[Gift] The 11th Hour | Sleigh

The little blue dragon dug her claws into the snow and leaned forward with all the strength she could gather. The leather harness creaked against her narrow chest as the sleigh behind her shifted barely an inch before settling stubbornly back into the drift. Her breath came out in shaky clouds. She tried again anyway.

The bird-like dragon’s feathers bristled against the winter wind, dark blue plumage dusted white with frost. One side of her face looked soft and living, with a bright silver eye full of determination. The other side revealed the smooth curve of her skull, as though nature itself had forgotten to finish covering her bones. Along her neck, the pale shapes of vertebrae glimmered faintly beneath translucent flesh, continuing down one fragile foreleg and through one her two tails. She was beautiful in an eerie, delicate way and she was determined to prove she could pull this sleigh.

Resting above her was another dragon, a bit bigger and built more for the pulling of a sleigh but she did not leave her perch to help the other. With a strained chirping growl, she pulled once more. Her legs trembled violently. The visible bones in her neck shifted beneath the clear skin, and one tail curled tightly around her hind leg as if trying to brace herself. The sleigh slid forward only half a foot. Then she collapsed softly into the snow. There was a snort from behind her but she didn’t have the energy to retort. For a long moment she stayed there, exhausted and embarrassed, staring at the white ground while cold flakes settled across her feathers. Yet after catching her breath, the little dragon slowly rose again, stubborn enough to try once more.