The Riders' Rebellion (Scarsmate and DH)

[Dark Huntress]

Rhinnëa muttered a curse and slammed Rivera onto Lyrea's saddle with a spell. With on graceful leap she a lot on Gweir's back and pointed towards the sky with Ignasia. "Come on!" she shouted,"He can't reach us up there." Gweir nodded and waiting till Lyrea had leapt into the air before taking off.

"Ah!" Rhinnëa groaned as a bolt of glowing fire struck her into the magic. She slipped off of the saddle and was only kept from falling by Eyulf, who lashed out and grabbed her wrist. Gweir loosed a doleful cry and turned to look at his Rider with a large, grey eye.

"You're slipping!"

Rhinnëa nodded and pulled herself out of Eyulf's grasp, she rolled as she hit the ground and sat in a crouched position, facing the Shade who'd burned her back. Each movement was painful and slowed Rhinnëa. The Shade struck her forcefully on her cheek with the pommel of her sword, breaking the skin. She stumbled backwards, her back stinging as she rolled into the dust. She arched her back in mute pain and rolled away, crawling away as best she could.

She turned, watching him as she backed away, wincing the whole while. The Shade raised his blade over her and Rhinnëa closed her eyes. Her eyelids flicked open as a large, brown wolf leapt on the Shade, knocking him to the ground. The wolf snarled fiercely and pressed his large paw against the Shade's chest until his ribcage gave way and the wolf's furry pad crushed the monster's heart.

Eyulf? Rhinnëa stared at the wolf as he turned to her.

Yes..., he answered. I'd hoped to conceal my curse for longer.


[oooooh!]

[Scars Mate]

Lyrea gently landed. Nellas leapt gracefully from her back, whilst Rivera was levitated down, due to her severely injured leg. They approached carefully, Rivera walking with her staff. She walked straight past the huge wolf, and reached down a hand to touch Rhinnëa's profusely bleeding cheek. Rivera quietly cast a spell to heal her cheek, and got a grateful smile in return.

Rivera walked over to her sister, eyeing the wolf.

Well, that explains several things, Nellas noted.

The smell, Rivera said.

Definitely the smell. I couldn't figure out why all I smelt was wolf.

And the fact he could draw a elven bow, Rivera added thoughtfully.

That too.

Among other things.

Both Eyulf and Rhinnëa were staring at them.

'We said all of that out loud, didn't we?' Rivera asked. The others nodded. A low rumble escaped Lyrea's lips, and Eyulf glanced at her self consciously.

She continued to watch him, never removing her eyes for a second.

'We should get going,' Rivera said anxiously. 'Which way should we head?'

[Dark Huntress]

"I smell?" Eyulf gave the girls a white smile, which Rhinnëa observed showed unusually sharp canines, for a human at least. He shrugged before continuing,"Logical choose is towards Surda. I'm guessing you three have never been past the Hadarac and you obviously don't want to go back."

Rhinnëa nodded in agreement. She attempted to rise to her feet, but her knees groaned in protest. She involuntarily sank back to the ground. "No," she shook her head as Eyulf offered her a hand.

"Come on! I'm not going to eat you."

She reluctantly let him pull her up. This is so embarrassing! she moaned to Rivera who seemed amused, as did the others, all except Eyulf, who seemed oblivious. She sighed and pulled herself onto Gweir before healing herself. "Okay, after that awkward moment...," she said,"shall we head west?"

[Scars Mate]

'I think we should,' Rivera conceded. She hobbled over to Lyrea, and then came to a halt.

'My leg better get healed soon, because this making my life extremely difficult,' sh said, annoyed. Nellas sauntered over, and quietly cast a spell to left her sister onto the leather saddle. Rivera winced at the heavy descent, but shook it off.

'I'm pretty sure we passed some lakes before, surrounded by woodland. There should be enough space for the dragons, and there lots of opportunity to get more supplies,' Rovera called. Eyulf and Rhinnëa nodded in acknowledgement, and got onto Gweir.

Nellas slipped onto the saddle behind Rivera, her warmth comforting.

'Let's go!' Nellas shouted, and the two large dragons burst up from the ground. They rose quickly, and had a good veiw of their surroundings. They stayed in the air for about and hour and a half, until Nellas spotted a dark mass of green in the distance.

'There it is!' She yelled.

[Dark Huntress]

Rhinnëa sighed. "We can't stop every hour!" she called over the wind. "We should find another place further towards Surda!" Gweir grumbled his acknowledgement and quickened his pace as not to disturb his momentum. Rhinnëa sighed and sat up then down and Eyulf shifted behind her. I should've brought the comfortable saddle, she mused to Eyulf, though she knew full well that she couldn't have.

Another couple of hours passed in the air and the sun was nearing the horizon when they spotted a clump of woods with a large pond. It was t as magnificent as their original option but if Gweir and Lyrea snuggled a bit they should stay out of sight. Rhinnëa but back a laugh as Gweir insisted they stay in the air till they found better shelter, but, eventually, Rhinnëa won the argument and Gweir angled downwards.

Rhinnëa climbed off stiffly, her limbs more tired than they'd been that morning, and stretched. "At least we're farther along," she shrugged as Eyulf gave her a dark glance. She turned away as Lyrea landed. "Will you take Nellas and, if you want to, Lyrea to find some firewood?" she asked Rivera.

[Yay! Maybe some Zaq next post for me (if they go)...they could fight for 'boarding rights']

[Scars Mate]

'The two of us will be enough, I think. I want to check this place out- people have been here recently, I think. And it will give Gweir and Lyrea time to get 'acclimatised' to being so close!' The moment Rivera said it, she ducked down, as both Lyrea and Gweir shot a line of fire at her (though it wouldn't have caused any harm). As she stood up, both she and Rhinnëa were laughing so hard they had tears in their eyes. Lyrea snorted.

You two-legs have a rubbish sense of humour! She said indignantly.

Better to have some than none! Rivera replied, but gently scratched under the black dragon's chin. She reluctantly rumbled her consent, and Rivera grinned.

'Come on!' She said, turning to Nellas. They walked over to the woodland, and Rivera turned to Rhinnëa.

'We're going to go deeper in- a lot of the wood here is damp, and wouldn't make a very good fire.' Rhinnëa nodded her consent, and so Rivera and Nellas made slow progress deeper into the forest.

After about five minutes of Nellas walking ahead and then sauntering back, and Rivera hobbling at a meagre pace, they came to a small spring of water, surrounded by surprisingly dry wood.

'You grab some and strap it across my back.' Rivera instructed her sister.

'Wait a second...'

'What the-' Out of nowhere, a young human girl appeared. She looked a tiny bit older than Nellas, but had shoulder length raven hair. Her eyes were a beautiful green, and she couldn't have been taller than Rivera.

'Who are you?' Asked Nellas, creating a distraction for Rivera to check if she was safe.

She is.

What is going on? Lyrea's thoughts boomed through the clearing, but didn't startle the girl.

'You're a rider, aren't you?' She asked in a inquisitive voice. Rivera smiled.

'Yes, but you didn't answer our question.'

'My name is Eldárwen. Who are you?'

'I am Rivera, the rider of Lyrea, and this is Nellas, my sister.' Eldárwen nodded, and smiled. She wore a small pack on her back.

'Do you travel alone?' Nellas asked. A small smile appeared on the girl's face.

[Dark Huntress]

Rhinnëa glared at the sticks she'd created a tower out of. She'd been creating friction for several moments and nothing had happened. With a sly glance in either way, she mumbled 'brisingr' and flames engulfed the twigs.

"I heard that," Eyulf said from behind.

Rhinnëa turned to give him a flat look. "Congratulations," she said flatly then stood. She quickly signaled for Eyulf to be quiet then straightened as a man stepped out of a tree. He appeared only a year or so older than Eyulf and had golden hair with beautiful green eyes. Wow, she thought. This is my day.

"Who are you?" the man asked bluntly. "And why are you in this place?"

Instead of answering, Rhinnëa and Eyulf instinctively edged their weapons a little out of their scabbards. The man responded in kind, removing a short, sharp sword from a sheath strapped to his back. He ran his ocean-hued eyes over them calmly.

This is my realm and you must fight me for the rite of passage.

The man's conscience touching hers surprised Rhinnëa. She subtly marked the differences of his from that of Eyulf's. He lacked the savage instincts and urges lurking in the corners. She shook herself. Then I will fight you.

A fight of honor. No magic, no dragon, no bodyguard. Just me, and you.

Then so be it, she answered, drawing Ignasia from its sheath and standing twenty or so feet away from the man.

"Rhi-," she cut Eyulf off with memories of the mental exchange, sharing with Gweir as well.

She took a deep breath and positioned herself, nodding to indicate that she was ready. The man pulled his shield up so that it protected his left side and shoulder. Rhinnëa placed her other hand of Ignasia's handle. The man shuffled towards her right shoulder, faking at her right then stabbing left. Rhinnëa answered with a flash of silver as she deflected both blows then stabbed forward at his neck. He replied by his flicking his wrist, sword knocking Rhinnëa's arm to the side. She snarled as her wrist ached. With angered ferocity, she swung down at the back of his leg. His blade intervened and swept up. She leapt to the side and kicked it down then tumbled over and rolled to her feet as he slammed into her with his shield. She jumped over him in a front flip as he charged her and grabbed the edge of his shield as she leapt over it, slamming him to the ground with it. She grunted as he kicked her legs out from underneath of her. With elven speed she rolled up on top of him so that she straddled his waist and Ignasia's sharp edge laid precariously across his thick, tan neck.

They sat there a moment, glaring at eachother until someone cleared her throat. Rhinnëa glanced up to see Rivera, Nellas, and a short, raven-haired girl. A red pallor crept up her cheeks and down her neck and she quickly stood, standing a little ways off in an attempt to regain her composure.

We have a place to stay, she offered, her flushed face brightening.

[Scars Mate]

Rivera had felt it necessary to clear her throat, mainly to avoid Rhinnëa killing Eldárwen's brother, and also to avoid any actual blood being spilt. She had briefly inspected his mind, and found that he had been plotting a nasty move involving stabbing the back of Rhinnëa's hand and relying on her reflexes to allow him a chance to shove her off.

'You have quite the tactical mind,' she stated, and was pleased to see a hint of a smile appear on his lips.

He's quite handsome, she said to Lyrea.

I don't see anything special about him, Lyrea replied, unimpressed.

You're a dragon, so you wouldn't, argued Rivera.

You're quite right. But from your point of view, I can sort of see what you mean. But I judge looks on scale brightness and size.

We're talking about a human here. If he had scales, I'd probably turn him down. She chuckled mentally, aware that if she did it out loud she would get strange looks.

'So,' Rivera said, turning to the man. She felt a slight flutter in her stomach as his beautiful yes fell on her. She shook her head minutely to clear her mind, noting how strange that was for her, and resumed her previous manner. 'We've only briefly spoken with your sister, so what brings you to these parts? And what are you doing so far for civilisation? And why aren't you at least a small bit scared of the dragons?'

That was a lot of questions, Nellas said softly, but all heads turned to the two newcomers.

[Dark Huntress]

"Firstly, my name is Zaq, well, Zaqad, but that's boring," Zaq said after standing and brushing his clothes off. "In answer to your questions: the King is a jerk and does not allow the people of any country, whether his or not, any freedom at all. We are out here because it is suitable and no one would suspect anyone living here. And who says I'm not afraid of dragons and just am not showing it?" He cocked his head a little and gave Rivera a small smirk as he said the last part.

"Oh, by the way," Rhinnëa said turning her back to unfasten her saddlebags. "My reflexes are a lot more tuned than that. All you would've gotten was a blade through that thick neck of yours!" She gave him a smug look and dropped the small packs onto the ground.

"Oh!" Zaq said in a mocking tone, eliciting an unimpressed look from Rhinnëa. He gave her a charming smile. "Welcome to Vrangrwelden."

"The wandering wood," Rhinnëa remarked, unfolding her blankets along the ground. "How appropriate." Zaq knelt by her.

"You don't seem to like me very much."

Rhinnëa gave him a flat look. "How observant!" He rolled his eyes at her.

"Now I'm wondering why?"

"Oh!" Rhinnëa answered, replicating his mocking tone,"No reason. What's not to like about someone who made me get dirty." She feigned hurt then batted her eyelashes at him and rose, walking over to Gweir and unbuckling his saddle.

"I could get you into a lot more trouble than that!" Rhinnëa answered his not-so-subtle approach with a surprised look, which he answered with an amused one, "Did I embarrass you?"

Rhinnëa turned back to the saddle. "Perhaps a little," she admitted. Zaq grinned again, then stepped back apprehensively as Gweir growled.

I wish you would not insist on disconcerting my Rider in my presence, he snarled at Zaq. I would hate to have to make you uncomfortable. Or wouldI? He displayed his teeth in an evil, ferocious grin, amusing Rhinnëa to no end.

Zaq stepped away from the elf and the silvery dragon then shot Eyulf a glare as the tall, raven-haired boy laughed loudly. "Amused?" he asked, tone hard.

"Yes, very. Not every day you get to see a guy being a flirt and a dragon threatening to eat him."

[Scars Mate]

A strange feeling welled up in Rivera. It wasn't often she got jealous- but now was one of those times.

How come, she grumbled to Lyrea, that whenever I find anyone appealing, they always flirt with someone else?

Oh, little one! She chuckled. If he hurts you, I'll torch him. Deal?

Rivera couldn't suppress her smile. She barely knew him anyway. Her we travelled to Nellas, who was talking animatedly with Eldárwen.

'Really?' Nellas said, shocked.

'Yup! Look!' Eldárwen replied, and lifted up the back of her shirt to reveal what Rivera assumed was a dragon tattoo.

'That mark is only given to those deemed to be extremely powerful sorcerers,' Rivera said appreciatively.

'I know,' Eldárwen said, smiling.

'So, you really-' the rest of Nellas' sentence became an indistinct murmur. Rivera's sight became hazy, and her injured leg gave way beneath her. Everything went black.