Utopia

[Rikugurl]

Ienzo looked up at the elder, a faint smile growing on his face as the man talked, sounding much different from what he was grumbling on about before. His insult was rather childish and silly but he pretended that he hadn't heard. He had become so use to the sound of the driller dragon that his hearing pick up other things, things that gave him some inside scoop about his people. The biggest secret he learned under the clattering and chiseling of rocks, was that Xigbar and his family were stepping over live wires, Hatori close to having them abandoned or killed.
Xigbar was a hard worker, Aqua gifted with finding the little bit of water they came over and Caleb was just a pleasure to have around, his laughter bringing some light into the dark tunnels.

He couldn't imagine leaving them all behind.

"Alright." He smiled, taking Terra's hand in his and heading off towards their den where the stacks upon stacks of books were piled. This was going to take awhile.


"They won't leave." Axel said quietly, his bare, rough feet padding over the old, hot bricks. Xiu followed quietly behind, it's golden eyes glancing around, trying to catch any sudden moves. "They weren't here the other day when I caught the bear. They already relocated so they won't move for awhile. They need to gain their strength and cool down." The redhead was an expert hunter and no one really questioned his logic. Why would they though when it sounded quite understandable. It was amazing to think that once, long ago, this man was crazy and savage. He was still rough around the edges and secretive but all that mattered was that he was on their side.

They ducked inside a hallway, the smell stronger in here since it was cooler and crisp. There was also scat on the brick floor and when Axel waved a hand over it, it was warm, indicating that they had landed close to the den.
"Get ready. You cover the back." Axel whispered, quickly tiptoeing to the nearest wall and started to bang his Death Wheel against the wall, creating a loud ruckus.
Instantly, there were yips and shrieks coming from all sides and the moment one of the big ear hell hounds bounded out into the hall, Axel called the order.
"GOBBA!"
A hot shot of flame burst from Xiu's mouth, hitting the dog dead on, and literally, the mutt instantly cooked against the floor. Another one appeared and met the same end before the Unbroken rushed forward to grab them

As he did, another dog jumped forward but before it could sink it's rotten teeth into the man's flesh, his arm cranked back, getting a sharp spike lodged into the canine's jugular, blood flying through the air with the dog's cries.

[Reno]

Roxas wasn't so sure how much he agreed with Axel - if there were pups involved, there was a more likely chance they would be gone the next day. Yet he said nothing; Axel wasn't the type of guy you argued with unless you were stupid.

As they headed down the hall, Roxas felt his muscles tense up as they headed down the hall, Their dragons lumbering behind them slowly and quickly. He noticed they were heading downwind, so the dogs wouldn't catch their scent. Adrenalin started to pump through him as he heard the yelps and cries, his fingers tightening around his weapon. When the saw the first one his eyes went wide and he felt himself freeze up. It was all teeth and slobbering tongue one moment - and smoky, charred dinner the next.
He blinked, shaking his head, knowing he had to get a hold of himself - do something! This was his moment and-
Another one went down before he could process it. His teeth grit and when the third appeared - this was it! His kill! - And he;d barely gotten Oathkeeper up before Axel had to dead on the ground.

He blinked down at it, before hearing more growls. A fourth and fifth stepped out but was regarding them warily, feet pacing along the floor in front of the den. Roxas' eyes narrowed at them, zeroing in on the one nearer to him and taking notice of it's striped coat and split ear, before stepping forward to go after it when Axel yelled, "No! We've already killed too many!"
"What?!" Roxas cried his head turning towards him, "But I-"
It was the only distraction the dog needed to charge forward. He heard his name being yelled and he jerked forward, His breath catching as one of the dogs jumped for his jugular.
Then there a snarl and a black head cut in between them, Nyx using the broadside of her horn to nail the dog across the stomach. The dog gave a yelp of pain, body hitting the ground and tumbling, mostly dazed and winded rather than hurt. The other one, a smaller golden-coated one hurried with a little whimper before turning to them and growling.
Another head, this one white, twisted under Nyx's, Lux opening her mouth and their was a spark of light that created sparks on the ground which popped and fizzled at their feet, sounding like walking over broken tile. The sound and sight made the canines yelp and dodge back into their den.

[Rikugurl]

"ROXAS! GRAB ONE!" The hunter yelled, quickly grabbing the two dogs that were still smoking from their instant death, the man's skin sizzling from the heat. He was quick to flee back to Xiu, the dragon taking the dead bodies and fanned out his wings for flight. Green eyes watched the boy struggle with carrying one of the dogs, seeing the two headed dragon snapping at it to gobble it up themselves. He rolled his eyes and kicked his heels into Xiu, the dragon giving a roar to keep the dogs back before lifting off, right through the roof.

As he expected, by the time they reached their current ruins and landed in the main tower where everyone gathered to eat, the dog that Roxas grabbed and transported wasn't fit for eating, the two heads gobbling it up during the flight. Still, two already cooked canines were thrown over the pit, the women Flyers quick to skin in and the horn was blown, signalling another successful hunt. It wouldn't be as much food as the bear but it was still something to put in their stomachs.
"It looks like you're not the one who needs much training, Rox~" The Unbroken teased, seeing the shameful look on the blondes face. "Come meet me in my tower when dinner is over."


Soft gentle white feathers fluttered open, the man in white slowly mounting her back. On his back was a pouch made by himself of other robes he had washed, finding it easy to put together with bug silk, sewn together with a pine needle. He patted the dragon's back and once again, they flew up from the palace walls and out to the wasted world around them. Why was he looking for that brunette again, the color of his air exotic to him and the color of his skin rare. He still didn't understand a word the other had said last night about Chasers or Flyers or whatever he called them. All he cared about was that mother and father warned them that if they left the Crater, they were better off dead. They would be kidnapped by the savages who lived out there and under no circumstances should they ever let one of those 'things' in.

Riku had flown out twice now and he was alive as the day he was born and as he was taught from a young age, you must thank the ones who help you. He needed to thank that 'savage' for apparently saving his life...


"Why didn't you stop them from eating your dinner?" Was the first question the redhead asked, sitting smack down on his dragon snout.
When the blonde quickly said that he did, the green narrow eyes were on him. "No you didn't. If that was your only piece of food for months, you'd try harder. I thought you said you tamed them..."
He got a sharp look in response but the hunter only chuckled. "Don't give me that look. The only one who you should be mad at is yourself." The tall man stood then, walking in a circle around the room to come in front of the shorter blonde. "Now that I saw you in action, I know what you need work on. Speed, disciplining your dragons and focus. This is pretty common. Let's start with the easiest. Call on your dragons and I will teach you how you actually get them to listen to you."


Blue eyes watched as the shimmering wall before him continued to mock him as he approached with a book in his hand. He had searched and read for hours to find something even close to being a spell and the right one. He was hoping the single one he found for 'Dismiss' would work. He stopped in the middle of the tunnel and looked at the shield up and down before opening to the page he had marked, feeling the presence of his lover behind him and that foul devil behind Terra. If his tongue couldn't get it to work, perhaps the dragon's would.
"Down, down, walls of nil
Close upon thy self at will
Bring us now further thru thy gates
Let us deal with thy hidden fates."

His voice was loud and clear and when he ended the spell, he glanced up, still seeing the wall of magic before him. "Damnit..."

[Reno]

"You think we'll see him again?" Sora murmured thoughtfully as he held the reigns, hearing a chirp beside him as an orange dragon went by his side. He wasn't sure if she was feeling daring because he was, or if they were a pair that just tended to be in similar thought. It was a good place to be for any rider and dragon pair.

He strapped on the reigns, snapping them into place around her snout so it wouldn't bother her, then, after making sure the pouch to hold their found goods in place was also secure, hopped on. She walked to the window with ease, the two of them looking outwards into the velvet sky. He gripped the reigns a little harder and then nodded, "Let's go!"
And off they went.


I'm going to punch you in the face you jackass! Roxas thought, his temper raising high and fists clenched at his sides. His teeth were even grinding together, trying to get past the idea of just biting the man before him who was nothing but high and mighty and 'I am so better than thou' attitude. Rather than acting on his desires though, he spun around, snapping, "Nyxyin, Luxra, come!" Axel thought he was so fucking smart, Huh? As if he really knew why he was angry. He had a lot to fucking learn about people still it seemed!

The two dragons shared a glance, before slowly coming forward, the dual heads looking between the two men and not completely certain if they were going to like this or not. The problem with dual heads, is, it was like controlling two dragons who often had opposing thoughts to one another. Like trying to lead one forwards and the other backwards at the same time. It was a balance not easy to find.


Down below, a frown was made before Terra sighed and nodded, "Alright let us try." He didn't miss the way Ienzo flinched as his dragon started to make a series of hissing noises not unlike the noise ground snakes could make. It would possibly make sense though that, as a dragon put it up, only true dragonese could bring it down. But at the end of it, still nothing occurred. Terra frowned, "Well that's not it." He crossed his arms, pondering it, "Is there a spell maybe for Enter or... or Open?"

[Rikugurl]

The crystal blue eyes were not use to such pitch dark and he knew the rider and his dragon would blend in like they had before. He and his sister on the other hand, stuck out like sore thumbs in the night. Still, he continued to fly on, scouting the sky for the man he had bumped into, hoping that no one else would cross his path. It was only a quarter mile away that he saw some movement up ahead and from the side of the dragon, he knew it had to be Iris. "There they are." He whispered, Yue chirping and swooping down to greet them. There was a chirp back and soon, Riku found himself flying next to the other. "Good evening Sora!" He called out, the sound of wings flapping hard to hear over. "May we land somewhere safe!?"

Their direction steered down and towards the east where the ruins were, lit up with behind the numerous rags covering their windows. They landed in the same place Sora had brought him the night before, near the walls of the bottom ruin, away from any open area. When Riku climbed down, Yue curled her wings in and studied the brunette and his dragon again. "I apologize for interrupting your flight," The silverettes started as he walked towards the dirty brunette. "but I wanted to thank you and your friend, Isis." He reached back and took the silk pouch from his back and opened it up, gently reaching in and grabbing what looked like a red, round ball to Sora.

The brunette gave him a strange look, making Riku blush some. "It's called an apple. It's a fruit. It's better for you than meat." He rose his pale hand up and just as the grubby fingers reached for it, he pulled it away. "I'm sorry but... you must eat it from my hand." This rewarded him an even more bizarre look. "W-well... I tried placing one of these apples outside of our atmosphere... outside of the Crater and it burned up into nothing but dust the moment it left my hand. Then I tired it again, this time keeping it in my palm and it stayed whole and fresh. I think... as long as I touch it, you can enjoy it. I... I really can't explain to you why."
He took the apple in two hands, holding it up and out towards the other. "Please, take a bite."


Emerald orbs looked up at the two dragon heads, seeing the unsure looks on their faces. Slowly he turned and picked up an object that was made of metal and rocks. The metal was molded into a circle while the rocks stayed loose in the middle. When he shook it, it made a rattling sound. Then, he picked up a slab of meat that he must have saved from the dinner and turned back to the dragon. He held out the meat and slowly moved it towards his mouth as if he was going to eat it, the two dragons instantly launching their necks out to snap it from his hand (and probably his hand along with it) but just as they got their mouths open, the rattler started to shake and they both shook their heads.

"No dragon likes loud noises, right? It confuses them and makes them dizzy. All dragons have this weakness and it's one of the only things your two heads have in common." He stopped the rattling and the two snapped back to attention. "They realize that this could jeopardize their food." Again, moved the meat towards his own mouth again and they once again snapped forward. Again, Axel shook the rattler and this time, said "Nee-yah! Na do di onga!" This time, the dragons growled as they shook their head, clearing their mind when the rattle stopped.
"Here." The rattle was slowly passed to the blonde along with the meat, the four golden eyes watching carefully. "Continue pretending like you are going to eat it and every time they come at you for it, rattle it and say 'Nee-yah! Na do di onga!' If you can get them to back away by just saying 'Nee-yah', you successfully disciplined your dragons to focus on not eating your meal."


"Perhaps..."
The boy flipped through some pages, remembering something along the lines of opening.
"Locked up tight, open up
Let us thru thy doors,
We come in peace, so let us please
Bless thy walls and floors."
Again, he looked up and growled, seeing his reflection in the shimmering wall. Once more, Atteris spoke in his own tongue and nothing happened.

"Ok.... ok.... One more." Ienzo sighed, his palms becoming sweaty. Why the hell did he ever think this was going to work?
"Away, be gone, remove thyself
We must keep marching on,
The promised lands, our hearts do soar
Ye bound us here, nevermore."
Blue eyes rolled up and he sighed in defeat, the book falling to his feet and he turned, hearing Atteris say the last spell. He just thinking of a way to tell Hatori when he heard a happy cry and his name. When he looked back, his eyes widened, seeing that the shimmering wall had vanished. "W-WHAT!?"

[Reno]

He tried to hid his instant happiness when he saw a familiar white form alight beside him, almost seeming to gleam like the moonbeams had made him appear there. He led the other down back to the old well knowing they would be undisturbed and alone there. Iris too kept herself curled close to Sora, watching the two as Yue watched them.

"Ffffruit...?" Sora repeated, his first word of the night being a foreign one. He remembered the other mentioning it before, the night prior. He stared at the apple and once he was giving the utterly odd instruction he gave a hesitant nod, stepping forward slowly. As he did so did Iris and the two of them both grew close to the red abnormality. His dragon sniffed it and then turned green sticking out her tongue in disgust. Taking notice of this Sora backed off a little, "Are you sure I can eat it?"
The other assured him again that yes he could and it was very good. He rubbed his chapped lips together before leaning forward again and pausing. "Are you sure-?"
"Sora!" There was a sigh of exasperation.
"Okay, okay!" Sora laughed with an all-teeth grin, the other's expression quite comical, before he lent forward again, opening his mouth, nothing really noticing teeth that were yellowed from lack of hygiene. He pressed his teeth against the item, finding the surface hard and unyielding so that his teeth slipped against them at first. He tried harder, the 'fruit' thing giving a sizzling-like sound as he broke it. He closed his mouth, the strange noise, kind of like ripping fabric, echoing in his ears. He pulled away, blinking at the sight of the 'apple' now. It was still red all around except where he bit it. That part was now sunken in from it's missing flesh and all yellowish-white inside. How utterly peculiar.

The taste hit him next. The side of red tasted like nothing but as his tongue flipped it over it was... it was... "Wow." He said his mouth full and eyes wide. Over his head he heard Riku ask if he liked it and he could only nod, chewing on it, the texture like nothing he could really describe either. Smooth on one side kind of crunchy and wet on the other. He swallowed, shaking his head, "What is this taste...?" At Riku's answer he stared in complete confusion. "...Sweet?"
Sora only knew of three tastes. Bitter - the taste of meat. Salty - the taste of tears and blood. Sour - the taste of something spoiled. But never this knew, undiscovered one.


Roxas eyes widened some, watching what Axel was doing. It was both impressive and...
He looked down as the item in his hands, turning it slowly and creating a small rattle that made his dragons flinch and take an unsure step back. In his periphery vision, he saw Xiu give a grimace as well. His teeth grit shoving it back into Axel's hands. "No. It's cruel."
Narrowed green eyes that always made his stomach shimmer, even now, collided with his own dark sapphire blue. And Axel asked what was crueler, them being trained or him going hungry?
Roxas opened his mouth then shut it, looking uncertain as he glanced at his two dragons, then scoffed towards Axel, "Your own dragon is hurting from this lesson you know. Don't you even care?"


"Your a fucking genius, did I ever tell you that?" Terra said both with excitement and a sultry purr, grabbing Ienzo and pulling him up against him, smashing their lips together in a passionate kiss. A passionate kiss that turned into a passionate kiss against the wall. A passionate kiss that turned into a passionate kiss against the wall and the passionate tearing off of clothes.

Neither noticed as the dragon snorted and took his leave, and only Terra heard, 'I'm the one who opened it.'

[Rikugurl]

The delight in Riku's eyes couldn't be explained in words as he watched the brunette take his first bite of a fruit. He took his gift for granted sometimes and never thought the taste of an apple was so spectacular until now. He glanced back up at Yue and smiled at her, the dragon's own lips pulling up for a scaly smile back. He carefully turned it, allowing Sora to take another bite. "In them middle is a core, which we don't eat because it's hard to bite and hard to digest so you have to eat around it. Kind of like animal bones." The silverette explained before Sora had to even ask. Then again, Sora's mouth was so full with fruit that he couldn't really talk much period.

When it was nothing but the core, he turned some and offered it to Yue who happily took it and crunched it down. "My sister doesn't eat meat either. She loves bugs instead and fruit too. She's very gentle and once, I even saw her bring something dead back alive..." He spoke softly, rubbing her snout. "OH! Here...." He said, reaching back into the pouch and this time, picked up something that was oval and green. It was fat around the bottom and got smaller around the top. "This is called a pear. It's a lot like an apple but taste different." He again held it up for Sora and taste and again, laughed when he saw the look on the younger's face and watched him as he chowed down on it. "I'm so glad you like them..."


In a flash, the hunter was standing over the blonde, his eyes wicked and dangerous looking as they glared down into the endless blue. "Yes, I care." His voice was different, serious and almost... offended?
"Xiu and I are inseparable and since you wish to be a hunter, I must teach you and your dragon how to do it right. All things are cruel at first but it is the best way to learn. If your Zippleback wasn't nurtured from the day it hatched, do you think it would worry about how cruel it was being when it tortures you? Eats you alive or sets you on fire? Once it learns that 'Nee-ya' which is 'No' in their language, it will relate it to that rattling and it will stop. It won't feel any pain when it learns this because it will remember what happened when they first learned it."

He then turned and walked back to the Nightmare, patting him on the shoulder. "We were about to leave anyway. Continue unless you can think of another way to discipline those gluttons." He hopped on his dragon's back and he turned, the wings folding out and before they were off, the redhead glanced back. "You don't have much time, Roxas. These people are dying."

[Reno]

This one was easier to bite into, the skin softer and the taste more tangy yet still had this 'sweet' to it. It too had an inside that was yellowish-white. "Der Dewishious!" Sora said around the mouthful of fruit he couldn't get enough of, finding, like the apple, that is was wet inside and was staining his mouth. He licked his lips happily, mixing the taste of sweet and gritty dirt without a care.

They tried one more fruit that night. Something called a 'strawberry'. It was so tiny he almost gobbled it into one bite - until Riku told him he couldn't eat the leaves. Such a fact was surprising to him. And he learned something that day - not everything in Divine's world was edible like they thought. The large green things on brown extremities - called trees - where used for shade. And some things were just there to have something pretty to look at.


Roxas didn't turn to look at him, just heard the flap of wings and then Axel was gone. He looked over his shoulder slowly, seeing the rattle on the floor where Axel had set it, and scoffed. Then he turned to his dragons and held up the meat. He had to jump back as they snapped towards them, yelling 'Nee-ya!' They didn't listen and he had to back away.

After over an hour of trying - and getting most of the meat eaten by them in the process, he looked again to the rattle, the small object seeming to tease him with it's easy way. He walked over to it slowly, picking it up. He glanced back at his dragons, twisting it slowly and seeing the way they moved away from the sound, their heads shaking some.

So easy.....

He chucked it out the door.



The next evening, long-thin fingers curled around bits of metal shattered on the rocks, emerald-green eyes flashing in anger from the discovery of the broken rattle. There was an order given as the man mounted his dragon and they flew up towards the tower, but found it vacant of the blond who had destroyed property not his own. He tried his room next, but it too was vacant.

There was only one other place he could be. The rider and dragon curved around the ruins and shot down for the well room. And even before he landed, something was reaching him. A sound in a language he had never quite heard before. It was neither their talk nor savagery, nor Dragonese or even forbidden word. But it wasn't really the language that perplexed him but rather the way it was coming out, lilting and swaying, with up and downs.

He was more shocked when, beyond his control, Xiu started to move forward before he did. He had to chase after him, down the tunnel to the end of the room.

And Roxas was there as he should be, drawing up the water and not even facing his dragon as he poured it into the shifter. Yet, the zippleback was swaying, walking around in circles, getting close enough to what was in the middle to devour it, yet not doing so. The little dragon in the middle, a terrible terror, was a common meal for bigger dragons and seeing as the meat of dragons was inedible by humans, they had little qualms digging in so to speak.
And it was at that moment he knew he was hearing the Dragonsiren song - the skill only Roxas had and knew.

He got the flash of red in the reflection of the shifter. His tone changed and the two dragons moved away laying down against the wall - and so did Xiu. Roxas continued his song, reaching out and grabbing the dead terror, smirking at Axel all the while.

He walked over to his dragons, able to set the food down between them without a snap from either of them and then stepped away. His song stopped. "Alright go ahead." He turned away and walked back over to his teacher, crossing his arms as Lux and Nyx ripped the little dragon to shreds. "How do you like that then?"

[Rikugurl]

The warrior watched as the dragons chewed the Terror up effortlessly, thankful that it wasn't him in those jaws. He tried to ignore the blonde for as long as he could before giving him a look that wasn't amused. "Wouldn't it have been easier for your to remind me you are a dragonsiren? It would have made last night much easier, wouldn't you agree?" He pushed passed the younger and snapped his fingers around Xiu, catching his attention. "Now if you're done, we have more training to do." He again walked by Roxas, his eyes catching the others and there was a faint sign of impressiveness.

Now back in the hunter's tower, Xiu was put against the far wall while the Zippleback was fast asleep (Roxas singing it some sort of lullaby) as Axel didn't want the dragon to be involved in this exercise. "Now... you need to stay focused when things get out of hand. You, as a hunter, will always be hunted in return if your on ground. Sometimes we can't always bring our dragons with us to get a good meal. You have to learn how to make that call in the future. But for now, I want to you deal with Xiu and listen to me at the same time. I will tell you very detailed things and at the end of the exercise, I will ask you questions about what I said."
He got a nod from the blonde and the hunter looked over at the Nightmare. "Xiu, Piss-people." He called, pointing at Roxas. "Yum-yum~"

Instantly, the Nightmare glared at Roxas and hissed, a cloud of smoke arising from it's nostrils. It started to circle the blonde and snapped out, it's sharp fangs nearly sinking into Roxas's arm but only snipped the rags as the blonde pulled away quick enough.
"One the third moon closing," Axel began to shout, telling a story about a fair, silver haired maiden who floated across the sky on six stars to the fifth round dune and twelfth oval rock. He watched from afar, making sure Xiu didn't get too close. He had no idea why Jet wanted him to teach his youngest.


Grapes, a banana, a kiwi and some black berries were gently set inside the white silk pouch, the silverette humming a happy, gentle tune. He couldn't wait to see the expression on Sora's face when he tried out these different fruits and berries. Just the look on his face made him more happier than he had been in years. He pulled the pouch onto his back and together, he and Yue walked from the large bedroom into the hallway. As they turned the corner, the white hair male paused when he came face to face with one of his elder brothers. Kadaj. Those glowing green eyes stared at him as if he was trying to read his mind or soul. He bowed his head some to show respect instantly to cut off their gaze. "Brother."

[Reno]

He deflated a little bit (okay, a lot), but tried not to show it when the red-head didn't say anything to compliment him. Honestly he had forgotten himself about his 'taming technique'. The last time he had used it was on Keir - Van's dragon when they had gotten out of hand in a diving and speed competition with Sora and Iris.

They had been much younger at the time and always competing with each other. He always thought it was because Van was annoyed to look similar to someone (while Ven and he actually kind of liked it and loved messing with the other sky fliers by pretending to be each other). Some inner part of Van wanted to make him the better twin so he always challenged Sora and Sora never seemed to mind, even came to relish this like they were games - but winning meant everything.

And one day, shortly after they had been given more freedom from the ruins, Van - who was again agitated Sora was the faster flyer - challenged Sora to a diving match. Which was unfair - of course Keir, being a Diver Dragon, would probably win. But still he said yes - and it had gotten out of hand quick when Van lost control and panicked. Luckily Roxas and Ven had been watching and from where he was Roxas was able to scream/sing Keir into calmness and pull up from the one way trip into breaking their necks. He had lose his voice for days afterwards though, but at least they were alive.

He was pulled from his reverie when Axel passed him again,giving him a look that made him feel strange and downright confused. Wasn't he just chastising him... now he looked sort of... amazed?

Axel just never made ANY sense, did he?

"Alright..." He nodded, then followed the other out.

If he had known what was in store for him, he probably would of made an excuse to get out of the training. Now he was ducking and dodging from the jaws and claws snapping and resisting the urge to sing the dragon back because he had a feeling that would ruin the entire point of the exercise and then Axel would give him a not-impressed-at-all and a very-disappointed-you-totally-suck look this time.

So he tried but when the end of the story came and Axel called his dragon off, the relief so immense Roxas almost slipped to his knees, he realized he had no idea what the story had been and answered absolutely none of the questions right. He rubbed his forehead and sighed, then said, "Let's try it again."


"What are you up to brother?" Riku had been acting quite peculiar ever since Yazoo had agitated him. It was not uncommon for him to be angry for a few days - he could even be depressed for an entire week sometimes. Next came the curious question, an eyebrow raising when how noticed the sack. "Where are you taking that to?" His smile turned wry, thinking they might be things from his room, "You're not thinking of living outside are you just because Yazoo angered you? That would be simply barbaric."


Ironically, a very similar thing was happening with a brunette. He was gathering things from a little metal pail he had found years okay, carefully setting them into his own sack that was usually empty and would be filled during the night with goods he found. Instead he was filling it with his treasures he was saving to give to Divine in hopes of granting him and his people access to her land.

Maybe, he thought, Riku would tell him if they were worthy or not.

But just as he was putting the last item in he heard a whoosh as this rag was violently pushed aside, making him jump some and spin around.
Then he blinked. "Ven? Is something the matter?" He tried not to appear nervous and guilty - had he seen him last night? Ven would usually go out during the first dark, trying to find food for himself - little small meals that took no practice to catch; or to at least find food for his dragon as he cared very deeply about Verrill. Then, for the rest of the night he usually spent it going between the well room and working under the flames to create things with the metal he brought.

But lately he had found little or nothing at all. Was he angry at him? It was true he had not been looking quite as carefully, as he was preoccupied...

[Rikugurl]

"You don't get a second chance on the field, Roxas." Axel chastised him, shaking his head. "But alright. We'll try it again." He glanced over at Xiu who didn't look any amused but got back on his feet, ready to scare the shit out of the blonde again.


Aquamarine eyes blinked a few times, forgetting he even had a pouch on his back. "Heh... n-no. That would be barbaric. I wouldn't... last an hour out there. Besides... I would miss you all. Yazoo did anger me but I wouldn't do something so rash. I am going for a long walk away from the palace and figured I should bring some food. I sure there are some where I'll go but I want to see if things taste as delicious that grow far from mother or if it's the same." He ran his fingers over Yue's scales, trying to keep his cool under his brother's glowing eyes. "Don't worry about me, brother. I may lose my nerve and return later."


"Wh....um.... nothing." The blonde coughed, rubbing his arm, glancing at Iris who was looking at him strange. "Oh, but uh... I did need to talk to you about something." He said suddenly, walking over to the brunette. "I came up with a new idea last night and I need you to test out if it works. I know you haven't been getting the best catches with metal lately because honestly, you probably got every piece of it around here. But, I can still work with little scraps of metal so I came up with this." He held up something that looked like a scoop. On the bottom, there were fine pieces of metal crossing over each other. It looked much like the Shifter that he had invented years ago, at least the mesh part. "I call it the Sand Shifter. It's like the one we use for water to clean it but this one is something you can use in the sand. What you do is you lower it while you fly and you can scoop up the sand below. Then you'll have to stop and raise up higher to let the sand fall through these little holes. The only thing that should be left are scraps of metal!"

He gave Sora a big smile and shoved the new invention in the boy's dirty hands. "You'll give it a try right? Oh! And here!" He gave Sora a riding bucket, another invention he had come up with where riders could store loose things if needed. "Put whatever you find in this, ok? Just dump everything so you don't cut yourself." The blonde paused and looked over Sora's shoulder, seeing a bag that was full of found goods. "What are you doing with all that?"

[Reno]

Roxas crossed his arms and rolled his eyes, grumbling, "That's why it's called training, idiot."
Narrow eyes looked back at him, asking 'What did you say?'
He looked at the other, considered repeating it, then thought better of it. But he did say, "You know, I'm not going to get it perfect the first time. No one is that good."


Glowing eyes peered at the other for a short time, before the man gave a slow nod. "Well, have sister lead you back if you get lost." Riku promised he would before he was on his way. Yet Kadaj stood there for a few minutes more, just pondering over it all. He considered asking mother of Riku's strange behavior - but he knew, as usual, she would brush it off as an eccentricity. He was always the most adventurous one.


Sora blinked looking at the strange, new contraption, lifting it up some. It wasn't too heavy, but he knew, once full of sand, it sure would be. Even still, it was quite brilliant and he was nodding to Ven's suggestion, knowing it would certainly come in handy. but blinked as another contraption was given to him. "Well I -" He was thrown off track as he heard Ven ask the next question and he blinked then blushed, realizing what the other had noticed. Well he couldn't tell him the truth. Not only because, honestly, Ven could have him killed for treason but because, even if he didn't and kept his secret, knowing left him as guilty as him. It made him sick inside his stomach just thinking about possibly risking his brother's life.

"Nothing, just going to move them somewhere safer." The brunette explained nonchalantly, keeping his eyes on the new tools and not at his brother, who could probably tell of the lie in his eyes if he did. "Thank you for these. I am sure they will proof handy."
There was a pause, Sora silently pleading in his mind for his brother not to push it, and then a slow nod. As Ven started to back away though, he glanced up, "And Ventus? I'm sorry."
That made his brother freeze and glance back. 'For what?'
"I..." He seemed puzzled, "I'm not sure. Just lately whenever you look at me... you look like you're offended by me. I don't know what I did to hurt you, but I am sorry."

[Rikugurl]

The emeralds turned a few shades darker even though a fire lit up in his stomach. He stood and walked by the blonde, his eyes never leaving him. "I'm sorry. I just can't stop thinking about that fact that... I don't know, that maybe we're on the verge of extinction. If you can't keep up, you're better off dead. I don't need your help to keep living so don't think I owe you anything, boy."
He turned away and called to the Nightmare. "No like it, yum-yum on di tumb."
Xiu gave a vicious snark and spit a blob of fire, the smoldering ball of flames landing just right before the blonde's feet.

"A Terror was flying north..."


Riku continued to walk along the outer walls of the palace, making sure not to look back so he didn't look suspicious. He knew Kadaj was looking out for him, being the good big brother that he was.
"There's not much out there. Never forget that Riku."
Sephiroth was wrong. There was something out there. It may not be as amazing or comfortable as what was in here but there were people and dragons out there who were still domestic and deserved to live a good life. To be clean and well fed.
When he walked down some stairs, he glanced back, seeing that his brother was gone from sight. "Come on Yue."

He climbed up on her back and patted her side, her feathered wings spreading before she shot up and swooped down, leaving the safety of the Crater once more.


Ventus froze for a moment, his eyes going wide and his mouth drying up. "N-.... I.... You.... You didn't do anything... heh..." The blonde gave the eldest a weak smile and a nervous chuckle. "I just.... haven't felt.... right. Nightmares I guess... Ones I can't remember or try hard to forget... Our people are dying, you know? I just don't it to come to.... having to..." He shook his head and turned, heading towards the hall. "Just be careful tonight, yea? Let me know how it goes tomorrow." He called and pushed the rags away, stepping out into the dark hallway but froze once more, seeing gold eyes heading up the hallways towards him. His blue eyes widened in fear and turned around quick. "Ah, Sor---" He paused, seeing that his brother was gone already.

"Fuck..."

[Reno]

His eyes widened and then his teeth grit, but he hardly had time to respond to those words before the attack was on and he yelped, jumping back from the flames, and teeth and swipes. The story echoed off the walls, but all throughout his heart he heard only the echo of the word 'boy' and it infuriated him more than anything.

Again the lesson ended and the story was over and Axel walked over. Before he could even start asking, Roxas spoke first, "A Terror was flying north," and he repeated as much of the story, word-for-word, as he could. He wasn't sure how much of it he got right but when he came to the end, he swung, ending it with, "Story brought to us by the fucking king of jackasses! Lesson OVER." He spun around, snapping a harsh sound that woke his own dragon and he tugged a horn, jumping on and letting them fly him out of their before he swore if he stayed any longer, he would burn the whole fucking place down.

And Axel would probably fucking survive.


Sora sighed as his brother left, hopping on Iris, her body changing a melancholy blue as they swooped out of the room, never hearing the call that was really a plea for help. Didn't realize the malicious grin growing on another's face as a blonde was dragged within and unspeakable, cruel things happened in his own room. Had he of known, he would of been back in an instant, might of even ordered Iris to attack - if he didn't do it himself.

Instead, all he could think was whatever was on Ven's mind that was truly bothering him, he would tell when he was ready, as he was stubborn like that.

Luckily, he wasn't given much time to be sad though, when he noticed another white form in the distance - flying right for him. He smiled pulling Iris' reigns from her lilting into a stop as the other approached because, if he were honest, he hasn't been looking for any other kind of silver except that of the hair of Riku's head. They shared a pleasantry, and then headed for the well room that was becoming quite familiar to them.

[Rikugurl]

The Unbroken watched as the blonde went ripping from his tower, out into the night. Slowly he walked towards the opening, watching the other fly away and grinned.
There was an annoyed sound behind him and he glanced back, seeing his dragon roll his eyes. "You think I was harsh on him?"
"Like I care? He think that singing isn't cruel? Makes my head spin and I get dumb. I tell you kill that boy. He make you look like a fool."
"Maybe I am..." The redhead looked back, watching Roxas land at his own tower and disappearing inside. "I guess being harsh with him is being harsh with Unbroken. They don't take it the same."
"Bah. They too sensitive to open eyes. Without me and you, they dead long ago. Boy should listen to you and be happy he learn to hunt."

The green eyed man pulled the opening rag closed and kicked some sand into the fire, putting it out. "If he comes back, that's a good sign."
"Maybe he right to call you idiot..."


"Evening, Sora." Riku smiled as he hopped off Yue, dusting himself off. He had to be very careful when he landed back at home, to make sure all the sand that got into his robe came lose and didn't make his brothers or sister question. "I've brought you more fruit." He spoke, his handsome voice carrying through the thick air without fail. He opened the silk pouch wide, allowing Sora to peer inside.

He blinked though, seeing Sora pull off a pouch of his own, made of leather and fur. "What's this?" He asked, looking inside to see all sorts of random objects within.