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Etherial groaned, waking up from a troubled sleep, sore from her uneasy slumber.

"Sweetie? Are you okay?" her mother called in. "You were yelling in your sleep."

The dragoness rubbed her eyes, focusing on her hands. She had had a dream, unsettling and disturbing, but for her it had felt... right. "I'm okay Mom! Just a bad dream."

She sighed, reality setting in once more, the sounds of the city washing over her as she prepared for the day. She showered, dressed, ate a large breakfast, patted her slightly sagging belly, and gave both her mom and dad a kiss goodbye.

"Love you sweetie!" her mom said as she headed out the door. "Have fun at school!"

Etherial gave a false smile. "I'll try Mom!" she called back as she headed down the walkway.

The walk to school was as uneventful as could be expected for a predator in a green zone. Prey were attacked and killed, and occasionally she would have to step out of the way of a fighter, secretly wanting to go down. More than once prey walked to her hoping to become her next meal. She always declined, saying "I am sorry, but it's not my place," before rushing to the city proper. Pred and Prey walked among one another in peace there, and the violence of the green zone she called home was soon forgotten.

"Etherial!" a familiar, squeaky voice called out. Looking up from the sidewalk, she smiled as her friend Kyle, a fennec fox, jogging towards her. "Kyle!" she shouted back, a grin splitting her face.

Hugging the small boy tightly, despite being the same age she had a good two feet and two hundred pounds on the young man, towering over her best friend. "Sleep well, lizard?" he asked, giggling gently before seeing her expression. "Oh... that bad?"

"Yeah, I had that dream again," she sighed, her mind turning over the same dream that had haunted her for the better part of a decade. "I just can't shake it. Every time I start feeling good again it happens and I'm back to the beginning," she said, hugging her tiny friend.

"Hey, it'll be okay. I'll be here for you Eth! I promise," he assured, patting her arm in a comforting way. After a moment, they broke the tight hug and Kyle nodded towards the school building. "Come on, let's go before we're late for class."

Arriving before the tide of students, Etherial made her way to her locker as several near her were being cleaned out. Sighing sadly, she grabbed her supplies and headed to her first class.

---

DING! DING! DING! DING!

Etherial bolted up from her daze. The lunch bell had rung and the students were already making their way to the cafeteria. Etherial made her way to the end of the line where Kyle was already waiting for her. "Did you see? Deer today! And sheep!" he said gleefully.

"I saw Kyle. I don't think I'm very hungry today," she replied, interjected by a hungry growl of her stomach. "Oh, I just don't want to eat that stuff..."

"I know Eth, but you need to eat. I can get it for you if you want."

She nodded, avoiding looking up as she made her way to a table. A few minutes later, Kyle walked up carrying two plates, one stacked high with fresh meat and one a more manageable size. "I got you a bit of everything, and plenty of sauces to cover it up, okay?" he whispered, gently rubbing her chin.

"Thank you Kyle." Her mouth watered despite herself, hunger starting to get the best of her, and she tore into the meats with her sharp claws. Kyle had doused them in her favorite sweet sauce, nearly sickeningly, but the less she could taste, the better it was for her to get it down. Soon after she finished her meal, her groaning belly bulged out gently.

"Full, Etherial?"

She nodded and Kyle took her plate up for her. "Thanks Kyle."

The rest of the school day went without a problem. But the strange dream wouldn't leave Etherial's head, and more than once her mind tuned out the lectures the teachers gave. Etherial couldn't describe the amount of relief she felt once the last bell rang.

She headed back to her locker to put away some of her textbooks and take what she needed for her homework before bolting out the doors to find Kyle. As the warm afternoon sun warmed her scales, she saw the fennec fox "For what Etherial?" He looked confused, rubbing up to her side. "For getting t..t the food for me, I don't think I can...not anymore"

He looked up, quite shocked. "Etherial I won't always be there... You have to eat you know... Is this about your dream?"

She nodded. "I've been seeing a counselor... I think, I think I may... I may be prey, not a predator," she stammered out.

"You... think... you're... Prey?" he said slowly, she nodded in reply, sitting on the stairs in front of her house. "Etherial...Y Your family lives in a Green zone. If you tell them..."

She sighs, "I know Kyle! If I tell them I'm more than likely their next meal, not that mom will keep me if i tell her anyway" She buries her face in her hands "I don't know what to do Kyle, I'm...I'm not me! I can't be a dragon, now when i can't even look at a pred... without feeling like food."

"I...I don't know Etherial, I will do whatever I can to help you, I could help find a nice shrink...or we could go to a prey league, talk to some of them" He offers, looking up Etherial has a small smile "Can we, can we do that please?" Holding her hand Kyle smiles "For you Anything!" Tugging the big dragon along, following his phone "Couple of miles out" nodding Etherial picks the small fox up and puts him on her shoulders, carrying him through the green zone and back into the city proper "Okay, thats...I guess that's it?" They looked at a small nondescript building with a Prey heart sign on it.

"It seems so." Etherial putting him down gently, walks in, seeing a lobby full of small preds and many many prey species, all looking up at her fearfully, avoiding their gazes and asking the receptionist if they could help "What seems to be the problem sweetie?" The older Bunny woman asks gently "I...I I I think...I think I'm prey" Etherial squeaks out looking around "OH" The Bunny looks surprised but not judgmental "Come with me if you would sweetie? Your friend can come as well if your comfortable" Etherial nods, grabbing his hand gently and following her.

"You truly do believe you are Prey Miss Etherial?" The receptionist writes on a board going through question after question "Yes, I... have felt like this since I was...hell six I think, not long after first grade." She writes more down "Okay miss Etherial, The Doctor will be here to see you, are you Okay here?" She asks gently watching Kyle "I'd never hurt her ma'am! I Promise" He squeaks out backing away from the bunny and Etherial.

"Yes, I'm fine ma'am Thank you" Holding her friends hand and sitting down "So...Your 100% About this Eth?" Kyle whispers after the bunny leaves, fidgeting, doing his best to hide his fangs for her "Yeah, i don't know where I will go next...Guess I could run away....fuck! Free Reign is coming up!"

"Miss Etherial, may I come in?" A singsong voice asks from behind the door "Y Yes!" A Tall thin Otter walks in, smiling warmly at the two "You said you believe you are prey?" She asks gently, sitting "Yeah...for years Yes" The otter smiles "All kinds are welcome here you have nothing to fear, May I ask why you feel this way?" Etherial sighs "A dream I have... Im at school, but I leave class early...cafeteria, where the others are" she shivers, Having only ever told one person.

"I see, and what happens next?" the doctor writes softly on her notes "I...I go in back in the kitchen...a and they...They skin me, take my hide and wings." Kyle winces, rubbing her side "Give me a nice d dressing, fruits like I like, and serve me up for the others, for Kyle for the school, I g get taken apart piece by piece, I usually wake up not long after" She shudders "And how does that make you feel Etherial? Afraid? Scarred?"

"Right...It makes me feel right? Like it's what I'm supposed to do." She admits finally, Kyle squeezing her hand tight, the doctor smiles at her "Well, Only you can be for sure, but i do believe you are prey Miss Etherial...I'm sure this isn't an easy thing for a dragoness, and the prey league will be willing to provide all we can" Getting up and shaking the ness's hand gently "Which admittedly isn't much, but we can offer a safe place to sleep and therapy for you if you need it"

"I Don't... Know.... My family lives in a green zone. I...Haven't told them yet, were incredibly poor... I'll... I'll see, Thank you" She gets up to leave her doctor handing her a small necklace "If you want, i've found it helps many prey to remind themselves they aren't fake." Etherial smiles putting on the necklace

"Your gonna tell em?" Kyle asked worriedly from atop her shoulders "My dad...Yeah I think I will...Can I stay at your place tonight? I Think I'll need it" Kyle nods petting her horns gently "You can Eth, We'll just say its a sleepover, moms pretty pro prey, shouldn't be an issue" Etherial smiles softly "Thank you."

Walking up her stairs, her mom already in bed "Etherial Sweetie? That you?" She stops nearly jumping out of her scales "Y Yeah dad, can you come to my room please? I H.. I have something important to talk to you about" He pokes his head up the stairs, the older grey dragon looks concerned "What's wrong sweetie?" Following her up stairs into her room, sitting on her bed etherial grabs his hands " D D Dad you cant tell mom. Not..Not ever" Holding up her necklace for him to see.

"Etherial...Baby girl...this is a...This is a Prey League medallion" He says slowly looking at his cowering daughter "Oh sweetie!" Hugging her tight "I'll get you some money, your mother cant see this...shell... I'll take care of her baby, Just stay safe okay." Kissing her gently and hurrying down stairs, coming back up with a few hundred dollars "This is all we can spare sweetie, please be safe" Hugging her dad tight "I Promise daddy, I'll call you when i can" Hurrying out, Kyle was waiting outside drooling gently "Etherial... We should go I'm extremely hungry.." he groans taking her hand.