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Sanguine:

Having the face of his sister pinned under his talons was the last thing Sanguine imagined he'd see today. For years he'd wanted to see her again, at least talk to her. But in just as much time, he'd been able to do no more than run from her. Leader of the vast wings of their father's army, she was always after him. If not for Xeno's ploy, he'd have been far from this dustbowl of a town by now, with a warm belly full of alcohol and not a care in the world.

It was always like that, he was always just a wingbeat ahead, no matter how drunk. Yet to see her now, or at least the green-eyed imitation, he could hardly believe his eyes. At least, when he was not putting up the act of trying to choke her.

Xeno croaked and squirmed, muzzle wrinkled into a snarl as their smaller vesper paws batted against Sanguine's underside. They looked about a fraction as formidable as his real sister as they huffed and snorted, yet he wasn't about to let the stunned guards figure things out any faster.

The two paused at the door, shattered wood dispersed in splinters around them as they both gawked in disbelief. He was sure the fact they must have surely seen his sister somewhere nearby would quickly diminish the illusion he was actually attacking her. Yet Xeno's act was also convincing enough as the disguised drake strained to look at the pair, demanding help through a fit of coughing.

"Well, don't just.... Stand... There..." they wheezed, doing their best impression of sucking in a haggard breath. "Get him off me!"

Oh, that's not how she talks! Sanguine thought, sure looking the part was only half of the act. They're just going to jump us both for sure!

The two soldiers were caught stammering for a second, before glancing at each other. The fact they had not instinctively jumped to their commander's aid, assured Sanguine that they were not buying into this. Yet the moment of hesitation was all he needed.

"Commander? But..." one of the armored vespers stammered. "You were just at the main entrance, how in the night's name are...?"

"You lizard brain, that's not the commander!" the second of the pair declared, shoving her companion on the shoulder. "It's got to be a trick, grab him!"

Okay, so I bought us what, like five seconds!? The vesper thought, seconds before the two soldiers lunged at him with claws outstretched. _Fighting my own kind, here we go again. _

He was off Xeno in a flash, whirling like a hurricane of red and black fur, only a little thrown off by the venom still lingering in his system. He knew how his kind fought, he knew every trick in the book. His brother had taught him, and he refused to believe they were the techniques the same sibling used to kill their mother.

Because I'm going so far to prove how innocent either of us are right now. He thought, the tip of his tail connecting with the narrow eye slot on one soldier's helmet, stunning her. They really don't make it easy to just sort things out!

The soldier staggered, shaking her head, and lifting a forepaw to her eyes. Yet not to be outdone, she swung her wing round, the armoured joint of the leathery limb slamming into Sanguine's shoulder, sending his still slightly wobbly legs slipping out from under him. He hit the cobbled floor with a huff, jaw clenched as the damp stone sent a jolt through his skull and his ears rang. Vision slightly blurred, he glanced up to see the soldier, her narrowed eyes red and filled with scorn.

Well, that could have gone better. He thought, not sure if he was still a little drunk, be it on venom or booze.

All the while, her companion leapt atop Xeno before the disguised drake could recover from Sanguine's chokehold. The pinned imitation of his sister squirmed more yet seemed far less willing to have the utter stranger pinning them down. Their wings flapped and flailed, trying to batt the soldier off, while their tail coiled about one of his hind legs and tugged it out from under him. Resulting in the two pressed muzzle to muzzle for a split second like estranged lovers.

Here's me wondering why they didn't pull that trick on me? He thought, wondering, that if Xeno could be anyone, just who he could find himself muzzle to muzzle with? Is that weird, I feel like that's weird? They're still just a bug?

"Just like you, playing dirty!" sneered the female soldier, rubbing her face. "What honour is there in going for the eyes!?"

Sanguine rolled to the left, dodging one of her forepaw stomps. Her metal-clad claws struck the damp stone with a hard clatter before he rolled the opposite way to avoid her second stomp.

"Where's the honour in coming after a dragon in a sex dungeon like this!?" he countered as he coiled his tail into a tight knot and shoved it up into her underside like a fist, winding her in a flustered gasp.

"You call this a sex...?" She did all she could not to double over, wincing hard as she clutched one of his shoulders. "Little... wretch..."

"It's not a dungeon!" Xeno called, shoving the male soldier off and coiling back their neck. "It's a hive!"

No, they wouldn't! For a moment, the prince was sure fire would blast from the drake's growling throat. _No, we can't just kill them! _

He'd at least always held that dear, he'd never kill one of his own. Other dragons and strangers, sure. But killing vespers only served to prove what they all thought about him.

That I'm just as bad as my brother, covering for his murder. He did his best to shove the female soldier off, but winded as she was, she wasn't about to let him retaliate as she called for her companion to get a grip on Xeno. _You stubborn fools, just listen to me! _

"I-I'm trying!" he called, yet despite the impersonation of his sister's coat covering their scales, Xeno was slippery as an eel. "It's harder than...."

The soldier's voice was cut off as a blast of green goo struck his muzzle, cutting off the whole front of his face and slamming him back into the wall. His eyes popped wide, his forepaws clutched at the sticky slime. His muffled voice and gasps made it clear he couldn't breathe. Yet Xeno just stood and shook themself.

"Haha, I did it!" the disguised drake declared, ruffling their wings. "Who says I can't fight when I have to!?"

Well, at least they didn't burn them? Sanguine thought, as the pinned Vesper started to squirm in a panic. _If they don't end up suffocating them! _

"What in the night's name!?" called the female guard as she stared at the disguised drake. "What are you!?"

Xeno cocked their head and blinked, all the while Sanguine shoved all four of his paws up against the underside of the remaining soldier.

"Believe me!" He heaved her off him with all of his might, sending her sprawling to his left and rolling right into the sticky web that had once cocooned him. "It's pretty weird!"

She hit the strands of green resin, the stuff sticking to her like glue, wrapping tighter the more she struggled. Like some gigantic spider's web, observing how it worked as an onlooker forced the prince to wince.

Thank the night it was Xeno's web and not their sister's. He thought feeling like he'd been a helpless fly in a spider's trap. Such strange dragons.

The muffled cries of the other soldier were what called Sanguine's attention back to the opposite wall, as Xeno seemed way too caught up in their recent success, to see the vesper was slowly suffocating.

"Xeno!" the prince snapped sharply, and the drake froze, bat-like ears perking as they glanced back. "Cut his nostrils free, you're killing him!"

Xeno blinked, and then it all seemed to dawn on them at once. They bowed their head, fangs poking free as they bit their bottom lip.

"Right, your kind can't hold their breath to save their life," they muttered, licking one foreclaw before trailing it over the soldier's cocooned nostrils like a knife, effortlessly cutting two holes. "So needy for every little thing."

Yeah, because a need to breathe is something to be looked down upon. Sanguine thought, wondering just how long the drake could hold their breath. Can they breathe underwater too if they have aquatic forms, surely?

"What in the night's name is this stuff, what have you done!?" demanded the webbed soldier, blasting strands of ice at the resin to no avail. "What sick rats have you gone crawling to, using weapons like this!?"

"Well, calling it a weapon is..." Sanguine cut off Xeno's interruption with a stern glare, and the disguised drake shut right up.

"It's resin, and you won't get out unless one of them lets you." He nodded back to Xeno. "So, tell me, what's going on here, where's my sister?"

"Wouldn't you like to know, traitor!?" hissed the soldier, leaning back only to have her helmet tugged off by the web. "There's plenty after you, she'll find you before you can slip away again."

"I wouldn't count on it," he responded sharply, before nodding between Xeno and her. "Web up her mouth... Only her mouth. Can't have her calling for help!"

"Just the mouth, got it," the drake stammered, coiling back, and coating half her neck in green slime before silencing her calls.

Muzzle coated in resin, she wordlessly shot the two of them a very sour look, as Sanguine smirked and Xeno muttered a weak apology.

"Now this back exit, which way is it?!" he asked, dashing to the door with Xeno close behind, a flash of green fire seeing them return to their pure form, earning shocked looks from the two cocooned guards.

"It's right at the bottom of the hive, by the stream that leads to the river," the four-eyed dragon informed, and Sanguine nodded, peeking out into the hall.

The dank and dreary row of cell doors was mostly empty, a dull light at the far end flickering. There was no sign of Xeno's sister, nor his own, and glancing deeper he saw that it was far darker and very uninviting.

Do I really want to go deeper into this place, maybe I can get out that way? He thought, thankful he could see in the dark either way. Looks far easier to just go in the way we came...

"Hey, you!" A pair of armoured guards appeared from a doorway between him and the exit. "Stop right there!

Okay, well that makes that choice a lot simpler! His mind declared as he darted right, dragging Xeno to his side.

The chitinous dragon gave a shrill eep, feeling far lighter than the prince anticipated as he asked urgently.

"The exit, lead the way now!" He let the bug-drake loose and despite an indignant huff, they darted off ahead.

"Okay, no need to be so pushy!" they declared, breathing a small breath of emerald flame to light the way as the sound of armoured paws signaled the guards' pursuit. "It's just this way, follow me!"

"Pushy, if we don't move they'll catch us!" Sanguine called, the shouts of the soldiers close behind as they rounded a corner and hopped over a small drain. "Do you even know what they'll do to you if they catch you!?"

"As I said, no," Xeno admitted, before all four of their eyes rolled. "We'll lose them down here before we reach the exit, trust me."

The idea they could lose trained soldiers proficient in hunting seemed ridiculous. At least until they took several more twisting turns. Sanguine's eyes struggled to keep track of his escort even if the darkness was little issue. It was as if Xeno's skin shifted to mimic the tunnel, even if it did so in a rush, panicked way that matched the drake's frantic breathing. The soldiers' calls for them to stop disappeared into the maze, yet so did Xeno's calls for him to follow.

Wait, did they just take a left or a right... no... wait...? The prince came skidding to a stop in the middle of a four-way tunnel section, water draining through a rusty grate under his paws, and he huffed. I... That snake, they left me, I should have known!

Despite everything, he couldn't help but feel slightly disheartened at the betrayal. Xeno had left him as fast as they'd seduced him, and now the sounds of the soldiers were once again in his ears. He wasn't about to get caught out now, however; and staggered to take one of the tunnels, only to catch the shadow of a guard, then another, and another. Surrounded from every angle but one, he spun. Only for a shot of ice to strike the water at his paws and send him floundering to the floor.

"Stop right there!" the first guard to come upon him called, standing in one tunnel as two more cut off the other escape routes. "Prince Sanguine, you are under arrest!"

"For what, running away?" he asked dryly, even as his body shivered head to tail. "That's not a crime."

"Whatever crime your sister chooses, now come with..." There was a deep grinding sound, the whole chamber shook. "What in the night's name?!"

Two of the guards took a step back, seconds before rusty grates slammed down to seal off the tunnels. In the same instance, the guard that had attempted to arrest him staggered forward, battling not to slip on his own icy trap, as the great under Sanguine shook. Before the prince knew it, he was falling through to a lower floor and splashing into a deep pool of water. The guard above called for him to get back, only to reach through the icy great as it closed again.

A storm of bubbles filled the prince's vision. He opened his mouth to call out, only for it to fill with water as his legs kicked and wings beat harder. For a long moment, he'd no idea how deep he was, no idea if the water would break above him. Then the sense of humid air met his head as he erupted from the pool with a deep gasp.

Taking in breath after breath, he shook his head and rubbed his eyes, opening them to find he was in a dark cavern, the roof filled with glowing specs of light. The shouts from above were muffled, echoing through the vast cavern as he swam to the nearest bank. Still dazzled, eyes filled with water, he reached out for the first hard thing he could. It was warm and fuzzy, attached to a dragon with two sets of emerald eyes.

"Well, that was dramatic," Xeno observed, glancing up at the trap door above as they tugged Sanguine out of the water like a drowned cat. "I thought you'd be right behind me!"

"I was, you just moved too fast!" Sanguine spat, shaking himself off like a wet dog. "You didn't tell me we had to drop so far!"

"I mean, it's a secret exit, what did you expect?" Xeno asked, nodding to a rusty old lever on the wall.

"Not so secret now," Sanguine observed, as the guard above tugged and yanked at the icy bars. "They'll find a way through, we have to go now."

"Come on, these caves lead to the river," Xeno informed him, scampering off along the rocky bank with the prince close behind. "We can get out into the sky from there."

"This place is disgusting," he muttered, paws squelching in filth, as he lifted one tentatively. "Smells like something died down here."

"I wouldn't think too hard about that," Xeno warned with a subtle glance back, wincing at the look Sanguine shot him. "Let's just say the hive's not the only one with access to these caves."

The place really is a backwater. He thought, glancing around to see bones and skulls littering the bank of the underground river, while something moved in the water. Is this where they would have dumped me...? No... Surely, they had other plans.

He was disgusted by what they'd intended, but just as glad Xeno had been willing to help him escape. Even if he suspected it was only for the shy shapeshifters' own benefit.

But they could have just crept out on their own, not like they're bad at being stealthy. He thought, flicking a stone in the river. Can literally look like anyone. _ _

"Hey, don't do that," Xeno muttered, nodding to the ripples settling in the pool. "You really don't want to disturb the water more than we already have."

"What's that supposed to mean? I was just in there!" Sanguine exclaimed, and Xeno nodded.

"Exactly, so be thankful we're still in one piece," they added, nodding to a narrow passageway around a towering pillar.

Rock glistening like sleek leather and roof glinting as if coated with tiny blue stars, the gentle caress of a draft caught the prince's senses. Looking left across a narrow bridge, he spied an opening in the wall, where a portion of the river funneled out through a narrow breach.

"There, that's the way out, see," Xeno declared, hopping over a small path of stones toward the bridge. "After that, we can both fly."

"Our own separate ways, I'm guessing?" the prince asked, feeling a little disheartened, yet unable to fully place why. "Night knows I need to get as far from here as I can."

"I need to go look for my sister, there's no way she'll have let some bats take her off guard," Xeno responded, only to wince at Sanguine's flat look. "Vespers, sorry."

"The last person who called me a bat, ended up out cold on the floor," he muttered as he hopped across the stones after Xeno.

Nevertheless, their paws soon touched the solid bank opposite, only the winding bridge between them and the exit. Xeno glanced back as if to retort, only to pause with wide eyes as they glanced up to the roof above.

"Oh, dear." There was a dull creaking sound, before the grinding of metal heralded the grate being forced open.

Gears ground like stones and frosty bars snapped under the cold chill of icy breath as the wing of armoured soldiers broke through and flew down into the cavern. They circled for a few moments before their sharp eyes effortlessly penetrated the dark and fixed on the two fleeing dragons.

"Time to run, I think!" Xeno declared, skittering off like some little lizard, as Sanguine huffed and took off after them.

"You could have told me there was more than one trap door!" he called, as the two of them made their way onto the bridge, rickety wooden frame rocking side to side as they did so. "How many more secret surprises are you holding on to!?"

"Erm, none that I can think of. It didn't seem relevant until now!" the shapeshifter called, just reaching the far end of the bridge as the first soldier swooped in.

There were no calls to stop this time, only claws and bared fangs. Sanguine heard the wingbeats and ducked, armoured gauntlets whizzing right over his head. Xeno wasn't so swift, however, and the second the prince called for them to look out, the guard struck their back. There was a flash of panicked fire from the drake, as if their instinct was to change form and hide.

The tussle shook the bridge like it was caught in a hurricane, sending the prince floundering forward as he attempted to lunge to the shapeshifter's aid. In the same turbulent moment, the soldier yanked Xeno left, claws and tails coiled as the two rolled over the rope rail and fell into the water with an almighty splash.

The white thrashing at the surface faded, the flurry of bubbles vanished in seconds as there was a dull green flash under the water, like lightning in a distant storm. Surely, clad in armor like that, the soldier had no chance. Yet just as soon as the two of them were gone, Sanguine had to duck again as a second soldier swooped overhead. Her talons graced his neck, before he reached out and flared his fangs. Clamping his teeth around her right foreleg and dragging her down to the bridge.

She whirled, taught leather snapping with a dry crack as her gauntlet was yanked free. Sanguine fell back as the momentum reversed, only for her to leap atop him and pin him to the quivering wood.

"Stand down, you're beaten!" she ordered, as a third soldier swooped overhead.

"Speak for yourself!" Sanguine retorted, with all paws pinned, resorting to slamming his head against hers.

Pain filled his skull, and his vision blurred as his head swayed. Yet she was hit just the same, and the moment she staggered off, he followed his blunt assault up with a smack from his left forepaw, the paw that just happened to be grasping her stolen gauntlet. The metal clanged as it struck the right side of her face, disorientating her further as he kicked out one of her rear legs and sent her sprawling on the swaying wood.

Still no sign of Xeno or the first soldier, he slipped the gauntlet onto his own forepaw, before hopping over the fallen vesper and dashing toward the far side of the bridge. The remaining soldier swooped in from the right to throw him off, but he ducked, rolling clumsily as the vesper came back around.

If only I can get off this stupid bridge, that's all I need! He thought, as the soldier he'd left in a heap behind him staggered to her paws, shaking the wooden frame further. Just have to keep going!

The second his first forepaw touched the rocky bank, the third soldier swooped in from ahead. Body low and paws outstretched, he struck Sanguine in the chest, sending the prince sprawling back onto the bridge, while the soldier swooped back up and came back down to land neatly before him, blocking his path. All the while, the soldier behind him staggered forward, the two pinning him between them on the rickety structure.

"We said, stand down," muttered the male, face a stone-cold mask under the rim of his helmet. "There's nowhere for you to go!" _ _

"Yeah, I've heard that one before," he retorted, glancing about in search of anything he could use, as he rubbed the gauntlet about his right forepaw. "But give me a moment, I'm working on it."

Come on Sanguine, think, there has to be a way out! He thought, but all he could see was damp walls, water, and a few glowing stalactites. _Night curse this place, it's useless! _

His kind may have once lived in mountain caves, yet here, where it was harder to take off, he was done for. Meanwhile, the male soldier rolled his eyes and nodded toward the prince. The two of them started to move in cautiously, weapons ready and bodies low. Glancing between them, Sanguine mirrored the defensive stance, yet he knew he had no hope of taking them both on in such a cornered position.

Guess this is it. He thought, certain his father would just have him killed when they dragged him back there. Sure feels like something he would do.

The first thing he noticed in those tense seconds was one bubble bob up from the water and pop. The two soldiers noticed it too, their ears swiveling even if their eyes remained fixed on the prince. Seconds later, and it was clear, at least one of them may have wished to keep more of an eye on his surroundings as the dark-green and black shape erupted from the murky depths.

Xeno's sleek skin glistened like a wet eel, more so than the damp walls about them as they latched onto the male soldier with a hiss. Wings and hind legs gone, the fish-like form of the shapeshifter had webbed forelegs and claws to match, not to mention fangs sharp as daggers. The same fangs found a mark in the male soldier's neck, while the one behind the prince called out in alarm and charged.

He had about a second to whirl about, wings and tail catching the taught rope on either side as the thrashing of Xeno's clumsy aquatic body shook the whole thing yet again. Snarling, the soldier swatted his left flank, snatching his gauntlet-clad forepaw with her own to hold off the weapon as she swung him around. Sanguine planted his paws as hard as he could on the unstable surface, arching her round as her back pressed into the taught rope rail.

She let go seconds later, as did he, the gauntlet about his forepaw slipping just a bit as she staggered before him.

"Xeno!" he called, and the slimy head of the aquatic creature lifted from the soldier they'd ambushed, who was slumped and muttering as if deeply intoxicated. "Bite her!"

"But I was hardly done with this one!" the shapeshifter called, and Sanguine rolled his eyes. "Done with what, he's down, you wanna eat him too!?"

The fact that Xeno appeared confused as the prince assumed they'd do anything other than eat their prey sent a ripple of apprehension through the vesper. It also caught his female attacker slightly off guard too, but before Xeno could lunge at her, she kicked back, sending the coiled, eel-like mass back toward the bank, where they floundered, shifting back to a four-legged form.

"No fish monster's eating me!" she declared, but that was when Sanguine charged, dodging left, using the full brunt of his shoulder to send her staggering right.

She yelped in alarm as she was sent rolling over the taught rope, while Sanguine slumped beside the guard filled with Xeno's venom.

Okay, let's just get out of here now! He glanced to the ray of sunlight beyond the breach, yet just as soon as his hope flared, it was squashed.

He felt cold, very cold as a dark shadow drifted over him like a specter. He heard wingbeats. Graceful and steady, he knew the sound perfectly. Xeno uttered no more than a squeak as they were pinned under a set of midnight blue gauntlets, thrashing, and squirming with flashes of green fire. Yet the shape shifter's impersonations couldn't hold a candle to the real thing.

"Hello, Sanguine," Violet's voice was cold as the water below, yet disguised the rage of a rushing river as she glared at him. "You weren't planning on running away again, were you?"

"You know me well enough, sis. I was always good at hide and seek." He glanced either side of her, while she sneered for Xeno to stop struggling before she broke their neck.

The pinned drake did just that, going stiff as a board, before copping her form.

"Okay, but..." The imitation of Violet put on an innocent face. "You wouldn't kill yourself, would you?"

She huffed and rolled her eyes yet didn't take her focus off her brother as the two guards they'd tossed into the water crawled out to her left. The female dragged her companion, as he coughed and retched on water. Another two soldiers landed behind him, rocking the bridge more as he clutched his stolen gauntlet close.

"Just give up, Sanguine, come home with me and this can all be over," Violet declared, the plea in her voice not too well masked, he knew her too well. "I don't want this and neither do you."

"You fight pretty hard for someone who doesn't want it," he countered, noting Xeno wince every time the guards disrupted the water. "Chased me all the way out here, for what?

What did they say about disturbing the water? We've done enough of that already. He inwardly noted, catching a shimmer of something big shuddering across the lake in the corner of his eye. Maybe there's still a way out.

"Because it's what Father ordered me to do, you know that!" she insisted with a stomp of one of her forepaws, causing Xeno to wince once more. "It's not like you're any better off running away like this. I find you here in a sewer with the likes of this!"

"Actually, it's a..." She cut Xeno off before they could gasp the word hive as Sanguine's ears caught the sound of water shifting. "Okay... Okay... But you should really keep it down in here."

"They're right," Sanguine added, glancing at the pinned drake. "You don't want to disturb the water.

He shot them a wink, and Xeno looked perplexed for a split second before a surge of water shifted under the bridge, lifting the lake into a vast hump that parted the wood like butter. The rope went taut, and seizing the moment, Sanguine ran the clawed gauntlet over the strained fibers, cutting them with a sharp snap. Denied the support on one side, the whole structure gave way, sending him sprawling toward his sister, and the soldiers at his back into the murky depths along with the huge monster.

The two soaked vespers that had barely just crawled out of the water were pulled back in by a set of writhing tendrils, while the beaked maw of some kind of monstrous, purple sea serpent loomed to gobble up the second pair of soldiers. Violet balked, backing away slightly as Sanguine threw the gauntlet right at her face. It harmlessly bounced off her helmet with a reverberating clang, the sound lost to a storm of splashing water as the sea beast devoured its prey.

Yet it had all been enough to get her off Xeno, and the moment he seized the drake in his foreclaws he asked urgently.

"That swimming form, take it, now!" The drake looked stunned horns to tail as they stammered.

"You want to go back into the water, are you crazy!?" Sanguine gave them no time to argue, sure his sister wouldn't follow them into the lake as he tossed Xeno in.

There was a flash, and the dark aquatic form appeared. He leapt at their slimy spine like they were a life raft, clutching tight.

"Okay, go swim, for the exit!" he called, and as if driven by pure panicked instinct Xeno darted and weaved around the coiling mass of the monster.

Sanguine was sucked underwater in a swarm of bubbles, catching blurred glimpses of purple tentacles and a beady yellow eye. Xeno darted through the knot of one sucker-lined tendril before it could snag them, surging back to the surface seconds later.

Sanguine gasped hard, gulping in more air than his lungs could take before the dazzling light of the exit stunned his nocturnal eyes. He lifted a forepaw to cover his face, seconds before Xeno dove again, then the water disappeared altogether. He registered the change only when Xeno's form shifted to one with wings. The sensation of changefire under him was hot and tingly, yet so was Xeno's struggling.

"Did I forget to mention the drop?" the shapeshifter asked, beating their wings hard as Sanguine realized they'd been shot out from a waterfall high in the cliffs of the river canyon. "You're heavy!"

They forgot to mention that too, of course! The prince inwardly screamed, yet the pair of them were plummeting long before he could take to the air himself.