He'd snuck out of his room in the middle of the night while his parents were asleep, and went to exploring the lair. This wasnt the first time he had done this, and already knew where many of his family would be. Right now, he slipped into his sister Shiloah's room and lightly poked her with his tail to wake her.

"Can't sleep"

He looked like he was wide awake. He had tried to get to sleep, but he just wasnt tired. It might have something to do with the fact that he slept all day like he usually did.

"sleeping..." he stopped to listen a moment "i think..." He quietly listened again, then suddenly asked: "Want to go outside?"

Maybe that cat he always tried to catch was out there again. He never managed to catch her, but he always tried.

He followed his sister until they reached the entrance of the lair, then he slipped past and jumped off the ledge, silently gliding down and landing with a little tumble. He looked around in the dark; the moon was shrouded in clouds

"Where's the cat?"

He enjoyed the cold and the dark. The sun always felt like it was burning him. He looked around again.

"The cat. She's always out here."

The cat found him first and a little black streak bolted by right in front of them. He was caught off guard and jumped back, crashing into his sister

It took him a moment to calm down and realise that was the cat he was after. He followed his sister, calling to her

"It was just the cat, i'm sorry!"

he stopped with the look from his sister

"it surprised me...i'm sorry"

He looked around. They were far enough into the forest that he didnt know where he was

"I don't think we are....how do we get back?"

Now he was getting a little scared. He hoped mom or dad would come

He saw something move out of the corner of his eye and he cowered against his sister

"..mom?"

Whatever it was began moving toward them, then seemed to surround them. He got scared to the point where he ran off, disappearing in the shadows that were appearing. Shortly after was a little yelp

::Aurthur had not been sleeping well as of late, and his body had fairly much shut down on him, for he did nothing but sit on the cliff and watch the sky. But even as dead to the world as he was, he still heard the cries of the hatchlings, and he was bolt upright and wide awake before the cries could die away on the wind. Leaping from the cliffs' edge, his wings boomed open, heading in the direction the cries came from. He roared out loudly in challenge, looking for any sign of the young ones.::

::Naria had woke with a start. Her heart thumped like a drum as she pushed off out of the lair. Mother instincts told her the children weren't in their room like they should have been. So in a sense she was out of the lair before her mate. She was already darting off towards the forest at this point. Fear in her heart as she roared out loudly.::

::She was daring those who had taken her children to show theirselves. Agrivation and rage burning inside of her so extreamly that her eyes were a vicious fire red. She had puffed up her lungs and in another motherly cry billowed out into the forest. Puffs of smoke were building outside her muzzle as eyes narrowed and a vile hiss pushed from her lips.::

"Ssssshow yourssssselvessss....or ssssurrender my children....Do not and you sssshall lossse your foressssst."

::More smoke was building and billowing from her muzzle as she started to whip and lash about. Her crimson form growing darker the more dread pushed through her veins. She was not a happy mother. Again another warning roar filled the air as tears of sapphire filled her eyes. How could she have lost two of her children" Was she really that careless" This time a desperate call came from her maw, calling for her children to answer.::

He flew over the forest, continuing to search the grounds for the hatchlings, anger and fear mixing together to make him unsteady in his flight. He caught a glimpse of what seemed to be dark shadow, and with an angry roar he dove straight for it. Alighting in a clearing, there was nothing there. Now he called out desperately

"Aris! Sairol! by the shadows, if you don't give them back to me i'll hunt you down until i die!"

He whirled around when he heard something, losing himself in a frenzy, his mind locked behind a barrier of fear and anger, and rushing blindly through the forest, calling out his hatchlings names and cursing the shadow.

It was too late. The shade had already taken the hatchlings, and could not be found. Only the shadows that he commanded were in the forest, feeding their fears with voices and false sights.