Dragon Story: Chapter 4
Chapter 4 of my dragon story. Watch me for more! ^.=.^
Sitting alone deep in thought, Celadon looked at himself in the woven grass surrounded mirror, studying his features closely. His eyes were hollow, no expression. He had a small scale missing from the left side of his snout, leaving soft white flesh unprotected. Dried blood was on his throat with a small scab near the crimson stain. He brought his tail into the mirrors reflection and observed the sharp point with pride. His elegant triangular shaped tail was the sharpest in the tribe! Some dragons said his tail tip resembled a mirona leaf, but Celadon knew they were just guessing, for they only saw claw sketches on limestone of what they truly looked like. He slowly spread his wings, letting the light from the lairs entrance flood through the thin membrane. They were the color of new spring grass after a rain shower. Celadon noticed a thin line wandering across the webbing of his left wing, a dark shadow in a bright green forest. Memories haunted him, remembering the pure pain that had happened only a day before... Celadon turned away from the mirror and let a single tear slide down his cheek. He was still in disbelief that Lilica was gone, but he knew what he had to do. He had to go to the ceremony. With heavy steps, the downhearted dragon left the cave and spread his wings once more, and headed towards the mint smelling cave, filled with the glowing lichen.
"Hello? Diablodon I still have to find the right oils for polishing the leather. It's only the beginning of Spri-." Mirona sighed as she saw the familiar green scales. "Oh sorry Celadon, didn't know it was you. Diablodon wants to shine up the leather for the cere- Sorry." Mirona bowed her head, feeling bad for mentioning the sorrowful night ahead of them. "It's ok. I need to get over it honestly. I was wondering if you could..." Celadon paused, feeling embarrassed asking a female dragon to help him get ready. Mirona chuckled, a small smile on her face. "Sure I can help, I don't mind cleaning people up. Besides I kinda- well that's not important, what matters is getting your scales shined and your claws sharpened." Mirona went over to a shelf of sweet smelling oils and hesitated, staring at one single bottle. She grabbed it gingerly, and slowly pulled off the stopper on the top of the elaborate flower covered flask and inhaled the scent deeply. "Ahhh...Mirona essence....this is the only one 'good' enough for you, I believe..." she whispered loudly, her eyes drifting around in her head. "Mirona, why use such a special fragrance on my scales? It's not even worth it, besides, that stuff is probably worth more than my whole hide to the humans!" Celadon exclaimed, the scent drifting into his own nostrils and filling his mind with the sweet smell. "Cela, trust me, you're worth much more than this, after all, you are..." the blue dragoness dropped off on her sentence, carefully grabbed more oils off the shelf, gathered some warm cloth that she had been warming over the fire, and walked over to the warn out dragon. Celadon sighed with pleasure as he felt the warm cloth rub against his scales, making them shine with grand splendor. Mirona cleaned every scale with the gentlest of care, cleaning under the hard armor as well, making Celadon feel 'fresh'. After the scale was complete, she put the smallest amount of mirona flower essence on the scale and smeared it softly around with a silky cloth. A gleam of pride showed in the dragonesses eyes, every scale a piece of art. Mirona sharpened his claws till they were as sharp as his tail, and rubbed them with a tree sap and lavender oil mix, making them harder and shine with menace. She even found an incredibly hard whetstone and sharpened his tail-tip to even a sharper point than usual. Celadon's tongue tingled as a mint paste dripped onto it, the medical dragon taking an oxtail brush to the yellowed teeth, making them pearly white. Then Mirona got to his wings, and noticed the scar. "Hmm, how did you get this? I don't ever remember seeing this on you before, not even earlier today, nor when your parents got ill," she eyed the wing carefully and switched her field of vision so she could see the green dragons sparkling eyes. "Yesterday... a malachite pillar carrying the nets that trapped Lilica and I pierced through it," he replied, looking down at his shiny talons, avoiding Mirona's gaze. "But how on earth did this heal in less than 24 hours? That's impossible, is it not?" The blue dragoness looked deeply into his eyes, as if looking for something. "Well I thought it was. But...can you keep a secret? Please I only want you to know," Celadon pleaded, his tail twitching slightly. "Anything for you, Celadon" Mirona smiled. With a deep breath, Celadon told her about the blue light that emitted from his being, and how powerful he felt, and how the pillar snapped from the light as she rubbed cherry oil onto the membrane, making it soft. As Mirona heard his story, her eyes widened with wonder, her feathered tail swished on the floor, and when Celadon was done telling his story, she stopped rubbing his wings, and looked straight into his eyes. "Celadon, after the ceremony, you must go somewhere, alone. I cannot come with you, and you must make sure no one follows you, not even me. All of us make this journey some day, but you must go tonight, when the ceremonies are complete. Fly to the other side of the valley, until you reach the mountains. Then fly 20 leagues north until you find Wing Rock, you cannot mistake it. Find the cave entrance, and enter the cave. Make sure that no one is following you, or if you do, something bad will happen, understood?" she told Celadon in a demanding tone. He was surprised at how serious she seemed about this single journey. She continued. "Go to the far back of the cavern, where the thundering waterfall is, on the mid-right. I cannot tell you the rest, for it is different for you than it is for I." Celadon nodded, understanding what she was saying. He was unlike the others. The shimmering green dragon stalked towards the cave entrance, pausing for a moment. "Thank you, Mirona, for preparing me for tonight. You spent so much of your precious time on me when you had to gather the grasses for Diablodon. I will see you at the ceremony, right?" he asked, hoping she would. "Of course I'll be there; after all, I believe something... extraordinary that has never happened before will happen tonight. I wouldn't be surprised if it's told down for generations." Mirona exclaimed, a twinkle of excitement slowing in her icy blue eyes, but they weren't icy at all, they really showed- Celadon didn't know what it was before he left the cave. "Take care!" The dragoness roared from inside the glowing nest. Celadon smiled, knowing he would see her once again. He wandered through the grasslands around the camp, thinking of the night ahead of the whole tribe, and he wondered what Mirona was talking about the night being 'extraordinary'.
The shiny dragon went back to his cave to think more clearly, hoping the comforts of home would help him get over his emotions, as well as she what Mirona had done to him. As he went through the entrance of the cave, a strand of ivy smacked him in the eye. Celadon let smoke fume from his nostrils in annoyance, blinking quickly trying to get rid of the painful sting. He trudged on into the lair, and when he arrived at the grass-bordered mirror, he gasped. Every scale was a green star, each shining like a small sun. His wings rubbed against them felt like carefully twisted silk, incredibly smooth and strong. Each of his talons were dangerously sharp, future death lighting the smooth curves. The scar on his wing was, Celadon thought, more visible, as if Mirona had purposely made it darker than the rest of the wing. He couldn't even notice the missing scale on his snout. He smelled amazing as well, the vibrant sweet smell of the mirona essence flooding his mind. Wow... was all Celadon could think about his image. He looked....dazzling, he thought, flexing his muscles in the mirror, pride filling his eyes. He couldn't help but smile from Mirona's efforts, her doing the best she could. But then the thought of the night before him made him shiver. He turned away from the mirror, not wanting to see the majestic dragon in the mirror crying. Why do the gods hate me so... thought Celadon, tears sliding down his cheek. He was tired of all the blood spilt; he was tired of all the death that had contaminated this beautiful world. He knew there was a death awaiting him, but the murderous way Lilica died... and the disturbing last words... Celadon looked out the ivy-draped exit of his cave, and saw the dying sun gliding down the horizon, darkness stalking the sun, enveloping the sky. The green dragon saw only one star, the brightest one of them all, shining through the spring sunset. Thoughts of the night before him made him long for his parents; he remembered the night of their passing ceremony. The thoughts made him shiver. He couldn't help puzzling about what Mirona was talking about earlier, and he pondered what she could have meant about something extraordinary happening. Celadon looked yet again outside, seeing the sun disappear behind the mountains, where Mirona had said where the cave where he was destined to go to was located.