LaRae after his comment must have looked like a cherry. She blushed even harder seeing that he was completely clueless about all of this. Worse, he moved her hair and she couldn't hide her face any longer. She started to look up at him with her golden eyes but shot them back down to the ground quickly. Maybe it was a blessing that he didn't understand, but then how was she exposed to explain it to him even if she decided to lie about it. She sighed softly and started to push herself back up to a seated position. Once she sat up she tilted her head down and her hair cascaded forward hiding her face. "...No... I'm not getting sick.." She mumbled wishing this situation would just go away.

Kyran followed after Hikari's lead, eventually they would run into the other two. "So, this Ishta person" He paused "Is she like your overseer or something?" He had realized that she had continued to mention this woman and he didn't have any idea who she was talking about. So why not ask? Kyran's ears twitched several times as they neared closer to the other two.

Nanashi just stared at her as she got up and hid her face again and sighed. He didn't know what was wrong with her, but he could tell that she was very uncomfortable and had a feeling that it had something to do with him. Finally he backed up a little more. "...I'm sorry..." he said quietly for the umpteenth time since they'd met. That seemed to be all he knew how to say. He finally climbed to his feet and took another step back, giving her her space again. "...It's getting late... you should probably go back to the others, they're probably wondering where you are by now." he said softly as he started to turn around. "I'm going to go now... maybe...I'll see you again." he said in a quiet semi-hopeful voice. He doubted the other would really miss him, so he didn't see why he needed to go back to tell them goodbye.

Hikari glanced back to Kyran for a moment and then blushed, "Oh, right... Haha sorry about that. Yes, she is...in a way my overseer. She is captain of the guard and I guess you could say my best friend since she's around me so much. She really isn't all that much older than I am, but she is good at what she does." She giggled softly, "Well, except for keeping up with me, that is." She always gave Ishta a hard time and ran off whenever she got a chance. She paused for a moment and glanced around her ears twitching lightly at the sound of movement just ahead of them. "I think we found them." she said bright as she started forward again.

LaRae looked up her hair falling back over her shoulder, she saw him turn around prepared to leave. She stumbled getting to her feet and stood quietly for a moment. She was debating with herself, half of her wanted to keep him from leaving and the other half didn't care where he went. She had talked herself into letting him leave and before she knew it she had already rushed over and hugged him from behind, clasping her hands together in front of him and resting her head against his back. "...Please... Don't go..." She mumbled. She stood there wondering why she did this, she was going to let him leave.

Kyran continued to follow after Hikari. "Captain of the Guard huh? Sounds like they needed someone good to watch over you, and yet, here you are without Ishta" He couldn't help but laugh softly. "I hope we did find them, we really need to get going. We can't be late, if I remember correctly anyone who is late will not be allowed admittance to the meeting" He glanced back up at the skyline once more seeing where the sun was. He would leave them behind should they start to be late; He didn't want to miss this meeting.

Nanashi had only gotten a few steps when he felt LaRae run into him. Being his usual flinchy self he nearly jumped out of his hide and gasped, almost screaming when she grabbed him. He had no idea what she was going until he heard her voice. Only then did he relax, but just a little. He tried to turn his head back to see her, but he couldn't twist in that direction. "L-LaRae?" he asked nervously. He slowly raised one slightly shaking hand and placed it over hers that were clasped against his torso. "...I...I...D-did you...need something?" he asked softly, apparently not too sure why she was stopping him.

Hikari laughed softly, "Yes, I am a bit sneaky when I want to be." She glanced back to Kyran for a moment before rounding a couple of trees. She stopped short, probably causing him to knock into her if he wasn't paying attention to where he was going. She smiled when she looked ahead and saw LaRae hugging Nanashi from behind and Nanashi trying his best to turn his head to see her. She noticed that his cheeks looked a little red. "Aww two in one day." she said quietly with a soft giggle. She wondered how Nanashi was enjoying all of the hugs, but from the look of him it seemed that he half wanted to melt into the ground.

LaRae nuzzled her head into his back softly. He couldn't see it but her cheeks were nothing more then a light pink at the moment and she was smiling. He would probably be happy to know he cheered her up without really doing anything. She lifted her head slightly so she could speak "...No..." She paused and set her head back down on his back, letting out a few more muffled words that would be hard to hear if not listening closely "...I got what I wanted..."

Kyran wasn't watching where he was going exactly and bumped right into Hikari when she stopped. He only stumbled back a few steps, wondering what made her stop suddenly. He moved behind her to see what she was looking at and caught sight of LaRae and Nanashi, he smiled slightly. "Do I have to be a Dragon Half to get that type of attention?" He said with a soft laugh after hearing her last comment about two hugs in one day.

Nanashi was still trying to look back at her, but he finally gave up and just looked down at her hands and placed his over hers again. His ears twitched slightly when he heard her speaking again after she'd snuggled into his back between his wings again. He found this very awkward but...he couldn't say that it was entirely unpleasant. "..." He smiled weakly, his cheeks going a little more red. He wasn't really sure what to say since he didn't know what she'd gotten that she'd wanted. He just closed his eyes again and let out another soft purr just to let her know that he appreciated the...whatever she was doing.

Hikari took a step forward when Kyran bumped into her and then glanced back to him, laughing quietly. "What a handsome man like you? I'm sure you get more female attention than you can stand in one day." she teased quietly. She turned around and wrapped her arms around his middle tightly for a moment and then let go, "But I will give you one for being a good sport about it." she said with another of those almost bell-like laughs. She turned back toward the other two and stood there for a moment, letting them have another minute or two to themselves before clearing her throat loud enough to be heard. It was getting late so they really did need to start getting back.

LaRae stood hugging him a few moments longer with no real intention of letting go. That was until her ears twitched at the sound of someone clearing their throat. Almost immediately she'd released her hands and pulled away quickly then took a few steps back. She had lowered her head, her eyes staring at the ground and her hair blocking view like usual; It was her nervous habit, she was perfectly fine if no one could see her face. She wasn't sure who had seen them but she felt embarrassed anyway and hoped that it wasn't someone from her Clan. They'd have her head for such affections toward another Clan.

Kyran was a little shocked to see Hikari hug him briefly. It brought a smile to his face regardless. He would've liked it more if it didn't appear to be a sympathy hug. "You'd be surprised at how wrong you are Hikari..." He stated referring to the female attention. Truth was, women didn't usually come around him at least ones from his Clan. Kyran watched LaRae's reaction when Hikari cleared her throat and shook his head. "You just scared the dear girl half to death..." He said as he walked past Hikari and stepped out of the shadowed greens so that the other two could see him. He smiled softly looking more so at LaRae "Hey, don't worry it's just Hikari and me" He said in a soft tone trying to but LaRae at ease.

Nanashi's voice cracked as the purr died quickly and he cough slightly as he turned around, looking at LaRae and then back to the other two. His coppery face suddenly went scarlet and he looked away wishing he could hide behind his hair as well as LaRae could. His hair was just long enough to hide his eyes but not his cheeks. He backed away slowly until he bumped into a tree and then just froze.

Hikari glanced back to Kyran when he said that she was wrong and she was fairly surprised. He was nice enough and good looking and as far as she knew that was what most women looked for in a man. She glanced out to LaRae when she dropped Nanashi like a hot potato and backed away, her ears lowering slightly when Kyran said that she'd scared her. "Oops..." She'd just been trying to get her attention without walking right out there. She followed Kyran out from behind the tree and smiled, "Hehe... sorry about that, I didn't mean to scare you." she said with a soft smile. "...We were just starting to wonder where you two ran off to; it's getting pretty late." she said softly. She seemed to try to change the subject away from what they'd been doing, "Are you feeling better, LaRae?" she asked lightly.

LaRae took a deep breath seeing that it was only Hikari and Kyran. For a second there she was preparing herself for the worst possible outcome. She lifted her hand to her face, the color had faded she could feel it. The sheer fright from a moment ago caused the color to disappear. She felt safe enough looking up now, she brushed her hair behind her ear and rose her gaze to them, smiling softly. "Sorry I didn't come back... I just needed to get away for a few minutes" She paused glancing over at Nanashi seeing he appeared to be just as embarrassed as she was. She looked back to the other two "Is it time for the meeting already?" She asked just before nodding her head at Hikari's question "I'm fine now, being here helped a lot"

Kyran lifted his hand to the back of his head and rubbed it softly turning to Hikari, nearly whispering "Looks like we scared the both of them..." He laughed softly looking over at LaRae. "I'm glad you're feeling better, just in time to get back to the Festival grounds" He paused and started to walk away from them, he figured this conversation could be continued on their way out of the mini forest. "I'll go ahead, I'll walk slow until we're out of here. Catch up when you can..." He stated as he lifted his hand up and waved. He knew LaRae would be able to find her way out easy enough, and this way he was giving them a little more time to finish anything before they left since he and Hikari had interrupted them. He'd wait for them at the exit. From there they would have to run in order to get to the meeting on time but he figured they would make it just in time.

Hikari glanced to Kyran and laughed softly, "So it seems." she agreed. Nanashi looked more embarrassed than frightened though. She looked back to LaRae with a nod and smiled, "I'm glad. You had poor Nanashi scared witless." she said in a light playful tone. Her gaze wandered back to Kyran for a moment when he said that he was starting to leave. She caught on easily enough and quickly started after him, "Ahh hey, don't leave without me!" she said as she caught up to him. She acted as if she was afraid of getting lost, but she was just trying to give Nanashi and LaRae a little room.

Nanashi glanced up slowly, but he remained completely silent until the other two started to leave. His ruby eyes then wandered to LaRae and then back to the ground again. He just stood there, apparently with little intention of moving away from the tree. What Hikari had told LaRae was true, he had been too scared to think straight, but he hadn't really wanted LaRae to know what an idiot he was acting like, though...she could probably already guess.

Kyran glanced back after he had made his way far enough that LaRae and Nanashi couldn't see him anymore "I wouldn't leave a pretty girl lost in the woods" He wasn't lying, he thought she was pretty. He smirked as he kept walking, looking at the ground in front of him "I feel like we really ruined what seemed like a good time for them, are they just friends or something? I'd feel bad if we interrupted the first time they were affectionate... ya' know?" As he finished asking the question he had arrived at the end of the forest and he stepped out onto the barren dirt ground. It was almost dark now and you could feel the chill setting in.

LaRae watched Kyran walk away and was surprised to see Hikari follow after him so quickly. She shook her head laughing softly knowing why they both left. She thought it was nice of Kyran to do that, considering she had not wanted to let go of Nanashi. At least not when she did. She then glanced over at him and smiled softly "I guess I need to go... I can't be late for that meeting" She brushed tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear and walked over to him; She stood in front of him for a moment. "Thank you for worrying about me..." She mumbled just before leaning over and kissing his cheek softly. She pulled away with a slight pink hue to her cheeks and turned her back to him. "I guess I'll see you around.." She stated with a faint smile plastered on her lips. She lingered for a minute before starting to walk in the direction that the others had gone.

Hikari blushed slightly when Kyran called her pretty. "Well, thank you, that is good to know." she said playfully, "Hmm...To be honest, I'm really not sure. Nanashi only called her a friend earlier today and he still seemed timid even around her, so...my best guess would be that they only met recently." She sighed, "Hmm... I really didn't think about that before... That must have been really awkward for both of them." She sighed and bonked her own head with the base of her palm, "I am such a social klutz."

Nanashi barely glanced up to LaRae when she came to him. "Don't me--" he stared but his voice and breath both caught when she kissed his cheek. His cheeks, which had been slowly going back to their normal copper tone turned bright red again. He stood there, staring wide eyed at the ground in front of him where she had been standing before she turned her back. y-yeah... he wanted to say but he couldn't find his tongue before she'd already walked away. he just stood there until she was well out of sight before he finally remembered to breathe again.

A few moments later he looked up to where she'd gone and started to walk out in that direction as well, though he had a feeling he as going to be way behind everyone.

LaRae had not been too far behind the other two and caught up relatively fast. She must have appeared behind Hikari just as she finished her last statement. She smiled softly and stepped out from behind her and over closer to Kyran. "We can go now. Don't want to be late. Oh, and Nanashi said earlier he wasn't going..." She said waiting for Kyran to lead the way. She wasn't exactly sure where to go from here, she had not been watching when Kyran was carrying her.

Kyran didn't say anything further when he saw LaRae behind Hikari and then watched her walk over to him. "Then I guess we can leave then, it's a shame he won't be attending with us" He nodded and turned to Hikari for a second "I assume you can keep up" He chuckled softly turning again and he started to run back to the festival grounds. He didn't stop in between the two places like had before, he knew Hikari could keep up with him for the most part and LaRae shouldn't fall behind now that she'd got her strength back. Time seemed to fly by as they ran; He never looked back to check on them but stopped once he reached the gate to the festival grounds. He then turned around to see how far behind they were.

Hikari jumped when LaRae spoke and then looked over to her with a weak smile. "Oh... too bad, I'd hoped he'd come." she said. She gave Kyran a look when he said that he guessed she could keep up. "Of course I can." she said, crossing her arms, though they uncrossed as soon as he took off running. She was still a little ways behind him, but she still had a fairly easy time keeping him close. When he stopped at the gate she started to try to slow down, though she was a little late to avoid catastrophe. Her foot caught on a rock as she ran and the next thing she knew she'd flipped over and went rolling across the ground head over heels before landing flat on her face at Kyran's feet, her tail flipped up over her head along with her hair. It was pretty clear she wasn't seriously hurt since she raised her head and flipped her hair back over her head with a single toss before making faced over the dirt that she'd just eaten. "Ew..."

Nanashi came out of the woods just in time to see the others nearly halfway back to the festival grounds. He sighed and started to run in that direction as well. He may as well go to this thing... or at least wait around for it to be over.

LaRae had followed behind Hikari a short distance, it took everything she had to keep up with at least her. There was no way in hell she could come close to matching Kyran's speed. When they started to slow down she stopped suddenly when she saw Hikari take a fall. Her jaw dropped slightly seeing her roll across the ground. She from the point walked over to Kyran and looked down at Hikari "Are you okay? That looked like it hurt" She said trying not to laugh. From the back it was rather humorous, not to mention she didn't think Light Dragons were that ungraceful.

Kyran's eyes went wide when he saw Hikari fall and end up at his feet. He knelt down looking at her, he took his hand to her face and gently brushed some of the dirt off. "You didn't have to do that to get my attention ya' know" He stated laughing softly. He could tell she wasn't hurt by the face she made, but he did want to know the answer to the question LaRae had asked.

Hikari looked up to LaRae and could see she was trying not to laugh at her, though she couldn't blame her if she did. When Kyran knelt down and started to brush off her face and half smiled, "If I wanted your attention that badly, I'd ask for it." she said with a laugh as she pushed his hand away playfully. She glanced back to LaRae again and smiled, "Yes, I just hurt my pride and bruised my ego." She said with another laugh, though it caught in her throat quickly as her ears flattened out at the sound of a rather angry voice.

"I'm going to bruise more than that by the time I'm done with you!" snapped a young female dragon. She had shortly chopped silvery hair like Selenity's, though hers was straight, and piercing eyes that were glowing brightly with anger. She wore light silver armor over a simple white shirt with long sleeves and a pair of black pants with a bow and arrow holster thrown over her shoulder. Her sparkling silver tail flailed behind her as she glared at down at Selenity with a very irate expression. "Where in the seven hells have you been!? I HAVE BEEN LOOKING EVERYWHERE FOR YOU!!! What are you, stupid!? You know better than to go running off by yourself in places like these! And who the hell is this guy!?" She didn't seem too phased by the fact that Selenity had just fallen on her face. She did that a lot when she was trying to run fast without looking at where she was going.

Hikari glanced back to Ishta without full turning around. "I think I'm in trouble." she whispered to Kyran.

"Damn right you're in trouble!!!" she snapped. "I swear, every time we go somewhere you have to run off it just makes me what to... ERR!!" She growled, pounding her fist into her hand repeatedly as if wishing that could be Selenity's head. When the princess just started to laugh at her she growled again, "It is not funny!!!" While Ishta was even a little shorter than Selenity by more than an inch, her horns were a bit longer and she had blue triangular shaped streaks going across her cheeks. She was very small, but she was still obviously a bit of a fireball. It was also obvious that she and Selenity were on good terms... otherwise she definitely would not be talking to her that way. She seemed to take to heart the princess's wish to be treated like everyone else.

Nanashi was still a good distance away from the gate and on his way still. He wasn't in too big of a hurry since he didn't want to go in anyway, so he was running at the most comfortable speed he could manage.

LaRae was startled by the angry voice and slowly glanced over to look at where it was coming from. She was really glad to not be in Hikari's shoes at the moment. Though if she was, she was pretty sure she'd have hurt the girl yelling at her by now. She didn't like it when people yelled at her or anyone else. Her ears had flattened to her head and she sorta leaned over and nudged Kyran. "Aren't we going to be late if we sit here and listen to this..." She mumbled trying to be discrete.

Kyran didn't seem too phased by the angry sounding voice he just turned his head to look at what he assumed was Ishta. He quirked a brow when she asked Hikari who he was he sighed softly and looked at the other girl. He bowed softly "My names Kyran, Miss" He paused and stood up straight again. "Rest assured that Princess Selenity was in the best care while out of your sight. I'm a Thunder Clan Diplomat, It is my job to see to the safety of outside Clan members while inside of the Thunder Territory" He sounded so serious all of a sudden, very sure of himself. He wasn't lying about his job; He just didn't use such terms when telling Hikari about it. He purposely made it seem like a job set up only for the festival. Since he was a Diplomat it explained his knowledge of the Royals and the Elders.

He turned to LaRae when she nudged him and nodded "Indeed, we must be going now" He stated just before turning back to Ishta. "If you don't mind, I must be on my way the meeting will be starting any minute" He bowed again and excused himself from the conversation and started to walk through the gate. He paused, turning back to Ishta and Hikari. "Oh, and Ishta, I wouldn't keep Princess Selenity too long or else she will miss the meeting too" He smiled softly and continued inside to the building. He stood at the doors and passed by the guard who let him inside easily. Once inside he went to the back wall and leaned against it.

LaRae didn't say a word to Ishta or to Hikari and followed directly on Kyran's heels. Once past the gate her ears perked back up a little, she watched Kyran pass by the guards easily and she stopped at the buildings doors. The guard didn't ask for much, just a name and clan. She answered quietly and proceeded inside. Once inside she looked around for Kyran surprised to see him at the back of the building. She shrugged and walked over, standing next to him. She received a few glares from the other Earth Dragons who were already in the building. It was clear they didn't want her standing with any other clan but they were all asked to keep quiet so nothing was ever said to her.

Hikari stood up and dusted herself off, though she still tried to keep that gem half covered, "Alright, alright, Ishta." She said sounding more serious. She glanced to Kyran when he mentioned her possibly missing the meeting. Thank you, Kyran. she thought as she watched Ishta thrown her hands up in both frustration and surrender. She shook her head, taking on a slightly more serious air as she waked through the gate and to the guards, giving them her name and clan, as if the clan was not too obvious. She heard Ishta do the same behind her before she walked inside. She started to head over to where Kyran was standing but Ishta snagged her hand and pulled her toward the front. She gave Ishta and irritated look and then looked back at the other two almost apologetically before following without making a scene.

The building was already fairly crowded with dragons from different clans, all mostly huddled around members of their own clan. Hikari and Ishta stood toward the front as the last few people filed in. Soon enough, the meeting was being called to order.

Nanashi was just getting to the gate of the festival grounds when the meeting was actually called. He looked around for a moment. The place seemed almost empty other than a few stragglers. He looked at the building and walked toward it slowly, but stopped before he got anywhere near the open doors at the stares of the disapproving guards. He just swallowed hard and stood there silently.

LaRae looked up when Hikari walked into the building and started to call out to her but Kyran and placed his hand gently over her mouth and stopped her from speaking. She glared up at Kyran but he had pointed out the look on Hikari's face. She gave a heavy sigh and just stood there glancing around the room. She wasn't surprised to see the lack of Earth Dragons, she wondered if anyone else noticed that in total there were only eight of them including herself. Her expression faded to a blank stare as she waited for this meeting to start. Her mind was flooding again with the thoughts from earlier.

Kyran had stopped LaRae from stepping over a boundary, he removed his hand from her mouth and stood still looking over the crowd of dragons who were attending. He quietly whispered down to LaRae "I'm sorry, but you shouldn't call out to her here. She's a Royal after all, not your best friend" His Diplomat was showing again. He wasn't nearly as friendly sounding when he was like this, it was like he was all business and no play. He sighed softly quiet ready for this to get underway.

The meeting was called to order by one of the thunder clan's elders. He was definitely old looking even to the point that his hair had turned white, though his skin was not all that wrinkled except for around the eyes and mouth. He wore long purple and gold robes rather than casual attire like the others here. He cleared his throat to get the attention of the members before he began to speak. "I suppose that most of you know why you are here." he said in an almost husky voice, "For those of you who do not, you will find out soon enough." He looked around for a moment before continuing. "As most of you are well aware, this meeting was called to order so that we were able to choose seven of the most worthy, one from each clan, to send on a mission of utmost importance." He was quiet for a moment as a few murmurs ran over the crowd, mostly over who they thought should be chosen. "The party members will not be chosen by me." He told everyone as he pulled a small wooden box from the pocket of his robe. "The members will be selected by an unbiased judge biased upon their strength, capabilities, and willingness to do what is needed to be done, no matter the cost."

Finally, he opened the small box, pulling out a small crystal orb with tiny wing-like appendages, "The orb will come to the chosen member and glow with the corresponding color of his or her particular clan." With that, he threw the orb into the air and immediately the tiny wings started to flutter so quickly that they were barely visible and the orb darted out of site so quickly it was hard to tell where it had gone.

Selenity listened closely to the elder and watched with vast curiosity as the orb started to fly like a humming bird. She blinked when it suddenly seemed to disappear and looked around, trying to find it again. The little thing was really hard follow. She was looking back toward Kyran to see if it had gone to him when a bright white light suddenly caught her attention and she looked up with a dumbfounded expression to see the orb hovering directly over her head as it glowed with that silvery white light. "Me?" she muttered. That was...a bit of a shock. She had really been expecting to to be Ishta or one of the males.

The elder looked at her evenly and spoke in a decisive monotone voice, "The first has been chosen."

The orb's color had blinked out and then it disappeared again. Most of the other dragons were causing a small uproar while wondering where it was going to stop next. Nero had been leaning against a wall off to the right side of the building. His eyes were shut, his hair fell over them as his head was tilted to the ground. His arms tightly crossed one over the other in front of his chest. He was clearly not interested to be here in the least. His tail lay wrapped around the base of his feet, his wings tucked neatly behind him. He was easily over looked except for the crowd of other Dark Clan Dragons standing around him. You could faintly make out the voices hoping that Nero would be chosen; It was pretty obvious that most of the Clan members in attendance looked up to him. Nero continued to lean against the wall quietly not bothering to look up or even acknowledge his fellow clan members. That was until the orb finally came back into focus; It had stopped it's jittery flight right above Nero's head and it shone a dark blue/purple that nearly looked black. The Dark Dragon Clan couldn't help but cheer when they saw that Nero was the second chosen. Nero still didn't move, nor uncross his arms and look up. He stood still and sighed softly "Hmmphh.." Was all that came from his mouth as the orb then took off on it's flight once more.

Kyran was a little surprised to see the method of picking the chosen few. He was even more surprised to see the first dragon chosen was Hikari. He smirked a little thinking she was finally going to be able to get away from Ishta for good reason. Before he knew it the orb had taken off again, moments later stopping overhead a Dark Dragon. The outburst from that Clan he felt was a little uncalled for but they were a proud clan so it was nearly expected. The male chosen didn't seem to care too much though, he wondered why. He at least thought it was an honor to be chosen for this mission; Perhaps that is because of who he was and his personality. He had not been paying attention when the orb stopped again. This time it was over his own head and shinning a very light violet purple. Regardless of the light above him he didn't notice, at least until LaRae nudged him in the side which caused him to look up. He felt a bit embarrassed for not noticing and lifted a hand to rub the back of his head as he laughed softly. "...Guess I wasn't paying attention..." He said in a quiet voice as the orb then vanished once more.

LaRae shook her head and stood up straight looking out over the crowd of people, she couldn't believe that Kyran wasn't even focused on what was going on right now. She sighed softly as she wondered which Clan was going to be next. She started to worry a little when she thought more about her own Clan. Eight dragons total from the Earth Clan and only one of them were going to be chosen. She felt bad for the outcome of the other seven who had to return to the Elders. She was the only one of them who knew that the seven returning were going to be put to rest. The only reason she even knew was because she had over heard her adopted family talking about it. She wanted so badly for it to be her who was chosen, it meant she'd be allowed to live a little bit longer. She felt ashamed to be a member of her Clan, they were so cruel to those who they were weak and would bring the clan down. So orphans, dragons who couldn't control their powers and dragons who were weak in general were usually the sheep sent to slaughter on such missions. LaRae shut her eyes, taking a deep breath she opened them again surprised by a golden brown aura from above her head. She glanced up seeing the orb and tried to smile, she wanted so badly to be happy but she lowered her head, her golden eyes full of sadness as she felt bad for the others in her clan who didn't know what was going to happen to them when they returned to their home.

Hikari stood still, ignoring Ishta's mutterings about how messed up that little orb was for choosing her over someone more experienced. She watched as the orb went to hover over the black dragons head. Oh that was just lovely, it would pick the most unfriendly looking one of the group. When the orb disappeared again she scanned the area quickly for the light and smiled when she saw it over Kyran's head. She laughed softly at his lack of attention and shook her head. She was glad that she would get to travel with him, he was rather fun to be around. Her smile grew even more when she saw the orb stop over LaRae's head, though it faded a little at the expression that she caught on her face.

The orb's color faded again and it again started buzzing around the room. It stopped again over another young dragon and started to glow a bright shade of jade green. The dragon that it had stopped over was standing, arms crossed and staring at the ground as if he, would rather be anywhere but there. When the glow illuminated the area above his head he raised it and stared at the orb with wide emerald eyes that showed clear amounts of shock as the golden pupils narrowed into slits.

This was by far the youngest member chosen thus far. He was clearly from the wind clan, judging by his glimmering jade scales. His hair was long, falling almost to his knees and was colored a light jade-silver shade. His skin was pale with three green dots arranged in an upside-down triangle on his forehead where his hair parted around the single golden horn that sprouted from his head above his hair line adding about six inches to his height. He was short for a male, actually shorter than most females, though he was still not yet finished growing as he appeared to be only about sixteen. He was different looking from the other wind dragons, as he was the only one of them with feathered wings rather than scaled ones. He was half what you would call an amphiptere--the only type of dragon known to have feathered wings father than bat-like ones, though their bodies were more like serpents with no limbs. These types of dragons were rare to see anymore as many had been hunted to near extinction by other races. His appearance was very feminine with the long hair, long curling eyelashes, and small, delicate frame. His attire made it no easier to tell his gender either as his shirt looked more like a white dress with green trim that fell to his bare feet and split up either side before being tied off with an emerald sash and worn over white pants. His tail thrashed once as he looked at the orb, "What? No!" he said, as if the orb was going to fly to some other wind dragon. Even his soft voice made it hard to tell his gender. His ears twitched as he heard mummers coming from the wind clan.

"Is that Corentin and Celeste's son?"
"I don't know, are you sure that's a boy?"
"I don't know who it is, I've never seen her before."

The orb's color blinked out and it was gone again; Zipping around the room. There were now only two dragons left, one from the Clan of Water and one from the Clan of Fire. Which one was next? The orb finally stopped over top of a small girl and it glowed blue. The girl below the orb was standing amongst several of her fellow clan members though her aura made her look as if she were floating there. She had pale blue hair that almost looked silver, it fell to her waist tied by a small band half way down her back. Her horns were small, they poked out of her head and shot back along the sides of her head; Stopping just past her skull in fine points. She had dainty aqua colored wings that looked like they were submerged in water by the way they hung gently behind her. She had a tail of the same color that lay at her feet; The tip of it feathered out larger then usual. The small girl was nearly average in height, compared to the other Water Clan Dragons around her. She wore a pale blue skirt that was shorter in the front just above her knees and fell back gradually getting longer as it ended at her calves. Her top was a plain tube top, the same color as her skirt and hugged her body tightly. She also wore sleeves that didn't connect to her shirt, but they went from her upper arm to her wrists; Wider as they reached her hands. She would rather have been barefoot but for such occasions she wore flat greek-style sandals that wrapped up her legs to her mid calf. She by far looked like the nicest Water Dragon of the group she was standing in.

Her face lit up nearly as bright as the orb above her once she looked at it. It was obvious that she was happy about this by the smile that appeared on her face, spanning from one cheek to the other. She lowered her head to the rest of her group and smirked placing one hand on each side of her hips "I told you It'd be me!" She said with a look of 'I Win that bet' on her face.

LaRae had looked up briefly to see who the following two dragons were. She didn't recognize the Wind Dragon but she did know the Water Dragon. She shook her head in disbelief, she was somewhat happy it was someone she knew but Aamori could be such a pain in the ass sometimes. She sighed and lowered her head again, afraid to keep her eyes up for too long because she knew that the other members of her clan were glaring at her; Saying mean things amongst themselves. They were angry that she was chosen over them. LaRae felt terrible about it all knowing what was going to happen to them, and they didn't know and wouldn't believe her if she tried to warn them.

Hikari was still watching as the orb few around and chose the wind dragons. She was busy studying him...or her, mostly trying to figure out if ti was a boy or girl. She thought whoever it was looked ready to beat his...or her...head against the wall. Her eyes then darted to the water dragon when she spoke and she shook her head. Well that one seemed a bit arrogant, but she couldn't really judge her personality just yet. Her eyes then wandered over to where most of the fire clan members were standing, staring readily at the orb as it's glow faded and it flew off again.

The orb flew around the room once...twice...a third time...but it never stopped over any of the dragon's heads, it stopped in the dead center of the room without glowing and just hovered there. Several members of the fire clam looked confused and some looked a bit outraged and demanded to know what was going on when the elder responded, "Just wait and see." All at once the orb moved again, flying swiftly toward the open door and outside to the surprise of just about everyone.

Nanashi was just standing outside, a good enough distance from the building that he could not see inside nor hear what was going on. His eyes were turned down to the ground and he was simply waiting for the others to come back out again when he heard something that sounded like a huge fly buzzing by his ear. He jumped, startled, and spun around, looking behind him, and then to the other side as he heard it again. He staggered back quickly, swatting at what he assumed was some kind of insect, though when it came flying straight toward his face he fell backwards and landed on his tail. When he decided to open his eyes he noticed a red overcast on the ground around him and looked up to see a strange glowing red ball with wings. "What...the?..." he muttered, staring up in confusion. His ears twitched as he heard movement from inside the building as if people were shifting toward the door, and then quite a few outraged cries.

"What is this!?" shouted one member from the fire clan that had found his way to the door, "He is nothing but a filthy halfbreed!"
"There must be some kind of mistake, this can't be right" chimed in another.

Nanashi stared back at the door with a clueless, but half frightened expression on his face. He looked as if he thought he was in trouble, but had no idea why.

Kyran had stared at the orb when it sat in the middle of the room colorless and quirked a brow once he saw it fly out the open door. He looked back to the crowd of people only to notice them all in a mad scramble for the door. Since he was right next to the door he deiced that now, before it was over run with people would be a good time to get outside. He turned and just as he passed LaRae he motioned for her to follow him and he slipped outside. He stepped off to the side of the door once he exited the building. Surprised to see Nanashi here and swatting at the orb.

LaRae had kept her face down, staring at the ground for awhile but looked up when Kyran started to move. Seeing him motion to follow him she did just before the crowd of dragons started to fill into the doorway. She stepped outside of the door and Kyran grabbed her by her wrist and yanked her over by him so she wouldn't get hit by the flood. She looked up at him and mumbled "Thank You" just before looking out where he was; She was surprised to see Nanashi also. She quirked a brow wondering why he was here when he said he wasn't going to be. She looked up seeing the orb glowing above his head and half smiled. Her smile though was interrupted when she heard the response from some of the other Fire Clan Dragons. She wanted to say something but was half afraid to because she had already made enemies of a few of the dragons here, including some of her own Clan.