Dawn pt.4
#3 of Dawn
Dawn Pt. 4
Mediteral
The wind thrashed wildly into the brown colored mountain, knocking over rocks and blowing dirt into my eyes. Step by step, I climbed the mountain, my chest burning and my head spinning. I still had the dandy rose locked between my teeth, I was determined to give it to Leena.
After what was probably a few hours, I finally clawed my way to a ledge resting before what appeared to be Kaiser's cave. I struggled to regain my breath while beads of sweat dropped off the tip of my snout.
Staring at the cave's entrance, an empty feeling of dread replaced the exhaustion in my chest. I even began to doubt if I could stand up to Kaiser, after he had taken Leena so easily. I took a deep breath and I made my way through the entrance.
I was surprised to find that the inside appeared just like what you'd expect a dragon's cave to look like; torches giving the area an orange glow, pillers of stone, there was even some treasure-like stuff in a small pile. I didn't care about any of those, all I focused on was Leena who was sitting and hilding her knees. I felt a small flutter of joy in my head as I began to run to her...
...Until I felt a hard bash the side of my face, knocking me off my paws and the flower out of my mouth. I was just suddenly on the floor, half blinded and face in dirt, in shock for a second. Then the burning and throbbing pain arose in my cheek and eye, I moaned loudly and with my eyes shut, rubbed my face in the dirt, hoping it would soften the pain.
I heard Leena scream; I wished she hadn't seen that.
I tried to regain my sight as fast as I could. I finally did just in time to see a large, clawed, paw step on the rose, crushing away the beauty it once was. I looked up to see myself....I mean, Kaiser looking down at me with a mix of a scowl and a smirk.
"I can't believe you actually CLIMBED all the way up here. You're such an idiot." He shook his head.
I slowly regained myself and rose to standing. I was so much shorter than him, so much so I nearly had to sit down to see his face. I just looked up at him with a forlorn look.
"Well? Aren't you gonna say something?" He looked kinda annoyed, yet strangely casual..."I swear, it would have made more sense to turn you into a bunny...but you needed to be dragon...oh well..."
"W-What do you mean?" I wasn't liking how this was turning out.
"I made you like this. It wasn't hard really...I'll spare you the details and just say 'I had to." He grinned as advanced on me, his eyes peircing mine. As he inched closer, I backed away, I grew more afraid of being hit again; my head still hurt from the first blow.
I hated to ask but I asked, "Why?"
"I just needed a distraction......but I didn't expect you to start killing them," He motioned to Leena, who was just staring at us dragons, "Especially not this little girl's father, you really are a monster!" he spouted mockingly.
"N-No! It was an accident, I didn't want to kill him!" I protested.
"Ya, and? You're really a good person who abducts the daughter of those you kill? I guess becoming a dragon doesn't mean you get the honor of one..."
"Shut up!" I shocked even myself with that shout. It just, forced itself out, bringing along; "I'm taking Leena with me!"
At this point, I was completely backed into the wall. I tried to walk past him and I caught sight of Leena. She watched me back with tears falling from her eyes.
Kaiser pushed me back, "No you're not." he simply stated.
Without thinking, I had subconsciously decided to try dashing past him. It failed, of course as his paw grabbed my leg like an iron vice grip, and he proceeded to throw me against the wall.
It forced the breath out of my lungs and knocked me sensless. This was it, what I had been fearing; I began to realize I didn't stand a chance and that I was probably going to get killed. Despite my pain, I quickly stood back up, letting the panic driven rush control me.
Kaiser came in for another hit but I somehow evaded it and I grunted loudly as I clawed at him...I managed to cut his scaly cheek deeply.
He seemed almost as surprised as I was when he felt his cheek and examined his bloody paw. A horrible scowl formed on his toothy face before he lunged at me.
The only thing I can remember of that flurry of bites and scratches while he beat me madly was the sound of Leena's crying.
It all came to a stop when Kaiser got a forceful grip around my throat and slammed me against the ground. I then felt his paw on my neck, crushing me. It came to me that he was going to either choke me or crush my neck...whatever came first. The world was quickly beginning to fade as I struggled to breath and knock him off me. It was to no avail; I kept struggling but it seemed that I wasn't going to be able to get free...
I was somehow saved when I heard Kaiser cry out in a horrid pain and let go of me. I hastily searched around to see a stone piller had fallen on his tail...I saw Leena standing by it's base with dirt-covered hands. My madly beating heart dropped.
"MRAH!" Kaiser shouted at Leena. He managed to yank his tail from the rock and he lunged at her.
Instinctly, I rushed at him and I bit down on his forepaw as hard as I could, my fangs cutting in to him.
He roared again pryed me off before delivering a hard blow to the tip of my snout. I thought I heard a very soft *crunch* sound as the hit threw me onto my back.
The ringing in my ears faded quickly, but I couldn't see. My head was spinning and I couldc't tell if I which wasy I was fading. My entire head felt numb except for a twinge of pain in my snout...it felt like something was broken.
...I heard heavy footsteps going away from me.
Then soft running.
I heard Leena scream before being cut silent with a dull thud.....
There wasn't another sound after that.
I quickly forced myself up, fearing the worst. My eyes darted around until I found Leena...she was motionless on the ground. I shouted "NO!" and I ran to her.
Kaiser didn't try to stop me as I ran. At her side I kneeled, "LEENA! LEENA!" Even though she would only hear the sounds of a monster, I didn't care...I wanted to see her react....
She moaned in pain quietly, moving slightly, then becoming silent and unmoving again.
The rush I had felt before was instantly drained and instead replaced with a horrible feeling that I couldn't describe. My breath left me and my eyes stung. "LEENA!"
"Tch" Kaiser grunted, "Quit roaring at her you fool, you sound like an idiot....just 'talk' to her...." He spoke full of scorn.
I kept looking at her...my vision was starting to blur and I mumbled, "I can't they only hear growls I can't talk I can't talk no matter how hard I try I can't talk...." I hated him for how much he didn't care. Blood leaked from my nose and dripped onto Leena's dress.
He giggled to himself evily, "Have you ever tried focusing on them, actually paying attention instead of just running like a scared rat?"
I didn't knew what he meant. I stared at her, in her dirtied face, I stared as hard as I could....and I could hear things. Little words and sentences, even the occasional image. I then thought to myself "L-Leena? Are you okay?"
"*sob* Daddy? I-Is that you?"
I immediately looked away, my eyes glued to the random pebbles on the floor. "Y-You mean......I-I could have......h-her father...!?" I sobbed. I could taste the blood that leaked into my mouth.
"Idiot." Said Kaiser.
The turmoil I felt inside nearly doubled and felt like I deserved to die. I burned inside.
"Why don't you just leave......" Kaiser suggested.
...The burning got more severe. It burned it's way in, burning away my sorrow. It didn't hurt at all though...in fact, it burned good...it burned very good. My heart was beginning to beat madly again.
"...I think you ruined enough lives." He continued on.
The burning had consumed my entire chest. In place of my sadness and regret, rage filled my mind and a total disgust at Kaiser. I was shaking...I could smell some kind of smoke.
"Why do you even care about someone like THAT. She'd die anyway..."
"SHUT UP!!" I spun around and roared at him as loud as I could. What happened wasn't was I was expecting but along with my roar, a hage blast of flame sprouted from my mouth. The flame quickly quickly blasted into Kaiser, taking him by surprise. I charged at him and lept into the air. I bashed his face with my paw as hard as I thought possible.
Kaiser cried out and flew bakcwars, crashing into a pillar. The rocks of the piller and some from the cieling as crashed down onto him, pratically burying him.
My paw stung, I must have hit him so hard I broke it. It hurt when I leaned on it. I just froze, watching where Kaiser crashed. There wasn't any sign of motion...I began to worry that......
I turned away to face Leena. There was a soft rumble in the entire cave as rocks fell from the roof...I think the cave was about to collapse. I had to get out...but not without Leena. As carefully as I could, I picked up Leena in my maw and I placed her on my back. Covering her with my wings, I stumbled to the entrance.
The cliff's edge was beginning to crack up under the glowing sunset. I wondered if I would even be able to climb down. My head hurt, my whole body hurt, I felt sick, and it seemed my paw would be broken.
"Y-You've got guts...idiot..." I turned around to see Kaiser had dragged himself from the rocks. He looked horribly mangled, bruised, cut up, bleeding, covered in dust. He still had a scowl on his face and his paw was raised, ready to stike me again.
I shut my eyes and raised a wing in front of me, attempting to shield mysels as I hoped the hit wouldn't reach Leena...
...I didn't feel any hit. I was waiting for a blow that didn't...but I did hear something that sounded like a quieter type of hit right after I heard a quiet and momentary *zip* by my head.
I lowered my wing and looked up at Kaiser. He was frozen in place as he lloked at the sky with a twisted look on his face. I saw...blood running down his scales to his shoulders until he fell to his side. I examined him resting in the dirt...there was a puddle of blood forming...my heart seemed to stop and I felt my own blood drain from my face...
After a short moment of silence, the cracks of the cliff widend with a loud \ **crack* *. It was all falling apart. I wouldn't be able to climb down. I looked over the edge and out to the horizon. I realized there was only one way I could get Leena down to safety...
I faced the cliff and took a few steps back toward the now collapsed entrance...I still didn't know how to fly...but I was gonna have to find out one way or the other...it was my last chance...I took a deep breath, made sure Leena was secure...and I spread my wings as I ran to the edge, jumping off the cliff as far as I could to let gravity take control of me...
Fortune was finally on my side for once. Above the trees, air traveled fiercely under my wings as I soared in the sky....I wished the situation was better so could enjoy the thrill of flying for the first time...I looked back to Leena, she was still unconscious, I felt worried.
I finally found a clearing and landed. I carefully put Leena on the grass and she rested peacefully on her back. I just looked down at her, feeling a chill travel my spine.
"Mrow?" I forgot she couldn't understand me...I remember back in the cave and I focused on her, "Leena?" I spoke to her mind.
....
There wasn't a sound. "L-Leena?" I began to feel desperate.
Still silence.
That empty feeling returned..."I-I'm sorry...This wasn't supposed to happen, Leena wake up!" I stood there on my four paws, even the broken one, looking down at Leena the same way an animal would look at it's dead child.
"Please open your eyes...." My vision had blurred quickly and tears fell down my scaly cheek. I nudged her, some of my blood being wiped on the grass and on her shoulder.
She didn't react at all....I couldn't tell if she was alive or not....she just wasn't moving.
"Mow....?" I muttered pitifully, hoping she would move. My tears fell off the tip of my snout into the blood in the grass.
I looked around myself, at the trees of the forest. Their bloom had dimmed to a empty darkness...like the sun was blown out like a candle. I closed my tearful eyes and my head spun horribly. I roared out, "RAA!!" Hoping someone would hear me..."Someone ...please help...."
"_She can't be....
Maybe she'll...wake up......if I go away...
....No!....I can't leave her.....I won't...._
"
I rested by her, crying over her...I wouldn't leave her...I could feel my own consciousness fading away in the haze of physical and emotional pain....
It wasn't supposed to end like this....this is all my fault...
I closed my eyes and lay my head down beside hers, where I was being pulled into my own darkness...
I would stay here...and wait until she wakes up and I can see her okay and happy again....even if I have to wait......until I die....
***
to be continued...