Pandora

• Chapter 3 •

Pandora lifted her head, drinking in the scents of the cool morning air. The blue Obelisk glowed far off in the distance, encircled by the white peaks of the Mountains.

Her tail flicked. Black eyes stared ahead as she walked, padding down the hill and skidding to a slow stop on the pebbled ground of the river. She looked up at the gorge and the Wyverns flying above, then down at her talons and arms. She tucked them under her and sighed.

A talon grabbed her tail briskly. She whipped her head around. “Hey,” She exclaimed firmly.

Three Wyverns stood behind her, with the one who’d grabbed her tail in the front. He narrowed his eyes playfully. “Would ya look at that. It’s the freak.”

Pandora stared at them, her white pupils small slits. The Wyvern’s scales were a mix of musky greens, his head crowned with the classic frill of a Poison Wyvern. The other two were Ice Wyverns. One was smiling maliciously and the other stayed fixed in the back, looking anxious.

Small, strange talons scuffled on the ground as Pandora stood and glared at the first Wyvern blankly. The second Wyvern circled around as her tail was released. She stayed in place silently.

“She’s… just like you said, Nor,” The dragon standing behind said. Nor glanced back at him and then at Pandora.

Pandora growled deep in her throat, staying silent as usual.

“Just look at her wings,” The female Wyvern said, deftly grabbing one of Pandora’s wings and lifting it in her talons. “So strange and fragile. They look like they could just break.” Her claws dug into the edge of her wing abruptly as she spoke.

Pandora yelled aloud and yanked her wing out of her grasp, whipping around and rearing upwards with talons extended. But then Nor was there, quickly grabbing both of her wrists with his wings.

“And we can’t forget about these,” He said, tipping his head to look at her talons. “These… Things.”

“Like you’re some kind of fourleg,” He growled, looking into Pandora’s eyes.

“Go away, Nor,” Pandora said quietly.

“Let’s just leave, guys,” The white-colored Ice Wyvern was saying. “C’mon.”

“Be quiet, Gull,” the other Ice Wyvern snapped. Gull scrunched up his face and turned his head away stubbornly.

“No, he’s right. Let’s go.” Nor said, letting go of Pandora. She pulled back her talons, flexing them slightly and looking up as Nor turned away.

“Ugly dragon,” The second dragon hissed. “Doesn’t even look like a Lightning Wyvern.”

Pandora clenched her talons into fists, her tail twitching.

Nor flicked at her and Gull for them to follow, twisting his head to look at Pandora one more time.

“Later, freak.”

***

Bria squeezed through two smooth boulders, landing with a small thump into her home. “Pandora, you here?” She called kindly.

There was a pause, and her sisters head poked from around the corner. Bria padded further inside to see that Pandora had already lit the candles in the small crevice above them, lighting up the room dimly. Bria shook the dust of her back talons and went over to greet her sister, tapping their snouts gently together.

“You’re back,” Pandora said quietly, her expression calm and blank, as usual.

“Yeah. Got caught up with my friends. We brought a whole river full of fish back to the palace for the other hunters.” Bria went over and climbed up onto her ledge, smoothing out the rough blue and brown blanket before laying down on it.

“Did you bring any back?” Pandora asked.

“Oh, right! I left them outside,” Bria said, sitting back up.

“I’ve got it,” Pandora told her, going outside and coming back a few moments later with three fish in her abnormal talons. She set them down and packed one up to start gnawing on.

“What did you do today?” Bria asked her.

At first it seemed like Pandora hadn’t heard her. The dusky grey-purple and yellow Wyvern chewed on the fish for a bit, before finally answering. “I went down to the river.” Her tone was so flat and straightforward, but Bria had gotten used to how Pandora tended to speak. “I saw another cool rock.”

“Cool.” Bria replied. “You should show me tomorrow.”

“I will,” Pandora said, pulling off the fish’s tail.

“Oh! I uh, I got something for you,” Bria said avidly, remembering. She jumped down and went over to get her bag, before pulling out a little box. Pandora perked her head, looking slightly interested.

Bria went over to Pandora and sat down next to her, handing her the box. Her sister took it gently, pulling the top off and revealing two talon-made rings inside. Her eyes brightened slightly.

“They are very skrunkly,” Pandora observed, smiling just a tiny bit. Bria knew this meant she was overjoyed. She grinned and leaned against her.

“I knew you’d like them.”

They sat there like that for a long moment, just the two of them together.