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

❖ Byxem Arros

Byxem laughed bashfully, standing up to make their way to the coffee. Sweet, delicious, nectar of the gods. They could hardly wait to taste that horrible but wonderful bitterness.

"I, er, did not, unfortunately," they said with a smile, leaning against the table, cupping their coffee in both hands, and taking an occasional sip. They shrugged slightly, staring down into the swirling darkness of the liquid, reminding them fondly of the clouds right before a great storm. "You know I don't sleep well, and it didn't help that Neha was awake as well." They took a deeper sip of their drink, smiling at the reassuring bitterness of it as they took their seat once more, watching Nikita hurry into the kitchen once more. When she returned, she brought the mouth-watering scent of toasted bread. Their stomach whined in protest.

Byx sighed heavily, leaning on the table with their elbows, running a hand through their hair. "Yes, something simple to get them started," they said hesitantly. They were thinking of immediately quizzing them on their knowledge of what they knew of what was going on and what they were getting in. Byx gulped and nervously chuckled, tapping their long fingers on the table.

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ϟ Neha

The storm wyvern crackled joyfully in response to the sound of Kyrena's roar, staring up happily as her fiery companion swooped toward her. She let out an undignified squawk as Kyrena swiped at her snout, and Neha let out a playful roar, snapping at the retreating talons. She lowered herself to the ground, wiggled her haunches, and pushed off the ground with a mighty beat of her wings and a thundering roar. She curved upwards towards Kyrena, angling her wings to rise behind her.

As Kyrena wheeled around and soared away, Neha screamed joyfully, swooping after her. With little effort, she beat her massive wings and swiftly caught up to the fire wyvern. Grinning smugly, she rose up and over her companion, folding her wings as she rolled to the other side. She whipped her tail, sending a resounding crack through the air, and she screeched again.

A challenge to a race.

She roared, dropping her jaw and smiling in glee, much like an over-excited dog. She almost always won, but she loved the challenge and the thrill of the race. The rising and the diving, the free-falling and rolling as she dodged obstacles and soared through the sky filled her with such unbridled joy. Byx would love to be here right now, she thought to herself, feeling slightly guilty, before shoving it away.

If you want, I could give you a head-start, she crackled jokingly over the whistling wind, clipping Kyrena's wingtip with her own.

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꧁ Ilia Farra || Kyrena ꧂

Kyrena watched the younger wyvern play in the sky, rolling over above her body. The challenge of a race echoed through the sky and Neha clipped her wing with a snarky crackle.

The fire wyvern sent a blast of flame at Neha's face, a gleeful roar of acceptance and a call to race to the waterfall start before she spun away, arcing up into the sky and turning towards the rings.

Now flying against the wind, her wings dipped and shuddered at the speed, tilting from side to side to catch the currents that helped keep her aloft. Neha was fast, the race would almost certainly be won by her, but Kyrena wasn't bothered. Afterall, she almost always won in the playfights. That always worried Ilia, concern for wounds being opened or reopened but she wouldn't stop them. Couldn't, truly.

Warmth building in her chest disrupted Kyrena's wandering mind and a stream of fire glared into the sky, into the mist and fog surrounding the tops of the mountains, before she dived through it.

Fog swallowed the wyvern, leaving only a dark imprint in the mist as she made her way towards the top of the mountain. This, the unknown area before her, dark shapes rising before the wyvern, bursting from the cover and into the open sky.... that had to be her favourite part of being airborne.

Part of a mountain loomed up ahead and Kyrena gave a low screech, a rising sound accompanied by a harsh smack of wings and talons scraping against rock as she just escaped around the side.

Far below, Ilia nodded in silent approval as one by one the group decided they would stay. Soon enough, she had called for the few students outside to join them.

Nikita had already started serving food and Ilia joined Byx at the table, the students choosing their own places around the table.

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༺ Ida ༻

@Aybis <3

Someone was walking around outside, quiet and hesitant steps. Ida glanced around the door to the barn, bow clutched in one hand. She'd just returned from scouting around the area, looking for any unsavoury people before Ilia wanted to talk with them.

But it was just a student. She sighed almost silently and set the bow aside, picking up the saddle once more to move it back onto the racks made to store equipment. The student pushed at the door, apparently exploring, and their gaze flitted over the pale Northerner half shadowed. The barn was warm and light, large windows and doors open, but after everything, Ida was one to keep towards the darker patches.

"Shouldn't you be in the hall? Or in the dorms?" She asked, stepping back to Aesira to slide the bit out of her mouth and halter off of her face. "As far as I know, students shouldn't be lurking around school grounds without someone having at least a vague idea of where they are. Kyrena and Neha get snappish sometimes." Ida added on, voice monotone without a hint of whether she was joking or otherwise. A useful skill, learned in the cold palace of her own home.

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ϟ Neha

Screeching joyfully, she dove as the jet of flame beelined for her snout, narrowly missing it. She spun in the air, pumping and tilting her wings as she shot back up, swooping after Kyrena. She began to climb in the air, soaring higher and higher, and the sound of Kyrena's roar and burst of flame was far below her. The clouds enveloped her up here, droplets of ice clinging to her scales, filling her with energy.

She gave one more mighty flap, before curling her whole body downwards, tucking her legs and wings as close as she could to her body. She rocketed down, farther and faster, breaking through the clouds once more. She hurtled towards Kyrena, spreading her wings ever so slightly and to catch the wind, turning her dive into an angled swoop. The wind below her filled her wings, and she let out a triumphant scream as she darted past the fire wyvern, shooting her wings out fully and giving a mighty flap, soaring over a crag that jutted out.

The rush of adrenaline that courses through her veins was enough to give a grown man a stroke, and yet, she felt more alive than she ever could down there on the ground.