Faint voices reached Ryella's ears. It was the first thing she heard as her mind steadily cleared and she regained consciousness. She immediately snapped her eyes open, jolting awake. But she found herself barely able to move. She was lying on some kind of wooden platform with chains and metal restraints holding her in place.

She laid on her side, a large metal strap wrapped around the middle of her torso. Her legs were bound by smaller straps while her wings were entangled with chains that kept them in an uncomfortable, drooping position against the ground around the platform. There was a strap around her neck and tail as well, keeping her completely immobile. Even her snout had a strap around it, meaning she had no way to defend herself.

Ryella's eyes darted around in fear, and she snarled at the people gathered around her. People backed away from the creature, startled by her sudden awakening. There were so many hunters and small buildings. Ryella could tell she was at an outpost of sorts. She wriggled about in an attempt at freeing herself, but her restraints didn't budge. She suddenly realized that her hands were empty. She began to panic, whimpering and scanning the people and ground in front of her for the tag and the pendant.

"Now, now, don't make such a fuss." Ryella froze, her emerald eyes locking onto the oddly dressed woman. Sania approached the beast's head, causing her to growl. "My, just look at you! You've got to be one of the most beautiful animals I've ever seen!"

Ryella spotted her necklaces dangling from Sania's bag. Her snarls rose in volume and she tried to lunge at the woman. But Sania stood firmly, showing no fear as she looked over the dragon.

"Professor Yeagre," a hunter said, "if you need it sedated, we still have plenty of-"

"That won't be necessary," the professor interrupted. "She's already restrained as if she were a rogue behemoth. I can handle her from here." The hunters all looked at each other in confusion. Sania finally waved a hand dismissively at them. "Go on, shoo. I require peace and quiet if I'm going to study this animal." Slowly, the hunters dispersed, causing Sania to sigh in relief. "Finally. Now, let's see if I can figure out just what you are."

The wooden platform Ryella was on was just slightly raised off the ground, about knee-length to Sania. The woman circled around the dragon, examining her closely. She would jot down information on a notepad in between taking measurements and touching Ryella's fur. She gasped lightly the first time she reached out and felt the soft coat of the creature.

"That's even softer than the pelt of a coeurl!" She hummed in thought, glancing over her notes. "Your measurements are complicated though. A bit smaller than a behemoth in size, but much like a griffin in build. Unique ability to absorb and utilize magic energy. I'll need to conduct some tests, but first, research must be done to figure out just what I'm looking at here." Sania walked around to Ryella's head, smiling and giving her nose a pat. "I'll be back in a bit, sweetie."

With that, she left the beast alone. Ryella wished she still had the fire energy she'd absorbed earlier that day, but after passing out, the energy depleted itself. She could've possibly used it as a means to escape. But at the moment, she was far more worried about what might happen to the necklaces. Please don't discard them or give them away, she mentally pleaded. With dusk closing in, Ryella could tell she'd been asleep all day. She decided to give in for the time being, unable to do a thing. Perhaps this woman will let me go once she's done, and hopefully she'll give me back the pendant and the tag. I guess all I can do is wait.

~~~~~

Prompto stared absentmindedly down at his bowl of food. It was Peppery Daggerquill Rice. Despite it being one of his favorite dishes, he merely seemed to pick at it, and barely even took any bites. His behavior didn't go unnoticed by his friends.

"What's got you so down, Prompto?" Noctis suddenly asked, snapping the blond out of his thoughts. "It's weird for you to be quiet for more than 10 minutes."

"And you've barely touched your meal," Ignis added. "If I recall correctly, that dish is a favorite of yours."

Prompto smiled lightly, looking at each of his friends seated around the campfire. "Oh, my bad, just spacing out a bit." He nervously laughed and shoveled a spoonful of rice into his mouth. "The food's delicious, as always, Iggy."

"Spill it," Gladio urged. "What's the deal?"

Prompto sighed, knowing he couldn't hide it from them. "I just miss Mallow is all. No biggie."

"She did fly away in a hurry," Noctis said. "Would've been pretty cool to have a dragon ally."

"But she is, in fact, a wild animal," the bespectacled man explained. "We can't simply keep her like a pet when she belongs in the wild." He hummed in thought. "Though that does bring to mind the little accessories she seemed so keen on carrying around."

"What accessories?" the shield asked.

Prompto remembered them well. "She carried around a dog tag and a pendant. No idea where she got them, but doesn't it seem odd to you guys too?"

The prince nodded. "Yeah. Why would she have any need of them?"

"Dunno," Gladio replied. "Did you get a look at the name on the dog tag?"

The gunman answered, "I did, yeah. It was, uh..." He scoured through his memory, trying to recall the name. "It was a dude's name. Clayton? Clinton? Cl...Clement! That's it, Clement, um, and a last name I can't remember."

"If the tag belongs to a hunter who's passed, it should be given to Dave." Ignis stood, placing his now empty bowl on his cooking table. "Certainly not carried around by a beast."

"Maybe we should make a trip to Meldacio and find out," Noctis suggested. "They'll know who the hunter was. Maybe we can ask if they've found any more tombs, while we're at it."

"Hunter HQ's kinda far," Gladio pointed out, "but it sounds like our best bet. Kill two birds with one stone."

Prompto certainly hoped a visit to Meldacio would answer a thing or two. After all, the white dragon had been quite mysterious and left the boy with a dozen questions. But the gunman truly missed the beast, having hoped that she'd remain with them. He couldn't quite explain how attached he was to the creature, but he wished she hadn't left. She felt like a new friend, a friend he could open up to about things that even Noctis, his best friend, didn't know. He felt like she truly understood him, and didn't judge him the way people did. He really wanted to see her again, to talk to her once more while she silently listened, even if it was only to say one final goodbye.

~~~~~

An entire day seemed to pass in the blink of an eye. In Ryella's current predicament, all she could do was watch time pass by. She grew used to it after a few hours, finding that her struggles and aggressive behavior were futile. Sania surprisingly wasn't too bad of a person. Sure, she was a bit overbearing and obsessive when it came to her research, but she had been pretty kind to the captive dragon.

When she wasn't around though, the occasional passerby would gawk at Ryella, while some would have cruel remarks or poke fun. For the most part, Ryella ignored them. She was more depressed than anything, wishing she could fly away with her necklaces once more. She thought back on her meeting with Noctis and his friends, and actually wished they were present to get her out of trouble with the hunters.

"Morning, sweetie!" Ryella's emerald orbs focused on the approaching professor. "I brought you a little something." Sania held a plate with a chunk of cooked meat. "A nice, juicy slab of behemoth tenderloin, just for you." She set the plate next to the dragon's mouth. Ryella slid her head as far from it as she could, uninterested in eating. Sania frowned, rubbing her snout. "Poor dear, you haven't eaten a thing since you've been here. You must be under too much stress. I promise you'll be released as soon as my research is done. Now, let's proceed with the next test."

Sania reached into her bag, bringing out a shard of rock. It was a mineral that glowed a light blue with magic energy. It was only a small piece though, not much bigger than the woman's hand. Sania had run a similiar test with a chunk of ore full of fire energy the previous day. There was just enough magic in the minerals to allow Ryella use of their power. Sania had been careful of getting just the right sized mineral, too much would allow the dragon to use it against the woman, but too little wouldn't even be enough to absorb.

Ryella focused on the glowing shard, watching Sania hold it in front of her nose. She complied to what the professor wanted, knowing the quicker her research went, the sooner she'd be free. The dust-like energy flowed from the ore and into Ryella's muzzle. Her green eyes shifted to an icy blue hue. Sania swiftly discarded the now useless chunk of rock and got out her pen and notepad. Ryella opened her mouth slightly, as much as the metal restraint would allow, and breathed out a chilling wind. Sania shivered at the freezing air hitting her skin, but she smiled with excitement, jotting down notes.

"Fascinating!" she exclaimed, feeling the goosebumps spreading over her arms. "Simply fascinating! It's as if you gained the very power of Shiva herself!"

After only a few breathes of icy wind, the miniscule amount of magic the dragon absorbed had been depleted. Ryella's glowing light blue eyes faded back into their emerald green. Sania stuffed her notes back into her bag, a satisfied smile on her lips.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were a creature blessed by the gods themselves. You're like a..." She gasped, realization hitting her like a slap in the face. "How could I have overlooked this?! Up till now, I thought you were some kind of descendant of the ancient dragon species! Is it possible you could actually be one of them?!" She felt like an utter fool for not figuring that out sooner. "You just hang tight, sweetie. I need to do some historical studying."

Sania left in a hurry. Ryella was alone again. Hours ticked by, and all the dragon could do was lay there and watch people go by or partake in their own daily activities. It was close to sunset when a couple of troublemakers poked their noses where they didn't belong. Two young men walked towards the white beast. They were hunters, but still only rookies. One had blond hair while the other's hair was dark red in color. The redhead had an odd, round capsule strapped to the side of his belt. It was about as big as his hand and seemed to bounce with every step he took.

"Lookie here," the blond said. "The beastie's all alone. No professor to protect it for once."

"What's say we have a little fun with it?" the other suggested.

The two boys grinned at each other and rushed over. They immediately began climbing all over the dragon, completely ignoring her growls. The blond sat along her neck, entangling his fingers into the dark strip of fur that traveled down her spine. The redhead seated himself atop her back as if that was where he was meant to be. Ryella struggled a bit, wanting them off, but her restraints kept her firmly in place. The two males only laughed at her feisty behavior.

"Hey, did you hear about how this thing can absorb magic energy?" the blond suddenly asked.

The other leaned forward with interest. "Yeah, they said it used an elemental deposit to defend itself. If the capture had been in a forested area, it could've done massive damage to the environment."

The blond turned his head to look back at his friend. "I know, it could've caused a forest fire." The redhead slid down off her back, marching over to stand in front of the creature's face while his buddy continued, "Lucky for everyone it was in a barren area."

Ryella snarled, her emerald, serpentine eyes glaring up at the young man. The guy lifted his foot and placed his boot on her snout. "You hear that, you damn monster? You endangered man and beast alike. I sure hope that frog-obsessed weirdo isn't planning to release you. You should be caged..." Ryella snarled angrily, feeling the man put pressure on her snout. "Permanently."

She had had enough. I am not some mindless beast! she cried out in her head. I only acted in self-defense! I just want to be left alone to fulfill one final task! Why won't these people leave me be?! I'm tired of feeling trapped and hurt! The dragon abruptly twisted her head, nearly catching the guys's foot in her jaws. The redhead flailed his arms as he stumbled back in surprise. His hand hit the capsule hanging from his belt, causing it to come loose and crash onto the wood of the platform. Falling back off the platform and landing on his back on the dirt, the hunter gasped in alarm at realizing what had happened.

Ryella felt the sudden surge of energy erupt from the shattered capsule. She locked her gaze on the sparking yellow dust particles and sucked them into her body without a moment of hesitation. She could feel a much greater, more concentrated amount of magic flowing through her body. It was quite a bit more than what Sania would give her. The two hunters watched with horror as the dragon's eyes began glowing a golden yellow. Ryella's body emitted sparks of electricity. The blond jumped off her neck in an instant, yelping as his skin was zapped by tiny sparks.

The blond leapt off the platform and helped his friend to his feet. The pair both stared with wide eyes full of fright. Ryella harnessed the new magic and discharged a portion of it in a sudden burst of electricity. The two men both twisted around and ran as fast as they could. Meanwhile, other hunters gathered around, remaining at a safe distance and clueless as to what action to take. Ryella released a steady discharge that would allow her to conserve the magic for a bit and still keep everyone at bay.

Her fur stood on end, allowing tiny bolts of lighting to zigzag through it and protect her body. She snarled menacingly at everyone who gathered, frustrated, tired, and ready to simply be free. The sparks shooting off her body reached a couple of power lines overhead, causing many of the lights in the area to flicker on and off inconsistently.

Ryella would normally never harm people, but she was sick of being misunderstood and bound because of it. Not even Sania would be able to stop her, not until she used up every ounce of magic. And with night closing in, the flickering lights normally protecting HQ from daemons wouldn't be able to do their job. Unless someone or something could quell her rage, Ryella could very well cause Meldacio's downfall.