”He changed his voice, too.”
“It’s as if the poor guy forgot that my sense is hearing.” Ceria snorted in amusement, watching the guy. He made a strange gesture with his hand, and she turned to see a long, serpentine dragon flying toward them.
It landed near its Maj, and the dust stirred around for a moment before settling. Ceria coughed as some dust got in her lungs, covering her face with a cloth. “Well, that wasn’t very nice, was it?”
“Nice? I could care less about manners in situations like-” Her voice was low, but she went silent after Kasim held his hand out. Although it was a temporary arrangement for expeditions like these, Onvu had bags fitted on her back. There wasn’t much in them, but with something like this in his hands, he didn’t want to risk staying too long. The longer he was out here, the higher the risk of his catches being stolen or broken became.
Silently, Kasim places the container in one of the empty bags, before turning back to the other Maj and her dragon. He wasn’t sure what more business he had left, and they didn’t seem to be stopping him from moving anywhere, so Kasim took a step back and prepared to get onto Onvu. Again, not saying anything.
The dragon seemed angry, although Ceria couldn’t tell why. Probably something she had said. She was good at unintentionally pissing people off. It was her most special talent, that seemed to come out a lot.
The Maj seemed to be getting ready to leave. And while most people would have approached a strange Maj and talked to them, thrilled to see another Maj that wasn’t a stranger, Ceria didn’t care. She was pretty sure that this guy would be as arrogant and stuck up as all the other Maj she had met, and she didn’t want to test and see if it was true or not.
She waved. “Well, it was nice seeing strangers again,” she called in a singsong voice, the surest way to get rid of something. “I hope that you don’t fall off your dragon and die.”
Removing the visor from his eyes, Kasim looks back for a few more seconds. “Lahko pohitimo?” He says to Onvu, again in that rough, unidentifiable accent.
“I’m ready when you’re ready,” Onvu nods, keeping her eyes on the Maj and her dragon.
Kasim turns around and gets onto Onvu. Not a good first impression, he decided, as Onvu opened her wings to full size - both pairs.
“Upam, da se spet vidimo, mami in očka.” He whispers, not shying away from speaking his native language it seems. The chance of anyone out here recognizing what he said or even the language itself was pretty low, given it was a language not from around here.
Loudly calling back, he says, “Oh, I won’t. I’m sure I’ve been flying a lot longer than you have, so it’ll be quite an easy thing to do. You, on the other hand…” he drifts off.
“Boasting?” Onvu whispered.
“Let’s go.” He quietly says to Onvu. Onvu takes off, into the air. Their next destination was to another city - another ancient, ancient city, but this one was a bit different. Namely due to its status, of partially sinking into the ground. It wasn’t actively sinking, but it did provide a bit of camouflage to itself - preventing its discovery from others, except for Kasim and Onvu. Unfortunately, they’d need to fly by that wheeled city, presumably the one that Maj had come from. Usually, the cities never fired at him, but there’d be only one way to find out.
"Ha." Ceria rolled her eyes. "I was right. He really was just another stuck-up Maj." She leaned against Zyl's warm side, tapping her finger to her chin. "But it would have been interesting to talk to someone who didn't live in Kalamai. Plus, did you hear his weird speech? I think he might have been showing off, honestly. Wait, I know he was. Never mind." She scowled.
"I don't think he lives in any other cities," Zyl commented, wrapping his tail around his back legs and watching as the two strangers flew away. "His accent was weird, and he smelled wild."
"What are you saying about my scent?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.
"That you smell bad."
"Fair enough." Ceria shielded her eyes and watched at the Maj and his dragon banished into the distance. "Think we'll see them again?"
"Probably not."
"Good."
Onvu flew quite fast.
Kasim was thankful for that. He wasn’t a fan of how the Maj here acted, in general. Then again, there seemed to be a lack of them…fewer in quantity, it seemed.
“Not a fan of that,” Onvu said, tossing her head to the side, though keeping her eyes ahead of her. “I prefer to avoid interaction with outsiders, especially the other Maj. You never know what they may do, what they may be capable of..”
“I’m not a fan of interacting with others in general, outsiders or not.” Kasim added.
“True,” she laughed. “You were never the type to seek out that interaction willingly.”
There was a shattering crack in the air, Kasim barely getting enough time to duck. Something whooshed by his head, but his focus was not on where it was going, but rather what had sent it. To their right, in the direction of the wheeled city were two dragons, accompanied by their respective Maj. From the city. Why were they attacking them?
“Onvu, evade them!” I don’t have enough patience to deal with this!
Immediately, she listened. Thankfully, she was fast enough to keep distance between them as they pursued, not giving them a chance to catch up.
Although she was struck with two arrows, she didn’t let the pain disturb her. She’d deal with it when they landed, which probably wouldn’t be too long from now, as the two dragons turned off, slowing down. Stopping their pursuit.
“Kasim, did you get hit at all?” Unable to turn her head to view him, her only choice was to ask.
“Can’t tell.” Kasim said through gritted teeth, looking behind to make sure they’d stopped their pursuit. “I’ll check when we land.”
“Okay,” she responded, unsure.
The city, half buried in sand, slightly tilted over was an older design. It was also the closest thing Kasim had to a home in this place. Not many knew about it, and the wind - and frequent storms surrounding this area did well to shield it and scatter scents. Even if a city was in the area, due to its status, it almost looked like a massive rock sticking out of the ground.
Onvu opened her wings, preparing to land.
After wandering around the place for a while, Ceria and Zyl decided that it was time to pack up and go home. It was boring, and very hot.
Climbing onto Zyl's back, Ceria groaned, resting her forehead on his neck. "I am never going to a ruined city again," she said. "It's just sand and boring stuff." She sighed, tying the cloth around her mouth tighter. "Let's never do this again."
Zyl agreed. "The only interesting thing that happened was the Maj and his dragon, and even that wasn't that cool."
"Let's just run away," Ceria suggested, as they took to the air. "So that we don't have to do something like that again."
As they neared the city, though, two dragons circled the sky, as if waiting for them. Ceria felt unease growing in the pit of her stomach as she and Zyl approached.
One of the Maj flew over. "Ceridwen Dahnmia, you are under arrest."
"Wait, what? Why?"
Onvu landed, claws hooking into the ground. Fresh blood leaked onto the ground and she hissed as she tilted her head back to inspect the damage that was done. Two arrows, which had struck her long torso. They hadn’t gone too far in, so she decided to get them out now in hopes that healing would start up faster. But her attention turned to Kasim instead, who jumped to the ground.
“Kasim, you are..” Worry in her voice, she began to speak, but stopped as he put a single hand up.
“I have more important business right now. You can go off and tend your wounds, you know?”
“..Right.” She said, after a moment. Although her voice held an air of weariness, she decided not to object to him for now. Even if he hadn’t gone unscathed - Two arrows, just like her, had struck his back. “I’ll be back after I remove the arrows.” Kasim nodded.
He felt the wind hit him as Onvu took off once more, presumably towards their ‘home’ in the sunken city. Kasim looked out towards the endless desert, seeing that wheeled city in the distance. He sniffed the air, briefly wrinkling his noise as he realized that his blood and Onvu’s blood were thick in the air.
That meant, until some major wind storm, any sort of creature would be able to follow the trail, right to here. Kasim would be sure that they’d be fine - he could defend himself. Onvu could as well. Still, with a lasting glance to the city, he felt unsure.
But he turned around and began heading into the worn down city instead.
"That's none of your business," the other Maj said coldly.
Ceria prompted Zyl to fly back as the two approached. "Um… I think it is. You're about to arrest me. I have the right to know why."
"Just come with us."
"No."
As the two Maj increased their speed, flying towards Zyl and Ceria, she bent low over his back. Instead of turning around and flying away, he flew towards them, and then under, as they hovered startled in the air. She guessed that few people would charge towards danger instead of away.
"Where do we go?"
"I think there's an old city nearby. We can go there."
The buildings of the city were of a much different design than the ones seen at the ancient city or even a present day wheeled city. Almost like they were of a different land. Grey, stone buildings, worn, coloured by sand and wind. But it wasn’t as ancient as the non-wheeled city, for this city looked to have wheels as well. Albeit sunken under the ground.
Kasim didn’t have to go far. Only enter into a large building of some sorts, a building of importance. The inside of it seemed to have what was once a chandelier and fountain, with the water no longer being there. He only had to venture in behind a desk, where he set the vial away for now.
Kasim left the building and went back into the open streets. The whole place was pretty open, not composed of thin alleyways like many of the other ‘sand cities’ were. Not much place to hide, unless you wanted to go inside a building.
Onvu removed the arrows fairly quickly, and the bleeding stopped within a few minutes. But her worries were not towards herself, but to her Maj. She’d better return back to him.
"We have to get them off our tails, though," Ceria said.
"You mean my tail?"
"Shut up, you," she said, laughing despite herself. "Yes, off your tail. There are some clouds up there. Why don't you try and fly up there. They're the same color as your scales, or at least pretty close. You can try losing them up there."
"Then don't pass out from the altitude," Zyl said snappishly, although there was a slight hint of concern in his voice.
Kasim walked back to the edge of the island, just as Onvu arrived behind him. A familiar scent. No - two distantly familiar scents. As Onvu was about to interrupt his thoughts Kasim seemed to speak up. “Fly over towards the clouds.” He ran over, getting onto Onvu. There wasn’t much wind right now, and though he could smell blood still, there were several other, distant scents.
Onvu did not question him and immediately took to the air. Off to ‘the clouds.’
Kasim wasn’t sure what they were doing closer to the city - his city - He hoped to intercept them before they arrived. But he’d need to find them, first. Which could prove difficult in the clouds. Why would they fly up to the clouds? Were they trying to get away from something..or someone?
"I won't, you mother hen," Ceria said, her nerves pulled taught with worry. "Just go quickly." She bent even farther over his warm back, and he increased his speed. The wind whipped her face, stinging her eyes, and she slitted them shut.
Zyl flew into the clouds, where his scales blended in pretty well with the clouds.
"All we need to do now is hope that they go away quickly," she muttered. "And that none of those dragons are wind dragons."
It was getting hard to breath, and her vision was getting blurry. Her head was feeling light. She took deep breaths, attempting to get more air in her lungs.
Kasim flicked the visor back onto his face. While it could prevent the harsh winds lashing against his face, it would not prevent the lack of oxygen he was suffering from. All he could do was persevere. Don’t give up. Don’t give up.
Nothing could prepare him and Onvu for crashing into one of the two dragons chasing the target, though. A moment of surprise, of fear of falling - but they recovered from it faster than the opposing rider and Maj. You’re a bit too close to my turf.
Lightning crackled in the air in brief sparks, not enough to harm Kasim - he could easily repel it either way as long as he remained full strength. There was a flash of lightning in the clouds and a screech, a roar. Moments later, the first dragon and rider dropped out of the chase, out of the clouds. Whether they survived or not was none of his concern.
But the other rider and dragon were yet to be seen. Still chasing the other Maj and her dragon - if he was correct on who it was - probably? With a breath as deep as he could manage, Kasim turned and instructed a Onvu to continue the pursuit. Now they were behind both of them.
Black spots flashed in front of her vision as Ceria took in great, gasping breaths. She felt a wave of panic rise through her - there wasn't enough air. Usually, she could train her breathing so that this would be okay, at least for a bit, but there she was tired, and scared about the two Maj behind her.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Zyl asked, panicked, as she slumped over his back and was still. He lashed his tail and glanced behind him, where he could see that the two Maj were still chasing them. They seemed to be wearing something in front of their faces… likely one of those air tanks that helped with flying to great heights.
They had to get away.
Now that Ceria had passed out, he had to fly slower, so that she wouldn't fall from his back. Although she had tied herself in, staying on a dragon's back also required leg grip.
Kasim realized that he’d flown much higher than originally he intended to, spotting his next target below them. Indeed, it seemed they were pursuing the Maj and dragon he and Onvu had met earlier.
But he did not direct Onvu to fly at level altitude. Instead, Onvu simply lowered her flight just enough - just enough for Kasim to stand, and measure where he needed to..fall.
Kasim stood up. Though Onvu knew exactly how to fly on her own, it still didn’t prevent her worry from rising.
At the correct level, Kasim jumped, landing on the back of one of the dragons chasing the Maj and dragon he had met earlier. Even if it was a bit unsteady, he would recover. And he needed to do this quickly, lest he himself run out of oxygen. Readying his dagger, he prepared a killing blow for the neck of the Maj - ironically, it all came back full circle, as this was the Maj who struck him with the arrows, both of which were still in his back.
Onvu stayed at the same speed, hovering around in case something were to go wrong.
There was the sound of a scream and the wet thud of flesh, and Zyl whipped around, his eyes scanning the view. Someone was there. Friend of foe, he wasn't sure, but in either case, he needed to get his Maj somewhere where there was more air for her to breath. But that meant being chased again. So… did he want to keep getting chased, or did he want his Maj to live?
The answer was simple.
He folded his wings flat to his side and dove from the clouds, hoping that the other two wouldn't give chase. He fell like a stone, Ceria limp and lifeless on his back. He saw a person falling from the sky only a few yards away and panicked, before realizing that it was one of the Maj that had been chasing them.
So… were they fighting against each other, then? Or was there someone else?
Most riderless dragons would usually retreat back to their cities or at least off of the fight, and with the death of their Maj..well, the reactions would vary. Luckily, this dragon didn’t seem too interested in giving fight - aside from snapping around at Kasim, especially when he jumped off. But Onvu arrived, tail whipping past the face of the dragon as Kasim safely took control again.
“There could be one more,” Onvu began, “I don’t know where they are though.”
“Let’s take this out of the clouds.”
“You don’t have to tell me twice.”
Folding all her wings against her body, she flew from the clouds a few seconds later. Kasim didn’t exactly give the order because he thought there would be another Maj outside of the clouds - it was because his vision was weakening, breathing harsh.
Suddenly opening her wings, she slowed their descent to a hover, and for a few seconds they were still. “Are you okay?”
“I’ll be fine,” Kasim cleared his throat. “Keep flying high, but don’t go back towards the clouds again. I’m hoping to stay above anyone down here. I’m also..let’s turn back towards home.”
“Okay.”
With a tilt of her wings, Onvu turned, only to spot the distant dot of someone in the air. She couldn’t see from here, but there was someone - another Maj and dragon?
Ceria gave a start and a cough, coming out of her stupor. She coughed a few more times and shook her head, trying to clear her mind of the fog that covered it.
Her head hurt. A lot.
It felt a little bit like there was a hammer banging around her skull and her brain, with someone screaming as well.
"W-what happened?" She asked Zyl, who was flying as fast as he could away from Kalamai.
"You passed out from the altitude," he responded. His voice was sharp, mocking, but with an underlying tone of relief.
"Great. I'm so talented that I pass out with a lack of air." She rolled her eyes. "Wonderful." She felt a small stab of shame. She had thought she was better than that. Apparently not.
"There were two Maj chasing us. Do you know why?"
"Other than the fact that I was under arrest? No, not really." She considered. "I wonder if they found the body of that one drug smuggler. They might have thought that I killed him. Because you know, Maj aren't supposed to kill anyone unless it's for the greater good. That must not count, then."
Onvu continued flying towards them, though not directly up to them. And some of her attention was divided, since she was still trying to sense if there were any attackers around the area. Kasim was the one keeping most of his attention on the skies.
“I think it’s them. From before.” He mumbled, brushing a hand against his face. Onvu rumbled something in agreement.
“Shall we head further?”
“No. We’ve done a lot more than we usually do, all of this fighting. Try to move past them unnoticed, if possible.”
“Okay.” Though she doubted that would be possible with how close they were, Onvu dove a bit lower and began heading in direction of the seemingly large mountain of rocks in the desert - also known as ‘home.’ Their city. It was easier to see as you got closer, the buildings, moss and vines that overgrew them.
"… For some odd reason, I don't think that's it," Zyl said dryly. "They don't arrest harmless Maj for no reason other than the fact that they killed a criminal."
"That's true," Ceria mused, "but I take offense to you calling me harmless."
"That's because you are, and you know it." He poked her with his tail.
She slapped his side, which she knew wouldn't hurt him at all, but at least it made her feel better. "I can be really dangerous if I want to! You've just… never seen it before." It was a weak excuse and they both knew it, but Zyl didn't comment on it.
Suddenly, Ceria heard a slightly familiar voice on the wind, and she tilted her head, listening. She glanced in the direction of the voice, and blinked. There was a figure of what was most likely a dragon, far off in the distance. She narrowed her eyes. "Zyl, is that those weirdos from earlier?"
"I believe it is, yes."
Kasim only casted a glance to the other dragon and Maj, before returning his focus to the mass of sunken city he called home. Had he had a bit more energy maybe he’d fly over and ask questions, but now he realized - leaving the arrows in was not his brightest move. Just because he couldn’t feel anything didn’t mean that he was immune to the symptoms.
And Kasim was a different case. Most Maj who had their weakest sense as touch usually had a slight sense of it, maybe dull - but it was there.
Kasim was completely numb to it all. Never had he felt an ounce of physical pain or touch. It was a foreign concept to him, one that almost made him nervous at the thought of suddenly having a sense of touch.
Onvu slightly craned her head to him. “You alright?”
“I’m..tired,” he admitted. “Let’s just get back quick and get out these arrows.”
“Okay,” Turning her head back, Onvu agreed. Though if it were up to her she would’ve gotten those arrows out earlier. Her eyes maneuver towards the shape of the dragon, seen out of the corner of her eye. Hearing their voices, Onvu tilted her wings in effort to turn away, all while still in direction of the ‘big rock.’
Kasim relaxed, though not too much, as he wanted to stay seated on Onvu for the time being.
It wasn’t long before they arrived, and it was only when Kasim got off of Onvu did he stumble a bit, barely managing to catch himself.
“Take your time,” But don’t, she wanted to say. Your wounds are the priority right now.
She glanced warily at the skies, opening one of her wings to shield Kasim from view for a moment while he collected himself.
(Sorry it took me so long to reply!)
"I smell blood." Zyl held his nose to the sky. "I think the 'weirdos from earlier' got hurt. Or at least the Maj did. Should we try to help them?"
"From the look of the guy? No. He doesn't seem like he wants help from strangers." Ceria stared in the direction the two had vanished for a moment longer, then heaved herself onto her dragon. She was still kind of woozy from passing out, and her limbs shook, but she ignored it. It would be fine. She wasn't going to die.
Probably.
"If his dragon comes for help, sure, we'll help him. But a kind thought is usually taken the wrong way." She sighed. "Come on. We have to find a new place to stay, now that we're forbidden in our own town." She laughed bitterly.
"I still think it's your fault."
"That I'm not under their complete control? I'd apologize, but it'd be a lie." She shook her head. "Let's go."
Kasim couldn’t feel pain, but he could feel the effects of blood loss. He wasn’t immune to that. As he waved down Onvu to lower her wings, it was easy to see the two arrows - one slightly lower than the other, stuck in his back. They hadn’t struck anything vital from what Kasim could tell, but what did he know? He wasn’t much of a medic aside from basic wound treatment, he didn’t know much about medicine, and his supplies were limited. And with his ‘condition’; well, that would make it a lot harder.
He stumbled slightly, and Onvu moved to support him. He accepted. “I’ll head to our home,” he said, “to take care of this.”
“Alright..but I’ll..” Onvu glanced to the sky. “You’ll be fine on your own for a bit, yes?”
He glanced at her. “Where are you going?”
“I need to check up on a few things. I’ll be with you shortly, it won’t take long.” Onvu assured him. There was a delay, but Kasim nodded.
“Okay. I’ll see you there.”
“Remember to clean your wounds!” Onvu called, as she spun around and took off, leaving Kasim alone for the time being. Kasim began heading further into the actual town.
Onvu, meanwhile, followed her nose to the other dragon and Maj. The scent of blood was still thick in the air, from several sources - from Kasim. One with a good sense of smell could probably smell Kasim’s blood all around her. He’d probably been bleeding for a while, Onvu realized, and she inwardly scolded herself for not alerting her Maj earlier.
She wanted to see what their business was, doing so close to their island. And the fact that they were being chased.
((It’s fine!))
Zyl lept into the sky, spreading his wings and pumping them hard. They rose into the sky, the sunlight reflecting off of his silvery scales as he flew in the opposite direction of the Maj and the dragon who had saved them.
"Do you have any idea where you're going?" Ceria asked after a long period of silence.
"I thought you did," Zyl snapped.
"No. I haven't been to any other cities in a long, long time." She leaned against his warm back and closed her eyes. "I'm going to take a nap. Call me if anything happens."
"Does a bird flying past count?"
"Asshole," she responded with a snort. "No. It doesn't."
Onvu caught sight of them, but they weren’t flying towards her. With a low growl, she worked harder to catch up with them. At this rate, it would take forever for her to catch up - well, maybe not forever. But Onvu wanted to get this job done as fast as possible. Sucking in air, Onvu lurched forwards and let out a roar in attempts to catch their attention. It wasn’t an angry or upset roar, more, ‘Hey, look!’ She’d only hope they wouldn’t misinterpret her roar as a battle call and immediately try to attack.
After Ceria fell asleep, Zyl flew in silence for a few more minutes. His wings ached from how hard he had been flapping them earlier, but he knew that his Maj needed to get out of there as soon as possible.
He was just starting to turn towards one of the closer cities when he heard a roar. At first, he bristled, flames leaping up his throat to his mouth, flickering around his snout, until he realized that the cry was a cry for help, not an attack. He turned his head, sniffing the air, until he caught the scent of the dragon from earlier, and her Maj… and blood. Lots of it.
Ceria, who had just woken up, yawned. "Well, that was horrible sleep. What's happening?"
Zyl snorted. "There's a Maj up there who seems to need help." He lashed his tail in agitation. Would she go to help them? "Should we go help?"
"Normally, I'd say no, but we probably should," she said ruefully. "So yes, we should go help them."
With that, he turned toward the roar and strained his wings, doing his best to fly as fast as he could, although it felt like his wings would fall off.
Seeing as they were flying towards her, the dragon with little effort, turned right around and began flying back to the sunken city.
Indeed, to most people, the sunken city just looked like a big rock or mountain in the middle of the ocean of sand. Not much to see. But on closer inspection, it seemed to be a marvellous city, although one of older design. Not as old as that city from before, without the wheels - but old enough.
Onvu landed on the edge, taking time to steady herself. She turned, waiting for the other Maj and dragon to arrive. Kasim was nowhere to be seen, but his scent of blood was thick in the air. Almost too much blood, you’d think he’d be in extreme pain - but no. Tracking him at this point would not be hard.
Zyl dove after the other dragon, and Ceria gripped the spines of his neck to keep her balance. Having just woken up, she was woozy, and her mind was still hazy and full of fog. As her dragon flew, she grumbled to herself. "Why did someone have to be hurt? It's interrupting my nap time, and I get really crabby when I lose sleep. Those horrible people."
"You really do get crabby when you don't get enough sleep," Zyl observed in a dry voice, and she smacked him, although she wasn't sure that it did him any good. Plus, it only made her hurt her hand, which further worsened her mood.
"Quiet, you."
They landed on the ledge where the other dragon was, and Ceria recognized the dragon she had seen in the abandoned city. She pursed her lips and slid off Zyl's back, straining her ears for any hint of a heartbeat, or ragged breathing, or something that would show where the wounded was.
Onvu sniffed the air, briefly flicking her tongue out. Even though the light wind had scattered some of the scent already, there wasn’t much wind, and the location was clear. “Follow me.”
She began to move forwards, into the city. She had an idea of where Kasim was.
Speaking of Kasim, he sat - more so kneeled in front of what seemed to be a small shrine of stones and fabric marked with odd symbols. His breathing was somewhat ragged, and it was beginning to be hard to focus. He sat in a building a bit further into the town, in a building that almost looked like a watchtower but was a bit bigger than that.