Homeward
Ryla turned out to be a good-natured hatchling, and seemed content to watch the scenery, or just nap as she rode along.
Edan was grateful for that.
It had been a long trip back.
Though Reika had quickly thrown out any of their kills from near the infected waters, their haul was still to heavy to fly far with - even split three ways. The vast portion of their journey had been on foot.
Really, they never shouldn't have strayed so far in the first place. Edan was still trying to work out the mapping of it all in his mind, but the best he could come up with was that the plaguelands were beginning to spread Northward in the late spring heat. That was... worrisome, at best.
They'd walked through the night, and dawn had risen by the time they could spot home through the trees.
Ila was outside, pacing back and forth until she noticed them. She waved excitedly, and hurried to meet them.
"Mornin', Ila," Edan greeted. "Hope we didn't worry you too much."
"I - " Ila staggered to a stop just in front of him, balanced on her hind legs. She put her hands on her hips. "Well, yes, I was worried! What happened to make you take so long?"
"Long story," Edan replied, shaking his head. "I'll tell you all about it a little later, I promise."
Reika slowly held out her arm, which Ryla was wrapped lazily around.
"A lot of it involves this," Edan said, nodding toward the hatchling.
"Oh!" Ila exclaimed, her face lighting up at the sight of the spiral. "Oh my goodness, she's cute!"
Reika nodded, then let her arm drop as Ryla crawled up it to reach her shoulder.
Ila tilted her head to the side, surveying the bags they carried with them. She clasped her hands together and then turned away, calling back toward the buildings.
"Hey, Hazel! Go grab Veldr and Rorin, there's a lot of meat to process!"
The skydancer stood up suddenly from their vegetable garden and nodded before trotting toward one of the buildings.
"Here, let me grab one of those," Ila said, quickly taking hold of one of their bags and hauling it towards the cellar.
Reika passed Ryla over to Edan, trudged over to drop her own bag where Ila did, and then offered a vague half-wave before retreating into her shed.
Saerun pulled the last bag over with Edan. She let out a sigh, glancing over at the shed's door.
"I don't think we really wound up learning much," she said under her breath.
"Well, other than she's a damn good hunter and fighter," Edan replied, gritting his teeth for a moment. "...And we couldn't have seen any of that coming. Just have to try again later."
Saerun frowned, then nodded, stepping away as Hazel reappeared to call Veldr up from the cellar.
"Alright everyone!" Ila called out, clapping her hands together. "Edan and Saerun are back, and we've got a new clan member to welcome! Eyes over here for a second, please!"
Edan quickly stood on his hind legs and held up the hatchling, who let out an excited trill at the sight of the clan gathering.
"This is -" Ila began, only to stop, her mouth frozen in an open smile as she realized she didn't know the spiral's name.
"Ryla," Edan whispered with a chuckle.
"Ryla! Meet Ryla!" she finished quickly. "Please pass that on to everyone who isn't out here right now if you see them before I do! No surprise babies!"
There was a smattering of laughter from a few of the other dragons; Edan wondered vaguely if there was some joke he was missing out on. But he was rapidly becoming aware of his own exhaustion, and couldn't bring himself to care too much.
"So..." Edan began, squinting his eyes and then rubbing at them. "I'm sorry to ask you this, Ila, but can you hold down the fort for... a few more hours? None of us have slept since... before we left, ya know."
"Oh," the nocturne turned, giving him and Saerun a somewhat pitying look. "Of course I can. But, uh, could you help me with one more thing first?"
"What is it?"
"Could you please help me with Marshall? He just... won't stop digging. I can't get him to come back up."
Next chapter! God there's a lot of characters in this locke now. Hope my streamlining it doesn't detract from your reading experience.
Also I hope it didn't sound like I was going for a Dramatic Cliffhanger at the end. It's supposed to be more of an "oh, that's weird." Lmao.
@Dovalore, @Valishtu, @Gloomyvibes, @AnimeLover9631, @Akash, @tigressRising, @ArgenteaMoon, @mintSMASH, @StormWendjule, @IronPen, @Solaristigres, @Acuarela, @Rivix, @Keet, @Farwalker, @catmeow1, @fuurin, @owlstar7, @amberclawed, @Cngx, @Arinemera, @Weredogalism, @Kosaa, @astrallis, @ShadewingRising, @Kyaritty, @Chalkolate, @Luteia, @Drachenschwinge, @Kaskade, @InfiniteIrony, @Darunia, @OrderedChaos, @Kaskade, @Viperfishy, @SallyJane, @shirotsubaki6564, @huskies709, @mmuted, @Pastie, @cybo, @Synchros, @Damindra, @Velvetpaws, @Macrocosm, @Sabariel, @demitri
Ryla turned out to be a good-natured hatchling, and seemed content to watch the scenery, or just nap as she rode along.
Edan was grateful for that.
It had been a long trip back.
Though Reika had quickly thrown out any of their kills from near the infected waters, their haul was still to heavy to fly far with - even split three ways. The vast portion of their journey had been on foot.
Really, they never shouldn't have strayed so far in the first place. Edan was still trying to work out the mapping of it all in his mind, but the best he could come up with was that the plaguelands were beginning to spread Northward in the late spring heat. That was... worrisome, at best.
They'd walked through the night, and dawn had risen by the time they could spot home through the trees.
Ila was outside, pacing back and forth until she noticed them. She waved excitedly, and hurried to meet them.
"Mornin', Ila," Edan greeted. "Hope we didn't worry you too much."
"I - " Ila staggered to a stop just in front of him, balanced on her hind legs. She put her hands on her hips. "Well, yes, I was worried! What happened to make you take so long?"
"Long story," Edan replied, shaking his head. "I'll tell you all about it a little later, I promise."
Reika slowly held out her arm, which Ryla was wrapped lazily around.
"A lot of it involves this," Edan said, nodding toward the hatchling.
"Oh!" Ila exclaimed, her face lighting up at the sight of the spiral. "Oh my goodness, she's cute!"
Reika nodded, then let her arm drop as Ryla crawled up it to reach her shoulder.
Ila tilted her head to the side, surveying the bags they carried with them. She clasped her hands together and then turned away, calling back toward the buildings.
"Hey, Hazel! Go grab Veldr and Rorin, there's a lot of meat to process!"
The skydancer stood up suddenly from their vegetable garden and nodded before trotting toward one of the buildings.
"Here, let me grab one of those," Ila said, quickly taking hold of one of their bags and hauling it towards the cellar.
Reika passed Ryla over to Edan, trudged over to drop her own bag where Ila did, and then offered a vague half-wave before retreating into her shed.
Saerun pulled the last bag over with Edan. She let out a sigh, glancing over at the shed's door.
"I don't think we really wound up learning much," she said under her breath.
"Well, other than she's a damn good hunter and fighter," Edan replied, gritting his teeth for a moment. "...And we couldn't have seen any of that coming. Just have to try again later."
Saerun frowned, then nodded, stepping away as Hazel reappeared to call Veldr up from the cellar.
"Alright everyone!" Ila called out, clapping her hands together. "Edan and Saerun are back, and we've got a new clan member to welcome! Eyes over here for a second, please!"
Edan quickly stood on his hind legs and held up the hatchling, who let out an excited trill at the sight of the clan gathering.
"This is -" Ila began, only to stop, her mouth frozen in an open smile as she realized she didn't know the spiral's name.
"Ryla," Edan whispered with a chuckle.
"Ryla! Meet Ryla!" she finished quickly. "Please pass that on to everyone who isn't out here right now if you see them before I do! No surprise babies!"
There was a smattering of laughter from a few of the other dragons; Edan wondered vaguely if there was some joke he was missing out on. But he was rapidly becoming aware of his own exhaustion, and couldn't bring himself to care too much.
"So..." Edan began, squinting his eyes and then rubbing at them. "I'm sorry to ask you this, Ila, but can you hold down the fort for... a few more hours? None of us have slept since... before we left, ya know."
"Oh," the nocturne turned, giving him and Saerun a somewhat pitying look. "Of course I can. But, uh, could you help me with one more thing first?"
"What is it?"
"Could you please help me with Marshall? He just... won't stop digging. I can't get him to come back up."
Next chapter! God there's a lot of characters in this locke now. Hope my streamlining it doesn't detract from your reading experience.
Also I hope it didn't sound like I was going for a Dramatic Cliffhanger at the end. It's supposed to be more of an "oh, that's weird." Lmao.
@Dovalore, @Valishtu, @Gloomyvibes, @AnimeLover9631, @Akash, @tigressRising, @ArgenteaMoon, @mintSMASH, @StormWendjule, @IronPen, @Solaristigres, @Acuarela, @Rivix, @Keet, @Farwalker, @catmeow1, @fuurin, @owlstar7, @amberclawed, @Cngx, @Arinemera, @Weredogalism, @Kosaa, @astrallis, @ShadewingRising, @Kyaritty, @Chalkolate, @Luteia, @Drachenschwinge, @Kaskade, @InfiniteIrony, @Darunia, @OrderedChaos, @Kaskade, @Viperfishy, @SallyJane, @shirotsubaki6564, @huskies709, @mmuted, @Pastie, @cybo, @Synchros, @Damindra, @Velvetpaws, @Macrocosm, @Sabariel, @demitri
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