Roleplay

@Vilte [url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=16662415] [img]http://flightrising.com/rendern/350/166625/16662415_350.png[/img] [/url] She didn't know where she was. Uriwyn had awaken on a unfamiliar beach. The sky above was blue with wispy clouds drifting on the soft, cool, breeze; their shadows moving sluggishly on the empty plains that stretched out from the beach. The Skydancer could only stand and stare at the vast expanse of rolling hills and grass. The only thing she could think of was that she had wound back in the Windswept Plateau, but the scene that lay before her was all wrong. Snow capped mountains rose in the distance, their peaks obscured by clouds. The grass of the plains was browned and open. There was nothing calming or peaceful about this land... it looked bitter and cold. "[b]Oh[/b]!" Uriwyn gasped to herself as realization dawned on her; the storm. She had been traveling from the Windswept Plateau to the Southern Icefields to invite potential clan members to the manor her clan lived in, in the Scarred Wasteland. She had been crossing the stretch of sea between the two lands when a nasty storm of ice and snow came upon her. The storm must have knocked her off course... bot how [i]far[/i] off course? Surely she had reached the tundra of the Icefields? But as much as she wanted to believe this, Uriwyn's heart betrayed her. She wasn't in the Southern Icefields, nor the Windwept Plateau. She was somewhere else and this frightened her because in her heart she knew that she was [i]far[/i] from home. Uriwyn's mind balked at such a thought and she turned her attention away from the plains and to herself. Her wing feathers were ruffled and in much need of some preening. The gold jewelry that bedecked her wings like a delicate spider's web were quickly put straight and adjusted back into their proper places. Her black and white coat was dirty and made Uriwyn frown as her mind instead focused on the fact that she was dirty. She valued a good, clean, appearance. Not because she was vain, but because it was the appearance that others first took into account, and being the Ambassador of her clan; she needed to look the part. The Skydancer shook her head. It wasn't important right now. First, she needed to do a bit of scouting to see what lay ahead, maybe she could find help... or ask for directions. A part of her still wanted to believe that she was just in a unfamiliar part of the Southern Icefields. Off into the plains she trotted, leaving the beach behind her.

@Wakener Ialic awoke, groaning. He lifted one claw to rub his pounding head. He struggled to stand, dislodging a heavy plank that had fallen on top of him. Dizzy and confused, he looked around. He was on some sort of beach, and the sand was cold and gritty under his feet. Jagged bits of debris and flotsam were scattered everywhere. Realization dawned on him slowly: the ship had crashed. He almost felt like he should have expected that. This entire trip had been a nightmare; of [i]course[/i] the ship had crashed. He remembered the storm. He hadn't seen it, of course. Forced to spend the trip wedged into a storage space, he hadn't seen the sky or sea at all. But he could certainly feel the rocking of the enormous waves, which had sent him smashing into barrels and walls. And to think he had begged to be on this trip. He remembered groveling before the ship's captain, pleading to be let on despite barely having enough treasure for half of the required fare. He remembered the disgusted look in the Captain's eyes. He was familiar with looks like that, that silently proclaimed him [i]Vagabond, Beggar, Tramp[/i]. He preferred the terms Wanderer, Quester, Seeker. For, while it was true he was currently poor, the fact was that Ialic did not lack a home. He could, at any time he desired, return to his family in the Sunbeam ruins. There were several clans he had met in his travels that would gladly welcome him as one of their own. No, what Ialic lacked was a [i]purpose[/i]. As a young dragon, he had had a perfectly fine life. He could not have been said to lack food, or shelter, or love. Yet from a very young age, Ialic was pestered by the constant and insistent notion that [i]something[/i] was missing from his life. There was something he was supposed to be doing, and he wasn't doing it. So in trying to end this eternal ache, he had set off exploring. He wandered through all of Sornieth, living off of odd jobs and the kindness of other Dragons. The Ice Fields were the last region he hadn't yet visited. But these...were not the Ice Fields. He had never been, but he was still sure of it. He knew all of Sorneith, and this wasn't it. No Behemoth visible on the distant horizon. No Pillar of the World. Despite his fear, Ialic could feel an ember of excitement lodged in his heart. Maybe this was it. He had searched all of Sorneith for his purpose, but his purpose wasn't in Sornieth at all. Fate had led him to this place. Emboldened by this thought (and his worries about surviving) Ialic set off from the beach and started for the interior. Nervousness and eagerness gave his long legs a significant speed. Ahead of him, he saw a Skydancer. For a moment, he was hesitant to approach her. She was well dressed, and decked out in delicate jewelry. He had nothing at all. She wouldn't give him a second glance. But, this was a matter of survival in a strange land. They might need to rely on one another. He picked up his pace, catching up to her. "Hello? Hello! Were you on the ship too, or are you a native of this place?" [url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=16649793] [img]http://flightrising.com/rendern/350/166498/16649793_350.png[/img] [/url]

@Vilte

Uriwyn saw nothing but the grass, heard nothing but the cold breeze rustling the dying grass around her. There was nothing out here. There wasn't even a hint of other dragons on the wind, or any other creature for that matter.

Suddenly a voice called out from behind her. She whirled around, thinking it just the wind and her ears playing tricks on her, but sure enough someone was moving towards her through the grass in the same direction she had just come from.

The Wildclaw was a vivid, familiar, relief. She didn't know him, but the fact that there was another dragon here was soothing by itself. He reached her, saying something about a ship and then asking if she lived here. Her feathered crests flattened slightly at this. She had hoped the Wildclaw would have some answers.

He was a tad bigger then her and his soft pink coloring looked rather strange amidst all the dry grass around them. His pale yellow eyes labeled him as a Light dragon.

"Er... no and no." She replied carefully. A ship? She had never been on a ship before, preferring to fly to her destinations. Being on a ship didn't sound very appealing, but then again it was probably better then trying to fly over the ocean yourself.

"I was on my way to the Icefields when I got caught in a storm." Her cultured voice was carefully neutral as she readjusted her wings just so. "Do you, by chance, know where we are?" It was a hopeful question, but she would hazard that it was also fruitless. He was just as much of a stranger as she.

@Wakener

As he approached the other dragon, Ialic assumed she had been one of the other passengers. He hadn't seen any of them, stuck in the cargo hold then entire trip.
When she answered 'no', he mentally kicked himself for being so stupid. Of course she had flown on her own. Ships were for smaller, weaker dragons, or merchants traveling with a lot of supplies that they couldn't carry themselves.

"Uh, no, sorry I'm afraid not." he answered. "It's certainly not the Icefields." he laughed nervously. The initial relief of finding another dragon had faded. He was back in the familiar situation of being completely out of his league. She was clearly cultured and sophisticated, and wouldn't be talking to him if he weren't the only dragon around.

On his run, he had been focused on reaching her. But now that he had a moment to take it all in, the silence was getting to him. It was eerie, how still it was. There weren't any dragons anywhere. There wasn't any anything anywhere. Only the chill wind rustling through grass, and the distant, mute mountains. There wasn't even bird song, or the regular hum of insects. The few and quiet sounds of life only made the silence more obvious.

"I'm Ialic, by the way. It's nice to meet you. I was traveling to the Icefields for..." he drifted off, completely unable to summarize his life quest in a few sentences for this stranger. "I was traveling to the Icefields, and the storm left me wrecked on a beach here. I have no idea where this place is. For safety's sake, I think we should stick together. Some of the ship wreckage could probably be used to build a passable shelter, if we don't find anyone or any place to stay." He slowly kept walking further inland. They had to find something eventually, right?

@Vilte

Uriwyn was not surprised when the Wildclaw confirmed her suspicions that he did not know these lands either. The dragoness let out a soft sigh as she subconsciously adjusted the slightly skewed necklace around her throat.

The silence was making her nervous. It shouldn't be this still with only the wind for any sort of company. Uriwyn was out of her element here, both mentally and physically. She had never been in such a situation such as this, but nonetheless kept her face calmly neutral. A part of her mind was searching for the right words to say while the other was willing the Wildclaw to say something, anything, just to break the silence and give her some hint of who, exactly, she was dealing with.

"Ialic." Uriwyn repeated the name and politely dipped her head when the Wildclaw gave his name. She listened carefully to his short explanation of how he had arrived; thrown here by the same storm that had caught her in it's snare.

Ialic began to trot past her and further into the grass beyond after proposing that they remain together. The idea was sound as Uriwyn didn't fancy being alone out here, and another pair of eyes would prove useful. She turned and trotted after him.

"I am Uriwyn." She said as she caught up and pulled even with his right side. She said nothing more, instead she let her senses turn to the dry land around them. Nothing seemed to change as they moved further inland. To the north lay the mountains with the ocean south of them. The plains stretched on to the east and west.

As the sun began to sink towards the horizon, the grass began to grow thicker, but retained it's wilted brown color. Several copses scattered a few miles ahead broke the unmarked land, their trees were dead and leafless. The sound of the wind accompanied them on their journey into the strange land.

Being a Skydancer blessed Uriwyn with a more in tune sense of things around her and she wasn't liking what she felt. Ever since she had awoken on the beach, this place felt wrong.

The land was dying.

The grass crunched and broke underneath her paws and finally Uriwyn had had enough of plodding along on the ground. She outstretched her wings, and without a word to Ialic, leaped into the air, wings lifting her upwards. She circled above Ialic, surveying the land from her new position. The plains and the few copses that dotted the landscape continued on for miles, but from the air she could see a hint of green, maybe a forest, resting in the foothills of the mountains.

But she spotted something else; something moving... and it was moving towards Ialic on the ground.

It stalked through the grass, some big, dark shadow. Shadow was the only word she could think of. The creature ghosted through the grass like some sort of shade and in it's wake, the grass withered and blackened behind it's vague four legged form.

Suddenly a piercing cry rent the air, a chilling howl that sent chills racing through Uriwyn's spine and made her heart grow cold as more of the creatures appeared. Quickly, she folded her wings and descended back to the ground, landing lightly at Ialic's side. "There are... things coming towards us!" She hissed, panic cracking through her outer calm.

@Wakener

Ialic wasn't surprised at the Skydancer's disappointment. Being with someone just as lost and confused as you were was hardly comforting. While no expert, Ialic had some talent at reading people, and it was obvious this dragon was nervous. Her muscles were tense, she kept fidgeting with her jewelry, and her eyes darted across the alien landscape.

Of course, both of them had plenty of reason to be nervous. The land was deathly, unnaturally still. In fact, judging by the bare trees and the brown grass, the land was dead, or nearly so. Ialic had the uncanny notion that they were the only living beings in this place. Wouldn't that be just awful?
The thought chilled him, and he was glad to see Uriwyn follow him. He needed the company.

Uriwyn flew up, but he chose to stay on the ground. He trusted in his own two legs. He just barely began to feel a curious vibration in the ground when a hideous shriek split the sky. Ialic froze, fear keeping him pinned. There was something in front of him, and not far. The sight and sound of Uriwyn landing next to him unfroze his frightened limbs.

Ialic was not a trained fighter. But one does not wander across every continent without learning how to survive bandits and beastclans. He tensed his leg muscles, prepared to leap into the air and claw at anything that came near. His vision focused and his senses sharpened as adrenaline coursed through him.

The thing that finally emerged from the grass was...wrong somehow. He could vaguely distinguish what seemed to be four legs, but its features were unnatural, distorted and twisted. It seemed to be made of pure shadows, and the land itself blackened around it. Even in the depths of the Tangled Wood, he had never seen anything like it. Ialic gritted his teeth and focused, overcoming his initial shock. Was he a Light Dragon or not? Gathering his energy, he set a blast of light into the creature's face.

@Vilte

The shade blew apart in a spray of shadows that slipped to the ground, two more of the creatures spawning from the remains of the first. Several more were closing in, the grass around the two dragons was growing black and withered and Uriwyn could feel herself starting to become sick; they needed to get out of here.

"Don't fight them!" She called over their chilling screech that sounded as if they were mocking the two of them. "We need to get out of here!" She spread out her wings and then sent out a burst of red magic in a wave around herself. The shades withdrew back, but as the wave hit them... they grew bigger.

Uriwyn leaped into the air just as one of the creatures made a jump for her, it's shadowed limbs missing her by centimeters as it landed in the spot she had just occupied. Away from the sickening ground, she opened her mouth, a red glow bathing the inside of her jaw and let loose a breath of red flames.

Once more the shades scattered, but a few had learned from the first time and stood in her attack, absorbing it. "Go, go!" She urged Ialic, knowing her attacks were pointless but she needed to distract them so the Wildclaw could get off the ground. At least it seemed these things couldn't fly and therefore could not reach her.

@Wakener

Ialic was surrounded. He spun in a circle, his claws glowing with golden light. It wasn't much, but it pushed the shadow creatures back a few feet. It was enough for him to take one strong leap upwards and start flapping his wings, taking to the air. Once out of their reach, he sent a few more light bolts at the shadows, giving both of them a little more breathing room. Barely checking to see if Uriwyn was with him, he bang flying away as fast as he could.

He turned to look behind them. The creatures were still pursuing. Hopefully, they would give up, or be too slow. Ialic strained to put more power into every beat of his wings. This was perfect, just perfect. They would get even more lost in a land full of mysterious monsters.

He flew longer and harder than he ever had before. Even when the monsters behind them were gone, Ialic wouldn't stop, sure there was another beast just around the corner. It was only when exhaustion finally overtook him that he dropped to the ground, sliding along the dirt and grass.

He panted, catching his breath. "Are you all right?" he asked as Uriwyn landed a bit more gracefully beside him. It was a pointless question, as he wasn't a medic. If she was hurt, there wasn't much he could do about it. But still, the question escaped his lips automatically.

@Vilte

Once Ialic was off the ground, Uriwyn winged her away after him, wings pumping her higher into the air. She rose above the Wildclaw, wings outstretched and working to keep pace with him as the shades ghosted along down below. They were fast, faster then anything on the ground had a right to be, but soon they began to lag behind and then dwindled to distant, dark, dots before their forms dissipated into the evening air.

Still, she flew. Ialic wasn't stopping and she wasn't about to either. The joints connecting her wings to her shoulders ached, but the fear of the shades kept her moving. The green horizon grew steadily closer, their wingbeats eating up the ground passing below in a brown blotched blur. The green began to condolence into the distant form of trees, ones that were alive and seemed to be in the full grip of Spring.

The forest was still a good few miles away when Ialic suddenly dropped in altitude and hit the ground in a shower of dirt and grass. Uriwyn folded her wings and followed suite, though without the whole mess. Instead she landed, if a bit wobbly, on all fours and gingerly tucked her wings to her sides.

"I am fine." She answered curtly to his inquiry, trying to draw back within the calm she usually had about her. However a shiver ran down her spine and she gave herself a uneasy shake; those things had shaken her and she found herself eyeing the dead land around them for more.

Her eyes flicked to the forest, just a few more miles and they could reach it before dark. The sun was well and truly descending down to touch the horizon, showering it's dying light upon them like some malevolent eye. The sky was darkening, melting into a brilliant orange towards the horizon.

"We need to find shelter... in the woods." She finally spoke, turning her head to glance at Ialic. "Are you alright as well?" She echoed his question, hoping he would be able to reach the forest. Uriwyn was exhausted herself. Her wings were starting to droop and she wasn't sure if she could fly the rest of the way, but she would because she didn't want to be around when those things decided to come calling again.

@Wakener

Hello, just pinging you to say that i have seen this, but will probably only be responding tomorrow morning. Is it okay if I only post every other day sometimes? School has me busier than i expected, and these long replies take time to both formulate and write out. Tuesdays and Thursdays are particularly busy for me. Sorry.