The Scout and the Dragon

There weren't always dragons in the valley. Before the dragons, there was a city. The most prosperous city in the kingdom. There were hundreds of houses, fields and farms lining the horizon, and towers that could touch the sky and collect wisps of clouds on their rooftops. But, of course, that was before. Before the fire, before the screaming, and before the thundering roars that came from every direction. The sky was darkened with ash, the dragons’ colourful scales were gleaming from the harsh light of the fire below them. Their wings churned up the ash that had landed on the roads and charred rooftops, the fire had spread beyond the crumbled walls, and the towers had collapsed into piles of rubble. The dragons had come to the valley.

There were always dragons, but in the past they had stayed up in the mountains, out in coves by the sea, hidden away in deep underground caves, and camouflaged within thick forests. Never had they ventured so far into the kingdom. We’d come to learn soon enough that the first attack had only been a warning of more to come. Soon they were everywhere. Eventually, there weren't any large cities left. Then there weren’t any towns at all. The stories from before had always interested me, to think that there was a time before the dragons. Now, we live in small groups across the continent. Some of us have built hidden houses in the forests, held up by vines with bridges to get from one place to the next, but most of us live underground.

Like every other settlement, my community isn’t very big. There are three families living in this cave system, the Weavers, the Hunters, and the Scouts. I’m a Scout. Ocelot Scout. My family and I leave the caves every other day to find supplies, gather small amounts of food, search for other settlements, and make a note on if anything’s changed outside. I scout east of the caves, through the jungle, all the way to the coast. My sibling covers the south, down to the southern coast. Our parents cover both the west and north ends of the jungle, all the way out to the grasslands.

The sun was setting by the time I made it back. I dropped down from the tree branch that I had been standing on. This time I had a full satchel of berries, herbs, and roots, all either being edible or medicinal, much more than the usual amount. I crouched down to rummage through the leaf litter, trying to feel for the wooden frame of the hatch that led to the caves. One of my claws bumped against something other than the soft soil and twigs, and I chuckled, my sharp fangs glinting in the fading sunlight as I smiled. The first time I went out on my own it had taken me until the moon had fully risen to find the hatch. I flicked my tail as I lifted the heavy boards, taking care to not disturb too many of the leaves on top of it, and slipped into the darkness below.

My paws hit jagged rocks, and I winced at the feeling. I could never get used to the sharp gravel that spread across the entrance chamber. It only took a moment for my eyes to adjust to the darkness of the caves. Once I could actually see again, I looked around the familiar dome-like chamber that seemed to lead to nowhere. There weren’t any visible tunnels in the chamber, but having been through here countless times, I knew that was far from the case. There was a large crack in one of the far walls that was just big enough for someone to barely squeeze through. I uncomfortably walked over to the wall, trying to step as lightly as I could on the uneven stones. I removed my satchel and held it in my left hand as I started through the narrow tunnel, using my right hand to feel ahead of me and make sure that I didn’t get caught on any of the sharp edges along the walls. The crack eventually opened up to a much wider tunnel. I wiggled out into the main tunnel of the caves, my eyes once again had to adjust to the light of a nearby torch. I jumped as someone rounded the corner, letting out a jovial laugh.

“Took ya long enough!” Ah, that’s Panther, one of the Hunters. She’s the strongest of their family, her jet-black fur looked like it was glowing in the dim light from the torch that she was holding, her amber eyes gleamed in the low light and were squinted in a smile. It was hard to see, but I could still just barely make out the complicated leaf pattern on the trims of her black shirt and pants. Her hair was braided and tied up into a ponytail, the silver bands and hand-made beads reflected some of the light from the fire. “You’re the first one back for once,” she stated, “Find anything new?”

“No,” I said, smiling back at her. I had to crane my neck upwards to look her in the eyes as we started to walk down the tunnel together, “I was able to get more herbs and berries this time though.” Panther hummed in response. “Did anything new happen while I was gone?

Panther flicked her ear and tilted her head to the side, her beaded earrings gently clacking together with the motion, “Nothing huge, the Weavers started working on that request that your father made a few days ago, and Tiger repaired the handle on her favourite spear.” Right. Tiger, Panther’s sister, broke her spear on a rock on the last hunting trip the Hunters went on. Tiger wasn’t as tall or as strong as Panther was, but she was faster and a better climber. Her stripes helped her blend into her surroundings a bit better than Panther, despite Tiger’s brightly coloured fur.

By now, the hard stone floor had become covered in blueish-green moss, and there was glowing lichen growing along the walls. We stepped into the main cave a few seconds later. The cramped tunnel opened up to a massive underground chamber, clear spring water fell from the ceiling and into the underground lake below. Light from the setting sun was filtering down through holes in the roof of the cave that had been long-covered with large leaves and vegetation and were held together with large sticks that crisscrossed just beneath their leaves. Each family had their own section of the cavern, but they all looked very similar, and were made from the same materials. The Hunters were the closest to the entrance, their house just left to the opening and went about halfway down the path, with stands of different types of weapons taking up most of their space. My family’s house was just after, right next to the sheer drop down to the lake. We didn’t have much there, but we didn’t need much, especially since we were gone half the time. There was a bridge that we made from wood and woven rope that led across the lake to where the Weavers lived. They have the most space out of all of us, but were probably the most hidden because they were completely obscured by the waterfall when looking from the entrance.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, relaxing a bit more. It felt good to be back. I heard Panther chuckle at me as she put out her torch. We were about to head down to our houses, but froze at the sound of rapidly approaching footsteps coming from the entrance tunnel. As they came closer, I could make out the faces and fur patterns of my father, Leopard, my mother, Caracal, and my brother, Lynx, who was clutching something large, round, and wrapped in a blanket close to his chest. They stopped in front of us, breathing heavily.

Panther spoke first, “Leopard? Caracal? What’s going on? What did you find?”

“We saw a dragon flying north from the grasslands,” Answered Caracal, the others still too out of breath to speak. She quickly continued, not giving us a moment to process what she had said, “It was wounded, and crashed somewhere closer to the mountains, but we couldn’t see anything nearby that could’ve caused its wounds.” She took a moment to catch her breath before continuing, “Leopard, Lynx and I met up and looked around the grassland, just outside of the jungle. We found its nest.”

There was a long beat of silence before Panther spoke again. “...What is Lynx carrying under that blanket?”

Lynx stepped forwards, his pale fur seemed to shine in the fading sunlight that filtered into the cave as he unwrapped the blanket from the object he was carrying. The object was about the size of his torso, and was as black as onyx. It was smooth and round, and almost looked like there were stars gleaming through it.

It was an egg.

A dragon egg.