Dragon

The buffalo wavered, as though it had reached the horizon and was staring down at infinite space. It stumbled forward and collapsed in a furry heap. The darkness was almost upon him, but he would not settle to wait until daylight. After two weeks of pursuing his prey, he had to feast now. Lizard moved stealthily towards the whining, no longer harmful animal.

There was a sudden beating of wings overhead. Lizard looked up to see a dark silhouette, hovering over him and his kill. It belonged to one of those pesky winged creatures. He could live his own life — by HIMSELF — without anyone stalking him from the skies. Just because there was a huge colony of bats nearby, didn't mean he had to be the target of their mindless conversation.

“Do you want some?” Lizard hissed, “because I’m not sharing a single bite with you.”

“No, of course not; I’d never even think about eating a huge, dead, furry thing.”

It paused. “Especially if a komodo was offering it to me.”

Oh great; they had to bring me a backtalker. How am I supposed to scare this one off?

“I’m not offering it to you,” Lizard retorted, “and I would stick to the title of komodo dragon if I were you.”

There, that better do it. Now she knows who she’s messing with.

“You think that title adds anything extra to your name? You're not a dragon and you know it.”

Lizard had to lunge forward to keep himself from jumping back in surprise. The nerve! the comeback! That really stung.

Lizard narrowed his eyes; “Who are you, and what do you want?”

“I was just running it through in my head of how brave, and strong, and cunning you must be to bring down that animal,” she said sarcastically, “oh, and my name’s Sprite.”

“I suppose I am all those things you mentioned,” mused Lizard. Now that has got to annoy her. Congratulations for your intellect; you’ve boasted her away.

“I didn’t mean for you to

boast,” Sprite said sharply as if she’d read his thoughts, “don’t you know how to have a conversation?”

Her tone was lighter this time, as if… as if she was feeling the tiniest bit sorry for him.

“What do you mean?”

“What’s your name?”

Keep quiet, pretend you didn’t hear her. “Hum-di-dum, Going my own way; la la la, doing my own thing.”

“HELLO?”

Oh Lizard, you’re doomed to fate. Unless… “what was that?” Asked Lizard, putting on an expression of puzzlement.

“YOUR NAME?” She shouted.

He flinched. “Sorry, I have very sensitive ears. They tend to start ringing when certain creatures start yelling at me.”

Now she was the one who was scowling. Normally he wouldn’t have wasted a claw about it, but the glare she was giving him made him feel guilty. Alas, she wins. If it weren’t for these circumstances, perhaps you’d consider her as attractive. No, don’t fall under her spell! Bewitchingly attractive… beauteous, I suppose. Dazzling, lovely, magnificent, stunning, admirable… that’s what she is. What? I mean, THAT’S WHAT SHE IS! A pretty face with rotten insides. You just can’t trust her Lizard.

“Cut the act.”

Lizard sighed. There was no way to get around this.

“Uh…” —

Wait, what are you doing? — “My name?”

No, no, no —

“It’s Lizard.”

Please don’t laugh, please don't laugh.

She burst into giggles and then tried to cover it by wrapping her wings around herself. However, by doing this, her balance in the air was not so keen. She ended up alternating wings and looking like an injured bird. He cracked a small smile. She gave him a threatening glare and calmed, settling into the rhythmic beat of staying in flight.

“How original,” she teased, finding the courage to do so right after her humiliation, “Who named you?”

“Um”... Lizard stammered, “I

did.”

That just made her even more hysterical.

“How come?” She asked at last, “don’t you have parents?”

“Our instinct at birth is to run into the safety of the trees, away from our parents,” Lizard explained.

Or else we get eaten by them, or some uncle who all of a sudden, feels like eating a few nieces and nephews, Lizard thought, but he didn’t include that part. The thought still troubled him though. Why would a mother eat her own children, the ones she worked so hard to protect? I wouldn't even think about it. Except, that was even more concerning. Would I?

Sprite seemed to understand​. “Oh, that’s not much of a family then.”

Lizard shook his head and sunk his teeth into the Buffalo’s neck. He could still recall that day: the squealing… the bloodthirsty monsters at his heels… and most of all, the instinct that yelled at him to run — NOW!

Lizard tilted his head with disapproval. The buffalo wasn’t as tasty as usual. It was stiff as tree bark and lacked the juicy fat, as well as the delicious richness a fresh kill should have. It was all rather irritating.

“You daydreamer,” laughed Sprite, “with your mind always fluttering away.”

“I was just thinking about my food,” Lizard protested, “and how disappointed I am in it. Now I wish I would’ve gone after another one.

“And idolizing your meat is exactly why your new nickname is Scapi.”

“What?”

“Scapi stands for escapist, which means you’re always trying to escape reality.”

“I am not.”

“Are too.”

“Am not.”

She glided down from the sky and landed softly beside him; “Plus, it exceeds Lizard, not that that’s the worst name you could come up with. It just… makes you sound like an arrogant, scheming reptile.”

Well, that’s a bit harsh for me. But he decided to give her the answer she was looking for. “Well, isn’t that kind of what I am?”

“No, not at all. Although, trust me when I tell you that your an absolute grouch.” She laughed, and then added: “but your soft hearted… once you get through those sharp scales of yours.”

“You mean, after I’m ripped open?” That was a bit dark, he noted, from her scarred expression.

“That’s not what I was going for,” she said at last, “Yes, I can see in the daytime, but right now, I’m using echolocation. Lizard, I don't know what you look like. I can only make out shapes and textures by judging distance. At this moment, I can only compare what I can interpret. I’m sorry if —”

“No, stop.”

Lizard couldn’t listen to her apologizing for his ignorance. “It’s my fault; your analogy was metaphorically poetic. Your right. I am a grouch.”

“You’re also very silly,” she remarked, brushing his side with her wing.

Lizard was tempted to ignore this act of kindness, or shuffle away, or tell her to leave him alone. But instead, he did none of those things. There was something about this bat that brought about a pleasant, tingling sensation. Could it have been love?

Who was he kidding! A komodo dragon of all​ sorts couldn’t fall for another species, especially a bat. He was worthy of more.

And yet, he moved closer to Sprite. An attempt to kick the buffalo away left her laughing at him, and he almost gave up right there. That’s when he realized that he was actually laughing with her.

Perhaps he couldn't deserve better than this. Whether that was a good or bad thing, he didn’t know.

Sprite unfolded her wings. “Well I better get going. I have a family to get home to, and I’m craving some mangoes, if you know what I mean.”

“Okay… bye.”

Lizard tried to sound relieved, but he couldn’t hide the crestfalleness in his voice. “Will… will you come again?” He managed to ask hopefully, “I mean, like… to bother me?”

“We’ll just have to see, won’t we, Scapi.”

Lizard thought he actually grinned for a split second.

There was much more to come between them.

Then Sprite took off, winging through the sky, and vanished after reaching the distant jungle.

Lizard glanced down at his feet. He was surprised to see a silver spherical entity. It was dotted with golden speckles that glowed furiously in the dim light of dusk.

No, it can’t be! He tapped the firm egg with his tallon. Coated in a sticky fluid, it easily collected sand once Lizard tipped it over to examine it.

He hadn’t realized what was materializing between him and Sprite. They’d somehow laid an egg together. What would their hatchling look like? Whose​ traits would it develop? He needed to inform Sprite right away.

“Sprite!” He called urgently, “come back! Please!”

All that responded was the wind, as it picked up sand and threw it at him.