The forest edge was green and thick, attractive to deer for the hunt. That was why they had come here in the first place; two grown beasts needed three deer to sate their hunger for three days, two for one and one for the other. Years of trial and error had taught them to develop a strategy so that they could achieve that number; obviously Bashan dove into the forest first, for his small and nimble form could weave through the thick forest brush without startling their prey.
His larger companion had to stalk the forest edge, waiting to pluck any deer that drew to near or take flight in order to drive them in his son's direction. They had no intention of stumbling upon old ruins when they had come across this place.
Though perhaps, it all owed to the elder's sense of direction, innately tied to his natural instincts. Dragons, after all, often returned to where they were raised, as familial communities offered protection and food for their future offspring. Sadly, the ghosts of his past had returned to haunt him the moment he had recalled this place, and they drove him to tear himself away in reluctance. The ruins should have been safe. They've sat here for a million years, decaying and erroding by the forces of time and nature. In retrospect, the golems should have vanished long ago. Oh, how he was wrong.
BASHAN'S BLOODCURTLING SCREAM met his ears like it had shattered the glass of silence. Their first kill, already long dead and left blood on Vidar's maw would be left behind as the beast ushered himself into the forest brush, his brief inner peace destroyed by sheer horror. It had to be a bear, OH PLEASE GODS, LET IT BE A BEAR. Logically it had to be a bear. Often that was the case and such an animal was far easier to overcome than when Bashan was seven.
Unfortunately fate had payed him no ease. Somehow, as he tore through massive pines and charged over fleeting rabbits, Vidar's eyes widened at the recognition of the inhuman frames of artificial bodies, covered in hard ceramic skins. They claimed to have emotion but carried out their duties as though they were soulless. They sought equality but came to destroy those who stood in their path. AS HE RECALLED, THE GOLEMS WERE RUTHLESS.
SOMETHING SNAPPED. Right then and there. Unbridled, wild rage erupted from the depths of his wounded and aching heart, born from the very resentment and fear he held against the malice of his people. They had gone too far. They had taken away his home, his brother, his kingdom--and gods forbid, they seemed just as bent on taking away his innocent human son.
THAT'S RIGHT, GOD FORBID. The beast's icy eyes glowed with blue fire, hot and angry. The blind rage which consumed his very though drove him to stretch his wings and BELLOW something horrific--but his announcement served only to bring him down. A single shot from one of the decrepit golems swept narrowly past his face, drawing blood beneath his eye. The next Vidar knew, he was tumbling--rolling down the rocky slope. A jutting boulder struck him at his shoulderblade, and at that moment, he knew he had dislocated something. The pain shot through his body like an arrow, and it droned and droned, coming in buzzing waves that persisted. He could no longer move his arm.
Vidar hit the ground one final time, jaw and belly slamming into the grass not far from where Bashan's body threatened to crumble. The boy, just barely a man, was fighting for his life more than his father was. Sadly, the injury only added salt to an old wound and it fueled Vidar's rage even further. Before the golems could recognize their second opponent, the beast had pulled himself up onto his side and gave a harrowing, earsplitting, ICEFIRE SCREAM.
Nothing could have stopped him from being engulfed in his bitter rage. The BASTARDS were still kicking after all this time, and he'll be DAMNED if he didn't end them before they ended his child. Paternal instinct now added to the weight of his rampage and the onslaught began. Vidar's throat churned and illuminated into a menacing bright blue, and ICE SPEWED FORTH, choking the once silent air with freezing mist and bitter cold frost.