[Chr24] Guardian of the North

Maisiel and Maki stood at the edge of the ice, staring ahead at what lies before them.  A young Twiwa clutches to Maisiel's scruff as it shields itself from the winds that threatened to blow it away.  "I can't believe they sent us all the way out here." Maki shook his head as he took a few steps, breaking the snow.  Maisiel waited, taking note of the clear skies, a pale blue, with the sun beaming its way down.  The mountains reached high towards the sky, creating a jagged horizon.  It was a heavy air.  The wind finally calmed as Klasp jumped down from the boat.  Maki moved forward, heading towards the mountain the "beast" had been rumored to be.  It was a good idea to start moving, but Maisiel continued to take note of the trees that lined the base of the mountain, the nearly perfect snow that had fallen and remained.  They hadn't seen snow the entire way there.  Which meant this wasn't fresh snow.  But still, it shouldn't have been such a perfect slate.  With the luck they'd been having lately, they all were on edge.  Still, Yvena jumped out with a small "Woohoo!" as her Polar Bavee, Mariposa, flew behind her.  As she landed in a small mound of snow, she couldn't help but let out a laugh.

Maisiel glanced back at Yvena as she stood up and looked around at the barren ice land before them.  "Oh, geez." She couldn't help but sigh, "They couldn't have sent you somewhere more... well.. less... uninviting?" Yvena rolled her eyes before making her way to catch up to Maki.  Klasp walked up and stood shoulder to shoulder with Maisiel.  "Come on, we don't want to waste sunlight." She said, earning a small nod from Maisiel before the two of them began to make their way forward.

As they begin their ascent up the mountain, a small wind began to pick up.  They can't help but shiver as they continue forward, hoping their fur will keep them warm enough the further they got.  As they were getting closer to the peak, they suddenly heard a large screech before feeling the mountain rumble beneath their feet.  They tried their best not to panic as they looked around, trying to find the source of the loud screech that pierced their eyes before they soon heard another cry and the sound of wings flapping, the air whooshing around as it was propelled up into the sky.  They all looked to see the creature.  It was large, and its scales shimmered in the sunlight, an iridescent glow emitting from them.  The horns wrapped around its head before tapering outwards.  The group stood still, unsure if the beast had seen them, hoping it hadn't noticed yet.  The dragon let out another roar before it took the dive towards the group, causing them to begin running down the mountain to avoid its jaws.  It had definitely seen them, and it didn't seem to be very happy that they were on its mountain.  They continued to run for a good area before they stopped to look back at the dragon who had seemed to accept their running away.  They waited for a moment, watching the sky.  It almost seemed like the sky that had been such a pale blue was now a dark blue, clouds swirling around.  There was definitely something wrong, here.  And that dragon may as well have been the cause of it.

"We have to try again."

The group looked towards Maisiel, who seemed even shocked at her own words.  Usually, she would have also wanted to run, but there was something stopping her.  Almost as if a force was pushing her towards continuing on.  There was something to it.  The dragon was protecting something, or so it seemed. 

"You're kidding." Klasp finally let out a scoff as she responded.

Maisiel turned to look at the rest of the group, "I know it's scary but there's something here." She said.  "I don't think there is.  We should just go, Maisiel.  They'll accept us just saying that it was a dragon, we don't need to risk our lives-" Yvena tried to reason with her but she simply shook her head, "I'm going.  Come, or don't.  I have to see this through." She turned around and began the walk up the mountain once more.  Maki shook his head before staring back up at the sky, it seemed to reflect his unease at the situation.  Regardless, he wasn't going to stand by and let her get hurt.  He began to run after her, catching up within a few strides.  She looked over at the larger male and he gave her a reassuring nod.  A nod telling her that he was right there by her side, even if he was unsure about it.  Klasp and Yvena watched as the two made their way back up the mountain in silence.  Yvena finally groaned before she began to walk back up the mountain, trailing behind the others.  She wasn't going to try and convince Klasp.  She was hardly convinced herself.  Still, she went.  Klasp wasn't too much further behind, she couldn't stand the thought that Yvena was being more brave about the situation than she was.

They regrouped and began once more their ascent up the mountain.  The dragon seemed to either not notice or was waiting for them to come to it.  Either way, it was unbothered for now.  They were finally near the peak, a large cavern open to the world.  As they approached, they saw the dragon.  With a huff it opened it's eyes, and they were close enough to see them gleaming against the sunlight that had shone through.  They all waited to see what it was going to do.  "What now?" Yvena asked softly before Maisiel stepped forward, taking in a deep breath, hoping courage would find its way in, too.  The dragon breathed heavily before she stopped in her tracks.  "I'm not going to hurt you!" She called out and the dragon seemed to react, pushing itself up from its position laying down, easily enough for her to see the eggs within the nest.  It was trying to protect its young.  Maisiel hesitated but stepped back.  It was enough of an explanation to set her ease aside.