Lily of the Shadows

Chapter 5

Location-the Valdt

Hadrix climbed into a large tree, hoping that it would hold his weight. He knew he should be guarding the palace from any intruders, but what better way than to ambush them. Besides, he could easily prank the others from up there. He twitched his maroon colored tail in anticipation and flashed his brilliant copper wings. He wasn't an overly large dragon, but he was a bit larger for a dragon of his kind, especially in weight due to his large quantity of muscle mass. For a dragon he was fit and lithe like a large scaly cat, but the tree was having difficulty holding his weight. His hazel eyes scanned the horizon, and he saw Ravenna approaching. He grinned and licked his chops, and then he pounced on the paraglisp with overzealous glee. She screamed in surprise and terror, yelping, "Please don't eat me!" She then saw his scales and said, "Oh, it's only you, Hadrix! Sheesh, what is your problem? You scared me half to death!"

"Thank you! I try very hard!" Hadrix replied, letting her go.

"Very funny! Now please go away. I have to grab something I forgot in the palace." Ravenna said, somewhat downtrodden.

Hadrix stepped in front of her and said, "You seem sad."

"It's none of your business! Just stop it, okay?" Ravenna replied angrily.

Hadrix rolled his eyes and climbed back into the tree and said, "Okay, but you're missing out on a really good prank!"

"Like what?" Ravenna said, instantly curious.

"I dunno. Hey, how about you find me some nice mud and an old pillow, and then meet me here. Then you will see!" Hadrix replied slyly.

"Um...okay. I will I guess. It's not like I have anything else to do." Ravenna said skeptically, secretly hoping his prank would help her give Xolt a little payback.

Later, Ravenna was back at the tree with the mud and the pillow. She said, "Hadrix, I'm here!"

"Good! Now for the prank, you need to dump the mud all over yourself." Hadrix replied with a little snicker.

"But I just got all cleaned up after pulling Thorryn out of another mud hole! Do I have to?" Ravenna said.

"Do you want to go through with the prank or not?" Hadrix said back.

"Fine! But this better be a really good one, or you'll be sorry." Ravenna replied, following his directions.

"It is a good one." Hadrix said, barely containing his laughter before saying, "Now, open the pillow with that pointy tail of yours and throw it up in the air."

Ravenna begrudgingly followed his instructions, sending a cascade of feathers into the air that stuck onto the mud. She then said, "Now...how is this a great prank?"

Hadrix burst out laughing, toppled out of the tree, and laughed some more. "Just look at yourself!" he chuckled, a diamond tear sliding out of his eye.

"So where is the prank in all this...oh..." Ravenna said, looking down at herself.

Hadrix kept laughing and stopped for a breath before saying, "Oh, by the way, your tail is untied!"

"I don't tie my tail...hey! Hadrix!" Ravenna said, when he laughed out, "Made you look! Oh, and by the way, there it a spider crawling on your back with a weird pattern on it. It looks like it says..."

Ravenna screamed and said, "Aaaaugh! Get it off! Get it off! Eeeek!"

"Here, let me just tell you what the pattern says. It says...it says..." Hadrix laughed

"It says WHAT?" Ravenna replied in fright.

Hadrix could barely catch a breath before he said, "It says Gullible! Haha! Just look at you!"