Dragon
"W-wait... just a second... nngh—"
The bundle slung over my shoulder came undone, and in the blink of an eye my white shirt and pants were stripped clean off. Everything was bare except my underwear.
The difference in strength was overwhelming. There was no way I could resist.
"Why... why are you doing this? I... I... you're springing this on me so suddenly that I— mmph?"
She pressed her index finger to my lips.
Q-quiet, is that it?
I shut my mouth.
She hung my soaked shirt and pants on the drying rack, then opened a chest, rummaged through it, and pulled out a set of clean clothes, which she held out to me.
I took them, still completely stunned.
"M-may I really wear these?"
She nodded, her face as expressionless as ever — though her pointed ears had gone strangely, vividly red.
"Thank you. Truly..."
The clothes were so big they hung loose on me, but I didn't care.
My heart felt so warm. So incredibly warm.
That she would change me out of my wet clothes so my body temperature wouldn't drop — I was so grateful for that kindness I could barely put it into words.
In the heat of the campfire crackling among the firewood, the tension in my body began to ease little by little.
Honestly... she was just trying to get me into dry clothes, and I went and took it the dirty way...
That was what I was thinking, at least.
"Thank you. I don't even know how to repay you, but... thank you so much. I... I've been so lonely. I... no one would help me, so...
"It was so hard. Really... hard enough that I wanted to die. And... there are so many things I can't talk about. But... in front of you, somehow... I find myself opening up even a little.
"So what I'm trying to say is... thank you. Truly.
"Ah — I'm sorry. Dumping all my feelings on someone I just met... that must be a burden. I'm sorry. I... hhk... but... the tears... I mean... hhk..."
Strange.
Why were the tears...
Why wouldn't they stop?
"I'm sorry... hhk... hhk... I... this is the first time anyone's ever helped me, so... so... hhk... hhk... the tears... why do they keep—"
A soft rustle.
A warm touch settled on my shoulder.
Her hand.
I wiped my tears and looked up to find her holding out a chunk of dried meat.
"Huh...? M-may I eat this?"
She nodded — and smiled, faintly.
She had been expressionless the entire time. This was the first smile I had seen from her.
That smiling face... it was incredibly—
"Beautiful."
Her whole body gave a little jolt.
It took me a few seconds to realize I had accidentally said my inner thoughts out loud.
"Ah — I-I'm so sorry! That just slipped out without me thinking... I mean... ah..."
Her ears flushed a brilliant scarlet.
Her tail swishing back and forth was just the bonus.
Is she angry?
As I fretted and fidgeted, she dangled the chunk of dried meat in front of my face.
Her ears were still red. Redder than before, even.
"Ah — you want me to eat it? Th-thank you..."
She's not angry... thank goodness, I thought, taking the dried meat in my hand and biting into it.
It was delicious.
Insanely, mind-blowingly delicious.
How long had it been since I'd eaten real food?
By the time I came back to my senses, the chunk of meat in my hand was gone.
Her eyes, watching me from across the way, blinked a little in surprise.
"Ah... did I eat a bit too greedily? I'm sorry. I barely got to eat anything before this..."
"..."
Without a word, she held out what looked like a waterskin made of leather.
"Oh? Thank you."
My throat had been stuck from bolting the meat so fast. I tipped the waterskin back and gulped the water down in big swallows.
Once I'd finished drinking, my bundle came back to me.
"Ah, right! I have something I want to give you, too."
I picked up the waterlogged bundle lying at my feet and pulled an apple from inside.
"Would you like this? There's some bread in here too, but it's soaked through so it's not really edible... but the apple should be fine!"
She looked at the ripe red apple, and her eyes lit up.
She hesitated for a moment, then reached out and took it.
She bit into the apple, and with a thoroughly satisfied expression, ate every last bit of the flesh.
"I'm glad you liked it. Hehe."
She was smiling happily.
The apple must have been really good.
"..."
But she still wasn't speaking. Not a single sound left her mouth.
I must be making her uncomfortable.
"I've stayed too long, haven't I? I'll be going now — thank you so much for everything!"
At my words, her wings gave a startled twitch.
I had at least that much sense.
I started to stand so I could leave, and then — nngh!
The moment I got up, a pain like an awl boring into my right ankle shot through me like lightning.
I crumpled straight to the ground.
"Ah... ow... it hurts so much..."
Looking startled, she examined my ankle.
My right ankle was... swollen and puffy.
Had I twisted it while running in a panic?
Or had I hurt it falling from the cliff?
She began carefully assessing my ankle.
Still without a word, she watched my face for any sign of pain as she gently pressed the swollen area, or carefully rotated the joint a little.
The moment I showed any discomfort, she flinched and stopped at once.
She soon seemed to understand what was wrong. She gave a small nod, then went outside the cave and came back with two branches and some damp moss.
With her nails, she carefully stripped the bark from the branches, set them along either side of my ankle, and secured them with a soft cloth.
She had made me a splint.
Then she gently pressed the damp moss against the swollen area, cooling the heat.
The pain seemed to ease, little by little.
"Thank you so much.
"But... is it really all right if I stay here?"
She looked at me steadily and nodded.
"Thank you. I don't know if I deserve this kind of help."
"..."
Still silent, she checked that the splint was secure, then began writing on the dirt floor.
Scratch. Scratch. Scritch.
I'll go hunt some animals.
Wait here.
Once she confirmed I had read the words on the ground, she started to head out of the cave.
"W-wait a second!"
She whipped her head around.
"Y-your name... I was wondering what your name is..."
At that, she came back beside the bed, wrote on the floor again, and pointed.
I don't have a name.
"What? You don't have a name? Then... what should I call you?"
"..."
She thought for a moment, then wrote again.
Please call me Dragon.
So she really was a dragon after all.
I read the words, smiled brightly, and said,
"Okay! Dragon!"
Huh — at my words, Dragon's ears went red all over again.
Hmm, what is it...? Why do her ears keep turning red?
While I was wondering that, she fixed me with a steady look.
I figured out what she meant right away.
"Are you... curious about my name?"
"...!"
Dragon's eyes sparkled as she nodded.
"My name is Lee Yuan. Family name Lee. Given name Yuan. Please call me Yuan. Hehe."
She smiled faintly, nodded, and began writing on the ground once more.
I'll be back, Yuan.
"Take care, Dragon."
When I answered with a smile, she walked out of the cave.
And she did not come back, even after the sun had set.
Anxiety fretted at me, but drowsiness began to creep in all the same.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
"Huh?! Dragon?"
At the sound of footsteps outside the cave, I jerked upright.
"Grrrrrr..."
"Huh?"
What came into the cave...
was not Dragon.
"Grrrrrrr... Awooo!"
It was a massive wolf, covered in gray fur.
"U... uwaaaaah!"
The wolf bristled its fur and came steadily closer.
A body that looked easily twice my size. Razor-sharp fangs.
Drool dripping from its jaws, its breath thick with the reek of blood, it drew nearer... and nearer...
I have to run... I have to run...
"Nngh...!"
I tried to get up from the bed, only for a sharp pain to lance through my right ankle, and I toppled onto the dirt floor.
Right. I'd hurt my ankle.
"Grrrr... Grrwah! Grrwah!"
I felt it in my bones.
If I couldn't run, I was going to die.
"H-help me..."
"Grrrrrr...!"
"Help me!!!"
Whoosh—
In that life-or-death instant, Dragon burst into the cave, great wings beating hard.
And then—
Thuk—
Her bone knife sank clean into the wolf's throat and cut off its life.
The wolf collapsed sideways, limp.
With an expressionless face, she dragged the wolf's corpse into a corner, then walked over to me and met my eyes steadily, as if asking whether I was all right.
"Th-thank you. For saving me. I'm fine."
Dragon smiled faintly, then began showing me what she had brought back in her bundle.
Butchered chunks of meat, hides, and even various fruits.
"You hunted all of this? Wow... that's seriously amazing!"
At my words, her tail gave a little twitch, and her ears flushed red.
She carried two chunks of meat over to the workbench and began cutting them into smaller pieces with her bone knife.
Once the meat was cut to a suitable size, she threaded the pieces onto wooden sticks, making two skewers, then set them on a rack over the campfire to roast.
While the skewers cooked, she started dressing the wolf's carcass.
She discarded the innards, separated the hide from the meat, and hung everything on the drying rack.
Starving, I fixed my gaze on the meat skewers.
The chunks of meat threaded on the sticks cooked appetizingly over the campfire.
Every time a drop of fat fell, a sizzle rang out, and a rich, savory smell filled the cave along with the smoke.
Dragon flipped the skewers in silence.
A little later, once the meat seemed fully cooked, she picked up a skewer and began to eat.
She glanced at me as if to say I should eat too, so I took a skewer of my own, blew on it, and dug in with relish.
"This is so good...!"
She smiled a little at my words.
Before I knew it, the whole skewer was gone.
With my stomach full, an overwhelming drowsiness crashed over me.
As I blinked and dozed, she gently laid me down on the bed for my sake — since my ankle made it hard to move.
"I... I'm sorry. I'm just so sleepy..."
She patted my shoulder as if to say it was fine to sleep.
With all the tension finally gone from my body, I soon sank into a dream.