Black Hearts (Gemini)

Corrode flew through the midnight sky, his dark coloration making him nigh invisible against the star-studded cosmos above him. He intended to meet up with Gemini to hunt for the night, and was headed towards their meeting point. The Nightwing Queen was the best (and only true) friend he had ever since he awoke from hibernation a month ago. She had already been a great friend during what Corrode liked to call the old times, but her support for him during these tough times is what ultimately helped him pull through.

Corrode arrived at the meetup point early, and waited for Gemini to arrive.

Gemini quickly flew out of her palace, and streaked towards Corrode's and her meeting point for their nightly hunt. The EarthWing had been hibernating for a long time, and Gemini was one of the first to find him and comfort him when he woke up and discovered Ellet and Shrillix, his son and mate, had disappeared. She felt bad for the EarthWing. She really did, but feelings couldn't bring them back. She didn't even know WHERE they went. They probably had gotten lost, or even worse, died, but she didn't want to voice it out, for fear it might be actually true.

She landed with a light thud next to the dark-colored dragon, and smiled, her strange eyes fixed on Corrode. "Sorry I'm late," she said. "I had a few errands I needed to finish. Shall we start the hunt now?"

Corrode turned his head to look at Gemini as she landed. He smiled fondly at her, an emotion he only really displayed around her. At this point he had accepted the fact that he will never see his beloved Shrillix or Ellet ever again, but it was the moving on phase that he was having the most trouble with. Everytime he stepped into his room in the Hidden Kingdom, he was reminded of the shabby dug-out hole in a cave wall inside the Earthwing Tribal home.

Thinking about the place brought memories of Ellet's trainee ceremony rushing into his mind, but he was quick to shake them off, before they overtook him.

"It's alright, Gemini. I was here early anyways." Corrode said, taking a few seconds to scan the forest around them. "Do you want to lead ahead this time, or should I?"

Gemini pursed her lips in thought. "You can lead. I have absolutely no clue what we're hunting for." She sweatdropped. "Sorry. You start, and I'll follow what you're doing, ok?" She crouched down and tasted the air quickly. "But I smell buffalo. How about we head there first? They should have plenty of tasty food there."

~Short post ~

Corrode took a deep draft of the air. Yes, it certainly did smell like there was a herd of buffalo nearby. In truth, Corrode was just planning on stalking through the forest as he usually did when he hunted, killing the first game animal he'd come across, but going hunting for something specific was a welcome change in his routine.

Corrode stretched his neck and legs to prepare himself for an entire night spent stalking through the forest, and started walking in the direction of the buffalo herd. He'd maintain at least a coupe meters ahead as he made himself as low to the ground as he could. His mixed Earthwing and Nightwing blood meant that his body had the compactness and maneuverability of a Nightwing's, but he still carried the full size, strength, and musculature of a Earthwing his age. This made him capable of stealth that no other Earthwing could match.

After about half an hour of stalking through the forest, Corrode stopped suddenly, a clearing just past the trees ahead of them. In the clearing, an entire herd of buffalo was grazing. Corrode motioned for Gemini to come to his side with his tail as he came up with a plan.

Gemini crept up next to the large EarthWing. "So what's the game plan?" she whispered. "Because I have one." She drew a few shapes down on the ground with the tip of her claw. "Here's the buffalo," she pointed at a circle. "And here is us," she pointed at an x. "How about, I go creep around and draw one of the buffaloes away? Then you can attack it, and then we can feast." Her strange eyes fixed on him. "How about it?"


~Still kinda short post ~

When Gemini came up to his side, Corrode lifted a wing and put it over her to reduce how visible the two dragons were right next to each other. He heard out her plan, and nodded. It was a sound game plan. Given, buffalo weren't exactly hard targets, seeing as how Corrode pushed 140 feet. Still, the surprise was necessary, since Corrode didn't think Gemini could eat the buffalo if he caught it his usual way.

"Alright, go. I'll pounce when you start the commotion." He said, and lifted his wing off of her so she could move away.

(yeah, I don't blame ya)

~~

Gemini nodded, and crept out from under his wing. She dissolved halfway through her leap, and slunk into a shadow, not even seen in the night sky. When she got close enough, she saw a large buffalo at the end of the herd, and got ready to pounce. Her shadow dissolved, and she leaped at the buffalo, and batted at it, which sent it galloping the other way. She followed it, and led it towards Corrode's direction, giving a nod, signaling for him to leap. Now! she thought telepathically.

(I'm assuming the buffalos are bigger than they are in real life, right? Just one wouldn't feed two dragons otherwise)

Corrode didn't need the telepathic signal, he was already out of the trees and charging at the buffalo as soon as Gemini started leading it. The Buffalo tried to break to the left, but Corrode was too quick. He caught it in the side with the top of his snout, piercing its chest with the curved, short horn he had there. The buffalo skidded to the side, before bucking forwards and headbutting Corrode.

Corrode quickly recovered and pounced on it, knocking it over and pinning it to the ground with his claws. He bit it in the neck, and held on until the beast carried no more life in it. Breathing heavily, he pulled his snout back, which was slick with blood.

"You first, Gemini. Eat while I catch my breath."

~Sorry for posting so late... ~

Gemini smiled kindly at the large EarthWing. "Thank you," she said. "That's very kind of you." She crouched down by the haunches and bit in, savoring the flavor of the buffalo. She licked her chops, her gold and silver eyes glittering. "Come on Corrode," she called to him. "Dig in! It's delicious." Ripping off a leg, she began gnawing it, and when she finished, she stood up. "So, what do you want to do after this?" She added hastily. "After you finish eating, of course."

Corrode finished catching his breath, his breathing stabilizing to a much more regular rythm as he set upon eating the Buffalo. He bit into the Buffalo's side, the acid in his saliva allowing him to promtly tear off an entire section of ribs. It started to dissolve in his mouth, and he sped the process up by chewing.

After a couple more bites, he found the answer to Gemini's question. "Theres...*Mmm*...there's a hot spring not too far away from here. It would be good to get all this blood and dirt off. " He started, pausing to take yet another bite. He swallowed, and looked over to Gemini with his solid green, glowing eyes.

"I know that's usually not in our itenerary, but there's...there's something important I need to discuss with you."

Gemini blinked. Something he had to tell her...? She cocked her head. She had to admit, she WAS curious. "We can discuss it at the hot springs," she promised. "First, I'd love to wash myself off. This dirt and mud is making it really difficult to move." She looked around, and blinked. "Erhhh... where exactly is the hot springs? I don't remember seeing any hot springs around here... but then I haven't really explored this part very much."

"They're not far from here, in a small cave. I stumbled across the entrance sometime before my...hibernation." He said, licking some of the blood off of his muzzle. Subconsciously, he used her complaint of being covered in dirt as an excuse to give her a quick looking over from where he was.

"The entrance has probably collapsed by now, but the springs are probably still good. Those caves were beautiful, I remember going there many times."

Gemini nodded. "Let's go then!" And she bounded ahead of him.


RANDOMLY GOING TO SPRING. MAINLY BECAUSE I HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO CLUE WHAT TO PUT NEXT.

Gemini relaxed in the spring, sighing deeply. Her eyes were half-shut in pleasure, and she sank snout deep in the pool. Diving in, she touched the bottom, before coming up like a rocket. "This is so nice," she grinned.

Corrode nodded, about a wing's distance away at her side.

The cave was just like he had remembered it form before. The ceiling was covered in this lightly glowing blue moss, and large, bioluminescent mushrooms sprouted up from the cave floor in random locations. Due to the unique composition of the water, the surface had a very light covering of the same glowing blue algae.

Corrode closed his eyes, leaning his head against the rim of the hot spring.

"Every bit as great as I remembered it." He commented, allowing himself to drift slightly closer to Gemini.

He swallowed his courage. Here it came, the moment he had been dreading for the past few months. At first, he tried to deny it, but he eventually came to realize that if he had to move on, drastic steps would need to be taken.

"Listen...about that thing I needed to talk to you about...I've been thinking..." He trailed off, momentarily losing his tongue out of sheer nervousness.

Gemini blinked. "Oh yeah! That." She settled herself in the water, gazing at Corrode with curious eyes. "What's it that you want to tell me..?"

Inside her head, her mind was whirling. Where were all these feelings coming from? She had a mate before, but he had died, and she believed that she could never love again (besides her family, of course). But old feelings were somehow resurfacing for the large EarthWing. What was he going to ask her? She had to bite her tongue to keep herself from saying anything.

Corrode's eyes scanned the water they were in as if it would reveal the proper course of action to him. Of course, with these things, there were never any truly right or wrong actions.

"These past few months have been incredibly hard on me, and I fear I wouldn't have made it without your help. Moving on has been...rough...but you've been there every step of the way for me, and I can't value that enough. You're the greatest friend I could have ever hoped to have, but I don't want to draw the line there, Gemini..." He said, the words finally coming out of him.

He drifted even closer, until only a few feet seperated their snouts.

"...I have to find someone else, and...I couldn't possibly fathom being with anyone else but you, Gemini."

He locked his eyes onto hers, simultaneously excited for and fearful to hear her response.

Gemini's mouth opened into a silent gasp. The feelings returned, now stronger than ever. She smiled happily. "I can't imagine a life without you, too. Ever since you woke up from your hibernation, I've had these strange feelings... and now... I'm sure... I'm sure they're correct." She blinked. "But, will you come live with me.. or what? Because I can't leave my kingdom. They need me as their Queen." She snorted. "And I'm SO not passing my leadership down to Twilight or Nightstar." She shuddered. "I hate to imagine what would happen if I did.."

~Short post is short~

Corrode visibly relaxed when Gemini affirmed her feelings. If she had rejected him there, Corrode wouldn't have known what to do with himself. He would have been truly, irrevocably, alone.

He raised a claw to Gemini's muzzle, gently laying it on her lips just before she could finish speaking about the leadership issue. "Those are thoughts for tomorrow, Gemini. We should enjoy tonight."