Fu felt the sudden ripple, the intense welling of energy beneath her in the tranquil waters just seconds before the creature burst forth into the realm of reality. Its' coils shed aside the waters of the sink hole and strangely left no sloshing wakes, as though it were part of the river, not a creature passing through it. But then, if the summoning had worked as her grandfather had said it would, then that was precisely what the creature was. A physical manifestation of the mountain streams, of the cold waters snaking down from the trapped rains at the peaks far above. This creature was child to the immortal storm dragons, coiled around the mountains and bound to earth, but still great, and powerful. And here she was. . . lowly, canine. . . female. Would it cast her aside? Would it kill her?

For a long moment, she fixed her gaze on its' penetrating yellow eyes, the broken flora around it seeming to reach for its' scales like blossoms towards the sun, praying with open arms to their deity. Do not blink. Do not waver. Do not show fear. Those were the last words of wisdom her grandfather had imparted upon her. Regardless of the outcome of this day, she had vowed she would make her grandfather proud. She had summoned the great river spirit to beg for it's wisdom, and training. . . to protect her home, and her family. Everything rested on her strength of will. Strength of body would follow. If she were worthy.

The silence was suffocating. Her heartbeat drummed in her ears. And then it spoke.

"I have been waiting for you, warm blood." Its' jaw seemed to twist impossibly upwards, scales bending around the corners of its' ancient, toothy mouth, the throngs of young ferns stitched into its' scales curling with the motion. It was smiling. And somehow, despite the grotesqueness and the sheer terrifying presence of the ancient dragon, Fu could not help but feel warm. "You certainly took your time in coming to me. We have much to do."

Collab with  Alectorfencer
I did the characters (and a few miscellaneous foreground elements)
Alectorfencer did the stupendous background
Made for this year's Eurofurence

*Note* A question a few folks have had. There were no textures used in the creation of the dragon/foo dog characters. All scale/fur work was entirely hand-drawn.