Was it really possible to be filled with righteous indignation while one was dying? You would have to assume if a being were truly dying they would be too preoccupied with more pressing matters than feeling insulted and humiliated. Ketu was choosing to assume that his level of outrage was indicative that, no matter how badly wounded and battered his body was, death was not imminent. The alternative was positively unacceptable. As a dragon his destiny was clearly something far greater than dying young before he had managed to achieve any true greatness.
Future greatness aside, Ketu focused on his walk of shame, although it was more of a limp and stumble, much to his aggravation. Each step was punctuated with a soft chorus of distressed grumbles. He could barely let his left foreleg touch the ground without a lancing pain shooting all the way through the limb, and putting weight on it was simply out of the question. Numerous sets of gashes, clearly caused by claws, were scattered across his body, a particularly deep slash across the outside of his right hind leg was producing a steady stream of blood. The rest were not as deep and they only slowly oozed blood that eventually dripped onto the earth of The Thunderblacks.
A screech split the air and a shadow zipped past him, causing Ketu to jerk his head up and nervously scan the sky. The victor of the territory dispute was apparently surveying his prize. He tried to move faster, not wishing to give the other dragon reason to attack him again. As badly wounded as he was he knew he probably would not survive another fight just then. It galled him, but wounded pride was better than dead, so he limped away as quickly as he was able.
Ketu lost track of time, and with each pained step his ego grew less important. The farther from the bloodstained battleground he moved the less important his loss seemed next to his survival. He did not enough know how far he managed to flee. It was undoubtedly still The Thunderblacks, but the young dragon did not know this place. He could not recognize any landmarks when he did manage the energy to raise his head. Raising his head actually took great effort by that point and his foreleg could no longer even touch the ground without causing unbearable pain – even the small movements caused by his labored gait were almost too much to endure. His badly damaged rear limb was being half-dragged, barely able to press on, and then suddenly taking even one more step seemed impossible.
No amount of pride could have kept Ketu on his feet, the dragon collapsed heavily, body trembling as his breath came out in ragged pants. He let himself rest for a few moments before forcing himself to crawl towards the shelter of some large boulders. It would be hard for other dragons to see him in his vulnerable condition if he hid in the shadows of the great rocks. He could stay even more hidden if his form was smaller and of a less interesting shape. It took the last of Ketu's energy to summon enough magic to shift his form from that of a dragon to a human.
Most dragons would pay little mind to an injured human hidden within the shadows of craggy boulders, right? Ketu tried to position himself in the least painful way that he could manage before closing his eyes wearily. All he needed was some rest; he would heal given enough time. He did not even consider how such a heavily injured man laying naked next to some large rocks might look to beings that were not dragons. Such thoughts were hardly his concern as he lost consciousness.
Future greatness aside, Ketu focused on his walk of shame, although it was more of a limp and stumble, much to his aggravation. Each step was punctuated with a soft chorus of distressed grumbles. He could barely let his left foreleg touch the ground without a lancing pain shooting all the way through the limb, and putting weight on it was simply out of the question. Numerous sets of gashes, clearly caused by claws, were scattered across his body, a particularly deep slash across the outside of his right hind leg was producing a steady stream of blood. The rest were not as deep and they only slowly oozed blood that eventually dripped onto the earth of The Thunderblacks.
A screech split the air and a shadow zipped past him, causing Ketu to jerk his head up and nervously scan the sky. The victor of the territory dispute was apparently surveying his prize. He tried to move faster, not wishing to give the other dragon reason to attack him again. As badly wounded as he was he knew he probably would not survive another fight just then. It galled him, but wounded pride was better than dead, so he limped away as quickly as he was able.
Ketu lost track of time, and with each pained step his ego grew less important. The farther from the bloodstained battleground he moved the less important his loss seemed next to his survival. He did not enough know how far he managed to flee. It was undoubtedly still The Thunderblacks, but the young dragon did not know this place. He could not recognize any landmarks when he did manage the energy to raise his head. Raising his head actually took great effort by that point and his foreleg could no longer even touch the ground without causing unbearable pain – even the small movements caused by his labored gait were almost too much to endure. His badly damaged rear limb was being half-dragged, barely able to press on, and then suddenly taking even one more step seemed impossible.
No amount of pride could have kept Ketu on his feet, the dragon collapsed heavily, body trembling as his breath came out in ragged pants. He let himself rest for a few moments before forcing himself to crawl towards the shelter of some large boulders. It would be hard for other dragons to see him in his vulnerable condition if he hid in the shadows of the great rocks. He could stay even more hidden if his form was smaller and of a less interesting shape. It took the last of Ketu's energy to summon enough magic to shift his form from that of a dragon to a human.
Most dragons would pay little mind to an injured human hidden within the shadows of craggy boulders, right? Ketu tried to position himself in the least painful way that he could manage before closing his eyes wearily. All he needed was some rest; he would heal given enough time. He did not even consider how such a heavily injured man laying naked next to some large rocks might look to beings that were not dragons. Such thoughts were hardly his concern as he lost consciousness.