Butterfly Effect (open)

(if nobody replies I will make this a solo story)

The Onyx Citadel was more glorious then Malaki had ever imagined. If you had asked him before the arrival of the monsters if he ever expected to be inside it, the night wing would have told said dragon to go chase there tail. But yet here he was. Not just inside it, but calling it home for now along with any others in the tribe that chose to be there.

It was sadly one of the few iconic parts of the tribes culture that was spared the destruction of the monster hordes, at least for now. But that was not a future he wanted to even entertain. For the moment all he could do was tend to the others in his tribe the best he could.

Malaki found healing injury's to the flesh was easy, but the damage done to the mind was another matter entirely. Many of those in his tribe bore invisible injuries that went deeper then the scars on there bodies. Again it was not something he wanted to think about. He had his own problems to deal with when it came to the mind.

Thankfully the spire had its own collection of scrolls and Malaki took that time to research any knowledge the tribe had on seers. At the moment he was relaxed by a window with several scrolls scattered about and one fully unrolled and open before him. No light came through the opening though as it was night outside. Only a cool breeze.

"The butterfly effect...." The night wing said lowly as he read the old scroll over with his glowing malachite colored eyes. "Highly disconcerting", he mumbled again. "Ok then, enough of that", with that he rolled the scroll up and took another scroll on a topic more relevant to his tribal occupation as a healer.

Malaki read the scroll in silence but stopped for a moment as he heard claws tapping on the stonework of the corridor outside. The night wing did not let his thoughts linger on the curiosity of who else was up. He had just started reading a interesting part of the scroll that talked about the theoretical benefits of invasive surgery's.

After reading the theory the night wing rolled up the scroll and gathered the others to put back on the shelf in the room. Going out into the corridor he saw two others from the tribe sitting around a bowl shaped brazier on the ground with a welcoming warm fire. Like a moth drawn to the flame Malaki headed towards his kin, but not before putting on his black tinted goggles that shielded his sensitive eyes from the light.

They looked at Malaki as he approached and sat down but did not speak right away. Malaki sat with his kin around fire taking comfort from the warm. "I'm hungry...." One of the night wings said with a tone of sadness. Malaki continued to look at the fire, the reflection of the flames dancing on his goggles.

Malaki looked at the dragon that spoke and saw how visible there ribs were. They seemed more skeletal then anything else. It was at this moment he looked at himself and found his body was in the same state, malnourished. "We are starving", Malaki said in a matter of fact way devoid of emotion.

"The hunters keep returning with less and less food. Hopefully tomorrow they will bring enough for all of us." Malaki was trying to be optimistic but he already could see that future. There would not be enough food and he would have to fight for his share when they arrived in the morning. It was not something he looked forward to doing. Being reduced to fighting over food like a starving wolf in winter. But such were the times.

"Things will get better, you will see". Malaki added in an attempt to keep up his fellow nightwings spirits up. But words proved a hard thing to swallow when your stomach ached with hunger. In the morning Malaki was outside waiting  for the hunters to return, and waiting to fight with the others for some. "Every dragon for themselves". He grumbled. "How far we have fallen."

(Quick question, where is the Onyx Citadel?)

(On the island of Shadow’s Refuge)

To say that Paradox was having fun was a great understatement. Only recently has he returned to this world in full and already he has made small impacts here and there. Roaming the lands, he was looking for new playmates, victims, the name really doesn't matter, he was looking for new mortals to entertain himself on. Currently, he found himself on an island, overlooking a great and, for mortal standards anyway, ornate construction.

With the snap of his claws, he vanished, reappearing at the top of the citadel. Chuckling to himself, he let out a fierce roar, primal like the dragons of ancient times, demanding attention from those present on the island. He knew someone would catch it and investigate and that is all he truly wanted. Staying in role with his actions, he used his long, serpentine body to coil around the top, head held high and proud. There he was, waiting for mortals to arrive...

Despite how hard things had gotten, Cyclone and Typhoon has still managed to be almost as playfully and happy as before. In fact, the pair had set up a little prank, just a bucket of sea water carefully balanced over a doorway. In all honesty, they were trying to get their minds off of what happened. Also, unlike the others, the pair life as Rogues help them adjust to the limited food supply better than others. They didn’t look as thin, though some rubs began to show. It may have also been that every hunter, due to their joined nature, had a different way of rationing to them.

Whatever the case, both soon found themselves laughing as a dragon was soaked by their trap. It wasn’t long, however, before they jumped at the sound of a roar. The pair looked up at the roof. Was that where it came from? Cyclone then eyed her brother.

”Let’s check it out.” But she soon found she was the only one trying to move.

”Sis, Mom said to stay here. Plus, that could be one of those thing.” Cyclone just shook her head.

”But it sounded like a dragon. Plus we aren’t leaving, we’re just going outside. Typhoon adjusted his collar a bit, wearing it on his wrist like a bracelet, which was becoming more of a habit for him. He finally gave a nod, and the pair spread their four wings to find the dragon.

Malaki was no idiot, the night wing knew he was no warrior. When the hunters flew overhead and dropped the dead pray below onto the ground he stayed apart from the others and just simply watched as they fought over it. He waited and watched, only lunging into the rabble of biting teeth and slashing claws while they were to busy with each other to notice he had just ran off with a deer leg and a good size portion of its haunch.

He retreated back to the Citadel and the confines of its walls that provided safety and privacy. But it was not exactly a easy journey once reached. Inside the night wing used his visions of the future to avoid bumping into any other dragons who might want to take the delicious prize for themselves. Much to his annoyance his visions of the future even saved him from being dunked in water from a bucket on a door. With more then a few young dragons running around he was hardly surprised.

In the confines of a small room he felt safe to eat the meat he had stolen from the rabble before. Nothing was wasted, not even the bone marrow. He cracked the bones and greedily at it as to get as much food as he could. Still feeling hungry Malaki chewed on the remnants of the leg bone to savor the taste.

A loud roar caught his attention though. Leaving the bone on the ground he stood up and walked to a carved out window. Sticking his long neck and head out Malaki could not see much. He tried to use his power of the future but strangely found nothing to be seen. Still, his curiosity won out. Unwilling to leave the bone behind Malaki picked it up in his teeth and proceeded outside chewing on it all the way.