Little lost dragon and I

[little lost dragon]

(Alrighty, was just wondering.)

 

Fren nodded and leaned back the sun light reflecting off her thin layer of slime making her black scales scales look almost a very dark shade of green in a few places. Her long tail lazily trailing away from her and off the balcony where it dangled.

When the kids got up she got up her self and asked if the kids wanted to go swimming. Which they seemed to love the idea. She looked at Guthrie and smiled "Will be Alina's first time with a large amount of water." she admitted as they went and already hearing splashes. She smiled when Alina invited her to jump in. She waded in though ended up having to almost crouch to submerge her in the water. Little hard for her to float here, on her back her tail would be hitting everything on the river/ponds floor, on her front her knees would be. She went over to Guthrie and sat down on a ok spot watching the kids play. She looked at Guthrie when he spoke and nodded. "Well with your kind being plant based and all, its understandable, plants need water to live, and something like this, a constant supply of it here to enjoy and thrive off of as well." she said before noticing Alina had gone under and Pedals was looking very worried. Fren started get worried when Alina went under and did not surface for a bit. Thankfully it turns out Alina had a long time where she could hold her breath.

Fren settled down again when Alina was alright. She nodded as Guthrie commented on the hatchling "That's..... I'm unsure, according to one of the group I had been apart of before they got killed or kidnapped, Alina's kind where.... kind of extinct, but at the same time, I think its reasonable that maybe her egg came from further back in her kinds past, if so, there's a chance her parents are still alive, though.... if they are alive, I have to wonder why they haven't made them selfs known..... either way, tonight I'll be learning more on her kind, Bor gave me one of the books on her kind that reads her and tells things like her kind and her family tree and such." Fren explained quietly "Anyway, enough on that, lets have some fun." she said standing up and raised her tail slapped it on the water sending water everywhere soaking Guthrie's head as well if it was not already wet "Last one still in the pond wins." she announced before playfully splashing everyone with her hands now.

[Ryujin13]

Guthrie spit out the water that got into his mouth, then raised his hands which were already glowing green. A moment later he gestured and a wave of water swept up and over Fren's head before falling with a roar.

"You cannot beat me in a splashing contest!" Guthrie said happily as Fren came up again.

 

The moment Fren had said anything about a game Alina and Petals had bent their heads together before nodding. Alina went down and Petals came straight, both of them hitting Fren at the same time. Alina came up from behind, giggling as she did so while Petals tackled the front.

"Got you mommy!" Alina called, already diving back under again and swimming away. Petals meanwhile was attempting to do what Guthrie did, but was only getting small waves that were less effective then the ones her arms could make. Soon she gave up and just tackled Guthrie instead. He pretended to get dragged down before tackling her back, laughing as he did so.

Both of them came up after a few seconds, both laughing.

Alina meanwhile had dived again and began attacking Fren's tail, grabbing onto it and holding tight as it moved around.

Finally she came up and took a breath before swimming and attacking Fren on the surface again. Finally she fell off of Fren and floated on the surface, using her wings to keep her afloat so that she could sit there and watch quietly.

[little lost dragon]

Fren yelped a little as water was suddenly above her head before it came down over here the water running off her scales making her look even more shiny as it cleaned off the slime that had collected dust and dirt. Then she was being attacked by both kids at once. She had to pause thinking a little before Alina came in again as she felt small waves hitting her. She felt Alina grab onto her tail and wiggled it gently attempting to shake Alina as they played. She caught the hatchling on her second run alone at her and playfully wrestled with Alina in the water before she let go to let the hatchling catch her breath. she turned to Guthrie and narrowed her eye's and then she bunched her legs she grinned about to get Guthrie back "Big one coming up." she said before launching her self high into the air. Showing them just how high her kind could leap clear past the tree tops before she went into a spin with her thick long tail out. She came flying down and with a loud slap her tail hit the water as she put her legs out to catch the landing shock.

She split the pond in 2 momentarily sending both kids onto the ponds banks where the water deposited them and completely soaked Guthrie.

What she did not count on though was the sting she felt from that. Her whole tail now stung. "Gotcha." she said though with her whole tail stinging though her voice was a little strained "Done with out powers too." she said as she tried to hide the pain.

Edited August 12, 2014 by little lost dragon

[Ryujin13]

Guthrie came floating back to the surface after a few seconds, the pounding of water having momentarily stunned him. Finally he shook his head and smiled while Alina and Petals cheered on the beach.

Everything sort of calmed down a little after that wih the kids now building a small sand castle and Guthrie floating lazily, his long body and tail pointed down stream, his belly up as he sun red himself.

"That was fun." He said happily, his eyes closed as the water flowed gently past him. "More fun then I've had in awhile." He sighed contentedly and looked over at Fren. "That's how you have fun." He said. "Just do things that are enjoyable." He told Fren.

 

"Gods I could use that right now." Gentle said as she walked up and stepped down and into the pool with everyone. She took a moment to clean herself then sat back, her skin glowing a healthy greenish color. "The monks are being stubborn." She explained, closing her eyes and taking a breath. "First their representative, who we swore to secrecy, told us that we were heretics for saying what we did."

"Wonder what's that like." Guthrie muttered under his breath, earning a glare from Gentle.

"Then, once we proved it he refused to answer us until he spent time 'communing with the earth', whatever that means." Gentles explained, obviously annoyed with the setbacks.

 

"The monks are very secretive about their powers, their methods, really anything having to do with them. Nobodies even quite sure how many there are." Guthrie explained to Fren. "We don't even know how many monasteries there are. All that anyone knows is what rumors there are as well as the tiny glimpses people see when they move around."

 

"And there lies the problem." Gentle said, nodding as Guthrie spoke. "We have no idea what their political viewpoint is, what their methods are, or even who's in charge. It makes dealing with them a problem because who knows if your actually speaking to the tree or it's branches."

[little lost dragon]

Fren settled down and and slowly but surely the stinging slowly going away. She nodded as Guthrie told her to just do things she enjoyed and that was having fun. She nodded though frowned a little "It seems..... so impulsive.." she commented before Gentle showed up.

She listened to the report Gentle had for them and tilted her head. Why where these monks so secretive. When it was explained just how unknown the situation was with the monks she nodded and sat down in the water "In other words, the verdict of learning there answer might never show up for quite some time." she concluded "Though this commuting with the earth, does anyone know what that is? I know the humans had something of earth whorship.... called the planet..... gaia or something, at least that's what I found in some old data banks." she said with a shrug. She was no expert on these matters.

[Ryujin13]

"I don't think we'll have to wait much more then a couple of days. I've dealt with them before and usually their decisions can be made in as little as a day, and as much as three days. As for communing with the earth, my bet is they are summoning the council to talk the whole thing through. The monk I spoke to won't tell them the whole story, only our request for help, and how urgent it is that we get that help." Gentle explained, dipping her head below the water for a moment before resurfacing with a sigh. "Anyway, the monks are a religious group who, while worshipping the gods, also view everything on the planet as sacred. They see the trees, the animals, the rivers, everything as being sacred. This is a paradise according to them, which is true, but it goes beyond that. This planet isn't just a home, it's our birthplace, it's the gods gift to us. Hurting it in any way , no matter how small, would anger the gods and bring their wrath down upon us. This is our heaven, and if we don't worship it, take care of it, we will be thrown out and our race will die." She explained slowly. "That's what we know for sure anyway, I know we're missing information though because the whole thing is confusing and missing some key pieces of the story. Either way we allow them their secrecy because if anything they won't do anything against the councils wishes and they tend to the planet every day. They also function as healers, going to different places and helping the sick. They're perfect citizens as it were. Why they decided to keep their order a secret I have no idea, but like I said, their not hurting anyone." Gentle said, rubbing her arms to get the dirt off of them.

"Looks like you guys were having fun though." She commented, scrubbing her legs now.

[little lost dragon]

Fren nodded though with held a sigh. The plant people had a lot to grow still, but hopefully, the new growth would not wipe them out. Though that was a slime chance, they had strong community's, that should keep them alive if disaster strikes.

She smiled and nodded "Had a splashing match, managed to beat Guthrie with out powers." she said with a wink at Guthrie. "Fun feels..... strange to me right now, I feel like I'm..... young all over again." she admitted "I got strange impulses to..... randomly jump or to try to go under water..... its puzzling." she said looking a little confused "I peg it to the fact my child hood was cut short."

[Ryujin13]

Gentle smiled as she leaned back and closed her eyes, the long green strands of her hair floating around her in the water.

"Alina isn't the only one who needs healing Fren." She said quietly. "You're making up for a life you missed. It's healthy to feel like you do, and you need to explore those feelings." Gentle explained, still laying on her back as she spoke.

Guthrie looked over at Fren, noting her expression, then down at the water. He wondered briefly if he was taking advantage of Fren. After all, she was just experiencing these emotions for the first time, what if she was just misinterpreting them? Still, Gentle said it was healthy to explore those feelings, so there wasn't really anything wrong with the whole thing.

Still, he hadn't ever been in love either, and that left a lot of chances for error between the two of them. Being careful was the best course of action, but then what was the next step? He didn't know, he was making the whole thing up as much as the next person.

Finally he floated over to Gentle and prodded her shoulder, making her look up. "Um, can we talk real quick?" He asked, causing Gentle to get a confused look before finally nodding yes and floating off towards the other end of the pond.

"Um- Gentle, I uh... I need advice." He said quietly, turning so that Fren couldn't read his lips. "I don't um- I don't know what to do in a- in a relationship. I have f-feelings for Fren, and she has them for me, but I uh- I don't know how to proceed now." Guthrie explained.

Gentle smiled at this and shrugged.

"Just be yourself Guthrie, maybe make her dinner, go somewhere on a date, just do things you both enjoy. Let the relationship evolve naturally." Gentle said, patting Guthrie's shoulder. "You know she likes you, that's the first step. Now see where the whole thing leads. You can always ask for advice later Guthrie, but following what your gut says is right will bring out the best results."

 

Guthrie nodded quietly, thinking to himself about possibilities as Gentle floated away and back down towards Fren. Guthrie took floating up again as his mind raced, but still he wasn't sure how to proceed. With Alina around it was difficult to be romantic, since the hatchling currently hated him, but maybe if he got to know her a little better she would move past the hate. Still, how to go about doing that was the big question. Waiting for an opportunity was the best answer he could think of, so that was the plan he was going to use unless a new one presented itself.

[little lost dragon]

Fren paused on that line, she knew Alina was not the only one who needed healing, but all this new stuff was.... strange. Now she was needing to let her self free a bit? She looked up as Guthrie and Gentle went a little further down the river. She leaned back in the river and sighed thinking. She was an adult now though, mind you a bit young but fully grown and skilled. Part of her skill was to keep her self in check. Impulses down and everything with thought put into it.

She still had her thinking look on when Gentle came back. "How would one..... live a portion of there life they already missed?" she asked suddenly "Its not like I can behave like a child, I'm grown up, and its second nature from my training to manage and pick and chose the impulses and more rather to just let them reign." she explained "Beings my size or close to..... well.... childish play normally is very short if its there..... I'm unsure how to proceed." she finally admitted. She thought this must look bad, the one helping the plant peoples socioty advance, does not know how to even play.

[Ryujin13]

"Having fun doesn't mean you have to play Fren." Gentle said with a smile. "It's about doing things you enjoy. You've been raised a warrior from a very young age, so finding what things you enjoy might take some time, but in the meantime just try and keep an open mind. If you want to play then doing so with your daughter is never a bad choice. You'll both be closer for it and it might even help her work through some issues." Gentle continued, swirling the water with her hand. "Help her build her sandcastle, see what kind of things make her happy, then go and do them with her. I guarantee it will make you happy to see her happy."

"Might even help ya in the future. Positive outlooks never a bad thing." A familiar voice said from behind them.

"Bor!" Alina shouted happily as she scrabbled up the bank to hug the giant mans leg. He laughed and bent down to lift the hatchling into a hug, giving a squeeze that made Alina giggle happily.

"It's good ta' see you little one." He rumbled, holding the hatchling for another few seconds before setting her down. He quietly disrobed until he was wearing enough fabric to be called swim trunks before letting himself slip into the water.

The moment he had arrived Guthrie, Gentle, and Petals had stood, making a set of hand gestured to him before bowing low.

"Oh get up." Bor said as he slipped into the pond, causing the water level to rise several inches.

All three of the plant people straightened at this and went back to their original spots.

"Fren." He said with a smile. "I see you made some new friends, and I hear tell from Whispering Shadows that you and this one found the planets secrets."

"Wait, you knew?" Gentle spluttered, sitting bolt upright. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"Yeah I knew." Bor said. "And I didn't tell you because ya weren't ready, and it would have interfered to much. You needed to find this for yourself. I've been root in' for you since the beginning boy." Bor continued, nodding at Guthrie. "Been trying to prod you from afar in the right direction. It's lucky Fren got here because I was afraid they were gonna kill you. Impressive that ya figured out as much as you did."

"But you could have hinted at it!" Gentle said, a little angry now. "Guthrie almost died!"

"Yes he did, and I'm sorry that it had to be that way, but like I said you needed to figure this out for yourselves. If I had told you, not only would it have been interfering it would have created more problems then it solved. Civil war, suicides, panic, and what's more some might have even started worshiping me. Right now I'm more of a personification of the planet, not a god. If I had showed everyone then I would be the object of new worship. No, you needed to find it with flesh and blood, then make your own path. I just wanted to see how Fren and Alina here were doing." At this Bor turned to Fren, a sad look on his face. "I'm sorry about what happened. I couldn't have guessed that this would come to pass. I may be powerful but I can't read the future."

Alina was looking sad now and had curled her tail around herself. Her wings drooped and she looked ready to cry. Petals picked up in this and went to hug her friend, trying to comfort Alina as best she could.

 

[little lost dragon]

Fren looked at Gentle and listened as she spoke and looking over at Alina as it was mentioned about better bonds. Then a familer voice sounded behind her and she looked over her shoulder to see Bor there. Alina came over right away and the 2 hugged and she smiled and gave him a wave.

She noticed the others making hand gesturs and bowing before Bor dismissed them and they went back to normal. She nodded glancing at Gentle and Gentle as Bor mentioned new friends. She did agree she had new friends here. She blinked and looked at Bor when he mentioned her and Guthrie finding the planets secret. Gentle sat up instantly and got a little angry but rightfully so. But Bor explained reasons some of which where similar to her peoples reasons to normally forbidding giving anyone there tech.

She sighed and gave him a small nod as he apologized for what happened to her group. "Its not your fault though Bor, no one could predict the castles curses." she said "Alina and I will live here for quite some time, and possibly in the future, when Alina's grown up, we'll head back in time to rejoin our new group members to assist them in the mission." she said quietly so Alina could not hear "As well to allow healing for.... both of us, she's too young to be in there." she said hoping Bor would not get mad at her putting the mission off. She knew she owed him, and had not forgotten though. "Some good news though, she has started to speak at times now, when..... Varren passed she shut down..... but she's.... slowly recovering now." she said lifting her tail out of the water and gently stroking her daughter with her tail tip as Alina was too far to reach with a hand right now. "Gentle's trying to gently encourage me to..... explore my own emotions and impulses.... things I was not allowed to at a young age due to events. Guthrie seems to cause some to flare up that bring attraction..... these are all.... perplexing to me however not bad." she said sounding puzzled and confused.

[Ryujin13]

"Nothing wrong with exploring your own emotions." Bor said with a smile. "And when ya want to go back just talk ta Gentle here, she can get ahold of me. I can help ya get to where you're supposed to be." Bor said with a smile, hoping that Fren understood that he wasn't angry. "Like I said though, I'm only stopping in to check on ya. I've also had a talk with the monks and persuaded them to help ya Gentle." He said with a smile.

"Really?" Gentle asked, sitting upright. "How?"

"Because I know how they think, and I know how to talk ta them. They've started building forges at one of the temple, and copper is being pulled from the ground as we speak. I showed em how to pull materials from the ground without hurting it. Keeps em' happy while getting you the things ya need." He said to both Fren and Gentle. "Fren, I just wanted ya' to know that Medad and I have joined forces for the moment and are currently trying to corner Nuria. From the glimpses we've seen she's turned Jak into a warlord. He's older, more experienced, and has led troops into over a dozen battles. She's also done something to him to make him stronger and tougher then he has any right to be. From what we can tell she's trying to amass an army to level at the castle. Take the whole thing by force and force the red cage open. She can't get to it without the keys, but she doesn't need them if her entire army floods the castle. Every key can be found at leisure." He explained.

Alina started to cry for real then, causing Bor to stand and pick her up for a hug. "It's alright Alina, it's alright." He rumbled quietly. "We're going to save Jak and make Nuria pay, I promise."

Alina continued to cry, but nodded silently as she hugged him back.

Gentle listened quietly to the whole thing, taking in the information as it was given and storing it for later. Guthrie just seemed uncomfortable, he wasn't apart of this and seeing the emotions over what had happened made him want to slink away while Fren and Alina had their moment.

Finally Bor set Alina down and went to sit beside Petals and the hatchling where he began to help build their sand castle. He didn't seem interested in talking about serious business for the moment, instead caring more for Alina's well being then anything.

 

[little lost dragon]

Fren nodded and sighed relaxing a bit though blinked in suprize when he mentioned he already persuaded the monks to allow them to start extracting copper. And already made a forge and where already getting the materials to make the tools with the copper.

She closed her eye's though when Jak was mentioned, with time not really being a constant for these beings and those with them, not much of a suprize. "The castle may take the entrance of the army as something to do away with as well. Some of the things we came across would clear a path through an army with out much problem." she pointed out "The.... janitors for example, we where only able to kill one, and that one was a lesser one converted from the out side, and that took a nuclear blast at point blank range to possibly slow it down." she explained "Nuria placed some kind of.... spell on him, where not sure what but he's not under his own will..... at least I hope he's not. Chances are if denied what he wants, his nature to.... do anything to get it maybe his down fall as well. Avira already found one of the key's, thus right away he currently can't get them all, and Vita mentioned he had some kind of construction device, but it was damaged, if that could get repairs, that would be useful I assume, he's a battle commander him self after all." she said half to her self.

With Alina crying she decided that it was time to switch subjects, she got up and went over to her and the sand castle as well before giving her daughter a hug as well. Though she had no idea how to build a sand castle she watched for a few moments seeing them get wet sand and putting it on to shape it as it dried. Though, had no idea how to proceed. "Alina? How does one make a sand castle?" she asked to help give Alina something else to focus on.

[Ryujin13]

Alina was still crying a little when Fren came over, but she was obviously trying to put a brave face on for Bor, so the tears were slowly drying as he played with her and Petals.

When Fren sat down Alina smiled happily and bounced over before showing Fren how to make a sand castle. Petals and Alina's was already a decent size, but they were still working on it.

Alina showed how she and Petals wetted the sand and carefully added mass to the castle before sculpting it into a new form. In all the whole thing wasn't a particularly great sand castle but Petals and Alina were having fun building it.

The continued to build for another hour and a half or so, during which time Gentle excused herself and Guthrie got out of the pond to sun himself nearby, the very end of his tail, from which hung a tuft of hair shaped liked a leaf, hanging over the lip of the pond.

Petals looked up at Fren, then at Alina, then back.

"How come you and Alina look different?" She asked suddenly, noticing the difference for the first time. She listened carefully to the answer, then looked back at Alina. "I bet your real mom and dad are worried." She said, which caused Alina's wings to droop.

"I don't think so. My mommy and daddy are dead." She explained.

Petals immediately hugged Alina who hugged back.

"I'm sorry Alina, I didn't know." She said, stroking Alina's back before letting go.

Alina gave a small smile and nodded before resuming work on the sand castle, in this case digging a moat with her front paws.

Petals went silent for awhile, her young mind racing as she considered things. "How come the Nuria person has your friend?" She asked, earning another set of tears from Alina.

"Child!" Barked Bor, quickly picking up Alina and handing her to Fren. "This is not the time or place to ask these things. Neither Alina not Fren want to talk about that evil place or the ones they lost. If you can't keep quiet about things that aren't your business I will have your mother come and get your right now!" He said sternly. Bor wasn't yelling by any stretch of the word, but his voice was raised slightly and there was no doubt he meant business.

Petals immediately stood up and made the hand gestures again before bowing low. "I am sorry great one, and I am sorry Alina and Fren, I didn't mean to make them sad." She said nervously.

"Child, stop that." Bor said a bit more softly as he reached out and made Petals straighten. "I have been trying to get your people to stop bowing to me since I first met them. I'm not a god, I don't deserve to be bowed to. Spread the word if you can. But beyond that, let's let Fren and Alina have a moment. You and I can talk over there." He said, gesturing down the bank a dozen feet or so away.

 

"I miss Fuzzy!" Alina sobbed, her tears flowing again. "I miss him and Kara and Varren! I miss them!" She managed. "When I get bigger, and when I can fight, I'm going to destroy the castle and everything in it." She said, her voice still wracked with sobs but now with a hint of menace to it. "It won't hurt anyone ever again!" She was angry now and when she hiccuped she shot a small ball of shadow that hit the sand and turned a spot about the size of a quarter into molten glass.

[little lost dragon]

Fren smiled as Alina seemed to like the idea of teaching her mother how to build something. She followed as best as she could, saying good bye to Gentle and thanks again as the plant being left. She continued to follow Alina's examples and advice but Pedals seemed to have a light bulb go off in her head after a bit and she asked why Alina and her look so different. She explained why and Alina explained that her parents the real ones are most likely dead, while this suprized Fren, it sounded like Alina had come to terms of that possibility though, which met what ever the book said, Alina would not be suprized if it said she was the last one.

Pedals apoligised and Fre went back to help Alina dig the moat with her hands then the plant being child spoke up again, and this time Fren frowned. Bor scowled Pedals as he handed Alina back to Fren and Alina had already broken down. Nurais had kidnapped possibly Alina's closest friend.

 

Fren held Alina even though she was starting to get a little large to fit on her chest and breasts but she held her daughter close. She nodded as Alina spoke and felt a small heat zone show up near her tail. "That is the plan Alina." she started gently moving her daughter so she could look her in the eye "When your of age, trained and able, we'll be both going back, to help our friends, destroy the castle, to prevent it from harming anyone else." she assured her "However, Alina, don't let your goal of this nature consume you, your young..... much like I was when my home was destroy'ed. You need to remain focused on our new friends, live your life the best you can, I'll help train you and with help from a gift Bor handed to me, your powers will be trained as well. But right now, your goal is to try to have fun, or you'll end up like I had, I don't even know how to make sand castles." she pointed out "You miss the others, as do I, but promise me Alina, promise me you'll live your life while you can, and I'll make sure we give that castle something to remember us by when the time comes. Deal?" she asked wanting to channel Alina's vengeance, but at the same time, try to have Alina.... not end up like she had, emotionless, no fun, almost heartless till she made her first mistake, killing the one child, she did not want Alina to live those chapters.

[Ryujin13]

Alina took a few moments to calm down enough to respond, but finally she nodded quietly.

"Ok mommy." She said, visibly relaxing as she spoke. "Deal." She hugged Fren tight then, holding it for a few moments before finally letting go and hopping down onto the sand again. "What did Bor give you though?" She asked, her attention flipping to something less painful. When it was explained what it was she hopped around excitedly and giggled. "I can learn about my real mommy and daddy? When can we read it? I'll bet they could fight the castle like I want to! They could kill Nuria and free fuzzy and make everything better!" She giggled again before turning and looking back as Bor and Petals returned.

Bor gave Petals, who was looking precisely like a child who knew they had been bad, a nudge.

"I'm sorry for saying what I did Alina and Fren. It wasn't my business and I shouldn't have asked." She apologized, her gaze on the ground.

"It's ok." Alina said before practically tackling Petals to the ground. Both girls shrieked with laughter as they rolled around for a second before they both ran back into the pond to splash around for a moment. Suddenly they were back out and running across the meadow, playing a game of chase that Alina always won.

"Seems she's gotten a lot better." Bor said, quietly. "That's good, she'll need all her strength if she really wants to fight the castle." He turned to Fren and smiled before drawing the Shatong in for a hug. "I have to be going now." He said after he let go. "And I'm not sure when I'll be able to return here. Probably years unless Gentle calls me for something important. Fren, you're a good mother, just keep doing what you're doing. Varren would be proud of the way you've performed." He said, gently squeezing Fren's shoulder before turning and heading towards Alina.

He kneeled and spoke for a little bit with the hatchling, who was already drooping like she did when she was sad. Still Alina hadn't started crying yet and hugged Bor back for a lot time before finally being set back down. Bor waved to everyone before turning and walking away, disappearing into thin air like he had never even existed.

"He's... Not what I expected." Guthrie said from behind Fren as he floated up to his normal 'standing' position. "I always thought he'd be serious and wouldn't speak except to give out advice to the triad. I never thought he'd build sandcastles."

Edited August 15, 2014 by Ryujin13

[little lost dragon]

Fren smiled and hugged Alina back before letting go, she smiled and explained the book to Alina who got happy. She did not have time to answer Alina's questions though was glad to see Alina doing much better since they got here. She looked up as Bor and Pedals returned, Pedals looking like a child who did something they should not have. But with a nudge from Bor she apoligised and Fren nodded before Alina more or less tackled her. Soon both where running around playing chase now.

Fren sighed as she relaxed her stance and nodded as Bor spoke. She had not expected the hug though and blinked but hugged him back. She nodded when he told her to keep doing what she was "I'll try, and thanks again Bor." she said with a smile. She watched him say good bye to Alina before he waved to everyone, Fren waved back before he vanished.

She turned to look at Guthrie when he spoke and smiled "First time I met him was in the cursed place, he provided shelter and food to the group, he's never been the kind though to act high and mighty, he'd rather be seen as almost an equal, able to play with the kids, talk with the adults, give advice where he can ect, rather then... you know." she explained "Sounds like we got a busy day tomorrow, with the cooper already being extracted, we'll be responsible to teach them how to make the tools the tablets say, and use them properly, though when it comes to farming.... I know 0 about that, my kind can't eat plant matter, it just builds up in our guts and rots." she admitted. "But aside from that, how do you think today went?" she asked putting an around around the base of his neck with a smile.

[Ryujin13]

Guthrie almost froze again at the feeling of Fren's arm around his neck, but seemed to overcome the instinct.

"Um, t-today was fine." He stammered. "We m-made good progress. Farmings not a b-big deal since we've been doing that for a long time." He said. "Mostly fruit and um, stuff like that."

Guthrie looked down nervously at Fren's arm, afraid to move because he feared doing something wrong. "Any... Anyway, I um, well I can explain what has to be done now that we understand it, so things should settle... They should settle down, which should let you focus on Alina." He didn't mention anything about himself, knowing that the hatchling came first. If Fren chose to pursue the relationship then he was ok with it, but he wouldn't put himself in front of Alina's needs.

 

Alina meanwhile was busy running with Petals through the grass, their laughter carrying back to Fren and Guthrie easily. Eventually they seemed to run out of steam and flipped down underneath the large tree near the creek. There they began to play a game that had no fathomable rules but one that they seemed to both enjoy.

 

(Do we want to time skip until later when Fren reads the book or do you have something else planned?)

[little lost dragon]

Fren noticed him look at her arm almost frightened as he spoke. She had done it cause it felt.... natural. But it seemed to make him unsure. She removed her arm looking concerned. "Alright, I'll still come with you to the temple to study the tablets that show up and do what I can to help." she said with a nod.

 

Later that night, after Fren and Alina had said there good byes to Guthrie and Pedals, Fren went over to her room and settled down on the bed and told Alina to join her as she held the book Bor had given her. When Alina was snuggled against her she had the book make contact with the hatchling before waiting a few moments and opening it.

[Ryujin13]

The moment Fren opened the book both she and Alina were somewhere else. It was a huge circular room lined with bookshelves, each on reaching 30 feet high and full to bursting with books. The center of the room was strangely empty until a huge dragon, easily 200 feet long from snout to the end of its tail, appeared and looked down at Alina.

"Welcome young one." It said, it's voice ancient sounding and distant. "This is codex 8,623, listing the names of all shadow dragons born between the dates of: year 17,489 and year 19,489. Shadows of each have been left as well. Your DNA matches two known dragons listed in this book, would you like to go to that chapter now?"

Alina was shocked by the size of the dragon in front of her, and was momentarily stunned beyond words. Finally she managed to nod an affirmative.

"Going to first entry." The dragon said as it disappeared.

It took a few seconds but slowly a new dragon resolved. This one was a smaller size, only reaching 100 feet or so, but was still impressive. Above the dragon appeared text that listed it's name as Ladon.

"I am Ladon." The male sounding dragon said. "One of the defenders of the tombs at Dehlina. Awarded six times for a combination of valor and injuries. Father of Alina." He said, his head turning to look at Alina.

"Alina, your mother and I made the decision to cut our entries short when it came to history. Our times are past, we wanted to leave a message for you in the hopes that you'd find it someday. Hopefully this has come to you as planned, and you're seeing this now. Alina, the shadows we left in this book can only give you so much, we had limited space in which to work. Our species is dying Alina, we have maybe a 100 years to live before the great work is completed. The civil war is stretching us to thin and the destruction is intensifying the longer it goes on. When your egg disappeared your mother and I did very thing we could to find you, we searched through time and space, trying to get you back. Something stopped us Alina, so we were forced to attempt and reach you another way through these books. This one was left where it could be easily found, but the others are better hidden, you will have to hone the shadow in order to reach them. The rest of my entry will give you a few training techniques to help you begin your search. Alina, I don't know if there are any of or race left. If there is, then I would recommend seeking them out. If not, then these books will help you understand yourself and where you came from. If our race cannot be saved, then I would ask that you focus on living a long full life, not mourn your mother and I." Ladon said before disappearing to be replaced by the huge dragon they had first seen. "Smaller entries are available to watch if you so choose, or you can go to the next dragon."

Alina was crying again, but managed to croak out 'next dragon'.

Instantly the huge dragon vanished to be replaced by yet a smaller dragon, this one maybe 80 feet in length. Above the dragons head a name appeared again, this time Nasuna.

"I am Nasuna, gardener of the council chambers on Dehlina, later instated as a member of the local militia upon arrival of invasion force Fintlan." The dragon said to thin air.

After a few seconds the dragon, now obviously a female turned and laid down so that her head was at Alina's height before speaking, her voice gentle and full of love.

"Hello Alina." The dragoness said quietly.

"H-hi m-mommy." Alina sobbed, tears running down her cheeks.

"I'm sure you've already seen your fathers entry, he always was a fighter." The dragoness smiled again before getting a sad look on her face. "Alina, I'm sorry I failed you. We both are. When your egg disappeared... We were devastated. We searched everywhere, but we couldn't find a trace. We love you very much, and only ever wanted you to be happy. I'm so sorry that I wasn't there for your first steps or words. I wish with every ounce of my being that this had never happened, and if I thought it would succeed I would break every law, destroy any timeline or universe to get you back." Nasuna's image was crying silently as well, but seemed to be keeping it together well enough as it continued to speak. "Alina, no matter what path you take in life, I need you to know that your father and I love you dearly. Your father has begun work on leaving you a legacy to help you, training and concentration techniques, things that you'll need for the future. I have hopes that you won't just be a warrior Alina, I want you to grow into a happy person, so I have embedded memories of your father and I into his books alongside the other programs. They're what I can do for you Alina. My time for talk is almost done, if you take anything from this, know that I love you Alina, I love you and I'm proud of you. Alina, I love you." And just like Fren and Alina were sitting back in bed, Alina crying hard as she fully realized the truth. Her mother and father were dead. She was never going to meet them, they weren't going to randomly appear to her, they were gone. "I l-love you too m-mommy." Alina whispered, curling into a ball in Fren's lap.

Edited August 16, 2014 by Ryujin13

[little lost dragon]

Fren looked around at all the books before to the clearing of the room. Shortly afterwards a huge dragon showed up. She watched Alina listen to the recordings and her heart hurt for the hatchling. Her father had given up hope and was making a last ditch effort to get a message to his daughter. Then came the mother, much softer then the father. Over all, the whole ordeal, the castle took her away from her parents, and made sure she would never see them ever. Fren looked down and away as she listened to the mother speak. The mother wanted Alina to be happy, Fren just hoped that she could help Alina achieve this goal.

Then it was all over, they where back in the room where they had began the trip. She closed the book and Alina was a mess again. She put the book down and held Alina close gently rocking her self in a effort to try to help calm the distraught hatchling. At least it was not a shock on top of everything, Alina had already come to term with the consept of her parents being dead as shown when she answered Pedals question, but seeing her parents telling her they could not find her and love her and are dead.... suprize or not that's a lot to take in.

A few tears of her own start to show, she let her self slowly start to cry with Alina. She felt a sense of inadequacy about her self now. How was she suppost to help Alina learn things like honing the shadow? She could read the entries her self but Alina was on her own for using the info, Unless her father demonstrated in the entries....

She shook her head, now was not the time. "I'll do my best to care for you Alina." she said quietly not sure if Alina react well or not, seeing how she was reacting to Guthrie arriving and relations to Varren.

[Ryujin13]

Alina cried for awhile after the book was closed, but finally she managed to look up at Fren, only to buried her head into Fren's arms.

"I l-love you mommy." Her muffled voice said as she hugged Fren like she was afraid the Shatong would disappear. "My r-real mommy would be happy you f-found me, I know it." She said , looking up at Fren and smiling a little.

Alina had been dealt a blow, her parents probable deaths hadn't seemed real until now, but she was at least part way to healing. Never having known them was hard, seeing them was harder, but they both loved her, and that helped a great deal. She finally scrabbled up Fren's stomach and hugged her mother tight, making herself feel better, and hopefully Fren as well. "I love you mommy." She said again, holding on as best she could. Her paws couldn't reach around Fren's neck so she had to just hold onto Fren's shoulders.

The hug lasted a long time before Alina finally let go to curl up next to Fren, her body always touching her mothers, for both their comfort.

Alina fell asleep quickly after that and the night passed quickly in the house.

 

The next morning when Fren woke up Alina was gone, although she could be heard on the roof snuffling and talking to someone.

 

Guthrie had come over early bearing flowers he had grown himself on his mothers advice, only to find Alina sitting on the porch quietly crying.

He cautiously approached and landed near Alina, concern in his eyes.

"Are you alright?" He asked quietly, watching as Alina shook her head.

"No, my real m-mommy and d-daddy are dead." Alina sobbed, covering her eyes with her paws as she sat back on her haunches.

"I'm sorry." Guthrie said quietly, his face sad.

"W-Why do you care? You just want to replace V-Varren!" Alina spat, her sadness turning to anger the moment she found a target.

"I don't want to replace Varren." Guthrie said gently. "I can never replace him or anyone else you lost. I care because I want you to be happy, and because my father died before I was born of a sickness. I never knew him."

Alina looked up at Guthrie at this news but didn't comment. Instead she just continued to cry, her large yellow eyes watching him.

"Alina, I'm sorry about your friends." Guthrie said after a few moments of silence.

"W-why? You didn't know t-them." Alina asked.

"I care because I care about your well-being." Guthrie responded gently. "Do you want to tell me about them?"

Alina was silent for a long time, long enough that Guthrie assumed she wasn't going to say anything.

"F-Fuzzy was my b-best friend." Alina said, fresh tears staining her face. "He was f-funny, and he liked g-games. He always l-listened to me." Alina explained, not going into Jak's past. That was Jak's story and not hers to tell.

"K-Kara was beautiful. She was s-sad a lot, b-but she was smart, and caring. I always t-thought my real m-mommy would be beautiful like her." Alina managed.

"Was she?" Guthrie asked gently, watching Alina nod.

"Y-yes." Alina sobbed quietly. "V-Varren was my... My daddy. He was s-smart and b-brave. He was always n-nice to everyone. I... I thought he and m-mommy were going to get m-married." She cried, covering her eyes again as tears dripped from her face onto the floor.

Guthrie stayed silent and let her cry, trying to decide what to say. Finally he reached over and patted her on the back.

Alina flinched a little, but stayed where she was.

"Alina, I don't want to replace Varren." Guthrie said gently. "I can never do that, not ever. Nobody can. I know you think I am trying to take his place, but I'm not, I'm trying to make a new place. I... I have feelings for Fren, and she has them for me. We want to explore those feelings together, but I would prefer to do so with your permission." He explained quietly. "You know, my people don't believe in death." He said after a few seconds of silence. "Sure the body might leave, but a seed is grown in its place. You saw that a couple days ago. The soul is divided after that, taking up places in the new seed, and in the memories of those closest to the one who passed to the next life. Varren may be gone, but his soul will always be in your memories. He will always be with you, if not physically, then spiritually. I'm sure he cared for you a great deal, and I'm sure that he wouldn't want to see you cry for him forever. He would want you to move on, live your life and be happy."

"Y-you didn't know him, how do y-you know what he wants?" Alina asked, trying to sound angry, but instead sounding more curious then anything.

"I know because it's what I'd want for you." Guthrie said quietly. "I want you to be happy Alina, I want you to grow up to be a happy individual, not a sad one who can't move on with her life."

Alina finally looked up at Guthrie and nodded a little. "Ok." She said finally. "I'll try."

They sat and talked for another hour or so until Fren woke up, then they both wandered downstairs for breakfast. When asked what they had been talking about Alina gave a short answer, not really ready for things to advance to far. Guthrie place his flowers into clay pot he filled with water, then set them in a window where the sun could reach them.

"We don't really have anything to do today." Guthrie said as he peeled a fruit with one of his fingernails. "The monks have constructed the furnaces like Bor showed them, but the copper is still being brought to the surface. After that the instructions are very clear on how to smelt it into different tools we might need. The triad have excused themselves for a meeting to decide how to begin broaching the subject with the people. They're trying to avoid a civil war while still telling the populace what's happened and the reason behind the changes. They told me to tell you, that while they appreciate everything you've done, they would prefer that you stay away from the proceedings. They fear that the populace might blame you, which would not only undermine their efforts, but could get you and Alina killed. For now they said to just lay low, let Alina play with petals and just relax."

Guthrie paused at this, considering something for a moment before looking up again.

"Um, Fren?" He asked nervously. "Would you like to um, to go on a um, a picnic with me, like a... A date? I know where t-to go, and I can take care of everything." He explained quickly.

[little lost dragon]

Fren for a moment froze as Alina hugged her more saying she loved her mom, this time clearly talking to her, Fren. She smiled and nodded as Alina told her she felt her real mother would be glad Fren found her daughter. That was a fear put to rest. When Alina scrambled up her belly she helped Alina up and hugged the hatchling closely. Tears coming out of her eye's. "I love you to, my daughter." she said in return letting the hug last as long as Alina needed it. Afterwards she laid down and partly curled up around her daughter and took a bit for her to fall asleep, but seeing Alina's sleeping form, knowing the hatchling more or less knowingly offically made Fren her mother, was heart warming. After a bit she finally fell asleep as well.

 

the next morning she woke up and at first wondered where Alina had gone off too till she heard Alina's voice, there was a familer voice responding and speaking, and after a moment, she reconized Guthrie's chemical signature before he came into site. She asked if anything happened but Alina did not seem to want to talk about it, but right away Fren could see Alina's behaver was.... different then it was before with Guthrie around, she smiled at them knowing something happened, and glad Alina was not out right rejecting him.

As they ate Guthrie explained how she and Alina were to lay low and she could understand the reasons. "Should something happen, and with the history of the cursed place, makes sense the people would quickly see me as a potential devil." she said before giving a sigh "Might need some pointers on relaxing." she admitted.

When Guthrie asked about a date she looked at him and paused. Her eye's showing she did not know how to reply. Many things where happening, none of which where things she was used to, she was used to many things like mission objectives not being on time, fights on ships, anti spys on her tail, that sort of thing, not these things. "I uh..... I'd love to." she said with a smile "If Alina's alright with it we can bring the kids along, her and Pedals as well." she suggested, she knew Alina would not be ok with her out of her site for long.

[Ryujin13]

(I'm time skipping forward a bit. We're getting to the point where we can have Guthrie and Fren enter an actual relationship, at which point we can skip forward the years we need to in order for Alina and Fren to return to the castle. Guthrie will come as well obviously. If there's anything else you want to do then tell me because I'm going to get this thing rolling so we can carry on with the story.)

 

Guthrie smiled and nodded as Fren said yes, but faltered a little when Alina was mentioned. Truth be told he hadn't planned on the hatchling coming along, vaguely hoping that Alina could stay behind, but he also wasn't completely surprised. Guthrie hid his disappointment well though and smiled at Alina who gave a small one back.

After breakfast was finished Guthrie disappeared with a hurried explanation that he had to prepare things. Petals mother came over again and sat talking quietly with Fren about different things while the two girls played. She seemed very interested in Shatong culture, and when asked she informed Fren that she was what passed as a cultural expert. She had apparently studied what was left of the humans extensively as well as the gods, piecing together parts of their society from what she found.

Eventually she excused herself, telling Fren that if she ever wanted a day off she would be glad to take Alina for a day.

 

The rest of the day races by after that, but when the sun was heading towards the horizon Guthrie reappeared. He smiled at Fren, then Alina and petals before turning and leading the way into the forest. It was a long hike and Guthrie ended up giving rides to both Alina and Petals, not that he seemed to mind to much.

Finally the group rounded a corner and were met with a stunning view of a long jagged valley that opened up into an ocean. A long river stretched through the valley and trees filled it to the brim. Hundreds of birds, each with coloration only seen in rainbows flew around in the canopies below, getting ready to nest. On the horizon the sun was beginning to set, it's large shape seeming to be swallowed by the ocean itself.

Petals and Alina oohed and ahed, going right to the cliff edge to sit and watch.

Guthrie pointed out a table nearby, grown from the very rock itself, along with seats. The food on the table was different then that of Fren's house. It was more delicately prepared, more fine dining then a meal.

Alina and Petals ran over to join Fren and Guthrie, both sitting across from the adults. Guthrie carefully served some meat up to the group, he and Petals taking smaller portions, then carefully doled out helpings of other things, each selected so that group all had an equal number of things to choose from.

 

The dinner lasted quite a long time, and when it finally finished the sun had set and the moon was coming up over the horizon. Alina and Petals were sitting off to the side, quietly talking about something that was making them giggle, leaving Fren and Guthrie alone.

Guthrie raised his hand, causing it to glow green as small plants began to crop up. They dispersed spores after a few seconds, which flew high into the air to hover, each one giving off a small amount of light.

"I um, I hope you had a good evening Fren." Guthrie said nervously. "I uh, I admit, I didn't know if you would enjoy this sort of... You know, thing."

[little lost dragon]

Fren smiled happily when Alina nodded, They where definitely talking there this morning, She welcomed Pedals and her mothers as they came over after Guthrie excused him self. She found the conversation interesting, apparently pedals mother was a culture expert, even studied what peices of their makers culture where she could. After a bit though she had to go and offered to some day take Alina off Fren's hands for a day, She nodded and smiled saying "We'll see." before thanking her for coming over and that was a good talk.

 

When Guthrie returned the sun was heading towards its resting place, or the horizon. She called the kids letting them know it was time. As they went both got tired but both kids refused to seperate, either hold both, or none as she found out. Guthrie came to the rescue though and gave both a ride. When they reached the location Fren blinked looking around. Guthrie certainly had taste in locations. Guthrie point them to a table grown out of the rocks with food that certainly smelled good.

 

After dinner was done and they had had there fill Fren leaned back and smiled as the kids went off to the side. she looked at the plants Guthrie had form and watched the spores go up before lighting up before he spoke. She looked at him and smiled. She leaned over and hugged him quickly "The fact your going through so much effort Guthrie, and you certainly have good taste for nice locations, I did enjoy this." she said with a nod and smile "Did you?"

 

((Alrighty, for the most part I'm just cuirouse about what kind of tech the plant people will get, and if they become mates, another child is almost ensured due to it being part of a female Shatong's nature to reproduce often she might be pregnet when they do return. Before she would never have allowed it but with her exploring her emotions.... and being so inexperenced, she's bound to make a few mistakes in her calculations and all. If I'm making sense.))

Edited August 17, 2014 by little lost dragon