CHAPTER 2 - A Hero in a shiny Armor
Let us now leave the storyteller. This braggart has never seen a dragon before. How could he. The only true thing about his story is that dragons only show themselves to those they deem worthy. Who keep their secret lairs to themselves and do not betray them. I met one once. I will tell you how it really was. Back then, in the forest...
...
"Hahaaaa, villain, at last I have vanquished you. Die a cruel death!"
Sounded a voice at the edge of the forest. Only to be replaced seconds later by another, slightly deeper one.
"No, no! Please don't! This isn't the way I meant it to be!"
Again the first voice rang out.
"Silence beadle, your time is up!"
It was now easy to recognize that both voices must belong to one and the same person. Especially now that the supposed villain was struck down.
"And now, meet your maker! WHACK!"
A quick change of voice pitch.
"Aaaaargh! I am to die... uuurgh!"
A brief moment of silence followed, after which only hearty laughter could be heard. A rather bizarre picture would now present itself to any onlooker. The little boy, who had just a moment ago mimed the brave hero, and had struck down his alterego, the naturally evil black knight, picked up his slightly battered wooden sword again. He examined it expertly, ran his fingers over the edge, grinned, and tucked it back into his belt.
"On to new adventures!"
Shouted the boy, looking around at his entourage. He was all alone, all by himself.
"I am the famous knight Kunibert the brave. I don't need an entourage!"
He said to himself before drawing his sword again and running merrily into the forest. And this despite the fact that his mother had strictly forbidden him to do so.
"Watch out, there are terrible monsters there..."
He mimicked his mother. Ha, those creepy, giant prehistoric monsters that ate little boys like him for breakfast should show themselves. Hadn't he just slain the greatest villain there ever was? Wasn't he the bravest, the shiniest hero that had ever existed? He would show them what he was made of. He would slay them all and would bring home their heads and hearts as trophies for all to see.
Well maybe the heads, the hearts were always such a mess. He had seen his mother gut a hen. Heads would have to suffice.
He had thrown all warnings to the wind. And besides, he was armed. What could happen to him? Just because the others didn't dare to go into the forest? They were all cowards and good-for-nothings.
At least that's what he told himself. When he was through the first light hedges, and the light slowly changed, he already felt a little queasy. His mother had always been right in what she said. The shine and the impeccability of his imaginary self slowly peeled off him, the deeper he advanced into the forest. He swallowed hard.
"But... I have to do this. I must explore the forest! For the glory of the kingdom! ... But... what if there really are monsters after all? Horrible... scary ones..."
He spoke to himself, getting quieter and quieter. He looked at his sword, which he held in his hand.
"Oh, come on... they're just supposed to come. Haaaa! I'll finish them off with my left!"
He thrust his sword skyward while trying to convince himself of that. Apart from that, this statement didn't work for him anyway. He was left-handed. With a grim face, the little boy walked deeper into the forest, which was slowly becoming denser, darker and more sinister. The forest really closed in around him, enveloping him and taking away his view of the sky and the fields, which were now already a good distance behind him.
A small, soft noise made him spin around and hold his sword in front of him. His breath caught, his pulse stopped for a moment. Only then did he see it, the terrible monster.
"Poohoo... A squirrel."
He took a deep breath.
"Mother, is this supposed to be one of your monsters? The monsters that inhabit this forest?"
The tension fell from him while the small rodent disappeared into the undergrowth. Grinning, he tucked his sword back into his belt and turned back to the forest. He felt strengthened by this encounter and his fearlessness was restored. He set his sights on a direction and trudged off. As he went deeper into the forest, he muttered mockingly to himself about what cowards his parents and the other adults were. He looked around, there were at most a few squirrels and maybe at worst a fox. Only when a large, dense undergrowth blocked his way did he fall silent again. Reverently he looked at the thorny obstacle. If he wanted to get deeper into the forest, he would have to penetrate or bypass it willy-nilly. He looked left and right. The undergrowth looked huge. He made a decision. Going around was out of the question, he was a brave fighter, the bravest of them all. He drew his sword and faced the thorny enemy.
"Give way, you thicket, the proud knight Kunibert demands it. You're just a barricade anyway, put up by the oh-so-evil monsters because they're afraid of me, the mighty knight Kunibert!"
Pride and insane arrogance, as they were peculiar to the knights, resonated in his voice. When the bush did not want to give way, which it literally could not do, Kunibert, the not so tall and certainly not powerful lad, struck at it with his sword. His wooden sword was able to penetrate the thicket only slowly and so it went first of all only little forward.
In another corner of the forest, it was much quieter and not at all combative. The clearing in the middle of the forest was large. Sometime before primeval times a star had fallen from the sky here, the old ones had told. That's why no trees grew here and water had collected in the hole over time. The lake was crystal clear and smooth as glass. She had been staying here for quite a while, enjoying the peace and quiet. She just lay there and watched the clouds silently and soulfully pass across the sky. The hustle and bustle of the other forest dwellers was foreign to her. It struck her only gradually. It had become quiet. Almost unnaturally quiet. She turned around and looked closely at the clearing. She strained her actually good ears. But it was downright dead quiet. Not even the usually so talkative birds twittered. For this forest completely out of the ordinary. It almost seemed as if all the animals of the forest were hiding and holding their breath. Attentively she listened to the silence and tried to make out something, but there was nothing.
Even the wind seemed to be holding its breath, for even the rustling of the leaves had fallen silent and the surface of the lake, which did usually ripple so merrily, was as smooth as glass. She drew back a little. All this meant danger.
But let's leave this creature alone a bit longer and turn back to the brave fighter for law and order. Kunibert finally broke through the thicket. Triumphantly, he looked around. Behind the undergrowth, the forest suddenly looked completely different. It seemed brighter, friendlier and less densely overgrown.
"Hahaaa! Weak thicket. Finally you give up. Trying to stop me, what a blasphemous attempt. There are no monsters here anyway."
He sneered and was visibly proud of himself. He had conquered this enemy, all by himself. Then he had to be right about his other beliefs, too. Wasn't he? With a burst of pride he went... no, he strode further into the forest. In his mind's eye, he was already the proud knight in the shining armor, who had slain all the monsters and monstrosities of this world with this mightiest of swords. Deeper and deeper he penetrated into the forest. Even he noticed it slowly, that it was strangely quiet in the forest. The longer he was on the road in this silence, the more doubts crept back into his mind. The forest was now noticeably brighter and he seemed peaceful in his silence, but the complete absence of all sounds made him feel queasy. It might also be due to the fact that he thought the forest would become denser and denser inside.
Nevertheless, he went on. He could not help it. As a knight sent by the royal court, he would have to explore this forest for the good of the kingdom. His hand gripped the hilt of his wooden sword tighter. His attempts to convince himself almost worked, but only almost.
"There might not be monsters in this forest after all?"
He muttered as the sunlight illuminated a clearing in front of him and was reflected in the lake at its center. He compulsively tried to shake off the doubts about his conviction, but they held firm and so, for the first time since the thicket, he began to tread more carefully and slowed his pace. Slowly and carefully, he approached the clearing. Now only a single, ancient tree stood between him and the clearing. He pressed himself against its massive trunk and listened. But there was absolutely nothing to hear. Not even the water of the lake was lapping. Only when he was really sure that there was no monster in the clearing, he carefully crept to the other side, pressed against the tree trunk. Carefully he watched the surroundings, so nothing would be able to sneak up on him. When he was about halfway around the tree, he noticed something under his foot, but it was already too late to react. With a loud crack, he crushed the dry branch that had been lying at the base of the tree trunk. The sound of the breaking branch sounded unnaturally loud and strangely hollow in the silence that surrounded him. But as fast and loud as the sound had spread, the forest seemed to swallow it whole. Startled, he stopped and ducked his head a little. He held his breath and looked around cautiously. Nothing was stirring, no monster, no primordial beast, no attack, just nothing.
But he had been heard.
On the other side of the clearing, the inhabitant of these shores startled and looked around cautiously as well.
*There was a sound...for sure...*
It went through her head. It sounded like it had been a little ways away. But she had heard it clearly. A breaking branch. Confused, she looked around again.
*An animal? Probably not...*
Since she could not see anything from her position, she finally ducked a little deeper behind a bush and decided to wait. The troublemaker would show himself.
On the other side, the troublemaker breathed a sigh of relief again and continued to creep around the tree. He tried to swallow the fright. Soon he had rounded the tree and was standing at the edge of the clearing. In front of him was a narrow strip of lush green and behind it was the lake. Everything was quiet, nothing could be seen. He looked around and let his gaze wander. A quite very beautiful piece of land, which he had found there. Slowly, the tension drained out of him and he lowered his sword. He leaned back against the large tree and grinned triumphantly to himself.
"What did I say?"
He now asked himself aloud. Slowly he slid down the trunk and sat down in the grass at the base of the big old tree.
"There are no monsters here..."
He confirmed his conviction as if it were the most natural thing in the world that he was right. He would tell his mother something when he was back home. Such a false liar. How could there be monsters here when he, the proud Kunibert, defended the country. In his naive delusions of grandeur, he convinced himself that his sheer presence would have driven away any monsters anyway. Otherwise they would be there. Or would they not?
Oh they were there! He just didn't see them. At the other end of the clearing, in its hiding place, the monster was waiting for him, still watching for the troublemaker.
*I'm sure it was a human.... oh god I hope it's not...*
Instinctively, she began to meticulously scan the clearing with her eyes.
*Yes, there he is... how small he is... so small...*
She fixed the intruder and looked at him closely, scrutinizing him.
The intruder, however, did not notice this at all. The took a stone that was lying on the ground next to him and looked at it. It looked a bit strange, but before he thought about it, he took it and threw it into the lake. He watched as the waves spread out on the perfectly flat surface.
"Bah! I'm sure Mother was just trying to keep me from the fun you could have here in the woods."
He grumbled to himself and stood up again. He looked for another stone.
His actions did not go unobserved.
*This impudent little human has the audacity and brings trouble to our lake...and on top of that he is armed...*
His observer slightly frowned. While the person on the other side of the lake bent down and picked up another stone. He had found a flat and smooth stone, which he now weighed in his hands. Grinning, he put away his sword and walked with it to the shore. He threw it very flat over the water with a spin and watched enthusiastically as it jumped over the water.
1...2...3...4...5... times he made it. The stone splashed far out on the lake and so the little boy's gaze wandered to the other shore and got stuck there.
*But he is skillful with the little stones.... beautiful how they jump...*
She had lifted her head out from behind the bushes to see better and had completely forgotten that she was only half hidden by the small thicket anyway. So only a small thicket blocked the complete view of her. To all appearances, this did not go unnoticed by the boy. He froze with fright. There on the other shore, behind this thicket, he saw something that he, like so many other people, had never seen before. It came very close to what he imagined under a primeval monster, as his mother called it. This sight was so terrifying for him that he was totally speechless and, although he actually wanted to run away screaming at this moment, he stood rooted to the spot and stared at this thing. Finally, unable to run, he fell over backwards. Silent screams escaped his throat as he desperately tried to crawl away backwards. To his observer, this all looked very strange.
*It looks like he can't breathe...but why?*
She thought and watched him closely. Kunibert, on the other hand, continued to crawl backwards away from this thing. In his panic he didn't care if it followed him or not, the main thing was to get away, away from here, away from this monster. Finally he managed to tear his eyes away from this creature and turn around. Hectically, he crawled on all fours to the large tree he had just recently circled to get to this clearing.
On the other side of the lake, his monstrous counterpart noticed that he had seen her. She was completely visible and therefore in danger. She quickly ducked back behind the brush and tried to make herself as small as she could.
One of the elders had once told her that the humans were dangerous and that they killed the dragons as well as all other animals as soon as they found them. Because of this, she was struck with panic. Fear that this human, even though he was so small, could harm her. Especially right now of all times...
But the human didn't think of doing anything to this animal at the moment. He only wanted to save his own little life. When he reached the tree, he frantically pulled himself up by the bark and turned around. The beast he had seen so clearly a moment ago was gone. Where exactly had it been. In his panic, he could not see the dragon, which was still half visible. Uncertainly, he drew his wooden sword and held it protectively in front of him. This was his only weapon. The weapon that had already struck down so many villains. It simply had to protect him.
"S...so they do exist..."
He stammered, not daring to take a single step without knowing exactly where the beast was. The beast itself was not in the best of moods either. She herself was afraid for her life, afraid that this person could do something to her. But in the bushes she was in, she was trapped. She would not be able to take off at her current location, nor would she be able to escape directly. There remained only one thing: The escape forward. Directly towards the troublemaker, up to the lake and there in the open area, she would probably be able to fly. Or at least try it. Kunibert, on the other hand, had no grand plan for his escape. He just wanted to know where this beast was so he could flee from it in the fastest way possible. What surprised him much more was why the beast did not attack, or at least made an attempt to do so. Anxiously, he continued to look around the area. The beast now stepped out of the bushes, hoping to reach the open area. To do so, it mustered all its courage and faced the supposed mortal enemy in full size for the first time. Now Kunibert also saw the beast again. It was huge. Much larger than he would have expected. It might be about 15-18 steps long and it was white. White like an angel, the angel of death, which could be seen on the church windows in his village. He raised his sword protectively in front of him. His whole body was trembling. There was no thought of escape. One could not flee from such a thing.
"D... D... Don't come c... c... closer!"
He stuttered. In response, he got to hear an eerie rumble that the beast in front of him let him hear. The sound that this beast made him hear now finally brought Kunibert down. His sword fell into the grass and remained there uselessly, and he himself fell to his knees and covered his ears. The beast on the other side of the lake could not do anything with this gesture, respectively she did not understand why this human, this bloodthirsty creature was so afraid of her. Shouldn't the human storm towards her and attack her with everything he had? Kunibert was close to despair:
*I should have listened to mother...*
It went through his head while he kneelt in the grass and did not dare to move. He did not notice the movement in his counterpart. The beast had almost completely lost the tension in its body. This human was no danger. Fleeing would be a complete waste of energy especially since it was still struggling with an injury to its wing. Since the human had now dropped the weapon and was cowering on the ground in total fear, there was no longer any danger from him.
Kunibert was really no longer a danger. He was completely dissolved. But when he didn't hear anything for a while, he opened his squinted eyes and looked at the ground in front of him. His sword was lying on the ground a step or two in front of him. He wouldn't be able to reach it directly, but he didn't dare move, nor -much less- look forward to see the beast again. When the beast noticed that something was happening, it grumbled another time, but this time very quietly, and took a step back. Kunibert took his hands off his ears, but winced again when he heard the rumble of the beast. But this rumble sounded different. It was less loud and somehow sounded softer. He raised his head a little and looked in the direction of the monster. It had backed away a little. Maybe he had intimidated it somehow. After all, he was a big and proud warrior. ... Well ... at least sometimes. He remained sitting like that for the time being and looked at his counterpart. When one took his time and looked closer, it was a very beautiful looking beast. If you took the time to look at it calmly, because you had realized that an escape was probably pointless anyway, you realized little by little that there were hardly any hard edges and that everything looked very well-formed and flowing. This had to be so, for reasons of aerodynamics, but Kunibert did not know that at the time. He simply found it more fascinating with every passing moment and he wanted to see more, wanted to touch it. The beast stood there calmly and examined the boy on the other side of the lake. He looked very different now as he slowly stood back up. His look and his whole aura had changed fundamentally. Slowly, the human stood up without taking his eyes off the beast. He seemed very curious, inquisitive. In this he was quite similar to her. She took another step back. Kunibert also remained cautious, despite the fascination that emanated from this creature, it was certainly dangerous, he was still aware of that. Again and again he squinted at his wooden sword. Which lay only a few steps away from him. It was an eerie situation and he was very afraid, but at the same time he was magically drawn to this beast. The beast at the other end of the clearing, meanwhile, was no longer quite so sure about its feelings towards the human being. She hoped that the human did not intend to attack her. Who knew what these people were capable of in the end. Flying was now impossible after an attempt to move the injured wing. The wing simply hurt too much. The human, on the other hand, seemed to finally give in to his curiosity and swallowed his fear. He started to move very slowly and walked unsteadily towards the lake. He abandoned his sword and kept his eyes fixed on the beast. As the human now slowly approached, the beast let out another growl. Again very quietly, but quite emphatically. She hoped fervently that this was not one of those people who preferred to see her kind dead. But the human seemed to completely ignore her feigned warning. Exactly and with great concern she observed each of his movements, as he came closer step by step. In her now slowly the fear rose higher and higher, but she did not want to let the human notice her fear. One should never show an enemy that one was afraid. She had learned that early on. To make herself look bigger and more threatening, she tried to spread her wings a little, but this did not work, because one wing just hurt too much. So she folded the wings again on her torso and continued to look over to the human, who was completely addicted to his urge to discover and continued to walk in her direction as if he was in a trance. When he arrived at the lake, Kunibert began to walk around it. Very slowly and in the direction of the longer path, he walked along the shore. This gave him more time to look at the beast from a distance and take a good look at it. The beast meticulously followed his every move with its large eyes. With each step he took, Kunibert's enthusiasm for this strange creature grew. Every fear, every warning, every caution and every doubt had fallen away from him. Only with the greatest restraint did he manage to keep himself from simply running off to get to this animal faster. The closer he got, the bigger and faster his steps became. He didn't even notice the movement that was going on in the beast.
On the other side of the lake, the beast did not fail to notice that the small human was moving faster and faster towards her. Since she could not quite interpret the behavior of the humans, she interpreted this circumstance as a potential attack, but was not sure of her case. But nevertheless it would be fatal to turn the flank to an attacker, so she turned completely to the small human. In case of emergency, she could still seek shelter in the water. The human would certainly not follow her there.
The latter had circled the lake about halfway and was no longer able to tear his gaze from the monster when something caught his foot. Before Kunibert could react, the root he had gotten his foot under had brought him down. He fell over lengthwise like a tree trunk. With a loud "Oof!" he landed belly-down on the grass. More out of anger than pain, Kunibert cursed and tried to scramble back up. But he couldn't get his foot free of the root. He was inevitably stuck. While the boy continued to try to free himself from the root's grip, the monster wondered about these strange gestures. The human fell into the grass at once, only to emerge from it a moment later, clamoring wildly. After that, the human bent back into the grass and did something that the monster could not see. Its interest was aroused. Curious as to what this human was doing now and why he seemed so beside himself. The beast would move closer to see better. But cautiously. Who knew if this human wasn't just trying a feint to draw her out.
But the human was busy with completely different problems. He just became aware of where he was and what he was doing. He seemed to awaken from a dream as he looked up with wide eyes at the monster, which was now not too far away. A fear he had never known before took possession of him. Now that he was so much closer to the beast, it seemed even bigger, even more formidable, and although it was still a few steps away from him, he felt as if it could eat him right now. So as a morsel for in between, he could not be more with his size, compared to this beast. He panicked. How could he have been so stupid? What had he thought, when he had run so mindlessly towards this thing. And now? Now he was stuck here and couldn't even run away. Hectically, he tried to release his foot from its grip, but the more he tugged on it, the more this noose tightened around his foot. His pulse raced, his heart hammered so hard he could feel it in his ears. When he looked up from his foot once more, he realized, to make matters worse, that now this monster was coming at him as well. In his panic, he tugged even harder on his foot, but the result remained the same. Now everything was over. Fear, inhuman, primitive fear rose in him. No longer able to move his foot, he was equally unable to flee. Unarmed as he was, even a fight would make no sense. Everything seemed over. He was done for. He heard nothing more except the racing heartbeat of himself, he saw nothing more except the blurred image of the root that had wrapped itself around his foot, tears streaming down his cheeks. He also no longer felt anything except pure fear, which robbed him of all his senses. Apathetically, he continued to tug at his foot.
The beast tilted its head slightly. The human seemed to be in a state of sheer panic, tugging at his hind leg and making strange noises. He also seemed to pay no more attention to her. Grumbling softly, she came closer to see what was bothering the human. She was curious. Because of her age and her experience, she was still curious enough to wipe away the doubts and, against her better judgment, to go closer to this person. Now she realized what had happened. The human's hind leg had gotten caught in a simple root. This had happened to her before, but she had always been strong enough to free herself from it. For this human, this simple problem seemed to have serious consequences when he was in such a panic. To all appearances, he could not free himself alone. Slowly the image of the bloodthirsty, dangerous human began to crumble in her mind. If they couldn't even free themselves from such a simple trap, how were they going to be dangerous to her. How weak they were. Well, at least this one was. This situation did have its good sides. The little human could not do anything to her now, but was also not able to escape her. So she had all the time in the world to take a closer look at this so-called mortal enemy of her kind. He was small, not even close to the size of one of her legs. He seemed lanky and his muscles could not develop much strength, as could be seen at the root. His appearance was also very strange. He had a small piece of fur on his head, otherwise he didn't seem to wear any fur at all, much like herself, but his skin wasn't scaled either, like hers was. He himself was of a boring color, whereas those weird things he wore instead of fur had nice colors. He also had such things around his hind legs, but they looked different and were brown like the earth. She was a little amused inside. She could not explain the purpose of these things. They had to be disturbing!
But Kunibert was bothered by quite different things right now. He was so panicked that he did not even notice the further approach of the beast. He just wanted to get away, no matter how, just fast and far away. Even home and the trouble for his disobedience he would accept. The main thing was to get away. He would also never again disobey an order of his mother. Never again... well... at least for a while. The beast had now stopped. It was still some distance away, but it had gotten close enough to be able to reach him with one of its front paws. This meant it was still far enough away that the human could not reach it. Finally, Kunibert also noticed that the monster had come closer. Through a veil of tears of despair, he saw the white shadow towering far above him. He didn't see anything clearly, but since no other animal had been around, it could only be this monster. He froze and let go of his foot. Even his breath stopped and his brain shut down for a moment. He was not capable of anything. He could not even scream. Apathetic and in complete panic, he looked fixedly into the large, white face in front of him. Thus he did not notice how the monster, grumbling softly, carefully pushed its paw across the ground to him and dug into the earth not far from his foot. The beast actually only wanted to see what would happen if it tore off the root and thus freed the human. It dug very carefully and quickly found the root. The giant claw grasped the root tightly and began to carefully pull on it. She did not want to hurt the human. On the one hand, since he had not taken his weapons with him and thus actually posed no danger, on the other hand, she did not know how an injured human would react. She knew it from animals that they could become real berserkers when they were injured. She jerked once firmly in one direction and the muffled crack under the earth indicated that the root was now properly torn off. The human fell straight over backwards and shook his head slightly. Dumbfounded, he looked at his foot, which was now free again. It took him a moment to realize that the root was no longer holding him, but then he began to crawl back frantically. The beast shook its head slightly, it didn't want to hurt him after all. Well at least not primarily. She now tried to talk to him. Just like she always talked to the animals and to her conspecifics:
"I'm not going to hurt you. Why are you running away?"
She could not know that the language of the people was completely different and that the little boy, who just fled from her in panic and came to rest against a tree, could not understand her at all. For him, these were only growling and hissing sounds, which basically only made him even more afraid. He remained sitting at the tree and clutched himself in its bark. There were now a few steps between them again. His face was as white as her scales. She tilted her head a little and tried again in a slightly different dialect:
"I won't hurt you..."
It sounded very strange to her ears, but the human still didn't seem to understand her. She tried to remember the language, the language that humans spoke and that she had once learned from a peer so long ago. Kunibert, on the other hand, clung to the tree, fearing for his life. Again and again the monster grumbled in front of him. Very slowly he calmed down again, because the monster did not move and made no effort to do so. His gaze fell on the claw of the monster, which was still half stuck in the ground and held the remains of the root, which it had apparently torn through. He looked at this claw and slowly realized that this monster must have freed him. Actually a nice gesture, but cats also played with their victims before they finally ate them. His eyes wandered again to the head of the monster, which just started to make strange sounds again. It sounded strange, even funny. It sounded almost like when his father came home from the tavern in the evening and got into his bed completely drunk. While there was another low growl, Kunibert slowly tried to get up. He pulled himself up by the trunk of the tree, his legs were wobbly and he felt somehow tired. All the while he kept his eyes on the beast, not daring to look away even for a moment. As he slowly stood more securely, the beast pulled its claw back under his body. Kunibert gathered all his courage and addressed it:
"W...w...what a...a...are you?"
He stuttered and his voice was broken, but at least it should be understandable. But it was not quite that simple. The beast in front of him did not recognize his words. Only the word 'you' and the tone of voice, which she assumed was a question, she could recognize. The expression on the human's face slowly relaxed again and the natural color finally returned. The look in his eyes told her that he was probably becoming more curious again. She wondered what this 'you' meant once again. When she finally came to a conclusion, she tried to speak again:
"Hobsyllwin."
That's what they called her in the human language, a fellow of her kind had once told her. The human responded a little, but she wasn't sure if he would understand her.
"Do you understand me?"
She tried again. Quietly and carefully. The human across from her didn't understand exactly, it sounded rough, scratchy and unrehearsed. Like when one had a long and severe cold behind him and the hoarseness slowly subsided again. But this animal was trying to speak on its own. Kunibert's interest was newly aroused. While the beast in front of him started once again:
"You..."
It imitated his voice and tone of voice. Kunibert could not believe his ears:
"Y-you can speak..."
He mumbled, while the little explorer cried out in his head:
*It can talk, so it's a friend. Go on, go on... come on now!*
While Kunibert was still struggling with his explorer instinct, which was driving him -against reason- to go to this monster again. Formed this again words, or at least it tried that:
"Speak..."
It still sounded quite strange, but it already resembled the boy's language more. Once again it tried to introduce itself:
"I ... Am ... Hobsyllwin."
This time the boy understood. It still sounded a bit weird, but it was finally understandable. Kunibert's whole face began to beam. It was talking to him. This animal could actually speak. Not just imitate him, no it could speak.
"I am Kunibert."
He replied quickly, jittery with excitement. His curiosity slowly gained the upper hand over his reason again. Hobsyllwin tilted her head slightly.
"Hello."
Kunibert grinned; it had greeted him.
"Hello."
He returned, slowly pushing away from the trunk. His curiosity had won out again. He walked slowly towards Hobsyllwin. The latter pulled her lips back a little. She couldn't resist grinning. It just sounded too funny to her when she communicated in the human language. Kunibert saw the grin of the animal in front of him and swallowed. He wasn't entirely comfortable with it, but he pushed his concerns aside. Something that spoke to him, freed him from the root and now also grinned, such a thing could not be evil. He wanted to know more about this animal, see more, hear more. He remembered that the miller had once told him, so that his dog did not bite him, he had to approach him very slowly and always leave his hands visible. He did the same now. He stretched his hands slightly away from his body and walked very slowly towards this huge animal. He began to murmur:
"If you don't hurt me, I won't hurt you..."
Although he was sure that he could not harm this animal anyway. Hobsyllwin herself tried to remain calm, even though the fear that still prevailed urged her to get up and flee. The human slowly approached. She tried the human language again:
"Who are you?"
As before, it sounded a little strange when Hobsyllwin spoke, but Kunibert answered calmly:
"I am Kunibert."
Hobsyllwin traced her footpath with her head. At last, the communication got better. She was slowly getting used to the language, which was so different from hers.
*Kunibert he said...*
She repeated the name a few times in her head and then tried to pronounce it:
"Kunibert..."
She said softly. Kunibert nodded as Hobsyllwin pronounced his name correctly. He stopped about five paces from the behemoth and looked up at its head, which now towered a good distance above him. Childlike curiosity and awe of this huge beast were reflected in his face. Hobsyllwin looked down at Kunibert. He seemed so much smaller than she was. Actually a very pleasant situation, if there wasn't something itching on her claw. When the itch finally became unbearable, she carefully slid the claw out from under her body to look at it. She did it slowly so as not to startle the human. She looked down at the claw and saw the annoying piece of root stuck to it. A really annoying growth. But she couldn't remove it now, for that she would have had to stand up and use the second claw or her teeth and she didn't want that. And so she just held out the claw as it was and looked at the human. Kunibert looked down uncertainly at the claw, which now hung in the air two steps in front of him. He didn't know what Hobsyllwin was trying to do with it, he was certainly close enough for her to just eat him in one bite. Then he recognized the rest of the root still hanging from the claw. It was certainly time to return the favor. Kunibert looked at the claw and then up at Hobsyllwin's head. He swallowed and took another step toward the claw, reaching for the root remnant with trembling hands. He knew these roots. When they were fresh, they stuck like hell. The resin that oozed from them was just devilishly sticky. He removed the piece of root and threw it away. The contact with the beast opposite him had been strange. Quite different from what he had imagined. He looked at his hand, and wiped the other, which still had resin stuck to it, on his pants.
"Thank you."
Hobsyllwin said softly. With that, she carefully moved the claw until the itch finally disappeared and then slid it back under her body. She never thought that she, of all people, would ever meet a human with more than just the death of her kind in mind. She turned her head a little to the side so that her mouth was not always the closest thing to him. Kunibert was in the meantime taken in. It had thanked him. The animal had thanked him for helping it. His curiosity literally exploded as the little explorer cried out in his head:
*Well? Didn't I tell you? It is completely harmless!*
Well, he was not quite right, but Kunibert did not want to think about it anymore. Hobsyllwin looked down on him benevolently. She was curious, too. Insanely curious. Even though she was ancient by human standards, she was still quite young for her kind.
"Are you afraid of me?"
She asked and Kunibert nodded. He was sincere, as he was sure that this animal already knew it anyway, and after all, it had been impossible to miss. He was a brave warrior, but even proud knights were allowed to be afraid, it saved lives sometimes, after all. At least that's how he tried to talk himself out of his shame. But before Hobsyllwin could ask why he was afraid, he already interrupted her.
"What are you? Why can you speak?"
It just bubbled out of him, while the glow in his eyes became bigger and bigger. He asked his questions so quickly that she had to sort through the words before she could answer.
"Humans call our kind dragons. We are older than time. The language of the humans is known to us, has been for an eternity. One of our elders taught it to me once."
She said softly as she slowly but surely got more practice with the language. It didn't feel so strange to speak this way anymore. Kunibert looked up at her inquisitively.
"It's been a long time."
*So that's a dragon.... I thought they only existed in fairy tales.*
Kunibert's thoughts went wild. He now remembered a drawing in an old book that had been in the church. It looked similar to Hobsyllwin. He was a little confused. His parents and everyone else had always described dragons as bloodthirsty, violent and merciless monsters that ate little children and held pretty princesses captive. He was now mixing folk beliefs and fairy tales together without realizing it.
"You're a human, aren't you?"
Kunibert answered in the affirmative; he was a human, but still a very small one. Hobsyllwin had also imagined humans differently. After all, they had been described to her as vengeful, warmongering and depraved creatures who always and only wanted her dead. But this person did not fit into this pattern at all, which made her curious. She also wanted to know more.
"What are you doing here? You shouldn't be here!"
"I was playing. Mother always says I shouldn't go into the forest, there are monsters there. Are you a monster?"
Kunibert tried to explain. Hobsyllwin raised his head a little.
"Monsters?"
"Mother and father say there are monsters here. I don't know..."
The dragon tilted his head.
"We're not monsters. At least not that I know of."
She was sure Kunibert meant the dragons by monsters. They weren't monsters, at least not any more than the humans were. Kunibert smiled, then looked around, then whispered softly behind his hand:
"Mother and father, after all, said dragons are evil.... But that's not true."
And again he looked around. He was kind of afraid that his mother would come up behind him with a wooden spoon right now. As he said this, the dragon chattered blithely on:
"I'm not a monster, and my friends aren't monsters either..."
Hobsyllwin didn't seem to have heard him at all. Kunibert followed up.
"Or are you evil?"
He looked at her with wide eyes. Hobsyllwin had to strongly resist the urge to stroke him over the head, he probably wouldn't have survived that.
"No, I'm not evil. Not at all. Well maybe if I'm attacked. But only a little."
She shook her head slowly. The glow in Kunibert's eyes grew. This dragon was not evil. So his mother had probably lied. Then there would probably be no monsters here in the forest. Hobsyllwin remembered that the boy had caught his foot under the root earlier.
"Is everything all right with your hind foot?"
Kunibert looked down at his foot. It still hurt, but basically he had had worse. But he was already embarrassed that he had panicked so much earlier. That wasn't befitting a knight.
"Yes, he's still in one piece."
The dragon seemed relieved.
"That's good. I hope I didn't hurt you, because I didn't mean to."
He replied in the negative. She hadn't hurt him. But the inner turmoil that kept him in check was plain to see. Hobsyllwin didn't know what it was that was bothering the little person so.
"What's the matter? What's on your mind?"
She asked freely and Kunibert quickly replied:
"N..Nothing..."
Although this was probably quick and easy to identify as a lie.
"You don't have to be afraid. I don't want to hurt you!"
Hobsyllwin assured, but Kunibert quickly shook his head. He didn't want to let on.
"What are you afraid of?"
He shook his head. The dragon was starting to get a little worried, after all, whatever was scaring him could also be dangerous to her.
"Is someone following you?"
Kunibert replied in the negative.
"Of nothing..."
He said firmly, but added muttering:
"...at most of Papa."
Hobsyllwin did not understand this.
"Hmm? What's a Papa?"
She didn't know this word and didn't know what to do with it. Kunibert sheepishly drew with his foot in the loose soil.
"My father ... when he's drunk, he's..."
He mumbled something else, but it was impossible to understand. He looked at the ground and became silent.
"Father? Drunk?"
Hobsyllwin did not understand human custom. It seemed very strange. There was no such thing among dragons. But before she could say anything, Kunibert looked at her again with wide eyes:
"Say... Dragons can fly after all... Can you fly?"
She nodded, but only to shake her head right after.
"Yes... no... maybe..."
She broke off in the middle of the sentence. Kunibert continued to look at her questioningly, demanding. Hobsyllwin was in a quandary. It would not be wise to tell him or show him that she was hurt. He might tell his father, and then that could be quite awkward. When she hesitated, Kunibert hitched a ride:
"You can't fly?"
His tone was suspicious.
"But of course, I can fly. But I don't want to now."
It was an outright lie, but she had no way of knowing if he would notice or not. Kunibert didn't notice, at least not directly. Instead, he begged:
"Please. Show me. Pleeeeeaase."
He wanted to see it, he wanted to know more after all. With big round eyes, he looked at her. But she was ironclad.
"No. I can't right now!"
She looked down at the ground, ashamed, and in turn began drawing circles in the sandy ground.
"Why?"
Kunibert did not let up. He was curious and unyielding. He wanted, needed, to see it now.
"Or can't you fly after all?"
This attacked Hobsyllwin's honor as a dragon after all. Against her better judgment, she now tried to stretch her wing slightly, but it hurt a lot. She grimaced.
"I do have wings as you see. And a dragon with wings can also fly!"
As she uttered this, the pain overcame her once more and a deep rumble pushed out from her throat. It was impossible to fly with this wing. This did not go unnoticed by Kunibert. He watched as Hobsyllwin tried to move the wings. They were huge. Then he slowly shook his head.
"No... you can't fly!"
He stated as his gaze slowly traveled back over the wing to her face.
"Not like that!"
As Hobsyllwin gave up and lowered the wing, Kunibert folded his arms in front of his chest.
"After all, an eagle with a broken wing can't fly either."
The dragon gritted her teeth as she very slowly folded the wing back up.
"No. Broken it is not. Thank the mighty one. But it is bruised and it hurts like hell."
Kunibert cocked his head a little to one side and looked sharply at Hobsyllwin.
"You tried to fib to me."
The answer to that wasn't long in coming.
"Only as much as you tried to fib to me when you said your hind leg was fine."
Again the dragon contorted her face, this time into a grin, while Kunibert felt himself hit hard. That had hit home. He had never been a good actor. His mother always held that against him. He tried to cover it up and pointed to the wing.
"Let me see your wing."
He tried to change the subject. He had helped his mother many times when the cows or the calves had hurt themselves. It couldn't be that much different with a dragon. The dragon seemed skeptical.
"Do you really think you can do anything about that?"
Hobsyllwin looked down incredulously at the little human, who was now grinning slightly.
"Well give it to me already, I won't break it. At least not more than it already is anyway."
She continued to remain skeptical:
"We're not like other animals. Our wings are like skin. Please be careful."
Kunibert nodded. He would be careful. Slowly, the dragon lowered its wing as it waited. It hurt a lot and Hobsyllwin could not suppress another rumble.
"Sorry, it just hurts too much..."
She groaned. Kunibert, meanwhile, looked carefully at the wing. Indeed, it was very gracefully built, seeing the rest of the massive body in comparison. But the anatomy of the wing itself was relatively simple, despite everything. A few bones, a few joints, muscles and tendons. Between them stretched a thick skin that served as a wing. It was remotely reminiscent of the wings of a bat, like the thousands they had in the barn. He did wonder a bit that such a wing was capable of supporting an animal of that size. He looked at the even shape and finally got stuck on one spot. The wing was unnaturally swollen there. It did not seem as if it should be so. He did not touch it, but only pointed his finger at it.
"Is it there?"
She looked to the spot and then nodded.
"Yes, I think that's where it is."
He looked at it spellbound and concentrated.
"Is there anything else there that fascinates you so much?"
Hobsyllwin asked, because Kunibert didn't respond for a moment. Kunibert didn't look up, but ran his hand over the wing.
"It's beautiful, but this bruise needs to be treated. You should definitely cool it down so the swelling goes down. Maybe you could do an herbal wrap to keep the inflammation from spreading."
He said softly as he very carefully palpated the area around the swelling. Hobsyllwin moved her wings only slightly, but that was enough to bring tears to her eyes. Today she would probably move the wing only once, in which she folded him and then held still. But the cooling sounded good, she could have actually come up with it herself.
"Cooling?"
Kunibert nodded and pointed to the lake.
"Yes, the easiest way is to hold it in the water right here."
The dragon nodded.
"It's best if you move a little to the side."
Kunibert did as he was told, while Hobsyllwin turned and headed toward the lake. With much effort, she tried not to let the wing drag across the ground. Kunibert watched the spectacle. The dragon was amazingly agile and nimble for its size. Meanwhile, Hobsyllwin just slid all the way into the water, which seemed easier to her than just holding the wing in.
"Ah... that feels really good..."
Kunibert watched in amusement as the expression of relaxation and relief spread across the dragon's face.
"How do you little human know such things?"
"My mother showed me. When one of our cows gets hurt, we do the same thing."
Hobsyllwin nodded pensively. Only her head was still sticking out of the water, which she now laid relaxed on the grass on the bank. During the action, the level of the lake had definitely risen by a few centimeters. Kunibert grinned. What was now still sticking out of the water was not much bigger than himself.
"Thank you. I'm going to rest here for a bit. Just a moment..."
Hobsyllwin murmured, closing her eyes briefly. Kunibert nodded.
"Yes, you do that. Meanwhile, I'll go gather some herbs."
He said and turned quietly. As he walked, or more likely hobbled to the edge of the clearing, he tried obsessively to remember the herbs his mother always used for her herbal wraps. Not so much the names, but the shapes. The dragon lay still in the water for so long. It seemed almost like a white carpet of algae slowly spreading under the surface of the water. The boy arrived at the edge of the clearing and began to search the undergrowth and trees for the herbs and ingredients he needed. Some of the herbs he found directly. Others only after some searching. The dragon opened his eyes from time to time and looked after the boy, who slowly but surely disappeared into the nearby forest. He wanted to collect herbs. Hopefully they also tasted, she was rather for protein-rich food. There was nothing like a good piece of fresh meat.
Kunibert soon came running back. On a rhubarb leaf he had put together all the ingredients he had found during his search. Among them were: chamomile, sage, mistell, camphor and a few more herbs. Although he was not sure, he hoped he had found everything. At the edge of the clearing, he picked up another large, flat stone before returning, beaming with joy.
*That was fast...*
Hobsyllwin was happy that the human was back so quickly. Although she was a bit surprised that she was looking forward to his return. But before she could give it any greater thought, Kunibert was already back with her, presenting his accomplishments.
"So, I hope I have found everything we will need."
Somewhat taken aback, she looked over the ingredients and noticed the stone.
*I wonder if I'll have to eat that one too? I wonder how it all tastes?*
Meanwhile, Kunibert went over the recipe again. The dragon couldn't help himself and monkeyed around a bit:
"Do I have to eat that? I don't like stones. They're so heavy on my stomach!"
The boy looked up at Hobsyllwin, somewhat horrified.
"No, no. Don't eat it. It's all highly poisonous! You must only use this externally!"
He took the stone and laid it flat side up on the ground.
"Look here I'll show you."
While he was still preparing, she picked up her head, away from the shore.
"Do you want to poison me? Why?"
Kunibert started laughing while the took another stone and started grinding the herbs between the stones.
"No, I don't want to poison you after all. But you must use these herbs only externally. Otherwise the dosage would be too high and it would poison you."
Hobsyllwin remained skeptical. He had collected poisonous plants, and now they were supposed to help her. How he wanted to do that was a mystery to her. She watched the boy attentively. Slowly, the herbs turned into a mush that was so disgustingly green that it couldn't possibly help. But Kunibert kept at it. This was the salvation for the dragon's wing. When he was done, he slid it all together on the rhubarb leaf and showed it to Hobsyllwin.
"There, now let's put this on the swell."
She remained skeptical. He just grinned and smelled the concoction.
"This will take down the swelling and fight the inflammation. Actually, we'd still have to bandage it. But if you take it easy on the wing and keep it still for a bit, it should be fine."
Hobsyllwin smelled the herbs and shook herself a little.
"On the wing? Are you sure?"
"Why yes, I am. Trust me. That's what we always do with our pets. It's always helped."
He was visibly convinced of this. The dragon sighed. He would already know what he was doing. After all, he had been right about the water. Slowly she got out of the water and turned her wing toward him. Then she committed a great stupidity by trying to dry the wing with her hot breath. Now it hurt more again. Kunibert, on the other hand, smiled. Hobsyllwin seemed to trust him, it was a good feeling. Carefully he went to the injured wing and looked at it again. The swelling had already gone down a little, but it still stood out very much from the geometry of the wing. So he took the herbal concoction and very carefully packed it on top. He held it for a moment longer and looked around for something to fasten it with. Meanwhile, Hobsyllwin twitched the wing. It had hurt even more when he applied it.
"Now it hurts even more. Why?"
She grumbled, but Kunibert quickly reassured her.
"That's because I came against it now, it should get better in a minute."
Indeed, the pain was already subsiding again and a pleasant cooling sensation was setting in.
"It's okay, it's better already.... What are you looking for?"
Kunibert shook his head. He couldn't find anything to fixate it with. It just had to hold like that. If she didn't move too much, it would probably hold.
"Nothing, nothing. I was just thinking that maybe we'd better tie it down, but if you hold the wing still, it should be fine!"
"All right."
Lened Hobsyllwin, folding up her wing very carefully. It still hurt, but it was bearable. A much bigger problem in her eyes was that toxic green color on her wing. Suspiciously, she looked at the herbal pad.
"Will this come off?"
"It needs to sit for a bit now to take full effect. Tomorrow you can wash it off."
Kunibert gave to understand. Hobsyllwin grinned.
"I meant the color."
The boy burst out laughing.
"But yes, of course it will come off. With a good amount of water, it shouldn't be a problem."
Then he looked up at the sky. The sun was already very far advanced on its way. It was already late, and it would take him a while to get out of the forest again. There would be a lot of trouble. Restlessness overtook him. It did not go unnoticed on Hobsyllwin.
"What's the matter? You look worried..."
Kunibert slightly contorted his face.
"I have to go home. It's getting late. My parents will be furious."
He said quietly, looking around for the tree where he had come into the clearing.
"Show me the way, I can carry you part of the way, I'm sure it will be faster then."
Kunibert replied in the negative.
"No, you must stay here. If anyone sees you, all hell will break loose. Besides, your wing needs rest. I'll be all right. It's not the first time."
He defended himself and looked for his sword with his eyes. The dragon approached him and looked at him seriously.
"You can't tell anyone I'm here, do you hear?"
"No one will know you are here."
He said quietly and walked in the direction where his sword lay. Hobsyllwin came after him.
"Most people hunt us once they know where we are. I beg you, don't say anything to anyone."
"Don't worry, I won't tell."
She nudged him again and looked deep into his eyes. She could tell he wasn't lying.
"Have thanks Kunibert."
Kunibert put his hand on the dragon's muzzle and smiled.
"You're welcome."
He then disappeared into the thicket, leaving Hobsyllwin alone with herself again. She looked after him for a while, contemplating if he was honest in his demeanor. She looked at her wing and the big green blotch he had aplied. It already felt better. He seemed honest. He had really helped her. But could she really trust him? Or would his family press the info about her whereabouts out of him?
Kunibert on the other hand made haste through the forest. He had to get back fast. If his Mother had to search for him, he would not be able to sit for a few days. Let alone if his Father was already searching for him.
The fear did let him run faster. Already he was back at the thickit he had penetrated on his way in. The way out was easier, but not less cumbersome.
When he finally broke out of the forest, the sun was already setting and he could hear his Mother calling him out.
He rushed home...
Boy would he be in trouble.
...
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