Fledging

Chapter 8

Here's the NEXT chapter! Pretty quickly compared to the other times huh?  I'm trying to keep it going along with some others but I hope you're still haning in there and enjoying it!  Please tell me what you think and vote if you think it deserves it! Ciao for now!

Chapter 8

                Every one of the Pavox slaves were lined up in the clearing, each one talking in low, nervous voices as they waited for the time of judgment.  I had just left my cell when the first feeling of dread washed over me.  I shivered as I looked around the clearing not wanting to believe what my senses were telling me.  A second later however, my horrors were confirmed.

                “Attention!  All Pavox are to line up for inspection.  Your examination will commence in two minutes.”  The human then scurried off towards his fellow slave companions that were lucky enough to escape the random checks from the Skaal.   With a feeling of dread I made my way to the slowly assembling line of wary pavox.  We glanced at each other with solemn nods wishing each other luck.

A feeling I could only describe as death and horror overcame me as I looked to the sky with mounting fear.  A trio of figures descended on large bat-like wings that were translucent with the sun struggling to find its way through the wings’ fleshy membranes.

                The Skaal females are larger and far more lethal than their male counter parts and as such, are a Matriarchal society.  Us pavox also come from a matriarchal society but besides that and the wings, our two species are nothing alike.  Even though the Aardelan are our opposites in every aspect, it is the Skaal that we fight the skies for.  Fortunately for us however, there haven’t been too many battles between our kinds.  Out of the four dominate races of this land the Skaal are by far the most brutal and blood thirsty, although in my opinion the humans rank a close second.

                The lead female landed with a small thud as the two smaller males landed closely behind on their large, lizard-like feet.  Four sharp, ivory claws adorned the tips of their feet and a smaller, curved claw sat on the back of each scaled ankle.  The female had brilliant purple scales that put amethyst crystals to shame with eyes to match.  Her companions were covered in brilliant ruby red and daunting obsidian black respectively.  Their large tails swished across the ground, flattening the grass beneath as they glanced at those of us assembled before them.  They did not move their bodies, but their eyes roamed conceitedly across the line.  None of us move, Pavox and Skaal watching the other with guarded and malicious expressions respectively. 

                “Ahh welcome, thank you for coming,” a deep voice interrupted the charged silence.  Whatever spell was holding our eyes to the others broke once the master approached us.

                “Of course, always a pleasure to do business with you Mister Pearson.”  The female replied with the trademark gravelly voice that belonged to the Skaal.  Her fangs flashed in a dangerous smile as she and the master seemed to exchange a silent word with each other.

                “Well here they are, make sure none get past you, I don’t want to have another ordeal like I did the previous night.”

                “Oh?  And what was that?” The female asked, flicking her tail towards the two behind her to start their evaluation.  They parted ways, the red one going to the far end of the line and the black one headed around his commander and towards the end of the line that I was near.

                “There was a misfortunate … accident with one of the pavox, evidently it gained its power early.  I was assaulted so I had to resort to some… more drastic measures.”  His eyes glinted with malice as he spoke.  His eyes then found mine and held them for a while.  I didn’t break the gaze as I would have normally done.  The master furrowed his brows at this but said nothing and looked back towards the Skaal.  I had actually just stared down the man that called himself my master, and so far, I hadn’t gotten in trouble for it.  My heart accelerated at the thought.  I was still wrapped up in that thought when the black Skaal wandered over to me, his eyes criticizing me closely.  He took another step towards me and sniffed.  His eyes widened and a wicked gleam sparked somewhere in the depths of his black, soulless eyes.