User:Triskelelynx\Flight Chapter 1

Shay sat on the grass of a woodland clearing , naked except for her boots and covered with blood. She had been hiking in the Rocky Mountains, when she had been assaulted by three men. She gave a good fight, landing some solid blows, but in the end had been overcome. As the other two pinned her to the ground, the leader cut off her clothing. Now, at least two were dead. The leader's corpse lay across her legs, decapitated by something too fast and too vast for her adrenalin-soaked brain to comprehend. One of his henchmen hung halfway up a tall fir tree, with a broken branch protruding from his throat. She didn't know what happened to the other one, but by the sound of his scream as he disappeared, she wasn't sure she wanted to.

All she had was an impression of vast wings and teeth as long as the hunting knife the headless man had used on her clothes.

It was the third day of her vacation. Two weeks in the woods to restore her soul before she had to go back and deal with the irate customers and her supervisor's cutting sarcasm.

Something large and dark flashed in the corner of her vision. A rush of air and a booming of large wings in the clearing behind her made her turn around.

It took a few seconds for her brain to process what her eyes were seeing. Wings as large as her uncle's Cessna attached to a body similar in proportion. A long neck like a greyhound's supported a lizard-like head. And, yet, despite it's size, it exuded a predator's lethal grace, much like the orcas she had seen the previous summer. It even had similar coloration, dark grey above, and pale below.

Do not be afraid The words seem to echo inside her skull. She shook her head.

Two golden sized eyes regarded her calmly through slit pupils. Below them was a long snout. It was closed, but Shay was sure the teeth were in proportion to the claws.

I won't hurt you. Do not be afraid.

"Wh-wha ..." she stammerred. "You - you're a ..."

A dragon, yes. But you do not need to be afraid. I will not hurt you.