Obsidian Daises

The smoke ridden air hung low in the thick canopy of trees. The scorched horizon glinted with an unearthly fire, the sky a deep orange from embers and burning buildings. The breeze was strong enough to escort away any scent of death, but cries from the village reverberated in the darkness. A little girl sat in the underbrush, char and blood on her cheeks. Her clothing was shredded and bloody, her bare feet burned red. She shivered as the clashing of metal, laughter, and slaughter echoed in the forest. There were shouts of triumph, then screams of pain. In her stupor, a dark figure broke through the deeper, darker end of the trees, apparently curious by all the commotion nearby. The stygian-scaled beast walked slowly down a slope of dirt, its claws scraping the sides of a steep cliffside as he descended. It stopped abruptly when its feet hit solid ground. The creature stood at least thirty times as tall as the girl. Its eyes were large, yellow with slit pupils; they glowed like lanterns against the pitch-black night. The creature lowered to the ground, sniffing the air and observing the toddler; acknowledging the unmoving human face-down in the dirt that still seemed to be clutching her.

The beast turned its gaze past the girl towards the glowing horizon, then back at her. The child looked up into the eyes, trying desperately to speak. "Hep... pease…"

Its eyes narrowed.

"Hep," she said again, softer this time. She looked down at the body cradling her, gently shaking it with one arm. Her other, the dragon noticed, was bleeding and seemed to be drenched in blood.

Her lifeforce and ichor dripped onto the ground, leaving behind a small crimson trail along the forest floor. She began to whimper, tears welling up in her eyes. "hep..."

The dragon snorted. It looked at the body tentatively, unsure how to react to the human.

It decided to ignore the corpse and instead focus on the little girl before it. The dragon's nose wrinkled up as its sharp teeth flashed. It crouched low to inspect the child, taking notice of the scratches across her body and a deep gash along her left arm. The scent of metal and gore wafted off the wound, spelling certain infection. The smell made the dragon growl softly.

"hmph." The dragon rose from its crouch, glaring at the child again for good measure.

It turned around and began to walk away.

"HEP!" The small voice startled the dragon, making it stop in its tracks and glare at the tiny figure once more.

She took advantage of its hesitation and crawled closer to the monster, pointing back at the body. "HEP!"

The dragon snorted again and shook its head, turning away from her and moving forward once more.

"HEP!" she yelled louder this time, grabbing at the scales of its tail. Her fingers were short stubby nails. "HEP! HEE!"

The dragon turned back to look at her. The two remained silent for several seconds as it glared at the child. As both turned to look at the motionless body in the dirt, the dragon asserted simply, "Dead." Its voice, low and powerful, seemed to shake the world around it.

The child stared blankly at the lifeless form.

The dragon's face hardened slightly. "Dead."

Her small hand released its tail and fell limply by her side. As if sensing her frustration, the dragon continued to stare at her expectantly. The child looked away.

The voices from the burning village seemed to be approaching, and the sound of a branch breaking nearby stole both their attention.

"What do we have here?" a rough voice asked. "I thought I heard something coming from those bushes." The voice belonged to a gruff man with a beard as long as a horse's coat. He wore a heavy chain mail shirt over a brown leather jerkin. He carried a long sword strapped to his hip. Two more men followed closely behind, both wearing identical clothes, except for the color. They were focused on the girl, apparently not noticing the large black figure camouflaged by the dark forest.

As if on cue, the dragon opened its great maw, revealing rows upon rows of razor-sharp teeth. It stepped forward menacingly, emitting a deep roar. The three men immediately froze. One of them brandished a sword while the third one started frantically running away in fear.

The dragon let loose another roar and charged after them, crashing through bushes and trees in pursuit of its prey.

The girl watched in silence, watching them while she lay helplessly between the branches of a fallen tree. The giant immediately pursued the frantic man, crushing him before he could escape. The last two prepared for combat, then with a single swipe, the huge beast severed the neck of another. The last man standing lunged towards the towering dragon, holding his sword aloft and slashing down and finding its mark on its front left leg. The dragon roared and swiped its tail in retaliation. The man's body went flying into the tree behind him, falling limp.

The creature lifted its head and surveyed the carnage around it. Taking in a deep breath, it turned to look at the girl. Wide eyed, she slowly and clumsily stood up, her head too large for her small body. She slowly made her way across the clearing towards the creature. She stumbled ten feet away and the dragon snarled at her, showing off its pointed fangs. She flinched, looking away nervously before returning her attention to him.

She pointed at its injured leg, then back at her own gashed arm. "Owie…?" she squeaked.

He grunted in response, concurring with her.

After a few moments of deliberation, the girl ran back to her late guardian and grabbed a cloth. Watching curiously, the dragon allowed her to approach closer, and once she was close enough to touch, she wrapped the cloth around the dragon's wound. The blood flowed through the cloth, staining the rag red.

He blinked once. Then twice. She was treating its wounds.

"Owie," she repeated.

She smiled weakly at him. The girl pulled the scarf tighter to cover the dragon's leg. When she was satisfied, she let go and turned to face him. The cloth fell unceremoniously to the ground. Frustrated, the toddler tried to wrap the cut once more but again the makeshift bandage fell to the ground after she released it. Before she could finish a third attempt, a loud battle cry stopped her. The soldier who was knocked to the tree was running at them both.

The girl panicked again. She backed away towards the corpse, and tripped, landing hard on her back. The dragon stood its ground, ready to pounce and tear the soldier apart. A quick glance showed the soldier's face to be twisted in rage.

Another series of shouts echoed out through the forest.

The dragon huffed and looked away as he heard a group of warriors charging towards them from the direction of the village.

Two armored figures appeared on top of the hill. The man in the lead held his sword high, signaling an advance. Another warrior riding atop a massive and single horned bear waved his ax excitedly. The beast roared as it saw its enemies and raced toward the dragon.

After watching them begin their approach, the dragon turned swiftly and headed in the opposite direction from the incoming army. The girl got up and hobbled along behind him, using a tree trunk for support. With each step her legs throbbed, and her head spun more and more. Blood trickled down the side of her arm and down her legs. "HEP!" She ran as fast as her short legs would allow.

The dragon turned to look at her. The girl looked up at the huge beast, her eyes full of terror as she tried to run faster. "Hep…" she said, her voice trembling.

The dragon paused in contemplation. It growled frustratedly and looked at her. She was so small, so weak, so fragile. The dragon looked over at the men running towards it, its stomach churning in anger. There were more than two dozen men running towards him. Even with its size, it couldn't beat all of them. It glanced down at the girl. She stared at it silently, her brown eyes wide and frightened. Then the dragon pounced at her in a flurry and scooped her up, taking off with massive wings that sent gusts of wind through the forest below.

It soared quickly through the air and flew towards the safety of the mountains to the north.

Far and away from the village they landed carefully at the base of the mountain chain, near a cave surrounded by treacherous rock and guard posts. A loud horn sounded, signaling the arrival of an unwelcome guest. Soldiers bearing different armor than the ones assaulting the girls' village poured out of nearby huts, weapons drawn and ready for attack.

The dragon landed with a large gust of wind and released the girl gently on the ground in front of it. She was unconscious now and breathing shallowly.

The dragon noticed immediately and moved closer to inspect her, sniffing her face and forehead carefully. Its pupils dilated minutely when it smelt her blood coating her hands. Before the soldiers that now surrounded them could process what was happening, the dragon roared and spread its wings wide. With a great bellow, the beast began speaking in an ancient tongue, causing arrays of blue and gold to engulf it and the girl.

Its claws glowed brighter with each word.

When the incantation finished and the light died down, the dragon relaxed and examined the toddler once more. Her wounds were replaced by what seemed to be geometric shapes; arcs and dots running up and down her left arm. The dragon lowered himself to the ground and rested its massive claw next to her small body, leaving just a centimeter of space between it and the child. Still unconscious, her breathing steadied, and the dragon's heart slowed down as well. Satisfied, the dragon closed its eyes and slept.

(Note: misspelled "daisies" in the title. Rip.)