Dragon Moon - a work in progress 5

5


     Chilled was the air and dark the sky on this late autumn night. Fog from the pond formed fur-like frost on the dried sweet grass. Thin crystals of ice formed patterns along the waters edge. Snow Moon sniffed at the air and turned with questioning eyes to his mother. “It is not rain that I smell on the wind but something new, something different.”
     “Snow is coming and it is time that we began traveling southward where the grazing will be more plentiful and the dangers will be fewer. It is time for the great bears to begin fattening themselves for their long winter sleep.”
     “Mom, I’ve seen the great bears and though they look dangerous they only eat berries and fruits. Surely they would not harm us.”
     “Snowy,” she said using her new pet name for him, “Though they eat plants as we do they also eat flesh as the lions and dragons do. When the bears are fed full they may be harmless to us if we do not encroach on their territory. But be aware, my son, that at this time of year they can and will kill to satisfy their appetites. We must leave here before they begin their feeding frenzy. Do you see the southern hills below where the moon now stands?”
     “Yes, Mother, the one that looks like a tortoise’ back?”
     “I never thought of it so, but yes that is the one. Before the next cycle of the moon we must be beyond there or we’ll not make it through when the depth of winter comes. As we get closer to the tortoise we will come to a dry and barren land. We must cross it as quickly as possible without stopping to eat or drink. We may even travel by day if need be for it is a land cursed with dragons.”
     “Snowy, my son, you have grown tall and strong in these past seasons and it will take all of our strength to make it past that desert. We must also be watchful for our own kind lest they see us.”
     Hanging his head and looking away, he asked, “Mother, will you always be an outcast because of me?”
     “I am your mother first and a member of the People second.”
     “I can not miss what I’ve never known, but surely you who were raised in the herd must find it hard to be alone with just me. Is there no way that you and I can rejoin the herd? I’ve proven that I can hide myself from the eyes of the night predators. Certainly that is enough.”
     “I wish it were so, Snowy, but the People are bound by traditions impossible to break. You would always be seen as a threat to the group safety in spite of any evidence to the contrary. Now drink deep for we begin this night.”