Chapter 13

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Gavin crawled through some brush of grass, sniffing the air. He had to find some kind of prey on the ground. It was dark, and trying to catch a bird would make too much noise and scare other possible prey off. Maybe a plump cow would be good, but the closest scavenger den was near the Mud Kingdom, further towards the east. Gavin didn't feel like travelling all the way over there just for one cow and getting attacked by pesky scavengers.
Gavin flicked his black tongue, sensing the air. There was certainly something near. He crouched down below the grass and trees, staying quiet.
Snap.
What is that?
Snap. Sliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiither.
Gavin's ears twitched as he tried to locate the noise. It wasn't too far away, but it was also close. Maybe it was a jaguar or some other large animal.
Gavin flicked his forked tongue one last time, trying to find the scent trail of the animal.
Snap.

Gavin crawled through the undergrowth, following the scent trail. His stomach growled even louder, and he cursed himself, hoping the noise wasn't audible. He crawled forward, flicked his tongue, then crawled more. He kept doing this until he suddenly stopped. He flicked his tongue again.
The sense was strong now. He must be close. He slowly peered his head above the grass, to see a large shadow. A dark shape was about a few feet away from him, moving its head back and forth. The mystery creature was big, at least from a low level. Gavin lowered his head again, readying his claws and jaws.

Before his target began to move away, Gavin launched himself out of the grass and flung himself at the dark figure. He collided with the shape and they both yelped in pain, rolling and tumbling on the ground. Gavin and the creature wrestled until he had it pinned down. Gavin hissed and was about to bite the creature's neck, before he was then kicked in his underbelly. Gavin roared, the stinging pain in his stomach made him dizzy before he was then knocked to the ground. Gavin looked up, and saw that his target was about to escape, so, he quickly stood up and chomped down on it's the tail. "Ow!" Cried the creature as Gavin began to smell smoke.
Wait, did the creature sound feminine?

The creature opened it's large wings and tried to fly away, before Gavin roughly dugged the creature's tail downward with all of his strength, and the dark figure crashed onto the dirt floor. Gavin leapt from the ground and pinned the creature down. The moonlight from the three moons' gave him enough light to reveal the creature's features.
It was a female NightWing dragon. The tiny, silver scales sparkling under her wings caught the soft moonlight glowing from above. The NightWing was midnight blue with brown eyes. Her horns were dark gray, and her glittering wings were as blue as the dark night sky itself. "Holy moons," Gavin gasped. "A NightWing? Why are you here? Are you a spy?"

The NightWing female hissed. "A spy? Of course not! I was studying the RainWings, you snail." Gavin studied her as if he was sensing that she was lying or not. "Why are you studying the RainWings, huh?" Gavin pushed his claw harder on the female's throat, causing her to choke. "Because I was curious about these 'lazy' RainWings! Why are YOU here is the question!" The NightWing lashed her tail as she tried to breath. Gavin lessened the pressure on her throat. "I was trying to get the RainWing army," he says. "Someone has to stop the war."
"Gavin!"
A familiar voice boomed from the trees. Another dark figure zoomed above them, whipping through the branches and trees. "Where are you- Oh! There you are!"
Grapefruit landed beside Gavin. "How did you know I was gone?" Gavin asked, tilting his head at The RainWing. "Cherry was awake when you left and she saw you. You didn't come back in a while, so she told me that you was down here somewhere. I thought you was dead," Grapefruit responded. "I was hunting for food. Until I found this NightWi-"
Gavin was then kicked in the stomach again, but harder, and it sent him flying off of the female. The NightWing female stumbled up, her ears were turned back with distress. "Leave me alone!" she yelled, baring her teeth and flaring her wings. "Stay back, I can kill her with my venom," Grapefruit whispered to Gavin. "I just need to hit her eyes.."

Gavin whacked Grapefruit's snout with his claws. "Ow," Grapefruit whined as he rubbed his nose. "What was that for?"
Gavin snorted. "No, we aren't killing her. She didn't do anything wrong," Gavin says. "What she's in the Rainforest Kingdom! Trespassing! Queen Glory would be upset," Grapefruit added as he shot a glare at the NightWing. "She was only studying the RainWings, Grapefruit. She wasn't harming anyone,"
Grapefruit rolled his eyes. "Whatever. I'll see you back in the RainWing village."
Grapefruit quickly took off into The sky and left. His wingbeats faded, the sounds of the rainforest settled over them. "I still do not understand why you attacked me," the NightWing female said after a moment. "I was hunting and I mistook you as prey. I'm sorry," Gavin apologized as he looked up at the night sky. What a beautiful night for a fly around the rainforest. "Didn't you say you was using the RainWing army to stop the war?" The female asked. "Why did the RainWing queen agree to your request? How are you special?"
Gavin levitated a stick with his magic, and threw the stick at the NightWing's head. The stick bounced off of the dragoness' snout. She didn't act surprised about Gavin's power. "Oh, you're animus? That's cool. I've never seen one before,"
The two then stayed quiet for a few long, awkward minutes. Gavin wondered why the female hadn't left yet, but he also wondered why he hasn't left, either. Well, he still never caught any prey, but sitting in one spot with a NightWing isn't going to magically bring food to his claws. "What's your name?" Gavin suddenly says as he glanced at the NightWing. The female looked at him, frowning and flicking her tail. "I'm not going to tell the dragon who almost killed me," she says. Gavin grunted. "It was an accident!" Gavin cried. He flustered his wings. "Will you tell me your name if I tell you mine?"
"No," the NightWing said bluntly. She laid her head on the ground, probably about to fall asleep. "I'll tell you my name anyway, I guess," Gavin said as he lifted into the sky. "My name is Gavin."
The NightWing didn't respond, and she most likely wasn't even listening. Gavin rolled his eyes and flew back to the RainWing village.

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