Dragon Shifter

An Unexpected Visitor

I followed Eclipse into the cave and I shifted into a light grey, almost white Razorwhip. Eclipse looked very surprised. "Sorry" I murmured. "For what?" "I just don't want things to be weird." "It's not..." I raised an eyebrow. "Okay, maybe a little, but it's alright."  "So what did you want to say?" "Oh, I just wanted to know what your plan is" Eclipse said. "I already told you, I'm going back. I just want to make sure they're safe here then tomorrow I'll go" I explained. "And are you going to tell them?" Eclipse asked. "Eventually, I just don't know how..." I said softly. "It will be alright" Eclipse tried to reassure me. "And by the way, nice cave" he added with a wink. "Yeah, Whispering Deaths make good tunnellers" I grinned. "Hey, what's up with Runa?" I added, this is what I had been wanting to ask. "What do you mean?" "She's acting all weird and bossy, it's suspicious!" "What are you saying?" "I'm saying she's up to something and I don't trust her." "There is nothing suspicious about Runa!" Eclipse snapped. "But I just think think there is" "Well stop thinking about it then!" Eclipse paused for a minute then continued. "Look, she's a nice girl, saved helped me in the past and I trust her with my Autumn. Maybe you should try to get along with her more." I sighed, maybe Eclipse was right. Maybe I was just being overprotective. I met his gaze and nodded.

Suddenly I heard a loud scream. I shifted into a human and jumped onto Eclipse's back. He took off and we flew towards the gap. I saw Gunnar's hunter ship firing arrows at Autumn, Runa and Firefly. I looked closer and realised they were shooting dragon root arrows. Those arrows were tipped with a plant called Dragon Root. If the arrows hit a dragon, large or small, the dragon will fall unconscious. I told Eclipse to stop before we came out of the tunnels. That way Gunnar wouldn't notice us. I watched as the arrows rained down on Autumn, Runa and Firefly, who were trying to swim away. I heard Firefly hiss and guessed she had been hit. Although Razorwhips are covered in large metallic plates of armour, which arrows usually bounce off of, it was still possible for an arrow to hit between the scales.

Eclipse twitched uneasily. I watched as a metal cage was thrown into the sea and the current swept the two girls inside it. I heard a loud click and realised the hunters had locked the cage shut. Eclipse dashed towards the cage and I held on tight. I heard a roar and spotted Firefly sinking below the waves. Eclipse looked up at me and whimpered. I glanced at the cage which was only just above water. Autumn and Runa were calling for help and looked at me. I had no choice. I had to save them. I couldn't lose Autumn again. I jumped off of Eclipse. As I fell I shifted into a Gronckle. I had remembered that Gronckles are immune to dragon root arrows. I heard a gasp from the cage and saw two very shocked girls inside. I turned to Eclipse and set commands. "Get Firefly then meet me at the cage!" Eclipse nodded and dived downwards. I turned and flew towards the two girls.

I neared the cage, held my breath and dived into the salty sea. The cage was being dragged towards Gunnar's ship so I had to be quick. I flapped my small wings and propelled myself through the water. I reached the cage and saw a door with a lock on it. I shifted into my human self and saw both Autumn and Runa turn white with fear. I pulled out the dagger which I always kept on my belt and pushed it into the lock. I listened carefully as I twisted the dagger and finally the lock clicked and the door opened. I shifted back into a Gronckle and bubbles flew to the surface as the girls gasped. I swam forward, grabbed both girls in my legs and flew out of the water.

Gunnar screamed in anger. "Hey, where did that chubby rock come from?" One of the hunters asked as he referred to me. "Who cares, just shoot it down!" Gunnar command. The hunters ran around the boat towards their weapons. I spotted Eclipse carrying Firefly and flew over to him. "She's been hit!" Eclipse told me. "We can deal with her later... can you carry these two as well?" I asked. "Put then on my back" Eclipse told me. I did as he said then flew back to his face. "What should I do?" Eclipse asked nervously. I thought for a second. "Take them to the nearest island from here and make sure Gunnar sees where you go, make it dead obvious! Find somewhere to rest and comfort all of them as much as possible. I'll take down the ship and meet you at the island. We can take things from there" I said. "What about the arrows?!" Eclipse asked as the hunters started shooting at us. "Gronckles are immune. Now go!" I told him. Eclipse flapped his wings and flew away. Once he was at a safe distance he slowed down to a gentle glide.

I turned around and flew towards the ship. Three arrows landed in my scales, but had no effect of course. I growled and spewed lava at the ship. "Shoot it down!" Gunnar shouted. "We are sir" one of the archers told him. "Not with the arrows!" Gunnar yelled. Suddenly the catapults started shooting rocks at me. A vision clouded my mind as I thought back to when I was still on Mistdell with Autumn. I had thrown a rock at a Gronckle to stop it from attacking my sister and it had eaten it. The vision faded and I was brought back to reality. I decided to try that out. I caught the rock in my mouth and crunched down on it. The rock crumbled apart easily on my sharp teeth and actually tasted pretty good. "Not catapults!" Gunnar yelled. "Then which weapon sir?" A hunter asked. "Use a net or something!" Gunnar command. I dodged the nets easily and continued shooting balls of lava at the ship. Finally the ship began to sink. "Hold the attack!" Gunnar said. All the weapons stopped firing and everyone looked at Gunnar. "Get me the rowing boat. You lot can swim back to the base" Gunnar said. The hunters ran off. The top of the ship was now submerged in water. I flew closer to Gunnar. He locked eyes with me and said "this isn't over yet!" Then he climbed into a rowing boat with five other hunters and began rowing away.