The days are filled with fighting. They battle bumbles and webwings between rough grass and nodding flowers at first, then cautiously start making their way into the forest along a half-forgotten, winding path. They feast on the spoils of their efforts, and grow quickly. Dex is the smallest of them, lean and fast with large wings, more happy to take to the air than most Mirrors, while Feral is a merciless, muscle-bound battering ram. True to her name, she knows no fear, and Ara privately thinks that if any of them is going to be the best warrior in Sornieth, it's her. Of course, Mitri outstrips them all by far in size and weight, but he doesn't share the fierce hunter-instinct of the twins. He's sweet and good-natured, and always willing to take a hit for a team mate. Ara... likes him. A lot.
It takes her a little while to realize this, how she always seeks his company when she can, how his cheer makes any day brighter, even when the wind blows from the heart of the Ashfall Wastes and covers the sky in smoke so thick it's murky twilight at noon.
For a little while, they stay in that same cave Mitri showed her the first night, but with the twins added, it was a tight fit for four dragons even then. Ara didn't exactly mind curling up against Mitri, one of his wings draping over her shoulders, but with the way they all grow, it was obvious they had to find some other shelter before long.
So when they're exploring the forest, and Feral comes running back from scouting ahead excitedly, crests and wings flaring, Ara meets Mitri's eyes, answers his bright grin, and they all follow Feral as she dashes back into the forest.
Away from the path, it's a rich, green jungle, the loam soft and moist under their feet, saplings brushing against their hides as they make their way deeper into the trees. Ara can't help glancing around nervously. So far, they've never encountered anything they couldn't handle (or flee from), but... they've never been so far from the sunlit safety of the mountain side. What if they run into some other dragons? Or, worse, some of the Beastclans? Ara remembers her father's stories about fierce Centaurs in the woods, their spears and arrows crafted from razor-sharp obsidian to pierce a dragon's hide.
After a good quarter of an hour's run, sunlight breaks through the trees ahead in bright shafts, dust motes dancing in it. It blinds her for a moment as she follows Mitri, who easily pushes through the undergrowth with bulk. She halts, blinking, until Mitri raises a wing over her head to block out the glare.
They're standing on a lava flow that's cut a swathe through the forest, smooth black rock under their feet, fringed by the stumps of burned trees. It's long cold and hardened, and grasses and small bushes are peeking up from cracks and folds in the stone. Feral is already half-way across, bright against the dark volcanic rock. She looks back at them, flares her wings impatiently, then points across to the other side. There's something there, just past the edge of the lava flow, covered in greenery, but it's too regular in shape for a rock. It's an old temple, Ara realizes as they hurry across. It's overgrown with ferns and trees, but most of the big, square stones are still fitted tightly underneath. There's a courtyard, deeper than the current level of the ground, and beyond that the temple itself, a ceiling supported by big square pillars, like an artificial cave under its hood of trees.
Ferrie sits down, flexes her crests smugly, and Dex laughs and hugs her, then turns and grins at them.
“This is so cool! Come on, let's explore!”
Ara gives the dark opening a doubtful look. “Are you sure? We don't know what could be down there...”
Dex whines in the back of his throat, dances on his feet. “C'
mon, Ara! It's an adventure!” He gives Mitri a pleading look. “You want to go, right? Right?”
Mitri ducks his head sheepishly as he meets Ara's eyes. “Yeah.” He nudges her shoulder with his nose. “We'll stick together, and if we find anything dangerous, we can always run away. Right?”
Ara frowns, then sighs. “Yeah, alright then.” Truth is, she's curious, too.
Dex launches himself into the air with a hop and a flap of his wings for a second, then sidles up to Feral. “Let's go, let's go!”
Inside, the air is cool and still. At the entrance, the floor is covered in debris, but as they enter the darkness beyond, it's smooth flagstones. Their claws click on them with every step. Ara, Dex and Ferrie keep a bit of fire simmering around their lips, and in its light, they can see that the walls are covered in reliefs, pictures of dragons in all sorts of poses, depictions of what seem to be battles and quests.
Ara loses all sense of time, wandering around to study this carving and that, until a shout from Dex brings her out of her contemplation of what seems to be the story of a Guardian dragon searching for his Charge. Dex waves them into a side-room, and Ara sneezes as she enters– the air is strangely thick, prickling.
“Look!” Dex says in a half-whisper, points at a pile of flat stones against a wall. “I think... I think these are battle stones!”
Ara flares her wings in surprise, curls her tail tighter around her pearl, and hurries over. It's the smell of magic in the air, she realizes, and Dex is right: they are battle stones.
They all crowd around them, and Mitri raises a tentative hand to pull one stone from the pile, to study it.
Back home, they never were allowed near the battle stones– “Those are not for hatchlings!” RoyalGold would say, and usher them out of the Vault.
Dex grins, all four orange eyes gleaming. “Battle stones!” he says, low but excited. “The things we can learn with these...!”
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tigressRising
