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Everything was white.

The snow that fell in ceaseless cascade all morning now came in driving waves. Pine boughs bent and creaked protest against the howling gale. Rhi trudged through the frozen forest, her fur-lined boots crunching in the powdery snow. She kept her hood drawn tight and her black hair hidden.

This was the worst storm Rhi had seen this winter. All day long, the wind's fury grew as the temperature fell. Whipping winds sculpted the snow into dunes snaking between the trees. It painted the pines in the same ghostly shade, leaving only hints of green-blue needles peeking out. The tempest pierced the thick tundra fox pelt lining her hood. It numbed her nose till she could scarcely smell the pine that mingled with the scent of frost and winter's anger.

Rhi cursed the blizzard for the tenth time since she left the warmth of her isolated home. Braving the storm would be worth it when she returned from her snares with fresh meat.

Rhi stopped when she saw the blood.

Blotches of crimson ice marred the white ground, near the frayed rope of a shredded snare protruding from the snow. Something had beaten her to her trapped prey yet again. Rhi knew the beasts needed food too, but they were starting to threaten her own survival in the harsh northern winter. Rhi glanced around, squinting against the stinging snow. At least she saw tracks this time.

Rhi crouched to study the prints. Any distinctiveness was long obscured by the blowing snow, reduced to little more than misshapen sinkholes among the drifts. Whatever left them was big, though. With large paws and a lot of weight atop them. Certainly larger than a wolf. Rhi scowled. A bear maybe, though they ought to be hibernating. Or a snow gryphon.

A howling gust of wind drove a spray of powdery snow against Rhi. She shielded her face and turned away, glancing at her own tracks. It wouldn't be long before the blizzard's wrath buried them. She'd be left with nothing but her sense of direction to get her home. It was dangerous to rely on instinct when the whole world was a white blur. Still, she needed to know what was robbing her snares. Something about those tracks put her ill at ease. At least if she determined what manner of creature it was, she'd know how to hunt it after the storm.

Rhi followed the tracks deeper into the forest. The storm seemed angrier with every crunching footstep. Clumps of snow clung to the layers of tundra fox pelts she wrapped herself in. Ice formed on the edges of her hood where warm breath met frozen air. The white coating would help camouflage her from whatever beast she stalked. Though the wind stung her face, at least her quarry was upwind. Rhi was glad for the woolen underclothes she wore beneath her furs and cloak.

As Rhi pushed on, she watched for signs of the creature beyond its tracks, any clue to the beast's identity. She'd left her hunting bow behind due to the lack of visibility. But if she could find the animal's winter den, she could return with her bow and take the beast down from a safe distance after the storm. There'd be fresh hides, sinews, and meat to last weeks. But if the tracks went on too much further, she was going to have to turn back.

Rhi slipped past an ancient aspen, its barren boughs clawing at the white sky. Her boot thumped something solid and she glanced down. A shard of broken wood jutted from the snow at her feet. She crouched and brushed the snow from several other half-concealed forms, revealing a few more chunks of splintered wood and some papery bark. Rhi turned back to the aspen and spotted a place where gouges marred its trunk. She wiped away the snow obscuring them, revealing a familiar set of distinctive ruts that nearly stopped her heart.

Rhi gasped, stumbling away from the tree. Her blood froze in her veins despite the warmth of her layered furs. Sweat broke out across her, turned the wind into icy daggers. No. No. Gods, no. Rhi's belly tightened, pressing against her spine. Memories, horrible and terrifying, flashed through her mind. Her knees wobbled, and she dropped to the snow with a hand pressed to her belly. She clenched her jaw, panting, fighting a wave of nausea.

Only one creature could gouge a tree with markings like that.

A dragon.

Memories of the war flickered through her mind in a stream of terrible images and with the coppery stink of blood. A great army of monsters and dark magic. Her people gathered in a desperate stand to protect their lives, their homes. Cities in flames. Claws and teeth and spines. Screams.

Rhi pushed herself back to her feet, trembling. She swallowed a few times, trying to ease the parched burning of her throat. _Gods, a dragon. Here._During the war she'd killed them, she'd lost friends to them, and she'd hoped to never see one again. It had been ten years since she'd come north seeking only peace and solitude.

On wobbling legs Rhi returned to the aspen. She reached a shaking hand to the tree, running cold fingers against the smooth gouges. There was no doubt in her mind. She'd seen similar markings plenty of times before. Only the curved, sturdy spines adorning the end of a male dragon's tail made markings like that. They could do a lot worse, too. Rhi cringed. She'd witnessed those spines punch through armor and bone alike as if they were no more than paper.

That was it, then. She had to turn around right now before...before what? Before the dragon found her? Rhi's heart sank into the pool of fearful ice that was her belly. The dragon would find her. It was what their kind did. The beast was already desperate enough to steal small meals from a human's snares. He'd soon seek bigger prey and shelter. With the storm settling in, it was only a matter of time before the dragon came for Rhi herself. The smoke from the fires warming her home and barn would draw him in like the scent of blood drew wolves.

If Rhi went home now, it would be inevitable. Before the storm abated, the dragon would come for her. She knew she'd either be driven from her home and left to freeze, or she'd fill the monster's belly. Only one of them would make it through this storm alive.

Rhi steeled herself. She grit her teeth and squeezed the hilt of her sword till the braided leather bit into her palm. She had no choice. So be it. Rhi pushed forward, following the tracks deep into the frozen forest as the blizzard raged.

With each step her heart pounded harder, blood pounded in her temples. Cold sweat built beneath her furs and wool underclothes. Memories of monsters and death drifted through her thoughts like blood-stained ghosts. Dragons were not easy creatures to kill, but Rhi told herself she could do this. She had done this before.

The trail ended at a circular copse of towering pines. Rhi knew them well. She called them the Emerald Sentinels. Their massive, gnarled trunks were spaced in a great circle with enough room amidst them for even a dragon to find a measure of protection.

Shelter from the storm. Was that all the beast wanted? She set her jaw and tightened her grip around her sword's hilt.

Rhi used the howling wind to cover her advance as she crept closer. Several large, greenish tree limbs lay in the snow, snapped off where the dragon had pushed through the pines. A coating of white already dusted them. Rhi drew her blade as she approached the edge of the Emerald Sentinels, careful to stay downwind. The gusts blew through the trees, carrying the scent of pine, and hints of blood.

Silent, Rhi eased under the outer layers of pine boughs, weighing her options. If she could get onto his back, she could plunge her sword through his spine. The last time she'd tried that, her aim was off; that dragon had killed a lot of her people, but his scream still haunted her. With any luck she'd end this one more swiftly. Maybe she could just cut his throat. Dragons were soft under the jaw and they died as swiftly when their throat was opened as any other creature did.

Rhi slunk forward beneath the trees till she had her first good look at the dragon. He lay half-curled in the midst of the ancient pine copse. The beast's scales were glossy ebony and dark gray. Rich green dappled his back and wings like moss on dirty granite. Lighter gray striped the heavy plates protecting the front of each limb. One of the ridged horns that crowned his head was broken off not far from his skull. Curved gray spines tipped his tail. Faded scars marred his hide alongside fresh pink ones. His kind had scarred Rhi, too.

When the dragon sat up onto his haunches, Rhi tensed. The beast rubbed his forepaws together. His whole body trembled, his scales clicked and rattled. She didn't know dragons could shiver. He stretched his neck, peered at his own shaking forepaw. He licked his pads a few times, then pawed at the earth to clear some of the snow that had penetrated the piney shelter.

The dragon rose to his feet. He turned a half-circle, struggling to remove the snow. Rhi scrunched her face. She'd never seen a dragon so slender before. She could see his ribs through his dark scales. She glanced at the ground. Broken boughs, rabbit fur, and splatters of blood marked the snow. From the looks of him, that stolen rabbit was the biggest meal he'd had in weeks.

The dragon gave up on removing the snow. He eased back onto his haunches, groaning. One of his wings didn't sit right. The joint where it met the dragon's body was swollen, distended. Something protruded from it, crusted with hints of blood and seepage. Rhi winced. An arrowhead the dragon couldn't get out.

The dragon tilted his head back. He stared up through the pine boughs as if begging the sun to shine. Rhi wondered why he didn't just make fire. But what was he going to do, burn down his only shelter? Besides, she knew dragons needed to eat well to make their fire, and it must have been months since this one had a full belly.

Rhi caught a glimpse of his eyes. They shone a strange, silvery-white, like polished coins reflecting the snow. As the dragon gazed up at the clouds, he made a sound that was half growling sigh, half drawn-out whimper. It was an unfamiliar noise, but Rhi understood it just the same. A sound of resignation, fear. But what did he have to be afraid of?

Rhi watched him shiver a moment before understanding dawned on her. Her throat clenched. She wasn't going to have to slay this dragon after all. Winter was going to do it for her. He was just too weak and too malnourished to survive a night in this blizzard. The dragon eased himself to the ground. He curled up in a scaly ball, squeezing his wings around his body. The monster looked as though he was ready to just go to sleep and let it happen.

Rhi eased back a few steps. That made things easier for her. She'd return home and let him die peacefully. She'd feed her goats and sheep, stoke her fire, and crawl into her warm bed and put this whole day behind her.

While the shivering, frightened dragon slowly froze to death, alone in the cold.

It didn't seem right, even for a dragon.

Maybe she should end him herself, as she planned. Make it quick for him. Yes, that seemed--

_SNAP!_Rhi stepped on a dry stick obscured by snow.

The dragon's head jerked up, his spiny frills flared, flashing a crimson warning. In an instant, the dragon was on his feet, pivoting towards her, his jaws spread. Rhi lunged to the side. Was she wrong about his fire? She dove into the snow, braced for the searing pain of dragon flame. But if his flames missed, she'd counter attack before he could bring to bear his claws and teeth and...

And...

No fire came. No claws or teeth, either.

Instead, the dragon just stared at her as Rhi rolled to her feet, sword raised. The crimson burst of his spread frills faded as his spines settled back down around his head. His ears drooped. His whole body sagged like the trees weighed down by so much snow. The dragon's breath came in heaving pants that painted the air in clouds of swirling steam. His silver-white eyes fixed on Rhi, and all he did was stare.

There was no fight left in those eyes.

Too weak. Too cold. There was no anger, even as he gazed at her sword. He had to know, and yet all she could see was a strange sort of terrified hope.

"Please..." The dragon's voice came as a strained, trembling whisper. A struggle to fight back the tears she'd never imagined dragons could shed. She saw them now, glimmering in his eyes as he stared at the end of his own life. "I don't want to freeze. Just...make it quick."

I don't want to freeze. In the end, a quick death was all the dragon had left to hope for. It damn near broke Rhi's heart.

She opened her mouth, tried to put voice to her thoughts. Tried to promise that quick end. Just lay his head down, close his eyes, and think of warm sunshine on his wings. But the words died in her clenched throat.

Rhi lifted her sword. It trembled. A few snowflakes drifted between the pine boughs and settled on the cold steel. She took a deep breath, and braced herself. She raised the blade, and the dragon closed his eyes. Brave. She had to give him that. In his place, would she be so brave, facing her own end?

A few tears ran down the dragon's black cheeks. The war was over. He was no threat now. He was...just some creature who didn't want to die out here. Who didn't want to freeze to death, frightened and alone.

Maybe...maybe he didn't have to. Maybe she'd killed enough of his kind. She kept her barn warm in the winter, for her livestock. She knew he'd fit. He trusted her to make his end swift. Maybe she could offer him something better. Rhi turned her blade, and pushed it back into its scabbard. She sniffed, swallowed the lump in her throat, and waited for the dragon to open his eyes. When he did, Rhi held out her empty hands, palms up.

The dragon looked at her hands. His ears twisted back in confusion. His frills flared. But that cold, hopeful shine in his eyes slowly grew into something beautiful. Rhi didn't know how she'd keep them both fed now, but it didn't matter.

"Come on." Rhi smiled, beckoning for the dragon to follow. "Let's get you somewhere warm."

When the hope in the dragon's silver-snow eyes exploded into joyous, thankful sobs, Rhi knew she was doing the right thing.