no problem killing his prey; but he never once toyed with his kills. He always made his killing blows both fast and painless as possible. This dragon might be able to make it another few weeks, maybe a couple of months; but it wouldn't be able survive longer than that while being hurt like that.

Sighing, he knew what he was going to do; he just didn't like it. All thoughts of him hunting and killing the dragon were gone. It was injured, and barely even able to travel on its own; let alone fend for itself. It wouldn't be a hunt, but a slaughter. Standing there, he waited for the dragon to notice him. Watching it, he studied its features. The dragon, while standing on all fours, came a little higher than his waist. It had large, piercing green eyes; adding to the sharp look it had with its spikes. Watching it enjoy the small meal of dried meat, he whispered quietly "How long has it been since you've eaten?"

The dragon finished clawing out the last piece of jerky from the burlap bag. Scooping it up with his tongue, the dragon quickly swallowed it. Ukiah could have sworn that it smiled, with small amounts of sand dripping from the corners of its mouth. Tenderly, the dragon turned and saw Ukiah watching it. Growling, the dragon narrowed his eyes at him.

"Easy…take it easy, friend." Ukiah whispered, extending his left hand out. His right held onto the dagger, just in case.

The dragon snarled at him, baring its teeth even more so. Ukiah froze, not really knowing what to do. If he moved closer, the dragon became more agitated. Staring at the dragon, he noticed the dragon transfixed by something. Following its eyes, he quickly found out that it was staring at his dagger. Swallowing, knowing what he was going to have to do, he dropped the dagger in the sand. Its blade stuck into the ground. Knowing that the dragon wouldn't like him approaching with his quiver full of bolts, he unstrapped it as well. Dropping it in the sand as well, he then raised his hands up and open.

"That better?" He asked, seeing the dragon stop growling. Inching his way towards the dragon, he then whispered "I see you've got an arrow in your side…if you let me, I'll get it out for you."

The dragon stared at Ukiah, realizing that he was actually trying to help it. Glancing nervously between the arrow sticking out, and the approaching hunter; the dragon slowly turned its side to face him. Laying down on the beach, it continued to watch Ukiah as he got closer.

Amazed that the dragon actually understood him, Ukiah dropped down onto his knees and began to observe the wound a little better. The arrow had to have been there for a little while, as dried blood had stained the dragon's scales. Three or four day's maybe? Amazingly, it wasn't infected; given that he just learned that this dragon likes to hide in the sand.

"Looks a little nasty." Ukiah whispered, gently gripping the shaft. Lightly tugging on it, he could tell the muscles had clamped around the arrowhead tightly. There was no way to get it out. Gently at least. Glancing nervously between the arrow and dragon, who was watching him warily, he then said aloud "Hold still. It's gonna hurt."

The dragon growled, glaring at Ukiah but made no motion to stop him.

Taking the growl as an acknowledgement, Ukiah again gripped the shaft a second time. Taking a deep breath, he counted out loud so he wouldn't surprise the dragon. "One…two…three!"

He jerked the arrow as hard as he could, leaning backwards to add to the force. The arrow pulled out, but also took a little bit of flesh with it. The dragon roared in pain, quivering as the shock factor ran through its body.

Ukiah landed on his butt, staring at the dragon and expecting it to turn on him. Watching with a terrified expression, he waited to see what it would do. Amazingly, the dragon did nothing, but lay there. Its eyes were closed in pain, but it made no effort to chase him.

Breathing a sigh of relief, he slowly rolled to his feet. Walking over to where he dropped his dagger and quiver, he then said aloud "There. You should be feeling better within few hours. You'll still be a little tender, but at least you'll be healing." Picking up the quiver and dusting the sand off of it, he added "Glad you didn't try killing me after."

The dragon finally stopped shaking. Taking deep breaths as if to help it relax itself, it then opened its eyes and looked at Ukiah; who at this point had his dagger sheathed.

"Cheers, friend." Ukiah commented, doing a mock bow to the dragon "Try not to get shot again. I don't know how I'll feel about pulling another arrow out of you." With that, he turned around and began to walk up the path. Observing the arrow, he saw that it was a shrewdly crafted one. It wasn't a metal arrowhead, but made of a chiseled dragon tooth. "Crafty." He whispered, admiring the craftsmanship. That was something he wouldn't have thought of using.

Arriving at the cave, he let out a long sigh as he dropped his quiver on the ground. For a day that was supposed to be relaxing for him, he felt like he just finished hunting the entire day.

"Heh, a hunt actually sounds relaxing…" He groaned wearily, kneeling down and grabbing an armful of wood from within the cave. Stacking it in his designated fire pit, he then made his way to grab some salted venison he kept in the back of his shrewd home. By the time he returned with two massive slabs of venison, he was shocked to see a fire roaring in place of the wood he stacked. "What the…" He mumbled, staring at it blankly. Setting the meat on a skillet, he cautiously walked out of the cave. Seeing nothing near the entrance, he was about to turn around when he noticed a small stream of sand falling to his left. Looking up, he gasped as he stared up into green, jaded eyes. The dragon was sitting atop his cave!

Unable to say anything at first, Ukiah just stared into the dragon's eyes. They were different. Almost…playful, or quizzical. Lost in the dragon's stare, he then noticed something that also caused him to wonder. Hanging on one of its spikes along the right wing, was the headband he was working on. He completely forgot about it!

Knowing that the dragon would have ended him back at the beach, Ukiah slowly began to nod in understanding. "Come on then. Better make sure that wound doesn't get infected. Besides, I'm sure you're still starving."

The dragon slowly walked down the side of the cave, still acting a little tender, though a lot better than when the arrow was still in it. Ukiah was already in the cave, setting the skillet over the fire. Looking over at the entrance, he watched the dragon walk in. Taking it's time, it then laid down next to the fire, letting out a sigh of relief.

"Heh, you sound like you've had my kind of day." Ukiah whispered with a jesting in his voice. Sitting down on a rock he used for his seat, he was surprised to see the dragon's wing swing in front of him, with the headband hanging in front of him. Gently taking it, he watched the dragon silently fold his wing back.

The two sat in silence as Ukiah cooked the meat, though he did run back to his food storage to grab a raw trout for the dragon. While the dragon tore into the fish with its razor like teeth, Ukiah cut a piece of the venison, testing to see if it was cooked enough. Letting the hot piece of meat simmer in his mouth, he stared at the dragon with fascination. Less than a few hours ago, he set out to go kill a Night Fury; now, here he was tending to a wounded dragon. He didn't know if it was a Night Fury, but who knew to tell him it wasn't?

Letting the meat cook a little longer, he stood up and slowly walked over to the dragon. "Alright then friend, let's see what we can do to help your wound heal a little faster…"

The dragon let Ukiah inspect his wound, not making any sounds or threatening motions towards him.

Getting on his knees, Ukiah tenderly wiped some of the fresh blood that had come out since the arrow was removed. "Doesn't look too bad." He began to say, doing his best to clean it "So dragon, since you've made yourself comfortable in my home, mind telling me if you have a name?"

Three days passed for Ukiah, and they were the fastest three days he ever experienced. Not only being exposed to a creature that was supposed to be treated as a feared and merciless killer, but he learned that dragons tended to have similar emotions to a person. Happiness, sadness, anger, even being methodical. Arrow showed him all those emotions.

Ukiah chose to name the dragon Arrow for two reasons actually. First reason being obvious, as he pulled one out of the dragon. Second was because the dragon looked like one. From the side, the spikes along the wing and back made him look like a barbed arrowhead. His tail fins also made it look like one. Besides that, the dragon didn't seem to mind being called that.

Ukiah stared at the dragon laying on the other side of the fire. Night had set, and now he was simply waiting for sleep to overcome him. Arrow was busy eating a pile of fish he gathered earlier that day. Since Ukiah depleted most of his food storage to feed the two, and being unable to go hunt as he was taking care of the wounded dragon most of the time; the dragon decided to help him out as he was feeling stronger and healthier; thanks to Ukiah's diligence in washing the wound with salt water, and keeping dirt and other debris out. Since then, Arrow never left Ukiah's side; minus the time he went to gather fish for him.

Standing up, Ukiah then let out a long yawn and said aloud "Wooh boy…better get to bed. I'll be leaving early in the morning." Turning, he walked past a basket loaded with pelts, leather belts and other apparel, and other items he gathered to be traded. He still needed to go to Thariin to resupply his tools. "Guess I'll see you in the morning, Arrow."

The dragon let out a long yawn as well, agreeing with Ukiah. Digging slightly into the ground, the dragon threw a small layer of loose dirt over him and laid his head down.

Laying on a large bear pelt, Ukiah watched his new friend fall asleep. Shaking his head, he thought to himself "How did I ever think I'd kill such a beast. He's been more loyal to me than anything I've ever had." The thought humbled him. Though he loved to hunt, and frankly was the only way he could survive; he wondered what would have happened if he tried to find a wolf pup or something like that. No matter, he now had a dragon as a friend. Something he was sure no one else had.

Smiling, Ukiah let himself drift into sleep; with one eye open.