Into the Pit [Xayden/Skygger/Open]

Watching from the sidelines, Oculus kept his gaze on two dragons who were facing one another. The two dragons took calculated strikes at each other, dodging or deflecting the blows and retaliating with their own. He had no intention to do anything but to observe the two, looking for flaws in their forms, a flaw in their technique, missed opportunities to counter. To the naked eye, it would appear as if the two were mauling one another, but with a careful look, it would be noticed that most of the blows never made contact. Content with the performance the two were giving, Oculus let his mind wander to the message he had heard. There was a new dragon coming to try and join their ranks. Not many braved the challenge, as the hardship and breaking in made most quit or straight up flee. A current spion from what was told was the one coming to try and prove themselves. Oculus had done his homework though, learned a bit about the dragon. He was not a native Xoyan, but an outsider who came into the Xoya. Not much was known about his origins beyond that, but he had done well in the spion. While the spion were under his control, he did not pry into the lives of all his dragons, only the Skygger. He wanted to know every detail about the skygger, to find their weaknesses and pry them out, scale by scale if need be. This spion, Xayden, would have an awakening if he thought that it would be some simple test to join and that was that. Looking back at the two fighting, he resumed watching, waiting to see if the new recruit would even show up.

Xayden felt ready to start this new adventure. He was calmly pacing towards the designed area of the training. He has received warnings from other Spions about the challenge of joining the Skyggers. Most of them wouldn't even last a week before to quit. Xayden wasn't afraid of that. He faced so many challenges in his life, often struggling to death. Becoming a Skygger couldn't be worse in his opinion. He already thought to remain as a Spion, but then he couldn't improve as an individual without accessing a higher rank. He had his weaknesses to overcome. Anyway he was more than glad to serve under a special rank. The Xoya gave him the life he always desired. By joining the Skygger it was the best way to truly serve the tribe. With these thoughts in his mind he eventually reached the pit. As he started to peek around, he could see other two dragons fighting fiercely. This already discouraged him, but it was his major weakness afterall. Xayden usually fleed from fights, believing that escaping was always the safest route. He approached Oculus that looked to be the one in charge of the training. Being a shy dragon, Xayden wasn't sure what to tell him. "Greetings" He spoke a bit unsure, he was starting to feel the tension.

The only thing Sephtis didn't like about the training was the fact that no one actually got hurt... In an actual fight, there was no way anyone would end up without a scratch... Even a little blood would have made it more... interesting for Seph. Of course, having no scars himself made it a bit odd that he would find this an improvement, but it wasn't for lack of training and experience that he had no wounds... In fact it was the opposite. He had no scars, but his opponents couldn't say the same. He was hiding in the shadows, hunched over, as though he were about to attack his prey. Although he could be hidden in plain sight, he didn't want to waste his energy. He noticed one of the spions approaching Herre Oculus. He tilted his head so he could hear what they might talk about. The spion, Xayden, greeted Oculus and waited for a reply. Seph leapt, from the shadow on the ground, to the shadows of the small ceiling-like overhang above the edges of the Pit. He then proceeded to, almost silently, crawl along the ceiling while remaining hidden. He came near to Oculus and Xayden, but stayed out of both of their lines of sight. If he was caught, he might have to sit through a lecture on what he'd done wrong. Of course... that could be helpful... But he preferred not to have that happen. He'd wait a while, just to be sure he hadn't been seen, but then he'd drop down and appear, seemingly from nowhere. Perhaps he might even surprise the trainee... That could be fun... Of course, he couldn't kill Xayden, but he could at least scare the living daylights out of him... Now if only it were dark out... Perhaps he could push Xayden into the pit, add a new contestant to the fight... He needed to get a job, a proper assignment... Just sitting around was not what a Skygger was supposed to be doing. Plus it was just boring. Maybe he could get an assignment... Even just a little one. Something that'd give him something important to do...

Of course he had observed and kept Xayden in the corner of his eye, keeping track of the approach of the dragon. He could not help but notice that Xayden had a bit of hesitation while watching the two skygger go at one another. Was it fear? Second guessing? Anticipation? All questions he would try to gleem of the attitude and disposition of the drake. As Xayden came up to him, he did not even twitch as he was spoken to. Instead, he completely 'ignored' Xayden for the moment. While he was watching the two duel, he was also judging Xayden's character. There was uncertainty in the dragons voice, not a head strong one. While not ideal, it was workable. A headstrong dragon could be stubborn to a fault and refuse to fix, or be mentally prepared but not physically. Oculus also took note of the lack of formality, especially for one who had trained as a spion. After several tense moments, tense for Xayden at least, Oculus finally spoke, but did not face him. "Xayden. Parents unknown. Previous rogue before joining the Xoya. Worked hard to make due as a spion. And now, comes to face the Skygger." Turning his head at Xayden, he narrowed his eyes at Xayden, staring him down. Oculus payed no attention to Sephtis who was lurking about, as part of analyzing someone was seeing them react to the unexpected. "Who are you?" was all Oculus simply asked, focusing on Xayden's eyes to get a better read on his character, his question having more than just face value to it.

Grinned, looking around as three guards followed him through the entrance of the Pit. Before, the Pit was a dangerous battle ground, to fight and to conquer fellow soldiers. He would take his squadron to train here. He took a deep breath, the King stepping into the arena, tilting his head hungrily at the two dragons fighting in the sand and stone floor. Unfortunately sand would cushion a hard fall. His eyes suddenly saw blood caked in the sand, spilled up on the walls, and the two dragons dead at his feet. He blinked, looking down at his talons... They truly were not bloody, and the soldiers were still fighting. He paid no attention, the smell of a fight always brought the demon out.

Haven sniffed, expecting the smell of blood and sweat, but all he got was the tingly smell of sweat. Not the sweet, metallic smell of blood, maybe here and there... Haven slowly moved up the stairs, eyes wandering the dragons that stood up suddenly, saluting before he went past. These dragons were small, but of course, well trained. Today was the day that a Spion would be bestowed Skygger. He gave a smirk, a wide, devilish smirk. It was quite hard to deserve the place of Skygger, and it made him wonder what Oculus was actually doing...

Haven moved up just as the Skygger leader finished his sentence with a rather... Jumpy dragon. Was this the Spion? He sat behind them, wings slightly out, talons scraping against the floor. While he was gone, this Skygger Oculus gave an order, an order that could put his own plan to perish. He slightly growled. If that was the case then something would have to happen. Either with Oculus plan, or Haven would have to obliterate it. Smoke slowly seeped out of his jaw, the sounds of the thrashing dragons below echoing about. Quick and agile, not bold and brunt. That is what separated the two, one being of the front lines, and one protecting within the heart of the castle. The King slightly moved closer, tail flicking back and forth. "Oculus..." He slightly snarled, "We need to talk." Haven hissed, narrowing his bright glowing optics.

IDK If that made sense? I'm rusty I'm sorry)

(I don't know what plan you are talking about XD and waiting on Xayden who may not come on for some time for this topic o3o)

She’d been gone for weeks, however not without a reason. Delillah would never do anything without reason. Oculus had send her off to finish something a newbie Skygger could not fathom to do himself. The drake was not accompanying her back to the heart of Shveki, to her delight he wasn’t even accompanying her back to the dark lands. For she would not have it that anyone who had carried the honoured rank of Skygger would further shame them or, in fact, all Xoyans. Of course one who dared to disobey strict orders would not ‘retire’ fast or comfortably, but that was a story told another time.

Delillah chuckled at the memory, her shadows, of course knowing what she thought of, mirrored her. Ah her two darling exemplary pupils. The twins. After her and Oculus they were the best of the Skyggers, skill and bloodlust without a limit, and extremely entertaining to have by her side. They were perhaps the only company she accepted, for they were no brainless and untalented worms like the wannabe Skyggers nowadays. It was why she had agreed for them to come, well except the continues begging she had received from them. Nonetheless, they had done the job without hesitation and neither of the three complained as they flew silently past the castle towards the Skygger domicile. She would not say that she missed it, however she was curious to see which fresh meat Oculus had granted permission to attempt to become a Skygger this time. Delillah glanced at the twins “Go. I want you back in training by the morning” Dismissing them she only saw Skiá nod before they disappeared to whichever hole the two considered home.

Delillah only fastened her cloak tighter before she, gracefully as always, landed upon the wall opposite to Oculus. She felt no care to appear out of the shadows today, since it appeared as if another one already attempted sch a thing. Key word: attempted. She wore her usual apathetic visual expression as her heavy silver gaze wandered over the worms in the ring, judgemental as always. The silver tinge of blood in the air that had been present every day before she left, was missing from the air, inducing a silent growl from her. Newbies would not learn if they felt no pain. Nonetheless she dismissed it and continued to watch. The two drakes in the ring she was familiar with. Another drake stood before Oculus, one she did not recognise, and saw no reason to. He stood unaware, without confidence and hesitantly. She saw no dedication in his body language, if this fresh meat truly wanted to become a Skygger he would have to be an exceptional fighter. She doubted it. She continued. The drake playing in the shadows was interesting, while he could not yet hide in the shadows she saw potential, for it appeared to be a natural desire for him to dance in the shadows. With training, perhaps. And lastly, her gaze settled upon the tallest of all drakes. If she hadn’t recognised him by the guards around him then definitely by the way he carried himself, pompous as always. Haven. Interesting. What business would force the king to leave his oh so comfortable throne? A rare sight indeed.

She chuckled and leapt from the wall. The drakes in the ring stopped their training and parted way for her, she didn’t care to acknowledge them. Heading straight for Oculus she passed the hesitant worm and Haven. She smirked as she passed him “Your majesty”. The words were laced with a tone. Continuing up the steps to Oculus she payed Haven no more attention, but simply wore a wolfish smile as she looked up at Oculus “I truly was hoping that you could have lifted my mood by displaying a wannabw group with potential. Not these worms" she stated plainly, waving a polished claw at the wannabes. "In any way, we have a hole within our ranks that needs to be filled" she informed him, her eyes glistening from the memory "So let us see if you have actually done anything with the fresh meat I left you before my departure" she mocked.

Rejoinin:

Xayden carefully listened Oculus reply. The Skyggers leader shot a question that made Xayden uncomfortable. He didn't like to speak about himself, but this was a necessary step to let Oculus learn about him. When he opened his maw to speak, he was interrupted by the unexpected arrival of another dragon. It was the King in person. It was the first time Xayden saw the King. He didn't expect Haven was so huge and intimidating. However he wasn't scared by such a dreadful dragon, being used in the past to deal with his scaring father. Instead Xayden collected himself to show a firm and respectful bow. "Greetings, your highness." He confidently revered before to go quiet and let the other two to talk. There was apparently some serious business that required immediate attention from Oculus. The lack of formality he showed before was due to the tension he was feeling. In the meanwhile Xayden could feel he wasn't alone. He was quiet, but his eyes were scanning every corner of the room, being used to pay attention to every detail. He couldn't see or hear anything, but his nose caught the scent of a dragon hidden somewhere. The dragon was lurking around the room. Xayden couldn't guess where the other dragon was, but he deduced it was another Skygger. He didn't know what the Skygger was up to, but Xayden was ready for a possible ambush. The Skygger wasn't the only presence in the room. A cloaked dragon arrived. Xayden curiously glanced at the newcomer, wondering who was hiding under the cloak. His nose registered its scent and his ears learnt the tone of its voice. Xayden was surprised by its arrogant words. It dared to call the other Skyggers, presumably including Xayden, worms. He wasn't upset at the insult, but he showed a sly smile instead.  He had something in mind to deal with a brash personality. Xayden was starting to learn about possible team mates. One was unknown and was lurking around the room. The other one, a cloaked dragon, was also unknown, but very arrogant. They both appeared to like secrecy. Xayden actually enjoyed this. He'd only feel comfortable with others partners that enjoyed secrecy like him.

The first thing that popped into Seph's head when Haven entered the Pit was that this would be a perfect setup for any traitorous Skyggers to kill him right then and there. Then his mind started wondering how many of the other Skyggers would attack any traitors. They had yet to see if Haven was a king worth protecting... Of course, he would never say that aloud. Better safe than sorry... His second thought was that this would be a great area to rig an explosion of some kind. That would most likely kill or maim not only Skyggers and their recruits, but the General of Offense, Herre of the Skyggers, and the Kommandant all in one shot. There were a shocking amount of ways to kill other dragons...

Seph thought about using his Hidden ability just to show off a bit, really scare the new recruit, but instead he found the back wall and silently crawled down it ending up once again behind Xayden and Oculus. He was keeping tabs on Haven, Oculus, Xayden, a Skygger who he believed was Delillah, and the two dragons fighting down in the Pit.

He was thinking about giving the newest recruit a 'warm welcome.' Which meant throwing him into the Pit and 'introducing' himself via a short duel. And that'd also mean that Ocu would be able to see how Xayden would react to the unexpected. That couldn't cause too much of a disruption for anyone but Xayden right?... He stayed completely hidden from Xayden's point of view and waited for the right moment. Then he remembered the Kommandant was standing right there next to Oculus... Maybe not the best time. He decided to wait a while longer, to see if an opening might present itself. If he got to do it, it'd also be a way for him to experience a bit of real combat for the first time in far, far too long...

Watching the ever growing congregation, Oculus huffed out a deep breath. How annoying. Politics in HIS Skygger pit? Rude. As Haven was looking pretty angry himself, Oculus debated what to do. He gave Haven a small nod, but gave his attention to Delillah first. It seems she took care of the last one who tried to break the Skygger code. It was known that if a mission was assigned to a Skygger, Oculus assumed the mission completed. There was hardly a failed mission from the Skygger, and it was something he worked hard at to keep the record going. Betrayal to the Xoya lead to trials and who knows what other beurocracy, but a betrayal in the Skygger ended with saidmoffender going missing, and was the reason Oculus was allowing less than ideal candidates to try and prove themselves. As Delillah confirmed the mission done, he smiled slightly, and raised a brow at her responses. Practically all would see her comments as insubordination, offensive, maybe rebellious. But having spent time with his Captian, he knew her personality and skills. "Maybe if you stopped leaving spoiled meat, I would be able to cook you a grand roast.. He listened to the sounds around him while focusing on Delillah, hearing Sephtis shuffle Xayden greet the Commadante. "Delillah, it seems I have company that wants my attention. Why don't you go greet the new recruit and observe him? ". Smiling, he turned and gave a purposely over exaggerated how to Haven. While no sarcasm could be detected in his voice, it could be assumed. Oculus always butted heads with the General of Offense, and Haven having just retired from that position to the Commadante didn't end his rivalry. Even so, Oculus respected the chain of command, and would dance around the line of insubordination. "Commadante Haven, a pleasure to have you come into our humble training area.". With a wave of his tail, he hoped Delillah would handle the new recruit and snooping Skygger so he could focus more on the matter at hand. "What is so pressing that you must come and talk now instead of waiting for the next meeting?"

Nope. Not writing a giant post. --

Azriel had caught wind of the new Skygger tryouts, and had been meaning to pay Oculus a visit, see how he was doing, etc, but had forgotten - he had been too busy reading a book.

Pff, who was he kidding? He was only going there to (mock) see how badly the wannabes would perform (or perhaps there would be potential in some of them), and yes, maybe pay Oculus a visit - being the General of Intelligence had earned the male some respect from Azriel, though he wouldn't say that they were close. And as for reading a book? No, he was punishing a guard who had done their job wrongly and as such confused all other guards on duty. Reading a book was something he used to enjoy, but now, not so, for he found it rather difficult to keep his attention on one place. He was better off in his room, writing out his thoughts in an attempt to organise them or just staring out the window and thinking.

He walked with the casualness that would be expected out of him, but his eyes were alert, always on alert, relaxed but not too careless. Rarely was such an activity held - the Skyggers were highly respected, yes, but it was quite a challenge to prove yourself good enough to join, and most would not be able to endure the training that came next. Still, he respected the newbies for their daring to try - or maybe just foolishness. Who knows.

The smell of blood flooded his nostrils, tinged with sweat, and he turned his nose away with a huff; while he didn't necessarily love the smell nor crave for it, he didn't like it that much either, and he stepped forward, carefully avoiding puddles of blood or bits of dragons here and there, a fallen scale, a broken-off spike. He spotted the two Skyggers, one lurking in the shadows and the other right in front of Oculus himself, while Delilah stood sneering, next to him. Azriel had never liked Delilah much, but she was a valuable Skygger, so he put up with her. And Haven. What had called the male here? He towered over them all like an oversized bat, smoke unfurling from his slightly agape maw, and Azriel neared just in time to hear Oculus to sneer a greeting at Haven. "Since when was this a meeting?" he inquired, tone neutral and polite, though it contained not an ounce of respect, Azriel speaking like he would to another dragon.