Dravelein

𝒫𝓇ℴ𝓁ℴℊ𝓊ℯ

Even as the largest living predator on the planet, being a dragon was not easy.
    For most, that was.
    The 'some' dragons that had it easy, had it easy; they were happy and the mountains of gold in their dens filled not only their rooms, but their greedy desires as well.
    However, for most, they struggled; larger and even smaller dragons would hunt them down, and the ones with riches and a life would do nothing to help.
    Rahvaghan was that way, the one dragon that every-dragon picked on, the one who was always running away from potential threats. He was big, yes, but back then, he was a coward.
    Tonight, he was running away from the law.
    He weaved through half-dead trees, unable to fly with the heavy chains dragging his exhausted wings down. He'd been accused of murder, a crime that he never once thought he'd commit.
    Not that he did. Rahvaghan wouldn't hurt a single scale on a hatchling's head, and murder wasn't something that he was fond of. He had tried to tell them that he was innocent, but they wouldn't listen to him.
    The echoing voices of the guards and raging village dragons only fueled his fear and he only ran faster, despite the pain of the burning shackles.
    "GET HIM!"
    "MURDERER!"
    "COME BACK, FREAK!"
    The truth was that Rahvaghan was in the wrong place at the wrong time. That was how most accused murders went over in that area. He thought that being accused of murder was bad enough already, at first. Except when he heard about what he was being accused of.
    The dragon that had committed the crime had killed a hatchling. No. Two. Two innocent little souls were stripped of their lives because one dragon was unhappy with his.
    To put it simply, Rahvaghan was the one to discover the tiny, bleeding bodies and was caught by none other than an authority. He was never very lucky, but he didn't think that his bad luck would get this bad.
    He could never get the sight of a deceased hatchling, especially all mauled up like that, out of his mind. Maul was a part of his tribe name, however, what he saw on the ground was blood, bones, loose eyes, missing teeth and streaks of tears.
    Whoever killed those hatchlings either had a grudge against crying little dragons or some dragon was just having a bad day.
    Rahvaghan came across a cave, a dark cave that reeked of bear corpses. He could keep running or change direction and hop inside the cave, but he was afraid that the guards would notice and follow. Then, he'd be cornered.
    He had to make a decision fast, though. The guards' voices were getting louder with each step that they took closer to him.
    He made a sharp turn, diving into the cave, ducking his head, wings, and tail so that he could fit. He was only a little bigger than the cave, so it was going to be a tight fit, but the more area that he could cover in the cave, the darker the shadow because of his dark scales, and the less that he'd be noticable.
    On the way in, he stepped on his tail and let out a short yelp at the sting. How incredibly stupid could a dragon be to not watch where his tail was going?
    He ducked his head in between his paws and searched for the guards — or any sign of them — through his talons. His tail clung to the chains that could rattle and give away his location, and he waited.
    And waited.
    Until he saw the figures of the guards stop by the cave. Oh, he was done for, for sure, he thought. They'd catch him, send him to the queen and she'd chop off his head. For sure.
    Instead, the guards spoke with each other, and Rahvaghan was there to listen.
    "Where could he have gone?" one of them asked.
    "Don't ask me like I know the answer," another answered with a snarl. It sounded like there were only two guards that managed to track Rahvaghan's closest location down. That was good.
    One of the guards turned their head toward the cave, and Rahvaghan had to shut his eyes so that they wouldn't notice him staring at them.
    "Maybe in there?" asked the first guard.
    No, not in here.
    "No, he's far too big to fit in there," answered the second. "He'd break all of his bones before he could fit in a bear cave."
    Alright, that's mean, Rahvaghan thought. I'm not that tall — wait. Yeah I am. Don't check in here. I'm too big to fit in this tiny cave. I would never be in here. Ever.
    "It also stinks," mumbled the first guard. "Some dragon forgot to eat the rest of his meal in there."
    Rahvaghan shifted his head and wrinkled his snout. Now that the guard had mentioned it, it really did reek of rotten food in that cave. He wished that the guards would just leave him be so that he can leave the cave — and so that he'd stop laying on bear corpses... ew.
    "Whatever," the second guard growled. "Keep searching. I'm not bothered to check a cave if nothing but bodies are in there."
    "Will do."
    It took a moment for Rahvaghan to process the fact that the guards completely went past the cave. Hah. They thought that he was too big. He nearly chuckled at their underestimations, but held it together just in case they were still around.
    So he waited.
    And waited.
    They were gone, and once they were, he finally stepped out, looking around before he made his way out of the forest, alert, and cautious still.