The days couldn't stretch any longer than they could ever appear to be. Each hour of the passing sun feels like a decade in the following days of Emeraldus' life. It has been no more than a casual routine of hunting, studying, checking on the eggs, and so on until dusk. All the while, the death of his mate is still weighing heavy upon Emeraldus' shoulders.
Looking through one of his spell books, he sighs. "Nothing new.. Nothing new," Emeraldus mumbles to himself as he flips from page to page. The new days have grown boring pretty fast, and now Emeraldus is left with a dry cycle of rinse and repeat. He has gone through his spell book collection 3 times today even, just to kill time. Ever since Midna's death, he had put his newest studies aside. It felt like all his motivation was murdered along with her. He can't even encourage himself to lift a pen.
Looking at another spell book volume for the third time, Emeraldus curls his lip with an agitated shake of the head. Snarling, he throws it into the blazing fireplace, just barely missing the cauldron set above it, where orange flames lick the pages black.
"It's not fair!" He roars, banging a fist against the study table. A container of ink sways, then falls spilling black liquid in a thin puddle, the feather quill having its bristles slowly caked in the mess.
"Of all the dragons it could have been," Emeraldus wrinkles his muzzle to expose his teeth. "It was my Midna.." He growls the words with an edge of pure venom. Nothing can describe the sheer hatred that now boils within Emeraldus' veins towards the human race. For being wounded so deeply and so cruelly.. he will never forgive them.
Turning his glance back to the cauldron holding his eggs safely in the heat of the fireplace, his anger waters down into sadness. His snarl becomes a frown and his furrowed brows droop. Another sigh is released from his lips. Wiping a sorrowful hand across his face, Emeraldus gets to his feet and departs from the desk. Walking over to the weathered window entrance, he collapses again, head hanging out in the outside air.
He stares at the ground several yards below, grasses swaying and insects buzzing in the daylight breeze.
Emeraldus just lies there, staring off into his head. If only he could bring Midna back. If only he had the magic to give her back the life she lost. If only he could undo the tragedy that befell them. If only...
The nearby woods are still quite the maze for Slim. In the following few days, he had been going in countless circles with his poor memory doing him problems. Every tree, shrub, and boulder looks the same. There are no particular landmarks that stick out to give Slim hints of where he is or where he's going. He pauses to sit down beneath an overhanging cluster of pine branches.
"Oh this is hopeless," He sighs wearily. "I'll never find a new place.."
The sullen thought returns once again, Slim is convinced he should give up. He's never meant to be out on his own. Alchemy dragons live in groups for a reason. They may still be tough on their own, but a majority of their existence depends on numbers. They need companionship.
Looking around at the surrounding brush, it is no different than it has been in the preceding days - birdsong twitters merrily and sunlight leaks through the branches from above. Bugs buzz on by nonchalantly and a soft summer breeze blows through, rustling loose foliage. Slim lies down on his side, his breath disturbing a spot of weeds in front of him as he sighs.
If only he could've been better. If only he didn't have such a bad memory. If only he could find a place where he belongs. If only...
The forest ambience is his only company in the passing minutes. As time ticks, Slim's eyelids eventually droop shut and he begins to doze. His mind is adrift in a light slumber as nature continues to sing its song - that is.. until it suddenly stops. Birdsong ceases and the insects all hide.
A twig snapping flashes open Slim's eyes and he quickly lifts his head in alert of his surroundings. Soon aware of the shift in ambience, Slim's heart sinks a tad. Is someone nearby?
"Hello..?" He speaks with a soft and reluctant voice, scanning the trees with his uneasy gaze. His dragon senses soon join in on the suspense - he can feel somebody approaching. "Hello..?" He repeats, now carefully rising to his feet.
A few seconds later, a voice behind him startles Slim and he flinches, flashing his gaze over his shoulder: "Hello Slim,"
He is slightly surprised to see a familiar face coming out from the shadows - it's Cigoura. The elder Alchemy approaches with his head and tail low, a scowl fixated on Slim's face. Dapples of sunlight bleed through onto the flickering silver and gold of his scales.
Slim's eyes widen that much more. "...Sir..?" He briefly scans his surroundings for any extra details of this sudden meet. "Wha, what brings you 'ere..?"
Cigoura stops a couple feet away from Slim and lifts his head. "It's a long story, but I've come looking for you. No surprise that it didn't take that long."
Is Cigoura coming to bring him back? Did he realize another possibility for Slim? ... Or did he think he didn't give Slim enough of an exile?
"Well, what is your beef with me... erm, Sir?" Slim doesn't even try to hide his nerves. At this point, he's got absolutely nothing to lose - just a poor lone Alchemy dragon in the wild woods exposed to endless danger at every possibility.
Cigoura's expression doesn't change. "I've been thinking.. things have definitely changed since you left, and so quickly." He sits down where he is. "Mind sharing your experiences thus far?"
"Ya.. you just wanna chat?" Slim asks, still keeping a wary and discomforted glance on the elder Alchemy. "That's it?" Subconsciously, his feet shuffle a tad backwards in an attempt to create distance.
"For now, yes," Cigoura admits with a small hint of a sneer curling his lip. "And especially since you're still alive. Did any Sorcerants give you trouble?"
Slim looks away at the ground. "Not really.. well, except for one.. but he let me go."
Cigoura lifts a brow in reaction to hearing this outcome. "Did he?" But his surprise is quickly followed by a humored chuckle. "I don't suppose he thought you weren't worth the trouble anyway, huh?"
Slim shuffles his forelegs, a bit unsure how to take that. He can't exactly tell if Cigoura meant it as an insult or a joke, but his general presence is giving Slim a sort of eerie vibe. He can't quite decipher what it could be that's giving him such feelings, but in the back of his mind it prowls. It is apparent that something isn't quite right. Seemingly taking notice of Slim's uneasiness, Cigoura speaks again, except with a more sympathetic, underlying tone. "What is the matter? Think I'm going to bite your tail off?
"Why are you here, man?" Slim immediately replies with his anxiety now at the forefront. With it, he seems to forget how to properly address Cigoura in an instant as well. "I thought you didn't want the likes of me anymore. Did the alpha send you?"
A huff of breath escapes Cigoura's sneer curling his lip a bit further, but with no other additives to tell what caused it - amusement? Anger? Dismissal?
"And if she did?" Was his reply.
Slim's attention is quickly taken off the elder Alchemy by more supernatural sensory. His senses now detect more dragons closing in. He takes his eyes off Cigoura to look around himself once more. Still, the surrounding brush is no different than before, except now it seems even quieter. The thought that something isn't right grows stronger and Slim's brows begin to sweat.
"Listen, Slim," Cigoura's voice snaps him back to the convo. "If you want this to be quick, you'll cooperate. If you do not want to talk, that's fine. It isn't the most important part anyway."
Slim turns wide eyes towards his former leader, a rock feeling like it had just dropped into his stomach. "Important part..?"
As if to try to ease his rapidly rising nerves, Cigoura proceeds with his gentler tone. "Oh I wouldn't worry. It's not like I plan to kill you," He breaks eye contact on that ending statement, looking to his left at an angle, to appear less threatening. "Nah, even I wouldn't dare to do that. I mean, if I did, I would've done it by now."
Slim utters a pathetic, "Uh..." from his discomforted frown in response, but Cigoura proceeds before he can speak another word.
"Then why am I here?" Cigoura says, now rising to his feet. "Oh it's simple. I just want a little something from you. That's all." His sneer now mellows into a somewhat genuine smile - again, probably to appear less threatening, but of course, this doesn't convince Slim in the slightest. It is then now that the other approaching dragons show themselves - it is the rest of his former ring. They come closer only to stop just mere inches away from the clearing he and Cigoura stand, eyeing Slim with rather neutral expressions.
"Erm, ma.. Sir..?" Slim manages to choke out from his ever rising panic. "I don't think I like this... What is it that you're wanting from me?"
Cigoura's smile finally disappears. "Cowardly as ever, not willing to cooperate - as always, aren't you, Slim?" He then narrows his eyes giving the trembling, slinky male an unfriendly gaze. It seems now that he drops his gentle facade, much to Slim's dismay.
In reaction, Slim takes a few more uncomfortable shuffles backward. "Look man, I don't want any trouble here, okay?" He speaks while looking at the fellow Alchemies just standing where they are. "... Is... is this gonna hurt?"
Cigoura's next reply makes Slim's blood freeze in his veins, "Not as much as it would if you struggled."
At that moment, Slim's muscles all lock into place and his mind seizes up with fear. But didn't he say they weren't planning to kill him? What exactly could they want from him anyway, and in the case that it may hurt him?
"Alright troops," Cigoura begins, now taking a couple steps towards Slim. "Let's get this over with."
Loud cries of distress ring over the atmosphere, breaking through the calm air of the forest.
Emeraldus lifts his head as soon as his ears pick up on this sudden noise. He had been lying where he is during the last few moments, not stirring an inch. Looking in the direction he heard it, a flurry of startled crows scatter into the air from afar. Hearing it again, it comes as no surprise to Emeraldus to identify it as the cries of an Alchemy dragon. He sags his brows in an unamused expression, and turns his gaze away to sigh quietly to himself. Given how close this is to that one encounter he had with that Alchemy the other day, it is probably the exact same guy.
Emeraldus rises to his feet. Might as well see what's going on - not like the big, green dragon had anything better to do on such a miserable day. At this point, watching a dragon or two fight over some random nonsense sounds quite entertaining, actually.
He doesn't travel far before he spots the commotion taking place in a small clearing spot below. The thick trees surrounding the scene easily hide Emeraldus as he comes to land nearby. Coming even closer, whilst keeping low amongst the green foliage for camouflage, he can hear that at least two dragons are involved in this tussle.
The snarling, swiping, and screeching grow ever louder before Emeraldus soon gets close enough to see what's going on.
Pinned to the ground, wailing and flailing his claws, is Slim as Cigoura proceeds to tear at his scales and wings. A foot keeps one of the wings unraveled from his head and exposed to injury. There is no exchange of dialogue during this - only violence and panic.
Emeraldus is rather taken by surprise, his eyes widening slightly, now actually seeing the fight for himself. Aren't Alchemy dragons supposed to be respectful and valued of their kind? Could perhaps what that one Alchemy said be true? Was he really kicked out for his involvement with the humans?
Cigoura is deterred a bit by Slim's struggling, but he doesn't give up on what he had set out to do. As he had promised, he is not after Slim's life, instead he had planned to tear him up enough for some supposed "proof" of his death. What better proof than samplings of said victim? Slim isn't going to return anyway, and especially not after this. At best, he hopes the worthless Alchemy runs far away - never to be seen again.
Cigoura manages to tear pieces of membrane off of Slim's wings and peelings of scales, all the while the slinky male shrieks to the high heavens in pain. Blood quickly begins to dapple the dirt and stringy grass underfoot as the wet tearing of flesh under sharp teeth and claws continues. Slim's desperate flailing seems to only worsen the wounds, causing Cigoura to rip off crudely-cut pieces of him - and sometimes even more than intended. For a moment, Cigoura has a sense of dread. He hopes that no other Alchemy rings are close enough to hear the cries of distress.
Emeraldus finds this to be excessively cruel, even for his standards. As far as he knows, he has no idea what the deal could be - whether the attacking Alchemy is aiming to torture the other to death or not, this is going a bit too far. Even though he may regret it, it could at least allow the poor Alchemy an opportunity to escape. He emerges from his hiding spot.
Biting down on Slim's tail, while using his body weight to hold him down, Cigoura's back is turned to Emeraldus at first. Swinging his head side to side, he tries to fracture a piece of the spinal column in order to cause the tip of his tail to come off as a final sampling.
Slim is now gasping, tears streaming down his cheeks. His voice now strained from all the screaming, he is practically out of breath. He can't even shriek at the sight of a Sorcerant approaching. It isn't until one of the ring members exclaims that the torture finally ceases.
"Sir!! Sorcerant alert!!" He sounds the alarm over the ruckus with a bit of his own panic, soon joined by few others.
Immediately upon hearing the word, Cigoura stops and swings his concerned gaze around. He sees Emeraldus after looking over his shoulder, and almost instinctively gets off of Slim. Now free, the miserable Alchemy wheezes for breath and feebly paws at the ground in an attempt to drag himself away from the scene.
Without giving the Alchemies a chance to begin the conversation, Emeraldus questions them with a rather stern gaze. "What's going on here?" He growls.
Cigoura's concern is further driven by this Sorcerant's identity - it is none other than Midna's mate! Upon being asked, however, Cigoura tries not to show his fear. "...What's it to you, Sorcerant?" Is his first reply after a moment's pause, eyes narrowed. His ring members gather behind him, prepared for a fight if it were to come.
"I think it's simple," Emeraldus says glancing at Slim and back. "What has he done to deserve harsh punishment from you? The humans, I assume?" He doesn't hesitate to get down to the point and confront them for what he had been told.
Cigoura's brows lift a bit in rather amazed realization. "Ah! I take it you were the Sorcerant that knocked him around previously?"
Emeraldus nods. "Not as much as you seem to be. I thought Alchemy dragons valued their kind."
Cigoura exchanges a glance with a few of his troops standing behind him. They look almost as shocked as he is. Slim was confronted by Midna's mate and survived in one piece? Why is that? Perhaps he was lucky enough to convince the Sorcerant that it was the humans' fault? Nothing else at the time seems reasonable - especially since the Sorcerant asked about it.
"Well, not this one, clearly," Cigoura finally says, nodding towards Slim. "I don't know if I'd even call him an Alchemy."
Turning his head, Slim finally has a proper gaze on Emeraldus' face. The two make eye contact and it is obvious that the poor Alchemy is suffering - even by his own kind. His body shudders with breath under all the pain of his torn skin and his eyes appear glazed. Silently, his look of sheer misery seems to say, "help me.."
Emeraldus turns back to Cigoura and the ring. "Then leave him alone. What is your business with him if he is no longer one of you?"
In response, Cigoura repeats himself to Emeraldus, "I didn't plan to kill him, if that is what you are thinking. It was simply the alpha's orders to find him in the first place," He then ends with a slight lie to hopefully seal the deal with Slim running far away. "And to at least bring back a piece of him to serve as an example of what could happen to others who dare to behave the same way."
Cigoura's sneer burns into Slim's back as more warm tears slip down his cheeks. He sniffles and heaves a mournful sigh.
Emeraldus' frown deepens. As much as he doesn't favor standing up for an Alchemy dragon - the notorious rivals of the Sorcerant race, even they don't deserve this much cruelty. This particular Alchemy dragon is certainly an interesting picture, to be hated this much and to be so... not like an Alchemy. The slinky male is probably gonna die anyway with his wounds. A predator wouldn't ignore such an opportunity for easy prey. Even if he did manage to heal himself, it probably wouldn't be long before he's beaten up again.
"Then I say you got what you came for," Emeraldus tells Cigoura. "Now collect your prize and get out of here."
Further mumbling ripples amongst the ring as Cigoura curls his lip a tad in irritability.
"I think we should go, Sir," One says to the leader. "Leave him to the Sorcerant. He's probably gonna die anyway." This is followed by many agreements and added thoughts. Over half of the ring votes to leave, to which Cigoura complies.
"Alright, fine." He then comes over with a couple troops to gather up samples of flesh from the ground. Upon returning to their spot, the rest of the ring turns to prowl away into the distant woods. Cigoura brings up the rear. He is just moments away from entering the forest shadows, when suddenly.. something snaps!
In the blink of an eye, Cigoura is swept off his feet in a flurry of flying grass. He yelps, dropping his samplings of flesh, as he is suspended in mid air within the bindings of a hunter's net. This catches everybody by surprise and the ring freezes in their tracks.
"What the..!?" Cigoura exclaims as he immediately tries to fight at the net, spitting curses.
"Humans!!" One Alchemy is quick to shout, soon followed by another.
Emeraldus snaps a hostile snarl in the direction of where his mighty dragon senses detect movement in the distant undergrowth. Almost immediately, firebreath rises in his throat.
"Well don't just stand there, you fools! Get me down!" Cigoura hisses. The ring immediately follows, climbing the tree to the branch which the net is suspended over.
"Hu.. humans..??" Slim is able to choke out of his suffering state, eyes taken with fear.
Emeraldus' anger easily returns at the notice of nearby humans approaching, but remembering Slim, he stops his snarling. The Alchemy ring will be fine. They've got their numbers. Leaving the scene sounds like a better plan. Emeraldus can punish the humans later, it's not like they're going to disappear anytime soon. He grumbles to himself before grabbing Slim by the scruff. Opening his wings, he takes to the sky just as a dart comes zipping through the air to hit its target.