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moineau bavarde Vice Captain
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 Posted: Sat Mar 07, 2009 1:52 pm
A quick dive, a few twists and turns, there! Freckles lunged back to the surface of the river, a wriggling fish in her mouth. Just like Stormwind had taught her.
Stormwind... Freckles had left her several days before, in search of Cart, and now she was alone, she didn't even have her strange new friend. Which brought her to Cart, the father of the eggs she had hidden in a cave, well protected with leaves and dirt to keep them warm. That jerk. Where was he? Where had he been when she gave birth, when the hatching spell sapped all of her strength? Jerk jerk jerk.
Not that that was entirely fair, but Freckles wasn't in the mood to be fair. As Stormwind put it, Freckles was a pack dragon, and she didn't handle loneliness well.
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Posted: Sat Mar 07, 2009 3:23 pm
 Cartography wasn't sure he could walk any further. His paws ached, but his heart hurt more. His pads were cut, but his soul was cut more. Wolves, a couple large wild cats, and even a bear, along with a few hostile dragons, storms, rockslides, a blizzard, so many travels. It was hard to believe that a year ago he had been a hatchling, bright red and gold, dreaming of adventure. Hatching Sfor and Pax, and other members of the pack...meeting his father and Malachite...and falling in love with Freckles, the dragon he had thought since his earliest childhood to be his sister.
He loved her. He loved her so much it hurt now to think of her, but he had to. He had to find her. She had left, and he knew it was his fault. I just want you back...Freckles...where are you? The mountains have swallowed you up, my love...will I ever find you again? Cart didn't know. But he had to keep walking. Keep walking, and hope someday soon to find the dragon he loved. The dragon he knew so well. His paws no longer could feel the terrain under him, and his eyes ached for the sight of her brown and white. He wanted to smell her, feel her, taste her...he just wanted her back, and no other sensory input but having her near mattered anymore. He didn't notice the mud and dust on his fur washing away as he stumbled through the shallows of the river, ignoring boulders and a few frightened fish.
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moineau bavarde Vice Captain
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Posted: Wed Mar 11, 2009 6:36 pm
Freckles tore into the fish, exulting in the taste when a sudden noise startled her. An irregular splashing, mostly covered by the stream... she froze, unsure what to do, before melting into the bushes, tense and ready to run. Whatever was making the noise must be big, probably not a threat but the possibility remained... and she had eggs, now. She had to look after them, not just herself. She had to get back to Cart. No, dying now was too dumb.
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Posted: Sun Apr 12, 2009 1:20 pm
Cart looked around blindly at the surrounding trees, dimly perceiving light and the color green dappling on his fur. He could see, but not quite, hear the bird songs, but not register them. If he tried hard enough, he could remember a few parts of his journey, but for now...? He couldn't bring himself to remember them. He wanted home. He wanted safety. He wanted Freckles.
He plowed through the stream, stepping wearily onto the bank before shaking out his now-clean pelt. He settled down in the sun to dry off. He would rest here, catch a fish, regain the energy to go on, the same as he had down for weeks now. He would find her again.
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moineau bavarde Vice Captain
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Posted: Sun Apr 12, 2009 2:22 pm
The nose stopped. Cautiously, Freckles slunk through the bushes to go see what had it been making it. If it was a predator, she'd move the eggs... she screamed, loudly and shrilly. CART. He looked like a damn ghost, or very nearly so, and he was all worn out -
Throwing caution to the wind, she streaked out of the bushes and ran to Cart, skidding next to him and thumping him stoutly on the legs with her tail. "Don't you dare die!" she shouted. "I'll never forgive you if you die!"
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Posted: Sun Apr 12, 2009 2:27 pm
Cart jumped as the heard the scream nearby. He raised his head suddenly, looking around for the source. His heart froze as he saw the distinctive pattern. His nostrils flared. Freckles...Freckles...! "Freckles!!" he yelled, getting swiftly to his feet. His lethargy melted away like the mud had in the stream. His gold eyes grew wide to pull in everything about her. "Freckles, Freckles, I can't die now, Freckles!!" He reared up, landing down on his paws and nuzzling her frantically. No. It wasn't a dream. She was real, she was here, he had found her...or had she found him? It didn't matter, she was here, and the day brightened into the best in a long time. "Freckles, where have you been, my love?" he whispered. "I've been looking all over for you..."
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moineau bavarde Vice Captain
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Posted: Sun Apr 12, 2009 2:31 pm
"CART!" Freckles wrapped her paws around his neck and dragged him down once more, flopping down beside him and nuzzling his head, his neck. "Cart, Cart, Cart," she said happily. "I'm so sorry I left, I never should have, but I was pregnant and I panicked and I didn't want to slow you down and there are two of them and I can fish now Cart, I can fish!"
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Posted: Sun Apr 12, 2009 2:35 pm
Cart chuckled. "Let's slow down now, or we'll never get--" Then his brain caught up with his ears. "Pregnant?! Freckles...You were...Now we're...?" He slowly grinned and nuzzled Freckles back, licking her face and neck. "That's wonderful news! You wouldn't have slowed us down, Freckles...I would have waited for you. For us. I don't mind waiting for you..." He sighed. "I wish I could have helped you...pregnancy must be hard...did you get lonely?" He smiled and wrapped his tail around hers. "So I guess you found a new method of fishing? I'm going to miss the days of our old splash-fights while fishing..."
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moineau bavarde Vice Captain
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Posted: Sun Apr 12, 2009 2:40 pm
Freckles closed her eyes. So many regrets... "I met a dragon, Stormwind. She saved my life, Cart. And taught me how to fish and hunt. Wait here, I'll catch you something to eat, and then I'll take you to the cave. You can see our eggs." She smiled happily and slipped into the water in an elegant dive. I'll never be a burden to anybody again. Never!
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Posted: Sun Apr 12, 2009 2:46 pm
Cart nodded. "Thanks, Freckles...I appreciate it." He was ashamed to admit that he was too tired to catch himself some food himself. I shouldn't be...I mean...I would do the same for her... Cart shook the thought out of his head and watched Freckles admiringly as she dived, graceful as any otter, and skillful as one, too. He sat up and curled his tail around himself, watching her and wondering about the eggs. Two of them...what genders? And when would they hatch?
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moineau bavarde Vice Captain
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Posted: Sun Apr 12, 2009 2:58 pm
Freckles pulled out of her dive and returned to Cart, a large fish wriggling in her mouth. "Eat," she said after dropping it as feet. "You need your strength. Then I'll show you the eggs." She smiled happily, nearly dancing in anticipation.
Mainly because she didn't know that the eggs were old enough that all it took to hatch them were two dragons in the same cave...
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Posted: Sun Apr 12, 2009 3:31 pm
Cart nodded and purred, getting to his feet and nuzzling Freckles. "That was beautiful," he murmured. "This Stormwind must be a masterful fisher; you did wonderfully." With that, he lowered his head and devoured the fish. It was good to eat; he hadn't been eating a lot lately. Depression had taken an edge off of his appetite. "So how are the eggs?" he asked once he had finished. Idly he dug a hole to bury the remains of the fish in.
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moineau bavarde Vice Captain
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Posted: Sun Apr 12, 2009 4:38 pm
Freckles glowed at the compliment. Just wait until she told Stormwind! It would probably be a while before she encountered the strange female once more... a pang of sadness hit her at the thought, and she made a firm vow to try and find Stormwind again some day. She owed the female at least that much.
She laughed happily. "Come see for yourself!" Light and happy, all earlier discontent forgotten, she led the way to the small cave where she had stashed the eggs.
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Posted: Sun Apr 12, 2009 5:08 pm
Cart nodded and got to his feet. He almost couldn't believe finding his mate again; he had just been wandering aimlessly and stumbled upon her...Strange how the path of life takes us where we need to go, he mused as he followed her. She was practically glowing; Cart had never seen such a beautiful dragon as Freckles was. He smiled and kept close to her, peering into the cave where the two eggs sat. He smiled broadly at them. "They're gorgeous, Freckles," he whispered. He was a father...his two children sat there...wait until the pack found out!
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moineau bavarde Vice Captain
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Posted: Sun Apr 12, 2009 9:50 pm
"Just wait until I uncover them," Freckles said merrily. She leaped into the cave and swept off the leaves and dirt. It was only then, with a gradual sinking feeling, that she recognized the familiar feeling of a hatching spell activating. "Cart!" she screamed. "They're hatching."
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