?Night had fallen upon the Williams Empire. Most citizens in the town had gone to sleep, or gone out to the taverns for a night of hard drinking. The only critters out were the nocturnal animals out hunting. One hunter that night stood out from most others, and that was the lone dragon. He wasn’t nocturnal by any means, and would normally be sleeping at this time of night. But hunting at night was the only option for him simply because he hated dealing with trappers and hunters from the kingdom. Despite not having done anything to the empire they always seemed to hold a grudge against him, and it was bothersome having to deal with them scaring off prey while trying to be a hero and slaying him.
At last, tora had found some wild hogs that had gone to sleep in a small enclave. The dragon sunk his body low, blades of grass tickling lightly on his stomach. The muscles in his legs tensed up, his eyes locating the largest hog. It was likely that when he pounced, tora would wake and scare the other hogs away. It was simply a much smarter idea to target the biggest meal in the case that occurred. tora confirmed his target, then, with explosive power, he leaped, soaring through the air and closing in on his target with all manner of deadly body parts ready for a kill…
‘CRUNCH’
Three teens froze in their spots, two of them breaking out into nervous sweats. After some time passed, and with it, the paralyzing fear, the two teens in a nervous sweat immediately slapped the third in the head.
“What the hell are you doing?? You’re gonna get us killed!”
“Well I’m sorry, but I can’t see anything in this dark!”
“Both of you, shut up! Can’t you tell? The Dragon’s not here! Listen!”
The hushed voices disappeared as the three humans went silent, listening their hardest for any sounds of the dragon being present. As far as they could tell there was no audible breathing, and with what moonlight they had there wasn’t an apparent figure within the cave. The tallest of the three looked back at his friends, made a “follow me” gesture, and began to creep up to the entrance of the cave, footfalls quieter than ever. He strained to scan the cave for any type of activity, finding none. He gestured for the torch the teen furthest back held, gripping it firmly in his hand and trekking past the entrance of the cave. The other two hesitated, scared of the possibilities, but reluctantly, they followed their friend.
***
tora was very happy indeed, having caught not one but two hogs in his initial attack, he spent his time feasting like a king. Searing the meat with red hot flames summoned from the back of his maw, then enjoying it while it was warm. It wasn’t often he got to enjoy so much food, and figured he’d enjoy it to the fullest. Since it was late at night tora didn’t bother dragging his meal back to his cave, instead having laid down in the cool grass and eating right there on the spot. He felt no need to lug his food so far when there was no humans out to bother him at these hours. At least, that was what he had hoped. Unfortunately, that wasn’t entirely the case, as a nosy couple had snuck into the clearing. Most likely they had been on a midnight stroll and came to inspect the flames, expecting some sort of traveler instead of the feared dragon the town was always buzzing about. Initially, tora hadn’t noticed them while he was indulging himself with a midnight snack. But it didn’t take long for an ear piercing shriek to come from the woman, likely the man’s wife. tora whipped his head around to face the couple, an angered growl raising from the depths of his chest. Before he could act the frightened couple had taken off in the direction of the village.
A now very annoyed dragon stood up, walking for a moment in the direction he had seen the humans come from. When he stumbled upon a beaten path he felt like butting his head against a tree. Of course someone saw him! He was right off a traveling path that leads to the damned kingdom! Growling in discontent tora headed back towards his clearing, craning his neck down and clamping his jaws around the most untouched hog. If he had to flee he may as well take the most food he could with him. With a running start the dark blue dragon leaped into the air, pumping his powerful wings as he flew low above the forest canopy, his scales blending in with the dark blue night sky.
***
Back at the cave the trio of teenagers were rather bummed out. They kicked a few bones around the stone cave, annoyed they came out here.
“This is it? This is all the ‘treasure’ here? A single gold ring? That was disappointing!” Huffed the oldest child, enamored with the idea of finding a massive hoard of riches.
“Hey, if this is as pure as it looks it could sell for a pretty penny!” Exclaimed the youngest.
“Um… guys? I think it’s time to go, like, right now” Whispered the last teen in a shaky voice. The others were about to question when they heard it too, the telltale sound of wings beating in the air, fast approaching. With a silent, unanimous agreement all three teenagers ran out of the cave, stumbling through underbrush and foliage as they sought to create as much distance between them and the dragon’s home as they possibly could.
The moment tora landed in his cave his face twisted in a scowl, nostrils flaring as he sniffed the air. Someone had been here… in his cave! It was bad enough those pesky humans took it upon themselves to attack and attempt to slay him whenever they crossed paths, but now they had come into his home, and trespassed into his territory! He had never waltzed into the king’s castle and messed with his stuff!
‘Ah well, I don’t have a hoard of gold like they believe I do… I find no need for such a collection’ He thought to himself, blowing hot air from his nostrils as he set about fixing all his belongings and righting the cave the teens had so rudely made a mess of. tora wasn’t sure exactlt what time it was, but it had been a long night, and he simply longed for sleep at this point. Picking up the skeepskins he used as a blanket to soften the rock bed, he shook them in the air, flinging off dirt that the pesky humans had dragged into his den. Setting them down, tora sighed, dropping to all fours and laying himself down onto his makeshift bed. With a drawn out yawn he closed his eyes, drifting off into a light sleep.
It felt all too soon when day broke for the blue reptile, grumbling annoyedly at the birds singing outside of his den. Sometimes his light sleeping and acute hearing was a curse. Though, he’d gladly deal with it if it meant no human intruders getting the guts to try and sneak into his den at night. tora stood up with a yawn, stretching from head to toe similar to how a feline would. He stood up on his hind legs, stretching out towards the ceiling of the cave. It was then that he realized he wasn’t wearing his usual gold ring. He’d forgotten to put it back on after his hunt, it seemed. Aforementioned ring was a gift from a prince back when he used to travel.
The circumstances that led to such a gift were a complete fluke at that. It just so happened that he was traveling past some kingdom when an army out to attack them had just crested over the horizon. There was some miscommunication, as the attacking army thought tora was the kingdom’s protector, and tora was just annoyed some group had come to attack him, having forgotten all about the kingdom he was close to. A rather short lived battle later and tora found himself being approached by a very thankful crowd of soldiers and civillians alike. One thing lead to another, and somehow he had been convinced to stay in the area for the next little while. To his knowledge tora had been asked to stay as a form of protection, and in some part the village wanted to express their gratitude. But no amount of mead or roast lamb could’ve prepared him for the gift he was presented by the prince himself. The prince had personally hired the blacksmiths and had melted his own gold to forge tora a singular gold ring. While he wasn’t exactly a fan of the fact that they had snuck measurements of him while he was asleep, tora was eternally grateful for the gift, and it was one of his only precious posessions. The ring had been a snug fit over his index finger (paw?), and so he only took it off when bathing or hunting, so as to avoid rusting and nasty blood stains.
tora returned back to reality and looked around his cave, looking for the ring. His eyes scanned over the mostly barren rock, a stunning lack of gold rings to be found by the predatory slits. A bit confused, tora padded around his cave to look for the ring, checking the very back of the cave in a vain attempt to find it. A sinking feeling began to develop in his gut, his subconscious working out what had happened. Those humans! From last night! How dare they!? Anger bubbled up inside of him, a heat building in his chest. He bounded to the entrance of his cave, letting out his anger in the form of a thunderous roar and a gout of flame, hardly avoiding setting the canopy of trees on fire.


Prince Shelby had been bathing when the roar first echoed out over the lands. The angry cry made him jump, slipping on the muddy river floor and falling into the water. He sat up incredously, his long hair falling into his face. He reached up to pull the wet strands out of his eyes, just in time to catch a bright flash of flames from the mountains. Dread began to build in his stomach, putting two and two together. A dreading feeling began to build in his stomach, Shelby rushed to his feet. Stumbling rather clumsily he rushed for the river bank, clambering out of the shallow water with a panicked expression. He tugged up his underwear, followed by cotton pants. His shirt was not to be found, however. The wind must’ve picked it up. Cursing his luck, the prince broke out in a run for the kingdom, cursing under his breath. In the distance he heard the beating of winds against the sky, and had an instinctual feeling the Dragon was coming for the kingdom. He ran towards the familiar east gate, seeing the very tips of the watchtowers peeking over the hills that lead to the town. He still had a long way to go before he was in hearing range… and those wings were getting louder! At this rate the dragon was going to get there before anyone realized what was happening! Shelby doubled his efforts, chest burning as he demanded the absolute most out of his body. His arms pumped back and forth, calves burning as he pushed himself forward. Wind rushed past his ears. He was so close, the guards on the watchtower seemed to have noticed him, they were sending out troops to meet him! A smile graced the prince’s face for a moment, overjoyed that he had managed to alert the guards. He stumbled in his running some, nearly tripping over his own feet, but managed to get back to his running pace.
‘So close… but why are the guards yelling at me? What about the arm-‘
Shelby’ thoughts were drowned out by a heavy rush of wind nearly beating him down to the ground, followed by the very air being squeezed out of his lungs, and a sudden feeling of weightlessness that made him nearly empty out the contents of his stomach. The ground was rapidly falling away beneath him, wind rushing into his ears and essentially deafening the Prince. As the g-forces from the sudden flight made him lightheaded, Shelby managed to catch a glimpse of blue scales before blacking out momentarily.
When he came to less than thirty seconds later Shelby began to flail desperately within the dragon’s grasp, only stopping when he realized he was going to fall If he kept that up. He looked down and immediately regretted it, realizing that all the green he saw beneath him was not open field, but trees upon trees. He risked craning his neck around, just managing to glimpse the kingdom disappearing over the horizon. His stomach shrunk. Just how fast was this dragon? Was he ever going to go home again, or was the dragon finally deciding to eat the humans in the kingdom? The thought shook Shelby to the very core, and he broke out into a cold sweat, mostly due to altitude. The forest below quickly became unfamiliar, Shelby unable to recognize even the imagery from the scout’s maps that the kingdom had been provided. A sense of dread began to settle in his stomach, the prince becoming uneasy and feeling the need to retch.
He noted the fast approaching mountain in front of them, realizing that the dragon was headed for a cave in the side of the mountain. The mountain face was coming to meet them very fast. Shelby squeezed hiseyes shut and braced for impact, surprised when instead, he felt himself slowing down considerably. His stomach lurched and it felt like his arms were going to come out of their sockets as the dragon spread his wings, increasing the drag tenfold as he slowed down just enough for a rough landing in the cave. Shelby was released in a manner rather unfitting for a prince, the prince finding himself rolling along the dirt and gravel covered floor. Meanwhile the ugly scrapes of the dragon’s claws could be heard on the stone floor, creating shrill squeals as they clashed with the stone.
Shelby rolled over with a low groan, getting to his hands and knees, and shakily standing up. He wasn’t really hurt at all, mostly having been scraped up by the fall. He winced while brushing dirt out of some of his scratches, then his mind had cleared and he remembered the dragon in the room. His eyes snapped to the blue drake, and he felt a pang of fear in his gut.
As if sensing his fear, the dragon snorted. “Relax, human. I'm not going to hurt you. You’re simply my hostage, for the time being that is.”
With these words Shelby’ fear damn near doubled, the dragon picking up on it immediately.
“You’re here because your people, one of your humans, dared to trespass into my home. One of your foolish citizens not only trespassed into my home, but they stole something dear to me. So you’re simply a pawn to get it back. They couldn’t possibly ignore the kidnapping of their prince, could they?”
Shelby inwardly cursed. Those damn people and their obsession with the dragon! Cursing under his breath the prince turned and struck the wall, earning himself another curse from the pain that followed. tora simply looked on, hiding his amusement under a cold glare. The feral turned to the entrance of the cave, walking out to the mouth of the cave. He gave a short “I’ll be back” Before tensing his legs, powerful muscles propelling tora off the ledge and into the air. With a few short beats of his wings, the dragon was fast disappearing from sight, dropping nearly straight down and into the canopy of trees. Shelby watched tora taking off with fascination, eyes scanning the way each muscle flexed and bulged with the initial jump, as well as following the motion of tora’s wings as they beat against the air beneath them. He couldn’t help but admire how much depth there was to the blue scales covering most if not all of tora’s body. Shelby snapped out of his stupor only moments later, shaking his head slightly and scolding himself. He cleared his thoughts and schemed to himself. He had to get out of here!
Figuring he would go with the most obvious approach to escape, Shelby walked over to the mouth of the cave. Slowly, as to avoid falling, he paced to the edge of the entrance of the cave, peering over it curiously. The ledge was steep a near vertical drop to from the entrance to the cave to the next bit of level ground. That was surely a death sentence for him. With a frustrated groan Shelby stormed to the back of the cave. Slumping down against the wall and fuming quietly.
‘Why couldn’t they just leave the damn beast alone? Now I’m caught up in all this nonsense and they’ve got an angry dragon to deal with. What the hell did they even steal from him anyways?’ The prince continued to fume silently in his head, eventually getting tired of that and simply leaning back against the wall. The stress of his day had him exhausted, and after a few minutes Shelby was nodding off.
tora had spent his time aimlessly wandering through the forests to ponder some things. He had found a small pond and taken the time to lay down, enjoying the cool breeze that blew over the pond. His eyes idly roamed over the small ripples along the lake’s surface, but his mind seemed to be racing at a million miles per hour.
‘Will they get the hint about what I want back? Or will they just send out a manhunt? Have I made things worse? Or will things get better?’ tora exhaled a puff of smoke, the cloud splitting into gray wisps that slowly rose and disappeared in the air.
Rising from the ground, tora shook himself off and glanced to the sky. The sun was setting. He’d best get some food now before his prisoner starved. With a powerful flex tora leaped into the thick forest, making surprisingly little noise as he hunted.
Shelby woke just minutes before tora came back to the cave. Greeted by the warm hues of sunset. The air was much cooler now, and Shelby began to long for a warm bed. But now he was stuck in all this negotiation nonsense. Couldn’t he just be done with this? If it was up to him, his kingdom wouldn’t have anything to do with the dragon. As far as he was concerned, that wasn’t something they should be messing with. No one’s livestock was going missing, or houses being burned down.
‘Man… after all this I’m just tired.’ Mused the prince. His stomach growled loudly, interrupting his musings. Almost as if that was his cue, tora’s wingbeats could soon be heard approaching the mountain. Shelby laid his head back and closed his eyes, pretending to be asleep. Maybe it’d work?
There was a sudden draft of air rushing into the cave as the dragon landed, kicking up small rocks and dirt. tora walked to the back of the cave, where Shelby stood and opened his jaws, letting the hind leg of a dear drop to the ground in front of him.
“Eat.” tora’s eyes bore down on Shelby’ form. “I know you’re not sleeping, and I cannot have you starving yourself to death. So eat.”
Though his eyes were closed, Shelby was aware of the dragon leaving him to his own business, settling down elsewhere inside the cave. The scent of cooked venison rose to his nose, and his stomach growled loudly immediately in response. Though it wasn’t obvious to Shelby, tora found this rather amusing. Finally opening his eyes, Shelby was greeted by the sight of an entire deer leg, flesh and fur torn away without tact, while the meat itself was in three simultaneous states. Some of it was charred, while some was undercooked. But a large chunk of it was edible, still. And it was plenty for the starving prince, who dug in immediately.
tora had laid down to sleep while the human ate, closing his eyes and curling his wings around him for warmth. Though he spent time musing on the past two days, and how the prince might’ve felt being dragged into all of this. His ears twitched as he heard a sparking sound, however. And tora raised his head to peer at what the human was up to. He was striking a rock against some steel, but for what? He noticed the prince had shed some of his clothes, and that they lay in a crumpled heap.
“What are you doing, Prince?”
Shelby jumped and dropped his tools. Not out of feat, but he was simply startled. “I’m starting a fire. It’s cold.”
“What about your clothes on the ground? Were those not warm enough for you?”
Shelby looked to his clothes, unable to come up with an excuse. He sat back and sighed, the weight of all the events from the day came crashing down on him at once. “it’s just… something in our instincts. For us humans, I guess. A fire is a symbol of warmth, and peace. That it’s time to rest. So I figured…”
“Come her” commanded the dragon, standing up and flexing his wings.
Shelby seemed alarmed at first, but got up and walked over to tora.
The dragon seemed to bow his head to the prince. “Get on.”
“wha-“
“Unless you’d prefer to dangle from my claws like you did earlier. We’re going to get some firewood. So lets go.”
Shelby swallowed and nodded, carefully climbing up onto tora’s back and squeezing his legs like he would when riding a horse.
“Now hold on tight.” And, without so much as confirmation from Shelby, tora ran out to the mouth of the cave and leaped into the air, beating his wings against the night sky.
Shelby was laying against the dragon as the beast slept, staring at the crackling campfire that they had made within the cave. He could feel the drake’s breathing, and for some reason it put him at peace. Maybe this whole hostage situation wasn’t as bad as he thought it’d be? One thing was for sure. Once he got back to the kingdom, he’d make sure tora got the respect he rightfully deserved… but for now, he needed rest. Lots of it.
Shelby yawned rather loudly and soon began to nod off, leaning against the dragon as he soon slipped into unconsciousness. tora opened one eye lazily and glanced at the sleeping human’s form, curling a wing around him to provide extra warmth. He closed his eyes once more and drifted off to sleep. Wondering just what it was about this human that made him so… likeable. He wasn’t sure what it was, but tora had a feeling they’d stick together for a long time to come, at the very least.