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Damian barely bypassed a heart attack when Casey asked the inevitable question: What was the stone? It was almost as if she could tell he knew... But that was crazy, Damian told himself. He was just being paranoid. And so, eventually he came to a decision. This could be his one chance to finally have a friend. And a friend who he didn't have to lie to, either.

He could be completely open with her. And as he thought about before, there had to be some kind of reason a dragon egg was so far away from his original home town. Casey must have found it for a reason. She had to have found it for a purpose. And due to all this settling slowly in Damian's mind and his form, he breathed a heavy, but surprisingly quiet sigh. He was trying to let all his breath out, before taking in a new, deep one.

And then he let out the words. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"That isn't a good answer," Casey frowned, not at all satisfied. "You're just avoiding the question." She stared at the green stone in her hands. "What is it?" she repeated.

Damian was a bit surprised at Casey's response. It almost seemed indignant, if you looked at the comment long enough. However, Damian knew he was in fact avoiding the question. And on any other occasion, if Casey had gone with someone different to the forest, he would be out of luck. A dragon egg would be out in others' hands and they wouldn't have a clue what it was. For all Casey's knowledge told her, it could still be just a plain, green stone.

And he took in another breath to explain. "Well, where I come from... There were lots of those. Though they only hatched in the hands of the right person. Decades, perhaps even centuries would pass as the right rider was awaited. And as soon as their touch was present, that was all it took to seal the bond." He paused, letting Casey some time for thought. Then he continued, "You see, that's not just a stone or a gem. It's an egg. A dragon egg."

Casey's hazel eyes widened to the size of dinner plates, and a slow smile spread across her face. "Really?!" she asked, a hint of excitement edging her voice. "A dragon egg! Sweet! I have a dragon egg!" Through her excitement, she finally noticed one part of the sentence that before she didn't pay much attention to.

"So, wait, where do you come from?" she asked curiously.

Damian found himself grinning at Casey's reaction. "Well you're certainly taking it better than I'd hoped," he chuckled. When she asked where he came from, he shrugged as if he was unsure. "Em, hm..." He said. He was trying to make up his mind. And eventually he just cleared his throat and replied, "Well I'm not sure if I'm supposed to say, but it's a place a bit far off from here. It's called Alagaesia. There, dragons used to roam free all over the place. But... things turned complicated. The dragon numbers started depleting after a while. No one could find any because most of the people there weren't good with their intentions any more or were just plain greedy. The reason I left was because I found a black dragon egg. My parents told me to run and never come back. Because I was being hunted so they could obtain the egg."

After that, he paused for a minute or two, letting everything sink in. For both Casey and himself. Memories began to flood through him. He sure missed his folks... He wished he could go back. But he didn't know the situation back there. And if it was still slightly the same, they'd steal Cyclone in a heart beat.

"You finding one is especially rare," he said suddenly. "I've never known any other place to carry the eggs other than my home land. That means you will become a rider." He smiled. "And finally I won't be so lonely," he added hopeful.

Casey finally turned somewhat serious, her broad grin fading into a more thoughtful frown. "Wait. If you came from...Alagaesia, then couldn't have others? The ones who want to steal dragons?" The thought of her egg being taken away, even at this early stage, wasn't a fun one. She found herself wanted a dragon desperately, and her grip tightened on the smooth green egg.

Damian's face turned serious as well as he suddenly considered this new possibility. "To be honest, I never really thought about it... I just did what my parents told me to do and ran. I never expected or never saw anyone following me," He said. "Though now that you mention it, it could be very possible..." His eyes widened in near terror.

He looked behind him and from the corner of his eyes, he thought he could see a shadow running off. He looked at Casey desperately and said, "We need to get away from here. Take the egg with you and follow me."

Casey, now thinking that finding this egg may not mean only good things, stood up quickly. She cradled the egg carefully in her arms, her heart pounding faster as she saw a shadow dashing off in between some trees. She sure hoped that was just a figment of her imagination.

Damian started walking quickly. As quickly as he could while still making sure that every few steps, Casey was keeping the same pace. He needed to ensure the safety of both her and the dragon egg. Finding a new egg in a place so far off... that was astonishing. It surely should mean something important would have to be faced sooner or later.

And Damian knew deep down that he'd have to help Casey to understand the ways of the dragons, if she didn't understand much herself. He wouldn't blame her if she didn't know a few things. Or maybe not one single thing. Damian himself had to learn everything from almost scratch. As a kid, he'd been taught about dragons and how they used to fly around the sky in a valiant and descending formation, roaring their beauty and intelligence to everyone below them. However, he had never really considered how different it was to hear the stories and imagine you were a rider, and to face real life and actually be a rider.

Casey, as far as Damian knew, had not the slightest hint on the ways of dragons. And so, later on today, when they both were in the arms of safety, he would show her something spectacular... something that took him quite a while to get right, but he was sure she'd learn fast.

For now, though, it was all move. They had to get away fast. "If those people are who I think they are, we're going to be in deep trouble soon," Damian warned.

"Who do you think they are?" Casey asked, increasing her pace considerably.

Damian looked a bit troubled as he continued to walk along the ragged forest path, pushing and pulling tree branches and leaves out of his and Casey's way. "Well, I never knew their names... but they were the most horrific riders that ever roamed my home lands. They say they all used to be good once but that greed and the strive for power changed them entirely. One was even worse than the rest. He began to command the others like him, and eventually created an army. An army to find any and all dragon eggs under any circumstances."

He paused, taking some time to breath, but still looking around wildly. They were at the edge of the forest now and he was searching for the direction of his home. A little to the left... There! He started running to it, making sure Casey was close. "They would do anything to steal your dragon, but most importantly, your egg. Because dragons who have hatched already make a special connection. And the more the dragon grows, the more the bond does too. Though I've heard that they were able to break even the oldest bonds eventually... after tiresome and gruesome work, and painstaking patience for time..."

Damian's words trailed off as he tried to explain what these people did. They were truly evil. If they were the ones behind this, Damian and Casey stood virtually no chance.

Casey swallowed. "Great," she said, the single word dripping sarcasm. She ran after Damian, glancing back as paranoia grew within her. They finally burst out of the forest, and Damian agnled to the left, Casey close on his heels. "I guess I should hide the egg then, instead of holding it in plain sight?" she suggested as she glanced behind them once more.

As Damian began to notice familiar surroundings around his home, he fumbled for a key in his pocket. You could hear a faint thumping noise inside against the darkened windows, but Damian pretended not to notice them. It was do or die at this moment if he couldn't find the key in time. Luckily, though, he found it after a few more seconds and desperately handled it and pushed it through the lock. After turning it, grabbing it swiftly, and putting it back in his pocket, he breathed a sigh of relief after he opened and closed the door behind Casey. He stood against the door, breathing a bit hard, but not because he was out of breath (even though he was indeed trying to catch a few more gulps of air...) but mostly out of the pure relief and strike of it all.

After a few minutes, Damian shook his head. "No need. Now that we're in here, we should be relatively safe for the moment." He took a look around his house in an attempt to find Cyclone. He must have been in the other room. So for now, Damian turned back towards Casey and said, "Holding on to it is the best thing to do. The more it feels your touch the faster it will hatch."

Then he looked around again. You could tell his mind was now distracted a bit on something else. He put his index finger and touched it to the temple of his forehead. Cyclone... you there buddy? He asked telepathically. And soon a blur of black scales came ripping out of the room originally built to be an office. The huge black dragon knocked Damian over and nuzzled his cheek, then stepped off after laughter from Damian, realizing they had a guest.

Who's this? He asked. And how come she has a dragon egg? He tilted his head to the other side. Damian chuckled and replied, Long story short: met her at school today, took a walk in the forest, she tripped and found the egg, and we came running as fast as we could here because I think I saw shadows... I think it was them.

Cyclone's expression nearly went dead. Them? You're kidding right? And a shake of the head from Damian was enough confirmation from that. He remembered about Casey, though, and turned back to her. "Er, sorry I forgot to introduce you two. Casey, this is my dragon Cyclone. Cyclone, this is my new friend and future rider, Casey."

OOC: What do we call the main guy who assembled the army? And what should we call the army themselves? I was thinking perhaps 'Death Riders' for the army or something... but x3

Ooc:// I really like the sound of Death Riders. And for a name...Kage? I think it means "shadow" in japanese.

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Casey's green eyes widened in a mixture of surprise and pleasure to see a dragon. His striking black scales gleamed gently in the sun, giving them a look that almost resembled volcanic glass. "Nice to meet you, Cyclone," she greeted softly.

Honestly amazed by all of this, Casey glanced down at her own egg. What would she name her dragon? What would it be like to have one? How would they talk? "Uh, Damian, I was wondering...how do you talk with a dragon?" she asked.

Damian's whole posture and tone seemed to improve dramatically. His shoulders were at their normal, shrugging position, his muscles felt relaxed, and his mind was free to do its own thing. He turned to Casey while rubbing Cyclone's neck with his hands, gently soothing his dragon. This was pretty much equal to petting if Cyclone had been an average pet. Like say a dog. Or Casey's cat. He grinned at the thought.

"Well, when it hatches, there's a bond like I said before. That bond opens up a telepathic door. So, pretty much, you can talk to your dragon telepathically. Of course, your dragon in time will understand you either way: through telepathy or through real words. But if you ever wanted to say something to your dragon and your dragon alone, that's the best way. Though the connections can get a bit complicated..."

His face looked puzzled for a moment and then he continued, "Sometimes dragons can understand your thoughts even if you aren't directly projecting them. And vise versa. On some occasions, it's been known that dragons can understand other rider's thoughts. However, it's never been known yet for separate riders to be able to pick up others' dragons. Like I said, complicated," He finished, smiling at Casey.