[IC] Epyllion: Beyond Moonlight's Reach

[XxFellsingxX]

"Well, like a lot of Semscale dragons, Heliotrope started mentoring a drake, wanted to pass on the art of healing," Rudrick explained. "And, err, Coryn... he's still learning and he, err..." Rudrick makes a face as he tries to figure out the best way to phrase what he's about to say. "He... he tries. He really does."

[Vertigo]

__________________________________________________

Oh, no.

After surviving a magical plague, a dragon made of darkness itself, and a flight that seemed to go on forever, it seemed they were due for the true final boss of misery: family drama.

But while Fellwing purposefully distanced herself from Garrock's reunion with his estranged sibling, not wanting to meddle in their business, her clutchmates seemed to be of a different mind. Skobeloff made a joke of it, Stargaze — bless her heart — was entirely clueless, and Shieldwing was earnest if blunt as ever. Fellwing buried her face into her wing and sighed.

She did peek over when she heard talk of a... half a healer, though. Before she had to ask, Skobeloff did so for her.

"And that's truly all we can ask for," she hurried to comment on this Coryn fellow, eager to change the subject from the matter of family. "I'm likewise fine, but it wouldn't hurt to have a healer look some of us over, just in case."

She looked over to Maug openly, but couldn't help her gaze also flicking to every dragon they'd rescued — as well as Garrock's wing — in turn. Hopefully briefly enough not to be noticeable.

"If you would," she smiled at Rudrick, gesturing with a wing for him to lead the way.

[Digizel]

Shieldwing

Shieldwing kept his eye on this new dragon, Rudrick for the time being. He would steal the occasional glance between him and Garrock, as though trying to piece together some kind of puzzle. There was more to this than what met the eye, that much he could tell. He wasn't sure if Garrock noticed, but he had a feeling, the more he observed the new arrival, that catching up wasn't all that Rudrick wanted to do. Though perhaps that wasn't truly any of his business...? Maybe he should keep his attention on the condition of his own clutch instead of sticking his snout into the affairs of these older dragons...?

He cast a glance toward the others as most of them responded in kind to the offer that had been granted...although he couldn't help but notice out of the corner of his gaze while listening to Skobeloff question about this "half healer" aspect, Fellwing's own quiet disposition. He took a mental note of that. He wasn't sure if Fell was going to want to discuss it or not, but either way, he wasn't going to bring it up right here in front of everybody.

"Y-yeah, it seems like that's what's best for everyone for right now. I-I guess," Shieldwing offered. "I think getting the injured ones some attention is probably our top priority right now. We should make sure everyone's okay after...everything,"

He quickly turned his gaze back toward Rudrick once again. Fellwing had already made the gesture, so he decided not to ask Rudrick to take them himself. Though, suddenly, his eyes widened as something seemed to dawn on him. "Ah...assuming you're not in the middle of training somebody or something, of course," He knew of Semscale's reputation, and it was easy to judge his age by his size....

Fellwing wasn't the only one Shieldwing needed to find a good opportunity to talk to alone. And if they all headed off to rest somewhere, that may be his best chance.

[XxFellsingxX]

When Fellwing glanced at Garrock's wing, she'd notice immediately that it was no longer covered in those black veins she had seen earlier. Someone must have healed it while he and Skobeloff were separated from the rest of the group, likely through use of moon magic as Stargaze had used on Kyte earlier. Still, it probably better to safe than sorry. Any dragon could use moon magic to heal a wound or stave off an infection if they had access to the correct moon, but it still couldn't replace a reliable and dedicated healer.

"Alright then!" Rudrick said, clapping his front claws together. "The two of them are just in the Stronghold. I don't think they have any patients right now." Without skipping a beat, he turned around and started making his way back towards Snouthold.

Garrock gave a heavy sigh. "Just remember," he mutters as he eyes the drakes. "Whatever nonsense we're about to get into is on you lot." Without another word, he and the other dragons started following after Rudrick.

As they passed the group of mentors and their drakes that Rudrick has previously been hanging out with, the Semscale warrior called over to them. "These guys have just returned from a mission," he said. "I'm taking them to see Heliotrope. I'll be back shortly." The Semscale dragons merely nodded or shouted "Okay, see you in a bit" or something similar in response. However, as Rudrick lead them over to the entrance, the group would just about to be able to hear one of the Semscale dragons give an derisive snort and mutter, "Better you than me, buddy." Attempts to look round and see which dragon said that, however, would give no answers as the Semscale dragons had now turned their backs on the Snouthold and were returning to their training. If Rudrick had heard that little comment, he wasn't showing signs of it as he beckoned them into the building.

The Snouthold is a standard Semscale building, built more to last than to be visually appealing, but there is a certain charm, a feeling of sturdiness and reliability that the House as a whole seems to try and embody. Rudrick leads them down a hallway past several varied rooms, all large and seeming to have different purposes, likely for training drakes in different expertise. Some lessons seem to be going on within, with one room having several drakes looking through different books, and another having some sort of lecture. Rudrick leads the group to the room at the end of the hallway, that from a cursory glance, seems like some sort of labratory, if the potions bottles, herbs and ingredients lining the shelves are anything to go by.

"No, that's far too much, put some of it back," a stern voice called.

A second voice responded, but it was muffled, as if the speaker were holding something in their mouth. After a moment, there was a sound like someone spitting something out in disgust. "Oh moons, I think I swallowed some of the leaves."

"Lucky for you, none of those were toxic," the first voice said. "Try to be more careful next time."

"Is this a bad time?" Rudrick said.

Further inside the room, the group sees two dragons, one a longtooth dragon and the other a winged drake. The longtooth dragon has quite a striking appearance, as while her scales are mostly dark green, they're also speckled with a deep crimson, bringing to mind the gem bloodstone. In fact, almost half of this dragon's face is covered in these red scales. Her eyes are a reddish-orange, and she's wearing a short green shawl with a some purple flowers stitched into the fabric. Upon hearing Rudrick's voice she glances over her shoulder, first at him, then at the dragons accompanying him. She doesn't say anything right away, but there is a weariness in her eyes.

The winged drake is on the chubbier side, with quite stubby wings and legs. He's a reddish-pink in colour, accented with gold. One of his eyes is yellow, the other blue, and he's wearing a necklace made of colourful flowers. There is a small pile of herbs on the floor by his feet, which everyone can assume he has spat out. His tongue is lolling out of his mouth, clearly still affected by the bitter taste of the plants. "Urgh, I think my tongue is going numb," he says after a moment.

The green and red dragon, who everyone can assume is Heliotrope, gives a sigh. "How about we take a break for now, Coryn?" she said. "I'll deal with things here."

Coryn looked over at the dragons behind Rudrick. "You sure...? Looks likes there's a lot of people here..." he said.

"I can manage."

Coryn looks at her, then looks back at the group. He looks a little deflated but doesn't protest, walking past everyone as he leaves the room. Because of his build, it's not particularly graceful and he bumps into several of the other drakes. "Sorry, 'scuse me, pardon me," he says before he finally passes the group and leaves.

Once he's gone, Heliotrope lets out a larger sigh and begins running a claw across the crimson side of her face.

"You alright?" Rudrick said.

"I'm exhausted," Heliotrope responded. "Didn't sleep great last night, and it's probably not helping my teaching any."

"I see," Rudrick said, his voice immediately full of sympathy. "If you don't feel up to this-"

"No, it's fine," Heliotrope said, taking her claw away from her face. "A change is as good a rest. What do you have for me?"

Rudrick glanced over his shoulder towards Garrock, who stepped forward. "We recently came back from a mission," Garrock said. "And some of us have come into contact with the Darkness, including, well..." He motions with his head towards Maug.

Frowning, Heliotrope approaches the collapsed dragon. "Hmmm...." is all she says for a moment as she looks him up and down. After a while, she suddenly prods the sleeping dragon's shoulder with a claw. Nothing happens, not even a small reaction like a flinch. "We have a nest over in the back. Put him over there. I'll look him over again in a moment under some brighter lighting." She motions over towards the back of the room, and Garrock quickly follows her directions, taking the sleeping dragon over. Heliotrope then turns back to the rest of the group. "I'll check everyone else first. Darkness-related maladies aren't my area of expertise, but I have treated a few of them," she said. "Does anyone have any symptoms right now? Anything that feels out of the ordinary at all. Doesn't matter if it seems inconsequential, if your emotions or thoughts have seem a little off, do speak up. It could be nothing, could just be exhaustion or stress, but it's still better to be honest about it now. The Darkness can be subtle some times."

[Vertigo]

__________________________________________________

Fellwing didn't dignify Garrock's grumpy remark with more than a quirk of her brow. She wasn't sure what he was trying to imply. What nonsense could they possibly get into on a quick trip to visit healers? Skobe could pull something she supposed, but...

But then came the comment from one of the Semscale dragons, and Fellwing couldn't help but get a bad feeling about what was to come. Was the Coryn fellow they'd mentioned truly that bad? Was he the issue?

... Whether he was or not, he clearly had issues, Fellwing soon realized. And one of them was eating laboratory samples.

Fellwing slid aside to let the winged drake pass once he was dismissed. Though she didn't consider herself all that sentimental, she did feel a little bad for him. For all the talk she'd heard, he didn't seem... that bad. But then again, she didn't need to work with him on the daily, unlike—

She turned her attention to Heliotrope as the healer addressed her and the rest of the drakes, though the way she talked about Darkness threatened to make Fellwing fidget.

"No symptoms for me," she said as casually as she could muster, praying to the Moons her clutchmates wouldn't mention her momentary struggle with her fears at the island. She truly was fine, after all. Getting a little too close to the Darkness on occasion was part of her job description, but she trusted herself to make her way back to the light at the end of the day. Or at the end of the night, as it were.

She glanced over to the various potions and containers, half-curious, half-desperate for a distraction. "What is it that you make here? Healing salves and antitoxins and the like, I'd imagine, but I'm curious what else you can produce."

[rush99999]

Skobeloff

"Nothing out of the ordinary on my end." Skobeloff chimed in quickly, only half paying attention to the conversation as he studied Heliotrope and her workplace for insights he could use for his own ends in the future.

OOC

Skobeloff studies Heliotrope in her workspace, activating View From Within. He rolls an 8 and learns what mistakes Heliotrope regularly makes.

[XxFellsingxX]

The faintest raise of an eyebrow and the hint of smile appeared on Heliotrope's face as Fellwing asked about her work. Clearly, this was a welcome surprise for the healer. "I brew potions of all sorts," she said as too started to gaze around her own workplace. "Nothing too flashy, I'll admit. A lot of brewers like to lace moon magic into their works, but I try to avoid that. Moon magic is strong, yes, but it tends to make for some unpredictable results. You don't want your patient to start glowing in the dark or break out into polka dots." She gives a dry yet still good natured chuckle. "Younger me learned that the hard way. I mostly stick to simple things, like salves and anti-toxins, but also sleeping aids, potions to calm nerves or soothe headaches. You'll be surprised what simple herbs can do."

As she's speaking, Skobeloff will notice the dragon's gaze pass over the shelves, as well as her eyelids drooping. The drake will get the sense that she hasn't been sleeping well as of late... in fact, he gets the sense she hasn't slept well in some quite time, and despite her best efforts, it's starting to effect her work.

[Guardian Angel Haruki]

Stargaze

Stargaze had been very quiet as she followed the clutch and larger dragons to Heliotrope. She had learned from her time here to stay quiet if she didn't want unwanted attention. When they got to their destination she watched curiously as everyone spoke and actions were taken. There was so much happening, Stargaze wasn't even sure what to react to first, even if she did want to speak up. When asked about their conditions, she simply chimed in with a cheerful, "I'm okay!"

She listened to Heliotrope as she answered Fellwing's question and talked about her profession...and the possible side effects of using moon magic to heal someone. Upon hearing that, Stargaze's smile fell into a wide-eyed look of surprise. She couldn't help but ask, "That can happen?!"

She turned her attention to Kyte and she give a sheepish smile of her own, and she quickly apologized, "Uh...I'm sorry!"

Realizing that her apology might confuse some of the dragons here, she sheepishly explained and asked Heliotrope, "Umm...I used Moon Magic to heal Kyte's wing. Can you...see if there are any side effects?"

[XxFellsingxX]

Heliotrope turned her head rather abruptly towards Stargaze and then Kyte. The orange drake hadn't been volunteering to be checked over as they clearly felt nothing wrong, but now Heliotrope was beckoning them over. "You had an injury on your wing? Which one?" she said.

Kyte awkwardly stepped forward, lifting up the previously infected wing. "This one," they said. "I got attacked by some weird brownies... something had transformed them and they'd become aggressive. One of them scratched me, I think, and this weird black stuff started forming on my wing." As Heliotrope started inspecting the wing, Kyte quickly added, "It's gone now, and I don't feel that bad. In fact, I feel pretty good."

Heliotrope examined Kyte for a moment, her face settling into a frown. "You said your name is Kyte, right?" she asked. "How old are you, Kyte? You're a winged drake, obviously, but for how long?"

"Erm, I think I became a winged drake just a little bit before we went on our mission so... less than two weeks?"

Heliotrope frown deepened, and she ran her claws over her snout as she tried to suppress an exasperated sigh. "Did you call upon a specific moon when you healed your friend, here?" she said as she turned her head back towards Stargaze. "If not, and it's okay if you didn't, what exactly was going through your mind as you used the magic?" She didn't sound angry or upset, just serious and to the point.

[Guardian Angel Haruki]

Stargaze

Stargaze watches as Heliotrope checks Kyte over and asks them questions about themselves. At first she started with an "Ummmm..." as she thought over Heliotrope's questions. After a bit of thinking, she answers Heliotrope, recounting the event, her eyes gazed upwards as though watching or reading her own memories play by play,

"I didn't call on a specific moon. When I saw Kyte's wound, I wondered if there was anything I could do to help. I remembered Fellwing made flowers blossom with the magic of the moons, and from there I got the idea to try using the moon magic to heal Kyte's wing. So, I touched the wing where the wound is, and called the moons. I had no idea what I was doing, but I just wanted to help Kyte, even if it meant I got that darkness instead. I felt the Spirit Moon help heal them,"

After recounting her thoughts during the event, she looked back to Heliotrope to see what her reaction or her diagnosis might be.

[XxFellsingxX]

Heliotrope nodded slightly. "Okay, I think I know what's happened," she said. "Judging from your description, you probably called upon the Spirit Moon, which is usually the Moon dragons choose to channel when attempting to heal a wound. It's associated with regeneration, but it's also associated with growth and transformation, so applying it can have some unintended side-effects." Heliotrope grimaced slightly. "You didn't just heal your friend's wing, you likely accelerated its development."

Kyte tilted their head. "That doesn't sound too bad," they said.

Heliotrope turned her head towards the drake. "Only your left wing," she said. "You probably don't feel it now, but your left wing is developing faster than your right wing. This acceleration will likely wear off after a day or so, but any changes you undergo during that time will be permanent." When she noticed how pale Kyte was getting, she quickly added, "This isn't an uncommon occurrence and I'll keep you monitored for the next few days to make sure it doesn't get out of hand, but will notice your balance while flying is a little off. Again, it's not too serious, and you'll likely be able to adjust to it. It's just..." She sighs a little as she looks between Kyte and Stargaze. "A thing that happens sometimes. The Moons are finicky, especially when you're first learning how to channel their power. The Spirit Moon specifically can be tricky... it's helpful in a pinch, but you should be very careful when utilizing it in healing. Why do you think we still have dragons who are blind or missing a limb? Theoretically, you could restore a dragon's sight or lost limb with the Spirit Moon, and that are studies of it working... but there have also been studies of it going wrong." She opened her mouth as if she were going to expand on that particular, but then decided against it. When she spoke next, her voice was gentler, clearly trying not to scare the younger dragons. "This is a very mild example of that though, and a very common mistake. In the future, when you do want to use moon magic to heal, consider the type of injury you're treating. For example, the Void or Liberty Moons can also be used to remove an infection."

[Digizel]

Shieldwing

A brow was raised from Shieldwing's eye as Garrock insisted that some sort of "nonsense" was sure to take place. He could only assume that the larger dragon had some kind of reason to say that, but it didn't matter to him. He had his reasons for helping to come to this decision, after all. He immediately moved to take a spot near the front of his companions, wanting to stay protectively at the front of his group, maintaining an image of strength and reliability.

Or at least, that's how he hoped he looked.

Though as the group passed by the other group of Semscale dragons, he couldn't help but overhear something. But as he turned his head to take a look at the others, he couldn't tell whose maw it had come from, and he decided to shake it off. He might have just been imagining things anyway. Besides, he had more important things to focus on right now.

Though even as he tried to keep his focus on the task at hand, his gaze couldn't help but wander the building as they made their way through. His expression was neutral for a while as he took in what kinds of things dragons in this area tended to do to learn how to be a proper dragon. Although as they passed one particular hall where he could see some drakes reading, he frowned. Days spent struggling to stay awake with a book laid out in front of him came straight to the forefront of his mind, and he felt something similar as he heard a lecture going on in another room. He still remembered the angry and frustrated look that the Brynbacks kept giving him every time he had to be startled back into reality....

He was snapped out of his thoughts again as another voice met them. He observed the brief scene between the two dragons, whose identities were pretty easy to guess at this point. Though he was momentarily caught off-guard by Heliotrope's scales. He'd never quite seen a pattern like that before....

Although as he watched the scene before him unfold, he heard the exasperated sigh from the bloodstone-like longtooth and immediately felt a twinge of sympathy run through his entire body. Sympathy not for Heliotrope, however; he felt bad for the smaller yet stockier drake that had just been "asked" to leave. He recognized the treatment immediately. The exasperated sigh, the dismissive response when questioned, and the hesitant exit in front of strangers. Worse yet, the second sigh and face-claw almost immediately after she believed he was gone. He could only hope that this was simply due to the older dragon being overworked right now and that this wasn't commonplace.

Shieldwing turned his head to look back at the exit as Coryn left the room, only returning back to the situation at hand when he heard Heliotrope ask about their visit. He raised one of his feet, ready to step forward and announce their purpose, breathing in to begin, only to deflate slightly as Garrock began to speak before he could even open his maw.

From there, Heliotrope proceeded to address the issue at hand and asked the group if any of them had any issues of their own. Shieldwing paused for a moment as he considered her words. "If your emotions or thoughts have seem a little off" is what she had specifically stated wanting them to mention. His thoughts turned back to his own quietness ever since the conclusion of their mission and the negative thoughts that had stuck in his mind for their entire return flight. Heck, even just a minute ago, he had been reminding himself of the more negative experiences of studying back home. He considered mentioning this nagging negativity, but he faltered as he listened in to his companions and how they spoke. Fellwing, Skobeloff and even Stargaze had said they were all doing fine.

What would it look like if the only one who had any concerns at all about a potential creeping Darkness was the Brynback? House Brynback was practically renowned for their ability to fight against the Darkness. Being the only one to voice concerns over it would just make him look an even more incompetent Brynback than before. Plus, it would mean admitting all of his negative thoughts right here in front of everybody, including Garrock and Stargaze. That wasn't exactly appealing either.

No, he needed to keep looking strong and reliable. He needed to be their shield, after all. Even if this negativity was the Darkness' doing, surely he could power through it and handle it himself.

Luckily, he didn't even get a chance to answer as Kyte's situation got brought up instead, and seemed to be a much bigger issue than any of them had anticipated. And he heard the turn it had made...and he knew exactly where Stargaze's mind was going to go as Heliotrope explained the situation.

"So it's not going to be a problem then," Shieldwing was quick to speak up, hoping to stop Stargaze from what he expected to be thoughts of guilt. "Sounds like you don't have to worry too much, Kyte. And we got a great lesson on the Moons to boot! Besides..." He stepped back, stepping beside Stargaze and quickly raising his own wing, draping it over Stargaze for a moment. "It's probably a lot better like that than it would have been if we'd left it. Right, Stargaze?" He turned his head to look at his companion with a smile, his own negative thoughts having been shoved aside in an attempt to help his clutchmate.

After a moment of hesitation, he looked back to Kyte again as something crossed his mind. "And...hey, if you need help while you're getting used to it, you can ask me. Unlike Stonescale, I promise won't laugh or make fun of you or anything. I mean, I know we're not in the same clutch or anything, but...w-well, just think about it." He quickly averted his gaze as a sense of awkwardness suddenly washed over him as that last statement was beginning to end. Was he trying too hard? Maybe. But it was better than staying quiet this time. Besides, maybe this was a bridge that could still be mended....

[rush99999]

Skobeloff

"So... these side effects..." Skobeloff spoke up then, looking a little uneasy after hearing Heliotrope speak on the matter. "Do we just have to worry about that in the simple spells or would they also appear in the more complicated stuff as well? Because on the tail end of the mission we've just come from, we performed a moon magic ritual to heal the heart of the island we were on before we left. Could we have done something to the island that we didn't intend to do or something like that?"

[XxFellsingxX]

Heliotrope's expression went through many phases as she listened to Skobeloff's words, before eventually settling somewhere in-between mildly concerned, decently sympathetic and extremely tired. "That's a little beyond me, I'm afraid," she said. "I know enough about magic to get by, particularly in the scope of medicine, and I know about using moonlight to help curate plants, but restoring the heart of an island?" She shook her head. "That's for a nature adept or an elementalist. I do know rituals tend to be a bit more, shall we say, intricate than the average spell, but as I've never really attempted one myself, I don't really know." She shrugged.

Vipereyes, who had previously been examining some of the ingredients that lined the selves of the lab, turned her attention back towards the group. "I can assure you, I took the best precautions I could," she said. "And we had an elemental with us, who was able to give us some advice."

"I'm guessing this was the spirit moon you were using?" Heliotrope asked. "Did you have an elder supervising this or helping in anyway?"

Vipereyes' expression fell and she glanced towards Fogdance. "Err..." She didn't get to finish that before Fogdance interjected.

"I was the focus for the ritual," she said, stepping forward. She looked a little uncomfortable admitting this, but considering the subject had been brought up, she probably felt it was best to get it over with.

Heliotrope went over to the older dragon, looking her up and down. "Are you alright?" she asked. "That must have been quite a strain for you."

Fogdance shifted awkwardly, not saying anything as she made meaningful glances between Heliotrope and the drakes of the group. Heliotrope must have caught something in her expression because she nodded, and quickly stepped away.

"Well anyone else?" the healer said.

Vipereyes spoke up again. "Me and Alto here were held captive by the Darkness, same as our friend Maug over there," she said, gesturing to Alto and then over to Maug. "We don't seem to have any side-effects though-"

"Better to be safe than sorry," Heliotrope said before the older dragon could finish, and she quickly went to inspecting and asking questions to Vipereyes and Alto.

During all this, Garrock has remained quiet, not speaking up at all and instead hovering over where he had placed Maug down. Rudrick had been keeping his eyes on him and looked multiple times like he wanted to approach him and speak, but after a bit, must have decided not to. "If you don't need me for anything, Heliotrope, perhaps I should go see to Coryn," he said, turning his attention back to the healer. "He looked a little dejected when he left."

Heliotrope paused from examining her patients and turned to face the other dragon. "I would appreciate that," she said. "I might have been a little too curt with him."

Rudrick nodded before starting to excuse himself from the room.

[Vertigo]

__________________________________________________

Fellwing felt genuinely happy — and the slightest bit guilty — when Heliotrope, tired as she seemed to be, lit up visibly at the chance to talk about her work. The black drake listened attentively, surprised at the healer's take on Moon Magic. Most of the drakes she knew considered it the only true magic out there (well, besides elemental magic, she supposed), so to hear someone call it out on its unpredictability felt almost relieving.

Exactly, she wanted to say, sometimes Moon Magic can be just as fickle as Shadow Magic, yet we only treat the latter as a transgression.

The Seer did not, of course, say any of that. Instead, she smiled at the mental image of Garrock covered in polka dots and said: "That is fascinating! I don't know much about nature or what it can provide us, but I'd love to hear more about the kinds of herbs you use sometime, if you've the time." She glanced back towards the door and mused: "That is, unless you've been put off teaching for the rest of your life."

Before the healer could reply, Stargaze's panic stole her and Kyte away. Fellwing was comfortable settling back into the background, pretending to be very interested in a random flask so as to hide how interested she was in the ensuing conversation regarding Moon Magic. She'd always known it wasn't entirely safe either, but the side effect on Kyte's wing wasn't something she'd ever thought to consider. Poor Stargaze; she probably hadn't, either. Thankfully, Shieldwing seemed to have that covered, always the first to rush to the white drake's aid.

The topic shifted back to the Darkness, and Fellwing struggled not to look over. While doing so, she caught Rudrick's hesitation, and quickly looked the other way instead. As bad as she felt, she knew it'd be best if she stayed away from whatever was going on between the brothers. There were others more capable than her to help them. Skobe included, surprisingly enough. He seemed to get along with the old grump as well as one could.

Besides, she still had questions — though she was unsure how to word them, and hesitated to interrupt Heliotrope's work besides. As a — hopefully somewhat natural, considering what she was doing now — lead up, she ventured: "Do you often handle patients touched by the Darkness?"

[rush99999]

Skobeloff

Skobeloff nodded in acknowledgement when Heliotrope mentioned that what Skobeloff had brought up was a little beyond her. He had known that would be the case, and he didn't mind that. Talking about the island hadn't been his goal, ensuring that Fogdance would be looked at after what she went through had been his goal. And from the looks of things, it seemed that goal would not be achieved in the presence of drakes. "I'm going to take a walk." Skobeloff said quietly to his clutchmates as Heliotrope began fussing over captives rescued from the darkness. "If you don't find me sooner, I'll wait for you where we landed when I've got enough energy back to continue on." With that said, Skobeloff made for the door, paused a moment to hear Heliotrope's answer to Fellwing's question, and then set off in the direction that Rudrick had left in.

[Guardian Angel Haruki]

Stargaze

Shieldwing was right. Upon hearing that Stargaze had caused Kyte's left wing became overdeveloped, she felt guilty. Was it better to just leave it as it was? Kyte was sure to get bullied like she was....!

She looked up to Shieldwing when he spoke up saying that it wasn't going to be a problem. She listened to him speak, and after he posed his question, she nods and answered, "Ri-Right! You're right, Shieldwing," She then whispered to Shieldwing when attention was off her, "Thank you, Shieldwing,"

Stargaze listened as the other dragons spoke with each other, and soon attention was brought to Coryn. She speaks up, "I'd like to go and check on Coryn too," She hoped that she could help Coryn as well.

[Digizel]

Shieldwing

"Ah, it's nothing. You did a good thing, that's all." Shieldwing whispered back toward Stargaze, subtly nudging her shoulder with his wing. He then perked his head upward a bit, suddenly a little bit more nervous as the subject of the conversation seemed to turn back to those who may be concerned about the creeping Darkness once again.

"Hah, what kind of Brynback would I be if I let myself get corrupted that easily?" Shieldwing answered aloud, holding his head high. 'Especially when I didn't even really do anything....' he couldn't keep the thought out of his head before continuing. "Yeah, no symptoms on my end. But if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go with them and check up on Coryn too."[/color]

Shieldwing turned to walk away quickly before anybody could potentially interject or stop him or anything. But he paused as a thought jumped to his heade.

"Fell, do you want to come with us?" he asked, turning to look toward their black-scaled clutchmate. "Or would you rather-"[/color] He then glanced toward Garrock, hoping the older dragon wasn't going looking in his direction before he gestured at him. "Stay here and keep up with the...situation?" He would then point his claw back toward where Rudrick had gone, and then gestured again toward Garrock. He hoped that those not of his own clutch would think he was simply referring to the injured and corrupted dragons. But with his gesturing, he hoped to convey to his clutchmates about the strange goings-on between Rudrick and Garrock. If they could assist Rudrick with whatever he was trying to do with his brother, perhaps it could make things easier on both of them.

Though it rarely came up, he himself felt particularly sensitive to familial squabbles; he didn't really even know if he had one, and it seemed like such a waste for them to have some invisible force getting between them. And if anybody of their clutch could learn or convince Garrock to come forward with anything, it was probably Fellwing. Skobeloff as well, but with any luck, Skobeloff was going to be focusing on the Rudrick side of things. At least, if he was reading his green clutchmate well enough, anyway. Though he knew he couldn't be too confident in that; Skobeloff was always a hard one to read. And he suspected that was largely because it was how he wanted it to be.

And if those two were going to focus their efforts on that, then that just left him and Stargaze to check up on Coryn for now.

That said, he wasn't going to force her to do anything, even if she understood. If she turned out to be just as worried about Coryn and Rudrick as they were, then he wasn't about to stand in her way. Either way, he would wait for her response before nodding, accepting it, and then turning to leave behind the Skobeloff with Stargaze at his side.

[XxFellsingxX]

"Hmm?" Heliotrope paused from her examination to look over at Fellwing, taking a moment to process what the drake had just asked her. "Ah, well, yes, sometimes. Recently at least, it has become a bit more of a common occurrence." She grimaced slightly. "I don't know whether it's a seasonal thing, the excitement of the upcoming Moonbeam Festival, or the stress of all that political nonsense over in Rothscar, but I've noticed some emotional inconsistencies among my Housemates. Nothing too serious has come of it yet, no full-blown Shadowselves or anything like that, and nothing like those black veins any of you were describing, but it is concerning." She returned her attention to her patients even as she continued speaking. "Hasn't been helping my sleep any, I tell you."

As this whole conversation was going on, Kyte had remained quiet. They had not responded to Shieldwing's attempts to cheer them up, instead examining their newly healed wing and flexing it as if to try and figure out if there were really any side-effects of Stargaze's spell. Tamba, seeming to notice this, went over to their clutchmate and put a comforting claw on their shoulder, which earned her a grateful smile from the orange drake. They didn't seem too upset, at least not right now, just quietly concerned with this new development.

Seeing three of his charges starting to make their way out of the room, Garrock called over. "Don't wander off too far, we're not planning on staying here too long!" he said. "And come back immediately if Rudrick tries to rope you into doing something stupid. We've had enough shenanigans for one day!"

---

As Skobeloff, Stargaze and Shieldwing exited room, they'd find Rudrick standing right outside the room, hesitating as if he was hoping someone would follow him outside.

Most likely Garrock.

However, if he was disappointed that it was instead three drakes - or if he heard Garrock's little comment - he made no sign of it, giving the three a big smile. "Oh hello!" he said cheerfully. "Sorry, I don't believe I got any of your names before. Again, I'm Rudrick." He gives a small laugh. "I don't know if Garrock mentioned me while you were all traveling together. Knowing him, probably not. He's pretty tight-lipped about... well, a lot of things, but especially things regarding himself."

[rush99999]

Skobeloff

"Oh hello!" Rudrick said cheerfully as Skobeloff emerged from the room.

"Hi there!" Skobeloff replied with equal cheerfulness.

"Sorry, I don't believe I got any of your names before. Again, I'm Rudrick." Rudrick apologized with a small laugh.

"Don't worry about it. I forget to ask for names sometimes too." Skobeloff reassured the dragon. "Speaking of names, mine is Skobeloff."

"I don't know if Garrock mentioned me while you were all traveling together. Knowing him, probably not. He's pretty tight-lipped about... well, a lot of things, but especially things regarding himself."

"He didn't mention anything about you, but I managed to loosen his lips about a few things." The Myndoth Trickster said with a sly smile. "Back on the subject of you though, you seem like you've been wanting to speak to Garrock from the moment you first joined us."