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"Oblivion speech."

Oblivion's red orbs widened in surprise. Sam was ready to attempt the ritual!? Or at least, he thought he was. But many a kein had died trying for such a thing, and as powerful as Levi thought he was... Well, he didn't think Sam was that powerful! Especially after the Gaili flinched away from his slaughter of the dragon. "Yes." Levi retorted, the tip of his tail flicking irritably. They had to collect the orbs from these beasts. There was no sense waking them for a battle! Shouldn't Sam be pleased that he'd obtained another treasure? Levi was... This Cave would prepare him for his own ritual! Though... even he wasn't willing to dive in too quickly... "If you hope to be a Drakeinian, you have to kill Dragons, right? Don't feel sorry for it!" The Diabi scoffed, sauntering ahead.

The next room had him standing in the midst of the stars. The darkness called out pleasantly to him, whispering in his ear that it was safe here. He was in his element. Levi strode forward, beckoned by the calling darkness. He wasn't watching his pawsteps, and ended up tumbling into the small pond with a yelp, splashing water all along his feathers and alerting the dragon of his presence. He didn't even have time to curse before a globe of water surrounded him, pushing in on him and drowning him.

"Oblivion speech."

Levi gasped and floundered as the orb splattered around him, sending him splashing into the small pond. Fortunately, the water wasn't very deep, and he was able to drag himself free with minimal trouble. Air had never tasted so good before. His feathers were soaking wet, and his breaths were coming out with harsh, ragged sounds, but he was alive! All because Sam had slayed that Peisio beast with enough time to spare him. "Thank you!" He gasped out in surprise. To have another come and save him..! Well, he'd certainly never thought that he'd need saving, but the fact that he did and that someone was actually willing to! Levi didn't even know for sure if he'd have stayed to rescue Sam if their positions had been reversed. He shakily rose to all fours, inclining his head to the Gaili who was hovering over him worriedly. "Thank you." He repeated again more calmly. "I'm alright now."


"But why...? Why didn't you let me die?" Levi questioned. The Diabi hadn't been particularly kind to him, or shown him any degree of friendship... He ruffled his feathers to shake some of the dampness away, and then gave Sam's leg a reassuring flick with his tail as a signal that they could head along. The next room was wet. Levi hardly noticed, dampened as he was. In in the middle of it sat... A Firani? Eh, were the Dragons backpeddling? They were ready for Peisios now! Well, sort of.

"I can take this one." Levi huffed. He charged ahead. the screaming from the previous cave had this dragon prepared for them, and it shot a burst of flame out at Levi them warmed his feathers. It actually felt kind of nice... So long as he didn't get singed! He danced around the flames in his graceful way, sliding and dipping through the air to avoid being burned. And then, once he made it over the beast, he dove, crashing his body into its head and snapping its neck to the side. It was felled instantly.

"Oblivion speech."

Friends?! Levi's eyes widened, and his heart stuttered in surprise. He'd never really had any friends before... He attributed it to the fact that his excellence was intimidating, but Sam didn't seem to mind it, now that he thought about it... The Gaili might even stand a snowball's chance in Eowyn against him! But friends... didn't 'go against' each other, did they...? He collected his treasures in the room and followed closely behind Sam. "So, you think we're... friends?" Levi questioned in wonder. Oh, this was kind of exciting! If he had a friend he'd be abble to take on much more stronger opponents! Nothing on Eowyn would be a match for them, that was for sure!

There was more of a spring in his step as he entered the next cavern. He was pleased to see an Aiskala waiting for them. That Firani hadn't stood a chance, and the Cave gods knew it! "Samael, my friend, let's take this one together!" He decided before flying off toward the large, icy dragon. A cool wind whipped him as he drew nearer, and the creature swirled around the berate him with its tail. But he dodged effortlessly. He dipped around it, dark spires appeared to encircle its feet, trapping it in place, unless it wanted its ankles to be stabbed.

"Oblivion speech."

Levi was careful to stay out of the Aiskala's range until Sam had finally felled the creature. It wasn't as if he liked to watch them flop around, but it was nice to know that he could still crush creatures of this caliber if he put in enough effort. his red orbs turned flabbergasted onto the Sam. "What?! Of course we can still take them!" he scoffed. Just because this one wasn't an instant kill didn't mean they were losing their touch. Levi had no notion of turning back now. "Come on! Let's keep moving forward!" He demanded, darting ahead before Sam could object.

The next cave was chilly. He was thankful that his feathers provided some warmth, and the darkness had mostly overtaken. Levi was completely in his element! How could Sam say their opponents were getting too strong? He didn't see their foe straight off the bat, though, even with his superior night vision. He scanned the ground, and then the roof, but still saw nothing...

"Sam speech."

Sam wasn't so sure... But he followed anyway. There was no way they could hope to make it to the end now... Samael was exhausted and was actually more interested in going home... The desire was furthered when his paw hitting the floor was accented by an obnoxiously loud squish! Gasping in surprise, the Gaili glanced down to see a fresh wad of dragon poo under his claws, wedging itself into his crevices. "Gross!" Sam griped, the scent wafting up to meet his nostrils. Despite his best attempts at wiping it off, the poo clung to him stubbornly. Sam sighed in loathing. Yep. He'd had enough of this cave.

He searched for a dragon, his gaze landing on two out-of-place orbs peeking from behind a rock. They weren't glowing fungus, but they reflected the light so well, that they could've easily been mistaken for the strange light-source. "There!" Sam growled. In the stale musk of the cave (just barely over the scent of dragon poo), he caught wind of an earthy smell. This dragon was a Gaili! Like him! "i will take this one." Sam muttered softly. If he could at least defeat his own kind, then maybe he was ready!

He charged ahead.

the dragon leaped from its cover, shooting boulders in Sam's direction. He was forced to dodge or break the incoming rocks with some of his own. The two waged an earthy war, each spitting boulder after boulder at the other. But the dragon was larger, and more magical. Sam would have to rely on his physical attacks as well. Once he got close enough, he dove for its neck, a trick that usually worked. But not today. The dragon reared out of the way, slamming down a paw that ruptured the earth. Sam was forced to take to the air. The dragon moved forward then to snap at him, and Sam swiped a paw in its face. A look of disgust plastered across the dragon's maw and it ducked away from him. The scent of its own poo had startled it! Now was his chance! Sam dove for the Gaili eyes, scratching and clawing at them until he could shove an entire foreclaw into one of the sockets. he shredded it from the inside. The beast howled in pain as it went down.

"Sam speech."

Sam was more worn than ever. but as Levi approached him with an offer, Sam felt himself perk again. "A trade?" he questioned. Surely Levi would only want Diabi Orbs! But the Gaili wasn't so confident that they'd be able to obtain any of those. Mayhaps it really was just a gesture of good-will. Levi seemed the type. Sam nodded and excepted the Gaili orb in exchange for one of his Ysali. He smiled at his companion as they headed into the next room, where another Gaili dragon sat waiting for them.

"I don't think I can do it on my own this time..." Sam uttered. Once was quite enough for him, thank you very much. But together, they still stood a chance! While Levi flung himself into the air, Sam attacked from below, forgoing his magic in favor of his sharp teeth and claws. With Levi as a distraction, he was able to tear through its wings, forcing it to stay on the ground, while Sam jumped for its neck. Its hide was strong, though, as Sam should've known. The only hope he had was tearing into its softer stomach with his claws when it reared up to swat at Levi. Shrieking, the dragon fell atop him, Sam's eyes going wide as the creature landed painfully across his body, snuffing out everything from scents to sights.

"Sam speech."

Sam was painfully pleased that Levi offered him a break. The previous dragon landing atop him had left him with a bit of a limp, and Sam didn't think he'd be making it much farther in this cave at all... Levi was a beautiful shadowed blur in the cave-top, battling a much larger, icy opponent, whose scales shined against the glowing fungus. This room was cold. Perfect territory for the Aiskala. Even though they'd back-tracked this time, only the strongest dragons lay ahead now.

As Levi went crashing toward the ground atop the dragon, Sam watched in awe. After the beast dissolved, he approached his Diabi companion, still limping. "Levi, this Cave can't go on much longer. I just want to say, thank you for venturing with me." he inclined his head pleasantly. Of course, he still wouldn't say he'd turned back. Only once the dragons had chased him off would he leave. Nodding to Levi, he moved ahead.