Liana

on hold for MLPMDog



Button made by the lovely Jyxxie!

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"Come along, Drede!" Liana trilled, tucking her bag under her arm and making sure her pearl was still secured in the sash across her chest.

Her familiar squawked in response from where he'd been inspecting a berry bush, trotting up to walk at her side as the Pearlcatcher continued to forage, tucking herbs and plants into her satchel, a soft tune on her breath.

She was so engrossed in her work, in fact, that she didn't even notice the vast Imperial under the brush until she tripped on his tail.

"Oh, I'm sorry, sir, I didn't see..." She trailed off, since the large form wasn't responding. "Are you...okay...?"

The only indication the dragon was alive was a slight heaving of breath from his nostrils, not even his shiny flank moving. The Pearlcatcher walked around him once, her familiar making worried noises in the back of its throat, before she gently sat near his head, putting a delicate hand on his forehead.

Her pearl had nothing to note on the subject, and she frowned, taking her hand off him and standing once more, examining the sky for clouds or unfavorable weather. When she looked back, meeting sharp, almost unnatural eyes, Liana yelped, backing up.

"I'm sorry, I didn't see-"

Nothing else moved, not even his eyes tracking where she was, and she softly crept back to his side, holding out a hand. "My name is Liana. What's yours?"

The Imperial didn't respond, and her hopeful smile withered, clicking to herself. How to-

At the sound, the giant lurched upward, wings flaring in a vain attempt to make up for shaking legs, stiff from lack of movement. His eyes were locked on her now, though he made no other movement or sound.

This is so strange... Liana thought, gaping up at the now mobile dragon, hesitantly beckoning him closer. "Here...you'll want to get out of the open, storm might be coming soon..."

She hoped the soft tone would tell him she meant no harm, since she wasn't even sure this creature was sapient.

"Come with me, you look exhausted and hungry. I'll take care of you." As an experiment, she clicked again, and the Imperial lurched another step towards her. Interesting...

She led the behemoth back to her modest cave, shifting her belongings so he could creep inside and curl up, eyes snapping shut as soon as he was immobile again.

Well. Nothing to do but take care of him until he's better.

--

Liana had been taking care of the creature for a few months now, finding he was unable to feed himself nor drink unassisted, and would only utter static when prompted to respond, which she realised only happened when she clicked. Something about the sound seemed to...activate him, of a sort.

She'd wrapped a cloth around his head, which seemed to stop the violent thrashing he was prone to after feeding, and draped an old banner over his wings for the long cold nights. He didn't protest to either, luckily, and providing for two wasn't so bad...

If only they could find a way to communicate....