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

BREE and NUK

I almost felt bad for treating Zara the way I did. The look on my face...even though Zara and I had never been close, I'd still always liked her. Then she turned traitor. Bree's anger surged again. It was Zara who had caused every Elder to be killed. It was Zara who ruined her old life. It was Zara's fault that she would never be the same. And it was Zara's fault that Manarian, someone who had actually become her friend now, suffered constantly.

Brystianne flew Nukpano away and towards their camp. She was grateful that Zara was unconscious simply because, if she did escape, she didn't want to have to move too far away from where they were at now.

"What do we do now, Manarian?" Bree asked, looking at him.

She seemed to realize the conflicting feelings he had now that Zara was with them. But they couldn't kill her yet. Bree wasn't even sure if she could kill Zara, despite the terrible things she had done. It was one thing to kill people in battle, for self defense, but to calmly just kill them? As if you were swatting away an irritable fly? Did that make them as bad as the Shadows?

Bree's bottom lip trembled. Sometimes she felt as if she was just as bad as them. She didn't use to be like this. She prided herself on how strong and loyal she was to the riders. And she would always be loyal but...she wasn't strong. No, Manarian had toughed out his dragon's death. But Bree had choosen the easy route. She'd dived in front of the blade to spare herself the pain. And now, thinking back, she knew it was a irrational move, sparked only by fear.

She wanted to believe she'd do it again, only to save her dragon, but she wasn't sure if she could do it again. She valued her life and she was weak.

Brystianne cleared her throat loudly, trying to rid herself of those selfish and self-pitying thoughts. "So where should we take her? I have no idea where to start. But she's bound to know some information. Let's start there."

***A love triangle - or a love anything, for that matter - would be brilliant. It might help me get over my own very-recent loss... ***

Fitz

He smiled smuggly at Kallo. He knew he didn't trust him, that he probably didn't even like him. Not that two couldn't play that game. He wasn't too fond of the treatment he was receiving right now - as if he were an outsider, a rogue, a bastard who would stab you in the back...

It takes time, Isold growled at him. Be patient.

I'm done with patience... Something moved up ahead; there were two dragons approaching them. He frowned. Wait a second...

He glanced back at Ryl and Kallo, who were cruising behind him. "Those riders, you know them?"

Ryl and Kallo flew forward, observing what he'd spotted. "Yeah," Kallo said bluntly.

"That's Manarian and Bree." Ryl looked closer. "Is that Zara?"

nooo! Not the second page!

I can't really post until Tiger or Kelcia post. >.> Or I could but it probably wouldn't flow well.

**Sorry! I haven't had much time lately. **

Manarian

Manarian hadn’t said much since the discovery of Zara. It was quite a shock, to see his Dragon’s killer running about what should have been a relatively quiet village. Nevertheless, he didn’t like the Bree’s suggestion of keeping Zara alive.

“I suppose,” he said flatly, reverting to his old habit of showing no emotion, “we should take her back to camp.” He shrugged. “The others will have ideas.” Because I only have one, and I don’t think anyone else would approve.

After flying in the direction of the camp for a few minutes, Bree shifted and pointed up ahead.

“There are dragons up there,” she said, and Manarian leaned over her shoulder to see. “Three of them.”

“Avena,” he said, squinting, “Bane, and the new one. What are they doing?”

“Beats me,” said Bree. “Scouting?” The three dragons drew closer, their riders obviously having a similar discussion.

When the four Dragons were circling in the air, close enough for the riders to hear each other, Ryl leaned towards them, obviously uncertain.

“Is that Zara?” she yelled.

“Unfortunately,” Bree yelled back.

“Where’d you find her?” Kallo said, scowling.

“Who?” Said Fitz.

“Jut the traitor who got us into this thrice-damned mess,” Said Manarian, scowling. “That’s all.”

*now, Scar just has to post, then me, and we're back in business*

(I still can't really post but what the heck? I'll post something. Sorry about it being short.)

Zara:

Voices penertrated my daze. Someone was talking? I hope it's not Eighth...

“Who?” Someone asked.

“Just the traitor who got us into this thrice-damned mess.” That was Manarian, and he didn't sound happy. “That’s all.”

I blinked only to open my eyes wide and stare down at the ground. I was very high up and clearly slung over a dragon, in front of someone... I scrambled backwards and nearly fell off. A hand shot out and grabbed me before I could fall. I looked up to find Bree glaring at me with Manarian behind her. Three other riders circled us.

"Ah, ah, ah, Zara," Bree said. "You're not going anything."

Fitz

A traitor, they say? Then she needed to be kept under close watch, so as to not escape again and do further harm to them. But Fitz couldn't help but to be curious - what had she done to betray them? What heinous act had she performed against them? The one woman clearly didn't like her...

"Not to be rude, but our campsite is currently unoccuppied, and the stew could be getting cold," Fitz interjected as pleasantly as possible. "Why don't we all just head back and finish our discussion there?"



***Just thought something might move this along a little faster...***

***Bump! Somebody post something!***

Zara:

Manarian held onto my tightly as we flew back to wherever their camp was. His arm was around my throat, almost cutting off my air. His grip was two tight on my wrists, which were now pinend behind my back in his other hand. I didn't stuggle, it wouldn't help. But I did panic, and boy, was I panicking now.

Roshan? I called, unsure of where she was or if she'd answer. I got none and felt my eyes tear up. She better not be hurt or worse...

Okay, time to panic even more. No answer from Roshan meant something bad. Oh, god. Please let her not be dead, please. I let out a strangled groan ad tried to pry Manarian's arm away from my neck. He just pressed down harder. Yep, he was pissed.

Eighth is going to kill me.

Eventually we landed in a small clearing. There was a fire going and something cooking. I could smell it. My mouth started watering. How could I think of food at a time like this? And then I remembered... I hadn't had a proper meal in weeks.

Eighth is going to kill me.

Bree got down off Nuk, and the others climbed down off their dragons, and then finally Manarian climbed down, dragging me with him. There were new faces here. Interesting, but I was still panicking..

Eighth is going to kill me. I thought sourly. Then corrected myself. Manarian is going to kill me. And if he doesn't, Eighth will.

Great. Was there a third option? Nope. Eighth was definitely going to kill me. Especially if Manarian didn't and I wasn't sure if he'd pass up the chance to kill me or not...

Yep. I was so going to die.

Eighth

Everyone, please take note: this is a flash back to the time just after Eighth gave Zara her mission to terrorize the village. Eigth took Zara inside to give her her mission, and then left her in the hallway. Before leaving on her mission, Zara decided to follow Eighth and spy a little bit. In this post, Zara is following Eighth, as Eighth does... well, you'll see.After the events of this post, Zara goes out to Roshan to the village as was written, and her capture proceeds as was already written. The good guys' posts, other then Bree and Man, are not affected by this post.

And the post:

Zara nodded her head. "Yes, mistress." she murmured. The look in her eye was dangerously close to anger... could she still be trusted? She had taken to calling me mistress, though, a change that I approved of. I left her where she was, and walked off down the hallway, sharpening two of my dagger on one another.I entered a small, dark room that I used as a secret meeting hall. The Shadows were due for a meeting in two minutes. They began filing in, none daring to be late. Zara had not been invited. She was too new and unstable to be trusted, and the information I had for today was too important to be risked.

I nodded to all of them. "Our reign over the land we own is unchallenged." I began. "But every new conquer depleats us of supplies and energy. And those damn Academy Riders are a threat, no matter how minor. I have no doubt that they are plotting against us even now, while they carry out our commands and heal from their wounds."

"There is a legend. One that I have new cause to believe to be true." I said, lowering my voice. "Perhaps you've heard of the Stone of Eternity." Alice stifled a giggle.
"I agree. It's tale seems to be only a myth. What idiot would believe that a stone that grants its finder one wish is hidden away in a place nobody knows?" I said.
"I would have gladly killed the fool who believed the tale to rid us of a canker in our midst, if he had come to me a week ago. But I have discovered a piece of parchment," I said, taking it out from my belt and rolling it flat on the floor. It was weathered and old. On it was a simple sentence: "Those who seek the Stone- your quest might still prevail. In heart of the Blacks, it's power may unveil."
Natas read it aloud. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?" he said.
"The Black mountains. That's where the stone is." I said.
"Any old coot could have written that. It's no proof." Alice said. I chuckled. "Observe further." I said. She squinted at the text. It was blackish brown. "Is it... blood?" she asked, her eyes flashing. "Indeed. And not just any blood. It comes from a dragon. One would have to kill theirs to write it. This blood comes straight from the heart." I said. "Interesting. But still not proof." Natas said. "I found it with this." I said, holding up a small satchel. In it was a hair and a red sliver. "An assasin's mark. The hair of the victim and a scale of their dragon. I found it and the paper on a skeleton in a cave. Another skeleton lay nearby." I whispered. "Somebody was absolutely desperate to write this. And somebody was absolutely desperate to read it. They hired an assassin. The holder of the paper and the assassin dueled. The assasin won, and made his mark. That cave was recently opened, as it had been closed off by a rockslide seventy years earlier. That assasin died with the body of his victim, trapped."
I said. "Amateur detective work."
"This is a legitimate document. The stone would give us power to rule the world easily. And we leave in a week's time to find it." I said.
The door squeaked. I sprinted to it and opened it. Zara practically fell over, her ear had been pressed against it, listening. I held a dagger to her throat.

"I don't take spying lightly, Zara." I hissed. She whimpered. I pressed lightly, not enough to cut. "You know I would." I hissed. I dropped my hand. "I don't kill a Shadow without reason. Usually. This is your one and only warning. One more move out of line, and you blood will spill." I said. she nodded. "Go do what I told you to." I said. She ran off.


Okay!So, that's the flashback. Zara then goes to her dragon, gets to the village, gets captured... nothing that's been written already is changed.

Fitz

He looked at the woman, curiousity in his eyes. But he had better keep it under control; there was no time for sympathy here, especially now that the group's alledged leader was back, and in full command. Yet, he couldn't help but to notice - her eyes were watering, and she kept glancing at the pot. Scared, definately, by her manners; hungry? Probably.

He nodded toward her. "What do we do with her?"

"Tie her up," Manarian hissed, "for now. I'll figure out what to do with her later." That's when he seemed to notice the new face. "Who are you?"

Ryl stepped in. "His name is Fitz. He's a stranger, not from around here. You could say we recruited him."

Manarian and Bree both grunted, uninterested. Fitz sighed; things were not to a good start.

Ryl

Ryl looked around the people in the camp. Manarian was holding on tightly to Zara, Bree and Kallo were glaring at Zara, and Fitz looked very out of place. Ryl sighed.

"I'm going to go get some rope," she said gruffly, grabbing Fitz's arm. "Come on, Fitz." Ryl pulled Fitz back toward where the tents are. Kneeling by the main tent, Ryl began to rummage through the supply chest, looking for rope.

"Do you need help?" Fitz asked slowly. Ryl frowned up at him.

"No. Why?"

Fitz blinked. "Then why did you drag me away?"

Ryl snorted, and began to rummage through the chest again. "Because you looked like a lost puppy back there. Very awkward. I mean, I get it. This isn't your fight. Well, it sort of is. But - Never mind."

Ryl grinned triumphantly as a coil of rope came away in her hand. She straightened to glance at Fitz. He was staring at her.

"What?"

"Lost puppy?" he replied incredulously. Ryl smirked, biting her lip.

"Come on," she said after a moment. "Manarian wants Zara tied up, and I'll happily oblige him in this case."

I'm taking Alice out of this SB because I haven't really been posting anyway. So either you guys can just pretend she was never here or you can kill her.

BREE and NUK

"Nuh uh," Bree shook her head when Ryl and Fitz came back. She sighed and shook her head. They had so much to learn. They were young, but strong. They needed that. Brystianne needed the support others could bring.

"What do you mean?" Ryl asked. "You want to leave her untied?"

Bree looked at Manarian and he sighed, ready to explain. "What Bree means to say is, rope won't hold Zara."

Ryl and Fitz looked at each other for a moment, but it was another voice that sounded weakly beside Bree that offered the answer to Ryl and Fitz's confusion.

"It's because I'm a fire rider," Zara spoke, as though in pain.

Lightening sparked off my fingertips and Nuk glared at the dragon killer, ready to attack. Manarian's hatred boiled and Bree could almost feel it coming off him in waves.

"If I could give you a cage of lightning, I would," Bree spat. "The best way to tie you up would be with chains. It'll be too hard to melt those and we'll have a guard around you at all times."

Ryl ran off to get chains and Bree was ready to shoot off lightening if she so much as opened her eyes again. She wasn't unconscious, but she seemed too tired or too weak to move.

"And let's hope your dragon doesn't come either. He shouldn't because even you don't know where you are. But if he does, we'll have to subdue him. And I'd rather not hurt your dragon. You're the only one I have the problem with, traitor," Bree hissed.

Her whole life. Her whole way of living. Lives of the people she grew up with. All of them...gone. Because of her. One stupid, foolish girl. And Bree hated her. She could never forgive her for what she had done.

She let the others tie Zara up. Bree turned around and let two hot tears stream down her cheeks. Tears of anger and grief. And self-pity. Bree wasn't sure, in that moment, who she hated more. Zara, for changing her life, or herself for letting the traitor change her.

"I'll take first guard duty," Bree said once she'd cleared her cheeks of the residue of her tears. "You all go eat."

She glared at them, making sure they knew she wanted to be alone. Nuk rested beside her and she climbed his slim, narrow back, seeking comfort in him. He hadn't changed. Nuk was the only rock in her life that kept her sane.

"I'll give you one warning, Zara. If you so much as make one wrong move, I will shoot you with lightening again. If I smell or see you trying to melt the metal chains holding you, I will also shoot you with another bolt of lightening. Your questioning come tomorrow. So I'd prepare myself if I were you," Bree replied, feeling more like an Elder than like herself.