OOC:
Mind if I join in the fun? XD

IC:
Zeke heard the bar door open and close, as well as a new pair of footsteps, but he didn't even bother to look up. Life meant nothing to him anymore. Not even his mate and children could put any light into his eyes. Why bother. He was half empty. His chest felt follow where his heart should be beating, though he knew it pulsed with strength. He couldn't feel it. Part of his mind was gone, too. And even a part of his soul. Gone. Ripped away, because of one man. His hand clenched around the mug, threatening to shatter the clay. Lukia. Lukia Ursl. Damn him. One act had taken everything that he loved and tore it away. Ella. His beloved Ella. He closed his eyes as tears slowly ran down his face. Why his Ella? He knew it was selfish, but he wished that someone else had died. He hated himself for it, but nonetheless, he wished it. Anyone but his Ella. The tears came in earnest now, but he wouldn't break down here. He irritably wiped the tears away and got to his feet. He went to his room and locked the door.

Why Ella? Why his Rider? Was someone trying to torture him? He curled up on the bed and let the agony have at him. He'd been holding it off so he could be strong for the others, let them cry first. He'd never gotten the chance to really cry for his loss. Beautiful Ella...He would never see her sapphire eyes flash again with indignation, never see the warm smile that somehow smiled in her eyes even when she was furious, never feel her scratching under his scales, never hear her tender voice....Never feel the brush of her mind against his, as much a part of him as a wing or leg. Never again would he hear her laughter or her singing. He had heard the tales of the loneliness and loss. He was utterly alone. It crushed him. It was a different pain than simply severing his mental contact with her. She was gone.

He slept fitfully that night, waking up every few hours and crying himself back to sleep. When dawn came he gave up on sleep and simply laid there on the bed. His ice blue eyes were red and irritated from crying so much. He sat up slowly, staring unseeingly at the wood floor. He was glad that Jia had let him go. He needed time alone. He snorted at the irony. Being alone to deal with being alone. How quint. But it did help. He sniffed, then stood. He went to the wash basin and cooled his face. He wondered if he could stay in human form indefinitely. He didn't want to return to his draconic form, where so much pain waited for him, reminders of Ella around every turn. He swallowed hard. He didn't want to, but he had to, regardless. The Resistance needed him. He began to slowly pack his stuff together.

OOC:
Maybe Devitria heard him crying during the night and comes to investigate....?

OOC:
He has a type of magic called a Seal that allows him to change his form. It isn't his magic specifically, but it was given to him.

IC:
Zeke hefted the pack over his shoulder and headed for the door, but paused before he reached it. He turned and headed for the window, after leaving the money for the room on the dresser. He stood on the windowsill for a few minutes, looking down at the ground. He bit his lip. He could change his form to elven and go to Du Weldenvarden and stay there. He wanted to. So why did he feel the need to go back to the Resistance? They didn't really need him. But they needed his powers. And his children needed him. And Savania needed him. Dearest Savania, his loving mate and closest friend. He steeled himself. They needed him more than he needed to be alone. He had to be strong, for them. He'd had his day of solitude, now it was time to go back into the war.

He sensed that he wasn't the only one nearby, and leaned out. He saw an open window a few rooms down with someone also sitting on the windowsill. He ignored them and looked back down, then back at them. It looked like they were crying. He titled his head, concern touching him,"Are you alright?" he called quietly so he didn't startle them and cause them to fall. He knew he probably looked a sight: amethyst colored hair rumpled and disorderly, ice blue eyes rimmed in red and bloodshot, a strange tattoo curling from his temples over his forehead and to the bridge of his nose, four pale white scars slashing from his left jaw down the side of his neck and disappearing under the collar of the black tunic he wore.

Zeke's chuckle was thunderous, like the rattlings of an avalanche. We can hunt from the sky and eat on the move, but still, we must rest our wings from time to time. he said, and his ice blue eyes sparkled as he glanced back at the boy. For the first time in several days he felt moderately happy, if not completely content. He yawned widely once, realizing after a few moments that he had had little sleep last night...He shook his head and tilted his wings to begin descending. Regretfully I must land now to sleep. I had...very little rest the other night. he murmured, and once more there was that tone of depression in his voice, the heavy kind that it seemed nothing was able to lift. The amethyst dragon sighed, then yawned again. He backed winged gently and landed without too much stir, absorbing most of the shock into his hindlegs and haunches. He dropped down onto his forelegs and crouched to allow Devitria to dismount. I thank you for sharing the joy of flight with me, truly. You could stay here if you like while I nap; stand guard over me if you will. he said, and managed a small chuckle, only a shadow of the one he'd uttered just a few minutes ago.

OOC:
Trying to think of something that could happen....lol XD

Zeke groaned softly and blinked open his eyes, only to be met with darkness. Usually in his twoleg form he wasn't blind...Ah. He was blindfolded with a piece of cloth. He tried to move and found that he could barely squirm an inch in any direction.

OOC:
Blank atm....

Zeke remained unconscious from the vicious blow to his head until they stopped, when he groggily began to come around. He felt himself being pulled down from something and then tossed. He rolled across the ground and thudded into something solid, then slumped onto his side. He didn't care. His ribs hurt, as if he'd been kicked, and his head pounded. The ground was cool. He laid his head wound against it and felt himself drifting back into oblivion again.

- - - - - - - - - -

A man in a thick traveling cloak enter the room with the two male twolegs. Or what seemed like two male twolegs. He turned with a scowl to the dragon hunter he'd hired,"You said it was a dragon that you caught and his new Rider, not a human man and an elven male." he spat with contempt,"You can sell them to the slavery jail or use them for your own desires if you wish." he growled. The dragon hunter bit his lip and bowed his head, then hesitantly lifted it again,"But sir, we saw the elf transform into his dragon shape, and then again to human, and again to elven. We think he might be either a dragon with the power of shapeshifting, or simply a shape-shifter." he said. The man pursed his lips and stroked his beard, interested now. He grunted and waved a hand,"Alright. They can not get out of this room, correct, and they are tightly bound?" he asked, turning to the dragon hunter, who nodded,"Yes sir, this room is enchanted to nullify anything magical and they can not get loose." he assured. The man nodded and then gestured for the hunter to leave ahead of him. The males left, locking the door securely behind them with a click.

Zeke opened his eyes when Devitria started his story, though they were glazed, and he stared at nothing, as if he were blind. He had not intended for the boy to tell something that still hurt him so. He heard the tears in his voice and the occasional tightening in the throat. He exhaled slowly when the boy spoke of his deformities, albeit in a whisper, and then the soldiers. Zeke's fists clenched with anger. Those soldiers had hurt Jaeda, and through her, hurt Devitria. He swallowed hard and blinked, then slowly turned his head and looked at the boy, his ice blue eyes deep and piercingly clear,"I will hunt them down if I get the chance. The soldiers that killed Jaeda. I will hunt them down and tear them apart." he murmured softly. He reached his hand toward the boy and grasped his fingers, blinking again. He twitched when he heard footsteps outside the door, and again when they stopped. The amethyst growled in his chest and tried to sit up, to move, so that he could protect Devitria. He fell back to the floor with a groan, his head spinning and the feeling of nausea so strong he wanted to pass out. He clenched his eyes shut and breathed slowly through his teeth, trying to stay conscious. He heard the door open. He growled again and rolled onto his side, but he didn't try to get up. He grabbed the boy's arm and pushed the twoleg behind him into the corner, along with his pack. He might be down, but he was not out. The same man as before came in. Zeke bristled and growled inaudibly.

OOC:
You can control the man for a bit. I'm to tired to think of what I want him to say....

OOC:
You seem to be doing fine so far.

IC:
Zeke smiled slightly at Devitria,"It would be no trouble." he assured the boy. He glowered toward the door, a growl rumbling in his chest. His eyes widened when the man told Devitria to get up. The growl in his chest grew in volume when the man approached, but it cut off when he was kicked to the side, making his head spin sickeningly. He felt like throwing up. He gasped for breath and squinted open his eyes,"Dev..Dev..itria..." he choked, reaching out. He was kicked again, this time in the ribs, making him double over and hold his middle tightly while he panted for breath. He raised his head and growled angrily, the dizziness forgotten. He got his feet under him in a crouch,"Devitria!" he yelled, and tensed his muscled in preparation to spring forward toward the door which still stood open a little bit. Abruptly he saw stars in his vision when he was kicked in the jaw, sending him skittering into the wall. He grit his teeth and groaned, blinking rapidly to clear his vision. He heard the door shut, trapping him, before he could get his wits about him. He peeled back his lips and snarled, forgetting for an instant that he wasn't in his draconic form. He closed his eyes and curled into a fetal position, a growl still vibrating his chest. He focused his thoughts and cast his mind out, searching for Devitria's. He found it, but it was faint, as if he were quite a distance away. He didn't take the time to touch the boy's mins, he surged forward and surrounded Devitria's consciousness. Spasms of sympathetic pain rippled through his body and he growled angrily. They were torturing him?! He hissed through his teeth and coiled his mind around the boy's, taking his pain away and pulling it into his own body so that the only thing Devitria would feel now was a little pressure at the point of injury. I told you, I wouldn't let them hurt you. I'm taking your pain from you and making it my own. You shouldn't feel anything more but a faint pressure. Zeke said tiredly. Physically, his heart rate had dropped a few beats and he was breathing in shallow gasps from the pain. He growled in his mind and knew that the boy would hear it. When I get the chance they are both dead. he snarled angrily.

It took several long minutes, every second of which Zeke was very aware of how much Devitria's shaking had increased. Finally, with a loud clang of metal and a few harsh squeals of wood, the door opened. The wolf crouched and helped the boy onto his back, taking the pack and holding it in his teeth once more. The amount of shaking being produced by the boy alarmed him. Devitria must be going into shock from blood loss. Damn damn damn. He took off into a sprint past the door, shocking a few women that he went by from his rough appearance. He flew up a staircase, mindful of how secure Devitria was on his back. He ran and ran and ran, turning on a dime and passing people every few moments. The smell of fresh air was strong and potent now. He could feel a breeze ruffle his fur. Up ahead he saw a cast of sunlight as if through an archway. He sprinted for it as fast as he could...And then he felt the glorious warmth on his body. He felt like throwing his head back and singing a wolf song with joy. Surprisingly, they were still in town. Had the men taken them on horse back just to confuse them? It was not completely unlikely. Now that they were outside, Zeke had to find Devitria shelter, food, and warmth. And fast. A blacksmith. The family of a blacksmith would have plenty of food, definitely have shelter, and, if they stayed in the forge, plenty of warmth. He sniffed the air then took off toward the scent of hot metal. He found it relatively quickly. The forge was big and attached to the house and oozed with heat. Zeke gently slid Devitria from his back and laid him on the ground. He curled around the boy as if trying to keep him warm with his fur, then whined and whimpered loudly, scratching at the door with the claws of his forepaw. There were heavy footsteps, then the door opened. A woman stood there, surprisingly thin for the heavy steps she'd made. She gasped at the sight before her, her eyes widening. She glanced over her shoulder,"Peter, get the pot boiling again! We have a young boy and his pet wolf in need of care!" she said, and then she bent down to gently grasp Devitria's arms and pull him to his feet. Zeke couldn't help it; he growled softly in a protective way. The woman looked up at him, studying his strangely colored fur, then nodded at him, her hazel eyes warm,"Good boy. You've been good. But we will take care of your master now." she said firmly. Zeke stopped growling and perked his ears up. As if he understood (being a 'dumb' wolf), he nudged his head under Devitria's arm to support him and helped the woman get him inside. He made sure the pack of Ella's things stayed near the boy, so it wasn't lost, but otherwise he stayed out of the way as Peter, the woman's son, Sinya, her daughter, and Tira, the woman, worked over Devitria.

OOC:
You can do all the actual getting better stuff with Devitria so it doesn't look like I'm godmoding.

OOC:
Bleh, I'll edit that once I finish this. >.<

IC:
Zeke felt a sweep of relief as he saw Devitria's eyes open partway. He rumbled in his chest and slicked his ears back as the boy reach out a hand and stroked his head. He nuzzled the boy's fingers and licked them gently with his warm tongue. He noticed the fear flare in Devitria's eyes and whined softly in concern, wondering why. Then the fuzzy memory of Devitria's story came back to him, bit by bit, but it was the information about his deformities that he remembered quickest. Ah, so that was why. He would make sure that the humans didn't see too much of what they shouldn't. He laid his head down next to the boy's and watched worriedly as he slowly was dragged down into sleep. Once Devitria was asleep, Zeke jumped, lightly and so gently, so he didn't wake the boy, up onto the bed. He laid the length of his body beside Devitria's, laying his head on the boy's chest. He closed his eyes and released a heavy sigh. Devitria was safe now. He could allow himself to rest now. He felt himself slipping into his own deep sleep, and he didn't fight it. He felt exhausted. He let himself fall asleep.