The Chaos of Healing

[»Míríel«]

A meeting between two former friends is always an awkward and tense situation. Past memories and hurt of what each other did to each other conflicts with the good memories, sending both into a world that can only be described as chaos. This was such a meeting between two people. Neither one had expected to met one another, and so they stood fixed in a spot, looking at each other with serious, calm expressions. Yet underneath that look there were sparks ready to fly, and even the smallest thing could set of a wild fire that would blaze until one of the sources was extinguished.

"What are you doing here?" The deep voice of Ares growled.

Neron looked at his friend. It was like Ares never changed, ever. His orange hair still flamed in the sunlight and those blue eyes pierced through, judging and seething now, but they used to shine forth with happiness. The friendship that he had once known was now turned on his head and before him no longer stood a friend, but now an enemy, a threat to someone he discovered he loved. "The same you are, walking." A silence stretched between the two for a couple minutes. It took Neron to break it, "Listen Ares Why can't-"

"No, we can't. Either you realize what that witch of yours is doing to you and get rid of her or neither of us can walk on the same path again."

Neron's eyes flashed angrily, "Don't you dare call her that."

"What a witch, surely you can see that she is one." Ares smirked, "Or has her little spell blinded you to that fact. She is quite a pretty one don't you think? A little to pretty. I guess she uses that to her advantage all the time. You can't trust women like her Neron, you should know that. When she finished getting what she wants from you, you will be nothing to her nothing." A smile came to Ares's lips as Neron's eyes started to change, he had got to him.

Neron was thinking about what had happened just a day or two ago, the image of Jaedon kissing Zak flashed before him and he had the 'delight' of watching that scene play before his eyes once more. "She's not like that, she's not. Don't you dare lump her in with all the other criminals that you have dealt with. she's different."

"From what I can see, especially by that expression on your face a second ago. You seemed to be remembering something that shows she is quite the same. You just can't stand to see the truth. That truth being that she is nothing more than worthless scum that needs to be scraped off this earth and burned."

Neron was extremely close to loosing his skin, to here his friend talk about Jaedon in that manner was arousing an anger that he had hoped never to feel again, yet this time it ha some justice to its revival. "That is enough!" His voice rang out strongly, filled with anger.

"Oh no, Neron, it is only the beginning."

"No, it is the end." Shedding his skin his dragon form rose up, a menacing figure with dagger like spines and blade long claws. He didn't wait until he lunged at Ares.

Luckily for Ares he had seen this coming and he got out of the way before Neron came crashing past him. His form was also fading and it wasn't long before it was completely gone. What Ares wasn't fortunate enough to miss was Neron's quick reflexes, and lashing out his wing it his the winged lion that Ares had become, sending him skidding across the land, until he hit a nearby pillar.

Neron's gaze saw the new scars that were over Ares's pelt from the last fight. "No, Neron, you mustn't let the anger fade, Ares must be forced to change his opinion or you two will never be friends once more. It's either him or you. "

Ares rose up and shook his pelt, sending dirt flying off him. His blue gaze quickly scanned the area. It was to crowded here, the ground wasn't suited for fighting. There were open places, but the random pillars and hills would make it difficult, especially for him. So launching himself up in the air he knew that Neron would soon follow.

The two fought a fierce battle. Sometimes they would exchange blows in the air and then it would switch to land. Which one was hurt the most wasn't obvious until a sudden change of luck was given. Neron was having trouble, this time, fighting his friend. The wound in his shoulder was still paining him. Though all of his other wounds had healed from the last fight, his shoulder still bothered him, and his scars restricted some of his movement. So in a couple of minutes even he was having trouble fighting. Both were growing tired, but neither would give up. Neron, though, got the short end of the stick when he was forced to crash against a building. Due to the buildings ancient heritage, the stones shook from their place and collapsed on him. When the dust cleared there was no movement from the black form that was peeking from beneath the rocks. Ares landed heavily on the ground, the wounds that had been inflicted pained him. Between heavy breaths he muttered, "yes, it is the end, but only for you."

[saerwen]

It had seemed like a clear day, a nice day. It had seemed that all would be well today. Jaedon sighed as she listened to the wind and the birds and the trees. She was searching for something but she didn't know what yet. It was hard to think about anything for her right now. She was having a horrible temptation to become depressed again. She had gone outside in a desperate attempt to get her mind off her rather troublesome thoughts. They seemed to plague her now. She had always been in control of the mind, but now it was like her mind was running away.

She had wandered around, not really knowing what she was looking for, wishing that she did. She had come to some strange ruins. The rocks that had once upheld great ceilings and maybe housed many people were crumbling and fading away. Jaedon felt like one of those rocks. Her splendor had been in the past. She had been one of the best, most revered assassins and people paid her good money for her work. Her callous heart had been the reason for many deaths. But now, after time and weather had beaten against her, Jaedon's glory was crumbling into the dust and she wondered what life would be like, now that she was no longer an assassin, no longer stone hearted, no longer scared. Would life be wonderful? She had always wanted to ask the fairy tale princesses if they were truly happy with their uneventful lives. She bet not. But she would learn to be content, just as they had too.

Suddenly, a great roar came from somewhere close by as the ground shook. The roar was from some of the great pillars crashing to the ground. Jaedon was unsteadied by the impact at first but quickly regained her footing and ran to find the cause of the impact. Arriving on scene quickly, Jaedon found a rather horrifying sight. It was Ares. He was fighting with someone, and that someone was now trapped under a pile of rocks. It didn't take long for Jaedon to recognize the black scales of Neron. She knew what had happened. Ares and Neron were fighting, and she knew what about.

Jaedon crept closer until she was within hearing distance and she heard Ares say something that made everything within her angry. Yes, it is the end, but only for you. The rage within Jaedon threatened to overthrow all thought, all reason, but she smothered it, using it to fuel her power. This had to stop, and she was the one to do it. Before Ares could have done anything, heard anything or seen anything, Jaedon went for a direct attack. She had shed her skin and leaped from her hiding spot, bowling Ares over and pining him to the ground. Her claws dug deep into his fur.

"And this is the work of justice? I think I would rather be scum if you are just." Jaedon's eyes were burning with a rage that she hadn't felt since the day she walked into her mothers apartment with her sword in hand, ready for revenge. "Wake up, Ares." Jaedon growled at him.

[»Míríel«]

Ares let out a little roar of surprise as he felt himself go crashing to the ground. Before him was a panther, one with strange green eyes. Her scent was familiar, yet he couldn't place it, not until he heard her voice. Jaedon. "You." HE growled low and menacingly. She had a good grip on him, but he was larger than her, and he had the force of wings behind him. "You don't have to worry about that, you already are scum. Scum that has tainted my friend. Who do you think you are, playing around with people's hearts? Piercing them with your claws and ripping them open so that all the life may pour out. I know all to well what your kind does, all to well." With that he pushed with all his might against her, using all for legs and his wings to alter his positioning. AT this point he didn't care if her claws ripped flesh off of him.

Neron lay in a world that only he knew, and he knew it all to well, it was darkness. Numbness filled his senses and he felt like he was in anthers body. A sharp whine filled his ears, one of such a pitch to make you wince. Strangely enough he could hear past this whine and two voices floated around in his head. "Ares...and....Jaedon?" A sense of urgency filled him. What was she doing here? This would be a fight that Ares wouldn't go lightly upon, especially since he was having blood rage right now. Yet try as he might Neron found that he couldn't move, couldn't speak, couldn't see, he could only hear and breathe. A sense of confusion filled him.

[saerwen]

Jaedon knew that Ares wasn't going to break that quickly. He was stubborn and filled with hate. When he pushed her off, she ripped at his shoulder, tearing this fur and flesh away. She then stepped back a little and readied herself for another attack, but instead of pouncing on him, she used her magic. If she could distract Ares with her physical attacks then her magical ones could be much more potent. Using her magic as she swiped at his head with her paw, a black hole that would have swallowed Ares up, consuming him and placing him in total darkness. This was a darkness that his claws could not fight their way out of. And after that she took the opportunity while that spelled distracting him for just a slight moment. Jaedon made a quick attack on his other shoulder, her long claws swiping at him with speed but also anger. Then, just as quickly and randomly, Jaedon jumped back and sat down, waiting for his next move.

"If this scum has tainted your friend then why is it that you are the one trying to kill him instead of it being the other way around? If your justice is to kill him because he has become scum, then you are merciless. Mercy is the only thing that separates good from evil and it is never the villain that has mercy, this you know." Jaedon sat and stared at Ares with cold eyes that reflected something of what she had been like a long time ago, before she had met Neron, Damion, or Miriel. It was cold, calculating, but truthful. It was the kind of look that the devil might give a man who was already dead, but denied it, saying that he still lived. Then she thought about what he had said about her kind. She smirked as she said, "I am almost tempted to believe that it wasn't an assassin who wounded your heart, but a woman. She must have been very beautiful to have left such a scar on your heart. But really, just because you have a bad taste in women doesn't mean that Neron does. I might manipulate people on occasions, but at least I am not blinded by bitterness."

Not far from the scene of the fight, but far enough away to be oblivious to it, Damion was walking among some trees. He was slightly disturbed by something that he had seen the other day and was contemplating how it could have come about. He had been walking down the street and had seen Jaedon pass by. She was practically shining her smile was so big. He hadn't seen her smile like that in his life, not once. When he had asked her what had caused her to be so happy, she answered simply that she had figured out that she wasn't alone and that it had made her very happy. Damion knew that there was more to it that she was letting on, but he didn't know what. She was just too happy, just too...carefree. He kept thinking about what on earth had happened to her. He wasn't complaining that she was happy just curious. So there he was, pacing among the few trees, about to go and wander among the pillars.

[»Míríel«]

Ares was glad to find that his attacker was no longer pinning him to the ground. He knew that JAedon wasn't going to wait around for him to recover his sure footing before she attacked. So he lunged to the side, narrowly missing the black hole that opened at his feet. He wasn't so lucky with her other blow, he was recovering his footing when she lashed out at his shoulder. The wound was deep and caused more blood to flow. When he turned toward her, Ares found that she was sitting, waiting for his move. Slightly confused he stood there for half a second. HIs appearance had altered slightly, now with large wounds on his shoulder and sides coupled with the ones Neron had already gave him. Blood and his golden fur already scattered on the ground. " I'm not trying to kill him, I'm trying to knock some sense into him. Those rocks will not kill him, his scales will protect him from that. Rather he will be forced to be still and think for a bit. I would have thought that someone like you would have known that dragon scales protect the beast from a good amount of beating. Only magic can slice through so easy and it leaves the dragon with a wound that festers. Don't think I didn't sense the dark magic of your on his shoulder. Seems funny that you will be defending him when you have fought him yourself. As long as I have met you, both of you have been at each others throats. Something like that doesn't change over night."

"I also find it interesting that you are lecturing me on what is right or wrong. Sort of hypocritical don't you think?" Something about what she said dd start to ring in his heart, but he tried to suppress it. Running at her he leaped off the ground and letting his wings glide him quickly across the gap between them. Feinting toward the left he pinned his wings and went to the right. This threw him in Jaedons direction and he was ready, claws unsheathed and the at ready he tried swiping her across the side, hoping to snag some flesh, and then bite her on the shoulder.

Neron's senses were slowly coming back. To add to the high pitched squeal he now could feel pain flooding his body. Sharp things were pinching his scales and digging in to him. Slowly the taste of blood became apparent in his mouth, whether it was his or Ares's he couldn't tell. The world around him was starting to become brighter as his sight was clearing. Yet everything was blurry and disorienting. It was driving him insane to have to listen to the fight but not be able to see what was happening or who was getting hurt. To add to this sense of discomfort, he was growing more and more aware that he was in an enclosed area.

Miriel was quickly walking in the direction of the pillars. Something was going on with someone she cared about. She could feel it. There was pain crying out to her but she didn't know who or why. This usually only happened when someone was in major pain or injury, and then had to be a close and loved friend. So she had walked a long way to see who it was. Lifting her face to look ahead she noticed one figure, it was Damion. Running closer to him she sighed deeply, "Oh good, it wasn't you. I was worried..." Her face was twisted in confusion and worry. "That only leaves Neron and Jaedon...oh great..." She didn't realize how confusing that this could be to one who didn't have senses like she did.

Cecily sat among one of the many houses carved into the rock face. She loved this place, it was rustic and quirky, and lonely. No one usually came through these parts, so it was a good place for her to stash all of her poisons, books, and tools. So she had picked one, out of the many, crumbling places. Her's wasn't the largest, nor the smallest of the buildings. Her was the cutest, by her description. This meant that it had a haunted and wild look about it, with some flowers entwining themselves around and through the stones. Cecily had come here for one reason, to cook up some 'teas'. She had been busy gathering everything when the fight had broken out. Even though she had just put one of her poisons on to boil a bit, she stopped. She loved fights, they were so intriguing. So she stopped her 'tea' making to watch. It was a good thing that he little "cottage" was far enough away that she could watch unnoticed, but close enough to see everything.

[saerwen]

"Magic might cut deep into a dragons scales, but words and hatred cut even deeper, Ares. You have wounded him worse than anyone before. You talk of knocking sense into him, but in truth you are simply going to take your anger out on him because you feel that he has betrayed you. The real question is which one of you are the betrayer. And in regards to your other observation, I have found that the strongest relationships and the truest are the ones that have been refined by the fire of pain." Jaedon knew that Ares wasn't going to sit idle for long. He wasn't one to sit and talk while there were games at foot. She sat there, studying him, but ensuring that she could move quickly. "Really Ares, which one of us is more hypocritical? A friend that has abandoned the reason of a good friendship for the madness of hatred or an assassin that has befriended a fellow wring-doer in the hopes of changing for the better? An assassin that has known right from wrong for the entirety of her life or a friend that is now blinded by prejudice?"

Jaedon watched as Ares came for her and knew that one of his blows was going to hit its mark. He was too close to her for her to form a spell to stave him off so she would jsut have to dodge and roll with the punches. She let his paw catch on her side, feeling some slight pain, but it was hardly noticed as she concentrated of staving off the teeth that bit at her shoulder. She had let him swipe her side so that she could avoid his bite which she nimbly avoided by side stepping him. This put her at the prime spot to bite the back of his neck, right in between his haunches. She felt her side sting slightly as she moved so quickly, but since that was her only injury thus far it was easy to block out of thought. As she aimed to bite him, she jumped on top of him again, yet again using her claws at will.

Damion was glad to see MIriel, but she seemed to be rather frantic and he wondered what on earth she was doing there. Then she started talking like someone was in trouble. "What about Jaedon and Neron?" Then a brilliant thought hit him...What if Miriel knew what had made Jaedon so giddy? He could ask her for further explanation. However, his question would have to wait for her problem. "What are you worried about?" He was slightly confused but he would ask and try to help despite that.

[»Míríel«]

"Enough talk!" Ares hissed at her. He knew what she was saying was right but he didn't want to admit it. Anger felt so good right now. The sting of her words only caused it to grow within. He let himself try and concentrate on what she was doing. It was hard to focus, his body was growing tired, after all he had just finished fighting Neron and now with out a breather he was fighting once more. His legs ached and the wounds were starting to send lightning through every part of his body. Even the partial success of getting Jaedon hurt didn't give him energy. So when she put the blow behind his neck, he didn't have the energy to dodge. Then her claws sliced through his pelt more and more, all he could do was try to wriggle out of it, which wasn't going to work. He ended up just collapsing, about to try and roll over her.

Neron's eyesight was coming back fast, it was probably helped by his growing fear of being in a tight place. He tried to calm himself, but he could tell that it was a loosing battle. So he focused his energy on what was happening, trying to block the tight space out of his mind. There was blood in the air, and the sound of a body collapsing reached Neron's ears. He had to see what was going on, he had to. Blinking his eyes rapidly he tried to clear them, but it wasn't working, everything was still dark. Then he realized why. Rocks were blocking his vision, the only piece of him exposed was his tail and a wing that was pinched between two larger stones. Some of his motor skills had returned and moving his head he pushed some of the rocks out of his line of sight. They tumbled a little way's the sound of stone against stone rang through the air. The sudden brightness blinded his eyes and still the world about him was blurry. Even the small exertion of moving the stones caused him to have to lay his head back down. The world turned and tumbled for a moment before standing still once more. "Jaedon?" The voice was thin and hoarse.

Miriel shook her head, "I don't know... something isn't right, I have this feeling in my stomach, something that only comes around when someone is hurt and it has to be someone I'm close to." She frowned, "I don't know who it is but they are close." She looked around in an agitated manner, "Come on let's go look..." Turning from him she headed off in the direction of the pillars, her feet flying over the ground. Her usually cheerful face was darkened with worry. The pillars were closing in fast and it didn't take long before she came upon a scene of chaos, "What on earth..." She stopped in her tracks. There before her was blood, fur pieces, collapsed rock with Jaedon and Ares in the center of it. Some rock suddenly shifted on the pile, something was under it.

[saerwen]

Jaedon felt Ares trying to roll out from under her grasp and she was not about to let that happen, not after what he had done to Neron. She was glad that she finally felt her anger going to some good use. She was protecting her friend, she was making sure that the man she loved was alright. Perhaps there was a bright side to every piece of a broken heart. She had hope that she could go on without worrying about herself, so long as she had people to care about.

She released Ares and was about to make sure that she got a swift slice along his soft underbelly, right around his neck, but then she stopped herself. She was about to kill him...She was about to kill Ares...So, what difference does it make? He is beyond anyone's help. He is insane. He won't stop. He won't leave you and Neron alone. He will always hate you. It's either you use your cold heart for a good purpose now or he kills the only person that has ever shown you any love. Jaedon raised her paw a little higher, about to do it, but then she stopped again. But if I kill him, how am I any difference? What does separate me from him? Am I really any different if I give in and kill him? Jaedon lowered her paw and turned away from Ares. She started over to go and help Neron, replacing her skin as she went.

Damion was in complete confusion. What was Miriel talking about? Must be a phoenix thing I still don't know about... He shook his head then called, "Miriel, slow down!" as she took off in the direction of the columns. He ran after her asking himself why they were always running towards the danger instead of away from it. When he reached Miriel after she had stopped, he said, "Please tell me this doesn't happen often." He then turned to survey the scene that had caused Miriel to have a rather interesting face. "Oh, you've got to be kidding me!" Damion watched as Jaedon walked away from a rather bloody and beaten Ares. "And I thought that she was past this mess." He started to walk towards Jaedon, fully intent on knocking her out to prevent any other bursts of rage.

Jaedon heard some one moving behind her and thought it might have been Ares. She whirled around and saw Damion looking quite stormy. "Perfect timing, whitey." She said as she turned away from him. "Help me. Neron is under all this mess." She pointed to the pile of stones that covered Neron.

"Will you please explain what is going on?" Damion spoke with slight agitation. He was angry that she was so calm. "What happened to Ares?"

Jaedon rolled her eyes, "LATER!" she raised her voice in a stressed way. "Did you not understand that Neron is trapped under tons of rocks?" With that she turned away from Damion, and went over to the rocks, pushing the ones that she could off of Neron.

Damion sighed, "Always in trouble." He then shed his skin, the white flurry of snow following in his wake.

[»Míríel«]

Ares knew that this battle was lost, it was over for him. Yet something happened that he hadn't expected, Jaedon never delivered the killing blow, even though it was in her hands. Instead she walked off to care after Neron. For a moment he lay there, feeling the life giving blood flow from him. He needed to escape, yet all he wanted to do was sleep, to stay still. Every movement was awakening a cry of pain from his body. Plus he couldn't just escape with Jaedon standing there. Just when he was getting ready to let himself slip into darkness he heard other voices, they were heading toward Neron. "Good... a distraction." Opening his eyes he waited for the white dragon to erupt from Damion's skin. Yet just when he was about to try and drag himself off he felt a warm hand on his shoulder.

"Lie still...and the pain will subside."

Ares turned his head slightly, to face a girl. "Miriel...."

She shook her head and held her hand in front of her mouth, gesturing to be quiet. Her powers rushed over him like a warm wave, enveloping him. Everything felt fine once more, but as strength returned and he turned to look at her, he saw her pained expression. Pulling away he separated himself from her. "NO, I will not have you have pain because of your friend's deeds." HE bared his teeth at the word friend. Even though Miriel had healed a great many wounds, she couldn't repair them all, after all fixing a deep wound and knitting the muscles back together take a lot of concentration. One misstep and the person, or animal, could never walk again. Also the pain that they felt transferred straight to her. Thus, after fixing just a two of the deepest wounds she was glad he had stopped her. Still there was much to be done, wounds from Neron and Jaedon combined still caused blood to flow out of him.

Ares dipped his head in thanks and took off, still limping and bleeding slightly. A slight trail of blood, a drip here and there, gave testimony to his traveling. So Miriel picked herself up, exhausted, already. Then turned toward the other two. Journeying nearer she came within hearing distance just as she heard the words, "Did you not understand that Neron is trapped under tons of rocks?" Miriel froze. All she could think was, "Crap...." She had just wasted a lot of energy on Ares and now, now she would have little energy to help Neron out.

Neron's senses were coming back fast. Jaedon was now in full focus, and the ringing in his ears were fading, but with this renewal of feeling he also gained a sense of pain. Everything ached, it was being crushed by something, but what? He remembered crashing into rocks but everything else just went black. Things surrounded him, closing in on him with a tightening grasp. Every time he exhaled it was hard to inhale. He was trapped. Claustrophobia stated to rear its head and his eyes grew wide in panic. He had to get out, now. Yet try as he might he couldn't get out. Yet he tried. Pressing against the rocks with all his might he tried to move and thrash his way out. Letting out a roar he struggled against the stone, no matter how much it hurt. Pain laced through him, yet panic rose above this. Yet he was pinned by something that he didn't have the strength to remove, especially after a fight. His body was tired, yet he had to get out, he must.

[saerwen]

Damion walked over to the pile of rubble that was pinning Neron to the ground. He grabbed one of the largest rocks that were is plain sight and lifted it away. What on earth had happened to cause this to happen? He kept pushing the largest boulders off, sometimes having to employ his tail to do a complete job. Then Neron let out a roar and Damion began to fear that he had moved something a little too roughly. However, he soon discovered that it wasn't that. Neron was struggling wildly to get out. He was getting claustrophobic. Not good Neron, not good! If Neron wasn't careful he could hurt himself worse than he already was. Damion pulled away and looked at Jaedon.

"Can you please try to calm him down? If he keeps thrashing around like that he is only going to make things worse for himself. I am working as fast as I can." He then started to tear the rocks away as quickly as he could, now feeling the urgency of his mission. He would have this stuff off of Neron soon enough.

Jaedon had noticed that Neron was panicking too. You stupid lizard. Stop moving so much! That is not going to help you any. She had previously been rolling rocks away from Neron, but now she decided to try and find his head. It didn't take long because he had pushed some of the rocks out of the way. He was going nuts... She just shook off the feeling that wished she had killed Ares and then started to talk to him.

"Neron, you have got to stop all this. Damion has almost got you out, but you have got to give him just a little bit longer. You have to stop moving around so much. You are going to hurt yourself even more." She doubted that her pleas were going to make a difference. However, Damion was almost done. There were just a few more really big rocks, the rest could be easily pushed aside. "Just a moment longer, Neron, hold on." She then looked away for a moment to Miriel who had been beside Ares. It was then that she noticed that slimy guy was gone. She was partially glad and partially angry. She was glad because she wouldn't kill him now, but she was angry because she hated him more than anything right now...She hated him for what he had done to Neron. When she looked back at Neron, her feelings rages in her green eyes, angry and determined at the same time. She would make sure that Neron got out and was okay if it was the last thing that she did.

[»Míríel«]

Neron could feel the rocks shifting around him, but sometimes they shifted closer and closer, pressing on him at all sides. Those stones were choking him, he had to get out. Eyes wide with terror, Neron kept struggling, thrashing about as much as he could in the restrained position he was in. The rocks moved slightly, rocking back and forth with every movement. The adrenaline that pulsed through his veins deadened his senses and the pain that had been flooding his senses before now wasn't even there. "Tight space, free, must be free, out...I have to get out." Though words pulsed through his head, demanding his actions. It wasn't until Jaedon spoke that some peace started to set in.

"No...I must get free, I must. I won't be trapped, again." He struggled again as his voice faded, "I must..." He thrashed a bit more, pressing against the rock, trying to free himself, but now his body was starting to rebel. It was tired after fighting, dead tired. He found himself almost unable to move. Letting out one more righting push against the rock he lay still. Breath was hard to draw through his lungs, as the rocks shifted closer to him due to his last push.

"Just a moment longer, Neron, hold on." Jaedon's voice soothed him. He lay still, his eyes still wide, but some sense returned. He had to get out, but he knew that he would, eventually. He could tell by the way Jaedon looked at him. Closing his eyes he tried to clear his mind, tried to push the overwhelming sense of claustrophobia from him, but it wasn't working. If Damion didn't move fast he was going to fight against the stone once more.

---

Miriel watched, sadness filling her eyes. To see friends part in such a violent and bloody manner hurt her. There were to many times in her past that such things had happened, and they had almost never ended well. She hoped and prayed that this wouldn't happen this time... She waited for Neron to be released and as she saw that the rocks were soon to be cleared, she made her way towards them.

[saerwen]

Jaedon was tempted to get angry with Neron for continuing to struggle, but the she remembered that he was probably close to a state of shock. He was probably having trouble telling left from right. She turned to Damion, "Calming him down is a no go, you gotta go faster." She then turned back to face Neron, staying close by, continuing to tell him to try and stay calm.

Damion heard Jaedon just before he threw a boulder away. "Yeah...Right." He grunted as he picked up the biggest of the fallen bricks, which revealed most of Neron's mid section. He still had about two or three really big ones to move so he set to work. The whole time he had been puzzled about what had happened. With Jaedon acting weird and then newly reformed Neron going back to utter slaughter in a fight was just not right. There was something happening in the background that he had yet to see and the second that Neron was out from under those rocks and in his right mind he was going to interrogate Neron and Jaedon. Jaedon had been fighting with Ares and he had obviously been beaten to a pulp by Jaedon. She had been a little less than merciful, even prepared to kill him. There was a reason for this because the last time he had checked Ares was on good terms with Jaedon and best friends with Neron.

He had been working with a quick and constant pace and the rest of the really big ones were pushed off. Damion then used his tail to sweep the other smaller ones off of Neron. Wherever he was hurt, Miriel would have to take over. Damion sighed and returned to his skin, his dragon form disappearing his a white flurry. He turned to see Miriel walking closer and in order to make sure he didn't seem to stiff he forced a small smile on his face. The truth was that he was scared that those rocks had hurt Neron, but that they wouldn't be able to see it. That would probably mean that it would be harder for Miriel. If that happened then he would pulled her off of Neron fast. As much as he cared for Neron he had to be truthful in the fact that he cared for Miriel more.

[»Míríel«]

The weight of the rocks being lifted off of him caused Neron to finally be able to catch his breath. As Damion swept the last remaining rocks off Neron lay still for a moment, panting. His eyes, which had been wide, grew back to normal with every breath, then with a blink they were back to normal. So there he lay, his black form glistening in the sunlight. To the eye it seemed that nothing was wrong. There were no scrapes, or bruising, or even a missing scale, besides the still healing wound in his shoulder from Jaedon. To the others this would probably bring a sigh of relief, but to those who know about the dragon form, he could still be in danger. The dragon scales that cover the surface are very hard, extremely hard to pierce. They act as a bendable shield for the dragon, only the soft underbelly, or the armpit scales offer a weakness. What most people don't realize is that these scales are very flexible, allowing the dragon to move freely. But what this doesn't help is if a large rock or stone falls on the dragon. These scales would offer little to almost no protection on internal wounds.

Even though this had happened to Neron everything appeared to be alright. Though he struggled to his feet, some might think this was from fatigue, not from injury. Even Neron felt fine, and with the adrenaline running through his veins it was hard for him to really be able to tell. Those green eyes of his scanned around him and he flexed his wings. Freedom, finally freedom. Being trapped under those rocks had given him memories, bad ones. He hadn't been claustrophobic his entire life. Some dragons do get this from being inside of a shell for their first days of life, usually it is when the dragon is in the egg longer than usual, causing them to grow and become to big for the shell until it shatters.

It didn't take long for the adrenaline to start fading, and as it did a pain in his side came to his attention. It was dull at the moment, something that could be tolerated. Yet even as he shifted to his human form he could feel something wasn't quite right. He put this off as a fractured rib or just a stitch in his side. Perhaps his old scar was acting up again. Still, he found it hard to be on two feet at first. He had to lean over for a moment on a nearby rock, trying still to catch his breath.

Miriel smiled back at Damion but then turned her attention to Neron. He had switched back to his human form. This was a relief, especially sense Miriel knew it would be hard to detect the wound in his dragon form. Walking closer to him she noticed him to be slightly out of breath, probably from being trapped under the rocks, but something else was wrong, he was bent over slightly, yet he gave no sign to where the pain could be located.

Neron noticed Miriel coming, her eyes were so warm and gentle. She wanted to heal him, just like always. Good old Miriel, always cleaning him up after all his fights and dumb acts he did. She always tried to take the pain from him and bring it on herself. Why, why did she always have to be so nice. With every passing moment he could feel that something wasn't right, but he wasn't going to let Miriel interfere. So before she could come to close Neron straightened up abruptly, causing his mouth to twitch with pain. "Go away Miriel."

Miriel blinked and paused for a moment. Neron's voice was very savage, much like the time they first met. "What?"

"Go away Miriel, I'm fine."

Miriel felt some anger blaze through her. "You are anything but fine I'm sure. No one could be under that many rocks and be fine!"

Neron balled his fists at his sign, not as a sign o aggression, but this time in pain. He knew that if he didn't feed her a lie that she would end up truely healing him. "I'm fine MIriel, it's nothing but a fractured rib."

Miriel narrowed her eyes. "Are you sure?" Neron was always a difficult patient, always trying to keep her from healing him. It was one way that she knew he had a some goodness in him.

"I know what a broken rib feels like." He snapped.

Miriel stared at him for another minute before breathing a sigh of relief. He did appear to look fine, perhaps a bit pale, but he had just fought and struggled against rocks. No, he was fine, if it was anything major, she would have been able to detect it by now. "Good... I do not think I could do to much to help you anyways." It was true, Ares had taken a good bit of energy from Miriel, and she still hadn't been able to heal him well. If he wasn't careful, especially since he had lost so much blood, he could loose his life pretty easily.

Neron gazed at the three and then at the spot Ares had been, it was marked by a stain of blood on the ground, puddling up slightly like it had just rained. Then looking at Damion he bowed his head in thanks and turned to move away. He couldn't look at Jaedon in the eye, he knew that if he did she would see his pain. He also tried to block all of it out of his mind. Neron knew that since he was hurt he wouldn't be able to protect his mind as much from the likes of her. Once she was in she would be able tell exactly how he felt.

[saerwen]

Damion saw Neron's behavior towards Miriel turn to one of complete rejection. Stubborn Neron always wanted to do things on his own, make it on his own power and strength, but there was a point when personal strength gave out and you had to depend on someone else. Miriel did get a little too willing to help sometimes, putting even herself in danger at times, and Damion admired her for this selfless trait, but there were points when it went too far. He remembered that night by the lake when he had beaten Neron into the ground and Miriel had almost killed herself trying to heal him, damaging her mind for a rather long time. He wasn't going to let her do something like that again, and for a moment he thought that Neron might also be wanting to protect her from that, but that would mean that he knew his wound was very serious. He then adopted the thought that Neron was just being stubborn. He hated to see any of his friends in pain, but if Miriel took their pain then it would be of shorter duration. He was unable to decided whether or not he should interfere, so he stood by watching for a moment.

Jaedon was glad to see Neron able to stand. She thought that he might have been too weak to even do that, considering all of the rocks that he had been buried under, and none of them small. However, it bothered her when he wouldn't look at her. She had been worried sick about him and he was fixing to just walk off without even a single look to tell her that he was okay. She wasn't going to stand for it. What was he thinking? He wasn't thinking, at least not about how much she had worried. Was he angry at her for fighting with Ares and hurting him? Surely not...It wasn't like she had killed him either, though she had been very tempted to. She had been proud of herself for resisting the temptation and thought that Neron would have been too. Was he? How could she know if he just turned and walked away?! She narrowed her eyes at his back and then made her feelings known, but not out loud. She entered Neron's mind, not paying attention to much else and then began to talk to him. Are you just gonna walk away? Why won't you look at me? Are you angry at me? Are you even alright, because I am having a hard time believing that your scales could have protected you so well as to leave you with just a broken rib. She placed her hands on her hips as she said this to him alone and just continued to glare holes into his back.

Damion had acknowledged Neron's thanks to him and thought for a moment that he was alright, but he also noticed that Neron had not looked at Jaedon who he had been expecting to get a sermon from Neron for picking a fight with Ares. Everything about this rung very strange to Damion and if Jaedon and Neron didn't start spilling then he was going to start interrogating. He had given up interrogating Jaedon because she would just lie her way through anything, but Neron he had more faith in to answer truthfully, if nothing more than from anger. Then Jaedon started to glare at Neron and she cocked her hip, putting her hands on them. She was talking to Neron, but no one else would be able to tell. He just knew that she was too silent so she had to be talking to him privately. He wondered what Jaedon was saying. Probably something close to annoyed chatter or angry chastisement. He just sighed and waited to see what Neron would do, turning to Miriel and wondering about what she had said. She said that she wouldn't have been able to help Neron any ways. Why was that?

[»Míríel«]

How much had changed for Neron. It seemed that everything was being turned on its head. First he was slowly becoming a new person, things were looking up for him, but now, now everything seemed to be headed south. Ares had turned his back on him and Neron knew that there wasn't going to be any turning back from this point onward. Air rushed past Neron's lips as he let out a sigh of exasperation. Why did life have to be so complex?

Jaedon's voice than rang in his head and it brought one more thing to mind. Even though he was losing a friendship with Ares, he was gaining an even closer one with Jaedon. The two of them understood each other, perhaps more than to Neron's liking. This common thought was only growing thicker with Neron's growing love for the girl and this caused him to worry. Jaedon obviously knew something up, she was to smart to let Neron's understatement slide past her. Though Miriel wasn't dumb, Neron knew how to make her stop asking questions, she respected his space and let him have privacy, Jaedon wasn't as kind.

"I'm not angry at you Jaedon. Really I'm not, if anything I'm proud, I wish I could have seen it. Now out of my head, you know what happened in my head last time Jaedon, and I don't want to hurt you again. " Everything he said was true, but he was hiding some things from her. The pain in his body was ever growing, it seemed with every passing moment some other part of his body began screaming at him. Breaking his a rib was an understatement, he had basically shattered them. His organs underneath were bruised and beaten, if he hurt himself again he could cause internal bleeding, if there wasn't any currently. Every breath he took made needles of pain wreath up his sides. His arms were starting to bruise in places where they were trapped under the rocks. It was amazing he was standing, but Neron knew that this feat wouldn't be there for to long. Even now the world tumbled and turned slightly. He forced all of this behind him, trying to keep the mental pain from the for front of his mind.

If Jaedon was paying attention she would have been able to feel the mist that was starting to cloud Neron's judgment. It would have felt like walking along the edges of a lake as the mist started rising from the ground like ghosts. Also Neron still didn't look at her, knowing that if she hadn't picked up what was going on, looking at her would leave no hope of hiding pain. Neron usually would have come back with some snide remark to her questions to deflect pain on others. This time, for once in his life, Neron didn't have the energy for sarcasm.

----

Miriel watched the two, eyes moving from one to the other. She wondered what was going on between those two. Neither were talking to each other and Neron had stopped in his tracks like someone had called his name. Jaedon seemed to be looking at Neron imploring an answer to some unspoken questions, and Neron, by his body language, seemed reluctant and sorry for not revealing the answer. What a strange world life had become. It was then that Damion turned to her, but nor with the usual loving glance, but instead an imploring look. She blushed slightly and looked down for a moment, already feeling guilty about something. "Yes, Damion?"