#fridayflash: Yì Bin and the dragon

Today's flash is a snippet from my current WIP, which I may or may not finish in time to submit to TOR. *eyes word count; glares at calendar*

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A long time ago, when your great-grandfather, Yì Bin, was a young man seeking fame and fortune, he set off to seek a dragon. His grandfather, our venerable ancestor, had been a Dragon Master before him, and Bin was adamant that he would be one too. So he packed his bag, bid his family goodbye and left on his quest.

According to the practice of the time, Bin first travelled North to the great capital to pay respects to the King. The King gave him his blessing, pointing him to the West, where rumours of dragons had arisen. Bin travelled for more than a month before he saw his first dragon. It was a small creature—hardly bigger than a horse.

"Are you the dragon who has been terrorising the villages?" Bin asked as he pulled out his sword.

The dragon laughed. "Do I look that terrifying to you?" it paused to say before lunging at the young man. 

But Bin was strong and fast so he side-stepped the attack without a scratch. He sheathed his sword, clasped his hands before him and bowed to the dragon, saying "Then my battle is not with you."

With that, Bin continued down the road, the dragon by his side. 

"Why do you come with me, Master Dragon?" Bin asked. 

"It amuses me. It has been a long time since I have conversed with a human," the dragon replied.

"What do you wish to converse about? I am not learned in skills of poetry and verse, as our esteemed officials and royal court are," Bin confessed. 

"Oh, anything you wish," the dragon said, then changed his mind. "Tell me about your home," it ordered.

By the time Bin finished describing the lush green fields, deep blue skies, rolling hills and bubbling creeks of his ancestral home, the deal was made. Loong would accompany him on his quest in return for being invited to visit the Yì home. 

And that is the story of how Yì Bin made his first dragon friend.