Where There's Smoke, There's... Dragons?!

Anyone who's been paying attention to this blog for the past year would know that the Traveler occasionally runs into dragons.  As fae, we accept it as a fact of existence, but he feels the need to analyze it.  Something about fog banks and "here there be dragons" and the emotional state of the surrounding area and whatever.  Well, I for one would like to know what in bloody hell caused this one.

Yesterday, I was returning to his dorm (or "residence hall" as the resident assistants keep insisting I call it).  There appeared to be some fog rolling in as the sun set on campus.  It had a distinct boundary at the western end of the grounds, thickest on the road which runs around them.  I like fog so I went to revel in it.

It wasn't fog.  Not in the least.

Smoke.  Not normally a big deal.  There's normally the scent of smoke to accompany the woodland controlled burns which happen in Arkansas this time of year, but this was centered on the road.  And it didn't smell like wood smoke.

I was immediately aware of strange air currents which flowed through the smoky area.  Regular down-blowing gusts.  Never strong, but certainly an unusual direction.  Visibility was such that I could see the sky through the pall of smoke.  Nothing unusual that I could see.

Then the ground shook and there was a wall of shadow immediately in front of me.  The gusts stopped abruptly.  I took a few steps forward to investigate, which was probably stupid given the circumstances.  What I encountered was a mass which resembled a cross between an elephant leg and a sequoia's trunk.  With scales.  Enough investigation for one day.  I did a heel face turn and ran like hell.

It noticed me I think, 'cause there was a cacophonous noise like an army of screaming crack babies on autotuner and it took a few steps toward my direction but it faded out with the boundary of the smoke cloud.  Let me tell you it was massive to the point that the bank was filled with it and I think that's only what could manifest given the bank's size.  I hope that was an isolated incident.

Somehow I don't think it was.