On Silver Wings

In Flight Meal

Ker flew until her wings were weary and her heart was heavy from thinking. It had to have been four days or more of non-stop flight. She saw a herd of cattle on a hillside green with the new spring and swooped down. She was ravenous, but she would only take one. Conjuring as she flew, she clasped the large gem in her hand that would pay for the meat she took and she dropped it expertly near the cowhand. The man was shuddering in dragonfear and could not have moved to fire his bow or toss his spear even if he had the presence of mind to defend himself. Not that the cowhand needed defending. 'Twas the cows the dragon wanted.
She dug her claws into the thick hide of the steer and it took moments only to break it's neck. She was hungry, but she was not cruel. Ker took her meal and flew far enough away so as not to bother the rest of the herd further and to give the man time to relax. This would carry her another week or so. By then, she'd be back in Rhydin, if she could find the portal.
The portal she'd found so long ago that had taken her from Gamewell was small - passable only in human form and something she'd kept a secret from even her children. They'd been so small when first she came that way it did not matter that they would not recall it. It had served it's purpose, taking her home again to Arofilios where she'd been born and taught to fly by her father eight hundred years before. It had served it's purpose to help her forget where her losses had been greatest and to take her from her husband Taille when he'd vanished without a trace, without a word and her heart had been so utterly broken that she couldn't bare to continue in Gamewell any longer.
But now it was time to rebuild, to call Gamewell home again. She knew her children would follow - their curiosity would demand it. She just didn't know when.