Quests & Challenges

[b][center][size=7][font=constantia][color=8C5640]Entry Six[/color][/font][/size][/center][/b] [center][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/cc/2593443][img]https://imgur.com/wWhJlSf.png[/img][/url][/center] [center][img]https://www1.flightrising.com/static/cms/familiar/2421.png[/img] [b]Blueridge Greatshell[/b] New Dragon[/center] ----- "You have [i]got[/i] to be kidding me." Bastien nosed the tiny fae forwards, who seemed completely neutral to the whole thing. They were purple and white, with dark colored wings and frills. Bright pink eyes looked up at them. "We can't keep finding kids," Onyx sighed beneath where her claws were covering one set of eyes. "Why are there even this many kids here? We're in the middle of nowhere!" "I mean," Arkhip used their tail to urge the fae closer so they could check them over, "at least we're finding them. If we weren't here, who can say if they'd survive for long." "We haven't even had a chance to talk about where we're going," Frir pointed out irritably, though he kept Lexa balanced on his shoulders with her pearl. "I don't have all the time in the world to look for hatchlings in some field." "Right," Onyx agreed, "I want to get going already." "Well..." Arkhip glanced at Bastien; in the couple of days they'd had him with them, he'd grown significantly. He would probably begin learning to speak within a day or two. Arkhip was pretty sure they couldn't lift him if they tried. "Anyone else you can find, Bastien?" they asked. Bastien tilted his head at them for a moment, then grunted and shook his head. Arkhip nodded. "Then we'll settle for tonight, and we can figure out where to go from there." [center][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/dragon/76948209][img]https://www1.flightrising.com/dgen/preview/dragon?age=0&body=68&bodygene=9&breed=1&element=9&eyetype=0&gender=1&tert=59&tertgene=0&winggene=0&wings=10&auth=d3c0ba96385f68d06520682f038237aad100d37d&dummyext=prev.png[/img][/url][/center] ----- Onyx looked to Arkhip. "So where are you headed?" They were settled in the campsite they'd been using for a couple of days, the fire roaring in the middle of their makeshift circle. Arkhip, Onyx, and Frir lay awake while the three little ones- Bastien, Lexa, and the new fae they'd named Attis- were in a little pile nearby, asleep. "I'm not sure yet," Arkhip answered. "I'm looking for someone. I don't know where they went." "So you have no particular direction in mind," Onyx concluded. "I suppose so," they replied. Onyx motioned to Frir. "I don't think we've told you where we're headed; he hired me to help him track down a merchant. We agreed that I'd help him while following a map I've been studying to look for some treasure, and if we hadn't found the merchant by then, I travel with him until we do." "I still would rather find the merchant first," Frir muttered. "But I suppose we don't know anymore about his whereabouts than you do about the dragon you're looking for." "What did you need the merchant for again?" Arkhip tilted their head. Frir grumbled. "A locket," he answered simply. "Right." Arkhip looked to Onyx. "You're following a treasure map?" They tilted their head a little. "I take it you're a traveler?" "More or less," she replied. "I'm a delivery dragon by trade. I've been running things between Fire and Earth dragons as of late." She nodded to them. "What about you?" "I'm a performer," they answered. "I don't have them now, but I play the lute and the panflute." "Ooh," Onyx perked up. "Do you play in taverns and such?" Arkhip couldn't help but smile at how intrigued she'd gotten. "Yes." "Are you any good?" Frir asked skeptically. "I like to think so," they replied easily. "Most of my regular audience members tell me I am." Frir gave them a once over, seeming unimpressed, before snorting. "Right." Onyx rolled her eyes. "Anyways." She shifted her weight to reach into her bag, retrieving a parchment. She unrolled it to reveal a map. "From here, we should head East," she explained, pointing at part of the map with a claw. "Going through the Sea of A Thousand Currents will be a little easier than the Scarred Wastelands to get into the Tangled Wood. From there, we'll head North." "Sounds simple enough," Arkhip nodded. "It'll be nice to get out of this place," Frir muttered, resting his head on his front claws. "You're a Wind dragon, Frir," Onyx pointed out. "I travel," Frir snapped. "Maybe I prefer somewhere less... windy." Onyx snorted. "Sure, right."

[b][center][size=7][font=constantia][color=8C5640]Entry Seven[/color][/font][/size][/center][/b] [center][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/cc/2593443][img]https://imgur.com/wWhJlSf.png[/img][/url][/center] [center][img]https://www1.flightrising.com/static/cms/food/826.png[/img] [b]Swamp Mosquito[/b] 20-30 Coli rounds[/center] [center][img]https://www1.flightrising.com/static/cms/trinket/18447.png[/img] [b]Shed Cobalt Scale[/b] Writing[/center] [center][img]https://www1.flightrising.com/static/cms/food/2942.png[/img] [b]Wisp Fruit[/b] 10-20 Coli rounds[/center] [center][img]https://www1.flightrising.com/static/cms/familiar/16477.png[/img] [b]Somber Spirit[/b] New Dragon[/center] ----- Traveling in a group of six was surprisingly easy, considering half of them were too small to defend themselves. Onyx was quick to fight anything that came close. She was adept at it, too; Frir and Arkhip barely had to lift a claw. (Of course, the former never did.) Arkhip was mostly tasked with keeping the younger three close together so none of them wandered off. As the days passed and the hatchlings got bigger, they learned to do so by themselves. Frir, mostly, spent his time complaining about having to walk or fight or whatever it was he was doing. He kept close to Lexa, constantly speaking to her like the two of them were higher than the rest. Lexa learned to play along, though Arkhip knew she preferred sticking close to Bastien. Bastien had gotten big very quickly. He easily matched Arkhip and Frir in size, and outweighed the whole group combined. He was cheerful and kept the mood light as they traveled; Onyx took charge of helping the hatchlings learn to speak when they were big enough, and Bastien took to it like a Water dragon to the sea. In true Snapper fashion, it was hard to stop him once he got going. Lexa was on the quieter side, even after learning to speak. She quickly showed an interest in music, which Arkhip was happy to assist with. Frir had managed to weave together a pouch for her pearl not long after they found her- the rest of the group was pretty surprised he knew how to do so- which she kept on her at all times. Attis was a Fae through and through- she was tiny, spoke in completely neutral tones, and seemed more keen on perching somewhere with one of Onyx's maps instead of joining in on conversation.Whenever she did, she only seemed interested in asking about the various patterns along the scales of the others in the group. She seemed almost jealous that all of their wings had patterns when hers did not, and Arkhip found her more than once painting mud onto her wings in swirls and dots. Their travels led them through the Windswept Plateau towards the sea, and the closer they got the colder the winds seemed to get. The various sparrowmice and miths they found, and even Frir, ended up sticking close to the group in an attempt to not freeze. The only exception was Onyx, who seemed completely unbothered by the cold. "I'm an Ice dragon," she had said multiple times. "I'm made for winds like this." They had battled their way to the water's edge, and as the air turned salty and filled with the constant rumble of waves, Lexa stumbled across a statue of blue and white. It was nearly the size of her, made of a combination of quartz and blue spinel, shaped like a sleeping dragon. She called the rest of the group over, as the thing was far too heavy to carry by herself. "Who left this here?" Onyx peered at the surface closely. "It's awfully smooth for having just sat out here. Maybe someone dropped it?" "Maybe," Arkhip replied uneasily. "It looks expensive." Frir snorted. "It's quartz and spinel, which hardly cost a thing." The group turned to stare at him, and his haughty air faltered. "What?" "Didn't expect you to know something like that," Onyx answered. Frir rolled his eyes. "I can tell when something is quality! You have to if you don't want to be scammed by jewelry makers." "But it's really big," Bastien pointed out. "I don't think anyone would drop something this size on purpose." "A Ridgeback or something might," Onyx muttered. "This is like a paperweight to them." Lexa, Bastien, and Attis shared a confused glance, but didn't speak up. Frir finally approached, peering at the statue for a moment. Then, he poked a claw to the dragon's nose. At once, the gemstone statue melted into scales and fur, and it sneezed. The group scrambled back in surprise. "Windsinger's spines," Frir squawked, "it's alive!" The dragon sneezed again, then a third time. Finally, it lifted its head and blinked at them with wide pink eyes. There were a couple of beats of pause, before Onyx leaned close to sniff at it, as warily as a nervous cat. The little hatchling sniffed her in return. "Is that a real dragon?" Lexa asked, her surprise making her voice waver. "I-I thought it was a statue." "It [i]was[/i] a statue," Arkhip murmured, "but it's definitely not anymore." "I've seen dragons like this before," Onyx said as she pulled back. The little hatchling looked bewildered when she did. "They've shown up recently, I think. They're called... um..." she faltered, uncertainty flashing through her gaze, "Obelisks, I think?" "Can they turn to stone or something?" Frir asked warily. "I don't know," Onyx replied. The hatchling clambered to wobbly paws, shaking out its mane before moving close to Onyx, looking up at her and squeaking. She stared at it for a moment, then finally hooked a paw over its shoulders comfortingly. "Well," she said slowly, "I guess we should look for his parents, then." [center][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/dragon/77116174][img]https://www1.flightrising.com/dgen/preview/dragon?age=0&body=20&bodygene=9&breed=15&element=9&eyetype=0&gender=0&tert=136&tertgene=14&winggene=13&wings=82&auth=452f9eae74ade3b0ae5a1286476a616ad2e1c169&dummyext=prev.png[/img][/url][/center]

[b][center][size=7][font=constantia][color=8C5640]Entry Eight[/color][/font][/size][/center][/b] [center][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/cc/2593443][img]https://imgur.com/wWhJlSf.png[/img][/url][/center] [center][img]https://www1.flightrising.com/static/cms/equipment/17267.png[/img] [b]Frog Shoulder Pads[/b] Change a Gene[/center] ----- The group of them ended up in a small town, just off the coastline. They spent a day just asking around for the little Obelisk's- affectionately called Cobalt- parents. Everyone they asked, though, didn't seem to know him at all. Cobalt seemed to hardly know what they were doing, happily trotting along with the group- though he was easily distracted by food stalls. They had easily been there a few hours before they caved and bought something to eat. They settled in a small grassy space, and it was only then that they realized the problem. "Where's Attis?" Arkhip asked, doing a second headcount. "Is she in a bag or something?" "I haven't seen her in a while," Bastien replied. "I think she got distracted by one of the stalls," Lexa murmured. Onyx did a quick shuffle through her bag of maps. "She's not in here." "She knows not to touch my stuff," Frir snorted. Arkhip's feathers drooped anxiously. "What stall did she get distracted by?" Lexa blinked at them. "I-I think it was one with scrolls." "Of course," Frir muttered. Onyx smacked him with one of her maps, and he sputtered angrily. "What? Obviously she likes scrolls, so of course the stall she's distracted by is one with scrolls!" Arkhip stood, dusting their cloak off. "Well, we need to go get her, then. She could easily be trampled in crowds like that." "Frir can stay with the kids," Onyx hopped up as well. "We'll go retrace our steps." "O-okay," Lexa had started to rise, but settled uneasily back down again. "I hope you find her." "We will, don't worry," Arkhip said in what they hoped was a soothing tone. Onyx and them split up at the food stall they'd purchased from, Arkhip headed west towards the trinket stalls while Onyx began searching the food stalls. It was hard, looking for such a tiny dragon in a crowd. They kept their eyes peeled for purple and black, or wide Arcane eyes. They paid extra attention to the crowds around stalls they'd seen scrolls on, but half of the scrolls they saw were more than twice the size of Attis. "What scrolls would hold her attention?" they mumbled to themself. "She likes learning new things, but these scrolls almost all have new things for her..." They approached a stall that was almost entirely scrolls. The dragon behind it, a Bogsneak, perked up when they did. "Hello, hello!" She waved a claw to the scrolls. "Careful with the merchandise, please, these are gene scrolls." "Gene scrolls?" Arkhip asked. "You know," the Bogsneak lifted a scroll up with her claws, carefully and precisely keeping it held between her clawtips, "scrolls that let you spice up your look a little! This one changes your wings, for example, to have flair!" "Right, flair," Arkhip said slowly. They glanced over the scrolls briefly. "Have you seen a little Fae dragon about? She's purple and white with black wings." The Bogsneak tilted her head. "I see a lot of dragons." She looked thoughtful. "What eyes?" "Arcane." She hummed loudly in her thought, making Arkhip flinch. "I thought I saw one shifting through my secondary scrolls a while ago," she eventually said. "When I spotted them, though, they disappeared. I thought I'd imagined it." "If you see her, can you tell her that her group is looking for her?" Arkhip pressed. "We got separated from her. She's not very old, so she's still especially small." "Sure thing," the Bogsneak said with a smile. "Good luck to you." Arkhip slipped easily back into the flowing crowd, watching for flickers of purple or black. Every time he spotted any, though, it wasn't her; the wrong purple, patterned black, or just the wrong breed of dragon altogether. As they started along a different stretch of the market, it wasn't long before he bumped into Onyx again. "No luck?" she asked breathlessly. "No luck," they answered. "This is impossible," Onyx sighed. "She's so tiny it'd be hard to find her on an empty street." "Find who?" Arkhip flinched, while Onyx jumped into the air in her surprise. They turned to find Attis had propped herself on a post so she was eye level with them. "Attis!" Onyx shook off her surprise easily in favor of worry and anger. "Where in Sornieth have you been?!" Attis tilted her head a little. "I saw a stall with scrolls. Then I looked back and you and the others were gone, so I've been wandering around." "You should have stayed put," Arkhip scolded gently. "It's hard to find you when you're constantly moving." Attis nodded slowly, shifting her wings and frills, and Arkhip was struck with the realization that Attis looked different. Her wings, instead of solid black, were now streaked with gray and red as well. A familiar noxtide pattern that she definitely hadn't had before. "Attis," they asked slowly, "what happened to your wings?" Attis looked back at her wing as if she'd forgotten they were there. "I looked at a scroll and then my wings were different," she said plainly. "Oh... Icewarden's wings, you stole a gene scroll," Onyx murmured, alarm seeping into her voice. "I what?" Attis blinked at her. "What's a gene scroll?" "Scrolls that change your appearance," Arkhip explained. "Since you looked at it, you used it, and it changed your wings." Attis, seemed to process that for a moment, before her frills drooped and she took on a clear look of panic. "I didn't mean to," she said quickly, "I just wanted to see what it was. It was on the ground, someone had stepped on it and everything." "Okay, slow down a second," Arkhip lifted a paw, trying to ease the little Fae's anxiety. "I'm sure it was just a mistake." "Yeah," Onyx said quickly. "Where did you find it? Maybe we can pay the merchant back for it." "Um..." Attis' frills twitched a little. "I think it was a stall with a big green dragon. She had frills like me, but she wasn't a Fae." Onyx nodded. "A Bogsneak then." "I think I know exactly where it was, then," Arkhip said with a nod of their own. "I'm sure she'll understand. Let's go talk to her." [center][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/dragon/76948209][img]https://www1.flightrising.com/dgen/preview/dragon?age=1&body=68&bodygene=9&breed=1&element=9&eyetype=0&gender=1&tert=59&tertgene=0&winggene=24&wings=10&auth=c19cfe0c97348f80d948c31922a6d5542a1f741c&dummyext=prev.png[/img][/url][/center]

Hello! Can I be added to the pinglist?

[quote name="AlumTheDragon" date="2022-05-12 11:02:59" ] Hello! Can I be added to the pinglist? [/quote] added!

[b][center][size=7][font=constantia][color=8C5640]Entry Nine[/color][/font][/size][/center][/b] [center][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/cc/2593443][img]https://imgur.com/wWhJlSf.png[/img][/url][/center] [center][img]https://www1.flightrising.com/static/cms/trinket/44068.png[/img] [b]Feisty Poison[/b] Writing[/center] ----- Arkhip was about halfway through their journal entry when someone settled beside them. They turned to find Lexa settled beside them, her claws tracing invisible patterns into the surface of her pearl. She was avoiding looking at them. "Hi," they greeted softly. "Something on your mind?" "I was just, um," she mumbled, "you're a performer, right?" Arkhip blinked. "Yes." Lexa nodded slightly, claws shifting over the surface of her pearl. "How do you, um..." she hesitated. "How do you... become a performer?" "Oh, um," Arkhip had to think about it. They glanced over to the rest of the group; Onyx was teaching Cobalt some new phrases as Frir took a nap. Bastien and Attis looked over one of Onyx's scrolls nearby. "You just sort of say you are one," Arkhip answered slowly, "and then sometimes dragons ask you to perform in a tavern or something." The pearlcatcher beside them nodded again, slowly. The patterns she drew on her pearl became a little sharper. "C-can you teach me to perform?" The words tumbled from her jaws as if she couldn't stop them. There was a beat of pause between them as Arkhip processed the request. "I mean, yeah of course," Arkhip finally answered, "but I don't have my instruments with me." Lexa faltered. "Oh." Arkhip flipped to an empty page in their journal, quickly drawing in staff lines and some notes. "I can teach you some basics, though. Like this," they tapped the page, "is called a staff. You read the music from these and play the notes that it shows." Lexa leaned closer, intrigue flashing in her gaze. Arkhip went through a course of basics, teaching the pieces of sheet music and how to read them. Lexa listened intently, curiosity a refreshing change of pace from the tense demeanor she usually held. They taught her basics for a solid hour at least, and she was attentive and interested the whole time. Arkhip couldn't help but smile at her enthusiasm. ----- [center](a short thing i really struggled to think of something this time around akjsdhjsdh) @AlumTheDragon[/center]

[b][center][size=7][font=constantia][color=8C5640]Entry Ten[/color][/font][/size][/center][/b] [center][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/cc/2593443][img]https://imgur.com/wWhJlSf.png[/img][/url][/center] [center][img]https://www1.flightrising.com/static/cms/familiar/4002.png[/img] [b]Charcoal Sprangyroo[/b] New dragon[/center] ----- "Hey," Bastien's voice called from further along the path. "There's something over here." "Something?" Onyx picked up her pace, pulling ahead of Arkhip. "What sort?" "Eggshells?" Bastien sounded uncertain. Arkhip's feathers perked. "Eggshells," Frir snorted irritably. "Just what we need, another hatchling." "It could be a bird's," Lexa offered. "It's not," Attis said as she took flight and fluttered over to Onyx and Bastien. Cobalt made a curious noise. (The Obelisk had gotten a lot bigger, now easily towering over everyone but Arkhip themself. He was trying to learn to speak, but it was taking its time coming to him.) He also picked up his pace to catch up with Onyx, easily closing the gap between them in a few bounds. There was a beat of pause, and Onyx reached Bastien's side. It took only a moment for her to call back. "Plague egg," she called. "It's still slimy, so it just barely hatched." "Ugh!" Frir grumbled into a claw. "Of course." "Any sign of the hatchling?" Arkhip called. "No," Onyx replied. There was a thud, and Onyx shouted. "Yes," she called. "There's an angry Sprangyroo doe." "How does that prove there's a hatchling?" Lexa asked Arkhip. "Sprangyroos don't live here," Arkhip explained. "Since she's here, she's probably a familiar. Since she's protective..." "Found them!" Attis called. Arkhip hurried forward, reaching Onyx's side as Attis appeared from the bushes. The little Fae ducked back down, and a Coatl hatchling was nudged out of the brush. They were mottled with swirls of brown and blue and purple, with bright red and green eyes. Their paws were a sparkly brown that didn't match the brown of the rest of their scales. They were about the size of Attis. "He's tiny," Arkhip murmured. "He's clearly just hatched, his feathers are still ruffled." "I doubt his first thought was 'wow, I should fix my feathers,'" Onyx said good-naturedly. She sniffed the hatchling briefly, then turned and tasted the air. As she started to search around, Arkhip quickly found themself preening the little Coatl's feathers. They carefully smoothed them out and straightened them, and the hatchling quickly leaned into their motions with a little trill. They worked for a while, noting that Lexa and Attis were watching them work with intrigue while Bastien and Cobalt helped Onyx search. Frir was still grumbling to himself about it all. "I don't think there's anyone around," Onyx finally came back just as Arkhip finished preening the little Coatl. "Of course there's not," Frir grumbled. "I guess he's with us," Arkhip said plainly. Onyx came over and looked over the hatchling for a moment. "He seems like a Turek to me." "Sure, whatever," Frir said with a flick of his tail. "Let's get going already." [center][img]https://www1.flightrising.com/dgen/preview/dragon?age=0&body=12&bodygene=10&breed=12&element=2&eyetype=3&gender=0&tert=88&tertgene=14&winggene=11&wings=98&auth=25623c0754a09db61164de3a55fc676ee12dd239&dummyext=prev.png[/img][/center] ----- [center]@AlumTheDragon

[b][center][size=7][font=constantia][color=8C5640]Entry Eleven[/color][/font][/size][/center][/b] [center][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/cc/2593443][img]https://imgur.com/wWhJlSf.png[/img][/url][/center] [center][img]https://www1.flightrising.com/static/cms/trinket/25315.png[/img] [b]Seaside Trumpet[/b] Writing[/center] ----- They had arrived in a small town, a little port off the coast of the Tangled Wood. It was hardly more than a handful of dens and a couple of stalls along a section of the road. But there was a pub that doubled as an inn, so they took the opportunity to get some proper sleep on a bed. Or, well, let Frir do so at least. He'd complain to the Eleven's ears and back if they didn't let him rest in a bed once in a while. As Frir took his nap, Arkhip and Onyx plotted out their next steps at one of the tables in the pub. Cobalt was asleep under the table like a big dog, and Turek had wrapped his tail around Arkhip's while he used one of Onyx's empty parchments and an oil pencil to draw swirls and dots. Lexa and Bastien talked at the next table over, and Attis was hovering beside them- though she looked like she'd rather not be there. "If we go through the Tangled Wood, we have darkness and thorns to deal with," Onyx went on. "But there's supposedly an Emperor in the Sunbeam Ruins, which could be really dangerous if it's actually there." "I suppose," Arkhip murmured. "I guess the Tangled Wood is safer." "But if there's not really an Emperor, there's no point in not crossing the Sunbeam Ruins instead," Onyx pointed out. "There's lots of stories about it, but they could just be old hatchling's tales." "Tell that to any Light dragon," Arkhip muttered. Onyx went to argue, but paused. She glanced around, clearly doing a headcount. "Where's Attis?" "Did she wander off again?" Arkhip also did a headcount, finding there was a lack of a Fae. "She can't have gone far." "Oh," Lexa piped up. "She went to talk to those Obelisks at the counter." "Oh, deities almighty," Onyx turned to hurry off to the counter, surprising Cobalt with her sudden movement and making him bonk his head on the table's underside. Arkhip unraveled Turek from their tail and sat him on one of the seats between Lexa and Bastien. "Watch them," they instructed before following Onyx. Sure enough, two massive brown Obelisks sat at the counter. One was a standard size, with dull brown scales mixed with gray. Their deep red Plague eyes and gold hoops and buckles glinted in the candle light. [center][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/dragon/72924706][img]https://www1.flightrising.com/rendern/350/729248/72924706_350.png[/img][/url][/center] Beside them was a much bigger Obelisk, with brighter scales mottled in several different shades of brown. A hat covered their eyes, and a large cat was perched on their shoulder. [center][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/dragon/75608622][img]https://www1.flightrising.com/rendern/350/756087/75608622_350.png[/img][/url][/center] Attis sat on the counter between them, frills perked in interest as she spoke. "How could dragons bigger than you live in the trees?" she was asking. "Surely they'd make the trunks bend over." The smaller Obelisk chuckled lightly, a rough rumble. "There are much bigger trees in the Viridian Labyrinth. Bigger than any Imperial could hope to be." "The trees make even the biggest dragons look no bigger than you are," the larger Obelisk said, amused. "[i]Attis[/i]," Onyx hissed, a slight panic in her voice. "Don't wander off like that!" Attis' frills drooped a little. "Sorry." "I hope she hasn't been a bother," Arkhip said to the Obelisks. The smaller one chuckled. "She's not been a bother. She's been a good audience." "They told me about the Viridian Labyrinth," Attis said, complying when Onyx scooped her off the counter and onto her shoulders. "I see," Arkhip mused. They glanced at the Obelisks for a moment. "Thank you for, erm... talking with her." The bigger Obelisk hummed. "It's no problem." "Name's Stranger, by the way," the smaller one rumbled. "This is Wanderer. We've seen plenty of dragons as curious as this one." ----- [center]a drabble! might add more to this later idk how to end it rn @AlumTheDragon

[b][center][size=7][font=constantia][color=8C5640]Entry Twelve[/color][/font][/size][/center][/b] [center][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/cc/2593443][img]https://imgur.com/wWhJlSf.png[/img][/url][/center] [center][img]https://www1.flightrising.com/static/cms/familiar/6333.png[/img] [b]Serthis Alchemist[/b] New dragon[/center] ----- They had been walking for half a day since stopping in the little town and befriending a peculiar pair of Obelisks. They were deep in the Tangled Wood by then, moving through dark paths through darker trees, catching glimpses of light only occasionally. All of them had decent enough dark vision, though Bastien seemed the most at home in the darkness. Attis was flitting between Bastien and Cobalt at the front of the group, and the trio seemed locked in an intense discussion. Lexa trailed after them, listening but not participating. Frir and Onyx had gotten into another argument over directions and were keeping to the back of the group as they spoke in angry whispers. Arkhip found themself in the middle, Turek moving along with them. They had taken to teaching Turek simple words and phrases, and the little Coatl was quickly picking up what they told him. Arkhip's gentle coaching cut off as something moved in their peripheral vision. Their gaze snapped towards the trees. They couldn't spot anything living, though, and caution started to creep into their feathers. "Hm?" Turek blinked at them with wide eyes. Arkhip shook their head. "It's nothing." It was hardly a second later that something rustled in the foliage nearby. Arkhip froze, and they noted at the back of their mind that the others had also paused. Turek tilted his head curiously, leaning towards the noise. They quickly ushered him behind them with their tail. Before long, a Serthis shot out of the foliage, freezing when he saw the group. They all stared at one another for a beat, before the Serthis hissed something in a tongue none of them understood. Arkhip was sure their confusion was evident, because the Serthis paused. Then, urgently, he pointed towards the foliage and spoke again. "Um," Bastien sounded hesitant. "Should we know what he's saying?" "I don't know his language," Onyx murmured. The Serthis seemed exasperated, running a hand over the several vials at his hip. He paused for a moment, then pointed again with one hand while gesturing vaguely with the other. "Danger," the Serthis hissed the word in a thick accent. "There is danger." He pointed again. "Danger?" Arkhip felt alarm rise under their feathers. The Serthis struggled for a moment. "Ah... Dragon. A dangerous dragon! Quickly!" He motioned again with his hand, then motioned for them to follow. "I think he needs help," Onyx said quickly, urgency rising in her tone. "Then we'll help," Arkhip said simply, moving to show they would follow. The Serthis seemed relieved, and quickly slipped into the foliage again. They followed the Serthis through the forest until they reached a clearing. A small den was carved out of a pile of stones, clearly well lived in. A massive brown Imperial hovered outside, pacing back and forth. He turned to them as they arrived, growing tense. [center][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/dragon/68072223][img]https://www1.flightrising.com/rendern/350/680723/68072223_350.png[/img][/url][/center] A tiny, clearly early-hatched purple dragon was under his claws, though he seemed hesitant to touch it. It was downright feeble, and one of its legs was folded strangely beneath it. The Serthis hissed and pointed to the hatchling frantically. "Dragon hurt the hatchling," he hissed urgently. "Broke into den." "Oh, no," the Imperial looked alarmed, almost frightened, despite being much bigger than any of them. There were heavy footsteps, and a second Imperial slipped out of the den. He was a deep red, flicked with golden tones. [center][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/dragon/52851132][img]https://www1.flightrising.com/rendern/350/528512/52851132_350.png[/img][/url][/center] Onyx leapt to the front of the group, wings flaring protectively in front of Lexa and Attis. "What's going on here?" The red Imperial groaned, then smacked a paw against the brown Imperial. "You let that Serthis get away?! Come on, this was supposed to be an easy task for you!" "I-I'm sorry," the brown Imperial stammered fearfully. "I didn't see him leave!" "Great, just great." The red Imperial glanced back at the den, then turned away. "Leave the hatchling. Let's get out of here." He took to the air before any of them could move to stop him. The brown Imperial followed his lead, rising quickly with a beat of his massive wings. Onyx moved to follow, but Arkhip quickly stopped her. "We have other worries," they said urgently. She growled but didn't try to take off. They moved quickly to the little hatchling's side. He was an Imperial as well, far too small to have hatched on his own. He had glittery purple scales with shimmering blue wings and a glowing green tail. One of his forelegs was folded unnaturally, and his eyes were pinned shut as he shivered. "Oh, Icewarden's chains," Onyx caught up to them. "He's tiny." As Onyx moved to curl around the shivering hatchling- which was difficult, because even at his smaller than normal size, he was nearly her length- Frir moved to the den entrance. "Hello?" he called in irritably. "There's a hatchling out here-" He cut off suddenly, irritation dropping like a rock, and dread settled in Arkhip's chest. Attis was quick to flit towards Frir, curiosity in the perk of her frills. "What is it?" Frir blocked her view with a wing suddenly, and Arkhip was almost impressed. "Don't look in there," he said quietly. "You don't want to see that." [center][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/dragon/78561703][img]https://www1.flightrising.com/dgen/preview/dragon?age=0&body=92&bodygene=20&breed=8&element=5&eyetype=12&gender=0&tert=34&tertgene=54&winggene=1&wings=21&auth=00fb56adbda06ffc776d074c439ac3dd585ffa7e&dummyext=prev.png[/img][/url][/center] ----- [center]@AlumTheDragon

[b][center][size=7][font=constantia][color=8C5640]Entry Thirteen[/color][/font][/size][/center][/b] [center][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/cc/2593443][img]https://imgur.com/wWhJlSf.png[/img][/url][/center] [center][img]https://www1.flightrising.com/static/cms/familiar/36307.png[/img] [b]Stonestomp Spearmaiden[/b] New dragon[/center] ----- "We should..." Arkhip hesitated. "We should check. Make sure there's no one else." "Yeah," Onyx agreed quietly. "I don't understand," Lexa said nervously. "W-what's going on? What's in there?" Arkhip glanced at Frir, who looked haunted. He shook his head. "Something you don't want to see," they answered slowly. "It's not good." Frir shook himself out, then turned back towards the den. "I'll look." Arkhip blinked, then moved to follow. "I'll help you." The Pearlcatcher didn't say anything, which Arkhip found a little unsettling. Usually, he'd resist company when doing something. They entered the den, and they immediately saw what had bothered Frir so much. The den was a wreck, various broken items strewn about the floor. A heap of a form, unmoving, lay in the middle of the den. They were purple just as the hatchling outside was. A discomfort rose in the back of their throat as they moved closer. It was an Imperial, body twisted in a way that could never be comfortable. Their blue eyes were half-lidded and dull. Red speckled their scales. The smell made their stomach twist. And then, they spotted something beneath one of the Imperial's massive wings. Another hatchling. "Stormcatcher help me," Arkhip whispered, half choked. "What?" Frir didn't move closer, and they couldn't blame him. Arkhip gently nudged the wing aside, revealing a little Wildclaw. She was a shimmery purple with green and orange wings curled around herself. She was tiny like the hatchling outside, the shell of her egg still scattered on the floor. She trembled just enough to be noticeable. "There's another hatchling," Arkhip murmured. Frir usually would snort, but now he was silent. "Is it alive?" he asked hesitantly. "Yes," they answered. They gently moved to scoop the hatchling up. The hatchling leaned into them, desperate for warmth. "We should..." Frir swallowed hard. "We should go. There's nothing we can do here." He turned and moved to the exit quickly, and Arkhip followed right behind. [center][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/dragon/78642833][img]https://www1.flightrising.com/dgen/preview/dragon?age=0&body=16&bodygene=24&breed=10&element=4&eyetype=12&gender=1&tert=71&tertgene=18&winggene=13&wings=100&auth=5a7c165f2fca7e72df9c638e0b91a6b693639305&dummyext=prev.png[/img][/url][/center] ----- [center]@AlumTheDragon