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Brethren, mates, and anger.

I turned away, not wishing to see the red drake take his final, blood choked breaths.

"Rot forever, bastard!" I muttered quietly to myself. How I cursed him! Oh, how I cursed the old drake! Thank Sephive we have the Provider to weed out scum like Quartzite! To tear the bastard's fucking throat out! What leadership, oh what leadership The Provider possessed!

I pushed my way through the crowd of onlookers, flexing my wings as I broke out of the confined quarters. As I neared the sanctity of the wood I realized someone was following.

"Disgusting, isn't it?" a feminine voice murmured quietly behind me.

"He was conspiring against us, Celsko." I said gruffly. "We have no need for scum like him!"

I turned around to face the moss-colored dragoness. Celsko was my age, having hatched nary a week after I. She was much more... comely... than myself. Her wings, tail, ears, and the fins along her jawline were all tipped by highlights of electric blue, and oh, what beauty they gave her! Her horns stood in stark contrast to her coloration, being almost snow white and curving back in a half circle. I was but a dull grey with a cream-colored underbelly and black horns, so unlike most of the males, many of whom sported brilliant colors, fins, and were somewhat larger than I. How I envied them!

Overall, her eyes were a brilliant bluish-green, and by looking into those eyes I could tell she had been crying.

Crying... over what?!

"Nimbus... you really believe he was..." she trailed off

"You heard what The Provider told us! Quartzite wanted to destroy us!" I said through clenched teeth. How I abhorred Quartzite!

How could he? How could he betray us like that?! How I wished I had know his evil intentions beforehand, I would've ripped the traitor's throat out myself!

"Not us. Him!" she whispered, glancing around to see if anyone was listening to our conversation.

"Are you mad? How could anyone be against what The Provider is doing for us?"

She looked as if she going to reply, but I had no patience for her nonsense.

"Listen, we can talk later!" I snapped. I spoke the words so harshly I surprised even myself.

I glanced up at her, just in time to see her jawline fins droop and her eyes close in order to suppress more tears.

Hating myself, I turned away and looked down.

"Just leave me alone." I growled.

I felt her take a step towards me, but before she had a chance to get close I leapt off and beat my wings, leaving my only friend to sob over the execution of a traitor.

No great loss?

---

A hundred feet above the mountainside, I spread my wings wide and soared away from the macabre scene as Quartzite's body grew cold on the ground.

The trees below me were but a blur as I rode the breeze. I flew fast and hard down into the valley, making a beeline for the small river that carved it's way through the mountains.

Part of me desperately wanted to circle back and comfort Celsko. Celsko, who, when my mother had killed herself_ (I just can't deal with this anymore!)_, had been the only being I had allowed to get near me! She comforted me so, and now I leave her to cry! And yet I did nothing, instead simply flying onward.

Fucking coward.

After a quick flight, I spotted where I wanted to land. Circling my destination once, I opened my wings and came in for a gentle landing upon a large, flat stone ledge that bordered the river.

I tucked my wings in, sighed, and closed my eyes, trying to withhold sobs of my own.

I hated myself.

Sighing again, I trudged down to the the rivers edge. The water here was quite deep, having sculpted out a great depression in the stone riverbed. The beauty of it all lifted my spirits somewhat, and with a sharp breath, I dove into the cold, clear water, feeling a slight euphoric sensation as it washed over my scaled hide. I took a breath, before using my powerful tail to propel myself straight downward. Deeper I swam, till the surface seemed dreadfully far and the pressure in my ears was terribly painful.

With sensitive eyes I scoured the depths. There! I saw it; a flash of scales in the diffused sunlight! A large salmon was swimming along lazily at the bottom of the river, and with a flap of my wings and a snap of my jaws, I had it.

Surfacing with a large fish and the taste of fresh blood in my maw, I tossed my head back and swallowed the fish whole and, to my surprise, still alive and moving. Such an act would no doubt be viewed as rather bestial, but seeing as none were watching I had no reservations or qualms regarding the act.

I paddled my way to a large rock that sat just beneath the water's surface; a perfect place for sunning. Just as I had climbed atop the boulder, I heard my name being called over roar of the rapids.

I looked up in the direction of the voice, only to see a large maroon drake standing on the bank of the river, calling cheerfully to me.

---

By the time I had swum across the river a bluish dragoness had materialized beside the drake. In no way did I wish to be near either of them, or any dragon for that matter, and yet I forced myself to converse with the two of them. Politeness over everything, no matter how bad I wanted to say what I thought!

"Selkut," I trilled happily as I emerged from the water, resisting the overwhelming urge to shake the water from my scales, like that of an animal.

"Who's this?" I added glancing at the blue dragoness. Though I had seen her before, we had never so much as made eye contact.

"This," he purred, whilst nuzzling his companion passionately along the neck and jawline, "Is Eve. Eve, you know Nimbus, don't you?" he asked cheerfully.

Yes, why, oh why, wouldn't she know Nimbus? Nimbus, who so removed himself from his fellow dragons! Nimbus, the young dragon who has no friends, no mate, nothing! Uncongenial bastard he is! Why would you not know me, Eve? Fucking ignorance; it made me want to scream at the two bubbly dragons, instead I just smiled.

"Not exactly, no..." Eve said quietly.

Selkut gave a slight chuckle, "Forgive me for not introducing you earlier, Nimbus here is my brother."

Oh yes, brothers we are! Of the same parents we were, same clutch even, but in life we were nothing of the sort. Rarely did I speak with my brother. He was cheerful, outgoing, and rather boisterous-- the very things I am not!

The two continued to nuzzle each other, half ignoring my presence. Mates.

Yes, croon over each other! Croon over each other and fuck while evil minds plot against our colony! It's a bloody mess, the whole lot of it! Bloody, bloody, BLOODY! Spilled all over the meeting grounds! Worthless blood for the good of the colony! Tell us another story, Quartzite! Tell us of how you betrayed your fellow dragons! Tell these ignorant fucks! Tell them of how they should revere our leader! Oh how easy would it be to just tear that smile right off Selkut's face, a simple swipe of my claws would do the trick! Bloody, bloody mess it would be! My tail lashed at the thoughts.

Yes, how easy it would be...

As the thoughts of mutilation and violence danced about in my head I smiled at the two; as if I fucking cared about their love for each other!

"Pleased to meet you." I lied, trying not to let my anger show past this... this facade I had built around myself.

I stood there in awkward silence for a moment, trying to think of what more I could say.

"You can swim quite well, for a dragon that is not of an... aquatic... breed." Eve finally purred, blushing.

Liar! You fucking liar! You're an aquatic yourself! You only say that because you think it will make me happy! Happy?! Aquatics are all the same; acting like they are above everyone else! Bigots they are! Bigots and hypocrites and bullies and liars! Selkut has probably told you all about me! Of how I detest others, of how I never even make an effort to get others to like me! 'Oh, don't talk to Nimbus, mother left his egg out in the sun too long, you know, not all there...'

"Eh, I get by. Swimming is not a matter of breed, I feel, rather more a matter of technique." I muttered, scratching at the dirt with my claws.

"Mmm... I too feel that way," she trilled. "Though, fins and webbed toes do help."

More silence.

"Nimbus," Selkut suddenly spoke, "What was that meeting this morning about?"

"You weren't there?" I questioned.

"We..." he muttered, glancing at Eve, "Couldn't make it..."

"Ah, I see,"

Indeed I did see, I saw that these two had been down here fucking like animals while our leader brought justice to a damn traitor. Oh, how I could just tear into his face with my claws, feel his hot blood dripping from them! The thought scared me. Why was I thinking so irrationally? Why would I want to hurt my own brother?! Get a hold on yourself, Nimbus, he's your brother! Still, the rage was unwavered.

There was still that urge to draw blood...

"A traitor was tried and executed." I said tersely.

The two looked at me intently. That sure as hell got their attention!

"Who was it?" Selkut said in a voice so low it was almost a growl.

"Oh, no one of very much importance!" I snorted with a grin.

"Nimbus..." he was growling now.

"Heh, old Quartzite got what was comin' to him! Got his throat torn out!" I laughed, "Big, bloody, fucking mess it was!" I continued to chuckle uncontrollably.

Eve gasped, and even Muse looked taken aback. I wondered, was it because of the news, or my erratic behavior? Both?!

"Well, I needn't hold you two up," I continued, not waiting for their responses, "Surely you have much more important things to do than talk to me! Goodbye Muse, Goodbye Eve!" and with that I abruptly turned and walked towards the river once more.

Behind me I heard a distraught Eve whisper something. Surely she thought I would never hear it, and yet I did! Didn't you know, you dumb aquatic, mountain drakes have the keenest of ears! No, you didn't! Fatal mistake! Fatal mistake, you fucking aquatic!

She whispered but one word and one word only: odd. Odd?! That was it, no longer could I contain myself. No longer could I deal with their jeering hypocrisy! Odd? I'll show you odd! I'll show you odd and angered and crazed! Yes, you want to see odd, I'll fucking show you!

The congenial facade fell away like autumn leaves, allowing the real me, the violent, mad me, to come forth.

"Fancy me odd, do you? You fucking hypocrite!" I snarled venomously at her, whipping around to stare face to face with the dragoness.

She shrunk back and Selkut yelled; something to the effect of 'get the fuck away!' I didn't need to be told.

Fucking stepped out of line, did I? Did I sully your stroll by the river, Eve? Are you scared of me? Did I live up to everything Selkut told you about me? Did I?

"Go away, Nimbus!" my brother's voice, all cheeriness having drained from it, shouted angrily to me from far behind.

Yes, crawl away, Nimbus, you fucking lizard! Bloody, bloody! Crawl away back to your cave! Friendless, mateless lizard, who needs you?!

Once more the self-loathing rose up as I walked away. Why must you behave like that, you dumb brute?! She probably wasn't even talking about you! Oh, how The Provider would chastise you for that! Cooperation is the foundation of unity, the foundation of this colony!

"Stupid, stupid, stupid!" I hissed.

For some time I walked, spasmodically muttering nonsense to myself.

I rounded a bend in the river where, up ahead, three whelps played in the water; their underdeveloped wings flapping uselessly as they wrestled. To my surprise, when I passed they drew near, one making the daring mistake of trying to pounce on my tail.

"Hey!" I growled menacingly, "Do it again and I'll have the right mind to carry you out into the current, maybe you'll float all the way down river and be found by some human who'll eat you."

The whelps looked at me defiantly.

"You wouldn't do that!" the one that stood at my tail jeered. "You're barely any older than us. Besides," he added, "I can swim!"

"Oh, you can, can you? Well then, swim cross the river." I rumbled, sitting back on my haunches. Amusing they were, and it was greatly helping diffuse my anger.

The little drake looked at the river fearfully, not making a move.

"Well, go on." I continued.

Still, nothing.

"That's what I thought." I muttered contently. I looked down at the discouraged little drake, "Don't worry though, you'll be able to fly soon enough." I assured.

I looked at the rest of the whelps.

"Shouldn't your parents be watching? The river is quite high, if you were to get sucked into the rapids it would be right bit terrifying." A right bit bloody too, I thought internally.

"They're off hunting." one trilled, a small dragoness with the most beautiful emerald scales.

"Mmm... well, tell them that I said they oughtn't leave their whelps at the river alone." I paused, flicking my tail at the three of them, "All of you, stay in the shallows, I haven't any need to go and rescue a little idiot who swam out too far. Now, off with you!"

Quickly, they returned to their watery romp. I watched for a moment, daydreaming about what it would be like to have whelps of my own, before continuing on.

For the first time today I was content.