Cynder came to rest in front of the cave entrance to the wolf's village. Snarl fell to the ground as Cynder dropped him from her talons. The fall caused him to scuff his knees and he felt a small pang in his ankle. He glared up at the black dragoness.
"Some servant of our master you are." He growled.
"Excuse me, wolf." Cynder hissed and black flames jetted from her mouth. "I don't like having to carry you and your flea-bitten friends all over the place and then have you bleed all over me afterwards."
Snarl barked angrily and brandished his weapon at the towering dragoness. "You will watch your mouth dragon or I will cut it from your skull myself! I lost good warriors out there today! You have best show respect for their sacrifice or I'll teach you to respect us wolves!"
Cynder wanted to snap back at the Alpha wolf so badly but she held her tongue. She couldn't afford to give herself away to the enemy right now. She let out a tired sigh as she returned to her normal form. Snarl waited until he was able to look down at her before turning back into the mouth of the cave. Cynder hesitated for a moment before following him inside. As the two of them walked through the streets of the cave village, the other wolves watched Cynder with angry eyes. Many spat and nipped at her heals as she trailed behind Snarl. When they reached the central plaza, Snarl came to a stop. Many of his mutated wolf warriors were gathered in a huddle and didn't even notice his arrival.
"What is the meaning of this!" He growled causing his warriors to jump in surprise. The muscle-bound mutants stepped away to reveal a young black dragon standing in the middle of the cluster. His bright red eyes locked on Snarl as he recognized who he was. The Alpha strode up to the dragon and stared down at him, trying to look as intimidating as possible. "Another dragon? I don't run a cub-care service here."
"Mind your mouth wolf." The dragon curled a lip at the pack leader. The other wolves glanced nervously from the dragon to Snarl, unsure of what the Alpha would do. "I have orders from our master."
"Then spit it out and be gone with you!"
The dragon just gave a cocky smile before speaking again. "The master has ordered that you take some of your warriors to the burning mountain and make your final preparations. Immediately." Snarl bit his lower lip. He desperately wanted to strike this arrogant dragon but restrained himself enough to do so.
"Very well then." He sighed, letting a defiant snort escape between his teeth. "I will head there as soon as I gather my warriors and weaponry."
"Good." The black dragon nodded. "I'm glad we understand each other." The dragon moved to walk past Snarl who stepped aside with a hateful glare on his face.
It was then that the dragon noticed Cynder. He was definitely older than she was and nearly twice her size. He gave a lecherous smile as he approached her. "Hey there Sexy. How about a romp in the shadows?" Cynder's expression turned to a nasty snarl as the dragon walked up to her, pressing his chest to hers.
"Know your place weakling." Cynder hissed. She suddenly ducked into his shadow and burst up from underneath him. Th young male was knocked into the air and Cynder leaped after him. She grabbed him and kicked him back down into the ground. The impact was enough to crack the stone and make the dragon's eyes widen in surprise.
Cynder hovered in place as she watched the dragon scrape himself off the ground and shake the dust and pebbles off his scales. He glared at her for a moment and Cynder readied herself for his attack. Instead, the dragon just smiled. "I love a girl who can fight. You're definitely a real firecracker." Cynder felt her temper rise and her eyes began to glow red. The dragon only laughed and headed for the cave entrance. "Have it your way honey. But if you ever need me, you know where to find me."
"Beat it!" Cynder snapped and spat a black fireball at him. The dragon yelped and dove out of the cave as the fireball whizzed over his head. Cynder gave an agitated growl as she landed back on the floor of the cave.
Snarl ignored her as he turned to his warriors. "Make ready for departure." He ordered. "We leave for munitions forge in five minutes. Do I make myself clear!" The warriors howled excitedly and scrambled over each other, grabbing food and weapons.
As the scuffling continued Cynder turned away from them. She was headed for the cave entrance when Snarl spotted her. "Where do you think you're going?" The Alpha demanded and tightened his grip on the handle of his weapon.
"I'm going to speak with my master." Cynder hissed as she began to glow with convexity. Snarl retained his stern glare as the dragoness rose over his head once again. "I will meet you and Munitions forge when I am done." Without another word the black dragoness turned towards the cave entrance. With a single lunge she dove out of the hole and spread her massive wings.
Snarl curled his lip as he listened to the sound of her wing beats fade into the distance. He turned to his warriors and grabbed their attention with a sharp bark. "Finish gathering your supplies and head to Munitions Forge!" He turned back to the cave entrance. "I'm too am going to speak with the master."
Stella woke from a sudden chill. Her eyes flickered open and she stared around the room. She was laying on a bed of pillows stacked in the shape of a nest which sat upon a small pillar. Resting beside the bed of pillows were bundles of roses, as black as the night. Candles lined the ring of the pillar and glowing violet crystals embedded in the walls illuminated the room in an eerie glow.
Stella's scales rattled in discomfort. This place gave her the creeps. She started to get up but collapsed back onto the soft cushions when she felt a stabbing pain in her side. Her cracked ribs hadn't fully healed yet.
"Easy there." A familiar voice warned. "You haven't recovered yet."
The lightning dragoness raised her head and looked around. "Who said that?" Her eyes anxiously darted from shadow to shadow. Then from across the room a pillar of black flames burst up from the ground. Stella's eyes grew wide as the young black dragon stepped out from the shadows. "Liun!"
"How are you Stella? It's been a while." He smiled casually.
Stella was speechless. She had nearly forgotten about the black dragon since Tremor had forcibly removed him from the group.
The black dragon slowly approached her. Stella felt another chill run down her spine as Liun stopped and looked down at her. "You look surprised to see me." Liun pointed out causing Stella to blush slightly. "Don't tell me you forgot about me already."
"I...I..." Stella stammered, unable to recover from his sudden appearance.
Liun just smiled. "It's alright. I'm sure you and the other guardians have had your hands full lately." He reached up and stroked her cheek. The sudden touch caused the dragoness to snap out of her trance and jerk away from him. "Oh come on. Are you still mad at me because of what's happened?"
"I...I...Liun...I just..." Stella had never felt so at a loss for words. She turned her head away, unable to look at him.
Unfazed by her reaction, Liun just smiled. "It's alright, I understand if you're still mad. But I've decided to make it up to you."
That got Stella's attention. She looked back at him with a curious, yet skeptical expression. "Oh? And how do you think you'll make it up to me. And the rest of us for that matter. I'm not the only one you hurt you know."
Liun casually scratched his cheek. "Well, I don't know about the others. I hadn't really thought that far ahead." The truth was, he hadn't considered them at all. "But you..." Liun leaned down a bumped her nose gently with his snout. "I would do anything for." Stella tried to lean away but Liun draped a wing around her, pulling her close to his side. The dragoness immediately became more uncomfortable. "I can give you anything you want Stella. Anything your heart desires." The black dragon whispered next to her. Black tongues of flame licked from his mouth towards Stella. The heat seemed to relax her muscles and her eyelids began to droop. Shadow energy built up around Liun's feet and continued to surround the lightning guardian.
"But...you can't..." Stella murmured as she began to fall victim to the black dragon's spell.
"Oh can't I?" Liun's voice gave a slight hiss and the flames in the room flickered in response. Liun's eyes began to glow purple and Malefor's voice began to distort the young dragon's tone. "Everyone has desires my dear Stella. Even you. You're telling me that you don't have even one little thing that you desire?"
"I..." Stella's breathing began to grow heavier. "I..."
"What is it that you desire. What is it you long for?" The black dragon examined the dragoness up and down. Her sleek golden yellow scales glistened in the dimly lit room. As the guardian of lightning began to submit to the spell the shadows that danced around them leaped for glee, waiting for the command to swallow her whole. Liun smiled as the guardian dropped her guard. The glow of his eyes intensified as he began to infiltrate her mind. He looked deep into her soul and smiled when he found what he was looking for. "I see." He nodded slightly as the glow left his eyes returning them to their normal crimson coloration. "So you do have something you want from life. He brought his tail blade up and ran it down her spine, to the base of her tail and let it slide down the side, just behind her back legs. The tickling sensation brought Stella back for a quick moment.
"N-no..." Stella muttered. She was still somewhat aware of what was going on but felt too weak to fight it. "Liun...don't..."
"It's alright." The black dragon whispered walking around to face her again. "If it's a family you want, then I would be more than willing to give you one." He leaned in and pressed his lips to Stella's forcing her lips open and letting his tongue slide inside of her mouth. Stella moaned, but more out of surprise than pleasure. The remaining consciousness of her mind wanted to pull away from him but her body wouldn't respond. Liun sighed deeply, letting his dark energy seep into her mouth. Stella felt the tingling sensation as it began to spread down her throat. Her scales began to darken from their brilliant golden yellow to a burnt siena. Liun's shadows rose up around the two dragons. Malefor's face manifested above them and an evil smile formed on his face.
"I can give you anything and everything in the world." The Dark Master whispered in her mind. "I only ask one thing from you." He watched as Stella's eyes slowly began to close. "Complete loyalty to me."