Raining Fire [Open]

[Qarrad]

The little lake in Western Bern was calm, not a ripple marred the surface. Indeed, the average passerby would not think anything was amiss in the waters, it looked like every other lake. It was nearly impossible to put into words the extreme plainness of this lake. Couldn't be stressed enough how normal this lake truly was. Out of every lake in the world... If you were making a list of lakes ranking them from most to least normal, this lake would be just in the top twenty, because to be in the top ten would be too notable for this so so so plain lake.

At least until the naked man emerged from the edge of the water, clutching a flopping fish the size of his torso against his chest. "Sorry mister fish, but I caught ya! You oughta last me til dinner!" With that the young drake carried his fish over to a rock and grabbed its tail, then proceed to beat it against said rock three times. Then he threw it over next to his clothes and set about lighting a fire. He'd collected his wood before going fishing, and now it was just a matter of getting things started.

Once his flint had started the fire, Qarrad quickly set about scaling and boning his fish, then roasting his massive bounty by using a contraption he'd bought with all the gold pieces people seemed to like so much. It was like a bowl made of copper, attached to a long stick. He sat facing the water holding it over the fire, taking in the sights and the fresh air.

[Shara Tiinedra]

Bern had only once been a prime destination for Shara. That had been during the Bernese rebellion against the Ilian occupation. She had considered it an interesting moment in the history of Elibe, something that one would not get to see many times. Hah...it was strange. Shara looked back at her own interest in the war that came with the rebellion with disgust. How many lives were lost in the struggle? How many resources did Ilia, a nation with that struggled with natural resources to begin with, waste in their attempt to contain Bern, only to fail and pull out nonetheless?

It was sad, really. And it was so strange that she had never quite seen it that way before. Granted her meetings with Nayru had not suddenly inspired her to become some sort of aloof wandering hero, who cared deeply for the common man. But even from an objective standpoint, Shara could not help but see it as a waste of life. And life was...precious. Hm, at least she was able to think once again. The dragoness had even managed to rekindle a love for sparring, and had at least one petty reason to learn to draw more power from her dragonstone.

Not that she would ever admit that petty reason.

Tangent. The point was that, once the Bernese Rebellion had concluded, Shara had lost interest in the nation completely. However she had changed her mind, after her spar with Nayru, and shifted her path to enter the nation instead. What she got to experience now would be a Bern in the midst of change. Post-rebellion with no Kings or Queens. In fact most of Elibe was reliant on crowns no longer. Etruria was truly run by a mad priest and everyone knew. Lycia had lost Ostia, and while some provinces had stepped up to the mantle of "ruler of Lycia" they had no formal title beyond Marquess of their fiefdom. Sacae never had kings, though they now had a Grand Khan. And Ilia...well, Shara imagined change would come to Ilia as well.

Her ponderings were put the wayside all too swiftly, though, as she stumbled upon a small clearing that led out to a lake. Just about every aspect of the area was peaceful, or at least had been, until she noticed on notable oddity. The oddity cam in the form of a man, who sat on the ground facing the water. Shara could see his bear back...and she could not see a line where "pants" began.

"Oh for heaven's sake..." She uttered with a roll of her eyes. Had she really stumbled upon someone going for a "skinny dip"? Yet she detect the unmistakable scent of meat cooking, and it notably smelled of fish, but none of that mattered. "You there - DON'T get up!" She quickly added in, not in the mood for the man to turn and face her. Shara already suspected he was fully nude. She did not need confirmation. "But please tell me you aren't..."

The dragoness' eyes drifted away from the man's back, and she saw clothes tossed together in a messy pile. "...never mind. Please clothe yourself. I wish to ask you a few questions."

Shara turned her back to the man and let out a sigh.

She supposed this was what she got for coming to Bern.

[Aria]

It should have been a simple return home. A simple flight from point a to point b. But, alas things are rarely simple in the mind of Chewy. Aria had taken a moment to get off the mighty red wyvern in order to stretch her legs. This was a familiar path with a lake nearby. Aria and Chew had used this lake often as both a watering hole and as a place to swim. Wildlife like deer and bear made their homes in the surrounding woodlands. Sometimes they came in conflict with the travelers to the lake. Chewy saw something within the woods. Something large, furry, and edible. That was all the reason she needed to completely abandon all her obedience and run right towards it.

She ran for a moment in order to gain some momentum. The wyvern then spread her wings and began to air chase the creature as it darted though the woods. Aria shouted for her to stop. The wyvern didn't listen. She just kept chasing after the thing in the woods. The skyhaired rider had to go ahead and chase after her. Chewy was too far and too fast for her to chase on foot. The red wyvern flew over a campsite where there were people and fish. The wyvern knew better then to steal food from other people.. especially when she was so enraptured in the hunt. The wyvern landed somewhere out in the woods, presumably successful in her hunt. Chewy half expected Aria to be behind her ready to share in the bounty of elk.

Aria herself kept running through the woods until she stopped short. She was tottally about to run through someone's campsite. Had she not managed to stop herself. She managed to stop herself by stopping and nearly falling face first into the mud. She flailed her arms around and shouted "woah" a few times before she lost her balance and fell on her rear.

"Oof.. I'm fine. I'm fine." She glanced up at the two people.

"Sorry!"

[Qarrad]

Hmmm. Qarrad wasn't sure why, but his fish wasn't as good as the ones he'd eaten in little towns and big cities. The young Drake wasn't sure what it was, but the people who'd made his meals at the taverns and pubs he'd stopped through must have done something to the food then he did. Maybe they had a different type of bowl stick.

That wasn't to say the fish wasn't GOOD. The dragon barely managed to push any air through his nose, as he shoved more and more of the half cooked burning meat into his mouth. He liked the fish you could find in lakes and rivers here on the big island. They were different from the salty fish he'd mastered catching back home. And there were so many other things! Chicken was amazing, pork was delicious, and Qarrad was willing to do just about anything to get his hands on some beef.

He was about two thirds through his massive fish when a voice broke into his little clearing. A woman's voice shouting at him not to get up. Qarrad turned as soon as he heard it, bits of fish falling from his mouth as he turned. It was a person, a tall one, with a long blonde braid. The person was turned looking the other way, and so Qarrad couldn't tell anything about them, although their body looked really different than his, so it was probably a woman.

The Drake ignored her request that he stay sitting, and turned as he stood up to look at her. He tilted his head to the left and said, "Hi! Why are you turned around?" When she requested that he clothe himself, Qarrad laughed. "But I don't wanna put my clothes on, I'm all wet. My clothes are dry and they'll get all wet if I put 'em on. You can ask me questions if you want."

Then out of nowhere, a woman with blue hair suddenly burst into his little camp site. "Woah! Are you okay?" Not seconds after he asked the question he was given the answer that she was just fine, followed by an apology. "It's okay! OH!" Qarrad turned and hurried to his pot, and scooped it up, "You guys want some fish?"

[Shara Tiinedra]

It was absolutely for the best that Shara had her back towards the man. Of course, it wouldn't have been her first time seeing the naked male body. But there was...a time and place for such things. It depended on the person as well. Out in the open, though, and with a stranger was not the appropriate time to simply gaze at someone whilst they stood in the nude. To make matters even worse the man seemed to have absolutely no desire to clothe himself. Evidently he was wet, which made the whole situation so much worse.

At least he was open to questions, though Shara admittedly felt a touch awkward.

Matters only got worse when a blue haired woman came through the campsite. Shara, very carefully, followed the stumbling woman with her eyes before she fell onto her rear, before she exclaimed that she was fine.

Well, that was good. Perhaps the woman hadn't noticed the wet naked man yet, but at least Shara was somehow the odd one out in being completely okay with such a dreadful situation.

“Honestly...” She mumbled under her breath and rolled her eyes. Oh, lest she forget, fish had been offered to her. By the wet naked stranger. “I'll have some of your fish when you clothe yourself. I am not going over there to get it while you are in your current state, and you'd best believe you are not to come anywhere near me.”

Maybe a bit harsh, but, ground rules had to be made. These people of Bern were far too strange for her to take any chances with them. Instead she crossed her arms beneath her chest and sighed.

“The questions I had...I suppose either of you can answer. Where exactly am I? Bern, I know, but which part? What is the nearest major city or landmark?”

[Aria]

Aria took a moment to register the two people. She then got up and dusted herself off. The rider was completely unphased by the man's nakedness. She had grown up in a house with several brothers and a dad. Privacy was limited and treasured commodity. The wyvern academy was also full of people. People who had to get dressed quickly. People whom she had to share rooms with. Aria glanced over at the fish the man was cooking.

"Hey a ridgeback mountain bass. Not a bad size." She shook her head. Now was not the time to be distracted by food. Chewy had landed SOMEWHERE out there.

"Uhm Thanks for the offer sir. But I'm a bit preoccupied. Got a wyvern to chase." She then turned her attention back towards the woman. Who appeared to be in need of directions. Her clothes and hair color definitely gave her away as someone who wasn't Bernese. Her pale skin and light hair gave her the impression of being Ilian. Which might not be the safest thing to be right now. The rebellion was over but there were still people out there who held grudges.

"This is Lake Bern. I mean it's not the official name for it but it's literally the only largest lake the country has. If you follow the river that feeds into the lake upwards it'll take you to Lucerne. Follow it up past that and you'll hit Bern.. the capital city." Yeah. It might be time to rename a few things. Aria shook her head a bit. Aria could see the commotion in the woods. The sounds and sights of birds fleeing to the sky at something big moving through the woods. Aria had to assume it was Chewy with her hunt. But, the possibility existed of it being a different thing altogether. Like a wild wyvern.. or a bear.

[Qarrad]

The young drake's feelings were a bit hurt when neither of the two people he spoke to wanted any of his fish. He didn't know why the person who was so adamant about him putting on clothes. It wasn't even cold outside, Qarrad probably wouldn't put clothes on for the rest of the day if he didn't have to. He thought his shirt and cloak looked nice, but it also made him happy just to feel the breeze on his skin.

Then the woman with blue hair said she had a Wyvern out in the woods. "Ooooh, a Wyvern! Those are the big birds with scales right? They look like... horses but more like komodos." Qarrad had been preparing to say smaller dragons, but thought better of it. How could he justify knowing what a dragon looked like after all. No, instead he brought up what he'd actually thought when he first saw them, that they looked like the fierce lizards he'd sometimes had to run from back on his island, but with wings and a bit bigger than the horses people seemed to love riding. He laughed and closed his eyes as he spoke with a grin, "Sorry, I'm from the Islands, sometimes I forget what you guys call stuff."

As he scarfed down another mouthful of fish, the blue haired woman explained where they were, and Qarrad snorted, some of the fish falling from his mouth onto the ground below. "I'm glad you know! This place is so big I'd have been lost for weeks!" When Qarrad looked back at the person who was still turned around, he decided they must find nudity uncomfortable for some reason. Qarrad certainly didn't want to make someone feel like he didn't care about their feelings. He set the pot back on its stand, letting it cook a bit more over the fire where it cam to rest, and hurried over to his clothes.

Throwing his red cloak around his shoulders so that it covered his whole body, he said, voice still chipper, "Okay, my cloak'll get wet but you can turn around now if ya want and have some fish."

[Shara Tiinedra]

Ah. Lake Bern, apparently south of Lucerne and the largest lake the country had. Lucerne had been Shara's next destination, so it was good to hear that she was fairly close. Even if the man was an idiot of sorts at least the woman seemed to be capable. He truly was a special kind of...dense. He referred to wyverns as 'big birds with scales'. Was he even from Bern? This was Shara's first visit, and she knew plenty about Wyverns as it was.

...Ah, there it was. He claimed to be from the islands. The Western Isles, he no doubt meant. Perhaps Bern was no so bad, in that case, though it was a shame that this man hailed from the same place as that sorceresss.

“I see. Thank you, miss.” Shara never did catch the name of the blue haired woman, and unfortunately she still did not deem it safe to actually turn around yet. In fact she had been just about ready to leave when the man announced that he had donned his cloak. Shara hesitated for a moment before she slowly turned to face him, thankful that he had been honest.

Now that he was decent, that fish did smell good.

“Ah, and many thanks to you as well. I suppose I will take you up on your offer, then.” Shara walked closer to the man and his fire, and gave the fish a brief lookover. Her mood was improved from before, for sure. She actually knew where she was, and was no longer accosted by the nakedness of a stranger. Certainly an improvement.

...

But did she really ought to simply wait for some fish before she went on her way? Hm, ordinarily that was the extent she would go with strangers such as these. But...

“I hail from Nabata, myself, so I am not so familiar with Bern. First time visiting the nation.” Shara spoke plainly with a small shrug, before she cast her gaze between the two. “My name is Shara Tiinedra. Well met.”

[Aria]

Aria smiled softly. She was glad she could help both people with their directional issues. Bern was so vast it was very easy to get lost among its mountains and vast forests. So it appeared that this man was from the Isles. She had to assume he meant Western Isles. She only knew of the Isles as a place in the far northwest. And how they looked like on a map. She didn't know anything else about the people or the culture. But, whatever the case this man seemed like the sort who led an isolated life. Which wasn't uncommon. Aria knew of a few little villages in the heartland of the forests that were mostly cut off from the rest of Bern.

And then this woman was from Nabata! Nabata of all places. Like the Isles she knew little about Nabata. Other, then it was a vast desert wasteland. And people who come from there usually had suntanned skin and funny cloth hats. Supposedly the hats helped to keep the sun's heat away from their body. Of course this was all just stuff she learned from other people, who in turn learned it from other people. These people being sailors, traders, or former guards to merchants, who visited pubs to wet their whistles.

"Wow, I wouldn't have guessed you were from Nabata. Most folk with your complexion and hair I've met have been Ilian. Ah guess the worlds full of all types." And then she heard Chewy roar.

"Well.. I can tell you Wyverns aren't birds. They are like distant cousins to lizards." She thought for a moment. It was a long time since she had to explain WHAT a wyvern was. Most of the time when she had to explain what a wyvern was, Chewy was always right there next to her so all she'd have to do was point. And then people always got that "ooooh that's what you mean" sort of expression in their face.

"And.. that's my wyvern." She sighed. Chewy had impeccable timing for ruining things.

"Pardon me, I'm going to see what's going on. If I can get her to behave I'll bring her around." She quietly dismissed herself and headed into the woods.

[Qarrad]

Finally the taller of the two strangers turned around to look at him, covered in his cloak as he was. He was surprised to find that they were a she, with softer features than all the men he'd met since leaving home. "Oh wow, you're a girl. But your body's different from most of the girls I've met-" Before finishing, Qarrad sniffed, and realized that his fish was hot again, but probably a bit less red, which was a shame. He took the pot off its little stick and carried it towards the rest of his things, pulling a little bowl out of his satchel. Turning around, he grinned so wide his eyes shut and said, "You're so tall! I think you're the only girl I've ever met that's taller than me."

He poured a portion of the fish in the pot out into the bowl, then plopped down about a foot from Shara, and extended the bowl to her with a smile. "Nabata? I think somebody told me about that. It's like one big beach." After the bowl was free of his hands, Qarrad looked in the pot. He wasn't sure if the blue haired woman wanted any fish, but he would need to save her enough that she wouldn't go hungry if she took him up on his offer. Looking in the pot, that meant he probably shouldn't have any. And he was sooooo hungry. Still, it was nice to let people eat your food with you, and his Papa had always told him if he met a girl he needed to be nice to her. Qarrad never really understood why he shouldn't just be as nice to everyone, but his Papa was human and he wasn't so he must not have understood the rules.

With another smile, the Drake slapped himself in the forehead. "Oh yeah, Lizards is your guys' word for 'em. I definitely wanna meet your big lizard if I can!" As the blue haired woman began to see to her mount, Qarrad couldn't shake the feeling he'd seen her before.

[Shara Tiinedra]

Unbelievable. Shara had bothered to put herself out there and give her name to these two, and yet BOTH of them failed to respond correctly. Not one of them bothered to give their name in return. So she had blue haired klutz and...sligtly less blue haired...island...to be honest she didn't exactly know how to describe the male. It was as if he were a child in the body of a man. A body she almost saw too much of for her own good.

Of course the woman pointed out how Ilian Shara looked. She usually just claimed Ilian descent, but born in Nabata, but didn't exactly have the time to delve into her loosely woven lie. There was a strange roar in the distance, or at least not all that far in the distance, and the woman dashed off towards it. She claimed that the source was her wyvern. Hm, fascinating. Shara never had the chance to closely examine a wyvern, actually. It could be an interesting experience to make up for...whatever was going on in the current moment.

The man, on the other hand, went on to regale Shara with the lovely compliment of “her body is different from most od the girls he had met.” At the very least she could take some private humor in just how accurate that statement was, but not for the apparent height difference. Shara already knew her human form was taller than the average human female, but she was no giantess.

“I'll take that as the compliment that I am sure it was intended to be.” Shara stated dryly, though she did give a ghost of a genuine smile when the man handed out her the bowl of fish...stew. It was cooked, and smelled edible, so Shara was not too concerned with the mystery fish concoction she now held in her hands. Of course he ruined the kind gesture by giving his description of Nabata.

One big beach.

...

The worst part was, in a sense, he wasn't exactly wrong. Yet all the same she wanted to dump the hot fish thing onto his head. What sort of simpleton WAS this man, anyway?

“I wouldn't describe Nabata as such. Beaches, on average, are far less treacherous.” Shara did not sit with the man and instead remained standing. Of...course this strange man had no fork. Or knife. Or any utensils of any kind, so she let out a small sigh and began to eat from the bowl with her bare hands. The fish itself was surprisingly juicy...and the flavour was not bad. Nothing fantastic, lacked the seasoning and finesse for that, but still better than she had expected.

“Mm...not bad.” Shara commented, licking her lips quickly before she cast a glance over her shoulder, in the direction that the klutz had wandered off in. “And yes, I'm intrigued by this wyvern as well.”

[Aria]

And so she marched away from the two strangers and the warmth of the campfire and into the woods. She occasionally stopped and listened to the world around her. Hoping to hear the sounds of Chewy chewing on something she had caught. And not the sounds of her chewing on bark or wood like some kind of beaver. Aria never understood why Chewy had such a fixation with wood. When Chewy was a little wyvern pup, she was notorious for chewing through the wooden fences of her pen. Much to the dismay of her mother and Aria's family.

"Chewy!" She shouted out. No response. The sky haired rider sighed. She kept following the signs of the forest. Chewy had definitely been here. A wyvern of that size running through the forest for some game left it's mark in the forest. Fallen branches, clipped bark on trees, foot prints in the mud, yep Aria could see it all. She tracked it down until she saw the red behemoth.

"Did you manage to catch something?" She spoke to the wyvern. The brick colored wyvern turned around to greet her owner. She had nothing to show for her hunt.

"Ya missed it didn't you." Aria spoke and patted Chewy on the nose. The wyvern gave a snort of disapproval and pushed the hand away. She was not in the mood for pity. Not when her pride had been wounded so.

"Alright. Well.. there's some people near the shore line. They've got a camp. Warm fire and some fish. Maybe you can get some scraps. We'll try the hunt again tomorrow." She did her best to reassure Chewy and convince her to join the group. Aria made her way back out of the forest with Chewy behind her. Growling and grumbling along the way.

"I know you are upset. But, there's a man who's never seen a wyvern before and a lady who's really pretty. I'll let them know you're in a bit of a foul mood. But, please... don't hurt em." She slowly grabbed Chewy's reigns and quietly brought the animal out of the woods and within view of the camp.