DarkFire
And here is her lore:
DarkFire
didn’t know where she had come from or what her name had been before—if she’d
even had a name before—but she knew that she was where she belonged.
She called
herself mistress of her lair, and as she was the only one residing therein, no
one dared to contest her. But as the
days wore on, she grew lonesome. Every
day, she would peer out the door of her lair, longing for a dragon to visit…but
she was too frightened to adventure on her own.
Her days
were comprised of pacing the stone floors, feeling the heat radiate around her
and feeling like the most cowardly of dragons.
She left her lair only when she grew hungry.
One day, as
she was hunting, she came across an injured Zeeba. She was instantly pleased; she wouldn’t have
to hunt all day for a bit of food. Then
she felt a pang of guilt. How could she
think of killing the innocent, injured creature? She battled within’ herself, then picked up
the Zeeba in her claws and carried it back to her lair.
She sat it
down, and blocked its way out by making a pen of stones, then told it firmly,
“You are my pet now. You will keep me company,
so I will not be lonely.” The Zeeba did
warm to her and soon, she could take it out of the pen and it wouldn’t even try
to run away, but just run around with her, enjoying itself.
But she
still longed for dragon companionship.
One night, when the sky was dark and cloudless, she looked up at the
brightest star she could see and softly whispered, “If there’s a God…please
hear my prayer and send me…not just a friend, but a mate.”
When she
awoke the next morning, there was a Guardian dragon standing at the opening of
her lair, peering in expectantly.
“Who are
you?” She demanded, startled.
“Um…my name
is Dusk,” he told her. “And you are?”
“I’m
DarkFire, mistress of this lair.”
“You’re
beautiful. I was waiting for you to wake
up.”
DarkFire
was taken aback. Her Zeeba didn’t speak
and she had never been called beautiful.
“I’m beautiful?”
He
nodded. “Very much so. I love your wings.” There was a longing in his orange eyes.
“My wings?”
“Yes, your
wings.”
She turned
and looked at her wings and remembered her prayer from the night before. “You like them?”
“No. I love them.
They’re so beautiful.”
“Where are
you from?” Her heart was aflutter and
she felt safer just changing the topic.
“Further
down there,” he gestured with a wing. “I
also have another fire dragon and,” he lowered his voice, “a wind dragon. I appeared from…from honestly, I’m unsure…but
the other two are fleeing from their old lairs.
You’re welcome to join us…or…could we join you?”
DarkFire
glanced behind her, into her lair. It
was large. Large and empty. When she turned back toward Dusk, she felt
her heart breaking from the sorrow of loneliness, but swelling with hope.
“I’d love if
you joined my lair.” She lowered her
head, “I’m the only one. Me and my
Zeeba, that is.”
“Oh? You have a Zeeba? I have a hedgehog back with the others, and
they have a Loga and a Grey River Flight.
We could have an entire menagerie!”
DarkFire
laughed, “There’s plenty of room!”
Dusk left,
but soon returned, bringing with him a young, shy fae, and a coatl that
preferred to quietly hum to himself.
“You know,”
Dusk told her quietly when they were alone, “You’re not like most mirrors. They prefer to be with their own breed, but
you like being with us. We’re just a
band of misfits.”
“I like
being a band of misfits. It’s better
than being lonely.”
Dusk nodded
in agreement. “DarkFire...” He said
softly, “I’ve been thinking…would you like to be my mate?”
She
remembered her prayer once more, that if there was a God, that he would send
her a mate. And here he was.
“I’d love
to.” She told him softly, barely daring
to believe it.
At last,
the day came and she and Dusk made a nest and DarkFire laid four eggs. She was so nervous they would break or be
rotten and not hatch, but to her delight, they all hatched and were given the
names: Protector, Shadow, LittleFire, Charred Embers.
As the
months wore on, more and more dragons, of all elements and breeds joined the
band of misfits, the doors were closed to no one. In fact, soon, they had to expand…and
expand…and expand even more! Surely, she’ll
be expanding even more.
©2015 Katie Holm
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