darkSpyro

Angora was quite happy to hear Orion finally confirming that she won't be alone in this battle, but the sudden spark disappeared when she saw Star leaving the cave. She materialized her sword and put it in front of the fox.
"Just hold if there's! Where do you think you're going? You're going to get in trouble again and we'll have to rescue you once more." Angora scolded, refusing to let him leave. They were in all of this together now. And this was a treacherous terrain. It was suicidal to leave.

Star snarled at her now. "Believe it or not, I'm going outside. I need some fresh air or I'll go nuts. You really think you can stop me?" His right eye opened again. "I've been through countless parts of the multiverse, whether you understand that or not. I frankly don't care about much anymore, but you don't have any idea why I act the way I do. Stand... Stand aside." He faltered on the last sentence.
Darkheart shook her head. "I thought that Digi said Zorua were pack creatures."
"We are, but I have no pack anymore! They all died because I failed them! Do you have any idea what it's like knowing everyone you know and love died because you made a mistake?"
Darkheart responded with a blunt "Yes" that stopped Star in his tracks.

Angora had no idea what the two of them were talking about. Wasn't Digi the device? Why was Star talking about Digi dying when it was right there? It didn't mattered to her. She still wasn't going to let Star leave.
"A mistake? Anyone makes mistakes! How about being blamed for the way you were born? Think you have a crappy life? You have no idea!" Angora rebuffed, angry at Star for complaining about who knows what when they're bound to be creatures in worse shape than him.
"Whatever! You're not going anywhere! You've seen what it's out there! We're not going to risk having you rescued again and be exposed to the horrors of this new terrain!" the troll expressed, not moving. She was going to fight and even injure Star if that's what it took to prevent him from leaving the cave.

"I have seen the ugliness of death too many times to count," Sere said, with sorrow in his voice. "One day, maybe... we can make a world where that never has to happen again. At least not nearly as much as it does now. But it is a work in progress.
"I, of all people, know the weight of each life I take. I know because I know the weight of each companion I've lost. I can see it hundreds, thousands of times... it never stops hurting. But that doesn't mean I have to surrender. We should see this through - at the very least, do not throw your life away out there, with no idea what may happen." No sort of scrying magic worked in this place, and trying to feel vibrations through the earth was also a no-go - there really was no way to identify what may happen out there without directly seeing it. And that made Sere anxious - not knowing.

Angora wanted to say something, thinking Sere was as hypocrite as his protégée. He has seen suffering, but heaven knows how much of it they've caused by their own hands with their selfish, bigoted ideals. But once again remained silent and hoped his words were enough to convince Star to stay in the cave as everybody should.

Upon Star's sudden near departure, Raclaw caught up but let the others speak first. He knew that his own troubles could never compare to that of someone like Star or Darkheart. He had never personally lost someone or been responsible for some grieve tragedy, but he would do his best to try and consul Star.

"Star-- I know my own experiences may not compare to what you have lost, but you are never alone. Your pack... your family... they will always be with you deep within your heart. No matter what happens, they will never truly be gone. And while you may continue to mourn and remember them, you don't have to do it alone. You have friends and you have allies-- and we will continue to support you no matter what it takes. You don't have to forget or move on, but you don't have to be alone ether. We are here for you and we aren't going anywhere.," he then said speaking partly from the heart. He had learned to adopt the humans as his family and even though he never met his true parents; he knew that they were out there somewhere and that they had loved him.

By this time, Angora had hoped Star was finally coming to his senses. She didn't know what else could convince him, but she had something else to say;
"Look, we've all had our share of life. It can be cruel and merciless, to some more than others. If you leave, you'll make things worse for us and yourself! Look, you already have a broken heart, how much more damage it can take? We are doing this now, so we can still live and find a chance in happiness, and give that chance to others..." Angora said, stopping mid sentence. Did those words really came out of her mouth? It sounded so corny! Still, she already said it, and tired of obstructing Star's path, she put away her sword.

With a yawn, Angora realized how tired she was, and after the intense and unfair training, it was to be expected.
"Training continues tomorrow. I want to sleep well tonight. Plus, I'll have to get breakfast for a... certain beast before we can continue." Angora reminded, glaring at Sere with the last sentence. It was going to be a very long day for her, and with all being said and done, she went to her corner, hoping that Star wasn't going to do anything stupid that night. And if he did, she was going to let Orion and the others take care of it this time.

Sere could imagine how tired Angora was as she walked off. "I look forward to you proving that today was not a fluke," he said. "Though something tells me that that alone will not be believable enough for Latnok. But if you are going hunting tomorrow, you will need to exercise caution." He was going back to his note-taking on various subjects, when he finally recalled something. "Are you taking the fourth watch?" he asked Angora.
He also noted Latnok's bag. Hmm, how careless... With the way the bag could not function on its own magic here and had to draw from the Guardians, it would lose its magical properties after a while with no one to maintain it. Latnok had just collapsed, seemingly from exhaustion... Sere began emptying Latnok's possessions from his bag.

Angora groaned as a response, angry at Sere for lecturing her something so obvious. This terrain was new and dangerous, so of course she was going to be cautious. She didn't need any warning for that. She then proceeded to answer Sere's last question.
"I will hunt tomorrow very early in the morning, so a watch is out of the question." she said, wanting to have an uninterrupted night. She's done plenty of night watches already, and even babysat Shade one time, so she wanted to have a constant slumber for once. Whatever she hunted, it had to be big to satisfy Veris' humongous appetite, so she will need all the strength and concentration she could muster.

As she prepared to sleep, she felt quite bitter for the long day that awaited her tomorrow. Of all the task Latnok could've assigned her to earn his respect, why did it have to be take care of the large wyvern? As fond as she has grown of the creature, he was too hard to feed, but maybe that was the point. She could barely wait tomorrow for what face will the biased human put once he sees her approaching the giant carnivore with no fear whatsoever...

OOC: Infodump courtesy of Star himself. Get ready for feels.

Star looked at all of them. "Digi... The one Angora has is actually my attempt to recreate the last friend I had... He was trying so hard to keep me out of trouble... Then I encountered the mob of HUMANS..." He spat out the word like a curse. "They blamed me for an accident. They grabbed torches and pitchforks... And one grabbed a sword - English longsword, to be precise. Slashed me across the face, and I cowered as Digi tried to negotiate. They slashed him across the neck, and he faded away in my arms, his data unravelling. My eye was still bleeding, but then everything went red... I woke surrounded by the dead, and my paws and muzzle were drenched." Darkheart shuddered... And Star continued. "Even across the multiverse I had felt my kin die all at once. Do you know what that's like? Do you know how it feels for a being who believes in loyalty above all else?! It felt like somebody had ripped my heart open! I was inconsolable for months! I was heir, meant to protect my Clan from all harm... And I failed. Do you understand how much it HURTS?!"

Angora felt like she was going to hurt herself, but she hardened her heart. She had her fair share of horrible pasts herself, and she was lousy at consoling others, so she remained silent. She was confused as to what Star meant with Digi. Did Star really meant to recreate a friend with a machine? That would explain why it had what seemed like emotions. She looked at the device, not knowing what to say or even what to think anymore. It was enough to distract her from the harsh task she had tomorrow... but not for long. She did however, grinned when Star mentioned the word human in such a sour way, hoping that Sere, who was the only one awake, understood how many creatures were victims of humans like him and his apprentice.

Digi whirred briefly, somewhat confused. Star suddenly realized he hadn't explained who the original was. "The original Digi was a Porygon-Z. The Porygon line..."
Digi pulled up images. "Porygon, Porygon2, and Porygon-Z. The Digital Pokémon. The first artificial Pokémon created solely through scientific means. All three can travel through data in computer electronics. Porygon2 was upgraded to travel through space, but the programmer failed to add flight functions. Oops. Porygon-Z was intended to be able to travel through alien dimensions, but there was apparently an error since they are extremely glitchy. I undertstand now why Star created me. Unfortunately, I do not understand why I cannot relate with him."
Star sighed. "I've changed. I'm bitter and cynical. But who can blame me? I guess I just needed to vent..."

"We all do..." Angora finally replied, saying nothing else beyond that. She looked at the Porygon's bizzare design for a while, and wondered what kind of whacky world Star came from. It didn't matter. The point was that this Digi, a machine, and Veris, an oppressed animals, who have shown some appreciation from Angora from a beginning. Raclaw did try to amend the previous amiosity, but Angora still believed he did it to ease up his own guilt rather than an actual attempt to befriend her. And Orion hasn't been mean to her, but he still allowed Latnok to bully her constantly, so she didn't have the best of relationships with him either.

After the brief reply to Star, Angora proceeded to close her eyes.
"I hope you're still here in the morning..." she said to the bitter fox, wishing he would stop being so hard on himself and just focus on the present. Nothing could be done about the past, so you just needed to focus on doing things right in the present to make sure the future isn't filled with the mistakes and regrets of the past.

Sere, originally planning to speak more, decided that any further words from him, another human, one who killed foreign creatures for a living, would probably outrage Star more. He settled for nodding in acknowledgement, before he headed off to empty his own pack and get some sleep before his watch came up.
Meanwhile, Latnok was visibly restless in his sleep. Though he wasn't having any particular nightmare, his dreams were plagued by a constant sense of uneasiness and anxiousness, as if something were trying to get at him but couldn't.

Angora fell asleep rather quickly, being exhausted and with the knowledge of the day ahead, it made her slumber come quicker. For most of the night, she had pleasant dreams, knowing she won't have to do a watch... until her subconscious reminded her of the fact that she had to venture into unknown terrains in order to get food for the gluttonous wyvern. It wasn't the feeding or the terrain she was afraid of, but the fact of what horrid creature she could find there. The first one she saw was powerful enough to drag the rather large Shade off the cave. What was worse than that? The memory of the manticore tormented her in a nightmare, something that hasn't happened in years. Trolls had a hard, sturdy skin, which made it nearly impossible for certain hunters and potential predators to finish them off. The manticore however, has a very powerful bite, and has been the only predator that came the closest in killing a young Angora back then. She always thought that her resilience was the one thing that saved her life. Little did she know that the reason why she escaped that day was that this manticore was really old, and had a terrible gum infection that acted up when it tried to chew her up. It has been the only reason it released her. In the end, it was just a creature desperate to survive what little time it had left. Even today, Angora still has scars from that nearly fatal encounter.

Raclaw glanced at the others, knowing that it would be up to him to consol Star any further. He wasn't a much better candidate then Sere, seeing as he was raised by humans and had admitted to such. He still had the collar to prove it-- and his obviously tame nature showed that the humans had a great influence over who he became. To some, they might see him as representing humanity and only be further reminded of what they had lost due to the actions of a human or several. To others, he might represent the worst of humanity and and garner some form of shared sympathy. Regardless of how Star felt at this particular moment, he was willing to try once again.

"It's-- it's quite alright Star. We all need to vent sometimes. I'll never be able to say that I've gone through what you've gone through, but I know what it's like to have the course of your life changed or altered by human hands. I'm so so sorry for everything that you've been through and for everything that you've lost. My troubles will never compare to the pain that you are feeling, but I can feel your loss and I can feel your struggle. If you ever need to vent or simply need an ear to listen, then I am here. And if you need somewhere cozy to help rest your worries away; then my offer still stands. Just know that you are not alone and that you'll never have to be alone.," he then said inadvertently catching some of the Zorua's loose emotions. He didn't want anyone in the party to feel so down and wanted to help in anyway he could. He also wasn't worried about his words, knowing that Sere would understand.

Star shook his head and pulled out his datapad. "I've been extremely harsh with all of you, haven't I? I guess... I just want to prevent you all from suffering what I have. Frankly, I don't care much for species issues. I can barely bring myself to bother distinguishing between them." A slight mischievous glimmer in his eye hinted this was an attempt at humor.

Sere, having emptied his pack to account for the magic which would be lost from it, found a spot by Veris to rest. As he laid down, he instinctively gripped Grimbane's hilt. Its power was faint here... but something was there. He hoped it would not fail him in his hour of need. Sere, hearing Star's answer, felt nothing but incredulity at what he believed was just a stiff upper lip, a facade held up after his real emotions shone through. Nevertheless, that was not his concern. Resting was. He focused on going into the deep sleep his body would need to rejuvenate.

Star curled up in a fluffy ball of Tricky Fox. "G'night." It was muffled by fluff.
Darkheart coiled herself in several circles and stared outside. She was extremely long, closer in build to Eastern than Western dragon.

Aa Star and the others began to sleep, some more soundly than others, Raclaw stood watch near the entrance of the cave. His senses would remain open, listening out for the thoughts of any nearby creatures-- especially those that wished to approach their shelter.

Some time had passed when everybody fell asleep, with only one left behind for the watch. Angora's sleep was uninterrupted and peaceful with the exception of that turmoil of a nightmare, a memory that no matter how hard she tried, it seemed like it always came back to torment her.

Even so, the phobic memory wasn't enough to wake her up. After a while, the little troll opened her eyes. How much time had passed? Angora calculated it had to be several hours, but it was hard to tell since even the weather in that place was nearly impossible to read. Nevertheless, she felt well rested despite everything, and when she spotted Star still there, she felt rather happy, although that didn't last. It was still dark, and everything was quiet. Whoever was doing the watch was pretending to be asleep, since she saw no activity in the cave. She then heard Veris' thunderous snores, and was reminded of her day.
"Oh... right. Time to feed the beast." Angora whispered bitterly to herself, believing that it was going to take her much time to hunt anything big enough for the greedy mount. Placing herself against a wall and still lying down, Angora dragged herself silently out of the cave, nervous with each step she took outside the rocky shelter.

After she was far enough, Angora activated her armor, sword and shield (she didn't forget it this time), and proceeded to scan the area. She thought she was all alone, but sudden,y remembered she wasn't alone anymore.
"Well Neo, the weather isn't the best, but it's tolerable. Now off to find food for that ridiculous dragon thing. I should've brought Digi with me. He could've informed me about the area." Angora said to the spirit, realizing that she would trust more a machine than Neo's own advice. He hasn't been too helpful lately. With that off her chest, the midget troll walked around unknown terrain, hoping to ambush some dumb animal or at least lure a stupid one that would mistake her for an easy prey like many others...

OOC: Um, SC, you repeated your last post. Oh we you can always edit it. I'll use this post

Nearly an hour has passed and Angora didn't find a breathing soul. While she ventured quite far away, she never took the cave out of her site. There was no way she would get lost in this accursed wilderness. Even though she had been tempted to explore the nearby woods, that's where Star was lost just the day before, so she didn't risk it, even if it meant decreasing the chances of finding a creature worthy of the hunt. Getting desperate, Angora went further up, climbing a large hill where the cave was still visible. She was going to take a little rest before continuing... when a shadow with wings overpasses above, startling her to no end. It seemed like the same creature that dragged off Shade just the other day. Angora was prepared to fight....

... except that this flying fiend flew above her and went on it's way without attacking. Did it not noticed her? It couldn't be, since her armor was shiny enough to catch attention. She followed the creature a few yards away, where it started attacking what appeared to be a sloth with not much fur and what resembled spikes on it's back. What a bizzare fauna this place had! It was thrice the size of a horse. It looked like a dumb animal, but it fought the predator with fierceness, and even managed to scare it off. Startled but otherwise fine, the sloth-like animal continued digging the earth, worms apparently it's diet. If the flying creature was the same as the one she and the group fought earlier, it seemed to prefer larger prey, since it dragged off Shade when there were other members of the group that would've been far easier to carry. It's loss it was, for this ugly sloth, despite being not as big as Angora had hoped for, was still a favorable size. She didn't like attacking animals that couldn't defend themselves, but this spiked sloth seemed to be more than capable of holding off a fight. Finally, Angora had Veris' breakfast on sight, but she was going to make sure she had a portion of it too. After all, it was her the one doing the hunting...

Latnok and Sere had been taking turns in meditation, having volunteered (or in Latnok's case, been ordered) to take the last watch in addition to the second watch. With Angora waking up, they slowly began to get ready for the day.
"Ugh... my head hurts," Latnok complained. "Maybe if the troll and Dex actually did her fair share around here... I'm definitely not taking watch the next night."
"Quit whining and get ready for the day," Sere ordered firmly. "I believe Angora is off hunting."
"Hunting? Just for herself, or..."
"For Veris as well.
"She's not going to last out there," Latnok said. "We should probably go find her before she hurts herself or something."
"You underestimate her combat capabilities," Sere said. "In training, she has shown to be quick and agile, and wields her weapon like any trained fighter."
"With all due respect, Godfather..." Latnok began, pausing for the right phrasing. "... she's not the one doing any of that, I don't think. Neo is doing all the work. Anyone could be a legendary warrior if they had an ancient, sapient being guiding yheir every move. That, and Neo's infatuation with her - there's no doubt in my mind. At the very least, it shouldn't matter here."
"You sound a bit groggy. Have some of this," Sere said, offering Latnok some dragon brew. Toasting to each other, they both slowly sipped on the concoctions, feeling warmth and energy surge through their veins with every drop.

OOC: I feel motivated. Prepare for a very long post

Determined, Angora faced the animal upfront, thinking it would've been too unfair to attack it from the back. The sloth raised it's head to look at her... and then continued digging the earth as if nothing happened.
"Right, ignore me. It's not like I'm important." Angora said bitterly, taking great offense to be ignored like that. If the sloth didn't start a fight, she would. With the sword, Angora tackled the animal, set on beheading it in order to give it a quick and painless death... but just like with the flying monster, the sloth reacted swiftly and picked the sword mid air, but burning itself and letting it go. It was then that it reacted violently, trying to crush and claw Angora to death. The troll could tell that this animal only became hostile when somebody attacked it, so she felt rather bad for doing this to an animal that didn't even meant her any harm, and that only got aggressive when she attacked.

It was a fight that lasted for almost half an hour, with Angora dodging the sloth's relentless swipes and her armor protecting her. She got clawed on the cheek one time, but it was a superficial wound. She had her chance when the sloth pinned her to the ground, and just when it was about to squash her with it's body, Angora managed to pierce it in the chest as it fell on top of her. It was an instant death.
"You were a worthy opponent. I'm sorry I had to do this to you..." Angora said to the dead animal, wishing she could've find a more hostile animal instead of this otherwise peaceful one. But with the meat secured, she started to carry it to the cave... when the flying creature that fought the sloth earlier started to carry it off. It had actually waited for Angora to do all the hard work.
"OH NO YOU DON'T" the little troll said furiously, grabbing onto the dead sloth's claws and climbing to it's back to reach the flying beast. She stabbed one of the wings, which made it dropped it's stolen prize. Injured severely, the monster faced Angora with the intention to kill... but then decided to retreat without attacking, no meal worth this pain. It already had an injured wing and was barely able to fly. Angora worked hard to get this meat, and she wasn't going to let a lazy, opportunistic fiend take it away from her.

Fatigued but still standing strong, Angora scanned the sky to make sure there wasn't any other of those flying fools, she started to carry off the sloth, picking it up like an want with a small lizard. It was a slow but constant walk. Even though she was fatigued, she didn't stop, not wanting to risk an encounter with another oportunistic predator. Finally, she arrived to the cave, making sure to enter from an angle where the wind wouldn't be able to make Veris pick up the smell. She wanted to cut up her portion, but she was too tired to do anything. Wanting to catch her breath, Angora didn't even noticed that Sere and Latnok were already awake...

"Ready... aim... shoot!"
Sere and Latnok, both having put on their armor recently, were hard at practice. On Sere's command, Latnok loosed the bolt loaded in the makeshift ballista, aiming for a target crudely drawn on a tree outside, visible from within the cave. As expected, the device fell apart after one shot - but it would work. The pieces just had to be put back together again.
However, with combat prescience active, Latnok detected Angora's approach. Resentfully, he stopped the bolt in its place telekinetically and dropped it right at the cave entrance, straining him with the speed the projectile was moving at. "Gods, this troll, ruining everything..." he mutteted.
"Welcome back, 'Princess'," Latnok sneeted at Angora sarcastically. "Did our wonderful little troll get enough beauty sleep? Don't worry, I'll do your job for you, just to make sure you have nice, pleasant dreams with your boyfriend Neo." Sere, though believing Latnok was definitely going overboard with his hostility, sympathized with him under the circumstances he was under, especially since he naturally sided with the men he granted rank to. A combination of the lack of sleep and the presence burning at the back of his mind left Latnok even more irritable than usual - it was only after he said those words that he noticed - or rather, registered - that Angora had fresh meat. "So what did Neo kill for you this time?"
Veris, upon seeing and smelling the meat, initially started to dart forward, but stopped, awaiting the meat to be presented to him, or to be given the order to eat. He was visibly licking his snout, some saliva dripping to the floor.
"Well, go on then," Latnok said. "The poor thing has been waiting for you. Step up."

Angora noticed Veris behind her, glaring at him. Before offering him any of the meat and finally recovering some breath, she addressed to Latnok.
"You just don't miss a chance, do you? You just find whatever petty excuse you can to insult me! Well then, you know what I've learned from you? You have such a lousy self esteem that treating others like garbage is the only way you can feel good about yourself, and unfortunately, you chose me as the main target!" Angora said, having that comeback on the back of her mind for a while now. She should've known that this task would've been a humongous waste of her valuable time. She should've expected Latnok to be this pitifully predictable. She did exactly as he asked, and she was still being treated the same, or worse than before, and what was the most irritating is that Latnok attributed all her stamina and abilities to Neo alone. If only there could be a way to prove to him she was already successful without ever needing Neo before. She was a troll smaller than a goblin. Life was hard enough as it was. Why couldn't he see that the fact that she was alive even with her condition meant that she was worthy of respect?

Without missing a beat, Latnok had a response ready. "So, you think I'm putting you down when I say that I had to take two watches because you valued your sleep too much to care about anyone else? Like I'm supposed to take anyone that weak-willed seriously, forcing me to pick up the slack. Unless... you're just looking for an excuse to not have to step up and feed Veris. Now, if we're talking about creatures I've actually 'put down'... I've 'put down' hydras, poltergeists, manticores... I don't need to put down a child to feel confident in my abilities. Now, go on. At least show me you have the courage to step up to a wyvern." Latnok's tone somewhat eased at the end, indicating his genuine interest.
Meanwhile Veris slowly creeped closer in anticipation, the drips of saliva turning into full-on drooling. He almost looked ready to attack the meat.

Angora chuckled, surprised that Latnok didn't challenged her to another duel, like he usually does. She saw Veris desperate for a bite, and she sat on the dead sloth without fear, wanting the wyvern to know he wasn't going to eat until she was done with Latnok. She then talked to the biased human once more, wanting to have the last word.
"Aren't you a certified warrior? Is the kid protégée feeling like he needed his own beauty sleep? I already did many night watches, and even babysat Shade when he was feeling rogue, and I didn't even need to do that! I needed to sleep uninterrupted for once to feed an animal that isn't even yours, and to feel very well rested to face this Darkmatter thing? Or do you want me to lose and endanger the world? Oh I know, you expect me to do photosynthesis to recover my energy." Angora mocked, unwilling to let Latnok's insults get to her. She was too tired for a real arguing anyway, but deep inside, she was so furious that no matter what she did, Latnok refused to respect her. She was beginning to think that he couldn't live down the fact that not he, nor either of his precious Guardans, were chosen for this deadly mission.

Latnok, completely fed up, decided to share his experience fighting back the corruotion telepathically with Angora. It could best be described as a dark mass eating away at... something, fighting tooth and nail with all its might to get through, wearing at his mind. "You try dealing with something like THAT incessantly and see how tough you are atterwards," Latnok said. "But that must not be your problem anymore. Having your boyfriend Neo at your beck and call, forcing us to compromise to your demands because we need to drag you along, making excuses... you took one watch, the same night I took watch, and had to be forced to take watch at that. Always wanting, never giving. Even now, you make excuses - either that, or you're making the poor wyvern suffer because of something completely unrelated to him.
"But I knew you were a craven. Just like every other troll, thinking they can do whatever they want to people because they're physically stronger, but changing their tune when they run into someone that's stronger than them both physically and magically and realizing that they can't. So if you're not willing to step up, step aside and I'll find something for Veris instead."

Angora decided that enough was enough. Not even his comment about Neo bothered her. No matter how much she talked to Latnok, she knew he wasn't going to change his views. It was like asking a mole to stop digging.
"Just when have I ever shown off because of my strength? You're the one starting fights now! The difference between us is... you look for trouble. Trouble... finds me. But I'm wasting valuable time with you. I don't even know why you sent me on this ridiculous task if your're going to be the forever jerk you've always been!" Angora said furiously, but then changing her expression to happiness, cause she knew Latnok was suffering with the corruption, a pain that he no doubt deserved for being that way.

Before letting Latnok speak again, Angora dragged the kill towards Veris, not even nervous. She had been almost tempted not to assume a responsibility that wasn't even hers, but decided to do so just so she could show Latnok she wasn't afraid of the oppressed wyvern and hopefully to piss him off. She didn't even cut meat for herself, deciding to leave the entire thing to him and just be content with the two pieces of boar meat she has.
"Hey you pet. Look look, you likie, don't you?" Angora said, waving part of the sloth to him, and not even backing down. Did Latnok thought she was too afraid to feed him face to face? She was going to prove him wrong...

As the final watch was slowly coming to an end, Raclaw was sound still sound asleep albeit not very soundly. Opening his senses up and exposing himself to the corruption nipping at his open connections had only caused to the corruption to get slightly closer, undoing the push back previously caused by Shade's previous display of hope. As he slept, he twitched and turned-- and very clearly was having a nightmare. The fear of the corruption along with the slight fear of whatever resided in his collar was combining into his personal hell. The fur dragon was clearly not having a very restful night...

In his dreams, he was being running through a dark forest and being chased by several dark shadowy figures. As he looked down, he could see a smaller figure grabbing hold of his open exposed neck and forming a black shadowy collar-like ring. He ran and ran, but the shadowy figures only caught up faster. As he ran, the trees around him began to dematerize and strange Drow-like symbols could be seen in their place. The darkness forest soon became nothing but a endless plain, followed by some sort of wield Drow matrix, followed by nothing but pure black darkness. He continued to run, but stopped when he realized that there was no longer anywhere to run to and that there was no longer anything but the darkness.

Suddenly, he felt alone and he could feel the ground change beneath his feet. The ground began to crunch and felt like... bone? Suddenly, the darkness let out slightly and he could see himself standing on what appear to be the remains of another dragon. Bits of fur and fur began to fall from the sky of the endless void and appeared to almost mast of that of his colors. As he looked, he could see another set of remains just off in the distance appearing to be that of another dragon. 'No-- it can't be! It can't be true...,' he said to himself from within the hellish nightmare. The falling bits of fur and feather continued to fall and shadows could once again be seen approaching from the distance. 'No.. no.. get away!,' he said within his dream.

Latnok watched with curiosity as Veris approached the meat. After a sniff and a lick, he jumped right into his typical feeding frenzy, with bits and pieces of meat flying left and right. Even these pieces, though, didn't escape Veris' notice, as he came right back to then when he completely devoured the main portion, leaving nothing left. A look of pure elation could be seen on Veris' face. "Well, he certainly seems to really enjoy that particular meat," Sere said. "I don't know how you picked it, but good job. He'll be in a great mood today."
Latnok's look of disbelief was hidden behind the faceless helmet, amazed that Angora would actually get that close to the wyvern. After a brief period to collect his thoughts, he had his response.
"Well, well, well... you actually did it. Now, that act of selflessness wasn't too hard, was it? You should try it more often. Very well, I will respect you enough to consider you a... brother-in-arm.
"And, as my brother-in-arm - wait, sister-in-arm, isn't it - we will be taking watch together. Whenever I am on watch, you will be, too. And you know what? You were right about being a certified warrior. In fact, I think I'll take two watches tonight, too. The second and third ones, the roughest ones. I know you'll have my back, though. Now go about your day, I have some target practice you interrupted."

"Oh stop being a hypocrite! I know you're saying that to please your... master." Angora said with a small scowl directed at Sere, hoping both were finally convinced. When Veris started to feed, Angora only took a few steps back to give the wyvern some space, but at the same time being very close to his mad feeding frenzy to demonstrate she wasn't afraid, which was a big mistake given Veris dirtied her up with small chunks of meat. The mangy beast couldn't even spare a few favorable portions for her. It took her nearly two hours to get that meat in there, having to fight the sloth and also battle a stupid predator to keep the prize, only to have Veris put it all away in a matter of seconds, not even leaving her an insignificant bone to nibble on.

With the ridiculous task finally completed, Angora went to her usual corner to clean herself up, ignoring Latnok's sorry attempt to be nice to her. It was time to have her own breakfast, so she took off one of the pieces of boar meat, being secretive about it in case the greedy animal wanted more.

"Well, so much for the whole 'mutual respect' thing," Latnok said. "Not even seconds and you broke your end of the deal. I knew as much would happen, though. Tell Neo that he has my thanks for getting Veris some food, though." All the talk of food reminded him that he was hungry, especily after having had to spend half an hour to recast the spell which gave his bag its abilities. He grabbed one of the apples from the Tree of Vitality that was laying on the floor and began by taking a bite.
Sere, meanwhile, was deep in focus - obviously receiving another telepathic communication. He had to take this opportunity to listen as much as possible - he would not get any more when the group moved further out.

Raclaw meanwhile, was still just stuck in his own personal hellish landscape of a nightmare. In his dreams, the bone remains beneath his feet were beginning to crumble and a group of shadowy figures waited below. 'No... no... no... Get Away!.,' he spoke within his dreams actually being slightly audible to anyone nearby. He twitched and turned and it almost looked as if he was trying from something, but couldn't. He felt a vast feeling of being trapped and that he was destined to fall into the darkness awaiting him below. It was very much his subconscious playing with his worst fears and it was currently being VERY effective at the task.

Quote: A Guy

"Well, so much for the whole 'mutual respect' thing," Latnok said. "Not even seconds and you broke your end of the deal. I knew as much would happen, though. Tell Neo that he has my thanks for getting Veris some food, though." All the talk of food reminded him that he was hungry, especily after having had to spend half an hour to recast the spell which gave his bag its abilities. He grabbed one of the apples from the Tree of Vitality that was laying on the floor and began by taking a bite.
Sere, meanwhile, was deep in focus - obviously receiving another telepathic communication. He had to take this opportunity to listen as much as possible - he would not get any more when the group moved further out.

"Mutual respect? You put me through this infernal task! And you still treated me the same way! Was this to waste my time? And you still think I didn't do any of this myself? Of course you don't! You are still too angry at the fact that not you, nor your master, or any of your precious guardians were selected by Neo for this mission! Well, you can ask him, or maybe the Galaxy dragon himself, that he has nothing to do with it! All Neo has done is provide me with the equipment! The ability, the courage, the stamina, it's all MY doing! Do you think I'm still alive for being stupid? How? How do you think that a troll of such insignificant size has managed to live all this time? I'm doubly cursed! Born a troll wasn't enough! I had to have this damned condition too! And correct my timing, but I didn't have Neo to help me in all that time!" Angora lectured furiously, not being able to tolerate anymore the fact that Latnok still attributed her success to Neo. Angora might be very different in personality than other trolls, but she still had the pride of one. It's all she had after all. She had to somehow compensate for the embarrassment of being born this small. She couldn't believe that even after all this time, she was still being bullied by Latnok, and nobody, not Orion, not a Shade, not Star, not even Raclaw, did anything to defend her. She still felt undignified on how the fur dragon tried to befriend her and amend his previous mistake, and yet, he still chose the human's side, just like everybody else, and even after knowing what humans have done to him. She even ignored his current whining, wanting concentrate only on herself at the moment.

Latnok, his head pounding from Raclaw's psychic screams, nevertheless felt the need to focus on the conversation at hand, his words strained as he spoke them. "You overestimate how much I care about who Neo decided to become infatuated with - he could've picked a quadriplegic turtle, for all I care, as long as this Darkmatter guy dies when I throw it at him. I don't care about it any more than I care about whether a vampire is killed by a burst of light or a silver axe. A job is a job.
"We wouldn't even be having this conversation if you weren't too lazy to take your watch, instead of pawning the task off on someone else. You've gotten a really inflated opinion about yourself ever since Neo finally told you he loves you, though. Must've been the first time anyone has ever said that to you." Despite growing up in terrible conditions, the irony of the last statement was lost on Latnok. "I'll admit, you have some courage presenting food to the wyvern like that without running away. I'll believe all of the other junk when I see it, though."

Sere was not so distracted. Raclaw's communications having pierced into his current discussion, he rushed over to Raclaw, fervently shaking him. "It's a dream! Wake up!" Sere turned on his combat prescience, bracing himself for an adverse reaction.

Angora couldn't believe the amount of stupidity that could come out of one single mouth. Where did he get all that Neo nonsense?
"Love? What the hell are you even talking about? Neo never told me such a thing! Are you imagining conversations now?" Angora said, leaving out the fact that Latnok viewed them as a couple, when they weren't even friends. He was just a spirit providing her with magical equipment and useless advices, nothing more. But of course, Latnok was probably saying that to annoy her, cause he had nothing better to do with his life.

"Whatever though. I didn't have to do the night watch cause I didn't care. I wanted my rest. Call me selfish, egocentric, whatever the hell you want. You think your opinion matters to me? It doesn't matter what good deed I do, you'll never change your views, so why bother wasting my time? I already wasted too much of it getting food for that stupid wyvern! Even if I had done the night watch, I'm certain you would've found another topic for argument. It's all you've done in this absurd journey." Angora rebuffed, certain that both the night watch and a hunt wouldn't have made a difference. Once again, she sat down to eat her meal in peace. How she wished she knew that deaf spell so it could be her turn to silence the humans.

Raclaw quickly awoke as Sere shoke him-- jumping back and revealing pure black pupils upon upon opening his eyes. "I said... you're not getting me!." he said out-loud his eyes actually giving off a little bit of a dark aurora. He was prepared to take action when his eyes slowly began to return to their normal appearance and his large cat-like green pupils began to show once again. He appeared slightly disoriented as he readjusted to his surroundings.

"You know, you're so confident that I will never change my views, yet you never stop doing blatantly selfish things which give me reason to reinforce them," Latnok said offhandedly. "You've shown yourself to be the most selfish member of the group. While the others may acquiesce to you, I will call you out on it. Every. Single. Time. So don't be surprised when I treat a selfish brat exactly like how I would treat any other selfish brat." Latnok wasn't looking at Angora anymore, but rather re-fashioning a ballista bolt since the last one he fired had broken upon him suddenly stopping it.

"Raclaw, are you well?" Sere asked. "Tell me, what has been happening? Has the corruption been overwhelming you?"

Angora simply yawned, not letting Latnok bother her anymore. Even though she was deeply offended a few minutes ago, she has grown so used to this annoying pattern, her demeanor changed to a passive-aggressive stance.
"Well, what's being unselfish to you? Follow every little command like this poor beast? Every time I had the chance to prove myself, you always dismissed me. Just look at today! I did what you told me to. I fed the silly wyvern, yet look at the way you treated me when I returned. No matter how hard I try, you still insist on seeing the worst of me. Well, I'm tired of trying to show you the best of me. You always either ignore me or think you can do better. But... like I said, I don't care anymore. I'm selfish? Well, why shouldn't I? Nobody has ever cared for me, so I have only myself to take care of. And if Neo is here, it's because of his own free will, not because I forced him to. You want to point fingers because you refuse to point one at yourself." Angora said calmly but sternly, growing tremendously bored of this arguing. Latnok always wanted to see her as the worst, but has he taken a good look at his life? All his horrible deeds? In the name of humanity? Angora didn't understand why she continued wasting her breath on lecturing him.

Quote: A Guy

"Raclaw, are you well?" Sere asked. "Tell me, what has been happening? Has the corruption been overwhelming you?"

"It's.. it's nothing. It was just a nightmare, that's all.," Raclaw said briefly taking a look at his own connections. As he suspected, the corruption was now just a little bit closer but still far enough to be very manageable at least in his conscious state. However, he figured that wouldn't be quite enough of an explanation. "As you know, I've been keeping an barrier up between me and the corruption nipping at my connections. This barrier works both ways and keeps me from using my own abilities to their full potential. Last night, I opened that barrier just a crack in order to fully use my senses and detect possible danger from further ahead. Some of the corruption may have slipped into my subconscious and influenced the course of my dreams.," he then explained. The cost of the barrier on his own mental abilities was now closer to that of before Shade's moment of hope at around 7-8 percent.

OOC: I've now added a "poison" style CORR status to Raclaw, Shade, and Latnok on the Oriondéx. For Raclaw, I've included the exact % as well.

Angora completely ignored the commotion going on with Raclaw, still too angry at him for practically getting on the human's side. Not once, but twice has he disappointed her, and she wanted mo more of it. Instead she focused on the now happy Veris, still delighted with the rare meal. So hard it was to kill that sloth, and he ate it like it was nothing at all. The wyvern seemed to be more interested in getting things to his stomach than actually flavoring it. Angora liked swallowing food whole as well, but at least she kept it in her mouth for a while, unlike the gluttonous pseudo dragon.

The troll finally payed attention when Orion spoke. It looked like the corruption within the strange dragons was acting up again, but it seemed that it was merely causing them pain rather than making them go rogue. It wasn't her business anyway, since she shared no connection. She already did more than enough the times that she helped Shade calm down, and wanted to do nothing else. She remained silent in her corner, determined to ignore Latnok and cleaning herself with a dry leaf, trying to eliminate all the sloth residue Veris left on her. She was so upset that she put the remaining boar meat away, wanting to concentrate on the cleaning, and glaring at the wyvern the entire time. There he was with a full belly, thanks to a meal she worked so hard to get, and the animal didn't even had the decency to share a small portion with her. She started to regret not cutting her part. Now she didn't know how this new meat tasted like.

"Very well..." Sere said. "Please, do not do that again. We don't know what may happen if you end up slipping too far. Losing anyone here would be a tragedy." Sere then took out his book, jotting down more notes about various subjects.
"I have some news about the tree. The Guardians back at base have found it necessary to cut the roots. The roots still attached to the tree returned growing as normal. However... the roots which were severed seemed to keep going their own way, and maintained this path despite the Guardians' best efforts to destroy them. It would seem the tree itself is back to normal - the part which is with us, at least. I do not know what will become of the wildly-growing roots."

Latnok sighed, resignedly. "You know what, troll? You did a good job getting the food for Veris today," Latnok admitted. "And I like that. You hunting meant that I didn't have to. Honestly, I didn't expect you to even bother. Certainly not very... troll-like. Certainly didn't expect you to actually get as close to Veris as you did with the food. But with how self-centered you have shown to be through other actions, I am definitely hoping this wasn't just some fluke, or something Neo or Godfather Sere put you up to. I will give you the benefit of the doubt this once, though. Make of it what you will."

Raclaw nodded, agreeing with the godfather's statement. As the corruption got closer, he got more and more used to it-- and he didn't know what would eventually become of him should he continue on that path. "These roots-- do they have any idea of what or who they are growing towards? Any particular direction or point of interest?," he then asked concerned about the roots possible relation to the corruption. If it was possible for him to continually draw in the corruption, then it was possible for something much much worse to draw in the roots-- and use them to their advantage.

Angora remained as silent as a tombstone, knowing Latnok didn't meant that by heart. Like she promised to herself, she ignored him and left the conversation at that. She buried her head on her knees, too depressed to say anything else. It was clear that Latnok didn't mean to change. Angora could be as harmless as a kitten or a dove, or even as obedient as a dog or poor Veris, and because of what she was, she was certain Latnok would still treat her cruel. These words were just a facade.

"The reports indicate the general direction of the northeast," Sere said, as he pulled out a map. "Let's see... things in that general direction would be... Redwater - a massive city and trading hub, mainly populated by humans and mermen... Falcon's Beak... a gryphon lair... and this area over here, where we last had one of the dragolets tracked. Your guess on the matter is as good as mine."

Veris, content with his mean, waddled over to Angora, slowly as to avoid coming off as aggressive. Lowering his head to her, and closing his wings onto his body, he nudged her, making a low humming sound.