Zarazan

Prologue

          The scalpel clicks against the cold metal table. An elf with short brown curls pulls on a pair of blue operation gloves, sitting down in front of the foreign plant. She picks it up tentatively, examining the long, thick stalk and the yellow buds sprouting from the sides. She'd never seen this plant before and she couldn't find any records of it in her books. A mutated sprout, she concluded. A blank sheet of paper with a wooden pen sat beside the plant, ready for recording. 

          The elfling leaned closer to the plant, wafting its scent to her small nose. It was strong and left a sickening feeling in her belly. She couldn't explain it, however. A sour smell with a slight tinge of sweetness. But the mixture left foul tingling in her throat. She leaned back in her seat slightly, scrawling down paraphrased notes about the plant. The young lady finally reached for her scalpel, holding it to the thick stalk of the mutated flower. She moved to make an incision, but the second the blade pierced the shoot, a strange, yellow foamy substance seeped onto the knife. The stench grew stronger now, filling the whole room. The foam spilt out over the elf's gloves, never seeming to stop, or even slow.

          She cursed slightly, holding her clean wrist to her nose, trying to stifle a gag, a side effect caused by the stink. She grunts a bit, pushing her chair away from the table. She covered her nose, scribbling more quick notes and sketches onto the paper. She stood, going to her sink to wash off, needing to get out of the room. Something felt like it was herding her away. She removes her gloves, gagging slightly at the yellow residue left on her slender fingertips. As she goes to turn on the faucet, disposing of the gloves, she hears a jarring crash from the den. Her heart leaps in surprise.

          A yelp is heard in the same direction. The elf gasps and exclaims, "Kaya!" She rushes out of her room in a hurry, going to save her little dragon from whatever the hell he did. As she enters the den, she sees her little lung dragon frantically trying to run away from the fallen shelf. But her fluffy tail is trapped beneath the plank of wood. The elf signs in relief, seeing that the injury isn't severe. She easily lifts the wood up, freeing the dragon. Kaya scampers around her owner, a goofy smile lighting up her features. She stands on her tiny back legs and licks at the woman's fingertips. The elf retaliates and backs up, causing the lung dragon to flop over. 

          The elf sighs before going to pick up her broken belongings off the floor. As she's cleaning up, she feels a firm set of round teeth grip onto her ankle. Used to this, she kicks Kaya off gently. The elfling examined a chipped wooden plaque that previously had her face carved into it. The nose was cracked and seems like it's about to fall off. Sighing, she nudges her dragon friend off of her ankle once more, placing the plaque on the floor again. 

          She yells in surprise and slight pain as this time, Kaya bites roughly onto her ankle, growling slightly. Taken aback by the aggression, the elf tries frantically to shake the long, young dragon off of her leg. But the once-passive dragon snapped and gnawed painfully. The elf was mortified as her little companion had never harmed anything in its life. Kaya seemed to gain the strength of thirty drakes as it pushed her to the ground, her back hitting the wood hard, leaving the elf breathless. She attempts to push the dragon away as it snaps at her face, aiming for her throat. 

          The elfling's brain wasn't working properly at this point as she frantically tries to block the dragon's attacks. Kaya bit at the woman's legs and stomach, drawing small scraps of blood. She went to hit the dragon but instead, got teeth in her hand. She recoiled her palm, cradling it in pain. Kaya went for the throat, successfully grappling it. A look of sadness, fear, and confusion swirled around in the eyes of Kaya's victim. As the final breath shook out, the elf fell still. Kaya retreated into the bedroom.