[center][size=5][b]Those Lost and Those Found[/b][/size]
Dragonhome isn’t as benevolent as some may believe: cracked deserts, unstable cliffs, and the lingering presence of entities long-passed force a harsh life onto the dragons residing in the territory. In an unforgiving home, many dragons are lost, and few are found.[/center]
-----
[b]Rules[/b]
[list][*] Will mostly follow the rules set up [url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/1904162]here[/url]. Food pulls will be done on easy mode.
[*] Readers can claim/dibs dragons. When that dragon dies/leaves, they’ll be sent to the person. Apparel can be sent as well, if it’s wanted.
[*] I’ll ignore deaths on occasion if it clashes badly with what I have in mind. Not often! But it’ll happen.
[*] New dragons must be from Earth, with few exceptions.
[*] Unhatched eggs can be used in lieu of breeding/geneing a dragon. Unhatched eggs must be Earth, with few exceptions.
[*] Ancient breeds are added to the list of buyable dragons.[/list]
[b]Pinglist[/b]
DragonDraws Joryboo SquishyJellyfish Mothlight Violetah Guardianite
Just ask if you’d like to be added to the list and I’ll add you!
Also, I'm subbed to the thread! ^^
Dragonhome isn’t as benevolent as some may believe: cracked deserts, unstable cliffs, and the lingering presence of entities long-passed force a harsh life onto the dragons residing in the territory. In an unforgiving home, many dragons are lost, and few are found.
Rules
Will mostly follow the rules set up here. Food pulls will be done on easy mode.
Readers can claim/dibs dragons. When that dragon dies/leaves, they’ll be sent to the person. Apparel can be sent as well, if it’s wanted.
I’ll ignore deaths on occasion if it clashes badly with what I have in mind. Not often! But it’ll happen.
New dragons must be from Earth, with few exceptions.
Unhatched eggs can be used in lieu of breeding/geneing a dragon. Unhatched eggs must be Earth, with few exceptions.
Ancient breeds are added to the list of buyable dragons.
[center][b]Day 1 - Lost[/b][/center]
-----
[center][img]http://flightrising.com/dgen/preview/dragon?age=1&body=102&bodygene=23&breed=3&element=1&eyetype=0&gender=0&tert=52&tertgene=5&winggene=23&wings=138&auth=074a27e488915d2999e34fa02fce6df8db092f08&dummyext=prev.png[/img][/center]
Serkalem grumbled under his breath; the sun was still high in the sky, beating down on his scales and leaving him a hot, panting mess. He wondered briefly to himself if it would’ve been a good idea to stay where he’d been until nightfall. Right when the thought passed through his head, though, his leg twinged in pain and his scales writhed with burning. [i]Yeah, no. I’m not getting[/i] more [i]messed up than[/i] that, [i]thank you very[/i] much.
Still grumbling and swearing, he kept his head low and continued his march.
-----
[center][img]http://flightrising.com/dgen/preview/dragon?age=1&body=51&bodygene=16&breed=6&element=1&eyetype=1&gender=1&tert=83&tertgene=11&winggene=11&wings=95&auth=f29c7686d9ec2ae9cf5101833a13f19d96f9ae0e&dummyext=prev.png[/img][/center]
Altera [i]hated[/i] the sun with a burning passion. Almost as burning as she was under her mess of thick, short fur. But, well, she hated being squeezed into a tiny crack in the ground even more, somehow. So she’d deal with it, as much as she really, [i]really[/i] didn’t want to.
Her stomach growled angrily at her, and she ground her teeth together. She hated being hungry more than anything.
-----
[center][img]http://flightrising.com/dgen/preview/dragon?age=1&body=15&bodygene=4&breed=12&element=1&eyetype=0&gender=0&tert=46&tertgene=6&winggene=4&wings=147&auth=e8eaab704d0e28e99c81dd8c18a996005f63390b&dummyext=prev.png[/img][/center]
Ora… didn’t know what to do with himself, quite frankly. It was almost like one minute, he’d been surrounded by his friends, and the next, he’d found himself inexplicably [i]lost[/i]. He didn’t even know how it happened, really. All he could think to do was sit and wait for his parents to… find him? Maybe?
He sighed, tucking his head under a wing and leaning against the large rock beside him. Despite the sun above, he shivered.
-----
Altera was [i]seriously[/i] going to kill the next dragon she ever saw. Her temper was at its peak; not only was she hot, and thirsty, and hungry beyond any relief, she’d managed to cut her foot on a rock! A rock! Sitting right in front of her! How dare that rock have the absolute [i]audacity[/i] to [i]cut[/i] her actual [i]foot[/i], the gods- wait.
She narrowed her eyes, trying to see ahead of her. [i]Is… is that a dragon? Seriously?[/i]
She sighed; okay, maybe she [i]wasn’t[/i] going to kill them immediately, but she was [i]this[/i] close to it. The stranger looked up as she approached, tilting their head curiously at her, a motion she repeated. This dragon looked so… [i]weird[/i], in her opinion. Covered in feathers, bright purple and orange, short legs, she’d never seen a dragon like this.
“Um… who are you?”
Altera frowned, noticing two things: firstly, this dragon was a male, and secondly, he was young, probably a little younger than herself. “Name’s Altera. How in the gods’ names did you get out here?”
The other dragon grimaced. “Ora. And, uh, I have no idea?”
Oh boy. Ohhh boy this dragon was going to test Altera’s patience so hard, she could already tell. “You are literally in the middle of a desert, you don’t know how you got here? You get out here alone? How the hell are you [i]sleeping[/i] in this?!”
Ora suddenly looked sad, but honestly, she didn’t really care. She just wanted this [i]damn sun GONE-[/i]
She blinked. Then blinked again. Then she looked up. Above her, Ora’s wing was tentatively held as a shield from the sun, blocking out the worst of the rays. Immediately, the feeling of being cooked alive lessened to still-uncomfortable-but-tolerable levels. Against her will, she sighed. [i]Dammit, he helped me. Dammit, dammit, I can’t be mad if he’s doing that. I feel[/i] better, [i]he’s not allowed to make me less angry.[/i]
But he did. And he shrugged when she shot him a questioning look. “I like the sun, but you’re hot, so I thought I should help.”
[i]Damn[/i] this kid was making it hard to be mad. Finally, she relented. “...Thanks. I’ll stay here til nightfall.”
Ora only nodded in acknowledgement before tucking his head away.
-----
Serkalem kept his head low, eyes narrowed against the setting sun. Sure, it was pretty, but “pretty” wasn’t going to help him right now. He’d admire the view some other time. For now, he was occupied by an increasing awareness of his pain, and of a weird lump growing on the horizon. The sun cast whatever it was in stark shadows, so he couldn’t tell what it was.
[i]It could be a shelter[/i], his mind whispered, and by the gods did he nearly drool at the thought of collapsing down somewhere cool. His pace picked up - if only a little - as he hurried to reach it.
It wasn’t until he caught a better look at the lump’s heat signature that he realised, [i]Oh. It’s dragons.[/i] He wasn’t necessarily disappointed, but man… he had really been looking forward to some shade. Instead, it was a [i]way[/i] too bright - what species was that again? coatl? - and a scruffy tundra.
He approached them slowly, and the coatl turned to look at him. The tundra, it appeared, was deep asleep, judging by the loud snores coming from them. He glanced around before he spoke. “So, uh… the desert, huh?”
“I guess?”
“Wonderful thing, huh?”
“...I guess?”
Wow, okay, this dragon doesn’t know how to hold a conversation. Gods save the both of them. Serkalem sat down, careful of his leg, and sighed.
“Look, my drake, let’s try again. My name is Serkalem, and I’m about as lost as a mirror in the sea. How ‘bout you?”
“Ora. And, uh, I’m lost too? And so is Altera, I think.”
Ora the coatl, Altera the tundra. Male, female. Ora was Earth, clearly, and Serkalem didn’t think it’d be bad to assume Altera was as well. They didn’t seem like [i]bad[/i] company so far, but, granted, Ora barely talked and Altera was [i]asleep[/i] for gods’ sakes.
“Okay, okay…” he said, mostly to get his thought process back on track. “Well, how about we get lost together, huh? I dunno about you, but I’d like some company if I’m gonna be half-dead in the sun.”
Ora just nodded. “Sure.”
Serkalem barely kept himself from sighing. Just barely.
Instead, he pulled himself under the wing Ora lifted for him, and fell asleep.
-----
Ora watched his new companions in confusion. First he suddenly finds himself lost, then he [i]somehow[/i] ends up with two equally-lost companions. No sign of his parents or friends, and if they hadn’t found him by now…
[i]No, stop that. They’ll find you, just keep waiting. They’ll find you.
They’ll find you.[/i]
Serkalem grumbled under his breath; the sun was still high in the sky, beating down on his scales and leaving him a hot, panting mess. He wondered briefly to himself if it would’ve been a good idea to stay where he’d been until nightfall. Right when the thought passed through his head, though, his leg twinged in pain and his scales writhed with burning. Yeah, no. I’m not getting more messed up than that, thank you very much.
Still grumbling and swearing, he kept his head low and continued his march.
Altera hated the sun with a burning passion. Almost as burning as she was under her mess of thick, short fur. But, well, she hated being squeezed into a tiny crack in the ground even more, somehow. So she’d deal with it, as much as she really, really didn’t want to.
Her stomach growled angrily at her, and she ground her teeth together. She hated being hungry more than anything.
Ora… didn’t know what to do with himself, quite frankly. It was almost like one minute, he’d been surrounded by his friends, and the next, he’d found himself inexplicably lost. He didn’t even know how it happened, really. All he could think to do was sit and wait for his parents to… find him? Maybe?
He sighed, tucking his head under a wing and leaning against the large rock beside him. Despite the sun above, he shivered.
Altera was seriously going to kill the next dragon she ever saw. Her temper was at its peak; not only was she hot, and thirsty, and hungry beyond any relief, she’d managed to cut her foot on a rock! A rock! Sitting right in front of her! How dare that rock have the absolute audacity to cut her actual foot, the gods- wait.
She narrowed her eyes, trying to see ahead of her. Is… is that a dragon? Seriously?
She sighed; okay, maybe she wasn’t going to kill them immediately, but she was this close to it. The stranger looked up as she approached, tilting their head curiously at her, a motion she repeated. This dragon looked so… weird, in her opinion. Covered in feathers, bright purple and orange, short legs, she’d never seen a dragon like this.
“Um… who are you?”
Altera frowned, noticing two things: firstly, this dragon was a male, and secondly, he was young, probably a little younger than herself. “Name’s Altera. How in the gods’ names did you get out here?”
The other dragon grimaced. “Ora. And, uh, I have no idea?”
Oh boy. Ohhh boy this dragon was going to test Altera’s patience so hard, she could already tell. “You are literally in the middle of a desert, you don’t know how you got here? You get out here alone? How the hell are you sleeping in this?!”
Ora suddenly looked sad, but honestly, she didn’t really care. She just wanted this damn sun GONE-
She blinked. Then blinked again. Then she looked up. Above her, Ora’s wing was tentatively held as a shield from the sun, blocking out the worst of the rays. Immediately, the feeling of being cooked alive lessened to still-uncomfortable-but-tolerable levels. Against her will, she sighed. Dammit, he helped me. Dammit, dammit, I can’t be mad if he’s doing that. I feel better, he’s not allowed to make me less angry.
But he did. And he shrugged when she shot him a questioning look. “I like the sun, but you’re hot, so I thought I should help.”
Damn this kid was making it hard to be mad. Finally, she relented. “...Thanks. I’ll stay here til nightfall.”
Ora only nodded in acknowledgement before tucking his head away.
Serkalem kept his head low, eyes narrowed against the setting sun. Sure, it was pretty, but “pretty” wasn’t going to help him right now. He’d admire the view some other time. For now, he was occupied by an increasing awareness of his pain, and of a weird lump growing on the horizon. The sun cast whatever it was in stark shadows, so he couldn’t tell what it was.
It could be a shelter, his mind whispered, and by the gods did he nearly drool at the thought of collapsing down somewhere cool. His pace picked up - if only a little - as he hurried to reach it.
It wasn’t until he caught a better look at the lump’s heat signature that he realised, Oh. It’s dragons. He wasn’t necessarily disappointed, but man… he had really been looking forward to some shade. Instead, it was a way too bright - what species was that again? coatl? - and a scruffy tundra.
He approached them slowly, and the coatl turned to look at him. The tundra, it appeared, was deep asleep, judging by the loud snores coming from them. He glanced around before he spoke. “So, uh… the desert, huh?”
“I guess?”
“Wonderful thing, huh?”
“...I guess?”
Wow, okay, this dragon doesn’t know how to hold a conversation. Gods save the both of them. Serkalem sat down, careful of his leg, and sighed.
“Look, my drake, let’s try again. My name is Serkalem, and I’m about as lost as a mirror in the sea. How ‘bout you?”
“Ora. And, uh, I’m lost too? And so is Altera, I think.”
Ora the coatl, Altera the tundra. Male, female. Ora was Earth, clearly, and Serkalem didn’t think it’d be bad to assume Altera was as well. They didn’t seem like bad company so far, but, granted, Ora barely talked and Altera was asleep for gods’ sakes.
“Okay, okay…” he said, mostly to get his thought process back on track. “Well, how about we get lost together, huh? I dunno about you, but I’d like some company if I’m gonna be half-dead in the sun.”
Ora just nodded. “Sure.”
Serkalem barely kept himself from sighing. Just barely.
Instead, he pulled himself under the wing Ora lifted for him, and fell asleep.
Ora watched his new companions in confusion. First he suddenly finds himself lost, then he somehow ends up with two equally-lost companions. No sign of his parents or friends, and if they hadn’t found him by now…
No, stop that. They’ll find you, just keep waiting. They’ll find you.
They’ll find you.
[center][b]Day 2 - who we are[/b]
@DragonDraws
[b]Pull:[/b]
[item=shalebuck horn]
[b]Action:[/b] writing[/center]
-----
Altera woke to the sun in her eyes. The moment she cracked them open, light spilled in and blinded her for a good ten seconds. So you could say she didn’t wake up in the best of moods.
The first thing she noticed was, of course, the fact she’d slept through the night and dammit she’d have to deal with another day in the sun. The second thing was that there was another dragon under Ora’s other wing.
She leapt to her feet, instantly defensive and not caring about the way Ora’s wing slapped her own at the action. “Who is this! When’d you get here! Ora, why didn’t you tell me! Good gods we don’t [i]need[/i] these surprises Ora!” Her shouts startled her companions awake, both looking alarmed and, honestly, a little scared of her. [i]Good[/i], she thought, [i]don’t surprise me like this then.[/i]
Ora stammered, while the other dragon - who had four eyes? what on Sornieth? - blinked rapidly at her before he spoke. “Sorry! I just kind of stumbled across you guys last night, and you were asleep, and [i]I[/i] was tired too, so this guy let me sleep, and now you’re yelling!” His voice wavered, but it was better than the mess of broken syllables Ora was making.
Altera narrowed her eyes at the newcomer, opening her mouth to bite out a retort when she noticed something. Her nose twitched at the new smell, metallic and tangy and - [i]That’s blood.[/i] And it was coming from the new dragon. For a moment she studied him, taking in the various scrapes and cuts that she hadn’t noticed before. Huh. “The hell happened to you?”
Four-Eyes blinked, suddenly looking lost. Why, she had no idea; her question was perfectly reasonable, thank you very much. He waited a moment, expression changing from lost to vaguely uncomfortable, before he said, “Er, I just… scraped myself up a bit.”
[i]Wow, I never would’ve expected that.[/i] “Yeah, no kidding. Let me see.”
She didn’t give him a chance to respond before she was already nudging (if it could be called nudging) Ora out of the way and stalking the last few steps to the other dragon. He tried to shimmy away from her, but she grabbed him with both paws to keep him from moving as she checked him over. He was [i]covered[/i] in minor injuries, little smears of dried blood speckled over his body. She drew her eyes further down his body, searching for anything major-
“You’re an idiot. An absolute, complete and utter idiot, how in the [i]seven damned hells[/i] were you walking around like this?! Do you not know how to help something [i]this easy to fix[/i]?!”
She bared her teeth at him in deep annoyance, eyes still locked onto his right hind leg. One of the joints looked out of place, which to her easily indicated it was dislocated. Four-Eyes looked afraid for a moment, before working into a panic as Altera moved her paws closer to his leg.
“Waitwaitwait no don’t tou-” He broke off with a slew of [i]very[/i] colorful swears as she swiftly moved the joint back into place with a ‘pop’. She nodded, then stepped back as the other dragon shuffled quickly away from her. “Gods, warn a dragon when you’re gonna do that!”
She shrugged. “If I warn you, you’ll move away before I do it. Now quit being a little hatchling and stop whining, you’re all fixed. You’re welcome.” She plopped herself down and casually began working her teeth into the fur around her wrist.
Four-Eyes stayed where he was, eyeing her warily. [i]Good.[/i] Ora, who until now had stood back and watched, dazed, as the other two ‘interacted’, stepped forward. “How’d you know how to do that...?”
[i]Is he serious.[/i] Altera stopped what she was doing to fix Ora with a Look. “Because I’m not an idiot like the both of you apparently are. What kind of nomad doesn’t get taught how to fix simple injuries?”
Ora tilted his head. “I’m not a nomad?”
Four-Eyes just grumbled, “My kind of nomad I guess…”
Yep, idiots. That’s something that wouldn’t get fixed overnight, despite how much Altera would [i]love[/i] it if it could. She let out a long, long-suffering sigh. “Alright. Okay. What are you two then? What kind of dragon, what kind of nomad, and you,” she said, pointing at the newcomer, “I still don’t know your name, so what’s that too.”
The newcomer stared at her like she’d grown a second head. “I’m a mirror. Y’know, one of the most nomadic kinds of dragon there is? Living in packs? That’s our whole thing?”
Now it was time for her to stare at him. “Never heard of em. Name?”
“Serkalem-”
“Pack?”
Serkalem paused, looking away. “Don’t have one.”
Hm. That was odd, right? Whatever, okay, it’s not like he’s the only one here who’s odd. Altera had to wonder though, if he never had one, or if he used to. He had to have been born somewhere, right?
Again, whatever. She turned to Ora. “Okay, your turn.”
Ora froze, and honestly, could he just [i]talk[/i] without some reaction like that? “I’m not a nomad. And, uh, I’m a coatl?”
Altera nodded. “If you’re not a nomad, then how’d you get out here?”
“I… don’t know. You asked me yesterday.”
“Look, look, I forgot. How do you just [i]not know[/i] how you ended up in the middle of the desert?”
Ora quickly began to look frustrated. “I don’t know! I was with friends near the Pillar, then suddenly I’m here! I really don’t know!” He’d begun shouting, but the moment his mouth was closed, he looked nervous. “Sorry.”
Altera opened her mouth to ask something else, when Serkalem decided to pipe up. “Hey, you’ve been asking [i]us[/i] all these questions, how about some for [i]you[/i]?”
That guy had guts to interrupt her like that, she had to admit. Didn’t mean she liked it. “Don’t interrupt me again. But fine, you want to ask? Ask.”
“How’d [i]you[/i] get out here? And you seem so concerned about us being alone, but what about [i]you[/i]? We don’t know anything about you except that you’re infinitely angry.”
Yep, the guy had guts. Well, it’s not like she particularly cared what they did and didn’t know about her, so she nonchalantly said, “Well, [i]I[/i] lost my group and family in a cave-in, and I’ve been wandering around this desert since. Happy?”
Serkalem seemed to think about that for a moment, before he nodded slowly. There was a look in his eyes, something that only stayed for a second, but Altera caught it. She had no idea what it was, and it passed so quickly she thought she might’ve imagined it. Hm.
She looked around at Ora and Serkalem, everyone’s questions seemingly satisfied. Her companions looked worse for wear, and they were both young, like her. Ora was stout, with short legs and a blunt snout. Serkalem was long and lanky, with gnarled horns and long fangs. Altera knew she didn’t look much better, with shaggy, badly-cropped fur and dull cloth haphazardly strewn over herself to protect herself from the sun.
Speaking of the sun…
It was already late morning, now. Gross. She turned her face south and said, “Well, I don’t want to sit here much longer. You two can come along if you want. Take some of these, they’ll help.” She unwound a few bundles of cloth from around herself and tossed them at her companions, who quickly draped the fabric over themselves. Satisfied, she lowered her head and began her march anew.
-----
Ora watched Altera and Serkalem as they walked southward, trudging along like they’d done this all their lives. Like they [i]had[/i] been doing all their lives.
He was tempted to follow, so very tempted, but what if his parents came for him? What if his friends were still looking? He couldn’t just [i]leave[/i] when they could - no, [i]would[/i] - find him.
But he’d been waiting for days now, and the short companionship he’d had with the other two… he didn’t want to lose that. He didn’t want to be alone again. It was so [i]lonely[/i] out here with nobody else, and if he had to be alone any longer, he didn’t know what he’d do.
[i]I’m sorry,[/i] he thought, as he stood and made to follow the others, [i]I’m sorry. I’ll find you eventually. I’m sorry.[/i]
-----
- well they're back to moving! currently they're in the western shattered plain, and are moving southward towards the outer crags of greatwyrm's breach.
- Ora is kind of a fourth-wall breaker. i couldn't come up with a background for him, so some "strange outside power" just so happened to move him into the right place to meet the others. wacky
- the title of today is the same as Who We Are by Imagine Dragons
Intact Shalebuck horns are difficult to come by, as they often shatter into many fragments when they are broken off.
44
Action: writing
Altera woke to the sun in her eyes. The moment she cracked them open, light spilled in and blinded her for a good ten seconds. So you could say she didn’t wake up in the best of moods.
The first thing she noticed was, of course, the fact she’d slept through the night and dammit she’d have to deal with another day in the sun. The second thing was that there was another dragon under Ora’s other wing.
She leapt to her feet, instantly defensive and not caring about the way Ora’s wing slapped her own at the action. “Who is this! When’d you get here! Ora, why didn’t you tell me! Good gods we don’t need these surprises Ora!” Her shouts startled her companions awake, both looking alarmed and, honestly, a little scared of her. Good, she thought, don’t surprise me like this then.
Ora stammered, while the other dragon - who had four eyes? what on Sornieth? - blinked rapidly at her before he spoke. “Sorry! I just kind of stumbled across you guys last night, and you were asleep, and I was tired too, so this guy let me sleep, and now you’re yelling!” His voice wavered, but it was better than the mess of broken syllables Ora was making.
Altera narrowed her eyes at the newcomer, opening her mouth to bite out a retort when she noticed something. Her nose twitched at the new smell, metallic and tangy and - That’s blood. And it was coming from the new dragon. For a moment she studied him, taking in the various scrapes and cuts that she hadn’t noticed before. Huh. “The hell happened to you?”
Four-Eyes blinked, suddenly looking lost. Why, she had no idea; her question was perfectly reasonable, thank you very much. He waited a moment, expression changing from lost to vaguely uncomfortable, before he said, “Er, I just… scraped myself up a bit.”
Wow, I never would’ve expected that. “Yeah, no kidding. Let me see.”
She didn’t give him a chance to respond before she was already nudging (if it could be called nudging) Ora out of the way and stalking the last few steps to the other dragon. He tried to shimmy away from her, but she grabbed him with both paws to keep him from moving as she checked him over. He was covered in minor injuries, little smears of dried blood speckled over his body. She drew her eyes further down his body, searching for anything major-
“You’re an idiot. An absolute, complete and utter idiot, how in the seven damned hells were you walking around like this?! Do you not know how to help something this easy to fix?!”
She bared her teeth at him in deep annoyance, eyes still locked onto his right hind leg. One of the joints looked out of place, which to her easily indicated it was dislocated. Four-Eyes looked afraid for a moment, before working into a panic as Altera moved her paws closer to his leg.
“Waitwaitwait no don’t tou-” He broke off with a slew of very colorful swears as she swiftly moved the joint back into place with a ‘pop’. She nodded, then stepped back as the other dragon shuffled quickly away from her. “Gods, warn a dragon when you’re gonna do that!”
She shrugged. “If I warn you, you’ll move away before I do it. Now quit being a little hatchling and stop whining, you’re all fixed. You’re welcome.” She plopped herself down and casually began working her teeth into the fur around her wrist.
Four-Eyes stayed where he was, eyeing her warily. Good. Ora, who until now had stood back and watched, dazed, as the other two ‘interacted’, stepped forward. “How’d you know how to do that...?”
Is he serious. Altera stopped what she was doing to fix Ora with a Look. “Because I’m not an idiot like the both of you apparently are. What kind of nomad doesn’t get taught how to fix simple injuries?”
Ora tilted his head. “I’m not a nomad?”
Four-Eyes just grumbled, “My kind of nomad I guess…”
Yep, idiots. That’s something that wouldn’t get fixed overnight, despite how much Altera would love it if it could. She let out a long, long-suffering sigh. “Alright. Okay. What are you two then? What kind of dragon, what kind of nomad, and you,” she said, pointing at the newcomer, “I still don’t know your name, so what’s that too.”
The newcomer stared at her like she’d grown a second head. “I’m a mirror. Y’know, one of the most nomadic kinds of dragon there is? Living in packs? That’s our whole thing?”
Now it was time for her to stare at him. “Never heard of em. Name?”
“Serkalem-”
“Pack?”
Serkalem paused, looking away. “Don’t have one.”
Hm. That was odd, right? Whatever, okay, it’s not like he’s the only one here who’s odd. Altera had to wonder though, if he never had one, or if he used to. He had to have been born somewhere, right?
Again, whatever. She turned to Ora. “Okay, your turn.”
Ora froze, and honestly, could he just talk without some reaction like that? “I’m not a nomad. And, uh, I’m a coatl?”
Altera nodded. “If you’re not a nomad, then how’d you get out here?”
“I… don’t know. You asked me yesterday.”
“Look, look, I forgot. How do you just not know how you ended up in the middle of the desert?”
Ora quickly began to look frustrated. “I don’t know! I was with friends near the Pillar, then suddenly I’m here! I really don’t know!” He’d begun shouting, but the moment his mouth was closed, he looked nervous. “Sorry.”
Altera opened her mouth to ask something else, when Serkalem decided to pipe up. “Hey, you’ve been asking us all these questions, how about some for you?”
That guy had guts to interrupt her like that, she had to admit. Didn’t mean she liked it. “Don’t interrupt me again. But fine, you want to ask? Ask.”
“How’d you get out here? And you seem so concerned about us being alone, but what about you? We don’t know anything about you except that you’re infinitely angry.”
Yep, the guy had guts. Well, it’s not like she particularly cared what they did and didn’t know about her, so she nonchalantly said, “Well, I lost my group and family in a cave-in, and I’ve been wandering around this desert since. Happy?”
Serkalem seemed to think about that for a moment, before he nodded slowly. There was a look in his eyes, something that only stayed for a second, but Altera caught it. She had no idea what it was, and it passed so quickly she thought she might’ve imagined it. Hm.
She looked around at Ora and Serkalem, everyone’s questions seemingly satisfied. Her companions looked worse for wear, and they were both young, like her. Ora was stout, with short legs and a blunt snout. Serkalem was long and lanky, with gnarled horns and long fangs. Altera knew she didn’t look much better, with shaggy, badly-cropped fur and dull cloth haphazardly strewn over herself to protect herself from the sun.
Speaking of the sun…
It was already late morning, now. Gross. She turned her face south and said, “Well, I don’t want to sit here much longer. You two can come along if you want. Take some of these, they’ll help.” She unwound a few bundles of cloth from around herself and tossed them at her companions, who quickly draped the fabric over themselves. Satisfied, she lowered her head and began her march anew.
Ora watched Altera and Serkalem as they walked southward, trudging along like they’d done this all their lives. Like they had been doing all their lives.
He was tempted to follow, so very tempted, but what if his parents came for him? What if his friends were still looking? He couldn’t just leave when they could - no, would - find him.
But he’d been waiting for days now, and the short companionship he’d had with the other two… he didn’t want to lose that. He didn’t want to be alone again. It was so lonely out here with nobody else, and if he had to be alone any longer, he didn’t know what he’d do.
I’m sorry, he thought, as he stood and made to follow the others, I’m sorry. I’ll find you eventually. I’m sorry.
- well they're back to moving! currently they're in the western shattered plain, and are moving southward towards the outer crags of greatwyrm's breach.
- Ora is kind of a fourth-wall breaker. i couldn't come up with a background for him, so some "strange outside power" just so happened to move him into the right place to meet the others. wacky
- the title of today is the same as Who We Are by Imagine Dragons
[center][b]Day 3 - shelter[/b]
@DragonDraws
[b]Pull:[/b]
[item=cat's wing fans]
[b]Action:[/b] breed/gene a dragon[/center]
-----
Serkalem, for as glad as he was that he wasn’t walking on a bum leg anymore, still wasn’t fond of walking in general at the moment. His leg still ached, his body ached, it was [i]hot[/i], and good gods he was [i]hungry[/i] and [i]thirsty[/i] and [i]tired[/i]. All he wanted was a nice, long rest, but there was still nothing but cracked earth as far as they could see with no shelter in sight.
He sighed, resigned, for the umpteenth time today. Ahead, Altera seemed to be faring just as well as him, which was terribly. She was panting and her tail dragged on the ground behind her. To his right, Ora was almost unaffected, the lucky son of a bonepriest. How in the world was that dragon not about to keel over?
[i]Gods, I wish that were me.[/i]
Hours passed as they trudged along, the sun slinking across the sky. Serkalem noticed a discomfort in his limbs, a sort of itching across the patches of scales subjected to the sun and rough dirt, but he decided to ignore it. Honestly, it was nothing compared to everything else nagging at him right now, so he could deal with it.
Suddenly, Altera stopped. “Wait,” she said, “there’s… something out there.”
Serkalem peered around her, trying to see what she might’ve noticed, but he couldn’t see a thing. As he opened his mouth to say this, Ora said, “I see it too. Should we go there?”
[i]If he can see it, I just must be blind then.[/i] He said nothing however, and Altera nodded. “Yeah.”
(Serkalem had to wonder if she was more agreeable out of tiredness, or if she was warming up to them. He’d bet his next dinner on the former.)
Slowly, he began to see what Altera and Ora had noticed before: a portion of the ground had been elevated, a gentle slope ending in a sharp drop back to the usual ground level. At its highest, the peak was roughly as high as two of his own body lengths. The face of the short cliff was in shadow from the sun - oh thank the [i]gods[/i] - and littered with cracks, the most notable being right in the center near the ground.
The trio began to hurry forward, sagging with relief as they stepped into the slope’s shade. Serkalem and Altera unceremoniously dropped to the ground, while Ora simply sat as though the several degree temperature difference didn’t mean a thing.
Altera let out a loud mix of a sigh and a groan, all her limbs splaying outwards. “Oh good [i]gods[/i], [i]finally[/i] some damned shade. I’ve been burning in my own fur for [i]ages[/i].”
Ora hummed in acknowledgement, while Serkalem just panted into the dirt. “I have no idea how you’re even alive right now with all your fur.” He pushed his face further into the ground, basking in the blessed coolness against his skull. “I thought [i]I[/i] was gonna die out there and I’m the only one here with actual scales.”
Altera grunted. “I’d say you get used to this crap, but really, you don’t. The sun can kiss my-” she broke off into a [i]very[/i] colorful stream of words that Serkalem would never dare to repeat, even in his thoughts. [i]Guess it[/i] was [i]that heat making her less angry-sounding.[/i]
They all lay like that for a good while, simply resting their legs and letting the heat drain from their bodies. The sky above darkened into a deep purple, stars littering the expanse like dust. Serkalem was the first to break the silence. He - very begrudgingly - rose to his feet, cracking his joints as he did so. “We should probably get in one of those cracks, right? The sun set on the other side, so it’ll face us in the morning.” He began to slink off towards the biggest crack, which now seemed large enough to fit all three of them.
However, when he only heard one set of footsteps behind him, he turned. Only Ora was following him, while Altera still lay on the ground.
He motioned for Ora to go ahead of him, watching the coatl go before he turned and walked back to the tundra. “Hey, you awake?”
A grunt was the only reply he got, but at least it meant she could hear him. “C’mon, you’ll get super hot in the morning if you don’t get in somewhere. You hate that.”
Altera just grumbled and curled a little more into herself. Serkalem sat down beside her. “You can’t just spend the whole night out here, you know.”
“I can and I will.”
Well, she was talking now. Not much, but something. “You [i]shouldn’t[/i], then.”
“I don’t care, I’m not going in one of those damn cracks.”
He opened his mouth to answer, but a thought stopped him. Ah. Right. Her family had died in a cave-in… He couldn’t blame her for that, then. But still, it’d be much better for [i]all[/i] of them to get inside, and he wasn’t gonna leave one of his… friends? could they be called that by now? out to be miserable. So, naturally, he did what any dragon would do when trying to get a bad-tempered dragon to move.
He shoved himself under one of her wings and pushed her up and towards the cliff.
Her reaction was immediate and, as one could expect, not happy in the slightest. “Hey! I just said I’m not going in! Your skull’s hard as a rock but you can get [i]that[/i] at least! Put me down you-”
He did not put her down. Instead, even as she scrabbled at him and swore - gods, how did she even [i]know[/i] all those curses? - he goaded her forward until they were next to the largest crack. Ora was situated on one side, looking wary of the supremely unhappy dragon being pushed near him, and Serkalem couldn’t blame him.
“You- [i]ow[/i]- are going- [i]hey![/i]- in here with us!”
“Like the hells I am!”
“Yes you are!”
“Put me [i]down[/i]!”
“I’ll stop when- [i]ow dammit![/i]- you get in!”
True to his word, he managed to shove her into the crack and quickly shimmied in after her. The three of them were pressed close together, with Serkalem sitting between Ora and Altera, but it wasn’t too tight or uncomfortable a fit. Altera grumbled, but seemed resigned. “You’re not letting me out, are you?”
“Not at all.”
She huffed, then curled up into a ball of fur and wing. “Fine.” Suddenly, she turned and fixed a look on him. “And watch it with your scales, they kept catching and yanking on my fur. I hate it, so fix it.” With that, she looked away again and tucked herself into her fur.
Serkalem, confused, looked to Ora. The coatl just shrugged, seeing to have no idea what Altera was going on about. Serkalem sighed, watching Ora get himself ready to sleep, and rested his head on his paws.
[i]...Wait a minute. That feels… weird.[/i]
He lifted his head and looked down at his paws. There didn’t seem to be anything wrong with- oh. [i]Oh.[/i] So [i]that’s[/i] what Altera meant.
With the light of the moon, he could see it. The scales covering his paws and forearms had thickened, the very points of the smaller ones curving gently outwards like claws. With a small shift, he could feel that all of the patches that had been itching before were thicker now.
[center][img]https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/485513721280593931/529875750153748490/47949658_350.png[/img][/center]
[i]Strange[/i], he thought. [i]Hopefully that doesn’t spread…[/i]
With his head back on his now strangely-textured paws, he closed his eyes. There’d be time to worry about that later.
Serkalem, for as glad as he was that he wasn’t walking on a bum leg anymore, still wasn’t fond of walking in general at the moment. His leg still ached, his body ached, it was hot, and good gods he was hungry and thirsty and tired. All he wanted was a nice, long rest, but there was still nothing but cracked earth as far as they could see with no shelter in sight.
He sighed, resigned, for the umpteenth time today. Ahead, Altera seemed to be faring just as well as him, which was terribly. She was panting and her tail dragged on the ground behind her. To his right, Ora was almost unaffected, the lucky son of a bonepriest. How in the world was that dragon not about to keel over?
Gods, I wish that were me.
Hours passed as they trudged along, the sun slinking across the sky. Serkalem noticed a discomfort in his limbs, a sort of itching across the patches of scales subjected to the sun and rough dirt, but he decided to ignore it. Honestly, it was nothing compared to everything else nagging at him right now, so he could deal with it.
Suddenly, Altera stopped. “Wait,” she said, “there’s… something out there.”
Serkalem peered around her, trying to see what she might’ve noticed, but he couldn’t see a thing. As he opened his mouth to say this, Ora said, “I see it too. Should we go there?”
If he can see it, I just must be blind then. He said nothing however, and Altera nodded. “Yeah.”
(Serkalem had to wonder if she was more agreeable out of tiredness, or if she was warming up to them. He’d bet his next dinner on the former.)
Slowly, he began to see what Altera and Ora had noticed before: a portion of the ground had been elevated, a gentle slope ending in a sharp drop back to the usual ground level. At its highest, the peak was roughly as high as two of his own body lengths. The face of the short cliff was in shadow from the sun - oh thank the gods - and littered with cracks, the most notable being right in the center near the ground.
The trio began to hurry forward, sagging with relief as they stepped into the slope’s shade. Serkalem and Altera unceremoniously dropped to the ground, while Ora simply sat as though the several degree temperature difference didn’t mean a thing.
Altera let out a loud mix of a sigh and a groan, all her limbs splaying outwards. “Oh good gods, finally some damned shade. I’ve been burning in my own fur for ages.”
Ora hummed in acknowledgement, while Serkalem just panted into the dirt. “I have no idea how you’re even alive right now with all your fur.” He pushed his face further into the ground, basking in the blessed coolness against his skull. “I thought I was gonna die out there and I’m the only one here with actual scales.”
Altera grunted. “I’d say you get used to this crap, but really, you don’t. The sun can kiss my-” she broke off into a very colorful stream of words that Serkalem would never dare to repeat, even in his thoughts. Guess it was that heat making her less angry-sounding.
They all lay like that for a good while, simply resting their legs and letting the heat drain from their bodies. The sky above darkened into a deep purple, stars littering the expanse like dust. Serkalem was the first to break the silence. He - very begrudgingly - rose to his feet, cracking his joints as he did so. “We should probably get in one of those cracks, right? The sun set on the other side, so it’ll face us in the morning.” He began to slink off towards the biggest crack, which now seemed large enough to fit all three of them.
However, when he only heard one set of footsteps behind him, he turned. Only Ora was following him, while Altera still lay on the ground.
He motioned for Ora to go ahead of him, watching the coatl go before he turned and walked back to the tundra. “Hey, you awake?”
A grunt was the only reply he got, but at least it meant she could hear him. “C’mon, you’ll get super hot in the morning if you don’t get in somewhere. You hate that.”
Altera just grumbled and curled a little more into herself. Serkalem sat down beside her. “You can’t just spend the whole night out here, you know.”
“I can and I will.”
Well, she was talking now. Not much, but something. “You shouldn’t, then.”
“I don’t care, I’m not going in one of those damn cracks.”
He opened his mouth to answer, but a thought stopped him. Ah. Right. Her family had died in a cave-in… He couldn’t blame her for that, then. But still, it’d be much better for all of them to get inside, and he wasn’t gonna leave one of his… friends? could they be called that by now? out to be miserable. So, naturally, he did what any dragon would do when trying to get a bad-tempered dragon to move.
He shoved himself under one of her wings and pushed her up and towards the cliff.
Her reaction was immediate and, as one could expect, not happy in the slightest. “Hey! I just said I’m not going in! Your skull’s hard as a rock but you can get that at least! Put me down you-”
He did not put her down. Instead, even as she scrabbled at him and swore - gods, how did she even know all those curses? - he goaded her forward until they were next to the largest crack. Ora was situated on one side, looking wary of the supremely unhappy dragon being pushed near him, and Serkalem couldn’t blame him.
“You- ow- are going- hey!- in here with us!”
“Like the hells I am!”
“Yes you are!”
“Put me down!”
“I’ll stop when- ow dammit!- you get in!”
True to his word, he managed to shove her into the crack and quickly shimmied in after her. The three of them were pressed close together, with Serkalem sitting between Ora and Altera, but it wasn’t too tight or uncomfortable a fit. Altera grumbled, but seemed resigned. “You’re not letting me out, are you?”
“Not at all.”
She huffed, then curled up into a ball of fur and wing. “Fine.” Suddenly, she turned and fixed a look on him. “And watch it with your scales, they kept catching and yanking on my fur. I hate it, so fix it.” With that, she looked away again and tucked herself into her fur.
Serkalem, confused, looked to Ora. The coatl just shrugged, seeing to have no idea what Altera was going on about. Serkalem sighed, watching Ora get himself ready to sleep, and rested his head on his paws.
...Wait a minute. That feels… weird.
He lifted his head and looked down at his paws. There didn’t seem to be anything wrong with- oh. Oh. So that’s what Altera meant.
With the light of the moon, he could see it. The scales covering his paws and forearms had thickened, the very points of the smaller ones curving gently outwards like claws. With a small shift, he could feel that all of the patches that had been itching before were thicker now.
Strange, he thought. Hopefully that doesn’t spread…
With his head back on his now strangely-textured paws, he closed his eyes. There’d be time to worry about that later.
[center][b]Day 4 - minor observations[/b] + [b]Day 5 - flock[/b]
@DragonDraws @Joryboo
[b]Pulls:[/b]
[item=owlcat journal] [item=scholar]
[b]Action:[/b] art, death streak roll[/center]
-----
Ora was the first to wake. The sun’s rays peeked through the cave’s entrance to pour over his face, making him squint as he pried his eyes open. Beside him, Altera and Serkalem were still deep asleep, their heads tucked under their wings. Vaguely, he noticed Serkalem looked… [i]off[/i], somehow, but couldn’t place why. He mentally shook his head, deciding to ask about that when the other was awake.
With his attention taken from his companions, Ora suddenly shivered. Despite the sun washing over his face, the rest of his body was freezing. The cold stone of the cave and the lack of sunlight had drained him, and now he groggily sought out warmth. He dragged himself out of the cave, careful not to disturb his companions, and sprawled himself out on the warming ground.
He didn’t know how long he lay there, letting the sun soak into his bones, by the time Altera and Serkalem woke. Altera was, as usual, grumbling and in a bad mood, while Serkalem seemed more at ease than Ora had seen of him so far. At least sleeping someplace cool helped [i]somebody[/i], feel better, even if it wasn’t himself.
Altera rested against the side of the cliff, chewing into the fur around her paws and a deep frown carved into her features. Serkalem, on the other hand, slunk over to sit beside Ora. Ora lazily eyed him, taking in the little changes that had happened to his companion. Serkalem’s scales seemed to have changed, thickening and the smaller ones poking outwards to create a rough, fabric-snagging texture.
He opened his mouth to ask about the change, only for Serkalem to ask something of his own. “How are you enjoying the sun so much? I mean, you never act like it’s too hot or anything, meanwhile Altera and I are dying in this heat.”
Ora closed his mouth and shrugged. “It’s weird that you two are hot, to me. It might be a species thing.”
Serkalem seemed to contemplate this, then nodded slowly. “Yeah, that makes sense.” He lowered himself to the ground, splaying out alongside Ora. They stay like that in companionable silence for some time, enjoying the early morning sun.
Suddenly, Ora’s crest perked up. He lifted his head, peering out into the sky. Serkalem looked at him oddly, but he frowned, silently saying, [i]Shh.[/i]
Tiny noises similar to chirps reached his ears, their uneven cadence buzzing in his feathers. It was only a few at first, but quickly grew to an enormous number, getting louder and louder and circling in bizarre loops of high-pitched chatter. The buzz set his teeth on edge and his feathers began to fluff up; a single look back at Serkalem showed that the other dragon couldn’t hear a thing.
“Hey, uh… you okay? You look kind of out of it now.”
Ora shook his head, trying to dispel the buzz to no success. “I hear [i]something[/i] and it’s-” He broke off into a series of hums, mumbling to himself in Coatl. His own humming slightly evened out the jerking buzz in his head, but couldn’t drown it out completely.
Serkalem watched him, clearly concerned, but then stopped. He tilted his head this way and that, eyes narrowing. “I think I hear it too, now. Is it chattering?”
He nodded. “Buzzingggg,” he said, quickly devolving back into his own hums. The two of them - soon joined by a [i]very[/i] irritated Altera, seemed she could hear it now, too - watched the sky, where the noise seemed to come from.
“The seven hells is [i]that[/i]?”
Altera’s outburst caused the other two to look in the same direction as her, and while Serkalem muttered something about [i]’I can’t see anything, what the hell,’[/i] Ora quickly noticed what Altera had seen.
It looked like a flock of birds, massive and writing in the sky. The birds themselves would’ve had to have been huge to appear to be the size they did, and they didn’t quite move right. They were long and spindly, with pointed wings and trailing tails. They clicked and chirped and buzzed and chattered, with no proper song.
As the flock moved closer, the three realised something: these weren’t birds, these were [i]dragons[/i].
Ora’s hopes soared, and he could tell Altera and Serkalem’s had as well. They’d be found! Maybe these dragons could take him back to the Pillar, and he could see his family again! He wouldn’t have to stay out here in the desert, lost and with nowhere to turn.
He ran back to the cliff and threw himself at it, scrabbling at the stone and struggling to find clawholds. Altera stayed at the bottom, while Serkalem joined him in trying to reach the top. It didn’t take too long, but Ora’s claws ached by the time they made it and the flock was nearly upon them.
The buzz was deafening, and he could barely hear Serkalem when he asked, “Hey, can you fly?”
He opened his wings, feeling them out, but shook his head. They were still too small for proper flight, and he didn’t have any experience. Maybe once he was fully-grown he’d be able to, but for now…
Serkalem didn’t seem to have a problem with his answer. He only nodded to himself in determination, then spread his long, spindly wings and launched himself up into the air. His flight was clumsy, even Ora could tell that much, but it was enough to send the mirror near the bottom of the flock.
Ora hoped that the flock, or at least one dragon, [i]any[/i] dragon, would stop for them. But they didn’t. Despite Serkalem’s calls and Ora’s flared wings, the other dragons seemed to ignore them.
That is, until one swooped down to meet Serkalem in the air, growling. Ora didn’t need to hear them to know there were only harsh snarls being made in response to Serkalem’s pleading. The other dragon opened their mouth, only this time, a snarl didn’t come out; instead, a brown mist poured out towards Serkalem and encased his wings and chest before the other dragon slapped him with a tail and returned to its place in the flock.
Ora could only watch as Serkalem’s movements grew stiffer and stiffer, until he couldn’t move his wings at all. The mirror plummeted down, Ora barely managing to crash into him in an effort to break his fall at the last second. Serkalem slowly righted himself with a hiss, and Ora noticed the places hit by the mist had been coated in a thin layer of cracking stone. That other dragon knew what it was doing.
The two watched, hopes crashing down, as the flock steadily drew away. The buzzing in Ora’s ears slowly quieted until it disappeared entirely, the other dragons gone for good.
Ora could only watch the point on the horizon where they’d left, even as Serkalem clawed his way back to the ground and the sun hit its highest point in the sky.
Any hope in his heart had been crushed. There were no dragons for miles around, and the only ones they’d seen, his and the others’ only chance at finding home, had left them behind.
[i]We’re alone in all this, aren’t we?[/i]
-----
- death streak roll: no death streak
- those were nocturnes
- poor guys… they just want to be found.
- [s]i’ll add art to the post once it’s done![/s]
- art is Serkalem's new look; what appears to be smooth is still rough, kind of like shark skin, but the patches of thicker scales are what i actually drew in. the pointy ones are like the keeled scales of a [url=https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5a/Atheris_hispida.jpg]bush viper[/url]
[img]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/343573484712230915/530650680646434836/20190104_153706.jpg[/img]
Embossed with a colorful owlcat, this journal is filled with the hopes, dreams, and cookie recipes of a young dragon.
24
Scholar
Augment Stone
Grants +5 Intellect, +3 Quickness and +1 Agility.
600
Required Level: 17
Action: art, death streak roll
Ora was the first to wake. The sun’s rays peeked through the cave’s entrance to pour over his face, making him squint as he pried his eyes open. Beside him, Altera and Serkalem were still deep asleep, their heads tucked under their wings. Vaguely, he noticed Serkalem looked… off, somehow, but couldn’t place why. He mentally shook his head, deciding to ask about that when the other was awake.
With his attention taken from his companions, Ora suddenly shivered. Despite the sun washing over his face, the rest of his body was freezing. The cold stone of the cave and the lack of sunlight had drained him, and now he groggily sought out warmth. He dragged himself out of the cave, careful not to disturb his companions, and sprawled himself out on the warming ground.
He didn’t know how long he lay there, letting the sun soak into his bones, by the time Altera and Serkalem woke. Altera was, as usual, grumbling and in a bad mood, while Serkalem seemed more at ease than Ora had seen of him so far. At least sleeping someplace cool helped somebody, feel better, even if it wasn’t himself.
Altera rested against the side of the cliff, chewing into the fur around her paws and a deep frown carved into her features. Serkalem, on the other hand, slunk over to sit beside Ora. Ora lazily eyed him, taking in the little changes that had happened to his companion. Serkalem’s scales seemed to have changed, thickening and the smaller ones poking outwards to create a rough, fabric-snagging texture.
He opened his mouth to ask about the change, only for Serkalem to ask something of his own. “How are you enjoying the sun so much? I mean, you never act like it’s too hot or anything, meanwhile Altera and I are dying in this heat.”
Ora closed his mouth and shrugged. “It’s weird that you two are hot, to me. It might be a species thing.”
Serkalem seemed to contemplate this, then nodded slowly. “Yeah, that makes sense.” He lowered himself to the ground, splaying out alongside Ora. They stay like that in companionable silence for some time, enjoying the early morning sun.
Suddenly, Ora’s crest perked up. He lifted his head, peering out into the sky. Serkalem looked at him oddly, but he frowned, silently saying, Shh.
Tiny noises similar to chirps reached his ears, their uneven cadence buzzing in his feathers. It was only a few at first, but quickly grew to an enormous number, getting louder and louder and circling in bizarre loops of high-pitched chatter. The buzz set his teeth on edge and his feathers began to fluff up; a single look back at Serkalem showed that the other dragon couldn’t hear a thing.
“Hey, uh… you okay? You look kind of out of it now.”
Ora shook his head, trying to dispel the buzz to no success. “I hear something and it’s-” He broke off into a series of hums, mumbling to himself in Coatl. His own humming slightly evened out the jerking buzz in his head, but couldn’t drown it out completely.
Serkalem watched him, clearly concerned, but then stopped. He tilted his head this way and that, eyes narrowing. “I think I hear it too, now. Is it chattering?”
He nodded. “Buzzingggg,” he said, quickly devolving back into his own hums. The two of them - soon joined by a very irritated Altera, seemed she could hear it now, too - watched the sky, where the noise seemed to come from.
“The seven hells is that?”
Altera’s outburst caused the other two to look in the same direction as her, and while Serkalem muttered something about ’I can’t see anything, what the hell,’ Ora quickly noticed what Altera had seen.
It looked like a flock of birds, massive and writing in the sky. The birds themselves would’ve had to have been huge to appear to be the size they did, and they didn’t quite move right. They were long and spindly, with pointed wings and trailing tails. They clicked and chirped and buzzed and chattered, with no proper song.
As the flock moved closer, the three realised something: these weren’t birds, these were dragons.
Ora’s hopes soared, and he could tell Altera and Serkalem’s had as well. They’d be found! Maybe these dragons could take him back to the Pillar, and he could see his family again! He wouldn’t have to stay out here in the desert, lost and with nowhere to turn.
He ran back to the cliff and threw himself at it, scrabbling at the stone and struggling to find clawholds. Altera stayed at the bottom, while Serkalem joined him in trying to reach the top. It didn’t take too long, but Ora’s claws ached by the time they made it and the flock was nearly upon them.
The buzz was deafening, and he could barely hear Serkalem when he asked, “Hey, can you fly?”
He opened his wings, feeling them out, but shook his head. They were still too small for proper flight, and he didn’t have any experience. Maybe once he was fully-grown he’d be able to, but for now…
Serkalem didn’t seem to have a problem with his answer. He only nodded to himself in determination, then spread his long, spindly wings and launched himself up into the air. His flight was clumsy, even Ora could tell that much, but it was enough to send the mirror near the bottom of the flock.
Ora hoped that the flock, or at least one dragon, any dragon, would stop for them. But they didn’t. Despite Serkalem’s calls and Ora’s flared wings, the other dragons seemed to ignore them.
That is, until one swooped down to meet Serkalem in the air, growling. Ora didn’t need to hear them to know there were only harsh snarls being made in response to Serkalem’s pleading. The other dragon opened their mouth, only this time, a snarl didn’t come out; instead, a brown mist poured out towards Serkalem and encased his wings and chest before the other dragon slapped him with a tail and returned to its place in the flock.
Ora could only watch as Serkalem’s movements grew stiffer and stiffer, until he couldn’t move his wings at all. The mirror plummeted down, Ora barely managing to crash into him in an effort to break his fall at the last second. Serkalem slowly righted himself with a hiss, and Ora noticed the places hit by the mist had been coated in a thin layer of cracking stone. That other dragon knew what it was doing.
The two watched, hopes crashing down, as the flock steadily drew away. The buzzing in Ora’s ears slowly quieted until it disappeared entirely, the other dragons gone for good.
Ora could only watch the point on the horizon where they’d left, even as Serkalem clawed his way back to the ground and the sun hit its highest point in the sky.
Any hope in his heart had been crushed. There were no dragons for miles around, and the only ones they’d seen, his and the others’ only chance at finding home, had left them behind.
We’re alone in all this, aren’t we?
- death streak roll: no death streak
- those were nocturnes
- poor guys… they just want to be found.
- i’ll add art to the post once it’s done!
- art is Serkalem's new look; what appears to be smooth is still rough, kind of like shark skin, but the patches of thicker scales are what i actually drew in. the pointy ones are like the keeled scales of a bush viper
@Emordnilap
This is really good so far! Serkalem is probably my favorite, but it's a tough choice :O You're a really good writer!
Could I be added to the pinglist, please? :D
@Emordnilap
This is really good so far! Serkalem is probably my favorite, but it's a tough choice :O You're a really good writer!
Could I be added to the pinglist, please? :D
___they/them_-_ please copy+paste my ____fr time +3___username when pinging
[center][b]Day 6 - moving on[/b]
@DragonDraws @Joryboo @SquishyJellyfish
[b]Pulls:[/b]
[item=maple seed]
[b]Action:[/b] 10-20 coli battles[/center]
-----
“We can’t stay here.”
Serkalem and Ora looked up at Altera, surprised by her sudden outburst.
“Don’t give me that look, you two know it too. We’re hungry as hells, we’ve been passed over by whatever dragons those were, and we’ve been getting water by licking [i]dew[/i] off the walls of [i]tiny caves[/i]. We can’t live like this, and frankly, there’s no way in hell you could convince me to stay here because it’s [i]miserable[/i].”
Altera knew she was irritated, but really, she thought she had a right to be. She was hungry and [i]knew[/i] the others were as well, even if they didn’t complain half as much as she groaned about it. And her points were valid, she knew that. Staying out here would be a death wish.
Serkalem eyed her. “I mean… you’re not wrong. We’ll die if we stay out here. But where are we gonna go?”
[i]Serk, you’re as thick as the scales on the bottom of your feet.[/i] “The hell you mean, where? We keep going south, that’s where. Y’know, the way we were going in the first place?”
Serkalem cringed, but nodded, as did Ora.
“So! Let’s go.” Altera stood, turned around with a swish of her tail, and started walking. Sure, the sun was already going down and they’d end up walking all tiredly, but if she was going to be walking more, she was [i]not[/i] going to be doing it during the middle of the day.
She heard a couple confused noises from behind her, an odd squawk from Serkalem and a high-pitched hum from Ora. They hurried after her, Serkalem pulling up on her left.
“Wait wait wait, we’re going [i]now[/i]?”
“Yep. It’s cooler at night, deal with it. You’ll thank me later.”
Though he and Ora protested a little more, they eventually quieted down and followed her in silence.
That is, until Altera fumbled across a problem.
“...I can’t see [i]crap[/i].”
The sun had finally set, covering them in near-total darkness, and though the moon gave off some light, it wasn’t enough for her to see very well. Behind her, Serkalem chuckled.
“What’re you laughing at, Four-Eyes?” He shouldn’t be laughing at her right now, not when he can hardly see anything most of the time.
“[i]I[/i] can see.”
What.
“I highly doubt that.”
“No really!” Serkalem shuffled up to her, both sets of eyes glinting in the moonlight. “I can see heat signatures, so right now I can see where everything is. It’s harder during the day, but right now I can see just fine!”
Hm. Alright, she had to admit that would be helpful. Guess having four eyes had to be good for [i]something[/i].
“Alright, then you lead. Ora,” Ora turned to her, crest flicked up as she addressed him, “you listen for anything. You heard that flock before us, keep that up. Let’s go.” She nodded at the others, satisfied with their new situation, and let Serkalem lead the way with Ora beside her.
It didn’t take long to come into another problem.
“Serkalem. [i]South[/i]. Walk [i]straight[/i], not like you’re balancing an egg on your face. Have you never navigated before.”
“Uh… no?”
Oh, good grief. “Ora, have you?”
“No?”
[i]Good grief.[/i] She sighed, slumped her shoulders, and pressed her face into the dirt. Of course they wouldn’t know how to tell direction. Of course. This was why she leads. This was why she took over everything, because these two idiots didn’t know the first thing about being alive. She lifted her head, looked up to the sky as though asking the gods to give her strength, then sighed again.
“Okay. Alright. Lesson number who-the-hells-knows. See those stars over there?” She pointed to the horizon, at a little cluster of stars that shone brightly in the sky. “Those ones there? See them?”
“Yep.” “Mhm.”
“Good. That there is south. Don’t forget because I’m not telling you again. I’ll be our navigator, then. Now come on, let’s go, and for the love of the gods don’t start going [i]east[/i] again or I’ll just go on my own.”
From there, the night finally became something tolerable. Serkalem led them, Altera kept them on track, and Ora acted as their sentry. They were organised and had their own little roles, working in sync with each other. It was something Altera actually [i]liked[/i]. It calmed her down, and it reminded her of-
“Hey, guys? I hear something.”
Her thoughts were cut off when Ora stopped and said that. She pricked her ears, but couldn’t hear a thing. “What is it?”
Ora shrugged. “Don’t know, but it’s… grumbling?”
She - and, she noticed, Serkalem - froze. If it were dragons… on one wing, it could mean they’d be found, but on the other, it could be a repeat of the flock of strange dragons. Serkalem voiced her concern, “Do you think it’s a dragon…?”
Ora, thankfully, shook his head. “Too big, too loud. Sounds like water?”
[i]Water[/i]. Altera’s mouth nearly salivated at the thought. Where there was water, there was… well, [i]water[/i], but there was also [i]food[/i]. Her stomach, with less restraint than her mouth, let out a loud grumble.
Ora, in a rare moment of humor, gave a slight tilt of his head. “Almost just like that.”
“Hey!”
Serkalem snickered, then broke into full-on laughing. “Look, it [i]was[/i] funny, you have to admit that.” Altera just frowned at the both of them.
“Alright, make fun all you want, I guess you just want to navigate on your own, hm?”
“Ah no!”
“Okay, good.” She turned and fixed her sight on the southward stars. “Let’s go, then.”
“Okay!”
“[i]Yeah.[/i]”
So they trudged along, kept in their roles.
As the sun began to peek above the horizon, Altera noticed a sound. A grumbling, roaring almost. A quick glance at Serkalem confirmed he’d heard it too; the sound Ora had noticed hours ago. The sound of [i]water[/i].
Without the darkness obscuring her vision, she began to run ahead, quickly followed by the others. She couldn’t see anything of note, which was strange; where was the water that she could clearly hear?
When her paws suddenly went out from under her with Ora and Serkalem barely managing to drag her back, she got her answer.
Below her, a ravine stretched out, a frothing river barely kept within its banks at the bottom.
-----
- did 15 battles in the training grounds
- the trio is all lv 3! Serkalem now knows clobber, Altera knows scratch, shred, and guard, and Ora knows aid
- Serkalem is nearsighted with his normal vision, but is fine with his other pair of eyes. the heat during the day makes everything look the same, but at night he can see everything clearly
Dragons can't help picking up fallen maple seeds so that they can watch them spin to the ground again.
41
4
Action: 10-20 coli battles
“We can’t stay here.”
Serkalem and Ora looked up at Altera, surprised by her sudden outburst.
“Don’t give me that look, you two know it too. We’re hungry as hells, we’ve been passed over by whatever dragons those were, and we’ve been getting water by licking dew off the walls of tiny caves. We can’t live like this, and frankly, there’s no way in hell you could convince me to stay here because it’s miserable.”
Altera knew she was irritated, but really, she thought she had a right to be. She was hungry and knew the others were as well, even if they didn’t complain half as much as she groaned about it. And her points were valid, she knew that. Staying out here would be a death wish.
Serkalem eyed her. “I mean… you’re not wrong. We’ll die if we stay out here. But where are we gonna go?”
Serk, you’re as thick as the scales on the bottom of your feet. “The hell you mean, where? We keep going south, that’s where. Y’know, the way we were going in the first place?”
Serkalem cringed, but nodded, as did Ora.
“So! Let’s go.” Altera stood, turned around with a swish of her tail, and started walking. Sure, the sun was already going down and they’d end up walking all tiredly, but if she was going to be walking more, she was not going to be doing it during the middle of the day.
She heard a couple confused noises from behind her, an odd squawk from Serkalem and a high-pitched hum from Ora. They hurried after her, Serkalem pulling up on her left.
“Wait wait wait, we’re going now?”
“Yep. It’s cooler at night, deal with it. You’ll thank me later.”
Though he and Ora protested a little more, they eventually quieted down and followed her in silence.
That is, until Altera fumbled across a problem.
“...I can’t see crap.”
The sun had finally set, covering them in near-total darkness, and though the moon gave off some light, it wasn’t enough for her to see very well. Behind her, Serkalem chuckled.
“What’re you laughing at, Four-Eyes?” He shouldn’t be laughing at her right now, not when he can hardly see anything most of the time.
“I can see.”
What.
“I highly doubt that.”
“No really!” Serkalem shuffled up to her, both sets of eyes glinting in the moonlight. “I can see heat signatures, so right now I can see where everything is. It’s harder during the day, but right now I can see just fine!”
Hm. Alright, she had to admit that would be helpful. Guess having four eyes had to be good for something.
“Alright, then you lead. Ora,” Ora turned to her, crest flicked up as she addressed him, “you listen for anything. You heard that flock before us, keep that up. Let’s go.” She nodded at the others, satisfied with their new situation, and let Serkalem lead the way with Ora beside her.
It didn’t take long to come into another problem.
“Serkalem. South. Walk straight, not like you’re balancing an egg on your face. Have you never navigated before.”
“Uh… no?”
Oh, good grief. “Ora, have you?”
“No?”
Good grief. She sighed, slumped her shoulders, and pressed her face into the dirt. Of course they wouldn’t know how to tell direction. Of course. This was why she leads. This was why she took over everything, because these two idiots didn’t know the first thing about being alive. She lifted her head, looked up to the sky as though asking the gods to give her strength, then sighed again.
“Okay. Alright. Lesson number who-the-hells-knows. See those stars over there?” She pointed to the horizon, at a little cluster of stars that shone brightly in the sky. “Those ones there? See them?”
“Yep.” “Mhm.”
“Good. That there is south. Don’t forget because I’m not telling you again. I’ll be our navigator, then. Now come on, let’s go, and for the love of the gods don’t start going east again or I’ll just go on my own.”
From there, the night finally became something tolerable. Serkalem led them, Altera kept them on track, and Ora acted as their sentry. They were organised and had their own little roles, working in sync with each other. It was something Altera actually liked. It calmed her down, and it reminded her of-
“Hey, guys? I hear something.”
Her thoughts were cut off when Ora stopped and said that. She pricked her ears, but couldn’t hear a thing. “What is it?”
Ora shrugged. “Don’t know, but it’s… grumbling?”
She - and, she noticed, Serkalem - froze. If it were dragons… on one wing, it could mean they’d be found, but on the other, it could be a repeat of the flock of strange dragons. Serkalem voiced her concern, “Do you think it’s a dragon…?”
Ora, thankfully, shook his head. “Too big, too loud. Sounds like water?”
Water. Altera’s mouth nearly salivated at the thought. Where there was water, there was… well, water, but there was also food. Her stomach, with less restraint than her mouth, let out a loud grumble.
Ora, in a rare moment of humor, gave a slight tilt of his head. “Almost just like that.”
“Hey!”
Serkalem snickered, then broke into full-on laughing. “Look, it was funny, you have to admit that.” Altera just frowned at the both of them.
“Alright, make fun all you want, I guess you just want to navigate on your own, hm?”
“Ah no!”
“Okay, good.” She turned and fixed her sight on the southward stars. “Let’s go, then.”
“Okay!”
“Yeah.”
So they trudged along, kept in their roles.
As the sun began to peek above the horizon, Altera noticed a sound. A grumbling, roaring almost. A quick glance at Serkalem confirmed he’d heard it too; the sound Ora had noticed hours ago. The sound of water.
Without the darkness obscuring her vision, she began to run ahead, quickly followed by the others. She couldn’t see anything of note, which was strange; where was the water that she could clearly hear?
When her paws suddenly went out from under her with Ora and Serkalem barely managing to drag her back, she got her answer.
Below her, a ravine stretched out, a frothing river barely kept within its banks at the bottom.
- did 15 battles in the training grounds
- the trio is all lv 3! Serkalem now knows clobber, Altera knows scratch, shred, and guard, and Ora knows aid
- Serkalem is nearsighted with his normal vision, but is fine with his other pair of eyes. the heat during the day makes everything look the same, but at night he can see everything clearly
[center][b]Day 7 - the ravine[/b]
@DragonDraws @Joryboo @SquishyJellyfish
[b]Pulls:[/b]
[item=magpie sphinx]
[b]Action:[/b] buy a new dragon, roll: [spoiler]coatl[/spoiler][/center]
-----
The ravine was wider than they’d noticed at first. Where they stood, it was roughly as wide as three of Serkalem’s current bodylengths, and it widened and narrowed at various points in either direction. Ledges lined the walls, only wide enough to walk in single-file, but they would allow the trio access to the river below. The stone was cracked and unstable, but it was a risk they were willing to take.
Altera took the lead, Serkalem following behind with Ora taking the rear. He didn’t mind staying in the back; at least if the rock began to crumble, it would start under one of the other two, and they seemed to be better equipped at dealing with that than he was. Altera could jump, Serkalem could fly, and if it came to it, Ora could climb back up the ravine wall.
Luckily, as the three made their way down, the ledges remained intact. There were a few scares, rocks at the edge of the path breaking off and clacking into the stony banks below, but nobody fell.
Eventually, they reached the bottom. The walls on either side towered above them, casting the ravine in shadow in the early morning. The river rushed past them, gurgling and foaming at the banks. It looked strong enough to swiftly carry away any dragon unlucky enough to fall in.
The danger was ignored, however, in favor of all three dunking their heads into the water and drinking more water at once than they’d had in days, even weeks.
Ora opened his mouth and drank in huge gulps, only coming up for air when his lungs began to burn. Despite his love of the heat, he had to admit that the feeling of no longer having a mouth as dry as the ground beneath their feet was beyond refreshing. That, and the growling in his stomach that had gotten worse over the past few days was blessedly relieved with the intake of water.
Once he’d had his fill, he stepped away from the river and rested against the cliff behind him. Soon, Altera joined him, with Serkalem being the last to leave the water. [i]No wonder[/i], Ora thought, [i]he’s the biggest, he needs so much more than us.[/i]
Altera lay down with a sigh, sounding more content than Ora had heard her sound since meeting her. “Let’s rest here, guys. This place is perfect to stay for a few days at the least. We’ve got shelter, water, and water means there should be food. We’ll rest up, then follow the ravine downriver.”
Serkalem voiced his agreement, and Ora nodded. It was a good plan, he knew that. Every day Altera acted more and more like a leader, and he was glad for that. He and Serkalem didn’t have near as much knowledge as her; without her, they’d still be hopelessly lost.
He yawned and followed Altera’s example, laying down against the ravine wall and splaying out his limbs. He could do with a good rest…
A faint humming woke him. He cracked his eyes open, Altera and Serkalem still asleep beside him. The humming was quiet and far away, but quickly drew closer, and as it did, he realised something. [i]Those are words.[/i]
Whatever - no, [i]who[/i]ever - was making that noise was speaking Coatl, and was approaching at an alarming speed. Ora quickly stood and bolted after the voice as fast as his short limbs would carry him, heading upriver. Now he could clearly make out individual words, such as ‘Ma!’ and ‘Help!’, frantic and high-pitched.
He looked out into the river, looking for the source - with the dragon moving so quickly, where else could they be? - and froze. There, holding onto a piece of wood smaller than themselves, was a tiny, patchy coatl, eyes wide with panic.
Without a second thought, Ora jumped into the river. Instantly it battered at him as though punishing him for daring to enter, but that didn’t matter. All he could focus on was the little clump of feathers heading straight towards him.
He reached his head out as far as he could, nabbing the hatchling by the scruff just as the river nearly pulled her past him. Limbs burning with the effort and his neck weighed down, he made hi way back to the bank and pulled himself out of the water. He set the hatchling down and shook himself, droplets of water flying into the air like mist. The hatchling tried to follow suit, but was shivering too much to move properly.
[center][img]http://flightrising.com/dgen/preview/dragon?age=0&body=27&bodygene=9&breed=12&element=1&eyetype=0&gender=1&tert=11&tertgene=5&winggene=10&wings=20&auth=4d5003b6e26eab10bd4f313ca5bf89e6a30f72df&dummyext=prev.png[/img][/center]
They looked up at Ora with wide eyes, still clearly terrified. He lowered himself until he was laying down, arms and legs tucked beneath him. Quietly, he hummed, [i][Hey, it’s okay, I won’t hurt you. What’s your name?][/i]
They - she, he realised - gulped, then hummed back. [i][...Mitodoro.][/i]
He smiled at her. [i][That’s a nice name. I’m Ora.][/i] He shifted, moving slightly onto his side and holding a wing out in invitation. [i][You’re cold. Come here?][/i]
She looked wary, but eventually, the offer for warmth won out. Mitodoro crept over and huddled under his wing, wetting his feathers where she leaned into him, but he didn’t mind. She quickly relaxed as his warmth spread to her, and she hummed a quiet, [i][Thank you.][/i]
[i][It’s okay][/i], he said, [i][you should get some sleep. I’ll stay here, okay?][/i]
She nodded, curling up even tighter. Soon, her breathing evened out as she fell asleep. Ora looked at her, sadness in his eyes that he was glad she couldn’t see. So that was another young dragon lost, wasn’t it?
[i]At least she’s not alone, now,[/i] he thought. [i]I’ll take care of you, Mito.[/i]
-----
- will the sphinx actually come into play? probably not
- big brother Ora is best Ora and you can’t change my mind
The Magpie Sphinx will often try to camouflage itself with the sky of the savanna, which is always a roiling amalgamation of the grays and blacks of the storm season.
2300
Action: buy a new dragon, roll: coatl
The ravine was wider than they’d noticed at first. Where they stood, it was roughly as wide as three of Serkalem’s current bodylengths, and it widened and narrowed at various points in either direction. Ledges lined the walls, only wide enough to walk in single-file, but they would allow the trio access to the river below. The stone was cracked and unstable, but it was a risk they were willing to take.
Altera took the lead, Serkalem following behind with Ora taking the rear. He didn’t mind staying in the back; at least if the rock began to crumble, it would start under one of the other two, and they seemed to be better equipped at dealing with that than he was. Altera could jump, Serkalem could fly, and if it came to it, Ora could climb back up the ravine wall.
Luckily, as the three made their way down, the ledges remained intact. There were a few scares, rocks at the edge of the path breaking off and clacking into the stony banks below, but nobody fell.
Eventually, they reached the bottom. The walls on either side towered above them, casting the ravine in shadow in the early morning. The river rushed past them, gurgling and foaming at the banks. It looked strong enough to swiftly carry away any dragon unlucky enough to fall in.
The danger was ignored, however, in favor of all three dunking their heads into the water and drinking more water at once than they’d had in days, even weeks.
Ora opened his mouth and drank in huge gulps, only coming up for air when his lungs began to burn. Despite his love of the heat, he had to admit that the feeling of no longer having a mouth as dry as the ground beneath their feet was beyond refreshing. That, and the growling in his stomach that had gotten worse over the past few days was blessedly relieved with the intake of water.
Once he’d had his fill, he stepped away from the river and rested against the cliff behind him. Soon, Altera joined him, with Serkalem being the last to leave the water. No wonder, Ora thought, he’s the biggest, he needs so much more than us.
Altera lay down with a sigh, sounding more content than Ora had heard her sound since meeting her. “Let’s rest here, guys. This place is perfect to stay for a few days at the least. We’ve got shelter, water, and water means there should be food. We’ll rest up, then follow the ravine downriver.”
Serkalem voiced his agreement, and Ora nodded. It was a good plan, he knew that. Every day Altera acted more and more like a leader, and he was glad for that. He and Serkalem didn’t have near as much knowledge as her; without her, they’d still be hopelessly lost.
He yawned and followed Altera’s example, laying down against the ravine wall and splaying out his limbs. He could do with a good rest…
A faint humming woke him. He cracked his eyes open, Altera and Serkalem still asleep beside him. The humming was quiet and far away, but quickly drew closer, and as it did, he realised something. Those are words.
Whatever - no, whoever - was making that noise was speaking Coatl, and was approaching at an alarming speed. Ora quickly stood and bolted after the voice as fast as his short limbs would carry him, heading upriver. Now he could clearly make out individual words, such as ‘Ma!’ and ‘Help!’, frantic and high-pitched.
He looked out into the river, looking for the source - with the dragon moving so quickly, where else could they be? - and froze. There, holding onto a piece of wood smaller than themselves, was a tiny, patchy coatl, eyes wide with panic.
Without a second thought, Ora jumped into the river. Instantly it battered at him as though punishing him for daring to enter, but that didn’t matter. All he could focus on was the little clump of feathers heading straight towards him.
He reached his head out as far as he could, nabbing the hatchling by the scruff just as the river nearly pulled her past him. Limbs burning with the effort and his neck weighed down, he made hi way back to the bank and pulled himself out of the water. He set the hatchling down and shook himself, droplets of water flying into the air like mist. The hatchling tried to follow suit, but was shivering too much to move properly.
They looked up at Ora with wide eyes, still clearly terrified. He lowered himself until he was laying down, arms and legs tucked beneath him. Quietly, he hummed, [Hey, it’s okay, I won’t hurt you. What’s your name?]
They - she, he realised - gulped, then hummed back. [...Mitodoro.]
He smiled at her. [That’s a nice name. I’m Ora.] He shifted, moving slightly onto his side and holding a wing out in invitation. [You’re cold. Come here?]
She looked wary, but eventually, the offer for warmth won out. Mitodoro crept over and huddled under his wing, wetting his feathers where she leaned into him, but he didn’t mind. She quickly relaxed as his warmth spread to her, and she hummed a quiet, [Thank you.]
[It’s okay], he said, [you should get some sleep. I’ll stay here, okay?]
She nodded, curling up even tighter. Soon, her breathing evened out as she fell asleep. Ora looked at her, sadness in his eyes that he was glad she couldn’t see. So that was another young dragon lost, wasn’t it?
At least she’s not alone, now, he thought. I’ll take care of you, Mito.
- will the sphinx actually come into play? probably not
- big brother Ora is best Ora and you can’t change my mind
