Discover Top Posts Tagged with #ngmob

No Good Man or Beast (Chapter 1)

Crimson eyes stalked over the small mountain village with a certain predatory gleam in them. Zane had been watching the town for three days now, hidden away from its occupants in the safety of pure white, fluffy clouds. The day of his attack had finally arrived. He landed just on the outskirts of the town and walked the rest of the way inside, blending in with the crowd as if he were one of the human-like creatures that lived in it. He had to take a different approach with these humans, they had strange powers he’d never encountered before. He decided not to wear his armor and he had his bright red wings folded uncomfortably underneath his clothes.

Although the god didn’t know it, the creatures he walked among weren’t human at all; they were dragons, and the tiny dragon village had been peaceful since its foundation. Sure, the species had a few conflicts with humans from time to time, but for nearly a century there had been no major bloodshed. Within that tiny dragon village was a young man named Ess. Besides being a hybrid, something new to dragonkind, he was nothing out of the ordinary. He was browsing along the village's marketplace, chatting with his elders and scolding the little fledglings that were disturbing the early afternoon peace, blissfully unaware of the havoc that was about to come.

Zane stopped when he felt he had been undetected long enough. Looking up at the sky, he slowly smiled and made the sky darken, the clouds suddenly turning swollen and gray like a necrotic wound. The ground started shaking as if an earthquake had begun.

A surprised murmur stirred among the villagers. Dragons always knew when a natural disaster was about to strike, hell, they were connected to every element the earth possessed. So why didn't anyone sense the sudden storm and earthquake that appeared in the village? Ess panicked, silver-purple eyes searching the faces of his tribesmen. Everyone looked terrified. Some shifted to their mythos forms, leathery noses poking up in the air to sense danger before turning to flee. The scent of danger was everywhere. As the others scattered in terror, Ess turned and sprinted toward his parents' home.

Zane shot his arms out to his sides, unfurling his wings with theatrical flare as cold steel chains immediately burst out of the ground. Chains shot through every building, crumbling houses and trapping helpless dragons inside of the rubble. The chains started wrapping around some of the captured dragons' bodies, constricting around them and forcing them to pop like berries between a child’s fingers.

Ess was almost at his parents’ home which rested just at the edge of the village. He could see it, untouched by the strange attack, meaning his parents were still alright. As he approached, something in his mind forced him to slide to a stop. As he began scrambling back to protect himself, multiple chains shot through the house, tearing through both floors and bursting through the roof. He seemed paralyzed with fear, taking deep, gasping breaths as he tried to gather his thoughts. He parted his lips, searching for the stench of death. None from inside the house. Scrambling to his feet once again, Ess ran up the three steps and broke the door down, voice shaking as he cried out: "M-Mom, Dad, please answer me! Where are you?" A male water dragon, his snake-like body covered in scales, shimmering in blue-grey hues, the fur on his face a brilliant grey with patches of white, sat wounded in a pile of debris. One of his arms was missing, but he didn't seem to care, his deep brown eyes trained on something directly in front of him. He stood up on his remaining three legs, wincing as he addressed Ess: "Season. Save the others, I have your mother. I will leave with her through the waterways." In the powerful dragon's jaws was a middle-aged woman with long pink hair, a white stripe going across her face. Mark of an Air tribe leader. She was knocked out, bleeding from the head and mouth, but still alive. The serpent realized something: “And find Ember!” Ess nodded and turned away, glancing at his parents one last time before heading out to find Ember and anyone who might have needed help.

Zane let out a sigh of pure ecstasy as he looked around at the death he caused. He slowly smirked while lowering his arms and folding his wings, shuffling his feathers as the raindrops began to fall and run between them. He waltzed over to the marketplace, running his fingertips along the overturned wooden carts and abandoned stalls with little trinkets scattered along the ground. An untouched apple cart caught his attention, the raindrops sliding down their glistening red surfaces. He couldn’t help himself; he walked over to it and plucked the biggest apple right from the top of the pile. Turning it over in his hand, he took a bite out of it while looking around to see if anyone was alive.

Behind the apple cart that Zane stood next to, an injured child was trembling. She wasn't a dragon. In fact, nobody knew what she was. Bright green skin, two little daisy-shaped antennae sticking up from her head, a huge gash in her right leg, and a foot that was twisted in the wrong direction, she was practically a sitting duck. She trembled in fear, hands clamped over her mouth as she tried to silence her sobs and sniffles. Her heart was racing as she looked up, staring intently at the stark-white hair that whipped in the wind just above her hiding place.

Zane stopped mid-chew and listened quietly, tuning out the patter of the raindrops hitting the ground under his feet. A single, high-pitched hiccup. He slowly walked around the apple cart and looked down at the little green girl, his brow furrowed as he took in her appearance. The child seemed to be petrified, staring up at him and slowly shaking her head, her hands still clamped tightly over her mouth and nose. He raised an eyebrow, "Well you're different..." He kneeled in front of her, taking another bite of his apple as he tilted his head in curiosity. He’d never seen a creature like her before. Swallowing what was in his mouth, he rolled the apple away and asked: "Did you think you could stay hidden behind here?"

The child met Zane's eyes, her voice caught in her throat. She couldn't speak a word. All she knew was she missed her family very, very badly. She'd never met someone with this kind of power before, this kind of hatred before. Why would one man cause so much ruin in mere minutes?

Ess scrambled through the desolate land, dipping behind corpses and hiding behind broken buildings until he found himself in the marketplace. As soon as he saw the intruder, he hid behind the ruins of an old clothes shop, wondering what the hell the winged creature was and what he was doing by the apple cart. Pressing himself against the cold, wet stone of the shop, he gazed down at the dirt as he tried to gather his thoughts, 'Ember wasn't in the house. Ember wasn't in the town, so that must mean..! He found her!' His stomach heaved with nausea. Forcing down the feeling, he crept around the ruins of what was a bustling, cozy center just minutes before, keeping his steps as silent as a cat’s, praying that the white-haired demon wouldn't see him. His nose was clogged with the stench of death and blood, so he was forced to rely on his eyes. He could see the child’s mangled leg, but judging by the calm demeanor the white-haired man took, he wasn’t going to hurt her.

"I guess I'll keep you alive..." Zane murmured, standing up and grabbing an apple from the cart. It was just as ripe and red as the one he had selected for himself. Nodding as if pleased with his choice, he crouched down and placed it in her lap. With a slight grunt, he slowly stood up and took a deep breath, his eyes trained on the girl’s confused little face. He guessed she was no older than ten years old. "What's your name?"

“Em-ber…” She said between shuddering hiccups, “I m-miss my d-dad..” Hidden in the ruins, Ess’ ears picked up on Ember’s voice, and rage surged through his body. He’d never heard his daughter sound so afraid in his life. Ess transformed to his dragon form in a puff of steam and began stalking Zane from behind the ruins, muscles rippling with power under his rose-pink fur.

"Oh? I apologize, but your father may be dead. I won't lie to you Ember..." Zane looked around at the corpses then pushed the apple cart away from her. He motioned toward the scattered, torn bodies with his hand, "Are any of these your father?"

Ember shook her head, looking up at the stranger with wet, terrified eyes. Her eyes shifted behind Zane, and her expression lightened. Zane noticed, but before he could ask what she was looking at, he felt warm air breeze past the tips of his ears. Ess was looming over Zane, long canines bared in a nasty snarl, a rabid look in his eyes. He was very pissed but especially angry about his daughter’s wounds.

Zane's pupils dilated a little as he realized something was behind him. He slowly turned around looking up at the face of a creature that vaguely reminded him of a Fu dog. "Well...it seems one of you survived!” He taunted, the corners of his lips twitching into a smirk as he tried to contain his excitement.

“Step away from my child and leave this village,” Ess said angrily, his fur making him seem even broader, despite the downpour.

Zane's smirk immediately faded as he locked eyes with the dog, a look of anger starting to contort his features, "Who do you think you are to order me around?"

“Who are you to kill my people?” Ess snapped in response, his snout crinkling in anger. His eyes flicked toward his daughter and a current of wind picked up, strong enough to sweep Ember into the air and far away from the conflict, toward the safety of their home. When Ember was far enough, his eyes flicked back to the intruder before him.

Zane started to float up towards Ess's face, his wings unfurling as he spoke, "I am the one who will purify this world.”

“Leave dragonkind out of this!” The dragon demanded, his eyes never leaving the enemy’s, “We have done no wrong to anyone, let alone you.” The wind around them intensified, debris starting to lift and fly around them. It was cold and stung like a whip against their faces.

Zane quickly figured that the dragon was the one controlling the wind. "Oh, don’t take it personally, I just have a genuine hate for...everything." He crossed his arms and smirked as the ground started to rumble again.

Ess snarled and tackled Zane, his heavy paws slamming into his chest like a bag of bricks, knocking him to the ground and pinning him there. The demon grinned with excitement, summoning steel chains from the ground and immediately wrapping them around his throat and waist. They began to pull the dog off of him.

The beast was caught but wasn’t so easily moved, digging his claws into the ground and pulling hungrily against the steel. His fangs snapped shut mere inches away from Zane’s nose, hot drool splattering on his cheek from the foam that had gathered at the sides of his mouth.

Chuckling in surprise, Zane placed his hand below his nose and shoved him back as hard as he could, the force causing Ess to lose his footholds and stumble back. He stood up and thrust himself into the air, hovering over the creature and observing him as he struggled, his tauntingly wide smile never leaving his face. Seemingly out of nowhere, something metallic flew onto his wrist and slowly started to shift into a gauntlet.

Ess struggled against the chains for a moment before getting an idea. In a puff of white steam, he transformed into his human form. His shining blue hair was a soaking wet mess that clung to his forehead as he ducked down and sprinted from under the chains. He chased Zane along the ground, brandishing a hunting knife that was strapped to his thigh, “Get back here and fight me like a man, you murderer!”

Something stirred inside of Zane, his eyes widening in a different sort of surprise. Even when angry, the man had a strange beauty about him. The fire in his silver eyes was almost addicting to witness, even more so when they were looking directly at him with burning hatred. That beautiful form was gone a moment later, and the raging dragon was back, spreading his iridescent-blue wings and taking flight. He was a marvel to see in action. Zane was mesmerized by him, just for a moment, but he quickly snapped out of it and propelled himself toward the dragon with a powerful flap of his wings. The sheer force caused the rain around him to just disappear for a moment as he headed directly toward the beast. More of his armor flew onto his body as if drawn to him by an invisible magnet.

The wind pushed against Zane’s body, propelling the dragon forward and slowing him down, making him much easier for Ess to catch. Taking the slim chance he had, Ess opened his mouth, intending to capture the intruder inside of it. Zane had almost been caught off guard.

Reacting quickly, Zane practically threw himself to the side of Ess and kicked him in the side of his face, pushing himself back and creating a narrow gap between them. His heart was racing as he noted how dangerous the pink thing’s jaw was, flying away as quickly as he could to put more space between them.

Ess banked his wings to make a turnaround, roaring in frustration. The downside to his hulking size and strength was less agile turns. Finally turning himself in the right direction, he gave chase, quickly catching up to Zane and opening his jaw in anticipation.

Cursing under his breath, Zane flipped around and narrowed his eyes at the persistent thing. He raised a hand and pointed at him, almost immediately his armor started to fly around Ess’ mouth. It forced his jaw shut, whirring and clicking as it clamped down his snout. Ess was visibly stunned, his wings clamping against his back as his eyes fixed directly onto the metal contraption; although Zane didn’t know it, a muzzle was a sign of enslavement and ownership, a dishonor to dragonkind. As soon as it locked in place Zane flew as fast as he could and slammed into his furry pink chest.

Ess crash-landed, unable to unfurl his wings from the sheer shock of being muzzled. He landed with a loud thud and a pained grunt, quickly snapping out of his stupor and rolling to his paws. He tried to claw off the steel muzzle, leaving deep scratches on it. It was no use, it was locked on tight. He began tossing his head like a dog’s, letting out frustrated growls as he completely forgot about his battle.

The chains immediately came out of the ground and wrapped around him tightly, pulling him down toward the earth. He just hardly managed to brace himself against the force, puffs of cloud matter coming from his nose as he pushed up against the chains. For a moment, he considered shifting to his human form, but he knew the force of the chains would be too much for his body to bear. The injury would be too great to bear. Before he could come up with a better plan, Zane landed in front of him and grabbed the muzzle. Using his wings for extra leverage, he used all of his strength to slam Ess’ mouth into the ground. He grinned while looking him in the eyes, relishing in his brief advantage.

Ess was stunned, a doglike yelp leaving the creature as his head struck the ground. If it weren’t for his attacker’s hand on his muzzle, Ess’ head would have bounced off of the ground from the force of the blow. His eyes rolled back for just a moment, dark spots appearing in his vision. However, he wasn’t quite done yet. In a split second, Ess was back in his human form, dodging the now-loosened chains and pulling the hunting knives from his pants. Brandishing one in each hand, he charged at the invader with an angry yell.

Feeling his face grow warm, Zane seemed surprised and stepped back for a second. Beauty seemed to shroud the man again. Shaking his head, he immediately focused again, charging forward and grabbing his wrists. Staring directly into the stranger’s enchanting silver eyes, he spoke: "You are bold...I like that!" His eyes widened and he smiled as his grip on his wrists tightened.

Filled with rage and feeling challenged, Ess stared directly into the man's eyes. His lip curled as a growl rolled in his throat, baring his sharp canines that gleamed with what little light the stormy sky provided. “I want you dead!” Ess replied, driving a knee into Zane’s groin as hard as he could.

“Hnck–!” Zane immediately let go of Ess’ wrists and cupped his crotch while baring his teeth. The pain rocketed up to his stomach and he immediately felt sick enough to puke. He was trying hard not to fall to his knees but ultimately failed, his legs going weak from the pain. Groaning, he trembled a little as he held his stomach.

The dragon grabbed him by the hair, forcing his head back to keep looking into his eyes, “Get out of my village, final warning.”

Fighting the pain, Zane slowly smiled and licked his lips before speaking: "You can't...command…a god." He took the opportunity to immediately grab him by the throat, slowly standing up. He never dropped his gaze as he started to tighten his grip.

Caught off guard, the dragon let go of Zane’s hair and grabbed onto the god’s wrist, futilely clawing at the armor in a desperate attempt to free himself. He was finally helpless, a mere 178cm to the god’s 214cm, but his eyes never left Zane’s. Staring at Ess for a moment longer, he summoned his armor back onto his body before he set the boy down and loosened his grip. Ess let go of his wrist, his face fixed in a scowl as he looked up at Zane. There was a moment of complete silence, just the steady sound of the rain falling around them. Zane spoke, "You're different."

Rubbing his throat, the sea-haired man ignored his comment. “Why are you doing this? My kind is innocent.”

"Why? The world must be purified." He let his guard down, seeming to relax. The armor receded from his body, seeming to fold up somewhere on his back. The moment it did, Ess sucker-punched him in the face. “So you attack the innocent like a coward?! You disgust me, you are no god to me! You are nothing!” He shouted, rage surging through his body. Zane was pleasantly surprised by the dragon’s vigor. He slowly turned his head back toward him, much to Ess’s surprise, before punching him in the stomach as hard as he could.

The dragon’s feet briefly left the ground the moment Zane’s fist connected with his gut. Gasping for air, he immediately collapsed to his knees, holding his stomach and doubling over in pain. He was seeing stars as he stared at the ground, panting and coughing up blood and trying not to throw up. Slowly, he managed to look up at him once more. Zane crouched down next to him and just looked at him, his expression an odd mix of contemplation and amusement as if he were looking at an exotic beast.

Those silvery eyes burned with hatred as he looked up at Zane, face turned in an angry scowl framed by a mess of blue hair that seemed to change hues as it danced in the wind of the surrounding storm. The slight part of his lips, plump and reddened by the blood that trickled from a corner of his mouth, the fat, slightly curved fangs of a killer peeking out from underneath them. He closed his mouth for a moment, then spit blood in Zane's face.

Initially, Zane only closed his eyes in response to the blatant disrespect. Opening his eyes and staring at Ess, he nodded as if accepting the dragon’s feelings about his character. He slowly licked the dragon’s blood from his face and smirked while standing up. Roughly grabbing him by his hair, he pushed his head back and looked down at him, taking in his features as the rain washed the dirt from his face.

A rose tint blossomed across Ess' face as he met eyes with Zane, that look of defiance never leaving his pretty face. He swallowed, once, anticipating that he would be brutally killed at any second. He quickly decided that he would not beg for his life.

Zane’s armor receded off his hand and he ran his fingers through his captive’s hair, enjoying how the soft curls felt between his fingers. His hand trailed from the divine blue ocean of hair to gently caress the deep brown skin that was framed so beautifully by those tresses. Ess shifted away from the man, uncomfortable with the far-too-intimate touch. To his surprise, the man didn’t react violently, though he didn’t stop staring at him. Lightning from the storm made his bright red eyes sparkle a little as he adjusted his posture and looked up at the sky, moving his hand away from Ess’ face.

Ess couldn't deny that the man in front of him, whoever he claimed to be, was stronger than any creature he'd come across before. He made a soft 'tch.' sound, feeling a bit like he'd failed his village.

"These dragons are...no were they like you?" Zane asked as he looked down at Ess. He tucked one of the loose curls behind his ear before moving his hand away from the dragon’s face again.

Ess’ lip curled with disgust as he felt Zane's touch, but he knew better than to lash out, especially since he couldn’t beat the god in a fight, nonetheless when he’d been injured. He answered, malice and hatred steeping in his voice: "We are all honorable creatures. Are all so-called gods like you?" Although his tone was venomous, he felt empty looking at the bodies of people he knew. He felt empty inside.

With peaked curiosity, Zane started walking towards one of the corpses, still in their mythological form. He didn’t feel threatened as he turned his back toward Ess and began to speak, "I am still debating on killing you because you remind me of one of the humans...but your not...what exactly are you?" He reached out to touch the body.

He was about to say 'Dragon', but noticing where and what the god was heading toward, Ess stood and ran, standing in front of the corpse before Zane could touch it, snapping, "Don't touch them!" His eyes were crocodilian and full of boiling rage that could be set off in the blink of an eye. With each heavy breath the dragon took, his body trembled in anger.

Zane was surprised. He lifted his hands and backed away a few paces, putting his hands down when the sea-haired boy relaxed. “Even after a fight like ours, you still continue to fight?" He kept his tone neutral and formal, not wanting to set him off, “Interesting. What about that little green child? She was different as well, was she also like you?"

"Just a stray creature, she isn’t one of us," Ess lied smoothly; though the words hurt to say, it was best to disown Ember than let the intruder know she was beloved by the village.

Rustling his wings, Zane motioned toward the dead dragon that Ess was still guarding, “You don’t have to protect it, it’s dead. I can’t hurt it anymore even if I wanted to.”

"I would rather die than allow my tribsemen's bodies to be desecrated by a crazed being that calls himself a god."

The spirit in Ess’ voice made Zane’s heart beat a little faster. "Crazed," He echoed with an amused chuckle. Unable to help himself, slowly ran a finger under his captive’s chin, tilting his face up to meet his eyes, "You don't believe I'm a god?"

Ess jerked his head away from Zane's finger, almost gagging in disgust. "Not in the slightest. Now leave our corpses be."

Zane frowned when Ess moved away. He wanted to touch him, to know him; the boy was beautiful in a way that he’d never seen before. But if he wanted to get closer, he had to accept that his touches were not welcome, "You're still trying to command me?"

“I am certainly not submitting to you, that is for sure,” Came the sarcastic reply.

Zane rustled his feathers again, biting the inside of his lip as he thought of some way to take the dragon with him. A tense silence settled between the two as they watched each other’s body movements, searching for the slightest sign of aggression. Finally, the god spoke: "How about...you come with me I won’t kill you.” He paused, “Or any more of you dragons."

“No, I want all dragons to be safe as species, not my village alone. You can never harm any dragon anywhere.” Ess replied without hesitation. Though his voice was firm and filled with conviction, like a martyr facing trial, his bottom lip trembled with the fear of losing his freedom and family.

Zane raised an eyebrow, "Hmm. Alright, it’s a deal: as long as you're by my side, I won't harm any more dragons." He held out his hand for Ess to shake, holding back the smirk of excitement. Who would have thought he’d leave with such a beautiful trophy?

Ess didn’t trust the man but placed a hesitant hand in his. His expression betrayed no fear, though his heart raced and his soul wailed in despair. He forced his tears away, not wanting to show weakness.

The raging storm sent a rather dramatic flash of lightning across the sky, bringing a menacing, diabolical glow to Zane's eyes as he tightened his grip on his hand and shook it.