slowly. Scales glittered in the afternoon sun. The weeds right in front of its nose swayed back and forth with each breath. Keeping a close watch on it, Ashe slunk out of the dubious shelter of their cave.
The sun beat down, heating his thin tunic. Sweat sprang up across his skin, sliding into injuries and stinging. Beside him, his shadow moved silently over the ground. He felt exposed. Obvious. Loud. Surely the dragon could hear every breath he took.
The dragon didn't move.
It wasn't hard to spot the rockroot, once Ashe looked away from the predator and trained his eyes on the ground. He winced at the dull pop as he pulled the leaves off the plant, resisting the urge to curse as parts of his hand went numb. How was he supposed to not touch the edges, anyway? Of all the stupid orders...
When the little plant was plucked bare, he turned and raced over the ground, crawling back into the cave.
"This isn't enough."
He yanked his head up, nearly bashing it on the roof. "What do you mean, this isn't enough? You said get rockroot--"
"Enough for a dragon, Ashe! This is enough for a person!"
Ashe gestured for Katsu to quiet down, all too aware of the way the words echoed. Outside, the animals went silent. Stillness hung like smoke over a battlefield. Ashe knew he hadn't made a loud noise, he knew it, but the dragon could have heard Katsu.
Something snorted. Groaned. Bushes crackled as a heavy weight shifted. Then it all went silent again.
Ashe's legs burned from the crouch he'd frozen in. Any minute he thought he'd feel claws raking across his spine. More sweat rolled down his back, but he didn't dare shift to try and soak it up.
The birds began to sing again. Both he and Katsu breathed.
When Katsu spoke, it was softly. "We need more. Four or five times this amount."
It was impossible. He'd be out there half the day picking weeds for Katsu's amusement. "We should just make a run for it," he whispered. "It's probably as safe as me wandering around out there waiting to get eaten!"
"You can wander silently," Katsu whispered back. "Me going out there would be sounding a gong for dinner. Man up and get the rest of the rockroot!"
"Man up? Are you serious?" Apparently, he was. Disgusted, Ashe twisted and poked his head back out of the cave.
The dragon had flopped over on its side, neck extended. One foreclaw twitched in its sleep, talons digging trenches in the hard ground.
This was insanity. Maybe he should make a break for it and go get help. Then he thought about Katsu, trapped at the mercy of a dragon. It wouldn't make sure Katsu was dead before it started eating. His stomach turned, and he hurried to search out more rockroot.
Each step seemed to take an agonizing eternity. He moved with extra care, never so much as breaking a twig, and certain with each moment that it didn't matter: the dragon would wake simply because it was no longer tired. Then it would eat him.
He found five more bushes, stripping the leaves off them as rapidly as possible. He froze when a raven landed in a flutter of wings right in front of the dragon. The raven cawed.
Ashe wrenched himself sideways, flattening his spine against the trunk of a nearby tree. When nothing happened, he eased far enough around to see if the dragon was awake.
The dragon opened one sleepy eye. A glazed pupil slowly thinned down, focusing on the bird. A split tongue slithered out between the gap in its upper and lower jaws, tasting the air. Ashe prayed he was far enough away not to be tasted.
Then the dragon closed his sleepy eye.
The raven cawed again. It pecked at the ground in front of the dragon's muzzle, gobbling down an erstwhile snail. It cawed a third time, answered by another some distance away.
The dragon snapped. The bird vanished, feathers fluttering back to the ground. Lazily, strong jaws chewed. It swallowed.
Ashe felt faint. He leaned back against the tree and focused on breathing, then waited another eternity while the sun reached its zenith. How
The sun beat down, heating his thin tunic. Sweat sprang up across his skin, sliding into injuries and stinging. Beside him, his shadow moved silently over the ground. He felt exposed. Obvious. Loud. Surely the dragon could hear every breath he took.
The dragon didn't move.
It wasn't hard to spot the rockroot, once Ashe looked away from the predator and trained his eyes on the ground. He winced at the dull pop as he pulled the leaves off the plant, resisting the urge to curse as parts of his hand went numb. How was he supposed to not touch the edges, anyway? Of all the stupid orders...
When the little plant was plucked bare, he turned and raced over the ground, crawling back into the cave.
"This isn't enough."
He yanked his head up, nearly bashing it on the roof. "What do you mean, this isn't enough? You said get rockroot--"
"Enough for a dragon, Ashe! This is enough for a person!"
Ashe gestured for Katsu to quiet down, all too aware of the way the words echoed. Outside, the animals went silent. Stillness hung like smoke over a battlefield. Ashe knew he hadn't made a loud noise, he knew it, but the dragon could have heard Katsu.
Something snorted. Groaned. Bushes crackled as a heavy weight shifted. Then it all went silent again.
Ashe's legs burned from the crouch he'd frozen in. Any minute he thought he'd feel claws raking across his spine. More sweat rolled down his back, but he didn't dare shift to try and soak it up.
The birds began to sing again. Both he and Katsu breathed.
When Katsu spoke, it was softly. "We need more. Four or five times this amount."
It was impossible. He'd be out there half the day picking weeds for Katsu's amusement. "We should just make a run for it," he whispered. "It's probably as safe as me wandering around out there waiting to get eaten!"
"You can wander silently," Katsu whispered back. "Me going out there would be sounding a gong for dinner. Man up and get the rest of the rockroot!"
"Man up? Are you serious?" Apparently, he was. Disgusted, Ashe twisted and poked his head back out of the cave.
The dragon had flopped over on its side, neck extended. One foreclaw twitched in its sleep, talons digging trenches in the hard ground.
This was insanity. Maybe he should make a break for it and go get help. Then he thought about Katsu, trapped at the mercy of a dragon. It wouldn't make sure Katsu was dead before it started eating. His stomach turned, and he hurried to search out more rockroot.
Each step seemed to take an agonizing eternity. He moved with extra care, never so much as breaking a twig, and certain with each moment that it didn't matter: the dragon would wake simply because it was no longer tired. Then it would eat him.
He found five more bushes, stripping the leaves off them as rapidly as possible. He froze when a raven landed in a flutter of wings right in front of the dragon. The raven cawed.
Ashe wrenched himself sideways, flattening his spine against the trunk of a nearby tree. When nothing happened, he eased far enough around to see if the dragon was awake.
The dragon opened one sleepy eye. A glazed pupil slowly thinned down, focusing on the bird. A split tongue slithered out between the gap in its upper and lower jaws, tasting the air. Ashe prayed he was far enough away not to be tasted.
Then the dragon closed his sleepy eye.
The raven cawed again. It pecked at the ground in front of the dragon's muzzle, gobbling down an erstwhile snail. It cawed a third time, answered by another some distance away.
The dragon snapped. The bird vanished, feathers fluttering back to the ground. Lazily, strong jaws chewed. It swallowed.
Ashe felt faint. He leaned back against the tree and focused on breathing, then waited another eternity while the sun reached its zenith. How
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