Dawn of Redemption

 A sound like a rock grating onto rock split the chill silence in the air, startling a flock of starlings into the sky. Another splitting, grating scream followed, and then the high-pitched scream ended with a chest-deep, agonized rumble.

 Below the dark green canopy of the forest, a magnificent creature writhed weakly in the overturned, scarred earth: a dragon. His long, hooked pale green talons, stained brown and red with blood and earth, clawed at the moss-and-leaf covered ground, sending up wafts of rot and wet dirt. His scaly emerald green lips twitched and curled upwards, revealing knife-like white fangs as he growled in pain once again. His immense nostrils flared violently and his tail continued to twitch and write wildly as if it were dying snake.

 He glanced up at the shaft of sunlight beating down on his dusty, once-gleaming grass green scales with great dilated, hazy eyes and cursed its heat. The trees above and surrounding him were bent, scarred, and torn from the dragon's fall from the sky and debris littered the ground around the broken bodies of the trees and the dragon.

 The dragon keened painfully then braced his forelegs against the ground at either side of it. There was no use lying there...he had to move....quickly...

 A sharp, high-pitched roar erupted from his snout that the pressure applied to his torn, mangled right flank, flaring thought his body lake the merciless white heat of a hot iron. He panted through clenched fangs and squeezed his eyes shut, trying to endure the agony that burned through his great body. He could feel the stinging pain of the slight, cool wind blowing through the torn membranes of his immense wings.

 The forest seemed to hold its breath as the dragon became limp once more and his green wings twitched violently. A stag and his doe watched with great dark eyes and ears tilted forward with interest, catching the sound of the dragon's labored breathing, the dry, scraping noise of his scales chafing against each other, and the swish of his restless tail against the forest floor. With a soft snort and a flick of the stag's large ears, the pair bounded away, leaving the dragon in his struggle.

 The dragon lifted his heavy, horse-like head, not without forced effort, and swung his long sinuous neck to where his massive head was level with his throbbing, burning wound. He winced at the damage dealt there, where most of his scales on his right flank were torn or scraped off, arrows stuck out of his underbelly like a pincushion, and blood and forest debris clung to a nasty, long deep wound from his shoulder down to his foreleg where blood dripped down into a small dark red puddle from one talon.

 His lips twitched with disgust and his talons sunk into the soft earth as an attempt to suppress the anger he felt boiling in his blood despite his extreme pain. He thought back to when all of that happened, and a series of sensations collided into him, one after another.

 Shrieks and thundering roars.

 Battle cries.

 The leathery flap of wings.

 Hoofbeats and the metallic clash of armor and weapons.

 Talons scraping upon metal.

 Flashing swords.

 Glinting fangs.

 Stinging arrows.

 But there was one memory in particular that he saw so clearly...

 A large fearless human clad in blood stained armor closed the distance between it and himself with a cold, killing stare in his eyes. The dragon turned to glance over his shoulder and saw three dragonlings cowering behind him in the shadows of a rock wall they were pressed up against, wide-eyed and whimpering with fear.

 "Don't let it get us!" one dragonling, his brother, squeaked.

 Roaring with fury, the dragon spun around with a fiery vengeance and lashed out at the humans with talons, teeth, and fire.

 The rest was a blur.

 There was pain...anger...

 And the high-pitched cries of dying dragonlings.

 A twig snapped, and the dragon came back from his reverie with a startled snarl. His head, nevermind how unfocused and heavy it felt, swung this way and that, eyes daring whatever was out there to come closer.

 A cluster of bushes a little distance away from his snout shook, and immediately, the dragon smelled wolf and....what was that other scent?

 The bushes spasmed once more before a human-shaped figure stepped out cautiously. It was female, as far as the dragon could tell, and she didn't quite look like a human, nor did she smell like a sweaty human...On closer inspection, the dragon saw that her eyes were slightly slanted upwards and she moved with confident, graceful surefooted stride. A human is certainly not capable of moving like that.

 Of course! She was an elf, and a wood elf at that. How curious, the dragon thought with a quiet, pensive rumble, Elves were not heard of for centuries.

 The wood elf turned her head, and a large shaggy dark gray wolf emerged from the bushes, regarding the dragon with the same respectful, curious gaze the elf gave hiim. The wolf and the elf looked at each other with a silent message evident in their eyes, then looked at the dragon once more.

 The dragon became unnerved by their stillness and silence and arched his neck like a snake about to strike. The wolf stiffened immediately and his soft amber eyes became ships of ice as his ears tilted forward and his tail rose in a show of aggression. The elf held out and arm to bar his way and within an instant, the wolf's belligerent grimace melted into a docile expression, though his eyes still regarded the dragon with suspicion.

 The elf locked her deep brown eyes with the dragon's own poison green irises and made a gesture of friendship by placing two fingers over her heart, a gesture almost long forgotten as the elves themselves. The dragon's tail twitched once and he snorted softly. He felt calmer, his heart racing less swiftly, so it knew he no longer considered the elf girl a threat, though he made a mental note to be cautious of her wolf.

 However, with the tension in its body gone, the pain in his severe wounds came back to him at full force, and the dragon winced violently with a low, loud groan. He scrabbled at the ground with desperate talons, his tattered wings flapped awkwardly like the broken wings of a bird, and his eyes became clouded and wide as he gasped at the burning pain.

 The elf's face became stricken with concern and she leaped quickly at his side, putting a gentle hand on his long thick neck. The dragon, now unconscious of his actions, snarled sharply at the sudden contact and struck with fangs aiming at the elf girl's throat.

 The wolf sprung into immediate action and before the dragon was within biting distance, he pounced onto the dragon's neck and pinned him down with all of the strength in his body. The difference in size between the wolf and the dragon was astounding; the dragon was the size of a very large Clydesdale horse, for he was not a fully-grown dragon, and yet the wolf was still able to immobilize the writhing, strong neck of the dragon.

 The dragon squeaked, snorted and snarled beneath the crushing weight of the wolf and his wings still flapped, though the movements were much weaker and half-hearted. He was finally exhausted.  

 The elf took a brief second to grieve over the broken, pathetic appearance of such a majestic, beautiful creature before approaching the dragon's horrific bloody wound.

 The dragon's large nostrils contracted and dilated as he breathed heavily, feelings the elf's deft fingers pick around his wound, removing the bits of debris around and within his wound; it would wince and growl sharply when she would accidentally pick at a particularly tender spot, which seldom happened, and she would pat his neck apologetically.

 What confounded it was that it would hear a soft voice in its head, flowing though its mind in an enchanting, soothing song, and suddenly, the voice would be abruptly cut off, then continue again. The dragon forgot all about its pain, for all of its focus was on that perplexing song in its head.

 His jaws parted suddenly. It understood what it was. It attempted to raise its head, but in that second it forgot all about the wolf, and the instant its head came off of the ground, the wolf rumbled a warning growl and pinned its large head down with a harsh paw.

 The music in the dragon's head stopped suddenly as the elf frowned at the wolf, her intelligent eyes becoming sharp with annoyance and her fine eyebrows wrinkling together.

 The wolf looked up at her defiantly and his ears flattened back to his head. The elf sighed in frustration and continued to stare at the wolf with an unwavering, commanding gaze. After what seemed an eternity for the dragon, the wolf's ears twitched in an annoyed fashion, then he stepped off of the dragon with a huff.

 The dragon sighed with relief and rose his sore, stiff neck. He ignored the wolf's distrusting stare as it turned its long neck to look at the elf, who busied herself once more with his wound.

 The elf sensed his gaze on her and paused briefly to turn her head to look at him. The dragon noticed how intently she was looking at him and blinked in wonder. He held his breath and attempted to quiet his thoughts.

 "...What I can-injury-than I thought-help," came a voice faintly from the back of his mind. So he was right.

 Her thoughts were broken and muffled as if she was speaking to him through a mouthful of cotton. The scales between his eyes scrunched together ans he frowned with focus. His grandsire had taught him of mind-speak so maybe he could pull it off...

 Two energies of consciousness reached out to each other like hands searching for each other in complete darkness. These hands touched at the fingertips, one withdrew with surprise and the other remained still as if it expected this electrifying contact. Intrigued, the skittish hand stretched out once more and the hands held on to one another, molding together and becoming one.

 "You can understand me," the elf girl said this as a statement, not a question, with her mind. She smiled and waited for his response.

 The dragon blinked a few times before thinking to her, "Yes. But before we get all acquainted with each other, can you please do something about ah! my wound?" He flinched with a low squeak when he moved his right shoulder, for the movement traveled down to his mangled wound and caused it to smart painfully.

 The elf's face became grim as she looked at the wound. "As I had said before, dragon, I'll do what I can. Your injury is much more serious than I had once thought. We will be in need of help."

 The dragon puffed with annoyance. "Well isn't that brilliant? My savior is in need of a savior."

 The elf looked at him sharply and looked as if she was going to reply with a smart remark, but the wolf stepped forward with hardened amber eyes and a low growl.

 "She's doing what she can, reptile. Be thankful that she took you into consideration," he too spoke with his mind.

 The dragon didn't know what he found more astonishing: the fact that he had completely forgotten about that wolf or that the wolf can hear the thoughts between himself and the elf.

 The wolf continued, sitting on his haunches and giving the elf a swift side glance. "Besides, she is tired, so I'm not sure how much she can help you with."

 It was then when the dragon noticed the weariness on the elf's face. Her kind face seemed to be haggard and drained and her clothes were worn and tattered. The dragon's hea tilted slightly as he wondered what has happened to her.

 "We traveled far, and our journey is not yet over," the elf answered his question. Oh. Why had he forgotten about the connection in their minds? The elf looked at the dragon's wound once more. "Allow me to see what I can do..."

 She bent at a low crouch and carefully took hold of one of the arrows in his underbelly. She glanced up at the dragon. "Forgive me. This will hurt." She pulled out the arrow in one swift movement, causing the dragon to snarl painfully and snap at the air with vengeful teeth. There were six in all, and the dragon was relieved once they were all removed, though he felt unbelievably exhausted. He was lying on his uninjured side with his eyes closed at this time. He was weak with pain.

 However, he mustered the energy to crack an eye open, a mere poison green slit, as he watched the girl spread the palms of her hand toward the raw, tender wounds. If he were alert and focused, the dragon would have heard her mutter a swift healing spell beneath her breath in Elvish tongue.

 Both of the dragon's eyes opened in astonishment when a glowing, fluorescent pale green light flowed softly from the palms of her hands into his wound. As soon as the light touched his mangled flesh, the dragon felt a soothing coolness spread throughout his entire body, from snout to tail-tip. The sensation was akin to drinking icy cold water and feeling it slither down a parched throat. At the same time, the torn flesh of the wound slowly threaded together until only the long clean cut on his side remained, bright red with unshed blood.

 The elf's arms trembled violently and an intense dizziness swam around her head. She gasped harshly and would have collapsed froward into the dragon weren't it for the quick reflexes of her wolf, coming in between her and the dragon in a single bound to allow her to lean heavily on his strong back.

 "Ah...I'm sorry. That's all I can do for now..." came the elf's exhausted thoughts.

 The wolf whined sympathetically and nudged her cheek with his cold black nose. "Don't strain yourself. You did brilliantly."

 The elf smiled warmly at the wolf and lifted a hand to cup the side of his furry face. A flurry of warm, affectionate emotions directed itself toward the wolf, to which he wagged his tail in return like a devoted puppy. The dragon observed these displays of affection with a cold painful pang in his heart. Everyone he'd ever felt close to were dead or enslaved by humans...he was alone.

 The elf and the wolf sensed his grief and heard his bitter thoughts. They rose their eyes to meet those of the sorrowful dragon, one pair of eyes soft with compassionate sympathy and the other uncertain with the indecision of feeling sorry for a possible enemy. Annoyed at the pitying stares, the dragon looked away sharply with an angry rumble.

 The wolf looked at the wolf once more. "You need to go get help. Our friends are not far from here...Do you think you can muster it?" Her brown furrowed worriedly.

 The corners of the wolf's mouth seemed to curl up in a smirk. "Do you honestly know who you're talking to? Of course I can." He nudged her shoulder then looked at the dragon, the playful, loving light in his eyes diminishing noticeably as he did so. "He will guard you while I'm gone. Allow me to help you over to him." His head jerked up with a sudden authoritative air. "Dragon! You heard me, yes?"

 The dragon seethed at the wolf's irritating controlling tendencies. He snorted as he thought back with sharp annoyance, "Loud and clear, dog."

 The wolf decided to let the insult slide for the sake of the elf and urged her to move with him toward the dragon with a whimper and a quick flick of his ears. The elf, still leaning heavily on the wolf, moved with him at a shuffling crawl.

 The dragon's head came around with a twist of his neck to look at the shaky elf. All of his spite melted away within an instant when he saw the vulnerability on her face. He crooned softly and despite the pain in his wings, he lifted on the offer a sort of tent for her. It should visibly as it hung there in the air and it took only his sheer will to keep it in place.

 The elf nuzzled the side of the wolf's face once before crawling into the tent of the dragon's wing and finally collapsed with fatigue. She lay there with her eyes closed and curled up against the dragon's warm, scaly hide with a tired smile on her face, dappled with green light reflecting from the dragon's dusty emerald scales.

 "Go safely, my friend. We will be all right," she thought to the wolf. The wolf sneezed in acquiescence then loped off toward the path slithering in between an impenetrable dark wall of bushes. Before the still forms of the dragon and the elf could be completely out of view, he paused and looked back over a broad shoulder.

 The dragon shifted his wing in a more comfortable position then curled his body around the elf like a great cat and laid his great head down on the ground next to her. The wolf couldn't help the pang of jealousy that constricted his heart. He couldn't bear the thought of anyone but himself protecting her. His ears twitched and he sighed in a frustrated manner. He mustn't let his own emotions get to him at a moment like this, for he had a task to do.

 "She'd better be safe when I get back, dragon," he said that thought like an arrow from a bow and hoped the dragon caught the threat within it. With that said, he leaped forward with a great push of his powerful hind legs and cut through the dense forest at a surefooted sprint.

 The dragon huffed crossly. Clingy mutt.

 He started when he heard the light, jovial giggle from beneath his wing. "Don't mind Sithún, dragon. He means well, he just doesn't realize how overprotective he can be at times."

 A corner of the dragon's scaly mouth curled up at the amused tone of her thought. "So the puppy has a name, eh?" He glanced wonderingly to where the elf lay beneath his wing. "You two seem close."

 The elf's aura became distant and reminiscent. "Yes...We grew up together and are inseparable. I've never been closer to any living being but him." She suddenly became alert and curious. "What is your name, my friend?"

 The dragon blinked slowly then looked down at the debris-covered ground. "My name is Aielr. What about you el-ah, my friend?"

 Aielr sensed her smile. "My name is Vanir Elendil. I'm very pleased to meet you dra - I mean, Aielr." He could her the jesting tone in her thought and knew she was mocking him got his slip-up in addressing her.

 "Likewise, Vanir Elendil of the wood elves," Aielr sensed her surprise. He rumbled good-naturedly at that. "My dear elf, my grandsire taught me many things, one of them being the races of elves. I was actually quite surprised that I had the privilege of meeting an elf in person."

  Vanir giggled in her musical elf voice. "You flatter me, O Great Aielr." She hesitated. "I meant to ask...What happened to you?"

 Aielr growled gloomily and sunk his claws into the soft earth at being reminded of his and his colony's bitter, violent fate. Vanir sensed his agony and saw the images of his memories and instantly regretted her question.

 "No, it's all right. I knew I had to tell you about this eventually," his great chest heaved once as he sighed deeply, a sigh so profound and drawn out that it seemed to come from the very depths of his soul. "But you must tell me your story after I tell you mine."

Vanir nodded solemnly even though she knew that Aielr couldn't see that gesture. "Agreed." It was pointless denying him anyways. One must never deny the request of a dragon, it was common sense. She shifted closer to the dragon's side, curling up against his sold warmth and laying a soft comforting hand on his scaly hide.

 Aielr blinked in gratitude at this amiable, consoling gesture and coiled his body a bit tighter about Vanir. All of his family and close friends were gone but now...maybe he wasn't so alone anymore. "Everything started long before I was hatched, when a sacred, profound trust was broken..."