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nFinding these new differences in midnight walker became victim of the calm and warmth drifting off to sleep. If hilda had come in at that moment she would have seen a heartwarming sight, luckily no one came to intrude on the pairs rest.

nOpening his eyes walker couldn't see a single thing. It was pitch black... he remembered sitting next to midnight then a second later was here. Not that he knew where here was.

nThe sounds of clattering bones echoed around him, was he somehow back in the ancient ruins? But how was everything black. There wasn't even a ground where he stood.

nWalker could feel something near him, a bond which could only be midnight.

"Crack!!!

" The sound of shattering bones nearly deafened him. He spun around trying to see where it came from and what it was but couldn't see a thing. There was no light around him so he could make no shape out.

nWalker could hear low growls coming from around him as more bones cluttered about. Was that midnight growling? But where was she? Why couldn't he see her? Was she in the same situation? The cluttering and cracking sounds were intensifying as if a legion of skeletons were in battle.

nWalker finally realized that he should be able to make more sense of things by ignoring fb sight at all. This proved to be the correct method of action since he immediately felt the darkness element all around him. He wasn't blind in the sense that there was no light it was actually that he was standing within pure darkness element mana! He was relieved that he wasn't actually blind but a slew of questions came to him the most prominent being, how did I get here.

nThe sound of bones breaking around him snapped him out of it. Through his sense of mana he could tell that there were an uncountable number of skeletons and bone clad creatures forming and breaking around him. The darkness hid their true forms but the shape the mana took was terrifying. These things never completely formed but would break and shatter and start to form again. The constant shifting caused the sounds walker heard.

nWalker wanted to run, this horrifying place he had found himself in was not somewhere a person should be! He tried taking a step further only to feel small crunching underneath his feet. There were smaller bones forming and breaking beneath his very feet as well. He tried reaching out through the mana only to find more bone like things all around. There was no path available!

n

"Gggrrrrrruuu

" a heavier growl came from his side and he focused on it finally sensing the outline of a familiar figure. Midnight! She was here too he could find her now.

nWalker began running as fast as he could ducking under half formed skeletons and dodging shattering bones. Midnight had been doing the same but was stuck where she stood unable to move forward. Approaching her walker reached out his hand, now they weren't alone in this chaos. His hand rested upon her head,

"ouch!

"

nWalker jerked awake his hand on Midnight's head. He felt pain in his opposite hand, looking downwards it was onyx who had sank his fangs in to walker. Through their connection he could feel an extreme amount of anxiousness and worry coming from onyx.

nOnyx quickly withdrew himself from the bite leaving small needle pricks that slowly dropped blood on walkers hand. In his other hand midnight began to shift nuzzling walkers hand. She had finally opened her eyes. Walker wanted to jump in joy at midnights awakening but he was also torn after being bitten by onyx. He could tell onyx hadn't done it out of cruelty so why?

nMany questions came forth as he was still not sure about the dark place full of bone creatures. He had found midnight there but was it all in his head? The same energies that had been coming off of midnight for days were present in that place. Had she really been trapped there all alone?

nThis last question resonated within him...that nefarious ancient liche had tricked them! This condensed understanding was a double edged sword trapping those using it within. Walker couldn't do anything about this but he was angry, what if midnight had never escaped! Why if he couldn't escape! If he hadn't been jolted awake by onyx he could have been trapped just the same. His anger was building with no outlet however midnight distracted him placing her head in his lap.

"Right you're back now and that's all that matters. Onyx don't worry, thank you for waking me up if you hadn't I think I would have been trapped there with midnight too.

" Walker was happy to feel that onyx had relaxed now.

nThe connection they shared through the blood contracts was a profound thing. It was strong enough to pull walker in to the same world as midnight. Without that walker would have been non the wiser when it came to the situation she was in. Had they gained anything from this mess or was it all just a waste?

nWalker had already noticed midnight growth but that could have been normal for a dragon her age. She would go through spurts of growth as she pushed towards young adulthood.

"So was it worth it being stuck there for a few days?

" Walker felt asking midnight directly was less of a long shot than just waiting to see. Plus he believed she was smart enough to understand his intentions.

nNaturally midnight being her normal prideful self slowly stood up. Arching her back stretching herself out a few pops and clicks as some more baby scales fell off revealing even more adult scales. Once she had adequately shaken the sleep from herself she was ready to show off.

nMidnight set herself in to a strong stance and growled softly. Shadows seemed to elongate within the kitchen. The flames that danced in the oven cast darker and darker shadows that crept up on midnight. Walker found himself having a harder time focusing on midnight. Her presence was harder to sense as well. She was wrapping shadows themselves around her body, it was almost sinister seeing them take shape. The shadows soon gave way to spiky white bone spines that followed her spine. Her small horns elongated turning bone white as well. Her claws and lags gained their own bone spikes. She had not o to hid herself but added a bone armor to herself. Walker hurriedly checked the names and abilities of these new skills in the system.

n' Skeletal armor- 5mana

nUsing the natural calcium in the body to create temporary armor. This armor is as strong as the very bones of the user.

nShadow wrapping- 2mana

nThe shadows are at the call of the user. They will cause others who view the user to lose attention and pass their gaze by. The darker an area the more effective.'

nSo midnight could now hide away from an enemy and create more defense to protect herself. Walker almost thought for a second that trying to understand such pure concentrated understanding just happened to trap those without enough knowledge. However he knew that immortal king would have happily omitted that fact from its explanation just out of pure entertainment value. On the bright side midnight could not continue to emphasize her tactics of sneaking up and decimating enemies. The best part was if she failed she would have adequate defensive strength to take a hit then proved to make her next attack.

n

"That's great! You'll be able to sneak up on anyone now!

" After asking her to show off he knew he needed to properly praise her. So far walker had learned that dragons seemed fairly prideful and if he praised them it would make things mush safer.

"So while you slept your little brother decided to hatch and join us on adventures, this is onyx.

" Walker lifted onyx up who had curled in to a coil in his hand. Realizing he himself was still bleeding slightly he used his light heal skill to get rid of the small injury. He could tell onyx still felt stressed about it, also a bit nervous finally meeting his big sister.

nMidnight hesitated a moment before the shadows and bone armor dissolved in to nothing. She didn't need it since she didn't feel threatened at all by the small serpent partially wrapped around walker hand. The two could feel the bond they had through walker. They may not be as tightly connected as walker was with them but they shared a lot through him. Brining her face towards onyx she smelled him making sure to remember his scent. Onyx relaxed his coil and lifted his head looking carefully in to midnights eyes. He had already seen her before but now that she was awake he was seeing her for real. After some time the two seemed to full accept the other, onyx curled around walkers arm making his way to walkers shoulder to settle down for a bit. Midnight yawned and stretched more starting to look around. She could smell new scents in the air.

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"Oh I forgot, I have some interesting guests for you to meet!

"

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