What comes after

[shadow_claw]

"The times have changed, far more than I could ever have anticipated. What were initially kingdoms have disappeared. Wars and peace treaties have since divided the land into small nations, each one a massive metropolis.

 

So much has changed since I was first turned."

 

The woman shifted in her seat, her yellow gaze flickering to the mirrored glass before her. Someone was listening. It was a promise of Nanolabs. Free venting, given one has a burden. And oh, Niamh has many burdens.

 

"That's where this city began, as a small, crude hamlet. It was mainly a place for hired hands such as myself. There's still work like that if you look. Hits to take. Bodies to bring in for arrest. Persons of...interest."

 

Yellow eyes narrowed for a moment, her brows wrinkling into a scowl. She didn't know what happened to the people who were dragged into Nanolabs. Nobody did. Not that anyone cared.

 

"I used to take that work a long time ago, some 1,500 years ago. Since then, well, I've been a law woman. And today starts my job as Sheriff. I know I'm cut out for the job...I'm just a little worried. That Mayor...He's there to scare me away, isn't he? Well it ain't gonna work."

 

Her scowl faded into a snarky grin as she rose. The results had came in. Instead of the cheery, portly man that has taken the reign as Sheriff for the past seven years, a new face had won. A fresh face, a young face, was attractive to the people. As was her extensive record as an officer. More arrests than most on the squad. Her fierce devotion and steadfast personality was alluring. It surely hadn't been expected, however. The woman began to walk towards the door. She paused once her hands reached the handle, and turned.

 

"Niamh Farkas will be Sheriff in Latteriel this year , and things are going to change."

 

 

 

[pudding]

More than a thousand years passed them by. Seasons changed, tides shifted and the world changed without them noticing. They slept and as they slept, they dreamed. There was no indication of the time that had passed or how long they had been in the dark cave they had retreated into so long ago. There was also no indication of when they would awaken either. All they could hope was that when they did, times would have changed enough for it to be safe for them.

 

Drawing in a sudden, deep breath, green eyes flickered open as sleep faded away. Rolling onto one side, the small elf grabbed at the pile of cotton he had been sleeping on, trying to get a grip on something. Managing to find his knees, he rose up, looking around at the cave. None of them had moved since he put them to sleep so long ago. None seemed close to waking up either. Well, they likely wouldn't sleep too much longer than him. Besides, he could always forcefully rouse them if they slept for too much longer. But giving it a week or so wouldn't hurt anything, right? Especially not if in the meantime he could scout ahead and see how long they had been asleep for and what had changed. It was the first time they had ever attempted such a feat and even when he had agreed to try, he had warned them he didn't know how long they would sleep for. A hundred years could have easily passed and none of them would ever know. So it was only natural that he was curious how things had changed over time. He wanted to know how long they had been asleep.

 

So he slowly stood up, drawing his blanket closer around his body as he followed the bioluminescent mushrooms to the mouth of the cave. The cave had been covered by several thick vines at some point, but it was very simple for him to slip around them and stumble into the light. Rubbing his eyes, he glanced up at the harsh blue sky before looking around at the forest. The trees had certainly grown since they had entered the cave. But at least the forest was still standing. That was a good sign, was it not? Feeling his throat, he coughed softly and started forward, looking around for a stream or a lake that he could drink from.

[shadow_claw]

It was a standard scouting. Sniff around outside the city, grab whatever seemed interesting and return. Though, its nose was its weakest feature. After all, it only had one nose. Instead, the furry creature slipped both tongues from its mouth. The beast's sense of taste was much more developed. Shuffling quietly through the forest, the beast looked about.

 

It was an unusual creature, roughly the size of the horse. Its legs were short to the round and thick, and its creamy fur was short and soft. Large orange spots covered its body, especially on the wing-like flaps behind its front paws. When rearing on its hind legs, the patterns disorient possible targets.

 

Of course, if that fails, it harbored enough tranquilizer a to kill an elephant. Glands settled above its needle-like teeth, and behind its claws, and in the microscopic stingers that its flaps were covered in.

 

The beast's ears perked up as footsteps could be heard. Something was coming close. Something small. It was too large to be a fawn, however. This was indeed interesting. Four ears swiveling around, the beast sat up on its haunches. Where was it?

[pudding]

Hawthorn pulled a few twigs out of his hair as he finally made it through the patch of brambles. His leathers had taken a few scratches here and there but it wasn't anything a little needlework couldn't fix. So he gently tossed the twigs aside and stepped forward, barely making a sound compared to the larger creatures that seemed to resemble them, yet were also so dangerous to them. Elves were just like the animals in the forest, easily able to creep around amongst the leaves. But that didn't mean they couldn't easily be snuck up on themselves.

 

Looking up, Hawthorn's breath caught in his throat as he locked eyes with what could only be a monster. It was much larger than most of the animals in the forest and looked like nothing he had ever seen before. It was huge compared to him and his gut told him it wasn't friendly. His pointed ears twitched slightly as he paused for a second, eying up the creature. Then, deciding against a confrontation of any kind, he abruptly turned and took to the trees, scampering up the closest one and making for the highest, most flimsy branches.

[shadow_claw]

Although not particularly hostile, the large creature was certainly intrigued by the little man. Its two large eyes focused on it, followed by the opening of another set of eyes. It truly was a freak of nature. Four eyes, four ears, and two tongues. Ultimately, it was to track down little runners like the leather-clad creature. As soon as the elf took off, the cream colored beast sprinted after it.

 

Nimbly did the creature climb up the tree, it's thick claws unsheathing in pursuit of the little man. Although able to follow the elf high up into the tree, it was far heavier than Hawthorn. Huffing softly, it curled it's long body around the trunk. The message was clear: if the elf wanted to ever come down, it would have to confront the beast.

 

---

 

The old beast that roosted atop Nanolabs had, well, gotten very old. It's metallic feathers had taken a tarnished tinge, and it's eyes had long since glasses over. One of the last of the mighty dragons, its time was near an end.

 

Orion S. Hunter had bore witness to such a magnificent creature's death. They had been taking out the trash, a bag of garbage in each hand. While they were hauling garbage into an overfilled dumpster, the glorious dragon drew its last breath, and lay still. It wasn't the beast's death that caught the attention of the young human, however. It was its rebirth. Moments after air has escaped the dragon's lungs, the massive beast caught aflame. Blinding white flame melted paint and torched both body and nest alike. The intense inferno lasted only half a minute, and the beautiful beast was gone.

 

Shocked, the man dropped the trash and ascended the building's ladder. What happened? Where...where was the dragon? The dazed and startled Orion stood shin-deep in ashes, golden eyes wide.

 

What was nestled in the ashes was a hatchling, its gorgeous feathers dusted in the ash of its previous body. Soft, startled peeping alerted the man to its presence. Soon, Orion was digging through the ashes to locate the noise, revealing the small baby. With the infant cradled in their arms, the man climbed down the ladder and burst into the building. Nano would want to see this.

[pudding]

Panic forced Hawthorn higher and higher into the tree, not stopping until he ran out of branches. High above the canopy of the forest, he finally paused, breathing heavily and forcing himself to look back down. The monster, the four eyed creature, had pursued him into the tree and was resting only perhaps ten or fifteen feet below him, coiled around the trunk. Glancing at the measly branches supporting him, he hesitated as he stared down at the beast. It was no natural creature for sure, but what was he supposed to do now? He was a sitting duck and eventually he would be forced down. He had no idea when his other elves would wake up or how long he could even stay in the tree. He was dehydrated and starved from his long sleep and probably wouldn't last that long before fainting. And what did he have? Aside from his powers, one small knife. Nothing he could use to fight against something several times bigger than himself.

 

Looking around, he gingerly reached out towards the ends of the branches, curling his fingers around a pinecone. Yanking the small seed pod off the branch, he hurled it down at the beast below, trying to hit it in one of it's nasty eyes. Considering there were four of them, he had a good chance of hitting at least one of them despite the fact he couldn't get an accurate shot and his poor marksmanship.

 

----

 

Nano walked though the large, open hallways, her stride long and quick despite her shorter stature. Several scientists followed her, diligently jotting down notes and informing her of recent updates as she carried on.

"Food has fallen below the fifty percent marker for carnivores and fifty five percent mark for the herbivores," One individual in a white lab coat informed her.

"Refill both immediately. Also check the feeders and make sure the new parts have come in. I want the old models phased out by tomorrow." Nano gave a small gesture of her hand and the scientist veered off from the crowd to fulfill her orders, only to be replaced by another.

"Poll results for the Mayor have risen steadily and satisfaction overall has increased. I have a full report of his meetings schedules for the next six months."

"I want all the papers on my desk immediately. Tell him to come in tonight to discuss the new sheriff elections. I won't have that mutt going around unleashed for long."

[shadow_claw]

Although a generally gentle creature, a pinecone to the face would irritate anyone. The beast shook its head quickly, grumbling softly. The pinecone had bounced harmlessly off its head, and clattered down the branches to the ground. All for eyes now rested of Hawthorn. If the little man was going to put up a fight, then the beast would bring him down quickly.

 

Rearing up onto its hind legs, the beast tested its weight carefully, before jumping up and clamoring towards the elf. The smaller, higher branches snapped quickly in its charge, leaving little space for Hawthorn. He would either have to leap from the tree, or allow himself to be caught.

 

---

 

"Nano! Miss Nano!" Orion burst inside, their body covered in the foul ash. Carefully cradled in their arms was the small dragon. About the size of a basketball, it peeped softly in their grasp. As the young adult ran, soot flee behind them in an acrid cascade. Nothing replaced the smell of burnt flesh. It was something none could describe. The work of a disposal unit meant Orion no longer noticed even the foulest of stenches.

 

For the scientists, this was not the case. The queasier assistants shied away, retreating from the anxious clear-up man as they approached. Golden eyes bright, Rion stopped right in front of Nano.

"Ma'am, you won't believe what I just witnessed!" They breathed. Their thin body was quivering with excitement. "The...the dragon! It burst into flame! Like...like those Phoenix stories! And look!" The disposal unit shook themselves, shedding ash from themself and the little dragon alike.

 

"It's a baby again. Like it was never even an adult."

[pudding]

Nano paused at the scent, her blue eyes staring at the excited man standing before her, even as her assistants and other Nanolab workers shied away from the scent and the man that it seemed to be coming from. Nano, on the other hand, seemed to simply either not care about the scent at all, or was so accustomed to putrid odors in her work that she did not even seem to notice this one at all. Instead, however, the object Rion was holding did catch her eye. "Did it now?" She asked, noting the black ash falling on her pristine white floors. That would have to be swept somewhere or the ash would be tracked all over the building and all of its lower levels as well. Well, she could deal with that later. For now, she wanted a better look at the tiny lizard Rion was holding. It did indeed look like a much smaller version of the large dragon often seen lurking over Nanolabs building. Well, this could be delightful indeed.

 

"What a curious little thing. I'd never have imagined those phoenix stories came from a dragon instead of a bird. But if it's this small, we can't just leave it up on the roof." She made up her mind in an instant and reached out a hand to gently pet the dragon's head. "We'll simply have to look after it for now. As soon as its old enough we can put it back up on the roof where it's old nest was."

 

---

 

Hawthorn's eyes widened as the creature reared up and jumped right towards him. The beast or the fall. There were no trees close enough to this one to grab ahold of and run away, leaving him with two options. The beast or the fall. He was positive the monster would kill him but the fall would likely be equally fatal. If he did manage to survive, he would have to run away quickly or the monster would be atop him in a second. If he didn't... well, being torn apart was a horrid way to go out. If he was going to die here, he wanted it to be fast. So he closed his eyes and dove from the branch, reaching out his arms as if he could glide on the air to safety.

 

As he fell towards the ground, his leg clipped one of the larger branches of the trees. The snapping sound his leg made was covered by the loud crunches of the tree branches above breaking from the beast's lunge and it did little to stop his fall. Landing unevenly on his stomach, it was a wonder none of his ribs broke, though he would likely have bruising for days. The air eluded him as he struggled to breath, rolling onto his side and moving his right hand to gently touch his left leg. A warm, comforting glow surrounding his leg as he tried to heal the injury as quickly as possible. The bruises could wait. He needed to be able to stand so he could run before anything else. He didn't even know if he had enough time to heal the bone properly or even the energy to. But the panic drive him on regardless and he struggled to anyway, even as the yellow light flickered slightly around the edges.

[shadow_claw]

Irritated, the beast began to back down the tree. Why would it jump? What sort of stupid creature would jump, knowing it hurt itself in the process? As the beast got lower to the ground, it leaped from branch to branch, lowering itself down quickly. Soon, it was atop the wounded elf. Although the large creature usually didn't resolve to use violence, it was irritated. With one law pressed on the elf's little body, the cream monster bent its head and curled its lips back. All it took was a little scrape of its teeth. As long as there was an abrasion, its target didn't stand a chance.

 

---

 

No way. No. Way. They were going to keep a dragon! Golden eyes sparkling, the man gave the dragon a little squeeze. That was...amazing! But how were they going to feed it? What did babies eat? Oh, this was all such a rush!

"I promise I'll take good care of it! I-I'l...I...I'm gonna go shower, actually. Don't worry, I'll come back and sweep up this mess!" But they couldn't clean up a mess when they themselves were filthy. Rion took off, jogging excitedly towards their room. The group will be excited to find out! Though, having people frequent their room more than usual wasn't necessarily a good thing. The twins already raided their pantry for snacks, Mina kept trying to steal their romcoms. Like, really? And catching Coredlia and Lore making out in their bed was...far from fun. Nothing's better than running for one's life because one walked into their own room.

 

Sighing upon reaching their little home, Rion wandered into the bathroom. The little baby was placed in the sink, and they peeled off their filthy clothes. A noise behind them made the half-naked man turn.

 

A teen in a wheelchair was rifling through their movie closet. Again. She seemed intent on ignoring Orion. Rion, in turn, scowled and crossed their arms.

"Mina"

"I'm not here."

"Mina"

"You know, you really need to update your collection."

"Mina if you don't leave I'm gonna-"

"What? Are you gonna strip for me? Sorry, I'm not into, you know, this."

The teen regretted the words that escaped her mouth almost instantly. Rion glanced down at their binder, their face flushing crimson. It was a low blow to bring up their sex. Not to mention it was a total lie. Mina was the most Pan person on earth. She just said it to hurt them. Glancing away, she dropped her movies and spun her wheelchair towards the door.

"Sorry. That...that was mean."

[pudding]

As soon as Rion was out of sight, Nano nodded slightly before turning her focus back to the scientists scattered behind her. Though she did not turn to face them, when she spoke it was clear they had better listen. "Add that dragon to Subject 12's list immediately. Someone fetch Subject 4 and bring her to my office in five minutes." If the mayor was brought in within the hour, that would give her just enough time to make it to her meeting later on. But the scientists would have to act quickly. Snapping her fingers, they quickly scattered and Nano made her way back to her own office, carefully stepping around the soot. As soon as she arrived she crossed over to the corner and activated the electric kettle with a press of a button before settling down into her chair to review the documents left on her desk. There were two more meetings today and then she was free. Hopefully the Marten was back by then. She was hopeful some new material was brought in.

 

----

 

Hawthorn didn't stop healing, now until a paw pressed into his back, driving the air out of his lungs. The light quickly flickered away as his ribs groaned under the weight of the creature on top of him. Cringing, his muscles tensed up as the monster loomed over him, neck arching down. He could feel hot breath on his back and quickly closed his eyes.

A sudden, sharp pain radiated from his back, startling the shaking elf. It was less painful than he thought and, almost immediately, the pain went away. Not just that, the pain from his broken leg quickly faded not long after. His eyes opened for a fraction of a second, only to close a moment later as the tranquilizers hit his brain. His body relaxed under the beast as he fell asleep once more.

[shadow_claw]

Wagging its tail, the Marten bent down and sniffed the sleeping elf over. Nano would be so happy! The beast bit into the soft leather of Hawthorn's shirt and lifted him. Time to head back home. This was the best catch in quite some time! A movement behind it, however, made it stop walking.

 

A woman crouched behind the two creatures, her yellow eyes narrowed. She always checked on the burrow. Always. For the past thousand years or so, she always made sure they were safe. And now, now things had changed. And she was ready. The fight was quick and quiet. All it took was a graze from the Marten's claws, and the dark haired woman dropped like a rock. She was unconscious instantly, her limbs splayed out around her.

 

Growling softly, the Marten continued back towards the lab. Stupid woman. She would be a problem if she kept showing up. Stupid, stupid woman! Nano wouldn't like to know that someone was lurking around the elf. She had tried to take it!

 

---

 

What they needed was a shower, but a bath sounded so much nicer. In the end, the shower won. The thin ash became paint-like and clumpy in the water, and it took quite some scrubbing to get clean. The baby dragon chirped the whole time. Was it hungry? Did it want to get clean too? Once clean, Rion cleaned off the dragon as well its feathers were both soft and beautiful, made of shimmery metals like copper and silver. Most of them, however, were dark like gunmetal. Truly, it was a strange beast. And...sort of cute.

[pudding]

Nano had just settled down at her desk with a cup of tea when the door quietly opened. The dragon human identified as Subject 4 and dubbed Lore slunk into the room, fluidly creeping along the floor on four legs before rising up to two when she drew close to the edge of the desk. She remained silent but that was hardly anything new considering she had been nonvocal from the start. To this day Nano wasn't quite sure why that was but she just assumed the vocal chords hadn't developed properly. Oh well, it was irrelevant. She didn't need to talk to communicate.

"The dragon on the roof died this morning," Nano informed her gently, listening as Subject 4's large talons clicked softly against the floor. "But it was revived as a baby and currently in Orion's possession. Go help him take care of it. I believe he may be in over his head in taking care of a lizard." After giving a small nod of dismissal the dragon woman quickly left, the door silently swinging shut behind her. Sorting through the paperwork again, Nano pulled out a pen and began to make revisions to a bill that would be introduced to the congress later on in the week.

 

 

Several minutes later Rion's door silently opened and Lore slunk inside his room, gently kicking the door closed with her leg. Crawling across the ground, she searched the main living space of the apartment set inside of Nanolabs briefly before moving on to the bedroom. Tilting her head slightly to the side at the sound of running water, she quickly scampered to the master bathroom and eased the door open, slipping inside that room. Right, that was where he was. Her large, velociraptor like claws tapped the floor twice in some kind of greeting as she looked at Rion, and then the small creature he was holding.

[shadow_claw]

With naught more than a towel around their waist, Rion scrubbed down the little creature quietly, using dish soap to wash out the ash. Being the weakest and most sensitive of the twelve subjects, Rion was usually the one to be startled the worst by the other master predators. Today was no exception.

 

"C'mere lil guy, let's get you dried of-" What escaped Orion's mouth as they turned around could only be described as a shriek of pure terror. Instinctively did they grasp the dragon tighter, intent on shielding it from harm. Backing up quickly, they slipped on the bath mat and nearly fell. Instead, they sat down on the side of the tub, panting.

 

"Lore....I-I thought I asked you not to do that any more." They moved to cover up their exposed chest, face red. "I-I know modesty isn't your thing, but...please? Could you step out of the room while I change?"

[pudding]

Lore blinked slowly at Rion's reaction to her presence, her head tilted slightly to the side. Frowning ever so slightly when they nearly tripped, they seemed to softly sigh before turning around and slipping out of the bathroom. Fine, fine. It was a bit stupid that they wanted her to leave but regular humans seemed odd when they didn't have their cloth scraps on. They got so fussy and red. But they'd never get done here unless Rion was able to get to a point where they were more comfortable. So she would wait outside.

 

Crawling onto Rion's bed, she immediately sprawled out on the soft blankets, staring at the door to the bathroom and waiting for Rion to come out.

[shadow_claw]

Whew. Okay. That had been frightening, but they could recover. Rion sighed, turning and setting the little dragon on the ground beside them. It sniffed around, peeping at it went. Jeez, it was really cute. So cute. Glancing away from the little creature, Rion instead picked up their disacarded binder. Over the head, over the arms. Arms slid out, and all was left was to secure it around their torso.

 

When Rion emerged from the bathroom, the darted out for only a moment. Undergarments and general clothing were snatched, and then they retreated back to the bathroom. Once clothed, however, they walked out of the bathroom with the dragon in their arms.

 

Like usual, Rion was dressed plainly. Skinny jeans, a black tee shirt, and a standard Nanolabs labcoat. Although not one to frequent the labs, it was a required uniform piece. For their shoes, they wore knee-high rubber boots. Their hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and a hair band pushed their bangs back. It was clear they expected to deal with a big mess today. And the disaster atop the roof was no small feat.

 

Settling into the bed, Orion watched as the baby sniffed at Lore. It was instantly interested, squirming from the lab worker's arms to inspect the dragon woman. Although small, it seemed to have little to no fear of anything around it.

 

---

 

A soft pinging filled the lab as subject 9 slipped back inside. With its mouth gently clasped around the unconscious elf, it entered through the designated underground tunnel into the lower lab. As the beast entered, those attendants around were immediately alerted to this.

 

The first to notice, however, was another subject. Regenerating from its previous adventure, subject 11 peered from its habitat with curious eyes. In this form, it was shaped somewhat like a large dog. The stone that surrounded its softer inner body was the only thing that kept it comfortable around others. Glowing eyes flickered from the designated holes in its shell. Soon, all the larger beasts were rousing from their lounging to gawk at the new arrival.