Like a Moth to the Flame

As the wind beat against Dagon's body, he turned back as Gena's scales began to illuminate. She gave a tremendous roar that shook his bones, then waves of golden fire burst from her scales and she exploded towards them. She was much faster than before now, as though time had been sped up for her.

*DUCK!!!* Dagon roared.

Sephtis dropped, angling his wings down as Gena flew over them, but she quickly spun and changed trajectory. She was also more agile now it had seemed.

*We have to fight.* Sephtis growled, then spun in the air as Gena rushed him. The golden scales crashed against Sephtis's green-and-black. The impact caused them to begin a wild spiral downwards into the forest as the dragons roared, taking their talons against each other and trying to fit one another's jaws about the other's throat.

Just before crashing into the earth below, Sephtis spun in the air and broke away, throwing Gena downwards, using his weight against her. The golden dragon flew, crashing like a blazing meteor into the earth, burning the trees as she went. The ground shook violently and trees crumbled to ash.

Sephtis reared back his head above Gena in the air. All the acid clinging to his scales began to move to his chest, gathering into one spot on his body.

A moment later, when the acid sunk into his scales and moved to his jaws, Sephtis's upper fangs folded in, and just as a spray of acid flew out, the fangs flicked forward, clipping against his lower fangs. When they made contact, a spark emitted from between them, and the acid spray suddenly burst into blazing blue and green flames that flew across the forest.

As the acid scorched the trees, the flames and last of the acid becoming hotter and hotter until…

A massive shockwave blasted across the air, knocking down trees and sending tremors through the forest as the acidic flames exploded in a massive burst of heat.

*Are you trying to kill her?!* Dagon asked as Sephtis turned and resumed his heading.

*No. Trust me, an attack like that will not kill her.* Sephtis responded.

Dagon turned back to look at the destruction they had brought. It finally sank in for him just what he was getting into… the level of danger he was in, the importance of this war… it was over his head. The dragons they would fight all had powers much greater than he could imagine. Why did he ever think he could simply just go and conquer when he had a dragon? God, he had been very mistaken.

A sudden hiss ran through the trees as they were all sucked in towards where Gena was.

*Wait…* Dagon's eyes widened. *I KNOW THIS ATTACK!!! SEPHTIS, SHOOT UP!!! NOW!!!*

Sephtis suddenly rolled to the right onto his side before exploding upwards just as the sky turned a brilliant scarlet-gold. Time seemed to slow as Dagon stared down at the forest, a massive ball of flames the size of a small mountain thundering across the trees, obliterating everything in its path, leaving nothing but ash and molten rock in its wake.

The blazing flames were so large that, even as they shot into the air, Dagon felt the raging fire searing his skin, his body and Dagon's scales illuminated in golden light.

*Dagon! Look!* Sephtis roared as Dagon turned away from the destruction, doing his best to ignore the sharp pain in his arms from the burns.

They had done it! They had made it to the Silver Fang Tundra!

A roar echoed through the air, and Dagon turned, seeing the silhouette of Gena as she hurtled her way through the last of the flames, her body completely enshrouded in fire.

*Sephtis, go low to the ground!* Dagon called.

*What? That is just asking to be dive-bombed!*

*Just do it! And Shift to me, I'll tell you when to roll aside! And make sure you roll to the left!*

*You better not be getting us killed, boy!*

Sephtis angled his wings down and they descended until they were just barely skimming across the snow laden earth.

A loud hiss resounded as Gena rushed down on them like a predatory bird coming down on its prey.

Dagon watched, holding on tightly to Sephtis's spikes. He waited until practically the last moment, when Gena's blazing jaws were only a mere few feet away. Dagon felt the magical energy from Sephtis rushing through his veins, and he began casting a spell.

*NOW!*

Sephtis banked hard to the left, tucking his wings and rolling as Gena barley just missed them. Then a massive, dull spike of mercury exploded out of the ground, crashing directly into the center of Gena's skull with a thunderous *CRACK* and the dragon roared, her body contorting and crashing to the ground, rolling across the earth before skidding to a stop, her flames dying out as they melted the snow around her.

Dagon tucked his head as Sephtis rolled, unable to regain balance. The dragon forced his body to turn so he would land on his side, not directly on Dagon, and they skidded across the snow, Sephtis's talons scraping across ice-coated rock until they came to a full stop.

Dagon was breathing heavily. He was completely still, unable to move. Cold snow was packed in against his leg and side. He could see his own breath as he breathed, and he wanted to move, but he couldn't. Everything was too quiet. Everything was too still. The adrenaline still pounded through his veins as he waited, expecting Gena to rise to her feet and engulf them in flames of wrath.

But she didn't.

She stayed down, laying motionless in the melted snow.

*Are you alright?* Sephtis asked.

*I-* Dagon started, *I am fine. Do you think Gena is..?*

*She is alive.* Sephtis growled, *Just unconscious.* the dragon was quiet for a moment as Dagon laid his head against the snow. *Well done, Dagon. I am impressed.*

Dagon was caught off guard by this. He was so used to Sephtis being passive aggressive, he didn't expect the dragon to give him praise. He simply did not know what to say in return.