Trouble on Ember Wings

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Chosovi didn't have to tell Wulf to move again. He slid away from the dragon towards Syn, all while the man in ebony armor drew closer. His great black dragon moved to block their exit but Wulf was undaunted by this. Just as he started to jump on his dragon the man spoke, his words freezing the boy. "My my. The little wolverine kit has all grown up." Wulf snapped his head around to eye the man. Part of what he said was no mystery. The symbol for the Mcoy line had always been a wolverine. A tenacious and often vicious relative of the badger family, the creature was also known for their courage and undying loyalty to their family.

"Got your momma's hair. But you look just like your daddy." The way the man spoke it was like he knew the family closer than most. Wulf scoffed as he narrowed his eyes. Glancing back at Chosovi. "Everyone knows my family. What your saying means nothing." He replied arrogantly. He man scoffed, chuckled even. His hand raised and he took off his helmet. His face was thin but held strong cheek bones with messy brown hair with a scruffy unshaven face. His resemblance to Wulf was uncanny, and if anyone had seen the king the man looked just like him. "Oh dear brother, you do love your secrets..." He said as if speaking to himself.

Wulf's eyes were wide with shock. How did this man look so much like his father? Possibly even more startling were the mans eyes. They were the same burning amber color as his dragons. An unnatural color. "Shame you wont get to see your brother again. What was his name? Bo?" Those words sent a chill down his spine. He never spoke of his twin brother Bo. Simply because it was too painful to be apart from him. Wulf worried for his weaker brother. "This must be your fabled comrade. The one from the vision. No matter. You both die today."

"Wulf! I told you to run boy!" It was captain Urro, limping badly as he staggered in. He used the last of his strength to rush forward and wrap his arms around the mysterious man. "Why wont you die!" He yelled furiously. Syn gently grabbed her riders arm with her mouth and tugged him away. Wulf climbed on his dragon, although his mind was racing with questions. Syn bounded along till she reached Jevith, spitting a spout of fire at the great black dragon to cause enough of a distraction so they could get away.
 
Chosovi had already hopped on Jevith, frantic as she waited for Wulf to do the same to Syn. They needed to get out of here now, especially since they had no idea what else the man in ebony armor was capable of. But when Wulf had just jumped onto his dragon, the ebony man spoke and it froze both the young dragon riders, the young woman just as confused as her companion. Somehow the man knew the prince's family? Who was this guy?

Then he was peeling off his mask, showing his strong facial features that looked so much like Wulf, who looked so much like his father. Chosovi's eyes grew wide as she stared at the man. His eyes were a burning amber, very clear to see even from a distance Oh dear brother? Secrets? Did that mean....

Holy shit.

The Hopi looked to the young prince, tugging on Jevith who was light on her feet. If who she thought the ebony man was right....

The man brought up Wulf's twin brother, Bo, and how it'd be a shame he'd never see him again. And then he spoke about Chosovi - how she was the young man's 'fabled comrade'. And from a vision... what vision? As the more powerful man moved some, Urro's voice was heard again and he had somewhat tackled the stranger. Syn tugged on Wulf and put his mind on track as she moved to the other dragon and spit fire out at the elder, enough to create a distraction so they could get out the exit. Chosovi had just as many questions as Wulf, but right now, they needed to survive. So Jevith roared and spit fire out as well before following Syn out of the exit, dodging giant black wings and a tail.
 
Wulf held onto his dragon as she bounded towards the exit, taking a free fall jump towards the violent sea. She pulled up from her dive before hitting the water, flapping her young wings as hard as she could. The wind of the storm actually aided both dragons, lifting them more into the air. 'The wind is strong, Wulf. I can't fly for very long in this!' A young female voice spoke to Wulf in his mind. "You have to fly Syn! Give it every thing you have! Fly to West Forest Beach!" Wulf's plan was to at least make it several miles away to the beach that lined a thick forest. He knew their young dragons would never make a full flight back to his kingdom, but it they made it to the beach they had a fighting chance to get back.

But even the beach was pushing the endurance of the young dragons whom were still too young to carry a rider for such a distance. "Chosovi! Can Jevith make it to the beach?" Wulf called to his friend as he looked back. Even the sight he beheld took the arrogant princes heart. The academy was in flames. Dragons surrounded the the place, spewing flames down like rain. He choked on the tears threatening to come and he turned around to looked forward again. Closing his eyes.
 
Chosovi followed suit with Wulf, Jevith free-falling towards the brutal sea along the side of Syn. She was weak but adrenaline had pushed through her veins and filled her with a strong will for her rider, to keep her safe. But the winds were indeed very strong and the storm would end up making the four lost in its raging power if they didn't find shelter soon.

When she was able to, the Hopi looked behind her, stray hairs from her ponytail whipping around her face as her blue eyes took in the academy, her second home, up in flames. And her ears took in horrific screaming from the dying dragons and classmates. After she had had enough, she looked straight in front of her, a blank expression on her face before her ears caught the familiar voice of Wulf against the wind. She looked down to Jevith's neck, ran her hand along the red stained scales, and looked back up to Wulf.

"She's weak, Wulf," she said just loud enough for him to hear against the winds. Jevith let out a sad, howl-like noise, trying to tell her rider that she would be okay but... she was in a bad condition with being a young dragon against strong winds and wounded. "We need to hurry if we want to get to the beach."
 
The sound that Jevith made clenched his heart and made him look away. Syn gave a rumble as she looked over at her fellow dragon. Like their riders, the two female dragons were close friends. Always looking out for one another. Wulf had no doubt in his mind that Syn could have attacked to protect the other dragon. "Hang on Jevith! You can make it!" Wulf said the white dragon, trying to give some confidence to her.

The further they flew away from the academy the easier it became to fly. Wulf found it odd that the storm was only at the academy. Perhaps it was magic of some sort. Very powerful magic. But of course Wulf was just guessing at this point but he didn't think too much about it since their dragons were now able to fly easier. It wasn't too much longer before they reached the beach that Wulf spoke of earlier. It was more like a cove, a small stretch of beach between a pair of cliffs. Towering thick pines surrounded the area.

Syn landed with a soft thud, turning quickly at Jevith. "C'mon. The trees should provide us with enough cover." He said to the other two.
 
Jevith let out a rumble deep in her chest at the sound of Wulf's encouragement. She felt better with both rider's and her friend's confidence in her, making her feel like she really could make it to the beach. Chosovi gave the white dragon a boosting pat.

The young woman also found it strange that the storm was only at the academy; the skies were blue away from the school and the winds were much less harsh. If Wulf would have shared his thoughts with her about the storm being powerful magic, she would have agreed. Once they landed at the cove, the white dragon let out a quiet sound of relief as her feet touched the ground, Chosovi touching her neck and directing her towards the trees. She was tired, that much was obvious, so the woman wanted to get her dragon to safety and rest as soon as possible.
 
Wulf took a moment to look back at the academy. Even in the distance he could see the dark clouds and smoke. It made him feel cold inside, empty. He'd wanted nothing more than to get away from the place since he learned his brother was not able to go with him. but this was not how he intended on leaving. Solemnly he lowered his head and closed his eye. Hot breath warmed his cheek and a rough scaly nose nuzzled his face. Syn sent no words to his mind, only the feeling of comfort. His arm uncoiled and came around the dragons face. He looked into her golden eye which looked back with a depth that only a rider and his dragon could ever know. "C'mon. Lets help Jevith." He said quietly.

With that he moved to walk beside Jevith and Chosovi. "I see some fallen trees. It'll be good cover for tonight." He said leading them to a fallen tree. It lay against a huge bolder, providing a perfect shelter for the night. big enough for big rider and one dragon. Syn walked around the area, collecting as much fire wood as her wide mouth could carry. "Jevith, you can come under here and rest." He said motioning to the cave the tree provided. He patted her neck gently as he looked back at Syn returning with a mouth full of branches and sticks.
 
Chosovi didn't want to look back at the academy. She didn't want to catch another glimpse of the horrors occurring behind the group because that would only feed her despair more. The images of slaughtered dragons and teachers, trainers, classmates... of the burning cliff-side and academy, the cackles of fire and roars of angered or dying dragons, screams of pure agony and sorrow and fear... they were already imprinted her mind and no matter what she did, she could hear and see the situation even though she wasn't there anymore. Even when she was solely focused on her wounded dragon, flashes of images played through her mind. She had to concentrate her hardest on Jevith.

The woman and her dragon followed Wulf to a fallen tree that was against a boulder, providing shelter but only enough for one rider and dragon. Chosovi felt bad for taking the spot but Jevith really needed to be tended to, so once she was laying down, Chosovi immediately sat next to her and looked at the wound. Blood had stopped pouring from it but it was still a mess. She frowned and looked around. There wasn't anything to carry water from the ocean so she'd had to wipe up the blood with a piece of cloth. She did just that after she teared off a piece of her shirt, wiping as much blood from the gash as she could before examining the wound again. It was a large gash. And deep. Jevith had lost a lot of blood and the wound was definitely at risk for infection since they didn't have anything to clean it with.

Chosovi let out a small sigh and Jevith let a rumble escape from her chest. It was low but audible and the pair's eyes met, the woman leaning in close to hug the dragon's neck, careful not to touch the wound. They both knew that Jevith might not make it if she didn't get medical attention within the week.
 
Wulf went about quickly setting up the fire wood, knowing that at least a simple flame would give warmth and perhaps a bit of hope. Two things that Wulf felt he himself needed at this moment. Once set up he walked to Jevith, gently touching her nose as he looked over the damage the dragon sustained. Behind him Syn spat out a short burst of flame, catching the wood easily and starting a fire. "How is she?" He said to Chosovi as he winced at the deep wound. Regardless how she answered even the prince who never took anything seriously, was very much worried for the dragon.

"Wait here. I'll find something. There's herbs in the forest, I'll just go find them." But the cocky statement should worry his friend, Wulf was no good at herbalism or alchemy. In fact one might say they were his worse subjects. But he'd not allow that to defeat him. He darted off with his eyes scanning the ground with his dragon following closely. Do you know what you're looking for? Syn's voice spoke in his mind. "Of course I do." He was lying but he still looked anyways. Hoping he'd somehow magically recognize the herb when he saw it. Syn rolled her eyes and shook her head. Syn looked to the ground at the base of a tree, her eyes scaling the pale green vine and it's yellow flowers. It was called sun's vine and when it was mixed with dragons blood created a very powerful healing agent.

It was a plant she was taught to know by heart but Wulf was passing it right by. She sat by the tree and simply watched the prince flounder about mumbling to himself. A growling rumble left the dragon and Wulf snapped around. "What?! I know what I'm looking for!" He burst out loud in annoyance. Syn nodded her head towards the herb, the motion cause Wulf to pause and look a bit more closely. He stared at the flowers then at his dragon. He shrugged aggressively as he looked at her. Clearly still not recognizing the herb. Syn groaned. I believe the plant you are looking for is sun's vine. The name of the plant clicked and Wulf could only assume she meant the vine she was standing by. "Yea... See I knew that. i was testing you." He said with a cocky tone as once again he lied.

The two returned to the make shift camp with plenty of the vine, a curved stone and a long stone. "We found sun's vine. I'll just crush it and then we can put it on her wounds." He said to Chosovi.
 
Chosovi half watched Syn and Wulf gather wood supplies and light the fire. At least they'd be warm for the night. When Wulf walked up to Jevith, she sniffed his hand and let her nose nuzzle against it before laying her head and neck back down, watching the fire lazily. Chosovi looked up to her human companion, giving him a worried look in response. They all knew how bad the white dragon was.

But the woman nodded to the man when he said he'd be back with some herbs, her eyes brightening a little with hope when she remembered very powerful herbs grew in this single forest. Hopefully the other dragon and human could find such herbs; it'd be such a miracle for her dragon.

As the two left, Chosovi sat back against Jevith and hugged her knees close to her chest as she also watched the flickering fire. Then an epiphany popped in her mind and she looked to the female dragon out of the corner of her eyes.

"You think starting this fire was a bad idea? We could be found, after all..." Jevith just gave her a knowing look and Chosovi chuckled halfheartedly before stopping and looking towards the direction of the academy. She could no longer see the flames or smoke, could no longer hear the screams and sobs. She let out a deep breath before giving her dragon a hearty pat and rub on her scaled back. The female dragon rumbled appreciatively in response.

When the Prince was back with a familiar looking plant, Chosovi perked up, but Jevith laid still - she had fallen asleep a few minutes earlier. Oh, it was sun's vine! She remembered reading about it; it was supposed to be a powerful healing agent for dragons. She smiled and thanked Wulf, offering to help if she could.
 
Syn curled up around the fire, watching anxiously as they prepared the salve for her fellow dragon. Wulf worked to smash the flowers and the vines, working them into a paste. Once he had enough paste to cover most of Jevith's wounds he handed the salve to Chosovi. Letting her do the honors of applying it to her dragon. Wulf watched tensely as she applied the medicine.

"Is that enough you think?" He said as he leaned back, leaning against the head of his own dragon. He remained quiet for a long time, watching the fire as he milled the thoughts over in his head. Although he wasn't thinking of the fire giving them away. He was more worried about where they'd go. How they'd get there. His instinct told him to stand and fight but that tiny voice of reason in his mind told him that would be suicide. "Where do you think we should go?" He said looking up at Chosovi.
 
Chosovi watched her male companion work the vines and flowers into a paste. It took a little while, but after he had finished, she thanked him and took the agent into her hands and started applying it tenderly to Jevith's wound. "It should be enough," she answered Wulf lightly. "Enough to at least cover the worst part."

Once she applied all of the herb to her dragon's wound, getting as much off of her hands and fingers as she could, most of the wound was covered in the paste. She turned back to the other rider and dragon and leaned against Jevith's side as she wiped the rest of the substance off. "We should keep heading west," she said quietly, looking into the fire. "There's a small town there but it will take about five days to get there on foot. Three days, maybe, if we fly." Secretly, she was afraid. Afraid of being caught by the man in ebony armor and his dragon and army. Surely they would heed more destruction everywhere they went.
 
Wulf crossed his legs over one another, his hands working as they rubbed off the flakes of salve. Pausing he looked back at the boxy scaly head of his dragon. "You didn't need any did you?" He said, motioning to the medicine that he was working to rub off. Syn gave a rumble, one that Wulf understood as her saying 'no'. "I didn't think so. Dumb dragon might have broken his teeth on your scales." He said with false confidence. Syn almost seemed to smile as she rolled her golden eyes. Canyon dragon or not, she was still a young dragon and would have been killed just as easily as her rookery mates, but there was no use trying to tell that to Wulf.

The princes eyes looked over, watching the salve placed on Jevith's wounds. He listened to her as she spoke. Nodding to her choice to go to the small town in the west. He'd finished wiping the medicine off his hands and now lounged his arms over Syn's head. "As much as I'd love to fly I'm not so sure our dragons, especially Jevith, would be able to make it there. I mean carrying us the whole way. I think our weight would be too much." Syn rumbled again, this time agreeing with her rider.

"We'll have to walk. I'm sure my father will have guards of some sort in the town... We have to make it back to my castle... Back home..." His voice drifted off as he thought about the whole ordeal and the journey he had before him. His kingdom was quite far away and with dragons not yet old enough to carry them the full way made it seem that much more perilous. But then his mind drifted to the man in ebony armor with amber colored dragon's eyes. What kind of magic was that? "That man... he looked so much like my father..." His voice said distantly.
 
Chosovi's blue eyes glanced to Syn when Wulf asked if she needed any. She hadn't seemed to be wounded and didn't give any signal, but sometimes people and dragons alike didn't even know they were injured until it was too late. But once Syn grumbled no and Wulf agreed with her, Chosovi went back to salving Jevith's wound. It would be better by morning, but still pretty bad.

Listening to Wulf's answer, the female human found herself agreeing with him about having to walk to the town. It actually wasn't a thing to agree with, it was just simple fact since their weight would be too much for their dragons. And the town... she hoped that there were guards in the town. That way they could warn the King and his kingdom quicker. They needed to. Otherwise Chosovi wasn't sure how the kingdom would look in the destruction of the man in ebony armor...

Her eye's flickered to her Prince companion once he brought up the man and she bit the corner of her inner lip. She had an assumption about the man but she wasn't sure how well Wulf would take.

No, she had to tell him. Communication was key at a time like this.

She drew in a breath. "Do you think... do you think that that man was your father's brother...?" she asked hesitantly. It would make sense; the man in ebony armor resembled the King greatly and how else could he know so much about Wulf's family? "I mean... after saying that you looked just like your father, he said 'Oh dear Brother, you do like your secrets'." She sighed and shook her head. It was just a guess, but...
 
Wulf could only think about that man in the ebony armor. His unshaven face resembled his fathers too much for comfort. And the knowledge he knew about his family. Wulf's brother Bo was known within the kingdom its self but not outside. Bo was the weaker of the two, and he often never left the castle and the market place before the gates. How could this man possibly know Bo even existed?

He stared at the flames before him as his mind refused to let the subject go. Chosovi's voice awoke him from his trance and her words cut through his mind like a sword. At first he looked offended, rightly so. The man was a monster. "What?" He said turning to look at her better. Tension rose in him and his first reaction was to furiously deny any relation. "No, my father was an only child. He told me so... Or... That's what he said..." His voice dropped as he thought more about it.

If he had a monster for a brother he might denounce him too. "It can't be. My father would have told us if he had a brother... If he did, why would he keep something like that from us?" But even as he spoke there was the obvious answer. The man in ebony armor seemed like a cold and callous man.
 
Wulf seemed just as surprised at Chosovi's guess as she thought he'd be. And she knew that it'd be tough to accept, to even think about, but how else would the man in ebony armor know so much? Wulf said his father told him he was an only child, but... people kept their secrets.

Still, Chosovi stayed quiet for a while, letting the idea fully absorb in her friend's mind. After he was finished, her blue eyes flickered to his own. "Just think about it, Wulf," she said lightly. "Even family keep secrets. Otherwise... how could that man know so much about you and your family? How does he look so much like the King, like your father?"
 
Chosovi's words held weight, enough to weigh the prince down. She meant no malice in them, that he understood but these were words that shook his very foundation. He didn't like it and thinking this hard was starting to give him a head ache. Deep though and problem solving was not his strong points. He frowned as he looked up once again to his friend. Remaining quiet for a long time.

Running over the words spoken once again he realized something else that was said. "He also said... something about a vision. He mentioned you..." He started to think perhaps that he found a seer, someone whom could look into the future. Such people were rare and often hermits living alone. Meaning extremely hard to find. Or they were mages given illegal and often deadly potions to enable them the ability to see the future. He briefly wondered if this was how his family history was found out.
 
Chosovi looked back to the fire when a long, heavy silence settled between the two. She guessed she struck a cord and wouldn't continue with it if Wulf didn't want to talk about it. She would probably just as upset if she were to learn dark secrets about her family.

But as he began to speak again, about a vision, she looked up at him and raised an eyebrow. She recalled the vision the ebony attired man was talking about and she pondered over it. He had mentioned her...

She shook her head and sighed, running her hands through her hair. "I don't know..." she said. "This is all just confusing." If the man was a seer... how awful was that?
 
This was all so very confusing and Wulf nor Chosovi had any of the answers. The only answer he had was to move forward and get to his father. Which meant he needed to get to sleep. But that was harder that it sounded. "All this thinking is giving me a head ache. Lets get to sleep." He groaned as he slid down to lay his head on Syn's fore arm. She curled her face next to his as he lay on his back. The stars that he could see through the leafy trees offered no answers tonight.

It seemed like hours passed by before Wulf finally succumbed to sleep. Though sleep brought little relief. Only night mares of the burning academy. The dragon fires consuming everything in their path. Those unnatural amber dragons eyes and the man in ebony armor. Wulf woke to the sun just beginning to rise and the smell of burnt fire wood. The fire had gone out during the night but the heated breath of his own dragon kept him warm all night.

He groaned and sat up slowly. Rubbing his eyes he looked to his companion and her dragon. They seemed to be still well and Jevith still breathed. His arm moved to softly nudge his own dragon awake before he stood up. "Hey Chosovi. Wake up." He said gently as he moved to her side to gently nudge her awake.
 
Chosovi nodded in agreement when Wulf suggested for them to go to sleep and she laid down in the curve of her dragon's body, keeping close to Jevith as she watched the fire. Neither she or her male companion fell asleep that fast; it also seemed to take hours for her eyes to finally close and her mind succumb to sleep.

She dreamed of nothing. And perhaps that was a good thing; maybe her mind was still holding back so she wouldn't start freaking out. Maybe she was still in a bit of shock and her body and brain was doing everything it could to keep the woman calm and steady.

The next morning, Chosovi groaned when she was nudged awake, Wulf's voice gentle and almost soothing but the girl wanted more time. But she knew they need to get a move on and she sighed, her blue eyes opening slowly and looking around them before she stood. Then she checked on Jevith and her wounds; the salve had dried up and seemed to be doing its job since the gash didn't look infected - at least not yet - and Jevith was sleeping and breathing soundly. Waking her up, Chosovi looked to Wulf.

"How'd you sleep?" she asked, voice tired.
 
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