The dragon yawned, Lesley's bouncy hair made the perfect bed and Citrus was getting sleepy.

"D'awww," Riley continued to gush. "Who's an adorable little ball of fluff? You are!"

While the other Lost Souls decided that it would be the best time for a nap, Harper focused on Hakuren and smiled. "That sounds like a good idea." He glanced at the fluffy thing, "it might be a dragon, but you're right, it's also a child." The boy watched as Inadi began poking at and attempting to grab the dragon. All the man's attempts had failed, and it ended up awkwardly when he accidentally grabbed onto Lesley's behind. The boy winced in his friend's stead then gave the older boy a sympathetic yet awkward smile.

Inadi placed himself between both Riley and Harper, he was red in the face and to make matters worse, Riley turned to look at him with a devilish grin. "Inadi and Lesley sitting in a tree~" she elbowed him lightly in the ribs then quieted down, however the teasing look on her face remained and it made her look like a mischievous imp. "Just messing, Inadi, don't worry." The girl gave him a tap on the back then walked off towards Hakuren and the now upset baby dragon.

Harper gave Inadi a smile before focusing on Citrus, the dragon was sulking now. Citrus didn't like being disturbed, especially since his original perch (Lesley's head) had been pretty darned comfortable. He floated towards Leila and landed on her head, but it wasn't as comfy a bed as Lesley's had been so the cranky dragon began to cry.

Harper couldn't stop himself from chuckling, everything that had happened so far was pretty ridiculous. "I don't think it likes you," he teased a little before grinning at Leila. The girl seemed fascinated by all the clouds that had began forming around her. Citrus wailed even louder and more and more clouds appeared inside the cave. With each passing second the clouds grew darker, and before anyone could do anything it began to pour and they found themselves drenched in the rain.

"Why you little..." It was Riley's turn to look upset, "someone make that thing laugh."

"Haku, now would be the perfect time for tag." The rain grew even harder and Harper jogged towards Hakuren. He tugged the man by the arm and pretty much dragged the ice mage with him towards the crying dragon. A giant rain cloud hung above Lelia's, head and it even began snowing around her. "Um, fluffy, uncle Hakuren and I are going to play tag with you. That sounds good, right?" The boy reached out to touch the creature but it only cried even louder, and a gust of ice cold wind filled the room.

Riley shivered then scrunched up her nose in distaste. "This is why I do not like children," she stomped through puddles and made her way towards Jasper. The temperature inside the cave had dropped seven fold and some of the puddles had began freezing over, it was becoming quite chilly.

"He's pretty cranky," Harper stared at it all, dumbfounded. What were they supposed to do? Every time he tried to talk to it, the dragon would simply sob. He tapped Hakuren on the shoulder and feigned a grin. "Tag, Haku is it! This is fun, right flufster?" The boy dashed forward only to slip on a frozen puddle, he fell forward and tumbled onto a fluffy bed of clouds. The dragon stopped crying, but it still looked pretty upset. It focused its eyes on Inadi and began to float towards him. Once it was in front of the man it gave him its meanest, most ferocious glare, it didn't look threatening at all.

Truth be told, the dragon looked pretty silly, but once it opened its mouth it literally blew Inadi, Leon, and all who were near them away.

"FUS RO DAH!"

Seeing Inadi and a few of the others flat on the frozen floor, the dragon happily retreated to a corner and curled up for a well deserved nap.

 Ace had stayed perched on the boulder as everyone began to play and mess with the baby dragon. At first it simply flying around creating clouds and being cute. This was the start of a few failed attempts to get it to laugh like Harper trying to get a game of tag going and especially Inadi's attempts at tickling the dragon. Towards his attempts, she nearly laughed herself off the boulder.

"Inadi, I'm sure that's not the plan." She teased along with Riley. It only made it funnier that Lesley had been asleep the whole time. She wondered how that would play out. Even the poor guy looked like he was in a state of shock because of the incident. "Well I doubt you need to worry about us saying anything. Heh, but the look on your face gives it away."

Suddenly, the baby factor took place. It started crying louder and louder causing a storm- and snow. "Getting wet wasn't a plan either..." Ace mumbled, pulling her hat down some. Chills and goosebumps went down her body when the temperature dropped. It didn't help that she was wet, and her clothes gave no justice to help her. Ace had no clue how to get a baby to laugh, so she stayed out of the mess...only to literally be blown into it. Or more rather, into a pile of bodies. Being on the boulder only made the fall a lot harder than she expected.

"Ow..." Ace sighed, opening her eyes to see an upside Inadi. Oh wait, she was looking upside down. "I don't think it likes you very much... Maybe you guys should just let it sleep. That's what its been trying to do anyway." Slowly she sat up, rubbing her head. "Afterward, when it wakes, it'll probably be happy... I mean aren't babies happy after naps?" She then laughed a little. "I'm sure a lot of you guys could use one as well after all the fighting." The dragon seemed to give a huff of agreement towards Ace's words before curling up again.

Inadi looked towards Riley with an annoyed look and scoffed. “Yeah yeah, get it out of your system. Last thing I need is for this to just hang over my head like a damn rain cloud,” he said as he continued to give odd looks back to his left hand. He definitely did not want to do what he did and he was agitated that it happened. What was more aggravating was that he did it in front of everyone and no doubt they would remember it for as long as they could. Now whenever favors needed to be pulled, no doubt this would be the ammunition to get it out of him.

Watching the dragon bounce onto Leila's head and begin crying made the boy actually somewhat nervous again. They weren't sure what this dragon could do in a bad mood and it seemed like the little guy was getting more and more irritable as the moments passed. Suddenly the cute little fluff ball that Riley had been so enamored with was starting to show signs of being a little brat that would throw a tantrum if it didn't get its way. The perfect child basically.

Suddenly the thing screeched it felt like and now there were clouds in the cave. Dark ones at that. And just as Inadi was beginning to regret his previous statement of a rain cloud over his head, the clouds split and starting dropping what felt like inches of rain on them all at once. Staring over at Riley, who was now at this point very angry it seemed, Inadi couldn't help but chuckle. “Oh what? Is the cute fluff ball a pain in the ass for you now too?” Inadi laughed to himself and suddenly stopped as he realized his poor choice of words. Making sure to bring his right palm instead of his left one up to his face, Inadi let loose a sigh as he covered his eyes from the rest of the group.

It was getting colder and Inadi was beginning to shiver because of it. He wished that there was some shade or shielded part of the cave that he could sit under to avoid the rain, but these clouds were inescapable since they were directly above them in the cave itself. Silently wishing there was some kind of towel or rag he could use to wipe his face rather than his already wet sleeve, he noticed that dragon was now floating in front of him it seemed. At first the boy was confused and tried wiping his glasses off with the wet coat he had on to see the beast more clearly. It seemed to be puffing out its chest and tried to make itself look a lot tougher than it was. Before he would have probably scoffed at the attempt to intimidate him, but something about this made him very nervous.

Out of nowhere he was blown across the cave and skidded along the floor of the cave. Wet rock, sand and cold puddles rubbing onto his skin at fast pace. Yet the worst thing about it was that he slid the most on his right side....his right arm. As he hit the ground, each time feeling the stinging and nearly flesh ripping stings shoot up his side, he screamed out in pain as now it was impossible to simply avoid it. Eventually he rolled to a stop and began squirming all the while reaching for his arm.

He quickly began ripping his sleeve off of his coat to look at the arm itself. The arm was now bleeding it seemed as some skin that had once looked so rough and nearly burnt now seemed to be more of a scab waiting to be picked off by an impatient toddler. Slamming his fist into the ground and breathing heavily as he viewed the damage, Inadi placed the now ripped sleeve in his mouth to keep himself from screaming as he tried pulling out the rest of the wrap that he had left to work on the parts of his arm that needed immediate attention. As he pulled it out though he realized how wet it had gotten and was barely worth its weight as a dish rag than a medical tool.

As he was trying to fight back the pain in his arm, he looked towards Ace and now could no longer hide his look of pain. She was still talking about that damn dragon. That damn stupid dragon that made his arm feel like it needed to be ripped off before any more pain could be felt. Spitting out the sleeve he had in his mouth, he stood up and began trying to wrap the wound. Every time he went around his arm once, the wrap slid off and forced him to restart from the beginning. “Yeah, let him rest! And while we're at it, maybe we can learn what makes him happy too! Maybe a nice cake! Or he could like to go up the mountain side and get a good view of the sunset! Whatever it takes to make this damn thing laugh the better!” Inadi yelled in a mixture of pain and anger as he was showing just how sick and tired he was of this whole little escapade.

“This is why I hate this place! You never know what something is or what it can do! There is no comfort zone! No safe haven! Nothing is known, and if you don't know something, you can never be prepared for it! Damn this whole stupid quest and damn that little puff ball for doing this to me!” Inadi yelled as he held his arm out towards the dragon and went back to yelling at the pain in his arm. It was wet, cold and exposed to the elements now. At some point here he knew he was going to pass out to the pain, and he felt that the faster his consciousness slipped away the better. At least the pain would slip away as well.

She could hear voices and the supportive hold of someone keeping her up. Time passed, but what is time in Nowhere? Time is nothing. A burden; that's what she was. How could she be so selfish? Must wake up and lift the weight off of this poor person! Can't wake up. It was a cold hard surface. It offered no comfort nor warmth. Not quite sure how she had gotten to where she was currently sitting, the first object that hazed into view was her amulet dangling from a shiny chain. The essence was just about full by now. 'How long had I been out?', she questioned herself internally. It must've been rather extensive given the amount of energy she had refueled both to her own physical body and within the glass compartment of her power source.

A cool atmosphere constantly radiated at her left side which could not be felt on the other. Wondering what the source of the temperature change was, she slowly turned her head. It was none other than Hakuren, the Ice King. Jasper began to involuntarily shudder, not quite sure if it was from the chilly sensations naturally emanating from him or because of the sudden alarm and fear she felt from him being so close. The cause was more than likely, both. His presence intimidates and mocks her without him even doing a thing. She'd perceived him as 'that type' from their very first meeting and ever since, her perception had been proven correct over and over again. Because of this, a true unease always resonates in her whenever he comes into the picture.

Suddenly she didn't feel as cold anymore as she began to get all anxious, her eyes still focused on just his hand, she dared not look at his face. But she was most certainly hoping he was asleep. Badump. Badump. Badump. The beating of her heart pulsed in the back of her hearing capacity, speeding up at every passing second. Heat warmed her skin up, clashing with his icy climate and as a result condensation formed on the surface of her arm; mixing with the few driblets of sweat that had already begun to form there. 'Please be asleep. Please be asleep. Please be asleep.' The chanting prayer replayed in her mind like a broken record, her entire confidence counting on the omniscient ones to grant it. Cautiously, she tilted her body to the opposite side from where he sat as she initiated her escape. Her back was sliding along the rocky terrain of the cave surface as she now proceeded to add some bum scooching action away from the hopefully slumbering Haku, but her actions, which had merely started, was immediately frozen(pun intended) when the male spoke up.

“Thanks for the heal, Bear-chan~” he spoke mildly.“You did me a favor twice. I’m indebted to you. Would you like another light one in return? I was as gentlemanly as possible the first time, but I can definitely give you some ~special service~ now that we’re in the dark and out of danger.”

His tone opened up as a solid appreciation and gratification for what she had done for him during the battles they had fought, but eventually the casual tone sunk lower into a grey zone that she had never heard before. It was the adult section... *cough*. Terms like flirt, make-out, or sex were laughably non-existent in her unexposed brain. So innocent and pure, almost as clean as slate as she had been born with. This time she finally forced herself to make eye contact with him, swallowing her saliva dryly before responding to his 'special' offer. "Uh-ahem..wh-what k-k-k-kind of service?" she questioned faintheartedly.

"How are you holding up?"

As usual, the savior she could always count on no matter what the situation. Whether it be in the arena or a damp cave beside a creeper person she wasn't at all comfortable with, Harper had always been the one to swoop in and save her day. Almost coughing as she realized she hadn't been breathing normally the entire time she had found out who was sitting beside her, Jasper breathed a handful of much needed oxygen while the two boys exchanged words. She couldn't believe how focused she had been on getting away from him that she hadn't even taken the time to actually survey the area to find that at some point in her unconsciousness, the two groups had reunited without her even knowing it. Glancing around, she was glad to see that everyone had made it and were alive, maybe not in their best condition, but they were still fully functioning.

"RAWRRRR!!!"

Before she even had time to react, the guides were skittering around gathering all the humans and herding them into the protected area behind two giant boulders. Surprisingly everyone seemed to have made it, but her judgement was quickly slashed by a red 'X' when not far from where they were currently taking cover lay a mass of pink hair; it could only belong to one person, Lesley. Her eyes widened in alarm as she took one step toward him, but thought otherwise. Hands snaking up to cover her mouth in case the dragon picked up on the whisper, "Oh my g-". Laughter and comments of disbelief tied with an overjoyed relaxing of nerves interrupted her panic. But the impromptu flip in aura only served to make the poor albino freak out even more. Looking side to side in unnerving confusion, her search ended smack dab on the origin of the amusement; it was a fluffy puffball, otherwise known as the dragon.



Shock. That's all it was. That's all that sparked into her brain. A peep, not a single peep of giggling escaped her throat. 'What the... it's the cutest thing I've ever seen... that can't be the dragon.. bu-buh-but the roar. That couldn't have been from...' Jasper was shaking her head rapidly, her suspicions were validated as she watched the little creature attempt to growl at them, but only managing to look even more adorable than it already was.

A Dragon's Laugh was the next thing on the list and most of them had already started on trying to figure out what they could do to achieve it. Tickling and a round of tag where they purposely fell and hurt themselves was suggested. Cringing, her own thoughts mocked her as she knew that she was probably capable of falling even without it being planned out and on purpose. In fact, that part was probably an automatic given.

Inadi was taking the situation into his own hands as he neared the puffball which was currently curled up among the coral hued mound of Lesley's head. Tickling it was. A quick and easy choice. Probably one of the most common and well-known ways in entertaining children. It's an act so universally recognized, it would be a reasonable prediction that Nowhere applied to this understanding. Unfortunately, his plans didn't look to be turning out as they'd all hoped as the baby cloud dodged the lad's every effort to grab him/her.

“Alright you little pest! No more mister nice guy! You are going to get tickled at that is final!”

Jasper gasped and instantaneously flushed red in the cheeks(of the face guys. let us not get too overly perverted.. ahem) upon seeing what he had accidentally groped grabbed. It was the pink haired man's butt cheek! All of the witnesses expressions almost paired his perfectly as the disturbed boy got up, wiped his infected hand on his spear, and tried to unsuccessfully mesh back with the onlookers.

“First, no one is to tell him that anything happened. No need to give him ideas. Second, let's go with Haku's idea. Surely there has to be a game the dragon would like to play.”

'Wow. He handles situations so calmly' she observed, yet his red face and far-off voice gave his discomfort away.

"Inadi and Lesley sitting in a tree~ Just messing, Inadi, don't worry."

"Inadi, I'm sure that's not the plan."

Jasper would never even comment on the scenario that just played out. That sort of stuff is very unsettling to her, especially when the person who had made the muchwanted mistake was a straight male.

While Inadi dealt with poky comments, the poor baby wasn't really in the mood for any more of their shenanigans as it began to sniffle. Jasper hated to see anyone cry and she began to wave her hands frantically, "Oh no, no, no. Nuu baby dragon. Don't cry," she scuttled towards it, but she was too late. Rain clouds began to appear within the weather free confines of the cave and simultaneous with it's first outcry, was a flash of lighting followed by a down pour of water and even some snowflakes. The light atmosphere turned sour pretty quickly after that. Harper re-initiated plan B as he offered to begin a game of tag. Meanwhile, a drenched Riley was marching towards her with a grumpy look plastered to her face with Inadi chuckling along at her annoyance. Stepping aside, she didn't want to get in the way of anyone who wasn't in a pleasant state, her peripheral vision catching Harper perform a tumble a little ways from where she stood. Miraculously, it stopped bawling and floated for Inadi and right in front of her eyes, her friends were sent flying down from the toddler's 'magic' words. Inadi's yelps of pain were echoing within the stony hollow and her healing senses perked up immediately.

Running to where the pile of humans were flung, he was already shouting by then with his injured arm fully exposed. The blood and marred flesh caused her to falter in her steps, but this was her duty. Healing was the only thing she was good for in this whole entire trip and she wasn't going to fail them. Crouching down beside him, it looked even worse up close, in fact, it looked brutal. Jasper couldn't help but turn her head away as tears began to well up in the corners of her eyes; sympathizing his condition. She couldn't even begin to imagine how much pain he had felt as he fell, bouncing against the ground until he screeched to a halt. Taking a few calming breaths, she returned her gaze back on his arm, not placing one finger anywhere near it. Gently placing a palm softly to his back to calm him down a bit, she tried to diagnose how much her healing power could do to such severe lacerations.

Wiping her moistened cheeks, her tears were glowing, yet she didn't notice because her eyes were already closed. Trembling hands outstretched, hovering inches from his gashed arm, slowly but surely, peaceful wisps of airy, transparent plumes seeped out from her palm and crawled over his cuts smoothly. It licked at his open wounds, treating it as if it were a porcelain vase on the verge of shattering. If Jasper's eyes had been open, the rips in the skin and flesh were beginning to decrease in size, but by the time she finished, the overall health of his injury wasn't at its full potential. Of course it was ten times better than before, but it still required time to heal completely. Her essence was depleted millimeters off of half way point. 'I'm getting better at healing...' she thought.

"I agree, we should get some rest. I think enough damage has been done for today and I'm sure the baby wouldn't be too happy about being disturbed again." Turning to Inadi, she smiled weakly, "I hope that helps.." Jasper stood up and she took a spot near Lesley just in case the dragon decided to wake up and leave. They couldn't let it get away. A Dragon's Laugh was what they needed and this fluffball was probably the easiest candidate they'd ever stumble upon.

Inadi said “Oh come on there Hakuren, there isn't a thing alive in this world that isn't against getting tickled every once and a while. And besides that, its the fastest way to get something to laugh. So why don't we just get this little guy and...” Inadi reached for the dragon and was suddenly gripping air and parts of Lesley's hair. The little dragon moved away from the boy's left hand and seemed to be very against being touched.

“Then, by all means, be my guest.” the ice mage said with a laugh.

One of the main reasons Hakuren had suggested tag in the first place was because the little one would have voluntarily joined the fun. With it being made of clouds, it could easily avoid any incomprehensible and unwanted contact, thus slipping through the lightning magician’s fingers without a worry in the world.

Several unsuccessful attempts of grasping the dragon followed, made by the same individual, the only profit he earned being the chance to have a good feel of the lovely buns of Lesley’s behind. This experience likely scarred the young man for life, but the situation wasn’t a complete loss. After all, Hakuren and every other witness now had a piece of splendid blackmail material, the first having the pleasure to jot this memorable moment down in his notebook, whilst the downcast Inadi was busy cleansing himself. It should be noted that the item was quickly placed back in the inside pocket of the green-blue-eyed youngster’s coat before Sihma’s return, thus discarding the possibility of the second noticing the first’s actions.

As hilarious as the scene worthy of a best-seller doujishi was, the uke’s foolishness had gotten the baby fluffy reptilian quite upset. Realizing that the critter would most likely cry or throw a tantrum, Hakuren placed a clenched fist in front of his mouth, with the pointer finger pressing to his philtrum, being the only one to go upwards and then bend back into the cluster, and thought of how to lift the little one’s spirit. He himself had never been overly exposed to children, unless we count all those people who had the years but not the mind to not act as a child.
While he took the ~time~ to remember a few of those fading moments still in his memory of the sunny days he had met Shirounmei and Alen, those pesky little kids, who always ended in some sort of mess on their so-called “adventures”, dark clouds formed in the cave and rain came pouring after. The dragon had began to cry, its wails being reflected by the stone walls, making the air vibrate. The humans, who had been laughing at the small being, were now angrily asking the rest to make the thing laugh or at least stop the downpour.

‘Ah, how half-witted they are.’ was the thought with which the black-blue-haired man commented on the happenings around him before returning to the memories and formulations he had left behind.

If Lesley had been awake, creating a rainbow would surely make its eyes sparkle and a further elaborate show of ice mirrors and colourful blasts would definitely entertain it. However, Panther had yet to awaken. Truly, he was a sounder sleeper than Sleeping Beauty herself. Then perhaps a parade of little birds made out of flames could do the trick of distracting it or make it giggle. With the current weather conditions, this feat was impossible. Jasper could always fall over herself, but it had to be something more eye-catching. Maybe a bowling ball roll could grab its attention and halt its tears?

While he was busy contemplating on the matter, Hakuren did not give the smallest sign of noticing Harper’s desperation. He did not even mind the state of his surroundings. The aura around his body was so cold that the drops of water turned into snowflakes the moment they came near and whirled around him, proving ammunition in case it was needed.
The atmosphere dropped rapidly, making the rest of the group shiver and some of the already formed puddles on the ground freeze, yet it could not be said for certain whose fault it was for this sudden change of temperature. Regardless of who or what had been the cause, he did not register this sensation, due to the effect of his power, yet he did snap out of his inner world when Harper dubbed him “it” in the game of tag and started running away, only to slip on the ice and tumble down like the klutz he was.
Just as it had been predicted, the magical creature was affected by seeing an adult make a mistake and stopped crying, but still appeared rather discontent. It rose from its newfound spot on Leila’s head and floated to Inadi, its tormentor. Giving the Earthling the most monstrous glare something so cute and cotton-candy-like could, it let out a ferocious rawr, which, albeit adorable, blew away several of the guests of Nowhere, namely Ace, Leon and Inadi. Pleased with the results, the dragon retreated to a corner of the cave and happily curled up, in order to take a nap.

“And that’s where tickling dragons gets you.” Hakuren pointed out, despite knowing it was obvious.

Standing in his place, hands comfortably resting in the pockets of the long black coat, the mage observed as his comrades slowly lifted themselves to their feet, groaning and complaining all the while.

Ace said ”Maybe you guys should just let it sleep. That's what its been trying to do anyway." Slowly she sat up, rubbing her head. "Afterward, when it wakes, it'll probably be happy... I mean aren't babies happy after naps?" She then laughed a little. "I'm sure a lot of you guys could use one as well after all the fighting."

“That’s not a good idea, Ace.” he told her “This place is probably pretty cold, judging from the puddles. I won’t get affected, but if you all sleep in this freezing atmosphere, there’s a good chance you could die.” As always, he spoke casually, as if he was idly badinaging or table talking with friends. “Or catch a cold, at least. Besides, there’s no telling when the parents will come back and I’m sure none of us want to meet them up close and personal.”

Inadi said “Yeah, let him rest! And while we're at it, maybe we can learn what makes him happy too! Maybe a nice cake! Or he could like to go up the mountain side and get a good view of the sunset! Whatever it takes to make this damn thing laugh the better!”

“You reap what you sow.” Hakuren threw a comment in the air, not particularly aiming for the young man, who had just flashed out his emotions like a blinding red traffic light.

Jasper said "I agree, we should get some rest. I think enough damage has been done for today and I'm sure the baby wouldn't be too happy about being disturbed again."

Jasper’s voice was weak and did little against the magician’s previous statement. If they allowed this opportunity to slip by, it could spell the end for their mission, perhaps even to his chapter. Whilst she took her leave from her place next to Inadi, whose wound she had busily healed the best way she could, the lightning caster continued lashing out his feelings, like an exploding hot spring geyser.

Inadi said “This is why I hate this place! You never know what something is or what it can do! There is no comfort zone! No safe haven! Nothing is known, and if you don't know something, you can never be prepared for it! Damn this whole stupid quest and damn that little puff ball for doing this to me!” Inadi yelled as he held his arm out towards the dragon and went back to yelling at the pain in his arm. It was wet, cold and exposed to the elements now. At some point here he knew he was going to pass out to the pain, and he felt that the faster his consciousness slipped away the better. At least the pain would slip away as well.

There was a moment of silence before a smirk broke the serenity in the space without words.

“Heh”

It had been Hakuren. Each step he slowly took forward his black shoes made a tapping sound on the floor below him, never once losing balance. The young man was smiling, but it was different. This was not an wholeheartedly friendly expression. It was something else. Neither entirely teasing, nor pitying, nor mocking, nor sweet, it was a mysterious light smile, but not peculiar enough to be compared to Mona Lisa.

“Knowing everything and being able to be prepare for anything. Where’s the fun in that?” he asked, an icy flame playing in his eyes. “To dwell in constant safety. In a never-changing state. That is a very forlorn way of living. A life of nothing ever being new and unknown is monotone and grey. It’s secluded and stoops you lower than a sheltered little snail.

In fact, not knowing anything about something is the best. It gives you two options. To learn or to ignore. Chose the first and you’re progressing. Chose the latter and you could be considered an idiot or a genius. Whichever comes first. No matter which one you pick, you’re making a decision, so you’re actually progressing nonetheless.

The more you learn, the more unknown things sprout up. Complaining that you don’t know anything and wanting information to be served to you on a silver plate, so you can examine and sort it, is the same as saying you no longer wish to learn. In other words,” he halted only a few steps away from Inadi, bent down a bit and said, eversmiling. ”you’re a coward.” Then he lifted his torso back up and continued “Heh, and don’t get me wrong. Being a coward’s actually pretty handy. Not feeling fear is a mark of an idiot. But being afraid to get out of your comfort zone and tackle the problem is a very pathetic type of cowardice.”

For a short moment, he halted his speech and it was as if he had finally finished, when he spoke again with a sigh:

“Ah, well, it’s not like you can change, can you?” and slammed the bottom of his staff into the ground, whilst still holding the object. A huge ice pillar sprouted out of nowhere beneath Inadi, elevating the human upwards.

Turning around, Hakuren waltzed off towards the dragon, leaving his comrade at a great height from the cave’s floor.

“Oh, little dragon~” the ice magician called, making a few miniature pieces of ice make a crackling sound around the critted, so as not to disturb it too much while waking it up. “That mister over the on the pillar was a big meany, wasn’t he? Well, the awful mister said he’ll apologize to you by being a chicken~”

With that, Hakuren turned to face the pillar’s direction and used his magic to cut off some of the ice around the top edges, in order to give Inadi a sense of the gravity of the situation.

“Now, Inadi, make like a chicken and cluck!” he said in the most friendly manner possible ( ^ ^ )squishing his eyes together like an anime character, yet when he opened them there was an icy cold spark within him and he added “Make like a chicken or we’re playing “Pin the icicle on the Inadi”.”

The little dragon blew everyone away and Harper stared on with wide eyes.

It looked as if everyone was alright, but then Inadi began yelling and the boy hopped to his feet, unsure of what to say or do. Riley wanted to help out as well but before she could scold the dragon or make her way towards her fellow writer, Jasper saved the day and patched him up.

Harper let out a relieved sigh, "great job Jasper! Inadi how are you holding up?"

"Wohoo! Way to go!" The redhead gave the healer two thumbs up then squinted her eyes at the dragon. "You cheeky little brat, you're lucky most of us are nice people." Hakuren began giving his speech but Riley was too focused on making silly faces. Thankfully, Citrus chose to ignore her.

"I'd hate to interrupt your rest, but Hakuren is right. It'd be best if we got this over with before the parents come back." The thought of giant fluff dragons wasn't exactly horrifying, but if the baby could send three people flying with just a few words, who knew what the parents were capable of? Perhaps it'd summon lightning out of the sky then make it rain fire. Just thinking about it made him feel uneasy. Harper agreed with Hakuren's plan but he didn't really think making Inadi a chicken would work, though he had to agree, the dragon seemed to dislike his friend a lot.

"Maybe we can tell it a story--" Harper froze when the dragon began to squeak. Its cloud ears began twitching and without further notice it dove back into the deeper portion of the cave and vanished into the darkness. "What was that about?"

They heard the sound of footsteps followed by voices. "I told you Melissa! I sensed a cloud dragon here and my intuition is never wrong."

"Now, now, Rianon, last time you said we'd find a magma slug at Mt. Pyre, we never did." There was shrill laugh followed by even more footsteps. Whoever was outside was getting closer and closer. They sounded like old women, why would a dragon be scared of them?

Serenade froze, those voices, any sensible guide would be able to recognize them. "Hide, now." It wasn't a suggestion, it was a command.

"What are you people doing? Hide hide hide!"

Moments after Serenade's command, Zephy darted into the cave hissing quietly, eyes frantic as she took in the scene. She had left the cave after the dragon was revelaed to be a baby cloud dragon to scout, and was she ever glad she did. Most of the hummons were still standing around, while glasses man was perched on a rapidly melting icicle. And why was it so freaking cold and wet in here?

"Oh good son of broccoli we don't have time for this moves your butts already!"

She screeched silently as the voices grew closer and closer, all but leaping up and kicking Inadi off of his icy perch and throwing him behind a rock.

"Viccy, Avi, hurry up and help me get them hidden before they all get killed!"

"I did not know it was possible to fail on so many levels," Victoria grumbled to herself as she dried her hair. The humans made the dragon cry and let me tell you that snow-rain combination was never good inside a cave. She was content to simply stand by while the humans made fools of themselves, but the sudden advent of two voices changed that plan. In a flash the two soldiers ran over to haul some luggage.

"Just what the frigging oyster do you think you're doing?" The red-haired nobody snapped as she grabbed Hakuren by the collar, flipped him over then slung him over her shoulder like he was nothing but a sack of flour. The ice mage promptly found himself deposited behind the same boulder where Avian hid Lesley and Harper.

Hakuren, Lesley, Harper and Leon were with Victoria. Ace, Leila, Riley, Inadi and Jasper were with Avian and Zephy. The humans were once again divided in two thanks to their respective hiding spots.

The footsteps got louder and two silhouettes appeared, their figures in stark contrast to the light emanating from the cave entrance. As the brightness faded the details of the two mysterious voices became clearer, and perhaps those who saw them would rather that they did not see strangers instead.

They were a pair of old women, or at least that was what their slouched backs and slow gait portend to, and were almost indistinguishable from each other save by their differences in weight. Both wore long, beaten slabs of leather and black feathers hung from their clothes. Beads that look suspiciously close like bones adorned their arms and hands, and black lines snaked up their bodies. Their faces were a stark white, their eyes like deep black pools against the pallor. The image brought up one word, and one word only: Witches

The thinner of the pair spoke up, voice rasping like sandpaper against stone as she peered through the gloom of the cave.

"Perhaps you were right after all," she cackled. "I can smell the dragon from here. It's a weak one, this little lizard. Easy pickings- maybe we ought to listen to you a little more."

From behind her hiding spot with Leila, Riley, Inadi and Jasper, Zephy glared out at the backs of the two hags before ducking back and glaring with just as much conviction to the four humans behind her.

"Don't move. And not a word." Her words were barely audible, trembling voice betraying her nervousness and fear. "They know we're here- they just don't care enough to make the effort to kill us all- and if they decide you're annoying them, you're dead." The tiny girl curled u

"Speech boy, shut it for a few. I don't need you speaking for now. In fact, none of you talk," Victoria held up a finger in front of Hakuren's mouth in case he decided to go off on another session. She did not look condescending, but had rather the interesting mix of irritation and disbelief on her face. On the opposite end of the spectrum Avian was radiating his own form of tension; everyone in his group could hear the gears in the nobody's brain turning as he scowled at the witches. "This just took a turn for the worse. Stay still, everyone. Those ... creatures could kill you with a snap of their fingers," His voice was nothing but a low rumble.

This was definitely it. The most peaceful, most deepest, most satisfying sleep he'd ever had in his entire life. His body was sprawled on a cloud and rainbows and butterflies fluttered over his head, the pacifying sounds of nature served as a relaxing lullaby as he continued to slumber away within his dreamland. It didn't matter that every once in a while there was human mumbling and chatter breaking his mind's REM sequence because all in all, Lesley couldn't pay them any less attention. Birds were chirping and singing songs in a nearby pillow tree while the fluffy clouds were gently sifting under him as slight breezes of air swam by, creating a waterbed affect to the cloud on which he slept. It was amazing. It was amazing, until the human talking began to suddenly get louder and increase in irritability. Next thing Lesley knew, his serene state of existence was being indecently violated by an unknown evil. First it was a light pull to the hair, then it transitioned into pokes. Yes, pokes. Pokes everywhere! Pokes to the shoulder, against the rib cage, on the forehead, at an arm, to the other arm, but pokes were the least of the invasions. While Lesley mentally fought the battle, his body wasn't actually carrying out any physical movement to stop the intrusion... not until his butt was grabbed. Oddly enough even his cerebral self stiffened during the fight and smiled.

"Ohhh, so that's how you wanna play?"(The speaking parts were probably gurgled out as enigmatic sleep talk. For eg. *what was heard in real life* "Hnn, go shas ow wan pay..? Hehe :3")

Lesley's arm lashed out in reality, "Meow!" Unfortunately, he missed Inadi's arm as the boy retreated in pure shock at the incident and the pink haired male settled back down into a full coma. Strangely enough, his entire dream fight with the faceless intruder ended, but before the guy dissolved into mist, Inadi's framed face flashed into the picture until completely disappearing. Shrugging pleasantly, he curled back up into his puffy cloud. 'Ehe. My dreams are so nice to me. Moar Inadi pwease!' And just like an obedient little brain, this dream popped right into view. Now this was definitely the best sleep ever!

---

Someone had taken a firm grip onto both his hands and was now dragging him from his former spot. 'What the stain!' he cursed internally, eyelids heavily parting to reveal a droopy consciousness. An enormous pair of jiggling breasts were bouncing just above his head, along with the strained grunting from the force being put in to the haul the lanky man into the safe zone. The nice set of 'tatas' belonged to Victoria. 'Aw sparkle! She's already married. Hmm, what a shame..' he sighed to himself.

Once he was securely out of view behind the boulder, Lesley took the time to doze off for a couple more seconds before he felt compelled to check out what was actually going on. Rolling over onto his stomach, he stretched his long arms and placed his feet onto the stone ground. He stayed in a position that resembled a runner's starting position while waiting for the flag to drop in a race. In that pose, he gathered the consciousness to pull himself into his upright standing position. Tippy-toeing to warm-up his leg muscles, he was just about ready to let out a self-wakening yawn before one of the guides wrenched him back down. No doubt, Lesley was rather annoyed at this point. He had been disturbed multiple times during his rest and now they wouldn't even let him run through his wake routine? Pouting, he finally noticed what everyone was fearfully looking at. There was a pair of senile women, one plumper than her partner, and they were both dressed in the most bizarre of outfits. Stylish beads and bones protruded from the dark leather coverings that they wore and black markings ran over their skin.

Witches:"Perhaps you were right after all, I can smell the dragon from here. It's a weak one, this little lizard. Easy pickings- maybe we ought to listen to you a little more."

"Wuh? What drag-"

Victoria:"Speech boy, shut it for a few. I don't need you speaking for now. In fact, none of you talk."

Avian:"This just took a turn for the worse. Stay still, everyone. Those ... creatures could kill you with a snap of their fingers."

Lesley clamped his jaw shut immediately and tentatively bent his legs a bit since he was tall enough that his pink hair was peeking above the summit of the boulder.

POP!

It was the sound of his unstretched knee. 'Agh! Strawberry! They should have let me stretch!' He hurried his descent and gave his group an apologetic look. "S-o-r-r-y," he mouthed at them, cringing as he anticipated whether the sound had caught the witches attention or not.

Leila considered the following several minutes the lot spent together in the cave to be rather enjoyable.

The dragon that many of the others once spoke of with great fear turned out to be...much less than fearsome. A little likeable, even - she thought as she happily twirled her hands in the air and allowed the vortices that formed nearby to cause the little snowflakes to swirl around a few times in unpredictable little loops before continuing their fall, meanwhile Leila being very much unaware of the tantrum the little dragon was throwing in close proximity, and the reactions of her fellow Lost Souls.

She found the sound of the continuing rain to be calming somehow, despite it being the results of a weather dragon being very upset. She enjoyed watching the individual flakes fall, in their winding, downwards paths through the air, some landing on the floor and some on her clothes and skin and soon melting from the warmth of her presence. Snowflakes are objects of intrigue, both in mathematically, physically, and aesthetically - snowflakes were very pretty. They were too small and fell too fast for Leila’s sight to trace their shapes in their flight, but she got glimpses of each unique, hexagonal contour of the tiny water crystals once they landed, just moments before dissolving into their environment. She just stared, with the jumping figures and loud yelling and talking of the other humans in the distance, out of focus. Even the sudden roar from the baby dragon that blew several of the nearby humans off their feet didn’t disturb Leila much. She didn’t really mind the dropping temperature either, although it was already way lower than the isolation her clothing provided could put up with, and she was already shivering.

People were laughing, prancing around, tripping over and falling on the slippery cave floor; echoing the chaotic patterns exhibited by the falling flakes and droplets that Leila was watching. They spoke, perhaps joked? She paid no attention to the content. Hakuren talked a lot, although out of context she couldn’t be sure what he was talking about. Yet somehow she liked it. This whole scene - as messy as it looks - carries a sensation that was almost completely peaceful. No fears, no worries, no sudden life threatening scenarios - just the guides and the humans and the fluffy dragon and the cold and the falling rain. She was still shivering, but somehow she enjoyed this. Leila hoped that this would continue for a while longer - as incompatible her personality was with the act of hoping - and as much as she rejected the idea of an eternity of any sort, at this moment, she would say that she wouldn’t mind if this carried on, forev-

“not a good idea...if you all sleep in this freezing atmosphere, there’s a good chance you could die.”

I don’t -

”Hide hide hide hide!”

Wha -

Before Leila could react fully, she was grabbed by the arm and lifted back onto her feet, and the soldier half-dragged her along with several others to a secure area behind what seemed to be an extrusion from the cave walls that formed a visual obstacle that hid them from the pair of figures advancing from the distance. Their coarse, foreign voices echoed through the caves, the content of their speech being casual and lighthearted, yet an undeniable sinister undertone persisted. Yet unaware of the danger and peeking out from the edge of the wall of rock, Leila had a glance of the two pale faces with dark, hollow eyes - before being jerked backwards back into their hiding place by the nervous soldier, and signaled to not utter a word.

"This just took a turn for the worse. Stay still, everyone. Those ... creatures could kill you with a snap of their fingers,"

And at the point, all the fears Leila ever imagined about nowhere seemed to have just came flooding into this scene.

...please don’t kill me.

Ace watched as Inadi had an outburst of emotion. She was going to say something to comfort him, or lighten the mood, but instead she stayed quiet and listened to the guys. Haku said it wasn't a good idea, and she assumed the guy was pretty smart so she just went with what he said. These were the times where Ace merely sat back and let others handle it. She was pretty useless when it didn't come to pep talks or fighting, so she thought. Ace removed her hat for a brief moment and shuddered some more from the cold. "Whatever we do, can we make this fast? I'm f-freezing." She shook lightly holding her bare arms.

Soon enough, she found herself watching Haku devise a plan that involved humiliating the dragon's enemy. Ace giggled lightly as she watched, but it stopped as the dragon took off into the cave. "I guess it didn't like your games either Haku." She watched him go, only to hear approaching old women voices. It seemed the fairly light mood was swapped with dreadful tension. Another bad thing was coming. Another bad thing... in the form of two old ladies?

The redhead watched the guides rush everyone to a hiding spot. In their rush, she realized they had missed one little lost soul. That lost soul being none othet than Ace. She sat there for a moment, leaning over to retrieve her hat. Despite the urgency, Ace had still been sitting on the cold floor, freezing her tail off. She remembered how she wasn't quite fond of winter... Somewhere in that time span, Avian realized they had missed her so he ran back and practically carried her behind the boulder. She stayed silent just as the male ordered, though she was itching to peek. When she did, spring the creepy old women, Ace was only pulled back down.

If they could spook the guards this much then maybe it was a little more serious than she thought. She scooted her way in between Jasper and Inadi, wondering what Avian planned to do. Or Victoria.  Obviously, they were no match, and the best they could do was run. And some were still fairly tired from the fight before. She wanted to say something, maybe comforting or at least hopeful. More to ease the tension. But they were told to stay quiet.

After his long and drawn out speech, Inadi watched as Jasper healed his arm and she seemed so innocent and almost empathizing with how he felt. She placed a hand flat on his back and continued working on his arm even though it was clear the scene made her feel uncomfortable. He wanted to speak up to her and thank her for the assistance. Even though she was a healer, she didn't need to drop everything and tend to his wound. As she smiled to him and wished him well, he wanted to do something to show her his appreciation. Anything really, but he found himself for whatever reason frozen in place and trying to gather his thoughts back.

Looking down at his arm he saw that the wounds were decently taken care of. Inadi didn't want her to go too far with it as it would have likely caused her to loose energy an maybe even her consciousness in the end. The whole magic thing was still new to everyone and no one was really sure what their limits were quite yet save for a few in the group. He was impressed regardless of her work and wanted to show a smile on his face, but his agitation still gripped him more than any other emotion.

Suddenly the man known as Hakuren, the one who seemed to be taking his mantle as intellectual superior to Inadi was speaking up again. Inadi began having a very severe sore spot for this ice king before him. Constantly mocking him for his mistakes and doing so in such a low voice was getting on the spectacled man's last nerve. Now suddenly he was approaching him and seemed to be questioning his very way of living.

Hakuren said said “Knowing everything and being able to be prepare for anything. Where’s the fun in that? To dwell in constant safety. In a never-changing state. That is a very forlorn way of living. A life of nothing ever being new and unknown is monotone and grey. It’s secluded and stoops you lower than a sheltered little snail. 

A forlorn way of living? To be safe and sound in your own skin and place of living? There was no way Inadi's idea of life was anything like this man described. He enjoyed the way he lived. Nothing bad ever happened. Nothing could hurt him. Nothing new ever came his way with his choice of living....yet when he thought that sentence to himself he couldn't help but feel a pang of regret and a sudden wave of sorrow crushed his chest similar to the feeling he had against the mushroom monster.

Hakuren said said In fact, not knowing anything about something is the best. It gives you two options. To learn or to ignore. Chose the first and you’re progressing. Chose the latter and you could be considered an idiot or a genius. Whichever comes first. No matter which one you pick, you’re making a decision, so you’re actually progressing nonetheless. 

No. No, this was the idea of a mad man. Why would you go so far as to look for things that could hurt you or defeat you? The best things in life come when you can conquer them no matter what. Inadi was able to do that constantly back in the real world. He would always be able to find the exact thing he needed at the right time. He was always eating his favorite meals everyday. More importantly he was surviving on his own without any help from anyone around him. He didn't need anyone else to help him......but if he ever did.....could he go to someone?

Inadi began thinking about how lonely he would get at times back home. He didn't go out at all and even when he did it was to places that he knew. And he didn't talk to people there. He seemed to keep to himself mostly if memory served. Sure he would start up small conversations, but they never really went anywhere. And even if they did there was no guarantee those people he talked to were good people. Why waste energy on somebody who isn't going to be worthy of your time?......or maybe they were and Inadi just didn't give them enough time to figure that out.

Hakuren said said The more you learn, the more unknown things sprout up. Complaining that you don’t know anything and wanting information to be served to you on a silver plate, so you can examine and sort it, is the same as saying you no longer wish to learn. In other words,” he halted only a few steps away from Inadi, bent down a bit and said, eversmiling. ”you’re a coward.” Then he lifted his torso back up and continued “Heh, and don’t get me wrong. Being a coward’s actually pretty handy. Not feeling fear is a mark of an idiot. But being afraid to get out of your comfort zone and tackle the problem is a very pathetic type of cowardice.” 

…..A coward.....the very fact that this man said it so plainly and directly brought tears to his eyes similar to that of what Jasper had happen to her. He hid his face from the man as he walked away and prayed that he could hold back the choking feeling in his throat. Was everything he said true? Was Inadi just a coward? He had always thought himself just a very careful person, but never a coward. Thinking back on all the times he had back home where he would stay in rather than go out he began realizing how sheltered he had made himself. He was a recluse. A stranger in his own world......a coward through and through.

Just as Inadi reached for his face to melt into his own hands, he suddenly felt his ground start lifting off the ground. Looking down and quickly trying to regain some kind of balance he saw that he had been placed on top of a pillar. More aptly put, a pillar had been placed beneath him. It was a little high off the ground, more so than Inadi would have liked it to be. It was already cold and now he was shaking for more than one reason as he knew if he fell this time there would be no quick heal from Jasper to fix his injuries.

Turning to Haku, he heard him speak to the dragon. Now he was being asked to cluck like a chicken for that stupid beast. Inadi wanted to stand up and shout at the man across from him, as a sign of anger and spite against him. Yet the only thing Inadi had in his mind now as he looked at the ice mage was hatred. Not at Haku, but at himself. He wanted Haku to be wrong. Inadi didn't want anything that the ice mage said to be true. But every time he searched himself to try and find a way to prove him wrong, it just showed that he would lose the argument every time.

Inadi was defeated. He was embarrassed and now he was being humiliated in front of all those who joined him on this quest. And all he could do was admit that he was what Haku said. A coward.....a chicken in disguise.

“.....Clu-ARGH!”

Just as Inadi was about to submit his defeat it seemed that one of the guides had grabbed him from off the pillar and had now hidden them from some unseen force. Quickly collecting his breath as the tackle he just suffered was a bit unexpected, he turned and saw that he was surrounded by Ace, Leila, Riley and Jasper. In other situations Inadi would have been pleased to be surrounded by most of the girls in group, but instead felt a sudden rush of worry as he heard the two witches behind them.

And then suddenly there was the pop over where the others seemed to be hiding. Closing his eyes tightly, he worried for their safety now above all things. Opening his eyes slowly he saw that he was next to Ace and Jasper, the first of which had squeezed her way in between him and Jasper. He looked over to the two and tried to give a supporting look, as if to say that everything would be alright. It was clear that Jasper needed it much more than Ace did, but it was clear everyone was nervous at the whole scene before them. He looked around and saw that his spear was not next to him and began mouthing curses to himself. It was back where the ice pillar was....out where the witches were currently walking around. He gave Riley a nervous look and began explaining the situation about his spear with his hands, all the while sweat began forming on his brow in the still cold cave. He didn't know what was going to happen, but he was not going to be able to use his magic with all the water in the cave. Everyone was in danger, and Inadi was once again proving useless. A quiet sigh escaped his throat as he leaned his head back as it grew heavy with worry.

"Do you smell that Rhianon?" The thinner witch cackled as her eyes darted around the room. The humans were hidden behind two boulders, ah how adorable. If she and Melissa had time to spare she would have suggested toying with them. Every witch from the dark side of Nowhere knew that human blood was a key ingredient to most dark spells, and every witch knew that a human head above their fireplace was a sign of victory.Those pests were always protected by guides, tch, it was such a shame they needed to hurry.

"It's the smell of fear, some of them are ready to wet their pants, can you believe that Ri?" There was shrill giggle, "our little baby is deeper inside the tunnel, I smell it." She tugged on her friend's arm as if urging the older looking witch to move forward.

"I smell royal dragoons as well," Melissa sounded delighted now. "They call themselves the best of the best, but isn't it funny how they're hiding with their tail between their legs? Such a sad thing the war between Aven and Sol, I've heard there are at least three hundred dead by now. It's a shame one of Aven's dragons attacked Sol and sparked the war." The witch was just plain gloating now.

Rhianon chortled, "indeed, if that dragon hadn't killed the Xeusthon family this war never would have started, right?"

"And remind me again dearie, who made that dragon attack?" Both witches broke into a fit of laughter.

"Your mind control spells are getting stronger and stronger, Ri. First Sol and Aven, next the ice cream lakes and sulfur mountains." They're voices began to grow distant and before the humans could let it all sink in, the witches disappeared into the dark tunnel.

"They caused this..." Harper's heart was hammering inside his chest. What was there to say? He glanced at both Avian and Victoria...that revelation, it must have stung at least a little. He wished he could say something, but he couldn't utter a single word.

Riley looked absolutely furious and she made it clear by the look on her face. When Inadi had motioned towards the spear, she was still grinning a little and she even gave him a thumbs up, but now she was staring silently at the dark hallway that lead even deeper into the cave. "Can you believe this?"

Serenade immediately grabbed onto the girl and clamped a hand over her mouth. "Avian, Victoria, Zephy I think it's time we left. We'll need to tell Tobias about this, things have become far more complicated than we thought." Witches from the dark side, what were they even doing here? Things like them were meant to stay on the other side, so why had they crossed over?

Serenade dragged Leila and Jasper by the arms and ran out, motioning for the others to follow, when they had a good enough head start she caught her breath and began to speak to the other guides. "How is this happening?" She almost couldn't believe it. Witches were behind the war between Aven and Sol, witches were somehow mind controlling Aven's dragons and attacking Sol. These were creatures sentenced to roam Nowhere's dark side, but here they were, alive and breathing. Tobias needed to know! The Queen needed to know!

"We're heading back to Sol. This situation has gotten ten times worse."

---

Meanwhile in Sol...



The wall had been broken down and the north side of the city had been burned badly, the smell of soot and blood lingered in the air.

When the guides and lost souls returned to the city they could do nothing but gape. They had been away for only a moment, yet half the city had been destroyed. Serenade rushed towards a few of the soldiers and Avian and Victoria gave them a quick talk. The man turned pale, whatever the guides said had spooked him and before they knew it they were ushered into the throne room to greet a soot-covered and determined Tobias. "Rally the men, we're chasing after that fire dragon."

"You're not coming with us." The head guard frowned.

Tobias wouldn't hear any of it, "my people are dead! The city has fallen and you're telling me I can't help?" The prince's eyes were the size of pinpricks and he felt almost hysterical. He had to help them, he had to!

"The royal dragoons have something important to tell you, your majesty." The prince quieted down then waited for them to enter.

The news they gave him rendered him speechless and he could do nothing but stare at the floor with wide eyes. "Is this real?" The soldiers from Aven and the dragons weren't their foes at all. It had been the witches all along, it was insane.

"We saw them!" Riley yelled before looking at the other humans for confirmation.

The throne room went silent. "The dragon on the mountain..it wasn't under the witches' spell, right?"

Harper shook his head and Tobias gave everyone a determined nod. "We're going to put an amulet on it, one that will allow us to communicate. We'll tell them all about this, the witches, the war, and everything." He looked at the guards, noticing the hesitant looks on their face. Tobias gave the humans and Zephy a nervous smile, "maybe if we do this things will be okay."

"You're saying we're to head back and place that amulet on the baby dragon? What if the witches are still there." Serenade's ears twitched and she looked afraid.

"Then we'll just have to hold them back and take the dragon. We can't stay here for much longer or they might take it." Tobias asked one of the guards to go and get the amulet before making his way towards the humans and the guides. They were going to climb the mountain again, but this time they would have backup.

They all ran out of the cave as far as they could. No one looked back, well at least Ace didn't. "See. . . Dragons aren't bad at all. It's always the witches. Always blame the witches." She spoke between pants after the rush out. The guides spoke of how badly things spiraled downward, and Ace watched all the nervousness and the fear amongst her fellow humans. Ace sighed softly and looked up at the sky. "What an adventure." To think, her choice of hopping on that train led to her meeting such weird people and getting her into such a situation. It was. . . Actually really cool. Imagine if she would've stayed back in her rightful realm.

In Sol, Ace stood with her arms crossed as the news was passed to the prince. Asking if it was real, Ace looked around with a scoff. "It's as real as it's gonna get princey. Heh, it's a time of action." When Riley spoke, she added on for confirmation. "We did see them. They were old and pale, and creepy looking. Witches indeed."

They were given their challenge and Ace laughed lightly. "So we have to go back to marshmallow and put a necklace on him?  I'm sure if we can get him on Lesley, that should be fairly easy." Ace didn't mind the challenge, and was fully prepared to turn and walk back. But there was the whole not having the amulet, and also the problem of everyone still standing around.

"Well? What are we waiting for? Let's just go and get it over with? With back up, it shouldn't be so hard to get it done right? Those guys can handle the witches and we can grab the marshmallow and put the amulet on it. And as you said, we're wasting daylight!" She clasped her hands together when they got the items that were needed for the trip.

"It may not be a regular dragon, but this challenge is much cooler than making a baby dragon laugh." She gave a small shrug before smiling and giving a thumbs up. "We can do this. If we've survived this long, what's one more thing?" The redhead wasn't afraid of death. And they all seemed to want to go home, so why not help them get there? It was no way they'd get anywhere if they sat around with their tails between their legs. And with that, Ace was fully prepared to lead the way- unless someone stopped her of course.

Hakuren: “Knowing everything and being able to be prepare for anything. Where’s the fun in that? To dwell in constant safety. In a never-changing state. That is a very forlorn way of living. A life of nothing ever being new and unknown is monotone and grey. It’s secluded and stoops you lower than a sheltered little snail.

In fact, not knowing anything about something is the best. It gives you two options. To learn or to ignore. Chose the first and you’re progressing. Chose the latter and you could be considered an idiot or a genius. Whichever comes first. No matter which one you pick, you’re making a decision, so you’re actually progressing nonetheless.

The more you learn, the more unknown things sprout up. Complaining that you don’t know anything and wanting information to be served to you on a silver plate, so you can examine and sort it, is the same as saying you no longer wish to learn. In other words, you’re a coward. Heh, and don’t get me wrong. Being a coward’s actually pretty handy. Not feeling fear is a mark of an idiot. But being afraid to get out of your comfort zone and tackle the problem is a very pathetic type of cowardice.”

Inadi looked like he was on the brink of tears as Hakuren went into one of his smart people speeches again. Another thing she hated about him, always blabbering about things she didn't understand. Why couldn't he just speak straightforward and to the point? Instead of rambling in some extra dialogue like he was some riddle generator. Harper was the one with that last name anyways. Scratching her head, she was about to hush Hakuren down because of how affected Inadi looked to be from Haku's supposedly harsh insults. But with a tap of his staff to the cave's flooring, a giant block of ice shot up from underneath the poor boy, carrying him to a height unsafe to jump down from.

“Now, Inadi, make like a chicken and cluck! Make like a chicken or we’re playing “Pin the icicle on the Inadi”

'Wow, this guy is something else...' she thought to herself. Jasper already disliked him enough, but bullying someone who had just gotten hurt both physically and emotionally was just plain horrible. at this point, her anger towards how rude he was being overpowered her fear of him and she stomped towards him with a pout on her face. Bringing a fist back to charged it up, she eyed the back of his head with flames dancing in her pupils as she surged her punch forward and right into his arm. For her, it felt like the hardest jab she'd ever performed in her entire life. That aside, it was probably the only punch she'd ever thrown in her life and it was absolutely pathetic. It did no damage at all whatsoever and the only victory it accomplished was to cause his arm to swish forward from the touch and swing back down into place. If anything, it probably only felt like someone was trying to get his attention.

Seeing a white blur wiz past her and Haku, she realized that the dragon had left their presence and she almost broke out into a run after it if it weren't for the guides going into a freak panic trying to get them behind boulders again. She wasn't sure what it was this time around, but she was most certainly not too keen on encountering another troublesome opponent to fight.

"I told you Melissa! I sensed a cloud dragon here and my intuition is never wrong."

"They know we're here- they just don't care enough to make the effort to kill us all- and if they decide you're annoying them, you're dead."

Jasper didn't dare take a peek at the witches everyone was so afraid off. Just seeing their reactions upon catching a glance at the two was enough to scare her into curling up into a fetal position at the corner between the boulder and the wall. Staring straight ahead, her heart jumped like she was speeding down the steep part of a roller coaster after hearing Lesley's knee pop. She held her breath, clutching Ace's arm for some kind of support or protection from whatever lay beyond their hiding spot. Inadi was giving them a look that somehow made her feel reassured that everything might turn out alright.

Jasper gulped as she heard the witches talking about how afraid they were. The old hags definitely knew they were there; joking about how scared the humans were feeling at that moment then proceeded into purposely spilling their plan out to the humans as if they wanted opposition against what they were doing. Taunting them into battle. It was intimidating how confident they must with their powers to even just lay out the crimes they had done in pure daylight just to have them running back to Sol to tell the prince which was most likely part of the witches wishes to wage war against the kingdom and to add on some fun and adrenaline to the mischief they'd started.

The trek back to where they'd come from just hours ago was for sure the most tiresome thing ever and made her feel like their climb there was utterly worthless because now they just went and turned right back around. Yet, Jasper was never one to complain and even if she felt like it, she'd keep it all to herself. As the castle came into view, so did all the chaos and destruction that the possessed dragons had caused involuntarily. That's why they returned, to reveal the hidden threat behind why the normally peaceful creatures were now reaping havoc on the kingdom.

---

Tobias was taken aback by the news about the witches. He didn't seem to believe it, but they all chipped in as witnesses to what they had heard. Once he accepted the reality of it all, they came to the conclusion that the baby dragon on the mountain was one of the dragon's that weren't under the witches mind spell. Another amulet was brought into play but this time, it was for the puffball in the cave. It would shield the innocent thing from the witches controlling wrath and allowing them to communicate the message about what was going on with its misbehaving relatives.

"It may not be a regular dragon, but this challenge is much cooler than making a baby dragon laugh."

---

A renewed sense of responsibility had given her a source of motivation as they once again made their way up the mountain. By now, she had more trust with her climbing skills and relied on her memory to lead them to the cave. If they'd been able to make it there before, and come out of it, she was sure they'd be capable of retracing their path back and she was right. As the cliff came into view, she followed to crowd onto the ledge and they all made their way into the cave for the second time around.

Ace was right, if the baby dragon liked Lesley so much upon seeing his pink hair before, then he would probably be a key figure to luring it back and getting it into their safety. As she continued farther into the dark hollowed rock, she stayed close to Ace. Inadi's arm was still a little beat up so she kept a close eye on him as he maneuvered over the uneven terrain.

"Be careful alright? And tell me if you feel any pain. I'll see what I can do okay?" she offered kindly with a soft smile spreading over her face as she walked near him with Ace leading just a foot ahead of them. Lowering her voice to a low murmur, she motioned for him to come closer as she cupped her hand to block out what she was about to say from Hakuren's hearing. "Don't worry. You're not alone. He bullies me too," she gave him a sympathizing frown as she skipped over a protruding stone.

Luckily, the witches didn't seem to care all that much about the humans being in their presence. They seemed to have sensed it the moment they came, but since they had the power to kill all of them if the thought so did fancy the old hags, the elderly pair didn't pay them much mind besides making mocking comments about how afraid they were getting. Their high pitched cackles coursed through the cave walls and Lesley stuck fingers into his ear sockets at how annoying it sounded. Comparing the laughing to nails on the chalkboard was pretty close, well at least to him.

The entertainment they received from making the humans cower wasn't the best of their conversation though, they even let them in on a little secret. Spilling the beans about why the dragons had begun to wage war with Sol, all the guides mouth opened and so did the rest of the earthlings. With their expressions stunned, he couldn't decipher why anyone would want to do such a thing, but then again. They were witches. Just like in movies back home, the broom-riding grandmas rarely ever played the good guys anyways. As soon as the evil oldies were out of range, the guides exchanged some alarmed conclusions and planned a trip back to Sol.

Lesley groaned, "Ugh. Not again..." He latched himself onto Avian desperately, allowing the man to dragged him a couple of steps while he fussed over going back before letting go and trudging his way along with them, cursing in his head all the while. He kicked a couple of rocks out of his way. When he's in a bad mood, he's in it for a good amount of time and the clock on his patience was definitely ticking as of now. All his whining fortunately kept his mind off of the actual trip and before he knew it, they were already at the kingdom's gates.

"Woohoo! Yepee-", his celebration was halted as he stared at the ash and smoke the surrounded the entire half of the place that they'd only left hours before. Covering his mouth, he looked in horror at the destruction the dragons had caused because of what the witches had done to the unknowing beasts. "Oh my lordie, what a mess..." he shook his head in sorrow while grasping Inadi's arm(the non-damaged one). "It's a shame isn't it? Such a beautiful city in ruins because of those wrinkly old prunes!" he pouted at the frame-faced male.

---

Once again, the group found themselves being led to the prince's chamber in the castle which was thankfully still in one piece.

Guard: "The royal dragoons have something important to tell you, your majesty."

They all walked in, the weight of the knowledge they possessed was heavy on their backs and Lesley was relieved that the guides were the ones doing all the talking. As their leaders finished explaining what they had found out at the cave, Prince Tobias fell into a state of shock and disbelief, their nods and verbal validations confirming the terrible truth. Withdrawing the information from their discussion that the dragon in the mountain was not affected yet by the witches, they were given the task of placing an amulet on it to keep at least on dragon on their side.

Ace: "So we have to go back to marshmallow and put a necklace on him? I'm sure if we can get him on Lesley, that should be fairly easy."

LESLEY: "Eh? Why me? My hair will be ruined ˚‧º·(˚ ˃̣̣̥᷄⌓˂̣̣̥᷅ )‧º·˚ "

Serenade: "You're saying we're to head back and place that amulet on the baby dragon? What if the witches are still there."

Prince: "Then we'll just have to hold them back and take the dragon. We can't stay here for much longer or they might take it."

Feeling rude about bawling right there and then upon finding out that they were going to go back up that darned mountain again, it sent the pink haired man over the edge. As soon as they were out of the Prince's room and on their way up the steepening path, Lesley was off in a childish grumble. But he was quite satisfied with his current state as he had found one of the guards and seduced him into carrying him as far as he could go. Of course, this poor victim did not know what lay just underneath those pants and it was better he never did for it would never end well for the dude wrapped around his neck like some baby monkey holding onto its mother. He was rather the manipulative type. Every time the tired fellow even hinted at putting him down, he would comment on how muscular and strong the guy was, pressuring the guard into continuing the trek with the lank man in his arms.

'Guys are too easy (*з*)' he snickered to himself. The ride was an enjoyable one, besides the sweat drops that would occasionally fall on him from the overworked guard gifted with the task of hauling him up there. Lesley was nice enough to encourage him by wiping his moistened neck and face with a towel every once in a while along with some cheerleader chanting to keep his savior going. "You can do it! Go! Go! Go! ＼(=^‥^)/’`"

---

Climbing off of his ride's back, he thanked the pooped out guy with a smooch to the cheek before running away to join his group. They all looked exhausted while Lesley looked in pristine condition. The jog towards them was enough to get Lesley panting. "Phew. Good job guys!" he commented enthusiastically even though they probably saw him being manually carried all the way. The fact couldn't bother him the least bit. He was using innate talents to his advantage. There was absolutely nothing wrong with that. Sadly enough, they still had to venture through out the dangerous cave in search of a dragon like they had been earlier.

Jasper: "Be careful alright? And tell me if you feel any pain. I'll see what I can do okay?"

"What?! My baby is hurt?" he scurried quickly and squished himself in between the two as he frantically began putting his hands all over Inadi as he tried to look for the injury. "Oh my goodness. Are you ok? Oh my poor pumpkin. That must've been so painful o(；△；)o" he observed concernedly at Inadi's scratched up arm.

The Lost Souls recognized the danger of the situation because none of them so much as talked in a normal volume, although Lesley did stretch and caused a “popping” sound by doing so; hiding suddenly seemed like a waste of time since the witches already knew they were there and even made a point of blatantly chatting about the humans. Their meaningful jabs towards the royal dragoons earned an irritated glare from Victoria but Avian was composed… At least up until they mentioned the casualties their trickery caused. That was then that the soldier’s face turned a few shades paler and his jaw made a locking noise as the witches continued their cocky babbling. Still, he stayed his hand despite looking like he was ready to cut some hag ribbons, and even helped usher the humans out of the cave when Serenade thought it was safe enough to escape. The bunny was right; the royal family needed to know about this.

“I’m sorry you have to go through all this trouble,” Avian told Lesley with a faint smile as the pink-haired human clung to him for a couple of seconds. After that, the trek back to Sol proved uneventful save for a conversation the husband and wife shared, snippets of which could be heard by the humans:

“I knew it. Somehow I just knew that no matter what, the dragons would never do anything so atrocious unless they were being forced to,” The nobody’s violet eyes narrowed as he murmured to himself. His partner placed a hand over his shoulder and soothingly petted him. “We’ll get those oldies,” She promised and he placed his hand over her own, grateful for the comfort, but there was still a dark gloom over his handsome face. “I should’ve guessed… I grew up with dragons, after all. Speaking of, that hatchling earlier reminded me of another dragon. My cousin Gardis dated a rider who had the same dragonkin. They get to grow really large, like the clouds we see in the sky,” Avian gestured with his hands and Victoria smiled. She was relieved that at least a tiny bit of energy returned to his face, but she didn’t say so.

---

Sol’s destruction weighed heavily on both royal dragoons, more so on Victoria because the northern district was their neighborhood. While the couple had no idea whether their house was razed to cinders or not, they didn’t even think of asking as there were people way more affected by the dragon’s rampage than they could even dream of… The scenery of chaos and carnage reminded Avian of the war long ago, and his fist clenched as he surveyed the ruins. As they rushed through the city a soldier ran over and requested the duo’s presence at the town hall where the evacuees were gathered, and Avian said he’d follow soon as they finish their report for the prince. At times like these the people wanted a beacon of hope, and the royal dragoons primarily functioned to be that symbol.

As usual, the prince was attempting to embark on a suicide mission. Thankfully their report shook him out of it and Tobias formulated a plan. This was when the couple saw that they can’t both be absent on the trip back to the mountain; all it took was a glance shared by the partners to decide who would be left behind. “I’ll catch up, Your Highness,” Avian excused himself from the throne room and made his way towards the evacuation center.

And so Victoria left along with the humans and the considerable amount of soldiers Tobias had summoned to accompany them all back to the dragon’s den.

In the castle back at Sol, Inadi was still somewhat showing signs of doubt. The entire time the dragoons and the others were talking about the plan he was out staring at the damage the kingdom had gone through due to the attacks while they were gone from a nearby window. All the fire and broken rock that lay strewn across the very same land that they had seen filled with such splendor and wonder was now just a victim of misunderstanding and circumstance. And in a small sense it was their fault....they failed to do what needed to be done in time.

Inadi looked at his spear that he regained after the witches left and began gripping it tighter in his hand. Looking up his right arm that was clutching the weapon he began noticing some strength returning to it. Jasper's work had clearly done a lot to improve his condition. And now he felt like he could at least wield the thing again without half of his arm shooting pain throughout his body. Then again the likely hood of him actually getting a good shot on these witches was unlikely should they run into them again. What was it? Their heads over a fire was a sign of victory? Inadi gripped his neck with his free hand, hoping he never had to part ways with the thing mounted on his shoulders.

As the final decisions were made about the dragon Inadi felt somewhat confident in the plan. Lesley was clearly the best choice for baiting the dragon back to them. He was the only one in the group that the little thing wasn't absolutely scared of or hated their guts. Though Inadi had to roll his eyes at the last part, as he was the only one who actually made the dragon mad in the first place. It was his fault they couldn't get the dragon to laugh and it was his fault Sol looked this way now.....a thought that made the spear in his hands suddenly seem a lot heavier in his arms.

As everyone left Tobias' room, Inadi stared at Lesley working his magic on some poor guard to try and carry him at least some way towards the mountain again. He rolled his eyes and continued walking. A few hours ago Inadi may have opened his mouth and made a snarky comment but at this point he did not have the energy to be that person today. He went back to using his spear somewhat as a walking stick, using the pointed end to get gripping where he needed it.

Eventually the trip was beginning to show signs of exhaustion on everyone. For the most part Inadi kept close to Ace and Jasper and he himself didn't show much signs of being tired. The sweat on his brow had been collecting for a while, but he never seemed to wipe it off. Not even a grunt at times as he reached the more difficult sections of the mountain side and while to some it may be that he was just toughing it out, inside he was pissed beyond belief. The entire trek he would shoot glances at Hakuren who was more than a few steps away from him but he would constantly check to see where he was both on the cliff side and in regards to his appearance. If he wasn't going to show weakness, neither was Inadi. Haku's words still stung him deep in his mind, but there was no way he was going to let the man call him a coward AND weak on top of it.

However, constantly putting that strain on himself he was beginning to run out of strength in his legs. Back in the real world he was never much of a hiker and the consequences of that kind of non-athletic lifestyle were beginning to show up. His legs began feeling strained and it forced Inadi to put more power into his arms as he tried to almost pull himself up the mountain using his spear. Eventually his right arm began acting up again and he winced a bit as he stared at his right arm, looking at the skin and burn marks that covered it. With the sleeve to his jacket gone the burns and cuts were there for everyone to see, and yet Inadi showed no signs of want to have it wrapped or covered. While it was nowhere near the condition it was in the cave, the muscles were clearly still a problem and the strain was beginning to show as certain cuts seemed to be reopening and his burns began stinging as the sweat ran over them.

To his side he looked and saw Jasper next to him also looking at his arm. Perhaps she had seen him showing signs of pain. He quickly shook his arm as if to show that it was fine. “Thanks Jasper. I appr-” Inadi would have finished his sentence had it not been for Lesley suddenly began pushing his way between him and Jasper. The man began frantically running his hands over Inadi and eventually over some of the cuts and burns on his arm. A quick hiss left Inadi's throat as he dropped his spear at the sudden shock of pain. Watching the spear land in a crevice nearby he quickly shot his left hand out to Lesley's wrist that was connected to the hand that caused the suddenly pain. His grip was firm, but not hard enough to harm the flamboyant member of the troupe.

Inadi slowly lifted the hand away from his body and let the wrist go quickly. Giving Lesley a quick pat on the should he carefully walked to where the spear was and picked it back up. “I appreciate your concern as well Lesley. Truly I do,” Inadi said as he began climbing further up the mountain side with his make shift crutch. “But for now it just needs to left alone. Fretting over it won't make it go away and it certainly won't get us to that dragon.” He told him with a look on his face that showed confidence and an understanding of Lesley and Jasper's concern, all the while it was being used to hide a grimace of pain that hid behind his framed up eyes.

As he made his way back to his spot he heard Jasper whisper to him her distaste of Hakuren as well. Inadi gave a glance back at the man again and let out a sigh. Turning to Jasper he never gave her eye contact as he stared down at the ground near where his spear head had been set for his next step. “Jasper, as much as I don't like him right now I can't hate him. And it isn't bullying if he's proving a point,” He told her as he turned to head further up the mountain, following the rest of the group. “...its just stating the facts.”

The last sentence seemed almost to be groaned out of his mouth, as if it was painful to say each word in succession. He had already admitted to himself back in the cave. He was a coward. He didn't want to risk anything in his life and stick with what he knew would work. He was a shut in. A person afraid of his own society and fellow man. But Inadi continued to climb the mountain, now at a more rigorous pace. He may have been a coward then, but there was no chance he was going to give Hakuren an opportunity to call him out on it a second time during this journey.

It was strange, how lately all Leon could do was find more and more reasons to dislike perfectly normal – normal for Nowhere, at least – things like it was his job. First the baby dragon that had knocked him over and made his back sore again, then the banter between Hakuren and Inadi. It was more amusing than surprisingly, really, as Leon expected no less from their portable psychologist. However, it was slightly cruel on Hakuren’s part, rather unnecessarily so. Nevertheless, it didn’t seem to be entirely seriously so Leon shrugged it off.

Being dragged behind another boulder wasn’t his cup of tea, particularly when his back ached so much. He almost felt like an old man, sitting hunched over and trying to get comfortable. He momentarily forgot the ‘be quiet’ rule and mumbled to himself, “Stupid dragon.” Only a few seconds later did he realize the witches on the other side had started talking about them. Luckily, Lesley’s knee had popped before Leon’s words, providing Leon a good excuse to point fingers lest they were caught. But, if the witches decided to kill them all with a wave of a hand, pointing fingers wouldn’t really matter as you can’t do that if you’re dead.

Thankfully, they managed to escape back to Sol, and Leon heaved a sigh of relief the moment they were back in the safety of civilization. Even as Prince Tobias concluded that the baby dragon probably wasn’t under the witches’ control, Leon was wishing for the pain in his back to go away. It seemed luck didn’t really want to be on his side, as another trek up the mountain yet [/i]again[/i] was announced, much to his chagrin. “When am I ever going to get a break?” He muttered to himself, transferring most of his weight onto his staff.

Watching Lesley get dragged up the mountain by a guard gave Leon a similar idea, and he hobbled up to a muscular-looking guard. “Hey, mind giving me a lift?” The guy was surprisingly nice and knelt down, allowing Leon to latch onto him and be carried off piggy-back style. For most of the trip, he snoozed, not too worried about the events surrounding him. As long as they got the amulet on the baby dragon – curse that thing – he would be fine. Then hopefully they would toss the witches off a steep ledge or something, in return for causing all that trouble.

Being a very light sleeper, he awoke several times to the sound of the other humans’ voices, discussing this and that. This time, they had woken him with a discussion on Hakuren, and Leon exhaled a puff of air. Being so close to the guard, the man felt the gust of air run over his neck and he freaked, dropping Leon onto the ground like a sack of potatoes. The man knelt down again, still mildly creeped out by the hair-raising feeling. “Sorry mate, you scared me there,” He said as soon as Leon got back on. However, being dropped ignited the pain in his back, just as it was going away. It didn’t allow him to sleep, so he just listened to the other humans speak. Eventually, he chipped in, for reasons unknown.

“He may state the facts harshly at times, but he means well. I think. It’s pretty amusing to watch if it’s not you he’s aiming at.” Sleep came back to him at this point and he yawned widely, careful to keep away from the guard lest he be dropped again.

The trek up the mountain was anything but easy. The lost souls barely had any time to rest and they were bruised, injured, and tired.

Soldiers clad in heavy armor marched alongside them, their expressions grave. It was hard to believe that the entire north side of Sol had been wiped out so quickly. Everyone marched up hill with prince Tobias and a few soldiers taking the lead. The prince didn't look as experienced as his men and from time to time it'd look like he was ready to fall flat on his face, but he persevered. Those witches had killed hundreds of his people and had endangered their city, he refused to just sit around and wait.

"The dragon's den is just a few kilometers above us now." The soldier looked towards the lost souls, some of which were being carried. Had it really been the best idea to bring them along? They were all tired and most of them seemed pretty out of it. "Be careful," he stated before he motioned for Tobias to stay still. "Men, forward march!" The soldiers went on ahead, allowing the Lost Souls to take a quick breather.

Harper was using his sword as a crutch but he was managing and soon he stopped by Lesley, Jasper, and Inadi. The boy focused his eyes on the latter, "hey? how's your arm?" Harper mustered up a small smile. He caught bits and pieces of their conversation and realized they had been talking about Hakuren. What the mage had done earlier was cruel but he didn't say anything about that. They had to work together if they wanted to leave to Nowhere. "Just take it easy," Harper gave Lesley and Jasper a weary grin. "We have a great healer on our team and we'll watch your back."

Meanwhile Riley had followed after Ace and Haku and were a little farther up. "So we just have to slip an amulet onto that baby dragon's neck, right?" She grinned from ear to ear. "With all these soldiers, it should be a piece of cake." She clambered onto another rock. "Let's just hope the little critter doesn't start bawling again...WHOA!" The girl fell off the rock she had been standing on and crashed into both Ace and Hakuren. "That isn't fluffy...not at all."

Circling around the mountain was a giant blue beast and it let out a deafening cry.

"Celery!" The head guard gaped, as the dragon loomed menacingly above them. "Run, uphill! Men, to battle!" Soldiers began charging towards the hill top like bugs fleeing from a hungry bird. Archers readied their bows but with a mighty flap of its wings the arrows were sent clattering to the ground.

"Someone get to the baby dragon!" One of the men yelled.

"Sir! It's not there."

The dragon opened its mouth and a spray of blue fire rained down on the mountain.

If this is to end in fire then we shall all burn together...


"Get up the moment now! Find solid ground if we stay here, we'll get blown off the mountain side."

Harper nodded then turned back to his friends. "You heard him, let's go!" He waited for them to run then trailed behind them. They weren't going to get separated not this time. He felt his knees shaking and to be honest he wanted to run away but if they didn't stop those witches then even more people would suffer. They had to get through to the dragon, but how?

"Get this amulet on its neck!" One of the guards yelled.

Harper paled, how on earth were they supposed to get on a dragon's back?

Riley looked worried as well but she forced a little laugh, it was the time to be brave. "We'll be okay if we stick together."

The mountain began to shake and from out of nowhere a tremendous force pushed down on them all. Harper clung onto a nearby tree and watched as several men were blown off the mountainside. Their screams echoed inside his head and he screwed his eyes shut. He didn't wait for his brain to come up with a solution because if he tried to be logical he knew he'd end up frozen in fear so he pushed himself away from the tree and began running up the mountain.

There was another roar and the mountain shook, this time from the inside. Soldiers yelled and archers and mages fired their bows and spells.

There was no turning back now and they could only rely on each other.

[I’ll be adding a bigger text here in the morning. I’m posting simply because I wish to get this specific reaction placed before anyone else and because I feel ashamed of myself for not having posted in the last 8 days. I apologise for the inconvenience of this short post. An adequate description of the events from the castle to the point of the dragon attack shall be added from Hakuren’s perspective in due time. ]



Sudden wind cut through the calm atmosphere. A deafening roar pierced the already tense air. It took a moment shorter than a blink for the source of the disturbance to become evident.
There it was, the mighty beast. Soaring through the sky, the sheer size of its wingspan could make you gaze in awe. It was horrific. The dragon was tremendous in size, greater than what anyone could ever imagine. Despite its colossal titanic figure, it carried itself gracefully, as if it were but a feather in the sky. All hearts stopped at the sight of the monster, many jaws even gaped wide open. Indeed, this was a magnificent creature, worthy of the title “ruler of the welkin”.

Spirits fell into a state of panic. Generals yelled out orders. Soldiers began running left and right. Many did as they were told and headed up the steep slopes, dashing forward like antelope escaping a lion’s claws. Bowmen fired the first line of arrows, yet none reached the winged lord, for a mere flap was enough to send those little sticks away. However, the reptilian had not entered the stage simply for making itself visible. An attack awaited the two-legged land-lovers. Opening its mouth, the dragon let out a breath of blue flames, which rained down upon the army. People dodged and ducked out of the way of the incoming firedrops, yet not all were lucky. Numerous were hit and could only roll in desperation as they burned alive within their armor. A symphony of screams of agony and pain played on the mountain side. Such was the song of battle.

someone said "Get up this moment now! Find solid ground. If we stay here, we'll get blown off the mountain side."

Harper said Harper nodded then turned back to his friends. "You heard him, let's go!"

Hakuren could not object to the suggestion. It was a completely agreeable one, after all. Leaping from rock to rock, he ran along with the group, not once allowing himself to fall behind. Only once did he turn his head to look upwards at the dark sky above and in that moment he thought:

’Took you long enough.’

Fortunately for the humans, the dragon had concentrated its attention at the big cluster of shining soldiers and had not pinpointed the little gang of outworldly beings as its target, thus very few balls of fire came down on their way. This would provide a safer route to the cave or to a stable sniper spot. The ice mage fancied the idea of observing the spectacle as a viewer, yet also had the craving to engage in battle at least indirectly. To his delight and most likely to everyone else’s displease, a guard came and gave Harper an amulet, telling him and his team to put it on the dragon. Naturally, the glasses-wearing warrior lost colour and it seemed as though he could crumble down any time soon. The sudden halt was unfavorable in the green-blue-eyed young man’s opinion and watching Riddle’s shivering self only made him wonder if the boy would even survive this even. If the magic didn’t kill him, stress and depression certainly would.

“Alright, lets get to work then.” Hakuren said with a smile.

Riley said "We'll be okay, if we stick together."

Out of nowhere, the ground below their feet shuck restlessly, as if it were a squirming child, which did not wish to have a bath, and every living being was pushed downward by an unknown force.

‘Gravity magic?’

Countless individuals, apart from the lost souls, were pushed off the mountain and fell to their death, their surprised and terrified yawls echoing with the distance. Harper had clung onto a tree, whilst the black-blue-haired magician had created a small ice wall big enough only for himself, in order to avoid a fate similar to those, who had lost their footing.
After the gravity spell wore off, everyone regained their former stature and brushed the dust off their clothing.

“Well, that was interesting.” Hakuren commented, that smile of his still in bloom. “In any case, how about we get into formation, rather than run like little chicks from a shadow?” it was a rhetorical question. “We’re supposed to get on that dragon. Leon get ready to-” he began, yet cut himself short when the only knight among the band left and scurried up the mountain. “Sheesh.” he sighed and followed suit.

It had not been a hard task to catch up to Harper. The student’s feet were still unsteady because of his fear, making it all that more easy for the ‘ice king’ to reach him.

“Hey, Riddle, where’s the fire?” Hakuren joked once he was finally running alongside his companion and proceeded to cut the youngster’s path. “We need a plan here, not chaos” he told him, but added nonetheless “Although the second would be of use.” Once a couple of the others joined them, he continued “We can’t ask that thing to come down to us, so we’ll be going up. What we can use to our advantage is the reaction between hot and cold air. Leon can create an air current, but it will take far more power to single handedly move the flow with the necessary speed. Currently, the air around us is hot, because of the dragon. If I cool the air around the hot flow, it will naturally push us upwards, since it would want to escape to lower levels. How’s that for a start?”

(have to go to school x_x might edit the end)