Fall of the East: Chapter Ten
Ty ran for what seemed an eternity, weaving in and out of the trees as he desperately tried to keep up with the dragons that flew above, their black scales making it rather difficult to depict in the darkness. Whenever they reached some form of gorge or river, either Rem or Korasi would swoop down and give the Wolf a lift over the obstacle, before he was dropped and forced to run again. At length, Ty saw Rem point towards what looked like an outcropping of stones, piled haphazardly around a small hill, before making a beeline towards it, Korasi close behind him. Ty quickly changed directions and scaled the small hill, meeting the three just as they touched down. "Are we resting here?" asked the wolf, leaning against the stones and panting in exhaustion, he hadn't run this far before in his entire life, which was saying something as the Anthro would make trips across Warfang on a daily basis, during his years as a beggar.
Rem faced the Anthro with a tired smile and nodded, crawling into the outcropping and breathing a small stream of fire to make sure nothing was already living in the outcropping. Seeing it as uninhabited, the black scaled dragon made his way further into the small cave and began to stretch out in a corner, his exhausted wings limply hanging off of his sides as he collapsed to the ground, instantly falling into a deep, peaceful rest.
It had been a few minutes since Ty and Rem had entered the cave, and Korasi decided to stay outside to bathe in moonlight, leaning against the wall next to the entrance as she sharpened her custom made claws with a rock she had found nearby. Her mind was heavy with weary, so much had happened in the past few hours that had sent her calculated world into disarray, the possibility that Alto had somehow been involved with the destruction of the East, her sudden decision to join this rag-tag group and go South and most importantly…Ocelot. Korasi grimaced at the thought and chaffed the rock against the metal claws so hard that sparks flew up into the night sky.
That stupid northern dragon had always visited Korasi regularly since his village wasn't too far from Aeon. Ocelot always seemed to show more interest towards Korasi every time he saw her, despite the fact that she had made her feelings towards him very, very clear. She wanted nothing to do with him, but that never stopped him. Korasi tilted her head back against the rock wall and let out a depressed sigh.
"Aeon…" She said sadly. She had to admit she really did miss the Eastern city, just thinking about it made her heart ache with the fond memories she carried with her, the friends she had known, the places she had spent her childhood, why did it have to be destroyed? Korasi's head began to hurt due to fatigue and she tossed the rock away lazily and rolled onto her feet and entered the cavern, it wasn't very spacious but there was enough room to shelter the four of them. She laid down in the most solitude spot and rested her eyes and drifted off a soon after.
Korasi's dream came instantly; the first thing was Ocelot being the hardy dragon that knocked at her front door. Her father was always fond of him and thought he was quite well suited for Korasi. Her father looked at her and began talking but nothing could be heard and suddenly the atmosphere began to change and ripple as if something has been thrown into a lake and suddenly the visage of her father has turn into Alto's slightly disappointed and angry face.
"Korasi!" He yelled.
Korasi continued to stare at the image, this was definitely a lucid dream and she waited for something else to happen. Maybe something that will amuse her.
"Why are you staring at me like that?" Alto asked "Snap out of it!" And he lightly slapped her across the face.
"Ah! What the heck?" Korasi yelped rubbing her face. Though it didn't actually hurt, it felt real.
"About time you responded!" Alto said impatiently.
"Is this a dream?" Korasi asked in confusion.
"Of course, though I'm still talking to you through dreamscape." Alto explained.
Korasi's eyes blinked in disbelief "Ugh, I need to stop sleeping so late…" Korasi said sarcastically still not persuaded this was a 'dreamscape'' Alto slapped her again "No! Stop it. I'm talking to you through your dreams, it took me a very long time to find this spell and I have not fully mastered it yet, so listen up!" Korasi rubbed her face again, perhaps this was him talking to her through a dreamscape. He manages to pull of crazy spells anyways. "Where have you been? You have been gone for days! I've been worried." Alto asked "I need you to be here."
"I've gotten into contact with Rem. I'm secretly spying on them while we are travelling together." Korasi explained. "Hmm..." Alto hummed rubbing his chin "You managed to earn their trust?"
"No entirely, but I've managed join them in their journey south."
"Why?"
"I'm afraid the White Power will disappear if I just kill Rem, we also do not fully understand it, so I wish to study him and learn everything I can so that I can safely bring it to you."
"Hmm…that may be a wise decision." Alto said after a slight pause. "Yes.. You have made a good choice, but time is running out" he added, his voice serious. "You never told me why we were being so hasty for this-" Korasi began but Alto cut her off "Once we achieve the White Power, then you will see." Alto said vaguely and Korasi decided not to press the issue any further.
"Where are you headed, precisely?" Alto asked "South, somewhere, not sure yet. I'm assuming the Capitol." Korasi replied "Perfect, I will be making a visit there soon for an alliance and with you heading towards them with Rem... the job will be a lot easier." Alto said satisfied "Tell me, how many people are in your party?"
"Four, including me at the moment, they have other friends in Warfang who we might see again."
"Interesting… Anything interesting happening in Warfang lately?"
Korasi thought for a minute, then thought of Ocelot and she supressed another grimace. "..No... Nothing out of the ordinary besides they want Rem's head and his other eastern friend dead. I think they know about me too. "Alto nodded slightly, the nod someone would do when they understand a situation whilst thinking.
"Try not to get caught Korasi, I need you alive."
"Will do, I plan on staying alive." Korasi replied.
"I will be speaking to you in some of your dreams from now on Korasi, depends on when I need you the most. If you don't sleep I cannot speak to you. So make sure you rest every night. It's good for both of us." Alto said. Korasi bowed her head and looked back up. "What will you do now?" She asked. "I'm learning a spell that will bring us some more soldiers that will be under out command from a distant place..." He replied sounding rather suspicious. "But enough talk, I believe the new day will begin soon. It's strange how dreams seem to be a lot slower compared to reality." He said casually and he looked at Korasi in the eye "Expect me the next time you sleep, hopefully the scrying pool will tell me when you do. Stay. Alive." He said strictly.
The atmosphere began to fade into white and before Korasi knew it she was being hit in the face by flying shards as the landscape shattered like glass and she instantly woke up to see Crystal stepping on her face and playing with her snout as she giggled.
Rem sat quietly in a corner as he watched his sister play with the dragoness's nose. Sighing and chuckling to himself, the black scaled dragon stretched and picked his new born sister up and began to feed her. As he searched through his satchel, the male fire dragon growled slightly and looked out towards the entrance to the rocky outcropping. He was running low on food for his baby sister. Where ever they were heading, they needed to hurry or he would soon run out of food for his sister. Walking to the cave entrance, Rem handed the feeding Crystal to Korasi and turned around. "I am heading hunting. If you so much as harm one scale on her, it will be the end of you." He growled as he made his eyes flash white in emphasis before spreading his wings and scouting the area for any prey for the group.
Although he had practically passed out from exhaustion the night before, Ty hadn't managed to get much sleep, and he had been awake long before the others, sitting outside the cave and staring back across the forest, towards where he assumed Warfang was. Dreams of his brother's mangled body kept surfacing before his eyes, and Ty wrapped his paws around his knees, placing his forehead on them as he thought about his brother. It was hard to believe that he could miss someone so much, but he couldn't remember a single day when he hadn't seen Lee. With a quavering breath, Ty looked up as Rem left the cave and took off, whipping a tear from his bloodshot eyes as he tried to focus. He had to make it to the South, if Lee was alive, he would lead Reya and Crow there.
The Saffron Road
The Caravans got out of the city easily enough, at that time, most of the guards were rushing around in a panic, all of them sure that an attack from the Eastern dragons was imminent. They spared no time in checking a bunch of run down wagons, and let them pass without any hassle. The wagons travelled all night, and Reya, Crow and Lee stayed in the back of the last one, Reya holding onto Crow as he drifted off into a light sleep. "So, he made a full recovery then?" whispered Lee from the opposite side of the wagon as it trundled along, the scorpion that pulled it making odd hissing noises every so often. Reya nodded her head slightly and smiled down at the sleeping dragon. "Yes, the poison is no longer in his blood, and the wound has finally healed." she said with a slight smile, although it faded when her eyes fell upon the mark. It was no longer the symbol of the eastern dragons, but an array of white lines running from the base of his neck all over his shoulder, like a spider web. Lee sighed with relief and tilted his head back against the wooden wall, and pulled one of the large woven blankets towards him, before placing it over Reya, who gladly accepted the extra warmth. "Are you sure you don't need it?" she asked and the wolf smiled "I've already got a fur coat, remember?' he said quietly and Reya laughed lightly.
"How you ever managed to survive those summers in Warfang, I'll never know." and the two chuckled quietly as the wagon trundled on, before one by one, they too fell fast asleep. Lee was the first to wake the next morning, to the bright light of the sun. Careful not to wake the pair across from him, the wolf quietly made his way to the front of the caravan, and leaned out to get a better view. All around them where pine trees, and they lined the well-worn road that the caravan was taking. "How far are we from Warfang?" he asked, looking to the black swathed wolf, who didn't look at him. "Not far enough that you should be walking about in plain sight, my friend." he said with a chuckle and lightly flicked his whip, urging the scorpion, which had drifted to the side of the road, back on track. "Right." muttered Lee and let the curtain that separated the front from the main part of the wagon fall back in place as he moved back to Reya and Crow, who had both woken up by now, Crow yawning widely and looking around curiously as Reya blinked the sleep out of her eyes. "Where are we?" she asked with a yawn as Lee handed the two of them some bread. "Still in the forest of pines, but we're making good progress, it won't be long before the city is completely behind us, and we're out of the Guardian's reach." he said confidently and smiled as Crow scarfed down the bread. "Where is Ty?" he asked in confusion and Lee sighed "He's with Rem-" "Lee!" snapped Reya giving him a look as Crow practically choked on his breakfast "Rem? He's here!" he said with a shock and Lee silently cursed himself. "Yes, he came to visit you while you were at the healers in Ridgewood..." said Lee, his ears flattened as he avoided Crow's gaze.
"Why didn't either of you tell me he had come back?" demanded Crow, getting up and glaring down at the two of them. "Because of what he did to you!" said Reya, a fierce frown over her face "When he left you behind, you suffered for it, we could all tell, it was awful, seeing you in so much pain, I just didn't want to bring back bad memories" explained Reya and Crow sat back down, a low growl emitting from his throat. "You should have at least told me! Rem was the only family I had before I met you guys..." he said, his voice trailing off quietly and Lee placed a hand on the young dragons shoulder. "We're sorry alright, we just weren't sure how you would take the news." he said softly and Crow nodded slightly. "I guess this wouldn't be the best time to tell him that Rem has a sister..." thought Lee to himself as he looked over to Reya, whose face was lined with worry. "Keep it down back there!" muttered the wolf at the front and the three fell into a sullen silence as the caravan continued to travel south.
At length, the caravan came to a halt and the three looked up nervously, listening for any sign of trouble. But Kiriko simply pulled back the curtain and threw a bucket towards them, which Lee caught. "Hmm, good reflexes." muttered the wolf, his eyes glinting between the scarves that covered his face. "We've stopped to rest the Scorpions, don't be alarmed, take that and fetch some water for the beasts, they'll need lots before we enter the desert." he said and disappeared, letting the curtain fall back in place. "Well, it would be good to get out of this trap." muttered Reya and leapt out of the back, Crow and Lee following suite. The rest of the merchants were standing haphazardly around the caravans, which had been pulled to the side of the road, and a couple of them had lit a fire and were preparing a meal, while a few sat on top of the wagons, keeping a watchful eye. Kiriko, who was unharnessing the scorpions and picketing them in the forest so they could wander about a bit, gestured into the trees. "There should be a stream a ways in the woods, you there, young one, take the bucket and fill up our reserves, you two, help me lead the beasts so that they can drink." he ordered and Crow reluctantly took the bucket before dashing off into the forest. Lee took the reins of one of the scorpions, which clicked its pincers and started leading it into the woods, Reya walking beside him. "You know, these merchants, don't they seem a bit...suspicious? I mean, they seem too familiar with harbouring fugitives." he muttered as they arrived at the stream, the giant scorpions moving forward to drink. Reya frowned slightly and nodded "Perhaps, but I don't think we should go poking around, we need them on our side if we want to make it to the South." she said quietly.
Rem silently flew over the valleys and a small part of the forest to search for the ones after them. The warm air currents kept the teenaged dragon aloft as he spread his wings and slowly allowed the rising sun to warm his back scales. As he neared the edge of the forest, the black scaled dragon shot over the tree tops, clipping the tips with his legs every now and then as he skimmed above the treeline. A flash of scales caught the dragon's eye as he neared a rather large, rushing stream and as he turned his head, his eyes shot open in shock. "Crow?" said the male fire dragon with a confused tone before letting out a yelp of shock as a large tree seemed to appear in front of him, causing him to crash into it head on. Two legs shot out from either side of the trunk as the black dragon groaned and fell backwards to the forest floor, coughing and moaning in pain. "Where did that tree come from..?" muttered the teen as he tried to push himself to his paws, but found that he was not recovered enough and collapsed back to the ground.
The young dragon swung the bucket around haphazardly as he walked through the forest, his patched wings trailing behind him as he padded across the fallen pine needles. Birds sang in the distance, their calls echoing through the air as the young dragon arrived at the side of the stream. He placed the bucket down and lowered his head to drink before filling it, just before he turned around however, a sudden cry rung out through the forest, and the young dragon's white eyes widened in fear as he looked around for the source. The birds had fallen quiet, and the silence seemed to ring in Crows ears. He backed away slowly, his pupils dilated as shadows started to creep into his vision, monsters that slithered around the tree trunks and under the ground slunk towards him and he cried out in fear, turning around and running through the woods blindly until he hit something. With a scream he started hitting it but firm hands grabbed his paws and Crow opened his eyes to see Lee, looking down at him with concern.
"Crow? What is it, what's the matter?" asked the Anthro and Crow shook his head in confusion, looking behind him, the forest was empty. "They're...they're gone..." he whispered.
"Who's gone? What are you talking about?" "There was a cry in the forest...I…I got scared..." muttered the dragon and Lee glanced over at Reya who nodded and handed him the reigns to her scorpion before walking in the direction Crow had indicated. She arrived at the stream, but there was no sign of any trouble, however, her ears perked at the sound of a distant groan and she weaved her way through the trees towards it, until at last she spotted a figure in the distance, it was Rem. Her eyes widened in shock as she saw him on the ground, moving around in the ground in pain, from the looks of it, it seemed he was injured, possibly from a fall. For a moment, Reya stood still, should she approach him? He was the link back to Ty, the only missing member of their party that she actually cared about, but she loathed Rem above anyone else, and didn't want anything to do with him, or him to have anything to do with Crow, she remembered how angry the young dragon had gotten when he found out the secret she had kept from him however and bit her lip, but she was determined to keep the two apart. But as she took a step backwards, her paw snapped a twig and she cursed, looking back to the dragon that lay on the ground not a stone's throw away.
Rem's eyes snapped open at the sound of the snapping twig, and the forest seemed to fall silent as the black scaled dragon's icy blue eyes whipped around until his eyes fell upon the slender, shining red form of Reya. Struggling, the fire dragon pushed himself to his paws and sat down, dizziness taking over him for a few moments before he could stand and feel well enough to speak.
"R-Reya? What are you doing..?." started the fire dragon as a sudden realization from previous events. The fire dragoness hated him... and he knew it. Sighing, he averted his eyes and hung his head in slight defeat. "Where is Crow?" he asked in a more plain, emotionless voice. There was no point showing any emotion if he was talking to a dragon who hated his guts. All he wanted was to be with his closest friend once more and then he would be out of the dragoness's life. The dragon sighed as he imagined himself, Korasi, Crow and his sister all together in one area, all of the remaining Eastern dragons living together. That is all he wanted. He sat quietly, awaiting the response of the fire dragoness before him.
"…I don't know. We got separated when we were trying to escape the city." said Reya, her voice clear and quavering, lying was one of the things you picked up on fast when living as a city rat. Her eyes were cold and hard as she stared at Rem, his voice was flat and dull, but his eyes were determined.
Rem snarled a bit and walked up to the female, smoke shooting out of his nostrils as he did so in anger. "Do not lie to me, Reya!" he roared in her face. "I know you would have never left him back there, or left his side throughout the process. Now tell me... Where. Is. He?" Rem's eyes burned with his rage as he went nose to nose with the female. He was not going to be kept from his closest friend once again by her.
"What are you going to do Rem?" sneered Reya, her eyes cold and full of rage equal to match Rem's. "Kill me? Destroy this forest with your uncontrollable power? I don't know where Crow is, and even if I did, I wouldn't tell you. You've brought nothing but sorrow to that boy, and you don't deserve to ever see him again!" she hissed, flaring her wings in agitation as she held her ground, sparks jumping between her teeth as she snarled at the black scaled dragon.
Rem's eyes grew wide at the female's words and sat on his haunches as her words played over and over in his head, tears streaming from his eyes as he looked away from the female and as the stresses started to get to the teenaged dragon, he just broke down in front of her. He did not care if she saw him like this. Had he caused a lot of sorrow for Crow? He had never meant to... all he did was to try and make his friends life as best as he could and apparently all it did was hurt him? Sobbing the black dragon ran past the female through the forest until he came to the stream where he saw that last dragon he would think to see. Crow. As the words of the dragoness played through his mind once more, Rem sighed and tried to compose himself, although the tears still fell. "Reya is right..." he said plainly. "All I do IS cause you sorrow, and I don't deserve to see you. I am sorry." with that, he began to walk back towards the edge of the forest, now longer caring to fly or if he was caught. Was that all everyone thought about him? That he was just a nuisance? A liability? A piece of trash that should hide away? With those thoughts, the male slowly continued on.
As the dragon stumbled past her, Reya spun around and rushed after him. "Rem! Damn it get back here!" she yelled as she wove through the trees after his figure. He stopped at the edge of the stream, but before Reya could fully catch up with him, he suddenly turned around and disappeared though the trees. Skidding to a halt, Reya looked off in the direction he had left before turning around to see Crow, standing stock still, a look of utter surprise on his face. "Crow!" she cried as he tried to rush past her, but she held the young dragon firmly. "Let me go! Let me go!" he screamed but the Fire Dragoness held on to him tightly, before picking him up and carrying the young dragon back to the caravans. "Reya! Please!" he begged, tears streaming from his eyes "Rem! REM!" he screamed but Reya would not yield and eventually, Crow's screams broke down into sobs as the dragoness jumped back into the wagon, holding him close as he cried. Lee watched the both from the front of the wagon as it started moving again down the trail. "I'm sorry, Crow." she whispered and shut her eyes as Crow continued to weep in her arms. "But it was just another one of your illusions, nothing more. There was nothing there." she whispered into his ear.
Hearing Crow's voice screaming out in pain behind him, Rem stopped in his tracks and gritted his teeth together, how could he let Reya, of all dragons, try to keep them apart when he clearly wanted to see him? Despite his better judgment, the young male turned around and started running back through the woods, his breath becoming ragged and panicked as he leapt over the stream. He couldn't hear him anymore, where had they gone? Suddenly, he stumbled onto a large road and looked to his right to see it a long line of caravans moving slowly away. "Crow…wait! Stop!" he called out and started rushing after them, but before he could take a step further however, the Lion Anthro appeared behind him and snapped his fingers.
Instantly, the dragon was ambushed, knives and ropes twirled around him until Rem was bound tightly and forced to the ground, the Lion waved the caravans on to continue and the assassins carried on without the slightest inclination that anything out of the ordinary had happened. "Sorry, boy, but I've been paid to get these three beyond the boarder, and I intend to receive my reward." he said before punching the dragon out cold. Whipping his paws clean he pushed the dragons bound body off the edge of the road before running to catch up with the caravans and leaping onto the side of the last one. "Get these three into my wagon, now." he muttered to Kiriko, and the wolf nodded curtly before handing his leader the reigns and disappearing inside the wagon. Reya and Lee looked at him in fear as the wolf approached, they had seen it all. But he held up his paws "Do not fear, we are tasked with protecting you." he said smoothly "What happened out there? You aren't merchants are you! Tell us the truth!" demanded Lee, his paws clenched together tightly. Kiriko laughed quietly and sat back onto one of the large pillows. "No, we are not. We are assassins." he said simply and Lee blinked in surprise. "Was that display outside the wagon not proof enough?" asked the wolf, his eyes crinkling at the edges to indicate a smile and Lee and Reya exchanged unsure glances.
"Well...why are you pretending to be merchants? Why didn't you just tell Vicery's that you weren't who he thought you were?" asked Reya and Kiriko chuckled "He knew who we were, make no mistake about that. That lord wanted you protected, so he paid us handsomely to get all of you beyond the boarder, that coin he handed us, it is worth a large fortune." he said and Reya shook her head in disbelief, she should have known it. "Our company was discovered and our hideout compromised, so we are moving our main forces out of the country to start fresh. Your friend must have been very well informed." added Kiriko before getting to his feet. "Come, we need to move you, our best assassins are travelling with us, but it's best that your exact location remain unknown." he said and as the wagons came to a sudden halt, he led them outside and up to the front, where the Lion was waiting for them.
"About time, did you tell them your life story Kiriko?" asked the Lion before the setting the caravan back in motion. Crow was still in a lifeless state and Reya gently lay him down on one of the large cushions that decorated the huge wagon. Various weapons hung from the wall and Reya admired the craftsmanship as Lee and Kiriko settled down beside her. Outside, the forest had finally given way to a sparse plain of grass that hissed quietly as the wind blew through it. "Those techniques you used, I've never seen anyone fight like that before." said Lee to the other wolf, and Reya nodded in agreement. "We've learned how to fight against all manner of creatures, it doesn't matter how much power they possess, we still find ways to take them down." said Kiriko with a shrug and Lee leaned forward in excitement. "I don't suppose, you could teach us to fight like that?" asked the young wolf and Kiriko raised a brow in consideration. "So, you want become an assassin do you?" asked the Lion as he suddenly entered, taking a swig of wine from his flask as he sat down beside him, another Anthro taking his place at the reigns. Both Reya and Lee nodded in unison. "At least train us to fight like that." implored Lee and the Lion smiled lazily as he lay across the wagon floor. "So be it, we'll start training you tomorrow and see how you fare." said the Anthro with a grin. "My names Tavoh, by the way." he added before rolling over and falling asleep.