Our adventure begins in the port town of Hargeon, where Ryuko had been tasked with tracking down a crew of pirates who had been terrorizing the innocent citizen of the town. She was on the edge of capturing them, until a certain brown-haired girl gets herself caught up in the mess and ends up becoming the target of the pirate's next kidnapping attempt.

"Oi, get back here!" Ryuko's long black coat fluttered behind her, the tails of her red scarf waving to the side, as she chased after the pirates through the streets of Hargeon. They had managed to snatch up some unfortunate girl and were taking her off towards their hideout.

"Dammit!" She cursed under her breath and continued the chase, but before she could reach the group, a man blocked her path. It was Bitslow, one of the five pirates Ryuko was chasing, and a powerful mage with an annoying ability. "Heheh, you're not getting through me that easily dragon girl." He smirked and put his fingers to his lips, letting out a shrill whistle. Suddenly, many wooden dolls appeared from the shadows, all with an evil grin painted on their faces."Shit.." Ryuko groaned. She knew what was coming. Bitslow had the ability to control people by putting his "babies" into them and possessing their bodies. She had been trying to avoid fighting him because she knew that if she got too close, she would end up risking the townsfolk from getting possessed. "Now, come and play with my babies!" The dolls launched themselves at Ryuko, and she barely managed to dodge them in time, rapidly beating her wings to get airborne as she continued flying down the street, but more dolls kept appearing and chasing underneath her. "Gah! You guys are so annoying!" She grumbled, looking around for an escape.

Then, something caught her eye. A head of brown hair, tied up in a messy ponytail. She was being carried off by a different group of pirates, heading towards their hideout.

WC: 334

Ryuko's eyes widened and she quickly flew in that direction, dodging more dolls along the way. But it seemed like the dolls had other plans. "Go, babies!" Bitslow yelled. A group of dolls flew in front of her, blocking her path. She tried to fly around them, but more came and surrounded her. "Damnit!" She growled and quickly landed on the ground, her tail lashing in irritation. "Come on, play with us!" The dolls chanted. "Fine. If you won't let me go, then I'll just have to destroy you!" She raised a hand in front of her, chanting the incantation that felt like a natural verse to her: "By thy name, come into existence: Mana wolf!" As the magic circle emerged in front of her, the majestic wolf emerged from within the circle, letting out a sharp howl.

"Baryon Formation!" Bitslow yelled. The dolls immediately grouped up into a large sphere and started charging at the mana wolf. "Focus on destroying those things!" Ryuko ordered. The wolf jumped into the air, dodging the attack, and then turned around and charged at the dolls, tearing them to pieces with its powerful jaws. Bitslow gasped. "No way.. my babies!" He yelled.

As the fight between Ryuko and Bitslow's dolls raged on, the brown-haired girl was carried off by the pirate group. She looked up at the man who was carrying her. He had blonde hair, slicked back, and a large scar running across his left eye. "Don't you worry, little missy," he said. "We won't hurt you too bad, as long as you behave yourself." She shivered and tried to break free, but he only tightened his grip around her. "You should be grateful. We'll be selling you off as a slave in the black market somewhere far far away from here." He smirked. Her eyes widened in terror. "Slave?!" She exclaimed. "That's right. You're a pretty one. You'll make us a lot of money." He laughed, and she could hear the other pirates laughing as well.

WC: 335
Total WC: 669

Meanwhile, during the fight between Ryuko and Bitslow, the moment the puppets collapsed the dragon girl saw her opportunity! A hand raised forward, chanting once more. "By thy name, come into existence:" Mana Wolf!" As a second wolf emerged from the magic circle it already sensed Ryuko's intentions: "Mana Wolf, use your Arcane Bolt on it!" Ryuko commanded and the beast obeyed, blasting the remaining puppets with a powerful magical bolt.

Bitslow gasped as he watched his babies get destroyed. "No...No way!" He cried, falling to his knees in despair. But Ryuko was not one to sit idle as she rapidly beat her wings and rushed after the escaping pirates, her wolves following after her. "I'm not done yet!" She yelled, catching up to the group quickly.

"Now, now, just calm down. You'll get a nice place to stay with us." The pirate laughed and turned to face her. "You!" He growled. "I thought I told you to leave us alone!" He drew his sword, ready to fight, but Ryuko was faster. She lunged forward and knocked him to the ground, grabbing hold of the girl. "Sorry about this," she said, as she rapidly flew backward, disorientating the poor girl and soon lowering her safely near some of the bewildered guards.

The pirates were no match for her. With the help of her wolves, she quickly took care of them and turned them in to the authorities. She sighed in relief, knowing that she had done her job, and looked down at the brown-haired girl. "Hey, you alright?" She asked.

Ryuko was a tall woman, especially among human standards, with long red hair that she often allowed to flow freely. One of the mysterious things about her was her dual-colored eyes and wore a long black coat with red trim, matching her scarf and boots. However, when the poor girl thanked her Ryuko merely smiled warmly at her, telling her that she was simply 'doing her job' as a hero.

She couldn't help but notice how beautiful the girl was. Her hair was a beautiful shade of brown, and her eyes were a deep blue. She looked at the girl with admiration, before shaking her head and telling her to go home.

WC: 379
Total WC: 1048

"Thank you so much for saving me!" She smiled brightly at Ryuko, who felt her cheeks heating up a bit. "O-Oh it's nothing really!" She laughed nervously, rubbing the back of her neck. She had to keep in mind Maple was waiting for her return at their camp in the forest. And since she had finally been able to deal with the wicked pirates and their latest schemes it seemed like a good time to return home.
But even as Ryuko began making her way back towards the forest she couldn't help but turn to glance back at the girl one last time, her heart racing at the sight of the girl smiling at her. It was not the attraction toward the girl that made her heart race, no it was something else.

Her heart skipped another beat when she noticed a small hint of saliva trailing down the side of her mouth, and rapidly she wiped it away, attempting to clear her mind. Yes, it must had been the excitement at doing something good! Surely it couldn't be something as dark and vile as the primal hunger that her unusual condition brought upon her. She was so similar to what mortals might call a ghoul. But she refused to partake in their wicked ways.

She was a noble dragon! and would never feast on the flesh of the innocent. Even if the primal hunger demanded it of her. Despite all that Ryuko still couldn't help but feel that sickening sensation as she made her way toward the outskirts of the forest. She knew Maple was there, waiting for her return. And yet, the hunger continued to haunt her. When the matter finally reached a boiling point as one of the pirates who had been hiding during the commotion yelled out to her: "I finally caught up to you, Ryuko!"

The moment the pirate's voice reached her ears, Ryuko turned around to face him. Her eyes widened and she froze in place as she saw him aiming a gun right at her. "You've caused us a lot of trouble," he said. "So we're gonna make you pay!" He fired the gun and Ryuko instinctively dodged to the side, narrowly avoiding being hit by the bullet. But as she did so, she felt a sudden surge of pain shoot through her body. She gasped and fell to her knees, clutching her stomach.

WC: 401
Total WC: 1448

The primal hunger had reached its peak. There was no denying it now, she was a monster. But this time she could not help herself. She needed to eat. She looked up at the pirate and grinned, her sharp teeth bared. "You want to make me pay?" She chuckled dryly. "Then come on. Make me pay." She stood up and walked toward him, her tail swinging behind her. "Let's see what you got." As the pirate began shooting at her, Ryuko was easily able to endure the shots as they ricochetted off her scales, rendering his attacks useless, before launching her own counter-attacks. With every dodge, she got closer and closer to him, and finally, she grabbed his arm and pulled him close, biting into his flesh and ripping it off. He screamed in pain and terror and tried to break free from her grasp.

An almost feral desire arose within her as she licked her lips. the blood tasted sweet, and it quelled the hunger inside of her. Yet even then, as she tasted the flesh of the criminal she knew something within her had been lost, replaced by that dark hunger for more bloodshed.

The pirate had been reduced to nothing but a twitching pile of meat. He wasn't dead yet, but he was too weak to move or even speak. His eyes were wide open and filled with fear as he watched her devour him. As she wiped some of the blood from her mouth she felt herself recovering from her stupor, her eyes glowing red as she stared at him. "Now you understand," she said, her voice dripping with venom toward the criminal, and disgust toward herself. "I might not be the hero this town needs, but I'm the monster that is needed to deal with vermin like you."

Ryuko let go of his arm, letting him fall to the ground in a heap, and walked away

WC: 321
Total WC: 1769

It didn't take long for the aftermath of the events to catch up with her. She had just returned to the tent that Maple was using, although the half-elf was oddly enough absent, perhaps on one of her exploration trips as one of the leaf notes suggested. However, just as she tried to lie down a little and clear her mind Ryuko felt her consciousness drift away into slumber. When she woke up the dragon girl found herself in an unfamiliar place, a bleary landscape of brimstone and fire, and a ominous hooded figure looking at her.

"It seems your ascension is proceeding faster than I anticipated..." The hooded figure sounded curious, albeit slightly worried as well. "You should remain mindful of the impulses that the power of Oblivion bestows onto you Ryuko, lest you'd be consumed by them."

She recalled the previous warning, one that told her that in time she could become strong enough to overcome the influence of the Oblivion Dragon and claim its power as her own, but right now she was still too weak, too vulnerable to its corrupting influence. Was that the reason she had felt these destructive impulses earlier? Even now she wasn't entirely certain. Whatever the case might had been, there was clear urgency in her rise to power, lest she'd be consumed by her power and bring Oblivion to all she held dear! Something she refused to allow to happen...

WC: 244
Total WC: 2013