Desert winds washed over two guards as they sat in front of an ominous tunnel, in contrast to the desert wings, cold, wet air licked the back of their wings, as if it was seeping in from the Ice Kingdom. The two airs mixing to create a comfortable medium for the guards.

Click

"What was that?" The guard on the left asked, clutching his spear and turning to the cave, expecting something to emerge from the cold depths. Nothing came.

"I bet it's just a rock," the other said, craning her neck to look back at the tunnel. "Probably some animal, maybe a rat?" She suggested, entering a comfortable position again to enjoy the air.

"No, we've heard that sound before, there's something on the other side of this tunnel," he growled, taking a step into the tunnel and trying to look around a non-existent corner. "I swear."

Sighing slightly, she looked towards the palace, seeing the silhouette of two dragons approaching. "Hey, the night shift is almost here, want to go back to the barracks with me? Talk about those sounds?" She asked, hoping to get his mind off the tunnel.

"You go, I'm going to stay back and talk to the night shift," he said, still keeping a keen eye on the tunnel and clutching his spear. "I bet that they know something about the sound."

"Ok, well I'm going to go. Hopefully they can help you with the sound!" She sang, "Alright, bye now," she said, jumping up and flying to the palace. The sands were mostly empty, however, a particularly small column of smoke and orange light caught her attention. A large toothy grin forming on her face, she dive bombed the light, landing just outside the area. Her landing sent sand flying back - including a scavenger dressed head to toe in cloth.

Dazed and confused, the scavenger didn't even realize it was picked by the dragon. However, it did notice that it was getting closer to it's maw, ever closer and closer until… Until she began to nuzzle the scavenger "Awww, who's a cute scavenger? You are! Yes you are!" She cooed, hugging the scavenger like it was a stuffed animal. "I'm going to bring you home, and we're going to put little hats on you!" She said, poking the scavenger gently before she took off.

The flight to the palace didn't take long, landing on a landing pad near the barracks, she hid the scavenger inside her talons. Walking back to her barracks, she opened her personal chest and put it scavenger inside a small compartment she had made. Smiling, she got a tiny cap she had made and put it in the scavenger, her cooing and sweet talk catching the attention of everyone in the room.

"Cereus," all of her blood had suddenly left her body, slowly, she turned around and looked up to her commanding officer. A Sandwing with Onyx black scales on his chest in the form of a diamond on his chest stared down at her. "Cereus, this is the second scavenger you've brought in, correct?" She nodded. "And the first time you did this, I told you not to do it again?" She nodded again "So, are you a murderer then?" She looked up, confused. Not a second later, her confusion was turned to shock, to horror as the commander took the scavenger from her compartment and bit down. Blood spraying out as he chewed and swallowed the upper half of the scavenger, throwing the lower half of the scavenger to the ground. "Don't do it again, get to sleep."

She looked down at the bottom half of the scavenger, still wide eyed. I just want a scavenger friend, why is that so bad? She asked herself, taking the body and burying it outside in the desert sands, the tiny cap she made resting with the scavenger. Heading back to the barracks, she thought to herself, I'll sleep it off, best to forget.


I've been working in this tunnel for almost a week now, a man wrote in a notebook. Averting his gaze from the book, he eyed the poorly made map he had drawn, highlighting all the twists and turns, and even the single hole he had found. Work on lighting up the tunnel has been going well, and tomorrow I plan to cover up that hole. He laughed slightly, I've already fallen in it twice. He signed the notebook and closed it, leaning back into the chair.

What's up with this tunnel? He wondered, every time he ventured inside the tunnel, it felt like he had been looking inside an abandoned house in Chernobyl's exclusion zone, like he wasn't supposed to be there. Sighing and dropping his arms, he walked to his car and started the engine.

Nearly an hour drive, the man had reached the hardware store, the store empty and near closing. Grabbing a cart, he made his way to the section that had what he needed. Meandering through the isle, he had been brought out of thought when he was tapped on his shoulder.

"Hey David," someone called. "You still spelunking?"

Turning around, he saw a man in a police uniform. "Hey John, what are ya doing here?"

"Buying some new equipment. Broke some of my stuff today and the department won't provide me with new equipment. What about you?" He asked. David put a hand on some of the things he had bought.

"Just buying some new stuff to make that tunnel a bit safer, fell in a hole a few times," he told the officer. A look of concern fell on the officer, so David spoke up again. "Again, don't worry about me, alright? Only reason I fell in that hole was because it wasn't very deep and neglected it." He assured, not doing well too well to ease his friend.

"Seriously, you need to be careful. If you end up dying, who's going to cook my Christmas turkey?" He joked, chuckling to himself. "But jokes aside, you should really reconsider this. Death ain't pretty, especially on the receiving end."

I suppose he has experience, he thought. "I know, but I still feel I should. I'll let you know -"

"Attention all customers, there are ten minutes before the store closes."

"Ah-" David started. "I suppose that's our call. Anyways, you get the idea, I'll see ya around," he said, getting a dozen planks of wood before heading back to his home. Only a few minutes from the hardware store, he remembered. Pulling over and stared into the distance, John had reminded him of something he forgot, something that was probably sold out now. "Crap," I forgot the turkey. He sighed, resting his head on the wheel before finding the nearest turn.

A/N: as with any other story, this story is bad, and only you can make it... um... Not bad. Just leave some constructive reviews! I'm always looking to improve.