Scarclaw

Scarclaw was a powerful, female dragon with black as-night scales, her wings consist of raven-like feathers and her underbelly shines in the color of a dark jade, with matching, spiky fringes on the top of her head. The tail was half as long as Scarclaw's body; it naturally waved slowly, almost mimicking an ocean. Her sharp claws could make a perfect cut to any tree in the forest. In her clamped jaws were what appeared to be deceased livestock or two, it was close to Scarclaw's feeding. Scarclaw could be mistaken as a flying obsidian gem, however, Scarclaw is only a night hunter, or nocturnal. She only traveled during the peak of the evening and is active through the night, disappearing without a trace in the day.

Villagers across the region think she is only a legend, a scary bedtime story; a myth. The legend said Scarclaw once belonged to a group of dragons that were powerful soldiers and fought their own war for dominance of the land. However, there were no humans present in the battle, so a victory could not be determined. A traveler noticed giant claw marks, burnt patches of grass, raised mountains, and also, allegedly discovered a skeleton that could have belonged to a dragon. From the scene in front of him, the vagabond created a tale - Dragons of War.

Of course, as any lore told in the medieval days, it was only seen as a fairy tale. No one believed in the traveler to be anything else other than a storyteller. Never did anyone think he was… almost correct in his story. There was only inaccurate detail about his tale - Scarclaw was alive. She’s the only survivor of the war. Dragons had no sense of emotions, such as grief. The victory only went to the side Scarclaw was on, as she was the only survivor. She could rule the land with whatever she wanted or what she desired; so she did. But not as what the other dragons could want. Scarclaw had a different idea. She just wanted to be left alone and the land was perfect.

This was many years ago, hundreds of years ago. Half of millennia.

She returned to her caved den, what she calls to be the perfect home. Scarclaw entered her home and released the deceased animals from her mouth, earning the sound of thumps of the bodies hitting the floor. However, hunger wasn’t on the dragon’s mind; it was unusual for Scarclaw. She walked away from her meal and walked on her pile of clothes. Yes, clothes. From armor to dresses to even the royals’ crown that was long forgotten. Dragons tended to be known as hoarding gold or treasure, symboling the beings as greedy. However, Scarclaw never saw the fixation of collecting treasure. Instead, the fabric of humans was her fascination. Before the war, the dragons previously made fun of her, stating she didn’t belong with the Thunder because she was different.

Scarclaw shook the thought away. The memories were not exactly the best for the dragon. She closed her piercing mint-colored eyes, attempting to sleep, for this night, was not a hunting night for Scarclaw.

Tip tap, tip tap.

The sound of fast, ticking feet awoken the dragon. Her nostrils flared, smelling a scent of what she could describe as human. She raised her head, gazing her sight towards the opening of her cave. Scarclaw was not an old dragon, but she was close to the age where she should start losing a small percentage of her senses. She inhaled again, the dragon felt confident this time; it was in fact a human.

Scarclaw raised her body and walks away from her den. Immediately as she peeked her head outside, a small rustling of the bushes attracted the dragon. There was no wind and the weather was perfect for a still, winter night; the ground was clear of snow. Scarclaw eliminated the process of the weather. There was something in the bushes. Most dragons would use some kind of firebreathing power to burn anything in front of them, but not Scarclaw. Most creatures were already afraid of Scarclaw and it was already late for any creature to be out. Using her front claws, she moves the bushes, only to discover something she didn’t expect to be out in the woods so late in the night.

Staring into Scarclaw’s mint-colored eyes were a pair of blue eyes. After only a few seconds, Scarclaw identified the being as a human. This human was different, however. Not like the ones she previously has seen before. The human was smaller, around two years old. It was curious and didn’t have any weapons or armor, almost as if it is not posing a threat. It had orange, curly hair and only wore a long, piece of white cloth. The human was barefoot, and the dragon noticed scratches on its arms and legs, small ones on its feet and face.

The child waved their hands in different tiny waves of movements and symbols. The toddler had a smile on its face. Scarclaw didn’t attack, instead, was intrigued by the movements the child is making. Along with age, Scarclaw also grew knowledge and this was a language humans have created for those that cannot hear or speak or even both. Focusing her eyes on the child, Scarclaw telepathically spoke, “Can you hear me, child?” The child blinked twice in confusion, but also excitement. The little human nodded quickly in response. “So, you can hear me, but can you speak to me?” Scarclaw asked, locking her eyes on the human. The human shook their head no.

The child signed, “No, I can’t speak. So I sign!” Scarclaw narrow her eyes, inching her face toward the human, enough that the human can feel the heat from the dragon’s breath. “What is your name?” The child sign, “Bianca!” Scarclaw blinked at such an unusual name the humans bestowed upon the child. With a name like Bianca, Scarclaw identified the human as a female, a girl.

“Bianca. Where did you come from? It is no place for a girl to come out on her own.” Bianca only shrugged her shoulders. "Not sure, daddy left me out here to play a game, but he left." This little girl was abandoned, Scarclaw deduced. The clothes Bianca wore were thin and they will not keep the little girl warm. The dragon moves her head, pointing towards the cave. "Come, it is supposed to be fridged cold tonight."

Bianca tilted her head in confusion. “But, I was told not to go into a stranger’s home.” If Scarclaw had brows, she would furrow them in annoyance. “It’s too cold out for you to stay here. Do you happen to know when your father would come?" Again, Bianca shook her head no. “I will not allow you to stay outside.” The dragon moved her head, her jaws ever so gently, taking the back of the girl’s shirt, lifting her in the air, and bringing her inside. Surprising the dragon, Bianca never once displayed fear. Instead, the little girl only showed excitement from entering the cave of a dragon.

The smell of deceased livestock reached the girl’s nose, quickly covered it with her tiny hands, her brows furrowing in disgust. Yet, at the same time, the human witnessed the behavior of a dragon. Using her claws, Scarclaw scraped the clothes away from her hoarding pile, with hopes there are some clothes that could be used to create a bed or maybe something longer that will cover more of Bianca’s body to keep her warm. Scarclaw lowered the girl to the floor, “Find clothes that will fit you, or that will keep you warm.” The dragon quietly spoke. Bianca skimmed through the clothes, finding clothes that suit to her liking. Scawclaw worked on finding fabric that would work best as a blanket. “You will be staying here for the night. It is not safe for you to be out at night.” Bianca turned back to the dragon, “But, why?” The young girl objected. Scarclaw continued to adjust the cloth, “It’s too cold out and there are too many wildlife animals out there that will eat young children, like you.” Scarclaw finished setting the fabrics, nudging Bianca in the fabric. Luckily, in her pile, Scarclaw did find some heavy quilts hidden in her pile of collected fabrics.

Bianca crawled into the pile of Scarclaw’s treasures, pulling the blanket over her. She gave a silent yawn before she fell asleep.

Scarclaw thought to herself, Bianca will never see her father again. The sadness the little girl felt was one a child should not go through. She was abandoned and Scarclaw knew it too. Yet, she didn’t have the heart to tell Bianca the truth. And the truth was that. Scarclaw knew her duty is to make sure her protection of the little girl will last until she is old enough to fend for herself, but for what cause? For her to be lonely, again? Scarclaw wasn’t sure how to care for a younging, she has never had any of her own, as well as any of her kind.

Talking could be heard a few meters out of the way. The scent was familiar as Bianca’s. Scarclaw lowly growled, building in her throat. She proceeded to walk out of her den, her dark jade eyes piercing in the darkness, to find a man all of a sudden standing in front of her home. Scarclaw was visibly upset with the attire the human wore - it was the total opposite of Bianca’s. He had the smell of coming from a place with money and riches; his hair color matched Bianca’s. So, why was Bianca in rags? He also surprised the black dragon, he was not afraid. Scarclaw expanded her wings, to attempt to bring fear to the human. The two scents colliding in Scarclaw’s nostrils confirmed the man standing in front of her is Bianca’s father.

“I am not afraid of you, dragon.” Scarclaw narrowed her eyes, in addition to recognizing the scent, she can also smell substance of what humans called "Alcohol". “This is off-limits to you, humans. Leave my home and I will bring any harm to you.” “Ha! Do you think I’m scared of you!? I know who you are, Scarclaw. Legend said anybody that is in need of rectitude or salvation will come to you, in exchange, they give up their life. You eat the body but free the soul. Bring them into a new paradise and create a new thunder.”

Scarclaw indeed was on a mission - to find souls that do not deserve to live in poverty, abusive, nightmare of a life. She would take their souls, and start them new, as new beings, a new dragon to recreate her home, in exchange, she would devour the bodies and give her additional years to live. “That is correct. So, you are familiar with me?” “Of course, I am. I didn’t think I would see it for myself, but here I am.” The human peeked into her cave, Scarclaw lowered her wing, blocking anything that could give the little girl away. He grumbled in annoyance.

“She’s here, isn’t she? My daughter. She came to find you for solitude, to save her from me.” Scarclaw lowly snarled, “Why do you think that is?” The human man scratched his head, almost trying to play coy. “Well, I may not have the best job in taking care of my… useless daughter. She is a little bit of trouble for me, she gets in my way when I am meeting with other business partners, she should be lucky she has a bed and a house over her head. I left her here to play, but I decided to leave her while I took care of some business."

Scarclaw scratched the ground, “You ungrateful swine. Bianca doesn’t deserve to be your daughter. You left her here to perish, knowing this was going to be one of the coldest nights.” The dragon could see the human sweat, the swallow of a lump going down his throat. Scarclaw growled, and then roared in front of him. Her jaws were opened wide enough for the scum to see inside the mouth of a mystical dragon. The wind of the roar was enough for him to fall right to the ground. Scarclaw snarled loudly, showing the human she was not afraid. “How dare you… I should clench you in my jaws at this very moment, hoping you will never exist again! However…” Scarclaw retreated away, her eyes staying in contact with him. “As a favor to the little girl, your daughter, I will not do that. Therefore, you will never treat others the way you treated Bianca. I hope you don’t cause another to run and find me, because I will take them and offer a better life. That is my intention for Bianca.”

“Wait, I can’t have her back?” “Why should you? I fear if she goes with you since I can smell your lies, I will never see her again. I shall end you, right here, right now.” On cue, the man pulled out a gun and immediately shot fire, causing a loud bang in the forest. The man wasn’t knowledgeable on how to really take down a dragon. Scarclaw snickered, “Foolish human.” She stalked the man, hovering over him, ‘’You’ve made a grave mistake. Your daughter belongs to me now. And you,” Scarclaw lowers her face close to the man, “You will never see the light of day again.”

The sun began to slowly rise, and Bianca woke up at her own pace, stretching her arms. She noticed Scarclaw is cured next to the little girl, her wing spread out, like comforting the little girl with additional warmth. She slowly sat up and pet Scarclaw’s wing. The dragon, after a brief moment, woke up and turned to the little girl, “Bianca, my dear. How did you fare in your sleep?” Bianca signed, “This was some of the best sleep I’ve had.” Scarclaw smiled, giving a nod in understanding. “Would you want to come travel with me? I am looking to begin a new and I think you would do well to help with my cause.” Bianca giggled, not being able to contain her excitement. “Really!? Well, daddy isn’t back, yet. Sure, why not!?”

Before the sun could brighten the earth's lands, Bianca climbed on Scarclaw’s back, she pat the dragon, getting her attention, “We will come back, right?” Softened eyes gaze at the little girl, “In time, my child, in time.” Scarclaw spread her wings and took off in the sky towards the western horizon with the child, hoping the sun’s light doesn’t shine down on them.

Scarclaw indeed gave Bianca a new beginning.