Hope and Promise in Dragonflight

[GuardianOfHearts]

{ GAH! I am SO sorry for not being able to post! Dx There's been so much going on ... -sigh- I hope no one's forgotten about it because of my negligence ... if need be, I'll send PMs and apologies. ;~; Forgive meh? -gives everyone chocolate cookies with dragons in icing on them- =3? }


Aara strolled along the outskirts of the forest, cloak wrapped tightly about her to ward against the chill of the early morning. It was a sunny day, but the warmth had only just begun to drive away the tendrils of mist. She glanced up at the sunlight spilling in through the canopy of leaves, wet as a result from the heavy storm last night. A few droplets of rainwater dripped down from a leaf and splashed on her nose, causing the elementalist to shake it off, look back down again, and flip her hood over her auburn head. She knew that later, the heat of the day would dry everything off, for the most part, but for now, even the very air seemed damp.

Humming quietly, she made her way into the woods, stepping over twigs too wet to snap and soaked ferns. She soon found a path and took to it, lost in the silence as she wondered what to do about her next meal.

It was a few minutes before she realized exactly how quiet it was. As she had walked deeper into the forest, the birdsong had stopped altogether; her footsteps were the only ones heard. It was as if the forest had gone into shock.

Wary to the stillness, she unslung her bow from her back and nocked an arrow, carefully holding it taut and angled at the ground so she could bring it up at a moment's notice. Her gate became more calculated.

But still, nothing to explain the silence. What could threaten these peaceful woods, anyway?

Some of those monsters, maybe, she thought suddenly, and shuddered despite her warm cloak. Was that why the animals had fled? But if so, why couldn't she hear them?

Soon, she reached the edge of a small clearing- and nearly dropped her bow in suprise.

There, lying lopsided against a bed of ferns, was a large oval shape, unmistakabley an egg, reaching as tall as her knee. It was rather bland and colorless, though flecked with bits of grey-ish silver.

Glancing from left to right before she replaced her bow and arrow, she cautiously approached the egg, trying to think of what type of creature lay inside. Ignoring the wet ground, she kneeled down besides it, running her fingers along the shell. After a few moments, she gently rapped on it, increasing the force until she could safely say that this egg was verywell protected.

Aara started mentally running through all the books she had read, taking in the shape, color, and size. Her heart quickened, and her hands halted their progress on the egg's smooth surface.

This has to be ... a dragon egg!

As the redhead gaped at the egg in the shock of relevation, she noticed that it was trembling underneath her pale fingers; and when she pulled her hands away, it rocked gently to one side.

"It's hatching...."

After her initial dumbfounded shock, she immediately began to mentally run over everything she had read or heard from her family about newborn dragons. Soon, she had collected herself enough to remember what she had read about hatchlings.

"The specific time in which it takes a dragon to break free of its egg is no sure thing, but what remains constant is that they must be kept warm once hatched, otherwise they will never be able to breathe fire when they're older. Once the whole nest has hatched, the mother dragon will light a fire around the perimeter and unfurl her wings over them. Her mate will then hunt for food for the hatchlings, which they will eat a few hours after birth. Hatchlings drink only the blood of their prey for the first week, after which they are catagorized as nestlings...."

The egg rocked again, more violently than before. Snapping to her wits, the redhead leapt up and streaked to the edge of the clearing, holding out her hands and conjuring color-shot energy to them. Ropes of nacreous light burst out and snaked their way between the trees, wrapping around sticks at her silent command. She looked over her shoulder as she collected the firewood, watching the egg tremble. Soon she was calling her ropes back, making them disperse as she let the kindling fall into her arms. The elementalist rushed back and kneeled a few feet away from the egg, hurridly placing the sticks together and graddbing flint out of her pocket. Sparks of energy burst around her as a result of the adrenaline coursing through her veins as she worked on starting a fire. Her pale fingers fumbled, and more than once she had to pick up the flint after dropping it, but she controlled her nervous reflexes and calmed herself down. Soon, the wood burst into flame, burning despite the dampness. Thick plumes of smoke drifted up and through the canopy of leaves above.

Breathing heavily, Aara sat back on her heels, turning to look over at the silver-speckled egg again. It was rocking back and forth now in short, jerky movements. As she watched, a tiny fracture appeared near the top, growing until it ran down the length of the shell. A loud crack sounded, and a spiderweb of fissures blossomed in the middle. Several taps rang from inside it, circling the most recent dents.

How does something so small break open something so hard? she wondered. That made her worry, stupid as it was. What if the dragon couldn't hatch?

Of course it can, don'y be an idiot. Thousands of dragons have done it before. This one is no different.

Still, she ws edgy. She moved closer to the egg, gently placing her hands on it again, feeling her skin tingle with the vibrations. It jerked to one side, but she held on to it still. Slowly, she applied pressure to her grip, feeling the cracks begin to give way from the combined force of her palms and the blows from the inside.

Crack.

Aara let go and leaned back as the shell broke at the top, jagged pieces raining down to the wet leaves below as something small and silvery poked at the hole. In the next moment, the entire egg shattered and fell around the body within as it outstretched intricately feathered wings.

Practically in her lap, the dragon hatchling collapsed in exhaustion, wet and glistening. It was about the size of a cat, with the wingspan of a little more than a foot. Its scales were dark silver with a slight dusky blue tint, more pronounced in the tiny fringe that ran down its neck to the shoulder. Slender, deep grey horns adorned its head, and is talons were of the same color. The tail was plumed with the same type of metallic feathers as its wings, as was the softly-triangular head behind the horns.

Cautiously, the redhead reached out and scooped the little body up in her arms. The hatchling made a few chirruping squeaks and craned its neck up to lock gazes with her. Aara noted that its eyes were similiar to hers, a stormy grey.

She didn't know how long she looked into those baby eyes, though it seemed like hours. A feeling of simple peace and happiness washed over her as suddenly as though it had started raining. Something like ether seemed to curl up next to he consciousness, swirling through her when she let it and expressing, without words, how nice it felt to be in her embrace, how wonderful Aara was, and how much she was loved.

Still dumbfounded as the hatchling snuggled up against her, she stood up like someone in a daze and walked to the fire, sitting down besides it. Using one arm to cradle the silver dragon, she unfastened her cloak and covered the small body with it, placing her in her lap as close as possible to the flickering flames, never once tearing her eyes away.

That other consciousness was still overlapping with hers, revelling in the warmth of the fire and the gentle fingers stroking her. Aara paused in her ministrations, until then unaware that she had been petting the hatchling. The dragon squeaked, and she continued mechanically, as though it was the most natural thing in the world.

"I think ... I think I just became a Rider."

She let those words suffuse into her skin, wondering at them. There hadn't been any Riders for years ... decades. Not since before the Great War, which she hadn't even been alive for. She had read any volumes she could get her hands on about the Riders, but nothing had ever prepared her for this.

We're bonded, she realized, remembering the term that was used when a hatchling linked their mind and souls with their new Rider.

She could feel the dragon's worldess agreement and contentment at that thought. This little silver beast, who could not even communicate with words yet, was telling her that they now shared fates.

"I suppose...." Aara said slowly, looking down at the hatchling, "that this won't be so bad."

 

[Taokitty]

((That's okay!=^_^= Sorry for my back grammar in my post by the way! I've been writing this for... Atleast an hour and thirty minutes... So yeah! I got a question, do they have to hatch in the first post?))
SWAP!

Was the sounds that could be heard, the sounds vibrated in a small part of the deserted area, where only the water flowing with it unstoppable flow, and the greetings of creatures that survived every day in this forest. No sounds of vehicles, talking, fighting, could be heard that were man made, that's what Teksunai loved the most about this forest, it's unbeat beauty could never match anything that a female may try so heard, as to keep an image. The sun sparkled through the many branches of trees that over lapped each other over time.

Wet dews of waters sparkled with oustmost beauty from the sun reflecting it, though, it never had a solid form. Drops of water weighed each other down against a leave, unable to take it, the leave drooped down, the little specs of dew rusehed down, the sun still holding it's image into it as if fell to the ground, on Teksunai's forhead. She smirked, quickly rubbing it off of her skin multing head. Small bits of dirty dead skin came off as well. Sighing, Teksunai reached into her pocket, she took one step forward, her knee bent down in a way as if she was in a church, showing her respects to God. Showing that her life was meaningless, and she only lived to serve him, and give him everything, even her life through her faith... Or, of course, you could consider it stretching move. Her right foot was evidently stretched behind her as far as she could, instead of having her foot rest comfortably upon the mossy ground, she stretched it as far as she could, so all her joints were lined up in a diagonal way. Her right hand was closed this whole entire time, and when she opened them, 5 needles were in her hand.

They shone more light than water with their solid form, taking small glints of heat while they could, smirking at the handy work of them, she held one each between her finger, still holding her form. Her thumb ran against her palm, so the needles would be supported by something, with a quick swap of a throw, the needles glistened as they raced through the air with outmost power, her hands were now sprawled, her right hand holding the needles now past by her left arm, as her left arm rested on her knee. She watched intently, barely able to hold her breath, until she heard 5 succesful swaps. The needles vibrated for lack of stability, As much as they could, the needles digged into the tree's bark, hoping to reach the tender wood.

Grinning at her work, she casually started walking towards her handi work. Her small robe floated in the air slowly as air and gravity slowly lifted it up from his frail form. Small strands of light, as if woven in shined against the black robe with it's red designs and touched the darkened earth. Out of habit, she clutched her hand on the end of her shirt, relaxing it there, for some reason, her arm was relaxed more, her left arm formed small sparks of wrinkles, though, that didn't matter.

"Pretty good... Considering I used my right hand instead of my left!"she thought happily to herself, her aiming was usually true, but either way. Coming to the closest tree, she easily spotted the small glint of silver out of place, and quickly grabbed it out, despite lack of force, for everything was usually harder to reverse once it had been commited. Quickly, she walked to the next tree, happy she had regained one of them. This tree, however, was more resistant, she tugged on it with little force, though, that didn't seem to work, again she tugged, using more and more of her power, till she had to put her foot against the slippery bark, careful not to fall if it was to get out, she pulled with more force, her leg helping giving her a boost as she clutched it tightly, hearing splintering snaps of wood, she grinned again, until the needles finally came out, small specs of wood fell onto the cold floor, which was ignored. She continued the process, though, she had to go to the six tree, quickly walking up to it, she grabbed the first needles she threw, which was, ironicly, the last she grabbed, she sighed peacefuly to herself, in the damp forest.

She grinned again, repeating the process, the sounds of metal piercing into damp bark could be heard throughout a small part of the forest, and the same repeats of splintering sounds, slowly but steadily, she started walking deeper and deeper into the forest, for the simple fact she was aiming at trees that were farther away.

The forest started to get more thick as the raven haired girl walked deeper. Her ominus hair flowed silently behind her, small streams of water shifted for it's unstability as small specs of light continued to move throught it, though, it wasn't moved that much, it only looked so, when the light was never moving.

Though she was happy with her aiming, she felt a little... Less challenged... Then again, she couldn't exactly tell... Something seemed missing in her training, a thought occured to her, some random people that she listened to from their stories were fighters, they had long spiky hair, and wore a ragged karate outfit, with a strange circle with letters either infront, or behind...? They said that they always yelled out their attacks, giving moves random names for the hell of it, apparently, it raised their pep. Nodding to herself, she mentally agreed to try this, she HAD been training for 4 hours, as she did everyday when she could afford to, so she COULD try something different.

Before continuing with her training, she looked up to the rising sun, slowly reaching higher and higher in the sky to it's former glory, sighing happily, she thought,"I'm glad... That I was given the morning off..."she thought happily to herself to her peace sticken mind, usually, she never got a chance to work in the morning, it was usually in the late afteroon, or early evening, and sometimes, she didn't get enough sleep, this was one of the few rare occasions she was given a day off, especially on the weekdays! After what happened last year...

She shrugged her head briskly, hoping to get rid of unwanted sorrow,"I shouldn't think about that now! Currently I should only be thinking of training, after all, I WILL one day avenge my parents..."she thought to herself, a sadist smirk crossed her face in amusement. Looking back at her needles, she grabbed one, for the experiment at hand, though it would of been wiser not to experiment two things at the same time. Quickly, her eyes scanned the area, until she spotted a tree, it was a grey tree, that seemed more or less dead. It was fairly hollow and thin, considering what her eye could see from so far away, though, it was not in great detail, it was something. She closed her eyes, she felt the blood in her veins pumped as she tried to fight some good old energy, power vibrated throughout the movement of her body, tracing around her blood for extra strength for the nourishment for the muscles to receive, taking a deep breath, she opened her eyes, going back to the same position with her legs, but this time, her left arm slanted diagonaly to her right arm, while that arm went to support her stance of her arm, clutching near the elbow of her left hand, so the needles was in favour of the direction left, the shadow crossed both her eyes.



" And ONE!"She yelled to herself, though, sadly, messed up on the form, her own voice physced her out, which caused her to be a little clumsy, her leg lost balance, so her left leg had to take a step forward just before she was going to deliver the blow, her needles position slipped more to the left than intented, she watched within surprise and shock as the needles whipped through the forest, passed the target and... Went farther,"Shoot..."she muttered to herself, a sigh of exporation escaped her mouth.

"Damn cockiness..."she thought to herself angrily, walking quickly through the invisible path of the forest, she easily stepped past rocks and roots of trees that had grown deep within the earth, the forest was easy to dodge, after all. She brushed past some minor bushes and branches of new born trees trying to mature.

She walked passed the tree she had originaly tried to aim at. There was no bark upon the tree, only leaving wood. It was grey that might have been once white, splinters of lines cracked across the wood of the tree, showing it's wounds that the forest had did through out the years. Small branches weakly held onto the limb, no leaves bloomed across the tree, making it eerie, as if the branched were out to reach for you. She shivered, continuing passed her way, to think, that it had only taken her needles a few seconds to pass this tree, when it had taken her about 10 minutes.

It's... Strange... I KNOW I can't through it THAT fast with so much power... It's... Practicly impossible for me!""she screamed in her mind, debating this as she looked at the ground," Unless... That was... My own powers?"she thought,"It IS possible... Since, I am just learning how to weild them by myself... That IS logical... Though, I usually don't try to use them... Strange... I guess, I wasn't in control of them, and my powers might have been building up throughout the years, and since I rarely use it, that too might be a reason...." She continued to discus this, looking at her hand as if to focus her thoughts around it.

20 minutes or so passed as she continued walking, the forest path started to become more steeper, roots that could of been here since hte beggining of time sprouted out of the ground for it's lack of hospility, the dirt was getting harder, and more rushes of water passed by. Branched and mud also were more persistant in this isolated part of the forest, and it didn't help with the lack of light that the branches sheltered," I've always thought the forest go deep near the center but I never expected it to get THIS bad..."She thought, loosing herself in thoughts, which, evidently, and so rarely, caused her foot to lock onto a root that steeped high that she had underestimated. The force of her next step caused her to fall onto her face, luckily, it was softened by mud, which she casually wiped off, though, not all of it, that was okay though.

From the speed of the needles, it proabalby went a LONG... Way?"she said to herself, muttering the last part. A small trench of river went into a circular pattern, small trigs and dirt covered with moss over the time glinted with it's needless special beauty. Through the dark forest, strands of small lights fell upon the floor, in the center of the miniature island, sewing a strong light together. Cautiously, she took a step, never realizing how... Empty the forest felt as her steps brokes twigs with a simple step. It seemed... Eeries...

Tension started to rise fluently in her, without her barely realizing it with each step... Until she broke into a run, quickly, she passed through the trench of water, splashes of liquid jumped into the air, seperating by her force of weight, small tendrils went upon her ankles, nearly soaking them. Quickly, she ran into the center, which was fairly... Cushony, like it was a beani bag seat of some kind... Quickly, she rested upon her lower lpart of her leg as she neatly folded it, overlapping her thigh. Her needles glinted in the light deeply, quickly telling her where it was. Grabbing it, she scowled at herself. Though, she didn't stand up right away, realizing there was a... Rock there?

The rock looked old, as some parts of the material was chipped, dust formed on it, or was it really dust? Looking upon it, a," Huh..." of minor amusement escaper her lips. The rock was fairly big, bigger than any rock she saw, and found it... Suspicious... Though she shrugged it off, out of curiosity, she wiped some bits of the rock, blowing some dust off of it,"I guess... I should thank this rock... To an extent, after all, if it wasn't for that, I would of still been running!"she thought happily to herself, though, bitter worry filled her with suspicion.

"Though... The surface of this rock seems... More... Alive, and by the looks of it, it fell out of the sky..."she thought, rubbing the rock tenderly, feeling across the uneven bumps of the surface. Again, she looked above where blinding light was, or, it looked blinding for lack of it covering the part of the forest.

"Yes... Something definatly fell down, and broke those branches..."she thought more deeply to herself, her other arm occupied itself by wrapping itsel in a loose punch, showing small bits of her tension. Her eyes slanted with wisdom and maturiy as she tried to think deeply into the manner, though, her eyes widened, making her shrug off the feeling, she quickly shook her head to her side, her eyes tightly close before she brought herself to talk again.

"It's not like it's any of MY buisness!"she mumbled to herself, for some reason, sorrow plunged her, her words were more ceriian, and more thoughtful than one would think, filled with loving tenderness, again she shook her head, quickly standing up, she didn't realize how cold her hand felt for a few seconds, just before she was about to walk away... Though she soon realized it, confusion now crossing her face mader her look at the rock again,"Kweh?"she asked herself, again, she bent by the rock. Her hands tracing around it, heat was definatly vibrating from it, which took her back a little.

"NEH?!"she asked herself in confusion before blinking. Building up courage, she slowly put both hands upon the rough surface that looked like un even tendrils, that DEFINATLY wasn't normal for a rock, brown specs followed the lines, slowly, she put her head between her hands, to help support her pull away.

"It's nothing..."she thought to herself, her eyes closed with relief,"WAIT!"she yelled, snapping her eyes open. A faint sound entered her ears, coursing through her ears, it vibrated throughout the rock, slowly, but surely getting stronger. Calmly, she pulled away, silently trembling.

"Is this... An egg...? It IS that's for sure, and whatever it is, is BIG!"she thought, thinking of all the terrible things, little did she know, it was a dragon. Panic and fear sickened her stomach,"That's it! I'm leaving!"she yelled to herself. Her feet managed to take a few steps, but... Something was gnawing at her,"Just ignore it..."She thought to herself... She sighed, each step she took, filled her with aniexity, glancing back at the egg. She stood there for a few seconds.

"What should I do?"she asked herself, turning away from the egg again, her concious was getting the better of her... And winning, again, she glanced back at the egg, searching upon the ground, as if it had an answer, a smile crossed her face. Slowly, she started walking towards the egg, rubbing it again. Needless to say, she quickly built an attatchment to it, smiling sincerly, her eyes closed.

"Okay... I'm going to take the egg home, and hide it in my room, where there's a fireplace, it's probably barely surviving, considering the fact that it's so cold in the forest, so I'll sneak through the back door, where customers aren't allowed in, since our section are seperated by a wall they cannot enter without entering one of the two staircases in the kitchen which we eat in, and make food for them, and the one behind the counter..."happy with her decision, she grabbed the egg, surprised at it's emense weight, which caused her to almost slip and drop the egg, quickly, she held it tightly, she wasn't sure what she'd do when she got close to the inn... Nor how long she'd be able to hide it in her room for, but she'd try. For the egg's sake.

 

[TheClamWhisperer]

"First, we need to gather Lion's tooth, Hair, and Dragon's scales." Layafel murmured to nobody in particular. Her deep, calculating, crimson eyes scanned the area of the forest floor, in search of the herbs she required.

Her tan, leather boots scuffled against the dirt, crushed dying leaves, and made barely audible clunks as she strode through the vegetation. She wasn't literally looking for the tooth of a dragon, hair, or a Dragon's scales. These were merely the names of the herbs she was assigned to gather. The first herb, Lion's tooth, was actually nothing more than a Dandelion.

In old magickal recipes and spells, strange ingredients are often called for that cannot always be taken literally. A soft, soaring whistle drew Layafel's attention towards the canopy of the forest. Her familiar, Verena, was perched upon one of the upper tree branches, but her sharp, cruel beak clacked twice after Layafel's glance.

"To your left."

Layafel heard the instruction whispered across her mind, so she turned to the said angle and spotted a cluster of pale, fuzzy flowers. Smiling brightly, Layafel kneeled down to gently pull the flowers from their place in the earth. Verena and Layafel had a special bond as familiar and Master, thus they could communicate through psychic means. Communication is acheived by telepathic conversations within the mind.

Tugging the vivid yellow flowers from the earth, Layafel mentally thanked the Earth for this gift. After placing the herbs in the protective pouch at her belt, Layafel stood up with a yawn. "Verena, do you see any Dragon's scales?" Layafel questioned. The great eagle spread her vast wings, but did not send out any vibrations of her element.

Taking to flight, Verena soared through the forest with her keen golden eyes scanning the scenery. Layafel followed her familiar, but her thoughts strayed to the Great War. She had recently caught a flash of one of the battles, due to her Retrocognition, but wanted to learn even more. Verena's sharp 'kaw' jerked her out of her daydreams, and instructed her to find her herbs.

After 15 minutes of gathering, Layafel sat down with her back against the trunk of a tree to rest for a few moments. Verena was busy grooming her shining plumage, but still keeping her senses poised for trouble. "I dont think I should go to the coven meeting tonight." Layafel sighed miserably. "Everyone is always staring at me, waiting for me to do something miraculous. Goddess, it is so uncomfortable."

Verena was listening as always, but her sharp head snapped upward and spun from left to right. Emitting an urgent, and feirce, cry, she leapt from the branch and dove into the depths of the forest in a golden blur. "Verena?" Layafel asked curiously, as she staggered to her feet, and hurriedly darted after her companion.

Layafel knew that familiars were able to sense negative auras and threatening vibrations, but Verena was acting more tense than usual. Upon entering a grove of spruce trees, Layafel caught sight of two Scairs. Their thin, lizard like bodies were circling something in a clump of Lion's Tooth...

"Hey!" Layafel shouted in their direction with a livid tone. The young witch had no tolerance for monsters of any breed. The pointed ears of the Scairs twitched upon hearing Layafel's shout, thus they spun around and exposed their many small, sharp teeth.

These monsters usually traveled in groups of two to five, but it was sheer luck that only two were present. Charging twoards Layafel with their teeth beared, they completely forgot about the object behind them. Layafel's angry, blood red, eyes flashed, and in a split second she drew something from her belt.

The shine of glistening metal glittered in her hand, as her deadly chakram was pulled out. Throwing the weapon with deadly accuracy, she watched without remorse at the cruel metal ring severed one of the Scair's heads. It's detached body twitched for a few seconds before falling to the eath, dead as a dornail.

Layafel hopped backwards as the remaining Scair lunged for her ankle. However, the monster was halted by Verena's murderous beak. The deadly gift of the eagle clamped down around the Scair's neck, and snapped it's neck in two. The creature fell limp, and was thrown aside by Verena.

Layafel smirked at her partner, mentally thanking her for her quick reflexes. Walking past the bloody form of the beheaded Scair, Layafel appraoched the mysterious object. Plucking her chakram from it's place, Layafel kneeled beside the object. "It's...an EGG!" She gasped upon her discovery. The egg, which was a dark shade of obsidian, but incandescent flecks of amethyst were embedded in the thick shell.

Layafel's eyes darkened upon spotting the many cracks upon the shell. "They got it after all. C'mon, Verena." Layafel sighed sadly, coming to the conclusion that the Scairs had already claimed the life of the creature inside.

However, Verena was refusing to move, but instead was circling the egg and nudging it gently with her beak. "Verena?" Layafel ludicrously asked as if there was a chance the baby might be alive. The egg was begining to violently rock back and forth as if it were atop a fault line. The young witch's eyes widened as she was proved wrong, and Verena's instincts proved correct.

"I-It is alive!" Layafel choked out in a bewildered tone. Verena tossed her head as if saying 'Told you'. Layafel reached out a gloved hand to touch the egg, but an eruption of hundreds fissures made her pause. Her brows furrowed, remembering when Verena was hatched. "I am Layafel of Lucretia, whatever is in that egg isn't gonna scare me." She told herself.

Sitting directly in front of the egg, Layafel waited for the final crack to split the egg apart. She had witnessed this once before, and knew what to expect. Verena was yanking at Layafel's sleeve, trying to tell her something. "Huh?"

Verena ruffled her feathers once, telling Layafel what had to be done. "Oh! Heat!" Layafel exclaimed, and got to her feet. There wasn't time to make a fire, thus Layafel had to use her power.

Exhaling calmly, but being careful not to disrupt her emotional and mental stauts, Layafel used her mind to summon heat from the Earth. Verena kept completely silent, knowing full well that Layafel needed the utmost concentration, or this could be destructive. Nevertheless, a small ember, like a candle being lit, began to form before Layafel.

The witch's calm, aura fanned the flames, and forced the flame to grow. Once exposed to the oxygen of the area, the inferno grew taller, and stronger. Layafel, knowing that holding the flame without sending it into the Earth could be dangerous, manipulated the fire into half a circle.

The flames soared twoards the hatching egg, and gingerly wrapped around the perimeter of it. Layafel kneeled in front of the egg just as something began to poke through. She could hear soft chirps from within the shell, and reached out to help the baby. Prying the egg apart, something sopping wet, and light fell into her arms.

The small, shiny something nestled it's sticky, heavy head within the crook of Layafel's neck. Arms shaking, and pulse racing, Layafel gently pried the creature off of her in order to get a better look at it. Nearly dropping it out of shock, Layafel realized what this precious gift was.

"Dragon..."

The baby's spiked tail feebly swayed back and forth, as if saying, 'I did it!'. Looking the creature up and down, Layafel examined every nook and cranny of it's small body. Covered with dark, shining amethyst scales which were still soft and leathery, armed with stubby glistening silver talons, and blessed with a pair of large, radioactive emerald eyes, this was a beautiful sight.

It's wings were curled upon it's back, but from what Layafel could see, they were bat-like and reached a wingspan of about 2 feet. Careful not to let her hands press down upon the hooked spikes upon the creature's back, Layafel pulled the baby against her chest.

Her heart was swelling with so much emotion that the flames were begining to skyrocket. However, Layafel couldn't help it. She had only felt this feeling once before. The feeling of being blessed with the presence of a new life, one that would be bonded to her very soul. Her bright, and awestruck eyes were begining to water as the hatchling nuzzled her cheek, and she stroked the dragon's smooth head, but was gentle as brushed against the twin, hooked silver horns.

The feeling of a creature that would bond with her very soul, and share her every thought was overwhelming. She had only felt this way when Verena was born, but she hadn't forgotten the happiness she experienced. The almost inaudible growl of a stomach, told Layafel that her precious baby was hungry.

Her grandmother had told her that dragons could only drink blood at this extremely vunerable age. Almost wondering where she could possibly get blood, Verena nudged her shoulder with her wing. The eagle motioned behind her, where the bleeding Scairs were still stationed. "Thank you, karma!" Layafel cheered upon the good fortune. It hurt to seperate herself from the baby, but she knew she would need both hands for this.

Gently placing the hatchling at Verena's feet, she hurried over twoards the body of the beheaded Scair, and pulled out a vial from her pouch. Verena sniffed the baby dragon, who was imitating her every move. Protectively circling her powerful wing around the baby, and nudging it closer to the inferno, Verena too felt strong emotion for the dragon.

Layafel, returned with the precious blood and carefully pulled the baby into her arms. She knew this was the begining of a beautiful relationship.

 

[MESMAR_RISING]

A grin spread across the face of a rather aristocratic looking blonde as he lowered himself into the head seat of a table. The red velvet robes which he wore rubbed gently on his skin as he stared at the many beautiful women which had chosen to join him this evening. "Perfect," said the young man in a rather upbeat yet deep voice as he examined the feast which lay before him. Indeed the cloaked blonde was in the presence of a true feast for the senses. For his eyes the beauty of the countless women(all of which were scantily clad and wearing body oils), for his ears the sound of the music coming from the small band sitting by the fire place(also women whom were incredibly attractive), for his sense of smell and taste the terrific food which lay before him, and of course for touch the warmth of the blonde's home as well as the feeling of velvet against his skin.

Indeed, this was a vision of perfection; one would say that it's even too perfect to be true. Of course, it was not true.

The young blonde sighed as he snapped his fingers and the house, was replaced by the edge of a lake, the women by trees, the food by grass, his seat by a tree stump, and of course everything else by the surrounding forest. The young man, Nichol, was left with his rather modest clothing and meager possessions. He stood and stretched, however his stretching was cut short as his stomach growled rather loudly. Nichol brought his rather dirty hand to his of course filthy moss green shirt and rubbed his stomach cursing his lack of food.

The young man of course had no luck finding any food this morning. Hunting was never what Nichol was truly skilled with. It had been two days since he had found a decent meal. It would have been simpler to get a bite to eat if he had even the slightest amount of money to speak of, however this was not the case. The young man had very little education, thus he wasn't suited for more complicated jobs in which he could make a decent living. Instead he resorted to odd jobs in order to survive, however it seemed that they were getting rather scarce lately, and he was far to hungry to do any proper stealing.

The young man sighed accepting that it was going to be hopeless to find food at least for a while, and he would simply have to deal with it. Intead he tightened his belt and stepped to where the lake met the rocks which seperated it from the forest. Climbing down easily he rolled up his filthy moss green pants and stepped into the water only after he had taken off his leather-like boots. Yes, leather-like. He had attempted to steal a pair of real leather boots, however that ended badly when the mage whom had been hired by the locals to stop the recent heists caught him. Nichol had the scars to prove it. That however is beside the point, as mentioned, he stepped into the crystal clear water and began attempting to drown his hunger and perhaps even get cleaner.

"Hmm..." He said looking at his clothes as he finished gulping down some water, "I have gotten rather dirty, even by my standards. Perhaps bathing is in order." As he finished speaking he began stripping. Of course he did not strip all the way, he kept on a pair of undergarments which were to his surprise quite clean. How fortunate for he did not want to go through stealing someone else's again.

After a few moments of washing his clothing, and of course himself, Nichol left the lake and entered the wooded area. "Time to dry off," he said hanging his clothing from a tree and beginning to gather some wood for a fire. He was rather fortunate to find that there was a sufficient amount of wood in the area he was already in to make and maintain a modest sized fire. After lighting the fire and setting his clothes near it, he felt the need to answer the call of nature. Given the fact that of course he was not barbaric, Nichol went into a new area declaring it his bathroom and began claiming this spot as his own.

Of course, as he was he noticed a rather strangely shaped rock. It seemed to be a perfect oval rather than the typical jagged edges he was used to seeing. A closer look was needed.

So just as soon as Nichol had finished what he had left the fire to do, he took a few steps to the rock and began his examination. "Interesting..." Muttered the blonde as he brought his hand to his smooth chin, however retracted it quickly remembering what he had just done. In truth he had no idea what this truly was, however his eyes widened as he did realize one thing. It was not a rock, it was... "An egg!"

Scooping the rather plain looking egg into his arms the blonde began running towards the fire. Of course his brief jog was cut short by a pesky tree root. Gesturing at the root with the middle finger of his right hand, Nichol dashed to examine the damage done to the egg. "No..." He said feeling rather crestfallen as he examined a crack which spanned from the rounded, but still thinner top to the wider rounded bottom. The egg still moved, supposedly from the fall and some of the inner goodness began to spill onto the ground. Nichol must save whatever was left, and thinking that he could break the egg in half and instead scoop up some of the yoke until he could transfer it to something else and cook it the blonde began trying to pull the egg in half.

In what seemed like only a moment the egg broke in two and a creature with a red body and scaly wings greeted Nichol with a raspy cry. It was covered in the juices from inside of the egg and climbed quickly onto Nichol clinging to his body in an attempt to, what he thought was get warm. Nichol looked down at the creature and noticed that his glanced had been returned by a full on stare. The creatures eyes seemed to pierce Nichol's soul and for a moment he felt warm just as he had in the illusion he had created earlier. He no longer felt hunger, and thoughts of devouring this hatchling disappeared from his mind. "Good chicken..." He said rubbing his hand down the creatures scaly back as the two of them sat near the fire keeping warm.

"Great," said Nichol sighing as he parted his gaze from the being's and looked at the fire, "Two mouths to feed..."

 

[GuardianOfHearts]

As the hatchling eventually dozed off in Aara's arms, the redhead looked down at the silvery dragon and wondered. In her shock and urgency before, it hadn't crossed her mind as to why a lone dragon egg would appear in the forest. The smallest of clutches, she had read, held about five eggs, and besides, dragons nested in high mountain caves, not in the middle of cramped forests. And they certainly did not leave soon-to-hatch eggs by themselves.

It must have been abandoned, she thought, watching the reflected flames dance over the hatchling's sleek scales. But no one's even seen a dragon for years. Everyone said they disappeared over the sea after the Great War. How would an egg get all the way here?

The redhead sighed and looked up, subconsciously stroking the metallic-feathered wings. That was one mystery she may never find the answer to.

And yet another thought invaded the lassitude that was spreading from the sleeping creature in her arms. What was she going to do with this thing? They were obviously bonded. And Aara knew instinctively that she would go to the ends of the land to protect this little hatchling.

Should she keep it a secret? Run from the kingdoms, her family? What would people do when not only dragons, but Riders as well, returned? She was far from ignorant about how most people felt about these great winged creatures, and was sure they'd rather see her beloved partner dead. She shivered at that thought despite the fire's warmth, knowing the folly of humans when they were afraid.

And that brought her back to her earlier ponderings. There had to be more than one egg. Was there a whole nest somewhere, abandoned? Were there uncared for hatchlings, or ... had the incredible happened, and others had bonded as she had?

"I need to find others," Aara stated to the flickering fire. "Maybe some other eggs ended up around here. It can't hurt to search." She waited another half hour, though, until she was sure her little dragon was well-warmed. Then, holding out one free hand, she conjured a wave of opal energy and let it blanket the fire, snuffing it out as easily as a candle. She stood up, careful not to jostle the hatchling awake, and set off from the way she had come.

When she reached the edge of the forest, she tugged the cloak she had wrapped around the dragon over its head, blocking out the harsh glare of the sunlight as she started down the open path along the eastern border. As she walked, Aara worked on compiling together what she knew about dragons. They were hatchlings the first week, and after that they were nestlings, which they remained until they were old enough to fly, upon which they became fledglings. But how long did that take? A month, two? More? She couldn't remember exactly. The elementalist could, however, recall that dragons grew very rapidly- and, as infants, ate voraciously. She figured that the dragon would probably want food when it woke up.

Halfway down the path, it did. The hatchling mewled pitiously, and a wave of ravenous hunger invaded the rapport, blotting everything else out.

Shh, don't worry, I'll get something to eat, Aara said mentally, suddenly very concerned. The dragon whimpered but seemed to be a bit more calm that before. Glancing about, the redhead made sure it was completely wrapped and set the silver beast down on a nearby boulder, unslinging her bow from her shoulder and nocking an arrow again. She was rushing it, but it was hard not to when flashes of hunger kept coloring her mind, strangely detached yet sill intense.

She bent down and picked up a rock from the dusty path, turning it carefully over in her hand before throwing it as far as she could into the tall grass. She repeated this process a few times until she scared up a pair of pheasants.

Quickly grabbing her bow in both hands, she aimed at one of the retreating birds and shot it, watching in satisfaction as it halted mid-flap and dropped to the ground. Conscious of the helpless hatchling behind her, she didn't pursue it but instead summoned more energy and sent her ropes off to drag the pheasant back.

As her energy left the bird at her feet, the dragon mewled shrilly, and Aara immediately picked it up and dropped it besides the hatchling. With surprising ferocity, it pounced on the fowl and sunk its tiny, needle-sharp fangs into the feathered neck, greedily sucking the blood. Aara flicked a few sparks of energy at the arrow still embedded in the bird and eased it out, using her element to clean it off and replace it back in her quiver. The hunger pangs soon dissipated, leaving behind another aura of contentment from their link. The little dragon waddled over to the redhead, craning her neck up adoringly, a picture of innocence that clashed with the scene of its first meal. Even with blood staining its muzzle, Aara couldn't help but admit to herself that the hatchling was very cute. And now that it was neither tired nor starving, she could see curiosity in those grey eyes as well. Aara picked the dragon up again, and it sat up in the crook of her arm instead of nuzzling against her chest.

"You know, you're going to need a name," she remarked conversationally as she continued walking. Whether or not the hatchling understood, she wasn't quite sure, but she felt its eagerness and saw the interested tilt of its wedge-shaped head.

"Of course, I can't start picking names until I know your gender. And you can't exactly tell me until you start talking, and who knows when that will be." The dragon squeaked in response. The redhead glanced down, scanning her eyes over the silvery form. The little one was cute, she decided, in a feminine sort of way. And though it was hard to figure out telepathically, the wordless thoughts and feelings that were coming through their link didn't seem to have a masculine hint to them.

"I guess you're female," she decided. "Now, what would be a good name?"

The dragon started swishing her slim, plumed tail to the beat of Aara's footsteps. The metallic tip flashed in the sunlight, back and forth, almost hypnotically. She crooned and watched her partner think. The grey-eyed girl ran over names she thought might be suitable, but when placing them with the creature perched on her arm, none seemed to fit, and the hatchling didn't react to any of them.

It wasn't until she had stopped to rest on a boulder, the dragon clambering all over her, that she thought she had a name.

"What do you think of Alehur as a name, little one?"

The silvery-blue dragon paused to blink up at her, a few of her talons already hooked on Aara's shoulder to continue her climbing.

"Alehur?"

Her grey eyes gleamed, and she positioned herself back on the inside of Aara's elbow, stretching out her neck on the length of her partner's arm. Instinctively, the redhead stroked the small head with a gentle finger, marveling at the perfect peace that was surely not her own.

"Alehur ... I think you'll grow into it."

The newly-christianed hatchling hummed briefly, nuzzling her tiny cheek affectionately against the redhead's palm. But suddenly, the peace of their moment was shattered as effectively as glass as Alehur shot up, ears twitching frantically before she ducked her head into Aara's lap, trembling with fear and and trying to find refuge under her arms.

The elementalist fought against the primal terror that rose in her from their rapport and desperately dug out the rational, human side to the link.

"Why are you so afraid?" she asked, wide-eyed, trying to bring the newborn up to eye level to communicate better. But the silvery dragon would have none of that, twining her tail about her arm and burrowing into the folds of her cloak. Aara caught flashes of fear, and the instinctive desire for survival.

A predator?

Fear that was entirely her own coursed through her, and Aara clutched Alehur tightly, glancing left and right for any sign of danger.

Nothing is going to take you away from me. I will protect you.

Even as she tried to soothe her partner with that promise, the sound of something moving through the tall grass made her jump to her feet, holding on to the little dragon with one hand and reaching back to take out her bladed staff with the other.

A menacing hiss sent chills down her spine, making her feet dig into the dusty ground for support as it was joined by others. Something long and grey slunk out from behind a bush, snake-like tongue protruding from a needle-tooth lined mouth to taste the air in bloodthirsty excitement. The Scair scuttled over to the bonded pair, flanked by two of its fellows. Aara leapt back up onto the boulder, staring the demons down with a feral rage contorting her face. She had never reacted like this before, but then again, she had never been defending anyone as close to her as Alehur was. The hatchling sat in one of her pant pockets as far as she could go, hiding her blue-flecked grey eyes with her feathered wings.

The first Scair jumped at her, but with a twirl of her blade, Aara sliced it in half twice, glaring down at the mutilated body with bared teeth as it fell to the ground, staining the dirt maroon with its pooling blood. The two that were left pounced upon their dead companion, alternating between coveting her and Alehur and lapping up the steaming entrails.

Spiked tail lashing threateningly, one of the demons circled half-way around the thankfully tall boulder and dug tiny, yet sharp claws into the stone, scrambling its way up. Stepping back, she flipped up her staff and swiftly conjured another rope of energy, throwing it out to the Scair and tightening the elemental noose around its thin neck, ruthlessly choking it. Letting the energy finish the kill, she jumped down, and, before the other monster could strike, stabbed it through the small of its back and wrenched the blade out, a strangled cry barking against her clenched teeth. Deep red blood splattered against her black boots, and Alehur poked her head out, still trembling, though her fear was beginning to ebb away. Taking a deep breath, Aara replaced her staff and gently lifted the hatchling back to her chest, cradling her and crooning encouragingly.

"You're safe," she promised, leaving the mangled bodies of her demonic attackers behind as she stroked Alehur back into a state of security, "I'm here with you, always."

 

[Thelonepickle]

((Woulda been nice to know this had started, GOH. Ooh, my. That was subtle. >.>))

In the southernmost Port City in Surim, located on the southern outskirts of the town, there was a small gathering of people. The passers-by were listening to the music that fluttered out of the violin a boy garbed in blue was playing. The song was strange and unfamiliar. Parts of it were incredibly fast and exciting, but then it would fade into a melody of sorrow and silky notes that slid from the instrument like a songbird taking flight for the first time. The boy that played it wore a smile, regardless of what the song sounded like. People occasionally dropped coins in the small, blue hat that was placed on the cobblestones near his feet, but mostly they just watched in awe of the boy. Finally, the song came to an end.

"Who's that by?" A man asked the boy, who just rubbed his light brown hair with a dark-skinned hand. The man added, "It's nothing like I've ever heard."

"It's by Arai Yasai," the boy said, grinning. The man tried to place the name, when suddenly a woman saw the bright look in the boy's green eyes. She put a hand over her mouth.

"You're Arai Yasai!" She said, astounded. The boy nodded. She gained a bit of her composure and straightened her collar. "But, then... How long have you been practicing that song? It sounds as if you've known it your whole life."

"Oh, well, I just made it up," Arai offered, shrugging as if it was no big deal. "It's all improv. I don't write my songs down, and none of them are ever the same." The woman was clearly trying hard to fathom what he'd just told her, but it was hard for her to believe that a young man like himself could play like that, and just out of his head, without practice.

"Those must be enchanted instruments," another man decided. He looked suspicious, and the coin he was holding was slowly going back into his pocket, rather than into Arai's hat. The boy shook his head, tapping a broken string on his fiddle.

"If it is," he said slowly, "which it's not, then why do the strings break so often? And why can you find the exact duplicates in that little shop over there?" His grin never faded as he chatted with the disbelieving 'audience.' They came to believe him eventually, but then the last man spoke again.

"If anything's enchanted about your music," the man thought aloud as Arai pulled out a glass flute, having packed up his violin, "it's you." The man pointed a finger at Arai, who merely grinned, embarassed, at the dust-covered stone floor beneath his boots.

"I don't know about that," Arai said, as he held the flute to his mouth. "But I like playing, and it's just about my only talent." Then, he let a long, wavering note out of the flute before deciding that it was properly tuned. A new melody began, and the old crowd stared for a while before they turned and left. The man who had claimed that Arai was enchanted dropped the coin in, along with a bag of medium size. Arai was wrapped in the sounds of his flute and didn't notice. For a good ten minutes the song went on, before someone yelped, "What's that, that thing in your hat?!"

Arai's song broke and his last note trailed off as he stared into his hat. The little bag the man had left had slid down, revealing what was inside it. Arai's eyes widened and his grin faded just a little as he put his flute away, staring inside his hat. He kneeled down to look at it, as did the man who had yelled.

"That's a dragon's egg," the man said. He grabbed Arai's arm as the boy reached for the hat. His arm tightened around Arai's as he pulled out papers that told the boy he was a certified Dragon Hunter. Dragons were not appreciated in this town, nor many other places. Arai stared in fright at the man.

"I'm gonna have to bring you in," the man threatened, starting to pull Arai's arm behind his back. Arai hummed nervously. The tune he hummed turned into a fast, vigorous song, crackling like fire, igniting the air around him. The man grabbing Arai's arm let go immediately, yelling, "It burns!"

He grabbed his arm, staring at it. Arai looked, too. Sure enough, there were marks of fire on the man's hand, and they spread a little. Arai ended his Fire Song as he picked up his hat and ran, slipping a little as he turned the corner and kept running, faster than ever. It was hard - his load was heavy, with the egg, the instruments, and the coins. He panted, but he didn't stop until he was out of the town. He was south of the Port City that was Rantom, and he needed to hide.

"A dragon's egg. It came to me," he whispered hoarsely. "But where to go?" He looked around. He could see a small house with three or four horses in front of it. He cradled the egg and ran over the rolling green hills, not looking back as he left the last Port City in Surim.

The house was farther than he'd thought, and it took him a good fifteen minutes to get there, running at top speed. He knocked on the door before throwing it open, greeted by a tall man with a black beard and pudgey face.

"You look like you've seen a ghost!" The man's voice rumbled as he grabbed Arai's shoulder and practically threw him into the house. Arai braced himself for the fall and rolled onto his back, protecting the egg with all his might. Crawling into a chair, he panted. The man stared at the treasure Arai was holding.

"A dragon's egg! Look at it, all silver and blue," Boomed the man. "I've only seen them in pictures." He stroked his black beard before staring Arai in the eye. He frowned a little. "They won't like you havin' yer dragon here. You need to get away."

All Arai could do was nod, his breath still heavy. He was almost sure that there were still people chasing him, but he hadn't heard the sound of horses' hooves. In fact, the air here was filled only with silence. His grin was gone now, which made his face look very strange. He saw it in the reflection of a mirror that was hanging on the Mahogany wood wall. Looking around, he saw that he couldn't stay here. First, he didn't know anything about the man. Second, this place was built for one person, and that person was not Arai.

"You have to get to the forest, the Ridorem Verda, if I remember correctly. They won't find you there. It's east of here. It'll be a long journey, but you can have one of my horses." Arai nodded as the man continued. "You've got to remain unseen. No singing along the way." The man's brown eyes twinkled for a second.

"You've heard me play?" Arai gasped. The man nodded. "Back when yer mother used to dance while you sang. I thought there was somethin' magic about yas. Apparently, someone else did, too. The one that dropped that egg."

Arai was confused, but he didn't wait for a game of twenty questions. "I can pay you for the horse," he stuttered. The man shook his head. He walked to a cupboard and pulled down some meat and bread.

"That won't do no good. I don't care about money. Here, take this and go," he said, pushing the contents of a small pack into Arai's hands. The dark-skinned boy pushed the pack of food into his bigger bag, the one with his instruments inside. It was getting heavier, but the horse would help. Then, the black-haired man tossed Arai a bottle of whiskey, which he caught, flabbergasted.

"I don't... I don't-"

"-It's for the dragon, son," the man laughed. "Take the horse. You need to get going- don't give me that! I don't wantcher gold. Name's Freight. Goodbye, take any horse you want."

Arai wasn't sure what had just happened, but in the past hour, he'd gained a dragon, sixty-three gold coins, a horse, and a massive headache. Grabbing a gray horse by the reigns, he swung himself atop it, having ridden before, and kicked it firmly with his heels. It immediately tore into a gallop as he headed towards the forest.

After a long while, he stared at his egg, which was hidden in his cloak. A hairline crack had spread into a thick, vast fissure, and he was sure he could see a head inside of the egg. Soon enough, a dragon's head poked out and cleared away the rest of the egg's shell. He discarded it as his dragon nuzzled against his hand. Suddenly, a flash of warmth seared through Arai's shoulder, and he felt a great weight in his mind as his dragon's thoughts melded with his.

"Bonded," he murmered as his dragon settled in the cloak, holding on with its claws in the saddle. It was crawling, and it saw very little colour. In his mind, he could feel it try to decipher things it couldn't yet understand, like size, and who Arai was. It got an impuse of "big" and "warm," but it couldn't understand what its brain was trying to process.

Arai tried to focus on the road, and it very hot in the afternoon when he could finally see the forest. That meant he was half way there. The journey had taken a long time, but he was half way there, and that was comforting. He couldn't see many people - there were a few abandoned houses scattered about - but he was almost sure that that was a good thing. Stopping his horse, he pulled out the bag and offered the dragon some food. He wasn't sure what she'd choose- she?

Yes, it was a she. He wasn't sure how he knew, but she was a girl. Shaking away the confusing thoughts, he tried to remember what he knew about dragons.

Oh, yeah. Nothing.

 

[Katattack]

Despite years of wandering around in these very woods, years of coming to know and understand every organism found here, Ari tripped. She felt like a dork. Looking back, she pulled a booted foot out from an exposed tree root, wondering how she had managed to fall. While dusting the boot off, she noticed a faint gleam shining from behind a large patch of shrubs.

Ari hopped over the plants, jogging slightly until she came to a clearing in the woods. There, located in a small imprint in the ground was a round, brown stone-like egg. Ari crouched down, picking up a stick and poking the egg lightly. What in the world? Ari asked herself. She picked up the egg, and even through her leather gloves, she could feel the fire inside. The egg seemed to give off heat, while not actually feeling any warmer than a stone that has sat in the sun for a while.

Ari sat, wondering what she should do with the egg. I can't let it hatch. It would get attatched to me. It needs someone who knows about... She stopped. What was inside this egg, anyway? Too big to be a bird... But it couldn't be what she thought it was. That'd be impossible. Dragons had been gone for years. There was no way it could possibly be-

She stopped as she heard the sudden crack as a hairline crack appeared on the egg. Oh carp. It was hatching. she quickly backed away, hiding in a bush. She then scorned her own stupidity. The dragon couldn't survive all by itself. She'd regret it forever if the animal died because she didn't help it. She approached the egg, which the baby dragon was now pushing fragments of the shell off in an attempt to get out from the prison.

Ari almost reached out to help the dragon out of the shell. She remembered, however, that helping a bird out of it's shell would result in it's death, as they had to get out themselves. No doubt dragons were the same way. She watched as the baby dragon, for the next forty five minutes, steadily chipped away at it's shell until it could finally slide out. It was a lengthy process, but finaly the baby was free.

The dragon, a male, Ari knew somehow, looked around, trying to gain his bearings. He looked up at the only other being it saw, Ari. Half crawling, half stumbling, the dragon made it's way to Ari, who bent down to pick it up. She reached out her hand, letting the little guy get a whiff of her before she picked it up. As she lifted him, the little dragon let out a high pitched squeal of joy.

"Well..." Ari said, not really knowing what she'd do now. "Um... I'm Ari." She brought the dragon up to eye level. "You..." She stopped, trying to think of what she'd say to him. "You look like a little prankster. You look like... a Nekori." The dragon seemed to gain a look of wonder. He tilted his head, staring at Ari.

"Neko. You look like a Neko. For short, I mean." Ari said. Neko gave an involuntary shudder. Ari ran a finger along his brown back. "You're cold!" She said, surprised. She studied his dark skin. "You're not gonna be easy to warm up, either." She realized that dragons probably don't think anything is all that hot, as they can withstand amazing temperatures.

She made her way towards her tiny village, Raion. As she stepped through her home's doorway, she automatically heard her mother's voice asking her why she was home so early.

Ari could trust her mother. She showed her the dragon, and after cleaning up the large dish that her mother had dropped, she put the baby right in front of the fire, nearly in the logs, and put a blanket over it.

"It'll be okay, Neko. We'll find you some friends." Ari said, stroking her new friend and wondering if they would really ever meet another dragon.

 

[Every Heart]

ooc: OMG, sorry for the lack of posts. Unfortunately, I'm going to have to quit. Just loaded with other rps and other....things to do. Sorry GoH

 

[Taokitty]

The once calm air that gave peace in mind in the forest was gone, the freshness of the cool air was sucked into pants and gasps. Sweat beaded across Teksunai's face, her straight hair now stuck to her forehead like glue as it slowly lowered down. Her once calm, deminiar, was now set with panic. Her legs started to throb with pain and lack of oxygen, despite all her constant breathing that entered her lungs. But she kept moving.

It didn't help either about the extra weight she now carried. Her black plain robe was now discarded off her shoulders, instead, it was placed over the cargo that she carried infront of her. Her hands grasped the item protectively, if she just left it with nothing else but that item, people would realize it's an egg, what type, she was not sure, but... Something seemed to make her think of dragons, for, living in the inn, she had learned about different types of monsters that lingered eagerly for anticipation of someone to enter. Her foster parents heeded her and gave her knowledge about monsters, now that much, but basic knowledge, so she'd be prepared for their attack patterns when she trained in the forest. They also taught her some of the different eggs they had, for some people would collect the monster eggs, and use them for numerous of things, which was a job on the side line.

They were all different shapes, oval, sphere, well... Those were the basic shapes, and they were usually more than one colour, but NONE of them were this big, which worried her. And made her worry about if someone saw her with it... IF someone did, though the chances were slim, one could never be too careful. Which gave her more the paranoid fear that was put in her. Placed upon the egg, giving it a camuflauge of some kind, were what looked like twigs. They poked out of the small thing robe, going in various directions, it was scattered, but, in truth, that's not what they were, it was her sack of needles.

She always did that with her fire wood that she'd bring back, so it wouldn't be so suspicious. And it didn't really matter underneath her arms. The thing material hang over her arms, hiding them in the little shadow they had to offer. Her arms clunged protectively upon the egg, heat radiated from it, giving her a tingly feeling. Making her clutch onto the smooth surface even more.

The sun was slowly diminishing over the clouds, but it was starting to get brighter, for the simple fact, the overhead barrier of tree were getting thinner. Satisfied with the amount of distance she made over the last 10-20 minutes, she bended her knee, to support the weight underneath with her left hand, she started to lean right, though, she was protected by the tree beside her, which she knew was there, so her fall was broken. The small sparks of bark clunged to her skin, small shreds trying to sink deep into the small muscles in her hand underneath, but, she didn't allow that.

Her breaths became more desperate, and her gasps were getting worse. Her throat hurted deeply, as if it had fallen asleep, and it was burning... The saliva her gland make was barely enough to keep her dry throat wet. The air entered with no mercy, burning her gateway to inside for it had little protection. Her head drooped, for a minute, she closed her mouth, and panted again, through these pants, she timed her talking carefuly, so as to not overexert herself," I never knew*Pant* That would take... So much out of me..."she muttered to herself, surprised at how she had tired herself out so quickly, when she was usually balanced with power and weakness... No, more like strength and weakness...

Her eyes started to droop, which may of caused her to drop the precious treasure, if it wasn't for the fact, she heard movement behind her. She quickly glanced behind, small twigs snapped under the weight, that seemed to be a large monster, just by the sounds. A deep breath could be heard entering the thing's mouth. It's breath was not normal, for no traces of humans could be found in it. Quickly opening her eyes to the newcomer, she almost snapped her neck out of place from looking behind her. Her eyes widened in shock behind her. For no doubt, she knew what it was.

It scales shone, even in the dim light. It's feet rested upon the soft ground, barely able to contain it's weight. It's large snake-like neck was lowered closer to the ground, letting it's eye pierce through her. It's large body seemed to be lowered to the ground as it's eyes glowed at her fiendeshly. It eyes watched her every movement, her eyes looked into the creatures. Filled with no humanity, it's sharp claws stuck slowly out of the ground, a small water trench reflected it's power, as it shined with great maliousness through it. It's neck was upon her neck level now, never leaving it's gaze from her.

Her blood ran cold, but she dared not scream,"Maybe... It doesn't know I'm a prey yet!... Or alive..."she thought hopefuly, not even daring to move. The creature's big nostrils let out a grunt, unsatisfied by her almost unmoving body, automaticly assuming she was nothing more than a tree. Small bits of dust came out of it's nose, reflecting steam, as it took a step away from her. Later, she would of sighed in relief, but now was not the time, or else it would surely go out and attatck her, and now was not the best state. Though, if she killed it, she could probably gain some money on the side lines..."Noo!"she thought stubbornly to herself.

Wrong action, her head shook with her words, her raven black hair obviously not matching the enviroment that well, stook out like a sore thumb as it waved infront of her, quickly gaining the drake's attention, it's crimson's eyes that were only looking from the corner of it's white eye, now stared at her."... Damn...."she thought, reminding herself to physicaly punish herself later. The creature let out a roar of a challenge, letting all hear that a drake was out to attack it's prey, she assumed it did that in pride, probably.

It all to well rushed at her at ferocious speed before she could even react, it gained distance quickly from it's well muscular lizard legs, quickly going over roots of trees. About to turn and run, she tried to run and hope it would hit itself unconcious, but, fat chance. It's eye widened with anger at it's prey meagerly tried to get away, it jumped into the air, it's neck raised, rising from above her, it charged at her turned back, it lowered it's neck with much force to leave a wound on it's preys back. Crushes of bones and small vertebraes could be heard as it crushed into each other, it's mouth opened, at the pleasureable sound, just before biting into the tender spot with it's flat and sharp teeth.

Teksunai's eyes now widened with pain, much of the opposite of the enemy, an ear defeaning scream could be heard, of small splatters of blood escaped her mouth, luckily, the way the creature attatcked her, forced her further away, her body turned in midair, making her land on her back, though it was in agonizing pain, she was silently glad, since her treasure didn't get hurt. Though, she was paralyzed for a few seconds, she quickly reacted, hearing it's scream that could even scare the bravest of soldiers. Teksunai quickly put her robe around the egg more tightly then before, and placed it to the side. The creature came to attack her, instead of fear, a determination came over them, followed by pure hatred... But, why exactly was she angry??

Quickly, she reached for her sack, which she remembered was with the egg, the drake came again, but though it's attacks were deadly and powerful, it left a counter attack and weakness, it's moves were too bold and slow to turn. Watching with supreme accuracticy, she waited for it to come closer, her kness slightly bended, while her arms too, followed the fashion of her knees. Her body went in a continious beat with her heart, as the drake jumped in the air again. Quickly, Teksunai did some sort of sumersault to the side, close to the egg, which, defeated the purpose of putting it aside. The creature baffled by missing her, turned again, Teksunai glared at the beast, while slowly reaching her hand for her needles, but before the battle could be continued, another scream could be heard. It was... Different, the creature and both the girl looked around, in different directions, the scream came again, and it was obviously close.

The drake glared at Teksunai, about to originaly take one more change to kill her, the scream was heard again. The creature looked around, and had one good look at Teksunai, it's eyes showed revengful hatred in them, until it charged off, leaving small trails of dust. Her body stayed tense for a few seconds, but she quickly drooped from her knee standing position, and fell to the ground, with a sigh of relief. Before hearing the sound, it bore into her ears, quickly glancing around, she looked ferociously around, but not before, turning to the item beside her.

The once dry robe was starting to get covered, the substance seemed to be a type of goo, which reminded her of mucus. The scream came again, from her robe, small movement could be seen, but it seemed as if the creature tipped to it's side. It let out another scream, but it sounded... Frightened?

"Is it... A cry that scared off the drake...? The egg...?"she asked herself, looking upon her robe again, the substance started to cover over her robe more, but at a slower pace. Slowly, she brought her ear next to it, as she did before, when she heard the heartbeat. And to her now new experience, she heard breathing. The breathing sounded pitiful, the small breaths came from it sounded short, as if something would attack it, the small screams came again, but now as loud. Slowly, she moved her head away," Poor creature... It sounds... Scared...:she thought, listening to it's pitiful crys. Slowly, she removed the robe, looking upon a cute, and yet, gross sight.

The ooze excessed around the robe, which, was not to her surprise, came from the egg. Small cracks covered it all over the place, bends could be seen of where it tried to break free, but failed. The ooze was a sickening green, which spilled from the contents that protected the egg, the egg that was once high up, from how she placed it, was now bended down, from the weight that was sticking out. Sure enough, a small head sticked out.

Despite the ooze covering it, a small golden colour sparkled from it with a piercing light. It's snout seemed to be cat like, but sharper, small scales covered the head. It snout was curved, making it look more like a cat. It's panicked breath started to seize for a moment, but continued again, upon the sight of her. Two small horns were placed at the end of the snout, it's head got a little bigger, as two crimson eyes were placed there. Like a golden wall, sharp parts of it's skin that looked more like bone covered the top of it's head, right above the eyes. It scaled in such a way, that reminded her of duck's feet, making her think of ears. It was very cute, despite it's demeaner look, and it's cries made her feel sorry for it.

Slowly, she reached her hand for it's snout, at first, the creature whimpered, and tried to move it's head, but was too weak, and looked in fear,"It's okay... I'm not going to hurt you..."she said in a cooning way, which, she never did in her life. The creature started to calm down, as she slowly petted under it's chin. Slowly, she traced around it's head, to the small part of the neck sticking out, until the protective shell of the egg seized to be held. "It's a dragon!"she thought, remembering her robe and mocinsins, for it held great resembles to the two items. The dragon was obviously in pain, she could tell, making her feel more sorry for it. The egg that protected the rest of the dragon's body was not as tender caring as it could. The egg's sharp edges digged into the poor dragon's neck, slowly, she traced where small bits of the wound could be seen, as the scales was not properly formed. Gazing at the dragon with determination, she traced her fingers underneath the edge, and pulled on it, surprisingly, it was easy to pull. The egg slowly began to go under way from her pull, bending a little, she continued doing this, taking a small break in between to help wear it down.

Satisfied about hearing a sharp 'crack', she continued doing this on all sides, traveling up the neck, the dragon only stared at her with wonder and, what looked like awe, slowly, but surely, she pulled more parts of the egg off, revealing more body part. The oozing material slowly becoming cold underneath the calm air.

It's body was small, it was shaped what seemed to be a house cat, of some kind, small long and yet, stubby legs were on the dragon's four sides, loosely curled up with little force, probably with lack of muscle growth. Small talons appeared underneath the dragon's claws, and thined a great reflection of the light from it's silver, as well as the baby's scales. The scales on the neck were thicker than the ones on the baby's face, which barely clung to protect the flesh underneath. The scales on the neck were more like bones, the long graceful neck was split in four sections, that bended within it's boundaries it had, bending with the lines. The small stubby tail was also like the neck. Upon the baby's back were small dragon wings, that could easily over come the baby's entire body by just stretching one, it had a fake purple colour to it, that shined completely on the wings, even on the bones, as the spike on the tail was similar. The baby's back legs were not as long as flexible as her front legs, they were shorter, and carried more muscle, so that the baby may be able to stand on her two feet one day.

All in all, with trembling fingers, she carefuly pulled the dragon out, which seemed to be filled with gratitude, and to her surprise, filled a section of her brain,"Wha-?!"she thought to herself, happy emotions seemed to flutter around her head, like some kind of drug, it made her brain feel... Spacy, she looked upon the dragon, the ooze still covered the newborn, grabbing the dry part of her robe, she quickly took off the egg, and started wiping the oozy substance from the small dragon. More gratitude hacked her brain, the ooz started to cover her skin, the nasty substance slimed down upon her clothes, to her dismay, but that didn't matter.

With a confused voice, Teksunai said,"Kweh?" somehow, wordless words entered her brain, which seemed to follow the principles of the word she just said. She looked at the dragon, it's eyes were closed as she continued to wipe, but slowly, it seemed as if it was smiling as it weak wings tried to flutter.

She lowered her head, to look at the dragon in the eye, she asked,"Is that... You jacking emotions in my brain...?"she asked, the dragon didn't seem to understand at first, for a few seconds, when her words were played in her mind. Almost immidiatly, floods of combinations of words and instincts sewed into patterns around her brain, following as if it was correct. She stared at the dragon, in almost disbelief, the dragon replying to this, cocked her head to the side, her slender neck turned as far as it could go, as she continued to wipe it. She quickly remembered how cold she/he must be, so she continued with haste... As other emotions filled her brain, different types sometimes all at once, as if he/she was testing them.

 

[TheClamWhisperer]

The endless sky was becoming a crescendo of colors as the dangerous time of dusk was approaching. The blood red colors that streamed across the sky matched Layafel's concerned eyes. The infant was still gulping down the blood from the deceased Scair, but Layafel could tell that even the baby was becoming skittish.

Verena ruffled her enormous wings, signaling that they had to move before even larger predators caught scent of the blood. Layafel nodded in agreement, and slowly sent the attractive flames back into the earth where they resided. A sharp, terrified squeal penetrated the silence as the illumination flickered out.

The baby's talons skid across Layafel's arms, as it tried to wrap itself around the girl. Biting back the urge to yelp at the sharp stinging, Layafel stroked the hatchling's head and whispered sweet nothings towards it. "It's okay. You're safe with me." She assured the frightened baby.

Suddenly, both Layafel and Verena stiffened rigidly, but did not move an inch. Holding her breath, Layafel slowly, and carefully reached down to grip her chakram. Both Master and familiar had felt the vibrations from just beyond the trees. The hatchling seemed to realize that it's protectors were concerned about something that could affect all of them, thus it kept as quiet as it could.

Layafel's calm, calculating eyes narrowed as she recalled that there was a lake close by. Predators and humans alike used that watering hole, but for all she knew it could be a group of Scairs or something worse.

Despite her weariness from supporting the PyroKinesis for so long, Layafel cast her senses out, into the grove of trees. Through the chirping of crickets, the sound of water washing up upon the bank, and the occasional crack of a twig, she could hear the unmistakable sound of a crackling fire.

Chances were that this being was a human, but it wasn't rare at all for some beast to have killed the human stationed near the fire. She couldn't tell if her prescence had been noticed here, but she wasn't about to take any chances.

However, a soaring melody of sound invaded her ears as the dragon whistled long and hauntingly. Layafel silently cursed, but felt more at ease as the beautiful song ecohed in her ears. Her eyes darted down upon the baby, who looked up at her innocently. Those sparkling, radioative eyes had the potential to turn her to a glob of goo.

Deciding on a name for the hatchling right there, Layafel pat the area between the horns, but whispered, "We need to be quiet, Israfel." The baby's eyes widened upon it's new persona, but understood that his protector wanted no more nonsense. Israfel, the Angel of Song, was a rare name, but beautiful nontheless.

Silently, the young witch crept forward, holding her weapon in one hand, and her precious cargo in another. After trekking for a few yards, she could faintly see the glow of a fire, and could hear the scuffling of feet. She had to know if this was a friend or foe, but she couldn't just waltz out of the darkness and see for herself.

Pulling Israfel closer to her chest, she placed the metal weapon between her teeth, so she could use one hand. Concentrating, she focused upon the fire merely meters away, and took hold of it's power. She was a Firestarter, thus she could manipulate the flames easily. In one swift movement, she curled her hand into a fist, and the flame flickered out like a candle being blown.

On swift, silent wings, Verena soared forward through the trees to take a better look at the potential threat. A figure was stationed near the dead fire, but was holding something in it's arms. This proved that the figure was indeed human, but if it was an ally or an enemy was still unknown. Sending her telepathic senses upon the figure, Verena could learn that the figure was indeed male, and it was holding a....chicken?

The psychic familiar dug deeper into the boy's mind, and discovered the useful trait of his name. "Nichol?" Verena was begining to come to the conclusion that this boy was not a threat. He definetly harbored negative feelings of guilt, but every human had some feelings like that.

Before Verena could discover more about the boy, the familiar 'whir' of soaring metal peirced the night. Verena soared into the safety of a tree, but she intently watched the scene below. Layafel's chakram flew through the air, passing over the boy's head by mere inches, and lodged itself within the trunk of a tree with a dull 'thunk'.

"Who are you?" Layafel demmanded through the darkness. Her voice was serious, and deadly instead of the her normal sweet, arrogant tone...

 

[GuardianOfHearts]

Following the path that wound along the edge of Ridorem Verda, Aara paused to look up at the western sky, dark grey eyes reflecting the myriad of twilight colors that stained the once clear blue sky and white clouds. She instinctively clutched Alehur closer, worry passing over her face. Night would fall in a matter of minutes, and they were still too far away from the redhead's house and village to get there before dark.

Being away from civilization was dangerous enough, but being out after the sun went down? That was just asking to be attacked. She hadn't thought to find a safe place to stay as she usually did, being too preoccupied and sure that she'd reach home in time.

One thing was certain: she had to get back in the forest. Even if there might be more demons there than on the path, there was also more coverage. She glanced back behind her shoulder at the dying light on the horizon before turning into the wood and stepping carefully back in.

Alehur chirped quizzically, with a slightly fearful trill in her tone. Aara could sense wariness in their link, and she stroked the darkly silver-blue neck to reassure her.

I'm going to find somewhere safe. Don't worry. In the hatchling's mind, she tried to project thoughts of safety and love.

She stepped carefully through the brush, always mindfull of her rapidly darkening surroundings. She didn't dare conjure any energy for light, lest it attract any predators.

The redhead silently cursed her folly, berating herself for getting so scatter-brained that she hadn't thought to find shelter!

Unfortunately, the young dragon caught on to her partner's emotions and reacted to them, cheeping with anxiety for Aara. The elementalist was touched by the innocent concern but emphatically warned her to keep quiet.

Soon enough, the only light came from the far-off moon and Alehur's two blue-streaked eyes. The hatchling rested comfortably in the crook of Aara's arm, nuzzling her head into the deeper folds of her cloak.

We've got to find a cave, an overhang, somewhere sheltered. Somewhere high ... maybe....

The grey-eyed elementalist looked up into the trees. They could stay up in the branches for the night- they'd surely be safe there. The question was, how would she get up so high? There were no low-hanging tree limbs around.

"Get on my shoulders, little one," she said softly to Alehur, picking the little dragon up and placing her near her neck. Alehur wrapped her tail around Aara's throat and curled up on her left shoulder as she approached the nearest tree. Glancing quickly around to make sure they were alone, she held out her hands and summoned orbs of opal energy to them, feeling the power course through her very veins before relinquishing themselves to the open air. Narrowing her eyes in concentration, she bid them to mold into long, sharp triangles, flattening and stretching out. The silvery hatchling watched this intently. The next moment, they flew into the bark of the tree, stuck tight. Aara tapped them experimentally before lifting her feet onto them, standing on the footholds about a yard above the ground.

She continued in this vein for another half hour, creating footholds of sturdy energy to climb up to the nearest suitable branch. Once there, she clambered onto it, resting her back against the wide tree trunk and sitting cross-legged. Alehur slid down her shoulder, flapping a bit as she landed in the redhead's lap. The elementalist softly stroked her into somnolence, revelling each look into those big baby eyes before they finally closed in sleep. She was fascinated by the way she had so neatly captured her heart, as though nothing else mattered.

Aara wasn't truly tired, but even if she was, she wouldn't have followed Alehur in rest. Their tree provided more safety than they could have hoped, but she was still wary of things like Wyverns who could easily fly in and attack them.

So she kept a watch, dispering her energy so as not to attract any unwanted attention. Once, not long after Alehur fell asleep, she saw something large and dark slink through the underbrush past their tree, padding softly across the leaf-lined forest floor. The redhead caught her breath, seeing the long, sharp saber-tooth fangs glint in the darkness. A Trilx. She watched as it stalked some hapless prey deeper into the wods, closing her eyes in relief when it passed them without so much as a glance upward.

Fortunately, that was the only demon who came so close to them. But still Aara kept her watch through the night, with the comforting prescence of a small heartbeat under her hands and peaceful thoughts touching her own.

 

[GuardianOfHearts]

[Stupid thing double-posted.]

 

[Taokitty]

((xD))

Small tendrils of moonlight sky weakly pierced through the trees, as always, the trees got more thinner, but the light source got weaker, again, she was breathing hardly, her pants long as loud as they were before. Her legs hurt again, her footsteps were quick through the unstable ground of the forest, filled with roots, grass, stones, and everything in between. There was only a slight difference than before in her physical movement and her thoughts, though, they were still based on the same logic. Or the same principle.

Originaly, she was running with an egg in her hand, the smooth surface that one would think was hollow weighed her down emensly(sp?), so she grew tired quicker and was slower. Her thoughts were panicked about the egg, what would she do with it? What would happen when it hatched? What was it? How would she keep it?! And more questions like that that felt like popping into her mind with ease, making her footsteps harder and faster with the power of thoughts.

"Well, I know one thing..." she thought to herself, the thought came slow as she tried to word it, she wasn't as panicked as before, but she still was, to an extent, hoping that with deep thoughts, it would cover up this emotion, so the small thing in her hand wouldn't worry. The only difference was, and possibly the only thing answered, was that she was holding a dragon. The hatchlings shell was left far behind, she cursed under her breath, she should of hid the traces!

The small golden dragon looked up at her, though it was so young, small bits of worry traced in her eyes. The crimson pierced through hers in a empathetic way. Despite how young the dragon was, it seemed to be... Wise, or maybe that was just because of her eyes... Maybe... Sort of... Kind of hard to tell, after all, she only discovered the dragon awhile ago.

The dragon was pressed closed to her collar bone, warm heat passed by her small friend, she just hoped it would be enough. The once wet dragon was now dry from the ooy mess, but was now very... Sticking. The dragon scales pressed against her neck, they dug deep into her skin, but she didn't mind it... That much. winces of pain would escape from her eyes, but it would only last for so long... "BUT WHAT TO DO?!" she finally screamed through the forest.

The small feline like hatchling almost fell asleep, but was wakened up with a start by her voice, unaware of what it was, she started to cry, croakful screeches escaped her voice, the dragon originaly had her entire body rested in her arms that were stretched in a cradle like way. With a jump, the dragon ended up being pressed against her neck. Emotions of fear and panic waved over Teksunai again like ripples.

"... Poor dragon... Just when s/he was falling asleep too... I HAD to yell and wake s/he up..."she thought to herself. The wave of emotions continued as the dragon cried, which only made matters worse, SURELY a predator would eventually spot them... And she wouldn't be able to run away... She was also slowed down by a dulling pain in her back, vetebraes scratched against each other every movement she made, crashing down and damaging her spine for an eternity.

Slowly, she started to pet the whimpering dragon, it's long graceful neck felt cold through her strokes of heat. If the dragon could cry, they surely would. She started saying apologies softly in the dragons ear, hoping to comfort it, and that her current emotion may wash and influence the small creature, like how the dragon's influenced hers. Surely enough, the dragon started to come down, the small cries started to diminish away into nothing as traces of air carried it for the last time.

When the last of the cried were gone, she stopped, her eyes scanning vainly in the area for any sudden movement, for sounds of the ground being matted, for the smell of the rotting breath of the canibals that ate humans like her. Anything, just to be sure. Convinced there was nothing, she slid upon the back of a tree, her breaths were more desperate than before, the pain in her back stabbed at her again with more force. Her legs became sore from lack of oxygen, and her throat felt worse.

Though home was closer, it would still be five minutes or so, and in her state, she wouldn't be able to make it, she may had had a chance when she was running, but she yelled and got the baby dragon to cry, which would indeed attract attention... And probably not good attention... Slowly, she looked around, though there was still no sound, something was bound to come. Teksunai matted the soft soil beneath her.

" There's no way I'd be able to go back to the inn anyway and keep this little fella a secret... Well, it wouldn't last too long, and they'd probably sell the little kid to someone else... And then there's those people who'd..."she stopped at this thought, shuddering of what could happen, she didn't need to worry the dragon AGAIN.

Despite her efforts, the once calm dragon had rested her head upon her back, but now looked up upon Teksunai, more worry coming in her eyes again. She just simply patted her with her eyes closed.

"I still gotta think of a name for you..."she said absent mindedly to herself, the small dragon caught on to this, staring at her with kind eyes again that would hopefuly and surely mature. Teksunai then sighed from pain, smiling despite it all. Kindly, she started playing away with combos of syllables and words, but none were satisfying for the little dragon as she'd just shake her head.

"Well, I know she's a girl... Wait... When the hell did I figure THAT out...?"she asked herself, she never checked or anything, but it seemed, gradually over time, the word she came to mind for the gender of the dragon... She did seem femine as well. The dragon looked at her again, in response to her thoughts since Teksunai forgot she could hear her thoughts again. The small girl cocked her head to the side, obviously confused about her small confusion.

She smiled tenderly at the dragon's confusion, finding it very innocent, again, she played with the names, sometimes saying little comments to the small dragon about the names. One seemed to cross her mind, slowly stroking the small dragon, she said with her eyes closed," Okay, this is just a random name but... What about Kenay?? I know it seems kind of... Bleh... But, it's the best thing I can think of currently..."she said, about to go in deep thoughts about this till she was interuped with an emotion that didn't belong to her. A gleeful smile seemed to cross her mind, slowly, she looked at the dragon.

"Kenay?"she asked the small child... Err, hatchling, she shook her head eagerly at the name, ver pleased with it. Teksunai smiled again at the dragon, Kenay. She started patting the dirt, it seemed... Very soft now... Probably because of the fact she had been playing with it for awhile but..."Neh?"she asked herself, slowly, she started to dig. The tree's roots were fairly big, making it rise a little, but not much. Slowly, she continued digging.

"HAHA! I found a place to rest!"she thought, joined along with Kenay's happiness, though, concern crossed her face quickly.

"Doesn't it seem... TOO easy for that dirt to fall...?"she asked herself, the small dragon cocked her head again, from this strange emotion. Slowly, she reached into her bag of needles, pulling 5 out, she threw them in, grabbing her sword, she waited near the entrance. Sure enough, something came out. The reptile like thing reminded her of a drake for a moment, which scared her for it's reptile like body, but, with closer examination... Which wasn't really needed, one could tell it was small. One entered out, and she could tell immidiatly what it was.

"A scair..."she muttered, it's ears twitched towards her, and lunged to attack her, luckily she was prepared, with ease, she swinged her sword in the direction where it would probably land, it easily found it's mistake, but it was too late. It was sliced in half with half of it's own power, the small organs flew in the air, all over her and Kenay... Whom... Didn't seem to know what the hell was happening since gleeful emotions filled Teksunai's head... Strange.

Two more came out, which she easily slashed. Thoughts of doubts came to her as she started to crawl in,"... It... Probably wouldn't be the best idea but... This is the best shelter yet..."she thought, reluctant to debate since she just wanted to rest, slowly, she crawled in, head facing the opening she made. Slowly, she placed Kenay on to the ground, though, this would probably catch a monsters attention if one was in here, there wasn't any other holes, if there were, it was covered, and it seemed it was a nest full of them if anything... Which would probably mean they were babies, which were easy to kill. Slowly, she placed needles around the small dragon, her robe now was placed upon Kenay. Slowly, she placed a needles in her hand, transmitting energy with every heartbeat making a small circut.

The energy heated the needles around the dragon, warming her up. Though, hunger gnawed at her. She looked upon Kenay, the small dragon looked outside hungrily upon the dead creatures outside.

"Damn..."she thought. It was easy to kill but... She was afraid of corpses, but upon looking on Kenay, she shook her head, and reached her right hand for the nearest one... The first one she killed, her pale skin became paler by the sight, but she placed it by Kenay, despite her urge to puke.

Now warm and happy, the small dragon started disecting the body curiously with her claws, more blood spilled out that she happily started to drink, tempted to puke even more now by this gruesome sight, she turned away, sighing. She'd stay up all night if she had to gurantee the protection of the dragon.

((Sorry! I got kind of lazy after awhile...@_@))

 

[TheClamWhisperer]

-kicks- Live dammit! >.<

You want to just let this die, Amme?

 

[TheClamWhisperer]

-kicks- Live dammit! >.<

You want to just let this die, Amme?

 

[GuardianOfHearts]

{ Nu, I really don't. ;o; But no one posted again. >.>

We need to fix this.

And on that note, get on MSN! Pwease, if you can? Amme's alone. =3 }

 

[MESMAR_RISING]

OOC: I'm going to edit this into a post hopefully tonight. If I don't get to finish this post tonight then that could be a problem. I'm not sure if I'm going to get a chance to post this weekend(big plans, gonna be some good times =D). I'm really sorry everyone, things have been rather hectic lately and I must have forgotten. I won't bore you on the details of what's been going on(unless you ask me) but ya, things have been stupid busy! [strikes stupid pose]

Anyways, I WILL post in this. Ok. [starts writing post]

 

[Thelonepickle]

((GoH, next time you're on, I'm going to lecture you about letting rps die. D: ))

 

[MESMAR_RISING]

OOC: I was going to edit to avoid double posting, but seeing as how TLP has decided to post after me, I can do this instead. How convenient for me =D

"That's not good," muttered Nichol as he noticed the fire instantly go out. This of course was made worse by the fact that his newly hatched pet was still feeling rather cold. Despite the fact that Nichol was not especially the most intelligent person out there, he was(contrary to popular belief) not stupid either. Being one whom had seen quite a bit in the short amount of time he had spent adventuring, he instantly recognised that the fire did not go out by any natural means.

Another rather strange sign that something was not right was the fact that even since before the fire had gone out the blonde had felt like he had been being watched. Surely enough, the presence revealed themself by throwing a weapon which nearly cut a few of Nichol's hairs off.

"Who are you?"

Questioned the voice, which to Nichol's surprise(and delight) belonged to a female. Deciding that perhaps it would be better to be dressed while dealing with someone who could potentially kill you, Nichol stood slowly and raised his hands into the air in the process placing the chicken onto his head. As the bird perched itself clinging to Nichol's scruffy blonde hair tightly he could feel it quiver momentarily with fear.

"Don't worry," he said reassuringly as he grabbed his clothing and began dressing himself. "My name," he said loud enough for the one hiding to hear, "Is Nichol, I do not wish to fight, however given the fact that you have threatened myself and my chicken, I fear I have no choice." Fear was not a factor for Nichol at the moment, for he had already begun his counterstrike.

"Ello precious," whispered a rather gruff voice in the ear of the one whom had attacked Nichol only moments before, a hunting knife was now pressed against the woman's throat and a toothless smile dawned on the face of the man with the gruff voice. The man, Boffit, was quite over-weight wore a loose fitting, striped blue and white shirt and a bear skin vest outside of that. The fact that his shirt had no sleeves revealed his massive arms. Oddly enough the right had the name Earl tattooed on it with a heart around it. He wore a strangely shaped yellow helmet and had many scars on his face. His legs were the size of tree-trunks and he wore beige torn pants. Given the size of the rest of his body, oddly enough his feet were about the size of a child. It was quite odd to see that this person even had the ability to stand.

Boffit had always been a rather amusing when Nichol had conjured him in other situations, perhaps the illusion would be enough to fool whomever this was. As the blonde finished dressing, he looked to where his illusion and the young woman were standing. "I told you Kaira," he said giving the bird a name without even thinking.

OOC: Not a very good post, however it's good enough for now I suppose... Sorry for the lack of quality =/

 

[TheClamWhisperer]

Layafel's crimson eyes grew dark and ominous as she felt the familiar sensation of cold metal against her pale throat. Barely breathing, she glanced to her side with her perifferal vision, to see an overweight man flashing her a toothless grin, clearly pleased that he had her at his mercy.

Casting her wary and calculating eyes forward, through the darkness of the trees, she replied as if nothing was wrong, "Nichol, huh?" She inquired with a satisfied tone. Silently tracing the rune of Eolh, the rune of protection and defense, over her chest, Layafel decided that this person seemed....peaceful enough.

However, that did not change the fact that his illusion had a knife at her throat. Placing her hand at her belt, Layafel questioned, "Tell me, Nichol, are you a witch? For this...charming man seems to be a glamour or illusion created by some type of magick."

Whilst waiting for Nichol's answer, Layafel drew another rune in the air before her. This time, it was Sigel, the rune for light, energy and sun. Promptly, the area around Layafel was cast in a soft golden glow, allowing Nichol to see her without her weapons out.

Verena, however, wasnt as eager to allow Layafel to leave herself in the open. Flying foward through the darkness on silent wings, she observed the man holding the dagger to Layafel's throat. Satisfied with Layafel's judgement, she circled back towards her post, and landed soundlessley upon a branch behind Nichol.

The knife near Layafel's jugular was becoming a source of irritation for the girl, now that she left herself open for negotiation she did not want that dreadul weapon so close to her crucial arteries.

Layafel's crimson eyes flashed soft magenta for a mere moment, but as she lifted her hand to Boffit's face, she used her free hand to drag the massive man forward. Layafel wasn't the strongest girl she knew, but she didn't need her muscle to overpower this brute-all she needed was her magick.

The hand that was nearly touching the scarred skin of Boffit's face was soon clouded by a mass of blue, electrical energy. The swirling mass of saphire flames licked at Boffit's face, but was not close enough to severly burn him. "Please, call off your conjure and talk to me, so I won't have to burn his already weathered face."

Layafel was begining to lose the sense of distrust about Nichol, but she would not put complete faith in him until she had a chance to talk with him. His words about not wanting to fight seemed sincere, but you could never be too sure these days.

Layafel was a sweet girl, but once she was backed into a corner she would use every tactic she knew. However, the strain of using her PyroKinesis for a prolonged span of time had drained some of her stamina, plus the fact that she was now using the blood witch trait of Witch Fire, the best course of action would be to talk.

Layafel smiled for the first time since the begining of the encounter, but she mentally called out to Verena. "Here, this is something you might like." As if on cue, a stone dropped out of the darkness above Nichol, to hover before his face.

A crimson stone, the color of Layafel's eyes, hovered in the air before Nichol, supported by Verena's abilities. Just from reading Nichol's aura, Layafel could already learn quite a few important characteristics about him. "That is a bloodstone. A fire stone used to break down barriers and release ties. It's been used since before the Great War to help women during childbirth and give strength to warriors during battle. It represents strength, healing, protection, sexual energy."

Layafel's eyes twinkled mysteriously at the last sentence, for she could already tell from his aura that Nichol was the type to be interested in something such as that.