The Little Guys

It was close to midnight and a fairly cool night in the city: a breeze blew in from off the lake and chilled anyone who dared brave the shoreline. Luckily, the shipyard walls were just high enough to prevent any of Derelict’s soldiers from getting too cold. 

However, Paisley woke to the slight change in the atmosphere, and before long, she realized she couldn’t go back to sleep. 

Wonderful, she grumbled to herself. Another sleepless night, another rough day tomorrow. 

With a sigh, she got to her feet and made for the outside, careful not to wake Nala or her sons. One crunch of a pebble under her foot, and those hopes were dashed all the same. 

“Paisley…? Where are you off to at this hour?” She heard a drowsy Nala ask. 

“Out for a while,” she replied. “Can’t sleep.”

“Alright…be safe out there, dear. And don’t be too long.”

Paisley simply nodded her understanding, then trotted out of the shipyard. 

She did her best to stay deep within the city, as the cold was much less brutal there, and she enjoyed the sights and sounds. The wind through the shopkeepers’ chimes brought the city to life with their haunting melodies, while the rainbow of paper lanterns bathed the wet streets in a vibrant display of colors. 

A little cold, but this is nice. Paisley raised her nose to the air, taking in the heavy scent of food and petrichor. 

She made her way down the sidewalks and backstreets of the massive city until she couldn’t tell where she was anymore, then turned to head back. Things were still quite lively, but the low buzz of life had started to fall silent as bars and vendors closed up for the night. People began to flood the streets, so Paisley ducked into an alleyway. 

The darkness quickly became unsettling to the small dragon, and in no time at all, her fears were justified by a terrifying growl.

She whipped around: two furiously glowing yellow eyes flared at her from down the alley. She skittered backward in a panic, only to find herself cornered. Oh, shit…

“So what’s a tiny little thing like you doing out here at night? Don’t you know it’s dangerous?” Came a voice cold as clean steel. 

“I wouldn’t be out here if I didn’t,” Paisley replied. Staying brave seemed her only way out of this. 

“Well, I should mention that you’re also trespassing, and I—“ The speaker stepped into the light, and Paisley’s heat sank to her paws. This was the biggest dragon she’d ever seen, a black underworld beast with red flames licking his claws as he approached her. “I don’t deal well with trespassers.”

“I’ll g-go, then…I—I’m sorry…”

But Paisley quickly realized that her luck was running out. The second she turned to run, the stranger burst into the sky and landed right back in front of her. 

“Not so fast. You crossed my territory, so now you’ll pay a toll.”

“What—What kind of toll…?” Paisley could feel her legs trembling under her. 

“I collect many things, you see, but from trespassers, I take food. It’s hard for a big bad dragon like me to get by without people being scared and sending me off, so I…find my own way.”

“I have nothing for you. I—I just came out here for a walk…”

“Then you’ll fight me for your passage and if you lose, I take your soul.”

My SOUL?! Paisley nearly squeaked aloud. She was a third of this dragon’s size—how could she be expected to fight him?

“I—I can’t do that!” She protested. “You’ll kill me!”

“Your life is the price you’ll pay, then.”

A wicked smile crossed the massive dragon’s snout, and in an instant, he’d pinned Paisley to the ground. 

She fight back as hard as she could, inky black claws tearing at her opponent’s underbelly as his dug into her sides. He reached down to sink his fangs into her throat, only to catch a mean swipe across the nose. 

Paisley wriggled free of his grasp while he sat stunned. The second he charged her again, she ruffled up her fur as best she could and let out a sharp hiss. 

Her opponent merely batted her away, sending her sailing into a nearby wall. She could’ve sworn she herd something crunch as she hit the ground. 

Come on, get up!! She growled at herself, but it wasn’t much use, she could barely see straight, and it felt as though someone had driven a stake into her head. 

The massive underworld dragon came to stand over her, and she snarled at him. 

He chuckled. “Stupid child. Hopefully you have no one to miss you.”

He raised a pawful of wicked, burning claws, and Paisley screwed her eyes shut. All she could do was hope for the best. 

“HEY!!” 

Paisley didn’t dare open her eyes, but she swore she knew that voice from somewhere. 

A loud BANGBANGBANG resonated throughout the alleyway, and as fast as he’d appeared, the underworld dragon was gone. It was strange such a behemoth as him was afraid of gunshots, but Paisley was thankful nonetheless. 

“Hey…” came a soft address, and she glanced up. 

An icy camouflage-clad human had knelt at her side: she recognized him from around Derelict’s shipyard. He must be Tracker. 

“You’re the one the cats dragged in, eh?” He asked, though he quickly lost the joy in his voice. “I’m sorry, bad time…we need to get you back to HQ, get those wounds cleaned up. You think you can walk?”

Paisley struggled to her feet with the wall as support, and she nodded. “With help…”

“Alright, I’m right here for ya. Lean as much as you need to.”

The trek back to HQ was a rough one, but with Tracker at her side, Paisley was much more comfortable. She barelyknew the soldier, but now that he’d saved her, the least she could give him was her trust. 

Once in Jester’s den, Tracker gave her space to lie down, then sat next to her against the warehouse wall. He said nothing but briefly flashed her a warm grin. 

“What happened to her?” Came the soothing sound of Jester’s too-deep voice. “She looks awful…”

“She was attacked by an underworld—a loner, and a super territorial one at that,” Tracker replied. He gently laid a hand on Paisley’s shoulder. 

“I see…she’ll need extra time to recover, then. I’ll assume that monster’s claws left her wounds burnt.”

“She’ll be okay, though…?”

“Yes, she’ll be fine. Left with scars but alive.”

Despite the splitting pain that had ahold of her entire body, Paisley was getting drowsy by the time Jester had finished cleaning and wrapping her wounds, and Tracker could tell. He quietly told her she could use his lap as a pillow if they would be more comfortable, and she took his offer without a thought. The concrete beneath her was rough on her skull—anywhere was better than that. 

A few peaceful moments went by: Tracker began to ruffle Paisley’s thin fur. 

“You alright, Paise?” He asked her, and she nodded weakly. “Good…”

Paisley breathed a heavy sigh, and the soldier continued. “Y’know, I know we’ve never really talked to anythin’, but…I couldn’t just stand by and watch while that damn underworld tossed you around. It’s always the little guys that get it handed to ‘em, and it’s so unfair…”

Exactly, Paisley agreed, and it began to dog her how brutal the underworld had been with her. It was like he only wanted to kill me because he knew he could…

“But hey,” Tracker interrupted her thoughts, “bein’ thrown around can make you stronger, and you’ll be better for it eventually.”

Hearing that from one of Derelict’s most proficient fighters felt like an honor to Paisley. He knew she was smaller and weaker than the entire faction, but he was still able to find it in himself to give a damn about her. She sighed again, and the soldier’s hand fell still over her gills. 

“You gotta rest first, though…can’t have you overdoin’ it,” he told her with a smile, and she huddled a bit closer to him. 

“Thank you…”

“Anytime, Paise.”