Edge of Success (Aftermath continued)

Note: Before we begin, I wanted to let everyone apart of the previous topic to know this was not the plan, to start a new Role play topic. Amore had quit the forum, which is sad in itself, and unfortunately we will be continuing this without her. As for the character in question, I thought about it and figured that she was a mirage, a new monster making a brief appearance before disappearing. And I apologize for making this into a hassle, it was not meant to happen this way at all. But without further ado, the continuation of Aftermath!



All stood quiet, no frogs croaked nor did the crickets chirp. The birds dare not sing and the tiger ever so hidden in fear. Twigs snapped and tall plants fell, a group of dragons passing through, with one ahead to scout the danger, they followed their weakened king. For him, he only lived to serve his people, and for him to do that he would need to keep pushing and turn the pain into strength. That was hard enough when the group had their own predators breathing up their spines. Ironic really, ironic that these once powerful dragons were reduced to few scared reptilians. That didn't stop though, they didn't stop pushing for newfound survival.

Attor had taken Hanual suggested hard, thinking that perhaps it was best he get rest after whatever they had encountered. A mirage of the queen, one that seemed too real to everyone, the same one that disappeared within a blink, as if it was all in their heads. For seeing the exact same image, it might have been another monster, Attor thought, toying with them. To him, it just sank his heart deeper into an abyss he can't escape, he thought about passing the throne over to one who was wise, strong, smart and worthy enough: that one he thought could be Hanual. For now, he forced himself to only think about his objective, getting the survivors to safety, and already he knew the spot.

The sovereign felt the ground slope upward slightly as if they were approaching a hill. He knew they were close, and if memory serves correctly it was going to be a long, high climb. The plateau he was after was treacherous to climb, sharing the exact attributes to a mountain just flat and large at the top. It marked the end of the jungle and the beginning of the SkyWings highlands, mountains and plateaus covering the land. This particular land mass however was taller than most, it would be higher up to the clouds, mostly cooler during the day. It was originally going to be the new kingdom of the merged Sky and Light kin.

The rocks that stuck out from the ground had visible quartz growing from them. The land sloped up until hitting a mountain side. Attor was up the for challenge, with his cracked natural armor and all. He thought for a moment, the golden glow of the Yellow Moonstone never betraying an eye. The bastard was up to something, something stupidly clever, or cleverly stupid. He moved his paw about the ground, scraping at it until jungle dirt turned into a more firm ground, where only grass and weeds grew short.

Attor went ahead where little vegetation grew and gave a relieved sigh, that jungle was hell.

"We should rest here, its the middle of daytime and we would be able to see anything from all directions." Attor announced, looking up at the mountain side. The gears turned in his head, thought after thought of how to get up there. Groups of two perhaps? One after the other, the weak and wounded get middle, the slightly more healthy get the front and the physically fit get the back. A scout would be good in any situation. Almost any.

The sovereign thought how he woupd get up there himself, perhaps he would use something for support, perhaps temporarily repair the wings to where he could be able to flutter in air, possibly from rock to legs for a short moment. He would need to think of a way to engineer something that could work, Attor didn't like the idea of being pushed up a mountain... or a really large plateau.

The Queen was here then gone in an instant. Everyone had been excited to see her, then fell so low when they realized it was only a dream. For as long as they could afford to stand in one spot in the middle of a monster-infested jungle, the group mourned. They felt like they had lost their queen all over again--particularly the SkyWings.

Raak-tolIs continued on at the back of the group, keeping watch for monsters. Eventually, they came to the place Haneul had marked. Attor announced that they would rest before going up the mountain. The LightWing-IceWing hybrid found a spot to lay down for a while.

Destella slid along with the group, staying close to Snowscale. She held her little daughter in a coil of her body, allowing the hatchling to rest. She was so happy to find out that her family was safe that she had practically tackled them earlier. But then... the Queen.... She... she wasn't real. It was impossible, right? How could something make everyone see her?

Once they got to the location the group of dragons was trying to reach, Attor told them to rest there. The serpent coiled around herself and close to her mate. She then noticed her fellow Lightwing, and smiled a bit. "Looks like we final found somewhere safe."

((Sorry for the wait everyone, life seems to be keeping me busy lately))

It would take some thinking to get up there, but for now Attor can tend to his wounds and rest to regain some strength. He quietly would curse out of frustration. He didn't feel he was going to get anyone anywhere safe, he could barely keep up with himself it seemed. Attor continued to stare up the mountainside, inspecting every rock, every edge and tree that grew from it, even to the last pebble that piled up or stood alone, and every crystal that could be grappled. The yellow moonstone that he tucked away in his broken wings gave a dim glow, Attor was thinking very hard any way of making the perilous climb less perilous.

"Perhaps... we could go in pairs of two," Attor spoke to himself, in a way he did it so he could hear himself, so that way the dragon would know whether the idea he had wasn't crazy enough.

"Go in pairs of two, use the crystals and thicker tree's to grapple and hold..." Attor continued to elaborate the plan, mumbling to himself until he grew tired of it. He shook his head. It was going to be tough trying to climb the damned thing, he felt his back begin to stiffen and strain, so he would walk away from the rocky side and lay in a small patch of grass. It wasn't as comfy as he would like it, considering the rocks that the plants grew beneath. Attor would need to take everyone's safety and condition into consideration.

Destella would be able to easily scale the mountainside due to her build, but still needed to look out for her young. Raak, or Raak-Tolis, was in a much better condition than Attor, so most likely he would be one of, if not the only, defenders of the group. This was by assumption though. Attor lost thought for a moment, the tiredness and pain he was in catching up more rapidly now. His muscles screamed at him as did the deep cuts and bruised nerves.

The sovereign gave a low grumble as he shifted slightly. He was concerned about everything, on high alert constantly. He had to worry about the survivors, the monsters, the area they trekked, and anything that would pose both problem and threat. It was bothersome really, and to Attor, he doubt he would even make at all, yet somehow he was here. He didn't know if it was sheer will, his and everyone else's smarts, or just dumb luck. He was surprised no one wanted to kill him yet... well maybe Hanual, but that was different.

((Bump))

While the others rested, Haneul patrolled as usual. Just sitting around would drive him crazy--even more than having to be around LightWings. He flew in a five mile wide circle around the group of survivors, scanning the treetops for danger. With each complete circle he made, he moved a mile closer to the group, flying lower to look for smaller threats. Though SkyWings were famed for their speed, Han took his time, not wanting to risk missing anything. His two hour search yielded nothing; the Guardian returned to the group and reported as much. "I found nothing worth reporting, Your Highness, and no monsters lurking. But I will continue my patrols until the light has faded." Without watitng for a response, Han flew off again to do just that.

As Destella laid there, she noticed how the king looked. Ever since the monsters appeared the serpent had been using her knowledge of plants and other things in nature to help heal those who needed it. A Pigmentum. It had pretty much become her job as time went on. In recent weeks though, she had become more and more worried about Attor. The sovereign hadn’t rested in so long....

The dragoness soon handed her daughter to Snowscale, telling them she’d be back. The feathered ness then slid up to Attor, looking over his injuries. ”How are you feeling your highness?”

Snowscale had been a bit more than shocked that monsters had managed to overrun his and his mate's tribes. It almost seemed like something was getting even, some dark force was laughing at them...
Impossible. Firebrand was imprisoned. I watched it happen.
But why did this seem so fishy?
Whatever the case, the Skywing King didn't look good. Snowscale wished he could call Shade, cursing the beast that had made him lose it.
The Skywing shook off such dark thoughts. He and his mate were back together again, and that's all that mattered.

Attor had been thinking what to him felt like a long time. However his thoughts were pulled away by a simple question from one of the survivors. Immediately he exited his trans-like state and reality flooded back into his mind. He could feel the tiredness and pain he was in, but it was the same he had since the attack, so he was unfathomablely comfortable with it. Gods, Attor thought, could it get any worse? Maybe, maybe not, and the question came to mind, why did he use the term "Gods" if they had left their worshippers behind? Someone was to blame for all this.

He heard Hanual report, yet he hadn't bothered to stay about nor did Attor bother to acknowledge him. He understood the Guardian was scouting the area, he also understood the Guardian didn't want to be around the group. What Attor did not know was whether he had any disdain toward the sovereign or people. Perhaps he was dealing with the situation at hand in his own way? He would simply cast the thought away, Hanual was doing his job, and that was good enough.

The sovereign looked down to the serpentess, instead of having the usual pained expression he simply shown a tired and calm one. It was clear the shape Attor was in was not quite right, and nothing could be done to fix it until they find the place he so desired. He wouldn't allow it at all, he just wanted to push forward until his people, the Order, were safe. The last journey was up that steep plateau, and he thought that it would be a fun experience.

"Ah, Lady Destella, I am..." Attor thought for a moment before answering further, "Surviving, so to say. Worry not of me, tend your mate and hatchling while you can," He looked back up at the mountain of a climb, "The travel upward will be difficult, so I suggest you get the rest you need for it. It won't be an easy one."

The SkyWing remembered when he was younger he had been taken up places like these, and while that treck alone was hellacious, he was a hatchlings back when. And now he was a full grown dragon, albeit rougher in the ongoing days, he figured a dangerous climb like this would be nothing compared to back then. Perhaps it would be. His strength was sapped, that and he was relatively hungry, so the only thing really going for him was sheer will. Attor didn't think it would help, but if it meant getting everyone to safety then damn it all it was worth the risk of his own life.

"Why do you ask?" Attor was curious, if his condition wasn't exactly the reasoning, he couldn't really guess what was. Attor looked like a drunk late-night brawler, if anything.

Raak had grown restless just laying there watching his fellow Starlights. He decided to try to lightening the mood the best way he knew how--with an ice sculpture. The half IceWing used his breath to make a block of ice. Then, he used his claws to shape the block. Sculpting was something the Citizen was quite good at, so it only took him 15 minutes to finish. "I thought this might cheer us up a bit," he said to no one in particular. And then he stepped away to reveal a small scale ice sculpture of the SkyWing palace--before the monsters had destroyed it, of course.

Des gave the ruler an odd look when he told her not to worry about him. The dragoness’s feathers darkened as she let out a sigh. Was Attor seriously asking why she was checking on him? ”Why? You look like you fought an Earthwing with your wings tied. And I checked Snow and Crescylla on the way here.” She then gave Attor a curious glance before seeing Raak’s ice sculpture.

She smiled and nodded to the dragon before turning back to Attor. She began to look at his wounds, being careful not to make things worse. ”Why are you so intent on not getting help?”

"Because he wants to see me put to death for his murder..." The Guardian landed, having completed yet another patrol of the immediate area. "I didn't see anything yet. But I have a feeling that as night falls, we'll be even more likely to have unwanted visitors."

Raak-tolIs put some ice around his sculpture to help it last longer before wandering over to the trio. He inclined his head to them and sat, holding his head high. Even in these dark times, he still had his regality. "I could create an ice barrier around us. Probably won't do anything against the bigger monsters, but it might at least keep the smaller ones at bay for a time."

Snowscale remained silent during the exchange, trying to keep to the fringes of the group. He had no idea what the others thought of him, not that he cared. He barely even knew much about his tribe, but he supposed he would have to deal with them now. Either that, or go back to wandering alone in the mountains, which were still somewhat safe. Or rather, safer than wandering around with a bunch of strangers.
Still, he saw that Destella cared for the Skywing King, and lifted himself from his relaxed position to walk to her side. He examined the injuries a bit more closely, then moved off into the forest.
A good ways away from the group, Crescylla on his back, he began to fashion bandages from vines and leaves. Crescylla kept an eye out for danger as the drake worked, humming softly to herself.
Finally Snowscale returned carrying some makeshift bandages and some bark wrapped with vines. He set to work with the king, silently weaving bandages where he could and using sap to put the bark over the broken parts of Attor's armor. Crescylla helped a bit with his frosty breath, staunching some bleeding and numbing places Snow couldn't bandage. When they finished, the drake wordlessly slipped back to the outskirts of the group, offering no explanation for his actions.

Tired....he felt so tired yet the old guardian trekked on cautiously through the undergrowth. He stopped instantly when he heard movement ahead and picked up the scent of a dragon, Skywing to be exact. Survivors...so there was some bright light in the midst of this dark chaos and he just almost bumped into them by accident. Once they began to move away he quietly followed after them, feeling his limbs still slightly numb from his almost constant force march, and followed them to the edge of the jungle. There a sight for very sore eyes greeted him of the resting group.

Slowly the pale grey elder guardian walked, more limped, out of the jungle in full view. Dotting across his already faintly scarred body were new additions from his hellish journey to this location, the most prominent addition being one over his right eye, and clear signs of exhaustion from the dark circles under his eyes to. He still walked over to where the trio were talking and bowed lightly in respect to Attor, even he still could recognize a tribe leader when he saw one.

"Guardian Dhe-" To hell with the secrecy at this point, "Darmith. Relieved to know there are other survivors who made it."