Scarab the Fierce

Chapter One

Scarab burst out of a rotten barrel and sped down the street. The sounds of angry dragons erupted down the street. She had been spotted.

She held on tight to the wrap under her wing. Expensive silk laced with gold thread. Bundled underneath were a talonful of gold jewelry pieces and a couple jewels. Nothing fancy.

She whipped around a corner and dodged around boxes. Sand billowed under her claws as she raced down an alleyway. She loved these kind of training assignments. When she was put in the real world with real dragons and real rewards.

She turned another sharp corner and nearly knocked down another dragonet. His eyes went wide as he dove out of the way. Scarab cursed herself and continued running. Her brown cloak could only hide so much of her appearance and he surely would remember her face.

Curse my golden scales!

From the moment Scarab had hatched she had looked different and weird. Golden scales, green eyes, barbless tail. Some of the dragonets had called her puny and weak. When she cried to her dads about it, they taught her how to put a dragon in a headlock, and how to pin their wings behind them until they screamed, and what angle to punch at to break their nose.

Scarab smiled slightly at the thought of her dads. They always knew how to help and were always helping her to be stronger despite her physical setbacks. Don't have a tail barb? Well, we'll teach you five different ways to use your fire in a way that's just as effective as a tail barb. Other dragons are treating you like a newly hatched dragonet because of your small size and high voice? Well, we'll teach you how to fight someone bigger than you and how to manipulate your voice to mimic any dialect or accent to help with your disguise.

Scarab stuck to the alleyways, avoiding dragon contact and detouring just enough to throw off her pursuers. Finally she arrived in front of her family's lair. A massive and ancient stone stronghold that everyone knew better to enter. Vulture's presence and influence was strong on the city, and his Talons of Power took care of any rebels.

Scarab slipped inside and navigated the complicated corridors criss-crossing inside. She opened the large doors leading to her father's throne room and trotted inside. The rough carpet and dusty scents friendly and familiar to her.

Vulture was standing near a barred window, talking with another dragon. The dragon wore the Vulture Medallion on his neck, so Scarab knew he was with them.

When Vulture heard her enter, he turned and smiled approvingly at her. "Ah, Scarab! You're back." He flicked his tail at the other dragon, signaling him to leave. "Have fun?"

Scarab grinned and revealed her precious cargo. "Of course." She then went into great detail of how she had stolen it and escaped without capture. "The only kink was I'm pretty sure a dragonet saw me enough to recognize me."

Vulture nodded with a thoughtful expression on his face. "Sounds good. We'll have to work on stealth a little more, however."

Scarab nodded, slightly bashful. She quickly perked up though. "Can we go to the Full Moon Festival? It's tonight!" The Full Moon Festival was a monthly event where dragons danced, sang, laughed, and stayed awake all night just for the fun of it.

Vulture's face fell into concern. "Scarab, I've told you before how risky that is. If someone recognizes you, you could get in a lot of trouble."

"And you're always telling me that no risk means no reward, and almost everyone knows I'm with the Talons, they wouldn't dare mess with me. And you and dad have taught me enough to get out of any situation. I'll be fine!" Scarab said confidently. She didn't know why Vulture was being so hesitant.

"This is a different kind of risk." Vulture explained. "The Outclaws will be there."

Scarab couldn't suppress a snort. The Outclaws, lead by their big, scary leader, Thorn, who was trying to take the city from the Talons. "Aren't we the dragons in charge? Why are the moonsbegotton Outpaws stopping us from going?"

Scarab could see that her outburst amused Vulture, but he hid it well. "Not this month." He said firmly and without explanation. "Some other time."

Scarab dipped her head in obedience and left the room. She climbed up the haggard tower she stayed in and threw the door open. Her room was messy beyond her control, sand and torn fabric littered the room. She had large chests and a desk pushed against one wall to make room for a weapons rack, target posters, and three wooden practice dummies with crude expressions drawn on them.

Above, wooden rafters held the domed tower roof up, and just as much mess was up there as on the floor. Ripped curtains hung from the beams and she had managed to wedge a few chests in precarious corners among the rafters. A large cloth hammock swung limply from two beams. Vulture had offered a nice cushioned bed, but she had turned it down. She loved being up so high and crawling around the rafters.

She swooped upwards and clung to a wooden beam, balancing before crawling towards a chest and dumping her loot inside. The golden jewelry made metallic klinking sounds as they bumped into other pieces of value in the chest. Scarab shut it aggressively, leaving a scrap of silk hanging out off the shut lid.

Scarab unclipped her cloak and hung it on a nail in the wall before jumping into her hammock, making it swing violently before settling. She felt moody. Why did Vulture have to be so protective? It wasn't like anyone could kidnap her. All the past attempts ended with with the kidnappers getting broken noses or gouged eyes.

Scarab let out a humph and turned in her hammock. She saw no reason not to go to the festival. No reason besides the fact that Vulture had said no.

Scarab closed her eyes and breathed deeply. She would go to the Full Moon Festival. She would go and bring something back for Vulture and Saguaro that would make them realize that she wasn't a dragonet anymore. Something so valuable and impressive, that every Talon of Power would respect her forever. So much so, that they'd all bow down at her claws.