Creative Corner

@Scyras @LagMonster You will know soon(ish) enough, I promise! ;)

(also feeling a little bad for not letting my ladies catch a break)

[center][b]Chapter 8: The Kindness of Strangers, Part 1[/b] @LagMonster @Khoshekh @Twelvewishes @Stormsinger @starslang @Scyras @excessnight[/center] Daedalus’ Outpost. Chime had heard it described as “dragonkind’s farthest frontier”, and that seemed about right. She could appreciate the artistry, at least – the small settlement had been, impudently enough, built on top of a glacier. The constant flux of a moving body of ice might not seem like an ideal building site, but apparently Daedalus had seen it as a challenge. By all accounts the lightningborn imperial had been both brilliant and quite mad. Which was also a good way to describe his architecture. The outpost’s few permanent buildings weren’t much to look at, but the massive clockwork foundation beneath them was certainly something. It was an intricate disaster of gears and levers and plates, constantly grinding and shifting to keep the settlement stable on the slowly moving ice. A fascinating place – and also dirty, rugged, and freezing cold. Even as Chime touched down on its rusted surface, she found herself longing for the elegant simplicity of the Cloudsong or the Starfall Isles; she would have even preferred being back in the Tangled Wood right now. The place may be dingy, but at least its denizens were interesting. The Icefield was no place for a dragon who appreciated the finer things in life – and so far its inhabitants had been just as gruff and austere as the landscape. “Welcome to the Outpost, miss!” The big snapper was in her face almost as soon as she landed, speaking much more loudly than was necessary. “I expect you came all the way out here for Reggie’s fresh fish, eh? Caught today from the southern sea!” She half-considered pointing out that spirals didn’t eat fish, but went for a disarming smile instead. “Very kind of you, [i]mon ami.[/i] Perhaps a little later. I bet a dragon as strong as you could catch some very large fish indeed.” The flattery was blatant and half-sarcastic, but the fish-peddling snapper actually blushed. Ice dragons just didn’t quite have the degree of…complexity she was used to. “Enjoy your visit!” the big dragon blustered, after she had already started to move away. It was midmorning already, and the small marketplace was in full swing, crowded with vendors heckling passerby. She hadn’t expected quite so [i]many[/i] passerby in this heap of ice and metal, but the marketplace was actually quite busy. Chime tugged her hat a little further over her eyes – unlikely anyone would recognize her out here, but she’d had a few too many close calls. There were enough dragons here that surely somebody would have the information she was looking for, or at least would be able to point her in the right direction. It was just a matter of asking the right questions. Nonchalant, she rippled her way over to the stall of an apparel vendor, offering friendly nods to those she passed. The stall was less of a stall and more of a boulder, off the edge of the trading post’s platform, which the vendor had apparently strewn with all manner of armor and clothing. Classy. She leaned closer, pretending to be interested in some kind of garish décor made of dead bird pieces. “Hello there, can I help you with anything?” Chime turned toward the vendor’s voice, but her response died on her lips as she realized that the tiny, pert fae looked vaguely familiar. He realized it too, unfortunately – she saw his mouth open in a round O as an accusatory finger came up to point at her. “Hey. I know you.” “I don’t think so…maybe I just have one of those faces.” She smiled sweetly at him, but inside she was tense, ready to flee if he had made her. The fae wouldn’t be persuaded, and the accusatory finger was now shaking. “No! I know you! You…you were definitely behind that shipment of ours that went missing last year.” He was positively buzzing with anger, but Chime was finding it hard to be intimidated by such a small creature. “Allegedly,” she drawled in response. Clearly no point in pretending to be someone else. “Stay away from me. I see you anywhere close to my wares and I’ll have you driven out of here. I mean it.” “Of course, of course,” Chime said in reply, her hands in the air in a placating manner as she moved away from him and his bird-adorned clothing. “Just here to do a little shopping is all, sir. [i]Je promets.[/i]” She could feel the fae’s watchful eyes on her back as she turned away, and winced inwardly. [i]Sloppy. I should have thought to check the shipping routes before I left.[/i] That might have prevented any meetings with old friends. She had been about to leave and try again on a different day – preferably one without a meddling fae that knew a little too much about her past dealings – when she spotted them, coming in for a landing from the west. The pretty golden tundra was flying a little haphazardly, and the reason quickly became apparent when she landed: there had been a small, dark-colored fae riding on the bigger dragon’s back. Chime prided herself on her ability to read others, and there was definitely something strange about the fae – it certainly didn’t carry itself like most of their kind did. There was something a little more wary and predatory about this one. Interesting. Departure forgotten, Chime decided to go introduce herself – always best to be polite, after all. [center][url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=9282537] [img]http://flightrising.com/rendern/350/92826/9282537_350.png[/img] [/url] (new character - big thanks to @ZephyrWindSpirit for gifting me Chime, I’m going to have a lot of fun with her! [s]Also, please don’t ask me where a dragon would learn French, because I have no idea[/s])[/center]

@Scyras Good to hear! I'm really looking forward to writing her. She's definitely quite a bit shadier than Shrike and Clem, haha.

@pensandink Wow, thanks, that means a lot! :) Added!

Add me to the pinglist, please? c:

@Solaristigres @Nihilo Both added, thanks so much for the interest!