A death in the coliseum = that dragon must be exalted. This is the most essential rule of a nuzlocke.
All loot obtained in the coliseum is irrelevant, as is the loot obtained from gathering. I've decided to for now forgo this rule.
There are no restrictions about applying apparel to your dragons. Do whatever makes sense to you. Same goes for familiars.
And, most crucially, all nuzlocke activity corresponds with the loot you obtain daily from Pinkerton's plundered pile!
Optional sentimental rule:
If a dragon reaches level 25 it "retires". It can join the ranks of your main lair.
Drops of Fate:
Food: Coliseum time!
I've decided that regardless of food type, it will equal to 10 Coli matches. This is partially because the pinkerlocke's focus is going to be on writing and less on Coli-ing, and partially because when school starts I won't have as much time to Coli (especially because I anticipate that the number of matches would begin stacking). Of course, I can always Coli more if I feel like it.
Easymode: Choose whichever team and venue you want and go for it. Running from battles, using health pots, and ending the battle streak is fine, as I explained above.
Materials and trinkets: Flex your creative muscles!
Materials: Do some writing for your nuzlocke.
Trinkets: Do some art for your nuzlocke! For now I'm going to take this as writing instead.
Rare drops: Wildcards
Familiars: Buy the cheapest dragon in the auction house of a specific breed. Use a random number generator (between 1-13) to determine which breed you will get! (Optionally: attach the familiar to the new dragon.)
*Alternatively, I might transfer a dragon from my main lair into the locke.
Apparel: Breed two of your dragons. The dragons you pick are up to you. You can also change one of the genes on a dragon, or use a scatterscroll if you are rich and crazy.
Note: You must flip a coin for each hatchling once they hatch. If tails, the dragon is dead and you must exalt it. This is in keeping with the origional Nuzlocke thread's rule, because I really like it.
*Alternatively, I might get a new dragon (only if there are less than 5 dragons in the locke at that moment).
Battle items: Uh-oh!!!
Flip a coin.
Heads = DEATH STREAK
Tails = Nothing happens
DEATH STREAK rules: Randomly select three dragons using a random number generator. Fight in the coliseum using the "food" rules 10 rounds consecutively (ie. you cannot leave that arena), quitting midway if a dragon dies. If you are using the easymode rules, switch to the hardmode rules for battlestones.
Starting out:
Using the method I detailed in the "familiar" possibility above, obtain a small number of dragons (I suggest 2 or 3). If they already have names, keep the name! If not, name them whatever you like. The challenge starts once all of the dragons, if they are hatchlings, grow into adulthood.
Alternatively, choose 2-3 existing dragons in your lair to participate. This has certain advantages (eliminates the need to wait for maturity and breeding cooldowns) but also some disadvantages (less random=less exciting).
You may want to "partition" your nuzlocke dragons away from your regular dragons so you don't get them mixed up.
Losing:
If your dragon count falls to zero you have a few options
1. Declare the challenge a "loss" and give up
2. Wait for Pinkerton to drop a familiar
3. Just say "welp" and buy another dragon from the AH without waiting for Pinkerton because you lack patience.
A death in the coliseum = that dragon must be exalted. This is the most essential rule of a nuzlocke.
All loot obtained in the coliseum is irrelevant, as is the loot obtained from gathering. I've decided to for now forgo this rule.
There are no restrictions about applying apparel to your dragons. Do whatever makes sense to you. Same goes for familiars.
And, most crucially, all nuzlocke activity corresponds with the loot you obtain daily from Pinkerton's plundered pile!
Optional sentimental rule:
If a dragon reaches level 25 it "retires". It can join the ranks of your main lair.
Drops of Fate:
Food: Coliseum time!
I've decided that regardless of food type, it will equal to 10 Coli matches. This is partially because the pinkerlocke's focus is going to be on writing and less on Coli-ing, and partially because when school starts I won't have as much time to Coli (especially because I anticipate that the number of matches would begin stacking). Of course, I can always Coli more if I feel like it.
Easymode: Choose whichever team and venue you want and go for it. Running from battles, using health pots, and ending the battle streak is fine, as I explained above.
Materials and trinkets: Flex your creative muscles!
Materials: Do some writing for your nuzlocke.
Trinkets: Do some art for your nuzlocke! For now I'm going to take this as writing instead.
Rare drops: Wildcards
Familiars: Buy the cheapest dragon in the auction house of a specific breed. Use a random number generator (between 1-13) to determine which breed you will get! (Optionally: attach the familiar to the new dragon.)
*Alternatively, I might transfer a dragon from my main lair into the locke.
Apparel: Breed two of your dragons. The dragons you pick are up to you. You can also change one of the genes on a dragon, or use a scatterscroll if you are rich and crazy.
Note: You must flip a coin for each hatchling once they hatch. If tails, the dragon is dead and you must exalt it. This is in keeping with the origional Nuzlocke thread's rule, because I really like it.
*Alternatively, I might get a new dragon (only if there are less than 5 dragons in the locke at that moment).
Battle items: Uh-oh!!!
Flip a coin.
Heads = DEATH STREAK
Tails = Nothing happens
DEATH STREAK rules: Randomly select three dragons using a random number generator. Fight in the coliseum using the "food" rules 10 rounds consecutively (ie. you cannot leave that arena), quitting midway if a dragon dies. If you are using the easymode rules, switch to the hardmode rules for battlestones.
Starting out:
Using the method I detailed in the "familiar" possibility above, obtain a small number of dragons (I suggest 2 or 3). If they already have names, keep the name! If not, name them whatever you like. The challenge starts once all of the dragons, if they are hatchlings, grow into adulthood.
Alternatively, choose 2-3 existing dragons in your lair to participate. This has certain advantages (eliminates the need to wait for maturity and breeding cooldowns) but also some disadvantages (less random=less exciting).
You may want to "partition" your nuzlocke dragons away from your regular dragons so you don't get them mixed up.
Losing:
If your dragon count falls to zero you have a few options
1. Declare the challenge a "loss" and give up
2. Wait for Pinkerton to drop a familiar
3. Just say "welp" and buy another dragon from the AH without waiting for Pinkerton because you lack patience.
The autumn dryad is often seen guiding local fauna to burrows or caves so that they are protected from the approaching colds of winter.
1675
Maple
Fiendcat
Familiar
Fiendcats are known as one of Sornieth's only feral predatory mammals to cook their food before they eat it. One pounce works to get a good sear going.
[center][b]Entry 1: Willow[/b]
[i]Day 1[/i]
[item=black witch]
Sentence: 10 Coli matches[/center]
------
[center][url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=7812585]
[img]https://s2.postimg.org/c65u0ummx/Willow_normal.png[/img]
[/url][/center]
I was completely, hopelessly lost.
The ruined buildings around me blocked out most of the sky, leaving only hints of it peeking through. Judging from the reddish-purple colour of it, the sun was coming down, and fast. I'd thought of the ruins around me as creepy enough in the daylight, but now it looked positively nightmare-ish, with looming dark shadows accentuated with reddish light.
I felt a shiver run down my spine; this was no place to be at night. But where could I go? The ruins were endless. I'd spent the entire day wandering through the labyrinth of crumbled stone, trying to find an exit to no avail.
A movement in the corner of my sight caught my attention. I spun around to face it, only to find nothing but ruin.
I shook it off. Maybe I was just imagining things.
Just I thought that, I heard a [i]crunch[/i] from behind me. I froze, my heart in my throat, before slowly, carefully turning around.
A huge bird was staring down at me. It was nearly twice my size, with stick-like legs and brown and white plumage. It would've been almost cute, with its skinny legs and chubby build, if not for the black, soulless eyes that stared down at me. Pure darkness seemed to emit from it; a dark aura that sucked in what little light there was left around us.
"E-erm, hello," I greeted weakly, my head-fins trembling. "It's, uh, nice to meet you? I… um…" My voice died away as two more birds emerged from the shadows; a red and a blue one this time, with strange, webbed wings. They were even more horrifying than the first bird, with half-a-dozen dark eyes each. The three monstrous birds moved forward together, slowly backing me into a corner.
"And…you have friends!" I laughed nervously as I felt my back hit the wall behind me. "Uh, maybe we could come to a compromise? I could — "
They didn't let me finish my sentence.
I ducked down as they lunged forward, driving their beaks through solid stone. As I crawled out from between their legs, I heard the sound of stone cracking as they struggled to pull their beaks out. One of them managed to free itself, and it emitted a loud, ear-piercing shriek that echoed through the silent ruins. I dove for one of the alleys, feeling something snap at my tail.
Another pair of screeches cut through the air, signalling that the other two birds were free. Something clamped down on my tail, and all of a sudden I felt myself being lifted into the air. I beat my wings furiously, trying to escape, but it was much too strong. I was thrown to the side, my body colliding against the alley wall. A sharp pain shot through my skull, and for a moment my vision turned black as I slid down the wall.
I began to crawl away shakily, but a sharp claw ripped through the soft fabric of my dress to leave deep, burning scratches along my back. Wincing, I gritted my teeth and summoned what little magic I could, before turning and releasing it straight at the birds. An invisible force shoved the trio backwards, catching on their wings and sending them tumbling through the air. It wasn't enough to deter them, however; they soon righted themselves and turned back to me, their dark eyes now glinting with hunger.
All three of them simultaneously opened their beaks, but instead of a bloodthirsty shriek as I'd expected, a thousand voices poured out.
[i][b]"Give up,"[/b][/i] the voices hissed, hundreds of them layered on top of one another. [i][b]"There is nowhere left for you to run. Come to us. Join ussss…"[/b][/i] The three of them surged forward, a black wave of darkness ready to consume me. [i][b]"JOIN USSSS….."[/b][/i]
I was going to die. I was going to die here, in the middle of nowhere, devoured by this… this [i]monstrosity[/i]. In any other situation, I would've broken down in despair at this point, but I was in too much shock and terror to feel much else.
The wave of darkness reared up before me. [i][b]"One of us,"[/b][/i] the voices chanted gleefully. [i][b]"One of us, one of us, ONE OF —"[/b][/i]
[i]WHAM![/i]
An invisible force sent the three birds flying backwards. Before I could even process what was happening, a flash of green was racing past me. "Night, take care of the Fae!" It shouted as it flew towards the three birds and slammed them into the dust.
I blinked, and out of nowhere, a pair of blue eyes were staring down at me. Claws gripped my shoulder to turn me over, sending white-hot pain shooting through my back. "Ah!" I cried out.
The dragon beside me swore. "Dammit, Nettle, I'm no good at healing!" He shouted back at the other dragon, who was now battling against the three birds single-handedly.
"Well, check if she has any healing potions!" The dragon called back — a female, by the sound of it — as she barely avoided being speared by a beak.
"My bag," I manage. "Have some… in there…" The dragon beside me rummaged through my bag, before pulling out a vial of red liquid.
"Right, just drink this…" He tipped the vial and I swallowed, grimacing as the burning liquid went down my throat. The effect was immediate; I could feel the gashes on my back closing, the skin knitting back together. The dragon beside me, who I now recognised as a Skydancer, held out an arm as support as I got to my feet unsteadily.
"I have to go help Nettle," he told me. "If you're not up to it, you can stay — "
"No," I cut him off, letting go of his arm to test my feet. They seemed good to walk. "I'll help."
He hesitated, before shrugging. I could sense him gathering his magic as he muttered, "We could use it," before racing towards the lone fighter.
The Nocturne had taken some bad hits, judging from the bloody gashes along her side, but she was still standing and battling them off. Snarling, the Skydancer beside me lunged forward and released his magic. A powerful force knocked the birds out of the air and sent them falling to the ground.
"Now, Nettle!" He yelled. The dragon pounced, claws outstretched, and the brown bird's screech were cut off by a guttural choke. The red bird next to it soon shared the same fate.
The last bird rose up, reading to strike at Nettle, but a blast of magic from me sent it crashing to the ground, where Nettle finished it off.
A collective [i]hiss[/i] filled the air. "Watch out!" I cried out in alarm as the Skydancer yanked Nettle backwards. Tendrils of darkness were seeping out of the birds' beaks, merging into a dark, murky cloud.
[i][b]"You may have won this fight, but the battle is not over,"[/b][/i] the voices hissed. [i][b]"The time of the gods is over! Dragonkind will perish and — "[/b][/i]
"Oh, shut up," the Skydancer growled as he send a rush of magic towards the dark cloud. The voices let out one last shriek as the cloud exploded, leaving only wisps behind, and even that dissipated into nothingness.
The Nocturne was the first to speak. "Well, that was interes — [i]ah![/i]" She winced, doubling over.
The Skydancer rounded on me. "Health potion, now," he growled, but I was already passing her a vial. She tilted her head backwards and downed the liquid, making a face as she did so. Even as I watched, the gashes on her side began to heal, leaving nothing but pinkish lines behind.
"Right, now that that's over with — " she held out a claw. " — I'm Nettle, and this here's Nightwing — or Night, as I like to call him." The Skydancer inclined his head towards me.
I reached out and placed my claw in hers. It was tiny in comparison. "Willow. Thanks for saving me."
She waved it off. "It's fine, we're just glad we ran into you when we did. Do you have anywhere to stay? Night's falling, and you don't want to be out on the streets at night, trust me. We've got a place in mind nearby, if you need somewhere to sleep." She bounced on her feet, grinning. "This is so exciting! You're the first dragon I've ran into here since Night! If you want, you can even stay with us long-term! That would be awesome — you could help with gathering food, or maybe even healing, Icewarden knows we need help with that…"
I blinked, my fins buzzing at the Nocturne's overwhelming enthusiasm. "Oh — um — I — "
Nightwing placed a hand on Nettle's shoulder, effectively cutting her off. "Nettle, how about you go see what we can salvage from those birds? In the meantime, I'll talk to our new… [i]friend[/i] here." Nettle bobs her head, before heading over to the deceased birds.
Nightwing turned me around, away from the scene. "Messy business," he muttered in explanation, "Nothing you'd want to see." I hesitated, before shrugging; I'd skinned numerous beasts before, but decided not to argue.
"So," he glared at me."What are you doing here in the Hewn City, anyways?"
"I'm a traveller," I explained. "I sort of just… wandered into it, actually."
"[i]Wandered[/i] into it?" He looked incredulous. "How do you just [i]wander[/i] into it?"
I shrugged. "I was inspecting a plant that was unfamiliar to me, and ended up following it into here."
"Hmph. Ever found out what that plant was?"
"Nope. Was too busy panicking because I had no idea how to get out. I tried finding an exit, but I just ended up getting myself even more lost."
"Hey, Night!" Nettle's voice interrupts. "I'm done! Got some food out of it."
He nodded at her, before turning back to me, scowling. "Right. So, here's the deal; you get to stay the night with us. Try anything, and I'll kill you myself. In the morning, you leave, and we never see each other again. Got it?"
I nodded. It was better than spending the night alone in this city of horrors.
"Good. Follow us, then."
They took me down to a courtyard a few blocks away, into a building that seemed less likely to collapse than the others around it. There, they set up camp: building a small fire, hanging some cloth over the holes in the walls to prevent others from spotting the glow of it (although Nettle assured me that the buildings around us would most likely hide it anyways), and sorting out the food. They gave me some moth wings that they'd gotten earlier on in the day; it was rather tasteless, but at least it didn't make me nauseous.
Nightwing took the first watch, as Nettle and I curled up by the fire. Despite only knowing them for a few hours, I felt strangely safe around them.
I just hoped staying with them wasn't a mistake.
[center]
[url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=37127558]
[img]https://s2.postimg.org/aecv5ug3t/Nettle_normal.png[/img]
[/url]
[url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=34384733]
[img]https://s2.postimg.org/huc4rnbix/Nightwing_normal.png[/img]
[/url][/center]
This wicked insect is immune to fire, so it often lures predators to their doom by flying through bursts of lava.
25
3
Sentence: 10 Coli matches
I was completely, hopelessly lost.
The ruined buildings around me blocked out most of the sky, leaving only hints of it peeking through. Judging from the reddish-purple colour of it, the sun was coming down, and fast. I'd thought of the ruins around me as creepy enough in the daylight, but now it looked positively nightmare-ish, with looming dark shadows accentuated with reddish light.
I felt a shiver run down my spine; this was no place to be at night. But where could I go? The ruins were endless. I'd spent the entire day wandering through the labyrinth of crumbled stone, trying to find an exit to no avail.
A movement in the corner of my sight caught my attention. I spun around to face it, only to find nothing but ruin.
I shook it off. Maybe I was just imagining things.
Just I thought that, I heard a crunch from behind me. I froze, my heart in my throat, before slowly, carefully turning around.
A huge bird was staring down at me. It was nearly twice my size, with stick-like legs and brown and white plumage. It would've been almost cute, with its skinny legs and chubby build, if not for the black, soulless eyes that stared down at me. Pure darkness seemed to emit from it; a dark aura that sucked in what little light there was left around us.
"E-erm, hello," I greeted weakly, my head-fins trembling. "It's, uh, nice to meet you? I… um…" My voice died away as two more birds emerged from the shadows; a red and a blue one this time, with strange, webbed wings. They were even more horrifying than the first bird, with half-a-dozen dark eyes each. The three monstrous birds moved forward together, slowly backing me into a corner.
"And…you have friends!" I laughed nervously as I felt my back hit the wall behind me. "Uh, maybe we could come to a compromise? I could — "
They didn't let me finish my sentence.
I ducked down as they lunged forward, driving their beaks through solid stone. As I crawled out from between their legs, I heard the sound of stone cracking as they struggled to pull their beaks out. One of them managed to free itself, and it emitted a loud, ear-piercing shriek that echoed through the silent ruins. I dove for one of the alleys, feeling something snap at my tail.
Another pair of screeches cut through the air, signalling that the other two birds were free. Something clamped down on my tail, and all of a sudden I felt myself being lifted into the air. I beat my wings furiously, trying to escape, but it was much too strong. I was thrown to the side, my body colliding against the alley wall. A sharp pain shot through my skull, and for a moment my vision turned black as I slid down the wall.
I began to crawl away shakily, but a sharp claw ripped through the soft fabric of my dress to leave deep, burning scratches along my back. Wincing, I gritted my teeth and summoned what little magic I could, before turning and releasing it straight at the birds. An invisible force shoved the trio backwards, catching on their wings and sending them tumbling through the air. It wasn't enough to deter them, however; they soon righted themselves and turned back to me, their dark eyes now glinting with hunger.
All three of them simultaneously opened their beaks, but instead of a bloodthirsty shriek as I'd expected, a thousand voices poured out.
"Give up," the voices hissed, hundreds of them layered on top of one another. "There is nowhere left for you to run. Come to us. Join ussss…" The three of them surged forward, a black wave of darkness ready to consume me. "JOIN USSSS….."
I was going to die. I was going to die here, in the middle of nowhere, devoured by this… this monstrosity. In any other situation, I would've broken down in despair at this point, but I was in too much shock and terror to feel much else.
The wave of darkness reared up before me. "One of us," the voices chanted gleefully. "One of us, one of us, ONE OF —"
WHAM!
An invisible force sent the three birds flying backwards. Before I could even process what was happening, a flash of green was racing past me. "Night, take care of the Fae!" It shouted as it flew towards the three birds and slammed them into the dust.
I blinked, and out of nowhere, a pair of blue eyes were staring down at me. Claws gripped my shoulder to turn me over, sending white-hot pain shooting through my back. "Ah!" I cried out.
The dragon beside me swore. "Dammit, Nettle, I'm no good at healing!" He shouted back at the other dragon, who was now battling against the three birds single-handedly.
"Well, check if she has any healing potions!" The dragon called back — a female, by the sound of it — as she barely avoided being speared by a beak.
"My bag," I manage. "Have some… in there…" The dragon beside me rummaged through my bag, before pulling out a vial of red liquid.
"Right, just drink this…" He tipped the vial and I swallowed, grimacing as the burning liquid went down my throat. The effect was immediate; I could feel the gashes on my back closing, the skin knitting back together. The dragon beside me, who I now recognised as a Skydancer, held out an arm as support as I got to my feet unsteadily.
"I have to go help Nettle," he told me. "If you're not up to it, you can stay — "
"No," I cut him off, letting go of his arm to test my feet. They seemed good to walk. "I'll help."
He hesitated, before shrugging. I could sense him gathering his magic as he muttered, "We could use it," before racing towards the lone fighter.
The Nocturne had taken some bad hits, judging from the bloody gashes along her side, but she was still standing and battling them off. Snarling, the Skydancer beside me lunged forward and released his magic. A powerful force knocked the birds out of the air and sent them falling to the ground.
"Now, Nettle!" He yelled. The dragon pounced, claws outstretched, and the brown bird's screech were cut off by a guttural choke. The red bird next to it soon shared the same fate.
The last bird rose up, reading to strike at Nettle, but a blast of magic from me sent it crashing to the ground, where Nettle finished it off.
A collective hiss filled the air. "Watch out!" I cried out in alarm as the Skydancer yanked Nettle backwards. Tendrils of darkness were seeping out of the birds' beaks, merging into a dark, murky cloud.
"You may have won this fight, but the battle is not over," the voices hissed. "The time of the gods is over! Dragonkind will perish and — "
"Oh, shut up," the Skydancer growled as he send a rush of magic towards the dark cloud. The voices let out one last shriek as the cloud exploded, leaving only wisps behind, and even that dissipated into nothingness.
The Nocturne was the first to speak. "Well, that was interes — ah!" She winced, doubling over.
The Skydancer rounded on me. "Health potion, now," he growled, but I was already passing her a vial. She tilted her head backwards and downed the liquid, making a face as she did so. Even as I watched, the gashes on her side began to heal, leaving nothing but pinkish lines behind.
"Right, now that that's over with — " she held out a claw. " — I'm Nettle, and this here's Nightwing — or Night, as I like to call him." The Skydancer inclined his head towards me.
I reached out and placed my claw in hers. It was tiny in comparison. "Willow. Thanks for saving me."
She waved it off. "It's fine, we're just glad we ran into you when we did. Do you have anywhere to stay? Night's falling, and you don't want to be out on the streets at night, trust me. We've got a place in mind nearby, if you need somewhere to sleep." She bounced on her feet, grinning. "This is so exciting! You're the first dragon I've ran into here since Night! If you want, you can even stay with us long-term! That would be awesome — you could help with gathering food, or maybe even healing, Icewarden knows we need help with that…"
I blinked, my fins buzzing at the Nocturne's overwhelming enthusiasm. "Oh — um — I — "
Nightwing placed a hand on Nettle's shoulder, effectively cutting her off. "Nettle, how about you go see what we can salvage from those birds? In the meantime, I'll talk to our new… friend here." Nettle bobs her head, before heading over to the deceased birds.
Nightwing turned me around, away from the scene. "Messy business," he muttered in explanation, "Nothing you'd want to see." I hesitated, before shrugging; I'd skinned numerous beasts before, but decided not to argue.
"So," he glared at me."What are you doing here in the Hewn City, anyways?"
"I'm a traveller," I explained. "I sort of just… wandered into it, actually."
"Wandered into it?" He looked incredulous. "How do you just wander into it?"
I shrugged. "I was inspecting a plant that was unfamiliar to me, and ended up following it into here."
"Hmph. Ever found out what that plant was?"
"Nope. Was too busy panicking because I had no idea how to get out. I tried finding an exit, but I just ended up getting myself even more lost."
"Hey, Night!" Nettle's voice interrupts. "I'm done! Got some food out of it."
He nodded at her, before turning back to me, scowling. "Right. So, here's the deal; you get to stay the night with us. Try anything, and I'll kill you myself. In the morning, you leave, and we never see each other again. Got it?"
I nodded. It was better than spending the night alone in this city of horrors.
"Good. Follow us, then."
They took me down to a courtyard a few blocks away, into a building that seemed less likely to collapse than the others around it. There, they set up camp: building a small fire, hanging some cloth over the holes in the walls to prevent others from spotting the glow of it (although Nettle assured me that the buildings around us would most likely hide it anyways), and sorting out the food. They gave me some moth wings that they'd gotten earlier on in the day; it was rather tasteless, but at least it didn't make me nauseous.
Nightwing took the first watch, as Nettle and I curled up by the fire. Despite only knowing them for a few hours, I felt strangely safe around them.
I just hoped staying with them wasn't a mistake.
[center][b]Entry 2: Willow[/b]
[i]Day 2[/i]
[item=squirrel skull]
Sentence: Writing[/center]
-----
I woke up to the sound of furious whispering.
"We can't just throw her out!" Nettle's voice hissed loudly.
"Shh! Keep your voice down, you'll wake her up!" Nightwing's voice hissed irritably in return.
I kept my back turned away and feinted sleep, aware that this was [i]not[/i] a conversation I was supposed to be hearing.
"So you have no problem kicking her to the streets but you don't want to wake her up?" Nettle huffed.
"We made a deal, and she [i]agreed[/i] to it."
"It's not like you gave her much of a choice! Listen, it wouldn't hurt to have another dragon around, would it? She could help with gathering, plus it would be useful to have a healer on our side…"
"Assuming she doesn't try to kill us in our sleep, you mean?" Nightwing said flatly.
"I don't think she will. I mean, just look at her — she's [i]tiny[/i]."
I tried not to take offence at Nettle's statement.
"Size doesn't represent a dragon's strength, you know. I've met Fae her size who could knock Imperials out."
"Even better! She can help with fending off all these monsters around here."
I could hear Nightwing groan. "Nettle, [i]we can't trust her[/i]."
"Just give her a [i]chance[/i]. I know she'll prove herself trustworthy." The conviction in her voice made my heart warm. This stranger that had only met me last night was ready to risk the safety of her and her ally by placing her faith in me. No one had ever believed in me with such surety before. I made a mental note to work extra hard to live up to her expectations — assuming they'd let me stay.
"How do you know?" The doubt in Nightwing's voice was clear.
"I know the same way I knew I could trust [i]you,[/i] when we first met."
I could sense Nightwing's hesitation. He seemed to be wrestling with the notion of just trusting someone off the bat. It was a few moments before he finally gave in. "Oh, [i]fine[/i]. But she better pull her own weight."
Even with my back turned, I could tell that Nettle was jumping up and down and grinning from ear to ear. "Yes! Thank you, thank you, thank you!"
"Yeah, okay, you can get off me now," Nightwing grumbled. "Go wake your new friend up, we need to leave soon."
I squeezed my eyes shut and held myself as still as I could as Nettle approached. She shook my shoulder gently, and I tried my best to act like she'd just woken me up; rubbing my eyes, faking a yawn. "Wh…What's going on?" I asked, pretend to still be groggy from sleep.
"We're taking down camp," Nettle explained. "Can't stay in one place too long, or the monsters will notice. We'll explain more over breakfast."
I joined her and Nightwing in sitting down around the fire, where she passed me a dead moth. I chewed on it as Nettle began to talk. "So, after some thought, we've decided that you can stay with us for the time being." She paused, and I held my breath. Had she for some reason changed her mind. "That is, if you want to…?"
"Of course I would! Thank you." I shot her a grateful smile, which she returned with a grin whilst ignoring Nightwing's glare over the fire. "Of course, you'll be expected to help out with things; gathering food, helping us fight off monsters, all that kind of stuff."
"I don't mind," I replied quickly. Anything to convince them to keep me around.
"Great! That's settled then." She pulled aside one of the cloths to take a peak outside; the sky had lightened to a dark azure. "Looks like we'd better get going, then."
"Erm — going where, exactly?" I asked.
Nettle looked at me, a confused expression on her face. "To search for an exit, of course. What else would we be doing in this god-forsaken place?"
"Nothing. I just wanted to check." At least our interests were in line.
Nettle began tearing down the cloth along the walls, while Nightwing stomped out the fire and took stock of inventory. I checked my bag to make sure everything was there: health potions, some dried insect leftovers, my money pouch, and a bottle of water. No needle or sewing thread, unfortunately; it looked like my dress wouldn't be getting repaired anytime soon.
As I prepared to leave, a claw grasped my arm and spun me around. Unfriendly blue eyes glowered down at me. "I don't know why Nettle trusts you, but I don't," Nightwing growled in a low tone. "So let's be clear: if you hurt her, or even attempt to in any way — "
"You'll kill me?" I guessed.
"No, that'd be too merciful." Nightwing narrowed his eyes. "If you betray us, I'll hand you over to the monsters myself and let them deal with you."
I shuddered. Compared to the dark abomination that attacked us last night, I found death preferable. "Consider it duly noted."
He nodded, releasing my arm. "Good. Try to keep up."
We left as the sky turned to a light blue. As it turned out, keeping up with the pair was much harder than I'd foreseen. Nightwing set a difficult pace to follow, but Nettle did not seem to mind, matching up to it almost perfectly. The two of them nearly left me in the dust, but I somehow found the energy to keep up, partially due to not wanting to catch Nightwing's attention, and partially because I knew that to be left behind was to become prey to the dark creatures that haunted the Hewn City.
We stopped at mid-morning for a short break. By then, I was already panting and sweating buckets. Nettle noticed, and immediately berated Nightwing for going too fast. The Skydancer rolled his eyes, but after some arguing agreed to a slower speed.
The pace didn't slow down so much as I got used to it. Getting into the rhythm of it helped, along with distractions in the form of Nettle's constant inquiries; on my dress (a purchase from a festival shop), how I ended up here (I gave her the same excuse I gave to Nightwing), and some more personal stuff regarding my family and where I was from. I chose not to answer those, and she was kind enough not to pry, although I did not miss the suspicious look Nightwing shot me at my silence.
Nettle explained to me about the monsters we'd encountered last night. "They're Shade-touched. You know what the Shade is, right?" I nodded; I may have been out of the loop on most of the recent events, but the Shade I had learned about in History classes in my former clan. It was saddening to realise how long ago that was.
"Right, so what we mean by 'Shade-touched' is that the creature has been infected and their mind taken over by the Shade. You can usually tell by their solid black eyes and general dark aura. There are ways to knock the Shade out of them, but usually it's easier and more profitable to just kill them."
"But where does the Shade bit in the host go after it's been killed?"
Nettle shrugged. "Usually by then it's too weak to fight back, so it just slithers away back to where it came from — which we have not yet found out where, neither do we really want to. We also haven't found a way to destroy those Shade leftovers yet, so we've been resigned to letting them go."
"Can dragons be infected?" The thought sent a shiver down my spine. The notion of having my mind and body taken over by some parasite…
"Well, so far [i]we[/i] haven't been, but if it can infect all those creatures, it's more than possible."
Nightwing spoke up for the first time in hours. "Usually there's a lot more of those Shade-touched creatures hanging around…" He glanced around suspiciously.
"Maybe we scared them off last night?" Nettle suggested.
Nightwing didn't look convinced. "Maybe… but we should be extra careful, just in case."
"We can't just throw her out!" Nettle's voice hissed loudly.
"Shh! Keep your voice down, you'll wake her up!" Nightwing's voice hissed irritably in return.
I kept my back turned away and feinted sleep, aware that this was not a conversation I was supposed to be hearing.
"So you have no problem kicking her to the streets but you don't want to wake her up?" Nettle huffed.
"We made a deal, and she agreed to it."
"It's not like you gave her much of a choice! Listen, it wouldn't hurt to have another dragon around, would it? She could help with gathering, plus it would be useful to have a healer on our side…"
"Assuming she doesn't try to kill us in our sleep, you mean?" Nightwing said flatly.
"I don't think she will. I mean, just look at her — she's tiny."
I tried not to take offence at Nettle's statement.
"Size doesn't represent a dragon's strength, you know. I've met Fae her size who could knock Imperials out."
"Even better! She can help with fending off all these monsters around here."
I could hear Nightwing groan. "Nettle, we can't trust her."
"Just give her a chance. I know she'll prove herself trustworthy." The conviction in her voice made my heart warm. This stranger that had only met me last night was ready to risk the safety of her and her ally by placing her faith in me. No one had ever believed in me with such surety before. I made a mental note to work extra hard to live up to her expectations — assuming they'd let me stay.
"How do you know?" The doubt in Nightwing's voice was clear.
"I know the same way I knew I could trust you, when we first met."
I could sense Nightwing's hesitation. He seemed to be wrestling with the notion of just trusting someone off the bat. It was a few moments before he finally gave in. "Oh, fine. But she better pull her own weight."
Even with my back turned, I could tell that Nettle was jumping up and down and grinning from ear to ear. "Yes! Thank you, thank you, thank you!"
"Yeah, okay, you can get off me now," Nightwing grumbled. "Go wake your new friend up, we need to leave soon."
I squeezed my eyes shut and held myself as still as I could as Nettle approached. She shook my shoulder gently, and I tried my best to act like she'd just woken me up; rubbing my eyes, faking a yawn. "Wh…What's going on?" I asked, pretend to still be groggy from sleep.
"We're taking down camp," Nettle explained. "Can't stay in one place too long, or the monsters will notice. We'll explain more over breakfast."
I joined her and Nightwing in sitting down around the fire, where she passed me a dead moth. I chewed on it as Nettle began to talk. "So, after some thought, we've decided that you can stay with us for the time being." She paused, and I held my breath. Had she for some reason changed her mind. "That is, if you want to…?"
"Of course I would! Thank you." I shot her a grateful smile, which she returned with a grin whilst ignoring Nightwing's glare over the fire. "Of course, you'll be expected to help out with things; gathering food, helping us fight off monsters, all that kind of stuff."
"I don't mind," I replied quickly. Anything to convince them to keep me around.
"Great! That's settled then." She pulled aside one of the cloths to take a peak outside; the sky had lightened to a dark azure. "Looks like we'd better get going, then."
"Erm — going where, exactly?" I asked.
Nettle looked at me, a confused expression on her face. "To search for an exit, of course. What else would we be doing in this god-forsaken place?"
"Nothing. I just wanted to check." At least our interests were in line.
Nettle began tearing down the cloth along the walls, while Nightwing stomped out the fire and took stock of inventory. I checked my bag to make sure everything was there: health potions, some dried insect leftovers, my money pouch, and a bottle of water. No needle or sewing thread, unfortunately; it looked like my dress wouldn't be getting repaired anytime soon.
As I prepared to leave, a claw grasped my arm and spun me around. Unfriendly blue eyes glowered down at me. "I don't know why Nettle trusts you, but I don't," Nightwing growled in a low tone. "So let's be clear: if you hurt her, or even attempt to in any way — "
"You'll kill me?" I guessed.
"No, that'd be too merciful." Nightwing narrowed his eyes. "If you betray us, I'll hand you over to the monsters myself and let them deal with you."
I shuddered. Compared to the dark abomination that attacked us last night, I found death preferable. "Consider it duly noted."
He nodded, releasing my arm. "Good. Try to keep up."
We left as the sky turned to a light blue. As it turned out, keeping up with the pair was much harder than I'd foreseen. Nightwing set a difficult pace to follow, but Nettle did not seem to mind, matching up to it almost perfectly. The two of them nearly left me in the dust, but I somehow found the energy to keep up, partially due to not wanting to catch Nightwing's attention, and partially because I knew that to be left behind was to become prey to the dark creatures that haunted the Hewn City.
We stopped at mid-morning for a short break. By then, I was already panting and sweating buckets. Nettle noticed, and immediately berated Nightwing for going too fast. The Skydancer rolled his eyes, but after some arguing agreed to a slower speed.
The pace didn't slow down so much as I got used to it. Getting into the rhythm of it helped, along with distractions in the form of Nettle's constant inquiries; on my dress (a purchase from a festival shop), how I ended up here (I gave her the same excuse I gave to Nightwing), and some more personal stuff regarding my family and where I was from. I chose not to answer those, and she was kind enough not to pry, although I did not miss the suspicious look Nightwing shot me at my silence.
Nettle explained to me about the monsters we'd encountered last night. "They're Shade-touched. You know what the Shade is, right?" I nodded; I may have been out of the loop on most of the recent events, but the Shade I had learned about in History classes in my former clan. It was saddening to realise how long ago that was.
"Right, so what we mean by 'Shade-touched' is that the creature has been infected and their mind taken over by the Shade. You can usually tell by their solid black eyes and general dark aura. There are ways to knock the Shade out of them, but usually it's easier and more profitable to just kill them."
"But where does the Shade bit in the host go after it's been killed?"
Nettle shrugged. "Usually by then it's too weak to fight back, so it just slithers away back to where it came from — which we have not yet found out where, neither do we really want to. We also haven't found a way to destroy those Shade leftovers yet, so we've been resigned to letting them go."
"Can dragons be infected?" The thought sent a shiver down my spine. The notion of having my mind and body taken over by some parasite…
"Well, so far we haven't been, but if it can infect all those creatures, it's more than possible."
Nightwing spoke up for the first time in hours. "Usually there's a lot more of those Shade-touched creatures hanging around…" He glanced around suspiciously.
"Maybe we scared them off last night?" Nettle suggested.
Nightwing didn't look convinced. "Maybe… but we should be extra careful, just in case."
[center][b]Entry 3: Nightwing[/b]
[i]Day 3[/i]
[item=spellbound glove]
Sentence: Writing[/center]
-----
We didn't find an exit. Instead, we found civilisation.
"Who would want to set up a trading post in these god-forsaken place?" I asked, incredulous, as I watched the crowd of dragons mingling before me. "Scratch that, why are there even [i]people[/i] here? They can't [i]all[/i] be lost like us!"
Beside me, Willow gulped. Although her voice remained as monotonous as ever, the quivering of her fins gave away her nervousness. "You know what? I think I'll just meet you guys at the other end. Have fun shop — "
"Oh no you don't!" Nettle latched onto the back of her gown. "You're a part of our group now, meaning you stick with us at all times, no matter how much you don't like shopping."
I inwardly groaned. It would've been convenient if the Fae disappeared on her own accord; that way, Nettle couldn't blame me for driving her away, and I would be rid of this new burden. Unfortunately, Nettle seemed determined to keep her new friend around, leaving me no choice but to go along with it. I could only try to ensure it wasn't something to be regretted.
We entered the trading post and were immediately surrounded by dragons. Nettle clung onto Willow, to prevent the Fae from running off and also to keep her from being stampeded. The crowd was much smaller compared to other trading posts I'd been to, but it felt huge after days of near-isolation.
I pointed out to Nettle one of the stalls nearby. "See the symbol on his shop's banner? It means he's a healer."
Nettle's face lit up. "A healer? Maybe we could learn a thing or two from him!" Before I could even reply, she was already pulling us over. "Good morning, sir!" Nettle greeted the old Pearlcatcher cheerfully.
The dragon raised his head slowly. "Eh? Yes, yes… a very good morning… are you in need of healing?"
"Oh, no. Actually, we wanted to ask if you could teach us [i]how[/i] to heal?" Nettle flashed him her most brilliant smile.
The Pearlcatcher stroked his whiskers. "Hmm… teach? I would still have to charge… but yes, I could."
Nettle beamed at him. "That's great!" She pushed an alarmed Willow forward. "This is Willow, she'll be your student. And… Night?" She turned to me questioningly.
I blinked. Me? A healer? A thousand possibilities of what could go wrong flashed through my mind, and I shuddered. "Uh, no thanks." I turned to the healer instead, who was looking at me inquisitively. "How much will it cost to train her?"
"Eight gems."
I considered it. It wasn't unreasonable, but we probably could've probably found a cheaper healer somewhere else. Given how unlikely it was to run into another trading post in this place, however, I decided to take the offer. I poured some gems out of my money pouch and counted it, before passing him four of the green jewels. "Here's half of it, we'll pay the remaining when we come back to collect her. How long will it take?"
"To learn the basics, only a couple of hours."
I frowned. "Just the basics?"
"To become a good healer, one requires experience," he explained. "And experience cannot be bought, or taught. The advanced techniques will come to her in time." It seemed rather vague and uncertain, but who was I to question his methods? I was no healer.
"Alright. We'll see you in two hours, then." Checking that the other two weren't looking, I leaned in close to the Pearlcatcher. "Make sure she doesn't try to leave, alright?" The old dragon looked curious, but nodded. As much as I disliked having Willow around, I wasn't about to let her run off after paying for her training.
"Have fun!" Nettle told Willow. The Fae maintained her usual emotionless demeanour, but underneath it she was a bundle of nerves. The waves of anxiousness rolling off of her nearly overloaded my senses. What was it about this trading post that had her so tense? I stepped forward, all but ready to interrogate her right then and there, when a claw grasped my arm and pulled me back into the street.
"Hey!" I protested. "I was about to question her!"
Nettle looked at me in confusion. "Question her on what?"
"On why she's so high-strung all of a sudden!"
"High-strung?"
I stopped. "Well, yeah. Didn't you notice?"
Nettle gave me a look. "Fae are pretty hard to read, and not everyone has your Skydancer senses. Besides, maybe she's just nervous about learning healing for the first time." I opened my mouth to argue, but she held up a talon , effectively cutting me off. "Listen, there's really nowhere else to go, and Willow's not dumb enough to go into the City on her own. If you really want to interrogate her, you can do so later. In the meantime," she looped her arm around mine, "we have some shopping to do."
As we soon found out, there were clans who had set up in the Hewn City, and this trading post had been established for them. I didn't understand why anyone would want to live in this creepy place, but hey, it was their choice.
The first stop we made was the alchemist, where we stocked up on health potions. Even with a healer, it was always better to carry around some potions just in case.
Next was the second-hand clothes stall. "Now that it's getting colder, we'll need some clothes, preferably thicker ones," I told Nettle as we rummaged through the racks and piles of clothes.
"Is it really getting colder?" Nettle looked surprised. "I didn't notice."
"Yeah, well, you're an Ice dragon. You're probably immune to it. All the same, we should get some for you as well." After some thought, I added, "And for Willow as well. That gown won't help anyone when winter hits."
Nettle winked at me over the rack of clothes. "Knew you'd warm to her eventually."
"Shut up," I grumbled. "I'm only letting her stick around because we need a healer. But if she proves untrustworthy, I'll be more than happy to kick her out, even if it means losing out on my investment."
"[i]Investment.[/i]" Nettle made a [i]tsk[/i] sound, shaking her head. "We really need to work on your social skills."
"Social skills don't keep you alive."
"But they make life so much better. I mean, what if you'd never met me?"
"I'd have one less burden to worry about."
Nettle reached over the rack to smack my head. "Hey!" I complained.
In the end, we did manage to find some clothing that was still in good shape and would help with the cold. While Nettle wanted to go on shopping, I was adamant on returning to the healer's stall, partially to prevent her from spending all our money, and partially to interrogate Willow. When we got there, however, not only was the Fae nowhere in sight, but the healer as well.
I cursed. "Damnit, we never should've left her alone! We'll have to split up and search for them. Nettle, you head down, I'll go back where we came from. They've got to be here somewhe — "
"Hello." I jumped, whipping around to find the healer behind me and Willow right next to him.
"Sorry to scare you," she apologised, "but we finished early and I wanted to get my dress fixed."
I breathed a sigh of relief. We hadn't lost our healer after all. "So you can heal people now?" Nettle asked excitedly.
Willow grinned. "Yup. Master Gawel even let me treat some of his patients." A master? That was surprising. I was about to ask what a master healer was doing here in the Hewn City, but decided that it was none of my business.
"She did a splendid job," the Pearlcatcher — Master Gawel — assured me. "She'll become an excellent healer in due time."
I shrugged and handed him the gems. "If you say so. Thank you."
"You are welcome." He turned to Willow. "If you ever pass by this area again, I am always open to visitors."
Willow bowed to him. "Of course, Master." She waved him goodbye, before we rejoined the crowd once more. As soon as we came out of the other end of the trading post, I grabbed Willow and dragged her into an empty alley, Nettle right behind us.
"Night!" Nettle objected. I ignored her, instead turning on Willow.
"Why were you so nervous when we entered the trading post?" I snarled. Her cool exterior never faltered, but I could sense her tensing up.
"I wasn't nervous," she denied.
I snorted. "Sure you weren't. I can tell when you lie, so don't try to." I crossed my arms. "Remember what I told you about betraying us? It applies to hiding things from us as well." She visibly gulped. "So answer the question: why were you so nervous about going into the trading post?"
"I…I…" She hesitated, internally wrestling with her thoughts. It was a while before she finally let out a sigh. "[i]Alright[/i]. I'll tell you."
She plopped down on the ground, the resignation rolling off of her. "You might want to sit down. My story's a bit long."
-----
[i]A/N: New outfits!!!
[center]
[url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=7812585]
[img]https://s2.postimg.org/yuv10fbqh/Willow_winter.png[/img]
[/url]
[i]Definitely prefer Willow's first outfit, but she'd probably freeze to death in that, so this will do.
[url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=37127558]
[img]https://s2.postimg.org/aecv5v395/Nettle_Winter.png[/img]
[/url]
[i]Since Nettle's an Ice dragon she doesn't need winter clothes, but I figured she could use some armour, being the melee fighter of the team.
[url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=34384733]
[img]https://s2.postimg.org/8mjwayc6h/Nightwing_Winter.png[/img][/url]
[i]I really like this outfit for him! I might keep it.
[/center]
Dragons that attempt to place their claws inside this glove may find they are unable to remove them again.
53
Sentence: Writing
We didn't find an exit. Instead, we found civilisation.
"Who would want to set up a trading post in these god-forsaken place?" I asked, incredulous, as I watched the crowd of dragons mingling before me. "Scratch that, why are there even people here? They can't all be lost like us!"
Beside me, Willow gulped. Although her voice remained as monotonous as ever, the quivering of her fins gave away her nervousness. "You know what? I think I'll just meet you guys at the other end. Have fun shop — "
"Oh no you don't!" Nettle latched onto the back of her gown. "You're a part of our group now, meaning you stick with us at all times, no matter how much you don't like shopping."
I inwardly groaned. It would've been convenient if the Fae disappeared on her own accord; that way, Nettle couldn't blame me for driving her away, and I would be rid of this new burden. Unfortunately, Nettle seemed determined to keep her new friend around, leaving me no choice but to go along with it. I could only try to ensure it wasn't something to be regretted.
We entered the trading post and were immediately surrounded by dragons. Nettle clung onto Willow, to prevent the Fae from running off and also to keep her from being stampeded. The crowd was much smaller compared to other trading posts I'd been to, but it felt huge after days of near-isolation.
I pointed out to Nettle one of the stalls nearby. "See the symbol on his shop's banner? It means he's a healer."
Nettle's face lit up. "A healer? Maybe we could learn a thing or two from him!" Before I could even reply, she was already pulling us over. "Good morning, sir!" Nettle greeted the old Pearlcatcher cheerfully.
The dragon raised his head slowly. "Eh? Yes, yes… a very good morning… are you in need of healing?"
"Oh, no. Actually, we wanted to ask if you could teach us how to heal?" Nettle flashed him her most brilliant smile.
The Pearlcatcher stroked his whiskers. "Hmm… teach? I would still have to charge… but yes, I could."
Nettle beamed at him. "That's great!" She pushed an alarmed Willow forward. "This is Willow, she'll be your student. And… Night?" She turned to me questioningly.
I blinked. Me? A healer? A thousand possibilities of what could go wrong flashed through my mind, and I shuddered. "Uh, no thanks." I turned to the healer instead, who was looking at me inquisitively. "How much will it cost to train her?"
"Eight gems."
I considered it. It wasn't unreasonable, but we probably could've probably found a cheaper healer somewhere else. Given how unlikely it was to run into another trading post in this place, however, I decided to take the offer. I poured some gems out of my money pouch and counted it, before passing him four of the green jewels. "Here's half of it, we'll pay the remaining when we come back to collect her. How long will it take?"
"To learn the basics, only a couple of hours."
I frowned. "Just the basics?"
"To become a good healer, one requires experience," he explained. "And experience cannot be bought, or taught. The advanced techniques will come to her in time." It seemed rather vague and uncertain, but who was I to question his methods? I was no healer.
"Alright. We'll see you in two hours, then." Checking that the other two weren't looking, I leaned in close to the Pearlcatcher. "Make sure she doesn't try to leave, alright?" The old dragon looked curious, but nodded. As much as I disliked having Willow around, I wasn't about to let her run off after paying for her training.
"Have fun!" Nettle told Willow. The Fae maintained her usual emotionless demeanour, but underneath it she was a bundle of nerves. The waves of anxiousness rolling off of her nearly overloaded my senses. What was it about this trading post that had her so tense? I stepped forward, all but ready to interrogate her right then and there, when a claw grasped my arm and pulled me back into the street.
"Hey!" I protested. "I was about to question her!"
Nettle looked at me in confusion. "Question her on what?"
"On why she's so high-strung all of a sudden!"
"High-strung?"
I stopped. "Well, yeah. Didn't you notice?"
Nettle gave me a look. "Fae are pretty hard to read, and not everyone has your Skydancer senses. Besides, maybe she's just nervous about learning healing for the first time." I opened my mouth to argue, but she held up a talon , effectively cutting me off. "Listen, there's really nowhere else to go, and Willow's not dumb enough to go into the City on her own. If you really want to interrogate her, you can do so later. In the meantime," she looped her arm around mine, "we have some shopping to do."
As we soon found out, there were clans who had set up in the Hewn City, and this trading post had been established for them. I didn't understand why anyone would want to live in this creepy place, but hey, it was their choice.
The first stop we made was the alchemist, where we stocked up on health potions. Even with a healer, it was always better to carry around some potions just in case.
Next was the second-hand clothes stall. "Now that it's getting colder, we'll need some clothes, preferably thicker ones," I told Nettle as we rummaged through the racks and piles of clothes.
"Is it really getting colder?" Nettle looked surprised. "I didn't notice."
"Yeah, well, you're an Ice dragon. You're probably immune to it. All the same, we should get some for you as well." After some thought, I added, "And for Willow as well. That gown won't help anyone when winter hits."
Nettle winked at me over the rack of clothes. "Knew you'd warm to her eventually."
"Shut up," I grumbled. "I'm only letting her stick around because we need a healer. But if she proves untrustworthy, I'll be more than happy to kick her out, even if it means losing out on my investment."
"Investment." Nettle made a tsk sound, shaking her head. "We really need to work on your social skills."
"Social skills don't keep you alive."
"But they make life so much better. I mean, what if you'd never met me?"
"I'd have one less burden to worry about."
Nettle reached over the rack to smack my head. "Hey!" I complained.
In the end, we did manage to find some clothing that was still in good shape and would help with the cold. While Nettle wanted to go on shopping, I was adamant on returning to the healer's stall, partially to prevent her from spending all our money, and partially to interrogate Willow. When we got there, however, not only was the Fae nowhere in sight, but the healer as well.
I cursed. "Damnit, we never should've left her alone! We'll have to split up and search for them. Nettle, you head down, I'll go back where we came from. They've got to be here somewhe — "
"Hello." I jumped, whipping around to find the healer behind me and Willow right next to him.
"Sorry to scare you," she apologised, "but we finished early and I wanted to get my dress fixed."
I breathed a sigh of relief. We hadn't lost our healer after all. "So you can heal people now?" Nettle asked excitedly.
Willow grinned. "Yup. Master Gawel even let me treat some of his patients." A master? That was surprising. I was about to ask what a master healer was doing here in the Hewn City, but decided that it was none of my business.
"She did a splendid job," the Pearlcatcher — Master Gawel — assured me. "She'll become an excellent healer in due time."
I shrugged and handed him the gems. "If you say so. Thank you."
"You are welcome." He turned to Willow. "If you ever pass by this area again, I am always open to visitors."
Willow bowed to him. "Of course, Master." She waved him goodbye, before we rejoined the crowd once more. As soon as we came out of the other end of the trading post, I grabbed Willow and dragged her into an empty alley, Nettle right behind us.
"Night!" Nettle objected. I ignored her, instead turning on Willow.
"Why were you so nervous when we entered the trading post?" I snarled. Her cool exterior never faltered, but I could sense her tensing up.
"I wasn't nervous," she denied.
I snorted. "Sure you weren't. I can tell when you lie, so don't try to." I crossed my arms. "Remember what I told you about betraying us? It applies to hiding things from us as well." She visibly gulped. "So answer the question: why were you so nervous about going into the trading post?"
"I…I…" She hesitated, internally wrestling with her thoughts. It was a while before she finally let out a sigh. "Alright. I'll tell you."
She plopped down on the ground, the resignation rolling off of her. "You might want to sit down. My story's a bit long."
A/N: New outfits!!!
Definitely prefer Willow's first outfit, but she'd probably freeze to death in that, so this will do.
Since Nettle's an Ice dragon she doesn't need winter clothes, but I figured she could use some armour, being the melee fighter of the team.
I really like this outfit for him! I might keep it.
[center][b]Entry 4: Nightwing[/b]
[i]Day 4[/i]
[item=birch logs]
Sentence: Writing[/center]
-----
"I am Willow — "
"Yes, we knew that already," I cut in irritably.
"Night, would you just let her speak?" Nettle said crossly, before turning to Willow. "Go on, just ignore him."
The Fae seemed unaffected by the disturbance. "As I was saying, I am Willow; firstborn to Birch and Juniper, and the heir to the leadership of the Firefallow clan." She paused. "Or, well, the [i]true[/i] heir. My sister Olive has taken over in my place."
"Why?" Nettle asked. I shot a glare at her from behind.
"Look who's interrupting now?" I muttered. She ignored me.
"For you to understand, I think I should start at the beginning; my birth. You see, in the Firefallow clan, nesting has its… complications. The magic in the area just isn't strong enough to support the nests. Most eggs don't survive to the hatching stage. I was the first of my parents' children to survive, and the celebrations went on for days. They were so happy to finally have an heir."
Her gaze dropped to the ground. "But then after me came Olive, and she was like an improved version of me. More beautiful, more powerful, more charming… but unfortunately, the second child. As we grew older, the differences became even more pronounced. It was obvious that Olive was a better choice for a leader than I was."
Her head shot up suddenly, startling Nettle and I. "Now I know what it sounds like, but I never held a grudge against Olive for this, and I still don't," Willow said hurriedly. "She was just… [i]better[/i] than me, and that was a fact. If I'd been given the choice, I would've gladly given up the leadership to her. Unfortunately, Firefallow is based on a hereditary monarchy, and the laws are very strict. While I, the firstborn, was still alive, I couldn't abdicate the throne to my younger siblings. My parents couldn't disown me, either, or the entire clan would probably riot." Catching my curious stare, she added, "The Firefallow clan has a very high standing on familial ties; disownment and divorce generally doesn't happen. If you marry or have a child, you're stuck with it for life.
"My parents had no other choice. If they wanted Olive to inherit the leadership, they had to get rid of me first. So they put a hit on me."
"They did [i]what[/i]?"
"They hired someone to kill me," Willow explained. Not that we didn't understand it; we were aghast. What kind of parent did that to their own kid? "Luckily for me, one of the council members found out beforehand and warned me. I had just enough time to pack my things and run.
"My pursuer was relentless. He chased me across the Viridian Labyrinth, and eventually to the Sunbeam Ruins. I had thought leaving Nature territory would have been enough to satisfy my parents, but apparently not." I could sense the bitterness radiating off of her. "They wanted me out of the picture for good.
"I was tired of running at that point. No matter where I went, he would be just a few steps behind. I hadn't had proper rest in ages. So I decided that instead of running, I would hide. I wasn't very good at Nature magic — and I'm still not — but I had enough to cast one powerful spell that turned me into a willow tree." She shrugged. "Maybe not the most conventional method, but it threw them off my scent.
"I hibernated as a tree for nearly three years. I don't know what exactly happened in that timespan, but my guess is that the clan and my parents gave up searching and pronounced me dead. Olive was declared heir — maybe even leader — in my place.
She turned to us. "And that's where you guys came in. When I finally woke up, my inner magic reserves were completely depleted. I was so disoriented I ended up wandering into the Hewn City by accident. It was a few days after waking up when I ran into those Shade-touched monsters. I'd only just recovered at that point, but I was still weak. In fact, I'm still not at my full strength."
She took a deep breath, and then exhaled. "I guess you know what came after that. And now you know why I was so nervous at the trading post; I was worried that my parents were still on the hunt for me, and that someone might've recognised my face. Which is unlikely, considering it's been nearly three years since all of that, but well, it was my first time returning to civilisation since my hibernation.
"And that brings us to this point; right here, sitting down in this alley."
"Night, would you just let her speak?" Nettle said crossly, before turning to Willow. "Go on, just ignore him."
The Fae seemed unaffected by the disturbance. "As I was saying, I am Willow; firstborn to Birch and Juniper, and the heir to the leadership of the Firefallow clan." She paused. "Or, well, the true heir. My sister Olive has taken over in my place."
"Why?" Nettle asked. I shot a glare at her from behind.
"Look who's interrupting now?" I muttered. She ignored me.
"For you to understand, I think I should start at the beginning; my birth. You see, in the Firefallow clan, nesting has its… complications. The magic in the area just isn't strong enough to support the nests. Most eggs don't survive to the hatching stage. I was the first of my parents' children to survive, and the celebrations went on for days. They were so happy to finally have an heir."
Her gaze dropped to the ground. "But then after me came Olive, and she was like an improved version of me. More beautiful, more powerful, more charming… but unfortunately, the second child. As we grew older, the differences became even more pronounced. It was obvious that Olive was a better choice for a leader than I was."
Her head shot up suddenly, startling Nettle and I. "Now I know what it sounds like, but I never held a grudge against Olive for this, and I still don't," Willow said hurriedly. "She was just… better than me, and that was a fact. If I'd been given the choice, I would've gladly given up the leadership to her. Unfortunately, Firefallow is based on a hereditary monarchy, and the laws are very strict. While I, the firstborn, was still alive, I couldn't abdicate the throne to my younger siblings. My parents couldn't disown me, either, or the entire clan would probably riot." Catching my curious stare, she added, "The Firefallow clan has a very high standing on familial ties; disownment and divorce generally doesn't happen. If you marry or have a child, you're stuck with it for life.
"My parents had no other choice. If they wanted Olive to inherit the leadership, they had to get rid of me first. So they put a hit on me."
"They did what?"
"They hired someone to kill me," Willow explained. Not that we didn't understand it; we were aghast. What kind of parent did that to their own kid? "Luckily for me, one of the council members found out beforehand and warned me. I had just enough time to pack my things and run.
"My pursuer was relentless. He chased me across the Viridian Labyrinth, and eventually to the Sunbeam Ruins. I had thought leaving Nature territory would have been enough to satisfy my parents, but apparently not." I could sense the bitterness radiating off of her. "They wanted me out of the picture for good.
"I was tired of running at that point. No matter where I went, he would be just a few steps behind. I hadn't had proper rest in ages. So I decided that instead of running, I would hide. I wasn't very good at Nature magic — and I'm still not — but I had enough to cast one powerful spell that turned me into a willow tree." She shrugged. "Maybe not the most conventional method, but it threw them off my scent.
"I hibernated as a tree for nearly three years. I don't know what exactly happened in that timespan, but my guess is that the clan and my parents gave up searching and pronounced me dead. Olive was declared heir — maybe even leader — in my place.
She turned to us. "And that's where you guys came in. When I finally woke up, my inner magic reserves were completely depleted. I was so disoriented I ended up wandering into the Hewn City by accident. It was a few days after waking up when I ran into those Shade-touched monsters. I'd only just recovered at that point, but I was still weak. In fact, I'm still not at my full strength."
She took a deep breath, and then exhaled. "I guess you know what came after that. And now you know why I was so nervous at the trading post; I was worried that my parents were still on the hunt for me, and that someone might've recognised my face. Which is unlikely, considering it's been nearly three years since all of that, but well, it was my first time returning to civilisation since my hibernation.
"And that brings us to this point; right here, sitting down in this alley."
Rules · Characters
