The skies en route to the Sparkling Caves

Ludwig flew behind the dragon, Arthur firmly on his back. He knew that the king would provide a perfect opportunity to distract Alfred and make his attack, if one were necessary, but at the same time, he couldn't imagine Arthur willingly allowing Ludwig to attack Matthew's brother. To be honest, it was the king Ludwig worried about more so than even his friend. Matthew seemed appalled by what Alfred had done.

He didn't project his thoughts as his mind drifted to Feliciano. But he knew that he was hoping that the prince would keep himself safe.

Holding onto the griffin as tight as possible without causing discomfort, Arthur looked ahead to the dragon in front of them. Thinking about what was to come, he wanted to be sure he could do the right thing, but he didn’t want to see someone he cared about hurt. Despite what had happened, Arthur knew Alfred wasn’t evil, even though they hadn’t known each other long and added memories of them meeting when they were younger.. Nothing pointed to him being evil at heart. Right now it just seemed he was lost in some lie. No, Alfred wasn’t evil

As far as Arthur was concerned, this was a rescue mission for two. “Are we sure this dragon knows exactly where to go? I would imagine wherever they are, there are going to be some kind of defences!”

"I'm guessing she is using her senses to follow Alfred's dragon," Ludwig replied. He needed to get to Feliciano, and though he knew the dragon was currently his best bet at getting to the other prince soon, he hated not being in the lead.

They hadn't been flying for too long before he felt a horrible spike of fear, one he didn't recognize as his own. He couldn't reach out his mind and grasp at the feeling before it was gone again. If he'd focused on it too much, he didn't know how well he'd sustain his flight, particularly enough to keep up with the dragon.

Sretya ducked and weaved through the clouds, shifting colours to match her surroundings. She loved long flights such as these and she could tell this was going to be a somewhat long one. The other dragon smelled of an ancient magic that was rare in these times. Dragon magic was seldom used since the fall of the rangers but its signature clung to beings like old webs, leaving glittering trails for those who knew where to look. The male was practically dripping with the reside and that much magic could only come from one place. Home.

Matthew looked up and ahead at Ludwig and Arthur in front of them, with Ivan and his dragon even further and to his dismay, there didn’t seem to be anything within his view. Meaning that Alfred had already gotten far away. But with any luck, Ivan’s dragon would be able to trace them, and then…

And then it would be almost inevitable for Ludwig to attack his brother. Matthew was surprised that this hadn’t occurred to him before. Part of him wanted to help Ludwig and Feliciano, yet he was also hesitant; it was his brother the person he had grown up with, after all. But as he didn’t know the circumstances of the situation, Matthew decided it would be best to just let whatever happened happen.

The best he could hope for was for Arthur to be right about being able to turn Alfred back to normal. But the only way to find out was to find them.

"Hmmm, It's a shame that's all we have to rely on!" He mumbled, not really sure if Ludwig was listening. But as it was all they had to rely on, it was good enough. It seemed no amount of book knowledge would help right now, so following the dragon was all they could do.

After a lengthy amount of time flying, Arthur had fallen deeper into thought about what would happen when they got to the cave, when he was sure he felt the griffin falter in his flight for a moment. "Hey, is everything alright? I'm pretty sure that wasn't normal!".

"I ... can feel him," Ludwig said. He'd heard of this connection between mates prior to actually having been intimate, but it was incredibly rare. "He was frightened." Ludwig continued flying, trying to follow the dragon in the direction of the caves, though his instincts were pulling him slightly to hte north of their current path.

Then a wave of pain, agonizing pain struck him. He felt himself dip just a bit in his flight, but he forced himself to continue ahead. "He's hurting him," he said with a growl. Feliciano was in incredible pain right now, but the strength of the feeling might lead them to another way into the cave.

He could feel him?
Arthur had heard of such bonds existing between griffins, but with a human... that he wasn't aware of. "If you have a connection to him, can't you use that to find exactly where he is?"

The only problem with that.... it would mean finding them quicker, and judging by Ludwig's voice it didn't bode well for Alfred. How on earth was he supposed to convince him that Alfred was not Alfred, that the one they should be directing their anger towards was the one who was surely behind the scenes. This all started before Alfred got involved after all.

"I think I might be able to," he said, darting on ahead, following the feeling that made his body hurt and his stomach and insides burn. He tried to focus, if the bond went one way, couldn't it go another? Couldn't he let Feliciano know he was coming? That he was going to save him or die trying?

He no longer cared much about following the dragon. He went on instinct, knowing that even if he were going in the same general direction, it wasn't the same as Ivan and his dragon, not entirely. They would get to the place Feliciano was being held, but Ludwig knew he had the ticket to the closest route to Feliciano.

Gilbert flew on with the human on his back. This time he was unable to enjoy his passenger as he had on their way to his uncle's castle. That seemed like more than a few hours ago.

The white griffin saw his brother's trip in pace, then he listened to the conversation ahead. No...this was no good. He felt his beak pressing tightly as he heard "I can feel him."

Damn it all. Gilbert needed to speak with his brother now, but now was most certainly not the time. He pumped his wings hard, then smoothed out his movements, reminding himself that Matthew needed to stay airborne.

Perhaps it was too late to do a damned thing about it anyway. West was already bonded, it would seem.

Gilbert flew on, following his brother to his human mate, and thought about how he was going to begin to tell him.

Ivan sat idly on his dragons back, picking loose scales from her gleaming hide. He did hope the little prince was alright. It would be a shame for such potential to go to waste over some petty love spat. But. He will keep his opinions to himself. For now.

Ludwig felt something that sent pain through him, only to be followed by incredible anger and indignation. He didn't know what Alfred was doing to Feliciano, but good luck to Arthur if he wanted to stop Ludwig from killing the noble. Unlike the previous time he'd felt Feliciano's fear and pain, this feeling only strengthened Ludwig's resolve to save the prince.

He took off quickly from the path they'd been following, using a burst of energy to drive him closer to the cave he could now see ahead. That was where they were Feliciano was being held. "Your majesty, I suggest you let me know if you can sense any magic, and if so find a weak spot, because I don't intend on stopping."

He hadn't, and maybe wouldn't, even mated with Feliciano and this feeling was making his blood boil and the animalistic side of his personality come out. How on earth had his uncle been functioning after his mate's death?

The cave was now quickly approaching. Judging by the speed they were now going, something else must have happened to Feliciano. Arthur chose not to ask what, he didn't wish to know, he merely did as Ludwig asked and concentrated on searching for the magic barriers that were sure to be in place. "Strange... There's no barrier of any kind on the outside of the cave!" He said, surprised. "Maybe they know we're coming!"

As they got closer to the cave, it was apparent that it wasn’t the same inside. He could already sense the dark and rather suffocating magic inside and he hated it. “There’s magic inside the cave, but just go through as fast as you can. Any weak points will be higher up, as soon as I find it I’ll let you know”

Before they went into the cave, Arthur quickly muttered a spell that would protect them from the magic inside, god knows what they would find inside. Hopefully it wouldn’t take too long to find Feliciano and Alfred.

(posted to the cave)