Forum Thread

"Oh, no! No, no no," Raven said, suddenly perking up with his eyes widened.
"I uh... well, y-you um... I-i'm not a Death dragon. They're the ones that sell their mentality to the Shadowbringer--they're basically shells that only know violence and... well, death. Not that the darkness dragons aren't that way. W-we actually have... feelings. They don't."
He slowed his pace so that he walked next to Adriane, his eyes flitting around the forest bashfully. "The Shadowbringer... he never speaks to me directly. I don't matter enough to him. He gives our oracles the prophecies and he gives us rules to live by, but he never speaks to us.
"He... does this thing... I don't know how it works, but he blocks out everything that makes us... well, "sweet", like you said. So we sort of just... don't have most of those emotions." Raven paused.
"We don't hate the Light dragons any more than we hate everyone else. Although that doesn't mean much, I uh... was that offensive?"
He looked over to her with softer eyes. "I-i'm sorry... I didn't mean it like that."
---------
Allium flinched at Crystal's statement--visibly so. She wasn't expecting such a harsh remark, and it reminded her of her older sister. The word 'impudent' alone brought her terrible memories, but the hatchling part... that just hit far too close to home. She barely realized that she had shrunk back. Rogue met her eye from across the room, his light gaze hard but somehow still reassuring.
The hybrid perked up when she heard Matthew's words--it had been such a swift motion, and Rogue had distracted her--and regathered her composure in an instant. "Matthew, don't. It's nothing. I don't want to cause any trouble, okay?" She said softly, in a somewhat soothing tone. There was no lingering or hesitation as she spoke, even if her fist was balled behind her back. She took a deep breath, but not loud enough to where anyone could hear it.

---

Adriane still clung to his arm for support as she limped along, but stayed focused as she listened to Raven.
''n-not at all... though truthfully i'm more loyal to the nature dragon god, Sprigfern, then the light dragons god, Sunbinder..'' Adriane admitted.
she hugged his arm gently and looked up at him.
''b-but... what i did with that light incantation was my way of thanking you for saving me, to free you from him... but.. i did more harm then good, cause your still covered in your own blood..'' she muttered, her expression growing sorrowful and full of worry.
~~~~~
''oh~ someone getting all protective over they're mate..? hun have you even gotten past first base yet Matthew?'' she questioned, raising an eyebrow as she smirked.
Matthew remained quiet and blinked, his face erupting a bright red.
''h-hey, shut up'' he snapped, gritting his teeth.

Raven shook his head. "No, it was kind of you! That was only because I've been under his curse since birth... It probably wouldn't have worked on an older dragon, though," he said reassuringly, not wanting to hurt her. He walked a bit more before he spoke what had been lingering in his head, although his words were spoken softly.

"I do believe that I owe you my life now. I'll... try my best to fulfill it." He looked away, almost shyly--he wasn't quite sure how to put it. "We don't... live life as fully as you guys do. Because we're emotionally suppressed. We don't feel vulnerability or excitement because He doesn't deem it important. But you've... fixed it. And I can feel those things now. I felt those things. And I do believe that's more good than harm.

"I guess you've saved my life, in a sense. I'll do my best to make it worthwhile. I can't thank you enough, Adriane," Raven continued, looking down to meet her gaze. He smiled, but it was that crooked and awkward smile of his caused from the lack of practice.
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Allium's golden eyes narrowed slightly, frustration surfacing to her skin. She took a moment of silence before she spoke, "That's not relevant. Could we just... drop it, please?" She was blushing faintly but took little to no notice. Rogue watched wordlessly, deciding that it would only get worse if he intervened.

---

she blushed faintly and smiled, giggling quietly.
''that smile, it suits you well.... you do need to smile more mister grumpy scales..'' Adriane mumbled, the last part more of a playful tease then trying to be rude or anything.
~~~~~
''may not be relevant, but i know it get's under his skin, just like with the book's but... different, in a way i guess.. it's just funny to seem him get all flustered over something'' she said.
Maxwell hissed and shifted to his hybrid form, going to his hand's and knee's before he went running off to his room, looking like an overgrown winged salamander running across a flat surface when he weaved around the furniture.
Crystal simply watched him run off and remained quiet, the smirk on her face disappearing as she went and looking back out the window.

"T-thank you. I'm terribly out of practice, though," he said, looking briefly down at Adriane. He turned his attention back to the forest, looking around and taking it all in. They reached the cottage, although slowly, and when they did Raven slipped behind Adriane to open the door for her and let her in first. Adeline stood by the door--Allium and Rogue weren't in the house--and melted into silence, not knowing what to say or how to convey her worry.
Raven saw the look on her face and guiltily averted his gaze, still opening the door for Adriane. Adeline only sighed, brushing her hair away from her eyes and looking at them.
"Are you alright?" She asked, so softly that it was almost inaudible. She pursed her lips hard.
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Rogue walked beside Allium as they crossed the busy streets of the city. Allium stared forward, her golden gaze harsh and almost angry.
"Allium," Rogue murmured to grab her attention. She didn't look at him. He huffed and continued anyway. "You didn't go to Matthew when he stormed off... why? It's unlike you."
She shrugged, readjusting her bag. "I didn't want to bother him, in case he wanted to be alone. I can never tell when people want to be comforted or not... not like I know him well enough, anyway," she mumbled, the last part a bit more to herself than anything.
He raised an eyebrow. "You're letting Crystal get to you a bit much. She was worried about her friend, Allium, I'm sure she wasn't saying the most rational things--"
"Can we drop it, please? I'm fine I just... need a bit of time to think. I don't want to be distracted from work, anyway," she interrupted, the first sign of discomfort showing on her face. Rogue only sighed, falling into silence.

---

Adriane used the wall for support as she limped aside so Raven could enter and gritted her teeth.
''y-yeah.. somewhat alright..... can you help me over to Matthew's recliner...?'' she asked, holding her hand and arm out to Adeline.
Crystal had looked over and simply took in what she seen, her pupil's becoming slits as she growled.
''what did you do to her darkness dragon?!'' she snapped, baring her teeth as her eye's lit up.

Adeline immediately flanked Adriane so that she could easily support her but still stood in front of the doorway, in front of Raven. He stood there, his arms dangling expressionlessly at his side. "If he had done that to Adriane he wouldn't be here right now. He's clearly not guilty," she retorted, her eyes meeting Crystal's. Her eyes weren't dancing with lightning--she was too calm for that--but they were just as challenging.
He intertwined his fingers in front of his chest just to show them and looked over Adeline at Crystal.
"I'd like to add that it was her client. I'm afraid that I didn't act fast enough to save her from his first strike. Terribly sorry--I do assure you that he won't be coming back, though. Take Adriane's word, if not mine," he said in an almost soothing tone.
Adeline's eyes widened in surprise and she glanced back at him briefly, surprised that he had defended himself for once. His eyes were that of an honest man, despite their maliciously crimson color; he had seen enough calm negotiating in his days to perform it flawlessly. Adeline was almost impressed, if not for the matter at hand. She looked to Adriane for confirmation. She believed Raven, of course, but the last thing she wanted was to step out of the way too soon.

---

Crystal simply glared and huffed.
Adriane gritted her teeth and clenched her free hand into a fist, a little tired of Crystal going off randomly and jumping to conclusions.
''Raven saved me from the client cause he tried to advance on me, he thought i was alone and could've taken the situation Crystal! don't go assuming thing's or jumping to conclusions... it end's up getting you in trouble in the end'' she snapped, which was rather rare from Adriane and took Crystal by surprise, to where Crystal had flinched and stared at Adriane, and just blinked, her earlier rage forgotten.
Crystal went to say something in defense, but soon crossed her arm's and looked down, remaining silent now.

Adeline softly exhaled, her shoulders dropping a bit now that Crystal had gone silent. She then helped Adriane over to the one recliner, quickly apologizing for making her stand there for so long in her injured state. She looked back over to the door frame where Raven still stood, to which he quickly locked his gaze with hers and flicked his hand to motion her to him. Adeline walked towards him--averting her gaze from anywhere directly near Crystal--and closed the door behind her. They strayed from the cottage a bit and she raised her eyebrow, still looking back at it.
"Adeline," he said, drawing her attention again. "Adriane removed the curse!" Raven said with the hyperactivity and energy of a Light dragonling, bouncing excitedly on his toes as he began to speak about all of the emotions that had been unlocked. She laughed and congratulated him, listening attentively to his blabbering with a small smile.

---

Adriane leaned back in the recliner and carefully brought the thing up, propping her foot up that way so it didn't hurt so bad.
''Crystal, go get an ice pack and something to wrap it with, as well as a pillow please...'' she muttered.
Crystal perked up a bit and nodded, then went to go get what Adriane needed.

"Oh, and also excitement! I can feel excited now!" Raven exclaimed, his smile wide and his eyes glimmering.
Adeline laughed and nodded, pawing at her bangs. "I can see that."
His eyes widened suddenly and his face dropped. Raven turned around to look over at the cabin and his shoulders tensed up slightly. "By the black sun, I've left Adriane! Oh, she's injured... I probably should have helped her settle down a bit, shouldn't I?"
Adeline covered her mouth and suppressed a smile, nodding slightly. "If it makes you feel any better, she's got Crystal to help her. And, to be honest, you're not the best at helping people settle down."
He pressed his lips together and headed back into the cottage anyway, Adeline following closely behind him.

---

by the time Raven and Adeline returned inside the cottage, Matthew was back out in the living room checking to see if Adriane was alright while Crystal was leaning back and sitting in an empty corner of the living room, hugging her legs while staring at the ground.
''so, the client tried to... gr, if i ever run into that perverted drunkard i'll ring his scrawny little neck'' Matthew said, growling quietly under his breathe.
Adeline sighed and covered half of her face, gritting her teeth slightly out of annoyance.
''Matt for the love of Sprigfern, chill out... Raven saved me and i'm alright, beside's i'm pretty sure he won't return since there are now three dragon hybrid's that'll kick his a--'' she said.
he blinked and stood there, a bit surprised at the sudden curse word from Adriane before he started to laugh.
''well that's new, considering that curse word came from your mouth'' he said.

Raven relaxed upon seeing that Adriane was (somewhat) alright, once again fading into silence and taking a seat on the couch. Adeline sat next to him with a content look on her face, knowing well that Raven would go back to speaking as little as possible--he didn't feel comfortable around Matthew and Crystal quite yet. Adeline was surprised at how quickly he warmed up to Adriane... Although she is the sweetest out of the bunch.
She intertwined her fingers and set them on her lap, noticing Crystal but not saying anything. She figured that Crystal was in shock--or something similar, she wouldn't know--but decided that she didn't know the other weather dragon well enough yet. Adeline still felt a bit hostile towards her. It's childish, she thought, I should just forget it. It was a somewhat justified conclusion on her part, anyway.

---

Adriane and Matthew talked for a little bit but soon Matthew went over to Crystal and picked her up, carrying her off to her room since she had fallen asleep after a little while.
Adriane sighed and laid her head back, staring up at the ceiling as she stayed quiet, then looked over and waved at Raven and Adeline.

"Are you feeling okay?" Raven asked, moving to the couch that was closest to Adriane. The couch sunk underneath his weight and he shifted a bit, visibly uncomfortable (although it was mostly because he was on the edge). Adeline's gaze trailed him as he walked over to the other couch, although she stayed in her seat. She would've been proud of him for warming up to someone so quickly, but she was more focused on Adriane's injury than anything.

---

she looked at Raven and gave a reassuring smile, nodding.
''yeah i'm alright..... i'm just going to be down for a while until my leg heal's, but it just feel's like a small fracture so it shouldn't take too long to heal.... and i have the indoor pool like bathtub i can use to help with treating it, to walk and be able to keep my leg active'' Adriane said.

Raven frowned a bit but he seemed a bit more reassured. "Okay," he said, leaning back, "but tell me if you need anything." He perked up almost immediately upon hearing footsteps near the door, peering out the window in a matter of seconds. He spotted Rogue and calmed down a little bit, twitching his fingers back when Rogue waved. Raven opened the door for him and re-locked it when it entered.
"Hello hello~" Rogue said jubilantly, readjusting his satchel. His eyes flicked over to Adriane and Adeline gave him a brief explanation (so Adriane wouldn't have to explain it for the third time). "Oh, that's... I hope you heal well," he said, stumbling over his words a bit.

---

''thank you, i just mostly need rest is all, and to keep my leg propped up and an ice pack occasionally'' Adriane said, smiling a little.
Matthew soon came back out and blinked, looking over at Rogue, giving a small wave.
''hey, where's Allium...? i'm not trying to pry i'm just wondering'' he said.

"Oh, she's still at work for another few hours," he replied, smiling a bit. Rogue fiddled with his hands a bit, hardly noticing that his fingertips had gone blue again.

---

Adriane glanced at Rogue's hand's and her eye's widened.
''what happened to your finger's Rogue?! Matthew, warm his and's up but slowly, his finger's look almost frostbit!'' she said.
Mathew looked over at Adriane then at Rogue's hand's, blinking as he seen what she was talking about.
''dude what did you do to your finger's.....? they look terrible'' he said, walking closer and grabbing a hold of his hand's as he did what Adriane said, slowly heating up his own hand's to try and warm his hand's up carefully.