1x1 with sugarbird

[sugarbird]

-----"It's nice to have met you, too." Something so simple ended up meaning so much more to him than she could ever realize. That one little sentence really got to him for some reason. Maybe it's because he was never told such a thing before? Or maybe it was because she genuinely meant it. At least, that's what he would like to think. He wouldn't doubt that maybe, just maybe, she was still using him as a tool for escape and nothing more. Maybe this kindness was false. That possibility didn't really shake him, though. Everyone in his life has used him as a tool or a gem to show off anyway. And if Lehra was to do the same, then he supposed it wouldn't be any different than usual. It would prove his theory that there really couldn't be any friends. Hopefully the betrayal wouldn't hurt so much in the end, as he'd hopefully be dead once she was done with him. He dwelled on the first sentence for a little bit, only catching onto the rest of what she said after she said it.

-----The anticipation really was the worst part of it all- that left him more time to think about the upcoming mission, to get scared of it. He tapped his tail impatiently, pausing for a little bit after she finished speaking. This silence was admittedly a tiny bit awkward- but it still didn't feel so bad. Just the fact that there was another dragon next to him beyond those doors was enough to keep him more interested than awkward. This was still a very new, very exciting, very terrifying experience, just being in the presence of another one of his kind. Even behind doors. Eventually though, he did speak up again.

-----"So, Lehra.." he began. "What are you going to do after all of this is over?" Though it was a weird question to ask, and one that was similar to some other ones he may have asked, he figured it couldn't do any hard to dream wistfully about the future. Maybe it would serve as decent motivation for her. "I mean, I know it's thinking too far ahead, b-but, you know, I have no doubt that you'll be make it there. It's m-me that might not.." he spoke the last part of that really quietly, more so to himself than Lehra.

[Bronzewing]

She nodded. "Well, I've probably already told you how much I appreciate you being friendly. I don't know if I would be able to get out by myself if you weren't around." she said, a smile on her face. Yes, he could just leave her there- but she had a feeling that she had the advantage. If she was kept alive, he would have to deal with the dragon he betrayed living with him- and she didn't have any plans to let him go free if he ruined things on purpose.

Soon...soon they would be out of there. She just had to make sure not to panic. No- she wouldn't panic, they would get out of there. It was going to be good- they couldn't fail! They had to win! This would be good- the adrenaline running through their bodies, the strength in their muscles and wings... maybe she should exercise herself a bit so she wasn't out of practice when they flew. Sure, it had only been a few days- maybe only two, but she didn't care. She had to be in perfect shape.

"After all this is over...I'll decide on that once we get there. It's going to take a long, long time for things to settle down, and once we get out then we can start to work through what we're going to do next." She nodded- this sounded right. "Once we get there-" she put emphasis on we- "we can figure out what to do."

[sugarbird]

-----He was so delighted to hear her say such a nice thing to him. He assumed that Lehra would be the type to be very confident in herself, so hearing her say that he was important for this mission and that she probably couldn't make it out on her own made him feel special for a moment there. But that also served as a reminder that he was going to make or break this mission. So much of it relied heavily on him. He had to open the door to let them out in the first place- he could only assume that she didn't know how to unlock a door. This constant back and forth between excitement and fear was really getting to be unbearable. One moment he was more than ready it felt like, the next he wanted to just curl in a ball and think obsessively about how it could go wrong because of him. He just needed to stop worrying about it until it happens. There's still a little bit of time to prepare. But no amount of preparation could make him ready for the breakout itself, along with survival out in the wilds. He had no choice but to go into all of it without being ready. Nothing would help more than hands-on experience of it anyway.

-----"Once we get there." If we make it there. That sounded great. If they could make it outside of these mansion walls, and he could see all the sights he wanted to see for decades. A few years from now, if he somehow manages to thrive in nature and evade the poachers, he could see himself traveling wherever he wanted to see everything he wanted to before he died. It was a very silly and outlandish dream at the moment of course, but screw it. He was probably not going to make it through this plan anyway, so he might as well dream. Orion smiled weakly to himself at her last statement. "I hope we make it." He got to his feet, now feeling more motivated than he's ever felt so far. Maybe it would be best if he prepped himself now for what was to come tomorrow.

-----"Okay.. I think I might as well spend the rest of the day getting ready. I might not be able to fly in this mansion, but it probably would serve some good to get my wings working anyway." Hiding some flight practice from Alphonse would be easy, hopefully. The old man had trusted Orion a ton. He always thought of him as a pushover that does whatever he's told, even when not in the presence of his master. He thought that Orion would be scared to death of breaking rules. And he was right- up until now. He paid literally no attention to the activities of his pet dragon anyway. "I'll do what I can." He then started heading towards the staircase before pausing after a few steps. He turned back, feeling very sorry for leaving Lehra stuck in that room all by herself. Hopefully she wouldn't have any hard feelings towards him leaving her like that. "Um, sorry. We'll speak again later, I promise."

-----He then resumed his walk and hurried up the staircase and out the basement quietly, making sure nobody saw him exit.

[Bronzewing]

"Stop worrying or you'll freeze up tomorrow.We're making it." she said, the corner of her mouth twisting up into a smile. She started to walk around the cellar- there wasn't much she could do, but at least she would get herself exercised. Spreading out her wings as far as she could get them to go- not as far as she would have liked- she started to flap them and stretch her muscles. She would have to test her endurance the best way possible, and this was it. Lehra knew she could do it- at least they had the sheer willpower to get out of there and make a break for it. Most likely that pure determination would be what brought them to victory over the humans.

"Get ready all you like. Your wings are probably the most important part this time around- I'll be exercising mine in here too." she told him. "You don't need to come back over- do whatever is safest. I don't want you to risk getting seen and raising suspicion." If he was seen coming down, the wizard would definitely wonder what he was doing. That would add a ton more suspicion- after all, what would he be doing down there but talking to her? The wizard most likely would take added precautions to keep them in if he even as much as suspected they were hatching a plan.

Once she heard his footsteps heading away from her, she did feel bad- she hated the idea of having to be in there for longer without anybody to talk to. The most she would do is run laps around the cellar, wings partially open in the small space and try not to think about how stuffy everything was in here. The desert was such an open space- this was the opposite of that. Shaking her head, she continued to run, letting her powerful muscles carry her in continuous, swift movement. This felt good...but it would feel even better once they escaped.

[sugarbird]

-----Orion heard her suggestion to just stay out of the basement for the rest of the day, which made sense. He was most likely not allowed to be down there in the first place, and he'd rather not risk getting caught sneaking down here later. He knew very well he easily could if he wanted to, but it'd be best to avoid the possibility of getting caught as much as possible. He was glad she wouldn't feel upset about him leaving her there alone, but he admittedly still felt bad. No matter. Practice was of utmost importance right now in these last hours before the gathering. He proceeded through the lobby casually, taking note of the servants that were busying themselves with preparing the mansion for the gathering the next day. This was perfect. He'd be able to practice in relative safety without getting caught. And that's precisely what he did.

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-----That day passed by fairly fast. Orion didn't make as much progress as he would've liked. It was the first time that he tried real flying in a century. And real flying still wasn't possible in this mansion. Even despite its grand interior, it still wasn't enough for the male to really stretch his wings all the way and work them. But, thanks to his lighter weight (still not at all light, but lighter in comparison to most drakes his size), he was able to keep himself afloat for several wingbeats or more. Orion practiced by perching on the top walkway of the library and floating down to the bottom floor while flapping as much as he could. It was probably not enough, but it was all he had to go off of. He was still competent in the air, he just didn't have nearly enough space to fly in. Hopefully his instincts the adrenaline would ferry him along once he made it outside.

-----Orion had woken up early the next morning, mostly thanks to an annoying servant that was prodding his face with a broomstick to wake him prematurely. They always wake him early on gathering days. "Come on, now. Up. Get up. You know what to do." the servant barked, poking him quite hard. Orion sighed heavily, getting up to his feet and walking a little ways before turning back. He glanced at his room for the last time, taking note of all the things he grew up with. That giant bed was what he was going to miss most. He spend a majority of his time on it to sleep days away when he was too bored or miserable. Everything else in that place he couldn't care less about. Nothing but a bunch of old books scattered about the floor that he's read a million times over, a food dish that was empty this morning since he's expected to be downstairs in the lobby first thing, feathers and dander about the place, and a bunch of tiny baubles on shelves in the corners. None of those things he ever really paid any attention to. Good riddance to this place, he thought. If only he could bring that bed, though.

-----He walked downstairs and into the main lobby, already seeing it fully dressed up for the arrivals. Buffets were laid out on fancy tables studded with the most unnecessary, expensive, and insulting amount of decoration. This man sure loved to flaunt his wealth around. And all the food laid out always made Orion hungry and irritated. He watched Alphonse dust the numerous pots and antiques he had on display, and also spotted a good ten or so guards moving towards the basement. Though they were armed, they had no shackles or chains with them. He guessed they were heading down to retrieve Lehra and bring her out here. Alphonse would join their side soon enough, but the wizard himself didn't seem to be in a huge hurry.

-----Orion just stood there and briefly glanced at the door- and plan was refreshed in his mind. He just had to unlock the door after Lehra killed the guards, and then they'd hopefully be on their way. Orion was kind of hungry, though. He hoped his master wouldn't forget to have the servants feed him just because it was gathering day again. Well, no matter. Either way, he would be sorely unprepared for the actual escape. It's fine, though. So long as his new friend gets to escape back into the wild, that'll be fine enough for him.

[Bronzewing]

Lehra hadn't done anything as she waited there- she paced around the room for a good while before finally stopping, a while later just laying down and going to sleep. That would pass the time- besides, she was rather tired, and needed a good rest after all that. It was a deep, dreamless sleep- if she had even had a single thought in that time, she forgot it by the time she woke up. The room was dark with smoke, hampering her breath, but it was fine. She had gotten used to it during the time she was stuck in the one room.

The next day she woke up what she perceived to be early, looking up at the skylight to check just what the time was. It was dark, but the hints of the morning sun was coming up over the trees. A good sign. Soon she would be dragged out of there and called away- and then they would be enacting their plan before flying off. No worry or anxiety was in the dragon's mind- just a small smile taking over her face that she reminded herself to wipe once the men came in. This was it. A terrible situation and a great escape. She would be finally showing them that something could still outdo them.

She paced around, waiting. Soon they would come to get her...as their prized dragon, they wouldn't forget. This is when she realized how much she was at the mercy of the men, as the whole plan would be foiled if they just forgot to get the wizard's prize- logically they wouldn't, but she didn't even like the idea that it could happen. Pacing around more, this time closer to the door, she sat down and waited. Once they came she would have to return to acting like a scared dog, and that was...fine. For now.

She did hope she was able to be convincing enough for them to take their eyes off of her.

[sugarbird]

-----The guards proceeded downstairs without delay, leaving their wizard master to help dust. Orion waited near the basement stairs, about thirty or so feet away, watching for the guards to eventually return with the dragon. His tail didn't stop fidgeting out of impatience, but it was subtle enough to not draw any attention to himself. The master would most likely fail to notice any behavioral changes in him anyway, since he simply paid no attention to him anymore, but it was better to be safe and discreet about his excitement than sorry.

-----The guards moved rather quickly, passing through the dim corridors. They stopped before the doors to Lehra's chamber, all gathering themselves up to lift the bar with as much manpower as they had. With great struggle, they all managed to push up the bar from its rests. Six guards then positioned themselves adjacent to either side of the doors, three on each side, while the other four all worked together to pull open the doors and reveal the dragon inside. Even if they believed that 'Amber' was perfectly good and scared by now, they were still facing an entire dragon by themselves without the help of Alphonse. And thus, they remained very cautious.

-----"Master Alphonse summons you to the main lobby at once. We will escort you there." One of them commanded sternly, slamming down the butt of his lance down against the floor loudly to get her attention. The four guards then cautiously approached her in the room, keeping their distance while they crept towards Lehra's back. Once there, they prodded her back legs with their weapons to move her foreword, making sure not to do any real harm. They remained very wary of her venomous tail, but didn't let her intimidating capabilities stop them from performing their duties. It was incredibly difficult to pierce the hide of a scaled dragon anyway. "Come with us without any trouble, and we won't call the Master down to help."

-----Alphonse by now had dumped his dusting job onto another of his servants, and he waited near the staircase in excitement to help the guards escort the dragoness. Orion remained further away, partially turned to face the entrance they had to escape through. The guards looked particularly armored this time around. Even with the confidence Alphonse had that Lehra wouldn't try to escape, he still found a reason to have his entrance guards be prepared for something of the sort. This was going to be harder than he could ever imagine. Could Lehra kill them instantly like they had hoped for? These men wore near full suits of armor. He tried to comfort himself by thinking of just how powerful his partner really would be. She seemed scary enough. No doubt she must've been about as strong as she was intimidating, right?

[Bronzewing]

Once Lehra caught sight of the guards she narrowed her eyes- here they were. The plan was coming together, but first she had to deal with them...and she wondered if there would be enough of a reason for her to strike out at them. Maybe she would find an excuse to, but she couldn't stop herself from hoping one of them would be guarding the door. She really wanted to strike her tail through one of their chests, or maybe get the barbed point in one of them...but for now she just had to pretend she was scared out of her wits. The more convinced the humans were, the easier it would be.

She nodded, watching them creep towards her. She stood on all four legs with wings held closely to her sides, looking at them with a sharp gaze. She didn't move, only stared straight into their eyes, smoke coming out of her jaws. She stepped forward once they prodded her, lashing her tail around and hoping that maybe it would hit one of them. They were close to her legs, after all. However she didn't want to deal with the "Master" this early, and so she would listen to whatever they wanted her to do. Just for now. Soon...soon she would be out, and maybe a guard or two would be taken out. Without magic, she doubted they could do much to a dragon.

She looked at their suits of armor, sizing them up. They would be harder to damage, but if she could toss them around and get inside...maybe she could drive a claw through the slot for the eyes, since they did have to see somehow. Maybe they couldn't even see her too well- as long as they didn't have magic, she wasn't worried. Magic was the number one thing she was concerned about.

Letting the guards prod her further forward, she looked around the room. Somebody was dusting- she guessed they wanted it to look good for the guests. So they wouldn't hate her as much, she made sure to keep her scales from smoking up. There was no reason to get them upset at the mess she was making- who knew what smoke could damage? Maybe she could even set something on fire...but no, that was a terrible way to get out of here. She needed to be good, do whatever they wanted for the time being, until they could enact their plan.

Then she would be done with all this. Just seeing the dusting and preparations...it angered her deeply. None of this was clean to her- the dusting would only be moving dust from place to place! There was absolutely no use, and she hated what humans spent their time on. This was a waste.

[sugarbird]

-----The guards were too wary to get hurt by Lehra's tail when she lashed it, but it moved quick enough to at least sweep a few guards off their feet. They were angered at this and got back up quickly, but resisted their urges to poke her even harder just out of spite. They decided that perhaps doing that was only going to get them more tail-whips, so they instead just kept their lances pointed at her while the others waiting by the door joined the dragon's side. They steadily made their way up, and the guards immediately stopped Lehra before the wizard and lowered their heads. Alphonse smiled at the dragon, sighing with contentment at seeing her still act the same way she did before.

-----"Ahh.. this is going to be a big day for you, Amber. There's no need to be nervous." he began. "My family and associates will be here any minute now. I can't wait to see the look on their faces when they lay their eyes on you." Rubbing his hands together, he turned back to observe one of the many chefs come out through the set of doors leading to the kitchen, pushing a cart that held two very large platters. Orion's nose started to smell something absolutely wonderful. There was something really meaty underneath those two platter covers. They seemed to be dragon sized, too. He rose his head up, getting a whiff of whatever was inside them. His sense of smell had dulled somewhat over the years, but it was still pretty strong as a dragon's nose should be. And there was no mistaking what was under it.

-----"I figured that, instead of just keeping you in the open for everyone to see the moment they walk in, I could reveal you after Orion like a grand finale to a good show! And while you wait for that to happen, you can enjoy yourself a nice breakfast." The chef walked past Alphonse and headed straight for a dining room adjacent to the main lobby as if he knew immediately where to go. Orion was curious as to why there were two dragon platters there. Was he.. possibly going to eat too? Oh, how he hoped. His mouth was drooling just thinking about eating a good meal before he did his usual routine of show.

-----"Follow us if you'd please, my dear." Alphonse suddenly spotted his other dragon a bit closer than before, staring hopefully at the wizard while still showing submission. He just sighed. "Of course, boy. Come on, now." There would be an escape happening and he'd eat actual good food instead of the usual scraps from the kitchen in one day? Wow, this would be amazing, even if he'd die by the end of this. Orion perked up and followed behind the group into the private dining area, unable to hide his excitement this time around.

[Bronzewing]

Just sweeping the guards off their feet made a smile come over her face- at least only for a second. This was good entertainment, after all, although she still didn't want to show any outward hostility. That wouldn't help her case at all, of course, and she did need to escape from this horrible spot. She expected them to start poking harder, some sort of revenge, but it was a good sign when the sharper taps didn't come. They were intimidated, and maybe didn't want to slip up and get a venomous barb through their leg. She was more dangerous than any scorpion, of course.

She looked up at the wizard, holding her head back as if she was shying away from him. Let's see what they think once I break out of here. she thought, licking her lips in a nervous fashion- not anxiety about the gathering as the wizard probably expected. Oh no, this was anxiety about the escape that was soon to follow. Ah, she would love to see the face of the people at the party! Maybe they would even think it was part of the whole thing.

A grand finale- perfect. They wouldn't be looking at her, giving her an even better opportunity to slip away and get out of there. The guards wouldn't be able to do much- they wouldn't expect it after all, and definitely not her full rage and claws. They would probably let their guard down around what appeared to be the nervous, broken dragon- and then they lose their legs. Oh, she couldn't wait! The good smell of whatever they had prepared for breakfast entered her nose, but she didn't care much for it. She had better things to occupy her mind with.

She followed the others, looking at Orion- it felt weird seeing her conversation partner in the flesh after all those conversations through a door. Finally they would be seeing one another for real more often- and it felt great. Oh yes, it felt great. So did the food she smelled- she did need to eat something to power her flight for the escape. Turning to Orion, she gazed deeply into their eyes- it seemed a bit intimidating and hostile, but really she was trying to send him a hint the only way she knew how. Eat the food, you'll need it.