Post by Matthias on Jan 21, 2013 2:14:24 GMT -5
Matthias had spent a long time trekking through the Cliffs of Heaven, not really sure what he was looking for but he had mentioned to Derrek that he would be gone for a while. He supposed he had been hoping to see if there were other half-dragons, even if they were ‘ugly’ rather than ‘pretty’ like he was but even after a few weeks wandering through the valleys until he came out the other side, Matthias still had not found a single other half dragon. At best he had seen an imperial dragon fly overhead and Anoki had gotten into a fight with a larger Quetzalcoatl (and lost, damaging one wing in the process).
They had crossed all the way to the eastern coast of Litharia, and after spending hours walking (in Anoki’s case slithering) over rocky shoreline Matthias had finally come to a sandy cove and he sat down heavily on the sandbank, glad to be off his scaly feet. The rocks, barnacles, and sea water had not been kind to his skin, even if wounds healed instantly his scales felt unpleasantly dry and the sharp points of his golden claws had been dulled after a few ice-cold waves had threatened to drag him into the sea and Matthias had needed to drop onto all fours to hold on.
The cove he was in now was, at least, peaceful and made of feathery black sand. Dark gray clouds rolled overhead, and the see was black under the winds of the winter storm but it hadn’t started snowing yet. Matthias sighed, feeling Anoki curl up under his loose brown shirt as the Quetzalcoatl searched for warmth. A brilliantly colored wing suddenly popped out of his collar and Matthias shut one eye to avoid getting a feather in it as Anoki creeled and chirped, unhappy that he was now too large to fit under the half-dragon’s shirt. ”Hush,” Matthias said suddenly, lifting his head and glancing around at the shore and cliffs behind him. He could have sworn he heard something . . .
Anoki’s jade green head popped out of the top of Matthias’s collar too, his curiosity picked as well. Now, with only the sound of the waves crashing against rocks, Matthias listened until he heard it again. A tiny sort of hiss and screech. In a moment, Matthias was on his feet and Anoki fell out of his shirt, landing heavily at the boy’s feet and glowering indignantly and Matthias wheeled around and showered the serpent with sand. Something else was on the beach, and it was crying out.
It might be edible.
True, Matthias had caught a large amount of fish on top of the jerky he had lifted from Derrek but he was constantly hungry and he wouldn’t say no to some fat seabird. But when he found the source of the crying, it wasn’t a bird. Instead, the crying was coming from a large mound of sand that Matthias had scarcely been paying attention to until now. The half human blinked and his tail swished under his kilt as he knelt next to the mound. Something was trying to dig its way out, he realized. Matthias reached down and very carefully started to brush sand off the mound as his curiosity got the better of common sense and he felt Anoki slithering up his back to peer over his shoulder as well. Matthias kept brushing away the sand until he felt something bite at one of his fingers and he drew back quickly. A small, reptilian head rose out of the sand and looked up, staring at Matthias and Anoki with newborn-blue eyes. The thing creeled again, and shook itself, snapping its jaws and clambering out of the sand more.
It looked like a tiny golden dragon, Matthias thought. He wasn’t sure what it was exactly, but as it wriggled free is cried out and Matthias realized it must have been hungry. He slung his bag off his shoulder and pulled out one of the fish he had been planning to eat. The golden mini-dragon raised her head and shrieked at the sight of it so Matthias lay it out for her. The tiny lizard stumbled forward and started nibbling at the fish’s tail, the same time as three more little heads, two greens and a brown, struggled up out of the sand as well, all crying hungrily and each one even smaller than the tiny gold.
They had crossed all the way to the eastern coast of Litharia, and after spending hours walking (in Anoki’s case slithering) over rocky shoreline Matthias had finally come to a sandy cove and he sat down heavily on the sandbank, glad to be off his scaly feet. The rocks, barnacles, and sea water had not been kind to his skin, even if wounds healed instantly his scales felt unpleasantly dry and the sharp points of his golden claws had been dulled after a few ice-cold waves had threatened to drag him into the sea and Matthias had needed to drop onto all fours to hold on.
The cove he was in now was, at least, peaceful and made of feathery black sand. Dark gray clouds rolled overhead, and the see was black under the winds of the winter storm but it hadn’t started snowing yet. Matthias sighed, feeling Anoki curl up under his loose brown shirt as the Quetzalcoatl searched for warmth. A brilliantly colored wing suddenly popped out of his collar and Matthias shut one eye to avoid getting a feather in it as Anoki creeled and chirped, unhappy that he was now too large to fit under the half-dragon’s shirt. ”Hush,” Matthias said suddenly, lifting his head and glancing around at the shore and cliffs behind him. He could have sworn he heard something . . .
Anoki’s jade green head popped out of the top of Matthias’s collar too, his curiosity picked as well. Now, with only the sound of the waves crashing against rocks, Matthias listened until he heard it again. A tiny sort of hiss and screech. In a moment, Matthias was on his feet and Anoki fell out of his shirt, landing heavily at the boy’s feet and glowering indignantly and Matthias wheeled around and showered the serpent with sand. Something else was on the beach, and it was crying out.
It might be edible.
True, Matthias had caught a large amount of fish on top of the jerky he had lifted from Derrek but he was constantly hungry and he wouldn’t say no to some fat seabird. But when he found the source of the crying, it wasn’t a bird. Instead, the crying was coming from a large mound of sand that Matthias had scarcely been paying attention to until now. The half human blinked and his tail swished under his kilt as he knelt next to the mound. Something was trying to dig its way out, he realized. Matthias reached down and very carefully started to brush sand off the mound as his curiosity got the better of common sense and he felt Anoki slithering up his back to peer over his shoulder as well. Matthias kept brushing away the sand until he felt something bite at one of his fingers and he drew back quickly. A small, reptilian head rose out of the sand and looked up, staring at Matthias and Anoki with newborn-blue eyes. The thing creeled again, and shook itself, snapping its jaws and clambering out of the sand more.
It looked like a tiny golden dragon, Matthias thought. He wasn’t sure what it was exactly, but as it wriggled free is cried out and Matthias realized it must have been hungry. He slung his bag off his shoulder and pulled out one of the fish he had been planning to eat. The golden mini-dragon raised her head and shrieked at the sight of it so Matthias lay it out for her. The tiny lizard stumbled forward and started nibbling at the fish’s tail, the same time as three more little heads, two greens and a brown, struggled up out of the sand as well, all crying hungrily and each one even smaller than the tiny gold.