The right to mate.
#3 of Cinder's tale
The right to mate.
Cinder landed by the frozen lake, looking over the thick ice covered surface. His head hovered over it as he let lose a small controlled burst of flame to melt a small piece of the ice. He soon stopped and started drinking from the cold uncovered and melted water, wasn't ideal but at least it was warmer due to him melting the ice. He was interrupted from his drinking by something hitting him from behind and sending him at the lake and he slid across the frozen surface. As he struggled up he looked to see a male wyvern had just tackled him and jumped down onto the lake with him. "You know, there are a billion better ways of catching me for a meal." Cinder grunted, getting ready to defend himself.
"If I wanted to eat you dragon I would have killed you while you where unaware. But no, it appears you've taken a wyvern as a mate..." He said.
"How can you..."
"You have to smell of a wyverns heat all over you. You want to play wyvern fine, but you have to take the responsibilities. Including the right to have Rianna as your mate. This can be challenged by a fight by any male at anytime, starting now." The wyvern growled before charging Cinder. Cinder dodged by sidestepping at the last minute and slashing at the wyvern as he went past. The wyvern growled as Cinder's claws left three long cut lines, running all across the side of him. He then charged him but stopped and as he slid towards Cinder, he brought his claws up and started to slash at Cinder. Cinder attempted to dodge, knowing that a wyverns claws where much, much more deadly than his own. But it did not last forever as the wyvern got a successful strike on Cinder's left foreleg producing a loud yelp from Cinder, and causing him to fall onto his side. The wyvern looked him over and said. "Do you surrender your mate and escape with your life?" The wyvern asked.
Cinder grunted and despite his wound protesting he brought himself up anyway. "Think I'd give up so easy?"
"Yes, must admit your tough for a dragon. But that's all you'll ever be, a dragon. Not a proud, strong wyvern just a weak, pathetic and miserable dragon." The wyvern said and as he expected Cinder leaped at him but he quickly kicked him and sent Cinder flying back across the lake.
"Argh..." Cinder grunted, feeling his chest as his sliding came to a halt, there was defiantly something broken. He looked to see the wyvern walking over, his claws making tapping sounds across the ice...ice. That's when he realized how stupid him and the wyvern had been, what was the one thing a dragon could do but a wyvern couldn't, breath fire of course. Cinder then started to build up a strong fire ball inside his maw, knowing he would only have one shot at this before the wyvern realised what he was doing. He watched as the wyvern slowly approached.
"Not even gonna get up? Oh well, your mate is mine now." The wyvern said, thinking he had already won. That was until a large fire ball hurtled towards him, he did his natural reaction and used his wings to shield himself but failed to realise the fire ball was not aimed at him. It impacted the ice in front of the wyvern, some of it hitting his wing. The wyvern unfolded his wing and grunted and took a step forward, big mistake. The ice, now extremely thinned by the heat of the fire broke under him, causing him to fall into the icy waters bellow.
"I'd say it looks like I win now." Cinder said and stood up and turned to leave. He stopped, hearing the wyverns struggling and feeling guilty. He felt like he should help the wyvern but he didn't know why, he just tried to kill him to take away the only love he's ever known. But then again he can just be let go and live through the humiliation of losing to a dragon. But then he thought about what if he tried to attack again. "Very well." He muttered, finally deciding. He went back to the wyvern and pulled him out of the lake. "Now go and be grateful I spared you." As Cinder turned to leave the wyvern pounced on him and growled, clearly not giving up.
"Should of left me to die stupid dragon." The wyvern grunted and went for the killing bite but froze as he literally started to freeze. Cinder was using his ice breath to freeze the already wet and freezing wyvern. He carefully got out from under the frozen wyvern and pushed him back into the icy depths.
Cinder collapsed, adrenaline wearing off and he started to feel the pain from his wounds. He coughed up a bit of blood, not realising how bad the kick to the chest was before. He sighed and muttered. "If another male comes I'm done for." He muttered and looked up at the clear skies, keeping an eye out for the shape of wyverns or other predators.
He sat there for quite sometime, trying to recover enough to pull himself back home. But it was not enough, he saw the shape of a wyvern in the sky, coming right for him. He closed his eyes as he felt it landing and walk over. "Make this quick and painless." He muttered but he then felt a lick, a non acidic lick at that. His eyes shot open and he looked at the wyvern recognising it, or her rather immediately.
"Think you could be gone long without me worrying?" Rianna asked and the two kissed briefly.
"Glad you did, might have been dinner for someone if you didn't." Cinder said after they broke the kiss, he turned away and started coughing a bit of blood up again.
"What happened?"
"Wyvern, came to challenge me for you. But I beat him." Cinder said.
"Really?" Rianna asked surprised and the added. "What happened to him."
"He's frozen at the bottom of the lake right about now." Cinder replied and coughed a bit again.
"Come on, lets get you home." She said as she with ease picked him up and put him on her back. She then carried him back home glad he was able to beat another wyvern, that should make things easier for awhile at least.