darkSpyro

"We have waited long enough and the darkness certainly isn't waiting for us. Yes-- we're ready.," Bikil said stepping forward. The fur dragon spoke with a tad more confidence.

Omen and Firefly glanced at each other. Then Omen looked at Cenor. "Just one minor change. Firefly isn't going with us. She isn't ready for something like this. So she'll be staying here in the city." He informed him.

Right. Well, we'll see how long that lasts, Omen. Who knows, you guys may just end up needing my help. Firefly thought.

Aretis rolled his eyes at Cenor's long speech. Yeah, Cenor trained him, but not as well as his dad did. Well, maybe he was idolizing his dad too much. Ah well. He walked over to Firefly and handed her a key. "Might as well let you watch over my books while I'm gone. I've amassed an interesting collection, some which I bought off of the caravans of traders, black markets and such—don't tell Cenor." He whispered quietly in her ear. "But well, I think you'll find some books that aren't in your typical library or bookstore. Perhaps you can find some of the information useful, or find the stories as enchanting as I did." He winked. "Besides, you might need an extra place to stay." Aretis added. And then he went back to Starz, nudging her a little. "Well, might as well start moving then."

Firefly took the key and placed it in her satchel. She smiled at him and gave him a slight nod as thanks. Ooh, a whole bunch of new books to read. I can't wait to check them out. I wonder what all he has. And I would have the whole place to myself to relax and read in peace. No one would bother me. Oh, I'm getting excited just thinking about all the interesting books he could have.

Firefly then sighed and shook her head gently. No, I can't get distracted. There will be plenty of time to read later. Right now, I need to establish a good plan for sneaking out of the city tonight. Although, I suppose it couldn't hurt to pack a few extra books for the journey. One can never have too many books.

Omen gave a slight nod. "Yes, no time like the present to head off. With the darkness spreading, we shouldn't wait too long." He said. He then turned to Firefly. "Take care of yourself and stay out of trouble while I'm gone." He said softly.

Firefly nodded. "Oh, I almost forgot." She began, as she took a couple of books out of her satchel and handed them to Omen. "These might be helpful. There are some maps, a guide to common hostile monsters in the area, and translators. You never know what might come in handy." She said. "Oh, and Omen, be careful."

He nodded and took the books. "Thank you, and I will be." He then turned to the others. "Well then, are we ready to go?"

Aretis nodded. "Shade don't forget the supplies." He grinned and crouched. "Last one to the gate is a feathered goblin on too many potions!" He called, beating once and leaping into the sky, zooming towards the gate of Ceaador.

Bikil smirked and quickly flew over Shade. His feathery wings allowed him to take off sooner and with more lift.

Omen placed the books Firefly had given him in his own satchel. He paused before flying off. Azscium? We're going there? I thought we would head straight to the Emerald City. I don't know if I can go back to Azscium. I haven't been there in so long... He thought. He sighed and glanced back at Firefly, before hesitantly flying after the others.

Firefly sighed as she watched them fly away. Now maybe I can go check out the books at Aretis's place. Maybe he has something that will be useful. She thought. She then flew off towards his house.

Bikil did just that, but did so by wrapping his wings tight around his body. He streamlined his furry body as he rolled-- dropping some attitude but quickly lifting his wings and gaining lift back up to Shade's level.

"If not more.," Bikil said flying aside Shade. He then briefly flattened his wings against his body, dropped attitude for a brief moment, and effortlessly went back up again.

Bikil straitened his wings out and set motion a downward glide. He dropped attitude as he did so, but also gained speed as well.

"You aren't so bad yourself.," Bikil said with a smile. He also knew that at this point, the stronger Shade could likely beat him due to a combined factor of weight and gravity.

Omen quietly followed after the group, trailing behind them at a more casual pace. He sighed and gently shook his head at all the showing off the young dragons were doing. Hmph. These are the so-called heroes that Cenor wants to send off to defeat the darkness? They're acting no better than hatchlings. This is no time for games. Omen sighed.

Aretis grinned, flying high above everyone else with Starz. "Should we let them win?" He asked her. "..naaah." He answered himself though, and folded his wings, diving down at an angle. No need for tricks or flips or spins. Just pure speed. Aretis landed in front of the gate. Guards there halted the young hatchlings.

"Oh hush, Shade. I had a head start—it wasn't really a 'race'. It was just to kind of motivate you all to get here faster." Aretis said to him and then took off with Starz. "Well, let's cover as much ground as we can before nightfall!" He called back to the others.

Omen landed with the others, staying behind the group. He didn't really say anything, as he saw little point in the matter. Plus, he didn't really have much to say. Hmph. Sure, let's hurry along. I've always wanted to go back to the city I left as quickly as possible. Omen thought sarcastically. He sighed and shook his head gently. Let's just get this mission over with so that I don't have to spend time with these youngsters anymore.

Bikil took off after Shade. At least he didn't have to admit to losing.

Aretis did the same, instead of beating his wings faster and faster to conserve energy, he beat them a few times and then caught a warm draft, effortlessly lighting upon it and gliding his way. A trick of long-distance travel he hasn't had much experience in, but he knew the basics of it.

"...Maybe." Aretis sighed. "I'm not sure what we can do that an actual army cannot. But whatever it is, maybe we can find a way." He frowned. "Though, I'm not sure." He said looking down a bit and then back up. "Well, once we encounter this darkness, I guess we'll see for ourselves what we're up against then..."

"It won't be." Aretis said simply put, and smiled at Starz, flicking his tail lazily and adjusting to the changing currents.

Bikil dove down to just above Shade's level, using the wind to his advantage. He smiled as he watched Shade do his tricks. He was surprised how the mysterious Shade was once he opened up.

Omen quietly flew along with the group. He was thinking about Azscium City. He hadn't been there in so long, he wondered if it had changed any. How was his family doing? Were they well? Did they miss him? Would they be visiting long enough for him to reunite with them? Would he even get a chance to see his family while he was there?

How would they react? Would they be happy to see him, or be upset with him for leaving in the first place? Would they be mad at Omen for pretty much ditching them without so much as a goodbye? He sighed heavily at the thought. He had no intention of hurting them, but at the time, he felt that leaving the city was best for him.

Maybe if he explained himself, and also mentioned his responsibility to Firefly, they would understand. Then again, maybe he wouldn't have time to see them at all, and he could avoid the subject entirely. At least for now. Then again, what if he died in battle and there was no later? Omen shook his head at the thought. It was best not to think of that. He didn't really want to think of the possibility, regardless of how realistic it was.

Still, Omen wondered how his family was doing, and whether or not he had time to visit them before going off to fight the darkness. Even if he could see them, the reunion would likely be cut short, on account of him having to leave very soon. It wouldn't end up being much of a visit. Maybe it was best that he didn't see him. Maybe they would miss him less if he didn't show up.

Firefly had spent most of the afternoon at Aretis's house. She had been looking through his book collection, seeing what all interested her and what all might be useful for the journey. She didn't have time to read through them, so she quickly skimmed them to see if it was worth bringing along.

If it seemed useful or interesting, she packed it. If she wasn't sure, she packed it. If she had no idea or just wanted to take it with her for whatever reason, then she packed it anyway. Firefly figured she probably had nothing but books in her satchel now. Maybe a potion or two, possibly some food, but mostly books. But she convinced herself that they would surely all prove useful. Maybe. Hopefully. Possibly not. Oh well, it was still good to have them anyway, just in case.

Once Firefly was satisfied with the currently ever growing library in her satchel, she decided to head out of the house. It was night now, which she figured was good. It should help her to sneak out of the city better. Then again, even that shouldn't be too much of a problem, now that Omen was gone. So she casually began began her walk down towards the city gates.

Aretis looked back, twitching in surprise when he saw Shade doing loop-de-loops and barrel rolls....with the supplies! The supplies were being tossed around and some were falling out already into the dark woods below. Aretis sighed and flew back. "Y'know, maybe I should carry that and you can waste your time without hurting the rest of us." He said to Shade.

Omen had been lost in thought, and wasn't fully paying attention to the dragons. He then noticed a bunch of stuff flying down towards the woods below. Wait, what's all that stuff? Are those the supplies they're supposed to have? Then why are they falling towards the ground? Shouldn't they be safely secure in a bag or something?

Omen sighed and shook his head. He looked up at the dragons to get an idea for what was going on, and why someone thought that the woods needed the supplies more than they did. He noticed that Aretis and Starz were talking to Shade. So it was Shade who was carrying the supplies. Omen flew up to the group to join in on the conversation, although he wasn't too thrilled about talking to any of them.

"And whose bright idea was it to have one person carry everything, hmm?" He questioned. "If one person is responsible for carrying all the supplies, which seems silly to me, since we're all fully capable of carrying a bag, yes? But if one person has everything, then shouldn't we all still take a hand in making sure they are secure? Shouldn't we remind this person to securely lock up the supplies so they won't fall out? Shouldn't we remind this person to not waste time with tricks, so that we don't lose the supplies? Yes, he may have lost them, but you both allowed him to carry the supplies in the first place. You didn't stop him from carrying the bag, and you didn't tell him not to do tricks, until some stuff was already lost. As far as I am concerned, none of us helped to make sure the items were not lost, and we are all to blame. So we have two options, we can try to retrieve the items, or just continue on and replace them at the next city."

"Oh hush. It was a magical bag and I didn't know he'd be trashing our supplies like that. Obviously since Shade wanted to be the 'hero' of the group he wanted to help and stuff. So I let him have it." Aretis rolled his eyes and then glared at Shade. "Didn't you just say not 20 minutes ago that we have to stick together or we'd all die?" He growled, glowing a little and then speeding up to Shade and trying to snatch the satchel back. He didn't want to have to use his powers, but maybe...