The Biggest Library chapter 3

Chapter three:
Paint and Past

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

Julie began exploring the cave, aided by light coming in from holes she assumed went to the surface. Beyond her initial observations nothing new presented itself, however the painting adorning the walls were a different story entirely.
Gargantuan painted sections dominated the lower two thirds of the cave's walls with the remaining wall and ceiling displaying stars and other stellar bodies. The actual panels themselves mostly depicted dragons performing various tasks, one dragoness in particular caught her eye. Red scales and a lithe build were accompanied by a set of long thin wings and a pair of up swept white horns. Julie didn't know why, but she had the oddest sense of familiarity just looking at it. This particular dragon showed up in several places and each image seemed to reflect her at different ages as her size and features changed between panels. The red dragoness was accompanied by a large yellow drake throughout the paintings.

Some panels held burning cities, some had towers of books, others contained rolling hills and winding rivers. Whatever the contents, the draconic pair were always present until the last of the painted panels. The final mural was considerably less tidy and it seemed as though little thought was put to smooth strokes and lines. The scene showed the great yellow drake laying at the entrance to a cave, cradling a long white object with knobby ends. Smoke curled out of his maw and pooled around him, and the yellow was darker than before.

A specific dark yellow creature with lots of teeth and frustration chose that moment to make his presence known, startling Julie in the process.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Anger was the first thing Thionen felt when he returned to his den to find the human ogling at his murals. For a time he silently watched her stare at the walls, before a distant and confusing sense of familiarity came over him. She was looking closer at the wall, and more specifically at her. Thionen glanced over at the two red paw prints on the wall next to his nest, the sight of which brought forth memories of centuries past.

His collection hadn't always been as big as it was today Spring was in full swing and he could smell the new growth even down in his cave. Their cave to be exact, and at that moment their cave smelled like blood. The kill was fresh and the muzzles of two hungry dragons dug into the hearty feast with vigor. The crunching of bones and taste of blood, combined with the smell of growth and the closeness they shared made for the most vivid memory he had. With paws wetted by the blood of their meal the two dragons swore their love to each other and marked the wall with their bloody paws.

Looking back on that day was sweet, but also painful. That had been the best day of his life, and he knew nothing would top it. His eyes focused back on the girl and he wished things had been different. He huffed at the feelings of disappointment and loss he just couldn't dismantle. His huff was loud, and the puny human jumped at the sound, abandoning her inspection of the walls.

"I'm going to bed."

Julie started up at him then back to the murals. Thionen turned to walk to the nest but was stopped by the girl's simple question.

"Who was she?"

His head whipped around so fast his neck hurt, and the girl rubbed her neck at the unexpected feeling.

"Who is that red dragon there with you?"

Thionen just stared at the girl for a bit, contemplating his answer. Should I tell her? No. She will know these things in time.

"Her name was Sutzi, she was a very good friend."

He could tell that she felt his discomfort regarding the question, and in turn he felt her displeasure at the short and non descript answer. As he walked to his nest, the feeling of disappointment suddenly reversed. The girl was clearly remembering something for the first time.

"The shaman! The shaman also said that name! Do I know this Sutzi too?"

Yet more questions, will she ever run out?

"One could say you once knew her."

"WHAT?!"

Over Julie's incoherent ramblings Thionen finished walking to the nest, circled once and collapsed into the mass of dead plants.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Everybody seems to know who I am, EXCEPT FOR ME! Looks like I need to find my own answers. Julie started towards the tunnel and moved through the space in the rubble made by Thionen's passage.

Her immediate assumption was that there had to be some form of organization for the vast quantity of books, however as she wound her way down the corridor she found no markers or signs. It seemed that Thionen just knew where everything was, it was likely that he had read every book in his collection several times over anyway. Julie’s shelf browsing was interrupted as she felt a cool draft flow in from another hall. The floor in the main hall was quite well worn, with deep scratches, but this path seemed equally traveled if not more. Despite her desire not to get lost, this new path drew her in. This hall was far narrower than the main passage and as she began walking through it she noted the lack of any bookshelves, likely to allow Thionen easy access. The end of the hall was blocked with an enormous set of rough wooden doors, one of which was propped open slightly by a huge fallen book. As she approached the door she was quite thankful for the book’s presence as she would have otherwise struggled to move the massive slab of wood. Julie attempted to read the book’s spine as she stepped carefully over it. Up until this point Julie had seen only a few books that she could read however this book had large clear human lettering.

The Afterlife and YOU! A guide to spirit magic and pre mortem preparation.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thionen was a light sleeper, as such Julie had woken him almost immediately after he drifted off. His right eye opened slightly, following the hunan’s progress across the cave.The girl could not be allowed unsupervised access to his library, the possibilities for disaster were near infinite. He couldn't get rid of her and he certainly couldn’t trust her.

His transition from laying to standing was near silent, broken only by the sound of his tail brushing the wall lightly. The whelp wouldn’t hear him and she was so unaware, she likely wouldn't even see him.