New Legacies

[Aquila]

Nylaeni watched the proceedings, her eyes dancing with amusement. This was more entertainment that she had expected. She wasn't great with hatchlings, but she generally didn't mind them. Not that she wanted any of her own, of course. Too much responsibilty. However, it annoyed her that someone would allow their hatchlings to wander like this. What if it had wandered somewhere dangerous? She was silent, not wanting to scare the poor creature. It was hard to tell if the young hatchling was male or female, but she thought it was a Shadow Walker.

[Doomkaiser]

Igneel couldn't help but raise a draconic eyebrow and smirk slightly. He sighed happily.

 

"You haven't met many other dragons, if any others at all, have you? Judging by the look in your eyes and the time it took to answer, you're a bit nervous." He said, inquisitive look in his eyes, remembering a similar situation with the dragon hermits in Japan. Boy, they were feisty buggers, launch right at you at first sight and try to go straight for the jugular, no questions at all.

[Ryujin13]

Treya looked up at the dragon in front of her, fear showing in her eyes. She was starting to tear up as she realized her mistake. She should never have left her circle! Now she was going to be in big trouble!

"N-no I'm not lost." She mumbled, backing away slowly. "The caves th-." She turned to point, only to realize that during her run through the woods, she had indeed gotten lost, and was now stuck with a bunch of dragons who she didn't know, who probably wanted to do something terrible to her.

"P-please don't eat me, I'm sorry! I thought she was mommy! Please I'll go away and leave you alone!" She was crying at this point, and was fading out a bit more then normal. "Please! I just want to go back to the circle!"

[greatguy]

Yüna ran. Possibly for his life.

 

The stupid Pygmy didn't know that he was supposed to be his bodyguard! And, of course, be the father of an army.

 

How are those not good ideas to the stupid Pygmy? He serves me for life, and in return he gets to father an army! How is that not a good salary? I'd accept terms like that!

 

After running a tree, Yüna paused to think. He could run towards the lake, or...

 

Yüna began climbing the tree he had just run into. The tree was tall, tall enough to make it inprobable that the Pygmy would see him.

 

Reaching a branch, he hoisted himself up on it.

 

Then an idea hit him. He could attack from here! There were odd rock-like things in the branches that he could drop.

 

Yüna didn't have to think why they were there. All he knew was that they would help him capture that Pygmy.

 

 

[Mathcat]

((Inzara's a pygmy - Treya's not really going to be looking up at her. My fault for being unclear.))

 

The poor thing was looking up at Ekaira as though she thought the black dragon was going to eat her. Inzara was even more glad she'd flown over, now. She cleared her throat to draw the hatchling's attention down to her. "I won't hurt you," she said soothingly. "How could I? I'm so much smaller than you are. None of us mean you any harm. Don't mind Ekaira - hatchlings just make her nervous," Inzara said, hoping her attempt at humor would calm the hatchling's fears.

 

"Now, I'm new here, and so is Ekaira, and we haven't had a chance to explore yet. Lydia, the healer, or Nylaeni would probably know where the circle is, though," said Inzara, nodding toward each in turn, "and perhaps one of them even knows your mother. Won't you stay so we can help you?" The hatchling seemed ready to fade away altogether, ghost or not.

[CYDA LUVA83]

Lydia's full attention was turned to the hatchling when she burst into the glade, shouting for her mother. The white dragoness eyed her curiously, watching the poor thing. She walked forward a few feet, stopping when she could clearly see the hatchling, a Shadow Walker. It didn't seem injured, just lost. And it mentioned a circle? Well, if there actually was a physical, material circle, perhaps of trees or rocks, if they flew high enough, they would see it.

[Ryujin13]

(Oh, well I always assumed that hatchlings are about the size of large cat, and I didn't think that pygmys were that small.)

 

Treya sniffed and looked at Inzara as the Pygmy spoke, seeming to calm slightly at the soothing tones.

"H-how could they know where the circle is though?" She sniffed, rubbing her eyes. "I made the circle. It's safe 500 feet from the cave. Mommy said so before she left."

When Inzara mentioned her mother though, Treya's eyes widened and she smiled. "You know where mommy is? She's been gone so long, and now you know where she is! Yay!" She bounced around a bit in excitement. "When's she coming back? Where is she? I want to see her now! Please can we go see her?"

[Mathcat]

Inzara, dismayed by the hatchling's response, hastened to clarify what she'd said. "No, I'm sorry to say I don't know your mother. It's possible that Lydia or Nylaeni might have met her, though. I suspect Lydia, in particular, has met most of the dragons around here, since she's a healer. If you know your mother's name, or at least what type of dragon she is, Lydia might remember meeting her. Why not ask her?"

 

***

 

Ekaira might not like hatchlings that well, but that didn't mean she couldn't feel sympathy toward this one. She knew what it was like to be lost and alone. Unfortunately, she wasn't going to be up for much of a search, especially since the circle the hatchling mentioned wasn't going to be easily viewable from the air. "And there's no point in asking me about your mother, as my memory's often unreliable these days," she said.

[Ryujin13]

Treya physically drooped at the news that none of them knew her mother. "Oh." She said, sitting down. "I thought you'd seen mommy." They seemed nice though, maybe this Lydia might know. Treya looked at Lydia, then at Inzara, then back at Lydia.

"Lydia? Have you seen my mommy?" She asked. "She's big, and she is darker colored then me, and very pretty. Her names Uraya, and she said she was going to go and do..." Treya stopped and thought for a moment. "She said she was going to go get food and do something else. Visit someone I think. That was a long time ago though it was..." She scrunched her eyes closed and thought again, envisioning the cave. "She's been gone 959 days." She said.

To anyone counting they would have realized that it had been over two and a half years since Treya had seen her mother. "Please do you know where she is Lydia? It's been a long time and I miss her."

[CYDA LUVA83]

At first Lydia listened intently to the small wyrmling, making sure she didn't miss a detail that described Treya's mother. However, when she stated how long her mother had been gone... well, one could say that Lydia's jaws hit the floor. Mopey slid up the white dragoness's back, coiling around her neck partway so it could reach out and close Lydia's open mouth by pushing on her jaw with his head. Nine hundred and fifty nine days... almost one thousand days... almost three years... "How have you been keeping yourself alive, little one?" Lydia asked, leaning down to see her better.

Edited April 1, 2013 by CYDA LUVA83

[Ryujin13]

Treya smiled at being asked such an adult question and seemed to bounce a little more.

"It wasn't easy at first! See, there's water in the cave, but foods harder. I learned to find snakes and stuff with meat on them. Snakes aren't very smart, they'll come around an time. Rabbits are harder though. You have to lure them. In the spring there's bird nests around that have eggs too. Those are yummy! It took me a long time to learn how to get food, and for awhile I had to eat bugs and other things so I wouldn't go hungry. Now I can get squirrels and snakes and rabbits. I tried to get a deer thing once, but I had to let to of it because the crossed the line."

(As you guys might have guessed, Treya's mother is dead, so if you guys want to know where her skeleton is of something else like that then go ahead. If not I'll include it later.)

[CYDA LUVA83]

The white dragoness blinked, absorbing all of the information. Most hatchlings would have died if left alone like this one was. Mopey, on the other hand, was still a bit hurt from the 'Dumb Snake' comment, so he slithered off to, as his name dictates, mope. Lydia looked at Nylaeni and Ekaira, hoping one of them would help her out with this situation. "Well... little one..." Go on, say that her mother's dead, say that she's not coming back. She swallowed, a memory coming to the forefront of her mind that reminded her so much of the young one's predicament. "...Why don't you stay here in the glade for a short while? There's more food here, and it's safer. We-... ah... we can look for your mother in a little while." Her eyes once tried to make contact with Nylaeni and Ekaira's. What were they all going to do about this?

[Mathcat]

Ekaira's first response when the hatchling said how long she'd been waiting was to check for a pulse - or get Lydia to, since she was the healer - given the hatchling's decidedly ethereal appearance. The reality was much more mundane, thankfully - well, poor hatchling, of course, but at least she wasn't a ghost. To be orphaned so young - well, presumably, or at least the father didn't seem to be in the picture. Ekaira knew something of what the hatchling must be going through, though she'd been slightly older when she found herself on her own.

 

And...why was Lydia looking at her. She was the healer - she ought to know how to explain that the hatchling's mother was dead. Ekaira sighed, certain that she was about to play the villain. Well, better her than Lydia. "Dear, your mother's dead. She'd never have left you alone for so long if she were still alive. She won't be coming back. Staying with Lydia is the best thing you can do right now. I'm sorry, but it's better you know the full truth now than go on having false hope."

[Ryujin13]

Treya bounced a little more at the mention of going with these dragons to find her mother. "Yay! It's just like an adventure, a quest! And when we find mommy, she'll be so happy to see me! It'll be a surpise!" She said happily.

When Ekaira spoke though, Treya stopped and listened, then shook her head. "Nuh uh. She can't be dead. She said she'd be right back. She said to wait by the cave for her, and I did, except for today that is. She also can't be dead because Lydia said we are going to go find her!" Her voice was getting louder as she spoke, anger coming up. "She promised she would be back! She promised, and I waited just like she said! She just had to get food, and meet someone! She promised!" Her eyes were starting to sparkle with tears as she continued to yell. Her yell wasn't particularly loud, but it still conveyed the pain and anger flowing through her. The anger though, was quickly turning to grief and sadness.

"She can't be dead! She just can't be. I did what she said, I waited, and I didn't leave the circle." She was full on crying at this point, her body becoming more transparent as her emotions made her powers act up.

"Y-you can't be right! You're-you're lying or something! You-" she stopped and fell onto her stomach on the ground, her eyes covered with her paws as she sobbed. "W-why didn't she come back? D-did I do something wrong? I only left the circle once, and that was today! I m-made the cave pretty for when she came back! I planted flowers in front of it! Why would she not come back? Why did she d-die?"

[mickiloo97]

How..?

 

Link blinked. He was suddenly furious, but he wasn't sure why. He stood, slowly advancing towards Igneel. He could read Him like a book, and Link could not stand that. So what if he was nervous? The Nebula had co me here from a whole different continent entirely! Who was he to judge anyone?

 

"Why don't you stay out of it!!" Link spun swiftly, and speed-walked away.

 

Once out of earshot, the dragon mumbled to himself, "He doesn't know anything. He comes from over the lake," he murmured, referring to the many miles of ocean separating Ireland and Link's homeland. As he marched on, he thought. What if he was right? He told himself it didn't matter, that he didn't care. He shook his head angrily.

 

It didn't take him long until he reached his home. As he reached the clearing, the small puddle-of-a-lake, was already frozen. He sat in his usual spot at the puddle, and stared back at himself, cursing to himself that the stars weren't out yet. He looked at his reflection, brooding. "D*** dragons..."

[Aquila]

Nylaeni's amusement vanished as soon as she heard how long the hatchling had been waiting for her mother. She shifted uncomfortably. The hatchling's mother was dead. What were they going to do with an orphaned hatchling? Nylaeni knew she'd have no patience for it, and Lydia was likely too busy to care for the young dragon. She had no idea what Ekaira was like with hatchlings, but as a general rule Blacks did not make good nursemaids. She sighed and spoke to the other dragonesses. "I should be back within the hour. I'm going to go hunt. I'll bring something back for both of you and the hatchling." She didn't really need to hunt - after all, she'd just eaten - but it was the only thing she could think of to be helpful. Besides, she had no idea how to comfort a grieving hatchling. Her injured paw was forgotton until she took off. Oh, well. I'll use my magic. she thought, banking her wings. There was an elk grazing ground about twenty miles east of the Lydia's glade. An elk wouldn't be large enough to feed all three adult dragons, but she didn't need to eat.

[Mathcat]

And there went Nylaeni. Great. She didn't even need to look at Inzara to know she'd horrified her friend. Ekaira glared at Lydia, sure that the white dragon was going to say something about what she'd just done. "And how long would you have let her keep her false hope?" she said defensively. "How long would you have let her search? Months? Years? Best that she knows the truth now!"

 

She looked down at the hatchling, trying to soften her voice. "You had nothing to do with what happened. Never think that. Never think it was anything you did or didn't do that led to your tragedy. Life...happens as it will, whether we mean it to or not, and some things can't be prevented or changed. I learned that early on."

 

Ekaira sighed. "I lost my mother when I wasn't that much older than you are. You're lucky - you have us to help you. If the glen gets to be too quiet, Lydia can bring you to the colony where Inzara and I live. It's a very nice place, and I'm sure the pygmy dragons would love to play with you." There. That was the best she could manage as a peace offering.

[CYDA LUVA83]

Lydia made a shrugging gesture with her forelegs. She bet that none of them were really expecting what the little hatchling had said. The dragoness had only said what first came to mind. "Sorry, it was the only thing I could think of." She didn't want to say that she had held an inkling of hope for a few moments that the mother was alive. Perhaps they could have pretended to go on a search, then after they came back and the hatchling knew she was with dragons she could trust they could have told her that her mother was dead. The white female looked up and watched Nylaeni as she left. What had been an awkward moment turned out to be a morbid situation.

Edited April 2, 2013 by CYDA LUVA83

[Ryujin13]

Treya continued to cry, but peeked from behind her paws as Ekaira spoke, listening to the words, but also to the tone, which was like the one her mother spoke with. It was soothing to hear, and she seemed to go back to her normal level of transparency, even if she was still crying. When Ekaira finished, Treya continued to look at her, then Lydia then back. She covered her eyes again as if this would make all the problems go away, but when it didn't, she finally nodded.

"Ok, I'll stay with you." She whispered, trying to rub the tears away. She gave up after a few seconds of her tears just renewing themselves and instead looked up at Lydia. "I-if we have t-time can we go to m-my cave? I have to g-get something." She said.

[CYDA LUVA83]

Watching the small child cry made the dragoness fidget uncomfortably. She wanted to wrap her wings around the baby, to tell her everything would be alright, but she feared that she might freak Treya out if she did. Lydia nodded at the hatchling's question when it was asked. "Yes, we can go to your cave. Do you need help finding it from here?" She asked. If need be Lydia could fly up and try and spot it from the air. The white dragoness looked at Ekaira, did she and her pygmy want to come along? If they didn't that was okay, Mopey didn't bite.

[Ryujin13]

Treya looked back the way she had entered the clearing and shook her head.

"N-no, I think w-we can find it from here." She said, wandering off in that direction. She checked to make sure that Lydia was following before heading down the long path that she had made on her run to the glen.

At the end was a large rock with curves and circles carved into it. They interacted in strange ways, making a picture that seemed to twist and turn as you looked at it. A ways off there was another rock, this one carved with lines and a picture of a bird on it. In the opposite direction was yet another rock, this one also carved.

"Mommy said to stay within 500 feet of the cave." Treya managed, looking at Lydia. "I made the circle so I knew where to stay until mommy came home." She wandered past the rock, stopping only to look at it before going by and heading towards a clearing. A hill was raised on the opposite side of the clearing, and carved into it was a cave. It was rock inside, but seemed to have been smoothed down by water in the past. The clearing itself had a small stream with a pool off to the side, while tall grass circled the rest of it. At the cave entrance were two long patches of flowers, both obviously well cared for. The cave entrance was carved like the rocks seen earlier, with trees, birds, and animals interacting around the entrance. Stars were carved above them, and at the highest point of the cave entrance, there was a strange emblem of a two-headed eagle in flight, a spear in one claw, and a sword in another crossed below it, and a single crown floating above both heads.

Treya went into the cave and rooted around near the back before picking up a circular object with a chain attached to it. When she returned it was easy to see that the small pendant, (about the same size as a silver dollar) had the emblem from above the cave on it. The pendant was gold, as was the chain that now hung around Treya's neck.

"Mommy said this was important." Treya said, gently touching it with a single claw. "She didn't say why though."

[Mathcat]

Ekaira was ready to follow after the hatchling, even though her muscles were sore and she knew flight would be a painful experience, but Inzara intervened. "You could have handled that better, but there's certainly no need to put yourself through more pain just to prove a point. Lydia can take care of this."

 

Ekaira nodded and stretched out. "I think I'll wait here, since I've already done more than enough flying for one day. I just hope the rattlesnake doesn't decide to sun itself on my back."

[Lato_Dato]

Yuna dissipated into the foliage quickly, but the Pygmy was not the sort to loose his prey so easily. He followed the sounds of the human's escape through the bust, and the half trail he left with his hurried progress. And then, all at once, the noises just... stopped.

Lirm narrowed his eyes in suspicion. So that human thought he was going to get away, huh? Not likely!

The small dragon increased his pace, leaping right over a bush, and sprinting straight into a tree. He stumbled backwards a few steps, disorientated,, anger flashing through his mind. Well, if he hadn't lost the human before, he had now! He looked around with slitted eyes, determinately trying to find the trail likely left by the human.

 

There wasn't any.

[CYDA LUVA83]

Lydia nodded to Ekaira before following Treya through the woods to her cave. For a couple times during the short trip, the white dragon worried that she had lost Treya, but soon found the hatchling's misty form again before resuming the run. At the circle of stones, the white dragoness found her jaw hanging open. The symbols on the rocks intrigued her, and she found herself staring at them all. She followed the shadow walker through the boundary and to the mouth of the cave, her eyes tracing the carving at the top. Her attention was once again brought to the hatchling when she brought the golden pendant up.

"That emblem is foreign to me, little one." She said after a few seconds of looking closely at the necklace. "Where did all these carvings come from?" Lydia asked, looking back at the circle of stones and the carving at the entrance.

[Ryujin13]

Lydia seemed to droop a bit when Lydia said she didn't know about the pendant, but visibly brightened a little when asked about the carvings. She was still miserable and grieving, but it took her mind off of it, even if it was for just a moment. "I made them." Treya said quietly. "I thought mommy would like them. It gave me something to do while I waited for her t-to come back." She sniffed and another tear rolled down her cheek. "I also put the flowers in." She said, wandering over to the nearby bed, where a bunch of different colored flowers were place near the pool of water. "Mommy always said that s-she liked flowers."