Blackout watched as Whitestar stepped away, mentally snarling at the situation. Austin had an advantage here; if he said no, it would be harder to communicate with Alyssia and would be possibly more difficult without someone who knows the situation better...
Of course, the other side was that he didn't trust Austin as far as he could throw him.
The problem was, Blackout could throw him quite a distance. The thought of the annoying little human flying through the air pell-mell made Blackout snicker...
Anyways, he didn't trust Austin.
He looked down his nose at the blond head.
After being ridden by this pest for so long, he wanted more than anything to deny him something that would be helpful. But really, it would help them more in the longrun right?
He sighed. He knew they were going to have to rest first.
"Fine." He huffed. "You can come. But you're not riding on my back. I'll let Alyssia ride if she would like, but you? Huh uh, you're getting the grand treatment of being carried in my talons, bozo!"
He smirked at Austin.
Oh, how fun this could be.
Alyssia watched as the ice dragon flew away. "He's right, we need to get some rest," she acknowledged, her seemingly endless energy at its end. She looked back at Blackout, "We should rest. I won't be able to see too much in the dark anyway." A smile crossed Alyssia's face when she heard Apple volunteer to take first watch. Then she paused.
Wait, Apple can see???? She spun towards the rainwing and saw her looking around at everything. The pendant caught her eye and her confusion grew worse.
Austin must've seen her confusion because he leaned over and whispered quietly, "The ice dragon you call Whitestar is magical and created a pendant for the dragoness. I'm assuming it's giving her the power to see."
Alyssia looked at him, her eyes filled with joy for Apple. "Really! Like Whitestar did for me?" Austin nodded and she smiled wider. Joy filled her and she started running towards the two dragons, ready to give Apple the biggest hug, but a hand on her shoulder stopped her.
"Let the siblings be for now," he advised. her excitement fell slightly, but looking back, she saw them smiling and Apple alone in her world now, trying to see everything.
"Ok, fine, I'll let them be for now," she mumbled dejectedly. The firm but soft grip on her shoulder stayed for a few moments longer and Alyssia looked at Austin. She hadn't felt a kind grip from a human in a few days. It had been rough tugging from other people or it was dragons. The kind hand on her shoulder reminded her of her days back on the islands. She looked down, excitement gone. Replaced by a feeling of homesickness. She pushed the feelings aside and smiled again. "Well, we should probably get some rest if we're to get up and see that caravan." She thought about people maybe making it to the Scorpion Den and ruining her plan but figured that they had damaged the vehicles enough that she wouldn't have to worry about that.
"Well, you should get some rest, Miss Alyssia, if you are wanting to be ready for tomorrow," Austin said smiling. Her heart jumped slightly at being called "miss". He was so respectful to her.
How could he ever be from the Scorpion Den? She nodded and turned to find herself a place to sleep. Eyeing a soft spot of moss near the water, she went and laid down. The moss cushioned her and she looked up at the starry sky.
It's so beautiful. Now she was alone. Alone with her thoughts. She thought of her islands. Her friends...her parents.
They must be worried sick! She started to get worried and her homesickness started to return.
What if I never get home.... She shook her head, reprimanding herself.
No! Alyssia! You can't think that way. Hopeful! Always hope. You can always find a way out of a situation. That's what you're good at. A problem solver. She smiled at her own attempt to give herself confidence in her plan. But, as she reassured herself that she was going to get home, a single tear rolled down her cheek, never to be seen by anyone.
Like, when I'm usually not on. *Nods contentedly*
