exsiliumlogs | There’s nothing you can say, nothing you can do, nothing in between; you know the truth

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There’s nothing you can say, nothing you can do, nothing in between; you know the truth

Date & Time: January 14; probably in the afternoon
Location: A little ways into the Northern Highlands
Characters: Crucible, Aurican, and Kang
Summary: The inevitable revelation of family, loyalty, and what happens when Aurican utterly and completely lose his shit.
Warnings: family drama? also: violence toward yetis

Aurican is used to the sounds of construction by now. Down in the little charming town they now call home, all Transports are working their blessed hearts out to make extra accommodations. Originally, Aurican wasn't one of them, but eventually Kang and Crucible roped him into a project that needs desperate help, for this little ruin of a castle is to be another station for all the non-humans who need refuge from the glares of the natives.

Aurican doesn't mind. He figures he and Crucible can tear down trees in the privacy of the secluded wild for supplies with greater ease in their natural forms than a human can with an ax.

The winter snow starts to ease off, thankfully, and by the time Aurican was in Crucible and Kang's company, it became almost bearable again - indeed, it started to feel like the chilly winters that take hold of the Valley of Paladine back home. It made Aurican almost nostalgic for home. Almost, until a blizzard just came out of nowhere (Aurican suspects the Abyss) and literally pinning the three shape shifted dragons and draconian. It is enough for Aurican to almost lose his charitable mood, despite the cave nearby that saves them from the blasted cold.

When enough firewood was gathered, the gold dragon in human form let loose a stream of fire from his human mouth, warming up the damp cave. "I hope this blizzard won't last as long as the previous one did," Aurican remarks, prodding a stubborn stick into being lighted by fire. "I don't think the natives will enjoy the sight of a dragon crashing into their village in an attempt to escape the cold."

The blizzard screeches in its whisper-howls in response.

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The storm had caught even Crucible himself off guard by the shear lack of warning the weather had given and the intensity. With such ferocious winds flight was out of the question, shelter had been the only option.

Dusting off the lingering snow that clung to the thick robes that he had chosen to adorn his human form with. One last glance given to the entrance way before letting his gaze linger on the two before him, the last few days had been interesting indeed for more than just Kang, that they had been able to slip even into as neutral and respectful relationship as they had gave him a measure of hope.

He gives a slight amused snort to Aurican's comment and Kang's reply, "No doubt," he shakes his head to that before casting a lingering glance to the entrance way "I shall do what I can to lessen the severity, however with a blizzard as stubborn as this even that may be but a drop in the ocean,"

Even as he spoke he circled the pair and the fire, to observe the cave that surrounded them in the flickering line, one of greater scale than the entrance way first suggested. The cavern beyond appearing large enough that if he or Aurican decided they could take on their true forms with room to spare.

Indeed it was, but Aurican would rather not it come to that. Crucible was an unbelievably huge dragon for a bronze, and Aurican himself was of equal size. Kang himself was barely larger than the tallest human in his original form, and always Aurican had fears of stepping on those smaller than him.

The gold shrugged at Crucible's comment as he patted at his robes, warming himself. "It was fortunate we found this cave. Maybe we can somehow connect the castle to this particular cave, perhaps as an emergency. Or use it as a means of storage."

Caves were wonderful things, as Aurican can attest to. He lived in one for the majority of his life back home.

Kang used a stick to poke at one of the logs, causing it to make a popping noise. "That's a good idea. If a cave of this size exists, it also stands to reason that there are other caves. Maybe one of them has a water source." He didn't feel like exploring yet, though. He was still working on thawing himself out.

Crucible nodded in agreement, "Indeed, where there is one there may yet be more. It would not be too difficult to extend and tunnel towards the castle where needed. Such caverns could well be of great use,"

He could certainly share Aurican's sentiment in regards to caves. His talent with geomancy made him particularly adept underground, indeed he knew the elaborate cave network underneath Sanction and the surrounding mountains like he knew his own scales.

For the moment though he chose to take a seat on one of the larger rocks near to the fire, hands held toward its warmth.

Aurican nodded as well, satisfied of both Kang and Crucible's acknowledgement on his suggestion. He looked out at the mouth of the cave, watching the snow spinning past, propelled by the harsh winds. Shadows danced as the trees sway, snow swished away from the branches and into the ground floor.

A strange smell entered Aurican's nose, but it was faint and soon it was gone. He frowned, stilling, waiting for the scent until he noticed some of the shadows are not moving to the wind, but on their own accord. Large shadows, deep within the cover of ice-laden trees. Getting up from his crouching position, he stood, his frail-looking body hunched forward, as though he can lean forward to catch the smell again.

He did not catch it, but he can make out large forms walking, circling the entrance to the cave. Tall forms, walking upright like a human would.

Kang didn't notice the smell, but he did notice Aurican's reaction, and shortly after that, the shadows. He didn't say a word, standing up silently and glancing at Crucible as he put a hand on the hilt of the dagger at his hip.

Crucible frowned as he too noticed that very faint scent, looking up to Aurican and Kang as both stood. His sharp gaze turned toward the entrance way and the large shadows at the entrance way.

Silently he pushed himself off the rock on which he sat, one hand slightly raised partially towards the entrance way as if ready to cast should the figures turn out to be hostile.

It didn't take long for Aurican to recognize what was out there in the snow:

Yetis.

Giant humans with coarse white fur, adapted for the wintery chill, who shunned their much smaller cousins in favor of their own company. From what Aurican heard from the natives, they can be quite aggressive toward humans if they truly wanted to, even though they can be reasoned with.

Glancing at his comrades who were half way primed into battle, Aurican felt the need to divert was in order. The yetis were coming closer, and Aurican can now see them clear as day with his superior eyesight. Four in total, with two in the back muttering to each other in their own language, pointing at the cave's mouth with their dirty fingers and dirtier nails.

Aurican had a guess what this meeting would be about. Even a frost-loving white dragon would try to seek shelter in this storm. Head held high, Aurican walked forward the cave's mouth with confidence, hands and arms spread in a gesture of welcome. "Greetings," he started, hoping at least one yeti can understand the local language. "Harsh weather, no? It certainly caught us by surprise, at any rate. Why don't you come in and share our - "

The gold dragon never had the chance to finish for the nearest yeti reached out in a speed that even surprised Aurican and grabbed him and tossed him over its shoulder like an errant twig. The force of the throw made Aurican bounce down the steep hill, despite the cushioning of the snow.

Edited 2014-01-13 20:00 (UTC)

Kang actually hadn't run into any yetis yet, but he'd heard enough about them from trusted sources to know that they weren't the friendliest of creatures, and that they didn't go down easily if they did decide to attack. He could see them clearly as well, and now he could smell them, and the blood in their matted fur and under their nails from their latest kill.

It didn't help their overall scent one bit.

And then, Aurican was thrown as if he were a doll. It angered him more than he thought it would. Kang cursed in Nerakese and dropped his spell, his normal clothing and weapons returning along with his scales. Battle-axe in hand, he took a few steps forward, but waited to attack, fully expecting to see a bristling mass of gold scales come back.

"Aurican?"

Crucible himself had seen (and smelt) a number of Yetis in his travels but not encountered any face to face. Just as Kang he had well heard much about them. The smell and sight of them were quite clear now as they approached. He doubted they would be much of a match for the three of them should they attack.

He held and partially lowered his readied spell when Aurican stepped forward to confront them. Though still kept at mind as he waited, giving Aurican the chance of diplomacy.

That is until the Yeti in question threw the gold out of the cave as if he were but a twig. Eyes narrowing with anger as he regarded the entrance way, his form flaring to light as his own form enlarged rapidly taking on his true form, standing at ready beside Kang, breath weapon and spells at the ready if Aurican did not reply.

By the third bounce, Aurican had changed shape from an old man to a full grown dragon skidding down the icy hillside. When he finally slowed to a halt, he immediately changed tactics from diplomacy to outright aggression in handling the yetis.

Not even bothering to roar his outrage, he raced back to the cave and the yetis; and when one yeti closest to him turned, Aurican leapt on top of it, powerful jaws clamping down onto its throat, dragging it away from the cave and its fellows. Aurican can taste the blood already seeping out and into his jaws, splattering onto the snow like a mad dash of red paint upon its blank canvas. Aurican's victim barely made any noise, but its fellows certainly noticed, turning to face this unexpected threat.

Edited 2014-01-14 00:55 (UTC)

Crucible's transformation didn't surprise Kang either, and in the back of his mind, he noted how any fear of the bronze was now gone. That was the perfect distraction, as well, and he wasted no time in rushing forward to bury his axe blade into the spine of one of the yetis.

Crucible was not far behind after Kang as he pushed forwards, his massive snout lunging forward to catch one of the yetis around the midsection with fangs as long as swords before tossing the torn body of the Yeti aside even before it even got a chance to yell, its blood splattered the wall it struck with a sickening thud.

With a mighty twist of his jaws, the yeti's neck made a horrible snap and its body went suddenly lax, like a doll. Tossing the corpse aside with equal disdain as the yeti threw Aurican. One yeti, with an axe stilling out of its back stared it two dead and dying comrades before letting out an ear-splitting howl before Aurican turned around and smacked it on the head hard with his tail, hard enough to bring it to its knees.

The yeti's body slid off of Kang's axe with a thump, aided by his foot pushing it. He snorted, and leaned down to slice its neck open as well, just in case. With only one left alive, and about to be finished off by a dragon, he backed up a few steps, muttering another curse.

"We'll have to set a watch for the rest of the night. There might be others."

The Yeti was not on his knees for long as Crucible's snout snapped forward, silencing the stunned yeti and removing its head in a single swift bite. The body slumping to the ground even as he drew back to allow the gold fully back within the cavern.

"That would be wise, lest they catch us unawares," He dips his head reasonably as moves further into the cave to one side of the fire to give the Kang and Aurican room to settle in, "I shall take first watch,"

Aurican was just irritated over the whole scene. Such waste, he thought. Such needless violence. The ambush honestly reminded him a little too closely to the time when Blayze, Burll, and Smelt died: without warning and without provocation. He grunted in his affirmative, changing back to his human form, to better protect himself from the cold.

"Just once," he couldn't help but grumble. "I wish that this world would stop trying to rip my head off when I am sent here to save it. That's all I ask."

Edited 2014-01-20 04:08 (UTC)

"We should get these bodies out of the entrance, as well," Kang snorted, wiping the blood off of his axe in the snow drift that had blown in before putting it back in the harness between his wings. "The mess outside should be covered up quickly, at least."

At Aurican's grumbling, he couldn't help a short, dry laugh. "I don't think it likes us much more than it likes you." He grabbed one of the yetis under the arms and started dragging it to a far corner in the cave, away from the fire.

Crucible dipped his head in acknowledgement to Kang's suggestion, remaining for now in his true form. Regarding the entrance with a wry snort, "Much longer and the entrance itself may be buried let alone the mess,"

"Agreed, it certainly doesn't offer those such as us the warmest of welcomes," giving another snort before picking up one of the yetis that had fallen by the entrance way with his large jaws. Picking up the other he had thrown earlier in a fore along the way to deposit them were Kang was headed with his own.

Aurican watched Kang and Crucible carrying the dead Yetis inside, it left him only one body and one removed head by Crucible himself. Sighing, he kicked the head with all of the draconic strength he had within this small form, sending it tumbling down the steep hillside of the cave. He grabbed the hand of the one remaining corpse and dragged it along, with a disgusted expression settling in his face.

It looked like Aurican will be in one of those moods where he will be perfectly polite as well as being perfectly annoyed.

Edited 2014-01-20 16:26 (UTC)

Once the bodies were moved and placed out of view, hidden by a pile of rocks, Kang returned to the fire to get comfortable, shifting back to his human form with a sigh. He pulled out his tablet to message the others about their situation, muttering a couple of curses under his breath when there was no signal. He should have figured.

"Well, we're stuck here for about another twelve or thirteen hours."

Crucible played his part in burrying the bodies beneath a mix of larger and smaller rocks arranged to look natural upon first inspection. While the others returned to their human forms Crucible opted to remain in his true form, fortunately not sharing the same weakness to the cold that the other two seemed to share though he still did not enjoy its bite. Placing himself down to act as a breaker for the cold wind that blue in through the now partially buried entrance way.

"We have shelter, that is something. Let us hope that it goes uninterrupted," He casts a glance to the entrance way before sweeping his gaze about the extent of the cavern and the various entrances, "Rest if you wish, I shall remain on watch for now,"

Aurican was, for the most part, in a state what he heard to be referred as "high strung". Combined with his disgust at this world and still suffering from a battle high, he couldn't bring himself to talk other than giving an affirmative grunt.

It was then he took a time to wonder how much he had changed in this world. If the Aurican of Krynn was here, he would be polite and considerate, thinking clearly and without prejudice. He would be obsessed with the beauty of the world and grieve the loss of civilization, not concerned with the thoughts and opinions of creatures and races that would die within decades of time - a mere blimp of time for a dragon.

Aurican sat down next to the fire, feeling weariness sinking into his bones like cold water absorbing into a sponge. He rubbed his face absently and realized the entire lower half of his face was smeared with the blood of the Yeti whose throat he had ripped out in his indignant anger. He wiped his sleeves at his face furtively, smearing dark red into the sleeves of his robes.

"It might have been a scouting party. It didn't look like they were expecting us to be there."

Maybe.

"But who knows what these Yeti do. I sure don't."

Kang handed Aurican a rag to clean up with, unfazed by the sight of that much blood. The smell was far from pleasant, though, and he wrinkled his nose slightly. "Most likely. Would have been nice if it were a hunting party with a fresh kill for us."

An hour or two passed with idle conversation about their lives in Exsilium and everything they'd been up to. Just as he was adding another log to the fire, he heard a faint noise from the back of the cave; his head immediately shot, and he peered into the darkness, unable to see any heat signatures with his proximity to the light from the fire.

It was probably nothing.

Crucible gave a wry snort to Kang's comment, "Now that would have been to easy, and we can't have that now can we here?"

During that time Crucible spoke up and matters here and there, listening with some interest as to what this world had held for the other two. The moment that faint noise came from the back of the cave however Kang was not the only one to take notice.

Gazing into the dark with his sharp vision, his snout raised high above the fire, nostrils flaring as he scented the air. A low growl echoing in his chest as he drew himself to his feet, Yeti's and not in small numbers if the strength of scent and vibrations in the ground beneath him gave any indication.

"We are not alone, ready yourselves,"

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