I rested my chin on my forepaws as I enjoyed the spectacular sunset. I kept an ear open for any potential trouble, although everything seemed quiet. No one trusted it to last long though; we knew that the shadow creature was around since we had caught its scent in various places across the park.
A green dragonet rested beside me; she had stayed at my place last night so that we didn't sleep alone. Just the other night, the shadow creature had tried to dig someone out of their burrow. A few blasts of flame out of the tunnel had made it flee, but we were all sure that it would likely try again. No one was going anywhere alone at this point.
A mindvoice shouted, "The shadow creature is in the clearing where we sang yesterday!"
A hiss erupted from my throat as I threw myself into the sky. The green female was only a wingbeat behind me. We pushed for speed as I heard others letting the caller know that they were also coming as fast as possible.
We entered the clearing to see at least thirty dragonets flying around it with bursts of flame. The black creature was trying to retaliate with its claws and long whip-like tail. It was trapped in the middle of the circling dragonets at the moment. We joined the circle as the raging anger resurfaced at the sight of the creature.
At this point, it had numerous burns and kept trying to strike out at us, but our flame made it keep its distance. Our speed and agility were barely a match for the speed that the creature used when it whipped its tail at us.
All of us were fixed in the same mindset – this creature had to die. We just weren't sure how we could manage it considering that we were barely a fraction of its size, but we knew with a bone-deep certainty that it would keep coming after us. We had seen this kind of persistence with some of the creatures outside of the Kymari walls, and several dragonets had lost their lives to those wild beasts before we took shelter in the Kymari parks. This shadow creature was too deadly for us to let it escape alive.
At this point, simply hitting it with fire barely seemed sufficient. My instincts wanted something more. I flipped upside down and barely avoided its tail as it whizzed through the spot I had just been.
With a shriek of rage, I flew up and came straight down on the back of its neck. Following my instincts, I dug in my claws to keep from sliding off of its slick skin as I swung my head down to bury my teeth in its hide. I felt it start to reach around, and I launched off of its back to escape back into the sky.
I spat a fireball at it from a safe height, letting the flame sear the foul burning traces of its blood from my mouth. That was one of the nastiest things I have ever tasted. My blood was up, and a red dragonet followed my original lead as she landed another bite before escaping out of its range.
The creature went to swat her, but missed and stumbled. It seemed disoriented now, and I swooped in to breathe a stream of flame at it, adding another burn mark on its already blistering hide. More dragonets were arriving, about half of our population was now assaulting the shadow creature.
It launched towards one side of the circling and flaming dragonets, causing those in its path to scatter with superb reflexes. It stumbled and fell down before going into seizures. We circled and kept flaming it as its body was wracked with convulsions.
The convulsions didn't last long before it stilled and ceased breathing. Only then did we land in nearby trees to try and catch our breath. We were all breathing hard as we looked at one another with wide eyes.
A green female panted, "Okay... What exactly just happened?"
A purple dragonet responded, "Well, we killed it."
Another purple dragonet, the secret agent, flew to a tree beside the corpse and peered down at it. "It went into seizures..." He looked up at us. "Is there any chance that our bite is venomous?"
He looked around at the dozens of resting dragonets who were watching him. One of the first dragonets shrugged. "We bit those scientists a few times, and they all lived."
"Hmmm... True."
A scarlet female shook her wings out. "Well, I am simply glad that it is dead."
My eyes widened as a terrifying thought occurred to me, and I lifted my head in sudden worry. I said, "It is dead... But what are the Kymari going to think when they find it like this? It is too big to move or hide, and we aren't too far from one of the larger walking trails."
My eyes met numerous other wide-eyed gazes. If the Kymari figured out that we were responsible for this kill, then they could reasonably assume that we could harm them or their children. That would be very bad.
* * *
I waited high in a tree. My view was almost completely obscured by leaves. A scarlet dragonet was lying beside me on a branch. We had volunteered to come here early this morning and skip the Morning Song to see what the Kymari's reaction would be. Missing the Morning Song had been torturous.
My ear tufts flattened as I silently watched two Kymari approaching where the creature's body laid. They rounded the corner, and the moment the one spotted the charred carcass, he dropped into a fighting crouch as he drew his weapons. The second one quickly mirrored his actions.
They quickly realized that the creature was dead. One used his radio, but I couldn't quite make out his deep soft voice. They remained where they were, weapons still drawn as they slowly scanned the area around them.
Mere minutes later, a flying shuttle dropped into the clearing and heavily armored guards got out. They approached the creature cautiously and inspected it. A dozen gathered around the creature talking while several others cautiously checked the area and came up empty. None bothered checking the thin branches high in the canopy, although I was still glad that we were invisible behind this many leaves.
Drake's voice entered my mind. "I saw a shuttle head in your direction. What was their reaction? Should we expect any fallout from this?" He had been using the general mindlink, although he had directed the question at me.
I sent a mental image of the scene below. "They are not impressed that this creature is here. They call it a sicora. From what I am hearing, it shouldn't be on this planet at all, and its presence has them somewhat on edge. Apparently, it is an extremely dangerous animal that has a high tendency to attack anything that moves. By the way, its venom is deadly; if we hadn't killed it, they would have."
The scarlet beside me chimed in, "Thankfully, they don't suspect us. They think that the burns are previous injuries that it obtained on whatever ship it might have stowed away on. They believe that it died from the aftereffects of the burns. We might want to keep out of sight though, they are planning numerous patrols across both the city and the parks in case there are more out there."
I felt Drake's sigh of relief. He said, "At least we aren't on their radar; that is the best news I have heard all day. Everyone is in more remote areas at the moment, but we will take care to keep a low profile."
I commented dryly, "Don't bother waiting for us. It will be some time before this group leaves, and I don't think we dare move until then. They are on high alert, and any noise could have weapons pointed at us."
He chuckled in light humor. "Enjoy your vacation then."
I suppressed the desire to snort at his response. "How does hiding in a tree above a group of heavily armed aliens count as a vacation in any way?"
Drake's amusement was clear, although he didn't respond. I glanced at my companion. "Might as well get comfy. We could be here for some time."
She was stretched out on a branch and half-way opened up one eye to regard me in amusement. "I am already comfy. Once this bunch leaves, then I can actually relax."
I chuckled lightly as I curled my neck so I could rest my chin on my hands. I kept half an eye on those milling around below as I relaxed in the early morning sunlight.
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Here is a picture of a sicora, beautifully made by @valdtrift
And @DiamondWillowTree made this lovely picture of a sunburst berry vine.