Arson Crimes

Ignis hissed angrily to himself as he flew through the jungle, nursing his sore wing from the almost head on collision. This horrible jungle and it’s horrible trees everywhere! He had managed to escape those horrid guards- a terrestrial creature could never hope to catch him, of course- but the resulting chase had caused him to smack his wing onto a tree. Curse this dome- a mix a land and sea and fake sky. If he had the ability to, he would destroy it now- tear it apart twig by twig and watch it burn in the flames of his fire.

But he had not the ability to do so- at least yet. The passage down here had been too far for his fire, and he had no choice but to come here- but not alone. Two other flyers he had brought with him in an attempt to have some kind of security. And what had those two ungrateful land dwellers done? They had abandoned Ignis at the first chance they got, flying away while he battled that walking rock. Who knows were they were now- Ignis deeply hoped they were deep in trouble now, snarled by thorned vines or eaten by some monster. That would teach them to leave him!

Ignis was so deep in his musing he didn't notice that the trees were becoming fewer and farther between until he almost smacked into a metal wall. Shrieking, Ignis flapped his wings frantically and just barely managed to avoid a full on collision. “What the-”

Flapping higher into the air, Ignis alighted on what may have been some kind of streetlight that was now overgrown by ivy. He was in what must have been some kind of long abandoned facility, lights long since having gone dark and walls having long been reclaimed by nature. But the most astonishing part was inside their walls. 

Footprints dragged across the mud, countless different ones imprinted from the passage of many creatures traveling. Several different creatures milled around on the ground below- swift oviraptors running from building to building with their claws full of seeds, living rocks discussing among themselves and sparring with armor and hooked weapons. They seemed particularly nervous in regards to a certain building, milling around the entrance nervously. Ignis squinted his eyes. This building was unique compared to the others- while still long abandoned by humans, it was in a much better state than the others. Even the lights on the front of the building were working- albeit weakly, but they were there. And where there were lights, there was electricity. Ignis’s bad mood rapidly calmed. Maybe there was a way to get fire down here…

It was laughably easy for Ignis to slip into the building. None of the guards even bothered to look up (not that it would have done much good with just how short they were). It was not long before Ignis found what he had been seeking- a humming electrical cable, ripe for the breaking. The tapejara was so focused on the potential in his claws, he didn't notice the shadow behind him until it was too late.

Large round feet pressed Ignis into the ground, pinning his wings. Panicked, he lashed out and screeched, but the figure was not messing around. With a harsh shove Ignis was pushed into the wall, vision quickly blurring as a hard blow caused him to spiral into unconsciousness. He was unceremoniously dropped, and the last thing he saw before passing out was a figure that went up… and up… and up….

Ignis woke to the sound of harsh, murmured voices and the feeling of steel poking painfully into his back. Groaning, he spread out his wing in an attempt to find his footing, only to jolt as it painfully smacked into more steel. Shrieking, he rolled in panic, reeling back as his headache was only worsened by the blaring lights above. He was trapped in something similar to the bird cages he had found in abandoned human stores, thin wires trapping him in a hanging cage. A leafy vine hung is cage to the ceiling, causing his prision to swing ever so slightly as he shifted in panic. His wings were free, but that meant very little; the cage was much too small for him, and he couldn’t even stretch them to their full size without them folding against the wire. 

“What is the meaning of this? Where are you, cowards?” Ignis screamed, the dark room around him echoing the noise back. It seemed to once have been some sort of large meeting area, his cage located in a dip in the floor with large stairs providing places to sit. The stairs had been cleared out, however, and instead large piles of leaves and foliage were placed. 

The sound of loud footsteps echoing across the room caused Ignis to startle, sending the cage bouncing again. One by one, filing in a line was a large group of herbivores he had never seen before. At first glance he thought they were parasaurs, but something was wrong- they lacked the prominent crests, for one. They were also much larger, large enough to tower over even the largest carnivores on the island. A long neck and tail were key feature, but Ignis’s gaze was drawn to something else- large, hooked spikes on their front feet. Ignis shivered- if these had been what had caught him, things could have gone much different.

The strange herbivores quickly found their spots among the steps, gazing at Ignis. The tapejara fluffed out his feathers defensively, letting out a low hiss. How dare they look at him like that? 

One individual walked forward into the small section where Ignis was held. This individual was a mix of purple and yellow tones, some parts even reaching deep orange. Horizontal stripes traveled down their body, and speckles and patches of colors covered the rest. Blue eyes found Ignis, staring accusingly. Ignis bristled. 

“Trespasser.” The other's voice rang out clear and strong, the large herbivore looking down at Ignis. “You have been caught sneaking into the sanctuary, and worse- into our noble halls. We have received word that you had even attacked one of our guards.” The herbivore nodded back the way she had came, and Ignis noticed the living rock he had attacked before- still nursing multiple small wounds. Ignis hissed angrily, causing it to recoil. “How do you plead?”

Ignis sniffed, raising his beak into the air. “He had it coming. You dirty creatures, living down so far below you are even beneath the sea. Your land is fake, you plants are fake, your air is fake. And then, you send your rotten scouts into our land to spread your poison, your toxin.” Ignis poked his beak out. “You disgust me.”

The large herbivore glowered at Ignis, and a disgusted murmur spread through the crowd. “Very well. If you refuse to cooperate, you shall stay there. Guards! Let no one into this room. We shall see what the queen has to say about this.”

Ignis screeched, rattling the cage so harshly it shook on the rope. “I will escape!” He swore. “You will fail! I will burn this dome to the ground- burn your precious jungle, and you will never escape!” Threats continued pouring from his mouth, more toxic than the very jungle around him as they filed out. One thing was true- they would not keep him in here. And then? He would find their “queen.”