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In the depths of the cave where the stalactites grew, Desmodus clung, his wings enclosing himself, his fluffy ears being the only thing that stuck out. The wings of dragons from his clan echoed from the other side of the cave, as if urging him to get up and join them before they left for the meeting without him. This day was one he'd always dreaded, especially because he had to get up in the middle of the daytime to meet other dragons for no reason that made logical sense to him. But, he knew he had to get up, because if he didn't, the leader of his clan would chew his ears off so he couldn't echolocate anymore.

"Des!"

With a hiss of irritation and dread, Desmodus' wings slowly parted to reveal a large pair of glowing red eyes. His gaze locking on the adolescent wyvern that called to him. He hissed at her in anger, his two large fangs baring at her as she sat there, unfazed by his growling.

"What is your excuse this time?"

"The queen calls for you to join the others. Tidy up your fur and let's go."

"Five more minutes."

"No. Now. Unless you wish to have your wing patagiums torn?"

And after that.. silence. Pure silence as the two stared each other down, not daring to move even a muscle. The temptation to leave was stronger at that moment, but for his own good, Desmodus begrudgingly began to shift out of his portable cocoon he made with his wings, and jumped off the stalactite he was clinging on, and glided to the ground. "I'm simply obeying due to my instinct to survive, so don't interpret this the wrong way." Desmodus made a low rumbling sound from the back of his throat as a way of preparing before he released screech, listening to the sound waves bouncing off the walls, leading him towards the exit. The wyvern next to him screamed in pain and shock, in a way that made him smirk with delight. That'll teach her to not interfere with his sleep schedule. She spewed out a flurry of insults and curse words at him, covering her ears to protect her eardrums from further damage by his screeches. Then, she quickly flew away, leaving Desmodus behind all by himself. Just the way he likes it.

|-----|

Desmodus finally made his way out of the cave, squinting and scowling at the same time from the sunlight. He saw all the dragons crowded around, a few giving him some nasty glares for making them wait on him.

"And he's finally joined us. Let's head out now."

The queen's words were hissed, like a serpent about to strike it's prey. She's capable of sending chills down anyone's spine, even Desmodus', despite how embarrassing it was to admit he felt fear of the queem of his clan.

The dragons around the area all lept into the sky the moment the queen spoke her command, all following like ants in a colony. Mindless drones. But, Desmodus acted like one of them, taking off like all those poor influenced creatures that surrounded him.

Pathetic.

A surprisingly low amount of dragons bumped into him this time, which is rare for Desmodus. It was like he could finally fly freely in a group of dragons. He scanned the crowd, searching for the wyvern pest that always clings to his tail. The amount of red and yellow scales around made it impossible to distinguish her from the crowd, which also meant that she could be literally anywhere. Everyone in his tribe has scales like red, orange, yellow, and gray. Gray was a very rare color. The only reason Desmodus was able to join was because the king had pity for him in his situation. I bet any amount of snail shells that he would go back in time to fix that mistake.

"Thinking bitter thoughts again?!"

Desmodus hissed and jumped away at the voice. Again, it was the wyvern that woke him up before. His face changed from shock to irritation immediately, glaring straight into her eyes. "Pinnacle. Go bother Craig instead." He hissed quite heartlessly at her, but he saw that it had no effect on her. She stayed there, right next to him, flying. "Scram, pest!"

"Oh come on, Des! You know Craig is too boring! I don't want to fly by him! Please please please! I won't say a word!"

"Go bother Peak then. The albino dragon? You two would be best friends."

"Peak only talks about how she's oh-so cursed and how everyone hates her when absolutely nobody hates her! Just because she's the only white-scaled dragon here!"

"Go talk to your dad then, Princess Pinnacle."

"No! He's too busy acting serious!"

Pinnacle's face shifted to exactly mirror the king's face, even getting to underbite he had correctly. "I'm glad you can mimic the king's face. How about you go show the queen your skills?" Desmodus tried the sweet coaxing route to get her to go away, but she remained right next to him, giving him a contented smirk. It made him want to claw her snout of and rip out her horns, but if he did, he would probably be killed immediately for harming the tribe's youngest princess. There was no hope to get this dragon to leave him alone, so he just decided to ignore her. Staying true to her word before, she surprisingly didn't say anything to him the whole way there.

|---------------------------------------------|

The forest below slowly changed, developing into a large, rolling plains. This was the meeting spot. The repetitive sound of a thousand wings flapping finally came to halt, and one dragon after another landed on the ground with a thump. Desmodus hurriedly flew up towards the giant tree in the center, where the highest ranked dragons spoke without interruptions. Desmodus, as the king's wezen, is welcomed up there. As he prepared to land, he stretched his legs forward to grip onto the branches. The tree branch creaked underneath his weight, bending slightly. It didn't bend enough to make it break though. He wrapped his tail around the branch before falling forward, turning himself upside down so he could cling on the branch, then, he wrapped his wings around himself to block out the sounds of his clan, and the approaching jungle clan.

"Desmodus."

The king's voice echoed. Desmodus hadn't even realized he was there. "Yes?" He murmered, sticking his head out of his portable cocoon.

"Don't disappoint me here again. Remember, be welcoming to the jungle clan, but always stay vigilant."

"I will."

Desmodus Draculae shot an acrid scoff at "King" Crypt as he walked away, holding his head high proudly and his wings relaxed against his sides, approaching the Jungle Clan's king to speak. The audacity that fiend must have to remind him and berate him about engaging in a fight the month before's meeting. His limbs stiffened in aggravation, his lips around his fangs peeling up to reveal his shockingly clean gums.

"King Fouco." Crypt purred, dipping his head and his wings unfurling to bow respectfully. Then, his gaze turned to the queen, and he dipped his head in respect to her. "Queen Nuvola." His wings folded to once again relax on his sides.

The sound of the Mountain Clan's queen gracefully gliding her way to join the Crypt's side echoed through the air, her giant wings casting a shadow over the crowd, enveloping half of them in momentary darkness. "The Jungle Clan.." Her voice echoed as she landed on the branch, almost shoving Crypt off. Her words hissed like a serpent, with clicks after each phrase like a woodpecker's beak thudding against the bark of an unbreakable tree. "It's an honor to be able to have another meeting together." A cruel, atrocious smile curved across her face, as if she was admiring a toy collection of hers. Her smile exposed her crocodilian teeth and horrid smelling breath. Desmodus was nowhere near her, and almost hacked up the dinner from yesterday at the smell, like he did almost every time she stepped foot near him. No one even knew what her name was, not even Crypt. He was simply her selected choice to bear her children this year.

The king beckoned Desmodus over with the tip of his tail, a look of urgency on his face. A snarl rumbled in the back of Desmodus' throat, but his mouth didn't dare express his irritation at the king. He swung himself off the branch and did a graceful spin in the air before unfolding his wings, flapping them intensely to propell himself up to the king's branch. "As you may be wondering, where is our wezen and our mirzam? Sadly, they were killed a week after our last meeting. Last week, we promoted two new dragons." The queen had a surprisingly real remorseful tone to her voice. A sparkling golden dragon landed beside the king, and so did Desmodus. "Now, welcome Mirzam Pyrite and Wezen Desmodus Draculae!" Her eyes then narrowed, her pupils striped. "And you may be wondering, why the troublemakers? And I will answer. They have proven to be the most worthy of these ranks. Pyrite with his battle skills, and Desmodus with his intelligence and quick thinking." She purred, patting the two on the top of their heads like they were just some kind of pet or tool for her. Desmodus ignored the irritation that sparked through him like lightning, and instead turned to look at the dragon near the Jungle Clan's royalty. Immediately the first thing he noticed was how absolutely stunning she was. The horns atop her head and bright green eyes went perfectly with her deep, ocean blue feathers. She looked like someone that came straight out of a fairytale. He peeled his gaze away from her, focusing back on the conversation between the royals. "I hope you will welcome these two to join us atop the tree every month." Then, her face switched from calm, to furious. "Now, pass over the dragon who killed my sons, and no one will get hurt."

Desmodus' fur stuck up on end, and Crypt and Pyrite both had nervousness clear in their face. Crypt quickly stepped in front of the queen, an awkward, and embarrassed smile curving across his face. "What the queen means is, if you find anyone with light blue scales and pink flower-like patterns adorning their scales, please alert us. We must take revenge for our poor lost dragons." Then, he flicked his tail to dismiss Desmodus and Pyrite.

Desmodus waisted no time, and lept off the branch like his life depended on it; he didn't want to be in between a possible argument between the royals. His wings pinned against his sides as he dove towards the ground. Skillfully, he launched himself back upwards when he was only a few feet away from colliding with the ground. His wings flapped gracefully, waving his dense, black fur around with each movement. The speed at which he was flying also caused the wind to blow his fur around. He retreated into the forest, unable to bear all the noise of that area. He could hear each and every conversation going on with his ears. Sometimes he felt like his ears were a curse.

Desmodus wrapped his tail around a tree's branch, doing another shockingly graceful spin before wrapping his wings around himself, his ears relaxing in relief, and the pain in his eardrums immediately ending. The shade of the forest felt great on his fur, since he no longer had the tingling sensation on his skin from the sun's rays. Finally, he could have some peace and quiet.

Desmodus was relaxing, enjoying resting his ears from the constant noise, and appreciating the shade the forest offered so kindly to him. It was like a safe haven, with only the sounds of the leaves and a few animals chirping. Even the sounds of a jumping spider hissing as it's jaws clamped down on a darkling beetle didn't bother him that much. It was.. the quietest it's ever been for him in so long. Now that he was fully grown, he could leave the tribe, and go live by himself...

The thought of Pinnacle begging him to stay, and her tears dripping down her cheeks slapped him hard in the chest. He wasn't supposed to like her. He was supposed to hate her, and want her gone, but he just couldn't help it. She always tries and tries to be his friend, despite all the times he shoos her away like she's just some kind of pest. She's been trying, for years, actually, she's been trying since she said her first word twenty-three years ago. He couldn't abandon her. Not yet at least. Not now.

The sound of someone's wings flapping, their feet thumping as they landed on the ground startled Desmodus, and he hissed, wrapping himself up tighter. He didn't want to talk to Craig right now. He's always talking about feelings and how they're so important to share. But those footsteps didn't sound like Craig.. He strained his ears, trying to listen better. That definitely wasn't Craig. It sounded too light-footed, like a female dragon. It wasn't Pinnacle either, since she'd shout his name when looking for him. This was.. someone else.

Desmodus inhaled the air, trying to smell who it could possibly be. It was a scent he didn't recognize.. or did he? He remembered slightly being able to smell this dragon when he was being introduced to the king and queen of Jungle Clan, but he could barely smell it over his queen's traumatizingly horrid breath.

Desmodus slid his wings, loosening his cocoon just a small bit to open up a hole in the cocoon, making it just big enough so that only his menacing red eye could be seen. And he had found who it was. It was the blue dragon with the feathers. He could hear his heart in his chest heart skip a beat when he saw her, also catching a feeling of butterflies in his stomach. The dragon was so beautiful, despite how much he didn't want to admit it. But, he managed to keep his menacing, intimidating demeanor. "What do you want?" A hiss emanated from his jaws, his tail thumping against the top of the branch impatiently as he clung to it with his two hind legs.