The pained bellow of a dragon shook Alexia from her stupor. She pushed herself up off the hard dirt with bloodied arms. Trying to focus her sight she looked around for the source of the sound. Turning to her left she found a large green blur standing in front of her, a dark red smudge blending in with it. It took her muddled mind a moment to realize that it was Coria and the bandits dragon fighting. As her vision righted itself Alexia was horrified to find the larger and bulkier Drake holding Coria by the throat. Her loyal bonded was fighting for a grip on the red dragon but her strength was waning.
Alexia stumbled to her feet only to be bowled over by the bandit, who had apparently not realized the girl was still conscious. Alexia swore and swung her fist at the brutes head, just had he had done to her. Luck was with her and she struck him square in the temple, dropping him like a rock. Looking around for something to stop the dragon with, she found nothing. A small human like her could never hope to break through the armor plating of a drake with nothing but the hunting knife she had. Her stomach coiled into a knot as she watched the fight continue. Unless reinforcements came soon, Coria was going to die.
With a deafening roar a white shape dropped from the sky, slamming into the red drake with all the force of a meteor. There was a loud crack as the drake hit the ground where it lay, unmoving. The White Wyvern who had attacked stood over it's body, looking distinctly smug with itself. A small body slid from it's back, running towards the stunned Alexia. Snapping from her daze, she turned from the other person and bolted for her fallen Wyvern. Sliding to a stop she fell to her knees at her Wyvern's neck, pressing all her weight onto the wound. Blood continued to flow from the puncture wounds, soaking Alexia's front even as she tried to stop it. The white Wyvern's ride knelt next to her and tugged her away.
“There's nothing you can do,” the calm voice pierced her frenzied mind. “I've seen wounds like this before, and on a dragon there's nothing you can do to stop the bleeding without proper supplies.” Whoever it was sounded apoligetic, but Alexia refused to look away from Coria. Her Wyvern was watching her with huge, panicked eyes.
Swallowing the lump in her throat, Alexia did the only thing she could do for her Wyvern. As she waited for her Bonded to draw her last breaths she sent calming, soothing feelings through their bond. As the terrified look left Corias eyes, it was replaced with a glazed, faraway look. Alexia chocked back sobs as the dragon tried to send her feelings to her human. They came out muddled, and Alexia couldn't determine what the dragon was trying to tell her. She tried to ask, but the bond holding them together suddenly snapped, cutting Alexia off from her dragon. Coria's eyes closed for the last time.
Giving into the sobs she had been holding back, Alexia leaned against her dragons neck. She would never again share the skys with her dragon, flying from city to city as a messenger. Her companion of more then half her life lay lifeless before her and Alexia felt like she had been cast adrift. And although the stranger who had saved her life tried to comfort her, she had never felt so alone.
No comments:
Post a Comment