Chap 1 – (To be named)
“Chath! Chath! Get up Chath! Yaros is in trouble!”
The one called Chath opened a single golden eye, looking upwards bleary-eyed, trying to focus on the voice that called his name so urgently. He tried to talk, but all that came out was a growl mixed with a yawn, his bright white teeth grinning at his visitor from his snout. His three-taloned hand reached up towards the voice, poking at what he assumed was its face.
His claw was slapped away relatively quickly, “Chath, this isn’t the time to screw around! Yaros is in big trouble with the police!” He felt his tail being tugged on, pulling him out of his nest. He flicked his tail with annoyance, before his brain put two and two together, and he bolted upright, both eyes focusing upon his fellow student, a blue-scaled female about the same age as he. He leaned against his nest-frame, finally convincing his tongue to form words, “Gahui, what did he do? Did he get caught?” The male Dralu threw his blanket across the room, revealing his gleaming outer black scales, and matte steel gray inner scales.
“They caught him stealing; they took him to the square. He’s… going to lose his hands.” She was quivering with fear, her emerald green eyes, looking expectantly at Chath, wanting him to tell her it would be okay.
Chath stood, a talon snagging his cloak from a peg on the wall, wrapping it around him tightly, pulling the hood over his head, golden eyes gazing at Gahui from his shadow-casted face, “Just calm down, Yaros isn’t losing anything except a little respect from Master. Follow me.” He dashed out of the room, hoping his blue-scaled friend was in close pursuit. Nobody was home; their Master was away, getting supplies for the coming frost. He had told his three students to remain indoors, and wait for his return, but Yaros never listened.
The home was small, just enough for the three students and their teacher, and little else. The four bedrooms were connected to a central living room, three doorways on the left and one on right wall. Chath’s room was the first room on the left; Gahui’s nest was next to his and Yaros on the end. The Master resided on the opposite wall, the heavy wooden door closed firmly; the three students had never seen the inside. Decorations were sparse, the house based on a need basis. A fire burned in the center of the room, the floor around it comprised of stone, while the rest of the home was constructed of cheaper wood. The back wall was mostly taken up by storage containers, holding everything from food to tools. The walls were nearly bare, excluding shelves that held either additional storage containers, or the precious few books that their teacher owned. A single painting of an old tale hung next to the Master’s doorway, a massive Dralu taking off from the ground, to become the moon.
Chath pushed lightly on the door, flinching internally when it creaked loudly. He had asked long ago, when he was but a fledgling, why the Master never fixed the door. The older Dralu laughed softly at the question, but wisely answered, “If the door creaks loudly, the noise will surely alert us that someone is entering, whether they be friend or not.” Chath didn’t understand it at the time, but when someone had tried to rob them in the night a year or so later, he understood it when the Master had quickly dispatched the intruder, awoken from his slumber at the creaking.
Of course, the creaking door hardly helped when one tried to leave quietly. He peered out, his nostrils flared as he sniffed for the scent of anyone nearby, taking in only the scent of himself, the mixed scents of their home, the rotten smell of the back alley in which they resided, and the sweet scent of Gahui, who was behind him. His golden orbs scanned the streets, looking over the run-down buildings and piles of trash that choked the cramped alleyway. He found no one, which was strange to him, usually he would have at least seen a less fortunate Dralu passed out on the street, feel the piercing gaze of another from the shadows, or at the very least, some shady street merchant selling various questionable wares. He motioned to his partner, exiting their home slowly, locking the door behind them. The smell of the alley hit him once more, a barrage of foul odors throwing themselves against his sensitive nose. He remembered when he had first followed the Master home, how he had nearly threw up his dinner at the smell. It was still terrible, but at least he managed to keep his food down. He looked around once more, past the cracked buildings, the piles of garbage, the boarded windows, and the shadowed alleys, which criminals usually lurked in.
He turned right, starting towards the square, hoping he wouldn’t be too late to help Yaros. As he closed the gap to the square, dashing through the twisting alleys, he couldn’t get rid of the weird feeling, still seeing not a single soul. Then he heard it, the sounds of a crowd at the square, Chath frowned, that explains where everyone went… public punishment… who did Yaros try to steal from? He wasn’t foolish enough to steal from a Raiken… was he? He cleared his head, that wasn't important yet, what was important was getting there before the sentence was delivered.
The roads widened, the noise of a crowd grew, and the surrounding buildings steadily grew taller, cleaner, and more welcoming. It seemed there was quite the presentation, a powerful Raiken bellowed over the noise of the crowd, reading the usual propaganda and pro-Alliance garbage. Chath shook his head, he despised the Alliance as much as any other Dralu, their brutish overlords were demanding, and unforgiving. They treated their ‘allies’ like trash, sending countless members of Chath’s kin to die so a Raiken wouldn’t have to.
The Dralu slid against the wall of a well-kept building, probably owned by a Raiken, or one of his kin that worshiped their rulers. He felt Gahui hug the wall next to him, as Chath peered around the corner, taking in the scene at the square…