The nomadic rider's return. [Open/ Caspian]

[Nepherion]

Nepherion was dancing to the beat of his own tune. His steel-plated boots pattered against the ground as he back-stepped an invisible enemy's blade then jutted forwards to end the man with a slash that would reveal his or her entrails. The teen could feel a bead of sweat trailing from his temple to the bottom of his chin. He had been at this practice for over three-hours now and he had begun to feel the usual burning in his arms. " Just a little more... I have to outlast any enemy, " he told himself while swatting aside an invisible enemy's lance than thrusting forward with Brojska's gleaming bone-white blade. " Out maneuver any blade, and !...

[/i]"[/color] he froze his thoughts once he felt a familiar pressure pushing against his mind, it had been friendly and one that he had more than welcome.

" And endure any hardship..right ? [/i]"[/color] Starlight finished. His regal voice was of the utmost nobility and for some reason it always made Nepherion wonder how a dragon could carry such a royal tone.

" Yea no doubts O' majestic Starlight. " flattered Nepherion. He knew that Starlight would take great pleasure in it. And of course the feeling was transmitted through the bond. The exhausted rider let Brojska fall to his side in a loosely form grip as he looked towards the sky. " Where are you at ? " he asked curiously. The last he had heard from the beast was that he was going hunting earlier that morning. But that was about four hours ago if he had read the sun correctly.

" I'm on my way. Just keep a ear out for me. [/i]"[/color]

Nepherion raised a eyebrow in confusion before sweeping back sweat filled locks from his forehead. He stepped further out on the hill he was training on and listened closely. He cleared his thoughts, a remedy that Bid'Daum had taught him to filter out the various sounds his new hearing had bombarded him with. Eventually he begin to hear the drums of large wings beating against the air. " I can hear you Star. [/i]"[/color] he told his partner.

Before long the Dragon burst down from the clouds above his wings pulled back and his speed fearfully fast. Nepherion followed Starlight as he opened his wings to slow his fall and brushed pass him, bringing with him a powerful gust of wind. " How was the hunt. " he asked aloud as Starlight landed not to far from him. " The hunt went well. Three bucks are now charred inside my gut. " he commented cheerfully.

Nepherion was walking towards him as he spoke, his head nodding in acknowledgement. " Nicely done, any food for me ? " he asked while mindfully keeping Brojska's blade an inch from the ground. His arms may had been burning from use but his mind still urged him to keep maintenance of his most precious asset. He could feel Starlight's moment of thought through the bond before catching a glimpse of a small boar in the small saddle that he usually rode in. A smile touched his lips before he whispered a word of the ancient language and levitated the boar from the saddle and towards him. It may had been small to Starlight but the boar was plenty large. It could feed four men without trouble. " Nicely done buddy. Mind lighting a fire for me. "[/blockquote]

[Emiryal ♕]

rider of Sephora | varden rider

Caspian sat astride Sephora's back on a new saddle. She had outgrown the old one and had been given a new one by their mentors. The golden dragon had grown a fair amount now but still would've been easily no more than two thirds the size of Starlight at best. Not that she knew he or Nepherion were in the vicinity.

The young rider watched the land passing below them. "Sephora why are we going here," he asked. Usually they didn't stray far from the Varden and they had been on a patrol until Sephora had gone off course. "Because I want to. We spend so much time training now I thought it would be nice just to fly together for a short bit," she said.

Caspian frowned. "That would be nice but we need to get back to the Var-" he started to say. He was cut off as Sephora dived, only pulling out just above tree level. He felt a rush of excitement from her and she seemed almost giddy. "Sephora what is going on?" he asked. "It's Nepherion and Starlight!" she said excitedly as she flew towards the distant figures. Even from far away Starlight looked pretty big. Caspian was surprised to see them here and glad too, it had been a long time since he'd since them. Nepherion had been the one who had helped him unlock his magic!

Sephora landed softly near them and roared a greeting to them. Caspian raised an eyebrown curious about her landing. Usually she didn't take this much care in landing, she had landed extremely soft this time. "Please get off me," she said to him. Caspian waved to Nepherion but was confused by Sephora's words. He did so though and as soon as he did the golden dragon bounded over to Starlight and nudged his wing slightly.

Caspian chuckled now understanding her urgency and care in landing. Sephora had always had a crush on Starlight, her emotions overwhelmed him and he realized she might even love him rather or not he returned her feelings. He almost was washed away by the torrent of emotions from Sephora and had to block her out. "Nepherion?! what are you two doing here?" he asked as he walked over grinning.

Sephora hummed lightly and seemed to only notice Starlight. "It's good to see you," she said politely to him. "I've missed you," she added.

[Nepherion]

The Rider of Starlight crouched low to examine the boar that Starlight had caught. It seemed that his dragon partner had ended its life by piercing it with claws. He shook his head a bit before placing his hand on its still warm body and absorbing what little energy it had. He felt bad for a moment, feeling and knowing what the beast had felt before being slaughtered. There was a moment of complete disbelief before a unfathomable terror had overtaken its body; freezing it and leaving it helpless among a monster it had never seen. Nepherion let out a relieving sigh once his muscles had loosened and rejuvenated under the boar's remaining strength.

He stood and noticed Starlight looking out towards the sky. " What are you looking at ? " he asked kindly. Starlight lifted his head towards a golden glint that was heading towards them. Nepherion looked through Starlight's eyes to see the clear and up-close image of a quickly approaching Sephora and her Rider: Caspian. " Oh we have company. This is a pleasant surprise. "

Nepherion stepped a few feet from Starlight, waving in response to Caspian's greeting. " I wonder how his progress goes. " Starlight inquired before turning to face Sephora's landing. " She's learned a thing or two about landing at least. " jested the great dragon. Nepherion chuckled lightly before meeting Caspian half way. A slight smile lifted his lips at Caspian's question. " I've been traveling for quite awhile now. I needed something... familiar to me keep me grounded. " he told him openly. " How are you ? Are you still using your magic ?"

Starlight pawed at Sephora with the back of his paw as she approached, his smooth white scales gently pushing against her front leg. " And I you. Your vision is one that I've needed for awhile now..

[/i]"[/color] he mused to her in a light manner. A deep growled hummed in his throat as he looked her over. She was starting to have growth-spurts and every-time he returned she was more and more closer to reaching his stature. " I see you're finally growing into your body. This is good. " he responded.

Nepherion, with Brojska still in hand turned in the direction of the Varden encampment. He titled the edge of his blade towards it, being sure to keep it away from Caspian. " How are the Varden fairing my old friend ? I fear they don't have enough power to confront Galbatorix and his forces. "
[/blockquote]

[Emiryal ♕]

rider of Sephora | varden rider

"I see, I'm glad your back," Caspian said. "You are going to stay aren't you?" A sinking feeling hit him as he wondered if Nepherion would leave again. Nepherion was practically his best and only friend besides Sephora and his horse and well his horse didn't exactly count.

"I'm doing alright, feeling a bit useless to the Varden, but Anurin an elf rider is training me now. I don't use my magic much...it's kind of hard to keep all those words straight and memorized," he said.

The golden dragon seemed pleased when Starlight pawed at her and she let him brush her with his leg. Sephora seemed delighted just to hear Starlight's voice but what he said was even better. He had needed to see her for a while! At his words she straightened as if trying to show how big she had gotten. "Yes, for a time I thought I never would but in the last month or so my growth spurt came," she said a light hum in her voice.

Caspian looked over at Sephora and Starlight, his dragon had eyes for nothing but the larger dragon, and he smiled wryly at her before Nepherion's words brought him back to their conversation. "The Varden has done well, they captured Dras Leona, but I don't know how much further they can go. They don't seem to have the power to confront him." He glanced at Sephora again her emotions were distracting and overwhelming. "I think Sephora missed Starlight more than anything in the entire land," he said quietly to Nepherion. "She kept asking me almost daily when I thought we might see you two again."

[Nepherion]

Nepherion turned a warm gaze towards Caspian before smiling softly. " Of course I'll be staying. I've never really left afterall. " he pointed out. It may had seemed a bit confusing to Caspian but in all aspects of his own observations..his heart, strength, and wishes had always been with the Varden. It made no difference how far he had traveled or how harsh his stand against the war may had been. Brojska was always on the side of the just. He walked pass Caspian, stopping three or four feet behind him before releasing a deep sigh at his next words. " The Varden will never have the power to confront Galbatorix. They can only throw their determination around until he decided to squash them. " he responded.

A deep chuckled rolled in Starlight's throat as Sephora spoke on your growth spurt. He, since traveling with Nepherion had held little to no contact with his own kind. It was good to see the four paws, two wings, and beautiful scales of those like himself. And it was even better to hear the good fortune of one so close to him. "Indeed, that is good news Sephora. " he said cheerfully. He looked towards her, his crimson eye dawning on her like setting sun "I'm truly happy for you Sephora. The both of you. " he added, nudging his head towards the on-looking Caspian.

Nepherion let a bit of laughter leave his lips. It was weird for Caspian to comment on Sephora's emotions, because Starlight at the moment was feeling a little smitten by the golden dragon. Personally he would prefer if Starlight not act on his feelings, it seemed a bit wrong to him; not to mention he wasn't sure if he could restrain all of Starlight's powerful emotions. " I can agree with you there. Starlight has missed her as well. And tell me about this Anurin elf. Is he skilled ? " he asked placing Brojska back in its sheathe at his side. A light breeze had just swept through the area and it was feeling rather pleasant at the moment.

[Emiryal ♕]

rider of Sephora | varden rider

Caspian smiled. It was a bit confusing to caspian but he at least knew where Nepherion's loyalties were and he didn't doubt that would ever change. He nodded a bit grimly at the mention of the varden's lack of power. It was true. If they were to stand any chance they'd need more than they had. If they had even a few of the riders of old it would make a difference. The only one he knew of were Rakaio and Entas and they had not joined either side. "I just hope when he decides to squash them Sephora won't be hurt or worse," he said half to himself. He couldn't image what it would be like to have her die.

"I'm just happy you are back," Sephora said. "If you leave for a trip again, take me with you next time," she half pleaded not wanting to be left behind without Starlight. She hoped she wasn't coming off as desperate or anything to him, she wanted to show him she was strong enough to be with him.

Caspian smiled at Nepherions comment about Starlight's feelings. Likewise it wasn't often such a topic was spoken of, perhaps it was just the overwhelming flood of emotions from Sephora that made him speak of it. If Sephora minded or was bothered by him saying so she didn't say anything, though Caspian suspected she was too caught up in Starlight to pay attention to even her rider. Love was a power thing.

"He is quite skilled, but most elves are," he said. "I've never seen two dragons quite like this," he said. Sephora had been around plenty of the Varden dragons but she'd never been this giddy except around Starlight.