The Weyr

Attacked!

      The dragons and wyverns of the weyr liked to sleep near their kills. It made it easy for the kits and pups to eat. They always kept the carcasses in a valley just out of sight of a trio of oasis that most labeled as Three Ponds. The water was close enough that the little ones could go to and from without too many problems, but also far enough that approaching strangers would be seen easily.

      The weyr had been using the valley for several generations. Although most of them had been and still were colorful plasma dragons, wyverns, fire dragons and, once, even a sandworm had called the weyr family. Usually it seemed that if one was friendly and loyal enough, they would be allowed sanctuary, at the very least.

      Three Ponds was perhaps the most popular source of water known in the unending sands. In total, there were four places that dragon-kin could got to for water and shade.Three of them were known, appropriately, for the number of oasis, or'ponds', available. One Pond, Two Ponds, and Three Ponds. The fourth pond was rarely visited; only those desperate or curious would venture so far out. It was the nest of the sand worms and the grave of the gods; it was known simply as Graveyard.

      The weyr was happy at Three Ponds.Their numbers grew steadily and unknown dragons were posing no threat. In fact, the weyr had engulfed a smaller family of a mother and baby fire dragon pair. Kross had let them join the weyr in the valley after the mother hesitantly approached, trilling in an attempt of friendship. Korss's terror child, who happened to be free at the moment, had charged at the other baby, also trilling.

      Before Kross could stop her, she and the new kit collided head on and both tumbled to the group. The two parents both sighed at the same time. Neither kit was harmed and it was not long at all before the two were chasing each other in play.The newcomers were silently allowed into the weyr's territory.

      Kross's weyr consisted of himself, his partner Silver, their two children Glay and Lady, a wyvern called Silent, a magma plasma named Bacon, another plasma known as Zureta,and a few adopted kits and pups. Lady, Kross and Silver's little terror, was the youngest. Most were patient with her, but that only lasted so long. Having a similarly aged kit would give the adults as mall break.

      Another of the young kits, a young magma plasma who had claimed the name of Apple due to her reddish coloring, joined Lady and the other kit in their game of tag. Apple was older and could almost be considered an adult. She would soon behaving her first flight, but her age did nothing to dampen her playfulness. She may as well have been a hatchling.

      The adults turned their attention away, most of them settling down to rest. Kross himself plopped down where it would be easy for him to keep an eye on his little terror.Everything was calm and quiet in the valley. The sun moved from its position high in the sky and slowly began to descend down into the western horizon. The kids started to lose energy and their game turned into exploration.

       Eventually Kross retrieved Lady for a nap.For once, the young kit did not protest and immediately began to doze. They laid down with Silver and Glay and the little family settled into sleep.

      At the same time, Silent the wyvern sluggishly got to her feet. She slowly made her way toward the edgeof the valley before leaping into the air. Despite her grand size and fierce appearance, the wyvern moved with grace and dignity. She circled up higher into the sky before heading for Three Ponds. The only sound was the wind and her powerful wings, but before long,those wing beats faded into the distance. Only the lonely moan of the wind could be heard in the valley.

       Silent's form vanished over a sand dune. Two seconds passed...Five seconds...At the tenth second an explosion of fire hit the female fire dragon laying at the center of the valley. There was a flurry of movement as the adults lunged to their feet and the young cried out in fear. Another shot came from the top of one of the dunes that made up the valley before the injured fire dragon could get up.

      Kross snarled and charged at the spot the blast had come from. Not far behind were Silver, Bacon, Zureta, Glay, and even the brave little Apple. The adult plasmas reared back their heads and spit out their own blasts of plasma. Sand exploded everywhere, but it seemed that they had missed their target.

      In the valley, the fire dragon had gathered the young under her wings and was trying to flee toward Three Ponds where they could hide. Unfortunately, it seemed they had been targeted by the invisible attacker. From just behind the firedragon came another shot. Badly wounded, she stumbled and cried out in fear. The others rushed forward to attack, blindly biting and firing plasma. Occasionally they hit something, but it was never enough to deter the attacker.

      By this point in time, Silent had heard the distant sounds of battle. Foregoing the water, she banked to the right in a tight circle to turn and began her return. The valley was in complete chaos. The enemy seemed to be focused on the fire dragons. Lady attempted to lead the other baby to safety, but ended up becoming a target instead. Before either of her parents could even fathom what was happening, their little one fell with a terrified cry. One that was swiftly cut off as her short life was ended in a flash of plasma.

      The first death. The death of an innocent tiny creature that seeked only to play and protect. This was swiftly followed by the death of the adult fire dragon. And then Zureta fell as well. Silent finally made her way back in time to witness this. The weyr began to frenzy with rage. Before she landed,Silent lit herself on fire and lunged into the fray.

      With Silver's appearance the tide of the battle turned. The battle had lasted only moments, but the results would leave the weyr shattered. When it realized things were going south, the enemy plasma finally took to the air, shedding its invisibility in favor of speed. Bacon happened to be near by and with a well aimed shot, brought it down. The echos of that final attack echoed all around the valley and beyond. Silence descended on the weyr.

      However they did not mourn the lives lost for very long. Kross suddenly left the valley in the direction of Three Pond. Although now more vigilant, the rest of the weyr gathered together and once again settled down. Apple sauntered over to a boulder and struggled up onto it. She lifted her head to the sky and opened her wings. After testing her strength and confidence with a few flaps, she leaped and glided to the other side of the valley.

       Silver watched for a moment before she turned her gaze to the direction of Three Ponds. Not long after, the familiar form of Kross could be seen, scales glowing yellow-orange in the setting sun. As he approached a hatchling opal plasma kit could be seen squirming wildly, held by her tail in Kross's mouth. Kross landed in front of Silver and dropped the kit at her feet. As soon as the kit was down, she tried to scramble away, but Silver scooped her up before she could get very far at all. With the arrival of the kit,some more peace returned to the valley.  

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AN:

In case you are curious, my name on Steam/DoD is Lovely Lady Dernis :B