**ORIGINAL ART IS HERE: https://www.weasyl.com/submission/266338 **

BITE OF LIFE

It had been a terrible evening. Mother nature raged across the land in the form of a dark, loud thunderstorm. It was eerily silent between rumbles of thunder and most creatures hidden away to wait out the storm. The rain pounded the ground and soaked through the shoreline forest.

Paw steps were barely heard beneath the din of the downpour as a blue scaled creature sloshed through the shoreline, trying to make it to safety. Torn and bloodied trousers sagged, threatening to trip the poor creature. His shirt was soaked with sweat, rain and his own blood. A chest wound had been quickly tended to but the dressing was not holding. His clawed hand clutched his chest as he heaved and coughed, leaving a staggered trail of paw steps and blood behind him.

All at once his torn clothing snagged his foot paw and he fell onto the soaked beach with a grunt. He heaved and reached his free paw forward to try to pull himself forward but his vision started to fade. His scaled wings reached out and slumped as energy drained from him. Something walked towards him... What was it? Who was it? All he saw were two fierce glowing red eyes as he lost consciousness.

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"Shit!" the dark creature hissed as she wiped blood off her paws with a tattered rag. It just wasn't working! She had stumbled across the poor beast on the shoreline during her hunt. He was lucky she had somewhat feasted when she found him else he would of became her meal in her frantic need. She tried her best but it looked as if his life was waning already. His chest wound was severe and was surprised he managed to make it as far as he did. The scent of his blood on her hands was driving her mad let alone the blood soaked garments on the dragon and fresh pools oozing from his injuries.

Medical supplies lay strewn on the floor around her as she crouched around the beast laying on her couch. A fireplace crackled in the back of the lounge room though it was more of her own living space since she rarely entertained guests. Her kind wasn't welcome these days, though when were they ever? She caught herself licking her claws clean before she snapped back to herself and arranged some bottles and bandages on a small desk beside the couch. She had done her best to keep him breathing and to stop his blood loss but it didn't seem like it would be enough.

All major wounds had been cleaned and stitched first and most had stopped externally bleeding. Whether internally she had managed to stop it all she wasn't sure. For all the damage to the tissues she was surprised the beasts heart was still pumping. She leaned in and finished dressing some larger cuts on his midsection. He had lost too much blood. Thoughts and options rolled around in her head. What could she do? Her world may be both magically and scientifically inclined, but she had never learned to heal in either way beyond patching small wounds. She was an outcast. Hunted by the creatures she once was... Still was, more or less. She couldn't have taken him to a facility and there wasn't one near enough to help him.

She was a weapons master amongst other things. A tinkerer. She knew and bonded with the elements but they couldn't do much in this instance. She was able to use her link to the flames to help cauterize some of the larger wounds but that was all the help they could be. This creature was dieing.

The canine hybrid snarled at her uselessness and her lust to feed. The scents were driving her mad. She ran her red fingered black paws through her gray blue bangs in frustration. Attempting to settle her thoughts she cleaned the area and put the rest of the items on the desk beside her but it couldn’t stave them off for long. She stood and paced back and forth across the floor next the couch,

What do I do... I don't even know who this is let alone what kind of person he is or could become...

Too many variables. So many maybes. She rubbed her paws together nervously as she continued to pace. He would be weak for a while no matter how he survived- IF he survived. She could handle it if he turned out to be something of a monster and had deserved the wounds he received... She would be prepared to deal with that mistake. What if he was innocent? He looked to be a sailor. She had noticed flotsam floating around the coast. Did they get attacked? There are plenty of hostile creatures in the area that could cause that damage but not many wandered close enough to the trade routes to cause harm to sailors. Could he have been a pirate of sorts? He didn't look the part. She had seen such kind eyes before he passed out on the beach.

She paused her pacing and looked back towards the quickly fading dragon with her icy blue eyes. She had met many kind eyes who were deceiving and only meant to cause harm. Her look hardened and she gritted her teeth. Decisions. Could she live with letting him die? Could she live with herself if she changed him? It was not a pleasurable life but it was a life. It had been too many hours. Her small feast before she found him was not as fulfilling as anothers' blood. It never was.

She licked her lips and even still without knowing exactly what she wanted to do, her feet moved for her, noticing the urgency. Her heightened senses had been monitoring his life signs and they were to faint to wait any longer. She walked behind the couch and crouched behind the dieing blue dragon. Firelight sparkled off his scales as she eyed his neck with a low purr. So tantalizing. He was a skinny creature but toned under those scales. She could imagine sinking her fangs into him already.

She caught herself leaning in to taste his flesh with her blue forked tongue but stopped. Did she have time to enjoy her meal? No; There was no time to hesitate. Her mind was made up and she would deal with whatever consequences came from this. She cupped her left hand around his jaw tenderly and leaned his head away from her as she leaned in...

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This is a wonderful gift from my awesome friend Hida. :3

I wrote the story to it above.

Art © ORIGINAL IS HERE: https://www.weasyl.com/submission/266338

Temrin ©

Hida ©