fff#52

thanks to angela for inspiring jj for giving us all a great sentence for this week's fff. "her arms shackled to the stone floor and her wings constricted by leather binding..." her arms shackled to the stone floor and her wings constricted by leather binding, she would scream if her mouth weren’t forced shut. during operations such as this they had to force her mouth shut – the pain might otherwise scare her into breathing fire uncontrollably which, needless to say, was plenty dangerous. the scaly, thick skin was surprisingly softer than expected and would not pose a problem for such a skilled surgeon who had operated on nearly a dozen supposed mythical creatures in the past; none as important as this dragon. while this surgeon had always been successful, it was still a nervous time for one little girl. dia loved her dragon, lara, more than anything. lara had been with her from the beginning and had flown her anywhere she wanted to go every day of her life. their bond was simply unbreakable. they traveled together, watched sunsets together, ate meals together, and slept together. dia would read lara stories at night before hugging her strong around the neck and falling asleep. they would die for each other so it wasn’t shocking that dia felt a small piece of her died when lara’s wing was partially torn from her body and needed immediate surgery. thankfully the expert surgeon was available. dia waited patiently, trying to keep lara calm while they strapped her down to the ground – all safety precautions for dia and the surgeon. lara’s wings, claws, tail, fangs, and, of course, fire could all prove incredibly treacherous if she were to twitch during the operation. in actuality if she wanted to she could break through the straps and shackles like they were twigs, but dia’s voice and gentle touch would keep her friend calm over the course of the surgery. as the surgery began and the doctor reached for the wing it became abundantly clear just how loose and delicate it was. it was worn and even softer than the rest of lara’s body as if her insides had been forced out, and in fact they had. from the wing poured what seemed like little clouds of white smoke; typical for dragons of this type. the smoke would have to be replaced if lara would ever fly again. the surgeon mysteriously was able to catch and hold the smoke with her hands and work it back down into the wing. slowly the bellowing cloud of smoke that dispensed from lara’s wing vanished as it began to take shape. the surgeon then took her needle and threaded back and forth through the scaly, soft skin suturing the tear closed. completing the surgery, the surgeon laid a band-aid across the stitching and, lifting her daughter’s favorite stuffed animal off the slate floor, kissed lara’s wound, then her dia’s forehead and reunited old friends. dia’s face lit up as she was returned her best friend and immediately grabbed lara around the neck as they flew off to their bedroom. it was time for a story and some sleep – dia knew lara would need her rest.