Sheep. She loved sheep; they always looked so docile. Almost as though they wanted to be eaten. Gotta love those sheep.
High in the sky, she soared, peering down with narrow eyes of bloodshot on her next meal. She smirked. Jagged, multi-rowed, shark-like teeth, rivaled in sharpness only by her teal and jagged scales and claws – Oh my! What big teeth you have!
They got the job done. Many a man, many a knight, many a sheep had seen those teeth; none could tell the tale of them today; although if one were so brave (none were so brave), surely, the remains of some of her dinner guests may have been stumbled upon in that inescapable crevice; a bone here, some flesh there… an arm. They got the job done; and today, they were ready to work once more. Rivers of saliva capered forth, merrily dancing over frightening fangs.
And her wingspan? Ten fully grown men across; a behemoth of the sky; a monster. She hid not who she was, nor was she afraid, or ashamed. She was a dragon, being a dragon, peering down at the delicious delectables soon to be added to the lining of any one of her seven stomachs.
But they were not alone. In the small town abounded men; herders, farmers, countrymen, labradors (which she was also developing an appetite for through association), lunch. They could not see her, for she was obscured by cloud and the blazing starlight of the sun. Until –
“Dragon!” came a shout to rally mice and men. Judas, her shadow, had betrayed her presence in the firmament. Like ants they scurried, busily preparing for her untimely arrival; pitchforks, torches, pikes and pee. She was flattered, for she knew this dance well, and very much loved to tango.
A loud boom shattered the sky with her descent, as she broke something that men would recognize many years later as the speed of sound. Like a comet, or falling angel (or demon) she plummeted toward the ground. Wings hugging her body, neck fully extended, and her lovely smile. Like vomit from the depths of hell spewed forth the flames, and sulfur that devoured, impartially, everything that she spat it toward. Men, mice, sheep reduced to flaming pieces of meat in mere minutes. And eat she did. Sheep, labradors, men, indistinguishable pieces of meat; she left it up to her seven stomachs to sort through the particulars.
And just as swiftly and silently as she arrived, she was gone. A town, reduced to ash, rubble, and sautéed meat, left behind to tell the tale of her brief visit. Everyone was gone; everyone but one.
He was not in the town. He sat perched on his high horse peering at the beast from atop a mountain. He had been trailing her for some time now; stalking her. A personal vendetta had he to settle with she. And settle he would. Not today though; today he would merely bear witness to the fire and brimstone left behind by hell itself; and the smell…
Tip jar: the author of this post has received
0.00 INK
in return for their work.