The Encounter Part 1
This is teh first of a series I am working on. It may be a while before I get to the next part ( as I have been extremely busy lately) It is clean and will likely stay that way for the most part. But don't write me off just for that. Enjoy.
The Encounter Part 1
The day was slightly overcast, but in the southern heat, the clouds brought little respite from the sweltering rays of the sun. My own home, while small, sits on quite a large plot of land that is mostly forested. This was where I was walking at the moment. The air conditioning in my house was out, and just really too expensive to fix. Under the forest canopy, the air was actually cooler than in my house. A stiff breeze blew in from the south; a sure sign that rain would come soon. 'Hopefully that will cool it down some,' I thought, praying that the rain would at least wait until I got back to the house.
I should probably give you a little background about me. My name is Jake Ridley. I work part time as a writer for a local newspaper. I do the little fun fantasy stories that appear in the entertainment portion. The property was willed to me. The house and land I was currently living on I could never afford. My great uncle left it to me in his will. The odd thing he mentioned was his reason for leaving this particular property to me. The notation for that stated, "The reason I left this property to you, is because you are a fantasy writer, and because you will never get laid in that dumpy apartment of yours. I know you will take good care of her." By her he meant the property, not any woman that I could possibly be with. He was one of those people who would speak of inanimate objects as if they had a gender, which I always thought was strange. I have a car too, but I rarely use it other than to bring my stories to the office once a week. I pretty much work from home otherwise. That should suffice as enough information about me. Now I shall continue the more interesting bit of this story.
A loud snap and some rustling in the underbrush woke me from my daydream-induced trance. I looked that way and readied myself for anything; after all, there are coyotes and bobcats in these woods, and even cougars if you are willing to believe they are still around these parts. I stared into the brush, but nothing moved. "Probably just a deer," I said, as if actually saying it out loud would make it truer than just thinking it. I continued to walk, again being engrossed in my next story idea. It was to be a battle story, though which creatures to use? "probably dragons," I sighed, knowing how cliché a dragon battle story could be. "I could let the dragon win," I thought, "that never happens."
Suddenly there was movement again. I froze, wondering why my mind still thought staying still would protect me from anything. Stupid Jurassic Park scene...ANYWAY... I suddenly felt something brush lightly against the back of my shirt. I spun around just fast enough to see something long and green disappear into the low brush. I thought about following it, but then I looked at the place it had gone. It was thickly laced with wild blackberry plants. Those suckers have thorns, and a lot of them. I kept wondering what it could have been. I couldn't think of anything that would have such an interesting tail (or I guessed it was a tail). Deer don't harass humans though. It had to be a much bolder creature, which in these woods generally means predator.
I decided I wasn't ready to find out, and turned back to head for the exit path. However, when I turned around a shadow stood before me. I couldn't see colors or detail due to the sunlight being behind the creature, but I didn't need that. There was only one creature with that profile; actually no there was NOT a creature with that profile. At least I didn't think there were any dragons...
I wanted to rub my eyes or pinch myself to make sure I was actually seeing this, but I refrained from making any movement at all. The creature stood about the height of a small horse, but was much leaner and longer. I could see where its wings were folded against its back. Suddenly, it looked directly at me...
I didn't dare move. The creature, obvious now to be a dragon, was looking dead at me. I thought about talking to it, but figured it wasn't like the dragons of myth that could rival or even surpass human intelligence. I wanted to run, thinking it might eat my like many of the dragon stories portray them. However, I just stood there, even as it moved so fluidly in my direction. It didn't run at me, it simply walked calmly toward me.
By this time I was sure it could smell my fear, or at least, the sweat caused by it. Its body moved as if it were a fluid substance. The beast's muscles seemed like steel cables running just under its tough scaly hide. I could easily see how the creature, though large, could have easily hidden away in these woods. The base green color and mottled brown markings would work perfectly to camouflage the beast. It frightened me even more to know that it could have eaten me without me ever knowing it was there. 'What if there are more?' I thought to myself. The thought terrified me and I dared a few side glances at the woods, seeing nothing, but noting my observations about the creature's ability to hide. I focused again on the dragon that I COULD see. It had stopped in front of me, just far enough that I couldn't reach out and touch it, but close enough for me to feel the heat of its breath. It looked at me, seeming confused. 'Confused, how could it be confused?' I thought. I was sweating bullets, already soaked to the point where the sweat just ran off of me.
It cocked its head, apparently studying me. 'Probably trying to decide whether I am edible or not,' I thought. I wondered what it was waiting for, but the close proximity allowed me more time to study the creature currently studying me. 'If I get out of here alive, I will have the most accurate dragon description in the world,' I mentally chuckled. At the thought I cracked a bit of a smile. The dragon in front of me seemed to have very plain features other than the elaborate hiding colors. I guessed it must be a female, though I wasn't completely sure. What did I know about dragons? Even a fantasy writer, such as myself, couldn't be sure.
She seemed to notice that I was curious and she came a step closer. 'No way. She couldn't know...could she? Many people say that dragons were very intelligent.' I really wanted to reach out and touch her, but I also wanted to stay alive, with all of my limbs attached if possible. She leaned forward, seemingly knowing what I was thinking, and sniffed my sweat logged shirt. She seemed focused on gathering as much of my scents as she could, and I took my opportunity. I lifted my hand very slowly and set it on the side of her neck, hoping she wouldn't notice.
She did.
However, she didn't seem to mind, in fact she let loose a deep rumble, almost like a cat's purr. She stepped closer, touching my chest with her muzzle and looked up at me. It was then that I noticed that her tail was wagging. "Cute," I said, forming my first actual word for what seemed like an eternity. She was just like a puppy, a big puppy, with natural body armor and razor sharp claws and teeth. I re-steeled myself, realizing that I had briefly let my guard down. I kept my hand on the dragon, but I kept my attention on her movements, making sure I had time to spin away if she lunged.
Of course, it never happened. We were both curious about each other, and we each spent time simply looking at each other. However, it was getting dark, and I had to get back. I didn't know how I was going to get away though. I decided to just slowly walk off. I took my hands from her scaly hide, which I was previously petting much to the dragon's approval. When my hands ceased she seemed to look at me as if she were a bit upset. "Sorry. I have to go home," I said, walking backward toward the exit of the trail. "There is no way I am going to make it back before the sun goes down."
The dragon walked up next to me and crouched. "You must be a mind reader," I said out loud. I felt pretty nervous as I hopped onto her back. She stood up, making me temporarily dizzy. She started walking down the trail, carrying me back toward my house. "Stop," I said as we reached the edge of the woods. "What if someone sees you?" She seemed to think for a second, and then continued to walk. I wasn't about to argue with a dragon, and we made it to the back door with a little time to spare.
"Jake," yelled a voice from the front yard. "You back there? I thought I heard something." It was my neighbor Chris.
"Uh oh," I whispered. There wasn't enough time for the dragon to run back to the woods. My neighbor would see her if she flew. Thinking quickly, I opened the sliding glass door and motioned her to go inside. She seemed hesitant but went in. "I closed the door and said, "Yeah, I am back here. What's up?" Chris walked around the corner of the house and up to the patio just outside my back door. I looked into my house, and couldn't see the dragon. 'At least she found a place to hide,' I thought.
"Hey man. I thought I heard more people...oh well."
"Nah" I said, "just me."
"Well I figured I would stop by before..." he was cut off by a sharp crack of thunder and the blinding flash of lightning. "That," he said.
"Yeah. Well I better get inside. Have a good night. Try not to let the storm keep you up."
He waved goodbye as he walked back toward his own house. I walked inside, quickly shutting the door just as it started to rain. I walked into my room, and was surprised to see a dragon, curled up on my bed. I had almost forgotten in the haste to get inside and away from my neighbor that there was a dragon in my house. I was about to tell her to get down and go back to the woods, but I was interrupted by a massive thunderous boom and a flash of lightening from the window. I saw the look on her face. She looked comfortable on the bed, but glared at the window with distaste. I had too much of a heart to put her out into that. Instead I simply said "scooch," and climbed into bed, running a hand over the dragon's smooth belly scales. Her warm breath slowed, indicating that she was fast asleep. I soon followed suit, drifting into pleasant dreams of my own.