Creative Corner

@Fuurin I'm glad you're happy :3

@Murklin @LagMonster @Gallows @Cewientje @Tedium @Kizmetto @AerinCantator @caperantagonist @Fuurin @VictoryInSolace @Survivors @Chloraphyll @Khoshekh @Stormdragon @Scyras @Almaren @Sinsational @Sellenair @Charias @Digimon11 @Katerrn @Shalzuku @Caeoltoiri @nindeanwa @Lyel @Tiirran @sykotikkytten @TawnyOwl @tigressRising @tsaarn @ediblepandas @Ariya @Maddiebird @MasqD @winterbright [i]Well I meant to do an update on the 15th, but uh ... I've been listening to the Adventure Zone, and it is legitimately one of the best things in like ever, so like ... it was a while before I ran out of that and could return to this physical plane of existence to post the next one of these. This is an unashamed advertisement for a D&D podcast, so if you like D&D, stupid jokes, incredible worldbuilding/plot, podcasts, or just are generally a human who exists and has internet, you should go listen to the Adventure Zone. Fortunately though, it's not like the update didn't already exist, so here it is. The second one of these Shianzar/Derianda pieces, it's a nice little lead into the climax of this arc.[/i] [u]Shianzar[/u] After searching for suitable food for the hatchling for several hours with hardly any luck, Shianzar returned to where he'd left the child. The blasted thing rushed forwards and started meeping [i]again[/i]. [img]http://flightrising.com/dgen/preview/dragon?age=0&body=22&bodygene=0&breed=6&element=8&gender=1&tert=60&tertgene=0&winggene=0&wings=25&auth=c26ec7587bd2f5ae7b72084c03489af7bfbd3f23&dummyext=prev.png[/img] “Shut up!” he hissed. “You'll give our position away!” It pulled away from him for a moment, but seeing (or probably smelling) what he was carrying, it resumed its awful noise even louder than before. It wouldn't shut up until he put the small collection of moss he'd managed to gather down in front of it. The Tundra hatchling wolfed the lot without pause, and then turned its golden eyes up to him and meeped pitifully. “That's all you're getting,” he growled at it, and it meeped louder. “No! That's all there is!” He turned away to find a place to rest after his toil. He climbed a rubble pile that he thought might be too steep for the hatchling, but after getting comfortable and closing his eyes, he felt fluff brush his skin. He shut his eyes tighter, but it pawed his nose until he lifted his head to snap at it. It pulled back for a moment, but before he had the time to put his head back down, it rushed in between his forepaws and curled up. Shianzar glared down at the hatchling, but it seemed to be asleep already. He decided that it would almost certainly wake up if he tried to move it, and then it would go back to demanding food. Getting it out from under his chin was definitely not worth the noise. He laid his head back over its furry body and tried to sleep. [u]Derianda[/u] In his sleep, the frown melted from Shianzar's face, and he looked almost kind. The egg had hatched the day before, and Shianzar had spent a remarkable amount of energy searching for something to feed the little Tundra. Obviously, it had not been enough for her, but the fact he'd tried so hard was very promising. If only he could be relied upon to keep acting this well! She would have been happy beyond words to step out from behind this pile of rubble and drag him back to Tenora's clan. But Derianda knew his minor acts of kindness were probably just misleading. It would be better for everyone, Shianzar included, for him to stay as far away from other people as possible. Perhaps the hatchling would be good for him. Out here, away from anyone else, perhaps Shianzar could learn some modicum of kindness. Deri told herself this very firmly, despite her desire to rush out there and snatch the poor child from Shianzar's grasp before he could do anything cruel. Besides, that would give her position away, and if he knew she was nearby, it would be impossible to find him again for days. A sound of crumbling stone startled her from her vigil. She turned towards the noise rapidly, ready to attack. But what she saw was far worse than some marauding beast. “Deri! We found you!” Jiira's brown eyes filled with light and a huge grin cracked her face. From behind the same pile of rubble came three others from Tenora's clan: the Tundra, the male Mirror, and the Skydancer. “We came to bring you back, Deri!” Jiira said, a fraction too loud. Shianzar sat up suddenly, and turned towards the noise.

@argenteamoon im glad to see your still doing the nuzlocke! I havent played it in such a long time, but could you please remove me from the pinglist? :)

@Kizmetto I'd say yes of course immediately, but like ... any reason my story fails to interest you any longer? Like not a guilt trip and sure I'll take you off, I just ... huh.

@argenteamoon ive just lost interest in flight rising as a whole so im trying to reduce the pings ahhhhh

@Kizmetto well ... okay then :3 I guess I'll see you later, or not, whichever the case may be :3 If you ever find yourself with the energy, I'll be here :3

@Murklin @LagMonster @Gallows @Cewientje @Tedium @AerinCantator @caperantagonist @Fuurin @VictoryInSolace @Survivors @Chloraphyll @Khoshekh @Stormdragon @Scyras @Almaren @Sinsational @Sellenair @Charias @Digimon11 @Katerrn @Shalzuku @Caeoltoiri @nindeanwa @Lyel @Tiirran @sykotikkytten @TawnyOwl @tigressRising @tsaarn @ediblepandas @Ariya @Maddiebird @MasqD @winterbright

Here's the next one. The changes after this point get less and less, but I think I tried to add more explanation to why Marl acts the way he does in this scene.


Entry 34 – Confrontation
As soon as Jiira had laid eyes on the Guardian, she'd shot forward without warning. Marl and the others didn't have much of a choice to follow her as she abandoned any sign of having a plan.

“We came to bring you back, Deri!” Jiira had flat-out yelled.

The Guardian had looked alarmed, and then horrified when a low drawn out hiss came from nearby. Marl caught sight of Shianzar a short distance away, eyes narrowed in the direction of the commotion. It took only seconds for him to bend, grab something between his paws with his mouth, and make a dash for it. Derianda surged after him without pause.

“Come on!” Jiira shouted, and ran after them. Marl let his feet follow her.

It was several seconds before Cater and Kiterata caught up though, because they'd chosen to fly rather than engage in a footrace with a Guardian and a pack of Mirrors. Marl wasn't sure how long the chase went on for, but it took them through rather a lot of twisty alleys and passageways in the ruins that Cater and Kiterata had to fly over or around.

Shianzar was obviously still determined to lose his pursuers, and Derianda was equally unwilling to give up. She ploughed straight through several of the obstacles, which meant that even Marl had to fly over, rather than risk getting crushed as the masonry crashed down. Jiira was apparently too close to Derianda to be in danger from the falling rubble though, and Marl lost sight of her more than once.

By the time Marl had finally caught up with the three leading the chase, Derianda had pounced onto her Charge and was arguing with both him and Jiira while an incessant meeping filled the air.

“I absolutely cannot come back, Jiira, I have to watch over my Charge. As I said when I left, he is far too volatile to allow near your clan,” he heard Derianda saying as he got close enough. It was around then that Cater and Kiterata landed as well.

“Let me out, you're smothering Marita!” Shianzar howled.

“Marita?” Jiira asked curiously.

Derianda reached under herself to withdraw a small, golden-eyed Tundra hatchling. Shianzar snarled in rage as the hatchling was placed on the ground and meeped pitifully.
“There, she can breathe now,” Derianda told Shianzar.

“Don't let her get cold, you madwoman! And you! Get away from her!” Shianzar managed to wriggle his head out from under Derianda and snapped his jaws at Jiira, who had been sniffing the hatchling, before dragging the ball of blue fluff back towards his Guardian's bulk. The little Tundra snuggled close to his head in fright.

“Where'd he get that?” Jiira demanded.

“He found her egg in the rubble, if you must know,” Derianda said. “Now please, I must ask you to leave. I will not be returning with you.”

“What? You have to! We came all this way to tell you we don't care if Shianzar's a huge jerk! You shouldn't have to put up with him alone!”

Derianda let out a sharp breath. “Listen to me, Jiira. I cannot accept anyone's help with my Charge. He is my burden, and my burden alone, to deal with. And I have now seen evidence he would respond better to solitude than being forced to live with others.”

“Are you going to leave me alone then?” Shianzar growled.

“No, of course not.”

“But Deri, what about you?” Jiira said plaintively.

“My wishes do not come into it, I am afraid.”

“That's stupid!”

Derianda opened her mouth to reply, but Cater got in first. “Derianda?” The Guardian's dark eyes turned towards him. “Tenora said that Shianzar wasn't the worst dragon she'd ever met, and that she'd want you to come back even if he had been.”

“She did say that.” Derianda sounded wary.

“I've known Tenra my whole life, and she wouldn't have said that unless she meant it,” the Tundra continued. “There were dragons among the founders who could cause as much trouble as Shianzar. One of them was a male Ridgeback called Lorez who was in a relationship with Tenora when they were young. He started treating Tenra badly when their eggs didn't hatch. Malagrine, the original Matriarch, was going to chase him out, but one of the children of the other founders, a young Guardian named Delarita, claimed Lorez as her Charge. For Dela's sake, they let him stay. Eventually, she managed to make him less awful. Delarita was the only one he ever really cared about, but he did become one of the clan's defenders. But I heard her say once that she didn't think she'd have been able to handle him if she'd been forced to leave by him being exiled.”

There was silence after Cater finished his story. Marl knew some of it already, but had never heard the whole thing. And as for as long as he could remember, Delarita had always been a Ridgeback, although her parents were Guardians. Marl had thought that those stories about dragons changing their breeds was a myth though. He'd have to ask Cater about it some time.

Derianda seemed uncertain as she absorbed what Cater had told her.

“I think you should bring him back to the clan, Derianda,” Cater insisted. “It'd be better for both of you, because you'll be better at your duties as a Guardian if you have some company. Even if you can't have any help with him, you still need friends.”

“Yeah, Deri!” said Jiira. “You can't just not have friends!”

“I am sorry,” Derianda said, “it would be wrong of me to force you to deal with him. There is no way I can be sure he won't be unkind to you all.”

“He seems to be being nice to that hatchling,” Marl said helpfully. He surprised himself. He hadn't expected to actually try to help Jiira with her mission.

Shianzar's head jerked away from the little Tundra at Marl's words. It meeped incessantly at him until he put his head back within reach.

“See, he can't leave her alone,” Marl pointed out.

“Shhhhut up!” Shianzar snarled. “I've had enough of people talking about me like I'm not here!”

Somehow, Marl couldn't stop himself. “Okay then, Shianzar. What do you think would be the best scenario for everyone?”

@Murklin @LagMonster @Gallows @Cewientje @Tedium @AerinCantator @caperantagonist @Fuurin @VictoryInSolace @Survivors @Chloraphyll @Khoshekh @Stormdragon @Scyras @Almaren @Sinsational @Sellenair @Charias @Digimon11 @Katerrn @Shalzuku @Caeoltoiri @nindeanwa @Lyel @Tiirran @sykotikkytten @TawnyOwl @tigressRising @tsaarn @ediblepandas @Ariya @Maddiebird @MasqD @winterbright

You know since the theme of this arc is Guardian/Charge interactions, maybe "Pursuit" is the wrong name for it? Especially since that mostly is only Marl's half of the story. I really don't know what one word fits otherwise, so I guess it'll be Pursuit until I think of an alternative ...


Entry 35 – Duren's Charge
Before Zhara could recover from the surprise and say anything, the male Guardian continued speaking. “I must ask you to collect your own Charge and leave this place with me – it would not be safe for me to linger any longer.”

Zhara still seemed shocked by his sudden proclamation, and only managed to stutter “I'm sorry?”

“I am being hunted by two others who wish harm on me and my familiar.” Duren gestured to Fidelia. “Please, I must keep moving, but I cannot leave my Charge.”

“Well, that's a problem,” said Tenora.

“How is it an issue?” Duren asked peevishly. He turned to Zhara. “Surely you understand?”

“Yes, but …” Zhara said quietly.

“What is it?”

Zhara pulled back at the volume of Duren's voice, causing Dorian to step between them. “I am sorry, sir, Zhara's Charge is this clan. Even if we were all present, not all of us are well enough to travel.” He gestured at Tenora and the still-unconscious Nocturnes.

Duren looked horrified. “You can't be serious!”

“I am entirely serious, sir.”

“We can't stay here! Not with – with these people!”

“I'm sorry?” Tenora said almost in unison with Dorian saying, “Excuse me?” Zhara edged backwards away from Duren as if embarrased.

“I – I do not mean you, miss.”

Tenora stood up stiffly and moved to support the female Guardian. “You okay?” she said quietly.

Zhara nodded, her foreclaws digging into the rubble-covered ground.

“Hang on,” the realisation struck, “you're angry?”

“He insulted you,” Zhara said, too quietly for anyone else to hear.

“Please, I do not know what I can do now! I cannot remain here, but I cannot leave you either!” Duren seemed to be getting quite panicked. Zhara just looked away.

“What do you want to happen, Zhara?” Tenora prompted.

“I …” She clenched her forepaws into fists. “I want him to apologise to you.”

“Tell him then! Go on!”

The bright Guardian took a hesitant step forward. “You …” she began, looking back towards Tenora.

“Please –”

“You need to apologise to Tenora and Dorian.”

“I … what?” Duren seemed genuinely confused. “I am sorry, I did not intend to offend you.”

Zhara drew away from him in what Tenora had a feeling was disgust. “Is that what you wanted, Zhara?” Zhara's fists clenched again. “Tell him what he did wrong, then.”

“No,” Zhara said nervously. “Apologise to them.”

Duren looked shocked. “But I …” he stopped when Zhara pulled away from him again. He turned to Dorian and Tenora. “I am sorry. I should not have insinuated anything negative about your clan.”

“Is that a suitable apology, Zhara?” Dorian inquired.

“Yes,” she said quietly.

“Very well then! I accept your apology as well, sir.” Then he said very formally, “May I ask for your name?”

“I am Duren, Guardian to Zhara … if she will let me.”



Eventually Duren calmed down enough to agree to not try and drag Zhara away for now, but it was a number of days before he would give any more information about what he was running from. In fact, he only told them any more because Dorian continued to pester him politely about it.

“I am being pursued by those I once called family, and have no intention of returning home with them.” Duren said when he ran out of patience.

“Perhaps you could simply tell them this, sir? You found your Charge here. Surely they will not expect a Guardian to abandon their Charge.”

Duren snorted scornfully. “As if they would ever be reasonable enough to listen.” Then he moved away from the clan leader to sit by Zhara, indicating he wasn't going to say any more.