Art Sales

@Ozie May I please be added to the ping list? Hope you are having a fantastic[emoji=pearlcatcher winking size=1] day!

@MaidOfTheDamned
Of course, I'll add you now!

@Blueberrypodoboo I've got lore done for you! I was going to try sending Strom's first but so far he's had about two rewrites for each part, so I moved on to Aries. I'm hopefully going to send Strom's soon enough. I hope you like it! [quote=Aries]-1- [i]Sand drifted under his feet, sprinkling the tuft of red hair at the end of his tail with dots of gold that shone in the afternoon sun. Aries didn’t mind. He disliked sand, usually; he hated how it got caught between his scales and dug into the pads of his feet, but as long as she was here with him, he couldn’t care less. She was the reason he even went there in the first place. Her giggles echoed in his ears, her paws gripping his arms tightly. “Stop twirling me around, Aries!” Mia cried. “I’ve got no balance!” “Come on, Mimi,” he cooed. “It’s practice.” “I should hope not, it feels like I’m about to go flying!” Aries pouted without meaning to as they slowed to a stop. “This is how I dance, you know.” Mia giggled. “You’re very graceful, my dear, but there’s so much twirling.” “But you [/i]will[i] dance with me, right?” She hummed, her faceted eyes searching him without truly seeing. A mist clouded them; the only symbol of her blindness. She never let it stop her. Her digit trailed the edges of his face, roving over his cheekbones and making their way towards the top of his nose. Aries knew what she was about to do. Did he care? Not in the slightest. “That’s your nose,” she said, “right?” He smiled. “Yeah, that’s my nose.” She flicked it gently, so gently that he barely noticed. “That’s for spinning me around, you menace.” “You’re so cute,” he sighed, wistfulness and pride in his tone. He still didn’t know how he of all dragons managed to win her over. “I know,” she drawled, hesitantly wrapping her arms around his neck. “After all, if even my scars don’t scare you off, I must be.” “How horrible of you to assume I was only in this for your looks?” “What, am I something more?” “Of course you are! Anyone who tells you otherwise will meet my wrath.” Her smile brought butterflies to his stomach. “You’re a bit of a poet, aren’t you dear?” Grinning from ear to ear, Aries pecked her on the tip of the nose. Mia licked him back. Whenever they were alone, she was never one for kisses. Instead, she acted as stupid as her blindness could let her get away with. He loved her for that. “You’re disgusting,” he said, lacing his digits behind her back. “You have no right to lick me.” Mia pouted. “Have I not?” “No, you’ve not earned that privilege yet.” “How do I earn it?” “By becoming my wife, of course.” “Have I not earned that already?” Aries hummed, “Not yet.” “How have I not?” she whined, slumping against him. “We’re married in a few days.” “That’s not now, is it?” Mia frowned at him, her ears flat against her light green flower crown. It rested on her mane, which swept down her neck and back in waves of vine-green, leaves tangled in the strands. “Pedantic.” “Only for you, my dear,” Aries drawled as he winked at her. His heart panged when he realised, once again, that she couldn’t see it. Mia jabbed him in the stomach. He tried his best not to react, though even the slightest of movements she could feel and the tiniest sounds she could hear. She heard his strangled snort, felt his muscles stiffening, and giggled. “You’re awful!” he cried. “Oh well!” He hummed, lips pursed in thought before a merciless grin stretched across his face. He began to spin her around again, the sand brushing out of his way in waves. Anyone else would expect her to scream in terror, given her blindness, but she only cackled. She knew him too well. “You could be an amazing dancer if you tried,” Aries said as she kept up with the twirling as best as she could. “You’re almost flawless.” “I’ve tripped up twice!” He snorted, preparing himself for another jab. “That’s less than last time.” Mia scowled at him, but never delivered on his expectation. A curious glint shone in her eyes, one he focused on as they slowed to a halt. It wasn’t unlike her to become curious. They were both scavengers for their home, after all, and whenever they found a new treasure, she wanted to know every detail about it. However, they had the day off. Her curiosity confused him. “Is something wrong, Mimi?” “Nah,” she said, smiling. “However, I just came to a realisation.” “What’s up?” “I know everything about you… except for your colours.” Aries raised an eyebrow at her. “Eh?” “What colours are you?” From the innocence in her question to the wide-eyed gaze she laid upon him, he could barely breathe without succumbing to her wish. “What colours do you [/i]think[i] I am?” “Bright pink!” she squealed. A smile pulled at his lips. “I can be bright pink if you want me to be. It’d match my eyes.” Mia smirked. “You’d dye your scales just for me?” “If that’s what it takes to make you happy.” “I’m already happy. Besides, I don’t need you grabbing a potion just to make yourself bright pink. I wouldn’t be able to see it, anyway!” Chuckling, he supposed it was true. Her digit went on the hunt once again, finding the tip of his nose within seconds. He watched it drift down until it rested on his smiling lips. Her engagement ring—a silver cat with two sky-blue gems for eyes—glinted in the sun. “What colours are you?” she repeated. “Be genuine.” “I’m white with black wings and black stripes,” he muttered simply, distracted by the softness of her digit. Despite their jobs, pushing through shrub and catching skin on thorns, Mia always came away unscathed. “That’s it?” “Yeah, that’s all.” Her playful smirk grew into an excited smile. “Like a yin-yang sign!” Aries chuckled, the sound soft as her paw trailed up to his ear, her digits brushing against the cold silver of his ruby-adorned earrings and studs. They brushed through his tangled mane, drifting down his neck until her dull claws clacked against his necklace. Something was unlike her. A depressed air hung around her. “What’s wrong?” he probed, taking her paw in his. “This is going to sound strange,” she began in a murmur, “but I don’t know what colours I am.” “Really?” “Yeah.” She sighed, her ears flat once more. “I mean, I’ve been told, but they sound dull.” A flare of irrational anger fired up at the disappointment in her tone. He let slip, “You ever hear those kinds of comments again, come get me and I’ll teach them a lesson about disregarding my wife.” “So now I’m your wife?” Mia giggled. Aries didn’t answer, pouting now that he’d been called out. He squeezed her paw. She squeezed it back. “Would you be able to describe me?” “You’re the colour of paradise, my dear,” Aries murmured. Mia snorted. “That doesn’t help!” “I’m being serious.” Taking a deep breath, he began, “You’re the colour of the golden beach we’re stood on, and your wings are like the trees swaying above us. Your scars are like rivers reflecting the pink of a sunset. Your eyes…” He chuckled breathlessly, brushing some of her hair from before her eyes. “I don’t know where to begin.” Her cheeks reddened. She buried her face in his chest, her antlers clicking against his earrings. “I wasn’t expecting that.” “You told me I could be a poet if I wanted,” he cooed, kissing the top of her head. “Thought I should give it a go.” “You didn’t finish on my eyes.” Aries hummed, hooking a digit beneath her chin and raising her face to get a proper look, even though he’d seen them over a million times before. “I want to get lost in them,” he concluded, smiling with her. “Everything about you, my dear, is my paradise.”[/i] Only now did he realise that she was a paradise he wasn’t destined to have. [center]*[/center] The memory faded from his mind. The warmth of the sun faded from his skin, replaced by the bitter cold of the Southern Icefield. The stone wall he leant against pinched and scraped every inch of scale it had access to. The beach faded into a musty, dirt-caked alleyway stuffed with torn clothes and piles of old food. Sighing, he tugged his mantle further forward and waited. He stuffed his paws into the pockets of his tatters. Skulls—long since dried and bleached—felt ice-cold against his wrists. He kept his eyes trained on the hut opposite him, where the loud slam sounded moments before. So far, he’d heard nothing. Just as Aries thought he might have heard something else, someone cried, “Let me go!” Something smashed. Whether it was porcelain or glass, he couldn’t tell. All he knew was that the voice was young, that of a mere child. “Let me go!” they cried again. “Dad!” “Take him away with you,” came the slurred yell of another, someone much older. “I have my money, I ain’t needing him anymore.” “Stop it!” The door to the hut swung open, splintering upon impact. Two Mirrors, both dressed in dark garbs, held a small orange and purple hatchling between them, donned in threadbare clothing and clutching a singular toy. A growl rose in the pit of his throat. Just as Aries stepped clear of the alleyway, the hatchling elbowed his capturers. Both grunted, their grip slackened. He watched as the hatchling sprinted down the opposite alleyway. The bandits soon followed. Fury, one buried for decades after his initial capture as a newborn, roared with new life and spurred him into a sprint, tailing the bandits. Neither of them noticed him. Ducking behind a pile of crates, he watched the two of them split up, one heading towards the market and one towards the hut. Aries knew better. He threw a glance towards the ground. Light footprints trailed towards a frozen barn. He had to give the kid credit; he knew how to make his escape. The reason behind that, however, made him shudder. Treading lightly, he made his way over to the frozen barn and peered into the closest stall. Something smacked him in the face. Pain burst in his cheek. He had to bite his lip to keep from alerting the bandits of their position. “Hey,” he snapped. “That was unnecessary.” “Get away from me!” the kid screamed, backing into the furthest corner. Aries did his best to shush him as he entered the stall, the door clanging shut behind him. He sat in the opposite corner. “I’m not here to hurt you.” The ice in the kid’s eyes hardened with distrust. He clutched his toy to his chest. “You look like one of them.” “I can promise you I’m not.” He nodded towards the toy, with its missing arm and scuffed appearance. He’d seen fresher versions in a claw machine. “That’s a nice toy. How’d you get it?” “I won it,” he muttered, curling up to give them as much distance as possible. “How?” “None of your damn business!” Aries shushed him and peered over the stall door. When no one came running, he settled down. The hatchling continued to cower in his corner, tugging his hole-riddled clothing around him to fend off the cold. Sections of scales were missing over his arms and face, leaving the skin beneath open to the bitter wind. “Here.” Aries pulled off his mantle and handed it to the kid. “Wear this. It’ll be much warmer than what you’re wearing now.” The kid eyed him uncertainly before ripping the mantle away from him and wrapping it around him. It looked like a cloak on him, keeping his bony body from view. “Let’s get you out of here, yeah?” Aries suggested, peering over the top of the stall once again. One of the bandits still hung around in the marketplace. [i]Damn it.[/i] “Where are you going to take me?” he hissed, his tone fearful. “Back to my home.” He offered him a small smile. “I’m a scavenger. I’m not a—” “Over here! There are footprints!” Aries cursed under his breath and ducked as a bandit rounded the corner. He sucked in a breath. Whether or not the Mirror noticed him was uncertain, for his footfalls were slow and hesitant. He could feel his eyes searching every nook and cranny as he walked. They kept coming closer. Aries gestured for the hatchling to come closer, leaving his paw out for him to take. Much to his surprise, he took it and huddled up close to his side. The toy he tucked away beneath the mantle, his face he hid beneath a makeshift hood. “We’re going to have to run,” he whispered low in his ear, slowly getting up in a crouch. The kid said nothing. Fear glistened in his eyes; fear and desperation. The footsteps closed in on them. Another pair joined them. His grip on the kid’s paw tightened, and he counted down to their escape. “Three.” The Mirrors began muttering amongst themselves, their shadows appearing beneath the stall door. “Two.” They hissed and began peering at the ground if the scratching of their claws against the ground told him anything. “One.” One of the shadows neared their stall, stopping just before it. “Now!” Aries swung the stall door open, knocking the closest one off-balance, the other freezing in shock. They sprinted away from them. It wasn’t hard for the kid to keep up with him, given how he slipped on the ice now and then, his feet slashing through the snow with reckless abandon. The bandits screamed, their thudding footsteps slowly getting closer. He let out a stream of curses as he skidded on a frozen puddle. “Can you fly?” he called over the rushing wind. His answer shocked him. “No!” Aries’ mind raced with possibilities, consequences shoving their way to the front of his mind. He thought about carrying the kid back to Shatterskull, or continuing to sprint, or trying to find somewhere to hide. Nothing seemed like it would work. He let go of the kid’s paw and skidded to a halt amid a frozen lake. The kid stopped not so far away. “Go hide.” “What?” he squeaked, his eyes wide with terror. “Go hide,” Aries ordered, “and once I’ve dealt with them, I’ll come to find you, okay?” “But—” He glanced behind him. Upon the hill, he could see the Mirrors searching for them. “When I shout a question, I want you to whistle a given number of times, okay? It’ll always be something about what I look like.” Hearing their distant scream, he cursed and waved the kid away. “Go, now, before they see you.” Without saying another word, he nodded and ran off into the woodland, leaping and bounding over bushes and logs until he was out of sight. Aries stayed put. The ice creaked beneath his feet, his claws digging into the sheet. He might not be an Ice dragon, but at least he had some resemblance of balance. The bandits didn’t disappoint him. They spotted him within a few more seconds and hissed like feral cats. “Where’s the hatchling?” one hissed, brandishing a blade. “Can’t say I know,” Aries said. “The little bugger ran off.” They snarled at him, baring their teeth and quivering tongues. A sudden urge to rip it out almost overcame him. He decided against it, just in case the kid was watching. “We’re not gonna ask again, grandpa,” the first one growled. “Where’s our prize?” “As I said, I can’t say I know.” The more animalistic of the two took a step forward, unmindful of the icy lake he trod on. His four beady eyes searched him for any signs of lying, for any weakness he let them see. The other one joined them. They seemed to miss the cracks beneath their feet in their thirst for blood. Aries rolled his eyes. [i]Typical Mirrors.[/i] “Looks like we can have some fun,” the leader snickered, showing off his sword. “Good,” the other growled. Aries braced himself for impact as they leapt at him. The guard on his right arm deflected the blade. His left smacked the other in the face. They went tumbling in different directions, skidding to a halt moments later. Their claws left jagged lines in the ice. He could feel the ice splinter beneath his feet as he adjusted his position. [i]One more move, and they’ll fall in.[/i] With a battle cry worthy of the insane, they fell for it. Both of them leapt at him, hoping to catch him off guard. Splaying his wings, he shot upwards. The ice broke beneath him, shattering as soon as the Mirrors attacked thin air. They fell in with a scream. He didn’t stay to watch whether they lived or died. Only when he heard two thuds did he look back, only to notice Shatterskull’s favourite Pearlcatcher. “What did I tell you about getting into trouble?” Vladimir yelled, glaring at him from below. Aries stammered as he searched for the right words. How was he supposed to explain that two Mirrors stole a kid from his home for money? Vladimir sighed and beckoned him. “Come down here, Aries.” He did as he was told. Under Vladimir’s irritated stare, he felt almost like the kid did around him; nervous. “Care to explain, Starsign?” “Well,” he began, looking around the woodland. “There was this kid—” “A kid?” “Yes. Those two bandits took him from his home.” He huffed, his breath clouding before him. “I think his father sold him.” “Where is he now?” Embarrassed, he muttered, “I told him to run. I don’t know where he went.” Vladimir sighed, but his small smile was gentle. “Let’s go look for him then. We can’t have him freezing to death.” Aries nodded in agreement. The two of them split up, dodging the unconscious Mirrors and calling for him. Nothing answered. Worry made his skin tingle and blood rush in his veins. Each call became a little more desperate. He’d promised himself he wouldn’t let anyone else get captured and hurt as he had been. Now, he worried he might have ruined that. “Kid?” he cried for what felt like the fiftieth time. He didn’t answer him. “Hey, kid? How many mantles do I have?” Aries couldn’t say he was sure that their little plan would work. For all he knew, the kid could be too far away for him to hear, or he could be hurt and unable to answer. Still, he kept his ears perked. A small whistle sounded to the north. He ran towards it and peered around, but couldn’t see him. “How many necklaces do I have?” Another small whistle, though slightly louder now, sounded to his right. Jogging in that direction, he tried to think of another question to lure the kid out from hiding. “Do you know how many eyes I have?” Aries expected only two whistles when the kid answered him, but the third one threw him off. [i]How did he count three?[/i] Even so, he ran in the direction of the final three whistles and found a small orange-purple striped tail poking out from under a thick berry bush. Relief washed over him. He edged towards the bush and peered inside to see the kid staring back at him, eyes still rimmed with fear. “Hey,” he said, his voice soft, “it’s alright. You can come out now.” The kid shook his head frantically. “No, there’s more.” “More what?” “More voices.” Aries smiled. “That’s only Vladimir. He’s a friend.” He held out his paw and waited. “Come on, it’s safe. I promise.” He was hesitant at first, staying curled up in a ball of red, purple and orange. After a few moments, he sighed and made his way out of the bush without Aries’ help. In the sunlight, you could make out multiple marks and scrapes from thorns and prickles, and he could only imagine how much they might be bothering him. “I must ask,” Aries began, brushing down the mantle of thorns and leaves, “why did you whistle three times for the last question?” He shrugged. “You’ve got another eye on your tail.” Chuckling, he brought his tail into view. Accompanied only by the pomegranate feathers of an animal he killed years ago was his Haunted Flame tail jewel. It looked like a big cat’s eye, with a black slit cutting two halves of the red jewel in half. “I suppose you’re right.” “Have you had any luck?” Vladimir called, his voice making the kid jump. “Yeah, he’s over here!” Before he could warn the kid, Shatterskull’s second-in-command appeared at his side in a flash of yellow. He peered over the rim of his glasses at the kid who, in turn, looked amazed. “You’re from Shatterskull Circus.” The pair of them started, eyes wide with surprise. It wasn’t often that someone so far out knew of them, much less when they were so young. “You know of Shatterskull?” Aries asked. “How?” He shrugged, wiping his nose on the mantle. “I went there once. You guys were cool.” Aries could feel the pride emanating from Vladimir as he spoke. “Now that you mention it, I think I recognise you.” The kid offered him a tiny shrug. “If you want,” Vladimir continued, crouching before him, “you can come back with us. We’ll give you a warm place to stay, make sure you’re safe and try to get you some kind of tutor.” “I can come back with you?” he cried. His smile was radiant. “Of course you can, but you’ve got to tell us your name, first.” His smile fell. Shuffling awkwardly on his feet, Aries watched in heartache when the hatchling’s head bowed in shame. “I don’t have one. I was only ever something for my dad to sell.” He sniffed and fiddled with a corner of the mantle. “That’s what he told me, anyway.” Aries felt a spurt of anger in his blood, strong enough to make him debate whether or not he should go find the poor kid’s father and make him understand just how much pain he’d put his son through. “What about Strom?” he let out suddenly, thinking back on the kid’s toy. The pair of them blinked at him. “What?” “Strom,” he repeated. “It means the handle or lever that controls a rigged game, and that toy you’ve got is from a rigged claw game.” “How do you know?” “I tried to get one for a while, though the ones in the game weren’t as beaten up as yours.” He shrugged. “I just knew how to trick it, that’s all.” “I’m forty, kiddo, and even I don’t know how to trick it.” The kid shrugged, clutching his robot to his chest and fiddling with the only arm it had left. Scratches covered almost every inch of it. Aries didn’t want to imagine how it earned them. Was it the father lobbing it across the room, or the kid for having it for so long? “Well,” Vladimir said, “how does Strom sound?” “I like it,” he muttered nervously. “Strom it is, then!” The kid offered them both a tiny smile. It looked shaky, full to the brim with distrust, but also hopeful. He wanted a new life, Aries could tell. He wanted a new family that wouldn’t betray him, and Aries, with his digits crossed behind his back and gracing him with an encouraging grin, was determined to be just that.  -2- The rain poured, chilling every inch of exposed skin. It soaked his mantle and silks, dampened his mane and weighed down on his wings. Every inch of him was aching after hours of flying and running, going to surrounding lairs to look for him. He didn’t have time to rest. Resting meant letting something happen. It’d been four days since he last saw his foster son. Four long, restless days of searching and calling his name, only to be met with silence, only made his determination grow. He hadn’t slept properly, had only eaten just enough for energy before setting out again. “He’s still not back,” he growled to himself, raking his shaking digits through his mane. “Where [i]is[/i] he?” No one answered his question. Of course, it didn’t. Unless Strom appeared out of nowhere, no one [i]could[/i] answer his question. Not even the Windsinger himself could answer, Aries reckoned. The very thought chilled his blood. Snarling, he paced the length of Shatterskull’s entrance, their banner swinging above them. He continued to drag his paws through his mane and over his wings to free some weight. If he saw Strom, or anyone looking suspicious, he’d have to fly to them. The last thing he wanted was to be robbed of that opportunity. “Come on, Starsign,” someone said behind him, startling him. “Just rest for a few hours.” He spun on his heel and came face to face with Walter, Shatterskull’s ringleader and one of Aries’ closest friends. He looked just as exhausted as he after helping him look for hours on end, but his distasteful comment about resting made his anger grow. “I can’t just [i]rest[/i], Walter. My foster son’s been missing for four days!” “I know,” he sighed. As always, he wanted to keep everything smooth. “Where else can we look?” “We can look around Mainatan again.” Mainatan, as much as everyone in Shatterskull referred to it as the Nearby Market, was Strom’s favourite place for buying new toys for his machines and getting himself into trouble with Shatterskull’s old rival. Even then, however, he always came home within twenty-four hours. Something wasn’t right this time. Something was wrong. “No one in Mainatan has seen him, Aries.” “But we can’t have asked every resident, can we?” Walter frowned. “Aries—” “Look,” he snapped, “I’m going with or without your help. I’m not about to leave him behind like you’re willing to do.” Something lit up Walter’s blood-red eyes. It was anger. “I’m not leaving him behind, Aries. What I’m suggesting is we rest for a few hours and think about where he might have gone.” “And what good will that do him if he’s injured?” “We don’t know if—” A door slammed behind them. Shatterskull’s clown, Honk, hastily locked the door to his caravan and sprinted past them, towards Mainatan. He only stopped when he noticed neither of them followed him. He gestured for them to follow, determination set in his features. “Is he in Mainatan?” Aries asked, peering at him. All Honk had to do was show them a cream envelope with the name Kraken on the front to prove his point. Kraken was one of the guards in Mainatan. He was bound to the service of others, providing honesty and protection. If he’d sent them a letter, he must’ve seen him. His heart started to race in his chest. He made his way to Honk’s side. “Let’s go then.” “Wait a minute.” “What now, Walter?” Aries growled. Walter grinned at him. “I’m not leaving all the fun to you two. I’d like to find out what happened to my employee.” He didn’t wait to check if either of them were following close behind when he launched himself from the ground. Running through the forest would take too long. They had to get there as soon as possible. If something had happened between Strom and Shatterskull’s old rival, it was unlikely they would leave him without hurting him. The wind grew bitter during their small flight, leaving Aries with numb skin and a tail that felt like a useless sack of meat attached to his body. His wings, at least, were protected by thick feathers. He couldn’t say the same for the other two. Mainatan came into view within minutes, her lights swinging low and her huts darkened by the oncoming night. The only place for them to land without disturbing anyone was another two minutes away; the marketplace of Mainatan. It would be abandoned at this time of night. All the shutters would be down and signs tucked away for the night. They landed with spurts of water coming up to greet them, rain thundering down around them. It didn’t take long for them to start calling for him. “Strom?” Aries cried, ignoring whatever his yelling may do to the sleeping neighbours. “Strom, where are you?” Walter followed suit, heading away from Aries and Honk, who whistled. Being mute, he couldn’t exactly scream for Strom, so he took to making numerous whistles in every direction. He would’ve laughed in any other situation. It sounded like he was calling for a lost pet. “Strom, are you here?” No one answered him. Aries told himself that it was just another one of his weird jokes and that he was waiting behind the back of a hut to scare him and the others, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t bring himself to believe it. It wasn’t the teenager he knew. “Strom!” He stopped at the edge of the marketplace, Walter’s calls and Honk’s whistles echoing around the empty centre. He willed himself to peer into every hut window he could manage. None of them looked out of the ordinary. None of them held his foster child. “Damn it, Strom,” he croaked, wandering into the maze of huts. “What kind of trouble have you gotten into?” The stone clacked against his claws as he walked, tiny patches of grass tickling the soles of his feet. Every hut looked the same. No wonder it was so easy to get lost, and why many of them avoided coming this way. There were no distinguishing features to Mainatan’s huts, except for some miniature signs he couldn’t make out in the dark. “Strom?” Aries called. “Strom, answer me if you can hear me!” Nothing came. Panicking, he dragged his paws through his ratty mane, his looped earrings clinking against each other with the movement. Through the sheets of rain, he couldn’t make anything out beyond a few feet. It’d be impossible to find him in this weather. A memory, slightly foggy, appeared in his mind. [i]The questions.[/i] “Strom, if you can hear me, how many mantles do I have?” Nothing sounded. Aries’ heart raced in his chest, his ears upright to listen for anything out of the ordinary. One second passed, then five, then ten. It became unbearable – the silence All he could think about was what may have happened to him. He became so focused on that one ‘if’ that he almost missed one quiet whistle to his left. They weren’t Honk’s. He raced to the left as far as he could go before he got confused. He asked, “How many necklaces do I have?” Another quiet whistle rang out to his right. He followed the sound until he came by a patch of green clear of any kind of hut. Hesitating, his ears straining, he said, “How many eyes do I have?” A whistle sounded once. Then it sounded twice. Only when it sounded a third time did Aries move in their direction, he weaved through a few more huts until he came by a hut with bars over the broken back window. Through it, he spotted the slim, slouched figure of his foster son against the wall. “Strom,” he whispered, relief washing over him as he stared through the bars. They were hastily screwed on. “Get up, you’re getting out of here.” For the first time since he came into his care, Strom whimpered. It sounded unlike him in every way. “I can’t.” “Why? What’s wrong?” He gestured towards his leg. Aries suppressed his growl. On it was a similar bite mark to Honk’s wrapping around his leg and tearing the skin and scale. It reeked of infection. White pus and red blood streaked into each other. They stained his skin and the cloth surrounding it. “I tried to run yesterday,” he whispered through gritted teeth. “He didn’t like that.” “Who didn’t?” Strom gulped, his eyes shining in the darkness. “My dad found me.” Aries tried his best to disperse his anger. He’d deal with Strom’s father later if he hadn’t escaped already. For now, he had to pull the bars from the window and get him to safety. With that thought in mind, he gripped the furthest left and furthest right bars and pulled until the bars came flying free. He didn’t think about the noise the cage would make as soon as the bars fell from his grasp. “Come on,” he said, clambering through the window. “Let’s get you out of here.” Strom nodded. Aries wrapped Strom’s arm around his shoulders and hauled him onto his foot. His other leg hung uselessly in the air. With even the slightest of movements, he would hiss through clenched teeth. It worried him. The infection would only get worse if he stayed here. Aries eased him towards the window and let him get a good grip of the ledge. “Get yourself over, I’ve got you.” Strom nodded again, though terror froze him for a few seconds. Sitting on the glass-littered edge, he swung his good leg over with little regard for the other. As soon as his bite dragged over the glass, Strom let out a yelp and fell to the ground. Thudding sounded behind Aries. His ears flattened against his mane as he nudged Strom’s side, covering him with his mantle to keep him from getting wet. “Hide.” “Aries—” “Hide before he sees you.” He didn’t argue. Aries turned around and waited for Strom’s father to enter the room. Only the shuffling of the fabric against dirt and the barely-audible hissing told him that Strom wasn’t in harm’s way. Strom’s father didn’t disappoint. He shoved open the door, his eyes filled with fury as he stared at Aries. A Chimera laid low behind him. “Hey,” Aries drawled. “Nice hut you’ve got. Is it modern?” “Where’s my son?” he snapped, closing the distance between them quicker than Aries would have liked. “What have you done with him?” “I didn’t do anything” “Where’s my son?” When Aries didn’t answer, he swung his fist and caught his jaw. Aries stumbled slightly but refused to move from the window, wings splayed on either side to block his view. He wanted to give Strom as much time as he could to get as far away as he could. “Aren’t you the same father that tried to sell him as a little kid?” Strom’s father’s eyes narrowed, a snarl stretching his mouth hideously. “What of it?” Aries rubbed his jaw, his eyes focused on the snout he could easily break. “Then what right do you have to call him your son?” “He’s my blood, so I can do what I want with him!” “You tried to sell him.” “I needed the money.” He let his anger bubble beneath the surface. “I think you’ll find he’s my son more than he is yours. At least I gave him a name, a home where he felt safe and some [i]stability[/i].” The father wasn’t so good at suppressing his anger. His cheeks burned a bright red against his stained colouring. “That doesn’t mean anything when blood comes into play.” “It means a hell of a lot more to him than it ever will to you, at least.” The male growled like Aries expected his Chimera would. She continued to glare at him behind his legs. Giver her thinner mane and longer, beady-eyed snake at the tip of her tail, Aries could tell she was a female. It made sense, too. Female Chimeras were better at hunting and killing than males, given they had sharper teeth and two more incisors. He could tell that much from the state of Strom’s leg. “I’ll say this one more time,” the father drawled. “Where is my son?” “I wouldn’t know.” Strom’s father swung again. This time, Aries was ready. He sidestepped the swing, listening as his knuckle thwacked against the window frame. He elbowed the male in the face. Stumbling backwards, he missed how Aries rounded him. He gripped his collar and threw him over the ledge of the window, out into the pouring rain. The male rolled to one side just as Aries vaulted over the ledge. He ignored the pain prickling in his palm. “You're a petty fighter,” Aries taunted. He kicked him in the side as he tried to get up, undoing the sodden satchel at his waist. He immediately found a medium-sized skinning knife he used for animal skins. “I suppose you’re used to scaring tactics, huh? All bark and no bite, are you?” He only just noticed his attention wasn’t on him as he got to his feet. His gaze drifted past his leg and towards the shaking figure of Strom, fear and fury mixing in his gaze. Honk crouched beside him, tying his coat around Strom’s bite. The knife went flying from his grip. Aries panicked and reached to grab the male’s collar. He missed his collar and stumbled, falling to the ground. His claws scratched against the rough fabric. If it hadn’t been for Honk, he may have gotten to Strom. Before anyone could react, Honk wrapped his tail around the male’s outreaching arm and threw him to one side. His eyes were hard with anger. Strom must have told him at some point what he’d done to him. “I’ll sell you both!” the male roared, stumbling to his feet. “You’ll be worth a lot on the—” He said no more when his knife found its way to Strom’s father’s throat, ready to split his head from his shoulders. It dug into his neck and drew a tiny trickle of blood. On the attacking end was Shatterskull’s ringleader. Aries gaped at Walter. He looked exactly like he had thirteen years ago; animalistic and merciless. “Leave my carny alone,” he snarled. “I’ve spilt blood before. I’ll happily do it again for the safety of one of my circus.” Honk stood up to his full height, which wasn’t very tall, and stared right into the eyes of the beast, his fists curled up at his sides, his tail swishing from side to side, his scar gleaming in the low lamplight. He looked twice as dangerous as his usual, playful behaviour would suggest. Perhaps he was, too. He managed to survive a two-on-one [i]and[/i] a Chimera bite to the neck, after all. Aries couldn’t help but grin as he stood. “It’s three against one,” he drawled. “I’d choose wisely.” He could see the cogs whirring in his brain before he snarled and stormed off. Aries’ knife followed him, landing just a few inches from the Chimera—who stayed sat beside the broken wind—as Walter screamed, “Come anywhere near my Circus again and it’ll be one against eighty-four!” They laughed as he flew away as fast as he could, his Chimera disappearing in a cloud of black smoke. Aries picked up his knife and crouched down next to Strom, who chuckled from where he was sprawled out against the wall. He looked pale in the lamplight, and his bite looked worse than it had a few moments ago. The mantle kept him dry, for the most part. Walter’s gag told him he’d just noticed it. Honk, on the other hand, didn’t care. He finished typing up his coat around his leg and helping him to stand, worry in his heavy-lidded eyes. “Thanks, Honk,” Strom whispered, hissing as he moved to lean on the clown. Honk offered him a bright, reassuring smile and handed him over to Aries. They all knew if anyone could get him home, it would be the one male who was the same height as him. “Do you want me to carry you?” Aries asked as he looped Strom’s arm around his shoulders. Strom’s tail smacked him square in the back. “Don’t you dare try to carry me, you hear me?” Aries chuckled. “Are you sure? This is going to be a long walk otherwise.” “I’d much rather die walking than fly.” Shaking his head, the two of them began making their way home, Walter and Honk distracting them from just how long it would take them to make the normally-half-an-hour walk back to the circus. He felt grateful to have them there with them, especially Honk. Even after the Rats traumatised him, he was raring to go through the woodlands he dreaded so badly just to keep Strom distracted. Aries bit his cheek to keep from laughing. He couldn’t wait to tease them both about it for the next few days.  -3- The inside of Strom’s caravan was a pigsty. Clothes were thrown this way and that, covering every inch of the floor, his quilt lay bundled up next to the bed, papers regarding his profits and losses—a safety measure against his supposed kleptomania—were all in a messy pile over in one corner. Aries hated it, seeing such a mess made his skin tingle, though he knew it couldn’t be helped. Strom was still confined to his bed, after all. And at least he had Honk to help him out. The two of them sat with their backs to him on Strom’s bed, sifting through a pile of papers only to put them into other piles. Aries watched. He didn’t know what they were sorting them by. One pile was much bigger than the other. From where he stood, he couldn’t make out the scrawled writing filling in each box. They had yet to notice him stood there. Honk hummed and he handed Strom one of the papers. Strom immediately put it to one side. Aries grinned. “Can’t even read your writing, huh?” The two of them shrieked and backed away from him just as he burst out laughing. Something went whizzing past him. When he looked, he noticed it was one of Strom’s human-related texts that he’d become so inquisitive about. If that had knocked one of his antlers, it could’ve torn it clean off. “Don’t scare us like that, you animal!” Strom cried, his face a grimace as he moved his leg. Around it was a white bandage speckled with dots of red. “Sorry,” he chuckled, leaning against the doorframe. “I should’ve remembered your leg.” “Damn right you should’ve remembered!” Honk snorted as he got back to the handful of paper in his paws, fingering his way through them with searching eyes until he pulled one out and showed it to Strom. A huge grin broke across his face. He gently took it from Honk and put it beside the bigger of the two piles. “What’s that smile for?” Aries inquired, tilting his head. “Remember when I first opened the fairground?” Strom said with a hint of wistfulness. “Yeah, I do.” “It was the first-ever paper I had to fill in.” Aries chuckled. “You mean the first-ever time you stole?” “They’re my machines,” Strom retorted. “I get to keep [i]some[/i] profits, you know.” “Not all of them.” “Shut up, Aries.” Smiling, he made his way inside and gently pushed the door closed behind him. A scent hit him square in the face, one he’d barely registered in the doorway. It was mint and pine. They were the very same smells associated with Strom’s homeland. Aries sighed quietly. [i]Even after everything, it seems he still has a yearning for the Icefield.[/i] Honk huffed and shoved the papers towards the end of the bed. Exhausted was present in every inch of him, from his drooping wings to his limp spines to the bags under his eyes. He couldn’t help but wonder how long they’d been at this. Aries only arrived moments before. For all he knew, they could have been sorting since the early hours, or maybe even earlier. Strom noticed. He graced Honk with the rarest of his smiles—soft and bright—and said, “Why don’t you go see how Torny is? He hasn’t knocked on the door for the past ten minutes.” Honk shook his head, grinning. He didn’t argue as he stood up and stretched, though it did little to alleviate any of the exhaustion Aries saw in him. If anything, it made him look more exhausted than before. Aries stood to one side as he left, yawning on his way out. “The poor thing looks exhausted,” he commented, staring after Honk as he closed the door. “Is there a reason for that?” “I dunno,” Strom murmured. Bemusement came over him, his eyes narrowing with suspicion. He could tell that Strom was being evasive; he’d begun to bite on his claw and slur his words, something of which was very unlike him. “What’s going on, Strom?” Strom looked up at him with a look of confusion. “What do you mean?” “He’s exhausted, and you—his closest friend aside from Torny—[i]don’t[/i] know what’s wrong?” “He could just be tired.” Aries frowned. “Before, he never looked this bad.” Strom shrugged. “He doesn’t tell me everything, you know.” He squinted at his foster son, wondering what he could say to bribe the truth from him. It wasn’t an easy achievement to get him to tell the truth, especially now that he was eighteen. It was almost like he’d become immune to all of his tricks. Even so, Strom caved in under his stare, sighing. “Look, I [i]do[/i] know, okay? I just can’t tell you.” “Why’s that?” “He asked me not to.” Just as Aries’ ear flicked, the only sign of his irritation, he continued, “It’s not just you, Aries. He doesn’t want me to tell anyone, not even Torny.” “Is it because you’re finally dating?” Strom glared at him. “We’re not dating.” “Is that right?” “Aries, I’m being serious.” He snorted. Perching himself on the end of Strom’s bed, careful that the dip in the mattress didn’t cause him any unnecessary discomfort, he eyed the stack of papers beside him warily. It wasn’t as tall as he’d initially thought, yet he’d still be buried under it all if it fell over. “Why did you shake your head?” Strom deadpanned. His eyes looked dim with exhaustion. “You know that I want you to be happy, don’t you?” His eyes widened with shock as he nodded slowly, setting the papers to rest in his lap. “...Sure.” Aries leant against the wall behind him, tucking his wings in so the huge pile of paper didn’t crumble down upon him. “You know that I don’t want you to lose your chance, right?” “Aries,” he said, putting his papers to one side and leaning against the headboard, “where is this going? What do you mean?” “I don’t want you to miss out on finding happiness,” he stated. “I don’t want you to end up like me.” “What’s so bad about being you?” He sighed, ears flattening against his mane. “You know that I lost Mia because I didn’t protect her. I lost her because I thought she would be so...” He took a deep breath. Even after thirteen years, the pain still felt fresh. “I thought she wouldn’t be so stupid. The last thing I want, Strom, is for that to happen to you.” “Aries...” Smiling sadly, Aries added, “I’m proud of you, you know. I reckon she would be, too, and that she’d only want the best for you.” “You think so?” he chuckled, eyes downcast. “It sounds like she had high standards.” “She doe—[i]did[/i]. What makes you think you don’t fulfil them?” Strom snorted. “What, as a thieving liar deprived of a normal childhood?” “Maybe not [i]that[/i],” Aries said, “but you were the kind of child she’d want to foster.” “You guys talked about fostering?” “Of course we did.” He shrugged. “Given my infertility, it was the next best thing.” “What kind of kids would you have fostered?” Aries didn’t miss the jokey tone nor the underlying uncertainty. He smiled as he said, “Kids like you; ones who would’ve been sent into the slave trade.” Strom hummed. “Would you have still come by for me?” Aries didn’t hesitate. “Definitely. I reckon Mia would’ve loved you.” “Why’s that?” “If you remind me of her, you’d remind her of how she ended up in the same camp as me.” Something flickered in Strom’s eyes. “Is that why you took me in?” “I took you in,” he began, “because you were in the same position we’d both once been in. I know she would’ve done the same.” “So you didn’t do it to make amends?” Aries shook his head, his earrings tinkling against each other. “I did it because I wanted you to have a shot at happiness, and I still want that for you now.” “What about your happiness?” “I had my happiness thirteen years ago,” he sighed, a small smile playing at his lips. He could see the tiny flicker of sadness in Strom’s eyes as he added, “And I found it again four years later.” Strom chuckled, the sound breathy and forced. “Is there a secret woman you’ve been keeping from us all?” “You're an idiot sometimes, for someone so bright.” He cocked his head in genuine confusion and Aries laughed. “I was on about [i]you[/i], Strom! You as my—” He hesitated, the word lingering on his tongue as he corrected his train of thought. “—foster son.” “Really?” Strom asked, his ice eyes slightly brighter and more awake. “Why do you think I’m so proud of you, and why I want you to be as happy as you can be?” He shrugged, trying to downplay the brightness in his voice just seconds ago. “Maybe because I thought you felt obligated.” “Nah,” Aries told him. “If I didn’t want you to be happy, I wouldn’t bother putting up with how much of a pain in the backside you can be.” “I guess that’s true, huh?” “It certainly is, and it’s why I must ask; [i]is[/i] there a certain someone you’d want to be happy [i]with?[/i]” Strom frowned, a bored expression crossing his face. “You’re alluding to Honk, aren’t you?” Aries grinned, pleased with how his question played out. “If he’s the first one that came to your mind when you heard that, then yes.” His foster son quickly realised what he’d done and buried his face in his paws. Aries, on the other hand, was in hysterics, his laugh becoming wheezier the longer it ran on. He couldn’t believe how easy that had been. “I genuinely hate you,” Strom grumbled, his voice muffled by his paws. Aries choked on his laughter, trying to rein it in. “I can’t believe that worked.” He glared at him through the gaps between his digits. “If you mention this to [i]anyone[/i], including Honk, I’ll make your caravan roll into some water.” “I won’t mention it to anyone, I promise.” Grunting, Strom lowered his paws and avoided his gaze. “Good.” Chuckling, he got to his feet, careful not to move the mattress too much both for the piles not to tip over and to make sure Strom’s leg didn’t move too much. He didn’t miss his wince. A feeling of guilt weighed down on him. [i]Did I take it too far?[/i] “I need to go find Walter,” he said, heading for the door. He gripped the handle and threw a final smile Strom’s way. “Get Honk to come and get me if you need anything, okay?” Strom still didn’t look at him. “Sure.” With a gentle tug, the door opened without a sound. Light flooded the caravan. He wanted to apologise as he stepped outside, yet he thought that’d only make it more awkward. Aries could only hope Strom would forgive— “Wait!” Cracking the door open, he peered inside, head cocked in question. “What’s up?” Strom met his gaze for a split second. The exhaustion in them was gone, replaced instead by a hesitant, almost fearful, glaze. Aries’ heart jumped. He rushed for something to say, only to have his brain shut down when Strom finally spoke. “I’m sorry—” “I just wanted to tell you,” Strom murmured, shifting uncomfortably but holding his gaze, “you’re a better dad than mine ever will be.” A huge smile broke across his face, stretching from ear to ear, antler to antler, as he said, with as much sincerity as he’d ever had and as much pride as he’d ever felt, “I love you too, son.” Strom’s answering smirk was more than enough to make him happy for years to come. [right][size=1][i]Made by Ozie in "[URL=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/art/2371542]Ozie's Lore Shop![/URL]"[/i][/size][/right][/quote]

@Ozie AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA THAT WAS CUTE I wasn't expecting the integration with Strom but I don't mind it! Honestly the whole Mia thing is so sweet but so tragic ;-; I can imagine she's the reason he's gone soft, breaking through that tough shell and all. Amazing as always Oz~! I'll send some payment shortly [emoji=familiar heart size=1]

@Chou
Hey! I'm sorry this has taken so long, but I finally managed to get Vaughan done. I hope you enjoy his lore! If there's anything you want changing, please let me know!

@Ozie Oh wow, it's amazing! Actually Vaughan's familiar wasn't exactly meant to be a permanent one, but now he will be I guess! I might change his name though if that's okay - if I can come up with a better one that is? XD In my imagination Yurei still had an incurable sickness she was hiding from Vaughan (and everyone else besides Laelynn) instead of being killed, but I'm curious what you'll come up with going this route. Maybe she even did end her suffering herself? [emoji=pearlcatcher scared size=1] And Leurre and Vaughan were never meant to be enemies or competitors for Yurei's love in the beginning. At least before the accident they had more of a neutrally friendly relationship, it's only natural Vaughan would hate him after that. So maybe you could change their small interaction a bit reflecting that? Also I might change the rose scent into something I like more like lavender (probably also good against her anxiety?), jasmine or sandalwood. But those are minor details, right? LOVE the rest, again I'm amazed of how much heart you are pouring into this! <3

@Chou I'll redo all that for you then and get it to you as soon as possible. Sorry! [emoji=coatl tongue size=1]

@Ozie
Absolutely no need to apologize, you did awesome!

Pinglist for when your reopen please!
@Ozie