With little choices left to her Xzana thought herself lucky when she found a small cave that she could hear the trickle of water inside. It was a snug fit for her large dragon form, but she did find a small pool of water inside. It would be enough to help her recover from her deep sleep when it was over. Once she was settled down, she fell asleep quickly.
She was not expecting that she would be awakened by an immense amount of pain just a short month later during an usually warm week of winter. The small trickle of water she had thought to be so lucky to find had frozen and expanded the cracks between the rocks, causing a slide, then a small cave in all around her. She had no idea how long she had been buried under the rocks, but she just knew she had to get out before she fell asleep again.
Pain dug into her as she shifted and tried to get the weight off of her crushed wings. Only a month into hibernation and she already felt weak. She had not eaten as much as she should, now her body was burning precious energy trying to escape the rocks. Xzana made little headway towards the exit. Her wings in a flare of agony and she let out a mighty roar. Despite her tough scales she could feel herself bleeding all over her body and she was making it worse the more she moved.
In pain and growing weaker, eventually the pain won out and she slipped back into sleep. She might not have ever come around again, but a voice started to penetrate through her pain hazed sleep. The rocks near her head were being moved aside and there she saw a human.
Xzana had been told many stories before of humans who would attack weakened dragons, believing their bodies held magical healing properties. Afraid this human had come to kill her she growled and tried to bite at the man's hand as it moved closer to her head.
Despite her nearly taking his hand, the man was not discouraged. He talked softly to her, although she didn't understand every word he was saying, he continued to move the rocks away from her so she settled down. The man moved carefully, as whenever he came too close to her body Xzana would let out a warning growl.
It was a slow process and the wind was cold. Eventually Xzana started to slip in and out of sleep. Slowly she allowed the man get closer, having no other choice if she wanted to escape this cave.
She was in a bit of a surprised when she realized on some of the larger rocks he was moving with magic. She had heard that magic had started to dwindle with the humans, but apparently this human could still use some.
Eventually he had freed her from the rocks, but as she tried to stand, pain coursed through her body. Once again the human was there, with a gentle touch he spoke slowly. "Don't move. I can heal."
She could feel a warmth spreading from the hand that touched her. Once more she allowed him to come close, as he continued to speak to her. Xzana had only learned very little of human speech during her life so it took some time for her to understand what he wanted. In the end she understood that he wanted her to trust him.
Patiently the man worked with her until she understood what he wanted. That if she was a changeling she needed to shrink down as he could not carry her in her large form. She did not want to trust him, but there was something about him, and she knew she would probably not survive the winter in the mountains. So she took the biggest risk of her life and trusted a human.
Still sore and injured, Xzana couldn't move very quickly. The cold dug deeper into her neutral form much faster than her larger form and it didn't take her long to fall asleep again.
The next thing that she remembered was waking up feeling warm water all around her. She breathed it in deep before she surfaced and found herself in a large tub of water in a human cottage. The man was reading nearby and smiled when he saw she was awake. For awhile Xzana was weary of the man, still not sure what he was getting out of saving her, but the fresh fish he offered her for dinner sure did help.
Over the next few weeks Xzana began to learn human speech and that the man's name was Casimir. It was also the first winter that Xzana has ever seen. Staying warm and looking out the window at all the snow.
It turns out that Casimir has a large pond near his home so he would ice fish everyday to feed Xzana as she had burned too much energy and fat to survive a whole hibernation.
It was the closest and longest Xzana had ever spent with a human. To spend the time being stuck in doors she worked on learning more and more of the human language so she could speak easier with Casimir.
From that she learned that he was a scholar in magic. Who was trying to learn all he can about the magical arts and often took long trips to study it. He knew of the dwindling population of dragons and said that even if she attacked him he couldn't sit by and let one die.
He knew a lot about dragons, so he knew that she needed water to survive. He would make sure to keep some melted snow warming in the house so she could have all the water she needed. He only ever fished for her, as he would eat the salted jerky had prepared for the winter. Xzana learned quickly that she could not eat the jerky when she grew impatient once when the fishing was bad. All the salt in it made her sick, but instead of being angry at her for stealing food, Casimir helped nurse her once again back to health.
When the winter finally broke Casimir asked for nothing in return. He merely wished her well and told her to be more careful when fall came around again. Only Xzana couldn't bring herself to leave just like that. Feeling as if she owed Casimir something.
So instead of leaving she made her claim on the pond near his home. It wasn't a bad deal, many dragons who strike out on their own never find a home as well as that pond. It was well stocked with fish as it connected to a small stream and was large enough for her to be in any form and sleep comfortably in the water.
Casimir enjoyed her company, even though for the most part the two didn't spend a lot of time together. For several years the two became comfortable neighbors. The first of the robbers who thought to try to break into Casimir's house on one of his long trips where in for a pretty big and blue scaled surprise.
It didn't take long for the word to spread in the village a short walk from Casimir's cottage that he had bewitched a dragon to protect his home. At first most people were terrified by Xzana. She was quiet and got defensive of anyone who came to close to her.
It was Casimir that helped bridge the gap between Xzana and the village. Managing to talk her into accompanying him on shopping trips. Through these small trips both Xzana and the other humans learned that they were not there to kill each other.
For many years Xzana lived in comfort near Casimir. Although good times never last. Eventually Xzana started to hear of news from her clan. Things were not going well for dragons. Births were still low and deaths high.
Debates were being argued that they should begin killing humans for their land. Perhaps with more land they could breed better and there were too many humans around as it was. Other dragons argued that, that would solve nothing. The humans weren't as weak as some dragons gave them credit for. All this would lead to would be war.
Xzana comes from this time. Arguments beginning to get heated among different clans. Xzana, like most mix breeds, being against the idea. Not because they care much for humans, but because if a war should happen it would be the mix bloods at the front lines. Life for those without pure blood had become very good, if the breeding did go up then their status in the clans may go down. Yet if war did start they would have to and be expected to fight for their kind. No dragon wants to see their kind vanish forever.
no subject
She was not expecting that she would be awakened by an immense amount of pain just a short month later during an usually warm week of winter. The small trickle of water she had thought to be so lucky to find had frozen and expanded the cracks between the rocks, causing a slide, then a small cave in all around her. She had no idea how long she had been buried under the rocks, but she just knew she had to get out before she fell asleep again.
Pain dug into her as she shifted and tried to get the weight off of her crushed wings. Only a month into hibernation and she already felt weak. She had not eaten as much as she should, now her body was burning precious energy trying to escape the rocks. Xzana made little headway towards the exit. Her wings in a flare of agony and she let out a mighty roar. Despite her tough scales she could feel herself bleeding all over her body and she was making it worse the more she moved.
In pain and growing weaker, eventually the pain won out and she slipped back into sleep. She might not have ever come around again, but a voice started to penetrate through her pain hazed sleep. The rocks near her head were being moved aside and there she saw a human.
Xzana had been told many stories before of humans who would attack weakened dragons, believing their bodies held magical healing properties. Afraid this human had come to kill her she growled and tried to bite at the man's hand as it moved closer to her head.
Despite her nearly taking his hand, the man was not discouraged. He talked softly to her, although she didn't understand every word he was saying, he continued to move the rocks away from her so she settled down. The man moved carefully, as whenever he came too close to her body Xzana would let out a warning growl.
It was a slow process and the wind was cold. Eventually Xzana started to slip in and out of sleep. Slowly she allowed the man get closer, having no other choice if she wanted to escape this cave.
She was in a bit of a surprised when she realized on some of the larger rocks he was moving with magic. She had heard that magic had started to dwindle with the humans, but apparently this human could still use some.
Eventually he had freed her from the rocks, but as she tried to stand, pain coursed through her body. Once again the human was there, with a gentle touch he spoke slowly. "Don't move. I can heal."
She could feel a warmth spreading from the hand that touched her. Once more she allowed him to come close, as he continued to speak to her. Xzana had only learned very little of human speech during her life so it took some time for her to understand what he wanted. In the end she understood that he wanted her to trust him.
Patiently the man worked with her until she understood what he wanted. That if she was a changeling she needed to shrink down as he could not carry her in her large form. She did not want to trust him, but there was something about him, and she knew she would probably not survive the winter in the mountains. So she took the biggest risk of her life and trusted a human.
Still sore and injured, Xzana couldn't move very quickly. The cold dug deeper into her neutral form much faster than her larger form and it didn't take her long to fall asleep again.
The next thing that she remembered was waking up feeling warm water all around her. She breathed it in deep before she surfaced and found herself in a large tub of water in a human cottage. The man was reading nearby and smiled when he saw she was awake. For awhile Xzana was weary of the man, still not sure what he was getting out of saving her, but the fresh fish he offered her for dinner sure did help.
Over the next few weeks Xzana began to learn human speech and that the man's name was Casimir. It was also the first winter that Xzana has ever seen. Staying warm and looking out the window at all the snow.
It turns out that Casimir has a large pond near his home so he would ice fish everyday to feed Xzana as she had burned too much energy and fat to survive a whole hibernation.
It was the closest and longest Xzana had ever spent with a human. To spend the time being stuck in doors she worked on learning more and more of the human language so she could speak easier with Casimir.
From that she learned that he was a scholar in magic. Who was trying to learn all he can about the magical arts and often took long trips to study it. He knew of the dwindling population of dragons and said that even if she attacked him he couldn't sit by and let one die.
He knew a lot about dragons, so he knew that she needed water to survive. He would make sure to keep some melted snow warming in the house so she could have all the water she needed. He only ever fished for her, as he would eat the salted jerky had prepared for the winter. Xzana learned quickly that she could not eat the jerky when she grew impatient once when the fishing was bad. All the salt in it made her sick, but instead of being angry at her for stealing food, Casimir helped nurse her once again back to health.
When the winter finally broke Casimir asked for nothing in return. He merely wished her well and told her to be more careful when fall came around again. Only Xzana couldn't bring herself to leave just like that. Feeling as if she owed Casimir something.
So instead of leaving she made her claim on the pond near his home. It wasn't a bad deal, many dragons who strike out on their own never find a home as well as that pond. It was well stocked with fish as it connected to a small stream and was large enough for her to be in any form and sleep comfortably in the water.
Casimir enjoyed her company, even though for the most part the two didn't spend a lot of time together. For several years the two became comfortable neighbors. The first of the robbers who thought to try to break into Casimir's house on one of his long trips where in for a pretty big and blue scaled surprise.
It didn't take long for the word to spread in the village a short walk from Casimir's cottage that he had bewitched a dragon to protect his home. At first most people were terrified by Xzana. She was quiet and got defensive of anyone who came to close to her.
It was Casimir that helped bridge the gap between Xzana and the village. Managing to talk her into accompanying him on shopping trips. Through these small trips both Xzana and the other humans learned that they were not there to kill each other.
For many years Xzana lived in comfort near Casimir. Although good times never last. Eventually Xzana started to hear of news from her clan. Things were not going well for dragons. Births were still low and deaths high.
Debates were being argued that they should begin killing humans for their land. Perhaps with more land they could breed better and there were too many humans around as it was. Other dragons argued that, that would solve nothing. The humans weren't as weak as some dragons gave them credit for. All this would lead to would be war.
Xzana comes from this time. Arguments beginning to get heated among different clans. Xzana, like most mix breeds, being against the idea. Not because they care much for humans, but because if a war should happen it would be the mix bloods at the front lines. Life for those without pure blood had become very good, if the breeding did go up then their status in the clans may go down. Yet if war did start they would have to and be expected to fight for their kind. No dragon wants to see their kind vanish forever.