That put a different light on it, and, with a few more bites, I launched myself into the air again cursing myself, as soon as I was too far up to change my mind, for not getting the name of that Ghostlad. I was beginning to want to form relationships with these people and it was going to be hard if I never remembered to get their names. Of course, I had a billion relatives that I could get to know, I guess.
And that poor Elf. I wondered where he was.
The second Dragon was much easier to find. He came from about the same place as the first one… approximately, at least. And he was eager to fight, coming right up after me, flapping up the thermals.
I didn’t even try the dive this time, but concentrated on his face. I had several advantages… quicker on the wing (for short distances), experienced at fighting Dragons, and, most of all, I could put my beak, my Talons, and my wingtips in just about the same place at the same time… which I tried to arrange to be the Dragons face.
He, or they, had the advantage that they were bigger, quicker on the long flight and… I found to my chagrin, could whip their tail about.
He almost caught me with his tail once when I had dropped back over his right shoulder (thinking about a wing strike). As it was I just lost some feathers, and about a pound or two of dignity… since I let out a rather animal-like ‘squawk’ when it hit me.
He paid for it himself, though. His tail was part of his steering mechanism, and the slash at me jerked him around some, causing him to lose altitude. But, still, overall, his tail was a serious problem for me.
I moved up to his head and started ‘teasing’ him again. It seemed to me like these Dragons were easily angered. They didn’t mind relaxing in the thermals, but they hated having me around their heads. A little ‘squawking’ or ‘cawing’ around their head caused them to react most vigorously.
And it was one such reaction that won me this battle. He had coiled his neck back as I got close and then, when he figured I was in range, he launched his head out at me. I coiled up and put forward my beak, my talons, and my wingtips and, this time, I got a grip, right on his eyelid and jaw to the right side of his face. He screamed, and I clamped down and bit at his nose with my beak. The he screamed again and shook his head alarmingly, sending me flying off.
I stabilized quickly and urgently but, when I recovered enough to turn around, I saw that I needn’t have worried, the Dragon was paying no attention to me at all. One glace at the right side of his face told me that he would never be seeing out that eye again, and the pain that he was in left him totally distracted from worrying about me.
I took my time for the next part, looping up above him, watching his movements. He had obviously lost at least part of his ability to tell how far away I was, and he kept snatching at the air… and then twisting his head around to try to deal with his injury.
In the end I didn’t even need to force him to the ground, he went down himself, desperate with the pain. And then, once down, he didn’t even see the Spearman that, wisely, approached him on his blind side and put a spear through it.
I sat moping while I ate, wishing my Ghost buddy would show up. It was getting dark and I hoped he would share my tree. But as time went on it became obvious that I had outpaced the Ghosts, and I retired to my tree myself.
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Thanks again, God Bless, Soli Deo gloria,
Von