[IC] Blood Rose Dragon

[Sylvazard]

There was no denying it now: the hunters’ trail she had been following had finally grown cold. The mountain slope with its footholds that more often than not gave way under her weight was starting to become more of an obstacle than it should be. The young woman was unused to this type of terrain and because of that, progress was painfully slow, but, with time, her pace gradually began to pick up. It was still not enough, however, as even the slowest of her targets had managed to slip out of sight. Pulling her travelling cloak closer around her body, Rosalie decided to stop and rest for a while behind a collection of large, jagged rocks as she set her grey backpack on the ground and pulled out a few of her precious maps.

Though the maps portrayed the same, one area, it was becoming more of a pain to decipher them. It was not that she lacked the knowledge of how to read a map, but because none of the pages accurately showed where landmarks, towns and cities were. Rosalie believed she would be fine and even if she was not yet familiar with these grounds, she didn’t need anyone to tell her that the higher she went, the colder it would become. That was a given.

Looking back over how far she had gotten, Rosalie was just able to see the buildings that made up Kalandor, her starting point, and just hoped the group of mercenaries found what they were looking for so she wouldn’t have to go any higher. If anything, she would probably have to turn back. She knew her limits, and she felt as if she were pushing them just by deciding to take on the task of following the men and women through such uneven ground on her own. Grazing her knees and elbows just reaching this point was nothing compared to the fall that awaited her should she slip near the edge. Reason told Rosalie she should have brought someone along with her from the very start, but then she would lose all thrill of sneaking around on her own.

This mountain -Rosalie was currently making the effort to trek up- was famous for its tales that prevented children from going anywhere near its base, said to be home to angry spirits and the like, but curiosity was a powerful thing indeed. She was also a bit unnerved, but so far, no real danger had presented itself to her. Besides, the very people she was following hadn’t complained about the stories, at all, so it must be safe...at least.

To be completely sure it was safe, her light brown eyes would flutter up from her maps for a moment, checking her surroundings for a few long seconds before dropping again. By repeating this motion every few minutes, Rosalie could be sure that she did not miss anything that would seek her out as easy prey. It was difficult, she realised, to relax in such a rough environment - even more so when she was venturing through unfamiliar grounds. She didn’t see herself as completely alone, though, as there were some strangely familiar people here but the problem lied in keeping them in her line of sight. I’m sure I’ve seen them before...but where? She thought with a growing frown, peeking over her hiding spot very briefly like a mouse would as it prepared to make a daring dash from the safety of its home.

There was nothing but the occasional howling of winds to keep her company and frowning clouds to pin her down for the time being. Sometimes, if she was lucky, it would carry voices of hunters hidden somewhere out of sight to her, indicating that the direction she was heading in certainly was the right one. Would she have thought differently if it were quiet and not a sound was uttered? Perhaps, but times like that rarely ever reared its head at her. She doubted playing hide and seek as a child and getting herself locked in one of the cupboards -as realisation dawned on her- counted as one of these moments, either. It did teach her a lesson, though, and that was to be careful and prepared.

Rosalie Sylvazard was armed with two daggers strapped to her waist, both very well concealed beneath the folds of her clothes but were set in a position that they would easily be drawn. No matter how rarely she drew the second blade, it would serve as a nasty surprise for anyone thinking she was foolish enough to arm herself with only one weapon. She loved surprises, but only in moderation when the time was right; it just made life all the more interesting and worth living to her. Take today, for instance: it was a surprise in itself that irritated her, but at least it was not the norm.

It truly was fortunate that she had a vague idea of the general direction she should be heading in. If not for that, Rosalie would have given up the very second she found out about the maps and swore that if they were people, she would have more than just a headache at the moment; she would have a breakdown.
“No...this is North from here...not North-East...” She mumbled, scribbling over her location whilst heaving a sigh. It was far too late to get her money back for these and she might as well throw them out the first chance she got. The young woman almost rolled her eyes at her luck, leaning most of her weight back against one of the rocks like it would alleviate her growing frustration. Perhaps Fate favoured the hunters more than it favoured her.

The group of said hunters she was currently tracking had waltzed into her humble little town of Kalandor fully armed and had been talking excitedly amongst themselves. If that had not been enough to draw attention, the large group had also been spending coin like it had been grown on trees, speaking of the riches they would make once they had completed the hunt for the famed Blood Dragon. Rosalie was not entirely sure over whether the dragon was female or male, but it was a dragon who has managed to evade humans taking it in for slavery for many years. Until she found out its identity, she would keep referring to this particular one as ‘it’.

Though said to be the most vicious, there had not been enough reports to make the presence of this particular beast official after it had just suddenly vanished. People claim to have seen it while some dismiss it as nothing but a character in a story someone made up for instant fame. If she were asked, Rosalie would probably agree with the latter. If this winged lizard had been spotted, wouldn’t it have razed cities to the ground by now - just as the books had depicted?

Not many saw Dragons as intelligent creatures but parts of their bodies such as their scales, claws, fangs and even hearts had value amongst practitioners of magic -as rare as they were. Rosalie did not immerse herself in the arts, though. What she planned to do while participating in the hunt was to try her best at obtaining proof of the Blood Dragon still being around. Whatever she could scavenge, really. A lot of people would pay for such evidence, even if it was just a scale. Again, that would be verging on the impossible, but since she was already making steady progress, she might as well.

Chasing this myth was a lost cause, but it was worth a try despite the conditions being terrible and harsh out here. For now, the young woman would take the hunters’ excitement as a sign. Hefting her grey backpack over her shoulders after storing her maps, Rosalie started off once more, hoping that if she continued going straight ahead, she would find one of those familiar faces.

[Arclite]

The Hunters were slowly drawing closer to their mark. The breathing and rustling noises that came from -those- creatures was always loud to the creature that stirred within the Mountain. Carelessness..That was why they were there, for being too careless the one that was being hunted now had to deal with a number of those pathetic creatures. No matter what happened next, he would have to hope they found nothing. Though with what had currently happened? He doubted they would give up until the entire Mountain was searched. One would question why he wouldn't just fly away but with his size? They would see him easily. Letting out a gruff noise, the one being hunted merely curled up in a deep cave on the backside of the mountain. The inside looked to be well lit, as if it were a temple. Bones were scattered in what looked to be a traditional way as well as a pool of blood on the side, seeming to have several bones floating around in it.

The Dragon could hear the rustling noises slowly getting louder. Perhaps they were drawing closer to his den? It would be hard for them to enter but maybe if they were determined enough, who could say what they would be willing to do. Looking down at the charred circle he was in, Gore snarled, thinking back to the last encounter he had with one of -them-.
_

A storm had come to wash over the land as mankind traveled out in force to obtain the Blood Red Dragon after his latest assault against them. Though the rage in mans heart wasn't entirely unjustified, after all more had died than needed to. Countless had fallen to the rage that Gore had, villages were set ablaze and only a handful had survived to send word to the capital of what happened. One of the darkest days of their history and it was delivered by the Blood Dragon. Though few understood why, One man knew why. Why such a powerful creature felt such anger and resentment toward the people who took -it- from him. It's only natural for someone to feel that way when something precious and significant is lost after all. They were the fools who sought -it- out, and claimed it for themselves.

So on the humans rode to strike down the Blood Dragon once and for all, the Dragon that wiped out almost an entire kingdom, only they found him waiting in the rain, on a now nameless battlefield that could only be found by one whom had been there.
The humans moved up, placing their Ballista's and arms at the ready to stop the Dragon in his tracks. Generals had stood, ready to give the order to fire, ready to finally take the damned beast down. A crack of thunder was heard, but then came the loud roar that bellowed throughout the land, so loud that it shook the very cores of the mortals that stood before Gore. With that, the General ordered them to fire and finish it, and so they had. Only something happened that no one expected. Gore had disappeared. He didn't fight, he didn't attack the mercenaries or generals or even the would-be army that stood before him.

Though mankind is a vile and twisted thing, they wanted it done more than anything..so they continued their search for the Blood Dragon, they searched mountaintops to the lowest of the realms depths that they could reach. Only to have the Dragon just vanish as if he had never been there.
_

The sound of man had now started to echo into his cavern, making the beast within to stir and move. The humans were talking among themselves, though a familiar tone was heard to the Dragon that made him grin, flashing his massive fangs.
"Afraid are they.." Said the Dragon in a dialect no Human could understand. To them it would sound just like grunting and snarling. The sounds drew closer and one could make out what they were saying and how they were saying it. Clearly the Hunters were picking on one another about how each was nervous and what they would do if they actually found what they wanted within. The Dragon moved to the Shadows of his Den, making sure to stay low so they wouldn't see him.

"Haha I bet Rochford is going to wet himself! Look at 'em! He's trembling! What do dark caves scare you?" Said one of the Hunters to the one whom was leading. The leader of the few just narrowed his eyes at him.
"I aint the one who's shaking..Shut up! If it's here? It can hear us!" Exclaimed Rochford, moving further into the den until they had finally reached the flame lit area, looking around with wide eyes. The look of fear and concern was obvious on all of their faces.
"What..what is this place..this aint right guys, this aint right!" Exclaimed the one that was making fun of the man called Rochford just a few moments ago. He stared at the blood pool, looking at it as if it were telling him something. The pool slowly swirled with momentum of something moving, before it started to ripple as if a tremor was occuring.

"That's it! I'm getting outta here! To hell with this!" He shouted, running back the way he came in, clearly fear had gotten the best of him. That is until a tail whipped out of the shadows, wrapping around the coward, pulling him back quickly into the darkness. The other Hunters stared, terrified as they saw a fiery growl escape their so-called prey's lips. That's when they heard it; the sound of Bones cracking and their ally screaming in bloody agony.
"GORE IS HERE! GORE GOT SAMSON!" They screamed, trying to reach for their com-link to tell the others. But fear had gotten the best of them and they couldn't accurately hold the button down with how much they were shaking. "Fire! Open fire!" They shouted, firing into the darkness that seemed to house what the Humans considered Death itself.

As they fired multiple rounds into the shadow, something bloody launched out from the darkness and hit one of them. Rochford held his ground and fired but the others all stared in disbelief. It was the body of Samson that not a few minutes ago was cracking jokes on the group. They began to pull out of the cave, firing rapidly.
"Pull back! Pull back we need bigger weapons!" Though as they got to the entrance of the flame lit area, a loud roar bellowed from the shadows, causing the men and women to cover their ears from the sheer pain of the noise. The Blood Dragon let out a blast of fire, cooking several of them in his den before rushing out, bringing up his claw and swiping at the group of people, rending several of them. Everyone else just ran for the entrance of the cave, trying to get out alive.

Rochford got to the entrance of the den, breathing heavily as he tried to get a grasp on his cable to get down from the backside of the mountain, only to feel something slice the cord he was gripping. Looking up, he could see the tip of Gores wing retract back onto his back as the legendary Blood Dragon watched while the 'leader' of the group of hunters Perished. It was as if the Dragon was grinning while watching. That's when he heard other Hunters moving across the mountain to come and find out what happened. It appeared that these people weren't alone. With a faint growl, Gore gripped his cavern, folding his wings in a way to help launch him forward, taking flight. Though he didn't fly up, instead he stayed to the side of the mountain that can help hide where he was.
Using his claws, he grappled onto the sides of it, moving into the snowy top of the mountain and downward. If he could get low enough, he could hide in the forests below while everyone else patrolled in search for him.

Little did he know, he was heading straight for a group of Hunters that were more prepared for him..

[Sylvazard]

Blindly feeling about for a handhold, Rosalie pursed her lips in quiet determination to find something that would hold long enough for her to pull herself up with without pulling bits of dirt and rock down over her head. Already, she could tell she was going to have fun picking rocks out of her clothing by the end of this, yet, so that it was not all for naught, she would get what information she desired from the hunters without their knowing. The young woman had managed to skirt around some individuals in the last few minutes since setting off, finding that the further she headed in this direction, the more hunters and mercenaries there were. She found what she was looking for after a few seconds of testing stability and hoisted herself up, grunting quietly in exertion as she kicked off of the stone she had been standing on to reach this height. It was from this vantage point was she able to get a better picture of what was happening around her.

Evenly distanced from the last by a few metres were four canon-like mechanisms that replicated weapons of old. Where old ballistas were made from wood, these were made solely from steel, the reinforced framing for each one making sure that it would withstand a few hits, at least, before coming apart. There were also a few other improvements such as a small screen on each which, Rosalie believed, gave whoever operated the machine a better aim over distant targets. She also noticed there was only one engineer walking between the large weapons, performing maintenance on all four in these crucial moments with something clasped in her hand. Wouldn’t that have meant reloading time would take twice as long with only one person in charge of the weapons?

Apart from the main weapons located here, there were also few archers and gunmen in view, either focused on cleaning their weaponry or too nervous to do much of anything save for surveying the area, the anxiety on their faces as clear as day. Some sort of event was destined to take place here and everyone present just seemed to be blessed with that knowledge - everyone but her. Whatever they were preparing for, they were ready. In her moment of distraction, she failed to notice movement coming from her left.

“Well what do you know! You were right, Glenn!” The girl cursed at how close the voice had sounded, about to drop back down again when an arm shot out and caught her by the wrist. She hissed in frustration as she was easily pulled back up, struggling in hopes that he might ease his hold, but that was a bad idea and he only squeezed tighter. She wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction by kicking and screaming her resistance, so she gritted her teeth with a quiet growl. He wasn’t that much taller than her and Rosalie bet that if she had decided to put some effort into it as she was being led forward -and she could have done so anytime- she could have stood on the tips of her toes to discreetly get back at him for handling her in this manner. She doubted he would notice if she did, though. Upon stepping into the preparation grounds, she could almost immediately feel the weight of the leader’s gaze on her, watching her warily with what was akin to dawning realisation.

Rosalie mentally reminded herself to keep focused even as she was pushed forward, knees stinging in kind reminder of the badges she had gained for her efforts. Each unit of hunters visible to her had their own leader; mini squads that though lacking in power, made up for in numbers. The person Rosalie was just pushed in front of seemed to be one with some authority within the operation and though she could have chosen a better direction to look, she gazed directly at him instead, still trying to figure out where she had seen his face. With hazel eyes, dark brown, straggly hair, a bit of stubble and a scar that ran down the right corner of his mouth to his angular jawline, it only made her stare even more despite it being rude. It was like she was trying to make out little details in a blurry photo.

“I had a feeling we were being followed.” He spoke slowly as he took his time approaching her. In one hand, he casually played with a pocket knife, twirling it about every few steps he took. Each time he did this, it would catch in the light and gleam mockingly, highly unlike the bored expression its owner wore. Despite the non-threatening manner of his approach, it still got Rosalie to try and take a few steps back as if only to delay him from reaching her. Glenn. A familiar name for a familiar face.
“Should we tie her up?” Her captor asked.
“No... Release her. Young lady, it’s rude to stare; people might get the wrong impression.” He stroked his chin in thought as he leaned in closer, eyes flickering over her, taking in small details through quick glances. His face was unreadable unlike his inquisitive eyes, giving no room for concern or sure signs of anger. And he said she was being rude. “Now...where have I seen your face before? It might have been back in the last town... but why do I get the feeling that I’ve also seen you years before that, hmm?” His tone was one that he would use with a child; slow, ponderous and also patient. Was he mocking her? Like trying to read his expression, she couldn’t tell.
“Couldn’t I say the same for you?” She questioned him in return, rubbing her wrists slowly where a red impression of her captive’s hands was beginning to form. Rosalie’s words hung in the air between them for a moment, the delay in his reply making her squirm uncomfortably. What’s he thinking about? With my hands free and him being so close, I could probably draw one of my daggers but then what? I’m on my own. Is he going to kill me now? Please, just answer me quickly so I stop-
“Could you? This is going to be rather troublesome,” he finally said with a sigh, leaning back, “our contractor won’t be too impressed to hear an innocent person was involved. This was supposed to remain a private attempt. Setton won’t be pleased at all. In fact, he’d be quite...” Whatever Glenn had said next was lost to her.

That name. Rosalie had never thought she would ever hear that name mentioned by someone else again. Could it really have been him, though? After all these years of being left in the dark, hearing his name was like finding light at the end of the tunnel. Her breath left her in the second it took for her to understand what she had just heard. Why was she not told of his location? Did the man who was speaking now know more than she did? Glenn. He was always being summoned by Setton for odd jobs around the city. Sometimes it involved ensuring safe delivery of a message, and sometimes, it involved escorting an important guest, but was today any different? She had to know.

“Hey, Glenn..” Her voice died, though, when a bestial roar loud enough to rival thunder rumbled through the sky, commanding the attention of all despite whatever task they were bent on completing. Rosalie ducked, kneeling on the ground out of instinct as both hands went to cover her ears. What was happening? That sound had been loud enough to rattle her confidence and the confidence of others, but also the earth. Almost as if they were one being, the people gathered looked up at the snowy mountain cap just in time to see flame project out of the side of the mountain and later, a massive, red body make a descent in the perfect position for them to fire their weapons. Rosalie was completely awestruck.
It hadn’t seemed to notice them all, yet, but they had all made note of its presence immediately. With the order to fire their main weapons coming from Glenn, the engineer pushed a few buttons on the remote she held in her hands and as one, the four machines came to life, mechanically humming in unison.

Now that the time had finally come to put themselves to use, some hunters fumbled with their weapons, unable to hold their arrows still enough to get a decent aim. It only took one person to panic and have it spread through those gathered like ripples over the water’s surface and it clearly was bad for morale. While some archers struggled, there were a few who were successful in firing their projectiles upwards in the correct direction, creating a rain of arrows to fall and strike down as their first line of defence while they waited for the larger machines to warm up. Whether or not the arrows struck their target or fell too short was another story. Those who held guns simply waited for a better opportunity to fire, staying back behind the archers with grim determination. Around her, men and women were screaming the word, ‘gore’ over and over again in warning and what seemed to be excitement. Of course it was going to be bad if that thing got anywhere near them!
“Damn it, we’ve lost Rochford. Don’t let Gore get away! Are the main weapons ready to fire yet?!” Glenn shouted over the many voices. He had also kindly strung together a string of words too colourful for Rosalie to repeat. “I’ve come too far to let this prize get away. Not now. Not when we’re so close!” How anyone could hear his orders now, she did not know; she could barely hear herself think over this much noise.

It was making sense now, Rosalie thought, scrambling to her feet. ‘Gore’, was the name used to refer to this dragon. It was the Blood Dragon, the exact one that might be able to help her reunite with the person she had wanted to see for years. Her heart had begun to race at the revelation and the danger they were all in and her previous thoughts could wait. For all she knew, Gore was just going to bulldoze a path straight through them. She had to get out of the way, but outrunning it didn’t look to be one of the options she had right now.

[Arclite]

Moving down the mountain was quick for the Dragon, sweeping down the snow covered tops. Though as he carried on his way, he heard someone shout something, making his head lift up. By then it was too late, the sky began to be covered with arrows that all seem to spiral toward their target. As they got closer, parts of the arrows shattered away as their speed launched forward like a rocket with enough force that looked like it could easily pierce into a Dragon. Leaning his claws to the side, he launched himself back as quickly as he could, barely dodging the first volley of arrows. Most of them were way off target but others looked to be almost dead on. With that, he looked back up to see the second volley rain down on him. The Arrow tips broke through his scales and most of them were now sticking out of his form. The Blood Dragon's eyes showed pain but he stood up on his hind legs, facing the last volley as he let out a roar, blasting fire upward causing the arrows to get blasted back. Once the arrows were gone, Gore landed back on his front claws and took off running. They weren't what they used to be at all, these hurt the Dragon, something the Hunters would soon regret considering his movements quickened instead of slowed down. They assault only seemed to make him more angry.

As he drew closer to the forest, a net appeared out of no where as it wrapped itself around Gore, trying to stop him. The Hunters in the area all cheered and laughed about how easy it was.
"Haha! That was the Blood Dragon!? He was so ea-" That is until the net finished wrapping around him because once that happened, the bolts holding it down were ripped right out of the reinforced solid steel posts, clearly much stronger than they thought. The Hunters all immediately grabbed their weapons, only to have Gore whip the metallic electrified net back at them with his wings and tail, trying to swipe at them. At the force it was going, it could slice them in half, and maybe even the tree's. Though he could easily miss with how much he was covered by the net. Either way, he didn't stay long and went on moving further down the mountain.

The Dragon grew closer and thankfully the tree's were spread out enough for him to move, but with that also came the fact there were multiple places to hide in, as he continued, steel spears shot out from the ground in his path, actually causing him to come to a skidding halt. Once he had, hunters dropped down from the tree's, all wielding blades that looked to have inner workings in them and even a slight shimmer to the tips of them. As soon as they landed on Gore, they all drove their blades into the base of his wings, trying to 'clip' them as best they could. Gore let out a roar of pain, shaking the very tree's around him, quickly using his mouth to bite into one of the steel lances, ripping one right out of the ground. Letting his jaw loose for a moment, he actually using his tongue to spin the metallic spike and used it as a weapon, dropping his wings so that they weren't hit, whipping his neck in a way to have him slam it back into the Hunters that were trying to take the very sky from him. If it hit some of them, chances are they'd most likely fly into a tree, but if it missed, Gore would use his size and weight against them, leaping up, causing the hunters on his back to get lifted off of his body until they were high enough, with that, Gore positioned himself quickly, letting the hunters fall on the spikes on his back, impaling several on them. The ones left he would fold his wing in a way to grab one, throwing them up in the air and in a second ,he'd turn his whole body, slamming his tail as hard as he could into the hunter he grabbed with his wing and launching him with all of his force.

Once the Hunters were either dead or impaled, Gore shook it off, as well as the bodies on him before using his tail to swipe the rest of the spears that were sticking out of the ground. Moving on, he finally began to reach the meadow where the arrow volleys seem to come from. Only when he had, his eyes widened.
"Fire at will! Let him have it!" Was all he heard before the next thing that rang in his ears, the launching of each Ballistae in the area. All of the massive Artillery shot forth, bringing gigantic barbed arrows propelling forward at the Blood Dragon. Gore's eyes widened before letting out a roar in defiance, furling his wings as he jumped up and taking off to try and dodge them. Only when he did, the giant arrows seemed to follow him straight up into the sky.
The Blood Dragon flapped his wings quickly, spinning in mid air to try and avoid one of them from hitting him directly, only it was too much and one of them actually nailed the Blood Dragon right in his sides. Once it was in, the enhanced gigantic arrow's tip began to spin and drill into Gore, causing his wings to cease. The Blood Dragon began to fall from the sky, plummeting downward with the other gigantic arrows right behind him. Though before Gore hit the ground, Gore arched his back, using his claw to tear into the arrow, actually beginning to scrap the steel, causing the spinning to slow to a halt, now only leaving it embedded into him. But it wasn't quick enough. He hit the ground hard, causing the ground to shake around them.

But in the cloud of dirt and dust, Gore's fiery mouth could be made out as he lept forward, out of the crater he made only to look back at one of the large arrows about to hit him. Using his hind legs, he kicked it back, grabbing it with his tail before flinging it at one of the Ballistae that were reloading, hopefully causing it to explode. As he continued to run, he leapt into another one of the large Ballista contraptions, spinning with it in a blink, catching another one of the Large arrows with the weapon itself and in another blink, he threw the giant weapon to the ground. The Hunters all moved around him, opening fire in fear, hoping there were still one or two of the arrows in the air.
The Blood Dragon stumbled at the gunshots, wincing. Blood dripped from his side as it looked like a minor chunk of his scales and flesh were missing just from that one giant arrow. That said, the look in the Blood Dragons eyes was one of something that was going to kill. A predator that was knocked over the edge of rage.
With that, Gore leapt upward, letting out a breath of fire that encircled the area of weapons, dropping back down, he moved forward, bringing his wings out to smack into several hunters, bringing them up into the air before blasting fire into them, roasting them alive before using his wing again to smack them toward the others. The other Hunters all began to encircle him, firing their weapons be it bow or gun, trying to slow him down. All while the Blood Dragon moved forward, trying to swipe at each of the Hunters. His movements were slower now due to the amount of damage they dealt to him, but each still seemed to be lethal and more violent then the last. As if the pain they were giving him only set him off even more.

Glenn looked over at Rosalie grabbing her and pushing her toward another Mercenary.
"Get her out of here, it's too dangerous!" He shouted, reaching down to take out a blade that had a similar gleam that the Hunters whom got on the Dragons back had. Though his was slightly curved with a ridged curve to it as well as a Dragon bone handle that looked to be gripped perfectly for his hand. There were also holes along the blade to make cleaving and cutting through something easier. With that, the scarred man flipped something and the blades curve began to spin like a chainsaw.
"Spread out! We've come to far now!" He shouted in order as all the Hunters in the area did as they were told, quickly spanning out. Most of them got net launchers as they all crouched down, firing them at Gore, trying to get enough of the bolted electrified wire around him. Though the Blood Dragon had something else in mind.

The Blood Dragon let out a blast of fire into the ground, blazing into the earth itself before taking off, flapping his wings as hard as he could, the fire he blasted began to grow at a drastic rate and once it was big enough, Gore flew around it as the Fire shot out and blasts, as if meteors were raining from the sky, crashing into the ground below, destroying the tree's in the area as well as most others. It was as if destruction itself was being summoned forth and brought down. With that, Gore landed back on the ground in front of the raging blaze that was before him, destruction and explosion of blazing dirt blasting out all around him. With a snort, he walked forward toward the main tent, forgetting there was at least still one Ballista left that could fire those damned arrows.
As he drew closer, Glenn stepped forward, brandishing his weapon with a smirk, spinning the blade in his hand before nodding to the Dragon.
"You live up to your name, Blood Dragon! You sure can take a beating! How about we see just how you can take eh!?" Said the leader of the group, running at the Blood Dragon with his sword up.

Glenn rushed at the Blood Dragon, seeming to enjoy the close encounter a bit too much. Though Gore quickly whipped his tail out at the scarred man, The Leader of the Hunters rolled under it, trying to thrust his blade out, only to have Gore's spiked claw clash with it, and by then it was too late. Gore's strength was too much and by that, he slammed his claw into Glenn hard, causing him to fly back. Only while he was flying through the area, Gore wrapped his tail around him and slammed him hard into the ground, moving over to him and pinning his claw against the mans chest, digging the spikes into the ground above his shoulders, using the weight he had against him. Leaning down, Gore snarled silently, clasping his mouth shut, showing just how large his teeth were, as if he were going to devour the man that now looked to be somewhat broken underneath the weight of the Blood Dragon...

[Sylvazard]

There was no room for error; time and the number of lives being lost within the span of a minute simply would not allow it . Hunters being flung left and right were testimonial to that despite doing all that was within their power and ability to stop the dragon from advancing any further. No matter what attempt, second or third, it only seemed to anger Gore more, fuelling the fire instead of extinguishing it. The Hunters’ spirits would not be dampened so easily as the sight of devastation only spurred them to try even harder as they wrestled to tame the Blood Dragon and take it in. Rosalie couldn’t bear to watch as people, just like her, were being tossed about like they were nothing more than ragdolls, so when Gore had tossed a man into the air with the intention to bat him through the sky with his tail, she had to quickly avert her eyes.

At first, Rosalie had thought they were trying to kill the beast with the relentlessness of their attacks and traps, but she later came to realise they were doing all they could to weaken it enough just so they could capture it. It looked like the damage dealt could put Gore on the verge of death if they continued this way, but who was she to say? She wasn’t one of the hunters and she clearly was no expert on how to catch a dragon - especially one so rare, so to her, it might have looked like it was overkill. She had taken an interest in dragons, but not so much as to brush up on her knowledge beforehand. She had been given a limited amount of time to work with, after all, as it was only recently - if not a few days ago - had she heard whispers of a dragon with scales as red as blood being spotted by pure luck, apparently.

Sigmund and Eric, the two sons of the blacksmith she had been staying with were the first two she knew personally interested in the legend. They had talked Rosalie into trying to find this dragon if she really planned to leave what had been her home for almost five years now. The task sounded ridiculous and if it had not been for her knowing they were non-drinkers, she would have deemed alcoholic intoxication to be the reason behind their suggestion. Rosalie was wrong. Terribly wrong.

While the sky held a battle of its own with Gore trying to avoid the projectiles, down below was another fight entirely as the ones who were lucky to be spared of the dragon’s wrath the first time around either tried to regain their composure and momentum or tried to flee. Those who held their ground were stubborn - determined, even, to reel in the prize. Those who fled...would be lucky to live another day. Rosalie’s mind at the moment was too slow to keep up with what was happening even as the impact of the dragon hitting the ground shook the ground. She just never thought she would get the chance to see a red dragon at her age or even in this lifetime. Glenn had seen the danger and though Rosalie knew he had meant well, she was tempted to pull him along with her so she could get him to answer her questions.

She clawed out with the intention of grabbing the man by the sleeve of his shirt sticking out beneath a bit of armour, but missed entirely. “Wait! Where is Setton??” Her scream went unheeded as by the time the man had gone off to face the dragon with a blade that seemed to roar with a life of its own, she was already being dragged halfway across the field by the mercenary tasked with her safety. It was just in time, too, to avoid the ring of flames that now formed a barrier around the weapons. Very quickly, the flames began to spread, black pillars of smoke billowing into the air almost like smoke from a chimney.

From where Rosalie had made it to, she was no longer able to see clearly into the battlegrounds she had once been standing on. She had not even gone that far, just far enough to avoid getting caught in the flames. She owed much to the mercenary who had taken the shortest and easiest route for her to follow, but she worried over Glenn even though she had not spoken with him long enough. He knew something about the man she was searching for and now, that knowledge was locked behind flaming walls. Just the thought of it was almost enough to make her run back in and see if Glenn was still alive. It was foolish of him to try running towards the dragon without the thought for his own safety. He was as good as dead. Anyone with the right mind could tell who the clear victor would be - who would emerge from the flames. Not to mention, there was the sheer difference in size.

The hunter Rosalie was with ordered her to head back to town, the look in his eyes hinting that he planned to go back and see what it was he was able to do. She pulled on his arm, leaning back with all her weight to stop him. “What does Glenn know about Setton? Please. I have to know.”
“Setton? As Glenn had said; he’s our contractor.”
“No. Where is he?” She tried again, voice low over the crackling of flames. Rosalie was hardly playing around and she was so sure her usually calm composure had broken into desperation.
“What connection do you have with him? I don’t have time to hold your hand. Keep following this path south and you should be safe.” How cruel that he did not answer her. This one planned to jump through the flames and back into the fray? If he was staying, she would have to find a way around the flames. Slowly, Rosalie nodded, moving down a little ways down the path before hiding behind one of the trees. She would wait a safe distance away for now.

~~

Glenn groaned in pain, the beating he had taken rendering his body almost useless. Almost. His vision was starting to blur and as Gore pressed down against him, he could feel his usually sturdy armour start to cave in. In his fight to stay conscious, he tried looking around, looking anywhere but at the dragon looming over him. Those under his command, upon seeing the position he was in, were starting to actively seek a way in which they could either lure the scaled creature away from its ragdoll at the moment, or force it back with fire. Glenn’s life was beginning to slip away. It pained him to even breathe, but even in what may be his last moments, he refused to give up. Don’t think that he did not see Gore leaning in so closely and do not think that he could not feel the heat of the dragon’s breath being so close.

Something shimmered lightly out of the corner of his eye though it was not too clear. One of the ballistae was still standing, it seemed, and the engineer, nothing more than a figure that shifted in and out of focus, was hiding behind it, working frantically now to aim it at Gore manually. What...what are you waiting for?! Mentally shouting was all he could do, but as with before, the ballista had a startup time that still needed to be improved in one way or another. Now, he could only hope against hope that he would live to see those improvements.

Coughing, Glenn spat out a bit of his life, crimson just like the dragon before him. Even after all he had been through, the man still had a firm hold over his blade, the weapon still running though stalled quite a few times. It was a bit like him, actually. Hazel eyes barely managing to focus on Gore’s snout, he laughed, though it came out as more of a painful wheeze. “W-what’s that? Y-you...ugh... Gore.. Ironic, isn’t it...th-that we’ve...managed to spill your blood..as well.” He was buying time, trying to keep the dragon’s attention on him. There was no way that Gore would intentionally leave one ballista standing when he had taken care of the rest. It was a rather feeble attempt on Glenn’s part, but with Gore being so focused on him, it was a good opportunity.

Glenn was unsure when the remaining ballista would be ready, but after a while, the familiar humming of the machine informed all. Weakly, he shifted an armoured hand and gestured for the engineer to fire, and she did. It would be an unforgiving blow should it hit at this range, but unfortunately, everything became dark before the man could see the outcome.

[Arclite]

The Blood Dragon at least for now, hadn't seemed to notice the advanced more modern Ballista that was being aimed at him. Instead, his focus was solely on the Scarred man beneath his claw. Though the look in the Dragons eyes did have rage and hatred within them, one could also see a glimmer of respect for someone who so bravely charged at him without a gun much like the Knights of old had. Though as the man began to talk, Gore roared at him, dragging his claw deeper into the ground, narrowing his eyes at him. To the Blood Dragon, this man may have shown some honor, but in the end he was still a man. The very beings that caused the horrible events that unfolded in the past to happen. Flashes and images filled Gore's head about how everything transpired, making Gore press even harder to Glenn slowly began to look as if he were about to pass out. That's when he heard him trying to restart the blade he was wielding, moving to look over his hand as it failed him. Gore just huffed, clearly laughing at the misfortune of the man that was pinned before him.
'Pathetic Human...Thousands upon thousands of better men have fallen because of me in such a honorable way..-you- do not deserve such honor.' Thought the Dragon before moving to get off of him.
That is when he heard the Ballista fire rapidly toward him at such a close range, It was over in only a few seconds but it felt like an eternity when the machine fired its gigantic arrow at the Blood Dragon.

The Blood Dragon left one up specifically to find out just how much the weapons have changed in the time he's spent away, and more importantly to see if the Woman manning them would run like they would have when he last emerged to the world. It seems on both accounts he expected a little too much for things to stay the same. Though he did launch toward the arrow, using his claws to grab it in mid air, having the tip of it spin into his hand caused him to growl in pain. As he held onto the arrow, its rockets shot off and actually knocked Gore over, causing him to lose his grip and have it shoot up and skid across his cheek, leaving a trail of blood go over his snout. The arrow propelled outward, only to turn back and try and slam right back into Gore, though this time the Blood Dragon seemed more angry, running at the weapon, he ducked down under it, expanding his wings at the last second, deflecting it and slamming it into the ground. Once it was dealt with, Gore walked back over to the launcher, moving so that his front legs and claws grappled onto the launcher, crushing it under his weight. With that, he leaned his head over the machine, snarling at the woman. To emphasize just how disappointed he was in her, his claws cut into the metal work of the Ballista.

When he was about to lean down and snap his jaws around her, he could hear a gunshot as a bullet shot into him, though it didn't have much luck getting passed his thick scales. Gore looked back at the Hunter ran back in to find out what was going on, making the Dragon let out a huff. He was getting tired of this game of how these Hunters and Mercenaries were so persistent! With that, Gore just started walking over to him slowly, fire escape the Dragons mouth with each breath he took. The Hunter's clip ran out quickly as he was now out of ammo. He quickly saw Glenns body on the ground and that made him bolt toward him, picking up his sword as he began to pray that it worked for him. It roared to life once more just as Gore was about to swipe him. The Hunter ducked under it, bringing the blade up and slicing into Gores side. Though he got cocky and tried to ram the blade further into the scaled monster, his time spent doing that caused Gore's tail to whip around him, causing the bladed edges of his tail to cut into him. Gore moved the Hunter up to look at him, snarling before slamming his jaws shut around him, chomping on the man as if he meant nothing. The sword made a clanging sound when it dropped from his grasp.

Once all the Hunters seemed to be either defeated or too far apart to do anything, Gore unfolded his wings, standing on his hind legs as he let out a roar that was a testament to all Dragons, a roar that showed just how proud and strong he was to be just that, a Dragon. Even after everything, even after Humans enslaved them and abused them, even after they lost their home to these -things-..His heart was full of pride. He knew what it meant to be what he was, even if few others shared such a sentiment.
His frame could be seen even through the fire if the girl didn't find a way through the fires, but if she did? She would see that Gore slowly began walking down the Mountain, clearly wounded. Just the way he carried himself shown just how badly he was hurt.

[Sylvazard]

Rosalie did not have to peer out from behind where she was hiding to know that the loud and repetitive sound going off was the sound of gunfire. It had rung shortly after the hunter she was with had gone off seeking a way through the barrier. Why did he have to go? Couldn’t he have stayed just a bit longer to answer her question with more than, ‘he’s our contractor,’? She rubbed her arms, shaking her head slowly as she closed her eyes, trying to force what she had seen out of her mind. The Blood Dragon was a terrifying beast, and as lucky as she was to lay eyes on such a rarity, she wished that the outcome had been different. Though the future had been foreseeable, the people here had risked so much only to fail. Rosalie felt sorry for the people who would now have the job of informing a few family members of untimely losses.

One name drifted to mind then as the dragon’s roar indicated the clear victor. It did not look too good. Rosalie needed to find Glenn quickly. She knew it was highly unlikely that she would find him, but she wanted confirmation just as much as she feared looking over the destruction. No one wanted to see anyone die and she was pretty much in the same boat, but the situation demanded that she drag herself out of her place of concealment and survey the area for that one person. Willing herself to take the first step, it was later followed by another slow step and another, gradually picking up the speed as she moved towards the still burning wall of flame with the collar of her shirt held over her mouth and nose. The smoke stung her eyes slightly, but it would not be too bad if she just got through this section. There was a small opening she spotted and started making her way to, finding that the flames that once formed a perfect wall had been partly snuffed out. Rosalie inspected it quickly, looking up to see the slowly shrinking form of the Blood Dragon. Did she really want to go after him?

Back in the opposite direction, the warriors already seemed to be counting their losses. Some lay battered and moaning on the ground with the uninjured tending to them; some only sat in place, screaming their despair for the heavens to hear and quite a few cried over the bodies of ones whom they had been in the business with for a few years if not more. Words of anger and resentment reached her ears, saying that one day, the Blood Dragon would no longer stand so high and mighty among them; it was only just a matter of time before he fell just like the others. Stepping towards onto the charred section of earth, Rosalie’s foot accidentally kicked something that coughed and spluttered with a low growl before dying once more. She recognised the blade. It was the exact one that Glenn had been holding, the body of the blade having tasted blood still fresh. Whose blood, exactly, she had a pretty good idea of. Did the finding of this blade mean her chances of finding Setton was lost to her?

“No...no, no, no.” She breathed, trembling as she knelt to pick up and inspect the blade. It was definitely the one. When approached by the woman working the ballista from earlier, Rosalie voiced the first and foremost question on her mind. The answer was not to her liking and though she would have pressed the other for answers, she could see the woman had already been through and seen enough. “You mean...?” The woman nodded grimly and explained what she had seen. I thought it had been too easy. Just once it could have gone right. Rosalie thought as she pulled down her collar for just a bit, expressing her losses when the scent of blood, death and burnt flesh hit her all in one go. It was enough to make her gag a bit and pull the material back up over her nose and mouth, tears springing to her eyes as she quickly apologised and held the blade out to the woman. If this had been her reaction to this overwhelming smell, she did not dare to look around. She would follow the dragon for a bit to be sure that he wasn’t heading toward the town nearby. A death wish, indeed, but along with fear, she was also curious.

After a while of gathering her thoughts, Rosalie stealthily made her way after the dragon at a quick pace seeing as she had lost him. There were times where she had to slow and tread carefully, but otherwise, her steps were light and quick. Judging by the amount of blood that stained the grass, the ballistae and the combined might of the warriors had really done a number on Gore. She almost felt sorry for him, but pity may very well insult the dragon who had roared so proudly after the battle.
Rosalie also did not see the point in taking Glenn’s blade with her after conversing with the engineer a fair bit. The girl had failed at finding the switch that gave life to the blade, but it was insisted that she bring it with her. What was she going to do, wave it around and hope it appeared as if she knew what she was doing? At the thought, Rosalie stared at Glenn's weapon she so firmly held in her right hand out of anxiousness. She had been holding the blade away from her body as she walked on, not too keen with having a weapon belonging to a dead man in her possession, but since blood still gleamed on its tip, it was bound to help add to the image she hoped to build in some way. Her fingers felt something that moved after applying a bit of pressure to it, but she paid it no mind, figuring that the weapon was just about ready to come apart. It made a few clicking noises, which wasn't very wise for her to continue playing with considering what she was currently doing, but the dragon was still a little ways ahead of her. It was only if she was completely sure Gore did not plan to head to Kalandor would she then leave and put the blade in a spot where she thought the hunters would easily see and retrieve. They had a lot of tidying up to do, after all. For now, she just hoped she wouldn't be spotted too quickly.

[Arclite]

The Blood Dragon made his way down the mountain, ignoring the pain that was blaring in his wings and his sides. Looking back at his form, he just sighed at the sight multiple wounds that he had, such as the arrows that were still stuck in his body, the hole in his chest and the marks left by the electrical nets. There were a number of other injuries to him, the cut on his snout and claws were to be counted as well. How he still managed to fly and move as he did would make anyone question the modern day weapon, or maybe he was just a lot more determined than the other Dragons mankind has fought? Pride and Belief were two of the strongest reasons to fight, and the Blood Dragon had both.
Eventually the forest had over taken everything while he continued downward on the slope of the mountain, The lack of snow made everything seem more clear. Though the animals in the forest avoided the moving monster that now roamed their land, Gore didn't seem to care. He was clearly looking for something. Though as he searched, his mind went back to the time he was like the other Dragons, to his last master. Images flooded his mind as he went back to a much older time, and how they forced him to follow the orders of a lower being.
_

Gore was caught off guard by the massive amount of people that shown up for his hide, Men, Women and even other monsters had come to claim him, even other Dragons. They all assaulted him at once when he was asleep, and it was safe to say that there were far too many for him to handle. Though he didn't go down quietly, Beasts fell to him and countless people were set ablaze before they took him down. Only these people weren't tasked to kill him, they were tasked to claim him for one of the nobles that deemed they could 'Domesticate' him. The Blood Dragon was chained and dragged to the noble who then proceeded to lock him in a room designed to torture Dragons.
Now most Humans knew that Dragons couldn't hold a Human form long and if they had, the bodies of the Dragon would fail significantly and the Dragon would tear itself apart, feeling completely alienated in their own bodies. Though Gore had a different problem, He -hated- the fact that he could change, and so this noble had this specific room set up for him.

The room in question was large enough for a Dragon, only it wasn't big enough for them to move, a Dragon would need to sit idle in the room for whatever purpose. There were holes on the walls and ceiling that seemed to confuse the Blood Dragon, until the Human Noble spoke up.
"Yer gun' change for us Gore, Even if ya don't wanna. Ye see this room? Every hour somethin's gonna happen to make it more and more unbearable to be in that blasted form a' yers..So, Either you change or hah..well..you'll see I'm sure, I'll be back to collect you." The man turned to leave, only to have Gore roar violently at him. The chains around him made it so he couldn't attack him. And so he was sealed in, waiting for whatever was going to happen.

An hour passed just as the Noble man said, following the hour came a sleek sliding sound that caused the Dragon to cringe, that's when he saw what this room was going to do. Something that could make the mighty beast within shudder. The room grew smaller by a few inches but not because it was shrinking, but because sharp spikes were slowly sliding out of the holes in the walls and ceiling. Gore quickly got down on as low as he could, curling his tail around himself to try and save space.
Several more hours passed, and eventually dawn turned to dusk when the the Noble came back. When he opened the door, he saw that Gore hadn't changed at all, but instead was just about to be impaled by the spikes that were coming down on him. The Noble just grinned, clapping his hands.
"Persistent laddie, I like that..If ye keep waitin' though, Eventually we're gonna have Dragon for dinner! Never had a Blood Dragon before so that'll be good. I'll leave ye in over night." With that. the noble left the room once more, only this time he laughed. "Haha! I'm gonna be the one to kill the great Dragon known as Gore!"

The Dragon could only snarl, feeling the spikes begin to press into his scales, some of them were begining to puncture through his wings, making him bite down hard to keep from letting out a yelp. Despite what the Blood Dragon had wanted, he was forced to. By the time he decided to change, the spikes were already digging into his flesh, so changing would hurt, but if he didn't? He would find himself dead in the next few hours. So by morning, when the Noble man returned, he found a blood covered Gore in human form, his shackles were now on the floor since he wasn't the size of them anymore from the change. The Noble just grinned widely, clapping his hands again.
"I knew I could change ye lad! Oph, seems like ye had a rough night though haha!"
_

The images made the Blood Dragon growl, shaking his head to try and sway the thoughts free from his mind. As he continued down the mountain, he found a waterfall flowing down into a river that must've led close to a town. It looked to be covered and actually quite peaceful for the needs of him, the rocky cliff that the water poured from was enough cover for him as well as the tree's that surrounded the area where the lake was at the base. So he moved to sit down by the rapid moving water, he began to try to pull out the arrows in his scales, leaning his head back to grip and pull them out of him. With each one that had been pulled out, he took the pain quietly, even if his eyes showed just how much it hurt to remove them, That and he had to be careful when biting at the arrows to pull them out or he could splinter them with his teeth.

Over the course of time, he managed to get most out only to be denied the others from how he could pull them out. With a whimper, The Blood Dragon moved to rest his head into the cold water, letting it take the warmth of battle off of him. Getting up hurt as well as expanding his wings, so he was stuck there for a bit. Closing his eyes, he let the sound of the waterfall fill his ears.
That's when he heard something that wasn't water, making him re-open his to look in the direction of the sound, making a growling noise, he quickly moved back into the waterfall to try and get in position just in case they followed him more. Though the surrounding area wasn't cover enough by a long shot, he may still be able to get out of there by leaping off further down into the river. Dragons were great swimmers, even if this particular one was hurting badly.

[Sylvazard]

Whether she was getting closer or further away, the only means of confirmation was from looking about her surroundings. A couple of times, Rosalie thought she saw movement flash about her, leaves rustling as whatever little animal rushed by. They seemed to be heading in the opposite direction to the one she was moving in, meaning that she must be somewhat closer than she had expected. Glenn’s blade was weighing her down more than she had thought it would and even if it was just for show, Rosalie was beginning to question whether or not the effort of taking it down with her was worth it. She could be thankful she wasn’t climbing uphill with it - that was one thing she could be grateful for.

Rosalie stopped a moment, fear creeping into her heart upon noticing a massive wall of red before her. Was it Gore? The dragon looked so out of place in such a beautiful, calm and peaceful landscape; the waterfall and running stream almost like paradise tucked away and untouched by the battle that had ensued a little further up the mountain. It would make sense to stop here for a bit as it was quite far from where the hunters had set themselves up. Still, it did not mean they would not be able to reach the area. She had made it here, after all, and did not doubt others lacked the ability, either.

Slightly out of breath, Rosalie tried to even out her breathing and took a few quick steps back, hiding behind the nearest tree. The sound of her heart was loud even in her ears, so loud that it threatened to drown out all other noises. She needed to calm down. Instead of bolting out from where she was hiding with her sword raised, the girl decided to wait for a bit, watching and cringing slightly as Gore tried to rid himself of the arrows that had embedded themselves in his body, movements pitiful and painstakingly slow. Rosalie had been following the trail of blood, but she didn’t think this much damage had been inflicted. From afar, the Blood Dragon, a name so commonly heard in tales, had been invincible but the sight in front of her spoke otherwise. Considering that the hunters’ numbers had greatly declined as a result, their efforts might not have been in vain if they were to greatly wound a legend.

It might have been the gentle ticking of the blade trying to start again in her hand that drew Gore’s attention, the dragon looking straight at her hiding place causing her to freeze and take in a quick breath as her body went cold for a split second out of fright. Had he seen her? No, perhaps not, but precautions had already been taken, and he had every right to do so. Rosalie guessed that meant Gore was still wary or at least thought she was one of the hunters come to try and exact revenge. Glenn’s weapon wasn’t helping, either, the girl tempted to place a finger to her lips and make a shushing sound at the weapon, too... Of course that was foolish. Upon looking back up, Rosalie realised she had only a few seconds to decide whether she was going to let this one chance slip away or confront the dragon directly. The time given to her wasn’t nearly enough, and she found herself acting on it before she could think.

Warily, she stepped out into the open, looking very briefly down at the bloodied arrows Gore had managed to dislodge lying over a splashes of his blood. She forced the thought of this scene being the last thing she may ever see out of her mind, took in a deep breath and called out to the dragon, voice loud and confident despite what she was thinking. “Wait! Please don’t leave just yet!” Rosalie was singing the song of her death, but seeing the arrows on the ground made her think back to the lives she had witnessed being lost and she didn’t want to see the same happen in the town she had come to call home after the last five years. It wasn’t what she was used to, but it had come to grow on her even if the behaviour of a few people were questionable.

Despite what the sword may have suggested, Rosalie wasn’t with the hunters. She had been following them, but wasn’t exactly with them. She just hoped the dragon in front of her wouldn’t prepare to roast her just yet. Even better if not at all. For now, she gripped the hilt of the blade tightly for strength. “Look,” Rosalie demanded sternly, finding herself having to raise her voice over the rush of the waterfall nearby, “whatever you plan on doing...I don’t care, but don't think about touching the town near here.” To emphasise her point, she waved Glenn’s weapon in front of her, making sure its body gleamed brightly against what light there was available on this cloudy day, “else more will come looking for you. If you really are the Gore the stories speak of, then live up to the honour some depict you to have!” Rosalie paused, fighting to keep a steady composure. She wanted to ask something more, aware that it looked like she wasn't just there to warn him. No, it would have been too 'kind' considering what she had just seen. For now, she kept careful watch, readying herself. If, by the next two minutes she was still standing, she might as well ask.

[Arclite]

Gore hadn't seen anything, but the noise was clearly evident. Despite how hurt he was, he still seemed to be look angry. As the rushing water rushed over his form, he leaned his head down, narrowing his eyes at the person that so bravely walked out. Tilting his head at her, he actually was shocked that this meek girl would come near him, though as the blade shimmered, Gore bared his fangs, staring at it. His composure changed from being comfortable to that of being tense. Did this girl really want to try and hurt him? That's when she spoke up which caused him to be even more confused. What did she mean leave? He wasn't going to go anywhere in his condition let alone escape the Hunters. The Blood Dragon was real, he wasn't a myth so that means he needed a minute to recover from the onslaught that fell upon him.
That's when she did it, she held up the blade in a way that made it look like she was going to hit him. Bringing a sword may not have been the best idea. Gore quickly dropped his head down to her, growling violently when she moved the blade.

'All of you pathetic creatures are alike!'
Thought the Blood Dragon, ready to rend this girl if she tried anything. Girl or not, -All- humans were greedy and lacked the sense of honor that had been lost in their kind generations ago. Gore remembered the times he was hunted by Knights who only possessed steel to guide them, not guns or giant harpoon like things that don't stop coming! That takes the skill out of any conflict! Stepping out from the water, he now stood before her, staring at her at his full height. Dragging his claws over the ground she stood on, The Blood Dragon snarled faintly while his eyes followed the blade when she waved it.
That's when she began talking in such a confident voice, making the Dragon recoil before her in shock. Apparently this human must either be some kind've highborn, or had little disregard for his kind just like every other human. Or both. Either way, The Blood Dragon planned to remedy her tone quickly. When she finished talking, Gore roared in front of her defiantly, slamming his tail down at her side, causing the ground to shake while he dragged his claws over the ground she stood on, glaring daggers at the woman who dared 'warn' him. It sounded more like a threat!

That's when he actually stopped for a moment, blinking. Did she say honor? Humans depicted him as -honorable-? That made the Dragon before her laugh in which she probably only could hear huffs. Honorable in the eyes of the enemy? That was beyond silly. He blazed whole towns for what mankind had done, that isn't honor to him. Fighting a real fight was, a fight that required skill and determination and strength. To look into the eyes of your enemy as they fell before you.
It seemed the Blood Dragon may have some remorse about how he acted, after all someone whom held honor so close to their heart doing such awful things? How could he not. Despite that, he still hated all of -their- kind. They took something from him that he still hasn't gotten back.

His eyes continued to follow the blade that was being waved in front of him, staring at it closely as if he was waiting for this girl to attack him. Even if the Blood Dragon was waiting for it, he didn't really want her to. They came for -him-, not the other way around. He disappeared for centuries and wanted to stay gone, living out the remainder of his life away from the corruption that mankind has spread throughout the lands. There was no sense in fighting a battle that couldn't be won, it was simple really. There were just too many of them, and too few Dragons left that had the heart to stand and fight.
Once she was done talking, he scoffed and turned away from her, moving back to the waterfall so he can continue pulling out the arrows that were stuck in him. To him, it wasn't worth the lives lost to just shoot at him, but they signed up for something violent, against something that hadn't been heard from in eons. It wasn't his fault they came for him! If they wanted to live, they should have just let him go and left him alone. He didn't hurt anyone where he was at, his den was away from most humans anyway!

Though thinking about it, his den now had to be remade elsewhere. He figured he would go somewhere further north where it was colder, and therefore maybe less people would be around. Though Dragons weren't immune to cold, nor did they prefer it. What choice did Gore have but to go some place that wasn't crawling with tons of humans? Besides the chilled air would make their weapons malfunction.
While he was lost in thought, he turned to look back at the girl that still hadn't left, making him stare at her as if she was more a pest than anything. He tried ignoring her but it was hard to when she carried a blade on her. What did she want now? To talk and threaten him some more!?

[Sylvazard]

Rosalie was forced to take a few steps back to keep some distance between herself and Gore who had decided to take a closer look at whoever was intruding. She could only guess at what was going through his mind, but going by what she had seen earlier, she had a few ideas. Sizing up a dragon wasn’t the best of her ideas, Rosalie would admit that, though anyone who has ever been protective of something or someone would know they needed to act. If she didn’t do anything, she would hate to come to regret it afterwards. Speaking of regret, she was regretting this very moment.

She had to raise her arms to shield her head from the dirt and bits of rock sent flying as a result of the creature whipping his tail downwards, the girl losing balance and dropping into a crouch as the ground shook at the same time. Was this his warning to her? How subtle. She was lucky that the dragon’s roar had drowned out her yelp of shock and surprise. Rosalie, when facing something or someone, would rather come off as a person who knew what she was doing instead of someone who relied on pure luck. There was a fair bit of luck involved, but the outcome was entirely based on how she chose to act. She had not forgotten the man who had been her chance at obtaining information, and it seemed neither did Gore by the way he eyed the blade warily. It was a clear threat to him, but he was more of a threat to her considering the strength he still had if he had been willing enough to make a display by shaking up the earth she stood on.

Realising that her hands were trembling, she forced herself to breathe in slowly and deeply but it was difficult to do so when her heart was beating wildly and telling her that panicking was the only thing she was capable of doing. She had gotten herself into it, and she was going to get herself out. She needed to be sure of that and as tempting as it was to run away, she might not be presented with such an opportunity again - if people could even call it that. Rosalie would have to at least try.

Yes, she was selfish and maybe even greedy, but was it wrong to pursue her own goals? That was the reason why they were usually personal, weren’t they? The person wishing to accomplish whatever they set themselves out to do would want to gain something by the end of it. Rosalie was out here for information, but with Glenn dead, who else did she have to ask? It angered her that she had lost her chance thanks to this overgrown lizard with wings, but maybe she could come up with another way.
A few strange huffing noises coming from the dragon caused Rosalie to immediately flinch out of the fear that he was going to breathe fire over her, but that scorching heat did not come. She frowned, a little frustrated now. Was he mocking her? Acting upon rage was the last thing she wanted to do. Her father taught her that much. “You don’t believe me, do you?”

She couldn’t afford to reminisce over old times. If she was going to think about it, she was better off doing something about it. Gore just served as an unexpected obstacle; one who just turned his back on her too easily. She would have yelled to get his attention back to her, but it wasn’t needed and for a moment, her eyes followed his, landing back on the blade which she still carried. The blood it had been smeared with was finally beginning to dry, but a sword was a sword and it was not as if it had been completely broken. With quiet sigh, Rosalie dug the blade into the ground and slowly took a few steps back from it, eyes never failing to leave Gore. It was risky, but just about anything involving the dragon was. Perhaps she would have a better chance at speaking to him if she wasn’t carrying the blade. She just hoped she had made it clear enough that she had no plans for battle.

“I’m sure you’re aware that the owner of this blade is dead,” she said slowly, eyes trailing over to the arrows still embedded in Gore briefly, “and though I could attack you for taking him away, it’s not what I really want. I was hoping that maybe we could negotiate something...” Again she paused, but only to gauge Gore’s reaction. There was a chance that he might not be used to this new age, yet, and she wondered what he had been doing all this time if he had just vanished. Technology had advanced so much since the last battle against the Blood Dragon and she was sure he had had enough of the new weaponry in a span of minutes. It was difficult to watch him tend to his wounds, in all honesty, so she settled with staring at Glenn’s sword in the ground, only looking up occasionally. “You can’t exactly go back up there, now, can you...?” Her sentence was somewhere in between a statement and a question. It occurred to her, then: Did Gore understand what she was saying or was she wasting her breath? She supposed she could look for some sign, but whether Gore would be willing to cooperate was a different matter altogether. Would it have been insulting to ask that? Perhaps. “Maybe you would like help with those arrows?” Maybe that’s a better question to ask. She thought, waiting patiently.

[Arclite]

Gore stared down at this Human as if she were nothing but an insect, even with the blade it looked as if he were ready to obliterate her in an instant. The hatred for -her- kind rested in his teal eyes. Hatred that was gathered over centuries and centuries of abuse and torture and enslavement. A history so few of mankind actually knew about considering they don't teach proper history. This Human was probably just as ignorant as everyone else, they all look at Dragons as if they are nothing when it was the other way around, who gave these -things- the right to capture the superior species?!
'Why is she here?!' Gore shouted in his head, now more so frustrated by the fact she was even near him let alone how she was looking at him. She looked at him out of fear but also with that same superior look all Humans had when looking at a Dragon. Though that could also be because of Gore's biased opinion on the matter of how Humans looked. He always saw the worst in their kind even if it wasn't as bad as what his mind had been telling him.

Seeing her raise her arms made him huff, as if that was going to protect her from his wrath if she decided on actually using the Hunters blade. Judging by how she held it, was she trying to turn it on? Did she really want to die that badly!? Following after his roar, a quick blink and this..meek girl.. was on the ground due to her losing balance, making the Blood Dragon huff in laughter. The sword may have been a threat, but her? She was clearly suicidal! It looked as if she wasn't trained to be a warrior against Dragonkin, most would have used the sword as a brace to stay standing, but her? She openly fell over. Even if she did want to die, Gore didn't act on the false wish. Instead, he merely looked at the blade that was in her hands, as if it'd protect her from him in some way.
'You look like someone I used to know, child..' Thought the Blood Dragon, narrowing his eyes at the woman who was slowly picking herself back up so she can appear to be standing her ground, even if it looked like she was powerless. She could very well hurt him with the blade she wielded and this could all just be an act on her part. Though of course Gore completely disregarded that, not thinking it to be true.

Believing her wasn't quite the right way to put it because if that were the case, he wouldn't believe -anything- involving human culture. That's how little he thought of the beings that enslaved his entire species. Though when it came to how they depicted -him-? He wasn't entirely ignorant. He knew that the stories of him were well known, hell he used to read fables to children when he was enslaved about him, course none of his previous owners really counted him being the Blood Dragon, they just chalked it up to a servant being creative for the sake of it.
In response to her question, Gore snorted. If she would give him a reason to believe her then maybe he would! Nothing this girl has done has shown some kind of faith or trust in one another, so why should the Blood Dragon listen to a word she has to say?! That's really why he turned away.
Then something unexpected happened, this girl had put the weapon down, digging it into the dirt so it could stand on it's own. This actually got the Blood Dragons attention once more, and this time he looked at her with less anger and hatred, but more so a curious feeling..

Disarming yourself in front of the Blood Dragon!? She was more than suicidal, she was down right crazy! And that was what caused Gore to close the distance, stepping back over to her, looming his head down so he was eye level with this girl, tilting his head at her. Though he had the instinct to grab the sword and break it, he didn't want to for fear of actually appearing afraid himself..wait..was he? Was he actually scared of being mislead by this girl that wielded -this- sword? He did have some reason behind why he would be, back in the days of Knights, it wasn't uncommon for princesses as well as noble women to demand on being taught of how to use a blade and when they got their way, they tended to be rather impressive with how nimble they were. Hell the last woman who wielded a sword against him left a scar that still hadn't healed, going right down his neck. From this angle Rose could probably see it.
'If the human is dead, it is because he was incredibly weak. I attempt to spare him.' Thought Gore as if she could hear what he was thinking. Then she spoke of attacking him, making the Blood Dragon show a toothy grin. He'd love to see her try, to see if that minor doubt of whether or not she was skilled with a sword and fighting Dragons were true, or if she'd swing too far and then fall on her ass all over again.

Negotiate something? Does this Human even know what it means to negotiate?! To negotiate you would need to have something that has mutual interest to both parties! At the moment Gore saw nothing but a child seeking something she wanted, involving him meant -nothing- for him. With a scoff, he appeared to roll his eyes at her.
The Blood Dragon wasn't used to this, Though Women were above Dragons back when he was a slave, he never saw a Woman speak so openly and outward as if she controlled her fate. Truthfully? It interested him quite a bit. What else changed in the lands? Though when she looked back at the sword, Gore just grimaced, scoffing once more as he laid down, curling his legs to his side like a giant dog would, folding his wings neatly back onto his back. The ground shook when he finally laid down, he simply moved to look at her intently.
Looking down, Gore shook his head to her question about going back to his den. There were Humans there now and they know that is his place to rest. That should answer her question on whether or not he could understand her. He seemed to be responding to everything she said.

That's when she came out and said something that actually shocked him, she was offering to help him?! Was she going to kill him when she got the chance by forcing the arrow into his flesh!? With a growl, he pulled back a bit, curling his head away from her, though as he did, one could see arrows that were stuck in his neck where there was no way he could pull them out, that was just in reaching distance of her, maybe she could take the first step...but what would she be risking if she did?..

[Sylvazard]

The girl wasn’t so daft as to not see the hatred that burned so deeply in the dragon’s eyes - even if the expression in those teal orbs of his transitioned between agony of sustained injuries and slight curiosity. Things like these were minor details easily overlooked, but at this range, it was hard not to stare back and drink in every trait. Once more, as he examined her closely, Rosalie was forced to take another step back; moving further away from the sword she had stuck in the ground that in these short moments had become her small charm of safety and comfort. It was slipping away with each step she was forced to take back and she was quickly coming to realise that she would have to rely on her words and not sharp, pointy things to wave at the dragon. Was he thinking about chomping down on her? She could imagine it now and came to the conclusion that each time he decided to peer closely at her, he was coming up with new and inventive ways of killing her. It was the most common feeling people got. When faced with an animal known to be dangerous, one of the most common thoughts would be ‘is it going to eat me?’ It was fairly reasonable considering she was facing something much larger than herself.

She really had hoped that Gore would listen to what she had to say and that was why she had given up her possession of Glenn’s blade so quickly. Perhaps Rosalie knew she couldn’t hope to take on a creature of this mass and survive, or perhaps she was luring him into a false sense of security. She would allow Gore to make his own assumptions as it appeared he didn’t trust her, anyway. She was extremely unhappy with the outcome, but what could she do? Cry? That wasn’t going to change anything or bring Glenn, the man with the answers she sought out, back.

The sword -in one way or another- caused the dragon some level of distress or at least captivated him, Rosalie often finding that his gaze would drift back to it even though it was practically harmless without someone waiting to swing it at him. Why? There was no way that she could reach for it without first rousing even more suspicion in the dragon. Her light brown eyes focused intently on the blade once more, lingering over the dried blood on the weapon that could still be seen reaching centimetres from the ground of which it was embedded like ivy twisting up against a wall. Is that Gore’s blood? Hmm... The girl thought to herself, pursing her lips. She assumed it was one possible reason as to why the beast kept eyeing it. He had had a taste of it, it seemed.

The blade was highly unlikely to spring to life anytime soon; she had tried it. Perhaps she hadn’t found the switch, but she had flipped what had been moveable several times to be yielded with nothing more than a few clicking noises for her half-hearted attempts. Perhaps she should try looking more closely? Out of the question.
She allowed her eyes to wander over the dragon’s form, making quick note of his injuries that still wept. To her, these wounds were chinks in his armour. Dragon scales were quite durable, and, collect enough of them and you would be able to make armour or any other accessory you could think of. Rosalie had only wanted one, though, and it was not for the reason of dressing up to impress a special someone. No, of course not. Still, it was difficult for her to stand staring at the wounds for very long and instead, she tried to figure out why Gore had laid himself on the ground now, curling up. Did it mean he was willing to listen to her or did it mean he was willing to amuse her for a bit before her death. If it was the latter, oh how kind he was! No, no. Don’t! She told herself, just try to stay calm. I can do this. Just...deep breaths and don’t panic. Who cares if you’re staring Death right in the eyes! Rosalie tried to cheer herself on, though what mental image of triumph she was trying to conjure was suddenly lost as her eyes flitted over Gore’s battle scars. She swallowed dryly. Okay...maybe I do care.

Gore’s responses to her questions relieved her as it confirmed that he knew of their common dialect, though how much was still rather questionable. By that simple action, it meant Gore was listening. She had to stop for a moment. The Blood Dragon listening to her? The level of disbelief Rosalie had welling up inside her right now was almost enough to rival her initial feelings of when she had first caught a glimpse of the crimson beast. It was far from it, but there seemed to be some small amount of trust that was comparable to a single grain of sand. Perhaps responding to her questions could be a mistake on Gore’s part seeing as it only gave Rosalie more of a reason to stay in his presence. He hadn’t killed her yet, but she felt that he was somewhat responsible for setting her back a few months if not years. “Then... maybe I can help you try to familiarise yourself with this day and age if you’ll travel with me?” She tried again, pulling a slightly uncertain face. Maybe it was out of line to ask that as it may just be wasting his time and hers, but she didn’t have the life span of a dragon. All the information she had managed to gather from customers who visited the store she worked at had pointed to Glenn and a few close associates of his. Had his associates died along with him?

Gore rearing his head back just screamed that whatever little ‘trust’ he might have had for her -if any at all- was shattered. In place of his head, Rosalie was now just within arm’s reach -if not slightly more- of his neck. Safe to say, she was torn between running to safer ground and pulling out the arrows that were tauntingly close. She had watched him earlier, pulling out arrows by the water, and though he no longer looked like some sort of red porcupine, there were still some projectiles left lodged in his form. What was he waiting for, to roll over and have them pierce deeper into his flesh? He was free to do so. Who was she to stop him? There was, however, a small part of her -hidden beneath that fear and uncertainty she carried- that didn’t want to see anyone suffer. She was no leader who thought she could change the course of everything just by being involved, but she wanted to convince Gore that she wasn’t out to hurt him. It was going to be no easy task considering what he had just escaped from, but what choice did she have?

Gore may kill her, but desperation overrode reason and a few seconds had her reaching out. She didn’t give him much time to ready himself, however, already taking hold of one of the arrows whilst making sure she had a firm grip with what little time she had been given. Arrows were nasty things because of the way they were designed, doing even more damage when pulled out, but she reckoned she would be able to avoid pulling it at an angle. Rosalie leaned back whilst pulling to make it quick. It wasn’t just for Gore’s sake; she didn’t want to be near him, either. The arrow came free with a squelching sound after a bit of resistance, the girl attempting to move back while keeping the arrow in plain view. If she lives a little while longer, she would dare to point it at him while tilting her head slightly as if asking him to take a look and confirm what she held in her hand. Rosalie could have done worse and taken advantage of the situation, but she needed his help even if she hadn’t openly admitted it.

[Arclite]

Gore continued to watch this human just stare at him as if she had seen a monster. The very thought made the Blood Dragon grin. Now Gore was old enough to know that there was -true- evil in the realm and the catalyst for such a thing was always -their- kind. Those pathetic Humans let in a dark essence into the world that few ever truly saw. Over the centuries, he saw the darkness that the Humans have wrought, just to claim him. It was silly! They made pacts with things far darker than him, just to defeat or claim -one- Dragon? Humans must have really see his kind to be nothing if they were that desperate to see his undoing. That fact dawned on Gore centuries ago, so why should he care about any of them?
Looking at the girl who actually fell over from his roar and tail impact made him snort in amusement at her. The image of her struggling just to stand caused him to huff in laughter. The poor girl was trying to stand on a whole new level just by being near him. He wondered if she generally thought he would kill her, or if why she would brave chasing after him after witnessing everything he had done just an hour or so before.

Could this girl actually have something more important going on? That interested the Blood Dragon fiercely. Why would such a feeble human seek him out especially after everything he had done to their kind in front of the child's very eyes. She even tried portraying that she was confident, but failed to hide how scared she was of him.
Thus the Blood Dragon decided that whatever she wanted to say? He would hear her out..at least to the point of knowing what was going on in that head of hers. Though if she would take his silence and relaxed state as a weakness, he would prove to her that he had plenty of fire left inside him.
After all..The Darkness that came for him had trouble extinguishing him. The memory of such events still haunted him and even helped to shape his opinion of these insects that dared to stand before him. Were they even worth keeping around? Memories flooded his mind of the treachery he was thinking of.
_

The time was right before his greatest assault against human kind, He and his few allies found seclusion in a beach type of area, all of them had hunted and began to cook what they brought back, talking about their next move in the assault against mankind. Most of the Dragonkin there were old friends to the Blood Dragon, that were there from the very beginning of their species downfall. Though others had joined the fight after seeing just what became of the Dragons that were enslaved.
When Gore came in, they all stood tense, bowing their heads to him in respect. Clearly the others showed a great admiration to the Dragon that was so well known. With that,The Blood Dragon went over their next move.
"We will assault their conditioning holds and free our brothers and sisters that are being tortured." He exclaimed, going over the details and positions of each Dragon there. Every 'over grown lizard' had to do something, and they would start their assault when dusk fell, Dragons always hunted better at night due to the lesser species inability to focus properly under the right conditions.

As darkness fell over the land, the Dragons were about to head out and take flight to their targets, knowing that each target was quite a distance from the next. That is until each Dragon felt something off. They all looked at one another and then at Gore. That's when it happened. their fires were completely swept up in a pitch black void that couldn't possibly be natural. Looking at it, Gore snarled and told everyone to stick together. Whatever was causing this wasn't going to find them easy targets.
With that, everything around them became black and all that could be heard was the loud breathing of the Dragons that stood there, unknowing of what was about to happen.
That's when he heard a whelp from something coming down HARD on one of his brothers. Gore let out a roar and then a blast of fire in the darkness that lit up their surrounding area, and that's when they saw it. Cloaked figures stood around them, chanting in a dark voice. The Dragon that whelped was no where to be seen, as if he was never there. The only thing that was left was his blood on the ground.

When the Blood Dragon saw what was around them, he told the others to fan out and kill every last human there, but when they tried? The darkness grew even more, sweeping over the land in an overwhelming fashion. The Dragons tried bringing their claws up to where the cloaked figures were, only to find that when they struck them, they hit nothing. It was as if there weren't even there. One by one, each Dragon was taken in a violent fashion, leaving Gore. Why didn't they take him first? He didn't know. He couldn't describe it but as the sounds of the Dragons faded, and only his loud breaths remained. He grew furious. He could feel the darkness coming to take him, sweeping over his form in a way that felt like it was ripping him apart.
That's when he stood up on his hind legs and let out a roar, blasting fire into the sky. A fire that was so bright it lit up the land. Though it didn't stop there, Gore aimed downward and began blasting his flames violently outward, causing the darkness to get pushed back in such a way that actually made the cloaked figures stumble from their concentration.

The Blood Dragon started to flap his wings, taking off. Though his fire only grew as he did this, covering the land that his brothers just disappeared on. Eventually the flame got so wide that the Darkness had nothing to cling to. The chanting stopped and the unnatural void fell, leaving the cloaked figures to try and start a different chant. Only the Blood Dragon was far more furious than ever before.
Some wouldn't even be able to describe the wrath Gore had for these 'things'. They were the whole reason he went off and killed thousands more like them. Before that? It was focused attacks.
The Blood Dragon dropped into the flames he created, using his mass and force to knock the flames out in a wave, burning the dark ones violently and as they perished? He saw something come out of their bodies, a mist that looked to be alive. Gore stared at it, expanding his wings and ducking down as he let out a massive roar. Whatever foul magic this was, he was going to see its end.

The mist shot out toward Gore, only to have the Dragon charge at it, blasting out wave after wave of his fiery breath, though just as they were about to meet, Gore used his wings and jumped back, lashing the flames out in a point blank wave, hitting the mist hard. So much so that it vanished before him. Was it dead? He couldn't be sure.
Looking around at what once was the camp him and his few survivors stood, Gore dropped his head in shame. He lost all of them..He was supposed to protect them, he was supposed to care for them and bring his kind back together! Instead they took -everything- by some treachery he had never seen before! How DARE they let him survive, to put it all on his shoulders and to leave him all alone.
The Blood Dragon began to gather boulders, placing them in a circle around the camp, bringing his claw up, he placed markings in each, as if they were graves before blasting each boulder with fire, causing them to glow from the heat.

Once he was done, Gore let out a roar that could be heard throughout the land, only it didn't sound defiant, or angry. It sounded sad. The Blood Dragon was weeping in his own way for the loss of his friends..
_

Bringing himself back to reality, he blinked his eyes as if to hide a tear from the thought of it. He had been alone all of this time, fighting a war with no end. It really was no wonder why he hid away from the realm for so long.
Staring at the girl, he noticed how she glanced at the blade that actually cut him, he tilted his head at it with a grunt. He didn't dare touch the blade because he didn't quite understand how it came to life on its own. It acted as if it hungered for his flesh. Though the child was mostly right, most would find the skin under the scales more vulnerable, Gore on the other hand? It would feel different, like a blade would have trouble cutting into it. Either way, his scales would come back when he had enough time to heal. Looking over at the Human who still stared at the sword, he began questioning why she would even bring that. There were so many things wrong with her even following him and she dared bring a weapon? Did humanity change so much to no longer teach their people that a weapon is an immediate threat to everyone else and therefore can cause a fight even easier. Did she plan on defending herself against him? Hah she couldn't even stand up against a roar!

Gore didn't realize his folly, had he known this girl was going to stick around because of his allowing her to talk? He would just have ignored her completely. Even if it was difficult to ignore the meek girl wielding the blade that cut him.
Looking over at her, he wondered if this girl was actually different. Most would take his weakened state and use it to their advantage to deliver a killing blow, especially considering the way he was resting in front of her, she could easily take him out..That alone made him questioned just who this person was. What confused him more is what she wanted from him? He was away from the world for such a long time that he was disconnected from it. The lands had probably changed so much that he couldn't find his way alone. Though even if he couldn't, he'd find a way. He always did after all. Mankind may have grown stronger, but him? He was timeless. His strength will always rival the pathetic insects that claimed this world.

That's when he felt it. Something was near him! He was about to move until he felt the arrow get ripped out of him, making him let out a faint snarl from the pain it gave. Looking back at the girl, he snarled violently, moving his face close to her body, narrowing his eyes as he barred his fangs, letting out a noise that practically said 'What do you want!?'
The Blood Dragon watched her hold out the arrow, making him do something rather..cute. He quickly snatched the arrow she held in his mouth, being surprisingly quick and gentle, to where his teeth didn't even touch her. And now he held the arrow there, looking like a dog biting down on a toy. With that, he bit down on it, shattering the steel work as if it were nothing, dropping it from his mouth. Looking at her closer, he let out a huff. It was as if Gore was trying to emphasize what he would do to her if she tried anything. Course the arrow probably wasn't the best way to put it since it implied he would eat her..He didn't want to do that.

The look in the girls eyes though was what bothered him most, she looked at him like he was ignorant in some way. At least that's how he felt. Of course he'd hate the thought of him being ignorant to such an inferior species. He was the Blood Dragon after all..
Still, the way she looked at him did bother him, making him shake his head resting it back down. Which in turn actually made it easier for her to grab and pull out each arrow that was embedded into him.
If she tried it, he wouldn't fight her, but he would still out out that faint snarl as if he resented the action of her pulling each out. His mind was yelling at him to kill her, or to fly away considering he was giving her the BEST chance to hurt him even more, maybe even kill him..but he didn't. If she was brave enough to follow him and even approach him, then he would rival that bravery and stay close by, even allowing her to do what she wanted to do, whatever that may be..but what was it!? Gore had no idea and it was beginning to irritate him!

If she continued to pull the arrows out, he knew she had to get easier access to each of them. So he lowered his wing to allow her to use it as a ramp. Now must Dragons wouldn't ever do it since the wings are the weakest part of each Dragon, but Gore's? They were massive and looked like the weight of the meek human before him couldn't damage them unless she had the intent to.
With that, he would let her continue if she so wished, laughing faintly at how she was the -first- Human to ever be on the back of him, not that he was going to take her flying. His back seemed to be broad and had several spikes leading out, some of which had dried blood from the hunters that were impaled on them. Looking at it now, it seemed that it was a well traded battle. Each blow on both sides were blood worthy. Even if the arrows didn't look like the punctured his scales and skin too badly, it still hurt.

When she was done, he would let her down and look at her, tilting his head to see what she was doing now. She helped him..she actually -helped- him! How could he react to that!? She was the first person to ever do such a thing and not have some kind of ulterior motive to kill him. That's when he heard the skies crack, making him look up. The clouds were turning dark and stormy and in a few moments, a hard rain began to fall on the forest, as if the skies themselves were weeping for those who fell during the onslaught. At first, The Blood Dragon let out another strange noise that sounded like a groan, he moved his attention back to the girl in front of him, tilting his head at her.
'She's still a child.. He thought to himself, watching her slowly get soaked. Looking down at the ground, he just grumbled, using his tail to nudge her forward closer to him, just as his wing expanded, covering her, causing the rain to be deflected like an umbrella. Leaning over, he pressed his snout to the ground, breathing a faint breath of fire into it, causing it to spark so that the girl can stay warm.

Now, don't get him confused! He wasn't liking her, this was just a debt that needed to be paid and it was the least he could do considering she -did- help him with the arrows. The girl could die for all he cared after, but for now?..Well he'd just make sure she didn't get soaked and get cold in the rain.
Though Gore stayed in it, he seemed unaffected just like he was in the waterfall..could he even feel it? To simply say, yes. It wasn't like his scales coated him from the weather, in fact he could feel what happened to them, the impacts and everything else. The rain simply trickled down his snout as he rested his head again, staring at nothing, clearly lost in thought. Hopefully this storm would pass soon so he can continue on his way..

Little did he know? That he would be having more trouble then he realized..

[Sylvazard]

The Dragon, who used flames to mark his passage through lands inhabited by humankind; who was depicted as fierce, merciless and even a waking nightmare to whole armies sent to stand -and later fall- before him was strangely compliant. It may or may not have been the most accurate of comparisons, but Rosalie believed it reminded her of a child calming down slightly after being given their way. Of course, there was no telling what Gore wanted. It was obvious that he didn’t want her anywhere near him, but she couldn’t leave empty-handed. If she had, then what would be the point of her trailing after him and wasting energy that could easily be preserved? No Rosalie defiantly thought even as the snapping of the arrow between his teeth had caused her to flinch. She had imagined that to be the sickening crunch of her bones should she be hasty and thoughtless enough to act against this fire-breathing lizard. He took away what could have been my only chance... Her eyes remained settled over him, sharp and alert as she slowly withdrew her hand that had been holding the arrow into a fist. As gentle as Gore had been, she still wanted to check she had her five digits.

The flames he spews also matches his temper, but weren’t all dragons like that at one point? ‘Snarling and snapping, biting and butchering humans like lambs to the slaughter’. At least, that was what Rosalie had seen and read in old books. There were even paintings that had a red lizard standing atop a mound of armoured corpses against a dark backdrop, rivulets of blood branching away from the centre to gather in pools illuminated by the flames. Would she be joining them?
Despite the mental image, Rosalie forced herself to hesitantly climb over Gore’s leathery wing and onto his back, treading carefully and never failing to check where Gore’s head was at all times - especially whenever she had located an arrow. He had an elongated neck, and he could very well use it whenever her gaze was averted. The many times Rosalie did glance over at him, however, she thought she had glimpsed some sort of emotion in his unguarded eyes. Was she seeing things? She dismissed the thought as quickly as it had come and by the time she was on the ground again, rain fell on cue as if the clap of thunder had made announcement for the next performance. She never did mind the rain, and she never did hate it; she just found it inconvenient at times. THIS, was one of those moments, and it somehow gave Gore the right to push her about even if it was to keep her dry.

For a long while, Rosalie did not make any move to go near the flame despite how curious she was and how quickly she was beginning to feel the cold. There had been much control used to create the fire burning before her, the young woman struggling to believe that the dragon lying curled in the rain was the very same one to produce the fire which had almost - entirely - engulfed the field he had fought on. Those flames he breathed had been for destruction and this flickering flame, tiny in comparison to earlier ones produced, harboured a different intent entirely. Gore just seemed so different. She was able to see his experience at least, the flame contradicting her earlier thoughts over Gore’s temper for now. She would like to believe she saw some control but on the other hand, she could have been completely wrong.

Though the wind was gentle, almost being drenched in the rain made the chill seem more bitter than it should. It was just the push Rosalie needed to slowly, step by slow step, head towards the warmth with a sigh of resignation that was almost drowned out by another growl of thunder. Rosalie settled her backpack down beside her as she knelt and extended her hands, taking in the heat while she occasionally glanced over the fire to Gore. He was staring intently at something - or nothing at all whenever she tried to follow his gaze. All her eyes would ever land on was the sword she had dug into the ground whenever she scanned their surroundings. Though it sat completely useless out there, it did well in drawing attention from the fact that she was still armed with two blades on her person. Still, could he have been pretending to be oblivious to the potential harm she could do? The amount of trust -which isn’t very much to begin with- hanging between them was mutual, it appeared. If she wouldn’t leave earlier, now she had all the more reason to stay because of this weather.

The pitter-patter of rain against Gore’s leathery wing distracted Rosalie. Why was he giving her shelter and warmth when he could just as easily have left her out in the rain? She would have understood that more than she did this, at least, as it was highly unexpected of such a fierce beast, a murderer of ten thousand or more, to show...kindness. She would not take it for granted lest she be pushed out into the rain, yet she couldn’t help but wonder; maybe this dragon was slightly different to what history and the books have written or maybe he was looking for a quick snack. If the latter as opposed to the former was true -which the girl firmly believed it to be so- now would be a great time to act. Still, all he did was stare unseeingly before him. Rosalie took in a deep breath, sat herself down, drew her legs closer to her body to keep warm and pulled her travelling cloak tighter around herself, thinking.

If she hadn’t been mistaken, Gore had been a bit distracted by something earlier - something that made him forget she had been standing in front of him. She didn’t really care; the thought just struck her as odd. Until now, she didn’t think dragons A: thought for themselves or B: had the capability of dwelling on something other than defiance against people. Some dragons in slavery accepted their fate, while the more stubborn fought back. Rosalie counted Gore among the latter, but for that brief moment, she was ignored just like she was now. It was as if the threat had been swept to the side and under a rug for the moment, Rosalie only able to describe it as ‘unreal’ in a sense. She was lucky to have made it this far without yet being eaten, but she would see if she could push her luck just that one bit further.

Rosalie knew she should have listened to her father when he had tried teaching her to take her time solving problems instead of just rushing in like she always did. She had a habit of just seeking something out mainly because she wanted to test how far a certain thought of hers would go without a plan. Such life lessons would come in handy in more situations than one, but no, she kept focused on something else. Would it help her? She still had yet to find out. She knew she had been planning this outing for quite a few years, now, but when it actually came to departing? The girl had made preparations the night before and not two nights -or more- earlier like advised by the wiser two, Sigmund and Eric. It showed she hadn’t planned on any of this happening, really, and it had been a plan more for a quick trip to the nearest city - that was, until she came across Glenn and his company of hunters entering her hometown. She was here because she followed him and for what in the end? Only to have him die without answering her questions? The girl suppressed a groan at the thought and bowed her head, listening to the drumming of the rain.
~
She remembered her escape from home and it had been rushed. Voices, most notably her father’s among others, issued out orders and reports while demanding that those capable enough to defend the gates did so to the best of their abilities. Huge explosions easily tore down the northern gate of the large city, Galtea Aborus, causing the ground to tremble from impact and crockery in the main room to rattle to the point of almost falling off the shelves. It wasn’t a full scale assault, but it may very well just have been the first wave from the opposition. First wave or third wave, it still called for a response.

The girl was old enough to figure out what was going on and the fear had settled in her stomach like stone to the bottom of a lake. Setton, her father, hid whatever grim thoughts that must have been running through his mind at the time, but thinking back to it now, it was as clear as day. How could she have misinterpreted that expression of his for something else, something entirely opposite to what he was really feeling? Perhaps the flurry of panic was enough to prevent the usually calm from seeing clearly. Due to his position, it was no surprise that he would be targeted like this; he was a man who could make or break an army and that was considering if he had the mind to cooperate. If it could be helped, he would stay away from conflict, but since this was forced, one could imagine the decision he would soon be forced to make.

Then, she was running, having no time to gather her belongings or any precious collectibles she may have accumulated over the years. There simply hadn’t been enough time to run to her room and back out the door, but what else could have mattered more than the objects, a pendant and a pocket watch, she had just been given? Rosalie was running away from her troubles, but what choice did she have? Even if she had wanted to, he wouldn’t have allowed her to stay, anyway...

~

Sometimes I wonder if I’m running away by doing this, too. Rosalie, after a while, finally raised her head, looking out into the surrounding area once more. She hadn’t said anything in a while, just happy enough to listen to the rain. Gore still hadn’t eaten her or made a move to, either, so it must be -somewhat- safe. Silently, she rose to her full height and folded her arms, rocking back and forth on her feet. No doubt such an action, no matter how quiet, would get Gore’s attention. She wasn’t going to hit him. He might as roll over her and that would be the end of it since she was so close. Rosalie cleared her throat.“Um...Gore? For earlier... thank you.” She glanced at his wing still shielding her from the rain briefly as she continued, “I wanted to ask if you’d...maybe agree since you’ve had time to think about it. If you won’t help me...or allow me to become your guide, then I just need a scale from you. Afterwards, I’ll leave.” Rosalie bit her lower lip, already regretting her words - especially the last three having been said louder than the rest of her sentence.

At the exact same time, though, Rosalie thought she had glimpsed movement out of the corner of her eye, but she couldn’t be sure. No, it wasn’t Gore’s tail. It was something else, but because the rain obstructed her view, Rosalie was hesitant to act. Instead, she pretended not to take notice of the movement until she was able to properly confirm what it had been. “I must be seeing things...” she grumbled quietly to herself, but even then, her body remained tense like a cat ready to spring. They must have their reasons for moving in the rain. What did Setton say? More cover? I get that...but...doesn’t it mean..more noise? No, wait... was it something else? Nngh...I knew I should have listened to him!

The next few moments were tense and agonising to wait out, this particular atmosphere overstaying its welcome like a bad stench. It was quiet save for the sound of falling rain and the crackling of the small flame near her, but they were nothing more than minor details to her at the moment. Her main focus was what was out there - not what was near her at the moment. Rosalie’s eyes flickered from left to right, squinting through the rain to see if she could pick out anymore movement, waiting patiently, but that patience was starting to draw thin very quickly. If she wasn’t already on edge being this close to the dragon, where this was heading was starting to agitate her even more. What was worse, Rosalie did not believe she had the necessary equipment to take on someone from afar. This caused the girl to make a mental note to herself to remedy that as soon as an opportunity presented itself.

Rosalie’s uncertainty made her forget about the cold for just a moment, though. She would not rely on the dragon for protection and neither would she rely on him for whatever small bit of hospitality he was showing her, her dislike for him making her stubborn, but her fear of him reminding her to keep those thoughts - as well as any actions that would express her emotions clearly - to herself. It was not him who needed her, but she who needed him. As Rosalie had said earlier, she would leave him be as long as he was willing to give her a scale. It wouldn’t be easy. He wanted to be rid of her and this was just one of the easier ways out. While Rosalie was in deep thought, another one of those arrows she had spent quite some time pulling out of Gore landed just a few metres off from where she and Gore was positioned. A few minutes after that, a voice rang out through the rain, ordering that Gore surrender.

~

“Don’t fight us. You know we’ve got you outnumbered, Gore!” The words oozed with poison, the Blood Dragon’s name drawn out slowly and menacingly. This time, it was a woman’s voice, stern and demanding. She strode forward with all the confidence of a cat about to catch her prey, stopping a good distance away as soon as she was no longer hidden behind the surrounding trees. Her dark hair, soaked by rain, had been pulled back and like Rosalie, did not seem to be wearing armour like her fellow companions. Instead, she was in clothing that allowed for easy maneuverability. “Though you’ve managed to evade us earlier, we’ve managed to catch up. After all, how can we allow our dear Blood Dragon to slip away when he’s injured, hmm?” She laughed delicately behind her hand, “and we find you’ve lured a girl here, as well? I’m sorry, young one, but we’ll be taking our catch in, now. We can’t let him escape a second time now, can we?” As if to help emphasise her statement, the newly embedded arrow’s fletching suddenly opened and sparked with electricity. “Your choice, Blood Dragon... Come with us quietly and we promise to take good care of you until we give you to a new owner. It may very well be me, hehe. So, what will it be?”

Marian was quite calm, but her eyes glimmered with the hope of catching the Blood Dragon. In order for that to happen, they would strike when he was weak and be sure that he did not get the time to recover from his wounds. They were so close, after all. The woman narrowed her eyes distastefully at the girl the dragon was shielding from the rain, slightly irritated by the younger one’s presence. No matter. The goal was capturing and taming the Blood Dragon and should this girl get caught up in the battle, then it was no real loss. After all, Marian already had a few deaths on her hands to report. This would add to it, but who had to know? It could easily be dismissed, so if the child knew what was good for her, she had better start running. Even now, the girl appeared unnerved enough to take a few hasty steps back and grab her backpack. The scene made Marian smirk. You’ve always been on your own, haven’t you, Blood Dragon? Oh, how bored you must be! Secretly, the woman hoped he would be willing to play for a little while before giving in. After all, there was no fun in a catch that resigned too easily and quickly.

[Arclite]

Humans were simple creatures, always needing to somehow justify what they've done in history and when they couldn't? They lied and covered up the most vital points of every event that were shady. The Blood Dragon realized what they taught in their schools back when he was a servant. He used to sit outside of the local schools and listen to them teach. Some of which he may have wanted to burn down for their insolence. There was one or two good things about being Gore though, the Teachers often checked the windows to make sure he wasn't going to demolish their building or set it on fire. So it was no surprise to him when she seemed to only see a monster before her, after all..she wasn't entirely wrong. Only a monster killed as many as he had. Coming to terms with what one did was always the hardest step to take in any journey, so he didn't bother getting angry with how she stared at him. He didn't even know that he killed her only chance to find whoever she was looking for. Course one would doubt if he would even feel guilty over it, chances are he would just scoff.

Lack of control a child's problem to a Dragon. As they grew older, they were taught a balance to their strengths and respected what honor there was in everything they did. Gore was a testament to that as far as any other Dragon in the realm. Most Dragons after spending so much time under the same roof as humans would act a certain way, as if they accepted their fates and didn't care to change them. Now that Gore was out and people knew about him? He may not be able to go back into hiding. They would find him in under a decade..
Looking down at the Girl who was now under his wing, he stared at her for a moment, thinking of what she could be looking at. She hadn't said a word in awhile and it actually made him worry..did she know something he didn't? She was a human and as far as he knew, she was -with- those Hunters and Mercenaries. Even if she was though, he'd let them come. The Blood Dragon was bored and he didn't want to leave just yet. He had something else in mind for if and when they got here. Wounded or not, he was still one of the more dangerous things in the forest that night.

Did he just hear her right!? Did she just..No. No she couldn't of. She's one of them! She's a careless child that couldn't possibly ever think of a Dragon in a way that -wasn't- seeing them as objects or animals. Though there he stood. She managed to get his attention, actually causing him to make a grueling sound. His eyes flashed in curiosity at this girl who actually said something that he never heard before. As a Servant, or even from his own kind. Just the look in his eyes gave what he thought, hatred for her wasn't there anymore, instead it was replaced with some resentment mixed with a curiosity and maybe even a bit of hope. Being alone for so long couldn't have been fun, could it? Maybe he wouldn't mind a bit of company, even if it was with one of -them-.
Gore moved slightly to curl around her better in a more protective manner, keeping his wing over her head calmly. His eyes moved back to where he was looking prior, knowing he kept hearing something. Though the look in his eyes wasn't fear from that..It was as if his teal orbs were looking for something else, frantically moving from place to place.

Gore knew only a bit about running due to his honor, even if his escape and very existence revolved around Hunters trailing and tracking him own maliciously as if he were some kind of prize. That was the problem with mankind..They saw a Dragon and they saw just another mindless beast. Even his previous owner which were ages ago, he didn't run from. He made sure that the owner regretted every last second of her torture against him and the other Dragons. Though the others hadn't followed him like he wanted. That may have did it, that could have been what caused him to hide away from the world..but no one would know unless they genuinely asked him what happened, or ordered him to talk.
The Blood Dragon noticed how the girl before him was staring off into space, making him take in her form a bit more. She didn't look like a Hunter, the way she wielded the blade was proof of that, was she a noble?.. Moving his snout closer to her, he tilted his head as he took in her features. Her build was feminine and more meek, but the look in her eyes reminded him of something. It was a look her was familiar with, the need to prove one self. With a grunt, the Dragon rested his head back down, staring into the darkness that made him want to light the entire forest up in flames.

Watching the Arrow drop didn't effect Gore. In fact he continued to look the way it came as if it was the dullest of things ever. When Marian began to speak, he just stared at her like the insect he was. Surrounded? Did they not realize what happened to the -last- group of Hunters that surrounded him? Hah! Humans are so damned arrogant that they forget the basics of any hunter. A wounded animal is at its most vicious and feral state. Dragons knew that, why couldn't these tiny people!?
The Blood Dragon just grumbled under his breath, narrowing his eyes at the raven-haired woman. She spoke with a strength in her voice that vexed the monster before her, but still the Dragon didn't move.
Evade? Haha her view on evading someone was as skewed as the rest of humanity's view on Dragons! Gore found himself looking around to see just how many were out there, as he began tapping his tail into the wet ground, causing a smacking sound that seemed to move to a beat. His eyes moved with each tap.

After a moment, Gore picked himself up, slowly walking toward Marian, looking down at her like the fool she was. He didn't say anything, but instead? He swished his tongue around his closed mouth, coughing a bone out, whacking her with it. That was his answer. The bone was splintered and still held some of the blood on the poor hunter that was unfortunate enough to find himself in his jaws. The Tapping got quicker and louder as he could hear the reactions from everyone, making him extend his wings, snarling at the humans that surrounded him and the girl. As soon as he heard the first arrow release, he ducked back and moved over to Rose, wrapping his tail around her, pulling her up onto his back as his wings folded neatly over her lap in a seat belt like fashion. With that, he ran at Marian, SPECIFICALLY Marian as he roared, shouldering a tree that was in the way, actually causing it to splinter and get knocked down. He clearly wanted the woman in charge more than anyone else, and one would be threatened just by the look in his eyes, as if he only saw her torment that lie in wait for him if he were to fall.

[Sylvazard]

Rosalie showed some interest when Gore approached Marian, but mainly because she worried the woman was going to die. Rosalie did not approve of his following actions and as amusing at it had been, the sight making Rosalie smirk a little at Marian’s humiliation, it probably would have been wiser if Gore had refrained from doing anything to upset the woman. Of course it was rude and of course it was quite the insult coming from a dragon. In this day and age, Dragons had absolutely no right to do anything that would somehow soil a human individual’s reputation as they were slaves and nothing more; history had written it to be so and Rosalie was beginning to wonder if Gore knew this ‘ideal’ was still in place.

Those who had ambushed them had seemed to cut off any possible path of escape Rosalie could take without having to force her way through any of the members. She had no connection to Gore, so they should have no reason to detain her. As something began to coil around her body, though, she tensed and felt her hopes shatter in almost an instant. It was strong and gentle at the same time but she still struggled against it, trying to pull herself free. Her efforts fell short and she was easily lifted off the ground like a flower plucked from a flowerbed only to be settled where she had least expected herself to be. Why was she back on the dragon? Wouldn’t this have given the opposition more of a reason to take her down or even kill her because she would have been believed to have some sort of association with him?

The girl would have started to climb down, too, if she hadn’t been worried about the height and speed Gore possessed. She could feel his movements as powerful limbs propelled him forward in a mad dash for the ‘prize’. Dreadful realisation dawned on her then, a creature of the dark summoned by just a mere thought. This might not end well but as bleak as the outcome appeared to be, Rosalie would have to wait for an opportunity to make use of. Watching the dragon fight from afar was one thing, but actually riding on top of one was another. It surely did provide some first hand experience to how powerful the monster really was. Seeing as she had never been atop a dragon before, she found it difficult to adjust to his movements and she swore she would have bounced right off if not for his wings. Even then, she still hunched herself lower, fingers desperately scrabbling to find something to hold onto and keep herself steady with. The rain pouring over her whilst she tried to find a handhold did nothing to make the task any easier for her. Rosalie was unable to deal with it, but the only few thoughts that kept her from making up her mind about him just yet was the brief moment of which he had decided to curl protectively around her earlier. Was that what he was doing now? Trying to protect her or even spare her life? He could have left.

A brief, yet sharp, burning sensation across her cheek made her wince and press a hand to her face, shock slowly being replaced with mere disbelief at the turn of events. She knew the world had a habit of changing in a split second, but she had hoped her karma would have kept her afloat for a bit longer than this. Was this because she never listened to her father when she was younger?
When Rosalie drew her hand back, she found red smeared over her fingertips and started wishing that it had been ink instead. She hadn’t heard a gunshot go off which left one other projectile that possessed the speed and build to move this quickly and freely in midair. She raised her head just in time to see that arrows, three or maybe four, had soared through the air, shot in the direction Gore was heading. He had not been what they were trying to hit at all but what more could arrows do to him save for getting stuck and causing him pain? She didn’t even consider it for long. She wanted out.“Stop, stop STOP! Do you even have a plan? Let me down right now!” She yelled out of panic, pounding her fists against his back, trying to gain his attention. “Run away from the danger, not towards it!!” The concern of slipping and falling off the large lizard, no matter the precautions taken by Gore beforehand, never did stray too far from mind. Surely, it must have been safe - or as safe as one felt it was - but Rosalie did not feel comforted in the slightest.

~

Snickering, even from her trusted assistant, rang in her ears. No matter how hard the rain poured, Marian still had an ear for mockery in her name. Grumbling incoherently to herself, she had stomped on the bone that hit her out of irritation, making demands for her party to be “quiet!!” She would have continued if Gore’s approach had not caused the party to scatter and forced her to run.
Since a clear path to safety was now out of the question thanks to the tree Gore had shouldered, Marian had to skid to a halt to avoid running into the natural barrier. She spun around quickly, eyes widening not in surprise, but excitement at how fast things were going. Yes, Gore’s size played to his advantage, but it also played to theirs as large targets were usually easy to hit. Gore was quickly approaching and she was fast running out of time to act, but Marian was still amused enough to laugh at the glint in the dragon’s eyes. She had seen it all too often for it to have been a surprise to her, anymore. Still, she thought, taking note of where the four arrows had landed just metres from her position, the rage in this one was different; it burned far deeper than just resentment for humans. No. Marian had seen far too many just to lump this look in with the previous ones. Was there something else, or had the dragon finally snapped and now fought out of blind fury? She let out a soundless chuckle at her luck, leaning back against the fallen tree like a trapped mouse expecting the worse. Such fright could never be good for the dear little thing and neither was it for her. No amount of shouting that girl on his back did would stop Gore from getting any closer, Marian guessed. He had eyes for her and only her, not the party she had brought along to capture him.

“What’s this?” Marian taunted with intent to get him in closer, “is rage the only thing that runs through your mind? Pah! Dragons being intelligent...ALL LIES! This was anticipated.” Such honour would be his downfall. Marian ended up waiting for a bit before finally giving the signal. Oh, how she’d make him pay for embarrassing her in front of the company which she led. The arrows that had been fired earlier had been connected in some way, two hitting the ground, and two embedding themselves in the surrounding trees in a perfect position to raise an electrical net. Seeing as the tree Gore had knocked down contained an arrow, there was a bit of a ‘tear’ in the net. If Gore did not stop in time, he would surely be caught, the voltage running through the trap enough for paralysis. Unfortunately, the same could not be said for the rider.

Meanwhile, the party was carrying out with another plan which involved machines no bigger than an average person being planted into the ground. Seeing as the role of ‘bait’ had fallen to Marian, it would not be long until they finished setting up the two mechanisms. It was risky trying to get everything ready while the dragon charged in one direction, but if they succeeded, their gain would be greater. If Gore continued to linger for longer than what was wise, he would see that these machines acted in the same manner an anchor kept a ship in place. Large, steel chains would shoot out toward him and start to slowly retract as to render him immobile. Unless stopped, his fate was clear.

[Arclite]

Gore's scales were like armor so her kicking was very poorly felt if at all. The Blood Dragon was one of the strongest built Dragons to be seen and that was why his kind was so rare. The only Blood Dragon to be seen since the dawn of mankind.
Now the Ancient Dragon knew of how Humans saw his kind, but that wouldn't stop him from assaulting anyone or anything for being a pest which Marian was being. Loathing humans came with a low tolerance of being near him..then why was he helping the girl that was now atop his back? He couldn't answer that himself, not at the moment as arrows and other things rained down upon him. As Gore continued to move, he made sure to duck out of the way of the arrows, and even bring his wings up in a shield like fashion around the girl if any went passed his head which only meant they were aiming for her. From the Rosalie's position, she would be able to see arrows pierce through his wings, stopping less then half way as his blood slowly began to seep down the thick leathery make-shift shields. Why was he trying to save this girl?! She didn't deserve it right!? She probably thought of him like every other human! He couldn't answer any of these questions, but no matter. He was in it now and he was going to commit to the end. Even if it meant a disadvantage in a fight with these cowardly beings.

Now the Blood Dragon knew of how human beings were. They were violent, crude and cruel. They call the winged Lizards dumb but in truth? They knew humanity better than most considering they were the ones enslaved. If Gore hadn't picked Rosalie up? The Blood Dragon knew what would have happened..They would have killed Rosalie and called her a causality, and that would be if she was lucky. If some of Marian's men got a hold of her? They would probably do things that even a Dragon would think twice of doing to their captors. People were sick like that, and for some reason? Gore didn't want that to happen to this girl. The girl who actually said 'Thank you.'. The one who actually pulled the arrows out instead of shoving them deeper into the monster before her. So maybe he did know why he was trying to save her. He wanted to see just how far this particular human was willing to go when it came to truth and justice.
As he continued to propel forward, Gore could hear her shouting, making him turn his head quickly to see the gash on her cheek. His eyes narrowed at how she got hit, letting out a scoff of fire as his wings curled around her protectively, making sure the next arrows would hit him.

There were countless stories about the Blood Dragon in battle, so many that one would consider almost all of them fables. Tales that made children wonder and fear just how fierce a true Dragon could be in a fight. The look in his teal eyes shown a different side though, was it a look that had the mind of a thinker in the middle of a fight? Or one that would charge in and blaze everything in its path. Well, she'd find out!
As the Red Dragon drew closer, he could feel that Marian was beginning to drag it out longer, and just as she was 'cornered'. Rosalie would hear the whipping of Gore's tail, followed by the crackling and splintering of a tree behind them. Even his tail possessed a strength that rivaled any machine of modern day. As the net shot up, Gore saw the opening, throwing the massive tree at it, colliding with it before running up the tree, furling his wings as he jumped through it, immediately flapping his wings to take off and get height. That's exactly what he did, he started to go higher and higher above the battlefield, staying as steady as he could with the woman on his back, letting out a huff of breath at the moment they had.

Looking back at his rider, he could see that she was having a hard time holding on to the spikes on his back, making him let out another scoff. He couldn't just leave in the condition he was in, they would find him and right now he had more strength than he'd have later..So, he slowly moved his tail around Rosalie, pulling her to look at him. He positioned himself in a straight up position, flapping his wings to stay floating as he stared into her eyes. The cut on her cheek made him grumble, tilting his head at her before huffing and clasping his jaws shut, as if saying something. When nothing came out, he slowly leaned forward, licking the cut on her cheek to clean it. Despite being a Dragon, he seemed more friendly than the stories would tell. That's when he heard an explosion, looking down as he was struck on his side, actually dropping Rosalie in the process of falling himself.
Blood seeped from under his wing as part of it seemed curved and bent the wrong way. Whatever hit them did considerable damage to the Dragon, though when he came to his senses, he noticed the girl wasn't in his grasp anymore, making him let out a roar as he furled his wings, diving down to find her. If she was screaming it'd be easier!

When he saw her through all the smoke, he dived down and quickly held his claws out to grab her, making it just in time as he caught her, turning and falling into the forest, clutching her to his chest as he skid into the rocky mountainside, crashing into several tree's. It took a moment for him to realize where he was, moving his eyes to check on his human, hoping she was okay. Why did he care!? Was he that lonely? He hated these people! If she was okay, he would just growl and move to place her on his back again. Wanting to find Marian so he could burn her alive, the Blood Dragon began moving to find his target, able to smell her out from the rest of her company, one that made him cringe. He loathed women born with power..
As he quickly moved Gore noticed there were other guards and soldiers moving in position to take him down, keeping his eyes toward the sound of each watery footstep and the clank of armor made him more aware than he had been before. Continuing his movements, Gore's tail whipped out against several tree's, using his hind legs to knock them over, trying to scare off the guards.

After a few moments, The Blood Dragon roared, jumping over several tree's and landing in front of Marian who seemed to be recovering from her last closer encounter, Her guards were with her and immediately drew up arrows, having them sling them back and waited for her order to fire.
Gore's wings wrapped tightly around the girl passenger upon his back, stepping closer to Marian with a snarl that rivaled even the stories, as if he wanted nothing else than to hear her bones crack under his massive jaws.
If given the order, they'd fire, hitting Gore's body easily from how large the Dragon was, blood was pouring from his wounds and by all logic, most other Dragons would have probably fallen over by now.. and yet he still approached, blazing part of her guards and swiping his tail onto the others, staring daggers at Marian. Now if she had no traps, the Blood Dragon would bring his tail up and wrap it around her -tight-, bringing her up to look him in the eyes. He would squeeze lightly, making sure she knew that he could easily go a bit more and hear her bones break. Now if she did look hard, she could actually see what he was thinking, whether to ear her now and be done with it, or crush her, or burn her..or even impale her. With that, he licked his lips and huffed, slamming her down into the ground before moving his claw over her body, pressing downward on her. Not hard like he had with the last hunter known as Glenn, but enough for her to know who was really in control.

Little did he know, something FAR..far worse was coming...

[Sylvazard]

Gore was protecting her. That was the one, key word that kept popping up every time in her thoughts even as she battled to keep herself firmly in place. Who would have thought that a crimson, scaled beast would be the one to provide protection against these people; her own race that was united yet divided at the same time? Rosalie wondered how Gore might have seen them at this moment as he fought back against his pursuers. Were they nothing but children squabbling over a toy unfairly shared, or were they grown adults fighting under real and legitimate reasons? Rosalie wanted to know, but asking was not an option seeing as Gore had not spoken a word since her encounter with him.

Tensing when she heard the sound of muffled tearing similar to a ship’s sails being torn, her gaze immediately snapped up to find that the arrows had punctured Gore’s wings, fresh wounds weeping the colour of his scales. What was driving this dragon to put his wings up in her defence? Normally, his kind would have tried to save themselves by now; they were all like that unless ordered by their mistress or master to use their body as a shield. Rosalie had not said such a thing and neither was she an owner so it frustrated her that she was unable to figure out Gore’s intentions. She wanted a dragon that was tamed and was well worth her money should she decide to spend what her father had given her before they were forced to separate. There was one of two things that Rosalie really wanted and it would have to be one or the other.

The net that had been set up had easily been taken down and no doubt this would have angered the lead woman of this group. Curious to see what had become of the net, Rosalie risked a glance down, gasping at how high they were. If she had been worried about slipping off the dragon earlier, now she was extremely concerned. Rosalie was provided with a view she never thought she would see, but dread hit her at the same time fascination did. What was Gore going to do now; use his tail to pull her away and drop her? He could certainly make it look like an accident. She waited for him to decide her fate, but instead, he licked her wound, leaving her to stare wide-eyed after the action as for a moment, he seemed concerned for her despite the numerous injuries he had suffered himself. “You’re -“ she never got to finish the rest of her sentence.

It was expected that in the air, there was nowhere to take cover from open fire and she soon found herself falling, winds sweeping around her but doing nothing to slow her rapid descent. The wailing of the winds seemed to cry out in her place for a few seconds, the girl coughing a little from accidentally inhaling a bit of smoke left behind from the shot. Rosalie saw Gore heading straight towards her like a rapidly approaching wall and that was when she screamed, panicking as she looked toward him then the trees that were growing larger by the second. She knew this was going to happen and this just justified her reasons for being so afraid. Gore was unpredictable and it was difficult to tell what he planned to do. Large, red wall or tree-covered ground? One provided more chance of survival than the other and she was aware of that.

As much as she wanted to, Rosalie did not struggle nor try to twist away as the dragon neared her, his claws outstretched as if to make a catch. Was he really going to spare her from the nasty fall? Her brown eyes met the dragon’s, finding only determination and her prone form falling through the air reflected in those teal orbs of his. The main question that entered and swirled angrily around Rosalie’s mind was, ‘what served as his motivation’? What could make a beast, who was only just claiming the lives of hunters and destroying expensive machinery a while ago, suddenly choose to spare just one person?

Perhaps Gore was somehow different, but Rosalie did not plan to place much trust in him so quickly if none at all. She usually would have dismissed that thought in a heartbeat, but she had always been a curious child. That could possibly lead her to an untimely death like now, for instance. She firmly believed that it was not yet her time and saw Gore as a possible means of escape - as self-centered as that was.
Claws, sharp enough to render several people into shreds in a single swipe, were actually splayed out in a way to catch her. It was almost like looking at a safety net of sorts despite how daunted she was beginning to feel with him being so near. Rosalie was afraid Gore was going to catch her the wrong way and perhaps accidentally skewer her with his nails. That particular thought caused her to swallow dryly, her screams falling silent as she did the only thing she was capable of doing falling from a great height like this: stare. It wasn’t as if she had another choice; another option that involved her saving herself, so she reached a hand out to him, showing acceptance and a bit of desperation to avoid the death that awaited her.

Surprisingly, when Gore’s claws enclosed around her, they were gentle and not the crushing grip she had been expecting. It brought Rosalie relief like she had been given a breath of fresh air after holding it for a bit, but it still did not change the fact that they were still falling! It was only out of fear that she clung to Gore as the dragon held her close to his chest, shifting in a way that would leave his body to absorb the impact. This was when the girl stole a quick glance at him, frowning lightly as she studied him. She dearly hoped this did not mean she would be in his debt...

When they finally hit the ground with a loud explosion erupting through the air, trees splintering, the girl had thought that the dragon had been taken out. Was Gore capable of surviving this much abuse? She had yet to see the extent of a dragon’s power and could only guess at how much more damage he had sustained. The impact, though Rosalie had been offered a considerably softer landing than Gore, had stolen a breath and a whimper from her, the girl ducking her head as her form trembled from disbelief, fear, and relief. She barely managed to catch the look Gore had given her, but his growl caused her head to snap up at him. “This... i-is just t-too much...” Rosalie mentally kicked herself. She was barely able to form a complete sentence without stammering. If Gore saw she was weak then, this would give him even more reason to look down at her. She did not care what he thought. She never did. As long as she was still alive, then that was all that mattered to her. If it were a dream, the simple test would be to pinch herself and see if she felt anything. Testing to see if she was alive, however... Perhaps her fear and the strong beating of her heart in her chest would be enough to let her know.

___

“3..,” The dragon had launched himself from a tree in a futile attempt to put some distance between himself and the hunters. While this went on, two figures moved further into the battleground, able to easily conceal themselves while still maintaining a good view of the event. One possessed a broader frame than the other, easily dwarfing his companion even as she made her way up the slope ahead of him. As the girl with him counted down with quiet excitement, she absent-mindedly fiddled with a small crystal between her thumb and index finger. They did not wear anything that allowed them to easily blend in with the hunters in the area, though, and while Aisen wore a dark, oiled cloak, Delna preferred to carry a clear umbrella to keep herself dry in the rain. Despite the differences in attire, it was clear they were from the same group and was there to provide support, but only very briefly seeing as their services did not come cheaply.

Aisen would wait a bit, scanning the area for a while before he finally signalled -with a slight wave of his hand- that they move in a bit closer. These hunters were in the way, foolish enough to think that they could capture the rare dragon with such a small group. Even with the Blood Dragon seriously injured, they still had to be mindful to stay clear as his strength still far surpassed the weapons the hunters had with them at this moment.

As good of a strategy as it was to attempt to corner the dragon while chipping away at his strength, the hunters had made the mistake of deploying their net far too early. If delayed for even just a few seconds, perhaps the outcome would have been different. Timing was everything and it was crucial that they preserve their numbers and weapons. The older of the two sighed at this, knowing that it would have been much easier, but seeing as it was their job anyway, they might as well get it over and done with. With Gore in a weakened state, this was going to be a walk in the park.

“2..,” The dragon had sustained a damaging blow to the side and was now dropping through the air. A shame that they had arrived a little later than scheduled. That took the fun out of seeing their toy suffer and writhe in agony. Perhaps they could make up for lost time with a ‘gentle’ prod here and there. Delna’s bright blue eyes complimented the soft smile she had on her lips as she raised the crystal she had to eye level, holding it out in the direction Gore had fallen in. She shifted a little until it appeared as if Gore was locked inside the little crystal she carried, adjusting it and keeping it set in the same manner that she would a pistol as her target moved about to ward off the soldiers trying to surround him. Delna had to pause a bit when she saw that there was a young woman on the dragon’s back, tilting her head to the side. They only wanted to catch the dragon; nothing more and nothing less. For confirmation, she looked over at Aisen. “Ready..?” came the quiet inquiry.
“Yes. Go ahead.” He confirmed with a slight inclination of his head. He then began to chant quietly. White wisps of light, that were more like tendrils escaping his lips, waved in the air warily before forming little symbols in front of him. The crystal Delna held responded to it by rising into the air to hover directly above Gore. One could see that the words being woven through the air, acted like a little control panel of sorts that gave Aisen the control he needed to direct the little device over the dragon and possibly avoid getting damaged should Gore spot it early.

“1..,” Delna continued in a light tone, watching Marian struggle under Gore’s claw with a slight smirk. She jumped, though, when the woman turned her head towards her and ordered her to help.
“Keep focused, Delna.” Aisen’s voice cut in almost immediately after, glaring at the woman pinned beneath the dragon. The crystal in his companion’s hand then began to expand and become so translucent that it was almost difficult to keep track of as it moved through the air. It acted like a dome of some sort, quickly starting to build up a form solid enough to trap the dragon as they prepared to transport him like the slave that he was. Gore would be given only a few seconds to counter before he was fully imprisoned. If he paid too much attention to Marian, his freedom will be short-lived. If he managed to detect the prison, then he may have a tough battle ahead of him. Either way, Marian took this as a chance to act.

“Well, what are you waiting for, Blood Dragon?” Marian taunted, pushing with all her strength at Gore’s claw. The pressure was slowly building, but she was still able to breathe without difficulty. Were dragons actually capable of thinking carefully about a human’s life? Secretly, Marian hoped so, but seeing as Gore was taking his time with it, he may be oblivious to what awaited him. Perhaps she could keep him distracted as her way of getting back at him for humiliating her. “Our lives mean nothing to you, so why think twice?” As emphasis, she directed her gaze over Gore’s wounds and his wings, the barrier that had kept the girl on his back safe.
__

That woman had voiced exactly what Rosalie was thinking. All of this? It frustrated her knowing that she was being protected by a dragon. She didn’t want to owe Gore at all. Besides, she still disliked him for taking Glenn out when it was his information that she needed the most. To think of it in one way, she might not have entirely wasted her efforts because she was near the Blood Dragon, but there was no guarantee that she would get his help. “She’s right...but it’s not as if you can speak...” Rosalie mumbled more to herself than to Gore. He had saved her from death, but hadn't it been his fault?

[Arclite]

No Dragon cared enough about humanity to consider the lowly creatures owing them a debt. Not even in ancient times. After all, they -were- children. They lived in a blink of an eye while Dragons were beyond centuries old. Even if the younger generation of the race grew up without knowing their real heritage or culture, it didn't mean a handful didn't remain. After all, The Blood Dragon was a testament to such. Stories would continue being told of him until time itself would meet its end. What human could ever understand -that- kind of impact on the world? They held their wars that claimed multiple lives, but that was delivered over a large group of people taking another's life. The Blood Dragon fought the realm and from the way it looked? He could win that fight. A realm that grew without him still seemed to have trouble collecting just -one- of him. How could a Human ever compare?
Though there were many who would say that the Blood Dragon got his title for a reason, that others of his kind wouldn't be able to handle what the mighty beast before the hunters eyes could. True or not, it looked as if Gore would not go quietly into that dark night. Hah! As if he'd let these tiny pathetic insects take the glory of downing the last true warrior of his people! The honor wasn't deserved, not by these people and -certainly- not by the wretched woman who was after him now.

Honor though was written as something different to mankind it seemed. The Blood Dragon held that word close to his heart, even if some of his actions were more out of rage then that of a true warriors spirit. He couldn't justify some of his actions, nor would he try to. Judging himself is all he could do, not that he would -ever- allow any human to do that for him. Those..THINGS! Took his people, his brothers and sisters and turned them into something less than dirt. Even if he were a monster in their eyes, the Blood Dragon knew who the real beasts in this world were, and they weren't giant, they weren't menacing. No, they were schemers and plotters and liars and betrayers..
Then if he really thought that, why save the girl before him? That question wasn't just in the humans mind, but his as well. Perhaps he wanted to believe there was hope for her people, or maybe he wanted to make her feel as small as he possibly could, to let one person survive his onslaught against her race..Maybe, just maybe? He was lonely. Centuries alone would be enough to drive anyone to do something without rhyme or reason. Even if it -was- a Human.
Despite any reason known at the moment, he still continued to try and protect her from her own people. After all, who knows? Rosalie may just see who the real monsters are. Even if he did take some pleasure in knowing he was one of the creatures that haunted the dreams of man.

The sky held no cover, but it -was- a flyers domain, making Gore take refuge in it for a brief time. When his teal eyes fell upon the girls, he saw something he didn't think he would. For a brief moment, he could have sworn he saw..no..he couldn't have! That is purely insane!..but was it? Could she have been grateful for his attempts to keep her safe? Just for a second, he smiled. Wrong or not, it was a feeling that he hadn't felt in so long, a feeling that -this- one human seemed to show for him more times than not, earlier in the rain and maybe even now.
When she spoke, The Blood Dragon let out a 'Hrumph' sound, genuinely curious as to what she would say next. That is until he was hit and they both began to fall. Ballistae in the days of old would have trouble aiming so quickly, so it would seem that Gore would need to react quicker in this modern time. Being away from people for so long truly was a disadvantage and if these insects were smart, they -would- end his life if given the chance. Even if he didn't think they deserved such an honor, if given the chance to learn from his mistakes like these battles, he would use what he would learn and leave a scar much bigger than he ever had before in the history of mankind. Some would call him ruthless and maybe he was, but none other stood up for his people..

Was that what he wanted? Gore had been thinking of what he would do and where he would go after the Hunters found his den, so it wasn't as if he had an answer right this moment.. Though his heart was leading him toward reclaiming the war he abandoned so long ago, To show Humankind and Dragonkin alike that there was something greater out there, that slavery wasn't going to stop ones spirit from raging on. So perhaps that was what he would do if he made it out of this..

After he crashed into the ground, he slowly began working the wing that was now slightly bent the wrong way, as if he was trying to re-position it so that it could be used for flight. Whether it could or not remained to be seen, not that it mattered. The Blood Dragon still moved with an aggression and determination to end Marian's life. That woman made him angry and the Blood Dragon couldn't quite explain why. he just felt this strong urge to find her and rend her into pieces and that was good enough for him!
The Dragon stared at the girl on his back that seemed to stammer out of fear, making him tilt his head at her. Was she really this fragile? As far as he was concerned, she had NO right in saying this was too much. Had she lived a small portion of his life, she would have seen the cruelty and horror that -her- people have done! Every life Gore took, that -any- Dragon took was a small drop in a puddle compared to the massive ocean of terrible things mankind had done to them.
In response to her saying this, the Blood Dragon snarled, moving his face closer to her as he barred his fangs at the girl. Actually showing a bit of resentment toward the girl upon his back. Though there was anger in his eyes, there was also a bit of sorrow too. Knowing that Mankind cared so little for the awful things done was common knowledge, even to a Dragon that was so out of place in modern day, but to actually see and experience it first hand? Gore found his heart growing heavy to know the plights of his brothers and sisters were just overlooked and scoffed at. His snarl or anger didn't linger toward her though, after all..there was still a raven haired woman out there that wanted to claim him for whatever sick means she had in mind..The Blood Dragon -would not- disappoint her..

Finding the woman under his claw, the Blood Dragon just roared at her, snapping his jaws to show just how easily he could rip through her armor and body like she was nothing. He so wanted to make this moment last, actually considering on taking his human form so he could cut her in a smaller way than his massive claws could at the moment. That is until she spoke in that same taunting voice she had earlier. With a snarl, fire slowly began to burn in his mouth as if he were ready to burn her. That is when he felt something he had not felt in centuries, something that made the fire in his mouth die out immediately, causing him to pull his claw away from Marian and jump up, whipping his tail around Marian, pulling her with him. Carrying both humans, he managed to make it out of the barrier, landing a few feet away with a skid across the ground, kicking up dirty as he went. Looking at the barrier now, he could see it clearly, making him hurl Marian away like she was trash. It wasn't too hard, far from enough to kill her. But he had something FAR worse to worry about. Taking a step back, he snarled, seeing the tendrils of light shoot out toward him, making him blast a wave of fire at it, knocking it back and obliterating it before it reached him, only to have another slam into his side, making Gore stumble and cough out blood.
The attack seemed to actually take the wind from the Dragon, but not enough to make him stop fighting. He slammed his tail down over the Tendril, making it shatter, immediately after taking flight so he could get away.

If he managed to make the distance, he'd wrap his tail around Rosalie gently, setting her down before looking at her in a quick motion, there was no anger, just concern and even fear.
Looking down at the ground, his fire blasted out in a concentrated burst, slamming his claw down next to it before taking off. If Rosalie waited a few moments, when the fire died down, it wouldn't just be scorch marks in the dirt..no, it was markings..letters that formed words and words that read out;
'Run! Stay safe!'

Whether Gore cared for the girl or not, it didn't matter. He didn't want anyone to be near what he was facing and he knew that something dark was behind such power. Though just as he took off from her, he felt the tendrils shoot up and through him, actually impaling him before throwing him into the ground, causing more tree's to splinter and break around him.
As he hit the ground, blood poured from his form, giving out a whimper from just how badly he was wounded. Helping the girl distracted him long enough to give the two attackers enough time to do what they wanted. But as the barrier began to form around him again, Gore quickly stood up, letting out a blast of fire, making the unbreakable prison fill with flame and just as it was about to close, he shot out of it, furling his wings mid flight before he starting blasting the forest with fire, he didn't know where they were but that didn't matter. The tendrils shot out at him, making Gore quickly roll out of the way, using his wings like a shield, slamming the magical attack away, He continued playing an aggressive evasive game, until he saw two humans on the ground, chanting.

As soon as his teal eyes fell on them, The Blood Dragon dropped and hard, landing only a few yards away with a such a loud thud, it sent a shockwave out in the ground that was followed by a roar that was filled with anger and defiance! Just the sight of these people made Gore's scales crawl, they seemed to be more advanced than the last casters he encountered, but they were still going to die just like them!
He charged at them, letting out a breath of fire into the ground, causing it to spread out as if the flames themselves were alive, shooting toward the two. The Blood Dragon seemed to desperately want to claim the lives of these two, completely forgetting about Marian.

With the wounds Gore had suffered, it wouldn't be long before he fell. He already felt his claws and legs shaking from the strength he was losing from the blood loss and pain. Just the fact that he was still fighting was a marvel, let alone how well he was doing.
Aisen held out his hands, trying to form an enchant to assault the massive Dragon that was heading their way. A red wall was right..but they had to keep focused or else the Blood Dragon would end up killing them as well.

"Delna! Stop him!" Said the man as massive tendrils shot out, hitting Gore right in the head, only to have the massive Dragon break through them. Determination was beyond reason this point as he just kept coming. Nothing was going to stop him from killing these corrupted people! After all, it was them who took his only friends!