For years, Skywings had an arena. It was supposedly the birthplace of the kingdom, & the ceremonial ground upon which succession was determined. The coppery scent of blood was always present, a testament to how much blood had been forcefully expunged from its host. Even if a victor was declared the sandy floor was unforgiving. The sand never really left your scars, irritating with every touch, every step, every twitch. Supposedly, there were always two losers in the arena- one that dies, and the other that bears that scar.

When Scarlet emerged from her succession duel unscared, she was the only queen to not be wounded during her battle.

But, that supposedly "perfect" duel was boring.

Where was the thrill? Scarlet wondered. Where was the excitement? The exhilaration? The thrall of death before me?

You see, Scarlet had a natural talent when it came to violence. After years of the same poses, the same strikes, the same fight hundreds of times, you get apathetic.

When Scarlet finally killed her mother, she felt something different. Something strange and alien, yet so intoxicating. She was at peace for the first time in her life, and no game, no hobby, no man could hope to compare.

She then challenged her youngest sibling, trying to taste that sweet nectar of ecstasy again. She toyed with them, trying different moves and combinations.

It all ended when she drew blood.

A crack in her mental wall showed, letting her taste a drop of that sweet nectar once again.

And with every cut, every bruise, every hit against her sibling another crack formed on her wall. Another spout gushed out.

When she finally slid her claw through her sibling's ribcage, she felt their warmth around her claw, she felt their blood spilling out onto the arena. She felt her own psyche start to split and crumble under the crushing ecstasy she felt at that moment.

As she unsceathed her claw from the soft, moist flesh of her own family, her claws tingled with excitement. They were wet and warm, making bloody claw-prints wherever they went.

Something about this was right. Something about this was perfect. Something about this was

Oh

So

Scarlet.

Years later, when the sandwing war of succession broke out, it was with this mindset she approached her problems. The kingdom, the war, her advisors, all came second to a proper fight, even if she couldn't participate in it herself.

But now, she could.

It started when their floating ship descended into the arena, floating a bit higher than Scarlet's throne. The letters "we mean no harm" were scrawled in big, blocky letters on each side of it. But the arena was already in chaos. The prisoners were trying to flee, the peasants were panicking, and the guards were trying to keep everyone in line.

However, how this new threat got here wasn't at the forefront of Scarlet's mind. No, it was the nature of this new threat that Scarlet was so enthralled by.

Which only heightened when a door seamlessly slid open, revealing two dragons, seemingly opposed in their making.

One was an angel. He was carved from silver, with a streamlined figure that glided through the air like a feather on the breeze.

Probably only he was only really there to be eye candy, nothing more. Scarlet was more interested in the other, scarless warrior. She was wearing armour as a second skin, making her carved from the lustrous golden her armour was made of. Her muscles contorted the metal around them like a cloth, being proudly on display for all to see.

But her eyes, oh her eyes. They were beautiful, like ornate sapphires. However, her eyes betrayed her experience, because while she did seem youthful and spry, her eyes revealed that she had the same luxurious experience, the same blinding fury, the same throbbing heart lusting for blood Scarlet herself "suffered" from.

They gingerly landed on Scarlet's outcropping, cacophony of unknown sounds permeated Scarlet's ears. The sweet, metallic scent of blood wafted through the air, signalling the sharks to stay away, or feast

The red one was the first to speak up. "Do you wish for me to silence the bystanders?" It asked, without any ire that Scarlet was expecting.

Scarlet rolled her eyes, and sat back on her throne. "I'm not really in the mood to, so go ahead." She feigned.

As quickly as fire, the scarless warrior dashed forward. While she appeared to be aiming for Scarlet, it actually was the guard on her left. Grabbing the so-called protector by the neck, launching into the sky with unknowable vigor.

"Silence!" The golden warrior shouted. "Or I won't just kill this mockery of a guard, I will strangle him. His body will remain intact and unharmed."

Now, everyone knows how skywings reincarnated. They reincarnated as skywings by having their souls take back the scales displaced by scars, which they used as a template for their next life. However, if all the scales were to remain intact…

That was what she was threatening. A death without glory or reincarnation. A death that would see the worst dishonor possible, becoming another tribe.

So the guard thrashed against his aggressor. Gasping against the claw, he tried to summon his fire, but it sputtered out and died. He tried to thwack the aggressor's face, but she just ignored that attack

Gasping for air, he tried to find an opening, sliding his claws against the impervious armour, trying to find a dent, or hole or anything to help his get this grip off. Tearing up, he tried to bite his captor, but his teeth slid right off.

Choking, all the guard could do was look at the monster's eyes, before going limp.

The howling wind was the only sound for miles, as the monster dropped the ragged guard. Before the red comet could strike the ground, two guards dashed forward to intercept their comrade.

"Now then," the crimson warrior calmly, almost monotonely continued, "may I speak to Queen Scarlet?"

"You may. Though, it may be rather hard to hear you from up there, maybe you should try standing on this lovely platform we've got." Scarlet said, sweeping her wing out.

"I would, but I don't think it could hold me." She said, ignoring how she stood on it a few moments prior.

"But then where shall we hold this illustrious conversation?" Scarlet inquired.

"Why not in the very seat of government?" The silver dragon asked.

"I'm sure that would be able to hold me." The ruby warrior remarked.

"Then it's decided." Scarlet concluded. "Everyone else goes away for a while, then you two tell me what EXACTLY you are."

Sorry if this chapter was a bit sporadic. It's just that when you work with words you started writing with a month or two ago, it gets confusing.

So, this story won't have a normal update schedule from now on. I'm just not all that interested in this storyline anymore. This was always meant to be a bit of a test, so it wasn't going to last particularly long. I think I'll return eventually, but that's besides the point.

Though, if you're interested in any of my other works, I have another fic planned. It is going to be M rated, and involve very deadly bugs. So, be warned.