On These Wings: The Remake

[talyhawk]

Ryoka and Revy had been making their way back to Drac and the others when the psychic message had caused her to drop to her knees covering her ears in the process. Revy had been hit with the message just as hard and it was taking everything she had to stay still. Removing her hands away from her ears Ryoka looked at them in horror realizing that her ears had bled from the force of the message.

 

Snap out of it!

 

Hearing her dragon Ryoka looked up smiling as she stood placing a hand on the alt black's muzzle. "Thank you, my friend." Revy simply replied by nodding her head before continuing to walk towards where the rest of the NDK were causing Ryoka to chuckle as she picked up the saddle and followed.

 

+++++

 

Katarina had just finished making notes on what she needed to have ready for Boram Du Couteau's arrival when she was slammed by the message. With blood dripping from her eyes she grinned the message had gone straight to her bloodthirsty side and it was all she could do to contain it. Garen's head turned towards where he knew Katarina was, his own eyes dripping blood. Malphite fortunately hadn't been hit as hard with the message to cause bleeding, but it had jolted him from his sleep.

[BlackScorpion7]

((I'm ba-haack...))

 

As the mental message struck, Katelyn's hand dropped the gem when her knees buckled and she fell forwards, hand and tentacle pushing against her ears as if she tried to push them through. The words were gone almost as soon as they had come and she slumped onto the ground, breathing heavily and trying to see straight again. Hand and tentacle pushing herself up again, she saw blood on them and felt a faint warmth slipping down the side of her head. Annoyed, she brushed it away with her hand, to come back with her hand even more bloodied. But the flow of sluggish blood seemed to have stopped already. Giving a quick glance around, she noted she had not been the only one to have suffered from it, whatever it had been. Seeing a faint glint about a foot from where she was, her hand reached out while she crawled up again, the gem once again securely in her hand. Taking a deep breath, she wiped her sleeve along the sides of her face to clean it and looked around once more, not daring to ask what had happened in fear of seeming ignorant.

 

+++++++

 

Questra had also returned to Matthew when the heaviest fires had been doused, so when the mental assault happened, she had been on the deck instead of in the air. Luckily for her, as otherwise she might have fallen and broken a wing. She let out a keen whine, her back arching and her legs kicking the air. When it was gone, she blinked a couple of times and looked over at Matthew. He had fallen unconscious again, the assault coming too fast after he had just regained consciousness. But at a lick in his face from the horse hatchling, he woke up again, scrambling to get up.

 

"What the hell was tha- Hold that thought!" Ignoring the fact his head was pounding as if it seemed all blood vessels in his head had split, he quickly followed Rio to the ongoing scene. These elves seemed to be less trustworthy and less of a hope to them than Drac had told them. Grabbing hold of a piece of broken wood, a remnant of one of the cages holding the cannons, he joined the others to protect themselves from the elves. Questra was still scrambling up when Matthew had run. Finally she got her feet under her, but she was obviously separated from the others. A row of elves blocking her from them. Letting out a hoarse whinny of anger, she reared on her hind legs, kicking out at any who would dare to come close enough.

Edited December 12, 2010 by BlackScorpion7

[En'K'Haral]

"Glad you could join us Matt. You gonna be ok, cause honestly I don't think I m really up to this just yet."

Rio stated as her head decided to give a sudden and very sharp throb.

"Drac, any ideas as to what that was just now?"

Rio glared at Ayos, now really wasn't the time to be concerned about disembodied voices in Rios's opinion, especially since the elves seemed very displeased with Taja's brutal arrival. Rio had already turned to Bramble before letting Matt answer her question; her mind was a little bit hectic at the moment.

"How you holding up Bramble? You gonna stay with us?"

After everything that had happened, Rio was practically high on natural adrenalin and it showed, her breathing was fast, she was jumpy and twitchy, her head swiveling about and her eyes leaping from one potential target to the next and not waiting for more then a second or two to size them up.

 

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

 

Gelltor had made his way to the cells only to find that Mordred had escaped.

"Malice we have a problem. It seems our scapegoat has escaped. I didn't see Ghidorah around so my guess is that they have run off and probably gone rogue or something. This will likely prove to be a problem."

"Then we should go after him!"

"No, he is long gone by now. I will just add this to my report...which I am beginning to think I should just write up now. Life is getting too busy for personal reports. You know what, I will do that. If Katelyn starts yelling for me I am in my quarters preparing my report."

And thus Gelltor made his way from the cells to his quarters to begin writing u his overdue report.

[Kjakings]

Drac shook his head as he packed, looking about still a bit weary of rogue elves. Despite being allies they had certainly made no friends.

"I don't know. I can tell you it was probably bad for us, and it might have had something to do with my father. It was immensely powerful though; not even Grandmaster Maddox could project that far. If my father was involved it could turn out very badly or very good for us. I can only think of one explanation and that was that it was a Draconæ, although that makes no sense. They've been dead for hundreds of years." Drac paused for a moment, considering. That massive surge had definitely been bad.

"That is, of course, if the Draconæ ever existed at all. You're an enlightened man, surely you don't believe those old legends?" An elf came up, hoisting a pack onto Bramble.

"There's plenty of relics from them. We found a city thought to date back to their era, as well as several weapons, pendants and texts, even personal diaries of various members of their society. The elves, if I remember, insisted on believing in the Phoenix despite all evidence to the contrary until we found that living one. You became very smug after that." Drac responded, happy to find an elf who was well disposed towards them.

"That was different; we could track the Phoenix's evolution back millions of years, we had hard evidence. When we find hard evidence of the Draconæ, maybe even a living one, you can be equally smug. You try and explain where the Draconæ came from, they have no evolutionary ancestors, they simply sprung up from the ether."

"True, they were not creatures of the natural world. They were a mastery of magic. The raw power of the dragons and the refining ability of humanity. They had no ancestors or children. Each was a singular entity, connected to the others only by brotherhood and magic." Realising he had no idea who this elf was, Drac extended his hand. "Drac Stormwind." He stated, although there was no way the elf would not know his name.

"Where are my manners? I apologise. My name is Amras Mithrandír. I'm a chemist by trade and I've been assigned to accompany you by the council to bring our gunpowder to the dwarves, who are by nature an inventive species. We've been having trouble turning our massive cannon into a handheld form. I'm also to tell you that we'll be taking several waverunners to a small coastal hut maintained by an old elven couple who'll let us stay the night and see us on our way, and call me Amras."

"Welcome aboard, Amras."

 

"Octavius, you'll need to go on a massive recruiting and training drive. The public will complain if he implement a draft, so we'll try and not do it yet. I'll bring in a team of architects to start drawing up plans for fortresses and defensive walls. I also want a high arch built over the entrance to the harbor, if anything tries to get through there that we don't want they'll have tons of burning pitch poured onto their deck. We'll need heavy ballista to take down assaulting dragons, Maddox, can you try and figure out those cannon things?" Hyro asked, blood still dripping out of his ears, a hand steadying himself on the table. The others were no better and were confused by the experience, but nobody wanted to mention what had just happened.

"Grandmaster Maddox, and are we going to pretend that didn't just happen? You're all bleeding out of orifices that should not be bleeding. I've never felt anything that powerful." Grandmaster Maddox stated, and Hyro's eyes narrowed.

"Dismissed, all of you."

[En'K'Haral]

((Tolkien will slap you for that one Kja. A big hearty slap. It will make a wonderful smacking noise, and you will make a very satisfieing thmp when you hit the ground. *dies laughing* No response from Bramble to Rio? Is he giving her the silent treatment because Ayos doesn't like him? I mean not even a snarl? I am a little hurt.))

[BlackScorpion7]

Matthew was just standing by, listening to the conversation going on and completely unable to follow. But then again, he had been just a simple farmer boy until his link to dragons had been discovered, so he had never had much of an education in the lore of the world. For now, he was just content to listen and pick up as much information as possible.

 

A hand?

 

Getting pulled out of his thoughts, he looked over to where Questra was still standing. Running over, Matthew pushed through the elves and grabbed a hold of the heavy hatchling. She was definitely getting too big to carry around, but for now, he just lifted her in his strong arms and glared hostily at anyone who came too close. Along with Questra he returned back to the others and put the horse dragon down again, patting her on the head gently.

 

+++++++

 

Kateyln bowed as she was being dismissed and cast a curious glance around. So the whole bleeding ear thing was to be neglected. Very well, no win in angering Hyro. Striding through the corridors, she made her way over to her quarters and checked up on Sleet. As she arrived she scared the healer who was still working on him. Not saying a single word, she just glared at him until he almost stammered over his own tongue to tell her his findings.

 

"The wounds had not yet healed enough for him to go into battle. They cracked open and will need a longer time to heal properly. He needs plenty of rest until they are fully healed and minimal physical excercise. I have a salve and paste which have to be applied three to five times a day on the wounds to keep them flexible, prevent possible cracking and which will let them heal faster than on their own. I- I also have a potion he should take twice a day to strengthen him." Katelyn just kept glaring at the man.

 

"O-of course I will assign a servant training with me to come apply the salves and give the potions on fixed times." Katelyn finally nodded and dismissed him.

 

"Very well, but I am not keeping Sleet locked up in this stable the whole day. If he is not there, your servant is to look for him to give the necessary treatments." The healer nodded and bowed his head, scurrying away quickly. Sleet opened one eye lazily and looked at his rider. A strange look hung in his eye, but he kept his thoughts private and did not even let them surface enough for her to pick up on them through their mental link. Seeing the slight glint of light on crystal, he eyes her human hand.

 

You still got that thing?

Apparently. For some reason I just can toss it away.

Maybe it's important.

Could be, but it's from him. I can't keep it.

And yet you can't throw it away.

Maybe I should give it to Hyro.

Think you should?

Yes.

Think you can?

No.

 

Sleet took a deep breath and let it out in a puff of freezing smoke.

 

I think you best keep it with you, but try to keep it out of sight.

It hurts when I take it in my other hand.

Hand?

 

Sleet could not keep himself and a tone of disgust had entered his thoughts. Katelyn's eyes snapped wide open and she glared at him. In reply, the ice dragon yawned, let out another puff of freezing smoke and closed his eye again, pretending he needed sleep. If things came to the worst, he knew he would not be able to attack her. So despite the fact she was a mere human, weak and unable to stand a chance against a full grown dragon, she had the upper hand in the fact he was bound to her by pure love of his rider. If anything happened, he would try to defend himself from her, but he would never harm her. That thing on her should was another thing entirely. It was not her and if the thing would attack her, he would have no problem snapping his teeth in it. Whether it would be healthy for him? That was another question.

 

Katelyn turned on her heels and strode away briskly to call together the troops. There were reports to be made, attack plans to be overviewed and remade and questions to be made.

Edited December 17, 2010 by BlackScorpion7

[Kjakings]

((Sorry, I completely forgot about poor Rio. I'll post soon.))

 

((Also, why would Tolkien slap me? I just used a name generator...))

Edited December 17, 2010 by Kjakings

[En'K'Haral]

((As I recall it Gandolf the Gray's Elvin name is Mithrandír...oh and in that case he shall slap the name generator and it shall make a satisfying thump when it hits the ground. Anyways back to posting ))

 

Gelltor had arrived at his room sometime earlier and had already started on his report. The report included his request to Katrina to help him kill Rio and Ayos instead of capturing them if the chance arose and that he believed it was in the best interest of everybody to continue doing so since Ayos was a Magi dragon he wold prove to be just a big a problem as Bramble when he came into full growth. He also included that so far there have been no changes to the smear campaign and that he would inform her ASAP if any developed. There was nothing as of yet to report on Kiara since he hadn't gotten a chance to check in with his spies on the streets or in the castle due to the sudden decision to attack the flotilla. The report also suggested that they start finding ways to knock the metaphorical pins out from under Drac. Right after that the report suggested that they do this by killing leaders who were helping him and supplanting them with leaders that were in favor of telling him to shove off, they didn't need to be loyal to Hyro but they did need to not be loyal to Drac. if this could not be done then it was suggested that whatever settlements they were attempting to convert simply be destroyed, he also suggested that some settlements be destroyed regardless to help local leaders along with their decision to look to their own towns and goals rather than Drac's cause. Basically getting people to start wanting to fend more for themselves then anyone else. When Gelltor finished with his report he considered giving it to a slave to run it down to Katelyn but decided it was better to give it to the girl or her dragon himself. It would give him a chance to gauge just how loyal she was to Hyro, and if he decided positively he would bring her into the plan if not then he would wait for a better opportunity. Gelltor made his way over to Katelyn's personal quarters and knocked on the door when he arrived with his report.

[Kjakings]

((Hell I thought I posted already. *rummages around in my documents* Glad I developed the habit of saving all my posts.))

 

 

Bramble looked down at Rio, blinking a little bit. He didn’t expect any of them to talk to him, he had hardly been helpful since his joining.

“I intend to do whatever Taja does. However, she is weak and unwell from her ordeals and until she is fit to make that decision Cirrus and I have decided to stay with you. I never liked Coastal Waverunners. Always too fast and full of themselves, remind me of skywings.” The last part was said mostly to himself and it earned an amused snort from Cirrus and an annoyed glare from Night, who was now about as big as one of Bramble’s legs.

 

Grandmaster Maddox was not a young man and he wished he knew the old Draconæ spell for slowing down the aging process to 1/100th of its normal rate. There were several similar human spells but they weren’t nearly as effective or reliable. Still, he ran after Katelyn, hoping nobody noticed.

“Lady Katelyn, may I have a word?” He asked, pulling her aside and erecting a small invisible sound-deadening barrier. “About that gem. You should take a mild anaesthetic and force yourself to hold it in that demon thing.” He said, quickly teleporting away before she could respond.

[BlackScorpion7]

Katelyn was just walking down to the training area, where she hoped to find Kelsa and Salvador, the two leaders of the water division, to get their reports of the underwater part of the battle, when the grandmaster caught up with her. She could only listen and blink once and then the man had disappeared. Just at that moment Sleet poked her in the back of her brain to inform her Gelltor was at the door of their quarters. Shaking her head nearly like a dog would, she decided to ignore the words of Maddox for the moment. The moment she would dismiss Gelltor would be soon enough to think about Maddox's suggestion. The gem hurt her when her 'other' hand held it. Why would he insist she hold it? What was the purpose behind it? Was he planning on getting her killed or worse? Or was he... Drac had given her the gem. Did that mean Maddox... ?

 

She didn't dare to think further on that thought and walked the last steps back to her quarters more briskly. The moment she would be able to kick Gelltor out of the door, she'd discuss it with Sleet. Maybe he would know what to do. Or would she discuss it with Gelltor? But as soon as the idea popped up, she dismissed it almost at the same time. No point in babbling about things like that with him. She didn't think a tentacle as a head would be comfortable. Arriving at her quarters, she pushed past Gelltor and slammed the door open with the tentacle, the recently repaired door slamming hard against the wall and the inside door handle breaking off. Throwing the documents she held down on her table, she stood behind it and looked at Gelltor.

 

"Any reason as to why you disturb my time?"

[talyhawk]

((I'm still alive. I've just been busy with shopping for the holidays.))

 

Ryoka and Revy regrouped with the others just in time to hear that Costal Waverunners were going to be used causing Revy to snort in annoyance. Ryoka ignored her dragon and walked over to Cirrus. "I never thought that I'd be back in the company of the two of you and Taja." Her gaze shifted over to Bramble then back to Cirrus. "How is Taja feeling anyway?"

 

Revy didn't like the fact that her rider was talking to Cirrus, but didn't show any signs that showed otherwise. In her mind it was still too early to even think about trusting the trio. It didn't help that she was of the same opinion as Bramble about the Costal Waverunners. "So where are we going after we meet up with this couple?" The dragon hadn't directed the question at anyone in particular, but assumed that the elf who had introduced himself as Amras would be the one to answer.

[Merryier12]

Username: Merryier12

Side: NDK

Name: Lily

Age: 20

Gender: female

Race: elf

Appearance:

LilyPersonality: (optional)

Other: she is the rider of, Akeela

Dragon’s name: Akeela

Dragon’s age: Adult

Dragon’s gender: female

Dragon’s race (DC Only please): magi dragon

Appearance: Akeela

Other: her rider is Lily

 

 

[Kjakings]

((You may need a bit more padding than that. And there's no need to say that they're each other's rider/dragon, if they're together it's assumed.))

Edited December 29, 2010 by Kjakings

[BlackScorpion7]

((Happy 2011 everybody!))

[Kjakings]

((*Slowly slinks in*))

 

Drac shook his head, nearly toppling over as the load proved heavier than he thought.

“What’s in here, rocks?” He asked Amras, noticing the sign on the bag.

“No, it’s my collection of rare jewels and fossils.” He responded, lifting a similar bag up onto Bramble.

“… So, rocks. Anyway, we’re going cross-country to the mountains. We’re still small enough to make it without being slaughtered. The only risky part will be when we go near an outpost controlled by my father. Hopefully when we get there the dragons will be large enough to carry us properly. Night is nearly there but even that small stint we had over the Flotilla during the fight means he can barely move.”

“That’s because he’s a small child who should have left the fighting to those who can fight.”

“Stop bullying the poor child. He could still fly rings around you, gigantic oaf. Taja is fine but extremely tired, I’ve got her strapped tightly into the saddle. I don’t trust anyone else while she is this weak.” Cirrus responded to Ryoka, sending short mental jabs at Bramble to stop him making comments on Ryoka and Revy’s arrival. The black was really getting far too rude.

[En'K'Haral]

((Sorry for for not being around. I won't be able to get on too often for a while. Some one thought installing a windows 7 program into an XP CPU was a brilliant idea. So now the computer overloads and crashes every time I turn it on.))

 

Ayos and Rio relaxed a bit as everyone else did.

"Come on Matt we should probably pack up as well."

Ayos wandered over to Bramble and Cirrus. He looked them over carefully, with a very studious eye. It was almost as if he was trying to determine their trustworthiness by appearance...and in reality that wasn't too far from the truth. He was actually thinking things over as he seemed to inspect the pair.

"Drac seems to trust them without a second thought. Bramble has just proven himself to be on our side and Cirrus seems more interested in protecting Taja to really be considered a bad guy, then again that same concern can be turned against us. It's decided."

He gave a satisfied nod and spoke to Bramble.

"I suppose I trust you Bramble. You have proven yourself so far, I guess I should formally welcome you to the team."

He nodded again and began to help load things onto the dragons. Rio on the other hand was still busy trying to get Matt's attention.

 

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

 

Gelltor bowed respectfully to Katelyn and placed his written report of the activities regarding: the campaign, his request for help to Katrina, the lack of information on Kiara, and his concern about allowing Rio and Ayos to live, along with concerns about the disappearance of Taja and Cirrus during the fight, and Mordred's escape, on the table.

"You need not tolerate me for long. I am here to hand in a report as instructed. Considering that things have not been going wonderfully as of late I felt handing this to you in person was the best way to keep information secure. That aside I think it is only fair to inform you that I am going to be meeting with my contacts to get updates on the campaign. Included in my report is the suggestion that we find a way to make no longer worth the Elves while to help Drac. Personally I think we should assassinate any of their leaders that support Drac and move into power some of the more disgruntled parties. It would make them more inclined to look to their own borders. Oh...I think looking into other possible allies that Drac would try to attain would be wise, as well as looking to possible allies we could attain. Perhaps neighboring countries? Anyways if you will pardon me sir I must be on my way, they aren't expecting me but I do have many tasks to attend to."

Gelltor was trying not to notice Katelyn's arm. Despite the fact that he had seen it many times he still couldn't get used to it. He then spoke.

"I also thought you should know that I have men searching out your family. I figured that since you have endured so many hardships thanks to me and Malice in addition to a lot of help provided to us, it was high time to do a little repaying. I thought including that in the report was a bad idea. Naturally if you would rather I didn't then I can call of the search."

He waited for a response, this was the start of what would either lead to an ally or to his death.

[BlackScorpion7]

((Windows 7? At work we shifted to it a couple of weeks ago. Took me a moment to adapt to it, but after I tweaked it enough to look more like my old XP, which I had actually tweaked to look like Windows 97 (yah old school ), I like it quite a lot. Hope you'll win the struggle with the computer soon enough.))

 

+++++++

 

Katelyn was leaning against her desk, arms crossed over one another. Or rather tentacle crossed over human arm. Her eyes were locked on Gelltor's face and a near to bored expression hung over her face. Sleet had his head poked through the double doors between his stable and the living quarters and had his eyes locked on the man as well. Listening to his words, Sleet made a remark to Katelyn.

 

He's not dumb. Those are some good ideas.

I admit. But I still need to prove to Hyro I've got him under control or I have to kill him.

Though situation. You better make sure to get a firm grip on him them.

 

"Anyways if you will pardon me sir I must be on my way, they aren't expecting me but I do have many tasks to attend to." Hearing his sentence, she nodded once and pushed away from the desk, starting to say something when she was cut short by his next words. Words which more than obviously rattled her to the bone. Eyes going wide, she looked at the still open door and the tentacle shot out, stretching and lenghtening lighteningfast until it reached the door and slammed it shut. Sleet had let out a gruff and indignant growl nearly at the same time to mask the sound and Gelltor's words. As the tentacle pulled in again, she locked her eyes on the man again and shook her head in unbelief. The whole posture of annoyance, anger and all seemed to have dropped away from her. And instead of the strong second-in-command was now a scared girl.

 

"You can't! If Hyro finds out! I... he'll kill them! That was the deal! They'd be safe if I'd be his to command . If he hears about this... I... they'll die! I... no, you can't... you can't..."

 

"Katelyn!" Sleet spoke up out loud, his head as far inside the room as it would go. He looked aside at Gelltor, his eyes fierce, but not in anger. There was worry for his rider in his eyes, but mixed with a strange sort of exhilaration.

 

"This is the first since long that I see her true self emerge. And I don't mean the pathetic whining she's doing now. But that thing... that grey thing she calls an arm is taking her over slowly and she can't stop it. There is a way to stop it I think. Katelyn!" He could not reach her except if he would break part of the walls. But his rider was not in any life threathening danger, she was just upset, so he would leave it to Gelltor to calm her down again. The question was, who would she be if she was calm again? Would there still be a trickle of her true self or would she curse them all?

 

+++++++

 

Matthew nodded and followed Rio. He didn't have much possessions to take along, though he seemed to have acquired a good sword in the meanwhile. He had no idea who it was from, but as long as noone claimed it, he was going to keep it. Having packed his small belongings, he bound it on Questra's back while he strapped the sword to his hip. Looking aside at the girl, he motioned with his head.

 

"Feel free to strap your bags to Questra if you want. It gives you some more freedom and with the size she's becoming, it hardly makes a difference to her." As if in reply, Questra whinied softly.

 

"So the dwarves it's to now eh? I wonder if their welcome will be as warm as that of the elves. I just hope we won't have lots of caves to cross. Though I'll be glad to be away from all this water, I'm not too keen on tight, dark caves either."

[talyhawk]

((For it just being four of us basically going back and forth at this point the RP is certainly progressing nicely. Also no Hyro post for me Katarina isn't doing anything interesting at the moment.))

 

Ryoka nodded at Cirrus' words and could hardly blame the dragon for wanting to keep Taja safe. "I'm glad that for the time being you're allied with the NDK considering most of them are under trained." Her gaze then shifted towards the general population of the NDK knowing that they all had a long way to go before they would be completely ready to face Hyro in a full on assault.

 

Revy had flinched hearing the mention of the dwarves, though the pair had only met one. She assumed that the entire race was like him and that didn't sit well with her at all. Hearing her rider speak Revy's gaze followed Ryoka's looking over the NDK and the maturing dragons.

 

This war will force them to become stronger or it will kill them.

That it will.

[En'K'Haral]

Gelltor was caught completely by surprise by this sudden reaction. He had expected her to either be somewhat grateful or totally scathing but fear was not something he had anticipated at all.

"Hmm..."

Thoughts began to flood his mind but they were quickly banished and the expression on his face showed surprise at the reaction but quickly returned to a cool and collected expression.

"Didn't see that coming."

"Neither did I."

Malice had a tendency to listen in on Gelltor's conversations, the only exception being when he spoke to Hyro. Gelltor calmly walked over to Katelyn and guided her to her chair again.

"As per your request I will call off the search immediately. It is too bad that we have to suffer under Hyro and Drac all the time. I wonder what would become of us if they were to both disappear or die. On second thought better not think about it. Good day sir."

With those last few words spoken so quietly that they could barely be heard Gelltor left and made sure to close the door behind him.

"So?"

"I have a good feeling, but it is still too early to say. So we must wait."

The words he had parted Katelyn with were whispered in such a manner as if to say that they were more then just words.

 

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

 

Rio had thanked Matt for the offer and told him that Ayos could handle her load. Later ofter she had gathered up her stuff and while returning to the group was reminiscing about a totally destroyed violin.

"Calm down Rio. We can always get a new one."

"How are we ever going to afford another violin? We spent the last of our cash on yours and I am not sure you noticed but it got roasted too!"

Their conversation had gone something like this during their entire walk back from the building were Drac had his test. Ayos sighed when they got back to Matt.

"Do something, please!"

He said pleadingly to the boy. Rio wasn't listening to him and in his opinion now was not the time for worrying about instruments. What was left unsaid was that he had a quiet mental fit about it that was accidentally projected to Rio before she even noticed that the instruments were destroyed.

Edited January 7, 2011 by En'K'Haral

[Kjakings]

((If I do do a sequel to this would you guys be interested in joining? There would have to be some way I could avoid having all the bad guys killed in the final battle. And then again in the super seekrit final final battle ))

[talyhawk]

((I would certainly be up for joining if you decide to do a sequel.))

[Kjakings]

((I already have a good deal of the plot sorted out. I suppose I had better post for this first. *goes to find the stupid word that refuses to stay pinned to the start menu*))

[BlackScorpion7]

((I'd join. If you can keep Katelyn and Sleet alive somehow. Matthew, meh not as attached to him as I am to Katelyn. And now I should try to make a post... And eh, okay, so I'm a bit out of inspiration. Blame me! My mind still needs to adapt to the new year .))

 

+++++++

 

Looking over his shoulder, Matthew lifted a brow at the hatchling. Looking aside at Rio he shook his head and grinned.

 

"Don't worry about your instruments. I'm sure you can drag up some interesting things with the dwarves. Who knows, you might even learn a new instrument!" And that was the truth. He had no idea what kind of instruments the dwarves used to make music or even if they made music, but it would sure be interesting. Patting Questra on the head, he ruffled through her manes, earning him an annoyed whinny. The horse dragon was growing so fast, he would soon be able to start training her to hold his weight. She was still not fully grown and would not yet be able to fly with him on her back, but they could already train bit by little bit.

 

The heavens knew how much they needed to train. That last fight with Hyro and his force had only shown how useless they still were. If it had not been for the few mature dragons they have and Drac's powers, they would not have stood a chance. Matthew could not wait until he could join those in the air. Letting out a soft breath, he focussed back on his surroundings.

 

+++++++

 

Katelyn.

Katelyn.

 

The continuous nagging of Sleet brought Katelyn back to the present and she shook her head, looking around as if sedated. Fixing her eyes on the head of her dragon, she blinked a couple of times and felt a stab of pain when the memories returned. An involuntary shiver went through her and she moved over to her dragon. Entering the stable, she sat down besides his bulk and leaned against him. Despite the fact this nearly froze her to death, it also comforted her. Sleet huffed and snaked his head to the back of his stable, where he pulled a couple of the furs they had used to carry off Matthew all those weeks ago. Dropping them besides her, Katelyn grabbed them and wrapped them around her gratefully. They kept her warm enough to be able to sit against him, while keeping the palm of her real hand against his scales.

 

Calm down, Katelyn. Gelltor is calling off the search, if he even had it up for real. And you said nothing wrong, nothing that can be held against you by Hyro. Everything is okay, Katelyn.

I showed weakness.

You were in shock. There is a difference.

Not to them. In the eyes of Gelltor, I am a weakling now. And he knows my weak point. He can abuse it.

True. And only time will tell if he will abuse it. But in the meanwhile, you have to collect yourself and strengthen yourself so if something alike happens another time, you will be able to react differently.

It's just...

I know. I have never know your family for real, but I know them through your mind. I can understand you take hard about it.

What should we do?

At this moment? You need to get your mental strength back. And we have something to discuss still.

What then?

That gem.

Oh.

Yes, oh. I think it's worth the try, Katelyn. But not alone. We don't know what it will do.

But who can we trust?

Nobody at this moment.

It's a pity Alexander had to leave, I think we could have trust him.

Let's leave it for the moment until we know what plan Gelltor has up his sleeve.

 

Katelyn nodded and let out a sigh. Shifting slightly, she got comfortable against her dragon and decided to just try and relax for the moment. She did not have any plans anymore for the day, having decided not to check upon the troops today in order to get her calmth back.

Edited January 9, 2011 by BlackScorpion7

[En'K'Haral]

Rio sighed and gave in to the suggestion as she packed her stuff onto Ayos who was big enough to take what little they had.

"I suppose. But I really liked that violin, it was like a piece of me was gone when it was destroyed."

"Need I remind you that the violin of which you speak was stolen from one of the residents in Hyro's castle."

Rio glared at him but had nothing to counter his argument. So she sighed and pulled herself up onto a coastal runner.

"Ready when you guys are."

She said from it's back, Ayos stood beside it ready to take off.

 

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

 

Gelltor had left the castle some time ago and was walking towards the Angry Pumpkin Pub. The contact he had used for the search normally had a drink here at around the same time each day. With his hood up and his cloak wrapped tightly about him Gelltor entered the pub. Sure enough there was the man a victim of habit drinking away with a few apparent frineds. These people were actually just lackies that he had follow him around and act as his entourage of friends, they were skilled fighters none the less though. Gelltor marched over to the man and one of the lackies jerked his head to signal Gelltor's approach. This caused the contact to turn and face the cloaked and hooded man.

"Do I know you?"

"I had you search for a family. I want you to call it off until farther notice but keep your man on standby for now, I want them to be ready at a moment's notice payment will be in the usual manner. So meet me here later tonight."

The man paused then grunted.

"Yeah yeah, I got it. Now go away, can't you see I am having a drink with my friends?"

"Of course."

Gelltor bowed out and left, now it was time for his contact in the docks. That man was running the campaign but first a stop off at the treats store to hear from his street ears what the opinion of the people is.

"Malice let Katelyn know that thee search has been called off."

"Now?"

"Yes now."

The gray dragon groaned and leaving the stables walked over to Katelyn's quarters where he called to Sleet.

"Sleet can I talk to you?"

[BlackScorpion7]

Matthew pulled a face and crawled on one of the Coastal Runners himself. It felt wrong to be riding a dragon other than his own, but Questra was not yet strong enough to carry his weight. Besides, he didn't know this dragon and he didn't have a link with it. Who knew what the creature could be thinking?

 

Calm down, you fool.

He won't hurt you.

Tell that to him, will you?

Already did so. His name is T'kael of the record.

Nice, making friends, are you?

Something like that. He won't drop you.

If he does, you can get me out.

 

The horse dragon gave a laughing sort of snort and flew up in the air, carrying the 2 bags of Matthew on her back and circling them slowly. Clenching his legs tightly around the thin body of the Waverunner, he took a deep breath and spoke out loud to let the dragon know he could lift of.

 

"Let's get going, T'Kael."

 

The dragon leaped two bounds and flung out his large wings, leaping off down to the waves and then catching the wind in his wings and flying up. While it was kind of an exhilarating feeling, Matthew did feel a little queasy by not knowing the thoughts of this dragon who was carrying his life. Questra levelled with them and whinnied softly, flicking her tail against the wind. The Coastal Waverunner joined those others who were already up in the air and Matthew took another shuddering breath, wishing this would all be over soon.

 

+++++++

 

Malice? What do you want?

 

Sleet didn't move as Katelyn had fallen asleep against him and he prefered letting her sleep. Keeping his breathing even, he focussed on Gelltor's dragon while making sure not to alarm Katelyn. Sleet wanted her to get all the strength back she could, so she could try out holding the gem longer than the tentacle would allow her to. He had not yet voiced this thought aloud, not wanting to upset her more. Part of him didn't want to try it without any additional help, but there was noone they could trust. And there was no time to lose either. He could almost feel the grip of the tentacle grasping a firm hold on her mind.