Dragons never sleep (OG)
The dragon was huge.
Even lying down, it was easily over twenty feet from its razor-sharp claws to the horns adorning its back. Its long body was curled up in tight ball, its tail covering its snout. From where Mer stood atop the hill, it appeared to be sleeping, but he knew better. Dragons never sleep, they merely lie in wait.
“Well?” father demanded, pride in his voice. “Isn’t she beautiful?”
Mer risked a sideways glance at him. Beautiful? That’s not the word he would have used. Nevertheless, he nodded and slowly said, making sure to not let his voice tremble:
“She is, father.”
He heard a low grumble, that was meant to be approval — recognizable, despite its rarity.
“You see the nest?” father asked, gesturing down. Mer followed his finger with his eyes. Indeed, in the middle of the protective circle created by the dragon’s body, there was a pit in the ground. A ray of the setting sun glimmered over round spheres filling the pit: all of them sky-blue, like the dragon’s scales.
A shudder ran down Mer’s spine. Eggs! Each one as big as his head!
“Reveria did well this year” father said, with more pride that he ever allotted his son. “Five eggs — and she’ll give two of them to the Rider’s council.”
Mer felt a rough hand grip his shoulder. He tried very hard not to wince.
“One of them will be yours.” It sounded almost like a threat — or maybe Mer was reading into things. His mother would always tell him that when he would talk about father with her. After a while, he stopped trying. “And you will be General after me.”
Down in the valley, the dragon grunted. Mer felt it resonating through the ground and up his body, making every hair on it stand up. Reveria shifted, her scales rubbing against each other with a metallic sound. One giant eye opened, revealing a narrow snake-like pupil, surrounded by a golden iris.
She knew they were here. Of course. Dragons never sleep, they merely lie in wait.
“Yes, father” Mer said, his whole body numb. “I will be.”