Helios was quiet for a long moment. “We’ve all made our mistakes…son. Some worse then others.” He looked into Sols eyes as he responded. “I think the kingdom of sun will do you a lot of good.” He said with a soft smile. He turned to eclipse with a curious expression at her words.
Sol shivered and shook out his wings. "Helios, I'm certain you saw the mistreatment many dragons receive throughout The Den. It's sick. Eclipse and I want to do something more. We want to free those dragons and end the enslavement of our brothers and sisters,"
Harper is just- mmmm tastefulPoured my LITERAL heart and soul into this one. Please tell me your thoughts! Honest thoughtszszzsszzz!
some 3600 words.
Groups retrieved water from our freshwater supply about a mile out, they hunted, they captured both our smaller base-sites, and one team brought back supplies, including medical equipment, which I and the six other medics were glad to put to use.
Sol stayed with me. Fox said he was not to leave the base-camp without his permission, and he would kill anyone who went against his orders. His threats were vulgar and sincere. Sol may have both felt and looked useless, but he was safe, and that comforted me.
We lost thirteen teammates Monday night, which was bad. Awful, really. An entire group had gone missing.
One team brought in two captives, an old man and a boy, who appeared to be a couple years shy of my own age. The old man was dying. He had lost most of his left leg. I and two others stayed by his side, trying to get him to drink and breathe. His body was failing. He'd lost too much blood and became unresponsive.
My late evening hours were spent listening to an old man die. I found sleep rather impossible, so I watched the sky turn black. Once the old man died I still could not sleep. They would have killed him anyway. They just wanted information. They wanted to know what was out there. What had taken his leg? What had killed his team? What horrors had the lab cooked up.
They were doing something to the boy. I could hear him screaming in the distance.
I sniffed and pulled one knee up to my chest. Staring into the fire had become a passionate hobby of mine.
Sol lifted his head and leaned back to look at me.
I stared at him and didn't move. "What?" I whispered.
He cocked his head.
I smiled, giving him a questioning look.
He rolled back and slid his head into my lap.
"What?" I whispered again. "Tell me." I rubbed his neck. He leaned back and I winced, lifting his head up as I repositioned my legs. "You should talk." I whispered, laying his head back into my lap.
He sighed.
I licked my dry lips. "I'm sorry," I said, tracing his jawline with a light touch.
He nudged against me.
I sighed and leaned down and kissed his cheek. "I'm sorry."
Lueria and Julius carried a twenty-gallon bucket of water through the misty morning woods.
"I'll take Tobias, then." She said.
"No," He grunted, "Tobias stays at camp.
"I want Sol."
"Stop it."
The forage crunched with every step and tall plants brushed against their faces.
"I'm sure as heck not taking the CloudWing."
"Good."
"Why can't I take Tobey?"
"You'll kill him."
"I will not. All the sudden you are so stupidly stubborn, huh?" She tripped and the water sloshed.
Julius did not reply, ducking beneath an overhaning branch. He squinted as the morning sun shone down through an open patch of leaves.
"I don't want him to die, Julius."
"Then don't take him."
"I want to take Sol."
"They're a package deal, Harp. I said no."
She scoffed.
"The whole team wants Sol, Harp, and I ain't gonna give him to them. He needs time. They're already putting the other two to use, and we can save Sol up. Use him when we need it." He stepped over a log then flicked a bug off his cheek. "They'll all set him back, Harp. He won't want to listen, he'll be too scared. If they beat him, which they will, they'll screw our whole team over. You can't beat fear into submission."
"I wouldn't set him back, though, Julius."
"I know."
"If I took him, I mean."
"Shut up, Harper."
"Julius."
"I said what I said."
The forage began to lessen, and the camp came into view ahead.
"So did they kill that boy last night?" Harper asked.
"No. He's on base. Back by the East wall. You can't see him real well."
"Did he tell them anything useful?"
"Some. Not much. He lied a lot."
"I want to try."
"Everyone thinks they can get him to say something."
They entered the camp.
"Don't take Tobe." Fox said.
"Okay."
He stopped and she was forced to stop along with him. "I'm serious, now."
"Okay, Julius."
He stared at her.
"I swear it, Julius."
He sighed and began walking.
I had three men come to me with minor injuries, all needing medical supplies. I helped clean the wounds and apply proper medication. We had been given a variety of supplies to work with. No anesthetic. The viewers at home were certain to enjoy that.
Harper approached me around midday as I knelt beside the water basin, gently cleaning off my bug-bitten forearms. "Tobey," she said, coming to stand beside me. Sol trotted up, but she paid him no heed. "Oh my goodness, what happened to your freaking arms?"
"I wasn't close enough to the fire."
She snatched my wet forearm, running her fingers across the swollen skin. "Yeah, right. Did you have your jacket on?"
I hesitated.
She threw my wrist down as if repulsed. "Now, you are a smart one, aren't you,"
I rubbed the skin, tensing as it tingled. "Sol was warm. I took the jacket off before dawn."
Harper scoffed. "Don't scratch those."
I sighed.
"I want you and Sol to come somewhere with me." She glanced at the dragon and Sol took a quick step forward. "It isn't very far."
I glanced up at her and she reached gently for Sol, then met my gaze. Her stare felt hard and pointed, and she cocked her head with an air of challenge.
I trusted Harper. I really did.
Plants crowded the dark forest floor, most reaching past my waist. Shadows loomed, and I stayed close to Sol. I did not speak because Harper would not allow it. Our voices would attract more enemies than the sound of our crunching footsteps.
Leaving the camp had been easy. All the teams were out by 8:00 sharp that morning, and in Fox's absence Harper bore authority over me. The SandWing had been positioned on base for the morning shift. No one questioned Harper. They should have.
An hour of trekking through the wildwood, and I had grown wary, but yet I did not question Harper. I should have.
Sol stayed alert and ready, feeding off of my cautious demeanor. I had yet to venture out of the camp, and my mind played wild scenarios involving whatever had taken out the missing team and the one-legged old man. Hallucinations prevailed, translating every dancing shadow into some savage beast.
We came to a clearing where a collapsed house of cinder blocks and broken planks lay slumped in the shadows cast by an afternoon sun. Shattered pieces of house poured through the doorless doorway and littered the mossy ground like guts.
Harper strode through the clearing with a fearless edge, and Tobias followed. She stepped past debris, ducking through the doorway. Dim light shone beneath the floorboards and she stepped farther into the house, then glanced back at Tobias, who lingered in the doorway, his eyes on the cold, blue light below.
This was where she could turn around. She could play it off. Perhaps she was already too far in, but she could still play it off. Or try to at the least.
Tobias looked up and she jerked her gaze away. She could not bear to look him in the eye. It would trigger a certain decision in her heart. But her mind was cold and hard and persuading.
The open storm door lay not two yards away, and Harper started towards it. A wide stairwell greeted her.
It would be so simple to walk away.
Walk away.
"Come on." Harper said, starting down the stairs, and turning back at the landing.
"What is this," Tobias whispered.
The suspicion in his eyes. Oh.
"It's a basement, oh smart one, come now. Tell Sol not to follow or the floorboards will break."
Tobias did as he was told. Part of her thought him a fool- the other half thought her a monster. A war of mind and heart commenced.
Tobias followed her down the stairwell, and she flicked a switch on the wall, illuminating the long room in bright light. It was a workshop and tools hung from the wall and projects lay strewn across tables.
She began to walk farther into the room, then turned back, feeling Tobias' stare.
"Where are we?" He asked.
"Calm down and look," she motioned around the room. "Look what we just found."
"You knew."
"I saw it yesterday, with my team, you ditz." She swallowed, her mouth drier than her words.
A tool fell from somewhere farther back in the room, and Tobias retreated a step.
How perfectly suspenseful. How perfectly she had trapped herself.
She turned on her heel, swiping an aluminum level off the counter top. The approaching man threw an object, and she dodged, then advanced, swinging the level. It hit the man in the jaw and he fell into a table, then to the floor.
"Harper!" A second man shouted, and she winced, dropping the level as he stepped into the light. He stared at her and she stared back. "What are you doing," he muttered, raising his handgun as he stepped over the first man's body. "Is he alive?"
The third man knelt over the body and said no.
Harper reached for a wrench, but the gun fired and she tensed, listening to the bullet ricochet across the ground. She slowly looked back at the man, turning her open hands towards him in submission. Her ears rang.
"A fine time for betrayal," he pushed the gun against her face.
"Not really, no," she leaned away, the tall countertop digging into her back.
The third man began to cross the room, looking for Tobias.
Sol's roar echoed from above and gunshots rang. She winced again and looked away from the man.
"For your sake, Harper," he leaned into the gun and pushed her head against the cabinet, "let's hope those are our bullets." The man grabbed the skin of her cheek and tilted her head towards himself. "I warned you," he whispered, and Harper's nails dug into the countertop edge, "what I do to traitors."
"Am I, though?"
"A traitor?" He twisted the skin in his nails and she hissed. "Yes, Harper. Yes, you are."
Tools clattered as Tobias struggled.
The man glanced back and Harper drove her knee into his side, jerking her head away. The gun shots pulsed in her ears as the man stumbled, still holding onto her face. He slammed her head down against the table and Harper fell into him, dazed.
She could see a dusty square of the shelf below, and her hand flailed, snatching up the triangular tool in her right hand.
She pushed into the man, and he jerked her upwards, gripping her cheek. The skin burned and she groaned, throwing herself back into the man again.
He released her and locked the crook of his arm around her throat.
Twisting slightly back, Harper reached blindly for his gun hand. She made contact and drove his wrist against the table, swinging her body around as he squeezed her throat from behind. She slammed the square against his fingers until they broke and he released the gun. She sent the weapon spinning off the table.
Harper stumbled back as the man jerked her away from the table. She could not breath, and her attempted gasps sent tremors through her limbs.
He took a knee as her thrashing legs gave out. "What a way to go," he leaned down, teeth clenched.
Harper released the square, then reached back to grip the man's head.
He jerked away, allowing Harper a quick breath.
She pressed her thumbs across his throat and he pulled back again. Harper strained for air, grimacing as the third man stepped into her line of vision. He started towards her and Harper released the second man and instinctively moved her arms over her torso.
The man breathed loudly in her ear, pulling her close as the third advanced.
Harper flicked the level towards herself with her boot and gripped it in her fist.
The third man moved to stand over her, and she cocked the level back, but he slammed his boot down, trapping her fingers below the cutting aluminum.
"Alright." The man from behind said, drawing her arms back, "Alright, Harper. What, you want me to knock you out?"
"Hardly." She panted.
"Well I'm gonna."
She strained, kicking her feet back, but the third man dropped down low, pushing her legs against the cabinetry. She groaned in frustration. "I brought you them, didn't I?"
"And you killed one of our guys and attacked me. Huh. That's loyalty." He grabbed the skin on her cheek again.
"Stop, I brought them!"
"Pick a side, Harper." The man growled. "Oh, too late."
"Sol!" She screamed.
The third man bore down on her chest, muffling her with his free hand.
She still screamed the dragon's name.
"Harper." The man said in her ear. "He wants you alive. We aren't going to kill you yet."
She thrashed and could not escape. "It's not death I fear, you imbecile. It's whatever the heck you plan to do to me before."
"Ah." He dug his nails into her cheek. "Valid."
She groaned.
A gunshot rang out, and the man grunted, his hold on her arms loosening.
Harper sprang forward, and the third man lurched back, twisting as he scrambled to his feet, pursuing Tobias.
The second man's hand closed around Harper's braided hair, jerking her neck back. She reached for the level and turned and cracked the aluminum into the side of his skull.
"Harper!" Tobias shouted, and the gun hit the cabinets above, dropping to the floor beside her. She scrambled back from the second man and shot him and pushed herself against the table.
Something slammed against the table top, again, and again, and the sound echoed loudly. Harper forced herself to her feet. The third man dropped Tobias and raised his hands as Harper stared down the short gun barrel. She shot him and sunk back to the ground and flexed her jaw and spat. She leaned her head back against a table leg.
"Tobey?" Her mouth hurt. Sol had stopped roaring. Now she could only hear her shaking breaths. "Tobias?"
She reached for the countertop and pulled herself up. Tobias lay face down, and she winced, then stepped over the bodies and knelt beside him.
Something creaked above and Harper tensed, pulling herself and Tobias to the stair wall, eyes locked on the floorboards above. She held her breath and waited.
A dragon growled.
"Sol?" She cleared her throat and spat again, lifting a hand to feel her cheek. When she pulled away she found blood stained her finger tips, but she was unsure to whom it belonged. Sol paced above the stairs, searching for a way down.
"I'm coming, Sol, wait." She stood and leaned Tobias beside the wall and grabbed the gun. She looked at the dead men, then started up the stairs. The dragon gave her an eager look, and she motioned him back, the air stifling hot. She set the gun down on the top of the stairs, glancing at the charred bodies smoking beside the doorway. "Wait, Sol." She said, then went back down the stairwell and gathered up Tobias and moved slowly up the stairs. She stopped on the landing, shaking her head, "Get back, your scales will toast us to death if you are not careful." The dragon sidestepped to the left. "He isn't dead."
There was a lot of blood. She took her jacket off her waist and pulled her shirt off and put the jacket back on. She wiped away the blood, sweating as Sol's heat pulsed through the air. She couldn't stop shaking.
"Don't touch him, Sol, I'll be right back."
She found an oil stained rag on the counter top, and she searched the cupboards and found a blanket, a box set of knives, and another jacket.
She walked back up the stairs, still flexing her jaw to keep it from growing stiff, then knelt beside Tobias and cleaned off more blood and tied the jacket around his head. She leaned back and watched him. He did not wake, so she grabbed the gun and stuck it in her coat pocket with the knife set and picked up Tobias and walked out of the house.
"You're still too hot, Sol." Her voice shook.
He moved back a little, but matched her pace.
An hour passed before Harper stopped, leaning Tobias against a tree. She sat down and thought.
He was awake, but hardly present.
"Will you tell Julius?" Harper asked.
Tobias rested his head between his knees and pressed his palms against his still bleeding temple. "I don't know."
"He'll kill me, Tobey."
"You'll kill me."
"I won't."
Tobias coughed and was sick.
"Your stomach is weak and pathetic."
"Thank you."
"You can't tell him, Tobias, please don't tell him."
"Or what,"
"Or I will be killed."
"I care?"
"I think you do."
"Okay."
"Tobey, be honest, now, please."
He leaned back to look at her. "If I say- if I say I'll tell him, you'll kill me, and if.. if I don't tell him.. him, uh…" he leaned forward again, "you'll probably still kill me."
"I won't."
He closed his eyes and thought he might faint. "You had everything set up. Everything planned, Harper. They want Sol?"
At the sound of his name the great dragon approached. She glanced up at the red SolarWing. "Yes. Are you going to tell Julius?"
Tobias' hands slipped away from his head. He couldn't think.
"Tobey? Will you tell him?"
He clenched his jaw and coughed again.
Harper caught him as he slumped over, then picked him up and stood.
The pain felt perfectly horrid. "Don't move, don't move," someone was saying. I was vaguely aware of an increasing pressure on my chest, and then someone lifted my head and drowned my consciousness.
They stitched up the wound, but I don't remember much of it. What I can remember is looking up at Elliot- I think he was re-threading the needle -and realizing we were on the ground and my head rested in his lap. I asked him if he knew where Fox was and he said no. We exchanged a few other words, then I can't remember anything else. I felt so lightheaded, and everything appeared so distorted I kept getting sick.
Later, I sat on a log by the fire, eating bits of black venison.
The camp was anxious. Fox's team still hadn't returned, the sun had set two hours ago.
I was laying against Sol and half asleep by the time Fox arrived. Harper stood up to meet him. Without a word he hit her across the mouth with the back of his hand. That was it.
He walked towards me, and Sol must have felt my body tense, because he lifted his head, staring at Fox as the man approached.
Fox stopped beside me, then leaned down, his eyes on my forehead. He reached for me and I looked away, tired of my head being touched.
"Don't." Fox warned.
I held still, letting him turn my head and assess the wound in the fire light.
"Fox, I didn't know," I said in a low tone.
"I know you didn't."
"I should have."
"No."
He pulled away and looked at me. Then he sighed and gazed into the fire, shaking his head.
He was angry.
A minute or two passed, and I slowly eased myself back against Sol.
Fox sat down. He stayed like that, clenching his jaw and releasing it, every sigh heavy, every breath livid.
They were going to kill the prisoner.
Harper walked to the water basin and leaned down and filled the bowl with water. She held the bowl in one hand and a pan of red coals in the other, and walked towards the East wall.
She found the boy tied to a tree. Every inhale sent shivers through his limbs and she started a fire beside him and he woke and leaned toward the flames. They had broken his hand and he held it closely against himself. Harper offered him water, but he did not drink. She drank a little, and then he reached for the bowl and she helped him drink.
This was how she would please Julius. If she could get information from the boy, then she would be of use to him. If she was of use, perhaps he would not kill her.
She was a fool, and she accepted this.
Something in her had broken when Julius hit her. Never had he hurt her before. She deserved it entirely. She had directly disobeyed his orders. He did not know she had betrayed him.
Harper untied the ropes and pulled the boy closer to the fire and sat with him.
Perhaps what had frightened her most was the way she had handled herself today. The way her heart had won.
She repositioned herself and the boy leaned back, frightened.
"Calm down, I will not burn you." Harper whispered. She reached around to feel his forehead, then tilted his stiff neck back and felt his cold, white cheeks.
Tears rolled down the side of his face, and she slowly let his head droop down. She knew what it was like to realize the inevitability of death.
"Do you want more water?"
He said nothing.
Why couldn't she control her emotions? What was she feeling? That was it. She couldn't tell. A foreign emotion.
She shivered because she realized.
Also, I don't know why I sometimes get the normal paragraphs, and then the Kiwi paragraphs, like, what why how why again- and then I have to freaking EDIT all the freaking Kayway paragraffs
AYO, we have OFFICIALLY hit 30,000 words-
View attachment 3634477
Things gone done gone get mega hyped. This is my first draft, so I see all the billions of mistakes, and I hope to add more suspense to the plot and give Tobias an end goal other than SOL AND I SURVIVE, YO- but otherwise, yeah
@-Shade-
@-Kiwi-
@RDchicken99
there is is. 
the fricken truth. I just have one question... what's with the alt?Hey folks. I've been so burnt out from writing lately. But I won't give up
So. A good deal of this is garbage. It's like Marvel when they throw a bunch of characters together and they talk and get absolutely nothing done and advance the plot in literally zero way until one little snippet at the end, but since everyone knows and freaking loves these characters, they're like, yayayayyayayayyaya-
So that's what happened here. And the style is absent for a good 1500 words. I'm so sorry, I really am. I just need to get this out here and cemented, though, otherwise... geez, I really don't want to stop, but I've had such a rough week with it all. I fell awful about my writing
Anyway, that's enough depression for now, here y'all go!
Some 3200 words...
Someone shouted and I woke, squinting at a bright midday sun. I rolled onto my side, hiding my face in the crook of my elbow as the light bit into my vision. The shout came again- it was the mouthy CloudWing.
"At least I'm useful!" He cried in a pained snarl.
My immediate thoughts: where was Sol; gosh, my eyes hurt; why had no one had woken me;
I sat up, covering my eyes with dirt-stained fingers.
"Look at him!" The CloudWing roared, "So perfectly uselessssssss," he hissed, his tone distressed.
Squinting my eyes, I could see small blurry figures gathered at the other side of camp and the piercing glow of the CloudWing's silver scales as they reflected and shot the sun back into my eyes. Sol's tall figure hustled towards me, following alongside the wall.
"Look at him run away," the CloudWing snarled. His accusation turned into a scream.
I couldn't tell what was happening to him, but I imagined it was some sort of punishment, and I imagined a muzzle in his immediate future.
My head ached, and I found it difficult to concentrate. A small percentage of our group still remained in base, and I recognized no one by name. A few men lingered beneath the water tent, and I thought I might join them.
Sol trotted up from behind and nudged my back with his nose, resting his chin on my shoulder. I leaned into him. He stayed there, breathing into my neck. The CloudWing roared and Sol lifted his head. He released a flustered sigh.
"It's okay." I assured.
The CloudWing howled and Sol shivered and looked down at me.
"What are they doing?" I asked.
He dipped his nose down to my shoulder again.
"It's okay. They can't do much, or he'd be of no use."
He sighed again.
The headache pulsed. "I need water," I muttered, standing. Sol followed me to the water basin.
The CloudWing, livid and screaming, had caught sight of Sol and released an onslaught of threats and curses directed at both Sol and myself.
"Ignore it." I told him, but Sol still lowered his head in a submissive manner. "Don't let him win." Sol didn't look at me.
"Go beat the coward," the CloudWing shrieked. "I'm useful, you idiots, don't-" he made such a noise my ears rang.
I drank from the water basin (it tasted awful) and poured water on my head. The few men gathered beneath the tent were not in a bad mood, and they greeted me.
"What did he do?" I asked, pulling off my crusty shirt.
"He killed someone. Got all mad, now the teams are fed up, they didn't take him out today, and they left Gen, too."
I glanced at the blonde man, rather shocked. "Who died?"
The man shrugged and glanced around, but no one seemed to know who the dragon had killed.
I laid the shirt over my knee and cupped water onto it and worked out the blood.
The CloudWing's racket had died down. His voice echoed as he announced, "You'd have to kill me,"
I gave an amused eye roll. "How long has it been going on?"
"Past half hour," Elliot said, walking up from behind me. He brushed his fingers across my forehead, feeling his perfect stitches. "He won't learn." I tilted my head towards him and he knelt, picking dirt from the wound. "You're going to let this get infected already?"
"I need a mirror," I muttered.
Sol nuzzled my shoulder again and slipped his nose beneath my arm. I reached back, feeling his warm neck. "Calm down. He's alright."
"Nice Dragon, buddy." Elliot grabbed the wet shirt off my knee. "This clean?"
"Sure."
He pushed it against my forehead. "Your man Julius is out at the second base-camp. He'll be back tonight."
Water dropped into my eyes as I nodded.
The CloudWing's horrible screams seemed to spike the headache. I shivered.
"No beating will turn that one around," Elliot said, "at least not with what we have here."
"Too young." A man grunted. "He shouldn't have been sent out yet. Needs more conditioning."
Sol pulled away.
"This could go on all day, I'm sure of it," the blonde man sighed. "Rather impressive."
A few men chuckled.
"He needs a muzzle," Elliot said. "Hold still, I'm almost done."
The CloudWing screamed a threat, and the men around me chuckled. I couldn't see what was so funny about it.
Elliot removed the shirt and stood and offered his hand, pulling me to my feet. He flicked his fingers at my stomach and I gently caught his hand in defense, "Hey, get on a shirt and come help me with this boy. They didn't kill him last night, but he's half dead anyway."
"Right." I said, pulling on the wet shirt before scooping a few more mouthfuls of water.
Tobias and Elliot treated the boy, all while listening to the CloudWing. The dragon did not scream in pain, it was all in fury, and when they were finished he brooded and paced the wall, his eyes on Sol.
"What did I miss, Elliot? What's with him and Sol?"
"You missed nothing. He just wants someone to blame, I think. A little illogical, but pride's like that, anyway."
Tobias gave a soft laugh at Elliot's refreshing opinion.
The boy had yet to speak, so he gained their immediate attention when he requested more water. Tobias volunteered to retrieve the water, wanting some for himself as he still felt rather lightheaded. He noticed the CloudWing approaching Sol and stopped, holding his breath as Sol straightened, towering over the silver dragon with an air of authority. A low voice could be heard as the CloudWing spoke, but his growling tone and the breeze muddled the words. Tobias glanced at Elliot, who still knelt beside the boy.
The CloudWing released a threatening roar, tossing dirt as Sol's talons.
"Alicanto." the black SandWing sprinted towards the dragons, his sharp tone brimming with warning. His gait shifted to a steady lope as the CloudWing drew back from Sol.
"Curse you, Gen." The silver dragon snarled. "I swear on the moons if you interfere I'll rip you apart."
Elliot took the water bowl from Tobias, and Tobias joined the small group of men starting towards the unruly dragon.
"Today was supposed to teach you a lesson." Gen said, his voice neutral.
"Was it?" Alicanto spat. "Well, I learned nothing, other than I'm surrounded by complete savages."
Sol stood on the CloudWing's far side, and he took a step forward, trying to circle around the silver dragon, but Alicanto reared back, snapping at Sol's neck.
"That is enough, fool." The balance between Gen's harsh, controlled tone was admirable.
One of the men beside Tobias swore. "I blame this on Klice. I'd condition him myself if I knew it would work."
Another man scoffed in agreement. "He's got wild spirit. They kill those kinds."
"Am I the fool?" Alicanto hissed, pacing away from Gen. He pushed himself alongside Sol, leveling his gaze at the approaching humans. A sudden smile shaped his pointed teeth. "Oh, look who it is. Is that your boy, Sol?" His tone shifted to mock excitement as he shifted to Sol's other side, keeping obvious distance from Gen. "Yeah? Is that him, you stupid, speechless, dope,"
Sol flicked his tail at the CloudWing's blistered wrists and Alicanto scrambled back. The deep burns still excreted fresh blood and it stained the moss below his talons.
"Alicanto," a dark haired, bulky man sighed as he came to a halt beside Gen, "how would you like to relive this morning again?"
"How would you like to die?"
The man shook his head and motioned for Sol to come. "You don't know what you're doing to yourself, Ali. You're condemned by your own word."
Sol dropped his head and began to approach. Alicanto snapped at his neck again and Sol stopped.
"See, he's useless," Alicanto cried, shoving Sol back a step, and Sol retaliated, boxing the dragon's cheek with the edge of his wing.
"Quite the opposite." Gen chuckled softly.
Sol paced back, a look of disdain hinting at his expression. His talons seared into the green terrain.
Alicanto, rigid and growling, forced himself back from Sol, rolling his eyes.
"That's the most self restraint I've seen you use all week." Gen said.
"You think I'm a coward, Gen?"
The SandWing dropped his gaze, hiding a smile. "I hope you are smart."
"You think I'm a coward?"
Gen's head snapped up and released a low hiss. "Cowardice and wisdom are two very different things, CloudWing. Sol's scales are not only hot enough to burn your head off your neck, but he is twice your size and he will snap your spine within moments due to your inexperience."
Sol stared hard at Tobias, who signaled for him to stay put.
Alicanto bristled. "Sol has done nothing but stand around and be useless. Why do I suffer under his pitiful gaze when I have been of service? I have saved your lives! And yet I am the undeserving, tortured fool,"
Gen stepped forward. "Watch yourself, Alicanto. Their quarrel does not involve Sol. It involves you and your impulsive actions."
"Gen, I'll eat you alive."
"That is enough. I'll help you out of the pit you've dug for yourself if you shut up and walk away."
"I'll tear you apart, Gen."
Unimpressed, the SandWing cocked his head, then glanced towards the burly man standing at his side. The man nodded and waved towards Alicanto.
"Stay away from me, Gen, I swear on every blasted moon,"
The SandWing approached, and Alicanto shied back, his ears pinned flat against his head.
"Don't run."
Alicanto ran.
Gen cast an exhausted look back at the man, who winced and shrugged. "Bring him back to the pit. We'll do something with him later."
Gen nodded and slowly vanished, his scales blending into his surroundings with immaculate perfection.
The man glanced towards Sol, then motioned him over.
"Ach, is Fox around?" Someone muttered. "Careful, Jacks, he might kill you, remember."
Jacks chuckled, nodding as Sol dropped his head and approached. The big man turned towards Tobias. "You part of Fox's group?"
Tobias nodded. "Yeah. Tobias."
They shook hands as Sol stopped just behind Tobias.
"You're his trainer?" Jacks asked.
"Yes."
Alicanto shrieked from somewhere in the woods. Sol's ears peeled and he lifted his head.
Jacks's brows raised. "Is that compassion I see there, Sol?"
The dragon heard his name and glanced towards Jacks with a curious look.
"He doesn't understand English." Tobias said.
"Ah. Strange for him to care for a dragon. Especially one who hates him. Where's he from?"
Tobias shrugged. "The labs."
Jacks scrunched the bridge of his nose. "Who taught him that, then? Compassion?"
He glanced at me and I stared at Sol. "I don't know." I lied.
Our team of seventy-two returned as a group of forty.
Stress and anxiety hit the camp like an anvil, and shock lingered in the thick air. We took a head count. Fifty-eight. A sickeningly small number.
Fox got into our small supply of whiskey, which had been reserved for medical uses only. I told him not to, and he said thought he would kill himself if he didn't drink. He was the only man who reverted to alcohol that night, but many used different methods, all equally as detrimental to their health, all having poor affect on their minds, which would assist us in no way tonight. I gave the few remaining bottles to Elliot, and he hid them before Fox could kill himself.
As dinner finished and a meeting gathered, Fox took me aside and said he couldn't participate in important conversation and that he wanted to sleep. I did not argue because, given his previous actions, that was a quite logical thing to do, but I did end up following him a little ways hoping he wouldn't injure himself or others in his poor state. Eventually I sat down next to him, then laid back and studied the constellations visible through patchy tree tops.
"Are we the only ones ain't at that meeting, Tobe?" Fox asked from where he lay on the hard ground about a foot away.
I tilted my head to the side and met his stained eyes. "Right now, I think so."
He nodded, rubbing his cheek into the dirt then sniffed. Phlegm rattled in his throat. "Lueria said some to me today," he murmured, "and I thought.. she's not with us, you know that, right, Tobe? She's, ah.." he took a deep breath and didn't finish his sentence. "Here, drink something, Tobe. It's better."
I shook my head and gazed into the dark sky, shivering as the leaves rustled in a crisp breeze. "I don't want any."
"Why?"
"Makes me sick."
"That ain't true."
"It isn't?" I looked back into his blue eyes.
"You're too good for it."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah. You got an- uh, opinion, about it." A light smile graced his cracked lips.
I turned back to the stars.
"Tell me." Fox grunted.
I sighed. "You know you're plenty sane for all you drank."
"Talent. Tell me, Tobe."
I gave another great sigh and he laughed. "I think even the strongest of men are weak if they lack self control."
Fox fell silent and his ragged breaths became even as he thought. "You don't know that, Tobe. It's different," he sucked in a labored breath, "here it's different."
I sat up, pulling my hands into the sleeves of my jacket. "Bugs are out. We should get near the fire. I'll help you." The words were meant to repair any damage done to our relationship by my previous statement. I could feel Fox's tension as he rose, and I realized he was quite upset.
"You don't know what I feel like." He said, and I steadied his shoulder with a tentative hand. "It's different, Tobe. Don't go talking about stuff you don't know."
"Okay. Let's go back to the fire."
"You shouldn't have said that, Tobe."
"You asked me to."
He sniffed and his brows raised. "You don't know."
"All right. Let's go back to the fire."
Tomorrow the arena borders narrowed and we would have to move camp. With half our team dead, this would be a great deal more work than what had originally been anticipated.
The meeting commenced around a wide, blazing fire. Smoke billowed from the damp wood, but deterred insects. Jacks and another woman moderated from across the fire. Anyone was free to speak, and they spoke their opinions loudly so that they were heard.
I sat on Fox's right side and Harper sat at his left, her long braids brushing the ground. Sol lay behind me.
"-what was our inventory count, then?"
"Odell said seventeen, but we lost two squads."
"Fox?"
I tensed, having zoned out on the conversation a bit. I cared, yes, but keeping up with all that was being said wore on my tired mind.
"Fox," Jacks said from across the pit, his face obscured by shadows. "Are you well?"
Fox didn't reply, his head tilted lazily to one side from where he leaned against a wide tree.
"Someone take the bottle," Jacks said, "and don't drink if you can't remain present."
Fox stared at Jacks from across the fire and offered the bottle, then pulled it back and drank. A few men laughed, but their tone lacked the usual gaiety and conversation resumed.
"You are so annoying, Julius," Harper hissed in a quiet voice. "You have so much power and influence on this meeting, and you choose to be incompetent."
Fox grunted. "Well. At least I'm, uh… I'm none double dealing viper sort, ahay, Harp?"
Harper jerked her gaze towards me. I shook my head, feeling my face grow hot with panic, and she turned her wide eyes to the ground.
She looked sick.
I leaned over, "Harper, no," Fox caught my upper arm before I could continue and pulled me against himself. He cleared his throat, and I leaned forward, but he pushed my back to his broad chest and leaned his mouth to my ear, voice hardly audible, "Who's side are you on, there, Tobe?"
"You're drunk, Fox," I whispered. "You don't know what you're accusing her of."
"I do, though," he exhaled and I held my breath. "What has you so concerned? You're, uh… uhm," his head drifted down to my shoulder and I looked away, feeling rather disgusted. I dared not bring attention to his unusual behavior, and I dared not make a scene, for Harper's sake.
Fox's hand moved up to my neck and I leaned away, "Stop, stop it,"
"Do you like her, Tobe?" He pushed his lips against my ear and laughed a little.
"No."
"I know who she is. Should I tell them?"
"No."
"Why?"
I released a stifled breath. "They'll kill her."
"And so?"
I stared into the fire and for a moment we were both silent.
"How long have you known?" I whispered.
"A while."
"Did you know back in the ring?"
"A little. But I'm sure, now, Tobe," his hot breaths made me shiver.
"Don't kill her, Fox. She's scared of you and she respects you,"
"She loves you," he broke in, and my eyes shot over to Harper's slumped position.
"If you have me you won't need to worry over her loyalty."
I could hear the smile in his tone, "Right, Tobe. You're defending her."
"I don't want her murdered."
Fox sighed and I coughed. Harper gave me a quick glance. "It wouldn't be murder, though, because it's just."
"Nothing here is just."
He laughed again. "Isn't it all subjective?
"She's confused and without guidance. She lacks purpose. Either side of the arena lack morals, and she's confused."
"Must life depend on your blasted morals, Tobias?"
"Not mine."
He paused at that, then cleared his throat.
"I can do a lot worse things than kill her, you know."
"Don't."
"You think I'm a monster, Tobe?"
"No."
"Yeah, you do. Do you sympathize for me, too, Tobe? Like you do for Lueria?"
"It's compassion." I said.
He laughed, and it was a loud sound compared to our previous low tones, but not enough to draw full attention.
His body tensed, and his hands tightened on my shirt as a sudden bout of rage boiled in his intoxicated mind. "Do you think I am Hell-bound, then? There's religion in your talk. You've learned from it."
"If you kill Harper, maybe."
"Is that sarcastic?"
"Maybe if you could think straight you would know."
"Watch it, Tobe."
"Get off me, Fox."
His hands slipped away.
"You need water."
"Hardly," he reached for the whiskey bottle and I pushed it over. "Kill you for that, Tobe."
"Get sober, then start making threats." I stood, meeting his dangerous stare.
"Get out of here. Go away, Tobe."
"Gladly," I whispered, keeping my distance from Fox as I paced towards Sol.
@-Shade-
@RDchicken99
@-Kiwi-
-Cap
No sé
Saturday. I'd like to actually leave for a while, maybe. I'm not quite sure yet. I have my pals on Gmail (except for YOU, Taber, come on, gurl). So perhaps I will drift away for a whiiillllleeee......My gosh, I love reading Ali so much I almost cried for him, MY POOR BOYHey folks. I've been so burnt out from writing lately. But I won't give up
So. A good deal of this is garbage. It's like Marvel when they throw a bunch of characters together and they talk and get absolutely nothing done and advance the plot in literally zero way until one little snippet at the end, but since everyone knows and freaking loves these characters, they're like, yayayayyayayayyaya-
So that's what happened here. And the style is absent for a good 1500 words. I'm so sorry, I really am. I just need to get this out here and cemented, though, otherwise... geez, I really don't want to stop, but I've had such a rough week with it all. I fell awful about my writing
Anyway, that's enough depression for now, here y'all go!
Some 3200 words...
Someone shouted and I woke, squinting at a bright midday sun. I rolled onto my side, hiding my face in the crook of my elbow as the light bit into my vision. The shout came again- it was the mouthy CloudWing.
"At least I'm useful!" He cried in a pained snarl.
My immediate thoughts: where was Sol; gosh, my eyes hurt; why had no one had woken me;
I sat up, covering my eyes with dirt-stained fingers.
"Look at him!" The CloudWing roared, "So perfectly uselessssssss," he hissed, his tone distressed.
Squinting my eyes, I could see small blurry figures gathered at the other side of camp and the piercing glow of the CloudWing's silver scales as they reflected and shot the sun back into my eyes. Sol's tall figure hustled towards me, following alongside the wall.
"Look at him run away," the CloudWing snarled. His accusation turned into a scream.
I couldn't tell what was happening to him, but I imagined it was some sort of punishment, and I imagined a muzzle in his immediate future.
My head ached, and I found it difficult to concentrate. A small percentage of our group still remained in base, and I recognized no one by name. A few men lingered beneath the water tent, and I thought I might join them.
Sol trotted up from behind and nudged my back with his nose, resting his chin on my shoulder. I leaned into him. He stayed there, breathing into my neck. The CloudWing roared and Sol lifted his head. He released a flustered sigh.
"It's okay." I assured.
The CloudWing howled and Sol shivered and looked down at me.
"What are they doing?" I asked.
He dipped his nose down to my shoulder again.
"It's okay. They can't do much, or he'd be of no use."
He sighed again.
The headache pulsed. "I need water," I muttered, standing. Sol followed me to the water basin.
The CloudWing, livid and screaming, had caught sight of Sol and released an onslaught of threats and curses directed at both Sol and myself.
"Ignore it." I told him, but Sol still lowered his head in a submissive manner. "Don't let him win." Sol didn't look at me.
"Go beat the coward," the CloudWing shrieked. "I'm useful, you idiots, don't-" he made such a noise my ears rang.
I drank from the water basin (it tasted awful) and poured water on my head. The few men gathered beneath the tent were not in a bad mood, and they greeted me.
"What did he do?" I asked, pulling off my crusty shirt.
"He killed someone. Got all mad, now the teams are fed up, they didn't take him out today, and they left Gen, too."
I glanced at the blonde man, rather shocked. "Who died?"
The man shrugged and glanced around, but no one seemed to know who the dragon had killed.
I laid the shirt over my knee and cupped water onto it and worked out the blood.
The CloudWing's racket had died down. His voice echoed as he announced, "You'd have to kill me,"
I gave an amused eye roll. "How long has it been going on?"
"Past half hour," Elliot said, walking up from behind me. He brushed his fingers across my forehead, feeling his perfect stitches. "He won't learn." I tilted my head towards him and he knelt, picking dirt from the wound. "You're going to let this get infected already?"
"I need a mirror," I muttered.
Sol nuzzled my shoulder again and slipped his nose beneath my arm. I reached back, feeling his warm neck. "Calm down. He's alright."
"Nice Dragon, buddy." Elliot grabbed the wet shirt off my knee. "This clean?"
"Sure."
He pushed it against my forehead. "Your man Julius is out at the second base-camp. He'll be back tonight."
Water dropped into my eyes as I nodded.
The CloudWing's horrible screams seemed to spike the headache. I shivered.
"No beating will turn that one around," Elliot said, "at least not with what we have here."
"Too young." A man grunted. "He shouldn't have been sent out yet. Needs more conditioning."
Sol pulled away.
"This could go on all day, I'm sure of it," the blonde man sighed. "Rather impressive."
A few men chuckled.
"He needs a muzzle," Elliot said. "Hold still, I'm almost done."
The CloudWing screamed a threat, and the men around me chuckled. I couldn't see what was so funny about it.
Elliot removed the shirt and stood and offered his hand, pulling me to my feet. He flicked his fingers at my stomach and I gently caught his hand in defense, "Hey, get on a shirt and come help me with this boy. They didn't kill him last night, but he's half dead anyway."
"Right." I said, pulling on the wet shirt before scooping a few more mouthfuls of water.
Tobias and Elliot treated the boy, all while listening to the CloudWing. The dragon did not scream in pain, it was all in fury, and when they were finished he brooded and paced the wall, his eyes on Sol.
"What did I miss, Elliot? What's with him and Sol?"
"You missed nothing. He just wants someone to blame, I think. A little illogical, but pride's like that, anyway."
Tobias gave a soft laugh at Elliot's refreshing opinion.
The boy had yet to speak, so he gained their immediate attention when he requested more water. Tobias volunteered to retrieve the water, wanting some for himself as he still felt rather lightheaded. He noticed the CloudWing approaching Sol and stopped, holding his breath as Sol straightened, towering over the silver dragon with an air of authority. A low voice could be heard as the CloudWing spoke, but his growling tone and the breeze muddled the words. Tobias glanced at Elliot, who still knelt beside the boy.
The CloudWing released a threatening roar, tossing dirt as Sol's talons.
"Alicanto." the black SandWing sprinted towards the dragons, his sharp tone brimming with warning. His gait shifted to a steady lope as the CloudWing drew back from Sol.
"Curse you, Gen." The silver dragon snarled. "I swear on the moons if you interfere I'll rip you apart."
Elliot took the water bowl from Tobias, and Tobias joined the small group of men starting towards the unruly dragon.
"Today was supposed to teach you a lesson." Gen said, his voice neutral.
"Was it?" Alicanto spat. "Well, I learned nothing, other than I'm surrounded by complete savages."
Sol stood on the CloudWing's far side, and he took a step forward, trying to circle around the silver dragon, but Alicanto reared back, snapping at Sol's neck.
"That is enough, fool." The balance between Gen's harsh, controlled tone was admirable.
One of the men beside Tobias swore. "I blame this on Klice. I'd condition him myself if I knew it would work."
Another man scoffed in agreement. "He's got wild spirit. They kill those kinds."
"Am I the fool?" Alicanto hissed, pacing away from Gen. He pushed himself alongside Sol, leveling his gaze at the approaching humans. A sudden smile shaped his pointed teeth. "Oh, look who it is. Is that your boy, Sol?" His tone shifted to mock excitement as he shifted to Sol's other side, keeping obvious distance from Gen. "Yeah? Is that him, you stupid, speechless, dope,"
Sol flicked his tail at the CloudWing's blistered wrists and Alicanto scrambled back. The deep burns still excreted fresh blood and it stained the moss below his talons.
"Alicanto," a dark haired, bulky man sighed as he came to a halt beside Gen, "how would you like to relive this morning again?"
"How would you like to die?"
The man shook his head and motioned for Sol to come. "You don't know what you're doing to yourself, Ali. You're condemned by your own word."
Sol dropped his head and began to approach. Alicanto snapped at his neck again and Sol stopped.
"See, he's useless," Alicanto cried, shoving Sol back a step, and Sol retaliated, boxing the dragon's cheek with the edge of his wing.
"Quite the opposite." Gen chuckled softly.
Sol paced back, a look of disdain hinting at his expression. His talons seared into the green terrain.
Alicanto, rigid and growling, forced himself back from Sol, rolling his eyes.
"That's the most self restraint I've seen you use all week." Gen said.
"You think I'm a coward, Gen?"
The SandWing dropped his gaze, hiding a smile. "I hope you are smart."
"You think I'm a coward?"
Gen's head snapped up and released a low hiss. "Cowardice and wisdom are two very different things, CloudWing. Sol's scales are not only hot enough to burn your head off your neck, but he is twice your size and he will snap your spine within moments due to your inexperience."
Sol stared hard at Tobias, who signaled for him to stay put.
Alicanto bristled. "Sol has done nothing but stand around and be useless. Why do I suffer under his pitiful gaze when I have been of service? I have saved your lives! And yet I am the undeserving, tortured fool,"
Gen stepped forward. "Watch yourself, Alicanto. Their quarrel does not involve Sol. It involves you and your impulsive actions."
"Gen, I'll eat you alive."
"That is enough. I'll help you out of the pit you've dug for yourself if you shut up and walk away."
"I'll tear you apart, Gen."
Unimpressed, the SandWing cocked his head, then glanced towards the burly man standing at his side. The man nodded and waved towards Alicanto.
"Stay away from me, Gen, I swear on every blasted moon,"
The SandWing approached, and Alicanto shied back, his ears pinned flat against his head.
"Don't run."
Alicanto ran.
Gen cast an exhausted look back at the man, who winced and shrugged. "Bring him back to the pit. We'll do something with him later."
Gen nodded and slowly vanished, his scales blending into his surroundings with immaculate perfection.
The man glanced towards Sol, then motioned him over.
"Ach, is Fox around?" Someone muttered. "Careful, Jacks, he might kill you, remember."
Jacks chuckled, nodding as Sol dropped his head and approached. The big man turned towards Tobias. "You part of Fox's group?"
Tobias nodded. "Yeah. Tobias."
They shook hands as Sol stopped just behind Tobias.
"You're his trainer?" Jacks asked.
"Yes."
Alicanto shrieked from somewhere in the woods. Sol's ears peeled and he lifted his head.
Jacks's brows raised. "Is that compassion I see there, Sol?"
The dragon heard his name and glanced towards Jacks with a curious look.
"He doesn't understand English." Tobias said.
"Ah. Strange for him to care for a dragon. Especially one who hates him. Where's he from?"
Tobias shrugged. "The labs."
Jacks scrunched the bridge of his nose. "Who taught him that, then? Compassion?"
He glanced at me and I stared at Sol. "I don't know." I lied.
Our team of seventy-two returned as a group of forty.
Stress and anxiety hit the camp like an anvil, and shock lingered in the thick air. We took a head count. Fifty-eight. A sickeningly small number.
Fox got into our small supply of whiskey, which had been reserved for medical uses only. I told him not to, and he said thought he would kill himself if he didn't drink. He was the only man who reverted to alcohol that night, but many used different methods, all equally as detrimental to their health, all having poor affect on their minds, which would assist us in no way tonight. I gave the few remaining bottles to Elliot, and he hid them before Fox could kill himself.
As dinner finished and a meeting gathered, Fox took me aside and said he couldn't participate in important conversation and that he wanted to sleep. I did not argue because, given his previous actions, that was a quite logical thing to do, but I did end up following him a little ways hoping he wouldn't injure himself or others in his poor state. Eventually I sat down next to him, then laid back and studied the constellations visible through patchy tree tops.
"Are we the only ones ain't at that meeting, Tobe?" Fox asked from where he lay on the hard ground about a foot away.
I tilted my head to the side and met his stained eyes. "Right now, I think so."
He nodded, rubbing his cheek into the dirt then sniffed. Phlegm rattled in his throat. "Lueria said some to me today," he murmured, "and I thought.. she's not with us, you know that, right, Tobe? She's, ah.." he took a deep breath and didn't finish his sentence. "Here, drink something, Tobe. It's better."
I shook my head and gazed into the dark sky, shivering as the leaves rustled in a crisp breeze. "I don't want any."
"Why?"
"Makes me sick."
"That ain't true."
"It isn't?" I looked back into his blue eyes.
"You're too good for it."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah. You got an- uh, opinion, about it." A light smile graced his cracked lips.
I turned back to the stars.
"Tell me." Fox grunted.
I sighed. "You know you're plenty sane for all you drank."
"Talent. Tell me, Tobe."
I gave another great sigh and he laughed. "I think even the strongest of men are weak if they lack self control."
Fox fell silent and his ragged breaths became even as he thought. "You don't know that, Tobe. It's different," he sucked in a labored breath, "here it's different."
I sat up, pulling my hands into the sleeves of my jacket. "Bugs are out. We should get near the fire. I'll help you." The words were meant to repair any damage done to our relationship by my previous statement. I could feel Fox's tension as he rose, and I realized he was quite upset.
"You don't know what I feel like." He said, and I steadied his shoulder with a tentative hand. "It's different, Tobe. Don't go talking about stuff you don't know."
"Okay. Let's go back to the fire."
"You shouldn't have said that, Tobe."
"You asked me to."
He sniffed and his brows raised. "You don't know."
"All right. Let's go back to the fire."
Tomorrow the arena borders narrowed and we would have to move camp. With half our team dead, this would be a great deal more work than what had originally been anticipated.
The meeting commenced around a wide, blazing fire. Smoke billowed from the damp wood, but deterred insects. Jacks and another woman moderated from across the fire. Anyone was free to speak, and they spoke their opinions loudly so that they were heard.
I sat on Fox's right side and Harper sat at his left, her long braids brushing the ground. Sol lay behind me.
"-what was our inventory count, then?"
"Odell said seventeen, but we lost two squads."
"Fox?"
I tensed, having zoned out on the conversation a bit. I cared, yes, but keeping up with all that was being said wore on my tired mind.
"Fox," Jacks said from across the pit, his face obscured by shadows. "Are you well?"
Fox didn't reply, his head tilted lazily to one side from where he leaned against a wide tree.
"Someone take the bottle," Jacks said, "and don't drink if you can't remain present."
Fox stared at Jacks from across the fire and offered the bottle, then pulled it back and drank. A few men laughed, but their tone lacked the usual gaiety and conversation resumed.
"You are so annoying, Julius," Harper hissed in a quiet voice. "You have so much power and influence on this meeting, and you choose to be incompetent."
Fox grunted. "Well. At least I'm, uh… I'm none double dealing viper sort, ahay, Harp?"
Harper jerked her gaze towards me. I shook my head, feeling my face grow hot with panic, and she turned her wide eyes to the ground.
She looked sick.
I leaned over, "Harper, no," Fox caught my upper arm before I could continue and pulled me against himself. He cleared his throat, and I leaned forward, but he pushed my back to his broad chest and leaned his mouth to my ear, voice hardly audible, "Who's side are you on, there, Tobe?"
"You're drunk, Fox," I whispered. "You don't know what you're accusing her of."
"I do, though," he exhaled and I held my breath. "What has you so concerned? You're, uh… uhm," his head drifted down to my shoulder and I looked away, feeling rather disgusted. I dared not bring attention to his unusual behavior, and I dared not make a scene, for Harper's sake.
Fox's hand moved up to my neck and I leaned away, "Stop, stop it,"
"Do you like her, Tobe?" He pushed his lips against my ear and laughed a little.
"No."
"I know who she is. Should I tell them?"
"No."
"Why?"
I released a stifled breath. "They'll kill her."
"And so?"
I stared into the fire and for a moment we were both silent.
"How long have you known?" I whispered.
"A while."
"Did you know back in the ring?"
"A little. But I'm sure, now, Tobe," his hot breaths made me shiver.
"Don't kill her, Fox. She's scared of you and she respects you,"
"She loves you," he broke in, and my eyes shot over to Harper's slumped position.
"If you have me you won't need to worry over her loyalty."
I could hear the smile in his tone, "Right, Tobe. You're defending her."
"I don't want her murdered."
Fox sighed and I coughed. Harper gave me a quick glance. "It wouldn't be murder, though, because it's just."
"Nothing here is just."
He laughed again. "Isn't it all subjective?
"She's confused and without guidance. She lacks purpose. Either side of the arena lack morals, and she's confused."
"Must life depend on your blasted morals, Tobias?"
"Not mine."
He paused at that, then cleared his throat.
"I can do a lot worse things than kill her, you know."
"Don't."
"You think I'm a monster, Tobe?"
"No."
"Yeah, you do. Do you sympathize for me, too, Tobe? Like you do for Lueria?"
"It's compassion." I said.
He laughed, and it was a loud sound compared to our previous low tones, but not enough to draw full attention.
His body tensed, and his hands tightened on my shirt as a sudden bout of rage boiled in his intoxicated mind. "Do you think I am Hell-bound, then? There's religion in your talk. You've learned from it."
"If you kill Harper, maybe."
"Is that sarcastic?"
"Maybe if you could think straight you would know."
"Watch it, Tobe."
"Get off me, Fox."
His hands slipped away.
"You need water."
"Hardly," he reached for the whiskey bottle and I pushed it over. "Kill you for that, Tobe."
"Get sober, then start making threats." I stood, meeting his dangerous stare.
"Get out of here. Go away, Tobe."
"Gladly," I whispered, keeping my distance from Fox as I paced towards Sol.
@-Shade-
@RDchicken99
@-Kiwi-
-Cap
? Nothing major, just fine-tuning tweaks
Yes. I figured he had to be different, though... more hot headed. Leaves room for growth within the next few thousand words. But yes, what's up?My gosh, I love reading Ali so much I almost cried for him, MY POOR BOY
Permission to offer some pointers on his personality Cap
