The Chosen [IC / Not Accepting / PG-16]

[Skaia 578]

As the conversation went to what it was they had actually stolen Ryia could only help but go wide-eyed at the small scaly creature that had walked into the room. Ryia was at first not quite sure what to make of it. After all, she had traveled around with a lizard for some time now -  Kloqah that is - so seeing such a small creature wasn't anything new to her. Though, the wings were certainly unique. In fact, she couldn't think of many creatures at all that were both lizards and winged. The only thing that came to mind were the tales of the great and powerful dragons but those were, well, great and powerful and typically huge. This was small. But they had stolen and egg and it had hatched. And that was what came out of it. But it was small. But it just hatched. It didn't seem powerful. But it could destroy the forest. 

The girl's thoughts were starting to spin out as she knew she needed to ask something to make sure that what she was thinking was certainly correct. Still baffled and unsure, the girl asked the room, "is uh...that's not a uh....it's...is that a small dragon?"

"No, it's not," the girl said. She shook her head and then pointed at Ryia and declaring, "it's a baby dragon!"

"U-uh...I...how do you - well, I guess I know why but uh," she paused for a bit, her head was racing with questions and the overall casual tone that this girl had did certainly nothing to alleviate them. Finally the only thing she could think to ask to progress forward was, "why did you have a dragon egg?"

"Because I took it. It was locked up in the museum for a long long time. I always saw it and thought 'that's kinda sad its just sitting there unable to hatch' and when I was leaving I thought...might as well grab it while I was at it!"

"We almost got caught because of it." the boy chimed in.

"But we didn't!" The girl's attitude seemed to have relaxed once she began to talk about the dragon.

They just took it. She just took it on a whim. From a museum. There was a sense of altruism, she supposed, in the motive but with how casual she talked about committing grand theft of something that powerful Ryia's head was almost visibly steaming from being overwhelmed. It wasn't as though she thought they were bad people either. In fact, that they seemed fine made this only more confusing and made Ryia even less unsure of how to handle this situation. She was in fact so confused, that she could only dumbly ask, "does it...have a name?"

The boy let out a groan at this, but the girl looked excited. "Of course, I named him myself, he's Sparky!"

The girl let out a nervous laugh, only to look at the dragon and say, "hi...Sparky."

[LordCowCow 840]

"hi...Sparky."

The dragon made a sort of purring, rumbling, noise, and flapped closer to Ryia. It reared its head back and shot out several small embers of fire out of excitement which almost struck the hanging vines along the wall. The boy, almost as an afterthought, waved a hand and a gust of wind got rid of the sparks before they could ignite anything.

Sparky didn't seem very concerned about this as it continued to make rumbling noises in Ryia's direction.

Keres was surprised by the reveal, though it didn't show on her face, for a few moments. After a bit of thinking she realized it wasn't so shocking as it might seem. After all it's true that this is something that, left unrestrained, could easily burn down the forest once it grew some more.

Still, she hadn't thought she'd meet a dragon. Part of her wanted to study the creature closer but she just barely kept herself restrained. After all it would be awkward to do so in front of their....owners?

She looked over at the two elves, readying herself to ask, and they looked at her. She found it difficult to ask such a question and instead looked to her companions. "I don't think...they'll be willing to come with us, the elves might...get rid of the dragon now that it's hatched."

"Yeah exactly you got it. I can't bring Sparky back. I can't go back. And he won't go back either. So it's a triple threat of no go. So....you'll have to find some other way to get into the city. Dunno why you wanna go there anyway it's not anything special really."

Madelyn had been rubbing her forehead for a while, seemingly fighting off a head-ache, when she finally exploded. "Okay this is ridiculous! What were they thinking keeping a dragon egg in their homeland anyway? Did they really expect to keep something so powerful..." she glanced at Sparky, currently chasing its own tail around in circles, and clarified "something with so much magic, contained forever?"

"Well, it had been there for a long time...longer than your lifespan, really" the boy said which seemed to frustrate Madelyn.

"Insanity." she muttered. "I'm getting tired of this, I'm going to check outside for...something, I do not know what, but you all can just come get me when you've decided what to do." with that she marched out of the room.

[Doggo 218]

At Sparky's appearance Reinaan fell into an uncharacteristic silence. Not one of frustration and not even his usual excitement over seeing new things. The Draken was clearly possessed with a reverent awe as he watched every movement of the baby dragon. He examined its wings in particular but he refrained from moving any closer or farther from it as if doing so would cause the creature to disappear from sight. He registered conversation happening between the elves and his party around him but it wasn't until Madelyn announced her departure that he finally felt he could move and speak. It was real. There was really a baby dragon here in the room with them. Something was still nagging at him however.

"Sparky... Sparky? Sparky!?" He repeated the name several times with growing incredulity and almost outrage. "You can't just give a dragon of all things a cute name like it's some kind of pet!" Reinaan found himself offended on behalf of Sparky who didn't much seem to mind its name. "Dragons are the most powerful things in the world! They're gods deserving worship! Even when they're this small. I thought I'd never see one after the great wyrm left Blagos..." He trailed off before examining Sparky again, this time hundreds of names in ancient Draken running through his mind that might better describe the majesty of the thing before them. None of them seemed good enough. Ancient Draken was after all not quite Dragon language so anything would fall short of giving proper respect.

"All it took was a drop of blood to make the mighty Draken race..." Reinaan found himself speaking out of respect for the creature in front of him. Despite being fifty years Sparky's senior to life he felt inadequate next to it. The rest of the conversation seemed to be finally clicking in his head. "Wait, why was it in a museum to begin with? Just sitting there unhatched for years? Who has the nerve to keep a dragon from soaring the skies? A forest is already too cramped never mind with a barrier." Reinaan was going to continue to ramble bordering on incoherence about the majesty and power of dragons and various legends attributed to the great one that had occupied Blaogs in his infancy that he'd even seen on ocassion. Everything from created the Draken, shaping the volcano, recreating the coastline, and gifting fire to mankind. Though he'd neglected to outright say as much, it was clear he had no intent on returning the creature to its elven captors.

[Skaia 578]

Ryia couldn't help but feel that Sparky was actually a little cute as it "purred" towards her, though always realized how dangerous it was as it accidentally spewed out fire. Though the elves were very curt with them, Ryia could at least understand why they would be very reluctant to tell them what it was they were supposed to find. After all it took, what she assumed at least, relatively little time at all for the egg to hatch after being released from the museum and even she knew that dragon's were powerful beasts of legends. So entrusting the fate of a dragon egg to the hands of strangers would certainly be a cause for worry. If anything it's a wonder they told them anything about it at all, though she supposed the situation, alongside the other parts involved in it, was just that desperate. 

Madelyn had seemed to be done with what was going on here, Ryia herself still barely being able to grasp the scope of what was going on here, and Reinaan meanwhile seemed to be speaking about the majesty of the dragon race in general. The Earth Chosen could only sit in silence at the impassioned speech of the boy as well, trying to think of what to do about this whole mess that they were now in. Once again, she didn't really think that these people were bad people and the boy also didn't seem like he was here against his will. Then there was the matter of the dragon as well. She hadn't the first idea of how to approach the problem. Anywhere it went it was likely going to cause a very large amount of problems for anybody who was nearby, the girl shuddering at the thought of the giant creature just nesting around any of the settlements they had been around already and accidentally torching them by sneezing. Of course, it was a living creature and also hadn't actually done anything wrong in its short life, so she hardly felt good about just giving it over to the elves and letting them kill it. And having to get to the point where they'd even have the dragon to bring to the elves would likely involve doing a lot she really didn't want to think about. 

Sighing the girl said, "um, well, see, we uh, don't actually really want to get into the city. Well, uh, I guess we do? We, we really just want to know where to find the Demon Gate. To uh, well, destroy it. And well, uh, they probably know where it is?" Looking at the pair and the dragon again she said, "well, we're not really going to get there that way now anyway, so uh...I guess since we're here...what exactly are you two uh, doing and I uh, I guess," the girl looked to Reinaan, and then to Sparky, and then back to the elves saying, "and uh, do you need any help?" 

[LordCowCow 840]

"Wait, why was it in a museum to begin with? Just sitting there unhatched for years? Who has the nerve to keep a dragon from soaring the skies? A forest is already too cramped never mind with a barrier."

When Reinaan had made his statement on the dragon's name the girl seemed to take offense. She put her hands on her hips and puffed out her chest in an attempt to make herself look larger, which didn't do much especially when compared to a young Draken, and said "excuse you but Sparky is the perfect name. And anyway he likes it so there."

The boy interjected then. He had seemed to be avoiding mentioning his own thoughts on the name, though he did cast Reinaan an understanding look, and instead answered Reinaan's question. "We're told it was the last remaining egg of a dragon that had attempted to raze the forest down long before even any of the elders were born. That said, the barrier...it probably wasn't around for long, only the past hundred years or so."

"well, we're not really going to get there that way now anyway, so uh...I guess since we're here...what exactly are you two uh, doing and I uh, I guess, and uh, do you need any help?" 

"We're escaping!" The girl declared, pointing at Ryia with a smirk on her face.

"Well that was the idea." The boy said.

"Buuuut turns out that the barrier makes us not be able to actually get anywhere...."

"We've been avoiding patrols while trying to find a way through it. We've found nothing."

"But anyway! I don't really know a whole lot about where a Demon Gate is but I can see why you'd wanna check out the city." The girl made a sour face for a moment. "And I bet they told you you had to do something for them, figures it'd be bringing us back, they're so....lame."

To this the boy nodded, then seemed to get lost in thought again as his gaze drifted off to the side.

[Skaia 578]

Ryia frowned a bit as the elven duo didn't seem to have any information on the Demon Gate either. With no leads to go on on their own and with not wanting to help them take the two back, and get the baby dragon killed in the process, they had hit a bit of a stopping point in their investigation. She supposed that there was one other lead that they had to go down, one that seemed much less pleasant to her but another one all the same. "Well, um...I guess you weren't the, well, only thing they asked us to do. Do you uh, either of you, know anything about wolves around the, uh, forest?"

They looked at each other and the girl answered. "There's plenty of wolves, isn't that normal in a forest?"

"Eh? It is?" Ryia supposed that wolves in forests were common in the cautionary stories that were told to children, but she hadn't ever really thought about them in reality before. "Well, I uh, I'm not sure. The city elves asked us to uh, deal with a wolf pack that was attacking their, uh, hunters. That."

The girl frowned and looked distraught for the first time. "I...don't think they told you the whole truth. If there are wolves that are attacking the hunters it's gotta be them, right?" She looked at the boy who slowly nodded.

"The Lycans. They want you to wipe out a Lycan pack."

"L-Lycans?" The girl paused as she thought about it. She didn't know much about Lycans, other than the common stories of them being humans that became ferocious wolf monsters. "Well, uh, that certainly sounds...dangerous." Of course it wasn't as though demons and giant pincer clawed monsters weren't dangerous, but she had already signed up to fight demons and Lycans were something of a fairy tale monster to her - more so then wolves. Though it wasn't literal the term "wolf in sheep's clothing" applied to them fairly well and such duplicity in the way something could attack never sat well with her. Not to mention the savagery and insanity they were told to possess in such tales. Of course, Ryia only knew stories about them and didn't even really know if such a thing was real until now and thus asked, "um, well, do you uh, know anything about them?"

"Oh yeah of course, they're super strong, super mean, and super smelly." The girl said, nodding knowingly.

"They look human until they transform, and become more, well, wolf-like." The boy added.

It more or less went along with what she already knew, though the smelly part was new. Ryia nodded all the same and said, "well, um thank you for your uh, directness about all this," something that their first experience with the elves of this forest certainly had lacked. "I suppose we should go look uh, the Lycans. Now. Unless uh," the girl looked back to the others, wondering if they had anything else to do before looking back to the elves. "I uh, hope things work out for you two or uh, you find out more about the uh, barrier. But it was a pleasure to meet you, Miss...uh..." The girl then trailed off as she had realized that she didn't know the girl's name. She then figured she'd say the boy's name as well only to find that that was something that they hadn't been informed of either and something she hadn't learned herself yet. And so, feeling more ready to leave then ever now, the girl looked to the elf as if asking for her name. 

[LordCowCow 840]

"I uh, hope things work out for you two or uh, you find out more about the uh, barrier. But it was a pleasure to meet you, Miss...uh..."

"She's Cymbeline, and I'm Pan." The boy answered, which seemed to draw some annoyance from the girl.

"Cym. Just call me Cym." She said Then glared at Pan, who seemed not to notice that he had annoyed her at all.

"Anyway I guess if you wanna go off and try and find the Lycans then you should probably try and find wherever they've been hunting. We haven't seen em...well, we've been avoiding them as much as the hunters so I guess you could look where we haven't been."

"We don't know much about them, if you had a guide that knew them better it'd be a lot easier..." Pan shrugged. "We'll probably be leaving now that we've been found here, won't be long before others come too..."

Cym sighed. "And I kinda liked having a roof for once...oh if you wanna rest up here you can, just, uh..." she glanced at the name plates and flowers. "Don't play with those too much, they don't like it." She gave an awkward laugh as Pan shook his head. Evidentially something must have happened when they first got here.

"Um." Keres began to speak, drawing both of the elves' eyes to her. She wasn't so sure it was a good idea, now that they had met friendly locals, to just part ways just like that. Though she knew it wasn't up to just her. Yet she couldn't get the words out still. "Don't know...anything around here." she managed to say.

Neither of the elves seemed to know what to make of this.

Spoiler

Aight so now you have names, and they will likely be on the move again soon. Keres's thing was mostly to open a bit more options up if you wanted and also so she could be awkward.

 

[Doggo 218]

The young Draken's eyes lighted anew with excitement upon hearing the story of Sparky's parent. That this entire forest was at a dragon's mercy and the foolish survivors had kept its last egg enshrined instead of finishing the job. It was all too much. Reinaan tried to imagine what the terrain would be like free of all the endless trees and under a dragon's rule. A lot more exposed rock and flowing lava to be sure. It all seemed to eclipse the still very young Sparky. That a thing so small could become something so mighty. But the Fire Chosen knew that feeling all too well since his growth spurt had started. In any case, with the elves having introduced themselves and intending to be on their way that left the group with a dilemma. Or at least it left Reinaan with one. Fighting a horde of monstrous man-wolves sounded as exciting as anything this Chosen journey had brought him so far. And still Sparky was a dragon of all things and not yet outside the barrier where he belonged. As much as he wanted to personally escort the hatchling, leaving a demon gate unchecked in the vicinity of a dragon also seemed like the most foolish thing they could do. Thoughts of twisted sand sharks still haunted him in his nightmares at times.

"Oh yeah." Reinaan started picking up on Keres' minimalist conversation starter with the elves. It only made sense they seemed confused as to what she was getting at, they hadn't spent hardly any time with the girl yet. The draken boy liked to think he was understanding the Water Chosen a bit better these days and so took it upon himself to interpret. "We don't really know our way around the woods. Well we had one guy with us that seemed to but he never said much about how or why and also seems to have disappeared for the moment." The draken pondered aloud as he thought back on his attempts to locate Damien after waking up. Maybe he'd sensed there were elves inside. Reinaan recalled their brief conversation and the boy still had his sneaking suspicions about Damien harboring a fear of the elves. Still that wasn't ultimately important, Damien was bound to show up as they got moving.

"So, correct me if I'm wrong Keres, but I think she's offering to go together for a while. Long as we're going the same way anyway. We help you keep... Sparky," he said hesitantly accepting the less than noble designation Cym and Pan had concocted for the mightiest of beings. "Safe while you give us a run down on what's where and how to find these lycans. We got some pretty cool magic we could even try helping you get out of the woods. Or I could just tear it open!" Reinaan said full of bravado as he puffed his chest and flexed an arm in some effort to match his ideal image of what a descendant of dragons should be capable of doing.

[Skaia 578]

"Cym and Pan," she repeated, trying to remember the names before nodding to the two. Unfortunately it seemed that the two of them didn't have any more knowledge on the lycans but their confirmation that that was what they were looking for was enough for her. Besides, it was probably for the best if the two of them hadn't run into such scary creatures. As they were all getting ready to go their separate ways, Keres and Reinaan spoke up and talked about joining forces. Thinking on it for a moment, the girl mused aloud, "true, we um, we only really knew where to go because someone told us about these - wait he's gone?" Ryia's voice raised at the news, a little shocked but then letting out a sigh of resignation. That he would suddenly disappear on them wasn't all that surprising in all honesty. And he was a capable individual who knew his way around the forest as it would seem, so she was hopeful that he was able to hold his own against whatever dangers were in the forest. Still, that didn't make this any less annoying and upsetting. 

Getting back on track in the conversation, the girl said, "well, um, yeah. We're in uh, need of a guide to start uh, knowing where anywhere is. I guess." Still upset. "And well, uh, yeah, we have experience fighting all kinds of things. So Reinaan's right in that we can, well uh, help you keep Sparky safe." Though, she couldn't help but think about what might happen if they ran into an elf patrol in the forest but they were also probably fairly skilled at avoiding them as they had up to this point. "We uh, also have a mage - the uh, girl who just left - who's really good with barriers so maybe she can uh, help?" Though she wasn't sure how willing Madelyn was willing to work with them, given her previous temperament, but she at least hoped they could all get along. Then, looking at her two companions, both very interested in the dragon in general, she smiled before looking back to the elves. "And besides, I uh, I think Sparky has grown on us." 

Edited July 29, 2023 by Skaia

[LordCowCow 840]

"We don't really know our way around the woods. Well we had one guy with us that seemed to but he never said much about how or why and also seems to have disappeared for the moment."

The two elves looked at each other. They didn't say anything but simply gave various quizzical looks before turning back to the group. It seemed something about what Reinaan said had confused them. However they didn't elaborate.

"So, correct me if I'm wrong Keres, but I think she's offering to go together for a while. Long as we're going the same way anyway."

Keres gave a start at this, as if not expecting to be addressed suddenly. "Um. Yes." She nodded.

"We uh, also have a mage - the uh, girl who just left - who's really good with barriers so maybe she can uh, help?"

Keres glanced at Ryia and there was a barely perceptible frown on her face. Getting Madelyn to help out didn't seem like the easiest thing for them to do. "Maybe could...work together." she mused. If she came to Madelyn and suggested studying the barrier together then maybe the girl would do it just for the chance to figure it out. Though, remembering how they met her, she wondered if the girl might not require something for her trouble.

"It seems...odd." Keres said, referring to the barrier. They hadn't felt anything, though there were magical traces, when they came into the forest and it didn't seem like anyone outside knew about it. Even the soldiers hadn't mentioned any kind of barrier.

"Well, I dunno, I was kinda hoping to escape all on my, our, own..." Cym said. It seemed she wasn't entirely fond of asking for help.

Pan on the other hand didn't seem to be shy about taking what he could. "If there's anything you can do might as well try. I've just been trying the same things in different spots." He looked over at Reinaan. "If you didn't have any problem getting in I wonder if you can even touch it, though." This seemed to spark some idea which sent him back into self-reflection as he began to pace again.

Cym shrugged. "Well if he says so I guess it's fine, but we have to help you first, got it?" she seemed like she wanted this to be absolutely clear. "Which I guess means helping you find the Lycans huh." She made a sour face but smiled as Sparky, perhaps spurred on by Ryia mentioning him, began to make almost purring noises and flying up to the girl. "I suppose that we can start by looking around places we've been avoiding...though, honestly, it might be easier to let them find you..."

As if she was shocked the girl suddenly jumped and gasped. "Oh yeah! You said you had a guide, how though? There aren't really many people who left here in, uh, a really long time."

[Skaia 578]

The Earth Chosen was glad to have more companions along with them in this dangerous forest, smiling a bit as the young dragon purred. She had only ever known them to be creatures of legend with enough power to essentially effortlessly claim and rule an area if they so chose. She had never thought that they would start out so...cute. Perhaps Sparky was a fitting name for the creature after all, at least for now. The girl then backed up in surprise as Cym jumped and exclaimed, asking about their guide. Calming her own nerves after that Ryia then thought about it. Damien was certainly familiar with the area that much was for certain. But he didn't seem to have any of the tell tale features of an elf and as they had just learned elves, at the very least, weren't able to just leave and escape this place as they pleased. Unless he left a lot longer ago? Or perhaps the barrier just had no affect on humans. But it wasn't as if they had seen any other humans since entering this forest. The girl thought about it some more before finally verbalizing it to Cym. 

"Um, well, I don't know. Our guide, Damien, has been with us for awhile. We uh, um, met him in the desert and I guess he's always had a worldly sort of, uh well, feeling to him. Oh, he's human too so he probably doesn't know anything about this barrier if well, that's the thing with it." Trying to think of more to say she then frowned. "Sorry, I don't actually know all that much about well, him, in general. I don't even know he's well, um, from here. I guess he'd have to be, but uh, yeah." The girl trailed off awkwardly.  

[Hollow 21]

At last it seemed the other chosen had managed to rope the prince, his aid, and their dragon into joining their group. With a grunt, Lindow impatiently brought himself to a standing position, as it seemed that their next move would be to locate and exterminate the Lycans. This was something he could definitely get behind. Having never seen these wolfmen for himself, the Thunder Chosen was eager to see if they lived up to their reputations. However, before they could begin sorting the details about how they would go about such an endeavor, Cym seemed to be curious about their ever elusive sixth companion. 

Ryia was the first to answer, providing a basic rundown of what the knew about him with the expected amount of "um"s sprinkled between. 

"He carries an elven sword. Gorgeous craftsmanship, with a blade that seems to dampen magic and is much too long for the sheath..." Lindow chimed in before glancing around the room. It had just occurred to him that they were in a royal tomb, and with the boy here, they could have access all its treasures. "Hey," His gaze settled on Pan. "you've been poking around for a while, right? Do ya having anything like that down here?!"

Edited August 15, 2023 by Hollow

[LordCowCow 840]

"Um, well, I don't know. Our guide, Damien, has been with us for awhile.

This time the look that Cym and Pan shared was one of clear shock. They weren't quick to hide it either as it seemed Ryia's explanation had truly surprised them.

Keres wondered if it was the fact that a human was serving as their guide or if it was Damien himself that caused them to react this way. They didn't elaborate on what had surprised them, and Keres didn't feel she could ask, so Keres could only theorize. And theorize she did. Those two initial theories seemed to make most sense. Either they knew the name of Damien or they didn't know how a human could know their way around the forest. Which made Keres question everything about Damien.

"We really don't know anything about him..." she spoke this thought out loud, agreeing with Ryia. It wasn't something she had thought much about. After all, she barely knew any of the people she was traveling with, really.

you've been poking around for a while, right? Do ya having anything like that down here?!"

"Hm? Like what?" Pan said, clearly having not been listening to what he said. "Well there's only one other room, over there, and yeah there's some things in there."

"Uh, is it okay to tell them that?" Cym said.

Pan looked at her blankly before realization hit. "Ah, I guess so. I don't really care either way. But if you take anything from there you won't be able to stay here any longer, I won't be able to keep them from going after you long if you do." He gestured over towards the markers where the ghosts had been.

"Whatever you decide to do do it fast, we shouldn't stay here long. Since you found us I wouldn't be surprised if the others will show up sooner or later. I wanna get going....though I guess better be ready cause when we come across the Lycans I don't think they're gonna be any more friendly." Cym let out a whistle and Sparky flew over and landed on her shoulder.

Keres glanced between the unexplored room and the other side. Should she go tell Madelyn what they had decided? But she didn't want Lindow to be the only one to find whatever was in this shrine. She stood there in the middle of the room, indecision halting her steps.

[Skaia 578]

With the group getting ready to go, it seemed that the only thing left to do was to explore the backroom if they wanted to see what kind of treasure was in this tomb. Ryia wasn't exactly comfortable with the idea to begin with, this was a sacred place for the elves after all and they would just kind of be stealing from it. Not to mention she didn't enjoy her chances with having to escape from the ghosts when they went on the offensive. Keres as well seemed to be on the fence about what to do, seeing her look each direction. Ryia was even more worried about Keres's chances to escape then her own, and figured that it was best left to Lindow, who was the most mobile of them, and probably Reinaan who wasn't hindered by armor like she was. As such, Ryia looked to Keres saying, "well uh, we should probably tell Madelyn about this first." 

And so, the girl left the room and walked outside before meeting up with Madelyn. "So uh, we're about to leave soon, the others are uh, just getting some stuff. I think. And uh well, so..." the girl trailed off, knowing that the light mage didn't have the fondest impressions of the elves before attempting to explain the situation. "So uh, we don't have a guide through the forest right now since Damien is uh, well, missing. So well uh, Cym and Pan - the elves, that is - they're going to come with us. To uh, help. And I guess well, we can help them too. Uh, yeah." 

[Hollow 21]

Lindow watched Keres and Ryia make their way to the surface for a moment, curious to see if the spectral guard would make an appearance again. His smile grew a bit wider when he confirmed safe passage. The fact that elves didn’t stir from their graves boded well for the festivities to come.

“The wraiths are loyal to you, right? I’d bet it could save us some headache if you just take whatever’s in there yourself.” His gaze landed on Pan. 

"It wouldn't make a difference, they're spirits, they're more loyal to the one they originally served." The boy shrugged. "They listen to me because I share his blood."

“I see.” Lindow thought for a moment. He was weary of dealing with ghost legion again after narrowly cheating death once already. “Well, they’ll certainly be hesitant to run me through again if you're close by… so lead the way, your highness!” He smiled and extended his arm towards the threshold that led deeper into the tomb. 

Pan let out a sigh. "It's just a door, do you think you'll get lost." Regardless, the elf proceeded to go through the doorway anyway with Cym close behind.

“Heh,” The Thunder Chosen scoffed at what seemed to a jest from the lad. 

The room they entered was smaller than the rest and covered in flowers. Many brightly colored blooms covered the floor and walls. In the middle of the small, roughly oval-shaped, room was what looked like a wooden coffin. On top of said coffin rested two objects. One of them looked to be a cane made of dark red wood and wrapped in vines. The other was shaped like like the kind of sword Damien used. Only it was completely wooden and, frankly, plain looking.

Lindow took in the room with a blank expression before setting his sights on the coffin in the center. 

“So who’s in the box?” 

"It is the coffin of the first Elven Lord. No one is 'in the box'."

“How prestigious.” Lindow shrugged before tilting his head towards Pan yet again. “..." There was a brief moment of silence. "You’re gonna make me ask about the trinkets too, huh?” It was clear from his tone that he didn’t want to spend any more time in the tomb than he had too. “Come now, the quicker we wrap up in here, the sooner we can sort out our business and leave this forest behind…” 

"They are what they are, I dunno much else. They used to be his I think." Pan’s response was no help at all. 

"He probably slept through that part of history class." Cym added from behind them.

"And you probably skipped it." Pan replied, prompting Lindow to sigh before stepping forward towards the center of the room. 

As he approached, the Thunder Chosen couldn't shake the sensation of being watched. This feeling only grew more intense as he stood over the coffin, holding is breath as if tuning his senses to any movement inside. From what he could tell, the casket was empty just as Pan said, but that didn't stop him from glancing around the room once again before snatching the two eleven treasures up.

"..." Lindow's hairs stood on end immediately. He was sure now that that the spirits of the tomb all had their eyes on him, but for the moment nothing was happening. Unsure of how long he had before another pair of spectral hands wrapped themselves around his ankles, the Thunder Chosen darted towards the exit and full speed. Only stopping his stride when he emerged at the shrines entrance where the girls were waiting. 

"Phew," He cooed as he brought himself to skidding halt against the forest floor. In his hands the man brandished both the cane and the wooden sword as he held them up in the sun for further inspection. He had no idea what he had stollen, but if they belonged to the first Elven Lord then there was surely something special about these seemingly mundane trinkets... 

Edited September 13, 2023 by Hollow

[Doggo 218]

Reinaan watched curiously as Lindow had the elves lead him to the other room to look for leftovers. Taking things from a tomb seemed disrespectful but if the elves present didn't object the Draken wouldn't make an issue of it. And of course whatever was going on the boy couldn't help but keep staring at Sparky. He admired every motion of the small dragon, wondered what having wings felt like, imagined the babe at full size eclipsing the entire structure they were in. He barely registered the others leaving to regroup with Madelyn outside and only finally pulled his eyes away from the tiny thing to watch the Thunder Chosen in action. Speed being the name of the game here, Reinaan stayed close to the exit with the elves such that Lindow was the only one who'd be grabbing and sprinting.

"All that for some sticks?" the draken teased Lindow as the man inspected his prizes. He preemptively cut off Ziiyol who he felt manifest at his side at the mention of sticks. Her face said it all, that she wanted to try burning them. She knew without speaking that her Chosen partner disapproved of the idea and soon gave up on it and soon went back to being generally invisible. Reinaan let out a sigh at how he had to discipline a spirit come with the divine mission to save the world but it was hard to begrudge a being made of fire the desire to burn things. Finally regrouping outside, aside from wherever Damien had gotten himself off to, Reinaan was content ready Kloqah to get moving again before turning to the elves.

"She should be able to fit the both of you if you're not huge on walking everywhere. Though that's what you've been doing..," Reinaan trailed off while the large lizard huffed at him as if protested how freely she was being offered to complete strangers. Still if she was mad she wasnt doing anything more so the Draken made little of it. "Anyway, off to kill some wolf-people!" he declared more to psyche himself up than anything.

[LordCowCow 840]

"So uh, we don't have a guide through the forest right now since Damien is uh, well, missing. So well uh, Cym and Pan - the elves, that is - they're going to come with us. To uh, help. And I guess well, we can help them too. Uh, yeah." 

Madelyn seemed pretty grumpy about the whole situation. "Oh, sure, why not. Sounds like a party, hmph." She crossed her arms and turned away from them, refusing to look even when the rest of the group came out.

Keres was startled when Lindow came running out, as shown by her flat "Ah." upon his arrival.

Cym and Pan both turned down Reinaan's offer of a ride. "We've been walking all this time, plus I like using my legs more than anyone else's!" Cym said.

"While I'd like to stop walking, it doesn't feel right to climb on a stranger and let her carry me." was Pan's reply.

With that settled it seemed to be about time for the group to set off. The day had gotten late but, as Pan explained, they would have to move off the beaten path, or as beaten a path as this forest got, before night came if they wanted to find the Lycans.

On the way Keres seemed to be wanting to say something but hesitating every time. Finally, eventually, she spoke up to Lindow. "Those...I want to see them." She indicated the things he had taken from the tomb.

Madelyn, too, despite having been intentionally ignoring everyone out of spite, couldn't help but be curious about the artifacts. Particularly because they must have been of some value if they were in a place like this, buried deep in the elven woods.

"It's magic." Keres said. She seemed to realize after a bit that this would be obvious. "Ah. It, um. It's not magic I know a lot about..." She glanced to Madelyn, who was frowning, showing it wasn't her expertise, then over at the elves who seemed to be talking among themselves, totally uninterested in the items. "This one, the edge...this part." she pointed at the part of the sword that would be called the blade were it made of metal. "This one, the tip. Most of the magic concentrated there. Whatever they do, it requires contact to work."

She realized that she had been talking at the items whole time, then, when she glanced up at Lindow, hurriedly shoved them back at him to take. "Um. That's all. Right now, at least."

The two elves seemed to have finished talking about whatever it was and Cym spoke. "Hey so pretty soon we can set up a camp. Make sure to make it obvious, we want them to notice us after all, dunno if they're around here but if they are they'll come to us."

"Also, that man you talked about. What does he look like?" Pan asked bluntly.

"Cause ya know, might as well keep an eye out right? More the merrier, ahaha." Cym said, almost too hastily.

[Doggo 218]

Reinaan looked over the group's would-be camping spot. It didn't look particularly special. But then that was part of the problem he had with this dense forest. Every placed looked just like every other place. Though had he spent fifty years here like he had on his homeland mountain ranges he imagined he might get a hang of it. An obvious campsite was a pretty simple affair but the hunter didn't like the idea of simply inviting a pack of wolves, much less wolf-men, to surround and pile on them unimpeded. He searched through the group's supplies for a moment before turning back to the forest itself with only a simple knife from among his things he'd brought from home when starting this whole mission. He let out a frustration grunt before picking up a sizeable stick. His work was swift and before anyone could see he'd brought the end of it to a fine point that looked like it might have a chance at piercing his scales were he to put all his weight in it.

"We don't really have the stuff for it but no reason for us to make it easy for them." The draken declared before looking over the group and what all there was to work with. Plenty of twigs leaves and other plant material. Pointed sticks and simple snares seemed about all he could do. Like hunting small game as a child before his village had let him join the real hunting parties. He left Keres and Lindow to make their own preparations, the latter he imagined needed to ready no less than three different swords for the encounter to come, and turned to the rest of the group. Madelyn and Pan declined aiding him, choosing to use what time was left to them to rest. Keres and Cym were more willing participants but Reinaan soon found himself a bad teacher with bad tools and worse materials. Slowing down his practiced motion so either newcomer to the practice could perceive his technique only proved to mess him up.

"Gah! As long as they're not flat." He pouted in defeat and left the two to try what they would. Eventually he had a stockpile of sticks of varying sharpness. He dug ever so slightly into the earth at varying intervals around the perimeter of the camp-to-be. He planted the sticks into the ground the points just peaking above the dirt and then scattered leaves about the area to obscure them. One would have to be looking for them to notice so he hoped blood-craved wolf people would simply charge in and injure themselves prior to the battle starting in earnest. Looking over his finished work it didn't inspire a lot of confidence. But the worse the traps did the more wolf chopping he'd have to do himself so it couldn't go too badly. Still, Cym had wanted it obvious and there was one trick yet Reinaan had for that particular task.

Taking himself a bit further out from the group the boy sniffed about for a moment. His nose wasn't quite up to precision work on this task but he knew how to annoy territorial creatures. Reinaan found what he felt was a suitable tree and urinated over the base of it, a direct challenge in the world of canine-adjacent beasts. How lycans would react to it he couldn't be sure but he still smirked at his handiwork before turning back to return to the group.

[Hollow 21]

"Also, that man you talked about. What does he look like?" Pan asked bluntly.

"Cause ya know, might as well keep an eye out right? More the merrier, ahaha." Cym said, almost too hastily.

The pair's interest in the group's missing companion didn't go unnoticed. "No need. He'll turn up eventually." Lindow responded with a smile before turning and setting his gaze on Madelyn. "I'm sure he'll be flattered that you to are so eager to meet though." He called back to the two elves over his shoulder before skulking over to the light mage, artifacts of the first Elf Lord in hand. 

"little Keres gleaned a little bit of information about these but I'd imagine someone of your skills should have an easier time decipher their magic." Lindow presented the two trinkets to Madelyn with a nod. He could hear her mumbling something about "how much they're worth" to herself as she snatched them from his hands. 

"If they're no good in a fight, then go ahead and pawn them off if you want..." 

She seemed surprised by what he said, only then realizing she had spoken aloud. "Pawn them off? What do you take me for, I have no need for something like that!" She said hastily whilst taking a closer look at the artifacts. 

"Sure." Lindow offered disinterestedly as he watched Reinaan darting around the camp, clearly setting some kind fortifications for the battle to come. 

She looked over the sword for quite a while then frowned. "It's subtle...but the edge certainly seems to have something to it..." She decided to check over the cane instead. After some checking she stood up and moved over towards the mule. Without warning she lifted the cane and put the tip on the mule's forehead. After a bit she walked back to Lindow. "It seems to allow one to speak with animals."

"Huh. That was fast... good work.” Lindow's disinterested in the cane was obvious. “Let’s play with this one some more!” He cooed before dragging Madelyn deeper into the woods around the camp to test the First Elf Lord's sword on whatever they could. Unfortunately, there didn't seem to be anything living to take a swing at, but after testing the blade's might against a number of trees and barriers the two came to the realization that the wooden sword seemed to only be able cut through magic and was essentially just a piece of wood in any other circumstance. 

Edited October 12, 2023 by Hollow

[Skaia 578]

With the plan set and the group beginning to set up camp for the night, in their effort to bring in the lycans to them she was about to go help set up camp with the others when Pan and Cym had asked their question about Damien. While it was true that knowing more about him would help the two look out for him as well, even she could tell that there was some kind of intrinsic curiosity they had about him. Though, it wasn't like Ryia herself wasn't curious about the boy and being people who lived here all their lives, she could imagine how news of a human familiar with their forest would be even more intriguing. Though Lindow had seemed to blow them off, Ryia didn't see any real harm in giving a description if they hoped to have him join back up with all of them again anyway.

Putting a finger to her chin, Ryia explained to Pan, "well, he's about um, this high I guess." She raised her hand to the appropriate level. Thinking about him more she was like, "he's a kind of uh, lanky? But like, also well, it's not like he looks like, un-muscley or uh..." The girl trailed off, starting to get embarrassed as she was completely fumbling over how to explain this. "Uh, well, uh, he's got messy hair? That's uh, yeah."

[LordCowCow 840]

"Uh, well, uh, he's got messy hair? That's uh, yeah."

"I can picture him already." Cym replied flatly before frowning and going into thought. Trying to, despite the sarcastic response, picture Damien from the description given.

"Hm, well...I suppose...point him out if you see him I guess." Cym said, and gave an awkward laugh as she wandered over to see what the others were doing.

Keres found herself struggling with the task that Reinaan had set himself to. "If only I had brought the survival guides." She found herself saying as she broke yet another stick. Surely this shouldn't be difficult, right? She understood the premise and yet....snap, there went another one.

In the end it was Reinaan who did most of the work. Leaving Keres unsure if she hadn't just been wasting her time. "Perhaps I shall...rest, to be ready." She said as she moved back towards the fire. She hadn't personally encountered Lycans before, though she knew there were sightings of them back in the swamp and around the island, and she couldn't be certain how this would go. They weren't simply wolves she knew that much yet she couldn't be sure what kind of tactics they might use.

In the end Keres spent more time fretting than resting as the already dark forest grew darker while night fell upon them.

Madelyn for her part didn't seem to be satisfied with their conclusion regarding the wooden sword but also didn't seem too keen on checking further. Especially as they didn't know when an attack might come.

The group were gathered in camp when they heard it. Howling. Coming from all sides.

Cym and Pan moved practically back to back near the fire as they looked out into the woods. Pan seemed to be nervous, an expression he hadn't shown yet, while Cym seemed torn between anxiety and excitement.

Now and then they could hear what sounded like movement. It was hard to tell how many of them were out there but they could at least tell they were in, essentially, all directions.

Keres and Reinaan could figure out a little more than that. Mostly that they hadn't yet gotten close enough to fall into the traps that Reinaan set. They couldn't know if they were avoiding them or if they were waiting for something before getting closer.

And then they suddenly heard something much closer. And moments later a man emerged from the treeline.

He was incredibly tall, over six feet in height, and muscular. Which was easy to tell as he wore no shirt. His hair was long, black, and messy. The only semblance of attempting to tame it was that some was bunched up in a loose ponytail but even that wasn't enough for the amount. He looked around at the group, silently, with narrowed eyes. Then, once he swept over each of them, showed a toothy smile. "Well now. Isn't this a surprise. Outsiders in my forest? It's been such a long time since we've had guests. Perhaps we should have a feast." His eyes lingered on the elves, and then he looked towards the animals, and he said, "it looks like you've brought the food, how thoughtful of you."

[Hollow 21]

After testing the wooden blades's abilities for a bit, Lindow devoted the rest of his time to rest and preparation. He had meant to drench his blades in poison, but after scouring the parties inventory, he was forced to settle for pocketing one the dwarf explosives before closing his eyes whilst he could. He would make a mental note to himself to restock on poison and other elixirs the next time they found a town... 

When the presumed leader of the wolf pack appeared before them, he quickly sprung up to give the large man a once over as he addressed the group.  

"Well now. Isn't this a surprise. Outsiders in my forest? It's been such a long time since we've had guests. Perhaps we should have a feast." His eyes lingered on the elves, and then he looked towards the animals, and he said, "it looks like you've brought the food, how thoughtful of you." 

"Your forest?" Lindow was the first to respond. "That’s strange. The elves seem to distinctly think that you were the outsiders… How’s a guy supposed to keep track of who’s in charge around here?”

"Isn't it obvious? Whoever takes a place owns it; that's just how it works. They're all hiding in their city and we're out here, seems pretty clear who's 'in charge' to me."

"Finally, someone’s speaking my language!” Lindow beamed. This man seemed simple enough, meaning that being forthcoming could work out in their favor. “Well then boss man, the city folk sent us to fight their battle for them… but we couldn’t careless about the politics here. We’re looking for a Demon Gate, twists everything around it with it’s nastiness. I’m sure you’ve noticed something since you’re out here all the time."

The other man laughed, a deep and low laugh, as he ran his hand through his hair. "Ah, those. Been a long time since anyone has decided to stir them up." He shrugged. "I can tell you that's not anywhere around here, maybe they buried it somewhere." He laughed again.

"We’re less interested and in stirring them up than we are tearing them down. You don’t seem to care either way, but it will be nothing but good for your territory…” Lindow thought for a moment. “You’ll be compensated of course. Cant spare any meat off our bones but we’re a talented bunch.”

"Oh? And what do you think a bunch like you can do for us?" 

"I suppose we’ve got healing magic for starters…” Lindow offered dispassionately. He was a tad surprised that the Lycan leader had been open to chat for so long. “Honestly, the elves would have had us slay your lot for the information, so I figured you might have some dirty work for us as well.“ He shrugged. “We’re not picky. Name your price."

The Lycan cackled again, this time the laugh seemed to be echoed by multiple howls from all direction, causing Lindow's brow to furrow. "Well how about you go and slaughter all the elves for us huh? Maybe starting with those two right there?"

So much for the peaceful route. “Sounds fun." Lindow sighed whistfully. "I definitely wanna take shot at the smug one missing an arm!” His smile had already faded. “But be serious. If it were that easy than both sides would just do the other in themselves… we just wana to get rid of the gate. I welcome you use us to your advantage, but it’s sad both sides want us to fight the whole war for them.”

"I think you misunderstand, there's no war here. And don't think those elves sent you to us thinking you had a chance of winning. They just wanted to get rid of you. I'd be insulted if it wasn't convenient to get such an easy meal delivered right to us."

"Heh," The time for talk seemed to be coming to the end. Though they managed learn that the Demon Gate wasn't close by, the prospect of it being buried somewhere was a whole new bag of worms in itself. “I suppose you won’t mind telling us more about the Gate when we win then? On the off chance you’re still alive of course…" Lindow sneered whilst shifting into a ready stance. He kissed his teeth twice before patting his thighs and beckoning the man over like a stray puppy. “c'mere, boy!” 

Edited October 25, 2023 by Hollow

[Skaia 578]

With the night having passed, the group was ready as they could hear the shifting of the forest around them. While Ryia herself was ready for combat right off the bat, what she was not ready for was for a man to come and approach them and speak directly. It was clear he was not alone and it was clear that he was ready to fight as he introduced his presence. Ryia was naturally taken off guard by his entirely human, if not a bit unkempt, appearance though remembered again that this was just what Lycans did. Though, he was certainly less feral than she was expecting. As Lindow and him began speaking with one another, a clear tension in the air between the two, Ryia was intrigued by the information on the demon gate. The idea that it wasn't above ground was certainly familiar to her, after all the last one they had found was in an underground ruin. Of course, trying to tunnel everywhere in this forest was both disrespectful and not particularly practical. Besides it would've had to either been placed not in the immediate forest or moved there. And if the werewolf didn't know, who of course he could've been withholding information, there was only one other group that made their home in the forest. 

Stepping up, now feeling more able to partake in the conversation, the girl asked "um, have you uh...noticed anything strange about the forest. Uh, recently, that is?"

He looked at Ryia silently. Looking her up and down. Then he grinned and said, "hm, not bad I suppose." He didn't answer right away then finally said, "Besides that the outskirts are dying, and the animals are all worked up, not much I guess."

Troubled, both by his appraisal of her and the first part of his answer, the girl asked, "the uh, outskirts are dying?" She'll also look over to Cym and Pan as well on this.

Neither elf seemed to notice her question; Cym looking back and forth rapidly while Pan stared unblinkingly at the man. "What, didn't you see? Even a human should have been able to tell." the man replied. 

"Ah...yeah, I suppose that was the case..." She said thinking back to when they had first entered the forest. There wasn't much in way of life to greet them and while she probably thought it strange at the time there was a plethora of new experiences the past few days that took her mind away from them. Feeling incredibly awkward about the entire situation the girl gave a polite bow and said, "um, thank you for the info."

"You humans are such funny creatures. One of you wants to fight, and right next to him you're acting so meek. It's no wonder your kind die so easily." He laughed more, echoed by howls all around.

"Six" Keres said suddenly.

"So they are..." The girl muttered to herself, realizing that they were in fact besieged by wolf people. A troubled expression was still on her face as she knew what this was going to lead to. Looking at the man directly, "do you uh...really want to eat us?"

"Well, those animals look to have much more meat on them. But, food is food." He chuckled. "But maybe I'll bring you back, you look like a stronger woman than those others at least."

"I see...You seem um, well, reasonable enough? Or uh, talkative at least, so I'd uh...really rather...well, if you could just not. I don't want to have to fight and I'd um, well, I uh...would really like it if we could all be peaceful with each other. Um, elves too..." She didn't want to engage in combat with the minotaurs where they last were, and just because they were people who also had bestial traits didn't mean they couldn't be reasoned with or had to be outright killed. 

"Well isn't that nice. What about him, then." He looked at Lindow. "I can tell, he's a killer. He can't wait to get started." Then  at Reinaan. "The boy there seems more wild than you, too. No, they came here to take my head for sure." He then smiled wide. "And her. Look at her eyes and tell me she wants any sort of peace."

Looking back, Ryia saw that Madelyn's expression was one of utter contempt towards the lycan. Though, that expression was something of a common place one for Madelyn, she couldn't exactly just say that and it certainly didn't negate her feelings either. Nor did she doubt Lindow and Reinaan were more than willing to get into a fight. A bit deflated as she didn't know how to continue with such peace talks, the girl said, "I uh...I suppose not..."
 

[Doggo 218]

While the others engaged the much more human than he was expecting lycan, Reinaan tried to get his best estimate of the pack surrounding them. They were clearly more on the man side of things than beast as they wouldn't simply walk into whatever traps he'd set. It wasn't like they'd have stopped full on wolves anyway but it still irritated the boy that he'd set about working on the things, failed to teach the others how to help him, and wasn't seeing results for it. He couldn't get a read on just how many others were surrounding them either as his attention split between the conversation at hand. First Lindow explained what they wanted and offered to help the pack since the group had no particular loyalty to the elven city. The leader seemed fairly confident the demon gate was no where in the woods, at least so far as his territory covered. Ryia next tried to simply talk and exchange information, learning the woods were dying. Reinaan for his part was softly snarling at the idea of any of the animals being eaten as he rested his halberd over his shoulder. Even if he didn't like all the things the wolfman was saying, there was a certain simplicity to it the hunter respected.

"Sure took a while to find anyone talking sense in this forest." Reinaan spoke, inserting himself into the talks as his more wild self had been mentioned. "Humans and Elves sure like making things complicated. But I get guys like you. Hope you'll get me when I say you're not getting a bite out of anything here." The Draken said defensively. If the hunter did understand this man like he thought he did, displays of confidence would go a long way. But in the end it would come down to raw power.

"Oh? I'm not so sure that's up to you, you know." The leader of the pack responded calmly. It was difficult to deny that most of them there would take a bite or two if the entire pack rushed them at once. Reinaan still felt confident they could win the fight but wasn't huge on endangering Kloqah or the Mule like that, let alone Sparky. The boy puffed his chest a bit as he often naturally did in these sorts of situations. A hold over from needing to look bigger than he was prior to his growth spurt on the quest.

"I'll make it up to me. I already challenged your territory." Reinaan began smugly. "Let's you and I fight that out then talk who's eating who." He concluded, issuing a formal challenge to a one on one fight. If the man took him up on this it would be a lot cleaner than an all out brawl and he could keep everyone safe.

"Ahahaha, bold of you. I dont really have any reason to accept. After all me and my pack could close in and finish you all off in moments. But..." That was the hesitation Reinaan had been waiting for as the man glanced back over the animals and Ryia before smirking. "I guess it'll make it easier to keep from losing the good bits. I'll fight you, dragon-child, and once I've crushed your skull between my fingers we can deal with the rest." He said with a far more natural confidence than Reinaan was feeling in the moment. Still, being called a dragon-child was doing wonders for the boy's ego as he set his weapon down and readied his claws for true animalistic clash with the man.

"Knew you'd have some honor. Figures the elves can't deal with you themselves." The draken said as he stepped closer to meet the challenge he'd put forth.

"It's not about honor, kid, I just know this isn't going to take long."

Edited November 1, 2023 by Doggo

[LordCowCow 840]

"Wait wait wait wait wait." Cym said, "This isn't a good idea there's a reason that the hunters couldn't take them down even though we outnumber them. I like the guts but I don't want to see YOUR guts."

Pan nudged her. "Quiet, Cym. There's nothing we can do now. Just keep watch on the line they might still try and attack."

"Right...yeah. I guess...I guess you're right."

Keres glanced between the lycan and draken. Sizing them both up. Comparing their physiques with each other. She knew it wasn't entirely useful as the lycan still was not transformed. Yet even without that she couldn't help but worry about Reinaan's chances. Still, she had to believe that he could do it. "Be careful." She said, as she focused again on the outskirts. She didn't hear them move since the challenge was given but she didn't know if that would stay the case for long.

Madelyn was the only of those four that was still watching the lycan leader. She was glaring at him with disgust and it was clear to anyone looking at her what she thought of the man. "Give him a thrashing, Reinaan! You cannot possibly let that filthy beast beat you!"

BGM

The lycan smirked and shook his head. "I'm hurt, such harsh words." He stretched his back and focused on Reinaan. His gaze looking sharper as he seemed to be ready to fight. "Well, boy, I think I'll give you a handicap. I'll stay just like this and see what you can do."

Then, without transforming, he lunged forward. His speed belied his large size and Reinaan would quickly realize that this man was even faster than Lindow. The lycan swung his fist at Reinaan and caught him right in the chest and the draken was thrown off his feet by the sudden force of the blow. "Oh, what's wrong, was that too sudden? Get up, let's try this again." The man's smile had grown larger, wilder, and all semblance of playfulness had left his face.