"I... I don't know what needs to happen. I just know there needs to be change. I know that the stronghold is where they keep a large portion of the rations. That has to be strategic in some aspects right? I also know that some of the dragons that lived there with me survived. I want to find them if possible. Do you know anything that could determine our first move?" She appreciated him trying to comfort her. She had been a mess here lately.

Vernik snarled and ducked out of the way, the melted rocks grazing his wings, making pain flash through him. He hissed, hiding the pain as he backed away, getting ready to torch them again.

Lazi gasped and tried to move out of the way, only to feel the baton hit her head. She saw stars dance before her eyes and staggered, confused and distorted. She advanced on the guard, ignoring the fact she saw two of them, even though she was pretty sure she only had seen one and swiped at one of them, ignoring the pain in her head, she would be okay.

"Yes, well, you said you had others helping you. Are we all meeting somewhere? And how do we get to this stronghold? The number of guards in there, the general layout or someone who knows their way around... these are all things we have to consider."

He scratched at an old scar under his spine plates, plotting the events of the next twenty four hours in his mind. "I really need more information before I can make any suggestions. If you've amassed a large enough party and weapon supply then that would also change how we could go about things."

The leader shrieks, trying to rip off their warped, red-hot gauntlet but failing. They rear up on their back legs towards Vernik, stumbling with their eyes half-lidded and their talons fisted with the pain. They fall to the ground at the other dragon's feet, jaws snapping as a singed, burnt smell fills the alley.

The female guard hisses, bleeding from the cuts. Seeing her leader is failing, she grabs at the disorientated dragon in front of her to make her escape with a hostage.

Vernik smiles and advancing again before pausing to look at Lazi, hoping she is okay, realizing she is not he screams in fiery and charges at the guard, his tail lashing. He raised himself to his full height, towering over the dragon, growling with frustration, he was still far away from them.

Lazi snarls and scratches everywhere, her eyes now closed as the alley was starting to spin. She opened her mouth and shot a spurt of white flame, not really aware to where she was aiming, just hoping she would free herself. The fire itself was different from Vernik's, instead of taking the light from the air, it lit up the alleyway.

"We are meeting tomorrow in an alleyway at noon. There is a tunnel I can use to access the stronghold. As for someone who knows the place I can be of use there. I spent most of my life living there. We don't have any weapons beside our natural ones. There will be fewer guards than usual because of a festival parade thing the empire is holding. That's all I know."

(I'm confused as to Vernik's position but if I've made a mistake then just let me know)

The leader, in a last, dying burst of strength, lunges over to Vernik to lock their jaws round his ankle while he isn't looking. Not a strong or injuring grip, but enough to slow him down and waste precious time.

The female guard cries out, half burning as she does what she can to pin Lazi's head to the floor to stop her wild fire from burning the surrounding houses. Scales scorching and slashed by manic claws, she fumbled with half-lidded eyes for the white dragon's head and went for one final knock-out strike.

"Oh yes," Kai'hel mused. "I forgot about that festival. Seems to go by in a blur these days."

He mulled over the information. "In which case our chances of success are much greater, but I would say an assault would not be the best of ideas. They'll have weapons - spears and other things that will be harder to combat with claws and limited fire. And they'll be well fed compared to us. So perhaps a more stealthy option would be wisest."

He tapped his claws against the ground and considered a few more options. "Concealing our identities would also be important. If something went wrong then at least it would be harder to catch us. At least, that is, if you thought that would be a good idea anyway."

"That's considerably better than my half-baked idea." Cesura stated bluntly, "Luckily stealth is my speciality." She smiles at him. This was her chance to use her skills. This was a chance to get her revenge.

"What would we do with the food we take? Or would it be better to do something else with the stronghold?"

(Nah it's fine, this is actually calmer compared to how OP others I play with are... also is it okay if I add another character, a little dragonet?)
Vernik scowled and kicked the dragon away, hoping he wasn't to late to save Lazi, he had just gotten her back after all, he didn't want to lose her again.

Lazi, still dazed, try to move away but couldn't in time, the guard hit her hard in the head and she crumpled, barely having enough time to write a secret message on the ground for Vernik, as her parents had taught her to do, before the world went dark.