The night, something she would cherish for all her ages of life. Nara smiled at the full moon and Northern Lights she practically floated in. beside her Meiri hovered, following the stench and movement of the humanoids below. The Shadow and her glistening partner went unnoticed in the frigid breeze of the Antarctica wasteland. They had left the idiot, Strarkinj, behind in a small forest of mountains to watch for any other of their kind and to just keep him out of the way. Nara let out a small warble and the two descended slowly and silently, nothing but shadows for no one to fear. Yet. When the duo landed, they closed their wings and shifted their weight to their front paws. The snow gave way underneath them in silence as they treaded the land just inside the whaling station, using their tales to dissipate the tracks their large bodies left. In 1904, the station had been abandoned because of the strange creatures now here. And just a few years ago a few of her kind had been made to search out the happenings of this same area. Now, on April 19th, 2008, Naralina would crush everything to get her prey; the one that had "escaped" her long ago. She smiled at the memory. Meiri nudged Nara's shoulder with her nose and jumped, landing on a building three hundred feet away. Nothing turned. Feeling her excitement reach a peak, she let out an earsplitting roar, almost drowned out my Meiri's Burst. The creatures barely had time to turn around.
The Burst shook everything, crashing some buildings, and caused the creatures to fall on their butts. Nara smiled and charged the one she had come to slaughter. She felt her acidic saliva cover her fangs as her vision went blue and her blood turned to fire…
Dachande frowned just in time to be thrown off his feet. He could see them now. They must have come for their brethren. But, he instantly recognized the shadow that sped towards him and his students. He jumped back up and snarled from his core. Here she was!
"Run, hide, and stay silent! She is mine!" he shouted to the younger.
The black nightmare hit him square in the chest with one of her horns, instead of throwing him, she merely pinned him to the icy snow. Behind her hulking mass of muscle, he saw a copper glint stop to turn its head. The thing cocked it to one side as if noticing his stare. Don't worry; your students will be perfectly fine teacher. I'll make sure of it. With her velvety voice still resonating in his head, she jumped from his view. He roared in anger and threw his weight against the horn on his chest. It didn't budge a foot. He roared again. Don't kill your voice quite yet, predator. I want to hear you scream as I dismember you for killing my kin. You'll beg before I'm halfway done and I'm sure it'll be nothing compared to what Meirikara will do to those young ones. The echoing voice smiled into his mind. A sound of black water and blood.
"Leave them alone! Only I killed the Green!"
And you will suffer for it.
Dachande felt a horrid pain in his leg, daring to look down, he screeched at the sight of his right leg and the torn skin and muscle hanging from it and her back claws. The Dragon growled in his face and continued the torture. The skinning and slicing went on for minutes before he whimpered; only barely hanging onto his conscience. Behind him, he heard screams of the young and elder mixed together. Then, someone appeared behind the great Dragon. Dachande's body went cold, as cold as a near-death corpse could get. The great beast lifted its head, sniffing the frigid air. He could tell it sensed his change and was now cautious. What? What makes you cling to that shred of hope creature? Her glowing eyes seemed to search Dachande's soul in vain, as if she wanted to crush any hopes or dreams he hugged. Suddenly, her great head whipped around and she snarled in agony as one of his students speared her back leg. She kicked at him and threw her tail around, breaking numerous bones in his already torn body. He hit the ground with a sickening squish. She stood on her hind legs, the spear still sticking out, and let out an earth shattering roar of defiance and triumph. The air reverberated with the force of the cry and went still as she let it fade. The student did not move, but Dachande heard his muffled whimper and groan. The Great Leader turned to the Dragon as a feral hiss and rotting stench reached him and the beast. Hard Meat Queen. He closed his eyes, hoping and praying to the Black Worrier for this all to end.
Naralina smelled the rancid stench of the Queen. She shifted her gaze from the oncoming black wave to her tattered prey and then to the student. She roughly grabbed the now unconscious Hunter and took off, snapping her wings against gravity. Her tail ripped the spear from her leg and she snarled letting the useless weapon drop. In air, she turned to the student. Obviously Meiri was getting old and her eyesight was fading. She had stupidly let this one slip. Just as she was about to recall Meiri and retreat with her kill, a mass of hissing death and disease led by a Queen flowed over the ridge; each Lok-nar cried and tried to climb its way above the one in front of it to catch the fresh meat first. Nara cried in rage and "spat" at the Queen. The sticky, slick, acid that shot from her fangs melted the large creature's skin and bone in seconds. But the venom only lasted so long. As the Queen howled in rage, the drones began to pour faster, rushing to protect their Mother. Catching Nara off guard, the great whore whipped her tail around and wrapped it around one of Naralina's muscular legs, yanking the Dragon to the ground with a hard bash. Nara only took a second to react. Damn you, you blind hoe! I'll make you eat that tail! She dropped her original prey and spat again, showering the Queen in hissing acid even more potent than her own blood. Nara then crouched and sprang in a fluid moment, landing on the writhing Queen and using her own tail to drive and smack away the Queens oncoming drones. As the swarm overcame the shadow, Nara used the last of her leverage to shower the Queen in her acidic venom, and then set it aflame by sparking her teeth together. As Meiri joined the battle the carnage rose and with it the stench of acid, blood, and death wafted from the icy land.
You won't beat me…
Tichinde frowned at the glistening mass before them. His fellow students whispered among themselves, questioning whether they should attack or not. Beside him lay the remains of a few Hard Meat drones. It had been a good Hunt, until this. Dachande had sent them away because of what? A shadow? He hadn't smelled or seen anything. But, he dare not say anything aloud about this whole situation. Tichinde suddenly jumped in his hide, the mass had bared its teeth and slapped at them with its large tail. He thought quickly, abandoning the thought of running away, and straitened his spear with the others. He however, did not jump to his death; instead he merely threw his spear. It glanced off with no apparent damage, but turned the thing's head toward him and away from his dead or dying brethren. He roared a challenge to the beast and pulled one of his Spikers from its holster, unlatching the knives from the cylinder in one swift motion. It only took a fraction of a second for the wretched beast to attack. But it was…
The Burst caught Tichinde completely off guard as he was thrown toward the Dragon. As he hit its feet, he almost lost conscience and the voice hit him. Velvet on ice, cold and calculatingly calm. You'll not escape me. You should not have run, monster.
"whatever." He smirked, getting to his feet slowly and painfully. Why hadn't she killed him?
Shut up with the attitude. I'd like to wipe that smirk off your mutilated- she didn't finish. A deafening roar beat at the air and Tichinde dropped his spear and closed his ears, or what he had for them. No! Naralina! stay away from her! The sound was pained in his head as the glistening head before him squealed in horror.
"What's wrong?!" he was suddenly concerned as a wave of black began to swarm.
The Dragon ignored him and the others and took off with a gust of icy wind, shock waves from her mind battering at the Hard Meat around her on the ground. Seconds later, the sky exploded. Why was this Hard Meat so much bigger and faster than the others? And next to him on the pool of melted ice, he noticed a metal chip almost too small to see without amplification attached to a drone's neck, right underneath his shinning crest. He picked the chip up, ripping it off the Hard Meat's skull and began to examine it. Hearing battle around him, he shoved it in his chest plate and unlatched his spear, shaking off the Dragon blood, and joined his brothers in the Holy Art of War.
The Skies Fire Has Died, April 22nd, 2008I don't know how long I have been down here. All I can even hear is a small shuffling noise. I hate this unknowing feeling of waiting. Why am I not dead?
Tichinde frowned at the scene before him. The creature, which he had learned was named Meirikara, was growling and jumping back and forth in a strange and urgent manner. But, the problem was that there weren't enough men to free the Dragon he knew was trapped underneath the heaped mass of brunt Hard Meat. Where the Queen that Meiri had spoken of was, he had no idea. Still, he had to help, right? She had kept them all alive during the battle and those who are honorable, both as prey and as hunters, are charged with the duty to help those who give help first. Tichinde struggled to stay awake as he watched the Dragon bounce again, still shouting t the mound. She's dyeing! Help her, please! The Dragon began to plead in his head. Salty warm tears ran down the soft armored face of his glistening friend. He frowned and began, with all of his might, to pull dead bodies from the pile. In a matter of moments, a few of the youngest were helping and the rest looked upon the scene in disgust.
After some hours of shuffling and digging, a student stopped and wiped his sweaty, bloody brow with his uninjured hand. A few hours before, Tichinde had asked Meiri to stop her jumping and go catch some food for the crew, not caring about the others doing nothing. Dachande stood out to him in the crowd, the fierce Leader giving the pile a deathly stare. It was obvious he intended to kill the Dragon as soon as they unearthed it. Suddenly, a reddish shadow covered the sight and they all gazed up in wonder at the Dragon above them. She flapped silently, hovering as if waiting for something. Well, are ya gonna get outta the way 'er what? I can't land ON you. On purpose. Tichinde stifled a chuckle at the Dragon's apparent annoyance and ordered, more like asked, the others to get out of the way. Meiri landed with a heavy thud on the ground, dropping the kill in her mouth and the smaller one in her clawed feet. She smiled proudly and turned around as if expecting something to come over the icy mountains. Oh yeah, Strarkinj. How Tichinde hated that Black waste of Dragon flesh! The pout had done nothing useful since the battle and hadn't even been there to help! Stupid pauk. He thought to himself.
"Wow, Tichinde, you outta keep that bright hunk o' beast on a leash!" one of his comrades roared.
"Don't be jealous, you noob!" he shouted back. Laughter rumbled all around him as the younger was put in his place. Even some of the others joined in.
Meirikara roared loudly as a black thing came over the mountain at them. She frowned and turned back at the yautja. Tichinde smiled and walked right up to her still frowning face.
"Is she still alive?" He calmly asked.
Yes, she still barely breathes. I do not like it though.
"why can't you touch the bodies? If we could use you, we'd get it done faster."
Her fire still resonates on the bodies. I'm…allergic to it, to say the least.
"Well, is HE 'allergic' to her fire? Or is he completely useless too?"
Watch your attitude, boy. No, and maybe it'd be good for him to haul dead things. Maybe then he wouldn't be such a girl! She sent the last part to Strarkinj as well and was answered with an angry snarl from the grayish Dragon. Tichinde gave him one of his own, flaring his mandibles under his mask.
One of his brethren scooted too close to the fresh kill and Meiri roared in his face, causing all of the crew to pull away instantly. She continued to growl at them for moments, those sitting far off staring. The whole situation was hilarious.
Keep them away from the White Bear, it belongs to Nara. She scooted the Polar Bear closer to the nasty pile. As she stomped away and to Strarkinj's large "buckets" he had carried over the mountain, the others looked to Tichinde for conformation to eat. He nodded and the people tore into the small carcass like mere animals, throwing and yelling loudly. He shook his head and turned just in time for a large amount of water to be thrown on him. He shouted in surprise and instinctively began to shake the liquid off.
Got you!
"You idiot! What's wrong with-" He noticed her smiling face and the laughter of the others combined with the fact that the water began to warm on his skin. Embarrassed, a shade of green rose from his neck and up his cheeks.
Too bad we can't see your blush she laughed in his head.
"Yeah, too bad… butt hole."
You know that was funny.
"Your friend is still dying. We need to get back to work" he spoke louder.
She would have wanted me to do that. I know it.
"Whatever." He and the others, who had finished their meal, walked toward Strarkinj and the pile. Together, as one, they began to dig.
I want my mommy! Why did she let them take me away? No, she didn't, they made her by threatening us. All of her children. Then they made fun of me for having a tail and fangs and being way skinnier than them. Stupid creatures. I like being like Mother. I keep telling myself. Their empty threats make me giggle and my brothers' hiss. Mama doesn't like it when they say those things to me either, she wants them all dead. I think it's funny.
Besides, they have no idea what kind of daughter I can be. Just how much like my Mother I really am. After all, I'm cute and innocent on the outside, and cunning and… what was that word one of my big brothers, I call him Cleft for the small cleft in his lower jaw, used? Deadly? Yes, that was it, cunning and deadly; after all, I once tried to kill him and almost succeeded. He's funny. Mother always said that I'd be able to stay with her until I grew up. My brothers call themselves "We" and refer to themselves as one. I asked Mother one time why and she got very angry at me and yelled and hissed until I started to cry. She told me it was just how it was supposed to be. I ran away after that and it took three days for them to find me. Mother had sent Cleft to "fetch" me and Mother scolded me for running from the nest. She said, "Xana, stop acting like you don't matter in this hive!" Nag, nag, blah, blah. She went on forever!
Anyway, they took me from her and all she had time to say was "don't die" like I had any intention of doing that. Geeze mom, seriously! She always overreacts like every time I get a scratch I'm gonna die! She calls them the "Trappers" and says that they have tried to take all of her other daughters. They look and are too weak for me to believe that they imprisoned all of my sisters. Then again, it does feel odd in this cold place. I can smell something that seems like mother. And I can hear the faint cries of prey and brothers. I want out of here, and I think I'll run away as soon as the chance arises. After all, according to the female Trapper I have the best mind, fastest body, sharpest weapons, and eyes that just seem to bore into your head…
I will break into your thoughts
with what's
written on my heart
