The Darkest of Dragons

Giving a final huff of effort, the damnable bush came loose from the earth and the dear little dragoness nearly toppled over from the sudden jerk. Twisting her tail around she caught herself and dropped the bush to the side, using her tail to delicately brush off any of the thorns, twigs or leaves that had caught on her scales or in her mane. Looking at her building pile she sighed and shook her head. It seemed to be a losing battle. The forests roots grew strong, and once in the ground they were hard to remove, and beyond that, their seeds spred like wildfire thanks to the natural fauna around the area. The plants were simply too hardy, too well adapted to well, adapting, and even then whoever had planted them had known to pick shrubs from the underbrush, the ones who rarely saw the light of day regardless of the weather. Without a word she simply continued to pile up the mess her own had left, before shuffling on to the next bush that caught her gleaming eye.

Time dragged by and as it did she couldn't help but to smile softly at all the strange wildlife that came out to look at her. She did have to admit that she must look quite a site. Such a starke white dragon gliding through the light of the moon in such a shadowy area, clearing out the plants that had somehow found their way into the wrong territory. A strange sight indeed to creatures who were used to such dark colours or bright colours. Shaking her head in mirth she went to shuffle on before faltering as the sound of a voice and crackling fire wafted through the otherwise still night air. Peeking her curiosity she stopped what she was doing and turned, gliding over the earth and through the fog towards the sounds. Large eyes stared out curiously as she saw a strange, talking shadow swirling around, seconds before it halted and suddenly seemed to vanish, everything growing silent. Cocking her head to the side she continued to peer on in silence, her scales glowing faintly in the moonlight as she attempted to peer through the shadows to see who was headed her way, completely unaware of the danger that was headed her way. Catching sight of the orange flicker of flames she tilted her head to the other side and glided forwards across the land slightly, her wings and tail rippling out behind her like water, glimmering in the bright moonlight.

Before she knew what had happened a sickly yet powerful looking mirror was launching himself at her fragile looking form, charging at her with a growl and a snarl across his face. For a moment her heart skipped a beat and she froze, her eyes growing even wider than before, and a second after she was up in the air, gliding past through the trees and, for just a fleeting moment, disappearing amongst the clouds. Dipping back down further away from the group, yet still able to see the Fae and the Mirror, she narrowed her eyes slightly. Sudden movements, twists, turns and speed came natural to her, only enhanced and heightened by her life in the forest. There, she had no choice but to learn to be fast and to dodge and move abruptly and without warning, if she didn't she'd face no lunch or broken bones, not the best idea on how to spend her time, personally. In all of her sudden movements, dodging the attack and her curiosity forcing her to stay and remain in their vicinity, she'd breathed not a word nor stirred nothing but the wind. With a beat of her wings she slipped off through the forest once more, seeming to vanish like a ghost in the night before whirling in a fair distance away, but at the other side of Deruge. Finally, she spoke.
"Who are you... what are you?" she breathed softly, her voice drifting through the wind in a soft, exotic husky tone, an ancient voice whispered seemingly by the wind itself.
Her green eyes narrowed at Deruge, though not in anger, more akin to naive curiosity upon something she didn't understand nor comprehend. The continued to examine his form, raking themselves over every taught muscle and infested scale or piece of flesh, though now weary of him, she continued to shift and glide through the darkness, her paws never once seeming to touch the ground as she moved. And then, without a word, she vanished from sight entirely, her speed and grace serving her well this night.

As quickly as she vanished she reappeared as a white, ghostly blur over the canopy, a still bleeding and twitching doe like thing dropping down onto the ground, her white scales smeared with crimson. She may be of the forest, but even there it was understood, life meant death, and death meant life. Perching high up upon a branch she continued to peer down at the strange group in silence once more, her large eyes blinking slowly as she watched from afar.
"I wouldn't bother trying to eat me. You won't find yourself much of a meal on my bones, I'm afraid, so have at that instead. Now, who are you, what are you, and why are you so close to the boundary to the Labyrinth? All of you, I mean. Your shadowy friend and flame loving Fae included. And.." her melodic voice fell to the wind as she seemed to bite her lip as she peered down at the strange plague infested dragon, before finally seeming to gain the courage to creep further down the tree to stare at him and his infested back, seeming to find herself drawn towards the strange life form rather than to shy from it, "What... what is on your back..?"
She'd never been outside of her forest, she'd never seen anything that lay beyond, and tonight she'd stumbled across something so akin to her kind, yet so drastically different, how could a young dragoness not find herself enraptured by it? There she perched, up in mangled trees in a haunted looking forest, as white as a ghost and blood covered, seeming to stare death in the face and not flinch nor shy from it, if anything she was drawn to it.








(( *giggles* These guys are awesome. Well, Crazy and Malik are. Actually, I adore Malik. There's just something about him..! *flops on him and rolls around* And yes. Opalescence is crazy and seems to have danger deficit disorder. Seriously. I just. I don't even. OTL At least she's fast and used to having to duck and dodge and weave, not to mention being a skydancer she's already born with a natural talent for it. She also doesn't seem to comprehend that a larger built male from a different flight miiiiiiight not be the best to stick around near, even if she is up in a tree and 'away' from him. Especially when you factor in he just growled and charged at you. Silly. Silly. Girl. OTL ))

Opalescence remained in her spot, passively staring at the mirror who seemed to be just a little more than on edge. She made no motion to move, but she was no fool; she remained light on her feet with her wings at the ready, should the grouchy looking male decide he wanted to attempt to turn her into food again. Though her eyes never left the infected brute, her ears remained tuned to Malik's every word and movement, every little shuffle of leaf litter, and every little scratch of talons or scales upon the earth. For a dragon so stealthy, he certainly knows how to be noisy... For all her good intentions of keeping an eye on Deruge, the crazy little Fae was enough to draw her eye to him as he went on his first little rant. There were no words for his rant. Honestly, she should just fly off and leave them all here to whatever danger Malik was hinting towards. One seemed to want to tear into her flesh and stain her ivory scales crimson, another she feared would teach the impressionable young hatchlings to set themselves on fire, and the last? Pausing, she turned to look at Malik now, ignoring the little Fae for the time being. Well... they're not all so bad, I suppose... Dangerous and mad? Certainly. Every last one of them. But he doesn't seem so bad...

Just as she grew more open to sticking around, Deruge decided to inform her that sleep was for the weak, with the undertone of since she needed to sleep, therefore she was weak. Yet again it was Malik who came to the brutes verbal rescue, and she couldn't help but to smirk a little and muffle a bit of a snort of amusement as the shadow called him insane, and then not so smoothly covered it up. Once more, however, Deruge interrupted and ruined the moment. Slowly, she turned her head to look at the mirror, her eyes narrowing into a fiery little glare.
"What did you just say to me?" Sure. Ok. It was a bit of a snappy tone, and probably not her brightest idea, but it wasn't like it was unjustified. "I am not some little familiar you can go and bark and order at and just expect to have it done. If you want help, you ask for it. You damn well don't go insulting the dragon you want to help you, and then go demanding it anyway."
Hearing Malik's voice to her left she stopped her snap from continuing on further and moved to look at him, or well his eyes. She didn't know this forest. He did. For all she knew if she left them now they'd be dead by the midday sun. The sight of Crazy hiding behind a small branch was enough. A soft sigh left her lips and she hung her head for a moment, before looking back up to Malik.
"I'll escort you into the Labyrinth, and find us a safe place to den down for a few hours sleep before the sun rises. And no, I don't care what you say, Deruge. Sleep is necessary for the mind to calm and the body to repair itself. If you're headed into the Labyrinth, you play by it's rules. If you don't.." She allowed her voice to fade as she turned around and began to walk off through the forest, making a bee-line for the Viridian border. "They're not called the Shrieking Wilds for nothing, after all.. It's not as nice and easy living in the Labyrinth as some would believe."

Her warning given, she walked in silence, years of experience allowing her to not rustle a single leaf, nor snap a single twig, gliding through the forest like the ghostly apparition she appeared to be. As she walked, her hips swayed in reverse time to her tail, a tail that should she have been a cat, would clearly state she was less than enthused right now. She should be happy, right? She'd finally found dragons who listened to her (somewhat), and paid attention to her (kind of). Yet she honestly felt more like she was baby sitting one of them, trying not to lead another off a cliff face or into a group of wildclaws. At least there was one, she reminded herself, that she didn't find too annoying. Reaching the boundary between Malik's land and her own she stepped over it and relished the feel of the soft green grass, the sound of trickling water and the site of all the flowers. Taking a few more steps into the gardens she looked around, quickly finding a large enough open area she wandered over to it before sitting down, facing the borders.
"Come on. We'll bed here for the night. I need some rest and it will take too long to get to the Wilds. You, crazy little Fae, don't go starting any fires unless you want predators coming in after us. I'm fast enough to get away, and this is home grounds for me. The best you lot could manage is to pray you were fast enough to make it back to the shadow lands." It was a simple enough explanation, and she didn't seem inclined to do anything but that as she sank down to the ground and nestled into the grass, though her eyes remained on the males.
For a moment she wondered if she should take the time to explain to them that they shouldn't go sniffing certain flowers, eating certain berries, or poking certain pods. Actually, she probably should have told them not to do or touch anything in the area. Sure, there were plenty of little animals running around, fish in the water, and fruit dangling down within easy reach, and sure, it looked all beautiful and friendly and safe, but it always left a bitter aftertaste if one didn't know what they were doing. There were flowers whose pollen made a dragon sleep for a week and thorns that oozed a poison that left them writhing in agony for days on end, while others who's pollen made certain instinctive drives more obvious. There were seed pods who'd explode out and get their spiky little burrs stuck under a dragon's scales, leaving them with a near incurable itch till the seed finally came loose, while others whose fruit made one's rump run worse than the Gladeveins. The list could go on and on, so perhaps she should have mentioned something... But then again, one of them was an ass, the other was a potential danger to the children, and the final she figured was smart enough to have already presumed he shouldn't touch anything. Deciding she didn't care, she tucked her face under her own wing before flipping her tail up and around herself, a soothing breeze ruffling through her feathers as a final goodnight call. Come morning, she'd decide if she'd actually help them find a tree, or if she'd just fly the hell off and leave them there to the Labyrinth's mercy.

As Deruge growled his approval of her offer, and Malik drew closer a soft trill bubbled from her lips. Turning to look at Malik a faint smile appeared as she bobbed her head towards him, thankful that she hadn't gone and offended him or pushed the boundaries she'd gone and completely forgotten about. Laughing softly, she shook head towards the shadow dragon.
"Oh, no. I didn't think you would teach me how to fight. You don't look like the type of dragon to foolishly rush into acts of violence. It was a request directed to Deruge, considering he attempted to turn me into food and how savagely he tore into the provided meal, I presumed such a request was right up his alley. Thankfully, he seems to be more than willing~" her voice little more than a soft, reassuring purr, her eyes forced themselves to tear away from Malik's scales and to turn and look at Deruge with calculating, inquisitive eyes.
Unfortunately for the young dragoness, by the time she'd returned her gaze to the plague-beast, listening to every words he'd breathed, he was up and in the tree. Three dragons in one small tree. She began to have her doubts about Deruge's intelligence as she shifted around, instantly coming to put herself between Deruge and Malik, her wings flaring out to further hide the shadow and to push him back, cautious eyes upon his form. As he breathed she turned her head and beat her wings, forcing the breath to have no choice but to travel downwind and away from herself and Malik. Relaxing a little as Deruge explained his reasoning her inquisitive side took over once more and she couldn't help but to watch in silence as the life around them wilted and turned a sickly brown, wilting and rotting within seconds. It fascinated her, how quickly one simple Breath could cause so much death. She'd never seen such a thing before in her whole life.

Next thing she knew Malik was demanding they head off and Crazy was jibbering on about something or another, she wasn't too sure what, but she was quite certain she didn't care to know. Bowing her head in return to Deruge she gave a small rumbling purr of thanks.
"We can hunt while Malik sleeps. We can move more at night, that way." she murred to her new acquaintance before spreading her wings and taking to the air.
Circling high above the group for a moment she dove before banking, settling into gliding and lazily beating her wings once every so often above the banks of the river, providing Malik with the promised shade for the shadow to reside in. Not only did she provide the cover of protection, but from up higher, she could see if any danger were headed their way and see across a larger expanse of land as well as provide a bright, shining object to draw attention away from the misfitted band calling themselves a flight below. The pace was kept brisk, yet not rushed. It was slow enough for those upon the ground to easily keep up and to take in all that they saw around them, while fast enough to allow them to reach the boundary of the Shrieking Wilds before the midday sun was upon them.

Once close enough to the true forest Opalescence allowed herself to bank and drift, gliding down to gently land upon the ground at the border. Being so close she trusted that the shadow dragon would have rushed off and into the protective and dense shadows of the trees within seconds of drawing near enough, so she no longer had to worry about providing the agreed upon protective shadow, however she did not move to continue on straight away into the depths of the dark, foreboding forest.
Glancing to Malik, she trilled softly, "Find a spot high up in the trees, bed yourself down in the shadows and rest. We'll continue on at sundown. Crazy," She turned now to look at the fiery little Fae, "Go... oh I don't know... Go see how many dragonflies you can turn into fireflies, yeah? I have something I want to show Deruge..."
For a moment her eyes lingered on Deruge's tainted form before she turned her gaze towards the forest and slipped into the deep shadows of the wild abyss, her movements slow and purposeful, feline in their manner as once more her hips swayed in reverse time to her tail. Pausing just inside of the Wilds, she turned to look back towards Deruge, to see if he was indeed following.
"Come on... I want to show you how life starts here in the Labyrinth. I think you'll enjoy it~" Her voice was a soft, low purr as she looked at him, a mischievous little gleam in her eyes before she slipped off and into the dense forest, gliding through and once more taking on her ghostly appearance, more so than before when compared to the lush life around them.

Moving through the forest without a sound she lead him ever deeper before seeming to completely disappear, the only hint of her being her scent as it drifted upon the wind, soft and fruity with just a touch of musk, like the forest after the rain. The mix of her own scent and the forest scent when paired with the wind and the rustle of the leaves gave the illusion of her being everywhere yet no where, all at once. Without warning she shifted out from behind a tree just a few feet from him, her eyes upon him once more, a little smile curving her lips. Silently, she turned herself away from him before hunkering her front half down, leaving her rump swaying in the air for a moment, before she stood back, a root of a bush in her mouth. Giving a firm beat of her wings she provided herself the extra strength necessary to uproot the poor bush, tossing it carelessly to the side before stepping away to reveal to Deruge the whole reason she'd invited him out and into the forest with her. Before them lay a dead tree, it's ancient trunk half rotten and covered in disease and all sorts of fungi and insects, all slowly working away at devouring what they could of the once mighty tree, other forms of plant life already sinking their roots deep into it's body and blooming, all reaching out and striving towards what little sunlight was left. As they stood there, birds and animals flitted in and out, snatching up the plants, the fungus and the insects, while others aimed for the smaller animals and birds. It was an endless cycle of death. Even in the mess the uprooting of the tree had left, bones and putrid flesh was visible, the plant clearly having thrived on the nutrients whatever poor dead animal's carcass had provided to the soil. Even at their feet the leaf litter was a mix of freshly fallen and rotting leaves, more insects and fungi and disease slowly eating away at it, breaking it down and returning it once more to the soil the whole labyrinth bloomed from. Turning back to look at Deruge she trilled softly at him, stepping closer to him once more.
"I told you," she purred softly, "The Labyrinth isn't as gentle and loving as many would believe. If it weren't for death, there would be no life. It is an endless cycle, and one that forces us to evolve and adapt, as fast as we can so that we can survive. It's why I am so fast. As an abandoned egg that was just so lucky enough to wind up hatching, no one to learn from, no flight to protect me, I had to learn how to survive. Wildclaws are fast, and when in their territory you'd either be something they'd rather not feast upon, or quick enough and smart enough to avoid them." She stepped closer again, now only a foot from him, her eyes blazing and intense, "I had to learn to be fast. A hatchling couldn't take on a full pack of adult Wildclaws... but I'm not a hatchling, now, nor am I alone. I don't want to have to run, I want to be able to fight, to be strong. I don't have a flight. I don't have anyone to protect me, not like every other dragon in this forest. I have to be able to protect myself. I'm certain your reasons for being here aren't as innocent as what Malik made them out to be, but I don't care. Not so long as you keep to your part of the deal, and you teach me. Burn this place to the ground, flood it with disease. I don't care. Just teach me. Be my Master, and let me be your student, at least until you've done what you came here to do and leave."
She was so close, now, and in the dim light at such close a range her slender face revealed what usually remained a hidden little reminder of her dangerous childhood. A scar marred her otherwise perfect scales, starting just below her left eye and coursing down over her cheek. It had faded and lightened, showing it's age, but it had been a wound that had almost cost her an eye, and a constant reminder as to why she wanted to be different, to why she understood that the Labyrinth wasn't a gentle, friendly place.

Without waiting for an answer she leapt over him and landed upon a large, ancient oak. As quick as the wind she scuttled up it, shifting up and onto a branch, her tail flicking and beckoning him to follow. Nestling down, her trained gaze fell to the forest below, the familiar chatter of Wildclaws reaching her ears. Instinctively she shifted around on the branch, her ears back and her tail twitching. The sound of them being so close made her uncomfortable and twitchy, even so she remained decently still, and as silent as ever. Her breath steady and slow she glanced back to Deruge before looking out to where she heard the pack.
"This is their hunting grounds. This is where I first learned the importance of never letting your guard down, and fighting through pain." Her voice was soft and hushed, a slight tinge of hatred coursing through it as she almost spat the word 'their', as though it were made of poison, "You said we were going to hunt, and you were interested in wildclaws... well, now's the chance. Teach me how to hunt, how to fight like you."
She turned her gaze back to him as the rustle of leaves drew closer, the shrieking of small animals struggling for their life and having it quickly and cruelly snuffed out echoing around them. In her eyes was not fear, not of him, but of respect, admiration of sorts. In those pools of green it was clear that she'd follow him, his lead, his words, at least until they held lies that would harm her. She was flighty, that was her nature, that was what had kept her alive, so she knew when to 'fly the coop' as it were should she start to fear he would turn on her, but for now, he was her best chance, and one of the best fighters she'd seen.

Time seemed to be running in slow motion for the young dragoness as her mind reeled with the bloodied scene below her. For once, the Shrieking Wilds fell silent and still as the scent of death and decay filled the air around them.
"Wh-what... I... What did I..." Her voice was the faintest of whispers, so soft even she herself struggled to hear as her instincts ebbed and she, for the first time, truly looked at what she had done, what she had accomplished.
Crimson stained her previously pristine scales, blood soaking in deep and tainting her look of purity. Blood that, for the most part, was not her own. Bringing herself to a standstill she hovered midair and stared down at the forest below her, her chest rising and falling in a hard, steady beat as her heart rate finally settled and slowed. That was when she spotted Deruge, covered in deep wounds and his own blood, struggling to walk.

"Deruge!"

Her voice cried out through the forest as she watched him crumple to the ground and pass out, with a single beat of her wings forcing her way down to his side. Staring at him in horror she paced around him frantically, her heart once more racing as she tried to think of what to do.

"D-Dammit... No... Ugh you bastard... I thought you knew how to fight... you knew how to avoid strikes..!"

A soft hiss escaped her lips as she glared at his unconscious form. Glancing about the forest she spotted some plants that would help stop the bleeding and heal them. Stepping away from Deruge she paused, glancing back to his figure nervously before quickly dashing off, snapping up the plants and rushing back. Nestling down beside him she stared at his back, unsure of how safe it was for her to actually go and help him, but upon looking at the wounds again she took a deep breath and drew in closer. One by one she applied the slather of pulp and leaves to his wounds, staunching the bleeding and helping to disinfect and heal the damage done. Honestly she wasn't too sure how this would work on a Plague dragon, she'd only ever done such thing to wounded nature dragons before. For all she knew this could make him much, much worse, but it was something she had to risk. Once satisfied with her work she drew back to give it one final look over, before tending to her own wounds, though thankfully none were as deep as his own, her speed not allowing the Wildclaws to sink their tallons nor fangs in too deep. With both of their wounds tended to she finally relaxed a little and nestled down, curling her body as best she could around Deruge, without actually having to touch him, and kept a watchful eye and ear out for anything dangerous that came their way. He had helped her learn to fight. He had helped her take her revenge. She owed him a debt, and to simply leave him there, bloodied and weakened and at the mercy of the Labyrinth was no way to repay such a debt.

As time drew by she continued to watch over Deruge, a worried expression falling over her face as she fretted wether or not he'd be able to heal on his own. Did Plague dragons heal? Deciding it would be best not to risk it she allowed her eyes to flutter shut and reached deep within herself, before singing a soft, ancient tune. As she did, magic tingled through the air in soft, unseen tendrils, inching towards and over Deruge, working at helping to heal him as she waited. She'd need to eat, after this, and to sleep. Lots of sleep. But she'd made a deal, a promise, with this dragon, and she had no intentions on backing out by letting him die.