EB p.2 The Dark Times

[Kauria]

Still focused on unwrapping the parcel, Maela gave a small, gentle smile in response to Pyhrros' stubbornly obscure answers. Withdrawing her hand from the package, the folds of black silk slid away to reveal a small crystal vial filled with a rich violet liquid, swirling slightly with the motion. Turning back towards the captive, an illusion washed over the demoness, softening features and lightening skin, until an average-looking elf appeared to be walking towards Pyhrros, fitting the vial into a syringe.
"Now I don't trust you to keep down any food we give you, so you're going to have to deal with a little sting until you feel a little more...open about such things." Carefully, she took his wrist in one hand and turned his forearm outwards. Athvesa, cover me a little. With a sudden motion, she jabbed the needle into the underside of his arm and swiftly withdrew, watching with interest.
"Finest grade," she muttered.

[Morty]

"...Well. That wasn't very impressive." said Jack, poking Saratheen's prone snout with his booted toe.
"What were you expecting? Rainbows and explosions?"
Jack shrugged. "I dunno. Now what?"
"Guess we just hang around."
"That's boring. Let's go see the Generals!"
"The Generals are busy people. It would be rude to barge in on them." Lulu said sagely from behind the monocle stand, the old book balanced primly in her claws.
"You could use that mind-message thingy you were using earlier."
"What? You think the division actually keeps mental contact outside the warzone?"
"I didn't know it was something you could just turn on and off. I can never seem to get you out of my head." said Jack, sticking out his tongue and screwing up his face.
"If she doesn't wake up in thirty minutes we'll go outside. It's all dark and clammy in here anyways." muttered Lulu, returning to her book.
"Clammy? I thought it was quite pleasant." said Jack, sitting with his back to Lulu's forearm, trying to make sense of the ancient earth clan text that Lulu seemed to have no trouble with.

((Just a fillerpost to see if you want to do anything with Saratheen. ))

[Midnightmoon]

(OOC: so is that a truth serum or potion?)

Pyhros watched the transformation wearily. When the needle was jammed into his forearm he hissed a intake of breath, squeezing his eyes shut tight against the pain. Stiffing a second noise that would have completely given away his discomfort. He looked down through squinted eyes to see a pin prick of blood where the needle had entered. Flexing his fingers -and only half succeeding- he felt a throbbing pressure all along his lower arm. He blinked, shaking his head as every thing soon became blurry around the edges. "Ok, what was this stuff?"

[Kauria]

(OOC: It's potion. )

Sitting on the table, Maela watched Pyhrros with only mild interest. There really wouldn't be much to see, not right away.
She gave a pained glance at the gap of air now visible within the vial. The doses had to be small, or the experiment would be ruined, but it was still distressing to see even such a small amount go to waste on an unwilling subject.
Can't be helped, Athvesa cut in, sensing her displeasure.
Easier for you to say. A potion of this quality is practically impossible to make these days. This stuff, she said, brandishing the vial, is almost all that's left from a stash that's centuries old.
"If that's how you want to feel about it," Athvesa conceded, putting up his hands in a gesture of defeat. "Let's go back upstairs, though. I don't care much for the air down here, and it'll be some time before the warrior's ready for his next dose."
Maela jumped down from the table, illusion melting away. "Fine. I'll ask Rama to send someone down to keep an eye on the prisoner."

[Midnightmoon]

Pyhros squeezed his eyes shut as his blurry eyes became blurrier and a pounding pulse started in his skull. And equoing throbbing pulse expanded from the injection. It didn't take long for the the slow throb to get to his chest and there forth his heart, and after that the liquid was pumped though his system faster. Pyhros felt chilled but suppressed a shiver. He could actually say he was frightened now. Fire Elfs almost never felt the chilling grasp of cold and here he was trying not to shiver. "Saratheen? Saratheen?!" As before there was no response. For once in Pyhros's life he was cold, cold and alone.

----------------------------------------------------

The fight in the rocky enclosure a few days prior had been all but forgotten. Everyone was going about their days in the Mountain Range Resistance HQ as usual up till that day. Their spys had confirmed that the camp had been compromised and the who base was relocating. The plan was to send out a few teams to create some diversions while the rest stayed back to help move everything. Teams one through five were the diversions and had already set out with Amber at the lead. Her second would control everything else and would send a scout when it was all finished to lead them back to the new HQ. The diversion teams set out at dawn to meet at the randevue point half a hours flight south from the bustling base. When everyone was there Amber split them up. Team 5 was to attack a enemy holding facility full of elves and fellow soldiers. Team 4 was to salvage food by ways of scavenging vegetables and fruit, hunting, and raiding. The rest of the Teams, 1-3, were going out to attack enemy scouting parties. Under the cover of the foliage Amber and Firen waited with Team 1 to ambush a enemy party that was said to pass this way on a regular basis.

[Kauria]

"Remind me again why we're going scouting this evening?" Maela whispered as the group of dragons moved silently through the darkening forest trail. "The prisoner was due for his next dose! I was hoping that we could make some more progress with the questioning this time."
"The rebels seem to have become unusually aggressive lately," Athvesa growled back softly. "This morning, two of our patrols were attacked by rebels, and later this afternoon, Essylia was raided by another rebel party."
"That's the former Air Clan base, right? They deserved it. The commanders there didn't even bother to modify the defenses. Anyone who had lived there previously would know the way in."
"That's not the point. We haven't any idea how many of these groups have been sent out, and they all retreated quickly once confronted. It's almost as if they're not genuinely trying."
"So why are we on a scouting mission? You still haven't answered my question," Maela asked impatiently, her whisper growing harsh. A rider in front of the pair turned in his saddle and gestured for them to remain silent.
Athvesa made a face at him before continuing. This patrol takes us about a mile from the range where we suspect the resistance to have a base. I requested to join the expedition in the hopes that we might find out what the rebels are trying to accomplish. I left a guard over Pyhrros with an additional dose of sedative. He can wait until we get back.
Oh. Maela settled back in her saddle, arms crossed. Do you want an illusion? I don't think that the others are too pleased about having to try to avoid detection at night with a white dragon.
Athvesa grimaced, his lips pulling back over his fangs as he closed his eyes. Fine. But make sure I don't look ugly.
Maela grinned.

[Midnightmoon]

Amber and Firen hadn't moved for a long time now, the same was for everyone else hidden around her. In Firen's saddle Amber shifted to try and discreetly stretch her cramped muscles. Soon they would have to move out and try a different route to accomplish what they had set out to do. Shielding her eyes Amber peaked out of the brush. Was that them? "Hey Firen, could you take a look over there?" She asked her dragon, even her marksmen eye couldn't decifer the movement. "Yep, it's them." "Ok then, send the signal." Firen nodded and thumped his tail lightly on the ground four times, where the earth dragons would sense and circulate the "get ready" signal.

[Morty]

Jack sat with his arms folded over his chest, glaring at the bound Pyhros. "Wakey wakey, sleepy-head!" he called loudly from across the room. "It's thanks to you I have to stay here while everyone's out on patrol this night!" His gazed shifted to the shackled Saratheen in one corner. "Course it doesn't help I'm on 24-hour probation for leaving you unattended this after noon. And oh, Lulu gets off scot-free when it was her idea in the first place.." Jack muttered, scowling and ducking his head, his arms tightly crossed.
How's it going there, sport? chimed a mocking voice in Jack's head.
"Aargh! Lulu!" Jack barked, clutching his head. Shuddup! I ain't talking to you!
Little touchy, are we? came the smug reply.
You jerk, why'd you tell the supervisor I put leeches in the spring rolls? It was your idea!
Hey, it was either you or me. said Lulu, barely hiding a chuckle.
This ain't the end of this. Just you wait.. Jack grumbled.
"Well, we have all night, ladies and gents. Who's going first?" Jack sighed, twirling a cruelly spiked syringe in one hand.
((http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faust ))

Leucrocuta grinned to herself as Jack's voice receded to indignant mutterings. She was bellied down in the forest about a mile from a suspected rebel camp; it was a good thing she was dark in colour, or else her size would have given her away. Some of the other troups had glanced at her oddly, being present without a rider. Crickets chirped as the scouting unit rustled faintly through the undergrowth.
Her ears pricked at a faint series of pulses felt in the soles of her feet. "Did you feel that, General?" she whispered hoarsely, going completely still. "Fools... Sending a physical message for all to hear..."

((Lulu's an earth dragon oi~ I guess that means she can detect the signals? X3
Awkward post is awkward. D:))

[Midnightmoon]

(OOC: well the rebels asume that the dark clan convert all their prisoners, and no one who's gone up against a pair with one being still "normal" has ever survived to counter this assumption. So if Lulu is still part earth dragon then she can feal it but not really anyone else.)

[Kauria]

Athvesa whipped his neck about to face the dragoness, his blue eyes opening a fraction wider.
"What is it?" he demanded in a low voice harsh from urgency.
Hey, hold still, Maela thought indignantly, passing a hand over a streak of still-white scales. If you keep moving, you're going to end up patchy.
Ignoring her, the ice dragon continued to stare intently at Leucrocuta, his thoughts racing. "Is it the rebels? Already?"

[Morty]

Lulu carefully put her ear to the ground, where the faint thumps were still continuing. "You sound alarmed, General." she said, surprised at Athvesa's reaction. "Could be just rabbits." she muttered, following the pulses with an ear to the ground, like some sort of bloodhound. "damn big rabbits... Sh*t, I think that's their signal!"

[Midnightmoon]

Amber let loose a inflamed arrow, striking one of the enemy riders right out the saddle. He fell to the ground in flames. As soon as the final signal hit home a roar erupted from everywhere. Dragons and their riders charged out from their hiding places, ordering themselves into a loose line as they ran for the enemy. A few took to the air. In the undergrowth the archers stayed behind to rain a deadly long range attack with their dragons to protect their backs. Ahead of the ground assault snaked elemental spells of every type and similar spells came down from the air with the arrows. And so the battle began...

[Kauria]

"We're under attack!" Athvesa roared, leaping towards the fallen rider with a small globe of water already in hand to extinguish the flames.
"As if everyone couldn't already tell," Maela snapped, yanking her halberd from the straps on Athvesa's side and darting between the startled dragons.

[Morty]

Leucrocuta had been ready. She kept herself low to the ground, and as soon as a flying dragon and rider passed over head, she simply stood up on her hind legs and grabbed it in her jaws, shaking it like a dog with an oversized rat. She felt the victim's claws frantically scratch her empty eyesocket until going still, its ribcage crushed.
"Pull yourselves together, you lot!" she yelled at the demon soldiers, blood dripping from her muzzle. "They'll die just as easily as you will, and you will if you don't get yourselves in gear!"
"Not so fast.." she said to herself, noticing a rebel archer preparing to let loose a flaming arrow. She closed her one eye and went calm for a moment, and the rebel suddenly burst into flames, lit by his own arrow.
((Lulu can draw fossil fuels out of the ground, playing with fire can have bad consequences around her. ))

[Midnightmoon]

Amber's arrows joined with the ones of the other archers. After the first flame arrow she left the rest normal. Nowadays she only used fire when she had to. Another enemy fell to her arrows. A half hour later the fight was still going on. Amber was nearly out of arrows and from the rate of aerial bombardment so was every other rebel archer. Hooking her bow over her had and across her shoulder Amber unsheathed her sword. Firen didn't need to hear a word to know that they were going to fight in the front lines. Jumping out of their still hidden cover Firen headed for the battle field at a run.