XV
"What was your name, again?"
A drowsy onyx dragoness yawned tiredly. "...Cynder."
"Have you already forgotten how you address your captains?" The orange parrot inquired.
Cynder had enough energy to roll her eyes at them, before she spoke through grit teeth. "How may I be of service, Captains?"
"That's better, slave, now explain to us what's going on."
The sun was now high above the clouds now, so it was even hotter than before. The sun leaked in through the small room through the closed blinds, lighting up the desks that Skabb and his parrots sat behind. It was only them in their, as the Captains hated to discuss their booty among their subordinates. Cynder would've been treated the same, but, it's her own fault the Captains even know about the special stones that sat on their desk, growing a bright spectrum of colors.
"Get that scaly bitch!"
Roars of enthusiastic Scavengers echoed through the silent snowy forest. Only a few dozen or so feet behind the soldiers, wielding soldiers and clad in armor, chased after Cynder, like predator and prey.
Cynder had the advantage of speed and stamina, but her scales made her easy to see in the white and brown of the forest. She sprinted on top of the blankets of white, dodging trees, hopping over roots, her paws leaving prints and kicking up piles of snow. Even though she was malnourished, she could keep this up for miles, thanks to the fact that she was a dragon. However, her wings were still healing from a previous attack, and she could not fly away like her kind would.
Cynder saw a massive tree ahead, less than a hundred feet or so. She glanced behind her to see bright orange light, the torches of the soldiers who planned to capture her, and do what to her she didn't want to know. She had a good gap between them, but she had to move quickly.
She sprinted with all her might, the forest becoming a blur for a short time. She huffed and huffed tiredly, but she pushed herself in order to stay away from her attackers.
She nearly ran into the massive plant, but she moved right up it's trunk, using her sharp claws to hold herself up. She quickly hopped from trunk to branch, to another branch, and continued to the top. She was still fairly small, so her weight wouldn't be a problem.
She saw her chasers still a short distance from her. She had maybe a moment or so for a break, then, hopefully she could glide to safety, at least for a time.
Cynder didn't realize how much pain she was in until she had finally stopped. She looked over her body to find scrapes, small gashes, cuts, and even lacerations, dark red blood coming from them like a slow waterfall. Her body wouldn't be in good condition anyway, as she saw her own ribs with ease. She was used to such a sight though, as she often went days without food, with or without being oppressed. However, she's been chased for some time now, preventing her from finding any type of food.
As she caught her breath, she heard the pirates draw closer. Despite the lack of intelligence, and all the armor they carried, she was surprised they managed to chase her so far and for so long. They'd first found her only last week, but even after they lost her time and time again, they always managed to get back on her tail again.
"Hey! The hell she go?"
I'm running out of time! But... I need this little break, or I'll die if I keep moving indefinitely. The dragoness huffed and huffed as her vision slowly cleared, and her body began to relax. She was resistant to the cold, but she needed to find a way out of here, and preferably into another village, where she may find short refuge and even food.
Slowly, she rose. She inhaled slowly, her vision sharpening as she looked across the white landscape. The branch was long, just long enough to allow her to lift off and glide.
"Screw this! Burn it! Everything! That scaly bastard will pop out sooner or later!"
Cynder launched, her powerful legs pushing off the brown tree branch, and she bolted down the large branch, sending small sticks falling to the ground below.
Snap. Crunch. Snap.
The Skavengers looked around, suspecting the dragoness to be among them, trying to sneak past. "She's here! Find her!" One of them yelled.
The pirates, twelve in all, drew their short, curved swords, ready to attack anything that bled and screamed. As Cynder glided just above their heads, the white sun above her, as the thieves spread out to find their dragon.
Good.
The black dragoness felt the wind in her face, catching her wings and allowing her to safely glide. She sailed over the tree tops and small hills. The wind blowing into her wounds burned lightly, but she ignored them.
Cynder dived slightly, landing on the soft, cold ground. She quickly glanced behind her to see the Skavengers gone, their lights in opposite directions as they searched and searched meaninglessly.
Despite the pain and fatigue, a ghost of a smile appeared on the dragoness's face. For another day, she'd lost them.
Or at least, the stupid soldiers themselves.
"My, my. What do we have here?"
Cynder spun instantly to the mocking voice, her face twisted with both fear and alarm.
A massive Skavenger commander stood before her. He donned gold and purple armor, with a red outfit, complete with a large pirate hat with a skull on it. His cutlass was ablaze, with flames dancing on the massive blade.
On the his left shoulder, a small, orange, parrot-like creature was perched, looking down at the dragoness, his eye narrowed at her condescendingly.
"You're Cynder the Dragon, correct? With or without your consent, you're coming with us." The orange parrot chuckled at her, smiling deviously despite his strange beak. "Come quietly now, and there won't be much harm to come to you."
Cynder backed away slowly in the cold snow. There was no way she could go now. The plan was to keep moving forward, but there leader was right here. One word, and she'd be surrounded, and her wings were far from the condition they needed to be in for her to fly away. She had one option now, but she knew it was a long shot.
"Wanna make a trade?"
The Commander grunted, confused at her offer, while the parrot narrowed it's one good eye at her suspiciously.
"What kind of trade?" He asked her.
Cynder almost smiled, but kept her expression indifferent. "You want me, right? What if I offer something better than me?"
This time, the orange creature laughed out loud. "Something better than you? The only thing better than you would be the purple dragon, but who knows where that fool is. Frankly, I think everyone would be more than satisfied to see a rare black dragon with strange powers fight to the death."
"W-what are you talking about?"
"Oh? So, you haven't heard. My little crew and I are host a yearly tournament in which the creatures we 'attain' must fight to survive. It has many names, but "Death Tournament" is the simplest and most common."
A death tournament? Are these pirates really that bored? Cynder grit her teeth. That's why they were pursuing her, to enter her into this psychotic tournament for their entertainment.
"Yes. But, though I will be taking you with me regardless, I must know what this better thing is.
"Well, what I can offer you will allow you to wish yourself anything you want."
Yet again, the hybrid flying bird narrowed its eyes at the reptile. "I'm here to capture you, and you offer me wishes? Surely, you're trying to escape, and I'm taking no risks. This years tournament will be the best one yet!"
No way out. This massive thing that stood before Cynder unsheathed it's massive swords, growling and glaring at her as it prepared to attack.
She had no other options. Her powers were gone, and she didn't know how to summon them anyway. To darken her skies, the dragoness had little combat training, and even less experience, aside from the occasional scuffle when she had to snag food from a store.
The Commander approached her slowly, taking in all her movements and keeping a close eye on it's prey, waiting for it to react to it's approach. The creature had a wet, evil smile on it's face, it's bloodshot eyes wide with excitement at it's prize. It itched for resistance, for a fight, for the dragoness to try to kill it in any violent way it could.
With nothing to lose, the dragoness launched into the chest of the beast before her, her claws up and ready to dig into his fur and flesh. She met him with a loud clang, and she gasped when she saw he'd blocked her with his sword. The beast sent her back, and she crashed into the snow. She got up, panting and irritated, growling at the pirate and it's strange parrot master.
She tried for another attack, flanking off to side, trying to find a way to successfully attack. With her, the Commander moved, his swords ready. Unlike her, he'd been in plenty of fights, both armed and unarmed, and was well trained. Cynder couldn't win this fight without her elements.
Despite this, she sprinted for him again. The pirate raised his sword, ready to block and toy with her more, but Cynder spun when she reached him, engraving her tail blade into his lower leg.
Bingo.
The parrot flew for safety as the pirate howled in pain, fresh blood erupting from his deep cut. Cynder saw her chance, and quickly, she bolted away from him. The bird watched her from a tree nearby.
"She's getting away! Fools! Get her now!"
A small smile appeared on the dark lips of the dragoness, as she knew she had escapes. She paid no attention to the shadow that grew closer and closer to her, until...
Spoofff!
She attempted to scream through injured lungs, but all Cynder could do was groan as a massive pirate soldier pinned her to the snow, his sword poking her neck threateningly.
"You," it stated, with crooked yellow teeth bared, "ain't going nowhere."
That was surprisingly fun to write, especially that short fight scene. Anyways, I'll see you guys later this week!