Land of Dragons

Land of Dragons
Part one by AJR
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Vaq stood on the cliff side. Mountains towered in the distance, barren of trees to the West and partial patches of evergreens were scattered upon the rocky East. He was searching for Aro, his tame dragon companion.

That morning Vaq woke to find that Aro had been missing. Most people brave enough to have a dragon companion tether their dracos in fear they would fly away never to return. Aro wasn’t that kind of dragon, they had an inseparable bond, yet she had vanished regardless. Most dragon companions are females, they bond with humans far better than the males do, and are far less likely to eat you. Or burn you to a crisp. Usually both.

Vaq had found Aro starving and abandoned when she was very young high up on the Itza mountain range. She was barely alive when he found her. He couldn't leave her there to die. Vaq brought her back to health and they have been together ever since.

Vaq had always been restless staying in one place for too long. He began exploring early in his adult life. He wasn’t ever sure of what he wanted to find, but he knew he would find it when he was least expecting it. He had learned to follow his instincts. That is why he decided to go towards the East now. He could sense Aro had gone that direction, for whatever reason.  It was a shame Aro wasn’t here, they could simply just fly off this annoying cliff side.

Vaq mumbled curses as he followed the edge of the cliff side slowly down to the bottom. That’s when he heard it. It was distant, but the cry of a dragon is hard to miss. He quickened his pace. Eventually he made it to the bottom. A large stream quickly moved along the valley floor, and he followed it. He hadn’t heard the dragon cry out in a while but he still moved on, desperation tugging at his mind. Then a roar. A dragon roar is something much different than a dragon cry. It’s like the difference between a house cat and a grizzly bear. Vaq’s hair stood on end at the sound of it. He had only heard Aro roar a handful of times but it was unmistakably her.

By now he was getting close. Good thing too, Vaq was slowing down, his body aching from running. He could see a ways in the distance, although the trees were increasingly more plentiful the further he went. The rocky walls of the cliff were high on both sides of him, narrowing to a dead end.

That’s where Aro was. As Vaq approached Aro remained where she was. As he got cautiously closer he could see what was wrong.There in front of Aro a short sword lay near her feet with blood on it. A small wound was on the dragons chest, but the thick dragon scales hardly allowed any serious wound to form from such a small weapon. Vaq wasn’t worried about the wound. He was more focused on the girl trapped underneath Aro’s foot.

Vaq looked at the girl. She had something mysterious in her eyes as she stared back into his. She was attractive, somewhat annoyed, and had very little fear as she glared back at him.

“Oh hell what have you done?” mumbled Vaq.
“This is hardly my fault,” said the girl “It was chasing me! It’s trying to kill me!”

Vaq smiled.

“I wasn’t actually talking to you,” he said casually walking towards her, “Aro, let go of her.”

Aro’s eyes narrowed a little, but otherwise she stood still.

“Aro. Release her.” Aro’s foot still didn’t budge. The dragon breathed a noise of discontent.

“Do it now.” demanded Vaq.

Reluctantly Aro lifted her foot and the girl crawled up. She was dressed in all black, except for the little bits of armor hanging from her. She was fit, dark hair like a raven, and a long sword was on her back. The empty sheath from her short sword on her hip.

“Do you REALIZE you can’t have a roaming dragon here? I could have been killed!” said she, picking up her short sword from the ground. She quickly wiped the blood off before re-sheathing it.

“You COULD have been killed but you seem just fine to me.” Vaq replied, walking over to Aro. He quickly examined the wound. Aro gave a little roar of annoyance, but she was fine. Vaq patted her and turned back to the girl.

“Well that’s super great, but I need to get going”, said the girl, as she started walking away past him.

“Hang on”, said Vaq “Why did Aro have you trapped here anyway?”

“It chased me here, simple as that.” She replied.

Vaq could sense there was something else. Aro wouldn’t chase anyone unless there was good reason. Who was she? Why was Aro chasing her? Did she pose a threat?  What trouble was she?  Vaq hadn’t seen another person in days. Not out here. She was now a few yards away. He followed after her.

“What is your name?” Asked Vaq, trying to catch up.

“Not that it’s any of your concern, but my name is Alex,” she said, glancing over but not stopping, “And I must be going, I have somewhere I really need to be and not a lot of time to get there.”

“Transportation really isn’t a problem, I can get you to wherever you’re going in no time,” said Vaq. He wasn’t really sure why he even offered it. Mostly the words just spilled out before he could think about it. This girl was trouble. Yet he was intrigued.

“No thanks.” Alex said coldly, not even looking his direction.

“Hey don’t you want to know my name?” Asked Vaq.

“I don't see why it would matter, it’s not relevant to me leaving.” Said Alex, still walking. Vaq walked beside her. Aro was trudging along a ways behind them.

“Well my name is Vaq, and actually it is very relevant to your leaving. I figured you should know it, since you’re stuck with me ‘till you explain yourself.”

At that, Alex stopped and glared at him. Her gaze sweeping his soul inside out. The reply she had wasn’t what he was expecting.