Roleplay

Ilisera surveyed the work of herself and the other broodmothers. They had pushed their nests to the back of the lair, keeping the eggs in one manageable place. She was pleased to see that many others had joined in on her mate's idea, but there were still a few dragons scattered around. Sighing, Ilisera released a tiny flame, watching the sparks fall to the ground.

Not everyone wants to listen to reason, I suppose. Oh, well. Let them take the fall for it when the thieves come! I, for one, will be ready, she mused, chuckling to herself. Ilisera supposed she was a bit of pessimist, but bad things happened. You can't prevent them by thinking positively, so why bother? Besides, when things turned out alright, she was pleasantly surprised.

She looked back to the conjoined nests, then padded over to a broodmother who was helping to execute the plan. "Daira, darling! Could you please have an egg count? I'm sure that everyone is capable of keeping track of their brood, but I want official records of any egg going missing." Daira nodded, and Ilisera walked off, trying to think of more ways to prepare. Drawing blanks, the dragoness groaned and looked out the open entrance. There was no way they could defend all the eggs in an attack unless, maybe, precautions were taken before hand. Sadly, Ilisera couldn't think of these precautions.

"Think, think, think," she muttered to herself. Ilisera focused back on the dragons milling about in front of the nursery, basking in the dying sunlight. The sun glowed like a dying ember, staining the sky with its burning colors, marking the time left until the gathering. The gathering! Ilisera scanned the dragons lazing around, and, when she saw Valentine, launched herself from the edge. The sunset matched the color of her leathery hide and illuminated her form as she dove through the sky, finally landing near her mate.

"Hello, dear," Ilisera greeted, settling down beside Valentine, "do you know if you were invited to the meeting yet?" She noticed the look on his face then, and, concerned, asked, "Are you alright?"

Silas slipped into the Caravan's camp after Guro. He grinned at the hatchlings swarming around both their kills, wanting to romp and play chase, but composed himself when Guro introduced him to a grizzled, battle-worn dragon. The veteran fighter Edgrick sized up Silas, who bowed his head and softly greeted the fierce purple dragon "Pleased to make your acquaintance." The older dragon let out a huff and agreed to him staying.

Pleased, Silas added, "I'm only looking to stay one night, to let my food digest. Then I shall continue my travels, as one with the wind and sky." He was about to continue but grew distracted by the swarm of hatchlings gnawing on Guro's kill. How kind of her! Silas thought to himself, happy to be around hatchlings again.

Peering around the camp, Silas spied a face he hadn't seen in a long time. An old dragon on the edge of the camp was curled around his back feet, attempting to massage some Moss onto his sore pads. He was a rusty red dragon with spots of metallic colored scales spotting his hide. His face was outlined by a spikey ridge that made him appear much bigger and scarier than he actually was. Giant wings were folded sadly, they likely hadn't seen much use lately. It looked like the old dragon hadn't noticed Silas and Guro enter, so Silas hopped over to him with his deer still gripped in his tail and greeted the old dragon.

"Oi, Korinth! Long time no see! How very you been, old buddy?" Plopping down beside the hulk of rusty red, Silas set down the doe's body and tore off a leg, offering it to the dragon and giving his trademark lopsided grin. It was nice to see the old dragon again, after the adventurers had parted ways over a conflict of ladies. "Still going strong after all these years? Why not take to the sky instead of wearing your feet out?" Silas indicated to the bundle of Moss in Korinth's claws, waving the deer leg at it.

(@LazyChimera wow the Holidays have kept me pretty busy. I'm so sorry about the late posts! I'll respond to the Jovia leader later, but feel free to play with Dusk a bit. Use him as your right-hand, he is at your command.)

Chatting with the old warrior brought Silas back to the times before he had been a lone wanderer. Part of a small family, under the radar of the bigger clans, always travelling this way and that and hunting where they could. It certainly wasn't as secure as having several dozen dragons at your back in case things went wrong, but it was a good and free life. Korinth and Silas had made quite the formidable duo way back when, with the venerable dragon's size and strength, and Silas's stealth and sweet talking. Listening to his old friend and basking in fond memories, Silas settled down and started picking at the rest of the deer.

Too many times he had gone to sleep only to wake up and find his kill gone. Instinct told him to eat the entire thing and leave it to digest, no matter how full and upset his stomach would get. He half hoped that some hungry hatchlings would come over to investigate his kill, so he could give them some and use it as an excuse to play. It had been quite a while since he'd had hatchlings of his own...

“You don’t see much action, but you get to rest and protect what’s important- Oh.” The old dragon rambled, and Silas detected a hint of uncertainty at these words. He must mean their past adventures, and the bloodshed that ended those happy times. Still though, they lived on with memories of what could have been heavy in their hearts. Or so Silas did, anyway.

Sighing, Silas replied, "It's good to protect family, and raise the younger generation to be strong and free. You may be right, old friend, about joining a group to protect what's left of the future." He gazed at the sky and setting sun, "Instead of simply living in the present on day-to-day adventures." Plucking off another slice of meat, he placed it gently in his mouth and chewed with a pondering expression.

Glancing around, he noticed that the brood mothers had called their hatchlings back to them, and cautiously watched the sky. Guro was nowhere to be seen, and that made Silas more uneasy than anything else. The whole camp was tensing, and Silas tensed too in anticipation of whatever was about to come. He nibbled on strips of meat and waited.

(Gotta go see fireworks for New Year's, but I'll be back soon with more story! :) )

[center]Capri Clan ~~~~~~~~~~Annelie~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Annria~~~~~~~~~~ [img]https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/54/14/f5/5414f5c8c24d7921b3ea0b56b80758b0.jpg[/img] [img]https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/b6/45/3e/b6453e6b2e268ac8eac9d5a0a753c5f1.jpg[/img][/center] Waltzing around the perimeter of the encampment, two stunningly white dragons moved together in unison. They both possessed the same golden runes etched along their sides and woven up their arms. There was a strange grace to their movement, an unspoken coordination as they moved together as if they were one being. The two females looked exactly the same, though good friends could sometimes tell them apart by their mannerisms and tones. [i]"We have checked for strange behaviors for hours, sister. The meet approaches and we must head back now."[/i] Annelie spoke to her sister, though her mouth never moved. The two possessed strange skills, being able to talk with each other through a mind link. Few other dragons knew of this power, and even then chalked it up to be part of the magic that the two sisters could weave through their power over language and knowledge. Nodding, Annria responded, [i]"Yes... I did not see any of our clan sneaking away or any spies sneaking in. Everyone seems worried for their own clutches and mates."[/i] They wove through the trees together, approaching the clearing nestled in a grove of thickly-woven trees that guarded the entrance to the lair of the Capri clan. Shifting spires of various heights guarded the entrance to the great hall, the main area that dragons gathered. The hall itself was composed of a strong combination of rock and plantlife, forming a delicate-looking castle-like structure, but with an integrity that could withstand earthquakes. No one quite knew how the structure was created, but as the sisters were the oldest dragons there, it was an unspoken theory that they had created the magical structure. A meadow surrounded this rock-and-plant castle, a plethora of different flowers enjoying the rich and fertile soil. The forest that guarded the clan's hold gave off an eerily alive feeling to one unfamiliar with it's maze-like intricacies, which served to dissuade travelers from ever finding the clan's castle. Moving through the meadow, the Capri sisters discussed their plans for the night. They wove up the hidden steps on the side of the castle and entered the main chamber. Seeing the pile of eggs in the center, Annelie grinned and thought of Valentine. It seemed a plan that he would think up, and it was a good plan. Her amusement was felt by Annria, though she left her sister's side to go talk with some of the brood mothers that hadn't joined their nests in the center pile. She also needed to take into account the mothers who nested in the woods, feeling more protected by solitude than the stress of having other dragons to deal with. After she was done checking in with each mother, Annelie would probably already be gone to the meet. It was better for them both to tackle the tasks at hand together. Glancing around, Annelie quickly spotted Valentine sitting on a lower ledge with his mate, Ilisera. Spreading her crystal-white wings, Annelie hopped gracefully into the air and glided down to the two of them, landing on a ledge slightly above the two and descending with a catlike drop to sit beside them. If they were startled by her sudden appearance, she took no notice and instead began to speak in a sweet, melodic voice laced with honey. "Valentine, I am assuming it was your idea to join the eggs together into one nest?" She eyed the pink, armored dragon. "It is a good idea. Well planned. Keep our focus centralized to have fewer targets for any thieves that show their miserable faces." Nodding to Ilisera, Annelie's eyes softened and she lowered her majestic head to be level with the female's, "How are the mothers doing? Are they nervous? Frightened? On-edge? Alert to any shifty behavior?" Pausing briefly, she continued addressing the two as she scanned the treeline in front of them, wondering where the other, solitary-seeking mothers were hiding. "We are leaving for the meet soon. I have decided to bring Mara, and hopefully Rhoselarth... If I can find her. She is bound to be in the meadow somewhere, but that flighty little fae can make herself impossible to find." Sighing at her annoyance, she calmed her agitation and continued, "Valentine, would you like to come along with us? The strategic mind you posses is a valuable asset to any flight. I would like to see you by my side. Ideally, I want to take a total of 5 dragons with me. Do you have a recommendation as to who I should take with me as the 5th, Valentine?" (@CalicoRadio @LazyChimera)

@MalaikaKupanda bellancawings I'm heading out of town this week until Saturday, so Grendel is about to make a hasty exit... If I'm not on for Lanis' raid, feel free to control him as befits the story. Otherwise, he'll act according to his plan with Orion (I'm really liking the enmity between them, by the way!)

Grendel bowed a farewell to Orion and prepared to take off. He was more used to sneaking along the ground than flying, but the circumstances called for speed. He torqued his long body awkwardly about, pawing the ground and flapping his half dozen stunted wings in a pattern that, after a few uncertain seconds, got him aloft and flying in a corkscrew motion that traced a circle around his last position on the ground. He remained in this holding pattern until he was sure he remembered how to control himself in flight, then lifted off at a shallow angle. He kept low enough to spot the broodmothers he knew would be prepared against Nestbanes. Not surprisingly, Orion was already warning one of them.

A sudden zephyr carried a scrap of their conversation to his ears. "That fool Grendel", was it? He eyed the gray female. He forgot her name, but she was some relation to Orion, he thought. She looked on edge, so he assumed that Orion had just told her of the plan and immediately pushed responsibility onto him. Well, at least now the serpent knew for sure where they stood. For this endeavor, he believed he could trust the metal to do as he ought in the best interests of himself and his clan, but he resolved to keep an eye out for Orion.

Deciding that only one dragon was really necessary to spread the word, Grendel changed course and swept down into a canyon, following a mental map to his hoard. In it was an egg plagued with mites that he had kept carefully contained in a poultice of thick mud. It was a kind of insurance, a weapon he could threaten to aim at Lanis' own nests if the clan ever tried to oust him entirely. He was happy that it was now being put to a better use.

Once he retrieved it, he would clean it off and head to the Sky Tree. There he would find an abandoned nest, set out the egg and wait for the Nestbane to wreak its havoc. He would not need to signal Orion directly, just hide near the egg and make sure the broodmothers noticed it at an opportune time.

(@bellancawings I can't speak for everyone, but I would love to see whatever you manage to write, no matter how long I have to wait! Take time to recover, definitely! I look forward to seeing you return in full force, as a talented writer and story starter~ :3 I (we?) Can improvise for as long as you need to keep the story going and interesting.

That being said, I'm also going to be flying home in a few hours so I won't have a story out yet, but definitely within the next 16 hours.)