The Storm of the Griffon

Prologue
"Don't you wonder what's beyond those hills? What lies beneath the lake? What's beyond this forest? Don't you ever... wonder?" I say as I tilt my feathered head over to my friend. She shrugs and yawns as she stretches on the grass before laying down to look at the sky as the sun sets. Seeing her, I do the same. She blinks. "Why would I? Everything I've ever known and loved is here. Why bother?" "Because nobody KNOWS what's beyond there! Only Star has!" My friend tilts her head and I swear I hear her chuckle. As I glare at her she bursts out laughing. "She's just an old legend mothers tell their cubs! You seriously don't believe in her, still? I thought you'd known she didn't exist by NOW!" "I-I..." my face heats up and I avert my gaze to continue looking at the stars. "I-I don't!" I exclaim, face as red as a berry. My friend chuckles and elbows me, laughing. "Sorry, Griff. Just teasin ya." "You GOTTA stop with that, dude." "First, I'm a girl. Not a dude. Second, nEvEr will I eVeR stop teasing you." I roll my eyes and playfully punch her shoulder. I look at the stars and my gaze softens. Seeing it, my friend sighs and calms down. "Sorry about your sister... I-" "It's okay, Lazuli." "N-No, I..." "I said it was okay." I say more sternly to the scaled friend beside me. She sighs, "You sure-" "Yes. I'm sure. Now let's STOP talking about it." "Geez, sorry." sighs Lazuli. I relax and flex my claws, staring at the sky. "All she and I ever wanted to do was to explore." I murmured. Lazuli sighed and placed her large dragon wing on my shoulder. I shrug it off, tail twitching. "Let's go home." I say, cracking a small, slight smile. Lazuli nods and bids me farewell before spreading her wings as she prepared to fly. But she wasn't even a foot off the ground when I heard something that made my heart stop.

A bullet.

The scream of Lazuli.

The thud of her body.

And silence.

The unbearable silence.

I hear two voices murmur from behind a tree. "Do you think we caught it!?" "A dragon!? No way! It must have been a large bird!" "With wings that size? Talons larger than my hand!? FIRE ON ITS TAIL!? Heck yeah! We got a dragon! The legends were true!" "Will's gonna be STOKED!" "Heh, that nerd won't believe it!" My beak opens in a screech, much like a hawks. As they peek their heads around and catch sight of me, the humans' expressions were a mix of fear, excitement, and astonishment. I screech again in their face, yowling with all my might. I life a paw and claw one of the human's faces, drawing blood while the others watch in fear. Suddenly, they all scramble and start running away, yelling. I screech again, and my wings open to make myself look larger. "AND NEVER COME BACK!" I screech as the humans vanish from sight. I turn around to see my friend, lying there, her blue and purple scales stained with blood as one of her wings flaps feebly. My pelt flattens and I pick her up by her neck, dragging her to the den. "You're going to be okay..." I murmur. "Everything's going to be fine...."

Chapter One
Coming Soon!