Young Writers Society

Zoltar was hit with a tsunami of emotions. What was Emerald doing here and how did that affect him? Should he let her know he was here or should he stay hidden? She seemed upset, but why? Could this be his chance to get a scale?

He laughed at himself. How could he even think that? He couldn’t move without pain, much less fight a dragon for a scale. That would have to wait.

He could try to make friends with Emerald though. She was in a vulnerable position emotionally and shouldn’t see him as a threat because of his wounds. Getting her to trust him would make getting a scale much easier later. Besides, she was bound to find him at some point. He didn’t have much to lose.

Slowly he got to his feet, cringing at the pain it brought. Being as quiet as possible, he peered out from his hideout behind the stalagmites.

Emerald was sitting near the entrance to the cave, her scales matching the swirling raindrops as she stared out over the forest. Although not a sound escaped her jaws, tears still streamed down her snout.

Zoltar found himself at a bit of a loss. Should he make a noise to let her know he was here, should he quietly walk up to her or wait until she found him? All seemed to be as awkward as the other.

Maybe staying in his hiding spot and making a noise would be the best course of action. Then she’d find him, but wouldn’t know that he’d seen her already. He could pretend to have just woken up.

Zoltar settled back down and scraped his tail against the rock floor ever so lightly.

He heard Emerald quickly get to her paws, startled by the sudden noise. The sharp clack of talons coming towards him echoed throughout the cave.

“Zoltar?”

Zoltar looked up to see Emerald staring down at him, her scales a rolling ocean of conflicting colors.

“What are you doing here?” she asked, bewilderment written all over her snout.

“It was a cave to spend the night,” Zoltar shifting to a sitting position.

“You’re hurt,” Emerald eyed his wounds, her face having gone from confusion to concern, “Fu Lung Raptors?”

“I guess. I don’t really know the wildlife around here.”

“You shouldn’t be on this island. I told you last time it’s dangerous. If the elders even caught me talking to you they’d have us both killed,” she turned away from him, walking back towards the entrance of the cave.

“Wait, Emerald,” Zoltar limped after her. He couldn’t let an opportunity like this slip from his grasp, “Maybe we can help each other.”

“Stop calling me by my name. We shouldn’t be talking. I shouldn’t have let you live the first time we met, much less now.”

“Would it really hurt to talk a bit? We are in a cave in the middle of a storm.”

Emerald glanced back at him, her eyes darting back and forth between him and the forest. Finally she sighed and said, “Fine. I guess it wouldn’t do any harm. It’s not like you’re going anywhere in a hurry with those wounds and no one knows about this cave. They’re too afraid to stray far from the village.”

Zoltar breathed a sigh of relief and sat down a respectful distance from Emerald. He knew he was taking a big risk, but at this rate it was his best chance at getting a scale. She seemed nice enough so far.

“So what did you want to say Shadow Talon?” Emerald asked.

“I guess I’m just curious as to why you were crying. I would have come out earlier, but I wasn’t sure if it was safe or not.”

“I wouldn’t say you’re safe yet,” Emerald said, flexing her claws, “You’re wounded and alone. It’s not a good position to be in.”

“Then why haven’t you killed me already? You could have the moment you saw me?” Zoltar hoped his hunch was right. She’d hesitated to kill him before out in the open. Would she open up now that they were alone with him in a weak state?

“Because I don’t think it right. We never used to do it and we did fine,” Emerald hissed, snapping her teeth, “We don’t have much of a choice now though. It’s either you or a Wisp Talon.”

“What do you mean?”

“I guess I might as well tell you. It won’t make a difference if you know or not,” Emerald hunched her wings, “It’s full moon in a few days. The night the Death Grippers emerge from the misty maze around the island to hunt. The elders give the Death Grippers one Wisp Talon every full moon. It stops them from coming into the village and killing more dragons. At least, that’s what they’ve told us.” She sighed, “They said that we could replace the Wisp Talon with any outsider we found.”

Zoltar looked on amazed. He hadn’t expected this. The Wisp Talons were sacrificing their own kind to appease these Death Grippers. No wonder they were so vicious towards outsiders. It was to protect their own tribe, but why would their leaders do this? It was barbaric. Surely there was a better way?

“I don’t believe it though,” Emerald snarled, grating her claws against the rock floor, “It doesn’t make sense. The Death Grippers preyed upon us many years back, why would giving them one Wisp Talon every full moon stop that? Surely they’d carry on hunting us,” Emerald’s scales were a raging fire of crimson and gold, “I think we’re being lied to, being used. The elders have always been hungry for power. I think this is their way of keeping it.”

She went silent as fresh tears began rolling down her face.

Zoltar didn’t know what to do. He suddenly felt guilt for his previous thoughts. Emerald wasn’t one of those monsters he’d seen that first night on the island. There was much more to this than he’d first thought. She was in a really difficult position. Kill outsiders or lose a fellow Wisp Talon. He knew what he’d choose if he was in her situation.

Emerald looked up, blinking through the tears, “It wasn’t that bad in the beginning. They took the old and the sick; dragons that we already knew were on their way to death. Not that that makes it any better. I thought I was safe, that my sister and family were safe, but they weren’t,” she clenched her paws, taking a deep breath, “They took my sister last full moon. I never saw Lera again.”

“Oh Emerald I’m so sorry,” Despite the danger, Zoltar padded up to her and placed a paw on hers.

Emerald sighed and looked at him, but didn’t pull away.

“I lost my brother,” Zoltar whispered, “I know what it feels like. It devours you from the inside like some ravenous beast. Questions fill your head. What could you have done to stop it? The answer ringing your head the whole time. It’s too late. There’s nothing you could do.”

They sat in silence for a moment.

“I come here every night now,” Emerald whispered, “This was our secret cave. We discovered it back when we were dragonets,” she smiled, her eyes still echoing her loss, “I’m not sure why, but it’s almost like she’s here with me.”

“I’m sorry I disturbed you.

“It’s okay. It’s kind of nice to have company,” Emerald huffed, “It seems weird talking to you like this, but I could never be open with the other Wisp Talons. They’re all too scared to. No one can speak against the elders,” she looked out into the rain soaked night, “I know I’ve told you this before Zoltar, but I really mean it. You need to get off this island. It’s not safe for you and I can’t guaranty the next time you run into me that I’ll be able to let you go. If another Wisp Talon’s with me, I’ll have to kill you and I don’t want to do that. It’s not right. Besides, you seem nice and it would be a shame for you to fall victim to us.”

“Well I would leave, but I can’t exactly do that now,” Zoltar motioned to his wings, “I can’t fly. Getting enough food is going to be hard enough. Trying to get off the island right now is impossible.”

Emerald looked at him, her eyes darting from him to the back of the cave as if considering something.

“You know, I might be able to help with that,” she got up and heading towards the back of the cave, her jade green tail trailing behind her.

Zoltar hesitated. He didn’t have much to lose. He was practically defenseless and she hadn’t attacked him. Why would she do that now? Besides her story seemed genuine and she seemed like a nice dragoness. Something told him he could trust her. She’d gone through a lot of pain in her life. In many ways the same pain he’d gone through. It was strange to think about it, but they were more alike than he’d first thought.

Slowly, Zoltar got to his feet and followed her deeper into the cave.