Buk's Scribbles

[Bakbuk]

Because why not :3

I like writing things, and I plan to do a lot of creative writing with my OC's just for fun, and I don't want to hijack anybody else's thread with my recurring mile-long stories.

So yeah, I'll mostly just be using this to post stories about my characters, and maybe if I ever become a decent artist, I'll share some of that too.

For some context: All of my OC's are either random wild animals, dragons (Cursed Waters/Wings of Fire) or space things (Star Wars). If you don't know who a particular story is about, and/or would like to know more, feel free to ask!

Now for a tag list of some of the coolest people in all existence:

Spoiler: Frens

@-Kiwi- (Thanks for inadvertently inspiring this thread) @Blue Raptor @_-Captain BRM-_ @Isabella6Storm4 @Amer @RDchicken99 @Lacy Duckwing @Crestcrazy2 @-Shade- @SunriseChickers ('cause you wanted the tag last time, heh)

Sorry if I missed any of ya.

Have fun guys! I have a lot of wild storylines constantly whirling around in my head that I need an outlet for, lol.

 

[Bakbuk]

The beginning of one of my all-time favorite OC's (WoF)

Spoiler: Guess who

It was the hour before dawn in the Poison Jungle.

All was still except for the quiet chirping of a single treefrog.
Glancing upward from his perch in an understory shrub, the little amphibian settled his gaze upon a giant strangler fig. Having choked the life out of the ponderous tree it grew up on over three hundred years before, it now stood solid on its own, massive root systems elevating its crown above the canopy of the forest.

But strangely enough- it didn't seem to be hollow, at least to the outside appearance. Looking closely, one could see vines woven thickly through the gaps between the roots, closing the outside spaces and leaving the inside open.
But that wasn't nature. Nature was random, and to the casual observer, rather dominated by entropy.
But this wasn't random. This was intentional.

If one had approached the tree, they would've found that the woven vines extended all the way up, almost to the top. All but in three spots; one being at the forest floor, the next at the top of the understory, and the last being centered in the middle of the canopy. Having the appearance of doors (for so they were), they all lined up perfectly, facing the rising sun to the east.

Inside the hollow were rooms furnished to be a living space. Woven ladders connected five stories of rooms inside the hollow tree.
In the uppermost room sat a large bowl made (again) out of thick, woody vines. It was lined with green plants and spongy leaves, especially at the bottom. In the center of all this sat a rather sizable, elliptical egg; myrtle green with streaks of brown running vertically through it.

Soft hues of pink, orange and yellow crept into the eastern horizon, displacing the fading stars as the colors of sunrise strengthened and brightened.

In the room below, a Leafwing dragoness stirred. Her mate lay beside her, his heavy, regular breathing a sure sign of his undisturbed slumber. Yawning, she stood and climbed up the ladder of plant tendrils quietly so as not to wake him, and emerged in the room above.

She walked over to the nest and peered over the rim. The egg sat peacefully, never once moving, the same as it always had. "Always." The dragon chuckled softly to herself. Always as of three hundred and sixty-three days ago. Her expression brightened slightly. It had been almost a year now, according to the faithful tally marks engraved on the wall behind her. It could only be but a few more days now. Liana smiled. She was going to be a mother. The concept was still so strange, yet so amazing to her.

Kudzu awakened to the obnoxious, noisy call of a flycatcher outside his window. Blinking, he stretched and looked around. Not seeing his mate, he decided to climb upstairs where he knew she would undoubtedly be.

Liana heard the dragon walk up behind her and come to gaze over her shoulder. She turned her head slightly to face him. "It's beautiful, isn't it." She said, smiling. Kudzu simply nodded, his face radiating delight and pride. The dragoness turned back towards the egg. "Did you know that it's been almost a year now? Almost a year it's been sitting, waiting, growing. It's only going to be a few more days until we have our first dragonet."
Kudzu grinned. "Well, are you ready?" he asked, hugging her close to him. "As ready as I'll probably ever be." Liana laughed sheepishly. "I don't really know though. I've never been a mom before." The male looked down at her. "I think you're going to do a great job." He said, smiling again.

They sat and stared at the egg for a long time after, neither saying a word.

Finally Liana broke the silence. "I like the brown streaks in the shell." She said, motioning towards it. "It reminds me of that one tree they have in Dragonfly Bay-- the one with the big, exposed roots. What's it called again?" She asked, turning towards her mate.
"Umm.... are you talking about the mangrove?" he asked.
"Nooo... not the mangrove. It was something bigger, more in the swampland." she replied.
They both sat in puzzled silence for a moment.
"Oh!" Kudzu exclaimed, remembering. "Was it the cyprus tree?"
"Yeah, that was it." Liana said. "cyprus." she giggled. "He looks like a little cyprus."

Another silence.

"You know-- that would be a pretty good name." The male dragon said slowly.
"What, Cyprus?" She pondered the idea for a moment. "You know what-- I actually really like that. Sounds good to me." Liana nodded.
"Cyprus it is." Kudzu affirmed.

The pair turned to go, their hungry stomachs demanding for breakfast to be delivered promptly.
Just before she exited the room, Liana looked back over her shoulder.
"Well, little Cyprus." she whispered. "I sure hope you hatch soon."

Once again, the room was empty, dark and quiet.
And it remained that way for nearly an hour.

Then, the egg began to stir. Wobbling slightly, and then increasingly more, a crack started to appear in the top of the shell. Widening, the fissure slowly gave way to a little snout that was stubbornly whacking away at it. circling the upper portion of the egg, the crack soon became circumferential as the top part suddenly separated from the rest of the shell.
Falling quiet for a moment, the egg laid still.
Then, a verdant, emerald little Leafwing dragonet hesitantly crawled out of it, taking a prolonged look around before climbing up and peeking over the edge of the nest.

And so the life of Cyprus the Leafwing had begun.

 

[Bakbuk]

The beginning of one of my all-time favorite OC's (WoF)

Spoiler: Guess who

It was the hour before dawn in the Poison Jungle.

All was still except for the quiet chirping of a single treefrog.
Glancing upward from his perch in an understory shrub, the little amphibian settled his gaze upon a giant strangler fig. Having choked the life out of the ponderous tree it grew up on over three hundred years before, it now stood solid on its own, massive root systems elevating its crown above the canopy of the forest.

But strangely enough- it didn't seem to be hollow, at least to the outside appearance. Looking closely, one could see vines woven thickly through the gaps between the roots, closing the outside spaces and leaving the inside open.
But that wasn't nature. Nature was random, and to the casual observer, rather dominated by entropy.
But this wasn't random. This was intentional.

If one had approached the tree, they would've found that the woven vines extended all the way up, almost to the top. All but in three spots; one being at the forest floor, the next at the top of the understory, and the last being centered in the middle of the canopy. Having the appearance of doors (for so they were), they all lined up perfectly, facing the rising sun to the east.

Inside the hollow were rooms furnished to be a living space. Woven ladders connected five stories of rooms inside the hollow tree.
In the uppermost room sat a large bowl made (again) out of thick, woody vines. It was lined with green plants and spongy leaves, especially at the bottom. In the center of all this sat a rather sizable, elliptical egg; myrtle green with streaks of brown running vertically through it.

Soft hues of pink, orange and yellow crept into the eastern horizon, displacing the fading stars as the colors of sunrise strengthened and brightened.

In the room below, a Leafwing dragoness stirred. Her mate lay beside her, his heavy, regular breathing a sure sign of his undisturbed slumber. Yawning, she stood and climbed up the ladder of plant tendrils quietly so as not to wake him, and emerged in the room above.

She walked over to the nest and peered over the rim. The egg sat peacefully, never once moving, the same as it always had. "Always." The dragon chuckled softly to herself. Always as of three hundred and sixty-three days ago. Her expression brightened slightly. It had been almost a year now, according to the faithful tally marks engraved on the wall behind her. It could only be but a few more days now. Liana smiled. She was going to be a mother. The concept was still so strange, yet so amazing to her.

Kudzu awakened to the obnoxious, noisy call of a flycatcher outside his window. Blinking, he stretched and looked around. Not seeing his mate, he decided to climb upstairs where he knew she would undoubtedly be.

Liana heard the dragon walk up behind her and come to gaze over her shoulder. She turned her head slightly to face him. "It's beautiful, isn't it." She said, smiling. Kudzu simply nodded, his face radiating delight and pride. The dragoness turned back towards the egg. "Did you know that it's been almost a year now? Almost a year it's been sitting, waiting, growing. It's only going to be a few more days until we have our first dragonet."
Kudzu grinned. "Well, are you ready?" he asked, hugging her close to him. "As ready as I'll probably ever be." Liana laughed sheepishly. "I don't really know though. I've never been a mom before." The male looked down at her. "I think you're going to do a great job." He said, smiling again.

They sat and stared at the egg for a long time after, neither saying a word.

Finally Liana broke the silence. "I like the brown streaks in the shell." She said, motioning towards it. "It reminds me of that one tree they have in Dragonfly Bay-- the one with the big, exposed roots. What's it called again?" She asked, turning towards her mate.
"Umm.... are you talking about the mangrove?" he asked.
"Nooo... not the mangrove. It was something bigger, more in the swampland." she replied.
They both sat in puzzled silence for a moment.
"Oh!" Kudzu exclaimed, remembering. "Was it the cyprus tree?"
"Yeah, that was it." Liana said. "cyprus." she giggled. "He looks like a little cyprus."

Another silence.

"You know-- that would be a pretty good name." The male dragon said slowly.
"What, Cyprus?" She pondered the idea for a moment. "You know what-- I actually really like that. Sounds good to me." Liana nodded.
"Cyprus it is." Kudzu affirmed.

The pair turned to go, their hungry stomachs demanding for breakfast to be delivered promptly.
Just before she exited the room, Liana looked back over her shoulder.
"Well, little Cyprus." she whispered. "I sure hope you hatch soon."

Once again, the room was empty, dark and quiet.
And it remained that way for nearly an hour.

Then, the egg began to stir. Wobbling slightly, and then increasingly more, a crack started to appear in the top of the shell. Widening, the fissure slowly gave way to a little snout that was stubbornly whacking away at it. circling the upper portion of the egg, the crack soon became circumferential as the top part suddenly separated from the rest of the shell.
Falling quiet for a moment, the egg laid still.
Then, a verdant, emerald little Leafwing dragonet hesitantly crawled out of it, taking a prolonged look around before climbing up and peeking over the edge of the nest.

And so the life of Cyprus the Leafwing had begun.

Continuing...

Spoiler

"Biddie."

"No Cyprus, that's a birdie." Kudzu said, motioning towards a Bee-eater on a tree branch outside the window. The little bird was flitting about, catching flying insects on the wing and returning to its perch to eat them.

Cyprus nodded gravely. "Biddie." He repeated, looking up at daddy.

"Cyprus, it's a birdie. Biiiiiirrrrrrrrdie." The older dragon said, emphasizing the "R" sound.

"MmBRrrrRrrrrrrrrrr." the Leafwing dragonet growled, absent-mindedly copying the sound. Suddenly he looked back at the aforementioned avian, as if a brilliant idea had just occurred to him. "Ooooh! Yummy biddie." He said with a mischievous grin, edging towards the window.

"No no Cyprus, let's not eat the birdie. Let him be." Kudzu said patiently, gently extending his wing to tug his son back from the window.

Cyprus looked up at him in consternation. "But wHHYYYYYY?" He huffed petulantly. "Biddie is yummy good." He muttered, mostly to himself.

"The birdie eats lots and lots of mosquitos and flies and other nasty bugs we don't want around." He explained. "If we eat the birdie, then who's gonna eat all the gross bugs for us?"

Cyprus, completely stumped by this question from daddy, thought hard for a moment, and then brightened again rather abruptly.

"ME!!" the dragonet shouted, beaming with a grin so enormous it came quite near to splitting his face in half. "ME EAT DER SKEEDOS!"

And with that, he vaulted himself out the window, crashing down on the branch and scaring the unsuspecting "biddie" nearly right out of its feathers.

Kudzu laughed as he watched his son snapping at the empty air with boundless enthusiasm, devouring scores of imaginary insects while missing all the real ones by about three miles, at the closest.

"Regardless of what you may like to think or say, I'm quite sure I was never that crazy." An amused voice commented behind him.

"He's quite the little monster, isn't he." The Leafwing chuckled as he turned to face his mate.

"Hopefully the next one will turn out, oh, I don't know, a bit more-- docile? Relaxed? This little man is about all I can handle." Liana laughed. "Did I tell you about the stunt he pulled when you were out hunting the other day?"

She and Kudzu laughed over the story of one of Cyprus' most recent exploits as they headed up the stairs to the top story of their house.

Entering the room, they paced over to the old, familiar, cozy nest. Inside, yet another egg was laying peacefully. Undisturbed and perfectly comfortable, another little baby dragonet was growing inside.

"It feels like just yesterday that Cyprus hatched." Liana sighed. "And look here! Here's another little bundle of scales that'll be popping out into the great big world very soon. Our little bundle of scales."

"I wonder whether it's a boy or a girl." Kudzu pondered. "Either way, I'm sure he's going to love having a little sibling."

Cyprus, having since discarded his great and glorious conquest of the legendary "skeedos" (at least for the time being), looked around, missing his distracted audience. "Im go fine daddy" the dragonet mumbled to himself as he clambered back inside and sniffed the air, following his nose up the stairs.

Entering the room above was a fairly unusual experience for the Leafwing. He mostly wasn't allowed up here by himself, only when mommy or daddy were. He didn't see what there was to it anyway, just a big bowl of vines in the center of the floor. Cyprus thought originally that it might contain food, and therefore be of untold value and importance. However, the family never ate in there, and daddy never brought food from upstairs. So, having discarded said theory, it ceased to hold interest for him.

As he reached the highest level and stepped into the room, he saw both mommy and daddy leaning over and looking into the bowl. Again. They did this like-- every five minutes. He never could tell what had them so fascinated, but, as it didn't seem to involve him, he mostly let it alone.

Nevertheless, he dragonet's curiosity won the day in this particular instance. "Find you!" he yelped as he bounced over to his parents. Sizing up the leap to the rim of the bowl, two awkward flaps of his wings sent him to the desired altitude.

Liana chuckled. "Hey buddy. Come to check out your little sibling?" She smiled, pulling the baby dragon closer to her.

Cyprus blinked. In the middle of the bowl was a green round thing. It was kind of shaped like a mango. He stared at it intently. "DAT?" He asked with an air of being utterly lost as he pointed at the round object. " 'Tibing??"

"Yup, that's your little sister." Liana said. "Or at least, we hope so. Clearsight help us if we get TWO baby boys!" She giggled.

" 'Ti'ter." The dragonet echoed, his S's too lazy to go to the trouble of actually making a sound.

He hopped off after a few more seconds of staring at it, mumbling to himself: "Dat. 'Ti'ter. Dat."

Reappearing at the fourth-story window, he peeked out. The Bee-eater had cautiously returned to its perch, warily eyeing the Leafwing house. "Hmmmm. Biddie." Cyprus grinned. "Me still tink yummy biddie." Pausing to look around but seeing nobody watching, he crouched and took a flying leap through the window. "I EATS!!!" the dragonet hollered, crashing back down on the branch he had landed the last time. To his utter dismay however, he discovered that the only achievement wrought by this daring act of bravado and window jumping was to the effect of the bird vanishing once more, this time promising itself to never return to that particular tree branch for the entire remainder of its existence.

 

[Blue Raptor]

Continuing...

Spoiler

"Biddie."

"No Cyprus, that's a birdie." Kudzu said, motioning towards a Bee-eater on a tree branch outside the window. The little bird was flitting about, catching flying insects on the wing and returning to its perch to eat them.

Cyprus nodded gravely. "Biddie." He repeated, looking up at daddy.

"Cyprus, it's a birdie. Biiiiiirrrrrrrrdie." The older dragon said, emphasizing the "R" sound.

"MmBRrrrRrrrrrrrrrr." the Leafwing dragonet growled, absent-mindedly copying the sound. Suddenly he looked back at the aforementioned avian, as if a brilliant idea had just occurred to him. "Ooooh! Yummy biddie." He said with a mischievous grin, edging towards the window.

"No no Cyprus, let's not eat the birdie. Let him be." Kudzu said patiently, gently extending his wing to tug his son back from the window.

Cyprus looked up at him in consternation. "But wHHYYYYYY?" He huffed petulantly. "Biddie is yummy good." He muttered, mostly to himself.

"The birdie eats lots and lots of mosquitos and flies and other nasty bugs we don't want around." He explained. "If we eat the birdie, then who's gonna eat all the gross bugs for us?"

Cyprus, completely stumped by this question from daddy, thought hard for a moment, and then brightened again rather abruptly.

"ME!!" the dragonet shouted, beaming with a grin so enormous it came quite near to splitting his face in half. "ME EAT DER SKEEDOS!"

And with that, he vaulted himself out the window, crashing down on the branch and scaring the unsuspecting "biddie" nearly right out of its feathers.

Kudzu laughed as he watched his son snapping at the empty air with boundless enthusiasm, devouring scores of imaginary insects while missing all the real ones by about three miles, at the closest.

"Regardless of what you may like to think or say, I'm quite sure I was never that crazy." An amused voice commented behind him.

"He's quite the little monster, isn't he." The Leafwing chuckled as he turned to face his mate.

"Hopefully the next one will turn out, oh, I don't know, a bit more-- docile? Relaxed? This little man is about all I can handle." Liana laughed. "Did I tell you about the stunt he pulled when you were out hunting the other day?"

She and Kudzu laughed over the story of one of Cyprus' most recent exploits as they headed up the stairs to the top story of their house.

Entering the room, they paced over to the old, familiar, cozy nest. Inside, yet another egg was laying peacefully. Undisturbed and perfectly comfortable, another little baby dragonet was growing inside.

"It feels like just yesterday that Cyprus hatched." Liana sighed. "And look here! Here's another little bundle of scales that'll be popping out into the great big world very soon. Our little bundle of scales."

"I wonder whether it's a boy or a girl." Kudzu pondered. "Either way, I'm sure he's going to love having a little sibling."

Cyprus, having since discarded his great and glorious conquest of the legendary "skeedos" (at least for the time being), looked around, missing his distracted audience. "Im go fine daddy" the dragonet mumbled to himself as he clambered back inside and sniffed the air, following his nose up the stairs.

Entering the room above was a fairly unusual experience for the Leafwing. He mostly wasn't allowed up here by himself, only when mommy or daddy were. He didn't see what there was to it anyway, just a big bowl of vines in the center of the floor. Cyprus thought originally that it might contain food, and therefore be of untold value and importance. However, the family never ate in there, and daddy never brought food from upstairs. So, having discarded said theory, it ceased to hold interest for him.

As he reached the highest level and stepped into the room, he saw both mommy and daddy leaning over and looking into the bowl. Again. They did this like-- every five minutes. He never could tell what had them so fascinated, but, as it didn't seem to involve him, he mostly let it alone.

Nevertheless, he dragonet's curiosity won the day in this particular instance. "Find you!" he yelped as he bounced over to his parents. Sizing up the leap to the rim of the bowl, two awkward flaps of his wings sent him to the desired altitude.

Liana chuckled. "Hey buddy. Come to check out your little sibling?" She smiled, pulling the baby dragon closer to her.

Cyprus blinked. In the middle of the bowl was a green round thing. It was kind of shaped like a mango. He stared at it intently. "DAT?" He asked with an air of being utterly lost as he pointed at the round object. " 'Tibing??"

"Yup, that's your little sister." Liana said. "Or at least, we hope so. Clearsight help us if we get TWO baby boys!" She giggled.

" 'Ti'ter." The dragonet echoed, his S's too lazy to go to the trouble of actually making a sound.

He hopped off after a few more seconds of staring at it, mumbling to himself: "Dat. 'Ti'ter. Dat."

Reappearing at the fourth-story window, he peeked out. The Bee-eater had cautiously returned to its perch, warily eyeing the Leafwing house. "Hmmmm. Biddie." Cyprus grinned. "Me still tink yummy biddie." Pausing to look around but seeing nobody watching, he crouched and took a flying leap through the window. "I EATS!!!" the dragonet hollered, crashing back down on the branch he had landed the last time. To his utter dismay however, he discovered that the only achievement wrought by this daring act of bravado and window jumping was to the effect of the bird vanishing once more, this time promising itself to never return to that particular tree branch for the entire remainder of its existence.

AWWWW I love that!

 

[Bakbuk]

AWWWW I love that!

Thank you!

That was wayyyy too much fun to write lol

 

[Bakbuk]

Spoiler

He was standing on the forest floor.

The sun was at its zenith, and all the trees and plants seemed to shimmer and sparkle in its warm glow. The young Leafwing sniffed the air. It smelled deliciously of roasted Leopard and fresh mango. Oh, there was one flying towards him now!

Wait. Flying?

He shrugged and reached out to grab the purple fruit. It looked so tasty. Nevermind the fact that it was the wrong color and totally floating up in the air.

Suddenly the world seemed to tremble and his vision rippled.

" 'Typuth." The floating purple mango said, dodging out of his reach. "Wake up, 'Typuth."

The shaking intensified as everything whirled and spun into darkness.

Suddenly, the shaking and the small voice became very real, losing their ethereal, super-sensed feeling.

Cyprus opened his eyes groggily. "Whaa--" he mumbled.

" 'Typuth, I'm hungy." A little voice insisted, the owner of which was tugging vigorously at his arm.

Glancing over and seeing his little sister, the Leafwing dropped his head and closed his eyes again. "Mommy's out huntin." he muttered. "She'll be back soon."

"But 'Typuth, I hungy nowwwww." The little dragonet insisted.

He clenched his claws for a moment as he took a huge yawn and stretched out his wings and legs. "Oh all riiiiiight." Cyprus said sleepily, blinking a few times. "Let's go see what we can find."

"Okay." Said Arnica, beaming up at her brother. The two dragonets trotted over to the house from where Cyprus had been sunbathing near the canopy.

Two little heads popped around a corner to look into the eating room. Eyes large and stomachs growling, they went to rummage around through the dried goods, hoping to find something yummy.

Cyprus, having accidentally stumbled upon the medicine bag, was wondering why there were so many dried leaves and other odd little things in it. This certainly didn't seem like anything he wanted t-

Wait. What was that smell?

Following his nose, the young dragon shoveled bottles and other odd things out of the way until he got to the very bottom of the bag. In a small container sat six small, round, orange fruits. And they smelled HEAVENLY.

"Hey Arnie, come look here!" The Leafwing grinned, holding up one of the fruits. His sister scrambled over and stopped in front of him. "OooOoOOOOHhh, wath dat??" she gasped, her eyes huge.

"I dunno. But it smells AWESOME." Cyprus sniffed in ecstasy. "You wanna try one? I will if you will."

"Yeth!" Arnica said, reaching for one. "Imm eats one."

"Aight, me too." Said Cyprus, popping one in his mouth the same second his sister did.

A wave of indescribable deliciousness passed their tongues and traveled all the way to their stomachs. Cyprus blinked. That had to be the best thing he'd ever tasted.

But- why was the world... wobbly... all of a sudden?

The dragonet's vision started to blur and his talons started twitching and moving themselves and doing all sorts of weird things. Looking up at his sister, he saw her weaving, reeling, until after a few seconds, she fell on the floor with a thud.

And then everything went black.


********************************************


Liana swooped into the third-story doorway. Looking around and seeing nobody, she called out "Cyprus?"

Nothing.

"Cyprus?? Arnica?"

"CYPRUS. Show your face you little munchkin." She growled softly to herself, more annoyed and tired than actually grumpy.

"I've got snaaaaaacks!" She called out, hoping that if this was some kind of prank, this announcement might lure them out.

Again receiving no answer, she sighed and headed downstairs. "Probably out playing by the lake again. Those kids, I swear. I've told them time and time again that it's NOT SAFE for them to go play there by themselves with all the Anacondas and Waterwheels but do they listen? Not by a lemur's tail they don't!" Huffing at this last statement, the Leafwing entered the eating room.

Imagine her surprise to see her two dragonets sprawled out on the floor, completely knocked out. She started, and then looked closer.

"You did not." Liana gasped, looking down at the bag in Cyprus' talons.

But of course, they had.

She sighed again, picking up all of the things they had taken out and moving the medicine bag to a more secure location, out of reach from little dragonets with prying claws.

The dragoness turned around, looking from Cyprus to Arnica (who was currently snoring loud enough to drown out a couple of thunderstorms) and back.

And then, her face breaking out into a knowing maternal smile, Liana had the best laugh of her entire life.

 

[Bakbuk]

Spoiler

The cave was dark, lit only by the flamesilk lanterns that lined the walls and a large iron vessel in the center of the room, filled with the same sizzling, fiery substance.

Towards the back of the cavern one could see, lighted by the eerie glow, a high seat. Carved out of stone and shaped like a throne, it rose imposingly above the rest of the room.

Its sole occupant was a red-orange Hivewing, scarred all over and armed heavily, who was slowly turning a detailed map of Pantala over in her talons.

Presently, a sharp rapping at the doors made her glance upward. "Enter." She growled.

One of the doors opened cautiously, revealing another Hivewing. He stepped forward, bowing low in front of the throne before speaking.

"We have news of a possible lead on the truant, commander."

"That's what you've been reporting for the past six years, Sandfly." She spat. "Do you have any real information for me this time?" The Hivewing snapped impatiently. "Or am I going to have to send your useless scales to the Gallery again?"

He shivered. "N- no commander. I mean- yes commander." Taking a deep breath, he continued. "Our Leafwing agents have caught wind of intel indicating that he's hiding out somewhere in the Poison Jungle."

"Oh WOW. A LEAFWING in the Poison JUNGLE?? I never would've thought that was even POSSIBLE." The dragon on the throne snarled, her voice reaching dangerously sardonic tone.

Before he gave her the opportunity to behead him, Sandfly quickly continued. "Wait commander, there's more." He interrupted, flinching at his own boldness. "Our contacts investigated further and found a village that he regularly visits."

The female looked up with a glint of sudden interest in her eyes.

Sandfly went on. "At the conclusion of one such visit... he inadvertently gave them a rather helpful trail directly to the place he's been living."

"Oh really now." The commander said, straightening up, a ominous smile spreading the corners of her mouth as the lamplight gleamed off her shining teeth. "Now that's what I'd call news."

"You may go. Send our contact here immediately."

Sandfly bowed again before scrambling towards the doors.

"Oh, and you get to keep your head this time. You're WELCOME." She boomed after him.

A moment of silence ensued.

Looking back towards the map, she smiled again. "Well well Kudzu. Looks like this old Hornet isn't all so stupid as you thought she was, now is she?" The dragon chuckled mirthlessly. "You're not going to like what happens next, I'm afraid." She hissed, tossing the map aside and spinning a dagger in her claws.

"Not one bit."

 

[Bakbuk]

Spoiler: trauma heheh

Kudzu sighed contentedly. It had been a long day.

As he glided through the canopy, skillfully dodging the hanging vines and dragontrap plants, the Leafwing reviewed his trip to one of the main villages. All had gone well, for the most part. He was able to restock his pouches with some of the less common useful plants and insects from other parts of the jungle, and he'd dropped by his in-laws' place for a short visit on the way back. He had also seen a few Hivewings mingling in the marketplace, which gave the dragon quite a jolt at first, but seeing as they didn't look too militaristic, and not recognizing any of them, he decided the coast was clear. Kudzu wondered what they were doing so far into the Poison Jungle. Perhaps a royal envoy sent to queen Acacia? Maybe some merchants wishing to establish more trade relations. In any case, he declined to give it any further thought.

Ah, there it was! The good old tree house. Good thing too, as it was starting to get dark and he wanted to see Cyprus and Arnica before they went to bed.

Kudzu landed on a tree branch, sniffing the air casually as he often did.

Wait.

What wa-

Before he could finish his thought, a large, dark shape stepped out of the shadows in front of him.

"Been a long time... Thiefwing."

The dragon froze, chills of horror shuddering down his spine at the sound of that all too familiar title.

"Sandfly." He said slowly, bristling with tension.

"Hoped it'd be longer." He finally managed to say. "A lot longer." The Leafwing's eyes narrowed.

"Well guess what. It's your lucky day!" The Hivewing sneered, flexing his wrists. " 'Cause it's about to be forever."

Kudzu's heart started beating faster. This was it. Oh, he could probably take down Sandfly in a fight (It's not like he hadn't before), but he was well aware of the fact that the Hivewing wasn't alone. He was too much of a coward for that. He'd brought backup. And, knowing Hornet, it wasn't just your average soldiers either.

At just that moment, Liana chose to come to the window and look outside. "Zuzu, what are y--" the dragoness gasped as she caught sight of Sandfly and all the Hivewing guards. "HEY. Who are you, and what are you doing here?!?" she exclaimed, startled.

The Hivewing turned his head slightly to consider her. Making a motion with his talon, three Hivewings and a Leafwing quickly surrounded her.

Sandfly grinned sardonically. "Seriously. You deserted the best thing that ever happened to you-- for that??" He barked a laugh. "You're even more confused than I remember. And that's pretty bad, considerin'."

"Take her." He grunted.

"Oh NO YOU DON'T." Liana snarled fiercely. Instantly a fight broke out between her and the four guards, bloodstained talons soon swinging in the air.

Kudzu leaped in to join the fray but was smashed down by two Hivewings who had been standing behind him. Struggling, he managed to rip one of them off his back as two more moved to immobilize him.

"Pathetic." Sandfly snorted. "Just as you always were. You and I both know you saw three ways to slip out of this situation entirely and yet you chose none of them. You're even weaker than I remembered." The dragon spat in contempt.

With a muffled roar, the Leafwing shot out from under the soldiers holding him down, aiming straight for the Hivewing's throat.

Suddenly, he felt a sharp twang in his chest. Looking down, he saw one of Sandfly's wrist stingers embedded deep in his scales.

"Nice try."

Kudzu's eyes widened in horror as his muscles all started to cramp until they were frozen hard as rocks.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cyprus was busy sorting figs in the eating room when he heard the uproar outside. Quickly setting down the bags he was carrying, he ran to the window and looked outside. Gasping in terror, his eyes surveyed the situation. They were wrapping up daddy in some kind of vine sling. He wasn't moving, making any sound, or even trying to fight back, which was very odd. Mommy, on the other hand, was. She was fighting three of the yellow dragons and another Leafwing, and they were all fighting hard. However, they quickly overwhelmed her and had her pinned to the ground. Those must be-- What were they called? Oh yes. Hivewings. The dragonet had always wanted to see a Hivewing, but he never thought it'd happen like this.

Just at that moment, a diminutive gasp from downstairs caught the guards' attention. "MOMMY!" a little voice cried as Arnica ran outside.

"Arnica, run!!" Liana yelled, but it was too late. One of the smaller Hivewings had already grabbed her. The little dragonet screeched and started biting with all her might and main, but the soldier only commented "Hmph. A tough one. Might be useful." And clamped her jaws shut firmly with one talon.

Cyprus felt helpless watching all of this. He wanted to jump in there and beat up all the bad dragons and make them go away. But- he was just a kid. He couldn't do anything but get himself captured too.

So, turning around soundlessly, he ran for the window on the opposite side of the house and slipped out. Circling back around the house quietly, he ran straight into a big Hivewing carrying a flamesilk lantern.

"Oh, and just where do you think YOU'RE going?" The dragon grinned devilishly, moving to grab him. Cyprus froze, trembling.

Liana, looking up and seeing what was happening, summoned the last of her strength, reached carefully under the branch she was on, and plucked a dry seed pod off of a red vine. Rearing up suddenly, she threw the seed as hard as she could directly towards the lantern before she could be slammed back down.

Suddenly, everything exploded in a cloud of smoke.
Cyprus, taking his opportunity, leaped down from the tree branch and fell down, down, down to the forest understory. Not stopping there, he scrambled the last few feet down to the ground.

And then he ran.

He ran for what felt like hours. Whenever he felt tempted to stop, he imagined that beastly Hivewing directly on his tail and forced himself to double speed.

Finally about midnight, he collapsed to the ground, nearly dead with exhaustion. He was scratched and bruised all over, and nearly eaten by sundews and pitcher plants a dozen times. But he was alive. That was all that mattered.

Cyprus was alive.

 

[Blue Raptor]

Spoiler: trauma heheh

Kudzu sighed contentedly. It had been a long day.

As he glided through the canopy, skillfully dodging the hanging vines and dragontrap plants, the Leafwing reviewed his trip to one of the main villages. All had gone well, for the most part. He was able to restock his pouches with some of the less common useful plants and insects from other parts of the jungle, and he'd dropped by his in-laws' place for a short visit on the way back. He had also seen a few Hivewings mingling in the marketplace, which gave the dragon quite a jolt at first, but seeing as they didn't look too militaristic, and not recognizing any of them, he decided the coast was clear. Kudzu wondered what they were doing so far into the Poison Jungle. Perhaps a royal envoy sent to queen Acacia? Maybe some merchants wishing to establish more trade relations. In any case, he declined to give it any further thought.

Ah, there it was! The good old tree house. Good thing too, as it was starting to get dark and he wanted to see Cyprus and Arnica before they went to bed.

Kudzu landed on a tree branch, sniffing the air casually as he often did.

Wait.

What wa-

Before he could finish his thought, a large, dark shape stepped out of the shadows in front of him.

"Been a long time... Thiefwing."

The dragon froze, chills of horror shuddering down his spine at the sound of that all too familiar title.

"Sandfly." He said slowly, bristling with tension.

"Hoped it'd be longer." He finally managed to say. "A lot longer." The Leafwing's eyes narrowed.

"Well guess what. It's your lucky day!" The Hivewing sneered, flexing his wrists. " 'Cause it's about to be forever."

Kudzu's heart started beating faster. This was it. Oh, he could probably take down Sandfly in a fight (It's not like he hadn't before), but he was well aware of the fact that the Hivewing wasn't alone. He was too much of a coward for that. He'd brought backup. And, knowing Hornet, it wasn't just your average soldiers either.

At just that moment, Liana chose to come to the window and look outside. "Zuzu, what are y--" the dragoness gasped as she caught sight of Sandfly and all the Hivewing guards. "HEY. Who are you, and what are you doing here?!?" she exclaimed, startled.

The Hivewing turned his head slightly to consider her. Making a motion with his talon, three Hivewings and a Leafwing quickly surrounded her.

Sandfly grinned sardonically. "Seriously. You deserted the best thing that ever happened to you-- for that??" He barked a laugh. "You're even more confused than I remember. And that's pretty bad, considerin'."

"Take her." He grunted.

"Oh NO YOU DON'T." Liana snarled fiercely. Instantly a fight broke out between her and the four guards, bloodstained talons soon swinging in the air.

Kudzu leaped in to join the fray but was smashed down by two Hivewings who had been standing behind him. Struggling, he managed to rip one of them off his back as two more moved to immobilize him.

"Pathetic." Sandfly snorted. "Just as you always were. You and I both know you saw three ways to slip out of this situation entirely and yet you chose none of them. You're even weaker than I remembered." The dragon spat in contempt.

With a muffled roar, the Leafwing shot out from under the soldiers holding him down, aiming straight for the Hivewing's throat.

Suddenly, he felt a sharp twang in his chest. Looking down, he saw one of Sandfly's wrist stingers embedded deep in his scales.

"Nice try."

Kudzu's eyes widened in horror as his muscles all started to cramp until they were frozen hard as rocks.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cyprus was busy sorting figs in the eating room when he heard the uproar outside. Quickly setting down the bags he was carrying, he ran to the window and looked outside. Gasping in terror, his eyes surveyed the situation. They were wrapping up daddy in some kind of vine sling. He wasn't moving, making any sound, or even trying to fight back, which was very odd. Mommy, on the other hand, was. She was fighting three of the yellow dragons and another Leafwing, and they were all fighting hard. However, they quickly overwhelmed her and had her pinned to the ground. Those must be-- What were they called? Oh yes. Hivewings. The dragonet had always wanted to see a Hivewing, but he never thought it'd happen like this.

Just at that moment, a diminutive gasp from downstairs caught the guards' attention. "MOMMY!" a little voice cried as Arnica ran outside.

"Arnica, run!!" Liana yelled, but it was too late. One of the smaller Hivewings had already grabbed her. The little dragonet screeched and started biting with all her might and main, but the soldier only commented "Hmph. A tough one. Might be useful." And clamped her jaws shut firmly with one talon.

Cyprus felt helpless watching all of this. He wanted to jump in there and beat up all the bad dragons and make them go away. But- he was just a kid. He couldn't do anything but get himself captured too.

So, turning around soundlessly, he ran for the window on the opposite side of the house and slipped out. Circling back around the house quietly, he ran straight into a big Hivewing carrying a flamesilk lantern.

"Oh, and just where do you think YOU'RE going?" The dragon grinned devilishly, moving to grab him. Cyprus froze, trembling.

Liana, looking up and seeing what was happening, summoned the last of her strength, reached carefully under the branch she was on, and plucked a dry seed pod off of a red vine. Rearing up suddenly, she threw the seed as hard as she could directly towards the lantern before she could be slammed back down.

Suddenly, everything exploded in a cloud of smoke.
Cyprus, taking his opportunity, leaped down from the tree branch and fell down, down, down to the forest understory. Not stopping there, he scrambled the last few feet down to the ground.

And then he ran.

He ran for what felt like hours. Whenever he felt tempted to stop, he imagined that beastly Hivewing directly on his tail and forced himself to double speed.

Finally about midnight, he collapsed to the ground, nearly dead with exhaustion. He was scratched and bruised all over, and nearly eaten by sundews and pitcher plants a dozen times. But he was alive. That was all that mattered.

Cyprus was alive.

Ooooo cliffhanger.

 

[RDchicken99]

BYC never notified me for this…