Originally Posted by Esmme

Aesh frowned, bringing her flight to circle lower to the ground. She didn't want the traveler seeing them as dragons. Who knew what would happen? " I saw someone," she called to Jake, landing lightly. "I don't want to be seen." She was human again within seconds. The woman shook dark hair from her face, taking a deep breath.

"We should travel on foot for a while. My wings need a rest."

((I still can't remember what we were going to do with these guys. Were we going to make them meet up with Rayeth and the crew? Whew. Three dragons. And they'd all be helping!))

Jake watched as he saw Aesh begin to make her decent towards the ground and nodded more to himself the the other who had made her way down. "I guess we have no choice." He whispered before following her, landing swiftly and quickly turning to his human form almost as fast as Aesh had, stretching his back a little once he had. "Well we have no choice, we should stay on foot for a while to avoid detection though."

With a nod he chuckled a little and stretched once more. "But it doesn't matter, it is good to walk every now and again. If we flew all the time we would end up having weaker legs or something." He laughed, hoping to keep the mood up, but he was still worried about the traveller and his Carriage, he had seen something like it before but he couldn't fully remember why it gave him the shivers. "We should avoid that traveller..."

((We was I think, but remember before then we was planning to have them run into the Zealots who are the ones in the carriage, that way I can get Dante into the roleplay as well. :P Because he is the Zealots secret weapon. x3))

((If Minty doesn't show up, I'm going to have her be unconscious or something. Or sleeping. :) Then I can progress with that half of the story.))

Jake's tone was enough to convince her. Aesh nodded, brushing dark hair from her face. "We'll stay off the path," she said, stepping into the side brush. "I don't want trouble while we're out here."

Her smile returned at his humorous comment. "Buff wings and wimpy legs? I don't think so." She laughed, then turned her attention to being quiet and hiding her tracks. "Do you really think we can start over near the ocean?" Aesh smiled a bit. "I would love to fly over the water."

((That's right! The carriage is ZEALOTS! :O))

Aesh heard a sound, a soft click that made her duck low to the ground. It reminded her of a crossbow. Glancing to Jake to see if he'd noticed, the woman scented the air quietly. She could smell nothing....

((You want to initiate the attack, then I'll jump in? >:3))

((I will do my best. :3))

Jake chuckled silently and nodded to Aesh, he was happy see her smile, even if it was for a small while. "Yes, I would love to fly over the ocean too. I lived by it for so long but never got to..." Before he could finish he heard the click, this made Jake a little on edge as he clenched a fist, he too began to sniff at the air and found he couldn't smell anything. "Aesh... I want..." He looked to her and smiled the best he could. "I want you to stay here, okay?" He asked quietly.

However, before giving her the chance to reply, he jumped out of the bushes and saw the Zealots, counting only two of them. "This is it? This is all you brought?" He asked with a small grin, but he was still on edge about something and took a low stance, he knew something wasn't right though he couldn't smell anything in the cart. Though when someone stepped out of the back of the cart, Jake froze on the spot and stared at what it was, it clearly wasn't human, he could now smell them, a dragon.

Meanwhile, on the carriage was the new weapon that the Zealots has obtained, Dante. He wasn't a prisoner, though he had been for the most of his life, endlessly torched and made to believe it was the dragon's fault it was happening to him. When he heard a voice outside, he snapped out of his day dream and laughed a little. "I smell my first victim." He whispered to himself before standing up and stretching out, which afterwards, he then hopped out of the carriage and grinned widely at Jake. "Well well well. Looks like one little dragon came to die."

[Hello everyone! :D Really, really sorry for the wait *bows*]

Byron was thankful when a blanket was give to her. The weighty fabric didn't immediately stop her from shivering but it did help relieve the discomfort of the cold night air. As for Knox, once he felt he had removed enough moisture from his fur, he returned to is owner's side. Byron extended a slackened section of the blanket over her turquoise pet so that he may also keep warm. The monkey was now covered in such a similar way to the girl that he seemed just like a miniature sitting beside the larger original.

Afterwards, the child looked on as the grown-ups tended to the silver haired man under the light of a lamp held above them. Due to the commotion made when they were being pulled out of the sea, Byron hadn't noticed anything strange about the small crew of the raft. But now that she had a better view, a silhouette shorter than the rest caught her attention.

At first she was unsure of his identity because what reason would there be for him to be out here? However, as soon as he turned her way, she became convinced. Pitch black hair and those same crimson eyes which held an unearthly glow. It was that boy, Devan! Abel's assistant.

It seemed surreal seeing him there. Even more as he assured the girl that her unconscious companion would be alright and that he only required "medical attention", whatever that meant. "R-right." she softly replied in uncertainty.

With the older boy's back turned to the acrobat, Byron glanced around for signs of the other boat. It was a little further ahead of them but still in sight which quelled some of Byron's worries. Then, a sudden question from a familiar voice startled her out of her thoughts.

"Me? Yeah, I'm okay." came the hurried reply. Then she paused before continuing "You're....Devan, right? What are you doing on this boat?" Or 'how did he get there?' was a more appropriate question since the last time she saw him was at the fairgrounds. The expression Byron wore as she asked was one of clear confusion and curiosity. She knew that Devan was not involved in whatever event took place under the stage that had injured the blond lady but there was a hint of suspicion for him that was tugging at her nerves. It was the tall narrator who had emerged unscathed from where Rayeth, the woman and the blind were. She found herself wondering once more what could possibly have happened. If Mr. Abel had been responsible for the lady's grave wounds, wouldn't it stand to reason that the raven-haired youth might be a danger as well since he works for the scarlet clad stage performer?

It was not long before the boat rocked abruptly, signaling that they were about to dock. Some of the men had already gotten off the boat to push it further through the shallow water onto the beach. Once there was enough solid ground to provide a good foothold, the group lifted the silver haired man out of the vessel. Byron followed right behind them with big blanket in tow while Knox hitched a ride on her shoulder.

[I may have to limit my replies to once a week on the weekends though. I often get home late due to my work and the drive home so I'm usually too tired to put in a post on the weekdays ]

((*dies* I let it fade again. ES. I'm convinced, I just get everyone all excited again to let it die. *sniff*))

((Don't worry Esmme! D: T'is not your fault! :c)

"Well well well. Looks like one little dragon came to die."

Aesh fell completely still, hardly breathing as she listened. From where she was crouched, she could barely see what was happening. From the smell of it, there was a dragon out there. Another dragon besides Jake! Perhaps the Zealots were taking the dragon to their doom...

She was ready to leap into the fight, but kept herself still. Wait for the signal. Jake would call on her when he needed her. Certainly one dragon could take on a few Zealots, right? Hopefully. Unless they were experienced hunters, which ... wouldn't end well.

Aesh's glowing eyes locked on the figures she could see from where she hid. Just a few. Probably part of the caravan itself, and hopefully not actual Zealots. She didn't know the error of her thinking, but ... she couldn't see their Zealot medallions, nor the way they looked upon Jake with laughter in their eyes.

Waiting patiently as she could manage, Aesh strained to hear Jake's call.
-

Devan tilted his head, eyeing Byron for a few moments before offering her a smile. "Yes. I am Devan." His red eyes filled with amusement, and he chuckled quietly. "I am here to help. Just because I serve Abel doesn't mean I agree with his actions."

He didn't look inclined to say more. As they docked, the male glanced to Byron as though he was about to speak. He was conveniently interrupted by Byron's dragon friend, however.

"Girl!" Rayeth called for Byron, motioning her over with a jerk of his head. He wanted everyone together - or at least a bit. He didn't want to know that the girl had been killed because she'd decided to help him out. He was free. For a while, anyway. He could still feel Abel's grasp on the heartstone. Skies, it burned. He was running out of energy. They needed to get Alchemy to the doctor's place immediately, or he was going to collapse.

(())

((I will wait to see if anyone else responds. [sweta]))