After five weeks of walking, Viverna sensed she was close to Lupus Forest,
very close. It had gotten much, much colder, but for some very odd reason, she
wasn’t cold. She knew that she should be--she was a dragon, for goodness sakes.
She knew that none of her other Shoyru friends would be able to handle this
cold, at least not with out cloaks or jackets. Maybe it’s because I’m silver,
and I’m different from all the other Shoyrus, she thought to herself. She
looked at her handmade cloak on her. It couldn’t be from this, it’s too old
and thin.
Viverna trudged through the snow, wondering if it was smart to leave home in
the first place. She was very hungry; she had run out of food 3 days ago. Maybe
I should of just stayed home, she thought. A different voice in her head
protested. If I would of never left, I would live my life with one friend!
I came in search of new Shoyrus, and I won’t go home until I find some! With
this thought, she continued deeper into Lupus Forest.
The next day, she was walking through a deep area of woods, she said to her
self, “See? No Lupes. I haven’t seen one yet. And I never will.” As she continued
walking, she thought she saw something move up a head of her.
“Who’s there?” she called quietly.
“I’m Prince Triren Couldon, from the royal house. Who and what are you? What
are you doing on royal grounds? What business do you have here?”
Viverna suddenly felt very out of place. Here she was, in the middle of nowhere,
talking to a prince in the mangiest cloak she had ever seen, and with a black
blanket on! “I’m Viverna and I’m a Sho--” Viverna stopped. What if it was a
Lupe? He would eat her! “I’m just a regular commoner,” She stated simply. “I
did not know that I was trespassing, so I’ll just be going….”
“Wait, if you’re not really trespassing, why don’t you come inside the castle
and warm up a bit?” the Prince asked.
Viverna thought about it. If he is a Lupe, he’ll eat me. Even if he’s not,
he’ll take offense that I refused his offer. What shall I do?
“What species did you say you were again?” she asked, hoping to trick him.
There was a pause. “A Lupe.” A Lupe! She thought a real Lupe! Should I flyaway?
Just as Viverna was trying to get her backpack off, the Lupe burst through the
snow capped bushes. Viverna froze in terror, unable to move.
“A Shoyru!” Triren gasped.
Viverna looked at the Lupe’s muscular body, somewhat in awe, and she had to
admit that he was handsome, even for a Lupe. She worked up the courage to say
something.“Yes, I’m a Shoyru, and I’ll just be on my way-” The Lupe stepped
on her tail as she tried to fly away. “Wait a minute. What is a Shoyru doing
way out here? And to top that, you’re-you’re silver! Aren’t Shoyrus the little
dragons that play video games? They never venture too far from they’re TVs,”
Triren sneered, his tail lashing.
“Yeah? Well, I’m different!” Viverna yelled. She shrank in the largeness of
her voice.
“Different, eh? Is that so? Well so am I,” the white Lupe said. He released
his grip on her tail.
Viverna shot forward about three feet, then gently floated back down. “What
do you mean? Aren’t you supposed to eat me?”
The Lupe smiled and flashed his big teeth. “Don’t remind me.
“I’m different because I’m not going to eat you, young Shoyru.”
“Young! I’m 17!” Viverna protested.
“Really?” The Lupe said. “I’m 19.” The Lupe plopped down on the soft snow.
Viverna reached in her pack, and pulled out the only thing she hadn’t eaten.
“Would you like a chocolate Chia?” She asked.
“Would I ever!” the white Lupe said eagerly. He gingerly took the chocolate
Chia from her hands and gobbled it down. Gentle, too, She thought. “Sorry for
my manners. It’s been some ruff times here in Lupus Forest.”
“Why?” Viverna asked. She knew it was none of her business, but she seemed
to like this-this Lupe.
“Well, all of the Chias have migrated about 5 months early this year, and every
one is hungry. We order in food from other places, but we can never get enough.
“To top that, my father has comedown with a terrible cough, and he needs me
to find a wife. I need the learn how to run the castle, and quick,” The white
Lupe said.
“I haven’t been having such a grand time myself,” Viverna said. The Lupe looked
up at her questionably. “Well, as you can see, I’m silver. No other Shoyrus
I know are silver. I’ve been tested time and time again, to see if anything
is wrong with me, not only because I’m silver, but because I act different.
I only have one friend and her name is Sondra. I left the only home I knew to
come here.”
“Why?” The Lupe asked.
“I don’t know.”
The Lupe sighed.
“What are you doing out here? Why didn’t you eat me?! You said your Kingdom
was starved,” Viverna asked suddenly.
“I was out of patrol, looking for food, and for trespassers.
“I didn’t eat you because I could never eat a Shoyru. I think they’re….”
“Hmm?” Viverna asked.
“Nothing. I must be going, um, Shoyru. I’m late,” the Lupe said.
“Viverna.”
“I must be going, Viverna,” the white Lupe said.
“Bye, Prince Lupe,” Viverna said.
“Triren. Call me Triren.”
“OK, Triren.”
Triren trotted away, with Viverna’s eyes on him. I’ll never see him again,
she thought. “Triren!” she called.
Triren stopped and turned back. “Yes?”
“Will you meet me here? Tomorrow? Sunrise?” She felt awkward asking.
“Of course. I would like to get to know a silver Shoyru better.” Triren chuckled.
“Hide well tonight, the Midnight Watch will be out, looking for food.”
Viverna sat in a tree, waiting for Tiren to come. The night before, Viverna
slept in the tree, just to make sure that the other Lupes would not eat her.
I can’t believe I’m talking to a Lupe, She thought before the sun rose. A real
Lupe! And he wants to get to know me! We’ll probably become great friends, she
thought. She pulled out her stuffed Chia from her backpack. I know it’s childish
to have stuffed toys, she thought,but not this one. Her mother had given it
to her. She then saw Triren sprinting over the snowy forest hills.
She jumped off the tree with the plushie, and landed in a snowdrift. She quickly
flew out, and saw Triren looking around for her.
“Hi Triren! Do you want to see something?” Viverna asked.
“Sure, why not?” Triren said. Viverna showed him the Chia plushie. A childish
smile crossed his face, and he tore apart the Chia in glee.
“NO!” Viverna cried. Triren stopped, but all that was left of the little Chia
was an arm. Viverna tenderly picked up the arm. “You-you monster!” She cried.
In a huff, she flew off, a little too fast for the stunned Triren.
“Wait!” Triren called. “What did I do?”
“Aha! The prince! Grab him!” Viverna did not hear the muffled cries from Triren;
she was too busy crying.
“What a great day!” Evien said happily. “I have caught the prince of the Lupes,
and I found him somewhere he wasn’t supposed to be!” The Grarrl circled the
young Lupe prince.
“Let me go!” the Lupe cried.
“Fat chance!” Evien snorted. He rubbed his hands together greedily. “We’re
going to get ransom for you, prince. And you both must agree on it.”
“And if my father can not or will not pay?” Triren asked bravely.
“Then you're a goner,” the Grarrl said.
“Oh,” was all Triren could merely mumble. “What will the ransom be?”
“That your father will give over the throne to me, for your life,” Evien sneered.
"My father will never do that, not even for my life!” Triren cried.
“Exactly.”
“What do you mean, exactly?” Triren asked fearfully.
“Why would I tell you, young Lupe? You aren’t smart enough to even comprehend
some of my plans.” Evien laughed greedily. Triren growled and struggled to get
out of his ropes. “Don’t try to get out, Lupe. You won’t be able to.” Triren
stared up at Evien angrily. “What, you think you are strong enough to get out?
I doubt that. Brawn never wins against brains. You should think about that.”
“Well, you should be thinking about that also, Grarrl, because if my father
decides that he will give up the throne, then you must let me go free. I don’t
think that my father wants a crippled Lupe, for I will be in these ropes too
long.”
Evien laughed. “I have already thought of that. We have made you a small enclosure.
Do not worry.”
Triren narrowed his eyes, but did not say anything.
Viverna fly along, crying all the way. It was hard to fly and cry at the same
time, so she landed on a large, snowy tree branch. She rubbed the Chia’s only
arm for comfort, but every time she did so, she would remember what happened
to the rest of him. As she finally calmed down a little, she started to think.
“Wait! What did I do?!” All she could think of was what was going through
Triren’s head. I should go apologise, she thought. She got up, but left
the Chia toy on the tree. Sorry, mother, but I think this is best for both
of us.
“Triren!”she called. “Triren, where are you?” She had searched everywhere-
well, almost everywhere. She quickly flew back to the spot were she had yelled
at him, looking for his large footprints in the snow. She saw his, and oddly
enough, she saw someone else’s too. They were large, dinosaur-like feet, and
there were a lot of them. They-they look like the kind of feet a Grarrl would
have, she thought to herself, and then laughed. Like Grarrls are real!!!
Then she stopped laughing. I never deemed it possible that Lupes were real,
and yet they are. And they eat Shoyrus, just the books used to say. Maybe Grarrls
are real… and if they were, then that would mean that they are the Lupes’ enemy!
She gulped and looked at the footprints. Here goes nothing.
She flew low to the ground, following the footprints in the snow. It looked
as if there had been some kind of struggle, which fed Viverna’s thought that
Triren had been kidnapped. And what if he was? What am I going to do? She thought
to herself. She shook her head, and continued flying. She flew for about five
hours, and then finally, she came up to a dark, stone building, and the footprints
led right to the door. She flew up to the top, and looked through a small crystal
window. What she saw made her gasp in fear. She saw Triren in a small room,
about 7’ X 7’. His head rested upon his paws as he lie down in misery. She quietly
rapped on the crystal window, hoping to catch his attention. His head jerked
up, his ears catching the slightest of noise. When he looked through the window,
a small smile crossed his face. With her sharp claws, she drew a circle in the
crystal and popped it out.
“Triren!” she cried.
“Viverna! I’m trapped! You need to help me!”
“How?” she asked.
“I’m not sure,” Triren called, “But if you don’t find out how, I’ll be a goner.”
To be continued... |