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What hurts the most...; Tag Nherva. Anala's flight. (FINISHED!)
Topic Started: Jul 14 2016, 09:30 PM (152 Views)
Gothic Thylacine
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So sayeth the Spider
For one of the first times ever, Anala honestly wished she was a tiny Rosemary. With the news of the mass death of livestock, somehow Anala tried to hope that it would be sorted out quickly....it wasn't. She had been luckier than some. Parachanna and other Waters had been working hard to help bring fish in for a substitute, but of course it was still harsh. At least their riders were better off with foul and vegetation. All the dragons had rations but like many others in her size range, Anala needed more.

Many others had gone to hunt like she had. But lately it had been even more of a risk. Why? Because the need to rise and mate had come. Anala felt it boiling within her but she told herself it was unwise with the food shortage. Flying further out for food had helped but she had been scared. Sooner or later she would come into her peak and males would notice. Today she tried to ignore the urges as she flew out in search of food.

Today she went further than usual. The edge of the jungles near the plains. Anala felt perhaps this would increase the different beasts she may encounter. As it was she lazily glided over the trees looking for any telltale movement. Keeping her flapping to a minimum both to conserve her strength and to stay as quiet as possible. When movement caught her eye, Anala's hunger gripped her feircely, but she focused.

A small group of Bonasus was taking advantage of the greener grazing and cooler shade of the increasing trees. Anala took a breath and tucked in her wings aiming for the beasts. Of course they noticed her and began running immediately. Normally Anala would try not to burn trees but she did not care today. She was hungry. A powerful flame bursts forth and took down two of the large beasts. The few that remained ran deeper into the trees. Anala decided she would track them later. Perhaps bring some home to help. But for now she descended upon her two kills. The crackling plant life and singed Earth soothing her as she willingly pulled back any remaining flame to prevent an unneeded fire.

The scent of burnt flesh drove her mad. So mad she ignored the lustful urge within her as she ensured her prey was dead before tearing into the first beast. She had already consumed half of it when she heard a snap nearby. Her head whipped up with a fearsome snarl more threatening than any demon could make. Nothing would take this meal away from her! "Try anything and I will eat you faster than these bonasus!" She hissed.
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Nherva
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A ghost skimmed over the plains, wings locked against the scant breeze coming in from the east. It was dangerous. He knew. Buccinal was no longer of Sekkaian ilk. The darkness that pooled and coalesced in his heart through the crack in his crystal had changed him, warped him and twisted him farther than he ever had been--and to be frank, he'd never been an upstanding citizen. A ghost because he and his rider were likely presumed dead and missing in action, no one would expect to see him here. He had no business in these lands anymore, except that everything had just gone to plain shit.

Being the bottom of the barrel rank-wise in the Legion had its drawbacks and its drawbacks only. The disease spread by their superiors affected the Sekkaian stock, but the Taints never had much to begin with and Buccinal wasn't so Tainted yet as to turn to eating humans or other dragons. He was a horrible fisher and only spared the worst of the hunger for his somewhat diminutive size in comparison to the larger breeds. He'd been driven to hunting more and more dangerous prey in order to feed himself and his rider, who was about as useful as a boil on his ass at this point. Mykhail was still spending the majority of his days in that horrid squalor of the Tainted communal area getting drunk off whatever he could. He wasn't sure if his rider even ate anymore.

Not that he ate either. The Sonic's form had diminished somewhat in his new depravity. His colors were as vibrant and surreal as ever, rich azures, smooth cobalts, and burning cyans stinging any eyes that looked upon him, but his body was thinner and lankier. New scars marked his scales, the freshest wound still a glaring crimson mark against the top of his muzzle. He licked at the scab and snorted. The chimera he'd been hunting had not been happy to be disturbed and in the end, the Sonic had to give up and consider himself lucky to still have his life. At this rate, he would have considered himself lucky to find a rat to swallow.

His head perked to a sudden noise toward the edge of the jungle. From his vantage point, he could see the edges of the jungle flanking the plains but he saw nothing. Of course he couldn't see anything, what he was hearing was miles in the distance. As a Sonic he could always hear much farther than he could see, and at much more extreme frequencies. Even so...it sounded...familiar? It was just noise, not a voice or music, nothing one could call identifiable to any creature but one such as he. Flying lower, his nostrils flared and he scented something on the wind. Smoke? Yes. Charred earth and...roasting meat. Saliva dripped free of his jaws and he veered in the direction of the noise. It was danger, but nothing could be so dangerous as what he'd been subject to since his last fatal foray with Guillotine.

Making haste, the blue Sonic streaked into the trees, landing when they became too dense for him to fly. The holes in his wings had been purposefully sealed to keep any stray sound from leaving his vicinity. Dampening magic kept his movement mostly silent...until he saw the brilliant scarlet and turquoise hide peeking through the trees. He forgot himself when he saw Anala posturing over her kills. The bonasus stood no chance against a fire her size or strength. Charred flesh and earth scent bored into his nostrils as he approached the clearing. His dampening magic failed and a twig snapped beneath his fore claws. He did not care. Hunger and familiarity drove him into the light, but he didn't look the benign creature he once had been.

Sunken eyes burned with fire in the face of a scaled wolf. Hunched over, teeth bared, he looked between the dead beasts and Anala, giving her a wide berth. She threatened, and a low, nearly inaudible growl escaped his throat. He forgot. This was not the Legion's lands. This was no common Taint. He'd forgotten Anala, forgotten if she was kind. The blackness that filled his mind choked out most of those memories. He was as good as dead as metaphorically as physically. Courting death in Anala's rage seemed the next logical step.

"Can try." The words choked free of his constricting throat as he circled, prowling like an agitated panther. Tired as he was, he was still faster.
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Gothic Thylacine
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So sayeth the Spider
She did not see what was approaching yet, but common sense told her it was a predator seeking a share of her kill. Likely a dragon to be bold enough to get near her especially in this state. her turquoise eyes flared with fire and her muscled tensed ready to lunge as whatever it was came closer. She was able to establish whatever it was was smaller than herself. So she had that on her side. She lowered herself ready to leap, fury tingling under her scales.

But the shade of blue that appeared took the rage right out of her. No, it couldn't be...could it? When the figure emerged and she was finally able to take it all in, her shock had her frozen. Her once tensed muscled now trembling. And when she heard the voice, it all hit her.

"Can try"

She did not move, but her eyes followed him. Her first mate. Stalking around like a hungry cat. He himself looked gaunt like herself with new scars and healing wounds. Surely she was hallucinating. Hunger had finally gotten to her mind. "No...." She whispered. Finally she made herself stand. Gazing at the Sonic with such a stunned expression it was clear she has almost forgotten her hunger. "Buccinal?....Is that really you?" She had grieved silently when he and Mikhail had vanished. Everyone largely agreed they were likely dead. Which had affected the Fire deeper than she admitted.

She wanted to run to him. But his posture and his eyes were those of another dragon that had fallen on hard times. Was he even the same dragon? Her own eyes tried to catch a glimpse of his crystal. Though deep down she knew it could no longer be whole. Looking at him she could only think of one thing to do to see if he was any sliver of his former self. She took the remaining half of her first kill and carefully moved it closer to him. Her stomach demanded more flesh but she had more, and she would get more. This was more important.

"Buccinal. Please come to me. Eat....Do you remember me? Do you remember our daughter?" Her heart lurched more than her stomach. Silently praying that he at least remembered enough. If not it would be worse than the day they told her he was likely dead.
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Nherva
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He was ready for a fight. Every muscle in his body was rigid, his wings half-furled and ready to take off if he needed. Too often his encounters with others of his own 'faction' these days were awful and usually wound up in a fight. It didn't help that he was bottom rung. In the new Legion, pureblooded taints seemed favored over filthy Sekkaian trash. Cannon fodder, it was all they were good for. He'd gathered that much in his year or two there. When Anala's turquoise eyes met his and she didn't immediately move to attack, he seemed to relax somewhat. Then she spoke. The familiarity of her voice washed over him like a tide of cool water over untreated burns. It stung as much as it soothed.

Lifting his head ever so slightly from the threatening posture he held, the Sonic kept his fire bright eyes fixed upon her, temporarily ignoring the prospect of food to inspect her. Her words fell clearly upon his ears. Did he remember? That part of his life was not so far gone, but the gloom that spread through the crack in his crystal liked to obscure and twist his memories. He blinked, trying to remember. It must have taken him too long to recall something, because she was finally moving, but not to attack. Very carefully she slid a hunk of freshly carved meat toward him. His stomach growled fiercely.

It could have been a trap. But she wasn't a Taint. She wouldn't bait him just to kill him would she? No...this was Anala. He was the one that had changed. Slowly, cautiously, he stalked forward, his brain sifting through truth and blackened lies, remembering. He had almost forgotten her, almost forgotten Fuega. His world now was so small. Only Mykhail and that annoying, clingy gargoyle, and survival. Keeping his eyes on her, he reached forward and took the hunk of meat in his teeth, then dragged it several feet away. Ripping a strip of flesh from the carcass, he swallowed it whole, regarding the Fire in an awkward silence.

Finally, after a few more bites, he spoke again. "Anala." He said simply, then, "Fuega." He remembered Anala better than he remembered his daughter. His daughter had been a dragon of her own and he'd had very little interaction with her, mostly out of shame. How could he have a relationship with anyone if he couldn't even speak to them? "They did," he coughed. "This. To me." He grumbled, trying not to cough at the constriction in his throat. The spasm subsided. He wasn't talking about Anala and Fuega when he said the last bit, but surely the Fire would pick up on that. He was as much at fault as Guillotine for his Tainting, but Anala didn't have to know that. He'd played with fire and finally gotten burned.

He raised his head, giving her a clear view of the four pointed star between his collar bones. Once fiery orange like his eyes, it had dimmed. A clear black bolt of lightning cracked through the matrix of the crystal, the death of his bond and what remained of his sanity. Now what held him to the world was the power the Tainted queens held over him. If they knew he was here, if they knew how close within reach he was to a strong and powerful Sekkaian Fire, they might sacrifice him for the greater good. But perhaps being on the unnoticed bottom rung was a good thing, in this case.
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Gothic Thylacine
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So sayeth the Spider
She watched intensely. She did not mind him tearing into the meat she offered. He looked like he needed it as much as she did. But she could see his mind working, reaching. When he said her name tears of relief filled her eyes. He did remember! Her head dropped as the relief washed over her. "Oh thank goodness" She whispered. She looked at him and again grief all but crushed her with his next words.

"They did....this. To me"

Yes she saw his crystal now and her throat closed. She almost asked of Mykhail, but she did not. She decided to believe he was alive instead of knowing if he indeed wasn't. Somehow she had a feeling he was alright though, so she clung to that. "I know. It's alright" She hoped he would not be annoyed by that. Was it alright? She carefully edged closer to him, ready to pull back if he did not wish for attention. But she stretched out her neck to gently touch him with her snout.

"I've missed you" She said softly "I'm just so glad you're alive....Could you come ho-" She stopped herself. It hit her that this was the worst possible time for him to come home. The tainted were now back on the hate radar in full force. But surely as he was a respected soldier he would be taken back and healed? "I can try to get you healed. Things are bad right now, but we can try?" She glanced down at her form. Not skeletal by any means but also hardly the muscled powerhouse she was before. Could she protect him?

She sighed. She pulled the other dead beast to her and ate a few mouthfuls, letting Buccinal have the other she offered. "I would love for you to come home. But times are bad. We have no food thanks to disease and it seems the Taint are behind it. Something tells me it will get worse before it gets better. Especially now since-" She stopped herself again. The thought of wanting to mate during such times frustrated her and she wolfed down the rest of her kill "Since females are rising" Her talons dig into the Earth. "I promise, if you want to come back, I will help you. But I will understand if you do not"

She looked back at him with sad and longing eyes "But I do miss you. You have no idea how glad I am that you are still here" She trilled softly at him but rested her head down. Taking in his details just in case she would not see him again. Her slightly twitching tail was the only real movement she seemed unable to still.
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Nherva
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Buccinal chewed without thought or ceremony, his eyes fixed on Anala as his hormones raged through his bloodstream. He knew why she was here now. His hunt for food had turned rapidly into something else. Her words were kind and soft, but they did not tug at his heart strings like they should have...like they would have if he had not been drenched in darkness. Did he miss her? Did he miss the Academy? Did he miss home? His dam? His sister? He barely remembered them when he was away, but with Anala before him, asking him if he remembered, making him dig into his memories, they were raw, painful pictures in his mind. He would not be accepted at 'home'. He had never been terribly loved when he lived at the Academy thanks to his attitude and taciturn nature, he didn't expect he'd be any more well received now that he was Tainted.

A rough growl escaped his throat and he paused eating. He snorted, "No," he paused as if to let a spasm pass. "Don't think..I can." He wasn't even sure Mykhail would want to bother. All he did nowadays was gripe about how Sekkai had never done anything helpful for him. That he'd dedicated his life to them and their service and no one had ever helped him find or fix his sister and that Tainted Fire of hers. Now they were part of them and he still hadn't found Desriya and Paraffin. For all he knew, he was mourning their deaths. That just made the human worse. And now that he had that Jackal fellow whispering in his ears, there was nothing the Sonic could do, and for all his problems, he would not abandon his rider. If anything, Mykhail had been the only person that had been there for him through everything, even when everyone else spurned him. He owed him his loyalty at least.

As disappointing as Anala probably found that response, he amended it for her sake. "Maybe. Don't know." He finished with a whiny word created by his magic. "Bad." He crunched loudly into a bone. "On other side too." At least, it was for lesser Taints that had to provide for themselves without the support of a Shell, or the ones that wouldn't lower themselves to eating one another. The disease had spread quickly through Sekkai and the wild creatures, but Buccinal had a feeling that the Queens had found some other way to provide for the higher ranked and more trustworthy Taints. Otherwise it would be anarchy.

"You still...," he paused and swallowed. "Fly?" Hopefully she would get the full weight of his question. Obviously females were still rising to mate, but there were undoubtedly some that would resist the urge until the season was over just to preserve themselves and their potential offspring. So close to her, Buccinal could scent her readiness as he'd be able to any female this season, but whether or not she was resisting was a question only she could answer. Regardless of her flight readiness, Buccinal considered himself lucky that it was she he'd run into. Anyone else would likely have killed him for being a traitor, a taint in Sekkaian territory. He'd brought nothing but misfortune to his rider. If he lost his life, it would have been the last way he could let him down.
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Gothic Thylacine
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So sayeth the Spider
She could see his struggling and pain. Anala of course could not say she understood how it felt to be Tainted. But she knew for a fact it did not automatically make one bad. At least certainly not with Nidhogg out of the picture. And from what she head heard, there were even some very willing Taints that were not as evil as one would think. One must always be wary, but she cared for Buccinal enough to feel strongly he could not be so corrupted. Not to her anyway, she could not believe it.

"It's alright. I understand. Now would be difficult. But listen, if you ever want to try...I promise I will help you" She meant it. Trying to ignore the twitching in her body, she looked around and sniffed the air. "The rest of the herd won't be far. We can hunt them down later" Yes she needed to burn more energy and get more food. Though for now her hunger pains had subsided. She cherished the satisfaction and contentment.

His question however seized her attention fiercely as talons. Damn, she was hoping it was not obvious but really she knew that was a foolish thought. She looked at him with sad but earnest eyes. "I...I was trying not to. But I want to. I want more children. I do not want them to suffer, but I know i'd try to help them. We need more hope as well..." She realized she was trying to convince herself to rid herself of guilt. She knew Parachanna did not care to breed again just yet. Though she swore to him over and over the loss of an egg last year was not his fault.

Really the only reason she resisted was she worried about the food shortage. But surely that was being addressed. Breeding projects already underway for meat sources. Breeding. Her body urged her. "Yes. I will fly" She finally said. Her body now much stronger having food in her belly. "If you will not come back with me perhaps you can give me something to bring back with me instead" She was not being purposely seductive, she was being serious. She knew Buccinal was a worthy father of her offspring. He had proven as such with her first egg. She also knew some may frown on mating with a Tainted but Buccinal was no tainted, he was just a wounded soldier. "If you want of course"
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Nherva
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Buccinal took in Anala's words, but whatever hope might have sparked in the breast of another was a dim flicker for the Sonic. Did he really think there was any hope for him? It would all be moot the day he decided to chase Tainted females again. With Guillotine still alive and well out there, he had no doubt he would try again, and she'd been the reason for the small, dark crack in the fiery four-pointed star between his collar bones. It was an endearing concept, that she would help him no matter what, but the question of whether or not it would remain in his memory was a very real, valid one. Once he left to return to Mykhail and Ciar, he might forget every word she said. Clinging to the words now, rolling them around in his mind and committing to them, might improve his chances of remembering.

"Okay," he said simply. Were he not burdened by his disability he might have said more, but that was part of what made him so difficult to understand when he'd been part of the Academy. He could never inflect his true emotion in coughed, half-cut off words and sentences. There was never any poetry coming out of his mouth, even if he could make his magic sing twice as beautifully as the next Sonic in compensation. It was a wonder Anala even gave him the time of day. Most of what he tried to say sounded insulting to the common person, or lazy when they'd given him more to work with. Even with a clear disability in communication, he wasn't always given the benefit of the doubt.

The azure and cobalt hued Sonic perked at her answer to his question. Lifting his head over what remained of the portion of carcass he'd been chewing on, he liked his chops a few times, cleaning the blood and marrow from his scaly lips. His bright orange eyes regarded her while she admitted her desires for another offspring in spite of all that was going on. For most it would have been folly, for Anala it seemed perfectly natural. She would fight tooth and nail and sacrifice for her hatchlings--that was something even Buccinal knew, even if he'd only flown her once and only produced one with her. She'd been an attentive mother. He'd been a horrible sire. He did what he assumed he was supposed to have done, but his anxiousness being on the sands with all the others to bring her food and whatever else she needed had felt so alien to him at the time. It still did. He was almost ashamed, even more so when he remembered that two of his children were Taints, bred and born. It seemed his discretions already far outweighed his good contributions.

He blinked in surprise when she suggested so clearly that he chase her. Would she not call others to contend? Was it wise not to call competition to weed out the weak? Perhaps Anala just knew without going through the motions that he was perfectly strong enough and capable enough to be a sire to her next child. It should have been a compliment and he should have puffed proudly at the notion, but instead he remained silently wary. "Just...me?" He asked with a light cough between the words. Why in all the hells would she prefer a broken toy over a more worthy Sekkaian mate? Does it really matter? A dark voice in the back of his mind asked. It was her choice, and he would not fault her for it.

Crouching over the carcass before him, Buccinal half-spread his wings, poised as if to leap into the air. That predatory glint was back in his eyes when he sought hers. "Then," he paused, a slight snarl rippling across his features as his vocal cords betrayed him. Strained, he continued, "We fly." All that was left was for her to make the first move.
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Gothic Thylacine
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So sayeth the Spider
She knew Buccinal was a dragon of few words, but that never bothered her. Hell it was the fact that he easily moved beyond that to give her the song she asked for in her flight where she chose him. So as she tried to relax she did not expect him to really say much more. She was just loving the sensation of food in her belly. Trying to pay attention to that and not the stirring in her loins.

The pink fire shifted herself to get more comfortable though it hardly helped her relax. She could not relax anyway knowing a dragon she cared for who she was told was likely dead was in fact alive but Tainted at the worst time it could be to be Tainted. The sadness of his current fate weighed heavily on her heart. All she could do was support him and stand up for him if he ever chose to return. But yes indeed, even if she could bring a new life that came from him she'd feel better. So with his next question she chuckled softly.

"Well of course just you. I have no desire to test multiple suitors with such trying times. And Parachanna currently still wishes to wait before trying again for an egg. Besides I know you, I trust you. I know you have many good qualities I am thrilled to pass to my offspring. And again, I would love to have more to remember you by if you do not wish to come back" She meant this out of love and her tone made it clear. She also wore s small grin.

Anala could not help but feel relieved and delighted when he clearly was up for the idea. She saw his body and spirit quickly prepare. Her body responded in full. Anala stood and stretched herself to warm up her tense muscles and she gave herself a shake to settle the meat in her stomach. It may weigh her down a bit but it would easily give her the energy boost she needed for a successful flight. Eyeing him as she walked past the Sonic, she made her way to a more open area. She looked over he opening wings at him in a silent challenge.

"Let's see if you can top yourself from last time eh?" She said with a mischievous spark in her eye before her wings snapped open and she lunged upward. Pushing herself to fly as swiftly as she could. Sure she could not perform as strongly as before, but she would still not make it a boring flight!
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Nherva
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His aqua hued tongue flicked over the pearlescent fangs in his maw as she spoke. She saw redeeming qualities in him that he could never see. Even Mykhail struggled to find them from time to time. He was not so good as she thought, he couldn't be or he wouldn't be Tainted now. Would he? Unable to stamp down his urges was what wound him up like this in the first place. That made him not only a terrible mate, but a dragon that took too many unnecessary risks. Had he not been Tainted, this would still have been an unnecessary risk he was taking. To bring life into the world at a time like this. They could barely feed themselves. Wild populations of bonasus, fish, whale, dicorns, and everything in between were going to take a hit and if they weren't careful, the famine would become even worse. How could they feed youngsters on the dust of a broken empire? Buccinal didn't care anymore. With his hormones flung into hyperdrive, all that mattered was Anala. The female before him asking for his attention was paramount.

He waited for her, watching every movement as she prepared herself. With her ascent, he leapt to join her, electric blue wings scraping at the air, tiny whistles accompanying each stroke as the holes in the scales were kissed by the passing breeze. He had won her first with his song, and it was something he would not deny her again. Guillotine hadn't much cared for his song, only his ability to fight and kill. He had gladly obliged her that, but often he missed the skillful use of his own element. These days, he was more likely to dampen the sound around him than let it free. It would feel good to call his magic again. A low, buzzing thrum followed him through the air as he chased the Fire, keeping his distance for the beginning. He rose ever higher, fire hued eyes fixed upon the scarlet and teal dragoness.

Then he dropped, looping into a short corkscrew then a wide spiral, the pits in his scales open to the wind. The sharp whistle added to the thrum, the sound traveling with him, in one place, then in another, an invisible entity of its own. It probably sounded like more than just one dragon chased her. His magic created a sort of unseen sound chamber in the sky that enveloped their flight path and isolated them from all other outside noise. There was only the beat of their wings, the pounding of their hearts in their ears, and Buccinal's music to accompany them.

He would not see the product of this flight. He would never step onto Sekkaian sands again. The dark whisper in his heart told him as much even as he barreled after Anala, fueled by the small meal she'd shared with him. Wasting his time. The voice took on Mykhail's downtrodden tone. Never done anything for us. Never gave us a chance. What in the hell do we owe Sekkai? Nothing, I say. Nothing... As his rider's own voice died out in his brain, drowned out by the scent and sound of the nearby dragoness, Buccinal narrowed his eyes in determination. So what if those things were true? Anala wanted him, and that was all he had left to give.
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