#bear claws dragon paws

[officialnightengalepublishing]

Man, I love writing my dragons. :)

[jordanthewerewolf]

WEREWOLF HRT CHAPTER ONE: MISSING

The bell jingles as I enter the diner. It's got a nice, homey, atmosphere and the air is filled with the chit-chat of many patrons. The smell of coffee fills my nose. I pull out the piece of paper in my pocket. Scrawled across the back in blue ink is the address of the diner, followed by a time. 3:15. My watch says it's 3:10. I'm early.

I flip the piece of paper over. I look at the picture that's mystified me for the past three days. It's a young male. He’s wearing a leather jacket, and his hair is dyed red and styled into a spiky Mohawk. A total punk rocker. Yet it's his face that I end up staring at. Jade eyes. A hawkish nose. Crooked smile. This boy’s face is identical to mine. And written in big bold letters at the top of the page are the words:

MISSING: ERIC FORRESTER

My friend Nezzie sent me a picture of this poster a few days ago, and now I’m walking into a diner in a city I’d never heard of, to chat with some lady I’ve never met. Because apparently, this guy is my twin brother. We were separated at birth, and he stayed with my parents while I ended up in foster care. While he was growing up an ordinary teenager, I was dealing with transphobic adoptive parents who didn't appreciate my efforts to be more… feminine. I can't help but feel a twinge of jealousy. He definitely got the better deal. But he’s my twin. My identical twin! You know that twin bond they always talk about in movies? I've felt that ever since it was little. Like I’d feel random flashes of joy, sadness, anger, and once, a wave of impending doom that brought me to tears.  I never knew what caused it. Now I do. I'm feeling what he feels.

And of course, I don't find out I have a twin brother until he disappears. The dude has been missing for a month. And in Hyper City, which I've already discovered to be the most bizarre city in the world. Hyper City is where the infamous Dr. Erian resides. About two years ago he developed the revolutionary Humanity Removal Treatment, which allows people to transform themselves into animals, mythological creatures, even fictional characters! Since then, people have been flocking to Hyper City in droves, with the desire to remake themselves into something inhuman. During the cab ride from the airport, I saw at least two dozen pedestrians who were mid-transformation. People with scales, feathers, fur. Snouts, paws, wings, tails, fangs, claws, and more. I saw some incredibly unique looking creatures. Like a hairless humanoid with deep purple skin and three pairs of glowing eyes. Or what looked like a giant green bear passed out in the park.  I make a mental note to do more research on this Animal HRT fad. It's been blowing up the news for the past two years, and Nezzie's been talking nonstop about it because she plans to transition into a dragon, but I haven't been paying much attention.

“Jordan?” I hear a voice call out. It's a young woman, about my age, who for some reason is wearing… a rabbit suit? She waves me over to her booth. I note her serious expression and her piercing blue eyes. I sit across from her. I feel her gaze burn into me for a few seconds. Then she relaxes. Her face softens. 

“You've got his face,” Rabbit Girl says. “You look just like him.” I know exactly who she's talking about. My twin.

“So you're the one who's been putting up the posters?” I ask. 

Rabbit Girl nods. “Me and a few others.” I notice a badge pinned to her chest, displaying blue, pink, and white stripes. Trans colours. I subtly flash my trans pride bracelet. Rabbit Girl notices it. She relaxes more.

Rabbit Girl offers her hand. “I’m Candace. Candace Double. But you can call me Candy.” 

I shake with her. “Jordan Forrester.”

A waitress comes by. “Can I get you two anything?” 

“Can I get a hot cocoa?” Candy asks. I order the same.

After the waitress leaves, I ask Candy, “What’s he like?”

She ponders that for a moment. “He was super sweet. Kind of awkward, and he had the tendency to say the wrong things at the wrong time, but he was well-intentioned. And he wanted to be friends with everyone. Eric saw the best in people.” Candy looks wistful. There's a faint smile on her face.

“Why are you using past tense?” I point out. “He’s not dead, is he?”

Candy shakes her head, making the plush rabbit ears on her hood flop around. “We know he’s alive. Just… there's some heavier stuff about Eric I'm going to need to tell you. But let's leave that till later. What's your story?”

“Erm, well…” I hesitate, trying to figure out how to describe myself. 

“I’m nothing like what you said Eric was like. I guess the only thing I can relate to is the awkwardness. Total introvert, and definitely not nice. I've been told I can be kind of a… bitch.”

Candy chuckles. “Also humble. He was like that too. Never bragged. I wonder what else you two have in common.”

We spend the next hour comparing me to Eric. Taste in movies, favourite music, video games. During this time, the waitress comes back with our drinks. Sipping my cocoa, I learn that in terms of our interests me and Eric are pretty different. He's into metal and rap music where I have a penchant for techno and EDM. I’m more into first person shooters where he favours RPGs and strategy games. But we do have a lot in common. Eric shares my general disinterest in movies and television, which is caused by my ADHD (which he also has). We’re also both really into punk and emo music like Fall Out Boy and Maneskin. Craziest of all, we both have the same favourite song: Good Charlotte’s The Anthem. A song about rebellion and deviation that’s always helped me when I feel oppressed or dysphoric.

Sitting here with this girl in a rabbit suit, I'm learning about this boy who I’ve never seen face to face, but who I somehow know better than anyone. I’ve felt his greatest joys, his lowest lows. Somehow, the two of us are tied together. I have no doubt that Eric can feel my emotions just like I can feel his. I have to find him.

Candy finishes off the dregs of her cocoa. “So, Jordan, do you like horror?”

“Yeah. I'm a complete horror nut. I'm, like, crazy obsessed with…”

“Werewolves?” she finishes.

I stare at her. “How did you know?”

She smiles. “Eric was a complete lycanthropy fanatic. He talked about it nonstop. And then this Animal HRT stuff came up…” Candy sighs. “I guess this leads right into the heavy stuff.”

I get a sinking feeling in my gut. “You mean…”

“Yep. He applied to transition into a werewolf.”

My heart starts to pound. “Oh, God…”

Candy puts a comforting hand on my shoulder. “Hey, hey, calm down. I'm not done yet.” 

“O-Okay. Go on.”

“Things went really well at first. He asked me to hang out with him during the full moon. So he wouldn't get lonely.”

“Isn't that dangerous?” I ask. She laughs. “Absolutely. And yeah, the first time he went wolf I was pretty certain he was about to eat me. But then Eric, this giant wolf creature, just walks over and sits down beside me. And he hugs me. I could see how happy he was. It was honestly adorable.” 

“So it became routine. Every full moon we'd hang out together while he transformed. Our other friends started joining us. We'd watch movies or play games and sometimes we'd go for walks around the city. Never the woods. Eric was scared he'd start attacking wild animals. He was a total softie. Honestly more like a big puppy dog than a wolf.”

Candy opens up her phone. A few taps and swipes later, she shows me a picture. It's of a bunch of people sitting around a campfire. I see a girl dressed completely in black, with black lipstick and eyeliner. A dragon woman with teal scales. A bird the size of a small child, sitting on the shoulders of a large green bear…

“I saw that bear,” I blurt out. “It was passed out in the park.”

“Behr does have a tendency to do that,” says Candy. 

I return my eyes to the picture. There's a girl covered in black fur with enormous, segmented eyes and a pair of antennae. And next to her is… Yep, it's Eric, all right. A big beast covered in shaggy brown hair. At the top of his head I can see his signature red Mohawk between a pair of pointy ears. He’s got a long wolfen snout filled with sharp animal teeth, and a pair of big paws tipped with razor sharp claws. But he looks happy. His yellow animal eyes are glowing with excitement.

“Wow. Just… wow.”

Candy puts her phone away. Her expression gets serious. “That was two weeks ago. And the last time we saw him. After we got home from that trip, his girlfriend broke up with him. The poor guy was crushed. I saw him check his phone. His eyes got wide. I watched the fur sprout, the fangs grow… and then he just ran off.”

“Have you guys looked for him?” I ask. Candy nods grimly. 

“We searched the woods every day for a week. We couldn't find him. But we know he’s there. We found paw prints, the occasional mangled squirrel, and every night we hear his howls.”

Candy sighs. “And as to why, well, we have three theories. One, Eric's snapped and gone feral. Or two, he's hiding in the woods, acting like a monster to numb the pain. Or three, this is what he's really wanted all along.”

So that's it. My brother’s become a monster. I feel the room start to spin. My stomach churns. My twin brother is a bloodthirsty beast.

“Behr went into the woods two nights ago. She said she found him, but he wouldn't say anything. She talked to him and she thinks he understood her, but then… he just ran off.” Candy has a helpless look in her eyes. “The government knows that he's in there. They're tracking him. They're leaving him alone for now, but if he hurts anyone…” She fidgets with her empty mug. “They'll kill him. They’ll put him down. Like he's a fucking animal.”

I feel like I'm going to throw up. But I somehow manage to reach across the table and take Candy’s hand. “It's okay, we’ll find him. I know I can find him.” I briefly describe our twin connection. “So, I think that I can help him. Like, I don't know, maybe he'll recognize me.”

“You think so?” Candy looks skeptical. “That sounds kind of unreliable.

“I promise,” I tell her. I try to change the subject. “What’s with the bunny suit?”

“Oh, this? It's part of my year living as my preferred species. I'm about to start Animal HRT in a few weeks.”

“Living as your preferred species? What does that mean?” I ask. 

“Erian has this rule where you have to dress and behave like what you're transitioning into for a year before you can actually start treatment,” Candy explains. “For me it basically means wearing this rabbit onesie. Everyone else who does AHRT just lies to Erian and says they've done the year already. But I don't want to risk this going wrong. I'm doing this by the books.”

“Ah.” I stand up. “I think I should be going now. Thanks for your time.”

“Thanks, Jordan,” says Candy. She gives me a quick hug. “Good luck.” 

I walk out of the diner, knowing I’ve just made a promise that there's no way I can uphold.

That night I dream about wolves. 

I'm running through a forest. The full moon hangs above me.. Every sound is magnified. Every leaf is in perfect focus. I feel my heart pounding, my breath coming out in deep grunts. The scents of nature fill my nose.

Ahead of me, I hear a wolf howl. An eerie noise that reverberates through the night. But I don't stop. I keep running towards the noise, bursting out into a large clearing. And there he is. My brother. Just like I saw him in the picture that Candy showed me. His jaws open, howling his longing into the night. Calling out to me.

He stops. Looks right at me. Strides over. “Eric?” I try to say. But it comes out as a wolf growl. I reach out to him, but my arm… it's not my arm anymore. It's a werewolf’s forepaw, covered in thick brown fur. I’m a wolf creature, I realize. Just like him. Before I can do or say anything else, Eric reaches me. Suddenly he pulls me in to a tight bear hug. “I’ve missed you, sis,” he murmurs. I try to say that I missed him too but it only comes out as growls. We hold the embrace for a long time, our furry bodies entwined, claws dug deep into each other’s pelts, our snouts touching tip to tip.

Finally Eric pulls away. He's grinning ear to ear as he takes my hand. As one, we lift our snouts into the air and bay at the moon, howling our joy at our reunion in perfect harmony.

The sound is so loud that it wakes me up.

Suddenly I'm not in the forest anymore. I'm laying on Nezzie’s couch, drenched in sweat. I feel my face. My arms. My backside. My hands. No snout, no fur, no tail, no paws. I'm not a wolf after all. It was just a dream. In surprise I realize that I'm disappointed. 

“Jordan?” Nezzie calls out sleepily. She's standing in the doorway, bleary eyed and clutching her hoard of plushies. “What's going on?”

“Just a really weird dream.” I rub my eyes. “Did I wake you?”

“Yeah. You were howling.”

“Like a wolf?” I ask hopefully. 

Nezzie shakes her head. “You sounded like someone was torturing a pig,” she snickers. “Anyway, I need my beauty rest. Try not to have any more dreams about slaughterhouses.”

Nezzie heads back into her room. I lay back down and stare at the ceiling. What was that dream? It was so… weird. And why did I like being a werewolf so much?

Then I hear his howl. It's faint. Distant. But it's unmistakable. It's the exact same howl from my dream. In an instant, I understand everything. What that dream was trying to tell me. What I’m supposed to do.

I rummage through my duffel bag and pull out my laptop. I Google Animal HRT then click on the first result. On the next page, there's a link that says “START AHRT”. Clicking that link brings up a form asking me to fill out my information. I enter my legal name, email address, and medical info. Under DESIRED TREATMENT I enter WEREWOLF HRT. I move my mouse to the SUBMIT button, and hover my finger over the ENTER key. I ask myself, Is this really what I want? Am I willing to give up my life for this?

I hear Eric howl once again. And I know my answer.

I slam the ENTER key and begin the process that will change my life forever.

Featuring @candyrocks03 and @nezhoardsthings

[r0-boat]

How to Break a Dragon's Heart

Yan!Dragon Hassel x Gn!reader

Sfw, Shitty Angst, confession and rejection.

Cw:yandere, kidnapping, killing your entire village just quirky Dragon things

This was the same dragon that kidnapped you? The same dragon that was feared by all, whose mighty roar haunts their nightmares, even for the strongest of knights who's shaking fear when your father even utters his name.

The same dragon that is now hiding behind a "big" rock, its golden eyes watching you closely with awe as if you do not see its pitiful attempts at hiding his large body and how his tail thumps at the ground with each powerful slam, causing the ground around him to shake.

Before you were tense and alert, thinking that he might eat you or torture you, but now, since death has never come and this is the first time that the dragon has made direct eye contact with you, only for him to look…f-flustered? you're just confused…. Hassel watched you a distance; however, when he noticed you were walking toward him, he felt his heart leap out of his chest.

"Human, what are you doing?" his voice bellowing deep and rumbling, but there was a hint of nervousness that you had picked up, giving you more confidence. "What is your plan with me, dragon?" You ask, glaring up at the Beast staring into pools of gold. Its eyes Pierce through your soul; you can see the dragon fangs poking from its maw, sharp like knives built for tearing through soft flesh. Your bravery was one of the many things Hassel loved you for; despite what he was known for, although you're more unsavory opinion of him, you still give him a chance to answer bravely and politely. Realizing that it would be better to talk to you in a more comforting form, a bright light surrounds the figure of the lizard as he shrinks from quadruped to bipedal one, his paws turned into more human hands, though his nails are still sharp like claws. His reptilian maw disappeared completely in favor of a human face. And you dare say, handsome, those same golden eyes that struck fear in the hearts of many knights were now on the face of an older man with a gentle smile. His golden scales disappeared completely in favor of golden locks of hair instead of a low, scratchy, growly voice. His human form sounded smoother and husky. You're he would have captured the hearts of women in your village if he wasn't the same dragon that attacked said village.

"I mean you no harm, little one, I promise."

Even now, in this human form, he still towers over you; small and aggressive like a little firecracker, the way you tense up and bear your teeth at him, the way you stand your ground, narrowly reminding him of a hissing kitten. Hassel, that's all back to his urge to hold you in his arms and nuzzle his face into your neck.

"Lies! You have taken me from my family, holding me in your nest. Tell me the truth, Dragon!"

Hassel sighs, scratching his head with a finger, hoping he could avoid telling you why he had come to your home, setting many people in a blaze to carry you delicately into his claws. He could feel heat rush to his face, his heart starting to beat with nervousness, setting trying to find his words.

"I- I'm in love with you. I wish to court you."

Those words hit you harder than a cart going down a hill at full speed. You expected many things, but a confession from the most terrifying dragon in all the legends was not one of them. And even now, Hassel stands before you, fidgeting with his fingers, eyes looking nervously at the ground, waiting for an answer, which is struggling even to be a concept in your mind.

Your hesitation is apparent to him; perhaps he owes you an explanation. He gives you a soft look full of love, approaching you; you stand before him, still frozen and dumbfounded; it hadn't fully occurred to you when fingers gently caress the side of your face, looking deep into your eyes. An arm snakes slowly around your waist, pulling you slightly closer to his body. His voice, low and husky, lowers it even more to a whisper. To tell you something only he wants you to know

"I've been watching you with every chance I get, whether it be perched upon high cliffs or in my human disguise. Your kindness warms my heart; your smile is brighter than the sun despite your kind, greedy, and nasty tendencies; you still bless them with your love, giving things up to the less fortunate and working hard alongside your fellow man. Your soft heart is something I rarely see in my kind. I can't help but be attracted to you."

The dragon poured his heart out to you. You hate to admit it, but his confession was cute. You had almost forgotten that he'd burned down half your village just to kidnap you.

Your face flushed as embarrassment slowly turned into anger, pushing him away. Hassle's eyes widen, filling with her as he stepped back from you when you escaped from his arms.

"I-I don't love you, and I never will take me back! If you truly loved me and brought me back to my Village to my home!"

You practically scream, your voice raising at the sick monster that claimed who loved You after killing half of those you cared about and burning down your home. Hassel chokes up, heartbroken, and it hurts to no end. He could feel his body shake; his chest tightened so much it was hard to breathe. It hurts being rejected by someone he loved quietly for years, conscious teeth trying to fight back the tears, studying his breath; he wanted to escape into his den to cry. But he didn't want to lose you years of pining just to be yelled at? No, he needed you. His heart hurts, but he can't let you go. Those golden eyes that looked at you with love lost their shine, darkening as he walked closer. Suddenly, the air has changed, feeling more hostile. Instinctively, you step back, which only makes him stalk closer. His voice was no longer gentle; it was direct and commanding as he growled. "I apologize, but I can't do that." This is when you realize he was much stronger than you, grabbing you and yanking you back into his arms with ease. Like you were a mere rag doll, was he only humoring how weak you actually are compared to him? Maybe, just maybe, if he keeps you, perhaps you'll fall for him. To love him just as profoundly as he left you. Only time can tell, and unfortunately for you, he has an eternity.

[sorensolsikke]

this is me in details btw. i have drawn a reference sheet. if anyone cares?

this is my dragonkin's look, and it felt awesome to work on the details. maybe maybe i have spent too much time on an easy little reference sheet (10 hours), but i just COULDN'T not make it aesthetic.

so me in detail!

i am from one half of a twin exoplanet called Magna Soror ("big sister"), from a solar system called Familia, not too far from here. the system's star is Avia ("grandmother"), and is more or less like our Sun, although significantly older. the Familia system is pretty stable and safe, featuring also a gas giant called Avunculus ("uncle"), and a small planet orbiting the star close and backwards, named Frater (brother).

Magna Soror's twin is Parum Soror. their system was probably formed when Parum crashed into the bigger planet, tossing it out from its previous, more avarage looking track. enormous bodies of water can be found on both of the planets, but in terms of proportion, Parum has the lead. its environment is far more unified than magna's, and more resembling Earth.

Magna Soror is an unusually big planet of rock. its environment is quite extreme due to its size, rotation around the Avia, and the frequent solar eclipses and floods caused by Parum. the life on the planet is breathtakingly diverse, and also cyclic, as it has to adapt to to the everchanging climate throughout the year (which year is around 11 times of Earth's). in spite of its quirks, Magna Soror is an excellent planet for the blossoming life, requiring such unity (instead of competition) between species that is unknown on planet Earth.

one of the most dominant group of species there are the dragons. i am one of them, traveled here with a group of my companions. we consider everything to be our brothers and sisters here on Earth, as we have never seen a planet so familiar to ours before.

here on Earth, my ideal habitats are around the fjords and pine forests of norway. these are the most similar to my home on Magna Soror.

standing on two feet, i am slightly smaller than an avarage human, tho this pose hurts my spine.

my whole lenght from nose to end of tail is 3.6 meters, although more than half of that lenght is my tail (used for maneuvering). my wingspan is over 4 meters.

i have a broad chest, narrow waist, and four short legs, back ones are longer and even more muscular than front ones. i am nimble, but not really a fast runner, and a great jumper – which is needed as i have a hard time getting up into the air. i need to run before and jump forcefully to take off, or i need to climb high and start glinding.

my paws are big, elongated. forth finger is facing backwards, therefore it's great for climbing. i have fins between my fingers, which makes me a great swimmer, but worsens my running abilities. my claws cannot be retracted.

i mostly eat fish (or on my home planet, fish-like creatures), and i hunt like aquatic birds of prey, flying over the water and diving in to catch my prey. when the water freezes, i hunt animals between the sizes of a rabbit and a deer calf. things like oysters, shrimps, smaller octopuses and berries are beloved treats of mine.

ideally, i swallow in whole, as i don't have teeth for gnawing. however, i have four fangs, four so-called abutment teeth and twenty-four small teeth.

i don't have fur to keep me warm, but i do have some fire breathing abilities. in my throat, i bear with a pair of flint organs that i can crush together by pulling the muscles in my throat, so to create sparks. with these sparks, i am able to light up fires, for example out of wood, to keep me warm, or to defend myself from attacks.

my scales and skin are fireproof. i shred them regularly.

i have a deep blue color, but white stomach and wings. my camouflage works like great white sharks' in water. in snow, i can hide under my white wings.

thorns are both for protection and for finding a mate.

i am a social creature, i love my flight (pack) a lot and would do anything for them. tho i mostly hunt and nest alone, until i can do it with my mate.

i can't roar or purr, but i have a weird noise that resembles crushing gravels, i have some squeeks, and a soft, melody like gurgling noise.

my eyesight is spectecular, and i have a special eyelid for seeing underwater, tho i definitely see colors differently than humans. my hearing is reliable. my sense of smell is very very good. i have nostrils, and can also smell with my tongue underwater.

that's all about me in facts. i'll soon make some more art about my dragonform, but i was so excited to show this!!!

anyways, i hope you'll have a great day, please don't forget to drink water and stay safe<3

[benjen-mormont]

𓆰𓆪 THE GOAL I WAS AIMING FOR WAS THE WRONG ONE 𓆰𓆪

(Starter with @thefallenprincesss)

The first time it happened, Benjen was five, tossing and turning beneath the heavy canopy of his bed, feeling trapped like a small, restless bird. Outside his window, an owl cut through the winter breeze, its eyes like small suns piercing the night. Benjen thought he had fallen asleep. That night, he dreamed he was that owl, wings spread wide against the frost biting at his feathers.

From then on, the dreams came and went. When he felt cornered, he was a bird—sometimes an owl, sometimes a raven, flitting through the shadows. When his parents argued, he became a wolf, bristling in defiance. If his father scolded him, he was a bear, claws bared. If his sister woke from nightmares, he was a fox, swift and clever, ready to slip between the shadows to keep her safe.

But that winter, the dreams drained him. Benjen lost so much weight the maesters grew concerned; he barely ate and spent long hours asleep, slipping into visions that seemed to wear him down. His mother tried to reassure him, but she would smooth his hair with trembling hands, speaking of bad omens. The dreams turned darker. One night, he became a beast that tore through soldiers who insulted his mother—called her mad, weak, unable to bear the lord proper children. In his dream, he ripped them apart as if they were made of paper, staining the snow crimson with their blood. He could still taste it on his lips when he awoke.

After that, Benjen tried not to dream.

His father, Lord Edryk Mormont, was more legend than man—his rage so fierce that mothers warned their children of him, a monster prowling through the halls of their own home. Lady Melantha reminded her children that war needed men like him, but her eyes always seemed wary, her words edged with dread. Lord Mormont had no warmth, no love to spare among the fires that burned in his chest.

Then came that spring night, when Lord Mormont dared to struck Lady Mormont. Benjen crept away into the woods, not to dream but to escape. There, he found a massive bear prowling in the shadows. His senses sharpened as his eyes turned white and fierce. He was aware of every stone and twig beneath his paws as he moved, one step after another, toward the keep.

That night, Lord Mormont died in anger, just as he had lived.

Benjen didn’t need to dream after that. He was wide awake. The warging—skinchanging, the Maesters called it—was as much a curse as a gift. The longer he spent in another creature’s skin, the harder it became to remember how to be human. Benjen wasn’t sure if his ferocity, his fierce protectiveness, had always been a part of him or if it was something borrowed from the animals he inhabited.

Still, he had no intention of sitting idle as doom crept across the North.

Birds, snakes, bears, seals. He wondered, briefly, if there was a limit to the shape he could take. What was a Targaryen if not a man? What was a dragon if not a lizard? The Dragonpit wasn’t difficult to infiltrate. The guards barely glanced at a the second in command walking with purpose. The dragon’s heat reached him before he saw it, rising like a furnace from the cavernous darkness. Benjen drew closer, his breath catching as he focused on the scaled beast. If he just concentrated—if he could feel it, the way he had felt the bear, the raven, the wolf—

A startled sound called his eyes up.

“Princess Rhaenya,” Benjen straightened, forcing himself to look casual despite the wild thrum of his heart. “I didn’t know you were awake, it’s quite late…”

[sonicasura]

Species Swap: Kafka Hibino

I mentioned earlier that species swap are something I haven't really delved with Kafka. (Not including asks for obvious reasons.) Thus here are some ideas that came to mind and will be explored on further in their own potential posts.

Agunimon

Yup, not a Digimon that is in the Angoramon Line or GranDracmon line. (Although Kafka as an eldritch vampire would be an interesting sight.) I figured why not choose a childhood favorite instead.

How Kafka gets into this situation is funnily simple: Cursed Armor. In Digimon Frontier, the Warrior and Beast Spirits resemble armor that need to be collected by the respective chosen. Thus why not twist such a detail to something more...malicious.

Kafka discovers the cursed armor while cleaning the ruins of a hoarder house. A bet from his fellow Sweepers to put the items on is how it happens. Now Kafka doesn't fully look like Agunimon but instead more like a fusion.

Black hair that haphazardly fades to gold, beastlike features such as a bear snout alongside pointy ears hidden under the helmet, his pudgy wrestler body type remains, paw pads, tufts of gold fur, horns, then finally a chubby red dragon tail.

Now Kafka can turn back to human but for at most 6 hours on a good day. Otherwise he's forced to look like a beast. The armor pretty much haunts his wardrobe as it will come back no matter what he does.

If Kafka doesn't wear it from time to time then he runs the risk of his curse condition getting worse. You can bet your ass that his kaiju powers aggravated it even further. Finding body wash for scales is more difficult than fur.

Ghost

Kafka fucking dies! He perishes at the age of 26 after saving someone amidst a kaiju attack. This heroic deed doesn't go unpunished as the man had enough regrets in life(than an obviously violent death) for his spirit to linger.

Now a Shadow type specter, Kafka spends his afterlife trying to protect others and eating kaiju souls. The latter altering his ghostly form into something similar to Snatcher from A Hat In Time. 25 ft long serpentine body with three talon "paw" like hands, fluffy almost velvet fur like texture hide, and a jack-o'-lantern smile that can become sinister in seconds.

The Defense Force classify him as 'The Shadow' from his shadowlike appearance. It isn't uncommon for officers to come across him during missions with many failing to capture or kill the ghost. The Science Department has been trying to uncover scientific ways to do so, not supernatural.

It took some experimentation before he could create a temporary human body to inhabit. (Kafka might've robbed his own grave.) He works at the Monster Sweepers partly cause kaiju corpses often come with "free snacks" in the form of Honju and Yoju. Although a certain mosquito kaiju definitely had a mighty extra kick Kafka wasn't ready to handle.

It somehow made his temporary body "alive" and made his ghostly form more monstrous. Kafka rather not get killed again much less by the Defense Force. A second death can put him down for good.

MAG

Considering how many times Kafka failed the Entrance Exams for the Defense Force, what are the chances someone would take advantage of this? Such as his fate in this specific route where a mysterious man's innocent offer holds insidious motives. Kafka finds himself kidnapped and experimented on using kaiju DNA.

He becomes a MAG through these unethical experiments. A type of huge supersoldier known for their heightened aggression, unmistaking power but also programmed to take orders from handlers(like Madness Combat). Luckily Kafka manages to escape before he could be programmed into an 'attack dog'.

His MAG form stands around 15'6 with dark grey scales covering his sides/arms/legs/facial cheeks, long stretched mouth full of sharp jagged teeth like his kaiju form, long claws, pale red spikes on back/shoulders, raptor like feet, long black scaly tail, slitted red eyes and white piercing horns. Kafka's fate is split between two possible routes.

One route is being found by the Monster Sweepers who look after their mutated coworker. The other leads to Mina whose investigating the massacre of the very shadow organization that turned Kafka into a monster and linked various disappearances involving flunked examinees. It isn't hard to recognize her old friend despite his monstrous new form.

A certain small Kaiju might make things more chaotic in the process. Kaiju No.8 gonna look scarier and more aggressive than just bigger that's for sure. Although it might help Kafka compress his MAG form better with something to help stabilize it. Wouldn't make him human again but at least he can walk in building without needing to duck as much.

What do you guys think? For those curious, this is Angoramon and GranDracmon.

[fallenclan]

Levi Fic

by Dragon Anon

It hadn't always been this way. That's what Sylvie had told him, time and time again. The Caretaker---an elderly twoleg---used to bring only the finest meals for her cats, spoiling them with all of the best toys and treats and bedding. She would stroke their fur and trim their claws. On and on, Sylvie would ramble about how wonderful things had been. 

Now, the house was overridden with hungry mouths and yowling voices. The old Caretaker had vanished. The new Caretaker came only once per day, filling every cat's food dish with dry pellets. 

"Hey, rat," a voice sneered. Levi tensed. He had been standing watch, guarding Sylvie while she tried to stuff down her meager share of kibble. Truthfully, it was Levi's share, but seeing as though Sylvie's share had already been stolen, Levi had opted to let her eat his. Levi's mother was frail enough without missing another meal.

The fluffy orange tom who had approached was well known amongst the cats who lived here. Cheesecake. He was arrogant and brawny, prone to stealing food from those who couldn't fight back. His lackeys, Brownie and Lynx, trailed behind him. "You're sharing your meals now?" Cheesecake shook his head in mock offense. "And you didn't offer any to me?"

Sylvie flattened herself to the ground, her pale mist-grey pelt nearly blending in with the tiled floor. "Oh, Cheesecake... I'm sorry, I didn't---here, you can have the rest. Please, I insist." She kept her gaze down, weary.

"Thank you, Silver," Cheesecake purred, hooking a single claw into the food bowl's lip and pulling it towards himself in one swift motion.

"That isn't her name," Levi hissed, feeling his temper fray. Sylvie cast Levi an uneasy look, shaking her head slightly. Her stance was clear: No. 

"Oh?" Cheesecake shrugged. "I'm not good with names. Now, why don't you two run along so I can enjoy the rest of this meal in peace, hm?"

"No," Levi growled. Sylvie flinched.

"What?" Cheesecake's eyes narrowed, his chipped ears beginning to flatten. Brownie took a threatening step forward, but Cheesecake stepped in front of him, standing eye-to-eye with Levi. "I must have misheard you. Care to repeat yourself?" Behind Cheesecake, Lynx snickered.

"Sure," Levi replied casually. "I must have spoken too softly. I said no. I'm sick of you and your little band of fools stealing our food."

A sudden burst of pain exploded against Levi's face, and he was knocked off his paws. It took him a moment to realize Cheesecake had struck him. "You're lucky I'm feeling kind. Silver, take your kit and get out of here. Now."

"Of course, of course," Sylvie murmured, leaning in to lick Levi's bloodied cheek. "Please, let's just go. . ."

Cheesecake had already turned away from them, rolling his eyes and moving to take a bite out of Sylvie's kibble. Their kibble. Levi rolled to his paws, lunging for Cheesecake with a feral snarl. 

Cheesecake was bulky and eager to throw his weight around, but he had never faced someone who actually fought back. Levi dug his claws into the tom's shoulders, leaning forward and sinking his teeth into Cheesecake's nape. The tom wailed in alarm, thrashing and sending Levi tumbling off of his back.

Brownie was staring at Levi, dumbfounded, but Lynx was quicker on her toes, leaping forward and nipping at Levi's shoulder. He twisted out of her reach, lashing out and striking her muzzle. She fell back with a pained yowl. 

"Stop, please!" Sylvie wailed, ears pinned in distress. Levi ignored her. I'm doing this for us, he thought. Cheesecake had regained his bearings and was now charging towards Levi, who side-stepped, dodging the tom by a mere whisker. 

"Coward! You'd only attack me when my back was turned, and now you run away? Pathetic, little--" Cheesecake's next words were cut off as Levi knifed foward, sinking his teeth into the other tom's throat. They both toppled over in a thrashing heap, but Levi refused to let go. 

"Stop! Levi, stop!" Sylvie pleaded. Lynx and Brownie were watching Levi with wide, terrified eyes. 

But he didn't stop. Not until Cheesecake stopped thrashing, letting out one final, strangled noise. 

The other tom's blood tasted strange in Levi's mouth.

"What have you done?" Lynx whispered, shaking. "Is he---?"

"Leave!" Levi snapped. "And don't bother me or my mother ever again, do you understand?"

Lynx and Brownie needed no further prompting, both scrambling away, tails tucked in terror.

Levi huffed, wiping at the blood staining his muzzle. He had been training with Magpiewing everyday. No one dared bother the battle-scarred she-cat who claimed to have once lived amongst the wild cats. 

Satisifed, Levi turned towards Sylvie, expecting her gaze to be filled with admiration, or relief, or warmth.

Instead, he found fear.

***

It had been Magpiewing who showed Levi how to escape. The topmost room of their house had a tiny, broken window that a clever cat could wedge themself through. It had been harder to leap from the gabled roof to the frontyard's oak tree, and there had been a moment of terror when Levi thought he might fall.

He didn't. 

Levi scoffed, pebbles rolling beneath his paws and clattering down the cliffside as he trekked across the rocky terrain. He was a fool for not having left sooner. He didn't need the Caretaker, and he certainly didn't need Sylvie. His mother could rot with the rest of them in that hovel. 

And yet, a sharp pang of loss still tugged at Levi's chest when he thought of her. Pathetic. Wild cats don't foster tender hearts. And he was wild---had been for many, many moons. Occasionally, he would interact with other cats, but mostly Levi kept to himself. 

So when a sleek-pelted tom introducted himself as Ravenshade, Levi's first instinct was to growl and stalk away. And yet something about the tom's demeanor intrigued Levi.

"You fought well. I saw you take on that vixen. Bold, for a cat all by himself."

Levi didn't respond, expression flat.

"Fallenclan could use fresh blood. I'm second-in-command there. No one would bat an eye if I returned with a promising new clanmate."

"Why should I go with you?" What's in it for me? Levi hadn't lived in a group for years. Relying on other cats was a certain way to drag yourself down. Usually.

Ravenshade shrugged, unperterbed. "I'm not here to make a case for you to join Fallenclan. I have better things to do with my time. We are strong, and growing stronger. I've offered you an opportunity. It's up to you if you take it."

Levi hesitated. Then, slowly, he nodded.

Ravenshade smiled, his eyes gleaming like dusky twilight. "Excellent. I think you'll like living in a clan. I'll make sure you do well."

***

Before living in Fallenclan, Levi had never seen so many cats in one place before, even during his time living under the Caretaker.

Snailpetal, Crowflame, Patchback, Antbite, Feathersight.... The list went on and on. The only cat that mattered to Levi was Ravenshade. It was clear the tom possessed a great deal of authority, but he didn't throw around his weight like Cheesecake. He was calm, calculating, and capable of caring for his clanmates.

Levi couldn't help but admire him. Cherrystar seemed simple enough. She was a skilled fighter and possessed a clever mind, but her reluctance to fight baffled Levi. Ravenshade spoke of other clans, threatening Fallenclan's borders, and Levi had seen them while on patrol. Why didn't Fallenclan extend their borders? They had the numbers, and they could always use more land for hunting. It made no sense. 

Levi sighed. He had been summoned to patrol with Nightgleam, Coalpaw, and Patchback later. He might as well start preparing for the long trek across the territory. He didn't mind it, per se, but he didn't particularly crave company. 

Oh well. Some misfortunes were unavoidable.

***

"Are you mouse-brained? That rabbit was right there!" Levi seethed. Coalpaw hadn't even been paying attention, padding after some pretty butterfly and scaring off perfectly good prey.

"It was an accident," Coalpaw pleaded, gaze wide. "I swear."

"That's okay, dear. I've gotten distracted plenty of times during a hunt," Nightgleam murmured amicably. "It can be hard to stay focused after being out all day."

"Stop coddling her. You're doing her no favors," Levi growled, tail flicking irritably. He was typically fine to sit by silently, but Coalpaw's repeated errors were starting to irk him. Here she was, careless, stomping around and knowing there would be prey back at camp for her even when she couldn't pull her own weight. Disgusting.

"I'm not coddling her," Nightgleam replied evenly, gaze narrowing. "Coalpaw made a mistake. She's young."

"Sootpaw and Ashpaw seem to have no such problems. She isn't applying herself."

"She made one mistake."

"One?" Levi sneered, disbelieving. "She's been distracted this entire patrol. She hasn't even caught a single piece of prey. Compared to her littermates, it's pathetic."

"That's enough, Levi." Nightgleam's voice had taken a frigid quality, her pelt bristling slightly. "Coalpaw is my apprentice and I'll decide what to do with her. You need to mind your own business." 

The black she-cat had always seemed rather timid to Levi, but here she was, telling him what to do. His claws curled into the padded earth, digging groves into the soil. His frustration was quickly heating into fury. 

Before he could respond, another cat sidled up beside him, resting her tail against Levi's shoulder. Patchback. Levi had almost forgotten she was there, silently observing the exchange.

"I think you've both made your point," Patchback remarked, tone neutral. "Why don't we split up our patrol into two teams. Nightgleam, you can take Coalpaw and coach her hunting without other warriors breathing down her neck." Levi scowled. "Levi and I will hunt elsewhere."

"Yes, that's a good idea." Nightgleam took a deep breath, sighing. "I'm sorry, Levi. I didn't mean to yell at you." Yell? She had hardly raised her voice. Patchback watched Levi carefully, and the tom almost felt as though he were being tested.

"Hm. In the future, I'll let you handle Coalpaw." The apprentice was shaking slightly, refusing to meet any cat's gaze. Nightgleam frowned, wordlessly leading her away.

As soon as they were truly alone, Patchback spoke: "You can't attack clanmates." Her gaze darkened. "At least, not here."

"I wasn't going to attack anyone." Levi took a step away from the other warrior, disliking her proximity. 

"Even so, you need to learn to regulate your emotions. There was no point in chastising Coalpaw like that. What did you accomplish, except making an enemy out of Nightgleam?"

"I'd hardly consider her a worthwhile enemy." Still, Levi could see the sense in Patchback's words. Admittedly, he was grateful she had stepped in, preventing him from doing anything rash. That didn't mean he wanted to be beholden to her, though. "I'm going to see if I can track down that rabbit."

"I'll help," Patchback replied easily, breezing past Levi. It left him feeling strangely off-kilter, uncertain as to whether he wanted to rake his claws across her muzzle or chase after her.

Perhaps this is what friendship felt like. 

***

“Cherrystar is dead.” Honeysong’s eyes were wide, troubled, as she spoke. Levi’s ears pricked. He had barely heard her approach.

“What?” Pepperswipe flinched, playful demeanor instantly vanishing. The she-cat had been telling an amusing story about a bluejay’s wrath only moments earlier. Flamefall and Patchback had been listening to her story with amused expressions, Levi stone-faced. 

“The medicine cats don’t know what happened. Ravenshade just–just found her.”

“Ravenshade?” Levi glanced at Patchback as she spoke. Her expression held some secret knowledge, as if Ravenshade held all the cards yet she was able to see them all the same. 

“Yeah,” Honeysong murmured. 

“Wow. That’s horrible,” Pepperswipe mrrowed, tail wrapping around her paws as if to protect herself from such terrible news. Levi cocked his head.

“Does this mean Ravenshade is Ravenstar now?” he asked.

“No.” Flamefall gave a slight shake of his head. “He needs to travel to the Glowcave with a medicine cat. Then, Starclan will grant him his nine lives.” Levi started. Nine lives? Did clan cats really believe this nonsense? It made sense—Starclan was a necessary lie to keep a clan reliant on its leader, supposedly blessed by ancient spirits. Still, Cherrystar didn’t seem like the lying sort. Perhaps there had been more to her than Levi had realized.

“Dying nine times in a row. That sounds awful,” Patchback commented. 

“Indeed,” Levi rumbled, detecting something pensive in Patchback’s mien, He would ask her about it later, away from fragile hearts. 

Pepperswipe and Honeysong continued to discuss what would happen with Cherrystar’s sudden death in hushed whispers. Patchback and Levi listened, occasionally offering a comment. Flamefall remained unspeaking.

It was only later when Levi realized the truth of Flamefall’s silence: the ginger tom was afraid.

***

With a furious chitter, the gray squirrel scrambled up the oak, escaping with the grace of a creature born to climb.

Palepaw let out a frustrated huff, tail swishing in agitation. “Foxdung! How did it see me coming?”

“It didn’t see you; it heard you,” Levi replied. “Your pawsteps are too heavy. If you want to catch such agile prey, you must catch it unaware.”

“Can you show me?”

“Later.”

“Oh, right. We should probably find another–”

“No.”

“What?” Palepaw blinked, brows furrowing.

“You can still catch the squirrel.” Palepaw hesitated. “Go on. You can do it.” The apprentice’s gaze shone, determination washing over her.

“Okay! Yeah, yeah, you’re right. I can do this.” Levi smiled. He could see now, his mistake with Coalblaze. Ravenstar and Patchback had both helped him see—a gentle voice could burrow deeper than harsh words ever could. 

Palepaw studied the oak at first, as if assessing where to begin her climb. After a few moments, she kicked off the ground with her hind legs, hooking her front claws into the tree’s bark. Then it was a steady ascent, Palepaw’s pelt puffed up with anxiety. Still, she climbed.

The squirrel began chittering loudly, slinking along one of the oak’s branches and sitting back on its haunches as if preparing to leap to a nearby tree. Palepaw didn’t hesitate, launching herself onto the branch and slamming a paw down on the squirrel’s spine, snapping it. 

The branch began to bob up and down violently, the squirrel slipping from Palepaw’s grasp and landing a few fox-lengths away from Levi with a soft thud. Palepaw let out a startled shriek, clinging to her precarious branch.

Would she fall? Levi tilted his head, curious. It was miraculous that the branch hadn’t snapped yet, really. But Palepaw seemed deadset on her own survival, carefully making her way backward. In a few minutes she had managed to inch her way off the swaying branch, and then she gracelessly slid down the tree, bark scraping her belly.

She landed in an undignified heap, wincing, but her gaze lit up when she spotted her squirrel. “I did it!”

“You did,” Levi confirmed. Palepaw began to purr, triumphantly marching over to her catch and preparing to bury it so they could continue their hunt, but Levi held out a paw, blocking her.

“No. You should eat. You’ve earned it.”

“But–”

“We’ll catch plenty of other things on the way back.”

“If you’re sure. . .” 

“I’m certain.” Levi watched as his apprentice began to tear into her catch, and a sense of grim satisfaction settled in his chest. He had never seen the appeal of kittens, but now he almost understood. They were so moldable, eyes wide for the barest scrap of approval. And here was Palepaw, risking her life because Levi had told her to.

Is that the way Sylvie had seen him? A foolish kit willing to give up his food to keep her ribcage from showing? No, Levi vowed. He would never be so weak again. 

Never.

***

“I see you’ve been making a name for yourself.”

“Have I?” Levi batted at a stray pebble, sending it bouncing across the pond. The “star-pool,” Patchback had called it. There were no stars in it now, the night sky overcast with clouds.

“Palepaw has excelled in her training, and every patrol you’re on seems to do well. Cats respect you.” There was an empty space after her words, as if Patchback was waiting to say more.

“And?”

“And yet you have few friends.”

“It's not like you're social butterfly either.”

“No,” Patchback assented, gaze distant. “I used to be.”

“In Anterclan?”

“You know about that?” Patchback seemed to startle, her shoulders tensing. She had never told him, and Levi knew she was astute enough to guess that Levi had overheard cats talking about her. Either that, or Levi had directly asked someone about her past. He wondered what she would think of that.

“It isn’t a secret.”

“I guess.” Patchback frowned, exhaled, looked away. “But yes, I had many friends in Anterclan.”

“Why did you leave?” Perhaps it was too personal of a question, but Levi couldn’t help in asking it. Had she desired change, longing to escape old ghosts? Had she considered life as a loner, only to be drawn to living amongst others, just as Levi had?

“I didn’t ‘leave.’” Patchback grimaced. “I was exiled.”

“Oh?” Levi thought he had heard the word before, but he couldn’t quite place its meaning.

“My clanmates chased me out,” she clarified.

“Why?” Levi wrinkled his nose. What sort of mousebrains would cast out a warrior like Patchback? 

“I’ve never told anyone the reason why,” Patchback admitted, claws scraping against the stones surrounding the star-pool.

“No one’s asked?” A note of incredulity slid into Levi’s voice.

“Oh, cats have asked. I’ve told a different story each time. The cats here are kind–”

“Naive.”

“--yes, naive. They’ve given me a second chance without even demanding to know how I squandered the first one.”

“And will you make up a new story for me?”

“No.” Patchback sighed, dandelion-yellow eyes meeting Levi’s. She had to peer up at him, and it was only then that Levi realized how short Patchback was. Her cunning and spirit could outsize a lion. “I murdered one of my own clanmates.”

Levi blinked. Patchback’s brows were furrowed, as if she were waiting for Levi to hiss and call her a monster. “Did they deserve it?”

“. . . she wronged me. Badly. I was blinded by my fury. If I had been more careful, I could have . . . covered up her death, or made it look like an accident. Even if the circumstances of her death were suspicious, I know my clanmates would have believed me. It’s not in a clan cat’s nature to doubt their clanmates.” Patchback laughed bitterly. “I see that now.”

Levi considered asking Patchback what she meant, but opted to wait, allowing her to continue speaking. “But no. My clanmates found me, Ivystone’s blood dripping from my claws. I didn’t bother trying to explain myself.”

“Do you resent your old clan?”

“Yes.” Patchback’s response was immediate, honest.

“Good. Don’t let forgiveness soften your heart.” Levi paused, considering his next words. “They were cowards for rejecting you.”

“You won’t reject me, then?”

An absurd question. “No.”

Patchback smiled. Her gaze wasn’t relieved. No, her expression leaned closer towards triumph, as if she’d bested a particularly troublesome foe. “I’m glad to hear that.”

***

“Showed him.” Patchback licked the blood off her muzzle, voice a soft growl.

“Indeed,” Levi hummed. He had been going on solo patrols with Patchback more and more recently. Some of their clanmates had made comments, but what could they do about it? Levi was deputy. He could do what he wanted. 

“Violetstar has some nerve, sending her warriors across our borders,” Patchback sneered. The black and white-tailed tom they had caught trespassing had tried to plead his case, but Levi hadn’t bothered to hear him out. What did it matter why he was trespassing? He was still challenging Fallenclan’s borders, and that slight couldn’t go unpunished. 

“Yes. I heard the old bat has started a war with Fallenclan before.”

“She lost then, and she’ll lose now. Shallowclan has grown stronger since then, but they’re still half the size of Fallenclan.” 

“We should head back. I’m going to report this to Ravenstar.”

“Good. Maybe we’ll finally do something about Shallowclan.”

“We’ll see.”

***

“It was probably an honest mistake,” Littleleaf implored. “Violetstar wouldn’t send her warriors across our borders, not when her clan is in no shape to challenge us directly.”

“It was a full-grown warrior, not an apprentice with kitten-fluff still tucked behind his ears,” Levi retorted, scoffing. He had wanted to speak with Ravenstar alone, but Ravenstar had allowed Littleleaf to stay.

“Warriors can make mistakes, too.” Littleleaf’s head was tilted directly at Levi as he spoke, as if he knew something the other tom didn’t. 

“True,” Ravenstar hummed. “Littleleaf, why don’t we continue our discussion later? I would like to speak with Levi alone.” Levi held back an annoyed snort. Now Ravenstar wanted to consult with him? After Littleleaf had already been made privy to the deputy’s report?

“All right,” Littleleaf murmured, frowning. The tom left Ravenstar’s den without further complaint, pawsteps light as morning rain. 

“Well?” Ravenstar turned his attention towards Levi.

“We should press our advantage. We have evidence of Shallowclan’s transgressions, and even if we didn’t, who is there to stop us?”

“Shallowclan is a nuisance, not a threat. If Violetstar is sending her warriors to hunt on our land, it means she’s truly desperate.” The tom inspected his claws. “But we have no use for their land, and chasing them off would invoke the other clans’ wrath.”

“We can tell the other clans the truth; Shallowclan has been challenging our borders and stealing our prey. We had to do something.”

“And if Littleleaf is correct, and the warrior had only made a simple-minded error?”

Levi narrowed his eyes. The first time he had seen Littleleaf, the tom’s pale pelt had reminded Levi so much of Sylvie that he been sent reeling. They were alike in many ways: small, frail, cowardly. Ravenstar was too strong to let a cat like Littleleaf drag him down, regardless of their relation. It was a lesson Levi had learned the hard way.

“You shouldn’t let Littleleaf influence your decisions. He isn’t capable of leadership. He doesn’t know what it takes. Your love for him will blind you.”

“And I suppose your feelings towards Patchback have zero influence on your choices.”

“That’s different. She’s a strong and capable warrior. Littleleaf is–”

“Littleleaf is what?” Ravenstar’s voice had taken on a dangerous quality, lowering several octaves. “Weak? Is that what you were going to say, Levi?”

Levi froze, sensing that he was suddenly treading dangerous waters. “No. I was going to say he’s too forgiving.”

“Sure.” Ravenstar smiled. “You’ve grown rather comfortable in your position as deputy. Comfortable enough that you seem to think you can tell me what to do.”

“No–”

“No? Then were you merely suggesting what I should or shouldn’t do?”

“No, Ravenstar,” Levi replied, body rigid. He refused to break eye contact, knowing Ravenstar would sense his weakness like fresh blood.

“Hmm. Know this, Levi: I was not asking for your input. When I question you, it is because I want you to give me the facts. I don’t care about how you feel, and if you continue to challenge me. . . “ Ravenstar chuckled. “Well, there’s plenty of other cats who could fill your position.”

“I didn’t mean to offend you.” Levi took a breath. He hadn’t gotten this far by cowering to others. Still, provoking Ravenstar further was a massive risk. 

“Leave.” Ravenstar flicked his tail dismissively, easy demeanor returning in a heartbeat. “This conversation is over.”

“Of course.” Levi padded out of Ravenstar’s den the same way Littleleaf had—silent, cowed, yet contemplating. Littleleaf was a liability, whether Ravenstar chose to see it or not. He could ignore what was obvious if he wanted to, but eventually it would tear him apart. 

From across the camp, Levi could make out Patchback’s form between Sleepydawn and Ashblink, chatting politely with the other warriors. Catching his gaze, she motioned for him to join the trio.

It didn’t matter if Ravenstar faltered. There were cats waiting to catch him. Patchback, Sleepydawn, Bearspring. . . all skilled warriors ready to support him when problems arose.

Or perhaps they could be prudent. 

Perhaps they could remove the problems entirely, before they came to fruition.

Levi smiled. Those were worries for another day. For now, he would content himself with sitting and listening while Patchback regaled the other warriors of her battle against that trembling Shallowclan fool. 

For now, he would wait.

 -🐉 

(i had a ton of fun with this one! levi is an interesting guy, and with these snippets i tried digging into his motives and desires. hopefully i did him - and patchback - justice! i'm tempted to write more with levi, since i had such a grand time writing this fic... either way, i have plans for a sunnytuft fic next !)

(beetle note: AUUUGHHHHH dragon i always adore your characterization.... this is so so incredible i love it <33 the IMPLICATIONS with the last bit about littleleaf.... oughgh)

[flygefisk]

i will not ask you where you came from i will not ask and neither would you

syndor (he/they), who lives a humble life. he seems content, with his garden and his chickens, but there's something behind his eyes. maybe he's running from something.

howl (any pronouns), who has a second chance. it died with blood under its nails and came back different in some ways- but the wildness is still part of him.

(tw for blood, death mentions under the cut)

once, long ago, there was a god. it was a wild, ancient god, one of blood and lust and life. a forest god.

the god scented blood on the air, dragon blood. it cared little for the civilized folks, as most gods do. it cared little whether they lived or died. but it was a curious god, so it tracked the scent, bounding on deer's hooves to its source.

the god's paws left no tracks in the blood-soaked earth around the dragon's remains. the god considered the creature for a moment: the blade buried in its stomach, hands and coverings stained dark, its face contorted in rage. there was another scent here, under the obvious blood and rot, one even more familiar to the god.

a wild something, indescribable even to the god of such things, coiled around the body that was once its own. it stared up at the god, its teeth bared. the god raised its head and howled in its many voices, joined soon by the wolves and coyotes and hawks and hares of the forest, a mournful harmony of all wild things.

the something howled too, until its song became a scream, letting loose all the sorrow and love and rage of a life that would never have been enough.

the forest went silent. the god lowered its head and nuzzled the something, like a doe to her fawn, like a bear to her cub. wild things understand each other. they don't need words. the god heard the something's quiet plea:

another chance.

-----

once, not so long ago, there was a man. he walked through an overgrown forest, dirt on his hands and his shovel. he loved walking in the forest, listening to the sounds of nature. it was calming.

he paused near a burbling creek to wash the sweat from his face. he sighed in grim satisfaction- tired, sore, numb. but it was over, at last.

the man realized, after staring into the water for long minutes, that something was different. wrong. the forest was silent here. his eye was drawn to a large stone behind him- half his height or more, veined with black and glittering white patches. on its face, a hand print painted with something dark.

a strange impulse took over, something wild within him, and he began to dig.

-----

once, now. a scraping sound. crumbling earth. cracking twigs. then, light. sunlight. warm and bright and so welcome after so long in the dirt.

the creature reached out from its grave. its hands- long, clawed, discolored- shook as it pulled itself up. it blinked against the morning light, yawned as though waking from a long nap.

it almost didn't notice the man with the shovel. he stared at it, his expression unreadable. it ignored him, letting the world wash over it: a cool breeze on its face, the sound of the water, of birds and insects, of wind through the leaves, the cloying scent of dark earth giving way to flowers and trees.

finally, the man held out a hand- blistered, rough, covered in soil- and the creature let him pull it from the earth.

the man removed his cloak, wrapping it around the creature's broad shoulders. it rubbed the fabric between its clawed fingers- soft, warm, dark like good soil- and smiled. it should have been frightening, with its sharp claws and sharper teeth, but the man just smiled back.

wild things understand each other.

[luimagines]

I just finished reading you book scales and fathers. It took me 3 days to read I loved it💞💞💞💞💞. It left me wanting the sequel if your writing one hopefully🤞. There so much left to be done in the story. I left adaela and hazel as they were but one I read the other I titled them as there respectful links 🤣. I definitely would like to see more on them and def more of Lysander kingdom to for reasons ya know. Don't want to say to much about story in this so ppl can read it. But amazing job it kept me wanting to read it I read 12 chapters on the first day 🤣. I was quite sad it was coming to an end so fast like I said earlier I want more.i want them to visit the other kingdoms, and see what to come💞💞💞

OOHHHHH!!!! Thank you so much!!!!

I'm so happy you liked it!!

Hopefully the sequel doesn't take me too long to write. XD

We're visiting Avaris next with Logan (a.k.a. Sky) to talk more about the dragon above the surface.

I have about the next 4-5 books planned in rough stages.

I plan on calling the next book Bear Claws and Dragon paws. Because the female leads has a bakery. :)

You're welcome to badger me about the world and what not!

Lysander (Wild) won't be until book 5 so the nomadic barbarian clan is going to take a hot second to get to. ^.^*

[gremlins-hotel]

fuck you [dragons your silly russian man] | he's the fluffiest which means he's the most fun to draw (for me). also yes. dragons. not apologizing. there are technical things below.

notes about dragon ivan:

his inspirations were sabertooth cats, the siberian tiger, goats & ibexes, polar bears, horses, and reindeer.

a dweller of cold, mountainous foothills and steppes, he possesses curved claws for climbing rocky slopes and gripping ice.

he has a thick double coat; a long, coarse outer layer, and an incredibly soft, downy undercoat. when wet the coat is very heavy. when dry, it efficiently keeps snow away from the skin, instead trapping air close to the body to keep warm. this double coat is good for blocking some attacks from small opponents.

his proportions are stout and stubby to reduce the surface area for heat to be lost.

built for ambush tactics; short bursts of high power to grab and (hopefully) dispatch a target quickly. on the other hand, he would not be good in a long chase.

the same musculature that propels him into a sprint is excellent for leaping across difficult terrain.

his horns, head, and neck are adapted for absorbing significant impacts, usually from headbutting or locking horns with opponents.

massive paws that act as snowshoes and, when swimming, paddles.

he has a flash-freezing breath. technically a fluid, when it contacts the air (if sufficiently cold) it instantly freezes into a stream of frost and will freeze anything it touches. however, if he is too hot, it will only discharge as a fluid and be rather useless. it is very fluid rather than viscous and is somewhat iridescent. in the case of overheating, his other natural defenses can make up for the loss of this weapon.

[vauslogia]

If you knew how much Photoshop slowed down for me while I was drawing... The second type of Phyrexian dragons. I would call them Rams, or something like that. As you can see, these are very massive carcasses with a similar shape of porcelain elements, as in Vorinclex, and a “hairy” covering. Their design is the complete absence of external eyes. Their heads are strong enough to break through walls. On the main shoulder joints there are also spiked porcelain elements, like shoulder pads. The neck is short, but has two branches. The main muscular frame and volley fire pipeline with clots of green mana in single shots. I wanted to give them a jaw similar to some species of mammalian predators. I assume there are pistons inside for a death grip with porcelain fangs. This carcass tears and shreds. The cervical region is also crowned with a porcelain hood, and behind it there is thick “fur”. I wanted to pay attention to the wings; they are protected by plates at the base of the phalanges and also have blades. I wanted to combine the image of the dragons of Atarka’s pack with the Phyrexians; I imagined how one such individual stands on its hind legs, like a bear, and emits a loud roar, with echoes, as if screaming from a metal pipe. I also wanted to make the tail, which is completely covered with porcelain, a dangerous element. And separately, several different elements similar to the tusks of Vorinclex. This is a kind of synthesis of a bear, a dragon and a machine. I think this is exactly what the green praetor looks like, but less of a dragon than these little dogs. I don’t like mechanical elements that can be damaged, so everything is hidden under the flesh, if you can call it that. This carcass runs faster than it flies, another pair of smaller paws has sharp poisoned claws, they are less armored and strong, but are capable of piercing and poisoning the victim.

[officialnightengalepublishing]

Bear Claws and Dragon Paws

Masterlist

OK. I'm going to do the same for Scales and Feathers. But I think posting some sneak peaks into the books actually start might help garner some more interest.

So please enjoy chapter 1 of book two of the Hycipian Chronicles. :D

Chapter 1

Running.

She had to keep running.

The forest around her was far from the capital. If she managed to keep on the right path and keep from getting caught then it would be a direct path into the Kingdom of Wolfiren. From there, she could lose them among the crowds in the marketplace and get into the castle.

Linus had to know that they were nearby. 

Her recent excursion from the surface territories of Avaris had all but proved that the latest attack on Kirium would be far from the last one they had planned.

Hazel Thornhawk was very quickly running low on magic. There were at least seventeen men behind her last she checked, and she wasn’t about to make the rookie mistake of looking behind her to make another headcount.

A shot fired at her from behind but that didn’t deter Hazel from her goal. If she was hit, she didn’t feel anything.

Her lungs were beginning to beg for mercy, her sides were on fire and her legs were very quickly becoming lead with each step she took into the forest. Hazel gasped for breath, desperately pushing herself forward.

Her hand snapped to her utility belt. She knew the order of her trade well. In each little notch, there was a potion bottle. Most were defensive magic. Not looking back, she picked three from the left and tossed them down one by one.

Explosions followed right after her. She could feel the effects of her magic after each one. A glue trap, sticking her pursuers into place. The shouts of indignation followed after the sap trapped their legs midstride. Exploding powdered pepper spray, to blind them and keep them at bay. Their screams of pain and rage were quick to be left behind before Hazel threw down the last one. Bees in a Bottle. Her favorite one. The swarm overtook them rapidly and she was able to lose them for the time being.

Hazel tripped and landed harshly on her knees and palms. The stinging sensation was numb and dead. She panted mercilessly. Her usual deterrents weren’t enough to hold back humans or humanoid beings. Her specialty was fighting monsters and keeping them from destroying the city. As much as she hated to admit it, she needed help.

She dug around for her phone, fumbling the rest of her potions and spell grenades in her search. They fell to the ground but she paid them no mind. Her magic was running low. She would drop the armor soon enough.

They cannot catch her in any vulnerability.

Hazel pushed herself up, fumbling to take a few basic steps in an effort to find a place to hide.

She called the familiar number and pressed dial, praying to whichever mother above who would hear her to provide her the means for escape. She was too far to reach a fairy spring for portion, even though she knew the mother there would be more than willing to harbor her until the danger passed.

“Come on- pick up! Pick up! Pick up! Pick up! Pick up! Pick-”

“Hazel?”

“PINKY!” Hazel could have cried with relief. “Look, I don’t have much time.”

“What is it?” Adaela Swan, Queen of Kirium and her most prized confident, yawned. “It’s not even six o’clock. I thought you said we were going to meet up at noon.”

She had recently been mated to the King of Kirium, a powerful and ancient dragon who also happened to be Hazel’s adopted uncle. She was happy for her friend if she ignored that last part. They made each other happy. Hazel was never going to hold it against Adaela. Her uncle, however, was a different story. She was going to tease him until the end of time.

Hazel was supposed to help her friend pick out a dress for when her family visited, wanting her friend to look like an absolute bombshell, but given that Hazel had been made to run all over Hycipia in an attempt to lose her pursuers, she needed to give her friend a little rain check.

“Change of plans.” Hazel panted, gasping for breath. She tried to stand but found that she didn’t have the strength. Her knees buckled and she cursed. “I’m being chased.” Hazel gritted out. “By-you-know-who. To make matters, I’m running out of magic.”

At once, she heard the panic in her friend’s voice. Hearing the work of the Pure Spectators again was enough to sober Adaela up. “Where are you? I’m coming. Don’t run out of magic.”

“A bit late for that-”

Hazel sucked in a breath. The bushes were crunching around her. She was still breathing too hard to silence herself, Muttering another curse, she tossed her phone deeper into the forest, keeping the call going. She could still hear Adaela on the receiver on the other side of the phone. Adaela was increasingly getting concerned when Hazel refused to answer further. 

Adaela was getting frantic and fast. Hazel could only hope that the idiots chasing her wouldn’t think to pick up her phone. Adaela, if she knew who to ask, could track it to this location. Somehow.

Granted, Hazel didn’t even know how that worked, but she knew it was worth a shot.

She had used too much of her spells to gain distance that she was sorely losing. And she had used all the potions she had prepared in advance trying to entrap and lessen their numbers. Somehow they kept coming back. There was nothing she could do to shake them. She had no idea how Adaela did it. Hazel wasn’t built or equipped to handle people or cultists. She was meant to fight monsters. She enjoyed it even.

“Found you.”

Hazel jumped and swung her hand out, aiming to hit the man in the face. He was completely covered in black, save for a spot around his eyes. The group insignia was bright red on his shoulder. A jagged cross within a circle dashed across by three lines. He caught her hand at once and gripped her wrist with enough force to pop the bones.

Hazel screamed.

“None of that.” She couldn’t see it, but she could hear the leering grin on his face. “You were expensive.”

Hazel gritted her teeth and snarled in her best dragon impression.

The man laughed. “Cute. You think you’re one of them.”

“Let go of me.”

“Sorry, Hazel.” She went still. “But I’m afraid I can’t do that Miss Thornhawk. You have an overdue appointment.”

“Funny,” Hazle forced a smirk on her face. He had known her given name. He knew who she was. That was a major red flag in and of itself. “I don’t recall making any reservations.”

“None needed.” He gripped her wrist tighter. Hazel whimpered and buckled under the crushing pain. She couldn’t hide her grimace even if she tried. “We’re inviting you.”

“You’re all going to die.”

He chuckled again and threw her to the ground. “We’re going to get through you first.”

[asherbakugou]

Dragon Dictionary

Ra's Al Ghul - Lung | Asiatic Jade Dragon

- Known for diamond hard scales that come in all shades of green

- Sharp teeth curved inwards for catching fish; Hooked talons for catching fish

- Breath poisonous gas

- Fly through the sky in a serpentine fashion

Talia Al Ghul - Lung | Asiatic Jade Dragon/Black Mamba

- Known for diamond hard scales that come in all shades of green

- Sharp teeth curved inwards for catching fish; Hooked talons for catching fish; Fangs filled with venom positioned at the front of the mouth in place of canines

- Black mouth

- Breathe poisonous gas

- Fly through the sky in a serpentine fashion

Bruce Wayne - Wyvern | Black Nightwing

- Wyvern with large black wings and three claws at the end of its wrist to walk on; Diamond hard scales that blend in with the night sky

- Breath black plasma

- Long, straight horns pointed back

- Crocodile like tail for balnce when on hind legs

Slade Wilson - Drake | Sand Drake

- Sand colored scales with darker plates along their back like armor; Impenetrable scales with thick skin

- Wide paws for balance on sand with straight claws; Slender body for moving across sand and hiding in the desert

- Barbed tail like a scorpion

- Breath fire

Chato Santana - Lindwurm/Zilant/Quetzecoatl | Born a Sand Lindwurm - Everburning Feathered Zilant

- Sand colored scales with darker skales specked in, uniquily suited tofold front limbs back and move like a snake through the sand

- Fangs situated at the front of the mouth filled with highly corrosive venom

- Long red, yellow, and orange colored feathers along the top of the skull, down the neck and along large wings, tipped with hooked foreclaws

- Real embers along the spine; Runs naturally hotter than almost any other dragon species

- Feathered tail that leaves behind trails of deadly smoke

- Breathes golden flames

Damian Al Ghul - Wayne - Yinglong | Asiatic Jade Nightwing

- Diamond hard scales with mottled black and green scales that allow them to blend in with the night sky and shadows

- Black mouth with inward curved teeth to catch fish; Hooked talons for catching fish

- Large black wings with single foreclaw and moveable wrist that he can walk on

- Black plasma

- Thin whip like tail

- Long horns curving slightly backwards

Respawn (Achilles Al Ghul - Wilson) - Lung | Jade Sand Dragon

- Impenetrable sand colored scales with green armor like plates down the spine

- Venoumous barb on his tail; Fangs positioned at the front of his mouth are filled with deadly venom

- Wide paws with hooked talons for fish; Black mouth with inward curved teeth for eating fish

- Fly tgrough the sky in a serpentine fashion

- Camouflaged in desert areas

Matteo Al Ghul - Santana - Feathered Yinglong | Everburning Jade Dragon

- Dimaond hard scales in shades of dark green with golden/sandy colored speckled in

- Black mouth; Fangs situated at the front of the mouth filled with corrosive venom; Straight teeth, like a wolves or coyotes

- Large paws with hooked talons for catchin fish

- Green and white feathers around his slender face, down the neck, over the wings, and down the spine

- Embers glow along his back, hidden with the feathers; Runs hotter than nearly all other species of dragon

- Breathes golden-green flames

- Feathered tail leaves smoke trails when he flies

Dick Grayson - Feathered Dragon | Thermotect

- Ice cold, diamond hard scales in all shades from black to white, blue to pink, and more; Specialized feathers along the face, neck and top half of the wings

- Large teeth, like a polar bears; Hooked talon for gripping ice and catching fish

- Blue-black tongue

- Breathe ice

- Wide paws with thick pads to walk across snow and ice

Jason Todd - Feathered Wyvern |Phoenix Drake

- Covered in thick red-orange feathers with darker red ones around the neck, wings, and tail; Fluff covered hind legs with long wicked sharp talons like a Harpy Eagles

- Sharp foreclaws on the tops of the wings 'wrist' to walk on though Phoenix Drakes are capable of walking upright on their hind legs alone

- Thin faces with angular snout; Razor sharp serated teeth, like an anacondas, to grab hold of prey

- Long tail feathers with two extra long white feathers that stretch several feet past the rest of the tail

- Run hotter than almost every species, but are vulnerable because they lack the thick scales of most species; Compensate by being reborn

-

Timothy Drake - Dragon | Goldenfang

- Beautiful golden scales with short wings and long frills along its spine with a long tail with thin delicate looking veils connected by thin spines on the tail; Darker golden-brown scales on the head like a fer-de-lances

- Jungle dwelling dragons best at gliding through trees and weaving around obstacles

- Sharp needle like claws for clinging to trees; Delicate fangs positioned at the front of the mouth filled with potent golden venom

- Sharp teeth and molars like a monkeys; Short muzzle than most dragons

- Flexible bodies with a specialized flexible spine

- Incredibly delicate as their scales aren't diamond hard of inpenetrable

Cassandra Cain - Drake | Scorpion Drake

- Thick, impenetrable scales that comes in pale shades od brown or shades of black or in between; Long tail that curves upwards slightly tipped with a sharp stinger and poison glands

- Specialized scales along the wrists and ankles that let them feel vibrations in the air; Naturally thinner scales, a weak spot

- Large paws with flat claws to balance on sand

- Able to go long periods without water; Can hold still for hours

- Extremely fast and agile for a drake who are normally bulky because of their thick, armor like scales

- Fast runners because of their longs legs

Rare - Common

Successful Hybrids (that survive) - Extremely Rare

Everburning Dragon - Rare

Phoenix Drake - Rare

Goldenfang - Rare

Asiatic Jade Dragon - Uncommon

Sand Drakes - Uncommon

Thermotect - Uncommon

Scorpion Drake - Uncommon

Black Nightwings - Uncommon

(Inspired by @salparadiselost Dragon Au; The Thermotect, Phoenix Drake, and Goldenfang all belong to her)

[vainvex]

some sort of creature has appeared!

[id: two lined sketches of my mlp oc Vanity, who is a draconequus. he has mismatched eyes, curly hair, a ram horn curling around a lynx ear, a butterfly antennae in front of a bear ear, a dragon snout with sharp teeth, a unicorn beard, lion and tiger paws, devil and angel wings, a cow leg, a dragon claw, and a large, fluffy snow leopard tail. she is wearing a necklace of a star with wings.

in the first, he is on all fours, smiling and looking to the left. in the second, she is laying on its back, holding up a finger as if saying something. /end id]

[sirowsky-stories]

The Old Prince

Part 8

Author's Note: I'm back! So sorry for the wait, I've been dealing with a crippling hormone imbalance. But no matter, writing has resumed and I'm coming back with action, suspense and of course, a little angst. Hope you'll love it!

Description: While fighting the creatures, you and Oberyn are soon facing threats on three fronts, forcing you to retreat. But that's easier said than done when the dragon isn't the only one who can fly.

Rating: Mature 18+ONLY Warnings: Monster Oberyn Martell x Female Reader, AU fic, obviously Halloween themed, reader cusses. Descriptions of people being murdered/eaten. Some angst. Word Count: 4767 Author's Masterlist

   The two monsters working together somehow seems to amplify their darkness, as if they’re feeding off each other. They coordinate their efforts without any communication taking place between them, and before you know it, the police car has been destroyed and the two creatures have fled into an office building on the left side of the street, killing people on the fly as they pass them, just because they can, knowing that the dragon can’t follow without bringing the entire building down.

   But while that’s happening, you find yourself having entirely different problems. Because as Oberyn’s focus remains locked on the innocent people within that building, he can’t keep an eye on you as well, which is of course why the spirits decide to attack you right then.    You spot a movement in the corner of your eye to the right, and when you turn your head to find out what it is, you discover a polar bear, the size of a fucking bus, coming at you.

   Turning on the spot to look for somewhere to go, you then discover that a giant stag is running towards you from the opposite direction, while the owl sweeps down over its crown, diving straight for you.    You can’t scream for help because the dragon needs to stop those horrible things, so all you can think to do is buy time, which is why you head for the nearest door, thankfully finding one open, and run as fast as you can into the building behind you.

   Unfortunately, the door leads into a clothes store where all other exits will be locked for security purposes. A dead end.    You run to the back, where the changing rooms are, and hide in the one furthest away from the front door. You have no idea if the spirits can see or sense you through walls, but hopefully they will at least have to search for a minute.

-=<>=-=<>=-=<>=-

   Oberyn tracks every step of the creatures’ movements through the office building from the outside, until they finally emerge onto the next street over, and he leaps over the houses to try and land on top of them.    Unfortunately, as he lands, he finds himself among a group of maybe twenty people, having a barbecue outside in the cold for some inscrutable reason.    And of course, the moment he lands, they all leap to their feet and run off.

   The instinct comes alive before he has a chance to attempt staving it, and for a moment, he forgets all about the monsters as his primal senses take over, selecting targets with razor sharp focus and going after them based solely on proximity, with frightening efficiency.    He feels bodies break under his heavy paws and tastes their blood as he crushes those he catches between his teeth before swallowing them.

   So proficient a killer is he, that in the mere seconds to have passed between his landing and resuming his hunt for the creatures, not one human of the group is left alive.    There is no time for remorse right now, and his anger is too heated to allow him any meaningful thoughts anyway, but as he reacquires his targets, his hunt becomes menacing with the need to punish them for such useless mayhem.

   He slithers silently along the streets, keeping out of sight as he uses his supreme hearing to keep track of them this time, until he has managed to intercept their path and stomps his massive claws straight into the ground where he predicts that they should emerge from behind a restaurant.    Thankfully, his aim is true and his mass enough to crush even their tough bodies into oily spots on the pavement, ending their lives and their path of destruction.

   But there are four more of them somewhere and he must find them all.

   For the moment, however, he must relocate you.    Last he saw, you were on the street behind him, so he heads back, doing his best not to think of the dead people that he is currently being fueled by.    But he can’t find you where he expects to, and then there is a terrible scream coming from one of the stores opposite the office building which the monsters had first fled through, and he recognizes it as your voice.

   The mere fact that you are the only one screaming, tells him that it must be The Decem who have found you once more, since none other can see them. And as much as he wishes to minimize collateral damage, he cannot let them harm you, so he throws caution to the wind and enters the store.    Glass flies everywhere as his large frame breaks every display window along with the automated sliding doors.

   There aren’t many people inside as it is still the middle of the workday, but the few customers in there now scream even louder than you while diving out of his way.    He growls menacingly at the sight of the owl trying to cut you with her wings, but that’s as much as he manages before something claws at the side of his body, most of which is still outside the small store.

   He ignores the pain and continues inside until he can reach you, pulling you to his chest just as whatever is attacking him starts to drag him out onto the street.    Once outside, he’s met by the sight of Ursa and Cervus as they have combined their efforts and are using claws and horns to try and stop him.    He is able to fight them off by beating them with his powerful wings, but just as he’s about to fly away, Lupus jumps down on top of him from an adjacent roof, and bites into his neck.

   Enraged, he twists his neck until his head is turned all the way around and spews a large flame onto his own back, trying to rid himself of the wolf, but she stubbornly clings to him, and only a moment later, the three others are renewing their efforts.    They may not be able to harm people, but their natural weapons are some of very few things that can cut through the dragon’s scales, spilling his blood over the street.

   You are safely tucked in between his front legs and his chest, where no spirit can reach you, so even though they are harming him, he’s not panicking or losing his mind.    He is angry, however, about how mercilessly they are after you, and for a dragon, rage is a dangerous thing.    As he once more opens his jaws to try and stay their efforts, he can feel that the heat within him is reaching new heights and he knows that this flame will reach across the entire street, potentially damaging more than just the closest buildings.

   But he cannot stop. If he does, he might lose this fight, and that would mean losing you.

   The fire emerges from his throat in what appears to be both liquid and gaseous form, spilling out over the pavement like a thinner, lighter version of lava, while also billowing up into the air, high above the roofs of the tallest buildings.    It flows for several hundred yards before his breath is expended, swallowing all three spirits, and when the black cloud of soot settles a minute later, the damage is revealed.

   All the storefronts have melted, whether made of glass, metal, or stone. The pavement has transformed into what appears to be tar. And the people who had the misfortune of standing too close to the windows in any of the houses, have been turned to charcoal.    Mercifully, there is no sign of the spirits, so the flame seems to have discouraged them for now, although he is certain they are unharmed.    But the cost of victory has been high.

   Never before has Oberyn been able to produce such a flame as to melt bricks, and it worries him that this is something he is capable of, entirely without knowing it.    Despite how long he has lived and how many battles he has fought, it seems impossible that he should suddenly be capable of more than twice his normal might. Although, it stands to reason this is indeed something he has always been able to do, but simply has not had suitable incentive for.

   Regardless, you cannot remain here where rescue vehicles will soon appear, he needs to get you to safety, so he spreads his wings and returns to the clear blue skies, no longer finding any peace in the tranquility of the higher altitudes.

   Two of the creatures have been dealt with, yet another four remain loose, undoubtedly wreaking havoc upon whichever place they are currently occupying. But he cannot pursue them now. He requires time to stop and think, neither of which will be possible if he is constantly preparing to fight, defend, or flee.    It is impossible to hide from the spirits, so the best he can hope for is a reprieve as he turns his nose to the east, leaving the demolished street and dead bodies behind.

-=<>=-=<>=-=<>=-

   He flies high and fast, keeping you tucked into his chest for warmth, but you’re not sure that he’s even aware of what he’s doing right now. It seems like he’s acting on instinct, doing his best to flee the destructiveness of his own nature.    What he did to that road and the buildings lining it almost defies belief, even for someone aware of his existence and power, and you’re pretty sure that Oberyn himself had no clue he could do something like that. He’s clearly rattled.

   But the relentlessness of the spirits, their absolute conviction that you must die, is starting to wear on your resolve.    There’s nothing for you to do during the flight, but think, and the more you think about it, the more it begins to feel like maybe it’s not your right to defy them.    You want to live, and you know that Oberyn won’t let them kill you, no matter what, but today’s incident has left you conflicted.

   Because people died. Innocent bystanders. And yeah, maybe in the grand scheme of things, their lives are insignificant, but not to you.    Those people had families, and as an orphan yourself, you can’t help but think about what their children will now have to suffer.    Still… the dragon has lived for a very long time among these spirits, and for some reason, he doesn’t think they’re justified to take your life, and that means something.

   Your thoughts are interrupted when your companion suddenly drops into a dive before twisting into a complicated series of turns, until something explodes midair nearby. It’s close enough that you can feel the heat of the blast, but you don’t know what it was or why it happened, because you’re pinned too tightly to be able to turn between the giant claws.    But you can twist your head somewhat, so you do see it when two fighter jets whoosh past.

   As if you’re not in enough trouble as it is.

   Of course, you should’ve expected this, since you nearly collided with a commercial jet earlier, and you’re sure that people in Detroit have not only spotted a giant serpent creeping along their streets, but destroying them as well.    Naturally, the authorities have to respond, and when emergency personnel and vehicles are being attacked, bigger responses are clearly required.    They have no way of knowing that the dragon wasn’t the one attacking those vehicles, and even if they did, he is still responsible for a lot of damage.

   When missiles don’t work, they use bullets instead, but Oberyn’s scales easily deflect them… while also enraging him.    No matter how agile, there’s no aircraft in existence which can outmaneuver his slender body and ability to shift the airflow around his wings exactly as he needs to in any given moment. Which is why it only takes him a few seconds of aerial combat to damage the planes badly enough that the pilots are forced to eject.

   But only a minute later, another three are on your tail and the battle continues. Only now, the dragon seems to be starting to enjoy the hunt.    He deliberately avoids disabling the crafts even when he’s perfectly positioned to take them out with a mere flick of his tail, taunting them, testing their piloting abilities to the limit while doing his damnedest to scare the hell out of them.

   You can only see parts of the skirmish, but the simple fact that it goes on for a long time is enough for you to know that Oberyn’s just playing with them.    What you assume are the Rockies have become visible on the horizon by the time all three planes are destroyed, and the dragon aims his nose at them, stopping to land on the tallest peak available while he observes the lone surviving pilot set down with his parachute.

   The beast growls and the sound easily travel across the barren landscape, reaching the now exposed human at the foot of the mountain range, who freezes and looks up.    It must be a truly frightening thing, seeing not just a creature of myth in real life, but also knowing that it wants to kill you. That it likes to see you all exposed and vulnerable like this.    But you don’t like this game. The dragon has obviously forgotten his humanity right now, and you neither have the time nor the freedom for playtime.

   “Oberyn!” you call out from behind his giant claws, and he immediately reacts, turning his gaze away from the human and down to you instead. “We’re hunting creatures of the dark, remember? Not pilots doing their job, trying to protect the public.”

   Your words seem to bring him back to the moment, breaking off the hunting instinct and returning his ability to think, and he looks apologetic then.    His gaze once again turns to the human, who has now unfastened himself from the catapult chair and is trying to find a place to hide.    The dragon opens its wings to take to the skies once more, and presumably resume the search for the creatures, but before he’s taken off, something occurs to you.

   “No, wait. Take us down there, I wanna talk to that pilot,” you command, and after a moment’s deliberation, he does as you say.

   He fixes his wings in a full spread and glides down the mountainside without making a sound, reaching the fleeing man in mere moments.    The pilot hasn’t heard you coming, so when Oberyn suddenly lands right in front of him, he stops on a dime and falls backwards in his haste to evade the threat.    The dragon lets go of you the moment he’s down, and you immediately set about getting the man’s attention.

   “Hey, it’s okay, we just wanna talk,” you try, but the pilot has no reason to trust you and instead just keeps on trying to get back on his feet and run away. “I’m sorry about your team. I’m sure they were good people,” you continue, which does get his focus to shift.

   “What the fuck are you talking about! We thought this monster had taken you, we were trying to save you!” he screams after getting back up, although he’s still backing away from you.

   “I doubt that that was why you were ordered to engage in the first place…” you counter, and his expression sours even more.

   “No. We were ordered to hunt that thing down after what it did in Detroit, and if you’re about to tell me it was all a mistake or a misunderstanding, think again! Because I saw what it did to that street… I saw the buildings melt,” he accuses, and he’s stopped backing away now, regaining his courage as the dragon has yet to charge or try and frighten him.

   “You’re right, he did do all that. I know innocent people have died, I’m not denying how horrible that is, but I’m also not looking for your acceptance or forgiveness.    I’m looking for information,” you explain, and the man’s body language shifts as he realizes that this isn’t you trying to apologize for killing his friends.

   “I’m not gonna tell you anything,” he growls, to which Oberyn replies in kind, making the very air vibrate with the strength of his lungs and the size of his throat.

   But the pilot isn’t allowing himself to be intimidated this time, because when push comes to shove, he’s still a military trained aviator. His knowledge of army operations could be useful to an enemy, and he’s not about to let that happen.

   “Listen to me, captain,” you say, trying to draw his attention away from the menacing rows of teeth he’s being threatened by. “All we wanna know is if the army’s picked up any chatter about other strange creatures wreaking havoc somewhere, because we’re trying to hunt them down.”

   He doesn’t answer, and his hard expression doesn’t change, but you feel like there’s another shift in the energy between you. As if he’s starting to wonder what this is really all about, so you press on.

   “They’re black as oil and have a strangely wet skin, as if they’re perpetually bleeding black ooze out of every por. Everything about them is nightmarish and unnatural, but worst of all, is that they can lure humans into walking straight to them.    Bullets and even fire does nothing to stop them. They’ll happily tear themselves to pieces for a chance to rip someone’s guts out, and they do all of this for no reason at all.    They don’t eat people and they’re not responding to any provocation. They just destroy life wherever they find it.”

   The pilot has turned paler during your description, and he seems less sure of himself now, so you give him time to think, hoping he’ll reach the conclusion that you’re not lying.

   “The reports were vague,” he finally starts after a good minute, “but we were told to look for abnormal animals behaving extremely aggressively. And to destroy on sight.”

   “So, when you saw a dragon, you assumed it had to be the target,” you guess, and he nods.

   “But I saw the thing you’re talking about while we made a pass overhead. I thought for sure my eyes were playing tricks on me…”

   “My friend here killed two of them in Detroit,” you say, inclining your head at Oberyn, “but there are another four lose on the continent, and we have no way to track them, except by the deaths in their wake.    Is there anything you can tell us about where the others might be?”

   He hesitates then, clearly unwilling to share anything which might be harmful to the general population, but also unable to discount what he’s seen.

   “Last radio-call I got they were talking about sightings in southern California. Los Angeles,” he divulges, but before you’ve had a chance to thank him, something grabs you.

   In a single second the ground has disappeared from under your feet, and the pilot is suddenly turning into a mini figure, as you’re lifted into the air by your shoulders.    The movement’s so swift and precise that you’re already a hundred feet off the ground by the time the pain of the claws that are buried deep into the flesh at the front and back of your shoulders, even registers. But your screams are drowned out by the wind.

   You look up to find Caelum’s half-transparent feathers pulling you towards the clear blue sky, and within moments, Papilio and Vespertilio are on either side of you.    As before, they waste no time in attempting to complete their mission, so by the time you’ve registered their presence, they’ve already started pecking on you.    The owl merely holds you while attempting to evade Oberyn, who’s undoubtedly taken up pursuit by now, but the bat and butterfly are coming at you from either side, tearing your clothes and skin with ruthless efficiency.

   You didn’t even know that butterfly feet could be sharp. Although, it might be one of those mutations, brought on by dark thoughts, which Oberyn warned you would happen to them in the presence of a Darkling.    Not that it matters at the moment, when your ribs are being exposed by the rapidly executed attacks.

   You’ve never felt such pain in your life, but no matter how much you scream, it doesn’t help. You’re at their mercy, only they haven’t got any.    Then Caelum dives, fleeing back towards the ground when the dragon catches up to them, hoping to win enough time for the other two to finish the job.    The only reason they haven’t already is because of the awkward angle they’re forced to maintain in a midair assault, where the bird needs to have uninterrupted mobility.

   The spirits must be exceptionally fast though, because when she levels out, the vast Pacific Ocean is already right in front of you, and that’s when Oberyn finally catches up to her.    But in his rage and need to free you, his assault is sloppy and violent, causing the owl to lose her grip on you. Although, she may have done that intentionally.    Because while he is still battling her and trying to keep the other two away from you, he can’t catch you before your now limp body crashes into the sea, knocking you out.

-=<>=-=<>=-=<>=-

   He sees you fall and knows at once he will be unable to reach you in time, even if he were to abandon his quarries and race to you.    The air stinks of your blood, wrung from your flesh as the heartless, unfeeling ghosts of The Decem have ripped your midsection apart so diligently that he can see the exposed bones of your ribcage.    And when you hit the water, hard enough to leave you unconscious, more blood instantly pools around you, which will attract dangerous wildlife.

   The three flying spirits are doing everything they can to keep him occupied with them rather than diving to your aid, so he performs a tornado-like maneuver to quickly free himself, and then he set off after you.    But as he is approaching the surface, a shadow rises from the depths, and there is no mistaking it. Because Octopus is by far the largest of the spirits, easily two times bigger than the largest luxury cruise ship on Earth, and each one of her arms stronger than all the other spirits are together.

   She will reach you before Oberyn.

   How can such small distances seem so insurmountably endless? He is only a hundred feet from you, yet he cannot save you.    Instead, he is forced to watch as the tentacles breach the surface all around you, snaring your battered body and sucking you down into the depths as easily as if you were nothing more than a blade of seaweed.

   He closes his wings completely against his body and tightens the muscles along his sides to make himself rigid as he hits the water, turning himself into a missile in order to follow the cephalopod.    Like a snake, his body lends itself well to the medium of water. He is a fast swimmer and just as agile as he is in the air, although the water resistance will obviously slow him down. But no matter the obstacle, he will not give up on you.

   Octopus has taken you to the bottom, where the pressure may have already crushed your brain, but he will not stop until he knows. He will not allow himself to feel sorrow or pain or fear until he has exhausted all possibility of rescue, no matter how unlikely.    For the love you have given him was also impossible. The life which your mere presence has returned him to, equally so.    All the time he has known you, you have consistently done what should not be achievable.

   And he begs all the gods to which men have prayed for as long as they have existed, that you can do so once more.    Just one more time.    Then light is suddenly shining from below. Even though the ocean floor at such depths is black as night.

   But it is no illusion. As though a star has been born, a bright, yellow shine is growing below him, so brightly that it halts him for lack of visibility. And where he comes to a stop and observes, he now sees how the mighty spirit is repelled by this light.    She tries several times to draw nearer, but the light will not be lessened, and she is finally forced to seek out shadows further away.

   The brightness bothers Oberyn’s eyes, but it does not harm him, so he takes the opportunity to swim closer and investigate. And as he does, he finds that it is indeed you who is shining.    Stunned, but also painfully aware of how damaged you are and how long you have now been submerged at this crushing depth, he once again races to you, not slowing down as he blindly reaches out and grabs you, having to close his eyes against the light, before instantly returning to the surface.

   He breaks through it at speed, opening his eyes and hurling himself into the air like a dolphin, except that he unfolds his wings and continues to rise once he has left the water.    The three other spirits attempt to attack the two of you once more, but they too are repelled by your strange luminance, so much so, that they not only back away, but leave the area completely.

   Safe, at least for the moment, the dragon sets down as quickly as he can find a soft patch of grass, far enough away from the beach that Octopus cannot reach you even if she should breach upon the sand.    And when he lays you down, the light fades away and he can see you clearly.    But there is no trace of your injuries.

   Your clothes are torn so badly that they risk falling off your form completely should you try to stand, but your skin is unharmed.    He did not imagine seeing your body being pecked to pieces, nor the smell of your blood in the air, so how has it now been undone?    You healed from his bite just as miraculously, but somehow, it seemed that there could be an answer to this because of the opposite reaction which created the hideous creatures. But this has nothing to do with that. This was all you, the light came from you.

   But how?

   Unfamiliar voices reach his ears then, and he looks around to find that human spectators have begun to gather around him, some frightened and trying to hide behind cars or trees, while others are taking pictures on their phones.    Whatever has happened to you, he cannot linger in this place. Today, more people have seen him and lived to speak of it, than ever before in his six millennia among them, but today is also the day he least cares about the potential repercussions.

   He gently picks you up before spreading his wings, which makes the gathered crowd shy back in surprise over his wingspan, which in relation to his slender body, is perhaps somewhat over dimensioned. But they do not know that whenever he must breathe fire while flying, it is precisely their size which prevents him from losing speed or upsetting his own airflow.

   The creatures are still at large, undoubtedly causing terrible damage and taking innocent lives, but for now, Oberyn cannot care about them. He must get you to a safe place where you can both recover and attempt to make sense of the equally terrible and extraordinary events of this day. And while he would prefer to bring you back to the castle, he feels as though you might need to go somewhere else.    He is unsure of why he feels this, but he trusts that there is cause behind it.

   So, when he leaps off the ground, he turns his nose southeast and sets off at a pace as high as he can manage for a longer journey, hoping that the spirits will not return until he has figured out where it is that he is planning to go, so that you both might have a chance to learn the deeper truths which he has begun to sense are hiding within himself, as much as they are within you. Something from the past which seems to be awakening anew.

Part 9

The Ten Spirits of the World Air - Forest - Water - Stone - Night - Autumn - Winter - Spring - Summer.

Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed it! If you wish to be notified when this story is updated, follow @sirowsky-stories and turn on notifications, or just ask nicely, and I'll tag you.

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[howtodrawyourdragon]

Forbidden Feelings

Summary: While stuck in a blizzard with Toothless, Hiccup wonders what's wrong with him.

Warning: /

General: General

Characters: Hiccup, Toothless

Pairing: Toothcup

Fandom: How to Train Your Dragon

Author's Notes: I've been in a real Toothcup mood as of late. So have this one!

Enjoy!

XOXOX

Hiccup knows there’s something incredibly wrong with him. Because when the other Dragon Riders are with their dragons, he’s certain that they don’t feel the same way he does when he’s with Toothless.

When they’re apart, he’s certain that they don’t feel the indescribable loneliness that he does. When it’s just them and their human friends, he’s certain that they don’t feel the odd one out and like he still doesn’t belong even after everything. When they’re flying together, there’s that exhilaration for sure, but Hiccup still wonders if they feel as utterly complete and whole as he does.

He doesn’t feel like he belongs unless he’s with other dragons. He doesn’t feel as understood or understands as much as he does when he’s with other dragons. He can’t truly be himself around human beings like he can be around dragons.

And then, there’s Toothless. Who he can’t be around without his heart racing. It’s beating so hard it’s like it wants to escape his ribcage to be with his.

At night he lies awake thinking about him. During the day, he wants to spend every minute with him. He’s never felt anything like this for anyone before. What he thought was a crush on Astrid, was simply a deep need for friendship, it’s not at all what he feels for his Night Fury. Not even in the beginning of their friendship did these same sensations overwhelm him as they do now, months after the Red Death.

Huddled together in a tiny alcove in a short cliff side to hide away from the cold of another blizzard of devastating winter, Hiccup’s thoughts and emotions run rampant. Dressed in a thick winter coat with a scarf, gloves, a hat, his Night Fury is still curled up around him, determined to be the one to keep him warm.

They were meant to go home long before the blizzard started, but they took their time with their flight and now it’s too late to return to the village. Too late to avoid this unexpected moment of quiet, this opportunity to contemplate.

It’s entirely their fault. Everyone knew the blizzard was coming, but they still chose to tempt fate and got grounded in the process. They’re far away from everyone else, it’s just the two of them.

From the corners of his eyes, Hiccup finds himself gazing at Toothless. Such a large and powerful creature. He could snap him like a twig, bite him in half, blast him to pieces. Yet he’s always so careful with him, always looking out for him. Even when Hiccup insists on playing rough, Toothless’ number one priority is his well-being.

The way this fact makes him feel is something he thinks he can never describe and never repay.

Toothless opens his eyes to look back at him, it’s as though he could sense his human’s eyes on him. Bothered by the cold, yet more concerned with him, he pulls him even closer with a clawed paw. Hiccup doesn’t fight him as Toothless all but pulls him underneath him, like someone would pull a much beloved stuffed bear closer to them. The cold weather can bother Toothless as much as it wants, Hiccup won’t be suffering the same fate when he’s around.

And with him nestled satisfyingly close, Toothless purrs happily and closes his eyes again.

Beyond frequent moments of embarrassment, Hiccup doesn’t usually blush, but he does when held so protectively by his dragon. There his heart goes again, trying to beat outside of his chest. He’s warm all over and it’s not just because of body heat. He can only snuggle closer.

But then there’s that pit of guilt and uncertainty. Because surely, there must be something terribly wrong with him if he’s fallen in love with a dragon.