I don't know if I gave the height differences between Ashe and the animals of Zootopia before, but our dragon boy comes up to about 7'0 even. I decided to make the animals equal to normal human sizes (save for giraffes and whatnot) o in the case of Giselle, she's around 5'2 without the antlers. I don't count hair or horns/antlers so yeah. Ashe has some height on him, lol. Sorry, I got a thang for height and size differences.

Despite popular knowledge, Giselle hadn't been a widely known singer for very long; her career had started just after High School, when she was sixteen, and since then had skyrocketed. Even now, at nineteen years of age, the gazelle considered herself lucky to rise so fast, so soon. Not many animals had the opportunities she did, being able to make a difference by other means…

Even so, her agents could be overbearing, and Giselle had to get away sometimes. Thus the reason for her late-night stroll through Zootopia after dark. She had some defensive sprays on her in case something happened, so she didn't bother to tell anyone where she was going.

The Angel with Horns sighed as she strode down the street, a pair of glasses and a facemask hiding her from recognition. She passes several windows for different stores of merchandise, one of which was an electronics store speaking of the 9 PM news- a relic from the Time of Man was taken to a hospital where something went wrong; police were swarming the streets like bees around their hive, and Giselle tilted her head in thought.

'Why would the police need to be out if the relic weren't a living thing?' she mused. 'But the relic had been taken to a hospital, so that must mean something, yes?' the singer began humming a few notes to a song she was working on writing, hooves falling into a steady beat to match the notes. After a few minutes, the female paused, looking up only to realize she had gotten lost.

The wind blew past in a chilly gust, making the singer shiver involuntarily, and she bit her lip in worry.

"Well, I could call Diesel," she mused aloud, ears flicking in an internal debate. "But then he would know I left my flat again…"

She paced on the sidewalk nervously before deciding that the pros of getting home safe far outweighed the cons of being lost until she stumbled upon someone that could help her ger home.

"Oh my god… You-! Guys, lookie here! It's Giselle!"

The female turned to see a large whitetail stag staring at her from across the street, flanked by a pair of muscular hippos.

Her mind reeled with recognition, and her eyes widened. "Clovis? Clovis Whitewood?" the Whitetail smirked, striding over to lean his considerable height over her own. "Been a while, Giselle~! How've you been?"

Since she had debuted, Giselle had seen many mammals vie for her hoof in a relationship. While she did go out with a few, those few never worked out, wither wanting to get in her pants as a forced life mate, get at her money, or use her for popularity and fame… and Clover was one of those mammals. A well-known figure in the sports and model industry, Clover Whitewood was known as the 'Fleet-Footed Heartbreaker'…

And Giselle's ex from her high school days.

"What're you doing in this part of town?" Clovis continued. Green eyes that reminded Giselle of grass that had been through a drought raked over her form, making her purse her lips. "I was going for a walk, but my automotive driver isn't here."

One of the hippos snickered, his eyes leering at her body. "Well then, why don't we help you get back?" the gazelle scowled, though a hint of fear began to worm it's way up her spine.

"I'm afraid I'll have to decline. I wasn't looking to speak with anybody from Sablehoof on my walk, but I do hope you three have a pleasant evening." As Giselle turned to leave, Clover's benign smirk turned into something almost predatory and irritated. "Look, Giselle…" he began, his expression switching the moment she turned around to look at him. "I know I was a complete shit in school," he started. "And I'm sorry for that… I was just hoping that we could start over and be friends again, you know?" Clover even shot her the doe eyes he was well known for for good measure. "I miss you…"

Giselle huffed. "You said that no one would want me because I was such a 'prude," she said with narrowed eyes. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. "I'm not the meek little fawn you called me back then. I've made my own life and grown stronger thanks to my talents, just like you grew with yours." Giselle took a step back, and something in Clover's eyes darkened, making alarm bells ring in her mind.

"I don't think you get what I'm saying here, Sweetfawn," the stag rumbled. His hoof flashed out and grabbed Giselle's wrist, making her gasp in shock. "You're."

Then the concrete split with an ear-shredding crack! A black shape flung itself between Giselle and Clover, forcing the whitetail apart from the gazelle before the deer was crushed under the obviously heavy weight.

Blue pulsed gently in the cloud of dust, and a long, thick tail lashed the street angrily, reminiscent to a cat's when displaying it's ire.

The sound of thunder made Giselle hold her ears, but with the sound came the clearing of the dust that was thrown up. Under the streetlights, a creature unlike any the mammals had ever seen before was on all fours, a protective stance in front of the female of the group. A blue jacket with slits cut in the back made way for two massive wings, colored like the purest night sky mixing with the bluest ice. Pale furless skin was visible through a gap in the fur growing from it's head, but instead of skin everywhere else, there were pitch black scales, like a lizard's, and sitting like a regal crown or circlet on around its head was a pair of black horns whose tips glowed a fierce ice blue. The scaly tail had fins at the ends and came from a pair of ripped cargo pants.

"What the hell are you?" One of the hippos barked out, trying to sound intimidating.

The creature that had inadvertently come to Giselle's rescue tensed before pushing up from their all-fours position. Giselle's eyes widened further at the sheer size and height this creature had. They were no giraffe, bull, hippo, or lion, but she could practically feel the power radiating from the scales on their body in another way, along with something more… mellow. Muscles were firm, a perfect blend between lean and large, attributing to both power and speed. Sharp claws clenched into scaly palms when they rose to full height.

The creature remained silent, glowing eyes flicking from one mammal to another, before their wings twitched and scaly talons like that of a large bird or lizard turned the animal around so that they faced Giselle.

Giselle would later say it was the eyes. A fierce clear blue that rivaled the coldest of ice, yet the warmest of summer skies. Speaking of confusion under wrath and sorrow, they felt like an incoming storm of emotion reaching out to Giselle's own Savanna-Brown hues. Then, like the moment was suddenly made, it was cut when those blues looked away

"Leave." The creature rumbled, his voice like a lion's roar echoing over the city skyline with the command, making Clover and his two friends jump. "You know this Bat-crossed freak, Giselle?" the whitetail asked, green eyes narrowed at the newcomer.

The singer blinked in shock before she remembered the bind she was in. thinking fast, she lunged for the jacket-covered arm of her savior and gripped it tight, making the animal grunt in surprise. "Yes! He is a friend I was meeting up with tonight." Wide blue eyes blinked down at the gazelle before angling back at the stag and his friends. With a curt nod, the unknown creature angled himself (because he was undoubtedly male) so that one of his wings encircled Giselle's body.

Clover scoffed, glaring at the unknown male with open hostility, though deep in his bones, he felt a sudden visceral urge to get as far away from this monster as possible, lest it hunt him down and rip him apart. "Never seen anything line em' before." The stag said matter-of-factly.

"What's your name and species?"

The animal blinked before tilting his head, dark black-blue horns glinting off the light of the streetlamps and white head fur shining under the light. "Ashe," he rumbled. "I'm Ashe." Glowing eyes narrowed at the superior-looking stag, an air of dislike surrounding him.

Clover scoffed, raising his snout as if to look down on the shaking animal before them, even if the unknown was a half head taller. "So?" he huffed. "That doesn't tell me what specie you are. You just not know?" Giselle grit her teeth angrily. "Clover, that was uncalled for!" The stag shrugged. "What? Everyone who's anyone knows their basic specie. Hell, even Ligers aren't as messed up as this thing!"

There was a beeping sound and one of the hippos glanced at a watch around their wrist, the latest in workout tech, the Hoof-Bit.

"Hey, Cloves- we need to get back soon."

The stag's left ear flicked, showing he heard, before he smirked at Giselle and the glaring stranger. "Well, I've lost interest for now," he murmured. "Giselle, I do hope you think of my offer to become close again. And pick your friends wisely… the public would be rather shocked to find out you were hanging around a freak like that."

Side-eyeing said 'freak', Clover smirked before taking his leave with his companions, fading into the shadows.

Ashe exhaled once the scent the stag and hippos exuded faded for good. Turning to the gazelle, his brow furrowed as he looked her up and down.

"Are you alright?" he asked. The female's eyes widened and darted up to look at him, her hooves wringing each other nervously.

"O-oh, yes… I'm sorry to put you on the spot like that… it's just, they were-."

"They aren't good people," Ashe rumbled, eyes narrowing at the recollection of what those scents implied in their wishes with the female. "They would have hurt you if you kept denying them…" the gazelle tilted her head. "How do you know?" she asked.

Ashe licked his lips nervously. "I-I could smell it in the air… like I smelled your fear of them. I'm glad I got here when I did." his gaze raked over her form, brow furrowed. "Do you have someone you can call to take you home?" he asked. The gazelle blinked before her eyes widened. "Yes! Diesel, my personal driver. Oh, my… he's going to be furious that I left without telling him again-."

The subject tuned out her rambling, looking around them before leaning down and into the female's head, inhaling deeply. The sound of her chatter ceased for a moment before a harsh hoof slapped him in the face. "What on earth are you doing?!" she exclaimed, eyes wide with mortification and embarrassment. Ashe didn't even flinch with the blow; compared to getting shot, it was nothing. "Finding your scent," he replied lowly. "It sounded like you didn't want to call your driver, so if you want, I can lead you back to… wherever you live."

Giselle narrowed her eyes at the stranger- she had barely known him for fifteen minutes, but a look into his eyes showed he was being sincere, no plans of foul play to be detected. With a cautious nod, she gave the male permission to get her scent. Leaning in once more, Ashe took another brief inhale. Warmth, a fruity tang with the smell of freshness and green. Backing away, talons carving into the concrete, Ashe took to sniffing the air, closing his eyes to better find the fainter trail of her scent.

There it is.

Tucking his hands into his jacket pockets, Ashe jerked his head in the opposite direction they were facing.

"Follow me."

His longer strides had the mammal trotting to catch up, and they traveled in silence for several minutes before she spoke up again. "My name is Giselle," she began. "I have to say, if clover was right about one thing, it was that you are a unique mammal. I've never seen anyone like you." Ashe's tail waved thoughtfully, but his focus stayed ahead of them. "If I could tell you what I am, I would," he rumbled. "I want to figure that bit out myself, as well." Giselle tightened her grip on Ashe's arm, making the creature glance down at her before looking ahead once more. His wings were tucked into his back, but even so, they made him look bigger than he really was.

It was a boon in this case, and most of the late-night animals that wandered the streets steered clear of the strange, hooded being with wings.

Several twists and turns had Ashe ending the escort at a rather expensive-looking palm tree-styled skyscraper, the green fronds glittering with led lights from the city below it.

"This is my stop," Giselle said in awe, looking up at the massive animal who led her. Ashe nodded, stepping back to let her enter the building unimpeded before he turned to walk back into the city.

"Wait," Giselle's voice made Ashe look back at her. Brown eyes locked with blue, and the two paused for a moment.

"W-will I see you around?" the gazelle asked, smiling warmly. "It's just… I would like to thank you for helping me with Clover somehow… and to apologize for hitting you." Ashe huffed. 'She thinks it hurt,' he mused. 'That's adorable.'

"Don't worry about it," he said, shrugging. "As for seeing me around," he paused, gaze drifting this way and that in thought. "Well, you might… there's no guarantee either way."

With that, he waved over his shoulder before vanishing into the night, not even the glow of his horns making him visible. Giselle stared after him, her eyebrows scrunched lightly. The air he put out was powerful, she understood… but that mellow feeling she got from him…

The look in his eyes…

It seemed like he wanted to ask something of her.

Later that night, Ashe dreamt.

Blood and screams. People he felt like he should know, those that looked almost like him, but fundamentally different. Gunfire, flesh tearing, men, women, and children crying for their loved ones. Fire and smoke, green skinned bodies that looked like the surface of a rock, flashed of emotion that would fade into the background…

And Pain.

Shrieking surrounded Ashe as he swung his weapon.

Overhead, ripping through the ground, crackling arcs of power bisect his enemies, leaving them in growing red puddles of blood. The sky rains it, shadows all around him murmur and whisper. 'Monster.'

'Devil.'

'Creation.'

'He's not breaking is he?'

'Increase his training. Do whatever you must.'

Kill them, Ashe.

Kill them…

KIlL ThEM!

Wind rushes under his wings as he flies through a large crumbling skyscraper. Rusty metal beams make for an impossible obstacle course, and the unearthly screams closing in behind him don't allow for caution.

Glowing poison-green eyes flash through the darkness, and a comforting hum originates from Ashe's hands. Spinning towards the ground, Ashe barely has a moment to scream when something is seen in the dark, staring at him with wide glassy eyes, before spindly limbs blur out from the void to throw a body at him, the little bony thing chattering and skittering as it latches on.

Pain erupts.

Blood pours.

Blue fire burns.

He wakes up the next morning feeling sick, even though no food was in his stomach.

He doesn't move from his alleyway for two days.