An Understated Dominance by Marina Vittori

Abigail was weirded out and felt uneasy as she watched the Onyxclaw come to a stop. She wasn’t afraid. She was just worried that her identity would be exposed.

“Dustin, didn’t you say it couldn’t distinguish between good and evil? Why did it stop in front of us? Did it realize something?” Abigail squeaked through her teeth.

“It’s just a coincidence. Don’t worry, relax. It’ll leave soon,” Dustin reassured her gently. He had just finished speaking when the Onyxclaw suddenly lowered its head, and its long canine almost touched Dustin’s head.

It breathed heavily onto Dustin’s face. It felt warm but gave off a pungent smell. Dustin held his breath and muttered silently, “Buddy, you’d better not mess around, or I’ll kill you.”

Seemingly sensing Dustin’s threat, the Onyxclaw snorted and shifted its massive head toward Abigail. She clenched her fists, barely holding back the urge to strike.

The Onyxclaw was close to the size of an elephant. With its proximity, one bite could easily snap off Abigail’s head. This creature was stepping out of line.

“What’s going on? Why did the Onyxclaw stop in front of them? Are they the so-called wicked people?”

see what it does next. If it

amongst themselves and pointed fingers. Since the Onyxclaw moved through the large crowd earlier without incident, it was odd that

the start that they were no good. The Onyxcalw

to watch the Onyxclaw bite off their

was merely putting on a show. How

when the Onyxclaw made a move again. It didn’t attempt anything special. It simply sniffed the air near Dustin and

Onyxclaw had been aggressive toward them, they would have had to defend themselves,

was still resentful at being bumped into and had hoped that the

coming over. Should we try touching it?” Julie was nervously excited. If she could just touch the ferocious beast, she would have a

After all, someone already touched it earlier.

day!” As the Onyxclaw approached, Julie took a deep breath and summoned the courage to reach out and