Quests & Challenges

[center][img]https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/586326224243130370/733907215051784192/mxNXaU4_-_Imgur.png[/img][/center] [font=book antiqua]Usha’s feathered wing brushed against Diana’s back and she leaned into the touch. The world fuzzed at the edge of her vision, the hard lines and temperatures of everything else blurring together. Her Queen’s mouth opened in speech, but like always Diana couldn’t make out the words that she spoke. Like the rustle of the Wind, or the steady beat of the Earth, it brushed over Diana and she whimpered. She drew closer to Usha, wanting understanding, attempting to gain warmth, that pride and companionship that she would [i]earn[/i]- Diana jolted awake at the quiet shuffling around her. Her eyes snapped open and every muscle in her body tensed. Stupid Tundra wandered past, a mouthful of glowing pocket baubles in her teeth. Diana blinked at the soft light that each one produced. Not the brightest objects or torches that could light up a lair- Diana almost wanted to growl when she realized that was the point. Stupid Tundra. A softer light in a nesting room than in the rest of the lair. Ones that she could let peter out if she didn’t like the glow and then charge back up to her liking in the sun. Didn’t that just go [i]perfectly [/i]with the downy and sweetpuff feathers and fabric scraps that Stupid Tundra had covered Diana’s usally sleeping area with. Diana didn’t [i]get [/i]it. Walking into the lair of a strange dragon and making herself at home didn’t gain her anything. It didn’t further any cause that Diana could think of, wasn’t a game that many dragons would play. It was possible that Stupid Tundra were with the Storyteller and Collector, but she hadn’t mentioned the curse, or even gone to look at Usha after the first day. All she did was follow Diana around and do things like this. Add a little light and softness to the lair. Hang up the brightly painted and cheerful bird toys that she had gathered while they were out hunting. It didn’t make [i]sense[/i]. Diana watched Stupid Tundra with slitted eyes as she reached the back corner of the room. A quiet squeak echoed through the room and Diana resisted the urge to paw at her eyes with her claws. A tiny blue blur carried one of the baubles up the wall and clumsily stuffed it into one of the cracks. The small bit of heat the mouse gave off disappeared in the warmth of Stupid Tundra’s fur and Diana couldn’t help but blurt out- “What in Earthshaker’s realm was that?” Stupid Tundra turned and did that stupid slow blink back at her. “Friend,” Stupid Tundra said simply. “He’s helping.” “You have a treat in your fur,” Diana snarled. Tundra flapped her wings. “Treat,” she nodded, “Treat is a good name.” The mouse, now named Treat of all things, Shade take them all, let out a squeak. Diana hoped that it was a disagreement, but from the pleased look that crossed Tundra’s face, it wasn’t. “I’m going to eat him one day,” she snarled, flashing her fangs in the new low light of her room. Tundra’s tail swept back and forth. “We have plenty of food now.” She nodded again. “I will get you some.” “That’s not what-!” Stubborn Tundra ambled out of the room, leaving Diana alone with Treat and the pile of baubles that he pawed at. Diana glared down at him, taking pleasure in the way that he cowered away from him and grabbed another bauble to flee up the side of the cave wall. At least, Treat knew that she could tear him to shreds if she got too upset. She scratched her claws against the floor and let her growl reverberate through the room. So what if Stubborn Tundra still hadn’t left? So what if she acted like pack? So what if she didn’t bother with words and simply acted? [i]So what.[/i] She was going to read that stupid poem again, and see if she could make some actual progress on what the Shade was up with Usha. If she left the new nest made by Stubborn Tundra untouched by her anger, well, that was no one’s business but hers.

[center][img]https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/586326224243130370/734293243289927750/DNP3XkM_-_Imgur.png[/img][/center] [font=book antiqua]Valeri poked her head into the next room in the lair. All of the nesting rooms except the back one that her Mirror guarded with a fierce look had been cleaned, and Valeri wanted to get started on the other scattered rooms. Treat let out a small squeak from her fur and Valeri’s ear twitched. He didn’t trust her that much yet. He would. Just like her Mirror. Valeri could take this one day at a time. Her nose wrinkled at the even heavier smell of dust and mildew that hung in the room. The tang of rotted cloth covered any other scents. Valeri reached out carefully to poke one of the piles with a paw. The fragile looking mess simply dissolved under her touch. Her nose wrinkled again and she let out a small sneeze as dust stirred up around her. “Hey!” Valeri’s tail swept the ground happily at her Mirror’s snap. “What do you think you’re doing?” Valeri shoved her muzzle in the one pile that had a slightly lighter tang of rot. She pulled the piece of apparel that had survived out and turned to look happily at her Mirror. Her Mirror’s mouth closed with a quiet click as she stared at the shimmering cloth between Valeri’s teeth. Nebula Starsilk Shawls weren’t the most valuable piece of apparel out there, but they were harder to get. And Valeri thought they looked so pretty. She lifted her head and with a shake of her head, threw the shawl over her Mirror’s neck. “Pretty,” she said with a solid nod, and then turned back to the task of cleaning out the rest of the rotted piles. Her Mirror would want more pretty things to wear eventually; Valeri could feel it. She’d make sure they had the space for it. Her Mirror watched her quietly, all four eyes tracking her movement. Something warm settled in Valeri’s chest as her Mirror settled at the doorway, lying and staring. Progress.

[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/AMbnByu.jpeg[/img][/center] [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/OrxwS4A.png[/img][size=1][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/cc/2257922#post_28920484]Source[/url][/size][/center][font=Book Antiqua] It took most of the day to get there, and it would take most of the day to get back, but Diana wanted to get away from the lair. Away from the changes that only made the unchanging bits of the hallways and lair stand out in stark contrast that pressed down on Diana’s flank. Not to mention taking Stupid Tundra to the Training Fields Diana had heard about in the Windswept Plateau meant that they could sharpen their claws and talons and fangs without worry of lethal danger. Learn how to defend themselves for when the time came. Or it would let Diana study how Tundra fought so that if they came to blows she could hopefully kill her without being too badly injured. As much as things around the lair had- Diana refused to say they had improved, but the change at least meant that Usha would have a decent place to return to once Diana managed to figure out that poem and save her. As much as that had happened, Diana refused to get attached only to lose it. Or worse for it to be some trick. A Tundra would be the best to send in after all, for something like this. They wouldn't remember anything with their mushy brains and could play the fool until the time to strike came. Every muscle in Diana's body tensed as a paw softly pressed down on her thrashing tail. She whirled to bite the offender, only managing to pull back in time at the sight of familiar dark blue fur. Stupid Tundra's ears twitched, long tips swishing through the air. Another shimmer length of cloth hung from her mouth, a match to the bunched fabric around Diana's shoulders. With a pleased hum and nimble movements, Stupid Tundra wrapped the silk tailwrap into place before taking a step back. She didn't speak and word and for a moment Diana wanted to scream. To snap and snarl for her to give up the act or the attempts and finally leave. Finally leave Diana to rot like everything in her old pack's lair and she met the death that the damned Storyteller and Collector clearly wanted her to have. Whatever. Diana refused to give them the satisfaction. She would thrive, Shades be damned, and she would [i]win[/i]. Stupid Tundra looked her over, and gave a silent nod at whatever she saw. The movement jostled the small mouse still sitting in her hair. Plaugebringer take the fact Treat was still around and seeming to warm up to the Tundra. Diana wouldn’t be making the same mistake. She wouldn’t be played for a fool. At least having two sets of claws meant they had gathered enough materials and parts from the larger mice in the Fields that Diana could pick up some enchanted stones to augment her strength. They would make hunting and fighting that much easier. They had found a handful left behind in the Fields, but none of them resonated in a way that fit with her. It made her clench her front paws, talons digging into the soft grass. Her crest twitched, opening and closing as she daydreamed about sinking her fangs into something larger than the occasional field mouse and birds. She flinched as Stubborn Tundra’s head snapped up. Tundra’s muzzle twitched. Her wings flared. She stretched them out and pushed to herd Diana back towards the Wandering Contagion that was their first obstacle back home. “What in Earthshaker?” Diana snapped, shuffling a bit in that direction before planting her feet. “What are you doing?” “Danger. We must leave. Now.” Tundra’s shoulder bumped against her chest, and Diana bit back a snarl. Fine whatever, they could leave so the jumpy herbivore could feel safer, but Diana didn’t need to make a production about it. She rolled her shoulders, giving her wings a few flaps to stretch them. She sauntered towards the Contagion while the Tundra whined and glanced between her and the area around them. “Faster!” Stubborn Tundra barked. She pushed against Diana, trying to get her to move faster. Diana felt her lips peel back in amusement and purposefully slowed down just to see the Tundra’s reaction. The Tundra was small enough that she would never be able to force Diana into doing what she wanted. The Tundra whined again, high pitched and panicked. Her ears flicked back to press against her skull. Her fur tried to stand on end but couldn’t even with the thinner summer coat. In an open plain like this, with no danger around, it was hilarious to watch. The Tundra’s eyes closed for just a moment, her nostrils flaring. Diana snickered. The sound caught in her throat halfway as Valeri threw herself backwards and away from her. Just in time for a dark shadow to collect above them. Diana tried to jump out of the way, missing her chance by half a second. Sharp claws raked along her back left leg as she rolled away from where she stood moments before. The stench of dragon blood that Valeri must have smelled hung heavy in the air. Diana let a low growl from the back of her throat, crouching low to the ground as she faced the new threat. Sunlight caught on the sliver that absolutely covered the coatl that towered between them. The bag hung around their flank swung lightly as they lunged at Diana again. She darted away from them. The pain in her back leg flared, sending her stumbling. She twisted her body, landing so that the Coatl’s teeth buried into her back flank just before her tail instead of her ribs. She let out a bellow of pain as they latched in deep. More claws ripped through her lashing tail and the noise that escaped Diana’s mouth was closer to a scream. Her chest heaved, back claws lashing out to try and find some purchase in her attacker. She barely managed light scratches. She felt the jaw in her flank lock and then [i]pull[/i]. Her chest heaved as black spots raced around the corners of her vision. All four eyes blinked wildly, desperate for a way out. It was the only reason she saw it. Though the deafening roar, let her hear it just fine. Well then. She never would have expected that deep and reverberating sound to come from Valeri, but she learned something new every day. Sharp talons disappeared as Valeri slammed into the side of the coatl. Diana dug her front talons into the ground, dragging herself a short distance away and craned her neck. If the stupid herbivore was going to die for her, at least she’d give her the honor of watching. Except Valeri wasn’t going for the attack. Her teeth caught on the strap of the Coatl’s bag. She pulled, snapping the leather and letting whatever was in it tumble out. The Coatl let out a sound that Diana had never heard before, a scratchy note that hit her ears and refused to leave as a pile of [i]eggs [/i]rolled along the ground around them. The Coatl scrambled to grab at them, small hands desperate to keep them from breaking or possible theft from any witnesses their small bout could have. Diana felt it click as Valeri darted away from them, towards her. Valeri’s teeth dug lightly into the back of her neck, and Diana had to bite down on her muzzle to keep a sound from escaping as her injuries dragged along the ground. She clawed at the grass in pain even as it grew thinner the closer to the Contagion they got. One paw brushed against something, round and slightly warm. She snatched it out of instinct, curling around the object as she squeezed her eyes shut. The Coatl let out another note. Louder and angrier than the last one. Diana was going to die before she even attempted to help her Queen. And wasn’t that just [i]delightful[/i]? Only, the soft warmth of the sun vanished, Lightweaver’s gaze averted as Valeri shoved the two of them into a small dark space. Diana cracked two of her eyes open. The deep marron of Plaguebringer’s land surrounded them, the twisting vines and membranes of the land creating an almost labyrinth-like cave system. It reminded Diana of home. She let out a deep sigh. She looked down at the object she still clutched at and blinked. A small plague elemental egg sat in her arms. It pulsed with the warmth that came from being near hatching. Well. No wonder the Coatl was so upset at the end there. Diana would have laughed if the dark spots in her vision weren’t becoming overwhelming. She thought Valeri said something but her heart beat in her crests, the egg in her arms throbbed in time, and for the time being they were safe. They would go home soon. Diana just- She would just take a quick nap first. [center][url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/cc/2461020][img]https://i.imgur.com/fVWSydm.png[/img][/url][/center] [center][size=1][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/cc/2461020#post_33708133]Source[/url][/size][/center]