Flying was absolutely glorious. Waiting for one's wings to grow in, however, was miserable. But wait she had, chafing at almost every moment. Particularly when she was forced to watch her brothers spread their own and take the skies, heading off to plunder, pillage, or whatever it was that two dragon-princes did whenever they left Carhaise's massive castle and didn't return for several days, and when they did, it was to gloat, drink, and brag about their "adventures".
Infuriating males.
But this morning, Aeron and Idris were still asnooze, having only just returned last eve to rousing cheers from the old King's court, bringing with them yet even more treasure to add to the kingdom's coffers. A pirate fleet just off the edge of Brecillion Bay (named for the sprawling city of Brecillia, situated at the bottom of Carhaise Castle) made fine targets for the princely brothers; they'd fallen on the brigands under the cover of night and even the seas had burned with the fury of the Dracul.
Naturally, their younger sister hadn't been invited.
A fact that still smarted, Guinevere silently fumed to herself as she soared low over the high tops of Winterhaven's evergreens. The forest stretched for leagues, marking Carhaise's eastern border that it shared with Sta'lyre, but she was careful to keep to the west; she knew peace was tentative with her father and the old wyrm that ruled the neighboring kingdom. Nevertheless, she gave her sail-like wings a few vigorous pumps, angling higher in the bright blue sky, red-gold scales catching the morning sunlight and sending rubies sparkling all across the skies.
The young she-dragon spiraled and dipped, rolled and flipped, even letting out a loud, guttural roar of sheer delight as she arrowed through the skies, diving low enough to startle an entire flock of birds from the dark treetops, indulging herself in a few as she passed through them. Small snacks, those.
But so intent was she on cleaning feathers out of her teeth was she that she failed to notice the missile until she heard the deep twang of a chain-thick rope launched from a catapult below. Startled, Guinevere dove aside, roaring, but another whistled past her, then another, but the fourth exploded right in front of her, a thickly woven net quickly trapping her and sending her plummeting towards the earth.
Her roars escalated into high-pitched screams, hellish enough to curdle the blood, but not even her fear-laced fury could stop her from crashing into the trees. She heard the shouts and war-cries of many humans as she plowed directly into the dirt, caught and helpless within their hateful net. Fear gave her strength, but her talons were useless; her legs were pinned beneath her weight. Her captors burst from the trees, all brandishing some sort of weapon and all holding deathless hate in each eye. They looked like half-drowned rats; apparently her brothers had missed a few, and now they were out for revenge.
Even with being on the other side of Carhaise from the pirate raid in Brecillion, Erix's family had heard of it. The wayward princes of Carhaise making a name for themselves, pissing off some of the other races that weren't able to so easily fly and take them down. It wasn't just their family that had to be more careful about the outcomes and the animosity that stir from their attacks. Especially when it's so easily clear it's dragons and not another race by boat.
It's rankled his parents, that the blowback is coming on their kingdom as well by proxy when the boys, because to Erix and his family they act like boys, do these things.
The large, black dragon form he takes is in the sky along the edges of his own kingdom of Sta'lyre to monitor, keep watch, and make sure that none of his own people are bothered by anyone that may have remained from the raid the night before. Which is lucky, for Guinevere, because he hears that roar that turns into screams on the air. He circles that direction without a second thought, even when it means crossing over in to Carhaise territory. Better to deal with the aftermath of crossing over but still have whoever needs help alive then ignore someone in need.
What he sees has him almost still in the air. Though before any of the half-drowned pirates can actually make a move for her, there's a loud, dangerous roar through the air. Warning, that they aren't alone, that she's not alone. And that they better back off. If the roar isn't enough, his mouth opens and fire engulfs their catapult that they used to take her down with, destroying it quickly so they can't use it again on him before he moves to land close by but not on top. He doesn't want to catch her with dragonfire without knowing if she can take the heat first. But close enough that he snaps at the nearest man, sending the pirate backing up and stumbling over a rock to keep clear of the teeth.
Guinevere wasn't yet at the point of panic; she was still struggling, snapping at those who darted too close, even though the net kept her teeth from their flesh. But thankfully this massive form gave them pause, for even though she was still quite young, she was still larger than a drake, perhaps sixty cubits from snout to tail. Her aged father was over twice that, and her brothers rapidly approaching such an impressive size.
Her talons she did manage to get through the net, and a few adventurous humans lay dead, raked apart, but the tight confines kept her from inhaling enough breath to ignite the flames down in her throat; her fiery exhalation was all but useless like this. Still she fought on, determined to take as many of them down as she possibly could.
Until she heard a second roar. A dark shape appeared over the trees and her first wild, triumphant thought was Idris!, that her brother had found her at last. But as it flew closer, her heart sank as she realized those were not dark sapphire scales glinting in the mid-morning sun. The newcomer nevertheless came to her aid, decimating the humans' death machines and landing between the captive she-dragon and her tormentors.
And apparently having second-guessed their own mortality, the gaggle of pitiful, but effective, humans thought better of continuing their quest for revenge, now that reptilian reinforcements had arrived. They quickly scattered, melting into the trees and leaving the two wyrms in the blood-and-wood-splattered clearing.
Guinevere still grunted and wriggled, slashing at the cumbersome ropes in effort to get free. Frantic struggles that they were, they only succeeded in binding her tighter until she finally had to cease, lest she suffocate from their constricting grip. She fell to one side, panting, red-gold scales glittering.
This was absolutely not how she'd envisioned her day to go. At all.
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2024-03-18 02:10 am (UTC)Infuriating males.
But this morning, Aeron and Idris were still asnooze, having only just returned last eve to rousing cheers from the old King's court, bringing with them yet even more treasure to add to the kingdom's coffers. A pirate fleet just off the edge of Brecillion Bay (named for the sprawling city of Brecillia, situated at the bottom of Carhaise Castle) made fine targets for the princely brothers; they'd fallen on the brigands under the cover of night and even the seas had burned with the fury of the Dracul.
Naturally, their younger sister hadn't been invited.
A fact that still smarted, Guinevere silently fumed to herself as she soared low over the high tops of Winterhaven's evergreens. The forest stretched for leagues, marking Carhaise's eastern border that it shared with Sta'lyre, but she was careful to keep to the west; she knew peace was tentative with her father and the old wyrm that ruled the neighboring kingdom. Nevertheless, she gave her sail-like wings a few vigorous pumps, angling higher in the bright blue sky, red-gold scales catching the morning sunlight and sending rubies sparkling all across the skies.
The young she-dragon spiraled and dipped, rolled and flipped, even letting out a loud, guttural roar of sheer delight as she arrowed through the skies, diving low enough to startle an entire flock of birds from the dark treetops, indulging herself in a few as she passed through them. Small snacks, those.
But so intent was she on cleaning feathers out of her teeth was she that she failed to notice the missile until she heard the deep twang of a chain-thick rope launched from a catapult below. Startled, Guinevere dove aside, roaring, but another whistled past her, then another, but the fourth exploded right in front of her, a thickly woven net quickly trapping her and sending her plummeting towards the earth.
Her roars escalated into high-pitched screams, hellish enough to curdle the blood, but not even her fear-laced fury could stop her from crashing into the trees. She heard the shouts and war-cries of many humans as she plowed directly into the dirt, caught and helpless within their hateful net. Fear gave her strength, but her talons were useless; her legs were pinned beneath her weight. Her captors burst from the trees, all brandishing some sort of weapon and all holding deathless hate in each eye. They looked like half-drowned rats; apparently her brothers had missed a few, and now they were out for revenge.
no subject
Date: 2024-03-21 07:45 pm (UTC)It's rankled his parents, that the blowback is coming on their kingdom as well by proxy when the boys, because to Erix and his family they act like boys, do these things.
The large, black dragon form he takes is in the sky along the edges of his own kingdom of Sta'lyre to monitor, keep watch, and make sure that none of his own people are bothered by anyone that may have remained from the raid the night before. Which is lucky, for Guinevere, because he hears that roar that turns into screams on the air. He circles that direction without a second thought, even when it means crossing over in to Carhaise territory. Better to deal with the aftermath of crossing over but still have whoever needs help alive then ignore someone in need.
What he sees has him almost still in the air. Though before any of the half-drowned pirates can actually make a move for her, there's a loud, dangerous roar through the air. Warning, that they aren't alone, that she's not alone. And that they better back off. If the roar isn't enough, his mouth opens and fire engulfs their catapult that they used to take her down with, destroying it quickly so they can't use it again on him before he moves to land close by but not on top. He doesn't want to catch her with dragonfire without knowing if she can take the heat first. But close enough that he snaps at the nearest man, sending the pirate backing up and stumbling over a rock to keep clear of the teeth.
no subject
Date: 2024-03-21 11:50 pm (UTC)Her talons she did manage to get through the net, and a few adventurous humans lay dead, raked apart, but the tight confines kept her from inhaling enough breath to ignite the flames down in her throat; her fiery exhalation was all but useless like this. Still she fought on, determined to take as many of them down as she possibly could.
Until she heard a second roar. A dark shape appeared over the trees and her first wild, triumphant thought was Idris!, that her brother had found her at last. But as it flew closer, her heart sank as she realized those were not dark sapphire scales glinting in the mid-morning sun. The newcomer nevertheless came to her aid, decimating the humans' death machines and landing between the captive she-dragon and her tormentors.
And apparently having second-guessed their own mortality, the gaggle of pitiful, but effective, humans thought better of continuing their quest for revenge, now that reptilian reinforcements had arrived. They quickly scattered, melting into the trees and leaving the two wyrms in the blood-and-wood-splattered clearing.
Guinevere still grunted and wriggled, slashing at the cumbersome ropes in effort to get free. Frantic struggles that they were, they only succeeded in binding her tighter until she finally had to cease, lest she suffocate from their constricting grip. She fell to one side, panting, red-gold scales glittering.
This was absolutely not how she'd envisioned her day to go. At all.