A Day in the Life

WHOOSH!!!!

The wind swept in great waves as it parted to allow Fioren, the great dragon, to pass. She had an urgent mission at hand, and needed to get to the sheep pastures - fast! She ignored the sting of the spring air that she moved against with breakneck swiftness.

The grass below swished lazily in the light spring breeze, until Fioren rushed by. Air blew through the blades, causing disturbance in the lives of a few select ants, but soon reverted back to normal. Fioren sped around a great wooden fence. Wind whipped around her streamlined body as she hurried to find an entrance. Would it be quicker to approach from above or simply burn the barrier down?

No time to think! She shook herself and burst through, ready for the hunt. A shard of wood lodged itself into her hide; she growled harshly, although the tiny bit of fencing was more of an annoyance than painful.

As she circled the pastures, she spotted her prey, thick and fluffy, "baa"-ing idiotically in the middle of the field. Sheep, she thought. Stupid creatures. As her intended victim blissfully munched its green lunch, Fioren rose into the air above.

FSSSSHHHH!!! The flames burst from Fioren's mouth, curling around her almost leathery, fireproof tongue - and missed. She cursed herself in dragontongue. Focus, Fioren, you know what's at stake.

She aimed once more and scored directly on the sheep's frizzy rear. The animal burned under her fire and fell to the ground, its fur smoldering. None of the other sheep, grazing off to the side, noticed a thing. Fioren felt a twinge of pity for the sheep. Poor thing. Then she snapped out of it. She had probably done the thing a favor, putting it out of its brainless misery. She roasted the remaining fluff from its back and flamed it until it was cooked to a turn. The smell of sheep wafted up to her nostrils... Mmm, delicious! But she had no time for idle snacking. She grabbed her prey in her strong jaws and soared back into the sky.

The sun beat down on her armorlike red scales. This was no hindrance to her; she was protected from heat. She WAS heat. Undaunted, she zoomed straight into the mountains to the east.

It took her no more than five minutes to go miles and miles through the rocky cliffs towards the tallest one - her lair. Fioren touched down gracefully, her teeth never loosening their hold on the sheep, and trotted into her cave. Her claws clacked on the rocks and echoed in the endless stony valleys. The cave was lit by gently flamed torches that glittered off of her hoard. She kicked aside golden goblets and silver swords. At the moment, they had no value to her. She pushed her way through the treasure trove of priceless artifacts, even tromping over her most prized possession, a beautiful bejeweled crown. None of it mattered.

She ventured into the deepest part of her lair. This was where she lived on a daily basis; not on top of her hills of riches, as those foolish villagers believed. In the very back was a nest of trees, most of their trunks burned off, so that she could sleep in comfort over a bed of soft leaves. She never failed to enjoy its natural comfort. Why humans just HAD to pluck perfectly delicious birds clean of their feathers and stuff said feathers into flimsy cotton shells that were probably better just tossed into a rubbish bin was completely beyond her. She preferred her simple nest. The most important thing in this nest, however, was a single, gently heaving bundle of gold.

Fioren snorted and gingerly laid down on her nest, curled around the golden object. She nudged the sheep carcass towards the precious item under her care. Very slowly, a head poked out from the bundle. It sniffed the air. Fioren gave a gentle "Hrrr" and ripped off a small piece of the sheep. The head nibbled off a piece of the meat dangling from Fioren's mouth.

Ahh, this was good. Fioren stretched her wings and watched her baby eat. Her mission was complete.