The Dragon's Last Nest

The Beaten Path

"Ailwin Adryth," the name purrs across Esmerelda's lips. "When I find you, you and I will have the pleasure of having a little chat." 

Esmerelda's boots clump across the damp soil, and she travels over the uneven path leading up north to the Dark Bay. A shadow cast over the trees. Esmerelda looks up to see what was causing the shadow. Dark clouds are moving across the sky at an imaginable speed. Esmerelda hates when storms come on like this. With enough luck, there will be enough time to make it to the village or at least to a resting spot before it hits hard like the last time.

Esmeralda prefers to take the beaten path away from the greedy hunters.  She knows it's a little riskier traveling alone, especially when there are few places to hide or go for storms and the occasional encounters of the dragons. 

Several cold raindrops hit the back of her exposed shoulder. She rubs her arms and looks down the paths.

There were two ways to go now. One is to the right. It is open with golden, red, and brown leaves scattered across the fertile, dark soil. Very tempting. Esmerelda thinks to herself. She could carry the path through to the end with ease. Covering the road to the left side are thorns, vines, and fallen tree stumps. Esmerelda shakes her head at the choices. "Dammit! I bet this is the way I have to go." she fussed, knowing she would have to whack her way through with her sword.

  "Well, at least it shouldn't be long now." Esmerelda bites her lip and thinks to herself. "I remember they hid the place from the humans. I just have to find the entrance."

Esmerelda squats onto the ground, not caring about the tiny pebbles digging into her bare knees. She tucks aside her long golden strands behind her ear and flings her bag to the ground. Within her bag, Esmerelda pulls out a small piece of bread wrapped in cloth. She just bought it from the village. "Ah, I forgot about this. My mind was so caught up on getting information on the egg that I forgot about lunch."

She squeezes the bread, feeling the texture of it to see if it's still edible. "Oh, good. It's not too stale yet. " Esmerelda rips off a piece with her teeth. "It's kind of tough, though. I think I overpaid. No one makes high-quality bread anymore. Oh, well." She sighs.

Shoving the bread back in her bag, Esmerelda pulls out the tattered map and unrolls it. She guides her long finger along the mountains, rivers, and lands until she finds a tiny spot marked Beacon Alley. Beacon Alley is where she just left. "All I have to do is follow the lines and run down the path until I see a symbol or key... Let's see here."

Esmerelda quickly looks feeling the raindrops becoming more steady. "Hmmm, where are you?"  

The distant sound of clicking echoes through the treetops. She pops her head up and nervously looks around. There is only one creature that makes that noise. 

A dragon. f**k. 

Esmerelda stops dead in her tracks. She tries her best not to make a sound, but her pounding heart will not settle, she knows he is somewhere close... somewhere around. She cautiously scans the trees as she hears several twigs snap directly behind her. 

Where are you? I know you're there?

Up above the treetops, a stroke of lightning lights up the sky. The moment is quick, but Esmerelda sees it. A pair of two golden eyes, a glorious crown-shaped head full of spikes, and a long red and green tail coiled at the base of the tree trunk. 

My God, what is a Tatsuya doing here? I haven't seen one since they burned the bridge.

The lighting strikes again. The Tatsuya whips his head around and stares right into Esmerelda's emerald eyes. Esmerelda puts up her hand, letting him know she means no harm. "Easy, big boy." She says calmly.

The Tatsuya squints his deep golden eyes and flaps his wings, showing he doesn't trust Esmerelda. "What are you doing over on this side of the woods, huh?" Esmerelda asks and bravely takes one step closer.

He flaps his wings faster, but she notices he doesn't fly away. "What is wrong? Are you are hurt?" Esmerelda curiously asks when he claws at the tree but doesn't go up.

Esmerelda tucks her map inside her bag and zips it up. Raising her hand in the air, she sets her bag down and steps closer."Let's see what's going on, okay?"

The Tatsuya rears back against the tree. His spikes down his back flatten, warning her to back away. Thunder and lightning crackle across the sky, causing them both to jump at the same time."Yea, I'm not a big fan of storms either." Esmerelda snickers.

The dragon squints its eyes at her. "Fine. If you don't need my help, then so be it. I need to go find shelter and sticking under a tree during a storm is not the safest place to be." The dragon growls and smacks his wing to the ground when she dares to walk away.

Esmerelda glances over her shoulder."Oh, now you want my help?" 

Esmerelda rolls her eyes. "Fine, but you try to bite me, claw me, or breathe fire on me even once, the deal is off. Are we clear?" 

The dragon settles his spikes and lowers his head."I can't believe I am doing this." She mumbles.

Step by step, inch by inch, Esmerelda scoots over to the dragon, not too sure herself what she was getting int; She knew this was the first time she had been this close to a dragon other than the egg she found. What the hell was she thinking about coming this close to a dragon? He could kill her. Death. No questions asked.

Fuck!

Once she finally gets closer, she finds his foot stuck in a large metal trap with claws digging into his skin. Whoever it was, they attached the trap to the tree and one more move; it could yank him upside down or snap his foot off. 

"I am going to have to pull it off, but when I do, I will need to put something back in it, or it will snap back down again," Esmerelda tells the dragon. He looks at his foot and moans in pain. 

"I know it hurts... I'm sorry." The dragon lowers its head and observes her. 

She glances around the tree and finds a thick limb."This should do." Esmerelda picks it up and carries it over to the dragon. 

She wrinkles her nose and holds her breath as she, with all her strength, she pulls the trap back and quickly puts the limb inside as the dragon wiggles free. Through the sky, he soars excited to be free again. She watches through the rain and lightning as his beauty fills the skill. She laughs. "Not even a thank you, I guess." Esmerelda gathers her backpack from the ground and walks away when he flies and lands in front of her.

"Oh? You came back." She watches for any signs of threat. Every bit of him seems at ease.

Esmerelda waits, and he watches her with interest, and finally, he gives her a small hint, not by words, but my staring right down the beaten path. 

"Ailwin Adryth" is this way, isn't he?" Before she could ask anything else, the dragon flew away.