Roleplay

@Zexerri @Silverling @SnarkySphinx @pensandink @fallenDragonfly @Falcormir @theGoldenGecko @Darkelite020 @NaireReider
Taiga was beyond words, frozen with shock. He looked to Asher who merely shrugged in response. Leaning his massive head down, he allowed the tiny girl to touch his beard, feeling a paralyzing sensation run up his spine and make his body shake a bit. He hoped the other Dragons didn't notice his fear.

@Zexeos @pensandink @fallenDragonfly @Sadowsama @Falcormir @theGoldenGecko @NaireReider

The guards on the balconies lowered their weapons in unison. Clearly they were expertly trained, as they moved like clockwork fixtures on a machine. Embren greeted them with a nod of his his head. Then he looked over to the rider from Shadow. She said nothing, but her posture and her expression were much calmer. Both sides were appeased, at least for now. He looked back to Zexerri and smiled graciously. For a Coatl, that meant upright feather crests and direct (yet nonconfrontational) eye contact. Baring teeth like some humans did was a sign of aggression among his kin.

"Thank you, Lady Zexerri," he said earnestly. "I will not forget this kindness."

He stayed with the group as the rider and dragon from Ice posed their inquiry. An alliance of species--something like his and Cel's settlement on the Molten Scar. Except this alliance would be militarized. He had a few questions of his own, but he was more than content to wait until after dinner. The Imperial from the Southern Icefield looked positively terrified as the Lady Zexerri reached to touch his beard. Embren gave him a reassuring look.

"I suppose you've never felt Coatl feathers either?" he asked, trying to take some of the heat off the Imperial. He didn't mind having his feathers petted.

Cel meanwhile watched as another pair alighted on the platform. The dragon, a Nocturne, nearly crashed onto the marble. Cel could see the dragon's chest heaving and a tremble in her wings. The pair seemed to be of the Earth Flight, which meant they had flown all the way from Dragonhome. Cel listened for their names--Morgan and Beryl, from the Shattered Plains. They were definitely a long way from home. She walked over to the pair. Embren was doing a good enough job speaking with their host--she could at least take the time to introduce them to the newcomers.

"Good evening," she greeted as she approached them. The Nocturne had taken a seat, with her limbs and wings tucked like a roosting hen. She looked cozy. "Are you all right? I can't imagine what a flight that must have been," Cel said warmly.

@Zexeos @pensandink @fallenDragonfly @Sadowsama @Falcormir @Silverling @NaireReider

As conversation bubbled across the room, Lyra slipped away to the far corner, engulfing herself in the quiet of the shadows. She looked down at her hand. In her grasp, was a flower that she had found while traveling through the Hewn City. It was pure white. She looked at it, concentrating as she spun her powers. Shadow stained each lustrous petal, until the only light left, was small flecks that mirrored the stars. It was like looking at the sky on the clearest of nights. A purple nova presented itself in the flower. Lyra thought it was beautiful. The night sky fascinated her. But some, did not find her gift so wonderous...

The first time Lyra had done this, was when she twelve. After helping the Wildclaw, she had acquired the ability to use the shadows. To bend them. One day, she found a white flower, she looked at it then slowly, a mirror image of the sky above appeared on it. Before she could realize what she had done, her guardian snatched it from her hand.

The man, upon looking at her creation, started cursing. He threw the flower into the flames, and grasped her by the arm. He tied her to a chair. She asked him what was wrong. "You demon!" He shouted. "You spawn of Shadowyr! Go back from whence you came!" The man took an iron from the fire. Its red glow reflected in Lyra's frightened eyes. Then it descended.

Lyra's scream tore through the house as the man touched the iron to her arm. It seared into her flesh. All the while, the man chanted "Oh Shadowyr! Take your servant! I release her! Oh Shadowyr! Take your servant! I release her!"
Lyra cried out. Begging him to stop. But he brought the iron down over and over, until the mark of Shadowyr, a mark that symbolized the highest of evils, glared hot silver on her arm. It was then that Rendual rescued her.

Lyra could still feel the fire, searing her flesh. Like the scar, the memory would never fade.

A sudden commotion roused Lyra from her thoughts. She stepped out to where Rendual was standing. His face displayed amusement.
"What did I miss?"
"The Arcane Rider has decided to releive himself on the Lady's garden."

Lyra could not help but laugh at this. The Arcane Rider was proving to be even more amusing than she had thought. It would appear that Lady Zexerri was getting more than she bargained for...

@MyPilot @Silverling @DarkElite020 @SnarkyShinx @Sadowsama @Falcormir @TheGoldenGecko @TiaDaWerecat @NaireReider @Zexeos @fallenDragonfly

Lia kept still, hand gently placed on Keelan's shoulder. She feels his laugh as the Arcane rider relieved himself, and she smacks him lightly. "Keel. Behave."

Keelan rolls his eyes up at her, exasperation and humor contained in a single gesture. She rolls her eyes right back at him. "We're guests, buddy. No need to be rude."

"But it's funny," Keelan whines, and Lia fights a tiny smile.

"I guess so. There are so many people here, though... It's kind of weird."

"You've never seen more than five humans in one place at a time, have you?" Keelan muses. He grins at her, sharp teeth gleaming. "Your mom and dad and Finn and maybe a maid, once, right?"

She shrugs, tense and wary. "I guess." The tiny smile fades. "What are we doing here, though? Shouldn't we be, I don't know, consulting or having a meeting or something?"

Keelan shrugs back, muscle rippling beneath her hand. "I guess. I've never seen more than five dragons in one place, either, so this is kind of a new experience?"

@Snarkyshinx
Preston let out a snort of triumph which seemed to sooth hunter a bit. They would be ok. Probably. The two continued to fly over the vast sea for quite some time, and at some points hunter even dozed off. He eventually became fast asleep, his chest pressed up against prestons long neck, and his arms draped over the sides loosely clinging to his dragon.

@DarkElite020

After some time, Melody noticed the journey to be a lot longer than expected. They really had made an unintentional detour and the Wind duo was playing the price. During which, the piebald Skydancer thought she noticed the human- Hunter as she recalled- drift off atop the Imperial's neck. She chirped in discomfort, hoping the dragon in the lead wouldn't lead them astray.

"For a guide he isn't too attentive, is he?" Magpie clicked quietly, crown twisting to read the expression of her rider. "Rather aloof."

Melody instantly grew defensive and shushed the chittering piebald. "Hush!" she squeaked out, voice mimicking the dragonspeak. "It's rude to say such things! You can't go around insulting others just based on their personality!"

The Skydancer merely scoffed, intent on not furthering the conversation any longer.

@SnarkyShinx

Preston continued to fly, but it was becoming a little obvious that he was getting a little tired of flying. He occasionally suck down lower toward the water, even skimming the water's surface a few times, before encouraging himself to stay up and would powerfully flap his wings a few times to regain some height above the water's surface. Preston then peered back at the wind pair. He would squint at them and his ears would turn toward them, as if he was trying to figure out what noises they made. He couldn't understand it, with the combination of them being quiet and farther away. He turned his head away eventually though stayed a good enough distance, a bit cautious of hat they may be up to.

Meanwhile, Hunter continued to sleep. He would sometimes lean a bit too much on one side and preston would have to fly at an angle to center his rider once again.

@DarkElite020

"How much further?" Melody griped, not intentionally sounding whiny, but the trip was definitely taking a toll on her energy level. By the ragged breathing of the small Skydancer, it appeared Magpie was also a bit worse for wear. She clung tighter to the motherly dragon, rubbing her face against the sleek warmth of the piebald's thin pelt.

"Not much farther," Magpie vocalized quietly, rousing her human from her musings. Tossing her head outwards, her sharp sage-green orbs sought out a difference in the land around them. "Looks like we're almost there."

@SnarkyShinx

Preston seemed relieved at seeing the land nearby. However, Hunter continued to slowly slide off of preston's smooth body. The startled dragon's eyes widened when he no longer felt weight on his neck.

Hunter's eyes jumped open, and he made a loud yelp as he fell off of his mount, luckily, he managed to grasp onto Preston's reins, which uncomfortably bent Preston's neck and forced the dragon to almost turn entirely on his side.

Hunter squirmed around trying to pull himself up. He also blushed slightly, embarrassed of the situation he got himself into. "H-Hey... just..help me up already." He murmured to his dragon. "Im trying but you arent as light as you look." The dragon said, seeming a bit annoyed with his rider.

@DarkElite020

Melody gasped. Magpie laughed.

Melody scolded her dragon with a stern, "Magpie, this isn't something to laugh about!" Magpie relished in the humiliation and released a barrage of shrill chortling. She was clearly amused.

It was rare, but quite amusing when the roles between adult and child would switch. Often times, it was Magpie looking out for the young child, but occasionally the facade would fade, leaving the Skydancer nothing more than an immature hatchling.

And she was fine with that.