Roleplay

Malubog wiped her eyes, which only smeared the tears across her muzzle. "We are a training clan. Our hatchlings are trained in various combat areas, and then sent to the Lightweaver or other clans we are allied with in exchange for food and other supplies. Every once in a while, one hatchling is kept in the clan to train the next generation. That dragon was me. And being in a single hatch, I had a lot of pressure, and no one by my side. I am always having to prove myself. If I bring two strangers. . . I don't know what Azure and Bog will do" She glanced at Maka. Soul was nowhere to be seen. "Where did soul-" She didn't finish her sentence before a handsome looking spiral appeared. [img]http://flightrising.com/rendern/350/289851/28985008_350.png[/img] "Malubog Malubog Malubog" Saodacko said with a thick, exotic accent. His large purple eyes looked disapprovingly at Malubog. "Stormsteel told me that you had two strangers with you. Bog would be very angry" Malubog felt her mouth open and her tongue form words against her will. She snapped her mouth shut and glared at Saodacko. "Really. I remember a miserable looking shadow dragon crawling into our lair with shackles and mouth tied shut with chains. You have no business manipulating me or these dragons when you yourself are a shadow dragon and came into these ruins without permission" Saodacko winced. He had broken out of prison in the tangled woods and he did enter the sunbeam ruins unwelcomed. "Suit yourself. Would you like me to escort you and your, um, [i]friends[/i], to the lair?"

Maka listened intently to Malubog, feeling bad when she mentioned she was in a single hatch. "It's alright Malubog," she said, smiling softly. "No doubt you were kept for a reason. A very special reason."

She then witnessed the exchange between Malubog and a silver and purple Spiral wearing a suit and tie. She couldn't help but feel as though she didn't exactly belong at the moment, but there was no time to think about that. She remembered the sentence Malubog was going to finish, and then remembered her partner.

She was getting more worried now... he was still wounded, and he could be attacked. Why did you have to wander off? she lamented, concerned and irritated at the same time. She hated it when he did that. She turned to face both dragons.

"Stop it, you two," she said, her voice sounding serious. "We have to put our differences aside for now. We can't spend the entire night arguing like this. We can't go yet, my friend isn't here at the moment."

---

Soul growled intensely. Not that anyone would hear it. He was out in an empty field. The dark had settled over, and his blue flames lit up the night, allowing him to see. At the same time, he was able to be spotted easier, yet he couldn't tone these flames down, as they were always there.

He hated it when Moxt tried to coax him into madness, because every time one of their conversations ended, he found himself asking questions about his own sanity. In fact, he remembered the feeling he had when facing off against those attacking dragons over and shuddered lightly. He slowly stood, wincing when his shoulder began to hurt again. He had never treated it.

Guess I never thought to, he thought as he wrapped some of the cloth around it, doing his best to protect it from infection. His back didn't hurt as bad, but it still hurt. Luckily, he had control over the Shi this time, suppressing it. He realized he didn't exactly know where he had walked in from.

Is it for the best that I'm not with them? Or is it not?... I don't know the answer. This is all too confusing.

One thing was for sure, Soul wanted to get moving before he was spotted by one of those dragons who had attacked earlier. He closed his eyes for a few seconds, as if considering something before walking back to Maka and Malubog. He emerged out of the trees where they were. He stood behind a silver and purple Spiral talking to Malubog. He didn't hear the Spiral's past as he loomed over him, not intending to seem threatening, but with the increasing darkness, he seemed that way.

"Friend of yours?" he asked Malubog. He saw Maka's face light up, just before he saw her pull out a book.

Maka, don't you dare, he warned telepathically. Maka herself hesitated, a sly grin appearing on her face.

Why not? Are you scared of a book?

What? Hell n-

And you joked about me being afraid of a tiny Rambra... is it still hilarious now?

Yes, and I'm not afraid of your stupid book!

Soul, you're such an idiot sometimes...

Really? Are you sure I'm an idiot sometimes? Or is it most of the time?

Soul smirked and looked at where Maka was, and was surprised to see that she was no longer there. He was confused... until he felt something slam on his head, making him dizzy. His head throbbed as he turned to see Maka grinning devilishly with the book in her claws.

Stupid, stupid, stupid! Why did you do that? That hurts!

I know. That was for leaving without letting us know.

You and your Maka Chops... you need to cut down on that!

Let's think about that for a second... how about I don't?

Soul sighed with annoyance, wondering if Malubog and the spiral were confused as to what just happened. "Don't worry guys, I just do that when Soul switches to Idiot Mode," Maka explained.

"What? How was I being an idiot? I was just telling the truth!" he exclaimed, causing Maka to look at him with a mischievous glint in her eyes.

"Yeah right," she said, and Soul shook his head. "Okay, now you can lead us to your lair," she said to the Spiral, whom Soul narrowed his eyes a bit at. Wasn't he a Shadow dragon? He could clearly see the purple eyes.

"So who are you?" Soul asked the Spiral, praying he would get a name this time.

Saodacko considered the request. "I don't have to tell you anything. Besides, you are on my territory. I'm much more interested in what you have to say. . ."

He wove a tendril of thought into Soul's mind, ready to pry open his mouth and spill all of his secrets, all his pain, sorrow, madness. . .

NO! Saodacko screamed internally while snapping his mind away from the other dragon. He suddenly started panting and couging. His ability took too much energy to disrupt. To resist using.

One thing did disturb him. The presence of two minds within Soul.

"Saodacko," Malubog said with sudden kindness. "Let's take you back to camp."

He shuddered as his legs straightened and prepared to stand.

"Come on you two,"Malubog called over her shoulder. "Let's start walking. Could one of you support Saodacko?"

Saodacko considered the request. "I don't have to tell you anything. Besides, you are on my territory. I'm much more interested in what you have to say. . ."

He wove a tendril of thought into Soul's mind, ready to pry open his mouth and spill all of his secrets, all his pain, sorrow, madness. . .

NO! Saodacko screamed internally while snapping his mind away from the other dragon. He suddenly started panting and couging. His ability took too much energy to disrupt. To resist using.

One thing did disturb him. The presence of two minds within Soul.

"Saodacko," Malubog said with sudden kindness. "Let's take you back to camp."

He shuddered as his legs straightened and prepared to stand.

"Come on you two,"Malubog called over her shoulder. "Let's start walking. Could one of you support Saodacko?"

He's got a point... I am in his territory. And here I was hoping to-

Soul's previous thoughts ceased, now replaced with a single thought. Tell them everything. Share your pain with them. His eyes widened just slightly as he stared down at the Spiral whose name he didn't even know. He was doing something to him, and whatever it was made his head hurt like nothing else.

Another voice rang out in his head, the familiar voice that he didn't want to hear again, even as he had just heard it a short while ago. Yeah... not happening. That's my job. Don't you dare touch him! The voice of Moxt spoke out in his mind as the thoughts ended. Now Soul was dazed, whether it be from his wounds or from what had just happened.

I'm much more interested in what you have to say...

What did the Spiral mean by that?

Maka moved forward to help the Spiral, hearing Malubog speak. She didn't know what came over him, but whatever it was, she knew Soul must've had something to do with it. She was confused with the Spiral's answer to his question, and grew even more confused when silence took hold of both of them for a bit. They snapped out of it soon enough.

She looked back at the other Imperial and noticed his weary expression. What happened to you? Are you okay? she asked Soul mentally, worried as always.

I don't know... don't worry about me, focus on the Spiral.

I know, you've told me a bunch of times. Don't worry, it'll be alright, all that stuff. I'm trying not to as much anymore, but... wait. Did... did he show up again?

...

Did he?

...Yes.

Their short conversation ended as Maka gave Soul a sympathetic look before starting to walk. On the other hand, he was frozen in place for a few seconds before he shook his head and hesitantly followed. He took a slow breath, keeping calm. He really hoped that this wouldn't end badly, but a small feeling told him that it would.

He also hoped that the Spiral wouldn't try whatever he had done earlier again, otherwise both of them would suffer for it.

Maka, of course, knew about the curse Soul possessed, as well as Moxt Ghontix. She had only seen that Enduring Goblin once, that was it. She knew what the manifestation wanted, and she wanted to do whatever it took to avert the fate Moxt wanted for Soul.

She honestly didn't want this to fill both their minds, so she attempted to keep her cool. She stayed near Soul in case he needed help at any given moment. The sky had gotten darker now, and the blue flames surrounding the tombstone on his back illuminated the area around them. They would have to be careful now, because to them, this was unknown territory.

And anything could happen as far as they were concerned.

Malubog gestured to a clump of bushes. "Crawl through there. You'll find a clearing sheltered by 2 fallen pillars. Wait there while Saodacko and I get you in." Malubog nodded to Saodacko and took flight. He followed, and both of them flew over the trees to a looming structure in the distance. It was a crumbling coliseum, with an open roof where dragons frequently flew in and out of. Malubog jently landed in the middle, where dragons of all breeds, colors, and sizes were training in all areas of combat. Malubog slipped into a small tunnel off of the side of the training pit. She nodded to dragons as she passed them, never stopping for conversation. She casually walked into a branching tunnel heading towards the sleeping quarters. Caves lined either side, with rough fabric hanging in front to offer some privacy. She ducked into a cave with blue curtains. A white coatl looked up from his scrolls. [img]http://flightrising.com/rendern/350/287560/28755924_350.png[/img] "Malubog, Saodacko, how are you two doing?" "We need your help. Two injured dragons from a shadow clan are here, we need to sneak them in and talk to Bog. Can you make it look like their two visiting recruiters?" Malubog rushed. She was frustrated that Peaceweaver was so calm and collected. "Getting straight to the point I see. Where are they? I can get them into Bog's cave and meet you two there." "There in the clearing with the two pillars. Hurry there, we'll meet you in Bog's cave." Peaceweaver departed. Saodacko walked towards the training grounds while Malubog sprinted down the tunnel to Bog. Peaceweaver landed in the clearing and turned to the two imperials.

Soul and Maka both listened to Malubog, watching her and Saodacko take off. Soul gestured for Maka to go first and the other Imperial chuckled lightly. "Being a gentleman I see?" she said, smirking.

"You could say that," Soul responded. Maka quickly crawled through the bushes, trying to be as quiet as possible. Being so large had its problems; for example, it wasn't easy to be quiet. Just one light step could make more noise than intended. She came upon the clearing sheltered by two fallen pillars, with Soul joining her shortly after. They then laid down and looked around them, silence filling the area for a few minutes.

"Soul," Maka suddenly said. Soul looked at her. "What happened back there?" He glanced down for a moment before looking up again, sighing.

"I really don't know," he answered hesitantly. "I think that Spiral did something to me... I felt like sharing everything, every secret, every bit of my pain. I don't know how that happened, but still... I can't help but wonder if it's gonna happen again."

"No, no, no, don't say that. I'm sure it won't happen again," Maka comforted, moving closer to the other Imperial. "If it does, I will be there to help you. Just like last time."

"Just like last time," Soul repeated, immediately shutting down the memories that were coming to him. He knew she wasn't talking about the Spiral; she was talking about something else that happened.

"Just like last time."

They were both wondering what would've happened if they had just stayed at the den. Maybe Malubog wouldn't be in danger, and maybe there wouldn't be so much trouble at the moment.

And maybe, just maybe, that stupid Enduring Goblin wouldn't have come back.

They were surprised by the arrival of a white Coatl. "Who are you?" Soul asked, remaining cautious and standing up, taking a few steps forward so he was in front of Maka. "Are you with Malubog and Saodacko?"

"Yes, I am. My name is Peaceweaver. I will be helping you get into our lair and speak to Bog, our leader. I am afraid to tell you that nothing gets in our out of our lair without us knowing. Every one of our dragons are trained in combat, for we are a training lair. We raise dragons in the art of combat, and then send them to other clans as warriors." Peaceweaver explained.

"You will be pretending to be recruiters from your respective elements looking for soldiers. I myself am a recruiter, so you two will be my esteemed guests. After you play the part, we will go to Bog to discuss an alliance."

Peaceweaver turned his head to gaze at the two pillars. "These pillars hide an entrance that visitors take into our lair. Let me know when you are ready to depart."

Both Imperials listened intently, with Soul loosening up a little upon finding out Peaceweaver wasn't a threat. Honestly, he had a problem with that. It was a problem he wanted to fix, but at the same time... did it need to be fixed?

Maka, I just want to warn you not to screw this up like last time, Soul told her mentally.

Wait, what do you mean? My acting skills aren't the worst!

We nearly died last time because you couldn't keep up the act. I had to blind everybody in order for us to escape alive-

Dammit, you have a point... alright then! I'll try my hardest. Thanks for reminding me. You know, you're pretty good at this kind of thing. Have you ever considered being an actor perhaps?

Soul refrained from blushing as he nodded to Maka, now turning his gaze to Peaceweaver. "We're ready now... at least, whenever you are," Soul said. Maka stood, spreading her wings for a second before folding them again. She prepared to try and please her partner with her "skills".

She knew he was better at pretending to be someone else than anyone else she knew. He could fake all kinds of emotions and do all kinds of things with his acting skills. Maybe that was how he got out of the mess back in The Tangled Wood in the first place.

They both prepared to follow Peaceweaver, breathing nice and slow. Their breathing actually sounded synchronized; they inhaled and exhaled at the exact same time as the other. They also looked confident, determined not to mess up.

"Ok, lets go." Peaceweaver ducked underneath the two pillars and his deepsea bulb illuminated a tunnel that was once before hidden. "This tunnel is protected by a spell that only opens if blue light is present. It also tells guards to be on the lookout."

Peaceweaver casually walked into the tunnel, as he has done so many times before. It should be wide enough for two imperials, but definitely not tall enough. They would have to crouch in order to fit. Huck will have to dig this out higher.

They turned a corner and a harsh light met their eyes as they gazed out into the coliseum. They had entered the training grounds.