For a moment, the entire forest seemed void of any life. The birds that were once chirping fell silent, the crickets stopped their songs, even the leaves crackling in the breeze seemed to freeze in place. Evelyn stared in the direction of the crash, paralyzed by the startling realization of what happened. Only when her chest ached did she realize she was still holding her breath. Once she had regained her bearings, a war broke out in her mind.
On one hand, this was her lifelong dream, the very thing she wanted since she was a small child, sitting in her mother’s lap as she read stories of the big, powerful creatures; the chance to aid a dragon in need. Her heart fluttered at the prospect of starting her career now, ahead of all her future companions. The story she would be able to tell everyone she came across. Evelyn, the hero dragon healer who saved the first dragon she ever came across.
However, the sane part of her mind tugged on her decision. While her mother would bring her into the forest to watch birds and read stories, they never ventured deeper than the clearing. If the dragon crashed too far south, would she be able to navigate the maze of trees and brush? Could she find her way back? Even if she found the dragon, she hadn’t the faintest idea what to do. If the injuries were severe, or worse, fatal, not only did she not have the tools to heal the dragon, but she also had no knowledge of dragon anatomy except for the basics of most reptiles. If it were a mild, shallow wound, she could possibly help—but at that point, its rider could just provide field aid. This all assumed the dragon would even let her near enough to examine the wounds. She was just a strange, random human who more than likely was of no use to the dragon.
Evelyn shook her head. “What am I thinking?” she muttered to herself as she started in the direction toward the crash site. Of course she had to help; what kind of healer would she be if she didn’t make sure the dragon was alright?
Beyond the clearing, there was no path to follow. She weaved through the thick oak trees, padding through the tall, unkempt grass and flowers that filled the area between trunks. Taking cautious steps, she dreaded stepping on anything that would be offended by her uninvited intrusion. Each time she would step on something thin and round, she winced, anticipating the fangs of a snake sinking into her leg, only to realize seconds later it was merely a twig. Every sound around her caused her to flinch, her imagination running wild as to the source of the sounds. A snapping twig could be a coyote stalking her in the brush, waiting for the most opportune time to strike, or the rustling leaves a bobcat leaning in to pounce. She swallowed her fears and kept forward, her determination driving her onward.
After around a half hour of walking, she saw the first sign of disturbance: a group of trees with multiple limbs snapped off at the top, making the sky more visible through the thinned groups of leaves. Her pulse quickened with the feeling of anticipation growing, as if her body was speeding up on its own. The damage increased in intensity as she progressed; the tops of trees were missing, then entire halves of trees ripped from their lower parts, the shattered remnants of bark and wood laid wide spread across the forest floor. Finally, she came upon a section of stumps that had jagged edges of bark where the rest of the tree had been torn off and shattered, an area that seemed to have been crushed by a large creature.
However, beyond the wreckage, there was no sign of the offending creature. Perhaps it was well enough that it took off, which would bring Evelyn relief in knowing that it was alright. Yet her heart sank a little; she was too slow and her opportunity to get a glimpse at her potential future flew away. With an exasperated sigh, she took one final look around before turning to go home.
Just then, a new scent reached her, one she rarely noticed when in the forest, but very prominent and overbearing during surgeries: blood. She looked back and forth across the crash site before finding a splotch of crimson on one of the shredded stumps. The iron-like smell grew thicker as she approached, and upon further inspection, she found a large pool of the dark crimson blood behind the stump. It was a lot of blood, but was it a lot for a dragon? Surely this much blood loss would kill many larger animals, but Evelyn had no way of knowing how much was too much for a dragon.
She noticed a thinning trail protruding from the puddle going deeper into the forest.
So it didn’t take off... she thought, following the trail along. It led to a section of brush and trees that shifted and contorted, trickles of blood mottling the greenery with crimson. After a few minutes, she heard a deep, strained grumble ahead of her. Startled, she hid behind a tree; her breath quickened, her legs trembling beneath her. Risking a peek, she noticed the ground give way ahead, a gully forming in the brush-covered forest floor. Over the ground’s crest, something smooth and yellow contrasted with the greenery in the background. Is... Is that...?
The smooth yellow surface slowly rose with a ragged, labored breath before sinking back down, huffing. Evelyn slowly crept towards the large, yellow dragon, freezing with every breath it took. Each step was taken with care, as if walking across eggshells in the middle of the night. Finally, she got a clear picture of the beast sprawled out before her. The dragon was about the length of a bus head to tail, barely able to get a full picture. A Shockwing, she presumed; the books barely made mention of this type of dragon aside from their existence and color.
Her eyes scanned the saturated yellow scales that ran along the whole of its body, broken up with charred spots along the side and around the wings. Said wings were outstretched across the ground, making it easy to spot the blackened edges of the brown, cloth-looking membrane. They were blistered and seared with some holes burnt through, the scent of burnt flesh filling the air.
So that’s why it crashed…
Continuing her scan, Evelyn's eyes were drawn to the red-stained foreleg. The stain originated from a growing pool of blood around its shoulder, trickling down its body from the constantly oozing, gaping gash. It was difficult to see how deep the wound was, but Evelyn knew that stopping the bleeding was the priority.
Evelyn peered at the dragon’s head. While there were no injuries, its eyes were closed, teeth bared as it winced and emitted low, pained growls from deep in its throat, almost as if it were whimpering. She slowly inched to the edge of the drop, looking from the wound to the dragon's face to see if it noticed her.
Should I alert it of my presence? She thought, questioning her own movement. Would it... Kill me if I got too close? Would it understand what I’m trying to do? Evelyn tried to think back to the books her mother would read to her about dragons. They mentioned some special humans could understand dragons and vice versa, but there was nothing explicitly stating a dragon could understand a regular human. Was it just that dragons never liked to interact with normal humans, or were they physically not able to? Her heart was pounding within her chest, smashing her ribs like a feral dog in a cage. She wished for nothing more than to have the knowledge she was to learn about these magnificent beasts at that moment..
With a quiet, deep breath, she took one step closer and spoke, “E-easy now.” Its eyelids flung open and a pair of beautiful, majestic blue eyes pierced Evelyn with the same ferocity and fear as many animals at the clinic. With an audible gulp, Evelyn continued, “I won’t hurt you, I’m here to help.”
With one more step, she was inches away from the damaged scales, the smell of iron suffocating with the rush of blood. Before she could examine it, the dragon wriggled back, recoiling at the attempt to touch it. A threatening growl rumbled deeply from it, causing Evelyn to step back and meet its eyes.
“Stay… back…”
Evelyn froze. The air was stripped from her lungs and the world around her disappeared, leaving only the dragon. Did… Did it just talk to me?! She tried to come up with some reasonable explanation for what she just heard; maybe it was her mind playing tricks on her, or maybe its rider was nearby and Evelyn just didn’t notice them. She spun, eyes whirling around for another owner of the voice she knew she heard, but found nothing. No, this voice clearly came from the dragon; a strained, raspy sound.
“Stay… back… human,” It—no, she continued, pressing her back against the dirt mound behind her. Evelyn’s mind was frantically jumping around thoughts, unable to settle on just one reaction. She tried to mutter a response, but her mouth just hung open, no air available from her lungs to say anything. A staring contest ensued, the grumbling from the dragon’s throat the only sound Evelyn could register. There could have been a charging bear behind her and she would not notice.
This contest went on for what felt like an eternity. She searched her mind for the right reaction, yet all her training with angry dogs and ferocious cats seemed fruitless now. However, she could think of no other solutions that didn’t involve either hurting the dragon more, or worse, getting herself killed. She took one more deep breath and raised her arms out like she would with any other animal, trying to make herself as non-threatening as possible.
“Please,” Evelyn started, “I mean no harm. My name is Evelyn, I just want to help you.” Despite everything in her body telling her to not, she maintained eye contact, staying in place as she waited to see her reaction.
The dragon looked Evelyn up and down, scanning her body presumably to assess her as a threat, which Evelyn hoped she did enough to show she was not.
“Maybe I should just kill her,” the dragon growled softly, as if talking to itself. “Though, she does not seem to be one of those rider scum. However, she has now seen me.” Evelyn’s eyes went wide; her legs felt numb, almost like her whole body gained a hundred pounds of extra weight from the fear.
“Please don’t. I swear I—” Before Evelyn could finish, the dragon let out a shaky gasp.
“You… understood me?” The dragon interrupted. Evelyn could only nod in response, tears starting to form at the corner of her eyes. The growl got lower and louder as anger built in the dragon's eyes. “So you are one of them!” Every hair on Evelyn’s body rose, her skin crawling as she saw electronic charges spark out from the dragon's teeth, now bared at Evelyn.
“W-Wait!” In a jolt of panic, Evelyn tried to take a step back, but the ground gave way under her, slipping backwards, hitting the soft, elevating dirt behind her. As she scrambled to get away from the impending doom in front of her, her hand touched something metallic. The medallion she found must have fallen out of her pocket when she fell. For whatever reason, she gripped it and held up her arms, shielding her face as the dragon opened its maw, revealing the blinding light of a charged lightning strike. She closed her eyes and waited for the supercharged death she had subjected herself to. No going to the academy, no healing dragons and saving the most magnificent creatures in the world. Her only fate was to be killed by the first one she tried to help.
She waited… and waited, but no death came. She slowly opened her eyes and lowered her arms just enough to see why the dragon had stopped her attack. The dragon had clamped her mouth shut, no more sparks radiating from her mouth, her eyes curiously fixated on the medallion.
“You are not one of them,” the dragon said, her voice much calmer, more surprised than anything. “That emblem—the dragon and ichneumon. You are who I am looking for?” It almost sounded as if she cooed a message of hope, hope that must have been long lost.
“Well, I—” Evelyn stopped herself. Telling the truth would certainly lead to her death, she had no idea what the dragon was talking about. The dragon was at ease, or at least as at ease as she could be, because of whatever the medallion represented, so Evelyn had to take the advantage. Just like other animals, gain their trust and they will let you help them. “Yes,” Evelyn lied, “I am. Will you let me look at your wounds?”
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
The dragon looked Evelyn up and down. As she looked down at her wound, her face recoiled into a wince. The low growl she emitted made Evelyn take a step back. The dragon tried to move her shoulder, which seemed to cause a bout of pain.
”Fine, if you insist.”
Despite the difficulty lack of training and equipment caused, Evelyn scanned the immediate area, searching for anything that could effectively stop the bleeding. All around her were tall oak trees, blacking out most of the sun. Moss built up at the base of each tree. Wet, it could help clean the blood like a cloth, but not for stopping bleeding. Beyond the first wave of trees, she noticed an area with more sunlight breaking through the canopy than the rest of the forest. A closer inspection revealed another small clearing. The ground was populated with multiple clusters of flowers with small, white petals and multiple leaves protruding from the tall stems.
Yarrow, perfect! Evelyn ran to the clearing and started picking every yarrow plant she could find and brought it back to the dragon, who looked curiously at the pile of flowers.
As carefully as she could, Evelyn climbed onto the dragon's side and eased over to the wound. She left the pile of yarrow above the shoulder and picked out a handful. The gash was deep and wide. Blood streamed smoothly from the wound, quelling her fears of an artery being cut.
“This will sting, but it will stop the bleeding.” After a nod of acknowledgement from her, Evelyn took some of the petals and gently placed them over the gash. A growl followed a wince, but she kept still as more petals were applied, soaking up the blood. As more was placed, the flow of blood wavered, but still seeped through. She placed the leaves over the blood soaked petals and used her weight to apply pressure. Though not as rapid, blood flowed from the few openings in the leaves. The bleeding wouldn’t stop. Looking around for any wounds she may have missed, she noticed she was clutching something near her chest. “Could you move your claw? I want to see if—”
“No,” the dragon quickly snapped. She shook her head and continued calmly. “No, I do not have any chest wounds, trust me.”
Doubt crept into Evelyn’s mind, but pushing the lightning breathing dragon did not appeal to her. She gave a nod before releasing pressure from the wound. Blood still seeped from under the leaves. It was not a proper bandage and the leaves would not contain the spill long enough for her blood to clot. Using the rest of the yarrow leaves, she tried to tie the stems together as a rope to help keep the makeshift bandage in place. To her dismay, the stems were too fragile and flimsy to keep tight without snapping. A grunt of frustration escaped from Evelyn as the last stem snapped. “This will have to do for now, but it will need proper care soon. This is the best I can do right now. For your wings.” She slid off her side and took a closer look at the burns traced across the soft membrane of her wings. The edges were black base to tip, blistering the entire way, the singes fading up the wing. She paused in thought. The only other animal she could think of with this type of wings were bats. Though she can’t think of a time anyone mentioned how to treat burns on them, let alone treated one herself. Perhaps it would be best to just treat it like any other burn for now, but there was no water nearby. Maybe the moss is damp enough. The rainless days gone by limited her hope, but she managed to find a few splotches with some moisture. She gathered a handful and started dabbing balls of moss along the burns, cooling the skin gradually. At first, she recoiled her wings, but stopped after bracing for the pain.
“So,” Evelyn started, partially wanting to pass the time, but mostly to keep the dragon distracted from the pain. “What is your name and how did this happen? Do you have a rider somewhere?”
”My name is Delain. And no, I do not have a rider. I am…” She paused, her eyes swaying in contemplation. “I was being pursued by a Flamebreath dragon. They got a few hits on me before I charged up my sonic flight. Once I did, I lost them. For now.”
Sonic flight? She thought. Nothing in her books mentioned dragon’s abilities beyond their breath weapons. Perhaps the Corp wanted to keep those a secret.
Delain yowled. Her wing twitched painfully. After a brief shock, Evelyn realized the moss she was using was now bone dry. Uttering a curse, she replaced it with a fresh ball, though that dried all too quickly. And the next and the next. Frustration built with every attempt, and soon all moss balls dried up. Not even half the wing was treated. Evelyn threw the moss to the ground. Her eyes watered as she looked to Delain, thinking of any way to apologize.
”I-I don’t—”
“Do not fret,” Delain interrupted. “I think I can—” Suddenly, she looked to the sky and hissed. “How did they find me so soon?” Panicked, she looked down to where she clutched her chest and then to Evelyn. “Evelyn, was it? I have no choice but to trust you with him.”
Evelyn felt puzzled. Him? Was her rider around after all? Maybe he was hurt too. She watched as she lowered her claw, showing her what she was hiding. Not a wound like Evelyn feared. It was a smooth, round object, a darkened gold color with speckles of black in the shapes of diamonds spattered sporadically along the circumference. Her eyes shone, placing a hand over her mouth to stifle a gasp. It was an egg, a real dragon egg.
“Please,” Delain spoke after a moment, pulling Evelyn out of her trance. She nodded and looked back at the dragon. “He is the reason I fled. I will distract our attackers for you to escape. I need to know he will be safe. Promise me—” Delain stopped, her words catching in her throat. Tears formed as her eyes swelled. “Promise me you will protect my little one.”
A lump formed in Evelyn’s throat, she realized what the dragon was asking, what she was planning to do. There was no denying this request.
With a nod, Evelyn responded, “Of course, Delain. I will keep him safe.” Evelyn slowly inched to the egg, reaching out and touching the smooth, hard shell, rubbing it softly before wrapping both arms around it. It was not only heavy, but was larger than any egg she’d seen, being the size of her torso. When she felt she had a good grip, she nudged Delain’s razor-sharp claws, which reluctantly receded, allowing Evelyn to pick up the egg and back up from the heaving chest. When she was up against Delain’s chest, she could easily hear how labored her breathing was. She assumed there was a lot of non-stop flying for an extraordinary amount of time, and Delain was not used to it. Looking back up, meeting Delain’s eyes, Delain looked down at the egg, her mouth wavering. Clearly she wanted to say something to her egg, but no words came.
Just as Evelyn felt a tear of her own form at the corners of her eyes, Delain’s ears perked, her eyes darting to the sky. Even Evelyn could hear them now: wingbeats. Multiple heavy wingbeats not far away.
“They are near, go now,” Delain warned. Evelyn nodded and ran as fast as she could up the side of the gully and toward the thick forest. “And Evelyn,” Delain cried out. Evelyn looked back to see Delain, her smile weak as the dragon let her tears fall. “Thank you.”
Evelyn weaved her way through the trees, leaving Delain behind. Not even a minute after she fled, the leaves above her shook as if a tornado were passing above them. She didn’t need to look up to know what passed over her. She placed the egg in the nearest thick brush she could find and knelt behind a tree, pressing her body against the rough bark. Though she could no longer see Delain, Evelyn heard voices come from that direction. A mix of draconic voices and human voices.
“You gave us one hell of a chase, sparky,” A boisterous, young voice called out, giving off an air of arrogance and nepotism. Evelyn could hear Delain growl in response. “Now, if you don’t mind, hand over the egg, please.”
“Even if I still had him, I would rather die,” Delain responded, a strain in her voice.
“Oh,” a new voice started, this one deeper and more mature. “Do us and yourself a favor and not prolong this process. Tell us where you hid it.”
There was a brief pause before Delain responded, “I did not hide him. I—“ the wounded dragon’s voice wavered, “I dropped him... not long after your traitorous pet severed my shoulder.”
“Pet?!” A third voice called, “who are you calling a pet, you insolent, worthless piece of—“
“Calm your dragon, Lieutenant,” the second voice scolded the first. The ferocity in that command sent shivers down Evelyn’s spine. “You both must learn control, don’t let your dragon take over at will. Our priority is the egg. Shockwing, you must feel so terrible knowing you condemned your fragile, unborn hatchling to such a terrible, gruesome fate. I am willing to bet it hurts more than these wounds.”
As Delain cried out in pain, Evelyn’s muscles tensed as she could only sit there and listen to the torture. With any hope, the dragon inside the egg could not yet hear anything. The dragon’s whelps and groans pierced Evelyn’s ears, leaving her imagination to run wild as to what horrible fate that she left Delain to. There was more questioning from the voice, but Evelyn could not make out the words. Every fiber of her being told her to go back. She needed to at least try to help reduce her suffering, or at least stop the riders from making it worse. But Delain’s voice echoed in the back of her mind. ‘Keep him safe.’ Evelyn looked back at the egg, so innocent and harmless within the thick brush. His yellow shell peeked through the leaves just enough for Evelyn to lay her eyes on him, but not enough to be seen from a distance. Going back would certainly condemn him to whatever cruel fate the riders wished to bring upon him.
She thought of running, getting as far away from these cruel humans as possible, and more selfishly, get away from the sound of Delain’s torture. No, they were too close; if she could hear them talking clearly, they could easily hear her scramble through the thickets and easily find her and the egg. She had to wait until they left, until they were finished...
“My patience has run out,” the commanding voice declared. “May the Gods of Drake have mercy on your soul.” There were a few seconds of a deafening silence, only to be shattered by an ear-piercing screech that sent birds into flight and animals darting for cover, abruptly ending as quickly as it began. Utter silence once more. Evelyn gritted her teeth, holding back every urge in her body to cry out, tears flowing like a raging river down her cheeks. She gripped the trunk that hid her, ripping some of the bark off. How could anyone treat a dragon, let alone any living being that cruelly so casually? What monsters does the Dragon Corp produce?
“So, that’s it? Mission over?” the Lieutenant asked.
“No, we must confirm the death of both the dragon and the egg.”
“Captain Oliver, she told us she dropped it. There’s no way an egg could survive that kind of fall. Not even a dragon egg.”
“Then we must find the broken shell. You and Kastari retrace the flight path and find the egg. I will take care of the body and meet with the local guards to see if any civilians saw anything,” the authoritative man ordered, receiving a grunt in return from his subordinate.
“Can’t that wait until morning? We’ve been flying all day.”
The captain scoffed, “No, we must confirm the egg is destroyed. Now take flight.”
After he muttered something Evelyn could not discern, powerful wing beats pushed the air around the trees. Through the few openings in the canopy, Evelyn could see bits of red block out the light from above as the wingbeats briefly got louder before tapering off in the distance. As her focus drifted back to the cruel rider, she heard what sounded like massive foliage being dragged across the ground, as if all the bushes in the forest were converging into one area with their own free will.
“That seemed an unnecessarily long process.” A new, fourth voice finally joined the conversation. “She was clearly not going to give up the location of the egg,” the low, grumbling voice finished, followed by a loud thud against the ground.
“So, you did not believe her, Fionan?”
Oh no... If this rider found the egg, who knows what he’d do to him.
“Look at her shoulder. Do you think she could have dressed her own wound like that? Someone helped her.” the voice Evelyn assumed was Fionan replied. “Though I appreciate you ridding us of the delinquents for the time being.”
“There was nothing around the crash site. Perhaps this wannabe healer is nearby.” Oliver paused for a moment, “Though they could be anywhere in this forest by now. I shall get with the local guard and find anyone who may have wished to help this dragon.”
“Let us go then, I am done here,” Fionan agreed before Evelyn heard their wingbeats fly toward town. She waited a moment, making sure neither pair would return immediately. When she was confident she was alone, she ran back to the edge of the gully, or what was left of it now. No dragon laid there, it was purely vines, all intertwined in the tightest knots imaginable. There was no smell of blood, no sign of any struggle, just a vine covered forest floor. Delain was gone.
If only I could have done something… She thought, her stomach twisting and turning. I failed you, Delain. You should have escaped. You should be with your— Delains egg conjured in her mind as a beacon of hope. If she could not save Delain, the least she could do is learn everything about being a dragon healer to take care of her dragonet.
Evelyn took a deep breath and wiped the tears from her cheeks. The auburn sky indicated nightfall was soon upon her, so she could not take her time. She grabbed a small branch from a nearby tree and placed it where Delain once laid and left for the egg, beginning her trek home.