Roleplay

@Scyllarus

Sure enough, Rook's head whipped around at the mention of child sacrifice, his face frozen in a half-quizzical, half-alarmed expression. Thankfully the part of his mind that hadn't taken Seraphiel's statement seriously turned out to be the part that was right, and he laughed somewhat awkwardly in relief. In response to the other dragon's concern about slipping into a trance in an unknown, dangerous land, Rook nodded and muttered, "Yeah, don't blame you there," in agreement.

The rather explicit return to Rook as the topic of conversation caught him off guard. "Oh, uh, let's see. My leaving home itself doesn't make for much of a story. Typical adolescent rebellion, really, at least in retrospect. I wanted to get away from home and see the world. Not that there was anything wrong with my family, it was just...you live with something for a while and it gets dull and a bit stifling and you want a break, you know?" He looked at Seraphiel for a moment, but he quickly looked away, feeling a bit ashamed. "Er, sorry, I shouldn't assume that's common. Wanderlust is kind of a Wind thing, I think." After a moment's pause, though, he perked up at a much more interesting memory. "Ah, right! So I'd left home and was wandering around, taking in the sights and eventually hoping to find a new place to settle down, not too close to my old home of course, and I ran into Duro! He was out foraging for his clan, we got to talking, and we really hit it off, it was just this instant chemistry. But we got so into talking as we walked that he nearly walked off a ledge, but I happened to be paying close attention to him and adrenaline kicked in, and, like, I jumped forward and caught him before he fell! I mean, he probably would've caught himself with his wings just fine, but still, you can't help but feel kind of cool pulling that off." His smile revealed strong pride in this memory, and he continued speaking with fervor. "So, first friend outside the home clan! He thanked me, I said it was all cool, all that, and he led me to his place, an Arcane den. Didn't take long at all to make friends with his friends, and...well, that's where I stayed. It was comfortable, I had friends, settled down with a girl after a while, y'know the drill. In fact I haven't been back to the Plateau since..."

Since...

Half-memories flitted through his mind unbidden. A gathering. A face in a crowd. A quiet, honest smile. Flashes of brown and green fur, a subdued but beautiful combination he had seen on only one person in his life. Their flight over pristine waters as they made trails on the surface, splashed at each other, and laughed. A race across the Plateau, a strange but cozy cave. Intimate half-darkness. Her fur beneath his chin.

He was only partly aware that his smile had slipped and he'd fallen into a quiet trance for a good while.

@RabbleRouser @Blackcat0989

"I think...I think it was another Spiral. I couldn't really see...It was dark." Deliah managed a smile, although - and it was hard to tell, with those black eyes blending into her black feathers - the worry didn't fade from her face. "I didn't wake up in that lair, you know. I just...I went in for shelter and I didn't see it..."

She shuddered at the memory, looking at them pleadingly. "Please don't leave me here. I...I know I'm strong enough to follow you - I can tell you everything I know - but please don't leave me here. I didn't...I don't think I killed it. I...I don't think they can be killed..."

@FiliaFlammae

The Imperial shook his head. "No, I think most dragons get some wanderlust in them once they get old enough. Arariel - my clan's leader - had one of the older dragons take me around when I got to that age." He smiled, though, a little wistfully, as Rook talked about moving into a new den and making friends. It wasn't so much that he himself had no friends, but...well. It got to be trying, sometimes. Getting flashes of the future was surprisingly bad for making friends.

To be honest, he envied the Tundra, just a little.

Seraphiel coughed politely. "So...you haven't been back since then?" His power didn't include reading minds, but it wasn't hard to imagine what the other dragon was thinking of. It's not like you haven't had the same thing. His thoughts flitted to Kerubiel, the quiet Wildclaw they'd presented him with. She was kind, and loving, but...

But it wasn't the same, was it?

He hadn't gotten to choose. He hadn't gotten to find a female who'd caught his eye with her beauty, or his heart with her charm. He hadn't...he hadn't really been free, had he? Of course it would figure that the only place he was free of responsibilities and obligations was also apparently free of most other dragons.

@RabbleRouser @Scyllarus

Kazuto glanced between Connor and Deliah, torn between Connor's obvious knowledge of diseases and his own hesitance to leave the sick dragon alone. On one hand, Connor was right, whatever sickness the skydancer had could very well be contagious, on the other, Deliah needed help, badly. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, wishing desperately that his familiar was here, she'd always lead him true.

"I think," he started. "That you may be right, Connor. I don't want to leave her here, I really don't, but something is up and that gunk seems to be a part of it. When did it appear on you, Deliah, can it be cleaned off?"

He frowned when he heard the dragon's description of her attacker, glancing at the plague Spiral. "Something's definitely up. We should start to be more careful. Anyone could be an enemy. Did you try to talk to it, Deliah? Was it aware?"

@Scyllarus @Ragon

The words brought Rook's attention back to the world around him. He looked over at Seraphiel. It was impossible to tell what the Imperial was thinking, but his face seemed understanding and, to some extent, wistful. How much had he guessed? Had he gone through something similar? How similar?

He swallowed to moisten his throat and responded to his friend's question. "Yeah, haven't been back since then. I liked my new home. Kiera wasn't as bad as I'd made her out to be, really. I was just an idiot not looking at it through her eyes. She's a great mate. She's been worth it a hundred times over. I just..." He hesitated, his eyes and throat stinging with emotion. "I just...wish I could see her again, one last time. Even just see her home again. It's been so long."

He wasn't sure what else to say. In all honesty he was surprised he already felt open enough with Seraphiel to mention something like this. But then, why not? It wasn't exactly like they had anything to hide anymore in this strange, empty world.

From off in the distance, though, he heard a noise, a dragon's call. He turned to the source, and there, flying towards them, was a great Ridgeback, and unlike the strange Mirror-ish thing they'd fought off just minutes ago, this other dragon looked perfectly healthy, if just as grey as the both of them. He called back.

((Gah, the holidays are kicking my tail))

@RabbleRouser @Blackcat0989

"No, it...They don't seem to be aware." She nervously glanced back up the path behind them and shook her head, seemingly resigned to being stuck here until the other two came to a decision of whether she was safe or not. "It's not...This isn't contagious. Or...I don't think it is. Or maybe everyone has it..." There was a strange expression on her face - she was smiling, but there were tears rolling down her feathery cheeks, and a strange terror in those black eyes. "It starts...It starts with those cracks in your eyes. They get bigger, and...and it happens on its own. I didn't get attacked until now but I've been alone..."

A sob heaved out of her, more tears gushing from her eyes and running in clear streams down her face.

@FiliaFlammae @Ragon

"Kiera?" Was she the girl Rook had mentioned settling down with? Seraphiel thought so, maybe, but he wasn't exactly sure. That he wanted to see her again wasn't surprising...but how long had the other dragon been here, to say it'd been so long? What had happened?

And thinking of it, what had happened to his own mate? The Imperial couldn't seem to remember. He remembered her alive and well, tending after their first clutch of hatchlings...he seemed to remember comforting her as they found new homes - was that a real memory, or a vision? - but after that...nothing.

A draconic greeting interrupted his thoughts and he turned as well, though he was somewhat more wary than Rook was. This new dragon seemed to be perfectly safe and healthy, but it was hard to forget the inhuman hunger that radiated from the mirror, or the terror as it ripped at his flesh, and if this Ridgeback wasn't friendly after all...She could do a lot more damage than a single mirror could. He glanced at the Tundra beside him, worried, but held his ground and waited.

@Scyllarus @Blackcat0989 Stinkin' holiday has me DAYS behind on everything. DX
_________________
Conner didn't miss the look that was shot his way. Rearing onto a coil with hands up warding off the probable thought that he'd been the one to go after her first. After all he was the only Spiral in the vicinity.Deliah posed a unique kink of morals verses survival. Thankfully the grey Spiral had that line very cleanly drawn. Survival.

He didn't make it out of the boneyard to the Shifting Expanse on being morally, and politically correct. Kazuto was asking the right questions at least, but with as terrified as the lithe dragon appeared to be--she'd probably say anything to keep them there. Or, haul her along with them.

So they were working with possibly undead gunk monsters that spread whatever this contagion was by touch? That was fantastic. Out of curiosity Conner stepped aside taking a peer into the creek checking himself. After a long moment of peering, a bit relieved that whatever it seemed to be wasn't effecting him as of yet.

"If you think you can keep up, I don't have any qualms taking you along but as of right now--I'm totally not touching you." Barring that bit that he did for inspection. Hand in question curled into a loose fist, great. No touching suspicious things in the future for sure now. "If that thing is still in the area, I suggest we traverse somewhere in a 'far away' type of direction after you 'scrub up'. Sooner than later. We were poking around that cave and--if whatever it was is easily agitated probably best we don't stick around."

But then again Conner was a Spiral and his current need to move was rising on the double.

@Ragon @Scyllarus

((Sorry to hear that, hope you're doing okay! Also, for clarity, there're only two of us here, a tundra and an imp. Scyllarus has been playing in other scenes as well.))

Upon closer observation, the Ridgeback was clearly female, and her body language conveyed no ill will that Rook could see. He might have been rather charmed by her, to be honest, if she weren't so big. He shook this thought out of his head quickly; he'd sworn off ladywatching long ago.

"Ah, no, I don't think so," he answered politely, feeling slightly guilty that he had to disappoint her. "Pretty sure we're in light territory. Right?" He glanced at Seraphiel for confirmation, as he was the one who'd noticed their surroundings in the first place. "We saw some ruins on the ground. Anyway," he continued, turning back to the stranger, "if that's true, then the Shifting Expanse should be just south of here. We're headed west, though, toward the Starfall Isles...I don't know what your goals are, but..." He trailed off with a shrug. While they had agreed that seeking answers in the Isles as soon as possible was the best course of action, he didn't particularly mind a detour, if it would help this girl out. He figured he'd leave it up to the Imperial to decide.

Come to think of it, what would they even do in the Isles? As much as he wanted to see his friends and family, he doubted they'd be there. Clanfather Taldir was really the only person he could think of to ask about the situation, and he really couldn't think of any reason he'd be the one lucky clan member to have come here too, wherever "here" was. If they sought answers, they may have more luck seeking the Arcanist himself, in his den at the Observatory. Still, he'd be loath not to have even a look at his old lair, just in case. He decided not to say anything for the time being.

@RabbleRouser @Scyllarus

"You are the expert on diseases here, Connor." Kazuto nodded. "I'll follow your lead. We should all avoid contact with each other until we can be sure of a cure. Deliah, for as long as you can keep up, you can fly with us, but as soon as you can't anymore, we'll help you make a nest and fly on. We have to find answers and delaying for longer than necessary is out of the question. Sound good to you Connor?"

The Pearlcatcher spread his wings, flapping them just enough to create a breeze. He was ready to fly again.

"Be sure to wash as much of that stuff off you as you can before we fly. We should leave as soon as possible."

@RabbleRouser @Blackcat0989

"Oh...okay. I understand." Deliah managed a weak smile. "I wouldn't want to touch me either. But I can keep up - thank you for taking me."

She approaches the water cautiously, staring down into peaceful pool. And then, almost as if deciding on something, she cups her claws together and splashes the water on her face. She scrubs vigorously, bringing more water up to help clean it off.

The water drips down clear. Whatever the dark stuff is, it's clearly part of her skin and not just a thin slick of color. "....It...it wouldn't come off before, either..." Deliah stares appealingly at Kazuto, having obviously noticed that the Pearlcatcher was the one more in charge. A small gasp, and her front paws come up and cover her mouth. "Oh...oh no...Your eyes..."

@Ragon @FiliaFlammae

Though the newcomer seemed friendly and, more importantly, not a horrid monster, it was hard for Seraphiel to put away his suspicions. The world has lost all color, there were dragon-shaped oozy monsters running amok - he wouldn't've been surprised if the female Ridgeback had opened her mouth and shot tarry stuff at them. "It's pretty close, yeah. I recognize some of the area, the Shifting Expanse is just a few miles away."

He glanced at Rook, then back at the new dragon. He wanted to know what was going on as soon as possible, but they were right on the border. And besides...he could check his own den while they were there. Well...maybe. The fear that he'd find nothing at the lair was palpable, but he couldn't be sure until they went and saw for themselves. "I'm actually from there. Where are you trying to go?"

If they took a detour down to the Shifting Expanse, then, he thought, they may as well to to the Starfall Isles via the Windswept Plateau. It'd make the most sense, anyway, if they were going to help this dragon out.

@RabbleRouser @Scyllarus

"I had thought it might not." Kazuto sighed, shaking his head. He closed his eyes as the Skydancer gasped, lowering his head the slightest bit. "My eyes are darkening, I know." He turned away, flaring his wings wide. "We should leave, it's not safe to stay in one place for too long."

He angled his wings and launched into the air, glancing around in an attempt to find a landmark. "Do you recognise anything, Connor? I'm not quite familiar with the area but I think that that's the Sea of a Thousand Currents over there." He gestured into the distance with his tail. "Which means we are in either the Plague, Shadow, Light, Lightning or Fire territories. We aren't in wind since I don't recognise this place, and unless you know where we are, we aren't in Plague. Any guesses?"