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tamingthemuseTitle: Journey’s Beginning
Fandom: Original
Prompt: Year of the Pig
Warnings: none.
Rating: PG
Summary: Bird and Dragon begin their lives on the same path.
The dragon was a lonesome creature. He was small compared to the others from his clutch, and thus easily bullied by his much larger siblings. The bird watched from the safety of a tree as, once again, his dragon’s food was stolen from him.
The golden-brown dragon hissed and snarled and buffed smoke out his nostrils at his veritably giant of a brother and earned a knock to the head for his effort. He tumbled away and lay a moment in the dirt, blinking dully. The darker dragon gulped the meal in one mouthful, then left.
The bird fluttered down from his perch as his companion righted himself. He slumped down on the ground as the bird settled on his shoulder. The bird gave a soft, mournful chirp of comfort. The dragon responded with a sniff that brought a cloud of smoke. The bird ruffled his feathers in irritation.
The dragon stood and went back to the scene, nose to the ground, to sniff where his food had once been. Nothing remained of the carcass. So they moved on, the dragon’s foot falls heavy and low, like the rumbling of his stomach. The hours passed slowly for the two silent travelers, and the night found them arriving at one of the few watering holes still remaining this late into the dry season.
A flock of birds loudly took to the air when they arrived, alerting everything with ears to their arrival. The bird mentally cursed the stupid birds while the dragon snapped his jaws at the retreating flock.
The dragon sniffed around the bank, but found no creature remaining, all having fled in fear. He plopped his front legs in the muddy water and laid down, sulking. The bird took to the air, confirming that there was no prey for the beast. He returned to his companion and jumped around the ground, seeking seeds or perchance a worm.
The dragon slept and the bird dozed in his shadow as the night turned to morning. It wasn’t birds chirping that woke them, but the sounds of humans. The bird whistled in the dragon’s ear, waking him and alerting him to danger.
The dragon’s eyes found the duo of humans instantly and his whole body froze. Had the bird not known he was there, he would have thought the dragon was merely a stone.
The humans didn’t notice them. They paused near the bank opposite them and splashed in the water, washing their faces and refreshing their mounts.
They spoke merrily about a hunt they were eager to attend to gain rank within their tribe. The dragon and bird listened as they spoke of great feasts that would be held in their honor. They spoke of the meat the women would cook for them, and the dragon licked his lips. The bird could see the thoughts swirling in his dragon’s eyes. Nodding to himself, the bird agreed, the humans would supply them with very good food, indeed, but how were they to get humans to feed a dragon?
He thought, perhaps, if they demanded tribute to keep the dragon from attacking might be a not so bad plan, but the dragon seemed to have a different plan, for, as the humans resumed their trek away from the watering hole, the dragon stood and watched them until they were well away. Then he jumped into the middle of the pool of water, covering his whole body with the muddy water. For a moment he submerged completely, and when he emerged, the bird gaped in dumbfounded surprise. None of his learning had prepared him for this.
In place of the dragon, was a young boy with muddy golden hair and bright golden eyes. He was thin and almost frail looking as he held his arms out wide to keep his balance on two legs.
The bird sat and watched the dragon now turned human practice walking, then running. The boy giggled and laughed as he took tumble after tumble. Once the dragon was sure of his ability to walk and run, he took off, drifting back into his dragon form. The bird quickly caught up with him as he realized that the dragon was once again eagerly returning to the hunt.
Nose into the wind, the dragon found his next prey and set about herding it into a trap. The bird settled in a nest of tangled dry grass and waited for the dragon to return with his coup. Which he did, not long after, a massive hog in his jaws. He dropped the dead beast before the bird and sniffed the air. Reflexively, the bird did as well, wondering how long they would keep this meal before the dragon’s siblings returned.
Then the dragon’s plan came apparent when he shifted back into a human boy and gathered the hog into his arms and began in the direction the humans had gone.
He wouldn’t threaten the humans, but have them, their numbers, protect his food for him.
The dragon was brilliant, the bird thought as he flapped his wings to catch up with him.
Last year was the year he had met the dragon, so it was the year they met. This year was the year the dragon learned to kept them feed during the dry season, so this was the year of the pig, the bird decided as they approached the human hunters. The hunters were weary of the lone boy, but felt no fear from such a frail, tiny child. They ate that night, and the next, more than they had had since the dry season had begun. They slept for the first time in many months with full bellies, unconcerned about the dangers the dragon’s brothers presented.
Fandom: Original
Prompt: Year of the Pig
Warnings: none.
Rating: PG
Summary: Bird and Dragon begin their lives on the same path.
The dragon was a lonesome creature. He was small compared to the others from his clutch, and thus easily bullied by his much larger siblings. The bird watched from the safety of a tree as, once again, his dragon’s food was stolen from him.
The golden-brown dragon hissed and snarled and buffed smoke out his nostrils at his veritably giant of a brother and earned a knock to the head for his effort. He tumbled away and lay a moment in the dirt, blinking dully. The darker dragon gulped the meal in one mouthful, then left.
The bird fluttered down from his perch as his companion righted himself. He slumped down on the ground as the bird settled on his shoulder. The bird gave a soft, mournful chirp of comfort. The dragon responded with a sniff that brought a cloud of smoke. The bird ruffled his feathers in irritation.
The dragon stood and went back to the scene, nose to the ground, to sniff where his food had once been. Nothing remained of the carcass. So they moved on, the dragon’s foot falls heavy and low, like the rumbling of his stomach. The hours passed slowly for the two silent travelers, and the night found them arriving at one of the few watering holes still remaining this late into the dry season.
A flock of birds loudly took to the air when they arrived, alerting everything with ears to their arrival. The bird mentally cursed the stupid birds while the dragon snapped his jaws at the retreating flock.
The dragon sniffed around the bank, but found no creature remaining, all having fled in fear. He plopped his front legs in the muddy water and laid down, sulking. The bird took to the air, confirming that there was no prey for the beast. He returned to his companion and jumped around the ground, seeking seeds or perchance a worm.
The dragon slept and the bird dozed in his shadow as the night turned to morning. It wasn’t birds chirping that woke them, but the sounds of humans. The bird whistled in the dragon’s ear, waking him and alerting him to danger.
The dragon’s eyes found the duo of humans instantly and his whole body froze. Had the bird not known he was there, he would have thought the dragon was merely a stone.
The humans didn’t notice them. They paused near the bank opposite them and splashed in the water, washing their faces and refreshing their mounts.
They spoke merrily about a hunt they were eager to attend to gain rank within their tribe. The dragon and bird listened as they spoke of great feasts that would be held in their honor. They spoke of the meat the women would cook for them, and the dragon licked his lips. The bird could see the thoughts swirling in his dragon’s eyes. Nodding to himself, the bird agreed, the humans would supply them with very good food, indeed, but how were they to get humans to feed a dragon?
He thought, perhaps, if they demanded tribute to keep the dragon from attacking might be a not so bad plan, but the dragon seemed to have a different plan, for, as the humans resumed their trek away from the watering hole, the dragon stood and watched them until they were well away. Then he jumped into the middle of the pool of water, covering his whole body with the muddy water. For a moment he submerged completely, and when he emerged, the bird gaped in dumbfounded surprise. None of his learning had prepared him for this.
In place of the dragon, was a young boy with muddy golden hair and bright golden eyes. He was thin and almost frail looking as he held his arms out wide to keep his balance on two legs.
The bird sat and watched the dragon now turned human practice walking, then running. The boy giggled and laughed as he took tumble after tumble. Once the dragon was sure of his ability to walk and run, he took off, drifting back into his dragon form. The bird quickly caught up with him as he realized that the dragon was once again eagerly returning to the hunt.
Nose into the wind, the dragon found his next prey and set about herding it into a trap. The bird settled in a nest of tangled dry grass and waited for the dragon to return with his coup. Which he did, not long after, a massive hog in his jaws. He dropped the dead beast before the bird and sniffed the air. Reflexively, the bird did as well, wondering how long they would keep this meal before the dragon’s siblings returned.
Then the dragon’s plan came apparent when he shifted back into a human boy and gathered the hog into his arms and began in the direction the humans had gone.
He wouldn’t threaten the humans, but have them, their numbers, protect his food for him.
The dragon was brilliant, the bird thought as he flapped his wings to catch up with him.
Last year was the year he had met the dragon, so it was the year they met. This year was the year the dragon learned to kept them feed during the dry season, so this was the year of the pig, the bird decided as they approached the human hunters. The hunters were weary of the lone boy, but felt no fear from such a frail, tiny child. They ate that night, and the next, more than they had had since the dry season had begun. They slept for the first time in many months with full bellies, unconcerned about the dangers the dragon’s brothers presented.
