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As soon as she noticed me I couldn't help but freeze in place. The group of people she'd gathered seemed to be all equally confused, she was, after all, staring at empty space just behind her...until I let myself become partially visible that is. As soon as I did so all of their demeanours changed from being confused to complete and utter shock before shifting into the hardened look of a soldier about to get into battle. I can say now that having thirteen people all over level 250 all looking at me with a look showing they'd be willing to do anything should I move in the wrong way was not something I'd like to see again if I could help it. 

I sheepishly looked at Cinder as she stare down at me with an unamused look and thought about how to convey my intentions here: I don't know many words in their language yet, but I've been studying when I've not been training these past few weeks, so one or two longer words or smaller sentences or phrases were easy enough. I dragged a claw along the ground a few times to spell out a small phrase and when I looked back at her to see how she thought of it all she wore was the amused raise of her eye-brow. 

Pops. Red. Both in Trouble.

"Yes. I've already gathered that from the giant explosion, and the ray of light seen from the Sanctuary, but why are you here?" She pointed a finger down and I wrote another line underneath the first: 

Get Help

It really sucked not being able to just speak to others...damn Voice.  

"Alright. I was already preparing to go and help, but you're keeping me here and out of the fight just being here." I growled at that, audibly. I knew that I wasn't keeping you from leaving, you could've just taken the others and left without acknowledging that I was here at all, but you did so don't blame that all on me!

THeN LeaVe

That seemed to get her stunned for a moment, but after a moment she sighed and turned to the line behind her. "Now I expect the thirteen of you to keep the reveal of this (Young) Dragon a secret, under no circumstance is the existence of a (Young) Dragon in the depths of a Kingdom of The Human Empire to leave this area. Or I will find the one responsible and relieve them of their limbs without letting them succumb to their injuries." She looked at each and every one of those standing in a line and they all seemed to get stiffer than before at the threat. "If that understood?!"

"Yes Captain!" A chorus of yells echoed through-out the area. I looked at Cinder curiously--was she really that powerful as to make this large group of powerful soldiers, some even at a higher level than herself, shiver in fear over a simple-sounding threat to get out of? 

She turned back to me and all of my attention was now on her completely...there was something shiny on the roof behind her. "Since you're here now I might as well get a little intel from you: What is Pops fighting against, or rather who? And what are their motives?" I ignored the shiny thing for a moment to think of an answer.

...how would I answer though?

I could only write only a few words at a time without them being all garbled and incomprehensive...I guess it was back to drawing random things... 

I drew a single stick dog with a ravenous maw and a RIP gravestone as the background, and when I looked up I saw that she didn't understand it at all. "Is that supposed to be something I can understand? Use words again, you seemed able to do so earlier." 

I lashed my tail at her negligence, not caring that it also gouged a deep groove into the floor. Why was she so annoying to deal with? Was there really so little she cared about that she just acted like this all of the time?! Or was she just being prejudice because I was a dragon? 

I growled audibly and turned back to drawing again--this time I made what was clearly a bomb with a vampire's mouth on the inside of it--and then back to glaring at her. At this point I didn't care whether she could cut off my head in a single strike: I wanted to stab her with my tail due to how rude she was being.

...Maybe putting the name above the drawing would help a little: I put the female vampire's name above the bomb with the vampire mouth inside of it and that seemed to get a reaction from her. Finally she nodded and looked at me with something that wasn't annoyance! 

"If I'm understanding this correctly, Caprellia the Demolitionist is teaming up with some rabid wolf that died and they're attacking Poppa?" I did a so-so gesture towards her and then crossed off the picture and Caprellia's name with a giant 'X' and then wrote the name Ghoul and had an arrow from Caprellia's picture and the wolf pointing towards him. "The rabid wolf and the vampire are working for a Ghoul?" 

I looked at my drawing for a moment, wondering why that didn't sound right to me either. Then I realized and crossed off the name 'Ghoul' and replaced it with 'Ghast'. That seemed to get her thinking, "Ah, I see now. It seemed like Poppa's old rival came back for revenge...with help then?"  

I nodded: writing the word for 'King' before Ghoul and underlining both to show the change, and then another arrow pointing to a question mark, "And Ghast is working for someone else and he's now a King Ghoul...this may be more annoying than I first thought." Finally! She was actually listening to me and taking me seriously. 

"Can you tell me more about this third party?" she asked and I was forced to pause as another notification came through: 

(Level 312 Undead Wrath-Wolf, Fenris the Unkillable Killed)
(Experience Gained)
(Experience Decreased due to Assistance)
(Extra Experience--)
(Error, Max Level reached. Evolve to acquire more Experience and Experience Gained Points)

It was another kind of pain to see so many potential levels and points being negated due to my needing to evolve, but it couldn't be helped: I quickly put a stick-fox, stick-tiger, and a question-mark for the lady with multiple limbs next to the rabid wolf and then crossed off the wolf, fox, and tiger and put a broken bone above them...hopefully she understood that. 

"What is that? A bunch of animals?" She didn't seem to know. I saw that the thirteen standing in a line were watching the whole interaction with interest and confusion and what seemed might be a little amusement too? I am trying to make a point here guys! Why don't one of you speak up and--wait, that wasn't such a bad idea... 

I stepped away form Cinder and looked among them for another woman, because they seemed to get this stuff more often than not. It seemed that Cinder was either too busy studying the drawing or that she didn't care as much about what I did over studying the drawings. I got to my target quickly--a lady slightly smaller then the two males next to her, and holding a spear and shield-- and wrapped my tail around her spear before trying to tug her over to where Cinder was. 

I guess I half expected her to come with me, so when that didn't happen--after trying to tug her forwards and almost dislocating my tail in the process as I fell on my face for the umpteenth time--I was very surprised, and confused as I found myself on the floor. Quickly getting to my feet again I looked back at the female to see that she was, like the others, trying her best to retain their amusement, and I tugged my tail a few times to try and get her coming along with me, but she subtly shook her head and gave me an apologetic look. 

I huffed and begrudgingly let go of her weapon to go over to Ms. Demon's side again to tap her on the leg with my tail. And when she didn't budge I did it again. And again. And again. I was very close to stabbing her outright when she finally looked at me with an annoyed look. "What?!" I just pointed to the female I was trying to bring over, and then pointed at the puzzle. 

"You want one of them to come over and look at this?" I nodded. Cinder seemed to think about it for a moment before waving a hand, and the one that I'd been trying to bring over stepped a step from the line and spoke up. 

"Captain, I believe the drawing is about a group called the Broken Animals." The female said and Cinder seemed to go into thought for a moment. Then she took out a note-pad and motioned for the female to continue, "They're a group of Undead Beast-Kin, with a Sentient Chimera believed to be the leader, that act as the vanguard for the Dark Lich believed to be the reason for the South being a wasteland of Undead and death!" 

"New Annoyances To Watch For." I heard Cinder mumbling and looked at her in utter perplexion." She seemed to not have even heard about this dangerous group of people before, and was only just now making a note of them. "Dynamic. Abilities. Capabilities." She spoke and the female continued. 

"Their abilities are all unknown so far, and they seem to be hired guard or a kind of strike-force specifically used by the Dark Lich, but they've been known to destroy everything in their path no matter the purpose. They seem to be a recently developed team, and in recently I mean around a decade or two, and they are extremely good at what they do. One of their members has been said to be able to give you problems in one-on-one combat, Captain!" 

"I see," Cinder mused and turned to me again, "You, stay here, you've done enough and I don't need you causing any more trouble for me. The rest of you come with me!" She then jumped into the air, over the entirety of the building and a golden light surrounded her already glowing golden armor and she shot off towards Pops' direction. The thirteen others weren't far behind and I watched as they disappeared into the distance, hopping up to the edge of the roof and watching as they got farther and farther away. 

I scoffed to myself, seeing they weren't going to be turning around for whatever reason. Like hell was I going to just 'sit here and stay' while one of my newest friends was in trouble. I looked over at where Cinder and her team disappeared into the distance, and then at the spot that shone with light earlier, and there was nothing there. The sun must've glinted off of the tiles in at an odd angle and I just happened to be there when it did. 

I decided it wasn't really that worth my attention and turned to the forest of trees off in the distance behind me; she'd said that Red had been in that Sanctuary right, so I guess that's where I was going next! I jumped off of the roof headed in that direction: half gliding, half running on the rooftops along the way. 

A shorter chapter than the last one (but still around my normal 2k word average), and only one system notification in this unlike I originally thought I'd have to include, but that outcome is perfectly fine with me...less work to do -_-

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and the next or the one after that will likely be the big one where Sc'the finally gets past the second evolution! 

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