Die Anew

[FlowerOwl]

(Oops!)

Looking back at where the elders had been because of what Eldunari's said, Scarlet gasped. Or at least, almost gasped. She was paralyzed so she didn't gasp. She didn't really like being held by the shirt either. Which just added to some thoughts running through her head. Dragons like these are going to be the death of me, She thought silently as she watched the... 'newcomers'.

[Xarria]

Nyx just stayed on her back, her eyes wide. She was whining softly.Why? Why does he hate me? she thought to herself sadly.

[Walker]

Lifaen snorted a little, not bothering to answer. If they had company, she wasn't going to waste time nattering about. Drawing on what reserves of energy she had left after her battle, Lifaen streaked past Eldunari in the opposite direction of the approaching dragons. If she remembered correctly, there was a cave nearby where they would be able to spend the day; it was just a matter of getting there before they were tracked down.

 

'Hurry up!' she called out to Eldunari. Her wings were already starting to ache from flying so fast, but she could worry about that later. There would be plenty to worry about later.

[Shur'turgal]

Eldunari looked up as Lifaen soared above her, Well that was unexpected she murmured to herself. Even with the extra weight on her back she was determined to match Lifaen's speed. Through her exhaustion she pumped her massive wings and with apparent ease she sped to Lifaen's side. Once there she gave Lifaen a sideways glance and a bit of a smirk and then with a few more flaps she swept past Lifaen and called back to her 'Well, where are we going?' with a chuckle in her voice.m

 

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

 

Grimrr stole a look at Nyx and saw her pain at his displays. Some of his inner anger dispelled and he remembered their plan. Still not daring to mentally contact Nyx, he hoped that she would see what he was doing. He shot her another loook before crouching down and preparing for another 'attack'. As he went to pounce he hoped the spirit would retaliate so their plan could work.

[Xarria]

Nyx stood up. She shook herself off and sat down. She looked at Grimrr with sadness. He had shut her out of his mind, so she couldn't tell him what she felt. Her ears were back, but she just looked at him.

[gistofeverything]

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….

Thage listened to the sound of her violin reverberate throughout the air around her. Soon, she heard the sound of a harp not too far, playing a complex and mysterious accompaniment. She was intrigued, and bridged into something deeper, something more beautiful, finding someone who could understand her tongue. Suddenly, the harp stopped, and she heard a male voice call out “Is there anyone out here?” Thage gasped and ran to the other side of her domain. She shivered. There were people out there... She gulped and gathered her courage. She silently padded towards the window, and called "Only I, O Mysterious One... Please, have mercy on me... I did not mean to offend Thee with my terrible music..."

[Walker]

Amun muttered under his breath a little, turning his head until he found the source of the responding voice. He looked at her for a moment, eyebrow raised. What was she thinking, talking to the likes of him as if he were some sort of gentleman? Well, he had been once upon a time, but those days were long past... Not that he minded, not in the least. He missed the days where people treated him with the least shred of respect. He certainly didn't get that now, even if he deserved it as the son of a rich Viskran businessman.

 

He glanced over his shoulder at Celeste, giving her a serious look. He couldn't say it aloud, but he had to let her know the seriousness of the situation. If they had been overheard.... He shuddered a little at the thought. They had to do what they had to do, even if he had to force himself to partake in criminal pursuits. There were ways of silencing people, but he preferred not to think about them. He glanced back out and looked at the stranger; he had to face her sometime. "What did you overhear?" he asked, his tone half-heartedly threatening.

 

In the current situation, there wasn't time for pleasantries.

 

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

 

Lifaen felt a wave of annoyance run through her. What did the youngling think she was doing, showing off in such a way? Perhaps she could fly faster, but that was most likely because of size differences. And if she wasn't injured herself, she was more than certain that Eldunari would have been the one to tire more quickly. But she'd soon realize it didn't do to fly on ahead. What did she know of the world? Whereas Lifaen often strayed from the mountains because of her disdain for the elders, who could say what Eldunari had in ways of experience.

 

In order to express her displeasure, she snorted a bit and snapped her jaws at Eldunari's tail, making sure not to actually nip it since she was carrying the human. However, it wouldn't hurt to put the little dragon in her place and perhaps startle her a little. After that, she angled her wings down and began to descend. The cave where they could spend the day was nearby and she could not fly much longer in this condition. It was time to settle down.

[FlowerOwl]

Scarlet had gotten used to flying, and now she rather liked it. Half of her likeness of it she forced and the other half came naturally. After all, if you were in the same stituation you would probably force yourself to get used to it. Or at least, that's what she thought as they began to descend. After such a tiring day it would be nice to find a good bush near where they would stay. Maybe she'd find a good boulder and move it to a bush, or, if Scarlet is lucky, a boulder next to a couple of nice bushes.

[Takhesis]

Cethlenn took her attention off the comical guards to face Grimrr as he circled around. She was puzzled by him, first he seems to defend the city by attacking her the next moment he's tearing up the guards. Her clawed hands flexed briefly as she remembered her eye. Not likeing the fact that he was responsible, Cethlenn entertained ideas of revenge, insanity did have its perks in the imagination department.

 

 

---------------

 

 

Celeste remained silent as Amun spoke to the one outside. She partly guessed at his thoughts and knew, despite her own reservations, that if it was kill or be killed: she'd be the one killing.

[Xarria]

Nyx reached out with her mind to Grimrr. He was blocking her out. What?! Does he really think I'm THAT dangerous?! she thought to herself angrily. She forced her mind into his, although it wasn't working as she hadn't done this before.

[gistofeverything]

Thage was not certain she heard right. "What did you overhear?" There was conversation inside? Thage did now know a thing about it. "Sir, I do not believe that I heard anything from where you are, other than an interesting harp accompaniment. It was quite lovely if I do say so myself, though I am sure that it would require a certain virtuosity at the instrument to be able to match pace to me. Did you hear it?"

 

((I apologize for failpost.))

Edited June 29, 2012 by gistofeverything

[Walker]

Amun couldn't help but smile a little at the compliment. It had been a long time since someone had complimented his music instead of screaming at him to "stop that racket and play something a little more up beat!" Some people didn't appreciate REAL music, under-educated idiots. It would be nice to discuss or play with someone who actually knew what they were talking about and show him some sembelence of respect.... "There was no harp here," he lied through his teeth. "And it's better that way."

 

He briefly turned his attention away from the stranger, noting how the sky was beginning to lighten a little. He cursed under his breath and turned back to look back at Celeste. "The morning is going to come soon, and a safehouse isn't any place to spend the day. We need to leave, and fast. I'll explain more tomorrow," he replied, urgency in his tone.

[Takhesis]

"The dawn always hurts...." Celeste mumbled to herself as she got up and prepared to leave. Looking at Amun, "Where can we go?"

[Xarria]

Nyx pushed harder, trying to get into Grimrr's mind, to be connected to the person who she was partnered up with against the spirit. She growled quietly. It was really tough.

[Shur'turgal]

Eldunari flinched a little as Lifaen's jaws came so close to the tip of her tail. She knew it had annoyed Lifaen that she had gone in front if her and ,to show how comical she thought it was, she flicked her tail at Lifaen's jaws as she pulled away. Eldunari felt Lifaen begin to descend behind her and so she pulled her wings in and began to do the same. She sharpened her sight to try and see the cave where they would be headed, however another thought was nagging at her. She had a sneaking suspicion that the elders would simply follow them to the cave and punish them there. She looked quickly at Lifaen and quickly established mental contact, once she had she muttered, 'If the elders are behind us they will follow our scent and their own sight to the cave and punish us once there, do you have a plan to cover our tracks?'

 

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

 

Grimrr stopped his assail on the spirit mid crouch. He could feel.. a conscience pushing against his own. One that was familiar. He knew it was not the spirit, as the conscience was not attacking, nor was it barking with the thoughts of one gone mad. No the conscience was just trying to gain a mental connection. Grimrr flashed his eyes to Nyx. Her ears were back and her face looked as if she was undergoing a great struggle. There was no doubt in his mind that the presence was Nyx, but there was also no doubt that there was still remnants of the spirit's mind in hers. Without seeing through his blind rage he hissed at Nyx, baring his massive fangs. He slammed against her own conscience knocking it completely away from his own and then unsheathed his claws. He turned and crouched once more and lunged at the foul creature that hovered before him. He positioned himself where the spirit could give him a small wound that would give it false confidence, but he was also positioned in a way that he could do major damage. As he soared toward the ghoul, his thoughts were of to things.. his lost love and guilt for battering down Nyx.

[Xarria]

Nyx yelped and fell down, her ears down on her head and her eyes fiercely shut. She whimpered loudly. A tear went down her cheek because of the pain.

Edited July 1, 2012 by Xarria

[Takhesis]

Cethlenn's mind was imagining revenge potentials, so her actions were more by rote than any real thought. Her clawed hands lashed out to graze against fur. Her eye flashed as she felt the contact, the other was still a little too watery to actually open enough to be seen.

 

Her old magic also faded, the guards found themselves returned to their normal forms and ages.

[Xarria]

Through the continues (is that spelled right?) pain, Nyx tried, weakly, to reach out to Grimrr again. She felt that her concious was more of a wisp of what it what before. She knew that, if he did, he would barely feel it.

[gistofeverything]

Thage was shocked; she was certain that she heard an accompaniment. The structure of it was absolutely stunning, like nothing she had ever heard before. She looked towards the sky and sighed. It was probably her head that made up the music, trying to make her feel better. She had most likely reached a point of virtuosity that surpassed all others, adding another element to her loneliness. Tears came to her eyes, making them sparkle and dance. Her heart yearned for someone who could understand her, yet she knew that this was impossible because all Thage was was a crazy young woman who had visions of blue dragons. She couldn't explain why because she didn't know herself. She turned towards the west wall and started looking for an outfit to weather the world in.

[Xarria]

Nyx's head finally gave in and she fell to her side ((cause she fell forward before)) and went in a barely-concious state. Her mind still lightly tried to get into Grimrr's.

[Shur'turgal]

Grimrr could see the joy in the spirit's good eye as he felt her ghostly claws snatch at his underbelly. Rolling slightly in the air to exagerate the pain on his soft unprotected skin, Grirr fell to the ground. He looked over to Nyx and saw her on the ground, unconscience. He let out a yowl of pain as his vision flashed and he pictured his long gone mate in Nyx's place. For a slight moment he wanted to tear apart the spirit remembering how one had kiled his queen, and he was ll too ready to blame this one for Nyx's state.. that is until he remembered that he had done this damage. He slowly got to his feet and watched as the guards looked at their slain comrades. He edged his way to Nyx all the time expressing pain, more from his heart than from his torn belly but still, showing pain. He felt for Nyx's mind no longer caring if the spirit was still present and called to her quietly 'Nyx, my friend, follow my voice, do not let go, I am sorry. Nyx, my friend, follow my voice..' He continued to speak to her blank mind, hoping for a response, as he nosed her exposed flank. Slowly using his massive head as a tool helifted Nyx and allowed her to slide to his back. She was so light that his movement was not hindered, and he could continue the plan. He slowly turned to the spirit and hissed at it, his ears pressed to his skull, and then dashed away. He ran fast enough so that he could sneak around it while the spirit focused on dismembering the guards but not so fast that he did not look to be in pain. As he sprinted away and then doubled back on the spirit his mind never stopped calling 'Nyx, my friend, follow my voice, do not let go, I am sorry..'

[Xarria]

Nyx, still barely concious, only faintly heard Grimrr's voice in her head. Why- why did you get angry at me? I was only... asking how she... did that to the guards... she asked softly. She knew not where she was nor what was happening, only that her head throbbed and that Grimrr was talking to her.

[Walker]

"Just follow me," Amun said, "I know a place." He didn't like the idea of the potential thief holing up in his apartment for the night, but where else was there? She could see to finding her a proper place to stay tomorrow night. With that, he stepped away from the window and shut it with a loud bang, letting that be a sign to whoever might be outside that prying ears weren't welcome.

 

He hastily began gathered up his things, pulled up his gloves, and pushed his glasses up his nose before throwing his harp over his shoulder. He frowned a little and muttered to himself. He'd lost a whole night of wages to this; he really couldn't afford things like that on his limited budget, but what could he do about it? He had to honor the oaths he gave to the Gathering. He'd have to see to getting that new harp string tomorrow too, which probably meant he'd lose ANOTHER night's wages.

 

He walked over to the door and pushed it open, heading out into the street. He briefly paused under the window where the violin music had been coming from, looking back to see if Celeste had followed.

 

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

 

'They do not dare follow us now. The dawn is too close,' Lifaen replied sharply to her. If the human wasn't on Eldunari's back at the moment, Lifaen wouldn't have felt the least bit of shame in leaving her behind. Her irritation at her after that last action had increased exponentially. No respect, none at all. It didn't help that she was naturally on-edge after the chase and her injuries.

 

She landed on the ground, crushing a small tree with her weight. She growled defensively at the sound of shattering wood but quickly threw it off. Not even bothering to wait for the other dragon to land, she dragged herself into the cave and curled in the very back, beginning to lick her wounds. However, her eyes remained fixed on the mouth of the cave, smoldering with barely-repressed anger.

[gistofeverything]

Thage padded down the stairs as light as she could, careful not to disturb her father below. Looking at the door, she braced herself. She was certain that there was no one outside - she had checked earlier, and there was no one there. She was wearing a black, free-flowing dress that swept the ground as she walked. She also wore an elegant hat equipped with a widow's veil. She wanted to take every possible precaution against having the sun burn her as she was out and about today. She padded towards the door, and stepped into a pair of black heeled boots and grabbed a black velvet lined parasol. Before she stepped into the outside, she examined herself in the looking glass next to the front door. She made sure that every hair was in place, and that her veil was secured. When she was positive of herself, she opened the door and her parasol and stepped forward. She shielded herself with her parasol and carefully walked towards her right. Not looking in front of her, she was reminiscing on her past life, when she bumped into something with a loud WHACK! Thage tumbled to the ground, screaming all along the way. Dazed, she looked up and saw a young man. She was certain she was seeing things... "I am terribly sorry, sir, I did not see you, I..."

[Shur'turgal]

Eldunari turned her attention to the horizon and saw that it was just beginning to fod with soft orange light. 'Ah, so it is.' she cooned and dropped into a steeper descent after the other dragon. She quickly saw the cave they were headed for and angled herself so she would approach it better. As she watched the older dragon take to the ground, she heard a chorus of echoing cracks as a small tree was trampled under the brown dragon's feet. She grimaced as the sound unsettled the air around her and could only think of the elders and whether or not they would risk an approach at dawn.

 

She flared her wings and drifted the last 30 feet or so, so her landing would be more comfortable for the human. When her feet finally found ground she edged away from the face of the cliff and slightly shuffled her shoulders to signal the human to get off. She was impatient though and tilted to her side and let the human drop, hoping it had not been hurt. Quietly she contacted the human and said 'My apologies but I sense hostility from Lifaen and I would like to make up for my arrogant actions.' She carefully walked to Lifaen who was already licking her wounds. She eyed her tail with amazement. Even with the grip of the elder's jaws she had gotten away without any life threatening wounds, and that itself showed ferocity. She cautiously picked her way a little closer to Lifaen, not missing the anger in her wide eyes. She dipped her head and spoke in the most submissive voice she could muster 'Lifaen, do not be angry with me. I am arrogant in many of my ways and I am apparently not making any exceptions when acting towards you. I am no master of medicine but if you know of some herbs that would ease your pain and better the state of your wounds I would gladly fetch them. I would also be pleased to hunt a deer or gather vegetables for you if you are in need of them. At current you and the human are my only companions and I will let neither of you suffer in any way.' She kept her head dipped but did not crouc like she was begging for forgiveness. The rest of her body stayed ready to serve and ready to fight.

 

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

 

Grimrr could hear Nyx's voice and it seeed so small in his mind. The thought of her lack of knowledge of the underworld made him angry in many ways but he dared not let his anger sound in his voice when he said 'I got angry because old influece and experience had edged their way into my actions. Spirits are dangerous Nyx and one day I will teach you more but for now I need you to wake up, to get off my back and to fight by my side. Find a way to step out of your wandering sleep, I can see that dawn soon approaches and the spirit can not be present when the nightwalkers return.' Grimrr slowed his pace a bit but was still headed for the spirit's back, for now he could only hope Nyx would wake and help him or she might be lost..