-Oceanis, I know you don't want me to go in there alone, but if there's even a chance that the future Rider of your sibling is in there, shouldn't we look? You said yourself that you felt the hatchling starting to stir as soon as we came within two leagues of here. Besides, I've been to Drahs Leona before, and I know all of the bolt holes if I need to use them. And the Ra'zac are dead.-Raven said, exasperated with her dragon.

-Yes, they may be dead, but there are still magicians in there that could find you out. Drahs Leona is a dangerous place for a normal person, but it's more so for you, since Galbatorix learned of our presence in the Empire.-Oceanis replied, reluctant as always to let her Rider leave her to go somewhere dangerous alone.

Raven kept walking, aware of a small speck way up in the clouds that was watching her more closely than a pack of starving wolves. A peregrine falcon was perched on her left shoulder, haughtily observing the surrounding countryside.-I also have Shrel with me. He can always fly close overhead and warn me if there's an ambush coming up. If something bad does happen, and I'm not saying it will, I have Kveykva and my bow with me as well. And do you seriously believe there is a magician inside those walls strong enough to fight me?-

A reply was long in coming, but Oceanis replied, however reluctantly,-No, but what if they come at you in a large group?-

-Oceanis, I'll be fine. Quit worrying and find somewhere to hide. Not to close mind, they'll have stepped up patrols since the Ra'zac's demise. Now I've got to leave you. I'm at the city walls.-Raven chided, slipping unnoticed through the crowd trying to force it's way through the city gate.

OOC: My charry has a dragon egg with her that she's trying to find a Rider for. If somebody has a charry that's not currently a Rider, but they want them to be, here's your chance for an egg.

Edit: Italics not working, *grumble*.

OOC: Hey, Fin! Y'all are good guys, right?


Raven felt it as soon as Oceanis was to far away to sense at all. Trying as hard as she could, she still couldn't even sense a shadow of her pair bond's mind. Shuddering at the feeling of complete emptiness inside of her mind, she squared her shoulders and walked determindely into the heart of the most nauseous city in Alagaesia. Tight-lipped she stalked past a packed market square where a slimey looking man was auctioning off slaves. She longed to unsheath Kveykva and free the slaves, but Raven knew that most or all of them were in no condition to run for their lives.

Continuing on into the city, Raven was scanning the crowd with her mind and eyes, searching for a likely candidate for the egg hidden in her satchel, when she noticed somebody dart off the road ahead into an alley. She threw up the barriers around her mind without even thinking, then cautiously started to edge around the building that formed the left side of the alley. She reached down with her right hand and undid the leather strips that kept Kveykva from slipping out of its sheath whenever Oceanis had to manuever in the air unexpectedly. Her left hand started to itch, and she knew that the gedwey ignasia in the center of her palm was glowing. Raven thanked the spurt of intuition that had told her to buy gloves at the last town she had passed through.

Raven tensed as she crept nearer to the corner of the building that concealed the alley from her view. Cautiously she peeked around the corner and sent barely a wisp of her mind down the length of the alley to find whoever she had seen. Raven stiffened in shock as her mind came into contact with one that was similar to her own, one mind, yet also two. She had stumbled upon another Rider! She turned around with the speed of an elf and ran the full length of the city before stopping to look behind her and make sure she hadn't been followed.

OOC: Yeah all good characters.
wait before we go on did Raven just run away from my character? lol

OOC: Yeah, she did. I didn't know you were a good guy, and I didn't want the...uhm...package to fall into the wrong hands. That's a relief, lol, some ppl have good charries, and then they also have evil ones. It gets confusing sometimes, lol.

OOC:No only have goodies

IC:Síoc reached out to female dragon with his mental contact Greetings fellow Dragon. what is your name and who was your Rider just there He flew closer to her
Tourin noticed the sudden movement behind him and when he turn he saw her running away. A glint caught his eye a Riders bladeHe quickly set after her.Wait up i mean you no harm

Oceanis whirled around in the air, simultaneously twisting upward through the air, so that she ended up behind the dragon. Opening her jaws, letting her serrated fangs show, she hissed at the other dragon.-Who are you? I am Oceanis, daughter of Greentalon.- She didn't like being snuck up on, and the mention of Raven made her especially nervous. If this stripling of a dragon had seen the two of them together without her knowing, then who else had? Her serpentine neck twisted around, blue scales flashing, so she could peer at the dark, dank city far behind her. -Hurry, Raven, it's no longer safe!-she whispered to herself, aware that her heart partner was to far away for mind-touch.

Raven melted into the shadows as she felt a presence touch her mind. Dimly she felt the presence trying to assure her it meant no harm. Ever the suspicious one, she grimly tightened the barriers on her mind until she couldn't even feel the other mind at all. Looking around her, she saw she was near one of the many escape routes in Drahs Leona. Taking out a map from her satchel just to make sure, she set off in the direction it indicated. Unconciously she flitted from the shadow of one building to another, determined to make it back to Oceanis before the unknown Rider found either of them. She let a miniscule tendril of thought touch the mind of the peregrine falcon riding on her shoulder. Tentatively, using pictures rather than words (which would have required her to open her mind further), she told the falcon to scout behind her and let her now if she was being pursued.

Síoc twisted in midair so the his back was to the ground and he was facing Relax hatchling i mean you no harmHe sent her a picture of Tourin and him flying into battle as he had seen it through their allies eyes.I am Síoc, Tourin is my Rider, I do not know my parents and i fight to protect the Dragon race he sent assuring and calming thoughts over the link Calm now, I will help you if you need it
Tourin slowed as he came to the end of the alley.Wonder what the guards would think if i ran past faster than a horse.Tourin launched himself up a wall and onto a roof Maybe i'll see her if im higher up Just then he saw a falcon rise up over the buildings. He crept towards it when he was close enough he used the birds link to the Rider as a back door. Before she even realised he was in her head Vel einradhin iet ai Shur'gal, un mulabra ne hania(Upon my word as a Rider i mean you no harm)Tourin jumped down beside her. His cloak wrapped tightly around him he peered from under the hood. "Trust me" and walked passed her towards the tarven he was staying at

OOC: I'm leaving on Saturday and it's looking like after that I won't be on for a month or more. I'll keep posting here until probably late Friday or early Saturday morning.

-Help? I need no help! I want to know why, if you spotted my Rider, didn't you make your presence known sooner? It makes me think you were busy setting a trap for her! And that would really make me angry...-Oceanis let the threat hang in the air, still hissing at the other dragon. Inside she was seething, how dare he call her a hatchling! It was six years ago that she first broke her shell, she was not remotely a hatchling!

Her eyes, a deeper blue than even the ocean, sparked with indignation, as well as anger and suspicion. Her scintillating blue wings beat furiously at the air, steadily bringing her sinous bulk higher into the air, unconciously giving her an advantage over the dragon below in case of an attack. Again she looked back over her shoulder at Drahs Leona, furious that she couldn't go to Raven. If she let the other dragon out of her sight, he might go to some unsavory character and tell them of their location. Still, she couldn't help but hope that maybe this dragon and his partner were like the few they'd met before. Those pair bonds had opposed Galbatorix, like herself and Raven.

Raven stiffened with fury as she felt the other Rider's mind burst into her own from her link with Shrel. Her body reacted instantaneously as she felt him drop to the ground behind her. Kveykva was out of its sheath and leveled at his chest before her brain even registered the movement. She gaped in astonishment when, instead of guarding himself, the cloaked figure just said, "Trust me", and stalked past. Despite herself, she hesitated.

Raven decided to follow the Rider, curious to see what he wanted. Sheathing her father's old blade once again, she peeked out into the crowd drifting past the alley she had stopped in, making sure no one had witnessed the drama in the alley. She glanced up at Shrel, this time telling him to find Oceanis. The falcon shrieked once, then took off in the direction that she had last felt her soul bond moving in. She shivered, now she was truly on her own.

She reached up and stroked the fragment of Oceanis's egg shell attached to a leather strip tied around her neck. Her finger lightly traced the Liduen Kvaedhi rune for 'family' that she had etched into the front. Squaring her shoulders she stepped into the crowd, surreptitiously following the other Rider. If anybody had been watching, it would have seemed like she was just wandering, not purposely going anywhere, which in fact she was.

OOC: awh kk well im working tomoz ut ill try got on as well

ic:Síoc felt the anger and frustration at being called hatchling ooze over the link.How many Riders do you know that react well when a lone Dragon flys towards them?He let the question hang. You may not thing you are a hatchling but me and my rider are centuries old and to us there are few that are not young,And as any chlid if you threaten me again i will teach you a lesson. Not that i mean you harm but respect is something most are lacking nowadays. I ment to help as in you have just left your rider,unprotected, in one of the egg-breaking-blacken-heart-tratiors biggest cities. She would not go there if she merely wanted supplies which means she is doing something dangerous,important,adventerous or a mixture of them all and more. My Rider,Tuorin owns room in one of the inns. He can help her if she is not working for the Empire.Síoc lowered himself slightly. She had flown to far and now exposed all of her underside, if it came to a fight it would e quick and hopefully painless for her he hated killing youngings with potential
Tuorin waited in the dark til she walked up beside him."I need not know who you are or what you are doing but a young Rider in the middle of an Empire city will not go unnoticed and i swore to my Queen and Mentors to protect and teach new Riders. First your going to have to change and now lose ur sword. Elven blades of any make cause too much attenion especially Rider ones. I have a spare lade in my room. We can talk there but i need to know one thing. Who do you fight with?"

Oceanis eyed the other dragon. She could see that he was far larger than any of the other dragons she had seen. She dipped her cerulean head slightly, a gesture of respect to an elder dragon, then jerked it back up in case he tried to attack. -Older than me you may be, but I can still take you out if you try to harm Raven! And as for what we are doing, that is our business, unless she happens to decide to let you and your Rider assist us.- A flash of movement over her shoulder caused her to look back, yet again. Focusing in on the small figure darting towards her, she saw it was Shrel. Relief swept over her when she recognized the small falcon. If he was coming to her, then Raven must have sent him to find her. Gently touching his mind, she allowed the bird of prey to send her pictures of Raven following a hooded figure.

Oceanis swung her head back toward the older dragon as Shrel turned back to return to the city. Projecting the image with her thoughts, she asked -Is this Tourin, your Rider?- Silently she cursed as she realized that she was to high above him. Covertly she stilled her wings and dipped down about fifteen feet, then resumed flapping her wings. She watched the other dragon closely. Sioc, or whatever his name was, did not appear as though he was about to attack, but Oceanis had aquired a wary streak from her time with Raven.

Raven tightened her grip on the hilt of her sword. It had been her father's before her, and she was not going to give it up, no matter what. Looking the other Rider right in the eye she said, "This was the sword of my father, he died in the Fall and now it is mine. I can disguise it, but I will not trade it for another blade." To make a point she drew Kveykva and focused on the blade. Chanting in the ancient language, she altered the appearance of her sword. When she was finished, it looked like a normal sword, although of fine make. Just the sword for a rich merchant or such. She had spoken the enchantment in a way that would allow her to lift it at a time when it was more convenient to show her Rider stature and heritage.

Staring defiantly at the Rider, who she guessed must be an elf, she sheathed the blade again. "Now, who are you to talk down to me like I'm a simpleton? I know exactly where I am and I can protect myself. Despite my appearance, I am half elf. And I fight for no one but my dragon and myself. We recently discovered that someone we have been seeking the last six years is here in Drahs Leona."

She grumbled as once again her red brown hair tumbled into her face, the long strands had been given a life of their own in a slight breeze that swept by. Fishing around in her satchel, still watching the man opposite her, she pulled out a leather strip and tied her hair back with it. Her hazel eyes squinted at the shadows beneath his hood. Frowning with frustration when she couldn't make out the details of his face, she leaned casually against a wall.

Oceanis grumbled as the elder dragon corrected her picture of Tourin. She twitched her tail in irritation, then stopped abruptly. It was childish to show her annoyance in such a manner. -Well, if we are to be allies, then we should find a place to land and talk. Something tells me that we are both better fighters in the air than on land. Being on the ground puts both of us at a disadvantage.- She watched Sioc closely, determined to get him before he got her, if he attacked that is.

Slowly and warily, Oceanis dipped into a shallow dive, tense all the way from her jaw muscles to her tail. Sighting a likely looking hiding place close to the bank on the far side of Leona Lake, she veered toward it. Whipping her head around to see where the other dragon was, she landed lightly and gracefully on the beach. Snaking out her neck towards the water, she quickly got a drink, then resumed watching Sioc. Her long blue tail twitched slightly, then was still. Oceanis flexed her claws in anticipation...

Raven rolled her eyes at Tourin. "It would affect the enchantments if I had actually changed the sword. This is an illusion. I'm the only one who can see the real sword, and only when it's out of the sheath. The spell was worded simply and I used a bare minimum amount of energy to make it extremely hard to detect. You'd only find it if you were looking for it." Unconciously she reached up and touched the fragment of Oceanis's egg shell.

Her finger traced the rune on the front as it had so many times when she was away from her heart bond. Lifting the amulet up so she could peer at the front, Raven marveled at the Liduen Kvaedhi rune for 'family' etched onto the fragment. The mark was black on a blue so deep, it was almost impossible to see the marking, and you wouldn't have been able to, if not for the veins of white striating the smooth surface. The fang shaped fragment was a token that she used to keep a bit of Oceanis with her where ever she went.

Snorting at her sentimentality at a moment like this, Raven tore her gaze from her necklace and returned it to the elf. "What do you mean, assassins? Why would a group of assassins come here? Are they going to take out Marcus Tabor? That's good, he definitely needs to be taught a thing or two." Her hazel eyes flashed dangerously as she remembered the slaves from earlier."And I don't need your room. I have an inn I stay at whenever I am here."

OOC: I'm back! This is going to be a really short, fast post...I think.



Oceanis cursed to herself when Sioc keenly observed what she had said. So much for a secret mission.she mutttered to herself. Turning to Sioc she replied,Yes, one of my siblings did survive. But he has not hatched yet. The reason I am so close to Drahs Leona is that I sensed his future Rider was inside the city's walls. Raven has gone to find him.

Raven protested vehemently as Tuorin roughly siezed her by her cloak and hauled her through the city streets to a tavern. Not even stopping to get something to drink he pulled her up to his room and started muttering to himself.