2- Saving the Bully

Fall came faster than Dew expected; even faster than Dew ran from the Scylla four months prior. Already came East Village's Harvest; the time of the year many of the villages came together for one big festival to celebrate the good crops and survivability. To Solomon it had a special meaning; it was the day he discovered Dew. Even now, the drake stood atop a tall tree; his wings spread, as he looked at his winged hands. His hands were really just fingers extending from the thumb area of his wings; no palm, but it did grant him full capability to glide and grab things. Regardless, Dew raised his wings, and kicked off from the tree...and slammed into the mud below. Shaking his head, Dew stood up, and did his best to ignore the laughter behind him. Dew turned, and narrowed his eyes when he saw one of the villagers who bullied him as well as his 4 friends.

His pale skin contrasted to his neck length black hair, as his brown eyes focused on Dew; holding both spite and mock. A large jacket adorned his upper body, as he wore a pair of blue pants and boots. His name was Turas; a known bully to Dew simply because he wasn't human.

"Trying to fly again Dewy?" He chided, as Dew got to his feet shakily, glaring at Turas as the human spoke in his cocky, chauvinistic voice. "Why you just give up; go crying back to the ocean like all drakes?"

"Why don't you just leave me alone Turas; I haven't done anything to you."

"Except being a crime against nature bud. Look at you; nature didn't make you; what kinda drake's green and can talk?" His friends laughed with Turas, as he motioned and they all walked away, laughing still, as one stayed behind. He was slightly obese, and wore a large fur tunic, as well as black pants adorning his stubby legs, cloth braces on his meaty arms, and a small helmet atop his head covering blond hair. He didn't laugh at Dew; he approached him and helped him up without a word.

"Thanks Eric." Dew said, as the fat one nodded, helping Dew dust the drying mud off him. "You're a good friend."

"No problem Dew, we look out for each other." Eric spoke in his whiny, timid voice. The two of them began the trek home; already listening to the sounds of the festivities. However, right before they could exit the forest bordering the village, Dew suddenly stopped Eric, and sniffed the air.

"W-what is it D-Dew?" He trembled, as Dew's eyes narrowed, turning his head slowly. His jaws moved, as he slowly unclasped his restraints.

"Trouble." Several strange women came into view. All had large wasp abdomens above their rears, angled, moving antenna atop their heads, and their eyes were black and compound. Thigh high black boots encased all of their legs, greaves on the boots as well, as well as yellow tunics and arm length black gloves as well, armored too. All of them held large spears, and the spears looked to be tipped with unknown venom. Dew counted 7 of them, as they eyed both teenagers with an unknown look. They were Wasps, and Dew knew they weren't there for the Harvest.

"D-D-Dew...what do we do?" Eric shuddered, as Dew glared at the women, already knowing what the Wasps intended.

"Run." Eric looked at him with an expression as if he ate his own head, but saw Dew's defiant stare. The fat teen nodded after swallowing his fear, and running, one of the Wasps preparing to pursue him, but the one in front stopped her with a motion of her hand. Dew stood firm, as he thought as fast as he could to form a plan. He couldn't let the Wasps reach the village; who knows how many men would vanish. The drake braced himself, and did the next best thing. He hunched down, and ran directly at the Wasps! All of them jerked back in surprise as Dew rushed at them, and he bounded over them, his tail smacking several in the process; running on all four limbs as he heard them all buzz with fury and fly after him; in close reach of Dew.

Ducking under branches and leaping over logs; Dew kept running as fast as he could despite his muscles all screaming for release and rest, but he pressed on; the buzzing of the Wasps' wings in his ears. However, Dew stepped a bit too far, and found himself peeking over a large cliff. He looked down, and saw dark rapids, as he looked back and heard the buzzing still. Dew took a deep breath, and dove down. He spread his wings slowly, and a moment later he felt himself slow. He thought he was flying...but soon realized he was just gliding; still a step forward in his journey to get flight, as he flew to a small cavern below; hearing the Wasps fly over the cavern and return to their nest. Dew crawled out moments later, and returned to the village, no one noticing he had left due to their festivities. Dew sighed, and returned home...only to hear sudden commotion from the Village Seer. Dew didn't pay much attention, until he heard something; Turas had gone missing. Eric approached Dew as they stood outside his house, as the drake sighed.

"Well, guess that's karma right?" Eric asked Dew, who started walking back towards the forest. When Eric asked what he was doing, Dew's answer was crisp and quick.

"I'm going to find him, before anything happens."

"But why? Doesn't he see you as scum? As nothing more than a drake monster?"

"He's one of us, I don't care about that anymore; as long as someone's in danger you can bet I'm gonna go find them and save them." Before Eric could speak again, Dew had already bolted off, dead set on saving a bully, and maybe even a friend.

 

 

Dew landed from another glide, as he kept his gaze on his surroundings and the sky. It was almost sundown; a bad time to be in the forest as Dew called it, moving faster and faster until he heard Turas' scream, and ran...almost ignoring it was a cry of pleasure instead of terror. The drake would have been sweating if he could, as exhaustion coursed through him, but the thought of saving someone drove him forward at all costs. He took another leap...and suddenly found himself restricted and unable to move. He tried flexing his wings, but he only moved them a bit, as he saw what he was surrounded by nearly unseen web; stronger than steel and it was coiled around his wings and legs, as he heard something crawl down from the trees above. Dew looked up, and fright filled his eyes upon sight of the Arachne there, a smile on her face. Her skin was a pale white, her hair a jet black; her long black spider legs creeping over the bark of the tree as she reached the forest floor to tower over Dew; her 3 visible red eyes staring into his, the rest of her eyes concealed behind her white hair. Her spider abdomen was a jet black, with an hourglass on the bottom, as she wore not an ounce of clothing; her breasts wobbling with each movement, as she looked down at Dew.

"Kind of small, good meat...might produce some nice semen if...encouraged right like the other one..." She lamented to herself, one of her clawed hands running along Dew's neck, before defiance returned to his eyes. "What other one? Where's my friend?" She lost her smile for a moment...but when it returned Dew didn't like it in the slightest; it was a large sneer, which just read sinister intentions.

"Oh him? He's hanging around; see?" She tugged a web...and Turas came into view...looking behind terrible as he hung from several webs. He looked thin and lithe, as if he hadn't eaten for a few days, dark circles under his eyes, as he was bare as the day he was born, scratches and bites coating him. Anger flooded Dew, as he started to struggle.

"Oh relax little drake; he's not dead; I'm keeping him fed enough to give me a good supply of protein every day. But now that you're here, I can let him go."

"So he can return home-"

"Not at all; I can eat him now, and then use you as a food source for a few months!" She said with glee, as she cut Turas down and let him hit the floor; her straddling his waist a moment later as she gripped the sides of his head, her mouth opening to reveal a mouth full of sharp teeth. She slowly lowered herself, her fangs prepared to finish Turas in a gristly display. Dew didn't know why, or how, but he felt sheer anger; anger so powerful, that when he let out a roar, the Arachne hissed and backed away as flames licked her back! Despite being near death, Turas still saw, and couldn't believe his eyes; Dew, a drake, had breathed fire. The Arachne hissed again, and backed away in fear as Dew breathed more flames; burning away the webs holding him, as well as accidentally setting fire to a tree; burning it badly before it began to tip, and fall. Dew sprung into action moments before it struck; grabbing Turas and throwing him out of the way, as well as grabbing the Arachne and lugging her out of the way; saving her as well. The tree slammed into the ground, as the Arachne looked at it, then to Dew; rapidly catching his breath.

"Why did you save me?" She asked him, her voice barely above a whisper, as she slowly righted herself. Dew lugged Turas onto his shoulder, as he started walking.

"I couldn't let you die for your instincts; but please stick to deer and game from now on for safety. I apologize for burning your back; I didn't mean it." She stood there for a moment, as she smiled to herself. The kid was a fool, but he deserved something for his troubles.

 

 

Dew sat at his desk, a light over him, as he wrote in a dusty, black journal. Turas survived; he would need a few days of recovery but in the end he'd be ok. Dew closed his journal and clicked his lamp off, before he heard something at his window, as he slowly turned. He was shocked to see that Arachne there, holding something. Dew hesitatingly approached the window, and when he opened it she dropped something into his hand. Dew looked down at it, and was impressed yet shocked.

Using her silk, she wove him a new harness; a rich black and brown, designed to give him full flexibility and protection, and it even had a gold D on the back, as Dew looked up at her.

"Consider it thank you for saving my life." She said, looking away a bit, as Dew set the harness on his desk, ready to use it the next day. "Thank you; I mean it." She smiled a bit, and before vanishing into the night, she gave him one final bit of information.

"Be careful Dew, not all monsters are smart enough to be reasoned with; some closer than you think..." Dew had no idea what she meant, but he didn't like it.

He fell into an unsettling sleep that night.

 

To Be Continued...