Survival of the Youngest

[Spark-Dragon]

The three small hatchlings pulled along with all their might, the scent was spreading and soon other animals would probably notice it, owls and other foxes perhaps.

But the creature was heavy and they were small, never the less they pulled against time.

 

Madness started noticing a strange ache in his legs, he had tripped a few times here and there but didn't complain, something told him to stay quiet and keep pulling, get right back up and prove he was just as strong as the two others.

[Dream_Dragon]

Sparkly Scaler felt Tenebris' gaze settle on her for a moment but she brushed it off and began pulling the carcass. She resisted the urge to spit out the dead fox's paw and put up with its cold, lifeless feel and the foul taste of its fur in her mouth. Reminding herself that this was for the others, she continued pulling on it hard, ignoring the growing hollow feeling in her middle. Her stomach pinched as it had done earlier and she barely managed to keep from wincing. No, she did not want to be one of their concerns. She had to be strong. Sure, she had one or two berries earlier but that wasn't enough to satiate her hunger. After dragging the carcass back to the cave, she could probably find something to eat. Something that wasn't dead or gross. Maybe a flower. What was a flower? Although Sparkly didn't know, she figured that she'd recognise it if she saw it.

 

After some time, she lifted her head and sniffed. The air smelled familiar. Fresher. She was pretty sure that they were nearing the place where the forest ended. With renewed energy, she went on tugging on the fox.

Edited April 8, 2014 by Dream_Dragon

[Narath]

After quite some time of tugging the carcass through the forest, Tenebris glanced up and saw that they had finally brought it to the forest edge. With that in mind, he tugged on the animal for just a while longer before releasing it at the mouth of the cave. Now that they had stopped however, Tenebris was beginning to feel something scratchy at the back of his throat.

"That was rather unpleasant." Tenebris said as he attempted to clear his throat from whatever the substance was. "I believe that I must have swallowed something on our way here."

After quite some coughing and hacking, Tenebris was finally able to expell whatever it was from his throat, and then spat it out on the ground in front of him. After clearing his throat one last time, Tenebris saw that the object that he had spat out was a wet and matted orange and red furry lump. He must have accidentally swallowed some of the fox's fur on the way to the cave.

"Terribly sorry about that." Tenebris said, looking away from the others in embarrassment.

 

(Let that be a reminder to dragons to strip the furr off of animals before putting them in their mouth.)

[HomeForFlowers]

"It d-doesn't matter where we hunt," Nein said with a flick of his tail. He couldn't already feel his paws itching to move, yearning to get away from the bigger hatchling. But alas, all of Nein's instincts to flee had ceased. At least, for the moment they had. Although Nein was focused on the hunting, the cowardly side of him was still clawing to get out. It was subsided for the moment, but Nein knew not how much longer he could keep up this "strong" act before something wretched happened.

The sooner we get this done, the sooner I can be left alone.

 

[Spark-Dragon]

Finally Madness dropped the animal's paw as the others stopped, he took a step back and fell onto his tail, his legs were killing him, he felt a strange strain on them when he stood, sitting made it better.

 

He managed to avoid the fur as most of the meat was already exposed when he came, but bits of fur stuck to his mouth from the paw, irritating him.

The dragon's face scrunched up as he tried to get it off, "eew..." he grimaced at the tickling and itching.

The black hatchling seemed to have the same problem, only worse... the others would have to be warned not to eat the strange fluffy part, it seemed dangerous...

[Dream_Dragon]

Sparkly Scaler dropped the fox's limp paw from her mouth, quickly spitting out the fur tickling the roof of her mouth after seeing what had happened with the other two hatchlings. "This is why hunting and killing is a bother..." She coughed out a few more strands of fur before clearing her throat.

 

"Don't worry," she reassured Tenebris, "It's no big...big deal." However, she did avoid looking at the wet clump of fur on the ground. Sure, it was only fur but it wasn't a pleasant sight as it was. Just then, Sparkly's stomach pinched again and this time, grumbled aloud. Her face turning a darker shade of purple, she looked away in embarrassment.

 

"Uhh...sorry..." she apologised, snatching a quick, shy glance back at them. "I'm just going to...go out to, uh...to, you know." With that, she hastily trotted out of the cave again. She noticed that the sky was growing dark now, most of it a light blue while somewhere far away in the west, semicircle orb lit up the horison with an orange glow. Sparkly thought that the sky looked pretty but she soon realised one thing: it was going to be dark soon. Without the sun, the place would be in darkness, wouldn't it? Despite her exhaustion, the aching in her legs, and her lack of energy after dragging the fox around, even with the help of Tenebris and the Hellfire Wyvern hatchling, she quickened her pace and continued walking on. After all, she would be worse off if she starved and she had to go find some...flowers.

 

It didn't seem like it was going to be easy, though. The place was not lush and plentiful of green life and easy prey. To be honest, ever since she'd hatched, there was something not quite right with the place. Something that Sparkly couldn't quite put her hoof on.

 

First, though, she had to find a few flowers.

 

~~~

"Well then...I s-suppose we sh-should go to the forest," Rale Rock shrugged and started to make his way to the forest. He glanced up briefly at the sky, only to see that it had changed colour. He stopped, momentarily shocked, before calming down and continuing. It was probably normal, something that was supposed to happen. "Night will come soon." Ah yes, the night. He supposed it was the period of time when the place got into darkness. They should probably hurry, then. Who knows what could be lurking in the shadows?

 

As Rale reached the forest edge, he stopped, his scales brushing softly against the leaves of a bush, waiting for the Electric hatchling to catch up. He could already smell the scent of meat, fresh and waiting for him to kill, in the air. If he wasn't mistaken, there was also a tinge of carrion mixed with it but well, if someone had left meat behind, it would be easier.

 

He honestly couldn't wait to taste fresh meat.

Edited April 10, 2014 by Dream_Dragon

[Narath]

Hearing Sparkly's stomach rumble, Tenebris tilted his head quizzically at her. If she was so hungry, why did she not eat? When she began to walk off, Tenebris stood to follow.

"Make sure that others feed on this creature." Tenebris said to the red dragon. "I'm going after her. It is unwise for one to leave the cave on their own."

Leaving him behind, Tenebris walked behind Sparkly for a time, observing that she may not exactly be doing so well, before trotting up next to her.

"You do not look well." He said, looking ahead as they walked. "Why do you not feed to regain your strength?"

[Spark-Dragon]

Madness gave a slight nod, and watched them leave, well... now it was up to him to let everyone know food was here, or would the smell get to them? He looked around, hatchlings were scattered everywhere, some left... some stayed.

He decided that those who heard would get the food, first come first served seemed fair...

 

Madness, as small as he was, stood as tall as he could, took a deep breath, and called, "Fooood for eve-yone!" He tried to make it clear but his tongue wouldn't cooperate, not yet... oh well... he was too tired now, with a full stomach, another feeling was coming over him, it was much... heavier ...

[Dream_Dragon]

Sparkly Scaler was a little startled at Tenebris' sudden appearance but nevertheless, she kept on walking. She stayed silent for a few moments, wondering how to tell Tenebris what she thought of meat without offending him.

 

"I...I don't wish to...to off-offend you...but I don't think that...I don't think I'm s-suited to eat meat," she said a little slowly, choosing her words carefully, though her hunger was slowing down her thoughts. As she searched for the flowers her instinct was telling her to find, she glanced at the grass momentarily. At the moment, even the spiky, green blades looked delicious. She didn't dare try them, though. Perhaps later.

Edited April 11, 2014 by Dream_Dragon

[Narath]

"Why would that be offensive to me?" Tenebris asked, somewhat confused. "Just because you do not take a likeness to something I do, that does not make it wrong.

"But what shall you eat then? What is there to eat if not flesh?"

Tenebris was beginning to grow worried for Sparkly. She must have been searching for food all day for her to be as weak as she was.

"If it comes down to it, you may need to put your personal preferences aside and eat whatever you can."

[HomeForFlowers]

Wordlessly, Nein began to stalk after the Guardian. His paws scraped against the blades of grass pricking from the ground. It wasn't exactly a comforting feeling, but it did keep Nein focused. The sky had grown darker and was now a vivid orange. Nein had no idea how it became that way nor did he really care. All that mattered now was the hunt and getting food. Listening carefully, Nein began to crawl in front of Rale, his attention completely on what was around him.

[Dream_Dragon]

Sparkly Scaler was silent to Tenebris' last statement. She really didn't want to picture that scenario. She was pretty sure that her stomach would reject meat if she tried to eat it. Besides, it was more than a personal preference, she just wasn't supposed to eat meat. She didn't know why but she knew what she knew and that was what she knew.

 

"It...It's not just a pers-personal pre-prefee-preference..." she murmured. She saw something out of the corner of her eye and turned her head. There on the ground, was a small plant with a round top and petals surrounding its yellow middle. She stopped walking. That was it. She recognised it to be a flower.

 

Food.

 

Dashing over to it, she lowered her head and clamped her jaw onto it, before pulling her head up and wrenching it out of the soil. Taking a step back, she chewed and swallowed the flower. She licked her lips, wondering where she could find some more. It wasn't enough to quell her hunger but it was enough to keep her stomach from pinching anymore. She would still need to find some more, though, which may prove to be hard, seeing as the forest was sparse as it was. She looked back at Tenebris.

 

"...I suppose that is what I eat," she said quietly, unsure if he had seen what she had eaten or not.

 

~~~

Rale Rock nodded slightly when the Electric hatchling caught up with him and began crawling into the forest. Being a newly-hatched hatchling, Rale had zero experience whatsoever with hunting but he had his Instinct to rely on so he merely kept quiet. "Smell out your prey. Stay quiet. Do not rush." He crouched low, almost flat across the ground. He crept forward and into the undergrowth of the forest, his ears twitching for any sounds that could be considered as a prey's movements. He quietly breathed in the air, smelling it, detecting the scent of fresh meat once again. He couldn't rely on his vision in the dark so he would have to use his other senses. Although this was a bit of a nuisance, he didn't mind much as he was confident that the dark would bring out more prey. The prey would feel safe in the cover of darkness and would never see the danger coming until it was too late. Glancing at the Electric, Rale wasn't sure if that would be the case for him. The hatchling was brightly-coloured, his yellow parts showing plainly against the darkening background of the forest. However, if the hatchling had skill, which he probably had, judging by the beetle Rale had seen him catch earlier, he would probably be fine. "Focus, you idiot." Rale turned his head away and shook his head slightly. At this rate, he wouldn't catch anything if he kept getting distracted.

 

~~~

As Dream Dell's energetic little paws bounded over the grass toward the forest, she heard someone yell something about food from the cave. It sounded more like a fairly loud squeak, to be honest, but nevertheless, she let out something that she thought was called a "whoop" and changed her direction before running straight into her cloud.

 

"Mmmphf?," she mumbled, her face smothered in its blissful fluffiness. The cloud stayed there and she somehow climbed inside of it and poked her head out, giggling. That was when she remembered Halietus. "Oh, right! I should probably tell him and Thea about the food at the cave!" Jumping straight out of the cloud and unceremoniously crashing to the ground, she jumped up once more and ran back to her two new friends.

 

"Th-Thea! Haleetus! Fere's food adda cafe, c'mon le's go!" Words flew out of her mouth, tumbling over themselves as they did so but Dream Dell didn't mind that she was messing up her words. She would get used to this speaking thing, she knew she would! Satisfied that she had told her friends about the food, she turned around and ran, jumping onto her cloud, which was where she had left it. She landed gently into its fluffiness and snuggled it as the cloud carried her to the mouth of the cave. Still on top of the cloud, she poked her head through the bottom of it and grinned, despite being upside-down.

 

"H-hi I'm Dream Dell wha's your name you sssad somesing abou' food?" she said in one go, cocking her head at the brown and red hatchling.

 

<OOC: Looks like there's four of us active in the RP for the moment. Five, if you count Onix. So, do you guys just want a calm night or can we have an epic chaotic rainstorm totally not a TLD reference here? Or just a timeskip?>

Edited April 12, 2014 by Dream_Dragon

[HomeForFlowers]

The sudden shift in a nearby bush caught Nein's attention. His entire body went still and his eyes locked onto the bush. The leaves rustled nosily as two figures emerged from it. Rodents, small and brown, scattered out of the bush. They didn't look like a heart meal, but they were something. Nein could easily satisfy his hunger with one of those mice. Of course, Nein wasn't sure on how to go on with capturing the mice. He didn't had an hunting knowledge. This was, in fact, his first hunt. His body wasn't made for hunting. He didn't blend in well with the trees and the sparks coming off his body were quite noticeable. The same could be said for his companion. Rale was a bright blue with a huge gray chunk at the end of his tail. He wasn't as outstanding as Nein, but he wasn't exactly camouflaged either. Nein locked his eyes onto the mice, his body waiting in anticipation.

[GreatDragon]

 

The Purple Dorsal was growing twitchy, swinging his head around to look outside of the cave before glancing back at the two Swallowtails. It had only been a few minutes, but it felt like he'd been sitting there forever, waiting for an answer from his two friends. Looking once more towards the entrance, Rim rumbled a stringed together sentence to Noelle and Madeline, his claws shuffling in the dirt.

 

"Iie hungwy, I go, outs of caviess."

 

Before he could continue, someone from outside called out. Tilting his head, Rim suddenly recognized the speaker and leaped up, fin flared up.

 

It's Madness!

 

Trying to quell the small string of guilt rising in his chest, the Dorsal started towards the entrance. As he walked, he spoke over his shoulder to his two Swallowtail friends.

 

"Goiing two Madieness. Hungwy, so I go. Bye-Bye-Bye, Noelle aind Madeline."

 

Glancing over his shoulder one last time, Rim picked up his pace and trotted out of the cave, the sunlight hitting his eyes. He had to stop for a second, head raised and blinking rapidly as he took a breath of air and felt the world for the first time. A scent caught his attention and the hatchling felt his stomach respond to the smell. For a second, it reminded him of the 'dead' creature he had buried in the cave. He shook his head, pushing the thoughts away, and focused his gaze towards where the smell was coming from.

 

He recognized Madness, but the two other things were foreign to him. There was a blue hatchling and then a pile of furry something, which seemed really red. His tail twitching for a second, the Dorsal ran over, the smell in the air and the sight of his friend exciting him.

 

Skidding to a halt in front of the Hellfire Wyvern hatchling, Rim flared his fin up and spoke quickly, smiling the whole time.

 

"Madiness, Madiness, ywo hereiy! Hereiy ouwt of cave, ien light! Ywou fiind sometheng? Fiind-find....hungwy? Fooodsss for hungwy?"

 

His tongue still tied, the Dorsal turned his gaze to the blue hatchling with a weird floating thing and nodded his head.

 

"I Rim, I was ien cavey, I owt neow!"

[Narath]

((Blissful fluffyness? You have a really good style of writing dream.))

 

"Then I shall aid you in finding more." Tenebris said with a kind smile as he trotted over. "It seems like an odd object to eat to me, but who am I to judge? Perhapse it is only I and a few others that eat flesh, making us the odd ones."

The young black hatchling was only able to catch a small glimpse of the 'flower' before Sparkly snatched it up, but he saw enough to know its basic shape.

"We shall need to find a place with more of these... Plants. I'm aftraid that we may not have hatched in the most hospitable area. Maybe there are different plants around here you may feed on?"

 

((You know, maybe I should have re-made my other character that could speed up plant growth.))

[Dream_Dragon]

<OOC: You mean Efflorere? Heh, maybe you should! Thanks for the compliment! >

 

Sparkly Scaler shrugged.

 

"Maybe. I'm not sure myself. Something just told me to find that fl-flower," explained Sparkly. She certainly hoped that she would not starve.

 

"But thank you for the offer," she said. She looked up. The sky was darkening quickly. There was no time to be looking for more food. The one flower she had just swallowed would have to suffice. If the sun rose once more, which she hoped it would, then she would look for more food.

 

"Shall we...head back to the cave?"

 

~~~

Rale Rock, on the other hand, was focused on another small animal, digging its way out of the ground. "A mole." It looked...it looked like prey. It would be his. Rale stayed quiet, creeping closer and closer, one inch at a time. Just as he was about to strike, his tail involuntarily twitched and the shield on it brushed against a nearby bush, rustling a few leaves. The mole immediately disappeared back into the earth. Rale grumbled, disappointed. He made a mental note to keep silent and still next time.

 

~~~

Dream Dell's head disappeared back into her cloud and she jumped off her cloud from above. She grinned widely at Rim.

 

"Hhhiii, Rim! I'm Dream Dell, wha's your name, oh wait, you already told me, never mind! I th-think he say dis fur-ee bludey thing is food!" She rambled happily, unknowingly mispronouncing a few words as she went. More new friends! What could be better? They were all so friendly!

Edited April 13, 2014 by Dream_Dragon

[HomeForFlowers]

Nein was only a foot or two away from the mice now. His stomach was slightly lifted from the ground along with his tail. His eyes were narrowed to slits and he could practically taste the tension in the air. He was so close! All he needed to do was take a few more steps forward and then-

 

Crack!

 

Nein knew not of what happened. He barely had time to register that he had stepped on the twig before the two mice lifted their heads in alarm and began to scurry away. Without thinking, Nein launched himself forward. His eyes locked onto one of the mice, the one closest to him. The other mouse no longer matted. This one rodent suddenly became the most important thing in the world. The mouse saw Nein and, with its eyes full of fear dashed off into the east. Should it had not been for the sparks spontaneously leaping off his body, the mouse would of got away. A single white spark attached itself to the rodent and sent electricity coursing through its body. It wasn't enough to kill it, but it was enough to stun it and that was all Nein needed. In that split second of stillness, Nein trapped the mouse between his jaws. The loud thing squeaked in agony as Nein's teeth grinded into it. Instinct too over and Nein began to swish his head about and savagely bear his teeth into the soft flesh. Blood oozed out of his mouth and splattered the ground in small splotches. Once he felt the mouse move no more, Nein ceased his attack upon it. He had done it. He had killed something to eat. He tasted blood and brought down his first kill. There was no sense of victory, there was only a crave; a crave for more. He wanted to find something else to kill, he wanted to feel the life sap out of a another being. He wanted to bring death.

[Narath]

((Yea, Efflorere. He'd definetly be of help to plant eating creatures. I'll have to remake his form sometime soon.))

 

Tenebris looked at Sparkly, his head tilted to the side in a quizzical manner.

"Why would we head back now?" He asked, confused. "You must still be hungry, as that one flower should hardly provide enough sustenance. If you are too weak to look, I will find some for you."

The reason behind Tenebris' confusion was because he had not yet noticed the growing darkness. As a Black Dragon, he was a little more nocturnal than others, and could see easily in darker conditions.

[Dream_Dragon]

Sparkly Scaler tilted her head slightly. Had he not noticed how dark it had become?

 

"But the sky is...growing dark. Surely, you do not want to stay out now? How can we look for food in the dark?" asked Sparkly, puzzled. Her speech was improving, she noticed, and she was glad about that but speech was the last thing on her mind right now.

 

~~~

Rale Rock heard a crunch and whipped his head around, just in time to see the Electric in action. He watched with awe as the hatchling caught a mouse and dug into it. How could he have caught something already? Rale was both impressed and envious. Turning his head away, he spotted the mole once again, now poking its nose cautiously out first. He got into a crouching position and stayed still as the mole slowly crawled out of its hole. It paused to sniff the air and that one moment was all Rale needed.

 

He launched himself forward, pouncing on the mole, his little claws unsheathed. This time, he succeeded and had the mole trapped under his paws. It was still alive, though. "Kill it!" Rale plugged his undeveloped claws into the mole but, of course, it did little to harm it. Seething with frustration, he lowered his jaws and sank his teeth into it. He did not let go until the mole stilled, blood oozing out and staining Rale's jaw. He panted, releasing his hold onto the mole. Then, he picked the mole up with his jaws once more and began to eat it. When he was finished, he turned to face the Electric, licking his chops. The mole had hardly been enough to fill his stomach but now he had to hunt for more prey for the others. It was then he realised just how dark it had gotten, though some of the area was lit up by the Electric.

 

"D-darke-darkness is f-falling," he muttered.

Edited April 13, 2014 by Dream_Dragon

[Narath]

((Okay! Just finished Efflorere's form, so hopefully we'll have lots of bird friends soon!))

 

"It is?" Tenebris asked, even more puzzled than before. "I had not noticed."

Looking up at the sky, Tenebris could see that it was changing; the bright yellow ball was low on one side of the land, and on the other a smaller white orb had begun to rise, and tiny white specks had just started to appear. Desipite all of those changes however, Tenebris did not think that it was getting any darker.

"Are you attempting to trick me?" Tenebris asked with a little hurt in his voice.

[Dream_Dragon]

<OOC: Cool! >

 

"N-no! I'm not! Why would I even do that?" Sparkly Scaler said defensively. However, she was extremely confused. Didn't Tenebris realised how dark it was? She could barely even see him, especially when he blended in nicely with the dark background. What was wrong with his vision? Sparkly studied him and that was when it hit her. His vibrant, green eyes were brighter than those she had seen on the others...maybe he did not see thing the same way she did!

 

"Maybe you just see things...differently?" she asked, voicing out her thought.

Edited April 13, 2014 by Dream_Dragon

[Narath]

"Perhaps you are correct." Tenebris replied after a moment of thought. "Well, if it is so dark for you, then perhapse we should head back."

Tenebris was about to start walking back, when he remembered that she just said it was dark. If it was dark, would it be more difficult for her to see? If so, how difficult?

"Are you able to see fine enough to see where you are going?" Tenebris asked.

[Dream_Dragon]

The sun had almost disappeared now and clusters of twinkling, little dots appeared in the sky. Sparkly Scaler couldn't help thinking how beautiful it all looked. She looked at Tenebris as he spoke - or at least, she looked into his eyes, since she couldn't really see the rest of him.

 

"I...I think..." Sparkly let her voice trail off as she looked around, trying to see the cave. She could just about make out a dark shape which she thought looked like the cave.

 

"I think so..." she said, though there was uncertainty in her voice. The dots in the sky did little to help her with her sight. What were they and why were they there, anyway?

Edited April 13, 2014 by Dream_Dragon

[Narath]

"Here," Tenebris began, moving up next to Sparkly. "If you can't see that well, I shall guide you so you do not lose your wag or run into something."

As he spoke, Tenebris moved up next to her so that while they walked, they would be side by side and she could tell where to go be his touch.

"Are you ready?" He asked.

[Dream_Dragon]

Sparkly Scaler did not edge away when she felt Tenebris' presence beside her. In fact, she was relieved that he was going to guide her. It would be unfortunate if she were to run into, say, another fox. That would be dreadful and she wouldn't even be able to help if that happened.

 

"Yes...I'm ready," she confirmed, her underdeveloped scales brushing slightly with Tenebris'.

 

<OOC: I can only giggle now. :3>