Little Lives

Chance encounters can happen from time to time. Many of the encounters are somewhat uneventful, a rare few become special enough to remember and once in a lifetime, a miracle can actually occur.

Far outside the reach of the cities of Weston, away from the challenges of any of man's ramparts and any castles, lies the scattered villages of Moreland. Here, the villages survive as they should, in harmony with nature and sustainability. Moreland is made up of six small villages that all practice a hunter-and-gatherer lifestyle. Some agriculture exists but not enough to be noteworthy. It's typically peaceful but occasionally gets some rather gigantic and occasionally destructive visitors. Most of which, scare the living daylights out of most of the residents. A large portion of the residents are members of families that typically work well together and live here sharing the resources with one another. Of course, there are occasional upstarts built into the mix. Some of these upstarts come from some of the most unlikely of residents.

Becca is probably one of the sweetest little girls anyone would ever meet across any of the six villages, once you got to know her. Otherwise, most neighbors would have to hunt down Becca's parents to get them to retrieve this little monster that somehow got into a harvest garden or into someone else's hut to fiddle around with others' belongings. Becca's nickname for the past season has been "Little Dragon," probably because of the occasional fires mysteriously started near the sacred altars used to help bless the gatherings of the season. If the fire grabbed hold of some of the straw used to hold things in place then the entire offering could be ruined. Becca's mom would often lose track of Becca while on walks and she usually found Becca near the large stones in the center of the forest. As the sky is overcast on this windy day in early Fall just before the hard work of the harvest gathering, Becca and her mom are on a long adventure walk near the largest of the forest lands near the villages. On this day they are in for the adventure of their lives.

As early Fall brings about the howling winds of the season and sparks the eerie feeling we often get when paying homage to the spirits of those who have past, an elusive powerful being decides to pay a visit to the forests of Moreland.

Chehedra has always been a formidable force in the battle for existence when it comes to the survival of the dragon species. Chehedra has gone through many of her own challenges and often worked to ensure that her species would survive the onslaught of technology and intelligence that was continuing to well up within the human race. She always knew that while some of the humans respected and sometimes even worshiped the dragons, others thought of the dragons as an existential threat to their way of life and even their own existence. Many humans were overpopulating their areas and taking away the resources that dragons needed for survival. Some humans didn't even respect or recognize the territory that dragons occupied or defended for their own dragon families. Some humans even hunted the dragons and justified it by ensuring that other humans feared the dragons instead of revering them. If humans hadn't been so successful in manipulating the other areas of nature such as domesticating some animals and eliminating the threats of other animals, mostly predators such as wolves and bears, they would not be so bold as to destroy one of God's greatest creations.

Chehedra had a great life before the emergence of humans and was more than comfortable living freely and procreating as she saw fit. By this time, Chehedra had bore ten strong whelps who eventually grew up and went on with their own lives, moving away from the roost to establish and develop their own territories. Her most recent whelp, Cahedra, a very young female dragon had a difficult existence in that she had difficulty in keeping up with life lessons and quite often wandered off from the roost. With her wanderings, Cahedra placed herself in danger by not being in the presence of her protective momma dragon. Even though Cahedra didn't seem to follow the rules and quite often endangered herself and the secret location of their roost, something about her spirit made Chehedra love her that much more. Cahedra had caught Chehedra's heart like no other whelp had done. Her little quirks and ability to take in other creatures into her presence without harming or eating them made Chehedra take notice and taught Chehedra about compassion and living in harmony. Sometimes seen as a weakness amongst dragons, collaboration and care were typically nonexistent in whelp upbringing.

Once, while Chehedra was away from the roost to obtain breakfast for Cahedra and herself, Cahedra made her way away from the roost and wandered upon a cliff where a bear and her cubs had slipped off the edge shortly after a rain. One of the cubs had fallen to her death and the other with the mother was badly injured. Cahedra seeing this tried to reach down to help and slipped off the edge herself, ending in her demise. Chehedra discovered that her daughter was in danger by the sounds her whelp had made before falling to her doom. Chehedra flew back as fast as she could in her panic but it wasn't fast enough to prevent the death of her cherished Cahedra. Chehedra's heart sunk lower than it had ever done in her two hundred years of existence. Chehedra was thrust into the sorrow that did not release her for weeks. With no food or drink for the entire time. Chehedra's dragon body began to shrink to about a third of her normal size. Chehedra was now the size of an oversized bull instead of the mass of a healthy dragon. Her weakness brought her to the floor of the forest and not on a perch of any type and definitely not sitting at a vantage point where she could see any danger or potential food or even a friendly greeter who might want to say hello.

Becca, on one of her typical adventurous runs near and in the forests of Moreland, came across a sound she had never heard before.

Her mother, in a desperate attempt to keep up with her, ran behind and lost sight of Becca as she ran into the forest near the center of the six villages. Upon getting into the area of the forest where light began to dim and many large stones could be seen easily, Becca's mom came upon three strangers dressed in armor. She immediately felt a sense of fear because many of the soldiers from the forts and castles were known for their ability to be cruel and abusive towards villagers, especially women and girl children. Becca's mom saw that the soldiers were drunk and behaving poorly. She immediately began to straighten up and not appear lost or in a frantic state. She asked for their immediate cooperation in the search for her daughter. After, they confronted her, as if she were there for their pleasure. Instead of assisting, one of the soldiers grabbed her and held her too tightly for her liking. She asked to be released and asked again for their assistance in finding Becca. He threw her to the ground and while the other two jeered and looked on, he began to rape her mercilessly. She screamed out for assistance but it appeared that no one could hear her. They violently threw her about and began to share in the spoils of their ill-gotten gain.

Becca, as she encroached upon the strange sound, thought she heard her mother. But her mother wasn't just yelling her name as would normally be the case, her mother was screaming and Becca began running towards the sound of her mother in distress.

Chehedra, while in her own distress did see the approaching Becca, so very near her but hadn't yet seen her. Chehedra took time to observe the young child and watched her movements with great interest. Her tears had dried and her interest in Becca grew, not because she was hungry or in defense of her territory, it was because of her compassion for the forest and what she had heard in the tears. Chehedra also saw Becca's look of concern and the sense of urgency when she heard another human in distress. Chehedra had to follow Becca without being seen. This little compassionate human reminded her so much of her own whelp, lost, not long ago.

Becca ran head-on into the backside of one of the soldiers and was forced to the ground from the impact. The soldier whom Becca ran into was not the one currently assaulting her mother but was jeering at the man who had just raped her. Becca saw her mom while she was trying to stand up and called out to her. The soldier she ran into reached back and picked up Becca in an aggressive and threatening manner. This action caught the eye of Chehedra who was yet unseen by any of the humans. Just as Chehedra focused on the activities unraveling before her and further threatening this little child she took a liking to, one of the soldiers pulled his sword to put an end to Becca's mother's suffering. Becca screamed as her mother was stabbed. Her mother was visibly in severe pain and mortally wounded, but could not make a sound in response. Becca's mom had a look of shock on her face and fell to the ground. Becca, crying and screaming tried to escape the grasp of the crude soldier holding onto her.

At the sight of the soldiers' serious escalation of violence toward Becca and her mother, Chehedra began to tense her muscles increasingly and the alarms in her head were screaming for her to do something. The soldier with the sword began moving quickly toward the crying and enraged Becca as if he were going to end her life as quickly as he took her mother's life.

In an instant, a clawed streak ripped through the soldier who held the sword and tore through his armor as if it were just as thin as the air that surrounded them. The soldier fell without knowing what had occurred and was covered in his own blood. The two other soldiers, in absolute shock, immediately dropped everything, including Becca. The one who held Becca said to the other that he had only seen a blue flash of color before he fell.

Just then, Chehedra dropped from above between Becca and the two remaining soldiers with a fierce growl and showing a readiness to use again her bloody claw. Becca fell to the ground in awe at the enormity and beauty of the enormous dragon in front of her. Both soldiers drew their swords, and the one with the most anxious look, dropped his sword and his whole body appeared to shake. He then ran in the opposite direction into the forest. The remaining soldier tried his best to put on a brave face but soon lost his nerve as Chehedra ripped the sword from his grasp with another ruthless slash to his arm. His cry aloud spoke volumes to the amount of pain he was now suffering. Chehedra crunched his barrelled chest in one claw and took him up to the sky in a blue flash. She then dropped his lifeless body in the field near the forest.

Becca, witnessing how the big blue dragon protected her and expressed true justice upon the ones who had defiled and killed her mother, felt a bit of uneasiness and a courage that any other toddler could never possess. Becca looked into the forest and saw the soldier who had escaped the dragon's rage. Once seeing him, her courage and anger grew, and she then did her best to pick up the discarded sword. Becca had great difficulty but was finally able to drag it with her as she grabbed the hilt. Since the soldier was not far away, she pulled the sword with her as she moved steadily towards the coward with a true fire in her heart. The soldier was standing in the forest with a look of complete fear and confusion as he looked towards the sky and hadn't noticed the approaching Becca. Becca got close enough and pivoted herself, then braced herself enough to pull up the sharp end of the sword towards the soldier while the hilt was braced by a rock on the ground and thus supporting the weight just enough. Becca imagined her mother's eyes as she directed the point toward the soldier's back. Being so small, she thrust as hard as she could but slipped because of the weight. It was just enough to miss his back but hit his left calf. It pierced the clothing and skin of the soldier. He yelled out in pain and turned around to see, not the dragon, but this small child who he intended to kill and discard after the crime he and his fellow soldiers committed upon Becca's mother. He smiled back at Becca and moved towards her with his newfound anger. As he drew closer to Becca, Becca tried to retreat to the forest. Before she could escape, A large drum of a thump came from above. It was Chehedra, Who pounced upon the soldier, ending his pursuit of Becca instantaneously.

Becca stood staring at the intimidating blue dragon in front of her after the threat of the soldiers was no longer apparent. As if she could feel the approaching toddler behind her, Chehedra turned and immediately softened her stance, shrunk her size into something more palatable for a child to understand, and lowered her head below Becca's eye level. Chehedra emitted a noise that sounded somewhat like the purr of a giant cat. All to help calm down Becca. Becca, with her angry, pouty face still on, approached Chehedra and by the time she reached Chehedra, her teary face was one of thankfulness. She then reached out to the dragon and touched her head, feeling the strength and beauty of her scales. Becca then hugged the smallest portion of Chehedra's head, the only part she could get her small arms around.

Becca was led through the forest and into the nearest clearing by Chehedra where she could easily watch Becca. There seemed to be an unspoken language between the two. Becca seemed to understand what the great dragon was doing. Becca sat down upon a rock near the center while Chehedra spread her massive wings and took flight. Within a few minutes, Becca heard the massive wing beats return and saw the dragon land lightly into the clearing. Chehedra was carrying something in her claws when she returned. She had fruits and vegetables and something else that Becca didn't at first recognize. It was obvious that Chehedra somehow made her way into the village and to Becca's little house where she found things special to Becca, perhaps being led by Becca's scent. Chehedra had Becca's favorite toy with her, Becca took it from Chehedra's claws and hugged it with all her might, and then she cried.

While Becca was engrossed with her toy, Chehedra went to work being busy, creating a formidable nest, a new roost, with a cover to protect them from the elements. Becca was hungry after the ordeal and gobbled up the food with great enthusiasm. By the time Becca was finished eating, the entire enclosure was complete. The nest looked more like a round hut with a warm fire in the middle that was surrounded by small stones. Becca thought it was quite beautiful with all the comforts of home. All except for the loss of her mom, which Becca missed quite heavily. Becca began to cry once again but Chehedra surrounded Becca with her body which seemed much softer than before and not at all dangerous as one would expect from such a large and wild creature. Becca fell asleep and slept through the entire night with her new surrogate mom, which Becca accepted with love.

During the night, Chehedra thought to herself about the happenings of the day. Her new surrogate daughter and the recent loss of her own whelp, Cahedra. Her new whelp, not dragon but just as fierce and definitely worthy of her rearing. She retrieved some armor and two swords from where they had encountered the soldiers before. Chehedra paid close attention to cleanliness and washed the armor thoroughly. She made sure to bring back the helmets as well. Chehedra was conscious of how humans ate and took care to prepare food and store it in the new roost. She also made a trip to the village, guided by Becca's smell, and retrieved all the comforts of Becca's old home to make sure Becca felt safe.

Becca awoke at the smell of food at a perfect time for her waking. Chehedra waited patiently for Becca to finish eating and then escorted her to bathe in a nearby lake that Becca had never seen before. It was clear and the water smelled sweet. There, after her wash, Chehedra showed the helmets to Becca, who initially looked afraid at the appearance. Chehedra stopped Becca's partial backing up with a guiding claw which seemed more like a helpful hand than a killing tool. She showed Becca that she should not be afraid of soldiers and mimicked a growl towards the helmets and then a crushing of one helmet. Becca immediately got the message and tried to pick up one of the swords. Chehedra showed herself pleased with Becca's understanding. Though this was only the beginning of their journey together, Becca felt that she easily understood Chehedra as if they were speaking with their minds. Becca rested easy. Chehedra eased as well and said to herself, "now we have a new Red Dragon."

Years later, Back near the villages, Becca's father continued his search for his daughter and had little to no help from the knights or other soldiers at the castle. There had been reports of dragons in the area and the other villagers kept telling Becca's father to accept that Becca and her mother may have been taken by a dragon. There was a search soon after Becca disappeared but the soldiers never found any signs of a dragon in all the woods they searched. Nor did they find the remains of the soldier Chehedra had discarded shortly after the attack. Maybe they weren't that interested in the search.

Becca awoke early morning and immediately scaled a nearby tree as if she were just jumping as high as the tops of the old oaks to get the lay of the land. Becca didn't speak aloud but knew her surrogate mother was nearby. She lept into the sky above the high oak and latched onto Chehedra's strong neck to ride above the forest. It was clear that she had indeed grown up as if she were a red dragon from birth. They mapped the landscape and headed toward the castle of Weston and envisioning their enemies' demise.