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  "description": "So at long last, I'm back to writing, slow and steady, but getting back into things! :D\nAnd I'm happy to say that I'm finally coming back to re-editing this story and making it a much stronger submission!",
  "description_bbcode_parsed": "<span style='word-wrap: break-word;'>So at long last, I&#039;m back to writing, slow and steady, but getting back into things! :D<br />And I&#039;m happy to say that I&#039;m finally coming back to re-editing this story and making it a much stronger submission!</span>",
  "writing": "﻿“Zerataph! What’ve you done?!” Kara barked, the bottom of her kimono whipped about her legs in the high winds that suddenly filled the small church-like building. The red wolfess stood between two short rows of pews, clinging to one as her violet eyes stared widely at the dragon in front of her. In front of where he stood was a sandstone pedestal, an obsidian egg embedded on the front. The vague shape of a winged dragon carved to encircle the large black stone, both giving off an eerie light. \n\n\nThe dragon that stood behind the altar on the other hand was wingless, his colourless scales glinted weakly as lightning flashed outside, arching across the stained-glass windows behind him, casting coloured rays over the altar with every lightning flash. He held a long and wide blade in his hand, starting wide near the hilt and tapering into a point. Long spines like serrations that curved back like a saw, almost resembling a spined tail. \n\n\nSqueezing the hilt, the dragon gave another sharp laugh, bringing his hands down in front of him. Just as he did, black scales began to take the place of the off-white that covered the rest of his body like a blackish liquid filling a bottle. When the color got to his elbows, and stopped. Just as quickly as it had started, the wind died, leaving the chapel eerily silent, save the creaking and rattling coming from the stained glass window behind him. \n\n\n“Finally...released from that damn prison.” He hissed with a deep voice as he walked around to the front of the pedestal, glowering at the cracked obsidian. “After a thousand year, I’m finally free.” The dragon growled before kicking the cracked black egg, shattering it into thousands of shards. He continued speaking to himself before turning back towards Kara, hearing her low whine.\n\n\n“Zerataph, what the hell are you talking about?” came the red wolfess’ squeak of a question.\n\n\nThe dragon’s eyes locked on the canine, grinning widely, “Zerataph, so that’s what you call it?” He gazed at his free hand. “Such a dull name. You may call me Kunumbra.” He gave a low bow, lifting the long serrated blade behind him and tucking his free arm to his stomach. “And you, young pup,” he hissed and tilted his head, as though he was listening to someone to his side. He stood up fully again, their eyes meeting once again; the soft baby-blue iris standing out greatly against the black sclera. “Kara, he tells me.”\n\n\nThe red wolf growled, taking up a piece of wood that had snapped off of the rafters above, “what have you done with him?!” Kara spat and made to take a step towards him. In the blink of an eye, she felt his weight on top of her, forcing her to the ground. Kara’s head bounced off of the stone floor with a sickening crack, her yelp echoing in the stone building. She felt a fiery hot pain radiating from her right shoulder, down her arm and into her chest. Her vision cleared, fearful eyes meeting his. The dragon’s cheek rested against the hand holding the hilt of the blade. A horrible grimace grew on his expression as he twisted the blade, pressing it deeper into her shoulder.\n\n\n“I’m just borrowing him. You can have him when I’m done.” He said and raked his claws across his bare chest gently, twisting the blade in her shoulder again, “but you won’t have to worry about that. Not when I’m done here, anyway; I’m going to enjoy this.” He hissed, leaning in closer drawing it across her cheek slowly, leaving a long gash just under her left eye and down her snout, almost touching her nose. “Don’t hold back, okay? It’s more fun when they really scream.” Kunumbra whispered, moving his claw down her neck, just teasing through the thick fur of her neck. Inching across her flat chest, teasing the sharp point across her chest and tearing the silk of her kimono and the bindings underneath. Pulling his hand away, the black claw on his middle finger grew six inches longer, the tip remaining in contact with her belly.\n\n\nWith a grin, and a quick motion, he drove the long middle claw into her stomach, her shrill cry echoing off the stone walls. He pulled it out and thrust it in again violently, a bit lower lower on her belly. Blood quickly soaked the remains of her kimono. \n\n\n“Oh how I’ve missed this.” He hissed and drew out the blood soaked claw, licking it as he forced more of the sword through her shoulder. She continued to scream, fighting the dragon back as best she could. The searing in her shoulder grew with every twist from Kunumbra’s blade. “The screaming, the struggle, the agony. It’s so refreshing,” he hissed in her ear, before stabbing her again with the long claw, slowly dragging his claw away from this third stab, opening the wound further. \n\n\nThe doors slammed open, the shouting of a half dozen furs filled the hall. “Tsk. Got to go pup, we’ll play more soon.” He gripped his sword, and yanked it out brutally and pointed it at the group of adults. With a crack of thunder that shook the entire temple, bolts of lightning traveled down the length of his arm and the blade, blasting one of the furs backwards through the door.\n\n\nWith one powerful leap, Kunumbra leapt over the altar and crashed through the stained glass window at the back. “Zera…” Kara whispered, reaching towards the shattered window with a weak whine. \n\n\nAn elder wolf hovered into view, her eyes turning from the broken window and met his graying eyes. “It wasn’t him. It was…” Kara whispered, her body shivered. A pool of blood starting to form under her, “h-h-he…” She whined, her ears flat against her head, arm dropping limply at her side.\n\n\n“Hold on, Kara.” He ripped off his own top and pressed it to her wounds. He barked at the others as they went to their friend’s aid; “Leave him. Go find Zerataph!” The wolf said and lifted Kara into his arms, holding the cotton top to her wounds. “Hold on Kara, just...we’ll get to the village.” The wolf said in panic as he made his way down the lightly cobbled road\n\n\nKara’s head fell back, her eyes fell on the cheetah that laid in the mess of what remained of the door. The yukata he had worn was burned away from his chest, the remaining fur steamed as rain began sprinkling from the sky. his skin blackened by the lightning she’d seen the dragon create. “H-He said…I n-never…Zera wouldn’t...” She breathed out weakly as the wolf carried her, holding the cotton top tighter to her wounds. What Darrin said next was lost to her; the world around her was growing quickly black, the words muffled to her ears until at last there was nothing left but silence and darkness.\n\n\n*****\n\n\nKara awoke with a start, her body jerking on the bed she laid in. Terrible pain surged through her core. Lifting her head, a spike of pain struck her shoulder, forcing her back into the bed. She looked down her chest and saw that She had bandages wrapped around her shoulder, and more wrapped around her belly. Dark red spots showed through the white of the bandage. “Father?”\n\n\n“You’re finally awake.” Darrin said, smiling as he shifted, his robes were a little more than disheveled; his greying fur a mess. From the cups and plates left on the small bedside table, Kara could see that he hadn’t left her side for days. “How are you feeling?” He asked and stood up, smiling weakly. His eyes half lidded indicating he probably hadn’t slept the better part of those days. \n\n\nKara groaned and lifted her good arm to her head, praying that the world would stop spinning.\n“I-I’m in pain…” She answered honestly. “What happened? I...I remember Zerataph attacked me…and the storm.” Kara mumbled, licking her dry lips, ears twitching as her father shifted a pitcher and a cup, pouring her water. “What happened?”\n\n\nDarrin handed her the small cup and sat on the side of the bed. She drank happily before he spoke. “The scouts followed Zerataph. They saw him heading to Kalatol a few days ago.” He said with a bit more of a strain on his voice. “I plan to leave with the others to find him and bring him back. Mari will be here to look after you.” Heaving a sigh, he shook his head. \n\n\nKara went to stand up, growling as pain seared through her body. “I’m coming with you, I have...he has so much to answer for.” \n\n\n“Lay down!” Darrin Jabbed at the bed. “You’re in no shape to be doing anything. I’ll have others come with me, that’ll be more than enough.” Kara’s ears fell back as she sat on the bed as her father slipped his armour on, settling and strapping everything into place before grabbing his sword from the cabinet. \n\n\n“Don’t worry, Kara. Just get better. I’m going to find him and bring him back, hopefully get him back.” Darrin stood up after a few “I’ll send you a message when I get Zerataph and I’m on my way back.” He went to a cupboard and retrieved a set of armour, gold and red plated Karuta armour.\n\n\n“Father, It wasn’t...like Zera. He was faster, stronger.” She touched her wounds and whimpered. “Sadistic. It wasn’t like him.” Kara looked up at her father. “How long will you be gone?”\n\n\n“I shouldn’t be gone longer than a few days. I’ll send a hawk when I catch up with Zerataph.”\n\n\n“J-Just be safe, okay?”\n\n\n“I will be, daughter.” Darrin smiled, though weakly. Hugging Kara gently, he gathered the last of his items, “Mari will look in on you while I’m out. Just listen to her, and I’ll be back in a few days.” He said before coming over and kissing his daughter on the forehead, giving a soft smile before he left.\n\n\nKara stared up at the ceiling, her tail twitching madly under the covers as she heard her father calling out to the other men, telling them that they were ready to leave. Her breath caught in her throat as she heard them leaving, their voices fading in the distance.\n\n\n\n\n*****\n\n\nThe days drew along slowly as Kara lay in bed and the longer she waited for the news from her father, the more inpatient she grew. She was able to get out of bed, but Mari had been keeping an eye out for her, making sure she didn’t do anything that would reopen her wounds. She paced slowly about the room until Mari came back in and put her back into bed. Every time the vixen came in, Kara would ask if she’d gotten any word from her father.\n\n\nIt was always a quick ‘no’ as she checked the wounds, replaced the bandages and left to get something for Kara to eat. \n\n\nKara gave a grumble and got back up as soon as Mari left and went to the cupboard opening it up to see her own lighter leather armour, the lacquered leather still gleaming as though it was brand new. Without hesitation, she grabbed the top and began to try and pull it on, despite the shooting pains going through her abdomen.\n\n\nMari came back in with a plate of food, nearly dropping it as she saw the wolfess struggling to put on her leather armour. “KARA! What do you think you’re doing?” the vixen hissed before she set the tray on the table and dropped her bag, striding forward to tug the armour back off.\n\n\nThe wolfess yelped as the vixen yanked the armour from her grip. “I’m going to go look for Father, he hasn’t sent a falcon, something is wrong.” She barked and held her stomach, leaning back in the bed. “He promised he would.”\n\n\n“He’ll be back, Kara.” Mari set the leather armour on the chair just next to the bed. “Don’t try and put that on…” She warned as she went back to the door to gather the spilled bag, fishing out bandages.\n\n\n“I’m just worried. It shouldn’t have taken him this long. He gave me his word…”\n\n\n“I know dear.” the elderly vixen said as she cut  the bandages off, a weak smile showing on her muzzle as she looked at the wound. The center of the wounds were still red, long lines of black radiated from the center. They weren’t healing, despite all she did. The wound on her shoulder looked worse than the other two; lines trailed down her arm stopping just short of her elbow.\n\n\n “I worry about you too though, Kara. You’re healing up....well.” She smiled softly. “I promise, as soon as I get word, You’ll know.” She said and finished replacing the bandages and made to get Kara’s food when they heard a glambering of bells from the town’s center. \n\n\n“What is that?” Kara’s ears perked forward as she listened to the bells come to a stop a few moments later.\n\n\nMari stepped to the window that faced the square and looked out.  There was a large canvas covered cart rolling up next to the small well at the center of the huts. The cart was being pulled by an oversized lizard, its short, thick legs pulled the cart easily. The creature sat low to the ground but was long from snout to tail tip and was covered in vivid green scales that gleamed in the bright sunlight. “It looks like a traveling vendor.” \n\n\n“Oh! C-Can I go out and see?” Kara said quickly, sitting forward. \n\n\nThe vixen looked back at her, then to the reptiles that came to a stop next to the town’s well. The gator that sat on the high seat called to it in a hissing language. The creature made a sharp hiss in return and came to a stop and laid down, his long neck stretching as its eyes looked all about. The alligator stepped down. “I guess we can see what he has, just be careful, okay?” Mari said and brought over the tray. “But first, you eat. Before it gets cold.”\n\n\nKara ate quickly, barely savoring the food before she got up and pulled on her clothes, with help from Mari, of course. \n\n\nThey made their way out to the courtyard where he was setting up. He was a heavy set reptile, his weathered face and paling yellow scales showed his age. His green robes were tattered and patched, telling Kara he’d been on the road for a long time. \n\n\nHe was busy undoing the straps on the lizard, letting it rest unattached to the cart. The gator walked back to his cart, pulling a large staff from behind the bench and using the stone hook to pull on a ring near the top. The canvas fell away to reveal a cart loaded with all assortment of items, herbs and knicknacks. \n\n\n“Come all!” he said with a surprising boom, calling out to the entire village. “Musa’s Traveling Trade! Come, come.” Musa continued to invite furs to come and see his wears. “I have weapons and medicals. I even have toys for the little ones.” He gave a wide smile as a young pup came up to look at the objects that lined the shelves, a stuffed wolf toy dangling from his paws.\n\n\nKara made her way out to the alligator’s cart, her arm around the vixen’s middle. They looked at the merchant’s items when he stepped up beside them with a low, but calm rumble. “How can I help you ladies today? I have some wonderful jewelry and lovely outfits that would be just perfect for you.” He said with a wink to the older vixen.\n\n\n“I’m just looking, thank you.” Mari said in return, gazing over the selection of herbs and vial’d potions.\n\n\n“How about you, lass?” Musa turned to Kara, “Fancy anything?” He cocked his head.\n\n\n“I-I…” Kara stammered and glanced at the cart before she opened her muzzle to speak again, but closed her mouth once again.\n\n\n“Spit it out.” the gator grinned, showing he was teasing her.\n\n\n“I was just wondering…If you were going towards Karatol any time soon?”\n\n\n“I’m headed back towards Hai Kah, co I’ll be going through for a day or two, sell some more wares before moving along.” He said and turned an eye to her, smiling.\n\n\n“That is out of the question!” Mari said suddenly, her attention snapping back to the pair. “You need to rest! You still have to heal!” The vixen barked.\n\n\n“I have to find my father, Mari!” Kara retorted sharply. “I-I just have this bad feeling…” She shrank back under the vixen’s hard stare, her ears falling back.\n\n\n“You need to rest.” She reiterated “I’m sure he’s fine, just caught up in a late season storm, still looking for Zerataph! There could be a half dozen things he’s doing.” She barked back before Musa stepped between them.\n\n\n“Ladies, ladies.” Musa said calmly, “that will be enough. What seems to be the matter?” the gator looked at Mari.\n\n\n“That’s none of your business.” She said and stepped away, grabbing the wolfess’s elbow. “Come on, Kara.” \n\n\n“N-No…you said my injuries were doing okay.” Kara whispered and pulled herself free, holding her arm tightly, claws digging into the furless skin. “I-I have to find my father...and Zera, too.”\n\n\nMusa and Mari blinked, looking at Kara before they glanced at each other.\n\n\n“You can look after her?” Mari said finally after a few moments of silence, her face was a mask of exasperation.\n\n\n“I have countless herbs and remedies. I only have a small proviso: she’ll have to provide her own meals. Seeing that met, I can look over her.” Musa nodded and tapped his cane against the wagon. “I’ll be packing up here in a half hour, I want to get on the road before it gets too late into the day. So go gather only the things that you need, and we’ll head out.”\n\n\nKara’s ears stood up straight up, a wide smile on her muzzle. “I-I’ll be back! Don’t leave without me,” her tail wagged madly behind her as she turned and ran to gather her belongings.\n\n\n“Don’t run! You’re going to open your wounds!” Mari gave a heavy sigh. “You’d better keep a good eye on her. Anything happens to her, and I’ll skin you for a new set of armour.” Mari warned. \n\n\nMusa nodded and grinned slightly, “you have my word, Miss.” He bowed before moving on to help another wolfess that was eyeing the yous and ornaments.\n\n\nMari went back to Kara’s house, standing in the doorway and watched as Kara filled her knapsack with seemling countless items: her own medical equipment, ointments and bandages. Flint, and a small knife in a scabbard, and a skin of water and a well cared for Katana leaned against her armour that sat in the chair. “I still don’t think this is a good idea, Kara. You’re still healing. If something happens…”\n\n\n“I’ll be okay, I’ll promise to not push myself too much, and Musa said he’d watch over me.” \n\n\n“I know.” Mari sighed and sat down, looking Kara in the eye, “I just care for you, Kara. Like you are my own daughter.” She gave a soft murr and took the wolfess’ hand, “I trust you’ll be safe, and I TRUST you won’t do anything reckless, right? I don’t want to stitch you back together when you get back.” She spoke with a bit more sternness to her voice, but knew she was playing, “at least let me take one more look at you.”\n\n\nKara smiled softly, her ears back. “Right,” removing her robe, she let Mari cut away the old, stained bandages. The vixen worked in silence, removing the old stitching, she replaced it with a stronger thread. The wolfess whimpered and grit her teeth as she felt the needle. But she did the best she could to keep relaxed. “Come home safe, okay?” Mari asked once more as she finished the stitching.  \n\n\n“I will.”\n\n\n“Promise me.”\n\n\nKara paused as she sat up to let Mari wrap her stomach and chest again before she nodded, a soft smile spreading on her muzzle. “I will come home safe. I promise.”\n\n\n“Good. Let’s get everything finished up; we can’t keep Musa waiting.” She said and grabbed Kara’s bag and katana, following the wolfess out to the cart.\n\n\nMusa was already busy putting the cart away. But rather than manually arranging each item, he was waving his arm and staff, almost commanding every object into its rightful place among the shelves and chests. Turning to see the pair, he smiled widely. “There you two are. Was starting to think that you changed your minds.” \n\n\n“Just making sure I’m ready to go.” Kara said and put her bags into the back of the wagon, the bag and katana laid next to her armour just as the canvas closed instantly after they withdrew their hands.\n\n\n“I’m glad to hear. Just one thing more: as I said I’m going to Hai Kah, so I’m unfortunately not going to be coming back this way. You can make your way back, can’t you?” \n\n\n“Y-Yeah.”\n\n\n“Okay, I just wanted to check before we left. It’d bug my conscience leaving you in Karatol all by your lonesome.”\n\n\n“I’ll be fine, my father’s there, yeah.” She said again with a nod. “I’ll be fine.”\n\n\n“Alright, Let’s get going, We’ll get there midday tomorrow, We’ll camp somewhere down the road for tonight.” Musa chuckled and attached the cart to the large lizard’s harness once again, receiving a hissing yawn from the beast as it woke up. “Let’s head on out, then.” He climbed up on the bench, his thick tail hanging over the back of it. \n\n\nMari wrapped her arms gingerly about Kara, holding her close. “Be safe, and I’ll see you when you get back. And you better be all in one piece.” She gave another warning, seeming the only thing on her mind.\n\n\nKara gave a soft chuckle and nodded. “A hundred times, I promise.” the red wolf smiled and returned the hug before separating and climbing up beside the gator. “I’ll be back with my father in a few days.” She said just before Musa called the large reptile forward, the cart moving easily almost as if it floated rather than rolled on the wheels. \n\n\n*********\n\n\nThey traveled north out of town and down the well traveled dirt road that led toward Karatol. The pair kept in silence for a long few moments, the only sound came from the creaking of the cart and the rumbling hiss of the lizard pulling it. Eventually Musa broke the silence, “this injury of yours, it’s not anything too hindering, is it?”\n\n\n“Uh. N-No not really. Mari made sure to re-enforce my bindings and suture. I should be okay.”\n\n\nThe gator looked at her with a raised eye ridge. “I’ll take a look at it here when we stop. I’m going to need you at peak condition to watch over the wagon in case any bandits show up. They’re very common around Karatol; what with it being a major trade town. They like to wait outside the guards’ reach for anyone with some coin.” Musa chortled. “But I digress,” Musa gave a hiss to the lizard, commanding the lizard to move to the side of the road, under the cover of the few trees that grew along the dusty road.\n\n\n“Hey, you’re changing the deal.”\n\n\n“We’ll get camp set up and see what you’ve got going on there.” he gestured to her stomach before the larger gator slips off with a grunt, ignoring her comment. Using his long staff, he tugged out a piece of canvas from the wagon, seeming to stretch it like taffy and stuck his staff into the ground, making them an awning to sleep under. \n\n\nMusa pulled out a hidden compartment, a smoldering pile of embers glowed within the low, metal pot. Kara pulled back, wincing as the heat radiated off of it. “What the hell? How’d you do that, this wagon’s made of wood, how’d you manage…!” She was cut off by a jab at her nose, the gator’s finger just inches from her nose.\n\n\n“If you’ll allow me a moment to speak.” The gator smiled and rubbed his hands together, groaning as he squatted down. “It’s not something I advertise, not as much so any more, at least. You saw how I put the cart away back in your village. I surely don’t have to tell you what that means.\n\n\n“Back when I was a hatchling, learning my magic, I enchanted this fire so that it would never go out, never need rekindling.Then made sure that I could carry it around, and enchanted the cart to keep it from catching aflame. Now, for something that might be a bit more pertinent to you: I know a few healing spells, I don’t really like to do it much anymore, tends to wear me out. But it’d be like you were never injured in the first place...” He gave a mumble as he came to the end of his sentence.\n\n\n“You said all I had to do was make up for my own meals, and you’d get me to Karatol.”\n\n\n“I’m striking a bit of a new deal with you, I just didn’t want to say anything in front of your vixen friend.” He said and winked. “If you let me heal you and I’ll continue to bring you to Karatol. All you have to do is defend me while I’m on my way through. It’s only another day or so to travel.” Musa said with a hissing chuckle as he unstrapped the large lizard. “It’s either that or I could leave you here, and let you walk back to Fayorn.” he grinned widely as he rubbed the lizard’s neck, pulling a large piece of meat from the wagon and tossing it to the creature.\n\n\n“N-No. Please…” She stammered, watching as the rather crocodilian creature devoured the meat. “I-If you can mend my wounds, I-I’ll keep guard.” Kara gave a short yip.\n\n\n“Ah, very good.” Musa said with a kinder tone in his voice, the hiss disappearing from his speech. “Come, lay down. Take your top off.” \n\n\n“Do...do I have to? I mean it’s magic, I wouldn’t think I’d have to...”\n\n\n“Quiet girl, I’m not some old perverted reptile.” Musa said a bit more sternly. “With my age, I need a lot more focus for magic like this, and seeing where the wounds are will help. So please, lay down, take your top off,” he repeated and sat down, a pair of shears in hand.\n\n\nKara swallowed and followed the instruction, pulling her cotton top off, her ears flat against her head as she laid down on the ground, paws nervously tucked against her front. With only a look from the gator, she pulled her hands away and laid them at either side, looking away.\n\n\n“This won’t take more than a few minutes, getting these wraps off will be the longest part.” He commented in a sort of feigned bedside manner. He started cutting the bandages off of the wolfess, revealing her tan belly fur. “They got you good, huh? Few days ago?” He asked with a frown, fingers coming to trace the black lines that radiated from the two wounds on her stomach.\n\n\n“This is a little more than a week ago.”\n\n\n“There’s something more to this than a simple blade.” Musa said and leaned closer, turning his head to the side to get as close as he could.\n\n\n“It wasn’t a blade, Zarataph used his claw, the injury on my shoulder was done with his sword.” She commented and pointed her shoulder. He moved up and thumped his heavy tail on the ground as he saw the radiating spiderweb of black veins. \n\n\n“I should be able to do something…with these, it might hurt a bit but after that, it should be fine.” He said each word hesitantly.\n\n\nHe placed his paws over Kara’s wounds, eyes trained on the back of his clawed hand. The tan scales started glowing a dim white. Kara felt a stinging pain in her stomach, exactly where the wounds were. Gritting her teeth, she felt a building heat until she heard Musa groan and pull his hands back. Her entire core felt cold as ice for a small moment before returning to normal. Lifting herself partly off the ground, she looked at her stomach. The wounds closed, leaving only little scars and bare patches of fur where they were. Despite that, the black lines had receded but still lingered; She touched the spots gingerly, “Wow…” She mumbled and looked at Musa, his head hanging. “I’ve never...that’s…”\n\n\n“It’s nothing” He panted and hissed, the heavy tail thumping on the ground again. “Well...It used to be anyway,” he shook his head. “Lay back down, we’ll finish the one on your shoulder, then I’m going to need rest,” the gator said, looking at her shoulder again. “This one may not be as easy to do...” He stooped over to look at it before repeating the procedure. This time, the burning and stinging lingered after he finished. The wound had closed, but it was a little more obvious that there was a wound. Her shoulder was still quite black with the dark veins. “It’s still going to be healing through the night. Sorry I couldn’t do much more, but I did what I could.” Musa said, sounding fully drained now, he backed up to the other side of the fire next to his cart-pulling lizard. “Wake me up at first light, okay? Don’t want to be out here any longer than I have to, even with a guard,” the elder pulled a small pillow out of the cart before he laid down and quickly fell asleep facing in towards the belly of the rumbling lizard.\n\n\nKara gave a low growl as she sat up and leaned against the cart’s wheel, looking at the bare spots in her fur, rubbing gently over them. Giving a sigh pulled her top back on, staring at the two reptiles slept, the fire between them and her. Lowering her eyes into the now roaring flames, she planned and readied herself for what she could be walking into in Karatol. She made silent prayers that her father and the rest of the caravan were safe, then thought about Zerataph, and that night. \n\n\nShe wasn’t sure what was going through the dragon’s mind, or what was happening to him. But she hoped that the next time that they met, she could snap some sense into him. She was restless most of the night, having to get up several times and just walk about, never too far from the cart, and always made sure that her sword was in hand. Sighing, as she stepped away, she felt the cold of the night penetrating her fur. Darkness surrounded her, and she gave a glance back to see nothing but a dark, and desolate shell of a carriage. It looked abandoned, ransacked to its skeleton. Hearing the crunch of dirt, she gripped the hilt of her sword, scanning the horizon before retreating back to the crackling warmth of the hearth to watch over the wagon through the night.~",
  "writing_bbcode_parsed": "<span style='word-wrap: break-word;'>﻿&ldquo;Zerataph! What&rsquo;ve you done?!&rdquo; Kara barked, the bottom of her kimono whipped about her legs in the high winds that suddenly filled the small church-like building. The red wolfess stood between two short rows of pews, clinging to one as her violet eyes stared widely at the dragon in front of her. In front of where he stood was a sandstone pedestal, an obsidian egg embedded on the front. The vague shape of a winged dragon carved to encircle the large black stone, both giving off an eerie light. <br /><br /><br />The dragon that stood behind the altar on the other hand was wingless, his colourless scales glinted weakly as lightning flashed outside, arching across the stained-glass windows behind him, casting coloured rays over the altar with every lightning flash. He held a long and wide blade in his hand, starting wide near the hilt and tapering into a point. Long spines like serrations that curved back like a saw, almost resembling a spined tail. <br /><br /><br />Squeezing the hilt, the dragon gave another sharp laugh, bringing his hands down in front of him. Just as he did, black scales began to take the place of the off-white that covered the rest of his body like a blackish liquid filling a bottle. When the color got to his elbows, and stopped. Just as quickly as it had started, the wind died, leaving the chapel eerily silent, save the creaking and rattling coming from the stained glass window behind him. <br /><br /><br />&ldquo;Finally...released from that damn prison.&rdquo; He hissed with a deep voice as he walked around to the front of the pedestal, glowering at the cracked obsidian. &ldquo;After a thousand year, I&rsquo;m finally free.&rdquo; The dragon growled before kicking the cracked black egg, shattering it into thousands of shards. He continued speaking to himself before turning back towards Kara, hearing her low whine.<br /><br /><br />&ldquo;Zerataph, what the hell are you talking about?&rdquo; came the red wolfess&rsquo; squeak of a question.<br /><br /><br />The dragon&rsquo;s eyes locked on the canine, grinning widely, &ldquo;Zerataph, so that&rsquo;s what you call it?&rdquo; He gazed at his free hand. &ldquo;Such a dull name. You may call me Kunumbra.&rdquo; He gave a low bow, lifting the long serrated blade behind him and tucking his free arm to his stomach. &ldquo;And you, young pup,&rdquo; he hissed and tilted his head, as though he was listening to someone to his side. He stood up fully again, their eyes meeting once again; the soft baby-blue iris standing out greatly against the black sclera. &ldquo;Kara, he tells me.&rdquo;<br /><br /><br />The red wolf growled, taking up a piece of wood that had snapped off of the rafters above, &ldquo;what have you done with him?!&rdquo; Kara spat and made to take a step towards him. In the blink of an eye, she felt his weight on top of her, forcing her to the ground. Kara&rsquo;s head bounced off of the stone floor with a sickening crack, her yelp echoing in the stone building. She felt a fiery hot pain radiating from her right shoulder, down her arm and into her chest. Her vision cleared, fearful eyes meeting his. The dragon&rsquo;s cheek rested against the hand holding the hilt of the blade. A horrible grimace grew on his expression as he twisted the blade, pressing it deeper into her shoulder.<br /><br /><br />&ldquo;I&rsquo;m just borrowing him. You can have him when I&rsquo;m done.&rdquo; He said and raked his claws across his bare chest gently, twisting the blade in her shoulder again, &ldquo;but you won&rsquo;t have to worry about that. Not when I&rsquo;m done here, anyway; I&rsquo;m going to enjoy this.&rdquo; He hissed, leaning in closer drawing it across her cheek slowly, leaving a long gash just under her left eye and down her snout, almost touching her nose. &ldquo;Don&rsquo;t hold back, okay? It&rsquo;s more fun when they really scream.&rdquo; Kunumbra whispered, moving his claw down her neck, just teasing through the thick fur of her neck. Inching across her flat chest, teasing the sharp point across her chest and tearing the silk of her kimono and the bindings underneath. Pulling his hand away, the black claw on his middle finger grew six inches longer, the tip remaining in contact with her belly.<br /><br /><br />With a grin, and a quick motion, he drove the long middle claw into her stomach, her shrill cry echoing off the stone walls. He pulled it out and thrust it in again violently, a bit lower lower on her belly. Blood quickly soaked the remains of her kimono. <br /><br /><br />&ldquo;Oh how I&rsquo;ve missed this.&rdquo; He hissed and drew out the blood soaked claw, licking it as he forced more of the sword through her shoulder. She continued to scream, fighting the dragon back as best she could. The searing in her shoulder grew with every twist from Kunumbra&rsquo;s blade. &ldquo;The screaming, the struggle, the agony. It&rsquo;s so refreshing,&rdquo; he hissed in her ear, before stabbing her again with the long claw, slowly dragging his claw away from this third stab, opening the wound further. <br /><br /><br />The doors slammed open, the shouting of a half dozen furs filled the hall. &ldquo;Tsk. Got to go pup, we&rsquo;ll play more soon.&rdquo; He gripped his sword, and yanked it out brutally and pointed it at the group of adults. With a crack of thunder that shook the entire temple, bolts of lightning traveled down the length of his arm and the blade, blasting one of the furs backwards through the door.<br /><br /><br />With one powerful leap, Kunumbra leapt over the altar and crashed through the stained glass window at the back. &ldquo;Zera&hellip;&rdquo; Kara whispered, reaching towards the shattered window with a weak whine. <br /><br /><br />An elder wolf hovered into view, her eyes turning from the broken window and met his graying eyes. &ldquo;It wasn&rsquo;t him. It was&hellip;&rdquo; Kara whispered, her body shivered. A pool of blood starting to form under her, &ldquo;h-h-he&hellip;&rdquo; She whined, her ears flat against her head, arm dropping limply at her side.<br /><br /><br />&ldquo;Hold on, Kara.&rdquo; He ripped off his own top and pressed it to her wounds. He barked at the others as they went to their friend&rsquo;s aid; &ldquo;Leave him. Go find Zerataph!&rdquo; The wolf said and lifted Kara into his arms, holding the cotton top to her wounds. &ldquo;Hold on Kara, just...we&rsquo;ll get to the village.&rdquo; The wolf said in panic as he made his way down the lightly cobbled road<br /><br /><br />Kara&rsquo;s head fell back, her eyes fell on the cheetah that laid in the mess of what remained of the door. The yukata he had worn was burned away from his chest, the remaining fur steamed as rain began sprinkling from the sky. his skin blackened by the lightning she&rsquo;d seen the dragon create. &ldquo;H-He said&hellip;I n-never&hellip;Zera wouldn&rsquo;t...&rdquo; She breathed out weakly as the wolf carried her, holding the cotton top tighter to her wounds. What Darrin said next was lost to her; the world around her was growing quickly black, the words muffled to her ears until at last there was nothing left but silence and darkness.<br /><br /><br />*****<br /><br /><br />Kara awoke with a start, her body jerking on the bed she laid in. Terrible pain surged through her core. Lifting her head, a spike of pain struck her shoulder, forcing her back into the bed. She looked down her chest and saw that She had bandages wrapped around her shoulder, and more wrapped around her belly. Dark red spots showed through the white of the bandage. &ldquo;Father?&rdquo;<br /><br /><br />&ldquo;You&rsquo;re finally awake.&rdquo; Darrin said, smiling as he shifted, his robes were a little more than disheveled; his greying fur a mess. From the cups and plates left on the small bedside table, Kara could see that he hadn&rsquo;t left her side for days. &ldquo;How are you feeling?&rdquo; He asked and stood up, smiling weakly. His eyes half lidded indicating he probably hadn&rsquo;t slept the better part of those days. <br /><br /><br />Kara groaned and lifted her good arm to her head, praying that the world would stop spinning.<br />&ldquo;I-I&rsquo;m in pain&hellip;&rdquo; She answered honestly. &ldquo;What happened? I...I remember Zerataph attacked me&hellip;and the storm.&rdquo; Kara mumbled, licking her dry lips, ears twitching as her father shifted a pitcher and a cup, pouring her water. &ldquo;What happened?&rdquo;<br /><br /><br />Darrin handed her the small cup and sat on the side of the bed. She drank happily before he spoke. &ldquo;The scouts followed Zerataph. They saw him heading to Kalatol a few days ago.&rdquo; He said with a bit more of a strain on his voice. &ldquo;I plan to leave with the others to find him and bring him back. Mari will be here to look after you.&rdquo; Heaving a sigh, he shook his head. <br /><br /><br />Kara went to stand up, growling as pain seared through her body. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m coming with you, I have...he has so much to answer for.&rdquo; <br /><br /><br />&ldquo;Lay down!&rdquo; Darrin Jabbed at the bed. &ldquo;You&rsquo;re in no shape to be doing anything. I&rsquo;ll have others come with me, that&rsquo;ll be more than enough.&rdquo; Kara&rsquo;s ears fell back as she sat on the bed as her father slipped his armour on, settling and strapping everything into place before grabbing his sword from the cabinet. <br /><br /><br />&ldquo;Don&rsquo;t worry, Kara. Just get better. I&rsquo;m going to find him and bring him back, hopefully get him back.&rdquo; Darrin stood up after a few &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll send you a message when I get Zerataph and I&rsquo;m on my way back.&rdquo; He went to a cupboard and retrieved a set of armour, gold and red plated Karuta armour.<br /><br /><br />&ldquo;Father, It wasn&rsquo;t...like Zera. He was faster, stronger.&rdquo; She touched her wounds and whimpered. &ldquo;Sadistic. It wasn&rsquo;t like him.&rdquo; Kara looked up at her father. &ldquo;How long will you be gone?&rdquo;<br /><br /><br />&ldquo;I shouldn&rsquo;t be gone longer than a few days. I&rsquo;ll send a hawk when I catch up with Zerataph.&rdquo;<br /><br /><br />&ldquo;J-Just be safe, okay?&rdquo;<br /><br /><br />&ldquo;I will be, daughter.&rdquo; Darrin smiled, though weakly. Hugging Kara gently, he gathered the last of his items, &ldquo;Mari will look in on you while I&rsquo;m out. Just listen to her, and I&rsquo;ll be back in a few days.&rdquo; He said before coming over and kissing his daughter on the forehead, giving a soft smile before he left.<br /><br /><br />Kara stared up at the ceiling, her tail twitching madly under the covers as she heard her father calling out to the other men, telling them that they were ready to leave. Her breath caught in her throat as she heard them leaving, their voices fading in the distance.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />*****<br /><br /><br />The days drew along slowly as Kara lay in bed and the longer she waited for the news from her father, the more inpatient she grew. She was able to get out of bed, but Mari had been keeping an eye out for her, making sure she didn&rsquo;t do anything that would reopen her wounds. She paced slowly about the room until Mari came back in and put her back into bed. Every time the vixen came in, Kara would ask if she&rsquo;d gotten any word from her father.<br /><br /><br />It was always a quick &lsquo;no&rsquo; as she checked the wounds, replaced the bandages and left to get something for Kara to eat. <br /><br /><br />Kara gave a grumble and got back up as soon as Mari left and went to the cupboard opening it up to see her own lighter leather armour, the lacquered leather still gleaming as though it was brand new. Without hesitation, she grabbed the top and began to try and pull it on, despite the shooting pains going through her abdomen.<br /><br /><br />Mari came back in with a plate of food, nearly dropping it as she saw the wolfess struggling to put on her leather armour. &ldquo;KARA! What do you think you&rsquo;re doing?&rdquo; the vixen hissed before she set the tray on the table and dropped her bag, striding forward to tug the armour back off.<br /><br /><br />The wolfess yelped as the vixen yanked the armour from her grip. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m going to go look for Father, he hasn&rsquo;t sent a falcon, something is wrong.&rdquo; She barked and held her stomach, leaning back in the bed. &ldquo;He promised he would.&rdquo;<br /><br /><br />&ldquo;He&rsquo;ll be back, Kara.&rdquo; Mari set the leather armour on the chair just next to the bed. &ldquo;Don&rsquo;t try and put that on&hellip;&rdquo; She warned as she went back to the door to gather the spilled bag, fishing out bandages.<br /><br /><br />&ldquo;I&rsquo;m just worried. It shouldn&rsquo;t have taken him this long. He gave me his word&hellip;&rdquo;<br /><br /><br />&ldquo;I know dear.&rdquo; the elderly vixen said as she cut&nbsp;&nbsp;the bandages off, a weak smile showing on her muzzle as she looked at the wound. The center of the wounds were still red, long lines of black radiated from the center. They weren&rsquo;t healing, despite all she did. The wound on her shoulder looked worse than the other two; lines trailed down her arm stopping just short of her elbow.<br /><br /><br />&nbsp;&ldquo;I worry about you too though, Kara. You&rsquo;re healing up....well.&rdquo; She smiled softly. &ldquo;I promise, as soon as I get word, You&rsquo;ll know.&rdquo; She said and finished replacing the bandages and made to get Kara&rsquo;s food when they heard a glambering of bells from the town&rsquo;s center. <br /><br /><br />&ldquo;What is that?&rdquo; Kara&rsquo;s ears perked forward as she listened to the bells come to a stop a few moments later.<br /><br /><br />Mari stepped to the window that faced the square and looked out.&nbsp;&nbsp;There was a large canvas covered cart rolling up next to the small well at the center of the huts. The cart was being pulled by an oversized lizard, its short, thick legs pulled the cart easily. The creature sat low to the ground but was long from snout to tail tip and was covered in vivid green scales that gleamed in the bright sunlight. &ldquo;It looks like a traveling vendor.&rdquo; <br /><br /><br />&ldquo;Oh! C-Can I go out and see?&rdquo; Kara said quickly, sitting forward. <br /><br /><br />The vixen looked back at her, then to the reptiles that came to a stop next to the town&rsquo;s well. The gator that sat on the high seat called to it in a hissing language. The creature made a sharp hiss in return and came to a stop and laid down, his long neck stretching as its eyes looked all about. The alligator stepped down. &ldquo;I guess we can see what he has, just be careful, okay?&rdquo; Mari said and brought over the tray. &ldquo;But first, you eat. Before it gets cold.&rdquo;<br /><br /><br />Kara ate quickly, barely savoring the food before she got up and pulled on her clothes, with help from Mari, of course. <br /><br /><br />They made their way out to the courtyard where he was setting up. He was a heavy set reptile, his weathered face and paling yellow scales showed his age. His green robes were tattered and patched, telling Kara he&rsquo;d been on the road for a long time. <br /><br /><br />He was busy undoing the straps on the lizard, letting it rest unattached to the cart. The gator walked back to his cart, pulling a large staff from behind the bench and using the stone hook to pull on a ring near the top. The canvas fell away to reveal a cart loaded with all assortment of items, herbs and knicknacks. <br /><br /><br />&ldquo;Come all!&rdquo; he said with a surprising boom, calling out to the entire village. &ldquo;Musa&rsquo;s Traveling Trade! Come, come.&rdquo; Musa continued to invite furs to come and see his wears. &ldquo;I have weapons and medicals. I even have toys for the little ones.&rdquo; He gave a wide smile as a young pup came up to look at the objects that lined the shelves, a stuffed wolf toy dangling from his paws.<br /><br /><br />Kara made her way out to the alligator&rsquo;s cart, her arm around the vixen&rsquo;s middle. They looked at the merchant&rsquo;s items when he stepped up beside them with a low, but calm rumble. &ldquo;How can I help you ladies today? I have some wonderful jewelry and lovely outfits that would be just perfect for you.&rdquo; He said with a wink to the older vixen.<br /><br /><br />&ldquo;I&rsquo;m just looking, thank you.&rdquo; Mari said in return, gazing over the selection of herbs and vial&rsquo;d potions.<br /><br /><br />&ldquo;How about you, lass?&rdquo; Musa turned to Kara, &ldquo;Fancy anything?&rdquo; He cocked his head.<br /><br /><br />&ldquo;I-I&hellip;&rdquo; Kara stammered and glanced at the cart before she opened her muzzle to speak again, but closed her mouth once again.<br /><br /><br />&ldquo;Spit it out.&rdquo; the gator grinned, showing he was teasing her.<br /><br /><br />&ldquo;I was just wondering&hellip;If you were going towards Karatol any time soon?&rdquo;<br /><br /><br />&ldquo;I&rsquo;m headed back towards Hai Kah, co I&rsquo;ll be going through for a day or two, sell some more wares before moving along.&rdquo; He said and turned an eye to her, smiling.<br /><br /><br />&ldquo;That is out of the question!&rdquo; Mari said suddenly, her attention snapping back to the pair. &ldquo;You need to rest! You still have to heal!&rdquo; The vixen barked.<br /><br /><br />&ldquo;I have to find my father, Mari!&rdquo; Kara retorted sharply. &ldquo;I-I just have this bad feeling&hellip;&rdquo; She shrank back under the vixen&rsquo;s hard stare, her ears falling back.<br /><br /><br />&ldquo;You need to rest.&rdquo; She reiterated &ldquo;I&rsquo;m sure he&rsquo;s fine, just caught up in a late season storm, still looking for Zerataph! There could be a half dozen things he&rsquo;s doing.&rdquo; She barked back before Musa stepped between them.<br /><br /><br />&ldquo;Ladies, ladies.&rdquo; Musa said calmly, &ldquo;that will be enough. What seems to be the matter?&rdquo; the gator looked at Mari.<br /><br /><br />&ldquo;That&rsquo;s none of your business.&rdquo; She said and stepped away, grabbing the wolfess&rsquo;s elbow. &ldquo;Come on, Kara.&rdquo; <br /><br /><br />&ldquo;N-No&hellip;you said my injuries were doing okay.&rdquo; Kara whispered and pulled herself free, holding her arm tightly, claws digging into the furless skin. &ldquo;I-I have to find my father...and Zera, too.&rdquo;<br /><br /><br />Musa and Mari blinked, looking at Kara before they glanced at each other.<br /><br /><br />&ldquo;You can look after her?&rdquo; Mari said finally after a few moments of silence, her face was a mask of exasperation.<br /><br /><br />&ldquo;I have countless herbs and remedies. I only have a small proviso: she&rsquo;ll have to provide her own meals. Seeing that met, I can look over her.&rdquo; Musa nodded and tapped his cane against the wagon. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll be packing up here in a half hour, I want to get on the road before it gets too late into the day. So go gather only the things that you need, and we&rsquo;ll head out.&rdquo;<br /><br /><br />Kara&rsquo;s ears stood up straight up, a wide smile on her muzzle. &ldquo;I-I&rsquo;ll be back! Don&rsquo;t leave without me,&rdquo; her tail wagged madly behind her as she turned and ran to gather her belongings.<br /><br /><br />&ldquo;Don&rsquo;t run! You&rsquo;re going to open your wounds!&rdquo; Mari gave a heavy sigh. &ldquo;You&rsquo;d better keep a good eye on her. Anything happens to her, and I&rsquo;ll skin you for a new set of armour.&rdquo; Mari warned. <br /><br /><br />Musa nodded and grinned slightly, &ldquo;you have my word, Miss.&rdquo; He bowed before moving on to help another wolfess that was eyeing the yous and ornaments.<br /><br /><br />Mari went back to Kara&rsquo;s house, standing in the doorway and watched as Kara filled her knapsack with seemling countless items: her own medical equipment, ointments and bandages. Flint, and a small knife in a scabbard, and a skin of water and a well cared for Katana leaned against her armour that sat in the chair. &ldquo;I still don&rsquo;t think this is a good idea, Kara. You&rsquo;re still healing. If something happens&hellip;&rdquo;<br /><br /><br />&ldquo;I&rsquo;ll be okay, I&rsquo;ll promise to not push myself too much, and Musa said he&rsquo;d watch over me.&rdquo; <br /><br /><br />&ldquo;I know.&rdquo; Mari sighed and sat down, looking Kara in the eye, &ldquo;I just care for you, Kara. Like you are my own daughter.&rdquo; She gave a soft murr and took the wolfess&rsquo; hand, &ldquo;I trust you&rsquo;ll be safe, and I TRUST you won&rsquo;t do anything reckless, right? I don&rsquo;t want to stitch you back together when you get back.&rdquo; She spoke with a bit more sternness to her voice, but knew she was playing, &ldquo;at least let me take one more look at you.&rdquo;<br /><br /><br />Kara smiled softly, her ears back. &ldquo;Right,&rdquo; removing her robe, she let Mari cut away the old, stained bandages. The vixen worked in silence, removing the old stitching, she replaced it with a stronger thread. The wolfess whimpered and grit her teeth as she felt the needle. But she did the best she could to keep relaxed. &ldquo;Come home safe, okay?&rdquo; Mari asked once more as she finished the stitching.&nbsp;&nbsp;<br /><br /><br />&ldquo;I will.&rdquo;<br /><br /><br />&ldquo;Promise me.&rdquo;<br /><br /><br />Kara paused as she sat up to let Mari wrap her stomach and chest again before she nodded, a soft smile spreading on her muzzle. &ldquo;I will come home safe. I promise.&rdquo;<br /><br /><br />&ldquo;Good. Let&rsquo;s get everything finished up; we can&rsquo;t keep Musa waiting.&rdquo; She said and grabbed Kara&rsquo;s bag and katana, following the wolfess out to the cart.<br /><br /><br />Musa was already busy putting the cart away. But rather than manually arranging each item, he was waving his arm and staff, almost commanding every object into its rightful place among the shelves and chests. Turning to see the pair, he smiled widely. &ldquo;There you two are. Was starting to think that you changed your minds.&rdquo; <br /><br /><br />&ldquo;Just making sure I&rsquo;m ready to go.&rdquo; Kara said and put her bags into the back of the wagon, the bag and katana laid next to her armour just as the canvas closed instantly after they withdrew their hands.<br /><br /><br />&ldquo;I&rsquo;m glad to hear. Just one thing more: as I said I&rsquo;m going to Hai Kah, so I&rsquo;m unfortunately not going to be coming back this way. You can make your way back, can&rsquo;t you?&rdquo; <br /><br /><br />&ldquo;Y-Yeah.&rdquo;<br /><br /><br />&ldquo;Okay, I just wanted to check before we left. It&rsquo;d bug my conscience leaving you in Karatol all by your lonesome.&rdquo;<br /><br /><br />&ldquo;I&rsquo;ll be fine, my father&rsquo;s there, yeah.&rdquo; She said again with a nod. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll be fine.&rdquo;<br /><br /><br />&ldquo;Alright, Let&rsquo;s get going, We&rsquo;ll get there midday tomorrow, We&rsquo;ll camp somewhere down the road for tonight.&rdquo; Musa chuckled and attached the cart to the large lizard&rsquo;s harness once again, receiving a hissing yawn from the beast as it woke up. &ldquo;Let&rsquo;s head on out, then.&rdquo; He climbed up on the bench, his thick tail hanging over the back of it. <br /><br /><br />Mari wrapped her arms gingerly about Kara, holding her close. &ldquo;Be safe, and I&rsquo;ll see you when you get back. And you better be all in one piece.&rdquo; She gave another warning, seeming the only thing on her mind.<br /><br /><br />Kara gave a soft chuckle and nodded. &ldquo;A hundred times, I promise.&rdquo; the red wolf smiled and returned the hug before separating and climbing up beside the gator. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll be back with my father in a few days.&rdquo; She said just before Musa called the large reptile forward, the cart moving easily almost as if it floated rather than rolled on the wheels. <br /><br /><br />*********<br /><br /><br />They traveled north out of town and down the well traveled dirt road that led toward Karatol. The pair kept in silence for a long few moments, the only sound came from the creaking of the cart and the rumbling hiss of the lizard pulling it. Eventually Musa broke the silence, &ldquo;this injury of yours, it&rsquo;s not anything too hindering, is it?&rdquo;<br /><br /><br />&ldquo;Uh. N-No not really. Mari made sure to re-enforce my bindings and suture. I should be okay.&rdquo;<br /><br /><br />The gator looked at her with a raised eye ridge. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll take a look at it here when we stop. I&rsquo;m going to need you at peak condition to watch over the wagon in case any bandits show up. They&rsquo;re very common around Karatol; what with it being a major trade town. They like to wait outside the guards&rsquo; reach for anyone with some coin.&rdquo; Musa chortled. &ldquo;But I digress,&rdquo; Musa gave a hiss to the lizard, commanding the lizard to move to the side of the road, under the cover of the few trees that grew along the dusty road.<br /><br /><br />&ldquo;Hey, you&rsquo;re changing the deal.&rdquo;<br /><br /><br />&ldquo;We&rsquo;ll get camp set up and see what you&rsquo;ve got going on there.&rdquo; he gestured to her stomach before the larger gator slips off with a grunt, ignoring her comment. Using his long staff, he tugged out a piece of canvas from the wagon, seeming to stretch it like taffy and stuck his staff into the ground, making them an awning to sleep under. <br /><br /><br />Musa pulled out a hidden compartment, a smoldering pile of embers glowed within the low, metal pot. Kara pulled back, wincing as the heat radiated off of it. &ldquo;What the hell? How&rsquo;d you do that, this wagon&rsquo;s made of wood, how&rsquo;d you manage&hellip;!&rdquo; She was cut off by a jab at her nose, the gator&rsquo;s finger just inches from her nose.<br /><br /><br />&ldquo;If you&rsquo;ll allow me a moment to speak.&rdquo; The gator smiled and rubbed his hands together, groaning as he squatted down. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s not something I advertise, not as much so any more, at least. You saw how I put the cart away back in your village. I surely don&rsquo;t have to tell you what that means.<br /><br /><br />&ldquo;Back when I was a hatchling, learning my magic, I enchanted this fire so that it would never go out, never need rekindling.Then made sure that I could carry it around, and enchanted the cart to keep it from catching aflame. Now, for something that might be a bit more pertinent to you: I know a few healing spells, I don&rsquo;t really like to do it much anymore, tends to wear me out. But it&rsquo;d be like you were never injured in the first place...&rdquo; He gave a mumble as he came to the end of his sentence.<br /><br /><br />&ldquo;You said all I had to do was make up for my own meals, and you&rsquo;d get me to Karatol.&rdquo;<br /><br /><br />&ldquo;I&rsquo;m striking a bit of a new deal with you, I just didn&rsquo;t want to say anything in front of your vixen friend.&rdquo; He said and winked. &ldquo;If you let me heal you and I&rsquo;ll continue to bring you to Karatol. All you have to do is defend me while I&rsquo;m on my way through. It&rsquo;s only another day or so to travel.&rdquo; Musa said with a hissing chuckle as he unstrapped the large lizard. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s either that or I could leave you here, and let you walk back to Fayorn.&rdquo; he grinned widely as he rubbed the lizard&rsquo;s neck, pulling a large piece of meat from the wagon and tossing it to the creature.<br /><br /><br />&ldquo;N-No. Please&hellip;&rdquo; She stammered, watching as the rather crocodilian creature devoured the meat. &ldquo;I-If you can mend my wounds, I-I&rsquo;ll keep guard.&rdquo; Kara gave a short yip.<br /><br /><br />&ldquo;Ah, very good.&rdquo; Musa said with a kinder tone in his voice, the hiss disappearing from his speech. &ldquo;Come, lay down. Take your top off.&rdquo; <br /><br /><br />&ldquo;Do...do I have to? I mean it&rsquo;s magic, I wouldn&rsquo;t think I&rsquo;d have to...&rdquo;<br /><br /><br />&ldquo;Quiet girl, I&rsquo;m not some old perverted reptile.&rdquo; Musa said a bit more sternly. &ldquo;With my age, I need a lot more focus for magic like this, and seeing where the wounds are will help. So please, lay down, take your top off,&rdquo; he repeated and sat down, a pair of shears in hand.<br /><br /><br />Kara swallowed and followed the instruction, pulling her cotton top off, her ears flat against her head as she laid down on the ground, paws nervously tucked against her front. With only a look from the gator, she pulled her hands away and laid them at either side, looking away.<br /><br /><br />&ldquo;This won&rsquo;t take more than a few minutes, getting these wraps off will be the longest part.&rdquo; He commented in a sort of feigned bedside manner. He started cutting the bandages off of the wolfess, revealing her tan belly fur. &ldquo;They got you good, huh? Few days ago?&rdquo; He asked with a frown, fingers coming to trace the black lines that radiated from the two wounds on her stomach.<br /><br /><br />&ldquo;This is a little more than a week ago.&rdquo;<br /><br /><br />&ldquo;There&rsquo;s something more to this than a simple blade.&rdquo; Musa said and leaned closer, turning his head to the side to get as close as he could.<br /><br /><br />&ldquo;It wasn&rsquo;t a blade, Zarataph used his claw, the injury on my shoulder was done with his sword.&rdquo; She commented and pointed her shoulder. He moved up and thumped his heavy tail on the ground as he saw the radiating spiderweb of black veins. <br /><br /><br />&ldquo;I should be able to do something&hellip;with these, it might hurt a bit but after that, it should be fine.&rdquo; He said each word hesitantly.<br /><br /><br />He placed his paws over Kara&rsquo;s wounds, eyes trained on the back of his clawed hand. The tan scales started glowing a dim white. Kara felt a stinging pain in her stomach, exactly where the wounds were. Gritting her teeth, she felt a building heat until she heard Musa groan and pull his hands back. Her entire core felt cold as ice for a small moment before returning to normal. Lifting herself partly off the ground, she looked at her stomach. The wounds closed, leaving only little scars and bare patches of fur where they were. Despite that, the black lines had receded but still lingered; She touched the spots gingerly, &ldquo;Wow&hellip;&rdquo; She mumbled and looked at Musa, his head hanging. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve never...that&rsquo;s&hellip;&rdquo;<br /><br /><br />&ldquo;It&rsquo;s nothing&rdquo; He panted and hissed, the heavy tail thumping on the ground again. &ldquo;Well...It used to be anyway,&rdquo; he shook his head. &ldquo;Lay back down, we&rsquo;ll finish the one on your shoulder, then I&rsquo;m going to need rest,&rdquo; the gator said, looking at her shoulder again. &ldquo;This one may not be as easy to do...&rdquo; He stooped over to look at it before repeating the procedure. This time, the burning and stinging lingered after he finished. The wound had closed, but it was a little more obvious that there was a wound. Her shoulder was still quite black with the dark veins. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s still going to be healing through the night. Sorry I couldn&rsquo;t do much more, but I did what I could.&rdquo; Musa said, sounding fully drained now, he backed up to the other side of the fire next to his cart-pulling lizard. &ldquo;Wake me up at first light, okay? Don&rsquo;t want to be out here any longer than I have to, even with a guard,&rdquo; the elder pulled a small pillow out of the cart before he laid down and quickly fell asleep facing in towards the belly of the rumbling lizard.<br /><br /><br />Kara gave a low growl as she sat up and leaned against the cart&rsquo;s wheel, looking at the bare spots in her fur, rubbing gently over them. Giving a sigh pulled her top back on, staring at the two reptiles slept, the fire between them and her. Lowering her eyes into the now roaring flames, she planned and readied herself for what she could be walking into in Karatol. She made silent prayers that her father and the rest of the caravan were safe, then thought about Zerataph, and that night. <br /><br /><br />She wasn&rsquo;t sure what was going through the dragon&rsquo;s mind, or what was happening to him. But she hoped that the next time that they met, she could snap some sense into him. She was restless most of the night, having to get up several times and just walk about, never too far from the cart, and always made sure that her sword was in hand. Sighing, as she stepped away, she felt the cold of the night penetrating her fur. Darkness surrounded her, and she gave a glance back to see nothing but a dark, and desolate shell of a carriage. It looked abandoned, ransacked to its skeleton. Hearing the crunch of dirt, she gripped the hilt of her sword, scanning the horizon before retreating back to the crackling warmth of the hearth to watch over the wagon through the night.~</span>",
  "pools_count": 1,
  "title": "Dragon's Legend CH1 ~ Flight of a Winglesss Dragon",
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