Roleplay

private w/ @alcibiades

"I didn't think we'd have to go to the Starfall Isles, of all places, for some good medication," A white spiral mumbled to her leader as she quietly slinked behind, her six wings frantically flapping to keep her in the air. "I imagined the Wastelands would have plenty, considering we quite literally live and breathe disease."

"This bothers you?" the dark-colored mirror asked in return, glancing back at the clan medic for only a moment before focusing once more on the path ahead.

"I'd have preferred to stay at home," the spiral admitted. "It's not that I dislike Arcane dragons, it's just that.. they're so absorbed with knowledge and magic. It's rather unhealthy."

"I doubt you of all dragons, Wasp, should be one to speak of unhealthy interests," the mirror cackled, not needing to look back to see the offended expression Wasp had now donned.

"Oh, how funny, Caeridxa. You're quite lucky the situation's so dire it requires my participation in this journey."

"You're here because I told you to," Caeridxa retorted, halting in her tracks as she caught sight of an Arcane clan's lair not too far away. "Look, here's a lair. We can ask if they've got a medic and see what they can do."

A defeated sigh escaped Wasp, who reluctantly followed her leader as she approached the lair. The mirror made sure to reveal herself rather obviously, so as to let the clan know she posed no threat.

"Hello?" Caeridxa called to whoever might be listening. "I apologize for the intrusion on your territory, but I ask if you could provide assistance."

From within the depths of the cave, several pairs of octarine eyes winked open, casting their glowing light through the crystalline walls, refractions and reflections scattering through the blue night. The dragons they belonged to may not have even been sleeping -- or perhaps if they were, some part of their consciousness remained in the waking world.

Kairos uncurled himself, untucking feathered tailtip from nose, and stood, his halo blinking into blazing pink light, and from within their own personal areas of the lair, Meilinoe and Kyrakios' halos followed suit. "Assistance?" he said, shaking out his wings, holding them wide so that each gleaming, well-cared-for feather stood out, the full width of his wingspan visible. Not a display of threat, exactly, but one of, well, potential. "What sort of assistance?"

Caeridxa noted the display the Wildclaw offered and her crest flattened against her head, tattered wings folded neatly by her side - a sign of respect and submission among the Mirror species that hopefully translated well. This was not her land, and she would keep this in mind.

"Your flight specializes in magic, does it not?" she continued. "As does ours in disease. Well, it appears that the two have decided joining together and infecting an entire clan is a favorable pastime. Our best medication has done nothing, and it's clear this new illness has adapted strong magical properties."

"We were hoping that your flight would be able to provide assistance," Wasp added, circling around in the air to keep her lengthy figure busy. "We have Arcane dragons of our own, but they have lived most of their lives in the Wasteland and possess about as much knowledge of this illness as we do."

((i never got notified to reply ugh sorry))

"We are an Arcane flight who calls the Starfall Isles our home," Kairos noted dryly, though not without amusement. "So yes, it's safe to say we specialize in magic." He took in the rest of her words with a nod, his halo throwing rainbows across the polished floor and walls. "A magical disease..."

"I can smell it on them," came Meilinoe's voice from within the cave, as cool and smooth as a rock dropped into a pond. "The infection permeates them; no ley-line, no vein, is clean from its taint."

"Well," Kairos said. "I suppose the two of you had better come inside the lair, then. Although I suspect you may be a bit surprised to discover who exactly our healer is."

(( nah it's all good, do you want me to ping you each time?

"Whoever they might be, we will be grateful for their efforts," Caeridxa replied with a nod, her emblem's light flickering a tad as she slinked quietly into the lair. Wasp hesitated, a subtle frown creasing her lips.

Her leader's emblem never faltered unless Caeridxa herself had weakened.

Perhaps the illness had taken hold of more dragons than she'd thought.

Wasp eyed the Arcane dragons with interest masked as wariness as she flittered after her leader. She was curious to meet this other medic - a healer, the clan referred to them as. Perhaps there was a thing or two to be learned, knowledge between flights to be exchanged.

((i'm subscribed so it should notify me now. it worked this time, lol))

"Don't go down any passages unless I do first," Kairos said, his tone flippant despite the rather grim warning his words offered. "Eris will be with Meilinoe. I'm sure she'll be eager for a challenge."

The tunnels dug into the walls were large enough to dwarf the three of them as they walked along; this clan was full of Imperials, after all. Beneath their feet, the crystal was worn soft and smooth with use. Despite the fact that it was all made of stone, it didn't feel cold or lifeless at all - rather, it was all warm, awash in a sweet pink glow, enticing, and the way the light flickered made it seem almost alive.

Meilinoe's chambers were deep inside, in the heart of the mountain. As they traveled, the walls became thinner, until they were almost transparent, a warped red version of the items and dragons on the other side showing through. But abruptly, near the peak's center, they became thicker again, the smooth surfaces punctuated with softly glowing crystals which brightened as they approached. Some of them blinked off and on, a pattern that seemed hypnotic if one were to look long enough.

"We have visitors," Kairos said unceremoniously, to what appeared to be a black pit where the walkway suddenly dropped off into nothingness. As he spoke, the blackness resolved itself uncomfortably into a pile of dragons, all apparently sleeping -- all except for Meilinoe, who lifted her head, the jewels adorning her ears and antlers clinking together musically.

"You've come far," she said gently. "To come so far into a land not your own, seeking help from anyone who will give it -- you must be afraid."

Eris lifted her head from where it lay curled against Meilinoe's shoulder, her own ruby-red eyes blinking open. "And that's saying something," she said, "because I know for a fact that Plague dragons aren't afraid of much."

(( gotcha, haha

Wasp's bright gaze was immediately dragged to the eyes of the clan healer - stunning red eyes that distinctly marked a Plague-born dragon. It took the Spiral by surprise - and yet she couldn't help but feel a twinge of relief at the idea of being aided by her own kind. She grew rather tired of the looks other flights would exchange at the sight of the Wasteland's inhabitants.

Caeridxa's response was only a short bark of laughter. "They call our kind primal savages and yet rely on us to care for their weak," she observed bluntly, acute canines revealed in her amused grin. "We are not afraid, I assure you - but neither are we fools. This is a disease we cannot cure ourselves, and we don't need half of our clan to die to see it. The Plague Mother has yet to specify exactly how her challenges must be overcome."

"You, too, are a child of the Plaguebringer," Wasp acknowledged, still awestruck by the healer's appearance and unaware that she had yet to blink. She herself was a medic, yes, but a novice - and to be aided by what appeared to be a knowledged healer was an idea that excited her. "Surely, you must understand?"

A drop of blood coalesced along Eris's nose, sliding down and dripping to the floor, before somehow defying gravity, the droplet dripping back up. She smiled, showing a wide mouthful of shining, sharp teeth, blood oozing from her gums. "A child cast out," she said. "My parents later exalted, hoping that perhaps whatever malady in their genes had created me and my siblings would please the Plaguebringer." She sat up, sending a rippling tide of blood sloshing to the floor, before splashing up again on her underbelly and legs, leaving behind nothing at all where it had touched. "Nonetheless, you needn't be defensive; there are plenty of us here, and this clan well knows that sickness is often the Mother's way of strengthening the world."

"Blood has its own sort of magic," Meilinoe said, her head resting once more upon her claws. "Blood is history, future, and present all in one, just the same as the ley-lines of magic. And the things borne by blood may tell us much."

"We'll help you," Kairos said, from where he was stood, set back a bit. "If that wasn't clear."

"That explains why you no longer reside in the Wastelands, I assume," Caeridxa murmured, more to herself than anyone else. "I forget that not every clan is as.. tolerant.. as our own. They fail to realize it does nothing but weaken them."

"Oh, yes, it's been made very clear," she added in response to Kairos. "Once this disease has been effectively delt with, we shall be in your debt."

Wasp took particular interest in the blood that coated Eris's body, studying it intently and with eyes wide. Around the Spiral's neck hung a vial of blood tainted with infection, something she'd used to study the properties of the crimson substance in her spare time. The Skydancer who'd given her the vial had shared similar, if not the same views as Meilinoe, and to see those theories proven right before her was thrilling.

"Such beauty," she gasped, forgetting that there was a much more urgent matter at hand. "I knew blood gave us more gifts than life, but I could never figure out how. You're an incredibly unique individual."

"I hope it's also clear we believe that each element has its own unique strengths," Kairos said, amused, clicking his foreclaws together. "Our general position is that it would be foolish to believe otherwise. Naturally, each flight fancies itself the best, secretly or not-so-secretly, but..."

"A true child of Plague," Eris said, standing fully and taking a step toward Wasp and Caeridxa. Her nostrils flared, taking in the scent of the newcomers. She glanced at Wasp's vial, before locking eyes with the spiral. "I take it you're the healer of your clan? How many are afflicted?"