Snippet #1964177

Thud...thud...thud... The beat of Raven's black wings sounded at her sides, cold wind that swooped out of each flap swirled the dark tops of the clouds. The small claws at the tips of each wing finger seemed to slice the air currents with every thrust of Raven's wings while her lean, massive body cut through the starry sky swiftly. Though a large dragon, Raven still could remain unseen by the eye with the helpful use of her power of shadow and the graceful sail of her flight.

She then turned her nose slightly upward, and flickered her long snake-like tongue to capture any scent of prey. Her location was mostly of hills and rocky cliffs, but there was sure to be wild life within the area. Maybe even wandering humans...
The misty touch of the clouds speckled her flicking tongue, along with the cold rushing winds. Which constantly tried to try the saliva on Raven's tongue every time she tasted the air.

Besides the scent of the landscape air, nothing came to her. Raven retrieved her tongue and curled her lips at the empty smell. She flexed her talons, eager to feel freshly killed prey in her grasp. Raven bared her teeth and growled, she will not go tonight empty handed!

After hours of hunting, the black dragon found herself flying above a lush green forest. It stretched forth onto the horizon, the canopies rocked in the night wind whispering their leaves. Raven scanned the forest, sharp eyes glaring into its shadows for a meal. Luckily, Raven could fly at a great height and still be able to search through the darkness of the trees. The arms of her wings outstretched fully, expanding the thin membranes as she glided silently. Her dark menacing head lowered and turned as the two glowing blue eyes peered among the branches. Besides the whispers of the wind, the forest seemed very quiet. This brought an idea to Raven. The creatures are silent perhaps, because they feel there's no danger. But, of course, there is danger. There is a beast out to make her kill on one of the innocent woodland creatures. So, why not give them a little...jolt?

Raven's lips turned up in a toothy grin, then peeled back as she pried open her jaws and let out a deep roar. The thundering sound burst from her throat and out through the air, clearly alarming the sleeping animals of the forest. As her roar began to die down, Raven rolled her joints and pulled in her wings to swoop down to the canopies, only to slash her tail across the upper branches. The loud crack of Raven's tail snapping thick limbs of the trees certainly frightening her prey and soon, the area was sounding with alerts. Raven used their cries as an advantage and dipped down towards the bellowing alarms from larger mammals such as deer or moose.

More loud cracks and thuds exploded around the trees as Raven crashed through the tangled crosses of tree branches. Her wings clasped against the trees, even trapping birds in the membranes as they tried to fly away. The thundering beat of Raven's wings filled the silence of the woodlands along with the continuing snaps of tree limbs. Raven let out a vicious snarl and slashed at thick tree trunks and skittering squirrels, leaving splintered gashes in the wood. Satisfied that she had alerted this part of the forest, Raven gave a powerful beat of her wings and lifted herself back over the trees.

She flew much closer to the canopies now. Jerking her snarling head at the different alerts of retreating animals. A new fire burned within her, a drive to not stop untill she's satisfied. The thrill of the hunt. A bellow sounded just beneath her that quickly caught Raven's attention. She jerked her head towards the noise and peered down into the branches below. A wide display of moose antlers was the first to be spotted, bobbing upon an arched head. Raven then managed to make out the moose's thick shoulders, rocking in the rythm of a thundering gallop. Her leathery lips peeled back over her long sharp teeth in a hungry growl. Black pupils formed a slit on their gleaming blue orbs as Raven let out a hunters' roar and dove down onto the poor moose. Deadly talons sank into the soft earth to land her right on top of the moose, just as she plunged her head downwards and locked her powerful jaws around the thrashing animal. The large moose let out a gut wrenching howl when it felt her teeth pop into its thick flesh. Its hooves kicked in vain trying to fight against her, but as the solid crunch of its heavy rib cage sounded, the moose soon went limp.

Raven glared down her snout at the large brown animal locked in her jaws and grumbled in satisfaction. She kneaded the soft ground before leaping off of the forest floor into the air with the moose dangling from her teeth.

After landing at the far border of the same forest and feasting on her prize, Raven settled herself to digest her meal at the edge of a cliff. She gripped her talons around the mighty boulders of the grassy cliff and growled contently. Her castle is not far at all, infact, the reason why Raven could leave her beloved fortress was because she was still in kingdom territory. Not only does Raven's heart beat within the castle, it also beats within the castle's territory. Therefore, the wicked dragon isn't bound to cling onto the stone towers of The Black Castle. But, even though the territory is large, this makes it harder to keep constant protection on the castle for there is so much land she can roam.

At the break of dawn, Raven gathered herself and left the cliff on to her shadowed castle to keep watch upon its stone walls.