The Elder | The Healer
The Veteran | The Detective
“As soon as we’re healed, we have to go,” Voidsong said. “If we don’t rescue Shadowsong before this long night ends, she’ll be Thana’s forever!”
“Now hold on just a minute here,” a bright orange Nocturne spoke up. “Our clan has suffered pretty badly at the hands of these mimics too! My priority is to save my clan-ma--”
Nightsong snapped at the other Nocturne before she could finish “You might not see your clan-mates again if we don’t get Shadowsong back! She might be the only thing we have to deal with these mimics for good!”
The bright Nocturne hissed at Nightsong and started to approach her slowly. “Impudent whelp, do you not recognize me?! 2 years ago this very night, your own Shadowsong sent my group off to find you! I know the dangers of the mimics… of Thana...” She trails off.
A blue and white Snapper slowly comes to place herself between the two Nocturnes. The Snapper looks to Nightsong and gently speaks: “Lass… I’m sorry about your mentor. We’ll help ya, but ya needa understand how wound up everyone is right now.” The Snapper places an arm around Nightsong.
The elder finally speaks up again. Casting a glance towards the orange Nocturne, his voice seems to boom through the awkward silence. “Sekhmet, you’ve dealt with mimics before. We need your expertise, but we’ll also need you to maintain control over your temper.”
Sekhmet stiffens “Of course OpalFeather- I’m forgetting myself.”
Opal turns his head to face the Snapper. “Blueberry, how many others evacuated behind us?”
Blueberry scratches her head and shrugs.
Opal shakes his head and continues, “We had been made aware of the mimic threat by another in our clan. We planned to evacuate, but with no way to tell who was a mimic, it’s likely the evacuation plans fell into one of their hands.”
While Opal speaks, the healer Tundra that had been tending to Nightsong approaches Voidsong. Without speaking he places a paw above Voidsong’s injuries and begins to heal them.
“I doubt everyone has evacuated safely. We may need to go back in and see for ourselves.” Opal scanned the faces of the other dragons when he said this.
Sekhmet steps forward. “As always, I offer my abilities. I may not be a Singer, but my Lightning magic is powerful enough.”
Blueberry jaunts forward. “I offer my detective skills ta help identify mimics from mates!” Sekhmet scoffs at Blueberry’s remark. The Snapper, offended, fires back: “What? It’sa profession! Just as well as yours!”
Opal clears his throat and the bickering pair sober up.
Upon re-entering the lair the group sees just how much damage has been done: talon marks have scraped the ground, torches have been knocked off the walls, and curtains and tapestries have been shredded. The mimics sought to sough as much chaos as possible to ensure the capture of Shadowsong, that much was evident.
A pair of Coatl hide just behind the lair entrance. The smaller of the two buzzes towards the group. “Oh thank goodness! Oh, and you have Kashell with you- Dad’s hurt and-”
“HOLD IT” Blueberry interjects, throwing herself between the Coatl and the healer Tundra, “Alright Dusty… If that’s who ya REALLY are… What was the first familiar ya had ever since you were a wee hatchling?”
The Coatl’s head plumage lowered in fright “A- A Rambra?...”
“Hm… But what was it’s name lad?” Blueberry eyed Dusty so much his nervousness continued.
“... Geoffry?”
Satisfied with this answer, Blueberry turned to the other Coatl, who had a nasty cut on his wing. “AND YOU… ‘MARBLE’,” she emphasized as if mocking the possible mimic. “How many hatchlings have you borne?”
“... Still in our clan?”
“No. Total.”
The Coatl’s cheeks went white. Then red. He looked down and wheezed but before he could give a rough estimate Blueberry interrupted him: “Yeah, that’s a reasonable response I’d get from the REAL Marble. You’re both in the clear. For now...” Blueberry made a motion from her eyes to the others with her talons.
The healer, Kashell, made his way towards Marble and began to heal his wounds. Voidsong looked up to OpalFeather, as they were both standing by the entrance. Voidsong spoke quietly so that no one else could hear him but Opal: “...Blueberry knows we can sense mimics… right?”
Opal shook his head.
After Marble was healed, it was decided the group ought to split. Kashell needed to stay by the entrance in case another dragon seeking aid came, and Nightsong was to stay with him in the case of any mimics appearing. Marble and Dusty headed out to search for any other members of the clan who escaped by flight. Opal, Blueberry, Sekhmet, and Voidsong continued into the den.
Deeper in the lair, a loud clanking and scraping was heard, echoing on the stone walls. The group came upon a large chamber, and inside two dragons were fighting one-another off. One a small pink Spiral, the other a large mechanical Skydancer.
The pink Spiral saw the others approaching and coiled around the Skydancer. “Oh thank the Icewarden you’re here! Ruine has been going crazy and has been trying to fight me! I think its actually a mimic! You need to help me!”
“
NEGATIVE,” The Skydancer boomed. “
XIA WAS CAUGHT ATTEMPTING TO INCAPACITATE ANOTHER ENTITY.DRAGON AS THEY ABSCONDED. FROM THIS FACTOR IT IS CONCLUSIVE XIA IS THE ENTITY.MIMIC.”
Voidsong frantically looked between the two dragons. “They’re too close together! One of them is definitely a mimic, but I can’t tell which one!”
Blueberry jumped forward, “THIS is a job for!-”
“ME!” Sekhmet dived in front of Blueberry before she could finish. Sekhmet fired a bolt of electricity from her maw as Xia jumped off of Ruine to avoid it. Ruine took the bolt and seemed unaffected by it. Voidsong took the opportunity of them being apart to identify which one was the mimic. “There!”, he said pointing to Xia.
With electrically charged talons Sekhmet made to swipe at the mimic-Xia. The false Spiral was too quick and instead weaved away, eyes now a glowing white, claws turning to tendrils. The mimic made its way right towards Voidsong.
Ruine unhinged its jaw and let out a freezing mist- stopping the mimic in its tracks as its wings froze solid. Sekhmet used this chance to land the final blow. The mimic shrieked slowly melted into the floor. Nothing was left but a puddle of what appeared to be ink.
“
GRATITUDE. THERE ARE NO LIFE-SIGN READINGS FROM THE ENTITY.MIMIC. I AM IN NEED OF REPAIRS. MY NEW DESTINATION IS SET TO THE LAIR ENTRANCE.” Ruine slunk back through the tunnel that the main party came from.
Leading the way, Opal guided the party down the last few rooms of the lair. The walls here were covered in the mysterious ink-like substance the mimics were made from. The torches were all out now, and the only light they had was from the softly glowing runes on both Blueberry and Voidsong.
Weeping was heard from a room beyond one of the curtains. Opal carefully pulled it back to reveal inside the large room was a small, brilliantly white Pearlcatcher.
“Moonstone!” Opal cried out, rushing towards her.
“Wait! Opal! What are ya doing?! She could be-” Blueberry was cut off once again as Sekhmet flew past her frantically.
Opal grasped Moonstone in his talons. “Moon… are you hurt?”
“No...” her reply was soft and hushed. An unearthly smile crept along her face. “But I cannot say the same of you...” The mimic unleashed its true form here- once white and brilliant scales turning to dark tendrils. Opal was petrified as he was enveloped- unable to escape.
A loud BOOM reverberated through the chamber, and some of the mimic’s tendrils let up their grasp.
Opal could barely see through the chaos, but he caught glimpses of Sekhmet using her full power, bolts firing in every direction with one powerful flap of her wings. The room was filled with the cacophony of the mimic shrieking and thunderous booms of Sekhmet’s magic.
For Opal, the world went quiet and dark.
Opal… Opal…
Opal’s eyes slowly opened. He was back in the meadow outside of the lair, with Kashell tending to his wounds. “Opal...” Kashell finally spoke, quietly and slowly. “I’m… very glad you’re awake...”
Opal looked around the clearing- there were a few other dragons now back. Dusty and Marble were corraling some fearful hatchlings. Hurricane was back and repairing Ruine. Copper had returned- mostly confused since he was on a mission and had been out of the lair all week before now.
Voidsong, Nightsong, and Sekhmet were flying somewhere above, and at the sight of Opal stirring, they landed beside him.
Sekhmet’s face was dark. “These are all the dragons we’ve been able to recover thus far. We’ve found no more mimics other than those two.”
“We’ve also wasted so much time we could’ve been using finding Shadowsong” Nightsong muttered under her breath. Sekhmet scowled at this but said nothing.
Opal coughed, then composed himself. “Sekhmet,” he started. “Where is it exactly that dragons go when being taken by mimics?”
All eyes were on Sekhmet now. Fear danced in her eyes, but only for a second, and then she spoke:
“Are you strong enough to fly?”