The Wondering Child

“I’ve seen you in a dream.” The girl spoke. She was fearless in the face of the vast, red-scaled dragon before her. They were utterly alone in a forest clearing made by the claws and wings of the majestic yet terrifying creature. The girl couldn’t be older than six or seven. Long black hair that flowed to her upper back. She was dressed in rags, brown and dirty, covered in soot and smudge, black from where heat tried to burn them. She was cut up from where she ran through the woods, but her eyes, a nice hazel color, shined bright with an unknowing knowledge.

However, the biggest draw for Alyra was a bronze dragon fragment dangled around the girl's neck. Held on a strong, pristine silver chain, the scale reflected sunlight. The chain was elven, but the girl was human. Elves didn’t like outsiders in their forest, but she wasn’t near elven woods.

The scale pulsed with energy. The power was so strong it gave Alyra a headache just glancing at it. It wasn’t painful but alluring. It promised great power. But Alyra had a feeling that the power wasn’t for her. She only knew one dragon with this kind of power.

“You don’t fear me, girl?” The dragon, Alyra, spoke her voice deep but with a hint of confusion. To the girl, the dragon was enormous. She towered higher than the trees in the woods, but only by a few feet.

The girl reached her hand out toward the dragon. “No… I should, but I don’t.” She frowned. “Do most people fear you?”

“Most do.” Alyra moved her claws slightly as if adjusting herself. She shook herself, and the trees all rustled against her red scales. Leaves fell around the two of them in the gentle breeze. “What has you running through this forest, girl?”

“I…” The girl hesitated before she spoke again. “I don’t remember.” The girl held her hands together and looked at the grass at her feet. “I just remember trees. Lots of trees.” She looked up at the dragon again. “Taller than you. And everywhere too. They were so beautiful. I could only see the sun through cracks in the canopy…” her words faded away.

Alyra sighed. To the girl, the world rumbled around her.

“Where did you plan to run to, small one?” Alyra asked.

“I’m not sure,” the girl said. “Though I suppose now that you’re here, I can just go with you.” The girl smiled and reached her hand out toward Alyra again. “May I?”

Alyra was taken aback. Not many mortals saw dragons in this day of age, let alone touch their scales. Most would fear them. “Why should I?” the dragon asked.

“I wonder if yours are as rough as this one,” the girl reached down and grabbed the scale. “I was told that this is from a powerful dragon.”

“A powerful one indeed,” Alyra replied. “You are lucky, child,” Alyra grumbled again and lowered her head to the girl's outstretched hand. The girl placed a hand on her scales and gave a light hum.

In a flash, Alyra saw memories all at once, flashes of burning trees, buildings made of white stone built into trees, and the side of a mountain. Screams and flames took most of the second of time that passed. People fled in all directions, and it was impossible to determine who or where. But what she saw for sure was a gleam of a bronze scale and a blade made of midnight.

“Your scales are so smooth,” the girl said. “Not like this scale. I like your scales.” The girl smiled and took her hand away.

What secrets, Alyra wondered, does this girl hold within her?

“Can I come with you?” the girl asked. “I would very much like the company. I promise I won’t slow you down.”

“You have small feet for traveling. I have mighty wings!” Alyra reared back and extended her wings wide. “I find it difficult for you to keep up with me.”

“You can walk with me,” the girl said bluntly. “I mean, how are friends supposed to get to know each other.” The girl smiled and swayed from side to side as the dragon reared in her wings. “I’m Salyna. We are friends, right?”

Alyra couldn’t help but smirk. Well, she smirked as well as she could. Brave. Alyra thought. That is how I will describe her. She decided to humor her. It wasn’t like her to kill randomly like others of her kind, but this child was odd, and her curiosity peaked at the very least. But she could tell the child was, in one way or another, important.

“Very well, child. I suppose I can walk…” Alyra spread her claws out and into the ground. Her scales began glowing bright red, and the dragon's red eyes flared brightly. Fire burst from the scales and wreathed around her entirely and began to shrink the dragon down, covered by the raging flames. In a matter of seconds, the dragon was no more, and a human woman in a sleeveless red and gold robe, foot wraps and wraps around her arms, she stood looking at the girl. Her hair was long blondish-red, and her eyes were still a fiery red, with slits like a dragon. The grass and trees around her were scorched but not burning.

“You’ll have to forgive me, child,” Alyra said. Her voice was fierce but soft. She began walking up to her. “I prefer my natural form.”

“That’s okay,” Salyna said. “At least now we can walk together.” Salyna walked up to her and reached out her hand to the woman. “Do you have a name?” the woman stood a foot taller than her, but Salyna didn’t seem to mind.

Alyra paused for a second. Slowly, she took her hand and held it. The girl’s hands were soft, but she saw no flashes this time. “You may call me Alyra.”

“Why didn’t your clothes burn up?” Salyna asked as the two began walking off into the woods.

“They were tailored with magic,” Alyra replied. “Specially made for my kind.”

“Do all dragons have special clothes?” Salyna asked.

Some cannot transform as I can.” Alyra couldn’t help but crack a small smile as they walked. Salyna was a curious one. She knew someone who could help her. If the scale came from the dragon, Salyna would need all the help she could get. They walked together for a while without a goal or destination in sight.