It is completely dark now, clouds are beginning to gather))

Elijah was bent low over Atayi, holding onto her neck as she flew. She had taken off as soon as Pavi and Juniper were out of sight, and flew a little above them. She had kept her wingbeats silent and Zai flew underneath her in an attempt to hide her from view. Of course, the smaller dragon did not do very much, but it was better than a white dragon flying in pitch blackness with nothing but the stars and the moon. While he left the navigating up to his dragon, Elijah's mind was racing. Where could someone possibly hide where there were no rogue dragons? They were practically everywhere. The trio had a few close calls with a group of Terrors, Frill Wyrms, and a Ripper. Atayi swerved abruptly to avoid running into a blood red Wind Dancer, and she yanked Zai with her. Angling her wings so she hid Elijah, Atayi nodded and gave a casual smile. The Wind Dancer looked at her strangely, but continued flying. As soon as he passed, Elijah let go of a breath he didn't know he was holding.

Scanning the ground for signs of Pavi or Juniper, Atayi occasionally tapped one of Zai's wings to guide her.

Eventually she spied the faint shape of Pavi and Juniper. She hovered, grabbing one of Zai's talons to signal that they had stopped. Glancing at Elijah on her back, she waited for his gesture for something.

Elijah squinted down at the muddled shapes that were on the ground. He didn't see a campfire, which made a small spark of alarm in his chest. Campfires often warded off rogue dragons. Even though most dragons had fireproof scales, they tended to avoid fire. It was something Elijah had puzzled over many years. Deciding against his better judgement, he pointed down and murmured a quick, "Let's go."

Grabbing Zai, Atayi tucked her wings in and dove. She landed lightly, out of sight. Zai squirmed out of Atayi's grip, resuming her usual perch on the white dragon's head.

Elijah slid off her back and approached Juniper. "Hello." He said quietly. "You know, its dangerous to be out in the open like this without a campfire. Dark colored dragons could sneak up on you and kill you without you even noticing. I know you'll think I'm lying, but this time I have proof." He held out his arm, showcasing a bandage speckled with blood on his forearm. "Came from a Common Garden. If you don't believe me, I can unwrap it and you can identify the bite."

Juniper Grenleff | Demi-Boy | 22 | Serpent-Tongue Speaker | M: Ejiah

Juniper gently closed their book and walked over to Pavi as she called to them. Pavi and Juniper discovered a way to easily catch fish when they were younger and before Juniper had finished outlining his sketch of Atalyi. Pavi had managed to kill twelve fish by dipping her electric points into the ocean, her tail wagging wildly excitedly at what she was able to do. Juniper took a small blanket out of his satchel, unraveling it, and laid it on the ground so Juniper could pile the dead fish onto it before tying the blanket into a large bag.

“Good job, Pavi,” Juniper giggled softly, feeding her one of the fish she had caught which she gobbled up in an instant which only made Juniper giggle more. Juniper sighed, gently rubbing behind her ear. “Come on, let’s get home. It’s dark and we still have to make dinner for everyone.”

“Dinner time??”

“Yeah, dinner time.”

Juniper startled as he heard Ejiah, whipping around with his hands raised not in a defensive position but with his gloves aimed and prepared to spark whoever was there. Juniper slowly lowered his hands as he realized who it was, but Juniper was still tense as he folded his arms and stood rigidly. Pavi, however, did not recognize Juniper’s anxiety as she just kept saying “friends!” repeatedly while she bowed down into a playful position.

“So you just came here to say that?” Juniper asked, raising an eyebrow. “You stalked me and followed me here just to say that you’re right?” Juniper seemed to be studying the wounded from afar before their eyes flashed up to Ejiah’s stare. “Look, I don’t doubt that you were bit or scratched by a dragon but I don’t think it was a “rogue dragon—”” Juniper used massive air quotes while saying this— “as you choose to call them, I just think it was a dragon that was confused or scared or hurt or what have you. Dragons would not hurt those they care about for no reason or even strangers for that matter.” Juniper paused before shamelessly lifting up their shirt. A massive bite scar the size of Juniper’s torso marked his side. “A dragon that I had found outside the Valley was really stressed when he first arrived. On his fourth day in the Valley… well… you can see what he did. I nearly died and punctured one of my lungs in the process. My breathing hasn’t been the same since then….” Juniper quickly pulled down his shirt once he finished his point. “Even still, there was a reason he did that. He was nervous and I was reckless. I don’t blame him in the slightest because he was scared.” Juniper grabbed the bag of fish before mounting Pavi. “I am sure we can talk more later if you are that interested in me, but I have to get home to my family. Now if you don’t mind, I would like to head home. Please….”

Ice- All the climate leaders are NPCs if you want to control them later for interacting with Alexis))

Ryoko puffed up, looking indignant. Thea stood, pushing between Alexis and Ryoko. "Actually, Alexis, Ryoko is one of the climate leaders. She runs the water portion. Just because she isn't your climate leader, does not mean you can be disrespectful. Since your an Ice-Cutter, Okami here is your climate leader."

Okami dipped her head, eyes shining with friendliness. "I can show you where the Northern species live here. You must be pretty uncomfortable in the heat here."

Thea looked surprised, she thought it was rather interesting that a dragon would ask that. "Well, I run the entire place. Okami, Scorpion, Ryoko, and Reubin are the leaders of their climates, and I tell them what they need to fix. Say I got complaints of the territory being to small, so I would find that climate's leader and tell them to expand. I'm also in charge of keeping the temperature in all the climates, and everyone's in charge of picking up dragon scales. Okami runs the winter climate, which your species is classified in. Scorpion runs the desert climate, Ryoko with the water territory, and Reubin with the summer climate which is what we are standing in right now." She gestured to the lush plant life around her. Scorpion huffed, standing. He nodded a good bye to each of the leaders and Thea, before spreading his wings and flying to the tunnel exit. Ryoko shot a venomous glare at Alexis, but soon followed the Twisterwing to leave Reubin, Thea, Okami, and Alexis alone. Okami stood as well, but waited expectently for Alexis. "Well? Aren't you coming with to the winter climate?"

Aramis sighed again, more dramatic this time and earning some concerned looks from the dragons around him. He slinked through the tunnel and across the grass to Thea's hut. Completely ignoring the dragons, he dropped the first-aid things at Thea's feet and muttered, "I'm going hunting." He left, huffing and muttering bad naturedly.

-

Zai, who heard the voice of her new friend, slid lopsidedly off Atayi's head and began cautiously moving over. She found Pavi by bumping straight into one of her legs. She looked up in the rough direction of Pavi's voice. "Hi!"

Atayi kept her distance and gazed around at the sky for rogue dragons.

"Well, I.." Elijah trailed off, searching for a good response. "I haven't been stalking you-" Atayi let out an amused and rather loud snort. He shot a glare at the silver Ice-Cutter before continuing. "I was just curious about this Valley. And since you weren't going to take me there, I was going to follow you there." He rolled his eyes, an exasperated sigh leaving his lips. He brought a hand up to his face and rubbed the bridge of his nose, wincing when he saw the scar. "You are going to refuse whatever I say aren't you? Fine. Ask Atayi or Zai. If you think they're lying, then I'm going to continue to follow you because you seem like one that isn't very well prepared for a dragon attack. Either way, I'm going to follow you. By all means, go home, but I'm coming with. " His amber eyes scanned Juniper, another question arising in his mind. "What are those anyway?" He asked, pointing at Juniper's gloves.

Alexis looked at Thea as she talked which wasn't normal for her. She said "Oh alright...Yes im coming Okami." Alexis looked at Thea and said "Thank you for letting me stay." She noticed Ryoko shot her a glare but ingored it. Alexis didn't like how mean Ryoko was. Okami looked at Thea and said "I will be going." Alexis followed Okami to the winter climate as she showed her around. She was suprisied at how many dragons there was in general. As the reached the end of the tour Okami left to go back to Thea. Alexis sighed not use to being in a cold climate for awhile but it felt nice. She laid down in the snow and relaxed.

Juniper Grenleff | Demi-Boy | 22 | Serpent-Tongue Speaker | M: Ejiah

“So. Let me just— Let me make sure you’re clear,” Juniper said as he clasped his hands together and pressed the tips of his fingers to his lips. “You followed me so you could get to my home— which I am not inviting you into by the way— even though you knew I would not want you in my home. Not to mention, you are “going to continue following me” until you go home with me.” Juniper placed his hands on his hips as he let out a loud and dramatic “mhm…” before looking up and to the left to act like he was thinking. “Oh gosh, Pavi, what word do I use for someone who lurks in the shadows at night and follows me home despite not being invited?”

Pavi was very deeply entranced by the smaller dragon and nearly completely zoned out of the conversation, but perked up when her name was said. “Uhhh… a stalker…?” Pavi tilted her head, unsure if that was the answer Juniper was looking for before returning her gaze to the smaller dragon.

“No way! Really?? I would have never guessed that those actions make you a stalker!” Juniper smirked evilly as they eyed Ejiah up and down and got off Pavi. “Tell you what, Mr. Stalker, I will let you come into the Valley so long as you abide by my rules: one—” Juniper began to walk closer to the man— “you don’t lie to me ever again, two—” Juniper stepped closer— “you keep your dragons with my dragons just like all the others in the Valley and they go without those fancy leather things until you leave again, and three—” Juniper jabbed the man in his chest much harder than Juniper intended but not enough to cause the man to tumble backwards— “do you dare tell anyone— especially my Mom and Nani— about the whole rogue dragon thing. Otherwise, I can just stay here—” Juniper turned on a dime to face the ocean with a grand gesture with his hands— “under the stars with all the fish in the world—” Juniper turned back around to face Ejiah with a smirk— “while you mope about not getting to see the Valley.”

Upon mention of the gloves he wore, Juniper’s demeanor changed from that of a teasing jerk to an excitable engineer. Juniper smiled gleefully and dorkishly as he was asked about his gloves, opening and closing his hands in excitement.

“Oh! Yeah!! My gloves! So you see this?” Juniper revealed his palm to Ejiah with a grin, basically sticking it into his face. “This can produce an electric shock! It’s enough to stun some of the dragons, create sparks for fire, and charge my mask! This glove also can dooo—” out Juniper’s index finger shot a beam of light that he accidentally aimed right into Ejiah’s eyes without realizing it— “this! It’s pretty useful for exploring the caves of the Valley!” The light shut off after a moment as Juniper admired his creation with a smile. “Not to mention, it gets charged by Pavi’s horn and her horns don’t hurt me when I touch them with these!!” Juniper smiled widely, standing up and down on his tip-toes as it grew harder for him to contain his excitement. “It’s it cool?! I made them myself! My best creation to date!!”

Meanwhile, Pavi was enjoying her time with her friend, rolling a tiny acorn to her friend with a huff of her snout. “What’s your name, friend?? Do you want to play?? How are you??”

Emery grumbled as she sat up . Then tent was so comfy that she had slept til noon, and done nothing on the after noon except hunt for food and go back to fall asleep again. She sighed at herself for being so lazy and made herself promise that she would be more active tomorrow. She stepped outside of her comfy tent , it could fit 6 people or one person , two small dragons and a big dragons head. She laughed and stepped outside. She nearly trod on Fallon, a tiny 11 inch high dragon . She was a sniffer dragon called Fallon, Ace, The Dearf Lightning Runner towered over Fallon guarding her. A few footsteps away was Okami,a beautiful icy dragon bathing in the shade. Her scales were white was tints of blue . She had to sell and buy her usual stuff from the market but maybe she would have a look around The bit of market that was called The Midnight Market. Emery gently put the light comfy bridle onto Okami and led her to a mound where Emery could leap onto the dragon, Riding bareback was slightly uncomfortable so Emery had put a thick white blanket on Okami'a back . Omani didn't have a saddle as they were to heavy and restricting for her. She called the hunting dragons and they came bonding over she attached their collars on. She didn't like them and neither did they but it was for their safety just in case they got lost in the crowds. Each collar on each dragon had a little light,a whistle that sounds like a Willow Ptarmigan call. (I'll attack something at the bottom) and an identity tag which includes the name of the dragon, the owner's address, and the fixed address which is the address of Emery's small house by the first the opposite direction she had to travel tot get here by the midnight market. She called Okami to carry on flying once she had got Ace and Fallon securely onto Okami's back with her. She enjoyed the flight but of course they landed gracefully. She checked that the collars were still on all of them before thanking Okami in gestures a dragon would only understand. The big riding dragon, Okami flew off, Emery smiled at the dragon and hoped she wouldn't be bothered when she went to the market with the hunting dragons. She hefted the extra game over her shoulders and squeezed past . She dodged and dived under people until she could finally sell the game for coins. She smiled at Fallon and picked the small dog up. She put Fallon in the sling that the little dragon had been in on the flight. Ace padded alongside her. Unbothered and unfazed at the mass if people. Emery sat down once she had brought some bread . She shared it with the two hungry dragons. She laughed with them as the three ate the lunch nearby The Midnight Market .

Dammit writer's block-))

Thea nodded, waving the Ice-Cutter off. "Yeah, yeah.. Listen, I have things to do. Let Okami or one of the other climate leaders know if you need something." She stood and stretched, walking to Sebastian. She climbed onto her back and silently pointed to the hole in the ceiling. He spread his wings and took off, landing again once he came outside. Thea slid off his back and looked around, grabbing branches and leaves to make the hole less noticeable while Sebastian flew away to pull up saplings. He eventually came back, holding three birch saplings. He sat and watched as Thea planted them.

-

"But- but-" Elijah planted his hands on his hips, making a face. "Your not supposed to say that! Your supposed to say, 'wow okay, Elijah, I'll take you to the Valley! Thank you so much for your help in protecting Pavi and I from potential dragon attacks!'" He sighed exaggeratedly. His expression brightened at Juniper's words and he waved his hand dismissively. "Yeah, yeah, okay." Taking a step back, he turned and unbuckled Atayi's halter. He shoved it into his already-full backpack and took it off the clip. Unbuckling the leather strip around Atayi and tying it around himself, he clipped the backpack back onto it. "There, happy?" He jumped when he turned back, to find a glove shoved into his face. Elijah made a small 'aagh' noise when a bolt of light flashed into his eyes. "Uh-huh, real cool. Blinding people is always cool," He said, rubbing his eyes and squinting.

Zai sniffed the acorn with interest. "It's Zai. What about you? How would we play, though? I'm blind. I'm okay. How are you?" She answered all of Pavi's questions without losing a beat.

Juniper Grenleff | Demi-Boy | 22 | Serpent-Tongue Speaker | M: Ejiah

“Shit, are you okay??” Juniper asked worriedly as they came to the realization that they had just shined a really bright light into Ejiah’s eyes. “Sorry sorry sorry sorry!” Juniper gently grabbed his face, inspecting his eyes for a moment before smiling. “Looks light I didn’t blind you! That’s good!” Juniper smiled before letting go of Ejiah and placed their hands on their hips with a bright smile. “Are you ready to get flying now? You can hop on Pavi with me if you’re nervous to fly without uhh… whatever those are.” Juniper paused for a moment as his eyes drifted away from Ejiah. “Look, not that I don’t like you, but I don’t think I should introduce you to my Mom just yet, Mr. Stalker. Sooo…” Juniper began to tilt his head left and right, softly clicking his tongue. “I’m going to sneak Atayi and your other friend into the barn and I can sneak youuuu—” Juniper eyed Ejiah up and down for a moment. “Well, I don’t think I could fit you in the barrel so that won’t work.” Juniper sat down on the sand with a huff, drawing a bit in the sand as he mumbled softly to himself. “No, I can’t hide him in the hay…, I don’t think he can hold his breath underwater for a whole night…, and I don’t know how long he’d survive in the cave….” Juniper paused before snapping his fingers and jolting upwards onto his defeat. “Okay, I’ve got it! You can either stay in the flower gardens with the Common Garden dragons or I can maybe sneak you into my room.”

“I’m Pavi!!” Pavi replied, completely and solely focusing on Zai. “You just roll the acorn back and forth! It’s a really simple game!! I am doing okay, but reaaaally hungry and I really want to get home but Juniper is off doing things and not taking me home.”

Elijah huffed, a small yelp of surprise leaving his mouth when Juniper grabbed his face. "My dude, you don't need to grab my face-" He waved Juniper away, "Never been better. And yeah, we can leave." Rolling his eyes, Elijah climbed on top of Atayi and tried to look as if he knew what he was doing. "No offense, Pavi, but I'd rather not ride something that can electrocute me with one accidental touch." He barked a laugh, "Why, thank you. I take pride in not being able to fit in a barrel." Pausing, he scanned Juniper if he was kidding. "I'll take the room. I could climb through the window."

Zai nodded, "..Okay." She snuffled around until she found the acorn. She nudged it to Pavi with one of her wings. "I'm not too hungry. Elijah gave us dinner before we left the city. I think he's talking about taking you home, though."

Juniper Grenleff | Demi-Boy | 22 | Serpent-Tongue Speaker | M: Ejiah

Pavi gave a low whine and ducked her head as Ejiah said he would not ride her. She was generally good about not shocking people and she had been used to people not wanting to touch her for her whole life, but it still hurt when anyone denied her like that. Juniper frowned a bit but his smile instantly returned as he crouched down and rubbed behind her ear, kissing the side of her face.

“It’s okay, Pavi, I wouldn’t chicken out from touching you!” Juniper cooed as Pavi gave a low purr in response, her tail wagging slightly as she leaned into Juniper’s hands. Juniper stood up after a moment and looked to Ejiah. “If you can manage to climb through the window, that might work, but I don’t think you’ll fit. No offense of course, but I don’t think you're the size of our messager, Frilly….” Juniper thought for a moment before shrugging. “I’m sure I can just sneak you in the front door if I get the triplets to cause trouble.” Juniper tilted his head and clicked his tongue before grinning widely. “Yeah, that might work!”

“Well, let’s get going then before it gets any darker. I still want to eat dinner before the moon hits its peak.” Juniper quickly hopped onto Pavi, who did not take notice as she played with Zai. “You think you can keep up with me though, Mr. Stalker?~” Juniper asked, a hint of cockiness in his tone as he smirked before adjusting his mask back on to his face. “Just try not to slow me down too much, got it?”

“Why would Ejiah try to take me home? He just said I am too sparky…,” Pavi mumbled, gently blowing the acorn back to her as she stood. “What foods do they have in the city? Is it a lot of sheep and fish??”