Fiction logo

Sacrifices Made

Dragons of the Valley

By Abby JacobsenPublished about a year ago Updated 11 months ago 5 min read
5
Sacrifices Made
Photo by Mike Bowman on Unsplash

There are small eyes peering out from the bushes surrounding the clearing, the color not unlike new tree branches or the leaf litter on the ground. Te’sara-zura is quite used to most things being smaller than her. She had grown taller than the oldest tree in her territory long ago and often she was the biggest living thing for miles. But most small things she was used to. Most were covered in soft fur or had hard exoskeletons. Most did not tremble against the cold, frosted ground or watch her for so long un-startled. The little creature had skin like the tree-flesh hidden by rough bark and hair the color of her mountainous cousins’ claws. Despite these colors, that Te’sara-zura thought of as well protected and hard, the little one was so soft.

Te’sara-zura determined that she must be looking at a human child. The young-death creatures didn’t often come to her vast swath of forest. The trees backed onto cliffs that led straight into salty waves, then with so much distance there was between the forest and river it wasn’t often the humans bothered to make the trek. For ones so dependent on the fresh water of the rivier and so incapable of seeking it out by smell or sound, they could not often venture so far as to disturb her territory. It was also quite possible, Te’sara-zura was sure, that the young-deaths were frightened of her. She knew she was harmless to them, seeing as she was uninterested in the lives of such creatures, but the primitive species had no real way of knowing that themselves. She would be frightened herself, she supposed, if something 10 times her size occasionally caused half a forrest to shudder as it moved through it.

The little human did not seem as frightened as the full grown ones Te’sara-zura had encountered though. It instead seemed to continue to be curious about her presence as though it had maybe not seen another living creature for a moment. It crawled, or rather pulled itself forward while seated on its butt, from the bushes. With large eyes wide and liquid the creature made a little hiccuping noise and reached up with pudgy hands.

Te’sara-zura gingerly reached towards the human child, taking great care to keep her sharp fore-claws sheathed. Before she realized what she was doing she was holding the child close to her chest. For a moment Te’sara-zura held the child awkwardly, trying to find the balance between dropping the child from holding on too loosely and scratching the soft thing by holding too tight. Then, a memory from the days Te’sara-zura and her brother Ti’segar-sola were hatchlings bumbling around their sisters claws. Ta’sigo-saca was already grown when she began taking care of her siblings and she was much more learned. She had told Te’sara and Ti’segar of a special ability that dragons had, to change their shape into something else. To try fur or bark or shell or, as Te’sara-zura was thinking now, soft skin.

She set the child back down, just in case, and tried to remember the feeling Ta’sigo had described. She felt her center of gravity shift, something like the cloth coverings she’d seen villagers wear falling over bared skin. Something thick and soft falling around newly fleshy ears, hair maybe. Te’sara-zura hadn’t realized it would be so loud. She thought hair would be more like the patches of feathers that covered Ti’segar or the waterproofed thick fur that covered large swaths of Ta’sigo-saca’s body. The swish-swoosh sound would take quite a lot of getting used to. When Te’sara-saca opened her eyes again she became dizzy, it was unnerving being so close to the ground. She reached out with her new arms and hands, she thought they were called, to get her balance. She laughed at the strange combination of soft tree-flesh colored skin and greeny-blue scales. It seemed she couldn’t completely hide her true nature in this form. She shook her head at the oddity she’d become and was assaulted with more of the swish-swoosh coming from her own head. She had no idea how the humans could deal with that.

Leaning down to pick up the child in this form proved to be a different kind of challenge. With how much lower she was to the ground she found herself laying flat out on it long before she thought. Laughing she laid next to the child, who seemed content to giggle at the dragons crash as well.

“Alright little one, let us find a place to care for you,” Te’sara-zura giggled out still trying to figure out the volume of her human voice.

**********************************************************************

The toddler was only the first Te’sara would find herself in charge of. The next moon brought a young girl tied, sobbing, against a tree not far from the clearing Te’sara had found the first young-death creature. The girl had been confused when she’d looked up to see a woman with a long braid and colored scale patches standing in front of her with a toddler on her hip. It took some time but soon Te’sara and the girl, Hara, learned to communicate. As they learned each others languages Te’sara learned that Hara and her first little one were sacrifices to the beast of the forest. The anguished roar Te’sara-zura let out at that shook the forest and inspired the villages who were giving their young to leave two older teens tied to trees near Hara’s the next day.

Every other moon saw Te’sara’s collection of sacrifices grow. Usually only by one or two. She received a record 4 young adult humans after her brother flew home from her territory. Te’sara and her young-death hoard made their own village. The older humans she was given had already begun learning skills in their villages. They built homes all together and the young women taught the young men along with Te’sara how to make the clothes. Te’sara-zura lit the forge for the young man who built it while she was still in her larger form from visiting her brother.

She slowly learned that each of her children had something “wrong” with them. The toddler could not make the words the humans used, Hara lived differently than she was born, her young man with the forge had a limp from his leg being crushed working with his mentor. The more Te’sara learned about her hoard, the more protective of them she became. The more enraged with the villages of young-death creatures by the river. Hara talked Te’sara out of simply burning them all to a crisp.

Te’sara-zura cared for her hoard and her hoard kept growing. She helped them become happy and healthy individuals, living as they could best. They learned there was nothing wrong with them, their community growing strong. A village full of sacrifices living in the forest of the beast. A dragon’s living hoard. A family.

***

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this story. If you enjoyed it please consider liking, subscribing, and/or sharing to socials and with friends.

If you enjoyed reading this story you may like this companion story.

AdventureFantasyShort Story
5

About the Creator

Abby Jacobsen

An Oregon based artist, reader, and writer.

Please like, subscribe, and share! Tips are always greatly appreciated!

I can also be found on Instagram, TikTok, and Tumblr!

Reader insights

Be the first to share your insights about this piece.

How does it work?

Add your insights

Comments (6)

Sign in to comment
  • Dylan Criceabout a year ago

    Thought the dragon shapeshifting was a neat mechanic. I also thought that each of the sacrifices having something wrong with them made the story more compelling. Very creative story and a unique take from all the rest.

  • Cathy holmesabout a year ago

    Wonderful, heartfelt story. Well done.

  • Sara Jane Triglia about a year ago

    Wonderful imagery. Thanks for sharing. Would love your feedback on my entree :)

  • This made me tear up a bit 🖤

  • Testabout a year ago

    I appreciated this sweet and simple tale. It's such a lovely reminder that we all have value and something to contribute to the world. Good job!

  • Heather Hublerabout a year ago

    Well done!! I loved the idea of the dragon being able to shapeshift and care for the 'sacrifices'. And then you added that they were all the misfits, and I loved it even more. Really great work :)

Find us on social media

Miscellaneous links

  • Explore
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Support

© 2024 Creatd, Inc. All Rights Reserved.