Silverbirch's Contest Entry
          Unwelcome Vistor

    In a region lost to the mists of time, there exists a mysterious mountain range, invisible and unbeknownst to any and all humans. Numerous caves dot these massive spires of rock, having been permanently bored into their craggy faces by eons of weathering. The vast majority of these caverns are empty and uninhabited.

   All save one...

   In one particular den, approximately half a mile below cloudline, the rustling of rough skin can be heard brushing against a stony floor. After a short period of silence, the same noise is heard once more. This time though, in the dim light, a flit of motion is visible. A flash of orange skin, pasted to a long, sinuous tail tipped by a quartet of black spines. Between each of these spines, a sun-yellow membrane was stretched.

   As the burning sphere that brought daytime with it climbed higher and higher into the partially clouded sky, its luminous shafts stretched farther and farther into the cave, with each passing minute revealing more of the creature dwelling within. A reptilian head, a smooth, muscular neck attached to an equally muscular body. Reaching off this body, though currently folded at the moment, were two long limbs that wore a draping of yellow membrane identical to the skin that adorned the creature's tail.

   Finally, the alternating pattern of light and dark floating over the beast's closed eyelids, caused by the puffy clouds drifting over the sun, elicited a quiver from the eyelid. The reptilian creature eventually stood up after a small span of time and strode toward the well-lit cave opening, feeling its razor-sharp talons scrape against the floor every now and again. Reaching the entrance of its den, the lizard-like creature at last stepped out into the sunlight.

   Unfolding her wings, the creature proved herself to be a truly graceful sight. The entirety of her body was colored an eyecatching red-orange. Her vibrant fire-hued coloration was only broken by numerous black crescent and triangle markings on all four of her strong, well-built legs, at the base of her tail, the base of her wings, her neck and forehead, and on each toe of her forefeet. Starting just under her jawline was an equivalently striking yellow that ran down her chest, continued along her belly and underside of her tail. This same color also appeared on the underside of her wing membrane. The back of her head was decorated with two structures consisting of five spines each, with the top spine of each being the longest. As could probably be expected, more yellow membrane was stretched across these spines. Perhaps the strangest feature of this magnificent creature were her intelligent, sky-blue eyes.

   One more experimental stretch of her breathtaking wings and then the female dragon seemed to effortlessly leap into the morning sky, propelled by the combination of the downward gust generated by her wingbeat and the upward shove from her tensed leg muscles. Now airborne, her free spirit came rushing to the surface, sending her cavorting in a handful of playful loops and other acrobatic maneuvers across the vast expanse of the sky. Beating her wings faster, she swiftly climbed a quarter mile into the air, stopping at the level of an especially low, wispy cloud. Though she had done this many times before, she was naturally curious, and to fulfill this innate curiosity, she made several sweeping runs through the white fluffiness of the cloud. She quickly tore through this delicate toy, and flew off to find another.

   After repeating this cycle a few times, she grew bored (and hungry), and chose to descend toward the lush forest encircled by the mountains she called home. Folding her wings tight against her body, she fell into a lightning-fast dive that grew faster with each second. The emerald green splash of color that was the ground came up towards her at an alarming rate. When it seemed as if she were about to punch through the trees and slam into the ground below, she extended her wings again and turned the steep dive into a high-speed glide which carried her over the trees so fast that they turned into a great muddy smear below her. She swung her head to the left and right, her sharp blue eyes grabbing fleeting glimpses of the forest floor.

   Spotting something, she slowed her glide and dropped into the trees, choosing a spot that was slightly less populated, so that she would avoid puncturing the membrane of her wings. If such a thing were to happen, her flight ability would be seriously hindered. Therefore, her wings came back to rest against her body a second time. Looking around, she noted that something was out of the ordinary; normally, her sensitive ears could detect the noises of the many small animals that lived in this forest, but today, all was quiet. Except for a low noise that sounded like...the ripping and tearing of meat from a large animal...

   Her curiosity tempered by caution, but still strong enough to force her to investigate, she crept along, following the grisly sound. She held her tail off the ground, to prevent it dragging along and alerting whatever she was following to her presence. At length, the young female dragon came across the source of the tearing noise. Despite its back being to her, the imposing wings and tail of this creature gave its identity away in no time. Crouching over what appeared to be the rapidly disappearing remnants of a large buck was an awe-inspiring, and obviously male, solid orange dragon. The ripping and tearing noise, now accompanied by a greedy gulping, permeated the air and continued with reckless abandon, until...

   Having devoured its prey, the great head swung around and fixed a fiery orange orb upon her. Its eye narrowed, and its cavernous maw opened, the many needle-sharp teeth inside it dyed red and dripping with crimson blood from their latest victim. A guttural roar erupted from within its blood-stained depths, the rush of air blowing out a coarse scarlet mist.

   The very air around the female dragon shook from the ferocity of the roar. She didn't need instinct to tell her to turn and flee. Digging her sharp talons into the soft loam of the forest floor, she spun and took off like a shot, not bothering to see if she was being followed. Returning to the clearing where she had entered the forest, she spread her wings and vaulted into the air. The hurried beating of her wings lifted her high into the air at a speedy rate. Now that she was free of the forest, the chanced a look back toward the ground. The sight that greeted her eyes spurned her to ascend even faster; the treetops were forced aside as the male dragon burst out in a cloud of foliage.

   It appeared that this pure orange dragon was no stranger to flight either; in the space of a few seconds, he was already streaking towards her. Frightened as she was, the female dragon waited until her pursuer was nearly on top of her. At the last possible second, she cut her altitude, and watched her attacker sail above her. Using her tail as a rudder, she whirled about and darted off in the opposite direction. Another glimpse back revealed that such an action wouldn't shake her opponent so easily; again, he came at her like an arrow from a bow, this time at a downward angle. Their difference in vertical distance placed the young female at a disadvantage. Even so, she had had enough of this strange intruder; wheeling about once more, she faced her adversary and bared her teeth in a low growl.

   A scorching heat built up in the back of her throat and quickly welled upward as the other dragon drew closer at a terrifying pace. Stretching her mouth wide, she let fly with a bright, intense cone of flame. Her defensive action unfortunately proved futile; unhindered, the male dragon powered right through the blazing cloud with nary a sign of pain. However, the same could not be said for her when a rock-hard head thudded into her midsection. The heavy blow knocked her out of flight, and the two large creatures fell toward the ground.

   Powerful as the blow was, the orange-and-yellow dragon was still conscious and had plenty of fight left in her. Up came her muscular foreleg, until her claws found their mark in the shoulder of her enemy. Her diamond-hard claws met little resistance as they cracked through the shiny, orange scales of the male dragon. Even as her claws sank into his flesh, and his blood oozed into the fresh wounds, she felt the same fiery sting in her upper foreleg. The ground was quickly rising beneath the two struggling beasts, and the smaller female dragon was soon going to be the unwilling cushion for the larger dragon. She had to free herself. Now.

   Fortunately, an option was available; when she had been tackled, her hind legs had been forced up against her belly. This had also protected her vulnerable midsection from being targeted for attack. First things first, though; she still had a set of claws stuck in her foreleg. Those needed to come out. Taking the same flammable liquid she'd used for her burst of flame, she directed this fuel down to the black crescent-like markings on her left upper foreleg. When it reached its intended destination, it exited out of the markings in a quick shot of pure fire. The male dragon finally roared in pain and released his claws. Ignoring the protest from her wound, in addition to the repercussions that came about from ejecting flame out of a damaged area, she promptly began battering and kicking her opponent's midsection with her hind claws. The gamble worked; the male dragon thundered in anger and torment once more. Seeing him distracted, the young female struck like a snake. She buried her teeth into his neck, feeling blood seep into her mouth.

   Now that she had a firm hold on him, she could throw him. And throw him she did; she unfolded her wings and began madly flapping one, letting the wind rushing over her other, outstretched wing supply the additional push needed to move her adversary's mass. The advantage now belonged to her. A steep dive let her catch up with the solid orange dragon and return the headbutt, after which she spread her wings to stop her downward momentum. At this point, the ground was too close to allow the male dragon any time to do the same, and he crashed through the trees.

   Panting heavily, grimacing at the cold fire burning in her left leg, the female dragon hovered above the spot where her opponent had gone down. She closed her unusually blue eyes and let a shiver run through her body. This brief lapse of attention left her open to the retaliating strike of the male dragon. Ferocious as ever, he came rocketing out of the trees like a lightning bolt, directly at her. The impact he struck her with was tremendous, and the two of them now began tumbling through the air once more, but this time at a much lower altitude. Another difference was that the same belly-raking strategy wasn't going to work this time around. Exhausted as she was, the only thing this female dragon felt was a raw, searing anger, not only at her lack of options, not only that this dragon had invaded the territory that she had called home, but that this enemy refused to lay down and die. A blinding white light proceeded to cover the whole of her body.

   Under this white light, many changes could be seen happening upon this dragon's body. The first change, and perhaps the most notable was the extensive lengthening of her body, transforming her form from what resembled a horse into a long, undulating, snake-like form. Her wings disappeared completely, only to be replaced by a large yellow-and-black fin upon each of her upper legs, which by now had shortened considerably and had moved farther apart along her body. Her lower legs did not go without change either; where the black markings on the backs of them had been, black tufts of fur now existed. The two webbed structures upon her head disappeared and were replaced by two magnificent ivory-colored horns that each bore a spiked, curling offshoot. Her spine was now decorated by a flowing mane of yellow fur from head to tail. Her tough skin was now blanketed by this same fur, save for her still-yellow belly which retained its leathery characteristic. The black markings along her body were in the same pattern and also recreated by fur, albeit black. Completing this transformation were two immensely long whiskers that sprouted from her snout. Metamorphosis finished, the light faded.

   The first sight that beheld the male dragon's eyes was truly frightening. He was presented with a massive head easily the size of his own. A deafening roar ripped forth from this black maw; a roar that surpassed even his own in both loudness and pure fury. The great lengthening of his opponent's body now left him with only a loose grip upon her long, muscular frame. Her forelegs were now free, and her claws were now within striking distance. With unparalleled speed, she swatted the male dragon in the side of the head, breaking his already loose hold on her. Her adversary didn't fall far, as she quickly and tightly snaked her body around him, pinning his wings, and all four of his legs. The only weapon of his that remained free was his head, but she was prepared for this. When his head came forward, his teeth seeking purchase in her neck, she again batted him heavily in the side of the head, effectively stunning him.

   Her enemy now laying limp, tightly clutched in the muscular coils of her body, the female took to the sky, flying higher and higher. When she deemed that she had gone high enough, she stopped and looked back at the distant ground. For the third time that day, she pitched herself into a near-vertical dive, racing at the ground like an orange-yellow blur. With great skill and calculation, she slackened her hold on the male dragon and snapped him downward with a swift, smooth flick of her serpentine body. The male continued toward the earth, slowly coming to little by little.

   Here is where the female dragon's anger culminated; another scalding wave of heat came rushing up her throat and out of her mouth. Instead of taking on the rather spread-out burst that had been used the first time, it took on a strong, unbroken stream that flew at the male like an arrow. The accurate shot hit its target square in the chest and continued flowing around him. The ground met him moments later.

   The female, whose draconian name was Zaphaera, remained in the air, long smooth waves repeatedly rolling down her lengthened frame, looking down upon her defeated adversary. She knew he was not dead; her species had remarkable powers of recovery. Nonetheless, she believed she had gotten her message across; this was her territory. Just to be completely sure, though, she kept circling the area above him to observe. Farther above, fluffy, pure white clouds drifted by, one after another.