Of Feathers And Flames- A Wings of Fire AU RP

[-Shade-]

I don’t speak France.

It's Spanish Matty lol. She said, "I'm sorry, I don't understand."

Lo siento, yo no entiendo.

The Seawing's name is Crest......
Crest toothpaste
It's very cringy

 

[-Shade-]

Tobias could see how troubled Sol was, and quickly decided he'd ask questions later. For now, he needed to prepare.
Tobias cleaned the rag thoroughly before turning to Sol, gently cleaning his shoulder wound. Sol's wing was spread out over the kitchen table as Tobias worked, flinching occasionally.
"Can I use fire?" Sol asked, the first words spoken in thirty minutes.
Tobias cleared his throat, "It's all in. Dang right, you can use fire."
Tobias walked back to the kitchen sink, running the rag through cool water, "Outdoor arena. The sand will be wet, due to the rain today."
"I'm just on Champion?"
"No, they'll throw you in at some point so that your energy level is similar to Champion. A team, possibly."
Tobias sounded less than thrilled as he ran the rag back over Sol's shoulder.
"It's fine, Tobe. You can watch me with your gUrL fRaNd."
Tobias rolled his eyes, "Yeah, right, whatever. Watch you di... watch you."
It was hard not to pick up on Tobias' emotions- Sol had enough to think about.
He folded his wing back as Tobias threw the rag into the sink, glancing at his watch.
"We have.. eh, a half hour till we go down."
"That's fine- go check on Gongll."
Tobias smiled, shaking his head, "No- I.. need to get ready for tonight."
Sol shrugged, turning to walk into the wide living room, plopping down on the ground and stretching. He flipped onto his back, sighing loudly.
Helios. Helios was here. Part of him was excited- the other half broken. The first months spent in The Scorpion Den had been horrific, and all Sol could do was wildly hope Helios would save him.
And he hadn't.
And that had broken him, eventually allowing Tobias to win over his trust. Sol had started out absolutely insane, rebellious, unresponsive, and wild- and this has lasted for months- until Tobias had rescued him.
When had he stooped so low to let a human save him from his misery? - that was a thought that had plagued him the first year with Tobias. But then he quickly realized- Tobias was the best thing that had ever happened to him- and part of him was terrified that Helios would replace that- but he couldn't.
Could he?
Oh, whatever, he'd learn more tonight when he could talk to the LunarWing.
Assuming he survived the arena.

Do you wanna rp some different characters first, or skip to the arena? I'm gonna rp Whitestar finding Alyssia at the Oasis real quick. The fights are at sun down, right?

 

[_-Captain BRM-_]

Do you wanna rp some different characters first, or skip to the arena? I'm gonna rp Whitestar finding Alyssia at the Oasis real quick. The fights are at sun down, right?

Right- you can RP the dragon keepers, like, moving them to the arena, and I'll get Sol and Tobias over there. I'm going to be busy till 12:30, so I'll do my best to write, prolly expect it to be done round 1.

 

[-Shade-]

Alyssia swayed. Left...then right. Her legs wobbling underneath her. Her vision was blurring and she had to close her eyes occasionally just to focus them back. In the distance, the trees came ever closer. The refreshing green taunting her with their shadows. She was a mess. Her clothes had burn marks and were tattered in some places. Her braid was falling out and the rest of the hair was tangling like a rats nest. The sun beat down on her already burned skin. Just...a few....more minutes. She kept thinking to herself. Her mouth was dry and her lips were cracked. Sweat drenched her back as she struggled to the tree line. The rain from the night before had given some relief, but it was during the night, so it was extra cold. Several times she'd fallen to rest for an hour or two. And, at the pace she had been walking, she was almost at the forest.
The trees began to become giant and she felt the dryness of the air becoming moister and moister.
She let out a sigh of relief as she entered the tree line, the cool shadows blocking the fierce heat from the sun. She walked and found a small pool of water from the rain the previous night and collapsed next to it. She hastily kneeled down to the water and drank the sweet, life-preserving water. She leaned back on her heels and sighed again in relief. A burst of excitement rushed through her as she realized that she'd accomplished what she had wanted to. "Yes!" she exclaimed out loud. "Wahoo!!" she yelled again, happy that she could talk again. She fell backwards onto her back, relishing the feeling of the cool ground. The grass brushed up against her skin, almost soothing the burns.
After several minutes of lying there, she got back up, her muscles still aching, the aching starting to be a familiar feeling. She reached into the pool of clear rainwater and scooped some into her hands and splashing her burns with it. Her teeth clenched as the water stung her injuries.
Drinking in some more of the water, she looked around at her surroundings. So many trees, she thought. Her gaze scanned for anything that seemed remotely edible, her stomach complaining to her. She tried to stand and her legs wobbled underneath her. Reaching for a tree, she steadied herself and started walking farther into the forest, looking for anything edible. "There's gotta be something here," she said hopefully.

Whitestar opened his eyes as the sound of a shrill yelp echoed through the large oasis, jolting him awake. He slowly pushed himself to his feet, glancing up at the sky, alert for any signs of Nightwing patrols in the area. He couldn't hear anything that sounded like approaching wing beats, but he was pretty sure the high-pitched shriek he'd heard had been a human. The sun was just beginning to drop from its peak in the sky, and every now and then, the moisture in the small cluster of forest faltered as the wind picked up, blowing some of the drier, hotter air in from over the open desert. He stood beneath the shelter of a low-branched tree for a moment, before slowly pacing through the tropical undergrowth in the direction of the large pool that sat in the middle of the little haven. Keeping his wings tucked in close and his head low, he stepped carefully over the ferns and brush, slipping silently through the shrubbery. He approached the pool carefully and crouched low, peering between a cluster of large Dragon Leaves.
A human was lying sprawled out on the bank on the opposite side of the pool from him. For a moment, Whitestar almost thought it was dead. But after watching for a moment longer, the creature sat up stiffly and then stuck its arms into the pool, splashing it up over its shoulders. Whitestar watched curiously, and the human stooped down to the water again, taking a long drink before sitting back and staring around at the oasis surrounding it. Whitestar froze, keeping low in hopes the thing wouldn't see him. Who knew where it had come from. Perhaps--or maybe, most likely--the Scorpion Den. He watched the scavenger stand up unsteadily, leaning against a tree as its gaze swept the foliage. The creature was a mess. Scrapes and bruises covered nearly its entire body, its clothes were ragged and partially burned in spots, and the fur that fell from its head was a knarled mess. The human muttered something to itself as it glanced around the oasis. The thing didn't look particularly dangerous... it almost looked sort of pathetic. After hesitating a moment longer, Whitestar stood and stepped lightly out into the clearing, ignoring the creature and sliding down to the pool before bending his head down to drink the cool water. He tried to appear as nonthreatening as possible, hoping the creature wouldn't react too violently.

 

[-Shade-]

Right- you can RP the dragon keepers, like, moving them to the arena, and I'll get Sol and Tobias over there. I'm going to be busy till 12:30, so I'll do my best to write, prolly expect it to be done round 1.

Sounds good. I figure I'll wait for @-Kiwi- to rp Sunspot a little first before we move them to the arena yet. But I might rp Eclipse acknowledging Neoma briefly

 

[_-Captain BRM-_]

Sounds good. I figure I'll wait for @-Kiwi- to rp Sunspot a little first before we move them to the arena yet. But I might rp Eclipse acknowledging Neoma briefly

I'll wait to do more on Sol's end so everything syncs up a *little* better.

 

[-Kiwi-]

"I'm... Just gonna catch a fish" Robin said, hastily running farther down the lake.

Phoenix sighed, watching Robin go. "Corvus will be fine." she said. "He just likes to sulk and mope and brood. I don't know why he's being this way."

Name: Crest
Gender: Male
Age: About 20 (don’t know what that would be in dragon years)
Tribe: Seawing
Physical appearance: Dark blue scales cover his back and aqua blue lines run down his back. The aqua seems to glow. The lighter blue underbelly matches the looser skin for the wings. Aqua designs swirl their way throughout his wings giving them a glow of their own. Black claws. Long face with aqua colors tracing their way up his neck and ending at his eyes. His eyes are the same glowing aqua green/blue color and it looks as if the aqua swirls feed the glow of his eyes. Large pearly white teeth.

Personality: Very reserved. An experienced soldier kind of personality. Quiet but authoritative. Speaks when necessary. Serious and doesn’t joke around much. Will fight for those he cares about. However, he tries not to get close to people because of reasons going to be explained in his backstory. When you do get to know him and he trusts you, he is very older brother-like. Taking care of you. He has little patience with disobedience. A very skilled fighter and leader.

Backstory: When he was a young dragon, he and his sister would always play. His younger sister, Minami, was his closest friend and he loved to watch her eager eyes discover something new. However, one day as they were swimming and playing, Minami was curious to explore a part of land further out of the kingdom. Crest told her that it wasn’t a good idea, but her sense of eagerness drove her to go anyway. He tried to follow her and protect her. As they left the kingdom, they were attacked. Crest tried to fight them off, but he wasn’t an experienced fighter. He was knocked unconscious and ended up falling into a sea cave. His last image being the terror in Minami's eyes as she realized what was happening. He didn’t even get a look at his attackers. All he remembers is that he woke up in the cave and Minami was gone. He raced out of the cave and yelled for her. He searched for hours for her, but eventually had to give up and go back to the kingdom. He told his parents and they sent out a search party for her, but there was no dragon to be found. Crest blamed himself for not being able to protect his sister and vowed from that moment on to learn to fight. He was going to be the best warrior and protector the seawings had ever seen. He trained tirelessly and became more and more reserved as he continued to blame himself for what happened to Minami. This is why he doesn’t get close to people. He doesn’t want to get close and then not be able to protect them.
Now he is a kind of high ranking soldier in the sea kingdom. (If they even have armies like that lol XD) He would have the title Captain.

Approved

Tobias opened the door, his eyes on the ground as the door slid shut behind him.
He sighed, leaning back and closing his eyes.
Someone cleared their throat, and Tobias jumped, pushing himself off the door, his eyes opening immediately.
“Sol!” He half yelped, “What are you-” he glanced down the empty hall, “what are you doing?”
“Said you’d be back at two.”
Tobias rolled his eyes, pulling back his sleeve to check the time. He looked up slowly. “Five past.”
“Five past.” Sol agreed.
Tobias scoffed, starting down the hallway, Sol’s talons clicking against the ground behind him.
“How’s your shoulder?”
“I’ll make it.”
“How is your shoulder?”
Sol growled. “I dunno, It’s better than yesterday.”
“Good.”
They walked silently for the next few minutes, Tobias leading the way.
“Where are we going?” Sol finally questioned.
“Gongll’s place.”
“Whu- what? Why? You got a girlfriend.”
Tobias gave him a slightly amused grin, not denying, but obviously not agreeing. He snorted, ‘No, no, she, uh.. Walton’s crew went after her while I was out today.”
Sol’s eyes narrowed, “Is she okay?”
“Yes, I think so. She was acting.. different- but I think that’s cuz she just got the snot beat out of her,”
“Why’s Walton after her?”
Tobias glanced down the hall again, shoving his hands in his pockets as he walked closer beside the dragon. “Was. Why was he after her.”
It took Sol a moment to get what he was saying, but he could understand his vague answer. “Huh. But why?”
Tobias’ phone went off, some weird 90’s song echoing through the hallway for a moment as he scrambled to pull it from his coat pocket.
Sol rolled his eyes, the pain in his shoulder steadily worsening with every step- but no way was Tobias going to know that.
After a series of “Really?”’s “Awesome!”’s and “For real?”’s, Tobias doubled back, pointing down the hallway as he wrapped up his conversation, Sol following skeptically.
“-okay.. Yah, bye.”
“Where we-” Sol started curiously.
“Dude, LunarWings!” Tobias exclaimed, quickening his pace. “Truck yard, let’s go.”
Sol gave the man a critical look, but followed when Tobias didn’t stop.
“LunarWings aren’t real.” Sol announced, hobbling quickly behind Tobias, stopping at his side as the hall ended, a large garage door creaking open ahead.
Hands still in his pockets, Tobias strode out into the truck yard, Sol on his heels.
A series of cages lined the walls, some empty, but most filled with all sorts of dragons.
Sol looked away, his eyes drawn to the cages in the center of the yard where a few men stood in a circle around the dragons, talking in gruff, excited tones.
“Hey, hey, August, Sol.” A couple men greeted, waving or nodding as the small group broke apart, a few men heading towards trucks, others staying to gape.
Sol straightened, stopping as Tobias rushed towards the cages, a startled look in his eye.
He finally started hesitantly towards the cage, creeping up beside Tobias, wordlessly staring at the incredible dragons- he’d never seen anything like them.
“Holy..” he startled breathlessly. “Shoot, hello?” He whispered in Dragon, wondering if he would get a response.

@Nicole Taber

Eclipse kept her wings folded over her head, listening to the unintelligible yammering and squeaking of the humans as they stared at her. Her scales crawled uncomfortably as she felt their eyes travel over her beaten silver body, wishing she could shift and disappear like the Rainwing three cages over had. She had cried herself to sleep the night before, but it was a fitful rest, plagued with nightmares of bars, Nightwings, and humans, all of it accompanied by the ever-present vibrating from her band. As soon as the sun had come up, she felt like she had been on display for the past several hours. Humans flowed in and out of the courtyard, most of them practically drooling on themselves as they stared and pointed and tapped. It was hard to ignore it, and once or twice, Eclipse had gotten so fed up, she had practically slammed herself into the bars in an attempt to claw the horrible creatures to shreds.
Now, she was too exhausted to even acknowledge their presence. She heard the familiar buzzing of one of their weird "chat devices" as she called them now, and knew that it would soon summon yet another one of the dumb spectators.
Several minutes later, as predicted, she heard the usual greeting noises from the humans and several of them shuffle away, as though they knew they had somewhere they actually should be instead of here. Even though she listened half-heartedly to these ongoing events, she didn't move. Just lay there, in the same position she'd been in for hours. Her head rested on her talons and her tail wrapped close against her side with her wings folded securely over her head.
It was, therefore, quite a surprise to hear an actual voice through all the chittering and squeaking.
"Shoot- Hello?"
The sound of another dragon jolted her out of her dark thoughts, and she lifted her right wing ever so slightly to peer beneath it, despite the pain in her shoulder. For a second, she almost thought it was Helios. The Dragon standing next to her had dark red scales and a similar face. He was obviously a Solarwing. But why was he out of a cage?
She lifted her wing the rest of the way adjusting her head to fix him with an intrigued look with her right, gold-ringed eye. She looked him over a moment longer. It wasn't Helios, but he came pretty close. He was decently smaller than the old dragon, and his scales were slightly lighter. He didn't have the same star-burst patterns on his wings and his face was much younger. He was also standing disturbingly close to the new human that had arrived.
A low hiss sounded in her throat as she stared at the two of them.

Sol lowered his head down to her level.
"Shh. Calm down, no one's doing nothing to yuh."
Tobias kneeled, shaking his head in awe.
"She'll go out tonight." Someone shouted to Tobias from his running truck, leaning out the window, "You bid on her?"
Tobias hesitated, shaking out of his daze. "Yeah. Yeah, maybe."
Sol ignored them, taking a step closer to the cage, noticing the band around the LunarWing's nose.

Eclipse tensed, shrinking away against the other side of the cage. She wished she could ask the Solarwing who he was. Where she was. What these horrible creatures were saying and if she could ever get out of here. If she was going to die or just be trapped here forever. But of course, even though she was relieved to hear a voice that was actually her own language, she couldn't open her jaws to reply. So instead, she fixed him with a questioning look. Almost pleading, but not too much. Really, she wasn't entirely specific on what answers she wanted. Anything would work, as long as it cleared something up about her situation.

Sol blinked and looked away, emotions flooding his mind as he silently relived his first weeks in the Scorpion Den.
Tobias seemed to notice his discomfort, softly placing a hand on his shoulder, his eyes never leaving the LunarWing for an instant. "If you have to go, bud, we'll go." He whispered.
Sol blinked hard again, his eyes scanning over the bruised dragon. He noticed his heartbeat quickening, a sense of unease crawling up his spine as he shivered. Sol shuddered, taking a quick step back and jerking his head up, accidentally noticing the brilliant red scales of a dragon further back in the cages.
Tobias stood, suddenly, tearing his gaze away from the LunarWing and facing Sol, steadying the tall dragon gently. "We'll go- it's okay, we'll go. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought you here."
Sol swallowed breathlessly, taking another wary step back and clenching his jaw as he started towards the cage containing the red SolarWing.

Eclipse huffed loudly, standing up unsteadily to try and get the Solarwing's attention. He seemed determined to ignore her, pacing tensely toward Helios' cage. Why did he do that? One moment he seemed almost concerned and then the next he was startled dizzy, backing away and avoiding looking at her, as though she had done something to him that he was trying to forget. But Eclipse was positive she didn't know the Solarwing. So why had he reacted so disturbed?

The SolarWing was unconscious. Sol dropped his gaze, backing up quickly and tripping as he bumped into Tobias, shaking his head.
Overwhelming thoughts crowded his mind, wildly fighting for his attention. He fought to contain each one to its separate corner, ready to go over each thought one at a time, but his brain continued to pelt him with flashbacks of his younger years.
This SolarWing looked so much like is father.
And it was sickening.
"-Sol, Hey, hey, easy, man."
"I'm fine," Sol shook out of his frenzy, speaking with a trembling voice as Tobias gave him a deeply concerned look.
"We'll go. I'm sorry. Gosh, I'm sorry."
Sol half closed his eyes, not daring to look at the SolarWing.
Tobias was saying something, but it didn't matter. Sol pushed past him, leaning down to meet the LunarWings gaze.
"Who is that SolarWing?" He asked breathlessly, trying to ignore the quiver in his own voice. Each breath was more of a struggle than the last.
Sol swallowed hard, looking away for a moment, shaking. Why was this affecting him so much?? He took a deep breath, fighting the hysterical emotions back.
"Who is that SolarWing?" He whispered, his voice breaking.

Eclipse ran a talon over her snout with a long breath. How could she put this outside of words? The Solarwing looked emotional and panicked. Eclipse could guess right away why. It made sense anyway, the young dragon looked exactly like Helios, and the Solarwing king had said his son was here in this moon forsaken place. She leveled her gaze with him, and pointed from Helios to the young Solarwing, trying her best to translate her thoughts. She slid her claws together so they intertwined, her best representation of "connection". She stared intently into his warm fire eyes, pleading that he understand, then sighed and grasped ahold of the band over her snout apologetically.

Neoma huffed. The sedative was beginning to wear off, and that meant she was starting to wake up. She sighed and shifted to the side, and froze. Her wings just barely brushed cold metal.
Suddenly it all hit her again. The battle, the Nightwings, the capture. Her eyes snapped open and her head snapped up. She moaned and dropped her head again. The room swirled around her, and everything was just too bright. Spots of light danced and twirled before her open eyes, and she felt sick again. This time, however, it was due to moving too fast with the effects of the sedative still in her blood.
She inhaled steadily. She lifted her head slightly, taking it slow. The dizziness wasn't as bad, and already seemed to be wearing off.
That's when she registered the muzzle-like attachment around her snout. It held her mouth closed, and extended down her neck, covering her Warping places.
Dummies, she thought disdainfully. As if a simple covering is gonna stop me from Warping-
Her head exploded in agony again as she tried her Warping. A buzzing and vibrating sensation struck her skull, and felt like bees buzzing violently in her brain.
Neoma dropped her head yet again, covering it with her talons. Her whole body shook from the strength of the vibrations against her small frame.
"AGHHH..." She groaned through her closed jaw.
As the feeling subsided, she squeezed her eyes shut and tried to breathe deep. Opening them again, she looked about her, and almost leapt up as she saw the others in cages nearby.
Specifically Eclipse, who was staring at another dragon standing outside her cell. This one looked so familiar... Neoma couldn't figure it out... Until she looked towards the sleeping Helios. It suddenly made sense, and as she glanced back at the Solarwing, his horrified look told her he knew something was off too.
Neoma gave a loud growl to signify she was awake, and in return, a loud clang rang out as a passing human slammed a metal piece against the bars.
"Shaddup!" He barked, then continued going by.
Neoma huffed angrily, but as she looked around, she saw that there was no escape just yet. She sat back, keeping an eye on Eclipse and the others to make sure they were all okay.

"Sol.. calm down." Tobias warned, "Don't take things too far."
The SolarWing nodded, relaxing slightly as he lowered his gaze and stated in dragon, "That SolarWing is Helios." He waited for a reaction from the LunarWing.

Tobias straightened and glanced at the red dragon in the far right cage, slowly turning back to Sol.
Oh. No.
Sol was receiving quite a few odd stares, and Tobias did his best to wave them off- but he was beginning to be worried as well, now listening intently to the dragons conversation.

Eclipse nodded slowly, setting her front talons back on the floor of the cage. Then she pointed a claw at the young Solarwing, tilting her head inquiringly. And you are..., she thought, hoping he understood.

Sol closed his eyes, trying to push away the sick feeling in his stomach.
"I am Sol. Son of King..- King Helios." He replied in Dragon, still not daring to look at the red SolarWings slumped form.
"You will be sold tonight." He swallowed, trying to form a sentence as his thoughts met head on, obliterating anything remotely intelligent. "Tobias will bid on you. We'll bid on you." He promised, ignoring Tobias as the man slowly turned to give him a sarcastic look. "I.." he sighed.
Sol turned back to Tobias. "Offer something now. You can do that, right? Can't you just pay them upfront?"
"What? What- no. Not really. Dude, the bids are gonna get CRAZY high-"
"How much?"
"Millions."
"You can do that."
"What?" Tobias laughed uncomfortably, "No. No, not really."
"Put me in tonight on the SandWings. I could get you enough."
Tobias shook head hard as he glanced around, taking a step closer to Sol. "No. No, very, terrible, awful, stupid, stupid, idea."
"I want to."
"I don't care- do you know how dangerous-"
"I need to."
Tobias swore, clenching his fists, "Danggit, Sol, I'll lose you. You'll die. And then- and then I.." he bit his lip harder, and Sol waited patiently. "Why?"
"You heard our conversation."
Tobias looked away, his eyes glazing over for a moment. "To the death. Everything's to the death tonight." He whispered.
"I know."
Tobias heaved a heavy breath.
"Ay, put 'im in, August, evey'un'ull like et." Someone suggested, and Tobias swore again, moving closer to Sol.
"You thought this through? Don't act on your emotions, pal." Tobias warned quietly.
"I've thought it through." Sol lied.
Tobias nodded.
Sol gave him a relieved smile.
"I hate it. I hate it, so. much."
"I know."
Tobias reached for his phone, whipping it from his pocket and striding off a ways.
The moment his conversation began, Sol turned back to the LunarWing, hesitating before leaning down to look her in the eye. "We'll get you out." He promised again. "I'll get you out."

Eclipse didn't understand any of the conversation between the Solarwing- Sol apparently- and his human friend. But he seemed almost desperate. Whatever all the strange chittering and squeaks meant, she could see on his face and in his eyes an intensity and a determination. Even though the conversation was just noise to her, it sounded sort of like an argument. The human looked alarmed at first then scared. Finally, he turned and paced away, pulling out a chat device, and began talking into it quietly. Eclipse hoped that didn't mean he was summoning more of the loud invasive creatures.
Sol turned back to her and leveled his gaze to hers. Something burned in the depts of his eyes, a passion that Eclipse had rarely seen in another dragon before.
"We'll get you out. I'll get you out"
That sounded like a promise. For the first time since arriving in this cruel place, Eclipse felt a spark of hope ignite in her chest. Maybe she wasn't completely alone here. This dragon seemed to know what to do. On that note...
She paused a moment, then slowly reached up an rested her talon against the spot where her neckband had been, not breaking eye contact with Sol. The desert sun had slightly burned her scales, and if she looked hard enough, she could see the faint shape of the band were her scales were still untouched and perfectly silver. There was a faint claw scratch that ran down her neck, but cut off where the neckband had been before continuing again on the other side. She tapped the spot and tilted her head at him inquiringly.
It was a bit of a long shot, but if she could at least get that one thing back, she could leave this place content. Weapons were replaceable. Granted, she would miss her chakram and dagger quite a bit, but that neckband meant more to her than all the dangerous toys between both continents.

Out of the corner of her eye, Eclipse saw Helios move and she froze, finally breaking eye contact with Sol for a second and glancing over his shoulder at the older dragon.

(This happens after Sol replies @_-Captain BRM-_ so have him reply to her "question" before reacting to her distraction)

Sol arched his brow, squinting at her neck, then shaking his head in confusion.
"Tonight. We'll talk tonight."

He followed her gaze, and immediately tensed, taking a wary step back.
Tobias' boots echoed through the massive garage as he approached Sol. "You're in."
Sol nodded, giving his full attention to Tobias.
"One round. Last round. You and Champion."
Sol exhaled slowly, nodding again.
"Are you okay? Comon, man, let's go get you ready, I.. I think you need a break from- this." Tobias motioned to the LunarWing half heartedly.
Sol turned back to give the LunarWing one last nod of reassurance, them followed Tobias into The Maze.

Tobias could see how troubled Sol was, and quickly decided he'd ask questions later. For now, he needed to prepare.
Tobias cleaned the rag thoroughly before turning to Sol, gently cleaning his shoulder wound. Sol's wing was spread out over the kitchen table as Tobias worked, flinching occasionally.
"Can I use fire?" Sol asked, the first words spoken in thirty minutes.
Tobias cleared his throat, "It's all in. Dang right, you can use fire."
Tobias walked back to the kitchen sink, running the rag through cool water, "Outdoor arena. The sand will be wet, due to the rain today."
"I'm just on Champion?"
"No, they'll throw you in at some point so that your energy level is similar to Champion. A team, possibly."
Tobias sounded less than thrilled as he ran the rag back over Sol's shoulder.
"It's fine, Tobe. You can watch me with your gUrL fRaNd."
Tobias rolled his eyes, "Yeah, right, whatever. Watch you di... watch you."
It was hard not to pick up on Tobias' emotions- Sol had enough to think about.
He folded his wing back as Tobias threw the rag into the sink, glancing at his watch.
"We have.. eh, a half hour till we go down."
"That's fine- go check on Gongll."
Tobias smiled, shaking his head, "No- I.. need to get ready for tonight."
Sol shrugged, turning to walk into the wide living room, plopping down on the ground and stretching. He flipped onto his back, sighing loudly.
Helios. Helios was here. Part of him was excited- the other half broken. The first months spent in The Scorpion Den had been horrific, and all Sol could do was wildly hope Helios would save him.
And he hadn't.
And that had broken him, eventually allowing Tobias to win over his trust. Sol had started out absolutely insane, rebellious, unresponsive, and wild- and this has lasted for months- until Tobias had rescued him.
When had he stooped so low to let a human save him from his misery? - that was a thought that had plagued him the first year with Tobias. But then he quickly realized- Tobias was the best thing that had ever happened to him- and part of him was terrified that Helios would replace that- but he couldn't.
Could he?
Oh, whatever, he'd learn more tonight when he could talk to the LunarWing.
Assuming he survived the arena.

(Three MOONS a lot happened)

Sunspot heard a faint ringing in her ears that became increasingly more intense and annoying. She opened her eyes, her vision focusing, and unfocusing again. She blinked and groaned. She froze for a moment. Her snout felt weighed down, and she looked down to see a shiny metal band wrapped around it, trapping her mouth shut.

The memories of the past two days rushed back to her. The fight. Helios. Eclipse and Neoma.

A surge of sudden panic flooded through Sunspot's scales, and she shot to her feet, instantly collapsing onto her side, crashing into cage bars, her legs failing to support her. Her muscles felt numb and heavy, and her brain seemed filled with fog.

The orange SolarWing squeezed her eyes shut for a few seconds, focusing. She opened them again. Okay. Look around.

Sunspot looked around her. She seemed to be in a room filled with cages. Cages filled with dragons. No. Eclipse lay in the cage next to her, the silver dragon covering her head.

Humans scurried around, yelling at each other in tones unintelligible to Sunspot. And another very odd thing. A tall crimson SolarWing, who she initially thought was Helios, crouched in front of Eclipse, speaking to her in soft tones. A human with pale hair crouched there also, seeming to be conversing with the SolarWing. Why was this dragon free?? Why was he talking to a human???


She turned and sniffed at her wounded leg. It smelled of sharp chemicals, and the hole was closed by black stitches. It must have been treated while she slept.

Sunspot, for the first time she could remember, felt scared. She had no idea what was going to happen. She just hoped she would make it out alive.

 

[-Shade-]

Neoma huffed. The sedative was beginning to wear off, and that meant she was starting to wake up. She sighed and shifted to the side, and froze. Her wings just barely brushed cold metal.
Suddenly it all hit her again. The battle, the Nightwings, the capture. Her eyes snapped open and her head snapped up. She moaned and dropped her head again. The room swirled around her, and everything was just too bright. Spots of light danced and twirled before her open eyes, and she felt sick again. This time, however, it was due to moving too fast with the effects of the sedative still in her blood.
She inhaled steadily. She lifted her head slightly, taking it slow. The dizziness wasn't as bad, and already seemed to be wearing off.
That's when she registered the muzzle-like attachment around her snout. It held her mouth closed, and extended down her neck, covering her Warping places.
Dummies, she thought disdainfully. As if a simple covering is gonna stop me from Warping-
Her head exploded in agony again as she tried her Warping. A buzzing and vibrating sensation struck her skull, and felt like bees buzzing violently in her brain.
Neoma dropped her head yet again, covering it with her talons. Her whole body shook from the strength of the vibrations against her small frame.
"AGHHH..." She groaned through her closed jaw.
As the feeling subsided, she squeezed her eyes shut and tried to breathe deep. Opening them again, she looked about her, and almost leapt up as she saw the others in cages nearby.
Specifically Eclipse, who was staring at another dragon standing outside her cell. This one looked so familiar... Neoma couldn't figure it out... Until she looked towards the sleeping Helios. It suddenly made sense, and as she glanced back at the Solarwing, his horrified look told her he knew something was off too.
Neoma gave a loud growl to signify she was awake, and in return, a loud clang rang out as a passing human slammed a metal piece against the bars.
"Shaddup!" He barked, then continued going by.
Neoma huffed angrily, but as she looked around, she saw that there was no escape just yet. She sat back, keeping an eye on Eclipse and the others to make sure they were all okay.

Sol arched his brow, squinting at her neck, then shaking his head in confusion.
"Tonight. We'll talk tonight."

He followed her gaze, and immediately tensed, taking a wary step back.
Tobias' boots echoed through the massive garage as he approached Sol. "You're in."
Sol nodded, giving his full attention to Tobias.
"One round. Last round. You and Champion."
Sol exhaled slowly, nodding again.
"Are you okay? Comon, man, let's go get you ready, I.. I think you need a break from- this." Tobias motioned to the LunarWing half heartedly.
Sol turned back to give the LunarWing one last nod of reassurance, them followed Tobias into The Maze.

Phoenix sighed, watching Robin go. "Corvus will be fine." she said. "He just likes to sulk and mope and brood. I don't know why he's being this way."

Approved































(Three MOONS a lot happened)

Sunspot heard a faint ringing in her ears that became increasingly more intense and annoying. She opened her eyes, her vision focusing, and unfocusing again. She blinked and groaned. She froze for a moment. Her snout felt weighed down, and she looked down to see a shiny metal band wrapped around it, trapping her mouth shut.

The memories of the past two days rushed back to her. The fight. Helios. Eclipse and Neoma.

A surge of sudden panic flooded through Sunspot's scales, and she shot to her feet, instantly collapsing onto her side, crashing into cage bars, her legs failing to support her. Her muscles felt numb and heavy, and her brain seemed filled with fog.

The orange SolarWing squeezed her eyes shut for a few seconds, focusing. She opened them again. Okay. Look around.

Sunspot looked around her. She seemed to be in a room filled with cages. Cages filled with dragons. No. Eclipse lay in the cage next to her, the silver dragon covering her head.

Humans scurried around, yelling at each other in tones unintelligible to Sunspot. And another very odd thing. A tall crimson SolarWing, who she initially thought was Helios, crouched in front of Eclipse, speaking to her in soft tones. A human with pale hair crouched there also, seeming to be conversing with the SolarWing. Why was this dragon free?? Why was he talking to a human???


She turned and sniffed at her wounded leg. It smelled of sharp chemicals, and the hole was closed by black stitches. It must have been treated while she slept.

Sunspot, for the first time she could remember, felt scared. She had no idea what was going to happen. She just hoped she would make it out alive.

Eclipse let out a heavy sigh and slid to the floor in her cage, watching Sol pace away with his human. His tail dragged behind him and he looked suddenly exhausted. But oddly, at the same time, he looked determined and resolved. Eclipse didn't understand anything the human had said, but it almost seemed worried. It was also strange that he seemed so determined to get her out. Solarwing and Lunarwings had a... history. They were polar opposites--sun and moon, gold and silver, cool and heat. Eclipse sometimes wondered if that was why Sunspot had always been so bitter toward her. But Sol... he didn't look at her the same. Almost all Solarwings she'd met looked down on her--they hated her. So why didn't Sol? She wished she could ask what was happening, the horrible vibrating band over her snout had never been more annoying. She let out a low growl and tried again to hook her claws beneath the clasp and pry it off.
Her claws slipped over its smooth surface and her broken claw scraped painfully against the metal. She hissed loudly and pulled her talon back to her chest. She glanced back toward Helios' cage on the other side of the courtyard from her. The old Solarwing was still unconscious and she wondered if, in his brief stirring, he might have seen Sol. Eclipse slowly let her gaze travel over the courtyard. The other two were awake now. Neoma looked as furious as she was worried, and Sunspot looked anxious. Eclipse stared hard at the Solarwing for a long moment, anger beginning to churn inside her blood.
I told her we couldn't fight them, she thought laying her head on her talons but keeping her cold gaze locked on Sunspot. We should have flown away. I don't care if she'd think I'm a coward. We would still have a fighting chance. We had the distance advantage and a way of the land. Half those Nightwings have probably never left the desert. We would still be out there and I... Tears welled up in her eyes and she blinked fiercely, trying to swallow the tightness in her throat. I could have been on the island right now. I would have been late, and maybe he would have been scared or upset. But that is so much better than being here. Now he will always wonder what happened to me, and I.... I'll never... She couldn't finish the thought. She finally noticed Sunspot looking at her and she quickly turned her head away, hoping the Solarwing couldn't see the fresh tears that flowed over her scales. She folded her wings over her head again, with a deep shuddery breath. That star-cursed dragon took everything from me. Why did I ever save her arrogant tail?

 

[Crestcrazy2]

(Phoenix sighed, watching Robin go. "Corvus will be fine." she said. "He just likes to sulk and mope and brood. I don't know why he's being this way." ) (that quote messed up lol. Also, it’s been a day for the desert group and time hasn’t passed in The Grebes Nest. We might wanna make that happen so it’s not confusing, so we’ll have to skip to morning for King, Phoenix and Corvus and Robin. Soon at least )

King nodded in a friendly, understanding way. “I know….gaah I’m such a jerk. Imma have to have a talk with him, maybe we’ll work things out..” he thought with a stab of guilt.

After catching several fish and helping Phoenix learn how to as well, the two of them eventually found their way back to the village. The sunset cast a brilliant array of pinks and oranges, mixed with the dark blue of the evening sky trying to take over. The mountain village was like a scene from a dream, a safe haven like no one had ever imagined. Even the depths of the lake shone with beauty, the underwater Riverwing village was always a grand sight.
“We’ve got a spot in the village you can stay.” King said, breaking the silence. “Usually it’s for the occasional Solarwing hatchlings we break outa the compounds, we keep ‘em in the village cuz they need more attention. But they don’t tend to stay very long after growing up a bit, apparently they like to live…alone.” He began saying before realizing what he was saying. “Phoenix was half Solarwing, and she ran away from her group. Might not wanna bring that up.” He reminded himself. “Anyway, you can stay there if you’d like. Corvus can stay with my team…or with you, ya know, it doesn’t matter.” He said in his best, “I’m acting completely normal” voice.

 

[_-Captain BRM-_]

Sol flexed his wings, glancing at the clock. 5:30. Auction was at 6. Games were at 6:30-7:00, depending on how intense the bidding went.
He hadn't been in the outdoor arena for a couple months, most fights he attended were in The Den. Only big stuff happened out here, and without fail, nerves always got to him at the last moment.
Tobias sat cross legged against the wall, watching Sol silently.
Sol trotted the perimeter of the arena, looking up at the stands. A domed chain link ceiling separated the dragons from the people, this way fire and flight could be used to an extent.
They had brought sand in, instead of the usual stone floor- most likely for the aesthetic. Sol carefully surveyed the arena, looking for any possible changes from the last time he had competed.
Blinding lights chased every last shadow away, the entire arena lit up incredibly bright, and Sol truly hated it. He also disliked the massive pole in the arena's center, which helped support the domed structure- too many times had that been used against him.
This arena was huge, much different than The Den's regular pit. It always took a few minutes to adjust to.
Sol quickened his pace, loping a full circle, each step scattering the sand around him.
Tobias stood, motioning for Sol.
Sol obliged, trotting up to his friend, stretching as he did so.
"You warmed up?"
"I guess, still got a good hour."
"Stay warm, I want to know you're set- I'll be in the stands for the auction."
Sol nodded, shaking out his wings.
"Your shoulder?"
Sol groaned, "Dude, it's fine, it's a small, small fracture, and all it does is hurt- and I can deal with that. It's not worsening or anything."
Tobias looked skeptical.
Sol grinned, shaking his head and turning a quick circle. "Caaalm. Down."
Tobias' expression didn't change, and he shoved his hands into his pockets, kicking the sand with the toe of his boot.
"Tobe. You're not helping, man. I thought you believed in me." Sol coaxed.
Tobias looked up with a sad smile. "To the death, Sol." He whispered, his smile vanishing.
"Done it before, commander. And guess what- I WON EM." Sol's voice echoed loudly around the arena, a few workers in the stands sending weird looks his way.
"I know, I know, but you had weeks to prepare, I had weeks to evenly deal with anxiety, not just some freaking TWO HOURS. I don't get it." Tobias hesitated, "Actually, no, I  do understand, the SolarWing is your father, right? Isn't that what you said?"
Sol nodded.
"Why haven't you told me to bid on him?"
Sol looked away, taking a shaky breath. "It's a waiting game, pops. I don't know what to think of him. I want to talk to the SolarWing. She knows him."
Tobias repositioned his hat, giving Sol a quick nod, more questions prodding his mind. "K, we'll talk about it later. Assuming.. yeah, we'll talk later."
Sol gave Tobias a cocky grin. "Everyone's going to LOSE their minds when they see me out here."
Tobias suppressed a smile, "Yeah, probably."
He strode towards the large open door, passing beneath it before turning back, "There's a lot riding on this, you know. For- for both of us."
Sol nodded.
Tobias swallowed hard, "Look.." he sighed, "You can do this. I know you actually can do this. But one slip up, mistake," Tobias mimed an explosion, then whispered, "Don't slip up, Sol. Please don't slip up."