Got 'im!
The dragon roared as the arrow struck true, and then it was only a matter of time. He watched it spiral out of control, following its descent as best he could until the trees blocked sight of the body, and then he just had to rely on his ears. There was a telltale crash, the sounds of rustling leaves and cracking branches, and then nothing.
Sounded like it landed over to the east.
Sliding his crossbow back into its carrier and strapping it to his back, Malak drew his sword in preparation and headed deeper into the woods. He kept his eyes skyward, looking for signs of damage in the trees, broken branches and twigs that would let him locate where the dragon had fallen. Ah! There!
He spotted a disturbance in the canopy and quickened his pace, pushing aside branches as he went, and then--
...What.
Where there should have been a dragon, instead he came across a human girl.
A human girl who was unconscious, fallen leaves scattered around her and in her hair and broken twigs laying nearby.
It wasn't difficult to put two and two together, not for someone who made his life as a hunter, and more specifically a hunter who wasn't content to stick to mundane beasts.
He was dealing with a shifter.
Just his luck.
With a sigh, Malak sheathed his sword, untied the rope he kept coiled at his belt, and approached the girl, nudging her with his boot to be sure she was out before rolling her onto her belly. Ah. Look at that. Blood on her back, spotting through her clothes. This was his dragon, all right.
Kneeling beside her, he tugged her hands behind her back and tied them securely, and used the same connecting length of rope to tie her feet together as well. She wasn't quite hog-tied; she would be able to stand straight. But if she was hoping to run, that just wouldn't be an option.
He tied the remaining coil back to his belt, then rolled the girl onto her back, slid his arms under her, and hauled her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.
"You're still a dragon," he muttered, standing with her. Now he'd just have to decide exactly what he was going to do with her.