Ok, so here is the next chapter. I would like to thank Admiralkirk for allowing me to use some of his OCs. I hope I get their characters right and if not I apologize. Demodius belongs to Admiralkirk and Zach the Fire Dragon.
"Pathetic, useless creatures!" Mouse cursed softly to himself, staying off to the side of the flame as he looked up at the two moons and snorted loudly. Weakness was everything these creatures consisted of. It was the pink female that started to complain about being tired, and then the red male that decided to stop for the night and rest. At this point, Mouse wanted to do nothing more than walk out and leave. But he couldn't. That damnable blood scale was awake. Watching him.
"Aren't you going to sleep?" Flame asked, laying close to Ember, the dragoness snoring gently as her chest breathed up and down.
"I don't need sleep." Mouse replied, feeling annoyed as the red dragon refused to settle his eyes on anything else. "Why do your eyes linger? Begone with you!" Mouse snapped, Flame baring his fangs from the other side of the fire, the wood popping and crackling.
"What's your problem? Knock off that damn attitude before I knock you down to size!" Flame growled, Mouse grunting in response.
"You are my problem, blood scale." Mouse spoke, his voice soft yet laced in venom.
"Me? What the hell did I do?!"
"Surviving. Like a demon you use your host, suck them dry until nothing is left. Everything that they were? Everything that they are? That's gone. They are nothing but a husk." Mouse muttered, Flame looking at the dragon with confusion.
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"It is you that is the parasite, the demon! Surviving I understand well, yes. And in the end the parasite gains, while the host dies, its life force sucked away. I refuse to benefit you while I gain no benefit in return." Mouse explained, getting up as his joints popped, cracking his shoulder.
"H-HEY! Where are you going?! You can't just leave!" Flame cried in disbelief as the golden drake began to walk away.
"I grow tired of your consistent badgering. I will return to see the state of your corpses after being picked clean of flesh." Mouse replied, the last part having an odd note of playfulness as the drake disappeared into the tree line.
Distractions gone, Mouse could now completely focus on finding Solona. While following her scent, Mouse couldn't help but get a strange feeling that something was off. He couldn't see anything wrong, but he could feel it. Whatever the disturbance was made his muscles tense. His instincts would never lie.
Pausing to look around, the demon gave up on finding whatever the thing was that was bothering him. All that time in the Fade must have made him paranoid that he would get eaten every second. Strong or weak, it wasn't fun.
The demon's head snapped in the direction of hearing a twig break, the drake not moving an inch, his eyes focusing on the darkness, nostrils flaring. He couldn't see the damn thing but he could smell it. What was it? It smelled like...death. Could it be another demon?
Mouse stayed completely still, focusing on his senses as his breathing stilled. It was moving, circling him. Like a predator, looking for a weak point before striking. Now where would he attack prey? The throat would be the most vulnerable, a killing blow. No. No that wasn't want this creature was looking for. It would have attacked by now. That only left the flanks. Immobilize your prey and leave them at the mercy of the hunter. A sadistic hunter, this sensing the creature lunge, Mouse instinctively swung his tail, hearing a loud crack as the thing went flying. To his surprise, the creature turned out to be another dragon. Great.
The dragon suddenly appeared when it got hit, no longer invisible as it managed to twist in the air and land on its feet, the dragon taking several sharp intakes of air. It most likely had a broken rib or two. Good for the bloody bastard.
Mouse cocked his head at the strange dragon as it started to laugh, spitting blood on the ground as it stared at the drake. It was then Mouse noticed the dragon had blood red eyes. Interesting.
"You're going to have to try harder than that, I fear." Mouse spoke, amused as his stance became more relaxed. He could tell this dragon was powerful. He could feel the very darkness growing inside.
"I shouldn't be surprised. You were the one that slaughtered my forces. Shredded them limb from limb." The dragon laughed, his eyes shining with glee. Mouse was unsure of this dragon. It reminded him of a demon from the Fade. Insane, unpredictable, a hunter. Looking at the dragon, Mouse noticed it had pure black scales with a deep green covering its chest scales and wing membrane, the horns and talons a brilliant ivory that shown in the two moons' lights. He also noticed the dragon had serrated teeth and fangs to rival his own. It was almost like they were serpent fangs.
"Where are you getting at?" Mouse asked, his annoyance slightly showing as the dragon grinned, showing his fierce fangs. Mouse wasn't sure if it was an attempt to frighten him or just a friendly gesture, but either way it didn't work.
"You have that killer instinct in you. You can read and predict others before they even strike, know where they are without seeing them. A true killer you are, like me." The dragon spoke, smirking as his tail jerked around, as if tense with anxiety. The dragon had an odd blade at the end of its tail that looked almost like a teardrop to the demon. He found it strange. Why would a dragon have something that was a symbol of sorrow? It just didn't seem to match the rest of its body that gave the demon a feeling of death. Needless to say, he actually liked this dragon.
"And you want me to aid you. Why?" Mouse asked, more so demanded.
"Hold your tongue or I shall cut it out, cur." The dragon hissed, obviously not used to getting backlashed. "No one speaks to me so boldly but Master."
"So you are just a servant, then? What a pity. I fear I find no use for you." Mouse replied, moving away as he felt the air thicken.
"Don't you dare walk away from me! Do you even know who I am?!" The dragon roared, barely containing his annoyance as Mouse proceeded to ignore him.
"Very well then. By the time I am finished with you you will be begging for death!" The dragon muttered darkly, his fangs and talons becoming laced in a green poison as he charged.
Sensing the danger, Mouse swiftly turned and lunged at the dragon, his serrated teeth tearing into black mist where flesh would have been, the drake now completely surrounded by darkness. Where did it go? Shit.
Focusing on his spirit wells, Mouse released a white mist of energy, the raw magic dispelling the darkness, revealing the shocked dragon as it struck.
Mouse grunted as the black dragon slammed into him with its shoulder, its blade spikes digging into his side, causing the drake to stumble and fall.
Mouse roared in rage as the dragon bit into his front leg, claws raking his underbelly, the hardened scales refusing to break. In rage, Mouse bit the black dragon's horn, trying to break its neck as he shook the dragon's head violently, the powerful neck muscles preventing him from doing so. The demon could feel the the much smaller horns jabbing into his tongue.
The pair struggled and rolled on the ground, the demon's claws raking the dragon's scales as his hind legs kicked to disembowel his prey. The smell of blood from both parties only fueled the demon's desire to fight.
The dragon pulled back in pain as a loud snap was heard, his horn being completely broken off as he tried to disengage his foe. He didn't understand. Why wasn't his poison working?
Intent on killing his prey, Mouse managed to pin the dragon to the ground, throwing the horn off to the side only to have the dragon scrape his eye, the demon rearing on his hind legs and roaring in pain.
"You bloody bastard! I'll kill you!" Mouse hissed, shaking his head wildly, his eyes turning black as he began to lose control, swiftly blinking to focus once again. His eyes a normal green as blood ran down his snout. His eyes just healed, damn it
The dragon moved away, laughing as he watched his own blood fall to the ground, however feeling strange at the lack of a horn.
Mouse roared in rage, moving to strike but found that he couldn't. Something was wrong. Why couldn't he move?! Mouse grunted as his blood started to burn, getting hotter and hotter, the drake making strange noises as he fell to the ground, his body twitching as the poison took effect.
"It...burns! Bastard!" Mouse hissed, folding in on himself in pain, the dragon laughing in sadistic glee.
"My poison works wonders, don't it?" The dragon asked, his chest puffed out in pride as the drake didn't answer, instead the demon tore into itself with such ferocity blood splattered onto the ground.
"Yeah? So...does mine." Mouse forced out, the green in his eyes slowly blackening, a twisted snarl emerging.
The dragon lurched forward in pain, blood rushing from its mouth, its movements suddenly jerky, like its movements wasn't its own.
"W...What's this?" The dragon asked, shocked. He couldn't control his own body. It was moving against his will! The dragon could only watch as his own claws slowly moved to his throat, the ivory claws stained with poison and blood shining in the moonlight, the talons poised to pierce his own throat.
"You...are mine." Mouse hissed, fighting to focus on his manipulation and ignore the pain. All he needed was one slip up and he would lose control.
The dragon only growled as the claws started to dig into his own throat, blood slowly trickling down, the dragon finding it harder to breathe.
A new wave of pain suddenly hit the demon, causing its body to violently convulse, the dragon's body jerking as he had control again, the black dragon coughing as he struggled to get his breath back. He didn't know what it was. All he knew that it was dangerous. And something this dragon apparently knew. If only he could somehow acquire it for himself?
"Such...power. Master will surely need your abilities." The dragon muttered, but knew that the dragon's chances of survival was slim to none. He was already infected with the poison.
"A pity that you shall die with your powers. I wish there was a way to...take the knowledge, the secrets you have from your corpse. Crack your skull open and unravel all you know." The dragon spoke, spitting blood to the ground, laughing darkly. "At least I get to watch you die, writhe in pain, beg for mercy to which you will find none. A slow and painful end."
To the dragon's shock and disbelief, the drake suddenly stopped moving, grunting as he slowly, stiffly got on his feet. The drake wobbled for a bit, unsteady before looking up at the dragon, eyes quickly turning green as it cracked its neck, chuckling.
"It that all you have? I've faced much worse." Mouse stated, sore as he sat down, obviously not wanting to fight.
"But...how could you?"
"An innate ability to nullify toxins." Mouse stated. "It's in the blood." He added.
"You are much stronger than you look. Master will like you." The black dragon commented.
"Tell this Master what you wish, but do not interfere with me again. If you pursue only one of us shall survive, I promise you that." Mouse warned. "Unless you wish to send your army my way." Mouse teased, the dragon growling.
"I will make sure your death is by my claws after Master is finished with you. And my army? It will destroy everything you hold dear now that he has returned." The dragon laughed, turning invisible, Mouse hearing a strong flap of wings at it took off into the sky.
"War is coming to this realm, dragon. I'll see you then when the Dragon Realms lie in ruins and are shrouded by eternal darkness!"