Dawn pt.2
#4 of Dawn
Dawn Pt. 2
Mediteral
The full moon shone brightly in the night sky, it's bright blue rays of light piercing the forest's canopy with ease. On the floor, myself among the grass, trunks, and fallen leaves; the world appeared as if it were underwater. The occasional leaf would sink to the dirt and a little forest critter would zip by on top of it. It really was a peaceful setting for me...it helped keep my mind off what had happened earlier.
My head rested on the roots of a tree, some leaves and sticks tangled in my hair. I had stopped to rest because of the bullet I had received earlier. Even though the pain had faded...it was only at that moment. After I had run away and I began to calm down, the pain returned....and much worse than before. A sharp stinging pain at first that slowly morphed into a burning throbbing pain, then it would go back to the sharp sting. It stayed as such for hours while I rested...that pain was not the only thing that kept me awake.
It was really late now, I couldn't tell how late, but I had rested long enough for the pain to begin to fade away. I could even stand, so stand I did. I was getting used to my body, four legs wasn't so bad actually, I was still wondering how I ended up as such.
"What now....I guess I'll just walk" I thought. I shambled away from the tree and down a clear trail through the blue forest.
I tried to remember what song I was listening to before I became like this, but no tune came to mind, So i just walked silently....until I eventually heard an odd sound. It sounded like...sobbing. "Is someone crying?". I followed the soft sobbing past some trees until, at the base of large tree with red bark, I saw the source.
A little gryphon girl, crouching at the tree, crying quietly.
I wondered why a little girl would be out here. "Mow?..." Went I to her.
She quickly looked up to me. She had a small yellow beak and brown feathers on her head that formed a cute curl at the top of her skull. "H-hi..." She said to me in a shaky and quiet voice.
I sat on my haunches and look down to her. I whined softly to her, trying to convey my worry to her.
She wiped her eyes and tried to smile, "C-can you help me get home, I'm lost...?" She spoke a little more confidently
I was surprised that she asked me, a strange dragon, to help her. She was a little girl though...maybe a little naive...I wasn't about to give her a reality check though so I lowered my body and shoulder, motioning for her to climb on.
She rose to her feet and I could see her light blue sundress; it suited her, in my opinion. She took small steps towards me before climbing my shoulder and sat behind my neck. I then began walking towards the trail I was on before, It might have led somewhere.
We hadn't been walking long before she said "I'm sorry to bother you like this. I was looking for my daddy and I got lost."
I turned my head back and glanced to her "Moor?"
"I thought I could find him and so he wouldn't worry about me"
A small grin formed on my draconic lips.
"I know that was probably wrong of me but I wanted to show him I could take care of myself." She spoke shamefully but with a smile. She seemed to be very mature for her age, her parents must be good parents.
"Myar?" I said. I don't know why I insisted on making this odd speech when I knew I couldn't talk....Persistence I guess....but she also seemed to understand what I was implying.
"Oh, I'm sorry!" She giggled to herself, "I haven't told you my name. I'm Leena."
I nodded and smiled. It was a cute name; like her sundress, it suited her.
"I have a great daddy, he's always making me happy and he helps me when I want it. He also tells me all kinds of things about growing up; I wanna show him that I can grow up thanks to his help." She smiled and rested herself against my neck. She quickly fell asleep.
The sun was already beginning to brighten up the sky and the land around, not yet dawn though. It must have been very early when I found her. I'm surprised she wasn't hurt and how she managed to get lost for that long. She needs to be more careful, he father should tell her that. He must have ben a great guy though. I'd like to meet him.
A hard breeze blew into us for a moment then died down. The leaves on the ground all now created new patterns to decorate the trail, like an artist had conjured the wind to make the leaves move into the right place. However, I noticed something, a white piece of paper had landed in front of me. I focused on it, lowering my head...it looked familiar.
"Oh, it's a picture." Leena spoke, apparently awake now. She hopped down off of me and picked up the picture from the leaves. Her eyes got wide and she smiled "It's daddy's picture of me, him , and my mom!"
"Awr?" Went I, in surprise. Quite a coincidence...
"See?" She held it up for me to see. The was an image of a yellow feathered Gryphon femme standing beside a brown male gryphon, holding an infant gryphon wrapped in blankets. The father....I knew I'd seen him before...but I couldn't recall when.
I lowered myself for Leena once again and she climbed back up. We then continued on.
I looked back to her, my eyes moved the picture, then to her. She smiled...rather painfully it seemed, like she was about to cry. "My mom isn't around anymore, so it's just me and my daddy."
I felt my heart drop slightly, I wished I hadn't found the picture so she wouldn't have to say this.
"Even though she's gone, My daddy says that I'm always with her and when I see her again, we'll all be happy together. My daddy will help me find her." She kept smiling through this. I couldn't imagine how. I regretting thinking her as naive earlier, I could learn a thing or two from this girl.
More time had passed until we came across a lake. The sun had finally begun to crack over the distant mountains. The whole area changed it's color, like a chameleon, into a soft orange morning glow. The sun reflected on the surface of the clam lakewater. The dawn provided a nice alternative for nature to wake up to, rather than an alarm clock for people.
I couldn't keep my mind off the fact that I had seen her father somewhere before but couldn't remember. I could hear Leena beginning to sob again. I looked back to her and tilted my head. She climbed down off of my back and stood by the lake's edge.
"Daddy always has this picture with him, why was it on the ground." She held it tightly to her chest. "Even though my daddy's a soldier in the local militia, he always has this picture, he would never leave it behind...why was it there?"
I thought about what she said....then it hit me harder and more painfully than the bullet. I knew her father for sure....In my head, all I could see was the soldier's lifeless eyes and blood stained beak. I could see the paper blowing away in the breeze, it was the picture. My heart dropped then rose to my throat.
"No...no, no, no, no, dammit no! It can't be......" I glanced to her, she was looking away, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath... "So...is this why I turned into this? So I could kill this girl's father? What was the point of this...Why!?" I yelled at myself in my head.
I heard Leena sobbing harder, "C-can you tell me a story? Like my daddy would? P-Please?" she begged to me, trembling as she held her picture tightly.
I shook my head in an attempt to shake away any possible tears....What could I do? I couldn't talk and she wanted a story....I looked toward the dawn, slowly rising past the mountains. A thought popped into my head. I leaned forward and nudged her with my nose.
She looked up to me, tears in her eyes.
I motioned to the dawn and she watched it with me. While she watched the rising sun, I searched the ground frantically for....anything really. I then saw it...a strange flower growing at the side of the trail. It had red and yellow petals surrounding a ball of cotton and a yellow pistil. "I hope it isn't poisonous or anything..." I prayed as I bit the stem and held the flower tightly in my maw.
I nudged the back of her head with the flower held in my mouth. She looked back and I whined softly, waiting for her to take the flower.
"Oh, is it for me? I love the Dandy Rose!" She took the flower and held it with her picture. "Oh I know, I'll give the picture and this flower to my daddy when I see him again."
When she said that, I felt a punch in my gut. She was smiling though and I didn't want her to worry so I forced myself to smile for her.
"Thank you, that was a great story." She giggled "Daddy once said that 'No matter how dark the night gets, there is always a dawn'. Thanks for showing me that!"
I kept smiling and I tilted my head at her, trying to be cute. Well, she giggled again so I might have done it right. I sat on my haunches and she sat on my front paw. We both kept watching the dawn for the next while.
I wasn't sure how to take this....I didn't want to belive and I wished it wasn't true...."Does this mean she's going to be all alone now?....It seems so unfair..." I took another deep breath...."I don't know how I became like this....but that doesn't matter now...Leena needs my help. I'm not going to leave her...I'll make sure she'll be happy and safe somehow...." I made a resolve to myself. I was going to keep that resolve, no matter what....it was all I cared about...
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To be continued...