A Short Story About Moving Away

Eve had considered the possibility from the start, when he had rounded the corner and found her in the midst of subduing one of his underlings, that she might not be able to slip away from him. He had very quickly proven his wings to be quite functional, after all, and other than the city, which had been her best bet of slipping away, any open ground she would have tried to cross would have been a virtual death sentence. Even if he didn't roast her from the sky, he could swoop down, as dragons supposedly did, and she'd be right back to where she was now, face down and with a dragon atop of her. Had she landed worse, his weight might have done some damage, but he didn't seem to have been trying to rough her up that much on impact, so much as …show more content…
She had, at least, caught her breath by now, but she almost had it taken away again as she finally got a look at the (possible) instrument of her destruction as he hovered over her, all too painfully aware of his claws still at her neck. She closed her eyes for just long enough that made it seem like she was waiting for the end, then opened them again, fixing her gaze on his. Defiance was subdued, but there was a grim determination there. She would look her killer in the face, at the very least. Her eyes flicked side to side, taking in his tail, his wings, leaving her with a rather complete picture of him, if perhaps exaggerated by her mind, understandable given her current situation. His hesitation was not missed, but she could only guess the purpose of it, and with how the human subconscious worked, hope was not chief among the emotions that pushed to the forefront of her mind. To her credit, she did look out beyond him, to the slim chances that one of her weapons might be recovered, but with them both out of reach, and his talons still at her neck, there was no chance of escape. At least she was facing him with whatever dignity she could muster, only thinking about pleading for her life, but coming up blank on what she could offer him that he …show more content…
If he didn't, though, she would have to pause for a moment, thought written clearly upon her face as she sought the words to give her thoughts voice. "You're...there are...I..I mean." Deep breath Eve. You kill, you burn, you steal, you can talk to a dragon. Hopefully. "I've done fine on my own." Maybe she was a little defensive about that point, but his only encounter with her had been on the heels of her failure, so maybe she was a little touchy still. "But that's...not enough anymore." His bunch had proven that much, and while there were few who could stand up to them, they were far from the only threat out there. What was she to do, play scavenger, pick through the corpses after the powerful groups had moved on? Never! "You've proven, more than proven your group's strength." Hands balled into fists at her side as she mustered her confidence. "I respect strength, and if I have to join with others to make my way, I'd rather be with a dragon like yourself than against you." Any other group might run afoul of him sooner or later, after all. Besides, running with a dragon might teach her how to fight them, though she hoped she'd never need such knowledge. "I can fight. Shoot, brawl, steal, burn with the best of