Suburban Wyvern Wrangling
Suburban Wyvern Wrangling
An intro I wrote over a year ago for a story I’ll likely never get around to continuing, at least not for a long while. I’m still pretty proud of this though so, thought I might as well post it. (And yes, I know the title sucks.)
Chasing after a dragon in the edge of town was the last thing Latisha wanted to be doing at 9pm.
She could be resting at home, watching some adorable parrot videos on her phone, but no, she just had to get a call from her boss telling her how there had been sightings of a cat-sized, lizard bat soaring over Minchester Park. She could be driving to her job’s local office to drop off the creature, but no, it just had to be a skittish wild dragon, rather than a more approachable domesticated one. She could be tackling the reptile to the ground right now, but no, it just had to be a British wyvern, one of the swiftest species out there. How in the world did a British wyvern even get to central Indiana? At least it was a dwarf species. But then again, if it were any larger, then a fully-equipped cryptid-catching team would have been called in to capture the beast instead of a single woman in an old hoodie.
Well, fuck then.
But Tish didn’t have time to dwell on that any further. She had to focus on catching up to the beast while maneuvering between lamp posts and flowering trees. She swerved around a picnic table, not taking her eyes off the dragon for even a second. This creature was fast, remaining a few strides ahead of her, and it didn’t show any signs that it would be landing soon. Tish silently pleaded that it would at least descend a bit just to give her neck a break from craning upwards.
The powers that be must have heard her pleas and decided to troll her, because the dragon ended up soaring past the entry arch of the park and straight into someone’s neighboring yard. It wasn’t just any yard though. It was one of those thousand square foot yards with a mansion-esque house in the middle of it.
“Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit!” Tish groaned as she skidded to a halt. There was no way she could trespass on such lavish private property and get away with it. Even though it may have been nighttime in a part of town where most residents would be in bed by now, she still imagined the homeowners wouldn’t take kindly to finding a black woman in dusty attire sneaking through their property in search of an animal that, as far as they knew, was as fictional as magic wands.
Maybe the residents were hidumans and not visumans, and she could explain the situation to them. Oh, who was she kidding, the nearest hidumans who could afford to live in an apartment-complex-sized house most likely lived in Chicago, not in the suburbs of central Indiana. Tish knew that if the dragon remained over there much longer, there was going to be some sort of a ruckus tonight, no matter what action she chose to take.
Tish darted back and forth along the edge of the park, mirroring the dragon as it zigzagged over the lawn. Pushing back a few stray curls from her face, she took a quick glance at the digital watch on her wrist. It was 9:06. If she didn’t capture this dragon soon, she may end up having to just leave it behind. British wyverns were passive enough that she didn’t mind leaving it be, where it would at worst only spook a few people. What Tish didn’t want was a stern reprimand from her boss and $300 less in her paycheck for all her trouble. Considering how low the dragon was flying now, she may end up having to do so.
Much to her luck, surprise, and relief, the dragon ended up swooping out of the property, gliding towards the adjacent sidewalk. Tish immediately sprinted onto the walkway. The wyvern began slowing down as it continued to descend, allowing Tish to close the distance between her and the beast. A few moments later, it finally landed in a field of tall grasses bordering the sidewalk.
As soon as the creature had set foot on land, Tish crouched low to the ground. Her steps were now soft and slow as she snuck up on the dragon. The wyvern folded up its wings and sat down to rest, unaware that its pursuer was still nearby. Latisha crept ever closer to it, pausing for a moment after each step. She could not afford for it to go flying off again, not when it was only a few feet in front of her now.
When she had reached the edge of the sidewalk, Tish leaped onto the creature, pinning it down by the back with her hands. The dragon frantically flapped its wings and flailed its tail, letting out a shrill, falcon-like cry. Tish kept her head raised. Though dragons may not have been able to actually breathe fire, their strong tail whips sure felt as fiery as any blaze.
She turned her left arm onto the entirety of the dragon’s back, freeing up her right hand. Fumbling through the top pocket of her cargo shorts, she retrieved a small plastic packet. Tish secured one side of the packet firmly between her teeth, keeping her grip on it with her hand. With both her head and her hand, she yanked both sides of the plastic, tearing it in two. She quickly pulled out the sticky, white pad inside, letting the plastic casing fall to the ground.
As quickly and gently as she could with it struggling, Tish turned the dragon on its side, exposing its underbelly. She placed the pad on this softer region of its body and pressed down to ensure it remained secure. After a few seconds, the dragon’s movements steadily slowed and its cry became softer. Its entire body gradually became more limp, until it fell asleep. The only sounds and movements it made were those of its breathing.
The woman took a sigh of relief. Retying the headwrap holding up her hair, she took the moment to enjoy having finally caught the elusive creature.
She then turned around the baby sling she had wrapped around her body so that the carrying part of it rested just below her breasts. Supporting the dragon by its head and back, she lifted it up and snuggly cradled it into the sling. Ideally, Tish would have brought the containment box with her, but after the first few times she’d done so, she quickly learned that trying to wrangle in cryptids with a giant box in her hands only made the chase and capture more difficult.
Tish checked over the dragon to make sure that it was tightly tucked in and that its nose wasn’t obscured before getting back on her feet. She checked her watch once again: 9:15.
Looks like I’m going to have to run back to the car as well. Wait?
Where did I park again?
More Posts from Art-of-a-space-duck and Others
Just created a review blog
I’ve recently noticed that I really love explaining and reviewing things, and I’ve developed a strong love of fashion and obscure and unique works of fiction. So, I’ve finally decided to combine these loves of mine and make a blog dedicated to reviewing clothing and works of speculative fiction. Working on my reviews may slow down how much art I put out here, but at least I’ll be creating something regardless.
https://kat-reviews-fashion-and-art.tumblr.com/
[Image Description: A drawing of a person from the chest up. This person is smiling and has tan skin; short, black, curly hair; and large, dark brown eyes. They are wearing a multicolored, striped sweater. End of Image a Description.]
Finally managed to draw a new portrait of myself. It took a lot of time and work to figure out, and I am very proud of how it turned out. I’m especially proud of how the sweater turned out; I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to replicate the pattern of one of my favorite tops.
Trying to get more comfortable with my natural way of drawing and not fuss with too much over making a perfect end product. Hopefully this get me outputting more art.
Another drawing I dug out of my Discord to finally publicly post, this time of what I imagine Murderbot’s internal anatomy to be.
A breakdown:
Brain: Includes human neurons, a combination organic and inorganic hypothalamus, and computer brainstuff (including the threat assessment and governor modules)
Sensory Organs: Very sensitive and adjustable eyes, ears, and nose. Technically also includes the plating on the back of its head to allow it to wirelessly link up with other digital systems and the nerves all along its body
Respiratory System: Lungs are small and unidirectional, more akin to a bird’s or reptile’s than a mammal’s for greater efficiency. (Thank you to Your Dinosaurs are Wrong for teaching me that.)
Heart: Also small. Transports everything to the right place including oxygen, energy-source molecules, hormones, immune system nanobots, and so on
Power Cells: The main power cells are situated in the chest. There are power cells surrounding the brain stem and spinal cord to better fuel mental processes as well as cells in the abdomen just in case the main ones become damaged or depleted. It also specifically has power cells just for its arm guns
Waste Management: It may not eat, but its cells would still produce waste. This inorganic organ is for holding and processing said waste (as well as pathogens and other unuseful materials). It decomposes these materials into something that can be breathed out, used as fuel, turned into new cells, or (rarely) just sit there until these organs are drained or replaced during surgery
Cell Production: To reduce the risk of genetic mutation (and to make up for the lack of bone marrow), all new cells and nanobots are produced here from stem cells then distributed to the correct parts of the body. This is mostly just red blood cells, but also includes a few other cells. Note that my current headcanon is that constructs can heal on their own, but far slower than humans and are near completely reliant on external medical care to repair damaged body parts
Hormone Producer: It mostly makes adrenaline, but it can make other stuff too like oxytocin
Support Structure: Very tough and not as heavy as you’d think futuristic metal. Arteries and veins flow through it
Muscles: Mostly inorganic
Guns: It has energy projectiles in its arms. I do not understand weapons, so that is all you’re getting
Subcells: Because its limbs are detachable, its larger joints have power cell + waste management systems in them to keep the organic parts of said limbs operational for a short period of time. Also helpful as an extra source of power and waste management when the limbs are attached
Immune System (not shown): All constructs have a nanobot-based immune system that does a pretty good job of protecting them from pathogens that would harm their organic parts. This artificial immune system is pretty aggressive since constructs can’t reproduce and don’t have to keep other microorganisms within them to survive
Finally set up my adoptable shop on DeviantArt. The above characters are all still on sale as of March 5, 2018 (and likely will stay that way for a while considering the adoptables market). My DA account can be viewed by clicking here.
I hit the random character button on ArtFight and came across taffypet’s cute furry pink polyamorous boygirl. I just had to draw him with my own furry pink(loving) polyamorous boygirl. It was a fun challenge designing their outfits and playing around with the colors. Went with a sleeveless top and shorts for Henny because I just love her patterns too much to cover them.
It eventually gets a haircut too.
Just playing around with brushes and color.
[Image Description: A sketch of an anthropomorphic cat standing up. The character has a striped brown and white face, white feet and hands, and a bushy dark brown tail. She is wearing a plaid green button-up shirt and loose jeans. End of Description]
Another anthro feline I drew up on a whim. Her physical traits I determined by randomization. She’s supposed to be a longhaired seal mink and white tabby with a less than plausible eye color. As with my last cat character, I don’t have many ideas for her yet.
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A not quite professional fursona fashion designer - She/He - 20-something
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