King of the Wyverns

Chapter 2

Ares stared in shock.

“Hi!” the onyc said again, really loud and cheerfully. “What’s a wyvern doing in here?”

“What the heck?” Ares backed away. “What the heck?” He’d only seen onyc in drawings by other wyverns that came back to the trench after a long travel, but the illustrations did not do the actual animal justice. Ares looked close at the onyc again. Yeah, really ugly.

“Hey, did ya hear me?” the onyc asked, losing some spunk. “Are you deaf or something?”

Ares recovered from his scare and gulped. “H-hi. I’m Ares and I’m actually waiting for a friend to get back. I will definitely leave if you want me to.” He talked faster as he went. “She should be back in a little! I can-”

The onyc cut him off. “Hey, slow down. I won’t bite. Unless I get too hungry!” The onyc started to laugh at his joke while all Ares could do is chuckle feebly and uncomfortably.

“Anyways, Ares,” the onyc said after he calmed down, “I’m Malston. Age is 1 year, male onyc!”

Ares blinked. “I don’t think it’s safe to give out all that info.”

The onyc, Malston, eyed Ares skeptically. “And it’s safe for a wyvern to be in an unknown cave in the middle of nowhere?”

Before Ares could answer, Malston flew to the top of the cave and hung upside down. “So…. what are ya doing here?”

Sighing, Ares started to speak, but then stopped himself. ‘For all I know, Hiro could’ve put a warrant on my head that Cleo and I don’t know about,’ Ares thought. ‘All Malston has to do is lead me somewhere secluded and bite me.’ Ares had heard somewhere that onyc had some disease that could kill you if you were bit.

“My friend and I were just flying around,” Ares explained deliberately. “We saw the sun setting so we decided to rest here in this cave.”

Malston looked around. “Where’s this friend? A lady or a man? Child or adult? Brother or sister?”

Ares started to get irritated. He was pretty sure he had earlier said SHE would be back in a little. And why would he be flying around with a child? Clearly, this onyc knew nothing. Ares shook his head.

Malston was still talking. “Because around night is when this giant monster thing comes out.” His voice goes low and mysterious. “It walks out of the pond not too far from here. He moans and groans, covered in slime, crying out for food. Legend says, his parents died when he was young and he doesn’t know how to care for himself. He only comes out on full or crescent moons.” Malston nodded to the entrance of the cave. “Go look at the moon.”

Ares tentatively walked out the cave and looked at the sky. A full moon shone brightly. “A full moon, Malston.”

“Better hope your friend comes back soon,” Malston hissed. “Or their dinner.”

That’s all Ares needed to hear. He flew out into the night, calling for Cleo as Malston closed his eyes and laughed to himself. “Silly wyvern. Don’t be so trusting.”