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Scales and Honor: Viridian Night

Prologue

Exhaustion tugged at the back of Infinities mind as the black armored dragon traveled through the skies. She had been traveling for days now, stopping only long enough to rest her tired emerald eyes for moments at a time. She dare not stay sleeping for too long though, as her mind wandered to unpleasant thoughts about her new found freedom and how much it had cost her. She kept her eyes onto the dark night sky ahead, gazing to the vast fields and forests of multicolored dark greens below her. The thought passed through her head when she asked herself when would she find rest again, and have to fight off her troubled dreams once more.

The leather backpack she had kept from the human named Axton fluttered in the wind, held tightly within her grip. Although with her focus on the sky, and her exhaustion she hardly felt it as it battered her scales. She angled her wing membranes that were dotted with small white marks that made it look like the vast night sky. She started her descent towards the ground as she started to give into the tiredness lurking within her bones.

She back-winged several times, the wind from her wings creating a breeze that rippled across the forest grass beneath her. When he paw pads touched gently onto the earth, she immediately let out a sigh. It surprised her how good this felt in the state she was in. She found a shaded spot near some thick and tall trees, instantly curling on herself. She covered her body with her wings, closing her eyes and hoping that sleep came fast.

Her ears twitched as uneasiness creeped its way into her mind. There was no sounds coming from the forest this night to distract her thoughts. No crickets, no owls, not even the faint howls of wolves. For the first time in awhile she was alone with her thoughts. She sighed, covering the tip of her nose with her tail. She opened one of her eyes for a moment, focusing on the worn leather backpack held within her claw. She could almost hear Axton's voice. She shook her head from the thought, and quickly looked away from the thing. She had held off the urge to look inside these past few nights, too afraid what she would find in there. What she would see to start the tears once more. She closed her eyes once again, and focused on falling asleep. Please let me have no dreams this night....please. She prayed silently to whomever would listen.

Despite her prayers she did have dreams. This night found her on a beach, sprawled out in the sand with her wings spread wide. She released a pleased trilling noise as she basked in the sun's warm rays, wiggling her tail in the soft sand.

"Who would have thought! A beach!" the voice of Axton made her turn to look at the human. The short black haired boy rolling around in the very same sand with a look of pure joy on his face. He stopped with his arms below him, looking to her with his icy blue eyes.

Infinity said nothing as she just looked to the boy she had declared her son. In the waking world she would have looked away, hid her face, sobbed. However here within her dreams she did none of those things. She instead gave him a great big smile at his happiness. To her horror, moments later she watched him sit up, open his mouth and scream as loud as he could. Seconds later his entire body burst into ash...just like the night she had escaped. She opened her mouth to try and scream his name, call out to him, but no noise escaped her. She held out her claws out as the ash swirled around her in a mighty breeze. She hung her head, wishing the dream would end.

Infinity bolted awake, her eyes snapping open. She tried to grasp Axton with her claws out of reflex, but to her continuing sadness they only gripped air. She instantly pulled her limbs closer to her with narrowed eyes. She wished she did not have to sleep, so the dreams did not come. She looked up to the still darkened sky, her eyes finding the bright ivory moon that hung suspended among the vast field of glittering stars. She shivered as she looked down to her white taloned forepaws. _ You could have saved him._ The bitter voice of her mind whispered to her. He's dead because of you...You will never be a good mother.

She shivered once again as she remembered all the suffering. She thought back to all the pain as she twitched her tail. Was it all for nothing? She grabbed hold of some earth, and kneaded it with her talons. What if we had stayed? Would he still be alive? She smothered the coming sob with her wing, burying her snout into the smooth membranes. Her ears perked as she heard the lone solitary howl of a wolf drifting in the night air. For a moment she wondered if the animal wanted the same company she did right now, and if it felt the same lingering feeling of despair in it's heart. She sobbed silently, closing her eyes and drifted off into sleep once more. This time to her relief, her sleep was dreamless.

**********

Infinity opened her eyes, just as the sun began to creep over the horizon. She blinked the grogginess from her vision, and let out a loud yawn. She snapped her jaws several times, and reset her wings against her back. She looked down, and her eyes widened. The backpack was gone, no longer within her grasp. She desperately turned her head around, searching for the lost item. Even if she did not want to open the thing, it had been Axton's. I can't lose it..After a few moments she breathed a sigh of relief, she had been sleeping on the thing. I must have...shifted onto it during my sleep. She picked it up quickly as she rose to all fours, her stomach giving a pained rumble that felt like wolves tearing at her insides. She rose her snout into the air, closing her eyes as she sniffed the air. Looking for prey to silence her stomach's sounds. With her first breath of morning air she felt her nerves suddenly freeze up, as dread suddenly sprang to her heart. For the morning air that was filled with the scent of pine had another scent lingering within it. One that made all the memories of the dark tower come rushing back. She smelled humans, something that smelled like dragons, and the undead smell of the lich from her nightmares.

She looked up into the soft purple sky, growling in the back of her throat as she shifted her weight from paw to paw. What do I do? The thought surfaced, as the worry began to sink further in. Her ears perked, causing her to crouch low and hug the trees as she heard the sound of leathery wing beats in the air above. She held up a talon, muttering the spell phrase to herself as she focused on the magic. With a faint cooling sensation that spread to the rest of her body, Infinity knew she was invisible. After all, it was more reliable to be invisible, than to risk the chance of being spotted, and recaptured. And brought back to the tower.

Her eyes scanned through the canopy into the sky above, seeing the form of two reptilian creatures with leathery tan batwings. They reminded her of dragons, they even had a similar snout to hers. However they had a scorpion stinger at the end of their reptilian tails, and lacked front limbs. She wrinkled her snout at the thought of them walking around on the ground, wondering how they managed to achieve such a thing. With another breath, she realized it was these creatures that bore the scent of the lich, lingering to their scaly hides. Atop the creatures back were two humanoid figures, adorned in worn red leather armor. She could not see their faces, but she could see they were well built, male, and spoke in harsh, deep voices.

"Any word from the gryphon yet?" said the first male, his voice gruff and seemed to be the deeper one of the two.

"None yet, but don't worry. We will find the slippery bitch." the second man replied, his voice sounding smoother. Like he had a mouthful of molasses.

"Than its sweet, sweet, payday." the first man rubbed his rough hands together in glee.

"Hey don't get cocky, they said she was extra dangerous."

"One dragon against all of us?" the man snorted. "You can't seriously think she will be able to slip away from all of us?" he patted the wyvern below him several times. "Please..with the wyverns, we'll have her in no time."

Infinity shivered as the two men continued their talk. Finally finishing it with laughter as their mounts beat their wings against the air, and carried them far away. She sighed in relief, until the sound of a twig snapping mader her blood run cold. She looked down from where the two riders had been to see a tawny colored gryphon. The bird currently had his orange beak to the ground, and was sniffing the area that she had slept in.

The gryphon rose his head, ruffling his feathers and giving a soft chirp in the air. His lione tail flicked behind him, as his amber eyes scanned the tree line, looking for something.

Looking for me. She narrowed her eyes, as it occurred to her that he might not be able to smell her. As he was currently down wind from where she was. She continued to not move, unsure of what to do. She could certainly kill the bird, so he never got the word out she had been around. Her decision was made for her as she saw his eyes suddenly narrow, his muscles tense, and he looked exactly at where she was. Oh well. She moved like lightning towards the gryphon, who barely got a chance to let out any sound. She slammed her paw as hard as she could against the top of his head, knocking the surprised gryphon out, his body flopping onto the ground with a thump.

Infinity held her paw out, as she flicked the stinging pain away from the soft underside. Perhaps I hit him a tad too hard? She eyed his unconscious body, from his brown feathers to his little furry tail. She realized that the riders had only talked about one gryphon. This might be their only way to reliably track me. She narrowed her eyes at the thought. Her stomach rumbled and offered her another choice on what to do with him.I could solve two of my problems... She grabbed the gryphon by his neck with her jaw, and quickly snapped it. With a snarl she dragged the dead bird to under the tree.

She ripped into the gryphon, eating him with grim satisfaction at what she had done. Despite it solving her hunger, despite it keeping her away from the hunters. She hung her head when she had finished. Yet another life I have taken,so that I survive. She looked to the crimson mess, thumping her tail against the ground. She tore herself away as she wiped the blood from her snout with her tongue. I will continue on foot for awhile. She looked up to the skies, almost expecting to see the wyverns descending onto her with their talons, and stingers, but thankfully that was not the case.

Besides, they expect me to be in the air. More safer to stick to the trees, stay hidden until I can get away. She continued on foot for the rest of the day, and several days after that. Her senses ever vigilant for the wyverns and their riders. She stopped several times to observe their movements over the next few days, counting at least seven different beasts and riders to go along with them. She would sit quietly, watching them circle the forest above like she was the prey. She would snort at the thought and continue on her way. On the last day she came to a cave, at the base of a mountain. She strode her way into the rough, dark stone floor. With a final sigh she curled on herself, once more wrapping herself in her wings. Is this what I am reduced to now? Running and hiding like mere prey from now on? She set her snout on the cold stone with a snort. There has to be more out there right? Axton didn't die for nothing.....right? She got no answer to her questions, but she prayed she would find the answers in the days ahead. Please don't let everything....be for nothing.