[GD] Phantom & Acacia

Strength Trial - 711 WC

The Coliseum had once been a mighty construct that drew thousands of spectators to its stone seats, all to watch the mighty spectacle of strength and conquest. While still impressive in its size alone, the coliseum had lost the battle against the elements, half of the stonework having long since crumbled into the deep waters that it had once stood over. The underground areas, flooded now and at the mercy of the tides; the other half still stood, though ruined and covered in moss, shattered stones and rocky pillars jutted from the ground not yet taken by the ocean.

It was in this setting, that two dragons were poised, one looked into the waters, the other amidst the earthen rocks on the other side.

Phantom stared down at the waters, the light obscuring the fact that a large dragon swam below, ready to snap at him; his test… to collect the stunning pearls that floated on the waters surface, and held in place by his companion below. This was not about pure strength, but more.. A test of his flight and agility against a much larger and deadly foe, at some point, maybe he'd be as big as Abyzou….. But for now, the she dragon far outweighed him. There, a hint of movement in the shallower area, he'd been watching for something, his sleek dark form darted down, paws outstretched to grasp the first of the pearls when instinct screamed at him, the waters parting and a gaping maw snapped down as Abysuo's dark from breached the waters, missing Phantom by inches as he slipped away, skimming back up onto the ruined pillar as the she dragons form vanished once more, leaving Phantom to watch and observe once more, he'd learned his lesson.

Acacia glared at her sibling, Sorrel been the one to agree to assist her in her rite and there was Sorrel, getting distracted once, and forgetting all about Acacia. Behind she could here the other dragon begin his challenge. Huffing she stretched, paws gripping the side of the shattered pillar she was on.. Sorrel meanwhile, suddenly remembered Acacia, and playfully lunged, bounding up the pillar and throwing her quadruped sibling off her high perch… Hissing Acacia, dug her paws into the stone, her earthern strength scouring the surface and leaving dents, yet she had no time to recover as Sorrel used her longer body to twine around the pillar, and hammer her club tail at where Acacia had been. Noot to hurt, but this was afterall a test. Snarling, Acacia pounced towards Sorrel, her wings folded tight as she chased after her sibling, claws digging deep for purchase as some leaves fell from her floral parasite.

Phantom put the other dragons out of his mind, still watching the waters below, Abyzuo seemed unusually alert and she'd already proved she could lure him into false sense of security… but at this point, he was far more agile than she was, he'd have one chance. His gaze locked onto the pearl closest to him, and he dove once more, limbs folded tight as he angled himself towards it, closer closer…. His form shifted weaving just above the water and through the ruined pillars as the watchers churned below him, Abyzuo closing in, the light catching on her elaborate blue markings, her maw snapping as Phantom continued to weave, paws outstretched to grab the pearl nearest the open waters. Yelping he twisted as Abyzuo's fluke cracked, sending a wave of water towards him, but rather than dodge them, she used his own aquatic features of power through them and headed towards the next pearl. Not once did he allow his concentration to drop against the dragon that chased him

Acacia had to hand it to her sibling, Sorrel could move, her long body sinuous and weaving, and she didn’t have wings that kept getting in the way. Still she wasn’t going let that stop her, lunging she barrelled into her nestmate and they went tumbling from the pillar to the ground below. Dust rose at the impact of the two dragons, tails thrashing as the struggled against one another, not a fight, but a show of strength until eventually Acacia pinned Sorrel, her chest heaving as she did so,

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Flexibility Trial -  965 WC

Phantom panted, the heat so intense that even breathing hurt as he gazed out over the molten expanse before him; even the floating pieces of land that seemed to rise and fall with the heat of the lava barely provided any shade. Standing next to him was his companion, a dragon who seemed to gleam thrive in the heat and that was with her thick mane, her forepaws held tight to her body as she waited for the dark hybrid to lead the way. He couldn't even see Acacia as the heat blurred everything. Kovaithe's tails moved almost lazily. "Sometime today would be nice." She commented, though there was no bite to her words. Phantom nodded, peering out over the lava, how was he to get to the other side without frying to a crisp…

Acacia peered over the edge of the floating earth she was on, the rest of her body as far away as she could, even from here she could feel the heat from the magma, and she'd already witness one smaller island crash into the molten liquid. She couldn't see phantom, the pair of them deciding to pair up for the remainder of their trail… but he had to be struggling. A yank on her tail had her turning to look at her sibling who grinned at her. "C'mon, lead the way." Sorrel tugged again. Gulping Acacia stood up, pulling her wings tight to her body as she crossed the earthen island, this one rising in the heat. Her job was to get Sorrel (and herself) across the floating islands… without tumbling to the lava below. Earth she was happy with.. Floating earth… significantly less so.

Finally Phantom moved, his long body floating as he weaved his way towards the lava, while he figured Kovaithe could probably cross it with no problem, that was not the point of this trail. "Wait." He said softly, slipping over the blistering magma.. Instinct kicked in and shadows moved, providing some cold to combat the lavas heat.. He spotted a shard of earth jutting from the lava, not yet consumed by the glowing monster. Somehow he just had to make a bridge for his companion. Magic, maybe not the the level of it once truly learned but maybe enough for this. Concentrating he twisted around himself, a ball of water forming between his front limbs, before throwing it onto the lava. Hissing sounds resounded and a the lava hardened. "Jump" He called to Kovaithe almost leadingly. Thankfully, the older dragon moved, leaping the distance to the bridge and again to where Phantom waited…. Just as the lava reclaimed the mini island. Kovaithe touched him gently her ears twitching. "Good job. Just a bit further." She coaxed, pointing at the solid land beyond the mini lake… Phantom nodded, gauging the distance and time he had before his 'bridges' collapsed. "Time?" He asked, he knew he wasn't a vocal dragon, but hopefully the female understood him. She nodded, her teeth barred in a feral grin. "Oh we can certainly time this." Phantom gulped, did she have no fear? or was her faith in him that much. Kovaithe meanwhile simply waited as the youngster started constructing mini ledges for her, truthfully if one faltered, she could fly across, but she didn't think she'd need to. "Now" At Phantom's call Kovaithe leapt, and the pair played leapfrog over the lava as Phantom sent water into the magma for Kovaithe to land on, until finally she was on the far side. Exhausted Phantom drooped, and a large wing spread over him, blissful shade soothing him as he waited for Acacia.

The fact that Sorrel was gripping her tail did little to alleviate Acacia's worry, a single mistake and she'd fall into a painful death to be burnt to a crisp, and as she neared the edge the heat pressed against her, making the next floating piece of earth almost like a mirage. How was she to get across, she couldn't fly yet, and neither could Sorrel. Maybe.. She could move the island… it was earth (even if it was floating for no reason)… after few moments she gave up, it wasn't that she couldn't connect with it.. It just… didn't respond, as if bound by a different element. She looked around, sensing Sorrel let go of her tail and start to wander off.. Her sibling getting distracted was the last thing she needed and instinct had her moving the floral parasite vine on her tail to latch onto Sorrel…. She blinked… would it work? It was worth a shot, otherwise she'd have to resort to jumping. Still gripping Sorrel, she focused on a tree that was clinging to its surface, though no leaves showed, the new bark growth showed it was still alive.. If she could get it to move with magic, she might be able to create a bridge. IT was slow (and Sorrel kept getting distracted) but eventually she had a bridge, and it was sturdy… at least for now, but it took concentration, but floating island by island they got closer.. Until all that was left was the earth Acacia and her sibling stood on…. And the lava below to where Phantom and his companion waited. Acacia knew that the tree branches she'd commanded would burn to a crisp, which meant her and a Sorrel would have to jump at least part of way. "Hold on" She said, before charging forward, the bark already burning at the tip…. And then she jumped, her wings spread and catching the blistering thermals as she glided over the lava, Sorrel hanging onto her tail and laughing… and her landing.. Was anything but smooth, skidding to a halt underneath Kovaithe's wings next to Phantom. She never wanted to see lava again.

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Providence Trial - 633 WC

It was a few days later before Phantom felt up to doing the final part of his grand display, the trial through the lava field had taken more of a toll on him than he'd realised, even with soaking in the waters with Aether. Now though he felt up to it, his pupil-less eyes gleaming in the dark jungle he's chosen to hunt in; the thick trees stealing any light from above so that only pools of darkness covered the jungle floor. His prey moved slowly in a clearing beyond, at first he'd thought it was a deer, but if it was it was like deer  he'd seen before, shifting his weight he lunged at it as something did the same from other side, the pair hitting one another as their prey vanished.

Acacia blinked from the impact, she'd been tailing that thing for the best part of the day, watching and waiting for the right time to take it out, the clearing she'd though had been a good idea, plenty of room for her to roll around in. She had not suspected another would be there as well. She was just about to give them a piece of her mind when she recognised the dragon whom she'd collided with, any anger vanished. "I'm sorry, are you okay." She asked, carefully nudging him, the other a dragon she'd spend considerable time with over the last several days, and like her he was probably trying to complete his display. "You really blend in with the darkness…. Umm… do you want to maybe hunt together.. Just so we don't collide again?" She asked as Phantom righted himself.

Phantom moved slowly, testing his long body to make sure he wasn't hurt, for the other dragon was unusually strong. He checked over the female as well, nodding at her question, yes he was fine. Her floral parasite stood out amongst the darkness, but she too blended in with the forest. "Hunt?" He responded, agreeing that it would be beneficial for them to work together… though he wondered if she'd understand that. When she stretched wings flaring before gesturing for him to lead he know she had.

It took the pair of them some time to track down prey, their collision earlier probably scaring away the more skittish creatures, but they did find the almost deer like creature.. Along with a few others; one of whom sported a massive crown of antlers, he was also significantly larger than the others. The dragons glanced at one another, neither of them particular large at the age they were, but that one stag would be a feast.

"Pincer?" Phantom whispered, Acacia nodded, unlike before they knew the other dragon was nearby, she waiting in place as Phantom slipped though the darkness, silent and unseen. Acacia waited, and then stalked out, her head low and growling, her spiked tail raised. The others of the herd scarpered the stag didn’t , bellowing and pawing the ground, when that didn't deter the predator, he lowered his own head shaking the antlers in warning… but it was at that point the darkness attacked. Phantom pounced, landing on the beasts and snapping his jaws towards the beasts neck. IT bucked to shake of the darkness, and Acacia also made her move, lunging to clasp the beasts neck in her jaws, much as she'd seen large cats do once before. She winced as a hoof caught her, but she was a earth hybrid and she gripped tighter.

Together the two of them managed to bring him down, neither dragon wishing to prolong the stags death, until finally its chest stopped heaving. Both dragons let go, panting. They'd done it… and boy was it big,  certainly enough for the two of them to share with spare left over.