TW: Idk hunting maybe

A whelpling Kirix snuffled among the fallen leaves, searching for any scent among the foliage. She flicked her tails to and fro, grumbling as she got nothing but leaf litter and ants.

Up above in the canopy of a tree, her clutchmate lifted her nose to the air, flattening her ears in disdain as she too came up with nothing.

"Orchid," the first complained, "There's nothing here."

Orchid sighed, the dappled leaves cascading her dark green fur into a magnificent display. Her sharp golden eyes matched the markings along her fur, which only made the white sheen on her scaled underbelly and wing membranes stand out more. She whisked her tails in irritation. "Where did everything go?"

She shrugged. In contrast to Orchid, she had a more mossy complexion with orange markings and rich, abyss-like wing membranes. "Maybe the deep forest has prey."

Orchid rolled her eyes. "That's bear territory, Marigold. Maybe if we were full size we could take one, but I think we're too small."

Marigold gave her a flat look and poked her with a tail. "We've got venom for a reason."

"Yeah yeah, okay, let's try it. Might as well be eaten rather than starve."

The wyverns turned away from the forests' edge into the thick woods. The trees all grew closer together and vines snaked their way through the branches. Small shrubs stretched towards the sky, but were blocked by greedy trees, resulting in their luscious leaves curling and wilting.

Marigold's ear twitched at birdsong, and the sisters exchanged a glance. They crept up into the trees, ears pricked and heads low.

And they watched.

After about half an hour, a large elk walked into their line of sight, sniffing the air before leaning down to graze. Marigold tensed as Orchid stalked through the branches, her eyes trained on the elk. Once she'd gotten about halfway around it, she looked up and nodded at her sibling.

Marigold lunged, driving her tails into the elk's flank. She was promptly thrown off and scrambled out of the way of its hooves as it kicked out. As it was distracted by the first Kirix, Orchid flew down and landed on its back, slicing its shoulder with her tails.

It reared and shook her off as well, then narrowly missed kicking her in the ribs. Then it was gone, barreling into the forest, leaving a trail of snapped brush behind it. The air was alight with chaos as birds shrieked their warning cries, filling the sky with a frenzy as they climbed into the air.

Orchid took off after it. Marigold was right on her tails, the scent of blood and fear mingling with their hunger to lend them energy. As long as they kept it running, the venom would work its way through its veins faster.

And sure enough, the elk was beginning to stumble. They didn't dare get close to its hooves. Marigold leapt onto its lower back and Orchid its upper, with the latter sinking her teeth into its neck as her tails speared its heart.

It gave one final breath, then collapsed. One Kirix began to eat while the other kept watch, and then vice versa. Before too long, vultures began to circle, their beady eyes fixated on the carcass.

The sisters snarled at them and continued eating. When they were content, they left, leaving the corpse to the scavengers.

"We haven't eaten that well in ages," Marigold stretched her wings out before lowering her head to take a drink from the stream they were crossing. The ripples from her muzzle made her reflection look more like a caricature, making her chuckle. Bubbling happily, the stream continued flowing, minnows flicking around in small schools.

Orchid murmured agreement, scampering up a nearby tree. She pricked her ears and sniffed the air, darkness flashing over her eyes. "Bear. We need to go."

Marigold sighed, then nodded, taking off into the sky. Orchid was right behind her, breaking through the canopy and sending leaves scattering to the ground in great swaths. The trees trembled in their wake as they climbed, soaring high above the forest, relishing in the crisp air. Down below, a thick, brown shape was lumbering through the forest, likely drawn to the smell of dead elk.

They swerved midair, turning towards the vast mountainscape. Tall, snow-capped peaks loomed high above, and sunset would send the forest cast in a blanket of night far before its time. Trees perched on their slopes, hanging on by threads as they clung to the rock's surface. The roar of a waterfall filled Marigold's ears, the thundering bellow bouncing off the mountain walls.

She relaxed as she saw home. A cave nestled within the higher end of the mountain yawned, as if greeting them after waking up from a long slumber. Orchid landed first in Marigold's nest, sending moss, leaves, and feathers scattering everywhere. Needless to say, Marigold was not pleased.

She barreled into her sister, knocking her against the back wall of the cave. Orchid snarled and started bapping her muzzle with her wings. Marigold, not to be outdone, nipped her ear and sprang away, growling.

The pair tussled, snapping and biting and snarling without any ill intent. When they finally broke apart, Marigold grumbled to herself as she fixed her nest, but not before whipping her tails across her sister's bed and ransacking it.

The pair settled down in their respective nests, watching the sun cast a golden glow on the mountain across from them. The snow on its peak glistened in the warm light, reflecting a beautiful spectacle of diamonds.

For as long as they could remember, they had been alone in this paradise. While the songbirds soared in great flocks with their melodic voices and the elk gathered in great herds, the clutchmates had only had each other. Even the bears and the elusive mountain lions met together for short periods of time in the spring before returning to their solitary lives.

When they had first hatched, they had heard the cries of their own, beautiful, ethereal songs that rose above the mortal plane. They'd been a source of comfort as they tried to navigate this strange, vast land with no parental guidance. Yet as time went on, their songs had been stripped of their beauty and were instead lashes of fear and anguish, telling tales of war and suffering.

Then the songs were gone.

The beings the girls had so longed to meet fell through the ice on the frozen lake of life, their voices quenched by the water, leaving the whelps with only each other.

Marigold turned away from her thoughts and glanced at Orchid, who was staring at the sunset with a solemn expression.

She'd asked so many times before, yet that never stopped her. "Where do you think our parents went?"

Orchid slowly shook her head. "I've no clue. When I hatched, there was nothing here besides your egg."

Years ago, during a lazy flight, they'd discovered a ransacked den that sent chills up their spines. There was a large nest in the back corner of the cave reminiscent of the smaller pair the siblings had felt called to make. An old, brownish liquid was stained everywhere, splashed on the walls, ceiling, and floor, along with spilling out the mouth of the cave as if the den was drooling. Despite its years, it still smelled metallic.

What truly made their fur rise was the shattered egg shells strewn across the floor. Their insides had long been picked through by scavengers, and while the sisters had stolen their fair share of bird and lizard eggs, this was the first time they felt appalled by what they'd seen. The ravaged egg shells had matched their own perfectly.

They'd searched for hours, hoping despite everything that their presumed family had somehow come out of whatever tussle they faced victorious. However, the more they searched, the dimmer that candle glowed.

Orchid pricked her ears at a sudden noise. "What was that?"

Marigold shrugged. "The bats are probably out."

"No, you idiot. Listen. It's bigger." She crept to the edge of the den and looked down, nose twitching.

She followed her sister, peering down into the darkened depth of the rock. She saw odd flashes of light from within the trees that were slowly making their way towards them.

She tipped her head as she saw the object more clearly. It was a stout item with a mini star within its spheric head, held by some...

Lizard?

"What is that?" Marigold whispered, flicking a tail in the direction of the creature.

"It looks kinda like us, but where's its fur? And why is it on two legs? That's no way to travel."

"It has a funny pelt on, probably to make up for the fur." Marigold wrinkled her nose.

The creature, as mentioned before, stood on two sturdy legs, its long, thick tail slowly swishing back and forth. It was missing the telltale barb the Kirix whelplings had, and of course they took the opportunity to sneer at its lacking tail. It growled as it shoved some foliage out of the way with its bulky arms, its wings, which protruded from its back, twitching irritably.

The star in its paw flashed up towards the cave, and the girls shrank back, dazed by the dazzling light.

They heard a warning growl and more rustling in the forest, signaling that the odd winged lizard was not alone.

"That's not fair. It's a pack."

"Probably to make up for it being so small."

"It's our size."

"..Oh. Time to go."

They raced forward, diving into the open air. The wind caught their open wings and swerved them away from the strangers.

Marigold quietly hissed, "Go to the other den."

"Exactly what I was thinking."

She beat her wings as fast as she could, the wind roaring in her ears and drowning out anything else Orchid might've said.

There was a sharp, slicing blast that cut through even the bellow of the air. It was louder than anything Marigold had ever heard, especially as the forest fell dead silent. The singe of fire made her nose tingle and she sneezed.

The thunderous blast echoed again.

Marigold winced as her sister shrieked.