The limp dragoness piggybacked on Viliant's shoulder to get to the oasis. Some leafy foliage rustled on either side of them when he poked his head through to see their objective. The water's surface had slow ripples drifting outward from the alligatoise's shell. Though the creature tried to stay completely still, the tiniest of movements displaced the water due to its immense mass. Now Fia, he said sternly, you see that giant rock up ahead?
With Fia's chin pressed overtop Viliant's head, he could not see if she had opened her eyes.or not. Either way, she droned, Yeah. I see it.
That's the shell of the alligatoise. The turtle is lurking underneath the water and will attack anything that tries getting too close. You only go to the water's edge on my cue, and we retreat the second I say so. Got it?
Got it, she said instantly. The confidence in her thoughts eroded almost instantly as her feverish mind was brazen enough to say, But uh, Viliant…. That's not a turtle. That's a rock.
The bottom eyelid on his face started twitching. Viliant held back the loud groan which he wanted to let out, unwilling to agitate the alligatoise with a noisy approach. You know, I thought the same thing at first, but I guarantee you, that's an alligatoise.
The prospect of drinking water gave Fia too much energy. Instead of taking his warning seriously she banally cheered, Vilie is scared of a rock!
I am not—! he started to object with a foolish amount of investment in the banter. After a deep breath, Viliant composed himself. It doesn't matter. Just stay away from it.
I don't wanna make friends with a rock anyway. Fia squirmed and repositioned her weight on Viliant's shoulder.
Hey, he quipped while crouching low from the pressure. Knock it off. If you have this much energy, you can walk by yourself— His train of thought was interrupted as he saw a large creature dart by the other side of the foliage. Viliant drew his head back within the bush and stilled his body, hoping that the leaves would be enough to conceal them. Something's close. Don't move.
Fia froze on top of him, but her breath sounded too loud in his ear. Even his own thudding heartbeat seemed like it might give them away. Viliant's green eye blended in as he peered through a gap in the leaves.
A group of bipedal animals ran at high speeds. At first, his mind leaped to the worst: humans. However, there were no signs of magic to amplify their travel like humans would need to move that fast. The two-legged animals had powerful enough limbs to sprint unassisted by any spells. The strength of their legs paled in comparison to the tremendous neck and hooked beaks.
Terror birds, Viliant recognized.
What? Fia asked. The very mention struck the dragoness with terror as they were her first foe in the coliseum—the first real time her life was on the line.
The flock of four birds ran a straight course for the oasis. As soon as the last one had dashed past the bush, Viliant jumped out and loped with Fia clinging onto his shoulder.
Where are we going? she whimpered. We're going to draw attention to ourselves. My fire isn't working to fight them!
They're going for the water, just like us. Viliant carved a wide arc around the pool. His talons dug deep scratches in the dirt as he abruptly turned inward. Now that they were far enough away from the original position of the alligatoise's head to satisfy Viliant, he took Fia to the water. Get off, he snapped.
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The injured and sickly dragoness responded too slowly, so he bucked her off. Fia slid in the mud, mewling from pain. Ow! I heard you. I was getting off—
Drink, he commanded, as fast as you can. To follow his own orders, Viliant stuck his face underwater and took gulp after gulp. His eyes stayed open, surveying the bottom where the alligatoise dwelled.
The yellowish eyes were already fixated on its prey, the same direction from which the terror birds had approached the oasis. Its head and neck snaked through the water in a stealthy approach. Now that the alligatoise was preoccupied, Fia and Viliant could spend longer at the watering hole.
Perfect, he thought and drank with greater ease. Viliant only stopped when he needed to come up gasping for air. "Ah," he panted and could not help but observe the state of the terror birds.
They had spread out along the side of the bank, bowing their heads to guzzle water. When their beaks jabbed downwards and broke the surface, they created a series of unceremonious ripples. Once they had their lower beak filled, the terror birds tipped their heads back and flapped their stubby wings so they could relish in a drink. This process repeated, but they never got to swallow their next one.
The open maw of the alligatoise breached the surface. Drops of water sprayed and flashed in the sunlight alongside its jagged, metallic teeth which encased a terror bird in shadow. Though the fleet-footed terror bird tried to sidestep the cavernous jaws, the alligatoise's mouth was too vast. The other terror birds left behind some feathers as they screeched and ran away, all save this unfortunate one. The alligatoise's jaws slammed down as loud as a thundercrack. Blood leaked out from either side of the alligatoise's mouth. The flesh and bones of the terror bird must have been pulverized beneath those titanic teeth.
Every desert finch in the vicinity abandoned its perch in the trees and bushes. Their fretful twitters disappeared in all directions as they fled the oasis.
A splash floundered at Viliant's side. What was that? Fia asked and lifted her head.
Nothing! Last drink. Hurry. Viliant stuck his head beneath the water once more. He let his jowls fill completely with fluid, bulging out slightly as he kept a watchful eye on the alligatoise.
In contrast to its lightning-quick ambush, the alligatoise pulled its head back into the water sluggishly. The water on that end of the pond was tinted red. The cloud of blood steadily sank deeper as the alligatoise withdrew its head into its shell.
Let's go. Now. Viliant flung his head out of the water and latched onto Fia's tail. He dragged her away so that they would create no more disturbances which might call the alligatoise back for its second course.
Fia clambered onto his shoulder, but before she could situate herself comfortably, he was already running. Wait, Viliant! she cried while her lower half bounced over the rocks. A muffled gurgling sound came from her as a verbal indication of her pain. Even so, a couple bruises beneath her scales would be nothing compared to the alligatoise's bite.
Viliant stopped only once they had returned to the brush on the outskirts of the oasis. Alright. We're safe now. Though he tried lowering Fia to the ground, she flopped off before he could assist her.
"Ugh," she grunted but refused to make any more sound than that. A greater amount of water dripped from her maw than if she just had wet scales. The side of her jowls were slightly distended as Fia had also chosen to fill her mouth with water as well.
Viliant huffed hard through his nostrils due to the substantial quantity of water in his own mouth. The dragons blinked at one another, both their cheeks puffing out.
An errant snort caused Fia to wince and keep her eyes closed. She tipped back her head and struggled to swallow the water. Once she managed to do so without choking, Fia collapsed into weak giggles. "Ha!" Her snout wrinkled up from laughter. We both looked like squirrels.
Indignant towards that comparison, Viliant gulped down his water despite the large volume hurting his throat a little bit. The water has seemed to cheer you up a lot.
Yep. Thanks Viliant, but I'm still thirsty.
Me too. Let's rest for now. Viliant encouraged Fia to lie down nearby. He stayed alert for the terror birds and other predators in case anything ventured to this side of the oasis. Most importantly, he waited for more unwitting animals to venture for water which would give them another chance to drink.
They persisted on the fringes of the oasis for several days, in hopes that Viliant could nurse Fia back to health. I've done everything I could, he thought to himself. Now, her survival depended on her. If she truly wanted to save her people, then Fia needed to find within herself the will to live.