Our war, their burden.

[Lothuialel]

Lou growled. "She took an advantage. I'd roast her if I could. For now on, I'll be sure to take you and everyone else along. Six is better than two." Lou stated.

 

Camile smiled. "That golden stallion likes you. I do believe in time, that two of you will learn to cope with each other. As for riding, you need a saddle and bridle. While I am making one, you can learn how to ride Asa. Here, I can teach you." Camile stood next to her own stallion. "You put your foot in this stirrup and swing on." Camile did so, "Hold the reins firmly and don't pull. Squeeze the animal's sides and then use the reins to turn him. You turn him by pulling the reins to a certain side." Camile pulled the reins so that they hit the neck and the horse turned away from it. "Here, you try it for a while." Camile got down and took out some leather. She started to make a saddle for Shinobu.

[MetalDragon]

Dahlia

Dahlia paused. The psycho said she'd let her live... "For now". "I better be on my guard, too. She said she'd come back for me..." she shuddered at the thought of having to fight that monster in a human's body again. The girl sincerely hoped she'd never see Ingrid's face ever in her life. It was truly a terrifying battle when you stopped to think about it. While thinking, she remembered something she had to say... "Oh, right. Forget what I said about parting ways with you bunch - I'd like to come along." Dahlia said with a smile.

 

Shinobu

Shinobu nervously slid forward onto Asa's saddle. She grabbed the reins and put her foot on the stirrup. She swung on, hoping for the best but expecting the worst. She was sure the horse would just get angry and toss or kick her off. At least if that happened, she knew how to patch herself up...

[Quackerz]

Bielgrath stretched his neck up and stood tall on his hind legs, opening his wings wide the scales on the back of his neck started to lift up as he started to open his jaws a bit, holding his head straight into the air. He let out another loud and terrifying roar, this time spewing out a massive amount of flames straight up into the air. Many of the other dragons ducked their heads down with this roar as the walls and tower both seemed to shake, some stones fell off the top of the walls and the snow on the other mountains began to shake. Slowly Bielgrath lowered himself back down, "Victory is ours. This tower in these mountains not only is strong and fortified, but it is hidden away from the other races. They will no find us here and even if they do, only those truly worthy of fighting will make it here. The back of the mages has once again been broken, they will not betray us again. As for the bodies, they are to be divided up amongst the weakest dragons here as a source of food." Bielgrath said and looked around at the greatly malnourished dragons. They had hope restored and radical idealism, but that was no supplement for food.

 

 

----

 

"Alright." was Alicia's only reply, she was glad to see Dahlia go as it meant she would finally be left alone. She looked back at Irina again, "Let's head East. Hopefully we can find shelter there and you can recover." Alicia said and placed her hand on Irina's neck, Irina simply looked at Alicia not saying anything. She was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to rest. The two began to walk towards the east at a slow pace due to Irina's injuries.

[Lothuialel]

Lou snarled. "That monster..." she grumbled some other unpleasant curses. It took her some time to register Dahlia's words. "You'd like to come along? Well, I'd be glad! Welcome aboard! I'm so glad you decided to stay!" Lou said happily.

 

Asa just stayed still awaiting instructions. He was well mannered and knew when his rider was teaching someone else.

 

Camile smiled. "Remember, being gentle goes a long way. Just squeeze him with your knees to get him to go. Once there, lean forward slightly, keep your elbows bent, and keep calm and relaxed." she said while crafting the saddle.

[MetalDragon]

Dahlia

Dahlia nodded still smiling. "I'm the one who should be happy here." she said, then looked around. She surely missed the weight on her back... "Now, where are my things, again..."

 

Salazr

Salazr abstained from eating any of the corpses. First because he thought they were disgusting. And second because all those malnourished dragons needed the food more than he did. He wasn't hungry and was well-fed. Why take food he didn't need from someone who really needed? And even if he got hungry, Salazr was more than capable of taking down and eating something like a deer or elk. Or, he could actually hunt animals for the dragons... He wasn't sure if he should take action, but he waited for an input from Bielgrath. If there was nothing to be done, he'd go hunting.

 

Shinobu

Shinobu's eyes were closed as if already expecting to be thrown off the saddle. She opened her eyes in surprise and looked at Camile as she crafted the saddle then back at Asa. Upon receiving instructions from the other female, she nodded and did so - she squeezed her knees, leaned forward, bent her elbows... But Shinobu couldn't relax - she was still quite nervous.

Edited November 10, 2013 by MetalDragon

[Quackerz]

Bielgrath watched as some of the larger dragons began to pile up the mages and divide them amongst the weakest, he then turned his attention to Salazr. "Salazr. See if you can find any more food to bring back for the rest. Preferably from a source the other species rely heavily on." Bielgrath said with a grin, hoping Salazr would understand what he meant by that, 'to begin causing starvation among the other races'. "I will search through these mages magic. Perhaps I can find something useful." he continued.

[Lothuialel]

Lou gave a small laugh. She enjoyed Dahlia's company. "This calls for a celebration! And your things are on my sadly, which is on Drakaht, who is in the cave." she said happily.

 

Asa walked cautiously. He knew the human on him was nervous. He kept a slow easy walk and tried to calm her down a bit.

 

Camile looked up from her project and smiled. "Relax, he won't throw you. He knows you are a friend and not a threat." she attempted to reassure her.

[MetalDragon]

Dahlia

Dahlia turned to Drakaht and walked up to him. "Hey, glad to see you're okay. Thanks for keeping my things safe." she said and took her backpack off him. She opened it to check and make sure everything was in order, then put it on herself. Everything was there. Dahlia then looked at Lou. "I can take care of my things from now on. Don't you worry." she assured.

 

Salazr

Salazr nodded and began to lift off the ground, his beating of wings briefly caused some gusts of wind. "I will, brother." he said, looking at the dragons one last time before taking off into another direction to find food. To even hope to find a wild animal, he'd need to head off to a less hostile environment, which was exactly what he was doing.

 

Shinobu

Shinobu slowly but surely began to gain confidence as she rode the horse. Her nervousness was fading away. Instead of being nervous, she was calming herself down and relaxing as instructed. The young girl held firmly but carefully onto the reins, and pulled them to see if the animal would turn for her.

[Lothuialel]

Lou nodded. "Alright. I will try not to." the dragoness morphed to human form and clapped her hands in pure delight. "We should celebrate tonight!"

 

Asa felt the girl relax. He turned just as the girl had wanted him to. His steps perked up with excitement.

 

Camile chuckled. "I think he wants to go faster. Anyway, while you are practicing, I'm going to get your horse ready." she walked over to the gold horse and strapped the saddle on him. She got him to put the bridle on. "Let's see how he rides..." she muttered. Camile swung into the saddle and got the stallion to a walk. She rode him in circles. After about thirty minutes, she got him to a smooth canter. "He rides perfect! Not a sign of uneasiness and unsureness. He is very sturdy and steady. What are you going to name him?" she asked.

[MetalDragon]

Dahlia

Dahlia sharply turned her head to Lou. "Celebration? What for?" she asked a little perplexed. "For my decision of staying? No, no. I'm not even important!" she remarked. "Why would they celebrate for such trivial thing?" she thought.

 

Salazr

Salazr flew through the clouds, then lowered his altitude a little to get a better sight at the ground. Now outside of the bad environment, he had a chance to find prey. And it didn't take him long - he spotted below a herd of buffalos, probably traveling to somewhere in a better condition. They were looking for food and water, just like almost everyone else. That was the perfect chance, but Salazr reflected... Just taking one back wouldn't be enough. In their state, his fellow dragons needed more.

 

The Copper dragon remained airborne for a while as if he was thinking. Suddenly, his mouth ignited like a smelter turning on, and he swooped down, breathing his hot flames onto the ground right in front of the herd and going back up. The animals started to back off as the little vegetation in front of them was on fire, and started to panic. Salazr then dropped down very fast, accurately crushing the skulls of two buffalos underneath his paws and instantly killing them. Not satisfied, he lunged his head forward and bit into another animal, lifting it up while it was still alive. Salazr's teeth were quickly covered into blood, the buffalo crying its sound several times helplessly. The large dragon then grabbed both carcasses and flew off with the three buffalos, going back to the mage outpost.

 

Shinobu

Shinobu went ahead and practiced on Asa until she heard Camile. Her own horse was ready. The young girl dismounted off Asa and headed off to where was her companion and the gold horse. She just looked at the animal, thinking of a name... But she came up with nothing. "I don't know what to name him..." she murmured, but quickly interrupted herself as a name sprang up to her mind. "How about Conrad?" she suggested, looking at the horse hoping it'd react to the chosen name.

[Lothuialel]

Lou smiled. "Not just that! I thought it could bring up everyone's spirits. A little party would help restore hope in our group."

 

Conrad nickered happily at his new found name and rider. He nudged Shinobu's shoulder and nickered happily again. (You take control of him now.)

 

Camile smiled. She mounted Asa and looked at the other horses. They all looked up to the sky and ran. Camile gave Shinobu a puzzled look and looked up too. There, seesaw the dragon she shot at before flying. "Time to put your skills to the test. Common, we have to go."

[MetalDragon]

Dahlia

"Well, okay then. I guess." Dahlia said, a little uncertain. She wasn't much of a party person, even if it was a little one... She could only remember the only parties she ever attented to were when she was a child. But after her home was burned down, never again. She wasn't going to be the boring person who opposed and hated celebrating though. If it was going to happen, then let it happen. Even though she was probably going to stay on a corner and mind her own business.

 

Salazr

Salazr flew his way back to the tower where the rest of his kin was at. He dropped the three carcasses on the ground, the buffalo in his jaws had bled to death moments ago. It was partially cooked, too - the Copper dragon's mouth was like a furnace mounted onto his head, after all. He was a little tired because the animals weren't what you could call light weight. "There. Food for all of you, my brothers and sisters!" he shouted loudly and snarled slightly.

 

Shinobu

"Hello, Conrad!" Shinobu smiled and returned the gesture of affection by embracing and petting Conrad's muzzle. She was happy to finally have a horse of her own... But the moment was ruined as she saw a large shadow cover the place and Camile telling them they had to go. She didn't bother trying to see what was over them - there was no time, and she probably didn't want to know either. "O-Okay!" Shinobu nodded and mounted onto her new horse. She focused. All she had to do was the same thing she did on Asa - which she did, ready to go along with the other girl.

[Melomancer]

"Yes, I think a party would be good. We've been really busy lately." Drakaht replied. He looked outside the cave. Everything seems good. He thought. Suddenly, a loud shriek echoed through the forest.

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

Nar looked up from his bug counting game. A shriek resonated through the forest. He stood up and headed towards the source of the sound

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

Taryav blew another breath of fire at the small band of orcs. The orc at the back fell down, shrieking horribly as the fire burnt away his flesh. Food.. He grabbed his prize between his claws and took off back towards the colony.

Edited November 11, 2013 by Melomancer

[Lothuialel]

Lou smiled. "It'll be fun. You'll see. Anyway, what do you think we should do in the mean time to prepare leaving tonight?" Lou asked. She knew they would need to leave before the madwoman, the Orc, or even the dragons fin them and corner them in the cave. "our party will need to be short in this case." Lou jumped at the sound.

 

Camile smiled at Shinobu. "Let's go!" she said enthusiastically. She got Asa up to speed in a gallop. She looked over her shoulder to see if Shinobu and Conrad followed. She will need to keep a good eye on her partner. She lead the way into the thick forest. "Keep low and close to the horse through thick stuff like this." she advised.

Edited November 11, 2013 by Lothuialel

[MetalDragon]

Dahlia

Dahlia ignored the question after hearing the horrible, anguished shriek. "What in the world...?" she muttered. She asked herself in her head what could've made the noise. Or worse - what CAUSED such nasty sound to be made.

 

Ingrid

Ingrid looked at Nar as he got up and left. "Hey! Where are you going? You'll lose your count that way!" she exclaimed and went after the orc in a hurry, losing her own count in the process. At least she wasn't an orc child to be punished. Ingrid also had heard the shriek, but she didn't really care about it. She was used to pained screams like that, and for her, they were so nice to listen to.

 

Shinobu

Rider and horse followed Camile as Conrad galloped after Asa with Shinobu on his back. She heard her companion speak and did as she said, lowering her body and staying very close to the horse to avoid the thick leaves and branches. She wasn't as nervous as before, in fact, she was enjoying it. "Hey, this is fun!" she smiled while still being careful on her riding. She had to watch out for herself, as she was very new to horse-riding. Obviously, as she had just begun.

[Lothuialel]

Camile smiled she gave a woop for joy. "Wahoo!" she and Asa jumped over fallen trees and over tiny streems. She enjoyed ridding. "I'm glad you like it Shinobu!" she called behind her. The thick trees, over and undergrowth stayed thick. They would be safe from evil dragons this way.

[Epic_Ninja_1]

(I know that Camille is the Shadow Walker, was trying to use your username, but I read it as Louthuialel, not Lothuialel. xP)

"What in the name of the Great Forests is that?" Celariel shouted. Turning toward the source, he climbed a tree and began jumping from branch to branch as he headed to the shriek. Only have my knife... Hope I don't have to use it either, or I am not going to stand a chance against that thing that made the sound...

 

[Melomancer]

"Forget it, whatever it was, it sounded far away. As long as we stay here, it shouldn't hu- Wait.. Where's Celariel?"Drakht asked.

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

Taryav turned around to check for more prey. He spotted an elf jumping among the trees. More.. FOOD He roared and swooped down at the elf with his claws out and his wings extended, trying to slash at the elf. He dropped the corpse he was carrying so he could attack with both front and back limbs.

Edit: I realized what a horrible time to start a fight this was since I'm about to sleep, so.. Epic ninja, just take control of Taryav

Edited November 11, 2013 by Melomancer

[MetalDragon]

((Ingrid went with Nar, btw))

 

Shinobu

Shinobu got up and laughed in joy but cut herself off as she ducked to avoid hitting a large branch face-first. She sighed in relief, it would certainly have been a very ugly situation had it hit her. That's what she got for being careless. She huffed and puffed, keeping her breathing in a steady pace was a way to keep calm while on Conrad. The thick vegetation blocked her view, and she was sometimes shutting her eyes closed and burying them into her arms so the leaves and branches wouldn't hit them. Shinobu looked up back at Camile. "Where are we going now?" she asked. She remembered it was going to be a "quiet place" adequate for teaching.

 

Shinobu looked at her burned arms with a certain anguished look. On touch, they felt quite like a harsh texture, almost if it was a ragged surface. And it looked like a nasty burn, too. She only didn't mind it because of that rune that was used on her and the fact she got used to being burned like that. The young girl suspired and just stayed low on her horse.

Edited November 11, 2013 by MetalDragon

[Lothuialel]

Lou snorted. "Celariel is still out there with a horse. Elly is gone too. I hope they both will return soon." Lou paced while twirling her sword in circles. She was nervous and worried about them.

 

Camile slowed her horse and walked him between two marked boulders. They continued down a dark tunnel. This tunnel was small and Camile had to crouch close to Asa. Her horse bent his head down and continued to walk. After a while, the tunnel opened up to a beautiful meadow. The meadow was untouched by evil and seemed to be in perfect shape. "Here we are!"

[MetalDragon]

Dahlia

Dahlia grunted. "We should go out to look for them, but... Neither of us are in condition to be walking around." she said as she sat down and took out one of her water canteens. She took a drink from it, all of her containers were full when she refilled them while hunting for food some time ago.

 

Shinobu

Shinobu didn't need to get down to go through the tunnel - she was almost literally with her torso glued onto the horse. Conrad, on the other hand, kept his head low and went in after Camile. After making their way out of the dark, they found themselves in a beautiful meadow. The young girl got up and looked at her surroundings, dazed. "Wow!" she exclaimed. Shinobu had never seen such beauty in nature before. "I thought... I thought the war had razed the entire world..." she pondered, wondering how such place survived that catastrophe.

[Lothuialel]

Lou paced up and down the cave like a hungry predator. Every now and then she'd snort. "I will go then. I can still rip an Orc apart in human form. I will need to take Nendir's other horse."

 

"This meadow survived. The only way to get to it is through that tunnel. Many legends speak of my kind coming here to plan and plot. Daydream and Guardian dragons are said to be hidden here somewhere to keep the place safe. As far as I know, this meadow is called Elderon. Elderon endured the war because no one else could find it but the Nephilim. Many families had forgotten it's location, but not the Carstairs or Herondales. And now you. You are welcome to come here anytime, and your family too. I built a cabin some miles from this spot, but it's a place to stay." Camile explained.

[MetalDragon]

Dahlia

Dahlia got up and put her hands on her hips. "To blazes with my well-being, then. If you go, I'll come along." she said. "Maybe I can be of help. Better than just sitting here and being the useless girl full of bandages."

 

Shinobu

Shinobu was both happy and sad. Happy because she loved that place - she really did. She couldn't believe something survived the dragon's fire. It was like a hope spot for not only the other races but also for nature itself, to stand against the dragon supremacists. On the other side... She knew her family would never head there. They were used to the town setting and not a rural one. Or anything similar. Something in Camile's speech caught Shinobu's attention - "her kind"? Wasn't she like Shinobu already? "What do you mean, your kind? Aren't we both human?" she asked, curious.

[Lothuialel]

Lou smiled. "Well. To the five hells with my wings then! Common, you can ride me. It'll be much easier to carry Elly along too." She smiled. Dahlia sure was an amazing person. She felt a tightness in her throat and chest. She was immortal, Dahlia mortal....oh no.

 

"I am Nephilim. I'm not quite human. I am part angel and part something else. You could say I have human characteristics. So yes, I could have human in me. I am mortal, but not as weak as humans. I don't die or go down easily, I will keep fighting to the very end." Camile smiled, "no need to worry about that though. So, do you want to teach or shall I? Who goes first as the pupil?"

 

{I just got to the part about Jem and what he tells Charlotte in the last book:( I don't want to give away any spoilers.}

[MetalDragon]

Dahlia

"Whoa, hold on there, boss." Dahlia said with a light smile. "I didn't say to hell with your wings!" she continued, concerned that Lou couldn't really fly. She needed to recover fully before flying. "Let's just go on-foot or with one of Nendir's horses. It might be slower... But it'll be better for you." Dahlia suggested. "And this time. I say we go by my suggestion from before and stay out of trouble." she said in a more serious tone, refering to when Lou and Drakaht flew off before when she insisted they stayed in the cave rather than going off and facing the other dragons.

 

Shinobu

"I don't mind being the pupil first!" Shinobu said with a bright smile and eagerness to learn. Being the one to be taught first would give her time to think on what to teach Camile about. It would have to be herbs, there was no way she could cast spells with her burned arms. She'd risk having them stuck in that way for the rest of her life. Shinobu then remembered she had a sample of a special herb in her purse. She smiled to herself. She was already getting ideas...