The Other-worldly Protector

71. When Adversaries Meet

While Kiara faced Viggo's largely blank expression, Robbie came face to face with an empty patch of dirt. He sniffed it and caught a whiff of his best friend's scent. The cage Whiplash was held in was supposed to be here, yet the only trace of it that remained was a grid-shaped indent in the soil. Robbie growled, eyes boring into the ground. Where would they take her? Changewings were smarter than the average dragon, so only a moment passed before his head snapped up in realisation.

The auction! Viggo's rats want to sell her today!

With a growl, he zipped around and raced for Whiplash. His feet padded against the ground while he kept his body low and camouflaged. Several surprised grunts and hisses came from the cages as he passed them since his hurried steps were no longer stealthy enough to evade a dragon's keen hearing. A particular snarl stirred recognition inside him so he paused in his stride and slithered back to see who it came from.

Upon peering inside a cage, his eyes met with Hookfang's. Robbie jerked his head back and the two dragons instantly jumped into identical defensive crouches. For a long moment, they stared at each other while battling with their yellow glares. Growls rumbled in their throats. The air between them compressed as cold tension coiled around it.

Robbie was semi-transparent, halfway to disappearing since he wanted nothing to do with the Monstrous Nightmare, but a small part of him whispered against that impulse, rooting him in place. Kiara's orders floated back into the forefront of his mind and clashed with his memory of what happened with the last Nightmare he'd come into contact with.

A blur of claws... being cornered in a hopeless struggle... escape at the cost of his hind claws being severed...

Robbie snarled as the pain from his past fought with his current desperation. It was a raging argument only he could hear. Eventually, he realised that going against Kiara would never sit well with him. That made his choice clear. The growling stopped. Sighing, Robbie worked to relax his tense muscles, which made the other dragon tilt his head curiously. When Robbie had calmed himself down somewhat, he begrudgingly spat acid at the lock on that cage. Hookfang let out a surprised grunt. Astonished, he looked from the dissolving lock to Robbie, then excitedly moved forward to claim his freedom. Robbie growled and shuffled back, his instincts spiking in alarm. Hookfang responded with a quieter growl and slowed his movement as he exited the cage. The two dragons edged around each other, far too wary. They were treading through a minefield. One mistake and they would blow-up on each other.

Shifting his focus away from the tension, Robbie eyed up the other dragon's clearly visible scales with distaste. Having a big red nightmare-shaped shadow on his tail won't be any help in getting to Whiplash undetected — not that he would ever let Hookfang behind his back where he couldn't see him. Robbie jerked his head to the bushes. "Get your scaly butt some cover," he grumbled. Hookfang grumbled his agreement of the plan. They would take a detour over the risk of being spotted. He eyed Robbie uncertainly while shuffling away then bounded over and crashed through the bushes. Robbie growled in annoyance — if the rustling of leaves wasn't loud enough, the nightmare's stamping sure was. He quickly ran into the forest after the unfortunate racket he was stuck with. When he caught up (albeit, with a healthy dose of distance) Robbie hissed for him to be quieter. Hookfang stilled and nodded, then rose onto his two back legs and tiptoed onwards, except, with the way his entire body's weight collided with the floor on two limbs now rather than four, each "tiptoe" might as well be a warning earthquake worthy of an Eruptodon. Robbie shook his head with a half-irritated, half-astonished snarl. Blinking several times, he had to entirely reassess his perception of this beast. Beast? He snorted. More like a big dragling — and even those know how to stalk.

It was nothing short of a miracle when the pair arrived at the bushes that bordered the auction site. Robbie was invisible, save for his eyes which assessed the hunter-infested terrain before them. It was clear a nightmare could go no further without being spotted and swiftly captured. Robbie shifted his gaze onto Hookfang. The Nightmare swivelled his head left and right and his eyes were filled with worry for someone he couldn't spot. It was clear that he was searching for his rider. Robbie hissed to catch his attention. It took a moment for Hookfang to spot Robbie's eyes. When he did, Robbie jerked his head to the trail that led to where the riders were being kept, telling him to follow it. With some luck, the riders would have broken out of there before Hookfang arrives. Hookfang grumbled in response but Robbie had already continued forwards, alone, in the way that only a Changewing could.