Fantasy Legacy of Dragons (Reopened)

[Takka]

Fea’s brain current had hard time, trying to fully understand what is going on. Basilisk wasn’t anymore sure how she should react and respond to the elders.

One time they were laughing at her, next one seemed to stalking her, and now choosing to whatever was waiting for all of them on Mountains Strength profile.

*Calm down Fea!* she tried to start thinking properly again *Too many things happened, it’s not good time to care about them, you need to finally choose something…*

She probably would without consideration choose Razor Claws, but that whole situation and what Barradain said about her seemed more promising after thinking about it. What if that first comment was supposed to show a statement of an unpleasant trait, and at the same time create an incentive to work on it? Maybe this dragon was really not kidding and would actually turned out to be great teacher? After all he was definitely looking like someone…powerful.

Female glanced for a moment at Kirsey and his new mentor. At least there was someone on Claw’s profile with whom she had contact and seemed to be ok. What will be at Mountains? A titans who more likely will sit on her by accident? Female shook her head to stop thinking about it and looked away to not distribute silver dragon.

There was an option that Fea was just too excessively analyzing everything, but thanks to it she made up her mind; “I would like to become student of Barradain, if you won’t mind” dragon look up boldly.

Hazmat44

 

[TheSpeck]

Chusi waited a moment while the others spoke, not wanting to interrupt anyone or make a bad first impression. So, she wanted to study under Qurietsu in Razor Claws. She didn't have much defense because all the messy fur she had instead of thick, armor like scales, which gave her a disadvantage in battle, but if she could cut through those thick scales then her opponent would have no advantage over her!

Chusi was about to speak up when Kirsey piped in and said he wanted to go the path of Razor Claws. It seemed she would be stuck with the shiney dragon... Why did he have any interest in Razor Claws?? Wouldn't he go for magic or something, so he could make himself even shinier?

She honestly didn't care enough to think into it more, so she spoke up when others were silent, "I would like to study under Qurietsu and go the path of Razor Claws also." She said in a somewhat quiet but carrying voice.

Hazmat44

 

[BlackDove]

Miea felt…. Torn.
Lost in the warring emotions of wanting and hearing so badly they could taste the urge; felt it saturate their tongues with its wicked potency because they wanted Elders did they want. but they also knew - knew with the certainty that was the constant whispers and taunts of weak weak weak - and so…they could not .

As they watched their fellow dragons (and basilisk) join their desired schools,
‘My desired school’
They think, bitterness curling their tongue in its rancid tang.

they quietly cast their gaze to the school of magic.
“I…w-would like um magic please…”
they whispered, snout pointed toward the ground and starry eyes pointed firmly down. Towards their unimpressive claws and away from the shame they felt rising in them.

 

[Mirai-chan]

Eclipse Looked Excited. "Oh stars? What School Should i Pick?"She Thought. She Knows About the Three Schools and Wonders, What she Should Learn, but As usual: THIS IS A HARD DECISON. Eclipse may be Good with Decisions, But She is Tinking Se Should do. Eclipse looked at her Sister."What School should i Pick?"Eclipse asked. Lily Siged."I never knew you would ask, The Younger sibling for help, Just go with the flow."Lily whispered. She stepped forward."I would like to learn to to breathe fire and other elements please."Lily asked.

Eclipse Looked at her Sister, knowing her younger sisters the Type to learn To her Fire Breath, and learning other stuff, Soo Eclipse Decided to Go with magic. Why? Well, Eclipse was always interested in magic and firmly Decided this, She is."I would like to try magic!"She said sounding a bit too Excited. Lily Almost laughed a bit but Smiled at her older Sister.

 

[Hazmat44]

Kirsey scooted back, carefully watching the other dragonets as they spoke.

Barradain bared his teeth, clearly pleased by Fea's reply. "That is good, little basilisk! I shall show you not how to scrabble at your enemies' scales, nor how to blind them with little tricks, but to utterly crush them beneath your weight and strength!"

Quriestsu gave Chusi a needle-toothed grin, flexing her claws happily. "Oh, shut up, Barradain. You didn't get two pupils, now did you?" She seemed inordinately excited by the fact, which confused Kirsey a bit. It wasn't a competition, was it?

Was it!?

The dragonet named Miea cringed beneath the weight of her own request. Instead of correcting her as any proper dragon should've, Corilu reached out with a claw and tugged upon the air. A gentle breeze pulled Miea's and Eclipse's fur towards herself, and Corilu held out her forearms in what appeared to be an invitation for a hug. "I shall try to teach you all that I can, little students. I'll have to be displeased if you cause yourself any harm trying to exceed your limits beyond what you can manage, though."

Kirsey felt a brief stab of familiar jealousy, but he wasn't sure why. Dragons didn't give hugs, as far as he knew.

The three Teachers glanced at Surdinal, who was still very much fast asleep. Barradain nudged him, and he cracked an eye open. "Wozzat?"

"The dragonet Lily elected to study beneath you," Corilu diplomatically told him.

He straightened, something akin to panic appearing in his eyes. "Really?" He looked down his own gigantic chest at the dragonet who wanted to learn from him. "...Are ye sure?"

"Quite certain," Corilu firmly replied.

Surdinal awkwardly scratched the back of his head with a clawed wingtip. "Oh. Well... okay, then. Guess I'll be teaching ye how to breathe, then."

Kirsey ignored whatever happened past that, turning his attention towards Qurietsu. The Teacher of the Razor Claws smiled at both of her new students. "Let's head off to my preening range, yes? I'd say we have a bit of testing to do."

Kirsey grew a little concerned at that. Testing? Nobody had mentioned any testing. Regardless, he was hardly in a position to argue, so he followed the Elder out of the Dragonet's Gate.

The crowd had all but dispersed by then, and the sky was relatively clear for fast flying. "Let's get a move on, then." Qurietsu airily told both of them, sauntering off down the gravel pathway to some of the caves under the mountains.

Kirsey had no choice but to follow.

TheSpeck

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"To the volcanoes we go!" Barradain enthused, practically pulling his new student behind him. "We must see what you can do!"

T Takka

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"I believe we have some reading to do," Corilu quietly told the small dragonets before her. "How does my tower sound? I have quite the library there."

Mirai-chan (Eclipse) BlackDove

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Surdinal scratched his head. "I guess we're goin' to the seaside. Bit of a walk, though. You need a ride?"

Mirai-chan (Lily)

 

[Hazmat44]

It was a short walk to the 'preening range', as Quriestu had called it. Instead of straw targets or pieces of stone to cut into, it was a large dome-shaped cave quite literally covered end-to-end in mirrors. There was a great stone in the center with a groove in it, and a few other stones set to one side.

Qurietsu immediately took center position on the largest rock, coiling around it and lifting her spines in a top-notch preen. Kirsey couldn't find any problems with it - it perfectly reflected light onto the mirrors in such a way that everywhere you looked, there was only Qurietsu.

He clapped politely. "That was an amazing pose!"

She cracked an eye open, a vibrant purr rumbling the ground. "Indeed it was, little dragonet. I see you can recognize a good preen!"

Qurietsu laughed in a charming and slightly conceited way. Kirsey copied it.

If this was Razor Claw training, he could do it all day!

She settled her claws in front of her, stretching lightly. "Your first test is to pose upon one of the stones. Whomsoever possesses the greater preen wins. Begin!"

Kirsey leapt atop a rock and posed, turning his head at a specific angle as he lifted his scales. The mirrors sent light cascading along them, silver light bouncing off of his scales in every direction. This test would be impossible to fail!

He gave Chusi a glance out of the side of his eye. She was covered in a thin layer of fur, and while it was undoubtedly very pretty, it didn't seem to reflect light very well.

Hopefully Qurietsu wouldn't dock points for that...

TheSpeck

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Barradain strode along the underside of the sheer cliff, ignoring the nigh-bottomless depths directly to his side. The temperature had risen considerably already, but if he had noticed, he didn't signal any discomfort.

Taking a right turn into the cliff-face, he entered the colossal cave awaiting him and paused to let his new pupil enter. The cave in question was gigantic, with lava dripping from the sides to collect in pools rimming the edge. A number of obstacles and absurdly large weights filled the room, along with a small offshoot leading to another cave off to the right.

"So!" Barradain exclaimed, turning to Fea. "Show me what you can do! Whether that be clawing at me, a hard shove, perhaps a weapon. Take your pick! But you have to attack me, alright!?"

He didn't seem to have a volume lower than 'bellow'.

T Takka

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Corilu paused at the second peak of the mountain range she'd brought her students to. The air grew thinner at this altitude, and it was easy to lose one's breath. As her pupils were still dragonets, she thought it prudent to allow them a short rest at regular intervals.

With a glance behind her, she observed her tower. It was a elegant, relatively small place made from stone, although a few of the visible rooms looked as though they had been added on after its construction. A few pale blue flowers grew just outside the oaken door, swaying gently in the breeze, and a thin trail of smoke rose from the chimney. On the rightmost side of it squatted the actual tower section of her home, ever so slightly keeling to one side. Inside was as much comfort as she could manage. It'd been a bit of research to prepare for every dragonet that would be coming, and of course there had been a possibility that none of them would've wanted to become her student, but she wanted to ensure that any of her students would be greeted with their favorite treat once they entered.

Turning, she allowed both dragonets to make their way up the mountainside before quietly announcing, "I would like to see your magic, if you please. It should help me figure out what to teach you both, and in what order."

BlackDove Mirai-chan

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Surdinal nosed about the beach, trying to find a spot of sand that would be most comfortable to lie in. The great wyvern found one after a moment and flopped into it, releasing a short huff of relief as he rolled onto his back.

He eased into the beach for several seconds, ignoring the flock of seagulls drawn to the heat radiating from his scales, and his wings gradually slumped to spread out along the sand like some giant stranded bat.

Creaking one eye open, he glanced at his pupil. "Oh, uhhh... Show me yer breathing, I guess. Ye got fire or summat?"

Mirai-chan

(Phew, heckuva big post. Hope you guys like.)

 

[TheSpeck]

Chusi was surprised when they walked into the cave full of mirrors, her heart starting to beat rapidly as Qurietsu continued to speak. She felt like screaming at her new teacher.

'this is Razor Claws! I came here to cut through the scales of my enemies, not to sit on rocks and blind people with unimaginably annoying poses!'

Of course she didn't say that. She couldn't say that, not to Qurietsu. She would show them! If she couldn't yell then she would gain the sharpest claws and become a menace in every battle!

"I uh- I'm sorry, I feel that I'm at a bit of a disadvantage... I've never posed before, nor do I have scales..." She muttered in her usual calm voice. "But... I guess I'll try.."

Chusi made her way to one of the rocks and awkwardly tried to twist herself around it, carefully avoiding overlapping her body and get herself in a knot. With a lot more effort than necessary she finally got into a somewhat comfortable pose and raised her head up into the air. This was the best she could do, if she were honest it looked more like she was sitting on the rock then posing, but at least it was an effort. Her fur blotted out most of the reflective light, causing her to simply glow but not reflect into the mirrors. In one last attempt to 'pose' she ruffled up her fins a bit, causing them to stick out instead of being flattened to her spine like usual. She was hoping the orange glow would help.

In the end she looked at a mirror and internally cringed. Compared to the others she looked like a mess. For a moment the feeling of embarrassment burned at her skin, making her feel as if she couldn't breath, but she quickly tried to console herself. If they mocked her she would show them by gaining the sharpest claws and cutting straight through those shiney scales of theirs!

Hazmat44

 

[Mirai-chan]

Eclipse
Eclipse was Tired after that long ol' walk, normally she would seemed energize but she was too busy catching her breath, She realized that the air is thinner."Okay I'm not that used to this kind of thin air, it feels a bit thinner than the one I'm used too."Eclipse said between breaths. She soon caught her breaths and Then looked excited at corliu when she asked about their magic."Umm, do i have to use a target or show it off?"She asked. She was wondering if she should fire her magic at a target or.... something.

Lily
Lily followed surdinal, but waited for him to land, She flew around in a circular pattern first and Then went up an Dived nose first to the ground, but once she got close enough to the grout she spreaded her wings to slow herself and Then landed gracefully on the ground. her Feathers Ruffled a bt, by the oncoming wind and smiled as she felt the breeze. Lily looked at Surdina and smiled."Sure thing Surdinal sir."She said. She breathes in and Releases Veil of Mist from her own maw.

 

[Takka]

As Barradain and Fea entred the lava room, young dragon stood silently admiring the interior. After a while, when she realized that the teacher wanted her to attack him, basilisk shuddered, not knowing what to do with this fact.

*Try with the beak? Claws? Wings? He will probably strike back! Maybe I should think more how to avoid his attack lest it crush me?* She looked uncertainly at the old dragon, swallowing nervously. *Probably it's some kind of entrance exam. What if I fail? Will it be possible to try again then? Although if I fail once, won't the situation repeat itself a second time?*

For sure, far too often, and indebtedness, Fea had analyzed certain things. And basilisk would probably have continued it if she hadn't noticed that he was waiting. And it was better not to delay what was to come. Finally, with a kind of battle scream, female accelerated and flew up right next to elder, trying to scratch him with her claws. A silver bracelet on one of her legs gleamed, reflecting a red light of lava.


Hazmat44
(Sorry for that long.)

 

[Hazmat44]

Kirsey could clearly and precisely feel Qurietsu staring at him and Chusi. He maintained the pose, careful to angle every scale he could manage in such a way that he attained maximum shininess. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Chusi. She appeared to be squatting on a rock, while simultaneously cringing inward. On a very distracting level it was quite impressive, but a small part of him felt bad for her.

"Alright, stop," Qurietsu sighed, her tail flicking about. Kirsey stopped posing, watching her attentively.

She got off her rock and started pacing. "Neither of you seem to understand what posing is for."

Kirsey was stunned. He posed almost constantly! How could he not know what it was for!? He practically invented it! But it was an Elder dragon, and he wasn't stupid enough to try and correct her.

"You," Qurietsu said, glaring at Kirsey. "You seem to think it is so you can shine brighter than anyone else. Were your claws on display? Were your fangs bared? Were your wings splayed in a canvas of projection and intimidation? You show your scales off as though they are the only part of you that matter. Do you really believe the only thing of value about you is the shine you possess?"

Her voice was loaded with something approaching scorn, and Kirsey practically recoiled. He wasn't - that wasn't why...

...why did he pose?

Leaving him to his thoughts, Qurietsu turned her attention to Chusi. "Your pose told me much about yourself. Your claws were tucked inwards, and although your head was held high the rest of you lacked stance. Your claws can be sharp enough to tear through space itself, but if you fail to believe you deserve to bear them, they may as well be dull as stone."

She raised her head proudly, and Kirsey noticed her claws curl outward, scoring the stone she walked upon. "We are dragons. The right to exist belongs to everything that breathes, and nothing moreso than ourselves. Kirsey, you lay all your worth in your shine and naught else; Chusi, your insecurity erodes at your ego until nothing but senseless anger could drive your claws to their targets. Do you have to fight to prove you exist, or is it not enough to simply be?"

Quriestsu ran a claw through the air, and a thin line was drawn. It wavered at the edges, purple and black writhing in space. Lazily pushing a claw in, she removed two things from it and tossed them at the dragonets' feet. They were both claw polish, but unlike any Kirsey had seen before. His was a dismal gray, clashing with his silver; Chusi's was an iridescent crimson that matched her fur brilliantly. "Apply that to your claws daily, and they will sharpen alongside you." She ordered. "Kirsey, your ego needs pruning; like anything else that grows it must be moderated, not allowed to grow out of control. Chusi, you must understand that genuine strength and true beauty are often synonymous. How can your enemies fear you if even you dislike yourself?"

TheSpeck

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Surdinal watched Lily closely, observing the way she breathed mist out. "Good," He muttered, and a layer of fog began dripping between his teeth. "Good, very good."

Then he took a breath, a great inhale that seemed to briefly empty the beach of air. His cavernous chest inflated greater for a moment, and his eyes flashed for a brief moment before lowering his head to the sand and opening his mouth.

A great torrent of thick white fog erupted from it, coating the beach in a cloud in an instant. The fog rapidly spread out and in only seconds, the ocean was covered as well.

Surdinal stood straight, his shape a vague monolith atop the shadow-struck sands. "Ye have a decent base. Solid amount of mist, very nice for a dragonet. But ye don't really seem to take the breaths before the big one into account."

Lowering himself to the sand in front of Lily, he awkwardly scratched his cheek with a clawed wingtip. "See, it don't really matter if ye can breathe fire or lightnin' or whatever. It's the breaths before that matter." He tilted his head thoughtfully. "Huh, that's a decent motto. Remember that."

Shrugging it off, he told her, "Take a deep breath like yer ribs are gonna crack and empty it entirely, over and over and over - in yer sleep, if you can manage that. The more ye do that, the more yer innards can adjust. Yer lungs get bigger and stronger, yer throat gets better at directing it, your - I dunno what to call it. Yer mind's breath? The stuff ye want to breathe, even if ye can't yet. That stuff gets better too. So think about it - you got mist, use that. Take a deep breath..."

He opened his mouth wide, the hinges at the base of his jaw dislocated, and he began to breathe in. It started as a dull hiss and then built into a roar as fog rushed inward, a torrent of damp air and cloudstuff funneling into his mouth until the beach was clear once more. Snapping his jaws shut, he swallowed and gave her a grin. "...and ye might find most of your problems go away. Give it a shot, will ye? Ye can't never have too much practice breathing right."

Mirai-chan (Lily)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Barradain waited for Fea to finish the attack, glanced down at the inifinitesimal scratch adorning the side of his forearm, and then down at the basilisk who had given it to him.

He flared his wings wide as he reared with claws flexing, sending a cavernous gale of wind through the cave, and roared at the top of his lungs, "EXCELLENT!"

Barradain actually seemed to be almost giggling in excitement as he more closely observed the scratch Fea had dealt. Bringing his massive head around to face her, he lowered his head with teeth glittering in a gleeful smile. "I had thought I would have to teach that to you like the ones before, but no! You did not attempt surrender or flattery. You didn't even ask a question!"

A great shiver ran along his spine. "And that screech! It was smaller than you, but you put your all into it! That is how you do a war cry!"

He dropped onto his stomach with an almighty thud that shook the cave, claws bigger than Fea's entire body flexing in excitement. "Ahhh, I haven't been this excited in years. You will crush mountains one day, tiny one. Mountains."

Turning his head, Barradain dipped a forearm into one of the lava pools, uncaring of the temperature. He had to fish around for a moment, but he finally withdrew something small and round.

He dropped it in front of Fea. It was singed beyond recognition, a bumpy and blackened ball with a hard surface. "Crack that open and eat what's inside," He ordered her. "It will help you grow with your inner strength. Of course, you'd only gain a foot or two every year if you didn't have my methods!"

Barradain paused, remembering something. "It will taste vile," he shamelessly admitted. "Like a toad that has been dead for many years, and fermented in rancid milk for half of them. But strength is never free, eh?"

T Takka

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

 

[Takka]

Barradain was already huge, but when he lowered down his gigantic head Fea freezed in fear. She was looking at his sharp teethes that were now closer to her and seemed to be much bigger.

However he was excited…and somehow proud? (Which was obviously good, and for sure better then him being disappointed). This calmed her a bit. And at the same time embarrassed beige dragon. Fea wasn’t very good at taking praises.

*Maybe I will really become something…” female thought *maybe there’s chance for me.* she seemed to be truly grateful. With every second she was feeling even more confident and excited as Barradain.

“You will crush mountains one day, tiny one. Mountains." he said. “Alright!” she replied.

Then her new teacher gave her from lava something to eat. Something strange that supposed to give her strength and taste like a old toad. Fea wasn’t big fan of those but if someone have been offering her one to eat, she wouldn’t mind. The more expense description of ball’s taste gave her quite a lot of doubt.

But she decided to listen to him, so Fea stood with one leg on round thing,and with her yellow beak began to peck it to crack it. After it happened she was she stared at what was inside. Although last time she didn’t asked this time she just had to; “What is… this thing? Immediately after that, she began to slowly try to eat it. It was as disgusting as she had guessed.

Hazmat44

 

[TheSpeck]

Being called out by someone who barely knew her made Chusi uncomfortable, causing her to shrink back a bit as she made her way off the rock. As she picked up the polish in front of her and stared at it in confusion, she thought of what Qurietsu said.

Yeah she didn't like herself very much, she looked like a furry worm with arms and ears. All she did was drag herself across the floor, bound to the earth like the lowly being she was. Of course she knew she was being harsh with herself, no one ever told her she was useless, and she knew her life was good for something, she just couldn't find what it was. She could fly, but she wasn't supposed to be able to. A friend of hers taught her how through the use of magic, most of her kind travelled on their bellies, but most of her kind also had scales so they didn't pick up dead leaves and sticks as easy.

How would liking herself make her dangerous anyway? She just wanted other dragons to think she wasn't as worthless as a sack of pebbles. She didn't need to like herself to do that.

All she had to do was prove she was enough. She needed to.

...She needed to?

Hazmat44

 

[Hazmat44]

"I assure you," Barradain said with the first hint of distaste in his tone since he'd brought Fea here, "You do not want to know. But it will help you grow stronger, and larger too." He frowned slightly, looming over her. "It will taste worse as it goes on. You must eat its innards all at once, or no gift will be given."

T Takka

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Corilu winced at the forgotten detail, and after some thought indicated a pillar of stone some distance away. "Should it take the form of a projectile, aim at that," She told both dragonets. "Take care not to injure each other."

She wasn't worried about her tower. It was covered in enough defensive wards to take a hit from a Progenitor, something she was rather proud of.

Only one strike, though. Progenitors were not to be underestimated...

BlackDove Mirai-chan (Eclipse)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Kirsey fel the corner of his snout curl up in distaste as he picked the hideous gray claw polish off the ground. "I'm supposed to wear this?"

Qurietsu's teeth bared in a vicious grin, her tail flopping from one side to the other. Centered in the mirrored cave as she was, it was all but impossible not to look at her. "Indeed you shall."

"But it- it doesn't go with my scales! Chusi's makes her look prettier than she already is!" He found himself complaining. To an Elder. Had he eaten something spoiled for breakfast?

"It is for that purpose that I gave you both your colours!" She happily preened in reply, ignoring the complaint. "Yours shall prune your ego, just as I said. Chusi, it should be quite a bit more difficult to hide when every male near your age cannot look away - in fact, I think I should give you a complete makeover once our training is done. Yes, that should drive the point home quite nicely..."

She flexed her claws impressively. "Now then, both of you; put the polish on and begin scratching the stone. Claws do not sharpen themselves, now do they?"

TheSpeck

 

[BlackDove]

This situation here was the reason why Miea knew it was going to be a bad day.
‘i really should have just taken the damn potion’
They mentally wailed. Their many eyes frantically looking from the elder to their new classmate of sorts.
The thing is, Miea only knew one sort of magic.
and that was the act of disappearing. Logically it made sense for a dragonling that’s constantly hiding to have the ability to simply disappear.
Advantageous even, some would say they were designed that way.
The truth however is that Miea spent so much time into studying their ability that they became a master at being unseen.
Primarily due to their long learned Flight over fight instincts and their natural small disposition.

so of course they had absolutely no idea how to make this into an offensive ability.
Glancing once again helplessly back at the elder, they could feel their shifting scales turn nearly black with embarrassment.

with claws digging into the ground beneath them, they activated notice me not, and waited. Cringing with shoulders up and snoot bowed low.

 

[Mirai-chan]

Eclipse
Eclipse nods and then lifts one claw up and then aims at the pillar, She puts some energy into her isce magic and fires it at the pillar, and soon as the blue projectile hit the pillar some small ice appears on the side of it and Ecelipse frowned."Awe man."'She said. Eclipse wanted to get her ice magic strong, but she doesn't know how to do that.

Lily
Lily looked at barraadain in Awe, never had she Seen This Dragon breath this much Fog before and She smiled at the compliment."Thank you."She said. she listened to what barridan had said, but lily never had to breath in a lot, Guess she was going to try. "Got it."She said in affirming. but when she saw his Jaw thing dislocate a bit."You okay?"she asked. She then Start Taking in a Deep breath, She Breaths in so much, that it hurted and Then Released a Medium sized gust of air and then breathes in Again and out again.

 

[TheSpeck]

Chusi's face felt hot as the two argued, a deep red color creeping across her face, though thankfully it was covered by her fur. It was odd to her, she thought being called pretty would make her feel better, but she actually felt worse. She didn't know why, maybe it was because they were probably lying, or that she didn't like being noticed, or that Kirsey was clearly irritated about her getting a nice color and him not... The thought of herself being pretty was unsettling as it was... She knew the solution, draw the attention away from herself. She didn't like that they were acknowledging her existence. But how?

Maybe she could try to make Kirsey feel better? She wasn't very good at that though. Once she tried to comfort someone after a break up and she ended up making them cry. That was a bad day.

"It's alright Kirsey, I'm sure it won't be that bad... You're very shiney and pretty as it is, and some dragons like dull claws.." She mumbled, so quiet that it almost seemed as if she wasn't meant to be heard. She was hoping maybe he would forget about her if he didn't care about the polish anymore.

Chusi took some of the polish that was given to her. She wasn't sure how this worked.... It was kind of confusing, maybe she should just put it on like the claw paint her sister used to wear?

With a little polish on her right hand, she unsheathed her left hands claws, flexing them enough so her fur wouldn't get in the way of her polish. She started to gently rub her claws with the crimson polish, the colors changing as she continued. Was she even doing this right?

"I don't- I don't know how to put polish on..." She said, but continued to apply the polish so she would be ready to scratch the stones. She didn't want to slow anyone down.

Hazmat44

 

[Hazmat44]

Corilu intently watched Miea through the distraction spell. For a dragonet, it was remarkably effective, but Miea was a dragonet and Corilu was... well, Corilu. Magic was breath to her, as simple and easy as the unconscious action of inhaling and exhaling. "That's quite good," she softly remarked. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but you seem to be focusing more on going unnoticed than actual disappearing. If you concentrate your inner strength on vanishing, instead of simply not been seen, then you may well be able to completely turn invisible. I shouldn't doubt you'll fully master it within a month or two."

The ice projectile Eclipse launched was slow, but not without effect. It sent ice crystals frosting the stone over, smaller fractals expanding outward. Corilu outwardly appeared relaxed, but her eyes practically dissected the spell bit by bit, analyzing the way Eclipse had created it, observing the snow shedding off of it as it flew, its speed, its size, every infinitesimal detail about the ice spell from start to finish. It was rough, but Eclipse had clearly practiced it. Unfortunately, she seemed to have not been taught how to cast such magic, but that was what Corilu was for, after all.

"Interesting," Corilu murmured. "You know, you can adjust the spell to absorb ambient mana from the air. It'll stay together much better as it moves, and should go a little faster. If anything it might grow as it goes."

She blinked out of her reverie, giving both of them a sincere smile. "Alright, I think I know where to start. Please come into my home, I'd very much like to discuss your magicks in a little more depth."

Mirai-chan BlackDove

Surdinal grinned at Lily as the dragonet huffed and puffed. "Good, good, great job. That's all the practice you need for now, that's like... that's the most important practice you can do. It'll help you relax, it'll help you breathe better, it'll help - well, it'll help with everything!"

He slumped, wrapping his wings around himself and curling his tail over his nose. "Keep doin' that for a bit, I'm taking a nap."

Mirai-chan

Qurietsu slightly jumped, excitedly heading over to Chusi. "I'm going to help you with that, little gemstone. There are right ways and wrong ways to put claw polish on and girrrrl, you clearly have never done this before."

Kirsey almost growled. Somehow Chusi had harbored Qurietsu's favor, and he honestly had no idea how. It was difficult to be mad at the dragonet when she complimented him, though, and she seemed to be genuinely trying to make him feel better, which was very kind of her.

With an irritable sigh, he hunkered down and started applying the gray claw polish. Regardless of how he felt about it, he of course had plenty of practice applying claw polish, and to his smug annoyance, not the slightest bit of his magnificent silver was able to shine through the polish. Now that it was on his claws, he could actually see the hideous bumps in it.

He shot Chusi a jealous glare. Qurietsu was a professional preener - there was no way she didn't have at least a few techniques that got polish applied in such a way that it gave off maximum shine for minimum polish used.

He badly wanted to know those methods.

TheSpeck

 

[Takka]

“Done…” Fea announced after eating everything that was inside the old-toad thing; somehow she managed it. Female could still taste the foul taste in her beak, which was perfectly reflected by her contorted face. She hoped that everything would go well and that she wouldn't have to eat more of these things in future.

“Should I feel ... I don't know ... more powerful now?” feathered dragon looked up at her teacher. She was kind scared and at the same time confused.

Fea flapped her wings a few times to see if she was stronger. Rather no change. At least not big enough for her to fly away. But who knows? Maybe a weird nasty thing needed a while to fully boost up her skills?

 

[TheSpeck]

A shy smile crept onto Chusi's face as Qurietsu made her way over. She chuckled slightly at Qurietsu's comment, a little embarrassed but feeling better than she did before, "Yeah I have no idea what I'm doing..."

She felt more comfortable with the two now, since she realized they weren't acting in a threatening way, but to her dismay Kirsey didn't seem to be feeling much better. She hoped he wasn't angry at her... She didn't need any enemies at the moment.

But, instead of worrying herself over Kirsey's wellbeing, she focused on Qurietsu. She was the one who was speaking to her after all, she could worry about Kirsey when they spoke later.

If he didn't hate her already.


Hazmat44

 

[Hazmat44]

"That fast?" Barradain replied, clearly bemused. "Can you imagine how much that'd hurt? No, it's not instant. Here's the real trick - focus inward." Rearing back until his head nearly touched the ceiling, Barradain tapped one of his massive claws in the center of his chest. It clinked as it did. "You should be able to feel a spark now, a little bit of new fire you've never felt before. Feed it something. Ambition, anger, disappointment, jealousy, anything! Even pride works. Negativity might douse it, though, so try not to get too sad or you'll shrink to a smaller size than you already are..."

He seemed pensive at the thought, but shook it away quickly enough. "Make the flame grow. It will help you grow larger than you ever dreamed."

T Takka

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Qurietsu's tail lashed from side to side as she applied the crimson polish to Chusi's claws, casually chattering the entire time with her back to Kirsey. "-after which I cut the thing in half. Metal is so much softer than it used to be, isn't it? It's probably something to do with the outer economy, you have no idea how bad it gets when the adjacents get going. The greedier ones are so dumb, I swear. It's like they're dragons but without claws or teeth or scales. And the ones that do have those things barely know how to use them!"

Kirsey grumpily put the polish on his claws, still cringing at the hideous appearance. He couldn't help feeling the slightest curl of resentment at the amount of attention Qurietsu was giving Chusi. Obviously it wasn't her fault, but he could hardly blame Qurietsu - she was an Elder!

But without anywhere to vent his slowly growing irritation, he barely felt it as his hackles ever so slightly raised. He didn't even notice the sly grin Qurietsu had on her face when she glanced at him.

TheSpeck

(ok, so unfortunately due to the Corilu convo getting behind we're going to have to put a slight pause until Mirai gets into Corilu's house. If BlackDove comes along, sorry.)

 

[Takka]

“Make the flame glow”

*Flame?* Fea started thinking quietly to herself *How I’m supposed to? For sure right now I should feel something to do that… metaphore.” She sat down and continued thinking “What do I feel now? I… don’t know. It’s pretty good that I have now teacher, that something is going on, life is also fine… so maybe happiness?”

Female stopped for a moment and looked at lava, without any meaningful thoughts. It was red and seemed to be able meltdown anything…

*Maybe let’s stay with the happiness.* She decided *I’m happy for my family, happy that I have a silver bracelet* with a slight smile, she looked at it. The ornament was still reflecting red. *Happy that I came here, and of course happy for getting teacher!* Dragoness seemed to be more sure about this. She stopped and stood up with a spark in her eyes. She felt more confident.

*Yeah, I’m happy and lucky to be who I am!* Fea stated *and I need to used this to make the flame before this feeling gets ruined.”

Hazmat44

 

[Mirai-chan]

Eclipse
Eclipse nods at the comment that corilu had said She was surprised at What she said and Sighed A bit, She gotta work on her magic."Thanks, Miss.Corliu"She said. The feathered Dragon heads To Corilu's Home.

Lily
Lily Sighed at That Sudinural was Taking a nap ad She Keeps on With breathing and It was painful but she was slowly managing it happily.

 

[Hazmat44]

Corilu led Eclipse into her home, indicating the appropriately sized cup of tea and the snack sitting beside it. The interior of Corilu's tower was small, but cozy, with bookshelves craning over one side, loaded down with literature and knickknacks. The back of the house opened out onto a covered porch, allowing daylight to stream in, and a fireplace quietly simmered before a pair of chairs and a short table.

Meandering over to the side, she removed two books and placed them on the table before Eclipse. "This one is Missed Formations, written by a very old dragon a very long time ago, and this one is called Magic And Ourselves, written by... well, myself. I'd advise perusing them. There's quite a bit of advice in there on how to manipulate magic, and Missed Formations should assist with your specific type."

Coiling up into a gigantic couch-chair hybrid, Corilu placed a pair of reading glasses on the tip of her snout and selected a book of her own, a shockingly thick volume entitled 'Mana Recirculation In Badelraedic Stratospheres', and flicked it open to somewhere in the middle. "Make yourself comfortable," She advised Eclipse. "We're likely to be here for some time. I do hope you enjoy the snacks."

Before she began reading, her gaze drifted past Eclipse and out the back window. A furrow appeared in her forehead, and she half-rose from her chair. "What is-"

There was a great THOOM as a flaming ball of rock crashed into the wards coating Corilu's house, shattering on impact and sending rubble raining down on her flowers. Corilu shut her book and got off her couch, heading in the direction it'd come from. "Eclipse, stay where you are."

Craning her head out the window, she looked down into the vallew from the cliff her house sat on and squinted. Her reading glasses shimmered briefly, and her vision sharpened. At the very edge of Illycrium, where the border of the dragons' haven met the barrier, a hole had opened. Humanoid figures poured through the gap, armaments and artillery springing up almost like magic, and flooding outward into Illycrium.

Her eyes were uncharacteristically cold as she removed her reading glasses, and she reached over to her side to pick up a pair of ornate metal clawlets. Sliding them onto her own, she told Eclipse, "Get what you need from your home. You only have a minute."

The clawlets glinted for a fraction of a second, and Eclipse vanished from Corilu's home with the two books she'd been given, sent back to her home. Corilu ran to the tower section of her house and threw the door open, rushing to the large dais at its center. A perfect model of Illycrium filled it, complete with minuscule names inscribed in flaming ink gently moving around. It was by far her greatest creation.

She began scanning it for the dragonets.

Mirai-chan (Eclipse)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Kirsey finished applying the scale polish and grimaced. It looked terrible... but it'd been properly applied. If anyone asked he could probably explain with little to no effort - even a novice groomer would've been able to tell the polish, however abysmal, had been professionally put on.

He glanced at Qurietsu and Chusi. The Elder had finished putting the glossy crimson polish on Chusi's claws, and the dragonet looked prettier than ever. While Kirsey had been stuck with the garbage limestone glue.

This was not the first day he had wanted.

He slumped down with a sigh, glaring at his claws. He couldn't believe he was thinking it, but he'd have done just about anything to have this day over already.

A whisper snuck into the cave, and then expanded into a shout. "QURIETSU! There are invaders attacking Illycrium on the west north-west side. Go! I shall be there soon."

Kirsey straightened, alarmed. That was Corilu's voice! And - invaders!? Who was dumb enough to try and invade against dragons!? "What's going-"

The voice rotated, if such a thing could happen. "Chusi, Kirsey, collect what you need from your homes. You have one minute. Necessities only!"

Kirsey didn't even have time to complain before he found himself back home, in his own little room. He had an enormous number of questions that needed immediate answering, but one thing took up the forefront of his concern.

Corilu had said the invaders were on the west north-west side of Illycrium.

Which was where he lived.

TheSpeck

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Surdinal had in fact begun to fall asleep when Corilu's voice thundered from somewhere above his head. "Surdinal, Illycrium is being invaded. Qurietsu is already heading there, but I've not yet alerted Barradain. Hurry!"

He yawned, stretching as he rose. Invaders... probably humans. Or elves. Or dwarves. It hadn't been the first time one of the idiot races had tried to take on Illycrium, but it sounded like they'd breached the barrier. Interesting. And supposedly impossible.

"Lily, get what you need from home. You only have a minute to collect it all, we can't waste time."

Surdinal glanced over just in time to see his student (who had actually been growing on him) vanish in a twisting mirror of iridescent light. He blinked, slightly thrown, and then shrugged. With a great flap of his massive wings, he started flapping off to find Qurietsu, inhaling the beginnings of what was likely to be a gale's worth of breath.

Perhaps he'd get a snack while he was there.

Mirai-chan (Lily)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Barradain was proudly watching Fea do whatever she was doing to make her flame grow when Corilu's alert came through. "Barradain, there are invaders. They're blocking my scry, which means they've probably got some sort of device. It'd have to be big. Break it when you find it."

The massive dragon's interest was piqued, to say the least. "INVADERS!?" He bellowed, a jet of flame erupting from the twin slits at the end of his snout. "THEIR BONES WILL BE AS DUST."

"That's good, Barradain. Fea! I'm about to send you home. Collect the barest necessities you might need for a trip - perhaps some food. You'll only have a minute!"

"I could drop her off at-" Barradain began to volunteer, but Fea had already vanished. He shrugged inwardly, and left the boiling heat of his personal training cave. Powerful wings raised and then snapped down, launching him from his perch in a single burst of motion. He looked upward and outward and identified a trail of smoke, gradually growing into a column, and began to fly towards it.

In spite of the urgency, a spark of excitement began feeding his own fire, and Barradain began to swell even larger with muscle. Peace was all well and good, but it took a great roaring fight to get his blood pumping, and this was already shaping up to be one.

T Takka

(Whoo boy, that was a big post. The real plot's getting started now! You could say everything up to this point was a prologue of sorts. Let's do this thing!)

 

[TheSpeck]

Chusi listened to Qurietsu as she spoke, chuckling or laughing when a joke was told or commenting when it seemed she should. If she were honest, half the things Qurietsu was talking about she didn't understand, but it was alright with her, the company was nice.

She watched closely as the claw polish was put on, taking mental notes of any technique she could so she might be able to repeat it later. When Qurietsu finished she smiled, "thank you so much."

Her claws looked pretty, a lot prettier than before at least. They were smooth and glossy. It was an odd feeling, liking apart of herself. It wasn't like when she thought someone else was pretty, it was different... Like-

Her thoughts were interrupted by a voice, a loud voice that made her flinch as if she'd been bit in the snout. The anxiety she felt a moment ago flared inside her, causing her to feel as if she couldn't breath.

"I- invaders? What's goin-?!"

She was back home. How was she back home?! Maybe she was dreaming or maybe she was going insane!

Either way, Qurietsu said she had one minute, so she didn't waste it and started gathering her things.

She opened her satchel which was already half filled with items like feathers and rocks, then dumped it's contents to make a good amount of space.

In the end she collected what she could carry: a hair brush, a sweater that she had wriggled her way into so she could save space in her bag, some food, a water skin she made and filled with water, a blanket that she packed tightly into the bag, a needle with thread that she used to make clothing when needed, and, despite the fact she was told to only bring nessecary items, she took a small old stuffed rotting bear plush she named rat. It wasn't much but it was all she could carry, and those were the only items that were really important anyway.


She firmly planted herself on the ground, freshly polished claws digging into the soil, and started counting. It took her 46 seconds to collect what she had, and if nothing happened in 14 more, then she would go find a therapist because she was probably insane.

"It's ok, I'm ok." She said, her voice a miniature and hushed version of itself.

Hazmat44

 

[BlackDove]

Miea shrunk into themselves at the observation. Of course they knew their abilities were weak. they were weak but to hear it in a …not negative sounding way had their scales swirling with contentment. A bubble of hope beginning to swell inside their chest:

That is, of course, when shit began to hit the fan.

Large glittering eyes flashed frantically at the commotion and body on high alert.

Invaders? Here?

Miea thought. Body trembling with pounding of their heart.