Reply to Guest (review ch.2): Yep, Verago and his father Primavega do share differences over Skylar, though on other topics they get along well.


Verago flies through the throne room swiftly. As he does, the black-and-green jaquin passes a dozen members of the Skyguard who salute him. However, he sees them acting restless, eyeing one another while some murmuring erupts between them. Verago himself is a little nervous, too, though this finds no origin in the murmurings or the uncanny feeling earlier this morning. He's nervous about being late. Perhaps a tad late, but late nonetheless.

As he lands before the throne, one of his fellow generals is eager to confirm his delayed arrival. "Finally! We were waiting for you! Almost would have started without you, Verago." Thunder states in the usual judgmental manner when things don't go as expected.

The purple-and-gold jaquin may come across as stone-cold and distant towards others. He does so nearly always no matter the situation. Rarely does he show emotion. It's because he's good at hiding feelings. Even from Tornado, his very own daughter. And even right after losing his mate, who sadly died of complications when her second egg got stuck within the birth canal. To Thunder, decision-making is key and emotions only cause hindrance. Of course, he has his reasons, Verago keeps telling himself. Though this intrigues the black-and-green jaquin, he doesn't feel the need to ascertain the motivation behind Thunder's rigourous personality…

"Good morning to you too, Thunder.' Verago greets his fellow general sarcastically and greets the royal family in a dignified and calm manner before adding, 'My sincere apologies for being a little late. I was attending family business."

Corona nods lightly at Verago's comment. Seated on his throne, the king sits upright with his tail neatly beside his paws. His red mane accentuates this gracious posture that, together, commands respect from those who lay eyes upon him. The king's gaze, however, is less inviting as it goes past all three generals. He states calmly that the generals had assembled later than expected, while his children returned from a morning expedition that has uncovered a site where Chatana's monsters have gathered, increasing in numbers for an attack supposedly. With clear instructions, the king orders Verago and Thunder, along with half of the Skyguard, to clear the infestation and keep his children safe.

Diestáy steps forward and addresses the king. "Father. What about your consultation with Quita Moz? Will you share this with them?" Diestáy suggests curiously.

"Oh, right. There is – one other thing. I would like to express my concerns over my talk with Quita Moz yesterday. It was most insightful but clear details were, as is usual, not provided. The oracle told me of an upcoming struggle with some darkness – one that could do us great harm. I know this news is ill and it comes on top of other struggles we had endured in these past few weeks. A lot has happened but more will happen still. Upon your return, I shall have prepared a decision on the upcoming threat from this darkness that Quita Moz spoke of."

Zephyr nods attentively to his king's words. "Agreed. We jaquins indeed know hardship; we have faced trials and tribulations. Yet, I must add that we overcame each one of them by working hard and forcing victory upon ourselves. This time shall be no different." the grey jaquin comments with determination.

Thunder smiles with alacrity after hearing Zephyr's remark. With brusque liveliness, he states: "Yeeaah! Let them come and try! Let the hunting eyes of our enemies prowl. We will meet them with the sharpness of our claws and fangs!"

This sudden burst of emotion by Thunder catches Verago and Zephyr by surprise and makes them raise an eyebrow, though both fully agree with his awesome statement. In turn, Corona eyes his three generals attentively. "Good. Everyone is ready, I see. Concerning that site, Miguella and Diestáy shall accompany you. They have information that will aid you… For now, ¡buena suerte!"

"¡Papá!"

Verago hears a familiar voice calling from nearby. The black-and-green jaquin turns his head and at that exact moment, Skylar grabs his ears in an attempt to drag him outside. "I show you!" the little yellow-and-blue cub yells excitedly.

"Skylar! Let go of me at once." Verago demands.

Thunder startles from the sudden interruption. "Argh! Teach your son some obedience, Verago. Our prey is waiting. We are ready to head out." Thunder states dismissively of Skylar's presence.

In the disorder that he caused, the cub misheard 'head' for 'hunt'. "You go hunting? Me come, too! Is fun!"

"Oops… Sorry about that, everyone.' Myra says and hastily approaches Skylar and her mate, 'I told little Skylar that his father would be excited to see what he had built. He then immediately darted over to you."

"Built?" Verago asks in confusion over this situation with his ears folded back.

"Earlier this morning he was collecting some of our nesting material and – well, together with little Luna he attempted to beautify the nest of her parents. Migs also helped. So sweet. Oh, and Dulce, his very first novia, was there, too. Can you believe it, Migs having a girlfr-"

"Myra, sweetheart. I am about to embark on a mission with Thunder. You can tell me everything about this when I return. For now, please keep our son with you, okay?"

"Alright. You heard him, Skylar. Your father will see your creation when he gets back.' she says calmly to the yellow-and-blue cub before looking at her mate and continues with a serious tone of voice, 'And Verago. Please stay safe. No ordeals like you had with that nguruvilu. Promise?"

Verago sees the worrisome look in the white-and-blue jaquin's eyes. She doesn't want him to get hurt, or worse. Verago can imagine the thought she's having. He, too, is reminding himself often that Skylar should grow up with both parents by his side. Always. "Of course. No worries, dear. I will return safe and sound. And when I do, Skylar, you can show me what you have made."

"Alright. Enough with the chatting, Verago. We are moving out.' Miguella states impatiently as she points her wings at the exit and then spreads them before adding, 'Skyguard, ¡sigame!"

However, none of the Skyguard bound to accompany them move a single muscle. Thunder eyes Miguella sternly and comments: "Nice try, princess. By order of your father, the Skyguard answer to us generals only. But I agree with you, it is time. Skyguard, wings up! Time to head out."

All members of the Skyguard raise their wings and pound their right paws on the ground once. "For the king!' they bellow and pound the ground again, 'For the generals!"

"I have to go now. Hasta luego, mi amor.' Verago says to Myra affectionately and pets Skylar on his happy-looking head before turning to the others with his wings spread, 'For Vallestrella!"


On their way to the target site, Diestáy goes flying next to Verago and Thunder. Though the purple-and-gold jaquin ignores the prince as he keeps scanning the environment, Verago nods to the prince. "Tell me, Verago. You were taken off guard by your family when they interrupted us. What happened this morning?"

"Nothing noteworthy, prince Diestáy. Taking care of a cub is hard work at times. They lack a sense of responsibility. Or as Myra would say: their world revolves around playing and making fun."

"And being a general you listen to her and not the other way around?"

The black-and-green jaquin smiles faintly at the oblivious remark. "Having a mate requires a delicate balance between values. Respect should always go both ways. The position in society should not matter.' he replies calmly and as a sort of joke he adds wittily, 'But most of the time I pretend to listen to her."

"Alright!' Miguella says and slows down before she lands in front of a small hill and looks at the rest behind her, 'We are here. Past this hill is the site. Diestáy and I noticed two hives of eaglespiders. We saw both big and small ones. We should be able to handle this. If they do not shoot their silk at us, that is."

Verago nods at both royal siblings. "So, hive construction indicates that they have been residing here for a while now. How is the layout of this site? Because I do not like my odds of getting ambushed. Not anymore…"

"There is a group of trees, not densely packed. Two of them hold the hives. We should be able to reach them from both sides of the hill." Diestáy replies intently.

Thunder nods also and states: "Good. Forewarned is forearmed. Verago, I say we take those pesky creatures by surprise and flank them from two sides."

Verago smirks. "I do, however, like my odds with that.' he says approvingly and turns to the royal siblings, 'Miguella, you are with me. Diestáy, you go with Thunder."

"Brother, let us see who takes down most eaglespiders!"

"Sounds like a challenge. Prepare to be bested, Milla." Diestáy states brashly and winks at his sister.

"You two sound like you could be my children…' Thunder comments gruffly and turns his attention to Miguella and half of the accompanying Skyguard, 'Okay, time to shine. Vamos."

Each general moves his battalion around a different slope of the hill. Once around it, they start noticing the trees Miguella spoke of, as well as both hives along with some eaglespiders, both young and adult. The hives are quite huge and glued to the upper part of the stem. As they approach them, both generals start hearing chirps. The eaglespiders become aware of the approaching jaquins and start massing together in two swarms. "They look pissed! Prepare to engage the enemy!" Thunder yells at his battalion.

In the turmoil that follows, jaquins and eaglespiders chase each other down. Silk projectiles start flying about with the jaquins dodging them through barrel rolls and both horizontal and vertical feints. The Skyguard handle things just fine, taking down several adult eaglespiders with only two getting wrapped in silk.

At one point, however, Miguella and a Skyguard member accidentally collide with one another in an attempt to evade silk projectiles. While the latter recovers quickly and starts luring the eaglespiders away from Miguella, the princess herself gets her wings wrapped with silk. Unable to fly, she falls to the ground. "¡Princesa!" Verago screams in terror.

The black-and-green jaquin darts after her. He manages to catch Miguella before she hits the earth. "Ay-ay-ay. What a mess…" Verago mumbles as he takes her to safety.

Once he sees no eaglespider nearby, he puts her down and extends his nails to undo the princess from the silk that's covering her wings. While Verago is busy, something starts sneaking up from behind the black-and-green jaquin. Verago doesn't notice an eaglespider sneaking up from behind. It unfurls its four forward legs to grab the general. "Got you!" Verago suddenly hears yelling behind him.

The general quickly glances over his shoulder. He sees how Diestáy takes down the stalker. "Ocho, sis.' he says elatedly and asks her teasingly, 'What number are you at?"

Miguella glares at Diestáy but remains silent for she has beaten six so far; her brother seems to be winning this challenge much to her displeasure. The princess never likes being beaten in challenges and especially so in those she comes up with.

"Verago! This is not getting us anywhere! We need to end this fight. Now!' Thunder shouts at his fellow general from a distance and adds after pointing at one of the hives, 'See that thing? We need to destroy one of them to scare these pests."

Verago nods at the purple-and-gold jaquin. He gestures to Thunder to follow his lead. Together, they approach one tree holding a hive. The black-and-green jaquin observes the tree in search of weak spots. He notices some of its roots are exposed. "I have an idea. We can push that tree and make it fall over so the hive gets destroyed. I hope it scares the remaining eaglespiders away from here."

"Good enough for me. Come on!" Thunder acknowledges the idea.

Together, both generals start pushing the tree. They groan as they put all of their strength into it. Suddenly, they feel the tree starts giving way and hear roots below crack and break loose. The tree now starts falling over as gravity takes over from Verago and Thunder. Both jaquins experience exhilaration as they see the tree's canopy tumble towards the ground, as does the hive underneath it. With a crashing sound, the tree hits the ground. The branches swing violently while the hive crumbles into many pieces.

Just as both generals want to high-wing each other, Verago gets hit with silk projectiles. Filled with dismay, he plummets to the ground and hits it with a thud. Fear is displayed across his face as he looks around to find out where the projectiles originate from. His eyes only find Thunder, who's immediately taking cover. Instead of seeing his adversaries, Verago detects the chirping and calling of the young and adult eaglespiders. They fly away in anxiety about their destroyed home with the Skyguard in pursuit. Thunder crawls out of cover and starts freeing Verago from his silky shackles. "Do not tell Myra about this…" Verago demands from the purple-and-gold jaquin.

"Not a word. She is your problema, after all." Thunder says derisively at his fellow general with a grin.

Verago knows it to be without the intention to offend so he has Thunder have his fun. He glances around to see the site cleared of the eaglespider infestation, so he and Thunder order the Skyguard to free their companions still wrapped in silk. Once done, both generals, Miguella and Diestáy, and the Skyguard head home.


Verago washes his face and body in the river close to the Palace. He needs to get rid of the remaining silk still glued to his body, mainly so that Myra won't get suspicious about him being attacked. He then enters the throne room where Thunder sits in front of a flustered Corona. The king beckons Verago with a paw while emanating a grim expression.

"Why was Miguella assailed? How could this have happened? She is my daughter! She is the crown princess and your future ruler! Had I not asked you to keep my children safe?" the king inquires austerely.

Both generals lower their heads and emanate resentfulness. A brief silence fills the palpable atmosphere. Thunder then looks back at Corona and comments irritably: "A battle is always risky, king Corona. No guarantees. Besides, your children decided to join us themse-"

"Thunder! This is the king you are talking to. Show your respects." Verago waylays the purple-and-gold jaquin without making eye-contact with Corona.

"Silent! I am not done with the both of you. Leave the throne room. You will hear from me soon." Corona berates both jaquins.

While Verago and Thunder make their way out of the throne room, the black-and-green jaquin says: "Ay-ay-ay… That was no wise move you made there. The king was already aggrieved. Next time, let me do the talking. At best, he will not want to see us for some days… Anyway, I will not complain as this gives me more time to spend with my, as you put it, "problema" and our son…"

"Whatever." Thunder mumbles as he flies off.