Life was strange.

Life was unfair.

Life was up and down, giving her an unfair fight in uneven weather.

That is what she felt right now.

For she was currently prowling after her two only friends.

Kidnapped by her one and only monster.

Terrifying to think about, so she avoided doing that.

Trying instead to think of an idea to save her two friends, bound as they were, dragged behind the fully metal monster.

Bound with rope onto a sheet of foldable metal, pulled along in the deep snow.

The metal monster being terrifyingly strong, not taking a break for anything.

Not even to eat.

From night to day, the monster trudged on.

Herself feeling the weight of sleep gnawing at her mind, pushed aside for the moment by brætt líf.

She’d sought opportunities.

Sought chances.

Chance’s to save her two friends.

But she would not and could not win in a fight against the monster.

It was a monster, after all.

But she just knew, just knew that the chance would come. The chance to save them.

A chance that seemed to grow slimmer with each day.

For in the distance, she could smell the vast and disgusting smell of humans.

Many, many humans.

Piled alongside each other as if doing nothing but piling their filth into one place.

She knew what that meant, taught by her mother, taught to stay far away.

A city.

A human city.

She could not let the monster get there.

But what could she do?

She ran ahead, scouting the path, seeing odd stones sticking out from odd places. Symmetrically placed, barely hidden by the snow.

A road. loomed over by many, many trees.

Farther ahead, the trees grew sparser and sparser until she came to the edge.

At the edge, she spotted a huge, enormous wall made of white rock in the distance. Bigger than even her mother.

The wall seemed to grow endlessly towards each side of the horizon, with a vast, vast land of plain snow in front.

She spotted small humans prowling the top of these walls. And what looked to be a small group of very small humans walking outside on the vast snowy plain.

She stared at the scene, taking it in.

Realising why her mother had told her to respect the strength of the human mind.

Realising that she’d need to be stronger and smarter than a certain human monster to save her friends.

Looking around, she searched for any inspiration, any ideas.

Smelling humans nearby, ducking immediately into the shadow of a nearby tree, hiding within its white canopy.

Following her smell, she saw three humans.

Spears in each hand, ducking low to the ground, staring towards the wall in the distance.

Turning to face what they were staring at, she spotted the smaller humans in the distance, now being bigger. Having walked closer to the woods and away from the walls.

Squinting her eyes, she noticed that there were six humans in the group closing in.

One big, and five small. Presumably children and an adult.

Coming even closer, she noticed that they were all wearing thick clothing and bows strapped to their shoulders and what appeared to be rounded leather bags held at the tip of their spears, shields hanging on their backs, far too big for their small sizes.

The only one not hefting heavy amounts of gear was the lead human, the adult human, wearing metal instead of thick clothing with a sword strapped to his hip and a shield on his back.

They were close now, and the three humans hiding started to rise from their hiding place.

Ambush, she knew.

An ambush it was.

The three humans jumped out from their hiding place, spreading out easily on the snowy plain.

Four children shouted in fearful surprise, the one adult barked out determined orders.

Everyone surprised, frightened.

All except one child, who immediately took in the incoming ambushers, dropping their bag and jostling around in it.

Peculiar.

The other children seemed to freeze, unaware of what to do.

The adult grabbed their sword and shield, trying their best to keep the children at their back and the ambushers on the front, not big enough for it.

The three humans circled perfectly, shouting in their own sing-song voices.

The one adult and the three ambushers screaming sing-songingly at one another.

She just watched in slight amusement.

Not caring what happened, pondering instead on her own problem. On how to save her friends.

Not caring of what happened in front of her until the one child grabbed something out of the small leather bag.

A wooden beast-man. A wooden human.

The child took a step forward with their spear in one hand, and the wooden human in the other.

Then light suddenly flooded the world, making everything sparklingly bright.

Though she could still see through the blindingly bright light.

But the three ambushers didn’t seem to be able, screaming in pain.

The adult quickly took the advantage and struck one ambusher.

Then a second.

And when the third got their sight back, it ran away in freight.

The adult didn’t care, screaming sing-songingly at the children behind, chaos ensuing as they started running towards the walls in the distance.

Adult following quickly. Barking at the children too, she assumed, stop.

Except for the one child.

Who stayed still, gazing intently at the two downed ambushers.

A child she, was staring intently at.

Standing still with its wooden human in its hands, standing at the ready.

The wooden human having climbed up on the child’s shoulder, giving the child a chance to sling their shield into place.

She stared at the child with wonder, for the wooden human looked far too unique to be nothing but her friend’s creation.

Meaning that this wooden human was a friend to her human.

Which must therefore mean, that this child was a friend of her friend.

Making the child a friend-friend.

A child that could help her save their respective friend.

She felt delighted at that realization.

Then felt her emotions fade as she knew that this child wasn’t her real friend. Not yet atleast.

She knew the child; the child did not know her.

How would the child help her if they weren’t friends?

How would the child help her if it didn’t know what to help with?

It was a problem, a problem she dwelt on quickly.

How would she convince, let alone talk, to the human?

She thought back on her two friends.

And on how she had befriended them.

She realized, she hadn’t.

Her friends had befriended her.

Then, she thought, how did one get, friends?

She thought back on why she accepted her friends as friends.

Remembering that she liked food, liked it very much.

She remembered that her human friend ate the same as her, albeit more pickish.

And immediately set out to find critters.

Quickly nabbing one and readying herself to go out to meet her potential new friend.

Walking out from the safety of the woods, stalking forwards towards the child human.

The child quickly spotting her, the child turning to face her.

Light blindingly bright flashing again, this time hurting like a million bugs in her eyes.

She screeched, backing away from the hurtful light.

Bumping into a tree blindly, climbing up it hurriedly, and waited for the light to disappear.

And as it did, she quickly moved out of the tree into another, then another, gaining distance away from the child that was very much not her friend.

Stupid child.

Did it not see that she just wanted to give it food and become friends.

If the child didn’t like the food, it didn’t have to be so mean.

She dwelled deeply on the troubles of friendship as she hid atop the tree canopy.

Staring down at the snowy ground, waiting for any potential pursuers.

Not seeing any.

Breathing out in relief.

Then sighing in mild anger.

She was still far from being able to save her friends.

She had come here with nothing.

And she still had nothing.

What could she do to save them?

What should she do to save them?

She knew nothing.

She had nothing.

The only plan she had, was waiting.

Hoping on hope that something came to her.

Nothing did.

Then the scent came.

The scent of indifferent persistence.

The scent of the monster.

She turned towards the snow covered road, hiding deeper in her tree, staring down.

Seeing the monster peeking a metal head from a tree, scouting out the road ahead.

Walking slowly, quietly, deathly quiet. Dragging her friends behind.

Slowly, the monster breached the trees and walked out on the snowy field.

Ambling towards the towering walls.

And she stared helplessly.

Cursing herself for being so weak.

Cursing herself for shaming the legacy of dragons.

Would other dragons quiver and fear in a tree when their friends were dragged into the maw of hell.

Nay, they would not.

And she would not, she decided.

She was afraid, she was weak, she was tiny.

But she would not back down.

She had decided, she had made a decision.

She would follow that monster into the city, and she would break her friend out, and they would escape with her.

A great plan, if anyone asked her.