The hyena approached, as if drawn to us, and it stopped only at the edge of Octavia's web.

Its eyes glowed under the moonlight, and I took a step forward, placing myself between Octavia and the hyena, challenging it to get any closer.

The hyena turned its head, and suddenly seemed to vanish into the darkness.

I glanced around, trying to spot it in the dim moonlight. I couldn't see it, but I was close enough to hear its footsteps. It was strafing to the right.

I did my best to track the hyena's movement, but a moment later, I lost the sound. On impulse, lunged forward into the darkness, spinning around, hoping to swipe it with my tail.

The hyena let out a cackle, and my head swiveled toward the sound. Then, the moonlight caught its eyes, and I could see it again.

I opened my mouth and let out a low, guttural growl that surprised even me. The hyena turned around and ran.

Octavia broke the silence with a delighted chortle. "You didn't even need to roar that time! I think the hyena just realized he's no longer the biggest predator around."

I nodded. "That hyena was smaller than most of the others we've seen."

"What?" said Octavia. "No, that was an average-sized ravenous hyena, not a variant. You're the one who's changed! You're a more fearsome predator than you were yesterday."

"I'm still growing," I said.

"So you say, but you're already bigger than I am!" said Octavia.

"Ahem." Anne stepped forward. "I'm aware we are all enthralled that Drew is now large enough to intimidate a hyena, but Octavia was correct the first time she spoke: hyenas are pack animals. You may be large enough to scare one away, but that single scared hyena could easily return with stronger companions." Anne pointed at the ground in front of me. "Tell me. Did the hyena get close enough to feel the aura?"

I stepped around the web to wear the hyena had stood.

Elder Dragon Scale aura buff: +13% to all offensive abilities

"Yes," I said.

Anne grimaced. "We can surmise that it knows about the presence of the dragon scale. Therefore, we should expect the hyenas to return."

I looked at the dragon scale, suddenly realizing what it represented. "The scale is a liability. It makes any confrontation with the hyenas more deadly. Given the number of near-misses I've had with hyenas, I'm not sure how I'd handle a crowd of them. Sadly, I don't think that the increased lethality of my breath will kill them as quickly as it killed the fire ants."

"So how do we fight them?" said Octavia.

"Ideally, we don't fight them at all," said Anne. "Both of you, get underground. Octavia first, then me, with Drew last."

Octavia entered the hole and began descending down the tunnel. Several steps in, I felt the scrape of the rock against my wings, and tucked them tight against my body to decrease my profile. Even so, it was a tight fit. I walked down the tunnel as was as I could, which was about ten feet – past that point, it was too tight for me.

"I can't follow you all the way down," I said. "Anne, for a creature of my size, this tunnel doesn't lead anywhere. Please tell me I didn't just walk myself into a deathtrap."

"Are you able to turn around in place?" said Anne.

I tried. "No."

"Then I would suggest that you back up until you can turn around," said Anne. "You will want your front pointed toward the upper end of the tunnel."

I understood. If the hyenas were going to follow us into this tunnel, I wanted the first thing they saw to be my teeth, not my tail. I backed up until the tunnel was wide enough to turn in place. I did a 180 and began walking out of the tunnel.

"Wait," Anne called from behind me.

"What?" I said. "Is the plan for me to just scare them off with my teeth?

"Do not worry," said Anne. "You will have a shield." A group of two dozen ants paraded into the tunnel, carrying the dragon scale with them. The tunnel was barely large enough to accommodate the scale, and as the ants carried it, it bumped against the ceiling, but they managed to make it in with the scale, and deposited it right in front of me.

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

Elder Dragon Scale aura buff: +100% to all offensive abilities

Now I understood Anne's plan: the dragon scale completely blocked the way into the tunnel. It was like covering the entrance with a rock. The hyenas wouldn't be able to get to me, but…

"I bet my breath attack could hit whatever's on the other side of this dragon scale."

"Do not!" shouted Anne.

"I know," I said. "I wasn't planning on it. I know what my breath does when it's trapped in an ant tunnel. Don't forget, the way I got on the fire ants' bad side was by fumigating one of their nests. You can rest assured I won't do the same thing to you."

"Thank you," said Anne and Octavia in unison. Then, a moment later, Anne continued. "Though, that is a contingency we may call upon, if it becomes necessary. If it does, Octavia and I will evacuate this tunnel to allow you and your breath to deal with any potential threats. Based on my estimates of your breath's volume and range of dispersal, we would be safe if we went all the way down to the main chamber."

"What, and abandon me up here?"

"You have a giant protective barrier protecting you from the outside world," said Anne. "Your only task is to ensure that nobody absconds with it."

"True enough," I said. "The fire ants could carry this thing out of the tunnel as easily as your ants carried it in here. Fortunately, I don't think the hyenas have the means to attempt the same thing."

"Indeed," said Anne.

"But what's the plan here?" I asked. "Are we just going to wait until the hyenas get bored and decide to leave?"

"In a very real sense, yes," said Anne.

"So this entire excavation project is just on hold indefinitely? I'm stuck in this cramped tunnel, trapped between a dragon scale and a too-narrow tunnel, waiting for the hyenas to lose interest?"

"No," said Anne. "The digging will continue, but at a slower pace."

"I'm not sure I understand," I said.

"It is more difficult to excavate soil without a clear exit path," said Anne. "The dragon scale is nearly flush with the cave walls. But there is more to digging than excavating soil. I can loosen it and prepare it to be carried out. I can continue digging."

Octavia interrupted. "You mean, your ants can keep digging."

"It seems you understand my meaning," said Anne. "In this context, my ants are more an extension of my body. May I continue?"

After a pause – and what I presumed was a nod from Octavia – Anne continued. "Drew, you are correct that you will need to spend some time in this cramped position. I hope that is not an issue."

"Not at all," I said. "I've had lots of time to get used to living in cramped underground tunnels. I recently slept in a hole not much larger than this one."

"Do you require sleep?" said Anne. "This may be a good time for you to sleep. One of us can awaken you if we require your assistance urgently."

"A nap would be good," I said. "I have been running low on stamina since our confrontation with the fire ants."

"Excellent," said Anne. "Octavia, is Drew prone to…nocturnal breathing of a potentially lethal nature?"

"Huh?" said Octavia.

"She's asking if I breathe poison fumes in my sleep."

"Oh," said Octavia. "No, I've watched you sleeping lots of times, and I've never detected anything like that."

"Good," said Anne. "Suffocating because our dragon companion had a nightmare would be a profoundly stupid way to die."

"Just wake me if something big is happening."

I shut my eyes. Behind me, I could hear the faint sound of ants scaping soil, and the occasional tink of striking rock echoed off the walls. Still, the sounds of ants tapping dirt were not loud enough to prevent my mind from drifting off to sleep.

----------------------------------------

From sleeping inside, your health has been fully restored. From sleeping inside, your stamina has been fully restored.

I yawned, and felt a deep growling rumble in my throat.

The first thing I noticed was the illuminated silhouette of the massive elder dragon scale in front of me, with its form rimmed by the backdrop of sunlight pouring into Anne's tunnel.

The second thing I noticed was that the tunnel around me seemed to have grown slightly in size. I spun around and saw that the tunnel behind me had expanded in size.

Octavia waved. "Good morning!"

"Ah," said Anne. "Our drake awakes. I suppose now my dirt excavation can begin in earnest."

"Were you really waiting for me?" I asked.

"Yes," said Octavia. "Anne sleeps intermittently throughout the day like I do. I had to explain to her that you require a full sleep cycle to recover your stamina."

"Thanks, I appreciate that."

Anne's ants marched forward on either side of me, with several dozen of them gathering under the dragon scale and carrying it backward toward me.

"Whoa," I said. "What are we doing?"

"Step aside," said Anne. "I widened the tunnel specifically for this."

I made way, and the ants deposited the dragon scale in the widened section of the tunnel. As soon as the dragon scale hit the floor of the tunnel, a procession of ants carrying massive clods of dirt began marching up until they reached me, waiting expectantly.

"What are they waiting for?" I asked.

"You," said Anne. "Did you think I was waiting for you to wake up merely because I needed to move the dragon scale? I could have dug around you, but you have a job to do."

"And that is…"

"You're their bodyguard," said Anne. "Now lead the way outside. Don't worry, my scouts haven't reported any activity, but for as long as this tunnel is unblocked, I want you to be ready on standby.

I led the way out of the tunnel, hearing the chittering of the massive number of ants behind me, and climbed out of the hole, blinking in the morning sun. A heavy breeze hit my face. I was surprised that the ants seemed unaffected by the wind; it was enough that I had to squint against the kick of dust blowing across the valley floor.

I watched as the ants deposited their dirt, contributing to the existing mound of excavated dirt.

I glanced around. "Seems like the wind was not kind to Octavia's web. The barrier she constructed last night is gone."

Anne emerged from the hole. "In that case, we will be reliant on a live threat response. This is the reason we needed you to be awake and alert, Drew. You must do what Octavia's web's cannot: prevent threats from reaching my ants while they do their job. We still have a full day of digging ahead of us."

I squinted and scanned the horizon for threats. "Seems like we're all good for now," I said.

"Splendid," said Anne. "But that can change at any moment. Remain vigilant."