The Huntress

(Part 3 of Shadowdale)

Embyr was late again the next day. She arrived at the fountain only a few hours before noon to find the human tapping his foot against the stone, clearly annoyed.

"I'm sorry." She apologized. "I had to hunt. I was a bit hungry…"

As the dragon lifted the boy up above the ground a rumble echoed through the air and Sterling looked up to his friend in a mild state of alarm.

"You still sound hungry." He said, patting her grumbling stomach.

"I guess it comes with growing." She muttered, rubbing the back of her head with her free hand.

"You have been doing that a lot lately…" the boy admitted, looking up and down his friend's titanic frame. A year ago she had stood fifty-two feet in height, rather tall for a dragon of her age; Embyr had stood at sixty-two feet the day before, but had picked up nearly twelve inches overnight to put the top of her head at an incredible height of sixty-three feet from the ground. She was taller than some of the members of the Inner Council, and still growing!

As the pair made their way out into the woods another growl echoed through the winter landscape and Embyr apologetically reached down to her stomach with her free hand.

"If you need to hunt-"

"Don't worry, I'll be fine." The dragon said. "A little dieting won't kill me. Besides, I'd hate to eat all of the game and leave you little guys to starve."

"There are plenty of deer to go around." The boy said. Embyr nodded but seemed either unconvinced or worried.

They stopped in the clearing where they had first met, the human dropping down from his friend's hand into the snow. He got his bearings and then, with a call of "Go!" ran off into the forest.

Embyr waited out the fifteen minutes, trying her best to be patient. But Sterling's tantalizing scent wafted through the branches to tickle her muzzle, making her stomach squirm within her. Her mouth watered even as she realized the boy must have been nearly a mile away.

She snapped out of her trance when she realized the allotted time had ended, had possibly even run over. She took off after the human's scent, darting around the larger trees and simply stepping over the smaller plants. A flock of crows scattered before the dragon as she passed and she stopped to snap at them, trying to catch at least one in her teeth.

She stopped then, realizing something was truly wrong. She had never liked the taste of birds; in fact, she found that the feathers stuck in her teeth and irritated her gums. The animals also weren't large meals, barely enough sustenance to be considered a snack.

She was acting like she was starving, like she hadn't eaten in days or weeks. What was wrong with her?

"Ster-" she began, wanting to call the human out and end the game. But she stopped herself, shaking her head. Her friend had won three times in a row over the last several days, able to evade her for nearly two hours each time. She had to break his strength, and she had confidence in her own self-control. She wouldn't hurt Sterling.

Her nose brought her further and further north as the aroma of the sandy-haired human filled her nostrils. She neared the mud flats that the boy had used so many times to evade her, though the process had become so repetitive that he had given up on the ploy long ago.

She continued north past the warm ooze, finally reaching a small mound of rocks she hadn't ever noticed before. A thin crack was visible in the boulders, just large enough for Sterling's less-than-six-foot frame to pass through with some difficulty. His smell beckoned to her from the crevice, making her mouth water all the more.

She passed a tongue over her lips as she bent down near the opening. It was dark inside, too dark for even her keen vision; but she knew the boy lay within the mound.

The dragon blew several breaths of hot air into the crack, filling the small cavern with warmth. She heard a sigh from within and grinned, knowing the human was trapped.

"Why take just a puff," she asked "when you can be somewhere much warmer? You could stay in a much warmer cave…" she prompted, opening her mouth and pressing the organic cavern up to the opening in the rock. Hot breath continued to pour from between her lips, dispelling the season's chill that lingered about the hidden boy.

"Come on Sterling…" she girlishly whined. "I trapped you. Come out…"

No response came from within the cave and Embyr pulled her mouth back, her lip forming into a pout. "It's so cold in there." She reasoned. "Let me warm you up."

Still no response came from within.

Her stomach growled and she slapped at her belly angrily. Her mouth had a right to crave Sterling, but not her stomach! Her friend was not food.

In anger she slammed her fist into one of the larger boulders, causing it to shift slightly. At that point she abandoned the seductive ploy altogether, fitting her claws under the rock and heaving with all her considerable strength. It toppled forth, falling over its smaller brethren to crash to the ground.

The black dragon dug through the smaller boulders, casting them aside until she found the small hideaway. Her face screwed up in confusion when she saw only a jacket in front of her, lying unworn.

She picked up the discarded article, her eyes narrowing. She had heard her friend sigh as her breath touched him; he had been here moments ago!

She bent down to examine the hideout more closely. Opposite from the entrance was another small crack, a tunnel that the Black Terror would have believed too small for her prey. Yet, as she looked up from the pile of boulders, she clearly saw a trail of footprints leading away from the scene.

She was on the move again in an instant, unceasingly amazed by her friend's ability to avoid capture.

Her black scaled frame wove between the trees as she took up the chase, quickly catching sight of the boy. He stood alone in the center of a large clearing, unprotected and exposed before his hungry friend.

Embyr stopped at the entrance to the clearing, her brow arching up.

"Giving up so easily?" she asked, taking a step forward. Her only response was a shrug.

"I got your jacket back for you." She said, dangling the leather article in the air. "You can have it back after I get some lunch…"

She took another step forward, and then another. She was only about a hundred yards from the boy now, a few great strides from her legs. Her mouth watered and, much to her displeasure, her stomach growled.

She was so preoccupied with her hunger that she didn't hear the first crack that echoed through the clearing. When a much louder crack came from beneath her feet, however, she looked down to see she was sinking into the snow!

The dragon had walked out onto a frozen pond, covered by falling snow to hide the ice beneath. Sterling could run across easily with his tiny frame, but at well over a ton the dragon had broken through even the thick layer of ice!

She fell through into the water beneath, the depths of the pool causing her to sink up to her chest. The frigid waters could not harm the dragon – no natural cold could – but she had certainly done a good job of trapping herself.

By the time Embyr looked up the human was long gone, dashing through the woods in an attempt to find another hiding spot. She tore her way out of the pool, taking no time to dry her dripping body as she dashed after her friend.

She crashed through the forest, following the human's scent. By the time she caught sight of him again he had reached a mass of fallen trees, clambering through them nimbly in an attempt to hide. Embyr, however, put on a burst of speed and reached him just before his disappeared into the rotting logs, wrapping two of her fingers around him and dragging his squirming body up before her face.

Her stomach rumbled as her mouth popped open, exposing the familiar pink chamber to the boy. He yelped as he was forced inside, much more roughly than usual.

The tongue caressed his flesh, wiping away the snow that clung to his clothes and patches of his skin. Warmth flowed over him as he tried to relax; though he quickly found that the familiar sensations still unnerved him.

Then the muscle wrapped around his leg, drawing him away from the wall of teeth on which he leaned. He accepted the treatment, knowing how much the dragon liked to play with him.

But as the back of Embyr's throat loomed closer and closer, he began to panic. From the depths of the dragon's neck a gurgle rose, echoing through her cavernous maw like a call to war. To the Black Terror's starving body he was the enemy; he was the meal.

The boy's struggles began anew as he found himself released from the tongue's grip, forced to hold onto the slippery muscle as he slid towards the back of his friend's tongue. Behind his kicking feet the throat pulsed, eagerly trying to draw him down into the depths of Embyr's body.

One of his feet entered the black dragon's jugular, a suction-like feeling trying to draw it down. He fought back against the feeling, realizing to his horror that this was no game; Embyr was eating him!

"Embyr!" he called to his friend. "Embyr, help me! Let me out!"

Saliva fell on him, weighing him down. He fought against it but could not wipe away the sticky strands in fear of losing his grip on the tongue, the only thing keeping him from descending deeper into the dragon's digestive system.

"Embyr!" he yelled as loudly as he could, closing his eyes in fear and revulsion as he felt his hold on the pink muscle.

Then suddenly his world shifted as he found himself falling out of his friend's mouth. He choked on saliva for a moment, coughing and sputtering as two blood-red eyes looked down at him with concern. From below an angry growl passed from the disappointed belly of the beast as its meal rested unharmed above.

"I'm so sorry…" the dragon muttered, helping wipe away the spit that clung to her friend's small frame. "I didn't mean to… I didn't want to… I couldn't control myself…"

"What's happening to you Embyr?" Sterling asked, his gray eyes looking with the red orbs above him. "You've been getting hungrier and hungrier lately. What's gotten into you?"

The Black Terror sat down in the snow, lying back to let her friend rest just beneath her neck. She took a deep breath, closing her eyes to work up the courage she knew dwelt within her.

"Do you remember Mr. Ellis? From the village?" she asked.

Sterling nodded. Mr. Ellis was a retired soldier, a man who had saved Lord Arthas's life on at least one occasion. In his youth he had become a drunkard, but managed to give up the practice after several years. He had gone off to war and, after receiving some level of fame, was rewarded an early retirement and a steady income from the keep. In his boredom he had taken up drinking again, diving so deep into his addiction that he was more often drunk than sober.

"I… I think I'm having withdraws." The black dragon said.

"Those humans I ate last year, they were the first I'd had in over a decade. They were so delicious; the way they squirmed was so incredible! I wanted more; I've wanted more ever since, but I managed to control myself for you."

Sterling blushed, realizing the inner torture his friend had endured for his sake.

"But then I started growing," she said "and I found I was always hungry. I blamed it on growing pains, on the fact that I needed more energy… but however many animals I ate, they never satisfied me. I think I need humans – no! I don't need humans, I just want them… I want them really badly…"

The human patted his friend's neck. He wanted to help in any way he could; but he realized that the only way he could help was by becoming a meal.

That was something neither of the two wanted.

They tried to get their minds off of the subject, spending the rest of the day talking about other things – anything else. They stopped only for Embyr to hunt just after midday, but the groans still echoed from her stomach even after eating nearly a dozen deer.

As the sun began to drop in the west they rose and made their way back to Stonebridge. Sterling gave his friend one last worried pat on the ankle before turning back to his home, silently praying that the dragon would soon recover from her nagging hunger.

But Embyr was far from recovering; in fact, she wondered how she had managed to get into the village without eating someone! The smells wafted up from every home, filling her nostrils with an intoxicating aroma.

She staggered back towards the gate, trying to ignore her primal urges. A yelp came from beneath her and she looked down to see a human between her toes, nearly squished by her step.

The boy was about Sterling's age, a teenager Embyr had seen in the town on more than one occasion. He was about an inch taller than her friend with the same medium length hair, though his was brown as opposed to sandy blond. Two bright blue eyes looked up at her in surprise as he made his way out from between the massive toes.

"Um… sorry…" Embyr muttered, using her words to hide the rumbling in her stomach.

The human – Kelly, by name – nodded. He smiled up at her and vocally accepted her apology.

"Thanks for not trying to step on me." He said. "I mean… you're really a nice dragon, aren't you?"

"Yeah," she said, fighting back the desire to prove him wrong. It was clear Kelly liked dragons; in fact, she had seen him staring at her with a look near wonder multiple times, for the short durations she spent in the village. He seemed to trust her, to accept that she was not like the other man-eaters that made up her race.

It was almost too easy; it seemed so right when she smiled down at him in a friendly manner, a plan running through her starving brain.

"I want to show you something… if it's alright with you." She said, lowering her hand to the youth. His mouth dropped in awe as he stood in place, wonderfully surprised for several long moments. Then, as his body came back under his control, he quickly clambered into Embyr's palm.

His fate was sealed as Embyr stepped over the wall, moving away from the village with her next meal clutched between her hands.