dragon blood - bakugou

two strangers and a secret

- 1 month prior

You'd been marching back to the village with pride that day. A deer hanging over your shoulder with its blood dripping down your clothes, and your hunting knife still in hand - cutting the branches that were in your way as you braved through the forest without a single care in the world besides the fact you were teaching the teenagers in your village a lesson.

That'll show them to mess with me. I bet those pussies weren't even able to find something to kill, 'prolly scared all the animals away with how loud and annoying they all are.

Even under the shade of the trees, it was hot and humid under the heat of the sun. You could feel your hair sticking to your forehead and the back of your neck - completely damp - as mosquitos lazily buzzed nearby. After panting and huffing through most of the way, you finally let yourself stop for a second, grabbing the flask attached at your hip to drink some of the cool water inside you'd been saving for a good opportunity.

All at once, however, you felt a strong breeze that disrupted the atmosphere of the area - with the way the trees were bending over and the ground rumbled. You managed to duck down just in time as a tree branch began to sway too close to your head for your own liking - to see the body of a dragon flying overhead.

And that wasn't an unnatural sight; but what alerted you was it's color.

The dragon was red. No shifter in your village took up the form of a red dragon.

And though there were many reasonable explanations for this dragon (and its possible rider) coming here, you already had suspicions about its sudden arrival. Tensions had been high with the nearby tribes recently, with many threats of attack that had been passed to and from. For your people, it was best that violence was avoided - still weak from previous battles with a different tribe.

The sight was enough to have you rushing your way through the forest, skipping over roots and ducking under branches, trying to get there as quickly as you possibly could. Even with fatigue, in your breathlessness, and the deer, with its weight swinging over your shoulder, threatening to stop you the few times they hindered you from running faster, you only swatted the sweat away and readjusted the deer over your shoulder as you pushed forward.

You needed to make sure your mother and siblings were safe - as well as the rest of the village. You wouldn't have them caught in the crossfire if your fears came true.

There was no way that the sight of that dragon was any good. A dragon that comes uninvited is never one to trust.

Dear Great Heavens, please protect everyone in the village. Please let them use the Great Flame to keep themselves safe. And at the very least, keep violence away.

You didn't even want to think about what could've happened by the time you'd made it to the edge of the forest - huffing and wheezing yourself to a stop to let yourself breathe for just a moment. Usually, there'd be children playing nearby - and their squeals and giggles could be heard from the forest on a normal day.

Instead, sounds of shouting and clamor could be heard across the valley.

There wasn't much use for the deer now, it would only hinder you in a fight - and you didn't want to add another scar to the collection littering your body. You were hoping that you'd be able to come back for it anyway when you let it slide off your shoulder and to the ground - that was if there wasn't any trouble.

With the hunting knife fitted in your palm, you charged towards the village, making sure to keep your footsteps light when you were close. You didn't want the disadvantage in this fight - any sound that set them off could lead to your demise.