Creative Corner

[center][b][u]Day 25[/u][/b] [item=Extinguished Jackalope Pelt] Sentence: Writing @CleverDual @Kyrinasha @MysterySandwing @Ezmara @Shanuuk @Skyeset @Kizzan @Leopardmask @Tiirran @IronPen @misdemeanours [url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/cc/2090290/10#post_25500215]Previous[/url] _______________________________________________________________________________________[/center] They held Orville's funeral the next day. Viper found an Extinguished Jackalope's pelt in one of the storage rooms, and they cremated his body on top of it. They had debated burying him, as he enjoyed digging so much, but it was Proxima who spoke up for the first time since she had returned from the search and reminded them that Orville had wanted to travel the world in search of treasures. They climbed up the shortest cliff in the reedcleft ascent and released his ashes in the wind. After returning, Vaille had proclaimed the tunnels off limits. "We don't know what's down there. There are too many passageways, it's too easy to get lost and attacked." Vaille said decidedly. "Orville was the most skilled of all of us underground, and something happened to him. Plus, now we have hatchlings to think about." She exchanged a meaningful glance with Patrick. The rest of the clan had been surprised when the two of them returned with hatchlings the previous day, but there was too much going on for them to really do much more than coo over the newest additions. "I agree." Susan nodded. "Although, I think an exception should be made for emergencies. Those tunnels saved my life when the harpies attacked. They make a great escape route." Vaille considered the snapper's point. "Very true. Alright, the tunnels are off limits, unless it's an emergency. We should find something to block them off, so no one finds their way down there." "On it." Viper volunteered. "Great, now-" Vaille was cut off by a loud yelp. Her boys were awake. "Look out! Royalty incoming!" Patrick exclaimed humorously as the two small mirrors paraded towards the meeting of dragons. "Dad, tell Sobek that princes don't sing!" Iwan huffed. He stretched his small blue wings and shook himself importantly. "Some princes sing!" His rippled brother shot back. "Sobek can sing if he wants to." Vaille reminded Iwan. "Ha! See!" Sobek stuck his tongue out at his brother, then broke into song. "Just you wait!" "But it's annoying!" Iwan protested. "I like his singing." Patrick cut in. "That's because you don't listen to it all the time..." Iwan muttered. "How is he ever supposed to learn how to be a good prince if he's singing all the time and not listening!" "I guess you could say 'Winning was easy, governing is harder!'" Sobek shot back. "Seriously, I know what I'm doing. I don't even want to be king. What are the chances of me being king anyways? You are obviously so perfect at it!" "Boys, boys, settle down." Vaille interrupted. "You both have different interests, and that is entirely okay. You need to learn how to respect each other for who you are. Sometimes, that means giving each other space and listening to each other." "How would you two like to play a game?" Patrick asked, changing the subject. The two small mirrors soon forgot their argument and began excitedly jumping around their father. Patrick stood up and lead his sons to one of the rooms coming off of the side of the cavern. "You're not actually implementing a heir system for leadership, are you?' Susan asked, stepping beside Vaille. The skydancer laughed and shook her head. "No, Patrick is just putting ideas in their head, telling them about his royal father and giving them ideas of grandeur. Patrick's not even king, so they're not even princes." "Would you like him to be king?" "You mean like give up my leadership? of course not! I may not have asked for this role, but it is mine now. I don't think Patrick would take this seriously enough anyways." "That's not what I meant." Humour sparkled in Susan's eyes. "Patrick and I are just friends." Vaille felt heat rise to her cheeks. Unable to take the look the snapper gave her in response, Vaille excused herself to go rest, mumbling something about her injuries aching again. [center]____________________________________________________________________________________[/center] First off, I want to apologize for not updating yesterday. I got snowed in at a friend's house, so I didn't have a long enough chance on flight rising to write anything. It feels good to get back to the story, and I'm sure everything will be back to normal from here on out. I've also reoriented myself with the plot, because too many things were happening at once, between Orville and the harpy attack and Iwan and Sobek, plus I still haven't closed the Proxima arc with looking for Roarke. Things are back on track now, and I don't feel like I'm tackling too many things at once. Iwan and Sobek's personalities were inspired by some writing my sister did for them for their bios. If you want to give that a look, feel free to. She wrote Sobek's first, not knowing he was a pinkerlocke dragon and not knowing if I was planning on exalting him or not. Although, thinking about it, chronologically, Iwan's snippet probably happened before Sobek's. I'll try to reign in the references with Sobek. There are just too many amazing songs and it's hard to resist the temptation to insert references wherever I can. Right now, I can get away with it because he's a hatchling who is excited by the cleverness of his references, but as he gets older, I'll try to make them more subtly. Be warned though, based on my current obsessions, most of the references are likely to be references to Hamilton. I "discovered" it a month ago and I love it. [center][url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/cc/2090290/11#post_25546792]Next[/url][/center]

@CleverDual

I'm glad you like it!!!! I have a feeling that there is going to be a lot of Hamilton bits with Sobek.

[center][b][u]Day 26[/u][/b] [item=Ambush] Sentence: Death Streak Roll @CleverDual @Kyrinasha @MysterySandwing @Ezmara @Shanuuk @Skyeset @Kizzan @Leopardmask @Tiirran @IronPen @misdemeanours [url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/cc/2090290/11#post_25538874]Previous[/url] _______________________________________________________________________________________[/center] Nightmares about Orville had been filling Proxima's nights since the day she and Susan found him. She kept seeing it. Him, dying, bleeding. His ragged breath gasping out his last words. His voice filled her thoughts. It was horrible, but in a way, she didn't want them to go away. If they went away, she would forget him, like Chronos. Chronos. All she remembered of him was a name. She remembered he was her friend. She remembered she had cared about him a lot, but there was no face to place to the name. No memories. Just a empty, emotionless stories and a quest for information. A quest Proxima knew she had to complete, no matter how impossible. It was the middle of the night when she awoke to Orville's voice. It was different this time. It did not fade with the dream. It persisted, calling her name. It was like a whisper on a breeze, but Proxima knew it was there. She didn't know how this was possible, but he was calling to her. She scrambled to her feet, and stepped out of her chamber. She glanced around thee cavern as she crossed it, hoping she wasn't waking anyone. She knew now where the voice was coming from, and there was no way they'd let her go if they knew. They wouldn't understand. They'd think she was crazy, hearing voices. She saw movement on on the edge, and she suddenly remembered Susan. Snappers didn't sleep. She watched carefully as the snapper dipped a quill in some ink and began to write. She seemed very focused on the paper. She was probably working on a novel. If that was the case, she would not be easily distracted. Breathing a sigh of relief, Proxima continued along her way with a sense of urgency. It was then that she reached the crack in the wall. Here it was, the entrance to the tunnels. Viper had done a great job blocking it with rocks. They were easily moved, in case of emergency, but not without making a great deal of noise. Taking a deep breath, she removed the keystone, waiting for the rest of the rocks to tumble out around it, ready to catch as many as she could to dampen the sound. She was unsuccessful. "Proxima! What are you doing?" Susan's voice called from across the cavern. Proxima didn't stop to look back at the snapper, she just dashed into the tunnel. Snappers were slow, if she got a good head start, Susan wouldn't be able to stop her. As she ran, she heard footsteps, though not towards the tunnels. [i]She's getting Vaille![/i] Proxima realized, and quickened her pace. The first time she had ventured into the tunnels, Proxima had been scared. It was dark and winding. Neither she nor Susan had known what to expect, or what they would find. This time, she was not afraid. She knew where she was going. All she had to do was follow Orville's voice. She barely even stopped to wonder what she would find, she just knew that this had to be important. As she took a turn down a tunnel branching off of the main segment she felt a sense of relief. The more forks she came across, the harder it would be for Vaille and Susan to find her. Although, Proxima had noticed that her route so far had corresponded with the scent trail from her trip down here with Susan when they found Orville. If Susan remembered the route, and Proxima didn't doubt that she did, it would probably be easy to guess where she had gone. Proxima was beginning to run out of breath. She wasn't used to travelling this quickly for so long. But she couldn't stop now. She felt like she was getting closer. Suddenly, she reached another fork in the tunnels. She stopped, confused. The scent trail was going down one path, but it seemed Orville's voice was calling down the other. "Proxima, this way! You're almost here!" It was the first time the voice said more than just her name. "Be careful. The defense is currently dormant, but it won't be long until they've recharged themselves." [i]Defense?[/i] Proxima let the question enter her mind, but she didn't care. She would get to see Orville again! Excitement filled her chest. She couldn't remember the last time she had felt this happy. She barely mananged to slow herself enough to be at what would be considered a cautious pace. She strained her eyes, trying to make out shapes in the dark. It appeared that the tunnel was lined with rocks. She counted five of them. The other tunnels hadn't had them. Was this part of the defense? She quickened her pace, keeping an eye around her. Her breathing grew faster. Finally, she reached the end of the tunnel, and she found herself staring at a door. It was smaller than Proxima had expected. It was far too small for something like an imperial to fit through, but Proxima would have no trouble. It appeared to be made of some sort of metal, though in this light, it was hard to tell what sort. There also appeared to be some sort of design on it. She put a paw on it, hoping it would push open at her touch. A clattering could be heard, as if there were some sort of mechanism opening it. It was then that she heard a low rumble behind her. Spinning around, she saw five pairs of cat-like eyes gleaming at her. The rocks uncurled themselves, and revealed themselves to be golems. Two of them looked softer, as if they were covered in moss. They probably were. For the first time, she felt fear hammer in the heart. Perhaps Vaille had been right, making this place off bounds. What had she been doing? It was then that the first one attacked. [center]***[/center] "How could she be so stupid!" Vaille spat, worry hammering in her heart for her friend. "Why would she do something like this?" "Grief is a strange thing. It clouds judgement." Susan pointed out solemnly. "Orville's death must have been the last straw for her. She already started one wild goose chase of a search after Chronos' death. Maybe Orville's delirious words of being close to something made her think he had unfinished business too. I really don't know. She hasn't been herself." Vaille felt her heart sink. She should have noticed. Proxima had been becoming more and more withdrawn since Orville's death. She barely spoke to anyone, not even Susan, like she was scared of getting close to someone. She had spent most of her time closed off in the library chamber, which she had claimed as her won room. She no longer went out to hunt, and had to be coaxed out to eat. Vaille should have done more. But there had been so much going on, with Viper's constant experimental remedies and the constant attention her sons required. She should have toughened up and let herself face the waves of intense emotions Proxima's presence brought on. She probably could have done something to prevent this. "Don't beat yourself up about this." Susan urged. "We won't know the truth until we see her. Let's just focus on the travels." "I wish I could go on ahead, just to make sure she's okay." Vaille sighed. "You'd likely only get lost, then there would be two dragons to worry about." Susan pointed out. "We'll get there when we get there. And we're getting closer." They traveled in silence, neither knowing what to say, only pressed forward by concern for their friend. Susan led the way down the path she had taken with Proxima. Eventually, they came to dead end. The dirt wall was covered in claw marks. Vaille recognized the digging pattern as Orville's. "She's not here." Susan breathed. "No, but I think she's close, I can sense her." Vaille said, perking up. She looked around, trying to orient herself to Proxima's emotions. She took a few steps, when suddenly they heard a cry. Neither hesitated, but ran as fast as they could, past the most recent fork, and turning the other way. It was there that Vaille saw Proixima, under attack by five golems. Vaille leaped in the battle instantly. Susan followed close behind. The battle was difficult. Vaille had never fought anything as tough as these before. She wasn't even sure they could be defeated. They were made of rock, after all. She just had to make an opening for Proxima to escape. That would have to be enough. Suddenly, the golems simultaneously stepped away. They sheathed their claws, and stared unblinkingly at Susan. "Every lightning dragon gets a basic technology training." Susan explained. "Golems are different, because they run on magic, not electricity, but the concept is similar." Then she turned to the Golems. "What are you protecting?" One of the Augite Protectors stepped forward, opened its mouth, and spoke. "We are the protectors of the chamber. We have been protecting this chamber for years beyond counting. Our creator set us up to prevent anyone from getting the dangerous artifact within." "We want nothing to do with the chamber. If we leave and promise to never return, will you let us go in peace?" Susan asked. "Your tundra friend attempted to enter the chamber." The Augite Protector answered. "She must be punished. Her punishment has been given. We have no quarrel with you." "Susan-" Vaille exclaimed, drawing Susan's attention to the tundra. Her breathing was ragged. Her eyes were fixed upward, glassy and unfocused. "Take your friend to die. Consider this a warning. Death is the punishment for those who attempt to enter the chamber." The Augite Protector stated. Then, simultaneously, the five cat golems returned to their positions along the side of the tunnel. They curled up, and if Susan had not seen them in action, she would have thought them to be just rocks. Susan made her way next to Vaille. Proxima's breathing was growing more and more shallow. She looked to be panicking. "Relax." Susan soothed her. She tried to ignore her tears as she fell into the habit of comforting her friend. "Just relax. It's okay. You did great." Proxima's blue eyes darted in Susan's direction. At first, she thought she was looking at her, but she realized her eyes were focused on a point behind Susan. "Y-you smell like a friend." Proxima gasped, her voice barely audible. Then her breathing stopped, and her eyes grew lifeless. As Susan stared at the tundra in shock, she could almost swear she heard a faint voice that sounded like Chronos. [center]____________________________________________________________________________________[/center] ... so this happened................. First time in scorched forest, because Vaille and Proxima were level 7. They only made it to the third battle. I knew they couldn't keep this up forever. I just didn't expect it to be Proxima. Out of all the dragons, she was the one I was fighting the hardest to protect. The first battle was with three Augite Protectors, and the second was with two Moss-Covered Golems. I figured this would be a great was to incorporate it into the story. I wasn't planning on introducing the chamber and the artifact this early, but as that was a key feature in Proxima's plotline, it seemed fitting that this was the way she went. It will probably return again. Poor Orville hadn't figured out how the golems worked... I still can't believe this happened. I don't think I can bring myself to exalt her. I just loved her so much. She comes with her scarf, if you want her. I really need a fun and happy pinkerton pull soon. I'd love to get another familiar pull. I think The Landbound could use some fresh blood. If you really want to cry about Proxima's death, as i have been doing, listen to her [url=https://youtu.be/pICAha0nsb0]main theme song[/url] and just think about everything to do with her and Chronos. It's guaranteed to work every time. I listened to it on repeat as I wrote this. [center][url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/cc/2090290/12#post_25566291]Next[/url][/center]

@Leafia

Here you go! This is my pinkerlocke thread! If you want, after you catch up (or even right away), I can add you to the pinglist so you can read all the new updates as I write them!

@CleverDual OKAY THAT IS THE BEST IDEA EVER THANK YOU!!!!

I'm so sad that she's the one who died.... I'm going to miss writing her....

@Shanuuk

This has not been a good week for this pinkerlocke. :( Hopefully Pinkerton decides that's enough Coli time for now and I can take a break from it for the next little while.