Roleplay

Chou blinks. He's definitely taken aback by the question. He folds his legs and gives a thoughtful hum.

"Well... I suppose I do not know what 'ordinary' is for other dragons, as I tend to only speak to others if it is about my work," he taps his chin thoughtfully. "There is warmth. I know that. Maybe confusion... a lot of confusion, mayhaps. But that is likely just me being socially inept. As I said, I do not know how other dragons are supposed to make one feel, what is normal, what is not..."

A bit of color rushes to his face.

"My heart does beat faster sometimes, yes. Even though I am not on the job as of now, I am still overcome with the urge to protect you. The words you say linger in my head often... all I can say, repeating and repeating, is warmth. Warmth is what I feel. I apologize if that is not the best or most conclusive of answers. It is hard to put into words what I already do not understand."

Nia can't help but smile brightly at Chou's explanation, his tail swirling behind him in barely contained excitement. Against all odds, the older Skydancer's words suggest that he might like Nia back, even if the other does not understand what he feels. Not yet, at least.

His first instinct is to tell him about it, about the romantic feelings he finds growing in his heart with every moment he spends with the other. But he holds back. Chou seems to be overwhelmed with the concept of building up a genuine friendship already, surely this would be way too much now. But it is ok for Nia as he is content knowing how Chou feels about him.

"Chou", he starts to respond. The happiness is clear in his voice.

"Thank you for telling me, I know you are struggling to sort through these kinds of feelings and connections. I just want to let you know... I feel this way too. The warmth. I think about you and i enjoy your company so much and I want to learn more about you. So thank you."

Seeing Nia brighten up makes Chou smile, too. He doesn't understand what the other Skydancer is excited about, at least not completely, but he is happy. His tail flicks back and forth.

"I am quite delighted to hear the feeling is mutual. I already do not understand these things well, not to mention the kind of dragon I am in terms of career and personality, I feared addressing you as a friend may be rather presumptuous, and I did not wish to offend you. I believe this is... delight?" He sighs contentedly. "I am grateful to have met you."

Nia smiles back brightly. The feathers on the side of his head are spread widely with it. Even though the day was less than ideal and both Skydancers are going to sleep with a fair share of injuries, he cannot help but be glad. Not only about the end of this day but also about the fact that he met Chou.

"I am thankful too." You can consider me whatever you wish and i will be happy to take that title, he wants to add but stops himself in the last second. Since he doesn't want this moment to end though, he quickly thinks of something else to add.

"Chou... Will you tell me more about you?"

"More about me?" Chou blinks. That's not a question he's used to hearing... and definitely not answering.

It's a bit easier to brainstorm as he looks at the ruffled feathers on Nia's head, though. They make him look quite pretty...

"Well," he hums, drumming a claw on the crooked floor thoughtfully. "I was born in the Shifting Expanse, as you might guess. A relatively uneventful childhood, save for when I became aware of combat and travel as an art. Knighthood, stories of honor and warriors who battled for what was right inspired me as a youngling. Of course, knighthood is not a widespread dream of many dragons, more of a thing found only in storybooks. But I did find a fellowship eventually, yes. I was young and starry-eyed, certainly naive. I did not understand the ins and outs of the knight's lifestyle. I was pursuing a dream of becoming a fairy-tale hero, and was a young and frail dragon while doing it, so I was quite quickly turned away from that warriors' guild."

[ The way I completely missed your response in here?? I do not know how that happened aye ]


Nia listens closely as Chou begins to tell his tale. Chou is a bit older than he himself is, so he tries to imagine a younger, still youthful version of him doing his best to realize his dreams. He must not have had the air of a dragon who has gone through a lot of things yet back in the day, Nia thinks. He cannot help but wonder what that younger Chou looked like.

"I admire dragons who have a goal like this from early on and work their hardest to achieve it. Personally, I wish I had such a dream. How did you end up leaving the shifting expanse?"

Nia asks the question without thinking and only realizes a minute later that it might be an insensitive inquiry.

[ Hey it's okay lol, busy day for me yesterday anyway :) ]

Be it an insensitive inquiry or not, Chou does not seem bothered by it.

"Well, after my failings to join their fellowship, the dragon knights there had tired of my attempts, but must have respected my skill somewhat. I was gifted one of their old broadswords as they implored me to seek out my destiny elsewhere."

He puffs out his chest just a little bit, taking a little prideful huff as he recalls it.

"And though rare, the way of the knight was clearly not a dead-end trail, so I left quite happily to seek out fellow dragons who preferred honor and weaponry to savagery and claws. I traveled for quite some time, but could seldom find dragons who followed such a philosophy, though. I could never find the mentor that the knights of the Shifting Expanse said would be out there somewhere, so it soon came down to teaching myself these things as I traveled."

[So sorry for the long absence :< I was away for a concert for most of the week so today is the first day I'm really online again ]

Nia hums along as Chou tells his tale. It sounds admirable, to set out on a journey to realize one's quite noble dreams. But it also sounds very lonely, Nia thinks and decides to say so.

"That is... really impressive actually, to set out to follow your destiny with such dedication. But it also sounds rather lonely and isolated. Did you not miss your birth-clan?"

As he talks to Chou, he notices how the soft light in the room illuminates Chou's mask and body. Part of him wishes that the other would take off his gear again so Nia could see how the light is painting shadows across his face

[ You're okay! I'm sorry for my absence, too. Absolute circus of stuff to do, but that's not super new for me I guess. We got a record amount of snow here and compared to where I'm from I guess the city had no idea how to antcipate it then or manage it now, so everything's been all topsy-turvy. ]

Chou beams, obviously drinking in the compliment. He doesn't even seem all that bothered by Nia's mention of his home clan, simply shrugging it off like it is not a big deal to him.

"I did not have much to leave behind to begin with. I am pursuing my dream here, and I am doing my best to help the fine dragons of this clan, so I am content. I first heard of this clan as a haven for the unwanted and unloved, sick and the injured, outcasted and scorned dragons of the world, so I thought it would be a good location to offer my services as I trained on my own. I had already arrived when the clan was at a point of, as the clan patriarch informed me, 'moving into a place where they can truly live beyond just surviving', which opened less oppurtunities here to work, but in a way opened more in the form of other visiting dragons or those with connections from where they had lived before to point me in the direction of where my blade was needed."

As he rambles, Chou can't help but notice how Nia is looking at him. The fondness in his heart from their earlier conversation stirs some strange confidence in him and he brings it up without much of a second thought--or even a first thought, really.

"Are you alright? You seem quite fixated on me. Is there a dent in my armor I hadn't noticed?"

[ oh my, stay safe with the snow :0 ]

Nia, lost in thought at the others words, doesn't notice that he indeed keeps staring at Chou, although less purposefully now. His mind is stuck on the others words of living beyond just surviving when the older Skydancer's question snaps him out of his thoughts.

"What?!", he lets out an octave too high to seem natural, followed by an embarrassed stream of almost-sentences.

"Oh- no, I just- uhm I didn't mean to stare- no. No." Finally, he cuts himself off in hopes of not embarrassing himself even more. Nia takes a deep breath and briefly wonders if he can will his face to stop burning bright red by willpower alone. Surely that must be possible?

"I apologize, I must have seemed impolite. I just briefly wondered if you're uncomfortable in your armor and then i merely got lost in thought while listening to you."

It's not a complete lie, Nia does wonder if Chou will be more uncomfortable taking his armor off in front of him or wearing it even in this private inn room. He choose not to tell him the real reason for staring at him though, worried that it might scare Chou off if he admits, yet again, that he finds the other attractive and wishes to see him uncovered by his heavy armor.