Call of the Ancestors

Chapter 8: Consequences.

Elmira came to her senses once more. Her entire body was aching. Who would've thought a bookshelf could hurt that badly? She didn't open her eyes. She didn't need nor want to. She proceeded to use her other senses instead. There was a slight chill in the air, she realized that was laying on a smooth cold stone surface. Marble, as gods-be-damned usual. A frisk breeze. Open window? Bars? Assuming by the weights at her wrists she was probably chained up. She raised one of her paws a few centimeters above the cold marble floor. Her muscles ached and she heard the rattling of chains. Nothing loud, but they were there.

The pirate groaned slightly, as she felt the familiar hard cold iron press around her wrists, a collar around her neck and a chain around her waist as well. It seemed like they really did want to restrict her.

This caused a small and barely noticeable smile to spread across the canine's lips. She took a deep breath, before she struggled up on her knees. The chains were rattling as she opened her eyes. Yep, she was in a cell once more. And she dared to say that even that interrogation room were nicer than this. The air was at least refreshing, as behind her was a tiny window with strong steel bars. Outside she saw the twinkling stars of the night sky. She couldn't spot the city far below though, making her assume she wasn't on the bottom floor.

The fellmuth turned towards the door to her cell, and she found a guard. A mole dressed in one of those black garbs the Shadows wore. Of course, she had some form of stately employed trained killer guarding the cell door she could not even walk up to. She knew to not underestimate that little rodent. Sure, their short stature and reliance on dragons in greater scale of combat usually made people automatically assume moles were only fit for matters requiring the mind. But Elmira had fought moles before. And even the dullest of them could turn a chandelier into a firearm if equipped with gunpowder and some hemp. So the door was not an option…

That was when she saw some light approaching the otherwise dark room. Appears people were coming to visit her. Or a guard shift, Elmira had to only wait and see.

And in stepped two familiar faces, escorted by the Earth dragon Terron whom was carrying a lantern in his maw, lighting their path. And judging by the look on the two captains' faces, neither of them were too happy to see her.

Sethelis' glare felt as unpleasant as Elmira had expected. Albeit when she heard the dragoness requesting that anyone but her and Miarko should leave the room, the pirate felt a sting of worry. "Going to torture me some more?" She sneered at the two captains, getting up on her paws.

The shadow captain only shook her midnight blue scaly head. "Only if necessary, prisoner."

The new title she had seemingly earned made Elmira place her paw over her chest, pretending to be mockingly flattered; "Oh, am I a prisoner now too? Not just a skav, pirate, scavenger, former cultist, murderer and possibly the biggest arsonist on this side of the Skyhaven? I've always wanted to add that to my long list of titles. Elmira the prisoner, suits me doesn't it? I've got shackles and all!" She said, holding out her arms as if to show off her chains.

The shadows in the room seemingly darkened with the dragoness' growing anger or possible frustration.

Elmira was only guessing, at least. The two were hard to read, Fellmuths were more…. Vocal and physical about their thoughts. And so far the usually talkative Fire dragon had kept quiet. This admittedly surprised the pirate slightly.

"Anything the gentleman in the room has to say?"

Miarko had silently entered the room from the one single heavy-looking door the incarceration room held, his red scales easily identifiable to the Fellmuth. He had remained completely silent until called out by the Skav. He looked up then, his blue eyes shining out towards her, glimmering with emotion. He stood up quickly, the cell door being opened by what was assumed to be one of Sethelis' little tricks with the shadowy darkness, and moved to the pirate, putting his claws under her throat and forcing her to look up at him.

"You betrayed the trust that we gave you and assaulted our Director. Don't get cute with me, pirate scum," he finished, spitting in her face and walking back into the dark part of the room.

"Charming as ever, Captain," she said, slightly taken aback by the previously level-headed Fire dragon's sudden anger. In a way, Elmira had anticipated such a thing, as fire dragons were known to be hotheaded by nature. However she hadn't prepared for such sudden… Action.

"So...with that out of the way, to what do I owe the pleasure?" she asked, directing the question at Sethelis.

The shadow dragoness stepped into the cell, passing Miarko as he walked away. Her expression remained relatively neutral. "Besides the rather obvious reasons to us being here, with your latest actions in account and all." She starts, looking up at the pirate. Her one eye meeting the canine's. "I am here to deliver you a little warning. As of your actions, we're technically forced to stop our work with ensuring your safety, and you'll be deported as soon as your oncoming ship is complete."

"What about my guarantee with the Director?" spat the Fellmuth, "He hasn't rescinded his offer just because of our little spat, has he?"

Sethelis frowned slightly upon hearing this question. "We have yet to hear from Spyro, he hasn't said or done much over the last 24 hours. And contacting him indirectly has been rewarded with stubborn silence." She replied, sitting down on her haunches, "And as you might've noticed, your actions has made you rather unpopular and infamous…"

"More than unpopular," came Miarko's voice again, "Most citizens that have been made aware of it want your head."

"Oh? The city loves their Terror of the Skies again, is that it, Captain Miarko?" asked the Canine, still being sarcastic despite her current situation.

"Cynder has proven herself time and time again to be a servant of this city, clearly unlike what you want to accomplish with your time, Skavenger," countered the Fire dragon, still using the racist slur for her species.

"I owe no loyalty to anyone but myself, Miarko. Myself and my crew are the only things that matter to me. I thought a being of your intelligence would realize this, but maybe I misjudged you…" spouted off the Fellmuth, yawning.

Miarko approached her and drew his claws across her face, tearing through the fur and part of the skin underneath, drawing blood.

That was when Miarko knew that he'd continue. He was angry, felt his element fueling it all. And he knew very well that he wouldn't stop. Unless Sethelis had stepped in. His initial feeling was frustration, as the Fire Captain suddenly felt how the shadows in the moonlit room prevented him to move. Forcing him to slowly walk backwards and out of the cell.

"Sorry, Miarko." He heard Sethelis' voice as the cell door shut between him, the shadow dragoness and the pirate.

Miarko was at first about to complain, however he quickly remembered that during the whole brief time he had known Sethelis, she wasn't one to argue we wanted to argue with.

The shadow dragoness nodded in his direction, releasing him from her hold. The Fire dragon then laid down on his belly, watching the two intensively.

"One faulty step, one insult in the wrong place about either her, the director or anything else in general and you're a charred corpse, pirate." He thought as he listened in on the conversation.

Miarko held back a smirk as he saw the skavenger place a paw on her cheek, noticing how he drew blood.

"I know this might sound troublesome, Elmira. And I'll be straightforward with you; You're not safe within the city walls. Neither are you safe outside of them. Quite frankly…. You need to disappear." The Shadow dragoness stated, looking upon the pirate seriously, barely even blinking.

"Disappearing isn't exactly my strong suit, your Shadowiness," responded the Pirate, having come up with a nickname for the 18th's Captain, "I prefer to be infamous to unknown in my line of work. Helps with the reputation, you see."

As the pirate's words reached the Shadow dragoness, Miarko saw how her demeanor changed, from serious and composed to something only describable as held back excitement. The Shadow dragoness Shadowstepped through the bars. Almost tugging at Miarko. "We need to talk."

"What's wrong?" asked the Fire dragon.

As the door to the cell block shut behind them, Sethelis turned to answer Miarko's question with two things. First a frown; "You got carried away," then she started to walk, talking over her shoulder, "You done a background check on that Fellmuth yet? Or shall I debrief you in my office? Or yours for that matter." She asked, raising her right wing slightly, revealing a scroll case tucked away safely under her silvery wing.

"I've had my men dug up what they could, but we're not spies. I'm a soldier, for Mover's sake, so are my men. What have you discovered?" asked the impatient Fire dragon, his element showing.

The Shadow dragoness chuckled slightly. "You're very easily irritated. Was going to say cute but that would be too cliché. And no, as I am the spy of us two, I demand we go to an office before anything else." She firmly stated, leading the fiery dragon, whom felt his temper going from irritated to annoyed back and forth during their whole trip.

The two made their way up into the 17th floor.

And once at Miarko's desk, Sethelis opened the scroll case, which held surprisingly little. "As your men are "simple" soldiers, I assume you at least managed to find out which fleet she hails from?"

"The Ukerna Fleet. Hail from the Northern Kingdoms, from as far as we can tell. Possibly as far north as Vyanfar, but we weren't able to tell. Those are rough seas up there, not to mention the skies if the fleet took to the air, meaning she's an experienced ship Captain. You'd think that being named after Ukernan would mean they hail from there, but the crew was sourced from all over. Most of her crew, although it's not well know, are contained in the Prison outside the City. It would take more than just the Directors to free that many inmates at once. What about you? What have you discovered?"

Sethelis brought up a simple sheet of parchment. It had a distinct scent of rum all over it. And the blots all over the material indicated someone might've poured a mug of the liquor over the parchment at some point. It seemingly depicted a hierarchical ladder. Before lightly tapping one name surprisingly far up with the tip of her tail; "I do indeed know a few more rather important details. For an example: She were not only a top duelist, but also in the position of Under Captain, capable of being part of the electoral process of choosing the fleet admiral." She explained.

"And finding her here of all places must only indicate one thing; She's been kicked out. And I happen to also know for what reason; Like in most of their fleets, people get to step down either due to old age, albeit unlikely. Or they get dethroned and usurped. Most likely the latter in Elmira's case. All we need to do is to turn her frustration over that to our advantage. See what I'm aiming at here?" Sethelis asked, tilting her head slightly. The Fire dragon opposed to her nodded.

"You want to use her," He stated. Leading to the Shadow re-adjusting her eyepatch slightly.

"Well, yes. To be honest. But that is what I do, and you know I couldn't even tell you less than half of it." She mentions, glancing over.

"Hm, maybe I'll make you squeal it out next time we have the chance," said the Fire dragon, trying to distract her from the actual matter on hand. The fiery drake smiled as he noticed his success.

Sethelis had averted her gaze, rather blatantly flustered. "... Did you really have to make me think of such things when I'm on the job?" She asked the fire captain in a prude manner. Starting upon a new sentence just before evidently regretting it, Miarko noting how her voice quieted down to a murmur towards the end;

"And I-… I don't squeal. Not that much at least…" The fire captain's smirk widened slightly as he continued, he was about to enjoy himself.

"Are you sure about that? I can say by experience that you're lying." He stated smugly, leaning forwards against the desk slightly, placing his both forepaws atop the flat wooden surface. Miarko had to give it to himself, from what he could see, she was like clay in his paws, and he was shaping her to his will. And Miarko's current goal was to put her at ease. Even if it meant making her as shy as a younger dragon meeting their first ever crush

Glancing at her once again, he could already see that she was out of her zone: She had started to once more occupy herself with correcting that eyepatch of hers, and this told Miarko he was on the right track. The Fire captain felt a slight sense of accomplishment, knowing he was the one causing no one other than the Captain of the Shadows, the seemingly biggest collection of people who were incapable of feeling anything in the entire collection of islands that is the Dragon Realms, to act as if she'd had a sip of one of those "love potions" many works of fiction mentioned. Except Miarko knew very well… He didn't need to cheat.

"Need some help with that? Want me to come over?" He asked, trying to keep a little chuckle in as Sethelis' eye widened slightly.

"N-No thank you. I can manage just fine." The Shadow dragoness replied, as he felt her tail blade lightly tap his. He merely raised an eye ridge at the female captain. Sethelis simply proceeded to look back at the document between the two.

"We need to stay focused, I get it." He started, rolling his eyes. "But that doesn't mean I can't escort the pretty girl home later, now can I?" This seemingly caused poor Sethelis to "break", as she snorted in a surprised manner and she began urgently collecting her things.

"Is that a yes?" Miarko asked calmly. The dragoness looked up after she had tucked the scroll away under her wing.

Giving him a nod. "You're right. I'd dare say my house is safer than this office, besides… It's a easily a much more defendable position." She stated, even if Miarko assumed that she was silently hoping for something else.

The captain of the 17th got up from his haunches, and sauntered over to the office door, opening it with a slight creak; "Dragonesses first."

Ancestors, he was distracting.

They needed to review all of the information that the Shadows had gathered and get ready for what was to come. But...Miarko was not making it that easy on the Shadow Captain. It seemed that he never had mating far from his mind. And it was bothering her beyond what she imagined possible in more than just one way.

As the Shadow captain led the Fire dragon up to her door she looked both ways, almost as if making sure they weren't followed. "Well… Here we are." She started, looking over at Miarko whom seemed slightly puzzled over one detail; "... Are you not afraid to have your home broken into? There is no lock."

Sethelis rolled her eye, sighing. She had assumed he could've figured out that a mere door is the very least line of protecting herself someone like her would use. The shadow dragoness proceeded to turn into a black mist, seeping in under the door. Only to start unlocking the four different kinds of internal locks she had installed on the inside before pushing the door open. "Still safer than your bedroom." She commented.

As Miarko walked past her, Sethelis couldn't let it go unnoticed how there was a distinct chill in the air. Almost as if Autumn were to come early. This sudden change of weather didn't bother her more than if it'd started to rain on an otherwise sunny day either, so she shut her door. As she was locking all the locks once more, she heard Miarko speak out behind her. "Are you sure you really need that many locks?"

The Shadow Captain spoke up, turning to face the male. "One can never be too safe." Before she proceeded to lead him into her living room. The two got themselves comfortable on a set of cushions and pillows in front of the warming embers of the cooking pit stationed in the middle of the room, before they got back into the discussion they had started in Miarko's office.

"So, you want us to give the person who pretended to want to help us, only to later successfully harm the Madame Director, a station of power?" The Fire dragon asked his shadowy companion.

She in turn nodded in an affirmative manner. "Yes."

"But why…?" Came the simple reply from the Captain of the 17th.

This, in turn, lead to Sethelis elaborating: "Because she isn't willing to help us now. This might be of several reasons. However if we give her a big major reason to aid us instead, like… Making her a fleet admiral, gives us a opportunity to make her not only want to help the DOW but gains us a powerful and invaluable ally in this fight against the 'Noints and Congeria." She explained. But Miarko didn't seem convinced. He stroked the frills on his chin with a paw as he spoke.

"But what if she refuses?"

Sethelis got a gleam in her eye which Miarko looked like he didn't know if he'd find it unsettling or possibly cute. His facial expression showed a mixture of both.

Sethelis smiled to herself inwardly, knowing that she could read him like a open book when he wasn't all secluded from her. And going from the psych file she had managed to gather from her agents about her partner it said that the Fire dragon was most likely going to do… His move soon.

"Not that I'd give him a chance." She thought to herself, "This is a time for work, not pleasure."

"If the pirate refuses, we'll back her into a corner. Simple." The Shadow dragoness explained, her tail whisking along the floor as she spoke.

"Back her into a corner? How?" asked the Fire dragon, still staring fixedly at the Shadow dragoness.

Sethelis coiled her neck slightly, a light bow of sorts. "Easy, she knows her situation. Either we choose to help her, or she'll be out in the wild storm coming for her."

"I assume you've already created something along those lines to force her into this situation. Besides the obvious threat of her hanging from the wall in basement of the Tower," Miarko replied with a grin.

Sethelis took great pride in her work. Even if she knew very well that she technically couldn't stake any claims on it. "I have indeed." She cleverly replied to the Fire breathing dragon. "But I assume you'll enjoy somewhat of a little revenge against her now, will you?"

"Hm, you know me so well already. Any foreigner that hurts my family and betrays us won't be around to get away with it...normally. But I guess I'll make an exception just this once. That being said, what do you have in mind for me with this little errand?"

Sethelis chuckled slightly. "Well, it wouldn't be good for us if you walked around the Warfang streets, agitating people into demanding her hung. What I'd say for you to do is to await her realisation. I'll pull a few strings to direct her to you if she comes to anyone else about it first." The dragoness started, glancing upon her fellow Captain.

"Her realisation?" asked Miarko, squinting, "What, that her ways are flawed and she needs to repent in the eyes of the Mover? What do you mean?"

Sethelis rolled her eye at this, "Ha ha ha. Very funny Miarko. No, what I meant was for her to realize that she cannot do anything besides come back to us, in the case that she'd refuse. And we'd place her under a… Slightly less restrictive ultimatum than what Cynder might've done."

"And how do you plan to do such a thing?" Miarko shot back.

"By stating the facts." Came Sethelis' reply. The shadow dragoness was occupied with studying her ivory colored claws as she spoke, holding her right front paw up before her eye for closer study.

"You see, here in the city people want her head. The DOW won't help her without a favor in return, and outside of the City the 'Noints and her fellow pirates are out for her as well. She has enemies on all sides."

"And we'll, well, you'll, appear to be in her best interest, appealing to her sense of impending doom. You know, this might just work…" came Miarko's reply, stroking his growths again.

Sethelis nodded. "I knew you'd get it. Eventually." She said, the latter part of her sentence having a slight… Uncertain joking tune about it. Sethelis wasn't sure if she should've said that or not. Nevermind, done is done.

"Now, anything else that is important on our agenda?"

Miarko opened his mouth to protest but then quickly shut it again, shaking his head and facing back around towards her, grinning, "Well...there are a couple of options." He said, with a lewd tone coming from his maw.

This threw Sethelis off her usually calm and collected focus once more.

"Oh really?" She blurted out, not really thinking on her words rather than just talking. Something she had found being not in her interests most of the time… But now all reason and logic was flung out the window.

"Heh, maybe later. Once you get done with work?" he replied, backing away and grinning slightly.

Sethelis decided that those thoughts were indeed to be considered later. "Indeed. So before that, all I'll need is to go and send a few letters. All of whom I had prepared in advance. So… Er… Feel free to stay. It'll only be a few minutes. Half an hour tops." She told Miarko, getting up on her paws once more, and then walked towards the small hallway, which lead to her door.

Miarko nodded at her, smiling and said, "Well, I'll see you in a bit, then."

Sethelis nodded back and closed the door behind her, leaving the Fire dragon alone in her dwelling.

As the Fire Captain looked around the room he was in, the glow from the flickering torches lighting up what he'd assumed to be the largest room in the whole apartment. And he couldn't help himself but to raise an eyeridge when he noticed some of the paintings Sethelis had hung up on the walls. Some replicas of finer works. But he dared actually assume some were real originals. Miarko got up on his paws, and looked around further. The room wasn't sparsely furnished either, as he for some reason had assumed when he originally had heard the name Sethelis linked to the word "Home".

She clearly spent time in this dwelling more than once, time had been placed in each and every piece of furniture into putting in the exact right place. It was a typical three room apartment, containing the main room, bedroom and bathroom. Sethelis wasn't living in the lap of luxury by any means, but it wasn't too shabby either.

Something on the far end of the room caught the dragon's eye and he strode over, noticing that in the far corner of the room, there was a pile of cushions arranged in a very awkward sort of way. Either she didn't care about this area or she used it quite frequently. On the floor were a selection of novels and texts, all left open or having bookmarks in them. Sethelis had struck the Fire dragon as the reading type, but what did she read?

He turned over a few novels: "Late Nights in Dante's: Cold Hearts Still Beat.", "The Edge of Town: Murder on Culinary Street,"

But there was one novel in particular that truly caught the Fire Dragon's attention. It's leather cover designed so that it'd be reminiscent of red dragon scales.

"Fire Dragons, a Compilation." The subtext that explained the title made the Fire dragon grin slightly, "This book is written by Fire dragons, published by Fire dragons… And read by everyone else! We can all claim know at least one dragon of the Fire element, and it is time you learn about them; their culture, their way of thinking, what they're known for, and, most importantly, how to react when they pounce on you in the bedroom!"

The last line was seemingly underlined with some sort of writing utensil, and had a page number scribbled on it. Miarko chuckled again and opened the book to the page that it specified and found even more scribbles in the section. Notes about the...diagrams that were included, including some overviews of the...erogenous zones. She had scribbled down in the margin on one diagram, "Note the differences in sizes, perhaps he's more than most?"

Miarko nearly fell over reading that, laughing to himself. Despite the creepiness aspect to it, he found it quite funny and almost endearing in a way. She was trying her best to make sure she had a good performance, and the more experienced Fire dragon had to appreciate her for that. The readings had certainly benefited her in their first encounter.

He stood back up, looking around for anything else of note. Besides the frying embers in the cooking pit in the center of the room, Miarko really couldn't see much else besides a table at the far end of the room, with a collection of… What appeared to be smaller portraits in picture frames. And a simple mat gathering dust on the floor.

Wait. She had picture frames?

Miarko approached the table, noting how it was covered in a distinct layer of dust. Sethelis had apparently not touched these in a while. The frames varied from simple and wooden to one made out of metal. Silver?

One of the frames held a picture of a presumed younger Sethelis, back when both her eyes still were intact.

Miarko couldn't let it slide that she certainly only had gotten prettier with time. The fire dragon was careful not to touch any of the frames, suspecting the Shadow Dragoness most likely would notice such a thing. Another frame was of the adult Sehtelis, having her distinct mixture of uncertain smile and neutral look upon her face, sitting in her trademark armor together with three other people on what appeared to be the steps of the DOW tower. A date was scribbled onto a corner of the picture, dating the picture to approximately 7 years ago.

A female Cheetah with grey fur and a leopard pattern looking overall excited, doing a V sign. A stern dragon of… unidentifiable element, as he seemingly didn't want to show much of his appearance, wearing what appeared to be a prototype of the black garbs of the 18th. And another Cheetah. However he had his back turned towards the rest, glancing at whoever drew the picture with a look which said "I don't want to be a part of this.". The only thing revealing about that one was a bright yellow fur with stripes. The Captain did however not have much more time, as he heard the sounds of paws in the hallway.

"Hello? Miarko, you still here?"

Miarko quickly turned around and faced Sethelis, just returning from her errand.

He grinned, saying, "I made myself at home. I didn't make any food though...should've thought of that!"

The dragoness tilted her head, chuckling. "If you are still hungry I could get you something. Or are you thirsty perhaps? I'm sure I have something…" She offered.

"Thirsty? I mean, I thought that you might be…" offered the Fire dragon, grinning and laughing as he said it.

Sethelis sighed, seemingly enjoying his "joke" more than she'd liked to admit. "So the rumours are true, you're one of those males who thinks with your fifth leg, aren't you?" She asks with the same tone, leading the Fire dragon to what could be assumed to be a pantry. Opening up the smaller wooden door and looking into the small space. The dragoness stepped halfway inside, only her hind legs and partially her wings still out by the Captain.

"Oh! I thought I had-... Well. I suppose this could do?" Her voice was heard, slightly muffled, as she re-emerged holding a green wine bottle by the bottleneck in her maw.

"Wine, hm? You really do want to do this right, don't you?" he asked, grinning slightly as he sat down.

This lead to the dragoness looking at him with a confused manner. "What? It's all I have, and the local freshwater fountain is under repair." She explained. Until her gears suddenly started rolling and she seemingly realised what the male had meant.
"Right. Maybe I do... " She started, placing the bottle before him; "Go somewhere you feel like and open that. I'll get some glasses." She stated, before turning into a black mist and seemingly evaporating before his very eyes.

Miarko shook his head, smiling. He sat down in her reading corner, and opened the bottle. It was a Modern Red, from one of the wineries around Warfang. Not expensive, but not the worst her money could buy.

The clinking sounds of glass could be heard as Sethelis made her re-entry, careful to walk softly, having a pair of wine glasses somehow grasped with just one paw. "I see you've found my books." The dragoness remarks, placing the two glasses before the Fire dragon. "Now make me some space, please…"

Miarko moved his romp over and curled into a position where she wouldn't be able to sit down without being close to him. Upon noting this, he noticed how Sethelis at first seemed just a little reluctant.

He grinned as he did, saying, "Sure, here you go."

The Shadow dragoness then slid down upon the vibrant array of colored cushions, blankets and pillows, Miarko noting how his body temperature were several degrees higher than hers. "Hotblooded." He could've sworn she murmured to herself. Never-minding that, he poured her some of that wine.

"... So, Miarko. I've wanted to ask you a question ever since we started this whole ordeal."

"Please, ask," he responded, taking a drink.

"What made you join th in the first place? The official record states that you went directly from your education to this, following the siege? A patriotic surge?"

"If you've seen my record, then you probably know who my parents are, correct? Two of the dragons who defended Warfang against the Dark Master's forces ten years back. Needless to say, I was groomed to take the same position as my parents from the start. So was my sister, but she's another story. Suffice to say, I studied to be a soldier, I wanted to be a soldier, and now...I am a soldier," he explained slowly, staring down at her.

The stare didn't phase the dragoness. Majorly because he was facing the side of her which donned the eyepatch. However she did respond; "Yes. Your parents. I never actually suspected you to be from a well-off family. N-Not to be rude or anything like that!" She spoke, rapidly excusing herself as if she'd already offended the male. "So, you big bad soldier. How's the wine?"

"Modern Red, hm?" he responded, "It's one of my favorites, especially the Warfangian fermented types. It's a nice mix, truly."

"You sound like you're authoring a brochure, Miarko." Sethelis commented, rolling her eye and sipping the red liquid. "And I have to say that for a captain, not that I speak to many captains, I didn't expect to be paired up with you. I now see it was a bad thing to trust my own judgement."

"And what's so bad about me being partnered with you, eh?" asked the Fire Dragon, slightly curious as to why she had brought it up.

"You see, I knew about you infamous… Record from last year. I mean… Near 200 dragonesses in one year is just a very intimidating number. And I was frankly worried you'd be more focused on trying to bed me rather than trying to actually put an end to the Anointed Ones."

"Heh," he began, chuckling nervously, "You, ah, heard about that, did you? Any...thoughts as to that little fact?" This placed a surprised look upon the Shadow dragoness' face.

"Is that nervosity I hear? Here I was, thinking you'd be incapable of feeling such emotions." The Shadow Captain stated, and Miarko noted how she didn't give a straight answer.

"Being cornered by your new...ah, partner on this sort of subject isn't the most comfortable position that you could place me in the world, no. Not that you would understand how I'm feeling at the moment."

The Fire captain's response seemingly got a reaction, as Sethelis frowned slightly. "You're right, I don't understand how you feel. But something I understand on the subject is easy; My own thoughts. And since you actually asked, I'll deliver." She looked upon him, her yellow eye with its slitted pupil looking into what felt like his very soul.

"It's a impressive number, but you shall know that if you expect to go along nicely with me, I want some kind of assurance that I wouldn't find you with someone else behind my wings."

"Uh...do you want flowers or something?" asked the Fire captain, a mix of humor and seriousness in his voice.

This lead to the Shadow dragoness rather uncharacteristically giggling, before she laid down on her back and glanced up at the male; "Well, will let you know that I'm a fan of classic red roses. But I was more thinking of something else. Maybe a "momentary proof"?"

"A, ah, momentary proof, Seth?" he asked, tilting his head to one side, confused.

"I'm really bad at hinting at things. I could write a coded message behind my back with my tail if I needed to, but you'd not be able to read it." She groaned in a reply, apparently bothered by his confusion and her ineptness when it comes to being subtle.

"I'm used to using different, more short term language than what you're using here," he said, chuckling once, "I'm very overt, as you know. I'm sure you can help me out here…"

The shadow dragoness looked back up at him. Nodding. "I can make you understand without even saying a word." She daringly stated, a unusually self-assured smirk gracing her snout.

"Uh...are you thinking of…?" he asked, the usually confident Fire dragon getting somewhat nervous at the unexpected advances of the normally shy Shadow captain.

And the normally shy dragon didn't reply. This only puzzled the Fire dragon further. And he did give her a questioning look.

Sethelis shook her head again; "... And that was my vague attempt at saying kiss me damnit! Am I really that bad?" She asked, her tone joking and yet ever so slightly bit back.

"Eh, more or less. Okay, yes. Yes, it was pretty bad," he replied, laughing again, despite their current situation, "But I'm willing to oblige." The Fire dragon said as he pounced on top of her and did as the dragoness requested. Despite the suddenness of it all, the two came to enjoy the moments which were sure to follow.

Elmira couldn't claim that she hadn't been put behind bars before. Arson, theft, raiding, and even one case of sacrilege, she had done practically everything under the sun. However, she had never been kept in a place as secure and tight in security as this. At least they normally let her roam her own cell. The Skav glanced towards her current guard. They seemingly swapped every two hours. And they never responded to her when she tried to get into contact either.

She scanned the room. She had counted the tiles in the roof at least twenty times now, and the number never changed. Always 42. Sadly there didn't seem to be much else to do to make time pass. "Hey. You there, handsome? I mean, what is your purpose to be here unless you mean to keep a pretty lady company?" She tauntingly asked. The Cheetah guarding the cell kept his back turned to her.

But this time her keen hearing could've sworn she caught a reaction.

The guard had sighed in annoyance.

"Come on now. This must be as boring for you as it is for me." The pirate continued. She noted how the Guard moved his head slightly to look out a window. Check on time. About time for him to move it seemed, because he silently started walking towards the door out of the incarceration area. This gave Elmira the chance she needed.

Being a pirate usually meant you'd need some way to break out of a tight spot when you're in one. And Elmira, being no amateur, had a trick up her sleeve. Or rather…

Stuck to her ear.

The pirate quickly reached up, and after some fiddling with her claws, the chains clattering quietly as she worked to free one of her little golden trinkets. A small golden dragon snaking it's way up along a silver pin.

The trick in this case was that the pin was detachable, giving the Skav a makeshift lockpick. Elmira smirked to herself as she lowered her hands quickly, hearing the steps that were coming along the single corridor leading in. It is a shame that she was locked up in what appeared to be solitary wing. She'd be capable to start a riot otherwise.

The door opened to reveal what appeared to be a ordinary DOW soldier. No… A pair of DOW soldiers. They seemingly had ran out of Shadows at the moment.
Or so Elmira assumed, at least.

That's when the lock to the chains keeping her in place went click!

"Phew…" The pirate inwardly thought, noticing how the chains didn't drop to the ground as soon as she picked the lock.

Made her nervous for a second, there.
One of her new guards was a fire dragoness with the horns of a ram, colored in shining bronze. She coiled her neck to look into the cell; "No funny business." She stated to Elmira, whom gave a grin in return. Concealing the fact that she could walk towards the door at any second, being free of her restraints. She hid this fact by tucking her hands close to her chest, sitting down on the ground.

Biding her time…

And her patience eventually paid itself off; as one of her two guards seemingly was bored to the point of having to talk.
"So you're the one who disfigured Cynder, huh?" The male guard asked, glancing into the cell.

Elmira rolled her eyes in return; "No. I'm the sugarplum fairy, and I told her to cut down on her sweets."

The pirate got a snort from the dragon, as he struggled to keep laughter in, this in turn made his female companion swat him over the back of his head with her wing.

Elmira thought to herself; "These two idiots wouldn't notice that I was gone even if I so left them a note." Feeling a devious grin creeping along her snout, as she got up on her paws. She figured she'd be strong enough to use her chains for this next step.

The chains rattled slightly.

Her "Guards" didn't suspect a thing…

A/N: Well. It's been a little while, hasn't it? You have our apologies for being absent for so long. Hawk and I are only able to meet up to write once a week and the past few weeks our appointment has been somewhat strained due to time constraints. But now we're back and ready to go. As you read this we're already starting on the next chapter!

Thanks for sticking with us. We've got a lot more to show you.

-Mike & Hawk