F I R E
The city was thrown into chaos within seconds.
All around him, fire and snakes rained down from the sky of black and yellow and red scales, followed shortly by dropping bodies and screams of agony.
Ranina was horrified, every inch of him crawling with fear, his mind screaming to run away. But he couldn’t. His siblings… his troop. They were still back there and he couldn’t- he wouldn’t leave them. How could he? They were his family.
So he turned around, and he ran.
Miraculously, he wasn’t hit by any of the falling danger as he scrambled to make it home. Numerous dragons nearly crashed into him with the desperate goal to escape in mind, almost all of them either on fire or limping from vicious bite wounds.
It only made him run faster.
He hoped… he prayed that his sibs were alright. That they weren’t one of the withering, dying dragons littering every street.
They had to be okay because he didn’t know what he would do if they weren’t.
It felt like far too long when he finally reached his home. It was already lit aflame, with visible fire and smoke pouring from the windows and out through the roof. Terror struck him at the discovery that the door still remained screwed shut.
Without thinking, Ranina slammed into it, biting back a hiss of pain as heat unremorsefully seared his shoulder. The door gave way after the first shove. Immediately, he barged inside and called out for his siblings.
His only response was the crackling fire and the sight of their burning remains strewn across the living room.
Ranina choked back a sob and blinked away the tears brimming at his eyes. He took a step towards his dead family, but swiftly pulled away as one of their shelves collapsed, blocked off his path, and influenced the strength of the already raging fire.
The temptation to throw himself into it, to join his siblings was strong, but he ignored it, and, with some surprising difficulty, stalked back out the house’s entrance. They wouldn’t want him to die if he didn’t have to.
I have to get out of here.
He killed a snake- a dragonbite viper, he realized-with a blow to the head before it could lunge for him with a snarl of disgust. Releasing the cough itching at his dry throat, he flung open his wings to take off. The sky was clear of danger now and full of numerous dragons fleeing for their lives. The gathering RainWings and NightWings seemed to have dissipated, assumedly satisfied with the destruction that continued to rage through the city.
Where are Queen Andhi and her forces? Ranina wondered, squinting for any blow of yellow and silver that resembled soldiers. Are they even aware?
Before he could leap into the air, his ears strained, and out of havoc, he could hear the squeals of a terrified dragonet.
Against the wishes of his self preservation instincts, he went to investigate.
He found them beneath the burning rubble of what once was a house. Through a gap, he could see it was SkyWing dragonet, perhaps only a few months old. She was curled into a petrified ball of black scarred scales, with most of her tail singed off and her wings- dotted with vicious holes- thrown over her head. Parents must have left her behind, Ranina thought. Or they’re dead.
He inspected the surrounding area for several moments before realizing he had no choice but to widen the gap with nothing at his disposable but his talons.
Ranina bit down on his tongue, gripped the sides of the hole with his claws, and tore aside the rubble. He was struck with blinding pain and felt more dampness prickling his eyes. But he was successful. The gap had expanded enough for him to reach inside and carefully retrieve the dragonet, who yelped at his touch.
“Hey! Hey,” he whispered gently, bringing the squirming, shaking dragonet close to his chest. “It’s okay, little one. I’m going to get you out of here. We’re going to go somewhere safe.” As she noticeably calmed down, he threw open his wings once more and leapt into the air to join the other escaping Scorpion Den citizens. “Can you talk? Do you have a name?”
He didn’t get a reply. Not that he really expected one. “We’re going to go to Possibility,” he continued, this time mostly to himself. “We’ll find a nice home there. We’ll start over.”
He looked back at the Scorpion Den. At the home that killed his sibs. He’d go back once Andhi and her forces arrived and put out the fires and cleared out the snakes. He would bury whatever remained of his family. If there were any.
“I’m sure of it.”