The Hunter & The Great Red Lion
I wasn't going to post this on here since it's already up on my deviantART, but I thought, "Hey, why the hell not?" I've had crazy-bad writer's block lately, and I hoped this would make it go away. It didn't, but oh wells. Sorry if there's any crazy-mad typos, I don't like proofreading. Hope you like.
THE HUNTER & THE GREAT RED LION
The sun was overpowered by dark storm clouds, while blustering winds blew through the tall trees. At the top of a hill overlooking the wide woods, an old chateau stood, slightly menacing in its ancient glory. Within the chateau lived a rich and prized hunter by the name of Harrison Duell.
Mr. Duell was known for hunting down most every animal on the continent, and some from other regions of the world. He regularly owed his success to his mixed use of weapons and magic. His abilities were limited, but he made use with what he had; he was still stronger than most magicians. His favorite combination involved paralysis magic and a rifle; let out a magic spore as the bullet fires, to keep the beast from moving at the sound of the gunfire. He used this technique on faster animals, usually, including jackalopes and six-legged cheetahs.
Despite his use and expertise of magic alongside his weapons, Mr. Duell didn't have enough control over his techniques to use them excessively or for a certain given amount of time. For example, the paralysis attack usually lasted only a few seconds, long enough for the bullet to enter the animal. He focused mainly on defensive white magic, to protect himself from more vicious beasts, such as dragons and land sharks. Despite his overly cautious nature, he managed to claim the lives of countless ferocious animals.
The walls of the chateau were lined with the heads of exotic creatures, such as dragons and chimeras, along with more normal animals, including elephants and saber-toothed cats. Others were stuffed, one prime example being Mr. Duell's prized nine-tailed Kitsune, caught around the mountains of Asia.
Harrison frequently paced around his study, admiring his vast collection of creatures. He enjoyed his hobby, but was becoming frustrated with it, as well. Within the forest beyond the chateau, there dwelled the most sought-after animal known to man, the Great Red Lion. The title given to the beast was misleading, however, since the lion could change color at will. Harrison frequently saw the lion prowling along, its silken fur glimmering against the light, shifting from deep indigo to a deep grass green, then changing again to a pale yellow. As its body changed, the mane along its neck flared a majestic red, then dissolving quickly to a rich golden yellow. While it slept the lion was purple, and in the early morning hours, it shifted to lavender.
Whenever Mr. Duell saw the lion lazily march through the brush, he became infuriated. For years, Harrison tried to obtain the lion for his own, but would for some reason or another be stopped. Sometimes, the lion would fade from view by clever use of camouflage. Other times, when the lion would sense the presence of his stalker, Harrison's magic would refuse to work. After trying several times to capture the beast in this way, Mr. Duell discovered that all magic around the lion becomes stunted, probably as a defense mechanism.
Now, as Harrison looked out one of the towering windows, watching the large car move quietly through the foliage, he grew anxious. Without thinking, he ran to his weapons cabinet and pulled forth a sniper rifle. Just as quickly as he took the gun, he marched out the chateau and descended the hill. As he neared the forest, his steps became slow and quiet; he didn't want to alert any other wildlife of his presence. He could see the lion in the distance. Harrison looked up at a tree beside him. Surprisingly, no animals sat in the branches. He shimmied his way up to a high branch and perched upon it, watching the lion through the scope of his gun.
Below the hunter, the other creatures were going about their normal business, not aware of the man in the tree. A squirrel and a ferret were pouncing about, when the ferret had enough. It jumped in the air, just as small wings sprouted from its sides. It glided around the squirrel momentarily and landed in a tree opposite the one Mr. Duell occupied.
The ground beneath the tree suddenly began to shake violently. Harrison strapped his rifle to his back and climbed further up the tree when a giant brown shark emerged, leapt up, and devoured the ferret. Mr. Duell knew that a small morsel like that wouldn't satisfy the land shark. He watched as the shark dove back into the ground, slithering around the other trees. Though land sharks had poor eyesight, Harrison was still glad that he wore a camouflaged suit this day.
As the shark slithered away, Harrison spotted the lion once again. He was surprised that it hadn't run off at the sound of the shark, but there it stood, its fur shimmering a bright metallic color. Harrison brought the scope of the rifle to his right eye and took aim at the lion's back; he wanted to kill it, but leave it in good condition for the taxidermist. Before he could fire, Mr. Duell saw the lion begin to crouch, as its hears went back against its head. He lowered rifle for a minute, and rose the scope to his eye again to try to catch a glimpse of whatever the lion was interested in.
Farther up the path was a cave. From within, black fumes began to emerge, with the distinct smell of sulfur. Harrison realized what the lion had seen now: A dragon. Harrison wasn't interested in the reptile; he wanted the lion, nothing more. Normally, Mr. Duell would escape before the dragon would make its appearance, but he was determined today. He wasn't going to let the lion get away, no matter what. As the thundering steps of the dragon grew closer, the hunter remained at his perch, gripping his gun tight in his sweaty hands.
The metallic shine of the lion was replaced by a blazing red as it raised its head up and let out a majestic roar. The dragon, undeterred, continued out of the cave. Soon, its head was visible; its head was sharp and pointed, and Its horns were long and slightly curved. It craned its long neck upward, its green scales shining, its red eyes piercing. Once the rest of its hulking body emerged, it spread its large, sepia wings, raised its head back, and let out a shrill cry, revealing dozens of sharp, jagged teeth. Its tail whipped back and forth in the air, while the claws of its forelegs dug at the soft ground below. The lion bellowed again while its fur continued to change until it resembled a living flame.
Harrison shifted the aim of his gun from the lion to the dragon's neck when the reptile's tail swerved toward the tree. The tail struck the trunk with such force that the tree went flying, along with Harrison. The rifle flew from his hands as he grabbed onto the branches for dear life. He landed hard from 30 feet as branches pierced at his flesh. He was sure he had broken several bones, and felt incredibly weak, but he had to move himself. With his left arm, Harrison heaved himself away from the tree, as a stinging pain shot through his body, stemming from his legs. He continued to crawl with his arms when the dragon turned and faced him. Terrified, Harrison raised his hands in a shielding motion. Blue sparks emerged from his fingertips, but dissolved seconds later. He tried to release the shield magic again, but realized that the lion was near. His magic was useless.
The dragon loomed over Harrison, its giant shadow casting over him as a wave of fear and pain shot threw him. The scaled beast rose its head in the air again, its wide mouth glowing orange. Mr. Duell could see the fire forming at the back of its throat and anticipated his demise, when the lion appeared from his side, grabbed him by the sleeve of his coat, and ran away with him, just as the fire spewed forth. Harrison screamed as his legs were dragged across the ground, while the lion continued to pull him with its teeth to the opposite side of the forest. As the heat of the fire grew more intense, the lion began to slow. It laid Mr. Duell down on the underbrush as gently as it could and ran back toward the dragon.
Quickly changing colors from a vibrant yellow, to sooty brown, and finally to gold, the lion roared and pounced onto one of the dragon's thighs, biting into it and tearing off large chunks of scales and skin. The dragon cried out in pain, its wings flaring out on its back, its tail whipping back and forth, causing more trees to crash. All the while, the fire began to spread, and Harrison watched in horror as the flames inched closer.
A loud rumbling emerged from the sky. There was a quick flash of lighting, the roar of thunder, and an immense flood of raindrops came pouring from the heavens. The fire was lessening, yet still raging, as the dragon grabbed the lion in its teeth and flung it away. The feline rolled along the ground several times and finally landed beside Harrison, bleeding heavily, its fur changing rapidly through every color imaginable. The dragon took two more booming steps towards the wounded, raising itself on its hind legs. As it began to rush towards them, the land shark sprang out from the mud and tore at the dragon's left wing. Screeching, the dragon swiped at the shark and missed. The Shark swerved and went for the dragon's neck, successfully grabbing it in its jaws. It clenched harder and harder until it finally tore the neck off from the body, as blood poured forth, and the dragon's gargantuan corpse fell to the ground. The shark swallowed the head and neck, then grabbed the body and dragged it underground to feast. It would leave Harrison and the lion alone; it had more than enough to eat now.
As the pain lessened from his legs, Harrison clenched at his side, now noticing a large tree branch jutting from it. He was losing blood quickly, and he began to grow weaker. He laid down on his unharmed side and stared at the lion, lying in front of him. Its breaths were deep and heavy, and its eyes were a deep black, a black that seemed to go on forever. Blood began to trickle from the lion's mouth. While Harrison gazed into the lion's eyes, he developed a newfound respect for the creature; it saved his life, after all.
Mr. Duell slowly grabbed for a handkerchief in his coat pocket, and wiped the blood from the lion's mouth. For a moment, it seemed as if the lion smiled warmly at him. The giant cat's golden fur started to fade into a dark red, and its breathing slowed. The once deep black eyes became glazed. A few moments later, Harrison could no longer feel its warm breath against his cheek. The lion had died.
Watching the beast that Harrison Duell had worked so hard to try to obtain, the one free animal he hadn't caught, he didn't feel cheated or angry; for some reason, he felt that all that had happened was right. There was no sense of regret within him, with the exception of trying so hard to take the life from such a wondrous animal. The pain at Harrison's side and legs began to go completely. His eyes lowered, and soon he could no longer feel the heavy rain pound against him. Everything around him was replaced by a gleaming white light.
The last thing that Harrison Duell saw was a Great Red Lion, staring at him, welcoming him, from a distance, within the light.
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