A Tale of Dragons

Chapter 5

"It usually takes years of practice." Alana noted. "Normally I'd say you were screwed, but you're a dragon. A dragon's command of magic is far more instinctive than other creatures. Give it a try and go with your gut."

Ethan hurled all his willpower at the slushy mana cloud, but it barely moved. After several minutes of trying, he still hadn't moved any part of it.

"Yeah, it's not paying attention." Ethan sighed.

"Are you trying to move the whole thing, or just part of it?" Alana asked. "It's a lot harder to move a lake than a bucket of water."

Ethan closed his eyes again and focused on just a tiny portion of the cloud. It wiggled slightly, but went no further. He threw all his willpower at it and very slowly, it started to move. It was painfully slow, like watching molasses pour in winter. He let up for a moment to relax his brain, and the mana seemed to slide back into place.

"I'm screwed." He announced.

"No you're not. Thank Illuminar they were using bodkin arrows, so the wounds are pretty small and the arrows only hit muscle. There's no organ damage and the biggest risk is infection. Focus, I'm not going to let you die like an animal tonight. Now get moving or I'll give you a few more holes to practice on." Alana picked up her bow and waved it in a semi-threatening manner, but winked.

"Yes ma'am." Ethan grinned. He didn't think she was serious, but his cheek still hurt from her slap. He looked at the wound on his leg. It had stopped bleeding, and was about a half inch in diameter.

"You can do this; I closed my arrow wound while we were running." Alana turned around and Ethan could see a trail of blood where the arrow had grazed her arm. However, he couldn't see a wound even though he'd seen her get hit. There was some dried blood, but no cut.

"Focus on the mana right next to your leg wound." She encouraged. "In your mind's eye, force it to close the wound and it will do so."

Ethan nodded and tried again. He focused on the mana cloud near his leg and pushed with all his might. Instantly, pain shot up and down his leg from the wound. He strangled a cry in his throat and instantly stopped pushing the mana.

"You pushed the mana into the wound instead of focusing on closing the wound didn't you?" Alana said.

Ethan swore. "You could've warned me."

"And then I would've put the idea in your head." She said. "Now try again. We don't have all night."

He closed his eyes and focused on the throbbing hole in his leg. With all his might he willed the mana cloud to close the wound. He could feel it move and there was no pain, but it was moving even slower than before. Ethan doubled down on mental pressure trying to force the wound to close.

"I... I can't..." He was panting after several minutes of trying. "It's too hard."

"You're already halfway there." Alana said. "Look."

Ethan twisted his head around to look at the hole in his leg. It was definitely smaller. It was about a half inch in diameter the last time he had looked, but now it had shrunk to only a quarter inch.

"Holy mother of..." Ethan's jaw dropped. "I did that?"

Alana nodded. "You absolutely did. How much mana do you have left?"

Ethan closed his eyes to look at the slushy mana cloud. Whereas before it had seemed to fill his whole body, it was much less dense now. It was less like a slushy and more like a cloud, and was certainly less substantial. Despite that, it seemed less inclined to move, not more.

"I think I used maybe a quarter of it? I think?"

Alana glanced at his wounds then stood up. "Good, then you should be able to do the rest yourself. I recommend you climb a tree and finish healing."

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"I'm going to get the staves we stashed, along with a few provisions and food." She said. "If you climb a tree and finish healing, I'll be back in about twenty minutes."

"I can't climb a tree like this." Ethan pointed to his leg.

Alana rolled her eyes. "Look, young dragons are basically like cougars with wings, scales, and magic. Cougars can climb trees just as well as any other cat. You have claws and absolutely can climb a tree. You don't even need both legs to do it. Go on, give it a try."

Ethan got up on three legs and limped to the nearest tree. It was about two feet in diameter and looked sturdy. He reached up and hooked his claws on the tree. They seemed to hold well, so he did a half jump and hooked the claws of his good hind leg into the tree as well. He pushed off with his hind leg, grabbed higher with his arms, then pulled his hind leg up just like a cat.

It was easy.

Really easy.

In a few seconds, he was twelve feet in the air and lying down on a thick branch. His leg and tail still hurt, but at least he wouldn't be discovered too easily up there.

"Well done." Alana smiled. "I'll be back soon."

With that, she turned and darted off through the forest making barely a sound. Ethan hooked his foreclaws around the branch for good measure, and then started healing his leg again. It didn't get any easier as his mana pool slowly drained away.

* * *

Alana darted through the forest like a panther on a mission. She made almost no sound despite running at a good pace. She could've gone faster of course, but stealth was of the essence. Most people would have got lost running through a forest at night, but she wasn't most people -- and this was her forest.

She knew every single tree.

In just a few minutes, she started seeing the glow of torches in the distance. The fools were trying to find a wood elf in the woods at night. She almost felt sorry for them wasting so much time. It took her less than a minute to slip past them.

She still had her bow and was tempted to eliminate a few more of them. She wavered for a few moments before deciding she didn't have the heart to kill anyone in cold blood. Instead, she headed for her storage pit.

Her mind turned to Ethan as she ran. He was extremely confusing for a dragon. Other than her parents, she couldn't think of anyone who might throw themselves at a dozen armed men -- plus mages -- just to distract them so she could get away. She tried to figure out why, but couldn't. Especially when she took into account how he had stood up to Drousin to save her.

He didn't make any sense.

She thought in circles for a few minutes until she came to her storage pit. She had concealed it so well that even she wouldn't have seen if she didn't know it was there. She allowed herself a satisfied grin before opening the trapdoor.

Thirty seconds later she had her travel bag, a depressingly light coin purse, and seven finished staffs that were tied together with leather straps. It had been a good crop and each would fetch a good price. That was enough money for a few months, but after that? She briefly considered grabbing her father's spear, but couldn't really carry that and the staves.

Alana glanced back the way she had come and curiosity got the better of her. She stole toward the bright fire that was her old house, knowing she could replace the house if only they had left her beautiful trees. When she reached the edge of the clearing, she wished she hadn't looked.

The soldiers had cut down every single tree.

All of her hard work for the last decade, and her parent's legacy, was gone. She had seeds in her travel bag and could replant, but the first trees wouldn't be ready for a years. She stole away trying to fight back the tears.

It took her twice as long to get back to where she had left Ethan. When she reached the spot, he wasn't in the tree anymore.

"Ethan?" she called softly once she arrived.

There was no response.

"Ethan?" she called a little louder.

Still nothing.

Alana walked to the tree to see if he had left any footprints, but there were none. She scanned the nearby trees but could not see him anywhere.

'It's okay, he's okay,' she thought. 'The solders haven't got this far yet and nothing in the woods would attack a dragon, even a younger dragon like Ethan.'

Alana walked to the closest tree, again looking for footprints, but couldn't find any there either. Her stomach started tying itself up in knots. What if something had happened to him?

She was about to start biting her nails when something brushed the back of her shoulder. She whipped around just in time to see Ethan's tail lift up out of sight. She looked up and there he was, sitting there with a mischievous grin on his face. She was also pleased to see he had finished closing his wounds, although he looked like death warmed over.

"Are you done playing?" Alana asked, though she couldn't help but smile.

Ethan nodded and hopped down from the tree. "Where to next? I'm wiped out."

"I know a place nearby where we can sleep for the night. It should only take a few minutes to get there."

Lead on." Ethan fell into step behind her.

Some five minutes later, Alana led them to a river bed that that was mostly dry -- except for a creek-sized stream -- and hopped down the five foot drop to the riverbed.

"In here." She pulled aside some hanging vines to reveal a very small earthen cave or dugout. It was only about two feet high and about four feet deep, and it was just long enough for Ethan if he tucked up his tail a little. At least it was enough to conceal them both until morning.

"Ladies first." He said.

Alana crawled into the dugout and he followed behind her. She noticed he checked several times to make sure his body was between her and the creek bed and that he completely shielded her from view.

They lay there in silence for several minutes before Alana spoke. "Why did you want me to go in first?"

Ethan shrugged. "I just figured my scales could take a hit better than your skin if they found us while we were sleeping. Better me than you right?"

She said nothing for several more minutes. "Why did you save me from Drousin and charge those guards earlier? I've been trying to make sense of it and I can't?"

He mumbled something she couldn't hear. He was clearly very tired.

"Ethan." She repeated. "Why did you help me escape Drousin, and later try to distract those soldiers so I could get away?"

"Was right thing to do." He mumbled sleepily, but didn't elaborate.

She lay there for several minutes pondering his answer. She had never met anyone like him before. That was the last thought in her head before she drifted off to sleep.