A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Bern

[Nayru Al-Saiduq]

One of the best things about days like this, she decided, was feeling the soft kiss of the breeze on her body, the soft fabric rustling, the fresh scent of nature permeating the world around her. If she closed her eyes, it almost felt as thought the earth itself fell away from her, her body born aloft on gossamer. It was different from actually flying properly, in a draconic assumption; there, a constant sense of weight prevailed, even if it was natural enough. Titanic bodies that were not by nature perfectly aerodynamic did not lend themselves flawlessly to flying.

Following that train of logic, she pondered, Wyverns could be considered as much an evolution as an inferior species. While dramatically smaller and weaker, they were nevertheless all the more agile for it, creatures obviously born for flight, rather than capable of it. Pegasi were stupid dumb abominations of what should and should not fly, but that was neither here nor there. Her otherwise-flawless mood temporarily dampened, Nayru found her thoughts taking wing once more, proverbially speaking - Pegasi were one of the many things she had never experienced in Arcadia, and while she considered them horrible little pests, they were tasty and went well with catsup.

But she wouldn't let them ruin her day. It was a good day, a great day, with no bandits, no one on the rocky path she was down, nothing but a landscape picturesque enough to be called art.

[Elly]

Elly jumped in surprise as something bumped into her back softly, a short gasp escaping her; she had been distracted, staring up towards the sky. Her eyes absently scanned the road for a moment, making sure she wasn't about to run into a tree; satisfied she was safe for the moment, she looked up once more, ignoring Heather's whinnies of protest.

Her eyes sought a particularly fluffy cloud, and she smiled dreamily; how nice it would be to fly that high, and just ride through the cloud! She wondered how it'd feel? Even in practices, she'd never been allowed to fly more than a few meters above the ground. Another bump, heavier, more insistent, brought her down from her dreamland once more, and she turned to her pegasus, exasperated. "What now, Heather?"

The pegasus' black, beady eyes stared back at her steadily, and she patted the filly's head with a sigh, making sure to reach the spot between her ears she so liked, yet she seemed unsatisfied. Shrugging, she turned her attention to the road again. Maybe Heather would stop bothering her if she watched where she was going for a change.

A glittering light caught her eye, and she stepped towards it greedily, hoping it might be a coin. Her hopes were dashed as she approached; an oddly bent piece of metal, seemingly broken off from a larger piece, lay on the road, it's tip covered by dirt. Pieces of wood seemed to litter the area around it, too. Huh. That was odd.

"Y-y-you monster!" The loud voice startled her, and she turned towards the source; a large man, easily twice her size, roused himself from where he was lying against a tree. At his side lay a wagon, filled to the brim with apples; its left wheel was badly broken. The man's bellowing, however, was directed at the suddenly startled Heather, who snorted in surprise, raising her head. At her feet lay the scene of the crime; the remains of what had once been three apples, all badly chewed and covered in equine drool. Uh-oh.

The filly backed away nervously as the man advanced towards her, hiding behind Elly's back. The girl stood frozen in place, casting her eyes around for anything that could help. "Uh, um, hi," she started, nervously, her tone slightly apologetic. She felt a lump rise in her throat as the man's eyes narrowed. She had to come up with something quickly, or they were done for! "Ahh, your apples are on fire!"

The man's eyes widened for a moment, yet that hesitation was all she needed. She jumped on Heather's back, struggling a bit to clear the pegasus' height with her right leg, and settling into a semblance of a riding posture. She had the perfect plan. The bum couldn't leave his wagon, all she had to do was to have Heather run for a few moments, and they'd be well clear of him. It was flawless, perfect!

Perfectly ruined, of course, as she saw her pegasus unfurl her wings in panic. Her eyes widened in fear; she hadn't even bothered with a harness! She hugged Heather's neck tightly, screaming shrilly as the world seemed to lurch, the pegasus taking off into the air, just a few meters off the ground. She turned sharply to the left, heading off the road; for a moment, elation filled her as she realized she was flying faster than she ever had before, and a twinge of excitement ran through her body, relaxing slightly. Excitement turned into fear as she saw a tree approach rapidly, and she screamed again, burying her face in Heather's mane. Her companion swerved to the side, barely avoiding it.

Panic filled her heart as Elly felt her legs start to slip away from Heather's side; she clutched her neck tighter, causing her to whinny in protest. Just as the road came into view, she slipped off completely, and she felt herself hang in the air for just a moment, suspended only by her arms before her body's inertia became too much for them, and she fell. The sudden lurch pulled Heather out of balance, destabilizing the poor filly's flight. Both her neighs and Elly's screams grew intertwined as they hurtled towards the ground.

...Right towards a traveler that happened to be in the wrong place, at a very, very wrong time.

[Nayru Al-Saiduq]

It was raw instinct, rather than any sort of keen perception or lightning reflexes, that alerted Nayru to the fact that something was amiss. The entwined screams and neighing of fear triggered predatory instincts for a moment, forcing her to consciously repress them - to ignore the sudden pang of appetite and focus on finding out exactly what was going down. It didn't help that she had just been fantasizing about devouring a Pegasus whole, succulent, raw flesh tearing and bones shattering in her jaws.

Suffice it to say that she was entirely disoriented when she opened her eyes, her detached senses forced to suddenly coalesce from the dreamy trance she had so recently held. Cold, alert eyes swept their surroundings as she pivoted in place, sinking into a lower stance as fight-or-flight responses kicked in regardless of her conscious mind's attempts to hold them back. It was a reminder of what she was, as well as she hid that fact while amongst humans and as many decades as she had spent without fighting. She hated herself for it, but no more could she change that fact than she could change the fundamental nature of the world.

A trickle of the Dragonstone's power was already pulsing through her veins by the time that the rapidly-increasing volume of the panic-infused screams clued her in to the direction of her "assailant" - the first glance left Nayru half dumbfounded, first cognizant of the fact that a giant pink blob was coming down like a lance before gradually realizing that it was a pink-haired girl in uniform. Light armor, customary garb for Pegasus Knights a small part of her mind helpfully supplied.

That realization raised more questions than it answered - she realized belatedly that the horse's cries must have been those of a Pegasus, which meant that her new companion of sorts was likely a Pegasus rider. As loath as Nayru perennially was to get involved in anything resembling military matters, much less aiding one soldier against another and possibly setting herself up as an enemy of a state, she couldn't very well let someone fall to their deaths in front of her.

The flood of power, of the eternal storm flowing through her body in an endless orgy of violence, was intoxicating. It took conscious effort to throttle the flow of the Dragonstone's power - her power - before she actually transformed, but even for as long as it had been since she had used the ability to augment herself, the process was still as natural and familiar as it had been the last time. The unchecked torrent slowed to a gentle stream, then a trickle, but it was still enough to significantly augment her already impressive physique and endurance.

The girl landed in her arms with a muffled WHUMP, accompanied by a faint thunderclap as the flow of power redirected to cope with the sudden massive burden. As light as the girl was - and it was only because the girl had appeared to be quite small that the harebrained idea had even worked, the Manakete realized - her sheer momentum had still proven to be much larger than expected. Nayru could feel her bones creak for a moment, then all was still.

Then the still-neighing horse came down like the fist of an angry god, slamming into the earth in an awkward combination of failed flying and a sprawling gallop that accomplished little more than avoiding breaking the walking entrée's neck on the spot.

Nayru realized a few moments later that she did not have any idea what appropriate conversation was in a situation like this. She settled for staring blankly at the girl in her arms, piercing eyes devoid of emotion. She wasn't even sure what language the girl spoke.

[Jasper]

The Wyvern Elisel for the first time in a long time had to look to himself for a bearing, his rider mostly asleep on top of him. The wyvern was flying at a speed and altitude that he was half-certain would prevent his young master from being blown clean of. That matter taken care off, it started scouring the ground below him for prey.

Bern was rich with deer and other similarly sized mammals, it would have to be for Bern to maintain it's population of wyverns. Elisel could usually hear the faint noises of animals on the prowl, especially on relatively clear day like this. Today however, the plain he flew across was dead-silent. A presence had arrived in these lands that it had experienced in many years. Elisel, like all animals that currently populated the region, felt an instinctive need to hide until the presence had passed him but years of training at the hands of seasoned Wyvern Rider that had caught him as a steed for his apprentice told him otherwise. Elisel flew on a dead course for the only signs of movement for miles.

Jasper was jerked awake by the straightening neck of the wyvern that he had rested his head upon. As soon as he felt the wind in his hair his surprise made way for a disappointment in his own lack of discipline, if his mentor was here, he'd be denied a meal for such a mistake. The young rider studied the lands and quickly assessed that he was unsurprisingly, lost. He had half a mind to turn straight around but Elisel seemed to have located his prey and Jasper wouldn't deny his steed his reward after it had fulfilled both their duties in his failing.

Slowly the wyvern homed in on a handful slowly larger growing shapes on the ground.

[Elly]

Elly gasped as the impact pushed the air out of her lungs forcefully, and she felt her eyes tear up slightly even as she kept them tightly closed. Was she still alive? Her heart pumped furiously in her chest as she tried to breathe, unsuccessfully at first, yet with more ease as her lungs recovered from the traumatic experience.

She opened her eyes slowly; her sight seemed to swim with colours and images, and an odd tone rang in her ears as she tried to focus. Slightly dazed, she barely made out the white form of Heather as the pegasus straightened, nearly tumbling to the side; apparently, the fall, though short, had shaken the poor filly as well. Still, where was she? The ground, and the fall itself, for that matter, felt far too soft, more than she had expected.

As her dizziness subsided, and her sight came into focus once more, she realized, with a start, that she wasn't on the ground at all. Turning her head back towards the sky, she found a pair of cerulean eyes staring blankly at her; she stared back for a moment, puzzled, her addled brain still struggling to process her sensory input.

A short cry of surprise escaped her lips after a few moments, and she hurried to cover her mouth, embarassed; she'd never hear the end of it if the other squires learned of this! She squirmed slightly, swinging both legs back to the floor with a bit of effort; her eyes sought the dirty road, suddenly finding it fascinating, and she felt her ears heat up.

"Um, uh..." Oh, definitely eloquent. She swallowed nervously; she ought to at least apologize properly. She could have very well have killed her by accident, after all. Wait, she'd caught her, no? Confusion shrouded her mind for a moment, before she gave the equivalent of a mental shrug. She probably wasn't going as fast as she thought she was; she'd been pretty excited, after all. And afraid, her traitorous mind supplied as an afterthought, which she shushed irritably.

"I'm, uh, sorry, ma'am." She turned her eyes upward, only now realizing with a start how much taller than her the older woman was. "Um, Heather and I were just walking down the road, and there were these apples, and you see, we just had to run away..." She looked to the side, oblivious to how poor her explanation was, yet easily uncomfortable; she felt her shoulders tense as she awaited her judgement, hands intertwined nervously, yet her next statement still carried a note of concern. "You aren't hurt, are you?"

[Nayru Al-Saiduq]

"...I am unharmed." The words left her mouth slowly, her brain still trying to comprehend the sort of situation that would lead from "walking down the road" to "falling out of the sky." Nayru suspected that there was much more to the story than that; the human child seemed far more nervous than outright frightened at her experience, as though there was something else the Pegasus rider was afraid of. "It is fortunate that you, too, seem to have escaped injury. Did your... creature escape similarly unscathed?" Good for nothing flying sacks of delicious meat.

She already regretted helping - the situation seemed more likely the result of a border skirmish than merely an accident, and Nayru had no intention of being identified as an enemy. Alas, it was likely already too late. A wyvern was lazily descending from the south, a clearly armored figure atop the beast. A wry smile tugged at the corner of her lips, though whether it was at the violet-haired girl's antics or self-pitying deprecation of her own short-sightedness for getting involved. Bernese Wyvern riders and Illia's Pegasus riders were polar opposites, each the premiere troops of their nation - and all too often, entirely too eager to test the other's might.

The power of her Dragonstone trickled away, leaving Nayru more exhausted in its wake than the very simple augmentation should have taken. It was a common phenomena, and not at all unexpected; holding her power back when it was already contained in the Dragonstone was easy enough, but plugging the tide when it was already flowing was like attempting to divert a tsunami with a finger; in human form, Nayru knew, her control of her power was dramatically less effective than when in her true form.

But that was how the world was. She could no more change that simply by disliking it than she could uproot the mountains with a gesture. Thus, Nayru could do nothing but wait, both for the girl and their new guest, hoping against hope that everything would work out without further trouble.

[Elly]

"Oh god, Heather!" The girl's neck nearly snapped as she turned towards her pegasus, hurrying to her side; she fretted over the filly for a few minutes, sighing in relief as she noticed she was bruised, but unharmed. She hugged her mount's neck tightly in relief, resting her head happily against her mane for a moment contentedly. She turned back to her savior, visibly more relaxed.

"Thank you for your help, ma'am, she's okay!" She nodded enthusiastically, a grin spreading involuntarily on her face. "I'm, uh, really, really sorry about earlier, I swear..." She trailed off for a second, hesitating for a moment, before staring into her eyes, her tone pleading.

"Please, please, please," her voice held the last tones of the word for a moment before continuing. "Please don't tell anyone about this if you go to Ilia? I'm, uh, not supposed to fly, I promise I won't, y'see, it was all Heather's fault, she started eating the merchant's apples and I just didn't know what to do I was so scared?" She gasped for air, the last words coming out jumbled; she placed a hand on her chest, breathing heavily.

Elly paused for a moment, turning her head to the side in puzzlement. Oh, how could she be so rude! She hadn't introduced herself! What kind of knight forgot to give her name? "Oh, I'm sorry," she started, hoping it wasn't too late. "I'm Elly, and she's Heather! Nice to meet you, ma'am!"

[Nayru Al-Saiduq]

The corner of her mouth continued to rebelliously quirk upwards, confuddled amusement proving hard to resist. It certainly wasn't charisma, but an awkward charm that the girl possessed; a combination of a complete lack of social or physical grace and total naiveté, mixed with an easy friendliness. Nayru had come to expect little in the wise of foresight or wisdom from humans, but this one was yet a child, barely old enough to be a pegasus knight trainee.

"The pleasure is mine, Elly." She nigh-imperceptibly acknowledged the dumb animal with the merest inclination of her head. ...Heather."

And yet there was a curious resilience, the ability to bounce back from what had very nearly been a fatal experience and be greeting a total stranger moments later. Perhaps the girl - Elly? Likely a nickname - didn't have the intelligence to realize what had happened, or simply hadn't comprehended it yet. A curious human. Ilia did not quarter fools, though. Not amongst their Pegasus Knights. This child was more met the eye, indeed.

Yet she was still a child, terrified of authority, of being caught in wrongdoing, of a random stranger going to the effort of informing the Ilian military that one of their trainees had comitted the grave crime of taking a very short flight tht ended without injury to any of the parties involved. Nayru toyed with several possible answers before resuming speech once more.

"Fear not. Your secret will be safe with me, little rider. I would caution you against panicking again when flying, though. Fear is the mind-killer, the little death that brings total obliteration. Your mount will not react well to your terror; they can sense it, and it will destabilize them mentally as well. Pegasus Knight or Wyvern Lord alike, they have mastered their fear - a goal to aim for, perhaps, should you aspire to more than you are now."

[Elly]

Elly stared at her new acquaintance, befuddled for a moment, trying to make sure she had understood correctly. God, why did people always feel the need to use so many complicated words? The commander was the same, she was always talking about the juxta-thingy of honor and duty, or something like that. Anyways, she had said she wouldn't tell, no? That was great! She felt a smile spread on her face once more, and, impulsively, took hold of one of the woman's hands with both of hers excitedly.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Elly's words nearly mingled into a single one as she bounced on the balls of her feet excitedly. "Um, I didn't get some of that," she blurted without thinking. "But, yeah, I'm going to be part of Ilia's pegasus knights someday!"

Heather whinnied, pawing at the ground, her hooves leaving delicate impressions on the dirt. Elly's attention, however, was riveted on the hand she was holding, and the exotic cloth wrapped around it. Idly, her eyes followed upwards, taking note of the assorted jewelry and odd clothing, seemingly random, yet fitting in a style so unique that it definitely felt as though it belonged together. She clapped her hands together as she came to a realization, barely noticing that she was actually voicing her thoughts.

"Oh, you're a merchant, aren't you?" Not waiting for a response, she nodded to herself. The commander had always said that knights should help commoners. Maybe this was a chance to show her just how a knight of Ilia should act. She straightened her shoulders. "Don't worry, ma'am! I'll escort you to your destination, I'll make sure you arrive safely! On my honor as a pegasus knight in training! Cross my heart and hope to die!" She paused, thinking for a moment. "Um, did you mention your name earlier? I honestly can't remember, and I can't quite call you ma'am all the way to the nearest town!" She knocked on her head with her knuckles jokingly before smiling. It was so nice to meet people of other cultures!

[Nayru Al-Saiduq]

Nayru offered no resistance to the impetuous child's actions, leaving her left arm limp in the girl's grasp. If nothing else, countless years of dealing with humans had taught her that it was generally better to let them win, or at least hold to that delusion. Challenging them tended to create far more trouble than it was worth. The approach did, however, occasionally raise issues when dealing with particularly strong-willed and forward individuals.

That particular fact was making itself exceedingly obvious now that the girl had latched on to her. She wasn't sure whether or not it would be appropriate to lay her free hand on the girl's shoulder to try to calm her down, but tentatively rested it there lightly nevertheless, hoping to at least grab Elly's attention for a moment. The building smile bordered on genuine by this point, though it did not entirely reach her eyes.

"I'm certain that you will make a wonderful pegasus knight someday, Elly." Nayru wasn't in the habit of making proclamations as strong as that one, but something about the girl hummed with potential - the Manakete could actually believe that, if the girl continued on her current path, she would eventually come to embody the integrity and fortitude of Ilia's finest. Perhaps she would be there to see it. "My name is Nayru. Once upon a time, I was a merchant. Now, I simply wander Elibe." A disingenuous answer at best, but Nayru did not like volunteering too much information about herself at once. It was much easier to listen to others talk, and her companion certainly seemed to intend to fulfill that role with ardor.

Still, there was the issue of the wyvern rider closing in, a fact that had apparently completely escaped Elly's notice. "Are you traveling alone?"

[Elly]

Elly grew silent as she felt the taller woman's hand fall on her free shoulder gently, almost imperceptively. She craned her neck upwards once more, seeking her eyes; was she in trouble, after all? Her grip didn't feel admonishing, though; it reminded her of the way her father used to comfort her, back during his occasional good moods. She struggled to hold back tears as she heard Nayru's words, finding it suddenly hard to swallow; despite her efforts, her vision grew a bit misty, and she brought her free hand up to wipe her eyes carefully, smiling.

"Uh-huh, just Heather and I," she started, nodding, her tone calmer, more subdued, yet brimming with ill-contained happiness. "We're supposed to travel together, y'know, to get to know each other? The commander said to go away from the capital, and get used to traveling, so we've been doing just that, no, Heather?" She turned towards the pegasus, a feeling of warmth and content spreading through her as she stared at the beautiful filly. She had grown so much this past year!

"I miss the others a bit, but Heather is good company, even if she's pretty annoying and stubborn at times!" She stuck her tongue out at the pegasus, receiving a snort for her efforts. Elly giggled, turning back to face Nayru. "Um, have you ever flown before? It's the most wonderful feeling!" She tensed up; of course she hadn't flown before, it wasn't as if all merchants-turned-wanderers had a pegasus hidden at home. She felt silly. "I, uh, I mean, I wanted to do something nice for you, for, y'know...helping me?" She fidgeted in place, the vivid image of flying through the air still fresh in her mind, and she felt a bit of guilt stab at her heart when she pondered that she could have hurt the older woman. "I mean, it wouldn't be like, high off the ground, or anything like that, but I wouldn't mind letting you ride Heather, y'know, if you wanted to try it?"

[Jasper]

Jasper stared into the tall woman's cerulean eyes as he bore down on him. She had been monitoring his approach since before the average person would even have noticed him. In front of the woman, standing with is back to wyvern a small girl was babbling on at her companion oblivious to his presence. Elisel finally set down in behind the girl clad with Ilian armor, the ground trembling slightly as he did.

Jasper had tried to soften his landing as to not make the girl tumble but Elisel wasn't responding as he normally would. Past experience with this kind of behavior from the wyvern told Jasper the beast was very apprehensive of something but Jasper couldn't imagine what.

The girl appeared to be a Ilian pegasi knight by her garb, it resembling the knights that came for a call to arms at their hometown but the lack of intricate designs on her armor and indeed lack of armor at all in most places told Jasper she was of low status, unlikely to be a sole border patrol by the Ilian occupiers. If she was with a company of her betters then they were well hidden, Jasper was confident he'd have detected them.

Jasper turned his attention back to the other woman. The girl may in fact not be so small, but only appeared as such in comparison to this beauty. She really was quite tall, taller then Jasper certainly. He was glad he hadn't dismounted yet. Her clothing was entirely alien to Jasper, though the obvious guess was that she had come here from very warm land. The clothes looked expensive, as did the metal buckles. He wondered if the other girl was hired y her as protection. Certainly the outfit was tailored especially for her, the way it so perfectly fit around her curves.

That thought made Jasper keenly aware he was checking her out, prompting him to shot his eyes back to her face and clear his throat.

"Hello there. what bring you to the Kingdom of Bern?" The inquiry was well-placed, the Ilian's reaction should tell him all he needed to know whether they'd need to be enemies.

[Elly]

Elly spread her arms to her side as she felt a soft breeze start to pick up, closing her eyes. It had been a pretty warm day so far, and even if her armor was not particularly cumbersome or heavy, the refreshment was more than welcome. She imagined herself soaring across the skies atop Heather, with nothing but clouds and the wind to keep her company, and smiled; she even could feel the odd sensation of weightlessness she sometimes had when Heather took off in practices.

Her smile turned into a look of shocked surprise as she lost her balance, stumbling forward as the breeze became a gust strong enough to push her forward, and she took hold of Nayru's arm lightly to keep from falling to the ground, regaining her balance after a moment. Wow, they had really strong winds in Bern! It wasn't until Heather's panicked cry, and the odd sound of something grunting behind her, that she turned around in surprise, just as the recently arrived knight spoke. His tone felt formal, and she couldn't help but feel nervous; it was just like the commander's, especially during training. Before she could reply, however, her eyes found the knight's wyvern mount, widening, and she froze in place.

Almost of their own volition, her eyes trailed the wyvern's form, her heart beating furiously on her chest as another part of her mind idly admired the way its scales seemed to glitter and shine under the sun. A row of very sharp-looking teeth lined its mouth, visible for a moment as the beast breathed in while landing. With a start, she looked to the side, to where her own mount was whinnying pitifully, and she rushed to her side to comfort her. She stepped between the pegasus and the new arrival resolutely.

"Y-you can't have her!" She half-shouted, half-whimpered as she felt her hands shake, yet she tried to keep her most stern expression on her face. "I-I've heard about y'all from the other recruits back home, I know all about your tricks!" Her nervousness started to diminish as her words began to pick up speed, and she managed a half-glare. "You can't have Heather for lunch, I won't let your wyvern eat her!"

(OOC: I'm sorry, this might be my last post before Friday evening, as the next two days will be pretty busy, so I wanted to squeeze in just one more so you could RP a bit further without having to wait on me!)

[Nayru Al-Saiduq]

Nayru suspected that the flying buffet, err, pegasus would die before letting her anywhere near it. It would be prudent to prune that bed of nettles quickly. "Perhaps you ought to ask Heather first, Elly." If there was one constant between wyverns and pegasi alike, it was that they were both loath to allow anyone they didn't trust implicitly to ride them. Animals were far more perceptive than humans, flying mounts even more attuned to draconic heritage; the pegasus very likely already had a good idea of what she was, and the wyvern would in short order as well. It was fortunate that they could not simply inform their riders directly.

If she was lucky, the Manakete realized, each rider would assume that their respective mount was simply displeased about the presence of the other. Human minds tended to offer the most obvious explanations for any given situation first, and short of contradictory evidence, would generally believe their eyes. Some were more perceptive than others, and the threat of that was part of why she tended to avoid pegasus knights and wyvern riders alike. Not so much fear as self-preservation: the less likely her nature was to be unmasked, the more freely she could move and the less she could worry. The situation was already less than optimally; time for damage control. Aware that by this point her arms were hanging limply at her sides, Nayru spoke, inclining her head slightly to the wyvern rider as a gesture of respect.

"Well met, wyvern lord." At least he hadn't attacked. Yet. So long as one did not impugn the pride of Bern's finest, they tended to be fierce, but reasonable; Nayru herself rather preferred them to pegasus riders as a whole, but then that was partially favoritism based on their mounts. Well, nearly entirely. She had no idea if the rider was actually a Wyvern Lord or not, but he seemed more heavily armored than she remembered the knights being. Besides, at worst it could be taken as flattery; she didn't think it could be taken offensively.

And the human girl, of course, was already outright panicking. Doubtless she had heard some manufactured falsehoods, a common relic of the intense rivalry between pegasus knights and wyvern riders; each belittled or demonized the other as a matter of fact, unwilling to see each other as equals. Still facing the wyvern rider, one right arm snaked out to rest on the girl's back, speaking to her while still staring blankly at the new arrival. "Elly. Calm down." It was much less a gesture of familiarity than a direct attempt to keep the girl from antagonizing the rider further - terrified and irrational was not a good attitude to take in any negotiations, much less a wyvern rider; their common culture disdained weakness. Might as well introduce herself in hopes of drawing the rider's attention away from the incompetent little knight.

"I am Nayru, a wanderering traveler." A thin smile, one that did not reach her eyes. "The little rider and I only recently became acquainted. Is there anything you desire?"

(OOC: yeah Nayru is a little fuzzy on the current Ilia/Bern situation, the occupation in particular. If anything sounds "wrong" when referring to Ilia/Bern relations, that's why - I'm aware of that stuff in an out of character sense)

[Jasper]

A wandering traveler, not the most informative introduction. It did not matter much to Jasper who she was, he wasn't here on a mission to protect their borders. Still if she had only recently met the young knight, she must be here alone. By her speech he still judged her to be someone of import.

"Begging your pardon, milady. But these are dangerous times for someone to be traveling alone, there is rebellion going on and bandits are roaming about unopposed. It is a rare thing for one to travel into Bern out of idle fancy. However, if you are without protection, I'd offer my services, a mere humble knight though I may be."

It was only halfway through his routine that he realized she called him "wyvern lord", causing him to blush at the flattery. As his wyvern remained rigidly opposed to make any further movements around Jasper's new acquaintances, he at last slid off his mount. As soon as Jasper got out of the way, Elisel drew back and slinked to the ground, a docile gesture Jasper only ever saw a Wyvern have around his mentor, who trained him into submission.
Not wanting to seem perplexed at the behavior of his own mount, Jasper turned back to the little girl. "You have naught to fear from Elisel, Bern's wyverns are well-trained to not make attempts to eat the mounts of Ilia's mercenaries." Well, mine is, at least. So it's not a total lie.