Ophidian Vale (IC)

Arbora frowned, "I'm surprised that everyone knows about our island, we're pretty isolated, actually. I guess more people just lose their nerve and fly back home before they actually reach the community. The animals scare them off, I think. Have you ever heard of a Go-Away-bird? There's two species of them, and both live on this island. They get their name from their calls. One sounds like nasal laughter, and the other one sounds like it's yelling at you to go away. Then there's the howler monkeys, and the toxic songbirds, and such. Our island is peaceful, but when you talk about the animals here, it sounds more like some sort of death trap."

Crawling against the ground, Crystal creeped up to the flank of the group, hidden behind a cluster of dried and lifeless bushes. Her smaller size compared to the other dragons made hiding easier, but the anxiety in the pit of her stomach made her edgy. She felt incredibly tired, but she tried not to let that get in her way. Maybe these dragons could help me, she thought, if they don't attack first. Through the sparse branches, her gaze fixed upon the large, black dragoness and the creatures around her. She frowned; something about them made her scales crawl. Suddenly, Crystal felt her protective instincts kicks in-- she wanted to defend the strangers. But the things that the black dragoness said, about killing and provoking, quickly changed her mind. I don't have nearly enough energy to fight, anyways. I'll just see where this goes and jump in if necessary. The last thing she wanted was a fight, especially one that she was bound to lose. Just in case she got caught spying on them, she lay down to reserve a bit of energy and continued to watch.

Sal hissed when he got slashed across the face, but stopped himself from striking back. This foe had some bite to her bark, and one false move would mean that he'd never move again. The salt on his face made the slash sting painfully, and he cringed a moment before he could respond.

"You've got the wrong dragon ma'am!" he cried out with a hint of fear in his voice "I'm just a traveller from the Southern Islands! I got blown off course by the wind!" He shifted nervously and hoped that this dragoness would get off of him and not try him for a snack.

Naloma smiled. "Well, I hope so. You're too handsome for me to kill" she joked, rolling her eyes. She circled around him the Desecrates looked at each other with surprise. It wasn't often Naloma was in such a good mood. Naloma eyed the others, she would question them soon and see their places. For the moment Naloma focused on Sal, trying to figure out if he'd be valuable.

"Tell me your name" Naloma demanded, looking down at Sal. "And tell me, do you plan to stay?"

"Well, I can't exactly move now. So yes, I plan to stay in this spot for several moments until my blood warms back up." Sal joked, realizing that the mood had changed. It was true though, because of his cold blood, Sal was unable to move his wings or body. Even his head was stiff, and it was hard for him to look up at Naloma. The ice still clung to his body in some places, and he shivered like a leaf in a tornado.

"And my name is Sal." he finished hesitantly.

"Sal..." Naloma repeated. "If warmth is what you seek, I can supply much..."

She moved over, laying down so she could reach eye level with Sal. Her eyes were like burning coals--red like blood and seemed to pierce your soul when you starred into them. Yet in a way they were beautiful. Usually they were purple, but since her recent corruption they had turned red. She laid her chin against the black rock ground, slightly tilting her head.

The Desecrates still stood dazed, a few of them fled back up to the Spire but some still stayed to watch as Naloma took some unexpected turns.

Tenebris could not believe what he was seeing. Was this dragon, Naloma, actually trying to flirt with the stranger? It seemed to be that way, however, he supposed that as long as she was distracted, that his brother Albus could slip away unharmed. It also appeared that his small size had made him fall beneath everyone's notice. However, Tenebris was revolted by watching this, and he wanted to make absolutely sure that Albus would not be found. As a result, he was going to do something rather reckless, but considering that he was perhaps the fastest dragon alive, he doubted it would matter. A lot of people already hated him, as it was, and it didn't really matter, because he could really care less about their opinions.

Tenebris stepped forward, "Oh, would you just quit with the romance?" He said, in a far from polite manner, although his voice was still cool and even, in a way. "Here, if you can't use your brain, then I'll gladly use mine." With this, he shot a bolt of plasma that landed near Sal, and burst into flames, which would quickly melt the ice. He looked at Naloma, "Now if you'll excuse me for saying this, but I'm surprised you would show any interest in this dragon. Clearly, he can't be too bright, otherwise he wouldn't be frozen right now, and it appears your followers might agree, considering the looks on their faces." Although his tone was casual, his words were extremely insulting and derogatory. Tenebris flicked his tail, "Well, no matter, he shall thaw out shortly and be free. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm leaving. Good luck with whatever it is that you're doing." With this, the tiny black dragon turned around and started to walk away, seemingly unconcerned that he had openly insulted every dragon present. Actually, he was somewhat eager to know their reaction. Watching people lose their tempers could sometimes be rather comical.

Harroc blinked. Wow, this had escalated quickly. "Can someone please tell me what he just said?" He questioned, before turning to the other... Desecrates, were they. Weren't they supposed to be you know... attempting to kill them?

He could sense that the ring leader, the dominant female was attempting to court the frozen one.

Like Hell, his home, he would let that kind of crap happen right in front of him. He didn't like the thought of necrophilia. With complete disregard of any conversation or things going on around him, he took a step next to this... Sal, and spat magma all over the frozen parts. That should unfreeze him nice and quick. Why he hadn't asked the living volcano's assistance in the first place, he did not know.

He feared no dragon. He could do nothing but consume. Fire, heat. Pure energy in a way. His polonium heart supplied the energy to keep a sun going for months. Also allowing him to stay immensely hot. Nothing would attack him and not either burn off the part that hit, or get a third degree burn.

"I have been warned of you, and how you are... how do you say in that guttural language of yours... evil? I am not good, but if I can stop destruction that I can help, then I will."

Although the statement was hypocritical, as he was fire, power in it's most primal form, and destruction at it's finest, he did not wish harm upon the world. He was an element. One of mass destruction, yes, but an element which could not exist without the others.

If anyone even understood him, that is.

Sal quickly defrosted and leapt into the sky, landing nose to nose with Tenebris. He hissed loudly, and began to snarl like an angry alpha wolf, his curved, razor sharp teeth glinting in the moonlight.

"Do you want me to eat you, little boy?" Sal snarled, his mouth turning a dangerous green color "I'd suggest that you shut your minuscule trap before I burn it off and eat you as a nice midnight snack! As for this dragoness, she did not wrong you in any way, did she? I think not! Now scurry on your disgusting little way and get out of my hair before I send you to your permanent resting place!" Sal backed up his words with a snarl that sounded like the whistle on an express train, and he stared daggers into the tiny black dragon, half-expecting it to die of fright. The cut on his face still burned, but the salt stopped the bleeding, so it was now nothing more than a salt-caked scratch mark.

"I wouldn't say that an island like this, full of flora and fauna alike, would be a death trap. In fact, I find the concept of Go-Away-birds cute. Then again, I tend to spend more time out in the forest then in my Clan." Thundrus said. He then went on to explain, "I've heard about Hehkahnah from older dragons, nearly a thousand years of age. I believe they've mentioned the go-away-bird, but not by name."

Thundrus heard a crunching sound coming from the back of his head. Frustrated, he closed his eyes, which brought up an Image of Kehrett, who was lying in mounds of white, puffy substences. He also appeared to be chewing on something.

Kehrett... What are you eating? Thundrus asked. Kehrett gave his host an odd look and finally asked, What? Have you never had cooked corn before? The tip of Thundrus' tail twitched before he slowly opened his eyes.

...Augh... When Kehrett's not annoying, he's an idiot! And he calls me an imbecile!

Naloma snarled. "Get them!" she growled back at the Desecrates. About three of them flew into the air and stood on the other side of Tenebris and Sal. 'We cannot allow you to leave!" one of them said. "Not yet anyways, and be thankful that Naloma is nice to you! On a normal basis, she would have killed you by now and shot your souls into the Vault for Shadow to devour!"

Naloma growled. "Aceon! Stop it!" and the Desecrate immediately looked away from her in shame. "Forgive me, mistress"

Naloma followed them out to where they were standing and glanced at Tenebris. "Romance is it? Perhaps, but that gives you no right to speak against me for it! I was going to welcome you to The Spire with welcome wings! I'm feeling less tempted now. However I appreciate Sal for his words" she added glancing at Sal, then back at Tenebris and then crossing between the two. "Now, I'll need you all to come into the Spire with me... We have much to talk about..." she said giving a half-smile to Sal and a half-scowl to Tenebris. One of the Desecrates whispered to Tenebris,

"Not a good start! Not good at all"

Tenebris was not frightened at all by either of the dragons, in fact, he seemed amused by their reactions. He blinked, and then continued on in his casual tone, "Surely you don't know how to use your brain. Do you think I am a fool, to insult you? If I thought you were a threat to me, I wouldn't have said those things. Try to intimidate me, with your larger size, surely you think you can devour me? I'll run you to exhaustion, and you'll die of heatstroke before you catch me. Don't think I haven't done it before, I have plenty of blood on my talons, and I could care less about what your opinions are. If you didn't want to be insulted, you wouldn't have allowed yourself to look so pitiful in front of me. Go ahead, growl at me all you want, I'll leave you with a nice scar if you attack." With this, in a lightning quick motion too fast for the eye to follow, Tenebris had raked the long blade of his tail down the back of one of the more massive Desecrates, and landed perfectly on the other sides. "Try to keep up, you pathetic bunch of slugs." Tenebris said, no trace of emotion in his voice. With this, he had taken off, and flown away, moving too quickly for anyone to ever catch him. He was used to dodging guards, it was only a part of his job.

Naloma growled as Tenebris left. "You're gonna regret those words. Aceon! Go get 'em! Bring 'em here!" she shouted. Aceon nodded, jumping up into the air and followed by five more undead dragons. Naloma made an angry face. "That dragon is truly on Tharan's side! Do you know what Tharan plans to do to us? Enslave us all!"

She turned to Sal. "While my followers are out finding him, come inside with me" she said then giving a side glance to Harroc. "You may come as well"

"That little..." Sal growled as he spat small tongues of green fire. He was about to chase Tenebris down, but figured that the punk would get his eventually. He instead turned back down to look at Naloma, and sighed, sending green smoke into the air.

"Well, someone will kill that little Kelba!" Sal growled "Anyways, lead the way". Sal decided to follow Naloma at this to the Spire. it was a tough decision, as he was pretty sure that he wouldn't enjoy it when he got there, but curiosity got the best of the explorer and he decided to go anyways.

Unbeknownst to the dragons chasing him, Tenebris had already merged into the shadows below, perfectly hidden. That's right, fly the wrong way, you'll regret trying to scare me. He thought coldly. They would all suffer, because once he was sure it was possible, Tenebris was going to torture each and every dragon that thought they stood a chance against him. He was, admittedly, one who enjoyed watching the suffering of others. He didn't care that a ton of dragons cursed his name, because that was a part of his job. A thief was loyal to only himself, and nobody else.

Naloma smiled as Sal agreed. Perfect... she thought. He's perfect... she led him into a huge tower that crusted out from the volcanic ground below. The tower was so tall, the sides were touched by some of the black clouds. The tower was a castle inside, and volcanic dungeons lied below it. She brought him to the top eventually, using a sort of teleportation. They stood on the flat roof covered with peeling obsidian plates. She awaited Harroc but for the moment turned to Sal.

"Don't worry about Tenebris, he'll either bend for me, or he'll die..." she said, smiling. "So, Sal... Tell me more about yourself"

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After some time of slumber, Cain awoke, seeing the stars above his head. Ever so beautiful. That was certainly a good sleep and it felt like most of his wounds had somehow healed a bit.

Dillusia, who was comfortably curled up on top of Cain like a housecat, also woke up at the same time he did.

She didn't remember falling asleep though, and was somewhat disoriented for a moment. Loosley, the memories of what happened came flooding back to her. She relaxed, content.

"Well hello!" she called.

"Hello" Cain replied. Cute, he thought at the sight of the sleeping Dillusia. "Thank you for that, I'm feeling much better" he replied. He looked up at the skies, seeing only stars. "I don't see any evils, so we should be safe now..."
He glanced back at her in the eyes, "Who are you?"

"Who am I?" Dillusia echoed. "I'm Dillusia. Who are you?"

Her wings glinted and changed colors hypnotically.

Alright, I'm now completely sure that I don't like that guy. What ever happened to looking out for each-other? Crystal pondered. She took mental notes of the situation and came to a reasonable conclusion: she had to follow them. Using the small amount of energy left, she began to transform. A white light consumed her body for a few seconds, twisting her outline and making it drastically smaller. When the light faded, a mouse with white fur and turquoise eyes stood in Crystal's place. Now, much smaller and relatively weaker, she scurried up to one of the Desecrates and clung to one of its back legs. She hoped that a mouse was too small to notice, and the Desecrates' armor would conceal her touch. However, there was a flaw in her plan: Crystal forgot to consider the sense of smell.

"I'm Cain, nice to meet you Dillusia" Cain smiled. A breeze began to blow in the air, swiftly running through the grass and swaying in the branches of the trees. The ponds around the area were met with glistening ravels and ripples and splashes alike as frogs croaked and crickets chirped in the light of the night's moon. Some said the night was home to evil, but as for Cain it was the home of beauty, the most divine of all beauty's kind.

"You're a dream dragon. I've never seen one before" Cain added, making conversation. "That was a very peaceful sleep, I must say. One of the best I've ever had."

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The Desecrate looked down at the mouse and got amusement. "How cute" it said and lifting its arm up and pushing its head forward to eat the mouse.

"So you don't have a headache?" Dillusia asked, cocking her head to one side.

She noted the many organisms in the glade, and felt her stomach growl. It was a low pain, one that she usually ignored until it became sharper. The night noises were tempting though, and many creatures scurried around at a delightfully close range.

There was a loud snapping noise, and she disappeared for brief moment. She appeared perhaps twenty feet away, snagging something with her short claws. There was another snap, and she vanished again. She reappeared back on Cain's chest carrying a frog in her mouth.

"Usually people get headaches," she said around the frog, "so I've been practicing."

"Well, I felt nothing. But it might also have to do with the fact that I'm an Afterlight Dragon, and I also have MoonEye which repels headaches. If you look closely into my eyes you can see it" he added.

Naloma laid down on a sort of rock edging from the sides of the huge tower and awaited Sal's response. She sighed, she was very tired.

"What? No! No no no no NO!" Crystal wailed in terror. Unfortunately, she realized her mistake too late and her voice came out of the mouse. She had no other choice that to shift back into something to prevent turning into a first-class evening snack. The bright, magical light once again enveloped her body and she fell to the ground with a thud, but this time in her true form. Humiliation and surprise seeped over her face. "I'm in trouble, aren't I?" she asked, already knowing the answer.

"Oooh really?" Dillusia said, leaning closer to get a good look at him. Her multicolored eyes bored into his.

It was like staring into the night sky, and Dillusia at once felt an aura of peace settle over here. She started to nod off when her gaze slipped, and she became alert again.

"You have very pretty eyes," she complimented.