FSE

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formerly SoFurry search engine

Part 1

The dark shadow flowed through the pale blue water like a hungry shark giving chase. Just like a shark, the small fish in the shallow water scattered as it approached. But this was no shark, above the gentle waves, flying on the thermals he found there, watching his shadow cast into the calm waters, was a green and brown dragon.

This was no ordinary dragon, however. His wings were covered in feathers of different browns and occasional charcoals. They tilted this way and that way as he passed over the shallow water and golden sand banks. His green hide was scale-less apart from a few on his horned head and a line of brown fur ran from between his furry brown ears, down his long green neck to the tip of his lion-like tail. Yogoloth was the forbidden product of a green dragon and a forest gryphon.

That is not to say that he was shunned by true dragons or pure gryphons, after all, it had not been his choice. But his existence was a constant reminder of the forbidden act of allowing such a creature to be hatched and nurtured until fledged. None knew why some encounters between dragons and gryphons produced eggs. It was rare enough, although not forbidden, for dragons and gryphons to lay down together. But it was rarer still for the result to be a clutch of eggs. It was generally accepted as ineffable law by both species that such eggs would not be allowed to hatch lest the offspring pollute both species.

And as such, Yogoloth flew where he pleased, hunted where he could and slept free where he would avoid those knowing and oh-so-tolerant looks. He took pleasure in those hunts, where prey didn't care if you were hybrid or not, they only sought to escape, and if they did, he'd smile as they disappeared from his sight and would avoid them the next time round. They'd proven their skill and worth. Hunting was perhaps his only weakness, the only time he could lose control.

He had been flying for most of the day and he was getting tired and hungry. The ocean had just been another boundary that he had not explored beyond. That was his way, to keep pushing the boundaries, and see where the winds of fate took him. Having seen a map that showed a group of islands part way out into the ocean was all it took to convince the strange green dragon to take to his wings.

He saw one of the larger islands of the archipelago off to the side, it had a large enough forest of trees that there should be prey there to sate his growing hunger. He tipped a wing and the air currents caught his feathers and he glided towards the nearby land. He spotted a sand bank adjoining the island and headed for it, pulling his wings in slightly and tilting his body back to slow his descent. He came down with enviable grace, bating at the air slightly with his wings and churning up the damp sand with his claws as he landed.

The trees beyond the sand bank did indeed hide prey, the wild boar on this small island were quick but not too bright. Yogoloth assumed that with no natural predators living on the island, they did not gain much practice at evading. Their meat was tasty, but the short chase was not as satisfying as he would have liked. This was only a brief stop for the night, he thought, then onwards into the unknown.

Part 2

The sun slowly climbed above the distant horizon, casting its dazzling reflection into the water. The small archipelago of islands were treated to their usual morning show and the beasts that lived there welcomed the light as they prepared for another day. This day, however, an unusual visitor also began to stir on one of the many golden beaches that decorated one of the larger islands. The green and brown dragon opened his eyes to the morning light and let out and toothy yawn.

Yogoloth stretched out on the powdery sand, much like a vast cat, but he didn't care. It was not often that he was woken by such a glorious sight and he smiled as he rose to his feet. But there was something different in the air this morning, his furry brown ears pricked up and his deep purple eyes scanned the skies and the tree line beyond. He focused and stretched out his minor magical senses looking for anything that was out of place, all was calm, he was alone. He stretched out his large wings, each feather spreading out and catching the morning sun in an earthy rainbow of browns and dark greys.

The sea exploded with movement and a large toothy jaw sunk into his outstretched right wing. The pain was immediate as was his reaction. He instinctively bit back and latched onto the scaly neck that held the jaws that had attacked him. Something was wrong, despite getting a good hold, his teeth could not penetrate the scales and then suddenly he was lifted off his feet and his whole body was rolled over and over.

Yogoloth's world stopped spinning abruptly and he found himself encircled by a pale blue sea serpent. With the exception of his wings, his limbs were either pinned against his body or against the ground. He had heard of such creatures before and for what they lacked in intelligence they made up for with ferocity. He still had hold of the serpent's neck in his jaws and suddenly realised that the scales had been hardened with magic. But, these creatures were mere animals, they couldn't even speak, let alone wield magic. Then the sea serpent casually released its bite on his now bloody wing, slowly licked the blood from its lips and spoke.

"Would you mind letting go of my neck?"

The trapped dragon's mind raced. Ok, not a sea serpent. He strained briefly against the creature's coils but couldn't break free. Even if he escaped, his wing might be too damaged to fly and he couldn't even harm its scales. He gingerly let go of his futile bite.

"Erm... sorry. I thought you were a sea serpent trying to kill me.", Yogoloth said sheepishly, suddenly wondering why it was he who was apologising.

"Well...", the creature said as it tightened its grip a little further, "You ARE trespassing in my territory and hunting my prey. So I still might."

The serpent-like creature seemed to study its prize for a moment.

"You smell like a dragon, but you are not a dragon. I wonder what you could be?", it mused.

"I AM a dragon, and a gryphon.", Yogoloth snapped.

"Oh, I've never met a hybrid before. A pleasure to meet you, little gryphon.", the serpentine creature seemed to bow mockingly without even moving.

"AND dragon.", Yogoloth rumbled.

Apparently ignoring his comment completely, the pale blue creature raised its head and looked out over the sea.

"Let's go for a swim."

"W- what...?"

Part 3

Yogoloth was not afraid of water, quite the opposite in fact. Sometimes he would enjoy a rest in a warm mountain spring and let the waters soak into his green leathery hide and sooth his aching flight muscles. The dragon did not however like having to wait for his wings to dry, being trapped on the ground was not a feeling the green and brown hybrid relished. Luckily his minor magical abilities could be stretched to drying out sodden wing feathers pretty fast. Having the wings of a gryphon was generally still a blessing, the dragon often mused.

But the pale blue serpent-like creature that had him caught in its coils wasn't inviting him to a soak in calm warm waters. It had attacked him for hunting in its territory and was now gliding quickly through the shallow waters towards the vast ocean beyond with Yogoloth trapped firmly in its scaly helix.

"Look, I'm sorry for eating one of your boars. I didn't know this was anyone's territory!", he blurted out, he really didn't want to be taken out to sea. He wasn't a strong swimmer and the wound in his wing was already getting soaked by stinging salt water. The creature, however, was a strong swimmer, Yogoloth wasn't even sure how it was possible to move so fast while most of your body is wrapped around something nearly half your size.

"If I let you go, you'll only hunt more of my prey while your injured wing heals."

"But YOU caused that!", Yogoloth protested, starting to lose patience and getting increasingly worried about how far out to sea they were getting.

"Yes, I did, didn't I?", the creature turned its horned head, no bigger than Yogoloth's own, and seemed to consider him for a moment with a single eye. Then it dived below the waves into the deep blue sea.

Salt water invaded Yogoloth's ears, mouth and nose, so sudden was the dive. He clamped his mouth shut and stifled the urge to start coughing. Membranes in his eyes closed instinctively, protecting them from much of the salty water. Don't panic... don't panic. He panicked and began thrashing against the coils that held him. It was no use, although not massively larger than he was, the creature was strong enough to hold him firmly as they descended deeper and deeper into the watery void.

His lungs began to ache as he searched his mind for something that could save him from a watery grave, some almost forgotten magic he'd learned that could allow him to breathe water. The closest thing he could think of was something that he had used once that kept smoke and ash out of his eyes and nose. He didn't know if it would work with water, but he had nothing to lose.

Through the panic in his heart and the pain in his chest, he found the focus required and drew the magic within him into the familiar shapes and released them. A thick film of air grew around the dragon's face and ears and Yogoloth gasped as his lungs filled with the pure yet stale air only magic could create. His ears popped. He took control of his frantic breathing and tried to preserve his magical reserves as best he could. He could probably keep this going for half an hour at best.

Through the dim waters he could make out his scaly keeper's head turn slightly to regard him and a smile played across its face before turning back. The light from the surface, now getting darker still, seemed so far away.

Part 4

Yogoloth simply lay on the stone floor of the cavern feeling quite miserable. His feathery brown wings were drenched with sea water and the wound in the right limb began stinging again. His green hide glistened and he had to shake his furry brown ears to loosen the salty brine. His magic had kept the water out of his ears, nose and eyes just fine, but the moment his attacker dragged him to this underwater cave, it had failed. He sighed and opened his eyes and took in his surroundings.

The size of the cavern was quite modest, behind him was a sandy slope leading down back into the depths and overhead were glowing stones and crystals of various shapes and sizes. Now that he was not caught in the serpent's coils, he was finally able to get a better look at his pale blue assailant. Although its scaly body was indeed very long, it was not a serpent, it had a pair of hind legs, fore legs and pair of sizable wings. Its head was quite similar to his own in both shape and size with two backward pointing horns. Its scales seemed to instantly dry before Yogoloth's eyes and his sensitive nose now caught a scent. It- no, she, smelled of dragon.

The sodden hybrid got to his feet and tried to look as humble as possible. "Look, I'm sorry for hunting in your territory."

"Do you know Xiangqi?", she asked suddenly ignoring the apology.

"Sorry, no. Never heard of them."

The dragoness rolled her eyes, "How dreary. How about you earn your freedom with some riddles?"

"But, I don't really-"

"You want to earn your freedom, yes?", the serpentine dragoness advanced slightly.

"Y-yes, but...", Yogoloth backed away towards the pool behind him, the tip of his tail began to tingle as it passed into some sort of magical aura.

"I wouldn't get too close to the water, its quite well warded. Four brothers were all born together in this world. The first runs yet never wearies. The second eats yet always hungers. The third drinks yet always thirsts. The fourth sings yet never speaks."

The green dragon thought for a moment, came up with nothing and shrugged sheepishly.

"Perhaps something a little simpler. It has existed since the birth of the world, but is never more than a month old. What is it?"

This one did sound easier, Yogoloth turned the riddle around in his head and his eyes narrowed in concentration. But try as he might he could not make any sense of it.

"That doesn't even make sense!"

The long serpentine dragoness sighed and then slowly smiled, "Your tail is on fire. There is water near, but out of reach. All about you is stone. How do you put it out?"

Yogoloth's eyes narrowed again and he felt a headache brewing, "Erm... I told you, I am no good at riddles!".

"No, I just set your tail on fire, how are you going to put it out?", the pale blue tormentress purred.

Yogoloth quickly looked round at his tail and the furry tip was kindling quite a blaze. He didn't fancy chancing the warded pool so he drew on his magic to extinguish the flames. But something in the cavern was blocking his attempt. The dragoness smiled and watched with curiosity. He tried shaking his tail to put out the fire, but it only seemed to fuel it. In a sudden moment of lucidity he grabbed his tail in fore paw and clamped his mouth over the burning tip.

Tail still sticking out of his mouth the ridiculous looking dragon said, "'oo 'razy 'itch!"

Part 5

The dragoness laughed, her pale blue scales shimmering as they reflected the light from the crystals in the cave. Yogoloth, the object of her amusement, was not a happy dragon. He spat out his furry brown tail now that the fire had been extinguished and checked his green hide and feathery wings for any more fires or other trickery.

"Why would you do that!?", he shouted trying not to sound quite as afraid as he felt. Although the long serpentine dragoness was not vastly larger than him, she was far more skilled with magic and Yogoloth didn't want to be her plaything. Playthings tend to "wear out" quite quickly or are disposed of once they no longer amuse their owners.

"You fascinate me, little gryphon."

"I'm a dragon...", Yogoloth muttered. It was always the same, the hybrid thought. Dragons would call him a gryphon and gryphons would call him a dragon. It had taken years for him to be proud of being both, but others said it to distance themselves from "the hybrid". So they could treat him like an outsider, to pretend he didn't exist.

"I'm hungry, I'll be back.", the dragoness strolled passed Yogoloth towards the pool leading out of the cave and into the deep blue sea. She passed through the magical wards as though they weren't even there.

Yogoloth was left alone with the smell of burnt tail in the air. He reached out his minor magical senses and searched the cave for anything that could be blocking him from actually using magic. It was a futile gesture, of course, the dragoness was far more skilled than he was and wouldn't have left him alone unless she was sure the wards were secure. He reached out towards the warded pool with a fore leg and felt the tingling of the magical aura. He pushed forward and the tingling became an unpleasant scratching and the wards began to push back against his paw. He pushed against the wards further and the scratching became a burning pain. He pulled back.

This was a prison, somewhere to keep trophies or pets, the dragon thought gloomily. He could picture himself old and in chains, trapped in this cave, never allowed to leave, never allowed to die. This might be his only chance to escape. He could probably fight through the force of the ward and block out the pain, all he had to do is get to the water and he would be free.

He pulled his wings tight against his flanks and lowered his head. The force increases the faster I go, so slow and steady and I'll be through in no time, the determined dragon hoped. He stepped forward and his nostrils began to tingle, another step and the tingling spread across his face and his snout began to sting. Another step and the real pain began in his nostrils and fore leg, itching spread part way down his neck and his eyes stung. This was never going to be easy.

Another step and he felt a stabbing pain shoot through his snout and blood dribbled down from his nostrils. He had to part his lips and breathe through clenched teeth as the pain spread. Another step and he had to squeeze his eyes shut from the agony. His teeth screamed and his gums bled. Another step, this throat tightened as he felt blood begin to flow down his face from his eyes and his ears blocked for the same reason. He felt light headed.

Another step and he spat blood from his mouth, every part of his head, neck and fore legs were agony now. If the dragoness had set his entire hide on fire it would have been preferable to this. Another step and his paw touched water, he opened his eyes but couldn't see anymore. I had a pretty good run, he thought calmly, as he slowly let oblivion claim him.

Part 6

A fly buzzed around his ears, irritating them, he couldn't shake it. The green dragon looked up and the fly was a tiny yet familiar gryphon. Yogoloth slowly regained consciousness, he really hated those weird dreams. He was laying on his back and realised that something else was irritating his ear for real and he opened his eyes. The pale blue dragoness that held him captive was laying along his chest and was sniffing around his furry brown ears.

"You interest me little gryphon, you are unique.", she mused. Yogoloth shook his head and ears to try to dissuade her. He felt the familiar traces of magic in his flesh, she had healed his wounds, saving him from death. He wasn't even sure if that was a good thing or not.

"I will not be your toy!", growled the hybrid.

The long serpentine creature suddenly pulled back and looked down at Yogoloth, eye to eye, "I never wanted you to be my 'toy'. I'm merely fascinated..."

She pressed her scutes up against his own and added, "I'm drawn to interesting things..."

Yogoloth suddenly felt quite warm and more than a little confused. In hindsight the only serious wounds he suffered were from him chancing the wards. Even the wing bite had been fairly minor.

"You sensed me as I approached you on the beach, you fought through my wards further than I'd have expected. Both without magic. You shouldn't even exist at all. You interest me... little dragon."

She briefly looked over towards the warded pool that led out of the cave and then turned back to the green dragon below her, adding, "The wards will let you pass now. You probably wouldn't have even known what to do with me anyway."

She's taunting me, Yogoloth thought, trying to goad me into action.

Then she commented to no one in particular, "Perhaps you've never been with a female before.". His anger began to rumble in his chest. The dragoness posed an innocent question, "Do male hybrids even have any-".

Yogoloth's rumble turned into a full growl and he pushed her off to the side. She offered no resistance and they found their positions switched with the green and brown dragon straddling the serpentine dragoness's chest and neck. She smiled and lightly gripped his waist in her fore legs, but otherwise said nothing.

His blood raced through his veins ready for her retaliation, but it never came. The green dragon looked down to the pale blue dragoness beneath him and paused. Did she really intend to...? She was not an unattractive dragon, strong horns, smooth scales and beautiful intelligent eyes. Powerful, dangerous and most likely insane, yes, but not unattractive. It had been months since the cheetah and his blood started racing for a different reason.

He let himself go, his instincts took over and he lowered his head to hers. Their snouts met roughly, and she gave back as good as she got. They parted and the dragoness looked down through the space between their scutes and smiled wickedly.

"Hybrids ARE fascinating...", she purred. Yogoloth was taken aback and in his moment of distraction the long serpentine dragoness rolled them both back over and spread her wings above them both. Her neck and back arched as she brought her legs up closer to Yogoloth's own. She had taken control of the situation and there was little he could do, nor wanted to do, to stop her. Their bodies pressed together, then became one and scale and hide glistened as they moved in the clean crystal light of the cave.

Yogoloth stood on a familiar beach and stretched his wings in the midday sun. The last thing the dragoness had said to him was, "Make sure you know Xiangqi if you find yourself this way again.". As he prepared to launch himself into the air he made a mental note to at least find out what it was.

It had been a strange morning.