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"Too many to name... but when you go back to the clan... It would be best to let them expect that their families will not return from the war. Juno looked at Anarai, deep, agonizing sorrow in the green pools that were his eyes. Boulder snarled to himself. This war... is destroying the clans. Why did the Great Leader leave the clan so many years ago? He thought to himself and looked back up to Juno as he began to speak again. "We need more warriors. I... Maheo needs you two to go back to the clan and get as many dragons able for battle as you can. If we are left with weak forces, the Southern Clan will over run our forces and take over the Mountains." Juno ordered, standing up taller as though he had a high rank because Maheo, the Northern Warcheif, had sent him to bring the scouts this message.

Boulder looked him for a minute before nodding. "I believe there to be many young dragons who finished their training recently. And there are more that are ready for battle. We will bring the clan this message."

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Essence looked bewildered at the news. How could it be? The North were weak! But then again... so was he. Essence turned to Charla when she spoke and dipped his head, obviously thinking for a solution. Surrendering was always an option, but if Essence were to chose that, his father would return and tell the clan how his son was a failure. Shaking his head, he continued to think. Then, he lifted up his head and looked around at the clan; "With so few warriors on the battlefield, we can be overrun by the Northern forces easily. He spoke loud enough for the whole clan to hear him, So, now we must send in all of our able warriors. All dragons who have finished their training must report to Kuzo in two days - when he and the others have the strength to make the journey back to the battlefield."

Dismissing the clan with a loud roar, Essence nodded to the three warriors and called over the healer, Farah, to come to their aide. Turning away from them, he began to look around for Nadia.

"I'm right here," Nadiana murmured to Essence, guessing that the back and forth motion of his head meant he was looking for her. Her eyes stared at the ground, refusing to meet anyone's gaze. Thoughts of the battle to come did nothing to improve this, and she sidled closer to Essence, surprised to find she took a small amount of comfort from his presence.

She must have grown closer to him then she had previously thought. Nadiana was surprised by the friendliness she felt towards the male, even though they had just met. It was a new experience, actually opening up to someone else some, taking some comfort from them simply being around. But...she liked it.

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Anarai was lost in thought; deep, tormenting thought. She knew her uncle had gone into the war recently, leaving his mate with two hatchlings to long for his return. If he had died, the news wouldn't be taken very well. She knew that the couple was extremely close to one another, and Anarai was also close to him herself. She fervently pleaded in her mind for everyone she loved to be alright.

She shook herself out of her worry somewhat, looking up at Juno, then at Boulder. "We should probably get moving," she murmured softly.

"Yes, let's go. Thank you, Juno." Boulder said, nodding to the distressed Dragon and jumped from the tower to the ground. Both of his parents had been in the war and were now retired. He hardly ever saw them so he didn't really think anything of them. He broke into a run back to the clan, not looking back to see if Rai was following. Boulder was busy thinking about how he would tell the clan about this news. Would they protest? Would the able Dragons refuse to join the war? The Northern Clan was at risk of deteriorating and Boulder just wished the war would end.

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Essence felt something brush against his side and see Nadiana beside him. She looked distressed and his expression softened. It looked like he had finally found a friend within the clan. Looking up at the sky, Essence realized that it was past noon. The hunting parties that he had sent out should be returning soon and they all could eat their fill. Sitting down, Essence folded his wings and looked down at his feet. The news of the battle, weight of the clan duties, and everything else was overwhelming him.

Boulder leapt to the ground without a glance backward, and Anarai slid off the roof and into the air after him. Her wings shot open, and she winced as the air caught in them painfully. She soon settled into the familiar motion of pushing her wings up then down, and back up again. Her wings moving smoothly, she increased her pace, using her tail as a rudder to angle her back towards the clan.

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Nadiana's stomach rumbled unexpectedly, and she finally realized she was growing hungry. The hunting party should return soon...a flicker of motion appeared, and the outlines of dragons grew visible. The hunting party! Her mouth watering, Nadiana straightened up a little, her stomach growling in anticipation.

The entrance to the clan camp was nearing and Boulder slowed to a stop, pausing in front of the lichen overhang. Although he had thought about it the whole way back, Boulder still had no idea how he would tell the clan. He never really talked so he didn't know how to put this all into words. Boulder bent his neck to look at his feet and flexed his claws. Of course. I would chose to go on the scouting party today of all days! This is just great! He thought, frowning and looking up into the sky as he waited for Rai to land.

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Essence heard a rumble and turned to see it was just Nadiana's stomach growling. He was just about to say that the hunting party would be there soon when the party ran into the camp. They each carried a large pouch made of redwood leaves and fur scraps from prey. Stepping up to the party leader, Ali, Essence dipped his head respectfully. "What have you brought?"

"It was difficult to find, but we actually caught a Musk Deer - completely intact!" Ali informed, "Other than that, we caught several rabbits, hawks, and a few of our sky hunters ran into a flock of geese."

Anarai landed lightly, her green gaze still troubled. She glanced at Boulder. "Do you want to tell them, or should I?" she asked softly. She pulled her wings in close to her body, guessing that he would want her to say it.

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Nadiana rushed over in a display of unusual enthusiasm. "Great," she said happily, her hunger causing her to open up more, though it wouldn't last long for sure. Already she was becoming less enthusiastic, less friendly. The scent of prey was heavy on the air, and Nadiana's mouth watered further.

Ooc:// Blegh, writers' block again...sorry. >.>

Ooc:// Its alright ^_^

Boulder sighed, looking down at his feet again. "I think it would be best if we told the clan, together." He said, looking back up at Anarai. The lichen in front of them seemed like a barrier between the clan's reaction to the news and them. He pushed aside the Lichen, taking a step inside the tunnel that lead to the clan camp. Every step seemed to weigh him down further and push him into the rocky ground. He remembered the last time the scouts had brought news like this.

The clan had become devastated and half of them no longer desired to eat and it took weeks for them to recover from the shock. Maybe they will react differently this time... He hoped.

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Essence nodded and told the party to go give each dragon their fill of prey and put what was left over in the storage under the Great Redwood that stood in the center of the camp. One of the hunter, Beshka, dropped a brown rabbit in front of him. Bending down to bite into the delicious prey, he spotted Nadiana out of the corner of his eye. Picking up the rabbit in his mouth, Essence turned towards her and asked; "Would you like to eat with me?"

Anarai nodded, following Boulder in apprehensively. Immediatly the clan started to gather around, searching for news. Anarai gestured for Boulder to start, unsure of how to put it into words that wouldn't sound so harsh, so insensitive. She kneaded the ground with her sharp talons unhappily as she remembered the last time news like this had been brought. That had been when her father had died.

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Nadiana was surprised once more to find her tail curving upwards in pleasure. "Yeah," she replied softly with a small smile, leaning to take a small bite of the rabbit that Essence held in front of him. The meat was wonderful, and her tail curved further as she swallowed.

Essence dropped the rabbit and bit off a piece of its flank. A low, thrilled growl rumbled in his throat as he chewed and swallowed the piece of meat. He had closed his eyes as he was eating and when he opened him, he couldn't take his eyes off of Nadiana. Sure they had known each other for a while and now they were friends but... he felt different then he would with a regular friend. What are you thinking, Essence? She's just a friend! He thought.

"This is good, huh?" He said cheerfully. Even though the news about the terrible battle last night had disrupted the clan, he wasn't going to let it dim his mood.

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Boulder cleared his throat and waited until the whole clan had gathered before he spoke. "There had been a battle. A terrible battle that occurred just last night. This has caused us to loose half of our forces and the South theirs." He paused, looking at Rai to conclude his story.

---

Andie gasped. A battle? Sure it was a war and there was fighting all the time but it was unusual for one this awful. Who had died? Who had lived? Who would die? There were so many questions, and so few answers.

Anarai continued, adding the rest of the message. "Maheo has instructed us to gather as many able dragons as we can for battle. The South will overrun us if we don't. We will fall." A stir ran through the crowd at the mention of Maheo, the warcheif, as well as the message to prepare for battle.

"And..." she added softly. "you shouldn't expect many dragons to return." Heavy silence was almost a physical weight in the clearing, and Anarai shrugged uncomfortably.

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"Yeah, it is," Nadiana agreed, the meat surprisingly tender for a rabbit. She took a bite out of the juicy neck, where the flesh was usually the most fatty and mouth-watering. The meat didn't disappoint, and Nadiana let out a small sound of pleasure.

Essence ate his fill quickly and sat down, licking his jaws to get the last scraps of rabbit from his lips. As he watched Nadiana eat, he felt warm inside. A special warmth that he could not explain other than the fact that the warmth seemed to spread from his heart to the tip of his tail. He bared his teeth, licking the last scrap of meat from his jaw and swallowing with pleasure. It was good to have a friend in the clan. It made him feel at home.

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Boulder could feel the shocked eyes of the whole clan on them. His shoulders tensed uncomfortably at the feeling and looked down at his feet. Then he cleared his throat and looked up, his face holding a very stern look. "We must be ready to go into battle. All the dragons able to fight should be ready to travel to the battlefield in a few days." His voice echoed throughout the clan as they stood still and silent.

Anarai stared at the ground fiercely, unwilling to meet the gaze of the others. Her tail twitched self-consciously, but eventually she looked up, though her green gaze was uncertain and unfocused as she became lost in thought once more.

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Nadiana found her eyes straying to Essence, and heat flooded her face immediatly. She turned away, staring fiercely at the remains of the rabbit. She took the last small bite in an effort to hide the surprising emotion in her eyes.

Ooc:// Writers' block again...I'm sooo sorry.

Ooc:// Lol its allright ^_^

Andie stood up and walked away from her spot beside her grandmother, walking towards Boulder as the clan broke out into conversation. She dipped her head to both Boulder and Anarai before looking up at them. "I hope that the new warriors you are asking to be sent to war will return with the others, one day." She said.

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Boulder, somewhat confused by what she said, looked down at his feet. He knew that sending out more of the clan could mean that most of them wouldn't return as well, but it was a chance that they had to take - so that they wouldn't loose everyone in the clan.

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Essence noticed as Nadiana looked up at him, blushed, and then looked away. He smiled to himself and stood up, stretching his whole body. It was just past noon and there was lots to be done today. Reluctant to leave Nadiana, he dipped his head respectfully to her and walked toward a group of battle ready dragons. "I want Rise, Dash, and Marshen to go and find out who all was killed in the raid. I am sure the clan is eager to know if their family members were killed - whether it hurts them or not." He said, dismissing them and walking over to the children's den.

"So do I," Anarai agreed. She was reluctant to have to give the message of anyone going out to war, but...it had already been done. And whether she liked it or not, it was necessary.

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Nadiana found herself following Essence to the children's den, though she wasn't quite sure why. Pondering the feelings that blundered around inside her, she blushed as she thought she may have discovered why.

Essence stepped through the tall ferns below a smaller redwood and looked around the den. The ferns towered so far overhead, you could barely see the sky. There were sticks and moss and other plants weaved into the ferns so that when it rained, the dragonlings and hatchlings would not get wet. Three tiny dragonlings tumbled over to Essence's feet and looked up at him in awe. The orange-red one with blue eyes smiled and said, "Hello Essence!" She was silenced by her blue-gray brother as he pushed her out of the way, "Were get to start training soon!" He said excitedly. Their mother, a white dragoness with blue spots, was laying on her side in the corner of the den. She lifted her head and sighed, "Not for another three months, you wont." She said sternly, motioning for the dragonlings to leave Essence be.

The larger dragon laughed and bent down to look at the only dragonling who hadn't spoke, a dragoness that looked exactly like her mother. She smiled and giggled as Essence nuzzled the little dragon and she followed her siblings over to their mother.