The water glittered in the darkness. It lapped quietly against the darkened stone of the canal. Street lamps glowed above, showing Tanomoan the rats scurrying across the cobbled streets of Stormwind.
Tanomoan growled, and crouched down. One scaled paw, fitted with razor sharp talons, lifted up, and moved forward. Muscles tensed, and he locked his eyes onto a target. A brown rat, plumper than the rest. It had black beady eyes, and a long, whipping tail. It looked delicious to the hungry dragon.
Flicking his tail, and shuffling his wings, Tanomoan stalked his prey. His tongue flicked out. The rat looked up, and Tanomoan pounced.
Squeals and squeaks erupted. It was the middle of the night, and only guards would be out, patrolling. None bore witness to the savagery at the minute dragon whelp as he ripped apart the rat. All of the other rats ran fleeing, terrified by the predator that had just killed one of their own kind.
Tanomoan tossed the dead, mutilated rat into the air, and stood up on his hind legs, head bent back. The rat fell back down, and went straight down the whelp's throat. He swallowed, and licked his paws.
Footprints resounded nearby. Tanomoan hissed, and flung himself into the canal water.
A guard walked by, looking around. He sighed, as if disappointed there was nothing nefarious going on.
Tanomoan dove, and went inside a submerged barrel. A crab panicked, but was not fast enough. Tanomoan bit down, and crunched right through the animal's armored shell. The whelp imagined it was the guard on the street. Attacking him with nothing but a sword, the guard would have no chance.
Well, he wouldn't if Tanomoan wasn't a baby, only two feet in length and as heavy as a damp feather.
As the man walked off, Tanomoan popped his head up out of the water. He watched the guard, teeth bared. Paddling with his paws, the dragon whelp swam in the canals, underneath bridges and navigating past floating bottles, wood, and other trash. Finding a dock, the dragon climbed up, and looked up at barrel. He jumped up, but failed to touch the top.
He hissed again, and jumped again.
Two tries later ended in the barrel being knocked over after Tanomoan rammed his head against it. He went around to look inside it. A small fish, partially rotten, lay limp in the barrel. He dove at it, and ravenously gulped it down.
Tanomoan sniffed around, and walked down the lit streets. He trotted along, head held up high and proud.
Then, he reached his home. A rundown, wooden house with broken windows and a creaky door. Climbing through the window, Tanomoan purred. A broken lamp lay on the ground. Bones were scattered around the room, some with flesh still on them. A couch sat in one corner, and burnt books sat chaotically on a collapsed bookcase.
He went to a pile of disgusting rags, and patted them with one paw, before collapsing onto them. He rolled around for a bit, then reached his head over the side. Gently, he picked up a doll with his mouth and pulled it into his bed. It was no longer recognizable underneath the dirt and grime, but Tanomoan imagined it used to be a beautiful lady.
The whelp yawned.
His eyes slowly closed and fell asleep. Tanomoan clutched the doll with his paws, and his foot twitched occasionally. He dreamed of destroying Stormwind, and all of those who lived there.