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Kocerou's face turned cold and the air around him seemed to drop in temperature. His eyes narrowed to slits and his grip on Shay's wrist was like steel.

"A poor answer, but it seems one given in ignorance. When I have time I will have to explain the situation better."

Reluctantly, he let go and sat down again, keeping a careful eye on Shay.

"Go on then. I'll not interrupt this time. Protesting that you are a friend of mine simply because you let me live is no proof of anything - my pursuers have the same goal."

Some emotion returned to his face at the sight of Uritai and Falinor. He smiled, the tension in his shoulders easing somewhat. As they approached he gave them a small nod of acknowledgment.

"Uritai! It is good to see you are safe. Do you know of any others loyal to the Crown that escaped?"

It didn't take too long before Astalder was able to spot the shadows of a few large creatures within the trees up ahead. Between that and the small village near them, it was more likely than not that they had found the clan.

"I see them up ahead. The elder of the clan should be amongst them," he called down towards the Fae that followed. Most likely he'll stick around to see the outcome of this. It wasn't as if they had much better to do at the moment.

----

Nerevarine listened to what the adult had to say, and she did have a point to an extent. And while the human before them hadn't done anything wrong yet, she was still a little skeptical. He hadn't exactly done anything good yet either as far as she could tell.

"H-home?" she repeated upon hearing. She shot a glance towards Yoshi, then at the two before them. The time spent with the Mage felt like an eternity to her so the thought of going home almost seemed foreign.

Word from the fae court. An unusual circumstance indeed.

Faded lavender eyes paired with human green ones watched the fae that had spread out the gathering circle. A greying shade tinted the otherwise blue and lavender mixture across the dragon's skin marking his age. Greying hair and scarred features marking that of his bound.

"As the voice of the dragon clan, I bid you speak that we may hear your message," the clan leader said, wasting no time getting to the heart of the matter.

The fae strengthened his voice so that the assembled dragon clan could all hear what he had to say.

"I bring ill news for both fae and all mortal kind. The armies of the fae kind are marshaling for war, for there has been treachery within our realm, of the sort that will only end in conflict if the traitor is allowed to remain free. One of the esteemed of among our people has dared claim the Crown of the fae for his own and was rightly refused by our King. He fled and his followers were scattered, but the seeds of rebellion have already taken root. Already those that would support his claim gather and make ready to fight. My liege has sent me ahead to warn the clans in the area that the traitor we seek has fled our forest and into your lands. The war will come here if he is not found and returned to our hands. I ask you both for permission to hunt for him in your territory as well as any aid you would be willing to provide. He must be found and returned alive before he can gather his strength. Wouldst thou grant leave of safe passage through thine lands? Be there amongst thee ones that would hunt alongside the fae?"

-------------

The two fae that remained hunting Kocerou had picked up the trail again. It was easier to follow now that dragons had joined the party but they still followed warily. Kocerou was very powerful, even outside the forest, and he could lead them astray if they were not careful. They also did not want to surprise the dragons. If they were aiding the Prince it would not go well for the fae. One held up a hand to signal a halt and the two slowed their steeds to a stop, straining to hear what was up ahead. Something was disturbing the forest. They split up, dropping out of sight behind the trees. There was no underbrush to hide in and so they waited, watching to see what was coming.

((they're near you, Rakura))

He listened to the declaration, remaining quiet, turning his head only to look at the others circled around, watching reactions, seeing many looking back at him. The fae's final words fell through the air, only broken by agitated shifting, grunts, and snorts. The elder remained unmoving for more than many breaths, speaking to those along lines belonging to dragons and bounds alike.

Two dragons split off from the group in opposite directions with their bounds before the elder dragon spoke clear his words of decision.

"Voice of the White Rose. We will remain neutral in this matter. Any assistance from any dragon will be of their own accord be it for you or whom you hunt. You have permission to search for your quarry by individual or small hunting group, but no army will be tolerated on our soil or in our air nor any threat of one. That business which is fae is not our business."

Cho saw the dragon and fae fly towards the dragon clans home. Then wondered why a fae would be headed into a dragon clan territory. She happened to see a glimpse of some other fae riding into the forest. She looked at Aphrodite and pulled her out when they were gone. Cho said to her, "Something seems out of place. Let us follow them, but you stay hidden." This time Cho seem to know better of where she was going. Aphrodite followed her hiding in behind the trees. Cho followed the fae that had rode in on the horses. She held her instrument and she played a happy song on it while she walked up the trail they went, but staying on alert.

The fae bowed in acknowledgment of the Elder's words.

"I understand and we will respect your wishes. However, if this matter escalates into a war I am afraid we will be unable to abide by your desire to keep an army out of your lands. For both our sakes, it is crucial to find our quarry before that happens. Are there any among you that would be willing to assist my hunting party to this end? We do not know the lay of the land."

When the fae asked for some aid, Astalder and Blade conversed mentally with one another. Astalder was thinking of possibly helping them out, while Blade was thinking they should not get involved. They had already helped out by leading the fae to the elders so they could negotiate and all. That aside, he knew what it was like to be pursued and didn't care for that feeling much at all.

However the dragon didn't like the idea of war possibly breaking out should they take too long.

---

Looking at Valerie, Nerevarine hesitated before slowly stepping closer to the older dragon, "That... would be nice.."

It felt like forever since she had been home, and the thought that they might be one their way almost seemed too good to be true. But if they did manage to find a Dragon Bound Knight, it would make everything more promising.