we're death defying, coming in like lightning
Roue has never been a mean-spirited creature, though perhaps this stranger, knowing only as much as their brief meeting has allowed, may disagree. He had, however, grown up with many siblings. This is the kind of prank they had played on one another on a daily basis. It had been so easy to slip into old habits that he hadn’t even considered the young stallion might believe those few moments surrounded by his smokey breath to be his last.
Once upon a time, he would have been able to glean that from his thoughts. Now though? Now it is only the mournful gaze meeting his that tells him anything of the bay colt’s fears. And maybe the still wheezing breath and watery eyes.
The brief regret bleeds into his scales, a subtle wave of turquoise melting from skin to ground. The stranger’s words halt the spread, turquoise flashing to orchid before it abruptly retreats as an amused chuckle rumbles from Roue’s chest.
With another lazy stretch, Roue shifts sinuously across the rocky ground. His neck flips and a moment later, his body follows in an undulating roll that’s almost feline in nature. With a grunt, he offers an upside-down grin to his companion. “So am I the second dragon you’ve met then?”
Another grunt escapes as he flips once again, returning his belly to the ground. He eyes the young stallion speculatively for a minute before abruptly stretching his neck forward until his head is right next to him. “There’s an itch I can’t reach just here,” he says, presenting the space just behind the cartilage spikes crowning his head where it meets his neck. “Do you mind?”
roué
@Meyer