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 Posted: Sun Feb 25, 2007 1:38 pm
The wind hollered throughout the field, and snow blanketed the ground in a thick layer of frostbite. It was one of the first blizzards to come in a long time.
Drip.
Ancient stalagmites hung from the cave's ceiling, and no claw marks marred the dirt-strewn stone surface of the cave's floor. The chill from the outside spread through the stone walls and floor of the cave, and a small pool of nearly frozen water in the corner of the cave lay as stagnant as the stale air that filled the cavern. A small hole in the farthest wall of the cavern, only the size of a wyrm claw at best, led into more darkness further inside the vast cavern. Steady dripping noises echoed from beyond the hole, reverberating into the frigid first chamber of the cave.
Dripdrip.
There were two choices to those out in the blizzard: to brave the sleeting storm or to seek refuge inside the cavern.
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Posted: Sun Feb 25, 2007 2:01 pm
Helyn dove out of the sky, her senses warning her of the approaching danger. She landed her belly in the snow, nearly recoiling from its harsh cold, even worse than the air had been before. She hastily slithered across it, her hind set of wings beating furiously to propel her forward even faster as her main wings battled against the wind.
Finally, after what seemed like far too long, she entered the cave. A long, serpentine path followed in her wave, tracking bits of snow a few feet into the cave. After that, her long winding body made a clear disruption in the thin layer of dirt.
She now had protection from the blustering wind, but not from the other elements.
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Posted: Sun Feb 25, 2007 2:14 pm
Pressing through the harsh winds and snow, Hawk pulled his jacket closer to his body as he held the small orange hatchling within his arms to help keep him warm Neither of them really expected a storm like this to come by.
"Hawk, I'm cold..." whimpered Xyane as he buried his head into the young half-elf's chest.
Letting out a sigh, he shifted slightly to reposition the bow and quiver on his shoulder. Freezing himself, he knew they'd have to find some sort of shelter soon otherwise they'd both be in a lot of trouble. Shivering slightly, he paused and peered through the snow to see if there was anything around.
Further ahead, he managed to barely spot the outline of what may be a cave of some sort. Grinning with this stroke of luck, he quickly pressed onward towards the cavern.
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Posted: Sun Feb 25, 2007 2:19 pm
The clear markings leading into the cave, though barely visible through the developing blizzard, appeared as though a huge snake had entered it. Either that, or an average sky wyrm.
Whichever way, it meant that something was already inside it.
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Posted: Sun Feb 25, 2007 2:20 pm
Ahava, quickly entering the cave, shook off her snow-coated fur. Her curved horns dimly glowed in the darkness, casting a soft glow of light into the frigid cavern. Her blue eyes swiveled around the cave, taking in her surroundings. She made her way over to Helyn.
"Did you come here for shelter as well?" Ahava asked the light blue wyrm, brushing her face against Helyn's in greeting. She remembered her well, and Helyn had always been kind to her. She was glad that she didn't have to stay in the cold alone. "Are you resting your wings for a while?"
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Posted: Sun Feb 25, 2007 2:28 pm
Stopping momentarily as he spotted a somewhat unusual track in the snow, Hawk gritted his teeth slightly as he stared down at it. The main track appeared very snake like, but as far as he knew, there weren't exactly any giant snakes around. And upon closer inspection, he noticed several thin and light trails that went along side the main body, which probably meant that some limbs or what not were lightly brushing against the snow while the creature had moved.
There was another set of tracks as well; ones that appeared to be from some hoofed creature. Though he didn't really have the time to examine it more closely to figure out what else could be inside the cave.
Huh..
Feeling Xyane's body shiver in his arms, he quickly snapped out of his thoughts and headed in. With snow covering the both of them, they stared out as they noticed two wyrms further ahead.
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Posted: Sun Feb 25, 2007 2:32 pm
Helyn returned Ahava's greeting. Her main wings rustled, allowing snow to fall off of them. Her long body was twisted close to itself, as if trying to conserve heat. "The wind is too trecherous now even for wind wyrm to traverse." She brought both sets of her wings clower to herself as she answered. "The cold places a damper on things, as well." Her tail flicked to the side, before curling back into her body. "You must be freezing, Ahava. What were you doing out in such frightful weather?"
Her shocking blue gaze trailed to the half elf and his burden. She slithered forward quickly. Her large frontal wings draped behind them, shading them from the wind. "Oh heavens, what were you thinking, walking about in this cold? It is turning a blizzard, I can feel it."
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Posted: Sun Feb 25, 2007 2:32 pm
The wind blew a gale, blew a fury of snarls at the world. The beast that was winter held no mercy for those caught out in it's mighty jaws. Its teeth sank deep and held there, seeking to tear the life away from all that lived breathed in icy air and-
"Hey, come one. We can't stop here, not out in the open. Keep it together titch."
The small creature blinked dazedly up at the wyrm that had just spoken into his mind. "What?... Oh, yes. Shelter. Sorry, just got a bit... lost for a minute there."
Angetenar looked down on his bonded, concern in his amber eyes. "Yea, well get unlost," he ordered, giving the tiny man a nudge. "I think I see a cave over there, let's get moving."
Beetle sighed wearily and nodded, wrapping his arms tighter about himself. "Right," he said aloud, hoping the words would focus his wandering mind. "Cave." Shaking himself, the grey-skinned gnome began to wade through the deep snow once more, following his wyrm's lead.
The hybrid gave a tiny sigh of relief that he managed to get his friend moving again and hurried towards the cavern as fast as the small creature's pace allowed. After a while, he gave a snort of disgust and wrapped his tail around the small creature and half dragged half carried him forwards.
The marks at the cave's mouth, as the yearling drew near were glanced at and then ignored. Possible hostile creatures within were better than seeing his friend freeze out in the snow. "Hello?" he called as he entered. "I'm sorry if we're intruding but we need to shelter from the blizzard..." "There, that was polite, right?" he sent as he set his bonded back on his feet.
The blond too a few steps forward to lean wearily against his companion's flank. "Yes, very good lad," he managed, along with a weak smile.
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Posted: Sun Feb 25, 2007 2:35 pm
Helyn turned her head to see the rather small pair standing just within the cave. She immediately swept her wing back so that it sheltered them as well. She smiled slightly down at them.
"It would seem as though everyone is out in the cold tonight, wouldn't it."
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Posted: Sun Feb 25, 2007 2:44 pm
Shivering a little more, Hawk stepped in further as he felt a brisk wind blow by. Grinning weakly at the wind wyrm that had addressed them, he shrugged slightly.
"It wasn't this bad when we had left home.."
Soon after he had said this, he heard a few footsteps from behind. Another young wyrm, accompanied by his bonded. He let out a small frosted breath, then stepped to the side so that he wasn't quite in the middle of the cave's path. And when he reached the wall, he slowly sat down against it and carefully set Xyane onto the floor.
The little hatchling shuddered and quickly curled up next to the half elf before looking out at the others in the cave.
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Posted: Sun Feb 25, 2007 2:51 pm
Ahava sighed. "I had been looking for a warm place to spend the night, but I suppose this place will have to do." She shook the remaining snow off her fur and wings. Flicking her tail to the side, she glanced around at the newcomers. "Make yourselves comfortable, please. Strangers become friends in colds like these." Her blue eyes lighted upon Hawk and Xyane, and she made her way over to the pair. She knelt on her forelimbs, gently brushing her face against the little hatchling's. "Hello, little one," she softly said. "Are you cold? Will you be all right?"
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Posted: Sun Feb 25, 2007 2:52 pm
The fierce winds growled. Taking advantage at those who cross. The snow entangled with the angered wind making it harder for anyone to try and pass without resting. The cold air was enough to make anyone lose it and faint right there.
The dark blue wyrm flapped her wings roughly to take advantage. "We should be getting into a safe place. I know you can't keep up that act any longer, you must be freezing." She looked over at her bonded that was covering himself with his own dark wings. Growling the man spoke with a harsh tone "We are not stopping until I can find the trace we lost. I can sense it, she was here..."
She shook her head and disobeyed him, turning around from the direction they were currently going at. "Hey!! Go forward!!" Ignoring his comments she looked for a safe place to land at and finally spotted a cave.
Lowering herself into the cave she shivered and folded her wings. It wasn't only to get him into a safe place, this cold wasn't good for her. The flames on her back.. although a mutation and shouldn't be affect, was dim. " Let us rest here Alexander. When the storm passes over we can search again. sighing Alexander folded his own wings and got off her back. "I want to leave as soon as it is over Anemone. You hear me?" She nodded and pushed him forward with a wing, sensing that they were not the only ones inside this cave.
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Posted: Sun Feb 25, 2007 3:02 pm
Helyn glanced back at all of the newcomers. She moved to the side to let them in, then slithered back further into the cave. "An odd night for everyone to be about," she commented, shifting her wings slightly. "Though I suppose if we are going to spend the night together, we might as well get to know each other.
"My name is Helyn," she said. One of her frontal wings cast itself toward Ahava. "This is Ahava. I understand that this circumstance might be most inconveniencing, but this cold necessitates our cooperation. Strangers make good friends in tight places, after all." Her voice was a bit airy, but friendly, none the less.
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Posted: Sun Feb 25, 2007 3:14 pm
"I'm Angetenar," said Angetenar with a smile at the assortment of creatures that had now found and entered the cave.
Beetle gave himself another mental shake and made an effort to stand up without resting his weight on his companion's shoulder. "Beetle," he said with a tired smile to the gathering of large, by his standards, creatures. It wasn't as flashy as his usual introduction and his eyes didn't sparkle with their normal amused vitality but he couldn't seem to care. His smile was still friendly, he knew, and that was what really mattered.
The hybrid wyrm gave a weary sigh and twitched his tail as he waited for the others to give their names. He was deeply thankful that they'd found this place when they had; the yearling doubted either of them could have got very much further in the rapidly worsening weather. "You gonna be alright?" he asked his friend. The response wasn't even so much as a mental word but it was a feeling of exhausted assent, which was good enough for him. Angetenar smiled and sank down on the cave's floor, pulling his companion down beside him and tucking the cold little being close to his flank.
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Posted: Sun Feb 25, 2007 3:16 pm
Xyane glanced up at the adult light wyrm before him and tilted his head to the side somewhat. He hadn't exactly seen a light wyrm before, so in a way, he thought she looked kinda strange. Though with a bit of a smile, he lifted up one of his wings and shook it to "wave" in a way to her.
"Yeah. I'll be fine," he said before scooting closer to Hawk.
The young half elf smiled softly before patting the little one.
"I think this is his first winter, so he's not really used to the cold weather and all."
Upon hearing a couple introductions, he nodded and went ahead to introduce himself.
"I'm Marendithas Hawklight, though you can just call me Hawk. And this little one here--"
"I'm Xyane!"
"Er.. nice to meet you all."
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