Beseige - Open to All

Ah, so here she was, Nighflare, bearing witness to the fall of one of the greatest draconic empires to ever reign. Granted, much greater when she was in power than when that fool, Oculus, ws. She scoffed slightly at the remembrance of him. Such a blissfully, sickening ignorant he had been. So young, yet so confidently arrogant in his abilities. No matter, he was gone now. And alas, it seemed just as soon as Nightflare would be able to claim her position as ruler, something else had to get in the way yet again. This time, monsters.

Not that the NightWings were completely wrecked. Sure, there were still roughly ten dragons left that she had seen, and they still had a... 'leader', but that was certainly better than how any other dragon had suffered. Nightflare smirked softly. The destruction of the rest had hardly phased her. In fact, in the chaos, Nightflare had rather thrived. Before, under Oculus's rule, she had been constantly monitored. It had been a pain to get any progress done. And when Tenebris had taken over... she knew she would need to keep her guard up. But the monsters had drawn all of his focus towards that.

Tenebris was a problem. He was more cunning that Oculus. Unlike Oculus, Nightflare admired Tenebris's ingenuity, and almost considered him an equal. Almost.

But alas, with everything that had transpired, it was much more difficult to keep tabs on Nightflare. And she relished this. Now she could finally reattain her goal. But she had a long way to go before she could get anywhere close to being there.

Now, all that being said, Nightflare still enjoyed living by the border, though she did know many of the NightWings had fled to the EbonWing isles. She liked the house she built. Besides, it had... important valuables here, that would be a hassle to move.

Right now, Nightflare was out and about, looking for herbs, and also, secretly, hoping to run into some dragons.

Karu had been wandering his way through the areas bordering NightWing territory, a small bag around his neck to hold the various treasures he had found so far. He used to do this a lot more but with all the monster issues lately he'd had to stick closer to his kin than normal. Fortunately the monsters didn't really bother him much unless he ran in to a particularly nasty one as he had the tendency to not be a target worth chasing in most cases. He also had no qualms about running and hiding to interfere with his survival while on his own.

His little trips did have much use though, those who knew about healing had taught him about some of the more rare herbs and plants that were hard to come by and he'd already found a couple plus a rather pretty red flowery plant he didn't recognize at all! He'd also caught the sparkle of a couple old coins and pretty looking metal trinket which he was also lugging along in his bag. That was the joy of going out far from home, he got to find new things, maybe even meet some dragons from other tribes if he was lucky.

It also allowed him to get the state of the area so he could report back to his tribe, information was pretty hard to come by these days, so he wanted to at least be helpful that way. Plus he was curious, with all the chaos and he hadn't seen a NightWing for a very long time, he wanted to know what it was like over here. Fortunately for him he'd get his wish.

The colorful dragon would perk up alertly as he heard a movement that wasn't his own, his coloring quickly switching to a muddy brown. He was pretty sure there were no creatures of threat around here but it was always a good idea to avoid contact with them if possible. His antennae would perk again as he sort of recognized the scent as dragony and it didn't take very much effort to figure out it was another. As soon as he did realize it he'd turn back to us usual happy and natural colors and practically run toward the source. “Didn't think I'd find another dragon this fast!” he'd call out excitedly as he approached. He'd stop a respectful distance away from the much larger dragon, grinning upward. “Ohh, you look like a NightWing too! Haven't seen any of you in forever.”

Nightflare would continue to walk down her path, her scales brushing against the wild berry bushes. Perhaps she would collect a few. They could be helpful later. She wasn't really worried about monsters. She had ways of keeping them away from what she claimed was her territory.

As the older dragoness walked along the path, she caught the scent of a stranger. Not only a stranger, but a LightWing. Strange, she thought, LightWing territory was on the other side of the map. This little LightWing must be far from home, no doubt. And in NightWing territory, no less. Under Oculus's reign, they no doubt would have been caught and questions. But now.... there weren't even any guards.

Nightflare decided to investigate, weaving delicately through the vine and woods. She kept her eyes trained, but was unworried, as a dragon suddenly burst through the woods, wearing a sickeningly gleeful expression on his face. He greeted her, not even worrying to care if she might attack him. How... delightful.

"Why hello there, little one." Nightflare cooed, smiling. "You're a LightWing, are you not? What brings you so far from home?"

Karu was quick to nod in acknowledgment. “I am indeed!” he says, puffing up a little as if showing himself off a bit. He showed no concern at all of course, cheerful and friendly to the stranger before him. “Ah, well things back home have calmed down a little finally, so I'm taking a look around to see what other dragons are up to. It's rough being cooped up with everyone, I like to explore and look for things. I even found some stuff for the healers back home.” he says, sounding rather proud of himself about that last part.

He calms down from his bit of bragging to get a little more serious. “Aw, well, my name's Karu anyways. I guess the other lightwings would be curious about how the nightwings are doing here. I've heard some bad rumors though. I figured you'd all fair better than we did if attacked. Lightwings and Skywings don't really fight much, or at least didn't used to worry too much about it!” he blathered on.

It seemed the dragon really liked to talk, especially if it was about himself. He'd even happily pace a little as he did so, though he was showing at least a little bit of caution in the distance he kept from the large nightwing. It's hard to tell though if he's actually being cautious or just worried about accidentally being stepped on or something. The way he flips about though betrays just how agile he is though, his motions quite quick and energetic as he turns and steps about.

The fellow was certainly easily excited. Nightflare dipped her head, watching with curious eyes. Perhaps this encounter would prove useful after all. Maybe.... she would just have to ask a few questions, first. Straightening up, Nightflare nodded her head, replying, "Ah, well it's a pleasure to meet you, Karu. The name's Nightflare. Unfortunately, I am one of the only NightWings that still stay around these parts. Many of the survivors have fled to the EbonWing Isles. But not I." She mused.

That's when Nightflare noticed the satchel around Karu's neck, "Say, I don't suppose you are gathering herbs as well, are you? I dabble in medicine as well, and have become quite proficient if I do say so myself. I also happen to know a few very good places to search, if you're interested." Nightflare said kindly, her tail gesturing towards the forest in a form of invitation.

Karu gave the dragon's words the upmost attention. Hm, the ebonwing isles, he think he knew the place. He generally did not spend much time around nightwing territory before now. Maybe he'd go look around there after and see what was up with his own eyes. For now though he was quite happy to be talking to this nightwing instead.

The direction of attention to his satchel made him perk up a bit. “Ah well, not exactly purposely gathering them, but I've got pretty good eyes for finding things when I'm not flying. Healers taught me what to look for, and I even found some coins and a trinket of some sort.” he says, reaching in to the bag to pull it out. It appear to be some sort of very old amulet, made for either a small dragon or a human. The metallic pendant is in the shape of an eye with a very small green gemstone as the pupil. He shows it off a little. “No idea what it is, probably just some shiny junk.” he says with a little chuckle.

“I'm sure the healers would be happy if I brought some more herbs back though, there's a lot around here you don't find up in our territory, if you don't mind sharing that is.” he said, moving a little closer as if ready to follow.

Nightflare offered a small smile at the dragon, in an attempt to make him feel more at home. But in her mind, she was quickly delving through different options. There were several she was currently debating. What might they be? Well, several things. Only some of which would end up violent. But alas, Nightflare wasn't currently in a violent mood. Actually, rather quite the opposite. Perhaps she would entertain this darling LightWing after all.

The dragoness flicked her tail, and gestured left of her, "Right this way, sweetheart." she mused, and began walking into the woods at a casual pace, her paws leaving imprints in the loose soil beneath them. "Watch your step," she'd say as they weaved through the trees, "There are rocks up ahead. And the soil is rather lose here. You could sink, or trip, if you aren't careful." she would warn, carefully stepping over a piece of sharp stone.

As they walked, they would notice the ground below them beginning to reach an incline. The rocks became more abundant. Nightflare would approach a particularly large one, spread her wings, and use them to help her leap up. Once she got to the top of the rock ledge, she looked down at the LightWing, "It's just up over this rocky mound. You can keep up, can you not?" she said with a bit of an air to her voice, soft and jovial.

Karu put the trinket back in to his bag and followed along almost eagerly. He was so used to traveling about alone it was quite nice with company. He did give a bit of an odd look though at being called a “sweetheart” so casually. The travel was quite easy for him, a couple of the dangers pointed out weren't really problems for him at his size. His gaze did dart around quite a bit though, she'd have to occasionally wait for him to snap out of whatever sparkle or creature caught his attention on the way.

By the time they reached the ledge he was a lot more comfortable around the other dragon, walking a little closer than he'd been since the initial meeting. He had to move at a quicker pace to keep up with Nightflare's longer strides, but he was fortunately a very energetic dragon. A couple extra flaps to get up that ledge were all he needed as he landed nearby and began looking around. “No problem, after years of occasionally chasing skywings around I've build up some endurance.” he said following with a bit of a chuckle.

“So what sort of herbs are you looking for then?” he'd add to the conversation. “I'm not aiming for anything in particular so I'd be happy to give you what you need if I find it, i'm pretty good at spotting things.” he offered in his own friendly manner. He was quite a happy little dragon, he had barely even set foot in nightwing territory and he was pretty sure he had made a friend! And friends of course deserved gifts! Though he didn't really bring anything with him to give away so he hoped he could at least help.

Nightflare glanced down at the smaller dragon as he hopped belong side her on the rock. He asked about what they were looking for. Nightflare saw no harm in telling him. Not like the others would care much about this isolated part of NightWing territory, considering it had been so close to the rogues to begin with. She tensed her muscles a bit, as she turned toward the next rock with a dismissive, casual nod.

"Ah, yes, what I'm looking for. You see, there are these very rare glowing purple lilacs, also known as Violet Tears. They are known to live only in NightWing territory, in isolated, small patches. There happens to be a field of them just up this way. They are used to help with thyroid problems and heart issues. They have even been known to save dragons' whom's hearts are dying. Valuable indeed." she said.

Once they had managed to climb the rock wall, Nightflare took a few step forward. If Karu were to glance out ahead of him, next to Nightflare, he would see a small crevice, with which contained hundred of faintly glowing lilac flowers.

Karu followed along, occasionally jumping up areas where the larger dragon only needed to make steps. He seemed to take great interest in what she was explaining, though it was clear even the light medical talk was beyond him. Well, he understood ‘good for heart’ of course. Whatever it was, it sounded useful though. The healers back home might be interested in it! He’d have to do his best to remember that description word for word.

When the crevice finally came in to view, the smaller dragon’s eyes would almost immediately lock on to the glow like it was a shiny coin or something. He would beeline right for it with a curious glimmer in his eyes. “Ohh, what a pretty glow, I’m gonna show one of these to my friends back home.” He said, not hesitating to reach out and pluck one of them and move to put it in his travelling bag before snapping his attention back to nightflare. “Oh, may I take one home? I guess these are yours after all! Do you need a bunch of them?” he’d ask in a friendly manner.

"You may take a few, only about three or four. They are incredibly fickle, and take very long to grow." Nightflare remarked, curling her tail around her paws. She personally had plenty of these, so it wasn't much of a disadvantage to her. She could tell by Karu's oblivious expression that he knew absolute squat about medicine, and thus, Nightflare wasn't worried.

She wondered if now would be too early to ask Karu a certain... well, question. She thought for a moment. Yes, perhaps it was. She decided to stay quiet for a bit longer. She would simply stay quiet unless Karu asked her any questions, watching if he would head down and start picking a few of the glowing plants.