Anti-Venom

Chapter three

Darkdweller didn't look dangerous,or threatened, or, male. So, she's not dominant, or angry. She's looking for someone.

" You're not Seonnyre." She snorted.

"You're looking for her too?" Tirsynthe got up on shaky talons.

"For.... different reasons. Why are you looking for her?"

She hesitated. "No reason."

The female scoffed. "Answers about Anti-Venom. Get in line, She doesn't particularly like talking about it, and won't."

"But you know where she is.... right?"

She snorted.

Tirsynthe was shocked. Seonnyre seemed pretty important to Darkdwellers, and just like that, she was gone, and it seemed like this female was the only one that cared.

"What's your name?"

"I am not about to tell a grenaryiane."

"You're looking for her, aren't you?"

Her face fell into a frown. "Never should've been lost in the first place, so yes. I'm looking for her. There, happy?"

"Let me come with you, please."

"Get bent, grenaryiane, unless you want to be our next meal, well, snack." She noted how scrawny she was.

"You wouldn't."

The female shrugged nonchalantly. "A meals a meal. We don't care who."

"Guess I shouldn't tell you how wrong that is. Surely there's something else you can -"

"Shhhhh." She somehow sent out vibrations through the cavern walls, sensing heat signatures. In the distance, she could see small swarms of bats scurrying around. Just past that, she could see a massive signature laying down, head dipped partially into the water, drinking. She could see it breathing hard, wincing every now and then.

Seonnyre.

Seonnyre

She'd been playing with the dagger gingerly, pulling it out a little bit at a time, not that it was much use. Just kept growing. Seonnyre felt sick to her stomach. She NEEDED to get it out, like, yesterday. Instead, she slept the day away, like the lazy dragon she wasn't trained to be. Her dad would be disappointed, but he didn't know about her venom, or the dagger that almost broke through her back. The faint click of talons on the stone caught her attention. She slowly stood up, "ready" to protect herself, but she was screaming inside. Talons wrapped around her stomach, avoiding the dagger, and her snout, muffling her scream.

"Shh, shh, shh." Caverne had a hard time holding her still, so she pressed her back against the stony wall.

"Its me, it's me."

Slowly, Seonnyre calmed herself down.

Caverne gently stroked her shoulders. "I'm here, I'm here."

Seonnyre rested her head on her shoulder, her eyes closed. Her eyes then locked on Tirsynthe with a still, solemn expression.

The other female looked at Tirsynthe. "We got to get this muzzle off."

"Easy, just pull it off." Tirsynthe reached for it, but Seonnyre kept jerking her head higher and higher.

"Would you hold still?"

"It's embedded into her fur, Tirsynthe. We can't just rip it off."

"Well, I can't hang around down here. I don't want to become someone's midday snack." She jerked her head at her.

Seonnyre glared at the female, knowing exactly what she said.

"Can't we just go back up there? I've had enough of cannibals for the day.

"Up there?" The speaking female hesitated.

Tirsynthe nodded. "Just long enough to get Seonnyre the care she needs."

"Pretty sure you wouldn't want cannibals up there, either."

Her wings drooped a little. "True, but we have well-trained healers up there."

"We've got healers down here, where we won't be judged or criticized."

Seonnyre looked at her with a slight nod. The female wasn't wrong. It really opened Tirsynthe's eyes to how much darkdwellers were suffering. Forced to turn on each other into a survival of the fitness town. Death turned into a meal, to feed the dying dragons, to complete a never ending cycle.

"True, but we at least have food enough for us.When was the last time you ate anything like a snack, or something?"

Seonnyre lifted her talons, counting. She showed her the number three.

"Days?"

"Weeks." The female answered for her.

"And you?" Tirsynthe asked, sounding judgmental.

"Six months, but it isn't that big of a deal that you're making out to be. We've gotten used to it. Grenaryianes wouldn't last a day, but if you want to stay with us, feeling sorry about the situation, feel free to stay right where you are."