Luo Yun lay there stiffly, letting the female Rathian sniff and inspect him from head to tail.
Even though he'd recovered a little stamina, he didn't dare move. He didn't want to do anything that might be misinterpreted.
There was another reason as well: his acceleration ability hadn't been triggered. That meant this beautiful female dragon bore him no malice,perhaps she was simply curious.
Sure enough, after finishing her odd examination, she gave him one last unreadable glance before turning away. She went back to the herbivore's carcass and tore into it with powerful jaws.
Luo Yun couldn't quite make sense of that look, but her actions spoke clearly enough,she had lost interest in him. Most likely she'd just been checking whether he posed any kind of threat.
After all, unless they were mates, Rathians and Rathalos lived solitary lives. They each had their own hunting territories and usually kept out of one another's way.
Seeing that the beautiful female dragon truly had no intention of harming him, Luo Yun finally let out the breath he'd been holding and focused once more on restoring his strength.
He was exhausted, in pain, and starving. If he wanted to hunt again soon, he needed to recover.
This plain was crawling with herbivores,surely there had to be smaller prey around too. Maybe a few lap rabbits, or, if not, mushrooms in the distant forest. Something, anything edible.
But wait,didn't Rathians usually carry their prey back to the nest? If they didn't, they would at least eat only the tenderest cuts, leaving the rest behind.
Since this beautiful one hadn't flown off with her catch, did that mean… once she was done, he could feast on the leftovers?
It wouldn't be the choicest parts, but meat was meat! Far better than nibbling mushrooms.
Just picturing it made his mouth water uncontrollably. He was so hungry his tears leaked from the corners of his eyes.
Thump… thump…
The sound of heavy footsteps startled him. Luo Yun looked up and saw the female Rathian dragging the carcass in his direction.
His heart sank. She was probably going to take it away after all,back to her nest. Did that mean he wouldn't even get scraps?
Oh beautiful dragoness, couldn't you spare just a bite for a starving baby?
His dream shattered before it even began. Was he really doomed to gnaw mushrooms? If he'd known things would turn out like this, he might as well have been reborn as a Great Jaggi. At least then mushrooms would be a delicacy.
Then again… just picturing those big, vacant Jaggi eyes made him shudder. No, thank you.
While Luo Yun's mind spiraled with nonsense, the bloody carcass landed right in front of him. Its belly had been ripped open, exposing red,and,white fat beneath the skin. Just the sight of it sent a primal surge of hunger through him.
The scent hit him like a tidal wave. He forgot everything,fear, hesitation, even dignity.
He had only one thought left: eat.
Eat, eat, EAT!
The female Rathian watched as the little hatchling tore into the flesh with reckless abandon, gulping down chunks as if he'd never eaten in his life.
Poor thing, she thought. How long had he been starving like this?
Once he was absorbed in his feast, she wasted no more time and sank her teeth into the carcass's hind leg. The belly was the tenderest part, of course, but if you had the bite for it, the thighs and spine had plenty of flavor too.
And so, the herbivore's body was divided between them,a great dragoness and a tiny hatchling, tearing into their meal side by side.
The carcass was massive. Just the two hind legs and a strip of back meat were enough to fill her. Licking the blood from her muzzle, the Rathian stepped into the lake, washing her face and claws clean. Then she sprawled by the water, watching the hatchling continue to gorge himself.
After some time, when Luo Yun had nearly stripped the opened belly bare and was eying other, tougher parts of the carcass, the Rathian finally stood.
Without hesitation, she strode over, seized him by the back of the neck, and lifted him off the ground as though he were her own whelp.
Luo Yun, wrenched away from his precious food, panicked and flailed. He beat his tiny wings and kicked with his claws, desperate to get back.
He had known nothing but hunger since hatching. This was the first time he'd ever eaten his fill, and though he was already stuffed, he still longed to keep going.
But the Rathian didn't indulge him. She gave a sharp shake, just enough to silence his struggles, then unfurled her wings. With a powerful thrust, she rose into the sky.
The rush of wind cleared his head. Clouds streamed beneath them as his emotions tangled into fear and awe.
The awe came from his Rathalos blood,sky kings by birth, flying was their domain.
The fear came from reality: he couldn't fly yet. His bones and wing membranes weren't strong enough. If she dropped him from this height, he doubted he would survive.
So he stayed still, letting her carry him wherever she pleased.
His sharp eyes picked out every detail below: the spread of forest, the glint of a winding river, then sparser trees and drifting yellow sand as they crossed into another region. Finally, she began to descend.
At the border of the Wildspire Waste and the Ancient Forest, she landed gracefully on a cliffside. There, hidden in the rock, yawned a cave. A clear stream, fed by a nearby waterfall, ran through it.
This was her nest,the secret refuge she had claimed after leaving her siblings. In this place, wingless predators could never reach her, and winged rivals couldn't hope to match her strength. Over time, the surrounding land became her undisputed domain.
Apart from the odd Great Jaggi wandering the upper forest in search of poisonous mushrooms, few creatures dared to trespass.
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