Aegon

Outpost Dragon | Male | Rider: Sorisansa | Mentions: Sorisansa, Ciliren, Mort'luath, Sylphiel, Talvi

Aegon's chest rose and fell deeply with sleep, the sound of his breathing audible. The steady drip drip drip of the water from the stalactites making sleep easy. The night was peaceful, the sound of crickets a soft hum outside of the cave where the dragons resided.

Talvi slept softly beside him, Aegon's left wing draped over her sleeping form. The soft pitter patter of feet above roused him slightly, waking his mind even if he didn't open his eyes. He had no idea what the humans were doing up at this hour, and frankly, he didn't want to know. He tried to go back to sleep with a deep exhale, but his plans were hindered when his rider's voice echoed in his mind.

He wasn't disappointed to hear Sansa's voice by any means. He was a little angry about patrolling into the wee hours of the morning.

"You sister never fails to confuse me." He grumbled. He reluctantly pulled himself to his feet, careful to not disturb Talvi. Aegon hadn't formed a strong bond with either of Sorisansa's sisters, but he trusted them to keep Sorisansa safe, despite their occasional bickering. Ciliren was the most tenpermental of the three, and Sylphiel was the most outgoing. Sansa was more of the mother, always making sure her wild sisters didn't get into too much trouble.

Aegon spotted Mort'luath and Ciliren near the entrance of the cave, and expected Sansa to arrive soon. A yawn split his face, revealing sharp teeth before he wandered closer to the entrance, trying his best to not disturb the other sleeping dragons. His blue eyes scanned the cave, waiting for Sorisansa to arrive.

The cool breeze of nighttime wind carried the voice of Guāng across the valley, her tone laced with a haughty attitude, yet elegance with her natural pitch. Her words hissed like a serpent disguised within the shrubs, irritation laced in her graceful voice. The dragon, carefully examining a pebble on the larger side, turning it in her paws to analyze it further. As if it was a fidget toy while she carefully contemplates something. Then with sudden force, she hurled it into the rushing stream nearby, before selecting a new rock to scrutinize. Viscus slightly pondered why she was examining them. She'd never found rocks that interesting.

Viscusvoréntomon remained silent, the fiery dragoness continuing her statement with visible displeasure. With careful analysis, she could hear every tone swap; see every shift and every movement in her body language; and feel the emotions behind each phrase. Her lifeless eyes just slowly burning into Guāng's frame, staring with uncanny patience as the female continued her rant. Most find her gaze unpleasant, however to those who know her (like Guāng), most considerably get used to it.

With a sudden topic change, the dragoness began commenting on the injured rider, while staring deeply into her reflection.

After the long silence, her mandibles adjusted as Viscusvoréntomon prepared to speak, however Guāng Huánghòu proceeded her statements before she could get her sentence in. With a calmer, softer voice this time. Viscus hadn't thought of that. In genuine concern, where was the injured Head Master's dragon? He couldn't have been killed, since the Head Master showed no signs of the aftermath depression. However his essence was.. too mingled to actually diagnose him of the afterward depression. "I.. am uncertain.." Her voice rattled. "I haven't.. detected his.. presence recently.."

The earth rumbled below her. The glowing essence of the dragons in the distance, beginning to radiate colors of blue, black, gray, and red. And then.. white glowed everywhere. "Death.." Viscus echoed somberly as many white dots began flashing in the distance. In her dazed state, she hadn't realized that her companion had darted towards the erupting chaos. The flames in the distance glowed the brightest..

"We must.. leave. Now.. Guāng.." Viscus hissed, her calm voice now laced with hints of anxiety. When she got no response, she turned to examine the area around her, but it was too late. Guāng had already disappeared towards the dawning war. "Guāng..?"

A cloud of smoke rushed over Viscus, practically blinding her completely. In somewhere like here, it would be impossible to find Guāng now. While she probably will not be able to find Guāng in the smoke, she does have someone else to find, that she can find. Ellis. Her rider. 'Getting to you.. Ellis.. Finding Guāng.. is next..' Viscus rattled through their mental link, her voice remaining calm despite the anxiety she felt.

‘Your sister never fails to confuse me.’ The last retort made by her bonded companion. With a sigh she’d reply back,

‘That would make two of us Aegon.’ She’d add with a small grin, which faded abruptly as the sound of aggressive steps began to approach.

Sorisansa would keep her head down using her periphery to glance at who may have also been awake, that is or awoken, more like. An aggravated Eirian would stomp by presumably making his way to the kitchen. Having passed him further down the steps she would glance back towards him. Eirian had been one of the only residents of the Outpost to reside here before the rest of them arrived. Rumor had it he had lost his entire squad to an assignment gone wrong, others said he had managed to kill off his squad to serve as a lone soldier. Whichever rumor served to be true, if any, had yet to be proven, the case being he was relatively reserved. Sure he had cooked several meals for this young squad that joined him but outside of the occasional head nod he had not really opened up to anyone, at least not that Sorisansa was aware of.

She’d spy her eldest triplet standing in front of Mort’luath. Putting two and two together she could see the inner rage and bitter distaste of being confronted seeping from Ciliren, she could sense it from miles away, if that.

“Good Evening Mort’luath.” She would chirp. Folding her fingertips in toward each other at the base of her palm and placing her right hand overtop of the frontal aspect of her skull before bowing. This was a behavior her father had showed her, exclaiming it as a sign of respect for other’s mounts. Some dragon’s absolutely cared while most never really paid any heed for it.

“How was getting your ass handed to you by Eirian, Ren?” She would snicker towards her sibling, a grin spilling across her face as she soon turned to face Aegon.

His spectacular pearlescent and baby blue scales shimmered faintly as the moonlight would disappear and reappear given the cloud coverage that had only begun to thicken. Whatever storm was arriving was sure to lull anyone to sleep, even if thunder and lightning were to crash and flash across the sky. She had peered up toward Aegon’s burning blue eyes and made sure to stand toward the right of him so that he could see her. He had been quick to advise her of his blind spot being directly in front of him, thus she would serve as his eyes for any obstacle in front of him so long as he remained vigilant of their sides. Sorisansa being an archer, remained aware and vigilant pretty much everywhere around her, however kept particular attention toward the front of her whenever she rides atop Aegon.

“Seems like your attempt of manslaughter and banshee scream managed to keep Syl in her bedroom.” She’d add, sliding a glance at Ciliren.

↠↠↠

“How was getting your ass handed to you by Eirian, Ren?” Sorisansa had snickered toward her, a grin spilling across her face.

She had to give Eirian credit for somehow maintaining his composure in front of Mort, despite truly wanting to tear into her. The shift in his tone concerning her safety and that of her sisters had caught her off-guard as well as the mention of breakfast, she was waiting for the man to toss her into the sand right then and there truth be told. That technically wouldn’t be a first for her, although previous encounters had been with lovers at the academy. He was rather bold, threatening to throw her into the ocean, especially in front of Mort, who had also done well in keeping his composure for the entire duration of the encounter. She had opted to bite her tongue and allow the older man to gripe about his lack of sleep. However, at her sibling's taunt she peered her skull from behind Mort’luath’s chest to beam her angry pale pools into her sister's soul.

“I will have you know dear sister, I am not one to be taunted and maimed.” She’d retort haughtily.

“Oh, whatever Ren. You know someone has to bust your balls and get on your nerves outside of me and Syl. Besides, Koa doesn’t have it in him to truly snap at you the way Eirian did. He chooses life. Perhaps Eirian will be the one to finally put a leash on you.” Sansa would add, further deepening her grin to something a bit more feral.

“You wound me Sansa. No man nor woman could ever leash me. The day that happens Mort’luath will have to set me aflame.” She added.

“Seems like your attempt of manslaughter and banshee scream managed to keep Syl in her bedroom.” Sansa had added, sliding a glance at Ciliren who had approached Mort’luath to pet him before mounting.

“Perhaps, she’ll just join us later. You know how she can be sometimes. She likes to join in our festivities a bit late into the game.” Ren would add, sliding her hand across the rugged scales of Mort, awaiting for him to offer his shoulder so that she could mount.

“By the way, we will have breakfast upon our return. Courtesy of the man you thought would be able to leash me and if you must know, he bitched about not being able to sleep. Me and my loud mouth prevented him from drifting off as he was so close to doing so before my newsflash.”

“You’re telling me this because...?” Sansa had asked, raising a single eyebrow with mild interest.

“If anyone was to care about the wellbeing of our team physically and mentally, it’d be you. Plus while we both know our way around herbs you and Syl are the two to actually partake in drinking its bitterness. I merely enjoy it for the vanity of murder or other such displeasures of the body.”

Sansa would scoff knowingly recalling the time Ciliren had given some boy in the academy too much of an already potent laxative to the point the boy had passed out mid-ride due to dehydration.“It wouldn’t be bitter if your soul wasn’t so dark.” Sansa would tease. “I’ll look into it.” She added earnestly.

She could make a strong herbal tea with a combination of hibiscus leaves, rose hips, chamomile, lemon balm, and valerian. Should he have a preference for something sweeter she could also offer to add honey. She’ll have to go herb gathering following this little patrol knowing that she’d at least have a good supply of rose hips, hibiscus, lemon balm, and chamomile. The only thing she didn’t have was valerian but that shouldn’t be too hard to find and perhaps consider propagating.

⋆༺𓆩☣𓆪༻⋆⋆༺𓆩☣𓆪༻⋆

Draíochtach

| Venom Dragon | Female | Squad Leader’s Dragon | Mentions: Renzana

Indirectly: Xuejiao, Laika, Nalukraja, Iris, Kikimora (Mate/NPC), Nicodemus (NPC)

⋆༺𓆩☣𓆪༻⋆⋆༺𓆩☣𓆪༻⋆

Once Renzana sent the mentors off and was secure in her saddle, Draíochtach launched into the air without another moment to waste. Her wings beat furiously against the raging flames and rising smoke, the turbulent air swirling around them. The Venom dragoness soared above the chaos, her powerful wing strokes propelling them higher and faster.

Below, the Academy grounds were a battlefield of fire and shadows, with the sounds of clashing metal and cries of battle echoing upward. Other dragons and their riders took off into the air as mentors met them, desperately trying to escape the chaos. The flames cast eerie, flickering shadows on the ground, making it nearly impossible to distinguish friend from foe.

Circling around the Academy, Draíochtach’s keen eyes swept through the devastation, searching for stragglers—anyone who might be left behind or in need of assistance. Unconsciously, amidst her meticulous scanning, she also sought out her mate among the carnage, her heart heavy with a mixture of dread and hope.

As they navigated through the destruction, Draíochtach banked sharply to avoid a collapsing structure. The heat from the flames seared her scales as she maneuvered with lethal precision, mindful of the flammable being on her back.

“Hold on,” Draíochtach growled to her rider, before suddenly beginning to climb, higher and higher. Her wings beat powerfully, slicing through the smoke-filled air as they ascended above the mayhem. The higher they went, the more the acrid scent of burning wood and charred metal began to dissipate, replaced by the cool night air.

From their vantage point, the devastation below was laid bare in stark detail. The Academy grounds, once a beacon of learning and sanctuary, had transformed into a chaotic battlefield engulfed in fire and destruction. The once-familiar landscape was now a nightmarish tableau of smoke and flames.

"We'll never be able to come back here, Renzana," Draíochtach's voice was filled with sadness, heartbroken at the destruction of their home. Time seemed to slow as Draíochtach’s gaze locked onto a recognizable figure—an orange and black dragoness, Kikimora, with her rider, Nicodemus, plummeting down the jagged side of a mountain, blood staining the rock.

A painful cry erupted from Draíochtach as she watched her mate, Kikimora, struggle to rise. The sight of her beloved dragoness dragging herself to her feet, despite her severe injuries, tore at Draíochtach’s heart. Kikimora was a vision of suffering—her wings were in tatters, her legs barely able to support her, and blood seeped from numerous wounds. Yet, even in her shattered state, Kikimora continued to nudge Nicodemus, urging him to rejoin the fight. Their ascent up the mountain was a harrowing display of resilience, each movement laden with agony and determination.

Draíochtach’s heart pounded with a tumultuous mix of fear and hope as she witnessed Kikimora’s struggle. The pain of seeing her mate in such dire straits was compounded by the knowledge that her duty to Renzana came first. The agony of knowing she had to focus on her rider while her mate fought through unimaginable suffering was unbearable. That was the deal and the self-imposed silence they maintained during battle only intensified the emotional turmoil Draíochtach experienced.

Like other mated dragons, Draíochtach and Kikimora had a telepathic bond that allowed them to communicate effortlessly across distances. However, during combat, they had made a pact to block each other's connection to prevent their protective instincts from compromising their riders' safety. This deliberate silence made Draíochtach's anguish even more profound as she could only watch helplessly. The sight of Kikimora's struggle without the comfort of their bond added a layer of heartbreak to her already shattered spirit.

As Kikimora began to blend into the encroaching darkness while attempting to perch atop the mountain, Draíochtach held her breath, praying for a miracle. Her wings began to spread, preparing to rejoin the fray. Draíochtach’s own wings slowly began to bring them towards her mate and rider. However, any flicker of hope was violently extinguished when an arrow struck Kikimora’s chest, piercing through the chaos. The anguished cry that followed was muffled by the roar of battle as Kikimora and Nicodemus fell into the abyss, their forms swallowed by the darkness.

Draíochtach let out a roar of pure agony and rage, her voice echoing through the night with a raw intensity that matched the fiery devastation below. Her eyes blazed with a mix of fury and despair as the sight of her beloved mate plummeting into the void ignited a fiery rage within her, hotter than the surrounding flames. During her rage, Draíochtach unleashed her Toxic Spines, damning those below her.

With a subtle flick of her tail, Draíochtach released a barrage of retractable spines from along her back and tail-length. These spines, coated in a deadly venom, shot through the air with lethal precision. Each spine descended into the fray, striking down on those below. Those hit by the spines would experience excruciating pain as the venom coursed through their veins, often leading to a swift and agonizing death.

Tears of grief and anger welled up, threatening to blur her vision, but she fought to clear them away as she regained control of her fury. In her profound anguish, she inadvertently severed all telepathic connections, including the one with Renzana, isolating herself in her immense sorrow. The loss cut deeper than any physical wound, searing her soul and rendering the pain almost unbearable. The thought of feeling Kikimora’s final moments was a burden too heavy to bear, and Draíochtach could not bring herself to face it, allowing the bond between them to remain closed.

Overwhelmed by the weight of her grief and the searing pain of her loss, Draíochtach forced herself to turn away from the abyss where Kikimora had fallen. Every fiber of her being ached to follow her mate into the darkness, to be with Kikimora in death. The thought of reuniting with Kikimora, even in death, was a siren call she could scarcely resist.

Yet, she remained tethered to her duty—to Renzana—moving with a sense of mechanical detachment. Her eyes, dimmed by sorrow and rage, were locked on the battlefield below as she carried Renzana back into the carnage. Draíochtach performed one final, grim sweep, driven by the need to fulfill her duty despite the consuming desire to surrender to death and join her beloved mate. The flickering flames and distant cries of battle soon became a backdrop to her relentless search as she waited for Renzana to give the word to move out.

Nalukraja || Mentor Dragon || Psyche || M: Iris, Xue, Laika, Renzana, Draiochtech, NPCs

"Let's see what they're up to," he agreed, taking them down in a descent towards the Squad Leaders. He heard Xue's trill and responded with a chirrup of his own, landing next to her and Laika amid the academy rubble. Raj resisted the urge to nuzzle the ice dragoness; although he was immensely relieved at her being alive and well, now was not the best time for such pleasantries. Besides, Laika would make a fuss over it if he showed too much affection for too long. How Xue could stand being with the girl all day was beyond him; the psyche dragon was just grateful to have bonded with Iris, who wasn't such a hard-nose. He pulled his thoughts from such things as Renzana began speaking, and her words brought some disappointment to him.

Flee? Leave the academy to these cretins? They weren't even going to attempt to beat this enemy back? The warmongering daydreams that he had been entertaining were replaced by unease. The headmaster and his dragon were both well-versed in battle. Formidable. Some of the best. What had they seen up there that was so dangerous as to push them to send the rookies and mentors to the uncharted lands? To find the outpost? His sharp teeth grated together as he ran his jaw side to side, mulling over the information that had been relayed to them all as he prepared to take to the sky. Releasing a wry chuckle at his mate's words, he replied, "Me? Reckless? That word is not in my vocabulary."

He brushed his nose against her frills briefly before she disappeared, and Raj spread his own wings. Once checking to make sure Iris was secure, he pulled up into the air and trailed behind Renzana and Draiochtech at a distance while his eyes scanned the ground and sky for incoming stragglers. Being as distracted with the courtyard and burning academy as he was, Raj failed to notice Kikimora and Nicodemus falling to the mountain. As they hit, and as the venom dragoness ahead of him suddenly switched demeanors, Raj's attention was pulled up in alarm. Oh, no.

A wicked looking projectile finished the job, knocking the pulverized dragoness and her rider from the mountain and into the pitch blackness below. Raj sucked the wind through his teeth and warned Iris, "Hold on!"

He tilted so that his body was straight up and down before pounding his wings to raise them above and away from the agonized venom dragon, just in case she did something rash. Nalukraja knew he himself would likely become a violent harbringer of death if Xuejiao were to fall, and a mate bond was a precious thing. He didn't want to be in the way of Draiochtech if she -- and there it was. Spines shot away from her and Raj instinctively retracted himself and Iris further from the Squad Leaders. He turned his head back to look at his rider with an uncommon expression of worry.

"I'm not going to mess with that right now," he hummed in her mind. "I don't want to leave them, but we need to round up the rookies before we see more death."

Koa Revin || Outpost Rider || Bond: Talvi || M (Ind): Talvi, Ciliren, Sorisana, Sylphiel, Eirian, Mort'luath, Aegon, K'issuk

Curled wood shavings danced from Koa's knife blade to the rocky ground at his feet. The thick stick in his hands had lost all its bark to his weapon hours ago, and now the inner wood was being whittled away with his tumultuous thoughts. His scars all ached, and the tightening of his face into a furrowed frown was not helping that situation. The young man couldn't explain the feeling. It would happen now and again for a myriad of reasons: too cold, too hot, impending weather change, overexertion, bad diet,... and, every once in a while, because his intuition was saying something was wrong.

The problem with Koa was that he preferred to ignore his intuition after having eaten poorly the night before. The fish he had cooked up for himself had not gone over well with his stomach -- seafood never did -- and he'd been quite miserable the entire night. In fact, his body had been threatening to evacuate all the contents of his stomach for the last several hours, so he had decided to stay outside, just in case. Vomit would be easier to clean up if it happened under the stars. Besides, he didn't think anyone would appreciate the inevitable smell it would have caused in the caves. Now that his digestive tract had finally settled down, he was left without an appetite and running on no sleep. Fortunately, he did that often anyway, and it wouldn't bother him too much.

His ears caught the muffled sounds of yelling, which alarmed him at first. It was still dark out, though he didn't know what time it was, and raised voices generally meant someone was about to die. However, the tone of this one -- it sounded like Ciliren's -- suggested that the situation was much more relaxed than impending doom, unless she'd also woken Eirian. Koa shook his head with a sigh. She was probably getting her sisters up for one of their early morning excursions, which meant that the dragons would probably be awake soon as well, if they weren't already.

He hoped Talvi had gotten some sort of sleep. Koa had worked hard to silence himself through their bond to prevent his discomfort from transferring over to the ice dragoness. Besides, she deserved some uninterrupted time with her... what did he even call Aegon? An almost-mate? A boyfriend? That seemed a crude term for a dragon. With her, um... with her Aegon. Yeah, that would have to do.

Koa sighed again and rubbed a hand over the mangled half of his face, groaning softly as the sore wounds were pulled taut. He then sheathed his knife and rested his head between his knees and elbows, arms outstretched and hands hanging limp in front of him. His usual joker self was out of his grasp, and he now regretted not at least trying to go to sleep at a decent hour; it was too late for that now, especially if everyone else was awake. Koa chewed on his lower lip and closed his eyes, focusing on relaxing his tense body. It was going to be a long, long day.