Mountains of Madness

Violet

Post Order:
@Visenya Silverwing
@Cirrus Toussaint
@Argyros Shatterjaw
@Jakk Ebbcane Alora

End Goal:
This thread will be considered complete if you all survive until the Ward can be fixed. Once the person before you posts, you will have three days to post your reply or I get to decide what happens to your character (I promise they won't die...completely) This thread happens simultaneously with the other three. Otherwise, have fun, we have OP charries, let's use em!

Visenya Silverwing

Visenya tended to volunteer for any field trip into the mountains, as much as she loved the heat, she also enjoyed the cold. Or more aptly, it didn't bother her. Cirrus and Argyros came along for this one, course she might have had a little something to do with that. Surviving in the wilderness of the mountains, while unlikely to be needed, wasn't a bad thing to learn. Visenya yawned as she carried firewood back into camp. As this was day one, there wasn't much in the way of learning other then how to set up camp but all that was done and now they could sit around the fire and chat till bedtime.

She could feel the Wards crackling, and it made her skin crawl. A tiny film of magic was all that stood between them and utter destruction. Hidden in a valley, amidst the trees, they were relatively safe from the sheer icy winds. She sat down next to Cirrus at the fire and leaned forward so she could warm her hands. Just as she was about to ask Cirrus a question, an ear piercing wailing would suddenly wash through the valley from the direction of the Wards. Visenya's hands covered her ears until she conjured enough snow that the booming wouldn't blow out her ear drums.

None of the Acolyte's would know that sound, but Jakk would. Suddenly, the sky over the hill lit up a fiery red, though it did seem to be a little ways further on, they could see the cracks spider webbing up the shield like broken glass. They were between the red of the shield wall and the tower, and perfectly in the path of the winged creatures that burst through the shield. The red light was replaced with firelight as the valley began to burn. Whatever these winged creatures were, they knew how to throw a fireball.

An Acolyte off to her right gave a scream, and Visenya turned in time to see her being pulled into the sky by one of the creatures. Without hesitation, Visenya conjured an ice javelin and flung it at the creature, hitting it square in the middle of the chest and dropping the girl the few feet back to the ground. Moving to help the girl up, Visenya glanced around for the others.

Cirrus Toussaint

Cirrus, bent double over a chili they'd spent the past hour stewing, was just about ready to admit that Viz had been right about this trip. The walk up had been stunning. The professor's instruction was undeniably engaging. Even Argyros seemed to be enjoying herself. Although, that may have just been being able to travel freely with that deer of hers.

While the prof barked orders to the acolytes setting up tents, they made space for Viz by the fireside. Turning to see what they'd brought, they were surprised to see her covering both sides of her face with snow. They looked around, everybody was slamming their hands to their ears. Funny, all they heard was a dull whine -- almost like their auditory gears had overloaded. They dropped their glamour to reset them when the whole valley lit up in arcane red. Turning around, their mouth fell open as they saw the oncoming flock sweep down the hillside. Almost automatically, their hands worked their sprockets back into place. Just as automatically, they smothered their ears the moment the screams broke through.

Visenya was already up, had already killed one of those things. Cirrus looked around for Argyros and the buck. The professor and the others were hidden by the tents -- dear Leaf, they were already on fire. That fish girl, where was she? Tuning their gain down, they got up on trembling feet. There was no sign of her. While Viz did something remarkably violent, they ran into the copse of pines they'd last saw the pair wander into. That was a mistake.

In a matter of seconds, as they twisted through the claustrophobic trunks, one of the wasted spotted them. It hucked a fireball half the size of the professor into the trees. They lit up like matches, almost exploding in the heat. The monster crashed through the branches and landed in front of Cirrus. They cowered, covering their face with their arms. Reflected in the brass of their true form, the blaze shone like a poker fresh from the furnace. It was beautiful. It was blinding. It was all they could see when the winged thing slammed them with the force of an angry giant. Their pristine, sculpted body went tumbling backwards thirty yards, finally crashing into a boulder eroded out of the hillside. Maple digits splintered, brass joints popped open, and at least one bellows exploded.

Their eyes flew open. They stood up, looking back down the trail of broken limbs and dented earth, and then at the boulder they'd crashed into. It was mostly gravel.

The monster landed not twenty feet in front of them.

Cirrus pick up their lower jaw from a pile of rubble. He whacked it back into place.

"All right, fine. Gold Leaf quiz, wasteface, what's the primary symptom of Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva?"

It roared at them.

They held what was left of their hands up in inversed healing runes and charged.

Argyros Shatterjaw

When Professor Ebbcane had made an offhanded comment about the mountains' trip. She had assumed it was only for certain students. When he extended an official invitation to her, she had prepared right away. Her excitement, and nerves grew when she heard that Visenya and Cirrus were coming as well. Of course, Professor Ebbcane allowed the stag to join her. Not only did the stag help her carry her stuff through the mountain trail, but the moment she had her tent up, it had rubbed its horns gently along her arm. She could feel his excitement. It mirrors her own. They were both itching to get out there, so they did. With a heads-up to the professor and a short cry of farewell to Candel, the stag ran off into the forest, with Argyros on his back.

Riding on the back of a stag made for a very bumpy ride, but for the first time in a long time she felt entirely unburdened. The pair ran as far as they could until the stag needed a break. He began to circle back around, walking towards the camp. Argyros stops him when they past a pond. The stag nuzzles its nose along her chin. She scratches his head. Just as she starts to slip off, the stag bites her shirt's sleeve. "I won't be long." She promises before falling backward from its back into the pond. She waits until the water hits her back before dropping her glamour altogether. Water rushes past her face, as she swims straight down. She drags her tail along the bottom of the pond, drawing senseless patterns as she goes along. Run! That same unfamiliar yet estranged voice in her head pleads. A sense of urgency floods through her system. She swims back up, grabbing her clothes with her teeth, and glamouring herself just before her head breaks the surface.

The stag was anxiously pacing alongside the pond. His face was looking behind them, towards the direction of the camp. Argyros climbs out of the pond. His head snaps to watch her. "We should head back." She announces, trying her best to stay calm despite the senseless panic threatening to explode in her chest. The stag shakes it's head. Argyros finishes slipping her pants on. Flat teeth bite at her soaked shirt, tugging it the down the rest of the way past her stomach. "Thanks." She runs a hand along his head, before climbing onto his back. The stag runs in the opposite direction from camp, back towards the tower. "What? Where are you going?" She squeezes her fists tightly into the fur along the back of his neck. "Stop! We have to return!" He doesn't heed her words, instead running headlong as far away as he can get.

That was when the loud siren sound starts. Pain shoots from her head to the rest of her body. Argyros tightens her thighs against the stag and transforms her arms into water. She quickly covers both of their ears. The water keeps the siren at bay as she pleads for the deer to turn around with her animalism magic. Something in the mountain stag but have clicked, for he leapt up and when landing, bounded back towards the camp.

When the siren leaves is no longer audible she morphs the water back into her arms. She clings onto the back of his neck as he runs faster. They were almost back when they heard the sound of metal smashing against rocks. "Stop, please!" Argyros asks. The stag stops running immediately. He nervously lifts his legs one at a time, preparing to take off. She wasn't sure how, but she was sure she heard Cirrus yell. "That way." She instructs the stag, pointing to their left.

"Argyros!" Candel's familar voice yells. Argyros looks over to see him frantically running through the woods. "We have to get back!"

"Cirrus is out here!" She points out, now all the more sure of it. I can smell them. The voice says softly in the back of her mind.

Candel looks back towards the camp and then in the direction Argyros wanted to run in. "Go! I'll tell the professor." He orders, running back the way he came.

She didn't need to be told twice. The stag leaps forward, and in a matter of seconds, Argyros could see an injured Cirrus fighting a monster she doesn't recognize. "Cirrus!" Her voice is a shrill cry. A flock of birds come crashing down from the canopy, aiming for the monster.

Jakk Ebbcane Alora

It had been such a lovely evening.

The monsters swooped through the circle of flaming tents like sharks through a panicked school. The flames leapt to unnatural heights as the red mist of the Wastes poured into the valley below. Children screamed and were in an instant drowned out by the unison roars of fire and demon. Several of the pale beasts ripped the small figures from where they cowered by fallen logs and mossy outcroppings. In a silver flash, their leader was impaled with an icicle nearly as long as they were tall. It cracked against the stone cliffside and flapped against the ground like an injured bird, its would-be prey hiding behind her savior.

The professor breathed calmly in through his nose, deep into the well of his stomach, and back out through his mouth, imperceptibly ruffling his beard. He was already rooted in the opening stance, arms flowing like water -- no, like glaciers -- slow, inevitable, unstoppable, until they stretched out halfway to the canopy itself. His fingers seemed almost to hold the departing silhouettes between them. Then he clenched.

Wings snapped, spines crackled, and ribs imploded in a cacophony that rivaled the howling pines. Three orbs of viscera fell to the hillside and painted it cadmium red. Above, three tiny forms hung in cradles of air, perfectly untouched. Several other creatures swooped to catch them as they floated down, but were repelled by a field as strong as the mountain itself.

After they landed, they ran to the circle of students already forming about their professor. He, with a sharp change in stance, crouched like his back held up the sky itself. The same fields that had held the students rose, united, and curved into a colossal dome above the group, just visible against the bending haze. Half a dozen creatures flew against it with fire and fang. It did not move.

"To ME," Ebbcane bellowed, his voice filling the valley like thunder.

As the fighting circle drew closer, he twisted his neck about, trying to catch his apprentice's eye. Failing, and deciding now was not the time to consider why, he instead shouted at the young dragon exchanging fire just outside the dome's cover.

"Silverwing! Show me: were you listening to my fire safety lecture?"

Visenya Silverwing

Visenya stood over the acolyte she'd rescued while hurling spikes of ice at anything that came near them. The sound of Jakk's voice echoing over the sounds of the creatures drew her attention and she pulled the acolyte to her feet and told her to run, shoving her in Jakk's direction as they both took off. Around Visenya hovered a handful of ice spikes, just waiting to be released, and a few did as the creatures swooped down upon them to try and snatch them both up. They'd get a rude awakening should they find themselves close enough to pick up Silver, not only was she a living weapon with her magic, but she was also far heavier then she looked and her dragon form dwarfed these creatures.

Once they were close enough, Visenya all but shoved the girl into Jakk's shield. She glanced at the terrified faces, searching for two in particular that she did not see which made her frown. Jakk's question caused her to grin almost devilishly, she understood exactly what he was asking. All her life, Visenya had learned control, because if she didn't reign in her powers then they would freeze everything around her. "It's about to get very cold out here." She told him, putting some distance between herself and Jakk's shield so she would have enough space to transform.

Unlike some creatures, Dragons could use their magic in any form, snow and ice began to appear swirling around Silver's body as the temperature began to plummet. It coalesced around her until she could no longer be seen through the miniature storm. The snow would suddenly explode outward as a silver dragon shot up into the sky. Though she was young yet, Visenya was already the size of a small bus. Her scales were silver metallic, reflecting the flickering fire light of the valley below. Crystalline horns curled back over her head and neck, and feathery white hair fell around her head. Patches of snow white feathers would cover the edge of her wings and down her back and tail.

With every beat of her wings, snow and ice would flurry around her, and when she opened her mouth it was not fire that came out, but a stream of freezing air that turned to snow and ice. It was her ice breath she used, smothering the worst of the fires nearest Jakk and the others with a blanket of snow that would not melt so long as it was still infused with Dragon magic. Some of the Wasted monsters would find themselves frozen in mid air, caught in her breath, where they would fall to the ground and shatter. Others found themselves on the wrong end of her claws or tail.

As she swooped across the valley, a blanket of snow following in her wake, she spied something in the distance and angled herself towards it. Her glowing silver eyes found Cirrus facing off against the creatures while a flock of birds flew over head attacking the creatures. Argyros must not be far then, though she didn't yet see the young Kobold and her stag friend from her position in the air. Folding in her wings, Visenya dropped into a dive, aiming directly for Cirrus, well more accurately, the space between him and the creatures he was battling.

At the last second, once she was clear of the tree tops, she unfurled her wings, slowing her descent before she flapped them once. Ice and Snow and freezing wind blew the creatures back before she landed between them and Cirrus, roaring out her anger that shook the very ground beneath their feet. Once she was satisfied they would no longer be a problem, she turned to face Cirrus, finally spying Argyros and her Stag nearby, her silver eyes focused on Cirrus in an expression that asked if he were alright.

Cirrus Toussaint

Two pale arms like birch trunks swept over Cirrus' head as they charged, runes outstretched and sputtering like dying neon. The gusts alone nearly sent the half-ticking acolyte toppling over. Pine sap had stuck one of their eye joints to the side. They could barely see straight enough to slam the spells into the monster's cancerous skin. But then -- just as they made contact -- the runes cracked once more and vanished entirely. There was nothing there, just broken fingers and jagged stumps. They smacked it's chest again and again, screaming in wordless desperation, expecting another shattering blow any second.

Instead, they heard the creature howl, and the sound of hundred wings flapping. Their one free eye glanced up to see a terrible swarm of ravens clawing out the beast's eyes and shredding its nose and ears. For every one it batted away, a dozen more vexed it. It was the only chance he was going to get.

They looked at the grass-stained remains of their hands and grimaced, flexing with all their mechanical might. Brass scraped against brass. Wood fittings popped open. Still nothing. They took the stray remnant of a pinky between their teeth and bit hard, breaking it at just the right angle. The golden runes lit up again, and they smacked them into the creature's left forearm. Bone, white as marble, rippled out across its flesh like ink in a puddle. Muscles froze. Joints locked. A pain strong enough to get the half-maimed creature's attention brought its uninjured arm swinging into Cirrus' chest, lifting them off their feet.

They stopped halfway through a pine tree, dripping with resin, their last bellows punctured. The creature began its own charge. That was when the dragon swept through.

Birds, frozen solid, fell like dark hail. The wasted's wings caught most of the blast, which sent it crashing through a dozen yards of dense copse.

They hadn't seen Vis like this up close before -- as a dragon or in combat. They felt like it should scare them, but mostly they just wished they could cry. The relief that swept over them left them shuddering like an old alarm clock.

"Vis," their half-stuck mouth pantomimed a sucking motion, gasping for breaths that wouldn't come, "Where's. The fish?"

Argyros Shatterjaw

Argyros would have been in awe of Visenya's powers if it hadn't been for the birds that fell like stones. Frozen, dead, birds. "They were just trying to help." She whispers, wandering closer to the dead animals, that was until the stag pushes her back. Just barely they avoid the flying debris throw about by the injured creature's reckless attack.

An angry cry erupts from her throat as it's strangled by her body's inability to decide if it should have vocal cords or not, and if so, what their shape was. She body slips in and out of her natural form, glamour, and something else. Something new to her. Horns erupt from her head, as that inner voice grows louder. Now it cries out to attack, when all it wanted before was to escape. Even her back burns in pain as two flesh wing-like features begin to break through her tender flesh and throw blood all over the forest floor. Losing track of the magic coursing through her body, she focuses her mind on one thing. Revenge.

That creature had harmed Cirrus. It was going to harm everyone if it doesn't stop. 'Stop!' The command echoes in her mind as the inner voice is lost. No, not lost, and not replaced, but quieted. A new voice clashes within her mind. It's language nothing but shrieks, the shrieks of the creature before her. "ENOUGH!" Argyros speaks but she heard the words from another's ears. As she blinks she sees through two sets of eyes, her own, and another pair looking down on her. Her legs felt strange, as if she were a newborn deer, and that's when the higher-up pair of eyes notice the stag shaking. "No! Not him too!" She screams and it sounds more like a shriek this time. A cry of some beast.

Visions of the ship flash through her minds. Animals flying, jumping, running by her. First dozens, and then hundreds of them, swarming the bastard and his crew, as she stands in the same place her mother's body had disappeared moments before. That inner voice begs for this to stop, but there was only one way for this to end. Only one way to stop the pain. Leyah had taught her that to understand her emotions were important to controlling her warging abilities. Memories of the cave with the kits fly by their minds' eyes. She concentraits on her anger, on that thrist for revenge. The only way for the pain in her bodies to stop, to prevent causing more pain to the others, was to end this herself. She lifts it's hand. Her hand.

'Stop!' cries that inner voice again, it's screams bounce against a wall in her mind. Distant, and muffled as if underwater. In this instance she was so powerful no one could stop her, not even the four tiny creatures standing before them. Him. It. Her. She wraps that hand around it's, her's throat, squeezes, and holds it there. Even as her mind screams for air, even as her legs run to get away from the arm. Eventually they crash, and the mind, the newest voice grows quieter and quieter as the pain in their throat grows. The last gulp it had taken, no one expected to be the last. Not the thousands of nerves in its body, or the blood rushing through her own.

When their vision starts to fade, her consciousness begins to slip. All of them. How many of them were their? Which one had been her? Were they all her? Hasn't she felt this way before? As the last of her largest body's energy leaves her, she feels horns brush against her cheek, and a head push on her chest. 'Enough!' says the inner voice. It sounds so sorrowful. She reaches out with all her fingers to cup the sound. To comfort it, as the word grows quiet.

She becomes disconnected from the largest body, and suddenly the smallest one takes on a solid shape. Though she's not all there. Her soul is surrounded by memories of two minds playing at once. Everywhere she could turn to think another memory plays, her mother's face as she would fish Argyros out of the water. Miles of mountainous land that feels of home, but she knows she's never seen. The ship is dark, cold, and falling apart as she sleeps in it's bowels. The urge to leave this land, but no reason to go alone. Cirrus glaring at her in class. A small emotion, thousands of miles away calling him from home. Argyros sleeping in the lake only to be yelled at. A herd that refuses to follow an emotion none of them could feel. Classes filled with unknown faces, and powers that feel beyond her. Traveling alone for miles on in. Happiness, nostalgia, loneliness, the emotions color the memories, changing them as they play.

Two memories of her meeting the stag play at once. The same event from completely different perspectives. 'She's so small.' 'Is he hurt?' 'Why are you alone?' The last a question asked by both, and for a moment neither feel the loneliness that has colored the last few months of their lives. Her side of the memories continue to flow but Argyros was entirely focused on the new ones forming instead of the replays. Then she sees her body being dragged by a mouth on the back of her shirt. It pulls her towards the other two, who watch on. This place isn't dark, but it's safe, and warm. She feels so tired, but wants to keep watching. There's an urge to rub at her eyes, to fight back sleep, but here she has no hands, no anything. Like a child urging themselves to finish a movie, she watches on.

'We should find Jakk.'
'We should find Ebbcane.' The two consciousnesses say in unison. Once again they were completely on the same page. How wonderful.

Jakk Ebbcane Alora

Scratched and breathless, Candel sprinted into the charred field.

"Professor!" he spotted Ebbcane crouched beneath a huge transparent dome floating a couple yards above a circle of students frantically repelling the winged creatures.

Gasping for breath, he screamed, "Professor Ebbcane!"

The old man looked around, finally spotting the running figure a dozen yards away.

"Candel! Where have you been?"

The boy waved at the forest behind him, "Toussaint is cornered! Shatterjaw is going after him!"

By now, the young assistant had squeezed into the center of the huddled crowd.

"What?! And you left them?" bellowed Ebbcane.

The dome above flickered. Behind his eyes, the professor saw the face of Argyros flicker. Argyros, who he had given special permission to join this trip despite her inexperience. Argyros, who he had vowed to protect. Argyros, who had already been let down by every other adult in this unfeeling Tower.

"Flame it, boy, I thought you had some sense in that waste-ridden head of yours. I trusted you! You brainless, cowardly, half-still buffoon! Do you have any idea what—"

When a keen-eyed beast launched another volley of fireballs, Ebbcane was forced to re-center himself. The incendiaries exploded against the resealed dome. A sharp gust of hot air was all that hinted at how close they had come to fiery doom.

Candel struggled to speak above the din, "I — sir, I — I didn't —"

Ebbcane tuned him out, the task ahead would not afford any distractions. The details of the metamagic were not complex (every spell he cast was grounded in the same fundamentals the students around him were using) but the sheer mass of the mana involved was beyond anything he'd attempted in decades. It would take absolute clarity of focus to make his giant body a sufficient conductor.

He focused on the mana of the valley. Electric, unstable. He focused on the dome. Immovable, impenetrable. He moved his focus through the twists and turns that made up the spell that turned the ambient former into the material latter. He guided more mana through the channel, and then more, and then more, until the flow seemed natural. He let go and the flow continued unaided. Relaxing his arms, he looked up. The dome remained. He turned on the boy.

He was gone.

All around the huddled crowd, there was no sign of him, just acolytes flinging all manner of hexes and spells at the flock overhead. Ebbcane looked back up the path the boy had beaten through the battlefield. In the distance, he could just make out branches shuddering at the edge of the clearing.

His fingers clenched and unclenched. The students around him were holding their own, but he couldn't possibly leave them, could he?

Of course not.

He blinked and saw Argyros.

Visenya Silverwing

Visenya would incline her head as Argyros and her stag rode into the clearing. At Argyros' mention of the dead birds Visenya felt no remorse. "And they did help. Their lives are not worth more then Cirrus'. They knew what could happen when they answered your call." Visenya's voice would echo through both of their minds, but she was careful to keep the volume turned down.

Her focus was mostly on Cirrus however, as she could tell they were quite badly injured. She didn't realize what was happening to Argyros until her scales rippled with the amount of mana the Kobold was suddenly channeling. She knew a Mana Frenzy when she felt one and instantly angled her body so she could put herself between Cirrus and Argyros. "Neither of us has the power to help her, we would only get in her way." She thought to Cirrus as they both watched Argyros lose herself to her magic.

This was why they trained, this was why the Mages tried to make sure their graduates knew enough about their own abilities. Argyros may have been the same age but she did not have their training. Her power was raw, unfocused, and it nearly tore her small body apart in her rage. Visenya made a clicking sound and her own familiar rushed in, buzzing around Argyros as it tried to siphon off the excess Mana and keep her from burning herself out..

Other creatures we beginning to close in, and Visenya made quick work of them, keeping them away as Argyros worked through her frenzy. Javelins of ice floated above Visenya's head, launching forward with deadly aim any time another creature broke through the trees line. "We don't have time for this." She growled, stomping her front feet to cause the trees around them to rumble and snow fall from their branches.

Argyro's stag rushed in, gripping the Kobold by the back of her shirt and forcibly dragging her out. Visneya would not have recommended it but the stag seemed to know what he was doing as Visenya felt the mana begin to dissipate. The broken mess that had once been a Wasted steamed in the freezing air but Visenya paid it little mind. "We need to go, everyone hold on." Tentacles of ice would sprout from her scales, living things that curled around each of them, the stag included, and cradle them safely near her chest. A shield of ice would form around them as Visenya lifted into the air.

Their flight back to Jakk and the others took a matter of minutes, snow falling in earnest now as Visenya's magic ravaged the valley. She landed not far from the shield and released them gently onto the ground.

Cirrus Toussaint

Cirrus couldn't have intervened if they wanted to. By some miracle, their arms and legs still worked. They were, however, stuck in the trunk of a hundred year old pine. Sap dripped into their gears. Their mainspring slipped and stuck at odd intervals.

Golden flames, what I wouldn't give for an oil bath right now.

With a loud splut, they got their head unstuck and looked around. Argyros' was a dozen paces away, lost in the Frenzy. Her skin rippled and flared. Were they crazy, or was she starting to look like that big wasted?

Viz's huge wings filled their field of view as she sent another volley of frozen lances into the other creatures swarming into the clearing. She was incredible: a one-dragon blizzard, sweeping mutant after mutant aside with bursts of frigid magic that left clouds of snow in their wake.

By the time the buck started dragging Argyros' body to safety, they had just gotten their legs out and were working on their right arm. Housed in their dented and grass stained chest, they could feel the slack growing in their mainspring. Any more excitement and they'd unwind completely.

They braced at Viz's command and gritted their teeth as the tentacle tugged them out of the trunk. They didn't have time to check their injuries before she tucked all three of them against her chest. The familiar chill of her touch, like a frozen lake, poured through their brass plating. Out of the corner of their eye, they could just make out the deer and Argyros sliding into place further down. With a cool hiss, a bubble of nearly soundproof ice formed beneath them. Muscles bigger than Cirrus' entire body flexed, and, with a gear-crunching swing, they were in the air.

Craning their neck around, they could see the ground some hundred feet below, burned and blanketed in snow. Their mainspring slipped again, this time from the sheer thrill. It had been so long since they'd flown. Oh flames, how could they have been on the ground for so long? This was what they were made for. They were sorry about the dome. They would have have given anything to feel the wind on their face. They twisted their neck back up to try and catch Visenya's eyes. Their mainspring slipped just one more time.

Sure, they'd seen her fly before. The dragon flight drills had been all the rage when they first arrived at the Tower. They still liked to stop and watch whenever the familiar wedge formation swooped overhead. Ever since that night in the common area, though, they'd caught themselves sneaking glances out of the lecture hall windows and feeling vaguely disappointed when they didn't see anything. It was actually getting pretty annoying.

They opened their mouth to say something and were surprised when nothing came out. Trying again, they managed a sort of wet hiccup before they remembered their burst bellows. Their spirits fell momentarily, but then they saw Visenya's long, shining, unglamoured face peeking down to check on her passengers. It was upside-down, admittedly, but so were they, so it cancelled out.

By now, they could feel the last of their spring tension giving way. The world below them streaked into a white, green and red blur. The rhythm of Visenya's wingbeats became slowed and slurred. Through the fogging sheet of ice around them, they caught a glimpse of her eyes again, scanning something in the impressionistic landscape.

Can you read my mind? they thought, in a language no organic spoke, Do you know what it is you do to me?

Argyros' friend shifted against their feet, but it barely registered. All they cared about the was the sub-zero chill that cradled their limbs and kept them from noticing all the parts that they couldn't feel anymore. They shuddered. The sap had started to freeze their sprockets.

Will you look at me. Shivering. Quivering, like a broken clock, they were mouthing the words now, Can you picture the things I'm thinking of? I'm wondering about all the wonderful things you are.

Viz caught an updraft off a passing fireball and shot a dozen yards up. Her ice tentacles clutched at her passengers just a little bit tighter as she flipped into an aileron roll and started the descent. Cirrus' vision was tunneling, and Viz's face became one big, scaly silhouette.

You can fly. You belong in the sky.

The ground came careening towards them, and they felt their last ounce of tension tick away.

I could belong too...

Cirrus didn't feel it when they landed on the frosted grass; didn't see Argyros' face as she awoke to see their lifeless body; didn't hear the sound of Candel tumbling out of the woods, shouting after the prodigal students; didn't have to experience the horrible thing that happened next.

Argyros Shatterjaw

Cold crawls over the back of Argyros' legs as she sits in dark space. Instead of several screens there was two now. She watches patiently as her body is dragged through the snow, her legs carving out a path amongst the falling snow. "Argyros!" Candel's familiar voice calls out. The screens turn to look at him. Her head feels heavy alongside the stag's. It wasn't used to carrying her weight within his mouth alone. Candel comes crashing to the ground, landing on his knees as he pulls her body out of the stag's mouth. The screens turn to look at Visenya and Cirrus huddling together.

'Where's the professor?' In answer to her unspoken question, the screens shift and look towards Professor Ebbcane as he continues to hold up a slowly dissipating shield. It was like a mushroom cap right now, curling over the top of the group but unable to reach all the way down towards the ground. How long has he been holding it up, is he tired.

"She's not waking up!" Candel shouts, looking back over his shoulder back at their professor. He turns his head back around and lays her body gently onto the thin layer of fallen snow on top the ground. Candel checks her pulse. He lets out a sigh of relief before moving to hold her face. "Wake up Argyros. It's too dangerous to be sleeping here." He continues to tap her face, and squeeze her hands. Desperation growing on his face as she fails to open her eyes.

'I'm sorry Candel. I'm just so tired.' Argyros admits as the screens lean in closer to Candel. The stag rubs its snout along the top of Candel's head.

Candel shakes the stag off, his body heaving with every breath. "I'm sorry for leaving. I should've stayed. I'm the senior student here, I never should have listened to you, but you seemed so confident." Tears begin to well up in the bottom of his eyes. It's not his fought. She thought it was for the best. Not Cirrus and herself were hurt. She should have kept him around, should have asked for help. Why didn't she just ask for help? As the questions well up in her chest, a tear starts to fall from the stag's left eye.

Argyros tries to return to her body so she could comfort him. Her body has never felt so distant from herself. It feels as if a brick wall was keeping her from herself, locking her into the safe darkness she currently inhabits. Not quite in the stag, and not really in herself. She continues to push against the fall, feeling out for what she knows is there. The loneliness that had become a core of her soul within the time since her great loss.

'Calm down. Breathe.' He hasn't led her wrong yet. Argyros sits down, and slowly she starts to breathe. Letting go of the fear, the anger, all of the loneliness, the young water kobold focuses on the air within her lungs. It's so distinct from when she breathes in with her gills. Lungs fill up faster but loses the air just as quickly as it gains it in this form. It's like two balloons swelling up in her chest.

'Now.' Argyros attempts to open her eyes. She's pleasantly surprised as the bright snow fills her vision.

"That's it!" Candel's voice cries out. She tries to smile, but her lips are numb. They can't even quiver within this cold air. "Argyros you're doing it. Keep opening your eyes."

As her vision focuses on Candel, she can see his warm brown eyes red as he grins. Sweet Candel. She's lucky that he's always been here for her. Once they make it back she'll have to make it up to him and Jakk. She's been quite the burden.

There's a sickening squelch sound, as a razer sharp beak shoots through Candel's chest, blocking part of Argyros' view. Candel's hands tighten, before letting go of her completely. He did so just in time because the creature lifts its beak and him along with it. With a shake of its head Candel goes flying from the end of the wasted's sharpen beak. Blood covers Argyros' face. She opens her mouth to let out a scream. No sound comes out. Instead she can feel the heat of her magic rising up yet again. Her body erupts in a burning pain, but she does her best to ignore it and have her call of help answered.

There's the sound of a thundering stampede as a herd made up of all the deer from eight miles away comes bounding from the mountains into the clearing. They push back against the flying wasted, keeping it from eating Candel's body. Argyros lies motionless on the ground, staring definitely as she continues to try and cry out. The bucks round the creature. As soon as it leans back preparing to strike, they leap forward, antlers at the ready. They carve it's chest up easily, as the does take it from the back. They strike with their legs pushing the wasted back onto the antlers of the stags. It was pinned and in pain. Good. It's like the ship all over again, but this time she meant to do it.

Argyros could begin to feel her consciousness slipping away again. It feels as if fire was crawling over her skin, as acid shoots through her veins attacking each and every nerve within her glamoured body. A glamour that she can feel fading, even as she does her best to maintain it. She battles to retain the smallest bit of consciousness.

But she loses that battle.

Unsure of what will happen, or if she'll even survive, Argyros is enveloped within darkness, with not even that same little voice from before to accompany her. If she could think, she'd wonder if this is what death feels like. To be burnt alive from the inside and out at the exact same time, then full and complete nothingness.