Where The Air meets The Sea [Zahhak]

[Aeos]

Aeos returned to the land of his birth. It had been about a month since the incident in the Ilian mountains where he was forced to confront the Wyvern. The day where he let the other part of him out freely. Ever since that day he felt himself unable to rest easily. The other half of him felt more active. He would sometimes wake up with bits of his hand covered in scales. And he found it harder to fight the urge to jump in the air and fly. Sometimes when he would glance at his reflection in the mirror or in the water he would notice his eyes were stilted.

Aeos found himself alone along the desert coast line. He visited a place where the Nabatan mountains met the sea. He had hoped to find his parents along one of their migratory roots but he could not find them. He assumed that they were further south. The young dragon shook his head. He could feel the power of his dragon stone coursing through him. Even as he tried to do his morning exercises which were pretty intense he recently found them to be lacking.

His stomach growled. Near him among the dryer parts of the rocks Aeos had a small fire going. He had skeweres of fish and squid lined up and cooking for him to savor later. He found it difficult to keep himself focused on his morning routine with the scent of cooked fish in the air. The raven haired man's senses were on overdrive from his tapping into the stone. Although his shirtless self appeared to be human to the outsiders, those who were more spiritually aware could sense that he was different. Aeos felt his fist tense up as he punched a boulder he had been using to train. The young dragon was trying to replicate the punch he delivered the the Ilian Wyvern. He had tried and failed several times this morning. Both his hands were laced with scrapes and blood. Even the scaly bits that sometimes appeared were red with fresh blood.

[Zahhak Al-Bahar]

Zahhak had been aimlessly drifting for how long? No fights to be found. No living things besides a few animals to be found honestly and...they weren't much for fights. Even so, he was grateful he wasn't wandering away from the ocean. The familiar breaking of waves unto another surface, be it more ocean or the sandy beach he walked along; it was home to him. All that truly mattered to him really. The males series of golden bells draped around him jingled with each step he made. To him that had become a background noise he hardly noticed. Zahhak lifted up a hand to shove his palm into the side of his neck as he leaned it to the side. A loud rippling series of pops broke up the intermittent silence between breaks of the tide to the shore. He stretched once more before sliding his hand back to his side. The necklace around his toned chest bounced a bit with each step, as he had to put a bit more pump into it with the wet sand giving way to the dragons footfalls.

In the distance he could see the outline of another figure. However his brief motions were unclear until Zahhak came within closer range. This man was hitting...a...rock. Yes. While Zahhak perfectly condoned hitting things, to the level of it being probably his favorite pastime of all; rocks didn't hit back. If it didn't hit back, be it rock, child, or helpless broken human bodies..it really wasn't worth it. He gave this man credit though. He was certainly hitting the rock with gusto. With Zahhak approaching so, he lifted a hand over the back of his neck to crack the other side; speaking up suddenly to the man. Again, finding distaste in the human's language as it made his voice sound so odd. His accent was foreign to all as it had come from his family. In almost eight hundred years he'd not run into another water dragon, besides his mother, to cross-check it with. Then again..if he did run into another water dragon....they'd probably fight..and one would die. So it was possible for the best.

"The rock is quite the helpless prey. Perhaps I could suggest a better one to aim your blows at? "

[Aeos]

Aeos stopped hitting the boulder for a moment and turned around. His semi-slitted eyes examined the newcomer. Shirtless, brown haired, well built, and something else... something else he couldn't quite place. He could feel the tiny hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. He could sense power coming off of this man a power that was similar to his own. Th..there is no way. He shook his head for a moment. The salty air stung his fresh wounds. He flexed his fingers for a moment trying to bring them back to normal.

"YOU!" The word slipped out in his native tongue. He shook his head again and cleared his throat. He stared at the ground for a moment, he slowly stopped channeling the power of his stone. And for some reason he felt tired when he did so.

"You.. have a better target in mind? Embarrassing.. as it is to admit.. I.. dislike.. fighting." His speech was slow. As if he was having great difficulty putting this thoughts into words. He felt his head splitting in pain. His inner thoughts calling him a liar. He enjoyed the fight against the wyvern. But that.. was a fight as a dragon. Not.. as a person. Not. in this Human shell. His eyes widened slightly. He had never referred to his human disguise as a shell before. He always viewed it as a part of himself regardless of what the voice of his stone said. He touched his hand to his forehead.

"It.. has.. been a rough couple of days stranger. The rock serves as a means.. to.. vent frustrations."

[Zahhak Al-Bahar]

Zahhak gazed at the odd man curiously for a moment. He was...weird. Though the man exclaimed in the draconic language, he heard it with understanding and did not cognitively differentiate between understanding his draconic words and that of the human "basic" tongue. It wasn't something he was used to listening to. The male water dragon shifted his head to the side and cracked his neck with his palm pressing to his chin as he listened to the man speak. Vent frustrations? On a rock? Bah. Hatchings so green that egg still stuck to their chin hit things that would not hit back mayhaps. The jingling of the many golden bells adorned around his figure alternated in haunting patterns as the male walked closer to the man. The fairly well muscled dragon lifted his palm to his chin as he gazed to the rock in thought. Oceanic hues lingered on it before speaking. His accent towards the human language emphasized seemingly random sounds. His r's partially rolled, and his A's were heavily emphasized.

"Perhaps an armed man. Perhaps an unarmed man who can fight with his hands. Perhaps me. There are many others who will hit back. Bah..one needs not enjoy the fight to fight. It is the conquest and hunt that offer true reward."

Zahhak moved past the man towards the rock he hit. Crouching, the brown haired dragon examined it slowly. Indeed. A sturdy rock to be sure. Not however a rock that could retaliate. Such a rock likely did not exist, and there for this rock was not for punching. Zahhak let his hands rest on his sides as he stood up to gaze almost accusingly at the black haired male. "If you wish to hit rock, I will hit back for rock. This makes things much more fun, yes?" While Zahhak was no glorious champions of rocks, or geological objects of any kind; it served little purpose to "vent" if one could not grow from it. At-least as he saw it.

[Aeos]

"Thou wishes to be a rock?" Aeos tilted his head for a moment slightly confused at the stranger's offer. It wasn't often he met someone who wanted to fight right away for the sake of fighting. Normally Aeos would have done something to accidentally offend someone before getting into a fist fight. Or if this man was a bandit of some kind. But this stranger of the sea shore did not carry himself as a bandit. He had not drawn a weapon or demanded that he be given all of Aeos' gold. Also bandits of any variety usually did not travel alone.

"Er.. I mean.. you wish to spar then?" The other half of him was starting egg him on. But his fists and knuckles were already very bloody and he felt himself getting dangerously close to the point of no return with his shifting. But perhaps this sort of thing was needed. Perhaps a good fight between this man would be enough to help knock some control back into himself. Kind of like the way he and Locke sparred.

"Hmm.. You know what.. stranger. I.. think. I shall accept thy offer. I.. have some training in the martial arts.. but lack the experience. Perhaps.. this.. bout.. might help shake off the rust." He started to move away from the boulder and out towards the sand. Unknown to him the boulder was riddled with cracks and tiny chunks of it were removed due to his repeated punching. It was odd, he sensed power coming off of this man in front of him. Aeos slowly limited the power of his dragon stone. He needed to be human for this fight against another human. Once he was certain that he was safely cut off from the power of his dragon stone, he started to take a fighting stance.

[Zahhak Al-Bahar]

Yes! Now that, that was more like it! As the man moved to enter a fighting poise, Zahhak felt the exhilaration rush into him. Sheer excitement flooded every aspect of his being. This was so great! Zahhak crouched slowly, spreading his feet a bit further apart. The Nabatan sands shifted beneath bare feet as he slowly moved his weight to the pads of his feet. Toes curled beneath to be blanketed by minuscule grains of sand. His muscles began to go tense as his figure adapted its usual fluidic motions. His hands slowly began to sway left to right, arms drifting and his entire body taking on the poise of a viper preparing to strike. The motions were a distraction. Repeated and fixed movements to lull the foe into a tempo. Their eyes became so acclimated to the sight of the motion that it slowed the body and mind to responses when he abruptly struck. The nature of the sense of sight made this trick an almost constant to all but the most experienced fighters.

However he could see that this other man looked hesitant. He was like a mewling kitten that had no idea how to handle getting his fur wet. So Zahhak would do what anyone sensible would do. Throw him into the ocean. A glorious idea! Though, in actuality, as Zahhak rushed forwards with a sudden burst of speed by kicking off the ground at the proper angle to maximize on how much sand he could scoop beneath his feet before launching himself; one arm attempting to snake around the idle males left arm while Zahhak darted forwards as if to run past him. If he was able to get his arm in the grip he intended to shift his right foot behind the other mans leg and sweep it out before rotating his body and spin-tossing him with the entirety of his strength towards the ocean. They were close to the shore as it was. The idle rumble of waves crashing and breaking upon the sandy beach his favorite symphony. He would have replied before hand...but why speak when one could fight?

[Aeos]

Aeos braced himself for the stranger's fight. The shirtless stranger looked eager for the battle. Perhaps a bit too eager, this man from what Aeos could tell was an experienced fighter. Perhaps.. it was unwise to cut myself off from my power. The stranger rushed forward with an intention to toss Aeos out into the sea. The black haired dragon was hesitant and that what cost him a small trip towards the waves. But as he was sent through the air the young dragon did a bit of a mid air flip so he wouldn't land on his back. He landed on his feet onto the wet sand below. He was about to charge forward and retaliate with a punch of his own when a large wave emerged from behind him and doused the black haired dragon in sea water.

It was at this moment that Aeos regretted having long hair. As the large wave managed to send the entirety of it over his face. As the dragon in a human shell pulled himself out of the surf, he pulled his wet hair back. He tied it back, all while keeping a calm face. His fingers flicked off a few pieces of seaweed that had clung to his shoulders. He did not let this bother him. Or rather he tried not to let this bother him. But on the inside he could feel his other self boiling up with a mix of embarrassment and anger. Perhaps it was due to his empty stomach helped fuel his irritability. But what ever the case he wasn't about to let the stranger get the upper hand again. Unconsciously, he had tapped into the power of his stone letting his eyes change briefly, the little bits of his fingers and toes nails turned a tad bit darker, as he felt the power of his element seep through his veins and into his hands and feet. He was going to need to put that power there for the next strike. He let out a bit of a long sigh. He needed to remember his strengths and weaknesses when it came to a proper fight. He took a stance again. A defensive one. When the next attack came, he would be ready for it.

[Zahhak Al-Bahar]

As the man flipped through the air, Zahhak felt his feral grin widen. The fact that he could land on his feet was a good sign. He wasn't totally helpless. The male water dragon spread his hands briefly to stretch. Muscles tightened, and his bones popped along his forearms, elbows, and shoulders as he rolled his neck. He could feel his body limbering up a bit, and did a brief bounce to his feet as he gazed with feral glee towards the man. Zahhak's hands slowly began to sway back and forth while he examined the other man.

The alteration of how he held himself. How his body poised. Every slight detail was a sign that the man had at-least the smallest bit of fight in him. Zahhak inhaled slowly, chest rising and falling as he let the crashing waves give him an "at-home" feel. Water gliding along the sandy surface before it met the peak and receded. Even so, Zahhak eased his weight and shifted forwards. Time for testing had come to an end. The brown haired dragon sped forwards abruptly. Each golden bell upon the three wires bound to his body jingled at alternating intervals. Literally tens of bells, all jingling at different pitches and tones to mask his body's sounds. Foot-steps, breathing patterns, while also creating constant distractions to split his opponents focus. Though the dragon was no fool in hand to hand combat. It'd been his talent for hundreds of years, refined and shaped in lifetime of close quarters combat.

While Zahhak rushed forwards, he feinted a strike. His hand struck with the fullest extent of speed he could bring out; masking how as his right hand lashed, his left leg dipped forwards and moved to catch at his foes heel and sweep out his leg. The entire maneuver was designed to bring his foe flat onto his back by working his body against him. Most lead with their dominant leg, leaving the non-dominant to hold their bodies weight. Unless the man was left handed, this would give him a major edge by uprooting that weight in the moment he went to react to the strike, were he to shift his stance at all. Despite this, Zahhak's entire poise was on edge in the event of retaliation.

[Aeos]

The man was jingling. The bells that lined his waist were doing a fantastic job of masking the noise of his movements. With his heightened senses each ringing of the bell felt like a sharp pain in his ears. Both halves of the dragon wanted to rip each and every bell off of his opponent. He'd have to focus on the movements of the shirtless man's actions rather then hearing. He could tell by his movement that he had feinted a strike and intended to try to sweep him off his feet. He calmed himself and braced himself for the attacks. He quickly blocked the right handed hit, and used his opponent's momentum to half spin quickly to be behind the stranger.

He quickly turned around and attempted to give a kick since he was in such close range. He wasn't sure how to follow up. But he knew his strengths and weaknesses. He tried his hardest not to get distracted by the annoying ringing of the bells. Focus. Focus. The Bells are of no concern. Watch his movements. He kept telling himself that as he moved away after the sweep. He wasn't sure what sort of attack the other man was going to give. But at least he had some distance. He held his head for a moment. His head was starting to hurt now from constantly tapping into the power of his stone. He had been pushing the limits of his connection lately and this was possibly the worst time for him to start having pain from it. He shook it off. Focus. On. The. Fight.

[Zahhak Al-Bahar]

Every muscle in his body reacted on instinct. A brief hiss like exclamation of glee left his predatorial smile while his foe blocked the first strike and shifted around him to dodge the sweeping motion. Similarly to the dark haired male's shift and fluidic motion, Zahhak shifted his momentum and guided it; instead of letting it flounder and carry a pointless strike. Shifting his foot along soft ocean touched sand, he sank his heel down a bit and pivoted backwards. He spun which direction he faced as he did so and lifted his arms while crouching downwards. His entire upper-torso became extraordinarily defined for a brief moment. Every muscle clenched, and every inch of rigid outline emphasized in the shorter male's body as if bracing himself for a strike. Indeed, no sooner had he braced himself then the kick swiftly flew towards him.

Slightly razor tipped canines exposed in a deadly grin as Zahhak felt his arms rush towards a familiar poise. Countering kicks of any nature was perhaps his single favorite combative action. His hands lashed out in an attempt to coil around the mans leg while he acted swiftly. Muscles still strained in preparation, the water dragon sank his foot a bit further to root himself better in the sand as he twisted and spun, attempting to drag the weight of the males body with him by his leg; completing a full spin before launching him into the ocean, had he managed to get a solid hold on the other mans leg.

The rush of adrenaline through his body gave him a favorable high in combat like no other. In more dangerous fights, he wouldn't have relinquished his hold on his opponent like he had done just a moment ago; instead he was far more likely to cripple the limb first. One to the side of the leg to collapse the knee. The other underneath the shin to destroy the muscle. Then throw them to further ruin the limbs efficacy in combat. The Dragon's eyes fixated upon the other as he flashed another feral grin, oceanic hued eyes brimming with a savage joy few could ever appreciate. The constant jingling of the golden bells around him like a chorus of disjointed chaos that only he embraced. All tied perfectly together by the oceans crashing waves breaking unto shore and the scent of the sea heavy around them; ultimately the atmosphere the dragon could call home.

As to how well this would do in helping the other man fight easier..well...one had to get used to landing on their back if they wanted to indefinitely stand on their feet. How many times had he been thrown onto his back or knocked around growing up? How many times had he thrown himself into fights far beyond his level? Until now he could meet them head on, and endure the wave of strikes or flat out avoid them. It was obvious that this man did not live in combat. Perhaps if Zahhak imparted that knowledge and feeling, it might help him still. Or perhaps Zahhak was just enjoying himself and didn't really care. Even Elibe's greatest historians would prove unable to solve this quandary no doubt.

[Aeos]

The shirtless man seemed to know the perfect way to parry and deflect Aeos’s kick. The sudden grab then spinning motion threw off all of his momentum. Aeos found himself soaring through the air again this time landing back first into the tepid sea water. Aeos pulled his head out of the water and made his way back to the shore. The dragon half of him felt insulted. And tried to force itself further out into surface. The young dragon could feel the emergence of scales under his clothes and on the tips of his ears. He placed his hand onto his forehead. The rational side of him trying to push back the raw power of his dragon side. No. Don’t. Don’t. He repeated mentally to himself.

“Enough!” He managed to speak. There was a slight shift in his voice too. This day was meant to be focused on exercise and training. Not to loose control over his emotions and shift at the provocation. He shook his head again. The internal fight between his power and rationality gave him a bit of a migraine. The stranger’s bells continued to ring and jingle in a collective symphony that would be considered soothing to some, but was nothing more than an annoyance to Aeos. He took a while to calm himself before approaching the shirtless one.

“...Enough. Stranger.. it.. is clear to me.. that I.. thou... You are far more experienced in the ways of combat than I.” He then sighed.

“There is much for me to learn. So rather than.. continue to fight an uphill battle that I cannot win. I ask thee.. for guidance. At least.. for today if thou has the time and be willing.”

[Zahhak Al-Bahar]

It was very possible...that it was in the slightest bit, a response to the magic that he subconsciously felt slipping from Aoes' dragon stone. He himself did not recognize it. He simply felt the tension in the air briefly spike, and it send a chill of satisfaction down his spine at the realization that this combat had potential to get so much higher. As a natural reaction to his exhilaration, his body craved more. A lifetime of fighting brought out a desire to fight more. Though this was how he felt at all times, the small recognition shifted as the white dangerous teeth concealed behind a closed maw began to slowly sharpen like fangs. Platelets of scale slowly configured along the tanned skin of his in patches along the back of his neck. His eyes shifted from oceanic blue to a bold amber yellow in between sudden blinks.

Every muscle became tense in his body while the other man got up from the toss, and Zahhak slowly poised himself to strike again. His hands swayed like the bobs of a serpents head when readying to lash out. This fight would be marvelous! Except...that it wouldn't.

"Enough"

Enough? Enough of what? They hadn't traded more than three blows. Now becoming aware of himself, and the slight feed of power he'd been tracing from his dragonstone, the dragon snapped out of his combat induced lull like trance. How he longed to fight though...Bah. There was no hiding his disappointment as the male began wading out of the oceans embrace. Zahhak's siphon on his dragon stone ceased in a heartbeat as he stood up straighter. His hands dropped from a fighting stance, one resting on his right hip while his left brow arched high in confusion. This man wanted to wait? Yet still wanted Zahhak to fight him..but not fight him? The small metal bells jingled quietly as Zahhak began walking towards the man's campfire slowly, legs pumping in the sand as he walked over the small hill like dunes. When he spoke up, his voice almost had disinterest in it. Zahhak liked fighting. Not pretend fighting. "I can help you learn fighting better. First we eat. No more mewling like kitten however. This is saved for nurseries and orphanage. Fighting is best filled with grunts, shouts, and snarls. "

Zahhak sat down at the man's fire with one knee raised, and a hearty slap of his palm to the knee to indicate that he had no intention of moving until they had consumed many fish. Though there was a chance that later in the day, he himself would be going out to get more fish. He ate many more than the normal. [exit thread]

[Aeos]

There was a bit of a relief in Aeos when the stranger partially agreed to stop fighting at least for now. Part of him was throbbing in rage and anger while the other part of him was trying to keep himself in check. Aeos let out a heavy sigh and shook his head. He could feel the semi emergence of scales running down his back. A little more fighting and he might have given himself away. He wouldn't piece it together.. at least not now. He couldn't quite figure out that this other person before him was another dragon. He probably wouldn't figure it out until their next meeting.. if they ever did. But for now.. that man.. and his bells.. his very annoying.. loud.. ringing.. bells.. MAN! SCREW THOSE BELLS! His inner dragon voice shouted in his head. And for once.. the calmer side of him agreed. Perhaps he wouldn't have been quite so... bad.. if he didn't have to deal with those bells.

"I can help you learn fighting better. First we eat. No more mewling like kitten however. This is saved for nurseries and orphanage. Fighting is best filled with grunts, shouts, and snarls. "

He let out another heavy sigh. Great.. We have to deal with the ringing some more. He could feel his hands curling into a fist once more. Aeos approached the campfire and took a seat. Together the pair of them had eaten the small haul of fish and squid he had caught that morning. This annoyed the young wind dragon.. since the stranger was essentally helping himself.. with out waiting.. for Aeos to invite him to the meal. Dismiss it.. just relax. Maybe we will feel better after some food.

The day waged on and steadily turned into night. Eventually the pair of them parted ways with no knowledge of the other's name.. or if they would even meet again. However Aeos would carry with him the lesson he learned from the stranger.. and continue to hone his fighting prowess.

End thread.