Arthur's Point of View

Deep Forest

He moved towards me from the shadows. “Then it seems this is the end of our game, little mouse.”

Crossing my arms slightly annoyed, I shot back quickly. “I know where a farm is, bitch. Don’t make me get a pitchfork and stab your scaly ass. As I said, I’m not in the mood for these games, and killing something would be like a blast of dopamine.” Then I shrugged. “Of course, that’s only after I beat the answers I’m looking for out of you.”

My eyes focused slightly when he opened his mouth. It quickly closed, of course, when it was slammed shut. Two gravity pillars rammed into his upper and lower jaw. This resulted in a yelp with him rearing his head back in pain. He wasn’t able to do so for long since I rapidly and violently pulled him before me. His eyes widened when he caught me right beside his large head.

His scales were red and with light creams covering his softer areas. Yellow slit irises turned to almost needles as they looked at me. My glare was likely intimidating the Dragon, as was the energy I was emitting. He had a horn on his nose, which I softly grabbed that made his breath catch in his throat.

“Where is Kandma?”

The tone of my voice shook the Dragon. At least, I thought it did. It wasn’t until the entire cavern started to shake that I realized it was actually the earth itself shaking. On our sides, the cavern walls shifted and tumbled while the ground continued to shake. Almost like it was being lifted, the entire cave system lit up as the top of the cavern grew further away.

“Kan. Nd. Ma.” A fairer voice called out with a scratchy undertone. “Kand. Ma.” It repeated loudly.

Sunlight shined down upon us as I squinted in surprise. The entire cavern disappeared as the morning sun’s light blinded me for a moment. Only a moment. However, it didn’t take long to realize that it wasn’t the cavern that had disappeared but rather that the entire mountain itself had moved. Above the Dragon and I, we watched mystified as the mountain range shook above us and moved at an alarming rate.

Soon, it was no longer directly above us but had destroyed large parts of the surrounding forests. “That’s a name I’ve not heard in quite some time.” She stated, and soon a familiar face appeared, but farther larger than I remembered. “Kandma is what I was called once upon a time.” It shook and knocked off extra boulders, trees, and even a few animals.

All were flung into the forests. “Do you know me?!” Like a cancer, hope came to me.

Keeping a firm grip on the Dragon, who was now shaking, Kandma’s head came closer. Which, given her size, was essentially a mountain examining you. She had certainly grown far larger than I had expected, and it made sense why she was all the way out here alone. Well, almost alone. Dragons were apparently around to keep her company.

“Do I know you?” She repeated for a moment, and then I saw her eyes.

They had opened more, and it was like they came to life. Water suddenly appeared where her eye sockets were and twisted around before becoming a sphere. Focusing on the two of us, I studied her just in case she wouldn’t recognize me and I would have to flee.

Her humming sounded like gravel rolling downhill. “Do I know you?” She repeated once more, confused. “Those eyes…” Kandma’s voice trailed off as she mumbled. “I remember those eyes.” Then she turned her head while boulders fell from it as a singular eye moved closer to examine me. “I know those eyes.” Even her eye made the Dragon look small. “Mordred?”

My lip trembled at the name as I nodded. “Yeah. Guess I can’t exactly call you a giant stone bear anymore.” With a weak chuckle, I continued. “Giant seems so small now.”

“Mordred?” She asked again.

“Yeah, Kandma. It’s me.”

Her eye widened and backed away high above the trees. “You’re alive!” A victorious roar of sorts thundered through the sky.

The Dragon in my grasps was released since I had to cover my ears as well from the suddenness of it. Even he covered his head with both his claws and wings. It almost felt like the ground was shaking. However, when it stopped, my eyes widened to see an overly large bear snoot coming directly for me.