The R.o.a.d. I {W}alk >Open<

[Shadow]

'Suzume...' The word was meant to be a protest to her, one last attempt to protect her from the fate that now faced him, but he couldn't find the strength to enforce it, the thought quiet, drowned out by the argument that she was throwing in a last hope against the commander. It was only then that he realized just how much he felt the same about her. They had been through so much... And to do this to them... It was like attempting to cast a rift down a concrete block. There was nothing to separate, it couldn't be done.

DharSii weakly attempted to push the bow away from Suzume with his muzzle. She couldn't fight back... No, she had to live... She had to get away. He knew it was impossible, for both of them, but the part of him that still protected Suzume wanted to try. The next words didn't make him pull away, but he flinched, resistance against her pulling the bow up disappearing. Bastard! Even though the word wasn't meant for him, he still felt the venom in the power behind it. Who was he to argue with that?

The dragon's gaze rose slightly to the commander, to see his reaction.

The commander seemed to be unfazed, almost seeming to grow more from the word. A smile graced his face again, and he spoke quietly, "I only try to rid the world of what should never have existed in the first place. Surely you can't deny me that. It's only the dragon's tricks that keep you from seeing the truth. Don't let misguided love for this beast make you blind. Accept the offer, you will be better for it."

A growl started up again from the Nightfury and he pulled away from Suzume, moving between her and the commander. He slowly made his way around the fountain, his teeth bared as he inched closer to the commander.

"Look at him!" The commander sneered, pointing at DharSii, "Look at what a terribly dangerous race they are. They poison us with their words and slaughter us when we are least paying attention." The commander took a step back, his hand on his sword. The archers on the roof drew back their arrows. "This is what I seek to rid the world of. Abominations like this lizard."

With that, the Nightfury leaped forward, taking two large jumps and then, as the commander quickly back-stepped and tripped over onto his back, landed on top of him, pushing him down with his forepaws. Instantly, arrows let loose from their bows, and no fewer than six arrows found marks along the dragon's back and wings.

DharSii roared, pain erupting through his body. In wild desperation, he clawed at the commander's face, tearing a large gash across it from one side to the other as the commanders own hand, gloved, punched the dragon in the side of his own muzzle, dazing and forcing the dragon to move slightly away, a few steps back. A strangled cry left the black dragon's throat as he dropped to the ground as well, his claws slipping on the stone floor as his dizziness and the pain from the arrows brought him down.

He wasn't done yet, but his blood started to trickle down his sides, the torn parts of the thin membrane that made up his wings and the tough scales that the arrows punched through on his back starting to show off for the wounds they were. His scales had stopped the arrows on his back from penetrating too far, but it still hurt, and had broke through the skin under the scale.

He roared a moment later in defiance of all those around him, his eyes traveling over each of them quickly to finally rest on the commander.

~

He moved forward again, ignoring his wounds, his eyes and mind focused solely on the cause of all his hurt. The commander had drawn both swords, his hands crossing over as he did so. Back on his feet, he had taken a fighting stance, no longer bandying words. The archers drew their second arrows, but hesitated as the Nightfury lunged forward again, not wanting to hit the commander.

The commander brought up both blades, going into a spin, attempting to cut along DharSii's underbelly as the dragon rose in the air. The Nightfury was having none of it. The dragon turned in mid air, dodging the blades as they scissored under him, his tail coming around to hit the man in his midsection, throwing him to the ground with an audible slam once again.

The dragon's gaze snapped up to the archers above him, letting lose their arrows in a tight volley. He raised his maw and let loose the sonic fire that his race was known for, charged from the flight over, the blast enveloping and disintegrating the projectiles as the flame made contact with them.

Quickly, the dragon's gaze swept back to the commander, who was almost up once again, his sword raised as he attempted to get at the Nightfury before he gave his attention to him again. That hope was dashed as the dragon lurched forward, knocking the man back to the ground again. DharSii padded slowly forward, looking the part of the predator he really was. His eyes held only malice. Loathing for the one who had threatened the one he adored more than anyone else in the world and hatred for the man who insulted his own race, declaring them as nothing more than lizards that were 'refused to be collected'.

The commander was bewildered by being thrown so much, his eyes were wild as he shouted, "ARCHERS!!! FIRE!!!" His voice cracked, the tone wild and crazed. He knew what was coming toward him, he knew what would happen if someone didn't put a stop to it. The man's face leaked blood, three large slashes disfiguring a majority of the right part of his face.

The Nightfury took no more time in jumping back onto the man again. With a loud clank, he threw the man back into the ground, making him drop both swords with the shock of the shove. A second later brought the dragon's claw back again, slamming it against the left side of his face this time.

One might have even have felt sorry for the commander as the dragon didn't stop. The man's yells, quickly silenced as his head collided with the ground several times, bringing on a concussion, showed just what agony the dragon was making him face. Both sides of the commander's face were torn, and with a final slam, the dragon could feel the man's skull crack beneath his claw.

Trained to do just what his race specialized in...killing.

~

The Nightfury backed away from the man, not quite believing what was left of the man. The commander had been cruel...but... His gaze shifted to his claws, soaked with blood and the flesh rent by them.

This couldn't be real... It had been such a nice day... Such a beautiful song...

---

Six men stepped out from the room the commander had been in previously, armed much more heavily than any of the men in the fort. Full plate armor, specialized weapons, seeming custom built. They weren't of the army... Two moved forward and closed the chest, carrying it off to one side as one came forward with a spiked, reinforced metal net. The other three took places around the dragon, drawing their various blades.

"Business as usual." The man with the net uttered quietly, his face covered by a helm.

DharSii's eyes quickly surveyed the men around him and then back at where he had left Suzume. His mind reached out, tentative at what she had to have witnessed and what was about to happen to him, 'Suzume...'

The man with the net let it loose. Heavily it fell on the dragon, weighing him down to the floor, spikes tearing into his scales and wings. His gaze was fixed back at Suzume, unable to move. 'Suzume...'

[{{Roxï-kun-+]

I wanna start a revolution
A type of personal solution

Suzume was shocked to see her words seemed to make the commander smile, leaving her as another course of amusement. He spoke quietly, almost as gently as the pink haired female usually did without noticing. But his speech was too dark to pull off the tone, making it sound false in her ears. She shook her head, hair tie slipping from her hair until it fell to the ground a moment later. The nightfury moved away from her as he began to growl and her slender hand stayed in place. Ink scales ran under her hand until there was nothing but air as her partner moved towards the man. "Dangerous? You need to take a look around. Not far from here is a lake tinted red with human's blood and who knows what else. Humans are causing all of this suffering and you tell me that my partner is to blame?" she asked as he put his hand to the hilt of his sword. She notched the arrow, not really knowing if she could hit him. Yes, if DharSii needed her to. Suzume wouldn't just leave her dragon alone like that. "You're the abomination." she said quietly before a lash of action happened. DharSii leapt forward and landed on the commander, whose lungs whooshed with lost air. Arrows flew and struck her partner's wings and back. Her grey-green hues widened in both fear and worry as the obsidian dragon roared, dropping her bow and arrow before running towards them. A guard caught her, easily using her weaknesses against her and ending up holding her arms twisted behind her back. The flute player struggled before going limp in the man's arms, watching the violence occur. Blood splashed onto the stone, never to really be truly clean again. The smell hit her strongly and she gagged at the metallic tint it had to it. No matter how many times she had killed, she would never get used to the smell of blood and death. A large dash appeared on the commander's face, instantly crippling the man for life, if it didn't bleed out. Scarlet liquid also came from DharSii, arrows sticking madly out of his wings and back as if this was fake and pieces of arrows had been glued on. A glazed effect suddenly came over the nightfury before he charged forward again, once more at the now dual wielding commander. Suzume let out a cry, trying to pull away from the man as he silently held her in place. It had no words. Finally the man put his gloved hand over her eyes, blocking the reality out into the simple black fabric. Tears wet the glove quickly as she heard the noises of battle and she hoped that she could see. But at the same time she didn't want to see the killing machine that her partner had been trained to turn into to. The sound of flames and bowstrings met her ears, though the female couldn't make much sense of it. The twenty one year old heard someone yell something, though through her haze she couldn't make out the words. It wasn't until she heard the sickening sounds of a head hitting the stone beneath her feet did she really snap out of it. It finished with a loud crack and she cried out, not knowing who had just lost their life. Then, silence. The woman shuddered, going limp as tears continued to wet the fabric in front of her eyes. The scent of death already was spreading through the area, sunshine ignored. This wasn't a day for death. It had been a beautiful day that was now tainted with sticky scarlet. She only jolted when she heard DharSii call for her. She began to struggle again, the guard slowly removing his hand. The stick of death gagged her and the first thing she saw was the mutilated body of a man. It's face had been ripped to shreds of muscle and flesh, blood continuing to pump outwards into a puddle of blood surrounding the cracked head. Another call came to her and she turned to the source, seeing DharSii. He looked frightened, as if he had gotten out of control, and bloody flesh stuck to his claws. He was under a barbed net and she stumbled away from the guard as he released her, no need to hold her any longer because his leader was dead. "Stop! Let him go!" Suzume yelled, stopping at the man who had thrown the net. She raised a hand and weakly hit him on his armored arm as if it would make a difference. She had stopped crying, though her eyes were rimmed with red. Why was she so helpless?

Let the freedom

begin

[/center][/font]

[Shadow]

So lost he had been in the fight for his life, that he hadn't bothered to defend the one he had originally fought the commander for. He was glad that she was released...but it was just another weight to hold on his heart, and he was already weighed down as it was. With his wounds and with the net....and with the death that still rang powerfully on his mind.

He wanted to fight for the woman running toward him, he wanted to push off the net, but it hurt to move, and it wasn't just from the arrows. The net dug into his already injured wings, the pain a dull burn every time he attempted to so much as change his position.

The man gazed down at woman beating at his armor. A smile grew on his face. Perhaps one chance for her dragon to redeem himself? The man had seen the dragon kill the fool who had signed the deal with them. That alone condemned the dragon to death. But the difference between the hunter and the commander was that the warrior was honorable. The dragon had successfully earned them back their gold, and in doing so paid for his own life. And he had seen how much the woman adored her dragon. He couldn't understand it, but that didn't mean he didn't respect it. Even without weapons or strength she stood up to him, defending her dragon with nothing more than her will.

The armored knight gently pushed the woman away, stepping toward the trapped dragon. "I will give your dragon one chance. That is all I can spare him, I'm afraid. He is a dragon, and the deal was made." The man took a breath, considering what he was about to say, doubting it momentarily before finally deciding to give the dragon a chance, "If he can free himself from the net, he is free to leave. We will hunt him no longer."

The dragon heard the words, but he wasn't sure he had heard them right. He was being let go? He pushed against the net and his resolve faded again. His strength was draining... And the barbs hurt... He laid back down momentarily, trying to draw the strength to do it all in one sudden burst, although he knew it would be harder than that. The net was far too big to be shoved off in one movement.

[{{Roxï-kun-+]

I wanna start a revolution
A type of personal solution

Suzume blinked as she was carefully pushed at and she looked up at the man, salt tracks on her face clear in the sunlight. She breathed out of her mouth slightly, gently taking breaths as though it would hurt to take in a large amount of air. She looked over at DharSii, fighting the urge to try to beat the man. He had armor and she only her simple rider's outfit. His armor was metal and hers only leather. There wasn't a way to harm the man past a simple punch or slap, though it would be pointless to do either at this point. He had others with him -- men who we turn against her and DharSii in a moments notice. But what of the other Hunters? The Rider looked around her for a moment, deciding that while some others might be like them, trapped in this organization, most of them wouldn't blink an eye at helping kill the two. Finally her gaze settled on her dragon, not knowing what to do. Suzume knew that he wouldn't be able to break away from that net. DharSii was very strong, but at this point he was probably weakened by his torn wings and lost blood. That and the net was barbed deeply, the only thing keeping her from running to his side and tearing at the net herself. An idea dawned on her after a moment and her jaw set itself. Suzume turned to the man, face determined even though her eyes were threatening to revolt and leak tears again. "Take me in his place. Tell them or whoever you need to hand this dragon over to that I'm an old dragon capable of shifting." she spoke carefully, not looking at DharSii. Shifting dragons were prized above all others, able to hide within plain sight for as long as they needed. Most were old, the gene of being able to shift generally diluted in dragon's blood before they were unable to shift any longer. The price of a shifting dragon went up even further if it was female. "Or, if that won't work, I can draw dragons to me. I have a blessed flute, capable to call to dragons as long as I'm playing it." Suzume swallowed thickly as she said this, continuing to look the man in the eye. The female couldn't just leave her dragon to die, no matter what. "I swear I'll help you if you promise to never harm my dragon. Whatever you want, for his freedom and safety." she finished, finally breaking the gaze because the tears that had begun to drip. Her hands came up to brush them away before her head snapped back up, letting the remaining tears fall while she looked at the man. Her breathing had calmed by this point and she looked determined beyond anything else, almost as if she wasn't crying. Her slim hands were fitted into fists at her sides while her nails dug into her palms leaving crescent moons behind. If he didn't accept the deal she would have no choice but to try and use the two short swords that she hadn't ever thought that she would have to use. They didn't hang at her sides, but instead hung in the space she controlled, the same place she put her flute. Suzume kept her head up, awaiting an answer.

Let the freedom

begin

[/center][/font]