I try to back off more, but the tree is in the way. "Oh.”
"Ah," Vyrathion says. "One of those."
I glance at him. "Are you familiar with them?"
“Regrettably I appear to be completely surrounded by lesser species in this ludicrous jungle. They all gravitate to me with immense haste, Or rather, toyou.”
“Sorry. I’m not sure he’s here for me, though.”
The creature scrapes one enormous foot across the ground. Dirt sprays behind it. Steam billows from its nostrils despite thewarm air. Everything about it suggests bad decisions are about to be made.
Vyrathion gives me an evil look. “We should find out. Perhaps we can offer you to him and see if he likes it. Yes? Worth a try to find out?”
"No, no," I plead. “I’m sure he’s here to eat me. Can you please… make him go away?”
Vyrathion looks at the monster. "It seems the opinion of our group that you should withdraw back into the sewer you call a jungle and likely your home. You are making some of us nervous. Off you go."
The beast bellows and launches itself forward. The ground immediately begins to shake.
I grab the little Plood under one arm and retreat behind a thick tree trunk. The creature crashes through bushes and young saplings as it builds speed. The sheer size of it is terrifying. I've seen large animals on Earth, but nothing that combines this much mass with this much aggression.
“I meant, go theotherway, whence you came.” Vyrathion waits until the last possible moment before casually stepping aside.
The horn misses him by inches.
As the animal rushes past, he strikes it with one hand. The sound echoes through the jungle like an axe biting into a tree. The enormous creature stumbles sideways, tears through a patch of undergrowth and crashes into several saplings before finally regaining its footing, head hanging so low the horn scraped the ground.
For a few seconds both of them simply stare at one another.
Then Vyrathion looks down at his hand.
"Hm."
The beast bellows again and paws at the ground like an angry bull.
"Vyrathion, are you all right?" I call.
"Not at all,” the dragon growls. “I’m stuck on a planet in this cursed form, having to fight beings that should by rights flee in terror. And now I have to ponder the possibility that I might be getting weaker still."
I don’t like that answer. But I know it’s a thing for dragons to weaken without gold.
The animal charges again. This time Vyrathion doesn't move aside. He plants his feet and reaches forward as the creature bears down on him. When his hands close around the horn, the entire charge seems to stop. Dirt sprays. Roots tear loose from the soil. The beast strains forward with all its weight behind it.
And for the first time since I met him, I think I see Vyrathion exert himself.
Only a little and only for a moment. But enough for me to notice, as his muscles and sinews tense up and stand out on his achingly perfect skin with a hint of the scales underneath.
Then he twists sharply. The creature loses its footing and crashes onto its side with a thunderous impact that shakes the ground beneath my feet. Before it can recover, Vyrathion strikes it once on the side of the head.
There’s a sickening sound and the beast goes limp. Its wings pop limply out of their covering plates. Silence returns to the jungle.
Vyrathion brushes dirt from his hands, making a face of distaste. “Of course that thing is thick with grease on the outside. In a way I hope I didn’t kill- ah.”
The monster comes to, kicks its leg and manages to turn right side up. Then, dragging its wings, it slinks away, something I would never have thought possible from a dinosaur that has to weigh several tons.
Vyrathion tries to scrape the dinosaur fat off his hands on the tree I hid behind. “At least now it won’t rot right in the middle of our camp. If you still maintain that you need a rest.”
"Did it have gold?" I ask, hearing the silliness of the question.
