"Fine..." Frost (Tom) mirrored how his brother said the word a moment before. "Lets take the long way back to our starting place, that cavern. Maybe we can pick up a snack on the way?" Frost said more as a question. "I am hungry after all the flying we've done."
Blaze (Dan) released a deep bellowing from his throat, akin to a laugh. "You mean... we're hungry."
Frost frowned at his brother. "Yes, we're hungry..." He groaned inwardly at Blaze's child-like humor about the wrong pronoun use. "Now come on." He stretched out his wing, the light from the setting sun dancing off the deep blue scales. He leapt into the air at the same time as flapping his powerful wing downward. Frost did the action so quickly that his twin could only react on instinct and mirror the action. After several moments, they were soaring through the air in a low glide.
"Not funny Frost..." Blaze commented. "I thought your big speech was about us needing to improve our cooperation and teamwork."
"And it must have worked. We had great teamwork with you following my lead..." Frost responded, letting his playful glee leak through their twin link.
In sync, the two flew across the country side. No easy farms appeared in view, so they jointly agreed to leave the large flat grasslands for the sweeping waves of hills. That region was closer to their starting point, and Blaze felt that they may have more luck find a deer or some other hoofed animal wandering it. The sun seemed to set early, due to the mountain range. The hills were basked in last, dying rays of the day.
The twins' keen hearing picked up the sounds of a fight around the bend of a rocky formation. "Should we take a look?" Blaze asked. "I'm not saying that we intervene, but..."
"Yeah, lets land up there on the top of that boulder." Frost answered.
They flew up and landed on the rocky outcropping just as Frost suggested. Below, two hooded figures in green appeared to be fighting a loosing battle against a small squadron of human knights. Despite their keen eyesight, neither brother could make out the emblem of their flag as their was no wind to make it billow.
A flash of green sparked from the hands of a hooded green humanoid. Vines erupted and grew from the ground, ensnaring one of the knights and their horse. "You sense that?" Frost questioned.
"Yeah!" Blaze commented.
"Dragon Magic!" They said at the same time. That hooded humanoid could somehow call upon the power of dragons. It was obviously weaker than any true dragon, but the smell, the feel was unmistakable.
One of the knights, wielding a glowing axe, struck down a green hooded figures, several meters away from the caster. A distance the knight was quickly closing. The power they wielded, even from a distance, made both Frost and Blaze shiver. "We have to help them!" Blaze exclaimed through their link. He pressed his ruby claw into the rock, cracking it. He would have jumped off then, but he felt Frost's resistance.
"We need to think!" Frost answered.
The two locked eyes for a moment. A reckless plan appeared in the forefronts of their minds. Neither was sure what had exactly occurred, but it felt like their link deepened so that an internal discussion could occur. "Fine, lets do that!" Blaze agreed. He then jumped off of the perch as the same time as his brother. They kept their wings tight along their body for no more than a second before releasing them outward. At the same time, Blaze released a fiery rain of terror. A wall of flames separated the powerful knight from the rest of his party.
A moment later and after taking a quick breathe of air, Frost let loose his breathe of ice on the knight directly. The two then landed in front of the hooded figure. "The Dragon Princes?!" The hooded figure said aghast. She was clearly a female, and appeared human.
"Princes?" Frost and Blaze commented to each other through their twin link, but they had no time for any other discussion.
The crunch of frozen turf drew their attention as the knight, unscathed, neared them. "My luck appears boundless on this day; another lizard has appeared before me, ready to be slain. Alas, it is a defective one and hardly worth the effort."
"Defective Lizard!" Blaze and Frost bellowed aloud for the knight to hear. Though, he appeared unmoved by their roar.
The knight smiled, clearly enjoying their anger. "I wonder... were you born as a birth defect or perhaps some curse bound you together. No matter, I'll have the 'good doctor' examine your hide to find out." He kicked his horse and rushed the brothers.
Not enough time had passed for their breathe weapons to fully recover, and they could not jump into the air because the green hooded woman was behind them. If they dodged, the knight may strike her instead. "Damn, melee combat it is!" Frost exclaimed. He braced his forearm and leg as his brother raised their left, golden claw, to strike. As the knight's shield was on his left arm, his brother's claws would easily cleave him, or force the knight to avoid it. To his surprise, the knight continued forward and Frost saw the shield glow faintly. Dan's golden claws stopped short, blocked by a grey barrier. They were completely open as the knight struck his axe into their chest.
Blaze and Frost screamed in agony. Pain was all they could feel. Their body was crumpled to the ground, several meters away from where they had been struck. The axe seemingly had blasted them backwards as well as dealing critical damage against them. Out of the corner of his eye, Frost could see a faint health bar dropping fast. Their health bar, he realized. He felt himself being lazily pulled.
"Get up..." Blaze pleaded. "We have to get up..." Slowly, Frost obliged his brother as they rose to shaky feet.
"So defective lizard, ready for me to end your suffering?" The knight, who had jumped off of his horse, casually approached them.
"Forget about me?" a voice called.
Frost and Blaze expected it to be the hooded girl, but instead of a green, emerald dragon. She then released a blast of putrid gas. The knight's shield glowed, but no barrier appeared this time. He was forced to retreat toward the dying wall of flames where the rest of his group remained.
The emerald dragon rushed to the twins. "I guess he wasn't the only one with luck on his side. But now, I have to get all three of us to safety."
"What..." Frost was the first to speak.
"I won't be able to heal that dragon bane wound, but I can get us out of here with this." The emerald dragon held what looked like a stone with a symbol etched into it. "This rune stone allows for one teleportation. Do you know of a safe place?"
"Yeah" Blaze and Frost both answered.
"Good, because I need you both to think of it clearly. You're going to take us all there." The emerald dragon quickly said. "Now focus an image of it in your mind's eye." She then pounded the stone into the ground, shattering it. A circle appeared around them, with the symbol in the center.
"Don't let lizards escape!" The knight bellowed. "Counter the rune magic!"
A moment later, the sounds of the approaching knights vanished. The twins and the emerald dragon were in the spacious cave, their starting point. And then, darkness seemed to swallow Blaze and Frost as they fell unconscious.