~Backstage~
Shadow walked down the halls, in search of Zayril. He wanted to tell them that it was time to say the disclaimers. Going near his room, he was about to peer in...
Alec: What are you doing!
Shadow: Looking for Zayril. *Maz and the rest of the housemate popped up behind Alec, surprising Shadow*
Maz: Zayril clearly said, "No one is allowed to enter my room during these days."
Nano: And he said he'll punish us if we do so.
Richard: I think we should respect his privacy.
Alex: I agree.
Shadow thinks for a moment and sighs.
Shadow: Well, okay. We should at least say the disclaimers.
Shadow, Nano and Maz: Viperwatcher owns nothing except his characters.
Alex and Alec: Other canon characters are owned by their respective companies.
Richard: And on his behalf: To people who don't like the story, just don't read it.
Chapter 29
Story Time
Before I knew it, the three of us headed out of the Chronicler's Lair and was en route to the so called 'Portal Caverns'. The name really intrigued me and I couldn't help but wonder where I heard it somewhere before. The flight didn't seem that long though; I don't know it just did. I could've sworn it took us longer to get to White Isle rather than leaving it.
Nevertheless, we arrived at the mainland, by nightfall. Familiar mountains were visible—barely but were no doubt still there—at the horizon. Following the instructions of the Chronicler, we veered of towards the side and headed to the direction specified. Looking up, I couldn't help but stare at the moon that was brightly illuminating the landscape, as the night winds breezed under my wings. It all seemed so peaceful…even though there was an underlying threat of a Dark Dragon roaming the plains.
I turned my head and saw Vera yawning slightly. I caught it as well, and yawned after her. Kazren, who was flying in front of us, chuckled.
"Should we set camp guys?" asked Kazren.
"I'm pretty tired and hungry. Let's do it." answered Vera.
"I agree." I couldn't agree more.
"Follow me then, we're camping there for the night." said Kazren, pointing to a non distant clearing.
The three of us began are slow descent, and in a few moments, touched down on solid ground once again.
"Okay…you two make camp; I'd go out hunting for our dinner. Be back later." said Kazren, walking off.
"Sure thing," said Vera, "Okay Zayril, you gather some wood, I'd make the fire."
"You learned the technique from Kathryn?" I asked her.
"Yup." she replied, nodding.
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"Wow! You really are good!" I said to her as a red flame ignited in front of us.
"Why thank you Zayril. I knew learning that wasn't a bad idea." said Vera, sitting next to me.
"Now all we have to do is wait for Kazren to come back." I said to Vera, relaxing a bit, stretching my legs.
I lied down the grass, looking up the stars. I could see Vera shift beside me as she lay down next to me. I examined the starry night and tried making constellations to keep myself entertained.
"What are you looking at?" asked Vera.
"The stars," he answered. "You know, where we used to live, we had stars just like these; except…they weren't visible that much." I answered partially sad, feeling a bit homesick.
"Really?" she asked curiously.
"Yeah…it was too bright there; with all the lights and stuff—I mean torches." I said, quickly correcting myself to clear any confusion.
"Ah…I never really know much about your history. Care to tell a tale or two?" asked Vera, sitting up.
"I have nothing to tell." I replied honestly. She sighed dejectedly.
"Too bad; a good story is worth telling right now." I nodded.
"Yeah…" I replied.
"Want to share stories?" she asked me.
"What kind of stories?"
"Any story; fictional or non-fictional. Horror, action, suspense, romance; any genre you can think of."
"Why don't you go first?"
"Okay…let me think…" she scratched her chin. "Okay, here's one. I'm a little bit rough, but…" then she began telling me a story.
It was basically a love story in essence. There was a dragoness named Rave that met this mysterious dragons she named Izrayl. From the moment she laid her eyes on him, something grew in her that later blossomed to something she couldn't control. They were mostly together all the time; spent time and kept each other company; she tried giving him hints but he couldn't seem to notice them. They even went on missions together. All the while, Izrayl never showed any signs of being interested with her. Rave, although, never gave up. She really loved the guy. Then one day, Rave decided that it was time to tell her how she feels for him; confess her feelings. Getting him alone, she walked up to him, saying she wanted to say something. But before she could say it, she was cut of as Izrayl…confessed to her. He said he loved her and it was alright with him if she loved someone else. He had secretly loved her from the beginning, but didn't have the guts to tell her. But of course, this made Rave happy, and she spilled the beans afterwards. And after that, they became a couple, and basically, it was happily ever after.
"Wow…that's a nice story." I said to her. It melted my heard. I was a sucker for happy endings.
"Yeah…too bad it wasn't true right?" asked Vera. I nodded sadly.
"Yeah, it would be awesome. Did you base that of someone or did you think of that yourself?" I asked her curiously. Vera shook her head.
"I made that up…" she trailed.
"I see. You're good! You should try your hand at writing!" I said to her.
"Really?" I nodded.
"You should really consider it. You're very good!" I urged her.
"Why thank you Zayril. You're not a bad audience yourself." said Vera.
"I guess I—"
*Rustle*
*Rustle*
My eyes widened as I turned to Vera who had the same expression as well.
"Did you hear that?" I asked in whisper.
"I did. It came from over there." said Vera, looking at the direction. I nodded in response.
"Follow me. Stay quiet." I said, standing up.
I then blew some ice on my paws and made an ice dagger like the same one I used back at The Forgotten Temple. I gripped it tightly, the icy smokes emitting from it, giving my paw a smoky glove. Slowly, I crouched and walked towards where Vera pointed. For a moment, I thought I was seeing things but I wasn't. The bush did move; and apparently not by the wind. Marking it mentally, I lowered myself into a pouncing stance and then…launched.
I jumped into the air, left arm extended in front of me, bent, pointing to the right, whilst my right was aimed and ready to strike. I crashed into the bushes, leaves smacking me in the face, and I connected. A grunt was heard as I crashed into a mass, my body pinning him to the ground. I was ready to pound the guy with my ice dagger but I immediately stopped when I recognized who it was.
It was none other than our cheetah friend, Kuval.
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"Wow…I didn't expect you here Kuval." said Kazren as he munched on the dead meat of a rabbit.
We were gathered around the campfire now, eating dinner. After we realized the danger wasn't actually danger, we were surprised that Kazren appeared at the side, dinner in tow. He had caught four rabbits; enough for the four of us. After introductions were made, we decided to eat first, and then asked questions.
"What are you doing here anyway?" asked Vera.
"How did you find us?" I asked him. He shook his head and stretched out his hands in a stop manner.
"One by one, okay." he said and sighed.
"Where do I begin…," he thought for a moment. "Well, the reason why I'm here is because the Chronicler sent me. Apparently, when you left White Isle, he realized that you three were lacking in number. Using his powers, he teleported to the Temple at the Warfang and informed the Guardians. The Guardians in turn chose a good candidate to send and they chose me. Ignitus then told me where you were. He knew because, of course, he's the Chronicler." summarized Kuval.
"I see." said Kazren. I let out a yawn, as I felt tired.
"Tired?" asked Vera beside me. I sleepily nod. Stupor was slowly enveloping me.
"We all are. I'm actually tired from all the running I had to do." said Kuval, standing up.
"Well, it's time to get some sleep now then." said Kazren standing up.
"Good night everyone." I said to them, trying to stand up. But my legs felt like jelly and I swayed precariously as I stood up. Luckily though, Vera supported me.
"Be careful." she said, holding me at the sides.
"Thanks." I replied, walking over to a nearby tree and laying down.
"Good night Vera." I said to her as I covered myself with my wings to keep me warm.
"Good night Zayril." she replied back, lying down next to me as well.
My mind slowly got cut off from reality as I slowly drifted to sleep. It was a very tiring day indeed. But one last thing popped into my mind before I fell asleep. Vera's story; Izrayl and Rave…
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Morning came and the early rays of the sun greeted our faces as they shined through the cracks of the branches. Dew was visible in the grass as the rays of the sun bounced off them, making them sparkle as they hanged on the leaves. It eventually reached my face and I had to shift my body reflectively, evading the greeting sun. But in turn, I bumped into something else; something different entirely.
It was a warm mass that felt hard and soft both at the same time. I opened my eyes reluctantly and was surprised at what I saw. Vera was lying close to me. No…make that, snuggled up to me. She had her arms draped over my body as if hugging me. I had to openly blush at her action, and quietly crawl out. She shuffled a bit, as if looking for something that was there, but stopped and continued sleeping.
I inhaled, letting the chilly air enter my lungs, burning it a bit from the sudden change of temperature. I looked down and saw the sight before me. Kazren and Kuval weren't in the campsite and I had to wonder where they were. But it didn't take long as Kuval broke to the bushes, his cloak swishing in the air; Kazren right on his tail. Apparently the two had gone jogging.
I looked down and smiled as I saw Vera open her eyes.
"Good morning." I said to her, helping her up.
"Good morning to you too." she replied, standing up.
"Alive and ready yet?" said Kazren walking up to us. I flexed my muscles, a few cracking into place.
"Now I'm ready." I said to him.
"Good then. As usual, I'll follow you from the ground." said Kuval, coming up from behind.
"Are you sure you can handle it?" I asked Kuval playfully.
"Sure I can; where exactly are we headed?" he asked us.
"The Portal Caverns." Vera answered.
"Good then; that's not far from here." he replied.
"Let's head out team." said Kazren.
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