Someone grabbed her shoulder. Eclipse froze, her legs not working, and tumbled forwards, smacking into a wall.
She whipped around, fire gathering at the base of her throat. The dragon who grabbed her spread his palms, steeping back. It was the guard from before. "Whoa there, I didn't mean to scare you."
She stopped, keeping the fire at her tongue. He dropped his hands.
"I saw you left kind of early. It's okay, it's hard sometimes for newbies."
She didn't keep her eyes off of him. He sighed and relaxed his shoulders. "Whatever, I get you need some space. I'll leave,"
She shook her head. "No, wait. I have a question."
He looked at her and raised his eyebrows.
"Do you think... what's the whole deal with the 'arena'?"
He nodded like this was a frequent question. "Oh yeah, it's a big sport here. Vada is in charge of it and everything, so it's not just us. Well, at least she used to host it..." He shook he head and shrugged. "eh, it doesn't matter. What matters is that it's a pretty big event, you don't want to miss it." He grinned, flashing his serrated teeth.
Eclipse relaxed slightly. "When will this be?"
He shrugged. "I don't know, in a day? They haven't cleaned it up in a while, there's still a body rotting in there, I think." Eclipse's stomach churned. He shrugged again. "Not like I care that much, you see it once, you've seen enough." He scratched the back of his head.
There was a pregnant pause. The guard narrowed his eyes and leaned forwards. Panic seared Eclipse's chest. Her feathers bristled.
He sat back and put his talon to his chin. "You know... you look different. You said you're new, right?" he asked. Eclipse nodded, not being able to speak. He made a noise in the back of his throat.
"Who're your parents? I don't think I've ever seen a mutt with feathers."
Eclipse's tongue felt inflated, her throat closing in like a fist. The guard shook his head. "Eh, Task has feathers. Whatever." He flicked his tail and turned away. "Do you... want to join me?"
She didn't answer at first. "Where?" she said after a while. He smiled.
"To the nests. I'm starving."
She let out a long breath. "Right. To get food. Okay, sure I'll come." He smiled again.
They entered a large cave with a ceiling so high, the stalactites looked like stars.
"You been to the nests yet?" he asked. Eclipse blinked, taken away from the sight.
"Uh... no I don't think so," she murmured, not sure whether to be amazed or scared from the number of dragons. They were flying up ahead, crawling inside holes in the stalactites, while others glided carrying bags and food. Most were on the ground, hissing and blowing fire.
As they walked towards the center, dragons turned, eyes narrowed, and breathed smoke at them.
"Don't mind the bigger dragons," her escort said. "they're always grumpy."
Eclipse smiled weakly. "By the way... what's your name?"
He looked at her for a moment. "It's Nike."
They continued walking for a little bit until they came within radius of a disgusting odor. Eclipse coughed. "Ugh... what is that?"
Nike was grinning madly. "Mmm.... food!" His forked tongue ran against his lips.
Eclipse stopped at the sight. There was a huge pile of rotting animal corpses. She turned and retched.
Nike laughed. "Aw c'mon, it's not so bad! We can't really get... fresh food since..uh, well, that's not important," he muttered. Nike picked up a fish and tossed it to Eclipse. "Dig in."
She shook her head, trying not to vomit even though her stomach is empty. "No thanks."
Nike tossed his head and laughed. "Aw c'mon it's not that bad..." He bent over and sniffed a deer with maggots. He retched. "Okay... so it's bad."
Eclipse laughed despite herself. "I know a place where the food is."
Nike snapped up, looking at her. His ears were erect. "What? You mean..." He shuffled over and whispered, "you mean food that isn't junk?"
She nodded. He grinned madly. "Sweet! Let's go."
They squeezed through the tunnels and out into fresh air. Eclipse looked back and didn't recognize this exit. Hmm...
Nike didn't give her much time to think. "Come on!" he yelped, bouncing around. Eclipse laughed.
"Are you a dragonet?" This made him stop, but he was still smiling.
This is the same dragon who cheered on death just a few moments ago? she wondered.
He stopped and walked over. "What is it?"
She shook herself. "Ah, nothing. Let's go."
Eclipse spread her wings and lifted into the air. Nike gasped as she circled above him. "What is it?" she asked. He shook his head and joined her. His wing flaps were unsteady and ragged. He was breathing hard.
"I'm... used... to crawling... than flying..." he wheezed. Eclipse laughed and took off, smacking him with her tail playfully. He opened his mouth and chased after her.
They slowed once they reached the trees. "Okay," she whispered. "there may be some deer here..." She fell silent when something shifted below her. There was a flash of brown. "this is it."
She dove, claws outstretched. Her wings folded so that she picked up speed, falling... falling....
Her talons hit something solid as she landed. A doe lay crumpled beneath her. "Yes!" she clicked. Nike landed beside her, rather ungracefully.
