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  • Beqanna

    COTY

    Assailant -- Year 226

    QOTY

    "But the dream, the echo, slips from him as quickly as he had found it and as consciousness comes to him (a slap and not the gentle waves of oceanic tides), it dissolves entirely. His muscles relax as the cold claims him again, as the numbness sets in, and when his grey eyes open, there’s nothing but the faint after burn of a dream often trod and never remembered." --Brigade, written by Laura


    The north wind meets the sea - Izora Lethia
    #11
    The ice dragon shifter lifts his head back to the woman when she answer...not yet, she’d said. Is she waiting to become so lonely, or depressed, that she would want to end it? Or would she be waiting for the courage to dare dive into the pool? There’s two ways this could go, and his icy blue eyes try to find hers to see which one - but she looks away, down, her purple eyes lost to the world for a moment.

    It is only when she looks back up with the idea of a cave, that she finds back her radiant smile and with it a mischievous look he hadn’t seen on her yet - and he decides he likes it, grinning back to her when she tells him he probably has an easier way to get down. She reminds him of his little achievements in life almost casually, but he’s happy to take on a challenge and nods. ”If that’s what the Lady of the Woods wants.” he bows to her, looking back at her with green mischievous eyes - then drops off the cliff.

    His silvery white wings sprout the moment he wants them to, that part of his shifting the easiest. He soars down in a heart-clenching dive, scales thickening under his icy layer into draconic scales as he does so, and pulling up at the last moment where the roaring waterfall hits the pool to have the tip of one claw touch the bright liquid; a dragon roar competes with the falls, but not one of anger or hunger - more like a challenge against the fall’s noise. He honestly doesn’t even know if anyone hears it, and doesn’t really care, but when he flies away from the pool there is nothing horse-like left about him - safe perhaps for a roanesque coloration in the way silver and bronze scales compete on his body, where once brown and white did.

    The dragon rounds his half circle upwards, halting mid-flight and keeping himself afloat in the air with slow, determined wingbeats. His eyes retain an emerald green color when he looks at the buckskin-and-purple mare, and his beak opens in a wide grin. ”Do you trust me?”
    nothing burns like the cold
    Leilan

    @[Izora Lethia]
    Two things I know I can make: pretty kids, and people mad.
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    #12
    The thoughts passed in quick succession, for her it could go either way - depending on what she allowed into her being, how loosely her cloak of peace hangs around her.

    His return of playful banter sharpens that glimpse of mischief, her eyes locking on him as he leaps from the cliff edge. The purple irises expand in awe as she watches his majestic wings break free through his pencil dive. The icy, metalic shifter changed softly and harshly all at once, his scales reflecting in dark, sharp pupils above.

    She felt her breath catch in the gentle dip of her chest as he pulled up sharply. The water rippling in defiance as his claw disturbs the surface.

    She suddenly found her senses overwhelmed, the majestic dragon, the strong woody smell that traveled in a breeze behind her, the wind tickling her already stimulated skin, and the roar of the falls cascading through her ears - which seemed to get louder for only a moment.

    As he pulled up abruptly infront of her she stood speechless - in awe. The roughness of his male voice broke through the drowning of waterfall and with out hesitation she nodded with complete certainty.
    forget me not; but never remember
    Lethy

    @[Leilan]
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    #13
    He remembers the first time he actually saw Castile in dragon shape; up close it was very impressive. Leilan himself has a slightly slimmer dragon shape, perhaps due to the ice attunement or due to the fact that the Isle lacked enough food; either way his size might not be as bulky, but it certainly was still large and lengthy. Add the wings, icicle-horns, and in general the massive claws and teeth, and one would notice they were different but both impressive in their own regard. If Izora is speechless for the moment, he only cocks his head at her and gives her a knowing smile. ”Never seen Cas either, have you?”

    Still, she nods at his question, and his slow wingbeats accelerate as he moves his lizardlike body forward, grabbing her with his front claws. He tries very much not to dig the nails into her body, though he can’t exactly see, only feel if he breaks her skin; nevertheless he holds her as loosely as he dares at this height.

    Up and over they go, the same dive as before, but this time his icy breath freezes the waterfall - though it is temporary, he spies a large alcove - not quite a cave as it isn’t very deep, but it just might fit them both. It is there that he leaves the mare, then somersaults (because he can) and lands besides her, just when the ice above them breaks under the built-up weight of the water, and the fall continues to roar behind them.

    It is almost uncomfortable how close they have to stand -almost-, and he lets his tail hang outside the cave, the water splashing along the last of his spine while he takes the chance to study the buckskin mare’s reaction. It’s probably a little scary, but who knows what sort of thing she likes to entertain herself with? Though he reckons it’s probably not everyday business to fly with dragons, or actually, stand so close.
    nothing burns like the cold
    Leilan

    @[Izora Lethia]
    Two things I know I can make: pretty kids, and people mad.
    |
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    #14
    The over whelming beauty of one singular creature was almost unbelievable. The scales that shimmered the length of his massive body,  and the glint of his claws and teeth pulling the breath from her chest, his icey horns crowing his reptilian like face,  his draconic eyes twinkling with understanding - it was all so unreal. Of course it wasn't the first time she had seen a dragon, even Aten had similar qualities but it has been so long.. how long had it been?

    His words drew confusion to her face "Never seen Cas either, have you?" What was he insinuating? Cas had only just gotten to Taiga, and was largely in his mundane stranger horse form. Her eyes opened wide as the breath ran silently from between her lips in their dive, the frozen water moving swiftly in her vision as they passed quickly - more quickly then she had ever gone before.

    It did not last as long as she thought it would,  the descent. Before she knew it Leilan had tucked them safely inside a small cave hidden behind the falls.

    She watched as the water began to flow once more crashing and breaking around Leilan's tail. Her breath was coming quickly.

    In.Out.In.Out.

    Her deep amethyst eyes darted back to the dragons glimmering eyes, her head following quickly coming up short infront of his nostrils. She could feel his heated breath brushing through her sleek, black forelock and mane. They were close enough they could touch if they wanted.. if.

    She was silent for a moment, the crashing falls overstimulating her body. A small shiver crept up her spine, but the look in her eyes said it was good. A smile, kept for angles, graced her lips exhilarated by what had just transpired. She blew her own puff of air at him, It could have been better. she said playfully, quietly - it was almost a whisper against the curtain that hung behind him. Her soft purple glow illuminated the small cavern, making it more intimate than was necessary. I wonder what kind of secrets a dragon keeps she said almost to herself as she found her gaze trapped in his.
    forget me not; but never remember
    Lethy

    @[Leilan] she might be flirting, she can't  help it, she doesn't know she's doing it.
    IMG-20190524-092123-677
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    #15
    She doesn’t seem to understand, to which he concludes the former King of Loess hadn’t visited Taiga when stuck in his dragon shape, and perhaps that’d been for the best. He doesn’t like the image of Taiga burning - if anything, the north should be cold and glazed over - but it also means she hadn’t seen the assault of the Isle. He’s not sure if that is a good or bad thing to her, or to him. He’d insisted on Oceane visiting the Isle before talking politics, and perhaps he should do the same with everyone; but Izora had offered the greens of Taiga already, and being territories in the same kingdom, he supposes that they’re already allies; much different from what the situation had been with the purple and blue opalescent mare.

    Much more fun is the way she gasps when he picks her up, her razing heartbeat and the slight outbreak of cold sweat - trust is one thing, experience another - but when they stand in the small cave and the water deafens them, he just grins his pointy teeth at her. ”Never trust a dragon.” he tells her, but he is playful and moves his tail and ear accordingly; in that, his horse instincts are still there. He smiles knowingly at her, but doesn’t elaborate on secrets - one too-close question was enough for the day. He might have told her the same thing he told others once - the hoarding pretty maidens, gold, and game - eating the ones who weren’t worth the effort - and for a moment he wonders what it would be like if he actually did those things, forsake the horse society altogether, and kidnap the pretty girls to a spot only he could reach. But no - maybe he would if he retired, but not now. He’d sworn off the kind of lifestyle to get involved with women - instead focused on keeping the Isle alive, nurse it back to health and flourish entirely like it hadn’t before.

    He doesn’t answer her unspoken question, instead lets the rushing water distract him. ”I could lock you in here, I suppose.” he chuckles. ”But I guess then the Taigans will never let me hear the end of it.” Nashua in particular, he thinks. He stretches out a wing into the water, but it gets slapped down. Hmm. Still, he is not the type to sit still; with a large jump he is gone, crashing through the waterfall, now landing in the pool below. Looking up, she can hardly be seen; knowing she is there, he can pinpoint the purple glow, but otherwise she would not be found. He considers leaving her there for a while longer just to annoy her - maybe he should hunt some game and get a meal first, or splash around some more. But after a minute or so he decides against it, and flies up to freeze the waterfall once more. She’ll probably see his silhouette, so it shouldn’t be a surprise when the qater stips again - if just as temporarily as before.
    nothing burns like the cold
    Leilan

    @[Izora Lethia
    idk what he’s doing
    Two things I know I can make: pretty kids, and people mad.
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    #16
    She cocks her head had him never trust a dragon. She could see how that would be solid advice, but then again hadn't she had plans to go to the mountain herself to become one? If she were a dragon she would hope that others still trusted her judgement and morals. Did everyone think this way in Beqanna?

    Her purple eyes harden a shade as she takes a deep breath taking a purposeful step back, if not to break the intensity if the moment then to feel the cool breeze that lingered behind her. Her smile didn't falter as he proposed the idea of locking her away in this cave. You could try, but you're probably right. It wouldn't be the best of way to go around making allies. and with out hesitation he was gone - crashing through the torrential downpour of the falls.

    Her heart dropped along with his disappearing body, her eyes growing wide and concerned. Would he really leave her here?

    Never trust a dragon.

    No she refused to assume the worse, to look for the worst, to acknowledge that there wasn't something good staring back from those draconian eyes. She moved closed towards the deafening falls, her hooves leaving only a quiet echo in her wake quickly squashed by the curtain of water.

    She stood on the edge now her eyes squinting, trying to make sense. The water rolled from her cheeks and mixed heavily into her mane. She sucked in a ragged breath making out a clumsy outline of the dragon on the other side. Like before the water broke apart, frozen in a minute of time. With out hesitating or tripping over her shaking legs she propelled herself from the edge, the water below her coming quickly.

    This was a moment of realization. A literal trust fall, she knew Leilan did not know the extent of her powers. She had nothing to save her now. She would either crash into the pool and the rocks below - maybe survive - or Leilan would be there for her, an alliance solidified in this very moment. Her purple eyes closed softly her body relaxing, preparing for either outcome.
    forget me not; but never remember
    Lethy

    @[Leilan]
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    #17
    The water rushes and the ice creaks, but the stopper he puts in holds - not for long, he gets that, but he only needs a few seconds to turn, dive back to grab her, and -

    aaand she’s jumped. Muttering furiously under his breath, the ice dragon makes a split-second decision to dive for her - but this will be no easy pickup. In fact, the buckskin lady has a headstart in plummeting to her death, and the only thing he can do to keep her from reaching the rocks below the surface (or, if she’s lucky, fall between them and hit the bottom - if that doesn’t cause her to break a leg or smash her head on a rock, anyway) - the only thing to do is to grab her with claw and nail, and not too softly at that. In fact she doesn’t even give him time to think of how and where he grabs her. Feeling his claws dig into the softer parts of her flesh, he curses a few times more under his breath; he drops her further downstream, where the water is moving not as fast, but the red trickles from her body and from his sharper appendages into the water just as easily.

    Dark blue, almost black, eyes frown at the buckskin mare when she emerges - he’s clearly unhappy, in fact closer to actually being angry with her. ”Never do anything like that again.” His draconic voice rumbles a little loud from the emotion. She’s forced his hand - claw really - and that’s not the kind of thing he appreciates, not at all. It feels like some test, never mind if he passed it or not, but he prefers tests to remain either vocal - which he does himself more often than not - or agreed upon beforehand. He lands with an unbothered loud splash, attempting to clean his claws of horse blood - realizing he’s never caused wounds like that before. He studies the red trails in the water as he rinses them clean, eyes turning more of a normal blue hue, in between his just previous dark navy and the ice blue he normally keeps to. But the water can’t clean everything, he sees when he lifts a paw and studies the copper residues. Does he dare lick it to clean? What happens to a predator like him, at his first taste of a fellow horse’s blood, he wonders. Would it be different from killing deer?
    nothing burns like the cold
    Leilan

    @[Izora Lethia]
    Two things I know I can make: pretty kids, and people mad.
    |
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    #18
    The water spatters her face, she feels it rushing by as she closes her eyes, but just as quickly she feels the sudden surge of pain as claws grip at her. He broke skin and her eyes snap open last minute to meet the pool below her.

    She feels the cool water submerge her petite frame more intensely then the pain of Leilan's skin ripping grip. It sucked the breath from her lungs and she forced her eyes shut for a moment before opening them to find the shimmering, diluted sunlight above.

    Her hooves kick down making solid contact with the sandy bottom of the pool pushing herself through the mirrored surface. She hastily searches for the winged dragon, only when she's made eye contact does she realize the red tendrils of blood emanating from her hindquarters and sides. Only then does the adrenaline dissipate leaving behind the numbing pain of ripped skin and muscles. Her face crumples in on itself for only a moment with each kick of her legs. When she finally finds solid ground she forces her magic into the angry gashes and muscle. It did nothing to stop the flow of blood but her body relaxed enough to notice the stormy, almost demonic eyed dragon rumbling his complaint at her.

    With his attention turned to the blood in the water and on his own being she flattens her own ears, her purple eyes deepening in her own response of anger. Don't do anything like that again? Did you not, only moments ago, tell me not to trust a dragon or was I imagining that? From where I stood I could be patient and wait, and maybe you'd come back or I could jump. she spit at him, her own voice an unexpected roar of its own, and then rolled her eyes. I suppose I forced your hand, and for that I apologize, but I can not make solid alliances on fickle trust. Trust is not controlling the decisions of others but believing they'll do what's best, even when noone is looking. I made a decision and so did you, both coming with consequences. I accept mine. she took a ragged breath as she looked at him. She had never lost this much blood before and it seemed to be taking a toll on her, but she'd never admit it. I want to trust you, Leilan. her voice dropping back to its soft, gentle candace. I will trust you, whether you're dragon or not. Isn't that what she hoped for when she returned to the mountain? That others will still trust her after she changes.

    Her eyes shifted to the bloodied water as her thoughts waded back through the water, past the fall and back to the edge. Have you ever thought about jumping? Despite the wounds that ran horizontally down her side and rear end, she felt unusually liberated. She had always thought herself to soft, to timid. @[Leilan] could be mad at her, her stunt could cost her an invaluable alliance and possible friendship, but since she met him just hours ago she had done more than she had since arriving in Beqanna years ago. She had made more decisions of her own accord since coming to Taiga with Aten. She would not be sorry for that.

    Can you please take me back to the top. I promise I won't jump. her amethyst eyes remained locked on the water where it meets Leilan's scaled body. She was beginning to feel the exhaustion of using her gift so fluidly to ease her wounds. 
    forget me not; but never remember
    Lethy


    Blood loss makes her fiesty. Leilan is free to leave after taking her up lol.
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    #19
    Sometimes he does good things, some times he does some bad things as compensation - wouldn’t want to get bored, after all. Being unpredictable as a way of life, forcing him never gets him on her good side - as she will realize now.

    Her excuses, disguised as an angry tirade - which he recognizes as a disguise, or simply put, he does not accept her anger - reach him and slide off his dragon scales like warm water. When she’s finally pausing to take a breath, she receives an ice cold stare from even icier eyes. ”Or, as sane people do, you could have given me the seconds I needed for a mid-flight turn before literally jumping to your conclusions.” he counters. ”As for trust, I don’t think I could currently give you any, but I hope you’re satisfied with this outcome.” She can think of that what she will, but he’s not gonna be dealing with semi-suicidal mares, using those actions as an excuse for a test of sorts. Taiga was lucky to have Lilli as a second leader - if she weren’t too damaged as well by the time she returned. He’d have to find out how far he could trust the chestnut mare, then. ”As for alliances, we don’t need any. We already are bound. I will not let Taiga down when it needs me - similar to not wanting you to drop to your death. But like I said - if you’re willingly jumping, then the next time I’m not going to catch you.” Perhaps she would understand the metaphor - if she leads Taiga to certain doom and expects him to stick out his neck for her then, she can forget about it. Self-inflicted damage is not his problem as a territory leader. Heck, even if she were his subject (but if she were, she would have known already) he wouldn’t come for her more than once.

    Her misplaced anger be damned, but her next request is odd. Up? ”I think you’ve had enough flying lessons for today.” It’s not like she can’t walk back, though it would be a longer road, but he’s not inclined to become her carrier or her errand boy. His ice blue eyes watch her, calculating, the dragon unmoving by the water. Maybe she could use the time to think over their conversation. Maybe she can seethe on her anger. Maybe she can condemn him all the way, maybe she will be numb and in pain. See if he cares what she does, though. Pfft.
    nothing burns like the cold
    Leilan

    @[Izora Lethia] not amused, lol
    Two things I know I can make: pretty kids, and people mad.
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    #20
    He could glare at her all he wanted. He could misinterpret her anger, only see excuses instead of accepting her apology, see her as suicidal or unfit and believe that the North is so tightly bound to each other but his icy gaze would not make her question herself.

    She watched him with an unmoving face. Her lips settled peacefully into a dull line and her eyes swam with fierce purples When he tells her she's had enough flying lessons for the day, the insinuation is not lost on her. The silence she let's linger is a thick one, full of possibilities for their future encounters. 

    Her eyes dart back and forth between his giant ones before she gives him a small gentle nod. Before she turns to go she forces what's left of her energy into her aching muscles and wounds so that she would not grimace and whimper on her exit. The dull purple glow that emanates from her draws closely to her, outlining her smooth, sloping curves in the dimming light. You're right. It was a pleasure meeting you, Leilan. her amethyst eyes sparked in amusement before she turned slowly towards the outline of trees.

    She had no idea how to get back up, no idea which way to go, but she would not let him see her weak, doesn't he already see her as insane? No, she would walk with her petite shoulders wide and her chin up until he could no longer see her and then, and only then, would she let her wall fall before picking herself back up and taking care of shit - like she should have done since she first got to Beqanna.
    forget me not; but never remember
    Lethy

    @[Leilan] we can end it here or you can respond (: <3
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