Peacock hissed as another rabbit jumped and ran, leaving a blood trail in its wake. After his back-to-back kills, his luck had steadily gone downhill, or more likely, the sheer fatigue and hunger gnawing at him had made him clumsy.

His limbs trembled. Peacock tried to focus on a nearby rabbit, but they all blurred together. He was just so hungry. How long had he been at this?

“Enough!” Nex called. “Come and stand before me.”

Peacock forced one leg in front of the other, relying more on remembering the general direction Nex was in than sight. It worked well enough, and before long, he could feel the large dragon’s gaze boring into him as he stared at the ground. Heavy panting beside him made it clear Viseral wasn’t feeling any better. A smiled played at his lips. Small victories.

The smile died when Nex growled. “I asked for fifty kills each. Fifty little rabbits. Could you do it? No!”

Peacock flinched. What now?

“You worthless excuses for dragons couldn’t take out fifty bunnies. All I asked was to do as I said. You didn’t. So, since I always speak the truth, you must be punished.”

The sound in his voice grated against Peacock’s skin. He picked his head up in time to see Nex rear up and pull two quills out of his back legs, shifting his grip like a warrior dual-wielding lances.

Oh, no. Realization barely registered before a quill pierced Peacock’s chest.

POISON APPLIED

White-hot fire consumed him whole. The room faded until only the pain remained, never-ending agony that washed away all rational thought.

HEALTH AT LESS THAN 50%

HEALTH AT LESS THAN 25%

NEAR DEATH APPLIED

The pain stopped. His senses came screaming back as if someone had thrown a switch, turning the agony off and the world back on.

YOU HAVE BEEN REVIVED

HEALTH AT 1%

Peacock eased his eyes open. He’d fallen over onto his side, and now lay almost eye-to-eye with Viseral. His wide, shocked eyes and heaving chest told Peacock exactly where the second quill had gone.

“Stand up.”

His breath caught. Oh, shit. Can I stand? No, I have to stand. Peacock flailed his limbs, rolling away from Viseral’s claws as he came to his feet. His limbs shook as he forced them under. Nothing hurt anymore, but he had a feeling one percent health wasn’t great for moving around, a fact he was sure Nex was aware of.

“Let us hope your performance is better tomorrow. For now, it’s time to return to your nest.” Nex walked off without further instruction.

Peacock took a step and fell, his legs crumbling under him.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

“Keep up, newb,” Viseral snarled quietly as he walked by.

He wanted to growl, but his throat wouldn’t cooperate. Instead, he glared at Viseral’s backside, gaining some small amount of pleasure at the pronounced wobble in his gait. Viseral could act tough all he wanted, but it was obvious Nex’s poison had affected him just as badly. Still, as much as Peacock hated to admit it, Viseral was right. They had to keep up or get punished again. Peacock ground his teeth and stood back up. Viseral would love it if he failed. He wasn’t about to give him the satisfaction.

Ignoring the rubbery feeling in his limbs, he stumbled after the other two dragons. After a handful of identical tunnels, they were back at the ‘nest.’ Of course, by nest, Nex had meant their stalagmite cages.

Peacock had never been so happy to see a cage before. With it came the hope of being left alone and not having to move for a while.

The stalagmite bars opened up. Peacock wobbled in, hitting his flank on the edge. He flinched away, lost his balance, and hit the ground. Stars erupted in his vision. He braced for a retort, or threat, but none came as Viseral swayed into his own cage.

Peacock shifted around to watch Nex, keeping his belly flat to the ground. He’d had enough of falling.

Nex towered above them, a bored look on his face. He focused on Viseral. “One, not only did you not kill fifty rabbits, you let one bite you, something I specifically told you not to do.” He sighed and frowned. “I must stay true to my word. No food.”

Viseral trembled harder. Whether it was from anger, fatigue, or something else, Peacock couldn’t tell. He jerked back as Nex’s eyes flicked toward him.

“Two. You disappointed me by not filling your quota as well. However, you have already payed for that failure. Eat.”

A slab of meat as big as him appeared in his cage. It squashed against the bars in the small space between him and the outside, filling the air with a strong, rancid odor.

“Eat as much as you like but eat it quickly. Once it rots, it will poison you. You will not die, nor will I be around to heal you, which means you’ll suffer its effects until I return. I’ll be back tomorrow to continue your training.”

Nex walked off, leaving Peacock to devour as much of the meat as he could. It tasted like it smelled. A sickly green covered the length of it, and it was growing darker by the second. Peacock assumed that was the rot Nex had mentioned. Not that Peacock knew how to tell when it went from old to rotten. Common sense told him to stop while he was ahead, but the burning pit in his stomach drove him on.

“You going to share that?”

Peacock took another big bite of the increasingly foul meat before looking at Viseral. That’s right. Viseral’s got to be as hungry as I am. Hmm…. His many insults and attacks came rushing back as Viseral stared at the meat, eyes glistening. Wait, is he about to cry? Maybe sharing was a good idea. Just because Viseral was an asshole didn’t mean he should cause him more suffering.

“Oh, never mind.” Viseral grimaced and looked away, curling into a tight ball.

Huh? An awful smell of dead animal filled the cage, bringing his attention back to the meat. Damn it.

The meat had gone from green to brownish black. A thick coat of slime covered it. Somehow, despite the horrid smell and sight, his stomach still ached from hunger. Idiot. Shouldn’t have spent so much time worrying about my morality. His anger switched to nausea, and he was mostly certain it wasn’t from the food. What am I thinking? Whoever these dragons are, they killed without hesitation, demand near impossible things, then torture you when you fail. No, morality isn’t what I should be worried about. I need to get out.

Peacock glanced back at Viseral, trying to gauge how amicable he’d be to an escape attempt. He seemed almost excited to be captured at first, but decidedly less so after Nex’s punishment. Viseral was still curled up into a tight ball, his face hidden from view. The steady rise and fall of his chest made it seem like he was asleep, or at least trying really hard to avoid conversation.

Peacock sighed and curled into a tight ball of his own, the sour taste on his tongue and the rotten animal smell promising to haunt him the entire night. The stalagmite bars were solid, immoveable, unless Nex willed them open. Maybe they were controlled by some sort of silent spell or command. Peacock ran through commands in his head. There was a good chance the bars would only respond to Nex, but it was also the only lead he had.

Tomorrow, he’d begin memorizing the paths they took. It wasn’t much, but he had to start somewhere. Peacock pulled his focus back to commands, before he dwelled anymore on the next day. Whatever it brought, Peacock knew he wouldn’t like it.