The entire Drakarian mountain was in a panic when the earth shook suddenly.
Although many Drakar were in the skies and away from any danger the earth shaking might pose, it had to be noted that their eggs were not.
Housed inside rocky dens, the eggs would be crushed if a large enough quake was to occur.
With that in mind, many rushed back to their dwellings to save their eggs, completely forgetting their order to patrol.
Osar didn't try to stop them either, despite being the one who relayed Mikaa's order.
Why? Because the safety and future of his people were far more important to him.
"Osar…"
Greile who had been hovering next to him showed a grim look. Unlike Osar who had numerous Drakar in his colony, Greile only had the males left… and they were yet to return.
This meant she had no one but herself to save the eggs, a task she knew she couldn't complete on her own. Osar realized this after a moment and also sent some Drakar her way.
Despite their differences, Osar wouldn't want to weaken his race as a whole, he only wanted to be superior to the other leaders. However that lofty goal of his now had little meaning with Aron in the picture, so he could only provide help without even demanding anything of Greile.
She however still didn't trust him fully and went with the Drakar he assigned to help, just in case they had any malicious thoughts towards her colony's eggs, leaving Osar to roam alone.
Meanwhile, at the edge of the northern side of the mountain range, the cause of the tremor was crouched down with his fist buried into the ground. It could only be Aron.
Using the geokinetic aspect of the horned basilisk, he manipulated and caused one of the loose plates underneath the mountain range to shift ever so slightly.
A small change, that cost him little variant mana, however the impact was enough.
Everyone with the exception of Rose who watched him do this confused the act with him using sheer force to cause the tremor.
Mrah and Khalel especially had wide eyes and looked at him as if he were a being they couldn't fathom.
"This should give us enough time."
Aron soon stood upright and shook the dust of his hand while looking upward as many Drakar began to rush to their dens.
For Jin who didn't understand the mannerisms of Komi, he was confused. But Jagu soon shed light on the matter when he saw Jin's raised brow.
"They keep their young and eggs in caves, so such a disaster could end those lives. In such instances, most races would move their young to a safer location until they are sure no danger still exists…"
Immediately Jagu explained, growls and roars resounded in the skies once again as many Drakar carrying eggs began to fly out of the mountain range, almost like a migration.
"S-shouldn't we hide in case they attack?" A concerned Mrah hugged her daughter and posed this question to Jin.
But to her surprise, an answer came from Aron himself. "Would you stop to fight someone like me while carrying a child?"
A simple answer to a question he found stupid. If there was one thing he knew that was prevalent among most races, it was the care towards their young.
Unless their own life was at risk, most parents would do what ever it took to save their offspring. And luckily for the group, the Drakar were such a race.
Without needing to explain more, Aron began walking into the mountain. His destination? The central dwelling.
…
At the same aforementioned location, all four olden ones were alerted by the tremor and exited their dens to inspect what was going on.
It came as a surprise to see many Drakar they ruled over flying away from the mountain range with eggs and younger Drakar who could not yet fly in hand.
The olden ones had lived quite long, so they had experienced earthquakes before. What they were witnessing was the most common act to perform in such a case, however something about this particular one seemed very odd, especially to Loserv.
Mikaa had similar worries, as could be seen by the worry on his face as he roared out. "Osar!"
Osar was the most capable Drakar below them, often acting as their eyes and ears to matters outside the central dwelling since they were far too proud to see to such matters themselves.
In this case, it was a grave error on their part.
Osar didn't take long to arrive on the scene as he was already on the way to report that they were evacuating the young. The fact that Mikaa actually called him and that all four olden ones were gathered showed him they were on edge.
He wasn't daring enough to point this out as he was aware he couldn't match their strength. So, he acted like he normally would in their presence, flying down to the depression and standing in its center while they posed questions from the entrances of their dens.
Immediately he landed, the most worried of the four, Mikaa, posed a question. "The quaking of the earth? Is it really natural? Have you seen any tulsa nearby?"
As Mikaa spoke, Lorserv cast him a glance in the corner of his eye, finding his erratic tone very suspicious.
Was it just fear because of what happened to Rorguvv? … or was there another underlying factor that he didn't know?
He could only put these thoughts on hold though and focus on Osar's explanation, because although Lorserv didn't show it, he too had some fear now towards the existence of strong tulsa.
"I do think it's natural yes, it came sudden and quick, I only feel it lasted too short but to be safe we are moving the young and eggs still. As for tulsa, none have been spotted near the range aside from those that fled not too long ago."
Osar's report was entirely truthful. He too was unaware of Aron's actions in the matter, after all, his only instruction was to be ready.
As for why Aron didn't just outright approach him first, rather than cause the Drakar to retreat… It was because of a lack of surety.
Surety that Osar's people would indeed be loyal to him still if a tulsa threatened their olden ones.
As big as the gap was in strength, Aron couldn't allow the risk of having hundreds of opponents in addition to the olden ones. Too much could go wrong in such a matter.
At least by the time they returned from moving their young to another highland and made sure it's safe… he would have already been in battle or even ended it.
At that time, if Osar was indeed right, then he would gain an advantage, provided a battle was still taking place. And if not, it would be too late for them to make a difference.
Upon hearing his explanation, although sensible, Mikaa was still uncomfortable.
"Which highland are you retreating to?" He asked with some impatience.
Because without the advantage of numbers to act as meat shields, the olden ones would have to confront the threat head on. And if it were as strong as Osar previously warned him…
"You should hurry then and retu-." Mikaa was just about to order Osar to go about everything quickly and return, when Lorserv interjected.
"You should hurry and leave then. Make sure the place is safe and then return to move the tulsa we hold here. Now go!"
Lorserv's voice was ugly, loud and commanding. Osar could feel pressure just hearing it.
He didn't object or add on and just took off into the skies and left the central dwelling.
By doing so in a quick manner with his focus elsewhere, he was completely oblivious to the group Aron was currently leading into the central dwelling.
Mikaa held anger towards having his plan ruined yet again by Lorserv who now seemed to be very suspicious of him. As angry as he was though, he couldn't show it because Lorserv's words weren't wrong either and going against them without proper reason would not only confirm his fear of the tulsa, but also the fact that he knew something the rest of them did not.
Amarr didn't have a single inkling on what the two were scheming and only saw the picture before her eyes, leading to a very shallow outlook on the situation.
"If that is all I'll be going back now. I should at least pick out my favorite tulsa in case the earth continues to shake."
Her worries were indeed elsewhere and she was about to tend to them when suddenly a foreign scent invaded not only her nose, the everyone's present.
Their gazes then turned to one of the ground paths that lead into the central dwelling, the same path Victoria previously used to escape.
It was there than they saw Aron's lone figure. He had travelled ahead to get a gauge of the enemy's strength, so that if it were too much, he could force a retreat.
"A tulsa…"
The thick odor or Drakarian blood that permeated from alone couldn't be washed away by rain alone. Just by looking at him, the entire group knew that he had killed many of their kind.
His armor was faded, scratched, dented, and even lacked a left gauntlet, making him look like he was fresh from a battle and weakened.
But his strong stance as he looked at them without fear said otherwise.
As if not tense enough, the situation took a turn when he finally decided to speak in what they considered a language that tulsa couldn't. A very important point that Osar didn't mention to Mikaa.
"So, you're the lowborn hybrids that reign supreme here?"