The sun was yet again high in the sky, a monstrous ball of blazing heat, seeming to follow every movement of the friends as they flew upward into the deep blueness of the sky, it's wide horizon seeming to swallow them up.
They
flew in a tight formation, Talon in the front, Scorch and Blaze
flanking him and the young Dare bringing up the rear. They all wore
an aresanal of battle gear and carried weapons, slicing sides letting
off a sharp sort of glare in the sunlight.
Talon's armor was
worn on nearly everything except his wings, since that would slow him
down too much. He had a silver curiass on his torso, coated in a
solution giving it the strength of enamel, as was all the other
pieces of armor the group was wearing. Shimmering brass helmet
perched on his head, long piece of metal coming down the center of
his face to protect his eyes and hollow silver spikes ran down the
center of it for his own spikes beneath it. Gleaming gold pieces
enclosed his feet and lower legs, serving not only for protection but
for attacking as well, as the points where his claws would rest were
incredibly sharp and ended in a lethal tip. There was even a bit of
metal that could fit over his beak so he could slash and tear at
things, of course he hoped it would never come to that since he
thought the salty taste of blood would be most unpleasant. His only
carried weapon was a sharp dagger, dipped in a solution made from
mistletoe so if he were to cut someone with it the cut would bleed
for hours on end since mistletoe prevented the blood from properly
clotting.
Next came Scorch, his armor was a deep gold, it fit completely over his torso, legs, feet claws and tail. The claws were sharp like Talon's so slashing flesh would be like cutting through butter with a knife. Fine looking helmet was strapped to his head and he looked like he was a fish of sorts since long strips of golden metal jutted out where the fins on the side of his head came out. He held a large sword, finely sharpened edges shimmering as if it was covered in glaze. It also had the mistletoe solution on it, so he was careful when he held it.
To the right of Scorch was his younger brother Blaze. The had much the same armor, golden sheen casually reflecting the sun's UV rays, covering every part of him from the neck down. He wore no helmet on his head though as the spiky frill around his neck was good enough protection for him. Each of his many spikes on his head were fitted into the metal cast of sharpened steel. The main difference that separated him from his companions was that he had a bow and arrows instead of a sword or a dagger. The case on his back held two dozen arrows, dipped in a poisonous solution before being inserted into the carrying case. The arrows were finely made and had feathers of an assortment of birds for appearance and to make is fly straighter. He had been taught how to make the poison so he only needed to buy the arrows.
Dare, youngest of them all was probably the one who knew the least about war. He was very young when the battle of the Lost Desert took place and this had been the first one since then. However, one thing he did know was that this was serious so he was just as heavily armored as the rest of them and had been taught how to use a sword by his brothers as soon as he found out they were going. They'd only had a few weeks to practice so he wasn't very good yet. None the less he held a good sized sword, just like the his brother.
His helmet, like the other two who wore helmets, was unique. He was the only one there with two horns above his head, so his helmet was made to fit them in, the result made him seem fiercer than he felt. His fins on the side of his head were inside the helmet but did not have the special fin moldings on the side like Scorch's. His shaggy onyx mane was left to flow freely, falling over the steel armor covering his neck. His whole body piece was of steel instead of the fancy material the others had but it was still just as protective so that pleased the small draik, although he found the armor quite heavy and it messed up his flying, landing him in the back of the line. Certain parts of the areas that needed less protection were done in the softer material of bronze, like the tips of his horns and his claws. One of the most remarkable things about him was the huge spiky ball attached to the end of his tail. He hated the thought of implanting those dozens of spikes into his foes with a crushing impact, leaving the dead or with shattered legs so they couldn't even walk, and he would have to leave them to suffer.
No, he didn't like the idea of that at all.
His thoughts were interrupted by his eldest brother, "Talon, land here I want to check out some of the critters down at that elephants place!"
"You mean Gon?" He called over his shoulder, looking back at Scorch. "Why should I do anything for you? Besides we're on a tight schedule, we can't made stops for any little thing that pops into your head!"
Scorch stopped in mid-flight, hovering on the spot, causing his youngest brother to nearly crash into him. He uttered a startled squawk that Talon doubted ever a Pteri such as himself could make then braked just before he clipped Scorch in the back of the head with his wing.
"Maybe I'll just go by myself and you can just go by yourself to this creepy citadel that floats in the sky, doesn't sound too pleasant now does it?" he cackled. "A chicken like you wouldn't like that I take?"
Talon let out a low sound that resembled a growl but birds don't growl now do they? Still it could have been called that and he responded, "Fine, but this better not take long." He turned slowly in midair and began to descend towards the thick jungle's canopy below them.
Satisfied with Talon's begrudged acceptance he followed, making an occasional clucking noise to prove his point until finally Talon told him to shut up or they wouldn't even go. Scorch decided he wasn't kidding so settled for leering at him when the others weren't looking.
Finally they landed on the relatively soft earth beneath the tree's leaves, at least soft in comparison to the plateau's rocky landscaping. In front of them there was a small building. On it was a thatched roof and it was made of what seemed to be the trees that had been made to create the small clearing where it was built. A slab of rock rested against the side of the hut, incarved in it's surface were 'Tyrannian Petpets' in both Tyrannian and English.
"So this is 'Tyrannian Petpets?'" he said, looking at the rundown building," In my opinion it should be called the 'Critters Cranny,'" he cracked. "Since that's pretty much what it is, now back in Meridel," he started.
Talon glowered at him, "You weren't treated very nicely, and it shows!" He cut him off.
Suddenly Scorch seemed different, his eyes drifted to the ground and he remembered what had happened, back in the land of his birth. The draik trio, as the three brothers sometimes referred to themselves as, hadn't been born in Tyrannia like Talon. They'd been born in Meridel, a different land. Instead of the small huts and caves Talon's people lived in, they had large wooden cabins and the nobles got to live in even grander things, castle's and fortresses. It seemed much fancier than the mere plateau and jungle.
But that sometimes was a drawback. In Tyrannia Scorch knew everyone was equal, and that was how he liked it. The reason he came was because of his treatment he got before he came here. His mother had laid an egg but the draiks weren't welcome. Many untrue rumors had spread about them razing animals for food and destroying crops for no reason. For this the people of Meridel had despised the draiks and even ate their eggs! A draik egg was considered a delicacy and fetched a high price in the food stores and many merchants were looking for the eggs. Many of the new chicks died, resulting in the endangerment of the draik species. His mother had managed to prevent this from happening and only one of the eggs she laid didn't live. But still there were other problems to consider. The main one was the trouble only one of her sons had. Radiation in the atmosphere was beginning to increase, with new factories needed to produce the wide assortment of goods the consumers of Neopia demanded.
This radiation changed the life of Scorch forever.
When he was born he was an average draik in most ways. The only difference was his eyes. It looked like he'd never slept even though he had. His eyes were a deep shade a yellow, the eyes only slits, but this was an average characteristic that many of his species shared, it was the fact that they were consonantly bloodshot that worried his mother.
Eventually other changes took place. His deep red scales turned a puke green, and sagged, as if he were a century old. His wings seemed to tear so easily that finally they were replaced with a more durable, artificial skin, so he could fly properly. His teeth grew in improperly, jutting out like sharp rocks at the bottom of a pit.
He'd became mutated, and he had the factories and their pollution to blame.
He was teased mercilessly, people shouted out rude insults as he passed by, at least when he was small. After his other brothers had hatched he'd grown by a good deal since that was how draiks grew. A lot. Then one day the teasing went too far. An ixi had been tormenting him and he was in a particularly bad mood. No sooner had the cruel words been said Scorch was in front of him, crooked teeth bared, claws extended.
He'd told the frightened creature that this was his last warning and that the next time they said something insulting about his family he would slit his throat on the spot, no matter how many were watching. Just for good measure he body checked him with as much force as he could without seriously injuring him and sent him hurtling into the dust.
The sly creature knew this was what he'd been waiting for. He ran to his father and told him what had happened. Before doing this though he covered his head and flank in a juice from dark red berries and practiced limping. Once he had a convincing act he told him the draik had savagely attacked him and he didn't do a thing to him. He also said that Scorch had told him he would slit his throat in front of anyone watching. This caused a shriek from his mother.
No one took a thought towards the fact he could be lying. There was real cuts and bruises and the berry juice was very realistic. Not to mention no one wanted draiks around to begin with. An order was sent out to the guards to shoot to kill him and a bounty would be given for his body as is this was the hunting of a simple rodent.
When Scorches mother heard of this she knew it wasn't only her eldest son that was in danger but he younger two too. She told them that they couldn't stay here and said they had to flee, to go as far away as possible. They'd asked why she wouldn't come and she'd told them that she was expecting another egg and was in no shape to fly.
Dare, still young had began to cry, he was far from old enough to leave his mother, he didn't even know how to fly yet. He relied on his brothers for everything his mother would normally teach him, and still they didn't know everything that would need to be taught to him.
It was a sad time for the draik trio.
Then they heard about a land called Tyrannia. It was apparently a place where giant saurian creatures roamed. He figured maybe they'd accept him there, so he flew off after finding out it was in the northern region of Neopia.
He flew as far as he could but he had to stop for long periods of time to let his brothers rest. He knew he must be close but then he was faced with the vast sea of Neopia. He knew he couldn't fly across, it was much too wide and he had to care for his younger brothers. He instead snuck upon a large ferry, knowing that it was wrong but also knowing they had to get to Tyrannia. Luckily he wasn't caught but he had to hang around in the shadows to do it and survived only on the small provisions he had packed.
They finally arrived just as they had run out of the last of their provisions. They had no money so for the first few days they begged for food, but the natives knew very little English and seemed to speak only using grunts and snorts by the sound of it. Not to mention the diet consisted of mostly uncooked meat and strange plants.
Talon found them and surprised them by knowing English almost as well as them. He seemed to know he was the only one who could help them out of the streets so he reluctantly let them into his home. He showed them around and told them that they could have a room to themselves but the bed could only hold two so one of them would have to sleep on the floor.
The counters, tables and chairs where made out of stone. So was the bed.
"I call the floor," Scorch said.
In
the end they bought a rug of animal skins for them to sleep on. I was
actually quite cozy but there wasn't a lot of room for them to move
around without rolling onto the cold floor, but they had a home and
they were thankful.
Many still didn't like Scorch and some even
wanted him to leave but Talon stood up for them, even though he
didn't want to sometimes.
Now they were voyaging back to their homeland, but not to fight with their fellow neighbors, but to fight against them, siding with Darigan in the fight against Meridel. Many were doing the same but the Meridelians still had a strong force, up to three times as many recruits but their team had the advantage of better trained fighters so in the end it was pretty much a stalemate for them, and it would take good plans and courage for them to beat the other team. Scorch could only hope that Darigan had that.
They were in the small shop know, Scorch's memories had only taken a few seconds to filter through and now he looked at the cages lining the walls. In them were an assortment of strange beasts, one shelf held dinosaur like creatures like the Niptor, others held pets that resembled wooly mammoths. He walked up to a large cage, in it a Niptor dozed on. He knew at once this was the one he wanted.
Because it was like him in so many ways.
The mutations affecting some of the Neopians had taken its toll on the young creature. Long spikes poked up above it's eyes, like rows of little horns. It seemed to have arms a bit to long for it's body, crossed in front of it as it slept, long curved claws giving it a threatening appearance, enhanced by the teeth poking out of his mouth where its lips didn't fully cover them. It's eyes were closed but if they were open he knew they'd be as bloodshot as his own. It had the same purple stripes most of it's kind had but it's skin was a dull mottled gray instead of the deep brown the others had.
It was just what he wanted, something that was probably feeling as rejected as him about all the mutation that made it look the way it did. He told Talon to barter with the shopkeeper for him since he couldn't speak the native tongue.
"What?" He exclaimed, "We made a detour for that!"
"Yes actually," He said giving him a sly grin, revealing his yellowed teeth. "And I guess now that we're here we might as well buy him right?" He asked, cheeky grin plastered on his face.
Grumbling Talon turned towards the elephant called Gon and began to speak in a series of grunts. Gon replied with his own grunts. A neandratholic conversation played out between them which seemed to have an overuse of the word "Ugg" until they settled on a price. Cursing under his breath he pulled a bag of coins out of a bag slung causually over his shoulder and dumped the contents onto the counter. He separated the gold pieces until the larger portion of the pile was set in front of Gon. A very large portion of the pile.
A smile could be barely made out beneath the layers of hair and behind a large trunk as the elephant bent over and pulled a key out of a drawer, which was really just a hollowed out piece of stone inserted into a hole in another large stone. He walked over to the sleeping creatures cage and slid the key into the lock before opening the door and grasping the small reptile in his paws.
Angered at being awakened the saurians eyes narrowed and it's mouth flew agape as it let out a small hiss. It's whip-like tail thrashed around as it tried to escape. It bit into the store-keepers arm but it's teeth sunk harmlessly into his thick fur.
Talon gave looked doubtful as he glanced from the thrashing creature to Scorch. "You know it's not to late to call off the deal, it looks kinda savage doesn't it?" He questioned.
"Come on Talon, your just chicken!" He exclaimed as he took the creature from the elephant. "Awww, isn't it cute!" He exclaimed cradling the not-so-cute creature in his arms. The previously adgitated Niptor seemed to calm down once he was in the elderest Draiks arms, it's eyes sliding half closed giving it a more relaxed appearance, "Awww he likes me!" He said, the sound coming out like a squeal in a motherly, lovey-dovey voice.
Talon let out a rude retching noise as if he was about to vomit on the dirt flooring. "Scorch..." He started.
"Hmm?" He replied.
"You are seriously disturbed," he let out a snicker as they left the store, earning a snort from Scorch. "By the way that little bugger costed us a fortune, it better not die or anything, especially if it's your fault, I'll wring your neck."
"I'm shaking at the knees!" He muttered sarcastically. "Now what should I name you?" he wondered aloud, before listing a bunch of violent names like Shredder or Blood Talon. Each of these names recieved a negative response from the un-named Niptor. Each name recieved a snicker from Talon.
Finally Scorch was pretty mad. "Well what do you think we should name him?" He fumed eyes glaring at him showing his displeasure.
"Her," Talon corrected him, stiffling laughter.
"W-what," stammered Scorch, wondering if he'd misheard.
"Her," Talon repeated, "Oh, I must have forgotten to point out that it's a girl, at least that's what Gon told me."
Scorch stopped walking, sending Dare who was walking behind him almost walking into him for the second time. He just stood there for a moment shell-shocked the he stammered out, "Well that's not a problem, a girl is just as good as a boy right? Now for a name, there's no way I'm calling it something really girly." He paused for a moment before stating a single word, "Karmashi." He repeated it a couple times, letting it roll of the end of his forked tounge.
"I like it!" Stated Dare, a-matter-a-factly.
"No one was asking you!" Talon snorted.
"Well so do I, and it's not girly at all, actually I think it's unisex isn't it?" He asked to no one in particular, although no one answered him.
"I suppouse we'd better get going shouldn't we?" Talon asked, glancing up at the leaves blocking the view of the sky.
Nodding Scorch placed the tiny creature on his back and prepared to take off. The four-some lifted their wings and took off breaking through the thick canopy until they were high and could see the sun setting to the west, leaving the sky for that day. They headed in the other direction however, in the direction of the great crack in the earth that led up to the Ice Caves.