It has been so long since I've posted. For that, I apologize. Sometimes, life just gets away from you and next thing you know, it's been forever since you've posted anything.
Well, a friend of mine Cameron Montague Taylor decided to create her own website and as part of that, she wanted to do writing prompts once a week to help motivate everyone to write. I've provided the link to her website if you'd like to check it out yourself. Anyway, this was one of the prompts she asked for.
So, without further ado, here is my contribution to her prompt.
Selyra Inawynn looked to the darkening horizon as she struck the flint against the small steel rod yet again. It had been hours since the beast disappeared into the surrounding forest, and the sky deepened as twilight settled around her. The cascading sparks devoured the dead grass and leaves that made up the tinder. The woman quickly added little limbs and dry brush, letting the embers develop into flame before adding a few of the logs she had gathered for the night. Once the fire burned steady and bright, she turned back toward the direction the creature had slunk off in.
No movement stirred the forest aside from the small woodland creatures skittering about the trees and timberland floor. She sighed and turned back to the fire and her satchel that sat within reach. The woman dug through the pack and retrieved several bags, a small cauldron, a wooden spoon, and a thin square piece of wood. Selyra sat in front of the campfire and placed the board atop her crossed legs. She pulled a handful of ingredients from each bag: mushrooms, green onions, parsley twigs, and a clove of garlic. The female minced each item and raked them into the small cauldron. The woman pulled a leather pouch from her haversack and took out a small, corked bottle of salt, fished out a pinch, then added it to the ingredients. Next came a small vial of pepper. When Selyra added the final ingredient, she put everything away.
Silence filled the small clearing as all movement ceased around her. Even the chirrup of insects was absent in the gloom. Selyra focused her hearing and let her eyes fall closed, allowing her other senses to permeate the immediate area. Her hand fell instinctively to her belt, palm resting over the pommel of her favorite dagger. She breathed slow, steady, and deep, taking in the scent of the fire, the freshly chopped herbs, the oil that treated her weapons and armor. She inhaled the pine, oak, cedar, and ash that enveloped her, then finally the wild musk of the forest creatures.
A twig snapped over her right shoulder, then brush crackled as the passing of something large pushed it aside. The smell of soot and sulfur assaulted her delicate olfactory senses, and she exhaled and relaxed back into her original position. A guttural growl sounding much like laughter filled the clearing, and Selyra shook her head. “Surely you didn’t believe you would sneak up on me so easily, dragon.”
A scaley green, brown, and grey beast circled to the other side of the fire and plopped down, sending dust and leaves scrambling into the air to settle back to the ground moments later. The human looked the creature over for a moment, then stated, “I take it your hunt was unsuccessful.” It huffed in answer. The woman sighed and began rummaging in her pack again.
After several moments, she pulled out a package wrapped in brown paper and twine. She unwrapped it to reveal a hunk of salted pork. She trimmed off a few slabs, added them to the pot, then glanced across the fire. The oversized lizard studied her with interest, and Selyra fought back the smirk threatening to take over her features. “Can you cook a dragon?” The giant lizard raised a scaley eyebrow. “What? Like you weren’t having similar ideas.” She rolled her eyes, stabbed the knife into the cutting board, and threw two more logs on the fire, ignoring the look of disdain the creature threw her. “Don’t look at me like that. How hard is it for a twenty-foot predator to catch a single deer?”
The beast growled and snorted its displeasure. The female laughed. “Relax, I was only joking. Don’t get your scales twisted!”
Selyra rose from her position and jogged behind her tent. She dug around in a hidden, half-buried trunk near the natural spring and pulled out a skinned rabbit and deer leg. The woman went back to the fire and after a few moments of set up, hung the spitted deer leg over the fire. “It shouldn’t take too long to warm up. You know, you’re very lucky this is one of my temporary lodging areas. The cold water of the spring keeps the earth surrounding it cool, even in the scorching heat of summer. I can keep raw meat longer without it spoiling. Unfortunately, that is the last of my reserve, so if we fail at hunting tomorrow, we’ll both be hungry.”
The woman added the rabbit carcass to her cauldron before emptying her water skin over the ingredients. She hung it over the flames next to deer leg. “A stew will give me at least one more meal, possibly two if I’m careful. It won’t help you, I’m afraid.” Selyra nearly laughed at the site of the dragon, a thin string of drool hung from its jowls as it eyed the warming meat.
“Tomorrow, I will take you to a better area for hunting. This one is a little too close to the villages to find larger game this time of year. The migration takes them further into the forest near the mountains, and the hunters from Honeyhelm and Thornstall keep the stragglers picked clean. Even the small game thins out towards mid to early summer here. We’ll have better luck further west.” Selyra rewrapped the salted pork and replaced it with a large potato from her satchel.
She began cubing the vegetable. “I’m actually impressed you stayed away from the villages and their livestock. Most young dragons can’t resist the easy kill. The fact that you are so at ease with me tells me you’ve been around humans in some capacity.” The beast shifted its gaze to her and chirruped throatily. “I take it I’m not far off. They must have taught you to steer clear of the villages and farms, or I would have heard about you before now.” The dragon’s maw curled into a smile.
Selyra stood and added the chopped spud to the pot. She stirred the stew with her ladle, then checked the leg. It was just hot enough to make her pull her hand away. “Well, this should be good enough for you.” The female cut the meat away from the spit and carried it over to the large creature. “I heard it isn’t good for you to eat it fully cooked.”
The beast leaned in and carefully took the deer haunch between its sharp teeth. It made quick work of the meat as the woman returned to her simmering dinner. “I don’t know what happened to your companion, but you are welcome to stick around for as long as you care to. I will teach you about the migration patterns of the area and how best to stay hidden from the main populations.” The dragon chirped, and she continued, “If you stay closer to the wilds, you will have fewer altercations with hunters. You should rest for now, dragon. We will need to be on the move before dawn if we wish for a productive hunt.”
The creature curled its neck around himself and settled down, while Selyra stirred her stew. Tomorrow would be a new day. If all went well, she would have enough food for the coming week and her new companion would learn a new skill to help it survive the future.
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