Oser's injury

With the demise of the giant wolf leader, the pack disbanded, losing their courage to confront the dragons and fleeing in all directions with tails tucked.

Oser, the blue dragon, was a harrowing sight, his face and body riddled with wounds, making him look ferocious yet vulnerable. Coughing harshly, he managed to speak: "It's my fault... That wolf was astonishingly strong... I almost... died... Thank you, Yongrong."

The ferocious biting power of the giant wolves was well-known. They had pierced through Oser's scales, leaving him with numerous injuries. But the most critical wound was not these superficial cuts. A large, sharp rock had pierced deeply into his spine, nearly impaling the blue dragon. Blood still oozed from the wound.

"There will be time for you to repay the favor," Yongrong said, examining Oser's injuries with a furrowed brow. "It won't heal quickly."

He glanced back at Kazan, who was still surveying his surroundings. During Yongrong's battle with the wolf leader, Kazan had fended off all the other wolves that tried to aid their leader, roaring and fighting against overwhelming odds, allowing Yongrong to easily slay the alpha.

Kazan approached, his eyes still blazing with anger. "How did you fly over here?" he asked Yongrong.

Aisaria and Posa arrived, filled with curiosity about Yongrong's sudden burst of power but hesitant to ask, especially with Oser's injuries being the immediate concern.

"Can you stand?" Aisaria tentatively tugged at the blue dragon.

Gritting his teeth, Oser managed to rise, albeit shakily and bleeding profusely. His resilience was a testament to the robustness of a dragon's body.

Posa, noticing the wound on Oser's back, concurred with Yongrong's assessment: "He's lost his fighting capability. Even moving is difficult for him."

"What do we do? None of us knows healing magic," said Aisaria.

Evil dragons, unlike good ones, didn't awaken healing spells naturally. Metallic dragons, for instance, would awaken such spells early on, but chromatic dragons like Yongrong and his group typically awoke to more destructive magics. Without deliberate learning, they might never master healing spells.

"Let's leave him here. One less dragon won't make a difference," Kazan suggested gruffly. "Let's go hunt the griffons and come back for him later."

"This place isn't safe," Yongrong disagreed. "The noise from the fight could attract other predators. Oser can't defend himself in this state."

"Then where do you plan to hide him? He can barely move now," Kazan retorted.

"There's nowhere safe in these woods," Yongrong concluded.

Their conversation unfolded openly, with Oser, the injured party, having no say in the matter. The dragons would decide his fate. Oser remained silent and calm upon hearing Kazan's suggestion, a typical display of a chromatic dragon's indifference.

"We need to take him back," Yongrong decided.

"To our clan?" Kazan asked, annoyed. "We've spent so long getting here, and now you want to turn back? Did the afternoon's python fill you up too much?"

"We'll take Oser to the border of the Oak Crown. The feeders' kin will find him and take him back," Yongrong explained, ignoring Kazan. He looked at Posa and Aisaria. "I've marked our route. We can fly low, follow the markers out and back. It won't take long."

Posa nodded in agreement, and Aisaria, after a moment's hesitation, also concurred. "Oser was injured in battle. It's not his fault. We shouldn't abandon him."

Finally, Yongrong turned to Kazan. "If one day you are the one injured, what would you want the dragon group to do?"

"I probably won't get hurt like that," Kazan scoffed, turning away dismissively.

Yongrong watched Kazan settle down nearby and then spoke to Aisaria and Posa, "Let's go. We need to move Oser."

"This guy might be heavier than a griffon. How is he so heavy?" Aisaria grumbled while tugging at Oser.

"Be careful. Grab the other wing bone so we don't worsen his wounds," Yongrong instructed, lifting Oser's wing bone with his hind leg. "Posa, you're weaker, so just lift his tail. Keep at the same height as us."

"Why did you even bother explaining to Kazan? He wasn't going to join us anyway," Posa grumbled, lifting Oser's tail as instructed.

"We're not familiar enough yet, so I needed to explain my reasoning. As for Kazan…" Yongrong chuckled. "He's too proud. He refused too quickly and now is too embarrassed to change his mind. Let him stay there and wait."

With that, Yongrong, Aisaria, and Posa began their journey to safely escort the injured Oser, demonstrating the bonds and responsibilities that even the most ferocious dragons held toward their kin.