Roleplay

@Quamosthy

Instead of the annoyance that most any other dragons would feel at their kind offer being rejected, Inachus only felt.. well, sorrow. What had pained this dragon enough to make them reject a hand reaching out to aid someone? It made the Skydancer's heart clench in sympathy even more so than before.

She patiently waited for Wight to calm down for a moment, her head lowered and eyes cast towards the ground to steadily observe a small plant that was beginning to grow. Only unil she felt that things had simmered did she begin to softly speak again.

" I realized I never introduced myself to you, " she began. Of course, it was only natural to be wary of a dragon whose name you didn't even know. " My name is Inachus, the healer. "

It was then she continued on slowly. " I've chosen a path to heal any who come my way that are needing it.. and that just happened to be you. I want to assure you I have no intention of possible lashing out spontaneously. I've chosen a more pacifistic path. " she explained.

" I'm sorry if I frightened you before... but I could not leave you laying there, and I still do not feel right leaving you here alone with no knowledge where your Clan is. " the frail Skydancer paused to break into a cough, finding the use of her vocal chords like this rather strenuous.

It was only then that she fell silent to give her strained throat a rest, eyes closing slowly and a soft exhale leaving her nose. Even breathing through her nose was aching.

@ifawn

Inachus seemed to be making every effort to try and calm down the panicky Nocturne. Her voice was soothing, her words were kind and there was just something about the way she moved and held herself that spoke of gentleness. Perhaps that was why Wight managed to calm himself down enough that he was again capable of coherent thought; unmuddled by fear. Hers was a soothing presence. It wasn't the safety he felt when he was around his half-sister; the knightly dragon would rush into battle headlong and take any blow for her little brother, but perhaps this was a dragon he could let himself relax around, even if only a little.

"I-I'm Wight," the Nocturne replied in his typical quiet stutter. When he said it, he realised just how funny his name must be. He was a white dragon, and went by the name of Wight; two words with identical pronunciation. He would've felt like a fool it he wasn't so exhausted.

In the time that the pair of dragons had been talking, the sun had relinquished whatever light touch it had on the land and the moon had risen, a pale sphere in the deepening night. As a Nocturne dragon, Wight felt somewhat more comfortable in the shadows of the night, perhaps safer in the knowledge that he could dart away and hide at a moment's notice.

Tiredness was really creeping up on the white dragon, a wide yawn escaping his jaws; hidden eyelids drooping. "H-healers are... are... v-very..." Wight's voice trailed off as he slumped forward. Flat on his belly, soft snores rustled the hem of his hood. This was true, restful sleep, not the life-threatening unconsciousness that had Wight in its grip earlier that day. Whatever he had been about to say was lost in snores and silence.

@Quamosthy

Unlike Wight, the blanket of darkness that was beginning to form was frightening to Inachus. It was in said darkness that something unknown had robbed her of her voice and reduced her to a soft whisper. Though the extent of her neck wounds were not as grievous as Wight's wounds, it was still an inconvenience.

Humor was plastered over her face when she heard the soft snores that left the Nocturne; he must have been so tired. Being brought through the waters right into the very doorsteps near her own Clan. Whichever reigning God had brought him to this place, be it the Tidelord or Gladkeeper's mercy, she couldn't help but thank them.

After waiting a few moments to make sure the other dragon was nestled deep into sleep, she rose to her feet and began the tedious task of beginning to move him safely. Unlike the Ixian, who would have had no problem moving the Nocturne, it was another story for Inachus; her frail limbs and weak muscle strength made any heavy moving a near impossible task. It was one of the many things that Caden helped with. He was strong enough to move things around, and the constant glow of light from the Druidic mark over his forehead was enough for Inachus to slumber peacefully without being in complete darkness.

By the time she had left the Gladeveins and back into the much safer Everbloom Gardens under the cover of darkness, her limbs were trembling with effort. It was there that her own familiar had been patiently awaiting her return, and took over the task of carrying the Nocturne atop it's broad, armor plated back.

It seemed no other dragons were even awake or aware.. well, besides Hades and Milek who were probably busy prowling around their borders for any signs of said intruders. Now that she was here... where to allow him to sleep? The only place she could think of what her own lair. Inside it had a many assortment of dried herbs and a sleeping place, and the outside was all encircled by her most favorite and precious flowers and plants. She found the waft of flowery scent to melt away stress.

" You may sure none enter until I say so, " Inachus hummed an order to her familiar, who had planted itself firmly outside the den. Taking that as cooperation, the tired Skydancer instead found a suitable place outside to rest - besides being reluctant of the darkness now swallowing her whole.

@ifawn

The Nocturne slept rather soundly through the night despite not being wrapped in his own wings as was normal for his species. The soothing scent of the floral herbs that Inachus scattered around her den set Wight at ease, even in his sleep, quieting him out of nightmares. For all his wounds and earlier disquiet, Wight slept incredibly soundly.

A soft brightness is what woke Wight. With the rising of the sun came light, and with light came consciousness, however unwilling he was to wake. He ached everywhere. This is what he got for not sleeping with the proper posture; although not all of the pain was muscular. Blinking his bleary eyes, Wight realised something. He wasn't home. Memories of the day before came flooding back... the last thing he remembered was falling asleep on the forest floor. This was not the forest floor. Looking around in panic, he saw a green-armoured Warcat, standing guard at the only possible place that he could have escaped. In his panic, his mind jumped to the conclusion that he was a prisoner.

Ordinarily, Wight would have been perfectly happy that there weren't any other dragons around. It would have been something to settle his fear. However, for once he desperately wanted to see someone, anyone, that could get him out. With an awkward, bat-like walk, Wight shambled over as close to the entrance as he dared. He wasn't sure if he should call out for help, or hold his tongue lest he attract unwanted attention. In the end, he decided that silence was best. Tugging his hood down over his eyes, Wight curled up behind the Warcat and waited.

@Quamosthy

The first to aknowledge that Wight was awake was said Warcat. The familiar of Inachus turned his head and, even though the eyes were unseen under the imposingn reinforced head armor on the beasts head, it seemed to do an unseen look over of the Nocturne.

It was only then that it rose to it's paws and moved from the mouth of the floral surrounded den to open up the entrance. It loyally had followed Inachus' request of keeping guard over the cloak covered dragon and it had done just as asked.

Now that the entrance was open to come and go, a little figure was seated there. Eyes wide open as a small little Hatchling gawked at the new dragon. She hadn't actually thought that Inachus had managed to bring a dragon back.. but there he was.

As quickly as the small Imperial had been there, she was also gone within a flash; scampering away in a blur of seafoam color towards a morw familiar Skydancer.

Reassured that Wight would be sleeping soundly and comfortably, she had busied herself with oogling jn fascination over some flowers growing in their main camp. A gentle forepaw was lightly brushing at said petals before spotting the small Hatchling dive under Inachus' belly to hide.

" Oh my, " she let out a soft and jovial laughter at said Hatchling, before turning her attention towards her familiar with a littlw smile. " Woken up? " she questioned, rising to her feet and watching Naga scamper off.

With quiet steps, she approached said lair and her expression brightened upon seeing the Nocturne. " Good morning.. how do you feel? "

@ifawn

Perhaps he wasn't a prisoner after all. Wight had only been curled up near the entrance of Inachus' den for only a few minutes before the imposing warrior cat stepped aside and left the entrance clear and open. Lifting up his bandaged head, he found that he was nose-to-nose with a tiny Imperial hatchling. The tiny seafoam-hued dragon seemed just as shocked as he was, although probably without the fear that was again bubbling up. Why was he scared of a hatchling? He wasn't. At least, not directly. However, a hatchling meant that there was someone around to care for it, and that could only mean that he was in another clan.

Wight's rising worry was quashed when the hatchling scuttled off, dashing towards a thankfully familiar face. Inachus poked her head into her den, removing the need for Wight to walk out to her. For that, he was very thankful. "I f-feel r-really sore..." Wight groaned, still mostly curled up. "I-I didn't sleep r-right... and i-it just... a-aches..." Maybe it was that he was getting far too used to sleeping in the water, held gently by currents of water as opposed to resting his full weight on solid ground. Maybe it was the fact that Nocturne's were meant to sleep much in the way that bats do, and his muscles were protesting at being misused. Wight was sure that it was the latter.

"W-where am I?" Wight asked timidly. It was amazing how quickly he had gotten used to Inachus' presence. It wasn't a solid, powerful and protective one like his sister's, but it was soft, quiet and gentle, which was the only reason that the white dragon found himself able to relax. In fact, she almost reminded him of Aerin, except a lot less creepy.

@Quamosthy

A familiar frown momentarily crossed her mouth as she heard that Wight was sore. She hadn't thought that perhaps sleeping on solid earth was not a thing that the Nocturne did normally at all. She tilted her head to the side though, taking a little peek at the bandages from where she was standing and nearly crooned in contentment when she noticed that they were holding up well.

" This is our camp, so to speak. " she began to speak, and one of her wings unfurled for a split second to stretch out and motion outwards. As of currently, it was faintly quiet and peaceful sounding. " Right now though, it is only Naga, Minsoo and I that are here. The rest all head out for foraging, border patrols and so on. So don't be worried about running into a group of them. "

She was not worried about Naga pestering Wight. The runt of an Imperial, although still large, tended to keep to herself. She was mostly comfortable around Minsoo and Ophala, but her own curiosity had driven the young dragon to get a peek at the newcomer.

As for Minsoo.. well, the flightless, blind Imperial also kept to himself. It worried Inachus for her friends well being; being by himself or even as daring as wandering off towards the water. Inachus almost expected one day that the Imperial would slither off into the water and never return.

It was probably for the best that there wasn't anyone else around besides the three of them. Knowing the others, especially ones like Hades and Terryn, they would most likely completely overwhelm poor Wight.

" Perhaps, are you hungry at all? We have plenty of food to give right now. Foraging recently has been plentiful as well as hunting. "

@ifawn

Despite being in the heart of a stranger's clan, it was extraordinarily quiet. Either this was a very, very small clan or most of the members were elsewhere. Wight wasn't about to complain about that. Inachus had managed to win some kind of trust from him with her soft and gentle words and the fact that she saved his life. His heart told him that that was enough to trust her. Any other members of her clan were another story.

"I-I guess I a-am a little hungry," Wight replied softly. After yesterday, he was surprised that he wasn't absolutely ravenous; all that exertion and loss of blood. Maybe he just had to wait for how hungry he really was to his him in force. It would happen soon enough anyway. Slowly uncurling himself and settling into a vague sitting posture, his bat-like wings helping to prop up his upper body, he again regretted sleeping without at the very least wrapping himself in his wings. Edea had always told him that the only way to get out the sleep-aches was to stretch. Wight didn't particularly want to stretch right then, especially given what happened last time he exerted himself.

Looking around Inachus, out towards the heart of the clan's camp, Wight immediately recognised it as a clan sitting somewhere in the Viridian Labyrinth. Beyond that, he didn't know. It was easy to recognise generally any of the elemental regions, given that all of the deities took a degree of pride in their land and making it truly their own, but Wight had never been anywhere near the Viridian Labyrinth before. The only places he had bodily been were his birthplace of the Windswept Plateau and his current home in the Sea of a Thousand Currents. One could see a lot from the Sea; given that it bordered so many other territories. Normally, Wight just stayed where it was safe.

@Quamosthy

Smiling, Inachus stepped back from the mouth of her own lair to stand towards the side. As much as she would enjoy introducing the Nocturne to Minsoo or Naga.. that could wait until after he has ate something. It would probably be for the better to avoid any panic.

" The dragon of ours that looks over the food and our hoard is rather picky, " she began, finding the impending silence a bit unnerving. She was a vocal dragon, even if her voice was quiet and hard to hear at times. " So everything should be all sorted out for what you'd like to eat. " It was true though. Watching Izran fuss over every new thing that was brought back was amusement at it's finest for the clan, but they didn't complain. He kept their tiny clan clean and didn't leave things laying around.

Giving a gentle beckon with her wing, she began an even trot away from her own lair and more into the open. Morning was always the Skydancer's favorite time of day; the lush foliage of the Viridian Labyrinth was fresh with a morning mist, sun was peeking through the tree's and it was fresh to smell.. as odd as that sounded.

" I hope Naga didn't startle you, " Inachus also said as she had reached where most of the food and supplies had been stored. " She get's overly curious sometimes.. especially to strangers. She doesn't mean much harm though. " The tiny seafoam Imperial was their newest addition, and had quickly taken a liking to both Minsoo and Inachus.. a bit nervous around the rest.

@ifawn

Wight waddled behind Inachus, staying rather close in case one of her clanmates showed up. He wasn't in much of a state to run far, so hiding behind the Skydancer would have to do if it came to that. The morning sun was rather bright, especially with the gradually dissipating layer of fog reflecting it's rays within it, creating a sort of blanked of muffled light. Truly, it was a stroke of genius that prompted the armoured Spiral to gift your half-brother with that tattered cloak; for courage, for darkness. Perhaps it would find even more uses down the track.

The walk was short to the food supplies, and it was no joke that the dragon in charge was picky. It was sorted out into neat piles, each separate and distinct from the others. Crunching some bugs between his teeth, he turned towards Inachus. He hadn't noticed it before, but there was a bandage around her throat. Perhaps she too had been met with some kind of accident?

"N-Naga?" Wight stuttered. "I-is she th-the hatchling?" While he knew he was very timid, he also knew that it was rather foolish to be afraid of a child. Honestly, what was a tiny little thing like Naga going to do to him?