Private/Closed To Change a Scorpion (18+ due to violence)

[Chrocey]

The searing pain crept it's way through Dirge's body. Her nerves were electrified, and her senses were jarred to attention. She instinctively reached up to her shoulder, and she felt for the source of her agony. The hilt of a blade. The burning betrayal that stoked a fire in her soul.

In an instant, the infuriated dragoness yanked herself away before turning to face her aggressor, a dragon that she almost instantly recognized upon making eye contact with him. One of the weakest in her group, one that she time and time again had put on display for his ineptitude. A dragon that she referred to as Runt.

Runt stood there, daring to lock a gaze with his superior as he sunk his blade into her. Other dragons in the camp turned and looked in surprise at what was unfolding. A few even sounded as though they were laughing.

Much to Runt’s surprise, as she moved away, he found the hilt of his blade was still in his talons. The broken metal shard that was once the blade of a dagger was now protruding from his victim's shoulder.

“What the…” he stared in awe.

Without missing a beat, Dirge whirled around d a slashed her claw across his cheek. The attack struck him so hard and fast that he barely had time to react before she seized his neck in her other talon.

“You just made a grave mistake!” Dirge seethed, pain and anger flooding her dim yellow eyes.

After starting to dig her claws into his neck, he quickly reached out his own talon and struck the broken blade that was still sticking out of her shoulder, causing her to roar and forcing her muscle to give out momentarily and release the traitor from her clutches.

“Aaaaagh! You stupid, incompetent wyrm!”

Seeing a chance to flee, the insubordinate scrambled forward. He kept his body low, hoping to slink away before Dirge had a chance to recover from the shock of pain he’d given her.

Dirge sank both of her talons into the other dragon’s back leg, breaking through his scales as though he were as soft as a peach. He let out a wail as the dull pain reverberated through him, making him thrash.

“Don’t you dare run!” grumbled the dragoness, as she jerked his leg toward her. This caused her opponent to fall onto his stomach and dig his front claws into the dirt below so as to prevent her from dragging him any further.

“Enough! I yield!” he howled.

Dirge positioned herself above his back, then roughly pushed her talon against the back of his head. “You’ll yield when I tell you you can yield, Runt.”

She pushed his head into the dirt. He roared and lashed his tail in an attempt to wriggle free, but he couldn’t work his way out of the grasp she held on him. The weight on his head worsened the more that he struggled, so eventually he gave in to just laying still.

“You wanted to assassinate me, so do it!” She shifted more of her weight against his head, causing him to growl in pain. “Or did you change your mind? Cause maybe now I wanna assassinate you! Whaddya think about that?”

A few of her other warriors opened their mouths to explain that what she said didn’t make much sense, but preferred to let her have her moment. Plus, the last thing one should do to an enraged dragon like her was to correct them. Especially considering what she did next.

Dirge proceeded to lift the pinned dragon’s head up, then bashed it against the ground. She did this over and over again, relentlessly beating him against dirt and rock until his feeble struggles ceased. A violent, but quick end to his life.

Dirge’s chest heaved. Her eyes lifted from the lifeless dragon that now laid before her. She scanned the crowd that had gathered to watch their leader triumph over an attempt on her life. So many eyes watched her, different from when she gave commands or speeches. It was a look that she wasn’t used to. One that she didn’t particularly like, as if she had done something to be ashamed of.

After taking a moment, Dirge stood, snarled, then limped away from the scene.

“Someone clean up that mess! And get me a healer! This stupid blade sticking out of me isn’t an accessory.”

-------------------------------------

The injury Dirge had sustained was taking too long to heal. Though it had only been a day, she wanted it to heal faster. She’d toughed it through pain before, and continued to do just that. The pinch she felt in her shoulder was annoying her, however, and she wanted it gone.

This little betrayal had cost them. The Scorpions were preparing to retake a piece of land from the humans. As her group’s Pincer, the one whom they took their orders from, it was up to Dirge to get everyone ready for a battle. The humans would likely not be too much of a problem, aside from any ballistas they’d set up. It was The Hawks that would possibly interfere with them.

Now, they were behind schedule. The time spent with the healers wasn’t helping.

On top of it all, whispers were beginning to circulate around the camp. Many dragons had started to question Dirge’s leadership. Whether or not she had everything under control as well as she said she did. Others even wondered if they were truly prepared to go to war when their Pincer had been attacked by one of their own.

It was all ridiculous to Dirge, of course. She was more battle-ready now than ever. She knew better than anyone, however, that feeling something was worthless without action to back it up. With that in mind, she decided to demonstrate her capability and rebuild morale by taking over the nightly patrol.

To take on this task granted two benefits. Firstly, those under her command would get to spend time in the camp while not under supervision. Secondly, the dragoness herself got to step away from being a leader for a moment.

The night air in the forest surrounding their camp felt humid and hot. It was an uncomfortable time to be out, but the gruff dragoness enjoyed every minute of it. There was always something fulfilling about doing simple duties.

She kept a watchful eye on the various trees and shrubs scattered throughout the forest, but couldn’t catch sight of anything. Nothing that was worth fighting or hunting anyway. Part of her wondered what the possibility was of The Hawks even being out this far...nevertheless, it was best to be vigilant.

 

[Merciless Medic]

The sun shone upon the shining furry scales and feathers of a flying dragon. The sun felt so nice, and having two pairs of wings make gliding on the breeze a... Well, a breeze. Her eyes dropped and she was about to fall asleep when she felt something whizzing by. She looked around, startled, and she found something on the ground. It was an entire town surrounded by stone walls. The humans below were shooting up at her with bolts fired from ballistas and flaming arrows.

Sighing in frustration, two mighty flaps from her wings and she flew high enough where they can't reach her. Thankfully, the wind current up here was strong and she fell back to sleep, using the wind to guide her.

She woke up some time later, only to find the sky was dotted with little specks of light and the moon loomed over them. Smiling up at the beautiful sight, she didn't realize she was heading downwards towards some trees. It was only until she saw the treetops obscure her vision of the sky that she finally realized what was going on. What made things worse was that the trees were thick and everywhere. She couldn't stop or fly up, as her momentum canceled any option to change direction. She would just have to dodge and weave.

And so she did, for a bit.

Expertly navigating the gaps within the forest, only a few branches and pieces of bark nicked her, and the sudden rush of wind that accompanied her passing a tree gave her a wicked, daring grin. It was only until one of her back wings nicked a branch and sent her spiraling towards the ground.

Gasping from the sudden dull ache, she used her feet to guide herself from the sides of trees until she was able to slow down. Down below her was another dragon, but she was too preoccupied at the moment to worry about company. She had to worry about landing.

She bounded about in circles, trying to find a way to stop herself before landing on the ground. Finally, she regained control, and she dove towards the ground, her wings expertly guiding the light breeze and catching most of it, helping her land safely. Sighing in relief, she looked ahead, only to find a rather large dragon in front of her. She gulped and, with some apprehension, waved her hand at the figure, and making a cheeky smile.

 

[Chrocey]

Part of doing well on patrol was being alert to even the slightest noise. If something sounded like it could be trouble, it was worth investigating. In most cases the noise would turn out to be the wind or a small critter. But on the off chance that it wasn’t, it paid to be prepared.

Dirge's ears tweaked, and her head raised up. There was a snapping of twigs and scratching of bark that grew closer and more frequent. It was so different than any normal animal noise that she was used to hearing.

This definitely sounded like trouble.

A smart dragon in this scenario would have used this advanced notice to hide and potentially plan an ambush for whomever this was. They'd carefully strategize how best to get a jump on their supposed opponent.

Dirge did not share the same traits as a smart dragon. She simply turned and faced the noise. Her claws dug into the dirt as she prepared for something to pounce at her out of nowhere. She wanted a fight, since she felt much more familiar with combat than actual tactics.

As the noise got louder and louder, she started to spot hints of iridescent scales blinking in the distance. It wasn't hard to discern that it was indeed another dragon, one who seemed to be maneuvering through the forest as though she were made of water. It was an impressive sight, but one that made Dirge all the more determined to stop them in their tracks.

Much to her surprise, the other dragon, who Dirge could now see was a dragoness, flew overhead. Dirge’s defensive stance grew a bit more lax as she simply stared at the other dragoness. This stranger gracefully used the trees to bring herself to the ground with barely a stumble, save for the tree that made her spiral towards the ground in the first place.

It was truly a sight to behold, one that Dirge would have to admit she was a bit awestruck by.

That awe quickly wore off, however. The bulky dragoness closed her mouth and collected her thoughts. She stepped forward with an accusatory gaze.

“You! Stop right there!” Dirge shouted, ignoring the fact that this stranger had already stopped. “You just flew into the wrong area, four-wing. Who are you, and who are you allied with?”

On the inside, Dirge hoped that this other dragoness identified as a member of The Hawks. If she did, it would make it all the more sweet to capture or kill her. Either one would help improve her standing among the camp.

 

[Merciless Medic]

She listened to the harsh and scary voice of the larger dragon, the tone scaring her more than the insult. Her body shape imposing upon the smaller, more lanky body of the iridescent dragon that getting her angry is probably not the best option.

What struck her as odd was that the dragoness said something about being allied with something. Were those the factions she heard about? She couldn't remember how many there were or what they did. All she remembered was the... Scorpions.

She looked up at her with some confusion still, her head cocked to one side and her brow raised. Was she in a faction? The iridescent dragoness didn't really know. She knew her parents left for the Scorpions, but she didn't think there was another kind of faction that could potentially have the opposite reaction to the humans. It's been so long, that her memory is not serving her very well.

The eyes showed ignorance and naivety towards the subject, as she didn't remember, nor was she sure if she was in a pack or faction. She thought to herself some more - out loud this time, as she looked at the ground, as if the answer was spelled out for her there.

"Well, I have been living alone and haven't seen much of my kind anywhere.... Does that make me a part of a faction? No, I don't think so. Is that where my parents went to? A faction? Was that the Scorpions? Hm... Interesting..."

After some more contemplation, she finally resigned herself to an answer and found her memories about the other factions (which left a bitter taste in her mouth). When she spoke, her voice bellowed, uncharacteristic of her small and elegant shape. "As of right now, I am a part of no faction. I'm just a free roaming dragon. Although, from what I could tell about your attitude that you are a part of the same faction my parents went to," she looked up at the dark dragoness and raised an inquisitive eyebrow, asking through her brow and eyes if she was right. She continued. "I am not going to be solicited into joining a faction. I have already been asked by the dragons wanting to steal from others after they tried stealing my meal, I have been asked from those that look to the birds for their purpose and goal, and I have been asked by the dragons of your faction," she sighed, as if remembering the questions caused her annoyance. She gathered herself and continued. "True freedom for me is ignorance, and I shall do no part in befriending or hurting others, unless I need to. Does that mean I like the humans? No. Does that mean I will hurt them? No, unless they happen to be around when I'm hungry. Will I steal from others and blur the line of my loyalty to my race? No. I don't want to be held down by such responsibilities and seeing this place-" she looked about the forest, her wings spreading outward as if to showcase what she was talking about. "I was born in that primal dimension. I wanted to see this place in all of its glory. But when I came back, I found that everything that was talked about was stretched and the humans have grown irritable, especially with our presence. I have questions that need to be answered. Joining a faction won't get them answered."

Sighing, she looked up at the night sky and the many stars and the moon. "You know, I thought you had an ounce of curiosity about you. Now I know you are like every one else. I hope you and your faction have a prosperous future, whether your goal was met or not."

With that, she hopped up to the trees, her damaged wing now healed and able to boost her up to the treetops. A part of her was hoping a fight was going to happen, or the dragoness stopping her, or she gets some food, as her stomach decided to growl. She wanted something to happen, as she didn't want to leave this dragon, yet. Unless.... She spied on them.

Worst decision to do, and she doesn't have a plan if she gets caught, so she will just have to be careful.

She kept her ears pointed back, paying attention to what the dragoness will do with her impeccable hearing while her back was turned.

 

[Chrocey]

There was a brief moment of silence after her question, and Dirge was already beginning to feel impatience creeping into her mind.

Suddenly, not only did Dirge get a response, but she received an earful from the other dragoness. It sounded like this stranger was confused by the question. She claimed not to belong to a faction, and without a word began defending herself against being solicited to join The Scorpions. The bulky dragoness backed up a little bit at the sudden outburst. She herself looked confused about why the iridescent dragoness was so offended.

Every time Dirge opened her maw to say something, the stranger would continue her rant about not being tied to the responsibility of any sort of clan or faction. The orangish-red dragoness kept trying to follow along, but she wasn’t very good with comprehending what some dragons would talk about. For the most part she was trying to measure whether or not she needed to attack this trespasser.

After her diatribe, the stranger expressed what sounded like disappointment in Dirge personally, then leapt up into a nearby tree.

Taking a few moments to comprehend the situation, Dirge looked up at the stranger with a growl.

“Wait, what do you think you’re doing? You can’t just hop away like nothing happened!” She approached the tree and placed her talon on it. “Come down here now, four-wing! You’re not being asked to join The Scorpions, you’re being apprehended for flying too close to our camp!”

It was clear by her eyes that her temper was beginning to flare up. “I don’t care if your mommy and daddy are Scorpions. If you’re not loyal to either clan, you belong in a cage. That, or you could become worm-food.” With a fiery intensity, she continued, “either way, I can’t leave you alone now that I’ve seen you. For all I know you might blab to one of The Hawks about our location. Your choices are to either come with me peacefully, get dragged back to our camp violently, or fight to the death right here in this forest.”

Though she didn’t say it, Dirge genuinely hoped it was the last option. She was itching for another fight, even if the wound on her shoulder hadn’t fully healed yet.

 

[Merciless Medic]

Finally, some action.

The dragoness stopped short from leaving as she listened to the dragon speak. Her stomach growled even more. She couldn't help but to wonder if she should try to get a piece of her, or if she should just follow along peacefully. The metallic scent of Dirge's wound was getting to her, too. Meat.

Her scales, as if her intentions changed, became dull and dark. They bristled up. It seemed like she was ready for a fight. Until she chuckled. Her chuckling was deep and dark, and then it became uproarious laughter. She turned back around after finding Dirge's attempt at scaring her amusing and leaped down out of the trees. Her eyes, once showing childlike wonder and curiosity, now show a primal edge about them that only hardcore predators - lost to the lust of hunger - would only have. Along with this strange twist, her face was facing downwards and she looked up at Dirge with a twisted look, her grin showing all of her teeth. On closer inspection, her gums had dried blood. Underneath her furry scales showed bits of dried blood, as well. As if the floodgates had been opened, the dry smell of dragon and human blood intermingling with one another left her body.

The tip of her tail flickered like a cat, as she watched Dirge's every move, her body unmoving, her eyes unblinking. It seemed as if she turned to stone.

Then she finally spoke after a tense moment, her voice deep, sounding like an unsteady growl, as if she lost her mind. "Sure, I'll follow you. You can take me to your faction, peacefully. However, you should get your wound healed faster with a healing breath or fast-acting herbs. It is making me... Mad with hunger," she chuckled deeply again at the mention of her madness, and the orb on her tail began to glow dark. Too bad she didn't have a breath weapon, but she can at least be offputting to deter any violent action.

 

[Chrocey]

Dirge squinted her eyes whilst looking up at the cackling dragoness. She kept her gaze locked on, even as she graciously jumped down from the treetop.

There definitely seemed to be a more sadistic side to this dragoness that Dirge hadn’t expected. She wasn’t quite intimidated, however, as talk and psychotic behavior would only get one so far when it came to actually winning a fight.

Back when the bulky dragoness had spent time with Bandits, there was a lot of young dragons who would show up and try to play as though they were the most dangerous creatures to have walked the land. Some would even claim they were possessed by evil spirits, or couldn’t experience pain of any sort.

None of that was true, of course. Some determined ones would defend their belief until their dying breath, but they were hardly powerful. In the end, Dirge was confident enough in her strength not because she followed a particular thought process, but because she was a natural born fighter. That is not to say that she didn’t berate others quite often.

One thing that Dirge did find intriguing however was how primal the other dragoness looked. She seemed hungry. What she was hungry for, however, the bulky female did not fully know. Perhaps this new dragon found as much joy in fighting as she did.

The blood on her teeth also indicated that she’d done her own fair share of slaughter. Not particularly taking time to notice the different scent between blood types of creatures, she assumed that whoever this was wasn’t just a messy eater.

Regardless of her shift in appearance, Dirge lowered her head and dug her claws into the ground. It looked as though they were about to engage in combat, and the tingle of adrenaline had already started to pump through the large dragoness’ veins. After so long, she would be facing off against a true enemy. Not sparring with some weakling that got placed under her command.

The stranger’s following words diffused their soon-to-be combat, however. Claiming that they would come peacefully, and mentioning that Dirge’s wound was making her mad with hunger.

Dirge cocked her head to the side as though the stranger had just spoken another language. Hungry? For another dragon’s blood? This one certainly was a bit creepy.

“...okay,” the orange dragoness said slowly. She stood upright again. “You’re a weird one. Follow me, weirdo. I’ll show you your new home for now.”

Dirge turned and started to make her way towards the direction of the camp, keeping a sidelong glance at the stranger in order to make sure she followed. “Give me your name and I’ll give you mine,” she demanded.

 

[Merciless Medic]

Shade found amusement in the orange dragoness's battle-ready stance before she broke the tension hardcore. She did like the fact that she was found weird and she took pride in that, evident by her more upright posture and her smug look after accepting that compliment a little too much.

Hearing about a new home, she raised an eyebrow and questioned, although was pretty grateful she was getting one for a time. "From the vibe you had given off, I was certain you would try to lop my head off. But I thank you for your kind generosity," her tone calmed down some as her nerves started to calm themselves, as well. Hearing the proffered exchange, she nodded. "My name is Shadara, but you may call me Shade."

She followed for a few steps, walking alongside Dirge, but something caught her attention. Her long ears perked up and her head snapped with lightning-quick reflexes towards the noise, her eyes bore through the dark underbrush of the forest. She used the weight of her wings and tail to help herself stand up on her hind legs, giving herself more leverage to see more. Something crawled up and down a tree, scurrying about rapidly. Maybe one little morsel before she went with Dirge.

Putting all of her claws back on the ground, she slinked up towards the noise. Just one little snack. It was then that a stag bounded in front of her. Big mistake.

Like a snake, she sprung at the first notice of movement and nailed the stag in the throat. She shook it about, killing it instantly. She used her teeth and talons to rip the horns off of the head before she prepared her mouth to eat it whole.

She looked over at Dirge and cheekily smiled at her. "The stag was being stupid. Anyway, is it alright if I get some food? It would be best, considering that you are going to lead me to your camp, I'm assuming, and there may be dragons there with blood on them. It's good to satiate my belly for the time being. Would you like a bite?" She offered a part of the deer, by picking it up with her teeth and setting it down in front of Dirge, almost like an offering. "What's your favorite part? I can cut it apart for you if you wish if you want some. Otherwise, I'm eating it whole."

The deer's neck is completely eviscerated open, and the blood ran down from Shade's jaw and down her scales, giving her a shiny, yet tarnished look. Yet, she still smiled innocently, as if the deed she did was completely normal for her.

 

[Chrocey]

Shadara.

Interesting name for an interesting dragon. When her ‘prisoner’ had mentioned what she preferred to be called, all she got in response was an incredulous huff.

Dirge didn’t quite care what dragons preferred to be called, especially when those dragons were going to be kept as captives. Even so, she knew full well she’d still call her Shade, as it was less syllables and much easier to remember.

“My name is Dirge. I’m a Pincer for the Scorpions, not that you would know the significance of being in my presence, four-wing.”

The two dragoness’ continued walking onward, following Dirge’s sense of direction back to the Scorpion camp. Suddenly, however, Shade lept off to the side.

Dirge’s pupils dilated and her attention snapped to her prisoner. She caught sight of the iridescent female at the exact moment she’d
clutched a stag in her jaws, and proceeded to snap its neck.

The bulky dragoness took a step forward as Shade readied herself to eat the stag whole, then paused as the odd dragoness requested eating before they ventured further, and made an offering to Dirge. The whole time, Dirge had her teeth clenched as though she were biting back the irritation she felt.

She picked up the meat from the deer and stared at it for a moment. After a few seconds she clutched her talons closed, squishing the meat and crushing the bone before tossing the big pieces off to the side and wiping a good portion of it off of her talon, save for trace amounts of blood.

“You don’t get to ask me that! You’re my prisoner. You don’t get to request snack breaks and...and ask me what my favorite pieces of meat are!” She stepped closer to Shade and prodded her chest with one of her sharp talons, not enough to really damage but enough to threaten.

Her voice became more of a growl. “I’m not your friend, weirdo. You don’t get to know me, and I don’t need to know you.”

Suddenly, a strange scent wafted through the air. Dirge hadn’t really thought much of it at first, but now it was getting concerning. It smelt like...burning.

The menacing expression that the angry dragoness once carried had melted away into one of confusion. Her attention was drawn in the direction of the Scorpion camp, and her accusatory claw lowered to the ground.

“What now,” she murmured before turning back to Shade. “Don’t run away, or whatever. If I find out you left, I swear I’ll break every bone in your body...twice!”

The gruff dragoness, with her nonsensical threats, hastily started making her way through the forest. She climbed over logs slashed her way through some of the forest foliage, and soon found herself at the edge of her camp. The closer she got, the more hazy her vision was due to a large cloud of smoke.

As Dirge entered the camp, her mind took a moment to comprehend what she saw.

It was a bloodbath.

Some of the dragons she was leading had been neatly lined up in a row, quite a few of them she’d eaten, drank, and laughed with two nights ago. Each of them had their throats sliced open in a wide smile, while their lifeless bodies were limp against the soil soaked with their blood.

Dirge was beside herself. She tried to speak, but the boiling rage she felt had caught in her throat.

Meanwhile, there were other dragons from her group that were still alive. Some of them appeared to be setting fire to the various tents and structures, while others appeared to be setting fire to a pile of even more dragons that she’d commanded. She’d been betrayed...again.

Dirge, not thinking of anything but slaying those who’d mutinied against her, had let out a deafening roar. This startled the dragons that had been defacing her camp.

“She’s back!” one of them shouted. In seconds, Dirge had found herself surrounded by a large quantity of the dragons she’d once commanded. Many of them pointed spears, halberds, and whatever else that could harm her without getting too close.

“What is this?!” Dirge exclaimed. “You traitors! Wait until the Aculeus hears of your crimes! I’ll return your heads to him as trophies!”

“No, you won’t,” came a disembodied voice through the smoke and ash. “I think we’ll tell the Aculeus how incompetent you were as our Pincer. How your first attempt to command resulted in you killing one of our own...and how we had to stop you from leading us to our doom. Along with all those who were loyal to you, as you saw.”

Dirge couldn’t see who was talking, and much to her disdain, it seemed she wouldn’t get the chance before he issued his next command.

“Scorpions. Relieve Dirge of her duties as Pincer.”

One of the dragons motioned towards her with his spear. Dirge didn’t hesitate to grab the wooden base of it and pull the attacker closer. Her teeth sank into the scales on his neck, and he barely had time to let out a guttural yelp before her grip had shattered his neck.

Dirge felt a pain, one that she was all too familiar with as of late. Another of the traitors jabbed the blade of a halberd right where her wing connected to her body. It created a dull, throbbing sensation that made her bite harder on the neck of the dragon she attacked initially. She bit down and pulled until his head was torn from his body.

The dragon with the halberd watched in horror as his partner’s head dangled from Dirge’s mouth before she turned her bloodthirsty gaze towards him. He released his halberd, which was still stuck under the brute dragoness’ wing. He took a step back, preparing his breath weapon.

Dirge caught a glimpse of the fire building up inside his throat, and a second before he released it she quickly reached out and clamped his mouth shut. The panicking dragon jumped slightly, as though something had burst inside of him before falling limply to the floor, clenching his throat with his talons.

A sharp cold sensation emanated from Dirge’s neck. She reached up to touch where the pain was emanating from, but all she could feel was ice. Almost immediately afterwards another blast of cold hit her back leg, and one more on her front. Dirge turned and looked at the line of dragons who all had their breath weapons ready, all of them glowing blue with the element of ice.

Dirge took a step toward them to try and stop their assault, but her legs had grown numb, and she faltered. There was no way she’d be able to defeat the rest of them like this. Her determination alone would not let her lay down and succumb, however. Not as long as they still breathed.

 

[Merciless Medic]

Even though she knew that Dirge wouldn't dare show her friendship, Shade still tried, seeing her offering get broken to bits in front of her. Yet, she did not budge, nor did her expression falter. Getting a talking to, she was used to threats and she just gazed on right past her, as if nothing she said even touched her as well as that claw of the mad dragoness.

The smell of sulfur and fire also caught Shade's attention, but she was told to stay there. Being naturally neat, she thought about the deer and cleaning up afterwards, but something else caught her ear. Slinking past all the brush and logs, she finally caught up to the camp, using the trees as cover.

She looked on as the camp was decimated and what looked to be true followers of Dirge had been executed. The houses were emanating a smell of fire and then more dragons appeared to surround her front.

She attempted to look on at the action that happened next, but she struggled, her eyes squinting and then clenching shut as she backed off a bit. All this smell of blood filling her nostrils, all this... pain in her stomach. Her instincts rose over above all else and she couldn't hold anything back. She didn't exactly care Dirge was hurt, but will defend her if necessary, even through all of the shit Dirge put her through. Besides, she was just following orders or attempted to make herself look better in front of her followers.

Growling, she opened her eyes finally, what should have been a normal looking size for a pupil became as thin as grass and she looked on at the ice dragons. She saw that two of them were in a line, while the other one was in front of Dirge. Time to fight.

As if she were a loaded spring, she leapt forward with incredible speed and power, her muscles rippling as her fur-like scales stood up on end, unleashing a swath of blood to escape from her. Her mind became nothing like it was. Just to feed. She looked at the two who were in a line and slammed into the first one, causing the dragon that was hit to slam into the other ice dragon, both of them roaring in pain and their ice breath pointing upwards and hit nothing.

The third ice dragon attempted to redirect his breath to Shade, but a solid swift hit in the jaw with the orb on her tail broke his jaw, and his ice breath got redirected to the ground. Her claws became fast as a whirlwind and she cut up the other two dragons with ease, using her back claws like a cat to eviscerate their stomachs wide open and she used her unnaturally large mouth to take the two heads in and clamped hard, crushing them like they were apples.

Fighting dragons all her life, as well as humans, caused her to ignore the pain running through her and just consume. The blood and bone ran from her mouth, but the look she had as she surveyed the area and looked at all the other dragons was otherworldly. She wanted them all dead. She wanted them all as food.

One of the dragons screeched "It's her! The Rainbow Menace!" Raising an eyebrow at the apparent reputation the name gave her, she lunged towards the dragon that had yelled. He hit her face first with a breath of fire, but it didn't faze her as she ducked, then went for the throat with her claw, using her other claw to pivot around as she slashed his throat open and then leapt off towards the other one.

Her tail glowed red and she sent a flaming shot towards Dirge's ice, hoping to revitalize her before they hurt her anymore. Her instant change of attention earned her a solid hit to the head and chest, as two dragons came in to double team on her. Now dizzy, she sent flames all about, causing all the dragons to back up and give her a wide berth.

There was no way she was going to die this easily. She probably has a broken rib now, but she didn't care. She wanted food. She felt a few pokes from weapons, but she instantly snapped like a snake at the intruding weapons with her mouth covered in flames, and easily broke all of the lines she could catch with her teeth. It was only a matter of time before they circle her and kill her.

 

[Chrocey]

Dirge stared into the eyes of one of her aggressors. She saw the hint of blue crawling up the back of their throats. Particles of frosty white surrounded their lips, a stark contrast to the orange glow of the blazing fire behind them.

Time seemed to move slow for Dirge. It would seem like she was staring death in the face. A firing squad of dragons had her fate written across their lips, and whoever incited their mutiny had sealed her fate with a simple order. All that she could do was take another step forward, and die fighting for her life.

That was, of course, until a blur came from the corner of Dirge’s eyes. It collided with one of the ice dragons and knocked him into his partner.

The one that had gotten closer to Dirge whirled around, but fired his breath too late before the orb on the blur’s tail cracked his jaw.

Wait...orb. Shade? Dirge was dumbfounded. Her prisoner had actually helped her? Despite being treated so roughly?

Now wasn’t time to ask questions. This was as good of an opportunity to counterattack as ever.

While the dragon closest to her was clutching his broken jaw, Dirge pushed him to the ground. She placed her talon on his head and pushed down with all of her might until his skull caved in and his head was crushed.

Two more dragons lunged at her. One of them landed on her back and bit down on her neck, while the other bit down on her front leg. Dirge stood on her hind legs before throwing herself backwards onto the ground, crushing the dragon that was on her back. Meanwhile, she reached her other claw and grabbed the dragon on her leg by his neck and tore him off of her.

She raised him up before swinging him by his neck and slamming him hard against the ground over and over again as though he were a mere toy. When his body was limp in her clutches, she discarded him before turning her gaze to Shade once again.

The shouting of one of the traitors perked Dirge’s attention.

“It’s her! The Rainbow Menace!”

The Rainbow Menace? No way. Shade couldn’t have been The Rainbow Menace. She seemed so much...smaller than Dirge had envisioned. Albeit, the brutality in which she attacked certainly seemed to coincide with the stories. It would also explain her strange behavior.

Dirge snapped back to attention as fireballs came hurtling towards her. She didn’t so much as flinch as each one struck the ice that had frozen her legs and neck. The ice quickly melted, and the numbness gradually dissipated.

The brutish dragoness could feel the warmth in her throat as well.

Now that the feeling had started to return to her legs, Dirge proceeded to make her way towards the dragons that were beginning to surround Shade. They all seemed to be focused on the iridescent dragoness, which Dirge understood. She’d all but devoured many of their friends.

Dirge picked up a spear along the way. She threw it as hard as she could and managed to impale one of the traitors through the back of the head.

Pausing for a moment, Dirge saw that quite a few of the dragons had already surrounded Shade before she could stop them. With a growl of frustration, she exclaimed. “You better move, four-wing, if you value your life!”

Dirge looked down and began prepare her breath weapon. She worked it up inside of her, feeling the burning heat rising up from her chest. Eventually, it reached her throat. Dirge’s eyes closed tight as the pain of the fire harmed her greatly, until a large cone of flames burst from her maw. It burned as bright at the sun and was moving right towards the group of dragons, including Shade herself. The bulky dragoness didn’t care who got caught in the flames, only that all of the treacherous dragons burned alive.

 

[Merciless Medic]

Hearing her comrad able to help fight again and hearing her yell to leave, Shade waited for the right time.... And then...

Jump!

She stopped her breath attack and her four wings propelled her at least 15 feet in the air on her first flap. She noticed there were several dragons behind Dirge ready to pounce. Not on her watch.

Shadara let out more flames, the fire tickling her as she expelled out enough flames to be embodied by it as she drove towards them with surprising speed, her body in a corkscrew-like fashion as the fire cloaked her. Startled, the three dragons attempted to get out of the way, but Shade opened her wings, stopping herself and getting the fire to cradle around her chest, and then she flapped her wings forward. The force ejected all the fire and towards the enemies, who either fell back from the powerful wind gust and fire or dodged out of the way but got singed, not expecting her to change her attack.

She landed and stood up tall on her hind legs above the more quadruped enemies. Her eyes looked like she was amused and having fun, and her wide grin looked even wider than when she first started her coed rampage. She could spot some of them leaving, as their morale broke.

Looking at the three in front of her, she found the one who was attempting to leave and used her prehensile tail to lock her tail around his ankle, crushing it a little with her club. Smiling and looking a the other two, she spun in a half circle on her hind legs with some speed, her tail becoming taut. As soon as it was taut and before they get a chance to pounce, she whipped around, sending her tail and its cargo flying towards the other two with so much force, they all flew a few feet sideways and tumbled all over each other. Still holding on to the now unconscious dragon, she grabbed him by the ankle with her talon this time and dragged him over to the other two.

Repeatedly, she began to use that same dragon as a club and smashed the two dragons to a pulp. Smiling once they are almost an unrecognizable mass of meat and scales, she then grabbed her weapon by the throat and squeezed it so hard, his head came right off (using him as a weapon helped to break his spine and cranium to do this).

Slouched over now, she looked behind her to see a dragon readying a sword, but unable to move due to fear. Was.... Was that urine down his leg? Chuckling, she grabbed him by the throat, the sudden squeeze made him unknowingly drop his sword. The sudden shock made him attempt to stab her with nothing, but she chuckled and she sized him up and down. Noticing this dragon was fairly young, she decided to let him live. She dropped him, but them loomed over him. Smiling a very devilish smile, she spat at him as his body quivered.

"Now, I will spare you. Tell your superior that the 'Rainbow Menace' will come for them if they ever get in my way again."

Nodding shakily, he scrambled to his feet and, with newfound vigor, ran incredibly fast and away from battle. Shaking her head, she wondered what kind of monster will force these wyrmlings to fight such a tough enemy. Was it to make an example? Nevertheless, she surveyed the area once again to find that everyone was basically dead, and Dirge was finishing up her end of the battle.

Satisfied, she went back to the massless pile and got her mouth ready. Her mouth unhinged as she began to take it all in. Noticing how small these dragons were to begin with (being a quarter of her size) she almost felt bad for not giving them a burial. Her stomach was a good enough burial for the pile she made though. It got to the point where she had to take it in by chunks however, as not all of it could fit in one go. With the half that she could, she swallowed, her powerful throat muscles began crushing everything in its wake and pushing everything down her throat to her stomach. What looked from the outside was a large mass slowly degrading in size and moving down her throat as crunching and popping noises could be heard. She then did the same to the other half.

Now that she is done, she smacked her lips and attempted to clean herself, then noticed the other bodies as she had her tongue sticking out to clean her talons. Huffing, she looked over to the ones that were executed and wondered if they should bury them, as they were honorably upholding their loyalty.

Not even looking over, she asked. "Should we bury your followers, or should we get going before more come?"