RAIDS AND SOAP AND STUFF, OH MY

[nozomi]

Remember, remember the fifth of November
Gunpowder, treason and plot.
I see no reason why gunpowder, treason
Should ever be forgot.

The dragons are old enough to fly, children. And with that, the outlaws now know how to fly.

If this weren’t terrifying enough, there’s also the fact that they are short on food, clothing and other fabrics aren’t horribly abundant, and at least one person is short on soap and absolutely jonesing to be properly clean. What does this mean for all of you lovely outlaws?

It means raids.

Not on the prison, of course, as that would just be silly. The Southern Continent is full of little cotholds, all of them with things like food and soap! (Most important of it is the soap) More than a few of them have herdbeasts and clothing! Possibly weapons! The big deal is that they do not have dragons to protect them.

What’s going to go down is that this will be considered a RAID THREAD as a celebration of the 5th of November! ANY AND ALL outlaws are invited. Wherhandlers and non-riders can hitch a ride on a dragonrider to grab and run.

This is going to work the same way as the egg theft. Y’all post a single post of your peeps grabbing something, I send a PM saying what it is you grabbed. It’ll get your kiddlets some shiny new things to play with while we do some plotting going down. It will be taking place at Dusk and, yes, I will be making a post but it is 1am so it may take a bit*.

RULES

1. Don't go telling me what it is you grab. Keep it brief. Keep it vague. If you wish to edit it when I send you a PM, go for it.

2. Your character is more then welcome to stay behind, but they run the risk of being spotted if the dragons stay behind. Astor and Brigith will be with the raiding groups and keeping them hidden, so any huge bits of dragon peeking over the trees could be problematic.

3. If you have more then one outlaw, you can have more then one item.

4. ...uhm. That's pretty much it. If you have any questions, ask away! <3


*Yes, I am THAT professional an admin that I won’t be posting a sample ASAP due to time of the day. I'm tired even though I love you.

[S'yal]

Finally. Iris, today is the day... Gintineth's nostrils flared, the sinister dragon's long tail lashing behind him. The small dragon stayed crouched in the shadows, red eyes focused on the small hold he was swiftly approaching. Nothing more then a cothold, but all that mattered was that it had things they needed. Will we burn the hold down? Witnesses are bad. He'd learned from Iris, then.

I doubt that a single raid will bring a great deal of change, my darling. But it's a good step. Iris slid from Gintineth's back, ignoring the way her ragged clothing rubbed against her. Most of the original uniform was gone, replaced by bits of hide from the things she'd hunted and fabric that she'd bartered for. But it'll make me feel better.

Any who follow the tyrannical watch will be eliminated to pave way for the future. Gintineth's voice was a snarl in her head, and without looking up she knew the expression his face would be set into. A twisted snarl, the half-grown dragon's teeth bared in an expression of pure rage.

He was so beautiful in his anger that he never failed to take Iris' breath away. Really, he was the perfect dragon in every sense of the word. But now was not the time to swoon over Gintineth. It's dusk. Most of the adults will be working. Now would be the time.

Let them die. Gintineth nodded to his rider, and Iris could see that he wanted to come. I will watch for the Watch. Come back quickly.

Iris nodded curtly, moving towards the small hold. She opened the door slowly, turning to look at the woman who opened the door. Young. That was a shame. As the woman opened her mouth to demand what in the world the battered woman was doing in her home, Iris pulled out knifey and buried it between her ribs. She let the woman collapse to the ground, her expression not changing in the least as she wiped blood from her knife.

There was no time to slaughter everyone, and the outlaw darted into the hold. She grabbed the nearest item that looked useful, keeping a tight grip on Knifey. She was glad, she thought, that she had gotten that satchel at the egg theft.

I've got something. Let's go!

Just one thing?

The quicker we get out, the better. Iris ran from the hold, ignoring the screams behind her. Gintineth met her as quickly as he could without revealing himself, swooping her onto his back.

Quick.

I'd rather not stay here in case one of them has a firelizard. I've dealt with the watch enough.

Have fun?

Of course.

[giftwrapped]

Moneth's hide glimmered in equal parts dying sunlight and rising starlight. The yellow shimmered dusky violets and dusky pinks as the last of the light caught her hide, and as her rider slid down from her neck, she snorted and snapped her teeth. An uncanny beast, made of equal parts physical and pure, concentrated malice. I will look out for you and stop anyone who comes too close. Be quick, and don't disappoint me.

I do try my best not to, you know, Jiruyno answered, lips curling into a smile that sat unpleasantly on his face. An affectionate brush of his fingers against her muzzle, and Moneth jerked back, launching into the sky. Jiruyno...well, he wasn't going anywhere a-dragonback. The other raiders would do what they pleased, but Jiru considered himself above such trifles as brute force. It wasn't even necessary, with the other outlaws making such a commotion already. The cothold was in an uproar. And Jiru, well...Jiru knew what he was doing and where he was going. All Holds, when you got right down to it, were more or less the same.

What he was looking for, he was fairly sure, would be in the center. He walked quickly, past those rushing to the gates and perimeter, and as more people came, he picked up the pace. Wild-eyed and raggedly clothed, he must have looked...he didn't know. He ran into one man, paused, gave him a look of wide-eyed bewilderment, and snapped, "I don't know what's happening but they have my wife! I'm going for my sickle!" And that was all it took. The man let him go, too caught up in the overwhelming feel of panic to realize that the red-haired man was neither a neighbor or a friend. And as he dashed off, Jiru allowed a wicked smile. It was really too easy.

He was looking for the storehouse. Even cotholds had such a thing; places to keep common items. Or barring that, a smokehouse, perhaps. A silo. Something, anything where he could get something. What he wanted was soap, but he had no honest idea where to find it in a place like this. He would simply have to trust in his own findings and those of his fellow outlaws, and if someone who wasn't him got soap, bargain like the bitch he was.

Your language, my dear, needs work. From her place in his head, Moneth sneered, turning and banking back. She was waiting for him. Jiru was far from the most athletic of the outlaws, but he had learned. She would pick him up as soon as he was done. You're taking too long, honey. Grab what you can find and get out. You can't bluff forever.

"Try me."

But the dragon had a point, and Jiru threw open the first likely door he could, groping around in the darkened building until he connected with something solid. It was in his arms in an instant, and he was bolting, tucking his prize under one arm so he could grab onto Moneth's jury-rigged straps when the time came. He had cleared the Hold, was in the fields, knocked aside a young man with his free elbow, when the yellow returned. She hit the ground hard, not a true landing so much as a controlled crash that transitioned into a gallop. Jiru grabbed hold of the straps, vaulted, and by sheer luck managed to swing onto Moneth's back.

They had practiced that, admittedly, but he hadn't expected it to go so smoothly. With a shriek, the yellow took again to the air, and Jiru huffed his relief. That had gone better than planned. And with luck, it'd go even better the next time.

[Inkwell]

Truth be told, Astor had come on this raid not because he was particularly interested in getting soap food and supplies, and not because he was particularly interested in keeping his comrades hidden -- he didn't know about that particular power of Brigith's, and really, neither did she. He was here solely because it was an excuse to fly.

He loved flight. He loved the feeling of power in him and under him. It was exhilarating, and not something he could often indulge in thanks to still being an outlaw and still having to lay low. Besides, without proper riding gear, prolonged flying could be... well... painful. Hopefully he find something on this raid he could use, but he wasn't going to get his hopes up. He was here to get what he could get and get out. He was comfortable in the jungle and really didn't want to go back to festering in a jail cell. Besides, they'd take his Brigith away, or even kill her.

Do not think such things! Brigith scolded, alighting after Gintineth and allowing him to slide from her neck. No one will ever take me away from you, or you away from me. There was a steeliness under her adoring tone that he'd come to expect, a kind of fanatic fierceness that matched his own obsessive love for her. They really were perfect.

Don't worry, pretty girl. Nothing bad is ever going to happen so long as we're together, okay? Now lay low.

He followed Iris, sidestepping around the body of the woman in the doorway and casting his eyes around. What was in here that was within grabbing distance? He couldn't be picky, thievery wasn't his forte! And he didn't like having Brigith out of his sight. He grabbed the first thing his hands came into contact with and fled, back to the safety of his dragon and the knowledge that someone loved him.

[tuathade]

What a lovely little cothold. What a beautiful sunset.

Arkady sat astride Beoth's back, wind in his hair, a smile on his face, enjoying the simple freedom of flight. This was a brilliant idea, he had to admit. Simple, elegant, enjoyable for all involved. The wide open sky above, the frantic screaming of rioting villagers below...

It must have been rather startling for them, to see a pack of strangely colored dragons emerge from the jungle without warning. Arkady's own pretty little pink (or not-so-little now, actually) angled a wing, dropped altitude until he was just barely skimming above the ground, and a Holder man who had been simply gawking in bafflement at the tie-dyed pink dragon was snapped up with a most satisfying crunch.

Better, Beoth agreed, than eating bugs and fish all the time.

Another man was racing for a nearby shed, whether to hide or to grab some kind of impromptu weapon Arkady wasn't sure. It didn't matter in the end. Beoth ran him down and dispatched him same as the first man, tilting his head back to gulp him down clothes and all.

"That's going to ruin your digestion," Arkady chided. "Either that or it's going to come right back up like firestone, and that'll be a bitch to clean up."

There was really no point in trying to be subtle. He was riding a sharding pink dragon that was, given his current growth rate, likely to be the size of a bronze when he grew up. Not to mention, Beoth was by no means a precision weapon. Things like subtlety and sneakiness were more or less lost on Beoth. No, better to make this a proper shock and awe campaign - although with a little bit of Harper flair. A few Holders had grabbed weapons, and on Arkady's mental orders Beoth swung his head around, inhaling a deep breath and jaws gaping as if to flame -

They scattered. No one was going to risk infernal death at the jaws of a dragon who had just eaten two of their neighbors.

Beoth rumbled in satisfaction, then latched both sets of foreclaws into the roof of the shed. With a shift of his lean haunches and a good hard tug, he tore the flimsy little wooden building to splinters. Arkady slid down, one hand on the makeshift riding straps to catch his fall, and quickly gathered whatever looked useful from the remains of the shattered storage building. Then he quickly swung back aboard and whistled for Beoth to rise back into the air. No point sticking around for anyone to get brave enough for another attempt at fighting back.

[nozomi]

Jessan had wanted to go with Beoth; she and Rhinth had something of a hate-hate relationship, Jessan resenting the fact that Rhinth had taken her place as the most important woman in Machi's life, and Rhinth resenting the fact Jessan was even alive and breathing. Machi remained mostly unaware of the animosity between the two, though Rhinth and her constant stream of hatred filled him in on her disgust with Jessan. Rhinth hated everything, though, so he thought nothing of it.

That first raid, though, was the most important. It was to strike fear in the hearts of the other cotholds, to let them know that, yes, they could be raided and killed at any time of the criminals so wanted to, and fill everyone in on just how much damage the atyps could do. It meant Ark and Beoth had to fly solo to do their worst, and Jessan took W'ill along for the ride due to her rather... special... purple.

Rhinth, for all her sickly birth, flew fast as a snake through the grass. She was already the size of a large brown, zipping through the air with the three on her back, and through it all, she told Machi what a bad idea this was.

They will not be able to protect you as well as I can, Machilove. She is not as fast as you are, she is not as strong. You could get hurt - you are beautiful, amazing, but you could get hurt, and this is not the sort of thing you want to do.

I have to. is all he said to her fretting, and he stroked at her hide.

Rhinth landed some distance from the cothold, hissing and twisting her neck in an effort to keep herself from darting off back to the jungle with her three charges. Jessan and W'ill could die for all she cared, but Machi, her precious, he couldn't. He just couldn't.

The siblings ran, pale figures in the brief light of the cothold. Machi helped Jessan sneak, and Jessan was the one to break away first. She ran to the closest home, where a door slammed open to reveal a large, aging man, glaring down at her with a frying pan held as a weapon. Jessan shrank back, making her eyes as wide as they could, her thin hands out to defend herself.

"They held me captive!" Her voice trembled and tears splashed down her dirty cheeks. "They wouldn't let me go - they- they did such horrible things--"

A look of sympathy crossed his face. The drying pan lowered, the mans gruff voice saying, "You poor girl, come in, Bjorn will protect y--"

Machi leapt from the darkness, shoved Jessan out of the way, and stapped the old man in the chest and throat until the gurgling stopped. They grabbed what they could, and they ran out the door, fleeing back to the huge purple.

Once all three were back, they fled.

[Spiffy]

Dazanth was buzzing, (almost literally, for she was humming like it was a hatching) and Kailin was finding it very difficult not to get too infected by her dragon's enthusiasm. Right now her thoughts were going from I've gone from an honest sailor to a friggin air pirate, to I'M FLYING BITCH, FUCK YEAH! in a confusing tangle of fear, joy, anticipation and adrenalin.

Kailin had long since given up on the thought of following the main plan on the grounds that she knew Dazanth would never be able to sit still for long enough to hide, so she may as well come along and help Kailin threaten a few peasants, since her rather diminutive figure wasn't likely to do that on its own. That and she didn't really want to kill anybody; if she could get things by scare tactics alone then she would, damn what the others thought.

The place was... already in chaos when they arrived.A few were following the plan, Moneth was circling above the cothold, and Beoth was tearing the roof off of a building.

Dazanth circled for a moment so Kailin could get a good look at the place before deciding where they were going to attack, sidling alongside Moneth with a greeting bugle to the fellow yellow-possibly-clutchsister.

"There! Down down down!" Kailin shouted over the rush of flight, even though Daz could hear her perfectly well inside her head. The yellow didn't complain though, instead tucking in her wings and dropping like a stone. The yellow hadn't, unfortunately, perfected her landings as yet, and managed to crash rather loudly into the building she was supposed to land next to. Thankfully she wasn't hurt, and after shaking herself down and dislodging Kailin from the riding straps she'd fashioned out of the same material as her fishing nets. She landed on the ground with a bump, but was also unhurt, as Dazanth idly brushed a rather large plank off of her wing.

Oops, sorry. I need to remember I have you on my back now, she said by way of apology, though there was little or no remorse in her mindvoice.

"Don't worry about me," Kailin replied, half serious, "mind the people you could have just crushed." That seemed to register at last in Dazanth, the dragon suddenly standing in a panic. "No, don't move! You'll only do more damage." She did as she was told.

Can we go now? I don't like this place, it's too fragile, the yellow complained, thinking that these wooden things fell apart much easier than the caves did.

"Hang on a sec, just lemme grab something. That's why we're here after all," Kailin replied, picking her way through the wreckage. Spotting something that looked useful, but was rather hard to identify due to a layer of splinters, she settled for taking that, grabbing it up and finding her way back to Dazanth, tying her acquisition into the netting so that they could leave.


(Note to self: play Pirates of the Caribbean theme more often when posting Kailin xD)

[tuathade]

I can do this, my dear heart. Have a little faith in me.[/color]

"I know," W'ill murmured, stroking her dragon's muzzle. The outlaw girl then slid back into mindvoice so as to not be overheard. I'm not doubting you. I'm doubting the others, and this plan. If a bunch of Watchriders show up with dragons and weapons, I'll be much happier knowing there's someone I trust waiting to help me escape. Right?

If you're sure...[/color] Matith still sounded doubtful, but the purple was unwilling to argue with her rider further. As long as she was being helpful in some way, she would be content. Honestly, W'ill was a little relieved - despite her assurances to the contrary, Matith's condition simply wasn't improving. Even sickly Rhinth was growing up faster and stronger. It was just better not to push Matith if she could avoid it.

So she climbed up onto Rhinth behind Jessan and Machi without complaint, and when the siblings took off she went a different direction entirely. W'ill could feel Matith nearby, crouched in the jungle, watching and waiting; the small redheaded girl managed to vanish into the crowd mostly by virtue of looking just as bewildered as everyone else. Then the high, unmistakable scream of a panicked runnerbeast caught her attention, and she immediately switched directions to race towards the stables. Any questions from the stablehand inside were silenced instantly with the simple words "Let me help," and the quiet confidence with which she grabbed the nearest halter.

She allowed herself half a minute. Thirty seconds in which she could pretend she was on the other side, the right side, the side she'd be on if she'd never taken Dust or Impressed Matith or run off with the sharding outlaws. Then the stable boy turned his back on her, and she grabbed his bag and ran.