~EIGHTEEN YEARS LATER~

Lapis stirred slightly, hearing footsteps outside her bedroom door. She heard the knock before it happened, and she rolled to her side, facing the doorway.

"Get up. I have a new job for you." Ariko said, no hint of friendliness in his voice. Lapis didn't expect it, but she wished she could've gotten even a hint of something, especially this early.

"Make me, Ariko." She teased, sitting up on her elbows. She gave him a playful look, to which he rolled his eyes.

"I could, actually." He said, looking at her. He had the power to control her, and he could do it whenever he wanted, just as long as he could see or hear her. She quickly looked away, hoping out of bed and putting her hands up.

"Okay, I'm sorry!" She shrieked, faking fear. She chuckled at herself, opening her eyes. He'd stomped off, probably to prepare for whoever was paying him to send her after this target. She touched her thick collar around her neck, the three studded blue gems pulsing with energy. The black oxide material was cold on her fur, but she'd gotten used to it. 

A matching pair of black bracelets were clamped around her wrists, almost reminding her she was a puppet, a toy. But at least she had a purpose, unlike the many poor souls living in the town. At least, that's what Ariko raised her to believe and live by. She stepped into the hallway, hurrying towards Ariko's office. She didn't even think about getting anything to eat, she was excited to see what sort of target she'd be going after. 

She entered the room, closing the door behind her. She sat in her favorite chair, one that overlooked the fountain in the town's center. She smirked, seeing small dragonets playing near it, their parents squawking impatiently at them. 

"They're so peaceful." She said sarcastically. That earned a chuckle from Ariko.

"They're fools, every single one of them." He said. Lapis glanced over, seeing him leaning over a stack of papers that cluttered the entire desk. She walked over, standing in front of the desk, her hands behind her back. She eyed the forms, mostly target requests, wanted forms, and bounty rewards. She raised a brow at one in particular, taking it from the pile. It was a reward for nearly a million coins, held on the head of a high ranked government official. She turned her eyes back up to Ariko, waving the paper in front of his nose.

"Why don't we go after someone interesting for once?" She purred. He looked up, examined the paper, and chuckled.

"Believe me, you'll have plenty of fun with the one you've been assigned." He said, snatching the paper and sliding it into a folder. Lapis frowned, crossing her arms.

"You're no fun." She whined. He rolled his eyes, handing her a new paper. She was about to check the details when he clicked his tonuge. 

"Don't be so quick, Lapis. Maybe wait until you've trained some more?" He said. She knew what he was getting at. He liked to rile her up before sending her off, to make her kill more powerful. She played along, growling lowly.

"I've trained plenty, Ariko. Now, let me do the hard work for you." She said, folding the paper and stepping back. She touched the door handle, bowing at Ariko with a playful smile. He glared after her. She walked down the hallway towards the club, the main attraction of Ariko's building. He owned most of the street, but insisted on this building being his home base. It was called 'The Azure Palace'. Something about it rang in the back of Lapis' mind, but she didn't really take to much thought to it. 

She stepped through the beaded curtain, looking at the crowd gathered inside the building. The room consisted of a bar, filled with expensive wines and liquors, as well as a dance floor that dominated the room. The music pulsed, rumbling the ground. A few dragons crowded around at the bar, determined to drink as much as their liver could handle. The majority were on the dance floor, moving almost like a singular mass. 

Lapis rolled her eyes. She wasn't one to mess about partying and causing a scene, she was more of a quiet room small group type. The room had an upper level, with a black marble railing spanning around. Matching black columns held the floor aloft, stretching back down the meet the ground in random points in the room. The glass ceiling pulsed with light from the machines currently lighting the dance floor. 

"Lapis, where are you going?" The barkeep, Soren asked. She walked towards the bar, sitting on a stool and propping her head up with her hands. Her tail curled around the stool's legs. 

"Oh, just on a midnight stroll." She said with a wink. Soren understood, he'd been working for Ariko nearly as long as she had. It wasn't exactly good for business to be speaking publicly about murders. There were hundreds of rumors about it, but no evidence. Ariko made sure to keep his targets out of important circles, such as the government worker Lapis' would've rather gone after, that way none of the media would be quick to jump the gun and investigate further.

"Alright, make sure to stay out of the alleys. Rather cold night." He said, winking back. She nodded a goodbye, hopping down from the stool and stalking towards the dance floor. She surveyed the mob, as if trying to find a weak link. The thought of just quickly hopping in and killing a random dragon exhilarated her. She'd only ever killed the dragons that Ariko told her to, or the highest paying ransoms.

The music was blaring, and everyone was drunk or distracted by their dancing partner. She licked her lips, hunger pulling at her stomach. She'd gladly take one of them off the watching guard's claws, just for the heck of it. The guards stood at the doors of the club, making sure nobody important left or entered, just for privacy purposes. Their job was to also smuggle in whatever drugs or drinks the customers would pay high dollar for. 

Lapis never got tired of how stupid dragons were sometimes.

She hurried up the stairwell, keeping herself pressed towards the shadows. She been cornered multiple times by drunk dragons, trying to get someone to 'have some fun' with. The thought made Lapis shiver. She didn't exactly enjoy when a random drunk dragon would seek her out and try to kiss or touch her, she usually ended up finding them later in life and getting some sort of payback. She was a trained assassin, after all.

She unfolded the paper she'd been carrying, viewing every tiny detail. Even the tiny tear in a paper could reveal a clue as to where to find the victim, this was true on every single ransom paper she'd used during her life. But something was different this time, it wasn't a ransom. It was a non-paying target. Someone Ariko wanted taken out, personally. 

She was confused, the only details written on the paper was a location. She shrugged, knowing Ariko knew what he was doing, so she didn't hesitate. She unlocked the window to her left, and slipped out onto the sill. Creeping along it's side, she made sure to not get distracted. She tended to get caught up in watching birds, or possibly seeing what phase the moon was in. Her jobs were the only time she got to venture out of the Palace, so she wasn't about to waste them.

She reached a rooftop overlooking the square, where all young dragonets had gone to their homes for the night, probably annoying the living daylights out of their parents. A crowd was gathered around a performer, a fortune teller telling the paying customers the vaguest future they could. As was the way of this town's businesses. She was surprised children lived here, come to think of it. The fountain sputtered to a stop, as it did every night. Didn't want some drunk falling in and drowning.

As the streetlamps lit up, she pressed herself into the roof's shingles. She could drop down on literally anyone she wanted, from this high up and keep the element of surprise. She kept peering down into the alleyway beneath her, the place the target was supposed to show up. She knew this alley, she'd killed many here, and it was never used unless someone was trying to hide. Or if someone was incredibly stupid.

Her ear flicked and she turned her head, catching sight of a dragoness in the square. She had a hood tied tightly around her neck, keeping her eyes down. Her long tail followed her every move, tilting when she turned sharply to keep balance. Lapis shook out her shoulders.

He didn't tell me it'd be a girl.

She crept forward, her movements silent. The dragoness stepped towards the alley, stopping briefly. They looked left and right, as if checking to see if they were being followed. But they didn't even think to look up. Lapis almost laughed out loud at this, closing her eyes to keep herself from it. When she opened them again, the dragoness was gone. She blinked, hurriedly glancing around to try and find them again.

Damn it! That was my chance! 

She pounded a fist on the shingles, causing a few to roll of the edge. She cursed under her breath and dropped to all fours, running along the rooftops. She closed her eyes, and when she opened them again her vision was flooded with blue. She could see the white silhouettes of any living thing this way. She dug her claws into the roofs, speeding up as she leapt from one to the other, casting shadows to the ground below.

She finally caught sight of a figure below, one that matched the dragoness. She slowed her pace. She saw the girl below, stepping inside an inn. Lapis smiled wickedly.

Aw, tired all ready, princess?

She loosened her grip on the roof she was currently standing on, sliding down and leaping onto the inn's. She watched the white outline of the dragoness check in, and head up the stairs before stepping inside her room and locking the door. She leaned against it, sliding to the floor with a relieved sigh. Lapis chuckled deeply, highly amused. She seriously thought she was safe yet?

Lapis dropped from the roof, landing on her room's balcony. She watched the girl's ears lift, she'd heard her hard landing, but Lapis wasn't trying to hide anymore. She liked to see her victims terrified, they tasted better that way. The thrill of the hunt flooded through her, and she pushed through the door, standing back on her feet and starring down at her. The girl's eyes widened, and she tried to reach for the door handle above her head. 

Lapis moved quickly, grabbing her wrist. She twisted slightly, and the girl cried out, her hood dropping. She was a purple color, with cream accents in her fur, black horns, and thick green and blue hair. She looked up at Lapis with terrified eyes, shaking. Lapis smiled, tilting her head slowly. 

"What? You thought you could hide here?" She quipped, leaning down close to the girl's face. She leaned back from Lapis, pressing her back against the door. 

"Let go of me!" She cried, trying to wrench her arm from Lapis' grip. Ink transferred from her claws, running down the girls arm. She screamed, struggling to get away from it. It would burn, if not taken away soon enough. Lapis chuckled, a horrible two-voiced sound.

"I don't think that'll happen." She purred, "And that ink definitely hurts, doesn't it?"

The girl had tears in her eyes, and she let her head drop, her body only being held up by Lapis' claws. She smiled at this, and dropped her wrist, the girl falling to her side, grunting in pain and clutching her ink-stained arm. Lapis crouched down in front of her, her tail wagging excitedly.

"Do you know why I'm here, honey?" She asked. The girl opened her eyes, keeping them trained on the ground.

"You're here to kill me." She said simply. Lapis frowned, sighing.

"It's way more fun if you stay quiet and let me just..." She purred, leaning forward and nipping the girl's ear. "Take my time." 

The girl shivered, and dropped to her stomach, her elbows giving out. Lapis smirked, her teeth showing through her lips. She stood up, walking towards the window and starring up at the star dotted skyline. The moon crowned the sight.

"Full moon tonight. Isn't it beautiful?" She said, smiling as moonlight danced across her fur. She turned back to the girl, who was now sitting against the wall, still holding her arm. Lapis rolled her eyes. This was taking too long. She threw her hands out, and her claws flared with power. Her collar gems glowed, and she turned to the girl, who didn't seem afraid anymore. She stalked over, dropping to her knees in front of her. She put a claw under the girl's chin, tilting it up to face her.

"Well, it's been fun but now it's time-" She stopped short. Something sharp dug into the side of her neck, and the girl let out a gasp of air. Lapis' jaws parted and she crawled backwards, her vision starting to spin. She dropped to her back, grimacing as her limbs started to go numb. She looked up sleepily, the girl was standing over her, a worried look planted across her face. Lapis fought back against it, but the force of whatever she'd injected into her was stronger. She dropped into darkness.

"W-well...played."

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