To Bloom & To Burn

When dawn lessened…Boreas collected its flurries from the lavender sky and left behind the white earth. Apollo rode his sun chariot, leading a race against Zephyros, who carried spring with him. The reddish dawn announced a new chapter for everyone, including still sleeping entities warmed beneath the snow blanket.

As pure snow melted into refreshing water for the greens, a colossal cave on a mountain reemerged. The owner—A green dragoness named Emerallie yawned sparks, stretched her wings, and straightened her pointy tail. Her azure eyes gazed at the sunlight after months playing in slumberland, standing on the mouth of her dear cave. Emerallie showed her monstrous yet majestic frame, standing at twelve meters from claws to crown of spear-like horns, ten meters wingspan and eight meters from snout to the pointy spike of her tail.

Emerallie sunbathed her scales and opened wide her mouth as she ignited the greenish flames in her core. Amidst the process of shedding her winter self, her scales glowed like an emerald.

‘I’m hungry...’ Emerallie rubbed the tumultuous rumbling in her thick belly.

The Dragoness treaded down the rocky mountain, spread her wings, and with one mighty flap, she flew to the blue sky, passing by flocks after flocks of chirping birds. As her scales glimmered, her sharp eyes hunted potential prey meters below. A fox noticed her and hid inside a hollowed log. Hares and squirrels saw her, too, but knew they wouldn’t satisfy her hunger. Emerallie’s azure eyes landed on a pack of wolves; five or seven, or perhaps all of them would quench her hunger. ‘I don’t want carnivores’ tough meat, I want big tender red meat!’ and so she flew past the wolf pack.

But out of the treetops…‘Screech!’ Two carnivorous avian beasts ambushed Emerallie. The Dragoness lost her balance and crashed into the dirt, though she stood quickly. Cerulons (Pluma atrox)—Avian beasts of four meters tall, standing on two talons with two-halve meters wingspan and Prussian Blue plumage. They circled Emerallie in opposite directions, but Emerallie faced one and pointed her tail at the other.

’Zut! I forgot about their territory!’ Emerallie flailed her tail at the one behind and the one in front pounced on her neck with scythe-like talons. Emerallie roared, shook her neck, while her front limbs tried to reach the cerulon, but alas, they couldn’t reach her long neck. From behind, the other aimed straight at The Dragoness’s belly, paler and softer than her other parts. ‘Oh no you won’t!’ she burned her body, but it’s fine for her, because her scales were fire-resistant. The cerulons however, couldn’t withstand the heat nor losing their precious feathers, so they backed off, allowing Emerallie to escape.

“They’re such an annoying territorial putain every springtime and why am I so forgetful nowadays! I’m only 322! ” she exhaled and checked her neck. Nothing severe, but she felt the drilling pain. After kilometres of flying, she noticed her friend performing a dance courting ritual with her mate among the backdrop of iridescent blossoms. “Just in time!” She hid behind the cotton clouds.

Emerallie’s dancing friend was quadruped like her, but of a different species. The common name for her species was Invisiris (Laceratis venetus), and their scales were a mesmerizing shade of shamrock. A beautiful crown of feathers adorned her head and neck, delicately tinted with a soft rose-pink hue. The leathery fin on her forearms showcased a captivating blend of shamrock, cyan, and magenta, while the fin on her tail was a striking mix of magenta and cyan. Her length reached eight meters from snout to tail, and even though she’s flightless, she’s an agile runner and a better player in hide & seek. She’s named Divina.

The courting ritual of invisiris revolved around precise choreography. If the male could match every move of the female, then they’ll be together till death embraced. However, the males were nomadic and therefore they must return to their mate’s breeding ground every spring, where they’ll dance again.

Emerallie watched the ritual play with a smile capable of defurring any mammals until, in the corner of her eyes, she caught her favoured big red meat. “I MOOSE THE TASTE OF YOUR KIND ALL WINTER!!” The dragoness rocketed toward her target, a big bull moose. ‘Snatch!’ Her claws pierced the brown coat, making the animal bellowed before she incinerated and dropped him spine first on a boulder near Daten River. “Ah!” Emerallie smiled at the sweet scent of mashed roast moose and devoured them whole, including some bones.

A set of white eyes watched her enjoying the fragrant breakfast.

Quiet yet clear to her Draconic ears, Emerallie heard the gigantic waves forming on the river, warning her of her aquatic friend. Resurfacing from the blue, faint rainbows adorned Nelu’s gigantic form as water cascaded from her. Nelu was a Geantue (Gigantis lotos), she stood twenty meters tall from the highest peak of her shell to her webbed feet, measuring twenty-two meters from nose to short tail and her shell extended eighteen meters. The white lotuses crowning her shell rivalled the amount of trees in a forest. “Bonjour, Mera!” Nelu said, mint-scented breath as always.

“Bon, Nelu! Did you have trouble hibernating again?” Emerallie sucked a bone dry.

“No....” she chuckled, echoing. “But some humans foolishly walked on the thin ice and fell in. It was for mere seconds, yet he died in the place.” said Nelu, some butterflies and birds perched on her shell.

“Human, huh?”

“Yeas,” Her white eyes gazed at the moose’s dry bones, but especially the antlers, “Can I have those?” Nelu asked.

“Oh, sure! Whatever you need it for?” her tail broomed the bones to Nelu.

“Additional structure for my nest....” The turtle-ish dragoness placed the bones on her head. The bones also brought nutritional benefits for the river ecosystem. Nelu’s answer provided insight for Emerallie. “Will you be going now or soon?” she asked.

“After a drink,” Emerallie ducked and drank the river two gallons down, the nerves on her forked tongue sensed Nelu’s mate was inching closer. “Happy nesting!” She flapped her wings and left in a rush.Similarly, Nelu submerged with a smile, but stopped. Her mate for this year bumped their forehead lovingly, and it’s a luck that Emerallie escaped the rivers for male Geantue were hostile territorial dragons during mating season.

The Geantue were aquatic dragons mistakable for monstrous turtles. Their gigantic size allowed water vegetation and small fishes, amphibians & aquatic lizards to nest on their shell. Geantue’s mating ritual depended on scent, and was more brutal. When in heat, the females living in fresh-water would secrete urine containing pheromones that flowed downstream, signaling the males in salt-water that they wanted to mate. As they journeyed up the rivers, they would engage in fierce battles, leaving behind redwater and easy-meal for scavengers. The victor would then mate with the female, resulting in the production of hundreds of eggs.

After some wings flapping…

The dragoness reached her cave, and her azure eyes scanned the dusty, bone-scattered cave. Emerallie walked to the peak of her mountain, pondering; just like her Draconic friends, she’s in heat, but her cave would never comfort her mate, and their future offspring.

At the top, filling her lungs with pure air and feeling her robust figure shattered gales, “I need gold.” Emerallie’s azure eyes scoped roofs of regal castle kilometres away.