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 Posted: Sun Jul 17, 2011 10:27 pm
|An underwater cavern|
"Give it time... Your wounds will heal. Your father isn't alone in caring for you, either. He has Lao and Ebony to help him... and now that I have this cavern here, I suppose I will be sticking around as well."
He lowered himself, offering to let her climb onto his back again.
"You wish to see more, yes?"
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Posted: Sun Jul 17, 2011 10:34 pm
Sasha gave a soft sigh of disappointment at the slow healing but knew he was right about it. Still, she perked up a bit when he offered to help her get around to see more of the place, "I'd love to see more, yes... Thank you...," she said softly and got onto his back easily now.
"It seems I keeping having to thank you... But the words just don't feel like enough to me...," she added as she nuzzled him again.
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Posted: Sun Jul 17, 2011 10:55 pm
|An underwater cavern|
"I suppose a dinner would do nicely,"
laughed the male as he slid back into the water, snaking through the water in the direction Sasha had been staring, reaching a small alcove that had enough rock for Sasha to climb on. There was a relatively large crystal here, and now that they were closer, it was radiating a soft warmth, and the water around the crystal was much warmer as well...
"Well, now I know where to build the bathing pool."
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Posted: Sun Jul 17, 2011 11:01 pm
Sasha gave him a small nod as she looked the area over, "It would make a nice bathing area with the warmer water... Carve a few benches into the pool and you could be able to soak in it easily," she commented then shifted around to inspect the crystal, enjoying the warmth it gave off as well as the soft light.
"It's very pretty... But I wonder what makes it give off that heat?" she said softly, tilting her head at it from a few different angles before touching it gently with the tip of her nose.
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Hot Champion_of_justice Crew
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Posted: Mon Jul 18, 2011 9:38 am
Borias wiped his face with a small cloth as it had gotten very hot and humid as he made his way to the islands. After wiping off his face and neck, the man took a drink of water from a small canteen.
His eyes scanned the area but he saw signs of no one. He couldn't even pick up a trail of anyone who had been out this way in any recent bit of time.
Borias sighed but he couldn't give up. He continued on his chosen path to find the emperor of the dragons. Lio informed him of Lao and said if there was anyone who could give him information or heal someone very wounded, it would be Lao or his mate Ebony.
Borias knew of Ebony but never had met her and he hoped he would be able to get some sort of information or hope Layla was still on the islands. He fingered the small pendant she had given him. The one with a centaur and a woman.
He was stupid...stupid for letting her go and acting like a child. It was because of him, Zuko was after her, his son was beaten up by fanatics, and it was also his fault ahe allowed himself to get his a** handed to him.
All of This was very much his fault and he hoped his apology would do something....he knew it probably wasn't enough and never would be, but perhaps it would make him feel better.
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Posted: Mon Jul 18, 2011 9:49 am
"Silence fills the empty grave, from the time you were gone. Yet your mind is not at rest, for questions linger on." The voice played inside Borias's head as a massive shadow formed above him, only for the large form of the Mountain Emperor himself to land before Borias, his tail blocking the man's path as his eyes narrowed and wings extended, blocking out the sun and providing both shade and darkness. "You are here seeking somebody aren't you?... A woman perhaps, bruised, battered, and alone.... A woman, who when she needed someone the most, he wasn't there to save her....." A gout of flame exited from his nostrils as he leaned down to stare at Borias.
"Why are you here?"
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Hot Champion_of_justice Crew
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Posted: Mon Jul 18, 2011 10:11 am
Borias was taken by surprise as a huge male dragon suddenly appeared and blocked his way.
"Unless you are the mountain emperor Lao, why I am here is not for you to know. Now you can continue your show or let me go on my way if you are not Lao."
Borias was curious to find out if the battered and beaten woman was Layla, but if this was not Lao, he would say nothing more to the beast. He had no business with anyone else but the dragon emperor.
He looked at the male revealing nothing in his face or in his stance.
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Posted: Mon Jul 18, 2011 10:14 am
"You are right to be cautious. Perhaps this may convince you of my identity."
Backing away, the dragon began to grow. The wings were slowly shrinking away onto its back as every body part extended. The crimson scales were becoming more jagged as spines grew about his body, the bright red sheen becoming more of a rusted red with specks of ash blue about. It wasn't long until a mountain of a dragon stood before Borias, and it slowly rose up onto its hind legs and balancing with its massive truck of a tail before looking down at the small mortal, easily blotting out the sun before its booming voice echoed about everywhere.
"I am the Mountain Emperor Lao Shan-Lung. Now I will ask mortal, why have you come to my domain?"
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Hot Champion_of_justice Crew
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Posted: Mon Jul 18, 2011 10:29 am
Borias watched as the dragon grew into an enormous beast which blocked out the sun completely.
Lio was right, Lao was huge when he wanted to be...much like a pigeon who puffed himself up to protect his territory. Borias remembered to behave as Lio warned him Lao could either be polite or his worst enemy.
Borias bowed before he looked back up at the dragon.
"I have come seeking a woman by the name of Layla. She ran away and I am afraid she was attacked by someone she thought she could handle on her own. I seek to bring her back home."
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Posted: Mon Jul 18, 2011 10:37 am
Lao slowly lowered himself down, his eyes staring at Borias before he slowly shifted back into his winged form. "She is here, though I question my own judgement if I admited you to see her. She was attacked by the reanimated form of a dead lover, who brutally assaulted her and almost killed her if she wasn't saved by someone else. Now tell me mortal, why would I release someone who is injured and hardly alive into the care of the one who neglected her in the first place?" Lao asked, slowly circling around Borias as he viewed the man entirely. Hardly looked dangerous, though in these islands the emperor knew that size and appearance hardly meant anything.
"You look like your just here to make amends and be on your merry way. I highly doubt your here for her benefit." Lao stated, making stabs towards Borias as a gauge towards his commitment to this kind of journey. If he really was here because he cared for Layla, than Lao wouldduly test him so. Any words of thoughts of self-interest would be met with silence and most likely being set on fire for what the dragon considered to be folly.
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Hot Champion_of_justice Crew
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Posted: Mon Jul 18, 2011 10:44 am
Borias knew what the emperor was playing at. He wasn't THAT stupid. As the dragon circled him, Borias remained still.
"Excuse me, but neglected is far from it. Besides were not listening your majesty? I told you she ran away to protect me and my son. I was stupid for not bringing her home right away, but I was too angry, too hurt because even though we talked about the situation of Zuko as a 'family', she still decided to think that neither myself nor my son, her 'family', could protect her.
And as I said before I am here to take her home. How I make amends with my mate is none of your business as I do not ask about your relationship with the Lady Queen Ebony."
He glared right at Lao, not wavering. Inside he was a bit terrified of the dragon as he could be eaten...the horse part of him was not making it easy to hold it together.
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Posted: Mon Jul 18, 2011 10:52 am
"You are on my island demanding to take home the battered body of your wife who is under the protection of mine. The fact that she is here and you are here make all of this my business as far as I am concerned." Lao responded before slowly shifting into his human form so he could talk to Borias face to face and not worry about blowing his ear drums up.
"You say she ran away in order to protect you, against your council. Let us put you in her shoes then Borias. Would you have ran away and gotten yourself hurt if it meant your son and wife could be spared? Would you have put the target upon your back so the sights of your enemies are not aimed at your family? How do you think she would have felt then Borias if she had stayed behind and you and your son were hurt or killed in her defense?" Lao asked, leaning on a tree as his draconic eyes still continued to stare down Borias. "If you truly wish to see her, she is currently being cared for at the Spire of the Cairn Mountains. It is normally reached by flight, though few beings manage to climb the sides. If you are truly that intent on taking her back home...."
His finger pointed to a large, central spike of stone that jutted up to the sky, almost touching the cloud lines.
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Hot Champion_of_justice Crew
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Posted: Mon Jul 18, 2011 11:05 am
Borias wished he could knock the emperor one. He just did not like the man. Sure the dragon had a right to know now as he was housing Layla, but to ask him questions that only made it seem like he was completely in the wrong and Layla was a saint, made him angry.
"Fine. Sure. Being in her shoes I would have done the same, yet if my family offered help, there is always others ways to fight without having them hurt or getting stuck in crossfire. It's called strategy.... that and have you Ever heard of team work? Probably not as you are as grand as they make you to be and I am sure you do everything on your own.
And if my family was killed by bad planning.....then they were killed by my stupidity and I would take my own life to go be with them."
Borias looked at the spire of the mountains.
"I already told you my intent your majesty. If you want to make me pay for it by making me climb, so be it."
He took his pack off and stashed it in the trees. The only thing he took was his water canteen. He walked away from the man and went to the base of the mountain and looked at it, analyzing the cut of rocks before he began his slow climb.
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Posted: Mon Jul 18, 2011 11:20 am
Ebony stirred in her sleep and checked on the hatchlings, still asleep. She got up and left the nursery to check on the food cooking and the unconscious elf in the main room of the cavern. She shifted to her human form when she heard the woman give a low moan of pain. Ebony walked to the landing ledge and looked around to see if she could tell where Lao had gone, a sound drawing her chartreuse eyes down where she saw a man climbing the side of the mountain.
She shook her head slightly, just knowing that Lao had to have set that one in motion. She simply shifted back to her dragon form and took off, sliding around the spire until she could hover near where Borias was. She had to admit that he'd gone a good distance already but had to speak up now, "Need some help to the top? I'm sure that Lao set you up to this but I'm not that heartless...," she told him simply and moved to set her claws into the rock, "Get on and I'll take you up," she told him, shaking her head again, "And don't be stubborn about it either!" she snapped at him before he could protest the ride.
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Hot Champion_of_justice Crew
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Posted: Mon Jul 18, 2011 11:25 am
Borias was doing pretty well and he had been able to scale the side of the mountain rather easily, but as he climbed he almost fell as there was a strong gust of wind as another dragon flew down and offered him a ride.
Even though she snapped at him, all he could do was look at her a bit angry.
"I am not being stubborn. It's called having honor and showing that emperor I can do this. I am not some weak little mortal who can't do anything...I already failed my mate, I refuse to fail at anything that will help me get to her the correct and proper way."
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