The Dragon's Last Nest

Down The Alleyway

Esmerelda squats down and brushes her long golden strands behind her shoulder. Tilting her head, she investigates the grungy men one last time before she leaves. Most of the time, she hated reaching in the pockets of creeps like this, but something told her to take a peek before leaving, especially since they knew the man she was after.

Ever so carefully, Esmerelda checks each pocket from top to bottom. She about gags when she finds a pack of ripped open neon-colored condoms lying in the red hair man's left pocket. "Like he had a chance," she huffs.

What she wasn't expect was five grand in his tattered imitation leather wallet and a rusted skeleton key of some sort. Esmerelda stuffs the money and key into the outer part of her bag and zips it back up. A heavy feeling spread over her, causing a chill to spread down her spine. Quickly, Esmerelda jumped to her feet and looked around the empty streets.

To the left and right, she glances, but there was no one there. Flinging her bag over her shoulder, Esmerelda grips the sword into her palm and scans every object lurking around the corner. "Come out. Come out wherever you arrre." She dares between her clamped teeth.

A gust of wind whips by her Esmerelda's ear. She flips back around towards the bar and stares at the two dead men. "Nothing seems different except for the streetlight is flickering. Hmm, that is strange." She whispers beneath her breath.

Another gust of air whips past her ear. This time she knows for sure, it is not the wind. Not too far past the building is an open alleyway. Two shadows cast against the dumpsters. "Will, they ever learn?" Esmerelda huffs in frustration. So many times in her town, they had chased off the savage coyotes, but they kept coming back scrounging for food. Most of the time, their diet composed of the weak, and Esmerelda despised it.

So close Esmerelda comes to walking away, as she silently passes by the coyotes, but guilt spread across her subconscious. She cannot take it. Shaking her head in self frustration, she decides it was worth helping the weak little s**t out, and then she would be on her way. 

"Dammit, this Ailwin guy better be worth all this rubbish I am going through!"

Esmerelda marches back down the alleyway and faces the mangy coyotes. Whistling through her teeth, the two coyotes whipped their heads up and snarled. "Hey, there sweet pups. Why don't you go find your meal somewhere else tonight? What do you say?" 

Closer and closer she steps, hoping to warn the two to back down. The coyotes' crouch over their dinner. Esmerelda could not see what it was they were about to eat. Each time she tries, they show their teeth,  growl, and arch their backs like cats. "You just aren't going to give up, are you, you little fuckers?" 

She rolls her eyes."Fine, have it your way," and pulls from a bag two white tip darts with red velvet ends.

"I tried my best to warn you. Just like a man, you never listen." Snapping the red tip-off with her teeth, she spits the remains on the ground and glares into their red beady eyes.

"You know," she pauses and raises her eyebrow, "there was this trick my mother once taught me. She said the talent is not in your fingers. It is with your tongue." Esmerelda presses her tongue to the roof of her mouth, holding the dart in place, "Last chance." she offers.

The Coyotes hover together. The pink of the coyote's gums shown inside their mouths as they growl. Esmerelda knew it was a matter of seconds before they made their dumb ass move. Inside her head, she counts. Five, four. Three. By the third count, the coyotes leave their dinner in the dust and charged forward, intending to kill. 

"Idiots!" She spat, and in one flicker, she uses her tongue and spits the dart into the air: the dart spirals and lands in the scruff of his neck. The coyote falls to his side and skids to the ground. 

The second coyote steps forward. A look of pure hatred fills his blood-red eyes. "Maybe the other was a relative of yours?"

One paw at a time, the coyote steps forward and stretches his dirt-filled claws. Esmerelda tightened her grip on the sword and waits for the spiked hair fool to get too close."Ahhh, a sibling, perhaps?" 

On cue, he chomps his teeth."Well, then, " Esmerelda jumps back. "A sibling it is." 

 "Well, you made this choice. Not me. Like I said... I tried to warn you." She sighs and shrugs her shoulders. "I really did."  He ignores Esmerelda, leaps into the air, and opens his mouth. Esmerelda spits a dart through his tongue.

Yelping out in pain, the coyote fumbles forward and collapses to the ground. "Damn fool."

"Now that they are gone let's see what they were about to eat. Esmerelda slowly approaches the far back corner of the second dumpster. Ignoring the stench, she glances through the dark shadows and overflowing trash. Esmerelda sees nothing at first, so she calls out, "Hello?"

When she does, an old brown box nor more than the size of her trust backpack flips over. Esmerelda tilts her head with curiosity. "It's all right. They're gone. You can come out." 

Again, the box flips back over, and whatever it starts to tremble so severely, the box and the debris beneath them shake too.

 "Hmmm," she says before a whip of wind flies past Esmerelda's shoulder again. 

Esmerelda quickly glances away to check it out but isn't surprised to find her surroundings empty. Of course, no one is there.

 "You just keep hiding too!" Esmerelda fusses.

She takes a breath and focuses on the weak little whatever the hell it was beneath the box.

"What in the hell are you, anyway?" She adjusts the bag and squats down to get a better peek.

"You definitely aren't a cat or a dog. Hmm..." With the tips of her fingers, ever so carefully, Esmerelda removes the box.

"Holy shit.... it's a Hatchling."