A/N:
Okay you fools. Here it is. Chapter three. As you can clearly see. Sseth and Code… as well as Aetheo, he really didn't do much.
Aetheo: Let us write "Balls"
Hacodeman: Ayyy oh, SEXY TIME IS HERE!
Ssethelis: Well, to put this lightly, y'all are in for some serious shit.
Okay just ignore all that. Im sure that's not what you're here for.
Hacodeman: These notes better be what u all are here for
Ssethelis: You may have to deal with a big Author's Note, too. My apologies.
Good god please stop and let me finish! I swear you're all going to start an author's war!
Hacodeman: NO! WAR IS THE ONLY WAY! BUTTSEX BUTTSEX BUTTUTTUTTUTTUTT BUTTSEX!
Aetheo: PeAcE, BrO.
And *kick*, Codes is now gone. Welp, that's that. Thank god for G-Docs.
Ssethelis: Our lives have now been made easier.
Hacodeman: MmmmMM! MmEM! MmMME! Mphf! Ptooah! NEVAH! I WILL REMAIN!
Ssethelis: "You can't spell 'subtext' without 'buttsex'"
Okay, breaking out the ban hammer.
Aetheo: Burn the heretic.
I'll Burn everything. I swear. Just one Mach away and this'll all stop. Okay, now if everyone is done with their rambling and other unnecessary nonsense, I need to do my own!
Disclaimer: Seriously, why do I need to do this. It's not like I'm going to steal anything. Cause you know, copyrights and stuff. It's all government. So fine! Activision! Take your Spyro and his stuff! Out of my office!
But as a final note:
WTF the fuck: it's better than just a single fuck!
Chapter 3: Love's 'Subtleties'
Ellix sat comfortably in front of the fire that lit the main chamber of his cavernous home, watching the flames lick the air and the rocks around their base. The small sticks and twigs that supported the miniature inferno were slowly being consumed, destroyed by the ever hungry blaze. Occasionally, an ember would grow incredibly hot and- as a result- pop, exploding it as well as creating a flurry of sparks and ash that would rush towards the ceiling before slowly falling back into the fire. Ellix shifted positions, picking up the rock that he was lying on and replacing it with one that sat next to the coals. The new stone was comfortably warm, providing heat for his cold-blooded body. Then, he grabbed a stick with his tail and tossed it into the fire, and with another eruption of sparks, the flames starting munching away on their new treat.
This was the one of the few things done by Ellix during his basic routine when it was the Courtship month. His day started early, which was just getting up before everyone else for reasons he didn't want to discuss. He would wake in silence, eat breakfast in silence, then wait for the rest of the family to get up in silence. Most of the time he'd have to wait till midday just to even see one of them, again for reasons he wouldn't discuss. Once someone did show their muzzle, he would immediately tell whomever it was that he was going outside to the river, then leave without another word, whether or not they heard him. He would then proceed to stay away from everyone for the entire day and in some cases halfway through the night, which he knew was dangerous but from his perspective was better than being back inside. On the days he was given relief and was allowed to peacefully enter the cave, he would simply sit near the fire till he was sure that the rest of the family was asleep.
It had been a hour since he had heard anything from the others. However, he knew better than to assume, last time he had done so the sight was no less than horrifying. He shuddered, remembering the two-second memory, something he wished he could forget. Pushing it aside, he strained his ears, hoping to hear nothing. Luckily, all he got was silence, but knowing the consequences should he be wrong, Ellix again didn't assume anything.
Thirty more minutes, Ellix told himself. If not, he would just fall asleep next to the fire. Normally he wouldn't dare sleep out in the open in fear of someone doing something to him while he slept, like sleeping next to him or covering his body in ash so he'd wake up sneezing... Cera. However, over the course of the past four weeks that Selic's family had been here, no one had made any moves towards him. Everyone tried something sometime or another, it was rather disgusting when Cera and, occasionally, even Mach got too close for comfort. The only dragon that didn't bother him was Ria, which he was more than grateful for. But despite all the negativity and seemingly inappropriate situations, it wasn't as bad as he was making it out to be, and Ellix knew that. In all honesty, it was nothing more than simple flirting, or encouragement in Mach's case. However, in Ellix's mind, his discomfort towards the subject multiplied these simple actions into something more perverted.
He often reflected on this; why was he blowing his situation so out of proportion? It wasn't like anyone was really trying to get him to participate, they were just insinuating it. Though, that's the part he didn't like. Even though his distaste towards this season was unparalleled by any other's, he couldn't help the random pop ups that would cloud his thoughts whenever some other family member suggested... things. So in a way, it was he who was making it so unbearable for himself. Heck, no one had even made a 'move' on him, just simple conversation and hints; and even then no one had just flat out said anything crude. It was all just hints! Little things that he was using to fill in the blanks! But despite all the thought put into his own mental issues, one final argument is what really decided it for him: Were any of his family members truly easy to be around in the first place? And the answer was… no, they weren't. Therefore, he just tried to flat out avoid everyone, quite literally beating two 'evils' at once.
So with his thought processes finally settling Ellix actually began to enjoy the peace and quiet provided to him; resting his head on his forearms and letting the rare smile cross his mug. Once his position was satisfactory, he took a deep breath, releasing the air with a small, content sigh. However, the quick inhaling of air brought about the scent of the one thing he did not want to smell right now, the sweet, addictive smell of a female dragon.
Oh please no, he begged inwardly, burying his face between his forearms and curling his tail around the left side of his body. What could one of the four be doing out right now! No one is ever out at midnight! Hopefully they were just going back to their section of the cave for the night or just going outside for a piss. Then, he remembered where he was in the cave system, the main chamber. In order to get anywhere else in the cave one had to go through this area. Ellix couldn't leave this area because then he would be entering one of the several main rooms that had the families in them, nor could he make a break for the outside due to the fact that it was well past midnight and he didn't want to be out there while neither moon was showing. He couldn't use his element because of the damn fire that he was so pleasantly enjoying, and despite the fact that the room was filled with fur mats, cabinets, boxes, and tables of varying sizes, none of them were even remotely large enough for him to hide in! Because that would be too convenient! In other words, he was screwed!
Please, anyone but Cera. Anyone else! Ellix pleaded. At least the others had some level of self control; if Cera walked around that corner and saw him, that was it, fucking flirt city. He could vividly remember when he was fourteen and Cera was her respective age. That was the year she entered her first heat, and the amount of times she had pulled him off to the side, tackled him, or tried to just flat out pressure him was unnerving. 'Why so red, Ellix? If you like it so much I bet I could help.' 'Eeeellliiixx! This itch won't go away. Can you help, please?' 'Ellix! Could you sleep in my room tonight? I keep getting nightmares.' Bitch, hell no! You're not getting nightmares, you are the nightmare! The first thing he did when Mach arrived was use his red ass as a shield! Which, ended up working maybe a bit too well. Fortunately, Ellix was forced out of his undignified musing when the tapping of claws against stone got closer. He began to sweat and started to shuffle away from the tunnel the sound was coming from, hoping to separate himself from whatever demon was about to come forth. No sooner had he started moving when the owner of the sound entered the chamber and he gave off a mental sigh of relief before letting shock overtake him.
Ria and Ellix locked eyes, both equally surprised to find the other where they were. For once, Ellix was the first to break the awkward stare; flicking his eyes back down to the fire beside him. What is Ria doing out here? He wondered to himself, She never leaves her section of the cave at night! Ellix began darting his eyes around rapidly, expecting an answer from the movements. Almost immediately afterward, his musing from before re-entered his brain. He had quite literally stated that Ria was the only one to not make a move on him yet. Then suddenly, BAM! Ria! He had jinxed himself! Jinxed! Hesitantly, he turned back around to face Ria, only to find her searching the stone cabinet that Vinea had made.
Okay, so she's just getting something to eat. Relief washed over him when the thought of continued quiet entered his mind. Sadly, that hope was shattered when the tapping of approaching claws echoed throughout the room again.
Ellix didn't move, as he was too surprised, too surprised that Ria, of all the dragons he knew, would be the one that would approach him. It was so unlike her, despite the fact that over the past couple of weeks she had become surprisingly less shy, being able to actually make eye contact with others. However, even now she still wouldn't openly walk over to dragons. She'd often wait for them to pass by only to say something simple, like a greeting. Most of the time she still wouldn't actively participate in conversations, preferring to wait until directly called to. But even with the time to prepare her answers Ria would still stutter. It was if her mind would just shut down randomly, regardless if it was only for a moment, preventing her from completing sentence in a single thought. During his distraction he barely noticed that Ria had sat next to him and was now staring into the fire with him.
Another long, awkward silence fell between them. The only sound that could be heard was the fire's random crackling and popping. Neither moved, talked, nor made any gestures of any form towards the other. It was like both were in their own personal world, trapped within a bubble that allowed only thoughts to exist. Seconds whisked by, then minutes, and soon what felt like hours passed and neither had said a thing. In the midst of their silence, the fire had begun to die, but Ellix was too engrossed in his musing to notice.
"The f-fire's going to d-die," Ria eventually said, breaking the era-long silence between them. However, Ellix didn't hear her due to his unfocused focus. When Ria got no response, she tried again, only this time bumping him with her right wing. The contact awarded her with a sharp gasp from Ellix, who finally looked up, turning to her with an eye ridge raised. Ria yelped and jumped back at his sudden response, shrinking under his scrutinizing gaze and motioned over to the dying fire, which was all but embers now.
Slowly, he turned his sight to the fire, only to frown at the pathetic flames that poked at the burned logs. Sighing, he grabbed a few sticks with his tail and tossed them into the fire, then leaning down, he blew on the embers, making them glow brightly and ignite the sticks above them. With the fire again blazing the two dragons went back to their unresponsive staring. Ellix hoped that the strange silence would be all that came out of the one sitting next to him. He couldn't get the thought of how unexpected her sudden arrival was out of his mind. This hadn't happened any other time, and he would know; you don't spend a full month getting six hours of sleep just for the kicks. He was also fairly damn certain that she wasn't getting bribed for doing this, because at that point her entire personality might as well have been destroyed. Yet here she was! Sitting right next to him, and now that she was this, close, the scent from before was just wafting into his nose, until he could smell practically nothing else.
Thank the ancestors I'm not affected by this as much as the others, he thought to himself, not daring to think about what would happen if he didn't have that resistance. Not so thankfully, his envisionments of lasting silence were ending when Ria shuffled to his left. Please don't say anything. Two weeks, two more weeks until this is over! But as his prayer went out Ria decided to speak up.
"S-so Ellix," she started, then seeming as if she had forgotten what to say next, shuffled a rock at her paws, "what are you doing out here so late?"
Ellix froze, could he actually tell her why he was out here? No, of course not, that would be an instant death sentence in the form of worry and grief… and possibly a heart attack. He needed an excuse and fast. Ellix began to work his mind, attempting to think of something, even the most simplistic and easily readable of fibs would work. Suddenly, a crisp, nightly wind came through the mouth of the cave, smacking him across the face as if saying, 'I'm right here'. Ellix paused for a moment, then began blinking rapidly as a thought hit him like a ton of bricks.
"I like the warmth of the fire," he said, trying not to allow the waver in his tone to show.
"Oh, that's the same reason I'm here," she replied nonchalantly, as if expecting his answer. "It was really cold in my section of the cave too."
As conversation died down again, Ellix let his mind wander. If he was going to be honest with himself, it wasn't all that cold in the cave, especially since it was the season of growth. Most nights it was warm enough for him not to have to sleep next to the fire, or with any form of heat source at all- it was more of a luxury than anything. Then he thought about what time it was. Courtship month. Okay, nothing really abnormal, at least nothing that would make one cold, except for maybe the cold sweat he got when Cera was in the same room as him. Next his thought went to what happens during this time and where dragons generally are: with another dragon. That was when he realized why she was cold, or under the false impression of coolness. Putting two and two together, he came to the conclusion about why Ria was out here, and it wasn't so she could heat up... at least not around the fire.
Fuck, he sighed, shuffling nervously where he sat. He hoped that his idea was extremely wrong, otherwise his excuse from before had probably not been the best one. At that moment, another small gust of wind swept through the cave. Ellix saw Ria visibly shiver out of the corner of his eye, his thought process from before came into his head. His eyes widened when that process continued and he feared the worst.
Don't you dare! Just move closer to the fire! Ellix yelled internally. He just wanted to keep to himself. I don't need someone getting all close now! Just two weeks!
However, his fears were realized. Ria stopped shivering and 'unconsciously' slid towards him. Trying his best not to show his personal space intrusion-based panic attack by tensing up, his mind was a different story. Racing a thousand miles a minute, he tried to come up with some way to get out of the unnecessarily awkward situation. Darting his eyes around, Ellix looked for some kind of inspiration. However, during that specific point in time, everything in the room became instantly useless. Nothing in the entirety of the cavern seemed even remotely come close to helping him. A multitude of furs? Sure, let's walk over and smother her! A few wooden bowls filled with a variety of liquids? Well, he could make it rain for about two seconds. Hunting satchels? Why even bother thinking about them. Smooth, stone, cabinets and tables? Fucking pointless! Then, his eyes ran over the firewood pile. After mentally slapping himself for being so damn incompetent, he devised an escape plan.
Ellix glanced over to the firewood pile. Using the most casual motion he's ever made in his life, he slid over to the pile. Pausing for a moment, he slowly bent over and grabbed a small bundle of sticks with his maw, taking extreme care in getting as close to the pile as possible without seeming purposeful. Ellix then proceeded to toss the sticks into the fire, successfully moving away from Ria's aura of uneasiness and fueling the dying fire.
Smooth Ellix, very smooth, he chuckled to himself inaudibly. Though his silent victory quickly vanished when Ria counterattacked. Apparently, she had been taking advice from Cera and Sapphire over the course of the past four weeks. Unfortunately, Ellix had been 'blissfully' unaware of this.
Every once in awhile, when she found the time to ask the other females, often as not their 'advice' was nothing more than just a simple conversation which escalated into something else. Luckily these discussions weren't uncomfortable, though they did get the point across. It wasn't like they were just flat out tell her how to… get him going, or really told her anything at all. Just random tidbits of information that she found useful. It was also due to these conversations that Ria had partially gotten over her shyness. Sadly, most of the time when she brought up Ellix during these talks, Cera gave her the cold shoulder, saying things like 'I don't know what you see in him,' but due to her cheery nature these dismissals were turned into neutral statements. Even though her attempts to get straight up tips were in vain, she still got some useful information, like using sly and rather common motions to try to get close to someone.
When Ria saw Ellix move away and grab more firewood she instantly knew what was happening. So, in response, she devised her own plot to get back next to him, and after a few moments of thinking, a simple yet clever idea came to her mind. Casually, Ria looked to the firewood pile, same as he had. Ellix noticed but shrugged it off. However, what happened next was completely unexpected. Ria shuffled back over next to Ellix, but before he could react, she continued her motion.
First, she snaked her tail underneath his wings. Once it was successfully placed, Ria used it to grab a piece of wood, effectively wrapping the appendage around Ellix's backside and hind legs. Then, once the log was secure, she brought her paw under his chin, brushing it slightly and took the wood from her tail's grasp. Now that the firewood was free, she let her tail fall limp, leaving it wrapped around him. Next, she scooted forward a small bit, causing her right flank to be forcefully ground against Ellix's left. Finally, Ria simply tossed the piece of wood into the fire and continued to stare off into the rising flames, acting as if nothing at all had just happened.
Ellix just sat in silence. The shock of what occurred in the last ten seconds prevented him from even comprehending that Ria's tail was now wrapped around him or that she was leaning on him. So instead, he stared into the fire, right eye twitching. The spots in which she touched him slightly tingled. Why? He didn't know, but it was fucking annoying, considering half his side was just gone! He also felt like vomiting, or at least had the sense of nausea. Though he couldn't throw up on Ria… right? Ellix then abruptly broke out of his flabbergasted state, blinking a few times which ended in a confused frown. Now recomposed, Ellix ran through the scene a couple times.
Okay, in all honesty, that, was WAY smoother than me, he started with a calm mind, but since I'm being honest with myself right now, what the fuck!? As the thought ended with internal screaming, his body began to shake uncontrollably. Ria noticed Ellix 'shivering', and fortified her hold on him by wrapping one wing around him. Once the contact was made Ellix's right eye twitched again and he shrank forward to the point where his muzzle was less than a foot from the fire, but he was too shocked to move away.
Out of the limited number of things that could hold a place in Ellix's thoughts, one that stood out the most was: How? He had just gotten out-slyed by Ria! Of everyone that could have beaten him at his own game, the most nervous, shy, scared, and generally weak-willed dragon did. That was just a flat-out sucker punch to his pride. There was no way that she was pressured to do this, or bribed, or wanted, or would; she was just too shy! But that was the problem! This was her! She did this, on. Her. Own! And there were no flowers! The clear indicator of nervousness was not indicating! Doing something like this had to make her uncomfortable. However, there was no proof that she was!
His second thought was: Why? Never, has Ria ever! Shown any sort of evidence that she liked him. Yeah, he was one of the only dragons she ever openly talked to but this is just something else. And the fact that she had complete confidence while trying to seduce him was just another thing to add to Ellix's currently long list of shit he had to worry about. Was he just that oblivious? Could he really be that ignorant towards what others viewed of him… yeah, he really could. It was, now that he thought about it, not that surprising. But even then, he should have seen this! Of all the things he should have seen coming, this would be at the top of the list!
His third thought was the one that he would need to think the most about and fast: what the heck is he going to do? He couldn't just let it happen, could he?
No! Ellix shouted inwardly, immediately blocking out the image of him and Ria together. How was he going to react then? She practically had him in a slightly-less-menacing death grip! He couldn't pull another firewood stunt, so what else. He began looking around the room again, albeit more frantically his time, hoping for the possibility that he had missed something. But sadly, as his eyes ran around, he again noticed nothing that could assist him. It was still the middle of the night, so he doubted that he would be receiving any outside help. He didn't just want to get up and walk away, due to the fact that she had him in a deep pit, and if he did just leave she'd most likely start crying, and the one thing he had a soft spot for was crying. His element! However, he would take Ria with if he even tried, which he already knew would take an exceptional amount of energy to perform. Realizing he was in deep shit, Ellix started to sweat and his head became clouded.
Okay Ellix, he began, calm down. You need to think! She hasn't gone any farther! It's like a hug! Yeah, yeah, a completely, friendly, non-sexual hug! Just like a blanket! A leathery wing blanket of shut the fuck up! Ellix half shouted half chuckled insanely at his own brain's weak attempt to make this seem as if it were not a problem, at least he was smiling now, but that smile quickly vanished.
Ria noticed Ellix's hardly visible smile. She had finally done it! Ria had gotten Ellix, who Cera defined as an ever angry ape behind with no sense of humor, to smile! The best part is that he didn't resist, as much as she thought, to her being this close to him. For once in her life she didn't feel nervous, in fact, she hadn't felt uneasy throughout the whole ordeal, save for the first few sentences. She gave off a small hum of happiness as she remembered the last thing that her mother told her before she tried 'Just keep moving forward.' So, taking that advice again, Ria tied the knot, slowly leaning her head against Ellix's shoulder.
As Ellix felt the contact of her cheek on his shoulder he stifled a scream and his mind stuck in a loop: no no no no no no no no no no no no no no.
Ellix always had a problem with personal space. To him, it was almost more precious than his element. Now, Ria was encroaching on it, even though she had been before, it hadn't been to this extent. He needed to leave, now. Abruptly standing up, he knocked Ria's wing off and slowly started to walk backward.
"I-It's been nice talking to you Ria b-but…" he started as his brain failed him, his normally witty psyche breaking under pressure. Quickly he looked around for a reasonable excuse to leave, only to remember the time. "I-It's late and I'm really, really tired s-so I'm gonna go... now," Ellix voice quaked as he spoke the words he hoped would bring about his redemption.
Ria was dumbfounded. The dragon that was this close to being hers was now leaving because he was tired? However, instead of reacting to his statement, her mind went blank. What had she done wrong? Even if she hadn't come into this situation with a plan, everything up to his point had been fine! What was different!? Did she go too fast? Maybe the wing was too much? Did he just not like her that much? The more she mulled over Ellix's words and the cause for them the closer to the caves entrance he got, but she had yet to escape from her self degrading thoughts. However, as realization hit, Ria snapped out of her bubble only to see that Ellix has backed up halfway to the entrance. Ria began to panic, she couldn't let him leave, so she says the only thing that she can think of.
"What? N-No!" Ria yelled, standing up and walking toward the tunnel with him. As she did, the stone around her feet began to crack and small plants started to grow from them. Ellix noticed the flowers growing from the rock and became even more unsettled.
"Yes." He said with a couple nods, his teeth clenched and wings tucked in tight. Then, in an attempt to change the subject, he continued speaking. "Maybe you should go back to sleep as well. You don't look very good."
It was true, she didn't look great, but it was not the sickly green color of illness, but rather the shocked expression of rejection. She had risked embarrassment from the others when she asked for advice, and the fear of being denied when she had came in no more than ten minutes ago, just to see if she could get close to him, and up until this point she thought she had succeeded. Dread rose in her chest, now that she had a taste of failure, she wanted to remove it. All in all, she couldn't let him go, not this time.
Ria's mind raced, trying to think of a way to get Ellix to stay with her in the main chamber. A undisputedly difficult task considering that it was Ellix that she was trying to convince, a dragon notoriously known for being stubborn and unwilling. Sadly, only one thing came even remotely close, but that was a last resort level of idea. Ria was so deep in thought that she didn't notice Ellix's expression change from one of nervousness to worry, and he began to turn around and head for the tunnel.
It wasn't until Ellix had fully turned around did Ria see him slowly creep away. Her eyes went wide and her mouth hung agape, she had lost him, or was so close to that it was pointless to try and stop him normally. Immediately a sense of defeat washed over her and tears started to brim up along the edges of her eyes. Ria attempted to follow after him but was stopped by an unseen force, as if the world itself was denying her. As her last hope started to fade, she bowed her head and cried, causing the small cracks that had flowers in them to close, killing the plants they had held. However, her thought from before returned to her mind, halting the excess production of tears. She looked up to Ellix's shifting frame and bit her lip, hoping he would forgive her for this.
Ellix let out a sigh of relief. Though it pained him to hear Ria's muffled sobs, his fear filled conscience blocked it out enough for him to escape. Now relatively confident that Ria wouldn't try anything else, Ellix turned his back and walked farther towards the tunnel. He thought a bit about why Ria would even want to be with him, since he often received negative comments about his behavior from the others, it was a wonder that she would even want to be near to him, not that he had wanted that in the first place.
Suddenly, his thoughts were interrupted by the sound of claws clicking upon rock. Curiously, he turned his head to see Ria, charging full speed right at him. Ellix barely had time to register what was happening and adjust his expression before Ria leaped into the air. Acting on instinct, Ellix twisted around and started to dash towards the outside, only for Ria to fall on top of him like a boulder the instant he started moving, pinning him belly down. Dazed, Ellix shook his head, clearing the stars that had formed on the edges of his vision. It wasn't until a few seconds after did he feel the full weight of the pink-trimmed dragoness bearing down upon him.
"Ria!" He shouted from under her, "What are you doing?!" When the only response he got was a wrapping of forearms and hind legs he began to seize up. "Ria!" He cried out again, struggling to stand up, but the combined weight was too much. "Ria get off!"
Sadly, his complaints were in vain. After a few more attempts, he finally managed to stand up. Ellix tried to crane his neck around to see Ria and her death grip, but sadly couldn't due to a specific lima snout placed between his horns, effectively pinning his head in the forward position. Ellix began to hyperventilate, his breathing further labored by Ria's tighthold. He began to shake in an attempt to remove her from between his wings. However, his assailant would have none of it, and held firm, but soon thereafter she felt herself begin to slip. Her claws already holding as tight against him as possible, there was only one thing left to do. Quickly, she coiled her tail around his own and pressed her wings down across him, using her extra appendages to wrap her body across his own as if she were a blanket.
"I'm sorry!" Was the only answer she gave.
Ellix had no idea how to take that. Here she was, containing him with a field of flesh, limiting his movement to just stuttered walking, preventing him from expressing his utter disdain for that was happening! 'I'm sorry' is not an adequate excuse!
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Please don't go!" she continued to plead, not that it changed his opinion.
So here he was, trapped. Trapped within the wings of another dragon who, from what he could tell, wasn't going to let go anytime soon. Ellix began to stumble around the chamber, the uneven weight atop him making balance increasingly difficult. He had to free himself, not only for his own sanity, but to save himself from future embarrassment... Cera! Slowly, Ellix approached one of the stone tables in the room, as he neared it he gave one last call up to Ria before enacting his impromptu panic plan.
"Ria! Get. Off!" He yelled before ramming his side into one of the table's legs. Ria let off a sharp yelp as her side was forcefully bashed against the cold ground. However, despite the pain, her grasp only tightened around his neck. Ellix was also damaged by the sudden self-destruction, but seeing that his plan failed prevented any real pain from reaching his mind. Throwing himself into even more of a panic, he began running to random objects in room before ramming his sides across them. Each hit from the panicked ramming only granted Ellix an even more constricted chest, and the harder Ria held, the more desperate he became. Soon, with his adrenaline at its max, he was rolling both of them around, jumping into the air and letting them both fall to the ground, but nothing seemed to deter the persistent female.
After about five minutes of crashing, breaking furniture, and yells, the rest of the family started to awake. Mach was the first to enter the room, followed by Cera. Both dragons were still tired, but more so annoyed that they had been woken from their peaceful slumber. However, any dreams of butterflies and rainbows were immediately crushed to dust as Ellix flew past their respective faces, snapping the dazed dragons to reality. With wide eyes, both watched Ellix destroy the living room of the cave system. Too dumbfounded to speak, they only stared at the destruction ensuing in front of them, luckily Cera was faster to snap out of her awe.
"What's going on here!?" She yelped, eyes just as wide if not more so than Machs own. "Mach!" She yelled turning to her consort. "Do something!"
Mach couldn't say anything, his mouth just hung agape and he shook his head slowly as if to say, 'How would I even begin.' It was at this moment that the four adults entered the room, each one rubbing their eyes from sleep and stopping right behind the two shocked dragons. The sound of a vase breaking brought everyone's head up. Each one had their own unique expression, Sapphire's maw fell as she gazed upon her half-destroyed living room. Joule just sat on his haunches and brought one paw to his muzzle as he watched Ellix continue to run, unaware of their presence. Vinea's left eye twitched, all of the furniture, all of that effort, ruined. Selic was disgusted, and to show his disgust, he took a deep breath through his maw and vociferated.
"What the fucking hell!?" he bellowed. The sound reverberated around the cave, but no one even twitched at the sound. But despite everyone's reaction he continued. "Ellix! I swear I'll freeze your sorry ass!"
It was at this moment that Ellix froze, stopping in the middle of the chamber. Everyone fell silent, shocked that Selic's threat actually worked for once. No one moved or spoke, even the sound of breathing was muted. However, Ellix's brain was miles from silence, the main sound that kept repeating was what Selic said, 'Freeze', and realization hit him; the fire was dead. Abruptly, he turned to the nearest wall, a thousand mile stare on his mug.
Selic, thinking that Ellix had finally calmed down, noted the thing no one else had and commented on it.
"Alright," he started, his voice still filled with quiet ire, "now Ria, get off him." At these words, the room was filled with a collective raise of gazes and gasps.
None of these words reached Ellix's ears, but when Ria heard them she sighed, and loosened her grip on his waist. Ellix, up to this point, had been stoically facing the shadow covered wall. Feeling Ria's hold lessen, he lurched forward, charging full speed at the cavern wall. Ria's eyes widened and she re-latched onto Ellix's back much harder than before, accidentally raking him with her claws and drawing blood. Ellix heard Selic's angry shouting from behind but paid it no heed. As he reached the wall everyone's eyes once again widened and the yelling stopped; each dragon favoring to watch as he sank into it's surface.
Ria squeaked as her limbs went numb and her vision took a one eighty, from color to grayscale as Ellix entered the shadow realm.
However, the feeling of numbness didn't last long. Quickly, they resurfaced in the middle of the room, jumping high into the air before arcing back down and opening another portal, and then again, and again, and again. Each time the two would exit the earth would shake, not from Ellix, but from Ria. She was creating small holes in the cave within which small plants and flowers grew in response to her fear. Each of the gawking family members were silent, as one was just as shocked as the next. At this point, Sapphire had closed her mouth and was shuddering along with Vinea. Joule remained impassive, while Selic had stopped attempting to get Ellix or Ria to quit destroying the area and just sat with him.
For minutes conversation was void, everyone was so intently watching Ellix display his power that no one noticed the time between jumps increase and Ellix start to stumble after each one. At this point the room was completely destroyed. All the stone furniture and containers had been reduced to rubble. There were more than a dozen cracks in the ground, each one spewing it's own variety of nature. The many bowls and their contents had been spilt around the room and even the bags used for hunting were half torn apart. During the fiasco Selic could have sworn- which he did- that he saw a small fox jump out of one of the cracks and scurry out of the cave, and jump off the cliff face, but no one else heard him yell. But regardless, for the umpteenth time, Ellix burst out of the floor in the center of the room, crashing to the ground chest first.
Ellix laid on the floor panting heavily after the constant use of his element for the past five minutes. He was beyond exhausted and sometime during the event his element had uncontrollably turned on him, causing his whole body to end up numb. Ria was also pretty beaten up, even though Ellix had taken most of the hits and had somehow reversed some of the effects of his element allowing her to continue to have feeling despite being in the shadow realm, she still had a gathering of visible bruises and nicks. But even with these benefits, her exhaustion was just as bad, and with a loud grunt, she fell off of Ellix's back and onto the floor.
Ellix, with his muzzle planted into the dirt, and his body still numb, didn't feel Ria fall off his back. Instead, his mind decided to play a cruel trick, making it feel as if a phantom Ria was still bearing down upon him. Shakily, he stood back up and- much to the surprise of the others- faced the wall. He stared for a few moments still panting, then before anyone could react, charged the rock again. However, he had used up all of his elemental energy over the course of the last few minutes. Abruptly, and with no regard to his own safety, Ellix headbutted the stone with a sickening crack and fell unconscious before he hit the ground.
For the next three minutes the only sound that the dragons could hear was the labored breathing of Ria, who was shockingly still awake on the floor of the cave. The blades of grass that had sprouted from the cracking in the earth still grew despite her ailments and continued to swish from the small breezes that would enter periodically. Slowly, the stunned family members recomposed themselves. Selic, who was the least stunned, due to his temperament, started to walk out of the tunnel entrance and into the chamber, weaving his way around the nature filled fissures and a large tree that had grown out of the fire pit, walking as if they didn't exist. He stopped right above Ria, who did little to acknowledge his existence. He slowly looked over his daughter's frame, noticing a few bruises that covered her side. He then looked up to Ellix's passed out body, this time he winced at the multitude of self-induced cuts, bruises, and bumps that covered his figure. He turned back down to Ria, failing to notice the other dragons had walked up beside him.
"Ria?" Vinea asked in a squeaky voice, her face clearly expressing her apprehensive feelings.
Ria cracked her eyes open to look at her stunned mother. Realizing she had been spoken to, Ria stifled a weak grunt before closing her eyes again. As soon as her eyes closed Vinea jumped, all the shock that had previously existed had now been replaced with worry for her daughter. Scooping Ria up in her massive paws, Vinea proceeded to carry Ria from the main chamber and the still tense eyes of the others, sobbing all the way. The rest of the group stood in the main chamber, now staring at the limp body of Ellix, which twitched every so often. Eventually, Selic had had enough of the strange silence, and walked off with his mate, shaking his head at the stupidity of the moment. Sapphire had moved up against Joule, who thoughtlessly wrapped a wing around her, securing her in his tight embrace as they watched their son's unconscious sleep. Mach and Cera, who been the only ones actually talking during this time, where now conversing about whether or not to just leave him there. Mach, being the kind soul he his, vouched to move Ellix back to his area of the cave while Cera said they should just leave him there.
Both parents eventually started to overhear the younglings' rambling, yet neither showed any indication of such. Instead, they continued to watch Ellix's chest rise and fall as he breathed. Soon, the argument became heated, and their shouting could be heard throughout the cave system, the sound echoing around the walls repeating itself several times before coming to a halt. Suddenly, Joule doubled back- repeating something Cera said several times before- finally opening his mouth and giving his own shout.
"Do we even know what just happened!?" He yelled, releasing a shocked ice dragoness from his grip, "Seriously! Does any of this even make any sense!?" Joule's body was now shaking with frustration. "Just look at this place! There are cracks! In the floor! With grass growing out of them!" He shouted in continued annoyance, pointing his wings in all directions to bring attention upon the lush field that now grew in their living room. "There's even a tree growing in the fire pit!" His tone accurately displaying his incredulous feelings as he now faced the massive tree that went all the way to the roof of the cavern. "And why the hell was Ria, riding Ellix?!" His anger now showing, "He never lets anyone touch him! Even when he was a hatchling! And what the hell was he even doing out here! It's past, midnight!" Joule was now pacing across the room, much to the worry of his mate and the utter surprise of Mach and Cera. "On a further note, what was Ria doing out here!" He now turned to face Mach, staring him dead in the eye. "Riddle me that Mach, you're her brother, you should know. Why did Ria, wake up in the middle of the night, walk into the living room, and attack Ellix?!"
Mach stared, shocked, at the electric dragon for a few moments. Not once during the time he'd known Joule had he even witnessed this kind of outburst from the calm, collected dragon. But taking to his words, Mach began to run through the possibilities in his head. There was no joke, it was strange, for the both of them. Even so, it was something that had to be looked into. Within a few seconds Mach had come up with a few possibilities. One being that Ria had, in fact, attacked Ellix; others being less... applicable. After few more moments of thinking yielded to him no more results, Mach inhaled deeply, calming his disbelieving nerves. Taking the ideas he had and expanded them, he eventually crossed out the first two and leaving him with one last, idea, though it was certainly the strangest and simultaneously it happened to be most likely. Slowly wiping the uncertainty from his mind, Mach recomposed himself the proceed to give Joule his most flat, calm look.
"Ria didn't try to attack Ellix." He said slowly, keeping his voice as monotone as possible, trying not to give away his own disbelief, but instead attempting to instill a voice of confidence. Mach let the comment sit for a sixth of a minute. He watched everyone unconsciously lean forward in anticipation, closing the circle they had formed around him. Mach, now feeling claustrophobic, swallowed hard. Not wanting to say the answer himself, but the beady eyes of the staring dragons caused him to snap. "She tried to seduce him."
For the next six hours Ellix slept with neither knowledge of the outside world nor that of his family. Not the slightest thing disrupted him while he was unconscious, mainly because his body was still senseless, and the warmth of the surrounding cushions kept him slumbering with cordial comfort. The surrounding environment continued its night time routine, the sound of crickets could be heard, the outside air would push the trees around, and occasionally a frog would make an appearance, but other then those things the night was peaceful. However, it was nearing morning, but the light was dim and the air still slightly chilled.
Ellix snapped to consciousness, but his eyelids remained closed. He had no need to open them, his whole body ached, and that's all he needed to know. His head was pounding with a massive headache and all four of his legs were sore with the numbness of running. His wings and tail were both completely paralyzed, but since his head was still fogged, he thought nothing of it. Instead, Ellix just decided to lay there, letting the anaesthetic-like substitute of sleepiness and a headache pass from his mind.
After many minutes of quiet, Ellix had recovered enough of his consciousness to right his thoughts.
Before he could begin, the pain from all the lacerations and bruises that covered his frame decided to come forth. Ellix winced on instinct, expecting the pain to be unrelenting, yet strangely enough, he only received a minor amount of discomfort. Quickly relaxing from his unnecessary tense up, Ellix began to recall his memories from what seemed like minutes ago. Skipping the relaxation in front of the fire and going straight to the part where Ria came in. Ellix scowled, ignoring the blackened image his eyelids provided, and instead viewing the mental picture of the dragon that practically put him in this position.
Ria. The name almost sounded disgusting in his mind. He continued with the memory, stopping again at the part in which she leaned against him. Ellix bit his bottom lip and cringed. He did not want to think about that right now, it would just make him feel worse, but as he continued his recollection of the past few hours his mood declined automatically. The last thing he could remember was coming out of the shadow realm and seeing the whole of both families staring at him.
It was at this moment that his surroundings became a bit more clear to him. Despite the fact that his eyes were still closed, he felt the soft touch of pelts on his left flank. This small piece of information was enough for him to conclude that he was on a mat, not on the hard, rocky floor of the main chamber. The thought of the central chamber caught his attention, because it was the area in which the whole event had happened, he knew that something had to have happen to it. Ellix was unable to actually pay attention to what happened to the living room after the thing with Ria started, due to his panic attack, but as he fished through his thoughts his scowl turned to a look of shock.
He recalled the whole living area to have been destroyed. The room was filled with multiple cracks with anything from grass to rose bushes growing in them. Small trees also took root in the torn chamber, many of them having their tops cut off. One tree caught his mind's eye, it was the largest of them all and was growing directly out of the fire pit, it was also the only one that didn't have its top cut off. Piles of stone and fur littered the floor, the most concentrated built ups around areas where he remembered furniture being. The last thing he had witnessed was the shocked look on everyone's muzzles as they gazed at the obliterated room.
What was he supposed to tell them? They were no doubt angry, each for their own reasons. Mach and Cera were going to be the least angry of the bunch. Mach might blow a fuse. Cera would just laugh at him, like usual. He could handle the scolding his parents gave him and the weird punishments that Vinea dished out. But the combined anger of all the adults? That might not end as well. And what about Ria. He lingered on that thought longer than he would have wished. What was he going to tell her, she would no doubt be heartbroken. Seeing the dragon she wanted to be with reacting to her efforts in such a way.
Ellix cringed, he had once again implied the one thing that he did not want, and had also gone as far as to think about a way to make it up to her. No! He screamed to himself, She did this, not you. At the previous thought Ellix felt slightly guilty, he remembered her crying. But quickly shook the thought from his head, not wanting it to affect him anymore. He then turned his undivided attention back to think of excuses as to why he took the living room and snapped it like a twig. After only a few seconds of thinking, his monster of a headache returned, blocking all thoughts from his mind.
The more the pounding in his head increased, the more he wanted it to go away. Being unable to bear the feeling of a stone slab on his forehead, Ellix brought his paw up to his temples, or at least he tried to. His whole body was still numb from his whole element screw-up. Luckily, it had subsided enough for him to regain control of his muscles. But when he couldn't move his forearm up to his head, he grew concerned.
I might have screwed myself up more than I thought, he cringed to himself as his mind wandered to the other injuries on his body. But undeterred by his own failure, Ellix tried to move his forearm again. This time, he felt the fuzzy feeling one gets when a limb 'falls asleep'. Now feeling satisfied that he did in fact have some control over his limb he tried again, only with more force. Once again, he was met with the feeling of paresthesia, but as it subsided, he was met with another, more concerning sense, the pressure created by weight.
His attitude dropped, he no longer felt the painful headaches that ravaged his mind, nor did he pay any notice to the multitude of wounds that covered him. Instead his full attention was given to the new information placed in front of him. Something was on top of his forearm. With his eyes still closed, he ran through some possibilities. His first thought is that he was still inside the main chamber of the cave system, and he was laying atop one of the fur piles, then a rock had 'mysteriously' landed on his forearm. Another, more serious thought, was that his family had him shackled down with something because they were angry. He quickly tested this theory by moving his other forearm. To his surprise he could move it without any trouble, and he easily began moving it about the large bump that he figured was what was holding his other limb prisoner.
He dragged his free forearm up to his forehead and gave it a soothing rub, slightly negating the headache that had already begun to subside. He next brought it to his eyes and wiped the crust from them with a few careful claw strokes. With his eyes now free of their confinements, he opened them, and quickly found himself staring at the familiar ceiling of his area in the cavern.
Throwing all of his previous theories out the window, Ellix glanced to the small hole that allowed light into the room. He found that very little came through. He concluded that it was still early in the morning, therefore none of the other family members were awake yet, which he thanked nothing in particular for greatly. Ellix tried to move his left forearm up to his face but once again found it constricted. Now that he had his eye open and properly dilated, he was able see what was preventing him. He pointed his muzzle downwards, allowing his annoyed eyes to view upon his prison.
Ellix did not like what he saw and stifled a scream. The unapparent weight that had been holding his forearm down was not just a simple rock or binding, but rather another dragon. Somehow, he had failed to notice the subtle breathing and movements of the sleeping creature that had it's head buried in his chest. Too paralyzed to move, Ellix instead stared wide-eyed at the unconscious dragon. The light in the cave was dim, but his eyes had adjusted just enough for him to make out the brightly colored scales of Ria. Ellix wanted to vomit, but his empty stomach only produced a muffled dry heave.
Despite the contractions in his belly, Ellix didn't move. His brain was once again on overdrive, much like it had been when Ria had first invaded his personal space. However, that was different, she was only next to him at during that point in time, now, she was practically inside of him. Ellix only continued to stare, not wanting to believe what he was seeing, but sadly his own sense of feeling betrayed him as he could now feel her breath on his chest.
The feeling caused another sense of nausea to well up inside of him, but before another dry heave could be released, he was interrupted by his bed-mate, who started to jostle in her sleep. Ellix lost all feeling of sickness the moment she moved, instead, he was broken out of his shocked state and was able to more freely assess the predicament he was in. He was now able to clearly perceive how she had him locked. First of all, she was lying on his left forearm, that was clear enough, he already knew that his right forearm had been wrapped around her, much to his distaste. However, as he studied his own sense of feeling more, he found that she was also lying on his left wing. Now that his thoughts were on his wings, he looked to his right one, finding it securely wrapped around Ria's left flank.
Once again, Ellix almost vomited, but found nothing but a small bit of stomach acid in his mouth, which he reluctantly swallowed. With one quick, fluid motion, he brought his right wing off her body, holding it straight up in the air, not allowing it to touch anything else. Sadly, as his wing was removed Ria sensed the loss of warmth emanating from it. So, in response, she instinctively pressed her body closer to his, moving her head to sit in the crook of his neck and coiling her tail around his. Ellix inhaled deeply before raising his muzzle off the top of her head. He then opened a small shadow portal, stuck his head inside, and hurled.
I'm going to murder Cera after this, vexed thoughts filled his mind as he slowly pulled his head out of the shadow realm. His normally white cheek scales had turned a shade greener and he was breathing heavily. His maw was agape and he still had a small bit of bile in his mouth, which upon recovering his breath, he swallowed, only letting a small amount hit the floor. With a more recomposed attitude, he tilted his head sideways, allowing him to observe Ria and not touch her head. Somehow, she had remained completely unfazed by his sudden sickness, having not moved an inch and apparently being content with her current position.
Once again, Ellix grew nervous watching her sleeping form. His heart rate increased and his breathing became erratic. However, just before it seemed he would explode with pressure, Ellix calmed himself. Somehow, during his panic, Ellix's thoughts moved to a few seconds ago, when he had opened the portal to puke into. All thoughts of distress from not being able to get out of the death grip that Ria had him in faded, and a shimmer of hope appeared as the energy that had been drained from his body could be felt again. As hopeful as the situation now seemed, his ability was still fairly limited, he just hoped it would be enough to get out.
In order for his plan to work and also not wake Ria, he needed to keep her completely still. The fact that she was cradling him within her forearms was pretty evident that she wasn't going anywhere fast. However, he'd rather be safe than sorry, so in response to his thought, he slowly lowered his right wing back around Ria, being ever so careful as to not jostle her. Ellix shut his eyes and exhaled deeply as his wing made contact with her flank. Sadly, the situation only got worse, as soon thereafter, Ria felt the warmth from his wing return and snuggled herself even closer to him, now forcefully putting her head under his own.
Under what circumstance! He thought to himself, helpless as she continued to wrap her front paws around his lower neck, making it even more clear that her subconscious mind didn't want him going anywhere.
Sorry, Ria, he said with a half attempted laugh, but I'm leaving whether you like it or not. Ellix then put all his effort into channeling his remaining power into one last portal. Ria, who remained asleep, continued to burrito him from under his own wing, completely unaware of his plan. As Ellix channeled the rest of his energy, he felt the unconscious back legs of Ria start to move.
With one long, deep breath Ellix activated his ability, dipping them both into the shadow realm. Ellix was consumed by darkness, but to him it was familiar. However, if Ria had been awake at the time, she'd most likely be flipping her shit. With the two of them now completely inside the portal, tails and all, Ellix held his breath, hoping that she was still asleep. After a second of waiting with no motions from the pink terror, he felt safe. Ria's grip loosened, making it obvious to him that the numbness was starting to take effect on her sleeping body. Ellix began to work his magic, taking his wing off her body. Next he raised his head and used it to nudge Ria's now limp paw off his side. Luckily she hadn't gotten her back legs wrapped around him. Now with his upper body half free he changed his focus down to his tail, which he had a hard time freeing from Ria's own.
Ellix could feel the strain on his body from the overuse of his limited power. As a last act of desperation, he used the final drops of energy that resided in him to help roll Ria up and off, allowing him to slide his left wing and forearm out from under her. Now free from the death trap that was her body, Ellix struggled to stand, releasing his hold on the shadow realm. He stumbled a few feet away from where Ria was still asleep and fell over, removing himself and Ria from the shadow realm.
Ellix was laying on the floor of the cave, panting heavily. He now had nothing left in his energy reserves and it was taking its immense toll for being used up twice in the same day. However, he knew he couldn't stay here, being around his family during Courtship month was hard enough, but this had been the last straw. He needed to leave, at least till the month was over; he'd deal with their anger then, when everyone was less inclined to jump him. Ellix shakily stood back up, turning around to make sure Ria was still asleep. A pang of guilt crossed his heart as he gazed upon Ria's figure, which was now curled up on itself, shivering.
Maybe she really was just cold, he began to think, taking a small step back towards the pile of furs. However, before he could plant his foot, a warm breeze came from outside. Ellix snapped his head to the small hole in the roof of the cave, it now had a much more substantial amount of light filing out of it. Worry overtook him again as he thought about the other members of his family. Ellix did a double take and hobbled out of the room and into the main chamber. However, before he could even take a single step, his left paw landed upon something cold and slippery. His reaction barely changed as he fell jaw-first onto the sheet of ice below him. The small amount of momentum generated by the failure pushed him forward across the ice and as he came to a stop, Ellix reopened his eyes and one name came to mind.
Cera…
He didn't even need to think about why she would do this. It was obvious enough. When he had passed out, the family had desiced to leave him there, or she had convinced them otherwise. Then, when everyone else was asleep, she created a roadway of ice in order to guide his unconscious form into his room. And he was assuming Ria was there because his mother thought it would be a better idea to let her use it due to the fact that he certainly wasn't! Because she loves to play matchmaker! Clearly what happened! With a miffed huff, Ellix regained his footing and continued down the tunnel.
Taking the short amount of time he had, Ellix bent one wing over his head and into his vision, examining the extent of the damage done. He cringed slightly when the all too familiar green of a Lavik leaf, a common plant used in covering wounds, came into sight along with small dribbles of the brown antiseptic paste made from its roots. Letting the wing fall limp, he repeated the process with its twin, only to find similar injuries. A sigh managed to escape his maw as the soft tickle of the plant life became apparent on his sides and other appendages. He really did mess himself up more than he had thought. At least his family had enough decency to treat his wounds. Though he had no more time to dwell on the thought, as soon thereafter he found himself at the entrance of the central living area.
As he stepped into the main chamber, he stopped to observe the damage that he had done to the place, and at first glance, it was worse than he had remembered. Even if one excluded the piles of rubble, cracks in the earth, trees and other assorted plants the room was a disaster. He noted that most of the walls had the tops of trees and in some cases the tree itself sticking out of the rock, creating semi-sharp spikes that impaled other plants. The pieces of furniture that had contained food were now destroyed and thrown across the room, along with their contents, giving the room a meaty smell. Finally, the huge tree that had grown in the fire pit was now smoldering, obviously having caught fire during the night.
Ellix looked over the room in horror, but another draft brought his attention back to the freedom that was the outside world. He turned back to the destroyed room and got an idea. He might as well let the already angry dragons that were his family and 'friends' know that he was leaving for the time being. He was stubborn, but not stupid. So he dragged his paws over to the large, still burning tree in the middle of the room. He found a piece of bark that was relatively intact and ripped it off. Slowly, he brought the large piece of wood over to the cave entrance and started to scratch a note on its inside.
After a few minutes of careful scratching, he finished the note and left it out in the open. Then walking to the cave system's entrance and stopped, turning around if just for a moment to to the fucked-over room. He let loose a long sigh before whipping back around with a scowl. Bending his jaw around, he grasped the bandages covering his right wing with his teeth and tore them off, repeating the process with his other wing. With distaste fueling his energy-deprived body, Ellix opened his wings and took flight. As he reached a gliding altitude, he let his thoughts wander, trying to think of a good place to rest his head for the remainder for the night. He remembered a large waterfall not too far off from his current path, but far enough that if his family did look for him, it would be one of the last places they'd check. So, with his mind almost unresponsive, and his body screaming for rest, he angled his path towards the gleaming waters of the Silver River.
A/N:
And the third chapter has been read. Unless you count the A/N's as part of the chapter, in which case… no one really reads the whole chapter. Hmm.
Ssethelis: Really? That's how you're going to put it? Rude.
Well fine! But by that logic even I don't read entire chapters! So fuck me! I'm a hypocrite! Even though I didn't scold anyone! Ignore me though, it's not like my words really mean all that much. Since it's the characters that speak to you.
Ssethelis: If your words don't mean much… how do you expect people to read thousands at a time?
I don't. I really don't. If people want to read this. Then thanks! Thank you very much. I appreciate it. For those who don't, well then, why are you still here? Don't lie to yourself! If you got this far than you must have some interest in this story!
Ssethelis: Also! That one point in paragraph #77 where it says "Lush field," that used to be "Lust field." Many smiles from all around.
Ssethelis: And, in spite of 'Knock's repeated disapprovals, I still think Mach should have blatantly made a pass at Ellix. I mean, basically everyone else did, so why not Mach?
Thanks for pointing that out Sseth, totally necessary. Anywho! One more thanks from the peeps at The AFK Pool!
MakeSureToKnock, Ssethelis, Hacodeman (as well as his shit), & Aetheo (who managed to fish his way into this.)
Aetheo: I'm late to the party. But that means I get to play drunk-tipping. (Like cow-tipping, but with drunk people)
Jesus.
Aetheo: *Knocks Author over*