The other wyrmlings grew very alert, flattening down and slinking into the murky water to press against Slygotha, who gathered them in with her forearms like a mother hen. She was extremely agitated about Nidhogg's disappearance, but would not leave the other five in case something were to happen. She snorted her agitation, wide eyed, her nostrils flared. The acid worked up in her jaws as she scanned the shore, picking up the faint waft of acrid black dragon urine from a dense clump on the riverbank, perhaps where the boat had shoved off from. Her pupils narrowing, she roared, her poison green crest flaring as high as it would go as birds for miles fled. She unloaded a torrent on the Grove of trees, the strong acid dissolving the leaves and smaller branches and causing the larger branches to droop eerily. The vegetation hissed and bubbled, revealing no Nidhogg. Thrusting her wings out in frustration, her sorrowing cries echoed across the valley, shaking the treetops.
Nidhogg, bouncing on the man's back as he was running through well worn game trails, heard her parents calling. She struggled, squirming around as hard as she could, but to no avail. The man knew exactly where he was going: straight to the nearest village to catch a ride to the closest city. He knew that he had caught something worth having, and if he found the right buyer, he'd never have to worry about his family starving or having a roof over their heads ever again. Life of a villager wasn't always easy. He had heard the tales of the great Worm of Slygoth, and saw the carnage wrecked on his comrades as they were coming back across the wide jungle river. The parents were larger than the village buildings! He wasn't far away now, and he knew he would have to be very fast, as the parents, the great black ones, had wings.
Reaper looked to his mate and remaining wyrmlings. He was truly conflicted in that instant. But he looked back to the trail that led away from them that carried Nidhogg's unique acid scent. He growled angrily and knew he had to get her back or avenge her if it was already too late. He assured Slygotha, "They will pay in blood for their treachery and stupidity!" Before taking to the sky. A father’s wrath set on mass destruction and vengeance.