Fiery Scales

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The Writing Owl

The Writing Owl

Authoress
Original poster
LURKER MEMBER
FOLKLORE MEMBER
Invitation Status
Posting Speed
  1. Speed of Light
  2. One post per day
  3. One post per week
  4. Slow As Molasses
Writing Levels
  1. Intermediate
  2. Adept
  3. Advanced
  4. Adaptable
Preferred Character Gender
  1. Male
  2. Female
  3. Transgender
  5. Primarily Prefer Female
Genres
Fantasy, Romance, A bit of horror, magical, and almost everything.
The late day sun beat down on Loria as she trudged through the forest. Her latest target, a dark dragon that many had apparently sighted a bit too close to the nearest city, hadn't chosen to reveal himself to her just yet. Crawling over a large log, the black haired girl kept on guard. Her sword sat in its scabbard, waiting for its master to pull it out, bathing it in dragon blood. Pausing at a rustle, Loria looked through the surrounding area before continuing her journey to find the dragon. The reward on the thing was a good 9,000 gold, so whoever put out the sightings really wanted this thing dead for whatever reason.

Wiping the sweat off of her brow, Loria pulled her cloak closer around her shoulders. It provided a bit of a safety blanket for the young woman. Sure, she had been hunting dragons for quite a few years now, but this was her first S-classed dragon. Supposedly this thing had taken out at least ten different hunters before getting to this area. That was cause for huge alarm. If the mindless beast was strong enough to take out that many hunters then the odds seemed slim to none for survival. However, the pay was good and one less dragon in the land could really help the peoples.

Loria took a deep breath before continuing on. She was nearing the last siting spot. She just had to look for the telltale signs. Sure enough, scorch marks and broken trees started to litter the paths in front of her. This was it. She just had to kill the creature. A flash of black caught Loria's attention. Quickly ducking, she hid behind a large broken log before glancing over the bark.

There it was, sitting there like it owned the place. The dark skinned woman had to scoff. As if they could truly act like that with how much destruction it caused. Slowly, carefully, she pulled her gleaming blade out of its sheath. She just needed to get the jump and the rest would follow suite. Loria sidled out of her hiding spot, taking her shield off of her back to protect herself from the flames.
 
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Terra ended his day with his usual routine. He flew to the ocean and got his evening meal of fish then delivered his master the remainder of the fish he caught. As he flew over the mountains to the hidden cave behind the waterfall where his master lived.

The black dragon did this routine often though taking different routes each time even taking his human form from time to time to buy fish. Though he knew his regular visit's in his natural form were being seen and soon there were hunter's targeting him at sunset wherever they got the chance. Many of these hunters wore armor made of the scale's of the dragon they once fought and murdered. It made him sick to the stomach always having to watch his back. He never once attacked a human town or village. Terra had kept a low profile until he grew to full size and his once purply blue scales went black.

Soaring across the sky enjoying the late afternoon heat Terra was preparing for his visit to the ocean. He hoped to catch large fish this time. Maybe even a shark. Terra found a safe clearing that which he had grown rather fond of and took landed as he took a moment of his time to take in the familiar scent of the forest. But this time a new scent was close. It was one of a human. A human which clearly carries a piece of equipment made from a deceased dragon. Raising his head up and using his accurate sense of smell Terra located the position of the human hunter. Stretching his strong body without exposing any of his vitals Terra slowly spun around to face a human female. "why do you all insist that we must fight" he said to himself knowing the daft female hunter wouldn't understand. Though firing a warning shot normally scared the weak or uncertain hunters away. Terra let out a very weak burst of his blue flame near her feet causing damage to the earth leaving a mini crater there size of her with a layer of molten rock bubbling away.

He looked the hunter in the eyes with his green ones as if to say leave now.
 
As the blast sailed toward her, Loria ducked and rolled away from the fire. She looked at the melting rock as a bit of fear started to course alongside the adrenaline. Most dragons only scorched the earth; they never melted it to the point that rock bubbled into what seemed to be lava or some sort of variant. This dragon was strong, Loria had to give it that. However, she had a job to do. Killing the thing would help the towns. So kill it she would. Getting out of her crouch, she stood up to get ready to strike. She moved the sword to point in front of her, glaring as best as she could at the dragon. This was it. She was going to fight it.

Green met green. Suddenly her whole body seemed to freeze. Fear overpowered the adrenaline, immobilizing her. No dragon had looked her in the eye like this before. An ancient magic seemed to flow around the two, but was unnoticed by the young human. Taking a deep breath, Loria tried to keep looking fierce. "I... I'm not afraid of you!" She shouted, if only to reassure herself. Something was holding her back from attacking right away. Maybe it was an instinct to survive? Loria wasn't sure. However, something was clattering together. Looking down, she saw that she was shaking bad enough for her knees to knock into each other. This never happened. What was going on with her?!
 
It was strange, the green in her eyes matched his and the magic of old took hold. Terra didn't move an inch as the female made her petty attempt to express no fear. Though Terra knew to well that she was afraid, he was also afraid too. The ancient bond between human and dragon was something Terra only knew from stories of how master. The magic left no mark yet but a connection between them both.

Terra shook his head very gently as he tried to speak through his mind to the human as his master said the riders and their dragons once did. "you need to relax and take in the rare occasion that has just happened" he said to her. In mind his voice was calm and smooth. "it appears we are now bound together by magic far older than an elder dragon" he said looking at her intently, his eyes still locked on hers.
 
The voice was new. Scrambling back, Loria looked up at the dragon with wide eyes. "Did you... You just talked!" She nearly screeched, her breath coming in quick and heavy gasps. "But you're a dragon, dragon's aren't supposed to talk!" Her world was starting to crumble underneath her. No, this couldn't be happening. She was going crazy, yes that had to be it. Her whole frame shook harder than before, if that was even possible. Her sword and shield were too far from her to be within reaching distance. Defenseless. She was utterly and completely defenseless.

"What do you mean bonded?" Her voice rose slightly in pitch. No, not only did the dragon talk but it said they were bound by some magic. "What damn magic? What kind of joke is this?!" Flashes of old memories, her first encounter with a dragon, came to mind. The fierce roars, her parents screaming, flesh burning, the smell choking her, all of this came to mind as she stared at the giant beast telling her that they were to be together, bound to one another. Loria felt light-headed, blinking to regain her composure, what little of it she had. No. The beast that killed her family couldn't possibly talk. This was just some cruel joke.
 
Terra was left a little shocked. This was no joke. Could she not see the magic around her. It was twirling around her like a small tornado in colors of green and blue. "this is no joke... Your kind had become so oblivious you cannot see the ancient magic anymore" he said moving close to her though stopping and flinging the dragon hide shield far away into the distance. "all dragons can speak though none of you give us a chance to" he said sternly still not leaving her gaze for a second.
 
Rage and irritation bubbled up slightly. This creature had the gall to talk to her like she was a mere child. However panic clouded her thoughts. He flicked her shield away. Her one protection, gone with the wind. The dragon cornered her. She couldn't escape. Her breath was coming faster. He was blaming her kind, she could vaguely register. Screams drowned out everything else. Flames brushed her skin. Smoke was choking her. Her mind was worlds away. The dragon was going to kill her. She was going to die. Throwing up her arms, Loria flinched away from the black dragon. "Get away! Get away from me!" She broke the eye contact, screwing her eyes shut. Her whole body shivered.
 
Terra knew the girl was far from where her body was and he had no choice but to transform into his human form to knock her back to her senses. In a quick blue flash the black dragon was engulfed in the light until a human male with pale skin and long black hair walked towards her. Placing a hand on each shoulder of the huntress he shook her gently "I am not going to kill you.... we are bound together now return to your senses" he said giving her a light shake knowing her eyes were sealed shut. "Come on you must be able to tell I will not hurt you by now" he said softly. His human voice was the same as the one that spoke to her in her mind earlier. It was still calm and gentle as ever.
 
The blue flash alerted Loria to a change. She opened her eyes to see the dragon turned into a human male. This was insane. A bad dream, that's what this had to be. However, as her panic subsided, rage filled its place. She shoved the man away. "Don't you dare give me that condescending tone!" She glared at the dragon. "Yes, I don't know about this ancient magic. I'm confused as hell, and you're not explaining what the hell you mean by 'bound'!" Walking over to her sword, she picked it up and put it back into its sheathe. "I've lived my life with dragons attacking my homes and nearly killing me more than once. So excuse me if I am a little apprehensive when one starts talking to me, and throws away one of my only means of defense!" The dark haired girl crossed her arms across her chest, her dark skin shining slightly from the sweat that had started to accumulate.
 
Terra sighed gently not being fazed with her pushing him away "being bound is when a human and a dragon are able to share their magic and skills and you can even be the first dragon rider in a very long time" he said standing still not moving towards her again. "trust me I can understand if you do not trust me... hell it is lucky i am talking to you... I do not even know my parents they were slain by human hunters" he said choosing to sit down on a large rock for her to calm down and let his words sink. "but I can promise you I will not hurt you you are my rider"
 
Loria took a deep breath, nearly giving a bitter laugh when he talked about his dead parents. "Guess we're kinda similar in the whole dead parents department." She walked over to a nearby stump and slumped down on it. "Alright, so we have this bond or whatever, and I'm assuming I can't hurt you or kill you without some major consequence to me? That's usually how those stories work, anyway." The dark skinned girl was tired. She just wanted to finish her job and go home. However, she couldn't really do that now, could she. "Damn, there goes that money... You were going to get me some serious gold, you know?" The girl didn't even bother to think how she was talking to a dragon who turned into a human. Today had already drained her with the panic attack. "So, dragon boy, what do we do now? I can't kill you, and we can't just leave each other if there's some magic tying us together." She ran a hand through her hair, pulling it out of its tie before tying it back up again. "Seems we're sort of stuck."
 
Terra nodded gently trying to not take offense from the young woman's words. Though he was curious hope much her was worth up humans. It's not like he caused issues to any human. Granted he went fishing in front of them from time to time but never did any harm to the locals."we probably should go see my master he knows about the bounds between human and dragon" he said tying his hair back. "though he's really cranky at the moment" Terra admitted sitting down on the ground. "so what am I worth to humans these days? You said I'm worth serious gold right?" He asked trying to create small talk with the human woman. Hoping it would help her relax.
 
Loria chuckled slightly at the dragon's question. "Some person was willing to give me 1 million gold for that hide of yours. I would have been set for life." She sighed, running a hand through her unruly hair. That gold was now just a mere thought. She would never be able to see that kind of cash with her current situation. "Alright, so your master knows about these bounds, yes? Besides our previous kill each other schtick. I guess we should head out then, cranky or not." The human stretched a bit before looking over at her dragon companion, waiting for the dragon-man to start leading the way toward the supposed master who could tell them more.
 
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