Solitude's End

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Kaera

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Feng adjusted the glasses on his nose. He had been doing that every five minutes for the whole day. He had already spent a good part of the morning trying to bend the frame back into shape, but it seemed that his friends had banged his head into the table a little harder than usual, and he probably would have to go shopping for a new pair of glasses after school.

'Friends' was a bit of a misnomer. They were the only people who would have any interaction with Feng at all in school. Or sometimes even after school, when they would invite him over for a game of dodgeball. With stones.

Picking up his books, Feng slung his bag over his shoulder and sneaked quietly out the back door of the classroom. It had become a habit for him to make his exit before anyone else, since playing dodge-the-bullies was much less painful than playing dodgeball. He made a beeline for the school exit and took his usual shortcut through the forest back home.

Feng felt safe in the forest. None of his friends had any interest in being there, for various reasons including rumours of dangerous creatures inside. At the rate he was getting bullied, Feng would much rather risk the forest. He had not seen anything that would make him change his mind so far.

As he walked, he began to pick up a weird stench. It smelt like burnt wood and something rotting. Hoping that he wouldn't stumble upon a murder scene, Feng continued on his way. It seemed that the stench was coming from in front of him. He adjusted his glasses again and squinted into the distance, then took a couple of horrified steps back.

"A dragon!"
 
The dragon Feng saw is wounded on his right wing and his left hind leg, presumably bite or claw wounds from a recent quarrel. There is a blood trail behind the dragon, caused by the dragon's wounds. The trail is short and leads to a wolf, a dead one - another animal fallen to the dragon.

Even though the dragon won against an adult wolf, it isn't very big; it merely reaches about one meter from snout to tail. Near the wounds of the predator the black scales are badly damaged, but the rest of the scales are quite fine with a bit soil on. The wounded dragon looks at Feng, revealing its dark red eyes.

The dragon growls quietly, a desperate attempt of scaring Feng. However the quiet growl is tainted with pain decreasing the fear-factor. Its body language clearly states that the dragon is in pain and needs aid to survive any long due to the wounds.
 
Feng caught sight of the source of the stench - the carcass of the wolf - and threw up. Though he was a fan of gory zombie games, a morbid scene like this in real life was something else altogether. He took a while to compose himself, not taking his eyes off the dragon for a second.


A few of the popular kids at school owned dragons. In fact, they were probably popular because they owned dragons. Feng had never seen one; he had never been invited over for their show-off sessions.


Feng assessed the situation. He didn't know much about dragons, but it was obvious that this one needed help.


"Hello dragon, please don't hurt me," Feng whispered, and soon began to feel silly. His hands quivered before him as he slowly mustered up the courage to approach the beast. As if those hands would have been able to shield the boy had the dragon been able to attack. It didn't seem likely, with the extent of its injuries, and Feng sought comfort in that thought.


Inching ahead, Feng's eyes met the glorious red eyes of the dragon. Something about it sucked him in. Something about it made him feel like it was okay to approach. He stopped about an arm's length from the dragon, trembling hands reaching out to the creature's injured wing.
 
The dragon observes Feng as he approaches the dragon but remaining at a very short distance. The wounded dragon stops growling and starts moaning in pain, the battle against the now dead wolf wasn't an easy one for the dragon. However, the dragon struggle with the pain, trying to back off a bit, as if Feng is a threat to its existence.

Suddenly the left wing, the not wounded one, twitches briefly and the dragon pulls his wings rapidly in - protecting his wings from Feng's arm. In between the moaning the dragon hisses instead of growling.
 
Feng flinched as the dragon pulled his wings in, afraid that it was going to attack him. The leaves crunched beneath his feet as he took one slow step away and he whispered, "It's okay... I won't hurt you."

He took out the bottle of water he had in his bag, then poured it out onto a large leaf, leaving it within reach of the beast. It pained him to see a majestic creature reduced to such a sad state. Deciding there was nothing much else he could do until the dragon calmed down, he sat down on the grass and waited, digging through his backpack for anything he could use to help.
 
The dragon slowly calms down as Feng sat down, but he still hisses (only quieter). Suddenly as he looks through his backpack the looks at it, never have seen that before. It tries to limp towards the backpack, curious to see what is in the backpack. However, the dragon doesn't limp straight to the backpack but moves around Feng to remain at safe distance before it goes to backpack, still leaving a small blood trail.

Once he finally limped to the backpack he forgets about Feng and starts sniffing the backpack, completely focused on the backpack. The dragon analyses the new object - well, for him new object - and completely forgets about Feng, although the dragon thought of Feng as a threat.
 
Alarmed that the dragon was moving towards him, Feng scuttled backward. After realizing the dragon was after the contents of his backpack, he relaxed a little. He was relieved that the dragon was still mobile, even if it was just crawling. Many ideas came to mind about how he should help the dragon. He had already decided that there was no way he would be leaving the dragon there to die.

Feng took off his hoodie slowly, making sure his movements did not catch the eye of the dragon. Carefully, he tiptoed behind the distracted dragon. He took a deep breath, then scooped the dragon up with one swift movement, using his hoodie to protect his arms from the hard scales.
 
The dragon's focus remained on the backpack and wasn't distracted by Feng. As Feng caught the dragon with his hoodie the dragon didn't even try to get free. On the contrary, it remained silent, as if it would feel safe. It doesn't move much, as if it is trying to play dead or is under schock from the surprise.

However, the dragon isn't dead, it can be heard breathing - which means it is still alive. All of a sudden it tried to break free, but gave up shortly after the attempt due to the pain of the wounds.
 
Feng braced himself for a struggle, but unexpectedly, the dragon remained calm. He breathed a sigh of relief, and with both arms occupied, bent down and tried to pick up his backpack using a finger. All of a sudden, the bundle in his hands began protesting violently. He was nearly shocked enough to drop it, but held on tight, earning a few scratches on his right arm that started to bleed. Thankfully, the dragon stopped shortly after. Feng took a couple of baby steps forward to see if the dragon was okay with the movement, before glancing at his own bleeding arm.

"Guess we've both got injured right arms then."

Adjusting his backpack so that he would have a proper grip on it, and making sure he didn't hurt the dragon in any way, Feng shambled out of the forest toward home.

At his front door, Feng lay the dragon down on the ground and fumbled for the keys in his pocket. He quietly opened the door and peered around. No one was home. Feng was silently grateful for that. His parents would never allow him to bring any creature into the house. He gently scooped the dragon up again and brought it up to his room, making sure not to leave blood trails on the floor. Laying the dragon on his bed, Feng threw the hoodie aside and examined the dragon's wounds. They looked pretty serious, but were not infected yet.

"I'll bring you to a vet, but first I'll have to clean you up, alright?"

He retrieved a clean cloth from the kitchen, soaked it with water and began to dab gently at the dragon's wounds.
 
The dragon didn't know that he hurt Feng by accident and shortly after giving up it tried to fall asleep, but not with much success, the pain prevented it from sleeping. As Feng put it on the ground it wanted to ask, trying to get up. However, it felt already too weak to escape and thus was brought later on into Feng's room.

As Feng spoke the dragon looked at him and just tilted its head and moaned in pain and managed to whisper: "Okay". As he then returned with the soaked cloth the dragon tried to back off a bit, but the unnaturla bed surface prevented it from moving a big. Once Feng started cleaning the wounds the dragon roars in pain and whispers again quietly: "That hurts."
 
"I'm sorry."

Feng blew gently on the dragon's wounds as he cleaned, in an attempt to sooth it. Beads of sweat rolled down his forehead, mostly out of nervousness, but that was already obvious by his shaking hands. Finally, he had cleaned all the blood off and bandaged the wounds as far as he was able to. He sat on the floor to rest, watching the shiny scales of the dragon as they reflected in the light. It was already evening. Feng had skipped lunch completely, and he was getting hungry. He went to the kitchen to get some food. There were only leftovers.

"Better than nothing," Feng thought to himself. He chucked the food into the microwave, heated it, and brought it up to his room in two bowls.

Feng pushed one toward the dragon. "You must be hungry. It's not much, but I'll go out and get something after we see the doctor later okay?"

After some thought, he added, "Do you have a name?"
 
The dragon still is quite immobilized from from its battle and thus only watches Feng exit the room. As Feng was going for food the dragon moaned again a bit in pain, the wounds visible because the scales were cleaned.

It curiously waits - but also a bit mad for being unable to follow - and as Feng returned it isn't sure what the boy brought. The dragon starts sniffing it and as it was about to start eating it replied to Feng's question: "Doctor? Does he give food?".

The dragon starts eating and interrupts as it hears another question. "Tynebris. You?" Tynebris replies, looking at Feng expecting to hear the boy's name.
 
"I think he does," Feng replied. "He'll fix you up."

He watched as the dragon took mouthfuls out of the tiny bowl, and wished that he had more to give. "Hi Tynebris. I'm Feng." He looked away awkwardly after realizing he had been studying the dragon intently, and started on his own bowl. As Tynebris polished out the bowl, Feng removed it.

"I'll just leave this in the kitchen on our way down. Are you able to walk? I'll bring you to the doctor."
 
"I can't walk much, that furry creature hurt me alot." the dragon replies as he tries to get up and follow the bowl. He was at first successful, but as soon as he reached the edge of bed he fell down to the ground and landed on his back. Tynebris moans again in pain. "These wounds only make it harder." the dragon adds.

"Can't the doctor come to us? I think it would be easier for me." the dragon asks in a quiet tone, still on his back. The dragon doesn't even try to get up again and thus remains on his back with the pain he already has.
 
Feng thought it over, then shook his head.

"If I get a doctor, my parents will find out that you're here. They'll kill me." He sighed. "I'll just carry you."

He bent down and gingerly placed his arms beneath Tynebris' back, careful not to hurt the dragon. Placing Tynebris on his bed, he wrapped the blanket around the dragon to cushion him. If they were going to the doctor's, Feng would need some money. Thankfully, due to his non-existent social life, he had a little amount of savings stashed away in a piggy bank in the corner of his room. He threw the whole thing into his backpack and slung it over his shoulder, before picking up the dragon gently with the blanket and quietly leaving the house.
 
"Why would your parents kill you?" the dragon says somewhat confused, not knowing the phrase. As Feng wraps Tynebris with the blanket the dragon doesn't put up a fight. However, as Tynebris is lifted - while being wrapped - he tries to free himself, not liking the feeling of being on his back and off solid ground. The dragon starts growling out of fear. "Watch it!" the dragon says frightend.
 
"Oh no, I don't mean that literally. I'm just not allowed to have any pets," Feng explained, realizing that the dragon had misunderstood.

He headed off to the doctor with Tynebris in his arms, weighing heavily down on him. Though the dragon was small, the boy was scrawny and couldn't take the weight for too long. They stopped at a supermarket parking lot where they found some trolleys. Feng lowered Tynebris into one of them, looked around to make sure no one was looking, and quickly wheeled off.

After they were a safe distance away, Feng whooped. Sneaking off with a supermarket trolley (and with a dragon too!) was probably the most adventurous thing he had done in a long time. Realizing Tynebris was still there, he shut his mouth, embarrassed, and continued walking normally. The sky was rapidly darkening now, but they were almost at the doctor's. Feng picked up his speed.
 
Tynebris notices that he has been placed into something and he suddenly feels a solid ground. As Feng starts wheeling off the dragon tries to have sneak peak. Once he had a view he looked up into the sky, he observes the sky turning dark. "How long till we are there?" the dragon asks, calmed down by the darkening sky. Tynebris gets out of the blanket and then lies down onto it, yawning once and still looking up into the sky.
"From where did you get this shopping cart?" the dragon asks interrupting his silence, while asking he looks at Feng.
 
"We're almost there," Feng replied. "I stole, I mean, borrowed this from the supermarket up the street." He laughed out loud, still exhilarated.

Feng made a turn and a minute later they had burst into the doctor's front door. Their spectacular entrance, unsurprisingly, garnered stares from the people already inside. Feng, embarrassed, wheeled Tynebris aside and went to register his particulars. A nurse came out to check on the dragon's condition, then gave him priority. They transferred him to a stretcher and pushed him into the room. Feng followed closely behind.
 
As they burted into the front door Tynebris saw other people, the dragon went from calm immediately to anxious. Tynebris stretches his wings a bit, trying to make him appear bigger than he is. Furthermore, the dragon growls, hoping no one will come closer. Though his growling didn't have any effect.

As Tynebris was transferred to a stretcher he did - as usual - try to resist, but well, he just didn't have the strength to properly protect himself and thus barely was able to even resist. Tynebris turned silence as he was pushed into the room. He still was a bit anxious, but he didn't put up another fight, seeing that he is curious and he isn't capable of fighting. The dragon analyses the path they are taking, remaining quiet and having his wings stretched out a bit.

"Where are they taking us?" the dragon whispers to Feng in a quiet but demanding voice, uneasy with the current flow of the event.
 
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