So I know I was supposed to avoid the alligators but I couldn't help myself.

All morning long I had sat watching from a distance as the water dragons sunned themselves, hearing the occasional hissing sound they made when they grew angry with one another and my legs ached, simply ached, to get closer. It wasn't my fault they started going that way without me telling them too - who knew that the body could do what it wanted? When I realized what I was doing I just gave in, deciding that I should follow my instincts. That is what mother trained us to do. Follow your instincts, Aster, they almost never lead you wrong. I remember her gruff words as she tried to teach me and Lazarus and I had obediently sat there and listened. One day one of us would rule Iromar, she said, and a Prince and Princess needed to know how to be a good wolf and a good leader. Well, she was called the Dragon Slayer right? So she killed one of these things and she was an Empress, strong and mighty, and if I wanted to be an Empress one day then I needed to learn what I could so that I could slay one too.

At least, I let myself think that was the sole reason I crept closer. When I just so happened to stumble upon a huge nest of gator eggs, well, it was the jackpot. I never would have known what it was except that a raccoon had dug them up before me - where was he now? It makes my ears perk, nose twitching as I try and sort through the scents but they are all tangled together. I hear a hiss behind me, the slow parting of grass, and turn my green eyes in the direction, the blue around my iris seeming to enlarge when I spy a reptilian face aimed in my direction.

It is only a breath of a moment that we stare at each other, my heart pounding in not just fear but exhilaration and a bit of arrogance, and the moment I see it's jaws open I snap my maw down and grab the first egg I see. I hear it move, a sudden flash of noise and I dart off even as the mother snaps in the spot I just stood. I was a hairs breadth from death! I ran parallel to the water, almost squealing in surprise when I spy another alligator in front of me at the last moment but instead I pin my ears back and jump. I land on it's back and am immediately tossed off but I am good at balancing and I land on my feet with the egg still in my mouth. My white paws are no longer pristine and are covered in dirt as I race away from the hissing, angry dragons, my lips grinning around my catch. The red that underscores my eyes seems to take over at the squinting amusement of my eyes.

Honestly if Halcyon hadn't of yelped I probably would have passed him right by but my red lined ears prick and I turn towards him, the gray that starts between my ears and lines down my back seeming to lift. I trot to him, tail raised high suddenly as I stop and set the alligator egg down between my front paws. "Halcyon!" I practically yell the words in his face, my excitement so clear and body still fresh with adrenaline. "Look, look what I have? I STOLE IT! Right out from underneath the jaws of it's mother!" I lean down now, rump in the air and tail swinging as I bat at his face as if he is the mother of the alligator, a big grin on my lips. "She came at me and I SMACKED her, like this," slap to his muzzle, "And she ran away crying. I am going to be a good Empress one day, you watch, I will kill them all and take all the eggs I want!" Suddenly I am sitting on my haunches again, preening before him and lifting one of my black, silver, and russet legs in the air before slamming it back to the ground.

"Hey, whats wrong with you anyways?" To say that I was observant when I had my own life going on was a bit remiss but I DID try, you know.