꧁ The Last Hope HBD IC (semi open- PM ME!) ꧂

「」Nikita「」

The concerned woman hurried over, having missed... quite a bit. She didn't see just how the student had died, only the rock that Neha had brought along and she only knew that there was, in fact, a dead student.

Byx looked close to collapsing so Nikita headed to him first, picking up his cane as she came rushing over. "Come along now. One of you best run on down to Ilia, take over guiding the kiddos exploring. It's a horrible thing but we need to make sure our living lot is okay. Yes?" Hardly waiting for an answer, she set the cane in Byx's hand.

"Girls, you best head up to the rings. Get the student somewhere safe, we can burn their body later. No point in hiding too much, they know that they're in the right place. They don't know about the student, so let's keep it that way." Nikita continued talking to the dragons, keeping a firm expression and tone, making sure she kept things together. There was more than one important person here, and as horrible as it is, no use panicking over a child who could no longer do anything. The rest had to be kept safe.

Kyrena grumbled, the flames sprouting along her spine flaring brighter and Nikita shook her head, looking at Neha instead. "You be sensible now, hmm? And Byx, you take Raymond and head along down to get Ilia while I find a way to let them in but keep them contained. Otherwise, you need to be here, and be prepared to sort them out. Until Ilia gets the students situated back in their dorms, we can keep whoever is tryin to sneak in here at the stables, the infirmary, or maybe even let Kyrena stick him in one of the unoccupied alcoves, where he won't be able to escape unless humans can now sprout wings. Does that sound better for everyone?"

❖ Byxem Arros • Neha

Byx watched as Raymond heaved the student's body on Neha's back, wiping away tears. They could mourn all they wanted later. They nodded glumly as Raymond said they needed to get out of there. They wanted to respond, say someting, but they just felt numb.

My first death, whispered a tiny, horrible little voice in their head, making their stomach twist. They shouldn't think like that. Byx nearly collapsed into Nikita when she rushed over, feeling a swarm of adoration and relief at the sight of her. "Thank you," they mumbled, taking hold of their cane and steadying themself. Their head felt fuzzy. "Right, right... Always right, Nikita, always right..."

Byxem nodded, their eyes distant. Focus, Byx, focus! They gritted their teeth and shook their head, putting on a more determined expression. Gripping their cane tightly, they turned to Raymond. "If you'll accompany me, I'll take care of the children," they said. Before Raymond could answer, they glanced down at their bloodied hands and clothes, cursing theirself silently. Pathetic and overly dramatic, as always. They clicked their tongue, and Halvor perked up, tail thumping against the ground as he tilted his head at his master. "Halvor, fetch rag," Byx said, loudly and clearly. The dog jumped up, tongue lolling out of his mouth and sprinted off in the direction of the dorms.

Hopefully he finds a rag. And doesn't chew it up.

Neha puffed her chest out, clattering her spiked tail against a few stray stones. She turned, nudging Kyrena with her snout. Now that she no longer had to worry about being seen, she'd much rather fly and hold the child with her talons than have them on her back. Mind taking the kid, Kyrena? crackled Neha, titling her spiked head to the body. Frankly, she didn't want to risk them sliding off and causing any more damage. Swinging her head back around, she eyed the carriage at the gate. Oh, if only Nikita wasn't so serious! She'd love nothing more than to tear off the roof and snap up the trespassers. She let out a hiss, clawed wings digging into the soil.

۝ Ilia || Kyrena ۝

"If everyone's ready, we'll head on down." Ilia said, somewhat to herself as she double checked everyone. Good enough. Turning away from the classes, she moved onto the small platform that connected the stairs to the classes and waited for them to file out, closing the door behind them.

"When we're down there, please don't be foolish. If you are sprinting around and jumping from island to island and happen to fall, then it's up to you to get out. It's not terribly deep but the island sides are very difficult to hold onto." Apparently there were small holds, dug into the stone from where many riders have pulled themselves out, but Ilia hadn't managed to find them. At least the first time she fell in and poor Byx had to eventually haul her out prevented any more slips. Then again, they hardly sparred. Maybe if they did try there'd be more slipping but for now, Ilia was glad to stay dry.

Upon reaching the ground, Ilia stepped aside to let everyone get off the stairs. "There are sharp and rusty swords around here - don't try use them. You will someday but certainly not today. I am very aware it's foolish of myself to leave them around, but decades of them being in place has lead to some simply melding to the stone. Kyrena was working on melting them but the constant waterfall makes that difficult." Ilia knew she was getting distracted, rambling as she worried over what could be happening on the grass above them. "Anyway. Take a look around, you have quite some time."

~-~-~-~-~

Kyrena grumbled acknowledgment, carefully sliding her jaws around the child's body, setting it back to the ground. Once Ilia is here, I'll join you. She rumbled, eyes sliding to Nikita and soon the carriage. Perhaps she ought to accompany Byx, it'd get Ilia here faster... but Nikita couldn't be left to deal with a possibly dangerous person alone.

Speaking of....

「」 Nikita 「」

Checking that Byx was stable, she brushed her hands down the apron secured around her. "Off you go loves, I'll get this sorted. I'm sure Kyrena will gladly keep whoever it is in line." Giving Byx a quick checkover and brushing the non-existent dirt off of his shoulder, she strode towards the small box that contained the pulley to open the gates.

Kyrena huffed softly, brushing her head against Neha's side before following the determined house keeper, flame falling over her back now shut away. Hidden underneath the scales the flame that was fed by her constant heat threatened to spill out again but Kyrena had more important things to focus on and it was easy enough keeping the heat locked away.
For now, at least.

miles away, where the student was pushed

◈ Aesira ◈

A figure cloaked in black slides off the back of a large grey mare, clutching the reins in their hands as they follow a trail of blood.
Seconds pass before an exclamation, "Fuck! Fuck, I was too- Arhg!" The mare dances away and their attitude shifts instantly, consoling the animal after the outburst. "I was too late. Damnit." They hissed bitterly. Of course they were too late. The King, suspicious of the woman leaving had pushed back the time of her departure and not even the mare could catch up to the carriage already miles ahead. Her gaze followed the 'landslide', noting the clawed points. Those had to be Neha's prints, Kyrena had a much larger build. Good thing she had studied the tracks the pair of wyverns left.

A click and the mare followed along, standing in place as Sira pulled herself into the saddle. The horse was heaving, clearly out of breath, and Sira cursed again. She couldn't push the animal any more. Hopefully Ilia and Byx could sort it out.

❖ Byxem Arros • Neha

The headmaster took a moment to take their bloodied coat off, folding it over their arm, stains down. With a grateful nod to Nikita, they began walking to the caverns. Ilia and the students were still in the caverns, right? They remembered they were in a rush, and picked up the pace, using their cane to aid them in going faster, pushing off of it. "Find Ilia, get to Ilia, don't cause a panic," they murmured to themself, over and over again. Their grip on their cane tightened, knuckles turning white below the swiftly drying crimson.

A booming bark alerted Byx, and they jumped, their heart twisting, glancing over their shoulder. They let out a sigh of relief as Halvor bounded up alongside them, a slobber-soaked handkerchief dangling from his jaws. "Good boy," Byx cooed, taking the piece of cloth from the Elkhound. Wiping their hands, they finally felt clean again. Well, sort of. The red still remained under their nails, but they'd have to fix that once they returned to their dorm. "Thank you, Hally," they said, running the dog's ear, to which he let out a joyful bark and bumped into Byx's leg.

Finally, the reached the entrance to the caverns, and walked to the wall of bells. They squinted their eyes, running a bony finger under each word, before stepping back, a baffled look on their face.

"I have no idea what floor they're on." They glanced back at Raymond. "Should we just ring all the bells?"

--

She let out a soft crackling coo, looking down sadly at the student, before tilting her spiked head at Kyrena, nodding. I'll see you then. Stay safe, sister. As Kyrena nudged her side with her head, Neha lifted her tail to brush against Kyrena's own flaming tail, making sure her spikes were flat. Neha unfurled her wings, lifting herself into the air with one flap, and gently grabbed the body of the student. She lifted her head to the sky, pumping her wings and soaring over the heads of the humans. She caught a current and lifted into the sky, pulling her legs closer in to her body, as she soared towards the rings.

She flew past the lower ring, rather settling for the first one. She always felt more at ease when she was higher up; she was able to see more from the first ring, and it gave her a sense of power that all wyverns crave. She touched down, setting the body beside the waterfall, and landing beside it. She couldn't stand to look at it anymore. It made her feel guilty, and she hated feeling guilty, but she stood beside it anyways. She needed to fend off any creatures that might want to feed on it.

Sure enough, crows had already discovered her, and we're beginning to circle her. She flared up at them, rattling her spines in warning, but they didn't care. They never heeded her warnings. She hissed as a couple landed, trying to peck at the student, but a crack of her tail sent them spiraling back up into the sky. Eventually, Neha tired of chasing them off, so she just laid down over the body, using her wings to cover it. The crows crowded around her, just begging to be eaten. She nearly caught one in her jaws, but another one swooped at her eyes before she could get it, leaving her with a mouthful of tail feathers (which she promptly sneezed out).

She let out a rumbling sigh, curling her head on her leg, covering her snout with her wing. She was so tired.