yael

The obnoxiously self-sacrificing part of Yael is glad none of the others will encounter dangers, overly confident in her dragon-self’s ability to subdue almost anything with a roaring breath of dragon-fire. Even the least intelligent creatures have some sort of base instinct to avoid fire.  

The tunnel goes on for awhile until the passageway opens up into a small cavern. The petite mare pauses, gazing at the beauty of the dripping stalactites and massive stalagmites which rise up from the cave’s floor. They must have been here for years, growing in oblivion, hidden away from the world – but what is that? A rustling, the sound of something scraping along something else interrupts her musings. Immediately on high alert, Yael’s ears swivel in the darkness, trying to determine which direction the sounds came from, dim light easily hiding the reptile as it begins its hunt. An uneasy feeling settles over her as the sound continues, causing her to retreat back the way she came – but only several steps, enough to buy her some time.

The choice is clear; Yael needs light and a defense, so she immediately begins her shift into dragon form, body stretching and changing until she is as reptilian as the thing that stalks her. Her eyes do not adjust as well, though, so she lets loose a small tendril of flame, illuminating the end of the tunnel, and sees that it is still free. She takes a cautious step forward, claws scraping along the loose dirt that coats the floor. Another inhalation, and a larger breath of fire, which she allows to continue as she steps into the opening. An entire ‘wall’ in her peripheral vision moves, and she reacts instinctively, bellowing flames towards whatever it is.

In the sudden light, she can see the massive snake as it struggles to recoil, hissing angrily at the sudden, painful heat which flashes across its face. The white of its eyes and fangs glow brilliantly, and though the beast in her would kill it, Yael manages to quell that raging part of her. This is a creature who has lived its entire life down here - Yael is the intruder, and if she can just get past it without killing it... The silver dragon takes another quick breath, guzzling oxygen as fast as she can and this time moves to cross the cavern, blowing a steady stream of white-hot fire before her. Her tail, however, drags behind her, and as she moves to leap for the ledge, the serpent dares to try its luck – shooting out and hitting the rock wall, where her tail was, only seconds before. Her own claws scramble forward, onward, into the next tunnel.

Dragon-Yael is probably the better option right now, she thinks.  

Yael chooses to evade the snake