The Land of Chaos: A Lost Past

DK sighed. "You're no fun. Fara won't be happy to see you like this." He stood up. "I'm going to find Batsu and Cross." He walked off with a frown. He had no clue where he was going, but he didn't want to sit around Mr. Moody all day.

Once DK got off of him, Boreas finally stood up and stretched before turning back into his human form. "Bout time you got off me. You're heavy, you know that?" Even though he was depressed, it was still pretty difficult to avoid calling DK 'kid'. The orange eyed chakra gave a small sigh. "Alright, I guess I'll come with you," he said simply, starting next to DK at a walk. He felt drained. He hadn't slept all night and he couldn't stop thinking about Crystalyne. He wondered if being around DK would even do him any good. More importantly, where was that flame haired chick at? He hoped she wasn't going to pop out and try to eat his face. She was seriously intimidating sometimes.

The dragon boy turned and looked at Boreas. "How nice of you to return to the land of the living," he huffed. "However, I don't need you to do anything," he said as he stuck his tongue out. "I mean, I'm a dragon who can take care of himself." He then started off again. "Besides, I'm in a good mood and I don't need you to bring me down, Boreas." He was of course just trying to get the guy to argue with him so he could forget about being boring and mopey. Sometimes Boreas could be such a downer. "You know, it's weird that Cross and Batsu are friends now, I mean, Batsu sort of possessed Cross. I would expect them to hate each other."

"It's not like I returned willingly. I would have stayed there if you hadn't nearly crushed me." Even when Boreas was in a shitty mood, he joked around. Even if he didn't really mean to. He wasn't going to say anything about DK being able to take care of himself. After all, he didn't want to upset the kid, as he apparently had a bad habit of doing. "Fine fine, I'll look for them on my own then," he said, starting off in a different direction with a small wave. He was only messing with DK, even if he sounded completely serious. "And I don't think Cross really has the emotional capacity to hate anyone," he said as he started away from the little dragon boy.

DK raised a brow. "I don't weigh that much," he complained. "You're lying." DK looked worried when Boreas said he'd look elsewhere. That wasn't what he wanted, what if he got lost? He swallowed. "Um, you can tag along if you want," the purple haired dragon spoke quickly. "I mean, it's only fair since I bothered you." He didn't comment on Cross. The guy was strange and he wondered how Alice put up with him. She was a bit flighty herself if one asked him, but whatever. "What do you think about everyone," he asked as he started after Boreas. "As individuals, like Hunter and Saionna, Alice and Cross and Batsu." He left out Fara and himself because he figured he knew what Boreas thought about Fara and he didn't care for what the guy thought of him.

"I'm not lying," Boreas called over his shoulder. "You weigh as much as a kid as you do a gigantic dragon. I'm lucky none of my bones broke." As he looked back in front of himself, he couldn't help but give a small smile. Damn that kid. Always had to go and try and cheer him up. Boreas wouldn't have minded staying in his sad lonely world a bit longer. "Oh, can I? Goody. I was starting to worry you would make me wander off by myself," Boreas said, his tone just light enough to let it be known that he was joking. As if the word 'goody' wouldn't have given that away. When DK caught up to him, the orange eyed male looked at him. "Hm?" What did he think of everyone? Oh, he had fairly composed thoughts on everyone. "Well, I think Saionna is downright evil and wants to take my head, and since Batsu couldn't pull all the Madness from her, I wouldn't put it past her to do just that. Hm...Alice is a little sweetheart if you ask me. Very strange, but very sweet. I like her. It's almost impossible to frown with that girl around," he said with a small chuckle. "It's still kinda weird to me to think that she's Silence's daughter. The resemblance physically is obvious, but emotionally the two are completely different. Hell, maybe Cross is watching her because she's Silence's daughter. Speaking of...that guy freaks me out. I don't know what to think of him. I can't tell if he has emotions or a stone heart or what. I mean, hell, I've only ever seen the guy show any type of emotion once, and that was when Batsu showed everyone the house, you know? And it was only because Alice was prancing around, I bet. And Batsu's a good guy. He's a reckless idiot a lot of the time, but he means well." Boreas crossed his arms behind his head as he walked. "I might respect him more as our leader if he stopped nearly getting himself killed or lost to Madness." A pause and Boreas's smile faded a bit. "And Hunter...well, he's human. Enough said." Boreas couldn't say that his time with the group had changed his views on humans. Especially since the only human with them had been given the expressed order by Silence to do the only thing humans were good at in Boreas's opinion: to destroy. It only confirmed the hatred that Boreas felt towards humans. Silence knew the same thing Boreas did and was using to his advantage in the fight against Madness. "....why did you want to know what I think of them all, anyways?" Boreas asked curiously. Maybe he should have led with that question.

DK blinked. "I'd never thought of that." Was it possible he weighed the same as in his dragon form? Sometimes he could be about as naive as any other child. "Nah, having a bit of company is fun every now and again." As Boreas explained what he thought of everyone he listened. He agreed with the views of Cross, Alice, and Batsu, but he thought Saionna was kind of cool even though she could be violent and Hunter was a good person. Not to mention he looked out for everyone. "I was just wondering. We all come from different backgrounds, so it's strange being with everyone sometimes."

Boreas couldn't help but chuckle when DK said he hadn't thought of that. "You're so gullible," he said lightly. "If you weighed as much as your dragon form, I wouldn't be able to do this." The orange eyed male picked DK up from underneath his arms and set the kid so that he was sitting on top of his own shoulders, almost like one would do with a much smaller child. "There, now you have a better view. Tell me if you see them," he said casually as he began walking forward again, well aware that DK was much too old to have him doing something like this. Well, he was in a child's body, so might as well have some fun with him. "Yeah...we do come from different backgrounds. Hey k-DK, tell me something about when you lived in the Unknown. Did ya like it there?" he asked, quickly masking the fact that he'd almost called DK 'kid' again.

Gullible? "I am not gullible, I simply wasn't sure how this...whatever it is Silence did to us works." He huffed. "You should be grateful that I even cared to consider your well-being you ungrateful swine." The dragon boy could be very colorful in his word use if need be. When he was suddenly lifted he squealed with joy. "I can see everything!" He was very joyous. "I guess I liked it, but I've always wanted to explore. Mainly because I'm a moon creature and we can't leave without taking over a body, like a parasite and host." He shrugged. "Not everyone is willing to give up their lives for a while like that." Like Felix. He almost shuddered. That guy was a walking nightmare.

Boreas snickered lightly when DK started getting defensive. "I'm not a swine, I'm a wolf," he said simply, pausing in his walking while blinking. "Er...I'm not a wolf...wait, I'm...er..." What was he again? "An ice spirit," he said with a small huff before walking again. He could already sense the teasing that was gonna come from the kid because of that slip up. Damn it all. He couldn't help but laugh at DK's little squeal. Damn the kid for being such a cute kid sometimes. "Now that I think of it, what does DK stand for? Was it the name of someone whose body you hijacked once or something? Or did your parents just name you that? Or was it a nickname from your friends?" he asked curiously, just naming off possibilities. After all, who would name their kid with just two letters? And two letters that didn't even make a sound together, at that.

DK grinned. "Are you swine or a wolf or a spirit," he asked. "Or do you even know?" I bet you have no clue," he pointed out, poking fun at Boreas. When asked about his name he smirked. "You wouldn't be able to pronounce my name. You're not a dragon and it's in ancient dragon tongue. DK is just easier for people like you." He looked down at the guy. "What about you, why Boreas, did Jasper name you that?"

"Shut up," Boreas mumbled when DK teased him when the kid asked if he even knew what he was. "I'm an ice spirit," he huffed again. He really wasn't sure. He just knew that he wasn't a...a chakra or an evil spirit or monster or somebody else's multiple personality. "Of course. I bet you just don't remember it because nobody calls you it," Boreas said simply. He blinked when asked about his name. "...my name..?" For a few moments the brown haired male was silent, his gaze on the ground. "It's been such a long time," he said quietly. "Yeah, Jasper gave me that name. When he was a little kid he used to read a lot of books. One of his favorite characters was a guy who could use ice and was 'super strong', as Jasper put it," he said, imitating a child's voice when quoting Jasper. "The character's name was Boreas, so he just started calling me that, and it stuck," he said, sounding a bit nostalgic at the memory. "Heh, you know it's funny. When Jasper was a little kid, everyone was fine with me because I was just his 'imaginary friend'. It was only when he started getting older that people started hating me," he said with a small laugh. "It's ironic because I'm the one who made him into the fighter that everyone loved and admired," he snickered. Still, saying it aloud like that brought up some painful memories. He'd began despising Jasper after a while for not sticking up for him and for pushing him down and ignoring him. It was only when Silence brought Jasper back to life that the guy had actually let him out once in a great while. And even then Boreas had had very little freedom. He had to say...Silence had granted him one hell of a wish.

"Uh huh, and a wolf," he snickered. He popped Boreas over the head when the other claimed he just didn't remember his name. "Oh please, I know my own name, you just wouldn't understand it even if your tiny brain wanted to." He then paused. "I wonder if I could say it while I'm in human form." He nodded lightly when Boreas repeated his question. "Yes, your name." When the other explained he smiled. "For someone who hates humans you seemed pretty attached. You even kept the name he gave you instead choosing a different one." He smiled. "I think if I were to choose a suitable human name instead of just going by DK, I would call myself Dorian Knight, and that's Knight with a 'K'." He smiled. "What about you?"

"Fine. I'm an ice spirit who just happens to have the ferality of and a fondness for wolves. Jeez, so picky," Boreas joked. He blinked when the younger male popped him on the head and called his brain tiny, looking up. "Hey, I can drop you ya know." He shrugged lightly even with DK on his shoulders at the boy's pondering. "Give it a shot," he said offhandedly. The ice spirit turned his head in embarrassment when DK mentioned how attached he'd been, but his face didn't turn red like a human's. "I'd had that name for years, I'd never thought of choosing a different one," he huffed. "Besides, why should I. Not like it's a bad name or anything," he mumbled. "Why don't we start calling you Dorian then?" Boreas gave a tiny grin. "Sounds like a woman's name if you ask me, but hey, if that's what you want." He blinked though, when DK asked him what he would choose for a different name, falling silent with a small frown. Names were an incredibly important thing to him. It solidified one's existence. "...I've been Boreas for almost as long as I've been a conscious being. I don't need a new name," he said, looking off to the side. "I don't need to change who I am with something so trivial as a name," he huffed lightly. "And for the record, I was literally attached to Jasper for more than a hundred years. If you don't want to go insane, it's rather prudent to try and find some way to cope with them. Hmph."

"You wouldn't drop me," DK said with a smile. When the older male told him to try out his dragon name he nodded and opened his mouth to speak, but it was like his brain had failed him. He blinked a bit embarrassed and then tried again. "Dri-No, that doesn't sound right..let me try again. "Dry-Drykii...ugh, I can't do it," he complained. "I guess it's completely reserved for the dragon tongue." He smiled when Boreas said he that they should just call him Dorian from now on. "I'm too attached to DK and it's not a woman's name," he whined. "Haven't you ever read a book in your lifetime? The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde." DK actually liked reading, but books were scare in the Unknown. It was only thanks to Hunter that he was able to read a bit here and there when he was on that side of the Unknown, or books left behind by travelers. It got lonely in the Unknown sometimes, so books were always nice and helped him learn about the outside world. DK smiled. "You're silly," he said as he crossed his arms over Boreas's head. "If you like the name just say it. We all get attached to something eventually."

"Oh yeah? Try me." Boreas looked up curiously at DK as he tried to pronounce his name, grinning impishly and chuckling when the child failed. "Fine, but you have to try and tell me it when you're a dragon some time," he joked, adjusting the younger male on his shoulders a bit while looking around, and up occasionally, since the two beings they were looking for had wings. That actually made him think for a moment... "Hey, shouldn't we try flying? Since they both have wings, we might miss them if we're just looking on the ground," he pondered with a small frown. He also remembered just then that DK had never seen his ice wings before, so it was possible the kid didn't know he could fly at all. "I never read much," he said lightly. "Never exactly had the chance to." Damn the kid for bringing up such bitter memories. He didn't want to talk about his god damned past! It had been completely miserable, and talking about it only put him in a worse mood than he'd been in before. Orange eyes blinked when he felt arms cross over his head and for a moment he really did want to drop the kid. The hell was he doing, anyways? "It's not that I like it, I'm just...used to it," he said with an annoyed frown, looking off to the side. "Alright, that's enough of that, get off me. We'll never find them looking on the ground like this," he said, picking DK up off his shoulders and putting him back on the ground.

DK nodded. He would show Boreas how complex his name was. He hadn't spoken it in ages and briefly wondered if he could even speak human words in dragon form. His smaller form could not, but maybe the other could. He hadn't thought of flying, but the ice chakra was right. Flying would probably help. He giggled as he was placed on the ground. "We should do that again," he suggested with a big grin before changing into his larger dragon form. He beat his wings once and then took off into the air, his tail lashing slightly. He waited for Boreas, wondering if the guy would just hang out on the ground or actually hop on so they could cover more ground.

When DK giggled, Boreas rolled his eyes. "No way. That was a one time thing, squirt." The ice chakra gave a glance around while DK turned himself into a dragon. He wished that Batsu had told him where they'd been headed. He couldn't track very well in the sky, which was probably the method of travel they'd used. Once DK was up in the air, Boreas forced ice onto his back and it quickly started forming his wings. He wondered if flying would put him in a better mood. The orange eyed male grinned lightly. Of course it would. He loved flying. Glancing at DK, Boreas flapped his wings a couple times to get the feel for them again before flapping down hard once and shooting upwards. Once he was in the air, he beat them down steadily to keep himself in place before shooting DK a grin. "Come on DK, let's get moving," he said, his eyes shining in amusement. It was so nice and cold up in the air. Without so much as a warning, Boreas shot forward through the air. It was too bad he actually had something to do right now. How come the only time he ever got to fly was when they had to look for something? It meant he couldn't screw around. It was boring if he couldn't have fun while flying. Still, one of the first things Boreas did was spin around like a missile as he flew, laughing lightly as he did. God, how could anyone hate flying? It was so...so exhilarating!

DK sighed. One day Boreas would let him ride on his shoulders again. Boreas could act like this epic hard ass all he wanted, but DK knew differently. He smiled and waited for Boreas to start running or hop onto his back, but instead the guy grew wings? DK blinked. The dragon watched as Boreas took off, calling for him to follow. He flapped his wings and took off after the guy, not nearly as fast. Why did Boreas have to act like such a child right now? The young dragon looked at the ground, his neck craned to see any movement of Batsu or Cross, but they were nowhere to be found. He dove towards the ground to get a better look before he moved higher into the air.

Boreas's orange eyes shined excitedly as he flew, even though they glanced over the ground. He fell back just enough to be next to DK. "You think they'd be on the ground? I don't think they'd walk unless one of them got hurt." He paused thoughtfully. "Though given their track record..." He looked at DK before chuckling. "Forgot you can't talk human in that form," he said with a grin. "Oh well. I'm gonna go up higher, see if I can see anything in the distance," he said casually before flapping his wings down and leaving behind a cold breeze as he flew upwards. To be honest, he was just being selfish right now. He just wanted to fly higher so that he could feel the cold air. He wondered how high he could go before he started having troubles breathing. Glancing at DK, Boreas decided that once the dragon wasn't paying him any attention, he'd find out.

DK looked at Boreas as the ice chakra spoke to him. He tilted his head and then gave a huff when Boreas finally realize the communication barrier between the two of them. He nodded his head and flapped his wings, leaving the ice chakra to do whatever it was that he wanted to do. DK would search from this altitude. He figured it was perfect height, since Batsu usually flew at this level. Yes, DK paid attention to things like that for situations like this. He did sincerely hope that neither of the winged males were injured. Boreas was right, they didn't know how to stay out of trouble. Maybe they'd found something and would return soon, but they'd been gone for hours on end. DK was a bit worried.

It seemed like ages that they'd been searching. Searching for whatever it was that had frozen his village in time. They'd searched all around the mountains, inside the caves until they'd come to naught but dead ends. Even in the deep pits of the mountains, in the drop off valleys that ran deep under the mountains, nothing but bats and cave dwelling creatures lurked. Cross did not call out for the being, but found himself silently praying for it to show. His eyes and ears were tuned in so sharply that he could practically hear the drops of water tumbling down stalactites. His feathers were in a constant state of being ruffled and his wings were tensed as if he were ready to fly off at a moment's notice. Yes, he was scared. Scared that whatever god dwelled in the mountains would turn both him and Batsu to stone when they found it. But nothing like that happened. In the end, Cross flew back towards his village without so much as a word to Batsu and landed on the landing at the bottom of the steps that led up. Then he slowly started up the steps, only dropping his gaze once he neared the top. When he finally did look up, and his people were still unmoving, he slowly sunk to his knees and simply sat there, staring ahead at the street. He should have been with them when this had happened. He too should have been trapped in stone forever.

Boreas grinned when DK gave him the go ahead and slowly made his way higher up. When he was sure he was far enough away, the ice chakra shot into the sky. He flew higher and higher until his hair even started freezing in the chill of the air. But unfortunately, as much as he enjoyed the crisp, freezing air, it was too hard for him to breathe up here. In fact, within seconds of being that high up, he began to feel light headed. Even so, he stayed up as long as he could before he felt as if he might start slipping into unconsciousness, and then he let himself fall. He tucked his wings behind him and let the air fly by him in a rush. It was another second before he finally managed a decent breath, and he realized too late that he was right next to DK as he beat his wings down to slow his fall. There was still ice in his hair, but there was a bright, childish grin on his face. "We seriously need to fly sometime when we don't have anything else to do. Just for fun," he said with that same grin. "Ya see'em yet?"

The gray eyed winged man followed Cross back to the place of his origin. He silently hoped that they would find this being. He did not wish to search this place up and down, only to come up empty handed. He had seen Cross's memories, and he wanted the other male to have his life back. Cross looked ruffled and Batsu didn't blame him. He wasn't too concerned about being frozen in stone. It didn't really cross his mind because he was too busy keeping up with Cross and searching. When Cross flew off without a word, Batsu followed without questioned him. They arrived back at the village and there was no change. This place was still frozen in time. "Cross...."

DK changed back to his child like form and let himself free fall since he couldn't talk to Boreas as a dragon. "Sure thing, but first thing first is to find Batsu and Cross," he said. He saw the ice in Boreas' hair. "You've been goofing off," he teased. "I don't see them, but I'm pretty sure we're headed in the right direction." He changed back into his dragon form and beat his wings to regain his previous altitude.

For a few moments, Cross didn't respond to Batsu, his wings drooping on the paved ground behind him. "...go back to the house," he told the red haired male quietly. "I'll come back, just...not now." His voice seemed to be back to it's normal emotionlessness, but the look on his face and the way his body and wings had fallen, it was obvious enough that he still wasn't 'himself'. At least, not the him that Batsu knew. He just wanted to spend time amongst his people. Even if they were unmoving and trapped in stone. He wanted to be in his village with them, if only for a little while. He wanted to explain to them why they were like this, and apologize for the fact that he'd left them for so long. He wanted to tell them the story of all that had happened to him. His kind excelled at telling stories. How he'd never remembered at least that much was something he'd never understand. But stories and apologies would have to wait. Would have to wait until Cross could figure out a way to free them. He would free them. No matter what it took to do so. No matter if it cost him his own life. No matter if it cost him his sanity. He had to revive them.

Boreas blinked when DK turned into a kid to talk and began falling with him, just in case he had to catch him if he fell too low. He grinned lightly when DK accused him of goofing off. "Pfft, I have not. I was checking to see if they were in the clouds," he joked. "And good to know. I'd hate to think we're going in the complete opposite direction of where they are," he chuckled.

Batsu didn't feel comfortable about leaving Cross here alone, but the winged male couldn't really empathize with Cross either. He didn't quite understand those feelings of sadness and regret, so he backed away. "I'll keep an eye on Alice for you. Take your time." He flapped his wings and took off into the sky. He flew in the directions of the house. He felt the small desire to hunt creatures of madness, but instead he restrained himself. He nearly flew right past DK and Boreas. He had been flying at a slightly lower height, but he'd heard Boreas speaking and the sound DK's wings. He flew up in front of them. "What are you doing out here?" DK changed into his child form again and Batsu caught him out of instinct to keep him from falling.

"We were looking for you and Cross. Where is Cross?" DK's big purple eyes were curious. Batsu held him out at arm's length as if close contact was forbidden. Only Saionna had the luxury of being that close to him and he didn't quite understand it. "Cross is handling some things. He'll be back later."