Stardancer's Vision

Chapter 2: Ununoctium

Ununoctium was an assassin. Born and raised. He'd grown up in the Scorpion Den, and had killed over 500 dragons- and he was only nine. These were the facts he'd known his whole life. He got commissions from all over but only killed those he deemed worthy of death. Nocti was the best assassin in Pyrrhia- not an opinion, not boasting, he was just stating common knowledge. His unique looks made him very stealthy and very dangerous. He was an orphan- of course- and was part LeafWing, part HiveWing, part SandWing, and part IceWing. He was also genderfluid and sometimes used it/its pronouns.

He flew around the Scorpion Den daily, searching for threats and the like. His SandWing tail barb and IceWing tail spikes as well as the spikes on his neck proved to be an effective way to injure attackers if they ever got close enough to him- this was an annoying habit of his. He often assessed how dangerous he was, how alert, how ready for battle. His black SandWing eyes searched the sand below him, but he saw nothing. His mind instinctively went back to assessment. Under his jagged IceWing claws there were stingers, capable of knocking another dragon out for quite a while, and even killing if he increased the dosage of venom.

Additionally, his dappled green-gold scales and leaf-shaped wings helped him blend in with forest foliage. His legs faded into white and then blue at the tips of his toes, as did his tail at about the middle, and the tip was a solid glacier blue. This wasn't ideal but better than it could have been. He also had thin black stripes along his body, which was muscular and agile. He possessed a SandWing frill from his snout to his tail but had white-blue spikes on either side of it.

Nocti, realizing what he was doing, shook himself out of the assessment. Dwelling on his looks tended to bring up his fuzzy past, which was a tough topic. Unlike most assassins, Nocti had almost no memory of his past. He only faintly remembered being asleep for a while before someone woke him up... But that memory, too, was faint. He liked to think having no past made him better at his job- really, his hobby. Nocti circled back to the Scorpion den, his perimeter sweep completed. Then suddenly he was somewhere else.

"What in the moons?" He yelped, then quickly regained his composure.

"Only a dragonet? I expected you to be older. But magic doesn't lie, I did ask for the best assassin in Pyrrhia. What's your name?" Another voice asked from a hidden spot.

"Why should I tell you? Where am I?" Nocti snarled, brandishing his favorite weapons, obsidian knives half as long as a dragonet's tail.

"Because I'm an animus, and I can pay handsomely. You're in a forest near Darkstalker's Teeth." The strange voice responded.

"Okay, do you want me to kill someone, or-" Nocti relaxed slightly, this was just another client, albeit with animus magic.

"NO! NO MORE KILLING- NEVER AGAIN!" The voice roared, so loud it shook the trees. Then it seemed to regain its equanimity. "Sorry, I'm not in the best state of mind right now- I've been gone a long time. Anyways, I have problems with killing- other dragons. I want you to find a jewel-like dragon with antlers and beetle wings. She's endangering an essential plan I have in place. If she has friends, get them too- just capture them and bring them to me. Got it?"

"Sure. I'll do that. What's your name?" Nocti was secretly pleased- the voice had told him more than it thought it had from its seemingly random comments.

"My name... It's been a while since... Ah, yes. My name, little dragon, is Painite."

"...Did you just call me little? You can't be much older than me- I'm nine."

"Ha. Shows what you know... I've been alive for longer than you were even an idea. I've been around since before your grandparents were. But- enough about me. Go. Find who I told you."