Letting out a deep breath of air, Flynn stood back up, pressing his hands to the small of his back while arching it out. "Uurrgh. This was a WAY bigger job than I thought it'd be." He looked over the mass of rubble still blocking the entrance for a moment before shrugging with a light smile. "Then again, it's kinda nice to just do some... mindless labour. Don't have to worry as much about... everything."
He glanced over at Ferrus, chomping down on another lump of marble, chewing through it like a wolf with a freshly caught deer. Although with alot less enthusiasm. "When do you think we'll be done with this, Ferrus? Can't be that much left, right...?"
The large drake swallowed down and set to work using his claws and feet to shove some boulders and rocks into the hallway behind him, all the while Flynn felt a mental shrug and a small rumble of thought.
"A few hours, perhaps." He paused, turning his head to glance at Flynn, mouth moving up in what Flynn -imagined- would be a dragon smirking.
"If we keep working."
Flynn huffed and raised his hands. "Alright, alright, I get what you're hinting at, I'll get back to work. Just keep in mind I don't have the same stamina as you! I -am- only human."
Ferrus let out a rumble of a chuckle while Flynn raised his hands to undo his leather vest, tossing it on a nearby, unlit torch hanging from the wall. He rolled up the sleeves of his white shirt and wiped his brow before stepping forwards, going back to tossing the rocks and boulds into the hall behind them in small piles. Although in a bit more order than Ferrus seemed to be doing.
Far above Pharus Castle in the clouds, Idora and Morenth soared, enjoying each other's company and the gentle breeze that blew above the clouds. Their mission completed, they had decided to just relax for a little while before returning to the castle, something Idora felt was well deserved. It had been a long time since she had simply been able to relax and not worry about being chased or having responsibilities. It appeared to be something that she was going to have to get more used to, but she felt that was one thing she could do.
Shall we return? Morenth mused,
We probably should have returned a half hour ago when we first got back...
Idora sighed, resigning herself to having to return to the castle. The castle itself was fine, it was avoiding the other inhabitants that tended to irritate her.
Fine, let's go back. It's still afternoon for a while yet, maybe we have some other chores to do. She just hoped whatever she had to do didn't involve more salamanders. Or fire.
Morenth twisted in the sky and the world tilted and shifted. In just an instant the two had gone from soaring parallel to the ground to plumeting downwards in a spiral. Starting to get used to the stomach lurching event, Idora let out a shout and laughed, despite the wind stinging her eyes. Morenth, equally happy let out a roar, announcing their arrival to the rest of the castle.
The dragon's wings flared as the dragon's fall turned into a more controlled glide. She soared around the castle at breakneck speed, and as they circled the enourmous building Morenth said,
It seems Flynn and Ferrus are clearing out the main entrance to the castle of rubble. I think we should help them.
Oh come on Morenth, Idora replied,
can't we just go back to our room or get something to eat instead? You know I don't like Flynn...
And why don't you like him? came the reply.
I just...I don't know, okay? I can't trust him. Her argument was weak and they both knew it.
Well, I'm going to help, and you're coming with me. Not like you have much choice. If you wish to leave after we land, thats fine. But you'll have to make up some excuse to get yourself away from the man. The dragon's voice was tinged with dark humor. In a more tired and caring voice Morenth said,
Idora, you can't hide from your fellow riders forever. Riders live for a long time, you are going to have to work with these people at some point. Might as well start now.
Idora wasn't happy, but remained silent as Morenth completed her descent, now landing on the stone walkway that led up to the castle gates. Or at least, where they had once been. Instead a massive pile of rubble blocked the way, although that pile had been removed somewhat from when she had last seen in this morning. Ferrus was working his way through the pile with Flynn helping with the small rocks that the dragon couldn't grab with his much larger claws.
Fine, you win, Idora grumbled to her dragon,
but only because I can't think up a decent excuse.
Good enough for me, the dragon replied.
Now then, lets make ourselves useful. With that the dragon strode over to where the other rider and dragon were working, Idora dropping out of the saddle and following at Morenth's side.
Tossing another rock behind him with a small grunt, Flynn rolled his shoulders, going in for another one. Ferrus stopped, with his claws around a boulder, raising his head a little.
"We have company." he rumbled. Flynn blinked and turned around, brows raising as the ex-assassin and her dragon were wandering up to them.
"... What do you think they want?" Flynn asked mentally, the larger dragon slowly turning to meet their 'colleagues'. The man sensed an odd curiosity washing over the link, with a complete lack of worry, wariness or fear, which was what Flynn was supplying Ferrus with in spades, which was probably why he was so amused.
"You should ask them."
Lifting a hand to wipe a couple beads of sweat from his brow, Flynn gave the two a nod and a light smile. "Uh... hey. Idora and..."
"Morenth." Ferrus chimed in as he stepped up besides Flynn, his eyes set on the opposing dragon, seeming oddly bemused.
"Morenth, yeah. Sorry, all the names, they're... not quite stuck yet, heh." He cleared his throat, a hand moving up to scratch the side of his neck, eyes flickering between the two. "What... can we help you two with?" It was pretty clear that Flynn wasn't entirely comfortable around her.
Morenth strode past the man exhaling as she did, tousling Flynn's hair.
What does it look like? We're helping, she said with amusement in her voice. Not asking for any sort of permission, she walked over to the pile of rubble and clamped her jaws over a large peice of stone. Her muscles rippled and flexed as her claws dug it to break up and pull out some pieces that were stuck as she pushed them over to the growing piles of stone out of the way of the gate.
Ferrus' eyes followed the dark-green drake on her way over besides her as she went to work. Casting another glance at Flynn and Idora, the larger dragon turned and wordless went back to work as well, chomping and digging.
Idora only shrugged and gave a faint, if forced, smile as she undid her cloak. It fell from her shoulders and she carefully placed it on a stone a few paces away from the entrance of the gate. Next came her sword belt along with a few of her other tools she kept with her, although she made sure she still had a few weapons concealed, just in case. The swords would have gotten in the way though, and the cloak would have been irritating, not to mention insufferably hot doing this sort of work.
Walking over to Flynn and the pile of rubble she used a thin strip of leather to tie her raven hair behind her head. It wasn't particularly long, but she would still prefer it out of her face. Not having her cloak and having her hair tied back made her feel vulnerable, but Morenth was right, she couldn't just hide all the time from those who were supposed to be their allies. Despite that knowledge, it didn't help her discomfort much.
Adjusting her leather gloves she said to Flynn, "For the record, this was her idea," gesturing to the dragon. Grabing a piece of stone a little larger than the size of her head she groaned and carried it over to the pile out of the way of the entrance. "Did look like you could use some help though," she said trying to appear friendly.
In a bit of a stunned silence, Flynn just stared as she moved past, lifting a hand to scratch the back of his head. He wasn't sure what to make of this. On one hand, it would be nice to get to know his fellow riders, but at the same time... could he trust her? He'd heard -alot- of things about her, after all. And the only 'good' things he'd heard, were about how good she was at what she did.
"Do you think she trusts you, anymore than you trust her?" Ferrus asked without moving away from his work. That had Flynn pause in his train of thought, looking down at the floor.
"... I guess, if neither of us can trust the other, nothing's really going to happen, huh?" the young man mentally asked his companion.
Ferrus didn't respond. Instead, he turned his head slightly towards Morenth, taking a small whiff of air.
"You smell like brimstone and sulfur." he commented flatly, although it was clear that he was expecting her to elaborate.
We were hunting a volcano salamander that had wandered out of its own territory. I may have...bitten off more than I could chew. She shared the memory of trying to pick up the beast and the salamander's tail exploding in her mouth.
It had some interesting abilities, but it was no match for the two of us.
"I cannot imagine much would be." Ferrus commented with a rumble.
"I wonder how it would taste..." He mused, mouth curling into an amused smile.
Flynn shook his head and stepped over besides Morenth, leaving Ferrus to his thing. He was never sure if Ferrus was wise, or just very observant. "Well, we definitely could use the help, otherwise we would've been stuck here for hours, still." He dug in and began tossing the rocks behind him in the piles, the remnants of something iron poking out above the rubble.
He was silent for a moment, sideglancing at all of the objects that Idora had discarded in order to work, before looking towards her. "How... do you feel about... all of this?" He quickly gestured at the castle around them. "Becoming a Rider?" He paused a moment, before quickly adding. "You, uh, don't have to answer, if you don't want to. I'm just curious, is all."
Idora seemed to think for a moment before responding, "I don't really know yet. I mean, I'm happy to be a rider and all, but I can't help but think that the dragons should have chosen someone else." She yanked on a piece of metal, almost falling backwards as it came free. It appeared to have once belonged to some set of armor, but it was so badly dented she couldn't tell what it went to. Tossing the piece onto a small pile of scrap metal, she frowned and said, "The stories always talked about the riders being noble and just, keeping balance between the races. They written about as being a beacon of hope. Honestly, thats not me." Tossing another few stones to the side, she said, "What about you?"
Flynn nodded a little, taking a step back as Ferrus leaned over to snatch a rock that was rolling down the pile of rubble towards the two, quickly crunching it between his jaws. After shaking his head, Flynn went back to work. "Heh, can't say I disagree a whole lot with you. I read -alot- of stories about them while growing up. And... you know, yeah, I'm still not entirely sure the choice of me as a Rider was a good one."
He paused for a moment, glancing up at Ferrus, who let out a thoughtful, rumbling hum. "I told Durak. He said I shouldn't dismiss the idea of being a Rider immediately. So I figure Ferrus and I'll stick around. If anything else, we'll be helping people, right? Gods knows this world could use a bit of help." He muttered at the end.
"That," Idora said glumly, "is one thing I think we can agree on." She thought about the time she spent as the apprentice assassin for her king. She had been killing nobles almost as often as thieves, mercenaries, or actual threats to the kingdom. Casting away more stones she tried to forget those times as best she could, trying to use some of the calming techniques she had learned. For a few minutes the two of them worked in silence removing the rubble.
It was Morenth who broke the silence next. Directing the question at both Ferrus and Flynn, she asked,
What do you think of Durak? I only met a couple humans after I hatched, and have yet to really familiarize myself with their species, other than through Idora's memories. I am curious, what do you think of the man?
Ferrus was the first to speak of the two, even though Flynn was just about to open his mouth.
"He is a secretive man. But what he hides, he hides for our own good." Despite his words, Ferrus didn't sound thrilled about not being told everything.
Giving Ferrus an odd little glance, Flynn stood up, wiping his brow briefly, looking thoughtful. "... I've read -alot- of stories about the Riders of old. Durak was their advisor. Which means he was probably the wisest of all the Riders." He paused, lifting a hand to scratch his cheek, eyes trailing to Idora again. "And he doesn't care about who we were. It feels like he believes in us. If -anyone- can help us figure out... this?" He motioned between himself and Ferrus, the larger dragon letting out a puff of smog from his nostrils, as if to agree. "... It's him."
A few more minutes passed as they worked before Idora came up with another questions. "So what do you think of Ferrus? I mean, I heard Durak say that each dragon is associated with a sort of element, and Ferrus would be the dragon of the iron and forge. No offense, but you don't seem like the blacksmith type, I would think that would normally go to a dwarf. How do you think all that worked out?"
Flynn let out a chuckle, tossing a boulder off to the side. "You know, I said the exact same thing to Durak. And he more or less just told me to 'Look at it poetically' and that it's 'Not as black and white as you think'." He waggled his hands as if for emphasis, shrugging.
"I am sorry if you are not happy with me as your companion, Flynn." Ferrus turned his head to send Flynn a glance along with a smirk. Or as much of a smirk as a dragon could muster. He rolled his eyes and raised a hand to pat his foreleg. "As if you'd even be bothered by it if I actually thought that." Ferrus rumbled out a chuckle.
"Perhaps I would. Perhaps not."
Idora chuckled at the two. "I suppose Morenth and I are in the same place. She is supposed to be the dragon of nature and healing, but I've always lived within a city and healing isn't exactly my thing. Not that I would give her up." As she said that Morenth padded past the two and blew a small cloud of smoke into her face. Laughing and choking at the same time she waved the air in front of her face, trying to breathe some clear air again. After she had recovered, coughing away the last of the smoke in her lungs, she asked, "So where are you from? You don't really have a strong accent of the east or the north. Did you live near teh capital?"
Smiling at their interaction, Flynn dusted his hands off to get some marble dust out from under his fingernails. As Idora asked him about where he was from, he froze a little. The worry he was feeling easily conveyed into the link between him and Ferrus, whom turned his head slightly to give him a brief look before going back to work.
"I, uh. I'm from the capital, actually. It's... a long story." He paused, thinning his lips while peering up at a small speck of daylight shining through the remaining rock-wall. After a moment, he folded his arms across his chest and turned to Idora.
"Listen. I'm not an idiot. It's not very hard to see that you're not really comfortable around any of us. And... knowing who you are, I don't blame you." He paused for a moment, letting the thought sink in. "But, here's the thing. You're not the only one trying to block out your past. I'm far from proud of what I've done up till now. And... I just mean... erh-"
A rumble rolled through Ferrus' chest as he slowly turned around, golden eyes set on Idora.
"He means to say that the two of you are not that different. Especially now." He glanced up at Morenth briefly, before looking down at the woman again.
"He would like you to trust him, and he, you."
Flynn's cheeks turned a little red after Ferrus was able to put his own thoughts to words, clearing his throat quietly while moving a hand up to rub the side of his head. "Uh. Yeah, exactly what he said."
Idora had frozen in place when he had said he knew who she was. She had hoped that nobody had heard of her role in the kingdom, but she had evidently been wrong in that hope. Her gut twisted, and Ferrus' words didn't do much to help that discomfort. She felt emotions bubble up threatening to release. She felt fear, anger, desperation, all clawing their way out of her and making her just want to run and hide like she always had. Morenth's comforting presence pushed those emotions away and after a moment she had composed herself.
She sighed and leaned against the wall for a moment, resting, placing her hands on her hips. She muttered under her breath, "Gods, will my past always haunt me?" Looking at Flynn she said loudly enough for him to hear, "For the record, I walked away from that years ago, and doing...that work, was never my choice." She gazed back up at the wall of rubble, then put her leather gloves back on to get back to work. "Well, if we are being honest with each other, you're a thief, right?"
Breathing out a slow breath of relief at Idora seemingly taking his words well, he managed to smile sheepishly, shrugging his shoulders. "Kind of obvious when you've got eyes as keen as yours, huh? Yeah... although, like you, I didn't choose it."
He rolled his shoulders, flexing his fingers in preparation to get back to work. "Tell you what, Idora... since I know... uh, well, quite alot about what you've been doing over the years, it's only really fair if you know about me. We can meet up a bit later and I can tell you whatever you want to know. How's that sound?" He turned to her, sending her a questioning look.
She shifted her feet for a moment thinking.
What do you think Morenth?
The dragon almost laughed within her mind,
I think you're being a fool. He seems sincere, and it will be a good opportunity to actually get to know him. And if you think its a trap, just think about this. You used to kill people as your job, and I doubt anyone here could catch you off guard. Not to mention you happen to have a large, strong, and not to mention beautiful dragon close by.
Idora couldn't help but smile. "Alright, we can do that I suppose. Did you have some place in mind?"
Flynn smiled in return, giving his shoulders a shrug. "I think either of our rooms would probably be the most private for a talk like this. Or maybe somewhere in the town..." He scratched his neck, peering thoughtfully over at Ferrus, who was still just tearing through the stone. "What do you think?" He asked Idora, turning back to her.
"Hmm, I guess maybe your room. I'm curious to see how different it is from my own." What she didn't say was she didn't like the town, especially how run down it was. She still wasn't comfortable with some of the other riders and it seemed to easy to sneak around in the run down town. Plus she was curious what Flynn's room could tell her about him. "In any case, we won't be leaving for a while if we don't get this done..." she said gesturing at the still looming wall of stone, although significant progress had been made.
"Hah, well, it's not all that interesting, I'm sad to say." He rolled his shoulder and flashed a little grin as he walked over and got back to work on pulling rocks aside, pausing briefly. "Although... some of the books I read -did- mention a ton of secret passageways throughout the castle..." He mentioned, glancing sideways at Idora with a small glimmer in his eye.
"Really?" she responded, eyebrows raised with obvious interest in her voice. "I think we have some exploring to do then!" She joined him over by the pile of rubble and continued to work, pulling rocks away one by one. She was starting to feel more comfortable around the man, somewhat.
It took the group a good fourty more minutes, but by the time they were finished, only dust and pebbles were left in the grand hallway, along with a couple of piles of rocks that Idora and Flynn had moved aside.
Stretching his arms out over his head, Flynn moved over to pick up his leather vest, smiling at both Idora and Morenth. "It's going to be -alot- easier to get to and from the noticeboard. Thanks for the help, you two. And, you know, for not just telling me to shove off earlier." He finished with a wry little grin at Idora.
Ferrus rumbled out his appreciation as well.
"I am surprised you are the avatar of Nature, and not Earth, Morenth." he added, mouth pulling into a smile, his jest conveying through the mental words. Flynn rolled his eyes and elbowed his chest, only to wince and rub it after hitting one of the more jagged parts of his scales.
Idora laughed at the dragon's attempt at a smile, his scaled face making the human gesture look strange. Morenth responded,
Why thank you Ferrus, you seem much better equipped for that role though.
Ferrus rumbled out in clear appreciation at the compliment.
"Okay, I think its time for us to leave Idora," she crawled up on the dragon's back. She hissed to Flynn, "She's trying to come up with a joke right now, I'm going to spare you the misfortune of having to listen to it." Flynn snickered and nodded. "Might be best to take off, then."
Oh please Idora, I almost have one on the tip of my tongue, I just need to find the right phrase... The dragon's mind worked as she slowly walked out of the now clear tunnel and into the daylight.
"Nope, we're leaving, come on. You can tell them later after you've thought for a while," she said to the dragon. "I'll talk to you later Flynn, just come by my room when you want to talk." With a smile the pair took off into the afternoon sky, the sun slowly starting to make its descent to evening.
Raising a hand, Flynn waved the two off, calling out to Idora as they took off. "I will do, Idora!" He watched the two soar off into the sky, planting his hands on his hips as he slowly looked around the bits of rubble remaining. "Well, that went pretty well in more ways than one, don't you think so, Ferrus?"
The large drake's tail scraped along the floor, turning his head to send Flynn a weird, sort of knowing glance. He blinked a few times, squinting as he tried to figure out what Ferrus was trying to say with nothing but a look, but all he got from their link was Ferrus' seemingly boundless amusement.
Eventually, he lowered his head, bumping his snout against Flynn's chest.
"I am glad to see your courage has not left you entirely, Flynn."
Opening his mouth to retort, Flynn blinked as he heard someone come running through the hallway. As they both turned around, they were surprised to see Durak almost sprinting towards them.
"Flynn, Ferrus! Your comrades need you!"