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The sky was a light blue colour, with dark clouds on the edge of his vision. They threatened to move closer and bring the cold snow with them. Under his feet the trees appeared to be recovering from the last time it snowed, with the tops covered in slowly dripping ice and if his vision was better he would be able to see the snow and mud mixing together to make mush on the forest floor. The air created a lift underneath his wings as he glided across the sky, beating his wings a few times to stay level. His favourite activity was certainly flying, and not for the first time did he wish that he could do it more often without fear of being hunted down.

He angled himself downwards, his stomach grumbling softly. It had been a while since he had eaten anything and it was for the best if he hunted here, in the middle of nowhere. He knew that he would soon have to resume his human shape despite his lack of enthusiasm for doing it. Nico didn’t hate his job at the castle, he just wished he could live without the fear that pestered at his heart whenever he was in his true dragon form. His scales were warm with the sun that beat down on him but he knew that it wouldn’t last long with the approaching snow storm. It would be best to land once it arrived and continue on by walking. He didn’t want to damage his wings in anyway as they were vital for him.

He hovered above the trees, his head tilted as he listened to the sound of a herd of deer. He watched quietly as they began to leap away, so he just split the earth underneath them.
Nicodemus landed with a soft thump, his claws digging to the dirt as he prowled towards the three trapped deer who brayed in fear of him. He rumbled softly at them before leaning in and snatching a back in-between his teeth. He swallowed it down easily, admitting to himself that it was much easier to feed himself as a human as he needed much less than what he did as a dragon. The three deer were going to barely be enough for a snack to keep him from getting hangry, let alone an entire meal.

He picked up the other two and munched them down quickly, then manipulating the earth to reform. It did it slowly and he just sat there for a moment. The rest of the deer were long gone, and even though he could have caught up with them to eat a few more he was too apathetic to do so. Nico paused when he heard something large approaching, turning to face the sound. In front of him was a huge dragon, and recognition clicked in his head. It was Vaathu, a member of the council. Nico tried to stop himself from visibled tensing, instead just looking up at the bigger dragon. There was no use in getting defensive, he just hoped that he wasn’t being requested to join in some politic debate about whether eating humans is ethical.