[Thunder]

Scorch's belly grumbled audibly as he flew over the Vast Plains. His dark brown eyes carefully scanned the expanse of grass below him, seeking some prey he could hunt. He had been flying for...how long now? One hour? Two hours? Regardless of the specific number, he was getting very hungry and needed a meal soon. Yes, he was on a highly important, time sensitive mission, but he still had to feed himself. He had to survive for the sake of his fellow Paragon, after all.

The Lavamancer was no native to Evelon. Scorch had came from a distant island named Dracoria, a warm and beautiful haven in the middle of a pristine ocean, where a lot of other dragons resided. In the past they had inhabited a continent named Goldenrock, but a long Ice Age came and wiped out hundreds of Paragon, forcing them to relocate to their current home. Dracoria sheltered the dragons for about five hundred years. But now, it had also become dangerous.

A series of terrible earthquakes had struck the island, causing volcanic eruptions and sinking parts of the island underneath the sea. The toxic smoke and ashes from the eruptions were hazardous even to fire breathing Paragon, and everyone agreed that if the tremors kept up, too much of Dracoria would be underwater for the dragons to have sufficient territory. Furthermore, the disasters had killed a lot of prey, leading to alarming food shortages. Though the Dracorian Paragon usually liked to live alone, their fear unified them and prompted them to start searching for a new home together. They had chosen Scorch as one of the seekers, and here he was now, in Evelon, hoping to find a good spot to for everyone to live in.

So far, the plains were to his liking, but he had only been here for a day or so and knew he'd have to do more research before considering it a potential home. And if he wanted to do more research, he had to eat first. His empty belly's wishes were finally answered when he spotted a herd of Cavallion galloping through the grass some distance ahead of him. Scorch sighed in relief and sped up his flight to catch up to the horses. Even just one of them would be incredibly filling.

[Jaykobell]

The Nago was keeping his eyes on the approaching hoard of Cavallions, his orange eyes fixed on his prey. His muscles were hard as stone, moving not a single inch as he waited for the prey to get closer. His breathing was slow and quiet, and his wings and tail were still. The Paragon looked more like a very realistic statue rather than a living dragon, but the slow rising-and-falling of his chest and his blinking eyes gave him away.

The Nago lived for a good hunt. It was the only thing he could fully enjoy, and he put his entire heart and soul into polishing his hunting skills, every day. Honestly, in his strange, messy life, this was honestly the one thing that didn't torment him on a daily basis, and the only time when the Nago didn't feel like his life was made up of constant choices.

It had been quite a few years since he and his siblings had found their birthclan again. His life had been a rocky one: born as a "mistake", basically, his mother had abandoned him and his siblings in a forest far, far away from the mountain. The clutch was lucky, since it ended up being found by three wild female Paragon who had been benevolent enough to take all three hatchlings under their wing. It was only once the siblings had grown up that they felt something calling to them in the direction of one of the biggest Paragon clans known to the plains: the Dragon Hive. With their foster mothers, the siblings had travelled all the way to the mountain, only to reconnect with their past and their biological parents, and that had been quite an adventure on its own.

But that was far from being something the Nago wanted to think about while he was hunting. Hunting was for the thrill and the pleasure it brought him; thinking about his problems would just distract him from his goal.

The dark Paragon had to steel his mind for the leap; he wouldn't be able to grab the entire herd, of course, but he had to keep in mind how many Cavallions he was going to grab. Three sounded reasonable, maybe four if he timed his attack to perfection. For now, the Nago settled on grabbing three, and that should be enough for a few days.

The herd approached. Eyes still fixed intensely on the prey, the Nago counted in his mind the seconds until the jump. His muscles tensed, and his breathing got even shallower as he readied himself to run and leap.

When the Cavallions were close enough, the Nago leaped for his prey.

[Thunder]

It didn't take too long for Scorch to reach the herd. Even from so high up in the air, he could hear the powerful rumbling of the Cavallions' hooves, a wondrous noise that he had never witnessed before. Back in Dracoria, they didn't have many hoofed creatures at all. He had heard that there were some sort of giant, shaggy, horned beast in Goldenrock that the Paragon used to hunt, but he had been born too late to have seen any of their former home.

He began to descend on the herd, and the sound of the hooves grew louder. So far, the Cavallions hadn't noticed him dropping down, but if he delayed his strike too long, they might become wary. Scorch tried to find a weaker looking individual that might be easier to take down. He definitely didn't want a kick to the face- that would hurt terribly. Eventually, he caught sight of an elderly looking equine that was lagging behind the rest of the herd. That was the one he would attack.

Scorch pulled in his wings and dropped into a swift dive. He shot down at the horses like a rocket, zooming closer, closer, closer...

Suddenly, something green and red shot out at the herd. Alarmed, Scorch whipped his wings back out to try to slow his dive and avoid colliding with whatever it was, but he was going much too fast to stop himself completely. "Auuuugh!"

He crashed spectacularly into the ground and skidded several feet, leaving deep trenches in the soil, before finally slowing to a stop. His body ached. His head spun. Ouch.

[Jaykobell]

His timing had been perfect, impeccable. The Cavallions never suspected him, lurking in the shadows, and waiting for his opportunity to strike. Even as he was darting for them, the Cavallions had only noticed the threat much too late.

But the Nago's mistake wasn't his own, but that of another Paragon. As he darted for the pack, the Nago heard a shriek coming from up above. The Nago ignored the cry, focused on his prey, but the Cavallions had heard it as well, leaving the herd disorganized. Not only that, but when the Nago was close to grabbing his prey, a Paragon crashed in front of him, leaving a trail in his crashing wake. The hunter had no choice but to abruptly stop himself, leaving the Nago to slip on his rear for a while, until gracefully falling onto his side and stomach. And of course, by gracefully, he meant that he hoped no one had seen him fall in such an embarrassing way.

While the hunter would've just flown after the herd, the Cavallions had doubled their speed and scattered their pack after the catastrophic display of the Nago and the crashing stranger. The green Paragon scrambled back on all fours as he stared in disbelief at the catch he'd missed. So many delicious horses, all gone in a flash. There was no saying when he would get such a perfect opportunity again, and that left the Nago feeling frustrated beyond words. The feeling of helplessness that, no matter how fast he went after the runaway horses, he would never be able to catch up to them.

Gritting his teeth and narrowing his eyes, the Nago turned to the Paragon that had ruined his entire's day catch. Hair bristling slightly, the Nago made his way towards the Paragon, ready to give him a piece of his mind. "Who even are you?" the green Paragon screamed from afar as he marched towards the crashed stranger. "You ruined my entire day's catch! And you're not even from the Hive, so why are you hunting on our territory?" the Nago accused as he stopped right next to the weird Paragon, one who sported colors he'd never seen together before.

[Thunder]

When the mystery person's voice spoke up, Scorch raised his head wearily and looked in the direction of the sound. What he saw made a bolt of fear and shock jolt his body. It was another Paragon, a dark green Nago with a while belly, dark spots, and a crimson mane, wings, and tail. And boy, did the Nago look furious.

"I-I'm so s-sorry!" Scorch cried, ducking his head in shame. "I d-didn't realize you were also h-hunting them... A-and I d-didn't know this was your t-territory..."

This was the second time he had accidentally done something like this. The first time was when he ran into a Paragon clan in the Tengel Rainforest. Now, apparently he was on the grounds of some group called the Hive. Scorch silently cursed his luck and wanted to wither away on the spot. He really hoped he wouldn't end up in combat with this dragon. The Nago looked tough, and Scorch was much too hungry to put up a good fight. His puny magic abilities wouldn't help him much either, except maybe to startle the other dragon.

He stared up at the Nago timidly with his whole body trembling. "I-I'll do anything you want!" he stammered. "If that will m-make up for the l-lost prey..." Oh, he desperately wanted this issue to resolve peacefully.

[Jaykobell]

Under normal circumstances, the whole "I'll do anything you want" probably would've gotten the Nago to crack a terrible and cocky joke or two. In his current state of mind, though, the green Paragon had no interest in being funny. The thought of having lost such an excellent opportunity just made the Paragon burn with even more rage and disappointment.

He narrowed his eyes at the overall apologetic look of the weirdly-colored Paragon. Now that they were facing each other, the Nago looked the Lavamancer from horns to tail, checking out his strange colors. For sure, if a Paragon liked this lived at the Hive, the green hunter would know and remember him. This Paragon would've been infamous for his colors, so there was no way this Paragon lived anywhere near here. Had he been a wild, it would've gone around, too.

Giving an exasperated sigh, the Nago just sat down angrily. "What do you want to do? The whole pack is gone! It's pointless to chase after those Cavallions now," the Nago answered bitterly, grumbling quietly. What did that Paragon want to do? Create food out of thin air? "There's probably more prey around, but this had to be the best catch in months," the Paragon complained, those reasons being why he was so upset that the hunt had been ruined. And in such an embarrassing way, too.

"Well, it's not my territory," the Nago continued, and although this was a different conversation, his tone was still bitter and upset. "It's my clan's territory. We live in the mountain behind the forest barrier," the green Paragon explained as he flicked his head towards the mountain a little ways away. "So where are you from, if you're not part of the Hive? And what are you even doing here?" Well, beside ruining his hunt for the day, but they had already covered that.

[Thunder]

Well, if the Nago hadn't clocked Scorch in the head already, it was probably going to go better than the Lavamancer had expected. He still felt terrible, though. Those Cavallions definitely would have fed a lot of Paragon, and he ruined a chance for this other dragon to feed his clan.

"I'll h-hunt for your clan for a while, if you w-want," Scorch suggested. "If you think that will make up for the accident..." He figured that would be the most fair and appropriate deal. He had caused this Nago to lose a really good hunt, so wouldn't it make sense for him to hunt for the clan in repentance? He had no idea if this "Hive" would welcome him, though, and part of him worried that they might keep him for a longer time than he liked. He still had to get back to his mission, after all. But then again, if he stayed with the Hive for a while, perhaps he could learn more about how Paragon here lived in different environments.

"I'm from far away," Scorch continued, appreciating the change in subject even though the Nago was still irate. "I live with a lot of other dragons on an island in the ocean. It's named Dracoria, and I don't think you'd know where it is. It's so far from anywhere else. I came here because our island is in danger of sinking under the sea, and we need to find a new home. B-but, I didn't realize your clan had territory here..."

[Jaykobell]

The offer to hunt for the Hive left the Nago surprised. From the looks of it, this was a wild Paragon, and not one from a clan. Considering the closest clan to the Hive was one of exiles and deserters and nutcases, the Nago knew for a fact no Paragon like this Lavamancer could possibly come from there. Beyond that, the other clans were too far away from the Hive for this Paragon to be hunting here for it. The only explanation was that this Paragon was a stray.

"You would... hunt for us?" the Nago repeated, genuinely surprised by the offer. It had happened before for strays to get in his way, and to get in the other Paragon's way, too. However, unlike this one here, none of the others had ever offered to repent for their wrongdoings. Some had even thought they were in the right to be stealing their food and prey.

Before giving an answer, the green Paragon listened to the Lavamancer's story. So he did come from another clan? But it seemed like this was a very particular case, since he had mentioned his clan's territory was quickly getting dangerous. They needed to find a new home? The Nago tilted his head slightly at that comment, narrowing his eyes. This time, it wasn't out of anger or irritation, but rather out of deep thinking. "Hm," the male even muttered, mostly to himself, as he continued to think about the whole situation.

"Well," the Nago started, getting back up on all fours slowly and stretching a little as he did so, "if you're honest about it, I guess you can come along and check out the Hive. I bet Izotz would even offer up some of the mountain for your clan, too," the Paragon added, pausing shortly afterwards. "Er,  Izotz is our leader. He's a Frost," the Nago added, finding hard to explain everything to a stranger. He was used to others understanding what he was talking about, but he could bet the Lavamancer had absolutely no clue what he was saying. "I mean, I can't speak for the leader, but he's pretty generous. You might want to talk to him."

[Thunder]

At the first sign of the Nago's surprise, Scorch's heart lifted a little. It seemed like the other dragon might accept his offer. Maybe he could resolve this peaceably. He really didn't want to fight anyone, and he knew that a little bit of anger didn't mean someone wasn't a nice person.

And then it got even better. The Nago invited him to the clan! Scorch's anxiety vanished and was replaced by a great sense of happiness and gratitude. He perked up, raising his head and swishing his spiky tail ever so slightly. "Oh...oh, thank you!" he sighed. "I promise I'm not lying...and I'll try not to cause any more trouble. I'd appreciate a chance to talk to your leader."

So Izotz, was it? And their leader was a Frost, which was a species that was very rare on Dracoria. A Frost could have withstood that ancient Ice Age, after all, and would have had no need to relocate. Yet there were still a few who had chosen to move to Dracoria, mostly to stay with their friends and family. Thankfully, the island wasn't too hot for Frosts, nor was it too cold for Lavamancers. It was a temperate place and could accommodate many species, so it was a great pity that the island was in danger.

"I'm not sure where my friends would want to move," Scorch added, "but that's why I'm here. I'm exploring different places to see what they might like best. I'd love to learn about the mountain."

[Jaykobell]

Well, while the situation was going well, the Nago was a little uneasy. As a hunter, he hadn't been trained to deal with strangers or wilds as much as, say, the scouts. Those Paragon were trained specifically for those situations, considering they were scouting the area for threats and intruders. They knew the protocol, and they knew what to say. The green Nago, on the hand, had very little idea how to proceed with this situation. Was he supposed to run it by someone else, first? Was he supposed to just bring this Paragon to Izotz directly? His guess was the latter, but again, the hunter had never had to deal with this sort of situation.

"Yeah, no, I don't think you're lying," the Nago corrected, shaking his head briefly and shaking a hand afterwards. "Just your behavior tells me you're not from around here, or a typical stray. You're too polite to be from these parts," the hunter explained, although he narrowed his eyes as he paused. "Er. Well, not to say we're all a bunch of savage wilds here... Mostly, what I'm trying to say is that the wilds and strays we do come across aren't like you." Way to go, insulting almost your entire clan. Good thing no one else was around, or else the Nago probably might've gotten smacked upside the head.

"If you follow me, it's right this way," the hunter indicated as he flicked his head towards the large mountain ahead, somewhat hidden by a thick forest barrier. Spreading his wings and flapping them a little, the Nago took a few steps forward before turning back to the Lavamancer. "I'm assuming you're fine enough to fly there? It's obviously going to be faster than walking or running." To his knowledge, the Lavamancer's crashing hadn't affected his wings, and he seemed well enough to move about.

[Thunder]

Scorch was glad that he hadn't judged this Nago too quickly. He was thankful that his story was believable, though based on how the Nago described the wild Paragon that were around this area, his tale was probably more realistic than it might have sounded otherwise.

Slowly, he lifted himself off of the ground. His muscles burned, and there was a bit of a crick in his neck, but his wings were fine for flight. He could recover quickly enough, as long as he had some good rest later. His feathers were a little ruffled from the crash, but it only took a brief moment of smoothing them out to fix them.

"T-thanks, again," Scorch said, giving the stranger a grateful smile. "Yes, I'm fine with flying. And...my name is Scorch, by the way. Um, what's yours?"