Even though the girl drew her knees up to her chest as tightly as possible, she couldn't stop trembling. Her teeth chattered non-stop, and she could see her breath hanging in the air. Her nose had long since gone from tingly to numb, her fingers and toes devoid of feeling also. Her lips, dry earlier, were now cracked and stung. When she tried to ease the pain by running her tongue over them, they hurt more, and the moisture froze. Her mind seemed equally frozen and she couldn't think clearly.
She wasn't the first to be put out of the village. Many had been through the years, and no doubt even more would follow. Some were allowed to return, and shared terrifying stories of being chased by predators. One man had lost an arm after being mauled by a saber-tooth tiger. Another had been savaged by a pack of hyenas and barely lived to tell about it. But those attacks weren't the worst that could happen.
Memories flitted through her head, most of them bad, and she grimaced, biting her bottom lip in an effort to make them go away. They didn't. Instead, more images flooded her mind. They were of her younger brother, Norrd. She tried to keep from drowning in them, but anguish threatened to take her under as she remembered how kind and gentle he'd been, and his sweet, innocent smile. Something else she recalled was the day his lifeless body had been brought back to the village. Although that was a few years ago, it seemed like yesterday, and she couldn't hold back her sobs. Fear blended in with her sorrow, and she couldn't help but wonder if she'd freeze to death like Norrd did during the last cold season. If so, would anyone even care?
Grokk wouldn't. Of that, she was certain. In her twelve years, he'd never shown her the slightest warmth or kindness. He hadn't toward any of his children. Her mother, Koori, might miss her, or at least her help with routine tasks like cooking, washing garments, skinning animals, and preparing their pelts, but she doubted even that.
Growls came from somewhere above her and she flinched, a gasp escaping her lips. Staring up at the sky, she looked this way and that, but saw nothing but darkness. She knew the moon was out, though, because she'd seen it earlier. The cold must've stolen her sight while she slept. Terror welled up inside her, and she whimpered. She breathed faster and faster, eyes stinging when tears formed. Trying to wipe them away with fingers still devoid of feeling, she discovered ice caked on her eyelids, sealing them shut. She rubbed them frantically, winced when she jabbed herself in the right eye by accident, but found herself able to see again.
Something seemed different to her, but she wasn't sure what. Then it dawned on her. Silence surrounded her, but it was much more quiet than it should've been. Animals should've be out and about even in the cold weather, but she wasn't hearing any of their normal noises. How strange.
The sound of beating wings reached her ears, and dozens of dragons soared across the sky, their scaly bodies bathed in moonlight. Two faced one another, roaring before clashing in mid-air. Engulfing each other in flames, they clawed and slashed each other again and again, the others forming a loose circle around them.
Would they notice her? Dive toward her and attack? Tear her into pieces? Dread paralyzed her, but if she waited much longer, they might see her. She had to take a chance. However, she was horrified when she tried to move and couldn't. Her body wouldn't respond to her and her thoughts seemed sluggish. Determination gave her strength, and she managed to get on her stomach and crawl ever-so-slowly into some thick brambles nearby. They tore at her skin but she didn't care. In truth, she couldn't feel them, but saw the telltale redness on the ground behind her.
She flinched as the combatants on high slammed into each other again and bellowed, fire pouring from their mouths. Even from a distance, the flames were beautiful. Mesmerizing. Sighing, she remembered how much she'd hoped to be given fire before being driven from the village, but that hadn't occurred. Fire was reserved for those deemed worthy, and she wasn't. She was viewed as worthless or very close to that. Grokk often said he regretted not leaving her for the wild animals after her birth, and she knew he meant it.
Something landed on her face, and she blinked. She touched her face but couldn't feel her cheek or fingers. However, they glistened. It was a raindrop ' a light drizzle was falling ' and the wind picked up, buffeting her. A faint, orange light shone in the distance, indicating the sun was rising, but the bitter cold remained. She knew of a waterfall not far away with a small cavern behind it, and considered sneaking there, but if the dragons noticed movement' Staying in place would be just as dangerous as moving, though, and not only because of the creatures above her. She was finding it harder to hold her head up, much less move, think, or keep her eyes open, and her hands had changed color, growing darker. Reddish-purple. This was something she'd never experienced before, but she didn't have to be told the cause. She'd listened to villagers talking about the danger of freezing temperatures, but she would've known even if she hadn't overheard them, because of Norrd's death. That horror seldom left her mind for long.
Several of the dragons formerly encircling the combatants had joined the fray, fighting as viciously as the original two, and the girl wondered what they were upset about. She knew people who had bad feelings toward the winged creatures, but she'd never felt that way.
Some villages maintained peace with the dragons and other magic-wielders, but not hers. Grokk, their Head Man, hated any being that possessed something he didn't have, and prized magical creatures only for their body parts. Wearing their skin or teeth was considered a sign of hunting prowess and brought respect and better trading opportunities when they met individuals from other communities.
Her stomach lurched. She felt like vomiting, but nothing came up. That wasn't surprising since she hadn't eaten in two days. An old woman had handed her small portions of meat and berries before she'd been chased out the village, but Grokk had knocked the food from the woman's hands. "Girl, you're worthless," he'd sneered, his curled lip and contemptuous expression making it clear he'd meant every word. Youth were awarded names only after proving themselves deserving, and other than insults, "Girl" was how she'd always been addressed. He'd snarled, 'Don't waste food on her" at the villager who'd dared show kindness, along with, 'If you ever do that again, you'll regret it.' Then he'd grabbed a club and come after Girl with it. She'd fled, stumbling over her own feet in her haste to get away.
Although Grokk found fault with everyone, she'd always felt especially despised. When she was eight, a wounded gryphon had escaped the hunting party and everyone had surrounded it with clubs and spears. She'd been commanded to join in and help end the animal's life. All those people against one injured creature hadn't seemed fair to her, so she'd held back instead of obeying. She'd been severely beaten for it.
At the age of ten, she'd been ordered to skin a young, dying unicorn. But she'd stared into its eyes before it died, and seen fear, pain, but so much more. Gentleness had stared back at her, along with traces of pity and understanding. Everything inside her had told her the creature was good, and not an enemy. Throwing down the knife shoved into her hands, she'd backed away, unable to make herself defile its body. Another beating had ensued.
She'd done nothing to earn Grokk's fury this last time, however. She'd just stood around with the other villagers while he'd rampaged, yelling and shaking his fists in the air. One of his trained hunting animals, a hyena-wild dog mix, had vanished. Some of his men had discovered drops of blood and followed them to its mangled, partly eaten body. Wyvern pawprints had surrounded the carcass, and it wasn't the first time one had snatched an animal.
Later, Girl opened her eyes to the bright sun and yawned. She silently scolded herself for dozing off, knowing she was fortunate to wake up. If she'd remained asleep' Bird and insect sounds came from all directions and were the only things she heard. The dragons were gone.
She tried to get up, but her body reacted as if it wasn't her own. It wouldn't do anything, lying there as unresponsive as a lump of stone. Gritting her teeth, she kept trying to move and her fingers twitched. A few moments later, she was able to tilt one foot and lift it, followed by the second. Feebly fighting the brambles, she extricated herself from one after another. She got on her knees, crawled to a large rock which was closeby, used it to get on her feet, but immediately toppled over and lay like a dead thing. Hitting her legs with her hands, she managed to get some feeling to return to them and just leaned on the boulder this time. She stomped her feet till they ached, eventually stood on her own, and moved around stiffly.
A dull throbbing in the girl's stomach reminded her it was empty. All of the plants and bushes around her were black and withered, devoid of leaves, berries, or anything edible. The trees were in no better condition, stripped bare of bark, but she hoped some fragments might be left.
Without any warning, tremors shook the earth beneath her feet, and she hurried to position herself in a narrow gap between two trees.
Mammoths lumbered up, nosed the trees, nibbled here and there, and scratched their horns against the trunks, making the branches and leaves shake.
After they left, Girl came out, grabbed a low branch, and began climbing. She didn't stop till she was up high. Reaching a large limb, she sat on it somewhat comfortably and looked around. Thankfully, animals hadn't been able to reach the bark up here. Clumps of moss grew on the wood, too, and she crammed a handful into her mouth.
She took off one of the two tattered animal skins covering her upper body and shivered violently, but the skin would allow her to carry more bark and moss. After grabbing all she could see, she bundled up her finds and headed down.
Once back on the ground, she hurried to the waterfall. It was frozen, but she was able to enter the cavern behind it. There, she dumped what she'd collected on a wide, flat rock, yanked her skin back on, then broke some bark into pieces. She used a stone to grind them into the smallest fragments possible. The moss retained water, and she squeezed droplets into her mouth, adding some to her ground bark. She could've made bread if she had fire, but since she had none, she ate part of her mixture plain.
Hunger still gnawed at her stomach, and she tried to ignore it. She'd learned the hard way not to overeat after going without.
Looking around the cavern, she hoped for a hole or crevice where she could put her remaining food, and was relieved to see one. Even if she was allowed to return home at some point, she'd probably be thrown out again. At least, she'd have something to eat.
A scraping noise alerted her to the fact that she wasn't alone, and she stooped to grab a rock in each hand. They weren't much, but were the only weapons she had.
Something moved on the far right, but Girl couldn't tell what it was, because it was low to the ground and hidden in the shadows. Her heart raced and she tried to think. Dragons and wyverns liked caves. So did bears, but she was sure this creature was much smaller than them ' unless it was a baby. It could also be a poisonous ground beetle or frog, a fanged serpent, or something else. Many animals were aggressive and quick to attack. The unknown thing with her was holding back. Maybe it was afraid, or intelligent enough to be cautious.
She froze when it crept out, whining softly. Bright green eyes set in a triangular head stared at her. Its face tapered down into a snout, and it had pointed, tufted ears along with a furred body and tail like a lion's. Eyes never leaving her, it seemed to be studying her as intently as she studied it. But what in the name of Great Goddess Chonni was this thing? Its ears and body resembled those of a gryphon, but the ones she'd seen had beaks, not snouts. They'd been much larger, too. This thing was small, only about half the length of her arm and not much bigger around, although the tail made it seem longer.
Excitement and fear warred inside her. Despite Grokk's attitude toward magical creatures, she'd listened to older villagers whispering about the importance of showing respect to them like in the olden days when they had a different Head Man. This little animal didn't seem magical, but it hadn't attacked her. She wasn't sure what that meant. Maybe it was looking for signs of weakness first. Or, could it be feeling kindness toward her? That wasn't something she was used to. Wondering what to do, she came to a decision and searched her mind for suitable words.
"I offer you gratitude for not hurting me," she managed, bowing slightly.
The creature's nostrils flared and it moved forward awkwardly.
Girl realized it held one of its legs at a strange angle and frowned. "You're hurt. Poor thing." She didn't like anything to suffer and wished she could take away its pain. Moving slowly so she wouldn't scare it, she went to get the food she'd hidden and held out a small chunk of bark. "Here. This is for you. Bark helps with healing."
The animal's eyes shifted to her hand, then back to her face, but it didn't move.
"I understand why you aren't coming to me," she murmured. "You don't know me and you don't trust me. You're afraid I might hurt you so you're staying away. That's wise." Bending over, she set her offering on the ground, backed away, and smiled when it was gobbled down. "I can see you're real hungry. So was I. How long has it been since you ate?" She tossed another portion over, watched it vanish, and smiled. Then she held out a third piece.
No longer hesitating, the creature came straight toward her, took the food from her fingers gently, ate it, then bumped her leg with its head. She giggled, reached gingerly for its furry head, and smoothed it and the animal's back. It snuggled up to her. Warmth radiated from the small body, and she was amazed to realize she wasn't cold anymore.

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