Dragon Blood

Thirteen: Home

Orion had returned with the large logs he'd found, raising an eyebrow at her chore before smiling in amusement and going to help Percy with the spit and fire. She lifted the skinned rabbits by the back legs and carried them over to Percy, who accepted and skewered them with efficiency. It wasn't long before the meat was brown and crispy over the fire, closely watched by Percy while she and Orion dozed around the fire. They'd eaten quickly, switching between bites of bland meat and the berries and mushrooms Orion collected. In actuality, it wasn't a terrible meal. By far the most primitive meal Skylar had ever eaten in her life, she'd eaten with her hands for crying out loud, but not bad. At least her belly was full and she was comfortably. After allowing Percy and quick rest, they were off once again. That had been roughly eight hours ago, and they'd been flying ever since.

At the thought of their meal this morning, her stomach growled again. A satisfying meal it had been, but that'd been a long time ago. She was hungry again, along with behind cold, so the last leg of their journey was likely to be complete misery for her. She wondered if her dragon companions were as uncomfortable as she was, but she wouldn't dare ask.

Skylar's dragon had been quiet all day long, quite happy with the fact that Skylar wasn't going anywhere while they were hundreds of feet above the ground. Being in the company of two of her kind helped too. She loved being in the presence of two huge, menacing dragons. Skylar supposed she didn't mind it as much as she thought she would either. She tentatively stroked the golden dragon's neck where it met his back. He turned his head and looked at her out of the corner of his large eye, roughly the size of a large platter. She tried to read the emotion there, but it was more difficult to read a reptile's face than a human's. He simply blinked at her once before swinging forward again. She hoped they were almost there. She was incredibly bored and couldn't even talk to her companions to pass the time, not like they could if they were on horseback.

The gold dragon glanced back at her again, but the look in his eye was very clear this time: mischievous. His scaly lip curled slightly in a reptilian grin, and then they were diving.

Skylar squealed and grabbed the spike in front of her. This dive was much faster and much more abrupt than earlier. She had no idea why they were diving, they weren't landing like before, since they were currently above a very dense forest. She closed her eyes and pressed her body close to his neck so the force of the wind didn't force her off his back. The spike was just far enough forward that she didn't get impaled as she laid flat. Orion's wings were tucked close to his body as they plummeted downward, letting gravity do with them what it would. Skylar's stomach was left somewhere up near Percy.

The wind roared past her ears, whipping through her braid, her skirts billowed around her. She wasn't sure if she should be afraid, worried, or enjoying the odd sensation of weightlessness. Before she could decide, Orion's wings flew open, and their descent was abruptly stopped. They flew back upwards and Skylar used all the strength in her arms and legs to keep from flying off the dragon's back. She tried to find purchase on the slick scales of his shoulders with her slippers, but they weren't conducive for climbing, especially when gravity was trying harder than normal to drag her down.

She was about to panic about falling off when Orion leveled out again, continuing forward as if nothing had happened. His wings flapped steadily, slicing through the air, quietly, calmly, and efficiently. Skylar blinked in confusion. Her heart was racing, and that was her only evidence that anything out of the ordinary had happened. That, and the fact that Orion's massive head swung around with his huge teeth showing in what could only be described as an impish grin.

Skylar glared at him and curled up a fist to slam into his side. She was under no impression that it had any impact on the beast, but it was satisfying anyway. "Are you trying to kill me?" she shouted above the wind. She could barely hear herself, but the dragon got the message.