FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Alaine was under attack, his useless aching wings spread to either side, as far as he could possibly extend them while he pressed his chest to the ground. His large head swung towards his attacker and he kept his forelegs tucked down beneath the swell of his chest while he pushed his haunches higher in the air so that his tail could be brought up high, ready to strike. He had only moments to brace himself as the attacker launched himself full force towards him, a flash of rusty chestnut and white that turned into a blur as it was launched up into the air, aiming towards his horns. He barely had enough time to twist aside to keep his sharp horns out of the way before Oake struck him full force bleating in excitement. The little hooves smacked against his cheek roughly while the drake snarled good naturedly.

"Those are sharp! Off before I eat you!" He growled, but tilted his head to help the fawn up his head so that the youngster could take up a position between his horns.

"Mwaahaahaa!" Oake bleated his laughter and wriggled while his hoof like hands clung to the ribbed horns tightly. Alaine carefully sat up and nearly went cross eyed trying to see the slight form.

"You'd barely make a mouthful," He snarled good naturedly and heaved his haunches up so he could move without displacing his 'rider'. "Rowan! Get your pestilent son off me!"

Rowan glanced up from her spot on the shore, her lips twitching in the barest hint of a smile at his snarling, but didn't recall the fawn back to her side. Oake had been able to walk just a few hours after his birth, just like a little goat, and within a few days he had mastered running and jumping. He remained quiet, not attempting more than soft bleats and burbling laughter, and was frequently his companion when he stretched out in his clearing. He was entirely fearless, not even pausing to clamber all over Alaine as if he were an overgrown tree and the drake enjoyed complaining and growling threats at him. At times, the little satyr would growl right back at him, fiercely snarling and trying to mimic him when he was feeling especially frisky.

His mother rarely intervened, he would not harm the little one, he had never been around younglings before and he found the absolute trust in the Oake's eyes to be a balm to his shattered soul. At night, he would sleep close to Rowan's home, his tail extending out and around it, ready to guard them against anything that might harm them. It was a drake's natural protective instincts, wanting to keep the young safe for a new generation, even if that youngling wasn't of his kind. He was besotted, a strange emotion after spending a life in hell, one that made it hard for him to remember his mission and what he wished to do. He had never felt connected to something on this level, it made him want to ensure that nothing ever harmed the little one. The evils of the world that had nearly broken him, he could never allow them to touch the youngster. Never allow them to break the fawn down.

_How strange, something so small could hold my here. _ He lifted his head to send Oake tumbling down his muzzle with a wild bleat, the small triangle shaped tail was wagging in excitement.

"Off you get, Oake." Alaine carefully dropped his head so that the little fawn tumbled down into the soft dirt. The small hoof like hands clung to his horned snout and the hooves scrabbled in an attempt to scramble back onto his muzzle.

"Here now, leave Alaine alone," Rowan said and stood up to fetch her son. She plucked his wriggling form up before he could continue climbing up the drake's snout. "The otterkin are signaling you."

"Hrmm?" He lifted his head and turned it about reluctantly. "Am I late?"

"I don't think so, but they have been wanting to train you in the channel and ocean," Rowan replied and held her struggling son. The wriggling fawn was protesting with loud bleats as Alaine looked over towards the shore and the thin tendril of blue smoke going up.

He felt a moment of pure bitter despair as he considered the distance between himself and the signal fire. If he were a true dragon he could have been aloft and there in the span of a few heart beats, but he had to lumber over the ground step by slow step. He tipped his head back to look at his shoulders, not the graceful agile shoulders he should have possessed, but overly muscled and bulky from a lifetime of walking. The muscles that should have developed on the base of his wing arms were withered away, though they had started to strengthen under his practice swimming. Perhaps one day he could pretend that his wings did work, that he was a lord of the sky and earth.

"ALAINE!" Rowan's fearful cry disturbed his contemplation of his wings and jerk his head about to where she was pointing.

Wings. Wings that nearly blocked out the sun rose up from the trees and came with an echoing roar as the dragon held himself aloft with powerful beats that made for a tight circle. Even from the distance Alaine could pick out the brilliant green scales and the spread jaws as he tilted his head to look at something beneath him. Another dragon, another one of his kind, so close that he could hear the muffled snarls and see the extended tail that lashed and twisted behind his hind quarters. The world dropped out beneath the drake as he gaped and couldn't move. He couldn't breathe, he could only stare as his heart twisted painfully in his chest. He wasn't alone.

"It's an Imperial dragon you idiot!!" Rowan's shriek made him slowly blink and twist his head to regard her. "It's attacking."

"But..." Alaine turned back to see the dragon flinging his wings back and diving with a roar. Right towards the smoke signal and otterkin.

"They'll kill them all!! They'll come here if they know the otterkin were here!" Rowan held Oake back as the thin bleating cry rose up in the air and Alaine narrowed his eyes with a low snarl. He heard the little fawn crying out and his wings tried to snap out in reaction.

"I will drive them off. Wait up in the sheep pen, I will be back." He turned his head to nose Rowan and Oake in the direction of the cave system she used for the sheep. "I will be back!"

"Alaine, we have to run! They'll kill you as well! Or capture you!" Rowan reached out and caught the spike on the tip of his nose to try and hold him back. Oake's cries were coming louder, more panicked, making the drake feel half wild with the need to soothe it.

"I will be back." He ducked his head down to get her hand away from him and turned back to the green dragon that had appeared back on the wing, something writhing in his claws. "I will protect you both!"

He ignored her protest and launched himself towards the woods, his wings flattened down along his back and sides so that they wouldn't be in the way as he ran. He would get there in time, he must get there in time.

~ ~ * ~ ~

The roars of the dragon and screams of the otterkin mingled together as he launched from the last bit of cover into the thick smoke that was spreading over the massacre. The fire that had been used to signal Alaine had spread through some of the brush so that flames lapped the air and were threatening to creep inwards towards the forest. Several of the otterkin had perished, their bodies broken in the sands as the rest had retreated to the trees and rocks where they could try to cover a retreat. He saw Rouro holding down his position with a small fishing spear as the green drake landed and jabbed his head into the rough boulders, snapping wildly to try and pick off those that had escaped them.

Alaine nearly froze as the dragon's wings started to beat the air, flaring and dropping to reveal a rider that was clinging to the base of his neck. The tall creature was unmistakably elven and armored in head to toe in armor that was offset in shed green scales. The elf was holding a long lance aimed down towards some brush while the drake used a paw to try and scrape the rocks out of the way, long strands of saliva were clinging to the edges of his jaws as he roared out in frustration. The other dragon was smaller than Alaine, with a powerful set of hindquarters that were braced as he went after his prey. The elf was urging him on, gripping a set of leather reins that were hooked into two spikes that had been drilled into to allow the restraints to be pushed through.

"STAND DOWN!" Alaine roared and broke cover, rearing up onto his haunches in challenge. "THIS IS MY TERRITORY!"

The drake turned his head and hissed venomously, lifting away from the hidden otterkin and regarded him with cold emerald eyes. He reared up as well, but his chest was covered in thick sheets of metal that were connected to the saddle the elf sat in.

"This is Canith, a sovereign part of our Empire." The elf replied and aimed the lance at him. "Where is your rider, dragon?"

"I have no rider, filth." Alaine bristled, his vision fading towards red as he watched the elf yanking on the reins so the strange dragon's head was lowered down.

_How dare he ride one of my kind?! _ Alaine drew in a breath and tensed up his powerful haunches before drawing back one forepaw.

He reached out to swipe the vermin from the back of the drake's neck and crush the pitiful elf beneath his paw, but the strange drake shrieked out with rage. The green lunged towards him and brought one wing down to beat hard against his head while he tried to reach for the creature. The elf brought the lance up hard enough that it caught against his cheek, scraping and tearing through his scales while he tried to back away from the attacking dragon. The teeth snapped at him, trying to catch his neck so he was forced to stumble backwards to keep from being injured or injuring the other dragon. He'd been told the Imperial dragons fought with the elves, but he hadn't expected them to turn on another dragon.

"Stand down, brother," Alaine hissed and backed up, his aching wings flaring until he felt bone grating on bone. "You do not need this filth to command you, you are a free dragon."

"He is mine." The dragon snarled and snapped at him again, his great wings lifting up to block the elf from sight. "Leave or I will slay you along with these animals! You will be lucky to live after the insult you have offered Oriian!"

"Insult?!" Alaine drew back and let out a hissing snarl in shock. "They slaughtered our kind! They imprisoned me and others! They've tortured and killed and maimed! And you allow one of them to sit upon your back?"

"He is MINE!" The strange stepped forward, ignoring the small otterkin who were bolting while they could. Alaine could only back away step by step, his nostrils flaring in distaste. "Are you so poor that you have no rider? Well, you cannot have mine! Oriian will not leave me for a scarred broken creature like yourself. He has all he needs in me."

Pride. The drake spoke with pride as he stepped forward, his neck arching so that the armor caught the light. He was posing, his chest thrown out and his neck arched. The armor ran all along his stomach and chest, curling and twisting in the strange designs that the elves favored. As he approached, Alaine could see where the natural spines and spikes of the drake had been drilled through or tipped with gold decorations. The reins ran through several of the spikes, trailing and looping all the way down to the jaw line so that he could be guided. He was rigged out as outrageously as any elf, and flaunted it as he walked, extending his wings so the elf could be seen again, the creature had patterned his armor to match the dragons.

"I would not have him!" Alaine growled back and set his haunches apart so he could dig his toes against the ground before he stepped forward. "Why would I wish him? His kind maimed me, scarred me, near killed me. I have no use for them!"

"Quickwing, silence him!" The elf called out and the reins were suddenly pulled. "He's the escapee from the Isle, bring him down!"

"With pleasure," Quickwing bared his teeth and lunged forward, not even questioning the order against another dragon. It was appalling.

Alaine bugled out a challenge and reared onto his haunches to bring his muscled legs up to shove against the armored chest as the other dragon launched against him. The roar rang in his ears as the large muzzle came in close, trying to find purchase against his neck. The drake's claws scrabbled and scratched against the metal, hooking along the edges as they came together with snarls and snaps. Alaine was bigger, he had greater weight, but Quickwing was armored and had an elf on his back who was using a broad lance to jab at him at random so they evened up their competition. The world narrowed down to one thing, getting at the creature that dared to ride a dragon, while the green drake did his best to keep his rider out of Alaine's teeth.

They twisted along the ground, using tails to snap at each other while Quickwing was able to bring his wings into play. It was the best he could do to keep out of their range or risk being brought down and that meant coming in close against the green's chest. Alaine tried to get his fangs up and towards the rider, but the elf was ready with the lance to stave off his attack. The wicked point caught against his scales, trying to hit his eyes whenever he got too close to the armored figure. It meant trying to defend himself from the jaws of the other dragon as well as the blows towards his head as he used his greater weight to try and bring Quickwing over.

For the first time in his life he fought, he slashed with teeth and claws until his vision ran red with instinctual rage. Always before he had forced himself to stand down, but now he had a foe here in front of him and he could release his anger. All of his frustration, his days in captivity, his torments and trials, they boiled forth until he was screaming his rage out. He shrieked it with every blow of his tail, every slam of their bodies as they came together. His teeth caught against the glossy green scales and tore at them, trying to rip them away to get at the skin beneath. The taste of copper blood was thick on his tongue and covered his muzzle as Quickwing took him down, the metal slammed against his chest as Alaine was forced onto his back. He drew his hind legs up and tried to dig into the vulnerable underbelly and eviscerate the other drake, but the armor made it scrabble and scrape over the protective layer.

It was in the heat of battle, when the other dragon's eyes were just as focused on the kill as his own, that he saw an opening in the defenses. The wings were pulled down flat to keep them from harm and the elf was revealed. Oriian had the lance pulled back and aimed as they snapped and tore at each other, but he wasn't quicker than Alaine's darting muzzle. He allowed Quickwing to grab a hold of one of his shoulders so he could shoot his head up and towards the elf. His jaws hit metal and a writhing body. A metal gauntleted hand pounded against the side of his muzzle as his teeth closed down and tore the elf free of the saddle he had dared put on a dragon. The green drake realized, too late, what was happening and released the hold on his shoulder. Alaine clamped his jaws down so his teeth scraped over the metal and dented it in. A short weak scream and a wet crunch heralded the end of the hated creature, the bones shattering as hot wet blood oozed down the back of Alaine's tongue.

"ORIIAN!!!" Quickwing screamed out the name and reared back, the emerald eyes showing white around the edges as Alaine scrambled back and spit out the crushed creature.

"A dragon has no master." Alaine snarled and spit out the taste of metal and blood from his mouth while the green dragon let out a high pitched moan and inched forward. He waited for Quickwing to shake off the effects of whatever spell had been spun on him, the death of the elf should have put an end to it.

"Oriian?" Quickwing's choked words made him curl his lips back in distaste as the great beast came whimpering and mewling to the broken thing on the sand. "Oriian?" The green nosed him lightly, bumping and pushing to try and get the elf back up.

Alaine shifted uncomfortable as the large green drake mewled at the creature, letting out high pitched noises as he tried to push his rider back up. It was disgusting to see a dragon in such a state, especially over the life of an elf. He spit out the taste again and gave himself a shake, feeling the blood oozing slowly down the ridge of his shoulder. The wetness trailed all the way down to his forepaw from where the other drake had managed to get a hunk of his flesh and tear it out, but he didn't dare to turn and tend it. The sound of the other drake turned into a quivering keen, a drawn out sound that made his bones hurt as Quickwing voiced his mourning.

"You killed him." Quickwing lifted his head, his eyes blank with anguish. There was no realization that he was free of the magic, no clearing of the eyes and behavior. "You killed Orrian!!!"

The last word turned into a high pitched shriek, the only warning before the drake came at him again. The wings spread open wide and Alaine was barely able to get out of the way in time before the paws crashed near him and the green whipped around to attack him. There was no cunning, no planning to the attack, only desperate fury that pounded against him as the green snapped and tried to grab his neck. He didn't try to protect himself or block anything, he was only after the death of his rival. Alaine tried to pull away, tried to draw back from the attack so that he could force the drake back into his senses. He snapped his jaws a few time and used one of his forepaws up to shove against the smaller dragon that snapped his tail up.

_ _

Alaine couldn't get away from the attack, the drake wasn't back away, he was only growing more and more determined to kill him. He couldn't break away, because Quickwing refused to give him an inch, any time he backed away the jaws came from his throat. With a baritone roar he twisted his head and spread his jaws to snap down along the emerald green neck. The armor made it hard to get a good hold, but it wasn't seamless. His sharp fangs caught just beneath one of the plates and he gave a twist of his entire body. His weight dragged the green drake to the side as the armor twisted beneath his grip, tearing the metal with a loud screeching noise while the forelegs dropped down and the weight dropped down from his jaws.

He'd meant to just get the other dragon down where he could try and speak sensibly to him, but the armor tore and twisted. He felt a hot gush of blood before Quickwing backed away with a gurgling sound making Alaine let go. The drake's eyes bulged as he swayed back and forth, the jaws spread open and oozed blood, some spilled down along the curve of his throat. The broken armor had slipped between the overlapping scales before cutting into the vulnerable underside. The green dragon gagged a few times, spitting up blood before crumbling to the ground with a loud thud. The blood stained over the sand and dirt, darkening and oozing towards the edges as the beast wheezed out a ragged breath, the side rising and falling for a final time.

Alaine couldn't move, he could barely breathe, his eyes were locked on the crumbled form at his feet, the spill of blood coming to a halt as the heart stopped beating. He backed away slowly, his nostrils flaring as he stepped away from the blood and felt a wave of confusion. This wasn't how it was supposed to happen. The drake should have been free of the elf's influence the moment that the creature had died, but he had only acted like a dumb animal with his master down. He had moaned and whimpered and finally attacked a drake larger then himself without any attempt to defend himself. It made no sense! These elves had killed, maimed and destroyed all that he had ever loved, why would a dragon be loyal to a creature such as that.

"Alaine?" Rouro's voice reached him as he continued to watch the stiffening corpse of the dragon.

"He killed himself." Alaine murmured softly, lowering his head and wrinkling his nose at the scent of blood on the air. "He didn't even try to block me. He just attacked."

"You killed his rider." The otterkin came closer, a few of the others already entering the area and going for their fallen comrades.

"It was an elf!" He hissed angrily and stood up with a groan at his aching body, he had half a dozen wounds from the battle.

"No dragon would survive his rider's death. At least, that's what they've said." Rouro stepped closer and glanced up at him.

"I thought it was a spell," Alaine's voice sounded small, even to himself. "I thought that once he was dead he would be free of them."

"I am sorry, Alaine." Rouro lifted his paw up and placed it on his leg. "No one knows how they do it, only that the dragons serve them."

Alaine shivered slightly and turned his head away from the cooling corpse. How had they done this? How had they taken a dragon in the prime of life and forced his loyalties on an elf who would have him kill another dragon? It made no sense, and it terrified him more than it would have if it had been a spell. The dragon, Quickwing, a name that sounded like it should have been a pets, had allowed them to dress him and put a saddle and reins on him, he hadn't just let them, he had enjoyed it. He had been willing follow the elf into death. It made his stomach turn as he backed away from the gruesome sights and gave himself a shake all over. This wasn't right, it was wrong, everything about it was wrong!

"I am going back to Rowan and Oake. I will have her patch me up. Tomorrow I will leave." He lifted his head and looked out towards the ocean. "I need to find out what is causing this and put an end to it. Somehow."