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Cold metal and heavy straps hung around Alaine's body, the weight of it was carried up high along his shoulders and down along the underside of his jaws. The helmet was surprisingly light, though it annoyed him that it swept down the bridge of his muzzle and spread along his forehead so his vision was narrowed down. Lines of armor ran along the underside of his throat to cover the vulnerable points and connected to a broad breast plate that covered his chest and lower belly. That was the heaviest piece, one that he had been told was created with the idea that he wouldn't need to fly while wearing it so it offered more protection than the ones the other dragons had been geared up in. All of it was held in place with roughly cut leather bands and buckles that were tied off at key points, especially along the line of his neck. The tight leather was buckled almost to the point of cutting off his airway, but it was negligible when compared with the alternative.

The young drake shifted restlessly and turned his head to look at the elves that were still rigging up the other dragons. The Riders were inventive, he would give them that, but the idea of having healthy scale he had worked hard to grow being pierced through with rings to hold the armor in place repulsed him. The other dragons had rings naturally piercing their neck scales, other parts along their shoulders and sides, these were used to clip the armor in place. He snorted and gave a shake of his head to make sure the armor didn't stir or shift about. It still felt strange to have anything pressed against his scales, but Thronnos has been insistent that he would need it if he were going to lead a charge. The leg plates were the final pieces of the strange puzzle, and he glared down at the group of Rider's who had been 'volunteered' to gear him up.

Four dragons loomed close behind them, males about his own age who were regarding him warily as their Riders worked to buckle the large sheets of metal around his forelegs. One of them, Balefire, had made it clear the moment the elves had approached that any attempt of Alaine to snap or harm them wouldn't be tolerated. The other drake was a pale grey, yellow tinged towards the edges of the scaling, with darker points at his muzzle and paws. It was one of the most least attractive colorations he had ever seen, but the drake made up for with the bristling aggressive nature and the fact his Rider had decked him out in spike laden armor. It made him look fierce and alien as he was the one that tried to crowd them all.

"Step back." Alaine hissed in annoyance as the tail cracked against the ground and nearly hit his own. "If you are so concerned tell your damned Rider to hurry up."

"You tell me-" Balefire gaped his jaws open with a low growl, his red tongue curling upwards to show every last one of his serrated teeth.

"Balefire." His Rider spoke up, he didn't speak up, just a simple word and the drake's anger subsided and he settled himself back with a soft rumble.

Alaine restrained the urge to smack the Rider just because he could, instead he lifted his forepaw up so that one of the riders could hook the elongated metal plates down over his toes. It was the last one to go on, one that sheathed his claw tips in wickedly sharp metal. The back of the claws were serrated and polished all the way up to his ankle so, feasibly, he could ball his paw up into a fist to use as a weapon. Even his tail had been tipped in armor, a heavy ball was wrapped around the tip and etched in spikes, though he was unsure at the use for it. It was too heavy to move easily. His entire body felt weighed down, so heavy that he had doubts on how well that this could be executed.

"It is too heavy." He growled and dropped his paw down with a click of his metal colored claws. "I would fight better without it."

"It will protect you." One of the Rider's spoke up, much to his annoyance. He glared at the elf, but the creature was made of sterner stuff. "We can take some of the plates off, but they will create compromised spots that can be targeted by attackers."

Alaine stepped back away from the elves, glaring as Balefire almost immediately stepped forward to place a paw in front of his Rider. He didn't like the drake, he also didn't like that the drake would be one of the ones at his back when they attacked. The red drake ignored the other one, instead he gave his body another shake and felt the metal sliding against his scales. It didn't move about too badly, it should hold, but he would be glad to strip out of it. The Rider's didn't stay, instead they moved to their dragons to start their own preparations, working quietly in the crowded area of the cavern. He took that time to move in the confined area, walking slowly to feel the way the armor hindered him and tried to compensate for it.

His wings were the only part that were comfortably restrained, the tight leather bands and sheaths had been used to hold them tightly along either side of his body. They were tucked down and held to his side by a main strap that was slung beneath his belly to help hold on the stomach armor. The main arms were covered in boiled leather to make sure that any blades would have a hard time to slice through the large arteries that ran along them. He turned his head and pushed a wing with his muzzle, making sure that it was settled against his side.

"When this is over, we'll be able to see to your wings." Thronnos' rumble made Alaine whip his head around to see the armored drake pausing as he examined those getting ready. "They will take time to heal, but I pledge to you, once we have reclaimed our home you will fly again."

Alaine struggled to hold down the surge of hope and instead gave the drake an aloof look as he made a show of settling the armor along his shoulders. "That is a thin hope on the eve of battle, and not one I can put my faith into when it is given by creatures that have near enslaved dragons."

The drake canted his head to one side. "Why do you use such words?" Thronnos spoke slowly, a grimace contorting his features. "Slavery. You tasted true slavery, but you would call the Riders slavers? This is an old song that you sing, one that I grow weary of listening to as you have tasted nothing but our hospitality. Do you wish us to cast you off? Set you free? You are not chained here. At any point you could leave, and yet you stand here and spit in my face for all that I have done for you, that my Rider has done."

Alaine drew his head back in shock as the voice began to change into a deep rumbling growl, an aggressive tone that didn't have the soothing qualities that he had grown used too. There was no outwardly aggressive movements from his tail, he didn't bare his teeth, he just spoke in a low hostile tone that made the drake pull his head back and tilt it to one side. It went against everything he knew, it made him bristle, but at the same time he felt a bitter taste on his tongue. He turned his head away and grudgingly let out a low growl deep in his throat.

"Gratitude does not come easily. Nor does hope." Alaine finally growled out the words, pulling his bound wings in tighter and curling his tail around himself to make himself smaller in front of the drake. "Not when both must rest on creatures that I do not trust."

"You can at least try to stop snarling at them, threatening them." Thronnos gave him a long look. "They will follow you into battle, you should at least understand that they are at risk following you, not simply their dragons. If you cannot view them with loyalty, view them as weapons within your arsenal, ones that will give you victory or defeat."

Alaine let out a low growl, blowing out a short noise deep in his throat, but he lowered his head a few inches downwards in understanding. He didn't want anything to do with the elves, he didn't want to speak with them or acknowledge them, but like or not, they would be fighting with their dragons. Their magic, frail though it was, would be instrumental in victory or defeat. The thought was foreign in his mind as he turned about and started towards the group that was his to command. He would have to know what they planned, and that meant talking with them, interacting with them, something he was not looking forward too.

~ ~ * ~ ~

Thronnos continued on his rounds, wrinkling his nose at the reek of male musk that was on the air as the dragons were getting ready for battle. It was too confined an area to have so many of them pushed together so closely. They wouldn't be able to hold out like this long, already they were starting to snap and snarl at one another as the three groups were positioned into corners as they discussed how they would attack and got themselves worked up for battle. He wasn't immune, the reek of male musk made him uneasy, the sight of them all over had his temper up until he started to let out a low level growl whenever he had to walk past another dragon and came too close. Speaking with Alaine had stressed every bit of his self control and even then his temper had snapped at the dour drakes responses too him.

"Minos!" Thronnos bugled his Rider's name as he looked at the group of drakes that would be coming with him on the attack. A few of the younger drakes glanced at him, one bared his teeth and hunched his shoulders slightly in an aggressive move.

"Here.." He heard his Rider's voice coming from the midst of the drakes and Thronnos rumbled unhappily.

Before he could react, Minos came out with his helmet under one arm and a hand up to call attention to himself. His hair was damp with sweat already, his eyes narrowed as the drake lowered his head down and shifted his shoulder so that he could get the elf up and into the saddle. Minos didn't even pause, he caught a hand onto part of the dark polished armor and scrambled up away from the large dragons that were forming a tense semi-circle. None of them tried to intervene, but he noticed that all of their Riders were already mounted. It was telling that they were becoming more anxious about the tension on the air.

"We need to start moving out, it's too enclosed here." Thronnos rumbled softly, turning his head so that he could feel a light hand on the pad of his nose. "There will be fights if we all remain here."

"Are they all ready?" Minos rubbed his palm back and forth, an automatic soothing gesture. "I see that Alaine's drakes are still out of armor."

"We can leave the cave to them, I want our group out of here." The drake flicked his tongue out to lightly touch the elf's forearm. "We have our plan in place, do we not?"

"Yes, we do. As long as you are comfortable we can take them up to the secondary entrance, it is ready to be broken through as soon as you sound the alarm." Minos shifted and turned about. "Will they be ready?"

"They will, they have time. Hallin will be breaking their end through, and he knows that an initial signal will come before my own." Thronnos moved his head away from his rider and rumbled a command to get the drakes up. A new mine shaft would clear his nose of the reek of male musk, and soon battle would get rid of the building anger.

~ ~ * ~ ~

"You must go in first, and I must go with you." Hallin tilted his head up to look at Alaine as he spoke. "I do not ask you to carry me, but I must go with you."

Alaine growled down at the elf angrily, but swallowed it before it spiked up. He made himself consider the man that had been sent to his group. Not a Rider, but the one that would get them through the last of the cave in so they could get through to the new mine. The elf was actually rather plump looking, not lean, not fat, but he certainly had extra flesh on him that made him unique from the Riders. He had tried to speak to the elves, trying to talk as a leader instead of viewing them as objects of disdain. Thronnos was right, they were going to be a part of the attack and he needed to know what they would do simply to ensure that they wouldn't get him in the cross fire. And all of this he had to do with the reek of male dragon filling his nostrils, the pressure of so many other young males forced in close confines, and in the midst of his own former hell.

"Go ahead of me then.." Alaine stared down at the elf with his nostrils flaring a little bit, his eyes shifted towards the tunnel. "I will come behind."

"I will need to get out of your way swiftly." Hallin watched him for a moment and the drake looked back down at him with his eyes narrowed.

"Yes, you will." He growled angrily and shifted his haunches. He wanted to leave it at that, but he saw the elf continue to look at him expectantly.

They want a leader... Alaine flexed his claws, scraping the metal tips against rock with a grating noise that made Hallin flinch in reaction. A part of him just wanted to dismiss the elf, they would get through and then he had no further use of him, but Thronnos' words continued to irritate him.

"I will keep my legs well splayed, you will have to hurry, but I will hold so you can escape." Alaine started to walk forward, letting Hallin walk in front of him. "The shaft opens wider beyond the first few dozen feet."

"I will take him up." Balefire's Rider spoke up from behind them. "We will need him in the battle."

Alaine gave a curt nod of his head, but it seemed to calm the mage down as the elf began to walk along the shaft so that Alaine could follow. The rest of the drakes moved behind him, the sound of them came with the rasp of scales and the rattling of metal, but he was only half aware of them. His attention was on the elf who was walking ahead of them as they began their climb up the shaft that would lead them to the deepest part of the mine. Most of the drakes were worked up, nearly as worked up as he was as they made their way to where the cave in had been made the weak enough to be able to take down. It would just take a brush of magic to safely send the rubble outwards into the new mine. He had wanted to use his body to crash through it, but he had been refused on the grounds that he could fall through or trip or any number of issues.

The narrow shaft had been enlarged, he could move a bit more easily through it, and behind him the other drakes were standing two abreast. He hated that Balefire was directly behind him, but at the moment he could remove himself from that. His mind was locked on his target. There was just a narrow barrier between him and his tormentors, where those that had suffered with him might also still live. A shiver ran down the line of his spine as he hunched his shoulders slightly and let out a low rumble while the elf moved in front of him. He forced himself to splay his legs open wider, allowing for room beneath him as the mage took a position against the rock fall. Behind him, no one spoke, only the sound of rattling armor and occasional rumbles reached him as they were bottle necked in the mine shaft.

His eyes were focused on the wall in front of him, willing it to fade away as they waited for the signal for them to go ahead. His claws flexed against the ground while a slight tremor began to spill down his spine, eager and ready for the battle. He wouldn't fight beneath the water, he would take them down in front of him as he had dreamed a hundred times when hunched within his cage. He had dreamed of it, lingering on the details of what he would do if he were ever free. They had been built up in exquisite detail, every feel, every taste, it had all been locked away in his mind, to be brought out on the rare nights he had been sent to his cage and been unable to collapse immediately to sleep. It had kept him alive, he had fed on it, lived on it.

"Now.." Hillan's words came softly from beneath him, just a few moments before a blasting bugle erupted trough the shafts. Thronnos' roar reached him before the wall in front of him erupted and fell inwards, crumbling with dust rising up into a hauntingly familiar set of lights. Alaine only held still for a few moments, shaking as the mage bolted back away from the destroyed wall.

And then the world went red. Elves, elves not in armor and exotic clothing, but the familiar tunics of the minors stopped and stared at the gaping open in shock. The scent, even the damned scent that filled his lungs, was the same as Alaine opened his jaws and shrieked out his rage. He forgot those who was leading, he forgot his animosity to Balefire and those that were ready to fight, he saw his tormentors and crashed forward with his head held low so his gaping red mouth could snap up one of the elves. He felt hands hitting him, crashing against his muzzle before he closing his jaws and tasting hot copper blood spilling down his tongue. The splintering of bone shattered along his tongue before he reared his head up and tossed his prey in the air.

There were splashes of light and fire, but he was focused on the broken whimpering bundle of the elf as he lunged his head up and caught his prey again in his mouth. With a snarl he tossed the bleeding creature contemptuously to one side and lunged forward. Something bright and blue crashed into his armored shoulder, hitting him hard so that he reared up, but he had his sights set on the gathering that was starting to funnel through the freshly cut mine shafts. Another blue ball of fire crashed against him, he could hear the roars of the other drakes behind him, but he was already moving forward. He lowered his head, baring his reddened fangs as they tried to form a line. And then he saw it, one of the familiar hooked sticks was lifted up as if to lash out at his sensitive nose. He threw his weight forward, swiping out with one foreclaw to hammer against the elves to send them tumbling back.

It was fire and pain, the hammer of flames that lashed out at him and the screams of the dying and fighting around him. It took them longer to get themselves together to for a resistance to the invaders, they fell back rapidly, but all Alaine saw was their forms flee in front of him as he lunged forward. The Riders came behind him slowly, spreading out wider, he knew this, he saw them and the attempts to block the worst of the magic that was flung at him. He didn't feel the pain, he knew that metal was melting on his shoulder where the blows of blue fire hit, but he shrugged it off as the taste of blood filled his senses. He chased them down the mine shaft, herding them with shrill roars and snaps of his jaws.

As the fighting erupted into the main cavern, where all the mine chutes eventually opened up into, he found himself alone. He lunged after one of the elves that was trailing behind the rest, his jaws spread open wide to scoop up his prey when his muzzle crashed against something hard and unseen. His teeth scraped against it, blood tinged spittle spilling down while he roared out and reared up onto his haunches. It was a shield, some sort of barrier as he scrabbled against the barrier that held him back, his metal sheathed claws scraped against it while the elves began to fall back into lines. The glow of jewels illuminated the area while he shrieked out in rage at having his rightful prey denied him.

"STAND BACK!" Balefire's roar was his only warning before the strange colored drake came barreling down the chute Alaine had just used.

In the open space he could flare open his grey wings, batting upwards as he twisted about so that his shoulder crashed against the shield. It was a useless blow, but Alaine could plainly see the shape of it outlined along the broad side. He saw in a moment that the drake wasn't trying to crash through the barrier, but was shoving his shoulder higher enough that Hillan could reach out to touch the barrier. He held a small gem in his hand, his other hand was gesturing rapidly as the drake spread a wing up high so that he used the shield itself to keep him upright. Alaine snarled, twisting his lips back as he watched the huddled forms pressed against the back wall, three of them holding the shield up.

"Damn you, attack the shield!" Balefire's rider snarled out, cursing as he twisted around in the saddle. "Attack it! It will weaken!"

Alaine didn't snarl at the elf, he reared up and crashed against the shield, his claws scrabbling roughly against it as he roared out. The fighting was coming closer, it was coming through the mine shafts, screams and the smell of burnt meat, but he narrowed down on hitting roughly against the shield. He spread his jaws open wide, scraping against the unseen barrier time and time again. His breathing came out in short hard puffs as he began to use his weight, all of his weight, armor intact to batter against it. He couldn't see what the shield was, but the hard he hit, the more he could feel it giving way. It dimpled forward as he weight crashed again. Battering against it, and then another body crashed forward, and another.

The drakes came and began to attack it, roaring their own challenges as the Rider's tried to break through. The elves huddled under their failing protection, their bodies thrown back against the back of the wall as their mages tried to keep them safe. The mine shafts behind them were being reinforced, he saw that much, but it was what was reinforcing them that made Alaine lunge upwards, throwing his weight upwards as another drake began to buckle it down. Dark shapes were pushing rocks, two of them, large emaciated forms that were laboring under the blows of whips to shove blockades up while the bulk of the fleeing elves began to fall back to another barrier. Dragons, two dragons that weren't even watching the altercation, but were so bound down by chains and muzzles that they were barely recognizable.

The shield caved, but not in time, he only saw the poor drakes being forced back by the escaping elves before he crashed through. He hit hard against Balefire's shoulder, nearly throwing him down, but he didn't weight. He scrambled over to lunge towards the retreating forms, desperate to get to them before they got into the mine shafts. He saw one dragon, the bloody half healed wounds on the muzzle contorted him before the walls suddenly sealed. The rocks that had been pushed forward spread upwards, melting as Alaine tried to lunge into the opening, his jaws spread. This time he crashed against the barrier, his teeth scraping roughly against it before twisting his head towards the second shaft. Only smooth stone greeted him, seamless and heavy as he tried to use the broadness of his head to ram against it.

"Stop.." A voice made him pause, growling out as Thronnos limped into the main area. "We'll bring the wall down... Stand down..."

"They have dragons." Alaine snarled the words, enraged as Thronnos dropped down onto his stomach with a groan. Blood was running down his shoulder while Minos was already swinging down. Alaine focused his attention on the elf with his lips twisted back. "Bring down the wall!"

"It will take them, we no longer have surprise." Minos spoke softly, but his attention wasn't on the wall, he was pulling out thick heavy fabric to shove beneath the armor where the drake was bleeding. "Stand down, we're sending for our mages, but you are injured."

"It is nothing!" Alaine snapped his jaws, forcing himself to stand down. "Bring down the wall! I want my kind freed!"

"We need to regroup, they will be ready for us," Minos was stuffing the wound, Thronnos was already using his teeth to peel back his armor. The older drake gave him a repressive look.

"Keep your voice down, they do not need to know you value the dragons. They will not hesitate to use that against you." The other drake settled onto his stomach. Alaine turned and realized the rest were doing the same, at least those that were injured. Many were on the outer edges, obviously standing guard. "You are hurt, let them patch you up. There will be time enough for more battle soon."

Alaine growled wordlessly, but slowly moved away from the sealed mine shafts. As he moved he felt burning pain along one side of his body, it was searing in deep, soaking towards his bone so he turned his head to see the melted metal that was fused along one line of his body. It hadn't melted into his scales, but it had burned against his flesh and scales. The moment he felt that pain he could feel others, there were cuts on his tongue and mouth, the taste of blood there wasn't just those he had killed, it was his own where he had been cut. There were dozens of small wounds on him, but his side was the worst, it throbbed and ached. It was only growing worse as he moved to one side and let out a high pitched noise as he dropped down. The, now cool, melted metal scraped against his damaged scales sending a lance of pain through him as he tried to twist his head to rip it upwards.

"Let me help." A soft voice made him stiffen and twist his lips backwards, a Rider crouched a few feet away, and not just any Rider. But Balefire's. The large drake was sprawled out behind him, watching Alaine suspiciously. "I need to get the metal off and I can put some medicine on the burn to keep it from hurting."

It hurt, and it was only hurting worse now that he was aware of it. Alaine started to show his teeth, but he forced himself to lower his lips, despite the rippling of unease and resentment that flowed beneath him. He kept his head tucked close to the wound possessively as the Rider started to come forward, but it was Balefire that made his eyes lift upwards as the drake sprawled himself out a bit further, almost coming within a few feet of him. Only that kept him from snapping as the elf started to peel off the melted metal to cut it away from him in strips to be thrown to the floor. And when the slathering of thick medicine was spread over an exposed area of burnt flesh he groaned out in an excess of relief.

"Thank you." Alaine spoke the words, for the first time without a growl beneath his words, too relieved to have the pain slowly fade away.