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A Dragon's Path

Chapter One:

Another Day in Paradise?

It was a day like any other day. Skytail woke up in her cave, and pushed herself to her feet. Her talons clicked against the hard stone floor, and her paws struck the ground raggedly, as the attempted to regain a balance from her sleepy, half-functional state.

The blue and red Deadly Nadder blinked her eyes, and then turned towards the entrance to her cave. The sun shone through, illuminating the first few feet of the cave with its brilliant rays. From the looks of it, it was early morning.

She walked towards the entrance, and stepped out into the warm rays of the sun. Summertime had come to her land, and while the air was often still cold, the warmth of the sun seeped through it, warming her scales and creating currents for her wings to catch.

Skytail sat back on her legs, wrapping her tail around her paws and folding her wings into her body. She lowered her head and investigated her scales, making sure they looked nice and shiny. The Deadly Nadder was a species renowned for its vanity, and true to form, she disliked going out if her coat wasn't in tip top shape.

Luckily for her, it was fine; there were a few smudges and bent scales here or there, but with some ministrations from her tongue, and some adjustments from her teeth, everything was in order. She was ready to greet the day.

Lifting her head back up, she surveyed the landscape before her, and was taken in by its beauty. During the long, harsh winter months, she often forgot just how beautiful and green the landscape could be during the fleeting summer. The trees were in full bloom, and the lush mountainsides were covered with them. Her cave also faced away from the Human Village, and therefore she didn't have them spoiling her view, either.

The lush, green valleys were accented by the occasional colorful glimpse of another dragon. Unfortunately for the humans, there was also quite a large dragon population on the island as well. There were more terrible terrors than anything else, but there was also Skytail and her parents, who lived in another cave a few miles away, and a few Monstrous Nightmares and Gronckles. She caught a few glimpses of some of them.

Not many dragons liked to live on this island. The humans' presence on the island created an undercurrent of tension among its inhabitants, and the dragons often preferred to migrate to islands without them there. However, some were too lazy to leave, or too attached to their homes. Others, like Skytail, relished it.

The tension made things just a little more interesting for her. Plus, she had an ability that not every other dragon had. She could swallow things that were much bigger than what other dragons were capable of swallowing, and her stomach was quite stretchy. She could devour humans alive and whole- and more than one at a time, at that.

It was an ability that had been passed down her family for a while. Her mother had been able to do it, and she had taught her how to do it a couple years prior. Ever since then, she had been in love with the experience, eating far more than just what she needed, and going on a binge every once in a while for fun. She loved the way humans tasted, loved the way they struggled as they slid down her throat, and loved the way they pushed out her belly, swelling it and filling it more than anything else. She loved the feeling of digesting such a huge meal, to top it all off, and she loved how deep of a sleep she went into as she rested them off.

Yes, this island was her home, and she loved it here. Despite having rarely ever left it, and even then not to go far, she never got tired of it. She didn't really want to leave.

She looked over the forest below, and like many days before, she saw it as a place brimming with possibility and opportunity. There was a whole day ahead of her, and a whole adventure. She just had to go and get it.

So... she thought. What should I do?

_ _

She racked her mind for something to do... And drew a blank.

Another feeling, one she sometimes forgot about, but one that had been becoming increasingly more common, came to her then. At first, she hadn't been sure what it was, but recently, she had finally put a name to the face; boredom.

She had once loved her home, and had _once_never wanted to leave it. But more and more frequently she found herself wanting something... more. It wasn't that she didn't like it here, but she was feeling more and more like she had already taken all that she could from it. The wide world outside of her island was starting to appeal to her, and her cave on this rock now felt her with a feeling of restlessness.

But I can't leave... Can I?

_ _

No, she couldn't. Even if she decided to, she still wouldn't be able to leave today. She couldn't just leave her parents and friends like that, and besides, she didn't even know where she wanted to go. Such an adventure would require lots and lots of planning, and she hadn't done any of it.

For now, she had to do something else, if only to distract herself from her wanderlust.

But what is there to do...?

_ _

Suddenly, a face filled her mind; the elongated purplish-red face of Nightclaw, her best friend. The Monstrous Nightmare was her go-to companion on this island, and now that she was thinking about him, she realized she hadn't seen him in a few days.

The same could also be said for her parents, except she hadn't seen them in even longer. She figured they'd probably be wondering how she was doing, and since they still lived on the same island, there was really no reason for her to not check in from time to time.

She was trying to decide which visit she should make, when suddenly, her belly rumbled beneath her. A hunger pang hit her, and she realized she hadn't eaten in a while either. The Nadder thought of the humans down in the village, and her mouth began to salivate. Perhaps a binge would cheer her up.

Skytail had some things to do after all. Yet now, she was faced with a new predicament; which one should she do first?

She looked up into the sky, gazing at the sun as she tried to make