Vultures cawed overhead through Dry Canyon's clear skies.
Scrawny rabbits hopped across the hot sands for shade and protection from the noontime sun.
Tiny, frilled lizards chirped as they scampered across the coarse rocky walls. One in particular came to a stop for a rest – until a far larger shadow eclipsed the creature, urging it to skitter away in a panic.
The shadow's owner frowned as they ran a hand across the same section of the nearby rock wall the lizard had recently occupied, fingers tracing over a set of claw marks – only to sigh upon recognizing it as the same set from not too long ago.
Great, we went in a circle, the dragon griped in their head, resisting the urge to facepalm. Ugh, what a slog. How many times had they checked this place already? The dragon kept silent as they and their companion ambled down the arid labyrinth. No use acting like a spoiled hatchling after all.
"This shouldn't take us much longer, Kallisto" a composed and polished voice assured as though in tune with the other's thoughts, "only one more Peace Keeper and we'll be clear to rendezvous with Titan."
A gruff huff resounded in response the dragon – Kallisto— kicked a loose pebble in their path, listening to its minute collision with the sand. Crimson fingers grasped her broad shoulder in a firm yet gentle grip, urging the dragon to look over her shoulder towards her shorter companion.
The other dragon's deep red body stood out against the dull browns and beiges, the brighter red spots and wing frames even more so, while the orange of her underbelly and tail ridges and wing membranes added vivacity. Light orange S-curved horns jagged at the top, tail forks, small bicep horns added to her imposing demeanor.
Golden chest armor, shoulder guards, and forearm guards glimmered in the hot desert sunlight as did the spear in her right hand, the near-tip sporting golden filigree patterned with wings. Slim eyebrows, umbrellaed by a matching Roman-helmet style mohawk, framed a cool expression.
"And after that, we may have time to pop in on Halvor," she continued with a slight smile, "I hear he's got some special armor he's been meaning to test-run."
This time there came a playful scoff as Kallisto cast a much larger hand to gently pry the one her friend had on her. "C'mon, Athena. You know you don't hafta dangle a reward in front of my face. I'm not a kid anymore."
The speaker was a taller and more muscular brownish-pink dragon who sported an apricot underbelly with matching scale growths along her back and tail, the latter tipped by a rosy-brown mace-shaped club. A mighty, rosy-brown mullet sat between white horns that curled like a ram's as did a trio of slight white horns atop each bicep. Brown wing frames, topped with one white bony spike each, outlined muted brown wing membranes.
Her attire consisted of a brown barbarian skirt, belt and chest strap connecting to a shoulder pad with the Earth Shield symbol, and dark-brown armor with rosy-brown straps. Her wide prominent nose and sharp rosy-brown eyebrows wrinkled from the toothy smirk aimed at the other dragon.
Athena smirked back, twirling her spear like a baton. "Get to my age, Kallisto, and near about everyone's a kid."
Kallisto rolled her eyes in a lighthearted manner as their trek continued, eyes out for any of their clan. "Tch, as if I haven't heard that line a billion times from my dads. On the topic of kids, the young ones seem to be faring pretty well on their Earth Breath basics."
Athena nodded. "Yes. Hopefully their skills will suffice for when the Ecologists visit."
Suffice? Kallisto arched a brow in confusion and a twinge of concern. "Give the kids a little break there. They don't need to be perfect."
"No, but we do. As Peace Keepers, we must maintain a level of competence in how we carry ourselves. That includes how we manage our own."
Ah, so Athena had the 'our pupils reflect us' mentality going on. Kallisto hummed in amusement, hardly surprised, and clapped the older dragoness on the back. "C'mon, you know little Dian thinks we're superheroes! A few little slip-ups aren't gonna bother her." If anything, she'd probably see them as a chance to swoosh in and help out.
Indeed, a brief smile broke out for Athena at this reminder before it dipped back into a conscientious frown. "Dian's not the one who worries me. Wherever she is—"
Oh….oh.
Kallisto's eyes shot to a size the moon would envy. Right after, a bark of laughter burst out of her as she doubled over with both arms around her stomach. "Ha, that's right! Ah man, seeing how her cousin reacts to the others is gonna be a trip!"
How Athena wished she could join in the mirth. Instead, she let off a terse moan at the various imagined snarky jabs running rampant through her mind's ear. Was it too much to want her guild, one she'd been estranged from for so long, respected and considered proficient by the same guild that took her and many others in? Besides, a friendly alliance between the Peace Keepers and Ecologists would prove easier without either side thinking the other a laughingstock.
A meaty elbow to the arm broke her train of thought.
"C'mon, give Madison more credit than that. She's a little shit, but she's a little shit with heart."
Like I don't know? Athena huffed in dry humor. Once again, Kallisto's eloquence proved impeccable. "Of that I'm well-aware. I only want our clan to make a good impression, one she and her cousin can pass on to their fellow Ecologists."
"Which we will—while also enjoying ourselves in the process," Kallisto replied in a deliberate tone. Otherwise, Dian and Madison might have a hard time doing the same.
"It's also why we've been doing investigations and asking around about all the weird sightings we've been getting lately," Athena coolly retorted before she proceeded to stick out a hand so she could count out on her fingers. "Rhynocs and Gnorcs popping out of nowhere and vanishing without a trace after months of the latter's absence, reports of weird flickering, and now all these dragon-sized claw marks that match our own but so far have been done by none of our own."
Taken aback by the fervent point, Kallisto ran a hand through her hair, for once dropping her relaxed veneer. She had to concede her companion's point. Even with all the care the Peace Keepers took to up their vigilance, something off was still managing to cook from right under their noses, lying in wait to cause Founders know what.
The barbarian shook her head at these brooding thoughts, however. Even in the face of a potential threat, stewing in negativity never helped. "Right now, all we can do is our best. Simple as that."
Before either dragoness could press the argument any further, Athena noticed in the distance a large dragon examining his own section of the wall, dark eyes alternating between the claw marks etched there and the valley end opposite the duo. Considering how much of a pillow the big guy is, Athena could already predict how this encounter would turn out. Upon closer inspection, one could notice an uncharacteristic discomfort on the usually jolly reptile's face.
That…warranted concern.
After sharing a look of similar sentiment, Kallisto cupped both hands around her mouth and called out, "YO, MAX!"
Jolted out of his thoughts with a gasp, the rotund dragon rotated and smiled; he waved heartily before trudging his way to the pair. "Afternoon, ladies! I take it I'm the last one you're checking on, yeah? Ulric gave me the heads-up."
Kallisto snapped her fingers. "Got it in one. I take it you haven't taken up wall-carving as a new hobby, huh." When Max shook his head, she set her jaw and set her hands akimbo, a pensive hum echoing in her throat.
Athena stepped forward, face stern. "Did you see anyone suspicious or out of place recently? Any strange noises?"
A furrow developed in Maximos' brow, the mere sight causing his fellow Peace Keepers to perk at the prospect of new evidence. "Well…not so much something I saw as much as something I sensed. I'd been flying home from a patrol when this weird sensation came over me." He amended in haste at the other dragons' looks of concern, "It didn't hurt per say and didn't last long, but it felt like something got…plucked out of me all of a sudden. I landed here a little before you two showed up to look around."
Plucked out, Athena thought as she tapped her chin. What could that mean? In any case, at least this information constituted more than nothing. "Anything else you can recall? Any other details out of the ordinary?"
Maximos cocked his head and rubbed one hand up and down the back of it. "Maybe one. It could've been a trick of the ears, but…I swear for a moment I heard voices. Low, cold voices"—his face grew unnerved—"unnatural. Next thing I know there's this slicing noise far behind me, only there's nothing but those marks when I turn around. That's it."
Athena nodded. "Thank you, Maximos. We'll make sure to notify Titan of this. Get home safe now."
Their fellow Peace Keeper nodded back before taking off with his wings, more than happy to do so after experiencing such a strange occurrence. Kallisto and Athena took to the sky right afterward, and a few minutes later touched down atop the small fortress where the area's exit whirlwind stood. With one step they whisked themselves away through it back to the hub world.
As the colors of their surroundings whooshed past them during the flight, Athena started at a sudden thought and shot a curious glance to Kallisto. "I forgot to ask earlier. How has Cathleen been doing?"
Kallisto shrugged her broad shoulders. "A little touch and go but she's been doing decent. Right now, she's busy studyin' over at Magic Crafters. Something about amplification spells for weapons. Sounded pretty hyped about it when she told me." A proud smile took form, exposing her snaggletooth. "I'm just glad she's having fun."
Fun. Athena softened her face as the nearing hub world's tarpits became visible in the distance. "My apologies for the stringency earlier. After everything the Ecologists have done for us, presenting ourselves as decently as possible feels like the least we can do."
Kallisto sent back a comforting grin. "Hey, you're not wrong. They deserve to see the best our clan has to offer, especially Dian. That's why we shouldn't worry ourselves sick over how well we do as long as we do our best at making sure everything's in order. They're not the types to overlook hard work, ya know."
In truth, Athena did know that, equally as well as she knew that no matter how they went about taking every possible precaution, the chances of something going awry would never fully go to zero percent, meaning they would have to be ready no matter what.
Meaning every moment of enjoyment might as well be overshadowed by doubt and paranoia.
A calloused hand upon her back broke through her down spiral of thought, turning attention back to Kallisto who wore a patient and understanding smile.
"You're doing your best, same as everyone else."
The red dragon sighed but nodded. "True. I only hope my contributions are enough to help resolve this conundrum."
"Hey, that's why teamwork exists. Besides, don't forget: Titan's been keeping things on his end together the whole time we've been gone. You did good making him your successor."
Hearing that accolade coaxed a rare full smile from Athena. Of all the decisions she'd made over the years, that one she would never regret because if Titan had anything to say about this situation, the culprits will come to know what happens when you cross the Peace Keepers.
For now, the pair had done all they could do today. Once they got this report done, though, the former clan leader intended to have a cinnamon roll. Better yet, make that several.
She was overdue for some self-indulgence.
For reference pictures of my OCs:
Artisans - ~professorrat/submissions/1927291/artisan-residents-ocs
Peace Keepers - ~professorrat/submissions/1927292/peace-keeper-residents-ocs
Magic Crafters - ~professorrat/submissions/1927294/magic-crafter-residents-ocs
Ecologists - ~professorrat/submissions/1944688/ecologist-residents-ocs
Beast Makers - ~professorrat/submissions/1927295/beast-maker-residents-ocs
Dream Weavers - ~professorrat/submissions/1927289/dream-weaver-residents-ocs