He took one step forward. Something crackled wetly under his foot, and glancing downward he noticed for the first time the buzzing activity all around him. Tiny figures milled about, shying away from the foot that had landed in their midst. They swarmed in a confused mass all along the floor of the maze as far as he could see. Annoyed at their high-pitching squealing he lashed out with a kick, sending dozens of them tumbling through the air.

Something about them struck him as familiar and he bent to scoop a few of them up in his fingers for a closer inspection. A disdainful sneer crossed his muzzle. Humans! So it was these crawling little vermin who were responsible for this outrage. They had given him more than their share of trouble in the past, but this time they had gone too far. How dare they steal him away from his mate when he had been on the verge of claiming her at last? How dare they mock him with the indignity of that flying metal contraption!

With a scowl he closed his fist, squashing the insolent little pests into a sticky mass which he grumblingly shook from his fingers. So, the humans presumed to toy with a dragon in his mating season, did they? Very well, then. So be it. He would play their little game.

And he was going to enjoy it...