Of Giants & Dragons

There weren’t always Dragons in the valley. This was the bemused thought that went through the mind of Hurfun as he crouched with his best friend Yej in the thick bushes. Much like his own people, the dragons were pushed out of the fertile lands to the south. Those small, fierce, dark-skinned warriors with the spears and swords and bows and armor and horses had beaten back his people years ago and established firm borders that could not be crossed by hunters such as himself. It was their right, as the victors of the fight, and the Dubun giants would honor the terms. They now traded with the small Men who called themselves the Ojii’Binen, and there was peace. Simply being the largest beings on two feet didn’t mean the Dubun didn’t know when to admit defeat.

The Ojii’Binen did the same to the sand dragons, though perhaps they didn’t quite intend to. Dragons were delicious, after all, and the ones in the deserts ruled by the Ojii’Binen were no different. They were hunted for food and in defense of the livestock the herdsmen raised in their kingdom, and in defense of the herdsmen themselves. A hungry enough sand-dragon could erupt from the dunes and take a lone traveler by surprise. It didn't happen often, but it DID happen. The remaining dragons migrated north, to the less populated lands of the Dubun. Honoring the borders same as his own people, Ojii’Binen hunters didn’t cross the mountains in their search.

His best friend gave a low ‘whuff’ of exasperation, as only a bear could, sensing his distraction. The Dubun hunter shook himself; he had to focus now. Raiding a dragon nest was not an activity one did for leisure, no matter one’s size. Though he could, possibly, wrestle a small dragon buck into submission, a large nesting mother was another matter entirely. While the males were smaller than the bear at Hurfun’s side, the females were nearly twice as large, with far more teeth. But his family was hungry, and stumbling across this nesting sight was a boon, possibly a great one. Dragon meat would feed his family for a week, but the eggs? If he could obtain a few and get them to one of the chieftains, they would pay a handsome sum.

Hurfun considered the terrain. The valley was surrounded on three sides by mountains. The small cluster of trees where this nest was set lay at the foot of one of the mountains. The mountainside in this place was so sheer it could perhaps be called a cliff. The nest was set in the shadow of the mountain, with thick trees on either side of the depression the female dragon had made. While Hurfun and Yej could come directly towards the nest, it wouldn’t do to have the mother with her back to the wall of stone. That would cause her to fight all the more fiercely. If they left her with an avenue of possible escape, she just might consider the giant and the bear to be too much to handle and decide to save herself. It had been known to happen, if the mother was particularly young. Though, Hurfun reminded himself, those tales usually included multiple hunters, with yew bows that could harass the dragon from a distance. He pondered his options, and tried to think of how long they had sat here, and how soon the dragon might be back from wherever it had gone…..

Yej gave a low growl…Hurfun looked up as not one, but TWO female dragons lumbered out of the trees near the nest and plopped themselves down in the sand. Each had some kind of bloody carcass in their mouths. It was venison, or Hurfun was no hunter. More importantly, both of the dragons were already moving slowly, presumably having gorged themselves at the scene of the hunt before returning. They looked young, Hurfun decided as he watched them gnaw on the remains. If they fell asleep, between his spears and Yej’s maw, they could take them both! Nearly as soon as the thought crossed his mind, he banished it. It wouldn’t do to be greedy, after all. What if his spear missed, or Yej didn’t quite manage to get his fangs in? They’d have either one or two wounded, angry dragons that had been rudely awakened by intruders in their nest.

Decision made, Hurfun sighed quietly. He laid a hand on Yej’s grey flank and began to slowly crawl backwards. With a morose look at the meal they were abandoning, the bear took a moment, but followed suit. At a safe distance, the two hunters turned and quietly made their way out of the valley, following the stream towards the forest between the dragon nesting grounds and their own abode a day’s march to the north. Yej couldn’t speak, as Hurfun had heard that same beasts to the south could, but he nonetheless gave a low grunt that Hurfun interpreted as disappointment with this waste of a hunting trip.

“I am sorry, brother. But we must be smart. We need more hunters to challenge two dragons.”

Another whuff.

“I know you are strong and fast, but what if one of us made a mistake? We cannot risk it. Especially since we are to join the traders going south next week. How can we travel with our kin and see those warm lands if we injure ourselves fighting two nest-mothers?"

A disgruntled snort.

"Oh, be quiet. We're both hungry. If we find no game in the forest, we will fish.”

A moan.

“Yes, again. Fish is good for us, you know. Stop behaving like a cub.”

A grunt.

“Yes, you were.”

Another grunt.

“Yes, you were! Now be quiet. We are nearing the trees, and you are so loud that any deer would have to be deaf not to hear you coming….”

Hurfun stumbled to a halt.

So did Yej.

So did the male dragon with a fish in his mouth.

The three stood and stared at each other for a moment, before the dragon pointedly spat out the fish and eyed Hurfun greedily, baring his fangs.

The giant, for his part, looked at his bear friend, hefting his spear.

“Yej…perhaps we will have dragon after all.”

If a bear could grin…Yej did.