Autumn and Ruin:
Misplaced Spirit
Thunder rumbled overhead, but the rain had not yet started. The gusts of wind blew the autumn leaves up from the forest floor and scattered them in new places among the barren trees. The clouds above blocked out any sunlight, shrouding the dusky forest in more shadows than usual. The air seemed to have a sinister feel, one that would have kept most dragons well away from the autumnal wood.
The young Nocturne, sprinting through the leaves with one wing dangling at an odd angle, was too terrified to care.
The Nocturne had pale white scales which seemed to be bruised and scratched, and brown wings with dusty patterns. One wing hung limp at her side, seemingly dislocated. She was barely more than a hatchling, and she was running for her life.
Above the treetops, a red male Nocturne circled in flight. He suddenly caught sight of the hatchling, and dove down through the tree branched, snatching at her.
“I’ve got you now, brat!” He snarled. The hatchling barely managed to escape his grasp, worming away and landing heavily on her already bent wing with a cry of pain. She sprung away again, continuing her mad dash through the trees. The red Nocturne righted himself as well, and leapt after her with a curse.
“Give up already!” The red Nocturne growled. “You can’t run forever. If you don’t stop running, I’ll make you wish you’d never been hatched!”
The young Nocturne ran faster. The red Nocturne, however, was stronger and faster. He soon caught up to the young Nocturne, and sprang upon her, pinning her to the ground. She collapsed under the weight of his talons with a cry, and struggled to free herself from his grip in vain. His claws sank into her, and blood ran down onto the dead leaves.
“This will teach you to run away!” The red Nocturne snarled, as he lifted the fighting hatchling, and hurled her at a nearby tree. The young Nocturne struck the tree with a crack, and dazed, tried to rise run once more. One of her forelegs was crooked, and she couldn’t put weight on it without falling. The red Nocturne pounced on her again, and hurled her once more. This time, his aim wasn’t as good, and her body skidded through the leaves. The hatchling rose, struggling, and tried to run, but only made it a few steps before collapsing at the feet of a strange Skydancer.
The red Nocturne leapt after the hatchling in pursuit, but skidded to a stop in confusion in front of the Skydancer. The Skydancer had elegant orange wings, and seemed to be a part of autumnal forest itself. Her eyes were a deep red and narrow. The red Nocturne abruptly noticed the eerie presence of the forest around them. It felt unnatural. It felt off. Had it been like this the whole time?
The Skydancer stared down silently at the red Nocturne. She had moved so that she stood above the young Nocturne, who was curled in a tight ball beneath her. The red Nocturne stared sneeringly back at her, waiting for her to speak. At last, she did.
“Why have you entered this this forest..?”
The red Nocturne blinked. He had expected an insult, or an accusation, but he recovered his arrogant glare quickly.
“Mind your business, fancypants. Get out of my way, I’m finishing what I’ve started!” The red Nocturne snapped at the Skydancer, whose cold gaze seemed to pierce him. The Skydancer didn’t move, holding eerily still.
“Anything that enters the forest is my business…” Hissed the Skydancer. “Leave now… or you will join the last dragon that challenged me.”
The red Nocturne snarled in rage.
“You, you dare threaten me? I’ve taken down dragons twice your size! I’m not going anywhere until I teach that useless runt a lesson!”
The young Nocturne whimpered, and flattened herself lower beneath the Skydancer, almost burying herself in the leaves. The Skydancer paused, and glanced down at the hatchling. The moment her eyes left the red Nocturne, he leapt at the Skydancer’s throat, teeth bared.
Thick roots shot upwards from the ground, plunging into the red Nocturne’s chest and wings. He gave a cry of pain and horror, and fell short to the ground in front of the Skydancer, the roots dragging him down. More roots and branches reached out and grasped at him, burying into his flesh. The fallen leaves on the forest floor seemed to drag him down into the earth. The red Nocturne let out a primal screech as he struggled in vain to break free of the plant life ensnaring him. The young Nocturne peered out from beneath the Skydancer, eyes wide with shock and awe.
“The forest is no place for a dragon,” Murmured the Skydancer, her eyes slits. “Especially not one of your character…” She stood and watched as the roots dragged the red Nocturne down into the forest floor, until only a few overturned leaves remained as a reminder of the struggle.
The Skydancer gazed back down at the Nocturne hatchling, who stared up at her with wide eyes. She let out a quiet sound, something like a sigh, and lifted the small Nocturne up onto her back. The hatchling nestled herself into the soft mane of feathers, and clung tightly to the Skydancer’s neck. The Skydancer’s tail lashed anxiously, but she didn’t move. Thunder rumbled again in the distance, and a few drops of rain speckled the carpet of fallen leaves. The Skydancer turned her head to the sky.
“The forest is no place for a dragon…” She whispered under her breath, as if to the storm clouds themselves. “The forest is no place for a dragon…”
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