Writing Exercise 5/6/19 Tiny Dragon

Natalie yelped as she tripped over a tree root and tumbled into the underbrush, her armload of sticks flying everywhere. Panting, she lay there in the snow and brush, taking stock of her injuries. Overall, not bad, she thought as she closed her eyes and sighed. The ankle was definitely twisted, possibly sprained, but other than a few scrapes and bruises she thought she would be fine.

“Screeeee!” A small creature cried, and Natalie’s head shot up. She examined the creature in front of her. It was about the size of a house cat, white and fluffy like a small angry cloud. Snow swirled down around it, and she realized that it would have been very hard to spot, had it not made its displeasure known. It flapped its wings and bristled at her.

“Screeeeee!” It scolded again. She peered into the small cave entrance she had uncovered by squashing the brush beneath her and her eyes widened as she realized this was no ordinary animal. Its amethyst colored eyes narrowed and its nostrils flared, as it took a long, deep breath.

“Oh!” Natalie gasped, rolling out of the way just in time. A small gout of flame shot past her right shoulder. She sat up and scooted back, giving the creature a little more room. It snorted and shook its head, then turned and swiftly disappeared into the small black hole it had emerged from.

She sat still, in fear and wonderment, and stared at the empty spot the creature had just vacated. Had that really been…a dragon?

“I didn’t expect it to be furry.” She mused aloud as she tugged her jacket tighter around her, shivering slightly. “Then again, I didn’t think they were real at all, so why not?”

Natalie slowly stood up, and tested her ankle carefully. It was sore, but she thought she could make it back to camp without damaging it further.  She took stock of her surroundings, committing the area to memory. “What a story I’ll have to tell over the camp fire tonight! Samantha and Jory will never believe me though without proof…I’ll have to remember how to get back here so I can show them and they can see with their own eyes.”

Gathering her sticks together again, she prepared to return to camp. It would be a long trek with her ankle aching with each step, but she didn’t mind. Her thoughts preoccupied with the little dragon she had found, she barely noticed the pain. Was it alone, or did it have family nearby? Was it a baby, or just naturally small? She had so many questions, and so few answers. She wondered if she came back when it was calmer and tempted it with some of her beef jerky if she might befriend the tiny beast. Could it perhaps be tamed?

Natalie grinned at the thought of her own pet dragon, perching on her shoulder and spitting fire at people she disliked. She knew it probably wouldn’t work that way in practice, but in theory it was fun to think about. She laughed and shook her head. What would her mother say if she brought home such an outrageous pet?

Finally arriving back at camp, she dumped the pile of sticks near the camp fire and dusted the snow off of herself. Natalie stood up straight and prepared to relay her tale, despite the good-natured heckling she knew she would get. It would be worth it when they finally saw the fierce little thing and knew she wasn’t making it up. Besides, she was determined to befriend the creature, no matter how long it might take. Who wouldn’t want to be friends with a dragon?