Capturings

"Capturings" is a [SEASON NUMBER] thread written on [IRL DATE].
==Summary==
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==Full Text==
"Phantom is gone!" A voice echoed down the caverns.
The Furies all stiffened and perked up, turning to see Bolt rushing towards them. "I left to get a drink and he just disappeared! Did anyone see him leave?" He asked, starting to panic.
After a minute of frantic chatter, it became clear no one knew where Indigo was or had seen him recently. Panic grew quickly.
Storm raised his voice among the others. "Everyone, calm down! We'll find him!" 
None of the Furies got much calmer, but they did quiet down.
"We'll split into teams and look for him. Since he's been out of it for a few days now, theres a chance he's still in a daze. He wouldn't just wander out without telling us. He can't have gone far. Everyone, pick a partner and start looking!" Storm told them.
The Furies disbanded quickly, going out in pairs to look for Indigo.
Why had he left?
Feb 15, 2020
Dixie rolled the hardened candy fruit stick in his mouth as he peered through a spy glass, and then shot a sideways glance at the rest of his crew. He gave a quiet nod and the group of mercenaries moved through the woods with their employer.
The group carefully moved to encircle a pair of scouting furys, and then all at once sprung out of their hiding places with weapons raised. The moment they did, Dixie stepped forward with an odd, pipe-like device in one hand, and a empty hand raised to bid the two dragons. "A moment of your time dragons! Pardon the weapons...they're only here on account of four ravaged villages."
Feb 15, 2020
Storm and his searching partner Nimbus took defensive stances side by side, staring at the group of humans with angry glares.
"Do you understand what they're saying, Nimbus?" 
"Not really sir. Something about villages. He's probably here to attack us on behalf of his kind. Should we fly for it?" Nimbus replied, nervous.
"They may have some ropes or nets. Darts maybe. We should be careful." Storm stared at the apparent leader of the group, waiting for a move.
Feb 15, 2020
Dixie paused, and canted his head. "Oh jeez so they not understand? Not like Farris's friend Furi it seems..."
He stroked his beard, and then motioned for his men to lower their weapons. He eyed the dragons, and then escaped a section of leaves away from the ground, and took a stick to begin sketching.
Feb 15, 2020
Storm motioned for Nimbus to stay close and glanced down at the sketch as close as he dared to get to the human.
He could feel his lip curling at just being close to one.
"I'll humor you, human. For now. Try anything and I'll rip your face off, even if your little band of murderers attacks."
Nimbus seemed similarly tense, staring at the humans around him and watching Storm's back.
Feb 15, 2020
The stick carved out the image of Indigo's mask, and Dixie glanced at Storm meaningfully.
Feb 15, 2020
Storm immediately bared his teeth, his pupils going thin.
Did this human have him captured somehow? Had he managed to get Indigo down in his weakened state?
He knew Indigo couldn't be killed by normal means, so he was alive. If this weird human had managed to chain him up or knock him out, then he needed help, unless he could snap out of his daze and escape.
He stared at the human, calculating his next move, trying to stay calm.
Indigo had taught them a few simple human words, even if they couldn't speak them, just in case. He knew one he could use.
He took a claw and scraped out five messy letters in the ground.
W H E R E
Feb 15, 2020
Dixie pressed his lips together, and then drew a '?' after the word and tapped it twice.
Feb 15, 2020
Storm growled softly with a frown.
"Either he's playing dumb, or he doesn't get it." 
He scraped a line in between the mask image and the messy word, trying to get the human to understand. He then pointed with great exaggeration between the "Where" and the mask, then looked at Dixie expectantly.
"Do you know where he is? Do you have him hostage?" 
Nimbus seemed annoyed. "I think we're wasting our time. We should get Tael. He can make sense of these creatures." 
Feb 15, 2020
"Hmm...looking for him too huh? That explains why you're scouting." Dixie straightened and tapped a foot. "Alright then...maybe you'll understand this."
The stick moved again, this time tracing out the image of a burning house. He pointed to the image, and then swept the stick up to point at them, a question in his eye.
Feb 15, 2020
Storm huffed and gave Dixie a flat glare. He spat a tiny huff of flame onto the house image, giving the human a meaningful smirk.
He was more than willing to do it again, Indigo or no.
Nimbus gave an agreeing huff and nodded.
They didn't like humans any more than Phantom did, had hated them long before he'd ever rescued them.
Storm hoped that that was coming across clearly.
Feb 15, 2020
Dixie gave him a very, odd, look. He held out a hand in a passive gesture, and then drew another house with a human next to it, and then the image if a dragon a little further off to the side. He rolled a tongue around in his mouth, and then spelled P E A C E ? Out in the dirt.
Feb 16, 2020
Nimbus and Storm shared a glance and sniffed, only slightly amused.
"He's got us surrounded. Should we lie to these creatures just so we can get out of here? We still need to find Indigo. Wouldn't help if we got shot down here." Nimbus stated.
Storm hesitatantly nodded. "Not a bad idea. I'll lead him to think we're considering it. Then, we split."
He turned to Dixie and the drawings and sketched with his claw. P E A C E
He had no intention of following through on that. Once they found Indigo and became a whole team again, they'd most likely continue the mission.
Feb 16, 2020
"Wonderful..." Dixie said, but his tone did not seem like the kind of man who was happy about something. "Of course we cant take any risks so..."
He sketched into the ground. G O O D. C O M E. W I T H
Feb 16, 2020
"What does that one mean, Storm?" Nimbus asked, looking confused. "I dont know those ones." 
"One is good, the next is come. Not sure on the last. I think he wants us to go with him." Storm murmured.
Nimbus shook his head. "Probably not a good idea..."
Storm shifted slightly, unsure. Then he took a claw and scraped another few letters.
W H Y ?
Feb 16, 2020
Dixie let the stick circle drift in a lazy half circle, and then drew four tac marks in the soil before tapping the stick to the burned patch of ground. He then drew.
R I S K
Feb 16, 2020
Storm tilted his head, more confused than anything. Perhaps the man was implying he wanted to try and get them to stop somehow by having the dragons go with them. He grumbled softly, getting tired of this.
He took a claw and pointed to Indigo's mask, writing W E F I N D in the dirt. He then nudged Nimbus. "I've had enough of these charades. Let's find Indigo." 
The other Fury nodded, and they started to turn to leave.
Feb 16, 2020
Dixie watched as they began to leave, and waited a few moments as his men deceptively parted to let them pass. "I'm afraid I cant risk this..." he called, and then two spring loaded nets we fired from either side of the two, the webbing entangling Storm.
Feb 16, 2020
Storm screeched in anger as the web tangled him, glaring around at the humans. Nimbus yelped and turned, teeth bared.
"I knew it! They'd catch us as soon as we turned our backs!" Nimbus roared, frustrated. "Should I get help, Storm?" 
Storm glared daggers at the humans, holding still only because the ropes were rubbing his scales. "Yes, get some help! Quickly!" Storm roared back.
Nimbus leapt into the sky and began to fly desperately away to find help. "Don't worry, brother! I'll get someone!"
Feb 16, 2020
Storm saw a mercenary lift his weapon towards Nimbus but Dixie stepped over and forcefully lowered it. "Hold." He said crisply. "He needs to bring the others... get this one loaded up and contained, don't displace a scale on him either."
"Are we really going to negotiate with killer dragons?" A man asked sincerely.
"We're killing them in battle, or as a last resort... so yes. Put him out please."
Two mercenaries nodded, and then stepped forward to blow two tranquilizer darts into Storm's side.
Feb 16, 2020
Storm fixed Dixie with the most murderous glare he could muster even as he started to go out. It was a minute before he eventually went limp.
Nimbus looked around for the others, and spotted another Fury searching with Scarface. He dove down and landed in front of them, panting. "Humans... Storm... captured!" He panted.
The two dragons immediately stiffened and followed Nimbus to find more backup. They found another pair and rushed back to the humans, running up as a group, tense and ready to fight.
Fortunately for all parties, Tael was one of them.
Dixie had just finished hooking Storm into a wheeled restraint platform, when he was alerted to the other furys. His men closed around the wagon and Dixie held out a hand, hoping beyond hope of of these dragons understood human speech. "Hold! Hold!" He called, his usually dry voice laced with a note of urgency. "We wont hurt him if we can reason!"
@furibotgd
Feb 16, 2020
Tael perked up and stepped in front of the others, motioning that he'd take over. None of them looked particularly excited, but let him handle it.
"Reason sounds great!" Tael stated. "I can translate, so no need for confusion!" He glanced back at the others. "I think it would be best if we handled this diplomatically, if we don't want to lose Storm." 
Scarface growled deeply. "Would rather kill all of them."
The other Furies nodded in agreement, and sighed when Tael shook his head.
"We kill them, they're just going to kill him. Everyone just stay calm." 
The group reluctantly agreed.
Feb 16, 2020
Dixie exhaled a whistle. "Coool..." he droned, and had his men relax. He stepped forward to meet Tael between the two groups. "Dixie Donz..." he greeted. "And you?"
Feb 16, 2020
"The name is Tael. The big guy is Scarface, and that's Nimbus." He gestured to the Furies, introducing them. "Those two are Creep and Sneak. The one you have is Storm."
Creep, who was sitting next to Scarface, was giving the humans a dirty look. Sneak was just chewing on a large branch she'd discovered, not entirely paying attention.
"We'd like him back, if you'd be so kind." Tael stated, ignoring Scarface's soft growling.
Feb 16, 2020
"And I'd like those burned villages back...but you cant provide that." Dixie countered. "So we'll have to adjust the deal." He put his hands behind his back. "We dont want to kill dragons, but I very much looks like you dragons want to kill us Mr. Tael."
Feb 16, 2020
Tael shrunk slightly. "Yes, well, I don't want to kill you, or any innocent human. I've been trying to get them to stop, actually. They still want to kill humans, but we've stopped because our leader has gone missing and we're looking for him." Tael explained.
"I can't do anything to stop them right now, but I'm trying to get things turned around. This is not really helping things."
Feb 16, 2020
Dixie's cold eyes squinted to slants. "That was...quite a bit of good information...but let's stick to step one." He motioned back towards Storm. "Here's the deal. Vow on your lives to never attack innocent humans on their own land again, give us Indigo, and the means to either A, kill him, or B, effectively imprison him...and we'll give him back."
Feb 16, 2020
Tael shifted uneasily, clearing his throat. "Uh... that first part might be hard, but I think I can do that. The other half of that isn't gonna happen. When I find him, I'm going to keep working to talk him out of this too. Even if you could kill him or imprison him for very long, I would prefer you didn't."
He gave Dixie a small shake of the head. "You dont wanna do that either, trust me." He stated, trying to hint that it was a bad idea.
Feb 16, 2020
"Tell me how us killing or imprisoning him will be worse than stacks, and stacks of extra crispy kids?" Dixie asked as he began pace a little. "Sorry to say but trust has nothing to do with this Mr. Tael. Indigo has killed too many. Either he's getting burned up too...or he's sitting in a box for the rest of his life. So...are you certain we cant come to these terms?"
Feb 16, 2020
"You won't be able to kill him." Tael told him bluntly. "And he will be able to escape. Not only that, but you'll make him even worse. He's been captured before by worse than you, and he's destroyed them." Tael continued.
"Instead of violence, I think it best that you leave this to me. I know him better than you, and I know I can get through to him. So no, I'm afraid we can't agree to that. Please, just... don't hurt Storm. That's also a terrible idea."
Feb 16, 2020
"Instead...of...violence?" Dixie crouched down so he was looking Tael in the eye. "Very funny words from you. Your group started this violence. Bad past, shmad past, we've all been fucked at some point in time. But your leader took it upon himself to become the living origin story for countless people's bad pasts."
He straightened and walked back over towards Storm. "When we left you be you burned down a village. When we implored you to stop you did it again, and again, and again. So no more risks now."
Dixie leveled the odd, pipe-like object to Storm's head as he looked at Tael. "So you. an get through to Indigo hm? Then do so. We'll be in the first village. Show up at ten, noon, or three in the afternoon during whichever day you please. Show up any other time and this dragon is dead."
Feb 16, 2020
Tael started to panic, glancing between Storm and Dixie. "I... I know you have every right to do this, but..." He slumped somewhat, looking defeated. "I'll do my best to find and talk Indigo out of this as soon as possible. I want to end this too, and try and cause as little death as possible."
He took a deep breath. "I'm sorry that my friends did this, and I'm gonna try and make it right. Just keep Storm alive until I can do this, and I'll do everything I can to keep more villages from being attacked. I'm on your side." He told the man, desperate.
Scarface snorted impatiently. "Are you done talking yet? When do we attack?"
"We don't. We find Indigo. Nothing else. Storm will be fine." Tael stated firmly, holding his wing up slightly to stop any movement.
Feb 16, 2020
Dixie lowered the weapon away from storm, and then waved it at the others. “Now that..that I believe, thank you Mr. Tael. Storm will be fine, provided no more humans are unreasonably attacked.”
They began to walk away, taking Storm with them, when the man glanced over his shoulder, his eyes meeting Scarface’s even though he spoke to Tael. “They don’t need a definition for what ‘reasonable’ is do they?” 
Feb 16, 2020
Tael stifled a snort of amusement and nodded. "They probably will need one. Don't worry, I'll be doing my best to sort this out. With Storm captured, they won't dare just attack. I'll be sure of it."
He turned to the others and fixed them a stern look, then looked back at Dixie. "Oh, and if you see my sister, Furi? Tell her I'm sorry, and I'm doing my best to fix this. We didn't part on the best of terms, and she... kind of doesn't like me now. I want to let her know that I... I was doing this for her. To try and help everyone." Tael explained, trying not to get upset at thinking about it. "I'd appreciate it if you could get the message to her."
Feb 16, 2020
"Who's fast?" Dixie asked without looking back.
"I am sir." One of the mercenaries offered.
"Glorious, go ahead and get that message out...I think we'll be getting somewhere with this after all."
Feb 16, 2020
Tael turned to the others, and they all perked, waiting for Tael to finally explain what had happened.
"So?" Sneak asked, looking impatient. "You jabbered with that weird looking human for a while. Surely you came to decide something."
Tael nodded. "He won't hurt Storm as long as we don't attack any villages. What we have to do now is keep looking for Indigo. That's our priority, and Storm would want us to find him." 
The Furies exchanged looks and started to leave as well. Nimbus stayed for a long moment, watching the humans cart his brother away with a distraught and frustrated expression. He turned and walked along with the others, drooping sadly.
Category:BOTGD 2
Category:Events
Category:Act I
Category:Tael
Category:Nimbus
Category:Dixie Donz
Category:Scarface
Category:Creep
Category:Sneak
Category:Storm