Title: Didn't previously have one; I'm just going to call it "Dragon"

Status: Unfinished

Last touched: Unknown, probably late 2021 or early 2022

Trigger warnings: Cursing

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 "I'm pretty sure it's a terrible idea to keep that thing as a pet."

"Well, I'm sort of stuck with it now. Besides, don't you think it's kind of cute?"

"Lyra... It's a fucking dragon. It could tear us to pieces with one slash, and you're willing to call it cute?"

"I think you're hurting its feelings."

Renna turned with a groan, running a hand down her freckled face. Lyra could see that she was trembling even from the several feet that lay between them. The girl let out a bark of a laugh that bordered on hysterical. "Right. Hurting its feelings. Because that's what we're worried about right now."

Lyra had to admit; the idea of keeping a dragon as a pet, especially one that had attempted to attack them only moments before, was... iffy. But she'd gotten one peek into the beast's eyes and she'd known that there was more to them than rage and destruction, as they'd all been led to believe through the harrowing tales they'd been told as children. It had suddenly seemed barbaric to even consider killing the creature.

Lyra turned away from Renna, ignoring her friend's frustrated expression, and lowered herself to a crouch. From this angle, the dragon's even breaths caused her hair to lift from her forehead like the gentle rush of a sea breeze.

The creature, despite its monstrous size, hardly seemed dangerous in its current state. Its serpentine neck lay flat on the ground, its four slender legs tucked against its body by the ropes that held its limbs in place, its wings splayed at odd angles to either side... Yeah, that's no fearsome beast right there. But if Lyra were to think back on the debacle they'd gotten themselves into only a few minutes ago, she would know better than to assume the reptilian creature was harmless.

The dragon's fiery red chest rose and fell with each rush of breath it took, its nostrils exhaling the slightest hint of smoke with each exhale. Lyra crouched a foot away from it, and yet she could feel heat emanating from the creature, as if it was a gargantuan bonfire or furnace.

"At least we know it's not dead," Lyra commented softly, her voice lilting with the edge of a laugh. She craned her neck to look behind her, noting that Renna was far from amused.

The red-haired girl crossed her arms, the set of her jaw making it perfectly clear to Lyra that she thought her friend was making a very, very bad decision. Lyra offered her a smile, hoping to get Renna to cheer up, but her friend just let out a sigh and rolled her eyes.

Running a hand through her short, fluffy hair, Lyra turned back around to the dragon. While every instinct screamed at her to get away and find cover and arm yourself, damn it!, Lyra let her brown-eyed gaze study the beast with care. She wanted to know everything about the creature.

The beast was made of fire. At least, that's what it sure seemed like to Lyra. Flecks of orange and gold were scattered among its brilliant crimson scales, its black, curled horns reminding her of that of a ram's—if the ram's horns had somehow managed to unwind a little. Running a line down its back were shorter, blunter spikes of the same shade, all reaching their peak at the dragon's tail, where a shiny black arrowhead marked its end. Even in the beast's deep slumber, its tail couldn't seem to stay still, twitching up and down and bringing small clouds of dust up from the dirt.

The dragon's wings were even more fascinating than the rest of the beast, the same flaming reds and golds. If Lyra peered closer, she could detect the hint of veins running their way beneath the crimson canvas, pulsing with a rich purple hue. Lyra felt the urge to touch the membrane of the wings, to test to see if they were made of a material that felt as leathery as they looked. She was just stretching out a hand to do so when a sharp shout interrupted her.

"Lyra! Are you fucking insane?"

Rolling her eyes, though unable to stop an amused smirk from crawling across her lips, Lyra turned back to face her friend. "Not insane. Just curious. Besides, the dragon's unconscious. I thought we covered that."

Renna's wild-eyed gaze seemed to suggest that Lyra was incorrect; she was absolutely mad. When the short-haired girl raised an eyebrow to ask her what the matter was, Renna just splayed her hands out to either side, as if to say, do you not see what you're doing wrong?

"Just calm down and trust me, Ren," Lyra pleaded. "I'm perfectly safe, and I'm planning on staying that way."

"It's very hard to believe you when you're inches from the mouth of a dragon."

"Again: unconscious."

The red-haired girl heaved a sigh that seemed to come out mangled, combining somehow with a groan of exasperation. "I swore to your brother that I'd protect you while we're out here. First the run-in with the beast, and now you're trying to pet a living, breathing dragon. I'm dead. I'm fucking dead."

"Oh, quit cursing and cool it, will you? My brother's overprotective anyway. Tyren doesn't know when to stop the whole 'I'm king and you're under my rule' thing."

"He is the king. You are under his rule. Technically speaking, at least."

"Yeah, well, ever since Mom and Dad died and left him the ruler, he's been pretty keen on making it known to everyone, flaunting around like he owns the world and can crush dragons and minotaurs beneath his boot." Lyra scoffed, kicking at the dirt beneath her. Still in a crouch, she nearly lost her balance, but hurried to right herself before Renna noticed; she did care at least a little about her pride, after all. "I'll crush him beneath my boot, that bloody fool."

Renna's expression softened. "Is that what this is about?"

Lyra's eyes narrowed, opening her mouth to ask what she meant, but the red-haired girl raised a hand to keep her quiet.

"Your desperation to partake in a dangerous quest, your recklessness, your... I don't know," she threw her hands into the air, always one to gesticulate. "It's all about your parents, isn't it? I know the change of power hasn't been easy on you, especially since that leaves your brother—"

"This has nothing to do with my brother."

The coldness of Lyra's tone made Renna fall silent at once.

"Right. Of course not, Ly, I just—"

"That's your majesty to you," Lyra muttered, not bothering to conceal the snap of her words.

Renna's eyes went wide, and Lyra could have sworn she saw tears swimming in their hazel pools. Something tugged painfully at her heartstrings. She sighed, relenting.

"Sorry. I just really, really don't want to talk about any of that right now. I came out here to go on an adventure with my best friend, alright? We're finally out of the castle for the first time since my parents died, and... Well, I want to try and enjoy myself. Okay?"

"Okay, of course," Renna murmured, offering a smile that looked more forced than Lyra thought it should have. "But maybe we should not touch the dragon? Just a suggestion."

Lyra stuck her tongue out and turned back around. "Not touch the dragon, my ass. It's not like anything'll happen if I..." She trailed off, tentatively reaching out a hand to brush the tip of her finger against the ribbed membrane of the dragon's wing. Lyra half expected something to happen that would make her take back her words: the dragon suddenly jumping to its feet; the dragon's upper lip lifting to flash its teeth; the dragon's eye suddenly twitching open. But nothing happened, and Lyra sat back onto her feet. "Huh."

"Were you hoping something was going to happen? I swear to the gods, you're fucking hopeless. Hopeless, I tell you," Renna moaned.

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My Thoughts:

I do vaguely remember having an idea for a full story for this. I believe the story was going to follow Lyra struggling with her brother (the new king, a totally unfair tyrant), and eventually have her take his power from him? All I really remember is that her brother made a bad king.

I feel like there was a lot of lore and backstory dropped all at once. I wouldn't normally drop it all so quickly, but I guess I wanted to write it down before I forgot it.

I like the names of the characters, so there's that.

Dragons are always cool to include.

I use some pretty strong curse words there, and quite frequently too. I wouldn't say that's not how I write, but it is pretty rare for me. I'm guessing this might have been a piece that I used to try and vent whatever I was feeling at the time. Strong curse words and a ton of dialogue seems to be something I tend to do when that's the case.

Honestly, the characters seem pretty well designed, and there's just enough lore here that this story could probably work well as a fully fleshed novel. Would take some adjusting, but it definitely might.

I wonder if I was planning for a romance to develop between Renna and Lyra, or whether they were going to remain best friends.