Zazilie
(Sidenote, I was listening to a Remix of the song 'Rasputin' while doing this. Help.)
Gah, what?
Zazilie sat up, confused.
Mainly as to:
A: Where the heck she was, and
B: Why was she suddenly alone, and most importantly,
C, Why in the hell did she feel like hitting someone?
She flexed her claws in the grass thoughtlessly, then her eyes widened in surprise at the sudden revelation.
Goddamnit, I'm a dragon again.
Upon extending her wings curiously, she found unfamiliar star-like markings under her wings, glinting painfully back at her.
Huh. Strange.
She stood up on her hind legs, examining her claws, then tracing them along her ebony snout.
Guess I should not make much of it.
Upon surveying her surroundings, she could see she'd awaken in a crater of sand, with a small grove of trees encompassing her, just as well as she could hear the faint echoes of waves crashing against sand.
Somewhere near a body of water.
Zazilie shook out her wings, shaking stray granules of sand off everywhere.
"Might be someone nearby. Should check just in case." She murmured aloud.
With luck, of course.
Her earlier exhaustion having been abolished, she leapt out of the crater and headed for the sound of the ocean.
No one. No surprise there.
She thought, cursing her luck upon finding an white sandy beach, devoid of life or anyone she recognized.
Her tail lashed in minor frustration, hitting a small dune of sand and scattering the tiny fractions of sediment into the air.
Well, what now?
Zazilie pondered her own question for a moment, her sharpened eyes spotting a shadow suddenly shifting through the distant waves towards her.
…
She stepped backward a few steps.
The shadow drifted closer, almost within one-hundred yards of her. More shadows, similar in shape, appeared behind it, all in formation behind the first shadow.
Acting instinctively, she bounded toward the trees, away from the shadows.
She didn't know who or what they were, but she didn't want to hang around to face them directly.
Better wait and see. Could be hostile.
She spun around and shot a final glance at the possible approaching danger.
The shadows were within fifteen feet of shore, and heading in fast.
Okay, so obviously not sealife acting strangely.
She dove behind the shaded foliage just as a green head broke the water, followed by four others of the blue and the same color.
Dragons, She thought, holding back a startled cough.
The one in front, with green scales, strode confidently out of the waves, his head high and shoulders back as he scanned the beach, looking for...something, she didn't know yet.
He snapped his head back at a smaller blue female behind him. "Wave, please explain why we were sent out here again? There's nothing here!" He growled.
Wave, the female, cleared her throat. "Sir, with all due respect, there was multiple reports from countless loyal SeaWings of a strange streak of light in the sky, followed by what appeared to be an explosion. I highly doubt sir, that so many dragons would conspire to support such a false tip. This could be a warning, possibly a revelation of what the other factions have in store for us. If that's true, we'll need to-" The leader cut her off. "Yes, whatever, I get it. You like looking at...stuff. Let's just investigate whatever the heck this is, and leave. I don't want to miss chess with Goblin." Zazilie noticed that most of the other dragons bore expressions of agreement.
Wave bowed her head, obviously biting back a sharp insult to her lazy superior.
"Yes sir." she grumbled.
Zazilie crept back further into the fronds of the palm bush, avoiding the crew of...SeaWings, whatever the heck they were, she didn't care. They had began walking unknowingly in her direction, and tremors of awareness were circulating throughout her body.
"Captain!" Wave called. Zazilie froze.
The green dragon groaned. "What now?!"
Wave waved her talons at something in the sand. "See for yourself."
The captain grumbled, then walked back to Wave. "Talonprints. Yes, what about them?"
"They're none of our squadron, or of any SeaWing. No webbing through the center, and they're recent. Someone saw us coming."
"Fuck." Zazilie cursed silently.
The captain studied the prints while scratching his chin. "Mhm. Yes. Good job, Wave." He turned to the surrounding three dragons. "Spread out. Clean the area and search for any hostiles and take them in for questioning, if resistance isn't met."
Two of the dragons nodded, as Wave and another dragon made for Zazilie's position, as Wave was following the evidence Zazilie's hurried escape.
That's not good. Zazilie backed into a tree, spinning around and hurriedly making her way through the bushes, a bit too-
"I hear them! This way!" Wave crowed.
-noisily.
Zazilie threw stealth to the wind, sprinting away from the ocean and the sound of the SeaWings searching for her.
The sounds of the bushes and tall grasses waving behind her told her she needed to go faster, so she obliged, ignoring her muscle's screams of protest.
Need to either lose them or…
She leapt onto a low hanging thicket, hiding under the gigantic palm leaves.
Wave and the other SeaWings arrived, stopping under her hiding place.
Their captain strode in behind them from the brush. "Well?"
Wave looked up from the ground, where she was searching for more prints, Zazilie assumed.
Good luck. She thought triumphantly.
"We lost the trail, but they can't have gone far. We'll keep looking. Should be close by."
Closer than you think.
With that, Wave and the other three SeaWings left, leaving just the captain and Zazilie, who was getting real tired of holding her breath.
"Huh." The captain muttered, looking straight at Zazilie, causing her to tremble in shock. He then chuckled to himself and walked away.
What, was that? She thought, letting out her breath.
She cautiously leapt out of the tree on to the cold sand.
"Well that was certainly interesting." She mused.
Zazilie turned around to face a quivering dragon, their face coated with shock.
Ah, shit.
"C-Ca-Capta-" The terrified dragon was cut short as Zazilie hit him firmly in the gut, knocking the wind out of him.
She wrapped her talons firmly around his snout, growling at him to shut up.
She sat there for a moment staring at this terrified dragon, meanwhile listening for any approaching dragons.
"Alright," She sighed. "Scream for help, I'll snap your neck. Try anything stupid, you'll never breathe again. Got it?" She snapped.
The blue dragon nodded slowly.
"Alright. Why are you chasing me?" She asked, letting go of his snout.
He whimpered in fear, then began speaking slowly. "W-we were assuming to catch a spy, l-like usual...are you a spy?"
Zazilie slapped him. He almost cried out, but stopped suddenly, as he remembered Zazilie's earlier threat.
"I'm asking the questions here. And no. I have no clue where I am."
The SeaWing nodded, rubbing his face sorely without hiding his slight confusion.
"Which leads to the next question," She continued quietly. "Where am I?"
"Uh-h, the K-kingdom of the Sea…" He trailed off, obviously confused.
"Huh." She answered, not taking this as important. She figured she couldn't get much information from this dragon anyway.
"Thank you for your time." She said, backing off. "Now sleep."
"Wha-" Zazilie slammed his head into a nearby rock, instantly knocking him unconscious.
Good. Should keep him from telling the rest of his squad the direction I left in.
She made sure the timid blue dragon was still breathing, then left as quietly as she'd came.
Which still wasn't very quiet.