Tunnel Hunt

"Tunnel Hunt" is a [SEASON NUMBER] thread written on [IRL DATE].
==Summary==
[Write a summary of the thread's events here, including spoilers and important plot details. Check the Order of Threads to see if the thread you are placing already has a summary, to make less work for yourself.]
==Full Text==
Dixie stood on the ridge in an outlandishly puffy boat that made his body look like a plump yak in full winter growth. He scrutinized the map in front of him moved around the forest below, both Farris and Tael by his side. “Gracious these openings are obscure…” He looked up at the bright sun that shone above them. “But it’s still bright out, so our chances of them being inside are better than what they would be at night.” He sniffed and glanced at Tael. “What do you think? You figure we’ll be able to block all of them before evening?” 
@furibotgd
furibotgd
“Considering the old place has like half a dozen entrances, we might. We just have to be sneaky about it.” The Fury stared down at the forest. “And also fast. If they catch wind of it, we’ll be in big trouble real fast. What’s your plan for sealing them in?”
moe-lazyeye
“Night Fury blasts can tear apart metal chains. I doubt they’ll be anything we can use to plug of the holes.” Dixie mused.
“Which means entrance collapse is the only option.” Farris sighed.
“Ugh. Explosives for a stealth mission. How absurd.” Dixie tsked his tongue. “But there’s not much of a choice. We’ll have to plant a zippleback canister at each hole and set them off at once without getting caught. It’s risky business.”    
furibotgd
“Plus, we may have to worry about anyone on guard duty.” Tael told them. “Usually one or two furies patrol the area or stand near the entrances to sound an alarm. If one sees us you’ll have to catch em before they can alert everyone else.” He idly scratched at the back of his head with a foot.
moe-lazyeye
“Right.” Dixie nodded. “The men are armed with tranquillizers, and are expected to drug any fury in sight, just to be safe.” The man sniffed, and then patted Farri’s arm. “Alright, I’ll keep watch and organization here. You and Tael better hit whatever entrances you can.”
“Right…” Farris said, and then motioned with his head. “Come on then young dragon. Let us get to work.” As they walked through the woods, Farris turned to him. “After so long…it is good we are going to put a stop to this but…I had just wish they had seen their folly before it came to this…”
furibotgd
Tael followed, shaking his scarred head. “No kidding. I don’t know why they haven’t given it up yet. I know Scarface is an idiot, but surely the others have realized how dumb it is, how futile… how wrong Indigo was. He made that decision when he was definitely not in his right mind, it was unrealistic and crazy, and yet they won’t give it up.”
He hissed with frustration, kicking a pebble with his paw. “And now I have to help kill dragons I once considered family. I just hope Scarface didn’t reach out to other dragons just for more help.” He snorted. “Who knows what other old friends we used to know he might’ve dragged into this nonsense?” Tael muttered.
moe-lazyeye
“Yes…” Farris said grimly as he glanced back once at the ridge, were Dixie continued to oversee the project. “I know he said he’d given them one last chance, and I believe him, and I know violence might be the only resort we have left…but still, I’m at unease…” 
furibotgd
Tael stiffened and gently nudged Farris with a wing, gesturing past them to one of the entrances. Trying to silently tell Farris to wait, he crept forward to make sure it was clear.
He made sure there weren’t any fresh scents and then peeked in for a moment, ears perked.
He then relaxed. “Alright, this one is clear. No one’s been here for hours, at least. Put one of those explosive things there. Great skies, I hope this works. I don’t want Scarface’s claws over my muzzle again. This time he won’t let me live. And I hate to think what they’d do to you.” He was still tense and backed away from the quiet cave entrance, remembering his last times in there with a shudder.
moe-lazyeye
“Good.” Farris said with a grunt as he quickly got down on one knee to place the charge. “And fear not my friend. We’ll keep you well guarded from his ire.”
They continued to work their way through the woods, until finally a soft whistle sounded through the trees. Farris glanced back. “That’s the signal…We must reconvene, it’s almost time.”   
furibotgd
“Shame we only did one, but I do not want to get caught in this, so let’s go.” Tael began walking, but he froze for a second and one ear twitched. “Odd… that’s a familiar smell, but I can’t place it.” His ear twitched again, as he was hearing something very faint, but then it was gone. “Ah well, lets book it.”
He began making his way back up the ridge quickly, glancing back occasionally to make sure Farris was okay.
moe-lazyeye
The hurried up to the ridge, Farris crawling the last bit on all fours. “Tael sensed something down there. We may be compromised.”
“Then we better move quick.” Dixie said with quiet focus, and then motioned with his cane. “From what he learned from Indigo, this hole was their primary route, it is also in the most advantageous position for a quick escape, so it is likely where they will congregate.” He glanced at Tael. “Any last considerations before we set off the charges?”  
furibotgd
Tael seemed half distracted, a thoughtful look on his face. “I know that smell, I… hmm-” He blinked, and then nodded at Dixie. “If you got all the entrances then we should be good. Set them off whenever you’re ready.”
His ears twitched again. “It’s not… fury… so familiar. Hmm.” He muttered to himself, glancing back down into the woods. He was clearly uneasy.
moe-lazyeye
“Maybe we should identify-” Farris started, but Dixie interrupted him abruptly. 
“Nope! We should be fine!” He declared, and signaled with his hand.
A split second later, the air in the forest cracked as the charges were set off with a gas trail and spark. Instantly the tunnels caved in with packed dirt and heavy rock. 
Dixie’s men moved instantly into positions with arrows up at the ready.  Dixie watched the freshly blocked off entrance with wide, searching eyes, waiting for movement, or voices. 
furibotgd
There was a deafening silence over the woods after the startled distant noises of woodland creatures. After ears stopped ringing, it was almost dead quiet.
Tael had his ears perked as high as they’d go, trying to hear anything. When nothing happened, he started to relax. “Guess we’re in the clear. They’re trapped.” He sat down, seeming calmer.
Then his ear twitched again, and after a confused look crossed his face, he stiffened.
There was whispering. Quiet eerie whispering. It slowly grew louder until it wasn’t just him who could hear it.
“Aaaand I spoke too soon.”
moe-lazyeye
Dixe’s eyes darted back and forth. No…we scouted the area. They should have been inside!
He turned to Tael as his men began to call to reform their ranks and take more defensive positions. “They aren’t in their caves…” He said, his voice on edge and seeking answers. “How did they know?!”
furibotgd
“Those aren’t Furies.” Tael explained, getting more tense by the second. “I knew I recognized that smell.”
The whispering grew, now accompanied by a faint quiet rumble beneath their feet.
“Tunnel Whisperer.” Tael almost whimpered, taking a couple steps back. “You humans tend to call it a Whispering Death.”
moe-lazyeye
“No…” Dixie breathed, and then rigorously attempted to smooth out his eyebrows. “No, no, no! I do NOT want to deal with one of those right now!” 
He reached into his coat, and then his face fell as he patted it down. “My gun…” He said, and shook off the oversized, puffy gown. “My gun! Where is it! I could have sworn I had it on me!” He turned to his men. “Has anyone seen my weapon it’s missing!”
Farris turned to Tael. “Why would a whispering death come after us? What do we do?!”
furibotgd
“Must be an old friend.” Tael stated. “Indigo rescued all sorts of dragons, remember. It just tended to usually be furies that stayed around. They’ve had other friends, although I didn’t meet many of them.”
The ground began to rumble a little more, and then it went quiet.
“You shouldn’t be here… shall I make some meals of you all?” 
Tael shivered at the dragon’s muffled whisper-growl voice beneath them. “Oh, of course it’s him. Uh, he knows we’re here.”
The rumbling faded again, and Tael couldn’t pinpoint where the dragon was.
moe-lazyeye
With gritted teeth, Dixie spread his arms. “I apologize for the intrusion. This was the only way I could get your attention while still protecting my men! Allow us a parlay long enough to come to terms. I will speak to you, Scarface, or anyone else! But permit me the moment to say my final offer!”  
furibotgd
There was a rumble from underground, and it appeared the Whispering Death was circling them slowly, having made new tunnels underneath them.
“I informed Scar of your presence. He is furious and ready to tear the flesh from your feeble bones. I can free him and the pack of Nights at any moment I choose.” The Death quietly whispered. “I would prefer a nice meal before I free them. What say you, long tailed one? What will you tell these tiny companions of yours? Choose carefully.” 
“Uh…” Tael hesitated. “I don’t know how open any of them are to negotiation. It seems Scarface is not, at least. As for the Whisperer, he’s just hungry. And I don’t know if he understands Norse, or… even if he cares. He just wants a snack. I really don’t know our options here. He’s being very vague.”
moe-lazyeye
“Hm, well, vague just isn’t going to cut it.” Dixie huffed, and turned to his men as one of them passed him a crossbow. “Prepare for battle men! Scarface won’t be interested in prisoners!”
His eye narrowed, and he growled softly in his throat as his men sprung into action. “And neither am I….”
The ground rumbled under their feet for what seemed like forever, the whispering moving this way and that.
Tael was stiff with fear, ears pinned against his head and pupils thin. "Oh, I really don't want to die here." He whimpered, backing up a couple steps. "Oh, what is he doing down there?" He looked around at the men, all holding crossbows and looking around, ready. He wondered if they were as nervous as he was.
That's when he heard distant flapping and turned to see another Fury above them, just out of range of any crossbows. It had come in from the north, and was circling above quite high. Another three followed, and soon there was a whole dozen. They remained way above, not moving any closer. None of them were Scarface, at least. The massive Fury would stand out among them. Their intentions, however, seemed unclear.
moe-lazyeye
Dixie glanced at Tael. “You’re welcome to find cover. I don’t expect you to fight this one for me, as you’ve already helped enough...” He glared up at the dragons in the sky. 
Above and below...we can’t defend both...
“If they were warned ahead of time, then our efforts could already be for naught.” Farris said. “We aren’t prepared for war.”
“I’ll be honest with you Farris darling.” Dixie said. “I prepared for a slaughter. So far is just a step back from ideal at this point.” He turned to his men. “Take defensive action. They’ll likely try to pinch us between the ground and the sky. Agility and opportunity for now.” He then pointed at a handful of couriers. “Head back to camp and tell the hired riders to mobilizes, along with the mounted weapons. Apparently we’ll have to throw everything we have at them for this one.”   
furibotgd
Tael squinted at the dragons above them as they began hovering in an odd formation above them, and then it hit him. They had formed what looked like a smiling face.
"Wait, those aren't enemy dragons! They're here to help! Scarface would never be smart enough to make his furies do that!" He began to look more hopeful, and turned to Dixie. "Tell your men not to shoot those ones, I bet you Indigo sent them to help us!"
moe-lazyeye
Dixie regarded him cooly, and then hummed once. “If you were willing...” He said cautiously, as he lifted a hand to signify for his men to be cautious, but still remain at the read. “Would you fly up there...and have one of their representatives come down to meet with me?” 
furibotgd
Tael nodded. "You got it." He flew upwards, actually rather relieved to leave the qyieyly rumbling, whispering ground, to see who was there.
As he approached, he recognized familiar faces. Storm, for one, Sharp, Song, Scoot, and a good few others.
Furi was right next to Storm, and flew forward a little. She gave him a little grin. "Indigo told us you went with Dixie to take out Scarface. I got these guys together and we're going to help. We just don't want to get shot at."
Tael nodded. "Come on down and tell Dixie that, although, we have a bit of a situation. There's a Whisperer, and who knows what other sort of old friends Scarface has. Right now we're just waiting for things to happen."
Furi shrunk slightly but nodded. "Alright." The two siblings flew down and landed in front of Dixie, where they explained why they were there as quickly as possible.
moe-lazyeye
Dixie looked at each of them in turn, and many, many thoughts ran behind his eyes. There was hesitation, consideration...
He then nodded. “I’d be happy to have you join the fight. Obviously once he shows, Scarface and any of the other ring leaders are our target. If a few straggling, human hunting furies escape that’s no more of a problem than it is anywhere else. But this organization is what needs to stop. So those our primary targets. Keep on your toes, we don’t know when they’ll strike.” 
furibotgd
Furi nodded and took off to join the others again. "We'll have your back, just be careful who you aim at." She rose until she joined the others, and they hovered a little lower, slowly circling above the humans with Storm clearly in the lead.
Tael took a defensive position, waiting. "This is going to be rough no matter what." He murmured.
Rather suddenly, the eerie silence returned. One could have heard a leaf drop to the forest floor.
Then there was a distant yelp, and one of Dixie's men disappeared in a cloud of dirt and debris, leaving only a hole. Whatever muted scream he let out was cut off rather abruptly.
Tael felt a shiver go down his spine.
moe-lazyeye
“Shit!” Dixie hissed, and glanced towards the cart where they had kept the zippleback canisters. “Where the bloody fuck is my gun!?”
“We couldn’t find it!” One of the mercenaries called back. 
“Damn it all! He’s targeted our feet. Start spreading more of those canisters around and keep torched arrows at the ready! The moment you see the ground shift near one set it off!” 
furibotgd
Tael stared around wildly. "Dang it, this is bad!" He was terrified, being used to seeing the threat. It was clear the dragon below them had an advantage.
Another man disappeared into the ground a moment later, followed by two more. When one guy managed to set off an explosion, there was a roar from beneath the ground and then the earth itself seemed to jerk under their feet.
"That's what I thought you'd do... how dumb are you?" It hissed. "Silly surface creatures. You do not understand the way the ground moves."
"It made the ground unstable!" Tael yelped, watching cracks form in the ground with puffs of dirt. "How many tunnels did he make?!"
moe-lazyeye
Dixie gripped the top of his bald head with one hand as he paced. 
The only way we’ll get a shot is if one of my men were fast enough to dodge the dragon’s bite! But that’s not good enough to....wait...
Dixie paused, and glanced at the cart, and then up at the dragons. “Tael!” He called up, and motioned him down. When the dragon drew near, he spoke to him hastily as he motioned for his men to retreat further up the ridge. “Tael.” He said earnestly. “You and your kind are the only ones who can stop that whispering death. Watch the ground from above, we’ll draw it towards the cart. The moment you see it tunneling close to the cart, you must shoot it with a plasma blast. It’s the only way to make an explosion big enough to hit it, and fast enough so it can’t dodge. My men and I will manage taking cover as best we can, but you have to do this, or we’ll all get picked off!” 
furibotgd
"Got it!" Tael nodded and took off, motioning for the other Furies to follow his lead. They watched as Dixie and his men started leading the whispering death. The unstable ground made it a little easier to see where it was going.
"Fire on that wooden thing down there when I do!" He told the others. The explosion was going to be big. "Well, at least it won't see this coming."
moe-lazyeye
“Get back! All of you!” Dixie called as he shed his coat and took up his crossbow. He darted towards the cart, but a set of burly arms caught him from behind. “Hey!” Dixie yelled. “Stop it! What you are doing!?”
“Sorry sir!” One of the mercenaries called as he hauled him away. “But you’re terrible in a fight and you know it! Plus, if you die, all of this stops and those villages don’t have protection!”
Farris darted past him. “I’ve got it!” He declared. “I will draw in our opponent!” He took Dixie’s cross bow on the way by, and crashed up against the cart. “You want a snack?!” He called as he fired the cross bow at a patch of moving dirt. “Then have at me! I shall give you a meal!”
furibotgd
The Whispering death followed the rather loud target as he dashed for the cart, the whispering following right on his heels.
"Oh, a loud, easy to track snack! You make it too easy! You will be tasty!" The Whisperer growled.
Furi was watching, then shook her head and broke away from the others, ignoring Tael calling to her. "Not alone, you aren't!" She flew up behind Farris, and then everything happened all at once, it seemed.
The Whispering death caught up to Farris, Tael shot a plasma blast, the other furies followed his lead. Furi plucked Farris from the ground and wrapped herself around him, and the cart blew up in a massive yellow and orange and blue and red explosion. There was a roar that rang out. The ground shifted again and some of the unstable ground collapses from the shockwave, taking a few men down with it, but fortunately most were away from the collapsed areas.
There was another ringing silence afterwards, and the crackling of fires on trees, some of which were half obliterated by the explosion.
moe-lazyeye
“Move in!” Dixie bellowed as he motioned to his men. “Fire on anything you see squirming around in that hole! Don’t give it a chance to recover!” 
furibotgd
For the first time, the massive dragon showed itself, a giant, scarred spiked head came out of the ground, followed by a long tail. It was clearly injured, but as soon as they began firing on it, it let out a loud roar and started blasting fire and shooting spikes at anything it could see.
After a minute of this, it dove under again, practically covered in several of the crossbow bolts. "Death, death, death, death..." The whispering started again. "Doom I wish apon you, the Nights' turn now to fight! Sky darken, sky drain of light... now your corpses shall burn bright! Lightning and thunder, acid and amber! From the depths of our hatred, we stab at your hearts!" 
The rumbling faded lower underground. The old whispering death had dove to release the other dragons.
The friendly Furies landed among the men, with Tael calling into the area of the explosion. "Furi!! Farris!!" He called. He ran in to look for them.
"This is not over." Storm rumbled, glancing at Dixie, and then up at the sky. While most of the storms had been over central, now there was a storm inexplicably gathering over their heads, even as the sun began to set. Even with a few hours of daylight still, the sky was quickly becoming pitch black above them.
Chaos was seconds from erupting, it seemed.
moe-lazyeye
Overhead, mercenary dragon riders swooped into view, and Dixie hurried to help up one of his fallen men. “The armaments are on their way!” He called. “We can hold the line until they arrive!”
“Good!” Dixie called up to them. “Brace yourselves men! Be ready to switch to melee! The enemy is coming!”
furibotgd
Several minutes passed by, with nothing but silence from around them, then the rumbling they were unfortunately getting all too familiar with started once more.
The whispering was louder than they'd ever heard it.
The big old Whispering Death burst from the ground in the middle of them all, flying straight up, tail curling behind it. It screeched, beginning to fight despite clearly being badly wounded. It started attacking anything that moved.
The hole it came from was silent for a minute, until there were flashes of movement they couldn't quite make out.
One man screamed as some acid hit him in the face, another was carried into the air by a dragon he couldn't see and thrown from quite the height. Acid. 
The hole went bright, and lightning shot out of it, and moments later, a brilliant purple dragon ripped from it, trailed by lightning, the storm above them seeming to brew from it. It let out a glorious screech and started spewing lightning here and there. Thunder.
Evidently, Storm had indeed been in contact with some other old friends, and they were more than ready to put up a fight.
moe-lazyeye
The area erupted into chaos as men called and dragons roared. Acid, fire, crossbolts and axes filled the air. The mounted mercenaries dove upon the rising dragons to help keep them from slaughtering the ground forces. Dixie was hauled away by his designated bodyguards, and Farris took up arms and joined Tael in the fight. 
He’s expanded his forces so much! Dixie thought in a cold sweat. If we hadn’t attacked when we did, it would have been an absolute butcher the next village he targeted! As horrible as this has gone, it’s doubtless prevented a disaster. Assume we survive that is! 
“Have the couriers run to the surrounding towns! Bounties for every dragon attack humans within a mile radius of this fight! Call the rebellion! Hail my other contacts! Flood this place with armed humans and fight them back!”
furibotgd
Then, a brightly colored dragon peeked out of the hole, made a melodic little toot, and crept up to the nearest human. When the man turned to see such an odd dragon, it spat solid amber at him, locking him in place. It gave a long howl and took to the skies, butterfly like wings stretched wide. It began spitting amber at any man it saw, humming happily to itself. Amber.
And while the friendly furies began fighting to protect the humans, providing air support, at last Scarface and the other furies flew out of the hole, a couple dozen of them. Scarface, who was in the lead, let out an ear shattering screech and they dove into battle as well, tearing through any human they could find. They didn't even bother with the other furies.
At this point, there was already a lot of dead humans, and a couple of dragons were badly injured or just not moving on the ground. The storm from the Skrill had started pouring rain, turning everything to mud and putting out the fires lit here and there by dragons and lightning.
Furi, who was lying on the side of the battle badly hurt from the explosion, had watched Farris run off to fight with her brother after she'd insisted she was fine. She couldn't believe it had come to this, all this death... and it was all Indigo's fault. She started to cry quietly, burying her face under her paws.
moe-lazyeye
Dixie turned his head as the mounted armaments arrived from the treeline, and he ran to greet the operators. The mercenaries looked around in shock and horror at how everything had gone downhill. “Where’s the cart?!” He yelled.
“It had to be destroyed!” Dixie called back. “It’s fine! Just use the net and arrow based weapons.”
The battalias and net launchers set themselves in rows, and were quickly loaded. “Half of you pick off anything you have a clear shot of. The other half focuses solely on that dragon, Scarface, right there. Fire!”
The air was then filled with razor nets and massive arrows. The enemy dragons were snagged or struck out of the sky with slickening impact. Bodies crashed to the ground, and were immediately leapt upon by the ground forces below. Dixie’s eyes blazed as he watched Scarfaces movements. If he could just be shot down or netted, all of this could be over. “Come on…” He growled under his breath. “Come on…” 
Another volley was lined up, and fired a mix of chains and arrows at the dragon leader. 
Unfortunately for Scarface, as a massive dragon, he was a massive target. The larger than usual scarred dragon eventually got a net caught on one of his massive wings, and he was dragged down. He screeched and roared furiously, Writhing madly as they ran in to try and kill him. Even tied down and netted, he managed to kill three men who approached him, and took several spears, bolts, and swords before he eventually stopped moving, just lying there, bleeding.
He regarded Dixie and the other humans with a venomous stare of pure hatred, eyes burning with a wish to destroy them. “I hate you all. I hate you. Your kind took everything… from… me…” He growled, even still trying to get up. “Make sure none of them escape.” He wheezed to the dragons still fighting in the sky. “No one lives this day. No one escapes…”
He froze when Sharp landed next to him, fury in the old dragon’s eyes. They both looked almost equally war-torn, scarred, though Scarface was still much younger. “Shut up.” Sharp snapped, raking his claws over the hateful old fury’s eyes. “That’s for all the pain you’ve brought.” He then took to the skies again, going after the Skrill. 
Scarface was dead only minutes later, and a few of the hostile furies had disappeared from the battle before then. Zipshot had immediately switched sides at his death, too cowardly to fight the losing side with the ringleader dead. The Whispering death had stopped moving long ago. The enemies they were fighting began to dwindle. Unfortunately, it seemed however that more casualties were on Dixie’s side, there were only a handful of dragon bodies mingled among many human bodies.
moe-lazyeye
Dixie whistled to the dragon riding mercenaries and whipped a hand in a circle. “Chase them down! I concur with Scarface. No one escapes!” As the men hurried into action, and began to run down the retreating dragons, Dixie surveyed the men he had lost. If Grey had been forced out here…the rebellion could have lost tide turning warriors…it’s better this way…I did this…for myself and the villages. But I’m glad even more came of it.
He then pointed an angry finger towards Zipshot. “Tie that one down as well, and bring him over here! And make sure those villagers are still mobilized. We can’t leave this nest with enough numbers to recover if a new leader decides to rise up!”  
furibotgd
Zipshot let out a mutinous shriek as he was roped down, trying desperately now to flee the mess he’d been a part of. Sneak and Creep had managed to disappear already, perhaps they’d either escaped back undergound or they’d flown off entirely. Bolt was missing as well, and a half dozen furies had either been scattered to the wind or were lying dead or tied down.
Seeing that the furies had given up, the Changewings left as well, hissing a few curses at the humans before going fully invisible and vanishing into the fray, untraceable. The Deathsong chirped a fearful toot and flew off, shooting amber at anything that tried to snare it. “Flee, flee, time to skip town! Ol Scar kicked the bucket, I shall make my egress!”
The Skrill tried to leave as well, but Sharp managed to get a good plasma blast on it as it flew, and it shot a huge bolt right at him before disappearing into it’s storm. “Shame, I was havin a right bit of fun over here.” It hissed as it flew out of range. Sharp had to land shortly after, seriously injured.
And as suddenly as it had all gone mad, it was quiet again, save for what was left of the rain falling on them and a few angry dragon screeches.
The friendly Furies began to group up, looking for the missing members of their party and helping each other get to shelter.
moe-lazyeye
With the battle rapidly fading into a bad memory, Dixie stalked across the war torn ground and came to a stop as he stared coldly down at Zipshot. He glanced over at Scarface’s corpse, and then back at him. “Not to long ago I came to realize that that vengeance via death…may not always the most satisfactory. I think…since you didn’t realize this, and are now quite out of time, that makes you a professional on the matter…so tell me…was vengeance via death the most satisfactory?” 
furibotgd
Zipshot stared at him, both angry and afraid, just shaking nervously under the ropes. He closed his eyes, shivering, and refused to move.
Tael limped up, spotting Dixie and coming over. “We’ve lost a handful of dragons, and Furi, Sharp, and Song are badly hurt. We should get to some shelter.” He glanced at Zipshot and the few other hostile furies Dixie had captured… and also Scarface’s body. “What are you going to do with them?”
moe-lazyeye
“We’ve exhausted negotiation only for this to be the result.” Dixie said, almost breezily. “They wish to die by their convictions and I’m happy to oblige…gentlemen!”
Dixie gave the call with the circle of his hand, and all at once their was a short series of snapping bow strings, including the one in Dixie’s hand, which shot Zipshot and the other captured dragons dead.
Dixie lowered the crossbow, and passed it off to one of his men with a sigh. “Let’s gather our dead…and bring me a cart…I want every last one of these hides.”
furibotgd
Tael winced, taking a step back at the instant deaths of the dragons he’d once called his friends, and couldn’t look Dixie in the eyes for a moment. His usual demeanor shifted slightly. “Was that truly necessary? Zipshot at least seemed to have given up already. Surely with the main source of hatred dead, we could have made some peace.”
He had a strange look in his eyes. He bared his teeth for only a second, staring Dixie down. Dixie most definitely got a small chill up his spine from the way Tael stared at him for that moment.
I… Do hold dragons in a high regard…Their errors are not like mans… 
Then Tael shook his head, nudging Zipshot’s quickly cooling body. “You will not have their skins as some kind of trophy. We are going to bury them.” He raised a brow at Dixie as if daring the human to challenge his decision. “Perhaps you can have some of your men help our wounded, since there’s more of you still alive, while me and Storm bury them.”
moe-lazyeye
Dixie’s cane buried itself point first between Tael and Zipshot’s body, and the man met the dragon’s eyes. “On the contrary Tael…I can, and I will.” He crouched down so their faces could meet evenly. “Dragon hunting is, rightfully, illegal in every aspect, save for one. When a dragon is proven to be violent and beyond reason, hunting them, and only them, is then permissible. Afterwards, there are no legal protections for their corpses.”
He straightened, as his men in the background began to recover their wounded or dead. “I saw that look in your eye. You think me a hypocrite. But if I were lying to you about holding dragon’s in a high regard then I would have had these renegades killed much earlier and without negotiation. They made their choice. If they didn’t want to be shot while pinned down then they shouldn’t have gone out of their way to murder children…don’t you think? Trust me Tael, I’d make a human who committed such crimes into a trophy too, if I could get away with it.”
Dixie’s eyes set. “But no matter what arguments or counter arguments you may have. The bounty, and subsequent bodies of these dragons are mine to claim. That, you cannot contest…” 
furibotgd
Tael did not like that. He stuck his face into Dixie’s face, pupils thin. “They murdered innocents, but they are still my family, Dixie.” A few thin trails of purple flame started to leak from the dragon’s mouth. “I’ve buried many friends before, and I intend to respect these ones too. I can admit they weren’t noble. They were horrid. But if I g-” Tael paused, clearly emotional.
“Indigo got a chance, then at least these dragons should be given some sort of burial. This is a battle site, not some sort of hunting ground for you to steal bodies of my brothers and sisters, my family. I don’t care about whatever claim you have to them. They’re living creatures, not future coats and decorations for your living room.”
He huffed some smoke into the businessman’s face, clearly ticked. Some of the less injured Furies had come up behind him, and were watching.
“We helped you fight this battle, the least you can do respect our ways of doing things.” Tael hissed. “All of the dead dragons will be buried.”
moe-lazyeye
Dixie’s fingers drummed on the top of his cane as he regarded him. “Hm…true…you did put your lives on the line…” He paced a little as his rubbed his pointed beard in thought. “Well Tael I’m afraid both of us are now in a troublesome spot…but that’s what negotiation is for. I lost far more men than you lost dragons, and that includes enemies. This may have been a battlefield for us, but for many it was indeed a hunting ground, the very way they make their living.” 
He chewed a lip as his eyes flickered over the carnage. “Half.” He offered. “Half of your kind to you, and the other half to me, only I get Scarface.”  
furibotgd
“I don’t like the way you’re treating them as gambling chips or boats and not living things.” Tael stated, though he was a tad calmer. “You can have Scarface. What you’ll do with such a scarred up hide is beyond me, but very well. If you want Boulder, you can have him too.” He gestured to the Whispering Death. He glanced around at the dragon’s bodies, sadness in his eyes. In the dim light, his eyes almost looked purple.
After a moment, he looked back at Dixie. “Me and Storm will gather the bodies of those that were on our side, so you don’t skin them by accident. You humans seem to have trouble telling dragons apart, and I don’t want them to have such a nasty fate after they sacrificed themselves for this. Then you can pick half from those left. But know that I think that it’s disgusting.” He stated, lip curled. “No dragon deserves that.”
“Were we alone, I’d rather slice you in half and deal with the consequences then let you mutilate them.” He growled softly in dragon, turning halfway to go explain the situation to Storm. “I knew I couldn’t trust you to give them a better fate.”
moe-lazyeye
For a moment Tael saw something soften in Dixie’s eyes. Maybe a note of regret, a transgressing against his better judgement, who knew. But it was there, but then buried by his usual icy look. “I’d have seen it any other way…if only not…” He glanced away. “No matter…we’re well beyond that now…” 
He walked past Farris, who looked conflicted over the choices made, but then he hung his head, and set to work as well.
The battle was over…