The Dragon Prince: A Dumb Lump and Salty Dragon

Protector

But after hearing a familiar sound in the distance, all of her spines suddenly stood on end. "That...That can't be...no...how...why would he be-"

Eyes widening, she realized the sound came from the east, and the faint smell being carried on the wind only confirmed her fear.

"No-no-no-no!"

Wasting no time, she spoke the transformation spell and took on her dragon form. Surrounding townsfolk and merchants all gasped and shouted, shocked by the dragoness's inconsiderate behavior as she crowded the street and knocked over stands with her large body. She'd help fix everything later, but now, she needed to hurry. She pushed off the ground and quickly flew eastward.

"No-no-no I'm coming Soren. Please, please be okay."

~#~

Trying to escape, Soren stumbled through the trees, clutching his bleeding side. He could maneuver through the trees quicker than his pursuer, but he was starting to get light-headed and struggled to find his way.

When his blurred vision managed to see a path, he pushed past the leaves and made it to the open, dirt road. At least he could find his way from here, find someone to help.

But when the sun was blotted out from behind him, he gulped, looking over his shoulder. The big, male dragon snickered and slashed at him again with his claws. Unable to avoid the massive claw, the guard was caught across the chest and torso by the sharp talons. He fell to his knees before finally collapsing onto his stomach. So this is how he was going to die, killed by a rogue dragon, all alone at the prime of his life. Truly, an awful way to go out, at least by his standards.

However, before the dragon could deal the final, crushing blow, two big claws stepped over him, framing his body underneath. He recognized those colors, that familiar black and crimson.

"P-Pyrrah?" he whispered hoarsely.

The dragoness was unable to hear him, her focus on the male who had dared to harm her mate. "GOYLANG!"

Snarling, the dragon flicked his tail. "Yes Pyrrah, it's me. How pathetic that you decided to choose such a weak, feeble creature for a mate. It only took a few swipes of my claws to send him scurrying like a mouse."

"You dare come into Katolis, and harm my mate! I ought to inform the Dragon King of this treachery! This betrayal! You dare harm a claimed brother of the King?!"

"Well..." the male huffed, inspecting the blood on his claws, "You weren't supposed to show up. This was supposed to be...how should I put it? An unfortunate accident? Perhaps a Banther would've been put to blame."

Feeling something touching her foot, Pyrrah looked down for a moment. Despite his weak, wounded state, Soren reached out his hand to hold one of her talons. She felt his hand grip her toe tightly before it loosened, falling limp. Frowning, she leaned her neck down and looked between her forelegs.

Soren looked up a little with a tired gaze, his breathing heavy and with a tiny purr, she gently licked his cheek in a comforting manner.

However, with her neck lowered and exposed for that brief moment, Goylang took the opportunity to strike. He lunged towards her neck, jaws wide and ready to rip into her flesh.

Pyrrah's defensive instincts kicked in and immediately, she snapped at the male's exposed throat. The dark-scaled dragon screeched into the sky, his mouth spewing smoke. The dragoness's fangs dug in deep, and she clamped her jaw down hard before whipping her head back and taking a chunk of his flesh with her.

With a roar of agony, blood began pouring from the male dragon's wound. Only barely did the dragoness miss his jugular and arteries in a killer move. The male backed away, clutching one claw to his neck while he roared, shrieked, and cursed at the female.