Quests & Challenges

Congrats on almost finishing it!! It'll be sad to leave the characters but its nice to know that they are finally safe and have a home again.

Woah, it's going to be over soon? That'll be crazy but also exciting. It was super fun to be along for the ride! <3

This was an awesome Pinkerlocke! I'll miss seeing your updates (though it might help me focus on mine).

aaaaa, this whole thing was so fun to read! thank you!

I'm sad to see that this story is coming to an end, but you are also doing an amazing job wrapping everything up! I'm so hyped for the eggs!!!

This is great! I'm a bit bummed I came in late, but I'm happy to see how it's gone so far!

Also babies!!

Oh wow, it’s sad to see this story end- it’s been a lovely journey, and looking to be a fantastic conclusion ^^ it’s great to see a pinkerlocke carried out to its full and proper close.

And last eggs!! so exciting!!!

[b][i]Day One Hundred Eighty Eight:[/i][/b] Rasmus watched the dragons move about the old, worn buildings with a detached air. They certainly had their work cut out for them if they intended to live in this sinkhole, he thought. He had been staying out of the way of their work for the most part, though that was apparently never far enough to be out of Einar’s line of sight. If it wasn’t him, it was the centaur, Heleen. He didn’t judge her for keeping tabs on him when the Gaoler could not (he understood being devoted to a dragon master), but it was becoming quite a nuisance to have them hovering over his shoulder all the time. It wasn’t as if he were doing anything nefarious; he just was waiting until Vayne remembered her promise. He could see the Imperial now from his perch, doing what she could to help around the clan. It was strange to him to see her working by the sheer strength of her claws rather than utilize the masses of magical power he knew she possessed within. If anything, his observations over the past few days told him that she was uncommonly shy, which was hardly how she had been described to him by her parents. Perhaps it was the guilt of running away that made her taciturn. He couldn’t be sure, but that didn’t change the fact that his job was to convince her to return to the Library. He had been carefully composing his new argument on the subject to present to her that night when the clan settled down to rest. He stood when the darkness pressed in ever closer to mark the setting of the sun above the canopy, the dim forms of dragons dispersing toward the portal or their personal dwellings. He slid down from his lookout post on top of one of the few stable roofs, his empty sheath clacking loudly against his armor in the quiet. He frowned down at it. He would feel much better when that Gaoler returned his blade to him, but Einar had told him flat out he would not get it back until he was on his way out the gate. Patience, he told himself. If Vayne cared to properly listen to him tonight, they would be leaving by the morning. The rush of wind and sound of wings alerted him to an approaching dragon and he looked up abruptly, narrowing his eyes at whoever it might be. He was surprised to see it was Vayne herself. She landed in front of him on the wide street, though she was staring at her claws rather than at him. She didn’t speak at first, and when he felt he’d about waited long enough, she opened her mouth and took a breath. “You’re right,” she blurted as if she thought she would lose her chance to say the words if she didn’t say them then. “I shouldn’t have left. I was… I don’t know. I just wasn’t… ready. But I should go back, I know that now. The Library-“ Here she swallowed, shifting her weight in discomfort. “… [i]I[/i] need to be there.” He didn’t respond immediately; he couldn’t. Whatever speech he had planned had been shattered and now he was struggling to find something to say. He took in a long breath, letting it out just as slowly as his shoulders sagged in relief. “… Of course, your Radiance,” he said, bowing to her. “I am glad you have chosen to return. If it pleases you, we will leave tomorrow morning.” “I want to say goodbye first,” she said quickly and with an authority she had yet to show him. “These dragons healed me and took care of me without even knowing who I was. They’re very kind, I don’t want to just… disappear on them.” He blinked, but he could hardly argue with her logic. She did seem to feel very strongly for this clan and if they had done what she had mentioned, then reasonably, he could allow her this. He bowed to her again and answered, “Very well. We will leave tomorrow once you have concluded your business here.” Something shifted in her eyes when he said this and she nodded almost thoughtfully. “Thank you,” she mumbled, causing him to be discomfited. He wasn’t used to dragons being so humble. Instead he nodded, coughing lightly to clear his throat. “You should rest, your Radiance,” he said. “We have a long journey ahead of us.” “I know,” she sighed. She stood there a beat before she mumbled “Goodnight” and took off to her quarters. He stared after her thoughtfully before turning and heading off to the little hut that he himself had been occupying to sleep until morning. [center]*****[/center] Sonance rested half draped over one of the remaining tables in the corner of her parents’ café, picking at rough spot in the wood and ignoring the cup of tea that sat next to her (her mother kept insisting she try it now they had access to some, but it was mostly tasteless to her and sugar just made it too sweet, not better). She had taken to sitting there, however, since currently there was hardly ever anyone there except Blithe and Capricious. She preferred the quiet without all the noise from the many dragons outside working on the renovations; she wanted time to herself to think. She’d had a lot to think about lately. Her thoughts were interrupted by the fluttering of wings and she glanced up expecting to see Capricious coming back to check on her as she did from time to time. Instead, it was her brother and sister, Reverie and Hope. They flew over and settled down on the opposite side of the table from her, much to her chagrin. It’s not that she didn’t like her siblings, but she had never felt near as close to them as she had been to Halcyon. Then again, there always seemed to be that special bond among nestmates. “Hey, sis,” Hope piped up, her fins displaying expectantly. The Spiral suppressed a sigh. “Hey, Hope. Reverie,” she greeted them. “What’s up?” “Well, you know; pine needles, sky, the sun- Ow!” Reverie’s fins flapped indignantly when Hope elbowed him hard in the ribs. “That’s not what she meant!” Hope quipped, thought personally, Sonance had kind of enjoyed the dry humor. “So nothing much, huh?” she interjected before they could argue. “Same old, same old?” The way they paused made her uneasy and her tail coiled involuntarily. The two Fae glanced at each other, flapping their fins to urge the other to speak in their place. Quickly becoming annoyed, she snapped, “Just spit it out. What’s happened?” “Well, nothing, yet,” Reverie said, causing Hope to give him a look. “Okay, sorry! We just, um. We just got done talking to Ma and Pa and- and Hope are I are leaving.” There was a tense silence, both of the Fae sitting absolutely still and staring at her as if they thought her a bomb that might explode. She herself was struggling to even define what she was feeling. It was like someone had dropped a stone down into the pit of her stomach. “… [i]Why[/i]?” she hissed out at length and her siblings jumped in unison. “We just- it’s too crowded here, you know?” Reverie said. “We’re not used to being around this many dragons, it’s weird.” “Plus we’ve been travelling our whole lives, right?” Hope cut in. “It really, really, really feels weird not to. So we want to go out in the world and just explore. We shouldn’t have to stay here, right?” They were both staring at her so expectantly that she was caught a little off guard. After a moment, it finally clicked. What if she went with them? The thought swirled around in her mind and the rock in her stomach seemed to flip. Maybe that was her problem. Maybe she was going stir crazy, just sitting there in one spot. She was a Spiral, right? Her breed was typically restless, perfectly happy floating about on the winds, not attached to anything… An image of her parents suddenly inserted itself into her thoughts. But why should that stop her? It wasn’t as if they would oppose to her also leaving, they had let plenty of the others go. Like Reverie and Hope had said, they had all been born on the road, they know how to travel and how to stay well supplied and what dangers may be lurking about. She tried to imagine her and the Fae soaring along together and setting up camps and meeting new dragons and narrowly avoiding danger; but there was a problem. Every time she tried to imagine a scenario without Blithe and Capricious, she couldn’t do it. Then an image of Halcyon floated into her vision, who was joined by Bramble. And they weren’t even the first born, there had been other siblings before them she hadn’t even met, such as Clarion and Vivace who she only knew by name. She thought of the three eggs sitting in the newly completed nursery, the potential of three new siblings that would never know [i]her [/i]if she left. “… Well. You go and have fun out there,” she said, offering them a smile. It didn’t feel as unnatural as she thought it would, and the sight of it obviously had an effect on Reverie and Hope as their fins waved excitedly. “So, you’re not mad? You’re ok with us leaving?” Reverie still asked. “I’m not mad; if it’s what you want to do, then go do it,” she shrugged. “Would you come with us?” Hope interjected, but Sonance shook her head. “No,” she said. “I’m going to stay here with Ma and Pa to help out with our new siblings. You saw the eggs, right?” “Yeah,” Hope nodded, her eyes twinkling. “We’ll leave after they hatch so we can meet them too.” “Not that they’ll remember us,” Reverie muttered. “Exactly,” Sonance said. “Which is why I’m going to tell them all about you.” “Only the good stuff, right?” he asked nervously. She laughed at that. “Okay, fine,” she teased, winking. “Only the good stuff.” ----- [item=glass shards] A double feature! Kind of. Getting this stuff resolved~. Also, don't worry, no one actually died this update. This is just the direction I feel these characters are going is all. I do have some food to catch up on, but it's just basic training, nothing drastic :d. ----- Inventory: 7 items redeemed to give someone a gene! ----- @Weredogalism @Riff @Skulljester @AstralDragons @Petall @MisterMylez @BarbaraFett @PinkyDaPinkSlime @loser @OneRingOfPower @MagmaticMachine @Rosesinger @Eversnow @chewynoodles @FallenEclipse @Dachshund59 @Midwinter @RadioReprise @Yetti @Samiky @Snapshadow @Rhombulus @Kaivyrin @KrazKitCat @BoulderEnder @FyriBowbreaker @VeniVidiVici

I did a doodle of Blithe in honor of their journey coming to an end-- hope that's okay ;v; [img]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/568166311687880704/641154617455149067/IMG_20191104_225901.jpg[/img]

Glad that no one's died xD And I'm sad but also excited to see this come to an end! Sad because - well it's ending, but excited because it'll be nice to have the story wrapped up. <3