Onyx: Beginnings

Story by Onyx-panther on SoFurry

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Onyx's parents, slaughtered by dragons. His people, and the only world he's ever known, Gone. But still he pushes on, thrown into life by the neck.


WARNING: PAIN. (it almost brought ME to tears!) BUT This is the story of how onyx became a rogue and a loner, and how his parents died. This is also how he came to harden his heart and shut out those who can't benefit him somehow.

"Dead visions in your name, dead fingers in my veins, dead memories in my heart" -Slipknot

Onyx belongs to me! Please, critique and contribute to help me become a better writer!!

Onyx waddled from the den acqwardly, staring at the Bright pink morning sky. With a happy mewl, he breathed in the acidic volcanic tinge on the air. Looking down, he scooped a pawful of the gray-black soil. Stepping forward, he felt someone's paws wrap around his waist. Hefted into the air, he struggled and squirmed. "Mom!!" He groaned, struggling a little more. "You let angel and jeremiah go explore! Why not me?!" he turned to face his mother, a lithe black pantheress, yet well-built in the legs.

"Because, angel is ten and jeremiah is eleven. You're only six." She reached forward and tickled his nose, making him sneeze. Putting him on her shoulder, she stepped out of the large stone den herself.

"But I'm old enough to fly!" he complained, flexing his wings.

"Ugh, fine, if it will shut you up later." She chuckled, then set him down onto the soft ash-dirt mix. With a growl of delight, he took off and flew upwards, the huge, mountainous form of the volcano coming into view. Flying higher, he spotted a small niche where jeremiah and angel sat, admiring the view of the rising sun dancing across the dark blue waves. They waved as he landed, then went back to watching the peaceful scene, their feetpaws dangling over the edge.

Jeremiah had daddy's fur. It was lighter than mom's and had black spots. Daddy was a black panther/jaguar mix. Cuddling in between angel and jeremiah, he looked to the sun also.

"who let you out?" jeremiah asked curiously, a huge grin on his face. Pouting, onyx glared at him. "mom did. I'm old enough now."

"sure, sure, whatever you say, kitten." He joked. Rolling his eyes, onyx squinted now, it looked like a cloud had covered the sun. but it was moving... a large, wriggling mass. Onyx pointed at it, tugging on angel's dark blue miniskirt. She held a paw over her forehead, squinting also.

"little brother, stay here." Her voice was tense, clipped. As if there was something else she didn't want to say. Whimpering, onyx nodded and scooted backward, hiding himself against the black rock behind him. Starting to tremble, he watched jeremiah and angel disappear off the rock in dives. Crawling to the edge, he watched them disappear in the general direction of the den. The huge cloud came closer, and now he could just make out huge silhouettes...winged. Mewling in surprise, onyx knew something wasn't right. The animals he used to hunt had gone silent. The birds, the mice, even the water had gone still. It was as if the island held it's breath. Even the slight trembling of the volcano had stopped.

Something flew past onyx at a speed he could barely watch. With a yelp, he stumbled away from the edge and to the wall. Just in time, to. Many more shapes flew past, not five feet from onyx. The wind from the down-draft of their huge wings buffeted his fur, but he stayed silent. His fur rose and he got chills, despite the hot ninety-two degrees farenheit the island was that particular summer morning. Something landed on the ledge of the small niche. It was a large, thin red dragon. Blowing smoke from it's nostrils, it stepped forward, sniffing the air.

Suddenly it's purple eyes locked on his, freezing him in place. It huffed and it's tail slammed swung back and forth. It opened it's maw and showed rows upon rows of glittering white teeth. This was a powerful predator. It took a step closer, it's claws gouging the earth.

It spoke. But it's voice surprised onyx. It was beautiful, a female's voice. "Come here, cub. I will not hurt you If you obey." She commanded, lowering her head to take a closer look at onyx.

He hissed and sratched her scaled nose with his small claws, causing her to roar in surprise and anger. Taking his chance, he darted between her legs and flung himself off the cliff, opening his wings. Dodging dragons the flew past him at breakneck speeds, he made his way down the cliff-side with a shaky, hasty descent.

Looking over his shoulder, he saw that the female dragon had followed him. She had tucked her wings, and was gaining on him. He rounded the corner and gasped. His den was on fire, and a huge, muscular blue dragon was holding his mother. It had on gold armor that covered it's head and snout, and shoulder-plates that layered down his back. Golden claws covered his own claws, and a black-gold tailring glittered in the sunlight.

As if his mom had sensed something, she looked up and met his eyes. "Onyx, Run!" she screeched. Frozen in fear, onyx could only watch as the dragon tossed her into the air...and swallowed her. Whole.

Something barreled into onyx from above. He had completely forgotten about the she-dragon! She held him down on his belly, her claws at his neck. "you pissed me off, but I'll give you another chance. Move and I'll snap your neck." She muttered. The other dragons had formed a circle around onyx, watching him intensely. Onyx looked around the best he could. He saw jeremiah and angel, hidden in a tree, watching silently. With a nod of her head and a sad, lonely tear, angel nudged jeremiah. He took one last look at onyx and then lifted off, disappearing out into open waters.

Onyx wondered where his father was. But his attention was snapped back into reality as the dragon that had eaten his mother stepped forward and sniffed the small panther kit. Onyx squirmed until he felt claws pressing down on his neck.

He flung the worst word he knew at the dragon. "You ate my mother! You, you, you Bastard!!" he hissed, the tears streaming down his muzzle and into the dirt. His wings turned fear-maroon, and he glared up at the dragon from blurry eyes.

The dragon spoke. Onyx had figured out that this one was the leader. "This one's got fight. Let him live. Search the island for his siblings." The voice was definitely male, gruff and low. "Ro'n, In'lo, and Sheba'o, set up camp. This is our island now. Riina, let the kitten go. He can't go anywhere now."

Onyx felt the claws disappear from his back, and sat up to face the head dragon. He resisted the urge to try and claw him, he knew it would be useless. So he sat, glaring at the dragon. The dragon stared right back. "What's your name, kit?" his hot breathe washed over onyx, rank and disgusting. Onyx screwed up his nose and opened his maw to speak, but was surprised when only a small meow came out. The huge dragon chuckled and looked up at his brethren. "aww, the poor thing is scared speechless!" he announced. Hardy laughter erupted from the other dragons, and onyx blushed. Becoming defiant, he stood and got up against the dragon's muzzle defiantly, his small fists clenched. "I am NOT!" he hissed, surprised at his voice, and how clear it had escaped him.

The laughter slowed down to mumbles and mutters, now all eyes were on him. The head dragon leaned down to face him again. "and what are you going to do, runt? It's hundreds against one, and you aren't even hardly worth a snack." His tongue snaked out and licked onyx's cheek. He recoiled, whimpering.

"I am he'rnasii, lead dragon of this group." He blew a small puff of smoke, then raised his head to the red she-dragon who had pinned onyx down. "that is riina, my mate." Once more, his attention focused on the panther. "I'll Ask again. What. Is. Your. Name?"

"I'm Onyx!" I hissed, practically spitting with rage. "Good, finally you're learning to obey orders. If you want to live, you will obey us. Do you understand?"

"And if I don't wanna?" Onyx mewled defiantly, testing his limits. The Lead dragon merely shoved him to the ground with a single, golden claw, and stared him in the eyes. "then you will be meeting your mother very soon." He snarled, licking his lips. Onyx went silent, eyes wide with fear. He'rnasii looked up to riina, then stepped off of onyx. "Get the cub cleaned up, then put him on duty of protecting the young. That's something I fairly think he can handle." And with that, he'rnasii turned his back and walked away.

"One day, I'll kill you.." Onyx whispered under his breath, his fur glowing ever so slightly. It went unnoticed in the daylight, but onyx stood. He felt as if he could cry no more tears, and his heart turned black.

For roughly four years Onyx guarded the eggs and the young, living among the dragons. He earned their respect, (to an extent).They had turned out to be energy-vampiric dragons, and in an accident had bitten Onyx. He had gotten to know the children of the dragons and secretly taught them about how the island had been taken, teaching them against the wrong that had been done to onyx. He watched, waited, became a shadow. When the dragons hadn't been looking, he'd gone back to the den and found a small black-and-green necklace made of onyx and emerald, on a small string. He slipped it onto his chest. It felt heavy. But it was all he had. With time, his hair had grown long, down to his shoulders. It was jet black. He had grown skinnier, with more muscle. At ten years old, he had had enough. It was time for him to execute his plan.

One evening, easily two A.M, Onyx sat awake in the small bird-feather lined cot in a small tent made of old dragon-scales and laced with branches to keep it firm. He slipped out of his cot silently, slipping on a pair of ragged baby-dragon scale jeans, and a t-shirt of the same material. He had been collecting the minute sheddings of the dragon-cubs for years, because he had figured out that the scales of the young were the hardest scales, able to with-stand a bite from a fully grown dragon. It also disguised his warm scent. Stepping into the hot night, he snuck through the camps, between the huge tents. Somewhere close, a dragon stirred in it's tent. Onyx froze, looking toward the source. As soon as the soft snores and growls had commenced again, he went onward. He knew the layout of the camp by heart, having sprinted through it many a-time. Ahead, he caught sight of he'rnasii's den, bigger than all the rest. He tiptoed in, careful to keep his claws sheathed. To huge masses curled in the far back. He'rnasii and riina.

To his right, a long table held he'rnasii's armor and various riches they had welded with their fire-breath, found in and among the volcano. Snatching a gold band, he'rnasii's tailring, and two gold rings, onyx slipped them on. Finding he liked the look, he snuck onward. Lying side-by-side, He'rnasii's two daggers looked black in the darkness. How he wielded to with only his maw, onyx didn't know, but he knew what they were called, and what they did. The first was darkness, only set apart by the purple hilt. It could absorb the energy of any enemy it drew blood from, potentially destroying their very spirit.

The second dagger was the one onyx knew he'rnasii used to keep his power. Dragonbane. It was an ordinary dagger on it's own, but used against a dragon, it was lethal. Picking them up, onyx slid the sheathed weapons into the small knapsack at his side. Clearing the table of riches, onyx stuffed what he could into the satchel. When it was bulging, he slid the helmet on. It was a little big, but the eye-slots fit perfectly. Attaching the shoulderpads, they stuck from his shoulders. A light gold silk cape hung limply behind. Lastly, onyx put the claws on. Strangely, they fit. Had his claws grown?

He disregarded the thought as Riina let out a huge yawn. Onyx though for sure she would wake, and he would be caught and killed. She licked her lips and lie back down, curling her long neck around her side. Her breathing steadied into a gentle rising and falling.

She had been kind to onyx, eventually sort of adopting him. But he'rnasii still had that same, horrible mind-set towards the feline. Onyx slid dragonbane from it's sheath as slowly as he could, then crept forward. Raising the dagger high, he gripped it in both paws. With a blood-curdling screech, he plunged it into he'rnasii's throat. He pulled the dagger back and literally licked the blood from the dagger, watching the life ebb away from the Huge blue lead dragon. Riina woke with a start, looking from onyx to he'rnasii. A growl formed in her throat, and she started to stand.

Onyx caught the movement and knew if he wasn't fast, he was dead. Hopping nimbly over the dead dragon's body, he put his back to the tough tent, holding dragonbane towards Riina. "You may have been kind." He hissed, his fur glowing green. "But you couldn't replace my mother, no matter how sorry you felt. Now I've gotten revenge, and if you come after me, I'll kill you in an instant!" He growled, then spun and slit a hole in the tent. Sprinting as fast as he could, he could see dragons were rising from slumber. His knapsack was heavy with gold, and it clanged noisily against his waist. Seeing the shoreline, he spread his wings and took off, tears dripping and falling as he left the home he had grown up in, the only world he had ever known.

"One day." He vowed, "I'll take this island back." He choked in a whisper, bawling as he ascended now. Now it was time to disappear and find himself a world somewhere else. His sorrow and pain egged him onward, and he saw the sun rising. Reaching for it, he tottered slightly. How far had he gone? Where was he now? He looked back. The island was no longer in sight.

He flew over open water for a full day and half of the next night before coming upon land. The mainland. Slowing down and panting, he fell unconscious, tumbling to the ground on shore and lying there.

Two soft, warm black paws picked him up, carrying him aboard a large, white yacht................