Evelyna turned her head away and pricked her ears, then glanced back at Hellebore. Her jaw was set and her eyes were narrowed.
"You mean to say we have spies in the clan?" she asked quietly, clear ferocity underlining her words. Each of her hairs stood up in anger, then they relaxed almost instantly. She swung her tail back and forth impatiently, before leaning close to Hellebore, almost snout-to-snout with the large imperial.
"Minthe will find out," she breathed, her voice heavy with secrecy, "And you will be punished. Once. There is no way around it.
However, I will offer you this: I will train you to harness your power and use your lightning magic accordingly. Minthe may think that she can know everything, but she cannot. I have sentries and spies too, of course. And even Minthe isn't that stupid, despite what she's let on. With luck, you can avoid her lashes a second time, and keep this to yourself."
Evelyna's ears pricked behind her, and she tensed. Then her shoulders fell just a moment later.
"She is not listening. Nobody is listening. The clan is still asleep, and your... comrades are still at their own home. Elyen is off doing something or other. Who the hell knows with him, anyhow?"
She straightened and adjusted her ears, swivelling them in the direction of the camp before continuing.
"When you arrive next moon for a delivery, whether it is official or not," she murmured, barely audible, "I would like you to stay awhile. You make sure to tell Minthe that your good friend Evelyna likes to have you stay awhile longer to share tongues and chit-chat. And when it's all said and done-- well, then you can decide what kind of weapon you will be."
With this, she stood up, not offering another word besides a curt nod. The only sound for a moment was her claws digging into dirt as she walked away.
[ ooc: ok so when Eve said an unofficial delivery, this will be when Hellebore begins to write Elyen messages and the plot REALLY starts hahah. anyways, for your next post, lets have Hellebore return to the clan, get "punished", whatever Minthe has in mind... then either you or I can jump in with a time-skip to the next visit from Hellebore. :p I'll delete this later to keep our posts clean. oh hey and sorry about the late response but i worked like a full shift yesterday lol cx ]
Evelyna turned her head away and pricked her ears, then glanced back at Hellebore. Her jaw was set and her eyes were narrowed.
"You mean to say we have spies in the clan?" she asked quietly, clear ferocity underlining her words. Each of her hairs stood up in anger, then they relaxed almost instantly. She swung her tail back and forth impatiently, before leaning close to Hellebore, almost snout-to-snout with the large imperial.
"Minthe will find out," she breathed, her voice heavy with secrecy, "And you will be punished. Once. There is no way around it.
However, I will offer you this: I will train you to harness your power and use your lightning magic accordingly. Minthe may think that she can know everything, but she cannot. I have sentries and spies too, of course. And even Minthe isn't that stupid, despite what she's let on. With luck, you can avoid her lashes a second time, and keep this to yourself."
Evelyna's ears pricked behind her, and she tensed. Then her shoulders fell just a moment later.
"She is not listening. Nobody is listening. The clan is still asleep, and your... comrades are still at their own home. Elyen is off doing something or other. Who the hell knows with him, anyhow?"
She straightened and adjusted her ears, swivelling them in the direction of the camp before continuing.
"When you arrive next moon for a delivery, whether it is official or not," she murmured, barely audible, "I would like you to stay awhile. You make sure to tell Minthe that your good friend Evelyna likes to have you stay awhile longer to share tongues and chit-chat. And when it's all said and done-- well, then you can decide what kind of weapon you will be."
With this, she stood up, not offering another word besides a curt nod. The only sound for a moment was her claws digging into dirt as she walked away.
[ ooc: ok so when Eve said an unofficial delivery, this will be when Hellebore begins to write Elyen messages and the plot REALLY starts hahah. anyways, for your next post, lets have Hellebore return to the clan, get "punished", whatever Minthe has in mind... then either you or I can jump in with a time-skip to the next visit from Hellebore. :p I'll delete this later to keep our posts clean. oh hey and sorry about the late response but i worked like a full shift yesterday lol cx ]
It was the sun setting along the horizon that alerted Hellebore that the day was coming to a close and, thankfully, so was her trip back to the Plaguelands. Her wings were far from exhausted, but Hellebore had been eager to get home and rest because another sleep was one night more towards her return to the Grove.
As Hellebore approached the clan territory, however, Teutorix hovered in waiting. "Minthe is angry." he stated, matter-of-factly.
"I assumed so." Hellebore shrugged.
"You won't be returning to your sleeping quarters tonight." he smiled smugly. "You'll be appreciating her company tonight."
Hellebore sensed Teutorix knew what Minthe had planned, but said nothing before the dove down to the Guardian leader's cave. Shemrock was there, scribbling away at a parchment and sparing only one second to give Hellebore a pitying glance before fluttering into the cave to certainly warn Minthe of her arrival.
She wandered into the rocky cavern, tightening her scarf with the chill that swept through the home. "Minthe?" she called out.
"Tell me Hellebore. Would you ever betray me?" Minthe's gruff voice echoed through the cave.
"No." she replied, managing to convince only half herself.
"Then why would you spend more time with that flower loving, weak little imperial?" she asked, venom dripping from her words.
"Evelyna? While I agree she may be weak, she does hold a good conversation." Hellebore rambled.
"I thought I raised you to never lie." Minthe spat, and Hellebore felt a massive weight on her back as the large Guardian dropped from the rocky outcropping in the ceiling.
"You and I will be having some one on one time tonight, just like you and your little friend, Evelyna." she growled.
-whee timeskip-
By the time Julie has finished shaking herbs on her wounds and bandaging them up, all the while humming in her monotonous voice about who knows what, the sun was high in the sky and Hellebore was just waking up.
Weariness made her bones ache and she vaguely noted that her tail was broken. Minthe had done serious damage to her, only stopping when Shemrock pleaded for her not to kill Hellebore.
As she got up, she notice half her vision was gone. She reached up, touching a bandage over her right eye. She wondered if it was blind now, but she wouldn't be able to tell until the bandage was off.
She mumbled a thank you to Julie, limping towards her cave, and collapsing on a warm bed of coals to rest. It would be weeks before Hellebore emerged again for her annual delivery.
It was the sun setting along the horizon that alerted Hellebore that the day was coming to a close and, thankfully, so was her trip back to the Plaguelands. Her wings were far from exhausted, but Hellebore had been eager to get home and rest because another sleep was one night more towards her return to the Grove.
As Hellebore approached the clan territory, however, Teutorix hovered in waiting. "Minthe is angry." he stated, matter-of-factly.
"I assumed so." Hellebore shrugged.
"You won't be returning to your sleeping quarters tonight." he smiled smugly. "You'll be appreciating her company tonight."
Hellebore sensed Teutorix knew what Minthe had planned, but said nothing before the dove down to the Guardian leader's cave. Shemrock was there, scribbling away at a parchment and sparing only one second to give Hellebore a pitying glance before fluttering into the cave to certainly warn Minthe of her arrival.
She wandered into the rocky cavern, tightening her scarf with the chill that swept through the home. "Minthe?" she called out.
"Tell me Hellebore. Would you ever betray me?" Minthe's gruff voice echoed through the cave.
"No." she replied, managing to convince only half herself.
"Then why would you spend more time with that flower loving, weak little imperial?" she asked, venom dripping from her words.
"Evelyna? While I agree she may be weak, she does hold a good conversation." Hellebore rambled.
"I thought I raised you to never lie." Minthe spat, and Hellebore felt a massive weight on her back as the large Guardian dropped from the rocky outcropping in the ceiling.
"You and I will be having some one on one time tonight, just like you and your little friend, Evelyna." she growled.
-whee timeskip-
By the time Julie has finished shaking herbs on her wounds and bandaging them up, all the while humming in her monotonous voice about who knows what, the sun was high in the sky and Hellebore was just waking up.
Weariness made her bones ache and she vaguely noted that her tail was broken. Minthe had done serious damage to her, only stopping when Shemrock pleaded for her not to kill Hellebore.
As she got up, she notice half her vision was gone. She reached up, touching a bandage over her right eye. She wondered if it was blind now, but she wouldn't be able to tell until the bandage was off.
She mumbled a thank you to Julie, limping towards her cave, and collapsing on a warm bed of coals to rest. It would be weeks before Hellebore emerged again for her annual delivery.
As weeks passed by, Elyen noticed the drop in temperature. Most dragons in the clan were unused to cold weather, and completely unprepared as many scrambled for warmth by huddling against each other and donning far more apparel than usual. But the worst part of it all was that he noticed Hellebore's obvious absence from even the clan borders, as her scent grew more stale every day. He could barely hold on to what he knew was left of her, the scent on her wings, her face pressed so closely against his. The crackle of lightning that illuminated her when she opened the vial.
He shivered the second his eyes opened that morning, and without looking he knew what had happened. Rolling to his side, still half asleep, he dragged himself out of the hollow in which he had slept. A dead silence filled the chilly air, and when he poked his head outside, Elyen squinted in response to the reflection of bright white snow in his bright scarlet eyes.
With a long sigh Elyen pulled himself out of his nest and crawled outside. The snow covered the clan like a suffocating blanket, and at that time there was a prolonged note of obvious quiet, like the white mass had muffled all noise. Evelyna was visible just at the top branch, snoozing away with her ginger cat curled near her side. He thought back briefly on when she had dismissed him. Whether it was an act of authority or just plain dislike for him, he couldn’t tell. His breath fogged the air in front of him, and with a disgruntled expression he pulled his scarf up past his nose, his whiskers trembling with cold. It was completely unusual for the Nature clan to have snow — especially this much of it at one time.
Somehow he had come to approach the same desolate section of the Grove in which he and Hellebore had taken their fall together. He envisioned her before him and then shook his head as if to rid himself of the memory before curling up in the centre of it, his whiskers brushing against the ground. He stared at the visible section of the sky through the thick foliage, the pastel blue intertwined with white clouds of various shapes. Elyen bit his lip as he imagined Hellebore returning to her clan. She was late, she had said… Minthe, her leader, would punish her. But how? And for how long? Would she ever come back, or would she be exiled for good? Questions encircled his head like this for what seemed like hours, before he heard footsteps.
As weeks passed by, Elyen noticed the drop in temperature. Most dragons in the clan were unused to cold weather, and completely unprepared as many scrambled for warmth by huddling against each other and donning far more apparel than usual. But the worst part of it all was that he noticed Hellebore's obvious absence from even the clan borders, as her scent grew more stale every day. He could barely hold on to what he knew was left of her, the scent on her wings, her face pressed so closely against his. The crackle of lightning that illuminated her when she opened the vial.
He shivered the second his eyes opened that morning, and without looking he knew what had happened. Rolling to his side, still half asleep, he dragged himself out of the hollow in which he had slept. A dead silence filled the chilly air, and when he poked his head outside, Elyen squinted in response to the reflection of bright white snow in his bright scarlet eyes.
With a long sigh Elyen pulled himself out of his nest and crawled outside. The snow covered the clan like a suffocating blanket, and at that time there was a prolonged note of obvious quiet, like the white mass had muffled all noise. Evelyna was visible just at the top branch, snoozing away with her ginger cat curled near her side. He thought back briefly on when she had dismissed him. Whether it was an act of authority or just plain dislike for him, he couldn’t tell. His breath fogged the air in front of him, and with a disgruntled expression he pulled his scarf up past his nose, his whiskers trembling with cold. It was completely unusual for the Nature clan to have snow — especially this much of it at one time.
Somehow he had come to approach the same desolate section of the Grove in which he and Hellebore had taken their fall together. He envisioned her before him and then shook his head as if to rid himself of the memory before curling up in the centre of it, his whiskers brushing against the ground. He stared at the visible section of the sky through the thick foliage, the pastel blue intertwined with white clouds of various shapes. Elyen bit his lip as he imagined Hellebore returning to her clan. She was late, she had said… Minthe, her leader, would punish her. But how? And for how long? Would she ever come back, or would she be exiled for good? Questions encircled his head like this for what seemed like hours, before he heard footsteps.
A figure emerged from the brush, Hellebore's graceful figure appeared before Elyen, the young Imperial gently removing loose foliage from her mane with her magic. She walked with a limp now, her right hind leg moving stiffly. She was missing a few feathers as well, sparse wings that wouldn't carry her anymore until the primary feathers grew back. She had walked the entire distance, and it caused her great pain for the paws which lacked claws thanks to Minthe. They would grow back with a bit of magical help, but for now, they throbbed with pain after the long journey.
"Elyen.." she greeted softly, her eyes only half as bright as they were when she had opened the vial. She had spent a lot of her magic to dull the pain, and it now was recharging. She was glad to see him, but she knew he would worry greatly about her injuries.
A figure emerged from the brush, Hellebore's graceful figure appeared before Elyen, the young Imperial gently removing loose foliage from her mane with her magic. She walked with a limp now, her right hind leg moving stiffly. She was missing a few feathers as well, sparse wings that wouldn't carry her anymore until the primary feathers grew back. She had walked the entire distance, and it caused her great pain for the paws which lacked claws thanks to Minthe. They would grow back with a bit of magical help, but for now, they throbbed with pain after the long journey.
"Elyen.." she greeted softly, her eyes only half as bright as they were when she had opened the vial. She had spent a lot of her magic to dull the pain, and it now was recharging. She was glad to see him, but she knew he would worry greatly about her injuries.
