The Forest

The Forest - Part 5

Part 5 – Dragons

Cain spent days learning and living with the Dragons. He learnt that they were the kindest and most intelligent beings he would ever come to know. They were also the strongest, but he learnt the dragons were a dying breed because they were getting old but had no new offspring. The Centaurs and the Chiropters would target the Dragon eggs and the Dragon babies when they just broke out of their shell, and kill them when their mothers were weak and vulnerable and their fathers were out hunting. They had asked help from the last human, but he could not come up with anything to help them. Cain was their last chance, and Lance was sure that Cain was smart and brave enough to be able to help them.

‘Even if you fail, it will be okay. We will not blame you. So, please, try.’ Lance told Cain when the burden of such responsibility began to weigh too much on his shoulders.

“I… I will definitely save you. I will find a way. I promise you. I will find a way.” Cain smiled with confidence, not a hint of cockiness in sight.

He came up with a temporary plan of hiding their eggs in the ground whenever the male Dragon had to go hunting and the female Dragon was left alone. Even though it was a rather difficult one for the Dragons to use, Cain knew that they would work together to find a method to dig the holes, and once they did, the plan worked. The Chiropters had not thought of looking underground, and the Centaurs simply did not think the Dragons were smart enough to do something like that.

Cain continued to stay with the Dragons and helped look after their offspring for a few more weeks, but then he remembered he had to go back to his village. Lance and the other Dragons did not want Cain to go, but he just smiled and nodded that he had to.

“Lance, I will give you something.” Cain said to the Dragon.

‘What is it?’ Lance asked.

“Something a person precious to me gave me. She told me that if I was in trouble, and could find no way out, using this would save me.” Cain pulled out the small velvet bag, with drawstrings, but now it had long straps tied onto its drawstrings.

‘Ah, thank you.’ Lance muttered. Cain slipped the straps onto Lance’s lowered neck and realised something.

“Hey, I’ve grown.” He laughed, and so did the Dragons.

‘You’ve grown a lot, Cain, physically and mentally. I really hope you will come back safe and sound.’ Lance said to Cain adoringly, like a father.

Cain nodded and grinned, “I hope that when I come back safe and sound, you will all be safe and sound, and all the little ones will be a little bigger.”

‘Of course, we’ll be! Don’t look down on us!’ One of the small Dragons yelled into Cain’s mind and he cringed slightly at it but laughed with the other Dragons all the same.

Cain turned and walked away from the Dragons, a genuine smile on his face, unlike the forced one he had when he walked away from his village. He then turned around and waved at the Dragons, and in response, they gave him a chorused farewell roar. Cain laughed and turned back to the front. He would find his way out of the forest easily now, after all, he was the new controller of the forest.