RP:If You Like Pina Coladas And Getting Caught In A Dragon's Cave

Part of the Do You Believe In Magic? Arc

Summary: With a stroke of luck, the mages manage to get out of their holding jars, but soon the Blue returns, and everything takes a turn for the worst once again.

Raiez's Cave (Dead End)

The cave was in order. The mages were snug in their jars, set upon shelf after shelf along the far wall of the expanse, in their own little niche. Outside the niche, crystals sang with magic, infused by the mere presence of the arcane energies that surged in surplus from the dragon’s hoard. And ah, that hoard, itself. It was a beautiful sight. Odds and ends, precious metals and mundane objects, armor and weapons, tools and instruments. If it held magic, it was there. Raiez meandered past it all, basking in the glory of her collection, until she got to the pool that served as the entrance to her lair. She never bothered to block it; who would ever think to look at the bottom of a lake to find the cavern tunnel that connected it to the rest of the world? Even the crevice in the wall, though wide enough for two to fit shoulder to shoulder, was not a concern to her. She had sent a magical probe that way before, only to find it lead to a dead end. Secure in the knowledge that she would never be found, she went back to her most recent of trophies, the vampires and the mortals she had collected over the recent weeks. There was a commotion in the jar with the vampires, as always. That one redhead was always training. Always. It was a wonder the mortal in the jar could get any sleep. She didn’t bother to watch the vampire in her training. There was no need. Her enchantments on the jars would ensure the ruckus wouldn’t break them. Or, so she thought. If she had looked closer, she would have seen the most miniscule of cracks form in the body of the jar as the redhead’s form slammed into it. No, she was too busy studying the terramancer and the gemstone enchanter. Of all her trophies, they were the most peculiar to the dragon. Mostly, because they were the least interesting, to her mind, that she had collected to date. Regardless, they were more interesting than the mundanes. “Perhaps more playthings would help them become more entertaining,” the dragon mused to herself.

Brand landed a hit? Huh. Imagine that. I mean -- no, of course he did! Try not to look too surprised, Brand. The man successfully managed a blow squarely in that bitey redhead’s center of gravity, sending her flying toward the wall of the jar. He might’ve followed up on it, pressing his advantage while it still lasted, but the dragon-lady overhead proved a momentary distraction. It was easy to forget that they’d been shrunken down while surrounded by others of this size, but Raiez’s presence was an unnerving reminder of the height and power they’d lost in captivity. In that moment of broken concentration, it would be a simple matter for that bitey one to retaliate.

Wait...Brand hit her?! BRAND HIT HER! Cheering Dominic's other half on from the sideslines, Khitti jumps up into the air with an excited "Yes!"...before promptly containing herself that is. Don't want the bitey one to get upset with her or anything. That would be unfortunate and probably painful. Eagerly watching the spar, Khitti stuffs cookies and cakes into her mouth.

Linn idly glanced around between the jar with the redheads and Raiez, idly juggling two halves of a gemstone within his own. Only they seemed to capture his thought and focus as they arced up towards the lid of the jar, and back down, over and over. He'd keep tossing them, closer and loser to the lid, seeing how close he could get without actually hitting it. Just like his freedom, feeling so close, but so far. Even if the lid was taken off, he'd start tossing them past the boundary into the air only for them to fall back in with a morbid smirk at the situation they were all in. Desparation was the name of his game, and... this was the cleanest trick he could think of that would get him out. It wasn't a good chance... but it was a chance.

Odhranos appeared to be meditating, eyes closed and fingers steepled before his tense face. The piles and drifts of sand and earth around the jar had been whisked away from sight and all that remained was a seemingly calm mage. In actuality, the mage was bracing for whatever Linn had to do to get them out, preparing to expend all of his energy in keeping them both alive or striking out at that accursed dragon. Maybe both. Beneath his robes, the earth and sand plated his limbs, rustling quietly yet angrily. The mage was utterly tired of his captivity, the earth demanded freedom and bloodshed before it would be sated.

Raiez shook her head. Those two. They were always up to...nothing, really. Either talking, or meditating. The lack of the dirt and stone was even a disappointment to the dragon. So she turned her gaze away from them with a sigh and a shake of her head, padding over to the pool that acted as entry to her cave. In so doing, she missed the retalliation from the most bitey of redheads, a quick series of punches launched Brand's way - first to the gut, then to the head, then to the groin. The last of those punches, however, was pulled short as the Blue dived into the water. She was leaving. The dragon was leaving her lair. With a nigh-feral snarl, Raiez's favorite captive launched a punch at the wall of her jar. The crack that had appeared previously grew, drawing a spiderweb into the side of the glass. The vampire blinked. That wasn't supposed to happen. She had watched Raiez cast the enchantments on the jars, knew the effects of the spell. Another punch, more spreading spiderwebs. With a cocked brow, the woman looked to her two jar companions, then to the two in the adjacent jar, then back to the two with her. "The jar's cracking, right? I'm not seeing things, am I?"

Brand dragged himself up off the ground, limbs protesting the movement as he did so. As he’d thought, he wasn’t much of a match for that redhead. Not in hand-to-hand combat, anyway. Perhaps not in magic, either, though that hypothesis remained untested. “Nnnnnope,” Brand slurred, rubbing the combat weariness out of his face with a calloused hand and matching the redhead’s gaze. “Tha’s definitely some cracks. Punch it again.” Not that she really needed the encouragement. He stepped forward now, their duel momentarily forgotten, line of sight icredulously drawing over those splits in the glass. After all this time… was this really happening?

Khitti's jaw dropped as the jar cracked, her eyes opened wide like a deer in headlights. After the intial shock wears off, she moves closer to Brand, arms reaching out as she puts her hands on his shoulders and begins to shake him. "OH MY GODS. I TOLD YOU. DIDN'T I TELL YOU TWO?! I told Dominic zhat zhere'd be a vay out, ve'd just have to vait!" The younger redhead was a bit too eager now as she shoved Brand out of the way, that bit of stir crazy in Khitti's mind flaring up. "I NEED TO GET OUT. Let me out now!" She doesn't wait for the bitey one to start hitting the wall again as she was instructed, instead taking it upon herself to hit another portion of the wall repeatedly with her fists, tapping in to that vampiric strength of hers, though her own strength wasn't as vast as the other redhead's. Was Khitti ever -not- going to be ridiculously crazy? That remains to be seen, apparently.

Linn blew out a huff once Raiez was well out of earshot before dropping the juggling act. "Damn it." With a sigh he just listened to the irregular pinging of vampires and humans hitting glass until the pinging turned to a crackling burst. He turned his head with a cocked brow at the unusual sound, only for his own eyes to pop wide open as the others began shouting, his mouth begining to hang a bit. Every plan of his own to get out had just been wiped clean. "Just apply force..." he muttered with a weak shrug before standing up, his expression rapidly turning manic as he watched the cracks spread. "Punch it! Keep punching it! Go go go gogogogogogoGOGOGO" He'd keep shouting faster and faster, completely forgetting the idea of patience and waiting for Raiez to get farther away. Eventually he'd run out of breath, having to take some time to catch it before running about his jar, grabbing a couple arrangements of gems. "And get us out too! We're all getting OUT OF HERE!"

Odhranos' head whipped upright at the sound of splintering glass. "Wha....that doesn't make sense....." he murmured as he got slowly to his feet, his eyes wide with disbelief. Shaking his head, the mage studied the patch of glass that had began weakening beneath the redheaded vampire's fist. "About bloody time." Odhranos growled, his teeth flashing in an eager grin as he spread his arms and from his sleeves, the sand and stone poured out and began circling the mage in a rapidly spinning ring. Casting a glance back at Linn, the mage laughed and smiled. "Let's bust this place." He chuckled, then clenched his fists and began to walk towards the wall. The ring of sand solidified and began forming sharp stone shards, which as the mage stepped forward began scraping heavily against the wall, like a large bandsaw, vehemently aiming to shred the glass into sand itself.

The bitey one looked at those cracks again as she was bade to punch the wall again. The sound of Odhranos' earthen bandsaw drew her attention but for a moment, but it was enough to give the vampire an idea. "I'd recommend standing back," she said to Brand and Khitti before her left hand began to spit furious sparks until it was surrounded by a wreath of lightning. Brighter and grander that collection of energy grew until there was nothing but light within the jar, until finally the woman punched the cracked wall with all her considerable might. Glass shattered around the trio, enchantments faded, and suddenly there were three full sized adults on a table...although, one of them was pitching forward due to a sudden shift in forward weight. Luckily, that one was used to pitching forward into rolls. All that training came in handy. Once she came to a stop on her hands and knees, she looked over her shoulder at Khitti and Brand, jerking her chin towards Linn and Odhranos. "Free them, then free who you can. I'm going to make sure she's not coming back soon." And so the woman launched herself forward towards that pool that Raiez had disappeared into.

Huh. So this -was- real. Wasting no time, Brand popped the lid off of Linn and Odhranos’ jar, then began hurriedly plucking up other jars, tilting them sideways and discarding the lids -- and the mages within -- off at arm’s length. “Out you go. Stretch those legs. Can’t have anyone laggin’ behind when we make our way outta here.” One of Khitti’s many pastries was shoved into the hands of a particularly sleepy looking child mage before he followed it up with a shake of the scrawny lad’s shoulders. “Look alive, kiddo. Not gonna carry your ass if you faint on the way out.”

Unfortunately for Khitti, she landed face first on to the ground next to Brand. "Son of a..." Lifting her head as she slowly pushes herself up off the ground, the vampiress looks in the bitey one's direction. "Vhere zhe hell do you zhink you're going?! Gods damn it..." With a growl, she starts helping Brand open the jars and shoves bits of dessert at the mages. "Do vhat he said and eat up. Zhe sugar rush vill help give you zhe energy to get home." She side-eyes the lightning mage, a frown lining her lips.

Linn was practically clapping and jumping... okay, he -actually- was clapping and jumping as his jar got tilted over and the lid popped. No sugar rush for him needed! He surged right out of the jar before stumbling and nearly taking a spill as he returned to his full size. After steadying himself against the cave wall he took in a deep, refreshing breath of the open air... okay, 'refreshing' and 'open' were probably relative terms here. Alright!" Still panting in his mania, he jerked his head over to Odhranos and across the caves before pointing down the passages. "You find us a way out. Have to go fast. We'll get the others out that we can." Without another word he began following the paths he recalled Raiez taking, rapidly scanning the jars before opening the ones he passed by quickly as he could. Twist, tilt, repeat. He aimed to reach the hoard, presumably where the dragon went to the most often, besides the pool that led in and out.

Odhranos swiftly grew some stone spider-like appendages which he clambered out of the jar with, bracing himself for the moment of disorientation when he cleared the jar's neck. When he had re-accustomed himself to his former height, the mage nodded sternly to Linn as he breezed past. They may have escaped one cell, but they had yet to break out of the prison itself. "Alright, lets get a look at what we're dealing with..." the mage grinned as he crouched and splayed his hands against the earthen floor. Extending his senses into the ground, the mage swiftly build up a mental layout of the cave and passages beyond through the vibrations resonating through the soil from the mass of stamping and swarming mages. Lifting one hand and closing his eyes in concentration, the mage sought out an exit, a vibration that heralded a cold biting breeze tugging at the loose soil. "There you are - Linn, got us an exit plan. It's a bloody maze out there, so make sure we have everyone, as we may want to move sharpish!"

That bitey one came jogging back into the cave that held the captives to see a fair number having been released, but not nearly enough. Just how long had Raiez been collecting these mages? Too long, it seemed. "This is going to take too long," she grumbled to herself as she looked over her shoulder at the dragon's way out. "Get behind something!" she shouted to those that were free as electricity began to collect around her body. Most had seen impressive levels of magic from the woman in her time as a captive, but this was something else. This was a light so bright as to illumate the cave as though it were in the middle of a sun. Many of the mortal mages had hairs standing on end from the charge in the air from the collection of lightning, and most had already taken cover behind anything and everything that could be used for cover. The release of the magic was like a storm during a hurricane, arcane fury unleashed with a sonic boom, a surge of electricity that was far beyond anything the woman had produced to date. Between the sudden heat of the lightning washing over the glass and the shuddering vibrations from the soundwave, soon every jar was shattered, and many, many mages were soon falling on themselves. Well, that was one way to make an escape. Unfortunately, and unbeknownst to any in the cave, the building and release of the magic was strong enough to pull Raiez from her current scouting for treasures. A great roar ripped through the air beyond the cave as she wheeled and began to head back to her hideaway. Back in the cave, the bitey one was already falling back into old habits, acting the part of the lead despite the fact that this was a good ways away from anywhere that her titles may have held any sway. "There's a tunnel not too far from the pool. It's wide enough for three to move abreast. Let's move, people."

With what little time the redhead had given as a warning, Brand had taken Khitti by the arm and thrust them both behind one of the nearby shelves, a bit of a tight fit but one that did its job of protecting them from both lightning and the horde of suddenly properly sized mages. It was almost like he cared or something, geez. But don’t look too much into it; Brand certainly wasn’t going to. As soon as the way was clear again Brand had stepped back out, and with only a quick glance sent back Khitti’s way he pushed ahead, ready to take a place near the head of the pack of escapees. If there was to be a confrontation with Raiez on the way out, Brand was positively itching to be on the front lines.

Khitti was rescued! Sort of. But not really. Because Brand. He just didn't want her to die because then he'd have to listen to Dominic moping around all the time. Because he's a jerk. Yes. That. He doesn't like her at all. She allowed herself to be pulled along by Brand to hide from the lightning that threatened to burn her to a nice, undead crisp. As the other mages were broken free from the jars, she heard sniffling and crying. The culprit is sought out and a girl of four or five years old found. The vampiress frowns deeply, picking up the girl into her arms as she tries to catch up to Brand. "Brand! Brand, please take her! I don't vant her to get trampled." She'd give the blonde male a pleading look, pass off the child to him, and then went back to the far edge of the crowd, ushering people towards the exit. She knew he would protect the little girl. He wasn't -always- this grumpy, bear-like guy. She continues shoving food at the mages, whispering words of encouragement and promises of release from their prison. That is, until that dragon roar. She was never going to get used to that sound, was she? A flash of fear, panic, and dread washes over the redhead, emerald eyes drifting over the gathering of magical types anxiously. Raiez was coming back. This...was not good. Not good at all.

Linn barely even looked at the redhead charging her magic before opening his mouth, and immediately shutting it when he knew there was no stopping what was about to happen; he just kept running through the tunnels for the hoard. Despite the distance he had made, even his duck around the corner wasn't enough to fully nullify the reverberations of the explosion. The leftover electricity left him feeling a little numb and dizzy, and his hair which had grown out over the course of captivity suddenly had a bit of frizz to it. Just when he was about to berate whoever that was, and yell at everyone to get moving, the dragon's roar just outside did it for him. When he got to regain his senses from that stint and take a look at what room he ducked into - wow-ee. That was some treasure. Gold, jewels, weapons, inscribed armor, there was probably a bit of everything here. No way in hell he'd find what he wanted... except that one patch of dark brown leather and silvery mithril that had slipped down one of the piles. He'd at least have clothes. Running between the piles he snatched them up... only to poof up in a cloud of several months worth of cave dust. How long -was- he sitting around anyway? No time, no time. Gotta go fast. Coughing and wheezing and shaking his head he barreled his way through the rest of the hoard to connect back to the pool and its tunnel out, the flow of mages correcting for whatever parts he didn't quite remember right from listening to Raiez travel through the cave.

Odhranos had trailed after Linn, gritting his teeth when the roar of their saurian captor echoed through the dense dusty air. The mage needed his materials, and fast. Ducking the low, ice-crusted roof, the mage stood beside the enchanter, taking a moment to absorb the sheer amount of material wealth crammed into the one space. Shaking his head despairingly, the mage threw his arms wide, willing the stone and sand that he had carried about his person for nigh a year to return to him. He knew each grain and stone like a part of himself, but despite this, nothing happened. No streams of stone and sand rose to greet him. Odhranos paused, confused, then he was thrown forward with a great force. From his robes, the dirt and sand he had collected in the jar was ripped away with almost vehement force. Following the trail of flying stone, the mage watched as it was sucked into a strange golden cage, at the centre of which lay a swirling, hissing maelstrom of sand, emitting a baleful gold glow. Dumbfounded, the mage scrambled over to the object. "It... couldn't be..." he murmured under his breath as he reached out towards the sphere. How could the dragon have found it? After generations of others had failed... The mage's fingers came in contact with the gold frame and he jerked as if electrocuted. The mage's eyes blazed a vibrant silver, which misted, then turned solid gold, as the howl of a sandstorm shrieked around the cave.

Miss Redhead didn't even wait for everyone to start moving after that show of magic. She spun on her heel and sped towards the cave entrance, anticipating the dragon's return. How many would get out before Raiez got back, she wondered. Mage after mage took to the tunnel she had mentioned previously, but the woman couldn't help but growl softly as Linn and Odhranos ventured into the treasure trove. "There's no time to play treasure hunter!" she shouted, eyes flitting endlessly between the side cavern and the pool that the Blue would eventually emerge from. "Come on! Get moving!" It was certainly sound advice. Odhranos, and any other mages that might have been attuned to subtleties of the earth, would likely either feel or sense the vibrations of the dragon landing heavily not too far from her entryway. Raiez was coming.

How could Brand possibly say no to those pleading eyes of Khitti’s? Well… he could manage it quite easily, actually. Childcare was … not really his thing. At all. Kinda hard to know how to interact with a child when you’ve never had a childhood of your own. So the moment Khitti had walked off again, Brand began searching for some other unsuspecting person to pawn the little girl off on. He was now unwillingly in a game of hot potato: you have a kid in your hands when the dragon shows up, you lose. No wildly hurling spells at the dragon for you. No way to release that pent up agitation from weeks of captivity. But with everyone running in a panic… blast it all. They were all too busy trying to save their own skin. And that gorram woman was right -- this kiddo would be cave mush in an instant. Grumbling under his breath, Brand fetched a handful of cookies to keep the girl quiet and then strode back to where the cave met with the side tunnel, waiting for the bulk of the stampede to pass them by.

Khitti could probably kiss Brand for taking the kid, but then she'd likely get punched or get a fireball to the face. That would not be pleasant and would lead to her being a pile full of ash. Thankfully, Khitti didn't think of that at all because she's too scared stiff at the moment. She stares at the way the Raiez normally enters the cave, still as stone as if she were made of such a thing instead of flesh. It didn't last long, however. Her hands curled into fists, and she let out a soft growl. This was no time to be the damsel in distress. The vampiress looked over her shoulder towards Brand, frowning slightly. She wished the mental link between her and DomiBrand was still active, but alas, that was long since gone. Khitti would stare in his direction for a moment or two, trying to catch his eye, but that didn't seem to be in the cards either as he was much too busy taking care of the little girl. "I'm sorry, Dominic...Brand", she muttered to herself. There was no way she'd match up against a dragon, certainly not one as old as Raiez. But, at least she'd buy them some time. As the cave shook around them with Raiez's every movement, Khitti went closer towards the entrance. "Amarrah, you've been a right awful cow to me lately, but you're going to help me now. For once, you're going to do as -I- say instead of zhe other way around. If any of zhem die, you von't get out like you zhought you vould. I'm going to drag you to hell vith me and you are -never- going to see zhe Shadow Plane again. Do you understand me, Amarrah?" With that little speech said and done, Khitti summons up as much of Amarrah's power as she possibly can, as much as her mind would allow. Blackened veins creep up her left arm, moving across the rest of her body, emerald irises shifting to a dark violet. The shadow tendrils appeared from her fingertips, braiding themselves into whips, both of them dripping with shadow and smelling of acidic poison. Like a beacon of light, the dark magic radiated from her as she waited. Waited for Raiez. Waited to save her friends. Waited for the end.

Linn was beginning his way out of the hoard as he caught sight of Odhranos. Oh dear, he knew that look. "We'll come back to it later, come on!" Had he not gotten an instant response he'd go as far as to bump against the terramancer on the way out to get him to turn and go. He could justify his choice to make his way into the hoard all he wanted, but now wasn't the time to debate if the pot was calling the kettle black, even if it probably was. A quick turn of the head was made back to see if Odhranos was still looking at that old artifact, and if he was, Linn too would turn to rag the terramancer along, first putting a hand on his shoulder with a gentle pull, to try and get him to break from it gently. "We're leaving. Organize a strike, kill the dragon, check out the loot later. Come. On." With each second he'd pull harder and harder, and if even that failed, he'd try and turn his own magic onto Odhranos to prod him away, needling the terramancer with unstable heat through his hand in hopes that the pain would return him to reality. He might wind up a little singed, but it would be more painful than damaging. Once the sand died down and Linn was mostly sure he had the terramancer's attention again he'd pull, much harder to get them both running towards the exit. Of course, Linn would still be carrying his musty leather doublet in the other hand on the way out, but that was different. Right?

The bitey one stood by, waiting for everyone to pile into the tunnel. Mages she didn't know, Brand, Linn, Odhranos, they were all well on their way to securing their path to safety. But gods be damned, that infuriating Khitti was standing as though she were going to fight Raiez single-handedly. "Get yourself gone!" the vampire shouted at her, but it was too late. Raiez roared once more, already outside her entrance to the cave, and the dive from the dragon sent gigantic waves through the pool on their end of things. It wasn't too much longer before the Blue, in all her glorious, dragon glory emerged, enraged and panicked at the same time. Her trophies were escaping! Draconic syllables went flowing from her fanged maw, and the bitey one was rushing towards Khitti.

The younger redhead scrunched up her nose as she heard the elder one call out to flee. "Go away and let me do zhis! Just go home!" She seethed with anger, her words just as bitey as the one she spoke to. Why was that damned lightning elf so stubborn? She'd been here long enough. She had a place in Frostmaw. She was needed. Khitti herself was still unconvinced on her status within the city of war. Her magic never got any better. Whatever hope she'd had withered like a flower with no water. She'd never be able to do it. Dominic would be sad, of course, once she was dead, but he'd also be free. Free of her self-hatred. Free of the negativity that tainted her every waking thought. He'd find someone else, just as she'd told him. He could be normal. Have a normal life. Have a family. She couldn't give him any of that. She wanted him to be happy. His sadness would soon pass and he'd moved on. There was always someone else. Someone better. And Brand...? Well, he'd get what he truly wanted. For her to go away. Forever. There'd be no more fighting with one another and those unrequited feelings would die with her. She hated that they existed in the first place. She'd ruined everything with it. In the moments that it took for Raiez to enter the cave, Khitti thought over all of this and soon after, she only thought of Lydia. And then Raiez was there. She was so deliciously angry. The vampiress could only grin at the great blue beast, "I told you, Raiez! I told you it'd be you and I! Your babies are getting away and vhile zhey do, I'm going to end you! You voke up after a millenia for -nothing-, you awful creature!" The whips at her fingertips lengthened and snapped in the air in Raiez's direction before Khitti broke into a run towards the dragon, a snarl left in her wake. Now began her descent into utter darkness. The problem is...is that Khatherine von Schreier, sole survivor of the Dhavislavv massacre and of the Von Schreier bloodline, wasn't aware of just how dark everything was about to become.

Everything appeared as if in slow motion, an agonized unraveling of their hopes -- both Dominic’s and Brand’s alike. This wasn’t the plan, dammit. The whole point of coming here was for them to find a way to escape together, -with- Khitti. All these weeks stuck in a jar were absolutely pointless without her. And now she was, what, bent on suicide? If Brand wasn’t holding this damn child he’d be running up to her, risking death himself to physically drag Khitti away. Even with the kid, he took a step forward and called out to her as if he might still intervene. But… it was already too late for that, wasn’t it? Khitti, you gorram -idiot-. He could only watch, horror and anger and sorrow intermingled on his face. He’d watch as long as he could, knowing he’d eventually have to turn away, to get himself and the child to safety. He only hoped that he’d be able to come back for her someday soon… and that there’d be something left of her for him to come back to.

It was a little hard to figure out just how Linn managed to disengage Odhranos from the artifact; everything was kind of a blur at this point, but next thing they all knew they were running for the exit, the dragon's roar working like a crop to get them going faster. Once the two made it out of the hoard Linn broke away, weaving his way through the crowd of bustling mages to get his way towards the exit fast as he could. Everything and everyone; Khitti, Raiez, Brand, the bitey one... they were all forgotten in his rush towards freedom from what had felt like years in that jar. In this moment even the other mages were viewed as little more than an obstruction, if one he couldn't simply tear down and leave behind because he still had some humanity left in his active state. Still, it was too slow for him, and if he couldn't make the flow faster, he'd just skip his way around it... over it. Heading to the wall he climbed up, seeming to stick to the stone as he shuffled his way along the wall over the heads of the mages down the narrow passage. It was a little awkward, and in fact he was only going about as fast as the mages below him, but... it was faster in his head! He too had his plans for revenge, but those would never come to fulfillment if he didnt focus on getting out right now, so he'd continue on and on until he made it outside to see the sun once more.

Everyone was out and on their way to safety. Everyone except that damned Khitti! She was -running- towards the dragon! The words that came from the bitey one's lips in regards to the woman were far from complimentary. With a speed granted by sheer adrenaline, the vampire caught up to the younger one just in the nick of time, her left hand grabbing at her arm. There was a strange sensation that flowed through the elder redhead as she halted Khitti's momentum and threw the woman behind her, a sort of surge of power, but there wasn't time to dwell on it. The dragon was finishing her spell. A great jet of fire blew out from before the Blue, one that was sure to incinerate both vampires where they stood. But the bitey one had magic as well, though most that had witnessed her in a fight would have never known the true depths of it. She rarely spoke of her past beyond a certain point. A quick incantation, a simple few words, were all that was needed to produce a magical barrier, and her left hand once more went forward as the focal point. It was an unfortunate thing that the effect of absorbing...whatever it was from Khitti hit her at that moment, just as the fire was sent off course. Consciousness fled the murderous redhead, and the cost of it was greivous; that entire left arm was burned away, the flames licking at her face and lower rib cage, melting away skin and flesh. She dropped like a wet sack, maimed and in pain, but so far gone that there were no cries or whimpers of pain. At least she had saved Khitti. But with Khitti's savior down, Raiez came forward, a deep growl rumbling through the cave. "You will not escape again," she hissed menacingly as she scooped both vampires up and took them back to her hoard room. Yet again the two redheads found themselves in a jar, but this time Raiez took more preemptive measures. Enchantment after enchantment was laid upon the jar, ensuring that it would never fall, never crack, nothing. With them secured, the dragon went to her pool and roared, almost a challenge for the escaped to return and try to save their remaining two comrades.