The Time has Come

(The rain falls.) (Endlessly...washing away all that is.)

(My body burns... with heat, yet not heat born from flame...) (And it burns hot as much as it does ache...)

Hmm... The rain has ceased.... (I know not for how long I lay dormant, but I am sure in this, I do still live, yet barely.)

(Fate's cruel jest indeed. To open mine eyes moments before they close to eternity.)

(The haze in my sight grows ever thick...)

(Oh, the shame... To be felled by a dragon of dark...)

Aah!

Oh... Oh dear... ...!

(A child of man... For what reason...)

(Perhaps a poachers' scout, come to sell my scales to the highest bidder?)

(For if not, this agony that torments and holds...) (My death was to be quiet, yet no tranquil or gentle fade will guide me to endless void.) (No... T'was a fool's hope...)

Oh, thank goodness...

Come on! Get it together now! You still have life in you yet!

Do not think me foe, dragon. I come to treat your wounds, of which there are quite many.

I brought herbs, bandages, and string to tie. I swear I mean to do no harm, though it may hurt just a tinge.

Ahh!

Silly dragon! Your attempt at frightening a small village girl has done nothing but make wounds worse.

(Help me? With hands so small?) (Do not touch me child... I crave no pity from a creature so insignificant...) (I am a dragon of the heavens. Thou art but a frail child of man...)

(Hng...So this...is my journey's...end...)

(I merely fainted?) (And here I am again alone...)

(Where is the girl? And of a great deal more import...)

(What is this clutter that surroundeth me?)

(Tch. What use are wings that take no flight...)

(Nothing else can be done. Around here shall I look...)

(If I could but wish them wind so that I might leave this wretched den of man...) (I grow weary of its stench...)

(...Or is it dreams...taking hold... once more...)

(This dreadful fever plays tricks on mine ears...)

Good morning! Do you wake?

Hm?

Oh! Our eyes meet! I do wonder if you remember me, dragon? Perhaps this is proof you do.

And proof you are improved much more than yesterday. But I'm afraid your fever is as stubborn as its host. Allow me to dress your wounds, and if you do also tie them shut. ...Forgive me for attempts prior, I did not know the skin of dragon was so resilient...

In my village I am a healer, so do not fear my hand, it is one of experience.

Look now, dragon. Your bandages once white as your scales now soak in blood. You must let me close these wounds, or I fear I may run out of cloth large enough to dress them.

......

So you'll let me do it, then? Though it may sound strange for a healer to thank the sick... I thank you...

I give thee no such permission! The very thought of it tears at my pride. But of all the strength I muster to protest thy kindness, I fear I find only harsh words.

Wait...

You speak! That voice... T'was you!

Quiet thine insipid mouth. Of course I speak. Didst thou think me some chirping bird?

Ah...so all that I've said...you've...

...... (Humans. Hmph. In their minds the star to which the world revolves, yet ever frail in body.) (But, when met with their own insignificance they cower and they rage.)

Perfect! Now I can just tell you what to do instead of showing you!

What?

First, you must eat plenty of fruit. After your wounds are sealed, they will help you heal.

I want to see you back on your feet with haste! It pains me to see you in such a poor sort.

So with those mustered words of yours I pray you tell me when it hurts, when it does not... And everything between!

Wh-What...

I will be paying you a visit every day until you are fully healed. Understood?

Very good. The gift of speech is a gift of speed. Now lay your head so that I may get to work.

(This girl...) (She speaketh to me like some groomed pet!) That will be enough out of thee! I need not thy care, nor thy pity! I am a dragon...of...

There, there. You will feel no pain. The salve I've made will make sure of that. Close thy eyes, for when you wake all shall be done.

Come no closer! Thou speakest of words understood, yet mine seem to fall upon deaf ears.

But...

You said you had not the power more than words? Thus not the strength to repel mine hand?

Urgh...wretch!... I am not... finished...talk..ing...

('Tis a strange feeling. My senses tell me nothing and yet her hand... I feel. The needle...crosses...) (Her scent sweet barely overpowering the stench of blood...) (A comfort I can not explain but a comfort nonetheless.) (I...) (On my wake, she lay curled beside me, sweat-soaked and sleeping.) (A hairpin lay nearby. I dare not wake her, but return it to her head, I shall. Carefully. Quietly.)

Good morning! How do you feel? Wait...

Up again is it?! Stubborn dragon! You must lay down and gather your strength!

I did as such. Thine arrival simply fell upon the brief moment I did not.

Your excuses are as thin as the air in which you soar. If you had the strength to fly.

Excuse?! Again thou takest me for an inferior beast that has need for such a thing. I will not say this again. I need not thy doting.

And yet you remain here with your words and only words? Your wounds shall not heal if you insist on opening them so I suggest you stay still and stay quiet.

Ah! I see that you took the medicine.

...... Yes, but I shall not eat thy fruit. ....'Tis a child's snack.

Mhmmm, now open up wiiiide....

Guh!

Goes down nice and sweet, does it not? A favorite of mine and hopefully it will be yours as well. Next time I visit I shall bring more. Do be sure to eat them all.

...... (Covered head to toe in scratches... Harvesting these must have been no easy task...) (And all...for me?)

All right, then.

Before I take my leave allow me to dress your wounds once more. You may sleep once I am done.

...Hmph.

(I watched her as she moved quietly around me...)

(And each day since... To my side she returned, without fail.)

(Something in me has changed...) (The sweet scent I once thought odd, now lingers as if this were home.)

(Does she never tire?) (I am to her kind a monster, and yet she does not treat me so...she is unlike others I have seen, indeed...)

Dragon? Ah. You were tired indeed... Sleep now so you may heal...

(...And thee as well...) (For the sun doth shine upon us both, and it is good.)

(A roar?) (How is it so? I felled that dark dragon with mine own fang and talon...)

And here, I grow fat while evil stalks the skies in my stead.

Your wounds, how is it they worsen? I do not understand...

Mayhaps it is his darkness that gives rancor to my aching flesh.

Hm?

I am a Heavenly Dragon. I harbor what light shineth from bluest skies. Darkness is no poison, but its corruption would rot such purity indeed...

Then what can I do? I must heal these wounds with haste...

There is no thing thou canst do that has not been done, girl. The time for rest is over.

No! To leave now would be greeting death. There must be more to do. I must do more. I must...

(More?) (All thine attempts to heal are futile under his darkness. What more can be done?) (And it groweth ever darker...) (What can be done? What, can...be done...)

(I must feast...)

What... (Quiet! Quiet. Do not say those words. Not now, not ever. I am a dragon of the heavens.)

Done! I am sure this formula shall do the trick! I'm sure that with this formula...

Ahh!

...Away! Return to thy people. Stay far from me. I command thee. NOW!

But...

Fine... I shall do as you say...

But do take this medicine... I'll return on the morrow.

...Do no such thing.

(After then, I ensured she come no closer...)

(Stop this...) (What was once a whisper is now a shout ringing from my heart, tirelessly, endlessly.) (It grows, and it grows, and it grows... Louder and louder it grows!) (The dark one lives and it weighs on me so. And in my panic, thoughts as dark as his infect my very soul.) (Why?)

Dragon?

Good morning! Today I brought thee something quite special. Look! Cooked meats of the highest quality. Perhaps they will help thy...

NO!

Ah!

(No. I am wrong. This, is wrong. She is the light shone on morning dew and I...) (And I...)

Hm?!

I... If you could just say what it is I could do to help you... ...I know you are frightened and your pain unbearable...

......

Perhaps the maiden at the shrine knows what to do. I shall seek her counsel. I promise, I will find a way. All I ask is you do not succumb to his will. You still have time left.

......

Your power is great. And it is only matched by thy beauty and purest heart. Whatever it is you wish, it is a wish I shall grant. Just cling to life a little while longer.

...Fine.

(What is fine? Nothing is fine.)

(This girl...why must her scent be so intoxicating...)

...... (Darkness falls...)

Thou thinkest me beautiful and pure... Neither make me deserved of any wish. That thou thinkest so puzzles me.

It may not, but I shall prove you wrong.

Thy words contradict one another, girl.

When I first saw you I thought you some envoy from the heavens... Then I saw the blood and cuts in your skin, and were you any other creature I might recoil, but... The damage you bear paled to the greatness of your divine aura.

......

...Dragon, I've been meaning to ask, do you have a name?

What need have I of such a thing? I am. That is all.

I see...

...Hast thou? A name?

Oh! Yes! I, uh...

I should get going, lest I miss the maiden of the shrine.

...... Do not return.

I will. I will return. Tomorrow. And I will bring better herbs.

And you will eat your meat and the fruit I brought. And if the sun is out we shall walk together and decide for you a name.

I will see you on the morrow, it matters not what you say. For my love for you guides me.

......

I take thy love, and I return thee hate. Hate more than any love could ever be!

...I know.

Now please, just...

Huh?! Huff...huff... (Was it...a dream?) (And if it was so, from when?)

The rain...

I...must...leave this...place...

(Before her return... For I fear what is to come should we meet.)

And you will eat your meat and the fruit I brought. And if the sun is out we shall walk together and decide for you a name. I will see you on the morrow, it matters not what you say. For my love for you guides me.

The sun...shineth not...

I know thou seekest me. I sense it. Fret not! Thou needest wait no longer. I shall end thee.

(I thirst...and a numbness still lingers in the depths of my mind...)

Good morning! Shame about the rain. And what did I tell you about getting up? Your wounds have still not... Stop!....I... Ahhhh!!! Ah....

(I feel warm...) (And there is no sign of rain...)

(I have lived this nightmare for too long...) (Where is the girl? She should be here by now...)

(The thirst that tore at me so has ceased. At last my mind is calm. Yet, I need to drink.)

(I feel...light...) (Strange. It is as if my limbs are not mine own. I lay dormant for so long even my wings feel foreign.) (I can see her laughing at me now...)

(I was too hard on her, yet I remember not why...) (But I do know, the spirit I find myself in is her doing.) (This gratitude, and this regret... I must tell her...)

(The sun doth shine... May we walk under its glory and decide upon my name...)

Hm? Dear...gods... What... Have I done?

This face...this smile is... It is as if...

I...

...It's okay. Go ahead.

Ngh!