Kalama didn't like many of the caves. It wasn't a stretch to say she hated most of them--they were either too cold or too windy or too wet. So it wasn't surprising that she hated the tunnel she was currently in. It was all of her least favorite characteristics combined into one hellish maze of a tunnel. She rarely travelled out of Canis, and this tunnel, which she mentally dubbed Shit Tube, was a pretty good reminder why.

She needed to find the collector though-wherever he may be. Her best guess was Polaris, so here she was, wandering tunnel H. She didn't exactly know where she was. She wasn't lost. There was no way she was lost. She was just familiarizing herself with her surroundings. Kalama didn't get lost. She squawked in annoyance as a drop of water landed on her back, and resisted the urge to attack the tunnel's ceiling. She was better than that. More controlled, cooler than the ice against the walls. Kalama did, however, scream at the tunnel. A wordless, rage filled thing. She shook herself out, and continued down the tunnel.

Kalama was relieved, albeit confused when the air ahead began to warm. She fluffed her feathers, trying to trap in as much of that warm air as possible. She paused as she looked ahead. There was a massive black creature there, looking around with bright orange eyes and plumes of smoke coming from its nostrils. It was strange and terrifying, unlike anything she'd seen in the caves so far. And Kalama didn't like that. She didn't like that One Bit. She swallowed, trying to hide the tremble in her voice and spoke.
"Fat rock! Get out of my way! I'll pummel you if you move!"




Speech. Thought

All the spikes and the webbed wings reminded Kalama of something. Someone she'd met before. What, or who, she wasn't quite sure of at the moment. Kalama was startled when the rock spoke, with a bellowing, deep voice. It sounded more intimidating than her, and Kalama found herself immediately jealous of the creature. It mixed strangely with her fear.

She cleared her throat, aiming to match it's bellowing voice, and narrowed a sharp, angry gaze upon it. Perhaps she could intimidate the big rock more than she was intimidated.

"If you're not a rock, then why do you have spikes like a rock, and look like a rock. Gembound don't have spikes or look like rocks!" She clucked, annoyed, as if what she were saying were both common knowledge and common sense. She was disappointed, inwardly, to find her voice couldn't match the same intimidating rumble as Dread's voice. She kept up her imitation, however. Maybe the big thing found it scary.

The dragon talking about manners was shocking to Kalama, to say the least. The last thing she was expecting was for the much larger (and scarier) animal to lecture her about manners. She was plenty polite! She hadn't attacked the giant rock when she first saw it. That was extremely polite. Her mentor had taught her well, she thought proudly."I'm plenty polite! You should be thanking me! I didn't attack you when I first saw you. I've attacked much scarier monsters than you!" She raised her wings slightly, trying to make herself look bigger.

"And I want you to move!" She snapped at it. "Don't mock me, rock lizard. I know what I mean, I have very important business to get to!" She wasn't sure where exactly she was. And she wasn't looking forward to losing the heat that big-rock-monster-thing gave off, but at the same time she didn't want to be near something that scary for much longer. But, maybe if she scared it into submission, it could be her personal cave heater. She liked the idea quite a bit, and mulled it over mentally.


Speech. Thought

Kalama was now determined to find a big spiky rock. She'd find a rock--or carve it, most likely, then throw it at this manners obsessed dragon.

Kalama wasn't often scared bad enough to knock down her wall of bravado and general lack of self preservation. But the Dread creature rising to its full height, combined with that awful roar and flash of light was enough to send her scrambling back, eyes wild. She hadn't encountered any creature with that ability. Had she known other creatures like this, she may not have been so rattled.

Kalama had never lost her composure so hard. And she resented the feeling. She would be the protector of the bonebound, she would fear nothing! The thought of showing herself so rattled, filled her with rage. This Dread's biggest mistake was assuming Kalama had the barest grasp of manners. She would not be polite. It was draconian of Dread to suggest such a thing. It was the hill would Kalama chose to die on. Her eyes hardened, and she stared at the dragon. She wasn't eager to get closer to Dread, however, she could not leave without asserting herself as the terrifying cave beast she was. Her wings snapped open, and she puffed her neck feathers.

"No! I refuse! I am Kalama, defender of the Bonebound, and you will move now!" And with that, the chicken charged at Dread.
Speech. Thought

Kalama wasn't really listening to Dread, the rumble in his voice muffled by the rumble in her ears. That was, until she heard the word die. "You think you can kill me?" She scoffed, growing even angrier. How dare this creature think she was so easily beaten. "Eat me? I'm un-killable!"

Her lack of attention made the sudden surge of fire from Dread all the more terrifying. She screeched in terror, a rare display. Kalama flapped her wings in an attempt to slow down her charge. And not a moment too soon. She felt the heat of Dread's flame roll over her head, singeing her already dark feathers. Somewhere in the back of Kalama's mind, her common sense told her that Dread was a dangerous gembound, and what she was doing was extremely stupid. Kalama easily ignored it. She clapped her beak angrily, and began strutting backwards, away from Dread.

"You're dead, Dread. You won't win against me. I fear no fire. I'll be taking your gemstone as a trophy, unless you give up, rock!" Teacher told her not to start fights, but Dread had attacked back, meaning it was ok to fight him now, she was sure. Plus, he had started by asking her to be polite. The Bonebound would love it if she brought dragon bones back, right? They loved all bones. She crowed loudly, in an attempt to intimidate him, still backing up. "Bow to me, and you can live as my cave warmer."


Speech. Thought

Kalama stared at Dread expectantly, waiting for him to accept her as superior.

"Well? Do you give in?" She said, and tilted her head.

What she wasn't expecting, however, was the dragon deciding to attack her. At least, not so suddenly. Dread charged at her, all 8 foot of dragon against all 2 feet of Kalama. Beneath all the bravado, Kalama was still afraid of Dread, and the small bit of prey drive left in Kalama took over, and she attempted to sprint away, but she was a chicken, and Dread was a dragon. Kalama was quickly overtaken by the much larger creature, and his jaws closed over her.

Kalama screeched in pain. She had felt pain before, nicks and bites, minor burns and prickles, but nothing like this. Nothing like the agony of getting her limbs and ribs crushed by Dread like brittle sticks. She lost consciousness quickly in the face of such pain, and the brownish grey stone of her flint surged over her, starting around her spur, and slowly wrapping around the rest of her leg, then her torso, until she was entombed in an odd, oblong chrysalis of hard flint.

Speech. Thought