World of Ice

[TurquoisePheonix]

“Yin! Wait!” The dragonling called out. His twin had always been faster than he, but she had gotten very excited and had run ahead. Shinon liked playing with her and going on adventures with her, but sometimes she got a little too excited and left her brother behind. This was one of those moments. He knew they shouldn’t have left the Middle Kingdom, but it was the only way to find out about their parents. Their real ones, of course. Yinyang had been much more enthusiastic than he was, mostly because she wanted to see more of the world, and this gave them a mission. It was the adventure she had always craved. But Shinon was scared, and Yin probably knew it. He looked ahead at her, hurrying after her – they were currently in their dragon forms, but they would have to change out of them soon. They were in the Northern Kingdoms, but had risked staying in their normal forms for a little while. There were some trees ahead – they transform there. Yinyang still had a little trouble with even basic transformations, and Shinon usually had to help her.

He looked up ahead at her, chasing her, smiling a little. He was scared, but his sister was there. He always felt happier and safer when she was there. But still, they were doing something very very risky.

Shinon knew that there was something special between him and his twin, something that had been explained to him only vaguely. They had hatched at the same time, something incredibly rare in dragons. He had only recently discovered this about them – he had always thought that they were only twins in that their eggs had been laid one after another, but it was more than that. He looked at his sister’s back – indeed, there was something very odd between them. Sometimes he felt happy even when he had little reason to be – sometimes, he could feel the same feelings that his sister did, even if he had no reason to feel them. It was odd, but he liked it. It caused them to understand each other much better.

He recalled the day that had come not so long ago. He had woken up in his comfortable bedding, just like always. He and his sister shared a room – it had recently been moved to the court of the dragons. It was a honor, as they got to see Lung Wang, and he had even made them his messengers – he knew how much Yinyang wanted to help him, to be like him. Shinon always felt sort of close to him – he was busy and serious, but especially kind to young dragons, like Shinon and Yinyang.

‘C’mon, let’s go!’ His sister’s encouraging words rung out ahead of him. Shinon smiled, leaping into the air, following his sister. He looked back at the Emperor as he flew out of the side window – it was improper and all, but they always went out the window. Still, he was uncomfortable not doing the things the way they were supposed to. His sister carried the written message, a long scroll rolled up in her talons. Sometimes the messages were verbal, sometimes written, but either way Shinon was glad to be doing his part. And he had gotten moved to the court with his sister so they could be closer when they were summoned. They still got to see their mother, though, the one who always took care of them. She was a very kind dragon, but sometimes Shinon was a little curious – they looked very different – perhaps both of them took after their father? They had never known their father. But Yinyang looked nothing like her – Yinyang’s eyes were of a beautiful turquoise color, as were his own. Their scales were of a deeper, ocean-blue. Shinon was rather proud of his appearance, though he wasn’t vain. He thought he looked a lot like a smaller version of Lung Wang, and he liked it. He wished he had whiskers, though. He didn’t have any yet, and he knew it would be a long time before he got them. But some of those who they had delivered messages to had commented on his resemblance to Lung Wang, and that always made him smile.

He was now at his sister’s side. A thought occurred to him – he wanted to ask her this, he had all morning, but they had gotten summoned to go to another part of the mountain to deliver this message.

‘Mom said she wanted to talk to us…did you do something?’ He asked, trying not to sound too accusing.

(OOC: Shinon's about...I dunno, maybe 9-ish.)

[Strix Moonwing]

"Wheeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!" A young dragonling with scales as blue as the sky on the most perfect of days came half running and half leaping through the snow covered ground. Her laughter filled the air like twinkling bells as her racing claws sent flakes of snow into the air around her. Like a cat playing with leaves, the young dragon girl leapt up, batting the snowflakes with her paw-like talons. Her lovely turquoise were alight with excitement and joy as she continued to play in the winter wonderland. Oh what fun this white stuff was! Yinyang had never seen stuff like this before at the Mountain of Time. Then again, King Lung Wang used his magic to keep the dragon realm in constant spring and summer. Correction....her grandfather did all that.

Yinyang wrinkled her tiny nose, still not used to the idea that the mighty Lung Wang was actually related them. He was so big and powerful! She felt like a little momo squirrel compared to him! Nothing could defeat him! Not even an army of a thousand tigers and demons could scare him, she was sure of it. And yet....

She stopped trying to catch snowflakes when a sharp tugging sensation filled her head. She sat down in the snow and sighed. Her brother was scared- she could feel it in the back of mind. Ever since they had were just hatchlings, the two twins had shared a special bond. They could feel whether the other one was scared, happy, or hurt. It was weird, but Yin loved having a special connection to her twin brother. Besides, it might come useful while they look for their parents- their real parents. Neither Yin nor Shinnon knew the exact reason why both their parents had been exiled into the mortal realm, but Yin was positive that whatever they did, they had made up for it. Their father had been prince of the dragons! Their was no way he could bad! No son of the great Lung Wang could be bad!

She could still remember the day they had found out the shocking news....

"C'mon! Let's go slowpoke!" Teased Yin, twirled in the air a few feet away from Shinnon, tossing the scroll into the air and catching it again in her talons. She waved her one free talon at the Dragon King and could have sworn that he lifted the tip of his mighty tail and smiled in return. Her tiny, slender body shimmered in delight. She loved being one of King Lung Wang's messengers! It felt great to be so close to the Emperor of Dragons. Perhaps when she was older, he could teach her how to battle tigers and demons! She could be a powerful warrior just like him! The thought made her twirl in delight. She already looked a little like him, it was only right that she should be as powerful as him too.

Suddenly her brother flew up and asked her something. She let out a mock gasp.

"Me?" she asked innocently. "Do something to make Mom angry? Oh, Shinnon, that hurts! She placed her talon to her forehead and moaned dramatically, though a playful grin had spread across her face. Yin was well known for annoying many of the older dragons with her antic and enthusiasm.

[TurquoisePheonix]

Shinon grimaced at first, feeling a little bad about what he said - it was very easy for people to exploit his rather jumpy and nervous disposition. "Ah, uhm...I didn't mean it Yinyang, really. I'm sorry - hey!" He yelled as he felt a tingling in the back of his mind. His sister was kidding. Sometimes it was hard to tell, though others told him it was obvious. He was just very sensitive to other people emotions, especially his sister's, and doubly so for her, since he shared that link with her. He loved being close to her in that way, to know how she felt - the two were alwas completely honest with each other, and Shinon was glad to have her as a twin. And it was something to be proud of in his opinion. He flew closer to her, trying to catch up - she was always a faster and stronger flier than he, as well as everything else physical. He liked to read some of the books the court had, though a lot of them were quite confusing. The only thing that he could do better than his twin physically was swimming - oh, how he loved swimming. It was good, to feel the water between each scale as he snaked through the water. He knew that some dragons spent their lives underwater, and never had to come up for air once! He wouldn't want to live underwater, but he would have liked to spend a little while under, and maybe meet some of the undersea dragons. He spoke again, hsi voice a little indignant.

"C'mon, Yin, if you did something, just tell me! Hey! Don't throw the message like that! Yiiiiin!" He called out, trying his hardest to get closer to her, but it only caused him to run out of breath. They were rather new to flying, but she had picked it up much quicker than he. He didn't like her throwing the message up and down like that - what if she dropped it? They would be in huge trouble then. This message might be important! He looked at the scroll closer, remembering something he hadn't even noticed before.

"It's to mom, Yinyang! Emperor Lung Wang is sending a message to mom!" He explained - he was curious now. But he knew that messengers weren't supposed to read them, only deliver them.

He could have never guessed what was in that message. But whatever it was caused their 'mother' to tell them something he could hardly believe. He didn't want to think of that now, though. He looked at his sister, playing in the snow, and grinning, he ran as fast as he could towards the sitting dragonling, barreling into her at full speed, knocking the both of them into the snow. He looked down at his snow-covered sister, his paws on either side of her body, digging into the snow. He yelled in surprised as she reversed it, overpowering him and knocking him on his back. Now she held him down. Shinon began to giggle.

"St-stop, Yin! You know I'm ticklish!" He said - though inside, he didn't want her to stop as he flailed his tiny back calws - it was fun, somehow. His sister was grinning evilly as she used the opportunity to tickle him, the snow-covered youths in a different world than everything else around them. It was weird, being here, in such a different place. And looking for the Prince and his lover. Their parents.

[Strix Moonwing]

Yinyang was interrupted from the memory when her twin brother suddenly barreled into her. She let out a squeal of surprise and joy as she and her twin were thrown into the soft cushion of snow. Shinnon was on top of her, pinning her to the ground. She lashed out her tail and with a playful growl, overturned her smaller brother.

"Ha! Pinned ya!" She laughed, shaking the flakes of snow from her scales as she continued to hold her brother down. He began to giggle as her claws tickled his side.

"St-stop, Yin! You know I'm ticklish!"

"Well, duh! That's why I'm doing it, silly!" laughed Yin, tickling her brother even more, using her long, feathery tail. His happiness and glee filled her heart like bubbles rising from water. This was the thing she loved the most about having a link with her brother- whenever he was happy, she couldn't help but feel it and be happy too.

But that also meant having to feel his confusion and nervousness as well- like when they had first found out about their parents....

Yinyang giggled when her brother started to apologize and flicked his nose with the tip of her tail.

"Jeez, lighten up bro. I'm just kidding! Haha!" It amused and touched her how Shinnon always seemed to think that she was serious when she pretended to be upset. All the elder dragons called her a little drama queen and that really wasn't a good thing. Oh well, she didn't care what a bunch of old, grey scales thought of her. They had been stuck in their caves a century too long in her opinion! What did they expect her to do? Curtsy to them? Ha!

Yin hummed a perky tune as she thought and started to continue throwing the message scroll in the air to catch in her talons once again. Behind her, her brother was still calling to her.

"C'mon, Yin, if you did something, just tell me! Hey! Don't throw the message like that! Yiiiiin!"

Yinyang pretended to ignore his last statement and rebelliously threw the scroll even higher into the air. With a confident smirk, she did a backwards twirl in the air and caught it as she continued speaking.

"For the last time, Shinnon, I didn't do anything!" She cast him a smug grin. "And even if I did, don't you think that I'd be bragging about it and rubbing it in your face by now?"

She processed to throw the scroll into the air once more when suddenly her brother's excited voice cried out.

""It's to mom, Yinyang! Emperor Lung Wang is sending a message to mom!"

"Ack!" Yinyang squeaked in surprise and stumbled to grab the falling scroll. It slipped from her talons and started to fall downward into the open air. Yin let out a paniced screech and shot like an arrow downwards to retrieve it. She only just managed to catch it with her tail. After she let out a sigh of relief, she shot her brother an annoyed glare.

"Shinnon! Don't surprise me like that! Do you [I]actually want me to drop this thing?"[/I]

[TurquoisePheonix]

"Y-yin! C'mon! Q-quit it!" Shinon yelled, laughing and gasping for air. Though, he didn't want her to stop it, and she seemed to know this, as she continued to tickle him with her long, feather-like tail. He had always bee na little jealous of it. It was his favorite part of her - their 'mother' had always told him that when they were very young he was always batting it around and toying it, and that sometimes Yinyang would even tackle him and begin to growl, though it was always playfully. He didn't have a tail like that, though he would have liked to. He mostly liked his appearance, with the exception of two things - he wanted whiskers and a feathery tail. He was not a particularly vain dragon, but all dragons were at the very least conscious of their appearance.

After a few more moments, Yin decided that she had had enough and simply settled for pinning her brother down, allowing him to pant and catch his breath, a stupid grin plastered on his face, unable to help but be happy. Even if they weren't home, they had each other. He knew she wasn't expected what he did next. He wrapped his front legs around her neck, pulling his twin close to himself.

"I love you, Yin." He spoke quietly - it was easy to be emotional around his sister, especially about something like this. "We'll find mom and dad. I promise." He wasn't as strong as his sister, but he knew he could tell her this. He had faith that they could find their parents. They could prove to their grandfather that they were good dragons, and that they deserved a life in his kingdom. By now, it was probably all over Jouzhenkyn that the throne had an heir - two, that was.

But he wanted his father and mother to rule, not him or his sister. He wanted his parents back, to let everyone know that they were good creatures, to show them all. He knew deep within himself that they were.

'No...' Shinon said, cringing as she shot him that angry glare. He hated it when he made people angry - he was always in tune with everyone emotions, his sister's most of all. And he hated to irritate people or make them mad at him, and he could almost feel his sister's annoyance, and the powerful emotion made a few tears form in his eyes. His sister always told him to stop overreacting, but he hated making anyone feel anything but happiness or laughter. He wiped them away - he didn't want his sister to think he was so weak, or she wouldn't take him wherever she went. That was always what he was most terrified of. He didn't want to be useless baggage to her, the one he cared most about.

'Erm...' He said, a little scared. He wanted to read it, but wouldn't they get in trouble. He was always honest and responsible, but he was extremely curious most of the time, and the two most prominent parts of himself were at war now.

'Should we...have a peek?' He asked, feeling extremely guilty for even suggesting this.

[Strix Moonwing]

Unknowns to the two young dragonlings, they were not alone in the snowcovered forest. Covered in a homely brown cloak and swinging a lantern that was tied to a pole, was a creature trekking through the snow. He didn't not seem to be a danger, for no one dangerous would be happily humming an old hymn praising the goodness and grace of Glaux. The cloaked figure momentarily stumbled in the steep snowbank and the hood of his cloak fell back, revealing the face of a kind-faced Short-Eared Owl.

Brother Piccadilly quickly dusted the snow off his Glauxian Brother traveling cloak and made sure that his Book of Glaux was still safe and dry in his cloak pocket. What would Father Ethan say if he got one of the Prayer books wet from the snow? This little trip would be a lot more easier if he could fly. However, he realized with a shake of his head, how would he be able to help travelers and villagers he met in the air? Here could only spread the word of Glaux by modestly walking like the creatures of the forest do.

"Well, like Father Ethan always says," said Piccadilly, cheerfully beginning his walk again. "A little hard-work and suffering will only bring a soul closer to Glaux." The jolly priest smiled with pride when he thought about the abbot back at the Glauxian Retreat. Father Ethan had done so much for the Retreat since Father Dumblewing's horrible death. Brother Piccadilly could think of no holy brother more dedicated to the words and teaching of Hoole and Glaux.

Of course, many thought that Father Ethan took the word of Glaux a bit too seriously. It was true that the Father Supreme had been known to be extremely strict on the holy teachings. Nothing fancy or flashy was ever worn in the Glauxian Retreat and he had even set punishments for breaking the vows of silence outside the study halls. Even he has had to do some extra jobs around the Retreat and spend an extra two hours of prayers for accidentally speaking out loud during the times of silence. However, Brother Piccadilly held no grudge against Father Ethan. He owed the Father much too much to ever think ill of him. It was Father Ethan that had found him as an owlet, a poor, misguided Kraal owlet, and had showed him the way of Glaux. It was he that had led him from his wicked path and to one of goodness and enlightenment. No matter how stern and prickly others may think of the Supreme Father, Brother Piccadilly will always been eternally grateful.

"Strange..." Brother Piccadilly stopped from his trek and tilted his head to one side, the upward end listening intensely. "I could have swore I heard children."

Suddenly a flurry of snow began to sprinkle upon his brown-feathered head. He looked up and blinked his gold eyes in curious confusion. The flurry of snow was coming from up the hill along with the giggling of children.

"Oh my, children out in weather like this?" Piccadilly proclaimed as he walked off the destined path and started to make his way up the hill. "I'd better make sure that they're not lost." It had been two days since Piccadilly had left the last village and so far seen nothing but endless snow-covered forest since then. He had even had to spend the last two days sleeping in a rotted out hollow! Not that he was complaining, of course, but it seemed strange that there should be children so far away from the village.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" He called out as he finally made it to the top of the hill.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Exhaustion finally made Yin's giggles and tickles subside and she was content with just lying in the snow with her brother. It felt so nice, perhaps this was what the fabled Valley of Everfrost was like- covered in snow and ice just like over here. She didn't see why the dragons couldn't enjoy some of this soft, enjoyable snow like other creatures. Perhaps, she could ask her grandfather if he could allow it to snow in the dragon realm- at least, just for once.

"I love you, Shinnon." Yinyang said, for a moment showing off the more sentimental side that her brother showed quite frequently. She got off her brother and caringly brushed some snow off his muzzle with her beloved feathery tail.

"We'll find them." She repeated her brother's words, convincing herself that they were close. Their parents had to be. There was no way they could go back home without them!

Yinyang stared at her brother with brows raised in surprise. "Jeez, Shinnon, peeking into scrolls? When did you cross over to the dark side?" She playfully teased as she unfurled the scroll. It was beautifully written in ancient dragon tongue- much more neater than Yin could ever write with a brush. Careful not to smudge the ink, the Yinyang read the message out loud to her brother.

"Wow, Emperor Lung Wang writes fancy," she commented before reading. "To Jian Kun....That's Mom! My loyal scribe, for many years I have watched the growth of your two children, Shinnon and Yinyang, and for many year, they have continued to capture my attention and curiosity."

The smile had faded from Yin's face when the scroll mentioned her and her brother. Had they did something wrong? Was the Dragon King going to punish them for something? Her green eyes flicked back and forth across the scroll as she began to read faster and faster in a rising voice.

"In these recent years I have finally concluded what I had once had doubts on. From the moment the two twins were presented at the court, it was clear that they were unusual. They looked nothing like you or your husband's coats of green and yellow scales, but shone with scales as blue as the Wide-Sea, a mark that I'm proud to say runs in the royal line. However, their had been blue dragons before so I held my opinion to myself. However, after careful observant of the two, I can conclude that these two are not of who you claim they are, but are the kin of my own son, Prince Ao Shun, and his servant, Hinamori. I know that you and Hinamori were close friends and she would have left the eggs with you before she left the mortal realm. You have done an excellent job of taking care of them and under normal circustance I would of continued to allow the royal twins to remain under your care. However, dark times are ahead and I'm afraid that it's for their, as well as the kingdom's, own good if they are told of their inheritance. They must be trained on how to rule the kingdom in case the Prince never returns to claim it. They must..."

Yinyang let out a squeal of surprise when she heard a voice call out from a couple feet away. In an instant, her instincts took over and, in a flash, her body had shifted into the form that she had chose to hide in beforehand- a squirrel. However, her magic was still rusty so she really hadn't worked out how to change her fur color so instead of grey, brown, or red, her fur remained a brilliant blue.

[TurquoisePheonix]

Shinnon smiled up at his sister as she briefly showed him that sentimental side. She wasn't like a lot of girls, but she did have a side - one that Shinnon very rarely got to see, but was delighted with when he did. They hadn't been away from Jouzhenkyn from long, but his empathetic link with Yinyang was already very important to him. It had never mattered much before, since they had always been together anyway, but now, things were harder. They couldn't focus all their attention on one another. They had a mission to complete. Whereas Yinyang was much better at flying, swimming and mostly any other physical activity in her dragon form, Shinnon was much better at magic. While he wasn't particularly skilled in it, as he had just begun to learn it, he could transform into many forms and sustain them rather well, unlike his sister who had a lot of trouble with even basic magic. He knew now, that since he and she were of royal blood, their magic would be particularly powerful. Lung Wang's blood was thick with magic, and in turn, so was theirs. Shinnon was, of course, nowhere near as powerful as Lung Wang, but perhaps someday he could be. He knew his father had studied magic used for fighting tigers and killing, but Shinnon was actually more interested in the other schools of magic. Instead of learning about magic for destruction, he chose instead to learn about protective and healing magics, and magic used for more indirect purposes, magic for the sake of knowledge, not power. He knew very little magic at all, but he knew how to heal small wounds, like little cuts. He remembered once Yin had been climbing up a small cliff - he didn't understand why, she could just fly up there - but besides, she had gotten to the top with a few scratches on her scaley body - Shinnon had shown her what he had learned then, placing a paw on each wound, and quietly muttering a few words to himself - he knew that eventually he wouldn't have to say the words, after his body got accustomed to using magic. As he got up, he felt his sister's tail gently brush him off - he smiled at his twin.

Shinnon's jaw dropped as the letter continued. He looked at his sister, bewildered. them, the children of the Prince? That was impossible! His mother and father wouldn't lie to him, would they? As much as he didn't want to believe it, it was there in the letter. Jian Kun had lied to them all their lives. However, a new question popped into his mind - he asked himself why at first, but now he wanted to know not why, but how? What kind of circumstances had caused their real parents to leave them? Did they love them? Suddenly, dozens of questions were opened to Shinnon's mind, tears began to drip from his eyes, and he looked at Yin. Apparently, she wasn't done with the letter yet, but she looked as dumbfounded as he did. He was surprised, joyous, depressed, and angry all at once at what she had just read.

"Yin..." He said, looking away from her, snapping his gaze away from hers quickly. He didn't want to be weak. He didn't want his sister to leave him behind. That was what he was most scared of - though he never voiced his fears, he was terrified at the thought of her leaving him. She was so much more active, so much stronger than him. He felt weak compared to her, a lot of them time. And he had to be strong. He wouldn't let her see him cry. And so he turned away, tears dripping form his eyes. He hadn't even realized they had landed in shock halfway through the message.

"K-keep reading..." He said, choking and sobbing his words.


Shinnon looked up - someone was coming. His sister sqealed and transformed into a blue squirrel. He was about to trasform, but the form reached the crest of the hill. Shinnon froze, staring at the owl, it's eyes wide with fear. Shinnon watched it slowly fall back and tumble down the hill. He grimaced at his sister and quickly transformed into an otter, not bothering to change his fur color. He rushed down the hill at his sister's side, trying to see if the owl was okay.

(OOC: Last part was meh, but ah well. XP)

[Strix Moonwing]

Yinyang was too shocked by the letter's content to even notice her twin brother's tears. How could this be true? It was impossible! He was the son of King Lung Wang! A royal dragon! The most powerful dragons to ever swim under the oceans! To soar through the skies! To trample upon the earth! No dragon has as much magic in their blood as the imperial family line! And her and her brother were just.....THEM! If they were powerful descendants of Lung Wang then wouldn't they be bigger and more powerful?

However, the beautifully written words on Lung Wang's scroll held no lie. Lung Wang would never make them leave their parents unless he was positive that this was true. She and Shinnon were truly the son and daughter of Prince Ao Shun.

"There's no point. It's nothing but scheduling and ramble." Yinyang said. With a careless shrug of her shoulders, she tossed the royal scroll away, not caring one bit as it floating the seemingly endless abyss below, probably never going to be read by another creature again. She knew that her brother was probably going to start panicking at her action, but she didn't care. The scroll wasn't going to be needed anyways.

"Don't worry about the message." Yinyang told her brother. Her turquoise eyes had a set look in them and a determined smirk had spread across her muzzle. "Our grandfather can tell our parents himself once we're gone."

"We're going to find our real mom and dad and bring them back!"

"GREAT GLAUX IN GLAUMORA!" Piccadilly let out a shriek at the sight he saw on top of the hill and immediately tripped and started to half fall and half tumble down the steep hill.

"Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow!" The monk keep shrieking in pain as he rolled down the slippery snow-covered hill . Finally, his descent ended when he crashed into a tree trunk at the bottom of the hill. He let out a groan as he slowly slid into sitting position.

"Oh no!" Yinyang gasped in her squirrel guise. "I think he saw you!" She peered down the hill at his motionless body. "I hope he's alright. We better go help him." Without another thoughts, she scampered down the hill, her blue furry tail swishing in the air until she was by the brown, short-eared owl's side.

"Wow...he's not blue." Yinyang commented, never seeing a normal-colored owl before. She gently shook his shoulder. "Sir, are you okay?"

The Glauxian brother moaned her touch and slowly opened his eyes at the sound of the girl's voice. His yellow eyes slowly focused on the young squirrel's face. "You...you must be one of the children I heard up on the hill. Did that demon hurt you?"

"Demon?" Yinyang asked confused, "What demon?"

"I could have sworn that I saw a snake demon up there, ready to devour you, little one."

"Oh," Yinyang realized that the owl thought that Shinnon, in his dragon form, had been some sort of demon. Wow, these mortal creatures sure were strange. "There wasn't any demon up there, mister. Just me and my brother, Shinnon."

[TurquoisePheonix]

Shinnon followed his big sister down the hill to the owl; he didn't know much about the creatures, but he did know that this one was fairly old and that he was very different. He knew that owls all had blue feathers, but this one had different shades of brown adorning his body. Shinnon had never seen anything like it before, and apparently, neither had his sister. He felt a mixture of fear and worry for the creature. It was very different, and it had thought he was a demon. That was odd - all dragons always told him he was really cute! Did he look uglier or something? Shinnon was confused. He looked at Yinyang, though, alarmed. It must have been looking for them - it had said that it had heard children, which meant it was following them. And along with that, Yinyang had told him that they were brother and sister. He grimaced, knowing that the owl would likely pick up on this - one of them was a squirrel, while the other was an otter. He looked at the owl and quickly spoke.

"We're adopted." He said quickly, before blushing it was stupid to say that - he would likely pick up on their guise. Would he eat them? Shinnon whimpered a little, moving closer to his twin. "And what do you mean, demon?" He whispered, glancing at his sister with worried eyes. Shinnon had always been much more nervous and quiet than his twin, and while she was likely fascianted with the monk, he was more worried than anything. Would he try and eat them? He was scared, shivering almost. It had been his sister's idea to go on this search, but Shinnon had decided to go, too. He wanted to meet his parents...but that didn't mean it would be easy. He knew his sister could feel his fear now, just as he felt her curiosity and wonder.

"Are you gonna...devour us?" Shinnon peeped the last two words, wanting to hide behind his webbed paws.

'Yin!' Shinnon yelled as his twin dropped the letter, but he didn't try to chase after the piece of paper. Would Lung Wang be mad at them? He looked at his sister, her blue-green eyes with a determined look in them. Shinnon looked away, tears dripping from his eyes. He hated crying, especially in front of her. He was always scared that she would leave him if he held her back, and he didn't want her to see him so tearful at the prospect of going after their real parents. Knowing that she had seen them anyway, Shinnon turned, continuing to hover there, sniffling and sobbing, his eyes slightly red from the tears. He watched as the piece of paper touched the ocean and was pulled under easily, even by the weak currents. He sniffed. There was no going back now.

'B-but...Yin...' he said between sobs - he had always been so very sensitive; he would cry when he made anyone else angry at him, or when he didn't know what to do - his twin often had to guide him, and Shinnon wanted it always to be that way. He didn't want to have to cry as much, but he also wanted to stay with his sister. Sometimes he wished that she would cry, so that he could help pull her out of her sadness, like she had for him so many times. But Yinyang was a little oblivious to others' feelings sometimes, even her brother, with their empathetic link. And she never cried. He didn't know how she could be so tough...or maybe, he was just very sensitive? He didn't know. All he knew was that he was crying now, and that he would give anything not to be.

'...Maybe Mom and Dad don't want to be found.' Shinnon suggested. 'Maybe they...maybe they don't love us.' Shinnon sobbed, looking away from his sister. Unable to fly, he landed on the nearest patch of bright green grass and sobbed - he heard his sister land behind him, but he didn't want to look at her, to make her feel sad, too.

[Strix Moonwing]

Brother Piccadilly blinked at the blue squirrel girl, half dazed and confused by her appearance and statement. "Brother?" He looked over at the otter lad that had came running down the hill as well. Yinyang quickly relieved the mistake she had made and looked flustered. "Er...what I mean is...."

Luckily Shinnon's quick thinking saved them. ""We're adopted." He quickly said. Yinyang flashed him a grateful look, but her eyes were still anxious. Would the owl believe their lie?

"Adopted, you say?" the monk casually asked, glancing between the two oddly colored children. Suddenly a look of realization lit his kind face. "Aw, I see! You two must belong to a gadfeather...er...I mean gypsy group!" He gave them an apologetic smile. "Forgive me. I forget that ground creatures use a different word rather than 'gadfeathers' like us birds."

Relief filled Yinyang's green eyes when she realized that the owl had bought their story and she quickly confirmed his suspicious. "Why, yes! My brother and I are gypsy children. Our parents are...er....kind rabbits....that adopted us when our real ones got eaten by tigers, no, I mean, foxes!" She finished her long and rather jumbled explanation by flashing the owl a large, toothy smile.

Brother Piccadilly looked a little flustered after hearing the squirrel girl's speedy explanation. He gazed a moment at their blue fur and commented, "Well, that would explain your dyed fur."

Yinyang blinked. "Dyed fur?" She looked down at her blue fur and realized that he thought it was dyed. Again, she decided to catch on to his words. Pulling her brother close, she smiled sweetly and confidently up at Piccadilly and remarked cockily, "Oh yeah, we gypsy children always dye our fur. My brother and I do all the time! If you think we look good in blue, wait until you see us in red! We look killer!" She finished, giving the owl a wink.

"Now, now, Glaux doesn't approve of vanity." Piccadilly sternly said, though he couldn't help but smile in amusement at the squirrel maiden's liveliness.

Yinyang blinked and tilted her head up at him in a confused manner. "Who's Glaux...and who's Vanity? People you know?"

"Er....nevermind." The Glauxian Brother turned his gaze away from the squirrel girl towards her adopted brother. Unlike his sister, the little blue otter looked terrified.

"Are you gonna...devour us?" He whimpered fearfully. Yinyang, for the first time, seemed to sense her brother's fear. She had been too overwhelmed by her own curiosity to be aware of it. She stood close to her trembling brother and placed a protective arm around his shoulder.

Though he was bigger than them, Brother Piccadilly had a warm smile on his beak as he leaned down and spoke softly and kindly to the young children. "Eat you? Young children like yourself? Goodness no! I'm a Glauxian Brother! I have taken a sworn oath to Glaux to never touch meat or harm a living creature."

"Okay, who is this Glaux person you keep talking about, Mister...?" Yinyang asked, eyeing the owl monk.

Brother Piccadilly let out a surprised 'hoot'. "Oh, once again, forgive me for not introducing myself to you two." He cleared his throat and smiled warmly at the two children. "I am Brother Piccadilly, as I said before, a monk from the Glauxian Brother Retreat. I am here to spread the word of Glaux to ground creatures like yourself who have not heard of his words of enlightment and faith. Glaux," he explained, "is the one that made everything, the world and its creatures. He watches over us all, making sure that we followed the path of goodness and righteousness."

"I thought that was the Jade Emperor?" Yinyang piped up.

"Jade Emperor? I've never heard of such a creature." Brother Piccadilly said. "Glaux is the only god out there looking after us. He is like a loving, but stern," he added, "father to us all. If you like, I can explain the words of Glaux more throughly if, first, you introduce yourselves to me."

"Okay, Dilly-O," Yinyang cockily said, glad to drive the conversation away from this Glaux person. "I'm Yinyang and you already know my brother, Shinnon."

(OCC: I'll add the flashback part in my next post.^^)

[TurquoisePheonix]

Shinnon looked up at the Glauxian Brother, as he called himself, and shivered a little more. His sister put an arm around his shoulders, and he calmed almost instantaneously. Sometimes, Yinyang was too curious or excited to feel her twin's emotions. And sometimes, she hurt him without knowing that she did. But he couldn't blame her. He was always so excited and happy to always pay attention to how her brother felt. Their empathy link was special and unique, but Shinnon seemed to be more aware of the feelings of his sister than she was of his. But then, Shinnon was more in tune with everyone's feelings, and it wasn't as if she tried to hurt him. But right now, she comforted him from his fear, and he wanted to hug her back.

He did not say anything as his twin and the owl exchanged words, but he decided that Piccadilly must have been sort of stupid to believe everything Yinyang said, or maybe all owls were stupid. Yinyang fibbed much more often than Shinnon did, and ironically enough, Shinnon was much better at it. He sighed, looking curiously between the owl and his sister. He wanted to be back in his dragon form. Sure, he liked to swim as an otter, but it felt sort of weird to not be in that form. He didn't like it much.

Shinnon let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding when Piccadilly promised he wouldn't eat them. True, it was a bit of a bad idea to trust someone not to eat him simply because they said they wouldn't, but he felt assured, and began to assist his twin with his own lies. The owl seemed nice enough, and he didn't really blame him for trusting them - after all, all the dragons at the court used to call them 'cute' and 'innocent', so it didn't really surprise him. Being a kid did have it's uses. Still, he would prefer to be big and strong and beautiful, like Lung Wang.

"Hey, Mister Pic...Pickle!" He said, his young voice unable to properly pronounce his name; he had always had something of a speech impediment. "We got separated from our friends..." He explained, his sea-colored blue-green orbs too adorable to believe their owner could lie even once.

"We were with them...and then there was a real big storm..." He said, almost as flustered as his sister. He also thought the creature was a little dull to not have realized what they were. Hadn't he seen them atop the hill? And didn't he see the striking similarities between them, like their eyes or their similar fur color - fur that was obviously not dyed? It didn't matter, though. It would make things easier.

"Anyway, have you seen any of them? They'd prob'ly have blue feathers or fur like us, and the same eye color..." He said. Maybe there was a chance they had gone through here or had seen this owl?

"If not, could you tell us where the next town is?" He asked curiously, smiling innocently and cutely up at him.

[Strix Moonwing]

"Pic-a-dil-ly." Brother Piccadilly slowly emphasized how to pronounce his name for the young children. "Not Mister Pickle or Dilly-O." His voice was stern, but not unkindly as he corrected them.

The Glauxian brother leaned back, slightly towering over the two young children, and studied their faces for a moment. He considered their story and, though it did not seem unlikely that they were gypsy children- their dyed fur was proof of that- some of their story seemed a bit...well...strange. He knew that young children often made up stories with their vivid imagination.

However, who was he to question them? They were obviously lost and alone. Glaux must have guided them to him so that he could assist them back home. There was no other explanation needed. One must always put their trust in Glaux! Father Ethan wouldn't even be able to argue with such clear sign.

"I'm sorry, dear Shinnon." For a moment, the Boreal monk mused over the oddity of their names. He had never heard of the names Shinnon and Yinyang before in their region. Then again, gadfeathers and gypsies were a strange bunch. Their parents must have picked up some exotic names during their travels.

"I haven't seen any bands of gypsy travelers in this area." Brother Piccadilly admitted to the young ones, his tone sympathtic. The poor young ones were probably scared to death, having been lost in a storm and separated from their family.

"Oh..." was all Yinyang could think of saying. She knew that brother had been trying to see whether the owl had seen anyone that might look like their parents. However, she secretly knew that odds are, if her parents were in hiding, then they wouldn't keep their natural color. Unlike the two siblings, their parents were much more experienced in magic and could hide their true colors when shapeshifting.

Brother Piccadilly heard the disappointment in her sigh and gently patted her furry head with his feathery wing.

"Do not fear, little ones. If it helps, I shall personally travel with you to the nearest town and help you locate your parents." His amber eyes warmly gleamed down at them. "It was no mistake that Glaux let us cross pathes."

Yinyang shared an alarmed look with her brother. Hopefully, the boreal owl hadn't noticed. Yinyang liked the owl and could tell already that he was a really nice guy, but what if their disguise didn't hold while they were traveling with him? Based on Piccadilly's accidental reaction, the young she-dragon didn't think that the creatures in this region would take too kindly to dragons, no matter how young, roaming around.

"That would be...awesome!" Yin replied in a perky voice, trying to hide the alarm in her green-blue eyes.

[TurquoisePheonix]

"Great! Thanks, Mister Piccadilly!" Shinnon said, trying to make sure he didn't sound nervous and failing miserably, his little body shaking both with the cold and the tension of the moment. If the owl found out that they were dragons, he would either not believe them and yell at them for being liars or be suspicious of them. Or worse, if he wanted to hurt dragons. After all, their parents - that is, adoptive parents - had told them that many creatures were suspicious of such beasts, terming them evil or creatures of darkness; this was a stereotype brought on by the legends of the evil Dragon King Yamato. Ever since he had taken over and subsequently had been destroyed, dragons had appeared in owl folklore as evil creatures who did nothing but destroy. Thankfully, though, this owl seemed rather dumb, at least in Shinnon's opinion. After all, their story had just been cooked up on the spot, and had no substance behind it. Throwing his sister a nervous glance, the smaller of the two looked up at the owl. Would he ask them questions about who they were and where they came from? He shivered slightly at the thought of this owl turning on him and attacking him if he found out they were dragons. The owl was leading now, and was starting to trek through the snow ahead of them. How did he know where a town was? All Shinnon could see was snow and trees in all directions. He wondered what a town was like, anyway. There were some small villages back home, but the only place he had ever spent much time in was around the Palace and its surrounding city. And did they work in the same way? He was nervous and terrified, but confused and excited, and he was trembling with these emotions.

And, even though Shinnon was nervous, he simply couldn't keep his maw shut, and let his curiosity rule him. "Hey, Mister Picca...dilly?" He asked, stumbling over the weird name; he had never heard a name like that before. It sounded a little silly to him. "Who's Glaux? You won't stop talking about him." He said. He wondered if that was the name of a friend of his, or perhaps someone in power, like a king. The way he said it made it sound like that. He cast a glance to his twin next to him, wondering if she knew. She didn't seem to, based on the confused look on her face. Looking back to the Brother, he waited for his answer.

[Strix Moonwing]

The well-plumped short eared owl beamed happily at their answer. "Good! Good! Or as you Krakish folks say, gunden, gunden!" The brown owl leaned down close to the young dragonlings, blinking his large golden eyes at them. Despite his cheerful nature, Yin drew back just an inch from his looming face. She was quite smaller as a squirrel and the owl was quite a bit bigger. She couldn't help but wonder since Mr. Piccadilly claimed to not eat mice and squirrel, what actually <i>did</i> he eat?

"Why are you two shivering? Oh dear, are you cold?" He asked with a very parental tone in his hoot.

Yin almost laughed with relief. This owl was just a big softy! She felt a little guilty that she and her brother were lying to him.

"Well," she privately thought,"not all of it's a lie. We are lost and we are looking for our parents."

Though the thought was some comfort to her mind, it only reminded her of the urgency of their mission. Neither she nor Shinnon had any inkling of an idea where their parents would be. Or what forms they would be hiding in. It had been many, many years since their father's exile and he and their mother could be anywhere, even beyond the Northern Kingdoms! As the elder dragons would say, it's like finding an hidden leaf in an entire forest.

"But we'll find them." Yin silently swore. "We'll keep searching no matter what, even if we have to go where no dragon has even gone before."

"If you're cold," Brother Piccadilly kindly offered, "You two may ride on my shoulders. My feathers will keep you warm and keep you from tiring out." The monk took a moment to gaze up at the blue sky. Tiny dots of white were beginning to slowly float down upon them. "Ah, climb on it, little ones. Snowfall is upon us."

Yin's squirrel whiskers twitched as a single snowflake landed upon them. She smiled at the soft beauty of whole scene. Snow was probably the one thing she would never get tired of.

"Thanks Mr. Piccadilly!" Yinyang grateful said as she and her brother climbed up on Brother Piccadilly's back and settled on each of his shoulders. She snuggled against his soft brown feathers and was surprised by how warm they were.

"You're very welcome, dear. Glaux forbid that I let two small children suffer." Piccadilly hooted as he began to walk down the snowcovered path into the woods. It was at that moment that Shinnon chose to ask Piccadilly about Glaux.

"Glaux?" The short-eared owl seemed a bit fluttered by the question and almost stumbled on the path. Flying would be a lot easier, the monk admitted to himself. Later, perhaps, after he answered the question.

"It shouldn't surprise me that you two don't know about our heavenly father." Piccadilly spoke in a quiet manner. "Glaux is the one that created everything you see around you." The monk waved his wing to gesture towards the land before them. "He created the land, the sky...everything good and precious to creatures including the creatures themself." There was a smile on Piccadilly's beak as he continued.

"He was the one that created the first owl, Hoole, who all owls are descended from. He even created squirrels and otters as well, little ones." Yin knew that he had directed this comment at them.

"He loves all his creatures and when we die, we shall join him in the blissful glaumora or, as I believe you ground creature call it, heaven."

"That, my dear ones, is who Glaux is."