Pagos Epochi - The Time of Ice

[Ayesthine]

Bwriadol struggled along, the Turpentine hanging halfway off of her expansive back. Her wingtips dragged in the snow. The cold air tore through her throat and scraped against her lungs, and she wheezed. Blood from the Split's gouged tail dripped down her jaws and froze on her chin. Her eyes peered out from a rim of snow and ice, blinking against the oppressive wind. She thought for a moment someone had lit a fire in the mouth of the cave, but she quickly banished the thought. Fires wouldn't last for long in the gusty tunnels near the surface.

A little longer... nearly there.

Doll stumbled forwards a few more feet before collapsing near Kyu. Her straining wings pushed against the snow, and she rose shakily. A rattling groan escaped her lips as the dragon heaved herself through the snow.

[HomeForFlowers]

No warmth was in her body. Evie was as cold as the snow that threatened to drain the life out of everything around it. Her breathing was soft and shallow and her glazed over eyes stared off into the distance. The once pungent scent of turpentine was now faint. Evie's mind was blank and her thoughts ceased to explore her mind. She was completely still. Not a sound came from her and not a single muscle moved. She was not dead, but she wasn't living. Edited September 15, 2013 by Doctortear

[Evensong]

 Freya's eyes were filled with horrified tears as Leonardo finished his story. She trembled slightly at the thought of the Krampus, even though he wasn't real. He's not real. He's not real. she assured herself, but she still shrank a little closer to her friend's grey-blue side. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes...

[Taleena Fuka]

((Taleena to the resssccuuusee!))

 

It was like no one even heard him! That- that! He just-! "Hrnng...!" He snorted and pawed the ground angrily, his tail twitching and his teeth clenched. "Fine then, DON'T answer my question." He scampered off to the corner of the main cave, where there weren't many dragons around. There, he faced the corner, laid down, and stared at the wall. He began clawing the wall lightly, but did nothing else.

 

While tunneling through the snow, she heard the faint flapping of wings nearby and then suddenly she couldn't hear them anymore. "Maybe its a lost dragon?" When she tried to surface, she instead bumped into a dragon's body. "Dear Nicholas!" She squeaked while underneath the snow. She poked her head through the snow and saw the three dragons, in particular what seemed to be a lifeless Turpentine. "Gotta help them, but I wont do much good in this form..!" She got her body out of the snow and concentrated... Although she preferred not to show her transformation between her hatchling form and her true form, she didn't want to waste time trying to think of and spend energy on an illusion.

 

In front of the two, her body appeared to rapidly mature into her fully grown size. With her body now its original size, she could control a bit of the incoming snow and gradually lightened the rate of the snow fall to the point that they could the area more. She murmured to herself, "Tch, I wanted the snow to completely stop... Oh well.. She shook her head and went towards the Turpentine, checking for a pulse and her over all well being. "Hypothermia... She still has a pulse, but its weak and she almost has no warmth not to mention she's lost consciousness." She scanned the area, as if looking for something and then nodded to herself. Kyu noticed that the Copper must of had a hard time, trudging through the snow with this other dragon, so she took it upon herself to get the turpentine on her back. She also helped Copper up onto her feet, but could do nothing about the wounds she had. "This way!" Kyu could have teleported to the cave in short bursts, but she didn't want to leave the Copper behind so she instead supported the Copper with her wing and began to walk towards the cave. To add more encouragement to the Copper, she cheerily said, "There's a warm cave and a plentiful feast waiting for you, and for this turpentine. So just hang in there, and trust me. We'll be there soon!"

Edited September 6, 2013 by Taleena Fuka

[Evensong]

...and when she opened them, she was soaring through the fog, an endless grey cloud of nothingness. Her wings felt strange, longer and lighter, and when she flipped her head back, she saw pure white feathers, marked with black. She was a snowy owl. Cool! Freya tested out her new body, dipping and diving and spinning through her air as she experimented with her wings. She tried out a corkscrew dive, pulling her wings in. She flew through through the fog, looking for something, anything. And she saw images flickering in the fog. Emerald wings. A glittering sapphire orb. Narrowed eyes. A dancing shadow, flickering with the candlelight. And then an enormous shape suddenly rose out of the fog, wings spread, jaws fastened around her neck, pain, sharp and sudden. She felt the life ebbing out of her, the darkness creeping in...

 

 

((Freya has weird flashbacks.))

Edited September 6, 2013 by Evensong

[TurtleDragon]

Flare decided to go outside again to see what was happening I wonder why Kyu was there? He thought to himself. Just then he noticed the dragons coming a bit to close for comfort! He ran right back in the cave not bothering to turn off his "special" ability, as when he went out in the cold it turned on unconsciously but, to turn it off he has to do it himself. The only reason he ran is because he thought they spotted him Well that was close! He muttered, once again getting odd looks from any dragons passing by, but them not lasting long, as he was still glowing so... Ya he was going to be in big trouble after this! Well at least they can't see who he is, or really, at all at the moment! Well at least the copper, turpentine, and kyu didn't notice him I think well even if they DID see him they probably weren't able to tell who he was due to his shine... wait, kyu was with them.Well i'm not going to see tomorrow He metaphorically said when he got to his den. Just like kyu probably saw me. He had eyes specialized in seeing in snow like he's in water. He almost obviously saw him ,and with that he took a nap.

 

(The less flamish looking the color the sadder or more nervous flare is.)

Edited September 7, 2013 by TurtleDragon

[XxDragonletxX]

Tirren flew through the air, her silent wings cutting through the cold wind. She huffed, she could see her breath now. It was so cold! The freezing wind tossed her to one side and she flapped her wings harder to gain balance. Ice began forming at the ridges of her wings; she was flying awkwardly now, she already knew that she was losing alltitude. 'Please help me' She silently prayed to no one in particular, then she clasped her frozen wings to her side. She began her slow plummet to the earth. The wind rushed past her face and her eyes, tears began forming. The rush of the wind was powerful enough to send some of the icicles flying off of her wings. She was dangerously close to the land now, she had to pull up. She saw a lump of snow a few inches away from where she currently was. She lifted up her thin tail, the flap at the end caught some wind and slowed her fall just barely. At last, she managed to open up her wings again, and she collided with the snow. She let out a small cry of alarm as she tumbled and rolled on the ground, the cold now had a claw clasped around her heart. Chips of ice splintered her scales and nipped at the softer parts of her body. With a grunt, she finally managed to stand up on her two legs straight, wobbling a bit.

[Bacon_Strips]

The faint sounds of whimpering could be heard in the cave. The small hatchling was hidden behind the collection of rocks it called its "fort" in playful times, tears running down its soft and delicate face. It clung on to its tiny pebble for comfort, though it was of no use no matter how hard the hatchling tried. As the long, suffering moaning that filled the cave was ending, a new sound, the sound of claws cutting a neck, created more loud anguish from the dragon. Its mother let out a blood-curdling scream, and slumped to the ground. The intruder showed no emotion at the dragon's death, proceeding to grab the food once meant to feed the pygmy family. As the hatchling's crying grew more incessant, the intruder noticed the blood-splattered father trying to lift his head off the ground, where he laid dying as his intestines were spilled around him. The intruder immediately went over to the dragon and slammed its fist into his head, ensuring that the father's time was up, along with his wive's. The sobbing hatchling screamed out "NNNOOOOOO!!!!! NNNOOOOOO!!!!!" as the intruder began walking out of the cave, knowing its task was completed. The hatchling's desperate and agonizing screams growing louder, the intruder stopped and gave a dark stare at it, and continued heading off. "NNNOOOOO!!!!! NNNOOOOOO!!!!! NNNOOOOOO!!!!!"

 

Nigh's own scream woke him out of his nightmare, and he quickly began trying to catch his breath. He looked up and turned his head towards the others, who were far away from where he slept. However, the loudness of the scream was easily audible, even from such a far distance, as he noticed a few dragons looking at him, stunned by what they had heard. A couple of hatchling were shaking, ready to cry at the noise. Ah, why did I think sleeping while the others were awake was a good idea? Even if I had gone a few days without sleep, I should've expected this. Now they'll be wondering what was going on. And I've scared the young ones. How could I be so inconsiderate? The Dark Myst momentarily thought about telling them why he was screaming, but quickly dismissed the idea as a terrible one, and an especially frightening one to the youngsters. He didn't want others knowing about his past. That was what he tried to avoid for years. I think I've only mentioned it to one, maybe two of the others. I don't need to share with anyone else, though. I don't want them to feel sorry for me. The past was the past...

[XxDragonletxX]

Tirren finally managed to gain balance on her two stubby legs. She was about to get Air Borne again when she finally realized that it was too dangerous to fly- especially with the wind so violent; it could rip her fragile body to pieces, even if she tried to resist it. Shuddering at the thought, she walked across the snowy ground, wings wrapped around her for heat and warmth. The young Coastal Waverunner occasionally stumbled when the wind blew across her path and threw her to the ground. She didn't know where she was anymore- all she could see was the shiny white snow in the distance and the hard, rocky mountains. She was hungry now, it was as if her belly was caving in now. 'I should have died when I was still a young hatchling.' She thought, slumping to the ground. She was ready to go now, nothing really cared to her anymore. Tirren knew it, she didn't belong here. Not out on the ice. Just as she was about to give up....

Thump

Thump

Thump

Her ear-frills perked up with the slightest movments. She knew the rythme of those heartbeats: the heartbeat of a mouse. She dug her beak in the ground and gently ran it through the snow, searching, feeling for any signs of the mouse. Her beak touched something furry, and before she knew it, the shocked mouse retreated out of a small hole in the ground. Years of hunting in the snow, impowered by hunger drove Tirren forward. She unfurled her wings and took to the air, just a few inches above the mouse. Then she did something unexpected. She clasped her wings to her side and dropped, talons outstretched as she tumbled through snow. At last, her claws caught fur and she gripped it hard. Quickly snatching it up in her beak, she gulped it down, not having teeth to chew it down. She savored the sweet, juicy taste of flesh and fur as it slid down her throat into her belly. Since she was small, it would be enough to last her for a few hours.

Edited September 8, 2013 by XxDragonletxX

[Bacon_Strips]

After regaining his composure from the nightmare, Nigh got up from where he was sleeping, and noticed Sora near him, simply laying by the cave wall and scratching it. Oh, what's happened here? he thought, observing the look of frustration on the poor hatchling's face. Things like that upset Nigh's heart, especially when it was a young one suffering. Without having to move a mere inch, he telepathically asked him, "Nani ga machigatte iru? What is wrong Sora? Has someone been upsetting you?" The Dark Myst hoped he'd be willing to reply to him even in his state of anger.

[Techno_Elf]

"Mitsuki, where do you think you're going?!" For the fourth time that day, Kiran chased after his sister as she wandered down tunnels, heading for the outside. "You'll freeze to death out there!" Mitsuki didn't seem like she heard, and only flew faster.

"I want to see the snow!" She chirped, not at all fazed by the fact that she could very easy get a severe case of hypothermia. "I'll just be out there for a second, I promise!"

Kiran sighed. "Alright, fine. But I'm coming with you!"

"You come with me everywhere, Kiki!" Mitsuki giggled. She'd reached the cave entrance, and saw Kyu dragging two half-dead dragons with her. "Kyu!" She squeaked. "What are you doing out here? And who are those two? Do you need my help?"

[Ayesthine]

Doll nodded dumbly at the Ribbon Dancer.

So cold...

She shivered, and hugged her wings to her side. Her frozen legs propelled her forwards automatically, past feeling the effort. Her dulled eyes focused slowly on the face of a young shimmer-scale. Her mind sluggishly came to the conclusion that she should be surprised. Slowly, stiffly, her jaws moved.

"Wh- What is she doing out of the caves?" She wheezed, and collapsed across the threshold of the cave.

---

Absalom frowned. A whiptail scout had just told him Kyu and a few hatchlings had climbed up to the surface. Normally, he wouldn't be surprised or upset. Dragons came and went from the caves as they pleased. This time, however, was different. Not only was it Christmas, a time of friendliness and companionship, the surface was beyond freezing. Anyone who went up would be frozen stiff within an hour.

Excluding him and a few others.

The Christmas Holidays thrived in the cold. Every day underground in the stuffy tunnels was torture for them. Yet, they stayed. They stayed to ensure the future of dragon-kind. The misguided cave-dwellers needed caretakers, guardians, elders. The Holidays were all of those.

"Sir?" The scout snapped Absalom out of his reverie. The Winter Magi's mouth twisted up at the corner. "My apologies. Your news distracted me." He stood slowly, his knees and wings scraping the cave walls. "I must go up. Something ill may have befallen them; the cold is never kind."

 

((Once everyone is more or less safely inside the cave, I'll go ahead with the plot post.))

[TurtleDragon]

Flare heard some confusion. What is all that? He looked and noticed some dragons. Wait, that's the copper and the turpentine that were with kyu! They got to the cave safely. I'm glad! Flare whispered. Hopefully when they get to the point of talking they won't mention seeing me! Or that they didn't see me at all! After that he decided to go ask what's going on in order to confirm his suspicions. What's going on? He asked to really no dragon in particular and then he just waited for an answer.

Edited September 10, 2013 by TurtleDragon

[MasterWeavile898]

Iceburn watched from a distance, she needed to get going, otherwise she would freeze to death. It was probably too late, if she didn't find a warm place soon she'd freeze, her cave was too far. She only saw one option, and it looked like she'd blown it. She cursed under her breath, and quickly walked over to the silhouette of the copper. As she neared she saw that the copper wasn't alone with the turpentine, a ribbon dancer was there as well. Despite the high possibility that the ribbon dancer would be kinder to her, she directed her speech towards the copper.

"I apologize for my earlier brashness." She said grudgingly, "Because I'm going to freeze to death if I stay out here."

Iceburn highly doubted that her apology would be accepted, but it was about the only shot she had at surviving. She had pretty well condemned the turpentine to death earlier, there was really no reason for them to let her in. But again, she had to try.

[Taleena Fuka]

"Huh? You two know each other? Well, lets just take it inside alright? I'd rather we do that than speak here outside." She made a motion with her head to signal it's okay for the two headed to join them inside their cave. She saw two dragons attempting to go outside, and replied to their question, "Yeah, this is something you can do for me. Mitsuki, please see to it that this turpentine gets to some healers. She's in a deep hypothermic state, and if we don't so something soon she might die..." She hands the turpentine to the soulpeace. She turned to Kiran. "Kiran, if its okay wih you, please inform Absalom about these three dragons here. Doll's wounds aren't as bad, so I can refer him to a healer after he gets some warmth and food... Unless you'd prefer to get healed now Doll?" Edited September 13, 2013 by Taleena Fuka

[Techno_Elf]

Mitsuki nodded. "I'm on it!" She took the Turpentine's arms and gently tugged her to where the healers were. "Don't worry," she said reassuringly. "We're going to help you. You can have some hot chocolate later to warm up, if you'd like. I'm Mitsuki, by the way."

Kiran nodded and dashed off, trying to locate Absalom. He found him, and went up to him, saying, "Absalom, we found three dragons outside the cave. They were hypothermic, and Kyu recommended that I come report to you."

[Ayesthine]

((Him? o.e Oh, and Tala? Kyu would probably know Doll fairly well. She's an older dragon.))

 

The Two-headed's words infuriated the copper. She picked herself up abruptly, and turned her snakelike head towards the blue dragon. She hissed and bared her teeth. "Fine." She snapped. "Stay till the storm lets up, and then leave us." The angered dragon straightened to her full height, black eyes narrowed. She stared at the Split, daring her to contradict her decision. A tense moment passed. Doll turned away as the Ribbon Dancer spoke, but her angry expression didn't fade. "Not at the moment, Kyu. I should figure out how much I'm hurt before expending the energy of a healer." Her lips twisted into a wry smile.

---

The Winter Magi was halfway to the surface when a Shimmerscale spoke to him. He nodded wordlessly in response. He hurriedly packed a few supplies into a bag, and launched himself up a wide, craggy tunnel.

Brilliant yellow-and-green wings brushed against the rough stone walls. The delicate membrane tightened as Absalom curved around a bend. He brushed underneath a dripping stalactite, swerving to avoid an incoming boulder. His shoulders heaved as his wings strained against the thin air.

Faster!

Absalom's tail swished through the air as he sped up his flight.

There's not enough time..!

[HomeForFlowers]

Evie did not reply. She was barely conscious and even if she could speak she wouldn't due to the pain that came with opening her jaw. The cold residing in her did not leave. It seeped to her very core; tendrils of cold coursed through her body and sapped the life from her. Warmth was foreign to her and all she knew was the icy grip of winter. Frostbite maimed her flesh and entered old wounds that were stretched on the surface of her skin. The poor thing was so close to Death's Door that she couldn't even hear the Soulpeace's words. No signs of life were seen in her, yet Evie's heart beated over so slowly. Edited September 15, 2013 by Doctortear

[Techno_Elf]

((OK, who here has a healer dragon? Or is it going to an NPC?))

 

Mitsuki quickly rolled the Turpentine into the healer's den, and said, "Somebody help this Turpentine, quick! I found her outside the cave, and she's in really bad shape!" Turning back to the Turpentine, she said hurriedly, "I'll go get some hot chocolate for you. Just...don't move, alright?"

[Bacon_Strips]

(OOC: There are no healer dragons, though if Wolfe were active perhaps Sylvi could heal her with herbs. But I think a NPC will have to do for now.)

Edited September 12, 2013 by Bacon_Strips

[Ayesthine]

((NPC Inbound))

 

The Magi frowned. Someone had dumped a barely conscious dragon at his feet, and ran off. "Punk kids... How can she move? She's obviously half-frozen." he muttered.

He bent over to check the poor Turpentine's pulse.

Just as I thought. Stage two hypothermia, at least.

He rummaged around in his satchel for a thermometer, and popped the end in the turpentine's open mouth. He read off the temperature, and his eyes widened. "Oh, sweet Nicholas. This is bad." Unfurling his wings, he glided over to a basin. He cast a hurried spell, and pulled out a thick blanket. The woolen fabric glowed a deep purple, and heated the Magi's paws. He wrapped the covering around the frail turpentine, and waited.

 

He waited some more.

...

After minutes of warming, Evie didn't respond.

 

The Magi panicked, casting his eyes around his small workroom. A set of small metal paddles caught his eye, and he scrambled to pick them up. He sucked in a breath, and muttered to himself. "If this doesn't work I'll lose my apprenticeship for sure..." His shaky paws rolled the turpentine onto her back, and set the paddles lightly on her chest. He closed his eyes, and sent a burst of energy through the metal handles.

 

Evie's body convulsed. The exhausted Magi checked her pulse again, and his drooping eyes flickered with hope.

Edited September 12, 2013 by Ayesthine

[Techno_Elf]

((Got it. Where is Spirit, anyhow? *cue mini-timeskip*))

 

Mitsuki came flying back with the hot chocolate, seeing that a healer had already tended to the Turpentine. Gently setting down the mug, she said, "Here, drink this. It'll warm you up. And it's sweet," she added, taking a sip out of her own chocolate.

 

((I like hot chocolate very much, and I drink it even in the middle of summer. :3))

[XxDragonletxX]

Tirren had been waddling for what seemed hours. Her eyes were now dull, her wings dragged behind her as her tail made a small furrow in the snow. With a sigh, she looked up. A tiny, bright yellow light shown in the distance. Even though it was tiny, and the size of a gnat, she could still sense it there... she could feel it. She rubbed her eyes with her wings once, tiwce. It was still there. A tiny hope flared up in her chest, she began running now, her wings picking up the wind. They no longer dragged behind her, instead, they flapped in mid-air as Tirren took off, embracing the chilling cold and the fact that she might almost die- she would sacrifice it all... just for getting warmth and food. With a whoop of joy, she picked up speed, her wings were now a blur as she made a wild dash for what seemed like... a cave? It didn't matter anymore, to Tirren it was just like a new home- all of those dull caves that she had moved to in the past underground in order to survive. But this cave wasn't dull, she could feel the joy and cheer in it. The cave was like a ray of sunshine. Her ray of sunshine. But her gladness faltered when she took it back to the time that she had heard two dragons gossiping about... christmas? And... santa? Then the cave she was heading for was probably a refugee cave and she wouldn't be staying in their long. She shook her head, she didn't really know much about Christmas, nor did she like it much or celebrate it, but she learned not to be picky and take up whatever offer that the cold world had to give.

 

((Yes. Chocolate is that good. Btw, is the Santa gonna be a dragon? .3. ))

Edited September 12, 2013 by XxDragonletxX

[TurtleDragon]

How nice that magi is! Flare thought as he looked through what the older dragon called a window. And at least I told the truth to get it! Because flare thought he could use it to see outside and see what is going on. But the reason he really wanted it was to see the stars. Well when it wasn't blizzarding out there! Well he heard about some sightings of a coastal waverunner outside, and a hypothermic turpentine! Wait thought flare. I can heat stuff up! I can help! Cause' hypothermia was basically being really cold right? Ya! He ran, and ran, and ran to get to that turpentine! He past what appeared to be a shimmer scale drinking hot cocoa but he didn't slow down to look and see if he was right. Then he noticed the turpentine under a blanket. He realized this because the pale yellow wings were jutting out. Darn it! He thought. He wasn't needed! Either the dragon was already dead or already got assistance. Just then he saw the shimmer scale looking at him and he stopped waiting for any odd remarks, or scoldings that might come from a hatchling going into a healing tent.

 

(Waiting for a response from Techno Elf)

[HomeForFlowers]

Her heart was beating faster, her blood coursed through her veins, and her body slowly began to recover. However, she was not out of the woods just yet. Her frostbite was still a problem and her hypothermia wasn't exactly "cured". She was still conscious, but her mind was not in the material world. Her blank eyes were clouded and her body did not stir. Her breaths were becoming less shallow, but they were still shaky. Evie, while on her way to recovery, was no where near "okay".

 

((OOC: Yeah, hypothermia is only solved by getting warmed and it doesn't get fixed so quickly and easily. Besides, if you warm her too quickly, Evie will die.))

Edited September 15, 2013 by Doctortear