::A massive sign had been posted outside the Shimmerscale orphanage, one that read as follows.:: "Shimmerscales, Aurthur is gone, and he's not coming back. He was my brother, but he turned his back on me. Look not for him, for he is in my grasp, and pray not for him, for he shall die a traitors death, traitor to his family, to the one that cared for him. Don't try to look for us, you'll only killl him that much sooner.

-a family member

Looking to her daughter as the little one scampered in, nostrils quivered a moment, as she touched her snout to the little one, talons clicking as she slid through the tunnels, through the lair, and out the front entrance.

There hanging there was a sign, a sign from a family member, and one that made her snarl, nostrils flaring, she would nae heed the sign's warning, no, her mate was in danger and she would hunt down whom ever had taken him.

Momma.., was in a bad mood.

Heaven help the one that took her mate.

::The Dragon watched from a corner at the sniveling dragon that was his brother. His eyes narrowed, and he glared at him in hatred.:: "You've taken everything away from me, 'brother', even my mother. She was never yours, YOU were supposed to die! And do you know why, Aurthur" I'll tell you why.......Who do you think it was that planted the idea to leave your egg behind" It wasn't mother or father's idea, but mine. I'm the one who planted that idea in their heads, and from such a young age too. I found out nearly from the egg that I could make others think or do whatever I want."

::He laughed as Aurthur thrashed for a moment in his bindings, only to fall back with a whimper when he pulled his wings, tearing the membrane a little more.:: "Please, by all means, try to escape, its just that much more fun for me to watch you struggle. I eliminated not only you, but our entire clutch, because i wanted to have mother and father to myself, and for a long time, I did. But then YOU came back, and you killed my father! After that, mother couldn't even look at me, and she left ME, her devoted son, to come after you! I should have been happy, and I would have been, had she succeeded in killing you. But YOU stole her away somehow! She lives with you now!"

::He stalked over and kicked his defenseless sibling several times, leaving him in a heap on the floor.:: "Let your mate and family come for you.......I'll use my abilities to turn them against each other.........And if I like her enough, I might even make your mate my own......And watch with glee while she cuts your throat out!"

::Aurthur suffered the beating given to him by the other male, coughing and spitting blood as best he could from his muzzled mouth. How could this have happened" Had he truely been THAT careless" Why was his entire family, or what would have been his family, blaming all of their woes on him, the egg that had been left to die. He would have spoken, and defended himself if he could. Now all he could do was wait, and pray that his mate made it to him in time.::

Anger and rage, boiled within, ears perked, she thought she'd heard wingbeats off in the distance behind, but she'd not turn around. Time was of the essence, she knew this.

A wyvern got into her way, young and inexperienced, it had tried to lunge at the dragoness, but she was faster, jaws clamping around the creature's neck.

Avoiding the tail as it thrashed about, she held the writhing, squirming creature until there was no life left.

Tearing a few chunks of flesh from the corpse, she swallowed her meal, and dove.

Landing only to bury the rest, she would come back for it later.

Pushing back off the ground, she winged her way toward a mountainous area, her mate's scent seemed stronger there, and so did the stink of his captor.

Nostrils flaring, taking in the scent, eyes narrowed, once ice blue, her eyes were now tinged a crimson hue. Drakkor.., she'd not heard from or seen the seemingly soft spoken white male since he'd been mated to her sister Julie.

That was a long time ago, and now, that was the scent flooding her nostrils.

Drakkor, would pay dearly for his treachery.

Drakkor, was going to die.

::Even in his current bound state, the darkness threatened to overwhelm him. But he was bound tight, and probably reinforced with magic. All the strength in the world wouldnt set him free. It was when the cuts started being applied to his flesh that the darkness fled. As his blood flowed, so too did his strength, and Drakkor was unrelenting in his torture. He wanted to fight, to protect himself, but he couldn't even see. He was getting desperate. Even though the wounds were small, so many of them could cause him to bleed to death.

With all the strength he could muster, he cried out mentally for help, that he was going to die. Aurthur, who had been through countless battles and witnessed many horrible things and was abused and raped and tortured before, was more scared now than he had ever been in his life. This dragon could kill him with ease, and the worst part was knowing that he couldn't do a single thing to stop him.::

Another heard the mental call from Aurthur, one of the darkness, one that normally was antisocial.

Leaving Vendrek'kal's side as he still slept, she disappeared out of their lair, black and purple wings stretched out as she tested the wind, and the air currents.

She normally wouldn't leave her mate's side, but she was doing this for her sister, her kin.

Finding the right air current, dark wings thrust downward as she pushed herself off the ledge.

Soaring through the morning chill, her course was set, mountainwards she would go.

You are not my love, snarled out at the betrayer, her mind was shielded and she knew he'd try his tricks on her.

She had him cornered against the wall, and she lunged at the fake Aurthur, jaws snapping, threatening to sink into Drakkor's throat.

She snarled, though pretended to be limp in Drakkor's jaws, already, concentrating, weaving her own magic as that guillitine appeared above her mate, though Drakkor wouldn't sense or feel anything from the dragoness.

Her main focus on that blade above her mate's head, was it inching away?, Soon her tail snaked around Drakkor's legs, tightening, constricting, till it threatened to cut off circulation.

You are pitiful Drakkor, :;finally hissed out as the blade had moved far enough away, and she herself made it drop, missing Aurthur's head by inches, but cutting through the binds that held.

Time would be of the essence, she followed her sister's scent, landing just off the opening of the cavern.

Fading from view, the black slid through the shadows, and behind the male holding her sister. Green eyes narrowed, and without a thought, black dark jaws parted, and fangs sunk deeply into the white's neck.

There was no hesitation there, it was because of him that she'd been roused from slumber, because of the white that she had left her mate behind, and now, he was going to pay dearly.

Like hell I will, she snarled though one eye swivelled behind and a grin played upon her snout. She knew her mate was still alive, she could feel their bond, though he was in pain.

Her own tail tightened again around the traitor's ankles, threatening once more to cut of circulation.

I'd suggest you release me this instant.

::Matthew came from practically nowhere. He roared his fury, and he leapt on the back of the dragon that was hurting his mother, the traitor that had kidnapped his father. He snarled and dug all of his talon into the dragon's flesh, biting anywhere he could reach.:: "Let my mother GO! NOW!!!!!"

Get off of me you little wretch!" ::Drakkor dug his talons deeper into both of the females, but he couldn't reach the one on his back, nor could he cast a spell. But there was one thing he could do........He roared, and he arched his back, and heard the satisfying roar as the spikes from the ceiling struck the young one, effectively knocking him off:: "Thats what you get, when you mess with me! Now I can take down a portion of your family in one shot!"

::Ironically enough, it was when she spit in his face that his legs finally gave out. He had been trying, straining to keep his footing for so long, but with his forelegs occupied in the females' flesh, it was only a matter of time, and now he did fall, crashing and sliding across the floor. But he flicked his tail out, and the heavy end crashed across Icer's good eye. He pushed himself up on his forelegs, and he spat out blood, unable to feel his hindlegs. Broken" Probably not, just numb from having the circulation cut off for so long. He growled softly, and the spikes in the ceiling vanished.:: "Are you going to kill me" Not a very good idea, i'm afraid. You see, I had a feeling you Shimmerscales couldn't fight a fair one on one fight, and I was right. So, in order to even the odds, i've directly linked Aurthur's life with my own. Kill me, and he goes too. Not only that, i'm the only one that can free him from his bonds." ::He grinned maliciously.:: "So go ahead.......Do your worst."

The black just stood and watched her sister, snarling as the white managed to get away, though she held a chunk of flesh still from where her fangs had caught the male's neck.

A grin somewhat toothy, she'd back out of the battle for now, though she'd not leave.

Moving toward Matthew then, she looked over the young male for wounds, he was family after all, though one eye remained on the battle.

Her little sister was angry.

Ice blue eyes still held that crimson color as she stalked over now to her mate, giving him a tender nuzzle, and sinking her jaws into the chains binding him.

Tugging with most of her strength, her right eye still swollen from Drakkor's tail crashing into it. She could now once again see out of it though.

A snarl given as those chains did not break, though now through gritted fangs, she was uttering a spell.

A feral grin forming upon her snout as she released the chains, turning back toward Drakkor, softly chanted words to the spell starting to echo around the prison of a cavern.

::Drakkor couldn't move, there was no way that he could even defend himself. The song resonated through his being, and he felt himself begin to shrink.:: "Curse you, Shimmerscales! Turn me to a hatchling, but the bond remains! If anything happens to me, Aurthur dies!" ::And those were his last words, for a small white hatchling stood where the large male once had.::

::When the chains began to loosen, he found new strength and growled, pulling and tugging until he was free. He worked at the muzzle frantically, and it may have been humorous, if not for the situation. Finally removing it, his energy was already spent, and he collapsed, panting, removing the blindfold with a swipe of his claw::

"Get him away from me........When I regain my strength, he's dead." ::There was such conviction in his voice, it was clear that he wasn't bluffing. Hatchling or no, Aurthur WOULD kill Drakkor.::

The little hatchling was pacing back and forth beside the sign, looking for, no waiting for mama to come back. And hopefully daddy was there with her. After a moment she gave a soft whine, and looked up at the sky, whining once more. Where were they' And why had momma taken off like that?