A Tail of Wolves and Dragons

There weren't always dragons in the Valley. Instead, there were birds, rabbits, Foxes, Wolves, and many other creatures. There was a Forest, a community, and every animal in the forest Got along. There was peace in the Valley for thousands of years. Then one night, Humans invaded our territory, land, and our home. We all ran for cover, hoping they wouldn't find us. They came and chopped our trees and took our food. They even took some of us.

The humans kept coming back every night until we were nearly all gone. So we created a secret hideaway for the lucky ones that survived. The humans get closer every night to where we are hidden. Sometimes they catch us close to it. It's scary not knowing when you'll be the next to go.

We had spent many weeks in the hideaway. Only a couple of us at a time went out to find food and water, if there was any. The humans had built a dam pretty soon after a month of being in the hideaway, but it was hurting the Valley. The food wasn't growing, the water was drying up, and the Valley was dying. We needed to stop the humans before its too late.

We called a meeting for anyone who was left in the Valley. But, unfortunately, there were only about a hundred of us left. The rest were wiped out by the humans or died from thirst or starvation. So we needed scouts, someone who could report back without getting caught or killed.

I volunteered. I was never the strongest or the fastest, but I was smart. I knew how to sneak around without anyone following me. But that was when the Valley was healthy. Because it was dying, that was going to be so much harder. The humans were hunting us during the day and night. So I left the hideaway to scout in the afternoon because that seems to be the quietest time for human activity.

The Hideaway is located at the big tree in the middle of the Valley. It's under the tree; the roots act as a stairway for us. There's a whole underground sanctuary when something happens on the surface of the Valley. We never thought something would happen until now.

As the scout I now was, I headed up to the surface. I was terrified of what I was about to face, but someone had to. As I reached the surface, I stepped one paw out at a time. I was so scared that part of me wanted to turn and run back down to the others, but I knew we would all suffer if I didn't do this. As I stood there looking at our dying Valley, I heard a noise, so I sprinted behind a tree. I slowly looked out from the tree, hoping not to get caught. It was a human, not a fully grown one but a short one. It seemed as tall as I was, but it looked scared. I looked around but couldn't see any other humans. I stepped out from behind the tree and slowly stepped forward to investigate the strange little human. The human got scared, so I bowed my head hoping I could show the little human I wouldn't hurt it. As I lifted my head, I noticed it had a scar across its face, almost like it had been slashed and burnt. The little human patted my head.

"Good Wolfy." It said.

I was surprised it talked. First, I circled what appeared to be a human child. Then, I noticed it had Brown fur and brown eyes. It reminded me of a bear. So I named it bear.

Bear looked hungry; I didn't know what humans ate. So I lay down beside Bear and, with my nose and eyes pointed to Bear, then pointed to my back. Bear seemed to understand what I meant and climbed upon my back. Then, as I stood up, Bear held on to my fur, careful not to fall. I started walking with Bear on my back to where the humans were. I could smell lots of different scents like food. I followed the smell to the forest's border of the Valley. There were at least forty humans, maybe more, from what I could see. I saw lots of houses being built from stone and trees. Finally, I spotted the dam that had been hurting the forest. It looked to be made of wood and stone. Bear climbed off my back and started walking toward the humans. I hid behind a tree and watched as Bear was reunited with its kind.

"Where have you bee,n little one?" One of the humans said.

Bear pointed toward me and said, "With Wolfy."

Suddenly the humans looked angry and grabbed their hunting things. I headed over to the dam, hoping they wouldn't catch me. As I reached the dam, I saw all the water they had taken from the Valley. I felt angry. The humans didn't realise it, but they had sentenced us to death without knowing. At this point, I was so thirsty, so I bent down to take a drink from the river. As I was drinking, I noticed two large scales. The fish in the river didn't know what it was from. I scooped them up out of the water with my paw. The scales suddenly flew up in the air and circled me. The next thing I know, the scales attached themselves to me, covering my fur with individual scales. The scales formed some kind of Armour around me. There was a sudden gust of wind. It blew leaves towards me, pushing me to a clearing in the Valley. I watched the leaves dance in the sky. Then the wind settled, and the leaves dropped to the ground. There was something odd about the leaves and their placement. I took a step back, and the leaves had spelt out a word. 'CHOSEN.' Chosen, what does that mean, I thought to myself. Suddenly I was ambushed by the humans. I looked for a way out, but there was none. So I sat and hung my head in shame.

The following day I woke up; they must have knocked me out cause I don't remember much. But, to my surprise, I was in a cage. I was with some of the others that had been taken. One of them told me How the humans take one of us every night, and they never return. And another told me how they get food and water until they get taken. Apparently, there are other cages around here, not just the one we were in. So I searched up and down the cage looking for a way out. Finally, I found a latch; all you had to do was push up, and it would open. So I made a plan with everyone to get out of there. I told them the first chance they get, run to the hideaway, but if someone follows, you lead them away from the hideout. Soon night fell, and it was time to put our plan in motion. I unlatched the door, and everyone spread out to find their way back home. I saw a couple of other cages, so I quietly went over to them and unlocked them. As everybody was escaping, Bear saw me and walked over. Bear had something in its hands. It looked like an old rolled up piece of paper. Bear placed it in front of me and rolled it out.

"Map to find Dragons," Bear said.

Dragons? They're real, I thought to myself. That would explain the scales.

According to the map, we would find dragons if we followed the river upstream to Firetail island. So bear climbed on my back, and we started our journey to the island. As Bear and I made it to the dam, I turned to look back at everyone I freed. Thankfully nobody made a noise and woke the humans up. It felt strange to be leaving the Valley; I had never been outside it before. With that last look, Bear and I set out to find Firetail Island to see the dragons and save our home.

We travelled for days following that river. All those nights we spent alone with nothing but each other. Bear and I were exhausted. We felt like we were never going to reach the island. But then, there was a sudden gust of wind, and the leaves danced around us. Suddenly the scales on my fur grew wings. I had wings. Me, a wolf. I had wings? I thought how strange this was. I had never seen a wolf that could fly. But, to my surprise, the leaves were still dancing around us. Bear had grown wings too. So we both tested our wings. I couldn't believe it, we were flying. The leaves were still present. They started forming a path.

"I think we should follow the leaves." Said Bear.

I nodded my head, and we both started our journey with wings.

We followed the leaves for hours and hours. Then, finally, the leaves started descending down to the ground. They must have known we were tired. As we reached the ground, they disappeared. Bear and I decided to rest for the night. We had only been asleep for a few hours when I heard a roar. I nudged Bear to wake up. Bear and I followed the noise. We listened to the roar again and again until we found what was making the noise. We hid behind a rock and slowly peered out to see what it was. To our surprise, it was a dragon. Bear, and I looked at each other with shock. It was a dragon, a real dragon. The dragon looked like it was in pain. I stepped out from behind the rock to get a better look at it. The dragon was much bigger than me. It had silver scales and ice-blue eyes. The dragon saw me and hid behind the same rock as Bear. Bear quickly flew over to me. The dragon had noticed Bear had wings and became much less scared. It saw that I had wings too. The dragon came out from the rocks and greeted us. Bear stroked the dragon's scales.

"It's ok, Silver," Bear said.

"Are you looking for your family?"

Silver the dragon, nodded.

"We are trying to find Firetail Island. Do you think you could help us if we help you?" Bear asked.

Silver nodded again.

So with that, we set out to look for Silver's family. We had been looking for an hour or two when Bear spotted two dragons in distress. So the three of us flew over to the dragons. In an instant, Silver and the two dragons recognised each other. The family was reunited. Silver looked so happy.

The two dragons started to leave. Silver stopped them and explained the deal we had made. The dragon family let us follow. We flew for the rest of the night, and by morning we had arrived at Firetail Island. It was a giant floating island in the sky with water flowing off its sides. Clouds surrounded the island. And there was a mountain with every kind of dragon you could ever imagine. They all had different sizes, shapes and colours. They were all so beautiful. Once we had taken in the sights of Firetail Island, Silver's family took us to see Crystal. Crystal is Firetail Islands' most powerful dragon. She created the island as a safe haven for all dragons.

We greeted Crystal and explained what had happened back home. Crystal agreed to help us only if we could share the land with her and the other dragons. So Bear and I decided to let the dragons share our land, and with that, we made our way back to the Valley. When we arrived, we saw how sick the Valley was. Bear, and I went to the hideaway to tell everyone what was about to happen. Everyone looked scared. I had forgotten about Bear being a human.

"It's ok. I promise I won't hurt you like the rest of my kind," Bear said.

Everyone seemed a little less tense afterwards. It looked like they trusted Bear like I had.

We explained how we found the dragons and how they would help us, but only if we worked together. Everyone agreed and was excited to have their lives back. We all started coming out of the hideout, ready to get our Valley back. Silver came and stood with us while the other dragons got prepared to chase away the humans. I gave a loud howl, and with that, we started the battle for the Valley. Bear, Silver and I headed to the dam while the dragons and other creatures began to chase the humans away. Silver started torching the trees and stones that were holding the water back. Bear and I tried lifting the branches and stones. Suddenly, Crystal, the dragon, flew past and torched the whole dam. The trees and rocks blocking the water melted away, and the water was finally free. The barrier had been broken, and the Valley was already starting to heal thanks to Crystal. We quickly joined the others, and before long, we chased all the humans away. Everyone was celebrating. We were finally free. I looked at Bear, but Bear looked sad. Bear just lost his human family. Crystal walked over to Bear and transformed into a beautiful glowing Goddess.

"I'm so sorry, Bear." Crystal said as she looked around. Then, crystal picked up a white scale and placed it in Bear's hand. She then placed her hand over Bears, and it glowed and transformed into a necklace.

"For your bravery and courage, I give you this necklace of power, so you can be with your human family and your Valley family whenever you wish. You can come and go as you please. You have truly made a home here with us." Crystal spoke.

"What about wolfy?" Bear said.

Crystal took a step toward me.

Suddenly I was being transformed. I had human parts. I couldn't believe it.

"You made me human. But why?" I still couldn't believe it.

"You are not just a human. You can transform any time you wish into a wolf or a human. Your love for Bear is much stronger than you realise. You are destined to be with Bear. I made you human, so you can be a part of Bears' world because he's already a part of yours." Crystal said.

Bear and I hugged each other and celebrated our journey together. At the end of the day, Bear returned to the humans. Crystal and the other dragons set up a portal combining our two lands so we could all visit each other whenever we wanted. The Valley was Once again at peace with the dragons helping protect us. And as for Bear and me, we had many more Adventures.