username; EchoIre
name; Mirgu
gender; Female
prompt;
Mirgu carefully descended the steep mountainside, slipping more than she was walking. Every now and then, she would leap to the air, haphazardly gliding a few yards before stumbling back to the rocky earth. She was young, and her wings weren't yet large enough to lift her to the skies, but with was clear the young dragon yearned to touch the clouds. What else was clear, was that she was on a quest. She would have to be, otherwise no sensible dragon her age would make such a perilous journey. Not to give credit where credit isn't due, but there was a certain persistence in her nature that otherwise hinted at Mirgu's quest. Even as she stumbled and faltered on her treacherous path, she showed no inclination of giving up.
Finally, after many long days of travel, Mirgu reached the base of the mountain.
The land before her was flat, bare. A thick blanket of pristine white covered the world, stretching far into the grey horizon. Though exhausted, she craned her neck and rose onto her back two legs, squinting at the distance.
She heard them before she saw them.
That familiar, welcoming sound of dozens, hundreds of hooves crunching in the powdery snow, the trumpeting bleats of the young and old - oh yes, they were here at last. With great glee, Mirgu took off in the direction of the cacophony. From the snow-obscured horizon came the shape of a massive herd of caribou, more than two hundred strong. The young dragon was accepted into their ranks with little protest, only the newest shying away from the great beast. With renewed vigor, Mirgu made her rounds about the herd, greeting old friends most joyously, and making new ones all the same. She took part in mock-battles between the bucks, danced and pranced about with the fawns, found treats of nuts and lichen for the elders, and slept with the herd at nightfall. She gave each new fawn a name to call them - her favorite this year being a spritely young buck she named Spot for the black blotch on his velveteen nose.
For as long as Mirgu could remember, she spent the winter moons with the caribou. She would chase away wolves most valiantly, helping the larger bucks fight when she must. Humans, too, were not welcomed to hunt her friends, and Mirgu was quick to show them such. Oh, the surprise on their faces when they realized one of the caribou had
wings and
fangs! In return for her noble deeds, Mirgu's dreadful loneliness was remedied, as the caribou had long ago accepted her as simply an odd-looking member of their herd. Come the spring, Mirgu bid farewell to her antlered friends, and saw them to the edge of her territory before making her ascent back up to her mountain home.
