Post #6: Flash Fiction-Fourth Attempt

Encounter With Riva

Riva, the fire dragon with gray and blue scales, rests in the forest. She is laying down, but still alert. Maybe she was just hunting but wanted to relax for a few minutes before returning to her cave. She looks in my direction. Another person would flee, but this is not my first encounter with Riva. I have seen her before and even earned her trust, which is not an easy thing to do. Riva is slow to trust others, especially humans. In fact, the only reason she would even speak to me initially is because I am only half human. My other half is one of Riva's kin. Yes, I am half dragon.

I approach her. The first time I saw Riva, my approach was slow, but now I walk to her as I would with an old friend. She watches me, somewhat suspicious, but this is Riva. She is still weary around me, despite claiming that I earned her trust, but she is weary around everyone. Once I asked her why and she said that when you trust someone too quickly, they can easily betray you. I guess she was talking from experience.

When I'm close enough, Riva gives me a silent greeting and I give a small wave. I sit near her and ask, "What are you doing in the forest?"

"Hunting," Riva answers, confirming my earlier thoughts, "And you?"

"Just going for a walk," I say.

Riva scoffs, "Why walk when you can fly?"

Of course, she is referring to the wings on my back. As I said before, I'm half dragon, which means I have some draconic abilities. One of those abilities is flight. My wings are large enough to carry me and Riva has seen me fly before. I even flew with her once.

"Because I enjoy walking," I say.

Riva only rolls her eyes, but she is a dragon, not a hybrid. She does not always understand things that bring me pleasure that a dragon might not enjoy. She does not see the point of walking long distances when flying is faster. She also does not see the point of entering the forest for anything that isn't a hunting expedition (unless someone promised her treasure of course). But now she is used to seeing me in the forest for no reason.

That is how we met actually. I had been walking in the forest like I was today when I saw a dragon with gray and blue scales and two gold necklaces around her neck. Based on how she moved, she had been hunting when I saw her. She quickly detected my scent and looked in my direction, somewhat surprised to see a hybrid.

I should have run, but I didn't. I stayed and convinced the dragon to talk to me. I learned that her name was Riva and that she was a fire dragon, but her scales were unusual colors for one (fire dragons are normally red or orange, not gray and blue). I also learned that hybrids were extremely rare, which explained why Riva seemed so surprised to see me.

After that, we met a few more times and usually had short conversations. I think Riva considers me a friend now, but it's hard to tell with her.