a lot of people will look at you
Aria
They cut through the narrow street, boards slick underfoot, the smell of brine thick enough to taste. Ahead, a sound split the air—Spice’s hiss, sharp and metallic, followed by the crack of something freezing. The noise made every hair on the back of his neck stand up.
By the time he reached the alley, the scene hit him like a gut punch. The dog had Aria cornered against a stack of barrels, its body wound tight as wire, lips peeled back from wet teeth. A sheet of frost glittered across the boards between them.
Spice stood between predator and prey, wings spread wide, her scales flashing.
Aria’s ears flattened, her pupils blown wide. She didn’t understand what she was seeing—this glittering creature with frost breath—but she knew power when she felt it. Confusion trembled through her body; she pressed herself lower, tail sweeping the boards, trying to make sense of it. Somewhere in the back of her little animal mind, a faint memory of the other dragon flickered to life—the gentle one called 'Sugar'. Maybe that was why she didn’t bolt or something stupider like try to fight it lol.
The hound tested the frost, claws scraping against the thin ice. It barked, a hoarse, ugly sound, and then lunged, half-slipping, half-charging through the slick patch toward the cub. Its eyes were wild, its own hunting instincts sending it into frenzy.
Damien didn’t think. He just moved.
He hit the alley hard, voice cracking through the air. “Hey!”
The hatchet kept along his belt was in his hand before he realized it, the blade flashing once as he stepped in. His voice dropped to a growl. “Back off!”
He didn’t swing, not yet. Not if he didn't have to. But everything in his stance said he absolutely would. He alone was a wall, his weight shifted forward, his presence suddenly the largest thing in that narrow space. If the dog really wanted its catch, it'd have to go through him first.
The dog skidded to a stop a few feet away, hackles high, eyes flicking between the man, the dragon, the trembling cub.
Aria stared too, frozen—not just with fear, but with something deeper. Recognition, maybe. The shape of him there between her and the danger, the sound of his voice cutting through the cold, it hit her somewhere fear couldn’t reach. Her heartbeat stuttered, then steadied. The familiar scent of him cut through the chaos and anchored her.
Damien’s voice was quieter now, but no less intimidating as he faced the dog and raised his arms. “Go on, get out of here!”
Damien
but only a few will see you
