In the World of Dragons [Conclusion]

Rose glanced back as well, though not for long. "Damn thing got what was coming to it," she growled.

dragondancer
Rio shook her head as she kept looking back, "It's a tree, Rose. It wasn't the most intelligent thing...but it was still a living thing."

Rose Dark Thorn
"It took you from me, and it nearly caused the thing in my head to kill you. I don't care if it was the creator of the entire damned world," Rose replied with another irate growl.

dragondancer
Rio sighed, "It was still a living creature..."

She couldn't understand how Rose could toss such minor things at her when the tree must have been centuries old. It must have known a great deal. "...What do you think Rayne will do when she finds out the tree is busted?"

Rose Dark Thorn
"You are a living creature too, Rio, and you meant a million times more to me than any stupid million year old tree could, especially since it was the damn reason you could have been killed!" Rose replied in a snappy kind of tone. "As for Rayne? Who knows. She'll probably shrug and walk away at this point."

[dragondancer] The dragonian frowned, "Do you really think so? Maybe she knew it would happen...or..."

[Rose] "I don't know for sure. I can only go on how she's been acting lately, and in all honesty, she hasn't really cared about this legend for quite a while, so I doubt she'd care about some old tree," Rose replied as she landed on her feet. "If you need to eat, you'd better get back to the cottage and get something quick. "I'm not going anywhere near the damn thing."

[dragondancer] Rio nodded for a moment before turning to look at the cottage with a sigh, "Rose...do you think Rayne will wonder what happened to you if you don't show up?"

[Rose] "The msot she'll wonder is if I managed to get myself killed, and if the world will end because of it," Rose told the dragonian flatly. "She doesn't care about much else these days."

[dragondancer] Rio sighed, "I hope you're wrong about her, Rose. She has to have some sort of other feelings..."

She quickly made her way towards the cottage and slipped into the kitchen without anyone noticing her.

[Rose] Rose rolled her eyes, saying nothing more as the dragonian slipped off. She sat where she was, which was far away enough from the cottage that it wouldn't sap her energy. She was so tired of legends. Rayne had insisted on finishing it up until now, and for her to just give up? It made Rose feel like all of the pain and suffering they'd gone through was for nothing. It wasn't a nice feeling. In fact, it sucked.

The dragoness shook her head, growling to herself in annoyance as she awaited Rio's return. She'd really had enough of the youwarkee's moodswings.

[dragondancer] Rio quickly filled a sac with some food and turned around, just in time to run right into Rayne. "Oh!" Rio looked at the bag and then at the youwarkee bashfully for a moment before she watched her step aside.

"Get moving, Rio," Rayne smiled faintly, "I'm waiting on you to get this legend over and done with. Don't let Rose out of your sight."

[Rose] The dragoness had taken to watching the clouds pass by as she waiting for Rio to come back with whatever she was taking with her. After all, the tree had destroyed the bag of food Rio had taken before, so she had to get more. That was likely why the dragonian was taking so long.

[dragondancer] The dragonian nodded. So that was why Rayne was so laid back all of a sudden. She had to do something. With that in mind, she quickly turned about to find Rose again. ...But what was she suppose to do?

[Rose] Rose felt her coming back slowly, and she could hear the foot falls on the ground where she laid with her eyes closed. She was tired of legends now. Rayne didn't seem interested in telling her how to finish it, so what was the damn point? What was more, wasn't this legend supposed to get rid of Damon?

[dragondancer] Rio came up to find the dragoness on the ground with her eyes closed. She stared down at Rose for a moment in indecision. "Rayne says she's waiting for me to finish the legend."

[Rose] Rose opened her eyes at the sound of Rio's voice, blinking in confusion at what she said. "But...what are you supposed to do?"

[dragondancer] Rio shrugged, "I don't think she can tell me. From what I understand...I'm the only one that can help you from here on out. I guess that explains her lack of interest in the legend now..."

[Rose] Rose sighed heavily. "Too bad we don't know what to do, isn't it?"

[dragondancer] Rio shrugged, "If Rayne thinks that we can figure it out on our own, then we'll just have to take her at her word."

[Rose] Rose waved her hand dismissively, giving off a half laugh. "Whatever you say."

[dragondancer] They wandered through the forest for a while before they came to a rather familiar clearing. Rio looked at Rose curiously, "This looks familiar to you...were you here when this battle happened?"

The remains of the battle were still prominent in the large clearing, even after so many years.

[Rose] Rose furrowed her brows for a moment. She felt a pulse in the back of her mind, and she closed her eyes. "It feels familiar, but...I can't quite place it."

The dragoness had flashes of armies and a dark figure...laughing, herself and Rayne. "Probably..." She opened her eyes and looked around before cringing. "The battlefield where we defeated my father." She said it as if she was digusted.

[dragondancer] Rio looked at Rose in surprise, "Really!? Fighting your own father...that must be so difficult..."

[Rose] Rose shook her head and walked away from the place soon after. She'd rather not think back on such things. "He raped my mother, killed her when I was five, and wanted to use me as a weapon."

[dragondancer] The look on Rio's face was enough to make the dragoness laugh. The dragonian's expressions were always entertaining!

[Rose] "I'm sure you could agree that your family might've been a bit more loving than mine," Rose said as she glanced back at her. "A friend of mine practically raised me at five years old, he only a few years older than me."

[dragondancer] The dragonian shook her head and sighed, "At least you had each other then. It would have been even worse if you were all alone..."

[Rose] "I was for a while, while I watched, telepathically, what my father did to my mother," Rose commented lowly, shaking such thoughts away as best as she could.

[dragondancer] Rio looked at Rose curiously, "How do you know all of that and not all of the stuff in between? Wouldn't something trigger some of your memories?"

[Rose] Rose arched a brow. "What do you mean? The tree gave me back all of my memories."

[dragondancer] Rio looked at Rose in disbelief, "Really!? Then...what's going on? Why isn't this over and done with? What else needs to be done?!"

[Rose] Rose crossed her arms, looking up into the sky for a moment. "Did you forget about Damon? Rayne said we were supposed to get rid of him in some ritual...and that I have to choose between Talia and Vannolyn..."

[dragondancer] The dragonian growled a little, more to herself than anything, "But that's so unfair!"

[Rose] Rose dropped her head, her eyes closed as she sighed heavily. "I know who's less stressful..."

[dragondancer] Looking at Rose curiously for a moment, she cocked her head to the side, "...Who?"

[Rose] "Vannolyn," Rose replied with a hollow sort of voice. "Talia's too possessive, too insecure, too demanding. She smothers me, she wears me down. Vann, even if he doesn't like my choices, he understands, and he doesn't complain..."

[dragondancer] Rio grinned, "He's been around you longer from what I gather. Since around the time you and Rayne met. Or that's what it comes off as." She paused for a moment in thought before looking about curiously, "You realize that Vannolyn hasn't been around more or less since we came to the cottage? Do you think he used to live around here too?"

[Rose] Rose shrugged. "All I know is that he had lost his home as a child to orcs, and his family was separated. He only has two brothers left in the world, and they could very well be dead."

[dragondancer] The dragonian sighed sadly at that, "That's just terrible."

She paused after a moment to look at the sun, "How long have we been gone, do you think?"

[Rose] Rose glanced up at the sky before shrugging once more. "A few hours? Not like it matters too much."

The dragoness pushed underbrush out of the way as she walked down another path. "None of it really matters until this damn legend is over with."

[dragondancer] The dragonian sighed and shook her head. "What if we just ignore the entire thing, Rose? I don't think Rayne will come after us."

[Rose] Rose glanced at Rio with a blank face. "Then you'll have to stand by me every moment each night, if you expect me to ever sleep again."

[dragondancer] The dragonian looked at Rose for a moment in silence. "...Nightmares?"

[Rose] "Damon," Rose said. "He takes over when I'm asleep."

[dragondancer] The look on the dragonian's face was unreadable for a moment. "...Damon..."

Shaking her head she set the bag down for a moment with a tired sigh, "Do you want to get rid of him?"

[Rose] Rose stopped and turned over to the dragonian, her hands on her hips. "What, you think I want to keep him?"

[dragondancer] Rio shrugged, "It's not my decision, Rose. I don't want to push anything on you...."

She sat down next to the bag and closed her eyes. "I think Rayne knows that I can get rid of Damon somehow."

[Rose] "Obviously, or she wouldn't have left us alone to gallavant across this island for however long," Rose replied as she sat down where she stood. "And no, Rio, I really would rather not keep a bloodlusting demon in my head to kill whoever whenever I'm not in control."

[dragondancer] Rio sighed for a moment before opening her eyes. "Then I guess we'd better find a place to hole up in while I try to get rid of him for you."

[Rose] Rose stood up without a word and scanned the area. "But where would be a good place for something like that?"

[dragondancer] The dragonian shrugged, tired from all the excitement of the day. "...Do you know anywhere around here that just might have something far enough away from people just in case?"

[Rose] Rose arched a brow, shrugging her shoulders as she walked further down the path. "I think you need to rest first, but I guess we'll eventually come across something..." The dragoness remembered a cave...the one where Vannolyn had decided to tell his life story to her at...the night of that storm.

[dragondancer] Rio glanced at Rose curiously for a moment. She could sense something in the dragoness's emotions that made her wonder if she all ready knew where they would be headed.

[Rose] Rose pushed more underbrush out of her way, holding it in place as she waited for Rio to pass her before releasing it. The path was like a red carpet rolled out in her memory, as if she knew exactly where she was going. However, at the same time, she was barely thinking, and it was almost as if she had no idea where she was.

[dragondancer] The dragonian spotted the cave moments before the sun slipped out of sight. It's darkened maw glittered red as if it had just devoured some hapless soul just before they arrived.

[Rose] Rose looked at it as if in a trance for a moment before glancing at Rio. "Vannolyn tried to 'romance' me here by telling me about his past. Odd way to do it, if you ask me, but I don't think he was very experienced at the time."

[dragondancer] Grinning at Rose for a moment, Rio nodded before walking right up to it and carefully taking a look inside. "There doesn't seem to be anyone or anything living in here."

[Rose] The dragoness followed Rio silently, walking in soon after, glancing about carefully. "It seems to be enchanted somehow."

[dragondancer] The dragonian sighed, "It doesn't feel dangerous, so at least we might be safe here from whatever dangers might live in this forest...." she yawned as she sat the bag down again.

[Rose] "Get some rest, Rio. As long as you're near me, I don't think Damon can stir," Rose replied as she settled down beside the dragonian.

[dragondancer] It was only a matter of moments before the dragonian had curled up in her dragonic form to sleep. Her front claws laced over the mouth of the bag and her talons curled under her chin. If anything, she looked picturesque with how she settled down in the dimming lights of dusk.

[Rose] Rose smiled slightly, closing her eyes as she slumped against the wall. Maybe if she slept in an uncomfortable position, she'd wake up easily, should anything go wrong...

[dragondancer] Rio stretched languidly for a moment before shaking herself off and looking about. A fine layer of dew had settled over everything--herself included. Spreading her wings for a moment, the dragonian ruffled her leather wings and shook off what she could of the dew.

Glancing about, she spotted Rose sleeping in the most odd fashion not too far from her. It looked like she'd been propped up on the side of the cave and gotten stuck there.

The dragonian pulled out an apple from the bag as she shifted back to her more human form and sat down again, waiting for Rose to awaken.

[Rose] Throbbing aches had overtaken the dragoness' soaked body as she woke up, groaning in distaste. "Ow," she growled before looking about for Rio. "Why are we dreanched?"

[dragondancer] "Morning dew," smiled Rio with a shrug, "I guess this area is a little damp in the mornings. That might explain why no one has taken up residence here."

[Rose] "Hm," Rose responded before attempting to move, instantly regretting it. She cursed under her breath, squeezing her eyes shut tight.

[dragondancer] "A little stiff?" inquired Rio as she came over to help the dragoness, "You shouldn't have slept like you did."

[Rose] "I didn't want to take any chances of not waking up iff trouble arose," Rose replied through gritted teeth.

[dragondancer] "That doesn't give you reason to hurt yourself over it!" scolded Rio as she helped the dragoness to lie down, "Now get some real rest. We can find somewhere better once you aren't so stiff."

[Rose] "Hn..." Rose replied gruffly. "Not like I knew I'd be stiff in the morning."

[dragondancer] The dragonian chuckled a little at that. "If you stay in an uncomfortable position for too long, it happens. But enough of that, relax. I'm going to stay right here until you get better."

Rio sat down decisively and munched on her apple.

[Rose] "Hm," Rose mumbled before crossing her arms. "A good massage would work just as well...It'll take days otherwise."

[dragondancer] "I've never given one of those," said Rio between bites, "What is it?"

[Rose] Rose arched her brows at Rio. "You know...it's...you loosen up the muscles in the tense places with your hands and stuff..."

[dragondancer] Giving Rose a puzzled look, she scooted over to her and helped her to sit up. "But if you're as stiff as you seem to be, wouldn't it hurt you?"

[Rose] "Yes, but in the end, it would help," Rose said through gritted teeth once more. "Vannolyn was quite good at it, if I remember correctly."

[dragondancer] The dragonian tenderly touched the dragoness's back, wondering just how hard she was suppose to push on the muscles.

[Rose] "I'll tell you if you're doing it too hard," Rose told her with a sigh. "Maybe you'll become just as good as that dark elf is."

[dragondancer] It wasn't long before Rio's arms began to ache, but she could tell that what she'd been doing had done something for the dragoness. If anything, it had to have made Rose a little more comfortable.

She sat back and wrung her hands carefully, "Gods," she mumbled, "I didn't realize my hands would hurt so much from doing this!"

[Rose] "Yeah, it takes a lot out of you if you're not used to using your arms a whole lot," Rose said with a much more content sigh.

[dragondancer] The dragonian looked about for a moment it was nearly noon and the dew had dried up. There wasn't much for drinks around this area...and she'd forgotten to pack such things as well. "I wonder if there's a river nearby..." she mused.

[Rose] "I can't remember," Rose said as she got to her feet with much less trouble. "Let's go and see."

[dragondancer] Rio let Rose take the bag this time as she follwed her out of the cave and into the bright sunlight. Shaking off what was left of the dew from her wings, she folded them carefully behind her and looked about carefully, "It really doesn't look like there's a river nearby."

[Rose] "Not really. It's a little too rocky and hard. Then again, I could be wrong. I suppose we'll just have to explore a bit," Rose said as she winced a bit. Her muscles were still sore, but at least she could move them.

[dragondancer] They wandered for a while in silence, Rio looking about curiously at everything around them. She'd never seen half the strange wildlife that poked out here or their on their wanderings.

[Rose] "Don't touch anything," Rose said, eyeing the dragonian carefully. "We don't want another Rayne incident."

[dragondancer] The dragonian looked at Rose curiously, "I'm not going to touch anything poisonous, Rose. I've just never seen all these strange creatures before. Like that one up there!"

She pointed right above them, the dragoness' eyes coming up to see a strange orange monkey with a large white whiskered face and an extra long tail. "What is that?" Rio spoke with half awe as she continued down the trail.

[Rose] Rose blinked a few times, shrugging herself as she moved on. "Strange animals aren't really our concern right now. Looks like some sort of monkey though."

[dragondancer] The dragoness shrugged, "But they're so interesting! And they aren't even afraid of us like the animals on the mainland. Don't you wonder why?"

[Rose] "Because they like to steal food off of people like us, that's why," Rose said as she swung one of the things off the pack.

[dragondancer] "Does that really matter?" inquired Rio before shrieking in surprise as a small mouse-like creature landed on her shoulder.

[Rose] "Do you want to starve?" Rose inquired. "I don't think you brought all of this for the animals. If you did, I'll drop it off ehre and let them go at it, because I certainly don't see the point in carrying this if you don't care."

[dragondancer] Rio giggled uncontrollably as the mouse-creature skittered about her shoulders and down her back, "Hey!" she cried out, squirming as she tried to catch the little imp, "That tickles!"

[Rose] Rose rolled her eyes and sighed. She really wasn't in the mood for this.

[dragondancer] The dragonian managed to capture the little mouse and she quickly set it on the ground before turning to look at the dragoness, "I really do like these little creatures, Rose. They're so cute!"

[Rose] "If you say so," Rose replied before continuing on, saying nothing more.

[dragondancer] The dragonian sighed as she followed after the dragoness, "Tell me what's bothering you, Rose. I can't quite tell. I know these little creatures are annoying you, but there's something else, isn't there?"

[Rose] "I just want to get this whole damn thing over with so I can go back to living my life they way I should be living it," Rose replied haughtily. "And no, I don't mean without you in it."

[dragondancer] The dragonian sighed as stopped and stretched, "I hear water...do you?"

[Rose] "Good, it means we can stop and rest. My legs are killing me," Rose sighed as she followed the sound.

[dragondancer] The lake was beautiful. Rio was quickly to run splashing through the shallows ahead of the dragoness.

[Rose] Rose watched her quietly. It reminded her of when they had first met. It was exactly like that time. The only difference was that there was, hopefully, no monsters in the lake that would fancy eating the dragonian.

[dragondancer] Rio splashed about for a while before turning back to Rose and sending a wave at the dragoness, "Come on, Rose!" she called, "Come out and play!"

[Rose] Rose couldn't help but be amused as she laid down hte bag and started walking over. It was very much like the first time they had met. "Deja vu, huh?"

[dragondancer] The dragonian stuck her tongue out, "So what? Come on! Let's play! We can find a place to rest later!"

[Rose] Rose rolled her eyes, giving in soon after, sending a wave Rio's way.

[dragondancer] The dragonian shreiked with laughter as she tumbled backwards, falling on her rump, soaking wet.

[Rose] Rose chuckled softly as she watched the dragonian. She was still much like a child. It was a little unbelievable, after all they'd been through.

[dragondancer] Shaking out her hair, she used her wings to send a spray of water at the dragoness before scrambling up to her feet to race away.

[Rose] Rose laughed a little louder before bumbling throguh the water after the silly girl. "You haven't changed one bit, Rio!"

[dragondancer] "Neither have you!" answered Rio over her shoulder before suddenly disappearing under the water with a garbled gasp.

She came up again, choking, "There's..." she gasped as she swam back towards Rose, "A steep drop!"

[Rose] Rose arched her brows. "You alright? You nearly drowned yourself." She came closer to inspect her friend.

[dragondancer] The dragonian shook herself off a bit and took a few breaths, "I'm...I'm okay, really..." she huffed, "Just a little startled."

[Rose] "If you say so," Rose said as she peered over to the spot where Rio nearly drowned. "I wonder what's down there."

[dragondancer] The dragonian shrugged, a little displeased as she coughed up a bit more water, "I would have preferred to know about the entrance sooner...but what's inside? I can't sense anything, so it mustn't be too dangerous in there..."

[Rose] "Hm..." Rose dove in then to take a deeper look. It appeared to lead to some sort of cavern, and when she came up for breath, she looked at Rio, dripping. "I think it's some sort of underwater cavern."

[dragondancer] "Do you want me to find out for sure?" inquired Rio, feeling almost as good as before now, "My dragon form was built for the water, so I can get there without as much trouble as you might..."

[Rose] "If you think it's better, then sure, go ahead," Rose replied. "Just be careful."

[dragondancer] The dragonian nodded, "I can swim circles around whatever's there, I'm sure of it!" she dove under the water without a ripple before Rose could think better on it.

The tunnel was quite large and roots from the trees above made such a thing look sort of hairy or jagged. She paused for a moment outside it's maw to look up at Rose before slipping through the watery entrance without qualm.

It twisted to the right once and then to the left again, finally rising until the water broke over her head and she looked about in surprise, taking a deep breath as she did.

Glittering crystals that gave off a rather ethereal glow surrounded her in a sporadic formation. There was a sandy beach which led up to some stone stairs. Stalagmite and stalagmites were nearly touching in this cave...or rather, entry to wherever she was.

Slowly pulling herself out of the water, she shifted back to her more human-like form and slowly made her way up the stairs. They slowly spiraled their way up to a beautiful hall. There were no other doors and the windows were too small to actually get through, but she could see out of them well enough. Wherever she was, she had a beautiful view of the ocean on one side and somewhat never-ending forest on the other.

The tiny windows blurred together as she backed away from them, giving the entire walls a look as if they weren't really there. She backed up enough to where she fell into a chair at the far end of the room. She cried otu in surprise when she felt something else in the chair.

Jumping up and turning about, she stared in complete horror at the white bones of some poor character. A scepter in one hand and a crown resting askew on its head, it looked like a terrible sort of king...or queen.

[Rose] Rose crossed her arms as she waited above for Rio to return and tell her what she had found. She couldn't help but wonder what was taking so long though. How big could the place be, anyway?

[dragondancer] Rio shot down the stairs and through the tunnel faster than she'd gone in, too excited to tell Rose everything she found to be cautious. She nearly bumped her head on the roof of the cavernous tunnel as she popped out, splattering water droplets all over the place.

[Rose] Rose was a little more than surprised when Rio suddenly shot up out of the water, knocking the dragoness back with the large wave. She came up sputtering before she gave Rio the sort of look that meant, "Was that neccessary?"

[dragondancer] "You'll never believe it!" Rio chattered, "Come on! There's a huge room in there! A view of the entire island and a skeleton with a crown...but I don't think it's just as skeleton, Rose...I think it's a queen or a king or something!"

She pulled Rose to her feet, dragging her towards the tunnel as she spoke.

[Rose] Rose's brows arched in utter shock before she was dragged underwater. She barely had time to even think before they were up on the other side. Rio was dragging her up the stairs so fast, the dragoness nearly tripped.

[dragondancer] They scrambled into the room and Rio scampered up to the skeleton with awe, "Look! Look! See, Rose?"

[Rose] The dragoness surveyed the place quietly for a moment. "I wonder what happened here...and why a kinf or queen would have been left here to die."

[dragondancer] Rio searched behind the throne for a moment before raising something from the floor with a grunt, "Look..." she huffed as she rested the heavy slab on the back of the chair, "at this!"

[Rose] Rose followed her over to see another secret passage under a large...square stone. "Hm.." she frowned as she took a closer look. "I wonder where this leads..."

[dragondancer] The dragonian shrugged, "Care to find out?"

[Rose] Rose shrugged herself before they walked down the stairs. It was a treasury, filled with gold, silver, and jewels. "Geez, whoever was here was rich."

[dragondancer] "Wow!" Rio looked about, trying on various instruments made of gold. She raised an odd pair of golden underwear and looked at Rose curiously, "How would someone wear these?"

[Rose] Rose frowned in the most comical of ways. "Um..."

[dragondancer] Rio tossed them aside carelessly as she rummaged through the rest, "Gods, it looks like they wanted everything in gold! There's a pet dog in gold back here!"

[Rose] Rose shook her head. "You know, this isn't what we're out here all alone for, Rio."

[dragondancer] The dragonian nodded, "I know, but if you don't explore, how are you going to find a place where we can rest without interuption? Unless you think this is good?"

[Rose] Rose looked around for a moment and nodded. "I suppose this would be good enough..."

[dragondancer] "It's got a wonderful view too!" grinned Rio as she started her way up the stairs, "I'd call it serene if it weren't for dreary royal bones up here."

[Rose] Rose chuckled a little, before sitting down after a moment. "Well...I guess all that really matters is that's secluded and most likely long forgotten."

[dragondancer] Rio sat down on the marble floor and sighed, "It's a shame there isn't a bed."

[Rose] "You want royal bones' chair?" Rose inquired with an amused grin.

[dragondancer] "I think I'd prefer not to," answered Rio as she eyed the skeleton, "I think that he or she died from something unsettling."

[Rose] "How lovely...You can read a skeleton's feelings too?" Rose muttered, shaking her head.

[dragondancer] "No..." Rio sighed, "Just the writing on the ceiling."

[Rose] "Oh, there was writing? I never noticed it. What did it say?" Rose asked as she leaned back against the gold.

[dragondancer] "Rest in Peace, King Midas. Your death will be seen through the frozen eyes of your daughter."

[Rose] "Ohhh..." Rose said. "There's a story about King Midas, you know. He was so greedy, he wished for the power to turn everything he touched to gold..."

[dragondancer] The dragonian nodded sadly, "And ended up turing his own daughter into gold. It's so sad. But if that's King Midas in that chair, where's his daughter?"

[Rose] Rose glanced back down toward the treasury. "Maybe she's down there."

[dragondancer] The dragonian shivered, "That's a horrible place for a princess to be kept. Even if she's solid gold!"

[Rose] "It's pretty sad, I'll give her that," Rose said softly with a sigh. "There's nothing we can do about it though."

[dragondancer] "That's a shame," sighed Rio as she stood up, "But anyway, I suppose we ought to get to work if we're going to get rid of this demon and everything. I haven't a clue how we're suppose to do it...but Rayne said I'd know how, so I suppose it must be a sort of innate thing or what have you."

[Rose] Rose shook her head, almost laughing. "It's funny how we're about to do something we don't even know how to do..."

[dragondancer] The dragonian shrugged, "I've done a lot of that since I met you, Rose." She traced her fingers in the dust on the floor for a moment, "I think it's a good thing to do new things...even if you don't know if you can do them or not."

[Rose] "I'm just saying it's pretty hard to do something when you don't even know where to start," Rose said as she leaned against the wall.

[dragondancer] The dragonian shrugged, "I didn't know I could make him go away at will like I did at that tree...what says I won't somehow know how to get rid of him? I think you have to be closer to me though to do anything..."

[Rose] Rose moved over to her as if on commend, sitting in front of her now. "You were pulling me into consciousness is all."

[dragondancer] The dragonian shrugged, "There has to be something to it that will make him leave....permenantly."

[Rose] "I guess we'll find out now, huh? Is there anything else I should do?" Rose asked the dragonian.

[dragondancer] Rio shrugged, "I don't know, but probably relaxing and trying to clear your mind might help. I've never done this before."

[Rose] "Okay..." Rose said, chuckling slightly. "Not sure how well that's going to go though..."

[dragondancer] For a while, Rio was silent as she concentrated, focusing all her known emphatic powers towards Rose, searching out whatever held the demon to the dragoness. There had to be someway to get rid of him. There had to be...

[Rose] Rose had closed her eyes and rested herself against the pillar, trying to keep as relaxed as possible. Not thinking was a little more challenging.

[dragondancer] For a moment, nothing happened, and then Rio felt a pull...sort of like something catching her and reeling her in. She gasped in surprise as she everything about her vanished in darkness.

[Rose] Rose's concentration was nearly broken when she heard Rio back, and something inside her leaped. There was always that little place inside her that snapped when she thought a friend was in danger...

[dragondancer] The dragonian looked about carefully, looking at the darkness like it was an actual thing rather than not. "Get out of here," Rio could have sworn she spoke it, but the words echoed as if done telepathically.

[Rose] There was a chuckle echoed around Rio when she said that. "You don't belong here, little one. Perhaps you should get out."

[dragondancer] The dragonian folded her arms before her and frowned, "You don't belong here either. This isn't yours!"

[Rose] "I was born here. If anyone belongs here, it's me. Who are you to tell me I shouldn't stay where I came into existence?"

[dragondancer] The dragonian could feel a pull of uncertainty, but she shrugged it off, "You don't want to leave? Fine. I'll make you leave."

[Rose] "What makes you think you can force me to leave, hm?"

[dragondancer] Rio stopped for a moment, how could she? Well...she'd find a way! "I'm not backing down!" she said, forcing herself to keep her resolve, "I'll pull you out of her if I have to!"

[Rose] He chuckled once more. "Try it."

[dragondancer] She focused on a part of the darkness and reached her hand out, grabbing it and yanking. The displeased growl from his voice made for certain she'd gotten the right thing.

[Rose] A shoot of pain went through Rio's arm, and cracks of electricity could be heard.

[dragondancer] "That wasn't nice," she growled as she took hold of the darkness again and pulled harder, straining this time as she heard a definite rip.

[Rose] A loud clap of electricity sounded in Rio's ears. "If you try to take me with you, I'll kill you first."

[dragondancer] The dragonian ignored the threat, pulling with all her might, slowly backing up as she went.

[Rose] The elcetricity burst forth, surrounding Rio as she moved.

[dragondancer] Rio grunted under the strain as she turned to see where she was going. She was almost out.

[Rose] The next thing Rio knew, she was hit by the electricity.

[dragondancer] Straining to keep going the dragonian closed her eyes. She was going to take this demon out if it was the last thing she did!

[Rose] The power increased in strength as Damon growled. "This is MY domain!"

[dragondancer] "Not anymore!" answered Rio as she finally felt herself come back into her body. She gave one final tug, hearing the snap as if whatever kept him there had been severed.

[Rose] Rose flinched, letting out a cry of utter shock as she was pulled back to reality with a strange...sort of slap. She blinked a few times as she stared blankly at Rio.

[dragondancer] Rio was slumped in a pile before her. There was no sign of her even breathing.

[Rose] Rose crawled over to her, worry overtaking her as she pulled the dragonian into her arms. "...Rio?"

[dragondancer] There was no response as the dragonian's face remained as pale as ash.

[Rose] The dragoness felt numb. She felt as if all of the life had been sucked out of her. Her mind couldn't even register thought as she looked upon Rio's stilled form. Her flesh was too pale. Her lips were dark...She wasn't breathing.

Rose's body started to shake and she screamed out in a frenzy of sudden rage. This legend...it was going to kill Rio? No...NO!

[dragondancer] The hall was silent as the grave.

[Rose] The dragoness took in a deep breath as her eyes widened in a daze. She was staring at nothing as her body heated, electricitypopping across her skin. Gods....if she couldn't calm down....she would literally self-destruct. Her arms tightened their hold upon Rio's still body.

[dragondancer] The dragoness gripped the still form so tightly that Rio's body trembled as if convulsing.

[Rose] Rose didn't even seem to notice as her body continued as if it would catch fire. She's self-destructed once...if it happened now...there would be no one to bring her back.

[dragondancer] Rio gasped, her lungs burning feircely as her back arched in the sheer pain. Oh, Gods! What was happening?!

[Rose] Rose's grasp loosened as she started to convulse, shivering uncontrollably.

[dragondancer] Coughing as she curled up in a ball, begging whatever was happening to stop. Gods, it felt terrible. She felt so...so weak. Ever inch of her body was snapping and tingling in a manner closest to hitting a funny bone, but all over her body!

[Rose] The static within th room only seemed to grow worse while the dragoness' breath grew shallow. A red light over took her body, and she cried out in what seemed like utter agony.

[dragondancer] Rio's hand came up to Rose's cheek, weakly brushing against it, "R-rose...? she managed painfully.

[Rose] Her eyes snapped open, her breath ragged. She choked, but she could hardly say a thing. "De-de...ad..." She doubled over, tears leaking from her eyes. "De-de...str...uct."

[dragondancer] Rio whispered up to her, "Is he gone..."

Her hand caught hold of Rose's and a strange peace settled over the dragoness so quickly that it startled her.

[Rose] The dragoness collapsed against the stone floor, panting heavily and shuddering. She pulled Rio as close to her as she could, nearly wanting to cry. Gods...she'd almost lost her. She'd almost lost Rio...

[dragondancer] "Rose..." gasped the dragonian weakly, "I...I can't breath!"

[Rose] Rose pulled back, shivering uncontrollably as she curled up, shutting her eyes tightly. Gods...she would have died...

[dragondancer] Rio curled up as best she could, facing Rose, not wanting to let the dragoness out of arm's reach as she felt her eyelids flutter close. Gods, she was so tired...

[Rose] "I was going to self-destruct," Rose said in a shuddering voice not too long after. "You weren't breathing. You were pale, you were cold..." She was staring out blankly in front of her.

[dragondancer] "I'm here, Rose," murmured Rio quietly, "Everything's fine now."

[Rose] Rose cralwed over to her, collapsing where she sat and closing her eyes tightly. "I'm not going to let this stupid legend kill you."

[dragondancer] The dragonian yawned as she stretched slightly, "Not dieing, Rose...just..." she yawned, "...tired..."

She dozed off right then and there.

[Rose] The dragoness didn't sleep for quite a long while more. She was uneasy, and shuddering. She didn't even know what would happen now. All she knew was that she wanted it to end; this legend had to end.

[dragondancer] Rio awoke several hours later, still weak from her experience and she slowly managed to sit up. Rose was wrapped about her as she slept, but the dragonian was more concerned with where Damon had ended up. What had happened to the demon?

[Rose] Rose's sleep had been less that comfortable, and a lot less than pleasant. Nightmares plagued her even now that Rio was up, and she whimpered slightly. A darkening laugh echoed in her ears and she shivered.

[dragondancer] The dragonian looked about cautiously there was nothing different about their surroundings. Where was Damon?