The Forgotten Zodiac

"How'd we get ahead of you then, huh?!" Boko yelled after him, fuming with little sparks flying out of his nose. But he sighed and laid down next to Shiya, starting to lick her scales. "There, there. It's okay. Let's get to the Hallowed Coves. You can rest, and I'll go catch us something to eat." He nuzzled her gently, smiling a bit. "It'll be okay, you'll see."

She looked up at him, large tears glistening in her eyes, then sighed and said softly, "Okay...let's go." She stood up and followed at his side, walking at the same pace as him. When they reached the Hallowed Hills, she flopped down on the ground, panting. She curled up, exhaling heavily and closing her eyes.

Boko smiled at her, then darted off quickly. It took several minutes, but he quickly returned with food in tow. A couple rabbits, and a large rat of some kind. He was quick to cook them, but he did a clumsy job and burnt the rat down to nothing. Boko hiccuped and blinked at the charred meat, then proceeded more carefully with the rabbits. "Here," He nudged one to her. "Eat up. You need it."

She lifted her head and stared at the rabbit, then gave a weak smile and started eating, munching away as best as she could. She was tired by this time, and wanted nothing more than to rest. She watched as several other teams made their way into the Hallowed Hills and did just that, flopping down to sleep for a little while.

Boko smiled and curled herself around her, then started blowing his soft fire over her again. He giggled a bit as he watched her sleep, then curled up around her, quite happy, indeed.

When he woke up again, he blinked in surprise. The sun was setting. They had rested for about half a day, and they only had until midnight... "Shiya," He looked up at her. "Shiya, wake up," He nudged her, then looked around, happy to see that a few other couples were still here. They weren't TOO far behind, but...Leonen definitely wasn't here.

((We need moar tests in which Shiya has to do something important. .o.))

((Feel free to come up with summat. I ran out of ideas. xD))

"Huh? What?" she said, dazed, but she roused quickly. She stood up and stretched, then said "Come on, let's get moving." She was feeling much better after having eaten and slept some. She and Boko moved into a quick lope, setting off towards the far-off volcano. "What else do you think we'll have to do?" she asked nervously.

((Okay. xDD))

"I dunno..." Boko murmured. He wasn't surprised when they approached another ravine; they had basically turned almost full circle. But this area was different, indeed; there was a large, sturdy looking bridge. But there was also something blocking the way. A human. Sylas, to be exact.

"In order for you to cross, you've gotta solve a riddle," Sylas called, looking smug and pleased with himself. He had protections over him to prevent any attacks by angered dragonlings; Leonen and his mate were fuming off to the side.

"Sylas~!" Boko squeaked, running forward and nuzzling the human. "Riddle? I'm no good with riddles..."

"This is an easy one, though." Sylas chortled, stroking Boko's muzzle happily. Leo was behind him, glaring at Leonen and his girl; the large dragonling had tried to attack Sylas to get by, without even waiting for the riddle. "You...probably can't do it, though. You're...silly," Sylas chuckled.

"YES. That's the PROBLEM." Boko whined.

"Calm down, now," Sylas tutted. "If you put your head with Shiya's, you can do anything. You've gotta try, right?" He smiled, then recited his riddle. 

"Old Mr. White,

Flew high like a kite,

In an invisible plane,

He flew all day and night.

He would shade the sunlight,

In his never-ending flight,

Some days his plane would leak,

Dripping water without spite.

What is he?"

((The answer is a cloud. :3))

((Hee hee~))

Shiya tilted her head at Sylas, looking around him to stare at Leo, who was still skulking around behind the human, his ears flat and his tail twitching. He was much, much scarier than the human by a long shot, so Shiya tried not to look at him, lest he get mad and claw her eyes out or something. Instead, she turned to Boko, thinking over the riddle. "Old Mr. White...flying...hiding the sunlight..." she repeated, then slowly looked up. She was staring overhead at the clouds, frowning, then it hit her. She was a smart little thing, and it didn't take long for her to put two and two together. "Cloud! A cloud!" she said, smiling widely.

"Exactly! Good job," Sylas chortled. "See, Boko? Learn to depend on her, just like she depends on you. You can go a long way." He patted Boko gently, smiling happily. Then he looked up at Shiya. "Good work, child. You both may pass now," He stepped aside, smiling widely. Boko squealed and trotted forward. He paused, however, and licked Leo on the head before darting away, giggling and rolling around in the dirt on the other side of the bridge.

Leo snarled and would've jumped the drakeling if Sylas hadn't got to him in time, quickly jumping on his friend's back and holding him down. "He got SPIT all over my FUR!" the panther raged, thrashing against Sylas, but the human was stronger than he looked and was able to hold him back. "Bah!" the panther finally said, sitting down and letting Sylas pat his shoulder. "Stupid kids..."

Shiya slipped past him, shaking, and caught back up with Boko as quick as she could.

"It was a sign of happiness, think nothing of it," Sylas laughed, holding Leo back easily. He managed to help Leo clean his fur off, then waited for the rest of the couples. A few had already passed, but there were still plenty more riddles to think up.

Boko purred and nuzzled her once she was across. "Good job~!" He squeaked. "I never would have gotten that. I was thinking of a fish," He giggled.

"A fish?" she said with a smile. "How could it be a fish?" She flared a small wing, running the tip up over Boko's back and making his scales tingle. She glanced up as they trotted along, blinking at the clouds and mulling over the riddle they had just been put to, then she turned her head at the distant-but-getting-closer volcano. "We're almost done," she said softly, tilting her head back. "Then it'll be the Skydance..."

Boko giggled. "Mister White was a white fish. Planes are those things humans are making to fly around. I know because I've seen them. Big wooden things, moved by magic. But it was an invisible plane; so I was thinking that he didn't need a plane. Because he's a fish, his sky is the water." Boko tilted his head to the side. "Skydance...SO COOL. I'm excited," Boko purred.

Shiya did her best to follow along with her future-mate's train of thought, and she smiled when he finished. "Yes. It's...scary, though," she said quietly. "What if I mess up? It's really dangerous... What do you think will happen when we're in the air? You heard your dad. We'll form some kind of...magical bond..." She sighed, her breath catching slightly in her throat.

"I dunno," Boko blinked. "There's no way you could mess up," He giggled, nudging her gently. "Now come on, let's go." He trotted ahead, then came to a stop, blinking in alarm. He stared, and it took Shiya a few moments to follow his gaze. By the time her eyes fell upon the fallen form, Boko had already darted ahead, wailing.

The tawny scales and Drakeling shape was unmistakable. So were the zig-zagged marks on the tail. It was Hana, one of Boko's older sisters that had fallen ill and died when he was still young. He whimpered and nudged the body, as if expecting it to come back. Boko flopped down next to it, starting to cry unhappily.

((The purpose of this test is for Shiya to try and get Boko moving again. 936))

(('Kay.))

Shiya let out a small moan, moving over and curling close to Boko's side, pressing against him to try and comfort him. "Oh, Boko..." she murmured, nudging his neck softly. She could smell the relationship between him and the body through their scents. She gave the body a small nudge, as if hoping something would happen, but when nothing did, she merely pressed her nose against Boko's neck again.

Boko moaned miserably, sniffling. "Hana..." He swallowed hard, sobbing. "One of my sisters...I had two sisters and one older brother. Hana, Jewel, and Dune. They got sick with scab-scale, a Drakeling disease that is fatal to younglings..." He sighed and moved one of his wings, revealing a patch of duller scales. "I got too, but I got it last. By the time the hunters came back with the medicine, my older siblings were all dead..." He murmured softly, nudging the body again.

Shiya gave a low croon and nuzzled under his chin, then bent her head and gently licked his scales. "I'm sorry, Boko...it reminds me of losing my momma..." She sniffled softly, then curled closer to him, twining her tail around his. "We need to keep going, though," she said quietly. "There's nothing that can be done for the dead... We need to look to the future. Our future..." She rested her paw over his, licking his chin.

Boko pulled away from Shiya, wrapping his arms around Hana's chin and hugging her head close to his chest. Hot tears streamed down his face. "I lost everything, Shiya...mommy and daddy...and Hana and Jewel and Dune...all of them," He sniffled and whimpered, crying. But slowly, he stood and pressed up against Shiya, wrapping himself tightly around her. "I'm not going to lose you...never, ever, ever!" He hissed dangerously, locking his claws around her head and licking her cheek unhappily.

She closed her eyes, humming softly, then gently peeled his claws off and sat back on her haunches, lifting his paws in hers. "Boko," she said softly. "Your family didn't go away forever. We'll all be here, always, with you. And your mommy and daddy didn't leave you. They were reborn into a new mommy and daddy, ones that loved you just as much, if not more, than they did. And you have me. And...I...I love you. I want to be your mate. I will only ever need you. Not anyone else. You."

And she put her head forward, tongue extended, and pressed it to his lips. His body reacted for him at once, pushing his tongue forward to press with hers in a dragon-kiss.