The air was thick with heat, ash, and sound. A cloaked figure unsteadily made its way up the side of the volcano carrying a small bundle. The sounds of combat were growing more and more distinct. In a level clearing amongst the jagged rocks the cloaked figure paused, panting, trying to catch her breath.
"Those fools can't stop it," she muttered to herself, "They can only it make even more angry."
She could see the fight from were she had stopped. Three hunters… and a dragon whose scales came in two colors, deep black and a deeper crimson. The dragon gave a howl. In response fire fell from the sky, searing the already hot earth with draconic fury. The hunters paid no attention, mechanically unleashing the arrows from their bows. As another volley of arrows found their mark the creature yelped in pain and reared backwards trying to get away from the infuriating stings. It unleashed a deafening roar and it's chest began to glow like magma.
"Enraged again," muttered one of the hunters, placing another arrow on his bowstring. His bow was of strange design; at first glance it didn't look like a bow at all. It was mostly obsidian black, save for some earthen orange-tan colors at the tips of the bow. Two features made it appear odd. The first was the large "shields" mounted on either side of the bow's top. The second was that it was "Y" shaped, the string connecting at two places at the top and one at the bottom. The other two hunters carried the same kind of bow.
The cloaked figure was now in the lava field were the fight was occurring. Hurriedly she strode towards the combat. When she was close she lifted the bundle high above her head. It gave small cry. One of the hunters (a huntress) turned to look reflexively. It was a baby.
"Great Fatalis! We mean you no harm! Take my child and leave our kingdom in peace!"
The huntress that had turned had put away her bow and was making a mad dash for the cloaked woman, screaming at the top of her lungs, "YOU IDIOTIC BITCH!"
The Fatalis had taken notice as well. Not only did these creatures sting him with their flying thorns, but now they shout at him as well? Infuriating! It reared back its head and gathered its hatred into its toothy maw. The huntress plowed into the woman, knocking her down just as a sphere of immolation blazed by.
Furious the huntress pinned the woman to the ground and shouted, "WHAT KIND OF MOTHER OFFERS UP HER CHILD TO A BEAST?! DID YOU HONESTLY THINK IT CARES WHAT SACRIFICES YOU MAKE TO IT?!
"But there's no other way! You can't kill such a creature!"
"LOOK AT THAT THING AND TELL ME WE CAN'T KILL IT"
The woman did. Its wings were full of holes. The hard scales of its chest were cracked. The horns on the left side of its head were gone and the left eye missing. Could the Fatalis really be felled?
"Woman, I don't know who you are but I am really fighting the urge to kill you for your stupidity and shitty parenting. Hey are you listening to me?"
The huntress realized that she was not. She also realized that the ground around them had the glow that marked it for immolation. The Fatalis had called another fire-rain and they were about to be pegged dead on. Desperately she grabbed the woman, who had been staring at their impending doom. As she began to roll she already knew it was too late. She could feel the intense heat. The last thing she saw was a nova of fury plummeting towards her.
"Hana!" shouted one of the other two hunters.
"Stay focused, Zaahir!" the third hunter yelled.
"You stay focused!" was the indignant reply. Zaahir dropped his bow and ran to the smoking pile. Of the woman there was only ash and some black bones. As for Hana, her armor preserved a bit more, but it was hardly an improvement over the woman's condition.
"Oh, Hana…" Zaahir mumbled.
"You're next if you don't start paying attention! Zaahir!"
Kneeling, Zaahir placed his hand on the huntress's still simmering helm and spoke softly, "What am I going to tell our son?"
The third hunter whipped his bow around and sent an arrow whizzing past Zaahir's ear. Zaahir didn't move.
"Damn it! All I wanted to do was kill this temperamental lizard, carve it up, piss on it a few times, go home, and make an ornamental outhouse out of its skull. Whack-jobs offering up their kids was nowhere in the job descri— urrgh!"
The Fatalis had turned towards Zaahir and in the process its massive whip-like tail had sent the third hunter flying. Again it summoned its fury and unleashed it at Zaahir. His ashes fell on those of his lover's.
One left, there was one stinging creature left. But the thorns were taking their toll. They were filled with darkness akin to his own. That was it, no more. The Fatalis gave one more defiant roar before spreading its wings and starting the process of getting itself airborne. By the time the last hunter was back on his feet, arrow at the ready, the dragon was far overhead.
"Draconic bastard."
He walked over to the piles of ash. Yup, extra freaking crispy. Glancing around he found the bundle the woman had brought laying a few feet from her remains. He darted over. The child was alive and screaming, the rumble of the volcano drowning out it until close. There was a large gash in the child's back. Well, large for a child anyway. Pressing the cloth to the child's back to try and stop the bleeding he began walking to the exit. A party of Felynes entered. Their leader stopped and spoke.
"Nya, congratulations on repelling the dragon, Sir hunter. Were there not others with…?" The Felyne peered around the hunter and began to grasp some of what had happened. "Damn, nya…"
"Yeah, that pretty much sums it up."