<font color='#728FCE'>Nadine seemed to be snoozing, huddled near the fire, on the opposite side from Chitter and himself of course. Himself, meaning Tagryan. Tagryan was just considering letting himself doze off as well when he thought he heard the sound of a muffled, muttered curse. Listening carefully, he thought he could detect the sounds of someone stumbling around out there in the thickening snow. The snow didnt bother Tagryan much, actually he rather liked it, althought for the wounded Morgan's sake they were currently sheltered in a little arbor of trees that formed a sort of shelter. But no, someone definitely seemed to be out there - yes, was that a snap? It sounded rather as if someone had snapper their jaws together to release pent-up tension. Targ noticed, too, that Nadine had lifted her head and was also looking in the direction of the noise, so she had heard it too then. He tried sniffing the air to see if perhaps it wasnt one of the members of his band of merry men comeing to check that he was alright - they had been alone for rather a long time now, with only Zinth in charge - but the snow and wind howling noisily around outside made him give up hope of determining who it was that way. And it seemed unlikely that Zinth woudlnt have had telepathed - or more likely Glinth as Zinth wasnt particularly talented in that area - first, before coming to find them in persona. No, this argued for a stranger. Or, and he hoped this was the case, Nae, come back to rescue her friend after having betraying her. Targ stole a glance at Nadine but the big, pretty female's face was impassive. Oh well, he hadnt really expected to glean any information from that source. Snd he wasnt ready to start torturing her yet, especially when he had no real proof to suspect Nae out there. Suddenly, with a jolt he remembered Estrella. What had she been doing in his vicinity recently? She of all people, as an escaped, traitorous member (all members who wish to disband were traitorous in his mind), should know the perils of entering his territory unbidden! But could that be her, crashing (for the noises seemed to be growing louder, although perhaps it was just that the wind was growing quieter) around out there? She must have had some good reason for coming into his territory in the first place. Could she be seeking to rejoin? No, she would know the impossibilty of that, and whatever else she had been, she hadnt been foolish. And she didnt strike Tagryan as the type to come groveling back. In fact, she hadnt even seemed the type to join his band in the first place, really. Odd, she was. Could she have befriended Nadine or Naedalya? Was that why she had come int the first place, to seek to warn them? But he doubted that she wouldnt know better than to go crashing around his woods at night. Still, you never knew, she was bizarre, that one...but still, it seemed unlikely, although he couldnt rule her out of consideration yet. But if it wasnt Estrella or a messenger from Zinth, who?? A stranger? But there weren't many around here any more, the place had got the reputation of being haunted, thanks to the violent actions of himself and his followers. The signs seemed to point to Nae. But it would seem awful foolish, from his point of view at least, for her to go stumbling about unfamiliar territory, when she didnt even know their location, int he dead of night in the middle of a snowstorm, to try to locate a friend who might or might not trust her to follow her back even if she did manage to locate her undetected. So what was Nae playing at? And if it wasn't Nae, who?? All this thought took place in only a few minutes, as Targ, his mind buzzing with these thoughts, stared at the impenetrable curtain of snow, foliage, and darkness. OOC: hehe, if anyone wants to add another charrie as the one bumping around, feel free to. Heh, there could even be more than one out there, if Nae is part of the sounds he heard... or of course, more likely, its just Nae . laterz.</font>
<font color='#3BB9FF'><center>Naedalya was low to the ground, weak, hungry, and frozen. The wind blasted at her, rippling her fur. She couldn't feel her wings anymore. Her back was covered in snow. With every step she took, a distinct footprint was left in the snow. But they'd be covered up if it continued snowing like this. Eventually, she crashed into a tree and collapsed. She could barely raise her head, but she did, and could see, through the heavy blizzard, a dim fire illuminating the forest. And, a few forms moving slowly around it. She could recognize each of them. She had already arrived. With a last ounce of strength, Nae stood up and padded closer weakly. She did so ever so quietly, undetectably, and hid behind a large tree.</font>
<font color='#728FCE'>Estrella, who had flown off hoping the Nadine had followed her, realised that she hadn't btu continued anyway. Tagryan's gang was to be avoid at all costs !! She land atop a tree and waited, thinking about wxhat to do next. Moments later she saw a limp figure land and bump into a tree. Nae !!! She quickly jumped down, and seeyin her friend's state cursed aloud that she should have taken healing for a trade. not knowing what else to do, she just repeatedly said Nae's name, hoping to galvanise her.</font>
<font color='#3BB9FF'>Through the whistling of the wind, Naedalya heard a familiar voice calling for her. Her frozen ears perked on end as she briskly raised her head. She turned, and could see Estrella's grotesque face through the heavy snow. "Estrella?" She asked, weakly and uncertainly. Maybe she was hallucinating before she died. And if she was to talk to loud, Tagryan and the others would hear her. She rubbed up to the side of the tree, shivering, trembling, clenching herself to stay warm.</font>
<font color='#FFFFFF'>OOC: Hope you don't mind me joining. Also, I'm a newb, have mercy BIC: Drak walked around in the snow, and feeling like he was going to freeze to death. He had never really taken a liking to the cold, or strange places. He took a wrong turn somewhere and was lost. He suddenly remembered stories of a gang lurking around Ajita Mainland. He became more cautious to the point where he seemed paranoid, looking back every now and then. He had come seeking adventure, and taking time away from learning about elemental sorcery and surgery. He suddenly come upon two female pendragons, one which seemed to be suffering. He wondered whether it was safe to go over to them. Drak then decided he would go over and see if he could help, as well as ask where exactly he was, and which was was out of the woods. He hoped the skills he had in medicine would help him. He approached the two slowly (especially the ugly one who seemed to look like she could put up a good fight) and asked,"Is there any way I can help?"</font>
<font color='#728FCE'>OOC: Weird coincidence ... Estrella's father was called Drak (can be change if you want though) BIC:Estrella was somewhat relieved as she heard her friend voice some words. At least, she's alive ... But she didn't know how long they could stand like that. The cold would surely finish them both, that is, if Tagryan didn't first. She would protect Nae till death, she would. She suddenly jumped infront of Nae as she sawan unfamiliar shape approach. She snarled as she crouched. He was rather tall, almost as tall as herself. She relaxed as she noted his fur's colour - sky blue, for she knew that he couldn't be of Tagryan's band as only dark coloured evil looking ones were. But you never knew ... And yet she sensed he wasn't a foe. She listened carefully as he voiced his question. - Only if you are skilled in the arts of Healing. If so help my friend and you shall be of help. Try to harm her - or me, and you shall be our foe and can consider yourself as being dead already. She threathened in a cold yet relieved voice.</font>
<font color='#FFFFFF'>OOC: You can keep her father's name the same, we can share the name BIC: The Pendragon who was guarding her friend  warned Drak not to hurt her. Drak felt quite threatened, but he could not blame her in the midst of a place like this. She was just being protective, so he replied,"I am an apprentice in surgery, but not healing. Although, I may know what is wrong with your friend, and may be able to help her survive." He bent down cautiously making sure the other Pendragon would not pounce on him, and examined the other female. He put his tail fire near her to help examine and keep her warmer. It was all too apparent she would die soon if she did have something to warm her, as might he and the other Pendragon. "Your friend may die any second if we do not warm her. She may also have frost bite. Not only that, but in this weather we may soon too perish. If we don't warm her soon, then if she ever survives, we may have to remove he wings, which tend to be the most vulnerable part of the body of a Pendragon when it is too cold (for those who do have wings)." Drak continued to keep his light blue flame near the injured pendragon. Luckily, a blue flame was the hottest color when it came to fire. He cursed himself for never learning any healing magics as the wind tried, unsuccesfully, to put out his tail's fire. Careful not to burn her or her wings, he turned to the other Pendragon and said,"The only chance she has is if we make a fire, unless you can find shelter against the blizzard and the wind," he said coolly, trying not to panic the other Pendragon. He then remembered of some meat he had. He reached into the pouch he had around his waist containing supplies he took with and started to warm it with his fire and asked,"May I feed her this? It may warm her up a bit..."</font>
<font color='#ABCDEF'>Morgan lifted her wounded head, ears flicking. She heard indistinct voices coming from not far away, two of them. One she barely made out as Estrella's, and another was unfamiliar to her. Though her body was close to exhausted with healing her wound, her muscles tensed. She looked to Tagryan, then to Nadine, who were both looking in the direction of the voices. Morgan lowered her head to her paws once more, eyes flicking about, ears alert to any new sounds. {OOC: Sorry took so long for me to reply, my cable modem was zapped, and I couldn't get on the internet. ><}</font>
<font color='#728FCE'>Estrella thought about asking this apparently helpful stranger to lit a small fire with his tail's flame and the many surrounding twigs, but then decided it was best not to attract too much attention - a fire was way too visible. Though not very skilled, she had learnt a few tips and tricks from her younger sister who had at very young age, taken up magic, a domain where she excelled. Amongst the various enchantments she knew, was a temporary heat spell, but being such a novice as she was, she could only channel enough energy to warm one. Nae, was of course the one who needed the most. However, she doubted that the effects would las long. - Yes we must warm her ... A fire is out of question, they would see her. I will see what I can do with my but meager knowledg in the arts of magic to help her. She lay down near her suffering friend and slowly closed her eyes. She uttered a few foreign words and soon Nae was  covered with a faint dark blue glow. Hopefully, she thought, this shouldn't be too visible ... Had she not had to use all her energy and mind on warming Nae, she might have thought of casting a semi - potent invisibility spell, but she didn't. The spell having been cast, she opened her eyes and looked upon Drak. Strange that he should come so briskly, so fotunately... He does not come from the whereabouts. I will have to inquire about his buissness in Ajita. That is, if I we get out of this alive. She suddenly realised that she had been staring at him rudely and looked away, in the opposite direction. Still avoiding his looks, she answered: - Yes, I am sure she will need the meat. It is very kind of you ... She suddenly realised they hadn't been properly introduced and added: I am Estrella the Ugly One. She said, rather sarcastically. She had learnt to not only hate the others, but herself aswell.</font>
<font color='#FFFFFF'>OOC: Should we be making time stamps? o.o; BIC: The female pendragon started to stare at Drak, and it seem as if she was reading his mind. She then turned away. Drak looked upon the face of the injured Pendragon. Hang on... we'll make it. She then introduced herself. Her name was Estrella, and she seemed as if she had read his mind when she said "the ugly one". Drak decided to introduce himself to her as well. "Drak Faia, pleased to meet you," he said, although the meeting was not too pleasant at the moment. He wondered what there was left to do... He also thought of asking about the gang he had heard of around here, but he felt that it was not the right time. As he tried to shield the injured one from the wind, he sensed that there was a group of Pendragons not far away. He had learn to sense things that were not too far away not long ago while he was training in sorcery. There was no noise, but he did not let up his guard. Drak started to shiver even more than before, but he did not want to stop blocking the wind to start moving. He started to wag his tail around and his arms as well, trying not burn the others. He hoped that soon the snow would let up. He felt like he was tired and he needed to sleep soon, but he knew sleep would not help him survive. What had he gotten himself into? He then remembered that he could shape shift... this could come as in advantage, but to what...?</font>
<font color='#728FCE'>Estrella was filled with an overwhelming feeling of uneasiness. Something was coming, she could sense it. You're just paranoid, she told herself but, somehow, she felt that she wasn't the only one, Drak didn't look too happy either. Could Tagryan and his band be coming nearer, had they seen them? If so, they were probably doomed. Estrella wondered where Nadine might be, and, though she knew her place was here, protecting Nae, she had the urge to make a run and find Nadine. She might be in danger, or worse... But she couldn't leave Nae alone, not even wih this Drak pedragon. Though he seemed trustwothy enough, you never knew ... Without so much as acknowlegding Drak's response she pranced effortlessly to the left using her sharp eyesight to try an percieve any foe. Nothing, she began circling the two other pendragons and had almost finished a full cercle when she froze. There, at a distance, she recognised a face she had willed never to see again. Â (OOC: Morgan is not invisible, right? Otherwise I'll edit ...) She saw Morgan. Strangely unmoved, she turned around and said slowly: - Drak .. They have found us. Tagryan's band has found us. We must leave... Panic startedto slowly take a grip on her as she desperately tried to galvanise Nae, hoping the warming spell that had now gone out might have had some healing qualities as well.</font>
<font color='#00FFFF'>He saw Estrella fly up and she appeared to be scanning the area over for someone. Now Drak was sure there was something nearby. He checked over the other Pendragon, which he had no name for. She felt a little warmer, and she appeared to be in a slightly better condition, though still critical. With luck she might respond to Estrella. He then remembered what Estrella called her,... was it Nae? At that moment, Estrella said that they had been found. She came down and again started to galvanize "Nae". He looked towards where he sensed Pendragons and had spell immobilization spell ready to use on them if worse came to worst.</font>
<font color='#ABCDEF'>Morgan heard her name spoken by Estrella, and knew that she knew that they were here. Her head wound was giving her a headache, but she could still fight if she needed to. She ruffled the feathers of her ebony wings to hold in more heat from the fire. Her ears twisted around catching the sounds of the night, though muffled by the wind of the snowstorm. Nae couldn't be too far away if Estrella was here and not running away. She turned her dark eyes up and watched Tagryan, waiting to see what he had to say, if anything.</font>
<font color='#3BB9FF'>She had seen Estrella approach her, but after that, she was unable to lift her head as she fell to the side of the tree. Nae could just hear muffled voices along with the whistling wind. She was so cold, it hurt. Especially her wings, which were feeling a painful burning sensation. Then, with the corner of her eye, Nae saw Estrella at another pendragon's side. 'Drak' was repeated many times. "Must be his name." She was about to attempt to stand up and warn them that she had been retracing her steps to find Tagryan, his band and their hostage, but then a beautiful, somber cerulean aura surrounded her frozen body. With that, a feeling of unconditional peace fell over her. A warmth so healing, so rejuvenating, was cradling her to sleep. Her eyes, once surrounded in frost due to her tears, fluttered closed. Her wings seemed to literally de-frost. Her feet, her nose, her tail, everything was as warm as during a summer day. It was wonderful. But when that aura began to die down, she whimpered. "Already??" She muttered, standing up, feeling restored to perfection. Twirling, ducking and staying down, she whispered, "You idiots! They're right there!" And with that, she didn't bother introducing herself, but rather said, "Thanks for healing me. I feel perfect. I could run a marathon." She smiled, but soon realized that they were in need of warmth as well. Seeing the pieces of appetizing meat in Drak's bag, she said, guessing that they had been for her, "Go ahead and eat those. You need it more than me." And soon continued, "They got Nadine. We HAVE to save her. Any suggestions? This is important. I've been thinking one of us could act as a decoy, which I guess could be me, since right now, I'm feeling as if I could dodge anything they throw at me, while you go and grab Nadine, pull her away, and we escape. I'm actually hoping that there are better suggestions than that, though. Hehe."</font>
<font color='#728FCE'>Estrella was relieved as she heard Nae. She's still alive ... Good. and almost laughed when she was called an "idiot". Good to see you in such good shape, Nae. She shook off some ice which had formed on her ivory fur as he bent down to reach the appetising strands of meats. She thought over what Nae had said, a harsh debate going on in her mind. Heroism vs Common sense. Should she offer to go? After all, she knew Tagryan ... But then again, she knew him .. she knew she didn't stand a chance. Besides, she din't even know Nadine. and then again, she idn't understand why she was here at all. After all, these pretties had done nothing for her, why should she ... Because she had to ! she couldn't just leave them, not like that ... Heroism had won, she ventured: - No, Nae, you have been taken already, it's my turn (she laughed). Anyway, I know them better than you, I was once part of them ... I know Tagryan of old. I should go, and soon. If we just stay here together, they are sure to know, if they don't already, that you are here aswell. And no, don't tell me I'm weak, I twice your size lovely, and this delectable meat (she winked at Drak as a sign of gratitude) has made me fit to figh again. Then, without a warning or a word, she raced off in Morgan's direction. {Run Little ones ... Hide, and don't forget to save Nadine .. and I if you can } What am I doing ... complained her commn sense. Oh, shut up ... You're finally making friends, be happy ... And so Estrella ran, straight into the enemy's lines.</font>
<font color='#3BB9FF'>"I never called you weak. I was just saying that you needed the energy boost more than me." Naedalya replied, ready to become the decoy. "I was thinking that someone smallish, agile on feet and on wings, like me, could be the decoy. But if you're really planning on fighting them, fine. Go right ahead. " With that, she watched her run off. She turned to Drak, "No time for introductions. Let's save Nadine!" She continued, as they slinked towards Nadine, the band's attention averted to Estrella's arrival, { Listen. You still have some meat left. If we can manage to get her standing, give her some meat and we'll run off with her. She's moving around a bit..She looks able to do it. }</font>
<font color='#00FFFF'>Drak thought that the plan that they decided to carry out was somewhat dangerous because it would be quite hard to sneak up to this "Nadine" and save her before one of the other Pendragons noticed. He then realized that he should have volunteered to be the decoy, because his tail fire could easily give his away, as might his light fur color. He might as well have been on fire! He made sure to hide his fire and followed "Nae" since it was too late to volunteer to become a decoy. Although he was very noticeable visually, he could be very quiet when needed. Years of "hide and seek" when he was a young Pendragon had helped him learn to sneak around, despite his tail fire. He carried his meat with him, and slowly snuck up behind Nadine with Nae and checked her condition. She was moving, so she was alive, and she seemed quite active. He looked to Nae for the first move.</font>
<font color='#48CCCD'>Tagryan, Chitter, and Morgan had been watching the little party for a while now. Although the wind snatched the groups words from their hearing, they could still make out their indistinct forms. Tagryan was particularly interested by the arrival of a third form. By now, he had come to the conclusion that the other two must be Naedalya and Estrella. One of the first things he did was make sure that Nadine's bonds were still tight around her, and that whoever touched her bonds would receive a nasty little shock. Yes, everything was still in place. Good. Suddenly a large form came dashing through the snow, straight at him. Where were the other two? It had to be a decoy. With the quick, calculating genius that had helped in survive in this harsh land, he quickly cast his 'battle' plans. {Chitter! Morgan! We're under attack. Watch Nadine. I think there will be two of them coming for her. Not that I expect them to go far mind, her bonds pack a nasty punch, so dont touch them yourselves if you can avoid it. I think the one charging gallantly through the snow here and here he injected a rather mocking tone into his 'voice', is our old friend Estrella. Yes, it is, he confirmed as her lithe form rushed closer. I think I should be able to tackle her alright on my own, but if not, Morgan come help me. Out.} Meanwhile, you couldnt have told from his facial expression that he had been doing anything but concentrating on her rapidly approaching form. Now, as she rushed at him, he prepared himself, and, as she sprung at him, he leaped nimbly to the side. Hopefully, she would go crashing into the snow and brambles on his other side. That would give him the oppening he needed.</font>
<font color='#728FCE'>Daaarn ... Thought Estrella as she realsied that Tagryan had managed to avoid her. Thankfully, she managed to manuveer in time and was once again facing him, reading to leap. She knew she didn't stand a chance. Though she was big and though .. Tagryan was bigger and thougher ... So, instead of leaping gain, she pretended to crouch, snarling viciously, and quickly turned around and leapt onto the first branch of one of the surrounding trees. At least I'm saving time .. If not saving my life. Come and get me darling ... Catch me, if you can ! Strangely, at that very moment her mind kept on repeated a morbid word .. Doom, doom , doom ...</font>
<font color='#ABCDEF'>Morgan rose from the ground, and crouched beside Nadine, closest to the trees at her backside. Her fur and wings fluffed out more, conserving more heat. Her muscles were tensed, ready to leap to help Tagryan if he needed it. Her ears swivelled on her cranium, searching for the sounds that would give Nae and the new one away. Her teeth were bared in a silent snarl. This time, she would not fail.</font>
