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[color=E5E4E2]The sun bore down hard on her scales. No matter how accustomed they were to the heat, it seemed like the rays of light grew closer and closer to burning holes into her with every passing moment. The delicate-looking dragon’s scales glowed pale amber in the midst of the sweltering courtyard, with the color fading into a sandy yellow as it neared her flank and tail.  At first glance, one might have considered her a strange looking SandWing– possibly one that was underfed or the runt of her clutch. Yet, a scrutinizing eye could catch her ruse. For one, her stinger was far too small for a SandWing, almost as if it was deformed, and her sail was larger and more elaborate than the other SandWings’. But what gave her away the most was the strange colors that blotched over the orange and parts of the yellow; as she sat with chains tied around her muzzle and limbs and clamps around her wings, blues and purples flourished from beneath her fiery scales like spilled ink. The strange color only intensified when SandWings, armed with both swords, lances, and deadly stingers alike, sauntered across the searing sands and glared at her with disdain from beneath their helmets. Bright irises surrounded by dark sclera scorched straight through her body faster than any sunlight or heat could. 

Vivid wasn’t one of them. No, she was far from it. To them, she was one of two things. At best, she was a pretty centerpiece, a slave that someone could purchase from Queen Caracal if she caught their fancy. At worst, she was a monster. A [i]hybrid[/i].

If she had any ounce of rancor, she would have blamed her ancestors. From what she heard, her grandmother, a RainWing, fell in love with a SeaWing, and her father was produced from their union. Then he went and got involved with a SandWing… though, she wondered how that happened, with how Pyrrhia viewed hybrids. [i]Tainted[/i], they were called. Huh. She always thought that was a weird thing to call someone. 

The rustle of dry scales made her snap back to attention. Vivid perked up, seeing that the large, pale SandWing from before had begun to prowl the small perimeter once again. His amber eyes swept across the rest of the dragons that were lined up against the sweltering walls of the square courtyard. Each of these hybrids were restrained just like she was. Clamps around their wings so they couldn’t fly away. Chains around their muzzles so they couldn’t breathe fire, spit venom, or bite. Heavy clasps around their ankles, necks, and tails so every movement felt as if boulders were piled upon their shoulders. The heat was merely another form of torture.

The pale SandWing rounded close to her. He was twice her size, with large claws that could rend her body in half if he wanted to. His maw twisted and he flashed white fangs down at her. [b]”Lucky cur,”[/b] he spat before he walked past her, the tip of his stinger swinging dangerously close to her face. She bristled in fear and ducked away.

Lucky. They kept calling her lucky. Vivid didn’t really know what that meant. They kept taking other dragons away, pulling them along by their chains like beasts. Some were so drained by sun and heat, parched due to the lack of water, that they struggled to walk and the SandWing guards practically had to drag them away. Those didn’t return. The ones that came back were marred by claw and teeth marks. Their wounds bled freely out into the sand until they passed out, and it was only then that they were tended to. The half-dead ones, their scales painted with crimson burns or their limbs half frozen, were tossed onto the sand like carrion. She had seen a few fall into deep slumbers from which they never emerged. Though, only a few of those that returned were strong enough to be chained up again, their jaws gaping with agony, their eyes empty, their talons and fangs dripping with blood that wasn’t their own.

 Was she going to be next? She always thought she would be, though they took almost everyone else but her.

Distant cheers sent a chill through her body. Her claws dug into the sand. She wanted to spread her wings and fly back into the rainforest, the closest thing that she could call home. Her eyes drifted towards the tops of the buildings that provided them no shadow, no respite from the sun, yet trapped them in that dusty courtyard. There was no escaping this. When she saw that the SandWings had noticed her drifting gaze, her attention snapped back to the other hybrids that kept her company. There was a MudWing-looking dragon that had webbed talons and an extra thick tail, and his brown scales, highlighted with an oceanic blue, were striped with the types of scales one might find on a SeaWing. He was leaning against a wall, his eyes half-lidded and sunken in. Then there was a NightWing with a grayish hue and a grumpy expression, though she was transfixed with the white coloring at the top of his head. Was that a NightWing-IceWing..?

[b]”Alright you lot, listen up!”[/b] roared a dark brown SandWing from the center of the courtyard. [b]”The next fight’s coming up, so all of you better be prepared! The Queen wants to watch a good fight before her dinner, and if anyone messes up her day, there’ll be punishment dealt for [i]all[/i] of you!”[/b] As if to punctuate her statement, her tail arched above her back, her black stinger glimmering in the light of the late afternoon sun.

Vivid trembled as the SandWing’s maroon eyes swept across the dozen or so hybrids that sat there. No one spoke, but she was certain that everyone knew that she was sizing them up. The orange that had once dominated her scales now dimmed to a sickly looking green, and she ducked her head to avoid the SandWing’s gaze. 

[color=19CACA][i]Three moons… don’t let it be me this time…[/i][/color][/color]