Chapter Text
Yuuri Katsuki couldn't believe his eyes. He took off his spectacles for a moment and rubbed them, thinking that perhaps he was very tired from his journey. He had been walking for three days straight in the direction of another town where he could begin his new life as Scribe, barely stopping to rest, sleep or eat the few rations he managed to take with him. But no, he wasn't tired enough to hallucinate.
But his eyes weren't deceiving him... A dragon!
A real dragon was lying wounded over a floor of scorched grass. Its huge body was severely damaged by cuts made by many swords. Even the membranes of its gigantic wings had been pierced by iron arrows to disable its flight.
It was still breathing. Yes, but painfully and slowly.
Yuuri held his breath for a second, half frightened and half excited by the discover. He was well aware that there were still dragons scattered throughout the world. However, they were few, since Kings ordered to hunt them to take possession of their treasures. And many knights, boasting about their worth, murdered them and crafted weapons from their valuable scales. So, more than encountering a dragon, what Yuuri was really surprise him the fact of seeing one who was still alive.
Looking at the surroundings, the dark-haired man could see blood spreading over the ground. Blue blood of a dragon mixed with humans red blood, which made Yuuri think that there were at least four or five knights who were after the dragon, and they might had been very wounded to finish it and decided to retire to return later for its scales. There were no signs of broken armors that suggest the dragon had eaten them.
Yuuri, beside the obvious panic of seeing such a majestic and mythical creature, he felt sad for it. Trying not to make too much noise, he stepped forward to have a better view of it. Yuuri knew he was committing a stupidity, but he remembered reading in a book that dragons only attacked if they felt threatened. And the dragon in front of him looked very wounded to even move a paw. In theory, he was in no danger. Probably that experience wouldn't be repeated again in his life. He didn't want to miss it.
The dragon was gigantic, maybe thirty or forty feet long..., or perhaps a little less. From the angle where Yuuri was looking at the dragon, it looking too imposing even with his ghostly appearance. Its scales were white, but they had a beautiful and contrasting iridescent glow. The blood of some of his wounds seemed already dry, superficial injuries probably, but the others were still dripping celestial threads. And a small portion of one of its thighs appeared to be scaleless. The knights must have ripped them off to prove their bravery.
In order to put an end to his curiosity, Yuuri approached to its head, feeling how the dragon still hot breath had strength enough to push him back a little. And with some precaution, Yuuri extended a trembling hand to touch it. The dragon's skin was cold and hard, like a rock, but it had a soft touch, just like silk.
It was a really shame that such a beautiful creature had to die in such an agonizing way...
The dragon made a grunting sound and Yuuri stepped back. The dark-haired man then looked up and noticed a pair of huge eyes as blue as sapphires looking directly at his owns browns. Yuuri felt a strong jolt all over his body. It wasn't just panic... He felt as if he were looking at a divinity; A strange mixture of respect, adoration, and terror buried in his chest. His head ordered him to run, but his legs didn't obey him. Although he would lie if he said that he had not been paralyzed just to keep staring at those shining orbs.
However, the seconds passed and the dragon did nothing but blink. It didn't move or give any indication that it was going to do it. It was as if Yuuri's presence didn't bother the dragon at all. Then Yuuri could see the loneliness and bitterness in its gaze, and he understood.
The dragon had give up. It was waiting patiently for the moment of its death.
That thought brought on a terrible affliction on Yuuri's heart. Yuuri couldn't let the dragon die like that. It would be inhuman of him to leave it without even trying to help it. But it wasn't like he could do anything to calm the pain... Unless ... Among the things he carried in his leather backpack Yuuri was sure he had a bottle filled with medicine. It was some kind of a elixir that was brew in his hometown since the herbs that were used in the mixture grew there naturally. The potion was neither magical nor miraculous, but it cured some non-lethal diseases and relieved pain. He didn't need it and he could surely buy more in the town he was going to, so he decided to give it to the dragon.
"He-hello ..." He mumbled with fear, without having stopped trembling, but the dragon still didn't react, it just looked at Yuuri expectantly. "I... I want you to... take this." Yuuri showed it the bottle. "It will take away the pain... Al least that's what I expect... I don't really know if it works with dragons..."
Oh, but what was he doing? Even if the dragon could understand human language, it surely would not trust in him, since it were other humans who left him in such a pitiable state. However, to Yuuri's surprise, the dragon open its jaws and stuck out its tongue. It took to the black-haired man only a few seconds to process what was happening, and then hurried to pour half the liquid over it's tongue and instinctively push his hand away in a hurry. The dragon swallowed the medicine.
Yuuri smiled and tears welled up in his eyes, falling to the ground. But he cleaned them up at once, feeling ashamed of himself. Who was suffering a painful death was not him but the dragon.
Seeing that the creature had no intentions of attacking him, Yuuri searched his luggage for a rag, but he only found an old garment that he knew he would never use again, so he used it to pour the rest of the medicine into it.
Yuuri circled the dragon to get to his wounds, raising his hands in a submission way and letting know to the dragon he wouldn't hurt it. The dragon gently dropped its head to the grass, turning toward him, perhaps curious to see what the human would do next.
"S-sorry, this might hurt a little." Yuuri warned before he laid the garment on one of the wounds and began to move his hand as gently as he could.
He went on like this, with relative calm, with each one of the wound while the dragon didn't seem to mind that he touched it. Some of the cuts, however, were too deep and sometimes the dragon made weak moans of pain that sounded alound in the human small ear. Yuuri then would stop for a moment, fearing of making the dragon suffer more instead of thinking that it could attack him in revenge.
When Yuuri finally reached the the part where the scales were missing, the blood was still fresh and the smell was unbearable, so he didn't have the stomach to continued.
So there was nothing more that Yuuri could do for the dragon. The sun was about to hide behind the trees and the wind went cold. The best thing he could do next was getting back on his way before the thieves started to fill the roads. After all, he was expected to report at his new job on that very day.
"I must go now..." Yuuri announced as he gathered his things. He approached the dragon's head and stroke his nose, laying his forehead on its. He was so tired that he didn't even realize when he stopped being afraid of the dragon. "I hope you get better. But if not... I'm sorry, some humans are cruel." He said, and without looking back as he continued on his way.
Yuuri managed to reach the town before midnight, giving to his superior the excuse that he had to take another way to avoid a group of thieves, so he had no problems for being late. He got a room in a Inn, dined and took a bath to remove the dirt and blood he was able to hide using gloves, which he also washed.
While the bed was comfortable enough to doze off, it took Yuuri a quite to fall asleep. He still couldn't assimilate what had happened to him that day... A dragon. He had met a dragon! And he came out of alive of it! But of course, it had been only because the dragon was on the verge of dead... He sighed wearily and closed his eyes.
Yuuri had did everything he could to keep the dragon from suffering. Now he only had to wait until the dragon died in peace before the knights came back to finish the job. It would be difficult for anyone else to find the dragon in the thicket of the forest. He himself came upon it by accident as he pursued his gourd canteen that had fell from a bridge to the river, which led him away from the main road.
The next day Yuuri couldn't stop thinking about the dragon. Although at that time it should have already died, maybe it was still breathing. Since Yuuri's job was just to copy texts, he had no problems when his mind began to wander around, he even could think of an excuse to get away from his co-workers who wanted to give him a little welcome feast.
When Yuuri finished his shift, he rushed to the nearby potion store to buy another elixir. He prepared his travel bag again, but this time without filling it too much. He only put inside some rags that he found in the Inn, the medicine he just bought, his gourd canteen, and some food.
Guided only by his memory, Yuuri sought the place where they had met. It took some time to recognize the exact path, since the adrenaline and darkness of the day before made it difficult to remember, but he managed to find the right path after several attempts.
And there it was again. The dragon... His eyes were closed... but he was breathing. And he looked quite calm. Yuuri even would have believed that it was another dragon if it wasn't for the location of the wounds. The dark-haired man approached him again very cautiously, but stopped when the dragon looked up. His sapphire eyes looked different, with more life. Then he rested his head on the floor, not feeling alarmed of Yuuri presence.
Yuuri, still in fear, resumed the march. He didn't know if the day before he had been safe because the creature was tired or not hungry, but now the dragon seemed to have the energy to attack if something bothered him. Yuuri needed to be twice as careful if he didn't want to be the one who died that day.
Yuuri shook his head, putting aside those dark thoughts, and smiled instead.
The dragon was alive and seemed stable. That was the only thing that really mattered.
He didn't know if it had been thanks to medicine, or perhaps the dragons had the ability to regenerate themselves, but Yuuri felt happy.
"I ... I'm glad you're okay." He remarked, and the dragon this time deigned to look at him. "I brought you more medicine. But... I don't know if you want to drink it again..." The dragon made a sound like a sigh, or so Yuuri believed. However, the white dragon stuck out his tongue and they repeated the process.
But now Yuuri used the gourd canteen to wet one of the rag and clean the blood as best he could, at least enough to make the scales glow a little. When the rag turned completely blue, he changed it for another one. And when he had only one rag left, he used it to spread the elixir again. This time he dared to approach the area without scales, taking special care of the exposed skin. However, the dragon now didn't seem to feel pain.
Before the day went dark Yuuri returned to the town, promising to the dragon that he would return the next day. And so he did.
During the following days, the dark-haired man continued to visit him. He even brought with him some dried meat and fruits. Yuuri supposed that the dragon hadn't eaten anything, because it seemed like he hadn't moved from the same spot yet. According to a book he found in the library where he worked, dragons could eat anything, even junk, but Yuuri thought it would be better to give it food in good condition.
And although Yuuri spent much of his evenings with the dragon, he wasn't sure what he was trying to achieve. It was obvious that he couldn't keep the dragon as a pet, the few coins in his purse wouldn't allow it; and obviously the creature was too big to go unnoticed by the townspeople. Nor could he be sure of what the dragon would do once recovered. The only option he had was to take care of him and pray his wings would get better so he could fly away from humans.
During on of those afternoons, Yuuri was reading a book while leaning his back on one of the dragon's front legs. He wasn't sure, but he thought he could felt for several minutes a curious blue gaze on him, the dragon was maybe wondering what was that object in his hands.
"It's a book about dragons," Yuuri said, opening the book to show a specific page, which had illustrations of other dragons. "It says here that exists several races of dragons, and that they are distinguished by color. Besides, their scales are as valuable as silver and gold, but you... " He turned the page and his face became serious. "You are a white dragon, a rare specimen even by the standards of your species. Your scales are worth the same or more than diamonds... Is that why they attacked you?" He asked, unable to avoid the sad feeling when recalling the dragon condition days ago. "Ah... I don't even know if you can understand me at all." He sighed, feeling exhausted. But the dragon used his nose to tap his cheek. Yuuri was startled. "You... can you understand me?" The dragon shook his head, as if he were trying to say yes. "I see. It's good to know." Yuuri then smiled and patted the dragon's head.
The dragon, pleased with that, pushed his face against Yuuri's body, just as a puppy would, and Yuuri laughed because it tickled him. Apparently, they become fond of each other.
"So you're the one who's been taking care of Viktor." Suddenly said a young male voice and they turned around to where it came from.
The voice belonged to a boy with golden hair that fell to his shoulders, and his eyes were as green as emeralds. Yuuri was able to deduce the newcomer was a teenager, perhaps fourteen or fifteen years old. In spite of being so young, his features were hard on his face, adding his frown furrowed in disdain.
After a moment, Yuuri panicked and instinctively wanted to protect the dragon by trying to hide him behind his outstretched arms, which was ridiculously useless because of his enormity. However, the dragon, which had been referred to as 'Viktor', did nothing to try to defend himself.