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Celeste frowned slightly as she considered her bloodstained blouse.

"I guess I could always take a change of clothes from someone's washingline..." She didn't seem to like the idea of stealing, but as needs must.

"How many others are there? Nightwalkers I mean?" Celeste asked, "I'd welcome any help I can get - becoming such an.." Celeste paused for words, "unusual being will take some getting used to."

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Eldunari found Lifaen's response to her suggestion odd. She seemed to care so much for this little thing..sure she felt somewhat the same but she cared for her own race as well. She was so gentle with Scarlet, it made Eldunari think of how her parents might have treated her, had they been around. She followed Lifaen to the entrance of the elder's cave and was so deep in thought that she was surprised when a dragon stepped in their path. Her surprise caused her to overreact slightly and as Lifaen displayed her brilliancy, Eldunari did the same. She instantly covered the human with one wing and reared onto her hind legs, holding up her head she let the liquid fire inside her bubble up her throat and she screeched. She bared her teeth as the fire sprayed out of her mouth in a misty inferno. She crashed back to the ground and began scraping her talons into the earth as the elder smirked. Eldunari kept her eyes narrow slits as Lifaen roared her own, she looked at the elder but the sound did not seem to pierce him in the least.

 

When the elder asked if they had come in challenge, and then continued to insult them, Eldunari had to restrain herself from attempting to kill him. She kept quite though because she knew that insulting an elder in such a manor would do more bad then good. The massive dragon swept Lifaen aside and, since she had moved her wing, caught a full view of the human. Eldunari held fire in her throat, in a sudden sense of protection. All that mattered to her at the moment was keeping scarlet safe. So, when the elder bared his teeth at the site of her Eldunari did the same. The elder's voice was gruff and slow in her mind. Their purpose? Their purpose for bringing Scarlet to the elders? Without waiting for Lifaen to answer the elder, Eldunari cast out her mind. 'We bring the human here for answers.' She said in the most powerful voice she could muster. She would have said more but knew her tongue would slip if she did. With that she kept her teeth bared and let the power of her voice linger in the thoughts of the other dragon.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

'Anywhere?' Without waiting for Nyx to agree he said to her 'It will take a little while but we will travel to the citadel, it is most beautiful, and I think you would enjoy harvesting some of the knowledge within it.' Grimrr rose to his feet and laid his hand on Nyx' course fur once again, even though he did not pretend to lack his sight, he just liked the course feel of her fur, fur that was not his own. He lead her through the village of huts, stopping occasionally to investigate something. When they were back on the main road he took on a slightly quicker pace, excited for Nyx to see the other third of his world.

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Lifaen huffed and growled, angered at being brushed out of the way like an ant. If she hadn't come in challenge before, she sure felt like doing so now... But no, she did not have the strength or backing to do so. She forced herself to relax, her wings folding against her side anxiously. The littler dragon seemed to have the human protected for now anyhow, and displaying her aggression would only escalate the situation further. Answers did not require claws or bites.

 

'As the young one said, we are here for the answers that have wrongly been denied us elder. It is our right to know of what our world consists, and yet you deny us this on word of an entity all but one of us has seen,' she snapped, her anger getting the better of her in her words.

 

R'xan swung his head around to look at Lifaen, blood-red eyes glowing dangerously. 'The very entity we owe our existence to, you would question?' he asked warningly.

 

'I would, if it asks us to deny our natures,' she replied confidently.

 

'Your fury will be the death of you someday Lifaen. Take the creature from here, before the others see it and don't speak of what you've seen,' R'xan ordered.

 

........................................................

 

Amun shook his head quickly. He had suspected she was a thief earlier, but this only made him certain of it. His nose crinkled and he resisted the urge to just leave her here with no help at all, but an uninformed Nightwalker posed a risk to the species as a whole, not just themselves, so he forced himself to continue on as politely as he could. "You needn't go to those extremes. I'm sure I can find someone willing to lend you a blouse. After all, there's enough of us that there's one around who is bound to have a spare," he commented.

 

"There's plenty of us. Who keeps count? A few hundred in this city alone I would guess. In the world? I wouldn't even dare to guess," he commented. "We try to keep organized, for our own survival. We call ourselves the Gathering. Odd name I suppose, but I didn't chose it."

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Eldunari listened silently to the conversation, concentrating on keeping Scarlet from getting hurt. She was a little confused but, even though he was an elder, Eldunari did not like the way this dragon ordered them around. He was trying to get them to leave, uninformed, and Eldunari felt great disdain to being uninformed. When Lifaen did not seem to fight with him more as he ordered them to leave, Eldunari felt something well inside her. Covering the human with a wing, Eldunari stepped forward. She stood beside Lifaen, knowing what she was about to do was not the smartest thing, but she could not stand this brute. Lifting up her head Eldunari bore her own ruby eyes into the other dragon's. While doing so she told him 'We will not leave, elder. You may have power of knowledge over us but that is all. You can not control our actions, or our thoughts. If we seek information and you do not see us fit to receive it we will fight and defeat you and continue on to the obviously, more intelligent and powerful elders. You do not intimidate me, brute.' After finishing her small speech she roared right into the elders ears, and loosed a jet of flame right into his ugly face. She wished his scales would melt off and he would scream in pain, unfortunately it did not happen. She swung her forelegs into the air and sent them crashing down right next to the elder. There she held her stance, teeth bared, nostrils flared and horns poised, in wait to kill the elder and protect the human.

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Thage Belfour~

 

Thage looked at the sky. Overcast, the acrid smoke flowing like clouds, absolutely dreary... Perfect. Thage was the sort of girl who disliked the morning star, because of the heat it provided. Thage was not the kind of girl who could soak up sunlight. Instead, she was the kind of person who would turn into a pot of ashes if the sun's rays came into contact with her.

 

Going towards the front door of the building her father owned, and looked at the craftsmanship of the door. Ornately carved with fleur-de-lis, it looked more like a portrait than an actual entryway. She sighed. Her father was responsible for this, yet she hadn't seen him since she was really little. He was always in the cellar, and she wasn't allowed down there.

 

Due to her disability, she also had no friends on the outside, and as such, she rarely ventured into the outside world. She turned back towards the inside of the antechamber. A winding staircase led to the second level, which was her domain. she spent most of her time there, save for the moments she was preparing a meal to send to her father by dumbwaiter, and when she ate, herself.

 

She lightly padded towards the staircase, trying to make no vibrations that would cause the cellar to shift. Her father disliked this as well, because he was trying to make the Red Tincture, though she knew that he would never succeed. That was only a legend, and could never be placed into mortal hands. She silently climbed the stairs, looking over the end of them into her domain. Bookshelves lined the walls, except for the pane of glass making the north wall.

 

It let in the most beautiful light that was masked by the smoke in the air. She knew that she was contradicting herself by saying the light was beautiful, but that was the way she felt. The morning star sustained all life on the land where she lived, but she would not dare go into it, for what she might feel as burning pain on her skin. It wouldn't go away for days at a time, and it was most unpleasant.

 

Thage set foot onto the floor of her room. Bookshelves lined the other three walls, and each were filled with arcane tomes of her father's alchemic research. Sadly, she couldn't make hide nor hair of them since they were in her father's own "language". She stopped dwelling on this, though, and shifted her eyes toward the focal point of her existence. The instrument lay near the south wall, bow nearby.

 

She walked over to the violin and grabbed it into her hands. This was one of the only nice memories that she had of her father. He had given the instrument to her shortly before her "estrangement" as a birthday present... A tear came to her eye; she didn't wish to think of it any longer. She walked over to the window, slid it open, and put the bow to the stings. She began to play, letting her feelings flow into the music, hoping that someone in the world would understand her...

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Nyx stayed right up against Grimrr. She was excited to see what the city had to offer, although she acted calm and very intuitive. She acted as any ordinary seeing eye dog would. The only way you could tell that she wasn't was that she was struggling to keep her tail still.

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Scarlet didn't like this elder anymore. He's like a houser blocking your path or an icey road, She thought and shuddered while she remembered some memories having to do with ice and boulders. Then she realised she was already shuddering as hard as she could. Happy place, find my happy place... She thought while she continued shuddering.

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The elder growled, shaking his head from side-to-side. Just because they were fireproof did not mean it was pleasant getting fire right to the face, and it certainly was a good distraction in a fight. He reached out his neck and tried to snap at the youngling, but it didn’t do any good. He couldn’t properly spot his target like this. When the fire finally stopped, he snorted and reared to his full height, overshadowing both Lifaen and Eldunari. He remained on his hind legs, wings outstretched to block the entrance to the cavern, demonstrating the massive strength contained in his back legs, more than enough to rip these two apart if he felt like it, but they were simply young and impulsive.

 

Lifaen crouched against the ground, ready to spring and teeth showing. She wanted to end this here and now, take this elder down and show her superiority, but she had larger concerns, such as the human. She turned her eye and noticed that the little thing was shivering. Her tail twitched in disdain and she attempted to calm it. ’We will not let you be harmed,’ she said as gently as she could manage in her current agitated state.

 

’You heard the hatchling. We will not leave without answers. Tell us or I’ll parade it in front of the hatchlings,’ she threatened, hoping the new approach would convince him to talk finally.

 

The elder’s nostrils flared and came back down to the ground with a massive thud. ’You two are pushing beyond your boundaries, but very well. I will tell you as long as you agree not to speak of it again and take it elsewhere once you know,’ he replied. His wings remained flared and he growled dangerously, showing them he would not offer them another chance at settling this peaceably.

 

……………………………………………………..

 

Amun was distracted from his instruction of the new Nightwalker when he heard the sound of a violin. Despite himself, he began humming to himself and stroking accompanying chords on his harp. That was a rather complex tune, took considerable skill to play it. He didn’t meet many musicians skilled enough to play anything other than tavern songs. Amun shuddered and muttered to himself. That’s all he got asked to play these days, nothing real. The drinkers at the tavern wanted something uplifting they could sing to, not real, complex music.

 

Wait, music? He stopped suddenly and glanced over at the window, scowling. Why was that open? He hadn’t noticed that when he began talking to the other Nightwalker. What if someone had been lurking beneath the window, listening in on their conversation? That could be a catastrophe. Jumping to his feet, in his haste forgetting to put back on his gloves, he walked over to the window and noted how it was open just a crack, but enough that if someone had wanted to they could have…. He forced the window open even more and leaned his head out, eyes darting around desperately, seeking the hidden form or anything else that hinted at the presence of a spy. “Is there anyone out here?” he called out, voice echoing in the street. At least the violin music appeared to be coming from another building, not here….

 

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Eldunari grinned as the dragon reared up, happy that she had agitated it. She watched as the muscles flexed in his legs and she took in the sight of his massiveness. All she could think of was a way to defeat him. First bite his legs , no, crunch through the muscle and scrape the bone.. then fly around him as he came crashing down, his size would leave him less agile as I, when he is finally down bite as much of his neck as possible and as close to the skull as possible, if that does not bring him down fly to the front and breathe fire in his face and let my claws at him..

 

While thinking Eldunari could see Lifaen ready herself, and her thoughts raced with excitement and strategy. Eldunari also made sure she was covering Scarlet as much as possible, at a hint of danger she seemed to care greatly for the human.

 

In her mind Eldunari heard Lifaen reason with the elder and though she was disappointed she may not get to tear him apart she knew it was better this way. As the elder crashed back down to the ground she straightened up. Lifting her head as far as it could she snapped her jaws. She did not shy at the elders threatening growls it only made her plot her demise. She figured as long as they were getting answers, he could live.

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Grimrr was pleased to see that Nyx was excited. They were about halfway to the massive citadel and it's size was most intimidating. As a soft wind ruffled Grimrr's hair he sniffed, out of habit. Grimrr stopped dead in his tracks. He smelt one more time and smelt something very odd and very dangerous heading their way. Without hesitation Grimrr completely dropped his act and contacted Nyx. 'Nyx I will show you the city some other time, for now we must go quickly, try your best not to be seen and I will try to make keeping up with me easy.' In a flash Grimrr dashed behind a building. He knew the consequences for a beast being in the city were great, but for now he could risk it. He let his transformation take him and was soon in a farmiliar body. He crouched waiting for Nyx and to really begin an adventure.

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Nyx growled quietly to herself. I smell it too she said to Grimrr. She bolted quickly to the building that Grimrr had went behind. She was seen by noone except a child who smiled at her and laughed as she fled. When she was out of sight, the child went back to normal. Heh, poor child must have been murdered Nyx thought to herself.

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A grin almost appeared on her face after Lifaen's calming words that came as a whisper. But that grin didn't make it since a thought came to her, Never trust whispers, But at least it stopped her shivering. Plus, when the elder finished speaking she started thinking about his words 'take it elsewhere...'. Elsewhere, well, couldn't elsewhere be just a mile away? She thought while knowing he probably meant far away. But still, She thought,Just another location... Where is this? She thought. If she knew where she was, then she would just go to the nearest place to it, but what if she didn't want to be around? It wasn't really... 'comfortable'.

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Cethlenn's form had been blown by the guiding winds into the vicinity of Lyambo. She could just make out the gates to the city from her current position. She slowly drifted closer and closer. Surely it wouldn't be long before the guards noticed her... or even one of the Nocturne watchers.

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Lifaen flicked her tail and snorted. Well, she never claimed she wanted to keep it here as a pet either; the summit of a mountain wasn't really a good 'home' for the human-like creature, so she had no issues with the second part of the terms. As for the first... 'Fine. Now tell us elder,' she snapped at him, eager to have her answers finally.

 

She wouldn't hesitate to tell others if it was a massive secret though; although, she doubted it was anything of great consequence or the elder never would have agreed to discuss it in the first place. At least it hadn't come to a fight. Even if they had defeated this one, the other elders would have come out to investigate the commotion and destroyed them with ease.

 

'Very well,' the elder replied, relaxing his stance and snaking his head down to glance at the human creature with his large ruby-red eye. His nostrils flared, taking one final sniff of the creature before he continued. 'It is a Nightwalker, but not of the sort you have heard tell of. We are capable of a magic that can bring back the dead, and there are Guardians that have chosen that path over the years, but how to perform it is better left unsaid. All you need to know is it does not pose a risk. Now get it far from here.'

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Scarlet couldn't resist thinking,Told you, To herself before glancing from Eldunari to Lifaen. Then she thought,Well that wasn't much of an answer,

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Eldunari could not help but agree with the human, it was not much of an answer. Eldunari looked at Lifaen and hid her thoughts from the elder and the human. Cautiously and quietly she spoke to Lifaen ' That answer does not satisfy me, there is much more this one is hiding. We need to know more and find out exactly where he would have us take the human. I do not know if you will stand by me in this, for the answer may be enough for you, but I will not act without hearing first your opinion.' Eldunari was sure the elder had not heard as his expression remained the same and she had never felt his conscience.

 

Eldunari turned back to the elder with flared nostrils. Before doing more she tensely waited for Lifaen's words.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Grimrr could still smell the thing, the entity. While Nyx joined him he was planning their exit. Yet, as soon as Nyx rounded the corner he realized none of his plans would work. Although Nyx was an impressive hound, she was no wearcat. She would not be able to scale the roofs and then the walls. With a flick of his stump of a tail, he darted around a corner into a back street. 'Nyx, please do run as fast as you possibly can. I will stay with you but we may have to do some serious jumping here.' Quickly Grimrr raced down the street and bounded over a few low walls. He kept his pace consistent and frequently checked the air to smell the entity. He did not want to run through the gates but with Nyx with him that may be the only choice.. Nyx, wait, where.. Thought Grimrr in the heat of the pursuit he had forgotten about her and if she were found wandering in the city.. he did not want to imagine it. He stopped frantically searching with his eyes and pacing. He hoped he would see her soon or he would have to backtrack.

Edited by Shur'turgal

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Lifaen snorted at the younger dragon, tail twitching anxiously. She had to agree; it wasn't much of an answer at all. But when did the elders ever give real answers to any of their questions? Instead, they just had to listen to whatever they said without question and it was getting ridiculous. She roared and nipped at the air inches from the elder's lowered face. In response, his head whipped around and he sank his teeth into Lifaen's leg.

 

Roaring in agony, Lifaen tried to fight back, but she couldn't seem to get a good grip. It took only moments before the larger, more experienced dragon had her pinned to the ground, claws threateningly close to her neck.

 

He flared his wings, leaving his teeth embedded in the other's leg for the moment. He didn't plan on killing the pertinent youngling in his grasp, or the other. They were still learning. However, he would teach them a lesson, and if it took leaving a scar to do so, then so be it. 'Leave now, before I call on the other elders to chase you away,' he snapped them.

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'LET THEM CHASE US!' bellowed Eldunari. She quickly clutched the human in her claws and leapt into the air. Scarlet's added weight was hard to bare but she flew quickly. She surged through the air and went around the elder's flared wings. She sprang into a needle nose dive for the elders skull. Still holding Scarlet she landed awkwardly and sunk her teeth into the spot where the elder's neck met his head. Her jaw was not big enough to kill the elder but as she kicked her hindlegs with open talons she hoped he would at least release Lifaen.

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Nyx was shocked as Grimrr bounded off as quick as a flash. How- no, must catch up! she commanded herself. She bounded after Grimrr, although she couldn't go as fast. She tried to follow his scent, but she hadn't used that ability in awhile so she was a little groggy. She ended up losing the trail in a couple minutes. Oh no, oh no, oh no! she worried. She looked around. She could see guards on a patrol. She fled to a different part for a minute, not wanting to be seen. She looked around and saw a... bridge? What the...? Well, it's a good place to hide, she bolted under the bridge, hoping she wasn't seen.

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Grimrr let out a bit of a roar in frustration. Just as quickly as he had left, he returned to where they had started. There were guards very near here but he did not smell Nyx with them. Growling he ran in the opposite direction of the guards toward the Great Masikamaeo Bridge. He sniffed the air furiously for Nyx. As he did two guard rounded a corner and he almost ran right into them. Startled he yowled and dashed around them. He could hear their voices behind them but of course he was too fast for them. He reached out his mind and yelled 'Nyx!' He did not stop to listen though he could sort of smell her even though the smell of mud clogged his nose. He kept on in the direction of the bridge.

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She heard the call Grimrr! she called back and bolted in the direction of the voice. She saw Grimrr being chased by two guards. She growled low in her throat. She barked loudly and jumped on the nearest one, knocking him over. She then jumped on the other one, pinning him and growling in his face. She had forgotten about the other one in her rage, and was shocked when she was kicked off. She was knocked back, the wind knocked out of her, and she whimpered. Go, Grimrr! I'll try my best to follow you! she called quickly and urgently. She growled and jumped again, only to be side-stepped and held to the ground. She yelped in shock and pain and struggled against her captors. It was futile. "Hold her still!" one shouted at the other. She was held firm and then felt a sharp pain in the side of her head. Her eyes blacked out and she fell unconcious.

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Cethlenn had gotten quite close to the city, not quite inside it but not very far from entering. Her insanity made her laugh as she thought of the chaos she could cause inside. That is if the city defenses didn't force her away first.

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Grimrr heard her voice echo in her head. Leave her behind? No one ever gets left behind. He turned quick to face the guards but Nyx was already unconscious. Grimrr bellowed out, furious. He wished he could mentally contact the guards, just so they could fear the wrath in his voice. The guards looked and one knelt to Nyx, where the other stood and held his sword ready. Grimrr moved, faster than the eye could see and jumped to the guard's neck. The tip of the blade caught his underbelly as he ripped at the guard's jugular with his massive teeth. The body underneath him buckled and he faced the next guard, who stood his ground. This one was more ready he held his sword in a defensive state. Grimrr circled him silently and pounced, this time aiming for the lower back. Grimrr dug his talons into the guards back and clawed upward. Then he thrust a foreleg to the guard head, and his head bounced off the ground, his neck was broken. With blood dripping from his belly and from his beard Grimrr crept over to Nyx. He attempted to reach her conscience but there was only black. Slowly, with some strategic movements Grimrr moved Nyx to his back. As he did he heard an alarm sound. The sounded hounded in his ears and he could only hope the alarm was for something on the outside of the city and not.. him. He raced through the streets faster as fast as he could without having Nyx fall to the ground. The few guards that saw him yelled but he did not pause. He ran until he finally skidded through the gate and saw it.. It looked to be something he had read a scroll about when he was High King maybe called a..Cethlenn..

 

He did not have time for this. Nyx was still in bad shape and the guards were near. As much as he wanted to fight he had to get Nyx somewhere safe.. but where?

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Cethlenn heard the alarm, just before she saw the guards run to their posts. Laughter bubbled up as she saw their weapons.So they want to play do they?

She flexed her own claws, as she tilted her head and assessed the approaching guards, mind you she was still giggling, so the guards were obviously amusing.

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Grimrr ran behind a rock and shouted at Nyx with all his might, mentally and verbally, 'Nyx if you can hear me, there is a dangerous spirit near the city I am going to fight it. When you wake, if you can, feel free to join in' Grimrr ran toward the spirit his claws outstretched. He could hear her.. laughing? He decided she was insane. Grimrr flew over the guards with a great leap and landed right in front of the crazed spirit. He crouched and roared into it. Then he waited for it's next move.

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Cethlenn blinked at Grimrr, That's new, the city hasn't had guard animals before Cethlenn's form wavered in the breeze slightly, temporarily rending Cethlenn vunerable as she needed to use some strength to retain her form.

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