Out of the Blue

Lygawa dumped the big bag of coco pods and crashed to the fern covered floor.

{Mai please keep low and quiet, yes.}

"What was that sound?"

Mai slid off her smooth side, but held onto the rope loop, as the silver dragon carefully backed herself out of it.

{It is another... dragon!}

"Another...?"

Mai held the rope high to let Lygawa duck her curved horns below it.

{Not a friendly one either...}

Free of the sturdy grip for her rider, she swung her head to look about again.

"It sounded angry..."

A nearer screech sounded.

Lygawa looked highly agitated, but she turned to look at Mai intently with her bright green eyes.

{Whatever happens - do not run!}

Suddenly she jumped off between the trunks, before flashing her wings and taking to the sky again.

Mai was left in silence for a few moments, staying put beside the abandoned cargo, she returned the rope and cloak to their carry bag, before hearing sounds that shook the air all around her.

Thuds, cracks and more screeches echoed down from high above the trees, well before Mai caught sight of what made them.

Suddenly two winged lizards flew into view, between the trees gaps above; Mai could see them fighting each other viciously through the air, with unmatched speed and power.

Whoa!

Through the canopy of shifting leaves, Mai could see only a little of their confrontation and not in good detail either, but it seemed that Lygawa was at some disadvantage. Even though she was much quicker, every attempted blow she tried against the other larger dragon failed to land, almost like a barrier impeded her strikes from landing somehow.

As the tussle continued, Lygawa looked to be driven back, or she was purposefully leading the bigger and bluer creature away from Mai, either way, as they moved more distant, Mai could see less, till eventually she couldn't tell where they were at all.

Suddenly she had an overwhelming feeling that she was in grave danger.

I have to move... and now!

Cautiously and carefully Mai moved away from the big bag of coco pods, trying her best to not make any major sounds, carting the carry bag still in her hands before her, she listened and watched out for whatever gave her the impending doom sensations.

After a couple of dozen steps of movement away, something rustled the highest parts of the trees nearby, so Mai hid behind the nearest tree, pressing her back against the soft moss covered trunk, and putting the carry bag ever so gently down before her feet.

Is it that other dragon, or something else...?

The leaves above rustled again.

Mai held her breath, and would have liked her heart to have stopped thudding in her chest too, but instead she smothered her hands tightly over it.

Then without warning - the world behind her suddenly exploded; with bright light and heat, which rushed past her sides, before fizzling out.

Another loud shriek brought her hands up to clasp over her ears, but that was all Mai would allow of herself to move.

A skitter amongst the foliage some distance away was seen and heard, and a moment later that very area was bombarded with the same bright inferno of heat as well.

I know why Lygawa warned me not to run...!

Other area's then received the same treatment, as scared creatures apparently attempted to flee, but were immediately burnt to crisps when they did.

A moment of peace was given, before the rustles of leaves were superseded by great strong wingbeats, which grew distant before totally fading away.

Mai waited as a statue a while longer, before peering cautiously around the tree she took refuge behind, seeing a blackened scar in the forests greens, where she had stood before.

If that thing came back here... what happened to Lygawa...?

Thinking it best to wait patiently, both to doubly make sure it had truly departed, and until she had the strength back in her legs to successfully walk again, she remained perfectly still, until other 'life' resumed in her surroundings, so as the birds resumed their chirping and movements, only then did Mai tentatively step forth again.

The large bag and its contents had totally been totally incinerated, as had the nearest trees and plants that had been ground cover all around it.

I'm sure glad I moved when I did...

Hopefully the stronger smell of the coco had been the target, but Mai wasn't going to wait around - in case it decided to come back to finish her off.

I have no idea of the distance, but at least I'm pretty sure of the direction I want...

Mai set out for home, thankfully away from the departed other dragon's direction too, leaving the full carry bag by the life saving tree, as it would only slow her with its weight.

For what seemed like hours, Mai carefully weaved between the dense forest's many trees and shrubs, all the while - doing so as quickly, but quietly, as possible, so not to attract the wrong attention to her.

Really, in this part of the deep forest, she didn't want any attention at all, as more than just dangerous dragons lurked about in here, and with only a found handy sized stick, that also helped with the unstable ground about her, Mai treaded as cautiously as she could.

Every now and then she stopped to listen out for anything out of the ordinary, but the forest was actually fairly noisy, as well as warm and tough to navigate through, so most breaks turned into short rests instead.

If I wasn't half scared out of my mind, this place was like a real life rainforest documentary... teeming with life and activity, being both strangely beautiful and deadly too...

After a little while of these stop and starts, Mai did hear something odd coming up from behind her.

It was almost like a whip, cracking occasionally through the forest, snapping through the undergrowth as it moved through, so she darted behind another thick tree again to hopefully hide.

It sounds very quick and noisy - so my guess is it's powerful too...

It sounded like whatever it was, was drawing near, so Mai readied her walking stick.

As if this would do any good against -!

A blur suddenly darted between her protecting tree and the next nearest, before bouncing from another a few meters ahead - to double back and land just before her in an instant.

"Mai I found you!"

Lygawa skittered dirt, leaves and little sticks from her silver shoes as she skidded to a halt before the hiding human.

"Thank heavens it's you!"

Mai dropped the stick and hugged the dragon-girl with relief.

"I thought the worst - when I snuck back to where I left you before..."

Lygawa hugged her back.

"But we are still unsafe here..."

The silvery girl held her back and looked around them with wide green eyes, again on edge.

"Please hop on, and I shall carry us away..."

"Uh one problem..."

Mai pointed out as she turned and offered her back.

"...it's already occupied."

Lygawa had obviously rescued the full carry bag first.

"Oh, you have it then, yes?"

Swapping the bag to behind Mai's shoulders quickly, Lygawa then held her nice and firmly to her back, before bouncing off with ample speed again.

It didn't bother her if Mai and the backpack were heavy, as she made inhuman leaps and bounds look mostly effortless. Even in her humanoid form; she'd made it all the way to the forests edge in no time at all and it was only then she carefully offered to let Mai down.

"You okay, yes?"

She stepped back to scan Mai again, but appeared satisfied.

Mai nodded, and then Lygawa sighed.

"I think we'll be alright this far away from him..."

"Do you know that blue dragon?"

Mai asked.

"Yes - he is a bully, with no care for humans, or even other dragons really..."

A faint screech echoed down into the valley from the forest, switching Lygawa back to a tense mode again.

"He is called Grasis... and I believe he means to drive us away from here..."

"But..."

...the village is only just a little way down the valley from here...!