Hecate

Trying to walk silently on the wet, swampy ground of the Mire was a frustrating endeavor for the young Snapper. His heavy paws sunk deep in the mud for every step he took, making a clearly audible splashing noise. On top of that, he couldn't see anything! But the Shadow Priestess had insisted in coming to that place at night, and in learning to walk without making a sound. He was being prepared to serve directly under the Shadowbinder herself, and it was essential for him to be properly versed in the arts of sneaking and ambushing.

A low growling noise behind him makes him turn around suddenly, and he comes face to face with a pack of Toridae crawling in his direction. They snap their jaws hungrily, moving to surround him. The Snapper braces himself for a fight, trying to ignore his accelerated hearbeat and praying that the beasts cannot smell his fear.

He then notices a subtle movement among the trees in front of him, like the shadows of the branches themselves were shifting their position. After a few moments, the Toridae notice it too, but it was too late. The shadow suddenly pounces the largest of the beasts, catching it with her powerful jaws. The Toridae struggles, growling and shaking his body, trying to find something to bite, but it's useless. The massive Shadow Dragon closes her jaws and the beast's spine snaps with a cracking noise. The rest of the group turns towards her and she spreads out her wings and takes air, revealing the full shape of a large, bluish-black Imperial Dragon. She flies above the Mire for a moment, her body backlighted by the pale moonlight, and points her nose downwards and dives, tucking her wings close to her body, spiraling down towards her prey.

"They always take so long to learn", she thinks to herself as she approaches the ground, "size is not an excuse to not be able to perform a proper ambush."