Ascent of a Dragon

"HISSSSS!" "Squeeee!" UAAAAAH! Not friendly! NOT FRIENDLY! Where am I going? WHO CARES, AS LONG AS IT'S AWAY FROM THAT. The cave walls tremble as an enraged beast gives chase to its quarry. Aleph bolts forward with all the force her small legs can muster, using her wings to give herself a slight boost while her tail helps her kick off and redirect at every turn she slams into.

Large as it is, the beast is slow, albeit relentless. An adult human could easily outrun it, if you ignored the issue of stamina. Unfortunately, Aleph is neither human nor adult, and while she is faster, her inability to see causing her to stumble and crash into every obstacle in the vicinity, prevents her from gaining any lead.

WHY ARE YOU SO STUBBORN?! Really I can't have hurt you that much, did I offend your whole family or something? Wait, is that what it is? I stumbled into your nest during breeding season? Fuck! The beast makes a lunge for Aleph, clipping her tail with its fang. Yowch! Gimme a break, do I really have to find my way out of its territory? I have no idea how big that is, and I'm pretty sure I've already gone in a few circles!

"HSSSSS!" Aleph manages to leap to the side before the beast's next lunge, letting it soar past. Despite not being too fast, the beast is heavy, and Aleph light, the wind pressure alone still slamming her into the wall. Finally able to catch her breath, she listens as the long beast slithers its way past. Haaaaah, haah... Not turning around? Ha! Guess you're too big, sucks to be you!

Listening intently she hears the rumbling begin to recede, before picking up again. Though the beast is indeed much too large to turn within these tunnels, for a creature which has lived its entire life within such an environment, finding a route to loop back around is a trivial affair.

It's coming back, I've only bought myself only a little time. I need to think of something before it gets here. The rumbling picks up as the sound reverberates through the cave walls. Can I hide? Where though, I can't see remember! And I'm pretty sure my tail is bleeding, so if it has half a brain it'll just track me! I would need somewhere it can't fit...

Pebbles begin to clatter across the ground as the sound grows closer. OK, maybe run? I can get a head start if I leave now, maybe lose it if I take a few lucky turns. But which way is it coming from? It's probably gone for a full loop so it could be coming from anywhere now, and the last thing I need is to dash straight into the thing's mouth!

Stalagmites begin to resonate with the growling of the tunnels as the beast nears its approach. OK, no time. I'm just going to have to run for it as soon as I can tell where it's coming from. I'll just have to hope I get lucky and find a way to escape.

Aleph stands at the ready, ears on guard for the slightest hint of which way to run. The echoing tunnels don't help matters, spreading the sound evenly in all directions, betraying any sense of origin. She stays her focus though, seeking out any hint of where the beast may come from.

Surprisingly though, it is not her ears that respond first, but her eyes. Spotting a sinister yellow glow out the corner of her eye she tilts her head to see a two wrathful orbs glaring back at here, pitch black slits pressed thin with hatred. The beast spots its prey, letting out a "HISSSSS" as it barrels forward, opening its jaws wide as the glow highlights its serpentine face.

Run! Aleph jolts away from the serpent, ignoring the screaming pain from her weary muscles. This is not good, why does it have to be so MAD?! And why does it get glowy eyes? I want those! It doesn't take long for the serpent to catch up and once again begin lunging at the small dragon before it.

Gah! I need something! Don't dragons always have weird abilities or something? Aleph turns her head, spotting a faint glow in the wall for the briefest of moments. Ignore it! Insta-kill breath! Facing back she presses hard on her diaphragm to unleash her almighty insta-kill... cough. OK that's a bust, what else...

Aleph raises her legs as she slams into a wall, the serpent's eyes emitting just enough light for her to catch it a moment early. Turning her head once again she glares back making direct eye contact with the beast. Laser eyes! Yet it remains unperturbed in it's pursuit as the lasers do not in fact shoot from her eyes.

Aleph turns back to the side to resume her escape only to find more wall. Shit, wrong turn! The serpent, unwilling to let this chance pass by, lunges forward with its jaws opened wide, before she can turn herself around.

Uaah! Dammit, umm... Time freeze wings? Liquid bones? Um, tail sword! Leaping out of the way as best she can, Aleph swipes her tail towards the beast's mouth, hoping to inflict even a minuscule amount of damage, and... IT ACTUALLY WORKS?! Ahem... A long, thin claw unsheathes in segments from grooves along the tip of her tail to about a quarter of its total length.

Wildly flailing her now bladed tail, she manages to gouge a deep cut into the serpent's forked tongue and cheek. Despite not being all that sharp, the haphazard swinging was able to generate enough force from a whip-like motion and plunge into the soft flesh of the beast's exposed flesh.

Not expecting its prey to suddenly bite back, the serpent flinches away, jerking its head away from the sudden source of pain. Crashing its skull into the wall it misses Aleph by a hair's breadth, though the air pressure is still enough to send her tumbling a good way forward, leaving behind a few bruises and missing scales as she struggles to regain her footing.

That worked?! Hell yea! Tails are the best body part, never had any doubt! Her celebration is cut short however, as the serpent pulls its head from the rocks it was buried in. Now quite literally seething, its body begins to glow red, with its yellow eyes burning brighter than before. Aleph shudders as she feels the intense heat emanating from it.

Oh, um... I guess you weren't actually that mad before, but you are now, um... Sorry? Aleph gives off an apologetic grin, though without proper lips this just ends up with her squinting and baring her fangs. Ignoring this display, the serpent rears its head back, preparing to lunge.

Okay think! I'm spent and sore, I don't think I can handle another chase. Its glowing has made it bright enough to see around... Is there maybe a hole or something I can hide in? It's a cave there's gotta be! Sparing a moment to look around she analyses the cave walls and spots the perfect crevasse, just big enough to squeeze into and too small for the giant serpent to follow... of course positioned right behind said serpent.

Dammit, there's no way I can just sneak past the snake, more so now that it's all crazy glowy hot. I can see now, thanks to that, so maybe I can find another hole to hide in if I run? No, either way is a gamble. I've got no way of knowing how far away the next hiding spot is, if I have the stamina to reach it, or if I'll even be able to react in time with a GIANT SNAKE barreling towards me!

Aleph bends down, ready to charge. Past the snake it is. I sure hope this damned hole is worth the risk... It takes but a moment before both creatures pounce toward each other. Aleph gallops with all her might while the serpent plows forward, leaning in to bash the offending dragon with its red hot skull. Not opening your mouth? Maybe I can use this!

Pushing her feet off the ground and flaring her wings, with a slam of her tail for an extra boost, Aleph leaps over the serpent's head, successfully landing on the back of its neck. Ignoring the searing heat as her feet press against the scales she runs along the back of the serpent.

Yes! Success! Another genius idea from Al- She immediately regrets her decision as she finds herself slammed against the ceiling. The bones in her wings creak as she is compressed between searing scales and the rocky ceiling. As the pressure lets up Aleph attempts to regain some of the air which had been forced out of her lungs, only to be slammed to the side by the thrashing tail of the beast.

The sound of something snapping is only dulled by the intense pain coursing through the rest of her body as she rebounds off the cave wall, before tumbling to a stop. Continuing its charge, the serpent swiftly exits to make its round trip. Aleph stands, straining against her weary muscles, barely able to coax a step out of them.

Uuuuugh it huuurts... Blood drips from her broken wing as she ambles toward where she saw the crevasse. Just... a bit further, it was right around here... Feeling the ceiling above her she squeezes herself through the opening as far as she can manage, hopefully out of sight from the serpent.

The walls around her tremble as the beast returns. Even from within the crevasse, Aleph can still feel the heat it continues to let off. As fast as it arrived the beast leaves, no doubt still relentlessly searching for her. Only after a few more round trips, and some heavy slams against the cave wall, does the serpent leaves for good.

It's gone... Great, I can finally... Rest... With a sigh Aleph relaxes her aching body, letting the soothing embrace of sleep take away the pain. Though, she could swear out of the corner of her eye she spotted a soft white light, before letting her mind go blank.