Night had fallen.
That is always when I felt safest, when the dayfire had fallen on the horizon and the little nightfires lit the sky. It makes it harder to see then. Makes it harder for her to find me.
I am the last of the nightwings.
The Alpha has called us. She wants us to raid the human nest tonight. I try to argue with her, to tell her that the humans have many teeth, that many dragons will not survive, but she is Alpha. His voice is all we hear. Mine just a faint whine against the chorus of others that cry Yes Alpha
We take to the sky, my skin helps me hide at night. I could speed ahead, arrive at the human nest first and raze it to the ground if I so wished, but it is not my job. I am still young, my peers would never allow it.
I hear the flaps of a a fireskin's broad wings fly to my side. "This is my first raid" she says "What's the plan?"
I grunt with pity. She was younger than I, forced to go fight, maybe to her death. She was still three times my size and she looked strong, that didn't make me feel better though. I have seen many larger dragons fall to the humans.
I had never held fireskins in high regard if I'm honest. They were loud, they tended to be violent, and they always had a bad habit of setting themselves on fire.
I answer her in an admittedly condescending tone "Humans sleep at night" I tell her "So we arrive under the light of the night-fires, where you'll steal any food we can, and leave"
"What about you?" she asks me
"I am not a gatherer" I reply "I will fly overhead, and attack the humans from above". I explain that the humans build tall trees with fire instead of leaves, that I fire upon them, and destroy their weapons.
"Makes sense" was all she said in return. "Do we take humans?"
"No"
"Why not?"
My patience was wearing thin "Because humans are very hard to kill. Besides without the humans we have no nest to steal from. Kill the humans if you must, but don't take them for meat"
The glow of the human nest made us disperse. I flew high, and dived, my scream letting me see the shapes of human nests, their trees from where they threw their rocks. I fired once, the tree collapsed. I took to the air again, diving and destroying another tree.
I rose again when something collided with my side.
I howled with outrage, how dare the humans hit me! I cursed at my own stupidity for somehow lowering my guard. I fell from the sky.
I crashed into a tree. I could feel the hard wood splinter from the impact, I hit the ground, tasting the bitter dirt as I skidded across the ground.
I spat dirt from my mouth, I writhed and wriggled in my bonds, the strange weapon rubbing against my skin like dry bramble.
My whole body ached. My tail felt like it had been set ablaze.
My panic grew as I heard the other dragons fly overhead, my raid having ended.
"No!" I cried "Don't leave me behind!"
The Alpha would have me punished if I did not return with the others. I begged, I roared, but no one heard.
I cried with despair. I had been abandoned.
The night dragged on. Only when the dayfire starting peek on the horizon did I finally fall asleep.
Authors Note
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