Mongolia walked through the forest with his bow held ready. It has been a long time since a carnivore attacked his herd. And he is gonna make sure they will not do it again.
Strolling within the variety of trees, he listened carefully for any source of a twig snapping, wolves are cunning creatures, they are quiet, nimble, and fast; however, not silent enough for him to find them. 'So far... No wolf sighting, perhaps they all fled to a different area.' He thought.
He sighed and lowered his guard, just then... A fast figure zipped through the trees. He jumped in shock and pulled an arrow to shoot, something was without a doubt present. He carefully stepped closer, a soft growling sound came from the bush. Mongolia was ready to shoot until whatever was inside dashed away.
Mongolia chased behind the animal, following its footpath. This wolf was a quick one, normally he could run fast like the wind; he has never seen something so swift other than himself. He released some flurry of arrows, hoping to have anticipated the wolf's movement. Unluckily, the wolf dodged by shielding itself behind the trees.
He stopped running after it and decided to use an easier route. He jumped high and traveled by hopping off the tree branches. Eventually, he was able to land in front of the wolf and point an arrow at its head.
"This is as far as you'll go, my scurrying little friend. Our game of cat and mouse ends now." The animal under him raised its head, it had two small horns, a pair of wings, and a red tail. His eyes widened, he couldn't fathom what he was seeing, "Just a young dragon? W-What is your kind doing running on the mainland? Were you the one eating my sheep? You are certainly in a horrible condition..." The dragon looked him in the eyes, Mongolia saw the dragon had wonderful red-colored pupils.
Before he could tap the dragon's head, he quickly ran past him. "Hey wait!" He reached out, thinking if he should follow him or let him be.
...
On the way home, he couldn't get that dragon off of his mind. It sure has been ages since he last saw one. His appearance had a few bruises and cuts, something surely had happened to him. Where were his parents? No infant should be left disregarded, regardless of species. "I'll go look for him later, it's becoming late..."
...
Over the past weeks, Mongolia's livestock has been eaten one by one, though he didn't mind. He already had ample to share, sometimes he can convince himself that the dragon was actually doing him a favor. There are too many mammals out here and Mongolia couldn't walk freely without bumping into one.
One time he saw the dragon slaying and eating one during the night. The night lamb eater was so majestic, the way his red eyes glowed, how pointy his fangs were. He didn't want to trap the dragon, he just wanted to look at him. "Woah... he is so... wild," he says while watching a dragon rip the flesh off of a little lamb.
Searching for the dragon has become his daily routine now. He had to admit, the dragon was an expert at hiding. On the way back he could feel eyes looking back at him, he could only assume his small friend was following him. "Well, I better go home!" He says loudly enough for the dragon to hear, before he could call it a day, he collected his crops and watered them anew.
It has been a long day, he crashes onto the bed with a groan. Staring at the ceiling, his eyes slowly shut. Drifting off to sleep, a dream sequence played in his head.
...
"GRrrrr!"
"Easy... I'm not gonna hurt you..." he put the bow behind his back. A dragon was caught with severe injuries, Mongolia didn't want any trouble, only to aid a person in need. "listen, the guards are gonna find you, either come with me, or your life ends."
"Why should I trust you? Many of your kind have slain us!" The dragon sneered at him, "I'm not like them, you can believe me! Hurry, they'll be here any minute."
The dragon thought for a while, he then nodded his head allowing Mongolia to support him and walk far away from the kingdom. Back then, Mongolia had a small post with a tower next to it near the kingdom. He laid him on the bed and took off the dragon's clothes. "Yikes, those are awful wounds, better clean them up."
He added a cleaning agent to a white cloth and began removing the dirt and debris. The dragon hissed in slight pain and he treated him more carefully. Once cleansed he patched him up with a bandage and smiled at his work.
"There, all better now, are you feeling alright? No illness or pain?" A small smile could be seen on the dragon's face, he turned to him before answering, "Y-Yes, I'm alright now, thanks to you. Sorry, I'm not used to being treated with this much kindness, especially from a... Human."
"No problem, friend, I understand everything. You should stay here until all your gashes are healed." Pulling out thick sheets from the closet, he puts them on his new companion. "May I ask how you got into this situation?"
"I was visiting the mainland only for a short while, there is a festival going on in the city with lots of shiny lights. I was having fun... Until my identity was revealed..." He swayed his tail.
"Ah, you must mean Lunar New Year, it's a celebration that only happens once a year. Have you come here alone?" The dragon nodded his head, "Yes, no other dragons are with me."
"Lunar New Year is a festival meant to be celebrated with family. Why didn't you bring yours?" Mongolia was very curious of him, dragons always intrigued him and he always wished to meet one since he was little.
"I'm not sure that's a wise idea. I wouldn't want to bring my family in danger. What about you? Everyone seems to be in the kingdom, you are the only one outside." Mongolia's face saddened, family and relatives were a heavy subject for him. "That is not important... Say, I haven't introduced myself... My name is Mongolia." He offered his hand to shake.
The dragon stared before accepting, "Nice to meet you, my name is Ru..."
Right at the moment his name could be said, Mongolia awakened from his dream. He instantly got up and looked around, realizing he was still at home he crashed back to bed again. "I guess I'm still thinking about my home... Or maybe... About him?" He wasn't completely sure. After doing some stretches, he stepped outside of the wooden house covered in wool.
He looked around the area, his herds were fine, and his crops were continually growing, but there was one thing off. There was no sign of the fresh dragon trace, "Strange... No dead lamb... Was the dragon full with something else? I better go check..."
Now it wasn't his business to meddle with dragons, he found it odd that the dragon didn't eat anything tonight. Checking the forest he observed the trees and tall shrubs, suspiciously, but no trace of the dragon, yet.
A sound came from somewhere, the voice of people. He ran to the source of the loud noise, it led him to 5 people cornering someone. "*Clears Throat* What are you boys doing here?"
The people turned around and saw Mongolia standing there watching them, "I thought I told you all to stay out of these woods," he said with his arms crossed. One of the men chuckled, "We'll be out of your hair soon, we just gotta take care of something."
They all reverted their attention back to whatever they were looking at. "What is that you are looking at?" He peeked through them. "None of your business," One of them shouted.
"Are you hiding something from me? Come on, show it!" They glared at his command, then they drew their knives out. "You want to know so badly? Come see it!"
They charged at him, Mongolia rolled his eyes in disinterest, he sighed and shook his head, this was starting to get old. He effortlessly dodged their attacks and thumped whoever missed him. One tried to tackle him from behind, but he moved away and elbowed his back.
It didn't take them long to realize they were no match for him. These low-class thugs all ran screaming and Mongolia dusted his hands. "Now... as for the mystery."
He inspected the person sitting in a fetal position, "*Gasp* It's you..." Indeed, it was the dragon he had been interested in for days. Now that he got a chance to get a closer look at him, the boy suddenly pounced and latched onto his neck, Mongolia regained his composure before he could fall back. "Woah! Slow down, small one." The kid smiled happily at him, "You saved me! You are my hero!"
"Yeah... I get that a lot," he pulled the little dragon off and set him down, he checked his figure, and; all of his clothes were torn and dirtied. "Who are you? You're certainly not in your best clothes. What is your name anyway?"
"R-Russia," That name rang a bell in his mind, it kinda of reminded him of someone he knew, but he couldn't put his finger on it. "Russia?" The boy hummed in confirmation. "You're not from the mainland, are you? Russia, where are you from?"
"I-I'm from my house," yes, that really helps a lot. "Well now, I'll hazard a guess this forest isn't your home, so what on earth are you doing here?" He knelt and put his hands on Russia's shoulders. "I... was following папа."
"And where exactly is this "Папа" of yours?" Russia's tears slowly poured out, "I don't know... I was following him and then I got lost, I have no idea where he's gone. I want to go home!"
Russia hugged Mongolia's leg almost making him trip. "I can't just drag you along wherever I go, and I'm unquestionably not going to bring you to my home, that idea didn't go well the first time. So you better not be getting too attached to me."
"B-but," Russia was on the verge of crying, "No buts!" He showed him the "No" gesture. Russia began to wail and Mongolia felt horrible for making a kid cry. "Ugh... Fine. Come with me, Russia, I'll help you out of here, but that's all."
Mongolia walked ahead and Russia grabbed his cape causing him to stumble. "And you have to promise there will be no crying. Just a single tear and I will leave you alone, got it?"
The Russian dragon nodded and followed along. He grabbed Mongolia's hand to which he was caught off guard. Russia was brought out of the forest, "Alright, we are out, and you can go somewhere else now. Goodbye," he waited for him to leave, however, he wasn't moving. "Uhm... I don't have anywhere to go, and it's scary out there! I want to be with you, Please!"
Russia again hugged Mongolia's leg, he could feel the dragon's tears soaking the fabric. "Come on, I said no crying..." he petted Russia's head to comfort him, in some way, he couldn't handle the guilt any longer. "Ugh! Okay, you can live with me for the time being."
He stopped his sobbing and looked at Mongolia with puppy eyes, "Really?" he wanted to make sure he was willing to look after him. "Ah, yes."
Russia cheered and his wings flapped with joy. Mongolia walked ahead with Russia circling him. Mongolia knows he is gonna have a hard time with him. "I'll say this, you're a tough kid to be surviving in this forest for such a long time."
...
"Welcome to my home, but of course, you've already seen it from afar." He took his clothes off and rested on his chair. Russia was excited to be here, he touched everything and flew around the house. Mongolia watched him in amusement, 'This kid reminds me of my younger days...' he thought.
Soon, Russia finally calmed down and sat on the floor. They both exchanged looks, the situation was getting awkward for Mongolia, considering how Russia was only staring at him and not doing anything else. The moment broke when Russia's stomach rumbled, "Oh, are you hungry?"
Russia nodded his head and Mongolia stood up, "Then let me cook something for you!" He grabbed a few vegetables and began peeling their skin with a knife. Russia watched him with interest, he'd never seen a vegetable before. "What is that you're doing?" He asked and Mongolia answered, "I'm peeling the potatoes and carrots."
Russia has never seen a potato in his entire life. Generally, he doesn't know what vegetables look or taste like. He grabbed a potato and bit on it, "... Blegh, that tastes awful."
"Well of course it does, we haven't even cooked it yet. Here have this washed and peeled carrot." Mongolia gave him the red carrot. Russia turned it around, it was pointy... He took a bite. It was a bit hard and harsh, although, he could taste the sweetness nonetheless.
After washing all the veggies, he brought out the meat and began cutting. Russia's tail wagged when he saw the piece of meat and took a piece. Before he could bring it to his mouth, Mongolia snatched it away, "Don't eat it raw! But... I guess that is how you are supposed to eat it." He was embarrassed for being worried, he forgot he was caring for a dragon and not a regular child.
"Would you mind trying something new? Maybe add some new diets into your body." Russia shrugged his shoulder, "Sure, wouldn't hurt to try."
Russia observed how Mongolia cooked. He sprinkled some white sand-like things on the dish, when he asked what they were Mongolia responded, "It's called salt, here try it."
He pinched some into Russia's mouth, he grimaced at the taste, "Ew, that's awful." He wiped his tongue, Mongolia laughed finding his expression hilarious, "Sure it does, but wait until you taste this!"
He filled a bowl with food and put it on the table, "Ta-da! This dish is called Fried Rice, or what I like to call it, Будаатай Хуурга!" Russia tilted his head in confusion, he didn't know about how he was going to eat this. Mongolia put a utensil next to the bowl. "Russia grabbed the mushy rice, he cringed at the uneasy feeling," He closed his eyes and put them into his mouth.
After chewing and swallowing, his eyes lit up, "WOW! This is the best thing I ever tasted!" He sunk his face into the bowl and ate like a wild animal. He was quick to finish the bowl, "Can I have more?" Russia gave the bowl to him, "Sure... I made plenty."
He refilled his bowl, and before Russia could dip his face again Mongolia stopped him, "Russia, slow down, you're gonna choke! Eat with a spoon."
Russia tilted his head in confusion, "Spoon?" He said and Mongolia illustrated the silverware he was holding. "Correct, a spoon, you eat it like this, see?" He demonstrated to him how to use it. Russia followed along and learned what the purpose of a spoon was.
"This tastes wonderful, I like these brown and dark ones, what are they called?" Mongolia looked at where he was pointing. "They are the meat you tried to consume."
"I thought they tasted familiar! How did you make the meat so soft with flavor?" Mongolia showed him the salt and pan, "You see this? This is a stove. I put some wood inside it and set it on fire, the fire heats the pan and I put raw food in it to make it edible. I also add salt and pepper to it for more... Pizzazz. Don't you have these in your home?"
Russia shook his head, "No.... my family and I have only eaten raw meats папа brought." Mongolia found it interesting, "Really? And you think my cooking is good?" Russia's eyes glittered.
"The best!" Mongolia grinned, "Well if you thought that was good, taste this!" He handed him a box full of wrapped candies. Russia grabbed one and unwrapped it, he noticed how Mongolia was giving him an ecstatic look. When Russia put the candy inside his mouth, it felt like the whole world was turning for him. "Woooow! This tastes... AMAZING!" He started to fly and Mongolia laughed. "I remember my first time eating candy, that was the exact reaction I gave, once."
The candy satisfyingly melted in his mouth and he hugged Mongolia to show his appreciation. "*Sniff* Wait a minute, *Sniff Sniff* Hm, you smell like mud and rainwater, guess someone needs a bath."
"Bath?"
So this is how the story begins, what do you all think? Also, check this art out! It was made by Kaimirou. Do follow him on Twitter and Instagram, the guy has got talents!