Dragon Riders II: Revenge of the Riders (started, accepting)

>Thank you so much for keeping me in this!! <

~Kallo~

As we dropped down, I continued to glare suspiciously at Fitz. Much as I respected Manarian's judgement, I really didn't think it was a good idea for Zara to be transported by him... there was no way he could ever fully understand the extent to which she had betrayed us... what she'd done...

And then there was Ryl, getting drawn towards him cause he was new and interesting and reckless. My glare intensified again, and beneath me, Avena chuckled. Tearing my gaze away from Ryl and Fitz, I looked down to see what was so funny.

A mischevious glint sparked in her eyes as she glanced me peering down at her. "You're so obvious when you're jealous," she murmured teasingly, and I scowled at her.

"I am not jealous." I retorted irritably, feeling her body wriggle with laughter under my hands again. One last suspicious glance was sent towards Zara and company before I guided Avena to Manarian and Bree. I really needed to talk to someone else to distract myself.

As I neared the two, I gave Bree a tentative look. She looked calmer than usual - flying usually did that, and didn't look as though she was about to kill anyone. Ah, good. The liklihood of her randomly snapping and pushing someone off their dragon was waaay below average.

"Do you really think Zara's telling the truth?" I asked softly as I approached. The pair turned queryingly, and a frown flickered across Manarian's face.

"Why would you think that?"

A snort escaped me and I rolled my eyes impatiently. "She's lied before. Who's to say she's not just leading us into another trap?" The two didn't look particularly convinced, and I sighed. "I just don't trust her.

Manarian

Manarian's face darkened.

"And you think I do?" He asked, raising one eyebrow. "No, the truth is, Kallo," he began, staring hard at the young rider."That I'm using this as an excuse." Kallo blinked.

"An excuse?" he said. Bree was listening hard as well.

"If there really is a 'stone of destiny,' and Eighth is looking for it, great. If not... The Black Mountains are almost impossible to accurately map. I thought that we might find a safe refuge there, where we could set up a permanent base for the resistance." Manarian's lips twitched in the shadow of a smile.

"That's not to say I don't believe what the traitor said. It's hard to lie, under situations like the one we put her in." In his mind, he savored the memory of her discomfort, although, for some reason, it wasn't as satisfying as he would have imagined. "Besides, she's obviously afraid of us," his minuscule smile widened a fraction. "Ans for good reason too. But she might be stark raving mad, and this whole expedition will be a wild goose chase. In that case, wouldn't it be nice to get a safe hiding place out of all our work?" He shrugged, and his not-much-of-a-smile disappeared.

Guyyyyyssss .... ??? Anyone? D:

I'm waiting for a Fitz post. *sighs* Not happening anytime soon....

***Sorry about that. Been a lot going on lately. Let's see...***

Fitz

As soon as they landed, Fitz hoisted Zara down from Isold's back, setting the woman on her feet before jumping down beside her. He didn't like it, but he kept hold of the binds around her, trying to show the other riders - Kallo, in particular - that he could indeed be trusted. It was obvious he would have a hell of a time with this guy...

But Zara still bewildered him...

He shook his head. Put it aside. Figure it out later. He looked over toward Manarian and Kallo. "Now, what?" he asked, breaking the awkwardness between Manarian and Kallo. If it was awkward at all...not really... He noticed he made it even just a little more tense than before.

He caught Ryl's eye again. She was still a little steamed, obviously, but she appeared to be letting go of that anger. He sighed. I'm beginning to regret doing this...joining this band...

Isold snorted. Sorry to be blunt, but... Too. Late.



***Sorry, it's all I can think of right now. I'm currently about to pass out thanks to medicine; I'm on the verge of pnuemonia...***

Zara:

The boy, Fitz, set me down on, and then joined me. I just let my legs collapse under my and fell to sit on the ground. I didn't really have any hope... Not unless you count wanting my dragon back, or even for her to talk to me.

I sighed, picking at the grass. It was pointless. Manarian clearly didn't believe me. And by the looks of it, neither did the others.

And this was where I started crying again; for myself, and my dragon, and everything that had happened to me since becoming Eighth's minion. Fitz shifted, uncomfortably but I ignored him.

Manarian noticed me and walked over. "What's she crying about now?" he demanded and Fitz just shrugged.

"I don't know," Fitz muttered. "She just started crying again."

I looked up at them, letting me see how dead my eyes looked. I knew they did; I'd seen it in the mirror for months. Fitz stared at me, but Manarian. Manarian looked angry, and about ready to kill me. I didn't cringe, I didn't move.

"Go on," I told him in a low voice. "Hit me. See if you can make me feel something."

Manarian just watched me, the angry look still there. Beside him, Fitz looked nervous. I would be too; I had gone from self-pity to wanting to be hurt in a matter of minutes.

"Hit me!" I shouted, making Fitz flinch. Manarian just stared at me. "Go on, do it."

"What did she do to you?"

By then, I had looked away and wasn't sure who had asked me that. Not that I was bothered by it; now I just wanted to feel something, anything. I wanted it... I would welcome it.... But nothing happened. Manarian just shook his head and walked away; I saw his feet, moving at a measured pace, away from me.

Fitz crouched down beside me. I felt his eyes on my face, but refused to look at him. "Are you alright?" he asked.

I ignored him for a moment, and then I looked up. "No," I whispered. "I'll never be alright... Not while She's alive."

"Fitz," Manarian called, and that was the end of that conversation.

And I still hadn't felt anything. I left out a frustrated sigh and tried calling Roshan again; my dragon wouldn't reply.

**Hard spot you put me in, Scar. Thanks, I love hard spots. **

Manarian

"Hit me!" Zara yelled, her face and tone hysteric. Manarian's fingers tightened on his staff. He bit back the urge to smack her. That would be... giving her what she wanted. And, somehow, it would also be wrong.

"What did she do to you?" he asked quietly, almost furiously, staring down at the wreck that used to be Zara, and resented every twinge of sympathy he felt for her. But the twinges did exist. Small and unwanted though it was, the pity was growing. It seemed that killing Reitsprea had hurt Zara... well, not as much as it had hurt Manarian, but close. And what killing the dragon she had once admired hadn't done to her, the Shadows had.

Manarian shook his head, spun on his heel and marched away, aware of Zara and Fitz looking after him. He leaned on his staff and gazed up at the sky, trying to push Zara out of his mind. He had other things to do. And maybe it was thinking of his late dragon, or maybe it was just that he was tired, but he could have sworn, before he shook his head and looked away, that he saw something silver, flying steadily towards them in the distance. When he looked back, the silver shape was gone. His fingers tightened on his staff.

"Fitz," he called, pushing unpleasant thoughts out of his head. He needed to plan their scouring of the mountain range. And it seemed to him... well, it seemed to him that Fitz had done a good job guarding Bree all that day. He hadn't been overly kind, but he hadn't completely ignored the girl, which was important.

"Yeah?" said Fitz, jogging over.

"Here's the plan. First thing tomorrow we're going to do a basic-fly over of the center of the mountain range, keeping note of likely places to explore. Then we'll return here to camp, switch Zara's guards, and then set out again for the first few likely locations." He took a breath, and Fitz nodded.

"I want you to keep first watch on Zara; I think I can trust you." Fitz scowled.

"'Think you can trust me,' great." he muttered, and Manarian almost smiled.

"That must be infuriating, coming from me. At any rate, I want you to be there when we make possibly dangerous explorations," He glanced at Bree, who was trying to get a good fire going. "And, I'd like to keep Bree out of anything like that. You haven't been here very long, so I doubt you'll have noticed, but she was... affected worse than most, when the Shadows took over."

"I noticed she was a bit unhinged," Fitz commented dryly.

"And you haven't even seen her in a particularly bad mood," Manarian agreed in similar tones. "So we understand each other."

"I suppose so,"

"Good," Manarian nodded to Fitz, and went to sit next to Bree.

I'm gunna take a good guy;)

Lillian Ich'fyn (Lily)

Age:21

Gender:Female

Description:

Spoiler

Personality:Lily is very calm, much like her dragon, though she loves to have fun also. She almost never goes anywhere without Naj. She doesn't have many friends, though she likes people, sometimes.

History: Her father was part of the shadow clan, and she strove to join too, until her father brutishly killed her mother and fled with another shadow clan member. She swore that day that she would eradicate the clan.While she was seeking any clan member, a dragon saved her from assassination from her father. He's traveled along ever since.

Dragon type:Her friend is a water dragon

likes: having nothing to do, meditating, practice fighting with daggers, being outdoors,routine, swimming.

dislikes: crowds, action, changes.

Flaws: She gets nervous and cannot think when time is necessary.

Good: Deadly with a dagger.

Habits: Will stop talking in the middle of a sentence, to continue minutes later.

Others:

bond: amazing, they saved each others life several times. There is scarcely a time that they aren't in each others head.

Dragon: Najjuitul(Naj)(Pronounced Ni).

age: middle age; like, twenty.

Gender:male

Element: water

Appearance:

Spoiler

Personality: he loves to have fun.

Others:

BRYSTIANNE **Been a while....but I'm back...**

Bree's hands shook terribly and she tried to set up the fire without any luck. This sucked. The worse part was the looks Manarian kept throwing her when she thought she wasn't looking. Nuk noticed it too, though he always took Manarian's side and she knew it. Sometimes she thought her dragon was giving her the same look. When she entered his mind these days he seemed very reluctant to open it all the way. He blamed it on her not opening her mind to him...but she knew he was lying.

Nukpano shot a bit of lightening and started the fire as soon as Bree leaned away, frustrated. It was too strong for the bit of dry wood that had out, and the loud crackling seemed to drawn everyone's attention, but it worked all the same.

Brystianne sat on the ground looking at everything and nothing all at once. Nukpano had been really restless lately. She didn't know what was wrong with him, but she missed her dragon. He was her rock, the only reason she didn't run striaght for Eighth, thirsty only for her blood. He kept her calm. Still, he seemed to spend most of his time out of her company.

"Nukpano," she called gently.

Her dragon walked slowly toward him. Built for speed, he was a lot smaller and lighter than the other dragons and moved with grace, unlike many.

"I smell a storm brewing," she smiled softly. "Let's go for a ride and get away from all these people."

"We really shouldn't leave Manarian with Zara," Nuk said, glancing at him. "Not yet."

Bree's temper flared and her face flushed as her anger and frustration at the world boiled over. "Well why don't we just invite precious Manarian along then, if we must," she hissed, keeping her voice down.

Nukpano looked worried. "Well who would watch Zara....we can't leave Zara with them."

"Well nevermind then!" she yelled, knowing full well that her hands were now coursing with lightening. "I thought maybe you'd like to go fly together, like old times. But I guess not!"

She turned on her heel and stormed off. Nuk followed, like always. He was always persistant....and caring, to the point of being annoying.

"Go find Manarian Nuk. Then you can be happy together and leave me alone," she sighed, sitting down and laying against an old tree.

"You're being foolish, Bree. Sometimes I forget just how young you really are. You are my rider. My dedication is to you. But Manarian is our friend and he's gone through more than many have ever thought," Nuk said harshly. "Jealously is a sin. And you should know better than to let it get in your skin. Grow up, Brystianne."

Bree stood up and shook back her red hair. "Oh yeah? Well how am I supposed to do that when you're off doing God knows what? You're the one who got himself caught by Eighth. Why did you have to do that? I was the one who had to "die" to save you!"

Nuk stepped back for a moment then flew off. Bree's stomach clenched and her heart shattered. That was a low blow and she should never had said it. She knew it was all her fault, but she put it off on Nuk.

"No wait! Nuk, I didn't mean to say that," she yelled. She opened her mind a bit to send him a message but she grabbed her head and gritted her teeth in pure pain. That was Nuk's pure grief, guilt and fury at her in the form of lightening. The kind she couldn't control.

She retreated and dropped to the ground. She didn't cry. She couldn't. Bree couldn't believe what she had done to her best friend.

"Damn it!" she screamed, pounding her fists on the ground. She looked and felt like a three year old. She had hurt her dragon because she knew he was right. Just how selfish would really turn out to be before she stopped hurting those around her?

Bree's stomach clenched again because she couldn't answer her own question.

the forum ate my post! NOOOO! It was a good, long one too!

Anyone????

I've been meaning to post....

Keep an eye on this space. >.>

Edit: And here's the post...

Zara:

Night fell, but I hardly noticed. I was staring at the ground, listening to the others as they sat around the fire. I didn't look up when I heard my name, and I refused to eat anything even though I was starving. Not that they actually gave me anything to eat in the first place.

"Why is Zara like that?" someone asked. "What happened to her? It's like she's...empty."

I snorted. Idiot. Had to ask. Wasn't it obvious? Eighth and her Shadow Riders. I sighed and closed my eyes, straining to hear the fire crackle over the sounds of conversation. Roshan was probably recovering or something. I frowned, shifting uncomfortably. Why wouldn't she talk to me? Why had she closed the bond so tight? I whimpered. I didn't like it.

"Isn't it obvious?" came the reply a few seconds later. "The enemy did this. Didn't you hear her? She keeps saying that Eighth will kill her...."

I tuned out the voices and tried to sleep, but sleep wouldn't come. I kept seeing the faces of all the men and women, and children I had killed. And it was all on Eighth's command. I felt sick, and guilty. Oh, god. Please let someone kill me before Eighth does...

Suddenly I was sobbing again. And this time I didn't know why.

Fitzy

He turned and looked at her when he heard her breathing change again, her beginning to cry once more. He sighed; he wanted to do so much to help her, to relieve her pain and sorrow... He wanted to know the original Zara, not this fragile, empty shell of a woman. He took a step toward her.

Manarian caught his arm. "Fitz, there's nothing you can do for her."

He snatched his arm away, whirling on the commander. For the first time since his arrival, he was beginning to show assertion, decisiveness. "If you want your friend back, and I know you do to some extent, let me help her."



***Sorry I've been gone, ***

((It's okay Ayumi.))

Zara:

I wasn't sure if I was crying or not any longer. All I knew was that I felt numb, my dragon wouldn't talk to me, and Eighth was definitely going to kill me---That's if she ever found out. And she would find out. Eventually. Most likely when I told her how stupid I was and that I'd told them about her plans.

And then Fitz's words registered. "If you want your friend back, and I know you do to some extent, let me help her."

I blinked and looked up, still half-unaware that I was sobbing. Fitz had his back to me while Manarian stared at him, his gaze slightly angry. Then he looked past Fitz and his eyes harden. His grip on his staff tightened and he narrowed his eyes at us.

"Fine," he snapped, biting off the end of the word. "Go help her. Just don't come crying to me when nothing happens."

Then he turned on his heel and stormed off. I watched his back, a kindle of an old, half-forgotten emotion igniting. I winced. I knew that emotion--Love. Oh, god. I was not in love with the man who wanted to kill me. Fitz sighed and ran a hand through his hair, then he turned towards me. His eyes widened when they saw me watching.

"Oh, um," he muttered coming to crouch down in front of me. "Uh, Manarian seems a little put out at the moment..."

I laughed, a harsh thing. Then I looked away. "You want to save me?" I asked. I saw Fitz nod out of the corner of my eyes and turned to face him. "Then get rid of Eighth."

NM Thnks 4 the idea white! My post is on page 10, i think- =)