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StarLight Nova:

What would you do if you were given the power to save your world, or maybe the universe? Would you use it for good, or for evil? For the balance is a precarious one. If one side gains too much power, the whole universe could be thrown into apocalyptic chaos or overwhelming, law abiding good. But every rule has a loop hole, nothing is certain in the play in life. That much I have learned in my many millenniums living, training, and fighting to keep the balance.

Not everything is given either; there is a lot you have to work for in life if you are to be successful. The many worlds I have visited, the friends, enemies and lovers alike, have all been a part of a single cause, to prevent the Darkness from gaining rule over the multiverse. If I had one wish, that wish would to be for eternal peace, but I know from experience that can never happen, even if the one wishing for it were a seemingly god like figure with a near endless supply of spells, magic and skills at their disposal.

That is what I tried to create after the first multi-universal war with the Darkness. After seeing that my parents did not abandon me for nothing, I discovered who I really was, a half human, half dragon warrior of the highest caliber to fight for what I believe in. If not for peace, then what? I know it was futile to think I could keep it like this for long, maybe a few millennium or more, but not forever. Every rise has its fall, every kingdom its ruler, every town its fool.

If I had not come across some very important people in my life, then I probably would not have made it to where I am now. Or rather, more than people, dragons too. My first friend that was not human was on earth, over 50,000 years ago. His name was Denkiri, a forest green dragon bio engineered to aid in the war against my sister, or who I thought was my sister until I found my real parents some millennium later.

Despite his biological upbringing, he was quite normal from what I have seen. He was a good friend to me, even in a time of bloodless war. In the end, he perished by the hands of his maker. I, for one, was against the idea of a biologically engineered dragon to help fight the war, but in reality, we might have lost had it not been for him. Yes, I know, he died by the people who created him, but what can I say, I maaay have taken him away for longer than promised when I said I was going to be his rider, to guide him in life. He is still with me, but in the form of an Eldunari.

Many of my friends died over time, including Anea...Especially Anea. But what is done is done; I still have my other three friends with me, one of who is my dear mate who I love very much. My second lifelong friend...Ok, first if you don't count an Eldunari as a living being. My first lifelong friend was Gudon, the Dragon Ambassador to the dragon God. I met him when I was 10,000 years old, still young for a Protector who got promoted to Defender. I found him on one particular planet surrounded by hungry wolfs. Had I not saved him, a lot of generations of dragons would have not been born, but I think I am beginning to ramble on. I was with him for many centuries on his home world, helping sire, raise and teach ten new dragons, ten new lives.

After a while, I knew I had to leave again to continue my search for my false-sister, not that I knew it at the time though. I asked Gudon if he could contact the Dragon God so I could ask if we could merge, in a better way so I can protect him on my travels. I wanted him to come with me, and he wanted to explore the universe with me. The Dragon God said yes, as long as I hold true to my word, we could be together. I must admit, I failed to do that a few times, but my powers have always come true to bring back a friend. If only I could resurrect Anea.

Moving on. My second or third lifelong friend was my mate, Cavynthra. Of course, I had met many other people, humans, dragons, gryphon's, and an innumerable of mystical creatures that weren't real on my home planet. Cavynthra was sweet, caring, and natural born. I met here when I crashed down onto her planet while in Gudon's body. That's another thing I forgot to mention. Over the millennium we have been fused together, able to shift back and forth between dragon and human, we have also gained enough trust to use each other's body, not that we had trusted each other before we had even left his planet. I would be in control of his or my body most of the time while Gudon slept in the back of my mind.

Cavynthra, now that I get back to her, cared for me and treated me back to health, but she was not the only one on the planet. She had met some scientists that live out in a semi dense forest bordered by a large desert and mountain range, where she willingly lets them find out more about her species in mutual cooperation. It was those scientists who found me, and Cavynthra who I soon took on as a mate when I, or Gudon had healed. Technically, she was Gudons mate, not that he needed one, but after a long time, after I found my draconic heritage, I took her on as my mate.

My youngest lifelong friend, and also one that I am bonded with heart, mind and soul too is Calemvir. I found him just as an egg when I was 50,000 years old, or so. You sort of lose count after that long, although I know exactly how long I have lived for, it is just an approximation. Calemvir was my dragon, and I was his rider. He is a unique breed of dragon, half wild and half rider's dragon, he grows at a faster rate than normal, but not as fast as a normal dragon that is bonded to a rider.

So, with the three, err, four of us, we finally settled here on Elpida (Elpitha), the planet of hope. After creating the breathtaking landscape, cavernous caves, cloud top mountains and deep oceans, there is not much left to do except train, live, and learn. But as I sit here next to this tree, I keep wondering what will happen when the Darkness rises again, once he breaks out of the sphere the ten Guardians and I created to originally trap him in. It is one thing to dream of becoming a super hero, it is another to become their le-

"Starlight?" A feminine voice asks from behind me, shocking me out of my revelries.

"Uggh, wha-...?" I stutter, wings instinctively fanning out before I turn around to my left to spot my loving mate, Cavynthra padding up the hill to sit beside me.

She rests her narrow head against my neck, crooning her devotion to me. Her colorful body, filled with sparkling gold, dazzling silver, deep river blue and some splotches of white, shine in the midday sun under the shade of an old elk tree.

My mate chuckles at my surprised look. I soon regain my composure and embrace Cavynthra with my left wing, twisting my neck to nuzzle Cavynthra back. "What have you been doing?" She asks, raising her neck and leaning inwards against my hold.

"Oooh, just looking back on some fond memories." I reply, my chest vibrating against my pure silver scales as I let out a rumbling purr.

Cavynthra smiles, knowing that fond memories are not 'all' that I am looking back on. "Silly," She says, peaking my interest. "Come back with me, into our home. I want to know more about what I can do." Cavynthra requests, breaking out of the shelter of my wing to fan her own glorious appendages.

"As you wish my love." I respond, rising up onto all fours before treading after my mate who bounds forward back to our castle, our home. I stretch out my wings to their full extent before relaxing them on my back, tail swishing to and fro happily behind me as I make my way back to teach my love, my mate Cavynthra all about her new body.

Madam Poodle:

The Kingdom of Iresellia, the late 17th Century:

Iresellia's first female monarch, Lyria had fallen in her father's castle. She'd ruled for roughly 40 years under her father's crown. Her burial ceremony was held one week after her fall, and notable keepsakes like her crown, and her family's heirloom weapon, the Royal Long Saber were preserved, and reunited to the homestead of the castle. She'd fought many battle and won two short-lived wars. With her command, and died honorably around her mid 50's.

In the back of relations to Queen Lyria loathed a business man: Mr. Williams, who was a researcher under her advising. Attending Queen Lyria's grand funeral, he'd be let go of service to the royal family once the ex king took throne. With his now incomplete life, he decided to finally settle down, marry, and have his first and only child... Render. Once his family was established, he decided to form his life as a business man... an entrepreneur of sorts.

With all the money he has made, and the business he now has supplementing his wealth, he is now a heightened hierarchical stature in the country, being of a now high-status family. As such, with the years now passing, he now sets sight on his legacy, Render Gillian Williams, to keep the lineage going, and going strong. At the age of 12, Render started his life of labor as a printer in a print shop just in town. Neither satisfied, Mr. Williams decided to promote him to military servitude exactly one year later. Against intention, Render was designated a cadet until the age of 16, to which he graduated from training.

Still not satisfied, Render opted out of military service, feeling it to be an unwanted burden. Disappointed, Mr. Williams pestered and pleaded his son to serve his country in some way. Although the point had not originally fazed him, he'd think on it for a few months, until registry for assassins opened up. In order to satisfy his father, Render filed in with the assassin's guild to meet both their appeasement, though Mr. and Mrs. Williams were not the most settled with the role.

Render's life continued on from here, looking to live on his life in as much of a peace as possible, doing his job, and doing it phenomenally well...

The New World, the 22nd Century:

After years of tough life, clean-ups, and reconstruction of society and civilization, the world had finally returned to as much of a peace as there could be achieved then. Only few countries exist that did in the world before the First Great Apocalyptic Crusade... or "The A.L.B.E.T.R.O.S.S massacre~". This era in world history is spelled out by as an incident, to which a series of miscalculations caused the formation of a research prototype to go haywire, and become a large, bird-like beast~. This event devastated mankind to the point of bringing them to their knees. The First Combative Crusade, said to be guided by the gods themselves are the alliance of surviving people that sought to innovate the technologies enough to combat, and possibly defeat the monster about the airs of the world... what they nicknamed "The A.L.B.E.T.R.O.S.S."

After years and many years of more slain live and technological innovation, weapon's development finally reached a turning point to which the bird-like creature could be affected by human input. Many warriors stood, and many perished... but after a long 11 years of combat with the A.L.B.A.T.R.O.S.S., they finally took down the beast and its massive impact. With the beast now rid of the world, peace was restored only for a short time before realizing that the many experiments and foreign beings had cause much of the many sub-species of the biological races of the world to form. These life forms were later released from captivity, thus becoming part of the New World. Having comparable psychology to those of humans and other beings, these beings were said to be of great aid in the reconstruction of mankind during the recovery years after the Great Crusade. As well as those made by man, some also came from surviving lands, and some even from unknown places man has yet to explore...

New X, The years leading up to dates in the year 2197:

Some 27 years before, Panic was born to both his mother, and soon to be absent father somewhere in the new world. Although Panic loved his dear mother so, one day at the age of 13, he'd killed his mother on accident, leaving him without parental care. When the boy started going to school, he leaped to the Maiden Academy of Magic Arts, learning the arts of Sorcery. After years of training, Panic!, now 18, fled the school before graduation, on the way out, nicking one of their prized summoning books on his way out. Years beyond this, Panic grew to be something increasingly rebellious, mad (as in crazy), and ideologically evil. He'd soon start a lust for power and evil/bad deeds, using his spell book, and the monsters he gained over the years to help him serve, and accomplish his goal.

Since then, Panic has become one of the world's most wanted individuals, and very feared by the people around the globe. His various antics and actions have catered many to slate him as "The World's Baddest Man."

However, nearing around Panic!'s peak two years before 2197, there came along another infamous criminal. This criminal, Tanuki Take'ichi was making headlines across the globe in the same manner as Panic! had. Take'ichi, over the course of two years, had built up a substantial bounty, exceeding Panic's by a long shot. With this, Tanuki had become the world's most wanted individual, and one of the most dangerous individuals alive. Although he's not known for individual murders, or any other crimes, his bounty built on the foundation of things such as mass-murder, mass-destruction, martial resistance, and many impossibly large crimes; he's said to have destroyed towns overnight, and major areas of cities over the course of three hours.

This calls the attention of Special Task Force officer of New X, Mr. Foxy Loxy. Self-Tasked with the apprehension of Tanuki Take'ich, she'd started from day one after the loathsome criminal and his exploits. Time after time again, Tanuki trumped over Foxy effortlessly, thus she's failed many times at catching him. To this day, she relentlessly chases after Take'ichi in hopes she may one day catch him... even to the point of abandoning her times with personal friend, Officer Verona Kienslicht.

On the other note, in the less tense parts of the New X metropolis, there lived four friends: Klin, Kyomori, May, and Megumi. Klin was a modestly average #416 adolescent living in New X... however; his life was pestered by one crucial element... the marking on his chest, known as the "Sol Mark". This mark proved his lineage to the sun god, Sol himself, thus making him a divine child... a demigod of the modern era. Not knowing this until recent years, Klin looked not to make a big deal out of it, and to his annoyance, that's exactly what people did. However, only his friends, Kyo, May, and his strange outlier; Megumi, understood enough to leave it alone.

Kyomori Sazama, Klin's closest male friend is the second youngest member of the 11-member Sazama family. Despite his high-standard family traits of high-concentration, good grade, above average intelligence, and his very regimented mentality, he made friends in Klin since they'd been young children. Even though they have their differences and rivalry complex, the two are perhaps the closest of their group of 4 friends. However, Kyomori's most notable trait to his peers is his uncanny talents, and his outstanding gunplay skills; All the work of his family-patented style, "Sazama-Style Firearm Arts". Paired with his other talents, Kyomori has always been that perfect man's man to his peers, and is admired widely throughout school.

However, with the onset of events recently caused by Panic's mischief, Klin, and Kyo unexpectedly find themselves having to pair up to deal with all the mysterious carnage going around. It'd seem like every chance possible, a threat seemed imminent, and Klin became furious. To his luck, Klin comes up across the man himself... Panic! The Sorcerer, met with a long unleashed fury about him. When Panic! nearly kills Klin after a deadly, one-sided fight against him, he is ended up being saved by a mysterious Knight, who out of pity, decided to spare them both... although Panic's fight seemingly wasn't finished. Kyo, on the other hand had been occupied fighting off a group of ogres that day, he too close to his own demised... Kyo, also spared, was save at the hands of Megumi, who'd seemingly riled them all up single-handedly. Kyo and Klin both were treated at the hospital moments later, both now awaiting clean bills of health.

For both periods... time moves on... however, time also has something even it does not foresee in the future to come~!

StarLight Nova:

** ** Even when there is universal peace, there are still problems that emerge that are too much for even me to handle alone. After Earth was destroyed and I became a Defender, there were no Defenders other than me. I had to search long and hard for people, dragons and other mythical creatures of potential skill to fill our ranks once again. Over time, that was accomplished, and I soon learned that the Darkness had killed most, if not all the Defenders before I became a Protector on Earth.

Not every lie is a lie, but a false truth. As I traveled the universe, meeting new friends, soft skinned and scaly alike, my powers steadily grew. My training with Quin Shun, which had at first been meditation and basic to moderate combat training, is now intensified a thousand fold. It seemed the Guardians knew who I was to become soon enough.

On Elpitha, where even peace is secured and every race that lives here is happy, there is some amount of discontent. After visiting countless planets, settling multiple wars, there are always villains out there besides the Darkness that want me dead. Some allies come in the strangest of circumstances, while others are found just by chance. When I was on one particular planet, there were a few people, or...furries? I found that peaked my interest the most.

Every planet I visit, I make it my job to know who everyone is, how powerful they are and what they can do. While some foes can give me trouble in battle, I can pull out on top most of the time. However, one assassin who was part of the Iresellia's guild of assassins, having known his father, I knew what he could do, but still did not expect the suddenness with which it happened.

I was walking along a pathway to meet a friend of mine in the city to discuss some plans for the upcoming weekend. Having helped Lyria in both of her wars, even to safeguard her or her forces when defeat seemed inevitable, I was there when the idea of the Iresellia's guild of assassins was first proposed. I knew most of their methods, having helped the guild itself become a reality while providing my expertise on some skills that would prove very useful.

I may not have seen or met him when helping with the guild, but I knew about him from working with his father. Along the path that was sided with ample amounts of cover including bushes and some large rocks is where he sprang from. I, for one who was taught in the art to always keep an open mind to look for enemies around you, did not see him coming, as I was strolling casually along in my gold and white embroidered robes and cape.

As every person's natural reaction, I took a secret fighting stance should he strike or get ambushed. Nothing happened as he queried who I was. With my guard still up, I answered truthfully, wanting to know his name in return. To my discovery, he had become the best within the Iresellia's guild of assassins, of which I had originally had a hand in creating it. His name was Render Gillian Williams, or as he is known within the guild, "Ghost Williams."

He said he heard about me from his father and went to search for me when he joined the guild. After that, we became good friends. Oh, and should I mention he is a monkey? Yeah, not weird at all to me, and as the decades went by, I taught him some of my more advanced combat moves, helping him improve his own. Even though he is hard, cold yet noble and bold because of his upbringing, I convinced him I was not a normal human. Since his fascination for me is what most likely got him to find me, I suppose he interacted with me more so than other people. I was ok with that...most of the time.

As time went, I eventually asked him if he wanted to join me in adventuring in a new world. Given, I was not on this planet constantly, as the first universal war saw me disappear from this world for a decade or two. Soon I returned, making friends with Render and inviting him to my world of Elpitha, the planet of hope.

As with any great story, you can't have too much of friends. I soon came across a world ravaged by a terrible monster, a creation of technology and mutation. Not wanting to see the same fate as my home planet, I eagerly helped the rapidly dwindling populations of humans with their war. In the scant downtime I had, I discovered other, interesting people with unique abilities. One, whose name was Klin, was descendent of the sun god, Sol.

But, to more important matters, a villain was on the loose, or should I say criminal. Oddly named Panic! He was a sorcerer of unimaginable skill and strength. Being a summoner, he is especially good with large spells and knife wielding. To every villain a hero or heroine in this case, there is one Foxy Loxy who tracks him down, making it her life's wish to capture him.

Now back to the beginning, there are others on this world with exceptional talent. Besides Klin, his friend Kyomori Sazama is an excellent gunsman. Being experienced in the empty-handed martial arts as well as gun wielding, his tactics are wide and offer him many options in battle from short range and long range fighting.

The most unusual addition to my world of Elpitha, and probably the one I am most cautious about is The Black knight. With his long, two handed Zwëihander, even I would have some trouble facing off against him. His heavy armor and large bulk make him slow and not very agile, but when going for strike force, is something to be matched for by one of the best Defenders.

Render has lived with me for some time on Elpitha, having only been around for 40 decades or so. Every ten years I host a large concert or celebration in defeat, or at least imprisonment of the Darkness. Even the Black Knight wouldn't stand a chance against him.

Right now, all I care about is living my life in peace with my beautiful mate Cavynthra, who is about to hound me if I don't continue educating her on her new body. And when I mean new, I mean, different colors, abilities and life. Over the course of my life, a lot of my friends have died, as I have said. Until the beginning of the first multi-universal war, I could not resurrect or revive anyone without nearly killing myself.

My anger during the first multi-universal was what gave me the upper hand when fighting the Darkness for the first time. Many events happened during the final battle, but the most important was that the Darkness killed Cavynthra. I cried hard and long, and would have died if my false-sister, defeated and killed before the war with the Darkness, had not came down from heaven to defend me. She had been given a second chance, regretting to have run away from that inconsequential fight all those millennium ago.

When the war was over, I created the land and then went with Gudon, carrying Cavynthra's crystallized corpse, obtained from my special tears. When I cried above her, a hidden skill activated, a last resort of some kind that reverted Cavynthra into a human over the span of a few years. Once Gudon had laid the next generation of Dragon Ambassadors, the spell broke.

My body sagged out of exhaustion, having been a passive spell, but my mind leapt with joy at seeing my mate reborn. She was a human female, and very attractive. I waited for six months to regain my strength before transforming my mate back into her draconic self with red and orange colors gracing her form.

But, everything has to die sooner or later, at least those who aren't immortal. Cavynthra had lived for over 20,000 years, only possibly because of the love we had for one another, and because we mated a bunch of times. My essence gradually soaked into her soul, letting her live longer, but not forever. Around the Thirtieth celebration of the Darkness's defeat is when I changed her in body mind and soul.

I studied within the Tree of Life up until after the weeklong celebration ended. Gudon, over the time we had known each other, had given me a less detailed schematic of his ability to create any type of dragon he wanted. This proved helpful as I transformed into my dragon form and mated with Cavynthra lustfully for the full night and day after.

Personally, she could have waited a century or more, but she knew she was dying. I could not let her go again, not after having lost Anea, my first love all that time ago on Earth. After I mated her, we watched, and waited. I positioned her Eldunari, obtained after the war, atop a pedestal on the wall. As I used my new soul exchange on her, pulling her soul into the single hatchling that was developing inside her egg chamber, her Eldunari cracked piece by piece.

It was painful, for it took a year to complete. I was vulnerable for all that time, never leaving my mate, singing her joyful songs of love and passion as time passed. There were three parts that were more painful than the rest. The hatchling, the heart, and the mind. The process started backwards, from her tail to her head.

One month spent on the tail, two months on the hind legs, five months on the body, two of which were centered on her egg chamber. Three months for her front legs and wings and then one month for the neck and head.

It hurt me to do it, to willingly kill two souls to let one live on. Well, one, not two, essentially transferring Cavynthra's soul into the hatchlings, killing the infant before it got to see the world. At the end, her life ended as her Eldunari shattered.

After the process, I carefully took the egg out of her body with phase/reality shift, moving my hands into her scales and skin, bonding my ability to the egg so it would become transparent so I could safely take it out. The egg was about as big as a human, both of us being taller than them. Only our elbows came up to their heads about.

When I had incinerated Cavynthra's body on the highest mountain peak I could find, I guarded the new egg with my life. One year for gestation as I slowly wilt away her soul, half a year to hatch into a new light.

And that is what she is now, about ten years old, full of new life and with a bunch of skills, abilities and powerful magic enough to compare to a Guardians when she is trained well and through. For her new body, I altered a few things. She was able to fly at two months, breathe fire at three, and use magic at five. With her new body, I included three special crystals, one atop her forehead, one on her chest, and one on her tail. Each color and ability corresponding, blue for magic, green for life, and white for hidden, special circumstance.

Now is the time I teach her more about what her body can do fertility wise. She had her pre-heat at the age of five years, essentially her body readying itself for procreation. At age ten, she will come into full heat and be able to sire hatchlings.

After her first heat, she can control it whenever she wants as well as being able to be impregnated by me. The chances of becoming gravid when not in heat are low, but not impossible. When in heat, it is almost guaranteed, but she can control whether she gets gravid with fertile eggs after her first clutch.

I also gave her the ability to transform into a human, the female that she was when my long term revival spell finished. With all this, a happy mate and a happy world, there are bound to be bumps in the road that even I could not foresee.

Alas, if I do not go soon, Cavynthra will think I have wondered off to another planet to sa-

"Starlight," She says sternly. "Are you going to finish teaching me about what I can do?" She whines, entering the clearing where I daydream yet again.

"Oh, yes. Sorry. Just thinking about a lot of things." I reply, rising up onto all fours once again to nudge my mate on her flanks. "Come, let me teach you some more magic control, and then I can tell you about your fertility."

She churrs when I comfortingly nuzzle her on her flank, following me and nipping at my tail while heading back to our home.

Madam Poodle:

** ** While Render is now a residual memory of Elpitha, the others seem to remain. Panic and Tanuki run loose with 1st Major, Foxy at their tails, Klin and Kyo make gradual, healthy recoveries, and The Black Knight, as well as Klin and Kyo's friend: Megumi return about their duties and routines. All seems normal for now, with Panic continuing his mischief, The Black Knight slaying souls and eliminating threats, and other focal roles of some people taking their place in respective roles. A fragment of what is Render remains in the past still, and reunites time within normal confines.

However...

Even with things in the heavens working like they should, and all is in cycle on earth, there begins something to happen that could happen at a button press... figuratively. Time trivially moves forward, and stops for next to no one... not even a god. The guardians of time: angels whose sole purpose is to keep time running in order stand by as grandfather time watches and operates the grandfather clock within the confines of the time space... a void of space accessible to not one mortal being person. Not even gods can access this area without taking oath to the god code first (a code taken by upper powers that pledges that they, despite their powers will never abuse them, nor use then to harm humankind, and to not use them on divine, or hellion forces unless needed).

Just when things hit within their prime... something happens... something no man, dragon, monkey fox, angel, archangel, or even a god could react to in time, let alone fix. This wasn't apparent right away, but happened right within the least expected moments in one's conscious. On the present day version of Render's world... the famous hallmark tower: Hickory Dickory... skipped a second... and this was no technical error. This, was perhaps the only trace of this on their planet. With the clock distorted as things become rearranged rapidly, the angels and father time look about in shock as they feel the environment change around much rapidly. As time did this, things become ajar about the universe, and time seems to go off, and distort in every corner and spec of the universe, affecting different areas and minds at different periods. Everyone would be able to notice a change at some point... usually when they least expect it.

In such times, the Render stuck in the past had taken a plunge into the waters, planting him in a new world once he'd arisen from water to his utter surprise. Klin and Kyo both had awakened in such a new world after their slumbers within hospital grounds, and Foxy having awakened to it after a yet again, miserable loss to Tanuki Take'ichi. Panic, on the other hand was cloud-surfing on a shadow bird when he'd notice the world to be amiss once he'd flown over a clearing. With all the others likely coming across this change like this, the universe was no longer the same.

Even for the Elpithans... things would soon get trippy...

StarLight Nova:

** ** It is not every day you meet someone who does not know where they are. Yes, Elpitha is a large planet, thousands of times bigger than Earth so that it can hold many species and populations in peace. When I saw him, I thought nothing of it until I came in closer, for he seemed to look like a blond anthro monkey. For all the berries in the world, this was the weirdest thing I had ever seen.

I could very much well guess he had been traveling for some time, not knowing where to go. So, being the good dragon that I was, I decided to bring him to Calemvir to see if he knew what to do. Definitely not wanting to scare him, I flew down a short ways away and proceeded to walk slowly towards the monkey, and by the looks of the clothes he was wearing, he was an assassin.

I myself am still just a hatchling compared to the more ancient dragons residing in Dragon Valley. The leader is none other than Calemvir, Colby's dragon and one of his best friends. He is fun to get along when you know him. His black scales shine like obsidian, and are always polished by none other than his mate Saphira.

As I approach the newcomer, he seems to get nervous about me, seeing as how I am much bigger than him. Well, who can blame him, although I am only forty five years old, I am only just entering my teenage years. When I come close enough to him, I lower myself down and speak from a respectable distance.

"Are you lost sir?" I ask politely. "May I ask your name and where you're trying to go? No need to be afraid of me, I won't hurt you." Now all I got to do is gain his trust enough for him to ride on my back so I can bring him to Calemvir, that is if he really does have no clue as to where he is.

Madam Poodle:

** ** Having arisen from the water, somewhere totally new, Render propelled himself up out of the water, rung his cloths out, and gandered much surprisingly at where he'd gone. This was not Iresellia at all... He'd literally seem to have just... woken up from some kind of dream, or he's in a new world all together.... all this from just jumping in the water? Is he even in the same country? The same planet? The same universe? Such questions Render would surely question himself.

On top of that, a dragon approached him as he sat seaside. The beast towered over him with such a height, and scared him into drawing that sharp, crafted saber of its sheath as he backed up a tiny bit, muttering to himself out loud as he had done so.

"What... sort of monstrous, twisted game is this? I... can't possibly be in the right place. What is... this thing?"

He stands steady, yet uneasy at the towering, massive size of the dragon. The friendly connotation was there, but he'd not seen it there, sighting the beast's interest in the only sizable thing there. He had no chance of taking down this beast if he messed up, but he didn't know what else to do... but then he heard it speak, this made things much more odd to him as he then proceeded to reply.

"... What is this? Wh-what are you? State your business with me!" He'd trust the dragon enough to exchange word, but still held steady, blade at the ready.

StarLight Nova:

** **"Ease, be at ease!" I reply, green scales sparkling in the midday sun while I try to make myself as small as possibly. When the blond monkey saw me, he had drawn a saber and began muttering to himself.

"I am not here to hurt you, please, put away your weapon!" I say, trying to get him to calm down. I am not that big, only 15' or so and three or four times that in length. "I am a dragon, if you must know; there are a lot of us here. Need not be afraid, none of them will hurt you so long as 'you' don't hurt them." I say, pointing one talon at him before lowering my head a bit.

"I am only trying to discover what you are doing out here for you seem loss." Even at this distance I seem to be making him jittery. Even for an anthro, his survival instincts must be telling him to be on guard. Or maybe, he got here by some other means.

Somewhere else, a decently sized town was celebrating the coupling of another two dragons. Since coming to this world, everyone has lived in peace with many different races milling about. Dragons, humans, some elves and even a couple dwarfs' inhabited this fair town. The sounds of laughter and celebratory roars could be heard from a mile or so away as the two dragon mates embraced each other.

Yet another year has come where peace has prospered in the lands of Elpitha. This town of Hen'lai is sure to grow in the next few decades as the war is left behind. Everyone is settling down just fine, and I for one, do enjoy it very much. Being a Protector is surely not the highest level of warriors, but it does give a lot more leniency when there is no evil to fight. Not able to travel as efficiently as my brethren gives us little choice but to stay and Protect the world we reside on.

Madam Poodle:

** ** Not in compliance, he sheaths his blade but hovers his hand over the hilt, standing a bit straighter, his look now from tension, to something a little more sternly. Listening to this creature speak, he'd interject subtly with each pause, also looking lowly at the dragon's head, almost now looking down at him, despite there being more to him than would be welcome.

"A dragon, you say ... huh... clearly there's a large distinction between what we both know as dragons."

"Lost is... a little understated, yet also false. I did not come here nor have I lost my way. I'm just befuddled at where I turned up after arising from the water. This is not where I was, nor where I'm supposed to be. Clearly, seeing you has helped me see even that."He said bluntly; hand yet over the hilt of his weapon. He shifts a little, and turns slightly.

"... and how would I expect to trust a large dragon I only just met? I don't know what you want, who you are, or where you come from! If you have no business here, then... get out of my way!" He exclaimed, further digging into ground with a serious face, though his posture was still unstable, and shaking. He wasn't lying when he said this, nor was he kidding. He held true, even if it meant dying here at that very moment.

On another other note, the other's had done much the same. With Panic! over the clouds, he decided to delve lower into the environment to get a closer look as he flew over. Smugly, he grinned as he eyeballed towns nearby, but lost it when he saw a lot of them were large dragons cultivated in packs within these towns. He'd only think to himself. "Holy shit."

Where Panic! was, it'd be best to find a smaller town. As so, he flew fast and far, but knowing he'd come back here one of these times. However, contrasting outlaw or so he was, Tanuki Take'ichi walked down through this town of Hen'lai just as celebrations were already underway. Being who he is, he's distinguishable, but within large crowds, he's often unnoticed. With his eyes-forward direction, and his consistent movement, he'd walk past through town slowly but surely. The festivities going on ensured he was not to be noticed so easily, making his trip through much less complicated. With nothing but seemingly a conscious going on this, the saber claw sets forth, and kept going onward, unsure to stop.

Foxy, on the other hand, had also freshly awoken. After suffering the hands of defeat at Tanuki, she arose, once more in doubt and disappointment. However, the criminal was out loose somewhere... and she had to find him, one way, or another. His trail wasn't very traceable, but she could ask for whereabouts in nearby towns. Perhaps she could start for there.

The Black Knight, despite the environmental change, rides on with his horse of darkness, sword on hand, and dashing about post-haste.

Klin and Kyo have yet to do anything, and have yet to be found or known in their position.

StarLight Nova:

** ** I myself relax as the monkey puts his Saber away but still holds a guarded pose. Upon hearing wherever he came from has dragons too, but of a different kind he knew what he was talking about. "Oh, there are many types and races as well as species of dragons. You might be familiar with the ones that look like humans but possibly have our wings with a tail, long muzzle, claws, scales and horns?" I reply, tail swishing idly behind me.

At the answer that he really does not know where he is, an idea pops into my head as to how I can help him find his way home. "Oooh!" I say excitedly, "I know someone who can find out how you ended up here, but we will have to travel together for some time to get to him." I respond, knowing Colby could possibly send him back to wherever he came from.

But when he talked saying he couldn't exactly trust a large dragon he had only met, my hope falls. "Yo-You don't..." I stutter, a little surprised at the outburst before one of his questions hits me. "Ah, sorry, I forgot to introduce myself, entirely my fault," I say, standing up even though the blond monkey is shaky and unsure of what to do. "My name is Vaxil," I start, leaning forward and sweeping my right claw towards my chest while spreading my wings and curling my neck so my snout is pointing at the ground. "My mother is Floura and my home is Dragon Valley. I am sorry if I cause you any discomfort." I say sincerely, lowering myself quickly onto the ground again before the frightened monkey gets the wrong idea about the stance I took.

"I am not here to attack you, so please, remain calm." I try to convince him I am no threat, but he still looks uneasy. Oh if only Calemvir or Cedric were here. They would know what to do. I think to myself while trying to figure out a way to calm him down. Well, if nothing else works, I can always go to Calemvir and tell him about the new arrival. Knowing if this did not work, then the monkey might feel compelled to attack me to survive. Very carefully, I extend my mind and gently wrap my consciousness around his mind. I project soothing and calming thoughts, showing him I mean no harm as well as anyone else on this planet that can speak.

Elsewhere...The town is high in jubilation and festive spirits as the hatchlings from various sires and dams play around with the kids of the town. Outside the central area of celebration, are two people, or two people and a dragon who guard over the town even though there is no, and might never be any danger on this peaceful world and universe.

One, the Protector from earlier, looks on high from the housetops and smiles, knowing that anyone who meant harm to the good citizens of this town would have to deal with him and his partner. The other pair, a human and dragon walk together down a street while a mysterious figure passes calmly through. The dragon was given to the human for his fifteenth birthday, and they have been best friends since. Now much older at the age of twenty four, they have joined the very small military group on the lookout for any disturbances or riots, not that there would be any. The Protector combined with the human dragon rider pair is more than enough to protect this town during their festivities.

On a broad stretch of land somewhere else, there is a relatively small town that resides and thrives in the peace and regular life provided by Colby and his efforts. This is no ordinary village though. This is the village hidden in the leaf, a place inhabited by ninjas with special chakra as their life form. With Naruto as the Hokage, anyone foolish enough to pick a fight with them would be hard pressed.

Over the vast stretches of land and mountains, caves, dwellings of dragon and dwarf alike span the horizon. Islands, isolated from the main continent with more pockets of towns, villages and caves for dragons. Every one or mostly everyone has a special ability, coming from many different planets and societies. The big mountain to the north is kept well occupied and defended by Gudon and his son Balendin. To the south, the Tree of Life with the resident phoenix as well as Cavynthra and Colby live their life in peace, unaware of how things are going to change for them.

Madam Poodle:

** ** Render, standing at as much of an ease as he found was necessary, flicks his locks around a few times, almost in a way that resembled a very afforded shake of the head to say no, but alas, did not, for there was no question. He then sighed, keeping one hand yet holding the sheath at his hip.

"... Fine, very well; you've made your point. My trust only goes so far. I only go as far as where you go... no further. And don't expect me to trust, or show you any compassion just because you've done so unto me. That would be foolish of me, no doubt."

He rambled on, still having the mentality of a steep mistrust, but such was also common in his time. He stood for a good while. Then suddenly, he quickly drew and pointed a sheathed sword toward the draconic creatures featured, again soundings serious.

"But note this, scaled one: play the wrong cards and I will never trust, nor spare any mercy on you, or whatever allies you have! I may be by oneself an assassin, but I fear no beast! Perish doing so, I will likely, but an assassin is only out for those but of himself, and his country: No one else!"

He creeded as he lowered a stern gaze and covered blade. Holstering the weapon back upon his hip, he only did but give the same look as before, awaiting further action or reaction to his terms. The monkey seemed to know well how to talk and convey a point, despite if he not be able to back it up with any chance of triumph.

In this time, Panic! had noticed he was not in the same world any more, nor was it seemingly the right era in time. Still yet flying over various towns and scopes across the land, He glared around. He was very astounded, and too unfamiliar with the new layout, but it also made him smile a wide, evil grin upon his face, thinking to himself as to what new possibilities lay within this new environment. He even snickered similarly as he thought deeper, unknowingly flying over the heads of previous Hokage of the Hidden Leaf. He then looked down again, and surveyed his surroundings much more.

"Oh, if it weren't for the fact I've seen nothing in this world yet, I would think this would be the perfect place to start! Too bad, so sad... for now..."

He uttered fiendishly, flying onward to a new site, hopefully to find new victims and prospects... things could be promising for him if he played he cards right.

With the 1st Major walking onward, Foxy seemed to have no sight of civilization thus far. Lost indeed, she has not had much of a choice but to wander aimlessly, and hope to reach somewhere. Such was an inconvenience, as she had no survival equipment, and seemingly no communications. She tried many many times, but got nothing... not even the buzzing of static.

"First major to headquarters... First Major to headquarters, do you read!? Dammit, nothing... Why can't I contact HQ?"

She asked but herself with no one around, immediately answering her own question in her head once it had left her mouth. The foremost of these thoughts: she was totally lost without a trace, and impossibly, no signal. She'd make further progress through seemingly nowhere, and despite the beauty of the scenery, she knew something was very odd.

After spending a few hours in harsh-ended sleep, Klin finally awakes, but he is groggy and very sore from left over wounds. Groaning much from said ailments, he struggled to a stand, seemingly near a clearing of trees, by a rock cliff leading into the sea. He'd seen something there, but its visage was unclear, and was too far of a walk for him right now; besides, Kyo was laying just feet from him, as he'd been when they last remember being in the hospital back at home. He was far from happy about this, and it really showed in his tone, albeit, it was very dreary and weak from his physically exhausting state of post-injury.

"Dammit. What the... hell is going on? Why am I... here... and why when...? I'm so... weak? This... is really pissing me off!? He said, trying to wrap his head around what happened, and why about a lot of things in the current.

StarLight Nova:

I nod my head, happy that he is agreeing to come with me but recoil my neck when he draws his saber again. With the threat made, I resettle myself before speaking. "Ok, duly noted," I reply. If he 'has' come from somewhere else, then I should not treat him like he is going to be friendly to me. Despite growing up on this world after the first multi-universal war, trust is still something one has to earn and gain, not buy.

With a new perspective of the new temporary resident, I nod my head again. "Then, we are to set off now if we are to make good time. I...I would ask you to climb on my back so I can fly us there before nightfall, but I think you would not accept that," I say half expecting him to agree. All the monkey does is look at me with wary eyes, still poised to injure me to try and return to whence he came from.

"If you want to get home, then we will need to go quickly to Dragon Valley to meet Calemvir. If you do not want to ride on my back, in which I will understand because of your distrust, then we will walk. I will warn you, there will be dragons bigger than me, especially Calemvir since he has been around for a longtime," I say, standing up and slowly turning around to get ready to leave. "Whether or not you accept riding my back, you will either have to run or jog so we can make it within a decent amount of time before we have to make camp.

And even if we do make camp for the night, I may not be all that comfortable sleeping with him now that he has made his threats against me and everyone here. If he does wish to return, then he should choose to comply with the fastest way, not that the planets magic can't get us there quickly. It still is only mid-morning. With one last thought, I look back at the monkey, looking to see if he will follow or not. If he does, then I start to walk forward. "Before we go, would you mind telling me your name?" I ask kindly.

Over in the Village hidden in the leaves, Sai looked up to spot a rather strange looking bird flying high in the sky. He himself was able to summon similar creatures from ink, although they were generally white with black outlines. But, it is better to be safe than sorry. The village was going along well; construction for the most part was complete. Heading to the center of the village to the large orange and red building, he went to inform Naruto of their curious trespasser. The border ninjas should have seen him too if they are doing their job. Better check in anyways.

_ _ Near a lazily flowing stream lived alone man who tended the watermill and caught fish. His house was small, but accommodatingly well designed. On the front door hung a saying, "Those in life who take it for granted, never get anything back," A wise saying indeed. The man looked old and wise, and for those who did know him, knew he was an excellent player at the board game vash'ine, a complex strategy game including many plot and settings in on itself to master.

Back near the ocean, one lone figure walked in silence, enjoying the summer breeze and ocean spray. His cape flapped lightly in the air, revealing dark green coloring and some azure embroidery. The man's face was shaved and sharp, his black hair combed yet kept wavy and long. His features would seem to make him younger than he is, but he would prove to be very wise and endearing.

Even though he wondered aimlessly around, he did have a goal in mind, to explore this new world of Elpitha and see everything it has to offer, the man thought. The surprise that came to meet his eyes grieved his heart when he saw two people; one on the ground and another looking around with no clue as to what is going on shocked him.

Looks like their wounded, I think to myself. Whatever happened could not have been good. Once he made it through the forest he began to make his way to the pair near the cliff. Hopefully I can find out who they are and what they are doing here, because I have not seen them before.

As morning turned into noon, and noon to afternoon, the celebration slowly came to a close in the town of Hen'lai. While no one suspected anything to go wrong, the two watchers kept an eye out for anything that should endanger the town.

Over at the Tree of Life, Cavynthra and her mate Colby rest under the sun in the large garden her mate made for her. Tilled with special soil and cultivated with care, it housed an endless variety of every kind of flowers, bushes and trees from many different worlds. The area around the Tree of Life regardless was very rich in nutrients and energy. Any animal herd that came here to graze or stay was blessed and had good luck. The love shared between human and dragon could only be described as caring and passionate. With many millenniums behind them, they finally have a chance to live in peace.

Madam Poodle:

** ** Render thought, but his trust or mistrust therefore got to say his answer that he intended to walk as long as it was practical. However, running the whole way is, indeed by any feat, impossible, at least for him. He had no choice, for he knew the beast could outpace him simply by walking fast, no matter how swiftly he could move.

"I reiterate my clause, but it seems situation leaves me little choice. It'll have to be by flight, for although my capability can exceed any normal individual; I have limits, like everyone else. I'll likely be exhausted 12 minutes in- My name, you? Perhaps I should give it, since you have done so to me."

Render would state, taking once more a sheathed saber, and holding it by the scabbard, hilt facing up. "I am Render Gillian Williams: 1st rank assassin to the assassin's guild of the Kingdom of Iresellia!" The primate said as he once again, foiled his scabbard to his hip, standing now at attention, head down, and locks flowing to the wind.

In the mean time, Tanuki took a quick gander around the celebratory town. Noticing his face wasn't anywhere in town. Nothing had his name on it and no one seemed to pay him any attention as he walked along. Tanuki was never the kind for causing trouble ever, but the attention and bounty he incurred back in what is now his old world seemingly had to have come from somewhere. Much against his knowledge, Tanuki's right eye started to glow a yellow color as he glanced about. Although Tanuki figured something was amiss, he'd plot it to a least concern, only perhaps to keep moving on.

On his way, he stopped at a fountain nearby, and simply stood drooped over it, arms propped onto the edges, and his head low and down as it pointed at the water. Breathing normally, and his expression the same as it usually is, he'd simply eye his reflection for just the moment, and take a quick swipe of water to the features. He pushes himself much harder than he thinks. He simply idled by the fountain for quite some time, his eye lighting up again, and he began to talk to himself.

Panic soared along, unsuspecting initially as he flew, and flew fast. He'd just past the point of the village gate upon his trip, flying into the forest just outside village boundaries. He'd then look back, but not like he could see much more than some dimly standing people just outside the gate, and maybe a few on some elevated areas. He returned his focus forward, and grinned once more to himself, muttering to himself once again.

"Oh, I'm surely to come back here one of these days, count on it" He said to himself as he kept his focus forward.

Foxy had only wandered for a few minutes and likely gotten no further than 1/5 of a mile. However, through some foliage, she does manage to spot a structure nearby, instantly going for it to check the sight. If so, maybe she could find her answer and as she approached she got the feeling someone lived here who probably knew a lot and that inference is just based on her standing modestly far away from the establishment. Having a bit of hope up, she steadied toward the establishment.

With Klin on the turnbuckle to his weak state of physicality, he had some fading vision here and there, and it did get quite hard for him to see clearly. Perhaps he's trying too hard to stay up. Straining caused him to temporarily kneel to his feet, but back up not much longer afterward. His eyes had been straining to see out so far away, but whatever that something is, it was moving. It came closer, whatever it was, and he tried to stand up more straight, not the best idea in the world, having parted at his stitched wound a bit under his clothing. It caused him to whimper and screech in his sudden pain, it being a real inconvenience that today had to be said day.

"AHGH! Dammit! Damn you, P-Panic! These stupid wounds... son of a... bitch, I'm bleeding again." He cursed; now holding his upper side, covering it with a paw, now struggling more than ever to stand. Today was not his best day.

The Black Knight still rides on.

StarLight Nova:

** ** Seeing Render present himself officially like I had myself gives me a small pool of hope we can at least be friends...Of a sort. Smiling, I lower myself down onto the ground, extending my left foreleg for him to climb onto. "Once you get onto my back you will need to hold on tight. Position yourself between my wings and neck, and be careful of my wings." I reply, looking back at him as Render walks forward to climb onto me.

When he is settled, I stand up and take a few slow steps forward. "Brace yourself." I warn before taking a running jump and launch into the air, wings beating down powerfully to pull me higher. I thrust my wings down, body moving up and down like a carnival ride as I push the air behind me to rise higher before leveling out and gliding for a while and then beating my wings again to maintain my altitude. I set course for Dragon Valley with the sun slowly setting over a glorious landscape.

Should Render look down, all he would see is the ground far away and the wind whipping past us. I take joy in flying and focus my mind on activating the planets aiding magic, slowly speeding us faster along to our destination. I had been traveling to a town to meet a friend, but I think that will have to wait for now. Thinking I should check to see how my companion is doing, I see how he is faring. Knowing he will not fall off for I had put a spell on him that keeps him essentially glued to me with some movement, just so he won't fall off.

While the people in the town settled down after a happy celebration, some still graced the streets, singing and dancing, praising the gods or whoever is up there of the joyous union of two dragons. A few people, dressed in elegant clothes and gowns strolled down the street Tanuki was on, casting brief glances before flitting away.

For the Protector and dragon rider pair, they began to sense unease. It was faint, but perceptible. The Protector, versed in the wide range of energy detection and location as well as skilled in various abilities proven in battle, searches the horizon above the town, letting his mind wonder over the population to find the disturbance.

Meanwhile, Erik and his partner Kur'si walk the streets of the calming town, on the lookout for anything suspicious. The fountain, located near one of the corners of the town, is designed with a dragon on top. Multiple faucets allow water to pour out of the mouth, tail and horns as the dragon hold onto a marble ball with unique decorations on it.

Beyond the Village hidden in the leaves was a large forest named the Veran'ki. Deep within the forest live many clans and families of forest and tree dragons. The forest dragons had a natural affinity with nature and life, growing their homes out of trees while helping the forest flourish year-round. The tree dragons on the other hand had no wings, as the forest dragons had wide and versatile limps; they had small pockets of leather alongside their flanks and in between their forelegs and back legs, allowing them to glide from tree to tree. They are normally docile, but can control the wind and had small glands of poison on the tip of their tail and jaw.

The old man that lived near the river was currently out in a town a while away and probably would not be back until late at night. His house, with door unlocked, contained the essentials for a comfortable life. Inside one would find a fireplace to the left imbedded in the wall with only bare ambers of flame sparking every now and again. To the right, there would be a table set for four and a low, long box sitting on the opposite side of the fireplace.

Further in, there was a wall that divided the house between a door leading outback and a small kitchen with the usual cookware. Heading to the left outside, one would find a staircase next to the wall leading up to a bedroom adorned with many pictures, boxes and seemingly useless junk scattered around. A bureau contained his clothes and a small table next to his cotton bed held a few blank pieces of parchment and some writing utensils. Other than that, the place seemed empty, for now.

Back to the ocean, the man dressed in dark green and azure blue robes soon picked up his pace, seeing the one that is awake stumble about in pain. Soon, I run to them, robes flapping behind me as I quickly close the distance. As I near, I hear the one stumbling about yell curses at someone I have not heard off and hasten my arrival.

The sight of the one in pain makes me slow down as I see that he is not an ordinary person. It appeared he had bright orange hair, pointy yet long and floppy ears and blue eyes with a very short snout. Not wanting to waste time with what he is, I soon reach his side and aid him in not falling down. The boy looks at me surprised, letting me sit him down so I can access his injuries better.

"It is ok, I am not going to hurt you," I say as the first thing so he knows I am a friend and not an enemy. "My name is Cedric, I saw you when I was taking a stroll. How bad are you hurt? I can heal you if you wa-no, I will heal you, seeing as you are in great pain. Please, lie down on your back so I can treat you." I say calmly while he looks on a little surprised as to whom I am.

Cedric, a man found by Colby on one of his trips to a planet, has become a Defender with excellent talents in healing and regeneration. Having first discovered his powers when he healed Colby in his dragon form when he crashed, they soon became good friends, Cedric being the first Defender since the Darkness wiped out almost all of them before Colby's time of Earth.

Madam Poodle:

** ** The force of air flow and the height were truly uncanny. His eyes could barely stay open, and his mouth did not dare to do so either. All his body was naturally clamped by air to the stiff, scaly back of the dragon, scratching at his cloths a bit. The height made him light and airy, while the turbulence made him essentially stuck to his back anyway. Even if he were to say something, the sound would not travel far enough for someone to hear it.

In the midst of the town at the fountain, Tanuki had been silently having some kind of heavy-minded debate over something. His voice was quite, but he talked very sternly to something as if very very close to him. His fists eventually balled as they supported him on the fountain. Tense and unstable in his posture, a bit of black-crimson started seeping from his shoulders. As his mentality grew to a practical limit, he seemed to mutter some profane exclaims and assertions before starting to strain, then punching the outer rim of the fountain in his frustration and anger. A few minutes pass, and he calms down, that energy he just now radiated now gone. He'd felt unwelcome presences to be coming, so he quickly fled, for doing so made him a sitting duck asking for trouble.

Foxy, thinking for sure someone SHOULD be home, she approached the rather olden-style door, figuring the people/person who lives here must be quite the traditionalist. With nothing further to examine, a subtle three knock hit the door, and a wait for a response begins. Hearing no response after a minute, she'd knock again, a little stiffer this time, just so someone might hear her. She waited patiently since.

Panic! had been soaring aimlessly around, if that. If he'd be smart about it, someplace near would be a good rest spot and potential starting point. However, the forest wasn't it, so he flew on to spot his next plight of civilization to pester and take from. It didn't look to be anywhere nearby, so he had awhile yet before this stop was made all the more reason to anticipate doing so in the future.

Having his injuries healed, Klin again had no idea what just happened, or why he's looking to feel a little less pain from some weird magic stuff. He looked shocked at the other man, being laid down by him to tend to wounds doctors already patched. Bleeding through his cloths, the spot of fracture became clear once more, so it'd be clear to locate. Kyo remains unconscious.

StarLight Nova:

** ** The sun fell over the horizon as the light disappeared behind the mountains, casting long shadows on the ground heralding the approach of night. Even with the aid of the planets traveling magic, we still had a few miles to go until we reached Dragon Valley. While we traveled there had been some companions in the air, some messengers relaying letters to towns, spreading various information or news.

Render meanwhile just tried to remain still. As the last rays of sun vanished, I decided to land near a river with plenty of fish and some bushes and rocks for shelter. Angling downwards, I sped towards the ground, wind increases for a brief period before going silent as I leaned back to slow my descent. Pumping my wings, I gently land on my hind legs before dropping to all fours and then laying down onto the ground.

I extended my left foreleg again for Render to get off, twisting my neck to make sure he did not trip. Once he was safely on the ground although on somewhat wobbly legs, I turned my attention to the ground and spoke a few draconic words of magic. Kneading the ground roughly with my right claw, I make some roots deep underground surface before twisting them into a triangle. With a well-controlled breath, I lit the wood on fire; Render standing some ways away from me, watching me curiously.

With the fire lit, I used my magic to protect the wood to make it last until early morning. With the flames dancing merrily, I moved my form closer to the fire before settling down, resting onto my right side with my stomach facing the flames. I crossed my legs and then looked at Render. "We will have to stay here for today. There are fish in the river if you are hungry and a herd of buck close by if you want something else." I say, resting my head comfortably on my forelegs while the fire crackles merrily.

A sudden burst of violent energy radiated over the town near the northern end of the market. By now night had started to fall and everyone was inside except for the two newly mated dragons that were stargazing outside the walls, crooning loving phrases to one another. With a cautious approach, I leapt from rooftop to rooftop, barely making any sound as I contacted Erik and his partner Kur'si, telling them to contact falling star.

Their confusion over the request was met by my firm demand that he must know what was going on. While they let him know, I would try and search for whomever that energy signature came from. The first place I stop is by the water fountain. As I come closer, I see that the outer rim of the fountain was cracked. Knowing whoever did this was powerful since the material used to build the fountain was uncommon Tru'soa, a sturdy and resistance granite that comes from the nearby quarry. Setting my sight off into the distance, I think about what to do as Erik contacts falling star.

Within the upper level of the house that sat by the river and watermill rested a scaly reptile that was curled up near the windowsill. The reptile was draconic in feature, and although no more than a foot in height, it was a good companion to an old wise man who spent his time alone. As the sun went down, a swift knock sounded on the front door, startling the little dragon out of his nap.

Letting out a big yawn before giving out a few irritated chirps, the dragon waited again to see if his owner was coming up the stairs. After a few seconds, the knock came again. Definitely not him, thought the little dragon. With an indigent huff, the little dragon got up to stretch before walking to the window to peer outside and see who was knocking. It was hard to see who it was with the darkness starting to creep up on the land, but his draconic eyes were better than a humans, so spotting the visitor was no hard feet.

The surprise on the little dragons face was evident when he saw what looked like a female anthro fox. The color of the fox was a simple red, darkened as night came along. Along her forearms and forelegs were lines of black with some white on the tip of her tail. Her tail swishes back and forth, waiting for someone to answer the door. He won't like me for letting a stranger into his house, The little dragon thought. On one hand, he had company until his owner returned, but on the other, this fox was wearing a blue-plethered uniform resembling to something law enforcement wears. It is a light blue color with dark striping up the centers both front and back.

I am sure he won't mind if she is just looking for something to eat. But I should check to see if she is not going to harm me. So with careful practice, he extended his mind to touch the fox's. Having no experience with a foreign entity invading one's mind, they would feel an odd sensation in the back of their head. Searching through the fox's mind, the little dragon saw nothing that would harm him or his owner when he comes home, so he withdraws before she can get too suspicious. With that in mind, the little dragon accessed his small pool of magic and opened the door, surprising the red fox, making her jump back. The little dragon chuckled, a soft, purring sound as he watched the fox's confusion as to what just happened.

He extended his mind again and hovered his consciousness around the open door frame. If you want someplace to stay, please come in. He thought, the idea transferring into words in front of the fox as if someone had said them within the house. Technically, that was true, but she did not have to know that right now. I will judge her intent by watching. I should be more than capable of getting her to leave if necessary, the little dragon thought, hoping off the window and silently going to the door exiting the room.

With sensitive ears, he listened to what the female fox was doing, following her with his mind and closed eyes. I should not reveal myself unless necessary, He thought to himself, pressing his dark blue wings against his form while his forest green tail swished behind him. His main body was splattered with some lighter blue, mixed in with some yellow/green while the majority was a damp orange. His underbelly scales sported lighter versions of these colors, created a confusing array of light and dark.

Past the large forest of Veran'ki, some miles near the base of some distant mountains lay a small village, or rather a farm with wooden buildings around the area. Since night had fallen the farmer had bid his field goodnight and retired to bed unaware of the approaching avian with a passenger. Half a mile further into the mountains was a small tribe of dwarves who were currently laughing, telling stories under the starry sky.

The mountains themselves were large, holding a vast expanse of tunnels and mines worked by the dwarves. Beneath the mountain was a large town, the entrance hidden in the end of one of the valleys within the mountain range, guarded by large high doors made of nearly impenetrable Va'lase, a semi-rare metal found deep within the mountains, home to the dwarves. Their height towered high into the sky, not anything to rival the great mountain to the north, home of Gudon, but large enough to compete against the Beors in their old land of Alagaesia.

Back with Cedric, after laying down the oddly colored male, I extended my hands and concentrated on my power. Focusing on my will, I begin healing the injured boy, peeling away the bandages as his wounds slowly heal. A strong viridian green aura appears above his chest, reaching down into his body to heal any cut, gash or broken limp.

With night falling, the temperature drops, but not dangerously so as to catch hyperthermia. After an hour or so, most of the boy's injuries are healed; only the wound on his stomach being partially sealed and any broken bones molded back together although with a loose hold. Looking down at him after stopping, I see his face, now calm and thankful for my help.

"Stay here and rest, don't get up. You're still weak, but you will recover soon enough." I say to him, a few drops of sweat running off my forehead at the duration and concentration took to heal him this far.

I go over to his friend, carefully gliding my hands over his body, sensing what is broken and where the most serious wound is. With a sigh, I get to work, my dark blue cape trailing behind me as the green aura resumes, seeping into his body to seal his wounds and reattach broken bone. By the time another hour is up, my forehead is drenched in sweat and I am shivering slightly from the cold brought on by the winds of the night.

I look up, falling back to sit down heavily, gazing at the stars as they become more pronounced. "Sure is a lovely night," I say to myself. A soft chattering of teeth is heard and I look over to the other boy I treated, seeing him shaking from the cold. Knowing he is still weak, I move away from them both, setting a hand onto the ground and summoning some wood up from the ground.

Shaping it into a teepee, I snap my hands and a fire bursts into existence within the wood. Having used my magic to create a protection over it so that the wood can last until morning, I fall onto my back, raising my arms to put them behind my head before dozing off while looking at the beautiful night sky.

Madam Poodle:

** ** With Render on the ground for the night, he supposed to settle up a bit. There really was not much he could do. He couldn't do much but sit and get warm in front of the fire. The night was very young and bright yet. His place by the fire was not but met with controversy. His day wasn't just over here. As well, something else was also rather amiss, seeing that they'd flown so far, and fast, yet he'd not fallen off, nor does it seem like they budged any land. Simply deciding to sit there with crossed legs and arms with closed eyes, he waited stubbornly for morning. He replied similarly quickly to the dragon's saying. "Fine... Just leave me be for now..." He practically remained silent the rest of the night.

Night had fallen, and Tanuki walked on, not looking back from his trail. It was now most risky for him; no one was on the roads, meaning his conspicuity of his presence is much easily distinguished. However, the darkness of night, as well as the various unlit spots made easy the act of hiding. Surprisingly, with how he walked considered, he'd gotten rather far, taking a shortcut here and there to cut pathways to places. Despite not knowing where he was really going, he walked, simply walking, nothing else, but with his head to the ground.

With Panic on his loose toes, he looks ever much so downward; spotting what appeared to be a farming complex.

"Oh, jackpot! I think I'll stay here tonight... been a while since I had slept anyway... maybe even leave a "little" sign of my... "gratitude"! Oh yeah... perfect."

He'd sell out, taking a very quick dive toward the residence. The bird he was riding had almost no weariness in its eyes as it neared the ground approaching terminal velocity. At the last moment, Panic! leaped off, using a burst of ectoplasm to bounce him up, and break his fall. At this, his bird companion had seemingly disappeared into oblivion upon contacting the ground, appearing as not much more than a flock of falling feathers. Landing in a tall grass field, he strolled and peered about, not being able to see much but the sky, the moon, and the tip of the barn's roof. Smirking, he made it clear that where he wanted to start was indeed the barn nearby. He'd attach his book to his back, for this, not needing something that drastic. He walked steadily for the barn.

With the night about, the horse of the knight of the darkness dashed about the oncoming trail. Holding nothing back and darting forward, the Black Knight made his way through the brushes and grasses of the fields of the land. Upon this, he'd come across the residence, seemingly like a castle; he'd spot two dragons upon them. Passing by at his high-rate of speed, he'd quickly spiked his head to the right, peering into the eyes of the two idling there like sitting ducks. What he'd seen in either or both of the two is not certain in the least. With no further business, he put his head forward, and rode on.

Upon receiving the first transmission, her communicator sparked and bolted. Very suspicious, the door opened, with no one there. Someone was here; things were too weird not to be, especially when she's receiving extra-technological transmission. She did not know if her thoughts sent any transmission back, be she had come here in search of anyone to speak to. Knowing where she was was top priority, as she couldn't do her job without indeed knowing such details. As well, her assailant was not intending to make themselves known for the most part... frustrating to say the least. However, she was not inclined to search the building in detailed manner, for this is another's property. Still, it was eating her that her assailant was keeping hidden, rather presenting oneself, that to her is reason enough to start to become a little suspecting of a possible act of harm or transgression. Being of duty to the law of her land, that was unjust, and action was likely to be taken. Standing point blank into the room, she made herself clearly know, taking, and holding out her whip to her side, arm parallel to the ground.

"Alright, now! I think it's time you come out now! You've made it clear that you're here, and I demand you show yourself, assailant! If I must, I am 1st Major, Officer Foxy of the Special Task Force: Station of New X metropolitan area! Now please, come out! Shall that not keep; I shall search for you, and will use force if necessary!" She talked, mixing in tones of sound speech, yet demand clear in her voice.

Looking straight up, Klin looked aimlessly to the sky, and would still find himself pondering the question... where... and why. It wasn't his best time, and that was clear. First he was attacked, and then fought Panic! Now wound up injured in a hospital... everything after that doesn't seem to tie. As well, he has some stranger who just healed him for whatever reason lighting a fire, and just sleeping there. Life was complicated enough, and now this, whatever it is, he was not looking forward to any of it... where did his life go, anyway? It's almost a safe bet to say that Kyo is probably comatose, having not woken in hours.

StarLight Nova:

** ** Vaxil soon found himself asleep under the starry sky, the surrounding area illuminated by the fire with Render on the other side. With slowing breathes, the dragons flanks rise and fall steadily, signaling his deep sleep. The flame crackles merrily into the night, providing warmth for Vaxil's companion, not that he needed any warmth himself since he was a dragon.

** ** Erik and his partner Kur'si were headed quickly to a secret mountain cave where they would contact falling star. As night drew on, they knew contacting him soon was of utmost importance. It would take awhile, but they would alert him to what was happening. If anything else, give everyone time to prepare for what would come soon enough.

On the farm while the farmer slept stood a rather large barn. This barn looked to be normal except that it had been modified to hold a rather large companion. A rather soft nest inside made up of soft fabrics and pillows let the resident sleep in peace when she was not working or helping her friend till his fields or plant them.

The birds sleep was disturbed by a strange movement on the wind. The barns door was slightly ajar, revealing to anyone inside the massive expanse of the interior that looked like a home with no floors. The nest resided on the upper level with a sturdy wooden floor. With curiosity, the avian lifted her head and sniffed the air. Definitely something unnatural out there, she thought for a moment before laying her head down again to go back to sleep.

Colby snuggled against his mate in the open field as they purred to each other. The night had fallen swiftly and her lessons had kept them entertained for the most part. With a wide yawn, Starlight shifted his body, removing his wing while his mate whined at the loss of warmth. "It is time to go inside my love. It's getting dark out. We can start up again tomorrow." I say before nipping her gently on the neck.

Cavynthra shivered when she felt my caring touch and returned the gesture. We both teased each other, going from gently nipping to licking each other. Being the first to stop, Cavynthra sat up, stretching her wings as she got ready to return. "Ok my mate, but I want to have fun soon ok?" She asked, a slight twinkle in her eyes that hinted at something more.

"Fine, fine, but only in the tree. I don't want you overexerting yourself." I reply, standing up as well to shake my wings and stretch.

"I wouldn't have it any other way." Cavynthra responded, gazing at me from behind with sparkling eyes.

It did not take long to find that something was wrong. After telling his mate he had to check something, he got the feeling that something was...off. Strolling into the main room of their home, or castle, he sat down before the giant oval table with a large holographic projection of all of Elpitha after transforming back into a human.

The Tree had many special properties with it, including a mystic pool of life, powers of regeneration and flourishing, as well as a built in radar over a good portion of the southern hemisphere. With this holographic display and the trees powers, he knew where everyone was on this side of the planet, not that he had another device to keep tabs on the other side.

With practiced ease, he soon closed in on their position, zooming in closer on whatever he felt was making his gut churn in unease. He had felt it when he was outside with Cavynthra, but he did not want to alarm her. Now that he is here, he locates a dot that is heading west, away from his home. Pondering this, he input a special code to keep tabs on whoever was traveling this close to him, alerting him when any malevolent intent was discovered or sensed. I did not make this planet without security. It would be dumb of me not too.

_ _ The colorful little dragon gave a nervous chirrup, the sound echoing down the stairs and into the kitchen. He backed up a bit, listening intently to what the visitor was saying. But, but I thought she was good! He thought to himself while trembling. The fox said to identify himself or she would search for him. Not what I thought would happen, He wondered.

Breathing a heavy sigh, he nudged open the door and quickly glided down, using his magic to turn invisible, or rather deflect his scales off the low light to make him seem invisible, only distorting the area behind him like one would see in a funny mirror.

With quick wings, he flew up to one of his perches, watching as the fox looked around frantically, trying to see where the sound came from, the sound he had made. _I better not keep her waiting long. Hopefully I can talk her into calming down._The little dragon thought, extending his mind again into the consciousness of the fox to speak to her.

"Please, I mean you no harm," He said with a small shake in his voice. "I let you stay here since my owner is away currently. He should be back soon since it is becoming night out. I won't trouble you; I just thought you wanted someplace to stay." The little dragon finished, nervously shifting between his front legs on his perch. Being placed near the ceiling, it allowed him to glide around the large expanse of the house with ease, not that he could fly under his own power, it was just less tiring.

Staring up, looking at the shining stars is relaxing to me, especially since I get to travel among them every so often. These two boys, whoever they are, sure seemed to take a beating. The boy next to the one who was trying to stand up looked to be worse off. Turning my head to look at them, I spot the first boy laying, simply staring up at the stars with a blank expression. The second one most likely was in comatose, but by healing his wounds he would certainly have the strength to wake up sometime in the morning, but just to be sure.

"Hey," Trying to get the attention of the first boy. Whether or not he acknowledges me or not is not known. "Your friend will be ok, you will too. I know I came out of nowhere and I am wondering where you came from, but I will be able to heal you guys to near full strength tomorrow. We can introduce each other in the morning ok?" I say, looking back up at the starlit sky, gazing at the beauty of the cosmos. "It sure is a nice night isn't it?" I question before closing my eyes.

Madam Poodle:

With the night to waste, Render in his sleepless state, supposed he could try to pass the time in his impatience for morning. Taking an unsheathed blade he whips it, slicing edge first across the water, then across the fire, then across the wind. The point of this: they say that when one's blade causes not a disturbance to the fire, spreads not the water, nor whooshes around the air, that one has a good hand at the sword. Render repeated this several times, before sheathing his sword, thus proving the saying true in his case. With not much else needing to be done, he'd stop, and eventually sit as he once was, resting until morning again.

Feeling to have been trailed no more, Tanuki settles down a little, turns around to look back to see if he could see or sense anything. For a while, he did not. Outside the presence of those he suspects are watching him, he nonchalantly walks into an inn, checking in for the night, handing the clerk a large surplus of money needed. However, before the clerk could get his attention, he was gone, up in the room to perhaps rest in safety. The night was an all too lackluster night of sleepless nightmares that haunt the raccoon dog's mind of distorted memories of the past. Throughout the night, one could hear him shifting about and trembling in his own mind upstairs. If one was rather close, they might hear him moaning in his anguishes. It sounded like he was in pain, or like he was scared.

The Knights horse rode on, dashing along at its blazing speed as he'd been nearly the entire day. Along the way, he'd make no concern for others standing in the path of his steed. As he rode free, he'd bring his sword across the air, twice across the torsos of two individuals, however, they'd not appear to be cut at all, but they were cold dead on the ground.

Panic had gotten through the tall grass, and walked his timely way toward the barn. Knife in the pocket, he at last arrived at the barn door. Despite the door being open, he made a fiercely quick nick at the barn lock, then making a rather brutish entry by kicking aside both doors inside the barn. Book still on his back, he held up his hand, only to start to spout words from his sinister gullet.

"Alright, hush puppies; time to start dancing like helpless flies!"

He'd say, first thing, setting the beddings and floor in front of the door aflame, and causing a bunch of loud noise. Now, the flames did not set it all aflame at once, rather slowly, so as to instill fear and strife first. He then jumped back, and threw many rock-pelts at the outside, making the noise of pounding rocks on the roof prominent as well. He would simply just start here, this would become fun!

Looking to the other mysterious man, Klin just hit his head back down to the ground, and sighed much in his disbelief and relief of his pain. "Yeah yeah... whatever."

He said, now lying completely limp on the ground. The stars mattered no more, nor did the night sky or anything else as he drifted off. What just happened; he has no idea what it could turn into is the mystery shrouding his head to it. He knows not this man, and has one comatose friend still.

Foxy had not a clue where the unknown person/s had gone or where they were. However, out the glare of moon light that had become faint through the window; she noticed an unusual distortion in the air. It was only brief, and passed quickly. Seeing this paranormal enigma, she withdrew her whip, and cracked it, not out of hostility, but deeper down, fear. She cased again her voice before proceeding, though she started to think the place is maybe haunted, and that she might be going crazy.

"I-I know something's here! Is that you... whoever you are? I must admit, I'm not feeling the most welcome to stay right now."

StarLight Nova:

** ** With Vaxil resting under the night sky with Render, a mysterious fellow greeted the innkeeper in the town where the recent celebration was held. All he did was drop a large sack of money onto the counter and immediately head off upstairs to take a room. Surprised, the innkeeper looked at the bag warily before stashing it away for now, planning on giving it back to the strange man in the morning.

Just as Colby was ready to leave the main room of his home, the console beeped a single, loud, uncontroversial sound that signaled something had happened. Head swinging back, he dashed to the screen as the image zoomed in on suspect in question. "What the?" I say in confusion, watching as a pitch black knight rode along a black horse, seemingly running straight.

"That better not be him." I mutter, quickly typing on the large keyboard to try and bring up specifics of the stranger. After the search did not reveal much, I rewind the video footage that kept track of him to the time he did the incursion. With an angry "Tch", I turn around and leave to get ready to confront the Knight.

"If he thinks he can get away with that, he is sorely mistaken." Striding down the hall, I calm down when I come to my room with my mate inside.

"Is something wrong love?" She says, concern emanating off of our unique bond together.

"Just something I have to deal with. Won't be gone for long." I reply, opening a chest in the top right corner of the spacious room, big enough to fit two or three large churches inside.

"Do be careful." Cavynthra says in response, watching me grab my sword, staff and robes before heading off again.

With a small laugh I reply. "You won't even notice I am gone. I love you Cavynthra," I say, putting a soft kiss on her scaly muzzle before leaving. Cavynthra just gazes after me as I go out the door to confront whatever it is her mate found.

Back at the farm, a harsh bang startled the sleeping gryphoness. With eyes wide, she raised her neck to peer over the boundary of the second floor before hearing a sinister voice yell out. "Alright, hush puppies; time to start dancing like helpless flies!"

Before she could rationalize who this mad man was, he had set the bedding and floor in front of the door on fire. With wide eyes, the gryphoness shrank back in her nest, frightened warbles rising from her throat. She could see the figure jump back and pelt the outside of the barn and roof with rocks, creating loud noises that messed with her sensitive hearing.

The fear did not last for long however, as she soon realized this man was attacking her on her property, as well as her friends. She puffed out her chest and crown feathers while standing up, spreading her large wings before flapping them a few times. Her beak opened before a loud keen sounded, startling Panic! as he was having joyous fun outside.

Temporarily caught off guard, Lish'ua pressed her advantage, quickly dispelling the mist of sleep around her mind and opening her pool of magic. If Panic! tried to see her, he would only be able to see her shadow, having her feathers a pale gray blue color while they held a blood red on the edge of her wings and stomach as well as her back and crest feather. Leading up to her beak however was a small splash of powdery white that joined with her dark forest green eyes.

Her beak parted again to let out another piercing cry before she hopped forward a few times and aimed her wings downward; giving a forceful thrust that seemed like a windstorm, smothering the fires. No one is going to come here and destroy our farm, Lish'ua thought, turning around and channeling some magic to her blood red tipped tail and snapping it towards the wide opening of the barn, letting a wild bolt of lightning dash forward in hopes of striking her target. Not knowing if it hit or not, she backed up, readying herself should the assailant press forward.

Over with Cedric, he heard the boy's last words while resting beneath the stars. Whatever happened to him must be frightening, finding himself in a new place. I can inquire from his confusion that he is not of this world, since I would have known of him otherwise. Cedric pondered over many things, listening to the air as the night carried on.

For one small dragon, the crack of the foxes whip almost made him fall off his perch. He had to scramble to keep his balance, afraid of giving away his position. He did not want to scare the fox, only share her company, whoever she was. He peered out one of the windows, seeing as how night had set, his owner should be home any time now.

Finally deciding to show himself, he flitted with light wings down around the fox as she turned instinctively to the light beat of his wings. Landing on the table, he shook himself before settling down, hoping this tactic would help her calm down. "If I must, I will reveal myself, but please, promise me you won't hurt me, for I am small and my owner would be very displeased about me getting injured." The small dragon said telepathically into the foxes head again, seeing her hesitantly turn around to eye the table, knowing her assailant is somewhere around it. But the surprise she would get to find out that a little dragon had been scaring her would definitely not go down well unless she was one of honor and held true to her words.

With a huff of air, the little dragon let go of his magic holding the spell of invisibility, revealing himself to the female fox. Whatever her expression was was lost on the little dragon as he had his head down, small ear frills drooping in sadness with wings hanging by his side, scraping the tabletop. "I am sorry I scared you, I did not mean for that to happen," The little dragon spoke again calmly with a little tremble in his voice and frame.

"My name is...My name is Rintaru if you want to know." The little dragon said shakily, his dark blue wings shivering as his forest green tail went still to his left. His breathing is unsteady, afraid of what the female fox will do to him now that he has revealed his presence.

Madam Poodle:

** ** With the monkey at rest, and Tanuki sleeping away the night rather unstintingly, the night pressed on as the other events happened around the world.

With the knight riding on, he'd keep on riding on, sword high in the air. Although he had no idea someone was after him, it'd not be the first time this would be the case. With him, there is always one who does. Coming across little wildlife within his path, he took slashes at those as well, the souls fleeing their bodies. He rode on, waiting nothing, but perhaps what could happen within the moment.

Panic, knowing lightning magic, trivially deflected the strike of lightning, gathering it in his hand. It dissipated after some short time. He saw this stance of pouncing, and as such, did not move yet. He simply grabbed his book off his back, as if totally unstressed, and held it in his left hand, with his right in his pocket. With his hair blowing in the breeze, and his eyes somewhat dim and ominous as his naturally red eyes look across the plain, he smiled and simply waited to stand against this foe. He opened his book without as much as an opening of his hand, and smirked widely.

Foxy hadn't lowered her whip until she'd seen this creature now in front of her. Despite her request having been met, her expression and posture looked less than pleased. Sighing as her head lowered and shook; she spoke in a rather serious, unaffected tone, though she couldn't hide her only human expression completely. Like an atypical woman or madam, she was clearly upset.

"You shouldn't do that, you know. I'm not sure you're aware, and I'm somewhat certain you're not, but contempt of duty of officers is, although minor, a punishable offense. However, I can't charge you for several reasons, the foremost being the original reason I came here. You likely shouldn't do that to your visitors or guests either especially if you intend to let them stay. That wasn't my warmest in-hostile welcome, and I was seriously starting to think this place was haunted."

She'd go on, her voice a litter calmer, but also serious and slightly stern. She did not clearly care for this conduct, and carried on no further word. Her 11' 5" whip draped over the ground like a still snake, and her hat slightly over her eyes.

As Klin started to drift off, it was here that Kyo started to actually wake. He had gotten up, arisen from his spot, then frantically feeling his body. It was full of nothing by scars and lots of clean skin of where injuries used to be... in Kyo's case, they were mainly major bruises.

StarLight Nova:

** ** Walking forward with a firm purpose, Colby quickly exited his home and transformed back into his silver dragon form. He stopped outside for a few seconds, listening to the midnight wind as it blew across his form. Opening his eyes again, he launched himself into the silent air with powerful wings, heading towards the offending knight in question. A presence greeted him in his head while he was flying; the consciousness of the Tree telling him some wildlife had been killed by the knight. "Damn it all." He muttered, pumping his wings faster to catch up to the knight. His silver scales reflected off the moonlight, giving a hazy look when someone tried to spot him. For now, he was undetected.

Knowing that whomever this person was intended to kill, she readied herself in preparation for battle. Gryphons did not have an excess pool of magic as large as dragons, but they could channel it, focus it into a deadlier point instead of simply overpowering their enemies. With this in mind, she flicked her ears back, spreading her wings and swished her tail before giving another loud cry between a keen and a scream, hoping to arouse the farmer as well as her mate if possible.

She had a few options while in this large barn, but her powers were most useful out in the open. Having demonstrated it by extinguishing the flames, she eyed possible escape routes should things not go her way. Behind her was the back of the barn to the untrained eye, to her; there was a perfectly sized flap where she could escape behind the back and sneak up on whoever was attacking who on silent wings.

Or, she could cast some illusions and charge the man, hoping to confuse him into picking the wrong gryphoness. I can't put my hopes that it would work. Her lightning attack would have burst open and given a loud crackle of energy if it had hit the floor or her target. Not hearing it, she knew she might be in trouble. Deciding on her course of action, she gave another, more pronounced cry out of her beak and darted forward, using her magic to created two illusions of herself going off to the left and right. Knowing the direct route would be suicidal; she switched with one of the clones and continued her attack, arming her claws to steel tips, hard enough to pierce through most defenses including dragon scales.

In the home on the farm, the farmer definitely heard his friends cry for help. With wary eyes, he stumbled out of bed, fumbling to get his clothes on before grabbing his hat and staff. This had better be good, he thought to himself before another screech woke him up. Haven't heard that one before, he said to himself, dashing with purpose to a secret box filled with a dark brown/gray colored robe before running outside.

Near the running river next to the watermill, the lone fisherman was traveling back home after a tired day of trading. He was only glad he had the companionship of his little dragon friend to keep him company, having gotten him when he was a teen, the two had been best friends since. Despite the little dragon size, he was a few decades old himself, having gained a lot of wisdom from living together with the man. But some things never change when it comes to visitors as the man was going to find out, again.

Rintaru with his head down gave a sad chirp before speaking again. He lifted his head in surprise, not knowing the terms she used."I-I...," He stumbled, trying to find something to say while his eyes went wide. "I usually stay upstairs when someone passes by. Most people here know of our hospitality and thank us whenever they travel. I have no idea who you are or what an officer is, but you are welcome to stay here still if you want." Rintaru said, raising his right wing to point at a door just before the kitchen leading off into a spare room. "My owner will be home soon. He can make you something to eat if you want; I think you would like him." Rintaru said, letting out a short trill as he steadied himself on the table while looking curiously at the female fox with her whip by her side.

Madam Poodle:

** ** With a soul in the hands slowly fading into it, the Knight still rode on unmolested, and unopposed so far. His speed ceased to slow, and his sword ceased to quell for souls. Coming to the clearing of the forest, he jumped from his stallion, letting it ride on his own while he lingered into the air. He then noticed another Dragon as he fell from reaching his maximum height and landing on the ground harshly seconds later.

"Another dragon! Perhaps this one is not the return of the Black Dragon!"

He said as he landed; now simply standing to await, and possibly attest this dragon foe that seems to be coming for him. With Gatekeeper steadied, but at rest in-hand, he stood, ready for this obstructing dragon foe.

Panic! had only stood, seeming as if to be waited, and getting impatient. After these series of roars, he finally saw the creature start to ready for an attempt to attack, Panic! Smiled, and readied himself for the fiasco. Seeing that it played an Illusion, something he's far too familiar with, he placed a hand on his book, standing stagnant, and threw his hands forward, releasing a flurry of shadow birds, and watched carefully, as they flew at all three gryphoness's. With a flock pecking and/or flying through both, he noticed which one was the fake, and then quickly leapt to the left and then ducked as he readied his switchblade to strike at the clone, and dissipate its presence. The birds he'd released would have run their course by now at this point.

Foxy didn't speak for a long while. She realized that by his words, he either didn't know the law very well, or she was not in the right place to begin with. Her eyes were closed, and her face was down and shaded by the shadow of her hat. She looked like she was thinking heavily, but she'd come to know what was going on, and so she eventually sat speechless for the most part.

"..... I don't think I have any jurisdiction here." She'd mutter to herself, her expression hidden by the dark environment.

StarLight Nova:

** ** With tireless energy, Colby flew towards the location of the offending Knight. Having risen higher than the clouds, his silvery scales now practically made him invisible due to the perspiration gathered, reflecting what little light is left off of him. After an hour or two, with the aid of the planets traveling magic, he arrived at where the Knight is. Narrowing my eyes, I focus in on ending him in one shot. Silently, I fold my wings, letting the copious amounts of energy inside me build up around me. My speed increases as I fold my limps, increasing my speed until I can see the individual details on his armor and sword.

Lish'ua switched with her right clone, hoping to throw off the man's aim. What came was unexpected as a flock of shadow birds appeared from a book he was holding in his left hand. As the birds darted after my clones and myself, I twisted, giving a quick pump of my wings before folding them as I did a spiral and flew over the flock heading towards me while whipping my tail to create a sonic boom to dispel the attacking birds, a few of them however nicking me, drawing a couple lines of blood through my plumage. The man however had attacked my clone that went to the left and so I made it to the wide open doors and flew up high into the sky to take advantage of the darkness of night.

Certainly having heard the boom of my tail, he would be after me now. I give a loud cry again, piercing the night sky as I call for my friend and mate again while quickly gaining altitude above the farm. I can see my friend, Maurel, at least, coming out in his dark brown and gray cape with his staff. "What in blazes is going on Lish'ua!? This has better be good!" He yelled at me telepathically while running as fast as he could to the barn.

Looking his way I quickly reply. "Don't get too close Maurel, there is someone trying to kill me. Hide and prepare, I will tell you when to attack". I say, turning around and going into a slow glide, eyes open for the man attacking me.

"Wha-!" He gasped in shock. "Ok! Just be careful my dear. I would not like to lose one of my best friends and farm hands." He responds, hiding behind a nearby silo, awaiting my signal. If only my mate was here, we could definitely take him or at least drive him away. Why did I let him go to the dwarves this time of year, I think to myself as I see the man coming out of the barn.

By the river inside the house, Rintaru watched as the female fox dropped her head and remained quiet for a long time. With curiosity, he tilted his head and let out an inquisitive chirrup. He raised his wings a bit, rustling his tail before rising to all fours. Wanting to comfort her, he began walking forward until the door suddenly opened, causing him to turn his head in surprise.

"Ok Rin, I'm home, how have you be-" He paused, spotting the female fox sitting at his table with Rintaru standing next to her. "Oh, well, hello," The old man said cheerfully while closing the door. "We have not gotten any visitors in a while. Old Rin was starting to beg me to bring him to the city again," The old man said, taking off his hat and putting it on the pole next to the door.

_"I am not old!"_Rintaru chirped back at him, spreading his wings before jumping on his front legs in emphasis.

The old man only chuckled, smiling at his friend's persistence. The old man, dressed in a ragged and worn blue shirt with gray stripes going up and down. His pants were brown followed by black shoes. His hair was white save for a few strands of black. He slowly moved forward, waiting to see what his visitor did.

"You're welcome to stay here ma'am. Do you have a name I could call you by?" He asked, moving past the table and the stunned fox to enter the kitchen with Rintaru watching him the whole time before moving his gaze back to the female fox, tilting his head again and letting out another curious warble.

Madam Poodle:

** ** With the knight dismounted from his horse, the clearing saw many prospects he could lay waste to for exchange of souls. Although many ran, a select few could not escape the roar of his blade, and their souls were absorbed into the nether. However soon the sound of turbulence became sounding of the environment and the area around started to reflect a bit of radiance. After turning back to look up, the knight, a little surprised to the imminent falling star, had not time. He simply hopped back, and braced, hoping the impact was not large enough to bite him in its wake. He started to pump himself up with dark energy, billowing dark aura that resembled a black-colored smoke from a cigarette.

Despite all that was going on, Panic! sensed the presence of magic nearby, but given the circumstance, was foolish to deal with while dealing with a large beast at once. He'd be screwed if he did that much. With his eye peered to the side, he adjusted the positioning of his book, then looked back to the gryphoness to assert her next action. Despite the tense situation, his face was still unnaturally calm looking, and he looks to have not wasted himself all that well. Panic had a plan himself, a counter-plan if it weren't for the fact he'd not know his company was planning against him. His plan aside however, he'd first have to right his own placement, and find a way to get to ideal ground, clearance, or an advantage point. How, he was not sure, for he's not had experience with gryphons. Again smiling evilly, he readied his hand on the knife in his pocket, and keeps his spell book open in his left hand, once more waiting the next move.

Foxy still ceased to move from her spot, head rather down looking, and somewhat glum. Without even a movement from her body, she removed her hat from her head, and placed it beside it her where her whip was. Although it simply released her locks red hair that were braided in the back, and smoother otherwise everywhere else, it somewhat swooned over her features. Despite the rather depressing composure, she still had not said a word after that she'd gone silent.

StarLight Nova:

** ** Seeing the Knight jump back while dark energy flowed ominously around him, I smirk. With one last push, I snap open my wings, driving myself up and over the Knight to then head straight into the ground. There is no impact, only a slight ripple affect like rain hitting a puddle as I vanish beneath the earth. I spread my wings open again and change to my human form before turning around to look up at the Knight. He won't know what hit him, I think to myself while preparing my energy again to make the first move.

With practiced ease, I extend my arms; hands open and close my eyes while I focus my energy to the earth around me. The good thing with Earth travel is that it is both advantageous and risky. For one not prepared, they would soon be consumed by their darkest memories or the floating minefield as you travel. From my perspective, it looks like when you glitch beneath the map in Call of Duty with a faint red dot far down below as the earth's core. If someone would try to attack me, they would damage the ground instead of have their attack go through.

Rapidly and with increasing power, I focus my energy around me before unleashing my move. Slapping my hands together and opening my eyes I shout: "Four Pillars! Dimensional Seal!" The ground trembles as four large pillars, each with different ancient symbols etched into their surfaces emerge fifteen feet apart from the Knight towering more than thirty feet high. I clasp my hands together, entwining my fingers to increase the power. A marking, lost to the time of space appears directly under the Knight, glowing bright Silver before expanding. After a few seconds, the mark explodes in size, turning into a circle to encompass the four pillars whose symbols have turned gold.

The large circle on the ground with many ancient texts now starts to glow brightly, the power rising as my concentration increases. With a flash, the light extends upwards to the heavens, transporting the Knight to another dimension. Whether he is affected by this or not is something that remains to be seen. Before the spell dissipates, I rise out of the ground, standing some forty feet away from the Knight in case he survives, breathing slightly labored.

Back with Lish'ua, the small wounds that the birds had caused were now irritating her while she kept a slow glide, seeing the man prepare himself to whatever she did next. She scowled, or what was meant to be one as she floated closer to where Maurel was next to a silo some meters away. "What do we do, it looks like he can summon anything he wants from that book of his. Those birds barely got me, and my wounds are starting to itch." Lish'ua complained to her friend who gave a chuckle.

"Lure him near the silo I am behind, I will do the rest from there. If not, go to the mountains and rouse your mate and the dwarves. I feel a sinister energy within him. We cannot let him cause any more havoc." Maurel responded, laying his staff on the ground while still clutching it to press his left hand firmly onto the metal silo. His golden hazel eyes shone with power as he got ready.

Contemplating how best to get the man to follow her, she dove straight at him. With one quick movement, she caused a disturbance in the air as she got closer to see his calm features. Eyes widening in focus, she pulled on some of her magic and pulled up, flapping her feathery wings hard to create powerful gusts of wins similar to earlier but which then changed into very sharp slices of air that could cut through metal. With a few more flaps, she tilted back and dove, losing altitude before repeating the action again. After a few seconds she turned sideways, moving towards the silo, while on high alert for any retaliation.

Near the lake house and the watermill, Rintaru had gone back to looking at the silent fox. Wondering if something was wrong, he slowly padded forward, head lowered and wings spread cautiously. The old man came back, holding a cup of hot chocolate that was no doubt noticed by Rintaru as he lifted his head and let out some persistent chirps.

"Of course, of course I will get you some too my friend. We just need to get our quest comfortable," The old man replied to his reptilian friend. The fox still remained silent, not moving, only to take off her hat. The man quickly noticed her attitude and put the cup of hot chocolate down, in which Rintaru perked up and flew up to one of his perches high above.

The old man came close to the female fox and laid his wrinkled hand consolingly on her shoulder as he stood behind her. "If I had to venture a guess, you are from another world am I correct?" The old man inquired, lifting his other hand to scratch his head while Rintaru quietly glided down and began lapping up the old man's hot chocolate. "It is ok if you don't want to talk right now. If you want, I can call a friend of mine to possibly get you home?" The old man offered, Rintaru still lapping at the hot chocolate happily.

Madam Poodle:

** ** Not tempted to move, for it'd be thought to be unwise, yet also unwise to stay there, bright light spiked up from under the knight's armor, engulfing him in a light brighter than the brightest day. What remained of the knight was but himself throughout, but as light surrounded him, it did not bode all that well for his condition. When the light started to fade out, the knight, to surprise was standing where he was. His arms were barred and braced, and his black armor lost much of its dark allure. One could hear his groans, and the shackling of metal as his armor tremored. Strained from the concentration of light he was hit with, after quite a while, start to embrace his arms, still trembling a little as his arms fell, and he grew frail, but his body still held up. As moments pass, his armor started to gain back a little of its dark color, but it was taking quite a bit to do so. With his armor still void of its darkness, he began to hold out his sword upright, one hand on it, the other on the side, folded into some sort of sign. With this he spoke.

"Augh! I lost the darkness in my armor! Clever move, heroic one! It seems I have little choice..." He paused momentarily, the ground starting to tremor a little. "It looks like I'll have to draw souls from the nether! Such is the resort I must take against this foe... HAH!" The ground shook more, and trembling much more harshly as he grunted.

"Gather, souls of the nether realm; grant me the power that is yours unto me to grant me triumph! I summon ye: souls of those who are the essences of life to grant me STRENGTH!!!"

He cried out clearly, the ringing of metal present in his voice as his voice escalated to the feel of shaking earth, the sight of a two-handed mystical sword glowing increasingly blue, and the energy he started gathering whipping the hair lodging out the back of his helm whipping up and down as turbulent air blew from him. With this last emphasized word of his creed, the ground shocked in a tremor once more, being the final one before the earth started to settle again. The knight then readied himself with his now beefed up blade that was radiant blue, and positioned himself, blade forward as he once more spoke.

"With the power vested within my essence; my blade; my very existence, I shall smite any foe before this sword of reaping souls: Gatekeeper, at my hand! Come; test yourself, brave one, and duel this one with none other than the Black Knight! Show me... your power!"

He spouted on. He seemed to have a profound habit of talking a lot, though what he has seemed to have sucked in seems to have done more than back up what he seems to say. He stood at the ready, not moving from the stance he took before he said his last act. His armor still was gaining back some of its dark visage, only being part way there; his armor started to become noticeably darker after time past.

In the barn, mean while as Panic! was hit with various wind gusts with a bit of lethal punch to it, Panic threw up his arm just in front of himself quite dimly, and stood as he only slid back very very slowly at turtle's pace, practically.

"Weak..." He muttered during the assault, finding defending against this rather trivial. Being a sorcerer, defending against the magic one uses or is taught is just as crucial as using the same magic offensively. Just as he grew bored of this, he quickly conjured up a counter attack of blazing fire, bulleting forward as it was fed clear oxygen, and engulfing each slice of distorted air. This was intended only to stall the gryphoness momentarily, quick conjuring up a summoning after that as the flames ate the air in front of him. At a rather lowly, contorted stance, he popped out another creature after quite a few seconds, and then stood back up: the creature he summoned wasn't physical at the point of summon, nor did it appear in front or anywhere near him. He stood for a while once more, defending against further wind as it continued blowing yet, only retaining his guard as long as gusts kept coming. Sooner or later, he might have to flee. This is always an option, but he also wasn't fleeing without "something to remember him by", should that point come.

In Foxy's case, she still said nothing, even as the elderly man beside her sat, and bonded a hand to her shoulder. Rather she was to go back or not isn't in her vocabulary as of the moment, though it'd be the only practical goal she had here, for this was not her world, or so she thought, and this has no jurisdiction in the area. Her job is now totally worthless which is one of the things that hit home pretty hard. It's like a samurai with no daimyo or superior; a knight with no king, a soldier with no commander. She was just a uniform, a weapon, and a person behind meaningless shells of what is an officer of now moot law. She was not in a good state. She looked like she was depressed and about to cry a little, but officers don't do that.

StarLight Nova:

** ** I lift my head up, completed taken aback that the Knight had withstood that attack. It was suppose to transport him somewhere off of this planet. Guess I will have to use other means, I think to myself while gritting my teeth in frustration. The Knight was weak, he had every right to be so after what I did to him, but he was still standing. He then started shouting, gathering power from someplace.

Then the ground began to shake as when I had made my move. I brace myself, slowing my breathing for my next attack. He continued to rant, goading me into seeing what I can do. He said his sword was the reaper of souls. Bad luck. "That's not going to work Black Knight! My sister already split my soul into multiple fragments. Whether it is banishing or destroying, it won't work again!" I shout, maybe getting a bit too cocky but still being cautious around him. "If you think you can come onto my home and kill my citizens, then you have another thing coming. I will show you power you god damn Knight!" I screamed, squaring my stance before gathering more of my energy.

Switching to chakra, I mold it into shape by many hand signs: Dragon, OX, Tiger, Serpent, Ram, Horse, Bird, Dragon, Tiger, Rat, Hare, Tiger. Once I complete the last hand sign, I lean back, eyes wide and take in a deep breath while forming an O with my thumb and forefinger close to my mouth. "Ancient fire Style! Dragon Flame Bomb!" I shout, releasing my breath in a violent burst while leaning forward, creating a massive ball of fire before using my power to jump high into the air above him while the ball hurtles towards the stoic Knight.

Once again as I am hanging in the air above the Knight, I form some more hand signs: Rat, Ram, Bird, Boar, Dragon, Horse, Monkey, Hare, OX, Dog, Bird, Dragon. Once the signs are completed I extend my arms as my hands burst into lightning. "Forgotten Technique! Maelstrom!" I shout as the massive fire ball with a diameter of about 29 feet high collides with the lightning strike I send down in perfect combination. I use my power to push myself back as I fall back to a safe distance of forty feet to await the results. My breathing increases as the energy drains from me, not much, but I still have a lot left in me.

For Lish'ua, things weren't going as planned as the man did not follow. She loops back around, gaining height and distance from the man as she saw him summon something else but nothing showed up. Frowning, she consulted her friend. "Don't give in to his calm looks. He is probably trying to do the same thing we are with him. I am going to move further out. Take your time, and don't exhaust yourself just yet." Maurel said, getting up after having armed the silo with a potent spell.

Nodding, Lish'ua came at the man again, albeit with more caution and flapped her wings once, sending a ball of clay his way before diving down then leveling out to shoot a highly pressurized jet of water out of her beak and into the clay. In an instant, the clay turned to cement, covered in small inscriptions that were made with the water. Pulling up quickly, she made her way hastily up to the clouds to gather herself again for a breather.

Upon impact, the hardened ball of clay would explode, not in a fiery explosion, but into a messy blob of gel that hardened very quickly, rendering her opponent helpless. She had other ideas, but this one was best so she could see what he could do. Whether or not the man evaded or shot the ball, or blocked it, she could trigger it to explode and carry forth creating a webbing of gel like glue over the entrance to the barn like a spider's web. It was hard but soft at the same time.

In the house near the river by the watermill, Rintaru was licking his lips after settling down from having some hot chocolate. His friend would be mad, but not for long. The most pressing issue is what to do with their visitor. She had not moved in a long time and night was slowly turning into day. If there was anything that could bring her out of her state of worry or self-consciousness, it was the old man.

The old man just sat near the fox, offering a consoling hand. Having been through plenty of hardships before, he could sympathize with her from having no idea where she was. "You know," The old man started saying. "When I was a young boy, my mother used to tell me stories about this group of heroes who fought evil all around the universe and on planets. Their powers varied greatly but they all had one thing in common. Do you know what that was?" He paused, hoping to get a response out of her. After a few seconds he continued. "Hope. They never lost hope. For no matter how difficult, no matter how strange something might seem, they always found their way home. They had something to fight for, to protect. Don't you have something to fight for ma'am?" He asked, spying Rintaru purring lazily from having drunk half of his hot chocolate.

Chuckling, he got up, moving over to bring his scaly friend into his arms. Rintaru tensed up at first, afraid he was going to be punished, but was only met with a quiet shush. Coming back over with Rintaru in his arms, the old man sat back down. "My name is Kuroda if you want to know, and this is Rintaru, my friend. We have been together for a long time, me and him. Been through some tough times together as I am sure you have been too." Kuroda said, leaning back while scratching his reptilian friend behind his small ear frills, eliciting a purr of satisfaction from him before he rested his head in the crook of his arms.

Madam Poodle:

** ** Sword forward, the Knight would ready his blade for what it is that may come. With more than enough time, time he could have use to pull off a move or two, a sudden ball of fire would see to release itself to his direction with his opponent now already on the move. Boldly, he waited for the fireball to make its way to him, before pelting it with his sword, using a bit of soul-extracted power to thrust his sword forward. Just barely as the ball explodes on him, the little darkness he has power to shields him from the flames burning his skin or what is thought to be under his armor which is not known. Like the fireball, he hadn't enough time to dodge the lightning bolt either.

As fire still shrouded him a little, obscuring his aerial vision, he'd hear the voice cry loudly out from above him. His sword now pointed upward, a bolt hits him but doesn't jar off the knight as much as expected, his powered-up sword absorbing most of the impact. He was shocked quite some bit, but nothing that would keep him out of it. In a retaliatory gesture, he limped down, then forcefully jumped up into the air a little high for a man of over 300 lbs. Leaping up at the other, his sword swung at him, the blue glow on it brightening as it caused nothing but a slash of blue. However, this was not the end of the story; the blue glow during the slash actually extended the blade's range as he threw the slash, use to extract less effort, as he didn't jump as high as he could have. The added range could play to his advantage, should he play his cards right, to his plan or not.

In the grassy field of tall grass nearby, the creature Panic! summoned had formed. It was nothing anyone could see from their perspective during the current battle. This creature, some kind of mysterious cat, formed here. It appeared as a pure black kitten with glowing, beady, yellow eyes, and often times, a colored collar. It was small, and yet for now still planted on all four legs, this innocent looking creature, a trusted one of the bunch in Panic!'s arsenal of creatures, is the "copycat".

(About Copycats: Copycats are cat-like creatures that are known for their namesake trait: copying. Not exclusive to Panic!'s book, copycats have an innate ability to copy the actions of others detail-for-detail, and often times use them for their own sake. They start out life knowing nothing, but only grow by copying off others. The more they copy, the more traits they develop from this information. It's not uncommon to see them mirroring or repeating back actions others are doing as they are done. That simply means they're copying. However, something's they cannot copy, such as flying like dragons do, because copycats do not possess extra limbs to encompass as wings. They also cannot copy from inanimate objects, moving or not, as they are not living specimen.)

Back to action, while Panic! did hop back from the boulder of cement, and block the shrapnel with a slight barrier he had been using since the battle began, he now finds himself trapped inside the barn, or is he? For the barn is made of wood, he gathered he could escape very easily; simply break a wall, and there you go and such he did. Walking to the back wall, stomping on the floor a tad, and breaking the wall as a rather large spike-shaped gouge jutted up from the ground diagonally upward/forward. Walking out nonchalantly, he had gathered a few needed seconds to launch a strategic big gun of his, but not quite his best. With his hand on the book as he pumps the seal full of energy, he hops onto the roof of the barn as he finally released by hand a potent piece of his to target the gryphoness above him.

"Have fun with this a little you trapper... Hmph! Superbeast Summon: Hell's Sleigh!" He shouted, as a sled of hellhounds with a skeleton riding aback in a chariot charged full speed from his book. In the meanwhile, the copycat below starts to slowly run its way to the silo, where it was directed to go on Panic's mental note. Although its presence is rather undetected, its progress through the grass field was sluggish at best.

With Foxy, things still didn't look quite bright for her. Despite the man's story, to which she thought any elderly man could tell, she'd still not perk up like one would want. It took a few minutes, but she finally stood up, expression and posture unchanged, leaving her hat and whip behind.

"That's... a nice story and all... but I think I need some time alone." She said, walking off shortly after saying so. She'd simply walk anyplace outside from where she was headed, and didn't matter where, though she stayed on premises. She sat alone, her head in her legs, and curled up in her tail.

StarLight Nova:

** ** Before I land, the knight jumps at me, slashing his sword in which a bright blue glow extends from the blade to come at me. Eyes wide with not much room to dodge, I cross my arms and summon my diamond shield. The impact rattles me, denting my shield but flinging me back to the ground further away from the Knight. I skid backwards, leaning forwards on all fours to stop sliding. My breathing increases as I recover from the attack. This guy is not going down as easily as I thought he would. Those two moves should have crippled him at least for a while, I think while standing back up to press my attack.

A thousand ideas flash through my mind, but only a few of them appeal to my interest. If this Black Knight is really who he says he is, then I need something that will leave him no time to retaliate or strike back, but what? I see the Knight getting ready to attack, leveling his sword in preparation to rip me to shreds. What right does he have to kill two of my citizens and then try to kill me? I will show him what I am made of. With a smug grin, stand up straight, folding my arms across my chest and close my eyes, extending my mind to see all around me, using my other senses to see where the Knight is.

Maurel ran, ran as fast as he could past the rest of the silos and into the cornfield. Being dark out, his dark brown and gray robes hide him well. If anyone were to go after him, if that man his friend was fighting had a pet, then the spell he placed on the silo should stop or stall it at least. With his accompaniment of skills, he was sure he could battle anything that came at him with ardent vigor. He did not become a Protector for nothing if he could not hold his own against a worthy foe. Hopefully Lish'ua's cry got through to the mountains and roused her mate. If not, this is going to be one hell of a battle if it falls to him.

Lish'ua on the other hand was terrified as the man hopped up onto the barn after dodging her attack and then proceeded to summon something that looked like hellhounds guiding a sled with a skeleton in the chariot. With a frightened squawk, Lish'ua turned tail and thrust her wings down hard, powering herself through the clouds, desperately trying to evade the demented slay. Looking back, she could see it still following and catching up quickly. Dipping into her rapidly diminishing magical pool, she formed two signs, one dormant and one active, wrapping the active around the dormant as she created a spell and wove them into it.

As her breathing became labored by the stress of the situation, she dove up before twirling, snapping her tail again to unleash another bolt of lightning heading straight towards the hellhounds and the rider of the slay. Any number of things could happen from this attack. If the bolt hit any of the hellhounds or the slay or rider, the active sign would unravel, activating the dormant sign which would stick onto whatever it hit, waiting to be activated. If the hellhounds dodged, the bolt, aimed with deadly precision would head straight for the man attacking her, doing the same if it hit the man, his shield or the barn.

Still going into a dive, she gained speed, hoping to out fly her pursuer and turn back to dash towards the mountains. She still had a few tricks left before her magic was depleted, so she would have to rely on Maurel for support.

Back in the house near the river and watermill, the general atmosphere was somber. A female fox left the house, wondering a short distance before sitting down and placing her head between her legs and curling her tail around herself. For Rintaru, the sight was depressing. The old man sighed, knowing that she would come around in due time.

"Come on Rin, let us go to bed. I believe it would be best to leave her be for now. Finding out you are on a whole new world can be disorienting for some, especially if you had an important job there." The old man said, rising up while hoisting Rintaru onto his shoulder.

After settling down, Rintaru gave a few inquisitive chirps to the old man, tilting his head while spreading his wings for balance. "Of course my friend, you can finish the hot chocolate, I did make it for you." The old man said, surprising his scaly friend.

Picking up the now warm cup of chocolate, the two made their way up to bed. Rintaru jumped off the old man's shoulder, gliding over to the windowsill before settling down. The old man walked over, placing the warm cup of chocolate next to him before wishing him goodnight. "We will see how things go tomorrow. We can always inform falling star of a new arrival." The old man said, getting into bed and going to sleep.

In a nearby mountain range around Hen'lai, Erik and his friend Kur'si were conversing with a friend of falling star. Through the portal, the two told the black dragon everything they knew. While it was not a lot, it helped to know where the suspect was at the time. "It is good to know this, thank you Erik, Kur'si. I will inform him as soon as I can." The black dragon replied.

The cave Erik and Kur'si were in was not dark, but illuminated by a faintly glowing crystal imbedded into the wall they were residing in while conversing with a friend of falling star. The black dragon had been friends with him for over sixty decades, and being rider and dragon, that gave them ample amounts of time to know each other fairly well. But for one dragoness, her world would begin to fall when she learned of what was happening around her.

Madam Poodle:

** ** With the knight having landed his attack, he fell naturally to the ground, making a heavy impact. Standing up, he held his sword out much how he had done before the bout, and quickly pumped a dose of soul power into his blade. The shock on the ground was mild compared to before, and rather brief. Readying his blade once more, he began to charge forth. However, he had something rather than a typical, risky frontal assault, but proceeded forth he did, and did not stop. His armor clanking, the heavy-footed footsteps on the ground, and the blue glow his blade had were enough to see him in the darkness of night and that glow got not but brighter as he neared.

With Panic!, he'd leapt off the barn shortly after his assault, hoping the surprise sleigh he'd left for the gryphoness would keep her busy. However, as the sleigh followed, a lightning bolt shot streaked down, but only narrowly nicked the back corner of the chariot, while the rest continued down toward the barn. As it proceeded down the barn, Panic had only been a few feet off the barn before a large jolt of lightning bolted behind him, both giving him a "friendly" startle, and a nice, stern shockwave; It'd almost be as if a bomb exploded just feet from him. However, this was no biggie, as he landed fine, but was in shortness of breath as he rose from both the shocks. He regained himself moments later. He then concentrated on what was ahead of him, knowing of someone else being here. However, he'd have very little insight to where he'd be right about now. He shut his book for now, but kept it in hand, as the deed was not finished yet.

In the case of the copycat walking about, it had still not made it out of the grass field, but as cats have good hearing, it heard something far away, perhaps in a different field. Tempted, it reluctantly continued forth toward the silo, but still within the grass field but that noise was rather tempting. Padding the rest of the way, it was nearly clear of the grass field, only having a set distance to go. Mushing through all that grass was surely tough work. In that last stint, the cat finally poked its head through the grass field, coming to the front of the barn, where Panic! had been standing just before the barn he was in only minutes before. Only nodding his head, he quickly summoned up a shadow bird: the same one used for riding, and rode along an aerial plane across the farm, while the cat was left to its tasks or rather, its own devises. In time, with only a curious meow it approached the silo, stopping near it whilst to sniff around it.

Foxy had not been asleep yet at all. Poor she did look like how she was, and all that had really brightened up this look was the subtle shine of moonlight. Being how it was for her, she couldn't help but become exhausted, and downed from the shock of change. As her eyes closed, tears fell down her face, and onto the ground below her eyes, as she fell to her side, and remained there. From the looks of things, nothing was really the same and probably never will be again. Having now nothing, no job, no family, no communications, no friends, no aid and thus, no purpose. Such is what she thought other than "why".

StarLight Nova:

** ** I wait for him to come to me, to get close enough on his own. I stand completely still, not moving a muscle, nor twitching an eye while my gold, blue and white robes flap lightly in the cool night breeze. My smile is still plastered on my face, arms crossed casually over my chest. My white and silvery hair flows in the breeze, the scent of night calming me in the time to come. If one were to try and reach out to search for a foe, they would find no one as I had dropped my power to nothing, not even trying to dodge the Knights charge.

Once the bolt of lightning struck the barn, the active sign unraveled and activated the dormant sign beneath, sticking to the barn. It is not known what it would do, but to know it drained the gryphoness of most of her magic, it was quite powerful indeed, but for now, it laid still, waiting. For Lish'ua, she dove, rose, rolled and spun in any attempt to lose the sleigh behind her. The darkness of night kept her well concealed, but the faint light from the moon illuminated some features of both parties.

Maurel meanwhile screeched to a halt, avoiding a corn stalk right in front of him. Someone was near the silo. Smiling, he turned around, holding out his staff diagonally in his right hand. "Beast control: Iron golem." Maurel said as the sound traveled no further than a foot or two. No magic radiated from the man himself, yet the spoken words woke something in the second silo as the cat sniffed around.

With a grinding screech that even Panic! could hear, the silo started to twist and contort as if melting by extreme heat. The cat would have surely heard it and jumped back to safety. The sound of steel against steel increased until a loud boom sounded and a human like hand shot out from the top right section of the silo. Gradually but with gaining speed, the silo transformed into a human shaped iron golem. The silo lost its shape as feet appeared, the ground shuddering as each stomp cracked the earth. The left hand now deemed itself to appear as the face came into display. Sharp spikes shot out of its back while more formed behind the elbow and atop the knee like a knee guard.

With a shattering bang, the golem roared, sending corn spittle flying across the air and at the cat. Now fully formed, the golem looked around, its eyes custom made from the spell to see in the night. Sighting the small cat, it lumbered after it, feet cracking the ground with each step it took. It appeared slow, but had surprising agility when faced with a difficult situation. Raising its right arm, it projected a constant beam of steel at the cat before doing the same with its left arm. Maurel by now had gotten deeper into the cornfield, camouflaged by the night and his dark colored robes to regain his breath.

Madam Poodle:

** ** The Knight charged forward halting not until within a great length away, to which he came to a sudden stop and his sword still, pointed forward. As he did so, the blue glow of his blade elongated it, stretching all the way to the man on the other side. It stopped short, but not for the reasons one would think. He took his time with this realization, speaking his mind as he noticed something to be quite different, almost amiss.

"This... these souls... they are in short supply... yet how is one soul so pure!? I have not felt souls of such purity, what brainchild is this to have a soul without transgression, taint, or even the slightest speckle of unrest? This is almost too pure a source for my institution!"

He'd say, backing away this charged power from his blade as the man simple stood there. Taking a risk in doing so, he simply pointed his glowing blue Gatekeeper at the man partly afar from him, but within an eye's catch. He'd then begged the question.

"You! Have you lost it in yourself to fight? You cease to move, and your power in that soul of yours; it grows faint! Either you're playing some guise, or I otherwise see you've given up! What's with you?"

He said, and asks the questions he blared out with that metallic ring about his voice. The wind blew, chilling his armor, and blowing up his seemingly long, blood red locks out the back of his helm. His armor for the most part had gained back most of its color, and his dark powers had started to resurge about him with it. He'd simply stand and await answer or action, a true game of fate at its very best!

It spiked in Panic! a source of magic again surged momentarily, triggering from the silo. However, while this beast was awakened, it'd not come after him, which was a relief in his book. However, that cat was more than likely dead by fate, and as such, figured it was time to bring this up one tinier notch after he ranted a little about the situation.

"Well, tools deserve no condolences or sympathies, but that was a cleaver little bitch slap he pulled. I can see his strategy without even seeing him. He's hiding his magic signature to remain undetected. He's probably caught on to the fact I can sense magic, well things just got technical now but first, I have to deal with that golem"

He'd say, now opening his book once more, and open to a specific page as his hand went onto the page. "Alright then. Get 'em, Behemoth!"

He'd say as he "breaks" the seal to summon the monster. After a few long moments, his hand lifts off the page, summoning a large, raging, hellish red beast, looking ready to unleash such rage upon anything within its wake. With some breath expanded, panic spoke once more.

"Alright Behemoth... that's your target... do your thing, bud!"

He muttered, seeming a little tired. He pressed on anyway, flying away, leaving the ground-ridden, infernal, rage-catered beast to tend to it's now controlled rampage, tooting steaming nostrils and throaty growls to the golem a long ways away, as the mutated beast let out a large, bestial roar of rage and pure boiling. The cat was not found after the fist had hit the ground, but the roar could be clearly head from the position it was standing. Before a moment's notice, the beast would charge forth at a [literally] blazing speed, looking to reach the golem in a matter of a few fragments of a minute. With the cat's fate unknown, and Panic! at flight after the other man, he peaked up at the gryphoness to check her standings, seeing the sleigh still to fly.

StarLight Nova:

** ** I chuckle as he questions what I am doing. Although I knew he was going to do something like that, as I had fought opponents a thousand times who tried that on me, I find it a little odd he stopped. He tries to make sense of why I am just standing still, which enlightens me. Let's see if he can take this, I ask myself while preparing to move.

With deliberate slowness, I open my eyes to reveal they have changed into reptilian slits. My emerald eyes glow, illuminating the night around me. I gaze past the blue sword just in front of me, ignoring it completely. There are two things I can do, both of which will greatly surprise him. But I cannot leave his question unanswered now can I?

"No," I state simply. "I have not given up, though you have taken a different action to what I thought most people would do," I reply, eyes glowing brighter but my power is still near nonexistent. With a huff, I continue. "A wise old man once told me," I start, my smile turning into a big grin as all my muscles tense within my body. Zilon, the dragon pendent I have around my neck quivers with anticipation to my call. "That it is 'unwise' to let your guard down." I say before moving my plan into motion.

In just a few seconds, I uncross my arms, left hand going down to my scabbard on my left hip while I use I tiny drop of my energy to unveil it. My right hand moves to grasp the hilt of Ti'karin as I tell Zilon to go to level 3, my energy level surging back up in a flash. I slide my left leg backwards, power building up inside of me while the first three links of Zilon glow bright white, further illuminating the night.

With one swift word, I dash forward. "Time...Warp." This all happens in the blink of an eye before I lean forward, bending my knees almost level to the ground before I draw my legendary sword. The ground buckles as I release the tension in my muscles, energy aiding me as I unsheathe Ti'karin and slide it against the Black Knights extended sword, creating a shower of sparks while I speed forward to the Knight.

He cannot see me, only gazing at the ground where I was seconds before. With deadly precision and a battle scream, I slice my right hand horizontally, cutting across the Knight's thick armor before zooming past him to stand some thirty feet behind him, right hand extended backwards at the end of the slash. My breathing comes heavy while I wait to hear the result of my skill.

The blade I have is special; there is nothing else like it. Over the many millenniums, I have gathered hundreds of swords, dragon rider swords, exquisite swords, odd swords, and many more. Back about fifteen years before the first multi-universal war, I had fused all the swords together. Sometime after that, I went on a quest to find a rare two handed broad sword that shone like a rainbow. When the war with the darkness came close, I fused those two, making it even more powerful.

Now with this sword, it is unbreakable; it cannot erode and never loses its edge. It is the sword of legend, and only I can wield it, because I made it as well as Zilon who amplifies my power to higher levels with each link that glows. This sword, when in the right circumstances, I can call to bear, The Sword Of Creation.

A loud bestial roar filled the night air, startling both Maurel and Lish'ua. Maurel looked back, the cornfield behind him as he hides behind a tree to regain his breath. "The hell is that thing." He muttered, sensing the beast rampaging towards his Iron Golem. With nothing else to say, Maurel took off his hat, reached in and took out what looked to be a disc that thieves use to enter windows at night. With a muttered curse, he attached it onto the tree before putting his hat back on and began jogging further away from the field, aiming towards the mountains.

Lish'ua on the other hand froze in mid air, tumbling down to the ground after hearing the pure bellow of rage. She quickly reasserted herself and looked up and behind her to see the sleigh following. "Guess it is now or never." She said, carefully extracting a few precious amounts from the last drops of her magic and formed them into signs before launching them into the ground as she flew just inches above.

Breathing now labored, she looked back again to see if the sleigh was still on her tail. She turned to concentrate on flying before hearing her spell activate. As the sleigh and accompaniment of hellhounds flew behind her, the signs she wove into the ground erupted, sending a forest of sharp earthen pillars up high into the sky to collide with the sleigh. She did not look back, she only thought to out fly her pursuer.

The spell was simple. When anything flew over it, the ground burst into a needle of deadly spikes thrusting up at the enemy, impaling anything below two hundred feet maximum. For Lish'ua, the spikes only reached a height of 81 feet, but they were flying low to the ground anyway, so something should hit, that is, if the sleigh pursued her when she was startled out of the air. Thinking she gave herself enough time, she looped back, pumping her wings hard to gain altitude before reversing direction back to the barn.

The Iron Golem however, quickly assessed the arrival of the new opponent. The steel beams that shot out of his hands broke off and disintegrated. Taking one more step forward, he used his immense weight to slam the ground, creating a seven foot wave of earth and debris. Following up, he swung his arms together as the collision emitted a loud clang. In a few seconds, tiny steel needles shot out of his hands to fly towards the rampaging beast.

Madam Poodle:

** ** He moved. The knight noticed he moved now, after he simply up and vanished. He held true to his stance only as a slight chunk of his chest armor fell off, and the slight sight of liquid blackness starting to leak from him. It looked like it was a result of bleeding from the cut, but he did not seem to be effected by this, nor were there any signs of pain. The black substance that poured from him was very airy, and didn't flow around like normal liquid, almost as if this substance was only a very slight bit heavier than the air around them. He turned around then, standing at height with his sword held down, but above the ground.

"Fine story so, but if one possessed such might and power, has not one been satisfied with the power they hath possess?" He questioned, turning to hold his sword up once more as he did when the battle started, only this time, nothing came but words.

"You are good, skilled, and maybe even very brave to combine such blades together like that, however, even I: the Black Night: soldier only to the darkness and the life stream of souls in the nether realm, realize that there exists a practical limit to one's power. Take that to heart or not, that is what I believe. I'm sure thou are not the only one."

He iterated, the wind blowing what little of his mane could be seen. "Be that as it may, it's your choice if you choose to finish this. You have the power to do so, allow me then this fight if it is!" He said, retaining his stance without move.

With Panic!, things were going a little fierce. With another summon, he conjured up three more shadow birds, all flying by the cornfield next to Panic. He relayed to search the field, and leave a magic signature behind them. As such, they switched about, and split as they flew the field, incentive to sear for their hiding artist. Panic! perused around just the same as the other birds, looking for any trace of the man in question as the monster Behemoth took care of the golem just behind his coordinate.

In the case of the Behemoth, it continued to charge quickly, and fiery in the heart, no needle stopped it moving at the moment, though it's shriveling as it did suggested it had felt them pelting it. However, none penetrated its harder-than-normal head, as it was on the path straight into the golem, pushing head first into its way. The little copycat kitten still did not turn up anywhere. The chariot was stricken directly, but the hounds run loose. They've sped up notably, but they are now running around in quite an unorthodox fashion.

StarLight Nova:

** ** The Black knight turns around, sensing the movement through the earth. Expecting an attack, but getting a speech, I stand up, regaining some of my breath before turning around. He acknowledges that I have power and skill. The Black Knight knows I am a fearsome opponent, and with that, I feel the same. My breathing eventually slows down but my heart is still racing from the excitement of battle. My sword is by my side as my robes flap in the cool breeze.

"Yes, it is true I have a lot of power, but such is necessary when there is a great threat to the milt-verse that is my home. I am not normal, for I am half human, half dragon," I reply, holding out my arms as if to say 'oh well'. "I was born to fight the Darkness, an evil being hell bent on destroying everything he deems is unworthy and then enslaving those he thinks can survive. Even you fair Knight would stand no chance against his power," I say, raising my left hand to point at him.

"I am just a fledgling to him," I continue, moving both arms to touch my hands to my chest, Ti'karin still in hand. "I am Nova of the Multi-verse, first and probably only. My job is to defend against beings like you. I only sought to battle because you killed two people. Wildlife, I have no problem with, as long as it is not intelligent or able to speak," I lower my arms, twisting my right hand to gaze at the blade of my sword. Two dragon heads act as the hand guard while a third, slightly larger holds a rare diamond/crystal at the bottom. My mood turns sad as I remember various memories from my life.

"If you cannot have the power to save your best friend or even you mate, then what good it is then? All I have wanted, all I have ever dreamed is to become a superhero...but now that is soiled when I learned about the Darkness. I am the only one who can even come close to fighting him. I barely won last time," I say, raising my head to meet the Knights gaze. "If you promise to only kill wildlife, nothing that is intelligent or can speak, I will let you stay here. If not, I will have to politely tell you to go to another planet, in which I will help you get there." I finish, loosening my hold on my sword before gripping it backhanded and thrusting it downward into the ground while still looking firmly at the Black Knight to ascertain his response.

Maurel stopped to take a breather for now. Hopefully his trap that he set near the tree will stall them or dissuade them from continuing. He also worried for Lish'ua, she was a good friend to him and a loyal worker. Of course, her mate was rambunctious, but that could be overlooked with the help she, and her mate occasionally gave him. Leaning on his knees and placing his staff on the ground, he turned around to look up into the sky to spot four birds in the distance. And that creature he summoned is no doubt still battling his Iron Golem.

The Iron Golem in its own right was doing just fine for now. Knowing it could not dodge quick enough to escape uninjured, it knelt on one knee and raised its arms, still held together to protect itself, the barrage of steel needles ending as a result. It braced itself for impact, whenever it came.

Lish'ua on the other hand had seen the chariot fall apart but now that presented another problem. The hounds were running loose, although unpredictable, so she sped on back to the barn and the dormant spell that lies on it still. She used a sliver of her magic to make her already stealthy frame almost invisible by refracting any light back.

As two battles, or one battle and a stalemate continued, the sun was slowly starting to rise again. Cavynthra, Colby's mate, was worried when he did not return soon as he had told her so. Calemvir, on the other hand had unexpectedly dosed off when beginning to contact Colby, or falling star of the situation over in Hen'lai. It was not dire, but time was of the essence if whatever man was there was going to be stopped.

Madam Poodle:

** ** Still holding his place, the knight continued to grave on, state his side of the situation he has. He hesitated not to state it, for he now sees the other's motives and terms.

"... While you make a hearty proposal, I cannot simply kill wildlife; the sword spares no man. Otherwise, leave me this... My job... I feel it's not done here. There is something's I must do, someone and another I must find. Other than that, my blade, and my duty shall not rest!"

He'd go on, taking his sword, and holding it up high. This releases the blue glow of the sword away, returning the souls vested in it into the stream of the world he'd borrowed it from.

"You can have those back. Your world has a pure, but flushed stream of soul's rivering around. Be the hero of the tale if you want." He paused as he turned around, sword still in hand.

"I have things I must do. You must as well for now, do we part our ways till we meet again. Night is gone, thus I must go." He said, walking into the night, the shading trees by the forest, fading into what was their shadows that sealed out any light. Before a moment's pass, he was gone... nothing.

With Panic, things only got more and more difficult. While Behemoth was dealing with the golem, and Panic left to his own devises, he circled around a few more times, picking up whatever the birds left of their trails, and investigated around. With the sky starting to branch from black to blue, Panic! caught the sign it was time to bolt. Leaving the scene after a quick circle around as night turned to day However, with one final step, he quickly rapid-fired ball after ball of fire upon the fields below him, rained boiling hot water into the air to fall, and then proceeded to summon up many mean rat-like creatures, with bombs on the ends of their tail all around the fields, as he saw to pass. He then laid a parting message.

"I'll catch ya' later. This game's grown quite old, and morning coming about. Better jet!" He said, zooming away quickly, and more quickly, but looking like he was in no rush. With nightfall becoming the rise of dawn, Tanuki would reawaken to the peak of the morning sun.

StarLight Nova:

** ** I looked on as the Knight vanished into the tree, the grass scorched and smoking by my earlier attack. "Tch. Just don't kill any dragons or you will know what true power feels like. Humans, though I even relent to let you kill them, are fine. If you say you need to find some people and I can guess at what your job is, I will look for them as well and let you know. You know where to find me." I respond, not knowing if the Knight heard me or not.

Bending over, I pick up my sword and put it back in its sheath before turning around, taking off running then jumping and transforming into my dragon form. While doing so, I mutter "release" to let go of the energy that Zilon is giving me, the pendent going back to its pure gold color. I make haste back to Cavynthra, no doubt is she worried about where I am. That Knight certainly gave me a good fight, but if he even hurts one dragon, I will rip his own soul out. I don't care if he can be killed or not, immortal or no, I will banish him somewhere he won't be able to hurt the citizens on my planet.

Erik and his friend Kur'si were back in the town of Hen'lai to go to sleep. While they could not rest for long, they would get a quick nap before looking over the town to try and find the man that cracked the fountain. When they came back, the first thing they did was fix it so that nobody would become suspicious. Calemvir on the other hand had woken up from his sleep to remember his conversation with the human and his dragon companion. Cursing slightly, he opened up his mind to communicate with his rider, Colby.

With the sun gradually peaking over the horizon, Maurel looked up into the sky again to see a barrage of fire raining down on his cornfield. Spotting the birds retreating, he got back up and started to slowly walk back towards the farm. "Man is he going to pay for this, especially for my corn field." Maurel grumbled, scratching his neck with his right hand.

The Iron golem had gotten up again and was wrestling with the enraged beast while Lish'ua came back to the barn to see the battle. Thinking back to her dormant spell she cast a long time ago, she released it, triggering its effect, and boy was it grand. The amount of magic needed to cast it surely made it a good investment.

The spell on the barn suddenly shone with a bright white light as the air around it trembled. The ground began to shake and the Iron Golem disengaged, but not soon enough. Wild vines, ten times thicker than normal sprang out of the ground to wrap around the beast and the Iron Golem both, rendering them unable to move. Lish'ua saw her spell activate in success and cave a victorious cry, wing muscles burning from the exertion of flying so quickly away from the sleigh and hellhounds.

The forest green tentacles did not relent and started to pull both of them into the ground while it acted like quicksand, giving the spell its name: Sand Vine: Rupture. Over a few seconds and desperate struggling between the beast and the Golem, they were gone, swallowed by the earth. As Maurel took his time to come back, surveying the damage and infestation he left in the cornfield, Lish'ua went to the barn and dropped her wings heavily. The hounds still needed to be dealt with, unless they vanished after some time.

Maurel would no doubt yell at her mate to come and help with the repairs as he fussed with re-growing his cornfield with his magic. All in all, it could have been worse. Lish'ua, once dispelling the gel entrapment in front of the barn and tiredly repairing the hole the man made, slumped into her nest to get some much needed sleep.

Back over near the river and watermill, Rintaru had woken up at the first ray of sunlight. He stretched, spreading his wings and leaning forward like a cat. Shaking his head briefly, he yawned then looked over at Kuroda. Settling on his hind legs, he looked out the window to see the female fox still sleeping on the ground and shivering. Feeling guilty over the stress he caused her yesterday, he silently dropped to the floor and went down the steps. He used some of his magic to open the door and head out into the chilly morning.

The wind did nothing to deter the little dragon as he padded confidently forward to the female fox. If one had not known him for a long time, they would not know he is not always small. Rintaru comes from a lineage of dragons that can change their size, but never go over it. For Rintaru, he grew a foot or two, height, length and wingspan all increasing respectively till he was the size of a Labrador retriever. His colors became more pronounced and darker with a lusty shine.

Rintaru circled the fox a few time before settling down, her back to his stomach. He proceeded to extend one wing over her, sharing his warmth and company in her time of need. Laying his head down on his front paws, he dosed off to sleep while Kuroda began waking up as well. After doing the same routine as his friend, he saw he was missing and went over to the window to spot him curled protectively around the female fox while the sun rose.

Madam Poodle:

** ** Tanuki had awoken from bed, uneasy, stressed, and restless. He looked like he got little sleep, even though he slept for 7 hours, more than usual for him. As such, he didn't bother with using the door, instead, driving himself out through the window with weapon in-hand, dropping from the second story to the unpaved road before the inn below. Hoisting his weapon back onto his back, he looked around; no one was awake, and thus he walked on bright and early, this time on his way to hopefully skip town.

Panic flew onward, snapping his fingers as the birds around him dissipated instantly. The hellhounds running loose did just that only a few made their way down to the surface, but they couldn't keep their minds straight long enough to press any issue. The beast that was Behemoth is also gone for the time being, and the rats he'd sent to the feed started to explode one by one, resembling grenade blasts. There were only ten though, with each somewhat far apart. What happened here today was nothing short of time consuming, and frustrating for the sorcerer flying his way over the land. While it had been going well at first, it then got really tedious at the end. It wasn't worth the effort for that time, and from that, he's learned he needs more resources, and much more consideration to his other attributes.

For the cat, it was surprisingly alive and well too. However, it was nowhere outside for the rest of the night till morning, where it was hiding behind the clock in Maurel's house. How it got in one could only wonder, but that cat was not going out there, nor was it at all going to confront anyone out there until things were for sure safe. This kitten worked too hard to live that night. No amount of milk, meat, petting, soft things to lie on could come close to remedying last night's life flight. As the sun rose, it simply stuck behind the clock, shielded by the shadow behind it. Too much for a cat, one would think.

Foxy hadn't moved since last night, basically holding her tail the entire time. Maybe sleeping on solid ground wasn't the best idea, but she was still sleeping, so she couldn't complain. As a dragon decided to wrap its wing around her, she still hadn't moved. Not even one inch. Essentially like a stone, she was still throughout morning. She didn't budge or twitch until later that morning.