Dragon's Legend Pt 1: Chapter 1

The light begun to fade as the sun set below the horizon.  A young light blue dragoness wonders though the forest for a place to rest.  Once she has found a place, which was a small abandoned fox den, she rested.  The next morning was a rainy one.  The dragoness didn't mind the rain, but with the rain pouring into the den, she could see why the foxes abandoned it a while back. Quickly, she dug though the moss and gently picked up a light colored egg in her mouth and walked out of the den.  
As the rain continued, she wondered for another place for her to stay for the next three months.  It was about 20 minutes later when the rain finally stopped, by that time, the dragoness found an old tree with its roots sticking out from the ground creating an interior under them.  She went inside slowly, looking for any signs of any inhabitants.  Thankfully, there were none.  The place had been abandoned for some time but not too long, there was still a stale scent of another creature in it, which didn't bother the dragoness much.  After she set her egg gently down and covered it with moss to make a nest for it, she went around her new found den and begun to claim it as hers.  
Three months has past. Now it was early summer, and the hatching of the egg was near.  The dragoness didn't want to leave her egg behind; afraid it might hatch without her there to aid through her baby's birth.  She waited patiently for the day her child will come.  She laid her head down next to the egg, listening for any signs of it coming, nothing but the gentle heartbeat of the baby from within.  She smiled, happy that her baby sounds healthy right now.  
Suddenly, a loud screech was heard.  She started to panic. She quickly ran out of her den to see what was going on, willing to protect her unborn child as best she could.  Running towards the den was a large male Carrion Eater, about 7 feet in height, much bigger than the 4 foot dragoness.  The large beast stopped in his tracks a few feet from where the dragoness stood.
Saliva dripped from his jaw, hunger burned in his eyes.  It looks as though he hasn't eaten in months, maybe a year, which means he was already dead, but now reborn as a walking, living corpse, but, although undead, he still needs to eat, and the light blue dragoness seems like an interesting meal for the beast.
The smell of death from the beast was unbearable, making the dragoness's eyes water.  Without a moment's noticed, the beast attacked her.  She got bitten by the large Carrion Eater.  Once bitten, it was impossible to survive.  The dragoness screamed in pain. She knew that she wasn't going to survive this fight, but she didn't give up, she kept fighting as best she could.  But, the fight didn't last long.  Moments after it started, it ended with the beast grabbing her up and running off with another meal.
Hours went by.  It seemed like the egg was abandoned.  Fortunately, a young wolf came by the old tree.  She noticed a lot of blood around the area.  'Must have been a fight.' she thought.  She looked inside the tree roots to see if there might by anything in it. That's when she found the egg.  It was still faintly warm from when the dragoness had it.  The mother was nowhere around, so the wolf took the egg, and just in time too.
It was sunset when the wolf reached her pack.  The pack was busy with their chores, making their dens for their night's rest, feeding pups and the elders, and cleaning up.  The wolf came up to one of the adult wolves, a female.  This was the Alpha Female, Fortuna, her fur, the color of the earth, brown, like the mud and dirt.  She was indeed a beautiful wolf.  She had some tribal markings on her face and thigh, and feathers from some type of bird in her hair.  The young wolf looked similar but she was more of a greyish color, like the Alpha male of the pack.  The young wolf set the egg down in front of Fortuna.  "What is this?" she asked.
"Well, it's an egg, and..." the young wolf replied.
"I know it's an egg."  She took the egg and turned it over to look at it.  Noting but the shade of a very light green, or to her, it looked white.  "By the gods, it's a dragon's egg.  You happen to see its mother nearby?"
The wolf shook her head, "I think the mother might have been killed, I have seen a lot of blood around the area. "
"You might be right about that."  Fortuna sighed.  She put her ear on the egg to check for any signs of life, which she heard the faint heartbeat of the dragon chick inside. "Still alive." she softly said.
"So, what are we going to do with it?"
"I'm going to take care of it."
"But why, Mother?" the wolf tilted her head to the side.
"Even though it's a dragon, it's still a baby."
The Alpha overheard the conversation, "What's this about a dragon I hear?"
Fortuna turned to her mate, pushing the egg towards him so he could see.  Alpha just nodded then said, "Where in the world have you found that?"
"I found it, Fa-Alpha, in the woods."
"I see, and what would you suppose the mother would do if she finds that one of her eggs is missing?"
"I believe the mother is dead, and that was the only egg I have found."
"Are you sure of that?"
"I'm sure Father, I mean Alpha.  I believe that the mother might be dead because I have seen a lot of blood in that small area." the young wolf explained.
"And why did you bring the egg over here?"
"Honey?" Fortuna said to Alpha.
The Alpha looked at Fortuna, "What?"
"What's so wrong with bringing it here?"
"What if that mother dragon was still alive, she'll hunt down her scent to this very place, ready to kill just to get her egg back to her nest."
"Don't you think that would have happened by now?"
"How long has she had that egg?"
"Ten minutes at the most."
"Still too early."
"Father, believe me, I think the mother is dead."
"Think, you're not sure, are you?"
The young wolf shook her head.
"Damn it, Kara, you could have put all of us in danger!"
The young wolf, whose name is supposedly Kara, tucked her tail between her legs, tears coming out of her eyes. "I...I'm sorry Alpha, I..."
The Alpha howled out, calling the betas together.  "We might have an attack at hand, keep on guard, and look for anything suspicious."
The all nodded and went out to the tree line, where the woods meet their den area, marking their territory and keeping close watch.
"You should be ashamed of yourself Kara."
Fortuna nipped at Alpha's ear and he yelped, "Alpha, please! Kara is sure that the mother dragon is dead.  How much detail of the area can you explain, Kara?"
  "Well...uh...there was blood around, on the tree trunks, shrubs, and the forest floor, but it looked to be only splattered, like a battle happened there."
"Anything else?" Fortuna asked, Alpha being silent.
"Well, now that you have mentioned it, I thought I did saw a leg, about the size of another wolf's but it looked blue and scaly."
"Could be a clue that the mother might have been picked off by something large."
"A Carrion Eater is pretty large." Alpha said after a few moments.
"I just saw the egg inside the tree roots and I saw it move slightly, like it was going to hatch, so, I took it here."
"Well, if it'll hatch here, I'll take care of it." Fortuna said.
"Fortuna, are you crazy? This is a dragon we're talking about, besides, how in the world are you going to take care of it when you don't know how to take care of baby dragon?"
"How hard can it be? They eat about the same things we do."
"This isn't a pup, dear, it's a dragon."
"Yeah, I know it's a dragon, but what does that matter, it still needs a mother."
"Dragons attack us wolves. They are cold-blooded creatures with no heart.  When that thing hatches, the first thing it'll think is you being its first meal."
"From the size of this egg, I think it'll be a little too small to do that."
"Doesn't matter the size, dragons are natural born hunters, killing anything that moves."
"I'm sure it won't do that."
"You don't know that!"  Alpha started to raise his voice, making the rest of the pack turn their heads.
"Oh great, their fighting again." said one of the other wolves in the pack.
"Alpha!" Fortuna growled.
"I....I just don't want that thing in this pack."
"I will not abandon it."
"You might have no choice."
"Ugh, you're so stubborn, Alpha!" Fortuna picked up the egg and walked in her den, "I'll raise this young dragon as if my own, I don't care what you say!"  With that said Fortuna tucked the egg closely to her body, to keep it warm and quickly fell asleep.  
Alpha stayed up all night, as well as the majority of the pack to wait for any attacks. Kara stayed in her den, afraid to sleep, ashamed of what she's done.  
By the next morning, when Fortuna woke up, she saw that there were a few cracks and a little hole in the egg. By that, she knew the egg was hatching, and the baby was about to be born into the world.  Softly and quietly, Fortuna whispered words of encouragement to the little dragon. Within 20 minutes, a little green female dragon was born.  She was the size of a newborn pup, wet from the egg's fluid.  Fortuna cleaned her up, just like she does with the birthing of her own pups.  After getting her cleaned, Fortuna quickly got up and got something to eat for the baby.  Biting off a small piece, she gave it to the little dragon and she ate it without any trouble.  After her first meal, the baby dragon curled up next to Fortuna and fell asleep.  About half an hour later, Alpha came in to check up on Fortuna, and apologize to her.   Fortuna looked up at him, the little dragon still asleep next her on a makeshift nest of moss and fur.  "So it hatched this morning." Alpha said.
Fortuna nodded.  "Come and rest, you've been up all night."
"I'm not staying in here with that killer." he almost yelled.
"Quite, you'll wake it up." she harshly whispered to him.
"That thing is not staying in this pack."
"It was just born today, I'm not abandoning it."
"Fine, Fortuna, you can keep it, but only for a week, then it's out of here." with that said, Alpha left.
Fortuna growled, cursed under her breath then looked to the little dragon.  She was almost awakened.  Fortuna licked her gently and told her, "It's alright little one; I won't let him do that to you." By the sound of her voice, the little dragon smiled and went back to sleep.  "I wonder what I'm going to call you."  She rested her head next to the dragon, and went to sleep herself.  
When Fortuna woke up a few hours later, the dragon wasn't near her.  She quickly got up, panic setting in when she saw that the baby was at the far side of the den, playing with a bug.  "Ahh, Dragon, don't scare me like that."
The dragon looked up, thinking that that might be her name, turning her head to the side.  Fortuna picked her up like a pup, but by that, Dragon yelped.  It was high pitched.  Fortuna set her down gently, "Oops, sorry, didn't mean to hurt you little one." she licked her gently. The dragon licked her back, to tell her that she forgave her.
"You seemed to have answered to Dragon. I guess I could temperately call you that."  
Moments later, there was a howl.  Fortuna quickly got up to check what happened.  Dragon tried to follow but Fortuna told her to stay put.  She sat down while she left.
The whole pack gathered around three injured wolves, all three male.  One of the wolves was servilely injured, and losing a lot of blood.  Fortuna was quickly by his side, Alpha overhead.  "What happened?" he asked.
One of the less injured wolves answered, "A dragon attack." After he said that, the medic wolves arrived, getting to work as fast as they can.
Alpha looked furious, "I knew it!  Kara wasn't sure, she was wrong!"  Within the pack, Kara got low to the ground to hide herself.  
"This was male dragon, I know it." said the other injured wolf, fear clearly in his voice.
Dragon was now fully out of the den, coming up near the gathered pack members.  "A male?" Alpha said.
Fortuna looked at the medic wolf that was tending the wolf that was injured badly.  "How are his wounds, Sweetie?" She asked.
"Pretty bad, I don't think he'll make it through the night." she said.
"Why do you suppose this dragon attacked for anyway?" Alpha asked.
"I guess we were just at the wrong place at the wrong time."
"M-Mother?"  The medic wolf, Sweetie, looked worried.  "I-I think he's dead now."
"Damn, we'll bury him tonight."  Fortuna suddenly turned around and saw Dragon, "Dragon!"
Dragon looked up and tried to run but Fortuna quickly, but gently, grabbed her tail, "I told you to stay in the den."
"That thing....it's....a dragon, a killer!" said one of the injured wolves, the one who told Alpha that it was a male dragon that attacked, backing away, tail tucked between his legs.  
"Leave her alone, Dragon didn't do anything wrong.  Dragon isn't the one to blame my son's, your own brother's, death!"
"Fortuna, that dragon is a killer. It might not be that now, but it'll grow into one."
"Stop it, Alpha!  Dragon is not like that!"
"It's only a few hours old; you don't know what she can do yet!  That thing shouldn't be here and you know it!"
"Alpha, I can't believe you're saying this! Dragon, even though just born today, is like my own pup."
"It's not a wolf!  Get that thing away from here, or I'll do it myself."
"No! I won't let you do that!"
"Watch me." Alpha went to pick up Dragon but she ran quickly into the den.  Fortuna ran and stopped in front of him, "Please, Alpha. Dragon's only a baby, and like my own child.  I can't let you do this."
"Fortuna, I....I just don't want to....lose you.  Not by something you let stay here."
"Alpha, please, I know Dragon won't do such thing.  It's only a baby, and it can learn not to do anything like that, please, let me keep Dragon.  It won't be able to live out there on its own, not when it can get killed out there."
"Why do you keep calling it 'It' when you love it so much?"
"I don't know if it's male or female yet.  It'll answer to Dragon though; I can temperately call it that until I find a better name for him or her."
Alpha sighed, "Fine, you can keep him or her." Fortuna's eyes lit up and she smiled.  "Just as long as you keep that thing as far away from me as possible."
Fortuna nodded, "Alright, Alpha."  Then she went inside her den, Dragon sitting there waiting patiently.   "Dragon, I told you to stay in the den."
Dragon looked down on the ground, ashamed that she has done something wrong.  
Fortuna sighed, "I can see that you understand that you done something wrong, I forgive you, Dragon."  Fortuna hugged Dragon and she smiled up at her.  "C'mon, let's get you cleaned up and ready for the night." She said to her.  Fortuna held Dragon her arms as she gently licked Dragon with her tongue. After a few minutes, Dragon was nested next to Fortuna in a patch of moss and fur.
Moments later, Fortuna got up to check on things. Dragon was asleep in her little nest. Alpha was still up. "Alpha, why don't you come in for the night?" she said to him.
"Alright." he started to get up.
"Don't worry about Dragon."
"So, how is the little dragon?" he bothered to ask.
"And what makes you ask about that?"
"What, I can't be curious?"
"She's alright, asleep in the den."
"She? It's female, huh?"
"Yeah, she's female, but she's grown used to the name Dragon, I think I'll keep it."
"You're sure about that?"
"I don't know what else to name her."
"Well, all right."
"Oh, she's also warm-blooded, surprisingly."
"Warm-blooded? I have never heard of a dragon being warm-blooded."
"Well, she is. I wonder if it's just her breed."
"I don't know, probably so."
Fortuna gave him a gentle lick on his ear, "I know you'll grow to like her someday. She's sweet."
"She's only a baby." he sighed, "Fine, but don't expect me to take care of her."  With that said Alpha entered the den and rested near Fortuna's side.

As the months passed since the birth of Dragon, Alpha's love for Dragon was growing with each passing day, soon, he considered her his own as well.  It was late summer. The trees a dark shade of green before the autumn months, a tough time for hunting in the pack.
At three months of age, Dragon was quite big, about half the size of the other wolves now, but still very immature, very child-like.  As she played with the other pups that were born in the pack about a month ago, Fortuna watched over her.  Fortuna's resent pregnancy a month ago ended with a miscarriage. Dragon, though, didn't know about the pregnancy, so she didn't know about the miscarriage.  Alpha came in with some of the other pack members, carrying some meat from their resent kill.  Dragon was excited then they came back.  Alpha gave her some meat that he had and then gave some to Fortuna.  After the meal, Dragon was curious about what was in the woods, so without both Alpha and Fortuna looking, she went into the woods.
It was late afternoon near sunset so the forest was quite dim in light but still beautiful in appearance.  She was very interested in the different scenery around her. Moments later, she felt like she was being followed.
A few feet away from where Dragon was standing, another dragon was near.  He was chewing on a rib bone from his resent meal, which was a small rabbit, when he noticed her scent, though didn't quite know she was a young dragoness, thought she was a wolf pup at first.  He threw the rib bone away and started to stalk her.  When he saw her through the shrubs, he was surprised it was a young dragoness, about 3 months of age.  He smiled, thinking he just got himself an easy meal.  
It wasn't long before there were some howls in the distance. Dragon turned to the source of the sound, but when she started to run, the large male dragon jumped in front of her. He was the color of red with a gray underbelly and gray membrane on her wings.  His blood colored eyes stared at her. Dragon's heart was racing and her legs started to shake, fear made her belly ache and she was unable to move.  The large male dragon walked around her in circles before grabbing her tail and dragging her closer to him.  Dragon yelped when he did that and he set his paw over her mouth, licking her on her cheek, getting a taste for her.  Dragon bit him on his paw and the red dragon lets go of her and she ran for her life.
"Damn it! Get back over here you little bastard!" he said as he chased after her.
Dragon ran as fast as she could, hoping to get as far away from him as possible.  She thought she could get away by climbing a tree so she started to climb up the nearest tree which was a young pine tree. She hopped from branch to branch in hope of getting away.  The red dragon started to climb after her, this made Dragon very afraid.  Dragon hopped on the next branch but she has missed it by a few inches and couldn't get a good grip on the branch.  The red dragon swiped a paw at her, his claws dragging against her tail and she screamed in pain.  As she tried to climb the branch, it broke and she fell back down to the ground.  Dragon screamed as she fell. Her heart felling like it was in her throat.  
The impact of the forest flood knocked the breath right out of her, but she was alive and uninjured. Quickly she got up and howled, like she has watched countless times with the pack when in need.  The howl, unlike a dragon's roar, was different, it sounded like a wolf's but more with a roar.  The red dragon landed onto the ground in front of Dragon.  Suddenly, there was a howl back and it was close. The red dragon knew they were wolves and would kill a dragon his size when banded together in a large pack.  Willingly, he gave up and flew away; angry that now he has lost a chance of dinner.
Five wolves came to where Dragon was; with them was Alpha and Fortuna.  Dragon sunk down to the ground with her tail tucked between her legs.
"Dragon!" Fortuna yelled at her and that was all she said.
"Haven't we told you that the forest is dangerous? You could have gotten yourself killed!" Alpha fussed back at her.
"I-I'm sorry…but I…I was…" Dragon started to say, a new fear setting in and guilt.
Fortuna picked her up gently in her mouth. Dragon, of course, complained that it hurts but really is was just not fun to be picked up the way she was.
Once back at the den area, Fortuna took Dragon to the medic den for the medic wolves to check out her wounds, which were just a couple of scratches. "Mother, I'm fine." Dragon complained.
"Still, I want you to be checked out for anything." She said to Dragon, "Make sure you do a thorough search, Sweetie."  She then said to the medic wolf, Sweetie. Sweetie nodded and then started to clean Dragon up and applied some herbal medicine on her scratches.  Dragon tried to escape but Sweetie didn't let her out of her den until she was finished.  Once finished, Dragon quickly ran out only to be grabbed up by Alpha.
"Dragon, you could have been killed!  What were you thinking?" Alpha fussed.
"Father, I'm sorry, I was just…I was just curious is all." Dragon replied.
"Dragon, have you ever heard of the phase 'Curiosity killed the cat?"
Dragon shook her head, "But father, I just wanted to see what was in there."
"Dragon we could have lost you." Fortuna said to her.
"What attacked you?" Alpha said looking at her tail and seeing the cuts she had.
"It…it was a large dragon, a red one.  He ran after me." Dragon looked down to the ground.
"You are still too young to be in the woods by yourself, Dragon." Fortuna told her.
"I...I know, but mother, I just wanted to…"
"Enough!" Alpha fussed, "Go to the den, you'll be in bed early and you won't get up until breakfast, understand?"
"Yes father." Dragon started to walk away slowly to the den for the night. It wasn't even twilight yet.  The sun was setting but it was still pretty high up to be considered twilight hour.  Dragon laid in the darkness of the den, thinking about what has happened 30 minutes ago.  Five minutes later, Fortuna came into the den. "Dragon, you still up?"
"Mother, I'm sorry, I really am, please, I didn't mean to."
"Dragon, you know you done something wrong. What if we lost you? What do you think I'll be without my sweet baby girl?"
"I'm sorry mother, and I didn't mean to scare you like that…" Dragon came up closer to Fortuna.
"You do understand that you could have been killed today, right?"
"Yes, I know. When I saw him, I didn't know I could have such fear. He looked to be much bigger than me, bigger than Father."
"Bigger than Alpha, you say?"
Dragon nodded.
"You do know Alpha has taken down much larger prey in his lifetime right?"
"How big?"
"Like 7 feet, don't you know?"
"Wow, but I guess he was a lot younger back then, huh?
"Are you calling Alpha old?"
"Well, he has been saying he has been in this pack for a long time, and he has grey fur."
Fortuna giggled, "Well yes, but he's not that old; he's still in his prime."
"But what about the gray fur? I have seen the elder wolves and they have gray fur all over their bodies."
"Yes, but Alpha is a gray wolf so his fur is supposed to be gray."
"Ooh, okay, I get it now."
Fortuna giggled again.
"Mother?"
"Yes Dragon?"
"I am sorry that I have worried you, I promise I won't do it again."
Fortuna licked Dragon on her cheek, "You'll get a chance to go back into the forest, but for right now, you are still too young."
"When can I go back in there?"
"Wait another month and you get to go hunting with us."
"Really?"
Fortuna nodded and gave her another lick.
"Mother, what if the other dragon comes back?"
"I'll be sure to tell Alpha to keep a lookout tonight just in case."
Dragon yawned, "Okay, mother."
"Get some rest, you look tired."
Dragon nodded and closed her eyes. Minutes after she fallen asleep, Fortuna got u, walked out and went to Alpha. "Alpha?"
"Yes Fortuna?" he replied.
"Dragon's worried that the dragon that attacked might come back here."
"Alright, I'll get the betas together to watch out."
Fortuna licked him gently on his cheek, "Don't stay up too late, Love."
"Alright." Alpha barked to get the betas' attention and commanded them to look out for the pack.
The next morning, Dragon woke up early, but it was still too early for breakfast and she remembered from last night that she wasn't allowed to get out the den until then. So, she waited quietly by Fortuna's side, who was still sleeping. Alpha came into the den a few moments later.
"Dragon, c'mon out, I knew you'll be awake." Alpha whispered to her.
"But Father, you told me to stay in here until breakfast for my punishment."
"Yes, I know but I'm letting it slide this time, alright?"
Dragon nodded and walked out into the cool morning air.  Summer was almost gone and fall was coming near.  The leaves on the trees were already beginning to change. Alpha looked at Dragon, "I think I should let you hunt with us today."
"Really, but what about mother? She said I was still too young for the forest."
"Yes, but you are more mature Dragon.  I teach you to hunt and defend yourself against predators."
"But what about mother?"
"I'll make sure she knows. Can't let her treat you like a baby forever, now can we?"
Dragon nodded, "What about the red dragon?"
"You'll be with the pack, if he comes, we'll be sure to tell him this is our territory."
"So, I am going to go hunting with you?"
"Yes, what do you say?"
"Yippy!" Dragon hopped up and down and wagged her tail like a puppy.
Alpha chuckled, "Yes, but I have to let Fortuna know first before letting you come."
"Alrighty." Dragon happily said. Later that day after a breakfast of leftover meat and scraps, Alpha set up the pack to hunt before the heat of the day.  Dragon was with them. Fortuna watched as Dragon left the safety of the den area and into the forest again.
A light fog was on the forest ground and the sun's light filtered through the trees creating a ray of light in some spots of the forest. It was just beautiful to look at, like a fantasy world.  Dragon followed Alpha closely, hoping not to see the red dragon again.  Moments later, some of the pack members caught scent of something; prey.
Five set out to follow it and found a small herd of white-tailed deer, two doe, a buck and two fawns.  Alpha told Dragon to stay put and watch closely while he and the rest of the pack stalked their prey. It wasn't long until the deer caught their scent and started to run, by then the pack was close enough to get one and started to chase after them. Dragon, seeing that they were getting far away, ran after them.  She watched as Alpha and some of the pack members tackled down one of the doe, bringing it down in less than two minutes. One of the fawns turned back and ran back to the mother, who might have been its mother.  Dragon, wanting to get a feel for hunting herself, took that fawn herself. Alpha saw her chasing after it and barked at her to stop and leave it alone but Dragon didn't listen.  The fawn again turned to run away from Dragon.  The fawn was far away from where Dragon was, and it looked like Dragon might not be able to get it until, suddenly, Dragon was right next to the fawn.  Dragon then tackled the yearling down in no time at all. Her first hunt, her first kill, was a success. Alpha quickly came up after her, panting and trying to get his breath. "What…were you…thinking, running off…like that" He said between his panting.
"But I wanted to hunt too, look what I have father." She said, smiling.
Alpha took a look at her prize and was indeed very proud of Dragon that she has taken down her first kill. "You are a fast learner." He said to her.
Dragon smiled again. Alpha commanded some of the pack members to carry her fawn back to the den since it was small enough to be carried back. The doe that was taken down was bitten off in pieces for the other pack members.  
Once back at the pack, Dragon was given full praise for her first hunt, and since her first prey was a young male fawn, she was given the fur and the antlers as a trophy as tradition goes for a first time hunter. The day ended well, and Fortuna was especially proud of Dragon for her first hunt. That night, Dragon lay in the darkness of the den with both Fortuna and Alpha by her, thinking about her first hunt and knowing that there will be more to come. She also remembered how tender the young fawn's blood was and how she loved the taste of the deer meat, unlike anything she has had before, and couldn't wait to hunt again.  As she closed her eyes, she dreamed of her hunting.
Over across the den area, in the trees, was the red dragon. "So, the little bastard learned to hunt, at this age? Interesting." He grinned at the thought that now he might have some fun trying to hunt her down, knowing that she now knows how to fight back, "Little dragon, you will be mine."