Prologue The starship Wraith drops out of hyperspace with a barely perceptible shudder that sets the crystal ware in the luxurious main passenger lounge gently tinkling. The ship's select group of passengers gather at the expansive viewports to gaze at the mountainous world of Mon Slattis hanging heavily in the black void of space before them. The ship accelerates again and glides down into the planet's atmosphere. The Tkrojans Sang and Ajax are holding beers, boisterously teasing each other about their selections for the day's hunt. The asinine Kinto stands a short distance away, glaring at them disdainfully as he sips his koumiss and secretly hoping that he beats them both. Next to him, the vulpine Halo is holding a small glass of clear liquid with a fruit floating in it while absentmindedly stroking the head of her young slave vixen with her other hand; her long, bushy tail sways seductively below the hem of her short, revealing dress and she licks her lips in anticipation of what's to come. Their host and owner of the Wraith, the Tkrojan Rakhmonov, isn't drinking anything; his expression is, as always, inscrutable. The Wraith levels out about 30 meters above the forested canopy of a narrow valley wedged between two rocky mountain ranges. The ship glides silently forward until it is hovering above a circular, grassy clearing and then descends to only a few meters above the turf. A hatch in the Wraith's underside opens and a large metal box is carefully lowered onto the ground. The hatch closes and the ship ascends rapidly back into the sky. In the lounge, the passengers gather around a wall of vidscreens; the forest here is saturated with cameras to guarantee that no one misses any of the action. They've finished their drinks and are watching intently for what will come next. Sang and Ajax continue to lightly shove each other and Kinto takes a few steps to the side, moving him closer to Halo; her arm is now draped around her slave's shoulder. Rakhmonov is on the intercom with the pilots, who are keeping an eye out for the star of the show. After about five minutes, she appears, approaching fast from the mountains to the east. Her great leathery wings are beating furiously, her long neck outstretched, and her every sensory organ focused on the box in the clearing. Rakhmonov gives the signal and all four sides of the box fall open, exposing the day's quarry: an equine, a vulpine, a gazelle, a lapine, and a caprine; all female and all dressed in nothing but their fur and the ankle bands that mark them as slaves. The hunt is on. ** Part 1 - Spectator I watch intently on the vidscreens as the hovering dragon trims her wings and drops towards the clearing and the prey bolt from the box. Right away two of them - the vixen and the rabbit - make the mistake of looking back and freeze up immediately at the sight of the dragon. They experience less than a minute of freedom before the dragon swallows them both whole, kicking and screaming. Sang punches Ajax on the arm and Ajax punches back; I can't even remember which one of them was betting on the rabbit. Next to me, Halo throws down her betting slip in frustration and pulls her arm to her side, catching her slave in a stranglehold. The other three prey, however, promise to be more interesting to watch. They all dash off in different directions into the forest. Instantaneously, various screens on the wall change perspective to follow them while the large central screen remains focused on the dragon. The dragon raises her head and sniffs the air for a moment before rocketing back into the sky. I watch on the screen as the leaves stir in the wake of her low-flying passage above the treetops. Suddenly, the great beast rolls and dives, crashing through the branches towards the forest floor. The vidscreen shifts perspective to show the equine slave dive out of the way; and the dragon's jaws gnash the empty air where the equine had been just a split second ago. The dragon pulls herself out of the trees, her claws leaving deep score marks on tree trunks and her thrashing tail uprooting saplings. I scan the multiple screens, trying to figure out where she is in relation to the mare. The main screen maintains focus on the equine as she runs through the forest, stumbling over roots, her panicked eyes looking in every direction, her nostrils flared, her ears flat against her skull, her white hide flecked with sweat. Then, with a suddenness that makes us all jump, the dragon's tail appears out of nowhere and knocks the mare off her hooves, sending her crashing to the ground. The dragon's head lowers through the branches and I see on another screen that the beast is actually perched in the branches, clawed feet clutching sturdy limbs, wings outstretched for balance. The fallen mare rises to her knees, blood oozing onto her snowy hide from a dozen cuts, including a large gash above her right eye. The equine raises her arms in front of her face in an instinctual bid to protect herself as the dragon lunges forward. The dragon wraps her long tongue around the mare's body and begins to pull her into her maw. Impressively, and much to my delight, the mare turns out to be quite a fighter. She punches and scratches every part of the dragon within her reach, and she kicks ferociously at the tongue trying to wrap around her legs, but she really stands no chance. The dragon's tongue jerks upward, slamming the mare's head into the upper palate at an awkward angle. Taking advantage of the equine's brief dazed state, the dragon forces her farther back in her mouth. I think it's over until the mare suddenly extends her arms and grabs ahold on the edges of the dragon's mouth. The dragon chokes and sputters, trying to force the mare back with her tongue, but the sight of the dragon's bottomless black gullet mere inches from her snout seems to have given the mare a new burst of strength. Predator and prey are locked in a stalemate for several moments, the mare holding on with all her might, legs kicking at the mouth surrounding her, and the dragon grabbing every bit of mare she can with her tongue. Then, the dragon suddenly snaps her jaws shut and a muffled scream can be heard from inside the beast's maw as the mare's arms are neatly broken. The dragon opens her mouth and tosses her head back, giving us one last look at the screaming, bleeding mare. With a forceful gulp, the mare's head disappears into the dragon's throat. After a few more gulps, all that can be seen are the mare's kicking hooves and a struggling bulge slowly moving down the dragon's throat. I tear up my betting slip in pretend disgust while hoping no one will notice the bulge in my pants. I had been betting on the mare to be the last prey taken by the dragon, but the show she put on is enough consolation for me. ** Part 2 - Predator I lick my lips as my throat muscles force the equine down into my stomach. I can feel her hooves kicking determinedly all the way down until she joins the squirming mass of digesting prey in my stomach. I feel pretty full, but I know from experience that I have room for a couple more. I raise my head and crane my neck, listening for the two remaining preys. Then one of them shouts out suddenly. She's just sealed her own doom. I flap my wings and pull myself back into the sky, aiming for the source of the sound. It doesn't take me long to pick up on the scent of a female gazelle. The reek of her fear stands out against the background smell of the forest like lightning against the night sky. I drop through the canopy, branches scraping harmlessly against my armored hide, and land on all fours on the ground directly in front of her. The gazelle looks up at my bulging, squirming belly, then further up at my grinning face, and shrieks. She's lying in the dirt on her back; I wonder why she doesn't run and quickly see why. Her ankle is bent at an unnatural angle. She must have tripped and injured herself. It must have hurt; no wonder she shouted before. Well, I know how to fix that. I watch as she tries to pull herself away from me with her elbows. This amuses me for about ten seconds before I get bored, and I step forward, crushing her injured leg beneath my forepaw. The bones crack beneath my claws like dry twigs. The gazelle screams again and tears flood out of her eyes as I smile. I wrap the claws of my forepaw around her midsection and lift her up to my face as I sit back on my haunches. She continues to struggle spiritedly, her tiny fists pounding against my claws. Some preys just don't know when to give up. I sink my teeth into the flesh of her upper legs and the gazelle screams again. I'm beginning to find her lack of stimulating conversation to be tiresome. I squeeze my forepaw around her chest and her scream becomes a breathless gasp. Her ribs crackle satisfyingly, and her mouth gapes silently. Only her wide-open eyes, running with tears and fixated on my jaws around her legs tell me that she's still alive. I tighten my grip on her legs and pull. Her flesh begins to tear, until her spine disconnects somewhere within her lower back with a delicious-sounding pop. Steaming red entrails spill out from the gazelle's torso onto the ground far below. Her eyes widen in unmistakable horror as I swallow her lower half. Despite her constricted chest she manages to scream again. She has truly impressive lungs. I twirl some of her spilled intestines around a claw on my other forepaw and slurp at them as I watch the gazelle watch me. She's losing a lot of blood, but she's taking far too long for my liking to die. I lick the last of her intestines off my claw and insert it into her body cavity. It doesn't take me long to find what I'm looking for; it's beating like crazy. I spear her heart on my claw and tear it free from her body. I hold the tiny lump of bloody muscle in front of her and she stares at it. Her mouth closes and opens soundlessly. Her bright eyes go dim, but don't close. I pop the gazelle's heart into my mouth and then the rest of her lifeless yet warm body. I swallow it down in one gulp. One more prey to go. ** Part 3 - Prey The screaming of the gazelle echoes continuously in my ears. Inside my head, I beg for it to stop, but when it does I find the silence is even worse. I know the dragon will come for me next, and I know I have no chance of outrunning the horrible beast. My only chance is to find a place to hide where it can't find me. My feet pound across the leaf strewn forest floor as I search for a cave, or a hollow log, or anything that I can squeeze my small caprine body into. Then, above the hastened beating of my own heart, I hear a new sound: the beat of huge leathery wings, coming from somewhere to my right. I veer left and keep running. A patch of blackness catches my eye and I pause; there's a muddy hollow beneath that tree. I kneel down to look inside and I wonder if I can fit. The sound of wings is closer now; I never should have stopped. I start running again, pushing aside saplings and vaulting over logs. I spy a dense thicket of twisted bushes and dash into it without hesitating. The dragon's too big to follow, I think I might be safe here. Branches and twigs catch at my fur and scratch my skin as I push deeper into the thicket. The ground shakes; I can't see it through the branches but I know the dragon has landed somewhere close by. I freeze and try to make myself invisible, but my white hide isn't really the best camouflage. Suddenly, a claw splinters through the branches to my right and I instinctively begin to move to my left. I still can't see the dragon's face, so I can only hope that it hasn't seen me. I carefully snake my way through the gnarled maze of vegetation, desperate to keep ahead of the beast. I look over my shoulder; the dragon is forcing its way through the thicket, claws tearing at branches, indiscriminately uprooting entire plants in its determination to catch me. As I'm looking, the beast forces its head through the branches and our eyes lock for a second; I yell and the dragon roars. I double my pace and keep crawling deeper into the almost impenetrable tangle of branches, which thankfully shows no signs of thinning. I ignore as best I can the branches catching at my body and the sound of splintering wood behind me. Then, without warning, the ground disappears beneath me and I find myself sliding down a steep slope of bare dirt. The slide stops abruptly and I land awkwardly on a flat grassy space about 5 meters wide. Behind me, the slope rises at least that high to where the branches of the thicket overhang the edge; it's too steep and the dirt too loose for me to climb. I crawl forward to peer beyond the edge of the grass and what I see makes me jump back in fear. I've always been afraid of heights, and there's a second, rockier slope plummeting down to a fast moving river far below. I quickly crawl back to the base of the slope I just slid down. The grassy area extends a good distance to my left and to my right; there are a few scraggly bushes but nothing that would provide enough cover. Before I can figure out what to do, the dragon drops out of the sky and lands on the grass in front of me, between me and the river. It rises up on its haunches and looks down at me as I instinctively try to crawl backwards up the slope. I might be imagining it, but the beast appears to be smiling smugly. It occurs to me that it must have known this ledge was here; it was never its intent to catch me in the thicket, only to force me down here. I'm trapped and I know it. We both know it. I let my body sag in defeat; I'm nothing but meat now. A clawed forepaw reaches down and I squeeze my eyes shut, my body tense, waiting for the killing blow. It doesn't come. Instead, I feel the claws gently wrap around my body, applying no more pressure than is absolutely necessary. I open my eyes as I'm lifted bodily into the air until the dragon and I are looking eye-to-eye. The dragon licks its lips, or whatever it has that pass for lips, and I shudder. The beast opens its mouth wide and its hot breath washes over me, smelling somewhat of overcooked meat. I look down into a gaping cave of pink muscle and terrifying white teeth as I'm lowered down to my death. A long purple tongue reaches out and begins to wrap around my legs. I realize that I probably should be crying, but for some reason I don't feel particularly scared anymore. Before, I was frightened about what would happen when I was caught, but so far it hasn't been so bad. The dragon has been surprisingly gentle, in fact. As if to underscore the fact that it means me no harm, I feel the tip of the dragon's tongue gently probing my genitals. I moan in unexpected pleasure as the warm, wet tonguetip slides deeper inside of me, stimulating me far more effectively than any male I've ever known. I'm aware of the dragon's teeth bumping roughly against my lower back as I'm pulled into the mouth, but I don't care; I'm too busy concentrating on the euphoric sensation of the dragon's tongue moving about inside my vagina. My view of the sky is eclipsed by the dragon's upper jaw as my head moves into its mouth, and the beast releases its grip on my torso; I'm resting directly on the bottom of its mouth. I begin to feel something tugging at my feet; I'm about to be swallowed. I hope I get to climax before it's too late. Just as the thought crosses my mind, an intense wave of pleasure racks my body; I'm getting close. I spread my arms out and grab ahold of a large tooth on either side of me and arch my back as another sensational wave of pleasure shoots through me. My vagina contracts around the tongue and I orgasm, bleating loudly in joy. I feel the tongue pull out and begin to coil around more of my body, pulling me deeper into the dragon's throat. I feel powerful muscles tugging on my hips and then on my buttocks. I don't resist; the dragon has earned my body. "That was wonderful," I whisper, my mind locked in a blissful haze. The tip of the dragon's tongue lightly touches my face in a soft kiss. Behind me, I watch my view of the sky, framed by the dragon's toothy jaws, grow smaller and disappear. Everything goes black. ** Author's Notes: First draft completed November 16, 2009. Revisions completed November 17, 2009. Copyright Kinto Mythostian.