Returning (Open to All)

by **Arius** Wed Jun 14, 2017 7:39 pm

It was 3 years since Cerius had rescued Arius from the Human Pit.

Arius DirtWalker. He'd called her that, jokingly. She wore it like a talisman.

The EarthWing healers were gracious and gentle. She'd become one, and it suited her well. But the green and luscious dragons of her tribe, so varied and so numerous, were still so distant.

She preferred her cave, the cavernous pile of stones she chose as home near a waterfall on the outskirts of EarthWing territory. It suited her. When Cerius came to visit, he would call it quaint.

---

The forest's many layers were a joy compared to the dank pit she'd known for years. Despite the friendly daily chatter of birds and lizards, the sheer size of it overwhelmed her. It took 2 years to begin exploring and 6 months to venture outside the circle of EarthWing territory. But her wings were leathery and tough, and though the pit still haunted her, she knew full well how to take care of herself.

But today, Arius had travelled farther then she ever had before. Darting away from the populated city of dragons on a particularly noisy day of healing and other dragons and bodies, she leapt into the air and, instead of heading home, sailed out into the unknown. It was a beautiful summer day, perfect for flight, and it intoxicated her. Forest birds darted away as shadowed them overhead. The crispness of high altitude flushed through her, and she twisted, lithe in her healthy body, like a ribbon in the air. More then ever before in her life, she celebrated being free.

It was Dusk when she finally stopped to take stock of her surroundings. Where was she? A sense of foreboding drilled like an icy current up her spine. She should be heading home. But - which way?

She landed heavily in a clearing, nervous but determined to keep her wits about her. Food and shelter were abundant here; Tall, straight trees populating a landscape of low, rolling hills. There was a brook, and a foreign mountain in the distance; among the trees, gravelly landscape indicated the presence of caves.

She would find a place to sleep for the night and find her way home tomorrow.