BoZV - Arc 2

[Swim]

A proposal was made that they depart that night. It would probably be chilly but she could keep herself warm enough with her fire abilities, and the prospect of flying excited her - to say nothing of leaving Agrova's denizens behind. She was surprised however that the dragons would volunteer themselves as mounts for anything other than a dire emergency. Dragons were too proud for such acts, or so Terra had expected anyhow. Not that she would treat them any differently, they were doing the group a favor and giving Terra an experience that would otherwise be impossible, but surely there were others who would see the act of ferrying humans as proof positive that dragons were more animalistic than human.

"Let's make haste then," Terra replied. "I've everything I need with me and honestly I prefer a night under the stars to a crowded city."

[Sorrum]

"Same here." Aqua replied to Terra. Fortunately her weapons would also allow her to hunt and create water from the ice she could make, so there would be no trouble on her part. "Is it alright if I ride with you then, Silver?"

[Bloodbane]

Rion raised an eyebrow, a little surprised at the offer to fly everyone to the mountain, or at least most of the way there. With only three people, it seemed they had just enough to get there... he guessed the strange man with the lightning powers wasn't coming back. He was certainly all right with the offer, but looked to the others to see what they would say. It seemed everyone was in agreement to fly there, and to do so right away. He noticed that Aqua asked to fly with Silver, which was a little surprising, and he was pretty sure he caught Silver glancing in his direction, but he simply shrugged his shoulders, before looking to Enfurus. "Looks like I'll fly with you, then... and it seems like everyone's fine with heading out now, then?" He said, looking over the group one last time for confirmation.

"Great! Looks like you guys are all set, then?" Shin asked, before rolling up the map and handing it to Rion. "Best of luck, you guys. Be careful out there..." He said, before turning and heading back through the gate.

[Arashi]

Silver looked over to Aqua as the elf said she wanted to fly with her. Hmmm, while she had wanted to fly Rion...she did promise Aqua a flight, and now would be a great chance. It also surprised her that Aqua chose to go with her, and made her...happy in a way that Aqua obviously trusted her enough to be mostly alone with her. This certainly meant something.

"Okay, sure. Sounds fun. I bet you'll like it...and now we can go on that flight that I promised you." Silver smiled a small bit at Aqua again, after glancing at Rion once more. Why did she want to hang out with Rion so much? Oh well. No time to think about that right now.

Enfurnus then looked at Terra and Rion.

"Looks like I will take you two, then." He crossed his arms.

Both dragons waved to Shin as he walked off, then Enfurnus began planning.

"We will fly somewhat close to each other, but Silver is slightly faster than me so she can go ahead. Stop at the halfway mark, then we can set up camp for the night. If there is anything fishy at the halfway point...we will land somewhere else. But, I don't anticipate that at all."

"Okay. Aqua and I can scout since we will be ahead a little bit." Silver replied to Enfurnus, then looking to Aqua for approval of that plan.

"Sure. Now come, lets leave the city and get this going. It'd be a little odd to shift and fly off right here." Enfurnus looked around, eyeing the closer quarters and buildings.

So, led by Enfurnus, the group headed out.

~~~~~~

Once out of the city bounds, Silver shifted in to her dragon form, now familiar to the group. She knelt down slightly so Aqua could get on.

"Ready for fun?" She looked towards Aqua.

Enfurnus was next. He shifted in to a large red dragon with a black tuft of fur down his back, and....one of his arms was entirely metal. Robotic. That was the first time it was visible to the group; he didn't really seem to care.

He was larger than Silver.

"Come. Hopefully neither of you get sick easily." He looked at Terra, then Rion. He knelt down a bit as well.

[Swim]

Terra followed the group outside the city boarder. Along the way they passed some investigators and medical personnel who were tending to a pair of men that had been launched so hard into a stone wall ringing the market that their bodies left imprints, Terra tried her best to look inconspicuous. Once outside the dragons shifted form and Terra climbed up on Enfurnus, then extended a hand to assist Rion up behind her.

"I like your arm," she commented once she'd settled in. "Whomever crafted that really knew what they were doing, is there a story behind that?"


---------------------------------------------------


Several minutes later a man in a lab coat staggered from a brothel. On each of his arms was a woman, both just as inebriated as he was. "Ah, that air feels nice doesn't it?" he said mostly to himself taking a breath and gazing at the stars. As he watched a pair of dragons briefly crossed in front of the moon, growing smaller and smaller as they flew further away from Agrova. "Hm, looks like I've spent a little too long enjoying my new hero status and my party has moved onto the next site without me. Oh bother. Well, nothing to be done of it at the moment, let's not waste the night ladies. If the two of you are feeling adventurous I've got a brilliant idea for what we can do next..."

[Sorrum]

Aqua looked up and down at Silver's dragon form up close. "I've never really seen a dragon up close, and I never thought I'd ride one!" She giggled and pulled herself onto Silver. "Let's have some fun!" After she was situated on Silver, she realized she'd be high in the sky. She wasn't afraid of heights, but it would be her first time flying. She got a little tense. Maybe she was a little bit afraid of it. She thought about how Enfurnus said she shouldn't be scared because she was a warrior. She kinda wished he would tell her not to be afraid of flying, either. He was nice. But Silver was nice too. Aqua resolved herself to suck it up.

"How far away is the t-town again?" She asked Silver. Her voice trembled against her best attempt. Damn it. She thought to herself.

[Bloodbane]

Rion smiled a bit, shaking his head in response to the comment Enfurnus made about getting sick easily. He looked over the new form of the General, noticing at this point that one of his arms appeared to be mechanical. 'Wonder what happened, there...' he thought, before taking Terra's hand and climbing aboard with her. It appeared that she was also curious about the metallic arm, even going as far as asking if there was a story behind it as Rion turned toward Silver and Aqua, smiling a bit at the fact that it appeared Silver was becoming more acquainted with their elven companion. Interestingly enough, it appeared that Aqua was a little concerned about flying. "Relax, it'll be fine! I'm sure these two know what they're doing..." He said from his position on Enfurnus. After all, flying on top a dragon was... probably similar to being on a fast horse, right? If nothing else, it had to feel similar to being on an airship; something he had a bit more experience with.

[Arashi]

Enfurnus stayed knelt down as Terra spoke to him about his arm so Rion could get on.

"Thank you. Well, I couldn't do my job with my arm missing, so they made me a new one...guess I left a good enough impression on humans for them to want to make me a new arm. Or something. That's it basically. If you want to know how I lost it, perhaps I can tell that story when we set up camp. It's not very exciting though. I promise."

Silver looked back at Aqua after she had climbed on to her back. She picked up on her nervousness from her tone of voice. The dragon smiled a bit. It looked kind of silly to see a dragon smiling.

"It's just the halfway point...but it isn't far. Just several hours at the most. Don't worry, flying is fun, and if you somehow fell I would catch you with no issue. I'm a lightning dragon. We're fast. But you won't fall, I promise...just hold on." Silver attempted her best to reassure Aqua. It was true; if the elf fell, Silver would definitely be quick enough to dive and catch her before she would be anywhere near the ground. Now, she would make sure to be extra aware. She didn't want Aqua to be afraid.

She then glanced at Enfurnus as Terra helped Rion up on to the red dragon's back. For some reason, that made her eye twitch. She wasn't exactly sure why she was everrrrr so slightly annoyed, but...she was. She looked forward and opened her wings slightly.

"...Anyway, we're off. See you there." She said, rather...short.

She then glanced back at Aqua really quick, wanting to ensure her safety. "Hold on tight, okay?"

Without giving anybody a chance to get a word in, she took off running, soon breaking a sprint. She then spread her wings all the way out and leaped in to the air, taking flight.

"Well that was weird." Enfurnus smirked as he watched Silver fly off abruptly. 'And entirely unsuprising...' To him, she was easy to read. "It's time to go now I guess, or she will be way ahead of us. Hold on."

Enfurnus took off in the same manner as Silver. Once in the sky, Silver was visible off in the distance.

Both dragons soon reached an altitude where they could comfortably glide along.

[Swim]

Terra gripped the tuft of fur tightly as Enfurnus took off, the powerful wind sweeping her hood off of her face. As they climbed higher and higher it only got more fierce, Terra didn't feel comfortable letting go long enough to put it back up, not that it would stay that way anyway. Fortunately Rion was seated behind her and probably wouldn't notice the bruising on her face from that position.

"You don't have to share the story if you don't feel like it," Terra called back to Enfurnus, unsure whether he'd even hear her. "I'm very interested in the craftsmanship though, and how the arm manages to shift as you change your form."

[Bloodbane]

Rion watched as Silver seemed awfully ready to take off all of a sudden. Raising an eyebrow as she ran forward and took off with Aqua, Rion shrugged his shoulders. "Wonder what that's all about..." He said quietly, listening to the exchange between Terra and Enfurnus before Enfurnus took off in a similar fashion. Sure enough, it did feel somewhat like being on the back of a horse... a really large one. He smiled a bit as he felt the cool air against his face, noticing Terra's hood fly off in front of him. He kept quiet for the time being, not finding much to talk about that would not risk being a bit forward, as all he could really think of asking Terra assuming they did not go into the story of Enfurnus and his arm would be asking what Terra ended up doing while everyone had split up, since she had been so late coming back compared to the others.

[Sorrum]

Aqua trusted Silver's words. She grabbed onto her tightly, and hugged her body against hers. Soon after, Silver took off. Once they were higher up, Aqua loosened her bind on Silver and sat up.

The view from high up was spectacular. It was like looking down from a mountain, she thought. Around them, the dew resting on the forest canopy glistened brightly in the moon light. And ahead, the clouds broke revealing the starry night sky, with the luminescent moon reflecting light across the sleeping world. Aqua was stunned from the beauty of it all. And behind her even, the warm glow of the city grew smaller and smaller, the shadows overtaking the horizon in what moments felt like decades.

"Wow.." Aqua whispered. "This is what you see? It's amazing. If I were a dragon, I might never leave the skies." She spoke honestly.

[Arashi]

Enfurnus heard Terra, and acknowledged her with a very slight nod. He would tell her later how it worked, since she seemed to want to know. He was too focused on flying as fast as he could so he didn't get too far behind Silver; he wanted to be certain Aqua was okay, since she seemed awfully nervous. He couldn't really get close enough to tell, but he could make out Silver's outline in the distance and he was no longer falling behind her.

~~~

All of Silver's various fins were spread open. This clearly gave her an edge in the sky as she flew ahead without really even trying. Once she was up there, her focus shifted away from earlier events.

She heard Aqua speak and looked back at the elf ever so slightly for a moment.

"You like it? I do prefer flying whenever I can. It's nice. See, it isn't scary right?" She grinned as she spoke, and she spoke quite loud so Aqua could hear her.

Her more lean build and her large amount of fins made her adept at flying. This is one thing the lightning dragons were known for; their love of the sky, and their mastery of it.

"Maybe sometime I can show you some cool stuff!" She spoke loudly again, now focused on the view ahead of her.


~~~

After several hours, Silver reached the spot they were supposed to meet at. It was fairly thick and covered with trees, but there were several openings. She looked around; the area looked safe and clear of any threats. She then glanced back at Aqua for a second.

"Hold on tight again, we're gonna do something fun!"

Silver waited for Aqua to grab on tighter to her, then she folded in all her fins and pointed herself downwards. She then folded in her wings ever so slightly; this caused her to dive down at a very high speed towards a mostly clear area. As she got closer to the ground, she spread her wings and fins again and slowed her descent, landing much like how a cat lands after a high jump down.

She jogged forward a bit, slowed to a walk, then stood still and knelt down slightly so Aqua could get off.

"Did you like it?" She asked Aqua rather enthusiastically.

A little later, Enfurnus began a slow descent down, landing where Aqua and Silver were.

[Sorrum]

Aqua turned away from the sights back to Silver. "Yes! I love it up here! The fear just melted away!" She replied joyfully. It really was something else. She didn't know what else to say, so she just took in more of the sights. Far off in the distance, she saw what looked like a mountain covered in thunder clouds. She couldn't imagine the time it would take to climb it, but on a dragon she could enjoy the landscape and climb up and down in a matter of hours, maybe minutes. Might have to worry about those thunder clouds though, she giggled.

~~

Aqua had enjoyed their flight. It felt like it could last forever until Silver broke the silence. She grabbed onto the dragon's sides and held tight. Suddenly she dived down at incredible speed. Aqua's fears came soaring back as she yelped and tightened her grip even more. Before she knew it, they were on the ground and Silver was jotting on the soil. Aqua slid off the dragon's back as she knelt down, and caught her fall with her butt.

"Did you like it?"

"Y-y-y-yeah! Oh I was not ready for that at all." Aqua shakily replied, somewhere between fear and happiness. She put her hand on Silver and rubbed her face, trying to keep her knees from shaking and regain her composure. "That was r-really fun. I wonder what it's like at daytime? Oh and when it's raining, or snowing, and uh, oh! I saw a thunder cloud earlier, I bet those are fun to fly through too.." Aqua's fear slowly melted as she gushed about her first time flying.

"Did you see the mountain!? It was like, covered in thunder clouds! That doesn't even make sense! But it was so far away you'd never see it from a boat or a roof either, but on a dragon you can see it! Oh and the forest was so pretty in the moonlight, it was reflecting dew drops off the canopy and they were so shiny and pretty, GAWD."

Aqua remembered they were on a mission, and she blushed from going overboard with her excitement. She looked blankly at Silver for a second before she clapped her visor down over her face. "I-it was really fun.." she said, embarrassed.

[Swim]

Aside from the cold air rushing all around them the flight had been fairly smooth, Terra observed that Frida's ride had been a bit more... turbulent. She was grateful toward Enfurnus for that, "Thanks for the lift," she said to him before hopping off his back.

The night was still cool and dark, and though Terra was ready to continue she wondered if the pair of dragons would need to rest now that they'd journeyed half of the distance to Eulene. The plan back in Agrova had been to travel through the night, and she hoped that with enough speed they might be able to catch the Blight Mage before they left the area. Terra pulled her hood back up and waited for the others to collect themselves.

[Bloodbane]

For Rion, the flight had indeed been smooth. While it was certainly like riding in an airship in a way, at least when one stood on the flight deck, it was still an interesting experience. By the time Enfurnus had landed and the two on his back had reached the ground once more, Rion looked over to see that Aqua was having quite the reaction to her flight with Silver, causing him to laugh just a bit. "Sounds like you two had some fun...!" He said as the group gathered, before he looked to the two dragons. "Looks like we've still got a ways to go... heading off on foot, then?" He asked curiously.