This commission was drawn by anutabelko! Go check it out in their gallery here. I love the dramatic angle and the scenery here. That light in Ashar's eyes, whew!

Being fearsome and threatening has never been Ashar's favorite part about being a dragon. He doesn't want to scare people, he wants to make friends, and people won't be happy and relaxed and open if they're afraid of the big ferocious dragon! But sometimes putting on a more fierce display is necessary: a dragon can only let himself be pushed so far, whether he needs to defend territory, hoard, personal space, or his own safety... He circled in the air, took a deep breath to gather himself and growl in his throat, building himself up, then he swooped down into the field to land with a [i]thump.[/i]

The humans had known he was there of course--his coloration wasn't exactly camouflage--but they must not have expected him to land, especially not so close; they jumped back with yelps of surprise, and he stepped forward, head coming down to glare. "You should turn around."

One of them fell down on his rump, and the other turned and fled at once. The remaining man seemed almost frozen in place; Ashar kept his wings up, growling fiercely and stomping a paw in the grass, but they still they didn't move until he lashed his tail and barked, go! Now!"

That got the human moving, trying to turn and get up at the same time, falling, then getting up into a stumbling run and dashing towards the trees. Ashar didn't pursue, he just bared his teeth and growled as they ran, and only when they'd vanished from sight did he relax, closing his eyes and letting the tension drain from his body with a sigh. Being scary always felt like it was hard work, but at least it was effective...