{"sf1_id":760293,"sf2_id":null,"title":"Rakurá Chronicles- To Hunt a Mate","author":"Cheetahs","words":10835,"posted_at":"2014-09-24T20:41:00.000Z","tags":["Action","Adventure","Anatomically Correct","Character Development","Clean","Dragon","Dragoness","Fantasy","Female","Feral","Fighting","Heat","Love","M/F","Magic","Male","No-Yiff","Non-anthro","Plot Development","Realistic","Sacrifice","Scales","Suggestive","War","affection","fight","nuzzling","wings"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/760293-rakura-chronicles-to-hunt-a-mate","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/view/760293","image_url":"https://www.sofurryfiles.com/std/thumb?page=760293\u0026ext=.jpg","description":"After years of fruitless searching, a dragoness finally tracks down her mate to a desolate and dreadful world called Earth.","content":"Sequel is out here This is the first part of a mini series done for the fabulous  Waldesschwinge A while ago we talked about his awesome characters, and he decided to have a little story depicting a struggle to find one's mate. The Rakura chronicles will take place in  Waldesschwinge's universe, a place filled with magic, dragons, phoenixes, and plenty more creatures and worlds to explore! In this installment, Qyr'Zyel, one of the dragon Guardians of her world, travels to Earth to save her mate from the clutches of the humans. Trapped in a foreign world and a similarly foreign body, all he can do is wait for the rescue to arrive. Qyr encounters foreign and dreadful enemies along the way, but also discovers an unlikely ally. Will they succeed in rescuing their kin? Read and find out! There is a lot of plot and substance behind this story, along with fighting and tender moments. Give it a go, and I'm sure you'll enjoy it.Character ref sheets:Ref Sheet for Qyr--\u003e http://rykaran.deviantart.com/art/Qyr-ziyel-Reference-Sheet-by-Drakaina-Queen-351621972Ref sheet for Arjirr--\u003e http://rykaran.deviantart.com/art/Arjirr-reference... If the story is to your satisfaction, please consider the following: Fav if you read itVote if you liked itComment if you're feeling awesome***Qyr'Zyel, Guardian of the Skies and Talon of Vengeance\nagainst those who threatened life crashed against the treeline like a youthful\nhatchling. She tucked her pale wings close to her side and snarled as too many\nbranches scraped and broke in her wake. These fir trees were tall and strong,\nand their embrace hard and unrelenting. They slammed their hard forms against\nher whole frame like boulders, throwing her descent into a chaotic dance until\nshe finally met the soothing embrace of the ground.Qyr remained there, breathing hard through her half opened\nmaw. Her limbs hurt too much to shift under her aching bulk, and her wings\nacquired too many scrapes to count. She flared them, tried to flap a few times,\nthen growled through bared teeth. Her joints felt tender and stiff, and the\nwounds throbbed with renewed intensity. It was curious how nature could fight\nback against those who broke its natural orders. Qyr was a guardian of the\nskies. Her broad wings and leaf shaped tail allowed her to glide upon the\ncurrents without any effort. She could sail through the skies day after day\nwithout tasting injury or fatigue, but not here. She challenged the forest, and\nthe trees fought back. But she had been through worse, and her quest couldn't wait.\nWith a determined roar, Qyr found the ground under each of her clawed paws and\npushed. Her muscular limbs quivered under the strain of fatigue. Throbbing pain\ntested her muscles under the impenetrable protection of her amber scales. She\nwas tempted to crash back and just rest until she recovered.But Qyr did not give up. She rose until her head stood\nproudly above a few broken branches. Her wings no longer drooped on either\nside, but tucked on either side of her flaming scales, complimenting the brown\ntongues of flame running all the way towards the pale tail tip. She flicked\nthat too, testing the mobility with a few swishes. Qyr allowed another soft growl to escape her. Of course that\nhurt. Too few muscles in her body felt as they should after piercing the veil\nbetween realms. Traveling between worlds sapped a portion of the traveler's\nstrength and numbed their senses until they readjusted to the particularities\nof the new world. Qyr had it easy. Earth felt the same as her own home world.\nSimilar gravity, friendly skies, and trees as tough as she remembered during\nher life as a hatchling. Yet at the same time, something felt...odd. She felt\npain in the distance. The earth and its very inhabitants cried out their ache.The dragoness brushed the strange feeling with a shake of\nher horned head. She had more urgent worries to ponder upon. Twisting her\nserpentine neck, she inspected her wings, one at a time. Rivulets of indigo\nblood trailed across the flame touched underside of her tan membrane. She\nlicked them quickly, ignoring the meager pain they produced. Her main concern\nstood with Vharyias.It had been like that for more than she wanted to admit. Qyr\nbrought her tail around, cleaned her tip with a few tongue strokes for good\nmeasure, then made her way between the trees. The uneven ground tripped her\npaws, and portions of the forest were too thick to cross. Qyr had to take\ndetours, slinking wherever her great bulk allowed. The proud trees made for a\nslow progress for a dragoness of her size. Qyr restrained her irritation\nthough. It was unfair to lash out at the forest for standing in her way. She kept shuffling through the vegetation despite pain,\nfatigue, and her own impatience. Every step she took and every heartbeat inside\nher chest reminded her of Vharyias. He was here. She felt the spark of his\npresence right before the forest swallowed her. Quickening her strides, Qyr\ncrouched between two trees and finally emerged at the edge of a cliff.A whole valley stretched before her, lush as any forest from\nher home world. She padded closer to the edge and took in the cold breeze of\nthe evening. Pine leaves mixed with the fragrance of wilderness, traveling\ninside her flaring nostrils. There were many animals here, with scents as\ndiverse as a dragon's scales. Qyr blinked. When was the last time she ate? When\nwas the last time she rested? Answers avoided her like the sun hidden behind an\nuneven patch of fiery clouds. She felt the warmth on her scales, soft and\nuncertain like her own thoughts. \"But he is here,\" Qyr snarled, scratching the bare rock with\nher claws. \"Nothing else matters now.\"With a roar, the dragoness leaped into the air. She beat her\nwings thrice, thrusting herself upwards. She endured the biting wind and her\nown throbbing wounds until she looked like a fireball inside the sun's embrace.\nQyr flapped again and again until she found herself above the thin clouds. The\nwarmth of the sun rarely felt so soothing. Its dying rays removed the chill of\nthe wind and caressed her wounds. Qyr flew upon the gentle currents of the high\nskies, absorbing the nurturing warmth. Her focus returned, and her wounds\nlessened the beat of their throbs. For the first time since the crash, she had\na firm grasp on her objective.Roaring eastward, Qyr pulled into a steep turn. Trees rolled\nunderneath her, retreating before the snowy peaks of the surrounding mountains.\nSuch a valley was perfect for raising hatchlings. The mountains offered plenty\nof shelter, and the forest below protected a most diverse wildlife. For a\nmoment, Qyr's mind drifted towards her dreams, where she and her Vharyias\ntackled and played while their hatchlings jumped on their backs like the little\npests they were. A wave of affection washed through her, and her heart\nquickened with longing. \"Focus,\" she blinked, dispersing the fuzzy feelings coursing\nbeneath her scales. She had been partaking in her fantasy much longer than\nexpected. Qyr didn't even realize the sun had set, or that night shrouded the\nland with its dark veil. She focused back on Vharyias. His presence felt weak,\nsurrounded by a cage of...something else. Qyr dove deeper inside the presence.\nShe slowly slid past the edge of the mysterious wall and explored it with a\ncareful, measured prod. It lashed back quicker than she expected. The feeling had a\nheaviness to it, a gloom dark as the skies before her. It wrapped its tendrils\naround Qyr's mind, pulling it closer inside that pit of despair. A desperate\ngrowl left her throat. What was the cause of such pain? She tried to isolate\nit, but it had no single source. It came from everywhere at once, assaulting\nher inner sight like a raging sea smashing against a cliff side. Qyr dropped from the sky. Her wings went suddenly limp, and\nshe lacked the strength to flap them. Weakness took her, along with that\nterrible cloud of darkness.Focus, Qyr shouted\ninside her mind. You control the\nemotions. Choose where to gaze. Focus.But it was slightly hard to do so when so many living beings\nwere in pain. She felt everything, from the trepidation of the tiniest insect\nto the pure terror of a hunted deer. Her inner sight saw through the feelings\nof every living being, yet never before she felt so much sorrow at once. She tried to break free and fight. The ground approached\ndangerously quick. Only a dozen heartbeats separated her from the forest below.\nQyr forced her eyes shut and lashed back with all she had. Her conviction\nflickered like a candle inside a dark cave. It provided a measure of light\nagainst a gaping abyss. She tried again. Then again, throwing eons of training\nagainst the clutching blackness.Nothing worked. The trees widened, ready to embrace her a\nsecond time. With a final effort, Qyr shut off her inner sight. The heaviness\ndispersed, allowing her wings to flare their impressive length into a gentle\ndive. Her paws touched the top of the greater fir trees, sliding against their\nleafy scruff. That was too close. She ascended back into the sky with broad,\nmeasured flaps and calmed her fight. It had been too long since she felt such\nraw emotions. If they could overpower a guardian, there was no telling what\nthey did to a normal Rakur.Qyr preferred not to dwell on such gloomy thoughts. She\nascended back above the clouds, where only wind whispered amidst the soothing\nsilence. Stars speckled the violet sky, bearing more colors than any of the\nworlds known to her. Earth was indeed an odd place. Just now she stared at a\nred blink. It had a certain rhythm to it, and unlike the rest of the blinking\nspecks of light, this one seemed to get bigger.Qyr surged towards it. Strange noise assaulted her ears,\nalong with a most unusual smell. Soon, her eyes fixed on a beast made of\nshining metal. It slid across the air just like her, only that its fixed wings\npurred with the most horrendous sound she had the displeasure of hearing. It\nlooked like nothing else she ever saw, and it was...alive! Somehow, multiple\nentities resided in the belly of the beast. With her inner sight shut, it was\nimpossible to tell what. Growling, Qyr pulled into a steep dive. She respected life,\neven if it contested and possibly threatened her domain. She hoped the\ntranquility of the earth and the forests would offer a measure of peace.It didn't. Not a single tree rose on the flat hills rolling\nahead of her. Wide fields of small vegetation surrounded the strange\nconstructions that rose from the ground as far as her eyes could see. They\nlooked like shelters. Shelters for the wicked creatures living inside. Were\nthese the apex predators of Earth? The Humans that red scaled Rakur was talking\nabout? He mentioned their viciousness more than once. Hearing was one thing,\nbut seeing their defiance angered Qyr a lot more than it should. The vegetation\nsurrounding their dens was devoid of life, same as their shelters. Further\nahead, their territory became wider and wicked, with tall, shiny constructions\nas tall as dozens of trees stacked upon one another. Qyr soared closer towards the devastation caused by these\nhumans. The earth was ravaged by fields and torn into strips to accommodate for\ntall rows of stone-like dens. She didn't need her inner sight to weight their\nintentions. Her eyes saw plenty, and her nostrils smelled the corruption with every\nbreath. Nature no longer had power here. The human stripped it away and changed\nthe balance.The female Guardian looked ahead. Gazing anywhere brought\nher unneeded pain and concern. She knew of no creature who exploited and\ndestroyed nature for its own benefits until now. \"Focus,\" she growled to herself again as the dens of the\nhumans grew taller below her. She was an offensive Guardian. Punishment was the\ntask entrusted to her along with the power and will of her kind, and her claws\nitched for combat. Breaking the breakers tempted her with each breath of\nchoking, corrupted air. Only the thought of her mate kept her from lashing out. Qyr\nopened her inner sight, catching a glimpse of Vharyias. The weakness tested her\nagain, but she warded off with a growl. Her mate was still far away, and the\nquickest way lay through these human infested lands. The dragoness beat her wings and quickly picked up speed.\nShe looked ahead, ignoring the dreary sight, the buzzing, the screeching, and\nthe choking smells assaulting her senses from below. Each beat of wings was a\nchallenge until the purring picked up. Qyr scanned her surroundings. The sound came not from the\nlights blinking below, but from the very skies. Two malformed metal birds\nheaded her way, their single wing spinning madly above their brown bodies. Qyr\nmuffled her roar and slapped the air with heavy beats of her wings. She\nascended higher into the higher skies, but the sound followed her. Now she had\na choice. Slay them as they deserved, or press on. With a seething growl, Qyr\npicked the later. Vharyias was more important than retribution.Or so she thought. Not even several wing flaps later, three\nmetal wasps broke through the clouds and passed overhead. Qyr climbed even\nhigher, beating her wings furiously. She flew where no other being ever\nfollowed her; where every gulp of air became a choking breath and every flap of\nwings a heavy burden. Yet the shrill still followed her. A look behind confirmed\nher suspicion. The wasps circled her, waiting for a moment of weakness. Qyr\nopened her inner insight and felt the same overpowering gloom. It lacked vigor\nwhen she hovered so high above the ground, allowing her to focus on the humans\ninside the wasps. She brushed her mind against theirs, seeking passage inside.\nRakura communicated through their minds. It was only fair other sentient\ncreature shared this ability. But not the humans. Not even two heartbeats later Qyr felt\ntheir selfish intentions, along with fears and doubts. They were afraid of her,\nbut also curious. Amazed even. She poked deeper into a human's mind until his\nemotions became hers. She even saw glimpses of his memories, strange and\nbizarre as they were.\"Greetings, creature. I am-\"Qyr stopped. She felt the human's fear spike, along with the\nhail of rocks it unleashed. The sound hit her like an avalanche, and the\npelting missiles passed just beneath a wing. Qyr tensed. She sensed their dark\nintentions just before she withdrew into herself.They wanted to kill her. She spun in the air, unleashing a\nbeam of concentrated light energy upon the wasps. The metal fizzled and melted,\nthen exploded in a display of orange flames. The other two surged forward, but\nthey were slower than Qyr's beam. The blinding light caressed and popped their\nhides, ending the humans inside along with them. For a Guardian whose purpose was to protect life, taking it\nfelt slightly sickening. Qyr roared her anger and ignored the wingless birds\nthat followed her. They were slower, and their vertical spinning wing allowed\nfor lesser mobility. She flew out of the range of their missiles, then dove\nback down for a gulp of rich air. She took four, then looked right, towards the\nquickest metal wasps she had ever seen. They were completely black, with a\nsharp design to match their wickedness. Qyr flew away. She flew fast, yet even her greatest speed\nwas no match for these constructions. They unleashed their own breaths upon\nher, pelting her scales with a hailstorm of tiny rocks. They scrapped against\nher tough scales, but pierced her wings right through. Hissing in pain, Qyr\nlooked back. Something descended from their bellies. Something that burned and\nflew towards her faster than she flapped her wings. She jerked back, took a\ndeep breath, and unleashed the last remaining energy left within her maw. The\ndispersing warmth superheated the air, popping the missiles with a loud bang. A\nwasp fell from the sky, but the other two merely readjusted their flying path,\ncoming on either of Qyr's side. The dragoness dove. She dropped until she met the tall\ndwellings of the humans and curved her flight path between the tight passages.\nFliers usually had problems inside a forest, but not these wasps. Whenever she\nturned, they turned, puncturing her exposed wing in a dozen places. Qyr roared\nin pain. She felt unreasonably fatigued. Solar breath took a large toll, and\nduring night she had no means to regenerate her reserves. After she rounded a\ntall den, Qyr turned around, caught one of the wasps from behind and sunk all\nher claws into its hide. Nothing happened. They slid and screeched while the\nwasp still roared and fired. Qyr disengaged, then slammed her weight back on\ntop of the black metal beast. That threw it off its flight path, sending it\nstraight into the ground. Qyr flapped away from the explosion. Only one remained. Or a dozen. Her hearing was submitted to a raging chorus of unearthly\nsounds. She looked left, then right, towards the cluster of birds and wasps\nheading from all sides. How could there be so many? A twinge of fear slithered\nacross Qyr's spine. These humans were a reasonable match for her. If they could\ndestroy nature, maybe they could even-She didn't want to think about that. Qyr fled back into the\ndark sky, thinking of a way out. These beasts had the advantage of speed. They\nalso had powerful breath, explosive balls of flame, and a hide as tough as her\nscales. She stood no chance against them, injured and spent as she was. For the\nfirst time in her life, Qyr had to flee.She beat her injured wings hard, ignoring the pain\nblossoming throughout her punctured membrane. Every time she looked back, the\nconstructs approached. They were close enough now, and their barrage erupted\nwith the might of a rock fall. Qyr pulled into another dive, increasing her\nspeed. The beasts did too, following her every maneuver. Most of their stones\nmissed, but Qyr caught sight of multiple sparks of light erupting from below,\naiming right at her. Humans had defenses on the ground too!That sealed her chances for a quick escape. Qyr roared out\nher anger and desperation. Her quest failed. She would die and crash on the\ncold ground of a ravaged world, with the warmth of a mate far removed from her\nlifeless body. She thought of Vharyias. It had been so long since she glimpsed\nhis beautiful scales or shared the warmth of his body. Thinking he would remain\ntrapped in his human shell in this den of despair hurt more than her inability\nto leave a legacy behind. To mate and produce hatchlings.Qyr whirled around towards the metal beasts and spread her\npaws. She deserved to perish in a fight, like any proper guardian. She flapped\nonce, twice, then froze mid-air as another roar answered her. The surrounding\nclouds suddenly crackled with energy, and spears of light surrounded and\npierced the wasps. They exploded, one by one, crashing into the ground in a flaming\nbang of scraps and debris.Qyr blinked. Her eyes watered, unaccustomed to the intense\nlight. A presence emerged from a thundering cloud. It had two wings, four legs,\nand flew straight towards her. A dragon?  His hide still crackled with arcs of\nlightning, and his golden eyes glowed menacingly in the surrounding darkness.\"You managed to stir quite a horde,\" the dragon said,\ngliding closer to Qyr.She hovered in place, still shocked by the outcome. She\nnever expected another Rakur to save her, especially not an ordinary one such\nas Arjirr. Nevertheless, she was thankful for his presence. She allowed him to\nsail within her reach and touch her neck with the tip of his snout. Once she\nfelt his warm breath upon her trembling scales, Qyr lashed out and gripped his\nsmaller body with all of her fours. The male growled his surprise, but Qyr quickly silenced him\nwith a firm push under his jaw. \"Were you expecting me, Arjirr?\" she asked, nibbling around\nhis neck while they both fell in a heap of paws and wings.\"No,\" he growled again, earning another shove. \"I just-\" he\nsnapped at her, flicking his forked tongue.Qyr caught it across her cheek as she rubbed against the\nmale's head. She was overjoyed to feel and smell one of her own after facing\ncertain death.\"You may talk now,\" the female hissed softly.\"I'll talk when we're flying.\"\"We're flying now.\"\"Falling,\" Arjirr corrected, beating his wings suggestively.\"We have a bit more time,\" Qyr growled, squeezing him harder\nagainst her chest. Arjirr kicked and flapped his wings uselessly. He was a\nmorose and solitary male, preferring the company of no one in particular. \"We should...\"\"Grrawr, maybe you're right,\" Qyr disentangled herself from\nthe desperate male. They both flapped their wings hard and flew back inside the\ncover of clouds. It felt rather drab to be alone again. Arjirr was enticingly\nwarm, and fluffy too! Qyr nipped at his forked tail, earning a displeased\ngrowl.\"I never took you for the squeamish type.\"\"Stumbling upon a Guardian just before she got killed jolts\none's awareness,\" the male replied. \"What madness brought you on Earth?\"\"What brought you?\" Qyr asked, emerging on his right. Arjirr looked at her, expecting another hatchling-like\nassault. \"Boredom,\" he admitted with a bow of his head. \"My territory lacks any\nsort of challenge.\"\"And those monsters below provide what you seek?\" Qyr\nsnarled.\"Sometimes. I have discovered and exposed many of their\nweaknesses.\"That surprised her. Qyr knew of no other Rakur who visited\nEarth. It was still a vastly unknown world, and for good reasons. \"What are you planning, Arjirr?\" She asked, squinting her\ncrimson eyes.\"Nothing,\" he matched her gaze. \"Nothing until now. Your\npresence here can change that, of course.\"Qyr opened her maw, licked her snout once when words failed\nto travel along her tongue, then spoke. \"I'm here for my mate.\"\"Vharyias? Isn't he-\"\"No,\" she snapped her jaws before he could say that dreadful\nword. \"I followed his presence all the way here. He's trapped in this torn\nworld, and I am going to save him.\"\"A mighty goal, fit for a proper huntress,\" Arjirr smiled.Was that sarcasm? Qyr found out when one of his wings\nslapped her left. Throbbing pain flared across her punctured membrane, forcing\na painful hiss out of Qyr's throat. \"Mock me again, and we'll see who laughs last.\"\"I am almost tempted to be scared,\" Arjirr took the lead.\n\"But even I know better than fighting a female, least an injured one.\"\"You do have sense under this fuzz of yours!\" Qyr pawed at\nhis tail. He flung it to the side, catching her on the neck.\"I have a lot more than that,\" he roared and surged forth. Qyr followed. He wasn't about to let a male get the better\nof her, especially not one so cocky. Arjirr led her back in the wilderness,\nenduring all manners of pestering. His fuzzy white fluff was thoroughly ruffled\nand his wings acquired a few scratches of their own before he touched the\nground. They were in a small forest a good number of wing beats away from the\nnearest clutch of human nests. Qyr inhaled the fresh air. It felt good to smell the scent\nof leaves and feel the soft earth underneath her paws.\"It's always charming how Guardians express their\ngratitude,\" Arjirr settled on his belly, coiling his great tail around a tree. Qyr settled beside him, snuggling under his wing. \"We have a\nsmooth touch, fluffy Arjirr,\" she empathized that with a soft touch against his\nfurred shoulder.He turned his head around and pointed at a particularly deep\ngash. \"Smooth indeed! Next time I won't even save you.\"Qyr licked the wound, shutting Arjirr's maw.\"What makes you\nthink I'll need saving?\"He was faster than she anticipated. His wing pushed\nunderneath hers and lifted it to allow his tongue to slide inside a puncture.\"This,\" he flicked his tongue back inside his maw. \"It's\nwide enough for even my claws to pass through!\"Qyr hissed her irritation. \"Just a scratch. It will heal.\"\"With my help, yes.\" She was preparing a comeback when the male's tongue\nreturned, sliding against her stinging flesh with a slow and careful caress.\nQyr's words died inside her rumbling throat. That felt...good. Better than she\nanticipated. Her eyelids slowly closed as her head drifted closer to Arjirr's\nchest.He brought his head back, bumping against one of Qyr's many\ncurved horns.\"Don't stop,\" the dragoness growled softly. \"Please...\"An uncomfortable growl left his throat. Qyr never expected\nhim to be shy! She put one of her paws on top of his and rubbed her cheek\nagainst his chest, delighting in the radiating warmth. \"I...you can- I mean...\"\"I don't want to know what you mean,\" Qyr said silently as\nshe slowly ascended to his neck. Arjirr shuddered. His wings quivered before\none of them settled protectively around Qyr. His tongue returned, resuming that\ndelightful treatment. Qyr lost herself in the softness of his touch. She slid\nalong his scales, and up...and up...until the top of her snout met one of his\ncurving horns. Arjirr paid no heed to her caress. He licked a particularly\npainful wound, washing the blood away with quick prods of his forked tongue.Qyr couldn't care less about the pain. She pushed her head\npast his horns and coiled her own serpentine neck around Arjirr. He was completely\nengrossed in his task, seeking out punctures and cleaning them with trained\nexpertise. Qyr appreciated that. She appreciated a lot more than she should.\nHer own tongue poked out of her maw, sliding across Arjirr's cheek with a long,\nwet lick. He drew back with a sudden jerk, growling his surprise. Qyr\nblinked. She hasn't realized what she did until both dragons stared at each\nother with obvious surprise.\"W-was that...?\"\"Your reward? Yes!\" Qyr answered rather awkwardly. \"I can't have\nyou do all the licking while I wait and stare like a lazy hatchling.\" \"You did more than that,\" he looked elsewhere to avoid her\ngaze.\"Like what?\" He didn't reply immediately. Instead, he looked at Qyr\nagain, then rubbed his snout under her chin. \"You did this...\" he slid across her\nneck, nuzzling into her chest. \"And this, and it felt...\" he growled\nuncertainly. \"I don't know how it felt, Qyr. I never had a mate to call my\nown.\"Qyr thoroughly enjoyed his attention. She had been lonely\nfor far too long. For a few blissful moments, she remembered how warm the touch\nof a mate felt. How it stirred her instincts, and how it quickened her blood.\nShe looked at Arjirr, wanting to nuzzle and comfort him. He deserved to have\nthat cold hide of his warmed by a mate, and she couldn't be the one.With great reluctance, Qyr pulled away, untangling her\nwounded wing from his. \"It's never too late to claim one, Arjirr. Me and\nVharyias...we've been apart for a very long time.\" \"So I heard,\" the male gave her an uncertain glimpse and licked\nbetween the toes of a fore paw. \"From who?\"\"A red eyed male with black scales and crimson wings,\"\nArjirr said between licks. \"He had a few things to say about Earth.\"\"He mentioned Vharyias too!\" Qyr shot on her fours, wings\ntrembling with excitement. \"He told me he's here on Earth, but I have no\nprecise location.\"\"I can help,\" the fuzzy male perked his head. \"I spent\nenough time here to know my way around.\"\"Did you happen upon my mate?\"\"One out of millions?\" he growled mirthfully. \"Slim chance\nfor that to happen. I lack that sight within sight of yours.\"Qyr looked at the ground. She wasn't eager to open herself\nup to that pain again. \"I don't want to look,\" she settled herself in front of\nArjirr and brought her tail around a forepaw. \"It will give us a direction,\" the male suggested.\"Not now,\" Qyr shook her head. \"I am quite spent as it is\nand...\" Qyr hesitated for a moment. \"I had enough coldness coming from these\nhumans.\"Arjirr cocked his head. \"Is it that bad?\"\"Worse than you can imagine,\" Qyr shook her head. \"They\nkill, change and destroy everything. Nature is powerless against their beasts\nand tools. Even I was powerless to defend myself!\" she growled her irritation.Arjirr looked at her, stunned. For a couple of heartbeats,\nboth dragons looked at each other, with only their breaths disturbing the song\nof the crickets. \"It...it happens when you travel between the worlds.\"Qyr flapped her wings and perked her head. \"How do you know\nI was weakened?\"Arjirr uncoiled his tail and started to groom his luxurious\npatch of fluff. Qyr hissed and grabbed one of his paws between her jaws. \"You will tell me,\" she slinked her tongue underneath the\nrough pads. \"Or you'll experience a most annoying tickling.\"All dragons hated that. Arjirr's eyes widened and his other\npaw pushed Qyr's neck away while his own teeth worked around Qyr's jaws. She\nflicker her tongue underneath his toes, summoning a desperate growl from the\nmale's spasming throat. \"I-ll...I will-\"She stopped.\"I followed your scent,\" he admitted as he retrieved his\npaw. \"But not because I wanted to...enjoy your company. More like, protect you.\nProtect you from the perils of humans.\"He sounded more unconvincing than a hatchling. Qyr bowed her\nhead, accepting his words nonetheless. Rakura followed trail scents all the\ntime. Only during mating season they stalked one another, waiting for the\ndesired mate to make the move. Arjirr knew about Vharyias, there was no doubt\nabout that, yet...was concern his only reason?\"Tell me more about these humans,\" Qyr demanded, head\nvanishing underneath a wing. \"How they live, how they fight, how we\ncan...incapacitate them,\" she avoided the word 'destroy' even if that was the\nrightful punishment for their atrocities. Arjirr waited a moment, then spoke. \"Humans are odd. They\nhave many flaws and shortages complemented only through their crafts. You have\nseen their dens and machines.\"\"I did, yes,\" Qyr answered, somewhat distracted. She lifted\none of her flanks and pushed the tip of her snout against the base of her tail,\ninhaling the scents through flared nostrils.\"Those are their greatest strength,\" Arjirr said. \"They\nbuild and change the world to suit their needs. Electricity is a great force to\nuse against them. It...\"The male's words vanished under the grip of primal\ninstincts. Qyr pulled her head back, almost choking under the pungent assault\nof her own scents. The fertility traveled deep inside her nostrils, whispering\nof her desire to mate. \"Should I continue?\" \"Y-yes you may,\" Qyr licked her nose, then rubbed it against\nthe scales of a fore paw to rub off the intense aroma.\"Is there another wound you're hiding?\" Arjirr extended his\nserpentine neck.\"Don't-\"Too late. His nostrils twitched, inhaling a part of that\nintense fragrance. The male blinked two times, then exposed his fangs, tasting\nthe potent aroma. \"Oh dear,\" Qyr rubbed his snout with the leafy tip of her\ntail. Strange things happened with males that acquired samples of that\nparticular scent. Arjirr seemed eerily calm though. His snarl subsided, and he\nvigorously shook his head off that dangerous scent. \"My fault,\" Qyr crawled away with an amused growl.\"Yes...\" Arjirr said. \"Tempting a lone male like that when\nyour own mate is away should be punishable by tickling!\"Qyr got pounced before she realized what happened. The\nlighter male had the advantage. He trapped her underneath his muscular paws,\nbut Qyr was the bigger female. With a powerful shove of her paws, she sent the\nmale stumbling back and seized the opportunity for her own pounce. \"You win,\" Arjirr said, sliding the claws of his forepaws\nalong Qyr's shoulders.\"What do I get?\" she released his neck and soothed the bite\nwith several licks and nuzzles.\"Mrrrr, don't know,\" Arjirr rumbled. \"You pick.\"Qyr looked into his eyes. \"Cuddles.\"Arjirr kicked her off, but to no avail. His position did not\nallow great leverage. He retaliated too, but Qyr easily fended off his feeble\nstrikes. \"I'm not changing my mind,\" she insisted.The male dropped his head on the grass. \"Cuddles then...you\nvile temptress.\" He added once Qyr removed herself from his trapped bulk.\"I heard that.\"\"Intended!\" Arjirr answered. Qyr lifted a wing, welcoming the male with eager nuzzling\nand a warm, draped wing. Spending a cold night in the company of her kin\ncertainly made her stay on Earth a lot more bearable. She fell asleep quickly,\nthinking of Vharyias before her thoughts turned to hatchlings and mating. Qyr woke to the scent of blood and a soft, caressing warmth.\nIt slid along her snout, stopping only when it reached the snowy horns\ndecorating the top of her head.\"Vhari...\" she murmured softly.The warmth paused, then slowly vanished. \"I am disheartened\nto disappoint, Brightness,\" a gentle growl caressed Qyr's ears. It was deeper,\nslightly more different than her mate's calm rumble.\"What?\" Qyr lazily opened her eyes. The azure male drew his\nhead back and slid his tongue back inside its toothy prison.\"I'm not him, but we may have thought alike in this regard.\"\"What regard?\" Qyr yawned lazily.Arjirr crawled back a few steps to reveal the impressive\nbulk of a dead cow. \"This one,\" he traced his lengthy tongue over its ravaged\nneck.Qyr licked her snout. She hadn't eaten meat in a while. The\nsun sustained her and curved her appetite for meat and meager nourishments.\nEnding a creature's life for her own benefit felt slightly selfish when other,\nmore appropriate means fit her status as a Guardian of Life.\"I can't,\" Qyr shook her head.\"You can,\" Arjirr pawed at her head. Drowsiness made her\nslow, and Arjirr managed quite a good grip behind her horns. Qyr growled as her\nsnout met the cow's hard back. She rolled to the side and caught the following\nswipe between her jaws. Arjirr hissed. The pressure around his paw gave hint to\nQyr's intentions. \"It was suffering, Qyr. Death was a mercy compared to the\nmockery of a life these animals are forced to endure.\"Qyr released his captive foot. He licked it with two broad\ntongue strokes, then lessened the distance between them. His intentions were\ntrue. She had no need of her inner sight to feel the genuine concern in his\neyes or the affection shared between their rubbing scales. \"I made a mistake for telling you my weakness.\"Arjirr rumbled happily as he squeezed under Qyr's upraised\nwing. \"A proper term for a fierce huntress.\"\"One you continue to exploit.\"\"Only because you allow me to,\" the male rubbed his snout\nalong her neck. There was a certain rhythm to his caress, and his inquisitive\nsniffs hinted at deeper implications. Qyr didn't mind. She liked the contact with her own kin, and\nArjirr's breath made for a delightful caress. \nShe pushed back, leaning into the soft rubbing. \"Are we feasting or...doing something else?\"Arjirr pulled back with a curt growl. That question\ndefinitely took him by surprise. \"Feasting, definitely. But you know a soft\ntouch works up an appetite.\"\"I know now,\" Qyr rumbled in acknowledgement. She slid one\nof her forepaws along Arjirr's neck, surprising the male with her gentle touch.\nHe closed his eyes, enjoying the tantalizing caress.\"And since this is your prey...\" Qyr flexed her fingers behind\nArjirr's horns. \"It is only fit you feast first.\"The male was still lost in his bliss when his head was\nviolently pushed into the tough carcass. He growled and snapped, shaking off\nthe devious paw. \"Point made,\" he said curtly before ripping the tough hide\napart with his claws. He lapped the blood, then shot Qyr a suggestive glance.\"No.\"\"I insist,\" he slapped his tail on one of her flanks.Qyr returned the favor twice harder. Her tail lacked weight\nbehind it, but she still summoned an audible hiss from the resilient male.\"I insist harder,\" Arjirr pinned her tail. \"Those wounds\nwill heal faster with proper nourishment.\"\"I can forage-\"\"Can't,\" the male interrupted. \"Real forests are scarce and\nfew in between human settlements, and chances of finding your berries even\nslimmer.\"\"I mentioned nothing about berries!\" Qyr snapped her jaws.\"Berries, apples, melons, it's all the same,\" Arjirr said with\na flap of his wings. \"Humans changed everything. What you saw yesterday is only\na single scale on a Crystalisk's hide.\"Qyr shook her head. \"I'm still not eating a cold corpse\nraised by those humans.\"\"Even if that cold corpse will help you save Vharyias?\"That was a sharp maneuver. Qyr opened her maw, but only a\ngrowl left her throat. Yesterday's failure returned to her. All the panic she\nfelt, the powerless, and the pain and suffering of every living being harmed by\nthe humans turned into bitter, seething anger. Qyr lived long enough to purge\nthe taint of such dangerous emotions from her thoughts, but she wasn't\nimpervious to them. Her growl deepened and became jagged, turning into a full\nblown roar. She pushed Arjirr's approaching head with a swipe and tore into the\nsucculent flesh. Arjirr did the same. They ate without any words or touch\nshared between them.\"Forgive my mistake,\" Arjirr said, clogged blood dripping\nfrom his soaked maw. \"It's behind me,\" Qyr replied curtly, licking her oozing\nsnout. \"Besides, this meat is delicious.\"\"Yet the taste of my words remains bitter.\"Qyr looked at him, then plunged back into the ribcage to\nmunch on the soft organs. \"You worry for nothing.\"\"I worry for you!\" he growled, bumping his snout into Qyr's.\nHis eyes widened, and he pulled back like a startled hatchling. \"And- and for me. And Vharyias,\" he quickly added. \"We are\npowerful, but not immortal, Qyr. If we go against the full might of the humans\nunprepared...\"\"What can happen?\"\"We'll die.\"Qyr remained unconvinced. She bared her fangs, snarling. \"They\nwill be the ones quivering before the light of retribution.\" \"In due time.\"The short debate ended in complete silence. Both dragons\nbusied their mouths with meat until they are their fill. Once the carcass has\nbeen reduced to bones and a few scraps of meat, they retreated near the cluster\nof trees. They each settled a tail's length from each other, grooming\nthemselves until Arjirr approached...and approached...slinking forward each time\nQyr's gaze drooped on a forepaw. His touch surprised her. He slid his tongue under her chin,\nwashing away all the mess from an area infuriatingly difficult to reach. Qyr\ngrowled her gratitude. She too joined in the mutual grooming, cleaning Arjirr's\nscales with meticulous strokes of her tongue. It had been long since she\nengaged in such sensual contact. Too long. Each stroke ignited forgotten warmth\ninside her. Arjirr's ice-like scales sparkled beautifully in the sunlight, and\nhis unique scent caressed her nostrils in the same manner his snout caressed\nher neck.Qyr lost herself in the surrounding warmth. Her scales\nitched with a need for deeper affection. She slid her head along Arjirr's neck\nand cupped his jaw between her maw. A soft, needy moan escaped her, teeth\ngently grazing the sensitive scales surrounding his lips. Arjirr said nothing.\nHe shook her off gently, then assaulted her own neck with a flurry of licks and\nsoft bites. Such displays of affection were often reserved for siblings\nor mates, yet it was not uncommon for two dragons to engage in a healthier,\nmore lustful display. Arjirr descended, treating her chest and her paws before\nslithering under her belly. Qyr enjoyed every touch, every lick, and every nip. She opened\nher maw, breathing in the cold air. Her whole form felt caressed by fire, and\nthe serpent slithering towards her lower belly rubbed her in all the right\nplaces. Qyr tensed. She lifted a hind paw, claws gripping one another as a jolt\nof pleasure raced through her form. With a whimpering growl, she dropped on her\nside. Her free paw pushed the presence away, but it kept returning, pushing\nwarm gusts of air above her shuddering sex. Qyr felt unreasonably weak. Her\nbody gave up, wanting to be taken by a male.\"Ar-arjirr,\" she hissed, slapping her tail on his neck. He seemed to pay attention before his tongue poked between\nhis lips. It flicked at her sex, failing to reach its mark.Qyr kicked him again and again, yet her strength betrayed\nher. Claws refused to clench around his snout, trembling uselessly each time he\napproached her exposed sex. Qyr snapped her jaws, but to no avail. A rush of\npleasure made her stiff as the ground below her. Arjirr licked her once, twice,\ntasting her essence upon his silky tongue. His fourth lick was the deepest. Qyr\nthrew her head back, roaring her lust as several squirts of liquid pleasure\noozed below her shivering tail. Her fire shot forth, spluttering like a warm\nblanket on the ground and even on top of a clenching hind paw. Arjirr pulled back. His eyes were half closed, and his\nenraged roar overtaken by lust. He analyzed the female's fertility inside his\nnostrils, temporarily stunned by such a sweet discovery. Qyr shuffled on her fours. She still felt terribly weak, but\nher premature release washed away a fragment of the fire raging within her. She\nfound the ground under her trembling limbs and leaped awkwardly. Arjirr barely\nput up a fight. He fell on his side, with Qyr on top of him. He looked at her,\nthen licked her snout with quick, lustful dabs of his tongue.Qyr forced her instincts into submission and clamped her\njaws around the male's neck. She pressed harder, and harder, until Arjirr\ngrowled in pain. Qyr felt that terrible sting as her own. Inflicting harm upon\nArjirr was sickening when his touch was always so gentle and considerate. \"Y-you can stop now,\" the male said between chokes. Relief washed over Qyr. \"Good. I didn't want to hold you a\nheartbeat longer.\" She withdrew the sharp clutch of her teeth and licked around\nthe oozing punctures. \"I don't think that's considerate after-\"\"It will not happen again,\" Qyr said, jumping off the pinned\nmale. \"I have greater control after-\"\"Please don't say it,\" Arjirr hid his head underneath a\nwing. \"You sound like a Rakk pinched your tail.\"\"Worse,\" he slapped his tail and lifted his wing to reveal a\npair of blazing golden eyes. \"I licked you and...even caught your taste...\"\"Many others did,\" Qyr said.\"Irrelevant. You have a mate, and we both knew it. What\nhappened was a....a...\"\"A lapse,\" Qyr strode in quickly and raised the male's head\nwith her own. \"It happens, Arjirr. Instincts are what define us too. We\nshouldn't be too quick to lay blame when their workings take a stray path.\"\"You're right,\" Arjirr said softly. \"I just missed another's\ntouch for a bit too long.\"\"That goes for both of us,\" Qyr pushed herself closer and\nsnuggled comfortably under Arjirr's wing. \"Now, I believe you had some plans to\nshare with me.\"\"Aside from mating?\"They both shared a rumbling laughter and spent a few good\nmoments piled into each other before taking to the skies. Mating still lingered\nin Qyr's mind, and her nether lips still twitched in remembrance of that silky\ntongue thrust. Why did it feel so good?Qyr dispersed her lustful thoughts with a quick dive. She\ndanced around Arjirr, enticing him in a sky race. Few things competed with the\nraw excitement of competition. Rakura loved to prove themselves, and Qyr was no\nexception. She flapped her punctured wings quickly, searching for the favorable\ncurrents of the high skies. That's when Arjirr rammed into her. With a roar, she threw\nherself against him. He swooped in a half circle then banked right, twisting\nupon the currents. Qyr engaged him there, quickly pulling her paws back when a\nsurge of electricity stung her sensitive pads. How unfair! She still surged\nforward for a second assault, diving under the male. Arjirr swerved to the\nside, and Qyr followed. She waited until he steadied himself, then gripped him\nlike a huge, scaly prey. \"I thought this was a race,\" Arjirr's roar cut when his\nthroat found itself between Qyr's jaws.\"Rules changed.\"He kicked at her, and both dragons disentangled long before\nthey met the ground. Arjirr roared another challenge, but Qyr was pleased to\njust sail above the clouds and absorb the rich warmth of the morning sun.\nArjirr flew by her side, throwing her the occasional glance.\"How are your wings?\" \"Better,\" Qyr flapped them once. \"Still sting a bit.\"\"Opening your inner sight will sting a lot more.\"Qyr resisted the temptation to growl. \"I don't have to.\"\"You do. Can't hope of finding Vharyias without it.\"He had the right of it. Human cities were loud and reeked.\nThey dulled every other sense aside from her inner sight.\"The pain will become more bearable, Qyr,\" Arjirr continued.\n\"You don't have to get used to it. Just bear it a little longer.\"\"I know what I have to do.\"\"Now,\" Arjirr pulled into a steep dive.Qyr hissed her annoyance and followed him to a small human\nestablishment. Arjirr was right. The suffering lost its edge, yet this was only\na small den surrounded by vegetation. Huge cities were a different matter.\nNonetheless, Qyr took in the pain without resisting. She had to learn to detach\nherself. To sail amidst that blackened sea and flow between the heavy ripples.\nShe didn't succeed at first. That's why Arjirr led her from one settlement to the other,\neach bigger than the last over the following days. The opening of her inner\nsight proved an exhausting experience, and Arjirr's presence became a soothing\nbeacon of light. He encouraged and supported Qyr even to the point of\nannoyance.On the fifth day, she finally learned the name of Vharyias'\nprison. A gloomy cage going by the name of Opportunity stretched far and wide\nacross the sun-baked plains of the west. It was a fit name for the end of her\njourney. Qyr's scales itched with restlessness. The day passed too slow, and\nArjirr insisted  attacking under the\ncover of darkness. Qyr waited, and waited. And waited, until the sun slowly\ndisappeared between the shining towers of the humans. They rose like behemoths,\ndefying the sky itself with their impressive height. Qyr looked at them.\nGlorified sticks, holding countless humans captive inside their bellies. For a\nmoment, she thought about punishing the humans for their insolence. They\ndeclared dominion over the land and almost killed her for no feasible reason. She shook her head. Retribution could wait a bit longer. Qyr\nperked her head. Still no sign of Arjirr. She settled on the city's outskirts,\nfar enough to avoid drawing any suspicion while Arjirr scouted the city.\nSolitude felt rather boring when she tasted another's company. Qyr growled\nsoftly and busied herself with a paw. She cleaned all four, looked at the sky\nagain, then drew symbols in the grass with a claw until Arjirr landed behind.\"You took long enough,\" Qyr greeted him with a nuzzle.Arjirr brushed past her and stretched his neck towards the\ncity. \"They are getting persistent. We have little time before they realize\ntheir birds flew away for good.\"He settled near Qyr, and pointed a paw towards the highest\ntower, a thin behemoth that challenged the clouds themselves. \"Looks like a big stick,\" Qyr said nonchalantly. \"An important stick,\" Arjirr brought his tail around, twitching\nthe heavy tri-horned tip. \"My tail harnesses and enhances lightning. That stick\ndoes the same.\"\"On a much larger scale,\" the female observed.\"Precisely,\" Arjirr bowed his head. \"A blast from that tower\ncan blacken the whole city, allowing you to search Vharyias without attracting\nunwanted attention.\"Qyr rumbled an amused growl and nuzzled the male's neck. \"I\nattracted you without too much effort. The biggest pest of all.\"He rolled on his back, pawing towards the sky. \"Does the\nfair Guardian forget the humans who trapped her?\"\"I am never trapped!\"\"Looked that way from above.\"\"Then you should look harder!\" Qyr pounced that irresistibly\nexposed belly. Playing turned her thoughts away from her tasks and allowed time\nto slide much quicker. She bested Arjirr four times by the time the sky turned\ncompletely black. That's when playing turned into stalking. Both dragons kept\nto the ground, approaching the city through the vast fields of surrounding\ngreenery. Qyr trailed behind, heart pounding with apprehension. Arjirr was a\nsilly hatchling most of the time, but his demeanor turned eerily serious when\ntalking about humans. He spoke with fright of their big canons mounted on the\ncircling wall, dangerous weapons, and defense mechanisms, whatever those were.\nShe disliked how her eons of knowledge accounted for nothing on this wretched\nplace called Earth.\"How do we get past those?\" Qyr asked, itching to nibble on\nArjirr's swishing tail.\"Stealthily. The heart of the city will be crawling with-\"Qyr's heart almost leaped from her chest when four light\nbeams focused on them. A loud noise blared from the wall, and humans ran along\nthe parapets with great frenzy.\"Stay hidden,\" Arjirr hissed. A few flaps of his broad wings\ncarried him away before Qyr even breathed. The humans unleashed fire as soon as\nthey spotted him. Qyr crouched. She heard a few buzzards coming in, but her\nattention was focused on Arjirr. He spun and twisted between the spectacle of\nburning hail, then unleash a blinding wave of electricity. A good section of\nthe wall went black, and the roar of the canons stopped. Qyr leaped. She brought her wings down with great force,\njoining him on the ramparts. \"There goes our stealth,\" she sent a human off the wall with\na swish of her tail. \"We'll trade it for speed then. Follow close.\"Arjirr surged ahead, and Qyr followed. The metal wasps\nzipped ahead, trying to get a lock on them. Qyr twisted between the buildings,\npassing with sleek grace below the bridges built between them. Her eyes were\nwide open, and focus flared her senses. Everything became vivid. The whistling\nnoise of the wasps, the growl of the city, and the blinking lights that moved\nin erratic patterns around the images flashing on the side of the towers. The information overloaded her senses, and Qyr barely\navoided slamming into the sharp point of a glass building. \"Destroy them,\" Arjirr's voice roared in her mind. Qyr\nblinked. They already agreed vengeance was not their main objective. She\nprepared a reply when a force took her straight between her legs. It expanded,\nsending her through the thin glass of the opposite building. Qyr roared. Her\nwings tucked as her paws skidded along the crumbling ground. Humans screamed\naround her, running in every direction.Qyr snarled and rushed back towards the hole. Big metal\nslugs slithered along the ground, spitting big, explosive rocks in the air. \"Qyr?\"\"I got hit,\" she jumped off, wings flared.\"Bad?\"\"Barely felt it.\" Barely. Her membrane stung under fire's\npiercing lick, and her morning meal almost came out. She suppressed the nausea\nand dove straight towards the slugs, incinerating them with a superheated\nblast. Where one exploded, another took its place.Qyr kept blasting the pests, avoiding their retaliation as\nbest as she could. The buildings provided good covering against the swarm of\nmetal beasts. Three performed a loop and headed straight towards Qyr. She\nopened her maw again, unleashing a frontal heat wave. The projectiles fizzled\nand popped, and bright flames engulfed the wasps. Qyr twisted between them, keeping an eye on the central\nspire. She opened her inner eye for a heartbeat, catching a glimpse of her\nmate. \"How close are you?\"\"Reached it,\" Arjirr replied. His roar thundered across the\ncity like a storm cloud. \"Hide behind something.\"\"Now?\"\"Now!\"Qyr flew on top of a building and curled around herself. A\nblinding rush surged through the central spire, dispersing into blanket of\nfizzling electricity that expanded outwards. It passed through Qyr like a jolt,\ncutting her breath for a moment. A heartbeat later, everything stopped. The\nwailing ceased, along with the howling of the metal beasts and the spitting of\nhuman weapons. At least for a few, frenzied heartbeats. A moment later,\nseveral lights blinked in the darkness. Then a dozen. The buildings remained\ndarkened, but the machines powered back on.\"Arjirr, it didn't work. You have to-\"Her head turned towards the central spire, and the storm of\nfiery projectiles launching towards it. A heaviness washed through Qyr, making\nher limbs twitch and stumble. \"ARJIRR!\" She roared and took to the skies, destroying the\nnearby fliers with a straight beam of concentrated energy. Another pulse\nlaunched from the tower, doing little against the remaining wasps.\"Storm's frozen bite, I'll have to overload the whole grid.\"Qyr felt his rising apprehension. \"What does that mean?\"\"Destruction. Time,\" Arjirr paused. \"And all of my\nstrength.\"\"Don't,\" Qyr said quickly.\"They'll come after you unless I stop them.\"\"Don't!\"\"Find Vharyias.\" And with that, the bridge between them\ncollapsed, becoming as dark as the city. Qyr hovered in place, too numb to\nthink until stinging hail spilled over her right wing. She hissed in pain and\nturned around, incinerating the rogue wasp. It crashed on the ground, where\nmore slugs pointed their turrets at her.\"Don't die, you stupid male,\" Qyr whispered and disappeared\ninside a darkened corridor, where no fliers could follow. After several turns, she opened her inner eye. Misery\ncrashed into her like a raging blizzard, chilling her scales. Once she glimpsed\nVharyias' location, she closed it with an audible growl. The heaviness had a\nhunger to it, sapping her strength every time she gazed into it. Qyr felt like\nshe has been flying for days in the darkness when she finally reached Vharyias'\nmeager building. Serveral wasps and metal birds with vertical wings rounded\nappeared between the buildings. Qyr summoned her energy and directed it towards\nthe scythe-like claws of her front paws. Their sharpness proved ineffective\nagainst metal before, but sun energy gave them a deadly edge. Qyr flew behind\ncover. A storm of fire and metal assaulted her, breaking through glass and\nstone alike. She dived towards the ground, waited until the roar of pelting metal\nended, then surged back into the sky. The humans were not prepared for a close-up assault. Qyr\nspun into the air, cutting the first bird in half. Her claws sheared through\nits hide as if it was meaningless sand, leaving behind a fiery gash. The others\nturned tail and dispersed, but none were safe from her fury. Qyr leaped from\none construct to the next, severing their pitiful bodies before they\nretaliated. It was a spectacle of fire and dust, fit for a proper huntress. Qyr ended her last quarry with a mighty blast while it fled\nand descended back towards Vharyias' location. She crashed through the glass\nskin of the dwarf and rolled on the ground, breaking doors and fragile walls\nuntil her momentum came to a stop. Few humans remained inside to scream, including\nher chosen one.He emerged behind an upturned wood, staring at her with wide\neyes.\"You- You're- I mean what... what are you?\"Qyr collected herself and charged towards the babbling\nhuman. She snapped her jaws to shut his mouth, gripped him in one paw when he\ndidn't expect, and flew back into the sky.\"Tight,\" he squirmed inside his grip.Qyr didn't loosen her hold despite his chokes. \"It will\nremain that way. I didn't search a dozen worlds just to lose you again.\"\"Wh-what?\" He choked.\"There is a time for words, and a time for vengeance,\" Qyr\nevaded a projectile and blasted the slug that launched it. \"Vengeance?\" he squeaked like a mouse, vastly different from\nthe roar she was used to.\"Later, Vhar,\" Qyr said. \"I'll explain everything once we're\nsafe.\"He mewled at that, lessening his struggles. At least he had\nsome sense into that thick human shell of his. Qyr opened her mind to Arjirr,\nbut he still had his firmly shut. Qyr flapped higher, following a corridor\nuntil she reached the central spire. A large force was deployed at its base,\npelting the thin sections with a barrage of roaring missiles. Qyr had no idea\nhow to approach. Wasps flew around erratically, searching for the menace\nmeddling with their electric power. The air crackled with electricity, and she\nfelt her scales vibrating with energy.Qyr approached, only to have a dozen lights flashed around\nher bulk. Wasps broke their formation, zipping towards her.She gathered as much energy as she could within four\nfrenzied heartbeats, then unleashed it with a roar. The blast dispersed into\nthe air, pelting the metal hide of the wasps with drops of pure energy. Several\nfell, but a good number still flew.Qyr fled. She danced madly between any cover she found,\nwincing every time rocks found their way inside the defenseless flesh of her\nwings. Big booms were easier to avoid. Qyr exploded them with only  a flick of her tail and a sliver of energy,\nbut the hail rarely stopped, and her energy was dwindling. Instincts took hold\nof her. Amidst the haze of pain, a voice shouted louder than the rest.Flee. Survive.That's exactly what she intended. With desperate flaps, Qyr\nsought the edges of the city. The wall was not far. She pulled into a dive,\nsacrificing cover for speed. The whistling of the wasps followed close behind,\nbut she was close, so closes. The ground approached. She noticed the tiny\nlights of the defenders surrounding the huge maw of the canons. Within ten or\ntwenty wing beats, she would be way beyond them.She pressed Vharyias closer to her chest, then roared in\nsheer panic as a groan reverberated throughout the city. Light blazed from\nbelow, and the canon she stared at stared back defiantly, muzzle red with\nenergy.  Qyr spat whatever\nwarmth she had left. Her beam burned the humans, but left the canon intact.\nSheer panic pushed her wings against the cold air. She beat once, and twice,\neyes fixed on those terrible metal spitters. Within less than a heartbeat, they\nfired. Time slowed down for Qyr. Her slits narrowed in the bright roar of the\nblazing energy. It shot right at her, but pain registered only in one of her\nwings. The membrane fizzled and melted, allowing the beam to pass right\nthrough. A roar left Qyr's throat. She pulled her tail to the left,\naiding her ravaged wing as best as she could. The canons kept firing, but that\nsizzling touch never returned. Did they miss? Qyr had no way of knowing. She\npassed the wall and slowly plummeted towards the ground. \"Ghhh kaaaaaaah!\" Vharyias screamed. \"Vhar?\" Qyr hissed. She brought him before her tearing eyes\nand quickly inspected him. She smelled no blood aside from her own, burned\nflesh. He wasn't hurt, but he seemed to be in pain, all tense and strained. \"Vhar!\" Qyr gave him a quick nudge. Metal groaned from\nbehind, attracting her attention. The wasps slid into each other or plainly\ncrashed, while the canons were ripped from the wall by an unseen force.\"Haah!\" the human gasped and went limp. Telekinesis. He\nstill had his powers! Qyr pushed him closer to her chest, impressed by his\npower and determination. Even in his human shell, he obliterated all the treats\nshe failed to destroy. Their escape was now assured. Each wing beat brought Qyr\ncloser to freedom, wobbled and awkward as it was. She maintained her flight,\neven if her joints burned and her injured felt numb with pain. Qyr fought back\ntears and fatigue until she reached the lush valley. With the aid of her inner\nsight, she found the portal and crashed on the bank of the river running below\nits reach.She collapsed on her side, taking the pain for herself\nrather than allowing Vharyias to fell prey to injury.\"We're...free,\" she softly nuzzled into his unconscious form.\n\"You're mine now. Mine. Nothing will keep us apart, my mate. Nothing!\" After\nhis form was thoroughly soaked in her saliva, Qyr settled him on the soft grass\nand cared for her injuries. One wing lay almost in tatters while the other had\na sizeable gap between her joints. She licked them quickly, then waited. The\nneed for rest became dire. Her body begged for rest, but she still kept her\neyes open and her claws twitching with purpose. Arjirr had yet to arrive, and\nshe stared at the blinking stars until a familiar shape shadowed them. She\nblinked, making sure her fatigue wasn't meddling her senses.It wasn't. Arjirr crashed a few steps away from her with a\nlong, painful growl. Blood filled Qyr's nostrils, along with the smell of\nburned flesh. She approached tentatively, taking in the dreary sight. The proud\ndragon she met looked nothing like the one splayed before her. His white tufts\nwere burned to nothingness, and his scales bent and torn by too many wounds.\nPunctures covered one wing, while the other barely moved. When she lifted her\nhead, Qyr knew why. A bony sliver protruded from the side joint, sinking into\nthe torn muscle. She licked it once, prompting a whimper from the wounded male.\"Leave it,\" Arjirr hissed. \"Main joint is unharmed, and that\nlooks worse than it feels.\"\"That's a terrible lie,\" Qyr inspected his other wounds. He\nhad a nasty gash near the flank, severing the scales in a straight line. \"Qyr,\" Arjirr placed a paw on her shoulder and looked into\nher eyes. \"Leave those. I can...\" he paused as he swished his bloody tail. \"I can\nstill fight.\"\"Fight? Has the human craze seeped under your scales?\"Arjirr did not have to answer her. She heard it. That\ndreadful whistling preceding the black wasps of the humans.\"No. They just followed me,\" he bowed his head then turned\naround. Qyr pawed at him. She missed. \"Can't fight, you stumbling\nfool.\" She latched both forelegs around his flanks, but her grip was weak.\nArjirr jerked out and freed himself.\"And you can't even keep me here,\" he growled softly.Unwise words. Qyr pounced him, injured as she was. None had\nany energy left for kicking or grappling, so they just tumbled on the ground in\na rather painful way. Arjirr collected himself, leaping out of her reach before\nQyr completely recovered. \"Stop that.\"\"I intend to stop them, yes.\"\"Not them, Arjirr,\" Qyr roared, getting irritated. Why\ncouldn't he understand? \"You. Flee with us. Take the portal before the humans\nend us.\"He turned around and padded towards Qyr. \"I never thought\nyou cared that much,\" he joked. A poor attempt at removing the heavy burned\nweighting Qyr's scales.\"I always do where life is concerned. Now stop being dense\nand follow us before those things get to us.\"\"Can't.\"\"Why?!\" She snapped, catching his neck between her jaws.\nArjirr gently shook off her grip and nuzzled under her chin.\"Because one of us has to hold them back,\" he said softly,\nwithout any trace of hesitation. \"The humans are resourceful. Bright, and\ngreedy. That makes them dangerous. If they find the portal, they can build a bridge\nacross.\"\"I-\"Arjirr interrupted her with another touch along her cheek.\n\"With time, they can do anything. Earth is living proof of that.\"\"We can fight them together...\"\"Not like this,\" Arjirr pushed her back. Qyr didn't even\nrealize that. Her mind was too occupied with plans and solutions. \"It's night,\nyour strength falters, and your mate needs you more than I do.\"\"I'm not leaving!\" Qyr dug her claws between the pebbles. \"I\ndid not find one of my kin just to lose another!\"Arjirr blinked.  Qyr's\nroar surprised him, but did not pierce his fortified conviction. A sparking\ntear rolled from his blazing eyes. \"Yes you are.\"Motes of electricity shot from his maw. The portal drank in\nthe energy, expanding with the gentle howl of a gale. Qyr growled something,\nbut her words vanished from her maw. Arjirr charged forth, sending her straight\ninto the portal. Qyr gasped. Her insides seemed to switch places and the ground\nvanished. Darkness took her for a fleeting moment before her crumbling weight\nfound something solid behind her. Qyr blinked. The portal. It was still opened, humming with a\nsoft sparkling radiance. She crawled towards it. Arjirr. She had to save him.\nProtect. Defend life, and save her kin. She took one step, and another, before\nVharyias shot from the portal, rolling until he met one of her paws. Qyr caught\nhim and pushed against the ground with a final, determined roar. Her limbs\nsurged forth with one last ounce of strength and carried her towards the portal\na moment too late.Crackling energy shimmered and forked around its surface,\ncracking it until it vanished like a drop of rain inside a vast lake. Qyr\ncollapsed on her side, lacking even the strength to form a proper roar. A\nmournful growl reverberated from her throat as she stared where the portal\nlingered just a few moments ago. The fabric between the worlds was soft and\nfragile, and Arjirr just closed it. Days could pass, even months before it\nopened again. Qyr failed. She saved her mate, only to doom another of her\nkin to the cold embrace of the humans. She tried to rationalize and think.\nArjirr was cunning and resourceful. He had the strongest element. He this and\nthat. One by one, thoughts slipped from Qyr's exhausted mind, and tiredness\nclaimed her before she had a chance to fight back."}