Faff woke up yawning, lazilly stretching from head to tail. Feeling completely groggy, she wondered what had disrupted her happy slumber. In her dream, she was surrounded by a treasure hoard so huge, she couldn’t tell where it began and where it ended. There were all manners of precious metals and gems, shining so brightly that Faff wore sunglasses and a dazzling toothy grin.
Suddenly, her eyes lit up at a familiar scent. Craning her neck forward, she sniffed the air excitedly. There was only one thing that she loved more than treasure; FOOD! Hopping onto her hind legs with excitement, Faff began to follow the delicious aroma in the air. Someone was eating and she intended to lend a helping fang or three.
Hot on the trail for breakfast, Faff found herself just outside her family den. Every ten steps or so, she would mini phase an extra 4 steps ahead. Finally, she found what her tummy and nose had detected for so long. There was a roasted (more like dragon-charred) piece of meat floating at the side of a giant oak tree.
She instantly phased right under the meat and hopped to devour it. Faff chewed contentedly for a few seconds, eyes bulging with pleasure. If Faff had eyebrows, the tips would be touching the twin horns on her forehead as another piece of meat appeared just above her. This one was just slightly higher up than the first.
Faff hopped again, trying to nab another easy meal, but the meat seemed to have gained a consciousness of its own, skipping just out of her reach.
“FAFF!” she frowned accusingly at her reluctant breakfast, then made another mini leap to snap at it. Again, the meat managed to barely dance out of her range. Faff let out a little growl, then sat on her hind legs, looking at the meat in puzzlement. Suspicious, she scanned the area but found nothing out of the ordinary.
Gathering more strength, all the way from her tail to her knees, she sprung forward once more. This time, she managed to barely nip a tiny bite.
When she landed, the meat once again dropped just above her, taunting the little dragon. Licking her lips, the mini success invigorated her, and she decided to try the same tactic for another mouthful. Leaping enthusiastically, she made an epic chomp but managed to only bite into thin air. The meat had obviously learnt from its previous mistake and decided to move just a tad bit higher.
Annoyed, Faff began to bounce agitatedly; rapidly and repeatedly. Snapping at the meat that always seemed to just barely be out of her drooling jaw. Faff mini-phased in mid-air, jumping higher than ever before, flapping her tiny wings to propel herself forward more.
But still the wise meat had foreseen this effort, and managed to completely evade Faff yet again. Little wisps of smoke appeared at Faff’s nostrils, as she let out another frustrated, “FAFF!”.
With a little snort, Faff looked at the meat in disgust. Then, tilting her snout indignantly, Faff turned around and pretended to walk back to the den. Twenty baby dragon steps or so later, Faff eyed the meat slyly from the corner of her eyes.
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Then she sprung into action, turning around abruptly into a frenzied sprint for glory. Well, as frenzied as her four short paws could carry her.
Drawing a deep breath as she ran, Faff put every ounce of strength she had into her hind legs and frantically flapped her wings before jumping into the air. Her wings gave her that extra boost she needed, semi-floating her higher than she had ever been before. 3 feet mid-air, she phased-propelled herself further forward to ambush and capture her “unsuspecting” prey.
Finally, Faff had shown the meat who was boss. Her smug grin while she chewed disappeared as she noticed one slight problem; a 25-feet-from-the-ground-problem to be exact.
“FFHFHFF,” she exclaimed with a mouthful of panic and alarm. She chewed and flapped her wings with equal desperation. If she was going to become a scaly splat on the floor, she would at least finish what she was eating first!
Oddly, Faff found herself semi-hovering and floating midair. Pleasantly surprised, and still chewing, she slowed the rate her wings were flapping and gently descended back to the ground.
Relieved but curious, Faff examined each of her wings. She began flapping them slightly, testing to see what had happened. Suddenly, she found herself hovering just above the ground, scaring a startled squawk from her. Her wings went rigid from the shock, and she landed unceremoniously on her bottom.
Grimacing, Faff checked for any damage to her scaly behind, then stared at her little wings suspiciously. She lifted her hind paws, checking to see if anything was under them that caused the strange float phenomena.There was nothing.
Tentatively, she began to flap her wings again, but decided not to risk it. Her bum was still sore from the last fall after all.
That’s when the biggest morsel so far appeared a good 30 feet above her.
All doubts and fears disappeared into thin air instantly; figuratively and literally. Faff took ten steps back again, then, with another deep breath and another mini hop, flapped her wings with everything she had! Taking off, Faff found herself 10 feet in the air and going higher! 20 feet. 25. 30 feet and within range of her target!
Cheekily, the giant morsel spiralled upwards, but Faff continued chasing it down with hungry determination, soaring higher and higher.
DING! DING!
[PASSIVE SKILL UNLOCKED: FLIGHT]
Faff let out a cry of delight as she clamped her fangs around the giant meat, flying little circles in the air, celebrating her conquest.
“FAFFFFfffffffffffffff!” she cried exultantly and accidentally dropping her meal. With a yelp, she deftly angled her wings and maneuvered her tail, adjusting her flight to swoop down and recapture breakfast.
A little further away, hidden by oversized bushes and giant trees, her parents watched the airborne Faff with pride.
Her father announced smugly to his wife, “We use her stomach… and a little levitation magic.”
Curling her neck around her mate’s, “Next, we teach her to hunt.”