//------------------------------//
// Chapter 7: Dancing Emerald Shadows 
// Story: Death's Claw 
// by Hunter Redflame 
//------------------------------//


Chapter 7: Dancing Emerald Shadows



(\PoV: Nightshade/)


Faust damn, Scales is scary. Well, duh, but really though. He's got thick-plot scales, huge-plot teeth, bucking magic, a silver tongue, and he's smart enough to plan ahead. Note to self: start praying to Faust that he isn't gonna kill us when we're turned around. 

I stop my homemade Shade Trot spell at Faust's Cave. Still can't belive that she actually exists like the Paladinic Orders say she does, really makes one wonder... I shake my head. C'mon Night, focus! You're here to get Scale's fancy journal because he left the damn thing here, then getting some firewood. Too bad the guards took my teapot, I still have some fancy tea-leaves I 'borrowed' from a quack selling sugar pills in some town named... Neighsland, I think? Odd name, good ponies though. 

Actually, looking at the large black slab Scales called a journal, I'm pretty glad I came here first. I can set it on my back and use it as a platform to keep any good wood I find from sliding off! And the other pony races say that we Earthens are dumb! Hah! 

Anyway, I get right to that, using some nearby vines to help keep it in place. Once I'm done, I walk around for a moment to get used to it. Once I'm good, I start heading back, picking up dry-looking sticks and branches and looking out for more dangerous creatures. 

Now here's where things get real weird. Every now and again I swear I can see these flashes of what look like emeralds, and then there's a thud. Eventually, I just decided that enough was enough and went go take a closer look at what the noise was. Thing is, by the time I got there, the only thing nearby is a pile of fresh ash and absolutely zero signs of any shiny gems. Freaky, but what's not in this place?

I just shake my head and thank my good fortunes that whatever it was seems more intrested in leaving me be for now. "No need to overthink good luck," as I've heard so many theives say. 

As I get closer and closer to the others I start hearing laughter, and lots of it. I hurry up to see what it is that everyone's laughing at, and get into the clearing to see everyone laughing like loons... With absolutely nothing that hints at why. "...I missed something here, didn't I?"


(\PoV: Third Person/)


As the Party reunited in the war-torn clearing, a shadow that had been watching them prepared to depart, confident that whatever else may come they could deal with. 

The grass rustles behind the shadow, revealing a torn-up black-chitined, blue-maned changeling drone crawling mindlessly toward the shadow with fangs barred. There's a silent flash as an emerald green blade extends from the shadow's gauntlet and spears the drone just under the horn, and dissapears just as quickly. The drone quickly stops moving and disintegrates into a pile of ash. The shadow then vanishes, it's mission complete...


(\PoV: John/)


I start to calm down, though with the wide grin on my face I'm probably scaring Night. "O-oh, I suppose you could say that." I shake my head, calming myself down more and bringing my grin down to something somewhat less threatening. I mean, I AM a deathclaw, I'm always going to be the object of someone's night terrors.

Warden nods (but not really, she's a figment of my imagination after all,) "All too true. You probably had the right idea earlier with the more canine aproach. Grins only work if your mouth isn't horrifying, much less your face."

Oh, thou wounds me greatly! What ever shalt I do to recover from my most crippling of depressions? Oh yeah, ignore the obvious barb and focus on the world outside my head! Night shivers a little, but shakes it off in seconds. "W-well, I managed to get some firewood..." She walks next to the firepit and allows the various branches or bits of dry bark to fall where they may... Showing that she had been using the tablet for a... a... Someone help me out here, I know there's a fancy word for platform that would fit here but-

Ironheart huffs. "It matters not. A platform it is, a platform it shall be called."

Bah, spoilsport. Anyways, it is the tablet. It was being used as a platform. I forgot it back at the cave (DOH!) and Nightshade was kind enough to bring it back. I see Night looking at me expectantly-See? This is why we don't distract the actual person from reality! I nod my head in thanks and carefully grab the tablet from her back. "Thank you for grabbing this, Night. I likely would've forgotten it otherwise."

She freezes as I grab the tablet and I can quite clearly smell the fear coming from her, but she relaxes after I simply take that which is MINE!!! ...Well. Seems that tree did more than just add wings. Oh well, I can deal with this.

in any case, Night... Where..? "U-u-u-uh-h-h, p-please p-put me down?" 

It was at this moment,
That John knew...
He F*yay*d up.

Oh shit, Night tied the tablet to herself with vines! I quickly set her back down. "My word! I'm so sorry, I somehow missed the fact you'd tied my tablet to yourself!"

She very quickly teleports out from her jury-rigged cargo platform and next to the ...Vampony? Damn, need to learn these things. Anywho, Night is cowering behind miss pale and marrowless (not much else makes sense anatomy wise) who is startled for a moment, but quickly looks back at her with an indecipherable look. The other party members are looking at me with a bit of-Ohhh, that's not a small amount of shock. Not. At. All. 

Sol looks at me aghast. "And how in all the levels of Tartarus itself dids't thou manage to miss such an obvious thing?!"

My wings flare unintentionally. "You're asking me? I have no clue! This body didn't exactly come with a troubleshooting manuaaaaaOh shit I said that out loud, didn't I?" 

I can mentally hear the clanking of chainmail and metal as Warden facepalms. "Smooth moves, exlax. Smooth moves."

Oh shut it. Anyway, if I thought the others were shocked before, then now it was as if they'd been hit by lightning. "WHAT?!" Mystic shouts, with a more-than-slightly startled face. Nightshade faints, (apparently Astonish was super-effective.) Moon's eyes widen and she tenses almost imperceptively. 

But Sol's reaction is different. She's shocked but at the same time she quickly looks back and pulls out m-her bible, and stares at it before looking back to me. Of course, by this time Mystic Drop has already gone ballistic. "You mean to say that you possesed that thing?!"

I frantically shake my head. "Nooononononon! I mean I wasn't a draconic being with draconic instincts when I came here to this world!" 

She shakes her head with a scowl before staring at me angrily. "Then what the Tartarus were you then?!"

"Human."

We both stop our argument and turn back to Sol, who is looking at me with an open jaw and awe-filled eyes. "You were a human, were you not?" I nod dumbly. Slowly, a great smile starts to form on her face as she looks between me and the bible. "That must have been why the Lady of Harmony had thee appear in her sanctum! Why she knew she could trust thee!" She displays the bible more clearly, shaking it with every word. "Why she said that thou could'st help me better understand this text!" 

As her grin reaches almost unsettling heights, I quickly look around and note the Party's reactions to this. (Totally not just needing to look away from what may very well be the beginnings of a fangirl-fanmare? Bah!) Nightshade is still unconcious, Blood Moon is looking at me in a new light (if still with a very guarded expression), and Mystic Drop's jaw drops before it's made clear by her expression that she's just had enough for the night. "Y'know what? Buck it," she raises her fron hooves into the air in exasperation before bringing them back down to earth, "I've just had far to much bucking stress right now. I need sleep. I'll worry about the rest of this horseapples tomorrow. Good. Night." She then walks over to a tree, lays down beneath it and closes her eyes. 

Solaria jumps at Drop's words, before realizing that she went completely woohoo and blushing, clearly embarrased at her showing earlier. "A-ah, yes. Yes, sleep would be good." Revenge time!

I yawn and curl up on myself, looking for all the world like a large black rock. "Too bad you still have next watch. 'Night." I can hear Sol sputter just on the edge of my hearing as I pass peacefully into nothingness...