Revenge of the Myth

Chinza felt bad when she stopped talking- talking had been helpful in keeping her mind from the raging depression settling in her bones. Still, she had to learn to listen for this new companionship to work. She was fine with him being against her plan entirely, but there was one thing she felt need to protest...

"You're not bad with people," the girl retorted after hearing 'I do not deal well with people'. "You're dealing with me just fine, aren't you? I may be dead to my village, but I'm still a person. As for ideas.... What would be good revenge to you for what happened? My ideas all have problems... Maybe yours won't."
 
"It is far easier to point out the holes in someone else's plan than it is to make up a good plan of your own," Erbrow said blandly. "I don't have any clue whatsoever. Although I would suggest not going straight to the man initially. I would suggest coming at things sideways. What really hurts? I would say losing money hurts, otherwise he would not have stooped to such treachery to obtain your family store. So why not do something that would cost him money. Lose his customers, destroy his other businesses, destroy his product, things like that."
 
"Sideways, huh? I guess I could start my own store- I'm sure I'd do better than he is, considering his business was always less then ours, and I learned a lot from my parents. All I really know how to do, though, is haggle, do chores, things like that. I'd love to ruin his reputation, but if I show up in town to begin with, they'll just believe he was right and that I used magic to survive...."
 
"Correct. Returning to your old town is completely out of the question if you want to live. Of course, if you do not want to live, it might be faster to just throw yourself off the cliff, but I leave that up to your discretion." Erbrow rose to his feet and stretched mightily. "As for me, I intend to sleep. Tomorrow I will be out for a time, and you will have plenty of time to think and plan." He started walking toward his nest, forgetting he hadn't given her any kind of room or bedding.
 
The dragon had left her with a lot to think about, but no real place to think about it. She sighed and sat quietly at the eating area, putting her elbows on her knees and her head in her hands, staring into space. "I don't want to kill myself, so that's a good sign I guess... But how am I going to get my revenge on that bastard if I can't go into town?" She shook her head in defeat and stood up. "I'll think more about this tomorrow. For now, it's bed time..."

That's when she realized it. She had no idea where to sleep in the cavern she was taken into. Going outside seemed impossible and implausible. She figured she could follow Erbrow, but that was just too embarrassing in her mind- sharing a bed with a handsome guy wasn't really acceptable in her upbringing, even if he was a dragon. Thus, there was only one place she could think of to sleep.

"Let's see... It was this way, right?" She took her time studying the path as she got into what she considered 'the animal barn' of the dragon's lair. Most of the animals were already asleep, but the billy goat noticed her and started to nudge her. She wandered into its spot and laid down quietly, patting the hay next to her. "You sleep here, right? I'm the guest, so I'll take the regular floor." She smiled, patting the billy goat's head a bit as she dozed off, tears in her eyes falling down her cheeks. All night, in her sleep, she was whimpering. She missed her parents- but they were no longer able to hear her cries.
 
Erbrow slept in his dragon form curled up in his nest. It was good to sleep after a hard day of flying and stealing young maidens. He wondered if any knights would be trying to rescue her? She was no princess, but knights seemed to need little to no excuse for fighting ferocious beasts. Erbrow suspected it was all those jousting tournaments and the clangs to the head they received.

The next morning, the red dragon padded up into his animal shed and looked around. He'd almost forgotten the human. The sheep maaed and wandered over to him, the goats following with their little tails wagging. He counted wooly heads as he walked toward the door. One, two, three sheep... one, two three, four, five she-goats and... ah, there was the billy. And a human head? Ah. She'd slept with the animals. Oh well, at least it was warm and soft.

Light spilled into the cave as he rolled the stone out of the way, releasing the animals into their grazing pasture. Then he picked up a bucket and swooped down off the plateau. A stream of water far below offered fresh, cold, clean water. He scooped up a bucket full and flew back up to pour it into the wooden trough. He could not help thinking that if his life was to be recorded, this was the part most people would skip over rather than read. Not everything about being a dragon was all glory and fantastic fights. Sometimes, there was also wonderful chores like the fabulous scooping of sheep dung. He'd take care of that particular epic quest later. He closed the doorway most of the way, leaving just enough room for the animals to slip in and out, then took off flying. He had some things to take care of. He'd be back in a couple of hours. He was sure the human could take care of herself for a while.
 
When she heard the sound of flapping wings and the light had begun to show itself through her eyelids, Chinza began rubbing her forehead and looked around. So it hadn't been a dream after all? She could tell by looking around, seeing the hay and piles of sheep dung, she was still in the cavern and had fallen asleep with the animals. It took her time to realize her savior was nowhere to be seen, but by then, she'd already decided to treat that day like a normal day in her no longer normal life. Tying her hair up instead of leaving it braided down her back, she decided it was time to give back to her savior, even if just a little bit. First, she had to take care of the dung.

It took some time, but Chinza found a scoop for the poop and a flowerbed not far from the cavern to fertilize with it. She took many trips in and out of the cave to bring more of the dung to fertilize it. "The flowers are already quite lovely. With this as manure, she was sure they'd bloom even greater. When she'd gotten cleared of all the dung, she found her way back to the bath from the day before, wanting to wash the smell of the dung off her hands before she got to work tending to the animals.

After a few hours, Chinza found herself laying back in the grass amidst the sheep. She'd managed to find bottles to fill with goat and sheep milk, had brushed them all by hand, and was now tired out and laughing as the sheep herded around her, their wool tickling bare skin as they snuggled up against her for a nap. Without thinking, she dozed off alongside them, a smile on her face. It was a good thing she used to help the neighbors a lot- it helped her have the stamina and know-how to tend to domestic animals and plants, something she hoped wouldn't get her in trouble with the dragon when he returned home.
 
Sometime later, Erbrow landed on the edge of the plateau and shook himself. Ah, home sweet home! Now to see what that human child had been dion in his absence. He spotted the sheep dozing in the sun and approached warily. Where was that human, and why weren't the sheep stirring?

Then the goats spotted him and ran over, maaing happily. The sheep lifted their heads and baaed, grumbling at his interruption. Were they... fluffier and whiter? And was the human there among them? He walked over and looked down curiously.
 
Chinza heard the baaing of the sheep and stirred from her nap, sitting up and rubbing her eyes with her semi-dirt covered hand. "What's the matter you ewes?" Slowly adjusting her eyes to the sunlight from the darkness that existed in her sleep, she saw Erbrow and gave a goofy, sleepy smile. "Welcome home, Erbrow. I made myself at home. I hope it's alright."
 
Erbrow twisted his head to get a better look at her and grunted. What a strange human, all snuggled up with the sheep. He stepped over her, walking clean over, his tail ruffling her hair as he passed over her. He laid down in the sun and stretched out. The hot sun felt good on his scales. He stayed still as the goats scrambled up and started playing "King of the Hill" on his back and legs.

One of the sheep got up, shook itself, and wandered over to Erbrow. The dragon tilted its claws and let the sheep use him to scratch her itches.
 
She sat up and looked around when the animals began to leave her side, only to see Erbrow laying as long as he was on the ground. His stretched form intrigued her- and the animals playing with him while he tried to rest had her giggling. "You know, I know they say it's bad to meet your idols, but it's not so bad meeting a creature we're always told scary stories about at all." She walked over and knelt down next to him, smiling. "After all, you're a lot nicer than the stories say. I was raised to fear dragons, but you don't make me feel scared at all. I mean, look how happy the animals here are? That's hard to achieve if you're threatening, so it shows you're kind."
 
Erbrow raised his head, somewhat offended by that. He was most definitely a great and terrifying dragon! He was not some... some... farm animal! People feared and trembled to know he was coming! He set his paw down, nudging one of the sheep out of the way as he did so. He raised himself up majestically, sucked in a deep breath, and let out an ear-shattering roar that rattled the bones even as it burst the eardrums. It reverberated off the distant mountains and echoed back. The mighty dragon glared down at the girl. How was that for "not so scary," hmm?

The eldest ewe bleated and shook her head at him irritably. It almost looked like she was scolding him for his display. The other animals ran a few steps away... then came back almost instantly. Yep. Very scary, very terrifying, what happened to their scratches?
 
Chinza was surprisingly calm as Erbrow roared. She covered her ears because of how loud it was, but when he glared at her, she simply smiled. "Animals have a good sense for kind-hearted folk. I think that goes for dragons too." She curled up in a ball next to him, near one of his claws. "I'd like to sleep somewhere else than the den tonight, but Billy over there kept me nice and warm. It was nice. Oh, by the way, I used the sheep dung as manure for some of the local flora. Was that okay?"
 
Erbrow snorted. Animals were also idiots who fell all over themselves to please anyone who fed them and scratched their itches. It was not exactly a fool-proof tactic. He looked at her tiny body next to his claw and considered tossing her off the cliff. All of her fluffy feel-goods were not conducive to a tough image! But he let her stay. For now. He might toss her off later, but the sheep liked her.

The dragon grunted at her explanations for her bed and the spreading of the manure. Dragon vocal cords were not very well suited to human speech, so he tended to save his words for when he had something to say that would be worth the effort. At least she was self-entertaining and not afraid of work. That was nice. He plucked one of the goats off his back and set it down before rising to his feet. He beckoned for Chinza to follow him and moved the stone out of the way. There was one other spot for her to stay. He was not thrilled with the idea of her staying there, but he supposed it was better than her smelling like the billy goat.
 
Chinza got onto her feet and ran to follow him, needing to sprint to keep up, but happily doing so. She wasn't sure where he would lead her, but she was sure it would be interesting, if nothing else. For now, this cave was her home too- or the closest thing to a home she could get. She set her mind to being as helpful as possible, while also thinking about how to properly thank the dragon for not pushing her off a cliff like he very well could. Sure, she said all that fluffy stuff- but she knew what he was. She knew that fairy tales usually had a speck of truth or a cause. She also knew being around a dragon was dangerous if knights became involved... But she was surprisingly certain that wouldn't happen. Knights wouldn't save her, because she didn't need saving from the dragon, but from her own kind.
 
Erbrow led her down to his living space and sat (an odd arrangement for a creature with such a massive tail) off to one side. He indicated the human-sized door with a sweep of one claw. There. She may enter. He supposed.

On the other side of the door, a small apartment-type space had been built into the cave. There was a bed, a desk and chair, even a small table and a lamp for light. Shelves had been built into the walls, clearly added as the need arose as some were neat little wooden slats hanging on the wall, and some were stone recesses carved into the walls by dragon claws. Old books lined the shelves along with a few essentials like plates and eating utensils, and a wooden trunk sat at the end of the bed. A few rough outfits of men's ware lay neatly folded under the closed lid.

Once upon a time, this had been home to someone. Not for a long time, though, had any hand stirred the dust lining every surface and turning things an even gray color.
 
Chinza coughed as she entered the room- dust was hovering in the air, resting on all the flat surfaces, and bunnies of it cluttered under the table. This much dust was unacceptable! She didn't care if it was her room or not, it had to be cleaned. She ran out of the room to find a broom she remembered seeing in the animal den, and brought it back with her with a scoop. "No one should live in this dust. I'll get to cleaning it right away- you won't even recognize it when I'm done!"
 
It wasn't really in the physical capabilities of a dragon to roll his eyes, but Erbrow did his best. Human, dragon, all females of a certain type seemed to be the same. Before they'd even really gotten a good look at where they were or what the area might mean, they had to clean. Probably if explorers to a lost world found an old abandoned temple to some long forgotten god, any woman on the team would charge in with a broom before they'd even cleared the place of boobytraps.
 
"If I'm to stay in here, I need it clean. The rest of your home is immaculate, mostly... But this amount of dust would give anyone hay fever." Chinza felt a need to explain, since dragons probably didn't have the same allergy to dust many humans did. Now that she thought of it, she didn't know any real information about dragons, did she? "Say, do dragons get allergies at all?"
 
That required some thought. There were things that were uneatable for dragons, but allergies were not much of a thing. Even if he did have allergies, Erbrow didn't know that he wanted to share information as to his weaknesses with a human. He thought back. No, he couldn't think of anything he was allergic two. He knew a dragon who was allergic to sheep. That had been a hoot when the poor dragon was sneezing scorch marks every which way while trying to pick wool out of his teeth.

In reply, Erbrow grunted and shook his head. Nope. No allergies. At least he didn't have any. It was hard to be allergic to anything when you breathed fire and had smoke coming out of your nose.
 
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