(No worries, see you around)

"That sounds pretty great," he said, thinking the basic plan over in his head. She had other allies, too? This kernel of an idea was turning into something bigger. It sounded simple enough, but... "Surely they don't just have one ration source, though. And if they do, won't an ambitious raid on their food supply trigger the administrator to punish the whole of Khurazir even more?"

Taking control over the food supply was good and all, but as soon as the administrator found out there was food taken and then being dealt out among the people of this town, surely she would try and stop it before it got out of control.

Vernik scowled as he turned the corner to confront them, rising himself to his full height.
"Hello, looking for me?" He asked looking at them as rage built up inside him threatening to consume him "You don't mind me dropping by to visit... do you?"
(Sorry for taking so long to answer and being so short of a reply)

(I'm so sorry I've been gone so long! Please catch me up on everything?)

I dont either, not usually, but Ive heard of a few dragons who do. You usually add flavor when you cook food, but its been a while since anyone cooked for the sake of eating good food.

He flapped quickly when he saw the vultures. This might be good. Maybe they found some fresh meat. He took the the wind and followed from behind the vulture. No need to scare away something that had the potential to lead them to a free meal.

He found a lone lion besides the carcass of a recently killed antelope, a couple of hours of siting in the sun at most. Stealing food from the mouth of a lion... how courageous, he murmured as he dived down.

He made quick work of the lion, before settling down. It wasnt much to fight a lion when you were used to fight dragons that were a lot stronger than a half starved creature. I think we have the food problem settled. Why dont you take your fill, and then we head back. Well, Ill head back and you do whatever you do.

He sat still for a while before remembering something. How did you get food before the takeover?

(@Kiwi - That's alright, no worries. I'd just realised you'd been left on your own and thought I should offer a few guards to make things interesting

@Piperlake - Really not all that much to be honest. Your characters are still in the alley with Kiwi's characters, Vernik and Lazi)

The guards round the corner and snicker at your words. There are three of them. Their leader, who you can tell by their fine armour, stops and looks at you with raised eyebrows.

"Troublemaker, are we? You know, there's plenty that we can do to you for just as much as growling at us," a grin spreads across their face. "And you should know that I fully intend to use that liberty."

They have batons by their sides, but they make no move to grab them. They slowly advance, filling the alleyway.

Good food. She thought of good food as any food she could get at all. "Adding flavour to something that already tastes like it does seems like a waste of time," she mused. She was glad she didn't cook food then - she had no inclination to muck around with flavours and if that was the only reason you cooked it then she was better off eating it raw.

She flew after him. Closer up she could actually see that it wasn't another dragon - it was another one of these animals. It certainly didn't have scales. She noted it mentally and also the fact that he followed a distance behind it, not going right up to it. Perhaps these animals scared easily and their obvious presence would scare it.

When she saw more animals on the ground that the flying one had led them to, she felt a spark of joy. It had been a while since she'd learned a new, useful skill. The art of following this flying animal to more of them seemed like a trick that could prove very useful.

She watched as he dived, finishing off the skinny looking furball in a matter of seconds. She respected his combat prowess - this was the second time he'd easily killed something. Maybe animals were easy, but he was certainly fast in any case. This one was bigger too, and she could see that it had sharp teeth and claws and if it had killed the other horned one then it must have been a hunter itself.

There was another hunter animal trotting just into sight over the next again dune, just like the one the other dragon had killed. Maybe they would kill that one later, too. Until then, Elenor silently swooped down and landed next to the dead animals and the dragon.

She listened as he spoke, eager to dig in before getting back to the cool stream to think about the role she would play in the rebellion. And then he asked her a question. She paused. She knew she owed him for helping her fill her stomach, and teaching her new skills. A bit of honesty wouldn't kill her.

"I worked for it," she said, a little unsure of how else to put it. "Um... you know - I did what I was told to do and I had somewhere to sleep and something to eat."

More like somewhere to collapse with exhaustion and scraps of food to toughen her up. But still, she was surprised that she had admitted something about her past. She'd never talked to a dragon that had any patience for her, so it only made sense.

She tore a bit off of the hunter animal's carcass and stuck it in her mouth, shredding it in a few seconds before gulping it down. She'd forgotten what not feeling hungry was like.

Vernik smiled, letting his anger grow, he waited for them, his throat starting to heat up as he got ready to use his fire breathe, he let it fill his mouth, making the alleyway darker.

Lazi watched, she felt a growl build up in her own throat but pushed it back, hoping they hadn't heard and tucked herself into the shadows, hoping they hadn't seen her, she didn't want to fight.

(Can the guards see Vernik's fire? If they can't then I can change this, but I wasn't sure)

One on the left s******s. "You wouldn't dare." The one on the right looks worriedly at the houses pressing in closely at either side that could easily be set alight and decides to leap forward toward Vernik with a growl. Their leader, clearly thinking more about himself, shoves the other one in front of him and roars in fury.

In the market square, tax collectors and guards are making their rounds. Weary vendors hand over coins if they can. The whole square quietens as one vendor is unable to pay up, and can clearly be heard pleading and wailing as the guards drag them away. The hubbub tentatively becomes louder again as the cries die away.

An idle guard peers down the alleyway from the other direction, a curious expression on their face at the raised voices they heard.

"You been in a fight?" comes the gruff voice, looking over the sandy, ash and blood covered dragon left in the alleyway.