Owl and Dragon-Chapter 1
Chapter One: The Moonlit Egg
Once upon a time in a land just beyond the veil, Owl was flying to her hollow right before dawn. On her way, she spied the soft curve of an enormous egg in the moonlight. Intrigued, she glided down and landed on its smooth surface. A dragon egg, she thought. How strange and wonderful. Dragons lived far from this forest in the deep caves near the sea or in the sky-caves on the highest mountain tops. How the egg had gotten to the forest floor, Owl had no idea.
She recalled a story from her childhood about how a dragon egg forms in the spot where a dragon has died. Curious, she thought. Then she thought of it no more.
The next evening, Owl set off to hunt and remembered the dragon egg. She promised herself to check on it later. After a while, sated with field mice and voles, Owl returned to the egg. It glowed in the deep, dark woods, A crop of granite rocks were the only other objects illuminated by moonlight. Grounded in the soft earth and feathery ferns, the boulders seemed to roll in excruciatingly slow motion toward the bubbling river, owl followed their bald heads snaking their way to the water’s edge until she saw the egg, nestled in the fern fronds. The egg seemed loud and out of place in the still, quiet forest. As before, Owl glided downward and landed on the egg’s smooth surface, her talons rasping down the sides. Then she hopped off and slowly walked around the egg, inspecting it for fissures of life. The earth squished between her front toes, the grass blades and fern leaves bent and tore under her step, their sharp, green scent filling her nostrils. The egg’s perfectly smooth surface was bluish white with darker blue dots freckling one end of the egg. Beautiful, thought Owl. Then she flew home to rest.
On the third night, Owl returned to the egg, again. A gusty breeze rustled the pine needles and made the aspen leaves dance. Crickets were singing in the distance. The atmosphere felt electric, it buzzed with change. Dragon would hatch soon. Owl hopped onto the egg and waited. After a spell, she dozed off. A good amount of time later, she was awoken by a tilt, followed by a push and a peck that sent her flying to a nearby branch. Excitedly, she perched, watched and waited. Peck! Poke! Crack! A tiny hole darkened the eggshell’s surface, and a fissure began to form as the dragon came to life. Owl willed herself to stay awake as Dragon spent hour after hour slowly cracking and pushing the shell apart. At last, a damp, dragon foot flopped onto the ground. Then no movement. “That dragon’s fallen asleep, again” Owl muttered.
The next day had come and the next night had fallen by the time Dragon fully emerged from its egg. Freed from the shell at last, he looked around but made no move. Owl floated down off her branch and landed a few feet from where Dragon stood. For a few minutes, they did nothing but stare at each other. Owl’s big, round yellow eyes were ringed by a band of watery black. Dragon’s eyes were a kaleidoscope of oscillating flecks of purple, teal, red and orange that twinkled around almond-sliver pupils. The stood entranced with each other. Owl’s yellow, earthen irises reflected Dragon’s shimmering gaze. Astounding, thought Owl. She had never before been this close to a dragon. His skin smelled like a summer storm when the hot air turns wet. There was also a lingering metallic wisp around Dragon, as if lightning were nearby. Minutes passed as Owl and Dragon stared at each other. A strange comfort was building between them. The crickets quieted their song. The aspen leaves stopped dancing.
“Hello”, said Owl.
Dragon opened his mouth and Owl leaned forward in anticipation of his voice. Instead, his tongue shot-out and snatched a fat, dung beetle prattling by completely unaware. Owl puffed her feathers but remained still, eyes locked on his. Just then Dragon’s eyes drooped in fatigue. He broke their gaze and began scratching at the ground, flinging bits of shell away. “You’re tired, follow me.” said Owl. Without even wondering if Dragon could fly yet, Owl pumped her wings in a feathery whoosh and shot into the velvet sky. Baby Dragon leapt up and ran after her, eyes skyward, tracking her flight as he ran. Dragon took a few wobbly hops, wings outstretched, and took flight. They were headed to Owl’s hollow in the great oak tree.
Sign up for my fun, free newsletter!
