Hoarfrost and Wildfire

Chapter Two: The Cave

After a week of travel and spending nearly all if my stolen coin, I finally made it to the coast and gained passage on a trade ship headed for Tain. It was perhaps the only place I could go and still keep my existence a secret, but the only way to get there was to cross the sea and I hated boats.

The ship was dreadful, the moving water made me feel ill and the crew kept propositioning me for s*x. The men quickly learned to stay away after I beat the few who made a lame attempt to crawl into my bed while I slept.

Being around so much water had also dulled my fire, but I knew it was only sleeping, waiting, mearly weakened by the tumultuous ocean.

Before I knew it nearly a month had passed and we docked in a small port and I could finally let out the breath I had been holding since leaving my homeland. I had escaped and nothing would ever be the same.

On my first night I slept in one of the ancient willow trees that dotted the land. Its trunk was engraved with the cryptic symbols of the ancients. I found its presence to be calming.

I carefully hauled myself up and hunkered down for the evening, the blackness of the night cradled me as exhaustion set in and I finally let sleep consume me.

I was startled awake by a blast of wind that nearly knocked me from the tree 'find the beast' it spat. I quickly and clumsily climbed down in my half aware state, letting The Mother guide me through the eerily quiet woods, careful not to disturb any slumbering monsters.

My pointed ears twitched as I drew closer and closer to what I determined were the shouts of men. I quickly crept closer, hoping that the nature around me would keep me hidden and gazed into a small meadow that concealed a massive cave.

The men were dressed in hunter attire and fought against a dragon, an extremely rare and deadly beast. It had clearly been putting up quite the fight as I could see its blood staining the earth, yet it failed to use its wings and take off into the sky. Instead, it chose to stay and guard the cave with its life. As I watched in horror I began to wonder what was so valuable that it would rather stay and die protecting. The hunters seemed oblivious to the creatures true motives and only thirsted to deal the killing blow.

A few moments later the dragons body fell limply to the ground, shaking the earth as it fell. The men cheered at the victory and removed its head, cleanly cleaving it form the body. They promptly left after, dragging the head with them.

I did not realize how deeply sorry i felt for the poor thing until tears until that moment, when had begun falling from my face. I quickly wiped them away and had to remind myself that things die and get killed, its just a part of the natural order no matter how much it pains me to see the innocent things fall.

Even still I felt pity for the creature. I did what I could to provide it with a proper send off, using my wild fire I sent its body to the mother and said a silent prayer. As I finished up a gental breeze called to me again 'find the beast' I felt a small tug pulling me to the caves enterance.

So I began to explore the damp, musty smelling space that had opened up in the earth. I trailed my fingers along the cold stone wall that seemed to buzz with energy, the pull to go deeper grew stronger with every step.

As I continued on a faint scraping noise echoed against the walls. I took a slow breath, trying to calm my racing heart as I wondered what might be lurking ahead.

The scraping noise was much louder, and closer now as the path came to an end opening up into a massive cavern filled to the brim with massive crystals that were known as blood quartz. It was a rare stone that could only be cultivated in a dragons nest.

At the center of the room there was a large obsidian colored orb, a dragons egg. Another scraping noise, this time sounding more desperate. The eggs of dragons dont last long without there mothers.

An unnatural wind blew in 'save him'

I bolted to the egg. Its mother died to protect it, and I'd be dammed to legit perish along with her. I wrapped my hands around the egg, its perfectly smooth surface felt colder than ice. 'please let this work' I said to no one except myself, pushing my wildfire magic into the egg. I let it consume as much of my flame as it wanted.

After a short time the egg began to glow the color of blood and small cracks begun to form. I laughed histaricaly as my palms burned from the pain of my own fire, but I didn't dare to stop.

Just as it became unbearable, the egg exploded, knocking me back against a wall. I felt my head crack open against a bit of crystal that was poking out, causing my vision to swim. And then everything faded to black.

I awoke an unknown amount of time later, wincing at the sharp twinge that landed through my skull. My hands ached, now permanently branded with the mark of a dragon. And somehow, I was still alive.

My gaze fell to the weight in my lap, in it lay a scaled, winged beast no bigger than a small dog. I gently pet its silken body, envious of its deadly beauty and innocence. The creature stirred with a yawn and nuzzled its head into my palm. I laughed and cried, such a beautiful and terrible gift.

I scooped up the babe and moved us to a more secluded corner of the cavern. It was hidden enough that we wouldn't be seen if anyone decided to poke around.

"alright beast" I said, "I'm going to hunt us some dinner" the creature screeched in some sort of understanding and curled up next to my disguarded pack. I hated the thought of leaving him behind, but my stomach ached and the only way we would have anything was if I went out and got it.

I carefully crept put of the cave, and thankfully it was the dead of night making it easier to stay concealed. I was thankful that the sky was clear and full of stars glittering around a waning moon. Perfect hunting weather.

I did not have to go far to find our dinner. A large buck stood proudly in a meadow grazing on the local flora, completely unbothered. I quietly raised my bow and loosed an arrow, my aim impeccable, even more so now with my fae senses.

The arrow went straight through its neck, killing it instantly. I thanked The Mother for the meal and slung its carcus over my shoulder to haul it back to the cave.

Apon my return, I made a small fire and cleaned the deer. My mouth watered at the smell of it cooking over the flames. When it was finally ready me and the beast feasted, letting the meal warm our bellies. Before to long exhaustion took me and I slept more deeply and peacefully than I ever had.