New World, New Problems

[Talon]

Prologue

The massive cloaked figure walked down a muddy road, grumbling to itself. The night sky was choked by black clouds, and the air was filled with a constant drizzle of rain.

“If this thing is here, it better show its-damn-self.” The cloaked being growled.

It glanced up at the sky, a red-orange eye glaring out of the hood. It muttered something again before continuing down the path, nearly slipping on the wet dirt. It saved itself from falling, however, while muttering obscenities. It stopped as one of it’s ears twitched, detecting sound. The large shroud whipped around to see the distorted black outline of a monstrous form, which bore two large, back-curving horns upon its head. The shrouded figure’s red-orange eyes shone from out of the hood as the other shape asked,

“Are you the one that pathetic mage has sent?”

The cloaked figure issued a low growl as it reached behind it slowly, revealing a clawed, scaly hand. The other figure merely smirked as it spread its arms, a red glow surrounding its clawed hands.

“I don’t know who you are, or what affiliation you have with that mage, but I suggest you head to whatever foul pit you came from and stay there. Lest you be incinerated.” The horned one hissed.

The shrouded figure smirked, its hand touching a hilt.

“Screw you.” It replied.

With that, the other figure hissed as two bat-like wings unfurled behind it, the hands now shrouded in crackling red energy. The shrouded figure rushed forward, unsheathing a blade as long as it was tall. It caught itself, and just before the smaller figure’s blade was about to impact, it somersaulted into the air and dropkicked the cloaked one square on the head. The cloaked one stumbled backwards, its hood falling backwards.

“S***!” It muttered.

The exact features could not be seen, but a square-ish, draconic muzzle was visible in the dark, along with a mane of blade-like hair at the back of it’s head. It glared as the winged figure folded it’s arms and laughed.

“Oh, so you’re THAT imbecile. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but your name starts with an ‘s’, if I’m not mistaken…” It stated, grinning.

The larger draconic figure merely raised its blade in a defensive position and stated,

“The name’s Shive. Remember it.”

The winged figure folded it’s arms and scoffed. Shive’s eyes narrowed as he aimed his other palm at the winged creature, muttering a quick indiscernible phrase. The winged one’s arms slowly fell to his sides, eyes widening.

“There’s no way you-”

“Know this spell? Yeah, there is.” Shive interrupted.

Spirals of crimson flame suddenly coursed around Shive’s shoulder, then surged down his arm into his hand, coalescing into a sphere. The draconic entity let loose a deranged grin as the orb launched forward and impacted against the winged aberration, exploding upon impact. As the flames washed over the beast, it’s true shape was revealed.

It resembled a gargoyle almost exactly, but with a few exceptions. For one, it had no gums to hold its diamond-shaped teeth, which were constantly exposed. It had two large horns that swept backwards behind its head and curved downwards at the end. Each forearm bore a cluster of spikes that ran up to the elbow, their bases slanted. It’s upper abdomen, shins, and forearms seemed to be composed of plates made of smooth rock, and two large, blade-like spikes emerged from each shoulder, slanted backwards. Each hand harbored large, serrated claws, as did each foot. A three-foot long tail protruded from it’s behind. Finally, it’s large draconic wings seemed tattered in a few places, and his red, pupil-less eyes seemed to bore into the soul.

“You… will pay for that…” He hissed as the inferno dissipated.

Shive merely gave a quirky grin in return, hefting his blade onto his shoulder. The gargoyle stood up at his full height again, eyes narrowed. He in return, aimed his palm at Shive as black, shadowy energy formed around it. It then surged out as eight bolts of black energy that flew out to the sides before homing back in on Shive, impacting into the anthro’s torso and knocking him onto his butt.

Shive stood up, rubbing his head. He growled as he hefted the blade, rushing forward once more. However, before the blade could impact, the gargoyle merely backhanded the blade away and lashed forward with his other claw. To the dragon anthro’s surprise, the gargoyle’s hand and forearm suddenly melted into a serrated spike, which punched through Shive’s cloak and into flesh.

The dragon anthro roared in pain as the gargoyle twisted its arm, driving it deeper into the flesh and sending blood spurting out from the hole. The gargoyle grinned and hissed,

“The next time you hear the name Barias, remember the agony you’re about to feel.”

The gargoyle called Barias then shoved the spike even deeper, the point rupturing from Shive’s back in a crimson spray. The giant screamed in pain when the gargoyle ripped the spike out, the appendage forming back into a clawed hand. The fiend then punched Shive square in the jaw, sending him tumbling backwards before Barias took to the air.

Shive turned his direction towards the airborne demon, his teeth bared in a menacing growl. The dragon-anthro ripped his cloak off and spread two large wings, taking to the air, brandishing his massive blade. Barias merely smirked again as black energy crackled between his claws, a sphere forming at the center of the energy’s impact.

The anthromorph narrowed his eyes as the sphere expanded, now sheathed in an outline of red. Barias grinned as air began to pull towards the sphere, along with any other matter in the air, never to be seen again. Shive’s eyes widened as he realized what the fiend was doing…

“You can’t be serious!” He boomed.

Barias’s grin widened as he spread his arms further apart, the sphere drawing in more matter. Shive snorted and barreled towards the gargoyle as he began to inhale deeply, making Barias cock an eyebrow. Before the gargoyle could even think about ducking, Shive exhaled, sending a stream of green, bubbling fluid splashing into the aerial fiend’s face. The demon suddenly blinked, then let out an-ear-splitting scream as the fluid began smoking and eating away at his features, corroding away his stone-like skin rapidly.

“A-acid?!” Barias screamed, shaking his head to rid himself of his nuisance.

Suddenly, a crackling sound became apparent to both of them, and they simultaneously glanced at the sphere Barias was creating. To their dismay, the sphere looked like it was cracking. As the two screamed in alarm, the sphere flashed red, then suddenly erupted in an explosion of energy that enveloped everything in sight…


Chapter 1


The teenager stopped before the junkyard gates, chaining his bike to the mesh-wire fence under the setting sun. He pushed the gates open, nodding to the skinny, scruffy-looking man dressed in ragged clothes sitting near the entrance.

“Hey, Frank.” The teen acknowledged.

The man merely nodded, then asked,

“What’cha lookin’ fer today?”

The teen replied,

“Oh… just more crap, is all.”

Frank nodded, then waved his hand as if to motion the boy onward. The boy shrugged and walked into the field of junk piles, scanning them for anything useful.

He was about 16, and stood about six feet tall. His skin was darker than most, for he had Native American in his heritage. His hair was black and curly, while his eyes were a blue-green color. He currently wore black jeans and a blue t-shirt, and had a skinny yet muscled build.

He stopped abruptly, and dove into one of the nearby piles, throwing random things around. He pulled what appeared to be a broken toaster out of the pile, then frowned, throwing it behind him. He continued to root through the pile, muttering,

“Geez, even in a junkyard I can’t find what I’m looking for…”

His attention was temporarily drawn away from the junk pile as he noticed there was more light than there had just been. He glanced up to see a red light in the air, which slowly dissipated. But before it vanished, a figure fell out of the light, landing into a nearby junk pile and sending waste everywhere. Of course, the teen was curious, so he slowly made his way towards the crash site, cautiously crawling amongst the rubble.

He stopped abruptly, shocked to the core at what he found.

For in the crater lay what appeared to be a large humanoid cross hybrid of human and dragon. It stood a good 9 feet tall, with a 10 foot wingspan, and even the shoulders were about 4 ½ feet apart. It was big. The thing’s scales were somewhere between brown and light-brown, and had a ‘mane’ of dark-green, blade-like hair jutting out from the back of it’s head, a pair of straight horns just above the mane. It was obviously well-muscled, even though it wore a dark-purple armor that covered everything but its rectangular head, 4-foot tail, hands and wings. The thing’s fingers ended in razor-sharp claws, and it’s open mouth revealed a set of dagger-like, yet oddly even teeth.

It shuddered suddenly, then coughed out a mouthful of blood as its eyes slowly slid open. The teen’s eyes widened as the hair on the back of his neck stood on end. The thing’s eyes looked almost human, aside from the fact that the iris’s were a red-orange color. It sat up and shook its head, glancing around through half-open eyes. The teen gasped and rolled behind the pile, breathing heavily. That thing almost saw him!

The dragon-thing coughed again, then stood up shakily. It glanced around, eyes slowly widening as it realized something.

“This isn’t where I was before at that one… time… before… urgh” It stated in a clearly masculine voice before drifting off.

The teenager peeked up, only to repress a scream of surprise. The thing was standing on top of the pile, looking down on him. It’s expression was emotionless as the teen backed away slowly before breaking into a run, the thing spreading its wings behind him. The teen shouted,

“ACK! I’m sorry if I disturbed you or something! Just please don’t eat me!”

Before he knew it, the thing’s shadow passed over him, and the humanoid landed before him. The teen stopped and fell backwards, scooting away from the beast as the dragon-anthro asked,

“Uh… hi. Sorry for scaring you, but, um, could you tell me where I am?”

The teen was about to suffer several heart attacks. This thing was talking… and it wanted to know where he was? Then again, it probably wasn’t from around here…

“Uh… you’re in …Colorado…”

The anthro just gave him a blank stare in return.

“You know… Colorado? The Centennial State?”

“One of the United States of America?”

Still blank.

“On planet Earth?”

Nothing.

The teen sighed.

“Okay, I guess you’re not from around here. Do you have a name?”

The anthro reacted this time. He nodded and replied,

“Shive.”

“Shive?” The teen asked.

“Shive. And you?”

The teen shrugged.

“Cameron.”

“I see… Cameron. Hmm. Yes. Quite.” Shive replied, scratching his chin.

“Yeah. Uh… your stomach is leaking.” Cameron stated, pointing at Shive’s stomach.

The anthro glanced down to see his abdomen leaking blood and other fluids at a fast rate. Shive merely blinked, then shoved his hand into the hole the gargoyle Barias had made earlier. The leak stopped.

“All better!” Shive exclaimed.

He then fell face-first onto the ground. Cameron jumped at this, then shook his head, wondering,

There is something VERY wrong with this guy… aside from the leaking...

Cameron bent down and poked Shive in the neck, asking,

“Uh… Shive? You okay?”

Shive merely gave him a thumbs-up as he staggered to his feet.

“Peachy! I’ve just some vital fluids, is all…” He replied, forcing a grin.

He was clearly in pain as he staggered forward. Cameron couldn’t help but feel sorry for the guy, so he sighed and asked,

“Shive, do you have anywhere to go?”

Shive glanced back, then at the ground.

“Umm… no… why?”

Cameron shrugged.

“Well, if you need somewhere to sleep tonight… you can come with me to my house.”

Shive perked up, and turned around.

“Really? You mean that?”

Cameron nodded, a small smile starting to form.

“Sure. You just gotta make sure no one sees you. Kay? You’d cause a bit of trouble in this neighborhood.”

Shive nodded, and the two walked back to the entrance of the junkyard. Cameron stopped dead in his tracks when he suddenly remembered Frank, one of the junkyard hobos. He slowly turned to Frank, who was staring as Shive dully. He merely nodded as Shive walked past, and Cameron exhaled in relief.

Frank’s too drunk to know what’s going on half of the time… He recalled.

Frank blinked at Shive, then looked at the bottle in his hand.

“This stuff’s stronger ‘an I thought…” He mumbled.

Shive stopped outside of the fence as Cameron hopped onto his bike. He turned towards Shive, who seemed to be staring around in amazement. Cameron snapped his fingers, drawing Shive’s attention to himself, and the dragon-thing turned towards him.

“Okay Shive, since you can apparently fly, I want you to get as high as possible, but not too far because you still need to be able to see me. Now, get up there and follow me while I ride my bike, and don‘t lose track of me. Okay?” He stated.

Shive slowly nodded, then spread his wings and burst into the air, momentarily creating a small wind tunnel behind him as he flew. Cameron got back up and brushed himself off, then hopped onto his bike and pedaled madly down the street. The teen dodged in and out of alleyways, through the traffic, and finally burst down the sidewalk towards the residential district of the city. Meanwhile, the anthro above was shocked and confused at what he saw. Enormous skyscrapers, steel cars, mailboxes, and billboards?!

Shive blinked at this astounding change in scenery, and he started to get a headache.

What happened when I passed out? I can hardly remember… what happened before.

He shook it out of his mind for now, and remembered to follow Cameron. He had almost lost sight of him! Luckily, the teenager had stopped for Shive to catch up, which Shive did frantically. After about ten minutes of playing Follow-The-Leader, the two finally came to a stop at a tan, single-story house on the outskirts of the city, overlooking the hilly lands beyond the city‘s edge. The anthro landed, and Cameron nervously pushed him into the backyard, shutting the fence gate behind him. The backyard was hilly as well, and was dominated only by a small shed-looking structure, and a deck leading into the house.

Cameron led him over to the shed-structure as the sunset began to disappear. He swung the door open and flicked on a light, stating proudly,

“My home away from home.”

Inside was actually rather well-furnished and well-kept, with a cabin-looking interior wall, several bean-bag chairs, a recliner, a single coffee table, a large television positioned on a table, and a couch opposite of said TV, with the bean-bags positioned around it. Shive’s eye-ridges rose, and Cameron smirked gleefully.

“Impressive, eh? I built this shack and hauled all of this in here myself. It’s even got electricity and insulation.”

Shive didn’t know what insulation meant, but he was rather intrigued. He glanced around, and his tail swished. Cameron saw the look of confusion on his face, and asked,

“What’s wrong Shive?”

Shive turned back and replied,

“I… I don’t know anything about any of this… these… large buildings, those metal slug-things, and… I’m really, really confused. I don‘t know what all of this is…”

Cameron blinked. He knew this’d be very difficult to explain…

“Um… do you read?” Cameron asked.

Shive nodded, and Cameron sighed in relief. He dug into his backpack and pulled out several books, each with the word ‘History’ on it, then pulled out an even thicker book labeled ’Dictionary’. He handed them to Shive and stated,

“This is about all the explaining I can do for you. Just read these, and not the pages that have questions on them. If you come across any words you don‘t understand, look them up in the big book. They’re alphabetically arranged.”

Shive nodded, and as Cameron got up to leave, Shive stated,

“Hey, Cameron? Thanks for letting me stay the night here.”

Cameron grinned and nodded, replying,

“You’re welcome. Oh, and you need to clean that wound of yours. How’d you get it?”

Shive glanced at his stomach, which had dried and partially healed up by now, but hurt like hell when he thought about it. He remembered the gargoyle who had shoved his claw through Shive’s stomach, and he scowled for a second, replying,

“I got into a fight with a guy named Barias. He was a jerk.”

Cameron nodded, then dug into his pocket and threw Shive some bandages. Shive looked confused, then asked,

“You carry this around with you?”

“Never know when you might need it.” Cameron replied.

Shive shrugged as Cameron shut the door, replying,

“I’ll bring you some food after dinner.”

As the door shut, Shive sat onto the creaky couch, and reached for one of the books, opening it to page one…

[Talon]

Chapter 2


Cameron opened the door to the ‘shack’ with a Tupperware bowl filled with what appeared to be ground beef and some sort of noodle, then paused. Shive was already halfway through the second book! Cameron shut the door behind him, and Shive glanced up at the teen, smirking.

“Man, Shive… you read fast…” Cameron muttered.

Shive grinned and nodded vigorously, then snapped his attention to the food. His nostrils flared, and a trickle of drool fell from the side of his maw, making Cameron shudder.

“That’s nasty. Here’s your food.” Cameron gagged, handing him the bowl.

Shive snatched it off of the table and threw the contents into his mouth, chewing, and his eyes widened.

“This… this is great! What’s it called?”

“Hamburger Helper.” Cameron replied, trying not to laugh.

Shive stared at the bowl, then asked,

“Got any more?”

Cameron nodded, his sides hurting. He ran back to the house to get some more as Shive licked the bowl, until finally, he actually put it in his mouth. He chewed the plastic, then paused, a displeased look on his face.

“Blech. This tastes nasty.”

Cameron then walked in, and glanced around, confused. He turned to Shive, who spat out a piece of the bowl, and Cameron screamed,

“YOU ATE THE BOWL? What’s wrong with you?!”

Shive shrugged and snatched the new bowl from Cameron and devoured its confines. Cameron shrugged, then his eyes got wide as he glanced at Shive’s stomach. The wound was closing!

“Shive… ar-are you doing that?” He asked, pointing a shaky hand at the wound.

Shive glanced down at the wound, and shrugged.

“Yeah. I recover faster when I eat. Go figure.”

Cameron was shocked. That was an interesting ability! He snapped out of it when Shive poked him in the stomach, and was about to ask something when Cameron interjected,

“Ah hell, I’ll just get you all of what’s left.”

Shive grinned and thanked Cameron as the teen went to the house once more. As he stepped through the sliding door, a man assumed to be his father asked,

“Geez, Cameron. Hungry tonight?”

The man was somewhere in his mid-forties, and was the apparent Indian side of Cameron’s heritage, possibly half-Indian. His hair was shoulder-length and black, with streaks of gray. Cameron glanced nervously from side to side, then nodded. He grabbed the pan the food was in and rushed back out of the door, and his father shrugged, muttering,

“Eh. He’s a teen.”

Cameron slowly opened the door to see Shive poking at his wound with interest. He snapped his attention to Cameron, and snatched the pan from his hands, bringing the contents into his maw. Cameron looked shocked.

“Uh Shive? That pan’s hot.”

Shive stopped, then realized he heard a hissing sound. He shouted and dropped the pan, blowing on his burnt hands. He gave Cameron a hurt look, which the teen returned with a smirk.

“Hey, you should’ve known it’d be hot.”

Shive stuffed his hands into his mouth and started sucking on them, reducing their temperature. Cameron snickered as he opened the door, stating,

“Okay Shive, I gotta go to sleep now. I have school tomorrow. You know what school is, right?”

Shive paused, a blank stare on his face.

“Yes… wait, no. Wait… yes. Yes.” He replied.

Cameron slowly blinked, then sighed, rubbing his eyes.

“See ya tomorrow. Try to find something to occupy your time while I’m gone.” He advised.

Shive nodded, and Cameron closed the door behind him as he went. Shive’s eyes wandered to the pan that had injured him previously, and he scowled at it. He grabbed it by the handle and bit down on a large section of the pan itself, biting through the metal and tearing a hunk out. Shive spat out the metal, then exhaled a blast of acid onto the remainder of the pan, liquefying it quickly.

“That’ll show you!” He hissed, jabbing a claw at the puddle of what was once the pan.

He sighed, then glanced at the books he had yet to finish. He shrugged, then picked up the book, flipping to where he last left off.

“Meh. They call these skirmishes wars? Bah! I’ve been in worse.” He muttered.

Within the next hour, he finished it, and was beginning to understand more about this world he had so unfortunately stumbled into, thanks to that accursed gargoyle…

Shive’s eyes suddenly widened in realization. If he was brought here because of that spell malfunction, then… what if Barias had been sent here as well? He shuddered at the thought.

“Well… I guess I know what I’m doing tomorrow…” He muttered.

He slumped onto the couch, yet his neck lay uncomfortably on the armrest, and his shins jutted out over the other end. Shive grumbled, then rolled off of the couch, only to land on the table next it, smashing the piece of furniture. Shive grumbled again, and rolled off of the remains of the table, pushing them aside. As he lay on the floor in the center of Cameron’s ‘shack’, he glanced at his armored fist, then shook his head.

He started peeling off his armor and carelessly tossing it into a corner as he let out a yawn so powerful, it shook the windows. It wasn’t until he laid down that he realized how tired he was, and his eyelids drooped heavily as his head slumped onto the floor. Under the armor he had just taken off, he wore what appeared to be a blue, sleeveless tunic-shirt and a pair of what looked like gray sweatpants. Both were dirty and torn, but the dragon anthro hardly cared. Cleanliness wasn’t a large concern to him, since he was usually trying to save his neck.

The monstrous being then considered how he was going to get back to his own world, if that was possible. In the meantime, he was going to find more out about this interesting plane, and, if necessary, find Barias and kill him. Until then, Shive’s eyes closed as he drifted off into sleep…

* * * * * *

The officer’s car casually drove down the city streets as lightning crackled high above it, the angry sky pounding the vehicle with rain. The man in uniform was unaffected by it, however, his happy mood and radio blocking it out of his mind. The car turned a corner, only to slam on the brakes as a large black shape bolted in front of his car, vanishing into a nearby alleyway. The officer attempted to gather his nerves, taking in deep, calming breaths as he pulled over to the sidewalk and turned off the car. He stepped out, muttering,

“Probably just some stupid deer…”

He pulled out his flashlight as he stepped into the entrance of the alleyway, only to jump when a black cat ran out, hissing. The officer exhaled in relief, trying to calm his nerves as he inched towards the alleyway once more. He slowly turned around the corner, aiming his pistol into the darkness, then jumped into the entrance and shone his flashlight down the alley, his tension rising. He hyperventilated for a bit before his mind caught up with him, revealing nothing but trashcans and scattered filth. His shoulders sagged, and he smirked, rubbing his eyes.

“Heh. Must need sleep; I’m seeing things.” He muttered.

He deposited his pistol into its holder and spun the flashlight on his hand, and was about to put it away when he heard what he thought was something scrabbling on concrete. Something like… claws.

His face drained of color as he whipped around and shone the flashlight down the alleyway, revealing nothing yet again. He kept the light aimed at the alleyway as he scratched the side of his head with his other hand.

“I… could’ve sworn…” He mumbled.

He paused, then his eyes drifted up the left alley wall, and blanched when he saw two red pin-points of light in the darkness. With a shaky hand, he aimed the flashlight at the two points, revealing a large, humanoid creature standing on the wall using all four limbs.

“Wh-wh-what the h-hell is that?!” The officer stuttered.

The creature let out a blood-chilling hiss as it slowly crept forward, eyes glinting. The man let out a scream as the flashlight was dropped, and a spatter of blood streaked the ground. The eyes seemed to smirk as the rest of the cop’s corpse was hauled into the alleyway, the blood that it had spilled now washing away into the sewer drain…


Chapter 3


Shive landed in the junkyard just as the sun broke free of the horizon, only to be blocked out once more by the bleak gray clouds coating the sky completely. He glanced around, trying to find the area he had impacted the day before, searching for something he had lost: His sword. He was in the clothes he’d slept in last night, not finding a need to wear his armor for a simple recovery job. This place didn’t seem very dangerous to him anyway; hell, none of the humans had ever seen anything like Shive!

He sighed, slapping his forehead and running it down his muzzle in annoyance. This place would be so much easier to explore had he not been told to stay out of sight. He threw his arms back, causing his spine to make an audible popping sound, which in turn made Shive wince. A carpeted floor was softer than he usually slept on, but not when he didn’t have much room to roll about in. He grumbled as he rubbed his spine, moving onwards in the search for his weapon.

He occasionally glanced up at the sky and smirked at the fact it was cloudy, yet it wasn’t raining. He didn’t particularly care for the rain, but the shade from the clouds gave the area a perfect temperature, and a shower couldn‘t hurt at the moment. He continued on, occasionally ducking down whenever movement was heard, usually turning out to be some dog or loose piece of junk. He bared his teeth and growled for a moment, then scrabbled onward. His eyes darted back and forth over the area, then his eyebrows rose as he reached the crater site.

He stepped down into his self-made imprint, then did a full 360-degree scan of the area. To find a nine-foot long piece of metal in a junkyard wasn’t as easy as it sounded… if it sounded remotely easy at all. He paused, then slapped himself across the face for being an idiot.

“Duh!” He exclaimed, shoulders sagging.

He smirked, then swept his eyes across the area as the optics became outlined in a reddish glow. He stopped upon a pile of crushed cars, and his tongue slid out of the right side of his cheek. He hopped out of the hole and snuck over to the base of the scrap-heap, his eyes laying upon a long black handle to something. The end of the hilt had a rounded ruby set into it, and the handle itself was wrapped it somewhat-worn black leather. He smirked, then grabbed the handle and heaved with all of his might, sending shrapnel and dirt flying from the resulting force.

He then began to rub the filth off of the 8-foot long, 6-inch wide blade with cautious care. He finished, and looked at the massive sword in pride, inspecting it from hilt to point. It had a solid-black guard, shaped much like an ‘X’ with pointed ends, bearing a diamond-shaped ruby in the center. The blade itself was a shining silver with a metallic red tint to it, covered in scratches from previous battles, but still sharp as ever. A thin dark-gray line ran down the very center of the side of the blade, and seemed to shimmer in the dim light.

Shive grinned, then bent down to pick up what appeared to be a worn leather strap with an iron clasp on one of the sides. Shive threw the strap around his neck and right arm, then twirled the blade in a circle before hooking it into the clasp with a single fluent motion. He nodded to himself, then readied himself for take-off, when he heard voices. He ducked down behind a junk-pile and perked his ears up to get a better listen.

“Well well well… what do we have here? Some old man down on his luck? What do you guys say about putting him outta his misery?” A voice asked.

Shive’s head poked out from the side of the pile to see a group of drunkards stumbling towards Frank, the junkyard hobo Shive encountered the previous day. There were about five or six, and each carried what could pass for a blunt weapon. Frank stumbled over backwards in his tattered old overcoat as he tried getting away from the group, but tripped over a stray car bumper. He fell backwards, and the mini-mob staggered forward, ready to beat the hobo into a bloody pulp.

This didn’t go over well with Shive.

The large anthro burst out from behind the pile, taking a chunk out of it as he rushed the group. The drunkards all screamed in surprise at first, then they turned into howls of fear as they got a brief picture of what was charging them. The group began to turn tail and run, only to collapse in a spray of crimson as their torsos were ripped open, entrails leaking out. The dragon-thing skidded to a halt, then licked the blood off of his claws as he glared at the fallen troublemakers. He stared at them for a few seconds more, before muttering,

“May want to get rid of those…”

He inhaled deeply, then blasted out a wave of acid onto the bodies, watching them melt away into nothingness. He glanced over at Frank, who, with a calm expression, was watching him back. Shive made an odd choking noise in realization, then turned around when the hobo stated,

“Thanks for the save. I couldn’t have taken all of them on my own.”

Shive stopped dead in his tracks, then looked at the man over his shoulder. He wasn’t scared of Shive? True, he was drunk, but Shive’s presence still should’ve sent the junkyard hobo running.

“Uh… you’re welcome?” Shive stated/asked.

Frank suddenly grinned.

“You’re staying at Cameron’s, aren’t you?” He asked.

Shive nodded, and Frank sighed.

“Good. You’ll probably be safest out there.”

Frank looked up at the gray sky, and scowled.

“Well, best get to my crap-shack. Cameron won’t be back at his place for about five more hours, assuming you know what hours are?” He stated.

Shive nodded slowly, soaking in the information. Frank smiled, scratching at his thick beard.

“Good! I’ll be seeing’ ya later.” He muttered, standing up.

The hobo then wandered off elsewhere, leaving Shive to scratch his head. The beast shrugged, then spread his wings and bounded into the air, smirking.

Well… seems I learn something new about humans every day… He thought.

He spun about in the air as he flew through the sky, occasionally landing on a building’s roof and ducking down, watching the people below. From what he had learned from those books, those metal things were called ‘automobiles’, and these structures were made of ‘concrete’. Shive stifled a giddy laugh at this knowledge.

“Yay! I’m learning!” He muttered.

Giving the streets one last innocent look, he took wing again as the skies above began to rumble and boom, threatening the world below with a storm. Shive grinned with that upcoming event, thinking a storm would be great at the moment, so he whooped, and, not watching where he was going, slammed into the side of a building and skidded down it’s length into an alleyway. He groaned, rubbing his head, then jerked his head up as his nostrils flared. He glanced around anxiously, growling,

“He’s been here… in this exact spot…”

He rose to his feet, his claws taping on his sword’s handle as he crept forward, then stopped as the smell of blood assaulted his nostrils. He looked down to see the mangled corpse of a policeman, ripped in half, laying lifeless with his head face-down in the concrete. Shive scowled, knowing this was Barias’s work. He glanced from side to side, muttering,

“I’m sorry you had to encounter him, sir.”

He closed the corpse’s eyelids shut, then flipped him onto his back. He flew onto the nearby roof as the clouds rumbled once more, then began to unleash a hail of raindrops unto the world below. The water pelted off of Shive’s armor, washing the new blood off of it, as well as any other filth engraved into the dark-purple metal. The dragon-anthro sighed, then sat down against the roof’s ledge, running his claw through his hair as he placed his sword next to him. He began to ponder everything he had learned about this world, how ignorant the humans were here, and yet how advanced they were.

He laughed silently to himself, thinking of the human friends he left back home. They weren’t so bad, but then again, they weren’t like most humans, either. How would they react to this place? Better than Shive had, that was for sure. With a change of clothes, they could freely walk around these streets unnoticed. But no, Shive was too large to pass for human, let alone the fact most humans in this place didn’t wear cloaks to conceal themselves.

He shook his head, then laid it back against the ledge-wall, exhaling a small cloud of green vapor that quickly dissipated. His eyes slid open as he watched the rain fall, scratching his chin. He had made friends here too, though small in number, but they could help him adjust here if it was a permanent stay. Only time would tell, it seemed…

* * * * * *

The winged figure paced back and forth within the sewer tunnel, claws clenching and unclenching as it kept hissing to itself in an irritated tone.

“damn spell backfired! How the hell could such a high-level spell backfire so easily?! I took my attention off of it for one second, and the next thing I know, I’m in some f*cked-up, nigh-magic-less world! These humans know nothing of the arcane! They’ve never even seen something like I, it seems!” Barias grumbled.

He hissed again, staring at his right claw. Despite the dark of the sewer, he could tell it was badly burnt and flesh was removed from it.

“I wonder… did that backfire send the buffoon here as well, or just vaporize him?” He pondered out loud.

He abruptly stopped pacing, then his toothy maw broke out into a hideous grin.

“If he’s here…. Then I could kill him, and get a bloodstone from his corpse…. That would give me enough energy to open a portal back to my home plane AND remove him at the same time! It’s perfect!” He stated, eyes widening.

The stony sorcerer started cackling to himself maniacally, throwing his arms to the side as it rose in intensity. He paused, smashing his foot into the body of a rat trying to scuttle beneath of him, then he picked it up and popped it into his mouth, swallowing it whole. He blinked, then continued laughing again. The laugh slowly died down, and he stared at the ceiling, eyes narrowing.

But I’m not strong enough at the moment… I need a few more days to recover until I can take him on again… ah well, I can wait. He thought.

He folded his arms, then scowled at the river of filth about 10 feet away from him.

Disgusting, yet an efficient way to dispose of waste. He thought.

He shrugged, then began walking down the sewer path, his claws scraping against the concrete beneath them. His eyes seemed to glow in the dark as he stopped beneath a manhole cover. On the street above, the lid shuddered upwards, the slowly slid off to the side as the sound of thunder approached his bat-like ears. His crimson optics shone in the shadow of the storm, then he launched out of the hole and into the stormy sky, silently cackling to himself.

[Talon]

Chapter 5


The teen parked his bike into the garage next to his one-story house, then raced into the backyard. He bolted for the shack-like structure, then slowly opened the door, peering around it as he asked,

“Shive? You in here?”

He opened the door a bit more, then flicked on the light switch next to the doorway. As soon as the lights came on, the brown-scaled anthro jumped out, flailing his arms and screaming,

“I’M THE BATMAN!”

Cameron fell over backwards into the mud, his heart pounding. He scowled as his mind caught up with him, and he pulled himself to his feet, brushing himself off. He closed the door behind him, then glanced off to the floor before the television against the wall. A pile of videotapes lay strewn before it, and the VCR was on. Cameron laughed, then stated,

“I see you figured out how to work the VCR.”

Shive nodded vigorously, exclaiming,

“Yeah! I was bored, and so after I got my sword back from that junk-place I came back here, and was wondering what those black rectangles were for! I found out they were about the same size as that black box under that big screen-thing with the buttons, so I put the ‘videotape’ into the slot, and people showed up on that screen! It was awesome! So I watched the first one, then wanted to see more, so I put in another one, and different people showed up in the screen! It’s amazing!”

Cameron blinked, trying to process everything Shive had just said in five seconds-worth of time. He shook his head of clutter, then laughed out loud.

“Yeah… they’re called movies. Should’ve been something in one of those history books about ‘em.” He stated.

Shive paused, then his chin jutted out and his eyebrows furrowed in concentration. A few minutes went by, and his face suddenly lit up in realization.

“Oh! I remember now! They’re pre-recorded, acted-out scenarios meant for entertainment! Or something like that…” He exclaimed.

Cameron nodded, then reached to place a plastic bag onto the table, only to see there was no table. He blinked, glancing around the room, then asked,

“Uh, Shive? Where’d my table go?”

Shive choked, then glanced from side to side nervously.

“I, uh… I kinda… broke it.”

Cameron blinked, then his eye twitched.

“…what?” He asked shortly.

Shive winced, then closed his eyes, sighing.

“Okay, I tried going to sleep last night on the couch, but it was too small, so I rolled off of the couch, and accidentally crushed your table. Sorry.” He muttered, twiddling his thumbs.

Cameron shook in anger for a few seconds, then sighed.

“It’s alright; it was an accident. I can always get another one. Though explaining it to my dad will be another story…” He replied, waving it away.

Shive shook his head sadly, cursing himself silently. Cameron rapped Shive on the head with his knuckles, making the dragon-anthro yelp in surprise and pain.

“I SAID, don’t worry about it.” He growled.

Shive shrugged, then glanced at the plastic bag Cameron just set on the floor, then jabbed a claw at it and asked,

“What’s in there?”

Cameron grinned, then opened the bag, pulling out a two-liter bottle of carbonated green fluid. A piece of colored paper adorned the center of the bottle, with the words ‘Mountain Dew’ across the strip. Cameron held it up before Shive, who stared at it in awe, tilting his head.

“What is THAT?” The dragon anthro asked, amazed.

Cameron’s eyes seemed to glint in the light of the shack, and he proclaimed,

“This, my scaly friend, is called soda. It’s a flavored, carbonated beverage containing caffeine, a substance that… well, makes you… less tired.”

Shive made an ‘ooh’ noise, then Cameron handed him the bottle, unscrewing the top off for the behemoth. The hiss of released pressure came to Shive’s ears, and he looked awe-stricken as he asked,

“So… this is for me? All of it?”

Cameron nodded, and Shive grinned, twitching. He put the mouth to his lips and let the fluid enter his mouth, then swallowed it. His eyes widened, and he looked at the bottle as if it were some divine object.

“This… this ‘soda’…. this is the best thing I’ve ever drank…” He stated.

Cameron snickered as Shive started to drain the bottle, much faster than expected. Cameron’s look changed to one of shock and worry, and he suggested,

“Uh… I wouldn’t drink so much of it at a time if I were you…”

Shive ignored the teen’s warnings, and had drained half of the bottle within the minute. The monstrous humanoid paused, then his stomach let out a low rumble as his maw slowly opened. Cameron backed up, and Shive let loose a belch so powerful, the glass on the windows cracked. Shive clutched at his snout, screeching,

“GAAH! My nose! It’s all tingly!”

Cameron simultaneously cringed from the acrid smell and snickered, replying,

“Yeah. Carbonation can do that to ya.”

Shive made an odd growling sound as his hands twitched near his nose, and he shook his head rapidly, trying to rid himself of the ‘tingle’. Cameron smirked, then slowly cocked an eyebrow. Something was bugging him about Shive…

“Hey Shive? I have an odd question… um… what… what are you, exactly? I mean like, species-wise?” He asked the dragon-thing, pushing his fingers together.

Shive slowly lowered the bottle, and blinked. A small grin spread across his face as he asked,

“Would you believe me if I said I was a half-dragon dragon?”

Cameron blinked, then started rubbing his forehead.

“… that hurt my brain. Please explain.” Cameron muttered.

Shive sighed, laughing as he leaned back on the couch, causing it to make an audible groan.

“My mother was a member of the species known as the Dragkahs, a race of draconic humanoid created from centuries of half-dragons breeding with other races. They’re a relatively rare race, only about 4000 strong last I checked.” He stated.

“And… your father?” Cameron asked.

Shive grinned, eyes still closed, as he continued,

“My father was a brown dragon, an earth-based subspecies of dragon. They lack flight, but they make up for it in physical strength and the ability to burrow.”

Cameron slowly nodded.

“I think I get it now… so, you’re a half-brown dragon Dragkah?” He asked.

Shive nodded, and Cameron grinned. The Dragkas took another swig of the soda, and Cameron glanced around the room, as if looking for something.

“You said something about a sword… where is it?” He asked.

Shive paused, then reached back behind the couch, pulling out the massive 7-foot sword. Cameron’s eyes widened in surprise, and he exclaimed,

“That thing’s as big as you are! How the hell do you fight with it?!”

Shive snickered, replying,

“I can wield it just fine. If I’ve hauled a full-grown, unconscious tyrannosaurus a full mile, I can wield Ragnarok here with ease.”

Cameron nodded, then did a double-take.

“A full-grown… what?”

Shive blinked.

“A tyrannosaurus. Big carnivore with a nasty disposition towards its food.” He stated.

Cameron blinked, shocked.

“Shive… the tyrannosaurus here has been extinct for a LOOONG time… are you saying your world has dinosaurs?” He asked.

Shive nodded.

“Oh yeah, dinosaurs, dragons, undead, elementals, you name it.” He replied.

Cameron’s jaw dropped slightly in amazement.

“Wow… must be a tough place to live in.” The teen commented.

Shive nodded gravely.

“It is… and even the humanoid races squabble amongst themselves constantly… everyone wants to kill everyone else… if you can find friends in that place, you’re a lucky person.” He muttered, hands clenching weakly.

Cameron gave Shive a concerned look, then shrugged.

“Well, I’ve got to go again. Luckily, tomorrow’s Friday, which means I’ll be able to stay up later. See ya then.” Cameron muttered getting to his feet.

Shive nodded as Cameron walked out of the door, closing it behind him. Shive sighed, tapping his claws on Ragnarok’s hilt, clearly bored. His eyes widened when a thought struck him, and he slowly broke into a mischievous grin.

“I wonder what the city’s like at night…” He thought aloud.

He stood up, the slowly opened the door, glancing around. It was definitely nighttime, so he stepped outside, making sure no humans were around to see him fly off. Nodding to himself in conformation, the anthro tensed his muscled legs, then burst into the black sky, spreading his wings and catching a night thermal. He headed for downtown, intrigued by all the lights that so brilliantly revealed the concrete structures. He flew about fifty feet above the tallest skyscrapers so as not to be seen, his eyes sparkling from wonder.

“Wow… this place looks so boring and cruel in the day… but at night, it’s so… fascinating.” He muttered.

He landed on the roof of one of the buildings, in a stance much like that of a gargoyle statue. His eyes swept over the city, then paused when he heard sirens whining on the streets below. He looked down to see several large red vehicles with ladders attached to their tops, men in yellow coats riding them. Shive cocked his head, then glanced down the street to where he assumed they were going, and his eyes widened.

An apartment building was enshrouded in flames from the center up, the inferno slowly spreading downwards. Screams of people still trapped within mingled with the cries of terror from those who had already escaped, making Shive’s ears twitch. He flew closer to the burning building, catching a statement that caused him to hold his breath…

“That building’s gonna collapse in the next five minutes! We can’t get everyone out of there in time! Pull our guys outta there!”

The Dragkah’s eyes narrowed as he stood to his full height, fists clenching.

They’re not going to help them?! Isn’t that their job?!

… … …

f*ck it, if they won’t, I WILL. He thought, spreading his wings.


Chapter 6


The massive anthro flew into the air, so as not to be noticed, then dive-bombed the burning building, breaking through the roof with his bulk. He coughed as his lungs were introduced into the smoke, and his eyes watered over as he looked around the room. No one in here. His pupils dilated when he heard cries from the room below him, and he smashed his powerful fists through the floor into the next room. Huddled near the window was a middle-aged woman and who was assumed to be her son, about nine or ten years of age.

A memory from long ago shot through Shive’s mind, and his pupils dilated into slits. A low growl vibrated through his throat, then the child’s sob brought him back to the current situation. He shook his head, then slinked over to the two humans. The woman was unconscious, but the child was still awake, clinging to his mother like his life depended on it… which it did. The sight tore at Shive’s conscious as he hefted the two into his arms, making the child’s eyes snap open and look up.

Shive kicked the wall down, then blasted a stream of acid at the next walls, until they made it outside of the flaming building. He set them on the ground gently, in an alley close to the crowd.

There’s two more in there, I believe… He thought.

He sped back towards the building, as a burst of fire erupted from one of the lower floors, making Shive sweat a bit in nervousness. He scowled, then punched through the wall to a floor roughly halfway up the building. His eyes attempted to focus through the smoke, and his ears twitched as he heard a raspy cough no too far away from his location. He swiveled around, then thrust his wings forward, blowing the smoke away to reveal an elderly man in a sky-blue bathrobe, lying on the floor. He was sweating from the heat, and trying desperately to crawl to safety, which he knew was a futile effort.

Shive walked over and carefully picked the man up, making him blink and turn to Shive. He nearly passed out, but managed to keep his composure long enough to soil himself. Shive grimaced, trying not to drop the man as he exited out of the hole he made earlier. He set the man down behind a fireman, then coughed before launching off into the air again. He grinned to himself, knowing the fireman had turned when he coughed…

One more to go…

He shouldered through one of the top-most floors, lower than the one the mother and child were on. He coughed, glancing at his bloody knuckles. He shrugged, then continued on his self-proclaimed rescue mission. He ran down a hallway, spotting a humanoid shape near it’s end, and a smaller near it. He ran down the hallway, blinded by the smoke, before grabbing the two figures and smashing his skull through the wall, taking off into the night again.

“MOVE! IT‘S GONNA BLOW!!!” A fireman stated.

Shive’s eyes widened as he heard the low roar behind him, then sped up as the building’s top-half exploded, collapsing onto the bottom half shortly after. The entire building came down like a Domino effect, sending even more smoke into the air, screening Shive’s escape. He coughed, the smoke blinding him and choking him, interfering with his flight pattern as he spiraled towards what he took to be ground.

He landed harder than expected, knees giving way beneath him as he collapsed, dropping his load as he sprawled onto his hands and knees. He coughed and hacked a bit more, his vision returning as he glanced up at the two he rescued. A female, not much older than the age of twenty, lay on the ground. She wore a gray t-shirt and black jeans, with shoulder-length black hair. Next to he lay a small dog, a beagle to be precise. Both seemed lightly burned, and the dog’s back leg was broken. Shive scowled at the dog, assuming it to be hers.

Double-checking the woman, he picked up the dog and flew down behind the crowd, tapping a fireman on the shoulder. The man glanced over his shoulder, and nearly fainted when he saw Shive.

“Uh… hi. Could you do me a favor, and get this dog to a vet?” The Dragkah asked politely, almost pleadingly.

The fireman gave Shive a dumbfounded look as he was handed the beagle, then the half-dragon nodded before taking off. Returning to the roof where he left the girl, he landed silently as she stirred, pulling herself upright, then coughed. She rubbed at her eyes, then shot straight up as she realized where she was.

“I-what? Where-the apartment? Wasn’t it on fire? How’d…” She stuttered.

Shive slowly sat down on the edge of the roof, then replied calmly,

“I pulled you and your dog out of there. Along with three other people.”

The woman’s hair stood on end, and she slowly glanced over her shoulder. At first, all she could see were two almost-human, red-orange eyes peering out from the dark at her, and that was enough to back up quickly. Still sitting, she bumped into the roof’s wall, then asked shakily,

“AAAAUUUGGHH!!! Wh-what are you?! Please don’t eat me! I‘m stringy!”

Shive shook his head, sighing.

“Err… name’s Shive. Sorry if I scared you…” He replied, a bit quieter.

The woman’s eyes focused on him, and his outline became defined. She turned whiter, but, seeing the Dragkah’s downcast expression, managed to calm a bit.

“Uh… n-name’s Lora. Um… is this a dream?” She stated.

Shive snorted, smirking a bit.

“No, not that I’m aware of. I’m as solid as can-be, right now.” He replied.

Lora blinked, her shaking still visible. Shive rubbed the side of his head, then muttered,

“There’s no need to be afraid of me… I’m not gonna hurt you. If I had wanted you dead, I wouldn’t have pulled you out of a burning building, now would I?”

Lora slumped, her shaking having stilled.

“Oh… true. Um… sorry about my initial reaction… I’m not used to seeing something like you, no offense.” She stated.

Shive shrugged.

“Eh, I get it all the time. Are you okay… Lora, was it?” He asked.

Lora nodded, and Shive smiled a bit more.

“Good. However… with your building all burnt-up, I doubt you have a place to stay tonight?” He asked again.

Lora shook her head.

“No, I was just visiting a friend of mine before the fire broke out. I hope she got out okay…” She responded.

Shive shrugged, glancing over at the building. It’s remains were now just smoldering coals piled on top of a bit of concrete still left-over. He shook his head, then stood up before Lora asked,

“Uh… you said you found my dog, too? Is he okay? Where is he?”

“His leg was twisted, but I gave him to one of the men in yellow coats down there so he could take him to a vet.”

Lora processed his response, then sighed in relief.

“Ah, that’s good to know.” She muttered.

Shive nodded, then turned around and spread his wings. Lora stood up quickly, only to stumble back onto her knees. Shive paused as she asked,

“Wait! You just saved my life! Can’t I repay you somehow?”

Shive blinked, then let out a small laugh. Hardly anyone he saved back in his plane ever asked to repay him.

“There’s no need for that. Just helping someone in need.” He responded, staring up at the sky.

Lora’s shoulders sagged, then she bit her lip lightly as she glanced off to the side.

“Can I at least give you some food? I doubt you‘re fed very well here… considering your appearance.”

Shive stopped dead in his tracks, and Lora smiled a bit, trying not to laugh.

“Uh… what?” He asked.

Lora stifled a giggle, then replied,

“At least let me make you supper. Come to my apartment tomorrow night.”

She stood up, looking around as Shive stared at her in confusion. She gasped, then pointed downtown, exclaiming,

“That group of tall gray-brown buildings over there, about three blocks away. I’ll be on the second-to-top floor, on the right side. I’ll be standing on the balcony.”

Shive scratched his head, muttering,

“I dunno…”

“Please? I’ll feel bad if I don’t thank you somehow.” Lora pleaded.

Shive glanced back at her, then sighed, slumping.

“Alright. Tomorrow night?” He asked.

Lora smiled, nodding.

“Yeah. I should probably go now, though. Could you give me a lift?” She responded.

Shive blinked, taken aback, then shrugged. He walked over and hefted her onto his back in a piggy-back fashion, then took off toward the buildings Lora designated. A minute passed, and Shive landed on the roof, crouching so he could let her off. She did so, and walked over to the staircase, stating,

“See ya tomorrow! Remember, you said you would!”

Shive nodded, smirking. He spread his wings, sighing as he took off into the dark night. Unbeknownst to him, however, a winged figure watched from a nearby rooftop, eyes burning red with hatred…

“Soon, Dragkah filth. Soon…” Barias muttered.

[Talon]

Chapter 7


Shive yawned when the door to the shack opened, rubbing his eyes as afternoon light streamed through.

“Hey Shive, I- Ugh, what’s burning?” Cameron asked, as he stepped through the doorway.

He stopped abruptly when he saw Shive lying in the middle of the floor, his clothes burnt and streaks of black smeared over his face and forearms. Cameron blinked, then asked,

“What the hell did you do?!”

Shive groaned, letting his head thunk back down on the carpet. He had stumbled back to Cameron’s after the fire, and slept through the rest of the night and most of today. He was aching badly, and the smell of burnt flesh wouldn’t leave his nostrils. This combination of statuses didn’t leave him in the best mood.

“Urgh… got bored after you left… went into town… fire… saved some people… blah blah blah…” He gurgled.

Cameron scratched his head, then rubbed his nose again.

“Man, you smell bad. You need a shower.” He muttered.

Shive blinked, then replied,

“A what?”

Cameron’s jaw weakened, and he asked,

“You’re joking, right? Surely you know what a…”

He stopped, seeing Shive’s blank stare. A plan formulated in Cameron’s head, and he smirked.

“I have an idea. Follow me.” He stated, almost triumphantly.

Shive blinked, then got up slowly, bones popping as he rose. He followed Cameron toward the house without question, as the teen explained,

“My parent’s won’t be home for a while, not until midnight, anyway. I suppose you can stay in here until then.”

Shive nodded, rubbing his back. Cameron opened the sliding door, glancing around, before nodding and pulling Shive inside.

“Just stay away from the windows, okay? I’ll be right back.” Cameron asked.

The teen rushed off to another section of the house, leaving Shive to himself. He glanced around the small kitchen, observing it’s contents. A marble-top counter ran the length of the outer wall of the kitchen, with a small circular table surrounded by four chairs in the middle. Next to the kitchen was the living room, with a large television, a window that occupied most of the wall (the shades were drawn shut), a three-person couch beneath said window, and a cushioned rocking chair.

He glanced at the various cooking utensils in the kitchen, pausing on the oven and microwave. He blinked confusedly, then shrugged, turning back to the living room as Cameron came bustling back in, carrying a pile of large clothes.

“Okay, my uncle’s kinda bit tall, and luckily, he left some of his clothes here. If not, I can always make you some later. Follow me again!” Cameron exclaimed.

Shive shrugged, following Cameron into the bathroom down the hall. Shive’s clawed feet dug into the carpet as he felt it rub against his scales, and he sighed in enjoyment. Cameron stood in the bathroom, pushing the shower curtains aside as he plopped the clothes onto the sink. It was an average bathroom, with blue-gray walls and white tile, a medicine cabinet with a sink, and a toilet not far from the bathtub. Shive stared, dumbfounded, at the odd objects before Cameron started running water into the tub.

He sat there for a minute or so, then nodded, pulling the knob out and causing the showerhead to sputter into life, sending a spray of warm water into the tub. Shive jumped, leaning backwards at this strange happenstance. Cameron laughed, then stated,

“Okay Shive, here’s how it goes. As soon as I leave, you take your clothes off, get into that tub, and scrub yourself with that green thing over there.”

Cameron pointed to the soap bar, and Shive nodded.

“When you’re done, just push that knob in and the water will stop. Okay?” Cameron finished.

Shive nodded again, his tongue poking out of the front of his mouth. Cameron laughed, then exited the room, shutting the door behind him. Shive scratched his head, dislodging a few burnt scales from his cranium. He shrugged, then peeled out of his clothes and into the shower, almost hitting his head on the ceiling. He pulled the shower curtain back in an assumption, and sighed in delight as the water pounded off of his tough scales.

He glanced down at the soap, then blinked, picking it up. He sniffed it, surprised at the delightful stink it exuded. He shrugged, then rubbed it against his arm, surprised yet again as the substance created foam upon being pressured. He made an ‘ooooh’ sound, then shoved his arm into the stream of water, watching the grime wash off with the foam, revealing a patch of shiny brown scales.

He cackled, then started scrubbing his entire frame with the soap, whittling it away until foam covered his entire top half… and nothing remained of the soap.

“Aw man… I ran out.” He whined.

He paused, then smirked. Pulling the curtain aside, he stumbled onto the floor and opened the cabinets below the soap. His smirk deepened into a grin as he pulled out several bars of soap, trying not to slip on the water he let spill out onto the bathroom floor. He stepped back into the shower and covered his bottom half, now working on his wings. He giggled like a madman as he now resembled a humanoid construct of lather, then started scrubbing the foam off, taking roughly a span of five minutes or so.

* * * * *

Cameron was flipping through the television channels when he heard the water stop running, and he smirked, knowing Shive was done. He continued channel surfing when the door opened, and Shive walked out in a large black t-shirt and a pair of large sweatpants, though both seemed a bit tight on the Dragkah around the seams, but otherwise okay. Shive grumbled, knowing his ankles were exposed and part of his stomach, and Cameron laughed. The teen abruptly paused, noting something different about Shive…

There wasn’t a scale on his body that wasn’t shiny.

Geez… there couldn’t have been THAT much dirt on him, could there? The teen thought, paling.

“Feel cleaner?” Cameron asked, snickering.

Shive nodded, and was about to say something before he belched, sending out several soap bubbles. Cameron blinked, wide-eyed, then screamed,

“YOU DIDN’T EAT THE SOAP, DID YOU?!”

Shive nodded, brushing away a bit of foam on the corner of his mouth.

“Yeah… well, I figured… if it made me clean on the outside, maybe it’d make me clean on the inside…” He mumbled.

“…what the hell, Shive?” Cameron muttered under his breath.

Shive glanced around as if looking for something, and Cameron snapped out of it in time to say,

“Your clothes are in the washer. They’ll be done in about an hour.”

Shive nodded, glancing at the light outside of the window.

“Good. I gotta be somewhere tonight.” He muttered.

Cameron nodded, then did a double-take.

“Say again?” Cameron asked.

Shive’s eyes rolled over towards Cameron, and he replied,

“I have to be somewhere tonight.”

Cameron blinked, then asked in a whiny tone,

“Where?! With who?”

Shive stifled a laugh then replied,

“Ah… someone I pulled out of that burning building last night wants to thank me, so she’s making me dinner tonight.”

Cameron blinked, then threw his head back and cackled,

“Shive’s got a daa~aate! Ha-ha-ha!”

Shive reddened, scowling.

“Do not! She just wants to feed me!” He protested.

Cameron laughed even louder, and Shive grumbled, crossing his arms. Cameron laughed once more, then replied,

“Ah Shive, you know I’m kidding. So, what’s her name?”

Shive stared at the ceiling, then replied,

“Err… I think she said her name was Lora…”

Cameron shrugged, laying back in the chair.

“Lora, eh? Hrmm. Don’t know anyone by that name.”

Shive smirked, sitting down and facing the television.

“Good!” He exclaimed.

Cameroon cackled, and Shive grinned, responding with,

“Keep laughing, little man. You won’t be when you see your ‘shower’.”

Cameron’s mouth snapped shut, and his eyes widened as he bolted for the bathroom. He skidded into the doorway, and almost screamed when he saw the bathtub. A thin layer of mud caked the sides of the tub, and scratch-marks from Shive’s feet marked the tub’s floor. Shive cackled from the other room as Cameron moaned, slapping his forehead and running it down his face.

“I gotta clean this up before Mom and Dad get home….” He muttered, sighing.

He stalked out into the kitchen, grabbing an armful of cleaning supplies, and stalking back into the bathroom as Shive stared at him with innocent mischievousness.

* * * * *

Shive finished pulling on his original tunic-shirt and pants just as Cameron walked out of the bathroom, his forearm covered with grime.

“You-need-to-take-a-shower-more-often!” The teen hissed.

Shive smirked, restraining a laugh. Cameron shook his head, then glanced at the clock. The small hand was on the seven, and the longer hand was on the six.

“Hey, Shive? Didn’t you say you had to be somewhere?” Cameron asked, with a slight grin.

Shive choked, then flailed his arms in the air.

“Sh*t! I do! AUGH! Gotta go!” He yelled.

He threw open the front door and took off into the sky, Cameron yelling after him,

“You idiot! Exit from the back! Someone’ll see you!!”

Shive apparently didn’t hear him as he took off like a rocket, his stomach rumbling. He was too hungry to worry about being seen! The sun was setting in the west, creating long shadows across the ground as Shive headed for downtown, casting his own shadow over a hundred feet below him, yet went unnoticed. His eyes swept over the area, trying to find the buildings Lora had designated the night before, but he was having a hard time trying to find them.

He grumbled, scowling to himself as he landed on the roof of a tall, gray-brown building, looking around for the apartment. The half-brown Dragkah folded his arms as his brow ruffled in frustration, tail lashing.

“Where the hell are those buildings?!” He screeched irritably.

“Hey, down here!” A familiar voice shouted.

Shive blinked, wide-eyed as he glanced down. About a floor below him stood Lora on a balcony, waving. Shive’s mouth twitched, realization setting in.

“Ah. I don’t feel like an idiot…” He muttered sarcastically.

He dropped down onto the balcony, using his wings to lessen the fall. He pulled himself up to his full height, and Lora finally got a decent look at the Dragkas. Oddly enough, she found him more frightening last night, though his appearance was still somewhat unsettling.

“Hiya.” Shive stated, cocking his head.

Lora nodded, backing up and gesturing to her apartment-room’s entrance, a glass-screened sliding door. Shive blinked, then sniffed the air as the scent of cooking meat approached his nostrils, causing him to salivate. Lora laughed, then stated,

“You can go in, you know.”

Shive nodded in thanks, then side-stepped through the doorway into Lora’s living room. The kitchen and living room were directly connected, a transition of tile to carpet apparent roughly 20 feet away. The living room was rectangular, roughly 30 feet long and 15 feet wide, bore a gray carpet, and was mostly scarce of furniture save a couch, an entertainment center (complete with big-screen television), and a computer desk, complete with computer and chair.

Shive looked around, clearly amazed by the orderly look of the room, and how clean everything was. This unsettled him a bit. He glanced from side to side, then inhaled again, refreshed by the cool temperature of the room. It wasn’t too cold, and it wasn’t warm, somewhere around 60 degrees. Shive despised the cold, though it didn’t cause him to become drowsy, like most reptiles. The smell of Lora’s dinner caught his attention again, and he thought,

That smells so familiar…

“Sorry about what I made you… I’m not a very good cook, so it’s from a box…” Lora stated, walking in while rubbing the back of her head in embarrassment.

“It smells great! What is it?” He asked eagerly.

Lora smirked, walking over to the covered frying pan and lifting the lid.

“It’s called Hamburger Helper.” She replied.

Shive’s face lit up like the sun.


Chapter 8


Shive sighed contently, his plate having been wiped clean of any remains of food. Or matter at all. Lora smirked as she leaned back in her chair with an arm draped over the back, having eaten before Shive arrived. Shive nodded to Lora, stating,

“That was good!”

Lora grinned, replying,

“Thanks! Seems I can make something if it involves instructions!”

Shive laughed, and Lora glanced off to the side.

“Um… Shive… I have a question to ask you… if it doesn’t offend you…” She muttered.

Shive blinked, then leaned forward.

“Very few things offend me anymore. Go ahead and ask.” He replied.

Lora paused, about to ask him what he meant by ‘anymore’, but mentally shook it off, taking in a deep breath.

“Ok-ay… um… how to phrase this… are… are there any others, like you, here? Like, on this planet? What are you?!” She asked, losing herself at the end of it.

She gasped, then clamped her hands over her mouth.

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry Shive, I-”

“It’s alright. You’re confused; apparently most people around here don’t see something like me everyday.” He cut in.

Lora sighed, shifting in her seat. Her outburst left her morbidly embarrassed under Shive’s stare as the anthro continued,

“As for what I am… eheh… uh… I’m a member of a race of humanoids called Dragkas. We’re the result of hundreds of years of dragons and half-dragons breeding with other draconic entities. We’re kind of a small race. Oh, and I have actual dragon blood in me too… my dad was a brown dragon…”

He scratched the back of his head, where the horn met his scalp. Lora blinked, trying to comprehend what Shive said, and was about to ask something else when Shive butted in again,

“Oh! I’m sorry, I didn’t answer the first part of your question. No, I’m not originally from here, nor do I think there are others here like me, sadly. I came here by accident when I got into a fight with an assh*le named Barias, and one of his spells screwed up, sending us both to this plane.”

Lora slowly clamped her mouth shut, her question having been answered.

“Sooo… do you know where this ‘Barias’ is?” She asked.

Shive shook his head with a scowl.

“No… I don’t. I need to fix that though; he’s dangerous. He’s already killed someone.” He replied in a growl.

Lora blanched, then asked after an awkward silence,

“Uh… what does he look like? I want to know, in case I ever see him.”

Shive laughed.

“Well, he’s kinda hard to miss in a crowd. He’s roughly my height, with stone-gray hide, some big bat wings, clawed hands and feet, a tail, horns, and bat ears. Oh and teeth. Lots of teeth. He’s pretty sneaky though; he can hide pretty well when he wants to.” He informed the woman.

Lora scratched her head this time, slowly nodding. Shive got up and stretched, stating,

“Well, I should probably be going now, I-”

“Wait! One last question!” Lora interjected.

Shive blinked, then slowly lowered his arms.

“What?”

Lora glanced at the floor, then replied,

“Are you here to stay? I mean, are you going to try and find a way back to your home plane?”

Shive blinked. Hat question caught him off guard… He hadn’t really thought about it in the last few days, so the answer was vague.

“Uh… to tell you the truth, I’m not sure… why?” He asked in response.

Lora shifted, and her hands clenched.

“Well, because… you do good. There’s hardly anyone like you, personality-wise, around here. Most people are just selfish jerks who think only of themselves nowadays, but you, you help people out of good will! The world needs more people like you, Shive!” She exclaimed.

Shive blinked, leaning back with wide eyes. This… was something he’d never heard from anyone before… this shocked him.

“…th-thank you, Lora… you have no idea what that means to me…” He replied haltingly.

Lora smiled, nodding.

“You’re welcome. And it’s true. You’re a good person, probably the best I know.” She stated.

Shive’s chest hurt at those words, and he shuddered. He bit his lip as his eyes watered over, and he leaned on the wall. This… was almost painful for Shive to hear, as he paired these words with things he had done in the past. Lora looked concerned, and asked,

“Shive? You okay?”

Shive nodded dully, his eyes like stone, yet bearing a hint of pain.

She has no idea… I’m… I’m a monster… He thought achingly.

Lora looked at Shive with greater concern.

I assume I brought up a rough subject… Lora thought.

“Shive… if I said something to offend you… I’m sorry…” She apologized sincerely.

Shive’s expression didn’t change, in fact, it seemed he didn’t even hear her. He finally replied,

“It’s fine. Nothing to worry about.”

He pulled himself up to his full height and smiled at Lora, who nodded with her own smile in reply. Lora walked with Shive back out to her balcony, opening the door into the night air. Shive stepped out onto the platform, and as he spread his wings, Lora stated,

“Remember, if you ever get bored when your friend’s not around, you can always come here.”

Shive nodded, and turned to leave, but Lora placed a hand on his arm, forcing him to stop. He glanced over his shoulder at her, and she asked,

“Shive… I know you don’t know me very well, and vice-versa, but… could I call you… a friend?”

Shive blinked, then smirked, nodding.

“Yeah. You can.” He replied.

Lora smiled, nodding as Shive launched off into the night sky, almost causing her to fall over from the sheer wind pressure from his takeoff. As she watched him fly off into the ether, she couldn’t help but think she saw a winged shape fly up from a nearby alley and follow the Dragkas…

[Talon]

Chapter 9


Shive on the couch in Cameron’s shack, hands wringing and his head bowed. He was still brooding over what Lora had said not too long ago, churning it over and over in his mind.

A… good person? No… no, not me. I’m just trying to repent for some things I’ve done… and things I failed to do… He thought, placing his face in his hand.

He sighed, rubbing his forehead, trying to relieve the stress that clouded his mind. His hands fell away from his face limply, and his expression became tired. He sighed again as he rose to his feet, turning off the light, stepping out of the shack, and into Cameron’s backyard. His ears twitched, and he abruptly stopped, focusing on whatever it was he heard. His keen eyes dilated, the pupils expanding as they adjusted to the dark night outside, and he spotted three men in black clothes moving towards Cameron’s house from the opposite end of the yard. Each was holding a large brown bag, and a black ski mask over their faces.

Shive may not have been in this plane long, but he knew robbers when he saw them…

A low growl caught the trio’s attention, which caused them to pause and look about the yard nervously.

“Eh, probably just some stupid mutt.” One of the men muttered.

One of them shuddered, whispering to himself,

“Had to have been a big-ass dog…”

The third slapped the former, hissing in a shaky voice,

“Shut up! Someone might hear us!”

The first two then slid through an open window in Cameron’s place, but sadly, the third didn’t have that kind of luck. As soon as he lifted his leg to get through, a strong hand clamped onto his shoulder, and before he could scream another strong hand clamped over his mouth. The only thing his companions heard was a muffled yelp, followed by the sound of something hitting the ground.

“Larry, stop screwing around and get in here!” The ‘leader’ hissed.

There was no response.

“…Larry?”

The two looked at each other, then grunted, going back outside.

“Idiot probably tripped over something…” The second grumbled.

The two reached the window and looked outside, seeing nothing but the featureless backyard. One of them glanced at the ground in front of them, and choked, backing up and eyes widening.

“HOOOOLY SH*****T… uh…. Tom?” He gasped.

The other bandit, ‘Tom’ cocked an eyebrow under the mask, then glanced at what his ally had…. And nearly vomited. For a few feet away from the window lay the remains of their partner-in-crime, in a bloody, mangled mess. His legs had both been ripped off and thrown off to the side, and his stomach-region was open, lacking its contents. The two robbers backed into the house, fear abundant in their eyes and panic thick in their voices.

“Wha-wha-what the hell h-happened to him?!” ‘Tom’ asked shakily.

“Oh god… do you think there’s some killer loose or something?” The other asked warily.

Tom shook his head, backing away even farther.

“C’mon, we have guns! We’ll just make a dead run for it outta here!” He advised.

The other nodded, pale beneath the ski mask as he slid through the window, un-holstering a pistol previously concealed in his jacket. Tom did the same, but just as soon as he set foot on the ground, he noted his other cohort wasn’t there. His eyes widened and his heart skipped a beat as he managed to gasp out,

“S-Steve? Where’d ya go?”

His response was Steve’s corpse skidding along the ground, the head ripped off and spouting blood. Tom jumped backwards with a yelp, his eyes now like pinpricks as he glanced rapidly from side to side, trying to find whatever force had just mutilated his partner. His eyes finally rested on the roof of Cameron’s shack, and his breath caught when he saw a pair of red-orange eyes shining out at him from the dark. He started babbling under his breath as he backed up into the wall, then made a small squeak sound as the winged shape hopped off of the roof, striding towards him.

The man started sobbing frantically, and curled into a ball as the monstrosity approached him, issuing a hiss that could chill even the hottest blood. Blood dripped from its claws onto the ground, and it licked its maw free of the red fluid. It now loomed over the terrified man, its tail swishing from side to side as it crouched down, allowing the man to smell what were once his companions. He let out a shuddery gasp as he glanced at the thing from the corner of his eye, his bowels loosening steadily.

A single red-orange, almost human eye stared at him hungrily from through the dark of the night, and a guttural growl slipped out of a large maw filled with sharp teeth. The man whimpered as the maw inched ever closer, opening wider…

“Boo.”

The man screamed, his pants getting slightly wetter as he jumped to all fours, scrambling away and over the fence, screaming and babbling the entire way. Shive laughed, and as soon as he turned around, he saw a sleepy Cameron staring at the corpses, eyes wide.

Uh oh… Shive thought.

Cameron’s eyes set back into a tired appearance, then the teen stated,

“Geez Shive… you, ah… you went a bit overboard…”

Shive blinked, scratching the back of his head.

“Yeah… sorry. I guess I vented a bit much on those two.”

Cameron stood up after poking one of the carcasses, wiping the resulting off on his pants.

“Well, from what you tell me, you do this kinda stuff all the time. So… I have one thing to say: Don’t do unless someone REALLY deserve it, and if you do, at least get rid of the corpses, man.”

Shive blinked, surprised. Cameron was acting much calmer than the Dragkas had anticipated! The anthro shrugged, then nodded, yawning as he scratched his neck.

“damn. Long day.” Shive groaned.

Cameron nodded, then jerked his head towards the house.

“You can sleep in here tonight, if you want. There’s more room on the floor to roll around and stuff.” He suggested.

Shive smiled, head bobbing in weakness and his eyelids drooping.

“Sounds good.” He muttered.

He staggered past Cameron and collapsed in the center of the living room floor, out like a light already and drooling on the floor. Cameron laughed, tossing a pillow onto the floor next to Shive’s head, in case the Dragkas wanted to make use of it. Cameron doubted Shive cared at the moment, but it was an extra precaution. Cameron sighed, hoping his sister didn’t come home and see the anthro lying on the floor… it’d be kind of hard to explain. The teen suddenly smirked when he glanced at the VCR, an idea popping into his mind.

As long as he stays asleep… Cameron hoped.

Cameron started to walk back to his room, when the hairs on the back of his neck stood straight up, and he stopped. He glanced around, then slowly walked over to the windows, pulling back the curtains enough for him to see… and he wished he hadn’t. The last robber had been pinned to the ground by what looked like a dark-gray gargoyle with a pair of large, curling horns swept backwards over his head. The man screamed as his head was pulled off by the pair of monstrous jaws, letting a torrent of blood gush out of the neck-stump as Barias crushed the skull, blood and gray matter dribbling down his chin. Cameron hastily pushed the curtains back as his heart raced, muttering,

“Holy-f*cking sh*t… was that the guy Shive was talking about?!”

He paused, hands wringing, then pushed the curtains aside once more to see there was nothing on the ground except a large puddle of blood. He sighed in relief, hoping that freak was gone for now. He went to go to his room when he paused, seeing Shive’s eyes open and glowing in the dark. The Dragkas made no movement, but his eyes were unsettling in the nighttime shadows of the room.

“Barias…” Shive growled.

The dragon-anthro yawned, muttering,

“Tomorrow for sure…”

The Dragkas was asleep once more, his snoring shaking the nearby television. Cameron smirked, shaking his head. He headed back to his room, located on the east side of the house, as he thought to himself,

Wow… so this is the kind of crap he has to deal with on a day-to-day basis? Huh. He really is tough to have to put up with that… kind of thing. And to think he still acts the way he does…

He ‘hmphed’ as he closed the door behind him quietly, so as to not wake Shive. The Dragkas’s snoring had stopped abruptly, however, and his eyes slowly slid open once more as he released a powerful sigh. His eyes drifted lazily towards the window, then back to the ceiling as he muttered,

“He’s getting stronger every day… and more people are dying because of it. It’s my fault… I’m the one who fired on him while he was casting that spell…

…

Well, whining about it won’t help. Tomorrow, I‘ll fix this mistake.”

I’ll probably die in the process… He added.

His eyes slid shut for the third time, and he finally slid into the world of dreams.


Chapter 10


Saturday was finally here, and Cameron was sitting on his back porch under the bleak, cloudy sky.

“Stupid weather. It’s been like this a lot lately.” He muttered.

His gaze turned towards Shive, who was strapping on Ragnarok and his armor as he scowled at the horizon. Cameron sighed, then stated,

“Well Shive, I gotta go to work. If you need a break from your ‘scouting’ or whatever, you can always head back here. See ya later! Oh, and good luck trying to find Barias!”

The anthro merely nodded with a slight smile, then his scowl returned as he slid on the last piece of armor, snapping the bracer in place. He rolled his arms and grumbled before flexing his wings, then paused. He slowly turned to Cameron, and muttered,

“Cameron… I want to thank you for all you’ve done for me. I say that now, because, well… I probably won’t make it back if I find him.”

Cameron blinked, as his jaw slowly slid open in shock. He hadn’t expected the Dragkas to say something like that… ever. He had expected Shive to be the always confident, giddy psychopath he had known him to be in the past few days.

“Uh… you’re welcome, Shive.” Was all the teen could muster.

Shive nodded, then leaned his head back as he catalogued the spells he had in reserve. He smirked, then opened his eyes and nodded, turning to Cameron.

“I hope to see you again, Cameron. You’ve helped me more than most people had in three years.” He stated, turning away.

Cameron nodded grimly as Shive took a few steps forward, flexing his wings. The Dragkas exhaled sadly, then rocketed off into the air, claws clenching and unclenching. The air caused his mane to billow behind him as his face tightened, and he rubbed at his eyes.

“damnit… must be dust or something…” He muttered, voice cracking.

He shook his head, grumbling something as he ascended higher into the sky, the dark clouds hanging ominous in the sky. Cameron watched the shape dissipate, then he rushed over to his garage, hopping into a purple Jeep as he ignited it.

“F*ck going to work, I can call in sick.” He muttered, cranking the stick-shift.

* * * * * * * * * *

Shive landed, crouching on the roof of an abandoned warehouse, a red glow outlining his eyes as he swept his head from side to side, searching the area.

“That b*stard’s been here recently… but where the hell is he?!” He growled.

He snarled, glancing skyward. The clouds were already thick and gray, promising rain soon. His eyes narrowed as he muttered,

“I HATE the weather here…”

The rumble of thunder echoed across the area as Shive stood up, knees popping as he did so. He grunted as he spread his wings to take off, then paused as his ear twitched, detecting sound. In a flash, he had already drawn his sword and was aiming it directly behind him, only to blanch. Lora stood with the tip of the blade aimed directly between her eyes, the color draining from the entirety of her face.

“Lora! What the hell are you doing here?!” Shive yelled, lowering Ragnarok.

She gasped for the breath she had lost in her shock, then looked at him a bit shakily.

“I-I saw you flying overhead while.. I was jogging… I was curious what’re doing out here?” She replied.

Shive sighed, whipping Ragnarok around and re-sheathing it in a single fluid motion.

“I’m after Barias. He’s been here long enough.” He muttered in response.

Lora nodded, her view now focused on the ground.

“I see… well… be careful, please.” She muttered.

Shive nodded dully, tail swishing as Lora stepped a bit closer.

“I mean it. Come back alive.” She stated.

Shive’s head jerked upward, then slowly he looked over his shoulder at her. Her look was almost pleading, as if she knew what he was thinking. His eyes narrowed, not in anger, but in defeat. He stared at the street below, then, after an extended period of silence, muttered,

“I’ll do what I can. I suggest you leave; he might be here.”

With that, he placed a claw on the edge of the wall, the hopped up onto it before bolting off into the sky. Lora clenched her fists, shaking her head as she walked over to the fire escape route that had led her up here. Despite his ‘indiscreet’ demand, the woman was now pursuing the Dragkas on foot.

Now I think I know why he was like that last night… he’s got no self-esteem whatsoever. She thought.

Shive’s face was set into a scowl as he propelled himself through the air, renewing his search despite the fact Lora was still watching him from a distance. She paused after seeing something move in the street below Shive, an she abruptly stopped.

“SHIVE, LOOK OUT!” She screamed.

The Dragkas glanced over his shoulder, only to get tackled by something that had jumped off of a nearby rooftop, slamming him into the ground. He elbowed it in the face and skidded backwards, managing to get a good look at the thing. It stood roughly 6 feet tall, and had a humanoid build, but it was covered in a dusky-blue hide, with teal-colored carapace covering its shins, shoulders, upper torso, and part of its wedge-shaped head. Speaking of the head, it bore two yellow, multi-faceted eyes above a slavering pair of interlocking mandibles. It had a large, triangular crest sprouting from the back of its head, and it supported itself on two gangly legs ending in three front-positioned claws. A row of blade-like spines ran down its back, and both forearms were nothing but long, scythe-like claws.

Shive grimaced as two more of these creatures emerged from the shadows, surrounding him. The all emitted screeches as Shive grumbled,

“damn. Barias is getting persistent…”

The first leapt forward, with the intent of severing the Dragkas’s head from his shoulders. Shive intercepted by crouching down, then responding with a strong uppercut to the creature’s abdomen, sending it flying into the air and eventually crashing back down. The others looked back to see their comrade fall, then turned back just in time for one of them to have been run through with Ragnarok, sending a spray of orchid blood into the air and spattering onto the ground behind the aberration. The beast let loose a horrid, pain-filled screech before Shive kicked it off of his blade, letting it crumple to the ground.

The other two creatures watched their comrade fall, then rushed forward again, whirling their blade-like appendages furiously. Shive scowled, allowing a few fangs to slip through his closed lips, then assumed a defensive stance as the two impacted, causing Shive to skid back a few feet. The Dragkas grinned as his opponents realized they hadn’t taken him down, and he responded by grabbing both by the throat and hoisting them into the air.

“If either of you survives this, tell Barias he knows where he can find me.” He growled.

He burst into the air, still carrying the two with him as they screeched in protest, raking at his armor with their claws, but doing little damage. With a maniacal cackle, Shive pulled his wings in quickly as he reached a height of three-hundred feet into the air. Both of the creatures started hissing and shrieking as they realized what he was doing, but his grip merely tightened as a deranged grin spread across his toothy maw. His downward speed began increasing rapidly as he shifted himself, holding the two as if he were pinning them against a wall.

Lora’s breath caught just before Shive and the two creatures impacted, sending a massive cloud of debris into the air. As Lora’s arms fell from her defensive cringe, she looked at the cloud in worry. There were cracks in the concrete at least 20 feet out from the supposed point of impact, and at least three gallons of orchid blood had just now hit the ground. Lora sighed in relief when the dust settled, and Shive staggered to his feet. Her sigh stopped when she noted blood leaking through the armor on his arms, both appendages limp.

“Ow.” Was all he could say.

Lora skidded to halt next to the Dragkas, inspecting his arms. The armor seemed relatively intact, but she was afraid for what damage lay beneath. Shive took note of her concern, then snorted.

“Bah, it’s nothing. Some food and it’ll be good as new.” He stated lazily.

Lora cocked an eyebrow, concern still on her face.

“How will food help?! Your arms are broken!” She inquired loudly.

Shive grinned, recalling Lora had never seen that ability of his.

“Depends. Got anything to eat at your place?”

Lora rolled her eyes, grabbing Shive’s hand and attempting to pull him forward.

“Yes, I have food. Now just come to my place and we’ll have a look at your arms, kay?” She asked.

Shive nodded, then his tail suddenly shot out, wrapping around her stomach and making her yelp in surprise. Shive took to the air with Lora in tow, then tossed her onto his back, making her flail for a second before latching onto his neck. Shive, trying to remember the directions, proceeded to head for Lora’s place. The scales on the back of his neck stood on end for reasons unknown, and he merely shrugged it off, pumping his wings to propel himself forward.

Barias stood in the shadows of the alley closest to where Lora and Shive were last standing, and he took a step forward, only to pause. His arms crossed, and he ‘hmphed’ with a smirk. Something about the gargoyle seemed different…

“Meh. I’ll let him recover first. Then it’s a ‘fair’ fight. Heh.”

He glanced at his clawed hand as what appeared to be a black flame sprouted in his palm. His fist clenched, extinguishing the ‘flame’ and sending a chill wind through the area.

“I’ve gotten… surprisingly stronger after finding that… whatever it was. Heh. This’ll be so much easier…” He muttered, grinning.

He closed his eyes and chuckled, which quickly rose to dark, maniacal laughter. His cackle was cut short abruptly, and he glared in the direction Shive had taken.

“Hurry up…” He grumbled, his wings twitching.