The Other-worldly Protector

90. Hunter Friend, Spy Friend

Harald slipped into his vest in the middle of his dreary tent and mechanically gathered his hunting gear. He was preparing for the first day at his new post. He set his crossbow, pulling the string and locking it into place. He held it at eye level, checking the alignment. It was great. Perfect. But what it was to be used for was far from that. Harald lowered his arm and breathed out a long weary sigh. With the bow dangling at his side like dead weight, he simply stood, stone-like in the middle of his tent, and realised that it had never before been so hard to step out and start his day. Not when his mind was frozen in the events of yesterday.

Last night during the routine exploration of the forest, he crossed paths with a hobblegrunt who was drinking from a delicate stream. The dragon's scales were deep blue, especially deep along its long neck and tail which made them meld into the night, but the blue brightened to lilac on its tailfin, the frill atop its head and the tips of its wings. Years of muscle memory meant that in one fluid motion, Harald's bow was in hand, loaded and aimed. Yet he didn't fire. The memory of a girl's spirited words was haunting him. 

If you put the smallest bit of effort into understanding dragons, I know you'll see them as I do.

He growled inwardly. Knowing he needed to get past this mental block, he decided to test the absurd notion that dragons are gentle intelligent creatures so that, once it's disproven, he could get back to work. 

He gathered his wits and stepped out of the brush. The dragon lifted its head and deep red spread from its snout across the entirety of its scales. Spotting the crossbow, it spread the frill atop its head and snarled. The sound sent a shudder through Harald, becoming a reminder that it's kill or be killed with these creatures. He almost raised the bow but stopped himself. He had a theory to test. Slowly, while keeping his eyes trained on the dragon, he placed the weapon on the ground and distanced himself from it. He remained tense, prepared to leap away the moment the creature fired. The dragon's menacing facade faltered as she lifted her head, now eyeing him and the discarded weapon. Slowly the dragon approached. Harald stayed rooted but lowered his head, wanting to look unthreatening. He kept his eyes on her talons as she came to a stop and straightened still several feet away, but for the big creature, it felt remarkably close. When a sunny green hue spread its way to those talons, he lifted his head and gazed at the dragon peering down at him. Her frills had spots that matched her eyes, or rather the honey yellow rim around her pupils. Harald was astonished at the child-like curiosity glowing in those eyes. A distant roar reached them and she swung her head around towards it. She gave Harald a final glance before scuttling away.

A stone flew through the crack in Harald's tent and bounced over, jerking him from his thoughts. He glanced down at it, noting that it was wrapped with paper and twine. When he crouched and scooped it up, he found 'Just want to take' scribbled on it, though 'take' was ingloriously misspelt. Perhaps it was meant to read 'talk'.

Though Harald had no clue what to expect, he found stepping outside to be a lot easier than moments ago. The morning sun winked at him from beyond the beach as his gaze roamed over the litter of tents and to the forest on the other side, where he spotted the figure of a girl. As soon as their eyes met, she slipped away into the brush.

"Oh boy," Harald muttered, but he set aside his misgivings, pocketed the stone and followed.

Rustling filled his ears as he pushed through the green and gold of the forest. Abruptly his vision was filled with bright purple. He stifled a gasp and looked up to meet Whiplash's iridescent blue eyes. The dragon's calm expression put him at ease and he let out an airy chuckle. "I never did thank you for saving me from sinking with that island," Harald said. Whiplash made a deep purr and leaned in to inspect him with sniffles. Harald instinctively lifted his hands, but not from fright, rather he caught her face as one might do with an oversized pup. "Thank you, dragon."