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Nobody Heard Him Scream

A Hiker Devoured

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Written by Arian Mabe (Amethyst Mare)

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The purple dragon was conspicuous out there, in the mountains, with his rash flush of green hair spiking up from the top of his head in a crest. It looked like it continued down the back of his neck too, but he wasn’t important enough to take in the details.

That was what Deryn saw, from behind the waterfall. Something to serve a purpose, something that could fill his stomach. He didn’t even see the little, anthro drake as another dragon, not really. Real dragons didn’t look like that one. So, it was only fitting Deryn didn’t ask for his name before eating him.

He waited, hidden behind the falls, the roar of water drowning out any noises he may or may not have made. Still, the great, green drake stayed still, his four clawed feet patient on old, worn stone. That stone knew the passage of time and water, though it had held fast through it all, merely altering its shape. Interesting.

Deryn was something of the same, but the dragon didn’t really think about things like that, not so much. He licked his lips slowly, taking care to creep as the hiker, the small anthro, knelt at the edge of the lake before the falls, filling a flask. That wouldn’t hurt him, for the water there was clear and pure, deep in the Welsh mountains. However, Deryn did not intend to let him leave there in any form.

There was no sense in naming the anthro in the slightest, for his fate was passing, even to himself. There was nothing more to say about him in the closing of his day, the time of his becoming a part of a far greater being than himself. One may even have said it was only a chapter in a larger story: that he’d played a part in a tale and yet the story was not his own to tell.

Still, the drake didn’t realise he was being watched, though he glanced up and around, a small smile dancing on his lips. He had to admit it was nice being out there, in the wilds, getting away from it all. He studied the falls as if for a sort of meditation, trying to track the fall of the water but finding himself overcome, subtly, by the endless motion. Unless the source of the falls, right in the heart of the mountains, dried up, they would continue to fall in an endless cycle.

He, however, was not endless. One moment he was staring at the waterfall and the next the falls exploded in a shatter of spray, crystalline droplets. It would have been beautiful if not for the massive beast heaving his body through them, jaws open, water streaming off his green-scaled hide. His wings flared the moment he was out of the hidden cave behind the waterfall, but that didn’t do the little anthro drake any good as he spun on his heel, every instinct in him screaming at him to flee.

There was nowhere for him to go. Ah, his fate had already been sealed the moment he’d knelt at the pool of water, the plunge pool before the mighty falls. There was no escaping that hungry, gaping maw, water streaming over the dragon’s muzzle while saliva strung out, briefly, between his upper and lower sets of teeth. A narrow tongue pushed forward within his maw, as if it was seeking him even then, but the little drake barely even got three steps before the beast was on top of him.

He screamed. At least, he thought he did. His heart hammered and his chest ached for the bliss of breath that simply wouldn’t come. Or, if he did inhale, it didn’t soothe the tight, fearful band clenching around his chest, his heart surely beating so fiercely and quickly that it wasn’t healthy for anyone.

The jaws clamped around him, teeth tearing at his clothes, and he howled again, feeling the echoing vibration of it in his chest even if he didn’t catch it in reality. All he heard was the bellowing force of the dragon crashing through the water, the roar of the falls behind him. Strangely, his mind even picked out the scattering, shrieking calls of songbirds exploding from the trees, knowing there was a predator in their midst and sending out the alarm calls. Alas, it was too late for the little drake.

A maw that was so big he could fit entirely inside it enveloped him, that greedy, wet tongue shoving him into the mouth. No pain came, not as the massive dragon claimed him with the cage of his teeth, the white knives coming down around him on his left, right and behind him too, locking him in. He heaved and twisted around, lunging, despite the wet, rancid cavern, for the entrance of the beast’s mouth, for even the mind would seek survival despite everything else. Even if all else was lost, the mind would fight to live. It was funny how that need would kick in regardless of all the odds being stacked against one little dragon.

Deryn groaned, rumbling his pleasure as his tongue played with his prey, working him around his mouth. A snack needed a good coating of saliva, after all, to slide down his throat, thought he was sure the little dragon would make a nice, thick bulge as he eased his way down his long neck. He tried to smirk, but that was more difficult than ever with a meal inside his maw, tongue flicking and dragging in a humiliating fashion around his prey.

He felt the dragon squirming, trying to fight his way away from his tongue, but that was a futile attempt at best. It would not work, but it thrilled him all the same to feel the squirming, the thrashing, even if his food didn’t yet realise it was doomed. No food had ever escaped his maw, after all, and Deryn didn’t intend to let that happen for the first time that day.

He stepped out of the water, swinging his tail a little as the spines atop his spine, running the full length of his tail and neck, rattled lightly. They were movable, so he could lay on his back and roll over without them digging into the ground, allowing him to be more aerodynamic too and make tighter, more cutting turns in the air. The tickle of water spilling from his damp wings caught his attention as he folded them in against his sides, his front feet out of the water while he savoured his meal.

Inside, the little drake cried out, fear tainting his tone. But what was Deryn to do about that? It was the natural way of it and his food fighting wouldn’t dissuade him. It was almost adorable how the little dragon thought he could do that, that he could break free.

It was better to put him out of his misery.

So, Deryn didn’t play with his food any longer. Languidly, he tipped his head back so gravity would, at least, do some of the work for him, sending the small anthro to the back of his mouth. Tiny hands flailed but that didn’t do any good as he swallowed lightly, only enough to open up his throat and allow the drake to meet his fate in his throat.

It was slow and patient, though he could have made it quicker than that. Either way, it was up to him how he swallowed his prey, taking the squirming, fighting dragon into his throat. Slowly, a large bulge travelled down his neck, allowing him to enjoy his meal in a series of long, languid gulps. He took his time in working his prey down his throat, feeling them pressing out against his flesh and scales, as if they had any hope of resisting him. Such things were not possible, though Deryn still enjoyed it. It was never as fun for him when his prey went still, near immobile.

So, he swallowed, the bulge easing down his neck, more and more, until it could not be seen at all. Yet Deryn could still feel it, how it worked its way down, his small meal, and settled in his stomach, the weight of the dragon there easing lightly, with a deep, resounding sense of satisfaction.

“Mmm…”

Deryn hummed happily to himself, clambering all the way out of the water and settling on the bank on his side, a bulge in his stomach showing exactly where the dragon’s final resting place was. His tail curled lazily around him and the bump in his belly jostled and fought, but, eventually, stilled. Everything did in the end, for there was only so long they could fight.

With heavy, lowering eyelids, Deryn snoozed, ignoring his surroundings while the dragon in his stomach wondered at just what he’d done to deserve that fate, though, really, there never had been any other option for him.

With no one out in the mountains to hear him scream, little anthro would just be another lost hiker. And wasn’t that just the way of it all?