∂яαgσηѕ яιѕιηg (rebooted)


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DreamWalker

10:01am Mar 19 2019

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Posts: 34
Tucker was still caught up in playing with the kittens. In that moment he was so distracted by the small animals filling his heart with joy that he didn't notice a car start up nearby. But what he did notice was that one of the kittens had stopped playing and had gone to investigate a small bush. "What's over there little guy?" He asked the small white kitten. It looked up at him with it's big blue eyes and mewed in response. Tucker slowly got up and walked over to the bush. He slowly moved the branches aside to reveal a small box tortoise. Tucker's eyes whent wide and he let out a lpud, blood curtailing scream. He then bolted to the nearest tree and ran up the trunk like a frightened cat on steroids. All this while he was still holding the calico kitten who was not scared half to death. Tucker clung to the tree for dear life. His entire body was shaking and his face was as white as snow. 

The reason he was so scared of turtles was that his father was obsessed with them. Tucker would walk into his father's room and see hundreds of stuffed turtles and tortoises. As a little kid this was horrifying, but this fear moved into his adult years. 
Alcarie

1:29pm Mar 19 2019 (last edited on 1:29pm Mar 19 2019)

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Posts: 2,091
Mercé
"Okay okay, we're going!" Stumbling towards the hostel, Merce rubbed at her temple where the beginnings of a headache had started forming. It wasn't often she argued with Amphora, but when it happened the human was always unprepared for the strength of control the dragon possessed. "What was all that about anyway?" Amphora deigned to ignore her, but Merce could feel the unease prickling at her mind. Confused but willing to follow the dragons wishes, she stuffed her hands deeper into her jackets pockets, ducked her head down, and picked up the pace.
Merce had not gotten but maybe twenty feet down the sides walk when a piercing scream reverberated out from the wooded area of the park. Stiffening, Merce turned wide eyes towards the shadows of the trees. "What the-"
"Keep going!"
"But what if someones hurt?" The words came out quick and quiet, and without much thought she took a step towards the forest. Amphora swiftly stopped her, but this time Merce was prepared and the halt involved less awkward stumbling. "Would you stop that!"
"If we go in, there's a good chance it'll be us that going to be hurt! Just please, for once in your bullheaded life would you listen?"
"Whose going to harm us? Huh? Tell me and if it's a good answer we'll go." Truth of the matter was, Amphora was strong enough to make them leave, but the fragile trust the two had gained would be impacted. Merce knew Amphora didn't want that and exploited it.
"Where there are dragons, there are dragon killers. Their called Hunters and they are very good at their jobs. You are not ready to take one on; and frankly neither am I. I've survived this long by running and hiding, not fighting." Resigned, the speech was bitter. Merce, not for the first time but never at this magnitude, realized how little she actually knew about dragons. As well as the dangers involved.
Cowed, the human shot one last weary look at the woods and began backing away. "Okay, we can go." Shoulders hunched to her ears, she glanced around wearily. "That scream, was it another dragon?"
"I don't think so, but it's been so long since I've seen or heard another I'm not positive. Plus, it was at a bit of a distance and the leaves muffled it. But if there are Hunters nearby, then either their on our trail or another dragon close by."
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Zakhar
Though many of his brothers didn't like crowded places, Zakhar padded through the throngs of people in the LGA airport with calm ease. With one carry on thrown over his shoulder, Zakhar followed the signs to his terminal while keeping a careful eye out for any potential prospects. For thieves, airports at this time of night were goldmines. Though grifting was his main talent, he'd also picked up pick-pocketing from Ilia and was decent enough at it. Where as his older brother could steal a watch off of someone's wrist with a deft 'bump' into them, Zakhar wasn't that good. Simple grabs from pockets and purses though, were easy enough. Sure it wasn't much of a 'Hunter' thing as killing dragons, but sometimes murdering supposedly mythical beasts didn't pay well. A wallet from a swanky looking man in a suit later, Zakhar settled into a seat in his terminal to wait for the boarding call.


Tinkers
dmann

4:24am Mar 20 2019

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Posts: 96

As Anthony looks around the park entrance, hazarding an occasional look at the lady that had streetdanced, who was moving away very fast away from the entrance, he goes almost bolt upright when he hears the scream as well. The sound sounded fairly deep into the park, about 10 minutes walk was his best estimate, but that all depended on what screamed and why.


If it was a Dragon being hunted, getting in the middle of that altercation would create more problems than he could possibly handle. On the other hand, he could find a mugger, which could cause different problems altogether. Although stopping another mugger would be good karma, in his opinion


There was that lady as well. He decides, with reluctance, to follow the lady, and ignore his search for now, but keep his distance from the lady in case she was a dragon, and his blade was causing her to perceive him as a threat. It could also give him his chance to converse with a dragon, if his learned instincts were correct...




There is, I think, humor here which does not translate well from English into sanity.
Creus

4:10pm Mar 20 2019 (last edited on 4:11pm Mar 20 2019)

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Posts: 92
"Eh? Thats a strange reaction to a handshake"
"He's bleeding you moron."
"What does that have to do with anything?"
"You shook his injured arm."
"Ah, how did he get injured? Looks fresh."
"Surely those gun shots we heard had nothing to do with it."
Rizzio replied sarcastically, to the assassins relatively dumb question.
"Who would shoot them? They don't seem like trouble?"
"Really, have you forgotten the entire argument we just had?"
"Honestly I wasn't really paying attention."
"....."
At this point the dragon just did not have the energy to say anything more on that topic he worked really hard to try and educate this fool and Reito straight up ignores him. Needless to say he was not happy. How had this come to be? The man he had chosen originally had been a cold blooded killer, a soldier who had been through some of the harshest training. How had he become this in the short span of a single year? Rizzio just didn't understand how someone could make such a complete three sixty turn around in that amount of time. Where all humans like this or did he just happen to choose the defective one?
"Huh? Coming where? Mcdonalds? Sure."
"No, the hospital to get the injured dragon some help. Pay attention."
"But hospital food is nasty."
"Idiot, its not about the food."
"But now that they mentioned food I want some."
"You already ate dinner."
"I haven't had second dinner yet."
"No such thing!"
"Want to bet?"
"Uh, no..."
The assassin continued his loud conversation with his dragon as he cheerfully followed the strangers out of the forest and into the car seemingly without the slightest sense of stranger danger. As if following two unknown dragons and getting into their car was a totally normal thing to do.
"New? Is a year new? At least I think its been a year now? I'm not sure. Hey, Rizzio how long has it been?"
"Really...you know the answer to that one..."
"Hey, Rizzio why are you so grumpy all the time?"
The dragon declined to answer that question, instead  choosing to stay silent.
"My story? A century? Wow, wait shouldn't you look like an old granny then? Thats a long time! I only found Rizzio a year ago, I was going on a secret mission and got a little lost after things took a bad turn. Next thing I know I am wandering through some old ruins deep in the jungle and then I got hit on a head by a falling rock. When I woke up I was a dragon..."


Storm
Setzer

7:50pm Mar 20 2019 (last edited on 9:47pm Mar 20 2019)

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Posts: 2,151

Vincent nodded in agreement with Ennie, face still tensed into a grimace. It was definitely a good idea for them to get as far away from this forest as possible. One Hunter was still lurking somewhere within the shadowy branches, a fact that filled him with anxiety with each rustle of nearby leaves. It was the more experienced Hunter who remained.


Reito was a curious fellow, to be certain. He seemed to be arguing with his dragon as the trio made their way back through the forest, which would have put Vincent a little on-edge, had he been fully coherent and not more worried about the Hunter that was skulking about. He hadn’t caught a whiff of dragonsteel since the less experienced Hunter had been dispatched, though, so it was likely the second was nowhere near them.


“яιzzισ ѕєємѕ qυιтє ƒяυѕтяαтє∂,” Helios chimed in, making conversation to try and redirect his human’s attention to something other than his anxiety.


Wait… you can hear him? Vincent hadn’t considered that perhaps dragons could hear each other telepathically, just as they could communicate with their humans. Can you speak to him, too?


“ι нανє ησт тяιє∂,” the dragon replied, “αℓтнσυgн ι ¢αη ιмαgιηє тнє αηѕωєя ιѕ 'уєѕ'.”


Have you been able to hear every dragon we’ve met? Now was hardly the time to lose himself in conversation with his other half, he knew, but… this was something even he didn’t know. How was he to explain this to Ennie, (and Reito, he supposed), if he wasn’t informed?


“ι мυѕт ¢нσσѕє тσ ∂σ ѕσ;” Helios responded, after considering for a moment, “ιт ωσυℓ∂ вє νєяу ∂ιѕσяιєηтιηg тσ нєαя αησтнєя ∂яαgση'ѕ тнσυgнтѕ αℓℓ тнє тιмє.”


I can definitely imagine that, Vincent nodded slightly in agreement. It’s disorienting enough to be trapped on a crowded street where you can hear dozens of different verbal conversations as you walk by.


So the conclusion was that Helios had been able to hear another dragon speak to their human this whole time, but not thought it was important to tell him. Vincent supposed he should have guessed, or he could have asked, especially as they had been together for over two centuries. He didn’t fault Helios for neglecting to tell him.


What made you decide to listen in on Reito and Rizzio?


“тнєяє ιѕ тєηѕιση вєтωєєη тнєм-- ¢αη уσυ ησт ƒєєℓ ιт тσσ?”


You’re right, Vincent agreed, not to mention the fact that I can hear half of their argument without your power.


The sun dragon was beyond relieved to see Ennie’s SUV parked at the edge of the forest. Since ending his conversation with Helios, the pain in his arm and his exhaustion had become the focus of his attention once more. With Ennie’s help, he climbed into the back seat and laid down, muttering a tired “thank you” to his friend. Misty jumped in after him, deciding to loaf on Vincent’s stomach, letting out a soothing purr. The blonde-haired man smiled weakly at her, finding himself slipping into unconsciousness as the car began to move, despite the conversation between the two in the front.
Malik

1:20am Mar 21 2019

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Posts: 620
Ennie threw a grin at Reito, more like a grimace honestly, at his comment about her age but decided to say nothing. Like 'Lee said, he was a newbie to the world of dragons, and what she considered commonplace he was probably experiencing for the first time. 

'Not to mention he's correct,' Astley chortled in her mind. 'Maybe you don't LOOK like a granny, but you hafta remember I HEAR you every morning. And Lawd above if your bones don't sound like Rice Krispies. Snap, crackle, n POP'

Ennie waved a hand by her head, as if she could physically quiet the voice, a habit she still found difficult to drop. "In a jungle?" she asked Reito as she made a left turn and continued down a busier highway towards the city. "Huh. Could've ended up a uh nature dragon like Astley and me." 

'Could've,' the voice conceded. 'But I must say, green is not his colour. Our boy Reito here is definitely a fall/winter palette fellow, leaning towards winter.'

'Oh so you're a fashion diva now?' 

'Well dear Joan Rivers left some big shoes to fill and someone's gotta do it. Goodness knows you're not, I mean what are we wearing? Vietnam couture?' 

The girl mumbled to herself as she blinkered to get off the highway and followed the off ramp into the city proper, heading along a familiar path towards the hospital. She'd never admit to herself that she spent more time at that particular building than most people but, well...when you share a brain with someone just as addle-brained as you are mistakes do happen. 

Often.

Speaking of needing a hospital... Ennie chanced a glance in the rearview at Vincent, frowning at his unnervingly still form. 'Geez, I hope Vince is okay... He was bleeding pretty badly.' 

'He's fine, it's fine, he's fine,' Astley reassured. 'I mean he's not comfortable, having a leaky hole in your arm is sorta not fun after all, but he's fine. Goodness knows I've been listening to Helios long enough. You didn't think you were the only one worried, did you? After all, we'd probably inherit his smilodon and we do. Not. Want. Th-'

'Hang on a second," Ennie thought, taking the red light at the intersection as an opportunity to glare at herself in the rearview, about as close as she could get to confronting Astley 'face to face'. 'You can hear other dragons, actually hear them speak, and you're only telling me about that NOW?'

'...Yes.'

'Okay, cool. Alright. Awesome. Great. Perfect.' The avalanche of positive thoughts had Astley retreating to a far corner of her mind, experience telling him that this was Not Good. 'Once again I'm let out of the loop. That's terrific.' 

'Well I didn't think it was necessary for you to know, I'm the one who can hear them. Not you.' 

'But I like to know these things! I'm part of this with you and I deserve to know!' 

'Alright, shoot, I'm sorry. You're right. Absolutely right.' the voice conceded startlingly quickly as Ennie pulled into the hospital parking lot. 'We good?' 

'Oh yeah,' Ennie smiled devilishly to herself. 'Totally. So good, we're having Fillet O' Fish for supper.' 

'OH NO WE ARE NOT' Astley shouted as Ennie turned the engine off. 'I SAID I WAS SORRY! WE ARE NOT INGESTING THAT MONSTROSITY. THIS IS ABUSE! DRAGON ABUSE!' 

'Live with it,' Ennie thought back as she opened her door and hopped out. "You're good to wait out here?" she asked Reito before walking around the other side of the SUV and opening Vincent's door. One look at her friend's poor condition had her questioning the wisdom of her other half, but the light dragon slowly opened his eyes and slowly propped himself into a sitting position. "C'mon champ, let's get you inside," she said with a grim ex
pression as she draped Vincent's good arm over her shoulders. The height difference meant that she was basically dragging him across the pavement, but at least they were getting to the front doors, with Misty leading the way as a very reliable escort. 

A freckled, plump, redhead greeted them at the desk, her face blossoming into a friendly smile at the sight of the young woman. "Enn! So nice to see you again, have you- Oh my god!" she yelled as she finally noticed Vincent. "Is he all right? What happened?" 

"Um," Ennie glanced at the obviously wounded person on her arm before turning back to the receptionist. "Yeah, he's just cherry. Perfectly fine. Naught but a flesh wound. Just a, y'know, slight emergency, Abigail." 

"Of course!" the Abigail agreed as she snatched a clipboard from a hook and hurried down the hall towards the Emergency ward. "There's a free bed in the room just to the left, and someone will be in there to see him shortly." Misty ran ahead of the trio, as if hearing the woman's words. "Oh, pretty kitty!" the young nurse complimented as she guided Ennie to the room and helped Vincent onto the bed. The room was simple and not at all decorated, dominated by three curtained off beds, and reeked of an antiseptic odor that made Ennie's stomach turn. "Will you be staying with him? I'm sure he'll be fine on his own, but it's up to you." Abigail said, sounding almost hopeful as she smiled up at Ennie. 

"I'll be back," Ennie promised, trying her best to just ignore the smell. Goodness, she despised hospitals. "Gotta make a food run, I kinda promised someone. Thanks, Abigail!" She shouted over her shoulder as she darted out of the room, Misty's meow of goodbye following her down the hall. 

'That smilodon can try all she wants, she's not winning me over.' Astley huffed as they hopped back into the SUV and started it up. 

"Sorry for the hold up," Ennie grinned at Reito. "Now, onwards to FOOD! I have a date with a Filet O' Fish!" 

'NOOOOOOO!' 
DreamWalker

9:12am Mar 21 2019

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Posts: 34
Tucker was up in his tree until he was sure the threat was gone. He slowly climbed down, his arms and legs shaking as he went. Seeing that the tortoise was nowhere to be found, he scooped up the white kitten already having the calico in hand, and made a run for it towards the city. After he ran 4 blocks or so, he stopped to catch his breath. After he took A breather he looked around to see where he was. The was a hospital to his left and a small cofee shop to his right. He decided to go to the cofee shop and pick up some food for himself and the kittens. 

Tucker was now sitting in some of the outside chairs at the coffee shop while the kittens were on the table in front of him enjoying a small cup of cream. Tucker let out a sigh and finally let himself relax. He had ordered a peice of this one type of tart and it was now sitting on the table in front of him. The calico kitten curiously sniffed at it, "you can have a bite if you want" said Tucker with an amused smile, knowing the kitten won't eat it. The calico mewed and lost interest in the tart. It then trotted over to Tucker and started to play with his hair. Tucker chuckled and picked up his tart and took a bite out of it. Confirming that this tart was delicious, he quickly scarfed it down and licked his fingers for crumbs. 
Alcarie

11:02pm Mar 21 2019

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Posts: 2,091
Merce ::
It became apparent pretty quickly that something was still upsetting Amphora. As she continued to walk, Merce attempted to gain her dragons attention a couple of times, only ever to receive a grunt or clipped answer in return. Decided that speaking out loud probably wasn't a smart move she instead mentally poked at the tropical dragon. 'Seriously, what's wrong?'

"Will you shut up! I'm trying to concentrate."

Amphora wasn't usually hostile, particularly to her, so the curtness of her words and obvious irritation was surprising. Not willing to gain more ire, Merce kept her thoughts to herself as she continued her trek through the streets. There were only a few others milling about, making her feel ever more vulnerable. Passing by some of the shops, she was reminded of her original plans for food and inwardly sighed. She should have ignored Amphora and stayed at the hostel. This is what she got for actually listening to the dragon. Kicking a stone with extreme prejudice, Merce was about to cross over the the opposite side of the street when Amphora's soft, fearful snarl almost made her pause.

"Don't stop! Just, act normal. And for the love of all you consider holy don't talk to me aloud!" Attempted to do as the dragon said while not giving any indication of her suddenly racing heart and trembling hands, she waited until the road was clear before quickly crossing it. "There's a Hunter somewhere behind us, and from what I can smell they've been either following us or are just taking the same route." From the way Amphora said it, Merce was positive the dragon was leaning towards the first option. "We need to get off the streets, see if it's even us the Hunters after."

'How about that alley over there?' The alley Merce had turned her gaze on was small and dark, with a large dumpster at one end and a lot of debris strewn through it. 'We can hide behind the dumpster?' Amphora's eye roll was loud enough to be heard.

"I doubt the Hunter is stupid enough not to realize where we'd gone." The silent idiot was easily noticed.

'Yeah, but if they're not expecting it maybe we can get the jump on them? Because from what you've told me it seems that if they are after us, their going to attack at some point or other. We need to get them first.' Maybe the idea was stupid, but Merce didn't relish being hunted like a rabbit. She'd rather be the dog doing to hunting. Amphora simply sighed in exasperation, though the underlining fear was rolling off the dragon in waves. It was making the hair on the back of Merce's neck prickle. Not willing to glance over her shoulder and give away the fact she knew the Hunter was there, she slowed her pace towards the alleyway, pausing by one of the shops beside of it to seem like she was window gazing. After a moment a large group of people exited a nearby restaurant, mingling and chatting loudly. Using the opportunity she'd been waiting for, Merce slipped into the bustling group, lowering her head to try and bob and weave until she could slip, hopefully unnoticed, into the small, dank alley.

It smelled awful of rotting food and alcohol. Nose wrinkling, Merce headed straight towards the dumpster to hide behind. She'd always enjoyed action and spy movies, but she knew that after all of this was was going to stick to her documentaries. 'I need a weapon.' Glancing around, there was little besides empty bottles and cardboard scraps. Except a broken 2x4. It definitely wasn't a bat, but it would do. Grabbing it tightly, Merce breathed a few times to calm herself, before trying to listen for anyone approaching. 'I really hope no poor homeless person decides this is a good dumpster to check for food.'



Tinkers
dmann

11:57pm Mar 21 2019 (last edited on 11:57pm Mar 21 2019)

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Posts: 96

As the lady walks onwards, Anthony follows, watching her movements carefully. He had to see if his instincts were right. He would need her to stop under a light, for him to check her hair at range though. It was one thing that was consistent in the reports he had read, about the human forms of Dragons hair being of unusual colours.


He sees his chance when she stops, by a shop window. He continues past her without breaking stride, and looks carefully at her hair as he gets near. As he does, he notices the telltale faint shimmer that signifies her to be a Dragon. Paydirt.


He starts whistling a random off tune song as he gets right behind her, and continues past the alley and then further, until coming to the entrance to an apartment, then stepping inside the entrance but not going inside rather sharply. He was going to see if she continued past before continuing to follow her.


When she doesn’t, and a group passes by instead, he decides to double back and see where she was. When he comes to the Alley, Anthony slowly moves into it, wondering if she had headed that way, going past the dumpster with his nose held to keep the overpowering smells from making him bring up his food...




There is, I think, humor here which does not translate well from English into sanity.
Creus

12:00am Mar 22 2019 (last edited on 12:12am Mar 22 2019)

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Posts: 92
"So you just tell these people everything...?"
"Sure, why not?"
"We do not know if we can trust them!"
"Well they are other dragons, so why can't we trust them?"
"Just because there are other humans does that mean you trust them all!"
"Dragons aren't humans though."
"Thats not the point!"
"Whats--ooh what is that fluffy thing?" Reito shouted suddenly as he finally noticed Misty when the cat jumped out of the car. He had seen plenty of cats before but none quite like that one, thus he automatically concluded that it must not be a cat.

"...."
"You just noticed that?"
"Yeah, what is that?"
"I think its a cat."
"No way! its waaay to big!"
"It must be a racoon!"
"How in the world did you come to that conclusion?"
"Well its big, its super fluffy, its grey and it has darker markings, therefore a raccoon."
"Really? Are you that stupid? Since when to raccoons have short faces like that?"
"Your right, it must be a short faced raccoon!"
"No such thing!"
"Yes there is, we just saw one!"
"Animals don't automatically exist just because you make them up on the spot!"
"Why not?"
"Thats not how it works!"
"But we clearly just saw a short faced raccoon."
"...."
"I wanna pet it!"
"No!"
When the other dragon returned to the car and mentioned food the assassin automatically lit up. The prospect of food was something he always looked forward too regardless of its quality or where it came from.  Rizzio however voiced a displeased grumble when Ennie mentioned Filet O Fish. He knew that word and it meant they where going to THAT place an he hated THAT place with a passion. "How could another dragon possibly allow its human to eat that crud? Its practically toxic waste!"
"Eh, if its toxic waste then its really good toxic waste!"
"Toxic waste is not good. Its never good!" The dragon cried out in pure exasperation, when will the torture end?!
"Its very yummy toxic waste!"
"Your going to kill me or pollute me or something! At this rate I will end up as some sort of sludge monster instead of my beautiful self!"
"Wait? If I eat enough Mcdonalds I will become a toxic waste sludge monster? That sounds awesome!"
"That is not awesome!"
"Totally awesome!"
"Not!"
"Yes, I want one hundred chicken nuggets and four bottles of chocolate milk! Ooh, and maybe some fries and a burger too!"
"Thats way too much! You can't eat all that!"
"You wanna bet?"
"No!"
"Oh, awesome granny dragon lady, why was that bleeding blondie being followed by a raccoon?" The assassin asked suddenly changing the topic as he randomly remembered the fluffy raccoon that he had been arguing about with Rizzio earlier before he got distracted by food.


Storm
Setzer

10:53am Mar 22 2019 (last edited on 9:18pm Mar 26 2019)

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Posts: 2,151

The bitter cold stung Vincent’s skin as wind whipped through the barren forest. He trudged through the thick la
yer of snow with purpose, running as fast as the lack of traction would allow. It was a kind of irony, being surrounded by dead things, and about to be dead himself. There was no humor to be found here, though.


“DEMONS,” a voice roared behind him, “YOU WILL BE DESTROYED!”


The sun dragon looked to his companion as they ran, frightened and searching for any kind of reassurance that they would be okay. There was none, as the gale dragon met his gaze, ex
pression a mirror of his own.


They had been so careful-- they’d never stayed in one place for too long, drifting from city to city, town to town. They had situated themselves amongst regular humans so as to hide in plain sight, refrained from making strong connections with anyone else, constantly looked over their shoulders, but it was not nearly enough. The Hunters had found them, as they always would. Their numbers were too high, their reach too far.


An arrow suddenly pierced Vincent’s leg, and he screamed in pain, falling hard into the powdery snow. His companion stopped in his tracks, kneeling to help him up, as Vincent begged him to leave him behind.


“I am not leaving you behind, Vincent.” His friend said, tone suggesting he would not be argued with. The other man helped him up, the two of them ready to continue their sprint for dear life, but their pursuers had gotten too close. There was nowhere to run.


The other man turned to face the hunters, power radiating from his body as skin shifted into scales and fur. The gale dragon stood protectively over Vincent, snarling at the Hunters as they sat perched on horses whose legs were long enough to not have been hindered by snow. The Hunters yelled something unintelligible and charged at the long, wingless dragon, but were quickly blown back by a merciless gust of wind from the dragon’s lungs. Their horses bolted, suddenly terrified, and the two of them were left lying on the ground, stunned by the impact.


The dragon roared, an ear-splitting sound of fury, and charged at the Hunters, hovering into the air as they sliced at his hide. Vincent watched in terror as his friend fought to protect him.


-


Thunder cracked overhead (thunder? was it not just snowing?), white bolts of lightning jutting out from the clouds, playing chicken with the earth below. There was a furious scream, the voice of a woman, off to his left, and he turned to find a familiar face running towards him. At some point, he had ended up indoors. The lack of sense in this would have sent him reeling, had he been conscious.


The woman screamed, fire shooting out of her mouth. Vincent dodged her attack, heart hammering in his chest, preparing to deflect a lunge. She had a knife, and no matter what way he ducked to avoid her, he was struck each time she came at him. Lacerations covered his arms and torso, blood pooling beneath him as he strained for breath.


“YOU KILLED HER!” The woman shrieked, voice downright demonic. “SHE IS DEAD BECAUSE OF YOU!”


“I have killed no one!” Vincent protested, terrified and confused.


The woman screamed again and flung her knife at him, hitting him in the shoulder like a homing missile. He cried out in pain and began to fight back, as the room filled with red. He saw his friend, a motionless heap of scales in the snow, and struck the woman with all his might.


---


In the waking world, Misty loafed quietly on Vincent, watching the two in the front with quiet curiosity. They smelled… funny. The woman smelled of the forest, while the man smelled of the night. As she was a cat, she had no idea what to make of it.


The feline hadn't exactly expected to be chased through the woods by scary men with Vincent, when she had skillfully nudged the unlocked window open and followed his scent trail to find him. Something told her he needed her, as usual, and she was happy to help-- this kind man was her source of food and scritches, after all.


It was when he began to twitch in his sleep that her attention returned to him. Emerald green eyes peered closely at Vincent as his face screwed up, and his mouth moved. Slowly, she rose to her paws, and moved to sit on his chest. With one large, furry paw, she gently booped him on the forehead, wondering what was wrong. She could smell fear on him, yet he was sleeping, and not in danger.


Vincent woke with a start, breathing heavily and looking around frantically, trying to remember where he was. The space was small, there was pain in his shoulder, and a cat was currently softly poking at his face with its paw. His heart was racing, and he found the air starting to become stale, and--


“νιη¢єηт, уσυ αяє ѕαƒє.” A calming voice came to his aid, bringing him back to reality. He was in Ennie's car. The pain in his shoulder was multiple gunshot wounds, courtesy of the Hunters. The cat on his chest was Misty, who had probably been concerned when he showed signs of distress, as she was trained to.

He drew in a shaky breath, wishing the car was cooler. His wish was granted, as the SUV rolled to a halt and the door was opened, letting in some much-appreciated evening air. He grimaced as a jolt of pain hit his shoulder when he sat up, trying to shake off the last bits of unconsciousness that clung to him after his dream. Misty hopped out of the car so he could get out, and led the way into the hospital as Ennie helped him walk.


The immediate shock of brightness and the smell of antiseptic assaulted his senses when they got inside, and he immediately screwed his eyes shut, ducking his head to avoid the lights. He reopened them when the shocked nurse began to lead him and Ennie to the emergency ward, smiling as he watched Misty rub herself on the nurse's leg as a “thank you” for the compliment. He was grateful that no one seemed to be questioning her presence-- she wasn't wearing her vest, after all, so there was no guarantee anyone would recognize her as a service animal.


The bed was a bit stiff, but that didn’t matter to someone who was exhausted and bleeding out. It had been a long time since he'd been in a hospital, but he was certainly grateful for the fact that he had recently moved to Canada-- a visit to the hospital was something covered by provincial healthcare, and thus he wouldn't be billed an obscene amount for this trip.


Anxiety prickled in his mind at the thought of being left alone as Ennie left to grab food, but he shook it off as Misty jumped onto the bed and laid beside him, head propped on his chest. With his good arm, he settled a hand on her head and stroked her soft fur. A soothing purr began to rumble from the large cat, just about as loud as one would expect a cat her size to sound. He closed his eyes again, focusing on his kind feline friend. What would I ever do without you, Misty?
Malik

12:20am Mar 23 2019

Normal User


Posts: 620
'Yeah Awesome Granny Dragon Lady', Astley parroted with a voice full of mirth. 'Why was the rac-SMILODON following Vincent? Oh SNAP he called us AWESOME! I tell you what, I like this guy. I like 'im.' 

'Couple of compliments and you're already vouching for him, huh?' Ennie smirked as she pulled out of the parking lot. 'Expected a little better of you, honestly.'

'Now why would you go and do something so reckless like putting expectations on me? Besides, it's a self esteem thing, I perform best in an environment fueled by flattery.'

'Ah. This explains the wing envy thing you got going on. Might I suggest therapy?'

'Wings are IMPORTANT, mkay? Not my fault I fell into the grubby hands of a toddler doomed with terrible genes. I mean who grows to 5'2'' and then just STOPS. Who does that??'

"So," Ennie said aloud in a voice that totally wasn't trying to drown out the one in her head. "That wasn't a raccoon following Vince, it was a Smilo-a Maine Coon. So, I mean, you were half right? Also, and Vince- uh, Vincent- he-he can tell you more, he's definitely more of an uh expert on this stuff than I am, but one thing I'm sure you'll discover with time is you age really, really slowly now. Astley and I didn't come up North from the forests until the Seventies and it took us a bit to figure that out. You just gotta keep moving," she nodded to herself as she turned onto a busy street. "Can't let people catch on that you're different. Because then things start getting messy." 

'Like Kansas. Ugh. Remember Kansas? I remember Kansas.' 

'Don't remind me.' Ennie thought with a violent shudder. "I found Astley's stone in Brazil, 1840...something," she said, with a sideways glance at Reito. "I was only a kid, barely older than a toddler, so I remember it being very different and extremely confusing, but I was lucky enough to kinda grow into it. You... I can't imagine what you're going through, the shock of it all. Fortunately, you got me and Vincent, and we'll help you through anything, okay?" 

She accepted Reito's grateful nod with a kind smile, and turned her attention back to the road, slowing down the car as they approached a red light. "I got your order, for McDonald's but I'm not sure what Vincent eats..." She chewed her lip thoughtfully. "Is he... I don't think he's a vegetarian.." 

'A vegetarian?' Astley scoffed. 'US? Allying with a PLANT EATER? Come on, you think I'd lead you astray like th- WAIT! DO YOU HEAR THAT?'

'What?' Ennie glanced about, scanning traffic for any danger. 'I don't hear anything.' 

'LISTEN.'

'..I don't know why you're not fair. I give you my love but you don't care...'

'Astley, I don't know what you're-'

'THE VOLUME CONTROL!' he screeched. 'Do the-DO THE THING! WITH THE KNOB! LOUDER!' 

Ennie twisted the volume control with a vengeance that was mostly Astley's doing, and the cab was filled with deafening sound. 

'WHAT IS LOVE? 
BABY DON'T HURT ME
DON'T HURT ME
NO MORE'

"Sorry!" Ennie yelled at Reito over the din. "This is-is Astley's jam! One of them anyway! He has many! And you don't want to be around him when he misses one! Well, you're probably okay, I wouldn't be!" 

The other dragon didn't seem to be minding the music, outwardly at least. What was going on inside his head was difficult to tell. Astley would probably know, given his recently revealed ability to listen in on dragons. Given the cacophony inside her brain, she didn't think Astley was listening to anyone at the moment.

'WHAT IS LOVE? 
BABY DON'T HURT ME
DON'T HURT MEEEE
NO MO!'

"Okay, that's enough," she viciously twisted the knob back down to bearable levels as they pulled into McDonald's, despite the sounds of protest in her mind. "Come on, Astley, they have to be able to hear me!" 

'But my JAM!'

'You have TOO MANY JAMS, son!' 

'It's okay to have a plethora of jams!' he insisted as the car approached the drive-thru. 'A cornucopia of jellies! A collection of reductions! It's OKAY! I'M VALID!' 

"Hey," Ennie said as she was greeted at the speaker, tactfully ignoring the tantrum being thrown in the back of her mind. "Can I get uhhh... Three six piece chicken nuggets... Ooh your Happy Meals have Pokemon toys! Three of those, please, the uh, uh, chicken wrap ones, with apple slices and chocolate milks. And uhh...three Big Mac meals, with fries and...Coke?" she glanced at Reito for an affirmation. "Coca Cola. Large fries. Oh! Almost forgot! One Fillet O' Fish sandwich as well, please. Thank you!" she waited for her total as she fished out her debit card and crawled her SUV to the window. "There, just about got a bit of everything." 

'Yeah,' Astley grouched, evidently still salty about the Fillet O' Fish. 'You sure did get everything. Thanks.' 

'Not a problem, friendo.' she smiled too sweetly to herself as she paid for the food and accepted the stuffed paper bags and with Reito's help arranged them in safe spots in the Kona. "Okay," she said aloud as she pulled out of the restaurant. "Back to Vincent. Let's hope he's alright. And hungry."
DreamWalker

12:59am Mar 23 2019

Normal User


Posts: 34
Tucker had now finished his food and has started to clean up. The kittens were fast asleep on the chair. Tucker sighed and gently lifted the kittens into his arms. Not wanting to go back home, he walked to a bus stop that was next to the hospital. He sat down on the branch and wrapped himself and the kittens in his coat. He felt his eyes slowly closing and before he knew it, he was fast asleep.

Tucker had opened his eyes to himself, standing in a large field. Looking around, Tucker could see that there was nobody on the area except for a little girl with long blonde hair and blue eyes. The girl, Tucker recognized at once was his sister. Tears of joy welled up in his eyes "Kiera!" He cried out his sister's name and ran towards her. She stared at him with a blank ex
pression. Then, to Tucker's horror, golden scales started to grow from her skin and long brown horns grew from her skull. Tucker cried out in dismay "no no no! Not again! Stop!" But his cries of protest were useless. By now, Kiera was now 20 feet tall with scales covering her entire body and wings sprouting from her back. She let out A blood thirsty roar and started to set everything around her on fire. No matter how loud Tucker screamed for her to stop, she couldn't hear him. She was too lost in her fear and her anger to notice the things around her. Suddenly, a bow and arrow appeared in Tucker's hands. No matter how hard he tried, his hands wouldn't stop moving as they slowly lifted the arrow to point at Kiera's heart. "NO! STOP IT!!" Tucker let out a devastated scream as the arrow was released. It all happened in slow motion. The dragon steel arrow pierced his sister's heart and she let out a roar of agony. Kiera collapsed to the ground, her body now cold. Tucker fell to his knees, sobbing into his hands "why do you do this to me?! WHY?!!" Soon, everything faded to black. 
Alcarie

9:34pm Mar 23 2019 (last edited on 9:54pm Mar 23 2019)

Normal User


Posts: 2,091
Footsteps slowly approached and entered the ally, and Merce tensed. Gripping her plank of wood tighter, the held her breadth and willed Amphora to keep quiet. She needed to concentrate! Violence wasn't in Merce's wheelhouse, and the thought of actually hurting someone was appalling. But if it was a 'them vs her' situation she knew she needed to grow a backbone. Carefully listening, she cringed a bit as the person began whistling god-awfully. Even Amphora groaned. But it did allow her to pinpoint his location more easily. At least it did until something began humming in her ear, even worse than the whistling. Like someone attempting to sing but instead caterwauling for all they were worth. Luckily it was far away and she ignored it as she refocused on the whistling. When it sounded within range she attacked. Giving a war cry that probably sounded more like the 'singing' of a half dead ally-cat, Merce swung the plank of wood harshly at what she presumed to be belly level of her would be attacker. Even she wasn't stupid enough to try and hit a man with an upwards swing to knock him out. He doubled over with the blow, and without a second thought she whacked him on the back of the head. He crumpled into an unconscious heap. "Oh god," she whispered, dropping the wooden plank. "Please tell me I didn't kill him! I'm not cut out for murder!"

"His hearts beating so no, Rambo, you didn't kill him." Amphora muttered sarcastically. "But when he wakes up he will kill us. So find his knife." Merce blinked owlishly at the body sprawled on the ground. He wasn't necessarily a tall guy, though taller then her, but he outweighed her in muscle and was obviously fit. He could probably pop her head off with his bare hands if he wanted to, and the mental image made her whimper. "He's human, nitiwt, he can't do that. Now find his bloody knife before he wakes up!" Scrabbling through the guys pockets, she came up empty for the most part, until her fingers closed around something metal. Amphora snarled in her head, and as she pulled the knife out she looked it over curiously.

"This is supposed to kill you? Us?" She asked, keeping a weary eye on the man. If he so much as twitched she'd probably accidentally stab him, or drop to knife and impale herself knowing her luck.

"It's made from my dead brethren." Amphora told her, voice sad and old. "It's the only thing that can truly kill a dragon. It also signifies this monster as a dragon killer." Rage suddenly colored Amphora's tone, and Merce could suddenly envision a pale dragon reared up, wings flared and teeth bared in her fury. It was as exhilarating as it was terrifying. "Shove it through his neck, Merce, and be done with it. Then we'll get rid of the blade."

"What?!" Horrified at the very notion of her usually placid dragon asking her to kill someone, even if they were an awful human being, Merce nearly dropped the knife and scrabbled back a step. "Now wait a minute! What if he's not killed a dragon? What if he's not planning on it?" The knife was suddenly clutched tighter in her hand and she involuntarily shifted forward as Amphora attempted to do the deed herself. "No! We're not killers, Amphora. Please!" Fighting for control, for once Merce's fear and disgust won out over the dragons slowly ebbing rage. Of course as she was wrangling Amphora the man groaned softly.

"Wait, plea-" The words were slurred almost to the point of being unrecognizable, and Merce felt a jolt of remorse. Hunter or not, being out of it and defenseless was probably awful.

"You're better then this Amphora," She tried reasoning again. "Don't kill because of perceived notions and become no better then the Hunters." Amphora deflated at this, and Merce was once again fully in control.

"I'm so sorry." The dragon whispered. "I...I don't know what I was thinking." Merce knew what Amphora was thinking, on what she was remembering. Dead dragons, slaughtered for no reason except fear over what they were. As an archaeologist, Merce knew of multiple cultures who'd been wiped out for the very reason. To know such practices were still going on was sickening. Looking down at the man, Merce blinked back tears. She'd dug up mass graves before, skeletons piled upon one another with obvious signs of trauma. And not all of those skeletons were of adults. And they'd been thrown into a hole in the ground and forgotten. More often then not they'd been people conquered by others who didn't understand them or their culture, who feared what they could do, how they acted, or how they looked. And for that reason they were slaughtered. Basically exactly like what the Hunter's were doing to the dragons.

"It's okay. I understand." She told Amphora gently, wiping her eyes carefully. Taking in a shuttering breadth, Merce had to debate on what to do next. She could take the blade and run, but the chances of him catching up to her later was high. Looking over her shoulder for the rest of her life didn't sound to appealing. "Okay, we need to actually talk to this guy. Maybe sort this mess out? We've got the blade and I didn't see any other weapon on him so we have the advantage." Amphora's silence spoke loudly of her dislike for this plan. "I'm not killing an unarmed man when he's down. Maybe we can come to a truce, show him we've not hurt anyone and he'll leave us alone? Or at least give us a head start on running."

"Your the only bonehead I know who'd try to talk their would be murdering from killing them."

"Your snarks not helping any!" Gripping the knife in a better position, she contemplated on how exactly to go about it and decided that him getting to his feet or able to use his arms was likely a death sentence for her. Blade or not. Well, nothing to do about it. Without rope or handcuffs, she'd have to improvise. Being fairly hefty for a woman only 5'6'', Merce put her own weight to good use and straddled the mans stomach after rolling him none-to-gently onto his back, making sure his arms were securely pinned. Searching his pockets one last time to make sure there was no hidden weapons, she poked the strangers chest, hard, to try and rouse him. "Come on sleeping beauty, time to wake up." She groused, bringing the blade up under the mans jaw right at his throat. In the quiet that followed, her stomach decided to make it's self known. Loudly. The sudden noise almost made her jump in the stillness of the ally and she knew there was a blush reddening her ears.

"If your hungry, dragons have been known to eat humans in the past." Amphora informed her, wickedness lacing her normally pleasant voice. Merce paled and sputtered out a protest.


Tinkers
dmann

10:36pm Mar 23 2019 (last edited on 10:40pm Mar 23 2019)

Normal User


Posts: 96

As Anthony makes his way past the dumpster, he hears a humanlike noise that sounded like a cats yowl to his side which makes him raise his arms to head level, which he realised a second later was the wrong move. He felt the wind of his breath leave him as he felt a block of wood hit him in the stomach. But that wasn’t the end of the strike, which had taken him by surprise, and sent his body forwards. He feels a solid second whack on the back of his head, and he felt the dark of unconsciousness take him before he hit the ground. It was a familiar feeling, from his training.


In his state of blackout, his mind played out old memories.

“Whats wrong Ant? You have been acting strange lat-”


“Son, you need to leave here. The Hunters will come after you. Esc-”


“Wait, please. Die Drachen sind nicht so b-”


As the memories fade and he regains consciousness slowly, he notices a few things have changed. He was now face up, instead of down. He also felt his jacket was opened, because the cold was permeating into the opened zipper. Which meant his Family Blade wasn’t in its safe place. It was somewhere else. He then noticed the weight on his wrists and upper body, and the sharp weight against his throat. A couple of blinks cause his eyes to refocus, and he notices his assailant. It was the Dragon Lady, which he realises by her hair colour. He looks down at her slowly, and sees a rounded, weathered face, scrunched up with an indecisive hardness, her eyes narrowed, but a blue shining from behind the eyelids.


And then the noise of a rumbling stomach comes from the Dragon Lady, which causes Anthony to be reminded of the smell. He had taken a blow to the stomach, and the alleyway wasn’t helping any. He had only eaten a short while ago too. With the combination, He starts keening and making head movements for her to get off, while his face loses colour, and gains a green tint.

“I’m gonna hurl!” he says between huffs, trying to aim his face away from the Dragon Lady...


Translation: "The Dragons aren't that b-"




There is, I think, humor here which does not translate well from English into sanity.
Creus

3:37pm Mar 24 2019 (last edited on 7:05pm Mar 24 2019)

Normal User


Posts: 92
For the moment the eito stared at Ennie in confusion, not quite understanding what she meant but when she said he was have right he beamed. "See, Rizzio I told you it was a raccoon! Half a raccoon to be exact! And its a smiling one!"
"Maine Coon! Its a cat!"
"No, a smiling Maine half-raccoon! Thats what they said!"
"Ugh..." For the moment Rizzio did not have the energy to argue this silly point. The dragon had never heard of a Maine Coon but he knew a cat when he saw one. Furthermore he understood that there where certain breeds of cats though he was not familiar  with them it was easy enough to connect the dots. Unlike his person whom was completely oblivious and generally just dumb regarding most things the dragon did have a fondness for learning which only served putting up with Reito even harder. There was only one small thing the two had in common and that was that they both liked animals, even if Reito didn't know a raccoon from a cat he loved them. In fact that was what initially made Rizzio think that this might work out, it was an incident that happened only a few weeks after they met.
Reito had been walking down the streets of distance country, the dragon couldn't remember which but it was a violent, war torn place and Reito had just recently completed a job there. They where due to fly back home the next day when the two had witnessed a mangy stray black cat that was attempting to cross the road get hit by a car. At that time, both of them where of the same mindframe, save the cat and so they did. As dumb as Reito was he still had military training behind him and new basic first aid thanks to his quick actions they where able to stabilize the cat however it needed more help than they could possibly give at the time.
The little cat had been in bad shape and the nearest vet was hours away by car. Given the state of the country finding reliable transport was not easy so Rizzio convinced Reito to take the cat out of the main city and into a small patch of woods. That was their first flight, their first transformation and it was all for a little injured cat. It had all been a bit over whelming, Reito hadn't even known they could transform at that point, much less fly however the assassin somehow took it all in stride. As if transforming into dragons was an everyday occurrence, perhaps he was just too dumb to realize it wasn't normal? Either way the dragon had flown the cat to the vet, the injured feline clutched delicately in his paws. Unfortunately they didn't have time to stay, they had to catch their flight home and neither one where prepared to fly across seas so they never actually learned the little felines fate. All Rizzio new was that Reito gave the vet a lot of money, told them to save it and use whatevers left to find it a home. Whether the vet kept the money for themselves or did as asked was something they probably would never know.
Lost in one of his first memories with Reito the dragon didn't pay much attention to the rest of what Ennie said those his human still smiled and nodded along dumbly like he understood. "So we all get to be young old people? Cool!" This stupid remark the dragon ignored as well however Rizzio was quite shocked and vaguely disturbed when the other dragon suddenly burst into song. Why would any dragon do that? Why would any dragon actually want to immerse themselves that much in human culture? Rizzio tolerated it because he had no other choice but actually enjoy it? That was straight up appalling! Have they forgotten who they where? Have they lost their pride as dragons?
"We definitely do not need their help!" The mortified dragon stated loudly.


Storm
Setzer

9:50pm Mar 24 2019

Moderator


Posts: 2,151

The sound of approaching footsteps had Vincent opening his eyes again, curious as to who was coming. The telltale smell of McDonald's was not present, so he supposed it must be the doctor. Sure enough, a tall, muscular Asian man in a clean white coat brandishing a clipboard stepped into the room, eyes widening as he took in the state of his patient. The sun dragon supposed he must be a sight, what with leaves tangled in his hair, torn and bloody clothes, and a very large cat loafing on his chest.


The doctor cleared his throat, turning his attention back to his clipboard. “It says here that you were bleeding from a wound on your shoulder. Are you able to sit up?”


“I think so,” Vincent nodded, propping himself up with his good arm and swinging his legs around to the side. Misty jumped off of his lap and crouched on the bed beside him, tail twitching slightly.


“Good,” the doctor said, “are you comfortable removing your shirt? I need to get a clear look at your shoulder.”


The sun dragon nodded again, wincing as the dull ache in his shoulder increased to a sharp stab when he moved his arm to pull off his tattered shirt. It felt good to get the bloody fabric off of his arm, though.


Vincent jolted and turned sharply as a hand gathered the hair that was covering the wound to brush it aside, unintentionally dislodging Misty in the process. He stared at the doctor warily, eyes wide and unblinking as his breathing stuttered.


“Easy,” the dark-haired man’s voice softened, hands raised passively, “I won't hurt you.”


A soft nudging at his side drew the sun dragon's attention away, and he turned his head to find Misty headbutting him affectionately. She had been trained to recognize high anxiety in her owner and try to quell it, and was quite good at her job. He smiled weakly, petting her with his good arm as his breathing returned to normal.


“I'm sorry,” he started, but the doctor shook his head, smiling kindly.


“Don't be. I should have warned you.” There was a knowing look in his eyes, and for the first time since meeting the man, Vincent actually noticed his arm. It was a prosthetic-- its movements were lifelike, to the point where a very tired sun dragon had not even realized, but it was still made of some kind of metal, or plastic. Vincent wondered what could have happened to him.


Tension settled, Vincent sat back in his previous position and anticipated the touch this time. Even still, the doctor announced what he was going to do, trying to avoid startling his patient again. “I just need to move your hair, so I can take a look at your shoulder.”


The blonde man nodded, cursing himself for tensing when his hair was touched again.


The doctor didn't seem surprised to see the injury, and Vincent supposed he must have seen much worse, working in the ER. He began to walk to the side of the room and pull over a cart, explaining what he was going to do. “I'm going to use a local anesthetic to ease the pain before I take the bullet out”, he announced, and Vincent braced himself for the inevitable sting of the needle when he returned.


The pain dissipated fast after that, and he sighed in relief as the ache was numbed. He began to think about how unnerving it was, knowing what was going on and not being able to feel it, so Helios decided to take his mind off of the subject.


“уσυ ƒιη∂ тнє ρнуѕι¢ιαη αттяα¢тινє,” the dragon stated, and Vincent had to stop himself from looking visibly surprised.


What? Why are we talking about this?


“уσυ ∂σ ησт ∂єηу ιт?” Helios asked, thoroughly amused.


Well… yes, I find him attractive, and he was kind to me, but it's hardly appropriate to think about that right now.


“ι ωση∂єя ιƒ уσυ ¢συℓ∂ gєт нιѕ ηυмвєя. уσυ нανє вєєη qυιтє ℓσηєℓу."


Helios!


The big yellow lizard in his head laughed as Vincent rolled his eyes. He bit back a chuckle himself, surprised at the dragon's teasing. It was not very common for him to be so cheeky, but he supposed if he was trying to distract him, it had definitely worked.
Malik

1:12am Mar 25 2019

Normal User


Posts: 620
The ride back to the hospital was mostly quiet, particularly since Ennie refused to turn the radio on after Astley's latest bout of caterwauling. Despite that it wasn't an uncomfortable silence, both dragons had had quite the night, and Ennie in particular was content to mack on some apple slices and think over the recent events as she drove. 

Those men attacking Vincent, he'd said they weren't muggers, and in a way that made sense. The chances of stumbling across someone who wanted your wallet in the middle of the woods were slim to none. So if that was the case, what were they doing in the bush at that time of night? Why were they attacking Vincent? How did he seem to know who they were, and why they were after him? Did he get himself into trouble somewhere? Or was there something more sinister afoot here? 

'I don't like this,' she thought, popping the rest of her apple slice into her mouth as she followed the flow of traffic through an intersection, still frowning in thought. 

'Well, duh. Why are you even eating those things when we have fries?' 

'Not the food, you idiot! This! This whole night! Haven't you been listening to anything I've been thinking?'

'Well honestly after the Fillet O' Fish thing and now the radio silence I've kinda been trying to give you the cold shoulder, y'know? Of course it doesn't really work when we share a shoulder now does it?' 

'Something feels really wrong,' Ennie pouted in consternation and blinkered to turn into the hospital's parking lot. 'Let's hope Vincent's feeling up to talking because I got some questions for him.' 

She parked the bright green Kona and with Reito's help gathered up the McDonald's haul and headed off towards the large building, with Ennie chirping the vehicle locked as they walked. She loved her car, but seeing it stand out among the other vehicles in the parking she began, not for the first time, to reconsider her choice in paint jobs. Someone could very easily find her if she wanted to. 

She felt a shudder wash over her, and wasn't quite certain if it was the cool night or her own nerves. She chalked it up to the latter and mentally admonished herself for getting so worried. 'It was just the excitement of the night,' she told herself, 'that's all. No one's out there hunting you, that ridiculous'. 

Astley was uncharacteristically quiet. 

Her internal fears washed away almost as soon as she stepped into the hospital lobby and was greeted once more by Abigail and her cheerful smile. "You're back just in time," she said. "He's just being patched up, and they're putting him on an IV for a little bit. After that, he's all yours!" 

"He's going to be all right then?" Ennie asked with concern as they followed the nurse down the hall back to Emergency. The last time she'd seen Vincent, he'd definitely looked far worse for wear. 

"It could have been bad," Abigail answered. "He'd lost a lot of blood by the time he got here... He's lucky you got him here in time." 

'So am I,' Ennie thought as Abigail pushed the door open for the two, McDonald's burdened dragons. Vincent was sitting up in bed, looking rather sickly at an IV bag suspended beside his bed, with Misty sitting in his lap. "Vinny, you're alive!" Ennie shouted as she practically burst into the room. "I bought you munchies!" she emptied the McDonald's bags on the bed around the wounded dragon, listing off her haul as she went. "We got Happy Meals with the apple slices, Big Macs, nuggets, we got sodas, fries, one of everything for each of us!" She collected the rest of her Happy Meal, the Fillet O' Fish, and a Coca Cola and grabbed a chair beside Vincent as Reito filed into the room and shut the door behind him before grabbing the other available chair. "So, dig in! I guess."

A century living alone in a forest followed by a mostly solitary life in society had provided Ennie with exactly zero people skills. She got through life and work simply by being a master at 'fake it till you make it' and by following a simple rule that seemed to have helped her so far: treat do unto others as you would unto you. If she has a bad day at work, her immediate go-to cure is a healthy serving of McDonalds. Vincent has had a very, very bad day, and the only difference his 'treatment' required compared to her own was the size and variety of the servings. 

Because everyone loves McDonalds, right?

The blonde haired man smiled faintly and pulled a box of nuggets towards him, tearing one in half and sharing it with Misty. Ennie sat and watched the other dragons eat in silence as she picked at her fish burger, not even the thought of antagonizing Astley could bring her appetite back as the somber thoughts filed through her mind once more. 

"So..." she started awkwardly. "What...what exactly was that, Vincent? You said it wasn't a mugging... but honestly all the other reasons I can think of for you to be shot in the woods in the middle of the night are kinda worse? I'm not-I'm not accusing you of anything, God no, I'm just...I just want some answers?" 

She also couldn't shake the feeling that Astley had at least some idea of what was going on and, judging by the almost fitful stirrings in the back of her mind, was fighting with telling her or letting her find out by herself. It might explain how he almost desperately tried to keep her from thinking too deeply about it all, as if trying to draw her away from the truth. But why, after all these years, would he try to hide something from her now? 

xXx


Astley remembered the smell coming off of those muggers, no, those hunters. He knew in his very soul what it was, the way a mouse knows to seek cover from a shadow. For so long he'd kept Ennie from that awful side of his, their, world, and now all his efforts have been for naught. 

He could feel Helios's essence across the room, warm like a sun and as strong as ever despite the brush with death, and he envied the sun dragon not just for his wings or something as trivial, but for his relationship with Vincent, with his vessel. Not for the first time since meeting Vincent, Astley wondered if Helios had ruined the young man's life from the moment he'd touched the stone? 

Just as he had done with Ennie's. 

Their life together had been one tragedy after another. Her exile from her family, the death of her baby brother, her exclusion from society. He'd kept her back, taken from her time and time again, and yet despite it all he could feel nothing but love and understanding from her end of the bond. Not once had she blamed him for their hardships, and perhaps he had decided some time ago that he should then blame himself in her stead, but he never could shake the feeling that he didn't deserve Ennie. And now, with this Hunter bombshell about to be dropped... It was just another thing he was taking from her. Congratulations, now fear for your life. 

She'd take the news well, just as she had with everything before. She'd adapt, change her lifestyle, maybe move, they were good at that now. Moving. She barely even felt the hurt when they left friends behind now. 

'But she shouldn't have to,' Astley thought so quietly to himself. 'She should just be able to live her life. Be a normal person.' Again, he felt the presence of Helios, strong and calming and so certain of his bond with Vincent. The other dragon seemed to be reaching curiously across the void, and Astley imagined that he himself must feel like a massive swirling willow tree, its millions of leaves fluttering in uncertainty within a tumultuous storm. 

'I don't know what to do,' Astley cried out at the other presence. 'I'm not nearly as good at this as I should be.' 

'...I don't know what to do.'
DreamWalker

7:03am Mar 25 2019

Normal User


Posts: 34
Tucker lay asleep on the bus stop bench, trapped in his nightmare. The two kittens who had been sleeping in his coat were now awake. The white kitten, seeing the distressed look on Tucker's face, started to mewl loudly trying to wake Tucker from his slumber. The calico kitten hopped down from the bench and started to mew at people who passed by, begging them to wake his sleeping master. Tucker stirred in his sleep, his ex
pression was filled with the pain of loss. As the white kitten grew more frantic, she started to bat at Tucker's nose. She mewed angrily at how Tucker wouldn't wake up, this was very frustrating to her. 

As Tucker's nightmare ended, his eyes shot open. The two kittens squealed with glee as they had accomplished their mission. Tucker looked around, forgetting for a second where he was. Then hearing the kittens squeals, he remembered he fell asleep on the bus stop. Tucker let out a sigh and checked his watch. Seeing that it was probably too late to go back home without waking his mother and father, he decided to stay at the bus stop until morning. Tucker gently scooped the two kittens into his arms and wrapped them in his coat. It was a cold night and he didn't want the kittens to get sick. To help them fall asleep, he started to sing a lulibye his mother had sang to him when he was little. Tucker would sing back to her after she sang to him. His mother would say that he had the voice of an angel. His mother can't sing anymore.

"Where the dreamy Volga flows
There's a lonely Russian rose
Gazing tenderly
Down upon her knee
Where a baby's brown eyes glisten
Listen
Every night you'll hear her croon
A Russian lullaby
Just a little plaintive tune
When baby starts to cry
Rock-a-bye my baby
Somewhere there may be
A land that's free for you and me
And a Russian lullaby"
Alcarie

2:32pm Mar 25 2019

Normal User


Posts: 2,091
The Hunter's awakening had not been as dull as Merce'd hoped. It was naive of her to think it would be, she knew, but she'd also hoped karma was for once smiling on her. She was owed! Instead his revival was accompanied by gagging and the man turning an interesting shade of green. Squawking indignantly, Merce all but flew off to give him room to vomit without it getting on her. Of course being a sympathetic puker, Merce had to fight her own gag reflex and wrinkled her nose in disgust.

"You just wasted the perfect opportunity to get some information because you're scared of a little vomit!" Amphora all but howled, and Merce knew if the dragon had hair she'd be yanking it out with frustration. "You've been touching dead, decayed bodies for years and a little bodily fluids sends you packing!"

'That's different!'

"How! They both smell, their both partially human, and their both nasty. Yet only one you willingly stick you hands in!"

'Stop talking before I lose it.' Paling a bit at the direction the entire conversation had gone, Merce carefully kept her suspicious gaze on the Hunter and not his mess. "You good?" She asked the man wearily, keeping the knife gripped tight and in front of her defensively. "Because I've got a few questions for you; primarily why your following me?" Barking the words out, she took a small step back to give her a little wriggle room in case she lunged at her. In a hand-to-hand fight she'd lose - badly. So her best bet would be to stab him where she could and run. The thought of actually causing any permanent damage, or killing him, didn't set well; but there wasn't much to be done about it. Particularly now that he was awake and actually could look at her. That was almost as bad as killing someone who couldn't fight back. Lips pursing, she decided it best not to mention anything about being a dragon just yet in case it was all a mistake and the guy wasn't a Hunter. He'd just stumbled upon the knife.

'Optimism at it's finest.'


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