Book 3: Chapter 118 (1/2)
A purple dragon lay in the bottom of a pit, a layer of red mud underneath her. Her eyes were pressed shut, and her back rose up and down in time with her breaths. Snorts escaped from her nostrils as her face twitched. Her claws scratched the ground, sinking her paws deeper into the soft earth. Air surged into the pit as Alora’s chest expanded, taking in a deep breath through her mouth. With a thunderous crash, a sneeze racked her body and the ground around her. A crack ran up the side of the pit, and a particularly large rock was dislodged, landing on Alora’s head.
“Gyack!”
Alora shot to her feet, her head swiveling from side to side. The rock rolled off her head and onto the ground by her front claws. She frowned and stared at it. Her chest lurched, and a second later, reddish-black vomit spewed out of her mouth. She brought her paw up to her head and groaned, rubbing her forehead while frowning, her eyes squinting. “What the heck? Did I catch the flu?” She closed her eyes and sat on her haunches, rubbing her temples with both her front paws. “Or did I eat something bad? That was a really weird dream. I’m sure I ate something bad. But if I eat something bad in a dream, would it affect me out here?”
Grating sounds rang out as she scratched her head with her claws. She sighed and opened her eyes before reeling back. “What the heck!? I’m purple!” Her neck craned down and to the side, her gaze taking in every inch of her body. “Why am I purple?” She swallowed and rubbed her eyes. She slowly opened her right eye and brought her paw up to her face. It was still purple. “This isn’t good. Mom’s going to withhold food from me.”
Alora’s eyes narrowed, and she bolted upright, standing on her hindlegs. She crawled up the side of the pit and peeked her head over the edge. “Zyocuh? Where are you?”
There was no response.
“He ran away!” Alora clacked her teeth together and climbed out of the pit. She brought her head up towards the sky and sniffed. Then she lowered her head to the ground, her nostrils expanding and contracting as small snuffling sounds filled the air. “He ran away after finding out I turned purple! How dare he? I knew I should’ve tied him up, but I didn’t think I’d fall asleep.”
Alora rubbed her chin and sat back on her haunches. She brought the back of her paw up to her face and spat on it. She rubbed it against her side before bringing it back up. Alora’s face darkened. There weren’t any signs of the purple color fading. “How do I explain this to Mom? I…, I think I’ll blame it on Vur. Okay. This is definitely Vur’s fault. He’s the adult who was supposed to be watching over me.” A sigh escaped from her lips, and she tilted her chin up towards the clouds. “The real question is why am I talking to myself out loud? I should stop.”
“No, no. Don’t stop. It’ll help me understand your state of mind better.”
Alora froze. She waited with bated breath, but the strange voice that she swore she just heard didn’t say anything. “H-hello? Is someone … there?”
“Down here.”
Alora swallowed and lowered her head towards the sound. It seemed to be coming from underneath her paw. She raised it up, but no one was there. “Where are you?”
“Over here.”
Alora flinched. This time, the sound came from near her head by her … paw. She stared at the tip of her claw. It shone with a dim light, and the voice from before came through, “Yes, you found me.”