just wait until our little dragon grows up into a big dragon, then we'll see if she's still cute (she probably will be tho lol, but what do i know?) ;3

haha, so this chapter is definitely longer than the last one, and i'll try to keep them over a thousand words from now on

enjoy~ c:

Chapter Five:

I'd snap you right up

From her place on the ostrich-horse's back, she could see another trail of dust heading to the city a few leagues to their right, and if she strained her eyes she could make out a narrow snout and a long scaly green tail.

It reached the buildings and disappeared into a street before she could study it any further, and they still had a ways to go before they would arrive.

Questions started zipping through her mind as she stared at the abandoned town.

What was that creature? It looked like her. Well, from what she could tell from the glimpses she got between the dust clouds. Was that what she was? They both had long bodies and scales, though hers were a different color, but they could still be the same, right?

She was picked up suddenly and she yipped in surprise as she was stuffed unceremoniously into a bag. She wriggled in protest, trying to climb back out, but her person stopped her with a steely gaze.

"Don't come out until I return. I don't want my sister to see you." He commanded firmly, ignoring her plaintive cry as he pulled the strings and closed the pack, shutting her off from the sunlight.

It wasn't completely dark. The evening sun shone through the brown material enough so that she could see the other objects in the bag with her. But even so, it reminded her of the egg, and the way it had caged her in, nearly smothering her and keeping her from the outside world. A world with the sun, and a world with her person. A world she had grown to love in the short amount of time she had been out of her egg.

Her breath caught in her lungs as she stared at the opening of the bag, wishing fervently that her person would open it again and say he'd changed his mind.

But the pack remained closed, and a moment after, the shadow of her person slid off the ostrich-horse, landing in a crouch in the middle of a wide street. And then the creature ran into an alley, and she lost sight of his shadowy outline.

.

"Yes," Zuko growled, narrowing his eyes on his sister, "I really do."

"Zuko!" Aang exclaimed, blinking in surprise from further down the street.

The prince glanced to the retreating form of the ostrich-horse, and to the bag that bounced against its side. He definitely couldn't let his sister of all people find the dragon, and even though he felt a little bad about shoving it into the bag, the thought of Azula getting her hands on the baby creature had his insides twisting into painful knots.

On the opposite end of the street, his sister crossed her arms, that irritatingly smug smile on her lips. "I was wondering when you would show up, Zuzu."

His good eye twitched as the avatar snorted behind him, holding his hand in front of his mouth. "'Zuzu'?"

"Back off, Azula. He's mine." He ordered, sliding into a stance, pointing his fingers towards the two on either side.

Azula merely grinned, taking a stance herself, raising an arm with two fingers pointed skywards.

"I'm not going anywhere."

Wind rattled through the empty windows on the buildings lining the street, and Zuko flicked his gaze to Aang, but the airbender was still, watching the two firebenders with tired, yet careful gray eyes.

Then he looked at his sister, and when he saw the smile twitch at her lips, he barely had enough time to call up a sheild of fire to protect himself from the blue flames that shot out of her fingers. Though he was still knocked backwards into a building, a cascade of wood falling on top of him.

.

The ostrich-horse had finally stopped running, resting just outside of the town in the shade of a crumbling building.

A twinge passed through her gut, and she realized with a start that her person might be in danger.

Even if he said to stay, even if he commanded her to with stony eyes, if her person was in danger, she would go to his side. She wasn't an ostrich-horse after all. She didn't have to obey the word 'stay' all the time.

She pressed her nose against the opening of the bag, and feeling it give a little, pushed harder. Her back legs stretched against the bottom of the pack, helping her pry her head out of opening and into the fresh air.

She gasped in triumph before struggling to free the rest of her body, eventually dragging herself out onto the back of the ostrich-horse.

The creature looked over at her, its black eyes questioning as she spread her wings out behind her and leaped off its back. She wobbled in the air as she glided clumsily towards the ground before landing on her face and rolling to a stop in the dirt.

"Where do you think you're going?"

She looked back up into the hybrid's feathered face, suddenly looming over her, but before it could grab onto her like last time, she ducked into a small hole in the building behind her.

"Hey!" It called after her, but her claws were scrabbling on the wood as she ran, racing towards the sounds of fighting. Or, at least she thought it was fighting. There was the sound of splintering wood and a crackling something or other that sent excited chills down her spine.

She squeezed her body through another small hole and popped out into an alleyway. She turned to her right, scampering across the dirt and poking her head out around a barrel to look into the street where she had heard shouting.

"What do we have here?" A voice hissed overhead, and she jumped, letting out a surprised squeak as she looked up into a pair of bright yellow eyes.

It was bigger than she had first thought, when she had seen it racing across the ground outside of the town, and her head barely came up to reach its chest.

Its body towered over her, trapping her against the wall with its sharp claws and long tail.

She blinked as she stared up into the creature's face, which was twisted into a smirk, and she realized something.

It didn't have horns, and there weren't any wings adorning its back.

Her tail drooped into the dirt and she frowned.

This creature wasn't her kind.

"If you weren't such a pretty little thing, I'd snap you right up." The scaly hybrid snickered, its tail sliding noisily across the dirt.

She blinked, then shook her head. How could she have forgotten why she'd escaped the bag in the first place? She had to go. Her person needed her.

She tried to jump over the hybrid's tail and run out into the street, but something clamped down on her own tail mid-leap and she yelped as she was thrown back, slamming her side into the wall and crumpling to the ground in a heap.

"Did I say you could leave?" The creature snarled, reaching towards her. "You're coming with me. The other mongoose-lizards will be so jealous now that I have a shiny pet and they don't."

An explosion shook the ground, and she covered her head in her talons, still recovering from the battering that had her head pounding and her vision hazy. The mongoose-lizard had stumbled over its own feet, nearly crushing her as it toppled to the ground next to her.

This was her chance!

She stood shakily, blinking rapidly as her throbbing head sent the earth rolling and bucking under her talons. But she couldn't stay there, the creature was already getting to its feet, and she only had a few seconds before it started looking for her.

She dove towards the barrel she had peered around before, slipping into the shadows behind it and pressing herself into the ground.

It can't see me. It can't see me. It can't see me.

She chanted silently in her head, squeezing her eyes shut as she heard it stomping around on the other side of the barrel.

"Where is it!?" The hybrid snarled viciously, swiping at a fallen board and sending it flying in her direction. It crashed into the building above her and pieces of wood rained down on her head and back.

It can't see-

"Come!" A sharp feminine voice broke through her chanting and she stiffened as the creature hesitated, its eyes roaming across the barrel she hid behind one last time before slinking away.

She didn't dare break cover until the sound of retreating footsteps had gone silent, and only the wind was heard as it ghosted over the dirt and whispered through the holes in the buildings.

Slowly, very, very slowly, she stepped out from behind the barrel and stopped, staring around her as she waited for something to jump out at her.

Nothing did.

She let out a shaky breath and limped off down the street, keeping close to the walls of the structures in case she had to hide again.

It was quiet as she passed building after building, until she found herself very much lost with no way to find out where her person was. She didn't even know if he was okay or not.

She glared down at her talons, pitifully small against the ground.

It was her fault.

She shouldn't have left. She should have stayed in that horrible bag like her person told her to. Then she wouldn't be lost and hurt and tired and alone.

Tears gathered at the corners of her eyes before rolling down her cheek in fat droplets and splashing onto the dirt at her talons.

"There you are!"

Whipping around, her tear-filled golden eyes landed on the ragged form of her person, who was stalking towards her angrily.

.

"I thought I told you to stay put until I came ba-."

Zuko had barely taken another step before the little dragon had thrown itself at him, and he yelped in surprise, falling backwards and landing hard on his rear end.

He grunted, cracking open his eyes to frown down at the dragon that clutched at his shirt with its small talons and snuggled against his chest, burying its face into his clothes.

A wetness on the dragon's face startled him, and he watched as more tears spilled out of the creature's closed eyes. Could dragons cry? And why was it even crying to begin with?

The dragon shuddered against his chest and his eyes were drawn to an ugly splotch that darkened the scales of its shoulder and side. He touched the area lightly with a finger, and the dragon yelped, flinching away from his touch.

He stared down at the creature in his arms, which seemed so small and frail with the nasty bruise coloring its usually bright scales, and his features melted from annoyed to worried.

When the avatar and his friends had left, Zuko had retrieved the ostrich-horse so he could bandage up his injured uncle. It was then he noticed the baby dragon was missing. He needed to find shelter for his uncle, but the thought of leaving the small creature behind tore at his conscience, and he had gone out to search for it.

What happened to you while I was gone?

With a sigh, Zuko got to his feet and began the trek back towards where he had left his uncle and the ostrich-horse, cradling the unconscious dragon in his arms.

just you wait Mongoose-lizard! one day you'll feel sorry about messing with our little dragon!

heh, thanks for reading~! ^-^