@Sylphre's post on Artfol
The beast was as ugly as it was terrifying. A triangular head, too small for its body, sat on a serpentine neck. A large chest spread from the base of the neck at an odd angle, and its enormous wings sprouted from its back at around the same place. The wings themselves were folded, but the claw-like fingers were spread across the rock, digging in to help hold the thing from falling down the side of the mountain. Aside from the chest, it was thin – almost emaciated in appearance. This observation was not helped by the fact that a trail of large spines ran down the beast’s back. Its legs, however, were bulky, having to bear most of the creature’s weight. One of these had trapped the lioness, and the wyvern either didn’t have the control to hold its prey painlessly – or didn’t care.
The big cat’s screams were terrible to hear, but fortunately, didn’t last long. The wyvern opened jaws that were too large and cleanly bit off its prey’s head. It stepped off the body and used its most fearsome weapon: its frost breath. For, though the lioness was already dead, the wyvern preferred its meals frozen. From where she was, even above the shoulder of the dread creature, Raina could feel the bite of its icy breath.
That snapped her out of her paralysis. Where her mind had been fearfully empty, she was now consumed with a single thought: this fiend stole my kill. Her grip tightened on the spear. She could almost hear Harnet tell her not to, but… she was out of time. If she passed this up, she would only have two days to make a proper kill or return to the tribe in shame. Death now would be better. After all, if she returned in failure, she would be cast out: a death sentence regardless.
She crept out of her hiding spot when the wyvern had its head down to feed. Watching the wings closely, she waited for an opening. When it was forced to back up to reach the crushed part of the lioness, she had her shot. The folded wing rose level with her, quite close, and she drove the spear through the layers of leathery skin. In the same motion, she leapt from the ledge onto the monster’s back.Nov 7, 2023
The big cat’s screams were terrible to hear, but fortunately, didn’t last long. The wyvern opened jaws that were too large and cleanly bit off its prey’s head. It stepped off the body and used its most fearsome weapon: its frost breath. For, though the lioness was already dead, the wyvern preferred its meals frozen. From where she was, even above the shoulder of the dread creature, Raina could feel the bite of its icy breath.
That snapped her out of her paralysis. Where her mind had been fearfully empty, she was now consumed with a single thought: this fiend stole my kill. Her grip tightened on the spear. She could almost hear Harnet tell her not to, but… she was out of time. If she passed this up, she would only have two days to make a proper kill or return to the tribe in shame. Death now would be better. After all, if she returned in failure, she would be cast out: a death sentence regardless.
She crept out of her hiding spot when the wyvern had its head down to feed. Watching the wings closely, she waited for an opening. When it was forced to back up to reach the crushed part of the lioness, she had her shot. The folded wing rose level with her, quite close, and she drove the spear through the layers of leathery skin. In the same motion, she leapt from the ledge onto the monster’s back.Nov 7, 2023
#story
#dragon
#hunt
#desperation
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