Bane of Dragons

[catalyst]

Hearing hushed talk above them, Onawa also craned her neck up to see the group of humans peering down at them. Only males, though. Women and children weren't allowed anywhere near the dragons, even the young ones who didn't even know they could bite to harm.

Was she... was she trying to be sold? A growl tickled her throat as she stared up at the man whose name she did not care to know, and soon the voice grew audible to the group above, hinting that she heard them very well. Compliant to a point, yes. But she'd be damned if she'd let herself so easily be sold.

It wasn't necessarily a new development; it was just becoming more popular.

"Not you," she clarified. "Me. They sell the smaller and weaker dragons, the ones they don't have a use for and others are willing to pay a lot for." She looked towards Kain. "You didn't know because it doesn't pertain to you." Kain was a powerful dragon who finally seemed to be turning out worth everything he made them lose. There wasn't any way they were going to sell him to some lousy buyer.

 

[Saren]

Kain snorted. As if they could put a price on his strength. He shifted his weight and cocked his head again as another group came by. The fat man, the tall man's right hand in all negotiations, was trailing behind them as they looked. "The black one is Maulkainthur. The little one is Onawa."

"How much for ze black?" the first man asked. He was incredibly bulky and his voice held heft, though it was heavily accented. If he had been a dragon, he might have matched Kain in size. But no one matched Kain, ever.

"Oh... uh... he-he's not for sale. He's going to be Jaksin's personal mount." A large dog, one of those wolfhounds, interrupted the fat man's speech. The animal growled and snarled at Kain, who responded in kind. The dog's tail flew between its legs and it cowered behind the humans. A snarky, smoky snort puffed from Kain's nostrils. "Would you be interested in Onawa? She's a pretty little girl as a human. Very calm. She keeps this one in line."

These humans will not purchase you. If you are to help me escape, you cannot leave my presence, he said to Onawa, though his eyes stayed trained on the humans. If you do so, I might be inclined to slaughter the lot of them. It wasn't a bad plan in his mind.

 

[catalyst]

Onawa snickered at Kain's comment as she turned away from the humans, walking just a little ways to pad down the dirt before curling her body and laying down, letting out a yawn. "I didn't know I mattered so much to you," she taunted before licking her snout, which didn't help much considering she had a dry mouth in the first place. "What, another dragon won't do?"

Even though she was just teasing, it actually held some truth. Without her, she wasn't sure if the hunters would be willing to try again. Or even Maulkainthur, to be quite honest. But it wasn't like she wanted to be sold. No, she'd much rather stay with the angsty dragon and work to escape and free all the other dragons.

 

[Saren]

Kain chose not to answer. It wasn't that he needed her. It was that her presence would make things easier. If the humans were truly convinced that he would settle as long as she was around, then it would be a real surprise when he spilled fire on their skin and pulled himself free of his bonds. He just growled in her general direction before sitting back down.

He could still hear the humans through the day, but no other groups came to inspect him. The word must have gotten around that the black dragon wasn't for sale. However, the fact that no one came to see Onawa was slightly troubling. It meant that either no one wanted her or someone already put a high bid on her.

As night fell, the dragon settled into one of the sharp corners of the pit, looking up at the open sky. He wanted so badly to fly... without a human on his back. Tomorrow, we are leaving. He wasn't taking no for an answer.

 

[catalyst]

The fact that bidders stopped coming by also put the earth dragon on edge. There was only two reasons why such would happen, and that was: (1) because nobody desired to buy her, or (2) she was already bought. The first one was good, no doubt about that, but the second... the second was worrisome. She didn't think that Kain would just let her be taken, but it wasn't exactly like they'd know when she would be.

At night, when the two dragons laid to rest, Onawa heard the commanding tone and she simply gave him a knowing, firm look. No answer back. He was probably worried that she'd be taken, too, and without her, he wouldn't be able to get out so easily.

They'd either leave super early in the morning or late morning, when the slow paces for the guards and hunters came along. Or maybe not. Kain could still be unpredictable.

 

[Saren]

Morning brought humans, but Kain made no interested motion toward them. They weren't going to undo his remaining chains, especially not if there were potential buyers. And there were certainly a lot of them. There were even a few women who seemed to be interested in Onawa. They made a point not to look at Kain, as if their curious gazes would set him off.

They would, but he let nothing show.

"Well, time to place bets!" the tall man shouted. Kain knew he was the leader, but this human would intimidate him no longer. Kain would never admit that the human had made him feel small and inferior, but the feeling had been there once. No more, he told himself with a growl.

As the calls for numbers and bids filled the air, Kain glanced over to Onawa. It was now or never, and his gaze said as much. Change to your human form. The chains will not bind you if you do so. Kain wasn't so lucky in that regard, but the humans had taken great care to ensure that he wouldn't escape. When you do, change back and fly. Do not look back. Your escape will serve as a distraction. I will follow.

The plan was risky, but Kain couldn't escape without another dragon to serve as cover. Besides, once the humans noticed that their main prize was free, they would leave Onawa alone. At least Kain hoped they were that intent on keeping him.

 

[catalyst]

Onawa couldn't help but feel the settling pit of her future grow heavy in her stomach. She was sure Kain had a plan to escape; he had to, otherwise his one chance of freedom would be gone forever. Their chance of freedom.

She was looking up at the gathering crowd of people as the bidding was beginning, but not long after did she hear the male's deep voice inside her head. She looked to him, seeing his stern expression. If this was his plan... well, they didn't have much else to go off of. She just hoped that he wouldn't get caught in the crossfire.

"If you need my help, just give a howl," she half-teased, trying to keep the atmosphere light. She looked back up to the crowds, scanning them for the guards and leader. She let things happen just a little bit longer before she changed into her human form, the chains not restricting her any longer as white skin mostly replaced scales. And then she was free, running to the other side of the walls that held her in and Kain in. It took some time to change back and forth between forms, especially this quick, so running would help her change back into her dragon form quicker.

When she did, she scaled the walls for a support in her jump, and then she flew, hearing shouts and angry yells behind and below her.

 

[Saren]

As Onawa shrunk, Kain watched the humans. No one had realized what was happening yet, and he planned to keep it that way until the last second. He shifted his body so his bulky form blocked her now tiny frame. The humans didn't notice the chains shifting. They were too busy throwing bids on Onawa.

When she spoke, he gave a nod in her general direction, watching her bounce forward and climb the wall. His eyes followed her ascent up into the air. The shouts reminded him that there were still dumb humans he had to take care of. While the humans prepared their poison to take down the small dragon, Kain snapped the chain holding his wing. A mighty roar shook the air and the humans looked down into the pit.

Fire as black as night shot from Kain's mouth and he tore the base of the chain holding one of his legs straight out of the wall. He yanked the other bindings from his body and surged forward with a massive leap. He flapped his wings, beating the air and threatening to knock the humans over. Some scattered, but the leader glared at Kain. The black dragon glared back before he climbed into the air. He roared again, breathing fire over the entire area. Other caged dragons roared, doing their best to escape, but that wasn't Kain's goal. No, he was going to make sure these humans never came back for him.

Flames rained down upon the outpost and screams of pain began to raise up over the shouts of instructions. Chaos descended and with a final, bone-shattering roar, the mighty black dragon flew into the sky, leaving destruction in his wake. To be captured again by these humans would mean death, and he wasn't going to have it.