Winter dipped his claw in the ink pot and scribbled another note on his scroll. He looked back at the scavenger city down the hill.

  How fascinating.

  The sight was hypnotizing, scavengers were milling about the fields, some of them coming back and forth from their huts to their companions - it looked like they were tending to the plants. Winter could make out some fruits on the bushes.

  Growing food - of course! They're omnivores, right? I wonder how good they are at preparing food.

  But to find that out he'd have to get close, and that would be the problem. He has never reached closer to the town than that first time with his friends, and no scavenger, except for a rare few, would willingly stay close with a dragon. He himself has only managed to get close to scavengers after the Scavenger Safety Decree twice.

  One was an outreach to a very small scavenger village in the mountains. It did not go smoothly - he landed outside the village in hopes of finding one to communicate with through signals and gestures, and then grow closer to the rest of the residents.

  It did not go to plan.

  One scavenger did spot him as he was landing, and immediately yelled out. The whole village started running as fast as they could to hide from him. He ended up chasing one down, which, alright, probably wasn't the best idea if you're trying to establish a relationship. The cornered scavenger curled up into a ball with Winter blocking its path of escape. Not knowing the best course of action, Winter just sat down and waited for the scavenger to calm down. It took a few hours for it to get out of its funk, where Winter finally started some semblance of communication. It took a further three days of gesturing and talon-waving with the villagers before he was able to "explain" that dragons are no longer eating humans.

  The only other time he got close to a scavenger was only a few days ago. He was sitting in his usual observation spot, when a scavenger unknowingly came up behind him. They stared at each other for a few seconds. Winter waved, hoping a gesture like that would put it at ease, but the small being dropped everything it was carrying and fled back right where it came from. By the time Winter stepped up to follow the scavenger, it had disappeared from his sight already, and no amount of searching gave any more trace of its passage.

  He shifted his attention back to the fascinating den, studying once again, like he always did when he came to study its inhabitants. To him, there was no question, this was the biggest scavenger town that must have existed on the continent, and, by extension, the most fascinating.

  There were so many details to linger on too; everytime he looked, he found a new one. A house here, another one there, a pathway between two rocks, and so on; he could continue forever. Of course, it could only be so good from afar, witnessing all this activity first hand would be much more enlightening for his studies.

  Everybody thought that after the decree, there would be some communication set up between scavenger dens and the dragon kingdoms, especially between the biggest dens. It wasn't that easy however; while smaller dens could be swayed via patience, the larger ones were still very hostile to dragons. Some small groups tried to communicate with scavengers by the largest cities - they were shot at by the creative weaponry of scavengers; there were even a few injuries.

  After that it was agreed upon to reach out to smaller ones first - the ones that couldn't fight back, in hopes of scavengers from the smaller settlements notifying the larger, more dangerous ones of dragons being friendly. In the meantime, observation in order to learn was ordered regarding the larger dens.

  Shaking the thoughts from his head, Winter went back to watching the scavengers go about their lives. His sharp Icewing eyes could pick out gardeners, settlers, what he thought were soldiers, and... What was that?

  On one side of the mountain, a group of five scavengers had just left the main area where all the others were. They look to be heading North into the Claws of the Clouds Mountains.

  A hunting party?

  No, this was no hunting party. They had too much gear - he'd seen some hunting parties before, but they wouldn't have large bags on the backs like this. They couldn't carry any kills back with all of that stuff.

  What in the three moons...

  Scavenger behavior was always unpredictable, though that usually stemmed from dragons assuming they were prey and not intelligent. This however...

  Winter rolled up his scroll, stopped his ink pot, and put it all in his ankle pouch. He slunk down the hill, opting for a roundabout journey to follow the scavengers. He wouldn't dare risk flying now - he'd be spotted and all the scavengers would hide away, including this small group. He would have to go far enough South before turning West then North - it'll take some time, sure, but he's much faster than any scavenger, even on the ground. Excitement shivered through his scales he began walking - a new adventure lay ahead of him.

  If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

  *****

  It was the afternoon when Winter caught up with the scavenger group. They were moving as other groups would typically - cautious but quick, always glancing up at the sky. Winter correctly chose to observe from the ground far away - his shiny white scales would give him away up in the air.

  Kinkajou would either be more visible with excitement or invisible with stealth if she were here. Winter thought with a smirk.

  The little group was making their way into the actual mountains now. They entered a valley, and only then did they seem to slow down. Trees provided shade while the rocky faces shielded them from the sides. Winter lost sight of the group now, with the valley being over a mile away. Winter sped up, trying to catch up with the scavengers.

  Clever. They made haste for a place with cover. It keeps them hidden from prying eyes.

  But that can go both ways.

  Winter slowed down as he approached the valley entrance. Focusing on his sense of smell, he figured the scavenger group was not too far, judging from the lingering scent. He crept further into the valley, following the path traced by his nose. He eventually heard the unmistakable squeaks of Scavenger up ahead.

  Winter stopped at that point. The squeaks didn't get louder or quieter, so they've definitely stopped. The sky was just starting to fade from its telltale blue to the quiet oranges and pinks of sunset, just like how a Rainwing would change its scales.

  I shouldn't scare them off.

  But shouldn't I try to make contact? They're no longer near the den, so they shouldn't attack.

  They'll run away. You won't corner them like last time.

  How else will I learn about them?

  Winter shook his head with a small growl. He opted to wait until nightfall. Then he would sneak near them and learn what they're doing.

  *****

  It was a beautiful night. 2 moons were crescents, the other was close to full. Not much moonlight was shining down on the mountainous landscape. Perfect, but not optimal.

  Winter slunk over close to where he last thought the scavengers stopped. He took care to stay quiet and extra care to hide his shiny reflective scales out of the moonlight. He approached a small grove of trees, where branches formed a canopy above. He looked around a tree, and there they were, just a few steps before him.

  Five scavengers asleep around what looked like a small dying fire. They were enclosed within a small dent into the mountain coincidentally covered by a few trees. If it wasn't for the dim orange light of the fire and his sharp eyes, Winter could have looked for them for the whole night.

  They can make fire? How? Winter thought with excitement. Scavengers must be much smarter than initially thought, if they can make fire without possessing it like some dragons do.

  Four of them were laying down, and another was sitting on a rock. It seemed like that one was supposed to stay awake, probably to keep watch. Winter started to chuckle, then caught himself. None of the scavengers stirred. Winter sighed with relief. He shouldn't wake them now.

  He slowly crept closer, and reached over to one of the bags lying on the ground right next to a scavenger - they were large compared to the scavengers. One could pass for a large pouch if he used it. He untied the tiniest knot he's ever seen by using only the tips of his claws, taking extra caution not to cut the leather cords. After the most painstaking process imaginable, he lifted the flap to look inside.

  Everything in it puzzled him.

  He delicately took out each item to inspect it. Each one, although confusing, showed more about what scavengers were capable of. He took out a small glass circle that enlarged whatever was in front of it. Reaching it to his eyes, he saw the distorted image of a zoomed in scavenger sleeping on the ground. He had to hold a chuckle once again.

  Looking back into the bag, there were a bunch of objects inside - some familiar and some foreign. He saw spoons, metal bowls, and small (for scavengers - even tinier for him) leather bags. He saw multiple odd wooden and metal tools of some kind. There were two metal rods, no longer than his claw, joined at one end. It looked like they could be used to pinch something. There was also a tiny black stone rod with a metal piece tied to it. For what purpose these were for Winter had no idea.

  What is all of this for?

  Winter carefully laid each item on the ground and rummaged a little more through the bag. Scavengers may be fascinating, but all of these items were so odd. There was no visible purpose to any of these items.

  Should I stay and try to communicate with them once they wake up?

  No, they'll immediately run away. That's their first instinct with a dragon - run and hide.

  So I should try to not be seen by them, otherwise they might stop whatever this is and I won't find out.

  Winter started to put each item back one by one. He was careful not to make any noise so as not to wake the scavenger group. He heard the one he assumed should be on watch stir.

  He sped up his efforts. These items are so small! He tried to put a metal bowl inside the bag, but it caught on the edge of the canvas. Instead of falling inside the bag, it fell directly onto a rock with a loud clatter. Winter looked up at the scavengers. The one on watch was clearly reacting and waking up. Winter shoveled the rest of the items back into the bag and dashed away.

  After a minute of running, he finally stopped. He hoped he hadn't been noticed - he didn't want to see whatever this expedition was called off. He was definitely more interested now that he saw what they were carrying - all those items definitely had a purpose of some kind, even if he didn't know which.

  This definitely isn't a hunting party.

  Winter found himself a grove of trees to lay down in and rest. He'll follow them in the morning. As he laid down, he noticed he still had the black stone with the metal piece in his talons.