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THWACK-THWACK

Thwack-thwack.

By this point, there is no time to lose.

Thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack.

I flap my wings and fly down dark fiery corridor after dark fiery corridor after dark fiery corridor. I flash through the air in a blur.

Go, Gork, go.

I am crushing it.

I am rocketing to the gymnasium. Because according to that luscious blademaster Metheldra, this is where I’ll find Runcita. And the Dean’s words are still echoing inside my scaly green head. And my backside is still a little warm from the Dean’s firestream I dodged only minutes ago.

Glance down at powerstaff. FLIGHT SPEED at 269 MPH.

Whoa.

I am in TURBO FLIGHT mode.

Feels good.

Now the wind cutting across my black beak is screaming for mercy.

The corridors are crowded with flying cadets zooming around.

But then when one of these fool dragons cuts in front of me I just whack him out of the way with my leathery wing.

Another flying dragon up ahead swerves into my PROJECTED TRAJECTORY PATH and I open my beak and blast a firestream into his backside.

“Hey what the—?!” he cries, rubbing his backside with his talons.

Don’t even give him a look.

I shoot onward.

Now the reason I am rocketing to the gym is because I have to try and get to Runcita before the Dean puts the word out to his goons that if I’m spotted anywhere near his daughter then I am to be apprehended. My pride is a little wounded by the Dean’s words. That stuff about how as a mating partner I was nothing but a liability and a laughingstock.

Who does that bastard think he is, anyway?

Thwack-thwack.

And if you want to know the truth, it kind of pisses me off.

Now I feel a whole new level of WILL TO POWER coursing through my scaly green ass and I chalk it up to that chick Metheldra’s swordupuncture and the way she gave me a royal case of heart shrinkage.

If that sonuvabitch Dean Floop wants to try and stop me from getting his daughter Runcita to be my Queen, then I am just all the more determined to get his precious daughter to lay my eggs, thank you very much.

Now I can really feel the WTP blasting throughout my system.

And my heart has shrunk to the point where the sound of it beating in my chest is like a tiny castanet clacking underwater.

Barely audible.

For the first time ever, my heart is something I can ignore.

Feels great.

Dragons flying around up ahead scramble to get out of my way at the last second.

And when one of them is a little slow on the uptake, I whack them out of the way.

I whiz by them.

Now as I fly along, my toe claws keep shooting out and retracting.

Where is my Queen?