Disclaimer: Golly, what's wrong with you people? I don't own the TMNT! Sheesh, get off my case, nitwits!
A/N: For reasons you'll soon find out, I have Chibi Rose Angel's shout out at the end of this chapter. (sigh) I had buttloads of trouble starting this chapter, for reasons I can't understand. For some reason, ending on odd notes like last chapter just gives me agony starting the next. (growls) Sorry, this was a very late update. I have another plot bunny running around in my head and its jamming my muses on DM. Darn you, plot bunny! (shakes her fist) BTW, I also made a world map of Haradris that I'm currently putting locations and continent names onto. I'll notify you guys when it's ready. And this chapter's long. Get yourself popcorn and a drink.
7.
Saesha arrived back at the skirmish area with four plump young rabbits surrounded in purple aura all floating in the air behind her. It looked as though their hearts had been stopped, because there was bloody froth coming out of their nostrils. "Remind me never to get her angry," Kyrunir mumbled with a shiver as she set them down.
"There, satisfactory to you ravenous wolves?" she asked, making a disgusted face when Lharom took one of the bunnies in his serrated talons and ripped its innards out with his sharp black beak. "Could you please do that somewhere else? Or at least go catch a baby dolphin to eat?"
He snorted as he gulped the heart. "Wrong planet, lass. Here, the fish are big enough to eat me alive."
"Well, I wouldn't want to deprive them of a meal," Saesha grumbled, scraping together a pile of tinder as Lharom downed the last of his rabbit and licked his beak staring longingly at Saesha. "Go find your own meal, I'm done hunting." The griffin flattened his ear tufts, muttered a peculiar phrase, and went airborne with a flap of his tawny wings.
"Yeesh, grouch much," Raph muttered darkly, returning with larger branches to feed the small purple fire Saesha had going.
The little purple dragon glared icily at him, baring her teeth. "Nobody asked you, smart one," she growled ominously, puffing smoke. "If you want to eat, you'll have to skin them yourself." Don sighed and took one of the dead rabbits, pulling out a small shuruken from his belt. He made a long slit down its spine (A/N: I don't know how to skin anything, so don't screech at me for telling Don to use the wrong tools, you hear?) and carefully sawed under the fur to sever the skin from the meat. Kyrunir looked like he was fully prepared to go vomit sour bile into the surrounding bushes.
"If you can't stomach it, look away," Don suggested bluntly, tearing off the right side of the fur and throwing it to the side. The rukit happily complied and for good measure turned his back to the bloody scene. When he'd finished skinning one rabbit, he handed the carcass to Raph, who grimaced and stabbed his Sai into the rear end of the animal, pushing until it protruded from its mouth. This made a primitive rotisserie roaster, provided that some one stay by the handle of the Sai and keep turning it to cook the meat evenly. And that some one ended up being Rijinn, who had to stand on his hind legs to keep the rabbit above the fire.
"Saesha, can't you turn this thing with your telekinesis?" he whined, nearly falling over because his balance was skewed.
She opened one eye and took a second from Don, holding it over the fire. "I'll do only one," she said, keeping her head in the same relaxed, superior position. "You males are so pitiful when it comes to working with food. Everybody except Mikey burns even the simplest thing, like eggs."
Raph took his other Sai and forced it up the third rabbit's anus. "Hey, quit insultin' us. We got other talents."
"Ah yes. I seem to have forgotten the skill of being a brainless moron without trying at all." The turtle glared at her and Don rolled his eyes in exasperation, spotting Lharom coming in for a landing.
"Alright, I'll admit, I did manage to catch some fish," the griffin grumbled in defeat as he landed heavily next to Ukeera's prone form. "But they had mommas! And by the Claw, those mommas thought I was their next snack!" Saesha opened her eye and smirked cynically along with Raph. "What?"
"For one, you look like a covey after a bath, because your feathers are flat against your skin—"
"Knock it off, lass, I ain't no duck," he growled, puffing out his feathers indignantly. "My shafts ain't oiled with…oil."
"And two, there's a fish biting your tail," Saesha finished with an evil grin.
Lharom turned his head and screeched in mock fury at the flopping fish currently holding onto his lion tail with its teeth. "Offa my tail, blighter! Yeow, that hurts!" He yowled painfully and pranced lightly around on his toes, whapping the stubborn fish against every tree trunk he could find. When it finally let go and fell limply to the ground, he snapped it up hungrily. Saesha puffed smoke.
"Rijinn, your rabbit is on fire," she pointed out with a chuckle, lifting her own out as the flames jumped up and clung to her brother's bunny. He squealed and fell backward, bringing the enflamed body down with him. Lharom padded over and blew on it gently, putting out the fire as the red dragon panted, looking for all the world like a chicken with its heart nearly scared right out of him.
"Thanks a lot, sis!" he grouched shakily, scrambling up. She ignored him and gave her rabbit to Don and Kyrunir. The two carefully picked the meat off the bones. Within minutes, the bunny was no more than a pile of bones in the leaves. Raph was having a lot more success than they were, because he had something to hold the piping hot meat on. He finished his rabbit off just as Rijinn did his.
"Now that we're all filled up, I suggest we get a move on." Saesha stood and stretched like a cat, yawning and showing off her white teeth.
Lharom looked at the quartet of messy males in distaste, flattening his ear tufts and staring down his beak at them. "Nuh-uh, they're not riding me with those sticky fingers. Off to the stream with you scoundrels!" he squawked.
"It'd kinda help if we knew where it was," Raph deadpanned, crossing his arms in a dare.
"To your right for about twenty paces, then through a gorge. You should find it easily."
Don was the first to be gone. He was off like a shot. "Don't understand why he's got hot feet about sticky fingers," Raph grunted as Rijinn hopped up on his shoulder. "Douses 'um in engine oil all the time." Kyrunir waited hesitantly for a second before following the grumbling turtle. Once all four had washed their filthy phalanges (and claws), they clambered onto Lharom. The griffin stood patiently as Kyrunir tried to heave Ukeera onto his back.
"Y'know, I think she's just stayin' out cold for the attention," Rijinn said when the rukit finally got his friend on. When they were all situated, Lharom gave a short squawk and went skyward. Don felt his stomach lurch as the ground fell away, fading into green landscape and trees. As the griffin flapped steadily to gain altitude, the turtle was aware of Kyrunir's fearful grip on his shell, a well-known gesture of If I fall, you're coming with me!". He gripped Lharom's neck feathers a bit tighter for reassurance. It had been a while since he'd flew in this fashion, the last time being when Aireilei, Bima, Leo and himself were in a race to get to New York before Tiquae unlocked the power of the dragons and Raph was killed.
"Hey, you're pinchin' my skin, Donatello! Ease up a bit!" He sheepishly let Lharom have more freedom to move. "That's better, lad! Now, keep your balance!" The griffin went into a shallow dive, but it was enough to catch Raph off guard. The red-clad turtle caught sight of the ground, which happened to be a bad idea in itself. When he flew on dragonback the first incident, he had tossed his cookies onto a man's BMW. That man hadn't been too happy, as Don recalled, spouting profanities and various oaths that he'd learn to shoot flying targets. The turtle had been present for the whole occasion, watching from the shadow of an alley balcony rail and trying very hard not to burst Leo's eardrums through the Shell Cell by letting out a soft chortle (amplified on the receiving end through wonderful technology).
Raph's red eyes widened , then they crossed in a woozy sort of way. "Oh crud…" He turned an interesting shade of murky green, cheeks filling, before losing his half-digested rabbit to the sandy ground below. Saesha shot a malicious smirk at him as she flew. Rijinn looked as though he was about to lose the miniscule control he had over his quickly bubbling laughter. Raph clung, sickened, to Lharom's rump. "Shut up, guys," he growled weakly. That did it. Rijinn burst out in howling guffaws, nearly forgetting to flap in his hysterical glee.
Don shook his head at the guffawing duo, somewhat sorry for Raph. He'd almost forgotten his brother passionately loathed flying. He chanced a look back at Kyrunir and saw he was too busy holding on for dear life to his shell. He wrapped his tail around the rukit's waist for reassurance before turning back around.
To his right were jagged, rocky cliffs that cut off into steep drops. The waves below smashed the rocks with such fury that it was seem there was an invisible storm going on. In reality, offshore there were gathered a group of about five fish-like creatures, all wailing and flailing around in the water. "I take it those are the mommas you spoke of?" Don asked Lharom.
The griffin turned his head and twisted his beak down into a frown. "Yup, that's them. Still bawling I see." He returned his attention to flying and settled into a long glide, locking his wings. "Why, I couldn't tell you. All I did was steal an invalid from the back." He could still hear faint chuckles from Rijinn and Saesha. Raph was having a misery of a time back there, he was sure. "Going down!" The inevitable barfing noise came, followed by several more uncontrollable chortles and giggles from the two dragons.
"Dang it, I hate flying!"
"That's obvious," Saesha replied with a chuckle, doing a loop-de-loop. "You needn't announce it for all the world to hear."
A palm frond cut off his pitiful retort. Lharom landed in a clearing of sand and rocks, immediately bouncing Raph off so he could spit and curse where he pleased. Don slid off a little more gracefully than his brother did, actually landing on his feet.
"Ky? Where are we?"
Looked like Ukeera had finally woken up. And currently, she was still on Lharom's back. "I'll tell you later, lass, but in the mean time, getcher butt offa my fur, will ya?" The griffin turned his head and saw an immediate pale in her complexion.
"Please don't scream, Ukeera," Don said, waving his arms around wildly when she parted her jaws. "He's on our side! And plus, you might alert more orcs of our presence!" Trembling slightly, she shut her maw and scrambled down hurriedly, as if his fur burned her. Lharom muttered something in exasperation before turning into his wolfena form.
Kyrunir smiled shyly at his friend from a distance. "Hi, Ukeera."
"I think he's crushing on you," Saesha whispered to the female rukit, landing on her shoulder.
She looked quizzically at her. "What's that?"
"He likes you."
"Saesha, we've been friends ever since—"
"No, I mean love!" She let her ears and tail droop in surprise.
"Don't act so shocked. You had it coming."
"Ahem," Lharom growled, bristling to get their attention. "Let's get moving before noon sets in. It can get powerful hot out here unless you've found shade." The wolfena padded away into the palm fronds and ferns, parting them like a bulldozer.
Don had just slipped his Bo back in its holster when Raph sidled up to him. "Y'know who exactly this Lharom guy is?"
"Not a clue. What I'm sure of is that Saesha met him somewhere, because they're on a first-name basis with each other." Raph shrugged and swaggered out of the clearing, following Lharom's tracks. When he came out on the other side, he saw a wide expanse of cliffs, ferns, grass, and several boulders. In the far distance was a house that looked like it was on…fire? Lharom could be seen dashing toward the burning cottage, howling and barking like his own tail was on flames. "What the shell is he doing?"
"Mourning the death of somebody else's house, it looks like." The wolfena arrived at the scene and began sniffing furiously amongst the wreckage. Don hmmed and scratched his chin before dashing with the speed of a gazelle to the burning structure.
"Oh, he's not going to be happy about this," the wolfena was muttering when Don stopped behind him. "No sirree. This has to be the fifth they've burned in two months."
"Dakari I take it?" Don asked.
Lharom turned his head and wrinkled his snout. "Yeah." He resumed sniffing. "Bloody Claw knows how many times he's had to move…Stupid Empire…" The turtle stared a bit at him before wading through the piles of ash and charred wood.
"Why exactly are they after him?"
"Basically same as me, only he's only been to this world and not others. He's been interfering with their plans for nearly four years now." Don winced.
"So, now what do we do?" Raph asked rudely, coming up from behind.
"Well, where were you going in the first place?" Lharom retorted, locking his yellow eyes with the turtle's crimson ones.
"Dunno. Our tour guides are supposed to have that stuff."
The wolfena perked his ears forward. "May I give you a tip, boys?" he said, twitching his tail. Don and Raph looked quizzically at each other. "Duck." Both turtles sighted arrows flying at them and sucked their heads into their shells with yelps.
"Sometimes I just love my anatomy," Raph growled, peering out. Lharom charged at the mess of rocks from which the steady stream of arrows was coming, leaping over the ridge. Several sharp screams echoed and the arrows stopped flying. The wolfena reappeared over the rocky ridge, teeth and claws tainted with red blood.
"Eeew," Ukeera squealed. "What the Claw were you doing?"
"Stragglers," he replied shortly, wiping his claws on the stubby grass. "They were lying in wait for travelers, ones with money. None of you would have been in any immediate danger, because you don't carry currency on you."
"Wonderful," Raph muttered, head now fully out of his shell. "Just wonderful. Two ambushes in one friggin' day." Don slapped him upside the head, extracting a growl from his short-tempered brother.
Kyrunir eyed Lharom's bloody mouth squeamishly, looking just about ready to toss his cookies. "Is that blood?" he asked faintly. Everybody stared at him as he passed out cold and collapsed like a sack.
"And oh joy! Another unconscious kiddo to lug around!" Raph received another slap.
Ukeera rolled her eyes and snorted. "Wimp. He hates the very sight of blood."
"Well, we all know he won't get recruited for the Rebels any time soon," Lharom said. "It's obvious Dakari wasn't here when they attacked, so he must be exploring. If I can pick up his scent…" He snuffled along the ground, snorting out ash. "Blasted ashes keep getting up my nose!" he growled, sneezing. "Ah, here we are! Watishi. Oh boy, I keep telling that teela to take a bath once or twice, but no…"
"So where are we going now?" Saesha asked, settling on Don's shoulder.
"We're going to find Dakari. I've got a few things to discuss with the rabbit."
"He's a rabbit?" Raph exclaimed in disbelief.
"Didn't I tell you? Poor kid lost the Battle Nexus it seems. And his cousin ain't much help either."
Raph and Don exchanged glances. "Usagi," the purple-clad turtle mused thoughtfully. "Usagi must be the cousin. I don't know any other talking rabbits, do you, Raph?"
"Not unless you mean that twerp who just fainted," he retorted rudely. Another slap.
"Will you knock it off? Next time I'll use a branch, not my hand!"
Dakari crept along in the thicket vegetation like a ghost, not making a sound. This was one of the few times he ever had to be serious about something. He stopped about twenty feet from the band of orcs they were after, quietly pulling out a katana. He turned his head and nodded at one of the gunghir. She picked up a rock and pitched it over the circle of enemies, landing it behind one.
"Gah! Great snitch beetles, what was that?" he cried, jumping up and turning. "Eh?" He scratched his dirty head.
Dakari bolted from his cover and slashed off his head. The fire ring came alive with orcs and war bellows. Arrows whistled out of the bushes, burying themselves in chests. The rabbit samurai whirled, kicked a sword out of an enemy's hands, and cut open his stomach. "Hiya!" Dakari ducked and swept an orc's feet out from under him. He leapt up and jammed his katana in the orc's chest, ending his life.
Arrows continued to fly everywhere, some missing, others not. Very soon, the orcs were demolished. The victorious gunghir stepped out of the bushes, smiling grimly. "That was easy," one commented.
"Yes, it was," Dakari agreed, wiping his blade on the grass and sheathing it. Screams came from the east. "Sounds like Leonardo-san is also victorious." He raised his ear. "And Tor also."
"Pitiful." The rabbit looked up. The moon was on the verge of going down below the horizon. Dawn was coming.
"Aye," the gunghir chorused.
"I'm hungry."
"Aye."
"Will you shut up?"
"Aye."
"Oi."
"Aye." Dakari chuckled as Leo came up.
"They're all gone, Dakari. We did it," he said wearily as Erori giggled.
"Aye."
"WILL YOU IDIOTS SHUT YOUR TRAPS?" the commenting gunghir all but screamed.
"Aye."
"I rest my case," she grumbled.
"Aye."
"Argh!"
"So, what now?" Leo asked as Fyla came up behind him.
"We get on with our lives," she answered, taking Erori from his tail. "You have my humblest thanks." The gunghir mother seized Leo in a stifling hug and then kissed him on the cheek. The turtle blushed furiously and stammered a sheepish, "You're welcome."
"Leonardo-san, when dawn arrives, we must go southwest. I fear the Empire has burned my house down. Again," he said wryly. "And I do believe Watishi and Tunali are getting lonely." Dakari suddenly noticed Leo's bruises. "How in the name of…?"
"I gave Erori milk and to get it, I had to milk Watishi," he answered with a chuckle.
The rabbit laughed. "I should have told you, they don't like getting milked."
"Might have been useful info."
"Aye," the gunghir chorused again.
"I'm being punished, aren't I?" the commentator grumbled.
"Aye."
Warm light peeped over the mountain peaks, revealing pink clouds. Leo felt unusually peaceful watching the sunrise. "Beautiful isn't it?" Fyla said softly, bouncing Erori up and down.
"Aye."
"Oh, for the love of…"
"I don't know how else I can thank you for taking care of my baby," Fyla continued, ignoring the choir of 'Aye'rs.
"Really, I don't need anything," Leo replied hurriedly. She stared at him.
"It wouldn't be right," Fyla shot back.
"Aye."
"Heaven help me, if you don't stop that, I'll through you into an oljis thorn bush!"
"Aye."
"That would hurt," one added.
"Aye."
"I hope whoever made that word is getting incinerated down there," she muttered, pointing to the ground.
"Aye."
"Shut…up," she growled.
The sunlight bathed them in warmth, lighting the bloody corpses and making them more noticeable. Leo looked away, trying to erase the grimacing faces from his mind. "I believe it's time to get the teelas and leave," Dakari said finally.
"Aren't you hungry?" Fyla asked.
"Aye."
Dakari glanced at Leo. "Do you need to eat?" A grumble from the turtle's lower plastron was his answer. "I'll take that as a yes. We would love to stay for breakfast, if it's no trouble."
"Not at all!" Fyla exclaimed. "But how are you going to get up?"
Leo looked down. "I can climb, if that's any help."
"Nah, we can fly you guys up!" Tor jumped into the conversation with a whoop.
"Tor, you're five hundred years old. You should have arthritis by now," Anorr grumbled.
"Aye."
"Jhadie, I'm cursed," the commentator whispered, burying her head in her fingers.
"Who cares if I'm old, I can still move like you can! Grab on, Dakari!" The ancient gunghir took to the sky with the rabbit clinging to his back. Leo watched from the ground.
"I might as well take you up myself," Anorr muttered. Leo clambered on, asking if he was too heavy. "Not at all," she grunted. "I'm sure most of it's muscle anyway." She launched herself powerfully into the air, flapping like crazy. When she set him down on a deck, she was panting heavily.
"Sorry," Leo apologized quickly.
"No, I needed the exercise. Now, you came up for food. Let's go to the mess, then." She led the way across bridges, through trees, and around decks until they arrived at a particularly large trunk. Anorr opened the door and delicious smells wafted out. It made Leo's stomach growl even more as they walked in.
He spotted Dakari picking idly at a cake of some sort. "I'm not very hungry. Would you like this?" he asked.
"Aye!" One of the 'aye'ing gunghir swept the cake off the rabbit's plate and gobbled it with a grin. Dakari rubbed his temples and sighed in exasperation.
"And we all know that's a rare occasion for you to miss your target, eh?" Knami grunted, panting heavily as the fighting stalled for a split second while both sides caught their breath.
Kiara blinked rainwater out of her eyes and growled, "Quit being sarcastic, Knami, I don't have time for this!" Bima puffed black smoke and smiled grimly.
"We're losing troops fast," she mumbled blearily, spitting blue-white fire at a row of orcs that dared come too close. "I can feel their life force slipping away." The little dragon took a deep breath and roared menacingly, tackling an opponent to the ground and slashing his throat with her razor-sharp silver claws.
"We need a miracle. Where's Aireilei?"
"Chasing down that giant chicken and its fat turnip of a rider," Bima growled back, sending orcs howling with fire. Kiara parried a blow, ducked another, and killed two enemies with one swipe of her rapiers.
"Who do we think we're fooling?" she yelled, kicking an orc in the chest. "We can't win this!"
The silver-blue dragon on the ground muttered a curse. "They already know that! Why do you think they're leering at us now?" Just to prove her point, one of the filthy rats jeered and raised his sword. Kiara took that opportunity to hack his arm off, cutting down to separate his spine and hips. His decapitated body fell down spurting blood as his comrade got smashed into the mud by Knami's broadsword.
Kiara saw a flash of orange out of the corner of her eye. It was Mikey, whirling like a demon and cracking his 'chuks on the skulls of his adversaries. The rukit blocked a slash, eyes still on the turtle. An orc had sneaked up behind the oblivious boy, a large club raised. She shouted a warning, but the sounds of clashing metal and war cries drowned her out. He crumpled to the ground, out cold.
Screaming curses like a mad man, Kiara plowed straight through the many orcs blocking her path, throwing them aside as if they were featherweight. She arrived just in time to save Mike from a fatal blow to the neck, killing the owner instantly with her own retaliatory strike. The rukit readied herself to protect Mikey with her own body, putting up her swords in a defensive stance. Nobody moved for about five seconds. Then they charged.
Kiara franticly slashed and hacked in any direction possible, but there were too many for her to kill on her own. She was too busy protecting the torso of Mikey to know that the same club-wielding orc was coming up behind her. The rukit felt a sudden abrupt pain in the back of her skull and saw a flash of white before her vision went dark and she collapsed into unconsciousness.
"Will she be okay?"
"I dunno…she took a heavy blow to the noggin. You don't get up unhurt after being clubbed with an old beater like that thing."
"Head trauma. Other than that and a few other cuts, she'll be fine."
The fuzzy voices made her head hurt. She opened her eyes and blinked in confusion, seeing Aireilei, Iwansi, and Sor standing over her. "What happened?" Kiara asked, feeling a bit dizzy.
Aireilei frowned. "You're not supposed to be talking, sister. That makes it harder to settle you down and get you healed. Hold still." The white dragon gripped the rukit's arms, closing her eyes and beginning to glow. Kiara felt all of her pain melt away into the dark recesses of her mind, gone for the time being. When she finally let go, Kiara could sit up without feeling needles stabbing into her body.
"Where's Mikey, is he alright?" she inquired suddenly, remembering the last thing she was doing.
"He's fine. Still out cold, but fine. He got off better than you did."
Knami pulled aside the flap of the tent they were in. He looked like he'd been weeping. "Don't you ever do that again!" he growled threateningly. "You scared me toCurulaey and back with that stunt of yours! Kiara, you're like a daughter to me!" The creamy white rukit wiped his eyes and grabbed her in a bear hug.
Iwansi rolled her eyes. "Pinch me. This weepy reunion is giving me a headache." The yellow dragon stalked off, still muttering disgusted phrases.
Kiara pried the weepy Knami off of her. "Will somebody please tell me what the bloody Claw is going on?"
Aireilei rubbed her snout. "Well, after you and Michelangelo lost consciousness, Bima jumped in and saved you both from a beheading. She's currently sleeping in the healer's room with no wings." Kiara winced, thinking of the incredible sacrifice that was. No flying meant she was just as good as a fire-breathing lizard now. "Though she was still in agony, she held the orcs off until Knami could arrive and carry Mikey up to Sor, where he stayed until the end of the battle. He had difficulty getting you to safety, because you were fighting his grip like one possessed."
"Yes, you nearly clawed my eye out," Knami inserted ruefully.
"After you two had gotten far enough away from the battle that you wouldn't be hurt any more, we continued to fight them. I brought down the griffin after several shots from my bow, but the orcs kept the fighting up." Aireilei sighed and examined a claw. "Since I could see we weren't going to win without help, I sent Iwansi to get a friend. I hoped he was still free of Xetyphaes' control, for if not, we would have lost."
Kiara was getting curious. "Who's your friend?"
She smiled. "He's too big to walk amongst the camp, so he's waiting along the rim. I was going to have a talk with him, but you came first, as did my sister." Kiara opened her mouth to say something, but Aireilei held up a hand. "And before you ask, yes, Bima is related to me. I am the eldest of Rainbou's last clutch of eggs, which is because I hatched first."
Before Kiara could reply, Iwansi came padding back inside, a scowl on her face. "I've never seen Bima so dismal in my life. Do you realize," she growled at Kiara, "what you've cost my sister? Her flight! That was one of the two things that made her a dragon!"
Aireilei grabbed her smaller sister by her tail. "Enough, Iwansi. I've already spoken with Bima about it. She knew what the consequences were going to be and she accepted them. Quit moping around for her. She can do that herself." At that moment, the aforementioned dragon limped into their tent and grinned weakly.
"You oughta see the other guy," she said, falling over.
"She's delirious." Aireilei put a hand on Bima's side, glowing with a white aura again.
"I'm not delirious, I'm trying to lighten the mood, sis."
"I'm sure. Get back in bed, you hoodlum. That healer's going to screech something awful if she sees you out of bed."
Bima scowled darkly. "That old bat's crazy. I don't need any sleep, I came in here to see what the fuss was all about." Kiara felt a wave of guilt wash over her when she scanned Bima's unmarred body. Her wings were nowhere to be seen. She was handicapped now.
Sor grunted. "I'll go check on Mikey now."
Iwansi squirmed out of Aireilei's grasp, landing on the floor. "Well, I suppose I'll go visit Naicro now. He's sounds lonely."
"May I come?" Kiara asked politely.
"Eh, sure. You've been wondering about Aireilei's friend, haven't you?" The rukit nodded. "Very well, come with me." Iwansi sat down to scratch her ear with her cyborg leg before bounding out of the tent. Kiara followed carefully. When they arrived on the rim of the camp, she caught sight of the battlefield. Parts of it were on fire, which meant that the warriors had gathered the dead orcs and burned them. The smell of burning flesh filled her nostrils and she swallowed bile. "Come on, this way!" Iwansi poked her in the leg to get her attention. What she saw surprised even her.
Sitting in a ring of trees was an enormous pearly white lizard. He looked up at them with bright green eyes when they drew closer. "Good evening sister," he hissed through a slender muzzle filled with small sharp teeth. "What brings you here?"
Iwansi flopped down next to his forepaw and yawned. "Nothing really, Naicro. Just came to say hi."
The lizard wrinkled his snout. "It is quite odd that you speak in such a way, sister."
"Well, I've been on a different planet for about a millennium, so I don't see why you're so surprised."
"I liked you better when you were egg bound," Naicro muttered. Kiara chuckled and sat down by his side. "Daughter of earth, have you something to ask me?"
The rukit took off her greaves and chain mail. "What are you, Naicro?" she asked, feeling his scaly side.
He shut his eyes serenely. "I, daughter, am a Vern. A Vern is a Whurin dragon that lost its wings through choice."
"But you don't look like a dragon."
"There exist different species of dragon. My sisters and brothers who possess wings are known as Hiph Dragons. The child here is one of the remaining few."
Iwansi stretched and blinked. "Well, that makes me feel special," she grunted, resting her head on Naicro's forearm.
Naicro shifted slightly and turned his slender head to look at Kiara, who was dumbstruck with respect. "Daughter, if you rest your hand upon my shoulder, you will see that I have remnants of the wing bones." The rukit raised her hand and felt along his back. Two small bumps rose from the tops of his shoulders.
"What's Whurin?" Iwansi asked abruptly.
"It means thin in elvish," Kiara supplied. "And Hiph means high."
"You are correct," Naicro said with a nod. "I am the only Vern that walks this world now. My mate is in a deep sleep inside a crystal that an elf created so that when Xetyphaes was gone, we could have eggs. It is a lonely existence since Rainbou was captured. I remain the only free dragon besides the children of Rainbou." Kiara nodded solemnly.
"I can only imagine what he's doing to Rainbou," she sighed.
"When last I talked with her, she was in great mental pain. I have heard no more from her, but I believe he has made her his mind slave now. She has no control over what choices she makes."
Iwansi jerked in shock. "That's…that's awful!" she exclaimed. "My mother is…"
"Rainbou would rather die than hurt her children," Naicro hissed softly. "That is why Xetyphaes has not found Aireilei or you, child. The only person he tried interrogating was Niracan, her blind elf companion. She never said a word of your location either."
They all heard a sorrowful sigh. "If there was a way to free my mother from his control, I would find it." Kiara turned to see Aireilei standing by a tree, her periwinkle eyes sparkling with brimming tears. "She never deserved such a fate. I did. She took my place and I ran."
Naicro turned his head. "Do not blame yourself, child. She did that of her own accord. Do you really assume that she would cower in her cave while he bred you to griffins and used your sisters and brothers to make you comply? I think not." The white dragon let out a roar of soulless grief. "Come here, child." Aireilei tottered to him like a scared little girl to her father. "It will be alright. We shall find a way to free her, and if it be death, so be it." She curled up into a ball by his tail, covering herself with her huge wings to shut out the world. "Do not lose hope. There remains one dragon left whom you may recognize. Your father."
"What? We have a dad?" Iwansi asked in surprise.
"Of course, child. Did you assume that Aireilei and yourself were merely conceived of magic?"
"But she told me—"
Naicro rolled over, exposing his belly and taking Kiara's support from her back. "To conceive without mating is a rare thing indeed, child." Iwansi wrinkled her snout, trying to comprehend this. "Being conceived by magic makes you unrelated to your mother. Rainbou knew that, so when Yulakai mated her, she asked Niracan to keep one of the sperms inside her alive until you were born, Aireilei. Then when the improvised mating took place, she had a clutch of five eggs."
"I never knew it was that complex," the yellow dragon muttered thoughtfully, watching the green dots in her cyborg leg travel up and down.
"My father deserted me," Aireilei said with venom. "Naicro, what makes you think he'll come?"
"There is a reason he left you. He sensed that Xetyphaes was coming fifteen years prior to the invasion, when you were born. He never told your mother of it because he knew she would stop him from fighting." Aireilei unrolled and stared at the ground. "Yulakai intercepted Xetyphaes and his army when they arrived in the Hajai desert. He put a good-sized dent in their supply of fighters. If he had not done that, you would have all been taken by surprise and killed by a massive army of griffins and orcs."
"Where is he now?"
Naicro closed his eyes again. "None remain who know. I would assume that he is hiding in the Volcanic Wasteland because it is so desolate." Aireilei fell silent as the vern raised his head and took in a deep breath. "Come out, shadow child. It is no use hiding from me when I am able to smell you a mile away."
"Aw, rats." Mikey slid down a tree trunk, covered in leaves and twigs.
"I must say, you are a rather good shadow mage."
"He's no mage, Naicro. He's a ninja," Iwansi corrected.
The vern inclined his head. "My apologies. You could be a shadow child without magic, am I correct?"
Michelangelo scratched his yellow ear. "Uh, yeah, sure Shakespeare lizard. Hey, Rei, you in pain or something?"
Kiara shook her head. "No, she's just in shock."
"Why? She doesn't have to be in shock. I always knew Iwansi wasn't the prettiest dragon." Iwansi gave him a dirty look as he sat down by Kiara. "Thanks for saving my butt, Kiara."
"I wasn't much better. I got clubbed about a minute after you."
"How'd we win anyway?"
"This Hiph Dragon child went and fetched me from my cave. I knew her color was that of one of the eggs I saw Rainbou lay, so I followed her back to the flank of the orcs." Iwansi nodded. "The battlefield was much worse than I had feared it would be. The elves and rukits were nearly all dead. As I understand, I came right when the Hiph child Kiyo was spent of all energy. The storm cleared away without his wind to power it and the orcs surged forward. If not for my arrival, I believe you would all be dead now." Mikey gulped loudly. "As soon as Aireilei had put an end to the commander's griffin and himself, I began my work on the right flank. The fire mage saw me attacking and yelled a joyful cry. That was all the weary fighters needed to regain their strength and destroy the enemy."
"Wow. So basically, we kicked their shells." Mikey let out a whoop and yelled, "Yeah!"
Naicro stared with green eyes. "I had not expected one to be so jubilant."
"That's me, Michelangelo," he said with a wide grin. "I'm the party dude. My bros think I get pretty annoying sometimes. I just do it to push their buttons most of the time."
"You have siblings, shadow child?" the vern asked.
"Yup. Three and a Sensei. Leo's the serious one. I don't think I've ever seen him do anything but ninjitsu training. I pull pranks on him to loosen him up. Raph's the one who'll beat you up if you push his buttons too much. I get a lot of exercise running from that guy." Kiara chuckled. "Then there's Donnie. He's a genius. He can basically fix anything you please. The TV's always getting repaired because Raph puts a Sai in it every time his favorite wrestler loses."
Before Naicro could ask what a television was, Iwansi answered, "A TV is a glass box that plays moving images on the screen."
"Fascinating," he mumbled thoughtfully. "And what is your Sensei's name, shadow child?"
"Dude, my name's Michelangelo. And my Sensei's Master Splinter."
"Is he a kaseilala bacude also?"
Mikey scratched his ear. "Come again?"
"He asked if Splinter was a shell back too," Kiara said. "Naicro, you must learn not to speak elvish around him, he doesn't understand a word of it."
"I apologize, I was in error," the vern replied, blinking.
"Splinter's a rat."
"A what?"
"A rat is kind of like a Chivva only it has no fur on its one tail and doesn't have ears as big," Aireilei mumbled softly.
"I see. And is this Splinter as large as you are, Michelangelo?"
"Nah, he's about a foot or two shorter," the turtle said, scratching his ear again. "Man, I think I've got fleas." Iwansi turned her head, stared for a few seconds, and burst out in hearty guffaws. "Laugh while you can, you've got hair." Kiara chuckled at the look on the dragon's face.
Ahem. Now, to the actual note. I've got two pictures up for your viewing pleasure on my homepage: A Don mug shot that I colored (yay!) and shaded (booyah) in approximately an hour. The other is in the scraps section of my devArt account, which is a rough sketch of Aireilei. Up until now, I was struggling to get her anatomy right. Heehee, I went crazy on my deviantArt account. There's a fully colored Raph pic AND my online alias. Go check out the goodies.
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