Treasure of the Forgotten City (Private with Aviur)

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Since she was little, and even to this day, Inferno believed herself to be destined for greatness. A dragon that would fight better than any other. One that the queen herself would be proud to name as a FireWing soldier, or even a Sentinel for that matter.

And yet, here she was. Caught behaving much the same way dragonets of her age were expected to behave. Chasing field mice in a meadow on a dim afternoon. She’d captured, roasted, and eaten a few already, but the bored young dragon was simply biding her time until nightfall.

Rumor had it that there was something mystical about this meadow when the stars came out. That there was some sort of hidden treasure that would only reveal itself when darkness befell the land. A treasure so valuable that it would allow for a poor dragon to live out the rest of their life in aristocracy.

While gold and money were appreciated, what Inferno really wanted was an all-powerful weapon. Something that she could use to overthrow all of her enemies. Even if that wasn’t what she would find that night, her contingency was that she would obtain enough currency to then buy her dream weapon.

Maybe even something that could kill an EarthWing...that’d be great! Inferno thought.

After chasing another mouse until it scurried back into the safety of its burrow, the dragonet sat down in the middle of the flowery meadow. The tall grass reached halfway up her body, concealing her tail which was currently wrapped around her front talons.

The sun was still setting off in the distance, the light of it dancing off of her amber eyes while her scales complimented the orange horizon. She glared at the sun as if to match its intensity. As if she could make the burning ball of gas go down even faster through sheer willpower.

At the moment, Inferno hoped she wouldn’t die from boredom before having a chance to even look for her treasure.

Aviur listened carefully as the FireWing answered him, taking it all in. He felt InfernoClaw's eyes on him and tried to ignore it, keeping a stone cold glare on his face.

Forgotten? Good Astral, how long have they been down here? He wondered.

He analyzed his words, and then alarm bells started going off in his head. "He is a monster? You mean he's still alive?!" he demanded.

Now we really need to be leaving, his sensible side told him.

He listened some more, giving a nod when a nod was appropriate, and he tensed when the dragon tried to free himself. Cor?

Aviur opened his mouth to demand more questions, but he then felt a talon on his crimson shoulder. Inferno's voice filled his head and Aviur barely succeeded in not smiling as she called him Avi. Avi. He could get used to that.

Inferno winked, and Aviur caught on.

He didn't smile or give any reaction, but instead stood like a statue, keeping his eye on the FireWing as Inferno insulted him.

After she was done, Aviur nodded. "Alright, we'll let you out. Any sudden moves and I'll sever a limb." He then moved to the side and started trying to push the debri off his wing.

He seemed calm, but Aviur, on the inside, was squirming. His eyes occasionally subtly darted around the room, waiting for a flash of teeth or a shimmer off a black scale.

He wanted more answers. And he wanted them now.

(I've never had Aviur this brutal XD)

((Oh really? Well it certainly seems to be to Inferno's liking xD))

Inferno was undoubtedly impressed by Aviur’s threat to sever a limb. It was certainly brash of him, especially considering how wimpy he seemed earlier. Even if such a threat was empty, the young dragoness liked how he was speaking.

Part of her hoped that he would continue to talk like this after they made it out of here. Another strange part of her even wanted him to threaten her at some point, just so they could fight.

Putting such thoughts aside, Inferno placed her talons on the debris and helped lift it up enough for the trapped FireWing to pull his wing free. He stumbled towards the other side of the room before regaining his balance and standing with a very prim posture.

He looked to Inferno for a moment and nodded towards her, “thank you very much.” He shot a glance at Aviur, “I think you’ll soon find that the removal of my limbs won’t be necessary. Especially considering how helpful I am. This may be a wild guess, but am I right to assume you two are here for some sort of treasure?”

Inferno’s interest was piqued, and she opened her mouth to acknowledge his assumption. Her words were immediately swallowed, however, as a slow, eerie creaking noise emanated from the main hall. Cor ducked his head instinctively.

“Good gods. He may have found us.” The older FireWing backed up nervously. “We must escape from here.” He frantically looked around, checking the walls and examining the ceiling. To his dismay, there were no other exits to the room besides the door they came through.

Inferno rolled her eyes at the scurrying dragon, then checked on Aviur to make sure he wasn’t acting the same way.

“Pah, even if it is this Temur guy, who cares about some EbonWing anyway. I bet I could beat him with one talon behind my back.” The female dragonet approached the threshold of the room. She looked out into the hall, eyes scanning the large open area for anything other than the skeletons of dead dragons. When she didn’t see anyone, she laughed and looked back at Aviur and Cor. “Besides, he’s not even-”

When Inferno turned her head to look into the hall again, she came face to face with a pair of silver eyes surrounded by black scales.

“Moons!” the dragoness exclaimed and jumped back. Her ears lowered and her eyes widened, being stricken by a sudden wall of fear.

The EbonWing’s head rose, revealing just how large he was compared to the other dragons. His eyes practically shimmered through the darkness of the room, and he looked at everyone as though he were silently judging them all.

Or deciding how he’s going to disembowel us. Inferno thought, I need to act fast.

For a moment, it looked like the EbonWing was about to bare his fangs. In that instant, Inferno charged headfirst towards him and wrapped her arms around his neck. She pulled as hard as she could to try and bring him to the ground, digging her claws into his scales.

“Don’t try to fight!” Cor exclaimed, albeit a little too late.

The EbonWing growled, then grabbed his aggressor by the tail and yanked her off of him. He then flung her to the side in frustration. Inferno’s back smacked against one of the stone walls, knocking the breath out of her for the moment and causing her to gasp and put her talon to her chest.

“Run! Both of you, run!” Cor shouted before a cone of flames exited his mouth toward Temur.

The debri was lifted off Cor and he stumbled away. Aviur let the debri go while the male FireWing regained his composure, then spoke.

Aviur raised a brow at his words, but said nothing. He didn't trust this dragon.


Treasure? Oh crap.

Aviur's eyes darted to Inferno's face, scanning her visage. She didn't react as much as he thought she'd would. Surprising, considering Inferno was clearly hell bent on getting that treasure.


It made him.. sad, for a moment. She reminded him of himself.

Creaaaaaaaaaaaaak...

If Aviur had hairs on his neck and back, they'd have stood on end, as an eerie creak,followed by Cor's panicked voice, caused him to whirl around.

He managed to keep his cool as Inferno boasted about her fighting skills, keeping his gold eyes on that damned door. As Inferno approached the threshold, his eyes widened and he stepped towards her.

As Inferno opened her mouth and started talking, Aviur saw movement in front of her.

His eyes widened, and before Aviur could scream, Inferno attacked. For a moment, Aviur thought she was going to beat him up successfully, but then the Ebonwing growled and grabbed her by the tail. "Inferno!" Aviur found his voice and screamed as she was flung to the side.

Cor shouted something, but Aviur wasn't listening. His eyes were on Inferno, her poor body lying on the floor, talon to her crimson chest. His eyes were wide, pain and anger in his eyes.


Something snapped in Aviur, and he shifted his gaze to Temur, and Aviur growled.

" I'LL GODDAMN KILL YOU!"



Moving quickly, he leaped into the air, blasting flame on the ground,forming a tight circle around himself. Crimson flame surrounded Aviur, forming a wall around him, causing him to disappear into the flames.



For a moment, Aviur was gone inside the flames, then, he jumped out.


And he was made of fire.


Literally.


Aviur's entire body was coated in bright golden flames. His body seemed to not even be there anymore, there was just so much fire.

Aviur snarled at Temur, before he roared and leaped at him.


Stopping short, he blasted red hot flames at Temur capable of causing third-degree burns, if he was lucky, while his wings opened, sending a wall of fire at Temur's body, golden in color and crimson edged.

Aviur was very,very angry.

((Did we want to just post our replies that we've done in PM into this thread? Or should we just say 'forget it' and just continue here as though nothing happened? I'm honestly fine either way.))

(Just post our pms I suppose xD)

Slow, shaky breaths. Labored breathing. How had she recovered from this before?

Inferno had been trained by older dragons since she was young. In many scenarios, she wound up getting tossed, burned and beaten. Yet, from those experiences, she learned how to become stronger, how to recover faster.

Calm breaths. That was the solution. She focused on her breathing and it slowly started to go back to normal. At which point she took one last deep breath and was ready to keep fighting.

Aviur's fierce display, however, seemed to take her breath away once more.

His outburst echoed throughout the whole room, even spilling out into the large hall. Despite how loud he yelled, Temur didn’t look all too worried. He simply stared at him with the same intense glare he’d given Inferno before she attacked.

What did stir a reaction from the stoic EbonWing, however, was when Aviur started to circle himself in flames. Not only was Temur confused, Inferno and Cor were having trouble figuring out what his plan was. Was this some way of protecting himself?

Then, a burst of flames emerged from the fiery ring. At first it looked like Aviur had shot a bout of fire at the dark dragon. To Inferno's awe, it wasn’t just a blast...the enraged dragon had hurled himself towards Temur, covered in flames and looking angry, and now twice as deadly.

Inferno was dumbfounded. She stared as Aviur blasted hot, crackling fire at Temur. The  dragoness could feel the heat from his flames, even though she wasn’t close to him at the moment. An additional wall of fire was hurled toward the black dragon, causing an orange, glistening reflection in Inferno’s eyes.

“Whoa…” was all the dragonet could say.

In an instant, she felt a talon around her foreleg. The sensation of being pulled snapped her out of her daze, and she turned to see that Cor was adamantly trying to guide her.

“Come on!” the terrified FireWing urged. “Do you want your treasure or not? If we stay here, the only thing you two will find is death!”

Inferno looked at Aviur and Temur once more. She saw that Temur had backed up against one of the walls, close to the door, clutching his face and letting out a roar of pain.

Every part of Inferno said to strike him now while he was weak, but another part of her eagerly wanted to leave so they could find the treasure. If this treasure were the weapon she hoped it was, then perhaps she could even try it out by using it on this EbonWing.

That was it, the decision was made. Leave now, come back for this evil dragon later.

Inferno rushed towards Aviur and grabbed him by the wrist. He was scorching hot to the touch, but the dragoness was able to withstand it. Partially because she really wanted to get his attention, but mostly because FireWings were naturally equipped to deal with...well, fire.

“Hey! Hot-head!” She shouted over the snapping of his flames, “you’ve done enough. Let’s go find the treasure! We’ll deal with this guy later!”

She took one more look at Temur, who was still stunned by the blast of fire that’d hit him. Glaring at him, she darted toward the door and looked back at Aviur. Cor didn’t waste time, and ran past her. Clearly he was eager to not be in the presence of this EbonWing.

“That’s not a suggestion by the way,” Inferno barked at Aviur, “follow me. Now!”

(Not to rush or anything, but are you waiting for me per chance? If you're busy, I understand because of the holiday week :3)

(Yeah uh.. xD Slight problem. I can't get into my PMS to copy n' paste my posts, and I can't remember what they said exactly xD So I'm stuck.)

(oooh, I'm not sure why, but I thought your replies were in a separate document like mine xD

That's okay. Did we wanna wait for PMs to be back? Or did we just wanna move past it and continue. I still have your new reply written up, I'd just need to post it.)

(Just move past it I think, since I don't think PMS will be back for a while)

“I'm fine, of course. Gonna take a lot more than that to hurt me,” Inferno assured. She grinned at him, her eyes lighting up with a hint of excitement. There was so much she wanted to say to him at that moment, about how magnificent he was during combat, but her words caught in her throat.

She swallowed them.

Now wasn't the time to be patting each other on the back.

No, now there was something that was more important to deal with. A small matter of payment…

Her expression turned to a grimace, then to a frown as her eyes fixated upon Cor.

“Yes, this place is safe. Temur has yet to find me here. He tends to think that I'm in large buildings. It never crosses his mind to search small places like this.”

Suddenly, Inferno pushed Cor up against the wall, knocking down a few paintings as she did so. Her face contorted into a snarl.

“Alright. We helped you get away, coward. Now you're gonna help us!” Her hot breath enveloped his head, stinging his eyes a little and making them tear up. At this point, she clearly had forgotten she and Aviur’s ‘good guard, bad guard’ routine.

“Easy!” Cor retorted, raising his talons to try and calm the aggressive dragoness. “I promised you treasure, did I not? Do you always carry such distrust?”

Inferno narrowed her eyes, “you have to earn my trust. Now tell me where the treasure is, and we’ll be on our way. Out of this wretched city.”

Cor studied her eyes for a moment before releasing a sigh and averting eye-contact. “Look...I can’t tell you where the treasure is.”

“Why not?!”

“Because it’s impossible to describe its location.”

“That sounds like a bunch of camel dung!” Inferno’s voice took on a tone of outrage.

“Well, it’s the truth,” Core responded sternly. “I’m sorry, but I can’t tell you. I can only show you.” He shrugged nonchalantly. “If you want me to repay my debt to you, that’s how we’re going to have to do it.”

Inferno stared at Cor for an intense moment of silence. After breathing a bit of smoke in his face, she released him. His front talons tapped against the stone floor and he proceeded to rub the parts where she’d grabbed him.

“Fine,” the young dragoness said, “then show us where it is so we can get out of here.”

“If you would stop being brash for one second, perhaps I can actually tell you what you need to do!” Cor retorted, voice laden with irritation.

The dragoness’ jaw stiffened, and she looked as though she were about to lunge at Cor. Instead, however, she chose to keep her murderous thoughts to herself. The next word she spoke looked like it was being choked out of her, like she was fighting every urge to just kill him where he stood.

“Speak.”

Lifting his head in a haughty manner, he huffed. “Thank you. I’m glad we can be civil.” Cor flashed a superior smile and proceeded to speak.  “Now, getting to the treasure won’t be so easy. In fact, it’ll be a lot harder with Temur roaming around trying to thwart us.”

“So? We didn’t seem to have any trouble dealing with him before.” Inferno looked to Aviur and grinned at him. “In fact, Aviur could probably burn that EbonWing to a crisp. I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but he has amazing capabilities with his fire.”

“Well, ‘amazing’ as they may be, they won’t do a damned thing against a dragon that’s immortal.”

Inferno faced Cor once again and cocked her head. “Immortal? Like...he can’t die?”

“He can certainly get hurt, as you saw, but he is incapable of dying. Attack him all you want, he will win eventually...which is why I choose to run and hide rather than stand and fight. At face value, he doesn’t seem that impressive, but over time he starts to predict your every move. He starts to know you better than you know yourself. He knows when you are most vulnerable, and that is when he strikes.”

As Cor spoke, Inferno watched him with intrigue. “So...what do you suggest we do about him?”

“There’s an artifact, a magical amulet that needs to be destroyed. If we shatter it, then his immortality will be broken, and he will perish for good. I have a map that shows where this amulet is on the far wall.” He paused for a brief moment, looking between Aviur and Inferno. “My suggestion is that we split up. Two of us go in search of the treasure, while the other goes to destroy the amulet. I’ve marked Temur’s lair on the map against the wall behind you two.”

He looked at the fire-cloaked dragonet. “Since the amulet-seeker will likely be facing Temur, I suggest you venture off to break it while we seek out the treasure. Not only will that distract Temur and provide safe passage, but it will rid Stone Haven of a great evil.”

Inferno turned towards Aviur, furrowing her brow as though she were still trying to piece together everything that Cor said.

“...I mean, I guess that doesn’t sound like too bad of a deal, right? You get to venture off and defeat an evil dragon, while I get to find a bunch of treasure.” For what was perhaps the second time since they met, she gave Aviur a look of genuine interest. As though she actually cared about what he had to say. Like it was no longer about her, it was about them.   “That kinda sounds like what we were both looking for from the beginning. What do you think, Avi?”

Aviur breathed a silent sigh of relief under his soft pants, smiling back as Inferno grinned at him. The expression she wore sent something warm sparking it's way up his crimson spine.

He forgot that the sail on his back had opened, exposing the line of flame on his neck and back.

Once he realized, Aviur's eyes widened and he quickly shut the sail with a sigh of relief.

Inferno's pretty grin melted into a grimace, which Aviur copied as she shoved Cor against a wall and demanded he hold up his end of the deal. The loud thuds as paintings fell to the floor startled Aviur, making him lash his tail and jump a few inches, his eyes widening as Inferno's hot breath encircled Cor's eyes and made them fill with tears.

Her angry expression, combined with the determined light in her eyes, was quite a sight. Aviur tried not to grin, remembering he was supposed to be the really tough guard guy.

Then again, it seemed Inferno was playing his part for him, and doing it well in his eyes.


When Cor sighed and adverted his eyes, Aviur raised a scaled brow. His next words made his lip curl back into an angry glower as a viscous snarl of fury escaped his jaws. Should have left him trapped under that roof! He thought darkly.

"You can't tell us where it is? Inferno takes the words right out of my mouth, that's a load of bullsh-" Aviur trailed off as Cor spoke words that made his brow raise again, though his lip didn't lower. He decided not to shout and let the dragon speak for himself.


After Cor had explained himself, there was an intense moment of silence. Aviur's eyes found Inferno's face as she gazed at the male. Aviur just wanted to get out of this hellhole and leave Cor to the horrors that lurked in this cursed placed called StoneHaven, but deep down.. the need for adventure was still there. They couldn't back out now! That would be like writing a book and leaving it at the last few pages unfinished.


So when Inferno released Cor and told him to show them the treasure, Aviur didn't complain.

He bared his fangs again when Cor spoke in a tone he didn't like. Inferno's jaw stiffened, and for a moment the crimson male thought she was going to fly at him again, but it didn't happen.

Cor flashed that smile and Aviur shot him a look of annoyance. This dragon was irritating him. Immensely. "[color=#ff0000]Civil? Civil?/color]" he snarled inside his head, resisting the urge to storm forward. "We've just been through hell! We almost died! If we hadn't stayed to help your sorry tail, you would have died! And we probably could have escaped injury then! Look what Temur did to Inferno! And you expect us to be civil?! Do yourself a favor, and shut up with the smart comments before you push any more of my buttons." he thought, wishing he could just throw those words at this insolent lizard. Instead, he shot Cor a look that shot everything he thought of him at his face without him having to open his mouth. He bared his fangs briefly for good measure.

Still though, Aviur controlled his hyper-sensitive temper and listened, scarily silent. He agreed with Inferno when she said they had no trouble beating him before, and gave a small nod to show it. He smiled at her with one side of his face, turning his head slightly so Cor wouldn't see. He wanted to keep up the bad guard routine, so he settled for smiling at Inferno briefly with one side of his face and studied Cor aggressively with the other.

When Cor got to the part about being immortal, the first thing Aviur felt was confusion. Inferno quickly asked the question he was going to ask, and when Cor replied, his heart sank.

"Great, so we're dealing with someone who can basically read minds after a while," Aviur muttered, scratching an itch at the back of his head, in between his horns, with a wing.

Cor mentioned the amulet, and Aviur raised a brow. An amulet? Huh. Aviur never would have imagined an amulet could thwart a clearly dangerous, immortal Ebonwing.

Cor moved on to the topic of how to actually get the amulet, and when he mentioned them splitting up Aviur felt a cold pit form in his stomach. He still could not trust this dragon.


He glanced over his shoulder at the wall behind him, and seen a mark on the map on it. He quickly memorized it's general location, just in case they somehow lost the map, and turned back to Cor just as he turned his head to look at him. Aviur met his gaze and nodded at his words. Then, he had a dark, ugly thought.

Inferno would be alone with him.

Why that terrified Aviur was beyond him, but fear became his main emotion. Paranoia. Trepidation. Thankfully it didn't show in his face, but very briefly, it shone like a star in his eyes.

Aviur looked at Inferno when he felt her burning gaze on him, and listened to her. The idea of defeating an evil dragon like a boss was awesome to him, but when he looked at Infermno's face he felt the need to.. to protect her.

Still though, his ego decided to play a part in his decision. And her look of interest. A small part of him sort of wanted to impress her.

"Sounds like my type of fun," he chuckled, putting on a smirk.

Inferno smiled once more at Aviur’s response, then nodded her head to acknowledge she understood. Even with his confident words, however, she noticed the smallest amount of fear in his eyes. Naturally, she assumed that he was a little bit scared of fighting Temur alone. It would be an understandable fear, but nevertheless, the dragoness knew that he would be able to take him down.

Another thing that struck her about his features, however, was that the fire along his back was no longer showing. He’d covered it up, and Inferno found herself wondering why. If she were born with awesome flames down her back, she’d keep them out all the time. She’d want the whole world to know just how dangerous she really was.

Perhaps it is weakness that drives him to hide it, echoed a voice in the back of her mind. Maybe Aviur didn’t want to be perceived as dangerous. Or perhaps he was afraid of burning anyone who got too close. Neither of those reasons would make sense to Inferno.

Nevertheless, she stored that thought for later. She hoped that in the future she could convince him to take such a silly thing off. In addition to that, the dragoness desperately wanted to wipe that goofy grin off of his face after he received a few compliments from her. It made him look like an idiot...and yet, she was smiling back at him. Possibly looking twice as ridiculous.

“Great!” Inferno responded to the other dragonet a little too excitedly. She coughed and recomposed her serious expression. “I mean...cool.”

She turned her attention back to Cor and grimaced. “Alright, so what do we do now.”

Cor appeared as though he were becoming bored with the two dragonets, and had started looking at his talons. “Well, I suppose your mate will travel to the location on the map and kill Temur, like I said. Meanwhile you and I will leave right now and find the treasure...also like I said.” He gave Inferno a ‘your idiocy is tiring’ look.

For a moment, Inferno wanted to bite his talons off. In fact, the only thing that stopped her from hurting him was the fact that he’d just referred to she and Aviur as ‘mates’. It stunned her momentarily, but she tried her best not to show it. It was said in such a casual way that it was almost unnoticeable, and she wondered if Aviur had heard it as well.

Instead of correcting him, however, Inferno simply rolled her eyes and walked to the map on the far wall. She reached up, then roughly tore it down and rolled it into a tube. Afterwards, she strode towards Aviur and held it against him.

“Take this just in case. Once we get the treasure, we’ll meet back here and leave this place once and for all.” Inferno flashed another small smile at him and nodded her head.

Inferno glared at Cor before approaching him. He winced a little, looking concerned that she was going to try to push him against the wall again. To his relief, she didn’t. Instead, she nodded toward the door to his home.

“Alright, lame-brain. Let’s go find this treasure.” She furrowed her brow, “and it better not be any of that ‘friendship is the real treasure’ stuff. Otherwise, I won’t hesitate to rip your throat out.”

“Oh, you mean like fairy tales? No, unfortunately. No life lessons, singing trees or happy endings here in Stone Haven. This place reeks of death, and removing Temur is the first step to returning it to its former glory. It may be hard to believe, but I...”

Cor walked out of his abode, rambling on and on about something. Inferno lagged behind and looked at Aviur one more time before she left. She was quiet, and her heart felt like it was in her throat. Before leaving, she slowly approached the male dragonet.

“Hey...uh…” There was something that needed to be said. A phrase, or maybe even a single word. Yet some kind of barrier stopped her. A filter in her mind that she didn’t ask for. Instead, all that the female dragonet could say was, “...try biting the tip of his tail, if you get the chance. I read somewhere that many dragons are extremely vulnerable in that spot.”

With a very obvious uncomfortable chuckle, she bumped Aviur with her shoulder before leaving the shelter and following after Cor. “See you around!”

‘See you around’? Inferno thought to herself, I sound like a hatchling! I’m such an idiot.

Aviur raised a brow at Inferno's excited reply. She reminded him of.. himself. Excited, always happy to go on an adventure.

Aviur smiled at the thought.

He chuckled as Inferno tried to play off her outburst. "Don't worry, it's cute when you do that, act all excited," he chuckled, before raising his eyes to Cor. He listened as the dragon spoke, but one word stuck out the most, out of all the words in that sentence.

Mate?

What in the hell is this guy talking about? The now bewildered and mortified FireWing shouted inside his own head, shooting the dragon a glare, but said nothing. They were not mates!

Aviur turned as he heard a loud ripping sound, and only had a second or so to process what Inferno was doing until the map was pressed against his chest. Holding it against him with his wing, Aviur nodded at her words, smiling gently.

As Cor started towards the door, Inferno said something that made Aviur give a short laugh. He tried to school his features, but he was unable to help the tiny grin on his face. Friendship is the real magic? Haha!

As Cor walked out, his reply turning into a boring ramble that wasn't very amusing, Aviur turned his head to Inferno as she approached him. His heart suddenly rather uncomfortably skipped a beat. For no reason.


"Hey," he said, chuckling at her stammer. He then listened as she gave him some advice. He nodded, but there was confusion in his chest.

Why did he feel like she was going to say something else?

"Okay, thanks, I'll try it if all else fails," he said. He listened to Inferno's uncomfortable chuckle, and tilted his head as she bumped him with her shoulder. See you around? That wasn't like Inferno. Was it? He couldn't be sure.


Aviur stood there in a daze for a moment, before he remembered something and dashed back out. He spotted Cor and strode up to him.

Grabbing his shoulder with a claw, he leaned his head close to his and muttered in his ear. "If anything happens to her. ANYTHING. It won't be Temur that tears you limb from limb."

With that, Aviur started following the map, disappearing.



(OHHHHHH SHIZ IS GOING DOWN XD)

((Yup yup :3 Inferno and Aviur are getting bitten by the love bug))

Aviur had burst out of the shelter rather hastily. Inferno was surprised by it, but soon realized that she shouldn't have been, considering how fast he was flying when they first met; a speed that she secretly hoped to match one day.

What did catch her off guard was how he didn't immediately fly away to fight Temur. He stopped for a moment and whispered something into Cor’s ear that she couldn't make out. Inferno perked her ears, now curious as to what was said.

She approached Cor just as Aviur disappeared, head tilting in curiosity.

“What'd he say?”

Cor looked to Inferno with a scowl. “Let's go. The faster I take you to your treasure, the faster you two can leave and never return.”

That doesn't answer my question, Inferno thought, but decided to not dwell on it for now. Instead, she quietly followed behind the older FireWing. Destination unknown.

***

Watching and waiting was a skill that Temur had developed after spending so much time in Stone Haven. A massive amount of time had passed since this place had seen prosperity, and he’d all but forgotten why he was here in the first place. However, the moment he started to reflect, is the moment that the memories came flooding into his mind like white water rapids.

There was fighting, there was killing, and then there was her. A dragoness so beautiful that he’d never take hammer to metal again if she didn’t want him to. After so many years, he’d almost forgotten her name. Such fear of forgetfulness sparked him to document the events that transpired. The reason why he was trapped in this skeleton city with Cor. Over time, his scrolls were either destroyed, lost, or stolen.

Temur’s grasp on writing and grammar faded away, and all he could do to remember what happened was carve the Dragoness’ name into the walls of his forge. Her name, and her fate.

‘Libbi in the lake.’

Cor tried many times to kill him in that establishment, and occasionally he’d succeed. Temur learned faster than the haughty FireWing, though, and quickly discovered how to retaliate against every one of his attacks, traps, or tricks. That was, of course, until now.

He’d seen these two dragonets fall into the city. He watched as the male one bounded across rooftops, while the female looked at him disapprovingly. He followed the two of them into the hall where one of the bloodiest battles in Stone Haven had taken place.

The Ebonwing had tried to attack Cor while he was underneath the debris, but the female had lunged and tried to maim him. After defending himself and throwing her off in frustration, the male dragonet attacked him in such a way that he’d never seen before, leaving patches of burned scales all along his dark body.

As it stood, he found that his reluctance to greet them, accompanied with his own prejudice against FireWings, may have lead to a misunderstanding...one that could possibly bring him a great deal of suffering in the future.

Watching and waiting...a strategy that worked against him now more than ever.

It was time to act.

Temur’s eyes traced the male dragonet as he ventured off, traveling suspiciously towards the vulcan’s forge. The questions entangled him, holding him still on his discreet perch.

What did he expect to find there? Was Cor sending him to kill the EbonWing? Was Cor tricking him into shattering the amulet? Where did the female dragonet go?

In the end, none of the answers to those questions truly mattered. All that mattered was that he meet with this dragonet as soon as possible...even if it cost him a limb.

Temur took off towards his forge. Knowing exactly where it was gave him an edge in getting there first. It was inside that he would wait, and it was inside that he would tell this young FireWing everything he needed to know.

He would tell him everything about Cor’s cruel intentions.

(Mmhm. Indeed xD)


When Aviur first opened his eyes, it was to the soft singing of his mother. Such a sweet, gentle sound.. If he pictured it hard enough, he could almost see her face. He thought she was red, like him, but that was about it. If he pictured as hard as he could, he could just begin to make out some of her blurred features.

Then it was blood and death.

Aviur couldn't recall much. He could remember the roars of an angry NightWing, and it's sleeping ball thing illuminating the cave a brilliant green. Then, the shrieks of horror and agony as his parent's heaved their last breaths.

Aviur was glad he couldn't remember what he actually saw.


The young FireWing sighed as he looked up from the map. The street buildings blocked his wings. Leaping onto the wall, Aviur pushed up and jumped to the broken roof, using his claws as grappling hooks. Hauling himself onto the roof, Aviur stood and looked around. "O.. kay.." he muttered. He was near enough.


Travelling down the street, Aviur took wing and flew low over the buildings. Flying high risked being spotted and shot at. So he kept just above rooftop level, humming that celtic tune his mother used to sing to him to calm himself. He was paranoid, agitated, and frightened. He felt very small compared to such a vast city.


Aviur was so lost in thought he didn't see the forge until he was basically above it. He looked at the map, then at the forge. Sighing, he folded his wings and dropped like a stone the few meters to the ground, stretching his wings at the last moment to lighten his landing.

Landing without much grace, Aviur rose from his crouched position and looked at the map, then back up at the forge. He did this a few times, before he decided this was the place.

Stepping inside, the first thing Aviur smelled was smoke, and old metal. His snout wrinkled and he inhaled, finding the scent.. unnerving, yet comforting. He was familiar with this scent, for the FireWing forges released chemicals like volcanoes.

Aviur looked around. "Now.. where are you?" he whispered, referring to both the amulet and Temur. Aviur knew the dragon was smart enough to hide the amulet if he had it, so it was time to think outside the box. Something he was sometimes good at.

Wandering around, Aviur sniffed and poked at everything he found, until he stumbled across something written on the wall.

Aviur peered closer, and then his eyes widened.

Libbi in the lake.

"Libbi," he whispered. Why did that name sound so.. familiar?

"In the.. lake?" he tilted his head.

Aviur stepped back, tilting his head. "Who are you?" he whispered.

This was the place, now more than ever, for a confrontation.

With a strained grunt, Temur pushed a large stone slab as hard as he could, sliding it in front of the forge’s threshold and effectively trapping he and Aviur inside. The room became blanketed by darkness, of which his black scales allowed him to vanish into for the time being. Expecting the FireWing to illuminate the forge with flames, Temur used his brief moment of invisibility to try diplomacy.

“Do not attack!” Exclaimed the deep, booming voice of Temur. He kept himself as far away from the dragonet as possible in the event that he tried to burn him the same way. In retrospect, he realized that a pot full of water would have been quite useful in this situation.

He held up his talons, momentarily forgetting that Aviur wouldn’t be able to see him in the dark. “I do not want to harm you, but I will defend myself. I simply wish to know why you are helping Cor.”

***

“...and that is how I met perhaps the most beautiful dragon in Stone Haven, Libbi. Of course, this is all before Temur tricked her-”

“Moons! Will you stop your senseless babbling!” Inferno said, wincing as though his words had been a physical weight she was forced to bear. “I don’t care about Libbi or Temur or your stupid warring clans. I don’t even care about you!”

Cor stiffened, looking offended by her words. His walking slowed, putting him a short distance behind the dragoness.  

Inferno didn’t mind the aspect of him leading her from behind. All that she wanted to do was forget that he was even here with her. She wanted to see this treasure with her own eyes before it wasn’t worth his company anymore.

Cor had been silent for a little while, and though the silence was better than his yammering, she felt the need to at least ensure he was still taking her where she wanted to go.

“Are we still going the right way?”

“Yes.” Cor’s response was short and had a hint of irritation..

Good. Maybe he’s finally learned the value of keeping his maw shut, Inferno mused. His talking is surprisingly making me miss Aviur already. At least he was funny. Even if he’s an annoying twerp, at least I can laugh and fight with him.

Before the dragoness’ mind soared anywhere else, Cor’s voice grated against her ears like claws against metal.

“You know, you and your mate remind me of how my parents were, aside from the compliments of course. They’d always threatened one another and hated each other’s guts…well, my father hated my mother’s more.”

Inferno’s ears perked and she once again found herself taken aback by his casual assumption of she and Aviur’s relationship. It made her squint and analyze her feelings on the subject. He was a decent fighter, from what she saw with Temur, even if he wasn’t physically strong. Then again, the thought of being whisked away into a life of staring longingly into one another’s eyes and whispering sweet nothings simply made her want to wretch. She wasn’t about to let some other dragon make her behave any differently than she normally did. Nor was she going to let ‘love’ distract her from her relentless training to become a soldier.

It was decided. She and Aviur were not mates, nor did she want them to be. Much like with the rest of the dragonets her age, Inferno didn’t have time for friendships, let alone anything as complicated as romance. Especially if neither of those benefited her.

“Actually,” Inferno said with an air of confidence, “we’re not mates. We just happened to fall into this city together.”

“Is that so?” Cor said with intrigue, “how interesting...well, I suppose that’s for the better.”

All of a sudden, Inferno felt a blunt force hit hard against the back of her head. She swore she could see stars for a moment before her vision went black and she collapsed onto the ground. Cor’s words echoed in her mind as her brain tried to grasp onto the reality of what had just happened.

She was conscious enough to hear one last sentence from the older dragon until everything was drowned out by a high-pitched ringing in her ears followed by abrupt silence.

“That means he won’t miss you when you’re gone.”

***

Cor stood over the dragoness with a wry grin before tossing aside the large rock he was holding. The rock and his talons had a splatter of blood on them that originated from a fresh gash on the back of Inferno’s head. His eyes trailed along her form, examining every aspect of her to ensure she was truly unconscious.

“Not so tough now, are you?” Cor said with a chuckle. He walked to her front and lifted her head with his talon, getting a better look at her wound. “Aw, it’s not that bad, luckily.”

He smiled. Fortunately for him, he didn’t normally eat the head anyways. Too much bone and not enough meat. The rest of her body was in perfect shape, which only served to fuel his anticipation for the meal to come.

The next step, if he could remember correctly, was to check her pulse. Cor pressed his claws against her neck and waited a few seconds. Her heart was still beating strong. This meant she would remain fresh for however long it took before he finally killed and devoured her.

“You have no idea how long it’s been since I’ve eaten. If your little friend succeeds, then you will make an excellent last meal.”

The older dragon hopped over Inferno’s body and moved to her backside. He grabbed her by the tail and began to drag her limp body across the stone, going the same direction that they had been traveling.

Cor was glad that he’d fooled the dragoness into walking to her own grave. Inferno wasn’t heavy, but he could already feel himself getting tired of dragging her along. Additionally, he enjoyed the sound of the lake lapping against the shore.

A strained grunt, accompanied by the sound of something metal sliding across the floor and the sliver of light that illuminated the strange words on the wall beginning to thin, caused Aviur to whirl around just as the huge slab covered the threshold and darkness engulfed his vision.

The black in that room was not a colour, it was nothing, a void. It caused the temperature to drop a few degrees and even though Aviur was a dragon made of heat, he shivered. He couldn't see a thing. The only thing he could hear was his own breathing, too loud. He was giving away his exact location, and he wasn't able to stop. Was he having a panic attack? He wondered. A heart attack, perhaps?


As a child he used to wake in the night and wish for the sun. The darkness worried him, his imagination supplied many beasts with fantastical jaws to lurk beyond the range of his vision. But now, there was a real monster in the darkness of the room with him, and he was going to rip him apart like his innocent child imagination described it.

Aviur was frozen with terror. His face was twisted into an expression of horror, and he hoped Temur couldn't see it. It had to be him that had trapped him in here! Now he was going to kill him and he wouldn't be able to do a thing about it and he'd never see Inferno again-

A deep, male voice caused Aviur to jump. He stepped back, his back leg and tail meeting the wall.

"Do not attack!"

Aviur bared his fangs, but said nothing, more out of fear then aggressiveness. He tried to take slow, controlled breaths to calm himself, but it didn't work.

Aviur sensed a brief movement from Temur in the darkness of the room, and tensed. He listened to him speak, and then his eyes narrowed.

"I thought you'd know, since you've been stalking us all this time, Temur," he spat his name like it was poison.

Probably a bad idea from his part, but he was going to die anyways. He was lying, he was going to kill him. He was just toying with his food, as expected from such a beast.

"Come on then, you abomination of a reptile! Kill me! KILL ME AND GET IT OVER WITH!" Aviur cried, shutting his eyes as he prepared for the growls of fury from his soon-to-be killer and the blow to the head that would kill him on contact.

"We came here for the treasure! Inferno wanted the treasure so I decided to help her and then we found Cor hiding under that debris!" he finally exclaimed. "Cor said that you were this immortal Ebonwing that could be killed if we split up and I went on my own to smash the amulet. He's with Inferno now."

Aviur felt his chest tighten at his sentence. Whenever he said that it sounded.. wrong. Like something was wrong when he said that.

He awaited the Ebonwing's reply, stiff and anxious.


(Aviur is going to RIP Cor apart when he finds him xD)

((Totally :3 I imagine it'll be pretty vicious. I think after your next reply I’ll have Temur come to the realization of the trouble Inferno’s in, then hopefully he and Aviur can get to her in time o-o.))

Temur’s eyes went wide at Aviur’s response. This dragonet who had fought him before, the one that attacked and bested him so easily, was talking to the EbonWing as though he were about to be slaughtered. What in the world had Cor told him? Or was this another trick?

Regardless, the EbonWing decided that he would play along for the time being. Either this dragonet was a good actor, or was truly mislead. Considering the first dragon he’d met was Cor, the latter possibility seemed the most likely.

“What in the blazes are you talking about?” Temur said. “Yes, I’m immortal, and so is Cor...but killing dragonets? I’m not the one who would do such a thing! I’d likely even hesitate killing a full grown dragon. Just look around you.” The older dragon breathed a plume of fire, illuminating the room for a brief moment. “This is a forge. My forge. I’m a vulcan, not a warrior...and especially not a monster.”

***

There was a creaking noise. A slow and steady tempo that, in any other situation, might be somewhat soothing. At this very moment, however, every little noise was grinding itself against Inferno’s skull. It felt as though her brain was trying to bore its way out of her head, and as it stood, there was no way to cease the pain.

Next to the throbbing in her head was the soreness in her muscles. She felt as though she’d fallen asleep in an awkward position which, upon closer inspection of her current predicament, turned out to be factual.

The dragoness’ vision came to. Rusty chains were criss-crossed all around her body, hindering her legs and wings from being used. Even when she tried to open her dry mouth, she found that more chains around her snout kept her maw from opening any wider than a few inches. Apparently someone had accounted for her fire breath.

Initially, Inferno wondered if Temur had found them. However, memories of Cor’s final words to her before the world went black sparked the fire in her chest that brought her temper to an all-time high. She’d been backstabbed, and the look in her eyes spoke volumes of her lust for revenge.

Fighting through the pain in her muscles and her head, Inferno squirmed and writhed against the chains, making them rattle as her tail thumped against wood. She raised her head and tried to look for something to help her get free. The first thing that the dragoness noticed was that she was on a boat in the middle of a vast lake. The next thing she noticed was that Cor was sitting towards the front of the boat, facing her while fiddling with chains near her back talons.

“Ah, I see you’re awake,” Cor said as though she were a mere guest on this grim boat ride. “That’s unfortunate for you, I suppose. Honestly, you probably don’t deserve to go out like this.”

Inferno’s tail lashed about, striking Cor harshly on the cheek while she continued to fight her restraints. The haughty dragon grunted and growled as she managed to strike him, then proceeded to step on her tail to keep it still.

“You know, it’s funny,” he said with a hint of frustration. “Sometimes you learn about things at the very last moment you’ll need them. For instance, that little trick you said to your friend.” He jabbed his talon harshly against the very tip of the young FireWing’s tail.

All of Inferno’s senses were firing off. The pain rocketed through her body like electricity, and she could have sworn that tears were forming at the corner of her eyes. For what felt like the first time in her life, she let out a whimper of pain. Her mind screamed its desire for the sensation to stop.

“Now, perhaps you’ll refrain from fighting and listen to me. Lest I do it again.” He moved his talon away from her tail, and she immediately curled it away from him. He looked as though he were going to try to grab it and hold it down again, but ultimately deemed such action unnecessary. With a small sigh, he sat down and relaxed for a moment.

“You know, seeing you like this just reminds of how she looked.” The older FireWing scoffed, “unfortunately, the similarity stops there. She was nothing like you. She was kind and gentle. Instead of hatred in her eyes, there was sadness and fear. Instead of attacking me, she tried to reason and talk her way out of it…”

Cor looked down for a moment before squinting and looking up at the bright orb that illuminated the city.

“I guess I thought that by killing her...by making him watch, maybe he’d understand the way I felt when I found out about their affair.” The expression on his face turned from serious to amused as he smiled at Inferno, who was still watching him with intense hatred. “Can you believe that he actually wrote her letters telling her that he thanked his ancestors for building the Sun so that he’d be able to look upon her beauty? I’m sure even you can appreciate the sappiness of that.”

Inferno tried to speak, but couldn’t get her words out. All that came out were hums and grunts. In the end, it didn’t matter if he heard her. It wasn’t like he didn’t already know how badly she wanted to take his life.

After a brief pause, Cor stood up and exhaled, ready to return to his work. “Right...it’s not like you’re really in a position to hold a conversation. Was thinking of having a little confession about all the deeds I’ve done and enter the next life with a clear conscience. But as you’ve made abundantly clear, you don’t really care about anything I have to say. All you want is your treasure.”

He lifted a bag, holding it up for her to see. “Sadly, there is no treasure in this forgotten city. Only a world that is far crueler than anything you’ve had to witness. For your sake, I’ll make sure at least the treasure you do have joins you in your grave.”

Cor held the bag over the boat and turned it upside down. All Inferno could do was watch as what looked to be all of her jewelry splashed into the stagnant water. It was only then that the words he’d said registered in her mind, and struck fear into her very soul.

The dragoness looked down and saw that the chain she was wrapped in had been tethered to a large block of metal. One that Cor had started to hoist up with his front talons. Immediately, she was beginning to wish he would talk more, so she’d have more time to prepare for what would be her most challenging escape...or her inevitable death.

“Whatever happens after you die, if you see Libbi...tell her that I’m coming for her.”

With that, he tossed the heavy block over the side of the boat and into the water. Inferno let out growls of resistance as she continued to fight against the chains. However, they wouldn’t budge. In a matter of seconds, the links that attached her to the block were pulled taught. The dragoness sucked in a deep breath as she was practically whipped over the side and submerged into the cold, murky water.

(I have a funny feeling of what might happen xD I think Aviurs going to throw away his life and leap in to save her xD If he gets submerged in water while hes in his Inferno form (he changes when he gets overcharged with fury) he'll have his life source flames out. So.. Yeah. He's gonna toss his life in the trash most likely now to save her xD)


Aviur expected a dark chuckle, or growls of fury. No. He got a shocked and an appalled dragon. However, one phrase got his attention.

So is Cor..

What? Aviur thought. "Cor's immortal?" the confused FireWing blinked. And then the Ebonwing blasted fire that illuminated the area around them. Slowly, Aviur began to relax. Why would he give away his position so easily? He wondered. Onviously he had no intentions of attacking him if he freely gave away his location to him. Or maybe he was just being cocky.

"You're a Vulcan?" he tilted his head, intrigue in his expression.

"Wait, you said Cor's immortal. Why didn't he tell us? Are you two connected somehow?" he asked.

His eyes briefly went to the words on the wall as the flames went out, and plunged the room into darkness once more.

"He said that.."

Libbi in the lake.

In the lake.

In the darkness, Aviur's eyes glowed. "Why does it say Libbi in the lake?" his tone shook as he had a horrible thought.

((Dang o-o I forgot about that. If we didn’t want Aviur to die, we could have Temur dive in and save her instead. Or we could have Aviur be near death and get saved afterwards.))

“Yes, Cor is immortal as well,” Temur responded with irritation. “You have not wondered how he got here? Why he’s so knowledgeable about how to kill me?” With a scoff, he shook his head. “No...of course you didn’t. You’re a FireWing, through and through. You were never made to think before you act.”

Temur sneered. It was sinking in how close this dragonet was to securing doom for the EbonWing. It was simply a miracle that they were at least able to talk now. Dragon to dragon. Without exchanging fire or claws.

“The only connection he and I have is that we both loved the same dragoness. The one that, as you’ve seen, was named Libbi.” His voice cracked a little bit. He had a thousand years to let time heal his wounds, yet for that thousand years he never once had a chance to talk about it. Since Aviur did bear soul, perhaps it was only appropriate that Temur responded in kind.

“Cor and I were alive back when Stone Haven was still populated. We grew up in two different clans that constantly warred with each other. When the city was isolated from the rest of the world, the clan I was a part of, clan Morales, were constantly seeking new ways to grow vegetation and live off of whatever underground vegetation we could find. Insulae Canibalium, Cor’s clan, sought to consume the flesh of other dragons in order to survive. Killed and butchered them like they were wild beasts.”

Temur furrowed his brow, looking up as he tried as hard as he could to remember everything that happened. “Libbi was the daughter of clan Morales’ leader, and Cor was the son of the cannibal leader. Both clans agreed to stop fighting and start handling things with diplomacy, so long as the two of them would wed.”

Temur shifted a little, clearing his throat from the sadness he could feel. “I saw Libbi in the market and I...I was just so stricken by her beauty. I had no idea she was royalty. I didn’t know a thing about what she meant for the clans, so I introduced myself to her. We must’ve talked for hours, laughing and telling stories.” He grimaced, returning his attention to Aviur as he realized he was rambling.

“Anyway, Cor eventually found out about our affair. He was so enraged that he killed any of the hatchlings he had with Libbi, and smashed all of their eggs, just in case even one of them had belonged to me.” He glared hard at Aviur, “so you can see why it is appalling to hear that he’s convinced you that I’m a dragonet killer.”

The older dragon took a deep breath in preparation for the part of the story he remembered the clearest. “Cor and his clan then kidnapped Libbi and drowned her in the lake. Forcing me to watch as she struggled to breathe.” He hung his head, averting his eyes from the male dragonet. “I may be immortal, but I swear that was the last day that I remember being alive.”

Temur looked up at Aviur again. “Afterwards, Cor wanted to keep me around so that I had to live without her. He had someone in his Clan cast a spell on me, binding my soul to an amulet and granting me immortality, so long as that amulet remained.” He shook his head, “to get back at him, I used my own magic to do the same. He, too, is bound to a sacred amulet. One that I guard from him, so that he is forced to suffer with me. Likewise, he keeps mine hidden away as well.”

There was a brief pause before the atmosphere shifted. Temur stood up, a look of worry on his face. “Wait a minute. Your friend. You said she’s with Cor.”

The older dragon didn’t hesitate. He rushed over and pushed the metal slab away from the entrance to his forge. Light spilled into the room, almost blinding now that they’d been sitting in the dark for a few minutes. “We must go to the lake! We have to help her before Cor drowns and devours her, if he hasn’t done so already.”

***

Once again, Inferno had found herself falling. Deeper and deeper. Far away from the shimmering light of the water’s surface. The breath she was holding being her only lifeline at the moment.

Before too long, the iron block that weighed her down thumped hard against the lake’s floor, while the pressure of being so deep underwater made Inferno’s ears and snout ache.

The dragoness took a moment to look around and see if there was anything that could help her. Anything that could be used to break her chains. What she saw, however, was almost enough to make her gasp. She tried to look away, but everywhere she turned, all she could see was more.

Resting at the bottom of the lake were hundreds of metal blocks, just like the one tied to her. And next to them were all the bones of dragons that had likely met their end the same way Inferno was expected to meet hers.

A few bubbles escaped her maw and floated to the surface,as her breath felt like it was physically trying to fight its way out of her. She was stuck, not knowing whether to spend energy fighting the chains, or to come up with something more creative. In the end, though, she chose to try and break through the links using sheer force, as futile as it may be. All the while it seemed as though her mind were working against her.

Perhaps one of the most haunting thoughts was her father. The fact that he would not know what happened to his daughter. That she would simply not come home one day, and that he’d spend so much time trying to find her. Even if he, and whoever else, managed to track her down, she’d be just as identifiable as the rest of the dragons down there.

Her next thought was of Nemesis, one of her close friends who’d she’d grown to appreciate. Even if she was a weakling vulcan, she and her brother had helped tremendously in dealing with the accidental ‘death’ of Emberwood. The vulcan was quiet, but stronger than she knew. Even if she didn’t consciously acknowledge it, Inferno aspired to be like her...at least, in a few ways.

Then there was Aviur, and what his fate would be. She hoped that he’d simply leave the city, if he hadn’t already. A single dragon against a demon and a monster...as good as he was with magic, she doubted he had the physical capability to deal with both of them.

Last but not least, Inferno thought of her mother. Or at least, the mother that she pictured from the stories her dad had told her. Her sole inspiration and a true force to be reckoned with, Passionfire was the best soldier the FireWing tribe had. At least, she was in the dragonet’s mind. Inferno’s mother was quick, deadly, and altogether beautiful. The perfect idol for any FireWing. Even though they’d never met, the dragonet wanted to be exactly like her. To fight like she fought. To die like she died. Not tricked by some weak rabbit-petter.

Wait a minute, Inferno thought, What in the world am I doing? I’m better than him. I’m better than everyone! My mother never stopped fighting, even when I was an egg, and she knew she needed to take care of me, she still went out and fought. If she can do it, then I can do it!

The dragoness struggled harder, spreading her legs against the chains. Her wings tried to expand, but were still being held tight.

Clank!

Suddenly, a loud noise reverberated through the water. Inferno looked down and realized that she’d managed to break through one of the rusted links on the chain around her stomach. It was a good start, but she wasn’t free just yet, and her lungs were beginning to burn from oxygen deprivation. If she was to survive this she would need to try even harder.

Just like mom, she thought, just like a soldier!

Temur's new information on Cor shocked Aviur, shocked him to the very core of his being. Which was probably made of fire and heat, but who cares.

What if he's lying? Aviur wondered, and that thought got his guard up again. He tensed, but then he realized. Temur would have killed him by now, right? Or was he using this precious time to talk to another soul before he killed it? He and Cor were obviously rivals, so clearly he wasn't having any conversations any time soon with the other drake.

Temur's following insult made Aviur snort a puff of smoke with indignation in his eyes and behavior, but he said nothing.

He opened his mouth to make a comment about Ebonwings a second later, but shut up when Temur started to tell his story. Slowly, Aviur's eyes widened at the mention of the name Libbi, and the story of how her and Temur met. So it was forbidden love, his mind echoed numbly. Wonder how that ended.

When he heard about what Cor did to Libbi, Aviur's stomach rose to his mouth. "Merciful Nimbus," he whispered as the male hung his head and said that was his final day of living.

"I'm.. sorry to hear that."

Temur told him of Cor's cruelty towards him, and how he got back at him by doing the same thing to him, bounding both of their souls to amulets.

When Temur silenced himself, finished his story, Aviur opened his mouth, fiddling with the dark hooks on the end of his wings. "I uh.. look, Temur, I-" He was interrupted by Temur, who spoke words that made his blood run cold.

Before Temur had even pulled the rock back all the way, Aviur dashed to the entrance of the forge. "I'll make sure I get there before he does, " he said darkly, before dashing into the streets.


Stretching his wings, Aviur lifted into the air and beat his wings as fast as he could. He soared back the way he came, and then turned in the direction Cor and Inferno had gone. He didn't dare call out, in case Cor killed her faster. Instead, Aviur relied on scent.

He sniffed the air as he flew close to the ground, following Inferno's scent the closest. Temur could take care of Cor, he'd get Inferno.

As fast as his wings would allow, Aviur became a blur, going like a speeding bullet through the streets.

And then he was by the lake.


Touching down at a run, Aviur looked around for Inferno, but he knew where she was. He snarled as he saw Cor, wanting to rip open his throat there and then, but he knew he couldn't. "Get him!" he screamed at Temur, wherever he was around him, before jumping into the lake.



His vision suddenly clouded by bubbles, Aviur quickly sank, as the water became darker. The light faded, and he realised he hadn't taken a proper breath.

But he didn't care. Every second counted for Inferno.

He saw her struggling to free herself, and his heart sank along with his body. She had managed to break one of the chains.

Aviur swam down to her and bit as hard as he could at the chains, but it was no use. He tried to sever them with his tail, but that didn't work either.


Aviur realised what he had to do.


As his lungs burned, Aviur looked up at Inferno, feeling his heart beginning to race. He had no time to lose. So many thoughts ran through his mind as Aviur opened his wings, focusing. He couldn't do this without a circle of flame, he had to change completely on his own.


Focus! Concentrate! Focus on-


BOOM!

Aviur changed into his inferno form, but it went out almost immediately. He tried again-

BOOM!

The closest chain began to melt from the intense heat. Clamping down on it, Aviur felt the water dousing his life source, barely protected by the constant flames sprouting up and around it.


BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

It was like he was creating a shockwave, except it was roasting hot. Aviur felt water pouring down his throat, but kept changing, melting the chains one by one as he fast as he could.

As he half melted the last one though, Aviur closed his sail, feeling numbness beginning to cover his back.

He swam up, legs kicking as hard and as fast as they could, and he grabbed Inferno. He yanked, knowing it would hurt her, and broke her free.

As darkness seeped into the corners of his vision, Aviur used the stone block as a starting point, leaping off it and pushing up with his wings. Using them like a penguin would use it's wings in the water, Aviur approached the surface at a painfully slow pace.

Choking down water, forced in by his lungs screaming for air, Aviur broke through the surface and swam for the edge, choking and gasping.

He dragged Inferno onto the edge, and climbed up after her.

And then he collapsed, the flame on his back closed over by the sail. Choking, Aviur coughed up water, before he looked over his shoulder and opened his sail.


What was left, was a thin line of flame, like a line of the smallest candles, spaced out over his back.

Aviur felt his legs beginning to go numb. Then his shoulders, then his chest.

He rested his head on the ground, and closed his eyes.


(You can reply to this if you want, Ill add more detail later xD NOT A FINISHED POST!)

((I dunno, that all had me on the edge of my seat xD I very much enjoyed your reply. Perhaps one of the best you've done so far :3 You can edit it if you want, but I went ahead and wrote out my reply already. Just let me know if you wanted to change yours in any way and I can change mine as well

Also, I was thinking perhaps we could have Aviur pass out or something, then awaken in Temur's forge where he's being cared for.))

Next to Aviur, Temur felt no faster than a slug. However, he still kept propelling himself forward as fast as he could. The dragonet was a good distance ahead of him, but the vulcan was still close enough to hear his shout upon reaching the edge of the lake.

“Get him!”

Temur would be more than willing to carry out such a command. With a face riddled with determination, he continued to fly swiftly towards the boat that floated in the middle of the lake.

***

Cor had resigned himself to relaxing whilst thinking about what the afterlife would be like. He pondered whether or not he would actually get to see Libbi again, and if so, what he would do once he found her. Words would likely fail him, and part of him hoped that she’d grow to understand why he had to do what he did. The error of her ways.

It was such a lovely thought. Yet, he couldn’t shake something. A sinking feeling in his stomach that had awaken some fear inside him. Like perhaps he was pining for something that he’d never achieve.

A sudden shout snapped him out of his reflection. He turned and looked to the shore where the voice had come from. Standing there was perhaps the biggest disappointment of his life. It was that incessant male dragonet, sicking Temur on him like some kind of pet. Even more concerning was that Temur was actually listening to him, flying straight towards the boat.

“No...no, no, no! You insolent little dragonet! I was supposed to be free of this place!” He hissed. Cor turned hastily and reached into another bag. “I’ll never let him have it. I’ll stay here another thousand years before I let him leave before me!” The enraged FireWing withdrew an amulet from the bag, one that possessed intricate black patterns with highlights of silver.

The malicious dragon drew his talon back and threw the amulet into the lake.

Only a few seconds afterwards did he feel cold talons wring his neck.

***

The world was beginning to turn black, but Inferno continued to resist. She fought to break free, to stop herself from dying. She fought for everything that she was worth, even if it wasn’t enough.

With her breath still held, she felt her body trying to simulate breathing. A teetering feeling inside of her as she grew desperate for air. Even so, she never lost faith in escaping. If this was going to be her grave, then at least she could pass on saying that she did everything she could to survive.

The last of the breath she’d taken in had finally been released, sending a few more bubbles to the surface. Inferno knew if she’d thought at all about the time she had left before drowning, the seconds would start to feel like hours. This was why she had to ignore everything, to not let her thoughts inhibit her, lest she submit to the cold, watery hands of death.

No amount of willpower, however, could keep her eyes open any longer. Nor could she resist from opening her maw and allowing water to enter her in an attempt to breathe. Every part of her felt tight, and there was a pressure in her head and chest that made her think she was about to explode. Her struggling only got weaker, and she started to slip into unconsciousness.

Just then, an explosion. Muffled but still audible. Initially she wondered if it was her body, but the heat that followed soon after brought her back to reality. She looked, and for a moment, she swore that she’d seen Aviur.

Upon his second burst of flames, the dragoness discovered that this wasn’t some sort of apparition. It was actually him...trying to save her. She tried to indicate that he leave her, but her restraints prevented her from making any sort of motion. On top of that, her own exhaustion was setting in.

Inferno couldn’t take her eyes off of him. He was fighting so hard to save her, a dragoness that he barely knew. Why? Why would he risk his life in such a way? And more importantly, why did Inferno imagine she’d have done the same thing if he were in this situation?

After the final burst of intense heat, the half-conscious dragoness looked down and saw that her chains were glowing white-hot, practically melting if not extremely weak. Inferno tried to break herself out, but no longer possessed enough strength to do so. That was, of course, where Aviur made up for what she lacked. He grabbed her and painfully yanked her free of the chains that bound her.

In an instant they were swimming to the surface. It felt miles away, and the young dragoness’  muscles were incapable of swimming any faster. Even though she was only weighing him down at that point, Aviur continued to drag her upward.

All of a sudden, cool air greeted Inferno’s scales as the two dragonets breached the surface of the lake. Inferno immediately coughed and sputtered the water she’d inhaled. Taking every chance she had to breath sweet relief into her lungs.

Air. Beautiful, pure air.

Aviur pulled her along, taking both of them to the shore of the lake. Inferno kept coughing and gasping, trying to ignore her exhaustion as she stood up, then inevitably fell to the ground once more. She craned her neck to look at the other dragonet. The one who’d just saved her life.

“A-Aviur,” she stuttered, followed by another fit of coughing. The dragoness placed her talons on him and started looking over his body. “Moons...you look terrible.” She glanced at his back, noticing the flames that had once blazed were reduced to pitiful flickers.

“No, no, no. Don’t you dare die on me. You’re not allowed to!” she exclaimed, her mind racing to find something she could do to help.

Her expression brightened a little as an idea crossed her mind. Or at least, a solution to get her partner dry as fast as possible. “Hold still. I’m going to try something.”

***

“Hah! What do you think you’re going to do, Temur?” Cor said through a strained voice as he tried to free himself from the dark dragon’s grip around his neck. “Kill me? I’m immortal! Just like you. I’ll just come back again and again.”

Temur snarled at him. “Enough, Cor!” he shouted with his thunderous voice, “you murdered Libbi and her hatchlings, all because you couldn’t get your way. You’re nothing more than a petulant child who was given more power than he ever deserved. Now, it is time for you to be rightfully punished for being the monster that you are.”

Cor let out a snide chuckle, “and what might that punishment be? Like I said, death is hardly a problem.”

With a growl, the EbonWing dove over the side of the boat and into the water, dragging his rival down with him.

Once they reached the bottom of the lake, Temur held Cor’s head against the ground, forcing the side of his face against some of the skulls and bones that littered the murky depths. While keeping him still, the large EbonWing proceeded to grab one of the many loose chains that were tethered to a block similar what Inferno had been connected to. He wrapped it around Cor, intricately tying the chains around him so that there was little to no chance of escape.

Temur felt the burning sensation inside him, but he knew he wouldn’t drown. One of the perks of being immortal meant that one would not die from such things, as insufferable as they may be. That, of course, meant Cor would not die either.

After ensuring the dragon was secure, Temur prepared to launch himself towards the surface. Something caught his eyes, however. A glint off in the distance. It could very well have been nothing...yet he couldn’t stop himself from swimming over to investigate.

***

The dragoness opened her mouth wide and started to breathe what little fire she could muster after having swallowed so much water. Even if she couldn’t ignite the fire along his spine, the least that she could do was dry his glistening scales.

As she ran her fire breath up and down his body, the water he was covered in started to evaporate, becoming nothing more than steam. Her fire breath slowed until it was barely a stream before she stopped and laid her head down next to his. After battling her exhaustion for so long, she finally succumbed to it.

As much as she wanted to, she tried not to touch their scales together since she was still dripping wet.

“Okay,” Inferno panted, “you’re gonna be okay, Avi.” Laying her head against the hard ground felt surprisingly comfortable. So much so that she closed her eyes for a moment. Her heart was beating too fast to sleep, so instead she just rested. Taking a moment to catch her breath.

“Just...please be okay.”

Splashing water erupted from behind the two dragonets. Inferno lifted her head, despite how heavy it felt, to see what was going on. What she saw brought about shock and horror, sending a cold chill through her bones.

“No,” she whispered before lowering her head aggressively. The dragoness shakily stood up, then moved in front of Aviur so as to protect him. “You wanna get to him, you’re gonna have to get through me first.”

Temur was stricken by Inferno’s response to his presence, but he soon realized that Cor must have mislead her as well. On top of that, the two of them didn’t exactly have the best first impressions of one another.

There was a lot of explaining to be done, and judging by Aviur’s condition very little time to do it.

(Awww, thank you! I'm so flattered! no one's ever given me a complement like that before, thank you! You just made my week after days of bad news!

And sure!)

Aviur wasn't sure where he was.

He opened his eyes,only to be welcomed by darkness. Then, when he blinked, that darkness became a fireworks display. Little lights of orange,blue and green danced through the air like stars, leaving a temporary trail behind them wherever they went.

Aviur laughed, and playfully batted them, not realizing he was floating midair.

Until he saw the red dot.

It hovered in front of him,beckoning him towards it. It was the color of Inferno's scales. Immediately,Aviur reached out for it, but it bounced away, taunting him.

Aviur growled playfully, and followed.

The dot took him towards a bright light. Aviur knew he could have it if he just went through the light.

But then, he hesitated.


He looked over his shoulder, but then he heard a female voice.

A singing voice. He knew that voice all too well.

Aviur turned his head, and his eyes widened.

He couldn't see many of her features, they were blurred out and darkened by the glare of the white light, but her voice was exactly how he remembered it, though it wasn't in his head, the voice actually traveled through the air and tickled his hearing.

"Mum," Aviur whispered.

He paddelled towards her, then sped up. "Mum! MUM!" He shouted. As he reached her though, his mum evaporated into thin air. Aviur floated there, confusion in his features, but then he heard the voice coming from the white light.

If he just went to it..

But then, Aviur remembered Inferno.

He looked over his shoulder and seen her in the darkness, as well as his own body. He saw her pleading in her mind and under her breath.

"No, no, no, don't you dare die on me! You're not allowed to!"

Aviur's eyes widened. "Kitten," he whispered. He couldn't go through with this. He couldn't follow his Mum. Not yet.

"I'll see you again some day Mum," he said, turning towards the light. "Just not yet."


And for a second, he thought he seen a beautiful dragoness, smiling at him.

Libbi..



---------


Aviur opened his eyes, blinking them several times. For a moment, the FireWing didn't know WHERE he was, but then his memory returned to him.


Temur, Cor, drowning, Inferno, water-

"INFERNO!" Aviur screamed, raising his head. "Where are you?! INFERNO!" His vision became blurry with tears, and combined with the confusion and trauma of almost dying, Aviur was unable to recognize Temur's forge and that he was alive.

"I CAN'T BE TOO LATE! NO! GODDAMIT NO! I CAN'T BE TOO LATE AGAIN! NO! NOOO!" He screamed, thrashing about the place and knocking something over.

((No worries! I gotta say that all your replies have been a delight to read :3 We're almost to the end of the RP now! At least, that's what I'm feeling.))

Temur reached a talon out and caught the pot that Aviur had knocked over. He placed it delicately back on its shelf before holding the uproarious dragonet by his shoulders.

“Aviur, calm down,” his voice rumbled, gentle despite how deep it was. “There's no need to panic. Inferno is safe and alive. She...uh…” The vulcan looked away as though he were ashamed of something. “She went out to see if there was truly no treasure in the city. I didn’t want her to go alone but…” he grimaced, “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, she tends to get angry rather quickly. Especially when someone tries to change her plans.”

The large EbonWing released the dragonet, scooting back a short ways to give him some space. He looked at Aviur with a pair of kind eyes, ones that seemed far happier than they normally were.

“She’s been gone for a little while, so I’m sure she’ll be back soon. She’ll be delighted to see that you’re awake, if not upset that you chose to wake up as soon as she left. She wanted to be here when you opened your eyes.” With a chuckle, he continued, “the poor girl got really concerned. Cried herself to sleep, thinking that you might not make it.”

He paused and looked up, rubbing a talon against the back of his head. “Wait. I think she told me not to tell you that.”

“I can’t believe this!” came Inferno’s muffled voice from outside of the forge. “A whole city, and not a single piece of gold? What kind of low-class dragons lived he-”

Inferno froze as she walked into the forge and saw Aviur. Her eyes were wide, and an array of emotions played out over her snout before finally settling on joy.

She didn’t say anything. Nor could she. All the dragoness could do was rush forward and wrap her forelegs around the other dragonet’s neck in a firm embrace.

“You’re alive! I..I can’t believe you’re alive!” she exclaimed, releasing him and holding him at arm’s length. “I thought…”

Suddenly, the expression on her face changed. It went from excitement, to embarrassment, then back to anger. She released him and took a step back, flaring her wings a little as if to try and be her ‘intimidating’ self again. “I mean...it’s about time you woke up. I was about to leave your lazy tail here.”

“But didn’t you wake not too long ago?” Temur chimed. Inferno shot him a glare so deadly that he recoiled. “Right. Shutting up now.”

“As I was saying,” Inferno turned her attention back to Aviur. “There doesn’t seem to be any treasure in this city. Nothing that we didn’t bring anyway.” She looked up at one gold ring that was around her right horn, smiling as she did so. “Looks like I dropped this ring during our fight with Temur. He was kind enough to return it to me. At least I didn’t lose all my stuff...I feel so bare without any jewelry.”