Synopsis: A lone wyvern returns to his tribe with a special request. Although his life has been changed for the better, there are still things he has missed.
---
Two wyverns were perched atop a lofty cliff, overlooking a dense forest far below. One of them was peering down and watching carefully for the subtle movement of prey, while the other was looking upwards and staring dreamily at the clouds.
"
Rrrr... Tsssta, rmm sts nnrts
..." The first wyvern let out a soft growl followed by a series of clicking and chirping sounds, speaking in the natural language of their kind. "Switch, this hunt would go much faster if you made yourself useful."
The second wyvern, whose name was Switachirin, used a wing-claw and casually scratched an itch on the underside of his neck. "With your masterful hunting skills I'm sure you don't need my assistance, Thyso. I would only get in your way."
"Nrghh..." Thyso made a soft grunting noise which was the wyvern equivalent of a sigh. "You've changed since we last met. You've gotten more useless."
"Have I?"
"No, not really. You were always useless. It makes me wonder why I even missed you."
Switcharin made a happy squawking noise and waved his wings. "Awk! I knew you missed me. Has it really been a whole year since we last spoke?"
Thyso continued peering keenly at the forest below, looking out for prey. "Indeed. Why have you returned now? Have you finally come to regret going to live with the humans?"
"Not at all! Living with the humans is rewarding. I get a warm comfortable bed to sleep in, and food without ever needing to hunt. All I need to do is carry a human on my back and fly her around to places."
Finally getting distracted from her hunt, Thyso glanced at Switcharin and looked him over. Wyverns were aerial creatures, adapted for flight and ungainly on the ground. With two wings and two legs, their general body form resembled that of a bat, but they were both much larger than the little flying mammals.
Switcharin was still smaller than she was, though her friend did look somewhat better than before. His scales were a glossy, healthier colour and his wing muscles looked stronger. Previously he'd been underweight and scrawny, but now he was just slender and slim. "Your voice is different. You words are less smooth... More distinct, and not blended together," Thyso also noted.
"Human speech is different from our own, but it's not that difficult to learn! They call me '
Switch'
, just like you do, because they have trouble pronouncing my full name. But I've been trying hard to pick up English.
Ap-ple. Box. Cat. Dragon.
" The male wyvern shook his head and reverted back to their native language. "I'm sure you would have no difficulty learning if you decided to leave these hills and go live in a city."
"Leave? Our tribe has lived in these hills for countless generations." Thyso used her wing and gestured across the vast hilly forest. "We have lived, loved, hunted, and roamed here for so long, and you want me to leave to go work with humans, lending them my wings because they are too useless to be able to fly by themselves?"
Switcharin bobbed his head. "Yes! I think it is an easier, better way to live. In the past year I've been away, I have never spent even a single night hungry. The humans respect and take good care of me. And I've met so many other dragons, of all different types! From all across the country, and all across the world. We can do much more, all of us together."
"So you've come to persuade more of our tribe to join you, and go work for the humans," Thyso summarized.
"Partially? I also came back because I missed some people in our tribe. Not everyone, but some people, you included. Nice to see you again!" Switcharin rubbed his snout against Thyso's neck affectionately, and she let him do it. "Also, I have a separate request to make." Leaning back, Switcharin used his wing-claws to carefully lift off the satchel bag which had been around his neck and resting against his back. He took out a small glass jar and flipped open the swing lid, revealing some sort of translucent membrane covering the jar's top.
"What is that thing?" Thyso asked.
"It's a milking jar for venom." Switcharin opened his jaws and bit down on the top of the jar, and his fangs smoothly pierced through the membrane.
As Thyso watched, a few drops of clear liquid dripped into the jar. The sight made her lick her own fangs, feeling that small hole in the tip of the pointed teeth through which venom could be injected into prey.
Lowering the jar, Switcharin closed his mouth and swallowed. "Mm. My human happens to be a researcher working in one of their universities. She does
pharmaceutical
research, and—"
"
Pharma
—what?" Thyso asked, not understanding what Switcharin had just said. It wasn't a word of the draconic language.
"Uh, in the human language that means medicines. I'm working with a doctor human, and normally I just fly her between her house and the university, or between research labs. She's a very nice person! Very friendly. She specially requested that I be assigned as her transport because
Green Cliff Wyverns—