A head popped over the edge of the bridge. It was long and angular, and shiny, but it was silhouetted against the cloudy sky. "Hello?" it called in a sunny voice. "Is someone- OH MY GOSH! ARE YOU OKAY?!" The newcomer stretched an arm out to Mango, and he caught a glimpse of iridescent white scales on their arm. Mango reached his free arm out and caught their talon. He felt a stab of pain as his wing was wrenched away from the nail, but he was pulled over the bridge, and it began to ebb away. "Thanks," he gasped gratefully, clutching the injured membrane. "I'm Mang- oh." He stopped as he saw his rescuer in full light. They were tall and scaly, pearlescent white all over, with swirls of azure blue around their shoulders and down their back. They had a pair of majestic wings, alike to Mango's, but on their back, and much bigger. A tail twice as long as Mango was tall coiled behind them. They had wickedly sharp claws on the tips of their talons and a forked black tongue slipped in and out of their snout. Were they a snake? No... the snakes Mango had met still didn't have any limbs. This was something new. Something Mango's colony had told him about, but he thought they were only a legend. The newcomer was a dragon. "Cool!" they said, smiling and revealing a set of razor-like fangs. "I'm Morpho!" "Hi..." Mango said, confused. He couldn't figure out if Morpho was a he or a she. "Oh, right," they sighed. "You probably want to know my gender. I use xey/xem pronouns." "You're a dragon," Mango breathed, dazed. "Yeah. Pretty cool, right? I dunno. It would be cool to be a bat or something." Xey draped xir tail over the side of the bridge. "Hey, it's getting dark," he said, changing the subject. "Let's find some shelter?" "Yes. Good idea," Morpho said, brightening a bit. Xir strikingly blue eyes flickered a bit with a golden glow. Morpho seemed so kind. So why couldn't Mango shake the feeling that something was terribly wrong? End of chapter 2 Collab with pic from google ... Miasma is a noxious, foul-smelling vapor or atmosphere, historically believed to cause disease. While it is now an outdated medical concept, the term is frequently used figuratively today to describe a heavy, oppressive, or demoralizing environment.
