• Welcome to The Cave of Dragonflies forums, where the smallest bugs live alongside the strongest dragons.

    Guests are not able to post messages or even read certain areas of the forums. Now, that's boring, don't you think? Registration, on the other hand, is simple, completely free of charge, and does not require you to give out any personal information at all. As soon as you register, you can take part in some of the happy fun things at the forums such as posting messages, voting in polls, sending private messages to people and being told that this is where we drink tea and eat cod.

    Of course I'm not forcing you to do anything if you don't want to, but seriously, what have you got to lose? Five seconds of your life?

Closed Semi-lit: PG-13: The Order of the Dragon Knights

Alas, Kinri hadn't even noticed that, prior to his entering the place, he'd almost been the victim of what could have been a serious accident. Could have been, mind. Oh well, could have been worse, right?

As it were, what currently irked the fellow was the fact nobody had answered his question. In fact, the only one that'd shown any immediate notice of his arrival seemed to be Endy. And he had seemed more or less a mix of disinterest and mild dislike. Might be wrong, though.

The young green smiled brightly at Morrigan as she greeted everyone in general, however; always good to have someone willing to say hello! Still, he'd much rather have that answer, really...Oh well. I'm sure it'll come soon enough, he thought. "Oh well." Kinri sighed expansively as he sat back on his haunches and scratched at the plating on his chest. "Guess it could be worse-I could be in trouble. Or bored."
 
Arite glared back at Endymion, a cold, proud look in her eye. "No, thank you. I'm perfectly fine over here." A ripple went down her back and her fin flashed, which was meant to show it off.

More dragons were here now. If Arite had all her types straight, then the only kind of dragon not in here was a black dragon.

She watched as the purple one (Morrigan, if Arite was still remembering correctly) showed off too. She wasn't that fond of purples. They were sky creatures, while she lived even lower than the ground most of the time. They weren't very serious, either. She had heard from Zz'lara and sometimes other adults that thier sonic screams were terribly loud, although she had never experienced herself. She wondered vaguely if water would render them obsolete, because hadn't she heard that sound travelled differently through water?

There was Celeste, a white dragon. Arite was okay with white dragons. They were quite calm, and unless there was some kind of mutant giant white dragon, they understood what it was like to feel short. Arite was the only one in here that was shorter than her. They were also skilled with ice, if Zz'lara had told her right, and that was close enough to water. She would only be upset with a white dragon's magic if they froze her pool.

She liked green dragons quite a lot, even though they were mostly land-based. They were a lot more social than Arite, but she was fine with that; almost everyone was more social than Arite. They were also intelligent, which made her enjoy talking to them. And they usually weren't stuck-up jerks, which was a very nice thing.

And there were bronze dragons like Razkr. Overly excited, hyperactive, never-ever-feed-sugar-to-him Razkr. She hadn't really ever met and talked to any other bronze dragon, so her opinion of the whole species was mostly based on him. Judging by his usual attitude, bronze dragons were insanely clumsy and energetic. This was, she thought, the complete opposite of her, but she liked Razkr. He somehow always managed to make her laugh. She didn't like him when he got angry, though. He was very moody then, and hostile. She had never personally seen him shoot lightning from his mouth, but from what Zz'lara had told them, it sounded like it would hurt very badly.

And those red dragons. If there were any kind of dragon that she really hated, it was those reds. They were the complete and utter opposite of blue dragons. They were tall and big. They breathed fire. Selfish, vain, possessive, arrogant... All the things that drove her insane, stocked into one dragon. Perhaps with vanity, she could be a bit of a hypocrite sometimes, but she didn't' mind anyone showing off every once in a while. Red dragons were vain all the time, or so she thought.

((This insanely long post is pointless except to describe how Arite thinks of every species of dragon, except silvers, already covered, and blacks, which she will get to later.))
 
"A public flogging..." Raiha gave a chuckle. He was sure he'd probably get flogged if he had looked at his Master the wrong way, but he never did... because he never got caught. Losing himself in some of his boyish memories for a few seconds, he stood there looking like an idiot with a grin for a while, before snapping back to reality.

After hearing Verne speaking to the noble girl, he tried to hide his smile. Some people just couldn't get over their livestyle... At least Master let me talk like a normal person... the rest of these nobles expect you to treat them like they're deity's or something. Giving a shrug, he leaned back. I wish I had a sword like that guy...

Rising up, he whispered toward Verne again. "That's a really cool sword you have, where'd you get it?"
 
Hearing the blue dragon's reply, Endymion glanced over toward Arite, and also saw the nearby green dragon seeming to be starting to get bored and annoyed, probably with not being able to talk with someone. He turned back to the bronze and held up a forepaw's claw to his head. "Hold on a moment, I'll be right back..."

Endy slowly climbed back up to his feet, stretching out his limbs like a giant cat, then started to walk back over toward the entrance. His gait was somewhat revealing of his proud nature, his neck and tail both arched up, then pointing down, though his long tail waved a little vertically as he walked on all fours. "What's wrong, Arite?" He spoke as he arrived, and promptly sat down in front of the blue and green. "You're too good to join the rest of us? Too smart?" He tapped his natural helmet with one of his claws, as if pointing to his brain. "Oh..." Endy then turned his head toward the smaller green, giving a smirk. "... Didn't you hear, Kinri? The humans aren't coming. That was just a ruse... Zz'lara just wants us to gather here, so that she can make us do her real goal... heavy physical, menial labor!" He turned away and chuckled, standing up to walk back to his spot, before someone else could claim it. He wondered if he had made it a little tooo obvious that he was joking, but he glanced back with his eye to see how he'd take it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, Lady Ardeina..."

Verne smiled, as he looked down at his lap. He couldn't actually smile at her... she was a noble afterall, and he was only a lowly serf, but he couldn't help but appreciate that she at least seemed to acknowledge his presence. He almost jumped out of shock then, when suddenly Raiha whispered to his ear. "Huh?" Verne turned back to the other boy. "My sword?" He lifted it up, holding it in his lap. It wasn't very decorated... the handle was rather dull and plain, and it was only a little over two feet long. "Oh, well, I made it... well, my father did help me. He's a blacksmith, and I was learning to follow in his footsteps, until..." He sighed. thinking about this whole ordeal. "What do you think is going to happen here, with us, anyway?"
 
Arite frowned, her scaly forehead creasing.

"You'd think, what with your intelligence," she said, every last individual sound dripping with sarcasm, "you'd know better than to ask that. The more a man knows, the less he speaks."
 
"Your dad must be pretty good..." Raiha whispered back, looking at the blade. "It looks pretty strong and sharp, it'll probably be useful for a long time." After hearing Verne's question, he frowned slightly and thought, tapping his chin with the hilt of his wooden sword.

"Think about it... a lot of us here look like we'd be good at fighting... maybe we might become knights?" He was particularly excited at the possibility, as he could get stronger and stronger if he was a knight. "Or that might just be wishful thinking... Maybe they just picked random teens to do some sort of super secret mission for the king?"

Raiha's mind started buzzing with possibilities, each as unlikely as the next, to the point where he leapt up and crouched in his chair, his wooden sword in his lap.
 
"Stupid rocks, why did I have to ignore big brother when he said to borrow his old boots, oh bother I've got another rock in my shoe, this sucks..." A small girl mumbled in a continual stream, although quiet and under her breath.

She stopped and leaned against a rock wall, removed her shoe, and started to shake the rock out. It landed with a soft plop on the ground, and she sighed, shifting against the stones when... She slid into what seemed to be a crack and almost fell, if it weren't for her fencer's instinct kicking in. She grabbed a large rock and stopped her fall before hitting the ground.

"Yikes..."

But this felt like the right way to go, so she continued. It was sure dark though. Soon, the little cave widened out, and brightened. Much better. Soon, she was wandering in what looked like a hallway. Wow! The girl stared up at the roof, craning her thin, delicate neck to get a better look. Perhaps there were designs, like at father's house?

But before she could find out, she found herself on the ground, flat on her back, the wind knocked out of her. She wiggled a bit, and looked around. Yep. Floor alright. She started to try and roll over, but before she could, there was a man standing over her.

"Are you alright, little lady?" He asked her, looking concerned. By his mode of dress, she pinned him as a guard or solider.

"I'm alright, thank you for your concern." She said curtly, getting to her feet. "I guess this is where I was supposed to be, then?"

The man nodded.

"Uh. Let me see your pass, then." He said, looking to be a bit confused. She didn't blame the guy, she had just sort of fallen over in the middle of a hallway...

"Pass...? Oh! You mean this?" She said, offering the scroll she had been given. He took it and took a long, hard look for a while, before nodding.

"You're clear to pass. Raise the gate!" He said, motioning to a few others. They lifted the gate with what looked like a painfully complicated mess of rope and metal and such. Alanna made a little 'hm' sound, and went in.

She remained quiet as another guard led her into another room, full of a few others. She took a place next to the door quietly, bowing her head slightly and allowing a few golden-brown curls to fall over her face. Other people... She wasn't used to others beyond her father, brother, and servants back home... This would be hard to get used too.

-------

N'Hee, meanwhile, had been watching a few other dragons take off, going somewhere. She supposed it was time for her to leave as well... The morning sun was sucked in by her black scales, warming her large body quite well. It was time to fly. She unfurled her wings and caught a sharp updraft, letting it carry her into the air. After gaining her balance in the air, she started to glide after the others, silent as the grave.

She reached the large building on the hill without event, and landed with a thud, coming to a trotting landing, and eventually stopped. A few others were here already; she ignored them. Not worth her time.

"This better be quick." She snorted, mostly to herself but making no effort to be quiet. She didn't care.
 
Wait, what? Kinri blinked as the silver addressed him. Now the poor chap was confused. In fact, if he'd had eyebrows he certainly would have raised one...but, as it were, one simply had to settle for him tilting his head until it was practically sideways, eyes half-closed to give him a serious, thoughtful expression.

Work I can live with; it's something to do, he thought. But no huma... "Waaaiiiittt....You're lying again, aren't you Endy....?" Kinri said on a sudden change of thought. He frowned, the look decidedly peculiar given the current angle of his head.

And of course, Arite, had to say something he just couldn't resist answering.

Still keeping his head at that preposterous angle, the young green rolled an eye in her direction. "And I would like to point out that I'm not a man." He snickered, before focusing his attention on the silver that'd almost...almost gotten him to head back home. Well, if he'd finished his initial line of thought he probably would have....
 
Kismet rose to her feet, she had been off away from the others a bit, not really listening. And because of that, she had no idea what was happening..

Great job, you don't even know how many others there are, or why you're really here.. She shook a few rocks from her blue-purple scales, and watched a few other dragons take off, before running up herself and unfolding her wings. With a few powerful flaps, she was in the air, following a black dragon dive towards a building on a hill.

Kismet landed with a thud, flaring her wings to come to a more complete stop. She let out a quiet blast of air, hoping to greatly annoy someone.
--
"I'm late, I'm late, I'm late.." Gallea leapfrogged over a large rock, seeing a smallish girl disappear into the rock face ahead of her. "Alright, that must be it." Slipping in the same way the girl did, she watched as a gate was lifted for her and almost lowered.. "Wait!"

Running ahead, Gallea pulled out the scroll she had been given, showing it to the guard.

"Hold the gate," he yelled, and Gallea was let in and led to a room with others. The girl she had seen was near the door, and a guy with a sword was talking to some others. Gallea let out a short breath, the room didn't look too tense or coordinated yet. Whatever was going to happen hadn't started yet, hopefully...
 
Morrigan twitched, unnerved as Endymion decided to use his breath attack. Still, it looked pretty, and wasn't shocking her - that was good. "Well... Fine. Just tell me when they get here." she rumbled, somewhat annoyed, and curled up, outright ignoring the conversation. The tension didn't bother her as long as no one decided to start ranting at her, and Arite seemed preoccupied with snarking at Endy anyways.

-------

Ardeina listened in on the conversation, toying with a strand of hair. She had been given some combat training but... that had been only the neccessary knowledge of how to hit, how to use a weapon. If they were called upon to be knights, she would not have the advantage in training. Still, it presented no true problem. She would just have to try harder than the rest. There was no doubt that she would be better than the rest, and everything would work out perfectly if she maintained her status and rights. Just because she would associate with servants like those two didn't mean she had to act differently now. There had been no problem with her attitude back at home, so why should that change?
 
"Maybe... wouldn't that be wonderful? If there is a noble here, it must be something worthwhile, or she would never have accepted it."

People continued filing in, and the room was already more than half full. The latest were another small, finely-dressed girl of nobility, to which Verne turned and gave another headbow and greeting. "Good morning, m'lady." Just behind, another girl ran in, not appearing dressed as fancily, but still not appearing as overworked as most serfs or servants. She must be a merchant girl... he thought. They often travel from city to city, state to state, buying and selling their products... I've seen a couple merchants, but they've mainly spoken with the lord of the village.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Endymion just laughed, pausing and, turning his head back toward the green dragon. "Oh? But do you see any humans, Kinri? Who knows what Zz'lara will come back with... maybe giant shovels, instead of humans." With a snicker, he then added to Arite, "Go ahead then, stay there if you want. You're the one who had to speak to add that statement anyway." Of course, questioning about his own intelligence didn't even warrant bothering to respond. Endy knew he was smart. Bragging about himself didn't prove anything, nor did questioning from others such as Arite. It was showing how an otherwise pretty smart green dragon could fail at his own game that was reassuring enough.

The silver dragon slumped over back down on the ground, near the bronze and purple, laying on his side. The mist he blew over Morrigan had already mostly subsided, a little bit still blowing around through the air like dust, but mostly either falling to the ground or landing on her, giving her coat a little glittery sparkle. He watched as a black dragon arrived at the doors, as well as a second purple. Giving a soft groan, he muttered softly, under his breath, though probably Razkr or Morrigan could hear. "Oh goodie... I was hoping those two wouldn't show up..."
 
"I'm sorry I'm late!" Erandor shouted at the guard. He just chuckled, and replied, "You're not too late. Can I see your pass?"

Erandor froze. They didn't say anything about a pass. "Uh..."

"Your scroll," The Guard said. "Gosh, you'd think that they would tell the people that their scroll was the pass and they needed it to get in..."

"Oh," Erandor sighed in relief. "Here," He held out his scroll. The gate started to open automatically, one of the other guards must have been listening. They walked him to a room, where several other people were also waiting. Most seemed to be lowly serfs, but a Noble and a Merchant girl were present. Ah, my kind of people.

Erandor walked over and said "Hi," with a small incline of his head. "Uh, what's going on here?" He asked.
 
"God damn..." Raiha groaned, leaning back so his head was looking at the other upside-down. "There are a lot of merchants and nobles here... great, just the people I really didn't want to deal with."

Looking at the two girls who came in, Raiha came to a conclusion that they were alright looking, but the noble/merchant thing kind of put him out, so he gave up on them. Raiha seemed to be leaning back a bit too far though, as he promptly toppled out of his chair, and his wooden sword went flying towards Ardeina. "Shi-!"
 
"Well. By the looks of it, the cave where all the others are going is either the place where I'm to go or the sleeping chambers of something that likes to eat kids."

The young lad brushes back his chestnut hair from his eyes, a wicked humor in his robin blue eyes as he climbs the rocks on the mountian side. He was careful of his footing after watching the young girl before him climb and nearly fall. From what he saw, she must be trained in balance.

"Must be a Fencer"

He remebers watching Fencers spar while traveling with his father. He often liked to watch others of his age doing exciting things, rather than peddling their wares to Nobles and other stuffy people.

He finally reaches the top of the ledge and brushes himself off, fixing the belt over his shirt that kept his spear strapped to his back. His hand rests on the wood of the spear, smiling when he remembers how he got this fine peice. His Father gave him this spear before he left for his journey, going on and on about how finely made it was and how it could kill sharks. The old man often spoke like he was selling something.

Silly Old Man. Bless his heart.

His hand then rests on the pouch his mother gave him, filled with bread and other goodies that he sparelingly eatten on his journey. He still had a chunk of bread and a flask of water. After traveling with his father for a good amount of years, he's learned how to stretch food out to last.

After checking his only belongings, he slips into the cave, careful not to get caught on the jagged rocks with his Spear. After manuvering around the rocks and walls, he comes upon two guards and a gate. He stops short of the guards and look up at them, a easy air to the man. One of the guards demands a pass from him, and he just shrugs. He then think of the Scroll and fishes it out of his belt, tossing it to the guard.

"You may pass."

He takes the scroll back and watches the gate open before him, revealing another guard. He shrigs again and walks into the larger and better made cave, following the thrid guard to the room where he was going to stay for a bit. He glanced around and looked at the others in the room.

Quite a few girls here. Not bad.

He then takes a chair and sits in it, leaning back and rests his arms behind his head. If he was going to sit here for a bit, he may as well relax.

----

Meanwhile, in the land of Dragons, a Young blue dragon yawns as she is woken up by a Green Dragon. She looks up at her and mutters a soft "Morn'in" before lifting herself off of a rock. She flicks her tail out of the water and shakes herself fully awake.

"You need to go to the temple, Maia. This is your first chance of getting a human partner."

"Oh. That's quite nice, dear. I'll be sure to get there."

Maia spreads her wings and takes to the air, scanning the land below her. She smiles as she watches a few other dragons enter the temple, wondering how many would be there. She gracefully glides down to the ground and slips into the temple, seeing quite a few others. She chuckles softly and finds a corner to curl into, watching the others with interest.

This should prove amusing.
 
Ardeina didn't flinch, as she would likely have if the weapon had been anything but carved wood. She had been watching the boy's chair with the fascinated contempt of someone forced to sit properly all the time, and it was only that that saved her from getting a bruise. Swords, she was somewhat familiar with. Not enough to challenge a warrior, of course, but she could hold it without the first blow knocking it from her hand, and knew how to strike. Simple things. And, like anyone else, the first thing she had done with a wooden practice sword was toss it around in an attempt to look fancy. The foolish action had been rebuked by her teacher, but she still knew how to catch a sword in the air. Sometimes.

Her own chair tumbling to the floor as she leaped to her feet, she grabbed wildly at it, ignoring the pain as it hit her hand. Frowning at the boy, she took a deep breath, calmed down and then offered the sword. "You should keep a better hold on that," she informed him evenly, before brushing a hand through her hair, righting her chair and sitting down again.

((Morri's napping, no new posts until I can do something less fail...))
 
[christ jesus, people]

Sir Marcus Veyval looked again at the map. This wasn't right, this couldn't be... There was a position marked on it, but if he was reading this right (Which at this point he figured he hadn't), he was to actually go into the cave ahead... He shook his head at this, and crept towards the cave. If he was wrong, no one would know... And he'd have a whole huge area to search. According to the note on the other side of this map, he had to be there in a set time, and the task of actually figuring out what the map meant had taken up most of the time they must have figured it would take to get there.

"Ah, hell" were the only words that were spoken as he made the trek to the cave, and only for a brief moment as he was momentarily trapped by a jutting rock. After he knocked it out of the way, he made it to a large gate held by two guards. With a start Marcus readied himself to fight- There had been no mention of guards, so surely these were bandits or enemy soldiers! But as he readied himself to charge, one of the men looked at him with a sigh and gestured over.

"Got us a lagger here... Always one of 'em, what did I tell you?" A very confused Marcus lowered his fists and trod carefully. The guard that had spoken seemed to be waiting for something, while the other simply watched with a suspicious eye.

"I... Must have the wrong..." As he spoke, Marcus drug out the map and looked carefully. The already confusing lines and markings made even less sense to him in a confused state.

Seeing the scroll, the first guard nodded and opened the gate.

"Go on in, kid. I'm sure they're waiting for you." And with that friendly command, Marcus walked through the gate, completly oblivious to the implications of the carved hallway. He did not stop walking until he came across a group of other people.
 
Raiha gave a groan, wiping away the trickle of blood coming out of his mouth. He must've bitten his lip as he took the tumble. Grabbing the handle of his sword, he mumbled a word of thanks and decided to stand, thinking of something to do.

Shrugging, he got up, walked to the corner, and started practicing his sword stroke. It was the only thing he really could do in his free time, he wasn't talented with his fingers and he didn't like studying or the like. He tried his best to ignore the trickle of blood still coming out of his mouth, and it started dripping down his chin onto the hilt of his sword, but he ignored it, flinging off the droplets with each stroke.
 
Erandor sniggered. One of the boys who was already in the room, the one with a sword, dropped it, and now he was bleeding.

((I don't really know what else to add))
 
Alanna remained silent as she watched the commotion the others were making, when she spotted a boy bleeding. She furrowed her eyebrows and carefully made her way over to Raiha, and placed her small hand on his shoulder, careful to avoid the swings he was making.

"Are you alright? You're bleeding..." She cooed, tilting her head, long curls falling over her eyes, where she brushed them away. "I can look at that if you want. My older brother taught me a few ways to deal with wounds."

---

N'Hee examinded the other dragons as she waited. They were talking amongst themselves, perhaps arguing or making friends? She really didn't care much. She curled her tail under herself and sat down.

"So, do any of you have anything interesting to talk about? or can I just have a nap, hmm?" She hissed, venom dripping from her every word.
 
Ilia looked around at all the other people coming into the room, shrinking back into her chair and looking completely terrified. The boy with the wooden sword fell out of his chair, and the noble girl (The first one, who she'd talked to) caught it for him, knocking her chair over in the process. The loud banging of the chairs falling over, plus all the strangers in here all talking at the same time was making her very jumpy. She wouldn't be surprised if this all ended up with her huddled under her chair in the fetal position. Actually, it was shocking that that hadn't happened already. Ilia wished that somebody would tell them why they were here already, regardless of how many other people weren't yet here. She was getting more than a little claustrophobic as well. What if something happened, like a fire, or someone/thing attacking? All these people, so deep in a cave, of all places? There was only one way out of here. They'd all die, probably. That thought really didn't make Ilia feel any better.
 
Back
Top Bottom