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Post by Tiamat on Apr 8, 2018 10:41:39 GMT -6
Interest sparked in her eyes. Fire magic. That meant there must be more Drake knew, more he could show her. Her fingers pressed together again, trying to snap, but fell limp in her distraction when the fire twisted around on itself -- following the motions of Drake's finger, she noticed. A blue-purple silhouette of a human formed, waving at her, and Kesstril grinned at it, charmed. Belatedly she realized that it was meant to resemble her, in her current shape, and she shot Drake a surprised look as the fire collapsed back into regular flames.
He should have quit while he was ahead. Kesstril froze. Delight vanished into irritation and she scowled even as heat filled her cheeks. "Why do you insist on calling me by a new human name every time you address me?" The question wasn't quite snapped at him, nor did she raise her voice, but her aggravation was clear. It didn't occur to her that the wizard might be teasing her. He had agreed to help her! Why would he then be so rude? It wasn't even consistent behavior. That she might be able to adjust to, but one minute he was showing her a delightful bit of magic, or offering her food, and the next he was misnaming her and throwing that awful encounter back in her face. She curled her lips away from her teeth, unsettled by the memory. It shouldn't have even worked. A gorgon's magic, working on a grown dragon? It was laughable!
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Post by Deleted on Apr 9, 2018 8:28:09 GMT -6
A sleepy smirk settled on his face visibly as she appreciated the fpame, but also scowled at him for his teasing. He honestly wasn't like this often with most girls; her being a dragon was the main reason. When else would have the opportunity to poke fun at something that would have otherwise ripped you apart without even trying? If looks could kill, however, then he definitely would be a horrid mess of body parts. "My most sincerest apologies, but It's not my fault your name is hard to remember. "He lied, and a bad lie at that. "Give me time, and I'm certain I'll get it right...Kandice, was it?"
A twitch of his third finger sent the blazing campfire into the gentle flicker like a candle. The surroundings they were in darkened to bathe everything in blue moonlight. He peered up at what he could see of the sky and shrugged. "Hmm. Forgot there was a blue moon tonight. " He shrugged again. "Wsll, have a good night."
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Post by Tiamat on Apr 9, 2018 10:06:42 GMT -6
Her eyes narrowed into dangerous slits. "Kesstril," she corrected, all but hissing the name in her ire. "I haven't had any trouble with your rock of a name, have I? How is it you can remember all those spells and incantations, but two syllables of a name is beyond you?" She exhaled, but the gesture was rather lacking in weight when it didn't include any smoke. A thought occurred to her then, and she toyed with it for a minute before deciding that yes, turnabout would be fully deserved in this instance.
Leaning back a little, she stared up at the faintly blue-lit foliage overhead. This would have been a prime night for hunting under normal circumstances. Blue moons didn't reflect as much light as brightly as the regular moon, making it far easier for an airborne predator to go unnoticed by prey below. Her stomach gargled again in faint protest; she ignored it. At last she lay down, still wrapped in her cloak, and did her best to ignore the crackle-popping of the embers just out of her reach. Kesstril stretched out prone and rested her head on one forearm. "We leave at sun-up." Waking an hour or so before then ought to give her plenty of time to take care of herself. Her eyes slid to the dark outline of Drake's form as she returned his sentiment. "Sleep sound, Drisska."
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Post by Deleted on Apr 9, 2018 10:08:43 GMT -6
He raised a finger to her rhetorical question. "Ah, but Grinewald the great could remember the most powerful spells, yet couldn't remember how to tie his shoes sometimes. Perhaps I'm just too great for remembering names. " Drake yawned wide and loud as he heard her shuffling into a better position and he himself turned over onto one side. "Yes, yes...whatever you say. " He was already half under by the time he heard her snide little jab at his name, and therefore it didn't really register with him. "See? Yawn...At least you remember my name..."
And then he was out like a light.
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Post by Tiamat on Apr 9, 2018 10:11:13 GMT -6
Was it just the wizard, or were all humans so impossible to understand? Kesstril's eyelids slid down as exhaustion pounced on her like an enthusiastic hatchling. At least she had the wizard now, as infuriating as he was. Soon they would take out the sorcerer, and then she -- and all the rest of her captured kin -- would be free. Soon. She shifted so the hard, knobbly object in the dirt, a rock or a root or some other substance, no longer jabbed into her ribs every time she inhaled. Somehow, despite the acute vulnerability of her position on the ground and out in the open, Kesstril managed to sleep.
The sky was a dusky blue when she woke, gaining color as the sun began its lazy contemplation on getting up. Kesstril stood, grimacing and rubbing at her sore, stiff limbs. She glanced at Drake, who appeared just as deeply lost to the world now as he had been when she'd fallen asleep last night. Good. With a sharp tug at the clasp of her cloak, the material dropped away into a crumpled heap at her bare feet. Kesstril stepped away in nothing but the undyed tunic that covered her to mid-thigh. She hissed at the lingering ache in her soles, and then stole off into the woods, half-limping, half-creeping. Leaves shifted and crunched underfoot, surprisingly sharp around their dried edges. Even with half her attention on the ground before her, it shouldn't be too hard to find a prey trail. At this pre-dawn hour, the air crisp and clear, the forest balanced between chirping crickets and cheeping birds, there ought to be an abundance of animals about.
She wasn't worried about the gorgon making a reappearance. She almost dared him to try again. Meat was meat, after all.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 9, 2018 10:28:02 GMT -6
Drake was a silent sleeper, and so he was unaware of the movements of his partner or her disappearance. The dusky look of the sunlight would not have roused him from sleep anyways; it was too similar to the gloom he usually woke up to. However, that didn't mean a loud sound wouldn't do tell trick. Something heavy, like a crash, or a boosh or a--
THOOOMM
"KILLERBEES!"
Drake was on one foot in a milsecond, the deep vibrations in the earth having jolted him into just such a position. Birds and squirrels shared in his shock as they scrambled away from the source of the echoing thunder. Only, it couldn't be thunder. There weren't enough clouds in the sky for any lightning to be made, let alone thunder. Drake settled his hat on his head and his cloak on his shoulder--he would be ready for an attack, especially if he managed to scare it off.
"Quick, Kandy! Get up!" When he didn't get answer, he looked towards her...only to not see her. Great. She must've gone off for...whatever reason and gotten herself into trouble with a forest troll. Luckiy, he had experience with such creatures. He just had to be quick.
He charged forward onwards the booming sound, Cape billowing behind him heroically as he smirked. The wizard dodged logs and twigs as obstacles, but stopped dead when he saw what caused te noise....
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Post by Tiamat on Apr 9, 2018 10:38:41 GMT -6
The forest had a new clearing now. A large, oblong stretch of trees had simply been shattered, leaving chunks and splinters of wood everywhere. Trees along the edges of the destruction were more intact, though many were in various stages of uprooted, scored, or leaning drunkenly away from the cleared space. Almost fifty feet away, the far end of the clearing held still-standing trees of various heights whose tops were snapped in two. Leaves and dust drifted in the air like startled birds leery of landing.
Less than a dozen feet away on the ground, Kesstril slowly shoved herself over onto her back. She appeared completely untouched by the devastation surrounding her -- even her plain tunic was in pristine condition, though that was quickly changing as dirt and debris settled over her. "Ow," she complained. From the low volume of her voice it was clear she didn't realize anyone else was there. The woman didn't move. To all appearances she was content to lie sprawled right where she was for the next few hours. Eventually, however, she lolled her head to one side, checking on the object grasped loosely in one hand. Tightening her grip, she tugged it closer, leaving a bloodied smear of red seeping into the earth.
It was a severed haunch, the hind leg of a deer, which Kesstril held just above the hoof. The joint looked like it had been violently separated from the animal, quite recently, but there was not a single sign of the rest of the deer anywhere in the demolished clearing.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 9, 2018 10:42:22 GMT -6
Drake would be lying if he said he didn't feel slightly worried about all the damage he was traveling through. After all, no just anything could destroy a bunch of trees and cast the leaves to the wind. It had to be huge and deadly, perhaps the size of a large Boulder or a hill, with massive arms and an impossible strength.
But he didn't see any of that when he came to the stillest part of the forest, which beheld a very small crater inside the shallow dip in the earth was a very familiar figure with a very odd prize in her hand. He blinked owlishly at the dismembered leg, and then at the rousing woman. Okay, so maybe she really is a dragon, somewhere in this body of hers. .. Well,at least she was harmless again...or so it seemed. He'd know for sure when he teased her again.
Drake sauntered his way down to her quietly, never really letting out any noise until he was standing directly over her, his shadow cast over her face. "They say sleepwalking can be violent," He tsked at the bloodied leg in her hand. "But this is ridiculous."
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Post by Tiamat on Apr 9, 2018 11:00:19 GMT -6
A shadow fell across her and Kesstril tensed, her gaze snapping up to assess the threat. Upon recognizing the wizard she relaxed, her body slumping limp in the dirt. "Drake. H'llo." She didn't understand his sentence -- how could one walk in their sleep? And that led to violence? -- so she simply ignored it in favor of what was important. She lifted the near end of the haunch a few inches off the ground. "Brought you... breakfast." Her arm visibly shook with strain, so she let it drop back to the ground. Given how little he'd eaten the night before this was probably far too much meat, but it had been a spur of the moment decision anyway. They could always leave it behind for the scavengers.
Kesstril sighed, staring at the leg. The hide was a little scorched in places, though by now the scent of burned hair was minimal, and the joint at the end had several deep puncture wounds where teeth the length of a human hand had torn it from the carcass. She got so hungry now. It'd be nice if she could bring it with her, if Drake didn't want it all, but all she carried were the stolen boots and cloak she'd gathered after escaping the sorcerer. She had nothing else.
Exhaling, her attention drifted back up to Drake. "Well?" She asked.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 9, 2018 11:05:12 GMT -6
"Uh...Hi." The greeting was bit indifferent, strained given how he reacted to her appearance. The woman was clearly tired after returning to this form, so the reversal must've been forced for her to be human again. The sorcerer who did this was powerful, but not so much so that she couldn't change back by accident. That was a good sign--it wasn't anyone he wouldn't be able to handle, if he couldn't make this spell permannent. The wizard watched as she raised her remains towards him with a shaky hand, and he glanced over it with an impassive face before taking it slowly. "Hmm. Nice. Venison is always a...interesting breakfast choice."
Seeing that she wouldn't be moving for at least a minute, the wizard sat cross legged and used pieces and bits of origami spells to strip the fur away and then carefully pick away what little fat remained. He conjured a small fire beneath the cleaned leg with a snap of his fingers and wished he had a little seasoning. Oh well. "I see you've had quite a morning, Ken."
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Post by Tiamat on Apr 9, 2018 12:13:39 GMT -6
The tension eased from her frame the longer Drake stood there without commenting on her lack of movement. It must have been clear to him that the reason she wasn't getting up was because she couldn't, and for some unfathomable reason he remained silent rather than make snide remarks about it. Whatever his reasons, she was grateful. The ache in her bones and tight, condensed pressure of the curse snapping back into place and shoving her down into this small, fragile form was punishment enough.
Kesstril frowned, observing Drake's reaction to her offering. What was wrong with deer? It had been a perfectly healthy doe, if a little old. "Do you... prefer the hard meat?" She asked, referring to the bag of jerky he'd pulled out the night before. The wizard was hardly obligated to eat the haunch she'd saved, though she couldn't comprehend why he might prefer that tough, nigh-inedible fare instead. Surprise shot through her when he sat down next to her. She watched with interest, craning her head for a better view, as he used magic to curl the deer hide away from the meat and prepare it for cooking.
Raw meat: another mistake she'd learned not to make with a human stomach.
"Kess! Dregiss," She shot back at him, though exhaustion meant it lacked her usual bite. The draconic name she tacked on almost as an afterthought, though after his non-reaction last night she wasn't expecting much. What else could she do? She needed him, and they both knew it.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 9, 2018 12:27:45 GMT -6
The meat was soon sizzling on the outside, crackling away 8n to a slightly brown looking piece attached to a hefty bone. Perhaps she could use the bone as a weapon, since she was so horribly vulnerable to things in this vast forest and he couldn't always rescue her from a random attack. While he waited for the venison to be properly cooked, he watched the crimson fluids drip out of it as heat forced it to be dry of blood. "I prefer my steaks medium rare, at the very least. " He said as answer to her question. " Your stomach may be more steeled than mine, of course."
He raised his gaze skyward, gently squinting at what little he could see of the sun without blinding himself. It was still a dusky gloom, but the clouds could not stop its great brightness from reaching the ground. "I suppose from here we'll be traveling north. Probably right through the Elven kingdom of Yvain'thrir." The wizard noted, and then snapped his fingers as he remembered another problem. "But first we'll probably traverse through the valley of the cave trolls. And then after the kingsom, the bog of eternal suffering and woe."
Birds chirped again above them, moving away from something small in the trees, but it hid so well that even he would not notice. It peered down at them with spying eyes and a deep frown, pronounced by a sharp tooth jutting up from it's jaw.
"So basically, an average day in he life of me! Any helpless lady like you would probably have died last night, but luckily you have," He struck a sophisticated pose with his face, an overly smug grin. "The most powerful, intelligent and impossibly handsome wizard you'll ever meet in this part of the cosmos."
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Post by Tiamat on Apr 9, 2018 12:45:42 GMT -6
Kesstril made a face at the mention of elves, her lips curling away from her teeth. Better a show of contempt than one of unease. "We're not traveling through elf land," she said with a sneer. Her shoulders curved, then flicked back as she tried to settle wings she did not have. The motion left her distinctly uncomfortable with remaining on her back, however, so with a stifled groan she pushed herself up into a sitting position with all the ease of an arthritic old woman on a wet winter's morning. She wavered for a moment, as if she might slump right over again, but then steadied. The rich smell of flame-cooked meat filled the air, making her mouth water despite her lack of hunger.
Traveling through Yvain'thrir might shave a few days off their travel time, but nothing was worth going near those crazy people and their unnatural accuracy with pointy objects. Kesstril couldn't help her kin if she was dead. Shaking her head, she gave Drake a disbelieving stare. How had he put it? "You're right about one thing. Way-finding is not your forte." Who wanted to travel through a bog, much less one named for 'eternal suffering and woe?' Seriously.
Her grey eyes narrowed at him when Drake commented -- once again -- on her probable death and powerlessness. As if she wasn't already keenly aware of both facts. "I don't know about intelligent, the way you keep shoving that in my face," she muttered, staring at him a moment longer before turning her gaze on the magical fire. She'd meant what she said, but she didn't want to make a fight out of it. Drake prattled on like a preening fledgling, extolling his own virtues. Kesstril didn't see the point. She'd sought him out, hadn't she? What did he think he had to prove in constantly reminding her of his abilities? 'Handsome' she ignored: she had no idea how humans judged that among themselves. Drake had no scales to groom to a luster, no wings to display his aerial talents, no hoard, no den, and she had yet to see him hunt so much as a sheep. How on earth did humans select their mates?
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Post by Deleted on Apr 9, 2018 14:31:18 GMT -6
He rolled his eyes at the insult about his intelligence; lesser minds just couldn't understand him sometimes. Like bow she wasn't understanding the need to pass through the elf kingdom. He tore off a pice of venison and chewed on it thoughtfully. "Ah, just right." He swallowed and fixed his dragon pal with a serious stare. "Look, Kishmart. Elves may be smart, but I don't think they'll be smart enough to look at a human and instantly know what you are! Look at me! I'm outrageously smart and I didn't know what you were!"
He was about to help himself to another strip of meat when he remembered something. "You know, you're showing a lot of doubt and rudeness towards someone who saved your life! I'd expect a dragon to be grateful about that sort of thing!" He ranted at a low volume, arms crossed in her direction. "And now I'm trying to save more dragons by cutting our time down by a lot, and you're going to let a small obstacle like this slow us both down! Sorcerer's don't hang onto dragons without some fiendish end goal in mind, Kince! The longer it takes to stop them, the more time is put in their hands."
He gently handed her the club of deer meat, and shot her an irritating sort of grin. "So, you gonna eat that so we can get this over with, or do you want to be stuck with me for the next four days?"
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Post by Tiamat on Apr 9, 2018 16:02:27 GMT -6
"Kesstril," she corrected in a weary tone. Nevertheless, she politely met his stare with her own as he spoke. A stunned expression flashed across her face, then faded into disturbed contemplation. It hadn't occurred to her that the elves might not know her. She was a dragon, no matter her appearance. And yet... Drake had a point. However the gorgon had managed to identify her, there was every chance the elves wouldn't have the same capability. Still. Elves. "I don't think you know what you're getting into," she said, but her gaze slid aside in acknowledgement. Drake proved his intelligence by making the one argument that could sway her instantly: for the sake of her kin, she would travel through elven land.
That didn't mean she had to like it, though.
"If you're not going to say my name properly then don't call me anything at all," she finally snapped, glaring at him. "Try that around any of my kin and you're going to find yourself eaten, wizard or not." He may have saved her life, but that didn't give him free leave to be so insulting. If he thought he could treat her kin with the same callous disregard, then Kesstril wouldn't need to worry about negotiating any kind of payment for him after he'd done his job. Accepting the haunch -- and surprised to find the bone hadn't absorbed too much heat from the wizard's fire -- she stared at it with blank incomprehension for several seconds. "No, I already ate today." Despite her words she maintained a firm grip on what was left of the leg. It was still food, and while she knew she was full at the moment, she would only grow hungry again that evening.
Tilting her head to eye Drake sidelong, she asked, as if in idle curiosity, "I don't suppose you have anything to carry it in?"
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