A thick blanket of humidity hovered in the air of the Taurerosa Rainforest. It smelled heavily of rain, as usual, and many mosquitoes wailed around in endless circles. The heat was so overwhelming that a panther padded by, tongue lolling out of its mouth, heading back home for cooler surroundings. There wasn’t a flicker of wind in the air at all. The rainforest was just as Deenkraig Greotha liked it.

The Greot was sprawled out a large rock, his eight legs dangling over the edge. He was in his favorite form, a green lizard of sorts with markings along its back. The blanket of humidity was comforting to the odd creature and he soon found himself dozing off. His huge bulk rose and fell with a steady rhythm as he drifted off into a sound slumber.

However, Deenkraig had a tendency to snore, as all of his Greotha heritage did. They were notorious for snoring that sounded like thunder emanating from their throats, especially if they were in any large form. Deeni was not one to pass down family genes, unfortunately, so it wasn’t before long that a deep throated rumbling cut through the wining of the mosquitoes and the busy sounds of the jungle. It could easily be mistaken as a roar of thunder, or a threatening growl.

Tarian lumbered through the undergrowth of the rain-drenched forest. He snapped at passing mosquitoes that were trying to land on his snout. The rain glistened on his leathery wings. Branches and small trees were crushed beneath his claws. Suddenly he saw something out of the corner of his golden eye. The dragon swung his large head in the direction of the creature. A low growl emanated from the back of his throat as he surveyed the creature. It was quite curious looking. It looked like a large lizard with eight legs. Tarian sniffed the air hoping to catch a whiff of this unique looking creature. He didn’t want to wake it for he was not sure if it was hostile.

Deeni was fast asleep, the tip of his green tail touching his snout. The Greot was in a sound slumber, dreaming of a pleasant, quiet corner of the world. In fact, he enjoyed his dream so much that when Tarian’s growl awakened the reptile, he wasn’t in any amiable mood. The yellow eyes slowly opened and their gaze instantly fell on the dragon. Currently, his mind was drowsy and clouded with impaired judgment. He blinked once…twice…then his eyes narrowed.

“I don’t mean to sound rude, but must you go barging through the woods and growling at sleeping creatures?”

Deeni growled with a slurred tone, his great bulk slowly rising from the rock he was laying on. It was apparent the Greot was unhappy. The muscles in his back legs tensed, and he leaned forward as though ready to pounce.

Tarian backed deeper into the rainforest. "Whoever you are, I did not mean to disturb your slumber. And I am not looking for a fight." His muscles tensed just in case he had to react quickly. "So I guess I'll be on my way." the dragon said, continuing to back away. His golden eyes never left the reptilian being before him.

The Greot was too groggy to think straight, however, and he didn’t listen to the dragon’s words. He tried to remember what it was he had dreamed about, but there wasn’t anything he could grasp in his foggy mind. The yellow eyes were locked intently onto the dragon, never relenting their gaze. Suddenly, he burst out in a roar,

“I WAS HAVING A REALLY GOOD DREAM TOO!”

Deeni suddenly leapt from the edge of the rock, his eight arms stretched forward. It was obvious that the reptile’s size paled in comparison to the dragon’s but anger was making the Greot oblivious to that fact.

In normal circumstances Tarian would have been able to dodge aside. But because of the density of the forest he didn't have enough room to move. Tarian realized he couldn't even spread his wings to escape. Cursing under his breath, Tarian began running to find a clearing.

Although Deeni was a rather slow and cumbersome creature, he had a lot of muscle to back himself up. With the mixture of anger, he was running rather fast after the dragon, living proof that being woken up prematurely causes bad days.

The Greot knew the forest rather well, so the foliage wasn’t too much of a burden for him. He leapt over them or crawled under them. Because he was smaller than the dragon, it was easier for him to maneuver.

Suddenly, he leapt at the other creature and managed to grab onto his tail. He latched on with all eight arms and started climbing up Tarian's tail toward his back.

"OWCH!" Tarian cried. He swung his tail violently to rid himself of the pest. "Don't make me have to hurt you. Because I will if you don't let go!" Tarian warned. He continued going through the forest, hoping to find an open area.

Deeni’s eight arms refused to let go and merely clung on harder than ever. However, soon the Greot felt himself begin to waken up a little more. He blinked his eyes a couple of times then realized what had happened.

Oh great…not again…

One by one, the Greot’s arms released the dragon’s tail, sending the reptile sprawling on the rainforest floor. Deeni shook himself off then grinned apologetically at the dragon.

“Sorry…but…I’m not really a morning person,” he yawned as though it explained everything.