A/N: I'm going to be making some changes to the story, nothing extremely major, but I'd like to get out of the M rating because of… well… I don't like being associated with a certain kind of story. Also, I'm going to add a prologue, something so I can merge chapters 1 and 2. Anyways, back to the story.
DING DING DING DING
The sound of a bell rang through the barracks, waking every dragon up. Cereus immediately shot out of bed and was ready in seconds, already leaving the barracks. I can't wait to see my scavenger! She had to stop herself from squeaking, but another high pitched sound came from her when she was stopped by the officer.
"Cereus, I want you to follow me," he said, leading her down a maze of corridors to the doctor's office inside, two new dragons were in beds, both had bandages on their chests. "You see these two? They had a run-in with a scavenger; it had some kind of weapon that deafened them and was incredibly powerful. I've noticed a trend with these scavengers, they all seem to have these extraordinary weapons, from a roaring sword our best scholars haven't been able to understand, to a weapon like no other, and I want them," he said, pointing towards the two injured dragons. "Interrogate them about the weapons before you train that scavenger, I want it to tell us what the weapons are," he said, leaving the office to Cereus and the two soldiers
Cereus looked over to Viper, like the other two, he was still in a deep sleep. Letting out a sigh, she woke up the two sleeping sandwings.
"Ugh... my chest... Yes?"
"Mm?"
"Hi, my commanding officer told me about your run-in with the scavenger?" She asked, the two nodded. "He wanted to know about the weapon the scavenger used, could you describe it in any way?"
"I'll do the talking, Solifuge had his chest shredded by the scavenger's weapon. And about that, it seemed to be some kind of black stick, it was really short and wasn't sharp at all, and extremely rectangular seemed to be in the shape L. I thought I was safe," he paused to stare blankly at nothing until he continued. "A flash of fire came from the thing, I can only describe as a dragon flame cactus explosion, and the pain in my chest. I was lucky, luckier than Soli'. Thankfully he's going to make a full recovery."
Moons, I don't even want to ask about any other weapons, Cereus thought. "Oh, well… Did you see it use anything else? Maybe a roaring blade?" He shook his head. Oh, that's a relief. Another question suddenly popped into her head. "Sorry, but I have one more question. What did the scavenger look like?"
"Big. Very big, like the other one we got, but it wasn't black and seawing blue, this one was a much darker blue entirely, and had big symbols on its chest, a crown on top of three arrows, pointing at a red and white box on its arm, none of those tattered fits the scavengers wear here."
Cereus had no idea that scavengers had so many different looks to them, the only one to ever challenge her on those thoughts was the captured scavenger. "Oh, ok, well thank you for your help. Good luck with your recovery!" She said to them, leaving the two to themselves.
"Wonder what she's going to do," he asked Solifuge. Responding in grunts, he looked to see Solifuge pointing towards viper. "You want me to wake him up?"
BEEP
BEEP
BEEP
Groaning loudly, David reached into his jacket pocket and turned off his phone, the time was 8:47 am. Standing up and looking out of the window, the sun was much higher than it should've been. I guess that makes sense, sighing, he walked to the front of the cell, there was a large group of dragons approaching his cell. Great, another big group of dragons, what else -
BEEP
BEE-
In almost record times, he turned off his phone and hid it inside his pockets. Looking back at the dragons, he could see them tense up, awkwardly holding the spears in a single talon. No way they'd get a good grip on that, he thought, the spears wobbling in their grip as they moved closer. Spitting at them, one of them jumped back and fell on the floor. Taking a closer look at the group again, he could see the slim, pale yellow dragon.
"Ret ras… beep beep," one of the bulkier dragons said, obviously trying to imitate the phone.
"You don't like the beeping, eh? The hell are you going to do about it dirt bag?" He asked the dragon. The one he spoke to shrunk down, while the other began to growl at him. The slim dragon told them to stop in a more reserved, respectful manner and opened the cell door. They stood a good distance away from the door, giving David enough of a hint. "You better give me a good flank steak," he said, letting the dragons lead him out.
They walked for a while until they finally reached an empty room, wooden weapons and daggers lining, and a strung bow on the wall. That poor bow, they make me look at that shit before they execute me? He thought, but there was no crowd or anything to restrain him. "Now what?"
"Why did we bring this abomination here?" One of the guards growled.
"I hope you're not planning on giving that thing a weapon, it'll kill us all!" The other said.
"Oh don't worry! I'm sure this scavenger is very smart, and It'll only be looking at the training weapons," Cereus said to them, walking to the rack and bringing a talon full of well-worn weapons. "Look, watch it's going to learn!" Cereus held up a blunt wooden spear, the shaft was much thicker than the metal ones the others used, and a ball of metal on the top representing the head. "Spear!"
…
They waited for a while, but the scavenger stayed silent. Let's try this again. Cereus made sure the spear was even more noticeable this time, and repeated herself. It sighed and pointed towards the spear.
"Spear," it said, pointing at the spear with its paws.
"There we go! Good Scavenger!" Cereus said to it, putting down the blunt spear, and grabbed the dagger and sword, the scavenger quickly repeating the simple words, then eventually getting to the bow. "Bow," she said, but this time it shook its head no, and beckoned her to give it the bow.
"Don't." The guard said.
"Might as well! It's going to find a way to kill us using one of its weapons anyway! Let's at least get on its good side!" The other said.
"Oh please! Stop being such drama queens!" Cereus said, giving the scavenger the bow. Taking the bow from her, it put one leg in between the limbs and string and one in front of the bow, then bent the bow and unstrung the bow. "Look at that! It even understands how to use the bow, I'm sure we can understand our big buddy here."
"If that thing knows how to properly string a bow without cutting it, then what's to stop it from just taking our stuff and making us look like morons?" A guard asked, trying to snatch the bow away from the scavenger, instead, he had his talons slapped. "It just attacked me! I should just burn it right now!"
"Please stop trying to attack it!" Cereus told him. "Just be patient and let me teach it, please?" the guard mumbled some profanity and backed down. Alright! Now to learn about my friend! Cereus sat down in front of the scavenger, making a motion to it. Understanding the message, the scavenger kneeled in front of her. I hope it understands this. Pressing her talons on the sand-covered floor, she began to draw the outline of an L, with an explosion coming out the front. "Spear," she pointed at the spear, "sword, bow," she pointed to each corresponding weapons, then to the drawing.
What? Spear, sword, bow and L? He wondered, following each weapon until it got to the drawing. Wait… There's no way... he shuffled around to the dragons' side, completely ignoring the fact that he was right next to a dragon. No… but… there's no other way… as he kept looking at the drawing, it eventually dawned on him - that was a gun. He finally figured out why he was here, they wanted their weapons. If I don't tell them, what will they do? He wondered, but eventually, he decided. Writing in the sand, he wrote a word and said it out loud
"Gun."
This is a mistake, "Spear, sword, bow… Gun," despite his feelings, he continued to teach the dragon. Stuttering a few times, the dragon eventually managed to speak out the word, it's voice rough and deep. It repeated numerous times before it finally got it down. Maybe doing this will earn me their favour? He told himself. "Good job - uh," he stopped as the dragon leaned against him, the uncomfortably warm, coarse scales against him. What the hell is it doing? He looked at the dragon on top of him, it was still looking down at the drawing. How do I get out of this situation -
The door burst open and he saw a very familiar dragon. On the side of its face, there were black scales and it had a lump where the stinger used to be. Taking a good look at its scales now, he could see the deep golden yellow scales and brown belly. He'd like to inspect the dragon further, but it had its plans. "RCABENGER!" It yelled at him, charging in his direction.
"Shit!" Pushing the dragon off him, he grabbed the nearest weapon - the blunt spear - and hit the dragon with it, treating it like a baseball bat. While it didn't break fully, he could hear the cracking of the wood. Suddenly, he was alerted by the hot-headed guard running towards him! Taking a solid stance, he hit the guard with the metal ball, doing so broke the spear and hurt his hands. Dropping the spear allowed the other dragon to tackle him to the ground, and get a face full of teeth.
"Stop! You're going to kill it!" Cereus said, standing back and watching the fight unfold in front of her. Watching the scavenger grapple Viper's maw, and now the guard was starting to get back up. He won't stop -
I - she looked at Viper and saw the scavenger scream at him as his maw snapped shut multiple times only inches away from its face. Will I have to hurt Viper? She was still considering her options, but as soon as the guard got back to his feet, she knew what to do.
"Ah!" Viper yelled out as Cereus ran into him, throwing him off the scavenger, landing on top of him and keeping him pinned down. "Cereus! What are you doing?! That thing's a killing machine, please get off!"
"I can't! Our commanding officer will have us exiled!" She told him, putting a talon on his. "Just let me get to know it! It's smart enough to not kill us!"
"How do you know? You haven't been on the receiving end of this scavenger, not like me, Solifuge, or Scorpio! Please let me go before it hurts you!" He roared, trying to get the dragoness off him.
"I know it's not bad! It even let me cuddle it," she said, shivering at the thought of the scavenger's soft coverings against her, the soft wool of its jacket's interior against her face. "Please. Just give it a chance, we're learning from it."
Viper looked at her and sighed. "Fine. As long as you're always with me when you're with the scavenger, ok?"
"Yes! Ok!" She said, getting off Viper. A yell from the scavenger caught her attention, as she looked to see it hold the guard's spear over its shoulder and throw it at it. It travelled in a straight line, completely missing the guard and making a hole in the wall next to the timid Sandwing. Jumping in front of the scavenger, she took the opportunity to try and calm it.
What the hell is wrong with this lizard!? He thought, the dragon in front of him growling at him. Looking around him, he could see four dragons in the room with him, and that he was nowhere near any sort of weapon. That spear should've hit, I aimed it perfectly! He looked for some kind of solution to get him out of the situation, with none in sight. Sighing, he got on his knees and put his hands up, I hope this is universal.
"Rhat riz rit droin?" The burned dragon said, and the dragon that had pushed itself against him earlier walked up to him.
"Rhat rar ru droin?" It said, nudging him gently, scales scratching his face. Nudging him a few more times before it tried to get him up, he complied and followed the dragon's lead. The dragons just continued to look at each other and him.
Can they tell I'm surrendering? He watched as the dragons surrounded him, even the timid one got closer to him. This is stupid, he was getting increasingly more uncomfortable as he could feel the uncomfortable body heat of the dragons. Maybe, if I just - he socked the hot-headed guard in the maw and made a run for it, not even making it 10 steps before being tackled to the ground and restrained.
"I think it's getting stressed," Cereus said, petting it on its furred head, the scavenger pulling back and violently shaking against the dragons. "Let's get it back to the cell, take care of it?" One of the guards spit at her talons and walked off. "...Thanks…"
"Cereus, that thing is a problem," Viper said. Cereus sighed and left the training grounds, leaving Viper alone in the room.
Shoved roughly into the cell, David turned and spat at the dragons. Growling at him, one of them let out a small puff of fire, then standing guard at the cells. "Piece of shit lizard," he said, grabbing the bars and speaking right next to the dragon's ear. "You think you're so… cool? Well - you're wrong! You're uncool!" He said, the dragon seeming to understand the poor wording and language barrier, snarling at him.
He didn't react to the dragon's empty threats, rolling his eyes he turned to look out the small window in his cell. The cool air of the night seeped in, a welcome change compared to the day. Watching the sunset like it was the last one he'd ever see, the only thing that brought him out of the trance when the cell door opened and they threw in a slab of meat.
"I'm not eating that."
"Knock knock?" Cereus said, standing at the foot of the officer's room. It didn't take long for him to appear, standing in front of Cereus.
"Don't say 'knock knock' like a moron. Get inside," he turned and sat at the opposite end of a desk, scrolls littering the surface and scales of different colours on the floor.
"I found out the scavenger can speak."
The officer slightly perked up, grabbing a scroll and writing down what she said. "Good. What else did you find?"
Cereus scratched her head and thought of what'd she say before speaking. "Well, it looks like it knows how to use a bow - or - it at least knows how to unstring it faster than any dragon. It can throw a spear just as powerful as an arrow… And I found out what the weapon was!"
Finishing his notes, the officer leaned in with a dragon net's curiosity. "So, what's this mystery weapon called then?"
"Well, it's called a… guh- um… A Gun? And it's spelled like this," she wrote down 'Gun' on the sandy desk.
"I see, do you know how it works?"
Cereus froze up, stuttering before talking. "N-no, it only knows how to say Bow, spear, sword and 'Gun,'"
The officer then had a scowl on his face. "So that's all you know? Alright, just keep teaching it and make sure it doesn't die, dismissed." He said. Cereus nodded and left.
I should probably check on the scavenger, She thought, making her way to the cells. Thankfully, the officer's office wasn't too far, and she managed to make her way into the cells quickly. Despite the many cells, only one was guarded. The guard gave her a look, but ignoring him, she saw the scavenger sitting against the wall with a slab of meat in front of it.
"Are you going to eat it?" She asked, the scavenger not responding. Opening the cell door, she walked to the meat and picked it up. Taking a few more steps, she stood in front of the scavenger and held the meat against its face. "Eat it, you'll get hungry," she tried once more but it refused. Trying another strategy, she made sure the scavenger was watching her, and she took a bite out of the meat, then tried again to get the scavenger to eat.
Maybe… She bit off a smaller chunk of meat and held it in her talons, putting down the slab, she used the other to force its mouth open, almost like the scavenger was a dog refusing to eat.
"Drap!" It shouted at her, trying to pull her talons off it. "DRET DROFV DE!" It kept shouting until she got the meat In its mouth and placed a talon over its mouth. After a few seconds, it eventually chewed and swallowed the meat. It shouted at her in its foreign language, trying to make distance from her.
"Come on, please eat your food! It's good for you!" She said, holding out the steak again, the scavenger responding by slapping it out of her talons. Sighing, she took the meat and continued to talon-feed it like it was a dragonet, thanking the moons that it wasn't as stubborn when she first fed it. Despite taking some convincing, the scavenger started to eat the steak on its own
She began to pet the scavenger's fur, the soft fibres brushing against her talons. "Good scavenger, you're a good scavenger," she cooed to it, lying down next to it and pressing against the fur of the jacket.
"Good Scavenger, I think I'll call you Jackal!"
A/N: there it is! Hopefully, you enjoyed the chapter and can leave some constructive a criticism
