a collection of tales [[ chronocompass writing ]]

It was in the middle of hunting down a particularly slippery werewolf, on a planet with blue grass and a green sky that hummed a bright melody, that Tenoch found himself pondering the life he had fallen into. This life, a life full of chaos and trouble and yet so much excitement, with dragons by his side and his old town far behind him, was nothing like he had expected. He had been taught that elemental dragons were far below the Quetzalcoatl, that their choosing to rely on a rider was stupid. While, admittedly, he still thought that, he had come to change his tune ever so slightly. The twin lizards of his, Hestia and Dian, were quite infuriating, and though he appreciated their assistance in battle, the constant arguments really wasn't worth it. He watched as the two flaming dragons strutted ahead, following footprints left by their quarry. 

Non was a whole different matter. Anonymous was the closest thing to an ally Tenoch had ever had, and with the bejewled dragon on his side, he was finding contracts a lot easier to complete. Non could twirl anyone around his finger with just his words. It was a useful skill when tracking intelligent creatures. This, however, was a werewolf gone feral. There would be no reasoning with them. He knew this like he knew that the sun rose and set every day, on every planet. A quick glimpse into possible futures showed him that their only chance of success was to strike hard, and strike fast.

Tenoch untangled his tail from some brambles and glanced about the darkened swamp. The stars and the three moons of this planet were high in the sky, shining an eerie light across the whole place. Dian and Hestia were the only other light sources out here, their flaming wings a beacon in the night. He quickened his pace to catch up with them. His wings extended and he glided across the murky water. As he flew ahead of his two dragons, dodging between trees and avoiding thorns that could trip him up, Anonymous appeared to fly by his side.

Unnervingly, Non seemed to not have a fully present shape. His body would often phase through objects or turn to mist for several seconds. How he managed to keep a hold of all his ridiculous jewelry, Tenoch had no idea, but somehow, he did. Anonymous didn't bother dodging the obstacles as his rider did - he focused all his attention on speaking his thoughts.

"Werewolves. You've hunted werewolves before, I can tell. So calm about this whole thing. I like that about you," the dragon said as he floated along. As Tenoch watched, a tree went right through his face. He never stopped grinning. Tenoch tried to focus more on the footprints beneath him. They were getting closer to his quarry - not much time left for conversation.

"There's no point in being on edge when quick thinking works just as well," the rider grumbled back. "Do me a favor, show me their aura with your magic when we get close enough." Dian and Hestia weren't often willing to agree with Tenoch's orders - Anonymous was different. He probably had some hidden motives for so easily agreeing with what Tenoch suggested, but the two of them were tied together. There was no way either of them knew to break a bond, so they were stuck.

Non nodded once. "Consider it done." He alighted on the ground. Mud squelched beneath his feet. Tenoch was soon to follow. He quite enjoyed the feel of the earth beneath his feet. He was careful to land in the water, so as to not leave his own trail of prints behind. Something moved in the shadows ahead of them. Tenoch immediately dropped low and pulled his knives from his belt. Anonymous vanished into shadow. The Quetzalcoatl sent a mental message to Dian and Hestia - a warning to dim their flames, that their foe was near. He couldn't bring himself to care if they followed his suggestion or not.

True to Non's word, the aura of the beast in front of Tenoch became apparent to him. He closed his eyes and saw the werewolf's intentions, his character. It was fascinating. The beast knew that they were there, but not exactly where. Good. Tenoch liked starting the battle with the upper hand. Dian and Hestia got into position, hidden among the water, flames reflecting the moonlight. For a moment, there was silence. Then, all at once, they attacked.

Tenoch threw one of his knives at the beast, but he couldn't quite tell if it hit or not. Dian lunged at the creature,  flames spewing from his mouth, while Hestia sent her own roaring fire at their feet. The wolf was quick - they dodged and twirled, spat and clawed. Tenoch tried to dart in and strike, but gained a slash across his wing for his trouble. Gah, there went flying for the next while. He went crashing towards the ground, but quickly got back to his feet. 

Dian was yelling, and everything was spinning, but he wasn't done yet. He leapt on top of the werewolf's shoulders while the beast was turned away. The beast reared back and tried to throw him off, but he covered the creature's eyes and hung on tight, leaving their foe open to attack. Hestia spewed fire everywhere, and Tenoch leapt back into the water to put out the flames on himself. The werewolf didn't think quite as quickly, and before long, the creature was dead. 

Quiet applause cut through the silence that followed the intense conflict. Anonymous was clapping his hands together, mouth turned up into a smirk. "Very nice, very nice! You slayed the horrible monster, well done. While you all had your time to be all heroic, I found the wolf man's delightful treasure trove. Want to take a look?"

"Go ahead. I'll meet you there," Tenoch said. He kneeled next to the dead werewolf and put a hand on the neck of the beast. After he focused, he felt the warm feeling of the energy and memories of the formerly alive creature transfer to himself. He'd have the energy to use his magic for the next little while, and when he returned to his client, he'd get a good payout, too. He cut off a piece of burnt fur as proof of the kill. Now - time to see what Non had found.

He walked a short way and met his dragon at a small cave. The moonlight didn't illuminate much but the flames of his fire dragon certainly did, and he had to look several times at what was inside, to make sure he wasn't imagining what he was seeing. There was treasure in the cave - enough gold and scrap metal to buy a house, or bribe a king. 

"Not a bad find, Non," Tenoch said, and laughed. Perhaps his luck was beginning to turn around? "Though how do you plan to lug this all around with us?"

Anonymous shrugged, and one of his wings nearly hit Hestia in the face. The lizard hissed. "Not sure... but I can think of plenty of ways we can spend this. Further us all on our path to glory."

The gold shone, and the night seemed brighter than ever.