Creative Corner

@Drachenschwinge
My friend got a familiar today too but he seems to really like giving me insects and trinkets and like nothing else -_- And yeah Cool is just really bad at life apparently XD

@Sugarkit
Yep. it's for dramatic effect ok

[center][size=5][color=#320089][font=courier new][b]Day 15[/b][/font][/color][/size] ----- [item=Black Iron Spider] Dragons are levels 5, 6, and 7 and I keep losing count of how many matches I've done XD But Woodland Path is so easy now it's great :D And I am dreading Scorched Forest so much. -----[/center] Echo didn't even wait for the crumbling soil to settle before diving into the ground and digging. [b]"Raiya!"[/b] she called over and over again. [b]"Raiya!"[/b] She was aware of Night and Cool dropping down to help, until suddenly Echo felt a leathery thing with a claw attached to it. She scrambled to uncover it all, messily and rapidly, splatting Cool in the face with a clawful of earth. Finally, the little Ridgeback's face was visible. [b]"Raiya!"[/b] Echo was delighted to see her friend alive and breathing. Raiya was breathing shallowly and quickly, her entire body curled up in a ball and her eyes squeezed shut. She was trembling. [b]"I'm sorry,"[/b] Cool came over. Echo was surprised at how genuine his apology was. Raiya's face relaxed slightly and she smiled. She opened her mouth. [b]"That--"[/b] she began coughing hard. Her eyes were still closed and her face scrunched up. [b]"Dirt,"[/b] she managed to choke out, reaching up to rub her eyes and wincing. [b]"There,"[/b] she said, squinting as she sat up. [b]"I'm okay. I don't know what you did but I forgive you, Cool."[/b] [b]"We should go back and have the healer check up on you,"[/b] Night said worriedly. [b]"I'm good,"[/b] Raiya answered confidently. [b]"I'm just--"[/b] she broke into another fit of coughs. [b]"Dust,"[/b] she muttered weakly. [b]"Gosh, I really don't like--"[/b] she choked again. Echo grabbed Raiya's arm. [b]"Come on, to Clan,"[/b] she said. [b]"Night, lead way?"[/b] [b]"Okay,"[/b] Night said, lifting into the air. Echo did as well and tried to pull Raiya up with her. [b]"I don't need a healer,"[/b] Raiya protested calmly. [b]"Plus, we have so much work to do! That was, like, a week's worth of effort that we need to cover for to make our deadline. And--"[/b] coughs racked her body and she trembled when they finally stopped. [b]"At least have Agnessa check on you,"[/b] Night said as they continued to fly. Cool trailed behind them but stuck closer to the group than he usually did. Raiya's positive smile wavered for a moment. [b]"Agnessa's taking care of the new hatchlings and her own eggs. I don't want to distract her from the most joyous time in her life."[/b] [b]"That silly,"[/b] Echo said. She didn't know who Agnessa was but if this dragon loved Raiya then Raiya shouldn't think that she wouldn't be there for her. [b]"I guess. Oh, guys, thank you for your concern but I'm really okay,"[/b] Raiya tried again. [b]"I really need to work on the lair-building."[/b] [b]"Be quiet and let us take care of you,"[/b] Echo said fiercely. Raiya was speechless for a moment, startled into a laugh, but she didn't protest again. For the rest of the flight, there was a look of pure happiness and gratitude in her eyes. [b]"You all are great friends,"[/b] she said warmly as the Clan of Wild Heather neared. Cool hesitated. [b]"Even me?"[/b] he said doubtfully. It was the first time someone had told him that and meant it. Raiya nodded joyfully, dipping her head in gratitude. [b]"Yes, even you, Cool."[/b] ----- [center]@Sugarkit @Aetherstorm @Drachenschwinge @zombieshed ----- I feel like every single one of these I write is a cute bonding scene XD I gotta implement some more mystery soon. And completely unrelated but I want a familiar or shiny star trinket so baaaaadd :c Do you think Pinkerton takes bribes? [/center]

[center][size=5][color=#320089][font=courier new][b]Day 16[/b][/font][/color][/size] ----- [item=Leaf Beetle][item=Sanded Ash Plank] Sorry there wasn't an update yesterday, my Internet decided to die on me and I lost what I wrote so I'm just starting over today ^^' -----[/center] It was late afternoon. The gray sky had decided to cry out its heart, pounding the ground with rain. In a warm, dry shelter, Raiya was being pampered by Agnessa. [b]"No, dear, you sit there and read that book,"[/b] the foster mother said with a stern but playful smile. [b]"It's not like you can work in the rain anyway, and plus you're being useful-- you're guarding my eggs while I sort the food."[/b] [b]"Okay, okay,"[/b] Raiya couldn't help grinning. In a corner, Cool was reluctantly telling Echo about how he managed to get out of working for Cliff. [b]"It's not even a story, I just got up and--"[/b] [b]"Exaggerate! Details!"[/b] Echo interrupted. Cool rolled his eyes, but he had gotten a little softer after Raiya told him he could be a good friend. [b]"It was a dark and dreary morning in which I woke, already imagining the catastrophe that could occur in the day ahead of me,"[/b] he began dramatically. Echo beamed and listened intently. They would chat about Lena later and reminisce, recalling memories in the short time they knew her. Echo had wanted to tell someone what she had seen that day when she was killed, and in this rainy afternoon she could perhaps learn to slowly accept and let go. Night, on the other hand, was on the other side of the Clan, in a well-built cabin, where the start of a deep mystery was brewing. ^^^ Something stirred in the darkness. Fog drifted in the warm, misty air. There was a faint scent of pine needles that seemed to fade away into nothing. [b]"Master?"[/b] Night asked, cautiously. It was always important not to wake her if she was asleep. Dreams were one of the most important elements of oracle magic, and Master was a dedicated seer. They say she comes from Water or perhaps Arcane but nobody knows the truth. [b]"I sense evil,"[/b] a gentle, full voice rose. [b]"I sense it in you."[/b] Night shuffled nervously. [b]"Master--"[/b] [b]"My apprentice, I see that you have lost before,"[/b] Master continued. [b]"More than once, am I correct? You cannot give in again."[/b] [b]"Master, I came for some of the blue substance for the potion I was supposed to make,"[/b] Night said quickly. [b]"Unimportant for now,"[/b] Master murmured. [b]"Child, enjoy your time before they come for you."[/b] [b]"Before [i]what[/i] comes for me?"[/b] Night was starting to get scared. [b]"Master, I just wanted to borrow some of the blue substance, I didn't mean to intrude and upset you."[/b] [b]"No. My dear apprentice, it is something far more dangerous that troubles me."[/b] Slowly, Master's shadow disappeared. [b]"You will understand one day, but when it is too late. Go out and play. Make friends while you are still pure, Night."[/b] It was the first time she had used Night's name instead of calling him Apprentice. Night stood there, shaken. Normally Master showed herself, though her body, including her eyes, were always covered heavily in soft clothing. She'd gently instruct him through what he needed to do and remind him that magic was important above all. It was only a teacher-to-student friendliness, a bond of shared interest. Nothing would normally faze a dragon so high above everyone else in intellect and skill. What happened to make her prioritize something else over his studies? ----- [center]@Sugarkit @Aetherstorm @Drachenschwinge @zombieshed ----- Mystifying... and you don't get to see what this "Master" dragon looks like because I haven't picked out a dragon yet :P [/center]

[center][size=5][color=#320089][font=courier new][b]Day 17[/b][/font][/color][/size] ----- [item=Oceansurf Magus] yayayayayayay Night has officially joined us now and I can use him in Coli! -----[/center] Night trudged through the rain to the other side of the lair, having given up on staying dry at this point. He found Raiya asleep in a corner, and in another corner Echo was talking to Cool, who actually didn't look bored to death for once. [b]"Night!"[/b] Echo welcomed him. [b]"Did you know? Cool tell good story."[/b] [b]"Shut up,"[/b] Cool said. [b]"Also you're wet. And we're kind of dry."[/b] [b]"I noticed,"[/b] Night replied stiffly. [b]"Hello to you too."[/b] [b]"Hi,"[/b] Echo answered despite the fact that she already greeted Night. She stood up suddenly. [b]"I want explore. Come?"[/b] Cool looked at the little Nocturne like she was crazy. [b]"In this rain?"[/b] Echo nodded. [b]"No lightning so it okay, right?"[/b] She was getting better at this sentence forming thing. [b]"No thank you, I'm staying dry,"[/b] Cool twitched his long whiskers. [b]"I'll go,"[/b] Night offered, not wanting to stay anywhere with Cool. He was dripping wet anyways. [b]"Go where?"[/b] Raiya lifted her head sleepily. Cool frowned. [b]"These insane dragons want to go out to [i]explore[/i] in this weather."[/b] [b]"I'm down,"[/b] Raiya shrugged, sitting up and yawning. [b]"It'll be kind of cold though. Can I come with you, Echo?" [/b] Echo beamed. [b]"Yay!"[/b] Cool sighed heavily. [b]"Fine, I'll tag along, but only because it's going to be really boring in here alone."[/b] Echo was the first one to leave the safe dry shelter and take off into the sky, followed by Raiya and Night and lastly Cool. Night could feel water pounding on his scales. He shielded his eyes, keeping his face down so that he could kind of see ahead of him. [b]"Where are we going?"[/b] Cool shouted. [b]"No idea!"[/b] Raiya yelled back. She did a backflip in the air, shivering from the cold raindrops streaming down her body. [b]"Just following the wind!"[/b] [b]"Spoken like a true Windie,"[/b] Night called out to her. [b]"Raiya not even from Wind!"[/b] Echo laughed as she pointed out the fact that Raiya's eyes were deep purple, and then giggling in delight as a rush of air swept her sideways. She had gotten more confident with her flying, it seemed. A gust carrying freezing rain threw Night off balance and he veered to the right, away from the rest of the group. Night struggled to steady himself, but when he finally caught himself his friends had joined him in that direction, the air currents too strong for them to force themselves to fly the other way. [b]"We'll just continue this direction,"[/b] Raiya decided, her teeth chattering. [b]"Maybe we can find a nice dry place to wait out the storm."[/b] [b]"Exploring fun,"[/b] Echo added out of nowhere. [b]"Yep, totally,"[/b] Cool said sarcastically. Night usually didn't share an opinion with Cool, but he didn't really agree with Echo either; he couldn't feel his claws anymore and the rain felt like hail pelting down on them. He also wasn't sure if the little Nocturne was saying that just to be optimistic or if she actually felt that way. She probably actually felt that way. She saw the fun in everything even after what she'd gone through. It was one of the things he liked about her. Night looked down, his eyes squinted to keep water out. [b]"Look,"[/b] he said, seeing a shape below them as they flew. [b]"I don't think that's a Clan we know."[/b] [b]"We have flown a while out,"[/b] Raiya pointed out. [b]"Let's go take a look."[/b] She led the group downwards, until they were out of the dangerous skies and back on land. Though land had proven to not be exactly safe either, as Raiya had learned that afternoon. They found a good piece of something to hide under and get out of the rain. [b]"These don't look like bamboo or wood structures,"[/b] Cool observed. Raiya agreed, [b]"You're right, it's some kind of stone. Like Light or Earth ruins. But we can stay here for now."[/b] Night shifted uncomfortably. There was a strange feeling about these ruins. Like it didn't belong, or maybe something that lived here didn't belong. [b]"This place doesn't feel right,"[/b] he commented warily. Raiya looked at him carefully, knowing how keen and usually accurate his magic sense were. [b]"We don't have anywhere else for now."[/b] [b]"I know,"[/b] Night said. He settled down with the rest of them, shaking themselves dry and huddling up together for warmth. Echo had snuggled herself in between Raiya and him, her warm scales against Night's wing. He could already feel himself tensing up nervously. There was just something about Echo that made him nervous. [b]"It okay,"[/b] Echo murmured tiredly. Night agreed softly, [b]"Yeah."[/b] But something still unsettled him. He just couldn't quite tell what. ----- [center]@Sugarkit @Aetherstorm @Drachenschwinge @zombieshed ----- I like writing mysterious stuff if you couldn't tell already xD Also yay familiar :D [/center]

[center][size=5][color=#320089][font=courier new][b]Day 18[/b][/font][/color][/size] ----- [item=Black Iron Segment] 10 Battles! -----[/center] Echo had fallen asleep, but Raiya was still wide awake and refreshed from her nap. Well, not quite refreshed since they just got soaked flying through a downpour. No regrets though. This ruins place was pretty cool. Raiya could already imagine all the stuff they could collect and use in their new Clan's camp. [b]"Did you hear that?"[/b] Night asked suddenly. Raiya strained her ears. Her hearing had never been super great, and with the sound of rain pounding the earth, she couldn't really tell if anything was out of the ordinary. [b]"No?"[/b] she said. [b]"Maybe it was just me,"[/b] Night said, looking nervous. Cool bolted upright all of a sudden. [b]"I heard it this time. Something-- or someone-- is here." [/b] Night shuddered. [b]"Watching."[/b] [b]"Do you want to leave?"[/b] Raiya asked them both. Cool peeked out into what was pretty much a waterfall outside of their little shelter where everyone was huddled together. [b]"Well, considering the fact that the weather seems to be getting worse, no. We can wait it out. If something happens, there's four of us."[/b] [i]And we're all still technically not-fully grown hatchlings,[/i] Raiya thought to herself, but she didn't say it aloud. She liked the false feeling of strength, like she could take on the world, and acting on foolish courage could only work if her friends felt the same way. It was a while before the rain slowly softened, gradually relaxing into a steady drizzle. The sky had considerably darkened, but gray clouds covered up the sun so there was no telling how far into sunset it was. [b]"We should head back home,"[/b] Raiya decided finally after the rain didn't completely clear up for a long time. [b]"Yeah,"[/b] Night agreed. He reached over and shook Echo awake. [b]"Hey, Echo."[/b] [b]"Hello!"[/b] Echo blurrily opened her eyes. [b]"I wake. It cold."[/b] [b]"Don't start complaining now, it was your stupid idea to come out here in the first place,"[/b] Cool said, annoyed. [b]"And it your fault you came with,"[/b] Echo shot back sleepily. Raiya couldn't help smiling at the little Nocturne's sass, even if Echo wasn't even entirely awake and conscious of her words yet. [b]"Come on,"[/b] Night said, impatient to get home. Raiya was starting to get really concerned about this magic sense thing. She felt that something about this place was strange too, but she hadn't heard whatever Cool and Night had heard. Cool rolled his eyes as he stood up. [b]"I finally just got dry and we're leaving,"[/b] he muttered under his breath. They all reluctantly left the warm shelter and started flying in the direction that they came from. "[b]I hope this is the right way,"[/b] Raiya said. [b]"It better be,"[/b] Cool replied bitterly, obviously still unhappy with the rain. But there wasn't anything Raiya could do about it, and Echo and Night seemed to both be tolerating the light sprinkle just fine. So she smiled and continued on, glad that all her friends were alive and together. ----- [center]@Sugarkit @Aetherstorm @Drachenschwinge @zombieshed ----- I feel like this was a really bad filler but I wanted to write something and I had nothing planned :P Also, expect a Crystalline Gala update soon! I'm so excited; it's my first festival not counting NOTN since my hiatus, so my first flight festival since almost half a year I guess ^w^ [/center]

Oh, finally a familiar, congrats!

@Drachenschwinge
Yep, thank you! :3

You could make him a healer, seems useful. Plus it would match his character more than being a melee fighter :D

@Drachenschwinge
Yeah, that's what I'm doing especially since my other dragons are all physically attackers right now. I've already replaced his stones with Mediate and Contuse ^^

[center][size=5][color=#320089][font=courier new][b]Day 19[/b][/font][/color][/size] ----- [item=Bioluminescent Tail] My Internet was so laggy today :/ It took way too long to check if this item was a material or trinket because Pinkerton [s]glitches[/s] lies sometimes. -----[/center] Echo wasn't quite sure why all her friends were so gloomy about the rain. Or why they were all kind of fidgety and on their toes. Raiya was the first to fly upwards, encouraging the others to follow. Echo followed, Night right behind her. Echo turned back to make sure Cool wasn't lagging behind them too far... and found that the Pearlcatcher had disappeared. [b]"Um, where Cool?"[/b] Echo asked. [b]"Probably waiting for us to leave or something because he doesn't like flying with us,"[/b] Night said, not even looking back. Raiya, however, did stop to take a glance behind her. [b]"Wait, he's actually not there."[/b] She called out, [b]"Cool! Come over here, this isn't funny."[/b] There was no response. Echo flew back down to look for Cool. [b]"Cool?"[/b] she said. She checked their hiding shelter and all around it but he was nowhere to be seen. [b]"This better not be a trick,"[/b] Raiya said uneasily, looking worried but also a little annoyed. [b]"This ruins place is big and I would rather not search the whole thing."[/b] A freezing gust of wind blew at them and Raiya visibly shivered. [b]"Cold,"[/b] Echo agreed. She nodded towards Night. [b]"You cold too?"[/b] Silence. Echo whipped around and saw that she had been talking to nothing. Where Night was standing just a second ago was thin air. [b]"Night?"[/b] Echo's voice was higher pitched, distraught. Her heart started pounding, [i]thump, thump[/i] against her chest. She hadn't been that concerned about Cool at first, but Night wouldn't just hide for the fun of it when they were already missing somebody. [b]"Did he just--"[/b] Raiya's eyes widened. [b]"Night!"[/b] she shouted, a tense nervousness in her tone. But of course there was no reply. Raiya's breathing was heavy and anxious. [b]"Echo, don't look away. We can't let another one of us vanish."[/b] [b]"Okay,"[/b] Echo said. [b]"No vanishing."[/b] She saw a shadow. A thin but kind of big shadow. It moved and Echo jumped, squeezing her eyes shut for just a moment in surprise. She opened them. Raiya was gone. The shadow lingered for just a moment and then faded into nothingness. Echo trembled. She was next, she was sure of it. It was inevitable. All she could do was wait. She curled up into a terrified ball, hoping that when she was taken she would at least be with her friends. The cloudy sky was dark, limiting her eyesight. Echo strained to see if the shadow was coming for her or not. There didn't seem to be anything. She didn't have to wait long. Shade fell over Echo. A claw suddenly covered her face. Echo squirmed and kicked, but then a frosty cold came over her and all she could do was shiver, trying to stay warm. The cold was so cold. She wanted to scream but she felt frozen, all her muscles tensed. Whatever was holding her got colder. Freezing. Echo tried to imagine warmth, laying in front of a campfire, a hot summer day. Nothing helped. It was all ice and snow, falling into a frozen pond in the middle of winter, frostbite, lashing winds and biting, cutting, piercing cold. Her thoughts slowed. Gently, like a blanket, blackness spread over her. ----- [center]@Sugarkit @Aetherstorm @Drachenschwinge @zombieshed ----- spooks :D [/center]