Sleep tight, my daughter...
Lyrae did not hear the last words spoken by Willow, as she was already fast asleep.
Shutting down... Complete. Goodnight.
----------------------------------------
Lyrae yawned, flexed her claws, and stretched her tail.
Good morning, Lyrae.
Lyrae made a sound that may or may not have been a reply. She flexed her claws, curled her tail, and stretched her spine. Unsteadily getting to her feet on the wobbly bed, she jumped off. She nosed the dead wolf she had killed yesterday, noting that it was perfectly fine and not rotting as one would think.
After scarfing down the wolf, Lyrae felt more like an actual dragon and not a zombie.
Glancing around, Lyrae could see that everything was in perfect order. Except the windows. Did the ice go away when she went to sleep? She knew that it was still there when she had gone to sleep.
Willow, does my magic dispel when I fall unconscious?
Based off my observations, yes.
Lyrae repeatedly cast Create Ice again, frosting the windows.
[Create Ice]
Willow, how will you know where I am?
The tracking serum.
Well, yes, but how will you retrieve me? If I am in mortal danger?
Through use of a teleport spell. Or I could animate nearby snow, leaves, and other materials.
If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
How will I know if I learn something new?
The AI will alert you when you return, Lyrae.
Do you... Have a map of the area?
I am more so in the dark than you, I have not been able to even glimpse the surrounding woods.
This made sense. Lyrae went over the magic she knew in her head once again.
[Let's see, I know {Create Rain} and also {Water Influence}. Now, I also have {Create Ice}. Those two might be useful, if I ever need large quantities of ice. What am I saying? Why would I need ice? To drink? No thanks, I've got myself snow. Snow is good. It might be cold, but it's water. Ice is harder to get water out of. Man, I love cold water.]
This went on for quite a while. Lyrae eventually came to the conclusion that she could create hailstorms, and influence the surrounding snow into large ice chunks she could drop on heads for defense.
Lyrae decided she wouldn't get anything done sitting in the house, thinking about defending herself.
Opening the door, she said a quick goodbye to Willow. Willow responded in kind, and Lyrae shut the door. Oddly, the cold didn't bother her as much as it did yesterday. She turned her snout up towards the constant, light snowfall.
[What am I doing here?]
The question wasn't really aimed at anything except the sky and snow. Of course, being inanimate objects, neither replied to her query. Lyrae shook her head, and took her gaze from the sky. She surveyed her surroundings, she hadn't had the chance to yesterday.
As one would expect, there was snow. Snow covered trees, snow covered ground, snow covered bushes. Everything was snowy.
Lyrae padded south, looking back and admiring the paw prints made in the fresh, clear snow.
Ahead of her, she could see several prints that were not hers, so she followed them.
Surprisingly light on her feet, unlike most of the dragons she knew, Lyrae could walk and make no noise whatsoever. Dragons were built to be in the sky, flying, free. Not contained on the ground. Lyrae didn't dare fly though, not with what happened when... Better not to think of it.
Continuing along the path marked by paw prints, Lyrae was eventually led to a cave. She peered in, seeing multiple piles of bones.
Ignoring the ominous chill running from the base of her neck to the tip of her tail, Lyrae advanced further into the cave. She stopped abruptly, as there was just a sheer drop, into inky darkness. The tingle in her spine grew stronger, and she backed up.
Before Lyrae could exit, a shadow fell over the entire cave. Lyrae looked up, a gasp escaping her snout.
Sharp claws, shining teeth, and bloodthirsty eyes.