Roleplay

"Oh," Ciar replied. "I guess smoking is different than drying, then." With that, he also began picking up some green wood, clutching the small pile in one forepaw. While gathering the wood, an interesting scent caught his attention, and he turned to face the sea. Limping forwards a few steps, he stopped at the edge of a large tidal pool and silently gazed out at the sea.

"Have you been here before?" he suddenly asked after almost a minute of silence, still staring in the direction of the sea. He hadn't noticed that the little pile of green wood slipping from his grip until some of it began to slide down into the tidal pool. Ciar started, then realized what had happened, leaping after some of the pieces.

"Yeah, it is. They did interact, but it was more akin to being comrades or coworkers than actual friends," Jorn explained. "I'd think it was rough on all of them. Even the more solitary dragon species need some form of interaction, at least."

"Yeah, smoked meat tends to have better flavor, it usually lasts longer, too," she said with a smile. Trying to look at his face, though, she seemed to notice the change in attitude. She following behind the Guardian, standing by the edge of the tidal pool and looked out at the Sea. She remembered when the water and sky were blue, not the polluted gray it was today.

"Once, when I was young...too small to fly, I think. Ren brought me out here once, and we rowed out into the Sea. I learned how to swim in the Sea of a Thousand Currents, too... I don't remember where it was, but it must have been on the Plateau's border with the Water region." She sighed wistfully, then became startled when Ciar dove for the branches.

"Wait! It's ok, let those go... these puddles can be incredibly harmful," she warned. "Let's just gather some more and head back, ok?"

Ren nodded slowly, "that's not what I expected. No real relationships formed, then, I take?" He asked gently. "Must have been a toll on you two. I certainly would not have been able to handle that."

"Okay," Ciar said, leaping back up to the edge of the tidal pool. "Do you remember what it was like?" he asked, picking up the branches that hadn't fallen into the pool and setting them down in a pile instead of carrying them in his paw.

"No, not really. I did have a few human friends, like Damon, the trainer I mentioned before. Of course, I had my family as well," Jorn said. "The dragons, though... most never knew their parents and hardly had any sort of childhood. Just training."

"It was amazing," she said, her eyes glimmering, "I remember the rocking of the boat, the splash of the waves... it used to be fresh water, y'know? Now it's as salty as the oceans surrounding Sornieth, and too toxic to swim in." She sighed sadly, her ears drooping, "let's go back," she said, this time not waiting for a response as she turned away, her expression unreadable.

"Oh, I see. I really wonder how the dragons felt about that whole ordeal... how were the parents once they were separated from their clutch?" He asked, wide eyed. Jorn was a window into a whole other world he didn't even know existed until now.

"Sounds nice," Ciar remarked, looking back at the sea again. He sighed, accepting that his rider wouldn't be able to fulfill that promise, not anymore. He picked up what he had gathered, following Aeira back to the cave.

"I'm not sure. It's possible they reacted aggressively, though... well, if the parents were anything like Ciar is now, they may have just allowed it," Jorn said, honestly not knowing himself. "Damon might've known. I never thought to ask, though. I only know that they were separated after I once asked Ciar about his family."

Aeira was silent as they walked back towards their human companions, clearly upset. She hobbled near the smoking thing and dropped off her gathered branches and twigs, then settled back down into her original spot.

"Oh, well, that's news to me," Ren said, then turned as he heard the dragons' return. "Thanks?" Something was bugging Aeira, he could tell. "Let's get this thing started, then," he said as he began placing the strips of meat.

Ciar did the same, setting down what he had gathered beside the rack. He thought of curling up where he had slept the night before, but decided against it and simply sat by the entrance. He glanced at Aeira, realizing she was upset and wondered if it was his fault.

"Did I upset you?" he asked, trying to whisper it so that the humans wouldn't hear.

"Thank you, both of you," Jorn said before helping Ren arrange the meat. He thought he heard Ciar say something, looking over his shoulder at the dragon, but he couldn't understand what Ciar had said.

Aeira looked up with wet rimmed eyes, then shook her head deliberately. "No, not at all," she managed with a sniffle, then, in a much smaller voice, "I just miss it, is all..."

Ren glanced back at his dragon with worry. Now was clearly not the time to ask her for a fire. Leaning down, he carefully placed some dry grass and small twigs as firestarter, then struck a flint at it. A few attempts later, he was able to coax out a flame, then began layering the smoke wood on top.

"Oh, okay," Ciar said, feeling relieved. "It must have been very nice, though. Even now, it looks pretty to me."

"Is everything alright, Ren?" Jorn questioned gently, following the younger man's gaze to the two dragons. Then, noticing him struggling with a flint, he nearly called to Ciar for a flame but stopped when he saw a small fire begin.

The Imperial managed a slight smile, "it was, yes," she said, then covered her snout with her tail. "Thanks, Ciar," she murmured, slightly muffled under the fur.

"Aeira seems...emotional, I'll check in on her in just a moment," he replied. He continued the lattice of green wood, then placed the wetted logs and fanned the flame. It licked hungrily at the fuel and smoke began to rise. "There we go."

Rising to his feet, he slowly approached his dragon, kneeling down by her head. "Hey," he said softly, cradling her snout lovingly, "everything alright?" Aeira removed her tail from her face and nodded slightly, enough for Ren to feel better.