Kimika lay on the cold stone slab, her gaze forced at the ceiling above. She felt so weak with no idea of how she could possily get out of her imprisonment without help. Yet there was no way for her to get help, and she couldn't communicate with Indith. That was the worse part, not being able to hear or speak to her dragon, it was tearing her up inside. She had no idea how long she'd been there, or how long it would be until she managed to escape, with or without help. One thing was for sure, she knew indith would be worried and she hated knowing that. It would have been easier if she was unconscious, unaware of her surroundings and the truth of how she knew her dragon would feel.

Indith had been watching the building where her rider was captive for several days. She knew her rider had to be alive or she would have died herself, all dragons knew that. It was so hard on her not being able to rescue her rider, but she thought that might only make things worse for Kimika. She loved her rider dearly but it was eating her up not knowing what to do for the best, not knowing how to help. Without being able to communicate with her, only made it worse, only went to prove jsut how much they wanted to keep Kimika from her.

How was she meant to know what her rider wanted or needed if she couldn't communicate with her? All she could do was wait and watch, hoping another rider came along. Yet what if that rider was from the Empire and told Galbatorix about her being there? Oh, she'd be in trouble then, and might cause something to happen to Kimika and she couldn't bare that thought.

OCC: Would it be alright if I used Natagath for this PR? Technically he is a dragon rider but he doesn't have his dragon with him right now.

OOC. Sure, go right ahead.

A scent came to her on the breeze, one similiar to Kimika's yet not quite the same. Flaring her nostrils wide to take in the full scent Indinth snaked her head round, her body turning only seconds after. Her eyes scanned for the source of the scent and then she saw him, wearing Empire armour.

Get out of here before I tear you to shreds Empire scum. She all but bellowed at him, not realising that he actually wasn't Empire. She saw the armour and that was enough for her to think he was part of the Empire. Why couldn't the scum leave the riders alone?

Kimika lay on the cold slab wishing she could just close her eyes and sleep but she couldn't, they wouldn't let her. There was a scuffling outside the door and it slowly swung open.

"You know we could use her.." The voice got muffled as the door was pushed back, not quite close but enough to make listening in harder as the vioces were muffled and sounded more distant.

"What have I told you about speaking near or in her cell? Let me do the talking." Another voice said, making Kimika wonder what they were planning. Once again the door swung open and two of the human soldiers walked in, followed by a large kull holding an equally large hammer. Not just any hammer either, a warhammer.

"Well elf, it seems we are to escort you to a new building. Oh, don't worry about Zanilo, he's just along for protection." Suddenly the magic binding her to the slab disappeared yet Kimika couldn't move, drained and fatiqued as she was. The two humans stepped to either side and helped her off the slab, each holding an arm. With the two supporting her and the kull following behind, they moved through the building until they came to the closest exit.

Indinth heard a sound from the direction of the building and swung her head round to look. A sense of hope and relief washed over the purple dragoness as she saw her rider. Kimika! She bugled as she took to the air, great wings flapping powerfully to lift her and carry her forward.

Nooo!! Kimika thought as she saw Indinth flying towards them, if her dragon kept coming towards them the kull would be able to get her.

"No Indinth. Don't come closer." She tried to call out but only managed a hoarse whisper, certainly not enough for her dragon to hear. She couldn't watch her dragon get killed, yet she couldn't do anything either.

Kimika watched in amazement as a man began running towards them, firing a crossbow dart. She saw the shimmer of magic around the arrow as it flew towards one of the humans and sunk home. The human fell to his knees, looking down at the arrow in disbelieve as Kimika fell heavily against the other human, knocking him to the ground and falling after him. The human the man had shot toppled sideways as his last breath escaped his lips.

The kull bellowed a battlecry and rushed forward, swinging his hammer towards Indinth. Yet the dragon was too high in the sky and the hammer arced round and to the ground. The kull regained his balance and charged at the man, eyes glinting with malice.

Kimika managed to roll onto her back, panting heavily as she looked at the human she had fallen against. He had hit his head on a rock as they had fell and was dead.

Indinth was likewise amazed when the man had rushed to aid her and Kimika. She hadn't really registered his words before but now she replayed them in her mind. See to that kull then help me with Kimika. She told him, landing just a foot away from her rider who held her hand up weakly for a moment before it fell to the ground at her side. Save your strength Kimika. Indinth told her softly, lowering her head to lightly nuzzle her rider.

Kimika turned her head to look at the man as he approached after killing the kull. Although she was weak, her sight hadn't diminished and even though he wore Empire armour she could see the pointed ears of the elves.

"Indinth, he..." She started, trailing off into coughing fit as the purple dragoness swung her head to look at the person that was now picking his rider up and helping her onto her back. An elf, like you. I knew the scent was familiar. Indinth said privately to Kimika, who was now on her back, laying weakly over her neck.

"Yes." She murmured in reply to Indinth, looking at the male elf with curiousity.

"You helped Indinth save me, for which I am grateful. I can see you are of my kind. No elf has yet been turned to Galbatorix's side, so I know you tell the truth. We'd be honoured to escort you out of here." Kimika spoke slowly, pausing after almost every word but soon getting it all out. Indinth added a soft croon in affirmation that she agreed with her rider.

OCC: Just so you know, his whole body is covered by the armor so his ears would not have been visible. The only thing visible through his helmet are his eyes.

"Very well. Let us be on our way. Uh, I really don't know where to go from here though. The Varden have a price on my head and most people run away at the mere sight of me."

Natagath climbed up onto the dragon, hoping that his accursed suit didn't make him too heavy.

As they flew away, Natagath decided to tell his story.
"I am Natagath, rider of Violeta. I was a Rider of the old order. During the attack on Dorú Areaba, I was wounded and unable to fight, so I forced my dragon to leave me behind and flee. Apparently Violeta managed to escape from Galbatorix's men since he is still looking for her."

He explained how he was enslaved and sealed inside the armor, forced to do the king's dirty work, and then "freed" when his usefulness ran out.

"The worst thing is, Galbatorix swore that if he ever caught my dragon, he would force me to be the one to kill her.

As they flew Kimika could feel her strength returning more and more each minute. Soon enough she'd be at full strength again, and she couldn't wait to be able to sit straight without help. She listened to the story with a mix of curiousity and sorrow. She'd hate to be separated from her dragon in that way, the way she had been had shown just how much she loved Indinth.

"Have you tried using your magic to get free from the armour?" She asked, looking over her shoulder at him. She was thinking of anything possible that could free Natagath from the armour and allow him to be reunited with his dragon. She couldn't think of anything worse then being separate from your dragon, except for it being killed and then living with the fact that you once had a dragon but no longer did.

"Perhaps if your magic isn't enough, Indinth and I could lend you our magic. It's worth a try, isn't it?" She suggested, hoping that there was something they could do. I am willing to give it a try. Indinth added, letting both of them hear her as she carried them through the air.

"Then we will certain give it a try. If it doesn't work though, Indinth and I will help you in whatever way we can." Kimika said thoughtfully as the purple dragoness banked to one side before straightening out again. Kimika and Indinth both listened to what Natagath said, both having their own thoughts.

"She sounds very beautiful. Although it would be remiss of me if I didn't say Indinth was the most beautiful dragon in my eyes." Kimika said, a hint of a teasing note in her voice, to which Indinth responded with a quick spiralling revolution, turning them upside-down briefly before righting.

"Hey. That was uncalled for Indinth." Kimika berated the dragon, affection clear in her voice. Do not tease a dragon if you do not want to go through the consequences. Indinth replied, letting out a draconic bark of laughter. Natagath's finally request had Kimika's eyes widening and Indinth snuck a look back at him.

"Severed the bond? I didn't even know that was possible." Kimika responded, the fact whirling round her mind. How was such a thing done? Why would anyone do it, unless they were desparate? Natagath had been desparate. Kimika reminded herself as Indinth started to descend. There is a clearing within a forest ahead, no buildings are close enough to give reason that there would be interruptions. Indinth relayed to Kimika as she began back-winging to land.

At Kimika's question, Natagath nodded and answered, "Yes, my master taught me how to sever the bond with my dragon if ever needed. That ability can be used so that in case the rider or dragon dies, their partner will not lose a part of their identity. During the battle, I was wounded ant was not able to fight back. I didn't want Violeta to die trying to protect me or she would have died for nothing since I couldn't escape. Out of desperation, I severed our bond and made her flee."
As soon as Indinth landed, Natagath climbed down from her back. He said eagerly, "Alright, I suppose we should get started."

With that, Natagath wuickly build a small fire so he could see what he was doing. Then began to dig deep into his magic reserves, poking and prodding at the spells that held the armor in place. With Kimika's and Indinth's help, he worked for about an hour, although it felt much longer. Finally, Natagath could not stand to expend any more of his energy. Right as he stopped, there was a strange popping sound and he suddenly like a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

"We may have just broke the spell!" he shouted excitedly.

With a sigh, Natagath grabbed his right glove and began to pull as hard as he could. He knew he couldn't give up now. The elf pulled and tugged with all his might and suddenly the glove slid off, much to his shock.

"Ha! Look at that!" he shouted as he looked down at his bare right hand for the first time in decades. The skin was gray and sensitive due to lack of exposure to the sun and the Gedwey Ignasia was just faintly visible. He couldn't believe it! He was free!

Natagath quickly removed the other glove, which took much less effort. Finally, he excitedly grabbed both sides of his helmet and pulled up. To his amazement, the helmet slid off. His golden yellow hair streamed out from under the helmet as he took it off. Like his hands, natagath's face was pale and pasty and his eyes were sunken in.

"Ugh, I must look terrible. No matter... I can fix that." He turned to his friends and said, "I don't know how to thank you enough for what you've done! Thank you so much!"


OCC: Yes, I finally decided to free him from the suit.

Son indinth had landed and before Kimika could encourage him Natagath was already off and preparing a fire. Kimika carefully dismounted, still feeling a little worse for wear but otherwise back to her full strength. It felt good to be able to stand on her own and not worry about falling over.

Then they were ready to do the spell, first Kimika slowly but steady let her power flow to Natagath, then indinth added her magic. Finally the was a popping sound and Natagath exclaimed he thought the spell was broken and started tugging at one of the metal gloves. Sure enough it came off, after much work, and revealed a pasty grey hand. Then came the other metal glove and the helmet. Kimika smiled as she saw how happy Natagath was, finally freed from the horrid suit.

"I'm glad it worked. If you are still wanting to find Violeta, Indinth can look for her while we rest. That spell took alot of magic and I'm sure we all need time to recover." Kimika suggested, Indinth was already standing again, wings half flared in readiness.

OCC: Earlier today I posted this response in the wrong dang topic!

Natagath shook his head and replied, "I can not tell you how grateful I am for your help, but for now we should all get a good rest. We can get a fresh start in the morning. However, what I could use is something to eat. I have eaten nothing since they put me in that suit and magic is the only thing keeping me alive all this time."

He wearily stood up and began to look around for something edible. Fortunately he didn't have to look very far because he found an apple tree at the edge of the clearing. Natagath quickly seized an apple and feverishly bit into it, tasting the sweet juices for the first time in decades. Within minutes he had eaten the entire apple, core and all. After eating a second apple, Natagath returned to the others and said with a yawn, "Well, that will hold me for now. We should rest now. It has been a hard day."

Natagath lied down on the ground and rested his head on a stone. It felt strange to touch something other than metal against his face. Natagath was still wearing the rest of the suit though because he was not sure what condition his clothing underneath was in after all these years.

(OOC. Doh)

Kimima nodded to Natagath's reponce, Indinth furling her wings against her back and finding a suitable spot to lay.

"We can all start looking for her in the morning." Kimika said as she made her way to Indinth's side, lowering herself to lean against the warm hide. Indinth opened her wing to make a kind of tent above Kimika, the elf's eyes slowly closing as she drifted to sleep.

After about twenty minutes Kimika was deeply asleep, but not resting as she should have been. She dreamt she was back in uru'bean, magically tied to that cold slab of stone. Fear tore through her, the dream seeming so real that she must have slid down to lie flat on the ground. She let out a scream as she jolted awake, eyes darting around to reassure herself that she had indeed been dreaming.

OCC: Orphina it's your turn.

After having the nightmare Kimika hadn't been able to get back to sleep and had just sat against Indinth's side as the dragon slept. When morning finally came, she had small dark crescents under her eyes, which were slightly bloodshot.

"I didn't sleep well." She explained, granting a soft croon from Indinth. The dragon had been so deeply asleep that she hadn't even felt Kimika's fear and confusion. Kimika rubbed at her eyes, calling on a small amount of magic to remove the dark circles and invigorate herself. he she smiled, feeling much more awake and alert, yet still fearing the nightmare might return when she tried to sleep again.