5 The Magic Forest

The adrenaline rush that I had been feeling since the rock chipped at my tail subsided, and sharp pains came with. Every movement I took, my wing would catch some air and expand the tiniest bit, teasing the hole within my rudder. I was lucky to have survived that fight or else I would have laid both of my lives to waste.

I cautiously explored my surroundings. There were more hiding spots and places to ambush prey here in this lush green rainforest. I just survived an annoyingly painful encounter, so I didn't want to get into another possibly more dangerous one.

After wandering around aimlessly for what felt like a few hours, I heard a faint white noise. At first, I put my guard up getting up to two legs and unfurling my wings to seem like a big predator. The monkey I was holding in between my chest and wings fell to the ground with a dull thud, which sounded the end of my giant act because I recognized the sound. It was the sound of a rushing river!

I clamped the deceased primates' neck between my jaws and took off in yet another mad sprint towards the source of the noise. After about 5 minutes of a continuous four-legged marathon, I came upon the foamy white rapids. 'Rushing water is the cleanest water you can get I guess' I thought as I inhaled the water faster than a vacuum machine.

After rehydrating myself for the day I followed the river downstream. After the successful find, I became less and less cautious, picking up the pace. With my sudden increase in speed, I found myself at a small, almost pond size lake before nightfall.

At the end of the lake, there was a small cave that could fit about 2 of my body lengths. I sped up my pace yet again and checked out the inside. The inside of the cave was a very small and dark, it went about 4 meters into the side of the small cliffside drop off and sat facing the lake.

I crept back outside, leaving the dead monkey behind I went over to the trees and grabbed some sticks and leaves. 'I need to start a fire in order to cook this little piece of shit and stay warm for the night. I can also probably kill most of the animals that are not bigger than me, so I only need to worry about big predators.' I thought to myself as I gathered sticks.

Now that I thought about it I could not breathe fire, and I also could not start a primitive fire with these claws. Is this why all the ashen dragons die? Is it because they can not live without help? I felt as if I was a disabled orphan, with no one to look after me but I could not do anything by myself. 'Is mom going to let me starve to death out here?' I thought as I picked up the last of the sticks anyways.

Just as I picked up the last stick, the tree root under it tore out from the underground. The tree in front of me lifted up its roots tearing them from the hard soil, divided them evenly on two sides of the body, and used them as tentacle-like legs. The nearly 50 foot tall tree made a run towards me, wildly flailing its tentacle roots as it did. I looked up to see the tree had two symmetrical holes and a wide open jack o' lantern mouth shaped tear. The two eye holes glowed a bright blue and locked onto me.

"Draaahhgoonn…! This is noo place for your kinnnndd heeerre…" The treant said, slowly pushing those words out as if he was an old grandfather talking through an asthma attack.

"Wait o' divine tree! I come in peace don't attack me we can talk about this!" I said while hightailing it with no intention to sit and talk.

"Yooouuu are daaiinting the foresst with your well beinggg… Leave nooww!" The tree replied picking up its pace, making its wooden whips lash out more fiercely.

"Ok ok, let me leave then. Deal?" I said turning my neck around so that my head would face him

"DIEEEEEEEEEEE!"

I ran for the home I claimed just a few minutes ago, abandoning the sticks for they would only get me killed. As soon as I saw the opening through the thick overgrowth I made a bolt for the cave. When I got in I turned around to see trees making way and even a few of them falling down under the mad rampage of the treant.

The treants' massive body crashed out of the overgrowth and ran headlong into the cliff half of its size. The cliffside fell off and dirt tumbled to the ground almost blocking off the cave entrance.

"Drahhgoon, don't make this harder... than it hasss to beeee." The treant snarled in a gasping tone.

"Yo dude what did I do to you?! Just let me go!" I yelled at it swiping off the tree roots ravishingly thrashing around in my cave.

The tree roots were almost long enough to reach through the hole in the fallen dirt and to the other side of the cave. One of them whizzed past me and struck the end of the hole. I clasped it with my claws and bit down as hard as I could; Severing the tip of the root off, and holding a chunk of the root in my mouth. The root that I bit flailed around even harder and smacked my snout upwards, making me swallow down the piece of root I had in my mouth.

"GRAHH!" I roared as I ran my claws up and down its legs, not to injure it but to inflict as much pain as I could. After about 30 seconds the tree withdrew its roots and slowly retreaded only leaving with it a few words.

"Leaveee here noowwww… Drahhgonn," and with that, it retreated into the midnight forest.