My Ride or Die- Kiribaku Fantasy AU

One

Kirishima

Life wasn't too good for me. Because of a "special power" I had been born with (I saw it more as a curse), every species and powerful tribe was out to get me. Just this month, I had escaped sixteen different groups that had tried to capture me. Most of them sought my skin for its hardening abilities, and I had barely escaped from them with my life. Others kept me locked up to watch and admire, and they didn't feed me or give me water.
Sighing as I remembered all of my close escapes, I tucked my head further under my wing. Wind echoed through my large ears, startling me every few seconds while I tried to sleep.
After a few minutes, the whistling of the wind mixed with whispers. Whispers in an elven language.... I didn't know much of their language, but I had come to understand a few words. "Dragon. There. Get it."
I jumped up and started running through the forest at full speed. My huge claws scraped against tree roots, nearly tripling me. My breath quickened and I tucked my wings close to my body to avoid scratching them on branches or trees.
Turning my head the slightest bit to the left, I could see the elves chasing me, right behind my wildly swinging tail. I knew that dragons weren't meant to run, we were meant to fly. But I had never been free for long enough to learn how.
Shouting orders in their language, the elves spread out and slowly caught up to me. A pair of them, one on either side of me, held two ends of a net.
No, no, no. I can't get caught again. Panicked thoughts spun through my head. I forced my aching legs to move faster. I swept my tail in a wide arc behind me, knocking over several of my pursuers.
I've got to try to fly or I'll never get away.
Letting out a massive roar, I raised my wings and leapt into the air. I pushed my wigs down and slowly but strongly flapped them. To my pleasant surprise, I rose a dozen or so feet into the air. I roared in happiness as I began to climb higher.
All of a sudden, I felt a sharp pain in my neck. My head drooped and a strong wave of exhaustion overcame me. I looked down to see a light-haired elf with a bamboo tube still pressed against her lips.
The poison in the dart she had shot flowed into my bloodstream. My wigs stopped flapping, no matter how hard I willed them to let me escape. My claws ached and my tongue felt numb.
I crashed through branches and leaves, tearing through vines and sending flocks of animals flying into the sky. I lay on the ground with my eyes still open although my vision blurred and distorted.
The Elves ran over to me and bound my wings and legs to my body. They shoved a muzzle over my mouth and forcefully buckled it behind my head.
One remaining crow swooped low over me and flew straight up into the blue sky that was streaked with silvery clouds.
Take me with you... I helplessly thought to the bird. My thoughts muddled and my eyes rolled into the back of my head and shut.

word count: 560