Creative Corner

[center][img]http://i.imgur.com/gEvm73y.png[/img][/center] ------- ------- [center][img]http://i.imgur.com/sFRxKpm.png[/img][/center] ------- [center][size=7]Shorties[/size][/center] ------- [url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/cc/2226739#post_28267957]Nightmares of the Forgotten[/url] | [url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/cc/2226739#post_28440135]Homesick [/url]| [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/cc/2226739/2#post_41528874]Intermission: A Vaultkeeper's Worry[/url] | Dash's Return Home | [url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/cc/2226739/2#post_34737214]The Guardian and the Shade[/url] | Pearl's Troubles | Ambassadors Day Out | [url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/cc/2226739#post_30714073]Dream Harvester[/url] | [url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/cc/2226739#post_30928063]Destroyed Story[/url] | [url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/cc/2226739/1#post_31925261]Dash's Interlude: Icy Encounter[/url] | Trouble under the Volcano | [url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/cc/2226739/2#post_34716612]First Day Jitters[/url] | Healing | The Coin and the Pillar | The Traitor's Mate | [url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/cc/2226739/2#post_35027950]A Welcome Visitor[/url] | [url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/cc/2226739/2#post_38701184]Tero's Wish[/url] | Unexpected Situation | [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/cc/2226739/2#post_43720224]Luna's Coffee[/url] | [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/cc/2226739/2#post_55323566]A Youth Forgotten WIP[/url] | ------- ------- [center][img]http://i.imgur.com/sFRxKpm.png[/img][/center] ------- [center][size=7]Individual Tall Tales[/size] Stories are not in order. Please see the story post or the dragon for a directory.[/center] ------- [center][size=5][font=century gothic]Nobody's Anybody[/size][/font][/center] [url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/cc/2226739#post_29476018]Nobody's Anybody[/url] | [url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/cc/2226739#post_29786249]Nobody's Anybody II[/url] | [url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/cc/2226739#post_31525696]Nobody's Anybody III[/url] | [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/cc/2226739/2#post_41528874]Intermission: A Vaultkeeper's Worry[/url] | Nobody's Anybody IV | Story | Story | Story | Story | Story | Story | Story | Story | Story | Story | Story | Story | Story | Story | Story | Story | [center][size=5][font=century gothic]The Keyhole[/size][/font][/center] [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/cc/2226739/2#post_55211153]The Keyhole I[/url] | The Keyhole II | The Keyhole III ------- ------- [center][img]http://i.imgur.com/sFRxKpm.png[/img][/center] ------- [center][size=7]Main Story Arcs[/size][/center] ------- [center][size=5]Sins of the Deities[/size] Stories are in order[/center] ------- [url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/cc/1913807/7#post_28141511]The Sermon[/url] | A Deceiver's Story | An Unfortunate Discovery | [url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/cc/2226739/1#post_31925261]An Icy Encounter[/url] | Story | Story | Story | Story | Story | Story | Story | Story | Story | Story | Story | Story | Story | Story | Story | Story | Story | Story | [center][color=#7e2229][font=corbel][size=5] [b]Warnings[/b][/size][/font][/color][/center] [center][color=black]1. Please do not use any of my writing and mark it as your own. 2. Please [b]DO NOT[/b] comment on this thread. If you wish to comment please do so on my [url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?p=lair&tab=userpage&id=236183]home page[/url] or on my [url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/cc/1913807#post_1913807]Doodle Writing[/url] thread. Thank you! 3. I do sometimes use [i]soft[/i] expletives in my writing, so if such writing offends you please do not go any further.

[font=Century gothic][size=7][color=turquoise]Nightmares of the Forgotten[/size][/font][/color] -------- [i]A story about Estellia and her struggle to make sense out of her broken memories.[/i] [center][url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=25394269] [img]http://flightrising.com/rendern/350/253943/25394269_350.png[/img] [/url][/center] [font=ink free][size=4]Journal Entry 2017 Month of Nature, Day 9 I rush to get this journal entry put in. Late at night as it is, I have no desire to stay up any longer than I have to. I would be sleeping now if not for this reoccurring dream I am having. This has been going on so long I can no longer dismiss it, so it's my hope sharing it here, in these pages, will quell its noise in my mind. It starts in a crowded place, I’m not sure where I am everything is shrouded in a hazy mist, but I can hear the muttering of hundreds of drakes and can feel the heat of their bodies close to mine. When the dream first starts I am always overwhelmed by exhilaration, as if I had just accomplished a grand achievement. I am wearing a luminous set of armor and my claws drip with crimson, though I do not know why and I do not understand why I feel satisfied with this either. The dream then switches, the scene is still a hazy fog, but this time there are two dark gray masses that stand out against it. Their bodies roughly resemble a Coatl and a Wildclaw, though the unstable fog shifts too wildly to tell if they are truly drakes. I am friendly with the two masses. I know this because we are sharing drinks and boisterous laughter. This is where the dream starts to frighten me. The haze takes on a darker feel, turning a red hue and the two I’m with suddenly start choking. As I watch they fall still and their bodies are enveloped in stone. From behind them another, darker mass appears. There is no definable form to this one; it’s only a solid lump of black fog. This thing terrifies me and I find myself rushing away, but no matter how far I run I cannot escape it. Eventually, there is a sharp pain in my neck, a feeling of falling, and then cold. It’s at that point I wake, trembling uncontrollably and unable to go back to sleep until several hours later. I do not know why this dream continues to come I only know I wish for it to stop. Honestly the only reason I wished to recall it now is for the purpose of this journal. It is my hope that writing it out will somehow cease it's endless droning from my mind. We will see tonight if this therapy works.[/font][/size]

[font=century gothic][size=7][color=#9ddba7]Homesick[/size][/color][/font] ------- [i]A short concerning Zalla and Karri and their discussion about home.[/i] [center][url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=23164997] [img]http://flightrising.com/rendern/350/231650/23164997_350.png[/img] [/url][/center] Zalla perched among the tree tops watching the light show in the distance; a longing for home sparkled in her eyes with every strike. [i]The Stormcatcher is busy tonight[/i], she thought. As her thoughts passed another bolt struck a tree some distance away. It was far enough for her to be safe, but close enough to charge the air around her. The static ripple caused her fur to stand on end and left a tingle on her skin. The sensation stirred up a quick giggle, one she suppressed quickly when another drake joined her. [center][url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=23075797] [img]http://flightrising.com/rendern/350/230758/23075797_350.png[/img] [/url][/center] Karri landed gracefully next to one of her dearest friends, minding to twist her knowing grin away from her. Why Zalla always needed to be straight faced with drakes she didn't know, but she humored the desire. She said not a word and instead watched the thunderstorm as it raced across the Wander's Plain. "It's beautiful," Zalla said, ending the silence between them. "It is," Karri agreed. She turned her long neck to look at the star eyed Zalla. For all her effort to remain the tough solider she could not hide her wonder. For that matter, she couldn't cover the fact she was home sick either. "Missing home?" Zalla eased her eyes to the edge of her sockets to get a look at the sly grin Karri wore. She snorted at her friend. No matter what she did the Skydancer always knew how she was feeling. There were times she was convinced Karri was part seer, which she felt was a better excuse then admitting to the fact she was easy to read. "Yes," she admitted reluctantly. Karri nodded, losing her sly grin in favor of a worried frown. "Do you feel the need to return home?" Zalla shook her head in answer. There was no hesitation in her response, though silent as it was, Karri knew this to mean she wasn't even considering the option. That understanding allowed her nerves to settle. "The Thundercrack Festival is next week," she said. Stating that fact elicited a small smile from her hardened friend. "Dash has invited Orick to one of his studies, would you like to accompany him?" Zalla considered that offer for a moment, though she hadn't to think on it long. "You know," she said, "I think I would." Another bolt ripped through the air, pulling the pairs attention to the ever closer storm. The first droplets of cold rain were now pelting their heads. Both took a moment to relish the crisp air and cool rain before quietly lifting themselves from the tree for the safety of home.

[font=Fredericka the Great][color=#00788C][size=7]Nobody’s Anybody[/size][/color][/font] ------- [i]Coil is a rather off-putting sort that would rather spend his time in the company of the vault's keepsakes instead of other drakes. Though, all his greed and antisocial behavior gets him is a one way trip to trouble.[/i] [center][url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=23985711] [img]http://flightrising.com/rendern/350/239858/23985711_350.png[/img] [/url][/center] The hallway was crowded and being as it was full of really large drakes that was perfectly reasonable. Unfortunately for the tiny Fae attempting to navigate through the river of giants he was finding it anything but reasonable. “Confounded meeting,” he muttered well under his breath. Not that his speaking normally would have been heard over the loud roar of the others casual talking. “Why did I have to come? Charin would have been much better suited for this mess.” Coil was finally able to wiggle through enough legs to find his room. Thankfully this hotel had special accommodations for each race, meaning that he could escape the nightmare in the hall through a door his size and into a room that fit him. He pushed into said room, swung around and locked the door shut behind him. “Finally!” Coil let his head thump against the door and his satchel plop to the floor. This was absolute torture to one that hated places outside of his vault, hated talking to others, hated crowds, and hated drakes in general. Charin was always doing this to him. First it was trick or treating and now it was this. What good ever came from his having to leave home? None! “Why does he hate me so?” More importantly, he wondered why he allowed himself to be put into these situations. Ugghh! Coil bopped his head against the door. The act of frustration was meant to sooth his budding temperament, but all it managed to do was make his forehead hurt. Now he was irritated with his whole situation [i]and[/i] the new knot on his head. “Dandy!” he hissed. Coil yanked up his bag and flittered across his room to the lavatory to straighten up. The first half of the Vault Keeper’s Symposium would be happening within the hour. “I go in and hear what they have to say and leave.” He nodded concurrence with his own suggestion. For the next thirty minutes Coil would putter around his room; sitting, pacing, and periodically primping until finally someone came to fetch him. “About time,” he complained. He was quick to the door, snapping it open and to the Spiral that came to fetch him. The first thing that Coil noticed was the fact the hall was empty; the next thing was the Spiral. He wasn’t dressed as a bellhop; in fact he wasn’t dressed well at all. Instead, he wore a baggy set of breeches and an old rag for a shirt. He was horrifically filthy as well; covered as he was from head to tip of tail with clumps of mud and other things he didn’t wish to elaborate on. At first he was curious as to why the hotel would send such an unsightly employee to collect him. It wasn’t until a voice spoke up from behind him that he realized something wasn’t right. “They get smaller every year they do.” Coil jerked around towards another Spiral, this one better dressed and by far tidier. “Well go on then, before he gets a mind to run. I’ll grab the goods.” In Coil’s state of utter confusion he stuttered out an indecipherable string of noise; his rather poor attempted to demand answers. His protest did nothing to stop the second Spiral from squeezing himself into his room. It wasn’t until after he managed inside that Coil found his voice. “Who the dickens are yo-- There was a sudden and sharp pain in the back of his head that knocked him dizzy and forced him to the floor stunned and unable to move. “That’ll be enough of that, yes.” It was the dirty Spiral that spoke, or at least one of them did. At the time Coil was seeing at least seven hovering over his face. “Eh. The little’un ain’t got much.” The other emerged from the room with Coil’s satchel in his hand. “That’s it?” Dirty asked, poking at the satchel. “I thought he was some big wig, what’s all this then?” “Don’t know,” the other said as he stuffed Coil’s bag into a pocket. “Suppose the little’un is worth more than his pack.” Coil was yanked up and slung over a shoulder, which caused another impact with his already hurting head. Now the world was going in and out. “We’ll see how much he’s worth when we get back, yeah?” Everything went dark.

Nobody’s Anybody II

---

Coil had been stuck in the darkness for what felt like an eternity. Every now and again he would sense discomfort in his neck or his arms and the occasional whisper in his ear, but none of that was enough to draw him from the emptiness. Where he was, or for that matter, when he was eluded him entirely. It took a drenching in an icy cold wash to finally draw him out. Though, that wasn’t any better than being trapped in the void. Suddenly, the discomfort exploded into agony, which he could feel spreading from the back of his head to every inch of his flesh.

His arms and legs refused to move more than a few inches and his tail had a dreadful kink in it. A moan escaped his lips as he lifted his head from his knees. “Slow now, little fella.” He didn’t know where the soft female voice came from, or from whom for that matter, but he abided its suggestion. “You took an awful beating. I was starting to wonder if you were going to wake up. Sorry about the ice water, but I really was scared.”

It took everything in Coil’s power to lift his head; he would pause to moan each time one of his vertebras popped and he swore every one down his long neck did so. “Whe-- A sudden urge to vomit stifled his attempt to speak. He felt the words themselves were pushing up on the contents of his stomach.

“Shh. You’re going to hurt yourself. Just settle a bit.” That voice again. Coil didn’t know it, but at the same time it seemed familiar. That’s when it occurred to him, it was the same voice that had been whispering into his ear. “Who—who are you?” he asked softly; though he had intended it to be a sharp demand for answers he simply could not muster the energy to make it that way. He barely had the energy to work his weary eyes open.

He was situated in a chair where he was bound by wrist and ankle. A tacky crimson fluid was splattered over his breeches and pooled on the floor under his feet. After two attempts he was able to lift his attention to the room, or box, he was in. It wasn’t much, being as it was a solid metal cube with a single door made of bars. Other than him and the chair there was nothing else in the room. “I’m Heira.” Well, except for Heira that is. Coil jerked to his right and the effort stole every last bit of energy he had. He managed to see a brown and cream striped Tundra woman with light green eyes only seconds before the weight of his head grew too great for him to hold up.

“Oh!” Heira took his head gently between her paws and lifted it to the back of the chair. “Careful now.” She offered him a calm smile before moving away. He couldn’t see where she went, she disappeared behind the seat, but he could hear the sloshing of water. “I didn’t mean to startle you.” When she reappeared she came with a wet cloth, which she used to dab at the sore spots on his face and neck. Thanks to her tender care he was able to get a better look at her. She had very short fur; it was almost shaved. Dare he say it, but she was almost naked she was that clean cut.

When she bent to wring the rag he noticed her side and the fact her ribs poked through her flesh. She wasn’t emaciated, but she was thin. Shaved and thin were not things one typically sees on a Tundra. Between the condition of his body, his location, and now that odd Tundra he was acutely aware that something was very wrong with his situation. Don’t panic, the little voice in the back of his mind was trying to shout over his budding hysterics. It took effort to listen to it and even more to allow reason to settle his frazzled and boiling grey matter. This was both beneficial and unsettling. On the one hand he could focus and on the other all he had to focus on was his pain and his prison. Since those sensation were not what he wanted to focus on he figured he might as well find out what was going on. “Where am I?” he asked.

Heira paused in the middle of what she was doing to stare at her hands. “Hell,” she answered simply and softly. Without looking back at him she continued her chore. “You’ve been here for three days,” she explained, “those idiots dropped you on the way in and you took quite a fall. To be honest, I’m surprised you lived.” Heira nodded towards his shoulder. “You landed on your right side. Your arm and wing are broken and I’m sure a few ribs as well. That’s all I can tell without my equipment though.”

“You-- you are a healer?” Coil asked. Heira nodded blindly to the question, not interrupted from her task. She offered him no further conversation. He persisted. “Why am I here?”

For this question Heira offered first a sardonic snort and than a verbal answer full of ‘isn’t it obvious’ tone. “Treasure,” she explained. “And shame on you for having so much of it and not sharing it with those that absolutely must have it.”

Coil was suitably confused by that comment. “Pardon?” What treasure? He may be surrounded by it on a day to day basis, but he had very little to his own name. His shameful poorness sprouted from the fact he never does anything but count and hoard other’s treasure.

“Come now Heira,” a new voice entered the box through the bars. Coil attempted to turn and look, but failed to catch sight of whoever it was. Heira saw him, however, and her response was to snarl. “I’m sure Mister Banker here would be happy to part with his treasure.” The speaker finally introduced himself through the door. A Wildclaw in fine dress and of great age strutted into his box. Behind him the two Spirals from the hotel slinked in. Coil caught sight of his new guest’s disgusted scowl; a look of such wicked intent was behind the newcomer’s brown eyes that it caused his flesh to crawl. “That is if he had any,” he concluded.

“What do you mean?” Heira asked. The Wildclaw paused in the middle of his slow trek towards Coil and switched his heated attention to the Healer. Heira cowed away from the leer and in defense of it turned back to her chore. The moment her eyes were relieved of the Wildclaw his took a sharp turn towards the two Spirals that trembled in the doorway.

“That answer is simple, isn’t it gentlemen?” The Wildclaw tapped his walking cane against the steel floor twice. With each tap the two would wind themselves tighter into knots.

“Yes sir, Mr. Halo. We got the wrong little ‘un,” Dirty spoke up with a childlike enthusiasm, which confessed his pride for knowing the answer. After a moment of stewing under the Wildclaw, or Mr. Halo’s, unemotional gaze he dropped his clueless pride and slithered behind his buddy. Coil would have found that amusing and to be frank just due had his fear allowed any sort of positive emotion at the time.

“Indeed you did,” Mr. Halo said. His voice was filled with venom and hiss. He whipped back around to set his attention on Coil. “And this,” he said, lifting his cane towards Coil’s head, “this is worthless. It would have been better if you had died on the trip here my unfortunate friend. It would have saved energy and time.”

Coil knew what was coming next, it didn’t take much to figure out he was of no further use to his captors. Panic then took over, causing him to tremble uncontrollably and come close to soiling himself. If it were not for the lack of energy he would have been trying the restraints and shouting to the top of his lungs. The best protest he could afford was a weak threat, which he knew deep down was hollow at best. “My family will come for me.”

This knowledge did little more than cause Mr. Halo a bout of laughter. “You?” He thrust the end of his cane at him. “I’ve seen the likes of your kind before, little drake.” Halo eased closer and lowered his head to look Coil in the eye; his snarl turning into a knowing smirk that curled the left side of his maw. “You are a husk of a creature whose entire existence has been dedicated to hoarding others’ precious possessions.” Halo eased away in favor of an upright position. Gently, he set his cane back to the floor where he gripped its top bulb tightly between his claws. "You, little drake, are a shamefully coinless hermit with nothing but other drakes’ shinnies to keep you company.”

Coil squeezed his eyes shut in a poor attempt to control the swelling of tears behind his eyes. The sorrow eventually denied the blockade and spilled down over his cheeks. The tears were not so much for the fear of what he knew was about to come as they were for the truth his captor reminded him of. “You are nobody’s anybody,” Halo continued, “no one will come for you.” Missed opportunities flashed by Coil’s eyes as he reviewed an entire life spent pushing those he loved and those that held the potential for love away. All that time within the vault, missing out on life for the sake of someone else’s treasure and for what? In the end, what was it all for?

[center][b]"[i]Please do not comment on this thread. Thank you[/i]"[/b][/center] [columns][url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?p=lair&id=236183&tab=dragon&did=25702271][img]https://i.imgur.com/pVBJaHz.png[/img][/url][nextcol][center][font=Bleeding Cowboys][size=7][color=#7e2229]Dream Harvester[/font][/size][/color][/center] -------- [size=5][font=mv boli]For half a century I have been doing this job; collecting and storing the dreams and thoughts of the clan. I have always been astutely aware of the rumors- dare I say mythos- that has come from my secret activities, but never could I have imagined anything coming from it. And most certainly I never imagined the adventure that would toss both myself and Svetlana into a world of trouble.[/size][/font][/columns] -------- [size=4][font=mv boli]It all started on a quiet day, one like any other. It was completely uneventful with the exception of one thing. It was the day I met her, Svetlana. She had just gotten into our territory when she stumbled upon Whisperwind's library. This is where she would run into Rosia. The old snapper was very taken with Svetlana's reverence for knowledge and her desire to become a librarian. I cannot say I blame her, it is not often one runs into those that are as like minded as themselves. Needless to say, it took little time for Rosia to introduce her to the rest of the clan. She is a traveling dragon, only staying for as long as needed before following her whims to travel again. Our clan has long since taken in dragons of this nature. The stories- adventures- that follow them are always eagerly listened to. Svetlana's adventures included discussion of the libraries she had visited, [i]which riveted only the librarians[/i], and a nasty bout of invisibility. [url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=24242268] [img]http://flightrising.com/rendern/350/242423/24242268_350.png[/img] [/url]

Nobody’s Anybody III

---

Halo slowly drew a sword from his cane, causing the scrapping of metal against metal to ring in Coil’s ears. His mother appeared in his mind and was joined shortly after by his father. It had been so long since he spent time with them. Would they miss their only son? Arris appeared before his eyes as a momentary wisp of memory. His sister, one he never took the time to know. Charrin was next, followed by Uma and then Leira. Face after face came to mind until finally it came to a halt with Lucidia hovering over the surface of his thoughts. With her he felt a deep pang of regret deep in his chest.

Every day she would come and spend time with him, bringing him food and pleasant conversation and even if he was too occupied with his duties she would still sit at his side, silently waiting for him to notice her. He never did. What would have happened if he had?

It was too late to find out now, Halo set the tip of his weapon against his throat. “Goodbye Mister Banker.” Regret and sorrow choked Coil, leaving him a balling mass of trembling nerves that could do nothing more than wait for the final blow.

“Wait!” A voice sliced through the fear, through the final thoughts, and left the air still in its wake. Everything took pause; someone had spoken up to defend this nobody to anybody. Coil’s eyes shot open when the tip of the sword was removed from the soft tissue of his neck. Heira now stood between him and Halo, her trembling form blocking certain death from attaining its target. “There could be some use to him.”

Halo emitted a low gawph of doubt, but put his sword back in its sheath all the same. “And how could that useless little thing be of use?” He eased closer to Heira and lowered his head towards her ear. “Make it good,” he whispered so low Coil had a hard time hearing it. After the words left his lips he tapped that cane against the floor again then swung around to look at the trembling spirals in the door. “Let’s see if Heira can redeem your foolishness.”

All attention fell on Heira; all of it as desperate to hear her speak as she was to find something suitable to say. “Well,” she started out. Her voice was meek and trembled, but as she stood there thinking on the words it grew stronger. “He is a banker to a very large and most likely wealthy bank.” After she spoke she looked to Halo for approval, he stood there unmoved, but the two spirals in the back shared approving nods.

“This is truth, Mr. Halo,” the tidy Spiral said. Halo spun to readdress the two, which caused the once brave Spiral to flinch and twist his cabbie hat tighter between his talons. After a moment of stewing on the other end of Halo’s glare he finally continued with his point. “The littl’un could still fetch us a pretty price. Yes? He could tell us how to break into the clan’s vault.” The companion at his side nodded his head enthusiastically in approval of the notion. Coil, all the while, was growing more concerned by the minute. They wanted to break into his vault!

Halo remained unemotional for what felt like an eternity and during that time Heira began to wring her claws together; the other two coiled themselves into tighter knots. “Very well,” his cold voice sliced through the silence to startle everyone that had grown accustomed to it. “Heal him Heira, when you are finished we will question our unfortunate guest.” Halo didn’t bother to turn around as he left. He simply pushed through the two coiled Spirals and continued on his way.

Halo’s two henchmen scurried after, leaving him and Heria alone once again. The Tundra deflated with a long sigh and turned her beaming smile onto him. “Well, that worked,” she offered with a quick snicker of satisfaction. “Perhaps he could find a place for you in his own hoard.” She seemed most certain of this fact, which showed in her proud smile.

“I will never tell them how to get into my clan!” Coil said, his cheek and head frills falling as low as they could go. He fluttered his cheek frills just enough to exenterate his frustration. If the act had not caused him such discomfort he would have fluttered them more.

Heira recoiled at his act of irrational defiance. A look of shocked disbelief washed over her face as she stood there staring at him. “Why?” she asked of him. Her voice was as gentle and soft as any confused cub’s would be. “This is life. Why would you deny that?”

“My family—

“Oh what family!?” Heria demanded to know. An uncharacteristic anger flashed across her eyes. She tossed her wash cloth into her bucket and the resulting cascade of dirty water splattered icy droplets over his right side. “You know as well as I that Halo was right! There is no one waiting for you.” Coil looked away with all the disdain he could muster. She offered him little more than a disgusted snort for his rejection. “I’ve done all I can,” she stated softly. She collected her tools of the trade and started for the door. Before she left she turned to look at him one more time. “It will be up to you from here.” With that she left Coil alone with his anger and his fear.

Coil weighed his options only to figure out there weren’t any. Regardless of whether or not they realized he was missing, he would never betray his family. He had spent a lifetime choosing to ignore them, but tonight he chose to give what little he had left protecting them.

Dash's Interlude- Icy Encounter

---

Dash tightened his cloak as he walked through the empty festival grounds; a poor attempt to fend off the bitter wind. The walk from his booth to his hotel wasn’t that great a distance, but in the frigid chill of the Southern Icefield it made it feel like miles away. Thankfully, this was the last day. He would be going right into the hotel to grab his bag and then head straight away to the portals. “Home sounds good right now…

“Does it?” a disembodied voice caught Dash’s attention. The familiarity of it caused an unconscious shiver to rattle his bones. Dash stopped dead to consider if the voice had been a figment of his imagination and knew it had not been. “I’m curious as to where home is, Dash?”

The librarian whipped around to confront the body behind the voice. He had intended to speak when he first addressed Harron, but ended up hesitating the moment his eyes came to a rest on an old friend. Harron used to have the most vibrant cyan fur; it matched his equally cyan eyes. They used to joke he was Lightening through and through. Only now he was pale to the point he looked gray and those lively, energy filled eyes had taken on a sickly fog. “Harron…

“You’ve not provided any information on the Flights lately,” Harron said. The Wildclaw eased from the shadows in which he hid to face an old friend. “Some are starting to think you’ve abandoned the cause, Dash.”

“I’ve not—

“I know,” Harron continued, dismissing the rest of Dash’s sentence as denial of the accusation. “I’ve told them that.” There was some relief that sprung up in Harron’s dull eyes; it was a tiny spark of the life that once resided there and then it just faded away. “You must have been preparing a good report then, huh?”

Dash choked down the lump in his throat. He’d not prepared a report for Cathair Athelward in some time and the reason for that was indeed because he was having doubts about the “cause” as Harron put it. Nothing Athelward told him about his adopted clan was true; his mission seemed fraught with falsehoods and deception. Upon realizing he had been misinformed he started to consider what other lies he had been fed and who exactly was going to get hurt from this crazy plan of Athelward’s.

“After the return to Water Athelward ordered you home.”

All thought; all breath was abated upon hearing Harron’s words. It could not be that he would be ordered back to Black Reach. What possible reason would they have to bring him back?

“He said you had been away from the family for too long.” Harron set a trembling hand against Dash’s shoulder. “He wants his advisor back. You’ll finally be away from that dreadful clan with that beast in it.”

It took everything in Dash’s power to keep from threatening Harron with a growl. After a moment of composure he pulled away from Harron’s touch. “Yes,” he half hissed, half slurred. “Please return and let them know I’ll have a report soon.”

“I can take it if you have it ready,” Harron suggested. There was a sense of urgency in his voice and a bit of a dip to his lip. He was sent to fetch the report, not to just inform him of his tardiness. Dash should have realized.

“I do not.” Dash swallowed the new lump in his throat before continuing. “But I can write it up for you if you like.” He tapped his temple with the tip of a claw. “It’s all right up here.” The frown that had formed on Harron’s lips trembled itself into a grin. Dash, taking that as acceptance, lifted an arm towards the hotel. “Perhaps we can get it finished indoors?” he suggested.

Harron readily agreed. “Wonderful idea. You head in and get us a seat in the tavern and I’ll be back in a moment. There is an… errand I must run before hand. While you are writing I can get you caught up on the matters at Black Reach.” Harron gave Dash a quick nod before rushing off into the shadows once more.

Dash stood in the street with an icy chill reaching in to claw at his bones. He had been separated from Athelward’s cause for so long he had almost forgotten he was a part of it. And he wished it had remained that way. In some way and for some reason he had thought his past was just that, his past; forgotten to all but the pages of an old tome. His idea that turning away from it would somehow make it go away had not turned out as he hoped and now it was coming back to haunt him. “What have I done?”

First Day Jitters

---

The grounds were quiet, which was to be expected the day before the Wavecrest Saturnalia started. The only dragons or beasts that lingered about were the merchants and carnival hands that would be running or maintaining their various booths or stages. One such dragon was a Wildclaw who was inspecting her newly constructed librarian stall. At the moment, her attention was on the Imperial hovering over the top of that stall. Uma, the Imperial, completed whatever task she was working on with a clap of her paws and a satisfied grin.

“There,” Uma spoke at the pavilion, but was in reality addressing the Wildclaw, “all finished.” The large architect gave the small building one last look over before joining the librarian’s side. “Is it going to work for your needs?”

Casey gave the booth consideration for a short moment, before she answered. “Yes, I believe it is ideal.”

Uma hummed a soft note of acknowledgement. “It’s a sturdy building, she’ll serve you well.” After one more quick inspection she stood to leave. “I’ll be off then.”

“Thank you,” Casey shouted up a quick word of appreciation before the architect could leave. “I appreciate you taking time to make this. With all of the damage at--” Casey hesitated, unsettled by her choice of words. To excuse her abrupt stop she cleared her throat a few times, but the hoarse rattling did nothing to remove the sour taste the current topic caused, so she pushed on with something else. “Thank you again.”

“It was a welcome reprieve,” Uma said, turning her long neck to get a better look at the Wildclaw. A smile clung to her lips and yet sadness clouded the Imperial’s light green eyes. “Now I must be back to it.” Without another word Uma turned away, leaving the fair grounds for home.

Casey watched the architect until she vanished from sight—a task for an Imperial for certain. Alone again, she returned her attention to her booth. “Just you and me—

“This will be fun, yes!” A deep, playful voice came from behind and drew Casey’s attention. “And Captain Neo,” she finished quietly. The blue Tundra --otherwise known as Captain Neo or her babysitter-- joined her side with a plop, so he could look over the finished booth. She had initially argued against the bodyguard, but her grandfather was reluctant to allow her at the festival and would only be persuaded if she was escorted by one of the guardians. Truth be known, deep down she was thankful he was there.

The good captain tipped his bamboo hat away from his eyes for a better look at the newly constructed stall. “Ah! She’s a beaut’. Your father would be so proud, Casey.” For the compliment, Casey felt pride swell her chest. “Thank you Captain,” she said. The captain offered her a long, soft hum as a ‘Your Welcome’.

For the next few moments they sat quietly as the excitement and the trepidation about attending the festival filled their minds. It wasn’t that either was worried about the festival itself; no, the concerns they had were for the clan and the nightmare the others still had to deal with. In fact, Casey was feeling guilty for being here instead of helping back at home. Added to this sensation was the nervousness of trying to fill in her dad’s shoes. Needless to say, she was beginning to feel rather uncertain about her desire to do this.

“Well then.” Captain Neo’s random comment interrupted her train of thought (or in reality her worry). “It appears we have company,” he continued. No sooner had the words left his lips then he crawled into the booth to inspect the furniture. “Company?” she questioned softly.

“Casey,” a gentle and familiar male voice hailed for her attention and being as she had not expected it she was startled. Casey jumped around to face her brother and giggling sister. “Did you not hear us?” Stone asked. A coy grin curled up the left side of his maw. “The captain did,” he teased.

Casey snorted at her elder brother, while blindly slapping at her elder sister. Alaura’s chuckles eventually slowed into humored hums. “Don’t be sour, little sister,” she said. “I have a gift for you.” Casey’s frustration melted away upon hearing of a possible gift. “A gift?” Casey asked. And then she remembered who she asked it of. Her sister, though she meant well, often conjured her gifts, which in turn would exploded on the recipient. She lost two quills and a Firebug as a cub because of it. The unexpected and violent sundering of her first familiar still haunted her.

“You—you didn’t conjure it did you?” She asked this honestly and without any jest, but that didn’t stop both Neo and her brother from bursting into roaring laughter. Her sister, alternately, leered at her with the intent to peel her flesh from her face. “I’m going to ignore you said that,” she hissed. Casey cringed inward and placed her eyes firmly on the ground. “I was going to give you this.” Alaura withdrew a new satchel from her cloak and dangled it before Casey. “The plan had been to give you dad’s, but since they haven’t found his bo-- The words clogged Alaura’s throat, forcing her to stop. Her eyes welled with fresh misery, which in turn caused Casey’s to well with the same.

The humor had gone from the men at the near mention of their loss and now everyone stood around either stiff as a board or on the verge of having water spill over their cheeks. After a dreadfully still moment Alaura managed to clear the lump of words from her throat. “Anyway,” she spoke with a softer tone, “we wanted you to have your own for this.” Casey held still for her sister as she slipped the new satchel over her shoulder. “I had Terra enchant it for you. It’s bottomless.”

Casey was so grateful for the unexpected gift that she was rendered speechless. As a result, her appreciation could only be shown through a silent bear hug. This affection ended only when Stone tickled her cheek with the tip of a feather. When Casey turned he presented her with a new quill and a new journal emblazoned with the symbol of the wind flight and engraved with her title. Her eyes spilled over now and she viewed her precious new gifts through rivers.

“This is a special occasion, a graduation from your education. I wanted you to have something special to commemorate it. Alex bound the book for you and Ruha was kind enough to enchant the quill.” Stone emitted a soft chuckle as he set them in her paws. “Always inked, as she calls it. Dad’s favored enchantment.”

“If it works,” Alaura began. “Use it,” Casey finished. The three siblings shared a few snickers before Casey yanked them all together in a hug. “Thank you,” she sobbed both with joy and sorrow. Her siblings didn’t respond, but squeezed her tighter and this is where they stayed until Captain Neo grew affectionate as well. The Tundra Enforcer wrapped them all in his wings and squeezed. “Aw! Family love time,” he said. The captain rocked side to side and though his movement didn’t really affect Casey or Stone, Aluara ended up shifting back and forth with him.

“Okay Captain. Thank you.” Both Casey and Stone chuckled as Alaura wiggled her way out of the affection. “Are you excited?” she asked of Casey, likely as a way to stifle their humor at her expense. Casey could feel one side of her mouth curl up, while the other side plummeted. How that strange conglomeration of expression made her look she was unsure, but if she were to judge by the way everyone was looking at her then she could assume it looked rather weird. “Guilty really.” She heaved a burdened sigh. Both her brother and sister hummed a tune of understanding, but remained silent on the subject. “I want to do this, but,” the explanation stopped and Casey found herself unable to gather the words needed to adequately describe the mixed emotions she felt. “Is this right?”

Stone set a paw gently upon her shoulder. “Little Sister,” he said, “this has always been a dream of yours. Everyone at home understands this. No one would have denied you this privilege.”

“Besides,” Alaura interjected, “what could you possibly do at home anyway? All of the major positions are already taken in the clean up. The only thing you could do was continue to help in the soup kitchen.” She waved the notion away. “Noble as that is I believe they will be okay without you for a few days.”

“Yes.” Stone used the paw on her shoulder to pat her back, before gathering both sisters under his arms. “Perhaps there is a bit more to this then guilt?” he hummed. Her brother’s uncanny ability to pick up on her nervousness caused Casey a flinch. Stone chuckled when he noticed it. “Do not be afraid of the unknown, little sister, for the unknown is only a ‘un’ away from the known.”

Alaura laughed, waving away Stone’s attempt to sooth. “Our big brother is right,” she said, leaning in towards Casey’s ear, “even if it was a terrible way of explaining it.” Stone snorted at Alaura for her teasing. “Don’t be nervous. You are going to be great.”

The confidence her siblings shared with her managed to greatly ease her trepidation. For the first time since she decided to attend the festival Casey felt at peace with her choice. With the guilt slipped to the back of her mind and her nervousness eased, she could focus on carrying on her dad’s legacy. “Thank you,” she said softly.

“Anytime, little sister,” Alaura said. She reeled Casey in for another hug, which their brother and Neo joined. The fear and guilt had been banished from Casey’s thoughts and now she looked forward to continuing her father’s legacy.