Hidden 1 yr ago 12 mos ago Post by rush99999
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Skobeloff


Skobeloff was barely able to keep his composure when he realized what he was dealing with. A bearded dragon who had become her Shadowself? Skobeloff could barely contain his excitement at the thought of matching wits with a bearded dragon who had fallen under the sway of the Darkness! Even so, Skobeloff let none of his excitement show as he let out a yawn and affected the demeanor of someone who was beginning to feel somewhat tired. "Now that you mention it, perhaps a short nap would do me some good." Skobeloff drowsily declared. "Lead the way."

As he followed Fogdance to wherever it was that she was keeping Tamba and Pleexem, Skobeloff pretended to become more and more sleepy as time went on. Eventually, Skobeloff pretended that he was too tired to move and asked Fogdance if she would carry him the rest of the way. When the older dragon obliged, Skobeloff pretended to fall asleep soon after, resting his head against Fogdance's carapace. In truth, Skobeloff did this so that he might listen to the beating of Fogdance's heart in an effort to determine how the Darkness had managed to find purchase there and how he might be able to drive it away.

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Hidden 1 yr ago Post by Guardian Angel Haruki
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Stargaze


Stargaze stopped, comically freezing as though she was caught, when she heard the voice of another brownie calling to them. She relaxed a bit when Fellwing recognized the brownie. She looked to Fellwing and Garrick before she decided, talking quietly so as to not attract the feral brownies' attention, "Let's follow him. We can talk more when we're away from these guys,"

She then starts to move to follow Alpin, trying to be quick and silent. The last thing she wanted was for Fellwing's distraction, with the moons' help, to go to waste.
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As Skobeloff pretends to fall asleep on his feet and rests his head against the older dragon, he feels one of her wings fold over him and press him closer to her. He can hear Fogdance's heart racing inside her chest, revealing that despite her attempts to appear as gentle and welcoming as possible, she is actually on the verge of complete panic: the Darkness has warped her perception of the world around her, causing her to see threats round every corner. However, instead of being afraid for her own well-being, her focus seems to entirely be on protecting those under her care. It's likely, from what Fellwing shared about her vision, that Fogdance is holding Tamba and Pleexem here against their will in an attempt to 'keep them safe', and plans to do the same with Skobeloff. This suspicion is confirmed as they reach one of the rooms, and Fogdance has to pause in order to go through her keyring in search of the correct key. This gives Skobeloff time to consider his options.

Over the many centuries since the Moonlit Isles were first raised into the sky, much work has been done in an attempt to understand the Darkness, with Houses Myndoth and Kebros taking the most active role in research. As such, Skobeloff has a decent amount of information to go off of concerning shadow selves: when the Darkness fully overtakes someone, it targets a trait or belief that is core to that individual and twists and exaggerates it until they are a dark parody of themselves. The best way to return someone to themselves is to challenge this belief. From what Skobeloff can tell, Fogdance's normally nurturing soul has been turned to an over-protectiveness, bordering on possessiveness. Her desire to love and care for those smaller and weaker than herself has been poisoned so that she no longer able to recognise them as individuals with their own needs and wants, but objects that need to be hoarded and kept safe at all cost. Because Skobeloff has been playing along, Fogdance has been rather docile. Should he start exercising his own will and independence, however, he will likely bring out a viciousness in the older dragon, the viciousness of a mother trying to protect her young but to absurd, self-destructive degree. Skobeloff needs to find a way to convince Fogdance, either through word or action, that her smothering nature is at best unnecessary and at worst harmful to those she seeks to care for.

At last, Fogdance seems to locate the correct key and opens the door to a small, dark room. The windows have been closed and no light sources are visible, but Skobeloff can just about see the sleeping forms of two small drakes, likely Tamba and Pleexem. He feels Fogdance start to gently nudge him into the room. What will Skobeloff do?




Alpin leads the dragons away from his corrupted brethren and deeper into the marshier part of the jungle. At first, the young brownie is quiet, keeping his pace quick and his eyes in front, only pausing when he hears a sound or detects movement. Whenever they encounter one of the other brownies, he stops completely and raises his hand to signal that the dragons should do the same. Once the threat has moved, he starts scurrying forward again. After walking long enough without encountering another living creature, to where the trees are sparse and the ground is more water than soil, he finally starts to slow down a little and will often look over his shoulder at the dragons. In particular, he keeps looking at Fellwing. Obviously, the seer calling him by name has confused the brownie, and he appears to be trying to recollect if they may have met at some point.

Eventually, he gives up trying and just says what he's been thinking this whole time. "So, hey, I'm Alpin," he introduced himself, still walking forward as he speaks. He then tilts his head towards Fellwing. "But then, you already knew that. Somehow. And can I say, that's very strange because I haven't met many dragons in my time - they don't have much reason to come round here - and I certainly haven't met a pure black dragon before. So I'm afraid, friends, you have me at something of a disadvantage, because you know me and I don't know you." He tilts his head towards each of the dragons, as if he's waiting for them to finally introduce themselves.
Hidden 1 yr ago 12 mos ago Post by rush99999
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Skobeloff


Skobeloff continued pretending to be asleep, allowing Fogdance to place him inside the cell with the other sleeping drakes. Once inside, Skobeloff waited until he Fogdance had left and the sound of her footsteps had faded away into the distance before springing to his feet. He looked around the cell to see if he could find anything. Predictably, Skobeloff found nothing. With that out of the way, Skobeloff walked over to where his cellmates lay sleeping and gave them both a nudge to try and wake them up.

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It didn't take much effort for Skobeloff to wake the other two drakes, namely because it turned out neither were actually asleep: as Skobeloff went to nudge one of the sleeping forms, he was immediately greeted with it opening its eyes, registering who was standing before them, and then wrapping their wings around the trickster in a relieved hug.

"Thank the moons, a friendly face at last!" Skobeloff would recognise Tamba's voice immediately.

The other figure in the room also sits up. "Careful, Tamba," he says in a hushed voice. Skobeloff can probably assume this other dragon is Pleexem, and from what it seems, the two of them had also been pretending to be asleep. "For all we know, he could be corrupted too!"

"Oh, you're right!" Tamba immediately lets go of Skobeloff, takes a step back before craning her neck forward to look the blue drake up and down. "Hmm, it's actually hard to tell in this light, gimme a sec." She takes another step back before lifting up a claw, and glancing up at the sky. She mutters some sort of prayer, likely to one of the moons, before a small spark of light appears in her claw. It doesn't do much to light the room, but it does at least allow Skobeloff to better see Tamba and Pleexem's faces. While Skobeloff hadn't recognise Pleexem's name, he did recall seeing this dragon with Tamba a few times before. He also will notice a similarity in colour schemes and body shapes of the two other drakes, indicating that they're not only clutchmates, they're also probably related in some way. "Well, at least it's something," Tamba says as she looks at the light in her claw. "Do you know how tricky the moons have been since we've got here? I've been barely able to do any magic. Not sure if it's because of the Darkness being present on this island or simply because we're in a shaded area. Now, if you'll just..." The green dragon looks at Skobeloff again, scrutinizing him as if she's looking for something. After a moment, she glances over at Pleexem. "He seems alright. No wierd black veins OR any change in his colouration."

Pleexem gives a small, somewhat skeptical 'hmm' but he does walk closer to the two of them, taking a seat next to Tamba. "If you say so," he mutters. "You know him better than I do, after all."
Hidden 1 yr ago 12 mos ago Post by rush99999
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Skobeloff


"Whoa!" Skobeloff exclaimed as he was glomped by Tamba.

"Thank the moons, a friendly face at last!" Tamba exclaimed in kind as she glomped Skobeloff.

"I'm glad to see you as well, Tamba." Skobeloff said happily.

"Careful, Tamba," The other drake spoke up then. "For all we know, he could be corrupted too!"

"Oh, you're right!" Tamba said before letting go of Skobeloff and stepping back to examine him. "Hmm, it's actually hard to tell in this light, gimme a sec."

"...It's been three seconds already, Tamba. What's the hold up?" Skobeloff said with a cheeky grin after three seconds of silence as he watched Tamba call upon the moons for light.

"Well, at least it's something," Tamba said as a small mote of light flickered into existence on her claw. "Do you know how tricky the moons have been since we've got here? I've been barely able to do any magic. Not sure if it's because of the Darkness being present on this island or simply because we're in a shaded area. Now, if you'll just..."

"Of course." Skobeloff complied as he allowed Tamba to check for any sign that Skobeloff was also his Shadowself.

"He seems alright. No wierd black veins OR any change in his colouration." Tamba said to her fellow prisoner once she had confirmed that Skobeloff was untouched by the Shadows.

"If you say so," The other drake muttered as he approached. "You know him better than I do, after all."

"So what's been going on here exactly?" Skobeloff asked. "Why is Fogdance so obsessed with keeping everyone safe? How did things get to the point where the Darkness managed to claim her for its own ends?"
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Hidden 1 yr ago Post by Guardian Angel Haruki
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Stargaze


Stargaze answers Alpin, "Hi Alpin! It's nice to meet you. I'm Stargaze! Echo raised me on this island," She then apologizes, "Sorry for startling you like that. Fellwing is able to have these really cool visions, and she must have seen you in one of them,"

She continues "Oh, right! Thank you for helping us out of that mess! We're trying to get to Echo and see what's going on with Home,"

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Hidden 1 yr ago Post by XxFellsingxX
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At Skobeloff's question, the two younger drakes exchange a look. "Well, we have a good idea of when it happened," Tamba began. "We're a little more fuzzy on the 'how' and the 'why'."

"She's been acting strangely ever since we got here," Pleexem interjected. "Even before things started going wrong, she's just been so jumpy."

"You're one to talk," Tamba said with a snort. She turned her head back to Skobeloff. "Besides us two and her, there were four other dragons with us. Vipereyes and Alto were among them." Skobeloff will recognise those names as members of Myndoth, a bearded and long-tooth dragon respectfully, and from he knows of them, it's easy to see why they were chosen for this specific mission: Vipereyes is Myndoth's expert on poisonous fauna and flora, while Alto - short for Altostratus - was a budding crafter who was known for rarely speaking the common dragon tongue but preferred instead to either use sign language or one of the elemental languages, all of which he was fluent in.

"There's also Maug, who's from Tessith, like me and Fogdance. And finally, there was Kyte."

"They're the other member of our clutch," Tamba explained, motioning between herself and Pleexem. "They're from Semscale. Since we're still new to working together and me and Pleexem were already going to be here representing our Houses, our Sponsor thought they should come along with us, as a team-building exercise of sorts."

Pleexem grimaced. "Obviously, they weren't expecting things to turn out like this."

"The island was perfectly fine for the first few days," Tamba continued. "Fogdance was on edge, yes, and we were having a couple of disputes with the local pixie village about expanding the stronghold and how that would cut into their territory. That was a whole mess, but we seemed to have come to agreement." She sighed. "Then one night, we just started hearing strange sounds. The next morning we found claw marks on the trees. We thought the few pixies who still disagreed with us were playing some sort of trick to try and get us to leave, but when we went to confront them about it, they got mad at us. Apparently, some of the pixies had gone missing the night before, and they of coursed blamed us."

"That went on for a couple of days," Pleexem added. "More pixies disappeared, more weird sounds in the middle of the night."

"We noticed how quiet the forest was during the day, too. Vipereyes noted how she saw less and less fauna around the place, and Alto told us he hadn't felt the presence of elementals either. We decided after a while we should send word back to the Capitol. Maug offered to act as messenger, so they left." Tamba lowers her head solemly. "We never saw them again, and we never heard anything back."

"Until you showed up, that is," Pleexem pointed out. "You're the first word we've heard from anyone in weeks." He looks at Skobeloff with a mixture of hope and dread. "Did... did Maug ever reach the Capitol? Are they okay?"




Stargaze's explanation did nothing to ease Alpin's surprised expression. "You had a vision? About me?" he says, looking up at Fellwing. He looks a little embarrassed. "I wasn't doing anything stupid in your vision, was I?"

He then looks to Stargaze when she mentioned Echo. "Echo..." Alpin repeated, a hint of recognition in his voice. "Right. She's the elemental who lives near that willow tree." He nods. "Yeah I think I know the way to her place. Thankfully, it's in the more watery part of the swamp, which means we're not likely to run into any more brownies. Not many of us really like swimming." He frowns as he gestures to his surroundings. "I mean, I ain't particularly fond of it myself but if keeps us safe, it keeps us safe."
Hidden 1 yr ago 12 mos ago Post by rush99999
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Skobeloff


"Well seeing how this is the first time I've heard mention of anyone called Maug, he either didn't make it or someone high up decided to keep a lid on his arrival and message." Skobeloff said. "Either way, we can do nothing about that or anything else while were locked in here. Fortunately, I can get us out. But before I do, I need to know a little bit more about who I'm working with here." Skobeloff turned to Tamba. "I already know your capabilities in matters academical. Especially when it comes to the subjects covered by Lung-Kwan’s Famous Dragons and What They Did." Skobeloff told her. "I expect that should come into play quite nicely later. But if there's any other capability you feel we should know, feel free to make mention of it." Once Tamba was done speaking, Skobeloff would nod and then turn to Pleexem. "You I am not so familiar with. So I don't know what you can do." The rawscale Trickster stated. "Tell me about yourself. The more detail you can give me, the better able I shall be to bring you into my plan."
Hidden 1 yr ago Post by Vertigo
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𝐹𝑒𝓁𝓁𝓌𝒾𝓃𝑔

__________________________________________________


At the sight of a familiar face, Fellwing felt relief wash over her. It was strange; she had never met this brownie, nor exchanged a single word with him. She was nothing but a peculiar stranger to him, and yet she felt invested in his well-being. She always did, after 'meeting' someone in her visions. Usually however, she avoided confronting them in real life - let alone calling them by name.

But they had no time to dillydally, and introductions could wait until after they'd made it to safety. So, with a quick nod to Starwing, she followed after Alpin. They were quick and silent, like shadows fleeing from light - except the light was mutated brownies.

Solid ground was a welcome sight, and Fellwing had just managed to regain a proper posture when Alpin - who she'd noticed throw glances at her every now and again for a while - finally spoke up. He voiced his concerns, the exact ones that usually kept the black drake from letting others know she'd seen them in her dreams. She felt ashamed for having been so rash this time.

"That was--" she began in a hurry, trying to formulate an excuse as she went, but Stargaze was faster, and much less discreet. She blurted out the truth, and Fellwing felt as though one of the feral brownies from earlier had just latched onto her throat. Whatever she'd meant to say turned into a gasp. No! No one outside the clutch was supposed to know!

Eyes wide, the Seer turned to Alpin, afraid of his reaction. Thankfully, he seemed more embarrassed than accusatory or afraid. She let her gaze drop. "Y-you weren't, no. I'm sorry. For having spied on you, and for... startling you. Thank you for helping us." Her usually calm voice was marked by uncertainty, and she spoke barely above a whisper.

She turned to Stargaze. The change of topic was very welcome. "Yes, we need to get to Echo, and fast." For a moment she thought to suggest Alpin could ride on her back if he didn't want to swim, but she felt that would have made the awkwardness worse, not better. Why couldn't she ever get a vision of how to deal with people better?
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Hidden 1 yr ago Post by XxFellsingxX
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Pleexem lowered his head slightly at Skobeloff's answer. Clearly, the possibility that Maug had never reached the Capitol troubled him deeply.

"Oh right!" Tamba said. "You two have never properly been introduced, have you?" She gestured towards Pleexem with a wing. "Pleexem is my clutchmate and twin brother. Our eggs hatched at exactly the same time, and as such, we have a special connection."

The sudden shift of focus onto the lilac drake caused his head to duck lower even more, and even in the dark, a pinkish-purple blush was visible across his face. "Err, yes, that's me," he mumbled at Skobeloff. "Pleased to, err, meet you."

"Oh come now, Pleexem, don't be like that," Tamba said, giving her brother a little nudge with her wing. When this only caused Pleexem to shrink away further, the green drake sighed and looked back at Skobeloff. "He's a little shy." She cleared her throat. "But because we're twins, if we're together and we call upon the same moon with the same intention, our moon magic is extra strong. We're just that in-sync!"




Alpin gave a relieved sigh at Fellwing's reply, and any and all apprehension seemed to vanish from him instantly. "Oh, that's alright then," he said. "You had me worried for a moment there." He then nods at the dragons. "Yes, I can guide you to Echo's if that's where you want to go." He paused for a moment, glancing past the drakes to look at Garrock, who had been strangely silent this whole time.

The yellow dragon was cradling his wing, the one which had been bitten by the corrupted brownie, and didn't seem like he'd really been listening to the conversation. However, when he noticed the silence, he finally spoke up. "Well, what are we doing standing around here for?" he says. "Let's get on with it."

"Err, right," Alpin says. He glanced at Fellwing and Stargaze, with a look that seemed to ask 'what's his problem?' "To Echo's, then." He turned away and gestured for the group to follow.
Hidden 1 yr ago 12 mos ago Post by rush99999
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Skobeloff


"Extra powerful moon magic." Skobeloff said with a nod and a smile. "Yes, I can see that coming into play quite nicely. First things first however..." Skobeloff turned to the door to their cell and walked towards it with a sly grin. Having failed to properly capture and contain the Trickster, Fogdance had given Skobeloff carte blanche to engage in trickery galore at his discretion. Starting with taking advantage of an opportunity that had revealed itself to him as he was nudged into the cell.

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Hidden 1 yr ago Post by XxFellsingxX
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Due to Skobeloff playing along and the twins' faking being asleep, Fogdance had been fooled into believing her captives would cause her no trouble. As such, Skobeloff would have noticed no sound of the door being locked behind him, meaning he and his comrades were free to exit this room. Of course, just because the room was unlocked didn't mean the front door would be, and attempting to go down the stairs would likely alert Fogdance. If his intent is simply to escape, Skobeloff still had access to the crystal sand he took from the beach which will teleport him, Tamba and Pleexem to where his friends are. However, if he wants to restore Fogdance from her shadowself, he'll need to find a way to confront her while still retaining the trust he has bought from his subterfuge.

What will Skobeloff do?




While Alpin had been correct in his assumption that they wouldn't have to deal with any more corrupted brownies, that didn't mean their journey to Echo's cave was easy: Alpin was not the strongest swimmer, and several times during their journey would find himself sinking into the muddy water. Either one of the drakes or Garrock would then have to grab and place him on their head or back while he recovered. This happened several times, with Alpin getting steadily wearier each time. The only blessing of this tedious process was that Garrock remained mercifully silent for all of it. The yellow dragon, who had fussed and groaned during their earlier walk into the jungle, hadn't uttered a single word after Alpin started leading them to Echo's, and the only hint that he was clearly not enjoying this process was the permanent scowl on his face, which since he was at the back of the group, the drakes wouldn't even see unless they happened to be looking in his direction.

Eventually, the group caught sight of the large willow tree, familiar to both Stargaze and Fellwing as the one which Echo's cave is situated. They can even see the mouth of the cave beneath the trees overgrown roots, a cave both drakes would know is partially submerged in water. They will have to go under the water to enter. Also worth noting is that entrance is too small for a fully grown dragon like Garrock to enter, meaning the drakes and Alpin will have to go without him.

Speaking of Alpin, the brownie doesn't look too pleased at the thought of going under water and eyes the mouth of the cave with apprehension. "Welp, there is is," he says. "I... err... don't see a doorbell anywhere, so..." He glanced over his shoulder at Stargaze. "Should we just go in? Is she okay with visitors just entering her home?" He's currently seated on Shieldwing's back and shifting awkwardly from foot to foot. "Seems a little discourteous, to be honest, but I don't really know the etiquette of elementals."
Hidden 1 yr ago 12 mos ago Post by rush99999
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Skobeloff


"All according to plan." Skobeloff said to the unlocked door, before turning back to the twins. "Alright, here's what comes next. I managed to get an ear on Fogdance's heartbeat on the way here. From what I learned, the only way to bring Fogdance back from her Shadowself is to show her that the extreme measures she's taking to keep us safe are unnecessary at best and harmful at worst. Provided I can find what I need, I should be able to do a convincing enough act of harmful to bring her to her senses. When I arrived, Fogdance tried to give me a porridge that had something in it meant to make me fall asleep. With any luck, she used a sleeping medicine rather than a sleeping potion. Medicines, while easier to make, have a tendency to do more harm than good if too much is used. So if I manage to reach the kitchen and find a sleeping medicine tucked away somewhere, it would be a simple matter of gathering what I need, sneaking back here, and faking a medicine overdose. When Fogdance sees the 'harm' her measures have done, that should be enough to pull her from the Darkness." Provided the twins had no objections to the plan, Skobeloff would then instruct them to stay put, ensuring them he wouldn't be long. Skobeloff would then stealthily exit the cell and begin sneaking towards the kitchen.

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Hidden 1 yr ago Post by Guardian Angel Haruki
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Stargaze


Stargaze found navigating through the waters to be familiar. Whenever Alpin needed help, she easily lifted him out of the water and put him on her back whenever the brownie found himself sinking into the muddy waters.

She followed Alpin until they finally reached the familiar cave entrance to Echo's home. She answered Alpin, "Oh no need! We can just call for her. Plus, she knows me, I'm sure she'll be happy to meet you guys,"

She then stepped forward, and called into the cave for Echo,

"Helloooo! Echo, it's me! I'm back! And I have friends here with me too!"
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Shieldwing


Shieldwing took a moment to adjust himself as he carried the Alpin on his back, more than willing to be the one to give him a lift whenever he needed it. If anything, he figured he should have just carried him the whole way, but it might have been for the best if he kept trying to swim by himself.... He swam alongside Stargaze for most of the time, and they would take turns helping him out. It seemed to him that she liked helping him out, though Shieldwing was almost more annoyed at feeling like a babysitter for this little guy.

The only solace he took in their trip was that Garrock remained mostly silent. He didn't dare look back at the older dragon for the entire trip, not wanting to see those judging eyes glaring at him disapprovingly.... To say the least, this trip had not been good for him getting in good with somebody of higher rank. His plan to make himself look like a good leader wasn't panning out very well.... He had even allowed one of his clutch to go off on his own; he would have fought back harder against it, but it seemed like the group was content with the decision, and he hadn't wanted to start an argument in front of Garrock. He still regretted that decision. He could only hope that Skobeloff was okay....

Finally, they arrived at what Stargaze and Alpin confirmed for him was Echo's cave. This perked him up; he'd gotten everybody but Skobeloff here safely. He turned over to Stargaze as Alpin asked his question.

"I mean, I don't really see the big deal; I could get in there no problem I bet," Shieldwing said, fluffing his wings a bit with a grin. To be honest, he would be glad to have an excuse to go somewhere Garrock wasn't just so that he could take a bit of a break from trying to show off for him. Plus, he might be happy to have a reason to take a break; and if Shieldwing could resolve the problem without him worrying about it, then maybe that would help his image. But in the end, Stargaze decided that they should just call on Echo to bring her outside to them...and he wasn't about to argue with her.

"But if you think it's better to just call her out, then go ahead."

He allowed his clutchmate to call out to her elemental friend, watching her walk a bit forward to let out her cry. However, he remained alert, keeping a watchful eye on their surroundings; the last thing he needed was for something other than Echo to come find the source of such a loud call.
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Tamba and Pleexem exchanged concerned glances at Skobeloff's plan, and for a moment it looked like the latter might even object. While Tamba knew the trickster well enough to trust his plan, Pleexem did not and he eyed Skobeloff with a mixture of doubt and worry. However, after another glance at his sister, Pleexem conceded with a nod.

Tamba turned back to the blue drake and nudged him with her wing. "Good luck," she said. "We'll be waiting and listening out here should anything go wrong."

Upon exiting the room and making his way to the kitchen, Skobeloff would note that same eerie stillness he had witnessed on his way to the stronghold, which made the subtle creak of the floorboards seem all the more noticeable. Fortunately, these sounds did not seem to alert Fogdance, and Skobeloff didn't catch any sign of the older dragon on his way down the stairs. Once he reached the kitchen and began searching, he quickly found what he was looking for: a cupboard full of various herbs and medicines, which he could only assume belonged to Vipereyes. The Myndoth scientist had likely gathered these from the surrounding wilderness and collected them as part of her research. While Skobeloff's knowledge of plants did not compare to that of Vipereyes, it didn't take him long to find a bundle of leaves that he recognised as being a strong sedative. He didn't know the name of the plant exactly, but he knew its smell as he had caught a whiff of it when pretending to eat the meal Fogdance had prepared for him earlier.




A long silence met Stargaze's words. Then, in the water, a few paces in front of them, several bubbles started forming along the surface before the water itself started to rise up and formed itself into the top of Echo's face. Her eyes regarded the dragons warily before settling on Stargaze, and the drakes caught a look in the elemental's eyes, relief mixed with a grimace. Echo approached the group quietly, more and more of her body forming from the muck until her entire torso was visible.

"Stargaze," she says at last. "It's good to see you again. I just wish it was under better circumstances." She smiles, but it's a weak smile, a pained smile. From this distance, the drakes are able to see that her body is barely holding itself together, as if at any moment it will start melting back into the elements that form it. The leaves that make up her hair are drooping and withered, and the bio-luminescent lights that dot her skin are shining dimmer than Stargaze has ever seen before.
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Skobeloff


Despite not knowing what the sedative was exactly, Skobeloff knew it wouldn't matter. His fox fairy teachers had taught him enough common symptoms among medicine overdoses that his act would be convincing regardless of what medicine Fogdance used. With the use of medicine confirmed, Skobeloff gathered up a few common kitchen ingredients and the drugged porridge he had hidden away earlier for use in his plan. When he had what he needed, Skobeloff snuck back to the cell.

"Alright, I have what I need." Skobeloff said softly as he entered the cell and quietly shut the door behind him. "With what I have here, I will be able to make it look like Fogdance gave me too much sleeping medicine. Now listen closely, because I'll need you're help for this next part." As he spoke, Skobeloff began mixing what he had gathered from the kitchen into the porridge. "When my performance begins, I'll need you two to start panicking and making a racket to draw Fogdance's attention. When she arrives, you must tell her that you were woken up by the sounds I'm making and that when you opened your eyes, you found me." Skobeloff finished mixing and looked into the bowl. The porridge within now looking considerably more half-digested than before. "Now comes the finishing touch: Once you've given the explanation, you'll need to ask Fogdance what she did to me. That should be enough to drive home the harm her measures have the potential to do. Any questions?" Should either of the twins have questions, Skobeloff would answer them then while hiding the supplies next to the door in such a way that they would be out of sight when the door is open.

Once any questions were answered and all things were ready, Skobeloff poured a puddle of seemingly regurgitated porridge onto the floor and also put some of the mixture into his mouth, taking care not to swallow it so as not to be effected by the sedative. With that done, Skobeloff hid the bowl with the rest of his supplies, returned to the puddle, collapsed into it, and began seizing and convulsing on the floor while making choking noises and allowing the porridge in his mouth to leak out and join the rest of the puddle.

The trap was set. Now the twins needed only to lure Fogdance in.

Hidden 1 yr ago Post by XxFellsingxX
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The twins nod, though once again with hesitation of Pleexem's part. He keeps glancing at Tamba as if expecting her to object. When she doesn't, he simply gives a small sigh of resignation as he watches Skobeloff put his plan into motion. Once the trickster is in place and starting to put on his act, both siblings start shouting, Tamba calling out for Fogdance by name while Pleexem gives wordless yelps and gasps of horror.

It doesn't take long before they hear Fogdance's steps stomping towards the room and she flings open the door. "What? What happened?" she shouts, her eyes darting between the twins and the fallen Skobeloff.

"I... I don't..." Pleexem stammers before he starts hyperventilating, causing Tamba to cut in.

"We just woke up to this!" The green drake motions towards Skobeloff. "I think he's poisoned!"

Upon hearing this, Fogdance is immediately fussing over the trickster, cradling his form in her claws as she calls out his name. After only getting choking noises as response, her eyes start welling up. "This... this can't be..." she says. "I..." She looks between him and the seemingly regurgitated porridge on the floor. "This wasn't supposed to happen. I read Vipereyes' notes, I thought-"

"What did you do?" Tamba interrupts, shouting at the older dragon. "What did you do!?"

"I didn't..." Tears start falling down Fogdance's cheeks. "I didn't mean..." The older dragon buries her face into Skobeloff and starts weeping. Between her sobs, Skobeloff hears the dragon muttering the words, "No... not again... my poor, poor child... I'm so sorry, I failed you again..." Once again, Skobeloff gets the strong sense that she's not seeing him as he is, but as someone else, someone she has failed to care for and protect.

As she speaks, one vaguely sees a faint shimmering on her scales as they lighten slightly to a paler, brighter shade of grey as her realization of what she has done starts to sink in and the darkness slowly loosens its grip on her. The sobbing stops as Fogdance's lifts her head and looks down at Skobeloff in her arms. Confusion fills the dragon's eyes as she seems to finally perceive Skobeloff for what he truly is. She lets go off him, taking a few steps back and looking between him and the twins. "Tamba? Pleexem? What is, what is going on? What was I...?" Her voice trails off as she becomes at a loss for words.
Hidden 1 yr ago 12 mos ago Post by rush99999
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Skobeloff


When Fogdance released Skobeloff, the rawscale drake did not immediately end his charade. Instead, he lay still and continued to act incapacitated. Now that Fogdance had returned from her Shadowself, Skobeloff became consumed by concern. The mindset Fogdance needed to return was built on trickery and deceit. If Skobeloff revealed that, what if doing so caused the foundations supporting that mindset to crumble? All the work leading up to this moment would be undone! But at the same time, Skobeloff knew he couldn't keep lying on the floor forever. And so he wracked his brain for a way to drop the act without running the risk of bringing Fogdance to the conclusion that she had it right the first time because no one had actually been harmed.

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