The morning sunlight filtered through the dense canopy as she leaned against the rough bark of a tree, staring out at the forest beyond her makeshift home. Her stomach grumbled faintly, a reminder of the previous day's triumph and the fleeting sense of accomplishment it had brought. The roasted boar had filled her belly, but the process of hunting, cooking, and surviving had revealed something stark: she had no real skills to sustain herself.
"I can't keep fumbling through this," she muttered to herself, tightening the straps of her cloak. "I need someone who can teach me... someone who actually knows how to survive, I need a mentor."
The thought lingered in her mind like an itch she couldn't scratch. She knew she couldn't stay alone forever. If she wanted to live—really live—she needed more than this crude shelter, more than her flock of silent watchers.
Her eyes flicked upward as the ravens circled the sky, their dark forms against the light creating an ever-present shadow. They never strayed too far, always keeping a silent vigil. She sighed softly. "Fine. You can come, but stay out of sight."
With that, she descended from the treehouse, her steps cautious but determined. The woods were alive with the rustling of leaves and distant chirps, but as she ventured deeper, the sounds began to fade, replaced by an eerie stillness. Her hand instinctively hovered over the knife at her belt, her senses on high alert.
Then, the sky darkened.
She froze, her heart pounding as a low, resonant roar rippled through the air. She looked up just in time to see something enormous breaking through the clouds: a massive airship, its hull glinting faintly in the scattered sunlight.
It was unlike anything she'd ever seen—an elegant, steampunk-like vessel with rotating propellers on either side and a long, streamlined body. But it wasn't alone.
Trailing it was a creature of unfathomable majesty and terror. A loong with a serpentine body twisted and coiled through the air with fluid grace, its shimmering scales catching the light like liquid gold. The creature's mane flowed behind it, a cascade of crimson and silver, and its long whiskers trailed like ribbons in the wind. Its eyes burned with an ancient, unyielding fire as it opened its jaws wide.
Flames erupted.
The fire struck the aircraft, engulfing one of its engines in a fiery explosion. The vessel listed sharply, spinning out of control as plumes of smoke trailed behind it. She ducked instinctively, pressing herself flat against the forest floor as pieces of debris rained down around her. Her breath came in short, panicked bursts as the cacophony of destruction filled the air.
Peering through the leaves, she saw the aircraft spiraling toward the ground, its descent chaotic and hopeless. But amidst the chaos, a figure emerged from the wreckage—a woman clad in sharp, eccentric attire, a striking silhouette against the flames.
The woman leapt from the collapsing vessel, her movements precise and calculated. Her top hat remained firmly in place, goggles reflecting the burning wreckage above as she grasped a lever at her side. With a sharp tug, a parachute unfurled, slowing her descent as the airship continued its fiery plummet.
Hidden behind the underbrush, she watched the scene unfold, her mind racing. "Who is she? And how is she so... calm?" The woman's expression was unreadable behind her round glasses, but her actions spoke of experience and control. Her tailored coat fluttered in the wind, the metallic accents catching the sunlight, and the cane strapped to her side suggested both refinement and readiness for combat.
The loong roared again, circling the wreckage with predatory intent. Its flames flicked at the airship's remains as it crashed into the forest, a deafening explosion shaking the ground beneath her feet.
The woman, however, seemed undeterred. Her parachute brought her safely into the forest canopy, where she quickly detached herself and disappeared into the shadows below. The loong, now satisfied with its destruction, let out a final, triumphant roar before ascending into the clouds and vanishing from sight.
She had been frozen at her cover-up position, eyes stuck at the woman who descended inside the forest the moment the loong vanished in the clouds. Caught up in a tall oak tree, the parachute's canopy snags; precariously, she is dangling before she manages to cut herself loose with a slick blade.
She's good, she thought, as the woman easily dropped to the forest floor. The stranger smoothed her hat, brushing dirt from her fitted coat, and scanned with sharp, calculating eyes.
The ravens stirred on their branches, restlessly silent. She remained hidden behind the thick undergrowth, unsure of what to do next. "She's from the airship... Should I approach her? What if she's hostile?"
The woman began to rummage through her satchel, grumbling to herself. She pulled out a device with gears and a soft green glow pulsating in it. It was damaged by the look of it; the woman swore softly as she worked over its mechanisms.
"She doesn't look like a threat," she reasoned. "But what kind of person survives an airship crash with a dragon on their tail and just... shrugs it off?"
Her fingers ached to leave the security of her hiding place, but fear held her tight in its grip. She took another deep breath, setting her mind aright. "No rash decisions. Just wait and watch."
But then the woman's head snapped up, her eyes narrowing as she scanned the trees. It was as if she felt the weight of being observed. The ravens stirred again, one letting out a low caw that broke the silence.
Her hand moved to her belt, drawing out a strange hybrid of a weapon between a cane and a rifle—intricate and elegant. She did not raise it, yet her posture changed to be ready for a confrontation.
"She knows I'm here," she realized, heart pounding. "Do I run? Reveal myself? Or wait for her to move on?"