Hm, hm, hmmm~ I've never done anything like this, but I'll give it a shot! I
nearly passed this up, but I love Rafiel so much, I just have to write a lil something for her
I picked Omanis to be her drabble partner:
He was farther than he had any right to be, he knew that much. The calm winds of the night had taken him well into the reedclefts- in other words, far beyond the outskirts of his clan's territory. ('Hah,' he mused, 'clan'-- as if their land were anything more than a random hub for the wayward.)
Still, there was no denying the dangers of trespassing.
Omanis arched his wings, the disruption of the current changing his direction-- but, would there be harm in stopping? Not that he was tired, but the cover of night was a well-known reassurance, away from the eyes of others. He wished he could bask in its invisibility forever, but that was only a whimsy.
He spied a break between the nolls near the rapids, just past a covering of tall bamboo. Secluded, but not suspicious; Omanis decided to press his luck, letting his wings glide him to the spot. Dirt kicked up under the pressure of his wings as he landed, and immediately-- a mistake.
He was taken aback, meeting eyes with a younger nocturne. She froze at she sight of him, and he froze at the sight of her-- the same reaction for very different trains of thoughts.
"I didn't mean to startle you," Omanis was the first to speak, his voice crumbly, like it had been strained for years, and then forgotten. "Is this your land?"
The Nocturne's bright eyes watched the large male carefully, as if analyzing the simple question.
"Is it yours?" she found the strength to not sound timid, to lift her head slightly, feigning confidence in the face of a stranger.
Omanis snaked his neck slightly, tilting his head, uncertain. Slowly, though, he relaxed, deciding he could hold his own against the tiny female if things went sour.
"No," he said, "I was afraid I was encroaching." Once the strange voice processed in her mind, Omanis was relieved to see her stance soften, lowering her colorful wings. Omanis huffed, a sound that might have been a laugh, had his voice been fully functional. He understood. Their trains of thought were not so different, after all.
And, indeed, the nocturne gave an awkward chuckle, herself.
"So was I," it was almost painful how glossy her voice was compared to his. Clearly a dragon from a different life.
Omanis took a stride closer to her, though she stiffened in alarm. He lowered his head, flattening his wings. He could see the way she eyed him, his scars; clearly sizing up their differences. Silent judgement.
He was painfully aware of that.
Omanis reached his neck past her, taking a cool drink from the nearby water. The rest of his body crept into place.
Silence. The rippling water shone with light from the Nocturne's lamp. No birds, no crickets. Something disrupted the leaves behind them, but the night was otherwise still. He could see her bright eyes in the water's reflection.
Omanis lifted his head, eager to finish this awkward dance.
"I'm Rafiel," she suddenly spoke. Omanis looked down at her, caught off-guard, as he had just been preparing his farewell.
"Omanis," he echoed. His goodbye still lingered on his tongue, but her expecting eyes seemed to want something else. "I'm sorry I hadn't seen you before I landed."
Rafiel looked away, smiling a bit at that.
"I don't hear that a lot," she said. "Others not seeing me, I mean." She meant to look back at Omanis, but her eyes went to her reflection. The ripples hadn't stilled, but she was still starkly obvious, even compared to the large guardian beside her. His dark coloration mixed with the sky and the sand; their reflections made her seem alone.
Omanis couldn't help but huff a small laugh, bitter, the cynicism in him rising.
"There are worse things than being beautiful," he assured, staring down at their reflections as well. Rafiel felt her heart skip-- both in shock and embarrassment.
"I..." she hesitated, laughing nervously, "I mean, people tend to
see me, with the..." she flapped a poison-colored wing, not even touching on the luminescent bulb.
Unnecessary. Omanis had already frozen in his own embarrassment.
The only thing worse than letting himself make cynical comments was when they backfired. He'd known as soon as she hesitated that he'd mistaken a self-conscious jab as vanity-- honestly, he should have known better, in a lot of ways.
He breathed another huff; one part laugh, one part annoyance, one part defeat. Omanis lacked an immediate retort, something nervously spewing from his mouth before he had meant to:
"I mean, to be noticed in a
good way, it's still better than being..." Ugly. Like him. He caught his tongue, however, and managed to stare silently into the water as a form of damage control. Rafiel sat up a bit, but she kept her wings close, a sort of fragile happiness about her.
"Well, I don't know about
good, but..." she glanced his way and caught sight of his body language, realizing abruptly that the situation was not quite as intimate as it had seemed a moment ago. "Thanks," she finished quickly, uncertain. Omanis stood.
"I ought to head back," he said, his voice curt, though he allowed a sidled glance at Rafiel. "You should, too, before whoever owns this land finds you."
She made a noise of agreement, though she hesitated to move.
"Do you live here?" she called after him. He didn't look back at her, already having his fill of embarrassment for the day.
"At the Zephyr Steppes," he answered, though that was far less descriptive than it seemed, and he could already sense her disappointment. "...but I'm often around," He added, uncertain why he had, but hoping it was sufficient.
Omanis could sense another question coming, but he was not so keen on questions. He spared another glance at her, nearly out of defiance, and took off into the night.
@
psychoartist :') Hope you enjoyed, sorry about the length
Person below me: pick an ugly derg, any ugly derg, lol. Dergs past Pippen and Meae are not permanent.
If you want to do a drabble: (I don't mind if you don't!)
I have 4 lore dragons in the front of the lair, but you're welcome to ignore them.
Lore is summarized on my profile in about 4 sentences, but, again, you're welcome to ignore it! I won't even pretend to take myself too seriously.
If you pick a derg with no lore, go nuts, I won't mind you writing as them. No lore = no ideas for them. You never know, if you write something, it might stick. ;)
