Over the course of the week Darkhor's dragon form scurried about the ship as if it was a new member. Afterwards he shifted back to his normal form and became bed ridden for the majority of the rest of the trip. Rima and Kara helped keep Darkhor well nourished and stable for the rest of the trip.
Kiron manned the helm from sunset to sunrise, for the rest of the trip it was mostly keeping the boat aligned with the stars to make sure they kept course. It was mostly quiet with exchanges of crazy adventures, hilarious tales, and scary stories. For as rough as the ocean was, the ship seemed to be calm except with the occasional Darkhor screech, and Kiron shouting something about his electric nipples.
The crew had a day left before reaching the port of Ainu, it had seemed the whole thing went by so fast once everything had settled. Rima's scales grew a bit more as well, a couple of intimate nights she surely questioned that she had also become pregnant, but thankfully it was a false alarm each time. Kiron wasn't mature or ready to bear offspring yet, and even with his more than normal desire for intimacy, he still knew when to back out. Literally and mentally.
For the first time in 3 weeks Kiron had finally gotten a normal night's sleep rather than napping in the crow's nest every other hour during the day. Rima was dead asleep, her head and arm resting on his chest. Her scales as soft and protective as Kiron's, if she had been like this before they met he might've thought that they were siblings or something. He wanted to cherish this moment for longer, but he got up without waking his princess. He put on his leather clothes and proceeded outside to the early morning. The stars were still out as he held a hand up to the sky. Kara jumped down from the crow's nest and spoke into his ear:
"We're still on course don't worry. I'm a sailor too if ya don't remember dingus."
"I'm just making sure shithead, don't worry. How's Dark holding up?"
"He's fine, Rima and I have been taking good care of him, although he was kinda cute in his little dragon form way back when."
"Taiga and Hakan?"
"Ice bitch is still out cold from the yellow thing that honeymunchkin put on her. I thought he told you she won't be back until we get there."
"He did, just wanted to make sure she was doing alright."
"I thought you loved Rima?"
"I care about everyone on this ship alright? Rima is my top priority."
"I remember when you used to say that about me."
"We'll it's in the past now so forget it."
"I'm going to go see if firebabe is up. Go back to sleep with Rima, she'll probably be out of commission again if you aren't there." Kara said with a slight chuckle as she skipped off to find Hakan.
At least she's not into me anymore. Kiron sighed. He looked up at the stars one last time before the sun arose. I will bring Zerros back, but what the hell is really waiting in that labyrinth for us? Kiron stayed at the helm for the rest of the morning.
Yawning a bit Rima wakes up and looks around. Kiron had got up. She felt her hair a noticed it was a mess. During the course of the week she had been practicing her newly found abilities. Summoning Pepper more then once her dagger and a few other items. Summoning a brush for maybe a higher classed family somewhere she brushes it out taking out all the tangles and imperfections. Rima did not notice how much her hair had grown over the course of this trip. It was down past her butt now, she needed a small hair cut. After changing into her day clothes she goes up onto deck blinking a bit as she stepped into the bright light.
Rima brought her dagger as well and when she was close to the edge of the ship she trims her hair and ties it into a braid. It finally was back to the small of her back and was not looking like she had an afro. Making her feel a lot better and more comfortable. Kiron was still at the helm. She walks up behind him jumping up onto his back in a hug. Her smaller size really did have it's advantages such as probably weighing nothing or Kiron. "Good morning." She says smiling, "What do you want for breakfast? I could make a soup or some eggs and fish with a side of something." Rima was wide awake and pretty energetic today. "Anything you want as long as we have it in the stores." Of course she'd have to make some for the others and bring something easy down for Darkhor.
Darkhor had been sleeping hard two full weeks while Rima took good care of him but the week before that he was running about the ship in his small dragon form acting as if everything was unfamiliar. He finally woke up and got out of bed with a bit of a struggle. At first he called out for some help but he up and huffed in embarrassment afterwards. The drakkollis hadn't come out of his quarters for a while until now. Going to the kitchen first thing he went in and grabbed whatever was sitting out and stuffed it down quickly down his throat before heading out.
The drakkollis came out to the deck and was blinded for a few minutes. When his eyes adjusted He saw Kiron and Rima right at the helm. She was asking him what the dralf wanted as he walked up from behind. Darkhor's belly had gotten much larger and there was no possible way to not notice his pregnancy at this point. He tried to lean over forwards but that was impossible so he gave up and drummed his belly before saying, "Morning! Anything new today?! Anything at all?! Are we almost there yet?!"
Darkhor knew he shouldn't have gotten out of bed in his condition but he couldn't help it at all today. He'd been sleeping almost constantly never getting up unless to eat or... making doggy like business. The drakkollis was now antsy wanting to do things similarly to that of his dragon form except not as extreme. He put his hands on his belly looking up at the sky. While he stood there he felt his stomach growl then he made a grunt, "Of course........ I need to eat more........"
Hakan was having a blast, quite literally. He rode his waves of fire alongside the ship, leaving a trail of black smoke like the water's white foam. They were getting close, less than a day if Kiron's calculations were correct. When Kara went to check if he was up, she didn't know he had been surfing near the ship for a few hours.
As much as he had grown to care about everyone on board, even Kara as they had oddly grown rather close, too much time in a cramped space with the same people can make a man go a little crazy. He hopped back on deck, throwing a wink at Kiron and Rima. He put his fingers to the corners of his lips and whistled, tossing Darkhor two fish he had caught and cooked then tossing the third to him from under his leg.
He smiled. Hakan was in an unusually good mood that day. He hadn't been himself the past three weeks, as he was feeling guilty for basically temporarily killing his sister. The man jogged towards his quarters, running into Kara on the way. "Hey, hot stuff," he said in his typical flirtatious tone, his hand staying just a little too long on the small of her back. "Warning you... Might wanna lay low a bit today." Before she had the time to say anything, he smirked and bolted into his quarters, shutting the door behind him. "Hey, Tai," he said, walking over to her bed. He sat next to her on the bed and began removing the timespren. With each of the four lines that disappeared, the yellow glow around her faded. He waited a few seconds. Putting up three fingers, he smirked. Three... two... one...
Taiga gasped, her eyes opening wide. She coughed and sat up, fighting the urge to hurl. "Hakan," she said breathlessly, hugging him tightly. He smiled, wrapping his arms around her. "Why'd you wake me up? Are we there?"
"Few more hours," he said. "Come on. Those nasty voices usually take over a day to kick in. Seeing as you were technically dead, I think you'll be fine for the rest of the trip. Plus, Kaeligar's just been a total douche without you around."
She smiled and stood up. Hakan had sewn her clothing where Kara's blade entered. It wasn't a masterpiece, but it would do. She left her tunic and cloak in their quarters, following him out onto the deck. "Holy shit," she said, looking up at Darkhor.
Hakan stifled a laugh, putting his arm around his sister. He noticed the sudden tension that fell over the rest of them when Taiga came into view, she he shook his head. "She's fine," he said, his eyes focused mostly on Kiron. "She'll go back to being crazy well after we dock." She hit him in the gut, and he laughed.
Taiga saw Kara off to the side and moved away from Hakan. She walked over to Kara and just stared at her, her expression unreadable. To everyone's surprise, Taiga actually hugged Kara. Even Hakan did a double-take. "Thank you for doing what needed to be done," she said, pulling away from the girl, "even when no one else could."
Kiron launched Rima into the air and caught her by wrapping his arms just underneath her butt. "The only thing I really want for breakfast is you. Otherwise potato pancakes are fine." As he stuffed his face into her breasts. He let her down and gave her a quick kiss on the forehead. Kiron stood aside for a moment. "Now that everyone's up and at 'em I can gladly say we are only a day away from reaching the port of Ainu. We'll gather some supplies briefly and make our way over to the other island. For the time being lets all help make a breakfast for champions!" As he raised a fist into the air.
Kara on the other hand returned the favor to Taiga with a good old fashion bear hug. "Hey, if you ever need someone to punch you in the face you call me alright?" Kara said with a genuine smile. Wow, Ice bitch actually can be nice, she just needs a full on beating to get some sense knocked into her. Kara glanced over to Hakan with a slight smirk. Don't under estimate me you little flirt firebabe. She gave a small wink to him. "TIME FOR FOOD!" Kara shouted as she bolted towards the kitchen.
Rima laughs and smiles a huge happy smile of just pure happiness. She had been dying to make potato pancakes. Their goodness was just right keeping the flavor of the potato in thw process and whispers something in Kiron's ear. Before kissing his cheek and walks to where the kitchen and grabbing a bag of potatoes peeling seven of them with an expert hand while eating a raw one peeled as well as sprinkled in salt. Cutting the potatoes into little match sticks she put them into the pan and summons a spatula then starts to fry it looking as though she is on a mission for the perfect potato. She was so concentrated she didn't relize Kara was there.
Darkhor was swift at catching the fish that Hakan tossed over to him. Very quickly he'd eaten then all up then stifled a laugh at Taiga's response to seeing him. He was very surprised to see Taiga come up and hug Kara. He looked back up at the sky then as he wasn't really paying attention his tunic rode up feeling a kick which startled him as he went to frantically pull his shirt back down. Then the drakkollis walked right up to Hakan grabbing him and pulling him in for a quick kiss.
Afterwards he suddenly grabbed the fire mage's hands and made him feel his baby bump, then pressed his ear against his belly. "You feel them? Hear them? I am... wondering what our kids are going to look like you to? AND Oh my gods the naming of the kids. Everyone here will be naming the children. Have you thought about this? Hhhh I was thinking that... maybe... maybe... one of them is going to be named... Oweala... I think that's a beautiful name. Don't you think?" Darkhor giggled, "I am glad that your sister is fine after all that. Also seems though she has warmed up more than being cold." He chirped happily and his eyes turned green feeling very good about this day. He didn't think about how awkward this seemed holding onto Hakan like this.
He had his hand over Hakan's keeping his hand on his belly when there was kicking happening at the moment. Darkhor hugged Hakan being overly happy and... touchy today. It seemed like the drakkollis was never going to let the human go. He was happy to see Hakan and Raukaas and everyone else. Then he thought about... food... again.
Raukaas ran out to the deck complaining, "I want to learn how to fly!" The little drakkollis ran around the ship in circles. Then climbed up the mast and spread his wings. He made a small high pitched screech which was the first time that anyone had every heard him do that on board the ship. Normally he was more silent except... for all the ear talking and asking questions most of the time.
Raukaas seemed to be really really frustrated today unlike everyone else on the SeRimas. He outstretched his wings again and flapped them. In the position of where Raukaas was at was... awkward in the attempts he was making. He climbed up higher and tried again with more strength. Then he let go and fell off the mast onto his back for a few feet with his breath knocked out of him, looking dazed and shocked.
Hakan pushed out of Darkhor's embrace, slightly uncomfortable by the babies kicking in the drakkollis' stomach. Even when his friends back in Essyrn had him feeling their stomachs, Hakan was never comfortable with it. Something about the whole pregnancy thing just gave him the chills.
"Yeah, Darkhor," he said. "That's a great name." He glanced at Taiga, who was walking over to Raukaas.
She knelt down next to him with a disapproving look on her face. "Rauk, I thought we had a deal? I promised I would teach you to fly, right? Well, I kind of need to be better to do that. I'll teach you! Just don't hurt yourself because you're impatient!"
Hakan met Taiga on the deck, leaning against the side of the ship. "Look at you being all warm and fuzzy," he said, a crooked smile on his lips. "Didn't think you had it in you!"
Taiga smirked. "Looks like I took it from you," she said. "You're weirdly distant from Darkhor, especially considering - well - he's huge. Why aren't you being more supportive?" Hakan's smile faded, and he broke eye contact with his sister. She sighed, squeezing her eyes closed momentarily. "Of course, Hakan. How so very typical. You can't hide this from him! He looks like he's gonna pop!"
"It's not a simple conversation, Tai!" He said in a forced whisper. "It's not like telling someone you don't like fish."
"He's getting too excited," she said. "He's naming the babies in his mind."
Hakan took a shaky breath, glancing at Darkhor and Kiron. "How am I supposed to even start that conversation? 'Hey! Guess what? Your kids are very possibly gonna be born dead.' I can't... I can't do that."
"Think about it," Taiga said, tying her hair into its normal braid. "Preferably sooner, rather than later. Come on. Breakfast is probably almost ready."
I got something planned hun don't worry. Kiron chuckled a bit before grabbing Darkhor and the others to lead them into the kitchen. Upon arrival... let's just say Kara got a little spoiled with the flour.
Kiron's face melted "WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED IN HERE?" Kara started to laugh hysterically with Rima who was also covered. "LOOK THERE WAS A SPIDER AND IT CRAWLED ONTO RIMA, THEN IT JUMPED INTO THE BOWL AND THEN THE BAG. I WAS JUST MAKING SURE IT WAS DEAD! At least breakfast is ready!" Kara pointed towards the table that was already set for everyone. With special plates for Kiron, Rima, and Hakan. Nothing that someone could pick up on initially, but there was a slight uniqueness to them.
The group sat down. "I've been waiting for something like this ALL MONTH! DIG IN EVERYBODY!" And with that the madness ensued. Kiron was finishing plate after plate, he even got into an eating contest with the flour covered Kara with Rima being the referee. After copious amounts of food, Kara was hailed the winner. "Oh go jump off a bridge shitbag, you melted most of your food!" "As if dragonshit! If anything I'd figure you did the same!"
Kiron stood and so did Kara their eye's with a deathly stare just before...
BUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUURP
The entire ship shook for a moment before the two collapsed onto the floor. "You a worthy adversary." Kiron spoke. "As are you my fellow comrade."
The two started laughing, which made the others join in as well. It was nice to have a little fun for once.
Rima smiles cleaning off her mouth with a napkin. She wasn't the type to gorge herself much if at all as it messed with her movement and conscious a good bit. Picking up her plate and bringing it to the pile of dishes. Pepper managed to stay hidden this whole time as well for the whole entire month. Pepper was hiding among the pots at accidentally fell into one so now it's white fur was a different color.
Once the little one saw Rima he lets out a squeal of joy and jumps to her knocking over a few of the empty pots smelling of food and flour. Rima yelps and holds Pepper they freeze and look at the others, "Errmm.... This is Pepper. He's my familiar." Peppers nose and ears twitch watching for any sign of movement ready to burrow down Rima's clothes if needed.
Darkhor sat there eating and when there was an eating contest that came out he watched the both of them trying to beat each other. He laughed when there was a sudden loud burp then he suddenly he started crying out, "Ow ow ow ow ow ow." And gripped the table hard then grabbed himself which looked like he was in obvious pain. He made a loud high pitched whine like a dog that was in pain. He stood up quickly for a moment and started heading out the door.
Raukaas was sitting there laughing at the two on the floor. He didn't pay much else attention. The little drakkollis then replied, "This food was delicious! And Tai... sorry about that earlier... Sometimes I do things that I know I shouldn't be doing but I do them anyways... Are you better now by any chance?" He was quite curious and it showed. He waited for her response really wanting to learn how to fly but he kinda wondered how since he didn't see any wings on her at all.
At Darkhor's sudden onset of pain, everyone looked at the drakkollis, while Hakan and Taiga shared the same worried look for different reasons. Hakan didn't want to think about the next step in Darkhor's pregnancy, while Taiga was worried something was happening to the babies.
In a past life, she had accidentally gotten pregnant and found out the hard way the curse that comes with being an Elemental. She remembered the pain of losing her child, and she didn't want Darkhor to experience that without warning. Still, she knew it wasn't her place to speak up: Hakan had to be the one to do it, but it didn't look like he was planning on doing so.
Hakan gave Kara a short and quiet whistle, jerking his head towards the door. He stood up to follow Darkhor, but he wanted someone with him, just in case. Taiga put her hand on Raukaas' shoulder. "I'll be okay, but not yet. I promised, and I always follow through with promises."
The focus in the room seemed to be more directed towards the door, but Taiga looked at the little creature in Rima's arms. "Am I the only one wondering about the fluffy thing?"
"Oh you mean Pepper? He's been here for a while, Rima summoned him while you were knocked out." Kiron sighed, "unfortunately he doesn't seem to like me much which is a first for me." Kiron pouted his lips as he stared at the little ferret. It was a part of Rima, so if he didn't like Kiron then Kiron would surely start doubting himself about the thing going on between them.
Kara followed Hakan outside along with Darkhor. She whispered into his ear: "Is everything all right? What's going on?" Hakan put a finger to her lips silencing her. If Dark wasn't here right now firebabe, I would totally slap you silly.
Rima smiles, "He really helps me know when I have an attack coming on. Don't worry Kiron each familiar is different they're like their own little people." She hugs Pepper who just sits there like a ragdoll. She puts Pepper down on the floor, gives Kiron a peck on the nose and runs after Darkhor tapping his shoulder by jumping up, "Go lay down Darkhor." She crosses her arms, "Don't argue and go lay down somewhere and relaxe. I know it's hard but I won't have you running about like that." She was dead serious. If he argued she would not have it. He was going to lay down even if she had to cast a spell to make him.
Darkhor practically was in tears again but he choked them down and growled and hissed at everyone and even pushed Hakan and Karen away and tried Rima while at it. His eyes turned red and he seemed to have gotten aggressive completely out of nowhere, something had set him off. It was all right at the moment Rima had said something to him and he slinked into his room. The drakkollis suddenly slammed the door shut to his quarters hard enough to where it shook that area a whole lot and there he sat on his bed and blended in with the shadows. The only thing that would be visible were his glowing red eyes in the dark, "I must find warm water..."
Raukaas was now alarmed about his father's sudden aggression and hid behind Kiron and then Taiga. He whispered, "Dad's doing it again..." He twiddled with his fingers and turned his back on them. The little drakkollis looked scared of his own dad and showed it quite well. The fear was apparent in his eyes, "I don't want to get beaten again..."
Hakan scoffed at Darkhor's sudden change. "You know what?" He said with a huff. "Screw him!" At that point, Hakan was growing tired of the drakkollis' constant meltdowns. He was far from the person to just willingly take shit from others, but he was understanding. His generally kind nature was the only thing to keep him from ignoring Darkhor from the start, but this whole thing started off with a handsome, young man thinking with the wrong brain. He had never thought he would end up in such an insane situation.
When Darkhor released his snarls and other defensive sounds, Taiga got up. She looked at Kiron, then quickly went to join the others on the deck. This was the first time in many years that she had seen her brother get genuinely pissed off. They had gone through many emotional times, but pure anger was a rare thing for Hakan to display.
"I'm done catering to him!" He shouted.
Taiga stepped over to her brother, grabbing his arm. "Listen, you got yourself into this." Her voice was hushed to keep Darkhor from hearing anything. "It's really on you. Besides, I thought you slept together because you loved him?" She grimaced at the thought: Taiga really just didn't like that crap anymore.
"That wasn't love," Hakan said through his teeth. "That was lust and a lie."
"In that case, I have no pity-" Her thought got cut short by Raukaas hiding behind her. His words disturbed her to the bone, and she was instantly filled with a fire that could rival her brother's. Either way, she couldn't act upon it. If she let herself give in to the rage, her control over the ancients in her mind would be gone. She couldn't give up when she was less than a day from being rid of them.
Even with Rima's comment on why Pepper does what he does, Kiron was still struck by the fact that an animal didn't like him. There was always two sides of the coin for Kiron: either everyone respects him as a leader and follows his orders or he's everyone's friend and everyone is comfortable being with him. He cleaned up the mess from breakfast and made his way to the bow of the ship. Sitting on the leviathan's head, he thought to himself for a moment: I can only imagine whats going to happen with Taiga..
Over to Kara...
She grabbed Hakan by the arm and tapped Taiga on the shoulder getting their attention. "Ok you two need to explain to me what the hell is going on! Firebabe why did you call me out here?" She looked down at Rauk who was tugging t Taiga's cloak. Kara kneeled down and hugged the little drakkolis, she had heard what he said and could imagine what was going to happen to him. "Don't worry bud, you have an entire ship of friends to help you out. Now, what the hell is going on?"
Raukaas got silent the moment Kara asked what was going on then whispered, "S-sorry.. I keep confusing my dad with my grandfather... They both look the same and sound the same... but they act and dress differently from one another..." The little drakkollis felt guilty of the mixup and he showed it. He grabbed hold of Taiga and held on. He hoped he wouldn't get yelled at because of his words seconds ago. It was true though, that Raukaas did constantly confuse the two together.
When Hakan yelled and said those words Darkhor gasped widening his eyes. He stood up, walked over and opened the door peering out. His own actions through every outburst was only truly from the fact that the drakkollis was feeling stressed out and that he felt too confined and trapped in this place wanting to go free but forcing himself to stay within an area he could not handle being in. He hated being on this ship and tell truth he hated any ship now officially having been on one for this long. He spoke with anger in his voice which the drakkollis had never displayed before in front of anyone.
Darkhor's voice was stern and staring Hakan dead in the eye, "You lied to me. Tell you truth I have been only acting this way because I cannot handle being on THIS VERY SHIP! I CAN'T HANDLE BEING ON ANY SHIP!" His voice was steady and cold, "I hate this place. That... action... I made was a wrong choice... Now you you say this? I cannot love someone that has lied to me. This is the last time I will blindly fall in love with anyone." The drakkollis broke eye contact with Hakan turning his back towards the others, "This is all Kiron's fault! HIS FUCKING FAULT! And what's this all about?! HIS STUPID FUCKING MAGIC SWORD?! I should have never come here. I should have never accepted to come. To help him on his journey." He stormed out onto the deck and to the bow of the ship very pissed and yelled at Kiron with his voice booming, "YOU! YOOOOUUUU! THIS IS YOUR FAULT FOR BRINGING ME ALONG! If you never brought me along NONE of this would have happened! Hakan does not love me! I loved him!" He then suddenly grabbed Kiron and spat on him, "I don't know what to think of this other than hatred!"
"I don't want to carry that Thing's children. I truly thought he loved me until today.",but he truly did not mean those words 'I don't want to carry that Thing's children'. Darkhor was so upset and angry he just spat out whatever first came to mind. The drakkollis was not thinking straight from the anger and blamed it all on Kiron. Yes he did blame this situation on the dralf for him being brought all of this way. If he were thinking straight he would have said he would have not said certain things.
Kiron wiped the spit off of his face. His expression grew angry. It kept growing and growing until... it was completely replaced with probably the most genuine smile Kiron has ever given to anyone on the ship. "Kara you got this right?" Kara reciprocated with the same smile as she spoke: "Yup I got it! Dragonshit!" Kiron turned fowards Rima and placed a hand on her back and guided her away from Kara. He looked to the twins and Rauk and spoke: "I highly suggest everyone look away." The rest of the crew obeyed immediately but what they did after the initial command was up to them.
Kara walked over to Darkhor. "Typical early pregnancy, such a shame." Kara stood and landed a HARD kick to Darkhor's head knocking him down onto the ground unconscious. She engulfed her arm in lava before placing it on Dark's stomach. "Thank goodness you're unconscious at the moment otherwise this would hurt like a bitch." Kara performed her own version of a C-section. After creating the opening she immediately doused her lava arm to birth the children. But something was wrong, Kara looked at the children... they're all dead.
All ten children, stillborn, she knew she would have to break the news to Dark once he woke up, but there was something else that was more important at the moment. Kara pulled out a note attached to Urgos. She read the instructions and chanted the lullaby as she placed the ten stillborn children cradled in front of her. The ship shook a little before a portal opened up behind Kara. A figure with a half demon face and half elf stepped out with bed hair. "Talk about poor timing, was just having some good snuggle time with Julianna, what'd you call me-" Excalith looked at the stillborn children, he knew exactly what Kara had done. He placed an arm on her shoulder: "I'll make sure Julianna gives them each their own special spot in paradise. Also, your friend here left this, I think he may want it back now." Excalith threw Darkhor's wife's bracelet to Kara before he gathered the ten children as carefully as he could. Just as he bid Kara adieu, the portal closed.
Kara caught the bracelet and put it on his left arm which she moved to be on top of his heart, she began to chant: "Harmonius Corpus." Her body began to glow a light yellow as she gently tapped on Dakrhor's body. "Oh what a lovable oaf you are, I'm so sorry about the children. I hope you understand."
Rima turns around abruptly seeing what Kara was doing. This made her shocked and angry, gently moving Kiron aside the best she could. The fuming elf walks up to Kara and glares at her, "Don't tell me you just did that with out his permission." This was an atrocity that just happened right then and there literally behind their backs without any consultation on all parties not to mention the person carrying the young.
"Bring them back. We have two healers on this ship for a fucking reason. It's to make sure things get done correctly and not based off a hormonal and pregnant things sayings." She was furious and no one seen her furious before at all. Mostly just the plain fact no one even making sure it was safe or even.... She's fucking hot as a hot potato bottom line!
Eventually she regains her composer, "Bring them back Kara I don't care if they come back dead but bring them back please. I could have tried something anything to try to bring them back. I want to give them a chance at least. Even if it's a small tiny chance." She looks as though she is on the verge of tears as one slid down her face, "They deserve that much."
Rima couldn't stand seeing babies not get a chance in life. It happened often when she was growing up. But after months of hard work making sure that they were healthy, both the babies and Darkhor something seemed weird to her. She literally checked them earlier. There was no way that they would have died that fast. Besides she wanted to see this for herself weather or not the babies still had their souls or even an aura or were dead.
Hakan knew that he was going to have a complicated - to say the least - conversation coming when Darkhor awoke. So don't want to do this, he thought to himself, rubbing the back of his neck.
He just walked away, climbing up into the crows nest to be alone. There was nothing he could do. It was over and done with; a result that didn't really surprise him. He knew the fate of any children he conceived, so he had been preparing himself since he found out about the pregnancy. Darkhor, on the other hand, will have no warning as to what happened.
Taiga nodded to Kara after the babies were taken by the unknown man. His appearance would have shocked most people, but the very few things could really surprise Taiga. There was a part of her heart that broke for her brother and Darkhor. Hakan should've known better than to get himself into that situation, but Darkhor was made a victim of her brother's games.
She saw how upset Rima suddenly became at the infants passing and stepped over. "There was nothing you could have done," Taiga said softly. The tenderness in her voice was one none of them had heard from her, but it was a delicate subject.
Rima, Kara, and Kiron immediately turned their attention to her, and Taiga leaned against the side of the ship. "It's something Hakan should've told Darkhor a while ago, but there was nothing you could've done to save those children. You can have all the healers in the world and it would still be pointless.
"Those kids were never even truly alive. If an Elemental spawns a child, it will be dead or powerless. If it's dead, it was never actually alive. At least not with a full soul. It might've seemed like they were growing and healthy, but he all was carrying were ten little parasites that fed on his energy and would've come out dead anyway." It was a dark thing to put into words, but it had to be said. With the passion Rima had in her eyes, it was very possible she would try to get the babies back. That would only cause more unnecessary pain.
"Land!" Hakan called from the crows nest. He pointed in front of the ship, revealing the defined outline of Yoreiq.
Kiron flew up to the crow's nest. He couldnt believe it, there was no way they were an entire day ahead of schedule. But Hakan was right, the port of Ainu was seamlessly drawing closer and closer with every minute. Kiron shouted: "LAND HO MATEYS! RAISE THE BACK SAIL AND SWAB THE POOP DECK CAUSE WE'RE GONNA DOCK SOON!"
Kiron was overjoyed, the sight of land was a miracle. Two months on the ocean was a practical nightmare to experience. It was good to finally able to settle on firm land for a little bit.
Kara was still tending to Darkhor. He started to nudge a bit showing signs of consciousness. "Hey Dark? You there bud? It's me Kara. Im taking care of you." Kara's voice was sweet and gentle, like a mother looking after her child. Kiron overheard this and was slightly shocked that this over the top woman could actually show signs of being normal for once, but hey who on this is normal in all retrospect?
SeRimas docked in the port of Ainu where they were greeted by many of people with beautiful and gorgeous wings. He turned back to the crew: "Everyone! We leave for the island at sundown! In the meantime have some fun and resupply we're gonna need it!" Kiron was carried off by many gorgeous women with wings, he tried his best to fight back but there was just too many. Oh goodness Rima please dont get the wrong idea please.
Kara chuckled before realizing Dark had finally managed to open his eyes. She could imagine how he was going to react once he fully awoke. Dark please let me explain everything...
Darkhor had awoken but something just... felt... strange. When he heard and saw Kara speaking to him and it dawned on him that his babies were not there with him. Tears began to stream down his cheeks as he clutched himself and brought his knees up to his chest. The drakkollis had a long whine that came from his throat. Afterwards his voice croaked and he reached out to Kara, "Where are my babies? And where is that bitch Hakan? What did you all do to me? You... kicked me in the head..."
Darkhor had his head hung down and his arm dropped limply. He sighed and spoke quietly, "I don't know if I want to see him or even speak to him... He... lied to me... that has broken my heart more than anything in my life." The last part of the sentence became a whisper, "I have never been this sad in my life... Not even being driven from my own homeland and so many close and dear people that had their lives lost made me this sad. I feel so... tired..." Then he started yelling, "What is this deep feeling? Does Hakan even realize what he has done? And I will ask again... Where are my babies?!" The drakkollis's voice cracked and sounded dry and he sounded he was in despair.
Meanwhile Raukaas was hanging out with Taiga and asking a whole lot of questions like any curious child would do. The little drakkollis would ask some of the same questions he asked before that were from a day ago like, "Are we going to be there yet?" But it never seemed to cease with his unending curiosity. He was determined to do things, things that his father was already quite capable of doing.
Rima watched as the women carried Kiron. She whistled to Pepper who comes running. "Okay little buddy let's go find stuff to eat." Rima smiles a bit scratching the little guy's head. She was still upset about Darkhor's babies but it would be better if she moved on from that even if she was still aching on the inside.
Pepper squeaked and climbed onto her shoulder, "Maybe find some chickens to eat and go whore slaying." Pepper tilts it's head as the two of them get off the ship searching for food, drinks and crazy fan girls that need a lesson. Soon they disappeared in the crowd of people doing who knows what.
"I'll stay," Hakan whispered to Taiga, as she approached him and left Raukaas to his father's care. "You have bigger things to worry about."
"I wouldn't just to that," she said. "Darkhor's awake." Hakan's groan was all she needed. Taiga squeezed her brother's shoulder and walked off the ship.
The crowds at the port were bustling, and everyone was excited to meet the newcomers. Taiga avoided it, leading Calconirr and Kaeligar off the ship. The horse ignored everyone, while Calconirr enjoyed the attention to his master's surprise. She locked eyes with a young man with scaled wings, standing with a young woman. They were far from the crowd, but he immediately saw Taiga. She started in a sprint down the beach, followed by her animal companions, and leapt into his arms.
"You have no idea how much I've missed you!" She said.
Otikoro smiled, placing her back down on the ground. "I think I do, Tai. How have you-"
"Not the time," she said, cutting him off. Oti looked at Shreya, who handed him the rootsphere. Brother and sister sat down together, fingers interlocked.
Oti looked at Shreya. "Find my brother on the ship," he said. "His name is Hakan. Tell him who you are and that I sent you." Then, he took a bite of the rootsphere and had Taiga do the same to begin the ritual.
Meanwhile, Hakan stood at the edge of the ship. He paid no attention to the women flocking around Kiron, nor Rima suddenly running off. The man walked over to Darkhor with his eyes seemingly glazed over.
"They're dead, Darkhor," he said simply. It wasn't the most sensitive he could've been, but there was no use beating around the bush. "They were never alive in the first place. Sorry I didn't tell you, but if you want me to be honest, I expected to be long gone by the time this happened."
Shreya nodded and gave Taiga a friendly smile before running off towards the ship. Her nose twitches as she retraced Taiga's scent. The crowd made it difficult however due to the different fumes coming from all types of places.
The ship was final in view, Shreya gently pushed past people giving small 'excuse me's and pardons if she thought she was to pushy. The ramp was down on the dock. Shreya's eyes looked around as she made her way up to the main deck of the boat. She saw Hakan standing at the edge of the boat with Darkhor. They seemed to be in a intense conversation.
Shreya didnt catch what Hakan had said though for she knew it was not her place to ease drop into private discussions. Shreya didn't want to intrude but she was given an order so she coughed loud enough to grab the two male's attention.
"I'm sorry to interuppt" Shreya excused herself for she felt wrong disrupting a conversation that seemed important. "You're Hakan right? My name is Shreya and your brother, Otikoro, has sent me to find you" the eolf looked at Darkhor and gave him a simple nod in greeting.
Kara sat Dark up for a moment and embraced him with a sincere hug as she spoke into his ear. "You had an accelerated pregnancy. All of your children, every, single, one was stillborn. Dark please dont take this the wrong way ok? Heck I even had an old friend of mine come and make sure that each and every one of them were taken to Paradise." Kara's voice began to break, "I'm so-sorry Dark. I had to give you a discount C-section in order to get them out. I didn't want you awake because I could only imagine the pain you would be in. Please forgive me..."
This was unnatural for Kara, this display of emotion only came out at something she truly despaired. The death of children was no exception to this. She remembered each one of their cute little faces and the realization that each one of them were stillborn. It brought a tear to Kara's eye. "I'm sorry..."
Kiron was being handled by a group of women as he perused through the markets. He caught a glimpse of Taiga and what he presumed to be her brother Otikoro. Kiron snuck his way away from the girls and sat a fair distance away observing the ritual they were performing.
Darkhor was not surprised nor was he expecting all of this at this point. He just then said very quietly, "Nothing." The drakkollis just... simply stood up and ignored Hakan walking right past him. He obviously was not stable upon walking out, his body was shaking and trembling. Stretching out his massive wings then folding them.
Stepping down the SeRimas he was ignore the crowd at first, he didn't acknowledge the wolf that had interrupted the conversation. Darkhor was done talking and didn't wish to speak further. At the moment he had begun to walk along the sand someone there found Darkhor to be very familiar. He saw Taiga and Otikoro sitting down doing a ritual of some kind but he stayed a certain distance away from them to avoid to be disrupting anything accidentally. The drakkollis felt lightheaded and weak standing still and not sitting down.
A young drakkollis had seen it. The thought crossed his mind immediately, "Darkhor... Oh my gods..." The Nigasche drakkollis sprinted across the beach yelling loudly in excitement and happiness, "FATHER!!!" He ran and jumped hugging Darkhor burying his face into his arms crying. The young drakkollis with dark brown tanned skin who stood 6 feet tall whose body was very muscular made a weak punch to Darkhor's shoulder sobbing, "DON'T YOU EVER DO THAT TO ME AGAIN! I THOUGHT YOU WERE DEAD! DON'T YOU EVER LEAVE ME LIKE THIS AGAIN!"
The moment of this Darkhor's knees buckled and he collapsed, "Froig..." He didn't have it in him to speak even with someone he had not seen in a while. Within seconds later he felt himself suddenly being lifted off of the ground and being carried towards the crowd. Froig had completely lost his fear of all the people but it was only temporarily until he would realize where he was. The drakkollis then asked Darkhor, "Where's Raukaas? Is he OK? Is he here?! Please please please tell me father!"
Raukaas ran down the ship's ramp, "Dad!....." Then the little drakkollis made big wide eyes, "FROIG?!" He made a shrill cry and ran up to him stopping when he saw he was carrying their father. He waited patiently until Darkhor was set down, "I never thought I'd be actually carrying dad. It was always the other away around." Then the two drakkollis looked at each other and hugged one another, "What's wrong with father?"
Froig finally asked the question setting Raukaas down who answered, "He's been really sad..." Then nodding his head with a look of growing concern, "What is he sad for? Do you know why Rauk?" "Uhm... Just... ask dad or everyone else who was on the trip...", Raukaas looked down at his feet not really wanting to talk about this but rather just spend time with Froig and the others having fun. Froig asked quickly, "Dad. Can you answer me? Or is this not really the time?" Darkhor did not give the response Froig wanted, he just sighed and put his head down.
The young drakkollis just tossed his hands up and let them fall to his sides, "Great... He's acting like he just lost mom all over again. He didn't speak for a full month and just... did this... and cried and slept a lot. He also didn't eat hardly a thing and I thought he was going to die. Rauk just forget I brought this up." Then he walked away and poked Raukaas on the shoulder who squeaked and squealed running off. He ran right past Taiga and Otikoro screaming with delight while Froig chased right after him yelling, "Raukaas! Get back over here! Uuuuggggghhh fine..." He tagged Rauk who turned around clung onto his back. The first instinctual thing Froig did was fling him off of his back, when the little drakkollis fell he got back up grabbing him and squealing not even caring that he was flung a bit frighteningly aggressive strength which the older younger drakkollis could have hurt him.
While the two were focused on one another and Kiron being preoccupied with the crowd of people Darkhor got up and wandered off. It was aimlessly going in different directions. The adult drakkollis wasn't thinking straight and ended up about in the same area of where Rima was possibly at. He found Rima shopping for food and some supplies. Upon walking up to her he made a deep and menacing growl directed at Rima.
He stared down at her, the eye color turning to a sickly yellow color. A long drawn out hiss came out breathily as he loomed over her. Aggression was present but all that came to mind was anger, revenge, fear, jealousy and the need to pick on something in a cruel way to satisfy his needs. Darkhor Slammed a massive hand down in front of Rima. Not a word was spoken as he shoved her further away from the group and the others people who were present, he felt that sudden loss of control of himself and he was not able to regain it continuing to do his actions.
Rima jumps a bit when Darkhor slammed his fist down on the table infront of here. "What gives Dark-" She glares at Darkhor about to say something else bit he started pushing her away from the group. Making her drop the potatoes. No one messed with her potatoes but in this case this was different as he was twice her size. She felt a dark and angry aura coming from him. This wasn't good, he was growling and hissing. This got her terrified as she never seen him this way before. Even when he was a hormonal mess going up and down on emotions like the waves of the ocean.
Pepper and Rima look at each other for a moment before Pepper glares at Darkhor and bares his teeth fluffed up. By now they we're pretty far away. She has enough of Darkhors little antic and elbows him in the leg and pushes him away, "Hey! " She backs up a bit ready to slap him if needed or summon her dagger. Pepper was defiantly ready to sink his teeth into the giant being. They weren't the kind to be pushed around much. But if they had good intentions they were find but if it was aggressive like in Darkhor's case they would not stand for it. "What the hell gotten into you you giant chimera lizard!? "
The ritual being performed was simple, but time consuming. For anyone watching, it would seem like they were just holding hands in a meditative state. For anyone with a keen eye or experience with the astral plane, they would be able to see the souls of Taiga and Otikoro sitting beside their bodies.
Rootsphere was a cleansing agents of sorts, specific to possession. As long as the possessed person had someone stronger to hold onto during the expulsion of the spirits, the ritual should go smoothly. The souls exit the bodies, and the possessing spirit is left with nothing to really cling onto. Overall, the ritual took about half an hour, but to those involved, it felt like mere seconds.
Hakan looked at the eolf girl and smirked. "I am. Any friend of Oti's...such and such." He looked her up and down. "My sister's preoccupied, so I'll introduce you to everyone else. That's Kara. She's a little emotional right now. Long story, but I'm pretty sure she's in love with me."
Followed by Strinti, Hakan and Shreya walked onto the island; Hakan's first time in Yoreiq. It was certainly beautiful, and there were so many people! That came as a bit of a surprise. They took care to walk around the crowd. Hakan pointed out Taiga, then Kiron who apparently was watching the ritual take place. He told her who Raukaas was, but couldn't figure out where the other drakkollis had come from. Continuing on, Hakan followed the path on which Rima had gone, until...
Shreya and Hakan stopped, seeing Rima in a defensive stance against Darkhor. The man ran up to them, standing between them and keeping clear of the pissed off ball of fluff. "Hey, what's wrong?" He asked. "Oh, uh, Rima, Darkhor, this is Shreya. Shreya, Rima and Darkhor. Now, everyone just calm down! We're finally off that damned ship, so now is not the time to rip each other apart!"
Shreya calmly walked over to the three nodded at the two looking back and forth between the ruffled people and the creature on Rima's back. Her eyes flicked back and forth between the three. The scent that Rima carried was one of agitation yet hinted with fear. Darkhor had the scent of anger and an aura for revenge. Not only that, Darkhor looked like he was about to explode for his eyes seemed to glow and the noise his throat was making was threatening.
Shreya's body tense glad she stretched her wrist and flexed her fingers, most likely getting ready for a fight. She kept silent though watching the scene unfold and the body language of the creatures in front of her.
"Hakan's right. Dark hun, what has gotten into you this time? Come with me because you are not ripping anyone apart when we literally have some free time to relax after being on the ship for two damn months. Come with me." Kara motioned Dark to follow her over to the local market. "And if you don't come I'm going to knock you out again." She said jokingly with a smile.
Kiron was fascinated with the ritual that Taiga and Oti were performing. He was just sitting there and so was sh... Kiron had fallen asleep within the first 5 minutes or so of watching the ritual. At this point it would take a miracle to wake him up.
Darkhor was now very silent and his tail didn't waggle around like it had always done even when he was seen upset and the whole roundabout of emotions. His growling and hissing had stopped completely. The drakkollis's face was expressionless which none had seen him do before. He stared at everyone around him with a cold look in his eyes which was very eerie. He let Rima go and turned around summoning his long sharp iron claws.
The drakkollis has never shown anything eerie about himself ever until now. Taking his claws he began to tear and cut his feathers off of his wings. The already bare spots from before were now much more visible. The black foggy mist enveloped him for around maybe 10 minutes or so which blew away revealing Darkhor. Around him a pile of his own feathers lay, his wings were completely bare, dragon and devil like now.
He whirled around to face them which his appearance had slightly changed. Darkhor looked more like a devil with his wings like this and that his teeth became a little more sharp. The drakkollis finally spoke, "Feels better this way. That is what father told me. He just told me to do this so I did. I am angry but it feels pleasing because father Duarthi demands it to be this way. It shall be... Sacrifices in innocent blood and fire to burn the bones of innocents. Yakzerrassa shall shun upon my actions." He made it sound like he was blaming his father for all this but all in reality it was directed towards Hakan. He dragged his sharp claws in the sand before bringing it back up.
After all that he became very silent and followed Kara slowly in his steps, "Ignore everything I just did..." He whispered to Kara, "Forgive me... I just can't bare to see Hakan anymore... I also..." He trailed off as he walked but it was another thing that was obviously bothering him.
Rima was shaken up from what just happened. Darkhor seriously was fine but maybe the lose of his children could have pushed him over the edge, still that was uncalled for. Not to mention he completely changed. Black fog was never good but she couldn't see anything no matter how hard she tried to see if their was an aura about him.
Pepper was still pissed and fluffed up but he eventually settled down, making a slight mental note that he would need to be even more weary around the foggy-spiky pissed giant. He nuzzles close to Rima and she picks him up holding him close keeping quiet, "Lets go buddy we still have shopping to do." She looks at Shreya with a questioning expression, "Sorry you had to see that." Pepper sniffs the air around Shreya before jumping back a bit still shaken up about the encounter with Darkhor.
Shreya watched as Darkhor turned from rage into a creature but it was over in a secpndeaving behind a perhaps guilty man. She watched as Darkhor fade fron view along side Kara.
With the whole ordeal out the way, and for good hopefully. Shreya smiled and replied with "it's okay" before turning her attention back to Pepper. The poor creature was so terrified she was shaking her fur off.
Shreya felt bad for Pepper and carefully scooped her into her embrace, softly mumbling something in her ear making the creature calm a bit.
With Darkhor slinking away from them, Hakan just shrugged. He didn't know what was going on with the drakkollis, but he really didn't have the energy to care too much. Kara seemed to have him under control, and it was probably best that Hakan didn't force his presence. "Big baby," he grumbled.
He walked over towards his siblings. The ritual would probably be almost complete at that point, so he figured he'd actually greet his brother. Hakan saw Kiron passed out on the beach and smirked, knowing he was spying on the ritual. He kept his distance as well, watching his siblings' souls renter their bodies. They fell limp, then awoke with gasps.
The duo stood and embraced each other. Kaeligar got to his feet, shaking out his mane, and Hakan walked over. Though he and Taiga managed to see each other seasonally, Otikoro living across the sea made visitation a bit more difficult. The brothers squeezed each other with smiles, then Oti landed a powerful right hook on Hakan's jaw. The young man fell to the ground, his jaw having made a crack! Taiga watched in shock, as Oti helped Hakan up. Crack!
"What the hell?" Hakan said, laying on the sand again with his hand on his jaw.
Otikoro's eyes burned. "You were foolish enough to conceive a chi-" He stopped himself, scowling for a moment. "Children. Not only that, but then you lied to the one who carried your parasitic spawn! And you used Tak'karan's timespren! He should kill you, but we'll have to settle for me." Oti slammed his fist into Hakan's cheek, drawing blood on his fist and Hakan's face and forcing Hakan to eat sand.
Taiga put her hand on Oti's shoulder, silently telling him that it was enough. Hakan definitely got the message. Oti ran his hands back through his hair, smoothing down the messy locks and taking a deep breath. He calmed himself and smiled. "I see Shreya's made herself welcome," he said, seeing the girl hug Pepper. "Good."
Hakan looked at Oti in disbelief, spitting the sand out with a grimace. "I'm gonna..." She gestured towards Kiron and jogged off in his direction with her wolf and horse following. Calconirr laid halfway on Kiron, the large wolf repeatedly licking the dragon man's face to Taiga's amusement.
Kara smiled as she half turned towards Darkhor. "Don't worry about bro, and being completely honest, I kinda like the no feather look. Suits the devil side of you pretty well. Now what you need is just some time to relax and get stuff off your min-" Kara bumped into a sign that read:
Ainu's Luxury Hot Springs
Rubbing her nose a bit she spoke again: "Sweet! We're here! I highly recommend putting away your claws though. Ya might scare off other patrons, even though they should be accustomed to travelers already. I'm gonna head inside, meet me in about 15 minutes in the forever pool. It's a hot spring and a waterfall at the same time! How cool is that! Anyways, I'm going to go have some fun before we meet up." Kara smirked.
She yanked off her bandages revealing her breasts, before screaming: "Ladies! Here I coooooooome!" She sprinted off towards the woman's changing room leaving Dark just outside of the entrance. It wasn't long after before you could hear the screams and moans of other woman in the room.
Calconirr's attempt at waking Kiron was quite the waste of time. Kiron had entered a trance-like state altogether. Whether it was a side effect of the ritual, or just plain magic, no one knew.
Where the hell am I? Kiron looked around and saw nothing but astral walkways to what seemed to go on forever. He chose the one straight ahead of him. It was the only pathway that seemed to be a straight line. As he walked the stars began to come closer, almost forming a wall around him as he walked. He was forced to stop for a moment when he saw a star project his birth. It had to be Kiron because of the tiny wings and the color of his scales. He looked nothing like his father in terms of scales, but the dragon face made perfect sense. He moved along the walkway, he witnessed what happened to him as a child. Raider's had snuck into the captain's quarters and stole Kiron right out of his mother's arms. Thankfully they didn't perish in the fight, but his father Aithusa could not find the thief at all.
Kiron kept moving, he couldn't bear to see the rest of what happened. He saw his oprhanage in another projection. The place where everyone hated him, just for having dragon blood. He continued and saw himself grow, the day he was stoned, the day he was raped, the day he became the sword of Ardal. All leading up to today. He saw Calconirr licking his face attempting to wake Kiron up.
I guess I do have some good friends here.
Indeed you do, grandson.
Kiron whirled around to see grandpa Zu once more. I told ya I'd visit when ya made it to the island.
Kiron rushed over to the astral wolf and hugged him. Zu patted Kiron's head before almost choking from Kiron's bear hug. SO what's going on now? Well, the ritual your friend performed, released the spirits within her body. Thus they have no control over her now. In theory that is a great outcome, but in practice, they are basically waiting to kill you before you reach the labyrinth. Great. So what do we do then? The best thing you can do is try to get into the labyrinth as fast as possible. I don't have much time, you're about to wake up. Just be careful in the labyrinth, past the 20th level, things start to get rough.
Wait! Wait!
"Wait!" Kiron spoke as he finally left his trance-like state. He looked over to Calconirr, who was still licking him. "Ah bud, I didn't think you of all things actually liked me."
Darkhor waited there and thought to himself, "Why am I just waiting here?" He dropped the claws on the ground and stripped of all his clothes not giving a shit of how others would think. He didn't use any dressing rooms and just went straight to the spring. The drakkollis slipped into the water his body changing again and laid back. Within a few minutes or so he just fell asleep soaking in the warmth.
When Pepper seemed to calm down Shreya handed her back to Rima, patting the small creature on her head, a simple friendly gesture. The noise of someone getting punched drew Shreya's attention back towards Otikoro and Hakan.
Her eyes landed on Hakan, who was on the ground holding his bleeding cheek and a very pissed off or frustrated Otikoro, Shreya cpuld not tell. However, she did know that whatever Hakan did to get punched he derserved it. A hum of approval sounsed from Shreya's mouth as Oti calmed down from his anger high. She got Oti's attention with a simple wave and gestured towards signaling that she was ging to shop and look around. The girl did not wait for a response and disappeared into the crowded like it was nothing.
The shops lined up offering a bunch of supplies and goodies that Shreya needs or wants to treat herself with. Her eyes gleamed as she looked at some aketchbooks and new knives, however, the thing that caught her eye most was a necklace with black string and a pair of small silver feathers attached to the string.
Taiga crouched next to Kiron on the ground, her elbows resting on her legs. "He doesn't like you," she said. "He's tasting you. Cal." She patted her hip twice, and the wolf sat down.
She stood, scratching behind his ears. Taiga glanced back to see Oti walking over to them. He put his hand on his sister's shoulder, wiping the blood off of his fist and offering to shake Kiron's hand. "You must be Kiron," he said with a genuinely polite smile. "My name is Otikoro. I am Taiga and Hakan's brother, and the Water Elemental."
Hakan winced, touching his cheek and standing. He got slightly dizzy, but quickly regained his composure. Avoiding eye contact with Oti, Hakan walked into the crowd to join Shreya. He smiled slightly when she found a silver feather necklace. "Allow me," he said, pulling out his coin purse and taking the necklace. He held the necklace up, silently asking for permission to put it on her.
Oti's smile suddenly faded, as he looked intently at Kiron. "That was quite a dream," he said. "You've had an interesting life, but this person... Zukiro, is it? His warning stands true. The labyrinth you are to enter has dangers like you've never seen. Nothing you have ever learned will compare to what you'll experience, but I can guarantee it will be an incredible adventure."
His smile returned. "I've ventured into this labyrinth more than once, so heed my advice. Listen to my sister, if she warns you of something. You can listen to my brother at your own discretion. He is a fool and knows nothing about what you're to face. One more thing... Listen to your grandfather, but do not rely only on the words of a deceased wolf."
Looking at Otikoro, Kiron saw a face of true concern. One on pair with Rima's. He smirked as he lightly punched Oti on the arm. "Don't worry about it, we'll make it back I promise. As far as listening to your sister" Kiron looked over to Taiga and gave a friendly yet slightly evil smirk. "I think we'll manage." Kiron chuckled. She's gonna hate me when we get in there... goodness gracious this'll be hilarious.
Back at the hotsprings.
Kara emerged from her little outburst in the ladies room into the infinity pool. Just as she expected, Dark had been waiting for her, but he had managed to fall asleep. Admittedly it was quite the relaxing experience. Kara entered the water, and waddled her way over to Darkhor. With a little slap to wake him up, Kara spoke: "Look you need to get over this thing with Hakan now. We can't have your emotions cloud your mind when we're in the labyrinth." She eyed the Drakkolis up and down "you are pretty cute as well. So, let's get funky." Kara smirked before dropping onto Dark with her breasts smothered in his face.
From then on, it faded to black...
"Hey Shreya," Rima yelps happily holding a huge box of potatos twice her small size, "Care helping me with this?" Rima asks laughing. She had gottten the best deal on potatoes, it was heaven to her and made her very happy, "Can't wait to show the others all thos booty!" Pepper sat on her head with his chest puffed out looking quiet pleased. Maybe it was thier looks but who knows how they got their hands om so much potatoes, and maybe other goodies as well but their goals were complete and they needed to grab Shreya and head back to ths ship to a wait the others.
Shreya nodded, giving Hakan permission to put the necklace around her neck. She moved her hair out of the way as best as could, silently cursing at it. She knew it needed cut soon, a simple knife to the hair would figure for when she did cut her hair. She felt Hakan clip the necklace into place. Shreya turned to the mirror and looked at the necklace The silver complimented her eyes nicely as well as her skin tone. "How much" Shreya asked the vendor who responded with an appropriate price. The price was good for Shreya so took out her porch of coins and gave the vendor the money requires. The vendor seemed please with the profit and wish the two a good day.
Shreya walked with Hakan close behind. They made small talk, Shreya mostly talking when needed.
"Hey Shreya!" Rika's voice was heard from across the street. Shreya looked over and what she saw made her eyes grow HUGE! "HOLY SHIT RIKA! HOW DID YOU NOT BREAK YOU BACK!" Exclaimed the young lady, who couldn't help but say her thoights out lpud, considering the circumstances. Shreya rushed over to help Rika with her elephant of a load. Her gloved hands took one side of the box and Rika took the other size. The weight was quite a burden was the two made their way back to the ship being careful not to bump into any people. "You can join us back at the ship Hakan, this is gonna take some time" Shreya shifted her hands to get a better grip. "Are you even trying Rika?!"
Darkhor was not really sure of what to think of himself at this point and was rather wanting to not think of it at all. He just laid there no longer fuming or at least what it looked like to everyone else.
Raukaas came squealing up to Oti and tripped but that didn't stop him from being excitable. He came running full circles around Kiron and Oti. At first it just seemed that he was all alone until Froig came teleporting in with a poof of black fog, "AHA! You better put that back!" The young drakkollis grabbed Raukaas and dragged him while he kicked wildly then finally gave up. The little drakkollis looked up at everyone around and he had a sudden perplexing look upon his face. "Where's... dad?"
Froig snatched a piece of jewelry from Raukaas, "What in the world where you going to do with this?! You guys have a little thief you brought along!" He narrowed his eyes at Kiron, "I don.. I... I..." It was obvious that the young drakkollis was about to say something but was now stuck, "I! Am... officially freaking out right now!" Without Darkhor anywhere in sight he was not in the least comfortable. He suddenly froze like he was a stone statue with his mouth open and fell over stiff in the same position making a loud thud when Raukaas poked him, "Is he OK?"
When Shreya darted off, Hakan simply shrugged. While he was there, might as well explore a little bit. It wasn't like he got the chance to go to Yoreiq every day.
Otikoro was slightly put off by Kiron's friendly punch. He wasn't fond of being touched, especially when he had simply offered a handshake. Either way, he wouldn't voice anything, as he was aware the intentions were pure.
Then came the little drakkollis. Oti started wondering just how many of these there were, but that was a question for another time. He could tell by Kiron's tone and Taiga's headstrong leadership tendencies that they were going to have to really step it up to make it through.
Taiga smiled at Raukaas, perplexed at what exactly had just happened. She wasn't going to begin to assume anything was bad when it came to Raukaas, Darkhor, or this new one that suddenly rolled in from a cloud of black fog. "We'll be fine, Oti," she said simply. "You know, as long as Kiron doesn't turn into a complete asshole along the way."