Last of the Land

[Flamina Sujianla Uilyevr]

~I agree entirely my cunning friend... Now to ponder exactly where to get the appropriate body. The daughters are just as irritating as their mother so that will not do but I cannot think of where else to locate a young lizard. They don't breed very often but there may be a small chance of finding some where they hatch their eggs.~

Flame stretched the entirety of her body very much like a cat. First she leaned back and extended her claws and gave a flick of her tail, then forward and the same. When she was satisfied with that she fanned out both of her stunning wings then refolded them neatly upon her back. "Even hyperactive hatchlings need a rest. You should know that by now, darling," she chuckled.

While Kana had closed the link, Ursha kept her end very much open. ~She can be like this every once in a while. Don't sweat it she'll stop being huffy soonish.~

[Evangeline Delacroix]

~I guess what they say is true, there's no such thing as beating a girl in an arguement.~ Necro replied with a light laugh.

Tolitio smiled, "Of course my love, one minute they're driving us crazy and the next they're sleeping like little angels.", he chuckled.

~I'll have a look around while those overgrown lizards are away. Even if it's just an egg when we get it, we can have it hatching soon enough.~ she snapped her fingers at a passing Divine and handed them a slip of paper ~I'll arrange a search party.~

Kana curled up to sleep, still flicking her tail.

[Flamina Sujianla Uilyevr]

~Well perhaps. Maybe you can.~ She paused and giggled. ~but not a dragon girl. Twice the stubborn. Though like I said, she'll come around. Just wait it out Necro.~

"Speaking of sleeping like an angel, I'm exhausted. Do you think it'd be alright if I caught some rest myself?" Flame asked. "Kana is already out and it seems Ursha is on her way into sleep as well. You should be able to manage, right?"

Bane chuckled darkly. ~Sounds like a perfect plan to me.~

[Evangeline Delacroix]

~The search party is being dispatched as we think.~ Saliri smirked mentally through the link.

"With everyone resting it should be no problem at all.", Tolitio laughed a little, "You rest, I'll keep a watch over everyone until it's time to go our seperate directions.", he stretched his legs lightly and nuzzled Flame's neck before moving to a better vantage point to keep watch.

~I could probably win an argument whilst perfectly fit, I'll just let her win this one... This time.~ Necro chuckled ~And was that a giggle Ursha?~

[Flamina Sujianla Uilyevr]

Ursha growled in response, a rumbly but otherwise intimidating sound. While she still had a long while to grow the sound could only be described as loud and it echoed through their mental connection just as easily as if she'd done it while standing beside him. ~It absolutely was not a giggle.~

Flame slipped into a sleeping state and it provided Bane with the chance to stretch his borders of influence within her mind. He seeped his presence into the cracks of her personality, poisoning her as always with his blackened heart. If he even had one by this point. ~Good. I'm excited for this.~ he replied.

[Evangeline Delacroix]

Necro laughed and gently dulled down the connection with Ursha until just a faint trickle of his mind could be felt, before resting.

Several hours passed with Tolitio watching the horizon all around, though there hardly seemed much point. As dawn burst over the sea, he lightly nudged everyone awake, nothing had happened.

Necro's mind stretched out a little, brushing against everyone in the clearing, as he roused from his restful state. As it brushed against Kana's thoughts the young dragoness jumped up and stretched in an almost cat-like manner, openeing her wings to their full length to soak in the growing warmth of the sun. Tolitio would have stretched his wings too, if Necro wasn't hidden beneath them. Their shadows were strangely dark, as if a dark copy of each being there was following them around, but it faded as the sun rose higher in the soft blue sky.

Saliri welcomed the scouts, back from their night's duties, in the process relieving them of the strange dragon eggs in their clutches. Veiwing this cargo as precious weaponry for the upcoming war, she would personally see to the task of preparing it.

[Flamina Sujianla Uilyevr]

Flame woke up, though the gold of her eyes was darker than normal, perhaps even closer to an orange. She stretched and yawned. Her jaws opened up and her tongue curled back into her mouth for a moment and she cracked her joints until she was satisfied her body was in comfortable, working order. She shook off the last bits of sleep and looked to Tolitio. "Good morning my love."

Rolling onto her belly (she'd been sleeping on her back), Ursha bolted awake. Unlike usual she was full of energy and not miserable at the prospect of being woken. She was almost shuddering with it, scales bristling from it. She crouched to the ground and crept forward from her position, intending to pounce upon Kana. Flame blocked her with a wing and she groaned. "Darn moms," she grumbled.

[Evangeline Delacroix]

Necro slid down Tolitio's spine to the ground in one fluid motion, evading the spikes as though they were never in his path. His feet made small dust clouds as they landed on the dry earth and he stretched, his injuries completely recovered, despite the dull aching running through him. A sharp crack resounded from his back as it moved into place after a night spent on the scales. Kana watched him with muted interest, her eyes looking over his collection of scars, taking advantage of his lack of shirt which had strangely vanished in her sleep, something tickled in the back of her mind, it was not unwelcome in there, as she traced his muscular structure with her mind's eye. He was hardly unattractive.

Tolitio stretched, taking advantage of Necro's movement from such a strange position, his wing span casting a giant shadow over the group as his roaring yawn shook the ground, his tongue curling a lick of flame that tried to escape hiw maw, "Good morning darling.", he nuzzled Flame's cheek softly, their scales gently scraping over each other. Kana took advantage of her mother's distraction and pounced on Ursha playfully, nipping at her neck spikes.

[Flamina Sujianla Uilyevr]

A spark of foreign energy passed between Flame and Tolitio's scales, crackling with dark power. She jumped back and her eyes went wide. The orange crept away as Bane also slipped back a bit. He realized he'd extended himself a bit too much but apparently it was enough to be dismissed by he dragoness who just shrugged it off. "Static," she mumbled sleepily.

Ursha yelped and then playfully growled, doing her best to roll with her sister so that she could bite back. Flame watched for a moment but then continued to let them play. It was the best way to learn after all.

[Evangeline Delacroix]

Tolitio chuckled in his throat, "We're sleepy, and they're full of energy, typical.", he nodded towards Ursha and Kana, a soft twinkle in his deep red eyes. He licked Flame's cheek affectionately, "I'll hunt down some breakfa-", he cut himself off as the scale in Necro's side glittered at him. A growl entered his throat and some escaped before he could stop it. Necro and Tolitio stared at each other, one with disgust, the other with general annoyance. They both looked away at the same time before Tolitio finished, "Breakfast.", he opened his wings and with a couple of thudding beats raised into the air and flew off along the coast.

Necro didn't utter a word, but leaned against a rock and tapped into his magic reserves, a shirt appearing over his chest silently.

Kana laughed and rolled and scuffled with her sister, getting a couple of nips from her sibling's jaws and dealing a couple of her own in the process before breaking off and jumping about like an excited kitten, "Morning sis!", she stopped and looked over at Necro, who was staring off into the sky, shrugged and tagged Ursha with her tail.

[Flamina Sujianla Uilyevr]

Flame watched as Tolitio left. A feeling of unease filled the air around her. She strode over to Necro and snorted at him. "You'd do best to watch yourself. The tension he's giving off is a bit too much for me to remain relaxed with. Who knows what it'll lead into."

"Hey!" Ursha yelped, rolling to try to dodge the tail tap. She suppressed a growl. "That's just unfair to act all distracted then come back at me."

[Evangeline Delacroix]

Kana laughed and then got completely distracted, watching as her mother strode over to Necro. "Uh oh...", was all she said.

His red eyes looked at Flame with a form of understanding, "Yet, I understand why he's tense.", his hand gently carressed the hidden scale under his shirt. He was aware that Flame had no idea about it, and it would be better to explain. Necro sighed, "It's not as though I did anything. I didn't ask for this...", he lifted his shirt enough for Flame to see Kana's scale in his flesh, "And it's not as though I had the ability to stop her at the time either.", he dropped the shirt again and crossed his arms over the scale through his shirt. "It's coming out the very moment I find an animal to drain energy from and heal the wound underneath, don't worry about that, I don't want to keep it."

[Flamina Sujianla Uilyevr]

Flame's face became very grave. If she were human she likely would've just gone pale. She fell very silent and very still. Even the usual twitch of her tail stopped and she stared at the scale until the shirt covered it again. She took a quick glance over toward her daughter and her stomach felt like it flipped over.

"My daughter gifted you a great thing and you are a fool to take it lightly," she said with almost no emotion save for her lip curling every so slightly upward.

[Evangeline Delacroix]

Necro looked deep into Flame's eyes, seeming to almost peirce into her very soul, "A gift that should not have been given.", he exposed the scale again and gripped Flame's snout just enough to pull her eye closer to the scale before he spoke again, "Look at it, and look closely. Take in each detail of it and memorise it. This scale in me is no more a part of me than gills are a part of a land dragon. See the way it catches the light and shimmers, watch as it casts no shadow.", he released Flame's snout and pointed to a nearby shadow, "You see that shadow, I can manipulate it to my will, even in the brightest of days. I can do that without this scale in me. I can do many things without this scale.".

He indicated Kana, his voice dropping into a lower whisper so that Flame could barely hear him, "Look at your daughter. Look at her scales. See them shining in the daylight. You see it right?", he placed his hand over the scale within him, "And now watch as that changes, when I run my own abilities through this scale in me.", almost as though he had timed it, Kana's scales stopped shining, her eyes turning a crimson red, scales sucking in light rather than reflecting it and if anyone looked closely enough they could swear her teeth had grown longer and sharper too. She looked evil, a thick shadow underneath her casting a strange aura around her.

She felt strange, as though she'd just stepped into a smoke cloud and gotten stuck. Everything was dark, everyone around her casting light like beacons, glowing brightest in the centre. She could see their pulses, almost taste the blood in their veins. She wanted to move, but her legs wouldn't listen. Nothing would listen, as though she was trapped within her own body. Then it passed.

Necro took his hand from the scale and looked straight at Flame, "I can possess her, fully possess her. Control her every motion without resistance because she is attached to me. Literally attached, and I don't know for sure if there's a way to seperate her from me, without removing the scale and risking my own death.", he caught his breath and called out to Kana and Ursha, "Just practicing some shadow barriers, they'll come in handy if there's a fight with the Divine!". A lie, but one that would put them at ease rather than alarming them with the truth. One final sentence left his lips and met Flame's ears, "Tolitio doesn't know how much of a connection it is, he probably assumes it's the same as the old connections that were made between dragons who married each other.", and with this he turned and walked off to sit at the ledge and stare into the ocean.

[Flamina Sujianla Uilyevr]

Flame stood there absolutely stunned. A burning rage built up inside of her but she supressed it. There was not a damn thing to do now. She watched as Necro sulked off but followed after him shortly. She sat beside him and folded her wings carefully onto her back.

"So what will you do then? You say it will risk your own death to remove it but you do not seem to wish to leave it. What will become of this bond with my daughter?" There was a diplomatic air to her tone. She was no longer being the kindhearted mother but more the tactful politician. The Dragon of Flame Heart she was raised to be even in this land where she was only respected by the various Clan leaders.

Obliviously, Ursha stared at her sister a moment or two. "K-Kana?" she questioned with an unsure voice. "Are you alright?"