Roleplay

"That works," Ciar said, swooping down and disappearing into the dark shadows. He landed rather softly for his size, hiding in the Shadow region's usual darkness. Creeping forward with stealth one wouldn't expect from a dragon his size, he crept up on the bear from the side, staying downwind. The bear was quite small compared to his length his length, but it more than enough for him to eat on his own.

Once it lumbered a little past him, he didn't hesitate, leaping onto the bear's broad back and clamping his jaws around its throat. Using his far greater weight, he pinned the furry creature to the ground, holding it down until it stopped its futile struggling. He released its neck, letting its head fall lifelessly to the ground. He almost picked it up and took off, but chose to wait for Aeira, not knowing if she wanted anything else.

"Don't worry, I wouldn't ask him to do that. Even in the war, I never ordered him to... you know. We were fortunate enough that our jobs did not require much of that," Jorn said, thinking, 'at least, not on Ciar's side.' "He is a good fighter though," Jorn agreed.

Aeira smiled and followed suit, landing silently a little ways behind Ciar. Unlike him, however, stealth was not on her side. Fortunately, though, the bear seemed not to notice their presence. She stalked in a slightly different direction, so should the bear bolt, at least they'd have another shot at capturing their breakfast. Thankfully it was not necessary, and the Imperial watched with morbid fascination as the Guardian took down his prey.

"Clean kill," she noted, "very stealthy, full points for you, and a full belly," she said with a smile. The bear would be more than enough for the Guardian, she thought. "I will hunt for a little longer, you ought to eat, though."

Ren remained a little nervous, "what did you do during the war? I don't imagine you were on the front lines with that kind of description."

"I will wait," Ciar said. "I will bring it back to the cave once you're done." With that said, he sat down beside the carcass, staying attentive for any sounds, scents, or sights while ignoring the tempting scent of meat.

"Well, we were spies, sort of," Jorn explained. "Most spies used Sky Dancers or even Faes, but we tended to travel deeper into what was enemy territory. So, I needed a dragon who could fight, hide rather easily, and also be fast and strong enough of a flier to escape and travel somewhat long distances. Ciar just fit the bill. Though, we sometimes tagged along with other infiltrators who had other dragon breeds, kind of as back up."

Aeira nodded and slipped away, hunting by herself as she slinked through the dense underbrush. She traveled outwards in a spiral as not to distance herself too far from Ciar. It wasn't long that she spotted a prime target, a Clawfoot Wallaby, feeding on a berry bush. After watching it and studying its movement, she lunged out of the underbrush and chomped down on its neck.

The poor thing didn't stand a chance.

Aeira removed her teeth as her prey fell still, then picked it up and made her way back towards the Guardian. "I've gotten my kill, are you ready to go?

Ren nodded, little wonder, most spies choose Skydancers for a reason, he mused. Before the war, Aeira had befriended a flock and they were able to teach her much of the aerobatics and flying skills she possessed, for he himself only knew the basics of flight.

"I'm sure he was perfect for the task," he replied, "I imagine your missions couldn't have been easy, then, for a Guardian to be necessary."

"Yes, let's go," Ciar answered, grabbing the bear by the shoulders with his forepaws. He tightened his grip, piercing its skin with his claws, and leaped into the air. He struggled for a moment as the bear was rather heavy, but quickly adjusted and rose several hundred feet. He stopped climbing, waiting for Aeira to catch up, knowing she would be better at finding a wind to ride.

"Fortunately most went as planned, but there were a few that didn't," Jorn responded. "As I mentioned before, we were mostly back up, or a ride for those who had Faes," he added with a short chuckle.

"Wha- Hey!" She laughed as she leapt up after the Guardian, beating hard to catch up. "You'll tire yourself out at that rate, the prevailing winds blow inland, after all," she chided gently, "do they not teach you that in training?"

Taking the lead, she soon found an altitude that gave them a gentle crosswind rather than a headwind, and fell into level flight, clutching her catch beneath her.

Ren chuckled too at the imagery. He was rather surprised to hear the Guardian was used as backup. "That's pretty interesting. Normally a large dragon like him ought to be leading a formation. With two Wildclaws and two Skydancers in a wing, that would be a very formidable formation to beat," he said, recalling seeing such a layout once.

"I am not a Sky Dancer, I shouldn't be trained like one," he answered simply, falling in just behind her. "And we often traveled with Sky Dancers, so it was not needed then." He adjusted his grip on the bear a little, holding it so its weight was more balanced.

"That'd be true for battle formations at least. His large size was a bit of a disadvantage, hence him serving more as back up in case we wound up in a fight," Jorn elaborated. "We didn't work with many Wildclaws, as far as I remember."

"But...you still have to fly," she said, a little miffed, then shook her head. "Never mind, doesn't matter now, does it?" It wasn't long before the little cave came into view, and Aeira began to descend, gliding down towards Ren and Jorn.

Ren cocked his head to the side, he had seen plenty of Wildclaws participating in the war, but almost never ridden. "They must be too wild to break, then. I can't remember the last time I've seen one with a rider." Shielding his eyes and looking up, he smiled. "Ah, here they come, looks like they've got quite the haul."

"I would usually just follow them," Ciar explained, also gliding down. He dropped the bear once he was just a few feet above the ground, making his landing easier. Stretching his wings out, he settled beside the bear carcass, watching his rider carefully.

"Yeah, though I'm sure my old friend might've been able to persuade one to take on a rider," Jorn remarked. At Ren's statement, he looked at the sky, noting that the dragons were returning. A few moments later, he was slightly startled when Ciar dropped a large bear at the entrance. Jorn stood, grabbing a pan from one of his bags and pulling out a knife before walking over to the bear. He debated skinning it, but ultimately decided it would take too long.

Taking a rough estimate, he sliced through the bear's shoulder, cutting strips of meat off for himself and Ren, if he wanted any. Placing the strips in the pan, he only sliced off enough to serve as their meal for the day, seeing as there wasn't enough time to dry any meat and he lacked a good storage compartment for raw meat. With that portion taken, he nodded at Ciar, indicating that the rest of the bear was his.

"Slowly, alright Ciar?" Jorn said, chuckling. Ciar snorted, but listened, tearing relatively small strips off of the bear to swallow. Satisfied that the dragon was eating well, Jorn carried the pan back over to their campfire.

(Also, I just realized I made a serious size miscalculation with the bear and Ciar lol... Fixed it)

(haha, yeah sometimes I forget how big my dergs can be ^^)

Ren nodded, "some people just have a way with dragons," he said, before a bear came falling from the sky. "Well, that's one way to announce your presence," he chuckled. He walked over to his own dragon, pulling out his knife to skin the wallaby.

Aeira wiggled her tail as she watched her rider skin her catch, and a delighted rumble escaped her when Ren cleanly pulled away the hide. He had left the pelt on the arms and legs, deeming it too much effort to skin those. "All yours, love," he said. The hide would have to be cleaned, and so he busied himself with that task, allocating some of the unboiled water to wash away the blood and fat.

The Imperial ate daintily. Unlike Ciar, she had fed relatively recently, and thus was not too hungry. She tore away a haunch and crunched it, chewing on the grisly leg as she watched Jorn with interest.