[ WP ] The Deep Woods are a fearsome place , filled with screams and lights and terrible magic . But in the depths of the forest lives an ancient dragon who constructs all the sounds and sights to keep people away , because he just wants to be left alone .

I clambered through the woods, twigs snapping and leaves rustling under my feet - the deeper I got the darker it got, and the darker it got the more I tripped and slipped until one moment I was running and then next I was floored. I could hardly tell what had happened. I lifted my face and fell again, unable to straighten the inside of my head and process a single thought. I wiped the mud from my face and turned helplessly, still on the ground. 
 
 My pursuers, those creatures, were gone. I moved over, transitioning from a climb to a stumble to a walk to a jog to a run. I stopped. Their bodies lay there, broken and raked. I felt a warm air behind me and turned to see a face. Not the face of a person, the face of a beast. 
 
 The darkness was gone - it was just a forest. The creature eyed me suspiciously, and then moved backwards to give me space. `` I missed one? Hmm...'' The voice was deep and gravelly. The dragon seemed ancient. I froze as it leaned upwards and spread it's wings proudly, looking down on me. I was beyond running away. I was too shocked to even move. 
 
 `` I have slept in these woods for five thousand years - six? - and this is the first time in all of those years that one of the itty bitties has seen me. How curious. Though I should think you have things to be more afraid of than some dark and sounds, hm?'' 
 
 I did n't speak. 
 
 `` Yes, indeed. Six thousand years asleep and I intend to sleep for six thousand more. You can not be allowed the chance to share this information. I am terribly sorry it has to end like this, but one itty bitty life is a small price to pay for my thousands of years.'' 
 
 `` You have n't done anything in six thousand years.'' I could n't believe I was speaking. `` You wo n't do anything for six thousand more. Any human life is worth more than that.'' I backed up. 
 
 `` Oh?'' The dragon seemed a little perplexed, but then appeared to ponder the remark. `` That is an interesting sentiment, little itty bitty. Walk with me.'' 
 
 And so I followed the dragon through the woods. It seemed so peaceful now. Rays of sunshine shone through the leaves of the green trees, and we walked down a neat little pathway. 
 
 `` I remember the first human I had to kill. Just before I went to sleep. Dragonslayers, they were. Heroes, they thought themselves. My brothers and sisters were a little more aggressive than I. None of them live today.'' The sorrow in his voice was evident.'' 
 
 We came to a clearing, with a pool. The dragon sat in this pool. `` One day such a'hero' came to my woods. That is when I killed him. He attacked me and I failed. I was distraught. It was that day I decided to sleep. As the last dragon I carry the burden of all those before me, and I would not allow myself to do what my siblings had done. So I restrained myself. I slept. But they kept coming. I had to kill many to stay hidden. I would not kill the masses when they came for me. I would never let them know my hiding place.'' 
 
 The creature was tired. I saw squirrels and butterflies. I saw flowers blooming out of nowhere. The whole place became so peaceful, yet... The dragon was tired. `` I eventually desensitivised myself to that killing, I suppose. I had to wait until the tales of the dragons became myth. You are the first in six thousand years.'' 
 
 I swallowed. I did n't even speak. `` Itty bitty...'' 
 
 ``... You've hardly even spoken, yet you've taught me so much. Perhaps this is not my place in this world. To hide away from the world to protect it, only to destroy whatever gets too close...'' 
 
 I was confused. I did n't understand what I had taught this dragon. The sunshine grew more intense. 
 
 `` These woods have been lost to the dark for so long. I can not count how many heroes with good intentions died at my claw. I wonder if I can save more.'' 
 
 The dragon stood, extended its wings, and ascended. The woods did n't change again. They were still green. The greenest woods I've ever known. 
 
 It took me a night's rest to truly understand what I had witnessed. To this day I live alone, in a little log cabin. A little log cabin in a clearing, next to a pool, in the greenest woods I've ever known. I will not soon forget what happened when I first saw this place. Sometimes I think I hear a great sound of beating wings. But whenever I look, I never see a thing. 
 
 -- -- - 
 
 It's so damn easy to tell a BookWyrm writing prompt just by reading the title.: /
