In Search for a Cure (Metallic Red Loki)

[Sprow]

As Aiden exited the home of the Chief Elder, he had almost collided with the elf's back as the elder took pause all of a sudden. Confused, Aiden peered around the elder's shoulder and looked on in surprise at what lay before them. The wall that seemed to surround the elven kingdom was crumbled as if it had been turned into dust! "Wh-What the?!" Aiden exclaimed, looking around in wonder. He had been under the impression that the elves were strong in magic and that their wall couldn't be broken. Had an earthquake really done all this?

Aiden followed after the Chief Elder when he had warned the young Wilder to stay close. Wordlessly, Aiden followed the elder as they headed for what looked to be the center of everything. Aiden didn't even notice that Ava had arrived suddenly close by. All he knew was that he was to stay close to the Chief Elder.

While they were making their way over to the chaos, Damien had informed Droth and Orion about what had happened. He didn't even wait after stating that he would be looking for Aiden. The damn kid was likely in the center of it all. Damien mentally grumbled to himself as he set off. If the others followed, he hadn't paid them mind enough. Not that he had anything against Orion or Droth, just that time was of the essence and he didn't have time to dawdle. With his sword still drawn, Damien made his way hastily toward the chaos. It looked like there was a commotion some distance away. He would not make it in time to get to where Aiden was before things happened as they did.

Having followed the elder, Aiden spotted a figure in the center of all the dust. They were a lone figure and the elves all around appeared to be confused. Aiden could do nothing but look on as the Chief Elder spoke to the person. If that really was a person, that is. What happened next, well Aiden didn't see it coming. All he knew was something had been fired, the Chief Elder had been pulled out of the way of whatever it was, and then Aiden knew nothing but a piercing pain. The attack had been so sudden that it took Aiden a moment to realize what was happening as he seemed to fall backward in slow motion. His right shoulder had been shot by whatever the foe had been trying to hit the Elder with. The effect was just like a bullet. Blood had splattered everywhere where the rectangular object had made impact with Aiden's shoulder. At first, his whole arm had suddenly numbed before his brain registered the full impact of the pain.

As Aiden fell onto the ground, he had clutched at his shoulder with his left hand, letting out an agonized scream that could be heard in the distance. He remained on the ground, clutching at his injured shoulder when he landed. The pain was so immense that his eyes watered from it.

Having heard the scream, Damien took pause for a moment, the blood in him almost chilling at the very sound. Other screams were mixed in. Furrowing his brows, Damien held his sword at the ready as he went into a full out run toward what was happening ahead of him.

[Deleted]

The crowd's paralysis had ended the moment someone had been hit. It didn't matter that the person who had been hit was Aiden. The very act of attacking the group had sealed the response of the crowd. The response was fairly unanimous. The elfs locked and loaded any weapon that was avaliable to them. For some that meant a bow and knocking an arrow. For others it was a sabre or some sort of similar weapon. Even the children held wooden swords or daggers in their hands.

Upon seeing Aiden get hit, Ava turned her attention on the young boy. The attack had hit the shoulder and had done some nasty damage to it. Blood was spilling from the wound, and upon closer examination, Ava realized that the rectangle that had hit Aiden had not actually passed through him. Instead it had lodged itself inside Aiden's shoulder. It literally had replaced a single portion of Aiden's skin, leaving just a blue layered square in its place.

"It's ok! It's ok!" Ava told Aiden, holding him down with one hand while trying to look at the piece lodged inside. Ava had never seen anything like it before! This was no attack that she had ever encountered. How was she supposed to stop it?!

While all of this occurred, the elder was trying to get back in control. "Hold!" He was shouting, trying to stop them all from attacking all at once. But his words were unheard. Blood had been shed and the elfs were angry. As one arrow was let loose, other followed.

The figure ducked down in response to the attack and summoned a see-through blue dome around him that protected him against the flow of arrows. The arrows bounced off harmlessly! The elder shouted again, "Hold!" This time he took a step forward and faced the elfs. "Hold I say!"

"He tried to kill you!" Someone from the crowd shouted.

The elder's voice boomed as he responded. "And I say hold! Surely he sees he is outnumbered! I want no further bloodshed!" As the elder shifted to face the figure once more, the figure let the dome around him vanish. "Are you the one who destroyed our walls? Why would you do such a thing? Why are you attacking us?"

A shrill laugh filled the air. "Your walls?!" The figure spoke, his voice obviously male. "These are my walls! It was my magic that created them, not yours Athiar." The elder's eyes widened at the mention of his name.

"So it is you... I had heard word that you were behind that war thirty years ago, but I refused to believe it. What do you want Lakari? You cannot hope to stand a chance against the entire Kingdom yourself."

It was at about this time that Orion made it to the group of gathered people. He had heard the sudden scream that had shrilled through the air, but hadn't placed the voice as Aiden's. Damien would have probably made it to the crowd shortly before Orion did. As he pushed through the large group of people he came across Aiden. If Damien was there, Orion didn't see him. The moment he had seen Aiden, Orion went to his side. "Aiden!"

Ava was still at the young teen's side. Her hand was stretched over him as she tried to use magic to push the lodged block out. At the moment she was having zero luck in the attempt.

[Sprow]

Aiden couldn't care about what was happening all around him now. The pain in his arm was so great that he was focused on the injury, clutching at it as if clutching at it would stop it from hurting him so much. It felt like something had been lodged in there and he couldn't get it out. As he looked at it, he wasn't sure what to make of the injury. He was certain something had been lodged into his arm but the thing looked like it was trying to also become a part of his skin around the injury. He didn't even realize Ava was there until she started holding him down and talking to him. "I-It hurts! Agh, it hurts!" Aiden exclaimed, trying to grab at his shoulder but was prevented from doing so since Ava was holding him down, trying to examine it.

By the time Damien had gotten there, he searched through the crowd for Aiden. The child would be somewhere around Ava and maybe the Chief Elder. By the time he had arrived, he had spotted Aiden on the ground with blood around him. It looked as though the teenager was in great pain. "Aiden!" Damien exclaimed, bending down to where the teenager was laying. Ava appeared to be trying to dislodge what was in Aiden's arm. As he looked at the injury, Damien could see something oddly lodged in the kid's shoulder. It even looked as if it tried to merge with the shoulder's skin a little.

"What the-?" before Damien could finish his sentence, Orion had arrived on the scene, caling out the teenager's name as he too, went to Aiden's side. Aiden, unable to clutch at the pain, heard more voices. They sounded familiar. Trying to take his focus off the pain, he found Orion and Damien nearby. Orion had been the easiest of the two to spot because of his much lighter hair. Damien took a short moment to realize he was there.

"G-Guys!" Aiden managed to say to them. The teenager forced a smile in their direction before wincing in pain. Ava didn't seem to be able to dislodge the thing in his arm. She was trying to obviously use magic of some kind but it wasn't working right now. Could it be removed by physical means?

"How did this...?" Damien said, trailing off as his gaze turned toward where the Chief Elder was trying to stop his fellow elves from attacking a lone figure. The figure seemed to be the only one that appeared to be the immediate threat. Glancing back at Aiden and Orion, he spoke. "I'll be right back." With that, Damien got to his feet and pushed his way over to look on the scene and see what was transpiring. If there would be any threat directed at Aiden, Damien would return to where they were and have them get out of the immediate area.

The Chief Elder seemed to know the figure and judging by the name the elder had uttered, the lone figure had been that elf, Lakari. Why had he come here?

[Deleted]

The figure neither confirmed nor denied who it was. The figure additionally continued to keep on its hood, concealing his identity. The figure did let out a gruesome laugh. "Do not fret! I have not come to take the Kingdom yet! I am merely here to announce my return. Surely you remember the words that were spoken to us. 'Desha i' andram en' i' palurin rusv. I' ered en' ruw olv aul i' corm. Ro andatehta i' yest en' ary keryth'."(He will plant doubt in the heart's of men. The seed will mark the beginning of a great war)

The crowd gasped at the sound of those words. Orion, whose attention was solely on Aiden, didn't even hear them or the gasps. "Hang in there kid! We'll get this thing out!" Orion reassured him. In reality he had no clue if they were going to be able to get the thing out.

Ava had stopped trying to use her magic on the block the moment she realized that the magic was doing nothing to help. "No magic I try is working on it! I tried healing it with earth magic and the magic reflected back! I tried making the shoulder begin to heal by speeding along the healing process and that failed as well I can try to push it out, but I can't guarantee it will. It's almost like there's a protective shield lodged into his shoulder. I've never seen anything like this before!"

"What happens if we don't take out the block?" Orion asked.

Ava shrugged. "I don't know. I'm not a strong healer."

"Lucky for you darlings I am!" A voice said in front of them. Glancing up, Orion spotted Droth. The healer had arrived on the scene! And Orion was actually slightly relieved that he was. "Move aside ya old bag and let me see what's going on with the poor dear." Ava rolled her eyes but moved aside nonetheless.

The elder looked positively rapid at the words. "You are a fool! You would destroy the only protection our Kingdom for a prophecy! I will not let you, Lakari! I will stop you right now!" Thrusting his own hands forward, the elder shot out a blast of white energy in the form of a large ball. The energy was filled with white hot heat and as bright as the overhanging sun. It shot towards the figure at blinding speed.

The figure's response was to summon a blue force field. Upon closer examination, one might notice that it was the same shield that had been lodged into Aiden's arm. The ball of energy struck the shield, and for a moment appeared like it was going to break through. The energy struck the shield with the sound of a nail scrapping against metal. It did not manage to break through, and instead rebounded back towards the elder! The figure wasn't finished just yet though. Raising his hand two pillars of revolving flames appeared around him as they began to circle. Since Damien was watching he would notice that the pillars were the same pillars that had been used by the girl in the Land of Dragons. They raced towards the elfs, but in a set particular pattern that would eventually leave the crest of the Order of the Destroyer in their wake.

[Sprow]

Damien couldn't tell who the figure with the hood was but it was ominous. He wasn't sure what to make of the figure as the Chief Elder conversed with them. Apparently, it had to be another elf because they started speaking in elvish, a language that Damien obviously knew nothing of. The Chief Elder and the cloaked figure knew each other it seemed since the figure had been talking about something that they both had heard. Words spoken in evlish or something. Damien remained still, listening for the time being but not liking the hooded figure for what had happened to Aiden.

Aiden tried hard to not move but his first instinct was to try and clutch at his injury. Ava, thankfully, prevented him from doing so since Aiden's next thought was to try and dig it out. Unfortunately, no matter what Ava tried the thing just wouldn't dislodge from his arm. It hurt all the more as it stayed in place. "Ergh!" Aiden groaned. Sweat beaded Aiden's face from the pain he was feeling. As he lay there, he heard Orion whom had remained nearby. Where Damien went, Aiden didn't know. Had he gone after who hurt him?

Orion had assured Aiden that they were going to get the thing out of his shoulder. Aiden hoped they would, it hurt like hell! In response, he just nodded a little as he let out a pained groan. What the others discussed though didn't help his nerves any. "Y-You don't know?!" Aiden exclaimed. Then, Dorth had arrived on the scene. Aiden had recognized the voice. Droth has a distinct quirk to his voice and fashion that he spoke in. Aiden blinked blearily over at Droth as he made to look at his hurt shoulder. Aiden remained put to let the healer look at his injured shoulder. He didn't have a choice really since the pain wouldn't let him move much.

Damien, in the meantime, continued to remain rooted to the spot as things started to escalate between the Chief Elder and the hooded figure. The elder didn't like what the hooded figure has said and he looked very displeased. In fact, one could say he looked wrathful. The elder suddenly summoned up a white ball of flames. They were so bright and hot looking, none could survive that attack if it hit them without having tried to put up some sort of forcefield. Unfortunately, the hooded figure had summoned up just that. Oddly enough, it looked to be the same color as the object lodged in Aiden's shoulder! Did Aiden have a piece of forcefield stuck in his shoulder then?

As the ball of holy light hit the forcefield, it came bouncing back! Damien, in reaction, had leapt for the Chief Elder. If he reached him, Damien would pull him into a portal with him that would come out on the opposite side of where the elder had been last standing. The portal they just went through, if they did, would have shut before the ball reached them in time. The pair of them, if they did this, would come out and find those blue pillars charging toward the elves. They looked exactly like the blue flames that girl once had back in Land of Dragons except this figure was clearly male. Damien's eyebrows furrowed at this. If he had missed the elder well, the elder would have gotten hurt or killed and Damien would be left standing there feeling like a fool for having tried and noticing said blue flames then.

[Deleted]

It was a good thing that Damien had that portal ability. It was the one thing that saved the elder from becoming a crisp piece of burnt toast. His eyes had gone wide with shock as the attack flew right back towards him! Having the wind knocked out of you was a small price to pay when your life was in danger. The elder would have payed it double if he had too. Thankfully though he didn't. Damien's tackle had caused him to gasp as they tumbled into a portal that he had created.

While the elder was saved from the attack, those near him were not. Screams shrilled the air as the blast of energy scorched anyone that it touched. As they exited the portal, a safer distance away, the elder was quick to get back to his feet. There was no time to thank Damien for what he had done. Flaming pillars of fire were directed right at them! And the death that the elder's attack had caused... No doubt there were three or four elves who were on the receiving end of that attack.

"Summon water quickly!" The elder shouted to any elf who might hear. The pillars of fire were racing towards some of the elfs in random directions. One such pillar was headed right towards Orion, Ava, and Aiden. Orion recognized those pillars of fire. He also remembered just how much amount of water it took to stop those things back in the Land of Dragons.

Ava stepped up, turning her attention to the racing pillar of fire. She, along with a group of other elfs, began to summon large orbs of water in front of them. The size of the orbs was easily over five feet in circumference. One after another the elfs sent the orbs of water at the oncoming pillar. Orion watched the water crash into the pillar of fire like it was a solid object. The water and fire clashed against eachother when it struck, and stopped the pillar from moving. It did not however put the flames out. In fact the moment after the last orb of water struck the pillar it began to move towards them once again!

"Aiden, I need to move you. It's not safe here!" Orion wanted to move Aiden away from all this destruction. He would make sure it was alright with Aiden though before doing so.

Meanwhile the hooded figure had begun to move. Using the chaos caused by the pillars of fire and the rebounded attack, he headed towards where the elder and Damien had portaled too. Every so often an attack would come towards the figure from a nearby elf, and everytime it got close it met a blue force shield that fizzled in the air to reflect the attack at it's owner. The figure ran towards Damien and the Elder surrounding his hands with red flames. As the figure reached fifteen feet from them, it thrust its hands forward to send out two baseball size orbs of fire directly at Damien and the Elder.

[Sprow]

Damien was thankful for his portal ability as well. He wasn't sure if it would have worked but he was going on a whim, thinking that because the wall had gone down, it meant he would be able to use his ability. Going out on a limb, Damien had dived for the elder and did his best to hope for the best. Sure enough, with great relief, Damien felt them fall through a portal. Opening up another, the pair of them came out a few feet away from where they had been last. Standing up, Damien spotted the flames running rampant.

"I know those flames..." Damien trailed off. Furrowing his brows, Damien searched within himself to locate that strange elemental ability. The Chief Elder was telling the others to summon water to put the flames out.

Aiden remained on the ground, too pained to move. He could see something in the distance. He could hear the Chief Elder whom was teling the others to summon water. Then, Orion's voice cut through everything. Focusing on it, Aiden heard Orion state that he needed to move him out of here. The kid gave a nod, barely able to move himself. He knew it would hurt a lot but it was better than dying here. "O-Okay!" had been Aiden's response. He didn't think he could really try to move on his own without making himself hurt more.

As Damien prepared to attack the flames, in the corner of his eye, he spotted that hooded figure coming their way again. Turning toward the figure, Damien's brows furrowed. He was conjuring up flames intending to toss red fireballs at them by the look of it. One problem, Damien wasn't your typical human being. Of course, he didn't know this either. Not even Orion was your typical human being. Without so much as a second thought, Damien took aim with a hand positioning it like that of a gun. It wasn't a real gun, he was just holding his hand up like one. Pulling one finger back, Damien hoped to counter the oncoming fireballs with a stream of water to prevent them from hitting himself and the Chief Elder.

"Nice try!" Damien stated. A smile had appeared then on his face, something that might look familiar to Lakari.

[Deleted]

The battle between the figure and Damien officially began with the flaming orbs of fire being sent straight towards him. The figure continued to close the distance between them even as Damien stopped the orbs with a stream of water from his "finger gun". The figure purposely moved to the side to dodge any of the extra water that was sent its way from Damien's attack.

Summoning more flames around his hand, the figure closed the remaining distance between them. With no physical weapon, the enemy sent a series of punches at Damien. With gloved fists surrounded in fires, Damien would have to have to give the fists a wide wake if he planned on dodging the burning fire that surrounded them. The elder, mostly unnoticed, was beginning to start a second attack. He would have to wait for just the right moment to let loose the attack he planned though if he didn't want to endanger Damein as well.

With hands out stretched the elder began to mumble as a blue orb began to grow between his out stretched hands. Meanwhile Orion was beginning to worry. The flaming pillars were getting closer every second. Droth, who was peering down at Aiden's shoulder, swore. "Damn it, just wait a second! I think I can get it out. If I attempt to extract it the way it entered it should come out. But the tricky thing is that were going to have to make him sit up at least."

Orion was glad to hear that Droth thought he could get the weird blue thing out. Still they needed to move. The pillar of fire had not been put out yet, despite the continuous onslaught of water orbs from the elves. "Can we at least move him from here?"

"Move him Droth. It will be easier for you to work if we move away from the battle. I need to see what's happening with the elder." Ava told them. Orion had forgotten all about her in all of the chaos. Droth rolled his eyes but reluctantly nodded.

"Were going to move you." Orion warned Aiden. Droth got on one side and Orion the other. Together they lifted him up and slowly began to move him away from the scene and back towards the town.

[Sprow]

Damien didn't expect the water gun he made to actually hit the foe. If anything, his use of the water then had been to intercept the flaming orbs that would have hit them if he didn't. What came next though, Damien had to prepare himself. The figure's hands had become engulfed in red flames much like the orbs. This time though, the foe intended to use the flames as close range attack. It was made obvious when the hooded figure had tried to punch Damien with his fists. If he hit Damien, Damien knew those punches wouldn't feel very nice. Instinctively, Damien pulled back each time to avoid getting hit by the burning fists.

It was a lucky thing Damien was swift of foot. However, this foe was swift in their own right. No doubt, it had to be an elf under that hood. There were only two he remembered before coming to the elven kingdom and only one he knew that had appeared in the Organization of the Destroyer's. This one's identity was concealed but it was only a matter of time before the elf's identity would be revealed.

Aiden remained on the ground, too much in pain to move voluntarily. He could hear Orion and Droth. He also could have sworn he heard Ava at one point. Something was going on and as he looked over, Aiden's heartbeat quickened. His eyes widened at the sight of the blue flame pillar coming their way. All the elves achieved with it was just slowing it down. They probably wouldn't be able to stop it for some time. It wasn't long before Ava told Droth that they should move Aiden. Aiden looked over as Orion warned him that they were now going to move him. All the teenager had been able to do was give a slow nod before Droth and Orion got on opposite sides of him. Once they did, the two lifted him up.

"A-Augh!" Aiden groaned when they started moving him. Still, he didn't try to fight them. In fact, he tried to move to help them a bit by moving as well. The pain in his shoulder wouldn't let up as he moved along with them, the two of them supporting him enough for him to be able to a bit.

[Deleted]

As Orion and Droth moved Aiden away from the scene, the figure continued to attack. Damien was a trained fighter, and managed to dodge the majority of the figure's attacks. The elder continued to summon his attack, finally reaching to the point where the attack was complete. "Young man move!" The elder warned Damien! He couldn't hold the attack in place now that it was fully summoned.

Calling upon the magic of Mother Gaia, a blast of energy shot out from his outstretched hands and traveled along the ground at high speeds. It ripped the ground apart as it sailed towards Damien and the figure, causing the earth to erupt in a trail of earth spikes as the energy passed. The figure was in the middle of continuous attacks when the energy was shot.

Noticing the oncoming spikes just before they were upon him, the figure was forced to leap away from Damien in order to dodge the attack. No force field blocked the attack this time. The figure managed to dodge the majority of the attack, but the sharp point of a spike managed to rip into its cloak tearing it off of the figure. As the figure crashed to the ground, Lakari was exposed. And it certainly did not look a thing like the Lakari that the elder or even Damien or Orion would recognize.

Instead, forcing herself off the ground was Mara, the young woman that had run from Damien in the Land of Dragons. She had gone through some changes though. Her eyes were now colored yellow. Additionally her expression was completely blank. In fact the young woman, who was completely in the nude now. If Damien managed to dodge the attack he would most likely notice her. The elder surely noticed her. And for once he seemed at a lost for words.

Turning to the elder, Mara opened her mouth wide and left it that way. A voice came out of Mara, but Mara's lips did not move when she spoke. "You look surprised. You think I'd really pit myself against the entire Kingdom? I came here for one purpose, to announce that I was alive. And I have done so." Suddenly a large portal ripped open behind Mara, and Mara turned around and began to walk towards it.

Coming to a stop away from the battle field, Droth indicated that they should lay Aiden down. "Alright! I need you to hold him up hunny. Hold him tight cause this is going to hurt." Orion slowly helped Aiden down and into a sitting position. Bending down so that he held him up, Orion held onto Aiden's shoulders from the front as Droth positioned himself behind him.

"Kid! Keep your eyes on me." Orion tried to call Aiden's attention away from Droth as a ball of light appeared in his hand.

[Sprow]

Damien was dodging the bullet at this point, doing his best to stay out of range from those fiery punches aimed for him. The fire attacks were familiar but he couldn't figure out why this person had them. He was certain that he had heard a male's voice earlier coming from this figure. With the person hooded, it was hard to tell if the figure were actuall male or female. Damien knew he had water abilities but the only one he knew of so far had been what he used earlier. Before it came down to him using it again, there was a yell from somewhere behind him. It sounded like the Chief Elder telling him to move.

In this fight, Damien was glad for the fact he had been trained to be a warrior. One of the only times he was thankful to have been trained like a dog. His foe seemed to realize that there was a large oncoming attack. Damien jumped back as well to move out of the way just as his opponent had done so. What happened next though wasn't anything that Damien was expecting. As the attack had passed them by, the hooded figure's identity was revealed. It was a woman! Damien couldn't help but notice this fact as he looked back at her in confusion. How was she speaking like a man? His brows furrowed as well since this was the very same woman that had burned down the orphanage and attacked the city of Land of Dragons.

"You!" Damien growled. What happened next had also surprised him. A male's voice was coming from the woman's mouth even though she wasn't using her lips to speak. Damien remained rooted to the spot but his eyes had opened a little, his eyebrows raising at this. A portal had been torn open then as the woman got to her feet. She looked so...dead, lifeless. She was nothing compared to how she seemed to act in annoyance when they first encountered one another in Land of Dragons.

"What the hell are you?"

Aiden gritted his teeth as they finally reached a safe zone. When they set him down, Aiden breathed heavy from the pain and blood loss. The teenager blinked over at the two in confusion as Droth instructed Orion to hang onto him tightly. Just what was this elf up to? Before Aiden could look back over at Droth in his confusion, Orion had directed Aiden's attention over to him as he had told him to keep his eyes on him. It worked too because Aiden hated being called a kid and Orion had gone and pushed that button.

"Hey! I'm not a kid!" Aiden said, effectively distracted from Droth. The opportune moment for Droth to pull out the piece of forecefield stuck in Aiden's shoulder.

[Deleted]

Orion had to shake his head at Aiden's concern over being called a kid. The teen had the knack of reminding them that he wasn't a child regardless of the situation it seemed. Droth did use this opportunity to extract the piece. Bringing the magic close enough to Aiden's shoulder, the blue block suddenly shot forward towards the glowing light. Like a magnet, the block clung to the orb. Orion couldn't even picture how much pain that might cause, but he held onto Aiden's shoulders tightly.

Even though Droth had extracted the blue block, there was still the manner of repairing the square hole in his shoulder. Very carefully Droth lowered the orb of light to the ground, letting it disappear when the block was touching the ground. Now Droth's hands were free to focus on healing the hole in Aiden's shoulder. Summoning a white light, Orion watched it fly form Droth's hand towards the hole in Aiden's shoulder.

When Droth suddenly let out a yelp, it made Orion jump. The orb of light that he had shot forward had reflected off the hole! "What the heck?!"

"What's wrong?"

Droth looked up at Orion. "My magic is still being reflected. I removed the block, what the heck?!"

"Move aside Droth." Standing in front of them was Natalia. Orion had forgotten all about the young elf who had helped them enter the land of the elfs.

Raising his eyebrows, Droth snickered. "And just what can you do Miss Prissy?"

Ignoring the ignorant nickname, Natalia bent down and examined the hole in Aiden's shoulder. "Mother... I call upon your healing nature. Heal this young human. He may not be one of ours, but if you deem it worthy heal him of this injury. Grant him the power to continue forward and to be of use to your divine will. I beseech thee mother. Please help him..." Natalia chanted. Her eyes were sealed shut as she prayed. Orion found the whole thing ridiculous.

"This isn't going to help...." He was about to voice this opinion out loud when buds began to blossom out of the ground immediately around Aiden. This was followed by a variety of red and purple flowers blossoming and green vines sprouting out of the ground as well. The vines began to wrap around Aiden's body, concealing him in a green cocoon. Orion had to back up or risk being encircled by the vines himself! Just what the heck was happening now?

Meanwhile back by Damien and the Elder, with the threat of Mara Lakari gone the flaming pillars lost most of their remaining strength. The elfs continuous water attacks did more then just stop the fire this time. Together the elves managed to kill the flaming pillars in their tracks. That did leave a large symbol on the ground below. It was the same bird symbol that was on the back of Lakari's cloak.

Making his way over to Damien the elder nodded to him in thanks. "Thank you, young man. I could not have delivered an attack if you had not taken on Lakari. You have saved many a lives today. We shall speak later. Excuse me while I check on my people." The elder headed towards the injured.

[Sprow]

Aiden hated being called a child or a kid. He wasn't a kid! Yes, even if he was in pain, he had enough in him to protest at being called a kid. Ironically, it had achieved what Orion had hoped for by bringing Aiden's attention onto him then. Taking the opportunity given, Droth chose that moment to extract the block from Aiden's shoulder. It was a good thing Orion had held onto him too! Feeling the block leave his shoulder, Aiden let out a horrendous yell. He writhed in agony feeling that block shoot out of his arm in the fashion that it did. For a short moment, he struggled against Orion before finally calming down.

"That hurt!" Aiden growled but no one seemed to hear him. Now, there was a gaping, square hole in Aiden's shoulder. Droth looked busy, as if he were trying to heal it but strangely enough, the magic rebounded. Aiden had seen it happen as Droth attempted it, then gave a yelp when his magic bounced off. Before Aiden could voice his question on the situation, Orion went and asked it. The block had been removed but for some reason, magic was still rebounding off of Aiden's shoulder.

Then, the girl elf that had helped them gain entrance into the elven kingdom had arrived. She was telling Droth to move aside, whom only snickered at her before asking her what she can do. Ignoring Aiden, the girl elf had bent down to examine his injury. Aiden wasn't sure what to make of this situation. At that moment, his shoulder decided to hurt again as he winced, letting out a groan now forgetting about the situation he was in due to the pain. He didn't even hear the prayers that the female elf was making since the sharp pain in his shoulder made it difficult for him to ignore.

It wasn't until the plants showed up when Aiden grew alarmed. The ivy was what had alarmed him. "Huh? Wh-What the-?!" Aiden exclaimed before he was suddenly encased in flora. Aiden couldn't struggle if he wanted to. He wasn't sure what to make of what he was encased in or what was going to happen to him. So, naturally, he was scared of what was happening to him. He couldn't say anything though in this strange cocoon. Just what was this? Orion had let him go because if he didn't, he would have ended up caught in the tangled mess as well.

Damien, in the meantime, watched as the woman that had the voice of a man leave. Once gone, Damien turned to see how the others handled the situation. The fire pillars were now finally dying down. The elves were able to take control of the situation. As the flame pillars were put out, Damien got a good look at the symbol that the flames had left behind. It was in the shape of a bird. Damien wasn't sure what to make of it. It just seemed to be like the time in Land of Dragons. Shaking his head, Damien almost forgot about the Chief Elder being there as the elder elf approached him. Looking over at him, Damien heard the elder thanking him.

"...You shouldn't be thanking me..." The Chief Elder, however, had left before Damien could utter those words. Really, Damien believed he deserved no thanks. He had been a part of an organization that only wanted to destroy thinking good things would come of it. If anything, he was only atoning to some extent. Atoning for the things he had done when he was a part of that organization. It was the least he could do after being nothing more than a monster. As he watched the Chief Elder approach his people, Damien remembered Aiden with Orion. Wondering how Aiden was doing, Damien left the scene to find Orion and Aiden.

When he found them though, he wasn't sure what to make of the situation. "What...is going on here?" Damien asked. He did his best to keep his composure calm. Surely, Droth and Natalia weren't trying to hurt him? Damien looked to Orion as if he could give him some sort of answer but the former prince looked surprised and confused.

[Deleted]

Orion was to busy watching what was happening to Aiden to realize that Damien had returned. One moment things had looked sour, with no hope to curing the gaping hole in Aiden's shoulder. Then in the next moment Aiden was being surrounded by plants like some sort of television show! Natalia didn't even seem to realize it. She just continued to chant or pray or whatever it was she was doing!

Unable to tell if this was something good or bad, Orion was prepared to summon his armor and weapon. Noticing Damien standing next to him, Orion wondered just how long he had been there. Hearing his question, Orion could only shrug in response. He had no idea what was happening right now.

The vines had completely covered Aiden in a cocoon. Unbeknownst to the two youths, Aiden was being placed into a slumber inside the cocoon. Natalia had asked Mother Gaia, the deity of these woods, to intercede. That was exactly what she was doing. Seeing that Aiden was a human and not an elf, what Gaia could do to heal Aiden was limited. She could not per say heal him of his wounds with her own powers. If Aiden were an elf, such a thing might be possible. However he was not, and so did not have a link with the land like the elfs did.

What Gaia could do though was awaken something in Aiden that was already there. Being a Wilder descendent, Aiden might carry some of the dragon blood that had been passed down from Lance's bloodline into the family. By awakening the blood within him, Aiden could heal himself. Of course Aiden had to be somewhat related to Lance to have that blood within him. If he did not... well Gaia awakened some sort of power within him. That much she could do.

Orion took a step back when the cocoon started to glow from within. "Should we cut him out?!" Orion asked. The cocoon was beginning to split similiar to how a butterfly splits out of a cocoon.

[Sprow]

Damien could see that Natalia seemed to be making some sort of prayer. Whatever it was, it seemed to be responsible for what was happening to Aiden. It had to be Aiden since the young Wilder wasn't anywhere else for Damien to find him. If the kid was dead, he was certain Orion would have at least told him at this point. Given the way that Orion was looking at the plant cocoon thing, Aiden had to be in there. Just what was this anyway? Damien wasn't sure. It unnerved him, making him wonder if he should cut through to get to where Aiden was but something held him back. Surely, Droth and Natalia wouldn't try to harm Aiden?

It didn't help Damien any when he saw Orion just simply shrug. Keeping his cool, Damien waited to see what would happen.

While the others looked on from the outside, Aiden suddenly felt an overpowering exhaustion come over him within that overcame his fear. Unable to resist it, Aiden soon fell asleep and was put into a slumber. He had no idea just what these plants or whatever was doing to him. H didn't understand it. As Aiden was put into his slumber for the time being inside the cocoon of plants, Aiden's blood reacted to the changes that the deity, Gaia, was trying to make.

Just what changes were they? Well, he had a trace of DNA from Lance's bloodline in his system. Compared to Lance's time and now, Aiden's dragoon blood was diluted with time from the generations that had passed since Lance's time. With Gaia's help though in waking it up, the blood had become less diluted and weak. Now, the dragoon's blood had woken up in Aiden's system. As the cocoon began to glow within, that had been when the dragoon blood woke up in Aiden. It also had been when some physical changes took place on Aiden. Damien and Orion would most likely notice the changes in Aiden once the cocoon broke open.

As Orion asked if they should cut out Aiden, Damien shook his head. Already, the cocoon was starting to split open. If Aiden, whatever they did to him, was to be considered like something akin to a butterfly coming out of the cocoon it could be dangerous cutting him out. "No...if we did, it could harm him..." Damien stated despite wanting to cut the kid out of it as well for uncertainty of what was happening. As the cocoon had split, Aiden was finally taken out of his slumber. Blinking, Aiden found himself trapped in the cocoon and above him, there was a crack of light. Wanting to get out of the cocoon, Aiden forced his way out. As his whole upper body appeared, it would be surprising to see the gaping hole in his shoulder disappearing gradually before their very eyes. However, that just might not be the most surprising thing that the others might notice.

Just like Lance, Aiden's teeth had become more sharp like that of a dragon's. His ears at the tips seemed to come to a slight point too and his eyes, though appeared normal, adjusted to the light differently than a human's. How so? Well, when the pupils were exposed they were slitted at first before returning to normal. Aiden's pupils from now on would dilate into cat-like slits in reaction to changes of light. As he came out, Aiden blinked at the others. Damien and Orion looked puzzled or scared.

"Uh...what happened?" Aiden asked them. Despite the changes, he was still Aiden through it all.

[Deleted]

Nodding in response to Damien's comment, Orion realized that holding off would be for the best. He didn't want to do anything that might potentially harm Aiden. If Orion did cut into the cocoon he ran the risk of potentially cutting Aiden as well. Orion hadn't thought of that when he had originally asked the question.

Mesmerized by the cocoon, Orion did the only thing he could. He waited. And boy were they a couple of anxious moments. That is the thing about the unknown. People are afraid of what they do not know. So to was Orion. It wasn't a large fear, such as if he were facing a nightmare. It was still a slight fear no matter how small. Hearing the sudden crack from the seal of the cocoon breaking cause Orion's heart to be faster in anticipation.

Ever so slowly, the cocoon fell from Aiden. And boy was he different! The first thing Orion noticed was the healing in the shoulders. It occurred in a short moment, and if Orion had blinked he would have probably missed it. Seeing it heal, Orion was also taken aback when he noticed Aiden's eyes. The change of Aiden's eyes from a regular dotted pupil to slit made him wonder just what had happened inside that cocoon? Was he still the same Aiden that they new? Additionally there was a different sort of air around Aiden. Almost as if you could feel a vibration in the air caused by the change of his blood. Of course Orion had no clue that the blood was the cause of the change.

When Aiden spoke though, Orion spotted the largest physical change. Aiden's teeth were pointy! As his eyes widened, Orion had to keep his mouth closed to try and hide his surprise. He had never seen such a thing before! "Aiden... your teeth!" He told him.

At some point Natalia had ceased her chanting and was speaking to herself. "Thank you Mother." she said to no one in particular. Orion was glad to see that Aiden had been healed, but at what cost. Was Aiden still the same person from before? Only time would answer that question. For now, beyond the small changes, everything seemed to finally be alright.

Around them the elves were slowly carrying for their injured. Droth, being the only healer, could be seen and heard running from one injured elf to the next as he attempted to be of use. The elder was busy giving directions and being the natural leader that he was. Ava was doing everything in her power to be helpful. What should their next action be? Well that had yet to be decided/

[Sprow]

It seemed that the pupils only slitted because of the adjustment to light. Aiden's eyes, as they watched him, slowly turned to normal. Only when in the light, adjusting, did they turn slitted. Of course, even with the pupils somewhat normal looking there was still something different about them. As Aiden looked around at the other, Aiden looked down at the cocoon he had pushed himself out of. He was confused about the whole thing. Glancing at his shoulder, he saw the injury sealing itself on its own accord seemingly. Seeing such a thing was strange but at least now he wasn't hurting anymore. Strangely enough, Aiden felt different. It were as if something in his blood took place, a new sort of energy.

Damien made no move as he simply stared at Aiden in surprise. Just what had been done to him? Aiden's wound had been healed but he had changed. When the child spoke, Damien's eyes widened a bit at the teeth he just saw appear. There was no denying the fact that something had changed. Orion had been the first to inform Aiden about his teeth. Aiden just blinked back at Orion with a look of puzzlement written all over his face.

"My teeth?" Aiden asked him. Orion's and Damien's expressions were starting to scare him. Natalia, on the other hand, seemed to be thanking her mother. He didn't realize she was thanking Gaia. Damien said nothing the whole time. He wasn't sure what to say at this point. Since Orion brought up the teeth issue, Aiden slowly brought his hands to his mouth in confusion. He even licked them and he noticed something really off. It felt like his teeth had become more pointed! Even as he lightly prodded them with his fingertips, Aiden could feel just how pointy they had become. Gradually, as he realized this, Aiden's eyes began to widen and he was looking down at his hands. His hands were the same. They didn't look any different. What happened with his teeth though was really freaking him out.

"Oh my god!" Aiden exclaimed with an obvious note of terror in his voice. The realization of something happening to him was starting to freak him out and badly. He had pushed off the remains of the cocoon with his feet. The result was astounding. Unlike a normal human, it wouldn't have torn asunder in the fashion that it did. In fact, Aiden shouldn't have been able to tear it apart like he did. Even he noticed it as his eyes widened in shock at what he had just done. The blood in him that pumped through his veins felt strange. He felt oddly alive, much more alive than he ever was before. How had he been able to do that?

Aiden looked over at Damien and Orion. Neither of them seemed to dare approach him. They looked like they were afraid of him. "What happened to me?" Aiden asked them as if they could answer him. Neither of them answered him immediately so he spoke once more. "What happened to me?" Aiden asked with more emphasis on what had happened. When neither of them answered him, Aiden started to clutch at his head and when he did, then he noticed that his ars were pointed as well. He didn't think he was different but there was no denying the slight physical changes he had. It scared him and feeling the tips of his ears next was just the icing on the cake. Even though he was healed, Aiden felt like he had been turned into a monster. He didn't understand that it was dragon blood or that because of Gaia that the dormant dragon blood being woken up meant that he was now a dragoon like Lance Wilder had once been. All he knew was that changes had taken place and he wasn't sure what to think. It scared him and he couldn't help but let out a scream at the new discovery. It was Aiden still and he was freaking out.

Damien seemed to finally register the situation. Aiden didn't seem to be acting differently save for the fact that he looked a bit different. The teeth, above all else, seemed to be the most dramatic change. That part would certainly get some getting used to. Despite his surprise and uncertainty, Damien breathed in slowly before taking a tentative step towards Aiden. The teenager was now in a heap, clutching at his head curled up in a fetal position. He looked like a child that was lost and frightened. He didn't appear to be of any real threat. With each step he took, Damien grew a little more confident before finally getting down on his knees, the sword no longer in his hands as he dismissed it. Aiden made no move as Damien got closer.

"Hey, it's...not the end of the world..." Damien stated. He wasn't sure how to comfort the kid but that was the best he could think of. Aiden remained in a heap on the ground, unwilling to look up. Damien suspected the kid was probably crying because of how freaked he was but it wasn't easy to tell. In truth, he had sensed Damien's approach but didn't want to look up at him. He didn't want either of them to see him acting like this or looking like this. He felt vulnerable, like the child he had once been when his mother had gone and done the things she did, when his brother had turned his back on him for the sake of the dojo. Aiden couldn't help but cry nd he didn't want to face either of them.

As Damien bent down, lightly placing a hand on Aiden's shoulder, the teenager recoiled from the sudden touch. Damien wasn't sure what to do at this point. He never had the chance to comfort someone else like this. As a child, Reme had been the one comforting Damien during the short time he had spent with her and her mother. They had been somewhat of a family to him but Damien never got to really see what a normal family was like since he had been pulled out of it and trained to become nothing but a killing machine and a dog to do his adoptive father's bidding. He was at a loss. Remembering Orion was there, Damien had looked to him as if to ask for help with this but dropped his gaze. The two weren't friends. They were just pitted in the same boat for the time being. He wasn't sure how things were going to be now. Damien though didn't care if Orion hated him. If anything, he just hoped that Orion would at least try to help with Aiden if only for Aiden's sake. He couldn't voice it though. Such a thing, in Damien's eyes, showed weakness and Damien didn't plan on doing that. Especially if he thought Orion hated him and could still possibly be an enemy in the near future.

[Deleted]

What transpired next made Orion feel slightly guilty for pointing out the changes in Aiden. When the young man started to freak out about his teeth and the other changes about him, Orion felt to blame. "I didn't mean for... Oh jeez." He thought as Aiden curled up into a semi-ball on the ground.

Thankfully Damien seemed to respond fairly quickly, trying to comfort Aiden with his words. Unlike Damien, Orion did not see comforting someone as a sign of weakness. In fact one of the deeds to make a person a prince loved by his people was to show that they cared for them. Seeing Damien attempt to connect with Aiden, but fail when the teenager recoiled, Orion knew that he should do something.
When Damien looked up to him for help, Orion's thoughts were confirmed. Walking around Damien, Orion bent down. "Hey kid. Sharp teeth aren't something to freak out about. Heck look at me. I look like a bum! If anyone should be freaking out about their appearance it should probably be me." Orion told Aiden in an attempt to cheer him up with humor.

Having sharp teeth was different. No doubt it would be something that Aiden would have to get used too. But it wasn't the end of the world. Aiden was still alive, and from the looks of it healthy too. "Can't give up on yourself yet kid. Otherwise whose going to remind me that they're not a child anymore. Definitely not Damien. He's too much of a grumpy pants." Orion continued, glancing at Damien and giving him a smile.


Natalia had ceased her praising at some point and had turned her attention on what was happening as well. She even tried to cheer Aiden up. "Do not worry child. Gaia has given you a gift, not a curse. Be proud. This is a call for celebration, not for sorrow."

Glancing over at her, Orion couldn't help but roll his eyes. He didn't think her words were going to help the situation that much. For one they didn't know a thing about Gaia, elves, or even this land, to begin with. Beyond what Natalia claimed, there wasn't much proof that this was an act of divine will. For all he knew, this could have just been Natalia's magic that had cured Aiden. Either way what was important now was making sure that Aiden was all right. The teen had gone out of his way to help Orion when he had needed it. Orion was going to make sure to return the favor.

[Sprow]

Aiden remained coiled up as Damien awkwardly remained bent by the teenager. He wasn't sure what else to say to try and comfort him. Thankfully, Orion decided to give a helping hand. If Damien was lucky, Orion would be much better at it. Unlike Orion, Damien didn't get much of a chance to develop very good people skills. As Orion walked around him and then bent down on the other side of Aiden, Damien listened as the former prince started to talk to Aiden. Aiden didn't move. There was no indication whether or not he was even listening as Orion told nhim that sharp teeth weren't something to freak out about. Then, Orion mentioned that he should be the one freaking out about his own appearance since he looked like a bum.

Damien, hearing this, glanced over at Orion with a raised brow. Even though he had a serious expression on his face, there was a light in his eyes. A light of mirth but he was keeping it to himself if only to spare Orion for the moment. "But you can change that! I can't!" Aiden retorted. Orion seemed undeterred though. All the while, Damien remained silent as he let Orion have a go at trying to get Aiden to respond.

What was said next made Damien look over at Orion incredulously. He was surprised to see there was a smile on Orion's face. Damien wasn't sure what to make of it. Maybe Orion wasn't feeling as hostile toward him anymore? That ws a big maybe. This one, ironically, had earned what distinctly sounded like a snicker coming from Aiden. "Yeah, who is going to keep the prince of the pansies and myself from getting each other into a headlock? We need you to keep us in check." Where Damien's face seemed serious there was a hint of amusement in his tone of voice. Particularly when he had just called Orion prince of the pansies. There was no real insult meant behind it. He was just lightly teasing Orion back. That earned them another snicker from Aiden but he seemed too stubborn to relent and look up at either of them. At least, for now. It seemed like he was debating but it was hard to tell given the fact that neither of them could see his face.

Eventually, Natalia spoke up and Damien glanced over at her. A gift? He wasn't sure what to make of this supposed gift. Could it really be that? Aiden had finally lifted his face to look between them all. Confusion was on his face then. "A gift?"

[Deleted]

"Prince of pansies..." There was that nickname again. The first time Orion had heard it had been back in Twilight Town. Everything that Orion had worked so hard for had come crashing down in that one moment. That one moment had changed all that he knew. He went from a prince with a distinct purpose in life to a nobody. Orion no longer knew what his purpose in life was. This struggle continued to haunt Orion everywhere he went.

But in this very moment, Orion was not haunted by this fact. The comment that arguably should have pissed him off, only made him smile. The amusement in Damien's voice helped that. It was true that Damien and Orion often butted heads. Perhaps they weren't the best of friends. That did not change the fact that they both cared about Aiden. There mutual interest in cheering Aiden up brought them together.

Nodding, Orion hoped to see Aiden lift his head and laugh. But either the kid was still sad or he was moping. Natalia's comment about being a gift was challenged by Damien. She went ahead and explained what she meant. "Mother Gaia has made you one of us young one. Your ears are truth to that!"

Orion thought he understood now. Natalia must think that Gaia had turned Aiden into an elf! Well he did have the pointed ears like one. There was no way any of them could have known what really happened of course. Still it was probably closer to the truth than anything Orion could have thought of. Not really knowing exactly what to say to that, he placed a hand on Aiden's shoulder.

"Hear that! You're an elf now kid!" He ended up saying, figuring that was better to say than challenging what Natalia thought. "And elves don't sit and feel sorry for themselves either do they?" Orion asked Natalia.

Natalia's smile was her unspoken response. Hoping this would be enough to cheer Aiden up, they could only wait and see if what they said worked.

((OOC: Sorry for the short response. Will be longer next time, promise.))