Authors
note: Head hopping story, each paragraph swaps between the two main characters.
It
was time for me to leave the lair before my siblings. I grabbed a clawful of
gems and coins and flew out into the desert sunrise.
Mother
says it is time for me to go. I am the last of my clutch still in her lair.
This morning she handed me a sack and says if I come back tonight, she will eat
me.
I
fly high up in the sky, the blue camouflaging my scales. I see an oasis by a
rock formation that looks nothing like the nose horn of a great wyrm. As I land
on a high ledge, I see that there are even humanoids present for enslavement.
I
fly just skimming the sand. I enjoy the warmth on my brass scales. As dragons
go, I am still little and the sand provides swell camouflage. I stopped to
examine a rock formation. The walls were mostly sheer. The sandstone was smooth
with a deep crag in the center that has a sand bottom. The few overhangs pointed toward an oasis
that contained a temporary encampment. I lay on a lower ledge with a sigh of
contentment. Watching humanoids is my favorite pastime.
I
heard a sigh from an outcropping below me. I looked and saw a brass dragon, my
size, with a sack, staring at my slaves. This is my territory. I breathed a
line of lightning at the interloper.
A
bolt of lightning struck me from the clear, blue sky. I swung my head to look
and saw a blue dragon on the shelf above me. He would not corrupt or enslave these
people. “Be gone beguiler.” I blew a line of fire at him.
I
leapt off my perch, leaving my coins and gemstones, partially avoiding the
return breath weapon. “This is my territory, you be gone.” I felt the tingle in
my back teeth and let loose another bolt of electricity.
I
rolled to the right, off my pedestal and dropped the sack to the sand, to avoid
the second bolt. “Wrong. I will cauterize this territory of your presence.” Flames
licked my throat so I sent a second line of fire at the evil dragon.
I
spent too much on that last blast of electricity. Instead I dove toward the
interloper, claws extended, prepared to tear it apart. I screamed, “I shall
save my breath and simply rip you to shreds.”
I
dodged his attempt to claw me and again spit a line of fire at the offender.
“Liar. You have no breath left with which to do battle.”
Now
I was below the other dragon and still without a spark. I took off, away from
the oasis. I could come back and reclaim it another day.
Typical
blue dragon, if they cannot win they run. “Coward.” I bellowed giving chase
with a line of flame searing his scales between his wings.
I
was in pain and still had no spark. I had one chance, to turn and attack the
oasis. I could dry up the water, then kill the brass dragon when it is distracted,
then replace the water to my grateful subjects. I banked and turned straight
back towards the brass dragon. “I am no coward.” I declared. I would hit it on
the way through.
The
blue brute was coming back towards me, intending no doubt to hit me head on. I
rolled in midair just before he could bite me. His claws missed me but I
scraped his underside. “If you are not a coward then why do you run?” I
demanded, as I had to turn and again give chase, this time back towards the
oasis.
Now
I got the electric tingle. I could wait until after enacting my plan; but, I
should have another charge built up by then. I was not a coward. I made an S-turn
to send a bolt of lightning back at my pursuer.
The
electricity stung. I had flames to return fire and did so with gusto. It was a
direct hit and the blue dragon smashed into the backside of the rock formation.
I flew back to the blue dragons perch and sat triumphant. This was my oasis to
guard and these were my people now.