I’ve been promising a sample of my own original writing for several days now, as thanks for 100 followers! We’re up to 107 now and I’ve finally finished checking my writing!
I am my own proofreader, so I’ll always welcome any critiques. (This is lowkey begging for critiques, actually. Please? I need all the help I can get.)
I’m not going to give you any background information other than the fact this story is taking place in our world, in modern times, and that Fandra is one badass granny.
Excerpt from Forging Peace below the cut!
“You are abominations.”
Lock loosed a low snarl, the scales between his shoulders bristling like fur. He stood and took a step towards his grandmother. “Say that again!” he snapped at the elder dragon.
Fandra twitched her tail, swatting him across the face with the tip. While he was dazed, she twisted around and reached out, hooking a claw under his head and forcing him to look up. She hissed, “Look at you, losing your head so quickly! A hatchling could make a better impression than you! And you call yourself a dragon?”
Lock snarled.
"Lock."
Sage's voice was clear and crisp, cutting through the air above the sounds borne of the dragon's wounded pride.
Lock risked a glance towards the young human that had taken him in and raised him.
"Stop," Sage said firmly.
The dragon fell silent at once.
Fandra drew back, her long tail lashing from side to side as her chilly eyes looked between them. "You are abominations," she repeated herself. “A dragon who is not a dragon and a human who is not a human. You. Are. Abominations.”
Lock hissed, but said nothing, his golden gaze still focused on Sage.
"But perhaps," Fandra began gravely. "Perhaps it is time for abominations to shape the world."
That caught their attention.
As one, dragon and human looked to the massive elder, surprised.
"There is war," the dragon hissed. "War on three sides. Dragons are killing dragons, dragons are killing humans, and humans are killing dragons. If you do not learn to fight, you will inevitably perish, Lock as a traitor to dragons and Sage Price as a traitor to humans."
"So you're saying we have no choice?" Sage said. "Fight or die? Do you realize how cliché that sounds? This isn’t a story. This is real. You’re talking about our lives."
Fandra’s long tail twitched as she sat down. “Your lives are already at risk, whether you like it or not,” she stated evenly, her blue eyes glancing between them. “Your only options are to flee like cowards or take a stand.”
“It’s not that simple!” Sage exclaimed.
Lock gave a low rumble, his golden eyes flashing. Despite his draconic features, Sage had always thought him quite expressive and now, now she could see that he was thinking. “I think it is,” he declared after a long moment.
Sage looked up at the yearling. “How can you say that?” she asked. “We’re talking about war, Lock. You’re only a year old.” She looked up at Fandra again before her gaze shot back to Lock. “You’re not even full grown yet!”
Fandra curled her long tail neatly around her paws. “I thought as much,” she hummed. “Can he breathe fire yet?”
“What?” Sage answered her. “What does that have to do with anything?”
“We’re dragons, Sage,” Fandra pointed out. “We live lives as long as yours, or perhaps even a few decades longer, but we age very differently.”
Sage cocked her head to one side.
“What I am saying is that Lock is an adult. His maturity may be tampered by the bond he has with you and he may seem a bit young in some regards, but he is an adult.”
“But you’re five times his size, if not more. Most dragons are bigger than Lock.”
Fandra snorted. “You’re still thinking like a human,” she spat. “We continue to grow for a long time after reaching adulthood. He’s an adult, but he’s not done growing.”
Lock bared his fangs, his white scales rippling as he shifted his weight. The male dragon peered down at the woman. “You want to go home, don’t you?” he asked. “Mother was attacked very near the ranch. If aggressive dragons are already that close to our home and our family, they’re in danger.”
Sage’s eyes widened. She opened her mouth to respond, but caught herself.
“He is right,” Fandra mused. “Very few human weapons can damage a dragon and I highly doubt your family has any of those weapons.”
Sage looked at the elder dragon.
Fandra was right.
Her grandparents, her parents, and her siblings all lived on the ranch. If a dragon were to attack, there was a good chance her entire family would be wiped out.
Lock lowered his head to the young woman’s level so that he could look her in the eyes. “I’m scared, too,” he said. “But your home and your family are mine, too, and they’re every bit as important to me as you are. I don’t want to fight, but I do want to protect them. I’m sure you do, too.”
Sage raised her hands and pressed them against the sides of his narrow snout. She let her forehead rest against the scales between his nostrils. “Okay,” she agreed slowly. Then she lifted her head and looked at Fandra. “We’ll fight.”
