Arc
Arc had no trouble sleeping through the night, having arrived at the edge of what could even pass temperature-wise as cold. The next morning however, he wasn't so sure about his plans of continuing on his way.
It's feels too warm, he thought.
Like, the kind of warm that makes you feel sick.
Which eventually was true.
Once he finally made it into the actual desert, he of course felt unnaturally hot.
His scales felt heavy under the scorching sun, and his head was fatigued with a feverish headache as he stumbled through the sand, thinking he saw some kind of... structure...in the distance?
Huh. Maybe there'll be water there, and shade, he hoped.
He continued until he reached an oddly flat area of sand, which he realized had been uncommon from what he'd seen in the little of the desert he'd experienced.
Weird.
Arc felt like going back, but upon turning around, he realized that'd be a bad idea.
Two sand-colored dragons were heading in his direction, not looking like they'd spotted him yet, but the chance of them doing so was highly likely, due to him being hopeless at anything stealth-related at the moment. He stumbled backwards, then froze in shock as his back leg sunk into the side of the hill and touched open air under the sand.
What? Hold on, what's down there?
He glanced back at the approaching sand dragons, which were still keeping a steady pace towards his position as he dug his leg out, as well as finding out what the little space of air was meant for.
Maybe I can hide down there, if it's big enough.
He finished scooping sand away from his leg until he was able to pull it out comfortably, then began digging deeper, eventually hitting open air and tumbling onto a cold stone floor.
Woah.
Judging from the whistling of the air through the space, he'd discovered a tunnel, and a strange one at that.
Where does it go? Is it a dead end?
He glanced back at the small gap he'd fell through doubtedly, flinching as a shadow covered the sand above the newly dug hole.
Uh-oh.
"Where'd he go…" a voice muttered above.
"Maybe it was a ghost," a female voice mused.
"Whatever. He couldn't have gone far. Any other direction and he'd be spotted from the palace." the first voice replied.
Ha, that's where you're wrong, kiddo.
His shoulders relaxed as wingbeats proved true that they'd left.
That was close.
Too close.
"Might be too risky to go back that way…" He muttered aloud, turning toward the black, shadowy tunnel.
Oh boy, darkness.
He pressed his talons to the ground, then slowly traced them up the stone wall.
Now having found a path, he clumsily stumbled down the cold, soundless tunnel, his talons drifting across the rough and unworn wall.
I hope this actually comes out somewhere.
His chest filled with panic.
What if it doesn't go anywhere?
What if I'm trapped down here?
He picked up his pace, lifting his tail up from the ground so it'd stop making an annoying clacking sound.
Just in case there's any of those dragons on the other side.
Arc continued through the darkness, his only company being his rapid terrified breaths as he continued thinking about the worst-case scenario.
What if I get stuck in here? Or I get trapped in a sinkhole?
(ALREADY TRAPPED IN A SINKHOLE? BONUS SINKHOLE!)
Something flashed in his eye, causing him to wince in annoyance.
What is-
It was light.
Sunlight?
He ran deeper into the tunnel, hearing the echoes of what sounded like… birds?
I couldn't have walked that long, and I didn't see any forests anywhere on the horizon.
Is it an underground forest? I've heard Nathan talk about one he'd ventured into, they don't sound very safe….
Arc cautiously continued forwards, making sure his talons never slid against stone and cause any noises that would give him away.
He stepped out into the sunlight, blinking wildly as his eyes couldn't adjust to the light that fast.
Gak.
He rubbed his eyes with his talons, then opened his eyes with a gasp.
A rainforest?!
HOW?
Arc leapt back from a nearby colorful frog, as it had croaked and startled him.
YEP DEFINITELY A RAINFOREST, FROGS AHHHHHHHH
Arc shuddered. He hated frogs.
And why is it so humid here? He thought, wiping his forehead, which had already accumulated sweat.
He shrugged, then cautiously continued forward, carefully avoiding larger bodies of mud in fear of quicksand, for he knew it was not uncommon in places like this.
I've heard it existed in swamps too, but I'm yet to see proof of that.
Mud had already clumped around his claws just from walking for what could've been called 100 meters, causing him to feel slightly unnerved and annoyed.
I already want to leave.
Suddenly the birds quieted.
What's-
Claws closed around the back of his neck, forcing his snout to the ground, his body following.
He opened his mouth to shout, but another pair of black talons forced his jaws shut.
AHAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH WHAT'S HAPPENING?
Arc began shivering uncontrollably. Shock and adrenaline coursed through his veins, fueling his fears.
Did those dragons follow me? What if they're gonna kill me? Are they cannibalistic? AHHHHH
"IceWing? All the way out here? He's freezing, sheesh. Thoughts jumpier than a SandWing's nerves." A voice growled behind him.
W-what?! Thoughts?
"Indeed. Are we to execute him?" another voice asked curiously.
"Nah. He's too shiny to leave his body lying around. And he's small enough to take back."
"True." Arc felt the warm talons holding his jaws together become heavier, telling him the dragon holding them was leaning on him.
"Strange," the second voice muttered. "He's terrified, not hostile in the least."
"And?" the other voice asked, bored.
"Usually they're very….infuriated if they're caught." he finished.
"Whatever. You can study him all you want when we bring him in."
"Agreed."
Wait-
The last thing Arc felt was something heavy landing on his head, a splitting headache, and then everything faded away.