FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Snakebug:

** ** It was early in the morning, and the sky was still dark. The world was peaceful at the moment, though that normally changes once the sun comes up. The scattered mountains around the landscape seemed to hold many things, from mythical creatures to small villages. Well, there is actually only one village, but you get my point. Either way, the village I mentioned seemed to be rather secluded, hidden under a rather large outcropping. The moist climate allowed moss to grow and lots of storms and rain. The inhabitants of the village seemed to be bipedal dragons, the weaker and less violent of their feral ancestors.

I should mention that I'm one of them, a bronze dragon under the name of Zennix. I'm not much to look at, as I may have a good amount of muscle, and a rather strange shine to my scales, but I'm just run of the mill compared to most other beings. I live in a small house right at the edge of town, or I would refer to it as a glorified shack if anything else. I built it from the ground up, with little to no resources. Now I'm not saying I stole any supplies, but I'm not denying it either.

I was currently lying down on my rotting wooden porch, basking in the sunlight, trying to get some shuteye before I decide to go scavenging today. I heard that a certain cave at the base of one of the mountains held something of great value, and that definitely piqued my interest. I mean, I do need money if I'm going to get some better clothes and armor. I've been sleeping in a long coat that makes me look like some kind of renegade mage or something! And I'm still wearing the tattered thing!

The only thing I had that seemed to be of value was a bladed staff, which was something he found in the remains of his fathers destroyed home. It seemed to have some kind of magic attached to it, as it seemed to have a strange trail when you swung it. Time seemed to get slower whenever he used it, and he was never able to explain why. Not that he was complaining of course, it was all kinds of useful. Either way, with a groan and a yawn, I got up off my scaled back and ran off into the hills.

StarLight Nova:

** ** Life for a feral dragon in the wilderness can be solitary most of the time, except for when they live with their parents in the safety of the nest, and we only cross paths when there is important news to be spread or when it is mating season, like it is right now. The males would compete against each other to show off their strength and prowess while also displaying themselves to the various females that would gather to watch deep within certain areas of mountain ranges, as they are the ones that choose who their mate will be. They look for a male who can provide, defend, and care for her hatchlings until they have matured enough to leave the cave. Dragons are sentimental creatures and mate for life, and the death of a mate can sometimes lead one to madness and insanity where they would seclude themselves until they perished. It was rare for a dragon or his mate, depending on who died, to recover from such a loss, and even more so to take on another to love and bond with.

It also goes without saying that it is expected of a young dragoness to begin looking for potential mates when her first heat comes upon her, as the intensity of the fire that burns within her loins can drive her to make a poor choice in her rush to choose a mate and sooth her lust. There have been times when a mated pair of dragons has broken apart from fighting together because of this, and it is this reason why I have gone so long without choosing a mate in fear of feeling the pain of betrayal. It is not that I don't want to, but all the potential males I see, fighting one another, showing off their wings, their muscles, and other bits, just don't quite catch my interest. I have had to deal with my heat for many years, and I have only recently learned how to keep myself from irrationally choosing a mate that I may not like later on just so that I can be filled to the brim with his seed and become gravid with eggs. I would not mind finding a mate to raise a family with, but from observing all of the many candidates that could become the dragon I would be with for the rest of my life, I have found none that interest me, but on the other hand, many males have desperately been trying to vie for my attention because of the color of my scales and my beauty.

I don't particular come from a line of popular dragons, but my scales make it seem like I am royalty. They shine with many different colors, maroon, silver, orange, dark blue and pink all around. My pristine white horns with my frills running down my neck until they end at my tail along with my wide hips, large wings and slender stature make all the males drool over me, igniting one desire in their mind, to make me theirs. The first couple years into adult hood I tolerated their attempts to court me, and at first I was trying to look for a potential mate myself, but as time dragged on, it seemed less likely that I would find the one I would love and care for. My parents talked to me about trying harder to find a male to be my mate, but I soon flew far away from where most of our kind lived to live alone. I knew I was taking a chance, as there were human settlements scattered over the land, and they could be dangerous to us depending on how well armed they were and how much experience they had with my kind.

I still flew back to attend the large congregations of dragons when it was mating season every 6 months, but it soon became too tedious flying back and forth between my new cave to head deep into the mountains, only to return empty handed and disappointed with lust burning in my mind. It was hard to handle the first few times and I often did not eat for a few weeks to try and get it to go away. It took the essence of a male to end a female's heat, where there was a high chance of her becoming gravid. During that time she would gorge on meat for three months before laying her eggs to wait for them to hatch for another two. I often tried to keep myself in my cave so I would not fuck anything in my sights that moved, willing or not. A female's heat, if not satisfied, could last for half a month or longer, and it was most intense after a week and a half where the chance of conception was virtually guaranteed.

When I wasn't rolling on the ground fighting with my instincts, I would take long flights just to feel the sensation of the wind flowing past my body and under my wings. I was pretty good at flying and could perform various tricks and maneuvers, but I still had a lot to learn. Hunting was about the same, and since I had moved far away from most of my kind, I had to look for new sources of food, one of which were the cattle of a nearby village which seemed to be inconspicuously hidden within the foothills of the mountains close to my cave for some reason. I did not question their choice to settle down, it did not concern me. I did not always raid their cattle, as I was smart enough not to get them to be too afraid of me to have to send soldiers to try and kill me. I would often fly around, searching for buffalo or other animals in the mountains in which I could feast on. Life for me continued on, dull and boring until one mating season when I was in the beginnings of heat that I saw a male flying towards me, one I knew well from playing with in my adolescence.

His name is Gündir, and he is a magnificent dragon that has participated in every mating season to try and get a mate. His scales are a combination of gold and lime green with his wings being wide and his body well muscled with a pair of horns and ear frills. I thought it odd that a female had not yet chosen him, but I had long ago lost interest in finding a mate for myself. I signaled for him to land on an outcropping of rock high up on a mountain where we could meet. Even now, I can remember the fun times we had and the trouble we would get into. Of course hatchlings had a lot of leeway up to a certain age of what they could get away with, but it was still fun to mess around and see how far we could push our luck. Once I landed I waited for him to join me, and I could tell he had been flying for some time by how exhausted he looked from his clumsy landing, I would only guess from trying to find me. I let him rest and get his breathe back before I questioned him on why he was here. When he looked up I could immediately tell that something was wrong from the look in his eyes that he was not the same Gündir that I had grown up with.

I began backing up, wings flared, ready to flee but he was quicker and took me by surprise by ramming into me, pinning me to my back as he roughly gripped my throat in his jaws. As any female would do when they were mating, I froze, unable to move for fear of him drawing blood, but he did it regardless, causing me to let out a short roar before he squeezed harder, silencing me. I could feel a low rumble coming from his chest, one of anger, denial, and lust. I was confused as to what was happening, why he had come upon me so quickly and suddenly after having just seen him. I had suspected he wanted to talk to me, but assault me? It was forbidden for a male to take a female without her consent, and that has condemned him to death. But I could not do anything without risk of being injured further, and when I looked down as best I could, I could see his glistening phallus emerging into the open from his slit, dripping fluids to ease his passage into a females sex while throbbing eagerly. The underside was bustling with ridges, very sensitive to the male that would stimulate a female to release her eggs, followed by a single or double knot near the base to lock them together with the head being narrow to enter the egg chamber and deliver the payload directly.

I began to panic, my body fighting for control, to try and break free and punish him for forcing himself on me but I could not get past the wall of fear that was tying me down. I had known Gündir for a long time, and I did not know him to be so aggressive. While he was rough when we played together, I knew he did not mean to be so as we were just having fun, but this? Never. I could hear him growling now, saliva dripping from his open maw onto the scales on my exposed throat, making me shiver while giving a small whimper, hoping he would not go through with this. I did not want to see him killed, nor did I want to be forcefully taken against my will, there was only a few options I had to get out of this, and I had to wait for the opportunity to present itself before I could react. He continued to tighten his grip on my throat, drawing more blood as he dug his teeth into my scales before gripping my shoulders with his paws and spreading his hind legs so I could see his phallus clearly. It was very large and wide, but I could not judge just how big he was, though I knew it would hurt greatly for my first time.

The opportunity I was looking for came when he lowered his haunches and released my neck to get a better grip closer to the base of my head. In that moment I opened my own jaws and closed them around his, causing him to let out a surprised growl as his grip on my shoulders loosened and I took my advantage, leaning to the left, to force him onto his back as I reversed our situation. I placed my left hind leg onto his right wing to keep him from moving unless he wanted to tear the fabric and my right hind leg directly on top of his phallus, making him thrust into my hind paw futily at the rough pleasure he receives. Having him immobilized with my sharp talons dangerously close to his precious organ, I place my right forepaw firmly on his neck before releasing my hold on his jaws. I can feel where he bit into my neck as the wound drips blood down my throat while he licks his lips to clean the blood from his muzzle.

"What the hell Calin! Why did you do that for!" He snarls at me as I look at him impassively, wondering what I should do to him as he struggles to get free but does not dare move very much, as I could easily break his wing or castrate him for it. I slow my breathing as the rush of fear clears from my mind before I reply.

"Why did you come here in the first place Gündir? You know what the penalty is for taking an unwilling female. We are friends Gündir, why do you want to throw that away?" I ask him, hoping with all my heart that his answer is not what I hope it is.

He lunges, snapping his jaws to try and bite down on my neck but I press down harder with my forepaw on his, forcing him to lie back down and huff in frustration. I also put more of my weight on my right hind leg, making him groan and thrust into the rough scales from the constant contact. It takes some time for him to calm down, but when he speaks, his response surprises me. "I came for you Calin. I want to be with you, but you never notice me. I tried so hard for you to pick me, but you don't seem to care, as if none of us are good enough for you!" He finishes in a roar that leaves me shocked, but I have enough sense not to lessen my grip on his neck, wing or phallus.

"Then why did you assault me!" I reply, snapping my jaws at him as I growl back, making him fear me as he pins his ear frills against his neck like a frightened hatchling.

"I....I...I just could not wait any longer. I was going to ask you if you could choose me when mating season ended, but you flew away and I did not know where you went. I was happy when you came back, if only to attend, but after awhile you just disappeared. I asked around to see if anybody knew where you had gone, only your parents knew your general direction, so I took off to find you. It wasn't until now that I did. Besides, it is mating season once again, you have to take a mate sooner or later." Gündir said softly, to where I started to clench my forepaw around his neck for his insistent persistence to try and get me to be his mate. I could hear him slapping his tail against the ground when he couldn't breathe, but I paid no attention to him, until I feel a small fire building deep in my abdomen and I loosen my grip.

I had gone so many seasons without caring of finding a mate, and I had started to go about my day without knowing when I went into heat. But now that Gündir has brought it up, I can feel my body preparing to receive a male's seed so that I could become gravid with eggs, and my scent was a possible reason why he went crazy when he regained his breathe and attacked me. My grip loosens, and Gündir starts to relax beneath me, but I am reminded of what he tried to do to me that I become angry with him for trying to take me forcefully. I bare my teeth and growl, making him scared of what I am going to do, but when he feels me pressing down harder on his phallus, he makes a decision, sensing that I am going to dismember him for his foolishness, so he strikes first. A male would be castrated if caught trying to take a female without permission, but put to death if he had managed to go through the act. Others would know, as the scent of a scared female would linger on him for many months.

Lashing out with his right foreleg, he catches me off guard, throwing me to the ground, catching his claws on my muzzle, scoring three deep gashes on my neck and my lower jaw. I cry out in pain, disoriented as Gündir recovers from the reversal and looms over me with lust in his eyes once again and his phallus throbbing steadily, ready to thrust into me, to make me his. As blood pools on the ground I struggle to stand up but he grabs my neck in his jaws again and squeezes, puncturing my scales and drawing out more blood as I roar while he positions himself behind me. He lets go but quickly reasserts his dominance over me has he jumps up, making me bear his weight while crushing my tail between our bodies. My anger flares in the face of so much pain coursing through my body that I whip my tail and manage to dig the tip of it into his hind leg near his hip.

He releases my neck and I throw him off of me as he roars in pain, stumbling from the hit as his blood drips from the tip of my tail. When I turn around panting I can see he is limping, holding his left hind leg off the ground to try and keep the stinging pain to a minimal. I can also see his phallus, still hanging out of his slit, too aroused to go back into hiding, which could prove fetal to him should I manage to get a grip on it. Deciding at the same moment to attack, we clash, both biting and clawing at each other, scoring light hits on heavily armored parts of our body where our scales are the hardest. I am able to get in some decent hits otherwise, raking him down his injured hind leg but he returns the favor by tearing a large chunk out of my abdomen when he catches me unaware, making me roar out loud and fall onto my right flank, bleeding heavily.

My vision threatens to fade as my head swims and I feel dizzy while Gündir slowly limps towards me, unimpressed as I struggle to breathe. He approaches until his head is near mine and his rear is where he tore into my hide. The cliff we are on is pretty large, but the pools of blood from all my wounds begin to fall off the edge as I hear him whisper. "We could have had a wonderful relationship Calin, if only you had accepted me, but now I will have to kill you." He says as if we had never been friends. My eyes go wide, held in place by fear that I am going to die here. I will certainly die if he leaves me alone, but I don't think he wants to wait and see me suffer. Maybe he will use my body when I pass for his own enjoyment. That thought breaks me out of my trance as I look at him as he opens his jaws to break my neck.

I take in a deep breath, knowing this will hurt a lot before I roll onto my back, feeling a gush of blood flow out of the large wound on my abdomen, making my vision flicker, potentially rendering me infertile and unable to bear hatchlings, but all I can think of right now is punishing Gündir for his impudence. I pull my right hind leg back and lash out with all my strength, scoring four deep gashes on his abdomen, continuing until the sole of my paw pushes his phallus so that it points towards the ground where I run one of my claws right down the middle of it to the tip. Gündir instantly roars out in pain, rearing up on his hind legs and spreading his wings wide as a shower of blood is splattered onto my beautiful scales, but I smirk, having accomplish want I wanted of making him unable to mate with any female for the rest of his life.

He stumbles away and I struggle to stand up, weak and barely clinging to consciousness as his phallus quickly retreats into its slit, but the damage is done. He wails loudly, bringing his hind legs together to try and stop the pain as he wobbles on his legs. The outcropping of rock is now drenched in both our blood, almost covering the whole surface save for a few areas. When he nears the edge I see another opportunity, to do to him what he was going to do for me. I surge forward, growling as the pain rushing through my body makes me unsteady but I manage to ram my head into his side and push him off, watching him fall all the way down to the base of the mountain, not likely to survive. Now that that is done, I spread my wings and take off, nearly falling out of the sky myself but through shear will of wanting to live I fly toward my cave.

The farther I travel, the lower I glide, having to steel myself for the pain jolting through my abdomen when I want to flap my wings. The wounds on my neck are not nearly as bad as the gash in my left flank that is still trailing blood as I rapidly lose the strength to continue though my cave is just a little further away. When I know I can't continue I fly as close as I can to the treetops before I lose consciousness, falling straight down, breaking tree limps on the way and possibly breaking a bone in either of my wings. I somehow land on my right flank, avoiding landing on the serious wound on my abdomen as I plow into the ground to get stopped by a tree. With all the dirt and blood on my scales and the state I am in, one would think I am dead, but I am still alive though my breathing is weak and I could still die within a few days to a week without any help. _ _

Snakebug:

** ** I was currently gathering some tools, planning to take my search to the trees on his way to this strange cave of fortune. My yellow eyes scanned over my home, as the sunlight hit the back of it. It was almost unnatural, as no matter how you looked at it, it just loomed over you. It's almost like the house stares at me, watching my every move. Well, sorry about my superstitious thoughts, it's a bad habit of mine. I always had a motto: Expect the worst, do the best. It sounds stupid at first, but it's helped me survive in many situations. I interrupted my thoughts as I brought a claw to my face, turning my focus back to the task at hand.

My tattered coat seemed to wave in a gust of wind, which seemed to have an origin coming from somewhere near the trees. The crisp air seemed to be rather strange today, as my extremely sensitive nostrils seemed to have picked up the smell of copious amounts of blood. Though that didn't mean much, as all my senses seemed to be overclocking themselves, giving me an almost paranormal sense of things going on around me. The soil beneath my clawed feet was strangely soft today, probably because it rained recently. Either way, I could feel some small tremors in the ground, though most of the townsfolk said it was caused by me.

Either way, I grabbed my staff off my back, giving it a few swings as I absently trotted towards the tree line. To others it would look like I was swinging it unnaturally fast, but to me it was just a side effect of the weapon itself. As I said before, time does slow down when I use it. Though on my way towards the trees, I did realize something. I couldn't help but notice that all of my senses were going haywire. I felt the need to flee; yet there was no danger. I felt the need to fight; yet there was nobody else around. I knew something was wrong; the smell of blood was too strong to be a coincidence.

Any other being with common sense would have avoided the possible danger, but I needed something interesting to start off this day anyways. Sheathing my bladed staff on my back, I took off in a jog into the overgrowth, looking around at my surroundings as I went through the landscape. There were many stories and myths involving this place, as many strange things have been known to happen in this region. I interrupted my thoughts as I hoped over some fallen logs, reaching a less dense area of this forest, or whatever you would call this place.

The smell of blood was getting stronger, and I briefly thought it was the mythical blood wraith. It was a horrid creature my father told me about when I was younger, mostly to scare me. The thought strangely excited me, as I picked up the pace to meet this thing. The sun seemed to feel much brighter as it rose over the horizon, lighting up the sky and shining off my scales like a beacon. That wasn't going to be good for stealth, though I am getting much closer to the smell. I walked into a clearing, looking around for the source. It was so close, yet I couldn't place it.

StarLight Nova:

** ** With the coming of night my condition only worsens with the blood from my various wounds soaking into the ground. I occasionally wake up with only a vague sense of what is around me while I can feel that my right wing joint was dislocated with the leather torn up from the crash landing. The original bite he made on my neck would heal just fine, but the three gashes on my throat to my lower jaw along with the more forceful bite after that could prove fetal, not discounting the serious wound on my abdomen that still continues to leak out my life blood, making me weaker as night slowly turns into morning. I also begin to shake from the cold penetrating my body, further weakening me as I lose faith and hope I will make it through this. My parents would both be devastated at losing their first hatchling, which is if someone finds me. My only satisfaction is that I managed to kill Gündir before he had his way with me. Even though I had just started my heat, I was still fertile enough with a good chance of baring his clutch unwillingly, but thankfully all the pain I am experiencing has nullified the burning fire in my loins for now.

My breathing is erratic and slow as I struggle to maintain a grip to stay alive but what condemns me to struggle is beyond me, though it won't be for much longer till I die alone without ever having taken a mate. I can feel the blood on my neck and lower jaw hardening but the serious wound on my abdomen remains open to the elements. I would be able to heal myself, but in the state I am now, that is virtually impossible. Even if I do manage to come out of this alive, there is a chance I may not be able to conceive hatchlings and mating would become worthless to me, and on the chance I can still conceive, it would no doubt be excruciating to lay the clutch as the wound has no doubt torn some hole or damaged my egg chamber in some way. I just wish I had been able to find a mate that I could live my life with, to love and be happy together. I had no idea that Gündir was so fond of me, but I had ignored him as well as every other male because of the looks they gave me, sizing me up, looking at my hips, my scales, my graceful proportions.

It is not until sometime later that I wake up again, still very weak and unable to move at all except for my head, though that usually sends pain careening right into my mind to where I would have to lay my head on the ground until it passed. My whole body is sore and filled with pain as I cannot feel my wing, which meant I could not fly anyway to get help. The wound on my abdomen must be taken care of first lest it get infected and spread, where my chances to survive would dwindle rapidly. Even now the cold was affecting my ability to think and comprehend where I was and how far I was away from my cave. All dragons placed automatic regeneration wards around their cave, so if I could just get back I could give myself some possibility to survive.

Along with my ability to heal myself, all my senses are thrown off balance, as the pain coursing through my body was too great to concentrate for any length of period. I would not be able to scent or sense if someone was close to me, if they had villainous intentions or not, I had to do something to get someone's attention, anyone at all, although I knew there were no dragons around here except for humans. While I was still awake, I lift my neck off the ground, growling in pain and closing my eyes when the hardened blood cracks and spills fresh blood onto the already soaked earth. I raise my frills on my back while gathering what I could of any amount of magic I could grasp within my mind before roaring out loud. The strain from simply pushing my magic out in all directions, causing any magical infused items to hone in on my location drains me of all my stamina and strength as I went limp with my head hitting the ground hard as I pass out, breathing slow and dangerously weak while my frills relax onto my back.

Snakebug:

** ** Something was extremely wrong, as all my senses were now telling me that something was dying nearby. It would explain the smell of blood, and the tension in the air that came with the situation. Though I should probably just leave, as even if I did find something, it was most likely dead, or I could be next. My tail sliced through the dry and chilly air, as all my muscles clenched as I focused. I could definitely sense something, but I couldn't pin point exactly where it was. My eyes took in every detail of the area around me, down to the insects crawling on single blades of grass. It was a gift and a curse to have abilities like mine, as being infused with an almost limitless magic reserve at birth enhanced my reflexes, my senses, as well as my unnatural affinity to control elements. That may sound rather nice, but there are some things that I wish I couldn't notice, as well as forget about.

I shook my head back and forth as I tried to regain focus, as I cursed myself for easily distracted thoughts. I pulled my staff out once more, getting a feeling that I would need it soon. With a small growl, I gripped it with both claws and slashed the ground with minimal force. I was going to make a reference point so I know which way the smell is strongest. It wasn't much, but it sure was something. Though my methodical thought process was shattered as I heard a quiet growl from somewhere nearby. It was actually rather weak sounding, almost as if it was injured somehow.

Either way, I needed to stay focused. I did not need some kind of monster jumping me right now, as even though it would be exciting, I simply did not have the time. Twirled my staff and pointed in that direction with practiced ease, waiting for something to follow that sound. I probably shouldn't have thought that, as the second those thoughts materialized, a roar shook me to my core. The whole thing set off sirens of all kinds, as I turned to run with my tail between my legs.

At least I would have, if my staff hadn't decided that it needed to take an express flight towards the creature. To be honest, I wasn't going to run away without my staff, and if I had to fight for my last worthwhile possession, so be it. I took off after the flying weapon, as I jumped through the bushes that it flew through on its way. During its relatively fast flight however, it narrowly missed the poor female. It got stuck in a tree right next to the creature, making me stop in my tracks. This was horrible, such a creature brought to a bloody pulp. Though this wasn't any of my business, as I decided she couldn't hurt me in her current state. I gingerly tried to sneak around her, seeing as her exhausted body didn't seem to be moving. I could easily heal her, but I don't think she would hesitate to kill me once she's better.

*StarLight Nova: *

** ** After my last ditch attempt to alert someone to my position, I fell into a deep unconscious slumber due to shock. My breathing was so slow with my flanks rising and falling marginally each time with the wound on my abdomen leaking blood that I seemed past saving. Dragons are hardy creatures but even an injury like this if not tended to immediately could end in their demise. I was very unlikely to wake to any disturbances or movements, even if someone was to touch the wound on my abdomen, all they would get would be a small flick of my tail or a twitch of my frills. While I am unconscious my mind wonders freely, floating around in a void, not able to sense anything going on around me. I think back to my fight with Gündir, trying to figure out why he would do what he did, to attack me and force himself onto me when I did not want to mate with him. We had been friends since we were hatchlings and we had so much fun together, racing each other and seeing who could hold their breath the longest. He would cheer me up if I was sad, always trying to impress me.

I just could not think what had gotten into him to act so violently, even other dragons his age would be able to control their lust until a female picked them as a mate, and if none had, then they would go off and relieve themselves, sometimes even with each other. Well, saying that I probably 'should' blame myself for denying them, or him the privilege of mating with me. I do not know myself why I find I am disinterested in choosing a mate, but I am reminded that they just want me for my body, the way my scales shine on a clear morning as the sunlight hits my wings and haunches. I could on occasion catch them hiding their crotch with a wing when I would lounge at the lake within the mountain range or eating a kill that I had worked for to fill my hunger. I knew I wanted to have a mate to fill me, to satisfy my need when I was in heat and impregnate me until I was heavily gravid with a clutch of eggs, but...I just could not pick one that I found to be...right, that felt like we belonged together. Other females thought I was odd, as most of them had chosen their mates after their first or second heat. Me...I am now alone at the beginning of another mating season, but this time gravely injured and near death.

Snakebug:

** ** As I reached for my staff, I couldn't help but look at the poor soul that I came across. She seemed dangerous, and definitely worthy of being called a dragon, but she seemed like she went through hell. My eyes seemed to zero in on the wounds and gashes, especially taking notice of the large wound on her abdomen. "It's a miracle that she's still breathing." I mumble to myself, taking my attention away from the weapon to check on the poor female. I may not show it very often, but I'm actually rather compassionate to those who are suffering. It was something I would call a weakness, as I could never walk away from somebody in such a sorry state. I crouched down next to her, slowly rubbing her side to soothe her. Though if there is one thing I do know, it's going to take a lot more than sympathy to save her.

Unbeknownst to myself, I seemed to be pouring out a bit of my limitless magic reserve in response to how I felt about the situation. Maybe it's just a strange side effect of my magic, but my emotions seemed to have a big part in it. As I rubbed her scaled side, running a claw over each scales, something odd was happening. I didn't know it, but the dragoness would most likely wake from the slow but steady healing that was progressing. A soft golden glow came from my eyes, as a bit of sadness reached my thoughts. "Whoever did this to you," I began, showing a small lifeless smile. "I hope you gave them hell."

StarLight Nova:

** ** I feel no sensations, hear no sound or taste my own blood from the wounds on my neck except for the pain racking my body while I am trapped in this despair. It is endless, something that drives me mad, something that I want to end, for someone to kill me and put me out of my misery so I don't have to be in pain anymore. I probably should give the benefit of the doubt to all those dragons that show up when it is mating season. All they want to do is impress a female and carry on their bloodline, acting on instinct as old as time for a female to choose them as their mate to then raise the next generation of dragons. There have been times when two or more males would challenge each other over a female but it would rarely end in the death of one of them. Both would be injured, yet still alive with the loser leaving with various wounds and a bruised pride. He would be back again in another 6 months to try again to find a mate, though his chances decrease as females lose interest in those who lose fights, only wanting to pick the strongest males who can care for them and their hatchlings.

I have had drakes fight over me numerous times, and while I found it entertaining to watch, and I even cheered some of them on on occasion in false hope, I never found the one that struck me as perfect and caring, gentle and...Well it does not matter right now as I am close to dying. It means nothing to me that the other females whisper that they believe I am the one the males fight over the most, more so than they have seen in the past years. I would not reckon it had to do with what species of dragon I was, as there were many races that lived together in harmony. Every few decades there would be a very large gathering of dragons from far and wide, more so than when it was mating season. These were the times when mated dragons announced new hatchlings or coming clutches and everyone shared important news about what they have seen or think of is a threat to them. We are well aware of the other species that inhabit the planet, of the humans, elves, dwarfs, fairies, and bipedal dragons. Some believe there was a time when whatever entity was up in the sky that it decided it wanted another race of dragons, and herded a small group of us to an area and changed us to what they are now.

My thoughts continue on, senseless, random and weak as clouds cover the sun, blocking the sunlight from reaching my scales and warming my cold and dying body. I do not feel the claw on my scales nor the words he whispers, but I do begin to feel his magic gradually pouring into me, stopping the bleeding and repairing the damage that Gündir inflicted on me. I stop thinking, sensing that someone is near me, that someone is touching me while the pain that is flowing all over my body starts to dissipate, letting me regain my senses to try and discern who it is. The warm touch, the sympathetic attachment to the magic lets me know someone is sad, that someone has found me and is grieving. Is it another dragon? No, it can't be, no one could have made it here from the mountains that quickly after what Gündir did to me. No one could have known, I do not know if he told anyone where he was going even, but the magic continues.

My mind is pulled from the void I had entered and I escape the deep sleep I had fallen into as I feel my strength slowly flow back into my veins, giving me the will to live. My eyes twitch with a soft grunt and my tail flicks off the ground before falling and lying still, letting whoever is next to me know I am still alive while my breathing starts to improve and my flanks rise and fall in a visible sign. Warmth begins to spread throughout my body next, chasing away the frigid temperature my body had been enduring during the night and into the morning till now. The wounds on my neck are the first to heal over time with the first bite Gündir gave me virtually disappearing, though the three deep gashes and the forceful bite after that will leave some scars to remind me of the pain and trauma I experienced yesterday. The serious wound on my abdomen takes much longer to heal than the claw and bite marks on my neck as Gündir had ripped a small hole into my egg chamber but had missed my ovaries, so I could still have hatchlings. While I could take a mate and become heavy with a clutch of eggs, unless that tear healed well enough, I would feel much more pain when laying them than other females would, and that could possibly put my life at risk as well.

As the magic continued to dull my pain, only a gentle sore throbbing remained in my abdomen that pulsed to the beat of my heart as I began moving, first weakly fluttering my left wing with my right one still dislocated but the tears were closing gradually. The warmth had almost replaced the cold that had enveloped my body while the frills on my back flex up and down instinctively from the pins and needles overcoming me from the change in temperature. After some more time, the clouds that had blocked the sun move on, letting the rays of light fall on me, casting me and whoever was next to me in a blanket of warmth. My scales react instantly to the energy from the sun as the blood and dirt that had accumulated onto my hide begins to sizzle and vanish, revealing the true colors that were hidden beneath. The wound on my abdomen starts to burn as well, but not painfully as smoke rises up from the site and new muscle begins to reattach from opposite ends, slowly closing as I dig my fore claws into the dirt while clenching my hind paws and whine from the uncomfortable sensation it brings.

As I said earlier, I may not be royalty with the unique colors of my scales, but I do come from a special race of dragons called Sunset dragons that can use the energy of the sun to accelerate healing and increase their magical power as well as any carnal pleasures they feel, especially during mating season. This usually results in larger than normal egg clutches, but the dragoness's from this race grow bigger than the others to handle the strain. This also could be a reason why I could find no one of interest to take on as a mate, as they were all of different races. Sunset dragons are uncommon, but not rare and they usually stay in small groups of families ranging from 4-13 members each. While it is possible to cross breed with our magic nullifying any possible mutations, there are only a few Sunset dragons in the mountain range where I used to live, and all of them, excluding me already have mates. You can normally identify a Sunset dragon by their vibrant coloring, usually bright and exuberant.

Snakebug:

Something about the current situation made my thoughts wander once more, closing my eyes as the cold shadow of the clouds washed over me. Lying before me was a sunset dragon, which was one thing I was fully aware of. Many others of my kind tend to revere these dragons, seeing them as exotic and beautiful, but I just couldn't see it. I have no sense of beauty, as I rarely ever associated with others, as well as feral dragons. The vibrant colors and gentle demeanor only gave me more reason to be cautious, as I knew that it wasn't wise to trust so easily. Even the smallest and most docile dragon was a threat, or anything with a pulse that is. If you hadn't noticed, I don't have many friends, or any relations with others in general. Though I never was interested in making friends, or connecting with others in any way. A dragon like myself has no place in such varied communities anyways.

Though, that brought up a major question, what kind of dragon am I? I had no discerning features that any other dragon had, and I never met anybody who could actually tell what kind I was. If I met my parents, I probably would be able to get some answers, but my father was senile, and my mother was only known as some demonic eldritch abomination that nobody could make sense of. So I was either some kind of mutant, or I'm just making a big deal out of nothing. Though, my thoughts were broken as I felt some movement, as well as breathing. My eyes snapped open immediately, looking over the now slowly healing feral creature. I couldn't understand how this was happening, as this seemed impossible. Wounds of this caliber do not heal like this, no matter how much magic you use. Well, unless you have a massive supply of it anyway. I snatched my claw off of her side, as the waking female seemed to be gaining some life back into her body. Though the glow between my claw and her body seemed to remain, making a powerful golden aura.

I turned my gaze to the sky however, as I felt the suns light upon my back, making my scales shine as well. That obviously wouldn't be good for me if she decided I was a threat, which would make my sympathy horribly placed. That was when the ramifications of my decision hit me, as for all I knew; the minute she woke up she could snap my head off my shoulders. She didn't seem to be in any kind of shape to do so, but I knew to never underestimate such a creature. My yellow eyes looked back and forth between the clearing and the dragon, weighing my options in my panicked stated. "Why didn't I think this through?" I growled at myself in disdain, getting even more nervous by the second. I couldn't just abandon her! Even if she is dangerous...

StarLight Nova:

** ** I could feel the aura of magic around me much more clearly now while the wound on my abdomen was close to being fully healed, only leaving a distinct diagonal scar over the area once it is gone. My egg chamber however, is a different situation as the tissue in the membrane is made up of cells that are very slow to reproduce, but as long as I am exposed to the rays of the sun, it would gradually heal and I would be able to bear many clutches of eggs safely and without worry. This aspect is what makes Sunset dragons unique from other species of dragons, the ability to manipulate the energy from the sun to increase their magic, accelerate healing and pleasure received from mating. Few Sunset dragons have ever died from their wounds, and as long as they were exposed to the rays of the sun, they could make a full recovery even when they were near death. The only ones who have died are those who have done battle at night and received mortal wounds that would need immediate care for even a chance to survive. Having been injured while it was still day, that gave me a chance to make it to the next morning, provided the sun shone on my scales before my strength gave out.

Right now, I can feel my body being reinvigorated with the slow input of magic from whoever is next to me along with the energy from the sun, yet my right wing is still dislocated and will need to be set after I get off of it. My breathing has improved dramatically and can be heard as I take in deep breaths and breath out through my nostrils, huffing while I continue to dig my fore claws into the ground from the discomfort of the wound on my abdomen healing slowly and emitting smoke as I bare my teeth slightly on occasion. My eyes flicker as I pull my left wing higher up onto my back and twitch my tail back and forth while growling softly. As I relax my frills on my back, I hear a distant voice through the haze in my mind, distinctly male, which confirms someone is near me, which I could already tell from the unique signature coming from his magic.

I begin to panic and attempt to get up but I am still too weak, pushing up with wobbly forearms while bringing my hind legs closer to me to stand up but I can't gather enough strength, slumping back down with a small twinge coming from my right wing. I still haven't opened my eyes, and that scares me not knowing who is near me as I think that a dragon has managed to find me, but I remind myself again that no one except for Gündir could be here, and that frightens me even more. Could he be here to finish me off or use me while I am vulnerable and unable to defend myself? No, it can't be, the signature of the magic entering my body does not feel like his, so it has to be someone else, but it also does not feel like a dragons or a humans, more like a mix of in-between, though who and why would they be healing me? Besides, I pushed him off the cliff; he would need a miracle himself to be able to survive that fall down the side of the mountain.

My breathing starts to increase and my frills clench up on my back as the smoke on my abdomen dissipates, leaving behind a diagonal scar pointing towards my haunches and wing joint with new regrown scales. I tighten my grip into the ground and curl my tail as the sensation leaves me dizzy yet free of pain. It takes some time before my breathing slows down enough for me to focus back on who might be next to me so I try to open my eyes and find out. As I grunt my vision gradually returns and I am able to see the forest floor and nearby trees with some strewn branches on the ground from my fall. I blink my eyes, eventually getting enough detail to make out that I am lying on the ground where predators could take advantage of me while I am down. A forest is not an ideal place for a dragon to be sometimes, yet I still wonder why I made my home in a cave low to the ground. I close my eyes to take a calming breathe before shifting my neck that is resting on the ground, looking up to see the sun still shining down on me through the broken canopy, slowly working on repairing the tear in my egg chamber. I can feel the tissue rebuilding itself while no pain courses through my body as I smile internally, grateful that I had been born as a Sunset dragon.

In that moment, I scent someone close to me, the same person who's magic helped me stay alive until the sun was able to shine on my scales. I slowly turn my head to the left while raising it off the ground a little to see whom it is while taking in their scent. My eyes go wide while I still my tail as I see him wearing a long coat, making him look like a sorcerer with the form of a bipedal dragon with unusually small wings along with a tail flowing behind him and the muzzle shape of a dragon and bronze scales all over his body. I had thought humans lived in these mountains but I guess I was mistaken; at least it is not Gündir. The sun shines on his scales as well as mine, throwing a bright aura around me as if I was an angel. I could feel the immense amount of magic he had from the small amount that was soaking into my body so I raise my frills in fear and lower my head and whine while further tightening my left wing against my back. Even though I was much bigger in size than him, that if I stood up he would only be halfway up to my shoulder, I could tell he could easily kill me in the state I am in. If he was scared of me, I was too of him as I could sense the potent magic radiating off the staff imbedded in the tree that I had cracked. I was still weak, and becoming hungry as well while the burning in my loins began to build up again now that the pain was gone, spreading my scent out for any potential mates.

Snakebug:

** ** She seemed to be recovering extremely fast, if her breathing was anything to go by. It was actually quite scary, yet it was definitely quite exciting as well. I've met a sunset dragon, a kind that many people could only dream of seeing in person! I guess I finally got some good luck, or it could be bad if she decides that she wants me for dinner, or just dead. My eyes scanned over her body, as my magic seemed to pulse in time with my rapid heartbeat. It kept getting stronger by the second, to the point where it was becoming hard to control! My aura was causing sparks to come off my bronze scales, making them shine in a way that would signal for miles. Something brought my attention to her right wing however, being able to tell that it was dislocated in a horrible way. Something about the way it was twisted made me want to hurl, as I wondered who, or what, could have done this to her. Though that did give me one solitary thought that broke through my distracted mind, making me shudder. The first was an insistent urge to protect this poor dragon, but I didn't know what it was I was protecting it from. The second was how I knew she was female, as I didn't even look. Maybe it was just the smell.

It was rather strange to see such a rare dragon like this, as life's relentless claw can pummel even the greatest creatures. Either way, my thoughts refocused as I began to sense some movement coming from the dragoness, giving me a distinct feeling of, and maybe a little excitement. The way her frills twitched was somewhat unnerving, as it seemed like she was going to lash out at me. Though that didn't seem possible, as in her current state, even if she was healed a bit, she couldn't make movements like that, or afford to do so. Though, when she turned to me, I quickly grabbed my staff with as much haste as possible. I twirled it with an unimaginable amount of skill, as small pillars of earth beneath our feet rose with every swing. I quickly pointed the bronze instrument of battle towards her, giving her a stern look. "Stop moving." I growled, my tail lashing out behind me. "You'll only make your wounds worse." The words coming out of my mouth seemed to be rather tender, despite my grumpy and somewhat threatening demeanor. She was in my care, and even if she did try to kill me, I would still make sure she was in good health.

StarLight Nova:

** ** Even though I could easily kill the dragon in front of me, he could very much get the first hit in as I struggle to stand up or defend myself in my weakened state. I could still feel his magic pouring into me, getting stronger and lending me more strength along with the sun healing the tear in my egg chamber. I could sense through his magic he was excited to see me, knowing he got to see a sunset dragon as we usually stayed to ourselves other than occasionally joining clans of other dragons that had mixed species, we were always welcomed. I soon became mesmerized with the sparks flowing off his scales while the sun made mine sparkle as well as intensify the heat in my loins and the pheromones rising off my body but I had forgotten it when I had laid my eyes on him. Though my neck was low to the ground and my frills were raised, I tense up and close my eyes while I let out a soft whimper, turning my head the other way as he lunges, hearing a crack and cling of metal of him pulling the staff from the tree I had crashed into.

I lay shaking as my breathing increases, fearful that he will be the one to end my life, but I was confused when he had lent me his magic to heal me. I then feel magic saturate the air and sense the ground shake, wondering what he could be doing but I was too scared to look until I hear him speak, able to understand what he is saying. He must have been the one I heard when I was almost gone. I gradually lift my head and lower my frills, turning my gaze to the left while blinking my eyes with tears running down my muzzle to see him twirling the staff unnaturally fast with pillars of earth rising with every swing. I flinch when he growls, warning me not to move even as I curl my tail between my hind legs and shift my forelegs to get comfortable, the sun having long evaporated any dirt and blood lingering on my scales. I try to shrink away from him despite me being much larger than he is, pressing my right wing unknowingly against the tree I am backed up against, causing a sting of pain to erupt and make me growl and close my eyes, briefly flaring my frills before your magic dulls the pain again.

I whimper, lowering my neck to the ground as I open my eyes halfway and relax my frills, calming myself as more tears escape while I let my left wing droop against my flank. It was not wise to corner an injured and frightened dragon while holding a weapon as they could lash out in fear. While I could very well do the same, I had chosen not to as those who did were often worse off than they would be if they had tried to look less threatening. That did not eliminate the possibility that the person, elf, or dragon could still attack them even though they show they mean no harm. This was even more of an incentive to stay away from gravid females or females who were guarding their clutch of eggs if you came into their cave with a weapon. They would viciously defend themselves, though the male was almost always around to protect them. I could have lifted my neck and extended my frills to their full height, growling and hissing at the hybrid in front of me, but that would only give him more reason to defend himself when I was the one that was injured and scared. As the energy the sun emitted was absorbed into me and the tear in my egg chamber was close to being knitted together, it was also advancing my heat to where my sex was slowly becoming swollen and my vaginal juices were leaking onto my tail and into the ground.

Snakebug:

** ** Every second seemed painstakingly long to me, as even though she seemed to be somewhat docile, she still looked fearful and jumpy. I had to admit, however, that even though she seemed scared and mortified, she still seemed so regal and beautiful. Something about her aura did catch my eye, as her sparkling scales gave a captivating glint. It was almost calming, though not really. With a sigh, I lifted my staff upwards, slamming it into the ground so it would stand up without my assistance. It was a way to tell her that I wasn't going to hurt her, as I stilled my movements and softened my glare. I could tell she was scared beyond belief, if the tears running down her muzzle were anything to go by. I cringed with a hiss as I saw her wing hit the tree, as my sympathy translated over to the magic I was healing her with. Though I wasn't trying to heal her, as I didn't have any control over it.

I walked closer to her, leaving my staff behind as I approached. I knelt before her, trying to comfort her. Though that strange smell did make me scrunch up my muzzle, as I didn't know what to think. It didn't stink, but I didn't enjoy it either. "Look, I'm not going to hurt you." I said with a sigh, holding out a claw in hopes that she would approach. "You're lucky I got here when I did." It was definitely true, as even with the sun, some of those wounds would have killed her. Or so I thought anyways. My magic seemed to get stronger the closer I got to her, as the sparks began to turn into full bolts of lightning. It was annoying as hell for me, as the light wasn't really good for my eyes. I just hoped that whatever did this to her wouldn't come back, no matter how exciting that fight would be.

StarLight Nova:

With the position of my neck, he had a clear view of the two scars that had taken their place over their respective injury. The first bite mark was completely gone, and the second bite mark on the middle of my neck was the least visible by far and only looked like a mating bite with faint pink splotches where his teeth had dug past my scales savagely. The three gouge marks going from my neck to my lower jaw were more distinguishable with the sensitive skin running in a slightly jagged line with regrown scales bordering on either side of it. Dragons take great pride in any scars they obtained, often using them to show off to the females to display their courage and strength in battle, but for these ones, all I feel is shame and remorse, having them as a reminder of the struggle I had with Gündir, of how he tried to force himself onto me. I could not even imagine how he would act if he had survived that fall and had gone back to the others. He would surely be seen as brave and many females would want him as their mate, but I would suspect he would still be lusting after me...no, revenge would be a better term to describe it. He would come here to find me, though it was chance whether he thought I was dead or alive, I would have to be strong enough to fight him off again by then. If...he was alive as well.

My body jerks and tenses up suddenly when he slams the staff into the ground and I hear the pillars fall, merging back into the earth where they had risen. I shake from the sudden sound, closing my eyes as I whimper softly while pressing my frills tightly against my back, sensing him coming closer to me but by the nature of his magic still flowing into my body I can feel he means me no harm. When he kneels close to me and I listen to him speak I do not hear any irritation in his voice from when I was moving around earlier. As my breathing slows down I gradually open my eyes and shift my head to look at him with wary eyes as he says I am lucky he got here when he did. I narrow my eyes and take in a deep breathe before huffing but the arrogance quickly fades as I debate whether I could have made it if he was here or not. Given it would have been close had he not been and it would have taken much longer for me to wake up and regain as much strength as I have with him lending me his magic, and the fact none of my wounds would have healed as quickly until the sun was shining on my scales.

I proceed to stare at his claw as if it belonged to an alien, eventually raising my head and looking at him as I see the electricity increase all over his body. I flinch from time to time, thinking that the constant light show is annoying to you in some way. Other than the scars on my neck, the one on my abdomen was covered with my left wing with my tail still curled inward. At this time the tear in my egg chamber has been healed and it seemed to be just in time as another set of clouds roll over to block the sun. This in turn leaves only your magic to strengthen me as my heat dies down and the fire in my abdomen abates. I go back to staring at your hand vacantly after looking up briefly to see the clouds moving overhead yet my scent still lingers heavily in the air. I was hesitant to put my trust in you as I had just come out alive from a traumatic experience, though it probably would be good to have you to protect me 'should' he still be alive. I breathe calmly while relaxing against the tree but I make sure not to lean on it too much to disturb my dislocated wing while I raise my frills a little.

I tilt my head to the right before moving my neck forward an inch, haltingly coming closer to you until I close my eyes and rest your palm on my snout, feeling your scales brush over mine as my warm breath travels up you arm. I immediately pull back and bare my teeth as the lightning surrounding your body crosses over to me, causing me to yelp as it startles me while my left wing spasms and my tail thumps against the ground as my frills twitch up and down. I can feel the electricity flowing over my body before settling onto my mind and thoughts where I shake my head, trying to clear my vision and discomfort left in my body. I dig my fore claws into the dirt while pulling my hind legs closer to my body while trying to ease my breathing from the unexpected shock. My thoughts race through my mind as I keep my eyes closed, of my parents, of the other dragons I used to live with before going to my encounter with Gündir, of how he wanted me, how he could not wait any longer. Along with my thoughts come various emotions, first and foremost of how scared and confused I am along with the uncertainty of what is happening. The fear I experienced when Gündir bite my neck and I saw his phallus is the most prominent, but also the fear I had of dying, of being alone without a mate to hold and love.

Snakebug:

** ** Something about how hesitant she was worried me, as I didn't even want to think of what could have made her act this way. It's one thing that she was injured the way she was, but the fact that she lived made it clear that she was not to be trifled with. Who, or what, could have been so strong and malicious that they would make her act like a scared hatchling? Either way, I probably didn't want the answer to that question, so I focused on her. When she moved her neck towards me, inch by inch, I couldn't help but feel as if something bad was about to happen. I almost took my hand away, but by the time I thought about it it was too late. She already put her snout on my palm, and her warm body was definitely something odd to me. It just felt so alien and unfamiliar, as her warm breath running up my arm sent a shiver down my spine. My maroon spines seemed to twitch and stiffen, as currents of electricity seemed to run from my head to the tip of my tail. This also meant she would get shocked however, and I quickly regretted my decision.

First came the panic and fear, as I scrambled to my feet as she slapped her tail against the ground. The electricity seemed to be arcing across her body, which was strange, because it seemed to be headed for one specific place. All I could tell was that it was going straight for her head, like it was a metal pole in the middle of a lightning storm. My emotions seemed to be going haywire, even though I very rarely showed them. I was obviously extremely worried, as well as having an overwhelming feeling of guilt from the shock I just caused her. "Even while I'm trying to help you, I keep hurting you at the same time." I thought to myself, my face not showing the worry and guilt that was racking my mind. Though, something else was off, as I began to have thoughts and memories that were most definitely not mine, unless I was having some kind of identity crisis.

Though, I couldn't make sense of all of it, as each thought was going way too fast, as well as mixing with my own. I heard the name Gündir, which gave me a sudden subconscious feeling of anger, as well as some sort of fear. I also heard, no, felt thoughts of fear, as well as worries involving having a mate and finding love. "What in the world is this?" I mumbled to myself, reeling as I tried to get my footing once more. This all made little to no sense to me, as all my emotions of confusion and apprehension began to start flowing towards, somewhere. I couldn't place it, but it was like I had some sort of outlet, leading to some other place. It's almost like I'm hearing, or feeling, another beings thoughts and emotions. Though my worries began to travel elsewhere, as my magic began to reach a bottleneck, as I began to tire from the amount of magic I was using. It was like somebody was closing a floodgate, but I could still use some of it.

StarLight Nova:

** ** I growl lowly and bare my teeth while digging ruts in the ground with my eyes tightly closed as a pressure builds up within my head but it is not uncomfortable or painful, just weird and disorienting. I shake my head from side to side as my body seems to pulse with the beat of two hearts, one slightly less loud and strong than my own yet I do not feel like it is inside of me, rather, it is close to me. I am the first to sense a flood of new emotions and thoughts, all confused and jumbled, feeling like I am worried and guilty for doing something. More thoughts come to my mind of how terrified I was when Gündir came at me, when he forced me onto my back and I could see his phallus ready to penetrate me, impregnate me and make me gravid with his eggs. I lower my head to the ground, still shaking as I cover my snout with my left forepaw, whimpering while my left wing stops moving uncontrollably and the pressure begins to fade in my mind but is still present. I relax my frills and swish my tail slowly across the ground as my flanks rise and fall steadily, the clouds overhead passing to let the sun through only but for a brief moment before another group blocks the light.

After some time of trying to calm myself I hear a foreign thought, not something that I thought of but something I heard from someone else. My eyes fly open as I stare straight ahead with my paw trembling as I listen in to the emotions and thoughts flowing through my mind that are not mine, being able to distinguish to a degree which ones were mine and which ones were not. I am surprised that I can recall what I heard so easily, and I could only conclude that it came from the hybrid that was next to me. My breathing becomes staggered as I try and contemplate how this could be possible, of how I could hear and _feel_the thoughts and emotions of someone else. I mean, it was not at all uncommon for a pair of mated dragons under certain circumstances to become bonded and be able to sense, hear and feel each other's emotions, thoughts and pain. Those who were often tended to produce more offspring and had no quarrels with one another. They could comfort each other and cheer them up when they were sad. Bonded dragons were the least likely to break up and separate, as doing this would surely kill both of them from the grief and emptiness they felt in their hearts and mind. They could not live without one another, and it often meant for those that were bonded that they had found true love and the perfect match for themselves.

I clench my eyes shut and cry while more tears fall down my muzzle as I wonder if I had found my match, but I dismiss it, throwing the assumption away, denying that this hybrid, a dragon smaller than me who could not walk on all fours could be my mate, one meant to be with me for the rest of my life. I had spent so much of my life looking, searching, and daydreaming of the one I would choose and what they would be like, how we would laugh, play, and be happy together with a cave full of hatchlings that we would raise together. It could not be true, I would not believe it, even if I could hear his thoughts and emotions, it was like someone was taunting me after I had just come away from a male who had lusted over me, wanting nothing more than for me to be his. I let my left wing fall over my flank with the edge touching the ground while I press my frills against my back as I feel anger erupting from the hybrid that was next to me along with a reverberating fear that I had for Gündir. I growl weakly, almost sounding pitiful as it turns into a whimper. Even though my wounds were healed, I was still frightened, scared that another one of his friends could come here when they realize he has not come back after some time. I am lucky I did not show him where I lived, as I doubted even the hybrid in front of me could protect me for long against a dragon that wanted revenge.

As I hear him speak softly the pressure in my head finally disappears, vanishing to let me recollect my thoughts and relax my body from the assault of thoughts and emotions coming from the hybrid. The bond was still weak, only just formed, but the more we utilized it, recognized our feelings for each other and acted on it, the stronger it would become to where our thoughts and emotions would become indistinguishable from each other. His thoughts gradually fade away, leaving me with only a slight buzzing in the back of my mind to let me know he was still there. While I slow my breathing and open my blurry eyes, wiping my tears away gently with my claw, I could feel he was confused as to what was happening. I was as well to an extent, but it was more a 'why' it happened than what is happening. I could hear the beat of his heart more clearly, the way his pulse raced and the sweat running down his scales to soak his long cloak. I blink my eyes a few times while bringing my tail around between my hind legs before shifting my head to look at him with one eye, appearing helpless, terrified...small, none of which I should feel since I am a Sunset dragon, one who should be proud and brave. When I take a deep breathe, my stomach rumbles, both heard and felt weakly through our bond. I narrow my eyes and look away, raising my frills partially as my face becomes hot and I become embarrassed. I huff out and wait for a few seconds to cool down before looking back at you, lowering my frills to speak to you for the first time.

"I'm hungry..." I say telepathically, the sound echoing as if coming from two sources at once, forgetting that our bond also carried what I said to you. When the clouds let the sun shine again, it is only in sparse patches. I could smell in the air that rain was coming later on as the sun was nearly at its peak already. With the cool breeze blowing in and the musty smell, there might be a chance for a storm sometime tonight or earlier morning, so it would be best if I could get to my cave before then. As everything happens, I am still oblivious to the burning fire building up slowly in my abdomen, unaffected by the wounds I had received.

*Snakebug: *

** ** I recovered quickly from my reeling, as even though the situation was strange, I could still keep my head straight. More than a few thoughts came to my mind, most of them not even mine, but quite a few stood out. I kept coming up with theories, as I had read quite a few books about things such as this. Maybe it was an accidental spell, linking the minds of individuals? That would explain why these feelings and thoughts have shown up, and maybe gave me an idea of whom I'm linked to. As I let my thoughts wander, my coat seemed to blow a little in the wind, waving along with my tail through the air. Something about the whole situation kept my senses on high alert, as the many hypotheses I had seemed to lead to more questions. "Maybe its just magic backlash or something." I grumble, putting a claw on my face.

Though, a train of thought that was clearly not mine began to catch my attention, as I began to feel worried thoughts of the feral before me. Everything seemed to make little sense to me, as the idea of bonding seemed impossible, as well as extremely unnatural. I mean, in what world would being in love lead to being able to read each others thoughts? Really, there are things up there that some people don't need to know, especially your mate. "Did I just say mate?" I wondered, as I knew I meant something else. Though I couldn't focus on my thoughts and emotions, because her fear and helplessness kept drowning out my own thought processes. I could understand why she was worried, but it was kind of convenient.

The pressure of the link seemed to fade into my subconscious, clearing up my head so I could think. I could still feel her, as I still felt rather sorry for her. I almost broke when I saw her helpless glance, and the tears that stained her face. It made me angry, as I couldn't help but get the urge to protect her from whatever did this, as well as avenge her. She was now my responsibility, no matter what happened! A rather bright glow began to surround me, as my emotions caused the bottleneck on my magic to lift, letting out unfathomable amounts of magic. A bush or two ignited behind me, as I got lost in my thoughts, before one broke my focus.

When I heard and felt a female voice, as well as the claims of hunger and embarrassment, I panicked. I turned slowly towards the dragoness, eyeing her with disbelief. "You can talk?" I asked, wrapping my tail around my arm as I said each word. "And what do you want me to do? I could hunt, but I doubt that there are any five star meals nearby!" I said, trying to rationalize with everything that was happening. It was just one strange event after another now!

StarLight Nova:

** ** While I was dealing with my own inner turmoil during the time our bond was forming, I had ignored a good portion of your thoughts that were flowing into my mind besides your confusion and anger at hearing the name of the dragon that attacked me. I still wonder why this bond had formed, with a bipedal dragon no less, and I can't help but utilize it to figure out what you thought of it. Being that I was unfamiliar with how it worked myself, as I had never taken a mate, it would be inevitable that you could feel when I was looking into your mind, experiencing a light dizzy sensation while I searched for how you felt about this until we both got more comfortable with it. Hearing, or feeling that you had come up with many possibilities as to how this could have happened, I tense up with my frills rising, becoming aggravated, or just angry that you could put it up as something accidental. I huff out, but calm myself, lowering my frills as I sense you were still confused and lost as to how this came to be. Most dragons were just mated normally, sharing love and compassion between the two, but it took two of the same species for a bond to form; yet it did not necessarily mean they had to be entirely from one bloodline or species. In the beginning everything would be visible to their partner until they learned how to build walls to keep private information behind. Bonds also formed when two dragons were fated to be together, though some did not always think that was so when they find their other half. I guess this is a hard topic to explain because of the complications and intricacies involved with it, but that would be the basic explanation from one who had not experienced it yet.

I blink my eyes and shuffle my left wing when I sense your vague thoughts, of your desire to protect me from whatever had injured me when you see my expression. A chilly breeze was blowing through, rustling the leaves on the trees but the cold does not affect me, as I had regained my warmth thanks to your magic that had flowed throughout my body to heal me. I was still weak and growing hungry from the energy it took for my wounds to heal, and if I tried to stand I would definitely be unsteady, but at least I was alive. My eyes suddenly widen as I tighten my frills against my back while curling my tail between my hind legs and pressing my dislocated wing against the tree, causing pain to flare out from the joint but I am too frightened when I see you glow and feel your magic burst, lighting up some bushes from the intensity of your emotions. It takes sometime before I relax my body, slowing my breathing and leaning to the left to stop the discomfort and pain coming from my right wing. Regardless, it starts throbbing incessantly to the beat of my heart, causing me to close my eyes and dig my claws further into the ground while whimpering, knowing that sooner or later you would have to pop it back in so that I could fly again. I would of course have to rest and I would be unable to take flight until my right wing felt good enough to handle the strain.

When I hear you speak I open my eyes gradually, shifting my head on the ground while breathing out slowly so that I could look at you, watching as you wrap your tail around your arm, finding it slightly amusing. "Yes, I can." I reply, my voice still rebounding twice within your head, the one through our bond softer than when I speak to you telepathically. I did not mind at all that what you would be able to get might not be the best, as long as I could eat something to restore my strength. "That is ok." I say softly while my voice wavers from my current condition. "Anything will do, but," I pause, pulling in my hind legs as I raise my neck and lean more to the left to try and stand up but let out a short cry of pain as my right wing joint threatens to rip. I relax as my breathing increases slightly but I am otherwise ok while my frills rise and fall along with my flanks. "If I could stand up, and with your help get my right wing back in place, I could hunt as well, though I don't know how good or useful I will be in this state I am in." I say dejectedly, lowering my neck back onto the floor while closing my eyes to relax and finally pull my fore claws out of the dirt and place my right foreleg over my left as I relax, opening my eyes to look at you when you speak.

Snakebug:

** ** I couldn't really get what was going on, even with all the possibilities I came up with in my head. Maybe it was an accident, or maybe it was one of those "It was meant to be" situations I never quite believed in. Though, maybe it was just me, but I felt a little anger come from her once I thought that. Clearly, this situation would be quite a dilemma for us, as I knew that I had to take care of her somehow. Even as I see her flinch and hit her wing once again, it only irritates me as I know it's going to be harder to heal after that. With a bit of an annoyed demeanor, I walked over to her once again after she explained to me that she couldn't move, or hunt. Though don't get me wrong, I wasn't going to let her move anyway. "Look, I'm not going to make you do anything. Hell, I'll make sure you don't move from here if I have to." I began, my tail wavering behind me in the cold breeze. It didn't bother me much, as I seemed to be well accustomed to heat and cold. "I already healed you as much as I could, somehow, so I don't think finding you a bit of food is going to be much an ordeal." Those words a bit untrue, as I knew that if I were to get a worthwhile meal, I would have to go steal from the one place I never wanted to go.

It was a meat locker owned by a certain dragon who had quite the reputation, and an arsenal of knives that could crack the scaled hide of an earth dragon. He was the resident butcher, and he was surely not a pleasant man. The guy didn't just cut up livestock because he needed food, he enjoyed it. He was a sick, twisted guy, but he gives us food so we can't do much about it. Just thinking about him made me look over my shoulder, as I knew that I may be able to hold my own against him, but not without a few deep injuries. "Trust me, I'll have a whole bunch of food for you to dine on." I claimed, sitting down in front of the dragoness. "I promise."

StarLight Nova:

** ** I do not shy away this time when he moves closer, though I could sense vaguely from our bond that he was irritated that I was moving, injuring my wing more than necessary. Even with the majority of my wounds healed, I still needed time to recover, and that meant I had to trust this hybrid to protect me from anything that would want to hurt me, not that I could not deal with it myself if I wanted to. Anyone would be a fool to attack a dragon, except another dragon, much less an injured one that wanted to live. Listening to you speak, I get the impression that you did care for me, and I remember the feeling I got from your magic that you were sad to see me injured in such a way. A few tears roll down my muzzle while I swish my tail lazily over the ground and smile with my frills rising up a little, not of anger or fear, but of happiness, knowing you will look out for my wellbeing. Hearing you say you had healed me, though unsure how you did it, fills me with joy that you will get me something to eat.

Because our bond was just formed a while ago, any thoughts we share are weak and distant except when it was forming, though we can concentrate on the link to bring them into greater clarity with some focus. Since dragons are the primary race that forms bonds between partners, we are the ones who can learn how to use them to a greater extent. With that, while you are a dragon, you will have a harder time learning how to use and control your thoughts, as even though I do not know anything about it myself, my parents have taught me how to shield my mind from prying eyes, letting me be able to figure out how it works. So, it would seem we both would be struggling with how to use and cope with this bond, deciding that we keep it. Anyway, I could sense your thoughts about finding me food, though not from the source I thought you would get it from. Emotion's can go a long way into effecting how strong we feel each other's thoughts through the bond. As you focus on planning on taking meat from this man, I could not get the courage to say no, as I had stolen kills from your farms to feed myself, so I guess this was justified.

The more you think on it, the stronger I can feel your will to protect me, one of the qualities that a female looks for in a male in her choice to choose a mate. While I still have to decide for myself whether I accept you as my mate or not, the fact you are willing to protect me after having just found and healed me melts my heart. I was hesitant as to whether I should break the bond, as even though it is weak and untested, it could still cause some lasting mental damage to both of us along with the fact neither of us would be able to take a mate for the rest of our lives. If that were to happen, it would have been better had I died then recovered from my wounds. There was also the chance it could kill us both because of the emotions we have experienced from each other, so I could not make that choice until I asked you what you wanted to do.

I watch as you sit down in front of me, assuring me you will get a lot of food for me to eat and recover my strength. I close my eyes while lowering my frills, my heart filling with warmth and joy as I breathe in and out slowly, scenting the cool damp air along with a hint of my own scent. I spend some time to get used to how this felt, and while I have had many males swoon over me, I don't think none would have acted so fast in this situation to protect me and make sure I got better. Opening my eyes, I raise my neck and tilt my head before leaning forward, placing the bottom of my muzzle on your right shoulder while spreading my frills and shuffling my left wing and purring. "I truly appreciate your kindness towards me. Thank you, Zennix." I reply, most certainly surprising you that I know your name while you had not told me what it was. While you are confused and shocked, I wrap my tail around to touch your side as I reach for our bond, conveying through it what my name was, Cyalina, or Calin. I had found out what your name was when I had looked through our bond to see how you felt about it, and although it was accidental, I liked your name.

Snakebug:

** ** I could tell she seemed happy, though I'm not sure if I felt her happiness or saw it. The tears rolling down from her muzzle didn't seem to be tears of sadness, but more of appreciation if her smile was anything to go by. The way she smiled seemed to make me feel a little, good, or whatever word others would describe it as. I'm normally not one to show my emotions, much less get affected by others, but the joy I felt on her side of the link made me want to help her even more. "This has got to be the sappiest thing..." I thought with embarrassment, my maroon spines twitching and my tail slashing through the air. I couldn't figure out why I seemed to be getting attached to the dragoness, even as I tried to peek through the bond by peeking through it, which was probably a bad metaphor now that I think about it.

Though, my thoughts quickly wandered to how I planned to get her this food, as I knew that the dragon that ran the place already wanted me dead. He and I have a history, which is actually a little complicated. To put it briefly, at a young age he was the runt of the litter, and mostly despised around the village. We normally avoided each other, as I never gave him problems if he didn't cause any for me, but one day it all changed. The previously weak dragon made a deal with some kind of demon, which I refuse to believe is plausible, and ended up becoming powerful, too powerful. He enacted his revenge on those who hurt and despised him, as he began to enjoy causing pain to others.

He even managed to kill a full-grown earth dragon, who saw the commotion and tried to help. I never thought it was possible, but he managed to do it. It was a curb stomp battle, as the elder feral dragon stood little chance against the furious hatchling. I'm surprised I managed to hold him off myself, but he promised I would die next time he saw me. "Give a man an inch and he'll take a mile." I mumbled to myself, realizing that our paths would cross once again. Though I made a promise, and even if I have to kill him, I will make sure she lives. I did need a plan, as I could probably sneak in with little trouble. But I need to stay in contact with the dragoness, and I could only hope that the bond allowed that.

It took the feeling of her muzzle on my shoulder and the sound of her words to break me from my thoughts, which almost made me flinch a little. It did make me feel a little better that she appreciated what I had done, even if I didn't understand it myself. This gave me even more resolve to fulfill my promise, and not die so I could. "Well, thanks." I said, before pausing and looking towards her slowly. "Did you just say my name?" Those words were interrupted by her tail touching my side, sending a name that I guessed was hers. "This bond thing is going to take some getting used to."

StarLight Nova:

** ** I give a soft chuckle when I feel your embarrassment, but my stomach decides to be noisy again so I lower my frills until it goes away. I inevitably sense your emotions towards me when you touch our bond, knowing you had feelings for me, and I did as well, but I tried to hide them as best I could, as I still wasn't so sure how I felt about being mates with a hybrid dragon, even if I did think you looked handsome and smelled nice with the outline of your muscles sending sparks through my mind, igniting the fire in my loins. Before I could beret myself for thinking of such things or divert my thoughts, I sense a lot of worry coming from you across our bond and distant emotions of concern and fear about the butcher in your village. I could feel you two did not get along, and that made me nervous about the fact you would be going to him to get food for me hopefully undetected. The thought that really makes me anxious is when I see faint images of an earth dragon battling against what could only be the butcher when he was younger.

My eyes go wide and I press my frills against my back when I think of how he could have been strong enough to have killed such a formidable foe, as earth dragons are one of the most heavily defended and invulnerable to physical and magical attacks with moderate damage output. It would take considerable persistence to overpower their defenses to even have a chance at killing them. My fear for your safety grows when I recognize who the earth dragon was, Tar'il. He was one of the few earth dragons who had bonded with another, and his mate had been living among our valley before I had flown to my new cave near your village. We all had mourned his death, for when he died, a ferocious roar of pain reverberated across the whole mountain range from his mate, signaling the death of a great dragon until a few days later she died of grief as well. Remembering this makes me scared of what will happen if you decided to want to break our bond, as the longer we had each other in our heads, the greater the risk that the damage would be life threatening.

I close my eyes to take in a wavering breathe before lifting my muzzle off of your shoulder and lean back to look at you dimly while breathing out slowly. Your words are muffled in my ears as tears come to my eyes once more and my frills droop against my back, that if he had managed to kill an earth dragon, you had little to no chance to survive as well. I don't let this get to me for too long as I shake my head, opening my eyes while trying to radiate an aura of reassurance, raising my frills as I smile for confidence. I hoped that you did not catch me like that, but you had already seen me brought low when you had first came here, so I believe it would not matter if you saw me lose my composure again. I nod my head when you speak, wanting to know if I had said your name while I remove my tail from your side, thinking of some ways in which I could help you when you got there. The sun was still covered by clouds with only a few rays of light allowed to pass through to illuminate the ground with a constant gentle cool wind blowing by.

With a shuddering breathe and a swish of my tail, I respond. "You aren't alone there." I say, tilting my head to the right while closing my eyes. "I could help you learn how to use it when you get back...I could maybe be another pair of eyes for you to make sure you make it out alive." I say, opening my eyes to look at you, voice wavering and growing soft near the end. I could not help but let my fear for you getting hurt surface, as I did not know what I would do without you as you had healed me when I was close to death. Now I wanted to return the favor in any way I could, even though I was not able to provide more than an extra set of senses through our bond so you could evade the butcher. I huff out, lowering my neck to the ground while closing my eyes and letting my frills fall onto my back as I lean gently to the right, wary of my dislocated wing to rest and regain my strength until you came back. _ _

Snakebug:

** ** I could feel her fear, which was a rather strange feeling to me. I mean, you only hear about feeling another beings fear in stories, or books, or books with stories in them, you get my point. Anyways, I knew she feared for my safety, or maybe because of the butcher that I was going to be stealing from. I knew he was tough, but from my experience I was able to fight him off once before, so who says I can't do it again? It's strange really, as after I saw him kill that dragon, fighting him didn't seem so hard for me. I had one of those annoying flashbacks of the time he killed that dragon, after slaughtering quite a few others, he seemed to be scared when he saw me. His eyes seemed to hold the sort of fear that I couldn't comprehend. I knew I was weaker than him, and he killed a full-grown earth dragon, so I couldn't tell what made him back off. "Maybe he came to his senses and stopped because he felt bad, though most likely not." I mumble to myself, before hearing the dragoness speak to me once more.

The way her eyes looked, and how her voiced sounded, it just tore something. I've never seen somebody so scared, or so worried, especially if it involved myself! I cringed a bit as I hear her voice waver, as the reality of the situation began to kick in. I sighed a bit, turning around and walking towards my staff, grabbing it and snatching it out of the ground. Now was not the time to doubt myself, as her life depended on me getting out of there. I turned back to her, making sure I gave her one order before I left. "If anything happens while I'm gone, use that bond thing and I will be here quicker than you could even fly." I said, making sure she heard every word I said. And with that, I began my trek through the forest, rushing through the bushes and trees as I went straight for the edge of town, where the metal factory awaits...

StarLight Nova: Gundir

** ** I try and calm myself by taking slow, deep breaths, thinking that if I get too worried about this my doubt would seep over our bond and make you unsure if you could defeat him if you were forced to confront him. If he did manage to kill you I would either be brought down to nothing more than a whimpering, scared beast with a void in my mind and heart or the stress and grief from losing you would kill me even though the bond had been formed for less than a day. This is what I had tried to avoid when I was living in the mountains, looking for a mate every six months. Since the other Sunset dragons were already mated, there would have to be another with at least a small portion in their blood for me to even consider taking them as my mate. Unfortunately, Gündir was a pureblooded granite dragon, similar to an earth dragon with relative defense and slightly more attack power with resistance to poison and blunt attacks. They came in various colors that were often dark or lackluster, and as Gündir had gold and lime green scales, he was a rare occurrence indeed, but that did not mean he was any less spectacular a specimen for a male.

As I think of what will happen, of the possibilities that could occur when you go off to steal me some meat to eat, I sense from across our bond that you were sure you could face him again, forgetting in the flood of concern and fear that you had held him off after he had killed Tar'il. I open my eyes and shift my head to look at you while raising my frills and pulling my left wing higher onto my back as I swish my tail across the ground. I knew I could count on you to care for me, and now I had confidence in you that you could do this with a chance you would not have to face him, but on the odd chance you did, I knew you would be able to hold your own. When I listen to you speak I mentally shake my head while closing my eyes, thinking he had been afraid because he saw something in you that could easily kill him. Even demons could fear things that were out of their grasp or knowledge of what things were or how it could possibly come to be. From the time I felt your magic, I sensed you were unique, an oddity that should not have existed, but did because of extremely lucky circumstances, and I wonder who your parents are, or were.

I open my eyes back up when I hear you sigh and lower my frills onto my back as my flanks rise and fall steadily, watching as you turn to head towards your staff before speaking to me. You had saved my life, so of course you had my full attention as I listen to you say I should contact you if anything should happen when you're gone. I feel confident that you would return, and as I watch you run off into the forest back to your town, I let emotions of reassurance and caution flow across our bond. "Please...come back safe." I say softly as I close my eyes with a single tear rolling down my muzzle to rest and recover from this whole ordeal. Right now I was totally vulnerable, even with the majority of my wounds healed, I still had to have my right wing fixed. If any of Gündir's friends found me, or he himself survived and came looking for me, I wouldn't have a chance at defending myself, but I remember I could call on you at a moments notice to come back if that were to happen. I felt completely safe with you, and though I did not entirely accept you as my mate despite the fact you are protecting me, I considered you a good friend that I could rely on.

While Cyalina rests below the cracked tree she had crashed into, recovering from her fetal wounds and Zennix travels back to his town to secure meat for her to regain her strength with, a limp figure lies sprawled on the ground at the bottom of the mountain where two dragons had fought. Their dried blood still lies on the outcropping of rock where the dragoness had pushed the male off the edge before flying off, hoping to arrive at her cave to recover but subsequently crashes before she is able to get back. The figure, known as Gündir, appears to be lifeless, receiving numerous cuts and large gashes all around his scaled body on the way down the mountain. Cyalina had put up a good fight, clamping down on his muzzle to flip their situation and managed to score some hits on his left hind leg where she had stabbed her tail into his inner thigh. However, he returned the favor by ripping open her abdomen, disabling her from having any hatchlings, but from our knowledge, is able to safely bear them now because she is a Sunset dragon. At the end, she endured the pain and slashed four deep lines on his abdomen while cutting his phallus down the middle, disabling him from mating with a female if he manages to come out alive.

Gündir is now no more than a bloody wreck, more so than the condition Zennix had found Calin in. Both his wings had been shattered at the joint on the way down, but more importantly, he cannot move. His breathing is barely present as he is paralyzed from the chest down. A large pool of blood has formed beneath him overnight and into the morning, shimmering in the sun as birds of prey circle overhead, waiting for the scent of death to emanate from him. Given what species he is, he is still alive, but in immense pain. It is when Zennix heads off that he wakes, coughing up a considerable amount of blood, becoming dizzy with next to no strength as pain racks his body constantly. He ever so slowly opens his eyes to find himself on the ground with blood surrounding him, seeping into his once pristine scales. Since he can't feel the bottom half of his body, the pain is diminished but it is apparent that his left foreleg suffered some bone fractures as well on the landing.

Instead of breaking down, wishing his life would end right now so he does not have to bear this pain any longer, he grows enraged, livid with anger at Cyalina, the dragoness that denied taking him as a mate. He tries to stand, but finding the lower half of his body is not responding, he roars out though it comes out as horrific coughing, spewing up more blood before he lies still, breathing heavily labored with a few broken ribs as well, having punctured his lungs and other organs. Blood also seeps out of his genital slit where Calin had ruined his phallus, making it unusable. He does not sense when something approaches him, something with sinister intent, slithering towards him. Gündir is in so much pain that his mind is clouded over; his sight is reduced to a blind dwarf at best while he scents only the copper in his blood and the soil in the earth. His earing is shot and his taste is only focused on one thing.

He only becomes aware of the creature when it rises up and hisses, being close to his right forearm with its body curled around, ready to strike. The snake, if that is what you could make of it with the small horns and long line of frills running down its back is, threatens the downed dragon. Gündir vainly attempts to raise his head but is only able to open his eyes to look at the menace sitting near him, looking at him with those blood red eyes intently. Vengenccce. It whispers. Death. It offers. Gündir is confused, but instead of equating what it said to his death, he takes the inference of whether he wants to die, or live to kill someone else. As it was, he does not have the strength to speak, but growls lowly, causing pain to flare through his body and blot out any conscious thought. The serpent seems to understand his language even as his body tenses up with blood pouring out of the numerous wounds over his body. Once his breathing becomes labored again and he opens his eyes, the serpent slithers forward, whispering one more word. Power.

With that, it begins to wrap itself tightly around Gündir's right foreleg, the least damaged out of his whole body, traveling around the limp until the serpent's head reaches his shoulder. Gündir knows he can do nothing to escape, nothing to fight back or harm it, even as the serpent with its black lines on its back and blood red scales curls around him. Its tongue flickers out, tasting the copious amounts of blood in the air, savoring the taste of misery. Once it has twisted its body around his right foreleg and has reached his shoulder, the length of the creature surprises Gündir as there still seems to be enough length for it to wrap around even tighter, covering every inch of his scales. He can feel the muscles rippling over its surface, ready to squeeze and shatter the bone in his arm, yet it does not do that. Instead, it opens its mouth wide, displaying two large and very sharp fangs dripping with potent venom. Gündir chuckles, or tries to, knowing he is immune to poison, but this is not just poison, it is something else entirely.

Like a flash of lightning, it latches onto his shoulder, imbedding its fangs straight into the bone, cutting through the scale and muscle like paper and butter. Gündir's eyes widen instantly, feeling something being injected into his body at an alarming rate. The serpent tightens its grip, immobilizing his foreleg, not that he could have moved it at all with the condition he is in. Seconds later, veins of crimson red and toxic green flow out from the point where the serpent is injecting its venom, spreading across his foreleg, unseen from beneath the writhing mass of the serpent. Gündir can certainly feel it spreading, heading towards his shattered wing joint, up his wing, and over his back to his other side. It then travels up his neck, paralyzing him even further, but there is no pain where there should be. He spreads his ear frills weakly, letting them flutter in his panic as he growls in short bursts, coughing up more blood, pleading with the creature to let him go. The serpent does not listen, continuing with its job that Gündir had said it wanted, power.

The crimson red and toxic green veins proceed to spread over the rest of his body, over his chest, down his abdomen, across each of his hind legs and even inside of his genital slit. Only when it has covered his body entirely with the red green webbing, does the pain start. It does not begin as a trickle or a gentle gush, no; it's a hurricane, an explosion that barrels down on him with no warning, making his whole body tense up and spasm as he opens his muzzle to roar but no sound comes out. The serpent bites down harder with the poison still being pushed into him, just like he did with Calin, and then he feels the pain redouble, causing his sight to blur and his hearing to become nonexistent as he tastes and scents nothing but acid and poison. While this is happening, many changes are occurring within Gündir while his wounds slowly burn, growing hotter as he feels his blood begin to boil and simmer within his veins. Its too much for him to handle, no dragon had ever experienced this kind of pain before, and just as he loses consciousness, he lets out a terrifying roar.

Snakebug:

** ** It was clear that I had some sort of personal score to settle with the butcher, as I walked with purpose through the forest I knew so well. To some it would be a stupid idea to stand up to such a being, but for me, this was far from the dumbest thing I've ever done. I could just smell it, the heat and blood from the metal shop of horrors. It was all very surreal, as I even grabbed my staff off of my back on the way. Each step I took brought me closer to the dragon that I promised to kill; on the very day I stopped him. He had my sympathy at first, as being the runt of the litter was something I wouldn't wish on anybody. But what he did when he got this unnatural power, it was unforgivable. My steps seemed to get heavy, causing little tremors in the ground that I barely noticed. My magic seemed to be leaking out every once in a while, as it normally did when I began to express certain emotions at times.

The air filled my nostrils with the scents of blood and heat, signaling that with every step, I got closer to the factory he called his home. I wasn't just going to feed the dragoness, oh no, I was going to kill him for what he did that day. Power drove him mad, as it does to anybody, but I could not forgive him for every life he took that day. The tremors in the ground seemed to get stronger, as the magic began to get stronger each second. It didn't even take me long to realize I had entered the place that nobody dared to enter, as the pollution and smoked blocked out the sun in this whole area. For some reason, my magic made me look like some kind of glowing beacon, burning away the smog and darkness of the area. The plants were withered and dead, giving the already eerie place an even more sinister profile. Though it didn't matter to me, as I already had a mission to fulfill. After a while, I approached a door made of metal, with size that was beyond any known logic. It was foreboding; contrasting with the metal fortress I had the pleasure of infiltrating!

"I hope you're ready for me." I growled under my breath, knowing full well that he could hear me. He would have known I was here the minute I entered his territory, as it was only instinct. If I issued a challenge, he couldn't run from me. It was all based on honor, as no self-respecting dragon would run from a fight in their territory. I twirled my staff with more fury than I've ever experienced, as my emotions seemed to be out of control. Light started to pour from it, making some sort of beam as it burned the metal doors before me. "GET OUT OF HERE! OR ARE YOU JUST GOING TO HIDE LIKE THE RUNT YOU ALWAYS WERE!?" I shouted, knowing those words would infuriate him. My magic kept getting stronger, as the more emotion I poured into my words kept doubling it.

However, it soon got quiet. Or maybe it was that low hum I was hearing behind the doors...

StarLight Nova:

** ** A distant roar startles me into opening my eyes and raising my frills while cringing from leaning on my dislocated wing in reaction to the noise. My breathing increases as I look around frantically, wondering where that had come from, who it could have come from. Every shadow seemed to move as if hiding something that wanted to hurt me, but when I extended my consciousness, I found nothing but insects and plants and small wildlife. When I calm myself down enough to lower my frills I retract my consciousness and lightly prod our bond, wondering if it was you who had roared, but I can sense you were not engaged in battle with the butcher. If it had been you, that would have been a lot louder and it leaves me wondering if there was another dragon close by, yet still far away. That thought brings me back to the fact that you were going to face him, someone who had killed an earth dragon and survived. Unlike my earlier assumption, I now believed you stood a good chance, from the amount of magic I felt from you when you were healing me and from your staff along with any assistance I could give, you were sure to beat him.

While a cool breeze continuously blows through the forest and the clouds block the sunlight, I could sense your heartbeat speeding up the closer you got to his factory in anticipation of the battle. Your thoughts were clearly being projected across our bond the stronger your emotions became and I could feel you become angry as well as the faint thumps coming from the ground as your steps got heavy. I close my eyes and curl my tail between my hind legs as my abdomen throbs in mock pain as memories resurface of my confrontation with Gündir of his lustful expression when he looked at me. I growl and shake my head while lowering my left wing to cover the injury, wanting to forget about the nightmare that I had experienced. That just brings me to you and the bond we now share, thinking of how you could be my mate, the one I am destined to be with for the rest of my life. We would have been bonded eventually if this was the case, but because of the state I am in and the fact you were practically glowing with vibrant magic when I touched my snout to your palm, it just accelerated the process. I let out a soft resigned growl as I rest, still contested as to how I felt about you being my mate. You had shown sympathy for me and the will to protect and care for me while I get stronger, but you were a hybrid, smaller and unable to fly; yet you did have an immense amount of magic at your disposal. I could not take back my trust that I had bestowed upon you now; our bond would not allow me without causing me guilt.

As I get lost in my thoughts, quick flashes of images appear before my eyes, causing me to yelp in surprise but settle down when I sense they were coming from you. I close my eyes and calm myself while waiting for it to happen again, and shortly after it does. I see brief flashes of the forest you were walking in, coming upon your town and heading towards the factory the butcher was in. I could still sense your anger that had only grown with time as well as faint traces of your magic flowing through the air even from where I was, showing just how powerful you were. I could feel you said something with the emotions to go with it but not what it was. Your anger was starting to get to me and I had to concentrate to keep myself from falling into your hatred, while all the time I had ignored the fire and pressure that was steadily building up within my abdomen and loins. When you shout is when I could hear what you say, taunting the butcher into fighting you as I trembled, trying to keep myself from lashing out at whatever was in front of me though I faced no threat. To believe that our bond is this strong when it was only formed less than a day, no, a few hours ago, is astonishing. It was common for all mated dragons to be able to feel each other's emotions before they were able to sense their presence and where they were. After that it turned into being able to hear faint thoughts and inner desires before that developed into clear speech and emotions. Pain was only involved when a bonded pair had a lot of trust in each other, and though it could be felt faintly for others, it was truly strong when they really cared for each other.

Now that you were standing in front of his home, I was becoming anxious, focusing my mind on our bond so that I could hear what you heard. It would take too long for me to see through your eyes, though that could be accomplished if I gave into your anger, but I withheld myself for now; I needed to be calm and collected. The quiet was nothing new to me, as for the rare times dragons would gather willingly besides mating season or to gather to share news, we would share stories and battles fought in the past. This gave me a sense of anticipation, almost as if I could feel what was going to happen, or rather, when he would attack if he did. From your thoughts I had sensed the butcher was strong and would give you trouble, so I wanted to aid you in any way I could. As time slowed down to when he would make his appearance, I felt the clouds part and allow the sun to shine on my scales, making them sparkle in a beautiful aura that would have held you captivated if you had been with me.

Taking this opportunity to do what I can, I reached inside my mind for my magic despite the fact I was still recovering from my wounds and formed them into a simple spell. I then condensed the magic and sent it through our bond, having to concentrate for some time to make sure it got to you intact. With time I was sure I would be able to do that more efficiently and much quicker with practice as my spell hovered around you before I activated it, having gone through the bond like a portal. It soon became a light shield to protect you in the front with weaker protection in the sides and rear. Back under the tree, I lay there panting from the exertion from forming the spell. I knew you would probably scold me for helping you in such a way, but I could not stop myself as I had felt a deep instinctual desire to protect my mate. The shield would last for a few hits, depending on how strong the attack was. The sides and rear however, would only be good for glancing blows. I just hoped the fight did not last very long so I could eat and get my strength back.

Snakebug:

** ** Everything seemed to be quiet, almost too quiet, as the droning hum seemed to get louder as time went on. The unnatural smoke in the air seemed to be messing with my eyes, as well as my nostrils. Something wasn't right, as I knew he would have come rushing after me if I said such a thing to him. "Maybe he has some sort of plan." I mumbled to myself, crossing my arms with my staff in hand. The whole thing seemed so surreal to me, as my anger seemed to become more focused, and much less chaotic. It was always a problem of mine, as I could go from seemingly emotionless, to a complete fury in seconds. It was something I learned to control, more or less. I could feel something coming from the other side of the link, some sort of worry from Cyalina. It was like she was losing herself to my hatred, or my emotions that kept bubbling over.

"Once again, I'm causing her problems." I mumbled to myself, putting my claw to my face as the incessant drone gets louder. I couldn't stand the fact that she was left all alone, open for predators of any kind to get to her. I know she's a dragon with immense power, but she's still injured and alone. I wasn't going to let something happen to her, and I am definitely going to get her the food I promised. With all my resolve, I waited once more. I wanted to see if he would come out, so I could deal with him before I grabbed her food. I mean, I'd rather deal with him now, rather than steal from him and put her in danger later! My waiting seemed to come to an end, as the hum stopped abruptly.

There was no warning, no sign of why it stopped, but I knew full well what was going on now. "He was just powering up." I growl, noticing a red, sinister light gleam through the cracks in the gigantic metal doors. I knew it was going to blast open, but I was distracted by the link once again. She was helping me! Sending magic through the link just like I told her not to do! "Dammit Calin!" I shout, just before the doors blast into shrapnel before my eyes. It was a display like no other, as bits of metal flew on a deadly course straight towards me, before glancing off some sort of protective shield. I couldn't believe my luck, making sure I made a mental note to thank the dragoness when I got back. "You wont get chewed out this time." I growl under my breath, before taking notice of the figure that emerged from the factory of horrors.

I couldn't believe it, and I sure as hell didn't want to. Before me stood something that I would never believe used to be him, let alone even consider to be him. He was just a shell of his former self, a walking draconic carcass fueled by nothing but pure power. His red glowing eyes were the most disturbing thing I ever saw, as I could have sworn I saw his very soul screaming out in those glowing orbs. It wasn't right, no matter how many times I looked at him. His flesh was blackened like the very coal he burnt, as his spines let off a red mist that held a foreboding presence. His name was the only word that could have come from mouth at that moment, as I pointed my staff towards him in anger. "Your not Fargus..."

StarLight Nova:

** ** I eventually get my breath back while recovering some of my magic from absorbing the suns energy that was shining down on me with my eyes closed and my frills resting on my back. I could still catch brief glimpses of the factory through your eyes, listening as the hum got louder and I wondered what he could possibly be doing inside, but I had other things to worry about. I was starting to get irritated and uncomfortable from lying against this tree as the sun increased any sensations I felt including my heat. The pressure in my abdomen began to grow exponentially, making me whine as I squirmed on the floor, trying to move as little as I could so I did not upset my dislocated wing. I was ignorant of what you were saying, even to your anger that just kept building as my left wing fluttered and my tail swished over the ground while the images going through my mind were starting to disorient me. I could feel my loins start to burn, the familiar sensation I got whenever I was at the peak of my heat, gushing my vaginal fluids onto the ground and my tail. I could control my heat moderately well if I stayed in the shade, but it got out of control if I was exposed to the sun for any prolonged amount of time. Jolts of pleasure raced through my body, careening me quickly to my first orgasm as you deal with the butcher alone, and even the continuous cool breeze of the impending storm did nothing to help.

I buck my hips lightly against the ground, straining my right wing every time but I could not help myself as I was suddenly being overcome with the desire to achieve my release. My breathing increases as my frills twitch involuntarily and I do not notice when the humming stops. I moan loudly while digging my claws into the ground, swishing my tail frantically over the ground as my sex becomes swollen and the pleasure only continues to rise further, growing and building until I can't handle it. I almost miss the subtle pulse of overwhelming magic traveling through the ground, but it is enough to distract me from my heat as the silence drags on, ominous and foreboding as I remind myself of the state I am in and what is happening. I can still sense your anger and the fact we are bonded, faintly hearing you shout at me for helping you before I open my eyes and still my tail and wing.

Just as I calm my breathing I hear an enormous explosion go off in the distance, not quite able to see the spectacular display from here, knowing this could only be the butcher and I am glad I put that barrier around you when I did when I feel the energy drain from it for blocking the shrapnel. I clench my eyes and bare my teeth as the shockwave reaches me, passing over me not as intensely from having dissipated over the distance but still causes me to climax. I cry out, throwing my head and frills up as I roar, vent pulsing and contracting rhythmically as my heart hammers in my chest and my tail thumps the ground. The pleasure going through my body assaults my mind, only going to stoke my heat instead of ease it as my fluids gush out of my vent violently to splatter onto the ground, surely to be noticed by you while my scent increases tenfold. I shake in ecstasy when it finally fades, tilting my head to the ground and lower my frills slightly while groaning in the afterglow, ignorant of what was happening to you until those images flash through my mind again, showing a creature that looked like a bipedal dragon but felt like something possessed.

My eyes snap open and I stare at the ground as I am frozen in fear, my breathing becoming erratic as the pressure in my abdomen and the fire in my loins are momentarily forgotten at the dramatic entrance of the butcher supposedly named Fargus when I hear you say his name. I knew this was bad as my doubts from before resurface to run wild across my mind and seep through our bond. Every dragon was told of the story of various demons that wondered the earth, all with different personalities and abilities. While some were friendly to an extent and did not go out of their way to cause harm to anyone, most of them were chaotic and vile, praying on those with weak wills and those who felt like they were unwanted, unloved, as well as the ones who sought revenge. Even as I stare through your eyes from the brief images going through my mind, I could sense and feel that this demon meant bad news, very bad news. He could have been fooling around when he battled against Tar'il, but who am I to know, demons rarely show themselves to feral dragons, as they know we have a chance of killing them. Still, for one to massacre an earth dragon so effortlessly meant he had to be a high level demon, which also meant that one or two hits from him could shatter the front of my shield I put around you, not to even consider obliterate the sides.

I close my eyes and shake my head vigorously as the pleasure from my recent orgasm vanishes to be replaced by fear and something else as I try to warn you. "Be careful!" I shout through the bond, doing all I can to focus and overcome the hesitation and apprehension coming from the thing in front of you so I can get this message through to you. "You have to attack him from long range or you won't stand a chance. And whatever you do! Don't. Let. Him touch you!" I explain before I rest my head on the ground, shaking from both the sudden nervousness from you battling him and the hope you will survive as well as knowing I have to deal with my heat. Before I can do anything to reinforce the barrier the clouds overhead cover the sun, thus limiting me to what I can do to help, yet it also allows my heat to gradually die down to the intensity it was at before. I let out a sigh and continue to watch and listen to your battle with him, praying you will come out of this alive and mostly in one piece as I thrust my hips lightly, feeling my fluids soak my scales behind me.

Snakebug:

** ** Zennix was shocked at first, surprised at how such a small and helpless dragon could become something so, vile. It was as if his every movement, every twitch of his flesh, gave off the presence of some sort of possession. It was almost as if he wasn't even himself anymore, only a conduit of some other kind of creature. Though, his surprise didn't last long, as some sort of smug confidence came over the bronze dragon, which was definitely not expected. For some reason, the whole thing seemed silly to him, as no matter how much he tried to deny it, he was still the same annoying runt he knew in his younger days. No matter how much anybody changed, there would always be a little part of their old self inside of them. One alarmingly obvious thing he retained, was that he was at least half a head shorter than him. In his younger days, Fargus was only up to his stomach in height. Something told him that no matter how powerful he was, he would always be the same little guy he knew.

"So, how have you been shorty?" Zennix asked, ignoring the shouts coming from the bond. Her warnings were helpful, but he already had a plan. He was going to rile him up, let him get angry so he would become unfocused. He was going to piss him off, for a lack of a less crude term. His quip seemed to have done quite a bit, as a rather menacing snarl came from the demonic mutant known as Fargus, his tail lashing out at him without hesitation. It didn't take much effort to block his whip of a tail, even though that kind of blow would have knocked anybody down without a problem. This seemed to register in the mind of the heavily possessed Fargus, bringing his tail to its original position behind him. It was that look again, that look of fear and anticipation. For some reason, he was able to take so many others down with ridiculous ease, but for some reason that didn't apply to the bronze dragon.

With no small amount of skill, zennix swirled his staff in front of him, just like he did in front of Calin before. The ground began to lift in small amounts, as a bit of light began to come from his person. "You're not even putting any effort in!" The bronze dragon shouted, feeling as if this was a bit one sided at the moment. He wanted to see him fight with every ounce of power he had, every bit of effort and desperation he had to fight with, These thoughts would have frightened him if he had been in a normal state of mind, but that wasn't the case at the moment. The demonic dragon before him seemed to slowly get into a crouched position, his blackened spines showing some kind of darkness inside of them that was beginning to leak. The already dark shroud covering the area seemed to get thicker as time went on, his seemingly slow gathering of power shaking the very foundations of the earth they were on. Miles upon miles of earth began to shake as he began to power up even more, still not even close to his full power. Maybe it was just him, but he could have sworn he saw his teeth get extra sharp, as his now unsettling grin was getting larger. Though, Zennix was a bit of a combat pragmatist, and he was never one to wait on his enemy. His eyes seemed to narrow as he focused on the now shrouded form of the demon, building up a bit of energy in his claws. It was a strange feeling, as he never really tried to use his magic for situations like this. He already had a plan, though whether it would work or not was entirely up for debate. Calin would probably feel his thoughts through the bond, something about his plan of bringing him to full power before he actually went all out himself. It was a sound plan, though not the smartest or safest of them. His massive amounts of golden energy kept forming in his claws, which in turn started to course through his staff. He could see the demons eyes through the smog, which gave him a little bit of an advantage in some way. Abruptly stopping the twirling of his staff, he pointed it directly towards his left eye, a sudden low pitched hum reverberating through the air. Anybody could have heard it for miles as it began to get progressively louder, as well as higher pitched. A tiny yet incredibly bright beam of light pierced through the dark fog, practically piercing the glowing eye of the monstrous abomination he once knew.

An unnaturally garbled, almost static and garbled sounding roar blasted through the air at the sudden pain of such an attack, as his attention wasn't focused on the bronze dragon. The fog seemed to clear a bit at his roar, as well as zennix's light. Now that he had a clear look, it seemed that blood seemed to be spurting from his already red eyes, his now growing form stained with blood. It went all the way through his eye and out of the back of his head, covering his back with his vile blood. But for some reason, it didn't kill him. It only managed to piss him off! "DAMN YOU!" The monstrosity shouted, lashing out in a bunch of random directions, which was dangerous considering he was now as big as the very factory he owned.

"Well, that's just not fair." Zennix grumbled, crossing his arms as he looked over his now massive form.

StarLight Nova:

** ** My options were severely limited in the ways I could help my new mate from just having experienced my first orgasm of the new mating season as I calm my breathing with my head on the ground. It takes considerable focus to stop the movement of my hips even as that desire is still there, urging me to pleasure myself, to give in and let my instinct run rampant. I could not do that, not now when you were fighting Fargus, or what is left of him. I now knew that whenever I decided to help you when the clouds let the sun shine, the after effect would be that my heat would increase substantially to what it would feel like as if I was at the peak of my heat. Regardless of whether I used my magic to assist you in battle, the energy from the sun would increase the sensations I felt, only going that much more when I exerted myself and suffer the consequences, progressing my heat marginally every time the clouds returned. I could not just leave you to fight him alone, as my shield would not prove to be very much help, though it did give me some reassurance for now.

As I regain my composure, the brief images continue, showing the possessed dragon walking towards you while I faintly sense your emotions and thoughts, surprised that your anger is not affecting me, but I put that towards my heat having distracted me. I grow concerned from your attitude, pausing when I sense you make fun of the dragon in front of you for how small he is and how he still had some of his old self in him no matter what has happened to him. While you go on about how he was the same guy you remember, that brings back recent memories of Gündir. My body tenses up in fright as images pass through my mind of my confrontation with him, of the horrific things he would have done to me if I had not acted out, but that passes by quickly to where I remember him from before, of the Gündir I knew when I was living in the mountains, still searching for a mate. I calm down when I think of his personality back then, playful, brave, friendly, and while he did show himself off for females, including me, I had come to grow fond of that Gündir, not the one who had attacked me in lust driven instincts to have me as his own. But that is in the past now, and I may never see him again, not that I would want to for fear of how he would react when I am around him, at least until mating season ended.

I am brought out of my reminiscing when I sense across your bond what your plan is, and although I did not approve of it because it sounded foolhardy and reckless, it was at least something to go on. Yet, hastily made up plans, or any plan conjured up in a short amount of time can never survive contact with a demon as they can be unpredictable, but I had faith you would get through this, even if you did come out injured, you would be alive and come back to me. The images that flash through my mind of what you are seeing every once and awhile come to me like a delay on a camera, and I wait in anticipation whenever my vision goes dark to know if the battle had started yet, but I could still hear through your ears of what is happening. Having heard him snarl, a second later I get an image of his tail whipping out to hit you, but I feel you block it easily before the next image comes to show me that he is backing off. In that instant I recognize the look he is giving you come the next image that passes by, of the fear in his eyes of when you were thinking back to his fight with you after he killed Tar'il. I hold my breath, wondering if it had to do something with your heritage, of whom your parents were, of your bloodline and who came before them. A thought comes to me, of how I remember being told that demons fear little in this world, except to avoid dragons, but for those who do face them, there are others they will go nowhere near, and that includes... (Meaning, although there are those that are strong enough to fight dragons, there are some that even they will absolutely avoid.)

Before I am able to arrive at the conclusion that could give me a guess as to what race of dragon you were, you begin twirling your staff just like you did when I had attempted to move for fear that Gündir had found me. I smile, feeling your power rise as it radiates across our bond to me as I also sense a familiar pressure with the magic that could correspond to what I was thinking about earlier. Each race had a unique way of using their magic, and with that a unique signature and pressure that others could use to find out what race they were if the enemy was unseen. As I contemplate this, I frown, growing concerned when you taunt him, knowing that although that is your plan to get him angry, I still feel like it could bite you back later on when you were going at it full strength. It is a bad thing to underestimate the power of a demon, even when it is mad. Throughout all this, the clouds have only let sparse patches of sunlight through, briefly glancing off my scales before fading, not affecting my heat too greatly in any way. The cool breeze now has a chance to bring down the fire in my loins to a more manageable degree so I can focus on your battle as I swish my tail gently over the grass and let my left wing relax on my side as well as my frills on my back.

Another flash of an image shows me the demonic dragon crouching down, as I feel something hideous radiating from him even from where I am. The feeling does not bode well with me as the air around him thickens in the dark smog he covers himself with. I suddenly feel the ground shake, obviously coming from Fargus, and I am sure some of those in my old home can feel this too, wondering what is happening and where it is coming from. Gündir for all we know is passed out, supposedly dead from having been attacked by the weird snake. My own magic revolts inside myself, making me feel slightly nauseous as I can almost taste and feel his energy expanding, encompassing a large area of the town, where the townspeople must be wondering what the hell is going on. The flash of images going through my mind from you get more frequent due to the build up of power going through both of you, allowing me to watch what is happening more clearly as you begin your attack, not waiting for him to finish whatever he is doing. It is wise to never allow your enemy the chance he needs to get ready for an attack, always forcing him to change his tactics every second, as a fair fight against a demon is one that most lose against.

I am shocked by how much magic you have, even if I had felt it faintly through the sliver of magic you had lended me to allow me to heal, it is still astonishing to witness. That same familiarity comes back and I scratch my head as to how I could have missed it earlier, but I guess I was too scared from waking up, relieved that Gündir had not found me that it did not come to mind. Now that I could analyze it longer as you built up more power in your claws, I began to suspect whom your parents, or what your bloodline is as well from the fearful look on the demons face. Few dragons could instill that kind of hesitation and fear in demons, and they were usually rare, but before I can concentrate and guess to my best abilities which one your magic best represents, you unleash your attack, and that narrows it down very quickly as to what race you are. I watch as you point your staff at its left eye, listening to the hum that is both heard through our bond and vaguely over the distance as it slowly rises in tone and pitch. My own magic rises up in response to yours, flaring at the feel of my mate's growing and surging through the bond over to me, causing that instinct to protect you to surge forth, giving me the strength to help you while adrenaline is pumped through my body, mitigating my heat for some time.

My body shakes with barely restrained energy as you release your attack, the beam of light making me open my eyes to stop the flood of images that had grown progressively faster to avoid the bright flash, but I know, and can hear as well as feel the attack hit the demon in the eye. I listen as it roars in response, spreading my frills and swishing my tail frantically from side to side as my breathing increases drastically from the vigor and heat of battle, ignorant of the fact my fluids were still leaking out of my vent. The clouds decide to let the sun shine down on me at this time, creating another, but much more impressive sparkling aura that glitters off my scales but does not provoke my heat in any way right now. My body vibrates with my magic as it yearns to escape, to find a channel to ease the pressure rising in my chest, though I bring myself back to the revelation of what race you are despite the fact the demon is still alive and is now growing in size.

Even as I hear him shout through our bond and listen to you reply, I am startled I could have found myself a mate with such a rare dragon, one of those that can make a higher demon hesitate in attacking him. For every element there is, there was a race of dragons that had complete control over it, and those dragons were rare, being far and few between. From there, we counted the level of control they had over the element, going from only a pair of them of their kind to very common. While you were far from being common, you were rather close to being a master of an element, the element of light. Rather than procrastinate and deny that I had the luck of having you as a mate, I just admit that I am thankful it was not anyone else and I had gotten such a powerful mate to protect and care for me. You were a solar dragon, a rare species of dragon that could manipulate the energy of the sun to a greater extent than Sunset dragons. Instead of accelerated healing or having increased pleasure, though they can experience that to a limited degree, they have more control over their body, taking in the power of the sun similar to how Sunset dragons do for increasing their magic, but only in short bursts. They were very powerful, had lots of magic, but could tire quickly if used excessively, and I could sense these characteristics within you. While Sunset dragons are passive aggressive, solar dragons, while they don't technically attack everything in sight that is a threat to them, are protectors. They can become unstable from letting sadness or grief and overwhelming anger control their actions to where they can level a mountain, create droughts, tsunamis, etc. Other than that, their attacks are light based but that does not limit them to having to rely on the sun.

Still, I am very surprised that my mate is a solar dragon, but I still wonder why we are bonded, as it takes two of the same race to create a bond, even if one of them has only a small percentage of the same bloodline. This could only mean that you had a small amount of Sunset dragon within you as well, which would prove to be advantageous in your battle, allowing you to heal passively whenever the sun is out. Finally snapping out of realizing what race you were, I shake my head and lower my frills while I look into the air to see the sun is out and shining with no trace or scent of the coming storm with only a few clouds floating by. I could also feel my magic bubbling beneath my scales, wanting to find a way out, but I am reluctant as I know I will have to deal with my heat again, but when I turn my head to look at my hind legs, I do not feel the fire in my loins or pressure in my abdomen is as great as it was the first time I helped you. Taking a deep breathe, I decide to create another spell, one that would immobilize the demon so you could take him down, for if this carried on too long, you would find yourself at a disadvantage all too soon.

I close my eyes while resting my head on the ground near my forepaws, slowing my hectic breathing and stilling my tail as I access my magic, feeling it jump into my grasp, almost overwhelming me but I am able to get it under control. I condense the spell once it is made, sending it through our bond before I speak to you while it does not even leave a dent in the surge of magic I feel, most likely your magic leaking over to me. "Slam your staff into the ground, quickly, just like before." I explain, holding it back until you do as I said before allowing it to be released into your body. It zips through your head, down your neck and through your arm holding your staff, heading for the bottom to be released into the ground. Once it makes contact, it will shoot over to the demon underground before the spell activates, creating large tree vines that will wrap around the demon to immobilize it and keep it in place, but even as this happens, they begin to deteriorate and weaken from touching it, turning a deadly brown and black as they turn brittle, showing what will happen to you if you get into prolonged contact with it. "Now is your chance Zen! Kill him now! I can't hold him for long!" I shout, knowing I can't do too many of those. I myself am not a full-blooded Sunset dragon, as I have a small amount of forest dragon inside of me, allowing me a greater variety of spells and attacks, but those spells are not as powerful as my spells derived from the sun.

Snakebug:

** ** I couldn't help but marvel at the size of the behemoth, wondering just how much power it took to make, let alone destroy, such a monstrosity. Dust was getting kicked up from his frantic steps, as I realized he was starting to regain his composure. I couldn't tell why, but the more he flailed, and the more destruction he caused, his muscles and scales seemed to pulse in a sickening way, as if his body was trying to force something out. I continued to twirl my staff, making sure to use it's strange time slowing abilities for whatever they worth, so I could figure out what my next move would be. In my eyes, he seemed massive and powerful, but he looked like he was a corpse, a giant, rotting corpse without any other purpose but to dominate and destroy. I seemed to be suffering from that little bottleneck that seemed to appear whenever I used a bit more magic than usual, but it wasn't going to be too much trouble for this fight. My body knew that it was going to have to push itself for this fight, physical limits be damned!

I heard Calin's voice through the bond, distracting me from my current predicament. I didn't want her helping me, but I really didn't have much of a choice in the matter. I wasn't aware of what she was actually planning to do, but it was better than nothing. With a growl, I slammed my staff into the ground once again, sending tremors through the earth as I felt something moving beneath me. The massive dragon seemed only a little perturbed by the sound, before roaring as the massive vines burst from the earth. The massive plants seemed to coil around his arms, leaving him helpless. Though I probably shouldn't say things like that before the fight is over.

My internal monologue was broken when the demonic dragon's neck snapped towards me, in a way that would surely have broken his spine. Though that wasn't what was worrying me. Where the dragon's eye used to be, remained a smoldering hole, which was attached to a positively livid face! His whole face was twitching uncontrollably, his snarling and growls echoing for miles as he barred his massive teeth at me. The scales that adorned his face were practically burned off, which was quite a feat to pull off considering he was a dragon! Everything about how he looked at me screamed that he was more furious than he had ever been, which was strange, considering that I've never seen him show that much hatred towards any living being before. Maybe he had a grudge I didn't know about or something?

For some reason, the vines began to crack, as he took steps towards me, trying to get free of his prison. It seemed that he was putting almost all of his effort into freeing himself, roaring with an unfathomable amount of rage as he continued to struggle against the plants. I didn't know what to do, other than try to charge some sort of attack. I was planning on doing the beam again, though I may not have the time to do it. I crouched down as a bit of magic began to flow into my limbs, preparing for some sort of attack that I hoped wouldn't come. I had to time it right, because I only had a little bit of time before he broke free. "I wish this damn thing would charge faster!" I growled to myself, the light in my claws getting brighter as time went on. Though, I guess bad luck won out this time, because he already broke free of the vines.

As if I didn't need any more problems, he seemed to be cracking a bit. I mean, he knows who I am, knows what I did after he killed that earth dragon, and still shows some sort of fear. If he really was possessed by some kind of demon, why would he have any memory of me, or even care who I was? Could his possession be wearing off? Those hopes were destroyed however, as he charged at me like a bull in a rage. Every step sent the whole landscape into a tremor, as he rushed towards me with speed unfit for a being of his size. His massive clawed feet left dents in the dry, cracked ground. I barely dodged his attack myself, as he rammed into my side mid dodge! My shield didn't even stand a chance, as he shattered it with little to no effort! I almost got the wind knocked out of me, if it weren't for my quick reaction time. I let a growl as I tumbled across the floor, ramming into a metal wall.

My back was bursting with pain, as my sensitive tiny wings flapped uncontrollably for a few seconds from the impact. It was as if he just nicked me, but sent me flying at the same time! I couldn't help but think of some way to get him distracted for a moment so I could catch him off guard. Well, I was drawing blanks, because right now I don't know how I could defeat such a menace. His whole body held more power than anything I've ever seen, and with such a focused rage to add on to the mess I've been presented with! My thoughts didn't have time to register however, as the massive monster was already back to finish his job, his massive claw swinging down at me from on high. I tried to move, but I reacted too late as I now had a single claw in my stomach. His massive claw was dripping with my blood, as unfathomable amounts of pain ruptured through my whole body! Everything was going tits up!

I stiffened, my groans of pain stifling themselves as I heard the behemoth speak, but this time, he was speaking directly to me. "How weak." It snarled at me, jabbing its blood soaked claw deeper into my scaled stomach. Every word was punctuated with an almost static like sound, giving him an almost otherworldly voice. He leaned in close to my face, giving me a sniff before blowing smoke into my face, a very disrespectful gesture when it comes to dragons. "You stink of a feral female! Have you gone so low to allow yourself to be used as a simple sex toy for their deprived bodies!?" He said with a laugh, clenching his claw, giving a tight a grip on whatever internal organ was bleeding the most right now. It felt like I was almost done for, almost ready to just lay down and die, before the next words he said made something snap within me.

"Maybe I should pay her a visit, to show her what a real dragon can do." He growled, before ripping his claw from my gut, blood squirting from my massive wound. He turned around to walk away, assuming the job was done. Though before that, he said something that made me, unnaturally angry. "Don't worry, I'll make sure she dies before the trauma sets in."

My mind went blank after that, as all I could see were explosions and light that could rival the sun itself! The very foundations of the ground we were standing on seemed to crumble as I got up, my wounds beginning to close slowly but surely. The fog cleared up just a little, to allow a small ray of light to reach me through the previously impenetrable fog. Though it seemed small, it was just enough for me to try something out. If these solar dragons are indeed "solar" dragons, I should be able to make my own sun. "Might as well start with something big." I growl, getting the attention of the demonic monstrosity. He quickly twirled towards me, with a look that could only be described as mortified! His scales turned pale, as well as the way his eyes began to widen in surprise. It was the same look from before, but something was different than last time. Last time it was reluctant fear, something that he would berate himself for having. This, was unadulterated primal fear. He was staring at me, then above, and then back as I gathered up all the energy I had at my disposal, creating a marvel that has never graced this planet. I had created something of pure plasma, something only seen in the cosmos, a motherfucking sun!

StarLight Nova:

** ** I watched helplessly as the demon thrashed about from when you vaporized its left eye, seeing as it demolished everything in its path from the pain and anger of having only one eye to see through. The wound must be excruciating, something I would never want to experience in my life while its blood runs down its scales which are charred and burned from the heat of your attack. I do notice its scales ripple almost as if its muscles are going to bulge out before it bursts, but that does not happen fortunately. I begin to feel an odd sensation flow through our bond and into me as you twirl your staff, and I can sense it originating from your staff while I remember seeing it move incredibly fast when you were spinning it in front of me. I could only guess that it had some effect to slow down time, or speed up your motions as I hear the wind moving at a low howl as if there was a storm around me right now. The trees were also moving in slow motions, swaying in the breeze as if directed by an orchestra when I open my eyes to look around me. I am astonished by what is happening, never having imagined the capabilities that a bond between a pair of dragons could accomplish, even for one recently formed.

As I raise my head off the ground and look around, everything appearing in slow motion while anything watching me would see me whip my head around fast enough to sprain my neck, I feel you follow through with what I said, hearing my spell activate as well as the demons roar of surprise from being trapped in a tangle of large vines. I can instantly feel the strength of the spell drain from touching his scales, cracking and straining from the demons anger growing frustrated at being held back from attacking his enemy. I can hear his cries of hatred from where I am, sounding like a rabid dog or deranged wolf, scaring off any wildlife in the vicinity. His scrunched up face and missing eye make him look like a zombie as I become afraid of what will happen to you when he gets free. My magic is still flowing out with the adrenaline pumping through my veins as the aura that was around me fades while I listen to him try and escape. I take a deep breath and lower my head back down to the ground to receive the brief flashes of images, watching as the vines lose their vibrant hue and begin to yield, breaking and shriveling as you crouch and attempt to do the same attack from last time.

I knew my spell would not hold a demon for very long, considering the corrosive properties of most of their scales that would have no effect on earth dragons, yet their raw power still triumphed. That familiar pressure coming from your magic reminds me that you are a solar dragon, and the only reason I could come to that conclusion was because the leader of our clan deep in the mountains was a solar dragon and I had felt him use magic on a few occasions to warm up the day when it was chilly. It was as rare for elemental dragons to lead groups of dragons as rare as it was for them to exist, but when they did they all prospered from fair rule. Se'leun, the male solar dragon leading our clan was kind and forgiving, as he had talked to me about my troubles of finding a mate every now and again. He was understanding of my situation, and he even tried to find me a male Sunset dragon from another clan so I could possibly choose him as a mate and maybe even bond with, as we are now, but as luck were to have it, there were not any close enough or willing to travel to another clan, leaving me all alone. If he had manage to convince just one of them to come, then this nightmare would not have happened, but I would not have met you either. Still, I would have to wonder how Gündir would react when he found out I had taken another as a mate instead of him. I would think he would be happy for me, but also jealous that I had waited all this time just to choose someone else.

I am stirred from my thoughts when you growl, wishing your attack would charge faster before he broke free, but that was not to be. I raise my frills and twitch my tail as you wonder what was coming over him and that reminds me of how Gündir acted towards me when I met him on the outcropping of rock. He was still the same, but his attitude towards me had changed, no longer the playful, fun or caring drake, he had gone to being lustful, passionate and driven with his desire to have me. I growl softly to myself for getting distracted, watching as the demon starts to charge towards you while you try and evade, feeling his pounding footsteps reverberating through the earth all the way to where I am. My breath catches in my throat and my left wing pulls up instinctively against my flank in apprehension when he barely hits you in your side, breaking the shield without trying. My eyes snap open as I raise my head and lean to my left, roaring out in fright before it changes into a cry of pain when you hit the wall. I bare my teeth with my eyes closed shut while tilting my head down and roll back to my right, causing great amounts of discomfort from my dislocated wing as pain sears up my back.

I can't even begin to comprehend how it is possible that I am feeling so much of your pain through our bond. I had no idea how much it had grown stronger from our constant use of it during the battle, but now that you are injured I become scared, no, terrified for your safety and wellbeing while both my wings twitch frantically, mimicking the movement of yours. My breathing becomes staggered and short, the pain making my vision blurry as I start to worry with my body shaking while I begin to cry, not wanting you to die, for I would surely follow soon after. My dislocated wing is giving me a lot of trouble, throbbing intensely to the beat of my heart, but thankfully my heat has regressed from the blooming pain coursing throughout my body with my adrenaline still going strong, dulling it to a degree. My heart thumps in my chest loudly as I lower my head to the ground and tense up my frills against my back while sensing your thoughts racing through your mind and across the bond over to me as strong as when the bond was just forming. I was almost tempted to say I told you so, being smug about how you should have approached this more cautiously, but with what is going on right now, I don't have the time nor the strength or willingness to do that. Even though you were a solar dragon, you were at a disadvantage in this state and the demon could end your life right now if he wanted to, thus ending mine as well. Before I can even think of what to do to help you, a sharp pain erupts in my abdomen while I get a brief image of the demon skewering you with a talon through your stomach.

My breath is caught in my throat as I choke with my tail and wing twitching, the pain far worse than when Gündir had bitten into my side. I cry out again, body straining, trembling as the pain washes over me, the agony assaulting my mind while I curl my neck and tail inwards, trying to escape from it, trying to block it out by closing our bond but it is too much. The flow of pain comes too fast as I cry with my breathing uneven, desperately hoping that this is not the end, that you will not die here, all of your efforts to save me for naught. It feels like all my organs have been pierced by the same claw that is in your stomach though I suffer no physical injury, bleeding from the inside as the wound Gündir gave me starts throbbing again, sending terrifying images through my mind of my encounter with him. If that wasn't enough, my abdomen clenches down, the muscles tensing up and the pressure rising as my heat flares with the fire in my loins becoming scorching hot, almost unbearable through all the pain. I bare my teeth with my eyes shut tight, sobbing uncontrollably as by the strength of our bond, I can now see everything you do as well as hear, feel, taste, and smell. The sight is horrific and I wish that we had not been bonded as I see his claw covered in your blood and scent the copper heavy in the air and feel it inside of you as I hear him speak before the pain becomes more intense. I cry out, frills held close to my back as I bring my hind legs and tail as close as I can to my body while my left wing shakes and I lose all sensation in my right wing.

I can feel the demon blow smoke into your face disrespectfully as anger rises up inside me but all the pain coursing through my body drowns it out, making me unable to move or do anything, truly helpless to save you. I freeze when I hear him note that he smells my scent on you, cursing that I had to be in heat, but what he says next makes me appalled.Me? Using you as a sex toy? Never! Dragons held respect for each other and it was never done without consent, even towards our bipedal cousins. Before I could even go on about how I would never take advantage of you I stretch my neck out on the ground and roar, straining my throat as the demon inflicts more damage to your organs, making me squirm and writhe on the ground while I dig my claws into the ground firmly. I begin pleading with whatever dragon god I believed in, hoping you would live, hoping you would survive so you could come back to me even as I sense you start to give up, to lose the fight to live. My tears roll down my muzzle in a cascade as I lose myself in anguish, fearing that this is the end, that I am going to die after all without having experienced any pain that is my own, except that of my mate, the one I am bonded to, the one who cares for me...the one I am beginning to love.

Everything up until now has put me into a fit as I cry with my body battling against itself in turmoil while my swollen sex leaks fluids onto the ground as if it was a waterfall, the fire and tension in my loins making it very uncomfortable instead of pleasurable. The moment he speaks, saying he would come to me to show me what he could do, plunges me back into the nightmare of my experience with Gündir. I forget about everything around me as images flood into my mind, making me relive the horror and fear I felt when Gündir gripped my throat roughly, positioning himself over me to take me forcefully. I do not acknowledge the pain when he yanks his claw out of your stomach, but I do faintly catch the words that he says about me, how he will make sure I die before the pain and shock of him taking me gets to me. My breath comes in stuttering halts as I hyperventilate while crying, vivid pictures coming to the forefront of my mind of Gündir on the outcropping of rock with me before I see his lustful expression. The scene then changes to where I am on my back, held down by him as I look down to see his phallus, slick and large, ready to penetrate me and it only furthers my fear from hearing the demon say he will take me as well. My heart thumps in my chest at an increasing pace as the scene slows down when he is about to mate with me against my will before it changes to him biting down on my neck savagely after I had reversed the tables on him. The final images that press themselves so forcefully against my mind are the ones when he is standing next to me as I tremble in pain from him tearing into my flank, leaving me on the ground so he could kill me before mating with me however he wanted to.

The raw fear flowing through me almost makes me miss the fact that you are still alive and are slowly healing with the help of your Sunset dragon powers at that. I gasp without opening my eyes, my body having stopped shaking when I somehow manage to escape from reliving that horrible nightmare that I had had to endure so recently, watching as you stand up and feel your wound mend itself with the shallow ray of light shining down on you. The pain eventually vanishes from my body, though the bond is still wide open like it was when it was forming, allowing me to see clearly through your eyes, able to feel what you feel through all your senses and hear your thoughts and emotions as if they were my own. Without even trying to, I instinctively enhance your senses, increasing your sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch to an even greater level as well as your physical strength and magic to some degree to make it feel like you could lift a large boulder as if it was a piece of paper. My own magic is still swirling inside my body, yearning to be used while my breathing has leveled out somewhat from earlier but is still heavy and labored from being scared shitless for your life.

I sense that you had heard of my discovery of what race you were and are intending to put it to the test by making a sun of your own since the clouds were still covering it up. When you get the attention of the demon I can see its expression of sure victory change to utter panic as his scales lose their dark aura and pale with his one eye bulging out in surprise. I was greatly relieved yet also still fearful when I feel you start to create the sun above your head, using your magic primarily to make the ball of hot, swirling gas. I panic, feeling your magic drain from your body at an alarming rate even though you had an immense amount of it at your disposal. Solar dragons had to be careful when they used their magic, as doing something far greater than what ordinary dragons could ever hope to accomplish could make them unconscious for a time. While they can do much bigger feats of magical spells than other dragons, they still had a limit, and once it was reached their was little telling what could happen as no one knows much about rare elemental dragons. Luckily, along with my talks with Se'leun about me finding a mate, he has also been teaching me and the other few Sunset dragons everything he knows about how to make the most of our abilities given to our race, that is, until I left to live somewhere else.

I first attempt to calm myself down and ease my breathing while you continue to develop your sun, scaring the wits out of the demon and I had to find it somewhat amusing how the balance of power has been shifting over the course of the battle. While my body is still shaking from the nerves and scare I had, I am able to clear my mind and extend my consciousness to the forest around me, gripping onto every life form I can. Even though my body is overflowing with magic despite my weakened state, I will need much more for what I am going to do, and I can only hope it does not affect my heat as I can feel my adrenaline wearing off while the pressure in my abdomen and the fire in my loins does not relent. Taking a big breath before letting it out slowly, I begin pulling the energy from the plants, trees and even grass towards me, gathering more magic as I prepare the spell. One advantage of having the blood of another race is that it enables me to pull magic from elsewhere should the situation deem necessary. Since the clouds are blocking the sun, I use my forest powers to absorb the energy from the wildlife around me, beginning with the tree I had crashed into as the bark turns black and the leaves wilt and fall on top of me, but I do not notice.

After I have made the spell, pouring only as much magic as I need into it so I don't kill myself, I hold onto it, letting it build until I can't contain it anymore. Despite there being no sun shining down on me, my scales still begin to shine with a luminescent brilliance, accentuating my broad range of vibrant colors as the spell starts to fight against my grip just like how my magic had tried to escape from being confined in one place for so long. My eyes start to glow a bright gold, and before I can lose control of the spell I raise my neck while spreading my frills and relaxing my left wing to open my eyes to the sky. A soothing hum like a gentle wind rushes by, disturbing the trees as the spell is released, draining the magic from my body but I am prepared for it. The wind grows in strength but vanishes shortly after before a bright light appears within the clouds above your location. A low whine emits from the light source before it expands in a flash, clearing away the clouds to let the sun shine down on you while I let out a withheld breath, tilting my head down to breath heavily. A few seconds later the pressure in my abdomen and the fire in my loins abruptly rises, causing a cramp in those two respective places as well as bringing an instantaneous climax over my body. I roar out at the sudden pleasure rushing through my mind as my tail thumps the ground and my left wing spasms against my flank as my vent gushes a torrent of my vaginal fluids to soak the base of my tail and the ground. It does not let up for some time before it fades quickly, leaving me tired from the magic required for the spell and the strain on my body from the two orgasms I had.

My frills fall onto my back lazily as I lower my head to the ground near my forepaws wearily while sensing you still creating the sun. The afterglow fades faster than normal as I remind myself that I had yet to tell you what to do to minimize the stress on your body from doing such a monumental spell. I take a couple moments to calm myself before contacting you through the bond, trying to hide the fact I had just climaxed as I slow my breathing as well. I let my memories come forth of the times Se'leun had taught me, obviously going over how to absorb and use the sun as the main source of energy for feeding spells, using the smallest amount from ourselves to spark it into existence. Other memories of how to condense our magic so we could continue to build it for a more devastating effect as well as the consequences of putting too much into a spell or losing concentration for more complicated spell flow over our bond from my mind to you. I had much more I could show and teach you but I did not want to keep your attention on me for too long, so I only add a few more words before I stop to recover and rest.

"Please...stay alive." I say with my voice trembling as I still have tears from when I was crying staining my muzzle. My heat had gone down considerably and probably would not bother me for some time, hopefully not until dusk or even tomorrow as my sex is still swollen and very sensitive while all the magic that had risen up inside me is now gone. Having the demon speak of what he was going to do to me scars me emotionally and mentally from having been forced to remember my time with Gündir, making me shrink back into myself. It would surely take a lot of work to make me the brave and strong dragoness I used to be as I lay down underneath a dead tree with many others surrounding me with wilted grass and browned bushes and plants. The area I had affected from pulling the energy from was impressive and it would take the forest many decades to grow back. Before I drift off into a restless sleep, I remember one thing Se'leun told me since I was part forest dragon. Only use the energy around you in case of emergencies, as it can affect the ecosystem of the forest drastically if too many plants and trees and wildlife die. Thankfully, I had only pulled energy from the trees, grass, bushes and plants, leaving the animals alone, as I could not bring myself to kill them, like Gündir and the demon would have done with me.

Snakebug:

** ** The tables of the battle had turned, as the energy from my makeshift sun began to heal me, energizing my body once more. The earth around us began to burn, as the dead plants that littered the surrounding area burst into flames. The fog that covered the factory and most of what surrounded it began to disperse, the sun's light banishing its horrid influence. My eyes were locked firmly on the demon before me, my pupils becoming as thin as a hair. The whole scene around me was little more than artwork of a battle, a battle that was soon going to end. The whole situation would have made a beautiful painting, if only it weren't for the demonic distraction before me. I didn't know why, but the bond seemed to be much more open now, letting all my thoughts come through to Calin, who was helping once again. To be entirely honest, when she cleared the clouds, that gave me a better advantage than the sun I made did. All mine did was kick my healing in gear, but at the same time it was exhausting. However, the sun that was naturally above our heads was taking a little of the strain away. "I hope she didn't do too much." I mumble to myself. It made me sick that my recklessness was putting her at risk. Though when I looked back at the demon, Fargus, he was backed up against a wall, looking at me like he was begging for his life.

Unfortunately, I wasn't very good at controlling this new power of mine. I wasn't very good at using it all at once, or keeping it steady. It seemed to wobble every once in a while, as if it was tipping over for some reason. I began to worry for a moment, thinking I might lose this advantage, before the link came into play once more. I heard, and saw images of Calin talking to another dragon, a leader named Se'leun. He was teaching them about controlling their power, as well as using it more effectively. Luckily, I'm a quick learner under pressure, as I figure out how to stabilize my sun from such a brief lecture. I was almost distracted by how nice Calin looked in the vision, as she wasn't injured or bloodied like she was now. Though I wasn't going to be distracted by a beautiful feral dragon right now, as I looked back at my current enemy.

Something about that look unleashed some kind of monstrous instinct inside me, as all my thoughts and feelings became that of a predator. The only problem was, this apex predator inside me was a vengeful creature, one who was made to dominate and enjoy it. I wanted to see him fruitlessly beg for his life; just like all the innocent dragons he killed that day. My eyes began to have a golden glow, as an image of myself in a different form began to appear in my mind. It was a powerful feral dragon, packed with muscle and magic. His razor sharp goldish red spines pierced the sky, as he unleashed his fury upon those who opposed him. It was as if my instincts were taking over, or maybe something deeper was causing me to have these thoughts and images. However, I focused on the matter at hand, reaching up and into the sun I had created. It was almost as if I gripped something inside it, as the ball of gas didn't seem to burn or damage me in any way.

"How!?" My attention was taken away by the broken voice of the demon, practically cowering in fear. I didn't understand why he would be this afraid of me, as I'm sure such a big bad demon had faced many a foe more powerful than I. However, I wasn't going to take that gift for granted, as I clenched my fist inside of the ball of gas. I quickly brought it crashing to the earth, the very earth trembling at the sudden impact. I moved it with such ease, as if it didn't weigh anything at all. It was as if I was a conductor, and it was my song. I quickly began to push it towards the demon, leaving a scorched path on my way towards the bastard. I had an almost crazy desire to kill him, as if I was a warrior with a major challenge. Every second I pushed it; he would scramble back against the wall, but to no avail. He begged, he pleaded, even tried to bargain his way out of it, but I wasn't going to have it.

When I got close enough to him, I pulled my arm back behind me, leaving the sun in front of the terrified hatchling. I wanted to answer his question on how this came to be, but that could come later. With a massive roar that shook the earth around me, I punched the sun with every bit of might I had. It enveloped the poor sod, burning away his flesh and scales with ease. His screams were audible for all to hear, echoing across the mountains. Some other creatures would probably celebrate his death, as he had brought fear to any who knew him. Many moments passed before the demon was completely eviscerated, leaving nothing behind for the imagination. I wasn't sure how demons worked, but I was going to assume he had a soul about to depart. "You talked instead of killing me you daft bastard." I growled, glaring at where he once stood.

However, the sun suddenly exploded in a blast of pure energy, leaving the area different than it once was. The fog was gone, as the natural sun in the sky suddenly shinned down on this area once more. However, I didn't expect my legs to give out beneath me, leaving me exhausted on the floor.

StarLight Nova:

** ** My breathing levels out as I become unconscious shortly after, the sensation similar to when I was knocked out cold when I had crashed landed from my wounds, but this time it is from using an immense amount of magic to clear the sky of clouds so that you could benefit from the energy of the sun to create your mini sun. Through our bond, I could see the surrounding wildlife perishing from the heat of your sun while I could sense your heart rate increase while you get ready to unleash your attack on the demon. Unfortunately for me, all of the emotions, thoughts and sensations I am receiving are blurred and hazy from the strain on my body yet I could still feel them faintly, just not as strong or prevalent. I could also feel that the battle was coming to an end from how the demon was acting through the brief images that I was still getting every now and again while my head was pounding like a weight had been dropped on it. I could discern however, from your frantic thoughts, that even from this new information and surge in energy from you, that you were struggling to control it, and I am glad that you take what I showed you and apply it so quickly to the situation. Even in my worn out condition, I could sense your thoughts stray to how I looked back then, but that is overshadowed by what happens next.

I begin to sense something overwhelming coming from your mind, something unlike what I felt when we first met through your magic and our bond. I could only put it as to what happened when a dragon gave into their instincts, letting it guide them either in a fight or when mating, like how Gündir acted towards me out of pure desire. This, however, was slightly different. I could feel the dominance coming from inside you, wanting to make the demon flee in terror, to make him pay for everything he has done while watching the fear in his eyes. I could not say I was opposed to this, but it did change my view on you subtly, even if you were doing this subconsciously. I understand that you two had had differences in the past and you wanted to make him pay for killing all those dragons, but when I see a vague flicker of an image from your mind of a feral dragon draped in your colors, I nearly doubt myself as to how I could have you as a mate, let alone being bonded to you. It only adds to the multitude of questions I now had all jumbled in my mind, of how I felt about you and if you felt the same way, of what is going to happen between us when you get back? I could not take too long to dwell on it as I continue listening and watching you fight against the demon that was trying to get as far away from you as he could while my frills rose and fell to my breathing and the steady beat of my heart.

I felt the ground shake even though I am unconscious, sensing the power flowing through the air and from our bond as you begin pushing your sun towards the awestruck demon. I could feel the earth tremble as you blazed a path straight towards him as he desperately tried to get away from his sure death, that is if demons could die. I was ignorant of your emotions and thoughts as my stomach rumbled, wanting to be filled so I could begin the road to my recovery, but I could still sense you held your promise to me that you would get me my food and protect me. When you roar I could feel your sheer determination to finish this faintly over our bond as you send the sun flying towards the demon, engulfing him in white hot flames that no doubt could melt the toughest diamond or metal, maybe even rival the temperature of the sun. Hearing the demons cries of pain from being burned alive sends shivers down my spine, reminding me of Gündir's terrified roars when I sent him tumbling off the outcropping of rock all the way down to the ground. I was still skeptical to if he was alive, as I knew he had been through some tough times in his life, but even a fall from the height we were at would indefinitely kill a dragon, or paralyze him at the least. But right now I was just relieved that you were alive, and even if I didn't show it, I was thankful you were my mate. Females always tried to find the strongest males to sire a clutch from, and being mated to a solar dragon with some sunset dragon in you was more than I could ask for.

As his roars eventually vanished, leaving only ash behind that was quickly swept away by the returning wind, a few tears left my closed eyes as I shudder like a constant pressure had left me while my tail gently swishes behind me. It was great to know that the demon that had killed Tar'il and subsequently his mate was dead, but it was even more joyous that you were alive. I did not know what I would have done if you had died then, considering I even lived from the grief of losing you, I probably would have flown up as high as I could, never to let the wind catch my wings again, yet I knew I could not do that due to my dislocated wing for some time. I should probably get back to the mountain range to tell everyone that whoever had killed Tar'il is now dead, as everyone was puzzled and confused as to why his mate had withdrawn herself and died. She would not tell us what happened, as she only cried, neglecting to eat or sleep until she past away, evidence as to the trust and love between the two. It may also do good to bring Zennix with me so Se'leun could train him more to control his magic and understand his powers, but that would also mean I would have to likely come out and say that I had found a mate, one I had bonded with nonetheless. Without a doubt he would be happy for me, as well as all the other Sunset dragons that had been my friends during my time as a hatchling growing up.

Meanwhile, I felt your exhausted body fall to the ground, but I knew you would be ok, you just needed some time to rest, like me. The sun would provide you with energy that would be passively absorbed into you over time, given that the clouds don't come back, gradually restoring your strength so you could get back up and retrieve the food you said you would get for me. For me, I lie underneath this dead tree with fallen shriveled leaves resting on my brilliant scales as they take a ride on my flanks while I breathe in and out, deeply and calmly. My dislocated wing is still throbbing to the beat of my heart and I could feel my other wounds protest and ache from the activities of today, especially from creating that complicated spell to clear away the clouds. I only grow hungrier as the day turns into afternoon and the clouds do return, much darker and ominous while almost as black as the demon you fought, holding unimaginable amounts of rain waiting to be dropped down to the earth to saturate the ground in tears. The temperature decreases as the wind blows, cooling me off while it seems my heat has decided to regress and bide its time to come back later on. My fluids that I have spilled have hardened on the ground and on my haunches while my scent has been blown away by the wind but is still noticeable in the air, smelling of sweet cinnamon and candy cane. The bond between us has shrunk back down to what it was before, small enough so that we only vaguely sense each other's thoughts but large enough so that we can feel each other's presences, and now, where we are.

I continue to lie unconscious beneath the dead tree with my left wing relaxed on my flank and my tail idly twitching behind me. The second bite mark that Gündir gave me and the three claw marks on my lower throat to muzzle throb in unison to my dislocated wing, but it is the wound on my abdomen that makes me growl softly from time to time, shifting my head to try and find a better position. My recent memories of Gündir will most likely not leave me alone for some time while I shake in fear from being reminded of them by the demon that used to be Fargus. This whole experience has been petrifying to me, and I have surely lost my confidence and bravery that I had beforehand, but I at least have you to rely on, despite the fact you are confused about this situation between us. I was fine to let it be, but I was still going to ask you how you felt about it even from getting a glimpse of it earlier through our bond. The urge to find a mate has never been dulled throughout all these long years since I have become an adult, and I believe I would only cause you trouble or embarrassment if you stayed around me while I was in heat. True, that right now I was fine, but once the sun shone on my scales I was afraid I might lose my composure and put you in a position you did not feel comfortable in and it would ruin the relationship we had together, although it is unclear as to what or where exactly that is right now. I was just happy you made it out alive as I wait for you to come back. I am sure we both had words for each other, you telling me that I was straining myself too much, and me telling you you were too reckless and overconfident, but it still worked out, and for that, I am glad.

Snakebug:

** ** The air was fresh, yet held a certain smell of scorched earth and dead remnants. I was stuck on the floor with legs that didn't work, a body that felt as if every bit of energy left my form, and a guilty conscious. My battered body was healing rather well, but I knew my legs wouldn't recover for a while, especially in my exhausted condition. Even though the sun shone brightly upon my scaled hide, it wouldn't be enough to heal me completely. To be honest, the hole wasn't healed completely, leaving quite a large gnarled wound on my abdomen. Almost like the one on Calin, the dragon I promised to feed and protect. I told her I would get in there and feed her, and because of my recklessness, she had to help me instead, and put her own life in danger. All this commotion just left a scorched area of land, burning the mountainsides in a brilliant destructive orange. I could have sworn that I just caused more destruction than necessary, all because I let myself give in to my instincts. I'm not sure if that was even what caused my attitude, but it was the closest thing to an explanation for my horrid thoughts.

I couldn't help but cringe at the thought of leaving the dragoness alone much longer, as I was pretty much useless as I am now. The whole idea was to feed her, and I ended up letting my own personal desire for revenge get in the way of it! However, before I could continue to beat myself up over all these unfortunate things, I felt something from the other side of our bond. It was hazy and unclear, but I could feel certain feelings coming from the dragoness. I could point out a few, from contentment to relief, even a surprising amount of joy! That was enough to make me stop doubting my actions, as well as giving me a certain peace of mind. I used my weak arms to roll over on my side, looking at my staff that was embedded in the ground next to me. It was as if the thing was calling out to me, to tell me to get up and start moving. I almost did, before I began to hear something peculiar.

One sound was immediately noticed by my tired mind, as it was common for somebody like myself to notice such a thing. The sound was that of idle chatter, of a crowd that had too much to say, and not much room to say it. I heard the words of people I most likely knew, though some of them were decidedly new to me. The next I heard was the sound of feet walking along the dry and scorched earth, leaving little doubt to the fact that they were getting closer. Every step they took was heard in great detail, as they seemed to be approaching the factory, once owned by a demon. I heard a hush come over the crowd, an almost deafening silence that gave their position away. I was facing the other way, as I couldn't see them. However, I heard something, a voice from somebody I hadn't seen since he was but a small hatchling.

"HE DID IT!" I heard the voice of a young dragon shout, filled to the brim with joy and relief. I smirked to myself as the crowd let out a cheer, as I knew the village may have been a harsh place, but they still cared for each other. Even myself, who very rarely talked to others, or let myself be seen. We may not be friends, but we may as well be family in that poor little village. Now that I thought about it, I didn't just avenge myself, but the whole town! The factory held a foggy shroud over the whole town, making it hard for crops to grow, but also giving that dominating, foreboding feeling. Fargus would be the cause of countless disappearances around the town, causing terror to a few people that didn't pay as much as he would like for his products. Sometimes he would do it just for the hell of it, just to reaffirm his power over others.

It took a lot of effort for me to roll back over, seeing the smiling faces of normally dull and lifeless dragons that I knew, giving me a smile of my own. A few large black dragons, hulking behemoths of muscle, yet dumb as a box of rocks they were, rushed over to help me up. They were normally known as bullies, using their size and strength to get what they wanted out of others, but they were known to be very loyal to those they cared about. The twins lifted me up with only a grunt of effort, laughing and patting my back with the force of a battering ram. The crowd of dragons old, young, frail, and athletic, all seemed to be proud of such a feat. Of course, tomorrow they would be at each other's throats once again, but they would never forget this.

Moments had passed, as countless questions and praises were shared. They were all so happy, which was something you didn't seem to see very often in a place like this. Even a few of them offered to help in any way they could, as they felt my actions deserved some sort of award. However, my happy mood was dashed once I remembered what I came here for, as I realized that I lost sight of who I truly want to help. I whistled to get the attention of the crowd, as they close their mouths to listen closely to what I had to say. "Alright, I do have one favor I need of you all." I began, as I was being propped up on my useless legs by a few elderly looking grey-scaled dragons. They were the Snow Clan, supposedly originating from the colder regions of the world. They were small, yet deceivingly strong, especially for their age.

"Name it kid, and we'll be there for you." Said a certain dragon I had never seen before, clad in scales of a deep maroon, reminiscent of my own spines. His eyes were a vibrant yellow, which seemed to shine a bit in the sun that enveloped us all. His wings were massive, dragging on the ground behind him, yet holding a certain strength I had rarely seen. His warm smile was familiar, even the way he stood in an almost cocky way reminded me of myself in many ways. I had heard tales of a crazy dragon, clad in scales of red. He was known for his interest in the realms of supernatural beings, even venturing there once himself. When he came back from the depths of the void, he carried an egg of a strange origin, baring a bronze shell. Everything in my head was telling me that I was connected to this guy, as there was no way any of this could be coincidence! However, I put these thoughts to the side, as helping Calin was more important than my own family issues. With a smirk that held an almost dangerous glint, my eyes gave a small golden flash before I gave them a proposition. "So, who wants to feed a feral dragon?"

Hours upon hours passed as we worked, not a complaint rising from anybody as they hauled tons upon tons of meat into metal carts. By the time they were done, we had half the factories massive meat supply loaded and ready to go. The line of food carried on for a few miles, which explained why it took so long for them to carry me to the front. I was going to tell the caravan where to go, and after I told them the story of how I met such a dragoness, they decided it would be a good idea to help. Not all of them did however, as they had their own lives to carry on with, but a certain young hatchling, who's lifelong dream was to cook and supply the town with plentiful amounts of food, promised that he would take over the factory and supply it for us. Soon, we set out on our way, as I lead them on the path towards the dragoness with a major treat.

StarLight Nova:

** ** As I wait here in the forest with my tail curled neatly around my hind legs to cover my vaginal fluids and my left wing resting against my left flank, I could faintly sense something was happening on your end from across our bond by the way your thoughts were going. Even though I am unconscious from pushing my body too much in my already weakened state, I could vaguely, just barely hear other people, other bipedal dragons gathering around you. I tense up but sense from you that they mean you no harm and that they are a good majority of the other dragons from your village, that, instead, they are happy, cheering for the fact that you had killed the demon that had been oppressing them for so long. I breathe out a sigh while the wound on my abdomen throbs and I flinch, sensing that your wound had not fully healed yet as I feel a cool breeze blow by, definitely colder than it was before and I can scent the moisture in the air return from when I cleared the clouds away. Memories return to me of Gündir, that he was the one to inflict such a savage wound on me, but that is quickly dashed away when I sense you being picked up by two big dragons.

The murmur and general mood of the crowd around you takes me back to my clan, of the good times I had before I flew away to live close to your village. Besides the ever disappointing times where I went to the large meetings during mating season, I think about my parents, how I will be able to see them again, half dreading, half, whatever other emotion I could hardly describe of how they will react when I tell them I have a mate, one who is a bipedal dragon nonetheless. Its not like there have been many occurrences where feral's were mated to bipedals, as I can think of times where two species have been enemies, but two of them find love with each other and bring in an era of peace and prosperity. I debated on whether I should tell them what Gündir tried to do to me and what he did when I fought back, but they would surely find out sooner or later, seeing as when he does not come back they will know where he has gone. It is known to my parents and quite a few others, including other females and Se'leun himself that Gündir has an obsession with me though I was ignorant of it at the time. I can only hope that my clan will welcome you, as I am sure Se'leun will be glad I have found myself a mate, as well as my other friends. Memories, images and short instances in my life as I grew up as a hatchling to an adolescent to a young adult flow through my mind while you tell the villagers you wanted to get meat to feed me.

I can remember clearly how the atmosphere would change with the seasons, how the river would slow down and the ground would be laden with snow before it thawed at the time that expecting mothers would lay their clutch. The months would go by and the females would tend the eggs with their mates bringing them food until they hatched. There was always a batch of new hatchlings every summer and a few adults would take it upon themselves to teach the young ones of their ways. Once and a while a lucky dragon might be picked to be taught by Se'leun alongside the Sunset dragons if they showed signs of having any affinity for light or something he could help them with. Other than that, there were a variety of races that lived in the mountains that I called a clan, and because of Se'leun, we all lived happy, yet distant lives within our own territory from one another. If anyone else were leading us I could only think there would be problems, troubles and fighting within and everyone would soon scatter, but, because a rare elemental dragon is our leader, everyone is getting along just fine. It kind of makes me home sick just thinking about them, of the dragons laughing whenever we were together in gatherings, of my parents, one of the pair of sunset dragons with me inheriting my forest ancestry from my mom. Right now, I could deal with it because you were with me. You were my mate and bonded, and I would not have to be alone ever again even if we couldn't see each other.

While you travel to my location, the wind grows harsher and colder while the clouds eventually roll back in, dark and heavy as they wait to release their payload. It seems that the storm has decided to come earlier because of my...part in clearing away the clouds from before. I shiver as the trees sway, making music of just one of their many themes during the different seasons while my scars ache from the temperature, but my body heat keeps me sufficiently warm for now. I really wanted to get back to my cave so I could rest in comfort and safety with a nice fire going, whether that was with you or not, I wanted to get past this so I could move on. My scales are dulled in the fading light but my many colors still shine in the aging afternoon as my stomach grumbles again. I could barely feel my heat, but I knew I would have to deal with it again before too long, I just hope you are understanding of it. I begin to have thoughts that, maybe you could help me get through it, but I growl mentally, knowing that if we mated I would become gravid, and I didn't think you would want to be so intimate with me so soon after having found me. I will just have to find a way past it, but I know it will be torture to fight against my instincts when you are around, trying to keep myself from forcing myself on you until my heat ended after a month or so. Right now, I wait for your return, and when you arrive, you are sure to see the devastation I caused to pull off that spell, with every tree, shrub, plant and blade of grass dead and blackened within 50-80 feet of me.