FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

"When terrible things happen, you will feel alone, trapped in your past. Let those shades go and focus on your Dreams."

Ayliith's bloodshot eyes opened. Her scales were scraped in places she couldn't reach and her heart felt like it would burst. Despite the fact she just awakened, the hybrid felt like she flied with stones on her back. Physical strain somewhat relieved but she had hardly any energy. Memories of claw, teeth, sadistic pleasure and heavy weight descending upon her wings. Uncomfortable. Unpleasant. Terrifying. A sourceless roar echoed in her mind, but her expression remained blank and stiff. Standing up with wings outstretched, she took a lazy notice of her surroundings.

The forest canopy was sprinkled with morning droplets of freshness, so she immediately caressed along the same dew collected on the grass underneath with her tail. The deep green undergrowth beneath was soft, but there was little that sheltered her from above. The Air and Water hybrid didn't know whether her place was safe or not, but she managed to stay the night without any incidents. The corners of her mouth showed briefly as she winced in pain. Her back leg was cramped, supposedly from resting in an odd position too long. Hrff. Why was travelling so difficult? She never imagined that making it all the way over to the neighbouring Mud dragons would be this strenuous. Was she doing a huge mistake?

Her form sidestepped to the side and ears flopped back, she gazed towards the first rays of sun poking through the branches above. The prickles of doubt seeped their way through her sides.It was difficult to focus, her mind refused to listen as voices within spoke of shame, uselessness, weakness and lack of planning. Stupid, stupid. Why didn't she stay back home? Being a servant wouldn't be so bad, at least, she would still have shelter to go to and food to eat!

But right now, she had nothing. The rumbling noise of her empty stomach re-affirmed that. She has never really hunted anything bigger than a rabbit and worse yet, she had to make a decision between flying to her destination hungry or seeking food and wasting time. Her paw wandered over scratches along her sides, wincing. The wounds there brought back the sourceless roar within her mind and her tail involuntarily curled up. No, she will get through this. Looking back, three dented slices through her scales marked where she was scratched but their size wasn't alarming. At the very least, she had worse wounds in her life. Looking ahead, the trail to whence she came from was rich with scents of local fauna. Squirrels, raccoons, even small dinosaurs have passed through this forest.

Rising up, her leather pouch strapped back over left shoulder, the hybrid dragoness decided to try and hunt. She had no training, but maybe with a little bit of luck, she could figure something out. Was this a good idea? Doubt set in just as she made two steps forward. There were rules against hunting in lands of other tribes, she knew that, but how exactly do Mud dragons deal with pouching? Is that even something they care about? In the lands of Dawnlight, the Advisor punished every proven case of unauthorized hunting with a sixty-days of Forsaking. The thought of being tied up to a mountain without the possibility of flight or earning gems did little to soothe her nerves but if she was on the right path, then these lands should be technically contested territory belonging to no-one. Or so she hoped.

With little to rely on but her claws and senses, Ayliith located a few bushes of berries safe to eat. No matter how quiet she thought she was, every single little dinosaur raised its head and spotted her well before she was within striking distance. After a nearly an entire day of cuts and bruises from sneaking though branches and bushes, the travelling dragoness only obtained a bag full of Rightcap mushrooms and a few rare healing herbs of Shudue she recognized thanks to the few lessons of Wingbinding from her mother. For a day of hunting and foraging, It was hardly ideal, but with nothing else to fill her stomach, raw mushrooms would have to do.

Krrrzt! Crackling noise followed by a flash of sparkly yellow bolt sizzled through the air, leaving behind an ozone smell. "Bloody moons!" The startled dragoness cursed and pressed herself against the mossy earth, eyes darting around, ears pressed close to her head, trying to locate the source of this attack. The bag of mushrooms she was eating from fell down, scattering its precious contents all over the forest floor yet that mattered little to the alarmed hybrid. Heart racing, the area around her seemed clear. A few squawking birds in the tree branches above, small red salamander two trees behind her was climbing upwards and an oversized green flying bug with two antennas zipped past her hiding spot.

Where was the enemy? What was it? Was she just imagining it? Eyes wide and alert, the area around her had no signs of anyone or anything else in it. Minute passed. "Show yourself!" She called out, but only chirping noises of birds and buzzing of the flying bug circling around her bag answered back. Nothing was out of ordinary. The salamander she saw before was nowhere to be seen now.

How odd. Regardless, she will eat later, all this excitement has gotten to her and all she wished now was to start looking for a place to settle. Next day she could probably head Eastward towards... TRRZ!

A flash of pain surged from her left paw up towards head, briefly stunning her as colors mixed and matched in odd patterns before her very eyes. Her jaws opened in a silent cry of agony, yet the hot flash disappeared as suddenly as it hit her. Recoiling from this strike, her legs made a startled step back, terrified eyes seeking to assess what happened to her.

The forest didn't change at all, except... That flying bug. It was now sitting on her bag of mushrooms and seemed to be pressing its mandibles against the healing herbs she collected earlier. Yellow streaks on a green chitinous body, long two antennas that had grey bulbs on the end and composed eyes peered up at its surroundings. With its wings folded, it didn't look that remarkable really, but what else could it be?!

Moments later, her hypothesis was proven correct as a smear of where this... sparkling bug used to be discharged a small jolt that was immediately grounded in the thick tree branch Ayliith used to smash it. Feeling somewhat safer, and inspecting her forepaw, the dragoness didn't notice any kind of damage, although her mane was still oddly sticking upwards.

"Hmph, guess you are a first victim on my path to a better life." One last time, she looked over the remains of the bug and then smacked it once more, just in case. The resulting crunch felt just as satisfying as the first time.

Wandering off, the remainder of her day was uneventful, although she had to spend it in similarly dismal shelter as yesterday. A few branches for support on her head, and one muddy wall was all she had. Thankfully, the air was dry and filled with hoots of owls, but the young female couldn't get the thoughts of swarming bugs stinging her over and over again from the back of her mind. Tossing and turning, long after Natrash and Bolo rose up in the night sky, rest was hard to come by despite her exhaustion.

And yet, when she has finally awakened, a pair of menacing red eyes peered down upon her...

To be continued!