Madness

[Max452]

Selene's words about his cousin struck a cord with Ian. Glory wouldn't do that! She wouldn't betray them! Despite his own belief in that, something in his gut said that Selene was being truthful, but still, that didn't stop Ian from acting out of his calm self. No one talked about his precious people like that! He launched himself at Selene, pinning her to the ground with his knee and hand while he punched her. "LIAR! You're nothing but a lying bi--" Before Ian could finish his sentance, Sidhion pulled him back and shoved him back toward Maude.

"Calm youself!" Sidhion commanded, but Ian was glaring at Selene, while said woman spat out blood.

"I think we are done speaking with her for now." He told both riders, looking at Ian with a scolding glare. "Sleep." Sidhion turned back to Selene and uttered the spell; the woman was instantly out. "Go back to Melian." Sidhion commanded, holding Ian back since the boy was still angered. "Calm down, Rider Ian."

"I'm fine!" Ian yelled out, shoving himself away from Sidhion and marching back to Castiel, angered at Selene's words and being pulled from his punching.

[Trinn]

Before Maude could move to stop Ian, he had launched himself at Selene. She stood watching him pummel the enemy rider, mouth agape. This was a side of him she had never witnessed before. And it intrigued her, excited her, even. Ian was finally acting out his emotions. He was doing something about it. She was even a bit jealous that he got to punch the woman in the face while she stood by. Selene deserved every hit Ian gave. Sidhion was quick to break it up, though, and Maude felt oddly disappointed. Maude watched Ian closely as he strode back to Castiel, his face stormy. Looking away, Maude went to Magda's side and climbed up to her dragon's saddle. "Come on, Ian. Let's go find Seth." Maude said, trying to get him to calm down as well, though she did enjoy seeing this side of him. As Magda spread her wings to take flight, Maude couldn't help but draw her gaze back to Sidhion. Her grandfather. She would have liked to stay and speak with him, learn from him, perhaps accuse him. But she suspected he would be busy with Selene now. Her hard gaze remained on Sidhion as Magda pushed herself into the sky and flapped towards Melian.

[Max452]

OOC: Hmmm, running out of ideas...let's get more bad guys in here to rescue Selene and Slade! Yeah! lol I mean....if u want....or have some ideas! lol. I don't want this to turn into a fluff galore lol. On that note, I find Maude's attraction to Ian's violent behavior adorable; she loves them bad boys, eh?! lol. hehe. All right! enough commentary. lol.

Fuming and not caring for his bloody knuckles, Ian had saddled himself onto Castiel. He was furious with Sidhion for stopping him and even more so, furious at Selene for insinuating that his baby cousin was with the enemy. Although, he had his own speculations and thoughts on that matter, which caused his heart to sink; out of all his cousins, Glory was probably the closest to him - she even helped him court Maude! Glory couldn't possibly follow the Shade willingly; she was tricked! He knew it. Deep down. He clenched his fists and his jaw tightened at the thought of fighting the Shade Rider that took his cousin, allowing his emotions to be shown clearly on his face for a brief moment before he heard Maude's voice.

Ian blinked over to Maude, having been dragged out of his thoughts. He was still angry about Selene's comment, but not as much as he was before. "All right." Ian's voice was low and rough as he spoke; his anger may have subsided, but not entirely. He didn't speak any more, not wanting to risk acting out again or even worse, hurting Maude's feelings if he said something rash from his clouded mind.

Castiel did not speak a word as he unfolded his membrane wings and jolted up into the sky after Magda; he shared and understood Ian's sentiments wholeheartedly. Ian just needed some time to cool off.

It wasn't long for them to spot the Blind Rider and his blue bond in the middle of Melian. Seth and Hyperion had secured the prisioners. They had orchestrated a small team to watch and make sure that those that were captured did not escape before they were both dragged into the town to calm and assure the townsfolk that all was well.

Castiel landed in the town square since it held the bigger clearing for the dragons to land easily. Ian hopped off, casted a glance over at Maude, feeling his mood elevate slightly from her presence, as they went to the small crowd that had gathered around Seth and Hyp.

"What about our families?" Ian heard a man ask Seth as they approached.
"We're doing everything we can to help you all in this situation, but please, we need time to gather information and to fortify your town. Now, you told me that Rider Ian and Rider Maude have been helping you, can you tell me what are the conditions of your city thus far?" Seth asked before being bombarded with information about the rebuilding of their city and the other conditions of the towns nearby; nothing Ian or Maude hadn't known.

As they neared, a rather robust woman approached Ian and Maude, clean rags in her hands. "Riders, thank you for saving us. Please, you must be tired," Her eyes lingered on Ian, noting his more bloody appearance than Maude's. "We've prepared an area where you can both get cleaned up. We...we also have some supplies if you are wounded..." She pointed to a modest inn. "Please, it is the least we can do, Riders." She gestured for them to follow as Seth seemed to be handling the crowd for them.

Ian merely grunted a thank you to the woman, still not trusting himself to speak without some sort of malice or irritation in his voice. His gaze turned to Maude and he gestured for her to follow him and the woman; they probably should get cleaned up (especially him) - the blood over his left eye had already dried and was feeling very uncomfortable, not to mention hard to see through.

[Trinn]

OOC: Yeah, fluff gets boring! Except when it applies to puppies, or kittens, or any baby animal... or any animal... well you know lol

Nethia stood among the civilian crowd, acting as one of them. Her face itched, and it was all she could do to keep her hands down by her sides. She had changed her appearance for this mission, the better to blend in. Rather than her usual lustrous black hair, she had adopted a dull brown crown of locks, with equally dull brown eyes. Nobody would notice her. She was a peasant like the rest. She kept a soft contact with Nefrox, who waited a mile or so off, so as not to raise attention. As the blue rider asked about the town, Nethia casually walked off, holding a bucket of water against her waist. Her footsteps drew her out of town, east, towards where Slade and the two Bromsland dragons had flown off.
***

Maude dismounted Magda with a huff, feeling suddenly weary. Her muscles ached from the fight with Selene and Slade. No doubt there were more than a few bruises forming on her body from the tumbling around on the giant black dragon. Silently she followed Ian and the civilian into the inn, where they were led into a back room. It seemed a storage room of sorts, but there were two fairly large tubs in it. Between the tubs was a screen for privacy. Maude regarded the set up rather uncomfortably. She could see that the tubs were already filled with water, with a cake of soap for each. The large woman gave them a smile and a nod, then left and closed the door behind her. As if she were doing them a favor. Maude glanced at Ian, and seeing that he was still in a bad mood, moved to the tub on the right and waited for Ian to go to his before undressing and stepping into the water, which was only lukewarm. Too bad Magda couldn't fit inside to heat the water up a bit.

[Max452]

OOC: YAY!! Excuse to use Dom! ahahaha

Dominic was hidden in the shadows, watching the the blind Rider ease the crowd while the other two Riders entered the inn. He spotted Nethia's disguise and turned his head to glance around for the other men that were also moled in as civilians. Katriana was clear: Kill the Ancient at any cost and then some. So far, the plan had worked perfectly. With the other Riders falling into a sense of security, Dominic and the others would spring a surprise attack on the Ancient. Hiding his presence from the dragon riders, Dom returned himself to the shadows, waiting until Nethia and the others were in position before he struck out - after all, he worked best in the shadows.

***
Ian stared at the room with a wide eyed expression. His anger had quickly dissipated once he noticed that he and Maude were meant to bathe together in the same room, with only a thin sheet separating them. He glanced at Maude for a moment, embarrassed and nervous as his hormones began to go crazy. He. Maude. Alone. Batheing. Ian gulped and quickly moved to steer his feet to the right side right as Maude did so. Ian's heart hammered. "Sorry!" He muttered, feeling embarrassed that he had moved to the same tub as she. He quickly turned on his heel, practically fleeing to the other side of the partition.

Nervous, Ian made sure that Maude's image was obscured from view before stripping himself and sloshing into the tub. He hissed lightly, the warm water hitting his bloody, bruised, and wounded, skin. He had forgotten to heal those, he realized as he began to scrub his body. As the blood began to roll of his almost clean body, Ian had a moment to reflect on the past hour. He stared at his hands as they hovered in the murky and now bloody water. The image of his first kill - a boy not older than himself - flashed into his once innocent mind. He shivered unintentionally. There was blood on his hands now. He clenched his right hand into a fist and lifted it to his lips, stifling his want to scream out in agony. He had killed today. So many. Was this the price for the peace and equality he sought? Was this the duty of a Rider?

We did what we had to, Ian. They were seeking to hurt innocent people. We did the right thing. Castiel soothed as he sent his bond comforting images of home and family. We did the right thing. Castiel whispered again as he felt Ian relax a bit at his words.
Why must there be death in the world? Ian asked.
Its the cycle of life. In order for us to progress, death is essential. We can only do as much as we can, Ian. Remember that, okay?
Okay. Ian meekly replied as he washed his face, tsking at the pain over his eye. He traced a lone finger on the cut that stretched over it in a vertical position. It stopped right at the end of his eyelid; he was lucky that his eye was intact. He motioned to heal it, but stopped himself. As he was a man who honored symbolism and purpose, Ian would keep this scar as a reminder of what happened today and promised himself that he would do what was necessary to establish peace.

Other memories graced his mind and Ian felt anger once more as he recalled Selene's words about Glory. His mood remained dark once more before he too, recalled another thing. His eyes softened and he felt a momentary moment of guilt. His mind was so focused on himself that he forgot about how Maude was feeling. Realizing that he had been silent this whole time, he cleared his throat and addressed Maude, who, much to his embrassed thought, was probably naked and only a sheet separated them.

"Um, how are you feeling, Maude?" Ian asked, trying to concentrate on anything but Maude's physical form.

[Trinn]

Once out of site, Nethia let the bucket fall away from her, letting the water slosh out onto the ground to drain into the soil. Immediately she brought her hands to her face and itched her skin furiously, even as she let the spell slip away to reveal her true face. Patches of skin turned red and raw from where she had itched too hard. Shaking her head to repel the last of the scratchiness, Nethia continued forth, moving on silent feet. Years of thievery had taught her how to be as silent as a shadow, though she was more accustomed to keeps and paved streets. The bulk of two large dragons announced that she had reached her destination. Dom would be around somewhere, and a few others. Nethia quietly unsheathed a dagger and crouched in the tall grasses of the plain. She did not fear that the ancients bond would catch her scent. She had concealed it with wards. And so she approached stealthily and steadily, trying to spot the ancient. If she could just get behind him quickly...
***

The unsavory temperature of the water turned out to be no big deal. Maude slowly began to relax as she scrubbed herself down, making the water murky. She looked at the dark bath water with a grimace, having not realized how truly dirty she had been. Well, nobody said the life of a dragon rider was luxurious. She could see the bruises now to prove it. Leaning back now, Maude let the water relax her further, enjoying the sensation of submersion. Yet her mind did not relax. Constantly Sidhion was on her mind, even Glory, from time to time. She worried about Ian, too. He had more than a scratch or two to show for the skirmish. She jumped a little when he suddenly spoke, and she cursed her jumpiness.

"Many things." Maude answered, unable to come up with any other response. "I'm tired, bruised, worried, and curious." She thought to bring up Sidhion, but decided it would be for another time. "How are you, brave warrior?" She asked, smirking wryly. "From the looks of it, you did well during the battle."

[Max452]

Sidhion stared down at Selene's limp form, trying to deduce everything he had heard and saw today. Something felt admist. He was unsure why he felt this way, but he knew by now to trust his instincts. Feeling anxious about the safety of his granddaughter, Sidhion tied Selene's form with rope he had procured from Locien's saddle bag. He hefted the light woman over his shoulder and proceeded to return to Locien and the others. He walked toward Locien, who seemed tensed; the dragon felt uneasy - it was too quiet. The elf felt the uneasiness through his bond, which made him cautious and weary of an attack, but he had to hurry, for he did not want his granddaughter harmed.

***
Ian tilted his head over toward Maude's direction, having heard a sudden sloshing of water. He furrowed his brow, wondering if she was all right. Her response put him at ease, unknowingly letting him know that she was fine. He glanced into the water, staring at the mixed blood and dirt as he listened to her response. He wanted to ask her about Sidhion being her grandfather when she strategically asked him a question. He sighed loudly and dipped himself into the water, dumping himself inside before rising back up. "I killed many today..." He replied softly, enough for her to hear as he ran a hand into his wet hair. "I wish I hadn't." He honestly replied, staring at his bruised knuckles. "What kind of a warrior am I - to regret killing when I had to?" He asked her, feeling guilty for taking lives.

[Trinn]

No matter her magic, it seemed the ancient was yet still suspicious. Why was it that animals tended to fall silent when a moment of bloodshed was near? How could they know? Nethia frowned as the ancient picked up Selene and made to leave. She had a choice to make; attack now, or stalk the ancient back to town. Nethia had a great amount of patience, yet, she knew that if the ancient made it back to town, he would have allies there to protect him. She would have to move now. Pursing her lips together, Nethia made a shrill bird call. If her companions were in the area, they would know the attack was now.

Moving extremely carefully now, Nethia approached the figures, drawing as close as she could. When she could not move closer without being noticed, Nethia at last leaped up from her position and rushed not Sidhion, but Locien. The icy dragon would not be able to move quickly on the ground. She was at the dragon's massive shoulder now, jumping up and pushing herself off of his side. The dagger in her hand, which had been enchanted to cut through dragon scale, lifted, poised to slit the ancient dragons throat.
***

"A new warrior." Maude responded, after having contemplated his regret for a silent moment. "An innocent, when warriors are not innocents. But that does not mean they can't be noble, or honorable. You have all the traits of a good and kind dragon rider, Ian. You fight when you must, and no more. Don't dwell too hard on the lives you took today. They sought to hurt innocents. Death was what they deserved."