Fate of the Stars: A WoF AU

Chapter 4 (Shore):

Ooh, more playthings to join my little game...

Shore's frown instantly turned into a smirk of delight.

They've fallen into my trap, like they all do. Shore let out a yawn. It's been a while since someone came into my cave. Curiosity always kills the cat, or in this case, the dragons.

Something seems different about these two... they mean something to each other. Bonds like this usually get broken, but I'll leave them be for now.

Shore sighed. I wonder what they thought about my poem. I wish I could actually see them. I'll see them eventually if they make it far enough, I guess.

Shore's arms became stiff. Posing as a statue isn't fun, but at least I'll get to fight them eventually.

He angrily huffed to himself.

"That's it!" Shore said aloud. "It's going to be ages before they get here. Might as well move around while I can."

His scales, even though he was not in his spot, still resembled the rocky folds in a real statue.

He began to look around the area of the cave he was in. Same cave, same pedestal, same pose, same fight. Everything's always been the same. Why don't I... mix it up a bit?

A huge grin spread across Shore's face. He began to fly past all of the traps that he set, which let him through easily due to his animus magic.

His scales quickly changed from their statue-like appearance to what he really looked like.

Ooh, they're NightWings. I wonder if they have mind reading or anything like that. Wouldn't stop me, though.

He stopped a little bit past where Fatespeaker and Starflight were. He grabbed one of his wrist chains, and pressed a button. His scales instantly camouflaged into his surroundings.

"Now then, time to have a little fun with this." he chuckled to himself.

Shore cleared his throat, and held one of his earrings.

In an amplified and static-filled voice, he began to speak.

"Greetings, travelers!" Shore's voice filled the long tunnel.

Shore watched as Fatespeaker's ears perked up.

"Wha- who?" Fatespeaker called out.

Starflight stayed close to Fatespeaker.

"Welcome to Shore's Cave, filled with terrible traps and stuff that will most likely get you killed!" Shore announced.

"Wow, that's a great way to be positive about this!" Fatespeaker shouted sarcastically.

"Uh, who are you?" Starflight asked.

"No need to know that," Shore chuckled. "All you need to know is that you're trespassing. Here, we don't like trespassers."

"We didn't choose to come here, the door shut on us!" Fatespeaker yelled worriedly.

"You should have never entered in the first place." Shore answered, sounding annoyed. "Every single dragon does this, and it's really getting repetitive." Shore sighed. "Anyways, good luck getting out of here, even though there's a slim chance you'll do that. I'll be watching you."

"Excuse me, who even are you?!" Fatespeaker yelled.

Shore didn't answer, still hidden from their view.

Not yet. I'll tell them later, if they don't figure it out beforehand.

"Fatespeaker, are we going to die?" Shore heard Starflight ask.

"Is that a serious question?" Fatespeaker paused for a moment. "Well, I really don't know."

"Most likely!" Shore answered.

"Really? You won't answer the question we actually need an answer to, but you'll talk to tell us that we're going to die?" Fatespeaker yelled indignantly.

"Yep!" Shore responded.

"This is terrible." Starflight said. "Who's going to run the library now?"

"Starflight, try to think on the bright side. There has to be a way to exit, I just know it." Fatespeaker responded.

"She's right." Shore told them. "There is only one way to escape, and no one's done it for a while."

I don't think they could best me in a fight, so there's very slim chances of them leaving.

"How would you..." Starflight started to say. "Wait! Fatespeaker, I think we're talking to Shore himself. How else would he know that no one has escaped for a while?"

They're smarter than I thought they would be.

"Oh, I'm not Shore." Shore chuckled. "Not anymore."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Fatespeaker asked.

"Ah, nothing." Shore replied casually.

"Really?" Fatespeaker asked. "I don't think it means nothing."

Ah, little dragon, there is some truth to that statement. I am merely a ghost of the dragon I once was, in the sense that I will never be the same again. Not after what happened with my father...

"It is nothing you need to know, young dragon." Shore responded threateningly.

I could end their lives right now, what's stopping me? This dragon should be grateful that I haven't closed their journey yet.

Fatespeaker looked to one of the tunnel's corners.

"How many dragons have actually died here?" Fatespeaker asked shakily.

"Many." Shore responded quickly.

"Why is there a crown here?" Starflight asked, having run into it with his talons. "At least, it feels like a crown."

Wait, that actually looks like my old crown. How exactly did he get that?