Sleeping Dragon Innerbloom

The earth may have shaken and bellowed but the wolves of Drageda remained steadfast. Wildfire contemplated these recent phenomena even as she peered up at the moon, its buttery face so close to earth that she could make out the craters and shadows on its face. Despite its brightness and the excitement of the past day, the Bandrona felt sleepy and soon crawled into the den, her warmth curling against her mate's as she sought and found the respite of sleep.

She rose with the sun the next morning and stepped outside to answer a call of nature. Feeling restless, Wildfire trotted away from the den, heading west to avoid the glare of the morning sun. She managed to track and kill a groundhog working on its fall fattening, yet she didn't have an appetite so most of the kill went into a nearby stock. And despite the exertion, she felt more fidgety than ever when it was all said and done.

In fact, it was more than that. Wildfire had taken pleasure in dispatching the overgrown rodent, as always, but now she found herself fantasizing about the details of the kill in a way she never had before. Crushing it to the ground and severing its jugular had been particularly enjoyable today. It had almost been like scratching a deep itch: immensely satisfying. She wanted more of that feeling. But the idea of hunting more small game bored her.

She turned away from the cache, heading toward the geyser field to inspect the damage, mind still preoccupied. Even as Wildfire walked, she felt more and more keyed up. She veritably vibrated with agitated energy. Only when she arrived to watch a geyser boiling over furiously did she recognize the truth: for probably the first time in the Bandrona's life, she was spoiling for a fight.