[IC] Legends of Pyrrhia | Wings of Fire

[PrankFox]

Eclipse gave a light chuckle at Dreamseeker's enthusiasm, "It's alright. I'd like to be able to do something like that, but I don't think I'd ever get my parents to agree to it with what just happened." After a final nod towards Cloud, whose eyes occasionally flicked over to them, he turned and walked back up the stairs; no longer concerned about the guards since they should be aware of Dreamseeker's presence now. Some of them in the hall, dragons he didn't immediately recognize, gave him a respectful nod, and a faintly suspicious glance towards Dreamseeker, as he passed by in the direction of his room.

"My friend, Skua, said some similar things," he smiled fondly, "Not about being heroes really but just not sitting around and doing nothing. He's a bit fiery and temperamental but he means well." He could hear quiet, steady breaths coming from his parents room as they passed by, and he pushed the door to his room open. Stepping inside, the lights were still burning faintly, and he settled down on one of several plush rugs that dotted the floor.

He gestured with one wing around the room, "Make yourself comfortable. It'd feel wrong to just kick you out in the middle of the night." He knew that if some of the other guards caught her flying around the palace at this late hour they would probably be less than friendly. The ones in the palace were aware, but that didn't mean all of them were, and despite his better judgement, he found himself liking the small, idealistic NightWing. She was very different from many of the dragons in the Sky Kingdom and it was refreshing.

"I'm sure there are probably dragons here that would go to the rainforest in a heartbeat. We all want to know what happened and why." He crossed his front legs and wrapped his tail tightly around him wondering what kind of argument he could make to his parents. Maybe if he convinced Skua to go and Dreamseeker came with them, surely they'd feel better if there was a group of them. He let out a soft sigh, resting his head onto his claws.

[Marlowe]

The next day...

"WHAT?!" roared the larger, very angry male hybrid.

Dreamseeker and Eclipse had woken up early in the morning to catch Eclipse's friend before her went to his shift. Skua, or so Eclipse called him, was very much surprised to see a NightWing with his friend-- especially when he found out she was the one that had been staring at him during the whole festival. The morning had been very much peaceful until they spoke to him, and the more they explained, the more his temper flared. His sharp, yellow eyes kept glowering at her as if she had dumped a bunch of salt into his stew. SkyWing guards filtered past them, walking up and down the corridors as they moved to take their positions. There seemed to be more guards than the day before, she remembered. They probably didn't want to take any risks the day after Queen Ember's death.

"So, let me get this straight," Skua's lips twitched with a snarl. "You go to bed, and you find this NightWing flying about the vicinity of the palace, and you don't even wake me up before you go chasing her tail?!"

Dreamseeker couldn't help but step a little closer to Eclipse for support. "It's not like I would have attacked him!" she told him. "Not to mention, we have more important things to think about-- such as our next course of action."

Skua sighed as he shuffled his wings. She caught worried thoughts in his mind; possibilities of Brightstar or Storm getting injured, Eclipse getting killed, what would happen to his parents, what this meant for Pyrrhia... With a war on the horizon, it won't take very long for tribes to start making alliances. Dreamseeker shuffled his wings as well. That was why they had to hurry.

"So, what's the plan?" Skua finally asked, his eyes firmly planted on Eclipse. "Are we going to roam around Pyrrhia and ask who's responsible? 'Cause that'll take forever."

"I have another idea," Dreamseeker proclaimed. Skua's eyes dashed to her again, his gaze anything but friendly. She couldn't help but quiver. "We could go to the rainforest ourselves. The RainWings will probably be more willing to speak to us than a bunch of mean-looking SkyWing soldiers in armor, don't you think?"

"The RainWings won't talk to anyone. They're all lazy good-for-nothings, anyway," Skua snapped.

Dreamseeker huffed, trying her best not to flare her wings. Sure, she was quiet, and a little of a push-over, but this dragon was difficult to deal with. How could Eclipse ever have become friends with him? "It's not like we have any other choice. We have to try, don't we?" She glanced up hopefully at Eclipse. Oh, please let him take my side. I can't think of anything else to do!

[PrankFox]

Eclipse couldn't help but roll his eyes slightly at Skua's reaction. He knew his friend would probably blow up over all of this, but by this point he was used to it. He brushed his wings slightly with Dreamseeker's as she took a step closer. "I thought about coming to get you, but by the time I did she would've been gone," he huffed slightly at the silvery dragon, annoyance painted across his face, "Then we never would've found out anything at all. Besides it's not like I can't defend myself well enough." His tail twitched with annoyance, and he took a moment to put on stopper on any raising of his voice, that would only make things worse.

His expression softened slightly, while he knew this was the reaction he would get, he also knew his friend well enough to clock that the anger came more from fear and concern than actual rage. At Dreamseeker's suggestion and Skua's immediate scoff he took a step forward and headbutted him in the neck as both a soft chastising and to draw his attention fully to himself and away from Dreamseeker.

He gave the other dragon a fond and excited grin, "Come on Skua, think about how cool it would be to get away from the palace and actually do something about this," he flicked his friend with his tail, "It'll take ages for the palace to get organized enough to do anything, so by the time they do we'll already have gotten there and figured out what's happened." his grin widened, "Besides, how could I go traipsing across the world without my favorite guard and best friend?"

He knew it probably wouldn't take too much convincing for Skua to come with them. The thought of leaving him behind seemed wrong, and he assumed the other dragon felt the same way with how much he'd spoken about wanting to find the one responsible. Still, he couldn't keep a small amount of nerves from bubbling up. What if he just completely blew them off? They would be down one and their chances would drop drastically without his help. He carefully danced around the fact that Dreamseeker was coming with them, if he heard that he might be more put off of the idea of flying all the way to the rainforest.

[Marlowe]

Dreamseeker was surprised to see how Eclipse and Skua interacted. The both of them were displaying aggression at first, but even though their tails twitched and their expressions were steely. She could tell both of them cared for one another though, and were only frustrated at each other for trivial reasons. She couldn't help but feel a little flustered when Eclipse's wingtips brushed against hers, bringing her wing closer to her as she tried to calm down the quickening beat of her heart. A hard knot formed in her throat as she became a bit more fidgety, but before she knew it, Eclipse bumped his head against the hybrid's neck.

Skua let out a puff of frostbreath, his eyes narrowing down at his friend. Dreamseeker didn't have to read his mind once she saw the corners of his lips twitching upwards. "Hmmm, that does sound tempting. Actually ditching this place to see if we could get something done, for once?" he flared his wings dramatically. "Three moons, I'd do anything to get away from Cerise's bickering. And I'm sure that if I left you to your own devices and you got killed, your parents would mount my head on a pike."

"You're coming, then?" Dreamseeker asked, even though she already knew the answer.

Skua's somewhat playful expression fell from his face once he looked back at her. "Obviously. I'm a guard, protecting royal dragons is what I do," he stated in a snobby voice that made her claws prickle.

Dreamseeker turned to Eclipse and gave him a smile. "Good!" she chimed, feeling excited. She hadn't felt this excited in ages. "We'll leave as soon as we're all ready."

"Wait, you're coming too?"

"Of course. Three dragons are better than two," Dreamseeker attempted to copy the arrogant tone of voice Skua had used only moments before. "Aren't they?"

Skua's nostrils flared. "I... guess."

Dreamseeker could tell that he didn't like her. Once again, she dabbled in his mind, picking apart the scattered thoughts until she came across something interesting. It'd be so much better if it was just us two. Last thing I need is for Eclipse to be mooning over this strange NightWing, Skua's thoughts echoed back at her. I don't trust her.

Those were the consequences of her race. Even though Pyrrhia was trying its hardest to be accepting of all dragons, certain types just weren't tolerated as much as others. NightWings usually got the short end of the stick when it came to trust, next to SandWings. It must have taken ages for Eclipse's mother to be accepted among SkyWing royalty. I'll get him to trust me soon enough, Dreamseeker told herself, somewhat hurt. If I prove myself useful, he'll like me, too.

"W-well..." Dreamseeker pulled herself from her thoughts as she batted her wings, flustered with herself. "I'm ready to leave when you two are."

[PrankFox]

Eclipse grinned at Skua, excitement sending fire through his veins as he immediately wrapped his wings around his friend, "Imagine what she'll say when we come back having solved all this and maybe stopped a war." His grin faded slightly, but he let out a slight chuckle when it came to his parents, but he also felt incredibly worried leaving them here, most likely without saying anything to them, "It wouldn't just be your head, they'd find a way to stick your whole body on a pike as an example. Maybe hang it from the ceiling in the dining hall."

Eclipse grinned back at Dreamseeker, eyes bright and excited. He'd hardly ever left the palace, let alone traveled so far away. It was daunting but also exhilarating. There was so much of the world to see and he had only ever read about it in scrolls, and now he was finally getting the chance to actually see something different than the mountains and forests that surrounded the Sky Kingdom. The vast oceans where the Sea Kingdom resided, massive swathes of sands for the Sand Kingdom, swamps and hills for the MudWings; he wanted to learn about all of it.

His thoughts trailed off slightly as he watched the bickering between the two other dragons, his head turning back and forth between them, before Skua reluctantly agreed to Dreamseeker's point about greater numbers. He lightly rolled his eyes, if this is what he'd have to deal with the entire journey he was going to go crazy. Skua was his best friend, but he could get a bit haughty and overprotective when it came to unfamiliar dragons.

"I'm ready to go," he shuffled a bit nervously, Only problem is I don't think my parents would let me leave even if I explain everything to them. I don't really want to leave without telling them, but I know they'd try to stop us from going."

He cared for his parents a great deal and if he left without saying something they would lose themselves worrying about what had happened to him. After losing Ember he didn't think they would be able to handle anything happening to him. He glanced towards Skua, hoping his friend had some sort of solution. They'd sneaked out plenty of times when they were younger, but this was much different. They wouldn't be coming back in the early morning hours trying to keep their laughter quiet enough to not alert the guards; they'd be gone much longer.

[Marlowe]

Ah, see, there was the problem. Eclipse was noble-blooded, and Skua surely had someone to report to. Dreamseeker could just come and go as she pleased with nothing to hold her back. It wasn't as if Eclipse and Skua could simply ask to leave. After what happeneed to Queen Ember, Eclipse's parents definitely wanted their son around and the kingdom needed all the guards they had at their claws. They had bumped into another dead-end, and they couldn't take too long to find a solution, lest they wanted to attract attention to themselves.

Suddenly, a flash of realization struck Skua's expression. "We could sneak out. I know the perfect place." They were lucky that he kept his voice low and his snout dipped towards them. The passing guards were already giving them strange looks. He bounded to his feet and motioned them to follow with a flick of his spined tail. Dreamseeker tossed a wary glance at Eclipse and got on her feet to follow.

Her injured leg only bothered her slightly as she pursued Skua down the corridor and then up a very tall, spiraling set of stairs. The walls were narrow; so narrow, that if she spread her wings, their tips would brush against the walls. They climbed higher and higher until they slipped through an opening and found themselves perched on a tall platform. After she had blinked the sunshine away from her eyes, she was met with a wonderful sight. Sprawling mountains, wispy silver clouds just above their heads, and endless blue skies. Her eyes was wide as she took in the view. "Wow..." she breathed out.

Skua smirked at her arrogantly. "No time to gawk at the Sky Kingdom's amazing scenery. We need to head south before anyone realizes we're gone." And with that, he leapt off the watchtower and took to the skies. Dreamseeker spread out her wings and flapped after him before turning her head to look back at the remaining dragon.

"Come on, Eclipse!" she called, eagerness leaking into her voice.

[PrankFox]

Eclipse felt a grin creep across his face at the idea of sneaking out. It had been years since he'd actually done it since once he got older his parents cared a little bit less about where he was every second of the day. Well, until now anyway. He watched the guards pass by them staring at them curiously, and he made sure to keep his voice low, "Just like old times right."

He bounded after Skua as he led them up a narrow staircase that he thought they may have used when they were smaller. He certainly didn't remember the walls being so close together. If he remembered correctly it lead to a little used watch tower that was hidden slightly out of sight from the regular routes that the guards took on their patrols.

As the sunlight hit his eyes he paused even after both Skua and Dreamseeker had leapt from the top of the tower into the beautiful morning sky. He glanced back towards the palace, an intense feeling of regret sweeping through him as he thought of what his parents would do when they realized he was gone. Ultimately this would be for the best. They'd find out what happened and he would be able to come home to a much happier sight. One without war.

At Dreamseeker's call his head snapped back around and he pushed the worries from his mind. He couldn't help but grin at the barely hidden excitement that slipped into her voice. "Coming!" This would be an exciting journey for them, his worries could come later. He took one step back before leaping off the tower. He let his own excitement bubble over as he looped above the other's heads before soaring over to join them as they began the journey away from the Sky Kingdom.

[Marlowe]

Despite the fact that the three of them flew hard all day, they had only begun to reach the beginning of the desert. The mountainous region of the Sky Kingdom had morphed into dry, arid lands, though the peaks were still very much visible below them. In the distance, he could see the famous Jade Mountain, and to the west he caught the sight of a sea of yellow sand. They had stopped more than once on their journey southwards; Dreamseeker's wings were smaller than their own, and she could not remain aloft for as long as they could. They would have crossed the entire mountain region in half a day if it weren't for her. Annoying, he thoughts to himself in frustration. They were wasting time, bringing her along.

Then, they had to make a decision. Camp to the east of Jade Mountain, or to the west. To the east laid the scavenger den, and he wasn't willing to allow himself to fall asleep there. Scavengers were snacks at best and tricky things at worst. Extraordinarily clever, they might have laid a trap for passing dragons in the side of the mountain or such. But to the west laid the Kingdom of Sand. SandWings were as conniving as scavengers were, but they were fellow dragons, and so they could be trusted. It was decided then that they would camp in the desert for the night.

And fortunately for them, Eclipse's sharp eye had caught an oasis in the horizon. They settled around the pool body of water, from which they drank heartily. Dreamseeker was quick enough to catch lizards, while Skua caught a skinny camel. He settled closest to the water as he chewed on a camel leg. The meat was rough and lean, and definitely not that tasty. What he wouldn't give for some roast boar. Or a big buck. So much better than this old, wrinkly camel. He narrowed his eyes at Dreamseeker, who peacefully lapped from the oasis water.

"We'll be able to reach the rainforest in the morning, " Skua told Eclipse. "Moons, I can't wait to get my claws on whoever is responsible for this mess."

[PrankFox]

Eclipse had never spent this much time flying in one direction with such a singular goal in mind. Usually it was battle maneuvers or aerial tricks, but this was just pure endurance. Thankfully his large wings did most of the work for him as they made their way clear of the Sky Kingdom and the sea of sand stretched out ahead. He caught himself staring at Dreamseeker more than once, appreciating the way the desert sun reflected off her white and black scales before quickly snapping his attention back to the direction they were going whenever she or Skua glanced his way.

He didn't necessarily like the desert. The sun beat down and his dark scales did little to reflect the heat. He couldn't imagine how uncomfortable it probably was for Skua given his IceWing heritage, but thankfully he was able to spot an oasis for them to stop at where they could get some food and water. He'd noticed Skua's glares towards Dreamseeker and couldn't help but sigh. He was fairly certain his friend was just being prickly, but he wasn't usually this distrusting of others. Maybe they just needed time to warm up, but he didn't want to have to play mediator for this entire trip.

He turned his full attention back to Skua and felt his nerves send pins and needles across his scales, by tomorrow they might be able to figure out who was responsible. "Me too. Though there is the possibility that they aren't even from the rainforest," he snorted softly, "It's not like the RainWings would ever kill someone, especially a queen." He plucked some feathers from some strange desert bird he'd been able to bat out of the sky, "This may just be one stop. We might have to go even further to actually find whoever is responsible, but maybe the RainWings will at least be able to tell us if anyone weird has come to the area."

The likelihood of them being lucky enough to actually discover who did it at the first place they went seemed slim at best. He shrugged his shoulders slightly and glanced back towards Dreamseeker, keeping his voice low, "You seem extra prickly when it comes to her. Why don't you trust her?" he directed towards Skua, flicking him lightly with his tail.

[Marlowe]

Skua spit out a rather jagged piece of bone that prodded his tongue and reached in to pull its remnants out from between his teeth. At least the camel had filled his belly, however little it might have been. Eclipse's bird looked much more appetizing than the meat he was forced to scarf down. After swallowing his fill, he hummed quietly at his friend's words. He was right, this might as well just be the first step towards a bigger journey. He huffed, readjusting himself on the sand. Even though the sun had gone away, the sand was still sweltering hot. Because of his SkyWing blood, he was able to tolerate the heat a little better than pure blooded IceWings, though it was unbearable to be in such a hot place anyway.

He glanced at Eclipse when he flicked his side again. The topic about the NightWing arose once again, and he wrinkled his nose as if he had smelled something nasty. "Why do you trust her?" he hissed back a retort. "She suddenly shows up the night after your aunt gets killed, and you're just like, 'oh, you can totally come with us on this dangerous journey. No big deal!' Besides that, I don't trust her because she has no business in our affairs. She's just a totally random NightWing. We don't know where she came from, or what she was doing before the festival, or if Dreamseeker is even her real name. For all we know, it could be Nightmarebringer instead."

A footstep sounded close by, and Skua glanced up to see that Dreamseeker had finished drinking. Her tail rested on the ground and her wings were pinned to her sides as she stared at him with wide eyes. He didn't know why, but the sight made his heart twitch, and he glanced away.

"It's alright, Eclipse. Your friend has valid enough concerns." Dreamseeker ducked her head as she spoke in a soft voice. "NightWings haven't necessarily proved themselves to be the most trustworthy dragons. But I'm not like them, and it'll take some convincing to settle him down. It's natural." She ended her explanation with a shrug.

Skua turned to stare at her, his maw tense. He watched as she circled a spot on the ground not too far from them before she curled up into a ball and tucked her feet under her chest. She looked even tinier in a wide open space of sand than a tight hallway, and he wondered if she was recently a dragonet. Or were all NightWings just smaller? He hadn't seen enough of them around the Sky Kingdom-- they usually kept to themselves, after all.

He turned back to Eclipse. "Just keep your guard up around her," he whispered. "I don't want you to get hurt, you know?"

[PrankFox]

Eclipse honestly wasn't entirely sure why he'd grown to trust Dreamseeker so quickly. He just couldn't look at her and see someone who could possibly have anything to do with what happened to Ember. He frowned slightly at Skua's words, "She's the only reason we can make this journey in the first place. If she hadn't been around it probably would've taken us months to figure out where the poison came from, and by then it might've been too late." He rolled his eyes at the exaggerated NightWing name, "Well you could just ask her. Besides she isn't exactly a very good liar. I learned that when we first met, so unless she's a great actress I don't think she had anything to do with it."

He flinched when he saw that Dreamseeker had heard some of the conversation, and gave her an apologetic look as she curled herself into a tight ball slightly away from them. He gave a sigh, he'd probably have to talk with her in the morning to make sure she didn't take what Skua said to heart. He really was a good friend when you got past the sharp exterior, and he knew he was just trying to be careful with an unfamiliar dragon. It was in his nature to protect people, that's what made him so good at his job, but it also made him rather paranoid about things he didn't know anything about.

Despite his mild annoyance, he still gave his friend a smile, "I know," he said quietly; reaching his neck forward to bump his head against Skua's, "You're a good friend. My aunt's death would be dragging me down a lot more without you around." He could continually feel the worried and uncertain thoughts creeping around the edge's of his mind, but having his friend, and hopefully a new one, nearby was enough to keep them at bay.

He glanced towards where Dreamseeker laid curled in the sand before looking back to Skua, "I don't want you to get hurt either, so we both need to be careful." He knew his parents would be devastated if something happened to him, and despite never meeting Skua's he had a feeling the same could be said for his family.

[Marlowe]

Skua really wanted to believe Eclipse. What he said was true, after all. Dreamseeker's knowledge put them on the right track. Maybe he really was being a little uptight, however difficult that was to admit. His thoughts were interrupted when Eclipse bumped his head against his. Smiling, he returned the motion. "'Course. I'll make sure to stay out of very, very deadly situations for you," he joked. "So no need to worry too much about me!"

He noticed that the sun was dipping low behind the peaks of the mountains, and he flicked his tail. "You should go get some rest. I'll keep first watch."

[PrankFox]

The next morning...

Eclipse stretched his wings, appreciating that the heat of the desert hadn't yet become sweltering this early in the morning. Their little oasis also kept the air cooler around where they slept with the added bonus of attracting small animals that they could catch and eat. He felt a mixture of nerves and excitement as their small troop got ready for the last leg of their journey before they reached the rainforest. As he glanced up at the sky to try and gauge where the sun was his eyes caught on three dragons flying towards them, SandWings by the colors of their scales. He squinted slightly against the sun, they didn't appear to be wearing the armor of the Sand Kingdom but they were certainly armed.

"Skua," he kept his eyes trained on the SandWings, "We've got company." He backed up closer to where Dreamseeker and Skua were as the three other dragons landed, sending sprays of sand up around them. Now that they were closer it was easy to see that these were not guards in any sense of the word. They looked rough, with a multitude of scars scattered across their scales and old, rusty spears in claw.

"Now isn't this interesting," the largest of the three sneered, "Some weird lookin' young dragons and a NightWing, how strange." He flicked his tail at the other two SandWings who immediately moved to surround the three on all sides, "Didn't your parents ever teach you not to trespass."

Eclipse tracked the other two dragons with his eyes as they moved around, "There wasn't anyone here when we arrived. How could we have known?"

The head SandWing scowled, "Don't get smart with me," he took a few steps closer, "Clearly someone needs to teach you some respect." With an easy flick of his tail he signaled to the other two who lunged forward towards Skua and Dreamseeker, teeth and spears bared, before leaping towards Eclipse with an angry roar.

Eclipse was able to dodge out of the way of the first lunge, but the sand underneath his feet shifted as he moved throwing off his balance as a wide swing of the spear the SandWing held slammed into the side of his head sending a ringing pain into his ears. He staggered to the side, shaking his head to clear the stars and was just able to bring up his claws in time to bat the sharp end of the spear away from his neck. He backed up slightly a low snarl bubbling up as his eyes flickered between the other fights going on around him.

[Marlowe]

It was supposed to be a peaceful morning. Well-rested and somewhat well-fed, their lot were very much ready to take into the skies again when three figures appeared in the horizon. Skua craned his neck to peer at the three SandWings that had landed. They were big, bigger than them, and riddled with scars. He kept his eyes on their barbed tails; he'd only heard stories of what they were capable of. As one of the SandWings circled around to face him, they arched their tails menacingly. The barb waved above the female SandWing's back as she flashed her fangs at him. Skua felt a growl bubble in his throat. They weren't capable of actually killing them, were they?

The SandWing that spoke to Eclipse shot forward first, and apparently that was the signal. The female SandWing leapt towards him as well, the sharp point of her spear aimed straight for his side. Skua cursed and ducked out of the way, making sure to whirl his tail around and slam it into her side. His spines dug into her side and a splash of blood stained the sand as the other dragon screamed in rage and terror. As she fought to regain composure, Skua rushed her again and pinned her with his claws. Her shrieks rang in the air as he dug into her shoulders. "Leave, now!" he roared.

"Never, you fat lizard!" she screamed back. In a massive lurch of her body, she knocked him off and went to scramble for her discarded spear.

Skua snarled, cursing again; how could he have let her slip through his claws? Was he being too weak? He bolted after her, and as fluidly as he could, blocked her off from the spear that laid half-submerged in the sand. Her eyes glared at him with annoyance and fury before she launched herself at him, flames spraying from her maw. He had as much experience as fighting as she did, perhaps even more. Lowly dragons like her focused a lot on attacking and not very much on defending. He rose up to meet her, and the two grappled with claws and bared teeth and flames. Skua did not want to risk using his frostbreath and missing the writhing dragon, only for it to hit one of the others he was with. Yet... he himself had left his flank open. The SandWing was very much aware of this, he realized as her barb swing towards the gap in his defenses.

But it was too late-- not for him, but for her. A black shape barreled into her side, knocking her back onto the floor. Dreamseeker, Skua thought in surprise. But where is the other--

The other SandWing was sprawled on the ground, his eyes scrunched close and his tongue lolling out onto the ground. Skua froze. How had she defeated him so quickly?

Dreamseeker let out a roar as the SandWing clawed her face. Skua glanced between Eclipse and Dreamseeker in a panic. Both were engaged in battle, but the NightWing was the one that struggled most. Her body was lined with clawmarks, her expression one of worry. Even though she fought fiercely, there was only so much one dragon could do. Growling, he charged the dragon that clawed Dreamseeker and headbutted her in the side.

Two against one'll be too much for her, Skua told himself, grinning as the SandWing writhed under their claws. But he hadn't been too careful. The SandWing's tail lashed back and forth, seeking a target, and before long its tip gauged into his right leg. In an instant, searing pain washed up and down the wound, almost crippling him with pain. "Arrrrgh!" he cried out as he ripped himself away.

"Skua!" Dreamseeker roared.

[PrankFox]

Eclipse ducked down as the leader reared up to take another swing with the spear, unleashing a torrent of flame onto the exposed underbelly of the large SandWing who let out a roar of pain and rage before slamming the spear downwards where it met with Eclipse's shoulder. Letting out a matching roar of rage he wrenched himself free, the spear tearing a jagged line across his scales. He's much bigger than me. No way I can overpower him, but I've probably got more brains than all three of these idiots put together. He quickly feinted to the right and when the spear struck where he would've been he took the chance to latch his jaws onto the arm that held it, feeling bone break between his teeth. With a cry the spear fell into the sand.

He could hear Skua fighting with one of the others, insults and curses flying between the two as they grappled for the upper hand. He frantically looked for Dreamseeker who was smaller than all of them, only to notice her latching into the side of the SandWing that Skua had been fighting, and her own combatant...defeated already? How did she do that?

He was forced to bring his attention back to the leader as he snarled, one leg now useless, and swung the barb on his tail towards Eclipse's side forcing him to leap out of the way as it swung wide. The two prowled around each other until the SandWing lunged forward again and knocked Eclipse clean off his feet into the hot sand, "Got you now you little freak." He cried out in pain as the sharp claws sunk into his neck and chest. His movement was severely limited but he struck out with one back leg; knocking the SandWing's own out from under him. Using the opportunity he flipped their positions and unleashed a jet of flame directly into the leader's face.

As he pulled back, feeling slightly sick as the SandWing screamed and writhed on the ground; scrabbling at his eyes in an attempt to get the searing pain to stop, he heard Skua's roar of agony and Dreamseeker scream out his friend's name. He saw the blood dripping from the barbed tip of the female SandWing's tail and running down Skua's leg, "No! Skua!" All the pain he was feeling shifted quickly to panic and then rage shortly after as Skua staggered back and the female SandWing pushed Dreamseeker away preparing to flee.

She flapped her wings but before she could get high into the air Eclipse slammed into her with a bellowing roar; digging his claws into the thin membrane of her wing and shredding it. She couldn't get away, he had no idea what to do about SandWing venom, and he wouldn't loose anyone else he cared about. As they both fell back into the sand he pinned her barbed tail under one back foot and his front claws driven into her shoulder and neck, not enough to kill her, but certainly enough to cause pain.

His eyes were bright with rage as he glared down at the SandWing. She hurt his friend. She'd pay for that. His teeth bared close to her snout, "How do we help him?"

She just grinned at him, teeth coated in blood, before spitting directly into his face. Eclipse felt another flash of rage as he slammed all of his weight down onto the claws in her throat and felt her body go limp under him.

He could see Skua's face painted with agony as he rushed towards him, and turned to Dreamseeker, "What do we do? There has to be something!"

[Marlowe]

She should have known that the female SandWing wasn't going to help Eclipse, but she couldn't feel angered at the way that she treated Skua's life. It was like she was glad that she had potentially killed him. She watched in a mix of fear, horror, and muted fury as Eclipse practically shredded her throat. Bristling, she turned to the last SandWing, but she caught sight of his retreating figure soar over one of the distant dunes. They were safe for now. Except for...

At Skua's groan, she returned her attention back to the injured dragon. His face was contorted with pain as his body quivered. Already, she could feel his consciousness become muddled and convoluted as his body swayed to and fro. With wide eyes, she bounded over and bent over to look at the wound. The sight made her stomach turn. She wasn't anywhere close to a healer, but the way Skua's scales shriveled and discolored around the entry wound was concerning. His pale blue scales turned almost black as blood leaked out from the injury. Her mind and heart racing, she craned her neck towards Eclipse. He was looking at her as if she had a definite solution. The tone of his voice and the fear upon his face only made her heart wrench further.

"I-I..." Dreamseeker's words caught in her throat. Moons, her heart was racing so hard, she could hear it drumming in her ears. She found herself trembling again as she ducked her head, her claws digging into the sand. Oh gosh, what do I do, what do I say, what do I tell him...? Dreamseeker, you're wasting time panicking like this, get your head back in the game! There has to be someone around here that can help us, the desert isn't necessarily completely barren--

Her head snapped up. That was right! The desert wasn't completely empty. In fact, they were very much close to one of the territory's greatest cities. "The Scorpion Den," Dreamseeker breathed as she flared her wings in a mixture of excitement and extreme worry. "Someone should help us there!"

[PrankFox]

Aardwolf let out his third, or maybe fourth, long suffering sigh of the last 5 or so minutes as he stood watch outside the gate that lead to the Scorpion's Den. If he had to get stuck with guard duty at least they could've put him inside where things actually happened sometimes. The only thing the outer wall guards had to concern themselves with was if the so called Duneprowlers decided to make an appearance, but so far, nothing. He absentmindedly twirled a long, thin piece of wood through his claws and began faintly humming some drinking song he'd heard the older guards singing late at night with slurring voices.

His eyes caught a flash of movement on the edge of the dunes and his whole form snapped into attention preparing to sound out the alarm. He squinted his eyes and blinked several times in confusion at what he saw trudging towards The Scorpion Den. Three dragons, a small NightWing, what looked to be a darkly colored SkyWing, and an oddly colored IceWing who was being propped up by the SkyWing, "What the..." he watched for a moment longer as they drew closer and now noticed the blood dripping from all of them from various wounds and the staggering gait of the IceWing.

He could easily tell, even from this distance, the effects of SandWing venom on a dragon. He'd seen it often enough to know and he doubted that these three, who looked about as suited for the desert as a fish, knew what to do to stop it. He leaned his spear to one side of the gate and flapped his wings before soaring the fairly short distance between himself and the newcomers.

"You three don't look so good," he commented as he thumped down into the sand, "What happened?" He could get a better look at them now and winced slightly at how sliced up they were. The NightWing looked like she'd been through a whirlwind of claws and the other two didn't look that much better. He'd seen his fair share of fights, been in his fair share too, but it'd been a while since he'd seen this many injuries.

He looked down towards the IceWing's leg. The scales and veins around the cut were blackened and he could see the muscles in their body trembling with the effort of staying on their feet and fighting through the pain, "We can get that sorted out for you," he gave the three a bright grin, "He'll be fine in no time."

[Marlowe]

They didn't have to walk for a while, but it sure felt like it took forever. Dreamseeker's jaws hung open as she panted, her eyes half-lidded as she fought through the heat. She wasn't a good flier, but she wasn't a very good walker, either. The searing sand burnt her feet, and she found herself wincing in pain most of the time. She wouldn't let up. She couldn't. She might not know Skua well, and Skua might not like her, but she wasn't going to let another dragon die and see Eclipse suffer even more than before. Queen Ember was enough.

When she saw the Scorpion Den looming in the distance, her heart swelled with hope. They had made it, they had actually made it in time! Her joy was soon smothered when Skua groaned again. His head practically lolled on Eclipse's shoulder. Yeah, they made it, but now they actually had to get help from someone, and that might be easier said than done. Just as she leaned against Skua's side in an attempt to usher him towards the Scorpion Den even faster, a sandy-colored dragon flew towards them. She let out an instinctive snarl. Another rogue SandWing? she thought, only to see that the SandWing had no intention of attacking. In fact, it seemed like he cared about what happened to them. A guard, then.

"We got attacked," Dreamseeker gasped. "Attacked by SandWings near Jade Mountain. My friend needs help fast!"

[PrankFox]

Aardwolf looked to the small NightWing as she pushed her shoulder into the side of IceWing, "Damn bandits," he could see the IceWing was pretty quickly losing conciouness against the shoulder of the SkyWing who looked stricken and frankly terrified, "We can help. We just gotta get him to The Den." He took a step forward and gently pushed the NightWing out of the way as he took up her position on the other side of the IceWing, his much larger frame giving more support.

"Thank you." He turned his head at the quiet mumble from the SkyWing on the other side, who appeared to be struggling just as much if his tightly clenched jaw and shaking legs were anything to go by.

With some amount of pulling and prompting from both sides they were able to get the IceWing into the gates of The Scorpion Den. The other guards who were working nearby immediately jumped up and grabbed their spears, "Settle down you bunch of stab happy brutes," he pushed his way through the group of them, "Can't you see they've been through enough."

With some grumbling the guards settled back into their previous positions, "In here." He gestured with the tip of his barbed tail to a stout and wide tent that had one part of the entry flap tied back. Inside were a few guards who had been injured in a scrap with the bandits not too long ago; resting on the softer sand and pillow that littered the floor in set places. Near the back there was a smaller female SandWing with darker scales sorting through different supplies. "Got someone for you Viper. He got hit by a SandWing stinger."

Viper immediately looked up at where the three had stumbled into the tent, "Alright, bring him here," she gestured to one of the nearby cushioned areas as she began picking up gauze and a vial of the cactus juice that nullified the venom, "We'll get him back on his feet in no time."

[Marlowe]

Dreamseeker moved out of the way so the SandWing could help Eclipse hold Skua up. She felt useless; her size definitely wasn't enough to help out Eclipse, and now all she did was follow them through the front gates, where some other SandWings leapt to their feet in alarm. The word from the first SandWing made them stand down, though, and they passed through without any incidents. She kept close to them as they slipped into a tent. Alarm struck her when she saw that they weren't the only dragons that were injured. Several other SandWings rested on the soft sands-- one of them had a slight tear in his wing, another had bandages wrapped around her throat. The dark-scaled SandWing seemed to be taking good care of them at least. Dreamseeker forced herself to relaxed as they ushered Skua deeper inside and laid him on the sand.

Dreamseeker glanced back up at the dragon with the black scales running down his neck. He was elaborately colored; never did she see so many colors on a SandWing before. She caught herself staring, almost mooning over his bright scales, before she flinched back as if she was struck. "O-o-oh, I'm sorry," she spluttered, finding herself flustered again. She felt the other dragons watching her and she shuffled her feet, glancing down at the floor. Her mother always told her it was impolite to stare-- but she was standing in front of a real life SandWing guard, with some of the most brightest scales she had ever seen. "Th-thanks for helping us... I'm Dreamseeker." She introduced herself before she motioned towards Eclipse and Skua with the wing that was least injured. "The black and red dragon is Eclipse, while t-the other is Skua. It's nice to meet you all."