At The Cliff's Edge.....South of Yarrowitz C3 (2nd Board)

Guest

"For your information, im a night elf" Nova informed. She flicked her hair before staying irradically still. The night closed in around here and she was invisible to everyone. Moving again, the night revealed her. She smiled "Im normally up at night time, when you dont know."
He eyes flew around everyone, scanning them. A sence of unease was coming about her. She rolled her eyes, unsheathed her sword and put it on the ground in front of her. She was now un armed. Maybe now the unease would flow away.

Zack's heart fluttered as the sharp noise of Nova's sword being unsheathed cut through the night air. Unarmed or not, he still did not trust her, with her statue-like stillness and wild, terrifying eyes. His eyes followed her every move, trying not to be suspicious of her, but all the same...

Through the corner of his eye he saw Pyre nod his agreement, and felt somewhat relieved. At least he wasn't being paranoid, as he sometimes was of humans, especially those with fire. Speaking of which, he could smell very so often the drift of smoke cross his nostrils as the wind changed subtly, the flames leap higher. No wonder he couldn't sleep, what with his senses being so finely attuned to the element, as protection to save himself from catching fire himself!

His attention was diverted to the so-called Caithis, her question directed in his direction. He didn't really want to reveal this fact to a complete stranger, charmed however much by his diminutive size, and instead bent the truth a little. "I woke up, and thought I might take a watch..." Sounded plausible enough to Zack. After all, in these times, any extra pairs of eyes would be more than welcome.

Pyre looks to Caithis and replies. "I was keeping watch out here when I smelt the smoke drifting on the night breeze." He looks to all waiting for their answers intrigued in what they have to say. Pyre lets out a low bass warning growl. "No magic needed here. I do not tolerate shows of aptitude like human men trying to show is better then the other." If Pyre wanted to he could have show how immense his power was but age and experience has given him the insight on known not to do such childish things.

Pleased with Zacks answer and not wanting them to know he had actually been asleep out on the hill he adds to it. "From time to time Zack will come out and keep me company." He keeps on the night elf and her sword. Even unsheathed she was still a possible threat. For as he knew it the speed of elves where not as fast as dragons but they where faster then humans. Pyre rises and stretchs like a large cat his claws diging to the hillside leaving deep grooves in the ground.

Siofra jolted into a more upright position as soon as the sound of a sword unsheathing was to be heard. She could only just resist the instinctive move of drawing her bow. Despite the fact that the night elf had hammered the sword into the ground before her, Siofra did not relax. On the edge as she was these days anyway, a stupid move like this could get the concerned person killed. She was deadly quick with her bow and she was not the person to joke with. But she let it all slide without a word, not wanting to attract any further unnecessary attention to herself. "A night elf with a sword, how quaint," the sharp remark was merely a whisper, but it unmistakably showed Siofra's disapproval of the open display of weaponry.

The fact that the night elf could melt with the shadows didn't worry her much, she could still sense her presence well enough. It was another thing about Nova that made the half-elf slightly uncomfortable. She had a stronger than usual aura as opposed to other creatures Siofra had encountered before. Maybe it was the fact that she was an elf, she could not be sure, but it was something Siofra decided to watch out for.

Wondering whether that was really the only reason that the paper dragon was out here, Siofra didn't reply to it. Though she didn't leave Pyre out of her sight as he finally started moving. His strength was impossible to overlook even in the small movement of lifting himself off of the ground. It was probably better not to provoke him. It again made her wonder why the paper dragon was really here. The hesitation in his answer had given her enough hints about what he really thought, but she accepted his answer without pushing for more accurate details.

Shetan grew a little uneasy again as the huge dragon moved, probably feeling exposed and rather small in comparison to the lava dragon. Siofra lightly patted him on the neck, stroking his mane to show him that there was nothing to be afraid of. "What do you tolerate, if not that? Isn't that all most creatures are capable of? Why do you think so many men and animals, and dragons," she added with a slight change of tone in her voice, "are fighting to the death every day?" She was provoking him on purpose, wanting to know how he'd react. Or anybody else for that matter. She was tired on waiting around for someone to decide what should be done or not. She had to get a move on soon. Wasted hours were flying by the longer they were enjoying their supposed peace here at the cliff's edge. It was about time somebody stirred things up a little, to see where people's affiliations lie maybe. "Why do you think there is smoke to be seen? Fire? Do you really think anybody gives a damn about what somebody else accepts in their territory or not?"

Guest

Nova looked around. Still, the unease was around. And the question didnt help much neither. She shook her head. "From what i could guess, it is fire and magic. But, I give a damn for those who are trapped." She said giving a small heave in breaths. Who knows what was in those flames, and the fact that a magnifieds roar was heard made her jump. Her eyes showed the fear that she has just got. She looked around. "I...... i dont know about any of you guys, but im guessing that theres a dragon out there.... and not of the nice sort." She said. Dragons, they were different and mainly useful. But if they were exposed to darkness, the a formidible force was around. She lowered down to sit on the ground, listening intently to any other noise.

Zack didn't like the way the conversation was taking, and looked out across to the fire-struck landscape, curiosity overwhelming him as he wondered at the creator of such a blaze. He ignored the questioning Siofra, preferring not to speak, for it may land him in more trouble than he desired. Then again, what he was going to ask of Pyre wasn't going to go down well with the dragon either...

Taking one large breath, and trying to ignore the clogging smell of the smoke drifting from the village that made his four head fronds stand straight on end, he asked in a rushing tumble of words, "Could we go see what is causing such a blaze in the village? After all, it is our territories, and if it is dragon caused, then Caspan won't be too pleased with the pride for a while..." He hoped, once again, that he sounded plausible enough to go and investigate. As an afterthought, he flapped quickly off his perch and once round Pyre's head, whispering in a muted tone, "Keep up the guard duty appearance". Hopefully the six words would give the larger dragon the right idea, and fulfill Zack's current wish.

With a flick of his head, the paper dragon picked up the roar of another dragon, far away. Another backing up point. Maybe the flames were the dealings of a rogue dragon impuding on the neutral clan's territories...

"Life is a battle to the death everyday. Only now do you see it. It only took an unknown force to open your eyes to it." He looks at Siofra watching and seeing how much she can take of his indifference. He shrugs. “I’m sure no one cares but the one invading the island and those who work for him.” Pyre watches Nova’s reaction to the far off roar. Judging by the roar the dragon was circling the town. He was probably the reason for it burning.

Sighing he looks to Zack. “We will need to know what is causing it I guess. I would want the others who watch the town to inspect possible danger.” Standing he shakes his lava like scales he looks to Racksom. “Let us get closer to see what hand plays against the village.” He was curios anyway to see what was happening. Digging his claws into the ground he leaps over the others who where below him. Waiting to see if they will follow he looks over his shoulder at them. “Are you coming or do you with to see if they find you instead?”

Seeing that Nox is on leave for a while, I'm taking over Pyre for this post only in order to edit him out of the set without him disappearing into thin air.

"Uh, a neutral looking for adventure? Does a thing like that actually still exist?" Siofra teased the lava dragon, completely aware of the fact that she was pushing the limits now, but she slowly didn't care in the least anymore. It was time to get a move on, soon. Even though it might take yet more time to get going when she was provoking a fight, she simply hadn't been able to resist her sharp tongue. Her piercing green eyes were focused on Pyre, not leaving him out of her sight.

Not even looking back at Nova, she snapped: "Of course there are evil dragons out there! Did you really think they're all docile pets like these two?" Even while saying it, she regretted it a little with regards to the little paper dragon. She didn't know why but she had grown rather fond of it already, despite only having met him yet. However, friendly relations with possible enemies was not a good idea, it would only involve complications. She shot a quick glance towards the paper dragon to see what the reaction would be.

Pyre growled at Siofra, displeased by her aggressive behaviour, thus making Shetan twitch and preparing to run again. The half elf didn't seem to be bothered by this, quickly calming the stallion and looking at the others expectantly. The lava dragon disliked the situation. On the one hand, he wanted to know but on the other hand he wanted to keep the village safe, and he didn't want the little dragon to get himself into any danger. He was still young and needed protection - in his opinion. However, seeing that everybody seemed to be eager to embark on this little adventure, he decided to ignore Siofra's question and slowly started nodding in reply to Zack's question. "Off you go then, report back to me as soon as you can," he answered to Zack, deciding that it would be best for him to stay behind, despite his own curiosity. In the end, it would be better to keep his nose to himself and out of this whole business. And with that, he made his way back to the village, leaving the others to themselves.

Siofra suppressed a satisfied grin, having reached her goal - finally! And without the lava dragon they would draw less attention as the others were rather small, and Nova's stealth ability might come in handy as well. She wanted to reach the burning city, yes, but she didn't want to come out in the open right from the start. Sneaking up and checking out the territory was more to her liking than approaching with a small parade. Her heart made a small jump from anticipation - it would all become clear soon. She would find her place and do what she did best.

Guest

"Very well, i want to see whats caused all this!" Nova said, jumping up and grabbing her sword. Her eye gleamed in an exciting way. The sounds of the battle far off was tremendous. She shivered at the wind and mentally cursed her kind for not wearing thicker and more clothing. She ran to a near by bush, and instantly became invisible. "If anyone needs to know where i am, dont shout my name. Give an animal call, i will call back." She said to the others.

It was important for all to know where she was. because if they didnt, she would be in danger herself.

Stealth wasnt all it turned out to be.

Fire flickered in Zack's eyes at Siofra's snapped "they aren't all docile pets like these two..." and he hardly managed to restrain himself from flying at her. That would not do at all, but instead permitted himself a small snarl through cream fangs. Now back on his earlier twiggy perch, he pawed forwards with his wings flared behind him and his tail curled around the branch like a snake, contracting as he slid forwards. He may be small, but he hoped he looked as ferocious as he felt, even if just for a moment, although from the humans' earlier responses to his apperance, he thought she thought him rather cute- Not the impression he had wanted to give, but that seemed mostly the case for many of his aquantances.

Despite this rather differing change in his views of Siofra, excitement now welled within him at the granting of his being allowed to investigate and he flittered his wings in interest. He twisted into the sky a little above his perch, nodding furiously at Pyre and promising to report back once he had discovered the cause of the flames. He turned his face towards the glowing horizon, taking in the thick cone of smoke that divided the sky in half, his own face alight with adventure and asking an a rather breathless voice, "How fast can you go horseback? How fast can you run? Are you going to be able to keep up?"

Siofra chuckled at the paper dragon's excitement. "Not so fast, young one. It is much further than it might appear at first sight and will take several hours. If you rush now, you'll be tired before we reach the end of our journey. And I'm certainly not planning on running my horse into the ground." With this, she lovingly caressed Shetan's neck. The poor stallion would have a hard enough time before him anyway. The other point was that she did not want to exhaust him with such a trivial little voyage when she knew that they might have to flee at any given time. The horses needed its strength for such a possibility.

"Ehm, yes, animal noises.. I'd stick with the more discreet ones, just in case. We don't want to raise suspicions now, do we?" The half-elf didn't feel all too comfortable with a armed stealth night elf stalking the environment around her, but she'd have to deal with it. For now. Not wanting to waste any more time, she urged Shetan forwards towards the direction of the fire, a little shudder of excitement running down her spine as they were finally moving towards the target she had had in mind for quite a long time now.

The trip would be a hard one, and not the shortest. The sand plains would eat up their resources quicker than they were probably thinking right now - if any of the others thought about this as much as she did. She had only once made a journey there, a short one, and it had been hell. Maybe she should warn the others? Then again, she was sure the night elf had been around quite a lot and the paper dragon.. well... she'd help him if needed but he had to experience on his own, it was what he wanted after all. No turning back now.

Swiftly, Shetan made his way through the bit of forest that was left, before the path was already crossing over into the plains. Greenery, bushes, trees, slowly disappearing into the night, being left behind and replaced by a somewhat dire environment. The sand plains. Walking for hours without seeing anything whatsoever, though it could be worse. They could have to cross the desert in order to reach the pillars of smoke that were still steadily rising to the skies in the distance. How much would there be left when they got there? Would anybody still be there or would they have moved on to the next town already? All would be revealed, but first, they would have to bring their journey to an end - a journey that was only beginning.

Guest

Shenn felt horribly exposed.
Every hair on his neck stood on end, his ears rotating like flared satellites, catching the movement of the wind and the sounds of the night.
And he knew the dragon beneath him was feeling the same tension, Reiko's spine unusually stiff as he flowed through the air, at the anxiety that ran through them both at the thought of simply being there, in the open plains, both standing out like red blotches amidst the sea of... well, nothingness. No trees, no forests, no greenery.... Except for the forest, the clluster of green in the distance, on the horizon.
It was midnight, the time both dragon and rider travelled most, mainly because of their need to - well, move. And because Shenn's nature was partial to nocturne outings, what with him being a cat-boy. Reiko usually did whatever he wanted, but only because his rider was so young. Young and inexperienced, and travelling was partly the dragon's plan to fill the cat-boy's head with valuable knowledge. At the moment, he wasn't sure whether the cat-boy could even fend for himself if left alone, but slowly he was gaining confidence that the young one was capable.
But here, out in the sand plains... Leaving the safety and comfort of a forest, and their lake, always made the Chinese dragon uncomfortable. He was practically flashing bright red as the full moon struck his regal crimson-and-gold scales, flinching at the thought of unwanted attention. Attention he wouldn't get as much under the cover of a canopy of leaves, or the mirror-like facade of an undisturbed lake.
Smoke rose to their noses, as well as the ghost of an echoing roar, and Reiko dipped unexpectedly, making Shenn lose balance upon his shoulders for a brief moment. Hastily the dragon righted his position as the cat-boy clawed at his smooth scales, looking for a sturdy handhold. The cat-boy hissed at him, more startled and alarmed than truly hurt.
What is it now? the rider queried, calming his pounding heart as he lay low against Reiko's smooth scales. The roar, unmistakeably a dragon's, had unnerved him further.
The dragon hissed. Fire, he replied simply, dipping lower to the ground. What with their open flying, anything could happen, including an attack from a hail of arrows. And when there was a fire, there was possibility of a war, or in this case, a rogue, angry dragon, and therefore the possibility of assault. Curiosity piqued at him, but he didn't pay it much heed, until he noticed that Shenn was intensely interested in the source of the smoke. Ah, well. Curiosity kills the cat, they say.
As he did his golden eyes caught sight of a lone rider and a horse, heading out in the opposite direction, towards the sound and the smoke. But why? Then he realised that this was Neutral Clan territory, and that the rider must be part of the clan. Which, to him, struck him as odd - since when did Neutral Clan go looking for adventure?
The rider wasn't alone. Briefly he caught a glimpse of something like paper fluttering behind, in the shape of a dragon. A paper dragon? Now that was amusing.
I'm landing, he said to Shenn, who nodded in response.
In a slow spiral he descended, a little way away from the rider and the paper dragon, careful to make it look as if he was just passing through, and meant them no harm. With a soft thud his claws touched the ground, kicking up a little cloud of dust. In respect he kept his head lowered, and so did his rider as Shenn vaulted off his back. If they were truly members of Neutral Clan, then hopefully they wouldn't harm them. After all, they weren't rogues, or at least not in that definition - rather, they belonged to no Clan, Neutral, Good, or otherwise. Besides, he knew that Shenn was itching to ask them where they were going, what they were about to do, and if they could follow. Rolling his eyes, the dragon nudged his rider, reminding the cat-boy to stay silent. A word wrongly said in this region was as good as death.

(Let's get this party started again, eh?)

The dunes were hushed with the silence of night, small creatures silently slinking through the sparse scraggly brush that existed on the wide open plains of the shifting sands. Among these slinking creatures of the night was another dweller of the desert that feared not the eyes of a larger predator. A black figure amongst the blue-hued sands practically flew across the dunes of the desert, sending smaller creatures scattering at his approach and leaving small clouds of upturned sand in his wake.
Sill-Vitas was on a mission again, having caught a strange scent on the winds from his resting place in the dunes a little further north than his current location between where the desert met the volcanic badlands. Rocks spewed forth by ancient and long-dead volcanoes pocked marked the land as he ran, and the unsteady quality of the sand began to firm up and became more rocks and dirt than fine granules. The scent trail he was following became stronger, and he finally realized what it was. Fire? In the badlands? Not that it was unusual to catch a whiff of the sulfuric flames that poured from the active volcanoes on occasion, but this was a different type of fire. It was like the wood fires that the rare traveler skirting the desert lit, only on a much larger scale. Who was burning something large enough to carry the scent all the way out into the desert where he resided? This was a question that he was determined to answer, one way or another. After all, he had all night!

He knew that he was heading toward a human city… Caspan, was it? But before he even came within seeing distance of the outskirts of that town, the direction of the wind changed, and he realized that he should have been traveling east instead of south. The shade runner began to dash in that direction instead, but yet another smell caught his nose. There were others heading toward the smell of the fire as well. This night was just full of surprises, it seemed!

He wasn’t all that far away from the venturers, he knew by how strong their scent was in comparison to the fire. Sill followed their scent, and happened to look up in time to see something flying through the air toward where he figured the group he was tracking would be. It was a dragon, an easy enough guess. And… it had a familiar scent! That dragon with the cat boy that he’d met in the woods… what were their names again? Well, if they were here, the company couldn’t have been all that bad, right? Trotting forward confidently, he made no effort to hide his presence. Out here on the open plains, stealth was more often than not a futile option, especially for something about the size of a horse like he was. The lack of ability to hide didn’t faze him in the least. At worst, he could always make a dash for it. There were few creatures alive that could match the shade runner’s pace when he was seriously fleeing, especially in the dunes where sand impeded progress.

As he neared the group he caught the muted scent of some creature lurking around in the bushes, but paid it little mind, concentrating on the group instead. If it was a scout, then those heading toward the fire would know of his presence soon enough anyway. It seemed that the party was comprised of what looked like a human from his distance riding a horse, the dragon and cat-boy companions, and two other dragons, one of which he didn’t see at first because of its small size. “Hallo travelers.” Sill-Vitas called, stopping a respectful distance away from the group. It wasn’t until he saw all the grim looks they were giving each other that he realized it might not have been such a good idea to announce himself so suddenly. The human one on the horse was especially radiating a feeling of doom and gloom.

Still excited at the prospect of adventuring (albeit at a slower pace than he had hoped), Zack started off on their journey, flitting forwards with fast, insect-like movement, keeping a rough parallel with Siofra. The mention of animal noises as signals quickly skipped over his mind- There were more important things to think about!

Never having crossed the sand plains before, Zack was surprised at their size and abruptness. Mile after mile of shifting gold sand, darker with the shades of night. It was amazing to such a little travelled dragon such as Zack. He clung to one last twiggy tree for a moment, surveying the land, before ploughing onwards, a grin on his face. What adventure! The smoke was still rising in front of them, marking their way through the trail-less plains.

“Sand is quickly going to get boring” Thought Zack, his eyes darting this way and that for any signs of others travelling through the plains- which was most probably unlikely, given the time of day (or rather, night), that it was. However, in this trail of thought he was mistaken, for soon after they had entered the desert Zack saw to their right, not far away, the telltale billow of sandy updraft that forwarned of a landing dragon- and sure enough, there it was, dusty scarlet with a matching human. Zack watched their movements in interest, coming to a flickering halt.
“Siofra, we have company!” he announced, not making any movement towards the large dragon and smaller rider that stood not far away, happy to merely observe for the time being.

Hardly even before he had time to meet the new dragon and rider (which he yet hadn’t), another dragon sped out of the sands in a rush of paws and sandy flurries. Here was a dragon he had heard of before- a shade runner dragon. If he remembered correctly, one had won the desert chase race a few years back, and by pure speed too… The new appearance piqued his interest further, switching his attentions from the red dragon and rider (let a two-leg deal with a two-leg) to the shade runner. He was friendly too, based on his cheerful greeting.
“Greetings, shade runner!” He called back, flitting closer to where he stood a way away from himself and Siofra. Then, not wishing to leave out the other newcomers, he called to them too as loud as he could so they could hear, “Greetings… dragonkind and rider!”

(thanks though i just realized it was my turn im sooo sorry for the delay everyone)

Pyre watched them go from his hill just beyond the village limits. Rubbing a clawed hand over his face he looks over his shoudler at the village. He knew he was the guardian but he had to see for himself what was going on. They would be easy to track as he layed back down to rest. In the morning he would set another dragon to watch over the village in his place and he would go after them. Calculating their possible routes he figures they would be in to the dessert soon.

The sun rose hot and bright. The heat felt good on his scales that had grown cool during the night. He missed his volcano and knew he would have to return to it soon to rejuvinate the fires that burn within him. Though the dessert heat will help him stay at a nice warm temperature.

With a groan Pyre rises and finds out a dragno who he trusted to take care of the village. Once that was taken care of he began to track down the group knowing that if he ran most of the way he would catch up to them before no time passed.

With a sigh, Siofra realised that their travel would be interrupted as suddenly a dragon and his rider appeared on the horizon, slowly spiraling down towards them. She would much rather have enjoyed the peace and quiet, especially since the night elf seemed to have disappeared into thin air in the woods. At least, she had never come out on the other side and joined them in the sand plains. Just as well. The half-elf had not been very fond of her.

If she were a tiger, a threatening grumble would have sneaked its way out of her throat at the sight of the two intruders, yet, she did not utter a single word. And she was even less pleased when suddenly a further dragon showed up. Are the sand plains suddenly considered a social gathering place or what?! Siofra's dislike for this turn of events was plainly visible on her face and she did not care for making it any less obvious to the newcomers. As Zack took charge of greeting the new dragon, Siofra turned her eyes back to the dragonrider, who had not yet uttered a single word, which probably was for the best. Maybe if she ignored him, they'd simply go away again. She didn't much care for having a big dragon in tow.

The excitement in the paper dragon's voice was clearly audible and she wondered who exactly this dragon was, though she was not terribly interested in details, she did turn back towards him and looked him over, her look a little more friendly now as she was trying not to repel everyone on first glance. One never knows whose acquaintance might come in handy later on.. Nodding to show agreement with the dragon's approach, she echoed Zack: "Greetings." But seeing that she wanted to keep moving, she added: "We are in a bit of a hurry though, so we do not have time to chat, sorry." Suddenly, on a whim, out of probably some kind of compassion for Zack - it's the only way Siofra could explain this - she invited the shadowdragon to come along, if he so wished. "You can always make our acquaintance while we're traveling, if you want." With this, she gave Shetan a little nudge and the stallion obediently began to move forward again.

As the sun slowly began to rise, the pillars of smoke seemed to look darker, or was this not just some trick the light was playing on her eyes? Squinting them together, she focused on the outlines and colours of the smoke columns, trying to figure out if it simply was an illusion either because of light or because of the shrinking distance or if they actually were growing blacker again. If that was the case, then there were still new things being burned down. On the one hand, it meant that she would be certain to find whoever was causing this, on the other hand, it also meant that there were not many possibilities in closing in stealthily if they could be seen from far off already. Sand plains had the very tiny and minor disadvantage that whoever was traveling through was absolutely always in plain sight. Finally, she decided to ask for another opinion and pointed at the pillars of smoke: "Is it just me or do they actually look like the fires at their ends have been fed anew?"

'Yeesh, tough crowd...' Sill thought to himself with a small grimace, his large ears falling back against his head as he regarded the mismatched group. He was a little emboldened when a voice called a cheerful greeting, but it took him a little while longer to realize who it was that was speaking at all. It wasn't until he came a few paces closer to the group that he saw the little white dragon flitting about, she sound that it made as it flew sounding like parchment flapping in the wind. What a strange being... Eyes glued to the little paper dragon, he came much closer to the traveling band than perhaps would be considered appropriate, but again, he was confident in his ability to flee if they turned out to be violent towards newcomers. Especially the woman, who before he had assumed to be human but could now see wasn't. The Shade Runner didn't nearly pay enough attention to biped faces to be able to deduce that she was neither full elf nor full human, and couldn't even begin to guess at how much of each side the woman was. All he knew was she was the sour one in the group, and he would be wise to stay off her bad side... Or well, to put it better, he should become less entrenched on her bad side. What was it the little paper dragon had called her? Soifra, or Sophi, or Sandra, or something of the like? He would probably find out soon enough at any rate.

The woman's abrupt call for them to get moving surprised Sill a little, and he spared a glance to the others in the group before moving along as well, though, he had no idea where they were all headed, or even why. Well, that was a problem easily solved, he would simply ask. At the woman's question, he looked up toward the smoke pillars reaching high into the night sky, the source of the smell of wood smoke that he'd caught onto earlier. Indeed, the smoke did look blacker. What town was that way again? There was certainly a lot of forest in that direction. "Well, the woods could just be on fire." Sill spoke, perhaps unaware of how unhelpful that was. "Why? What sort of trouble are you bipeds causing on the coast this time?" He let a fair bit of indignation creep into his voice, having never really been a fan to the two-legged humans and elves and whatever else that seemed to always be running about sticking their noses into trouble.

Hearing Siofra’s eagerness to continue on their journey, Zack followed behind, wings beating as fast as a bee’s through the thick, stagnant desert air, circling once around Shetan then once around the Shade runner, as if he was enticing the other dragon to follow them, Pied Piper style. Still full of energy, the little paper dragon’s excitement heightened at the thought of having another companion on their journey- What adventure!

On the far horizon the sun crept over the flattened land, the light creeping over the desert sands to warm the few tiny creatures that lived there- Desert lizards and scuttling mice. The twisting, billowing black smoke before them stained the sky an unnatural colour, and Zack felt the stirrings of fear deep within his hollow being- Fire was a paper dragon’s greatest foe, and from the inky smoke belching from the direction of when they were headed, it looked like he was in for a frightening day. Backflying like a swimmer backstroking, Zack looked at the distance they had come, astonishing himself. He exclaimed in surprise; “Why, we’re over half-way!” as he flipped back to flying normally, the pillar of smoke much closer than he had realised.

Pyre takes off hoping his large stride will eat up the miles. The sun moves across the sky as he sees the air ahead of him begin to waver. The desert. Giving an extra bit of energy Pyre moves faster. Twin jets of smoke come out of his nose as the fires within him begin to get stoked. With his body heat rising the lava burns hotter. He hoped Zack is not the first to spot him. If the little paper dragon got close to him the little dragon could instantly combust.

Pyre's pace doesn't even falter as the ground gave way to sand. Even though his feet sank into it it did not slow him. As the sand touchs him it turns to glass from the intense heat he was giving off. His breathing begins to show his weariness. He begins to scan the horizon for the group.

It was indeed an odd group that had built itself anew, one weird member being replaced by the next, though Siofra was more pleased with the small group they had now than the one before. For one, the two dragons by her side were much less obvious to spot than the others and the other reason was that the shade runner seemed to be just as agreeable as the little paper dragon. Not that she hadn’t liked Pyre, but he would have been way too big to try and sneak in unseen. Zack was almost invisible and the shade runner wouldn’t pose too much of a problem, at least she didn’t think so. Shetan seemed to share this opinion, at least he did not show any displeasure or discomfort by the fact that yet another dragon was around him. He even seemed to want to play with Zack as the little dragon began to circle the horse and the shade runner.

As it were, the half elf began to warm a little to the newcomer, even though she was not amused by his comment. Shooting him an angry look, she refrained to speak the sharp remark that was on the tip of her tongue and let it slide, simply replying to his other insight: “I don’t think it’s a wood fire, it would look different and it would most of all have spread by now, very noticeable so, considering the size of the woods surrounding Quinsilla.” Though she had to chuckle at the paper dragon’s comment. “No little one, we’re not half-way through yet. Mind you, the desert likes playing tricks on the minds of creatures passing through, unaccustomed to its dangers. We still have quite a few hours of journey ahead of us.” With a slightly disapproving glance at his flying stunts, she added: “You might want to conserve some of your strength. We cannot know what exactly has happened, so we ought to be cautious and not be exhausted upon arrival.” She knew she sounded like they were heading into battle, but maybe that was exactly what was awaiting them. She certainly knew that somebody was creating havoc, and she was planning on finding out who it was and why. Turning her gaze back to the shade runner – riding an intelligent horse was such a blessing, no need to pay attention the whole time, especially not with Shetan, who could read Siofra’s movements pretty well and sometimes seemed to understand more than is usual for a horse – she asked: “What brings you out into the desert? And what is your name anyway?”

He couldn't help but follow the tiny figure with his eyes, ducking once as the little creature came zooming for his head, though realistically, Sill knew that the worst he could probably get from the tiny dragon was a paper cut. What manner of creature was the little dragon, and what was the purpose of it's creation? The shade runner could only imagine that the being had been created; he'd never seen a dragon made made of paper that was actually alive, and correctly deduced that they weren't a naturally occurring species. And the little guy was funny, too. He managed to keep himself in check when the little dragon had exclaimed that they were half way there, but couldn't help the indelicate snort of amusement that escaped him when the woman asked him his purpose in the desert. What a thing to ask a shade runner!

He didn't need to look up at the woman, for even on all fours, his head rose to be about even with her eye level, but he did have to drop back a little, slowing a couple of steps so that he could walk even with the woman as opposed to her mount, which Sill was intrigued by. The horse hadn't been frightened by his appearance, which was a novelty to the dragon. Usually, whenever he came close to the beasts they raised all sorts of havoc, frightened out of their wits by his appearance. Turning his attention to the woman, he couldn't help but grin, revealing his small sharp teeth, even more amused by her irritation. "I would turn your question back on you, but I already know. This is my domain, biped. The desert is my home as much as a city would be yours, though admittedly, I usually keep farther east than this." He turned his attention back to the horizon, tails twitching as he rolled around what the woman said about the fire in his head. Quinsilla, eh? Sill now knew why he had forgotten the name; it was a very strange one, even for a biped city. Flicking his ears up, he quickened his pace again to walk even with the strong battle horse. "I am Sill-Vitas, and if it's across the desert you want, then I'll take you." Taking another few steps forward, he put himself at the front of the little group, veering off slightly from a direct course toward the rolling smoke. "And you'd be wise to follow. As it was, you were heading straight for a field of lightning sand." He grinned over his shoulder, tails twitching like a cat that was deciding whether or not to pounce. It would be up to them if they would follow or not, but either way, he was going to check out the fire, and the group could either take his advice or leave it.

Zack listened without much interest to the banter of Siofra and the shade runner, thinking instead of epic adventures and heroic feats- His adventurous mind was much more attuned to the fantasy than to the real. Although he had to agree with Siofra about the source of the fire- Having had to avoid it diligently for his whole life, coupled with his insatable curiousity, he could identify almost any source of fire, were it a campfire, woodfire or a fire caused by lightning- Each had a very different spread and smoke trail.

His excitement at being so far travelled through the desert was squashed by Siofra’s sensible words, as the prospect of travelling through more of the blank desert sands was not the most exciting landscape. Her further, chastening words did little to improve his mood, instead inspelling some chilldish dislike of the half-elf at his wishes being repressed.

However, as the Shade runner- Sill-Vitas- began to speak, his interest was diverted again, this time by the mention of lightning sands. With a squeak of excitement, he fluttered to the larger dragon’s side.
“What’s lightning sand?” he asked, speculating already out loud. “Is it sand that’s electricy? Or does it sparkle? Or is it always thundering and lightning-ing there? Whaat does it do?” His head thronged with possiblilties and questions.

((Sorry for the shorter post, I have no muse for le Zackypoo.))

After a while he saw the small group ahead of him. With a heaving sigh he slows his gait so he cen try an lower the temerature of his inner fires. He was glad he had finnally reached them yet there was a hint of trepidation too. They where almost half way the where the growning clouds of smoke is.

If any of them where looking behind them would see him as a dark mass on the horizon. BUt he didn't know if any of them where being careful as they draw closer to the danger that looms in dark clouds ahead of them.

(sorry it was short muse is being difficult)

Grinning, the half-elf observed the paper dragon as he kept away from her, his displeasure plainly visible on his face. She knew she was the reason for it, but didn't pay it any heed as it would blow away soon again. Sure enough, Zack's excitement quickly returned as the shade runner mentioned the danger they had been about to run into. It would have indeed been rather unfortunate for them to run into a field of lightning sand, well, not for the flying dragon maybe, but definitely for the half-elf and her stallion. Though she did not feel the need to explain the little paper dragon what it was, certain that the shade runner would relieve her of this.
"Thanks for taking us around," she finally replied, adding: "My name is Siofra, and yes, you're right, it is pretty obvious why we're here." There was no need to say anything else really, they all had their own reasons it seemed and the shade runner was as much inclined on telling them his purposes than the half-elf was to relate hers.

As Siofra lead Shetan away from their direct trajectory to follow the shade runner, she cast a glance back from where they'd come from and saw a big dark patch on the horizon, but she did not pay much attention to it, seeing that the desert often played all kinds of illusory tricks on the weary mind about suddenly appearing wells or people or even the odd oasis, teleported there straight from paradise. She was relatively sure that nobody was following them as there had been nothing and no one around when they'd entered the desert and nobody in their right mind, had they seen the group walk into the desert, would have followed them there simply for the sake of stalking or robbing them.

"Well, my little quadruped friend," she couldn't help but add, "you are slightly misinformed on your biped trivia if you think a city is the place for me, or even the only place to be." Little stinging remarks seemed to be his favourite pass-time, so if he wanted to play, she was up for it, at least until her patience reached an end and she might feel the need to put an arrow through his skull. So in order to steer away from such a possible situation, she asked: "Have you heard anything at all about what this could?" She nodded towards the smokey pillars, knowing full well though that it was not necessary to indicate what she'd meant. "Any kind of rumours? The slightest hint of what's going on? There had to be at least some kind of forerunner to this..."

Sill glanced once over his shoulder to the sour humanoid woman, cocking his ears in her general direction. So, she was not a resident of those silly human cities? Well, all bipeds liked to portray themselves as epic wanderers, so he assumed that she was no different, and took little note of her doubt in his handle on the biped social dynamic. However, he was a little irked by her reference to him as "little". On all fours, he was as tall as the mount that she rode, perhaps even half a hand taller at the shoulder. But standing erect, he could easily double to woman's height, and he snorted once in displeasure, shaking himself and paying more attention to the little fluttering paper-like dragon. He really was quite the odd character! If it didn't know the first thing about the lightning sand, then Sill knew very well that the other less common hazards of the desert would probably have eluded the small creature's thoughts. It was probably a good thing he had found them when he did, as it were.

"If the sand were simply electrified, I would perhaps be less wary of it." Sill replied, watching the little figure dart about his head again, tails flicking to follow the movement of his eyes. "It'd be easier to see, at any rate. No, the lightning sand could swallow your biped friend there whole in seconds, along with her mount." He grinned at the half-elf, making no effort to hide the fact that if such a thing were to occur, he might laugh at her predicament before trying to save her from a sandy grave. Though, admittedly, he would miss the beast. It was the first horse that had ever stood his presence without crying and carrying on as his breed were prone to do. Too bad it didn't also speak and think. So, for the sake of the horse, he would keep the witty woman out of trouble as best he was able."There are plenty of other nasty creatures in the desert that could attract your attention as well, I'm sure, my little flighty friend." Indeed, he did consider the little paper dragon a friend, if only a temporary one just for this journey. At the very least, he was amusing, and that was always a plus in Sill's book. As an added bonus, he seemed clueless, which by default made the Shade Runner the expert in this situation, and therefore the most superior one in the group. Or at least, that was the way he was feeling at the moment.

The woman's questioning and his lack of knowledge about the events going on in the South West weren't even enough to deflate his opinion about himself, even though he blatantly didn't have a clue. "The folks that stray through the desert aren't gossipers, biped, so word of anything happening around the continent doesn't travel here much or quickly." In fact, if he hadn't smelled the smoke himself, it could have been months before he knew that Quinsalla had ever been on fire, so slow was the traveling of news in this part of the country. Little did he know, however, that his assumption was very very wrong. Quinsalla's fire wasn't just a random lightning strike, but a full out attack. That sort of news spread much quicker, and with it would have come panic. That for sure he would have heard of. "But, I suggest you buckle down for the ride now. If we don't hit any sand storms, then we should get to the southern edge of the desert come morning." Lowering his ears slightly, Sill picked up the pace to a light trot, ready to get this adventure going in earnest.

As promised, he lead them around the lightning sand field, staying far away from where he knew the most dangerous patches to be just in case a new hole had opened up in the ground since last he had passed through this bit of the desert. The small group traveled up and down the crests of the mountainous dunes that developed in the deep desert, skirting outside the territories of some of the vicious desert runners that haunted the shifting plains looking for a meal. His way took a lot of weaving through the desert and was far from a direct route... but it had potentially saved them quite a few life-endangering situations. Not like his traveling companions could ever really appreciate it, despite his attempts to educate them on the dangers of the desert.

By the time that the morning light was rising in the sky, the Shade Runner had guided them to the edge of the desert, sturdy trees that could withstand the pounding of the whipping sand-filled wind and lack of abundant water ringing the horizon in front of them. A faint lightening on the horizon spoke of the coming dawn, and Sill began to wonder where he'd bed down for the day. Or if he would at all. This group appeared to be in for the adventure, and his curiosity was starting to win over the competition with his natural inclination to sleep.

"Well, here's your burning forest for you." Sill said at length, staring up at the rising columns of smoke. The flames had died down a little, the forest proving more difficult to burn the farther away from the source of the original site that the fire got. Still, the poignant stench of still green trees burning made the Shade Runner think twice about continuing any farther. He examined the tree line, as of yet untouched by the fire, then looked back to the land he knew so well, debating whether or not he should continue. However, when he looked back to the dark dunes of the desert, he noticed something odd... a faint distortion on the horizon. Turning fully, he raised his ears and squinted, trying to tell what it was. It simply couldn't have been a burning fire... no ashes could have remained lit blowing that far into the desert. After a few seconds, he realized that it was a creature of some sort, and looked back over his shoulder to the paper dragon and Siofra. "I think that we've got company."

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