Closed Dragons Meet

[Caelum]

Spring 1, 124

It was early evening in spring, illuminated by the scores of bioluminescent trees that made up the great forest the aelves lived in. The nocturnal aelves were just beginning to wake up, though Caelum had been awake for several hours already. He hadn't their ability to see life so he preferred to get at least a little bit done when there was still daylight out.

There was never trouble getting food, as the trees dropped so many filling fruits. Still, he could only eat fruit for so long before he'd get tired of it and yearn for something more. He was a dragon and more often than not he yearned for meat. And to get meat he'd have to buy it, though he wasn't exactly wealthy and he hadn't taken on a job in quite some time. No, today he was going to have to hunt if he wanted meat.

He'd been walking around the forest for hours, just looking for something that looked good to eat. He'd seen some deer rush past but they were too young and most delicious animals were smart enough to bolt when they heard him coming. It was times like these when he really wondered how unfortunate it was for his breath ability to be fire of all things. He'd no doubt that he could incinerate any animal within a few hundred feet if he wanted to, but then the trees would be on fire and he'd be in big trouble.

So, he walked on until he saw a boar in the center of a clearing. It was a big ol' thing, almost as large as himself. He'd first thought he'd won the jackpot… then he saw the sickly look on its face and how it wasn't nearly as fat as he'd first thought. He held out a hand to entangle it in roots and once it was held still, he went up to try infusing it with some life force to cure it.

"Great, just what I need to be doing with my time, healing an animal," he muttered to himself, but common sense told him that he shouldn't be eating something that was sick.

​

 

[Ishtar]

Spring 1, 124
Early Evening

In the brightly glowing bioluminescence of Ishtar's new and temporary home, the white dragon looked blue during the evenings and nights. It wasn't until the daylight hours that her white colouration showed properly, and shimmered like opals of pale blues and pale pinks. She found it fascinating, actually. Hunting was a little easier when she could blend in with the colouration of the flora, but even at that, she was still pale against the dark and glowing of the region, it just made her seem less white, more blue.

She was a dragon of Enlightenment, a dragon of Knowledge. She preferred to eat what she could, taste the local flora and fauna. Learn about them and what they ate, how they hunted, how they found suitable mates, how they raised their young. Were they Nomadic or Territorial? All sorts of interesting creatures and plant life to learn about. She was stalking a herd of purple elk-like beasts to learn their behaviour and and what they ate. She ate one of them a few days earlier to taste test, it was delicious.

In the eleven days she's been in the region, she had learned a few things; The Jungles and Forests were bioluminescent. It was quite lovely and different than her snowy mountain cave in the North. Those creatures with the large skeletal structure of a mountain goat that dwelled in the lakes near her cave were ugly and sticky, but surprisingly delicious. Those very small Hatchling-sized draconian-like creatures were tasty, but they made her insides feel numb after a short while. Granted, it did wear off quite fast.

Today, she was exploring a lot further from her cave than she previously had. She mostly stuck around the Area of her cave to settle in properly. She planned on only staying for a season or two to explore other lands and biomes, but she was having second thoughts to stay longer. She has all the time in the world, as a dragon. She could live for a very long time.

She was hidden behind plants and trees, but she wasn't trying too hard to blend in. Most of the prey she found in previous hunts were easily hunted and eaten. A small fat creature stood in her line of sight, it was alone in the clearing. Which, she found strange. Perhaps it was a Solitary Carnivore with those tusks? She sniffed and sharply exhaled at the scent of a sickness, her nose scrunched up in disgust. She wouldn't be eating that, meat with illnesses weren't as tasty, and they gave her stomach problems to complain about for the rest of the night.

She tilted her head as the creature was entangled in... were those plants? Vines? Tree roots. She sniffed again, her eyes narrowed. There was another scent covered up by the sickness of the creature. She couldn't quite figure it out, but it smelled familiar. Another creature walked up to the sickly one, small and humanoid. Ahh, it had used some sort of Arcana to catch the sickly beast.

Interest piqued, she slunk out from between the trees. Could it talk? She hoped it could... or she'd eat it. This one didn't smell sickly. She sniffed again. Ahh... that was why it smelled familiar. It was a dragon... or so it smelled like a dragon, but it did not look like a dragon. Although, dragons can look like anything. She was very curious why this one embodied a humanoid.

"Did you choose to embody that? Or was it unintentional?" Ishtar spoke in Draconic.

 

[Caelum]

Though he had healed the boar, it still did not take kindly to Caelum's presence. It twisted and squirmed until Caelum had squeezed it so tight that it couldn't do anything but squeal and thrash its lil' tail around pathetically. He knew whatever he'd done to it had probably hurt like hell. He could heal, but he had near nonexistent medical knowledge so it was never a smooth job. He felt bad for the poor thing, and himself because his ears were tired.

Caelum almost squeezed the boar to death when something came out of the trees. It was a dragon of all things. A long one, probably an adult judging by the size of it. Then the dragon spoke and Caelum realized that 'it' was a she. Furthermore, she hadn't been interested in eating the boar, but rather had wanted to question him about his form.

He chuckled, slow at first, then so hard that he had to lean against the boar for support. "You know, you're the first dragon I've had a proper conversation with since I fully assumed this form." He spoke in Draconic but it was a little difficult, as if he was having to fight to recall some words from memory. "Yes, I embody the people of AElheim, so I look like a mix of aelf and human. Can't say that it was intentional, but it comes with pros and cons. The cons being I'll never be as beautiful and powerful as yourself, but there are benefits."

He glanced back at the boar and sighed. "I just healed him but he won't shut up. I wasn't going to eat him but… he's making me regret my decision. You hungry?" He ordinarily would have just let the boar go, but he was enticed by the opportunity to get to know this sociable dragon.

​

 

[Ishtar]

Spring 1, 124
Early Evening

The long and serpentine dragon curled up, cozy and content, legs tucked up beneath her belly, tail curled around her and swaying in the air. Lowering her large head to the smaller dragon's height, her tongue flicked out to taste the air. The boar was cured of whatever illness it previously had, but Ishtar was loathe to eat it.

She was curious and excited, though. So much so that she vibrated and shook and tried to supress it. Her tail wagged instead. "Is that so? Fascinating!" She hissed, forked tongue flicked out as she spoke. "You are the first dragon I've seen in a form so small." He was the first dragon she has seen since she departed from her dearly beloved mother's burrow over two and a half centuries ago — but that wasn't Knowlage one such as himself should know.

She turned her head to the side, a large blue slitted eye, head almost touching the much smaller humanoid-shaped-dragon to get a better look at him. He looked like any other humanoids she's seen (and eaten) over the years. Dark of hair, pale of skin, dark of eyes... healthy? Ishtar sniffed, nostrils flaring as she properly took in his scent, it was a strange combination of a warm earthy and smokey ashen. He smelled healthy, at least. If she had the shape of a humanoid, she would have shrugged, but alas, she did not.

Her eye twitched to the boar and back to the man. "Hungry, always... but not for that. Cured it may be, revulsion it is." In other words, she was picky and was definitely not eating it. She wasn't usually so picky. Not so long ago she did eat one of those projectile-vomiting hatchlings. It left her with a terrible stomach ache that night.

"I am not interested in the boar. Tell me more about yourself and this land, yes? You embody people of Ælheim—" she stuggled to get the word of 'Ælheim' out, her speech of the word badly butchered, strange accent along with it. "—is that what this land is called? Ælheim?" Her butchery of the word was disappointing... and so, she spoke again. "How do you say it? Speak it again, but slow, clear, and loud. I am sure you can do that much, in that form."

Was she ignoring the rest of what he had said... at this moment, yes. But, she'll circle back to that, eventually. Can't leave a compliment unacknowledged afterall. Nor the pros and cons of... being so small... as far as she could see that was a disadvantage... and the benefits... as far as she could tell, were none She pitied him... and only for a moment. She couldn't imagine being that small.

 

[Caelum]

"Ha, to each their own," Caelum said, finally releasing the boar of its restraints and giving it a none-too-soft kick in the rear to make it run off back into the forest. He'd managed to convince himself not to eat it, in the end. His small form wasn't so disadvantageous as he had enough mastery with grist to shapeshift back into a dragon at will, though it still took him a day or so. But unless the situation called for it, he typically defaulted back to the one he was currently in. A human head with an aelven body.

"Hmm, what's there to tell? I'm a dragon who lives among the aelves and sometimes the humans. I take part in their customs and live as they do, for the most part. I govern Luxium, so fire breathing, and am a druid, though that part's probably obvious," he said with a chuckle as he allowed the plant matter to absorb back into his skin.

"As for these lands, yes ALL-HI-EM" he sounded out the name of the forest. He was nearly shouting his words, but not so loud that he'd consider his actions obtuse. "I suppose that's the general name for this region but there are plenty of cities and towns, each with varying numbers of aelves and humans. Most of the aevles are probably in the basin towards the center."

He paused for a moment then his eyes lit up, "oh, it might interest you, given your race, that this forest houses Ældrassil, an ancient dragon who turned himself into a tree. There's also a flight of dragons around here somewhere, though I've no idea exactly where… I'm sure we could ask around and find them if you wanted to meet others of our kind."

"What about yourself?" he continued after a pause. "Your questions lead me to believe that you are new to the area. I take it you come from far away? Are you simply passing through or are you looking for a place to settle down?" His own mother had been the type to settle in a place for several decades then take off for someplace new, so he understood wanting a change of scenery.

​

 

[Ishtar]

Spring 1, 124
Early Evening

Ishtar watched the boar flee with disinterest, its fear was understandable in the presence of two adult dragons. One of whom was significantly smaller in a human body, but still a dragon, nonetheless. Despite his explanation, Ishtar couldn't quite understand why he would choose such a form, unintentionally or not. It was a mystery for now, but perhaps the future may allow her to understand it eventually. She couldn't see the appeal. She recalled being small once, and it was horrifying, so she couldn't fathom being so small again.

Despite the region's heat, Ishtar intended to linger for a while, finding herself surprisingly fond of it despite its warmth. She was pleased to finally know the name of the land she currently inhabited, even if it was only temporary. And as she'll spend more time here in the coming days, she anticipated picking up additional words of that new language as well as new knowledge. The longer she's around, the more she'll learn. The white dragon, whose opal scales shifted between hues of pale blues and pale pinks glistening in the sunlight, shook her head to clear her mind.

"Ælheim." The word was still unfamiliar on her tongue, but it was better than her previous attempts, practice makes perfect afterall. She wondered how fast she could learn that language— then shoved it aside, for the time being. And after practicing the pronunciation of Ælheim several times, mimicking it like a parrot, she turned her attention to the rest of the information he had provided.

Ishtar would likely avoid the towns and cities; she was too large to navigate them anyway. However, the other things he had mentioned made her light up like a bioluminescent tree at night. Her body shook with excitement, and she struggled to restrain herself from behaving like a fool, though her efforts were futile. Her tail wagged, as it usually did when she was excited.

"You Govern Luxuim." She acknowledged with a nod, before adding. "I Govern Ardor. I seek Enlightenment. I embody Serpents. " They were opposites in what they governed, it seemed. She tried to keep herself calm and collected, not shake and jump around like an overexcited fool.

"A Druid?" The serpent-like dragon tilted her head. "I'm not too knowledgable about Druids." She knew a little about Druidism, but not much. It didn't intrest her as much. Living as an isolated hermit in a cave for over two hundred years in the cold north hadn't helped her keep up with the knowledge, it seemed. Despite what she sought, she did it rather slowly in previous years in her cold cave. However, her boredom had eventually driven her to explore, leading her to this region.

Ishtar blinked at the dragon who turned into a tree, finding it rather fascinating. "A dragon who is a tree! A flight of dragons! That's something new... I don't think I've seen any other dragons around here, nor a dragon tree." She wanted to meet the flight, eventually; ask them a lot of questions. Perhaps, observe the dragon who is a tree, as well.

Unable to contain her excitement any longer, she uncoiled and began to slither around the clearing, moving with the fluid grace of a serpent, her legs tucked beneath her underbelly. "Oh, yes. I'm relatively new to this region. I came from the North." Her tongue flicked out as she spoke a little too fast.

 

[Caelum]

Caelum smiled as she tried to pronounce the word. He liked her personality; he could tell already. The way she visibly fought to control her excitement was adorable. She reminded him of how he'd been when he'd learned new things about being a dragon in his youth. He watched her, wondering if she was an adult dragon yet. If she wasn't then she was certainly close, he guessed.

"Ah, I suppose that explains your serpentine figure. I bet your sense of taste is incredible! And yes, basically every single aelf in this forest is a druid. They're born with the ability, you see, little different than us dragons being born with Grist." He wondered if he was overexplaining things. He didn't want to assume that she didn't know anything but she did seem to be clueless about her new environment and receptive to everything he'd told her so far.

"Heh, yes, a dragon that's a tree, but I don't think anyone can actually talk to him. It'd be no different than trying to talk to any of the trees around us… I think. To be honest I never asked for specifics. As for the flight of dragons, I could take you to someone who would know where they are, if that interests you."

He watched in mild amusement as the dragon slithered around, proving without a doubt that she embodied serpents. "I wish I knew of where to find snakes but that's not really something I'm well versed in, but perhaps I could find an aelf that's more knowledgeable about those."

He paused, thought for a moment, then continued, "so, is there anything I can help you with? Anything you'd like to do?" He didn't know if she'd just stopped to chat or if she needed something specific from him.

 

[Ishtar]

Spring 1, 124
Early Evening

Her forked tongue flicked out before she spoke. "Yes, my sense of taste is quite good and so is my sense of smell," she declared, flashing a grin in her own dragon-like manner, though it might have appeared more like a sneer. Her eyesight and hearing, not so much. She trembled with what appeared to be nerves, but in reality, it was just excitement and enthusiasm that had her long and serpentine body shaking.

As he began to explain the Druids, she slithered closer to him to hear better. She listened intently, her head tilted and almost touching his shoulder. She had positioned herself around him, so he was in the middle; if she coiled around him, he would be crushed to death. Thankfully, she wasn't interested in such a fate, valuing the social interaction he provided. Her long and lithe neck twisted around him.

"Fascinating," she commented, her tongue flicking out again after she spoke. "Born with abilities, similar to our Grist! And you possess both," she found it intriguing.

"I would be interested in meeting them eventually," she said, nodding her large head. The dragon-tree and the flight of dragons were more intriguing to her than the Druids. She was curious about the flight of dragons and wouldn't mind meeting them eventually, but for now, she was content to explore. Until she was ready, of course... then she'd seek them out for an introduction. "Although, for now, I am content to explore these lands before intentionally meeting this flight. I prefer groups of three or less. Too many speakers. Not good ears." Apparently, the concept of 'speak one at a time' didn't seem to be in Ishtar's knowledge yet.

"Ah, yes... Truthfully, I was rather lazy and couldn't be bothered to embody anything else in my younger years, wasn't too fazed by what I'd embody so I stayed the same as when I hatched. My mother embodied Serpents, you see. I kept it." She untucked her arms and did something that resembled a shrug. "I kept my energy for seeking, however slow I may have been." Once she reached adulthood, she had all the time in the world. So, she seeked slowly... then after 250 years, she got bored of her slow pace. "You'd find many snakes around here." She told him, then trying to be helpful, she added. "I've eaten a few."

She tilted her head when he asked if there was anything he could help with, pondering his question. "For now, I'm content to explore and learn more about this forest," she grinned, "But thank you for your offer. I may seek your guidance in the future if I need it. To meet that flight of dragons that roam here, perhaps?" Unless she was to encounter them before then, without him. Either way, she'd meet them eventually.

 

[Caelum]

Caelum smiled at the dragon's admission that she did, in fact, have a wonderful sense of taste and smell. His senses hadn't seemed to change much from dragon to human, though that might have been due to the very long process in which it took to make the transition. Perhaps his nose as a dragon had been a bit better at picking up animals, now that he thought about it.

"Must be no trouble finding prey with senses like a snake's," He commented light heartedly. He did see the downside of not being able to hear that well. Around people that might get to be an issue but if Ishtar was going to be around normal-sized dragons then that probably wouldn't be an issue. They talked plenty loud enough to hear.

He did get nervous with how Ishtar was circling around him. While he didn't think she had ill intent, he had a feeling that she could injure or kill him with a moment's notice. He felt himself instinctively lifting ever so slightly off the ground. "You should probably refrain from circling around people like this," he continued, making sure to basically shout to be heard. "People my size are quite fragile. One wrong move and we could be easily killed.... Nobody would care if you accidentally killed a human, but the aelves wouldn't forgive you if one of their own got crushed."

He didn't know how his advice would be taken, though he hoped he hadn't sounded rude. If the dragon embodied a snake then it was probably her instinct to wrap around things, no different than his own instinct to walk instead of fly. He lifted higher still, feeling that his conversation with the female dragon was coming to an end. She seemed about ready to head off and explore more of the forest.

"I hope to see you again soon, serpentine dragon. My name is Caelum, by the way. If you ever wish to find me, just ask the aelves and they should be able to point you in my direction."

 

[Ishtar]

Spring 1, 124
Early Evening

Her sense of smell and taste were overpowering; sometimes she was fine, but other times she was disgusted by it. "I have preferences when it comes to prey. Some scents and tastes can be overwhelming. Sickly prey is revolting. It doesn't taste quite right. I do try to eat many new creatures; can't be too picky, after all," she remarked. Being a wild dragon, she could afford not to eat for up to a few months to a year at most due to her embodiment of snakes, but she wasn't too fond of doing that by choice. She ate often; otherwise, she'd probably consume everything in the forest. The serpent-like dragon nodded, mostly to herself, her nose scrunched up in disgust at the thought of consuming sickly prey.

She floated away from him, her long body gliding as she turned and twisted away from him. She couldn't help but wrap herself around him; he was entertaining, and she enjoyed their conversation. "Apologies. I got carried away. I enjoyed our talk too much," she said, her tail brushing past him as she moved. Her long and slender neck twisted back toward him after she finished moving the entirety of her long body away. "I was mindful not to crush you to death while coiled around you. If that helps any?" she grinned, dragon-like with all sharp teeth.

"I'll try not to eat any elves," she promised, heeding that warning. There was no point in making an enemy out of an entire race. She didn't want to relocate anytime soon; she liked this forest. Unless provoked, she'd try not to eat any. Although Ishtar still wondered how they'd taste. "I am Ishtar," she introduced herself. "I would be interested in seeing you again, too. I liked our talk. It was intriguing."

Her long snake-like body curved and twisted as she turned. "Farewell, Caelum. Safe travels." She floated upwards, slowly at first, then picked up her pace as she returned the way she had originally come, slipping through the trees. Her long body curled, twisted, and slithered as she left Caelum in the clearing.

She had much to think about in the coming days.

 

[Caelum]

Thread Title: Dragons Meet

Thread Summary: Ishtar arrives in AElheim and meets Caelum. He fills her in on what's what and Ishtar takes off to explore some more.

Expected Rewards:
Caelum: 16 xp (1600 wc)
Ishtar: 24 xp 24 bonus xp (2400 wc) Note: Make sure to track bonus xp separately like it says here

Thread Link: https://antarok.net/threads/dragons-meet.48/#post-679

 

[Vicissitude]

꧁══════════• ༺༉ { Canonized } ༉༻•══════════꧂​

Requested rewards granted. Hope Ishtar enjoys her time in Ælheim :>​

꧁══════════• ༺༉ ❁ ❀ ❁ ༉༻•══════════꧂​