Mishaa's Story

Well Nova was certainly disappointed to find out that their current captor is just as insane as their last one. This Rashid seems, to simply be SkyDancer with a gender switch, though perhaps with a little less direct hatred for BattleDemon. As he thought, he watched BattleDemon in her own cage across the way, wondering what he would have to do to get his own private cage.

As Nova listened patiently to the reactions of others, namely the rather verbose reply of Durandel, Nova did a little bit of mirror gazing to check his own situation. Physically, he was dog tired and wounded. However, this "Elemental Battles" as it were called, was promised to be without physical violence, which meant he could rely on his more proficient mental strength, even if his mind was overdue for sleep. Nova wondered what exactly Rashid had meant when he had said "entertaining". Did he expect them to run around and tell jokes and pull gags? Or was his form of entertainment more in the realm of SkyDancers, namely the more blood, the better?

As mad as the idea was, Nova knew that this would be one of his only chances to escape this hole in the grand, granted that Rashid would keep his word. If he did, he could probably pull himself over to the nearest Ausi outpost and alert the troops. That was only a couple a klicks away, for Nova did know where he was on the mountain. There was only one thing that stood in his way, however. He would have to fight one of his companions. Companions. Did it make it easier for him to call them that? Probably. He doubted most of them thought of him as a friend. More like a depressed introvert of a spy who in his current state could not pull his own weight. Maybe that would ease their conscious when they tried to fight him. Right before they received a rain of ice shards.

"So Cerise. This may be our last trial before one of us finally gets to go home." Nova mumbled whimsically to the Avira sitting nearby.

***

Tiberius splashed about in the river. It felt good to have water in his fur again, even if had been just minutes before that he had been hiding in its depths. The young Arlyne grinned as he watched fun little specks of water released from the main body create fabulous miniature light shows with the sunlight they refracted. They were like little drops of rainbow. How could anyone not be happy around water, he wondered.

As he waited for Feathers to catch up, Tiberius decided to a bit of fishing for himself. It was a bit like hunting on land with Drais, only the movements had to be quicker and everything now moved in three dimensions. The most common frustration for younger Arlynes is that they don't realize that their prey can also escape by swimming up and down, as well as the usual forward and back and left and right.

Spotting a rather large trout, Tiberius locked up his movements. As stiff as a board, Tiberius allowed the river current to carry him beneath the waves until he was directly above the fish. Luck would not be on his side today, however, and he missed the slippery critter completely. Frustrated, Tiberius swam to the opposite bank than he came in on to get his bearings straight.

Itzal waited patiently beside the small river. Letting the soft sound of water slipping across the earth sooth him. His ears perked at the sound of splashing. His nose tilted toward the ground and his eyes rest on the Arlyne with two small fish in front of him.

"Th-there you go sir. May uh, th-the blessings of the gods be upon your tra-ravels, sir..."

Itzals head snaked its way toward the ground so it could get a better look at the fish. "Well, I must thank you young-" He was cut short when he noticed the small wolf being carried off slowly by the river. No no no! He has searched Nigerius for over a hundred years for these so called 'saviors'. And now, his guide was being carried off by the current. His inner Alva wanted to pick up the pup instantly and cut right to the chase, it was such a small feeling though that he had enough sense to ignore it and instead, calmly snake his unusually long body over to the pup and abruptly pick him up by the scruff and set the Arlyne beside him.

"Now now young one...You aren't just going to leave yet now are you?" He asks calmly. While doing so, his tail glided over the grass and around the pup holding him close to the god. "You see, I have traveled far and long...Months and months...and not a wolf in sight!" He says. "And if there was a wolf, it was one of those wolves that jumped at you out of the bushes with the intent to kill on whatever wolf that wasn't their element." He says with a horrified expression that fades off seconds later. "Twas pure luck that I made it this far...and now I've stumbled upon you good pup, and I am certainly eager to hear your tales as a traveler!" He says with a genuine grin on his face. "Am I right? I mean, you are quite far from home..." He asks rather faintly.

"H-hey! Who are you?"

The sudden voice jerked Itzal out of his current thoughts and he looked toward the pup who was the owner of said voice. "Who am I?..." It took a moment for Itzal to think before his jaw gaped open in shock. "Dear gods! It seems that I have forgot to introduce myself!" Before long a smirk played along his lips and he bowed to the two pups in front of him. "My name is Skully! Skully the traveler!" He says happily. It was absurd that a god give away his or her true identity. Unless of course...It was a small, serious, meeting. Itzal, or Skully, faced the newcomer. "Oh new guest! How joyful!" Inside, the god was celebrating victoriously. He not only had one guide, but two!

Skully looked over at the stream before speaking once more. "Now, it'd only be polite if you both introduced yourselves to me..."

Rashid

Rashid waited seconds and seconds longer. "None...?" I silence was his answer. "Well okay then..." He grabs Nova by the scruff and pushes him into his room before the Dimitrios kicked up the barrier that sealed each of the wolves inside their rooms. The Kamarians freed the others just as Rashid left toward his chambers.

Nova looked around after being placed in his cage. It was as if he had been plopped inside the Sharikere's, and even the temperature was accurate for this time of year. The chill in the air was actually quite relaxing, and the only thing that could ruin his fantasy was the fact he was surrounded by four imposing stone walls. Besides the walls, there wasn't much to the room. A small mound of snow, a few rocks, and a single conifer. Walking over to the tree, Nova pushed together some of the fallen pine needles to make a more comfortable spot to lay down, after which he did just that.

As he considered taking Rashid's advice to rest, Nova lazily thought of what he would do in the coming tournament. He more or less had a blanket plan that applied to everyone, and it would help ease his guilt while possibly raising that feeling in his opponent. Not that he really cared about the latter as much as the former. He could probably even will himself to attack BattleDemon or Schemeko, so long as they were willing to do the same. But what if he had to go against Cerise or Fox? Fox was so weak all he would have to do is go step on her neck, and Cerise? He didn't know if he could fight her. Rashid better not be in the room if that was who he paired Nova up with. Shivering, but not from the cold, Nova dropped into sleep.

***

Tiberius had to clench his jaw in order to stop his lower lip from quivering. He listened to the slippery sweet voice of Skully, each of his words like a drop of oil lazily running into his ear. The new pup had somehow disappeared as quickly as she came. She had been there one second, and then she somehow vanished. Figuring that this wolf was just playing tricks on his mind, Tiberius decided to ignore the whole incident.

Speaking each word with slow precision, Tiberius responded "Tiberius. sir. son. of. my. father." He squirmed slightly inside of the eel of the tail that this wolf possessed, and hoped for once that all he expected Tiberius to do was listen. The young wolf didn't feel like talking any more than he had to. However, he did recall that the wolf was asking about his travels before he was interrupted, and Tiberius decided to continue his momentum and switch the conversation back on Skully. Speaking with a greater surety, he spoke the first thing that came into his head. "So uh, whats it like being...so...big?"

Itzal

Skully's ear twitched at the sigh the young wolf gave him. "Well, I plan on heading to the Sharikeres next..." He says. Another voice could be heard in the distance and Skully pointed his head toward the hole in which the hybrid had tripped and fallen into. Skully glanced inside the hole before grabbing the hybrid by the scruff and placing her beside him. He then, slowly uncoiled his tail around the Arlynes body. "I am sorry if I seem to waste your time young ones. I do believe that you both have something of higher importance than me hmm?" He asks. "I assure you that I will be leaving soon." He says as he lowers his head toward the two fish and engulfing one. "Now, I have been a traveler for many years...Like I said, sometimes I would go without the slightest contact with another wolf in ages..." He sighs. "...You know...If you tend to think about the nature around you rather than the wolves itself, then will find some interesting discoveries." He knew that negotiating the pups into guiding him to this prison would be futile. Who knew how far this prison was? All he knew was that it was located semi-close to the Sharikeres. "...I want you both to... Maybe, take a look around you...And reminisce the days where the war was less violent..." With that said, he gulps down the last fish and in a blink of an eye, disappears into the brush.

Having finished his scrappy meal, he like any decent creature decided to wash down the taste with a drink of water. There was a mild breeze, and the young wolf spied the occasional leaf drifting lazily through the air. Soon enough, Tiberius arrived at the brook, and before his tongue even made contact with the water he experienced two revelations in quick succession. One was that he had heard Feathers calling for him, which he replied to with a yap. The second was the pup who he hadn't really expected to have been following him, who was slowly being carried down the stream. It seemed amusing to see a wolf who couldn't swim, after all he did grow up among the Arlyne.

Still, she did look like she was in a spot of trouble, not from the river but from where it might take her. Who knew what kind of creature was waiting further down the stream? Seeing that she would not be able to get to shore herself, Tiberius decided to intervene. It was a simple as diving in and dragging back the branch she was clinging to, and moments later he was shaking out his fur on the bank, wondering if Feathers had heard his reply. Turning to his damsel no longer in distress, he said "Make sure ya learn ta swim before he get your feet wet again."

Having not really been expecting an apology, Tiberius gave a sympathetic smile towards the young, shivering pup. Maybe he should take things a little bit slower next time so she could keep up, or maybe just be more resolute if he intended to ditch her again.

Welcoming the sight of the familiar face, Tiberius was surprised at the winged wolf's sudden change of temperament as she looked all of them over. Before he could say anything of importance however, the looming figure of Drais over his head made Tiberius think twice about saying something. When he did speak, it was more of a questioning tone than a submissive one. "We...are? Shouldn't ya just learn to catch up if your so slow?" the young pup asked, perfectly honest. After all, it was the rather slow-to-action nature of Drais that led to Tiberius wandering around all the time, even if it was never to far. The old wolf just needed to learn to be entertaining, the Arlyne concluded.