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Toruk and Luci, two hatchlings, immediatly ran to Nadiana. "Will you play with us now?" Toruk pleaded, his green eyes opening wide as he pleaded with her. Looking at their hopeful expressions, Nadiana nodded slowly. "Alright, I'll play with you," she agreed hesitantly.

"Yay!" Luci cheered, bouncing around in excitement. A small smile started to form as Nadia looked at the enthusiastic hatchlings. "What should we play?" she asked, her tail twitching in amusement. In response, Toruk pounced on her tail, batting at it playfully. Luci immediatly joined in, laughing as she played.

Essence just noticed that Nadiana had followed him into the den. He smiled to himself again and walked over to a very pregnant dragoness. He smiled at her and whispered something softly before backing away and watching the young hatchlings play with Nadiana's tail.

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Boulder looked up at the sky and noticed that the sun was beginning to set. It had not fallen behind the mountains yet, but it would soon.

Nadiana noticed Essence's glance at her, and found her face growing warm once more. Avoiding his gaze shyly, she stared at Touk and Luci instead, moving her tail around erratically to please them.

A shadow crossed over the den and Essence looked up, only to notice that night was falling. Reluctant to leave the children's den, Essence stood up and pushed himself through the den entrance. Most of the dragons were finishing their supper and the others were already in their dens. The older dragons slept under the huge roots of the redwood trees while some of the younger ones slept among the mighty branches. Essence flapped his wings and swiftly flew up into the trees. He sniffed the air and easily detected the spot were Nadiana slept.

Picking a spot not too far from her nest, Essence curled up in the vacant nest and made it so he could see Nadiana's nest easily.

_____

Boulder, gulping down a morsel of mountain pigeon, trotted over to the huge clefts in the mountain where the clan slept. Taking a route he had used several times before, he climbed his way up to his den and looked around before scrabbling inside. Scrapping the dirty bedding from his den, he saw a shadow pass by. Peering over the ledge, he saw the familiar shape of Andie. She looked around to see if anyone had noticed her before taking flight and heading into the mountains.

Scrabbling down the side of the mountain, Boulder broke into a run and followed her. Stupid dragoness! She knows its too dangerous to go out into the mountains at night!"

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Andie didn't look back, in fear that someone would notice her, and flew deeper into the mountains. Well aware of the danger she was in, she was determined to find the base where her sister was stationed. She had to know of the battle that had occurred.

Anarai trotted over the the children's den before heading off to her nest. Glancing in, she saw her aunt, whose belly was swollen with pregnany. Her two hatchlings were curled up next to her, both sleeping. "Good night," Anarai said with a soft smile. Her aunt gave her a sleepy nod in reply, and Anarai left.

She made her way up to her nest, until motion caught her keen eyes. A shadow flitted by, followed by curious skittering sounds, like pebbles falling down the side of the mountain. Her interest sparked, she changed direction, following the fading sound. Glancing down the ledge, she saw Boulder running down the mountain, and -was that Andie? - flying toward the mountains.

Anarai, now incredibly curious, spread her wings and took off, following the two dragons.

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Toruk yawned, and Nadiana knew it was time to leave. "It's time you two head off to bed," she said softly. Despite their mild complaints, she left. A smile spread across her face as she saw Essence, perched near her nest. She flew up and settled herself comfortably in between the two large branches.

Essence blinked open his eyes when he heard a rustling by Nadiana's nest, and flicked his tail in greeting. He opened his mouth into a gaping yawn before folding his wings tight against his flank and resting his head down on the soft leaves. Trying to keep his eyes open, Essence slowly dozed off as sleep overwhelmed him and pulled him into dreamland. Opening his eyes, Essence found himself in a forest. It clearly was not the redwood forest, for the tips of the trees only reached about halfway up a redwood's trunk. Suddenly feeling cramped due to the low branches, Essence started walking. Daylight filtered through the leaves and he could not tell if it was morning or afternoon. "Hello?" He called out into the cramped forest - his words barely echoing off the small trees.

Suddenly, Essence saw a figure moving towards him in the trees. Baring his teeth, he crouched down, ready to fight. The creature came closer and closer until Essence recognized it as a dragon. "Do not be afraid, young dragon. I am not here as an enemy, but as a friend." Essence pulled himself up as the dragon spoke, but still held a defensive stance. The dragon began to circle him and Essence noticed with shock, that it was transparent. The dragon sat directly in front of him before speaking, "My name is Arceden. I am a dead warrior, killed after the first major battle of the war between our clan."



Boulder followed Andie easily as she weaved her way through the winding mountains. It took Boulder a moment to realize where they were going. Why couldn't she just wait until the morning?! He shouted in his mind, determined to find a way to stop her from going that far. The mountain slope gradually dipped down into a small valley and Andie lowered her flight to where she glided just above the ground. Boulder, gaining speed, caught up to her and leaped, bowling her over. The dragoness screeched and dug her claws into Boulder's shoulder. Diving out of the way, Boulder backed away and waited for Andie to look up and recognize him.

Looking up, Andromeda hissed before recognizing her attacker. "Boulder! What are you doing here?!" She screeched, stepping closer to him. The dark gray dragon held his ground, refusing to be chased away by his friend, "Are you positively mad, Andie? You know going to the Watcher's Base this late at night is dangerous!" He growled. Andie spat fire at the rock under her feet before looking back up at him, her eyes scrunched into an angered glare. "I can take care of myself." She stated before flapping her wings, about to take flight. Boulder leaped at her, causing Andie to land on her back. Holding her broad shoulders down with his powerful claws, he snarled in her face;

"What if you did get killed? What would your grandmother think? Your sister? The dragonlings! If you ever go out like this again - I will make sure Maheo hears about it." He snarled, making sure that Andie knew if Maheo obtained the knowledge that his niece was traveling through the mountains at night - he could banish her for bringing danger to the clan. Andie blinking in shock then put on a you-wouldn't-dare face. Suddenly, a thundering yowl sounded behind them and both dragons whipped around, terrified.

Anarai, seeing Andie's reaction to Boulder, decided it would be best to stay up in the air, somewhat out of sight for now. Glancing down at the two dragons, a loud yowl battered her eardrums, catching her by surprise. Her wings' steady motion faltered, and she plummeted to the ground.

Whipping out her wings after a few seconds of shock, they slowed her speedy descent, the wind catching in the thin membrane painfully. Trembling slightly from the close call, Anarai alighted softly on the ground next to Boulder and Andie. So much for staying out of sight, she thought shakily. Another yowl made her turn around quickly, trembling violently now.

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Unable to sleep, Nadiana glanced upward, the gentle moonlight dappled by shadows from the redwoods' leaves. The calming motion of the branches swaying back and forth overhead often helped her to sleep, but that was not the case tonight. Restless, the dragoness slid quietly out of her nest. Gliding through the night air, Nadia headed to her favorite haunt; one of the biggest trees in the forest.

She curled up amidst its large branches, the familiar feel relaxing her immediatly. Slowly, gradually, she drifted off into a heavy slumber.

Ooc:// Would they see the same dragon?

Ooc:// If you want, it doesn't really matter to me ^_^

Boulder looked up into the sky as Anarai plummeted at the ground. He knew someone had followed him but he hadn't expected Rai. In surprise, he lifted his long tail in greeting before turning back to the source of the yowling. Creeping from the shadows, a huge cat-like animal snarled at them. "A mountain lion!" He hissed, baring his teeth and crouching down, showing his powerful muscles and long claws.

Beside him, Andie snarled and bared her teeth, lifting her wide wings high so that she appeared bigger than she was. More of the creatures stalked out of the shadows and circled around the three dragons, hissing and snarling.



Essence watched as the forest around him faded away, but the voice of the dragoness still talked in his ears. A grassy plain appeared that stretched on and on from all sides. Hearing screeching in the distance, Essence ran towards the sound. He found himself in front of a battle. Dragons were fighting like mad and blood littered the grass. Then, he could no longer feel his legs or his tail or his wings or anything. As though there was nothing left of him other than his eyes. Arceden spoke again in his head;

'This was the first major battle of the war between the divided clan. Seven hundred warriors were killed and many more left injured. I was a warrior who was killed during this chaos.' The image of Arceden running at a dragon far too large for her flashed through Essence's vision. He watched as she was slapped aside by the mighty warrior and lay on the ground - still alive but barely. She pulled herself up and was pushed down by three smaller dragons. They bit and clawed and ripped at her until she stopped moving. The ravaged body didn't move again as her blood stained the grass and the claws of her murderers.

I was slaughtered by my former clanmates - given no mercy and no chance for life. They killed me without thinking about before the war, when we had been friends. Every battle, former friends kill former friends and their children are killed and are killing. This war is nothing but a cycle of death. And you are to stop it, young Essence. You are to find the lost leader who left the great clan so long ago. A violent storm will come tomorrow morning. Take this chance to slip away from your clan and travel west until you reach the high cliffs that border the valley. Here you will meet four other dragons who have been chosen to join you on you quest.

Essence watched as the land faded away and the image of him standing at the top of one of the high cliffs, surrounded by four silhouettes, appeared in his minds eye. Good luck. Arceden whispered in his ear and Essence blinked open his eyes, awake in the real world.

"Th-there sure are a lot of them," Anarai stuttered, her tail flicking back and forth nervously. A large, scarred one lunged at her, and with a small sound of surprise, she lashed back, her talons catching the large cat and throwing him back. With an angry hiss, he got back up again.

A bit more confident knowing she had knokced him back once, Anarai took up a threatening stance, snarling back. She sent a small tongue of flame in their direction, and it landed on the ground in front of them, startling a few away.

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Nadiana opened her eyes, a huge yawn slipping out. Glancing around, confusion registered on her face. Where am I? she wondered silently, feeling a bit anxious. What was going on? She slid out of the tree, landing lightly on the ground. She noticed how short the trees stood compared to the redwoods she was used to. Weak sunlight streamed in through the thick cover of leaves overhead, dappling the ground with spots of light.

Walking around, she was startled by a voice behind her. Whirling around, she saw a dragoness. To add to her surprise, the dragon was transparent. "Who are you?" she asked, tense and wary as she stared at the mysterious presence.

"I am Arceden. I was killed in the first major battle in the war between our clans."

The forest then began to fade away, and Nadiana felt nothing but alarm. She couldn't feel her body at all! Arceden's voice filled her ears as the scene of a fierce battle replaced the forest background. "This was the first major battle. I was killed during this chaos and destruction."

Nadiana noticed Arceden, knocked aside by a warrior much larger than she. Somehow still breathing, she wasn't for long. Standing up shakily, she was knocked down again by three smaller dragons, who ripped and tore at her until she was still. Blood stained the grass red, and the last cries of the dying filled the air. "More than seven hundred were killed. My former clanmates slaughtered me, never pausing to think about our friendship before the war. This war is a cycle of death, Nadiana. It is up to you to stop it."

"A violent storm will strike tomorrow. Take the opportunity to slip away. Travel west to the high cliffs that border the valley. There you will meet four other dragons who will help you on your quest. You must find the lost leader who left the clan so long ago. You must put an end to this slaughter."

The scene faded to a final image of Nadiana standing on top of a high cliff along with four silhouettes. "I wish you luck," Arceden whispered gently into her ear.

With that, Nadiana woke, opening her eyes to see the familiar redwoods. Glancing around, she flew slowly away from the tree and back to her nest.

Two of the mountain lions lunged at Boulder, snarling with claws extended. One landed on his back and dug its claws into his broad shoulders. Distracted by it, Boulder didn't notice that other lion that grabbed his foot in her jaws and bit down hard enough for the skin to part. He roared in pain and rolled over on his back, crushing the lion on top of him and lunging at the lioness that bit his foot. Claws extended, he raked them across her face and she yowled in pain before snarling and leaping for his throat. He dodged her and brought his forefoot down on her head with a crashing blow, knocking her out. The one that had jumped on his pack pulled himself up and hissed fiercely before pouncing. Crouching low, Boulder let the lion fly past him before whipping around and clawing the fur off of the lions back.

Andie stood face to face with a large lion, both of them snarling and baring their teeth. The lion flashed his paw past her face and Andie felt blood begin to trickle down her cheek. Rage swelling inside of her, Anie leaped at the mountain lion and bit down on his ear, ripping half of it off. The lion yowled with pain and whipped around, lunging at Andie. He landed on her back and raked claws down her back. Flapping her wide wings, Andie took flight and tried to shake the mountain lion off - but he held a good grip. In mid-air, Andie turned fast - causing the lion to let go and fall down to the ground. It landed with a thump and didn't move again.

Pain exploded in Anarai's leg, and she gasped, stumbling as claws raked her left front leg. Instinctively she turned away, and her tail ended up catching the big cat in the chest. Yowling in pain, it retreated. Limping slightly, she took to the air, her leg throbbing in time with her racing heart.

Thinking fast, Anarai let herself drop from a few feet up, crushing a mountain lion underneath her hind legs and sending a few others scurrying away in alarm. She swung out with sharp talons as one came close, her tail lashing in anger.

Boulder watched in awe as Anarai scared half of the mountain lions away. Looking around, Boulder noticed that there was only four mountain lions left of the party that had attacked them. The four that were left backed away but stood in a defensive line, as though they were guarding something. Boulder leaped at the one closest to him and knocked it to the ground, pinning him by the shoulders. Snarling in the mountain lion's face, he raked his claws down its belly, sending it screeching after the others. One of the three lions that were left took a step towards Anarai and before he could react - she had already swung out her long talons at it.

Turning towards the last two, Boulder snarled loudly and beside him, Andie blew a small spark of fire at their feet, causing them to jump back in alarm before dashing away into the shadows. Snorting, Boulder broke into a run, ready to chase them far from the watchers outpost. But before he could go five steps, something cause him to trip. Pulling himself up and looking down, Boulder noticed a small bundle of leaves and twigs on the ground. What the? He thought.

Anarai limped over to where Boulder was. She cocked her head questioningly. "What are you looking at?" she asked. Following his gaze, she noticed a small bundle of twigs and leaves. "What is that?" she asked curiously, sniffing the bundle.

Bending down to sniff the bundle, Boulder noticed that it was moving. Eyes widening in alarm, Boulder sniffed the bundle again. "It looked like the mountain lions were guarding something, could this have been it?" He asked aloud, not moving his gaze away from the lump of leaves and twigs. Watching it carefully, Boulder noticed that it was shaking, as though it was cold. How could a bundle of leaves and twigs be cold? He wondered, placing one of his long clawed feet on top of the leaves and gently pulling them off. As the unique wrapping broke apart and fell to the ground, Boulder looked closer and stepped back in alarm.

"It's a cub!" He exclaimed. The cub opened its big, blue eyes and blinked a few times before looking around at its surroundings. When its gaze finally landed on the two dragons, it let out a high pitched yowl of freight.

Ooc:// This is going to be a new character if mine, his bio will be on my first post ^^ Feel free to add any characters you want as the roleplay progresses.

Ooc:// It's fine by me.

"Oh, sparks!" Anarai said in surprise, taking a step back. "No wonder they were so aggressive," she said, her injured leg held up slightly off the ground.