Divided

The story before the story.

The sky was darkened by the bodies of so many beasts shadowing the sun with wings and fire. When they were satisfied with the death and destruction portrayed below them, the dragons flew off in a mass, returning to the valley of thier homes of now empty nests due to more cruel, human actions. They swooped first over the tangled forest, not noticing the lonely little boy who managed to escape the chaos, stumbling forward, while wailing for his unappearing Mother.

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A now childless dragon flew madly, desperately, screaming out her pain, crying mournful tears which couldn’t douse the fire inside. Upon returning to her secluded nest to find it empty, except for a pool of blood, she immediately took flight to track the ones responsible. The same humans who had lured her from her nest by using the mesmerizing jewels.

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Distracted by the black clouds of smoke in the distance, she nearly missed seeing the tiny human child wandering down the forest path beneath her erratic flight.

The dragon swooped in then to land on the trail before the direction of the little boy’s travel, forgetting her desperate plight for a moment. She settled herself into a sitting position, her wings folded back. She watched curiously as the little boy approached. The urge in her was strong to leave the young one born of a kind who had brought so much unecessary turmoil to her own. Her compassion remained stronger. It kept her there.

When he got closer, she could see the tear trails marking his dirty face., even though he was no longer outwardly sobbing. Her heart leapt with the sudden return to the reminder of grief. She nearly leapt off the trail, readying her wings for flight again, but something drew her to remain. She watched the little one’s awkward movement, curious as to why he wandered the forest alone. The young human barely seemed to register the dragon’s presence until nearly upon her.

Upon spotting her massive form, the child’s eyes grew wide, not in fear, but curiosity and hope. He wanted comfort. In his very short time on Earth, he had never been exposed to dragons. With no fear, he reached out. “Mommy?” He said. She couldn’t understand his spoken language, but she returned the embrace.

Despite her tragic emotions, her heart warmed in the desperation of his tight hug, and with his little arms wrapped around her, she took to the sky again, soaring back to her own abandoned nest.

By the time they returned, the tiny boy had fallen asleep, tucked gently in the Mother-dragon’s arms. She found a blanket discarded nearby to cover the vulnerable form in comfort and security. She didn’t understand why she felt the need to protect the young of a clan that had caused so much despair to her family through out the years.

She felt compelled to discover the source of the billowing, black clouds she had seen rising beyond the forest. She wouldn’t be gone long, she just had to know.

The dragon quickly reached the source of the smoke plumes. She gasped at the horrendous sight of burning shelters and limp bodies lying scattered over the ground.

Was the massive destruction of the human’s village in retaliation for the death of dragon young, or was the attack on the young dragons retaliation for the destruction of their village? Or were both events deployed in continuation of the history of discourse between the two species?

The dragon circled back. She needed to return home.

Thank you for reading! I would appreciate your feedback!