Post by Mysticwave on Oct 15, 2009 19:27:29 GMT -5
Mystic, a seventh grader who is 5 feet tall, with brownish black hair and brown eyes, was just taking a walk in the woods, watching out for mosquitoes, when suddenly she sees a gray dragon fly overhead!
She was hopelessly curious, and went to check it out.
It turned up to be...
A storm dragon.
And not only that, she recognized it as one of the dragons on her scroll, which, even though she usually pretended, was not exactly real.
"Darksweetheart?" Mystic asked.
"Yeah, that's what my friends call me...What is this place?" Darksweetheart asked.
"A woods in Michigan." Mystic told the truth.
"A woods in what?" Darksweetheart asked. She had never heard of such a thing or place.
"Michigan is a state. I'll explain more later." Mystic said.
When I recover from shock, that is. Mystic thought.
She asked if any of her friends were around.
"I'm not sure. Little Mathew is probably somewhere in these woods, but other than that--I have no clue."
"Then we better look for him." Mystic said.
So while they looked for them, Mystic got deeper into how and why by asking questions to Darksweetheart.
Apparently, they fell into a thing and they were here. Or, Darksweetheart assumed. She said the only one she knew for sure was certainly here was Little Mathew.
When they came across a lake in the woods (which wasn't there before) they saw a dragon the size of a kitten. Darksweetheart recognized the dragon quickly.
Darksweetheart did a signal to it telling it to come over.
The dragon did, and Mystic realized that this was Little Mathew, for he was a little tinier than most of his kind.
Mystic: Hey Little Mathew.
Little Mathew (turns to Darksweetheart): How does this person know me?
Darksweetheart: I don't know how she knew. I would if I called you over here by your name. *sighs* it doesn't matter, because she probably assumed. We've have to find the others.
Little Mathew: You're right.
Little Mathew looked at the lake, then spotted something. He wasn't sure what, but he couldn't swim, so he couldn't check it out.
Mystic saw the look on Little Mathews face, then said "If you want, I could see if there is a dragon in the lake."
Little Mathew: That would be nice. Though you might want to hope that if it is a dragon, that it--or they--is or are sleeping. They might not be so kind to strangers.
Mystic nodded, then jumped in.
Her dreams were trying to take over, but, strangely, she was prepared for that, because this was normal.
So she shook out of them, and, just when she thought she couldn't hold her breath anymore, she spotted an air pocket.
She went in, and found a vine dragon sleeping. She knew this one was Little Merigold, for she was the only vine dragon she knew that could swim.
She disguised her voice as Darksweetheart and talked to her.
After a few minutes, Little Merigold woke up and saw Mystic.
Little Merigold (sleepily): Who are you?
Mystic told her, and she was surprised.
Little Merigold: Really?
Mystic: Yep.
Little Merigold swam out, and both Darksweetheart and Little Mathew were very surprised.
Little Merigold: Hey Darksweetheart and Little Mathew.
Deep Sea queen, Calm controller of the lake, and Khoa Waters came out.
Khoa waters: How did you guys get here?
Darksweetheart: I'm unsure.
Calm controller of the lake: Well, I'm glad to see you guys. At least we weren't the only ones that had gotten here...Somehow.
Darksweetheart: Yeah.
Deep sea queen, out of the water ones, was the only one that noticed Mystic.
Deep sea queen: By any chance, could you tell me who this human is?
Darksweetheart: She said her name is Mystic.
Deep sea queen: Odd... I thought she had red hair. Oh well. In this world, I guess you have brown hair.
Mystic: Yep.
Little Merigold saw a castle in view.
Little Merigold: I think I see something in the distance.
Little Mathew: I remember that castle. It's the one I was raised in while I was little.
All three of the water dragons saw it, and remembered it too. They thought the owners called it "Castle for dragons."
Little Merigold, out of the bunch, along with Darksweetheart (I'm going to say that she somehow got out of the freezing spell) were the only ones out of the bunch that didn't recognize it.
Khoa waters: If only we could survive on land. Then we could go visit.
Deep sea queen: For now, however, we have to stay here and hope we can get home, where we actually can do that.
Little Mathew: Hopefully, everything goes back to normal soon. And we may need to go to the castle to see what's going on. So, we better get going.
So Mystic, Little Mathew, Little Merigold, and Darksweetheart go on a journey to the Castle for dragons, wanting to know what is going on.
She came in, and Mystic frozen Crystal, who was there when the moving of worlds happened, came and licked Mystic, apparently recognizing her somehow. Mystic frozen Crystal looked like a big, fully grown dog in size, and had twice the amount of strength a lion has. This was normal for hatchlings, even frozen ones, but it threw Mystic off guard.
On the ground, Mystic also noticed that Darksweetheart, one of the fully grown dragons, was almost as tall as the trees, along with the entrance to the castle. The castle was way taller than the trees, and could probably be seen from England.
Once Mystic frozen Crystal got off of Mystic, she motioned them inside, hoping to find someone there that could help.
Everything inside was so huge, she had no idea how the ones caring for the dragons, supposedly human, did.
Mystic: Wow.
Darksweetheart: I know. It's a wonderful place, isn't it?
Mystic: Um...Yeah.
Darksweetheart: I'm sure at least Lostinlove would be here somewhere.
Mystic: Who?
Darksweetheart: One of the caretakers here. Another name, one that Anniepimm, or Annie, calls her is Pam.
Mystic didn't say a word after that. If Pam was here, maybe she will show herself to them.
But Pam was nowhere to be found. Although a smell that smelled like an autumn harvest was coming from the egg hatchery.
Little Mathew decided to check out the water dragon section first--he knew Mystic had left one here that hadn't gendered before the world change.
When he took a peak, he saw the most ugly creature he had ever laid eyes on.
Little Mathew rushed to Mystics side, frightened.
Mystic: What is it Little Mathew?
Little Mathew: Look in the water hatchling section.
Mystic looked...And saw...
A grave.
Mystic checked if the grave was her water hatchling, but it couldn't be--the person naming the dragon spelled Unfortunate wrong, and named it Unfortunet waking dead, which wasn't fitting at all for a water dragon. Plus, her water dragon hatchling didn't gender. This one was a boy.
Mystic: I know. Dead dragons are kind of scary, especially when named something like the waking dead, but still...
Little Mathew: I swear I saw a dragon there though!
Darksweetheart: Sure you did...
Little Mathew: I did though!
Mystic: I think the world change messed with your mind some. Maybe Annie can help--it's obvious Lostinlove, or Pam as Annie calls her, isn't here.
So they looked around to see if Annie was here, but she was nowhere to be seen.
Mystic, disappointed, said "Well, I guess nobody is here, and all those poor little creatures are alone."
They looked outside. They couldn't believe they wasted a whole day, but they had, as it was starting to get dark. Too dark for Mystic to wander back home.
Mystic: Well, before it gets too dark for me to find my way, I better go back home.
Mystic went on her way when Dream Forcer stopped her by accidentally putting her to sleep. In five minutes, it was going to be to dark to find her way, and she was going to be asleep for an hour by that.
Darksweetheart: Well, saves me the trouble of stopping her and telling her myself, at least.
(Hour later)
Mystic woke up, and it was more than obvious it was too dark outside for her to travel now.
So Mystic knew she was going to have to stay in the castle, with a bunch of dragons, alone.
That was a pretty scary thought, for, other than Little Mathew and his kind, most of the dragons here could eat her in her sleep, if they really wanted to.
Then she saw it.
What Little Mathew was really talking about. Something much scarier than any of the dragons she had seen. And it was also the scariest thing she laid eyes on.
The Zombie hatchling.
Named Unfortunet waking dead.
The thing got closer whenever she backed up, until she was against the wall.
Another one, named Little Big Man, appeared, and now that was the scariest thing she laid eyes on.
She was shivering with fright as she backed away from both of them.
They cornered her...Then...
"Get. Away. From my owner."
Mystic, Little Big Man, and Unfortunet waking dead turned and saw Little Mathew.
He was shaking with fright, but his eyes made him seem unafraid of them. Mystic never really knew how brave he was, until now.
"She's my owner too. You saw her kill me, and didn't stop her, either. Even though she knew I wouldn't survive, and I knew it, too, it still hurts to know that those who I called a 'friend' didn't even try to stop her from killing me early. It wasn't just you though. None of her dragons tried to stop her from doing the deadly act." Unfortunet waking dead said, eyes burning with hatred toward Little Mathew.
"I'm sorry for killing you..." Mystic said. She regretted it the second after she killed him.
Little Big Man: You're brave though, Little Mathew. I sense that just from what you just did...It wont work though.
Little Mathew: I think I understand why Unfortunet waking dead is doing what he is, but why are you doing it, Little Big Man? Mystic did no harm to you.
Little Big Man: I need her help, however. I'm pretty sure she wouldn't help me unless she didn't have a choice.
It wasn't like she had a choice anyway. As long as she was in the castle, they would continue to haunt her unless she helped them with what they need help with.
Mystic (scared): Little Big Man...What do you need help with?
Little Big Man (turns to Mystic): I'm afraid my owner has left all of her dragon here, and Lostinlove did the same. Could you please find at least Annie and bring her back here? I would do it myself, but, as you see, I'm not the best dragon for the job. She probably wouldn't listen to me, anyway.
Mystic (still scared): Alright.
They were doing trying to find Annie, anyway.
Little Big Man (thinking): If only I had some way to make her stay to her promise...
Little Big Man turned to the sleeping Underworld Lycan. If Annie wasn't here by morning, he bet if anyone could make sure Mystic was looking, Underworld Lycan could.
Little Big Man (to Underworld Lycan): Pss.
He woke up and saw Little Big Man. He was terrified of him, too.
Little Big man (to Underworld Lycan still): I wont hurt you. You know our owner, Annie, right?
Underworld Lycan: Yeah. She left us. Why?
Little Big Man: Mystic said she'd look for her. Think you could--
Underworld Lycan (excited): Make sure she stays on task. Sure.
Then his excitement faded.
Underworld Lycan: But still...Anyone would do what you want when they're trapped in a corner by a zombie hatchling and grown up zombie dragon, unless they were unafraid of you. Still, Mystic is scared, if she's the one shivering in the corner due to fright because she is in that exact situation.
Little Big Man: You're right. But still... If anyone can make sure she sticks to her promise, it's you.
Underworld Lycan: Fine. If Annie isn't here by morning, then I'll do that for you. If she leaves before I wake up, I can't make any promises that i'll find her or something like that though.
Little Big Man knew that was the best he was going to get out of him tonight.
Little Big Man: Alright.
Then Underworld Lycan went back to sleep.
Little Mathew: Alright, she promised to help you, and someone will make sure she stays on that task, because she was looking for her here before this happened, too. Could you please move away now, so she can calm down some?
Little Big Man: Then she might leave.
Unfortunet waking dead: Not if I keep her here. If you sleep in front of the entrance, she wont be able to leave until morning.
Little Big Man: But, if Annie were to come, Annie wouldn't be able to enter before then either.
Unfortunet waking dead: I kind of meant this room.
Little Big Man: Oh.
Before Little Mathew or Mystic could exit, Little Big Man got in the way of the door, and watched them, because he was stuck awake until daytime.
Unfortunet waking dead refused to move though, as revenge to Little Mathew for watching him be killed, and to Mystic for killing him, even though Mystic had a reason for it.
As brave as Little Mathew was, he couldn't bring himself to fight Unfortunet waking dead, because he was bigger than any other hatchling he had seen. He was close to as tall as Just Always me when standing up when he was standing up, but was as skinny as Mystic. Skinny as a curvy stick, but without the curves.
The only reason he was able to keep Mystic in the corner by himself is because he was quick enough to catch her, and she knew that.
So, she still trapped in the corner.
She still tried to calm herself down, but all she could come up with was lies to do so.
And these lies were basically ones like "Unfortunet waking dead wont hurt you...As long as you stay where you are, that is."
They helped, though, for she was able to stop shaking as much, and simply hoped Annie would come knock on the door or something before she had to go search for her. Simply because she was sure that her parents wouldn't allow her to go to New York or England on her own, and she might need to, to find Annie.
And, comes the question...
What if she doesn't want to be found? Then what?
She knew she had to wake up early, because, if she doesn't want to be found, most likely she wont be found, and one of her dragons will try to keep her looking until she dies.
So, she tried not to think about that as she closed her eyes and tried to sleep.
It was dark.
And cold.
And she was lying on something hard and wet.
The 13-year-old human girl, who will here be called Ocean, blinked and groaned softly, sitting up. She hissed in pain and grabbed her aching head, curling into a ball. That's what I get for sleeping with my glasses on again, she thought through her groggy haze.
After a few minutes, her headache lessened, and she stood up shakily, looking around. What was this place? As her eyes adjusted to the dim light, she saw that it was some sort of cave. There was an underground river running through it, which flowed into a crack in the wall on one side, and through an imposing, arched tunnel on the other.
Shivering, she stood up, trying to smooth her frizzy, shoulder-length brown hair. Wherever it was, it wasn't her home in Texas, and she had no idea how she had gotten there.
She set off down the tunnel, holding one hand against the damp, slimy wall.
In the morning, the black dragon that was to see that she was looking was still sleeping, and there was a grave in front of the door, and in front of her.
So she figured it out. Nightmares during the night, harmless during the day.
Little Mathew woke up, and they sneaked out. Her other dragons were already out of the castle. Maybe if they could at least find somebody with a clue of what happened, they could make it right again.
They saw a cave after an hour of walking around, clueless of where they were. Darksweetheart thought she recognized it. The others didn't, though.
Mystic: Well, maybe we should go in. There could be someone in there either as clueless as I am, or someone who actually knows a bit of what's going on.
Darksweetheart: She's right.
Little Mathew: Alright. If you lead the way then.
So Mystic lead her dragons. Every dragon of hers that she found, except her pygmy dragons, Darksweetheart and Little Merigold, decided it would be best not to scare the person in there if they were indeed clueless. So now they were on trees by the cave, waiting for Mystics return so they could go on to find the others.
Ocean continued to stumble along through the tunnel. Thankfully, there were occasional glowing rocks, so she at least had some light to go by; however, she still had to keep a careful eye out for protruding rocks.
As she moved along, she was overcome with two ever-increasing feelings that tugged at the pit of her stomach: a deep, nameless dread, and a sense of familiarity that was so strong she could almost taste it. (Well, not really, but you get the idea.)
She shuddered and hugged herself. Why, oh why had she had to wear a short-sleeved shirt and jeans to bed? Well, sure, she'd had no way of knowing she'd wake up in a strange, cold place, but hey, it's always best to be prepared.
The fear continued to increase, driving her to move a little faster, and a little faster, until she was running headlong down the tunnel, sobbing for breath.
Little Merigold made her vine in Oceans sight, then lead her vine to outside the cave (it was long enough for her to do that.) Hopefully, she would see it, think she was imagining but follow it anyway, and find her way out, not seeing the dragons in the trees, then try to find out she's in Michigan. Mystic would probably be out by then and tell her, but still, it might work.
Mystic knew very well what Little Merigold was doing. She didn't know why, but didn't need to.
Ocean was exhausted. She had to fight for every breath, and she tripped over rock after rock after rock, skinning her hands and knees and elbows.
And she couldn't stop, couldn't let whatever-it-was catch her, because then she would be dragged away and never seen again, and she had a life to live, if she could only keep running...
She repeated the mantra in her head over and over, squeezing every last bit of energy out of her tired muscles.
And then she saw it.
A vine, deep in the cave; it was not far in front of her, but it was slowly withdrawing. She didn't know what it was, and she didn't much care at the moment. Putting on a final, desperate burst of speed, she lunged forward and grabbed the vine, letting it drag her along.
Little Merigold let her vine touch the ground when she and her vine were outside the cave. Little Mathew's son, Passion Prince, found Ocean, and, wondering what was going on, went on top of the cave, and looked at her, hoping to figure out what was up though that.
None of the dragons outside would hurt her, as long as they weren't hurt by her.
Ocean curled into a ball, shivering and hugging her knees. It took her several minutes to recover enough to open her eyes.
She shrieked and scuttled away from the dragons as fast as her sore, blistered feet would let her.
Her eyes darted. She recognized the species of these dragons. She had seen them all before, many times. She began to hyperventilate.
The dragons hid from her when she shrieked. The only one she probably wouldn't be afraid of what the pygmy. Of course, they are still like kitten dragons.
All the dragons were in very good hiding places by the time Mystic came out with Little Mathew on her head.
Mystic: Are you all right?
The girl shook, staring at her with wide eyes. "This can't... no, you're not... not real..."
She put her hands over her temples. Too much had happened this morning, and she still had no idea what was going on, and she hadn't even had breakfast yet.
She took a deep breath, and spoke as calmly as possible. "Where am I?"
"A woods in Michigan." Mystic said. She hoped that, unlike her dragons, this person actually had a clue what Michigan was. She did, but she'd rather save herself the trouble of explaining.
Ocean nodded. "Oh." She looked around. "So, ignoring the fact that I'm in the presence of a bunch of dragons that should only be pixels on a database... how did I get from Texas to Michigan while I was asleep? You didn't kidnap me or something?" She pushed up her glasses, trying to ignore the cold and her various aches and pains.
"No. Otherwise I'd have a clue of who you are, and these dragons wouldn't be looking at you oddly." Mystic said. She had to ignore the fact that most of those dragons were hiding in trees three feet smaller than them more than the fact that they should be pixels on a database.
"She was actually taken captive by another 'bunch of pixels' last night. Don't ask." Little Mathew said. He kind of looked like a small orange kitten on his owners shoulder, in a way.
She grimaced. "Sorry. That didn't come out right. I'm just really, really freaking out right now." She blinked at Little Mathew. "Other dragons? There were other dragons here?" Now that she knew dragons could exist in the real world, a terrifying, wonderful possible began to churn in her mind. "Was there an alt black with them? A girl? About half the size of a normal one? Or a pygmy without wings? Or a one-eyed red?" She was still shivering, although now it was with excitement.
"I think so, actually. Darksweetheart said she saw those in the ''castle for dragons'' somewhere on our way here." Little Mathew said. "Why do you ask?"
So far, the only thing he was surprised about other than Mystic was right--this girl was totally clueless--was the fact that Little Merigold, her vine still outside the cave acting like a tail, didn't come out yet. She was nothing to be afraid of.
Ocean squealed, bouncing up and down, her woes forgotten. "Oh my gosh, I can't believe it, they're real, they're really real--" Suddenly she stopped, and her face went pale. "Wait... if they're real... then that's--"
She turned around, staring into the dark, hair-raising tunnels. Her voice was barely more than a whisper. "The Crypts..."
Mystic had no idea what that was.
Little Merigold came out while Ocean was distracted and made herself look like a big bush. With vines. Showing. Still, best she could do without freaking her out more.
Ocean stumbled to her feet. "We need to get away from here. Now." A look of panic crossed her face. "Is anybody still in there? Please tell me nobody's still in there!" Her face was blanched with fear.
Little Merigold answered that, other than dragons, it's unlikely anybody was here, for all they had seen concerning humans was Ocean and Mystic, and other than that, there were only dragons.
Mystic went in the direction that lead back to where the castle was. If she saw her own dragons for herself, maybe she'd get over the dragon part.
Ocean was still terrified. "No! You don't understand! We need to get everyone out of there! It's not safe! Not until the summer solstice!" She struggled vainly against the dragon that held her. "If you leave anyone in there, dragon or not, they'll never come out!"
"I think what she was doing was getting the dragons still in the castle out of there." Little Merigold said, then her vine snapped at the dragon holding her, which made it let her go. Hopefully, she was good with that.
Ocean looked immeasurably relieved. "Oh, you mean the castle? Thank goodness! I thought you meant that there were dragons camping in the Crypts." She shivered. "Horrible place."
Little Merigold thought she remembered that place, too. Somehow.
Then the memory of her old owner, one she had pushed back for the longest time, had came back. She was put right outside the place because she wasn't an Alt, and the owner left, leaving no trace. She never went in, and found Mystic in a different cave with eggs in it. Mystic took her home and cared for her the best she could.
She pushed it away again, and, glad that Ocean seemed to be following, turned back to Mystic, hoping she didn't have a 'I just saw a horrible nightmare' look on her face.
Ocean peered at Merigold's face. "Hey, are you okay?" she asked, concern in her voice. She had seen that look occasionally, in her imagination; mostly on the faces of those who had lost someone close to them during the Hallow's Eve tragedy, when wolves attacked the cave.
"I'm fine." Little Merigold said. Though Darksweetheart could tell she was lying. Though she understood why--she went though that same tradegy, and somehow, saying it out loud made it seem more real, and she didn't want that. So she said nothing, since she was the only one who could tell for now.
"Okay, if you say so..." she said uncertainly.
She walked forward and tentatively poked Mystic in the shoulder. "Um... how long before we get there?"
"Oh look, that's Underworld Lycan. So we are just about--"
They were now at the door.
"There." Little Mathew finished.
"Oh." She would have giggled, except for the fact that she was staring at a massive zombie dragon. "So, um... do you know where the strange dragons are?"
He lead them to the pygmy section. All of the ones she knew and was talking about were in there. Once they saw Ocean, they were really surprised. They went up to her and licked her. Those that would've, anyway.
Tears sprang to Ocean's eyes. "Makrida? Vhirn? Gaxuri? Oh, I thought I'd never really see you, touch you..." She hugged as many as she could reach.
The closest one, a sleek, well-muscled red female with an eyepatch, sniffed the girl's face. "Carnie? Is it really you? You don't look like her, and yet... you remind me of her. What do you mean, 'really see us?'"
Ocean looked uncertain. She had no idea how to tell her dragons that she knew them as pixels on her computer screen, and as characters in her head. "Kazaniri, I..."
Mystic thought she might say "What I meant by that, was that I never thought I'd see you or touch you again." Though this was unlikely.
Unfortunet waking dead came to his senses. Something was wrong. The blinding thingy that wasn't supposed to be up when he was was indeed up when he was. What was wrong, he had no clue.
A tiny, genderless hatchling that appeared to be a magi slipped out of the throng, which wasn't that hard, as the surrounding dragons leaned away from it. Its soulless black eyes focused on the girl. "Hello, Carnie," it said softly. "It's good to see you again. What's happened? Why are we in this strange place?"
Even Little Merigold, which actually didn't mind Unfortunet waking dead as long as he didn't mind her, went far away next to Mystic. She wasn't sure why, but didn't need to ask. She must be weary with dragons she doesn't know, though she never was until now.
Ocean knelt on the stone floor and hugged the hatchling, who gave no other response than to stiffen slightly.
"It's good to see you too, Szabaru." She felt guilt claw at her; it was the same feeling she got every time she saw the hatchling she had failed to give a normal life after it sacrificed itself to save its nest mates. "And no, I don't know what happened. I really don't."
It pulled away. "Well, whatever's happened to our caves, your study has apparently moved to this castle."
She brightened up a bit at that. "My study?"
Mystic was confused. Little Merigold thought she might recognize the name somehow, but she doubted it. The only Undead she really recognized was Unfortunet waking dead, and she didn't get an extremely odd vibe from him
Ocean stood up and glanced at Mystic. "Um, I'm going to go see if my study is all in one piece. I'll be back in a minute!"
She walked off down a hallway, followed by a huge, bloodstained split.
Mystic stayed where she was. She looked at Little Merigold--it seems as she might be going though another memory, but was trying to hide it.
"Are you okay?" Mystic asked.
Little Merigold snapped out of it. "I'm fine." She said reassuringly.
Another vine dragon slipped up next to them; she somehow managed to give the impression of being frozen in time, and yet she didn't appear to be frozen. Her vines were wrapped around a small, delicate pink egg. "Would you happen to know where the nursery is?" she asked, in a brisk, no-nonsense voice that jarred against her fragile appearance.
Ocean stepped through a huge oak door. "Thanks, Fractured Trinity," she said, turning and bowing to the split. It nodded its heads and lumbered back down the hallway.
Taking a deep breath, the girl walked across the room. It wasn't really all that large. There was a bed, a nightstand, a dresser, a desk, and a couple feet of clear floorspace; everything else was packed with books of all shapes, colors, sizes and ages. But those weren't what interested her at the moment.
On the bed, there were three items of clothing: an olive-colored, long-sleeved shirt; faded, wide-bottomed jeans; and a long, thick scarf, decorated in red and orange stripes.
She stepped forward apprehensively. Taking a deep breath, she picked up the shirt.
"Yeah." Mystic said. She lead her to the nursery, where the bunch of hatchlings were. Some had wings and were the size of really big dogs or bigger, and some that didn't have wings were slightly smaller.
The vine nodded gratefully. "Thank you." She looked around. "Goodness, your hatchlings are huge! Most of them are Makrida's size!"
Ocean slipped on the shirt, looking into the mirror on her desk. The room spun around her, twisting and vibrating and melting...
Her eyes seemed to swirl for a moment; they went from sea-blue to shining, golden yellow. Her hands changed shape, became flexible paws with thumbs; her nails narrowed and changed into claws.
She took a deep breath as the room steadied again. Good. Just like it should work.
She slipped on the jeans. Reality twisted...
Her teeth grew and sharpened visibly. Her feet shifted, became clawed paws as well. A short, bushy tail sprouted, as the shape of her legs changed.
She swayed for a moment, trying desperately not to vomit. Finally, the walls around her came back into focus. She felt horribly sick, and different. Shuddering, she steeled herself, and wrapped the scarf around her neck.
Wings, dark purple, small, and batlike, emerged from her back. Soft, pink fur began to grow speedily all over her body. Her ears melded into the sides of her skull, resurfaced on top of her head, pointed and furry. Her hair began to slither back into her head, leaving only the fur. The shape of her face, her nose and mouth, changed, became distinctly catlike. Finally, a long, black antennae grew from the top of her head, right between her ears; a large, fuzzy red pompom popped into place with a poof.
This time, she didn't feel sick. She opened her eyes. Grimacing, she took off her glasses and set them down. Didn't need those anymore. She picked up the mirror and looked into it.
She was now, undoubtedly, the Carnivorous Moogle. And she had a craving for raw meat.
Tucking in her scarf, she set off down the hallway.
"They surprised me when I saw them." Mystic said.
The vine nodded, wide-eyed. "No kidding..." She blinked suddenly. "I'll be right back; I need to go tell the other mothers to bring their eggs here." She stood up, carefully nestling her egg into the straw. "I'm Kudzu, by the way." With that, she slipped out of the nursery.
Carnie strode into the main hall. "Hello, everyone! Recognize me now?"
"Okay." Mystic said.
Little Merigold was looking at the hatchlings. Indeed, they were pretty big.
Carnie's dragons gasped, crowding around her. "It is her!" cried a female deepsea. "It really is!"
One of them, a female black alt about the size of a large dog, grinned and licked Carnie's feline nose. "And here you had us all fooled, you rascal," she said, grinning. Her voice seemed to be a bit squeaky.
Little Merigold stopped looking, mainly because about five--two with wings, three without--sneaked into her vines without her noticing.
She got them untangled, and, she looked at the red dorsel hatchling, who seemed kind of frightened.
"What's wrong?" Little Merigold asked.
"You know the grave in the water hatchling section?" It asked.
"Um... I sadly think so..." Little Merigold said.
"There was a scary thing in it's place." It said, then hid in her vines again. All the others didn't see it, so they didn't believe it. Except Mystic, and, surprisingly, Little Merigold.
One of the dragons, a matronly magi, looked about, panic in her voice. "Where's Szabaru?"
A small daydream hatchling stared at her, her eyes slightly glazed. "He seeks his own kind..." she said softly.
And what would this 'Szabaru' be, exactly? Unfortunet waking dead thought as he heard that from the floor below. It might be able to solve how he could be awake during the day, but Little Big man was still a grave.
He was only hiding because Mystic probably still remembered his little thing last night, and nether one of them would want to see each other.
His stomach rumbled.
Well, I better make some use out of being awake. He thought, then he flew out the window to look for something at least moderately intelligent to eat. He wasn't sure why, but the stupid ones tasted nasty and weren't filling. So he always looked for the smarter ones.
But there was nothing intelligent in the woods, so he went back to the castle and went back to sleep, but he still didn't turn into a grave, and, nearly without thinking it he made himself almost look like a water hatchling.
Little Mathew came in, and saw that Unfortunet waking deads grave wasn't there, but Little Big mans grave was still in front of the door.
He looked at the water hatchling. It looked just like the one that had gotten killed, but without the wound, and it looked more grown than that. It was a male, and he could tell that without thinking about it. He was probably going to be an adult soon.
"Hey."
Unfortunet waking dead woke up, and looked at Little Mathew. He guessed he just wasn't scary in the morning, because Little Mathew wasn't scared--just confused.
"Hi." He said.
"What are you--"
"Doing in this room?" He asked.
"Yeah."
"I must have skipped over here last night when I couldn't sleep. It would be odd if I did, though." He said.
Little Mathew seemed less intelligent now--he believed him.
He seemed less intelligent in his mind until he (unfortunet waking dead) looked in the mirror and saw a water hatchling, a bit bigger than a big dog, in the mirror instead of a bloody decaying hatchling. The only thing he recognized was his black eyes.
Szabaru slipped into the room, deathly quiet. The cat-sized, androgynous magi hatchling padded over to the water hatchling's grave, sniffed it disdainfully, and took a couple of steps back. It turned to the other hatchling. "Unfortunet Waking Dead, I presume?"
Little Mathew just looked plain confused.
"Yeah, that's the one who died there, I believe." The water hatchling said, not wanting Little Mathew to be confused beyond helping. Then Little Mathew got what it was talking about.
A smirk crossed the magi's face. "From your eyes, I would assume that it was you who died." The grin dropped. "Have you, by any chance, ever heard tell of the Scient?" it asked.
Little Mathew decided to leave right then, so they could have whatever talk alone.
"Not really." Unfortunet waking dead said.
Szabaru yawned. "Such a shame not to know your own heritage. I'm Szabaru, by the way." He began to pick his way delicately around the grave.
"Yeah. I guess it is." He said. He was caveborn, but he knew that wasn't what Szabaru meant by heritage.
The hatchling settled itself comfortably on the floor. "Unfortunet-- is it all right if I call you Unfortunet?--, you are probably aware of the inescapable fact that you are, in fact, a zombie, a member of the undead, to be shunned by society. Correct?" It tilted its head.
"Yeah. Though usually I eat the smart ones before they shun me for too long. That is, if I know who's doing it." He said. Too long was a few years, to him. It might get shorter as time goes.
Though he usually had an urge to eat Mystic when she was around, along with some of her dragons, but resisted that.
Mainly because, despite her being too weak to resist being Possessed (which he forgot often), she at least tried to help him away from this path. So he tried to not eat her dragons, or her.
He almost gave in last night, overwhelmed by that devastating hunger just about. Luckily, at least part of him turned into a grave...For a bit. Just enough to save her, but not lasting long enough for him not to be seeing the blinding thing--the sun--and for every dragon to be asleep other than the zombies.
He knew that at least one of the pumpkin dragons were here, still sleeping like a sleepy head. (It's not noon yet, so it might be somewhat like me.) It was still calming though, for whatever reason. It was the smarter one, Pumpkin Huntress. It tamed his hunger for a long while, thinking about her. For whatever reason.
"Wrong." A creepy grin lit up the magi's face. It began to walk in a wide circle around Unfortunet. "You are a Scient, a zombie with complete control over his mind; even in life, you possessed the potential for razor-keen brilliance and overwhelming power. Now that you are one of the undead, that power has been multiplied at least tenfold."
Now it was standing in front of the window, a small silhouette against the backlight of the sun. "You need never fear or bow to anyone ever again."
"Huh?" Pumpkin Huntress was starting to wake up.
This time Unfortunet waking dead thought the same thing, for only a moment. Still, he didn't respond as much as he would've usually.
Once she was awake, she stayed silent, though her thought, wondering how he was awake at this time and who his friend was, and why he looked like a water hatchling with almost invisible wings. There was more, but they were hitting him too fast for him to get all of it.
He turned to her, with a look saying it didn't matter. Then she quit with it.
Then he turned back to the what seemed genderless Scient.
Szabaru looked uneasily at Pumpkin Huntress. "She shouldn't be hearing this. Shall I render her unconscious?" It arced two of its claws in an odd shape; green electricity danced between them.
She backed away, then flew on the wood things on the ceiling, that were surprisingly strong enough to hold her up. Unfortunet, she knew, was having a hard time answering the question--his tail showed it clearly, being as still as he was right now.
The electricity spread along Szabaru's body. It smiled up at Pumpkin Huntress, a horrid smile showing many teeth. "Run along, then, dearie," it said cheerfully to the terrified pumpkin dragon.
Unfortunet opened the door, and she flew out faster than a normal Wimptail dragon would do during races. Then he closed the door, and it resumed to it's locked state.
Pumpkin Huntress finally slowed down to a stop at the other side of the castle.
Little Merigold came in, and asked her "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. Just a creep that scared me. Where's Mystic?" Pumpkin Huntress asked.
"She went to tell her parents that she's probably going to be camping here for a while." Little Merigold said.
"Okay." Pumpkin Huntress said.
Pumpkin rider: What's wrong?
Pumpkin Huntress: Nothings wrong Sis.
Nothing I could explain well, anyways. She added only to herself.
She knew it was better that she left that place before it touched her with the green bolts between his oddly arched claws. Still, she was still curious of what those two were talking about... And if it was anything that would put them in danger.
You need never fear or bow to anyone ever again... Those were the last words she heard before she woke up. Maybe she shouldn't have, and only act like she was sleeping still. Though all he said before that was the answer to his question, which his answer didn't lead anywhere near that response.
He must have said something I didn't hear, maybe like he could've done that one night. She thought, then went to normal stuff, acting like everything was fine, even though that horrid smile and voice will probably haunt her for a long time. It's better than worrying everybody about her, she assumed.
Szabaru turned back to Unfortunet, grinning a relatively-non-horrifying grin. "Oh, I do love small breeds. Such cowards. So much fun to tease. And they always forgive you, too!" It chuckled. "Well, I do feel a bit peckish; care to accompany me on a hunting excursion?" It tilted its head and stared at him.
Now that he thought about it, there was probably something he could eat outside, and he was also feeling a bit hungry.
So he said sure, and tried to forget that it picked on his friend. He knew she'd forget it soon, if he didn't do it again.
Szabaru raised an eyeridge. "Ah, I see I've touched a nerve. Don't worry, I'll refrain from frightening her unnecessarily in the future." It flicked its tail and winked at him knowingly. "Now, I believe there is a farm nearby that raises the most intelligent chickens for miles. It is fine dining, really, as long as you make sure to snap their backs instead of taking off their heads." Its tone was perfectly normal, as if it were discussing the quality of a restaurant instead of the best way to slaughter one's prey.
He turned to his normal form when realizing he didn't have legs in his water hatchling form, then got up. "Then what are we waiting for?" He asked, getting close to the window. If he wanted to out first, to lead the way, then it'd be best to let him.
She had gotten along quite well. Mystic had gotten back, thankfully her parents let her stay here...Or is it Unfortunately? Only a few might know.
She decided she'd just explore the woods, see if there was anybody around, so she told Mystic, and, like it was completely normal, went on her way. Maybe she might find Shyam frill. He was always fun to talk to, with so many amazing adventures and so many people looking at him wondering if he was a magi or not along in his adventures from his younger days to talk about. He let her talk too, when she wanted. So it was her best bet is she was still frightened.
Szabaru nodded, and furrowed its eyeridges for a moment. The air around its shoulders shimmered, and wings rippled into place. It slipped out the window, flicking its tail once as it took off into the air.
And Unfortunet followed.
Meanwhile, now that everyone knew where Szabaru was (or so they thought), the cave-dwelling dragons were finally beginning to open up and socialize with Mystic's dragons. Carnie was playing tag with Mystic's frozen hatchlings, and some of the young males had started up a dancing contest. There was a huge fire in the fireplace, with meat and vegetables cooking over the flames.
One of the dragons, a sleek neotropical female, sat perched on a beam off to one side. She looked down at her contented cavemates, the firelight reflecting in her eyes.
"Mind if I join you, Janguru?" asked a voice from just behind her. Janguru Denrei turned to see a male deep sea dragon wobbling on a thin section of beam behind her. Despite the fact that his body was built for the water, Enguia was constantly trying to prove that he could survive on land as well as any dragon.
She nodded smoothly, moving to one side to make room for the imperiled deep sea. He stumbled forward gladly, collapsing into place on the beam. "Nice party, huh?" he asked cheerfully, trying to keep his mind away from how high up he was.
Pumpkin Huntress saw Shyam Frill in a state he was almost never in (Except when sleeping)--unconsciousness.
"Are you okay?" She asked. He stirred, and tried to get up, but couldn't.
"What happened?" She asked, seeing he wasn't okay.
"I...I don't know." He said. Somewhat luckily, most of the sun was blocked by the trees from where he was. Though, if the sun was shone, he would know what was wrong.
She tried to pick him up, but failed. She wasn't very strong.
"I'll get someone to help you back to the castle." She said. He wasn't confused, because he knew that was his destination before he blacked out. After he went in the woods and heard footsteps, though, his mind drew a blank there.
She left, and he tried again to get up--only to fall back down again.
His neck hurt intensely, and he had no clue why--except it had to have happened during the blank moment.
The best he could do, for now though, was wait for help to come.
He didn't like to rely on help, but this time, he had to.
Shuff shuff shuff crunch shuff shuff shuff crack.
"Ferret?"
"Yeah, Aardvark?"
"We're lost, aren't we?"
The two pumpkin dragons were trotting through the woods in the gathering darkness; every noise they made seemed to be echoed and amplified tenfold through the air around the tiny creatures, making them flinch.
The male stopped for a moment, and then kept walking. "'Course we aren't," he said cheerfully. "We're just taking the long way back to the castle."
Aardvark's voice trembled as she glanced around nervously. "Well... could we go by the faster route then? Please?" Her eyes were as round as saucers.
Ferret hesitated, nodded once, and then hurried on, his nest mate running close behind him.
Rascal, at 5 and a half fet tall sat by a fire that his European dragon made for him for the night. "I want to thank you again for the fire, if it's this cold I hate to see ths place in the winter time. My guess is that will make it to the castle tomorrow, few hours of walking, but less than a hour if we fly there."
"You saved my life when I was a egg during that massive earthquake, I'm just returning the favor as best as I can do. And plus you are me owner and my rder as well. Though I still don't understand why you hate flying this much." The dragon replied.
"I'm just afraid of heights, it's not that I hate flying it's just that looking down makes me thing of falling off of you. But I do like the view of the sunset up there, really nice." Rascal pulled his sword that was across his back under his shield he examined it and then grabbed his sharpening rock from his pouch and started to sharpen his blade once again.
He would go into the woods but It was to dark outside and was afraid of losing the way.
Though it was dark, Little Merigold made her way to Shyam, who had made some progress. Though his legs were still weak, his wings were strong.
Then they heard a growl from behind, that could only belong to one thing.
A vampire.
Though she was afraid of heights, she got him when he asked, and he went on his way to bring her back, when he noticed the two pumpkin dragons and the nestmates behind them.
"Need some help getting back?" He asked them.
Little Merigold got off of him while they waited for an answer.
By the time they answered, the sun was showing up, some of it shining through the trees.
Shyams legs still hadn't healed, and his wings were starting to slow due to him being tired, and overworking them (he wasn't used to using his wings unless it was for flight in high places, and that usually lasted for an our) he went back to the castle, ahead of Little Merigold, to hopefully get his energy back. Plus, the light seemed to burn.
Little Merigold went the other direction, exploring the woods while she was out, and maybe find someone in her exploration.
Rascal opened his silver eyes and looked around, it was now morning. His long brown hair made him look more like a 17 year old girl than a boy but as they get closer they would soon know what gender he was.
He got up and went to look around but made sure that the camp was in his eye sight so that he wouldn't get lost finding his way back.
Aardvark squeaked and dived behind Ferret, cowering away from the other dragons. Ferret nudged her gently, embarrassed. "Aardvark, c'mon; it's the dragons from the castle."
She poked her head out and blinked. "Oh." She shivered. "Yes, we'd like to go home."
Szabaru's eyes flicked down, following some odd movement on the ground. They narrowed, and he dived suddenly toward the forest below.
A human... the magi hatchling thought, his interest piqued.
Meanwhile, Shyam lead them home, and Little Merigold came with after a bit of time.
Then, suddenly, it started...Snowing? In spring?
Little Merigold looked overhead, and saw Controller of the Icy winds, carrying what looked like weary Summer dragon on his back, being careful not to freeze her.
They came down once they were far ahead of the others, and he let the summer dragon--Mysticheart9, usually called Mysticheart--down and said "Sorry for the freezing ride. After what happened though, I hope you can forgive me."
"I already had." Mysticheart9 said. Then she went in the castle, trying hard not to fall down, her wings and her legs frail from the cold for now.
Rascal got back to his fire pit and woke Beranuss, his dragon up. "Time to go my friend, I want to get to the castle as soon as possible."
"Come on, you know me, I need the rest after that fight a week ago, I saved your life!" Beranuss complainted.
"Fine, I'll let you stay here but I'm going ahead if you don't mind, I need to get some shelter." Rascal started off.
Shyam began to slow, his wings beating slowly against the chill that was still in the air.
Little Merigold: If you need a lift, just ask, okay?
Shyam: alright.
He knew he wouldn't ask though. Even though it was painful on his feet and slow flying, he was just stubborn like that sometimes. He really didn't want to show that he needed help.
Little Merigold, looking closely at his neck, saw that a vampire bit him.
Oh snap. Little Merigold thought, but, knowing how to hide her emotions when needed, she didn't show worry to the pumpkin hatchlings following.
She looked back, and thought she saw someone in the distance.
She turned back, thinking she imagined it.
It took Rascal longer than he thought, it was not night time and it was getting colder by the hour. "Now I wish that I sticked around Beracuss, he's the reason that I stayed warm all the time.
"Why I take that as a compliment Rascal."
Rascal hear a vioce in his head but it came to no surprise to him."I would really appretiate it if you would come and keep me warm." He heard powerful wing beats coming in for a landing and after Beracuss landed and got comfortable Rascal went to him and fell asleep.
Soon, they were at the castle. The pumpkin hatchlings thanked them, and went inside before they did. He went inside after them, and went to the closest room with a soft floor and fell due to exhaustion.
It was no surprise to Little Merigold at all. It was surprising to Pumpkin Huntress only because he got in the door without help.
Little Merigold carried him to a more comfortable spot. She had no idea how to cure the bites effects again. She barely managed to do it for Magi Guard so many years ago. When one Vampire still exists, the vampire population can grow still. It made a fast recovery since then, she knew.
Rascal awoke to a strong power emanating from his blade. It was the middle of the night and was warmer because everytime the sword glistened with it's ancient power it also produced it's own heat which kept the warrior that bore this sword warm in a battle with several vampires. The possessor of the sword was immune to those bites so he had the upper advantage. He gently poked Beracuss to wake him up. "Beracuss we need to get going now!"
"Why now, can't we sl..." Beracuss was soon back to full strength as if he was young again. "It's about time," He said looking at Rascal's glowing blade. "hop on and I'll get us there in less than a hour, hope it's not too late." Rascal didn't argue knowing that if there was a vampire being created by their bites then they need to hurry and reverse the process. And if it was a dragon then it would become very difficult to defeat, and dangerous for Beracuss. "Hold on tight. "
Meanwhile...
"Shyam...Are you alright?" Healerstar asked.
"Matters on what Alright means to you. Other than my neck hurting, my legs not being able to hold me up and my wings sore from flying in cold, I'm fine." Shyam said, truthfully, since every dragon other than them were too busy to hear.
Rascal could see the castle clearly and thanks to the sword enhancing his eyes to see where the source is coming from for now. It was coming from the first floor of the castle so he pointed to the castle enterance for Beracuss to land him.
Right after he landed he started heading for the person or dragon that needed help. As he ran past some dragons he pulled the blade, the blade had stopped glowing since he landed but he still saw what needed to be done.
Healerstar went behind him, and saw it was a vampire bite.
"Do you remember what happened just before you got that neck pain?" She asked.
"No." Shyam said.
Nether did Magi Guard. Healerstar thought.
"It looks like a vampire bite, to be honest with you." She said.
Both of them were silent. They heard footsteps coming closer to the room they were in. Quiet footsteps, but it still meant someone, or something was coming.
Beracuss, Keep a eye out for any uninvited guests for me while I finish this thing!
I'm already doing it Rascal!
Rascal was almost in the room when he heard a roar coming from behind him. "I don't like that roar for sure." He got into the room and found a dragon very weak and one standing beside it. He didn't have time too worry about the strong one, if the weak one loses the battle inside it then Rascal would have to kill it and he never likes to kill a dragon. He soon found that spot and pierced the sword into the dragon's neck as quickly pulled it out.
After the quick pain from the sword, which Shyam held a scream that would normally form when Rascal did that. But every other pain was gone, thanks to that.
Healerstar helped him up, and Shyam thanked Rascal for doing that.
"I hate killing dragons after they turn into a vampire one." Rascal's eyes went back to normal silver but in the dark they look gray more than silver. You can come into the castle now Beracuss.
I'm on my way, but thanks again for the strength back.
Rascal grinned, he knew the pain from killing that dragon was going to come back sooner or later.
Healerstar healed the pain she could that was still left on his neck, and he felt better.
Pumpkin Huntress came by, without being seen, to check on Shyam. When he seemed fine, she went away and sighed a sigh of relief.
"I wish to see the owner of this castle if you don't mind." Beracuss walked in after Rascal finished. "I'm Rascal and this is my dragon Beracuss."
Healerstar: If she was here, I wouldn't mind at all. Why do you want to see her?
She tilted her head slightly, and Shyam went outside of the room and to his owner to ask who the owner of the castle was.
"I know her and I know that she's the owner of this castle, I've been traveling a year to see her again, I sure hope that nothing has happened to her." He didn't dare say that Lostinlove was his step sister. He didn't feel like that was a wise choose so he left that part of it out.
Rascal, Beracuss to him in his mind. I know that Lostinlove is your step sister but how would you know that she owns this castle after all, you did kill her first dragon. After that you two seperated and have so far never seen each other again!
I know that we have the pain that came on us when I killed Sonta, she was a lovely dragon, and I couldn't save her in time, I'm sorry.
Healerstar: If I knew where she was, I'd tell you. Nobody seems to have a clue where she is, though, not even Mystic.
"I see, I'll go talk to this Mystic person. Can you please lead the way?"
Healerstar: I guess.
She went out, and Mystic was standing right out next to the exit.
Healerstar had no clue how she knew to stand there, but she did.
"She's right here." Healerstar said, standing next to Mystic.
"Hey Mystic, I'm Rascal, Can we talk?" Rascal sheathed his blade while he was saying that since there was no reason to have it out.
"Sure." Mystic said. Healerstar went to do her own thing.
"I was wondering since...since the owner of the castle isn't here, I was wondering if you wouldn't mind if I pleag my allegence to you, until the owner comes back."
"Um...Sure, I guess." Mystic said. She didn't know why he wanted to do that, but she didn't mind if he did.
"To tell you the truth the reason why I'm here was to apologize to my step sister who's the owner of this castle because I killed Sonta, her first dragon."
Mystic decided it wouldn't be smart to tell him why she was here.
Mystic told him she'd help him with that if he needed it and if she could.
She was hopelessly curious, and went to check it out.
It turned up to be...
A storm dragon.
And not only that, she recognized it as one of the dragons on her scroll, which, even though she usually pretended, was not exactly real.
"Darksweetheart?" Mystic asked.
"Yeah, that's what my friends call me...What is this place?" Darksweetheart asked.
"A woods in Michigan." Mystic told the truth.
"A woods in what?" Darksweetheart asked. She had never heard of such a thing or place.
"Michigan is a state. I'll explain more later." Mystic said.
When I recover from shock, that is. Mystic thought.
She asked if any of her friends were around.
"I'm not sure. Little Mathew is probably somewhere in these woods, but other than that--I have no clue."
"Then we better look for him." Mystic said.
So while they looked for them, Mystic got deeper into how and why by asking questions to Darksweetheart.
Apparently, they fell into a thing and they were here. Or, Darksweetheart assumed. She said the only one she knew for sure was certainly here was Little Mathew.
When they came across a lake in the woods (which wasn't there before) they saw a dragon the size of a kitten. Darksweetheart recognized the dragon quickly.
Darksweetheart did a signal to it telling it to come over.
The dragon did, and Mystic realized that this was Little Mathew, for he was a little tinier than most of his kind.
Mystic: Hey Little Mathew.
Little Mathew (turns to Darksweetheart): How does this person know me?
Darksweetheart: I don't know how she knew. I would if I called you over here by your name. *sighs* it doesn't matter, because she probably assumed. We've have to find the others.
Little Mathew: You're right.
Little Mathew looked at the lake, then spotted something. He wasn't sure what, but he couldn't swim, so he couldn't check it out.
Mystic saw the look on Little Mathews face, then said "If you want, I could see if there is a dragon in the lake."
Little Mathew: That would be nice. Though you might want to hope that if it is a dragon, that it--or they--is or are sleeping. They might not be so kind to strangers.
Mystic nodded, then jumped in.
Her dreams were trying to take over, but, strangely, she was prepared for that, because this was normal.
So she shook out of them, and, just when she thought she couldn't hold her breath anymore, she spotted an air pocket.
She went in, and found a vine dragon sleeping. She knew this one was Little Merigold, for she was the only vine dragon she knew that could swim.
She disguised her voice as Darksweetheart and talked to her.
After a few minutes, Little Merigold woke up and saw Mystic.
Little Merigold (sleepily): Who are you?
Mystic told her, and she was surprised.
Little Merigold: Really?
Mystic: Yep.
Little Merigold swam out, and both Darksweetheart and Little Mathew were very surprised.
Little Merigold: Hey Darksweetheart and Little Mathew.
Deep Sea queen, Calm controller of the lake, and Khoa Waters came out.
Khoa waters: How did you guys get here?
Darksweetheart: I'm unsure.
Calm controller of the lake: Well, I'm glad to see you guys. At least we weren't the only ones that had gotten here...Somehow.
Darksweetheart: Yeah.
Deep sea queen, out of the water ones, was the only one that noticed Mystic.
Deep sea queen: By any chance, could you tell me who this human is?
Darksweetheart: She said her name is Mystic.
Deep sea queen: Odd... I thought she had red hair. Oh well. In this world, I guess you have brown hair.
Mystic: Yep.
Little Merigold saw a castle in view.
Little Merigold: I think I see something in the distance.
Little Mathew: I remember that castle. It's the one I was raised in while I was little.
All three of the water dragons saw it, and remembered it too. They thought the owners called it "Castle for dragons."
Little Merigold, out of the bunch, along with Darksweetheart (I'm going to say that she somehow got out of the freezing spell) were the only ones out of the bunch that didn't recognize it.
Khoa waters: If only we could survive on land. Then we could go visit.
Deep sea queen: For now, however, we have to stay here and hope we can get home, where we actually can do that.
Little Mathew: Hopefully, everything goes back to normal soon. And we may need to go to the castle to see what's going on. So, we better get going.
So Mystic, Little Mathew, Little Merigold, and Darksweetheart go on a journey to the Castle for dragons, wanting to know what is going on.
She came in, and Mystic frozen Crystal, who was there when the moving of worlds happened, came and licked Mystic, apparently recognizing her somehow. Mystic frozen Crystal looked like a big, fully grown dog in size, and had twice the amount of strength a lion has. This was normal for hatchlings, even frozen ones, but it threw Mystic off guard.
On the ground, Mystic also noticed that Darksweetheart, one of the fully grown dragons, was almost as tall as the trees, along with the entrance to the castle. The castle was way taller than the trees, and could probably be seen from England.
Once Mystic frozen Crystal got off of Mystic, she motioned them inside, hoping to find someone there that could help.
Everything inside was so huge, she had no idea how the ones caring for the dragons, supposedly human, did.
Mystic: Wow.
Darksweetheart: I know. It's a wonderful place, isn't it?
Mystic: Um...Yeah.
Darksweetheart: I'm sure at least Lostinlove would be here somewhere.
Mystic: Who?
Darksweetheart: One of the caretakers here. Another name, one that Anniepimm, or Annie, calls her is Pam.
Mystic didn't say a word after that. If Pam was here, maybe she will show herself to them.
But Pam was nowhere to be found. Although a smell that smelled like an autumn harvest was coming from the egg hatchery.
Little Mathew decided to check out the water dragon section first--he knew Mystic had left one here that hadn't gendered before the world change.
When he took a peak, he saw the most ugly creature he had ever laid eyes on.
Little Mathew rushed to Mystics side, frightened.
Mystic: What is it Little Mathew?
Little Mathew: Look in the water hatchling section.
Mystic looked...And saw...
A grave.
Mystic checked if the grave was her water hatchling, but it couldn't be--the person naming the dragon spelled Unfortunate wrong, and named it Unfortunet waking dead, which wasn't fitting at all for a water dragon. Plus, her water dragon hatchling didn't gender. This one was a boy.
Mystic: I know. Dead dragons are kind of scary, especially when named something like the waking dead, but still...
Little Mathew: I swear I saw a dragon there though!
Darksweetheart: Sure you did...
Little Mathew: I did though!
Mystic: I think the world change messed with your mind some. Maybe Annie can help--it's obvious Lostinlove, or Pam as Annie calls her, isn't here.
So they looked around to see if Annie was here, but she was nowhere to be seen.
Mystic, disappointed, said "Well, I guess nobody is here, and all those poor little creatures are alone."
They looked outside. They couldn't believe they wasted a whole day, but they had, as it was starting to get dark. Too dark for Mystic to wander back home.
Mystic: Well, before it gets too dark for me to find my way, I better go back home.
Mystic went on her way when Dream Forcer stopped her by accidentally putting her to sleep. In five minutes, it was going to be to dark to find her way, and she was going to be asleep for an hour by that.
Darksweetheart: Well, saves me the trouble of stopping her and telling her myself, at least.
(Hour later)
Mystic woke up, and it was more than obvious it was too dark outside for her to travel now.
So Mystic knew she was going to have to stay in the castle, with a bunch of dragons, alone.
That was a pretty scary thought, for, other than Little Mathew and his kind, most of the dragons here could eat her in her sleep, if they really wanted to.
Then she saw it.
What Little Mathew was really talking about. Something much scarier than any of the dragons she had seen. And it was also the scariest thing she laid eyes on.
The Zombie hatchling.
Named Unfortunet waking dead.
The thing got closer whenever she backed up, until she was against the wall.
Another one, named Little Big Man, appeared, and now that was the scariest thing she laid eyes on.
She was shivering with fright as she backed away from both of them.
They cornered her...Then...
"Get. Away. From my owner."
Mystic, Little Big Man, and Unfortunet waking dead turned and saw Little Mathew.
He was shaking with fright, but his eyes made him seem unafraid of them. Mystic never really knew how brave he was, until now.
"She's my owner too. You saw her kill me, and didn't stop her, either. Even though she knew I wouldn't survive, and I knew it, too, it still hurts to know that those who I called a 'friend' didn't even try to stop her from killing me early. It wasn't just you though. None of her dragons tried to stop her from doing the deadly act." Unfortunet waking dead said, eyes burning with hatred toward Little Mathew.
"I'm sorry for killing you..." Mystic said. She regretted it the second after she killed him.
Little Big Man: You're brave though, Little Mathew. I sense that just from what you just did...It wont work though.
Little Mathew: I think I understand why Unfortunet waking dead is doing what he is, but why are you doing it, Little Big Man? Mystic did no harm to you.
Little Big Man: I need her help, however. I'm pretty sure she wouldn't help me unless she didn't have a choice.
It wasn't like she had a choice anyway. As long as she was in the castle, they would continue to haunt her unless she helped them with what they need help with.
Mystic (scared): Little Big Man...What do you need help with?
Little Big Man (turns to Mystic): I'm afraid my owner has left all of her dragon here, and Lostinlove did the same. Could you please find at least Annie and bring her back here? I would do it myself, but, as you see, I'm not the best dragon for the job. She probably wouldn't listen to me, anyway.
Mystic (still scared): Alright.
They were doing trying to find Annie, anyway.
Little Big Man (thinking): If only I had some way to make her stay to her promise...
Little Big Man turned to the sleeping Underworld Lycan. If Annie wasn't here by morning, he bet if anyone could make sure Mystic was looking, Underworld Lycan could.
Little Big Man (to Underworld Lycan): Pss.
He woke up and saw Little Big Man. He was terrified of him, too.
Little Big man (to Underworld Lycan still): I wont hurt you. You know our owner, Annie, right?
Underworld Lycan: Yeah. She left us. Why?
Little Big Man: Mystic said she'd look for her. Think you could--
Underworld Lycan (excited): Make sure she stays on task. Sure.
Then his excitement faded.
Underworld Lycan: But still...Anyone would do what you want when they're trapped in a corner by a zombie hatchling and grown up zombie dragon, unless they were unafraid of you. Still, Mystic is scared, if she's the one shivering in the corner due to fright because she is in that exact situation.
Little Big Man: You're right. But still... If anyone can make sure she sticks to her promise, it's you.
Underworld Lycan: Fine. If Annie isn't here by morning, then I'll do that for you. If she leaves before I wake up, I can't make any promises that i'll find her or something like that though.
Little Big Man knew that was the best he was going to get out of him tonight.
Little Big Man: Alright.
Then Underworld Lycan went back to sleep.
Little Mathew: Alright, she promised to help you, and someone will make sure she stays on that task, because she was looking for her here before this happened, too. Could you please move away now, so she can calm down some?
Little Big Man: Then she might leave.
Unfortunet waking dead: Not if I keep her here. If you sleep in front of the entrance, she wont be able to leave until morning.
Little Big Man: But, if Annie were to come, Annie wouldn't be able to enter before then either.
Unfortunet waking dead: I kind of meant this room.
Little Big Man: Oh.
Before Little Mathew or Mystic could exit, Little Big Man got in the way of the door, and watched them, because he was stuck awake until daytime.
Unfortunet waking dead refused to move though, as revenge to Little Mathew for watching him be killed, and to Mystic for killing him, even though Mystic had a reason for it.
As brave as Little Mathew was, he couldn't bring himself to fight Unfortunet waking dead, because he was bigger than any other hatchling he had seen. He was close to as tall as Just Always me when standing up when he was standing up, but was as skinny as Mystic. Skinny as a curvy stick, but without the curves.
The only reason he was able to keep Mystic in the corner by himself is because he was quick enough to catch her, and she knew that.
So, she still trapped in the corner.
She still tried to calm herself down, but all she could come up with was lies to do so.
And these lies were basically ones like "Unfortunet waking dead wont hurt you...As long as you stay where you are, that is."
They helped, though, for she was able to stop shaking as much, and simply hoped Annie would come knock on the door or something before she had to go search for her. Simply because she was sure that her parents wouldn't allow her to go to New York or England on her own, and she might need to, to find Annie.
And, comes the question...
What if she doesn't want to be found? Then what?
She knew she had to wake up early, because, if she doesn't want to be found, most likely she wont be found, and one of her dragons will try to keep her looking until she dies.
So, she tried not to think about that as she closed her eyes and tried to sleep.
It was dark.
And cold.
And she was lying on something hard and wet.
The 13-year-old human girl, who will here be called Ocean, blinked and groaned softly, sitting up. She hissed in pain and grabbed her aching head, curling into a ball. That's what I get for sleeping with my glasses on again, she thought through her groggy haze.
After a few minutes, her headache lessened, and she stood up shakily, looking around. What was this place? As her eyes adjusted to the dim light, she saw that it was some sort of cave. There was an underground river running through it, which flowed into a crack in the wall on one side, and through an imposing, arched tunnel on the other.
Shivering, she stood up, trying to smooth her frizzy, shoulder-length brown hair. Wherever it was, it wasn't her home in Texas, and she had no idea how she had gotten there.
She set off down the tunnel, holding one hand against the damp, slimy wall.
In the morning, the black dragon that was to see that she was looking was still sleeping, and there was a grave in front of the door, and in front of her.
So she figured it out. Nightmares during the night, harmless during the day.
Little Mathew woke up, and they sneaked out. Her other dragons were already out of the castle. Maybe if they could at least find somebody with a clue of what happened, they could make it right again.
They saw a cave after an hour of walking around, clueless of where they were. Darksweetheart thought she recognized it. The others didn't, though.
Mystic: Well, maybe we should go in. There could be someone in there either as clueless as I am, or someone who actually knows a bit of what's going on.
Darksweetheart: She's right.
Little Mathew: Alright. If you lead the way then.
So Mystic lead her dragons. Every dragon of hers that she found, except her pygmy dragons, Darksweetheart and Little Merigold, decided it would be best not to scare the person in there if they were indeed clueless. So now they were on trees by the cave, waiting for Mystics return so they could go on to find the others.
Ocean continued to stumble along through the tunnel. Thankfully, there were occasional glowing rocks, so she at least had some light to go by; however, she still had to keep a careful eye out for protruding rocks.
As she moved along, she was overcome with two ever-increasing feelings that tugged at the pit of her stomach: a deep, nameless dread, and a sense of familiarity that was so strong she could almost taste it. (Well, not really, but you get the idea.)
She shuddered and hugged herself. Why, oh why had she had to wear a short-sleeved shirt and jeans to bed? Well, sure, she'd had no way of knowing she'd wake up in a strange, cold place, but hey, it's always best to be prepared.
The fear continued to increase, driving her to move a little faster, and a little faster, until she was running headlong down the tunnel, sobbing for breath.
Little Merigold made her vine in Oceans sight, then lead her vine to outside the cave (it was long enough for her to do that.) Hopefully, she would see it, think she was imagining but follow it anyway, and find her way out, not seeing the dragons in the trees, then try to find out she's in Michigan. Mystic would probably be out by then and tell her, but still, it might work.
Mystic knew very well what Little Merigold was doing. She didn't know why, but didn't need to.
Ocean was exhausted. She had to fight for every breath, and she tripped over rock after rock after rock, skinning her hands and knees and elbows.
And she couldn't stop, couldn't let whatever-it-was catch her, because then she would be dragged away and never seen again, and she had a life to live, if she could only keep running...
She repeated the mantra in her head over and over, squeezing every last bit of energy out of her tired muscles.
And then she saw it.
A vine, deep in the cave; it was not far in front of her, but it was slowly withdrawing. She didn't know what it was, and she didn't much care at the moment. Putting on a final, desperate burst of speed, she lunged forward and grabbed the vine, letting it drag her along.
Little Merigold let her vine touch the ground when she and her vine were outside the cave. Little Mathew's son, Passion Prince, found Ocean, and, wondering what was going on, went on top of the cave, and looked at her, hoping to figure out what was up though that.
None of the dragons outside would hurt her, as long as they weren't hurt by her.
Ocean curled into a ball, shivering and hugging her knees. It took her several minutes to recover enough to open her eyes.
She shrieked and scuttled away from the dragons as fast as her sore, blistered feet would let her.
Her eyes darted. She recognized the species of these dragons. She had seen them all before, many times. She began to hyperventilate.
The dragons hid from her when she shrieked. The only one she probably wouldn't be afraid of what the pygmy. Of course, they are still like kitten dragons.
All the dragons were in very good hiding places by the time Mystic came out with Little Mathew on her head.
Mystic: Are you all right?
The girl shook, staring at her with wide eyes. "This can't... no, you're not... not real..."
She put her hands over her temples. Too much had happened this morning, and she still had no idea what was going on, and she hadn't even had breakfast yet.
She took a deep breath, and spoke as calmly as possible. "Where am I?"
"A woods in Michigan." Mystic said. She hoped that, unlike her dragons, this person actually had a clue what Michigan was. She did, but she'd rather save herself the trouble of explaining.
Ocean nodded. "Oh." She looked around. "So, ignoring the fact that I'm in the presence of a bunch of dragons that should only be pixels on a database... how did I get from Texas to Michigan while I was asleep? You didn't kidnap me or something?" She pushed up her glasses, trying to ignore the cold and her various aches and pains.
"No. Otherwise I'd have a clue of who you are, and these dragons wouldn't be looking at you oddly." Mystic said. She had to ignore the fact that most of those dragons were hiding in trees three feet smaller than them more than the fact that they should be pixels on a database.
"She was actually taken captive by another 'bunch of pixels' last night. Don't ask." Little Mathew said. He kind of looked like a small orange kitten on his owners shoulder, in a way.
She grimaced. "Sorry. That didn't come out right. I'm just really, really freaking out right now." She blinked at Little Mathew. "Other dragons? There were other dragons here?" Now that she knew dragons could exist in the real world, a terrifying, wonderful possible began to churn in her mind. "Was there an alt black with them? A girl? About half the size of a normal one? Or a pygmy without wings? Or a one-eyed red?" She was still shivering, although now it was with excitement.
"I think so, actually. Darksweetheart said she saw those in the ''castle for dragons'' somewhere on our way here." Little Mathew said. "Why do you ask?"
So far, the only thing he was surprised about other than Mystic was right--this girl was totally clueless--was the fact that Little Merigold, her vine still outside the cave acting like a tail, didn't come out yet. She was nothing to be afraid of.
Ocean squealed, bouncing up and down, her woes forgotten. "Oh my gosh, I can't believe it, they're real, they're really real--" Suddenly she stopped, and her face went pale. "Wait... if they're real... then that's--"
She turned around, staring into the dark, hair-raising tunnels. Her voice was barely more than a whisper. "The Crypts..."
Mystic had no idea what that was.
Little Merigold came out while Ocean was distracted and made herself look like a big bush. With vines. Showing. Still, best she could do without freaking her out more.
Ocean stumbled to her feet. "We need to get away from here. Now." A look of panic crossed her face. "Is anybody still in there? Please tell me nobody's still in there!" Her face was blanched with fear.
Little Merigold answered that, other than dragons, it's unlikely anybody was here, for all they had seen concerning humans was Ocean and Mystic, and other than that, there were only dragons.
Mystic went in the direction that lead back to where the castle was. If she saw her own dragons for herself, maybe she'd get over the dragon part.
Ocean was still terrified. "No! You don't understand! We need to get everyone out of there! It's not safe! Not until the summer solstice!" She struggled vainly against the dragon that held her. "If you leave anyone in there, dragon or not, they'll never come out!"
"I think what she was doing was getting the dragons still in the castle out of there." Little Merigold said, then her vine snapped at the dragon holding her, which made it let her go. Hopefully, she was good with that.
Ocean looked immeasurably relieved. "Oh, you mean the castle? Thank goodness! I thought you meant that there were dragons camping in the Crypts." She shivered. "Horrible place."
Little Merigold thought she remembered that place, too. Somehow.
Then the memory of her old owner, one she had pushed back for the longest time, had came back. She was put right outside the place because she wasn't an Alt, and the owner left, leaving no trace. She never went in, and found Mystic in a different cave with eggs in it. Mystic took her home and cared for her the best she could.
She pushed it away again, and, glad that Ocean seemed to be following, turned back to Mystic, hoping she didn't have a 'I just saw a horrible nightmare' look on her face.
Ocean peered at Merigold's face. "Hey, are you okay?" she asked, concern in her voice. She had seen that look occasionally, in her imagination; mostly on the faces of those who had lost someone close to them during the Hallow's Eve tragedy, when wolves attacked the cave.
"I'm fine." Little Merigold said. Though Darksweetheart could tell she was lying. Though she understood why--she went though that same tradegy, and somehow, saying it out loud made it seem more real, and she didn't want that. So she said nothing, since she was the only one who could tell for now.
"Okay, if you say so..." she said uncertainly.
She walked forward and tentatively poked Mystic in the shoulder. "Um... how long before we get there?"
"Oh look, that's Underworld Lycan. So we are just about--"
They were now at the door.
"There." Little Mathew finished.
"Oh." She would have giggled, except for the fact that she was staring at a massive zombie dragon. "So, um... do you know where the strange dragons are?"
He lead them to the pygmy section. All of the ones she knew and was talking about were in there. Once they saw Ocean, they were really surprised. They went up to her and licked her. Those that would've, anyway.
Tears sprang to Ocean's eyes. "Makrida? Vhirn? Gaxuri? Oh, I thought I'd never really see you, touch you..." She hugged as many as she could reach.
The closest one, a sleek, well-muscled red female with an eyepatch, sniffed the girl's face. "Carnie? Is it really you? You don't look like her, and yet... you remind me of her. What do you mean, 'really see us?'"
Ocean looked uncertain. She had no idea how to tell her dragons that she knew them as pixels on her computer screen, and as characters in her head. "Kazaniri, I..."
Mystic thought she might say "What I meant by that, was that I never thought I'd see you or touch you again." Though this was unlikely.
Unfortunet waking dead came to his senses. Something was wrong. The blinding thingy that wasn't supposed to be up when he was was indeed up when he was. What was wrong, he had no clue.
A tiny, genderless hatchling that appeared to be a magi slipped out of the throng, which wasn't that hard, as the surrounding dragons leaned away from it. Its soulless black eyes focused on the girl. "Hello, Carnie," it said softly. "It's good to see you again. What's happened? Why are we in this strange place?"
Even Little Merigold, which actually didn't mind Unfortunet waking dead as long as he didn't mind her, went far away next to Mystic. She wasn't sure why, but didn't need to ask. She must be weary with dragons she doesn't know, though she never was until now.
Ocean knelt on the stone floor and hugged the hatchling, who gave no other response than to stiffen slightly.
"It's good to see you too, Szabaru." She felt guilt claw at her; it was the same feeling she got every time she saw the hatchling she had failed to give a normal life after it sacrificed itself to save its nest mates. "And no, I don't know what happened. I really don't."
It pulled away. "Well, whatever's happened to our caves, your study has apparently moved to this castle."
She brightened up a bit at that. "My study?"
Mystic was confused. Little Merigold thought she might recognize the name somehow, but she doubted it. The only Undead she really recognized was Unfortunet waking dead, and she didn't get an extremely odd vibe from him
Ocean stood up and glanced at Mystic. "Um, I'm going to go see if my study is all in one piece. I'll be back in a minute!"
She walked off down a hallway, followed by a huge, bloodstained split.
Mystic stayed where she was. She looked at Little Merigold--it seems as she might be going though another memory, but was trying to hide it.
"Are you okay?" Mystic asked.
Little Merigold snapped out of it. "I'm fine." She said reassuringly.
Another vine dragon slipped up next to them; she somehow managed to give the impression of being frozen in time, and yet she didn't appear to be frozen. Her vines were wrapped around a small, delicate pink egg. "Would you happen to know where the nursery is?" she asked, in a brisk, no-nonsense voice that jarred against her fragile appearance.
Ocean stepped through a huge oak door. "Thanks, Fractured Trinity," she said, turning and bowing to the split. It nodded its heads and lumbered back down the hallway.
Taking a deep breath, the girl walked across the room. It wasn't really all that large. There was a bed, a nightstand, a dresser, a desk, and a couple feet of clear floorspace; everything else was packed with books of all shapes, colors, sizes and ages. But those weren't what interested her at the moment.
On the bed, there were three items of clothing: an olive-colored, long-sleeved shirt; faded, wide-bottomed jeans; and a long, thick scarf, decorated in red and orange stripes.
She stepped forward apprehensively. Taking a deep breath, she picked up the shirt.
"Yeah." Mystic said. She lead her to the nursery, where the bunch of hatchlings were. Some had wings and were the size of really big dogs or bigger, and some that didn't have wings were slightly smaller.
The vine nodded gratefully. "Thank you." She looked around. "Goodness, your hatchlings are huge! Most of them are Makrida's size!"
Ocean slipped on the shirt, looking into the mirror on her desk. The room spun around her, twisting and vibrating and melting...
Her eyes seemed to swirl for a moment; they went from sea-blue to shining, golden yellow. Her hands changed shape, became flexible paws with thumbs; her nails narrowed and changed into claws.
She took a deep breath as the room steadied again. Good. Just like it should work.
She slipped on the jeans. Reality twisted...
Her teeth grew and sharpened visibly. Her feet shifted, became clawed paws as well. A short, bushy tail sprouted, as the shape of her legs changed.
She swayed for a moment, trying desperately not to vomit. Finally, the walls around her came back into focus. She felt horribly sick, and different. Shuddering, she steeled herself, and wrapped the scarf around her neck.
Wings, dark purple, small, and batlike, emerged from her back. Soft, pink fur began to grow speedily all over her body. Her ears melded into the sides of her skull, resurfaced on top of her head, pointed and furry. Her hair began to slither back into her head, leaving only the fur. The shape of her face, her nose and mouth, changed, became distinctly catlike. Finally, a long, black antennae grew from the top of her head, right between her ears; a large, fuzzy red pompom popped into place with a poof.
This time, she didn't feel sick. She opened her eyes. Grimacing, she took off her glasses and set them down. Didn't need those anymore. She picked up the mirror and looked into it.
She was now, undoubtedly, the Carnivorous Moogle. And she had a craving for raw meat.
Tucking in her scarf, she set off down the hallway.
"They surprised me when I saw them." Mystic said.
The vine nodded, wide-eyed. "No kidding..." She blinked suddenly. "I'll be right back; I need to go tell the other mothers to bring their eggs here." She stood up, carefully nestling her egg into the straw. "I'm Kudzu, by the way." With that, she slipped out of the nursery.
Carnie strode into the main hall. "Hello, everyone! Recognize me now?"
"Okay." Mystic said.
Little Merigold was looking at the hatchlings. Indeed, they were pretty big.
Carnie's dragons gasped, crowding around her. "It is her!" cried a female deepsea. "It really is!"
One of them, a female black alt about the size of a large dog, grinned and licked Carnie's feline nose. "And here you had us all fooled, you rascal," she said, grinning. Her voice seemed to be a bit squeaky.
Little Merigold stopped looking, mainly because about five--two with wings, three without--sneaked into her vines without her noticing.
She got them untangled, and, she looked at the red dorsel hatchling, who seemed kind of frightened.
"What's wrong?" Little Merigold asked.
"You know the grave in the water hatchling section?" It asked.
"Um... I sadly think so..." Little Merigold said.
"There was a scary thing in it's place." It said, then hid in her vines again. All the others didn't see it, so they didn't believe it. Except Mystic, and, surprisingly, Little Merigold.
One of the dragons, a matronly magi, looked about, panic in her voice. "Where's Szabaru?"
A small daydream hatchling stared at her, her eyes slightly glazed. "He seeks his own kind..." she said softly.
And what would this 'Szabaru' be, exactly? Unfortunet waking dead thought as he heard that from the floor below. It might be able to solve how he could be awake during the day, but Little Big man was still a grave.
He was only hiding because Mystic probably still remembered his little thing last night, and nether one of them would want to see each other.
His stomach rumbled.
Well, I better make some use out of being awake. He thought, then he flew out the window to look for something at least moderately intelligent to eat. He wasn't sure why, but the stupid ones tasted nasty and weren't filling. So he always looked for the smarter ones.
But there was nothing intelligent in the woods, so he went back to the castle and went back to sleep, but he still didn't turn into a grave, and, nearly without thinking it he made himself almost look like a water hatchling.
Little Mathew came in, and saw that Unfortunet waking deads grave wasn't there, but Little Big mans grave was still in front of the door.
He looked at the water hatchling. It looked just like the one that had gotten killed, but without the wound, and it looked more grown than that. It was a male, and he could tell that without thinking about it. He was probably going to be an adult soon.
"Hey."
Unfortunet waking dead woke up, and looked at Little Mathew. He guessed he just wasn't scary in the morning, because Little Mathew wasn't scared--just confused.
"Hi." He said.
"What are you--"
"Doing in this room?" He asked.
"Yeah."
"I must have skipped over here last night when I couldn't sleep. It would be odd if I did, though." He said.
Little Mathew seemed less intelligent now--he believed him.
He seemed less intelligent in his mind until he (unfortunet waking dead) looked in the mirror and saw a water hatchling, a bit bigger than a big dog, in the mirror instead of a bloody decaying hatchling. The only thing he recognized was his black eyes.
Szabaru slipped into the room, deathly quiet. The cat-sized, androgynous magi hatchling padded over to the water hatchling's grave, sniffed it disdainfully, and took a couple of steps back. It turned to the other hatchling. "Unfortunet Waking Dead, I presume?"
Little Mathew just looked plain confused.
"Yeah, that's the one who died there, I believe." The water hatchling said, not wanting Little Mathew to be confused beyond helping. Then Little Mathew got what it was talking about.
A smirk crossed the magi's face. "From your eyes, I would assume that it was you who died." The grin dropped. "Have you, by any chance, ever heard tell of the Scient?" it asked.
Little Mathew decided to leave right then, so they could have whatever talk alone.
"Not really." Unfortunet waking dead said.
Szabaru yawned. "Such a shame not to know your own heritage. I'm Szabaru, by the way." He began to pick his way delicately around the grave.
"Yeah. I guess it is." He said. He was caveborn, but he knew that wasn't what Szabaru meant by heritage.
The hatchling settled itself comfortably on the floor. "Unfortunet-- is it all right if I call you Unfortunet?--, you are probably aware of the inescapable fact that you are, in fact, a zombie, a member of the undead, to be shunned by society. Correct?" It tilted its head.
"Yeah. Though usually I eat the smart ones before they shun me for too long. That is, if I know who's doing it." He said. Too long was a few years, to him. It might get shorter as time goes.
Though he usually had an urge to eat Mystic when she was around, along with some of her dragons, but resisted that.
Mainly because, despite her being too weak to resist being Possessed (which he forgot often), she at least tried to help him away from this path. So he tried to not eat her dragons, or her.
He almost gave in last night, overwhelmed by that devastating hunger just about. Luckily, at least part of him turned into a grave...For a bit. Just enough to save her, but not lasting long enough for him not to be seeing the blinding thing--the sun--and for every dragon to be asleep other than the zombies.
He knew that at least one of the pumpkin dragons were here, still sleeping like a sleepy head. (It's not noon yet, so it might be somewhat like me.) It was still calming though, for whatever reason. It was the smarter one, Pumpkin Huntress. It tamed his hunger for a long while, thinking about her. For whatever reason.
"Wrong." A creepy grin lit up the magi's face. It began to walk in a wide circle around Unfortunet. "You are a Scient, a zombie with complete control over his mind; even in life, you possessed the potential for razor-keen brilliance and overwhelming power. Now that you are one of the undead, that power has been multiplied at least tenfold."
Now it was standing in front of the window, a small silhouette against the backlight of the sun. "You need never fear or bow to anyone ever again."
"Huh?" Pumpkin Huntress was starting to wake up.
This time Unfortunet waking dead thought the same thing, for only a moment. Still, he didn't respond as much as he would've usually.
Once she was awake, she stayed silent, though her thought, wondering how he was awake at this time and who his friend was, and why he looked like a water hatchling with almost invisible wings. There was more, but they were hitting him too fast for him to get all of it.
He turned to her, with a look saying it didn't matter. Then she quit with it.
Then he turned back to the what seemed genderless Scient.
Szabaru looked uneasily at Pumpkin Huntress. "She shouldn't be hearing this. Shall I render her unconscious?" It arced two of its claws in an odd shape; green electricity danced between them.
She backed away, then flew on the wood things on the ceiling, that were surprisingly strong enough to hold her up. Unfortunet, she knew, was having a hard time answering the question--his tail showed it clearly, being as still as he was right now.
The electricity spread along Szabaru's body. It smiled up at Pumpkin Huntress, a horrid smile showing many teeth. "Run along, then, dearie," it said cheerfully to the terrified pumpkin dragon.
Unfortunet opened the door, and she flew out faster than a normal Wimptail dragon would do during races. Then he closed the door, and it resumed to it's locked state.
Pumpkin Huntress finally slowed down to a stop at the other side of the castle.
Little Merigold came in, and asked her "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. Just a creep that scared me. Where's Mystic?" Pumpkin Huntress asked.
"She went to tell her parents that she's probably going to be camping here for a while." Little Merigold said.
"Okay." Pumpkin Huntress said.
Pumpkin rider: What's wrong?
Pumpkin Huntress: Nothings wrong Sis.
Nothing I could explain well, anyways. She added only to herself.
She knew it was better that she left that place before it touched her with the green bolts between his oddly arched claws. Still, she was still curious of what those two were talking about... And if it was anything that would put them in danger.
You need never fear or bow to anyone ever again... Those were the last words she heard before she woke up. Maybe she shouldn't have, and only act like she was sleeping still. Though all he said before that was the answer to his question, which his answer didn't lead anywhere near that response.
He must have said something I didn't hear, maybe like he could've done that one night. She thought, then went to normal stuff, acting like everything was fine, even though that horrid smile and voice will probably haunt her for a long time. It's better than worrying everybody about her, she assumed.
Szabaru turned back to Unfortunet, grinning a relatively-non-horrifying grin. "Oh, I do love small breeds. Such cowards. So much fun to tease. And they always forgive you, too!" It chuckled. "Well, I do feel a bit peckish; care to accompany me on a hunting excursion?" It tilted its head and stared at him.
Now that he thought about it, there was probably something he could eat outside, and he was also feeling a bit hungry.
So he said sure, and tried to forget that it picked on his friend. He knew she'd forget it soon, if he didn't do it again.
Szabaru raised an eyeridge. "Ah, I see I've touched a nerve. Don't worry, I'll refrain from frightening her unnecessarily in the future." It flicked its tail and winked at him knowingly. "Now, I believe there is a farm nearby that raises the most intelligent chickens for miles. It is fine dining, really, as long as you make sure to snap their backs instead of taking off their heads." Its tone was perfectly normal, as if it were discussing the quality of a restaurant instead of the best way to slaughter one's prey.
He turned to his normal form when realizing he didn't have legs in his water hatchling form, then got up. "Then what are we waiting for?" He asked, getting close to the window. If he wanted to out first, to lead the way, then it'd be best to let him.
She had gotten along quite well. Mystic had gotten back, thankfully her parents let her stay here...Or is it Unfortunately? Only a few might know.
She decided she'd just explore the woods, see if there was anybody around, so she told Mystic, and, like it was completely normal, went on her way. Maybe she might find Shyam frill. He was always fun to talk to, with so many amazing adventures and so many people looking at him wondering if he was a magi or not along in his adventures from his younger days to talk about. He let her talk too, when she wanted. So it was her best bet is she was still frightened.
Szabaru nodded, and furrowed its eyeridges for a moment. The air around its shoulders shimmered, and wings rippled into place. It slipped out the window, flicking its tail once as it took off into the air.
And Unfortunet followed.
Meanwhile, now that everyone knew where Szabaru was (or so they thought), the cave-dwelling dragons were finally beginning to open up and socialize with Mystic's dragons. Carnie was playing tag with Mystic's frozen hatchlings, and some of the young males had started up a dancing contest. There was a huge fire in the fireplace, with meat and vegetables cooking over the flames.
One of the dragons, a sleek neotropical female, sat perched on a beam off to one side. She looked down at her contented cavemates, the firelight reflecting in her eyes.
"Mind if I join you, Janguru?" asked a voice from just behind her. Janguru Denrei turned to see a male deep sea dragon wobbling on a thin section of beam behind her. Despite the fact that his body was built for the water, Enguia was constantly trying to prove that he could survive on land as well as any dragon.
She nodded smoothly, moving to one side to make room for the imperiled deep sea. He stumbled forward gladly, collapsing into place on the beam. "Nice party, huh?" he asked cheerfully, trying to keep his mind away from how high up he was.
Pumpkin Huntress saw Shyam Frill in a state he was almost never in (Except when sleeping)--unconsciousness.
"Are you okay?" She asked. He stirred, and tried to get up, but couldn't.
"What happened?" She asked, seeing he wasn't okay.
"I...I don't know." He said. Somewhat luckily, most of the sun was blocked by the trees from where he was. Though, if the sun was shone, he would know what was wrong.
She tried to pick him up, but failed. She wasn't very strong.
"I'll get someone to help you back to the castle." She said. He wasn't confused, because he knew that was his destination before he blacked out. After he went in the woods and heard footsteps, though, his mind drew a blank there.
She left, and he tried again to get up--only to fall back down again.
His neck hurt intensely, and he had no clue why--except it had to have happened during the blank moment.
The best he could do, for now though, was wait for help to come.
He didn't like to rely on help, but this time, he had to.
Shuff shuff shuff crunch shuff shuff shuff crack.
"Ferret?"
"Yeah, Aardvark?"
"We're lost, aren't we?"
The two pumpkin dragons were trotting through the woods in the gathering darkness; every noise they made seemed to be echoed and amplified tenfold through the air around the tiny creatures, making them flinch.
The male stopped for a moment, and then kept walking. "'Course we aren't," he said cheerfully. "We're just taking the long way back to the castle."
Aardvark's voice trembled as she glanced around nervously. "Well... could we go by the faster route then? Please?" Her eyes were as round as saucers.
Ferret hesitated, nodded once, and then hurried on, his nest mate running close behind him.
Rascal, at 5 and a half fet tall sat by a fire that his European dragon made for him for the night. "I want to thank you again for the fire, if it's this cold I hate to see ths place in the winter time. My guess is that will make it to the castle tomorrow, few hours of walking, but less than a hour if we fly there."
"You saved my life when I was a egg during that massive earthquake, I'm just returning the favor as best as I can do. And plus you are me owner and my rder as well. Though I still don't understand why you hate flying this much." The dragon replied.
"I'm just afraid of heights, it's not that I hate flying it's just that looking down makes me thing of falling off of you. But I do like the view of the sunset up there, really nice." Rascal pulled his sword that was across his back under his shield he examined it and then grabbed his sharpening rock from his pouch and started to sharpen his blade once again.
He would go into the woods but It was to dark outside and was afraid of losing the way.
Though it was dark, Little Merigold made her way to Shyam, who had made some progress. Though his legs were still weak, his wings were strong.
Then they heard a growl from behind, that could only belong to one thing.
A vampire.
Though she was afraid of heights, she got him when he asked, and he went on his way to bring her back, when he noticed the two pumpkin dragons and the nestmates behind them.
"Need some help getting back?" He asked them.
Little Merigold got off of him while they waited for an answer.
By the time they answered, the sun was showing up, some of it shining through the trees.
Shyams legs still hadn't healed, and his wings were starting to slow due to him being tired, and overworking them (he wasn't used to using his wings unless it was for flight in high places, and that usually lasted for an our) he went back to the castle, ahead of Little Merigold, to hopefully get his energy back. Plus, the light seemed to burn.
Little Merigold went the other direction, exploring the woods while she was out, and maybe find someone in her exploration.
Rascal opened his silver eyes and looked around, it was now morning. His long brown hair made him look more like a 17 year old girl than a boy but as they get closer they would soon know what gender he was.
He got up and went to look around but made sure that the camp was in his eye sight so that he wouldn't get lost finding his way back.
Aardvark squeaked and dived behind Ferret, cowering away from the other dragons. Ferret nudged her gently, embarrassed. "Aardvark, c'mon; it's the dragons from the castle."
She poked her head out and blinked. "Oh." She shivered. "Yes, we'd like to go home."
Szabaru's eyes flicked down, following some odd movement on the ground. They narrowed, and he dived suddenly toward the forest below.
A human... the magi hatchling thought, his interest piqued.
Meanwhile, Shyam lead them home, and Little Merigold came with after a bit of time.
Then, suddenly, it started...Snowing? In spring?
Little Merigold looked overhead, and saw Controller of the Icy winds, carrying what looked like weary Summer dragon on his back, being careful not to freeze her.
They came down once they were far ahead of the others, and he let the summer dragon--Mysticheart9, usually called Mysticheart--down and said "Sorry for the freezing ride. After what happened though, I hope you can forgive me."
"I already had." Mysticheart9 said. Then she went in the castle, trying hard not to fall down, her wings and her legs frail from the cold for now.
Rascal got back to his fire pit and woke Beranuss, his dragon up. "Time to go my friend, I want to get to the castle as soon as possible."
"Come on, you know me, I need the rest after that fight a week ago, I saved your life!" Beranuss complainted.
"Fine, I'll let you stay here but I'm going ahead if you don't mind, I need to get some shelter." Rascal started off.
Shyam began to slow, his wings beating slowly against the chill that was still in the air.
Little Merigold: If you need a lift, just ask, okay?
Shyam: alright.
He knew he wouldn't ask though. Even though it was painful on his feet and slow flying, he was just stubborn like that sometimes. He really didn't want to show that he needed help.
Little Merigold, looking closely at his neck, saw that a vampire bit him.
Oh snap. Little Merigold thought, but, knowing how to hide her emotions when needed, she didn't show worry to the pumpkin hatchlings following.
She looked back, and thought she saw someone in the distance.
She turned back, thinking she imagined it.
It took Rascal longer than he thought, it was not night time and it was getting colder by the hour. "Now I wish that I sticked around Beracuss, he's the reason that I stayed warm all the time.
"Why I take that as a compliment Rascal."
Rascal hear a vioce in his head but it came to no surprise to him."I would really appretiate it if you would come and keep me warm." He heard powerful wing beats coming in for a landing and after Beracuss landed and got comfortable Rascal went to him and fell asleep.
Soon, they were at the castle. The pumpkin hatchlings thanked them, and went inside before they did. He went inside after them, and went to the closest room with a soft floor and fell due to exhaustion.
It was no surprise to Little Merigold at all. It was surprising to Pumpkin Huntress only because he got in the door without help.
Little Merigold carried him to a more comfortable spot. She had no idea how to cure the bites effects again. She barely managed to do it for Magi Guard so many years ago. When one Vampire still exists, the vampire population can grow still. It made a fast recovery since then, she knew.
Rascal awoke to a strong power emanating from his blade. It was the middle of the night and was warmer because everytime the sword glistened with it's ancient power it also produced it's own heat which kept the warrior that bore this sword warm in a battle with several vampires. The possessor of the sword was immune to those bites so he had the upper advantage. He gently poked Beracuss to wake him up. "Beracuss we need to get going now!"
"Why now, can't we sl..." Beracuss was soon back to full strength as if he was young again. "It's about time," He said looking at Rascal's glowing blade. "hop on and I'll get us there in less than a hour, hope it's not too late." Rascal didn't argue knowing that if there was a vampire being created by their bites then they need to hurry and reverse the process. And if it was a dragon then it would become very difficult to defeat, and dangerous for Beracuss. "Hold on tight. "
Meanwhile...
"Shyam...Are you alright?" Healerstar asked.
"Matters on what Alright means to you. Other than my neck hurting, my legs not being able to hold me up and my wings sore from flying in cold, I'm fine." Shyam said, truthfully, since every dragon other than them were too busy to hear.
Rascal could see the castle clearly and thanks to the sword enhancing his eyes to see where the source is coming from for now. It was coming from the first floor of the castle so he pointed to the castle enterance for Beracuss to land him.
Right after he landed he started heading for the person or dragon that needed help. As he ran past some dragons he pulled the blade, the blade had stopped glowing since he landed but he still saw what needed to be done.
Healerstar went behind him, and saw it was a vampire bite.
"Do you remember what happened just before you got that neck pain?" She asked.
"No." Shyam said.
Nether did Magi Guard. Healerstar thought.
"It looks like a vampire bite, to be honest with you." She said.
Both of them were silent. They heard footsteps coming closer to the room they were in. Quiet footsteps, but it still meant someone, or something was coming.
Beracuss, Keep a eye out for any uninvited guests for me while I finish this thing!
I'm already doing it Rascal!
Rascal was almost in the room when he heard a roar coming from behind him. "I don't like that roar for sure." He got into the room and found a dragon very weak and one standing beside it. He didn't have time too worry about the strong one, if the weak one loses the battle inside it then Rascal would have to kill it and he never likes to kill a dragon. He soon found that spot and pierced the sword into the dragon's neck as quickly pulled it out.
After the quick pain from the sword, which Shyam held a scream that would normally form when Rascal did that. But every other pain was gone, thanks to that.
Healerstar helped him up, and Shyam thanked Rascal for doing that.
"I hate killing dragons after they turn into a vampire one." Rascal's eyes went back to normal silver but in the dark they look gray more than silver. You can come into the castle now Beracuss.
I'm on my way, but thanks again for the strength back.
Rascal grinned, he knew the pain from killing that dragon was going to come back sooner or later.
Healerstar healed the pain she could that was still left on his neck, and he felt better.
Pumpkin Huntress came by, without being seen, to check on Shyam. When he seemed fine, she went away and sighed a sigh of relief.
"I wish to see the owner of this castle if you don't mind." Beracuss walked in after Rascal finished. "I'm Rascal and this is my dragon Beracuss."
Healerstar: If she was here, I wouldn't mind at all. Why do you want to see her?
She tilted her head slightly, and Shyam went outside of the room and to his owner to ask who the owner of the castle was.
"I know her and I know that she's the owner of this castle, I've been traveling a year to see her again, I sure hope that nothing has happened to her." He didn't dare say that Lostinlove was his step sister. He didn't feel like that was a wise choose so he left that part of it out.
Rascal, Beracuss to him in his mind. I know that Lostinlove is your step sister but how would you know that she owns this castle after all, you did kill her first dragon. After that you two seperated and have so far never seen each other again!
I know that we have the pain that came on us when I killed Sonta, she was a lovely dragon, and I couldn't save her in time, I'm sorry.
Healerstar: If I knew where she was, I'd tell you. Nobody seems to have a clue where she is, though, not even Mystic.
"I see, I'll go talk to this Mystic person. Can you please lead the way?"
Healerstar: I guess.
She went out, and Mystic was standing right out next to the exit.
Healerstar had no clue how she knew to stand there, but she did.
"She's right here." Healerstar said, standing next to Mystic.
"Hey Mystic, I'm Rascal, Can we talk?" Rascal sheathed his blade while he was saying that since there was no reason to have it out.
"Sure." Mystic said. Healerstar went to do her own thing.
"I was wondering since...since the owner of the castle isn't here, I was wondering if you wouldn't mind if I pleag my allegence to you, until the owner comes back."
"Um...Sure, I guess." Mystic said. She didn't know why he wanted to do that, but she didn't mind if he did.
"To tell you the truth the reason why I'm here was to apologize to my step sister who's the owner of this castle because I killed Sonta, her first dragon."
Mystic decided it wouldn't be smart to tell him why she was here.
Mystic told him she'd help him with that if he needed it and if she could.