Its scales glittered brilliantly in the cool morning sun as it curved its sinuous neck around to gaze down over the valley where it held dominion. A majestic mantle of ivory horns and aquatic fins adorned its serpentine head, a crown fit for a worthy king. Clouds of steam billowed out from its mouth and nostrils as the creature's hot breath condensed against the crisp, fresh morning air. The animal hissed once, low in its throat, and stretched, graceful as a swan, yet lazily lethal. Muscles bunched and rippled under the metallic sheen of its skin as the ancient creature flexed its bat-like wings, membranes tightening and stretching as they tugged longingly at the air. The dragon growled low in contentment as it spread its glorious set of aquamarine wings out under the amiable rays of the day, gathering warmth and dispelling a night's worth of freezing cold bitterness. Lifting its stream-lined head, it sniffed the playful breeze which promised an early spring.
A slight sound in the valley down below drew the beast's attention. Sweeping its scythe-like tail away from the edge of the cliff in a sharp crescent-cutting movement, it shimmered from head to foot as it returned to gaze down below. Its predatory instincts were stirred. After the intensely gruelling winds had plagued him until the wee hours, it had a huge appetite waiting to be satiated. Retracting and extending its gargantuan honed claws, saliva slathered down the dragon's throat as it glimpsed a herd of white-tailed deer gathered at the waterhole below. In a garish act of glee, the creature bared its teeth, rows and rows of potential sword material, all enclosed in a giant's mouth. It was ready to begin feasting.
Silently, it gathered itself up on its haunches and threw itself silently through the air, ten thousand pounds of killer steel, circling the unsuspecting herbivores below. The dragon was careful to stay under cloud cover. It knew woodland creatures scared easily. Sharpening its gaze, it searched the fairly-sized group of bucks, does and fawns, picking out the weakest and most frail. It was well-versed in the natural laws of the land, and knew that the weak had to be taken down, to make way for the new. So was the circle of life, and thus, it would take only what was his to take, never more, never less.
Bloodlust stirred in the dragon's veins as it thrust its wings in a sudden, powerful swoop, dropping like a rocket through the sky, and defying all the laws of gravity. The wind in its passing roared in its ears as it alined its body, going in for the kill. The ground leapt up to meet it, and as the beast reached downward to grasp the unlucky animal in its cruel talons, it noted the white around the deer's eyes and the foam around its mouth. It had frightened itself into unconsciousness. Snorting a puff of grey, red-tinted smoke, it snorted in irritation. There was neither challenge nor exhilaration while hunting these timid beasts. It longed for a stronger, mightier opponent.
But the dragon knew it was beyond the prime of its life. It knew this the moment it could not quite keep up with its fellow clan members as they cut like arrows through the sky. It knew this the moment it became harder to battle for possession of mate, when other dragons frequently beat him down with a well-aimed swipe or sharp gnashing teeth. It knew this in the depths of its very bones, as time snatched away flexibility of body and quickness of mind. It knew this even as it carried its prey up into the stillness of the baby blue sky. However, even then, it would still be a king. Such a magnificent creature such as this could never be anything less.
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Ack! I turned this into some sort of RP thing... sweatdrop Got too caught up I guess, and time really flies every time I do this sort of thing. 3nodding
mystmare Community Member 
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