2 years later...

     Delta could NOT believe his luck.

     In a span of 2 years, EVERYTHING POSSIBLE went wrong. He'd been forced to fight in Scarlets arena, banished and kicked out of almost every single possible kingdom, except the rain forest, Night Kingdom, and the Ice Kingdom. And of course why not, Queen Moorhen's hunting him down just because he ACCIDENTALLY gave away their location when they were trying to lay an ambush. So now, Delta was being hunted down on their home turf. Great he thought sarcastically. On the bright side, he had a run in with a Nightwing. Delta helped him him find a, "Six-Claws", and in return, the Nightwing taught him how to use stealth, blend in with your environment, and his personal favorite, how to use poison darts and Chakrams. Delta was a natural at using them. So now, he could defend himself, which was pretty helpful when dealing with unfriendly Scavengers and the odd Icewing. But, like all things, the friendship wasn't meant to last. In the middle of a confrontation with a few Skywings, the Nightwing left him to face them alone. Let's just say that he got a few new scars to add to his collection.

     All right, time to stop narrating. Delta chided himself. You got'a get up and find another place to hide before those Mudwings find you! At this last part, Delta heaved himself up, and immediately wished he hadn't. His "home" was more of a hole than it was a hideout. He dug it on the side of one of the rivers that led to the Diamond Spray Delta, his namesake. He  had covered the entrance with some vines and mosses, so the thing was entirely hidden. Delta's back scraped uncomfortably across the roof of his "cave". He forgot how much he's grown over these past 2 years. Three moons, he's even bigger than those jerks who knocked him out! Try to do that to me now!, Delta thought. They'd have one HECK of a surprise! As Delta emerged from his cave, he stopped and took in his surroundings. The early morning light, combined with the river spray, created a beautiful show. "Man, I wish my days were ALWAYS this beautiful!" Delta said to himself. He sat on a ledge, overlooking the river for a few hours. Of course, his peace was interrupted. This time in the form of a grumbling stomach. Ugh, FIINE! Delta thought unhappily. Why does my stupid Mudwing Appetite have to kick in at the worst time possible! As if it heard, his stomach growled again, this time louder. With a sigh, Delta heaved his body up and dived off the cliff into the water below. As his scales hit the water, his crankiness immediately fell away as the cold, refreshing water swirled around him. Now it's time to eat!

     Delta was not happy. He found zero animals large enough to eat. Sure there was the occasional careless scavenger or slow crocodile, but not enough to fulfill his dying stomach's needs. After about 2 hours of fruitless searching, he dragged his starving and sore body out from the river and prepared for the long flight back to his hole. As he was about to lift off, he heard something. A rustling in the brush to his left. Delta immediately went into a defensive stance, and waited. When nothing came out, he turned hopeful as a sweet oder reaches his snout. OOH! I hope it's something good! Like a deer, or even better, a COW! Cows are good too! As Delta was thinking this, his talons had dragged his body to the rustling bush. It shook again. Delta was just about to run in talons blazing when he heard a squeak. What the- Delta thought confusedly. Is that a mouse?! He parted the bush with his claws, and revealed something... CUTE?! An OTTER? Delta thought. Sure enough, snuggled amongst the the litter, was a cute, brown, big-eyed, baby otter.

     He stared at it, and the otter stared back, with surprisingly cute, dragon-like eyes. Squid-brain! Delta cursed himself. It's prey! No matter how cute it looks, it's still food! Remember how starved you are? JUST EAT IT! But Delta couldn't. No matter how much his brain and stomach kicked and yelled, his heart still refused. In a way, the otter reminded Delta of himself. Alone, no friends(stupid Qibli!) or family. Just him against the world. For a few agonizing minutes, Deltas body was torn. But then, one side won, and he opened his mouth.

     "It's ok, I won't hurt you!" Delta said softly. He tried to smile, but that just scared the otter even further. Eventually, he settled for laying a trail of fish to him, and lied down with 1 eye open. At first, he (I think?) was a bit hesitant, and skittered and yipped whenever he saw Delta. But he eventually fell for it and ate the fish trail all the way to Delta's talons, where it stopped and sat on his hunches, staring up at him. Seeing this, Delta SLOWLY raised his head, and when the otter didn't react, his body. For a minute, they each sat and stared at one another, until the otter moved toward Deltas talons. He couldn't help but admire the otters curiosity and bravery for running up to a dragon. Delta extended his arm until it brushed against the otters head.

     Eventually, he started to pet the otters soft, furry head. I never knew prey could be so cute! Delta though. I wonder if I would be surprised with any other prey? The otter slowly began to climb Deltas arm, until it clung tightly onto his neck. "So you want to come with me? Delta asked. In response, it chirped and clung tighter. "Ok, you asked for it!" Delta unfolded his wings and took off.

     Delta glided on a draft toward his home. He tried to avoid flapping his wings, so he wouldn't accidentally knock off the otter. Speaking of that, Delta felt the otter start to climb his head, until 2 big eyes and a fuzzy head peered over his eyes. "I need a name for you, since I can't keep calling you food!" Delta remarked. As he was thinking, the otter rolled down his head and onto his back, where it stayed. Delta flapped his wings again, thinking. "How about Mudslide?" The otter chirped again and grabbed Deltas neck tighter. Delta chuckled. "I'll take that as a yes!" Delta slowly flew toward his hole. And for the first time in 2 years, the world seemed less dark than a Nightwings butt. Hey! Delta thought. Maybe, for once, I'll finally be able to chill!

Little did he know, how wrong he was...

Dun dun duuuun! Cliffhanger! Sooo, I'm pretty sure that this chapter went well. But, I also want to hear what you think about how the story is going so far. Also, what do you think of Mudslide the otter? I added him in at the last minute, because, A) otters are my favorite animals, and B) I felt as though Delta needed a friend, so he wouldn't become all lonely and crazy. And that's it! Chapter 3 has been put on hold for a while due to crap I don't want to explain, but now it's being worked on. Also check out my other story, "Surprise From The Deep".

Until next time,

        -Delta out!