A Better Tomorrow [Aerious, Elly, Nayru]

[Nayru Al-Saiduq]

She stretched luxuriously, basking in the brisk chill and stillness of the morning. Much of the city's populace did not rise until after dawn; the sun's molten orb was only now appearing over the horizon, daybreak at its finest. Hues of crimson and fiery orange painted the skies in their splendor, the light glinting off of anything reflective in the area - reflective and shiny, like half her outfit. The glare was nigh-on blinding, but it seemed fitting enough as an auspicious start to their journey.

Nayru hadn't seen it necessary to inform either of her partners in the guise for the exact reason that she had picked sunrise for their departure, leaving them to gather than she just wanted to be on the move as soon as possible. The truth was - well, she just liked sunrise, always had, and it had seemed like a fitting idea at the time. Of course, knowing her luck, Elly would oversleep and Aerious would be waiting outside another inn.

Waiting was something that dragons did well, though always in the right place, holding fast until the right time. Aerious had said that he would find them, and - she had to trust him. Force herself to trust him. If she was to make any headway in this world they spoke of, she would have to grow as a person as well, even if the change was antithesis to how she had spent her life for so long. The dragon leaned against the aged wooden wall of the inn, arms crossed, eyes half lidded with a small quirk to her lips, a gentle smile on the verge of appearing.

POAST THEME: youtu.be/RtPrVmAFnJc

[Aerious]

Aerious had not slept the night before. He found, of late, that he needed far less rest then he had in his younger years. Going for days on end with minimal rest wasn't even an issue for him. He only slept on a daily basis when he was in a town for a night, because nothing seemed to happen during the dusk hours. It made good time for thinking, and last night he'd had quite a few things to think about.

Now, as the darkness began to fade as the first rays of light pierced the horizon, he left the cracked spire and walked into the town again. Some people were awake on the outskirts, tilling the fields, feeding the animals, and such things. Aerious walked by them with a few cursory glances. It was odd, most of these people were nothing special. But any one of them could be someone capable of changing the world. Any stable hand could grow up to be the next Alan, any baker could be the next Rayl. What an odd world, how was one to find those who could be heroes among the countless sea of humans? It seemed more like the work of some god then for even a dragon.

He smelled the scent of ozone in the air, and grinned to himself. It would lead him straight to her, without a problem. After a few moments, it lead him to a small inn. The scent was strongest here, she must have been nearby. He'd come from the side, so when he did spy Nayru, she was staring off into the sunrise. The glimmer of her clothing and jewelry was making her very obvious to everyone in sight, it was almost as if she was glowing. Aerious approached her with a chuckle.

"A bit ostentatious don't you think?" He said with an odd smirk.

[Elly]

"Wheeee! Again, again!" The excited girl let out a shrill cry as Heather's right wing dipped to the side once more, holding onto her pegasus tightly as the two made another sharp turn in the air together. A curious feeling tickled at the edges of her consciousness, not altogether unpleasant. Full, blown out laughter rang in her ears as her partner rose once more, gaining altitude, mixed in with the rush of wind blowing past. It took her a few moments to realize it was her own. Impulsively, she leaned forward to hug the filly's neck, stretching just over her wings. Her heart skipped a beat as Heather neighed in protest, their altitude dropping for a moment before the pegasus managed to stabilize her flight once more. That had been scary!

Elly shook her head, taking a deep breath. Maybe that had been enough flying for the morning? Flying definitely beat waiting, though, and she just hadn't been able to sleep after last night's excitement. She was going to be a real heroine! A small twinge of guilt stabbed at her heart; she knew she wasn't suppossed to be flying, but whatever the commander didn't know wouldn't hurt her, right? She ought to be meeting up with Nayru, too; after all, it was starting to get pretty bright. Oh, crud! She had said they'd meet at sunrise, no? What if...what if Nayru's friend got there first, and they left her behind? She gasped. "No! They can't! Heather, we haveta go down!"

Elly clasped the reins tightly, directing the filly into a dive. Now, where had Nayru said they'd meet? It was at the inn, right? Her eyes scanned the rapidly growing buildings frantically, seeking the roof they had talked on the night before. Her gaze locked onto it; she pulled Heather into a turn, nearly flying off her seat as her mount reacted enthusiastically to the strong tug. Too sharp! She hung on tightly, determined not to give a repeat performance of her previous landing as the two of them approached the inn at...probably unsafe speeds. Heather's hooves slammed into the ground jarringly, causing her teeth to rattle as she ran past the entrance before slowing down. The young trainee fumbled with the stirrups, untying her feet as swiftly as she could before dismounting, stumbling as she reached the ground. Her head swiveled from side to side desperately, hoping she wasn't too late, before she noticed her newest friend.

"Please don't leave me I'm so sorry for being late I promise I won't do it again!" She gasped for air, all but pleading. Wow, she thought she was going to asphyxiate there for a moment. Oh, Nayru had said there'd be a friend with her, no? She scanned the nearby crowd, yet couldn't find anyone with clothing similar to hers. That meant she wasn't the last one to arrive! Score! She placed her hands behind her back, relaxing. "Oh, uh, are y' waiting for your friend, Nayru? That means I'm not late, right?"

[Nayru Al-Saiduq]

Jerked from her thoughts, the dragon was left to fish for a response to Aerious' question without any context, her mind still forcing itself from its previous lofty heights back into the mundane realm of thinking up a coherent answer. What was ostentatious? Her clothes? "You had no issue with my attire last night, as I recall." She humphed lightly, the quiet happiness of before gradually morphing into a tinge of amusement. It was probably the clothes and jewelry, she decided. "Each trinket, each garment, bears a story. They are tokens of brave warriors, of petty thieves, of-" cloth she had stolen from a caravan for no better reason than that it looked pretty "...sometimes of less grandiose memories, those which I simply cherish for what they are."

It certainly sounded better than admitting to her new companion that she was technically a petty thief. Dammit but she was in a good mood today if she was already talkative! "The rising of the sun is always gorgeous, a sublime beauty eclipsed by few other things in this world. I strive to watch each one. In the past, often alone - but I suppose that I am not so alone anymore." There was a deeper meaning to it than a simple statement of fact, that she was watching it with him now. The idea that she was to actually be traveling with people - multiple people - who shared a common goal was something she still found hard to actually believe, but it was not a development she regretted.

Feared, perhaps, for even as she held her head high and looked forwards, the gnawing pain of worry and betrayal whispered in her heart, but she was trying to be strong. Weakness hidden by false strength, a facade that she could only hope eventually grew into truth. Assuming Elly didn't kill them all in the process. The girl's arrival was as cataclysmic as ever, though Nayru was forced to give the trainee her dues; she had actually managed to only partially crash this time, rather than meeting the ground in a jumble. Earth and Sky, but this girl was incorrigible. "Elly, you may wish to practice landings further, though I commend you for managing to land without property damage this time."

The Nabatan wanderer pushed off from the wooden wall she had leaned against, rolling her shoulders in preparation for a lot of walking. She was eager for them to be on their way, though not so eager to plumb the depths of what could and could not be said in Elly's presence, as well as a hint of worry that Elly would end up saying something so foolish as to jeapordize the entire arrangement; first impressions were not everything, but they were often critical for a relationship. She still wasn't sure exactly how Aerious had been swayed, but did not want to see that wall around him built once more.

"Elly, this is my friend. I believe that I mentioned him in passing last evening?" The lack of a full introduction was entirely intentional, and she averted her gaze to Aerious for a moment, hinting - on the off chance that he hadn't already picked up on it - that if he wanted to use a false name or introduce himself personally, now was the time. She was, for lack of a better way to put it, offering him the chance to set the tone. Spinelessly bending to her elder would be a less flattering way of putting it.

[Aerious]

OOC: Everyone is doing this color text, I guess I better too

IC:

Aerious watched the explosion of feathers as the winged horse and rider grazed right by him, and instantly he knew what the problem was with this rider. Youthful energy, ah how much of that had he seen among humans. That level of foolish energy reminded him of someone, but he couldn't recall who.

[red]"It seems we will have no fear of things being boring."[/red] Aerious added quietly to Nayru as the girl approached her, flustering and babbling rather incoherently. When he was half introduced by Nayru, he nodded his head to the young rider in a half bow. [red]"Elly, was it?"[/red] He asked the rhetorical question. [red]"A pleasure, call me Aerious."[/red] He spoke. He'd never had any need for pseudonyms. After all, most people didn't ask his dragon form it's name, they preferred to run screaming.

He looked at her mount, who seemed just as stressed as the knight herself. [red]"Your movements are too harsh up there, you are scaring her. More is not always better, finesse and control can make up for a lack of power. Isn't that the very principle that Pegasus Knights fight by?"[/red] He asked to the girl. Aerious did have a bit of a habit of cutting right to the point, some said that it made him seem too abrasive. Never-the-less, what was said was said, no sense worrying about it now.

[red]"Flight is graceful, take it slow and elegant like a dance, and you will be fine. Don't let your enthusiasm make you hasty."[/red] And more with the criticism, he really needed to work on that. [red]"But I digress, I did not intend to be so critical. So, where are you heading?"[/red]

[Elly]

"Urk." Oh, so he was her friend. Her brow furrowed in worry as she stared into the man's green eyes. And, of course, that meant she had been the last to arrive, which made her late, which...oddly enough, didn't seem to have angered Nayru, so everything was fine! She grinned goofily in relief, her shoulders slumping automatically as she relaxed slightly. And she had even complimented her, which was doubly great! She clapped her hands together happily, bouncing on the balls of her feet, chest puffing out in pride. "Yeah, no damage at all! And no people trampled, too, Nayru!" Yes, Nayru's words made sense; how was she supposed to learn how to land if she didn't practice? That meant her commander's restriction made no sense, she definitely ought to practice more, no? She nodded to herself, pleased with her reasoning. The power of logic!

The man's voice calling her name snapped her away from her thoughts, and she turned towards him. Her head bobbed in acknowledgement as he introduced himself. Ohh, so he was Nayru's mysterious friend, no? He definitely looked alright, though a bit scruffy, she noted critically. Still, anyone who was Nayru's friend and wanted to help her was her friend, too! "Hi, and yeah, I'm Elly!" She chirped excitedly as soon as he finished. "A pleasure t' meet you too, uh...Aerious!" She stumbled on the unfamiliar word. She'd have to come up with a nickname for him soon. She tried to pay attention to him as he spoke, biting her lower lip. Honestly, she could see how he and Nayru were friends. Why did they both insist on using all those complicated words all the time? However, the meaning of his message was as clear as a cloudless sky. Their movements were too sharp, right? Just like before, when they had turned, and she had nearly fallen off her seat!

She walked to Heather's side, stroking the filly's mane before speaking, her attention focused on her mount. "See, Heather, y' can't go ahead and be so harsh when flying, alright? You, uh..." She chided, pausing, trying to recall the words Aerious had used. They sounded mature and responsible. Her eyes lit up as she recalled them. "Y' have to take it slow and elegant, y'know, like a dance!" Her cheerful tone withered under Heather's deadpan stare, making her suddenly feel as though she had misunderstood something. She blinked, before shaking her head. No, that couldn't be it, she was pretty sure that was what Aerious meant, no? Though, she wondered if Heather knew what a dance was. That was a pretty bad metaphor to use for a pegasus, in her opinion. Oh, now, a dance of pegasi in the sky would be something to remember, though!

No, but, now wasn't the time for daydreaming. She turned back to Aerious, smiling once more. "Thanks for th' advice! Though, now that I think of it..." She trailed off, staring into the sky, deep in thought, before lowering her eyes to the man before her once more. "Y' know about flying, right? So, that means, y' must be like Nayru! Y' know, a..." She cut herself short sharply. Nayru hadn't told anyone else yesterday she had been a wyvern rider, no? So, maybe she didn't want it known...maybe the two of them had escaped from the army! Oh, together, too! That'd be just like in the stories! She giggled to herself before nodding. Yes, it'd be best to keep their former affiliation a secret, especially if they really were on the run from Bern's wyvern forces. She spread her arms to her sides, flapping them up and down and dipping to the side once, pretending to fly, before winking at him. Ohh, Nayru would be so proud of her, she hadn't blurted out her secret!

[Nayru Al-Saiduq]

"I - what?"

Understanding anything Elly did was hard enough, but figuring out what she meant with her innocent words was in a class entirely different. Nayru could already feel the inevitable headache coming on as she tried to decipher what Elly meant. Dragon? She hadn't told the girl, that was for certain, so how in the Burning Hells had the little trollop figured it out? She reigned in her emotions forcibly, struggling to stifle her annoyance, trying to avoid leaping to conclusions. Maybe Elly had meant something else, and was trying to be helpful in her own... way. It didn't help that she was already having visions of her partnership with Aerious crumbling.

Realizing how stiff she was, Nayru forced herself to try to relax, at least visibly - there was little she could do to stem the torrent of thoughts flowing through her mind. So much for a flawless first impression. The dragon glanced surreptitiously at Aerious before speaking, hoping to forestall any issues, even if it meant taking charge of the situation. "Elly," Wait, perhaps she meant a wyvern rider? Nayru couldn't tell if the explanation relaxed or annoyed her, but it did seem more likely than jumping to conclusions. "...Nevermind."

Oh, this was going to be a rare treat to explain to Aerious later. Nayru wished to the sky that she had thought to brief both companions a little more, but in fairness she had expected Elly to go at least four minutes without comitting an unforgivable social gaffe or accidentally landing her pegasus on top of the Prophet. An unrealistic bit of optimism, she realized now. Deflated, the dragon could muster little more than a limp shrug before mouthing wyvern riders to Aerious, hoping that he would have any idea what she meant - and, hopefully, that he wouldn't think she had actually claimed it to Elly. Nayru did not like to lie unless it was unavoidabe, and she had taken great care the night before to avoid actually confirming Elly's suspicions directly.

Until she could explain that to Aerious, she could only hope that he didn't take umbrage to being denigrated as a wyvern rider. Not that she blamed him in the least.

[Aerious]

And Elly displayed an ability to miss the point that Aerious hadn't seen in decades. How this girl had been trusted enough to be given one of Ilia's highest honors, he'd never know. She might run the thing into a mountain before long. And then Elly's comment on what he was, flapping her arms like a giant set of wings, and Aerious did a double take. His gaze flew to Nayru, more accusatory then he intended, as her own panicked eyes found him. He could read those eyes, Nayru had told Elly nothing of the sort, and Nayru herself was surprised by the remark. Then she seemed to realized something and mouthed a single word...Wyvern.

And it clicked on in Aerious head, that must have been her disguise. Which was pretty funny considering that someone like Nayru swooping out of the sun would likely make their opponent go blind in the glare. He recovered as soon as he'd made the realization. "Hm? A wyvern rider? Oh no, nothing like that." he said with a half smile. "One of my old companions was one though, and a rather famous one. Never seen anyone move a Wyvern with enough agility to match a Pegasus in the sky."

Ok, crisis recovered. THIS girl was going to be a handful, he could already tell. And he also understood why Nayru had second thoughts about this girl. Scatterbrained was an understatement.

[Elly]

"Ohh, right, right?" Elly's continued without missing a beat, completely oblivious to the brief panic her words had caused. "Pegasus knights are th' best, yeah!" Her eyes found Nayru's own, and she dropped her eyes to the ground, chastised, recalling their talk last night. She really had to work on that, she had all but promised Nayru she would. "I, uh, I'm sorry. Uh, wyverns knights are pretty great, too?" She tried imagining a wyvern rider; a real one, not the thieves and barbarians she had heard about in stories. "They're, uh...really strong, right? And, pretty tough, too, y'know, they can fly for really long!" She smiled happily. Nayru was right, there were nice things about wyverns after all! Not that she'd ever want to ride one, she thought to herself, shuddering. Besides, Heather was her partner, and she'd never trade the filly for any other mount. Impulsively, she jumped to the pegasus' side, hugging her; the winged horse neighed in surprise and protest. Yes, Heather was the best!

Elly's eyes lit up as a new idea came to her out of the blue. If Aerious wasn't a rider, then...then, maybe, he hadn't flown before? She couldn't just let that go! Any friend of Nayru's was definitely a friend of hers, and she was sure he'd love flying! She turned to him, an almost dangerous glint in her eyes, hands clapped together before her face, hiding the smile that threatened to grow into a full grin. "Hey, uh, Aerious, have you flown before?"

[Nayru Al-Saiduq]

A little bit of Nayru died inside when she heard that question. The last time she'd heard it, the flight had ended in a meteoric descent into a crowded town, and the dragon had a sinking suspicion that the girl would only be satisfied by upping the spectacle each time. What was next, then; a screaming descent into the lair of the Prophet himself? Would she find some way to launch herself into Arcadia proper, setting off a new war between humans and dragons?

"Elly, dear," Nayru spoke kindly, gently, but there was a panicked worry in her eyes, a slight hitch in her genteel tone, that spoke of the desperate fear of dealing with another flying "incident." "Perhaps you should, ah, offer again when we are well on our way, perhaps outside the city!" As far away from human civilization as possible, and then a bit further. Why she had ever thought that introducing the two would be a good idea was far beyond her, but the damage was already done. Nayru settled for gently introducing her face to the palm of her hand, silently wishing that the earth would swallow her whole rather than having to deal with the rest of this horrible charade.

[Aerious]

Aerious arched an eyebrow at her question. [red]"Flown, why yes of course. In fact I feel more at home in the air then on the ground."[/red] He stated truthfully. [red]"But were you to offer me a flight on your mount, I would have to refuse. You see, you are still learning, and it would not be safe for either of us for you to have someone else on your mount. Perhaps when you have trained a bit more I might take you up on that."[/red]

Not bloody likely.

[red]"In any event, all adventures need a direction. I must admit my directions were...hazy at best. So if either of you have a place you wanted to go or see, I would be delighted to accompany."[/red] He said, letting a stiff breeze ruffle his matted hair. [red]"After all, I am but a leaf to be blown on the wind, a wanderer."[/red]

He looked between the odd pair, curious if they had any idea where they were going.

[Elly]

"Oh, uh, Heather is pretty great, y'know, there's nothing to worry about?" Elly sighed, staring at the filly, a hint of disappointment creeping into her voice, only to be replaced by excitement once more moments later. "But, uh, I'll hold y' to that, Aerious! I'll take you flying once I'm a full knight, 'kay?" It was their loss, she planned to fly as often as she could on this journey!

She turned towards Nayru at Aerious' words, puzzled. Now that she thought about it, she hadn't asked her where they were going. "Uh, I don't know? Nayru, did y' have a place in mind?" Honestly, she was pretty lost around here; she had just traveled south from Ilia, and aside from the boring stretches of plains she believed might have been the place the commander called Sacae, she hadn't really seen anything interesting. Though, to be fair, she hadn't really looked around, and hadn't dared fly until she was sure she was far away from her country. "Y'know, I've never been in Bern before, but I bet it'd be great t' look at from above!" Her eyes lit up as she realized she now had an excuse to fly again. "I can fly ahead and scout or something, if y' have a place in mind? Heather and I'll find it for sure!"

[Nayru Al-Saiduq]

"I, too, have been but a wanderer since this journey began in the distant past." Exactly how far past was left vague for Elly's benefit, and Aerious had begun his journey long before even that, but to her it was the distant past. "There are countless more stories to collect, and perhaps it would be wise were we to continue on as we have, for the time being; the world will not change in an instant, and senseless hurry will naught but obscure the true path." Whether she meant a literal destination or a metaphorical one was left to the listener; Nayru wasn't entirely sure herself, though she suspected that the latter would inevitably lead to the former given time.

"Aerious," she inclined her head towards him, still deep in thought, "we will have to discuss exactly what methods we can both agree are viable and acceptable, as well as exactly how direct our involvement can be." It felt slightly wrong to leave Elly out of the discussion, but without the girl knowing their true identities, there was no way that they could speak freely, bandy about terms like "centuries" and "mortals," without arousing perfectly reasonable suspicion. Besides, the girl likely wouldn't follow along with half of it and would find the half she did follow boring, Nayru suspected. In time they would certainly have to deal with the Elly situation, but for now it was too uncertain, the girl's loyalties too tenuous, to risk anything.

"Elly, I would like to spend some time with you as well in the future; I may not be a pegasus rider or a practicing user of the lance, but I would like to gauge your combat readiness and see if there is anything I can teach you. The path to becoming a knight is a long one, and you have a ways yet to go." She didn't say as much, but Nayru fully intended to drag Aerious into a sparring match as soon as possible, too - not to teach him, but in order to herself learn from an older and more experienced combatant. Yes, she had killed before, but eating a half-dozen poorly coordinated bandits as a transformed dragon was significantly different from fighting a legitimately dangerous opponent; she had no real combat experience whatsoever.

"Still, there will be time for all that later. Perhaps we should set out before the" humans "residents of the town set about their daily tasks; there will be much more time for getting to know each other in a less crowded environment." Which essentially translated to "Let's get out of here while the getting is good," for her own benefit as much as any villagers who wouldn't want to deal with the trio hanging around talking.

[Aerious]

Aerious listened to the two of them with a neutral expression, something he'd mastered at a young age. "I think that perhaps Bern would not be a wise place for us to stay. After the Ilian occupation, Pegasus Knights are not very well received there. If neither of you two ladies object there is an old Etrurian fort in Sacae that I was thinking of investigating." He spoke, thinking about what he had heard before. A large battle was fought there...and hundreds if not thousands died at or around that location. That would be a good place to start.

"If my information is correct, it was called 'Salvation Point', and was to be a base for the Etrurian's invasion into Sacae. Rumors say that the fort fell, but I wanted to see it for myself."

He glanced between the two. "What do you think, is it a good time for a visit to Sacae?"

[Elly]

Elly wrinkled her nose in distaste before rolling her eyes. "Sacae? That place looked pretty boring, y'know? It's all plains and grass!" She spoke loudly, echoing her earlier thoughts. It took a moment for the rest of Aerious' words to settle in, and her attitude underwent a complete turnabout, excitement bubbling to the front once more. "Wait, really? That sounds like a story, y'know! A really great one! Though, there's probably no pegasi in it...bummer..." She paused, debating with herself for a moment. "There were knights, though, right? Heroes? We oughta find out the true story there!" She nodded happily, satisfied with her reasoning.

Her mood quickly dampened at Nayru's words; she looked away to the side, her hands nervously looking for something to hold. "Uh, gauge? Like, an exam?" Because she always did so wonderfully in those. She sighed. Maybe it was best to be honest. "Y'know, Nayru, I, uh...I haven't fought yet, like, ever? We only focused on flying, and I'm new...and...uh, th' commander said it was more important that we didn't fall off our saddles as soon as we kicked off the ground, right?" She rushed through the explanation, hoping Nayru wouldn't think less of her, or even worse, decide they shouldn't travel together after all. The thought chilled her for some reason. She leapt forward, her hands reaching out in an attempt to take Nayru's own. "I'll try my best, y'know!" She almost shouted, her expression serious for once, a tinge of despair entering her tone. "You'll teach me, right, Nayru? It ain't a problem, right?"