Aeos
Dragon
A Nabatan Dragon in human guise, with a love of food and traveling.
Posts: 441
Profession: Wandering Dragon
Affinity: Light
Dragon Element: Air
Profile: Aeos Profile
OoC Alias: Twilightfairy
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Post by Aeos on Aug 2, 2016 8:37:29 GMT -6
Green hair. Tattoos. He closed his eyes briefly and could see Locke face in his mind. He let out a quiet sigh.
“That sounds a whole lot like Locke. He was disappointed when good was mentioned as a hobby. That's.. pretty funny. He toured me around his home and showed me the hot peppers he likes to grow. Perhaps he takes more joy in growing food rather than making things with it.” He cupped his fingers towards the pointy end of his chin and thought for a moment.
“I see.” He looked around. This place was far to crowded for certain discussions. He had to be careful with his choice of words. How to ask someone if they're a dragon.. without saying 'hey are you a dragon?’ He mentally asked himself. His stone chimed in with its sarcastic voice declaring itself it's not a book with answers. He would resort to asking her in draconic but he knew scholars studied the language. And some could be around them.
“I.. suppose. Are you.. well one of our.. for lack of a better word… one of our own?” He looked up at Nayru with a neutral expression. He was eighty percent sure the answer to that question would be yes. However, he needed to hear it from her. He did his best to keep himself calm in the situation. It wasn't often he met other dragons. And this would be the first female dragon he's met in his lifetime, outside of his own mother. Not that that really meant anything. But he'd be able to cross off meet more than one dragon off of his bucket list.
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Post by Nayru Al-Saiduq on Aug 5, 2016 3:17:07 GMT -6
"Growing good food is a reward all its own," Nayru agreed fairly readily after a momentary pause. It wasn't so much glib response as a moment of realization followed by agreement; she hadn't actually thought about it that way before. But it was true. Nayru wasn't really big on cooking herself aside from the necessities, but had enjoyed her time playing at being a farmer and respected those who dedicated their lives to it. In some ways they literally fed the world. It was a thankless and unglamorous job, but a necessary one nonetheless. Fishers and hunters certainly had their place as well, but grain was affordable and efficient for most of Elibe, and other farm products like dairy and eggs rounded things out.
Despite Nayru's... tendency to get sidetracked and consider somewhat irrelevant things at all times, her attention hadn't entirely wandered away from the 'real' topic of discussion. She was fairly sure that Aeos was thinking along the same lines as well, he almost thrummed with the same sort of guarded anticipation that she knew all too well. The evidence lined up with what she had expected at least; Locke had identified him as a dragon, and Aeos certainly seemed to act the part, in both action and reaction. But he didn't know her in return; Locke had not (yet?) vouched for her to him as he had to her for Aeos. Thus Aeos was stuck in the unenviable position of having to risk his cover being blown by someone he did not know or trust, whereas she... didn't necessarily know him yet, per se, but she did know him well enough to at least try to trust him.
But the walls had ears, as they said, and so even if she was willing to try Aeos on a personal level - she wasn't particularly enthusiastic about announcing her species to an entire tavern full of humans who might not be as excited about the revelation as Aeos. And if Nayru had learned anything from her countless years as a nobody working these sorts of jobs for experience, it was that servants and janitors and maids and servers were exposed to a great deal of information that no one else realized they knew. Maybe not as big of a deal if Aeos was just abusing his job to get free food for his girlfriend - it was likely common practice here she suspected given that no one had inspected her very closely when passing through the kitchen - but a slightly bigger deal if she happened to be, say, a five and a half century old killing machine from a false history and a global genocide. Gas the dragons race war now, as the saying went. But they weren't getting anywhere by doing this bullshit song and dance, and Nayru had never particularly enjoyed it, even when she had the common sense to engage in it.
A pulse of raw magic flooded the room for an instant, a nearly-physical wall of unadulterated essence that visibly distorted the air and sent fingers of electricity crackling across the table; it almost felt as though gravity itself had intensified. But in the blink of an eye, or perhaps even faster, it was all gone as if it had never happened; the world hadn't ended, nothing was on fire, and there certainly weren't any dragons walking around the room. Only the stench of molten ozone hung heavy in the room surrounding the two perfectly normal human beings who might happen to be mages or something. Okay, so the white tattoo on one of her arms was still glowing dimly, but that was totally normal magic stuff. Probably.
It had only taken a moment of simply - not suppressing her power, but Nayru was fairly proud of herself for thinking of the idea. It would have been impossible for the past her to even conceive given her issues with controlling her power, but now she was confident enough to at least try it, even if, er, a little more had come out than she had planned. If anyone outside had noticed she'd just pass it off as being a thunder mage, people didn't know crap about mages so she had a feeling it'd work.
"If you want more of an answer than that..." Nayru stood, half smiling. "We should meet again, outside of town. I'm sure we could find something to talk about." As in, NOT in a place where casual discussion of dragons would probably get them both run out of town. "Thank you for the food, Aeos."
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Aeos
Dragon
A Nabatan Dragon in human guise, with a love of food and traveling.
Posts: 441
Profession: Wandering Dragon
Affinity: Light
Dragon Element: Air
Profile: Aeos Profile
OoC Alias: Twilightfairy
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Post by Aeos on Aug 7, 2016 10:52:08 GMT -6
“I suppose it is. I have only had small amount of experience in growing food. I am accustomed to catching and gathering my own from the land around me.” He silently thought about his life up to this point. It was true he had little experience in the art of growing food from the ground. He knew the process but Nabata offered little in the way of farming. The grain used in this restaurant was imported. His family traveled the land harvesting what resources they could from the sea. They traveled in search of freshwater for the animals to drink and grass for them to feed on. And those that did know how to farm often farmed other things. He had once seen a farm for fish. Which consisted of several nets in a small part of the sea. Controlled breeding of the fish ensured that the fish farmer and his family had enough to eat all year round. His parents did their best to raise the goats, camels, and chickens that traveled with them. While that was a sort of farming in the sense that the animals would eventually lead a harvest it did not particularly fall under the same vein.
But then he sensed it. A change in the air. It was very brief but very obvious to those who could sense it. Aeos did sense it. He could smell it. Feel it. Taste it. To him the charge of magic in the air, was as if the air itself, became wrapped in an invisible fog that tasted slightly acidic. It faintly reminded him of the scent of rust combined with that scent of the air before a rainstorm. It was an odd mix. But, yet, he was happy about it. It confirmed what he thought. Nayru was one of them. Another Dragon. And one of an element he did not meet before. His parents told him of dragons and their elements. They told him of wind, water, fire, earth, and ice. How some could manipulate their element and have it appear in the world while human. He learned of the division between dragon and manakete. While they were both dragons they were often described as being one side of the same coin. One specialized in strength while the other specialized in magic. Sort of like how there were both warriors and mages in the world of humans. In the end though it didn’t really matter as humans decided both kinds needed to be removed from the world. He was also told that there were truly powerful dragons who could manipulate the world around them without the need to break their human guise.
He was in awe of it all. The fact that he was both meeting another dragon who was strong enough to show off her element without drawing suspicion to herself was intense. Not to mention this dragon’s element was one of those he had not yet met. He always found lightning itself to be a rare phenomenon. The desert provided little in the way of storms. Growing up he didn’t see much of it. And even when he did, the bolt, was brief. But, now there was a dragon in front of him who’s whole element was lightning. And that was really cool. He was speechless and motionless for a bit. His mind had to stop and think about what he had to do. What he had to say. He had to push back the urge not to jump for joy or act like a child who was meeting some ancient hero. Be cool. His stone’s voice resonated in his mind. It was rare for IT to be the one to tell the other part of himself to remain calm.
“I. See. Well I.. think another meeting is in order then.” He calmly took a sip of water. He needed that. He needed another sensation other than excitement to help put his thoughts in order. The cool water helped to do that. He kept drinking it until the mug was empty. He then stopped and put the mug back down on the table.
“You are welcome for the grub.” He looked around. It seemed that no one else seemed to pick up on the sudden change of the air.
“Uhm.. perhaps. we should head out of here. The manager is going to make his rounds soon.. and I cannot have non..workers here.” His voice was trembling slightly. Much to the dismay of his other half. He took a deep breath through his nose and let it out. Relax.
“Perhaps we can meet later then. Tonight? Or tomorrow? I know of a place outside of town.” He motioned for her to follow him back out a side exit.
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Post by Nayru Al-Saiduq on Aug 7, 2016 19:35:29 GMT -6
Hm. Nayru couldn't quite read Aeos's reaction. That wasn't entirely unheard of, she wasn't the best at social wizardry like some other dragons, but usually she could get some idea. Aeos seemed to have pretty good self control though, or at least a decent poker face. He did seem a little nervous though, but not in the 'oh god it's a dragon I have to tell the guards' way, so while she was definitely curious, she refrained from pushing the point. Maybe he was just in awe of how cool she was! Haha. As if. In the end though, as long as it didn't lead to one or both of them getting murdered, it wasn't really a big deal. Just simple curiosity about the unknown, so to speak.
He didn't show off in return though, which was interesting. Either he didn't want to or preferred to do it in another way... or setting. Perhaps Aeos was simply a very cautious individual who did not like the idea of blowing his cover after already getting his question answered. It seemed that discovery would have to wait until later though, according to Aeos they didn't have much time left before being interrupted, and Nayru did not want to be the one to draw unnecessary attention or trouble to Aeos.
"Understood." Nayru rose lithely, quickly; not hastily but in no particular desire to stay here any longer than necessary. "I'd usually make my exit through the window, but, well, I guess I can settle for the door. This time." She giggled in a bit of a goofy reaction to her own joke, but didn't hold up their exit further, following Aeos without further ado. "Tonight is fine. I'm heading out tomorrow afternoon, and..." she nudged the other dragon friendly-like, "Hey, not every day I get to have something as interesting as this happen. Sooner the better far as I'm concerned."
It was a bit exciting after all. Sure, she'd met a few dragons before, but each new one was - well - new. A reminder that she wasn't quite as alone in the world as she'd thought for a long time; a rare chance for insight into what other dragons saw and felt and thought and experienced. Even if she didn't always end up friends with them, it taught her things about the world and often herself that she would have struggled to learn on her own or may not have ever realized interacting with humans. Not always for the better, but after you'd been alive for a few centuries, new and exciting stuff really jumped in value as much for the novelty factor as for anything actually practical or meaningful.
And besides, it might be fun. Who knew? Aeos seemed pretty alright, a lot less high strung than Aerious and Locke anyways, and less prone to destroying her mind and body than Lynessa. Reminded her a little of Taiel honestly. They had both given her food after all, and as far as Nayru was concerned that was the only character trait that actually mattered.
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Aeos
Dragon
A Nabatan Dragon in human guise, with a love of food and traveling.
Posts: 441
Profession: Wandering Dragon
Affinity: Light
Dragon Element: Air
Profile: Aeos Profile
OoC Alias: Twilightfairy
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Post by Aeos on Aug 9, 2016 15:26:18 GMT -6
Aeos paused for a moment to look at the window in question. He tilted his head slightly at it and imagined Nayru going through it. This window in particular has those two rods of wood in the middle that gave it a + shape. He knew some other windows had glass in them. And now he was wondering what sort of trouble Nayru had to have gotten into in order to jump through one. He kept walking slowly guiding Nayru out.
“I can only imagine the jealousy oft the doors.” He joked and held open the door for her to pass through. They were soon back outside. Aeos put his hand on his forehead to give his eyes some shade. He wanted to get his bearings. He turned around to face her.
“Well then I will meet you tonight. There's an old shack my family uses outside of the city limits. We can meet there. Simply take the northern gate out and keep walking till ye hit the last sea side shack. It's.. uhm.. really.. humble. But, it's private.” He hoped that didn't sound odd. He had a faint tint of red to his cheeks. Sometimes he forgets that his family wasn't exactly wealthy. They were simple people who lived off the land and traveled extensively. He hoped that Nayru wouldn't be offended by that.
“I will talk to the landlord before going. It should be abandoned at this time of year.. but sometimes there are squatters.” He shrugged.
“They can be chased off.” He scratched the back of his head.
“Is that alright?”
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Post by Nayru Al-Saiduq on Aug 14, 2016 23:12:25 GMT -6
"Sure, sounds good."
If Nayru was supposed to be surprised or disappointed by Aeos's idea, she had definitely missed the memo, her response was as matter of fact as could be. Maybe a couple centuries earlier, fresh out of Arcadia, she might have had the idea to be snooty - but after the many wet and cold nights she'd experienced, running into Aerious in a burning village or Marcus in a tiny cottage or Taiel in a mountainside cottage, she had long since ceased to even register 'poor' lodgings as being a matter of issue. And so their momentous first meeting ended with a really lame joke and casual partings, truly a moment for the ages.
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[Outside Khan Yunis, evening]
The gilded suicide of the setting sun was her only companion as Nayru lazily made her way across the shifting sands of the desert towards the sea stretching out to infinity before her. She wasn't in any particular hurry, Aeos had been pretty vague about the meeting time, so the dragon had plenty of time to stop and smell the roses. Uh, metaphorically speaking. She wasn't actually stopping, and in the middle of the god damn desert there weren't a lot of roses either, though Khan Yunis was a pretty special place given its proximity to the sea. She half suspected there was some variety of earth magic involved in making the area livable - supposedly before the Scouring, large-scale terraforming by earth mages and dragons alike had simply been a job rather than some unreachable ideal; whether or not that was true was debateable, but if it had been true, those techniques had definitely been lost to the ages.
Actually would have been pretty cool to live in those times, she couldn't help but think to herself. It was quiet here, mostly abandoned buildings and not a great deal of hustle and bustle, and that meant less to distract herself with. Nayru wasn't sad or mad about being a thunder dragon, but there wasn't much... constructive you could do with it. You either killed people with it or you made thunderstorms that indirectly destroyed crap, and they were not the friendly type of rain clouds either. Compare that to an Earth dragon who could move construction materials around, or even a Fire dragon heating a kiln, or... ok actually that would be a horrible job she didn't wish a fate like that on anyone.
Anyways, where was Aeos's house? Digs, dump, hideout, bachelor pad, cottage, safehouse? ...When you put it like that, he sounded sorta like a dangerous criminal, not a pie-loving dweeb. Well... he WAS dangerous, technically, so it wasn't that far out. Man, she shoulda stolen a map or something. Just keep on walking until the stars burned out and the oceans dried up and the sand turned to glass and - oh. Huh. The houses had kinda... trailed off there a while back, but there was one further down the... it definitely wasn't a path. But the way she was going. Due north, right? That was probably it. So there was either a wind dragon or a bunch of squatters inside, or possibly both at once. Wouldn't that be fun.
"HEY. AEOS."
Well, he'd definitely hear THAT if he was there. Or, really, anywhere within earshot.
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Aeos
Dragon
A Nabatan Dragon in human guise, with a love of food and traveling.
Posts: 441
Profession: Wandering Dragon
Affinity: Light
Dragon Element: Air
Profile: Aeos Profile
OoC Alias: Twilightfairy
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Post by Aeos on Aug 15, 2016 11:12:39 GMT -6
Nayru dismissed herself from Aeos presence. He waved and said “see you later.” They had agreed to meet outside of the city in his family's seaside shack. He was happy. But then the voice of his stone projected its disapproval. Rather loudly. Aeos found himself wincing from the sudden “yelling” inside his own head. The stone made several points about how this was a bad idea. Not to mention the shack was probably in shambles. He shook it off. He had plenty of work to do before the nightfall.
He spent the remainder of his day working where he could. He double checked something with the owner of the shack. He bought some firewood for the shack. As he knew it was probably empty and devoid of everything. He snuck away from the city with his supplies in tow. He arrived a little but before sunset and prepared the shack. There really wasn't much to it. The shack was the same as ever. Four walls, a fireplace, and a roof. The crack in the wall was still in its place. The window was glass less. He walked in and took a deep breath. This was home.
It wasn't quite the same home he had seen earlier in the year. He was used to seeing his mother decorate the place. He was used to seeing father set up the small pen for the camels and chickens. He missed his family dog. The small furry creature would make a home for itself in an old over turned wagon. He was relieved to see that this place was empty. No signs of squatters. He threw the wood in its designated holder. He went to work into cleaning where he could.
He brought with him some more rolls. He had a full pouch of water with him. He attempted to start a in the fireplace. Nabatan nights were cold. The warmth of the day would escape these stony walls within a few hours. He had just gotten his tinder all together when he heard Nayru calling his name. Oh good she's here. He was relieved. Nayru found the place ok. He dusted himself off and opened the door.
“Hey you made it.”
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Post by Nayru Al-Saiduq on Aug 16, 2016 0:16:00 GMT -6
Nayru raised one hand in an easy wave to Aeos, smiling with undisguised relief to see him. Partially because, hey, fellow dragon and stuff, and partially because hey, possibility of a bunch of angry squatters or an Etrurian dragonslaying cell or something. Compared to most of the alternatives, seeing Aeos standing there safe and sound was definitely a major step up. She hadn't really expected him to turn out to be an Etrurian plant or anything, but it WAS pretty normal for her to assume to worst, and she'd always had the vague worry of accidentally running headfirst into a bunch of people who knew what she was and really wanted her dead. This on the other hand was a good start to the evening at least, that was for sure. Her mood still high, Nayru responded pretty quickly to his greetings with a casual tone. "Yo."
He hadn't been kidding about the shack though, it did look pretty beat up based on what she had seen while approaching it. Not quite falling apart, but definitely in need of a fresh coat of paint so to speak. She couldn't exactly examine the insides very well with Aeos standing in the doorway and it'd be rude as hell to try, but it definitely looked like he didn't live here all year 'round to say the least. Which wasn't surprising, to be fair. He had mentioned being an adventurer after all and outside of Lynessa, MAYBE Taiel if you counted his supposedly new-to-Elibe ass, Nayru didn't really know any dragons outside of Arcadia who were really the sedentary type.
"You know, it's kinda funny. Most of us I've met lived way off the beaten path like this; cottages, a hole in the side of a mountain, now a beach-side villa. I guess even in this age, we can appreciate a little privacy." Nayru chuckled, though to be honest it was less at any real humor as the irony of her words. Lynessa the bartender; Nayru the farmer, the baker, the woman hovering ever at the edge of society but not quite able to fit in or stay for long. Took all types to make a race, she supposed. Nonetheless, it was nicely grounding. They might not be 'human' as a species, but in their own ways they were all 'human' in the way that most people meant it without really thinking about it - intelligent, unique individuals trying to find their way in the world.
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Aeos
Dragon
A Nabatan Dragon in human guise, with a love of food and traveling.
Posts: 441
Profession: Wandering Dragon
Affinity: Light
Dragon Element: Air
Profile: Aeos Profile
OoC Alias: Twilightfairy
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Post by Aeos on Aug 18, 2016 13:14:38 GMT -6
“Yeah. I've noticed. Locke's home is a temple that needs repairs. My folks travel, they follow the desert shoreline. They rarely make contact with cities unless it's for supplies. This.. for example.." Aeos held up his hands to point out the shack.
"This is a shack we rent yearly. For shark fishing. Since, it is not the season for it.. they aren't here.” Aeos was relieved that neither of his parents were here. If they were this encounter would have been even more embarrassing.
“It's weird. I'm not used to seeing it this barren. If my folks were here this shack would look more.. presentable. Mom likes to decorate the place and father sets up the pens for the animals. It.. doesn't look bad when it's full of people who love you.” He was blushing a bit at that fact. He loved his parents and they loved him. Doted on him. Squeezed his cheeks and called him their little 'amal.
“I'm their only living child.. so they take great lengths to uh.. keep me safe. They.. can be a bit.. much.. when it comes to meeting new people. I'm kinda glad they aren't here.. presently. Uhm. Right so.” He motioned for her to come inside.
“I was trying to get the fire going. Before the sun sets and I can't see very well. As you know night's here are cold.” He took a seat back down by his tinder. Aeos was working with a hand made pump drill. This was fashioned from things he found out in the wild. Sticks, stones, bark, and rope woven from plant fibers. It was crude and primitive but it got the job done. He worked with the drill and tinder until he made an ember, smoke, and then he transferred the tiny flame towards the small collection of sticks he had in the fireplace. Soon, the fire grew and Aeos started to put in logs.
“There we go.” He commented once the fire was at a suitable size.
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Post by Nayru Al-Saiduq on Aug 20, 2016 4:25:47 GMT -6
There it was again - the weird... awkwardness from Aeos. She had noticed it a few times now, but generally ignored or downplayed it. Nayru wasn't quite sure what to make of it. Admtitedly, she of all people knew how difficult opening up to others could be and how much trouble she had gone through when trying to do so. But Aeos's reactions seemed almost... embarrassed for some reason, and she couldn't tell why. Talking about shark fishing was AWESOME, not weird, so why did he almost trail off there? Maybe it was a stupid thing to be so bothered about, but it WAS bothering her dammit, this was supposed to be a good evening, not Aeos feeling all weird and self conscious about... whatever.
Having followed Aeos in to his humble abode as he talked, Nayru simply stood and listened as he talked, trying to fight off the feeling of displeasure with the situation as well as pry into his darkest secrets with her brain. Neither went particularly well, but somewhere along the way she realized it wasn't getting anywhere and that a change in tactics was required. Clearly, the only correct way to handle this was to FIX EVERYTHING. Uh, metaphorically speaking. She wasn't actually going to rebuild the cottage, Regardless of the details, Nayru took matters into her own hands, taking a few steps partially across the room to put a hand on Aeos's back that was SUPPOSED to be gentle but may have had a little more kick to it than intended. "Hey, it's good to hear you're close with your parents, Aeos. Treasure what you have."
She wasn't sure if some feel-good bullcrap actually counted as a rousing speech, but she hadn't really planned that out, just spoken from the heart and to hell with what came out. Could've gone worse anyways. Taking a step back and withdrawing her hand from Aeos's back in the process, Nayru grinned impulsively. "And lighten up, yeah? This is a good night. Live in the moment a little!" There was a certain level of irony, once again, in HER of all people telling others to lighten up. Nayru was thoroughly aware of that, and it did feel a little sour just from the sheer hypocrisy of it. But once again, she did mean it with an almost childlike sort of honesty in simplicity. Whatever the deal was, they should be rejoicing a rare and wonderful meeting, not tiptoeing around imaginary blockades for no real reason. Certainly they both had their secrets, but out here - in the cold comfort of solitude shared with another, both travelers who had walked similar paths - they could at least be themselves. At least a little bit.
It was maybe not the most... subtle attempt at making conversation, but she didn't want to end her contribution to the evening on that note nor did she want to force Aeos to respond to it unless he actually wanted to. So Nayru continued on a bit more, giving him an easy out if he didn't want to go into it. "So hey, what element are you, anyways? You're not crazy, so probably not earth, and you're not super crazy, so definitely not thunder. That leaves... what, Water and Fire? Ice? Nah, you wouldn't be bitching about the cold then." Meaningless prattle to some degree, but she was curious.
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Aeos
Dragon
A Nabatan Dragon in human guise, with a love of food and traveling.
Posts: 441
Profession: Wandering Dragon
Affinity: Light
Dragon Element: Air
Profile: Aeos Profile
OoC Alias: Twilightfairy
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Post by Aeos on Aug 20, 2016 6:01:53 GMT -6
Ooc- Bold purple text is Aeos talking in draconic. Cause fu*k copy pasting Google translate on mobile.
Aeos was a bit apprehensive. This was the first time he brought a guest home. Granted the home was just the building and the people who made the home a home weren't here. This meeting was awkward for him. Especially since he was holding back a good chunk of his real emotions. Nayru rested a hand on his shoulder and told him to relax. To live a little. The wind dragon put his fire making tools away and took a deep breath in then out.
“You are right! I need to relax. It is just that this is a whole lot of first's happening all at once. First time meeting a lightning dragon. First time I'm bringing someone home. First time I'm kinda home alone... I'm trying to take it.. easy and process everything. But it's getting harder to do so. So I'm just going to talk a whole lot and get it out of my system.”He smiled and scratched the back of his head.
“When I met Locke. I was so excited and happy. He was too.. and we spent the night frolicking in the desert sands in our dragon forms like a pair of jackal kits.” He was slowly opening up.
“Something tells me I can't do the same with you. But, it doesn't matter I'm still really glad to meet you. I couldn't.. say all these things in town. That thing you did with the air.. and charging it up. Without changing anything was pretty cool.” He smirked. His speech was getting a bit faster.
“I still can't do that yet. There are lots of things I'm still learning how to do. Dragon abilities didn't exactly come with instructions. Oh.. and my element is wind. Not exactly the most glamorous but it's what I got. Sorry was that all too much? Too fast?”
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Post by Nayru Al-Saiduq on Aug 20, 2016 7:31:50 GMT -6
OOC: FK using google translate, I'm just gonna use brackets for anything in Low Draconic. Which is... almost the entire post
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Ah... crap baskets.
Nayru's smile grew a little apprehensive as Aeos burst into a torrent of Low Draconic as hasty as it was, shamefully to admit, a little difficult to follow. Obviously she was familiar with the language - it would be a poor dragon indeed who could not speak their own tongue, and beyond unthinkable for an Arcadian dragon to know know the very language taught in schools. Outright illiteracy was something worse than a mere crime; it was an affront to the very concept of communication, a show of disdain for knowledge so vile that anyone who even considered it probably needed a slap in the face.
But... she hadn't actually said more than a few sentences in Low Draconic in three centuries, and while she had certainly read quite a bit of it in dusty ruins and ancient tablets, even a few incredibly old books in Etruria a few decades back that were still available after countless centuries of neglect... that was exactly the problem. She had READ them. She hadn't said jack diddly friggin' crap out loud. Her grasp of the words was perfectly acceptable, but speaking them quickly would require more effort than was entirely shameless. Nonetheless, she would try. Aeos was clearly happy to finally meet one of his own kind, and... well, Nayru couldn't say that she wasn't too. He actually FELT like he was a little brother or something, compared to most dragons she met feeling like they were her goddamn dad or something.
Still smiling, Nayru responded in what was, frankly, slightly halted dragontongue; excellent grammar and good pronunciation, but a certain amount of effort to put it all together that spoke to her rustiness more than she liked. [Well, there are a few lightning dragons out there. Were.] Her smile dimmed slightly. Hearing about Marcus's death... she hadn't known him that well or seen him in half a century, and yet still that one meeting in Lycia had left its mark on her. Aeos's little comment about frolicking in dragon form didn't help. [And it were best that I not to transform. Stormy weather is no way to spend a night between friends.]
But as Aeos kept talking, the excitement in the air was eclipsed by the - almost painful pressure in her heart. He knew! The flattery was nice too and Nayru blushed a little, very unusual for her but it wasn't often she got praised by someone she was quickly coming to see as kin, but it was really Aeos's admission of similar problems to what she had struggled to break through that got to her. She had never thought to even look into that while living in Arcadia, and certainly there were few teachers and less information to be found within Elibe proper. She had followed her path as best she could, but it had not been an easy one. Even if Aeos could not help her, at least it was good to know that he knew her struggle.
Nayru continued as best she could, her speech slightly more formal than it usually was as she stuck closely to fundamental grammar and took refuge in words she was most familiar with. It came out slightly stilted to one with a good ear for that kind of thing. [Yes! To grow without guidance is difficult. I have struggled with it as well greatly.] Grinning in a bit of pride, she brought her hand up, clenching her fist happily. [What I know now was earned, not given. But help would have been nice. There are few teachers though.]
Aeos's element didn't bother her at all, but it was not one Nayru recalled ever seeing outside of Arcadia. She had almost forgotten it existed. [Wind and storm! Kindred of the sky we are. What is your mastery?]
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Aeos
Dragon
A Nabatan Dragon in human guise, with a love of food and traveling.
Posts: 441
Profession: Wandering Dragon
Affinity: Light
Dragon Element: Air
Profile: Aeos Profile
OoC Alias: Twilightfairy
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Post by Aeos on Aug 20, 2016 19:54:55 GMT -6
Aeos took another deep breath and gently exhaled from his nose. His heart beat increased due this excitement. His excitement level was at the equivalent of that of a child. Specifically, a child who was trying to explain to an adult about how great something was. Or how they described a visit to a far away place and what fun things they had gotten to do there. He knew he needed to take a step back. He needed to tone down the levels of excitement and glee. He managed to tone down the excitement enough to talk normally.
“I.. did not mean to spam you with conversation. Again.. I’m just.. Excited. It will pass. But I do feel better after.. That babble. Ah.. perhaps it is best that you do not change then. Tonight is the day of the shooting stars.. It’s one of the reasons why I am back here. The shack roof provides an excellent view of the event.” He felt himself starting to get a whole lot more comfortable around Nayru.
“Ah.. so you too know the struggle of having to learn on your own. I.. have never heard of these dragon teachers. My folks.. Do not have the ability to change.. So they couldn’t even teach me the basics. I.. had to learn how to fly on my own. Which was hard.. Landing.. Well.. it’s a work in progress.” He sighed.
“I imagine.. It must have been difficult for them too. Watching me struggle..” He pouted a bit.
“I’m..sorry I do not understand. What do you mean by mastery? Is.. there some sort of dragonian tier system out there that I do not know of?”
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Post by Nayru Al-Saiduq on Aug 20, 2016 20:35:59 GMT -6
Nayru dropped down to Common with a grateful smile, not actually exhausted but certainly feeling a little bit like it in the wake of the surprise pop quiz on intimate speaking knowledge of a dead language. "Sorry, I'm a bit rusty. Haven't had anyone to - you know - talk with in a few centuries. Read it plenty but it aint the same as speaking." While her wording was vaguer than intended, the dragon assumed Aeos would understand - whether rightfully or not didn't really occur to her. Dragons simply didn't have a lot of opportunities to practice their native tongues, Low or High, in Elibe. Outside of Arcadian dragons and those traveling in groups, she supposed, but then she wasn't really either of those.
It was interesting that Aeos's parents were unable or unwilling to change. Nayru was tempted to ask, but thought better of prying after a moment of thought. Perhaps they had lost their stones, perhaps they had sworn it off, either way if Aeos wanted to tell her he would. In the meantime she wouldn't push it. She was a little envious though, to have a pair of loving parents that cared for you and worried for you when you mucked up and tried to help. Nayru could not help but recall a certain mother figure that she had once had... and what circumstances led to the end of that arrangement. What she had said to Aeos only rang all the more true in its wake though. He would not make the same mistakes she had - but it did not take any mistake at all on his part for his parents to be caught in an accident, or caught by Etrurian forces, and executed for made-up reasons.
"Landing is easy - just hit the ground harder than it hits you!" Nayru grinned cheekily, acutely aware of the irony of HER even joking about teaching anyone else how to fly. "Nah, I can't even fly. No wings. That's a struggle you'll have to figure out yourself, unless you want to browbeat a wyvern into teaching you." Ah, the thought of a dragon needing a mere wyvern to teach them how to fly. It was almost as silly as it would be insulting if offered sincerely. She hoped he didn't take it that way. Some dragons she had met REALLY hated wyverns, or at least looked down real bad on them. Nayru didn't - she thought they were kinda cute. Sorta like humans looked at puppies. Not a threat or close relative, just these cute derpy midgets that are sorta related.
Aeos's question on the mastery thing took her a second to get, but made sense shortly after. She had either used the wrong word or not given enough context. "And no tier system I know of, I've never even read about non-shifted combat optimization, I guess it was useless before the Scouring." Nayru began ticking off fingers as she listed questions. "Uh, I meant more - what can you do? Can you pull off a stage three halfshift? Breathe your element in human form? Coat yourself with your element? Emit it physically?" The questions came fast and furious, Nayru getting into her own rhythm of sorts. Aeos wasn't the only one getting a bit worked up over it even if she was trying real hard to be cool, the idea of actually having someone to discuss these discoveries and theories with was absolutely magical. She might not be a scholar in the human sense of the word, but she was by the draconic sense of the term - Nayru loved to learn and to understand, to discuss and debate, and she simply hadn't had much experience with... equals.
All the dragons she had met were either enormously stronger than her or much weaker. Or maybe better at hiding their power levels. She wasn't sure on that one. So needless to say the storm dragon was a bit excited. "I was thinking of trying to channel energy in short external bursts if I can figure out how to do it to see if I can weaponize it or use it for-" Nayru broke off abruptly, realizing she was outpacing even Aeos's last display in number of questions asked successively. "Uh, shutting up now."
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Aeos
Dragon
A Nabatan Dragon in human guise, with a love of food and traveling.
Posts: 441
Profession: Wandering Dragon
Affinity: Light
Dragon Element: Air
Profile: Aeos Profile
OoC Alias: Twilightfairy
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Post by Aeos on Aug 21, 2016 8:05:12 GMT -6
Nayru was a few hundred years old. That was a nice bit of information to know. He wondered if they were close to the same age or if she was older. He hoped for the latter just due to all the questions he could ask her. The what if's were rolling around in his head. The "what if she was around during the scouring?" The "What has she seen?" He frowned slightly at the thought of her not having anyone to speak dragonic with. That meant she might not have seen or heard much of any dragons out there in the world.
I would be happy to help you practice talking in our native language. He smiled softly. He spoke in a normal tone. Slower then his excited version in order to help Nayru understand him.
"Mother and Father all they speak is dragonic.. unless we are in human civilizations. Then it is common tongue. To be honest sometimes I confuse my words. I learned modern tongue.. from books.. and people.. from an era long past. So.. I've been known to talk with the "thous" and "thee's". But travel.. has helped to lessen the use of the old words." He sighed.
"I was a proverbial fish out of water when I first started traveling. It fun!" He turned his head to glance at the fire. He fed it a few more logs then looked outside. The sun was low into the horizon. The sky was a red and slowly morphing into a bluish black. Soon the stars would be out.
"Being wingless must be a convenience. When I change.. mine.. are large. Like really.. huge. They take a bit of time to furl and unfurl. Father would tell me that it is due to his influence.. as mother did not have wings either. She could fly though. She swam through the air as if it were water. Who knows maybe one day you could appear from out of the sky as a bolt of lightning. That would be pretty awesome!" He raised his hand up to his chin and thought for a while.
"What.. can I do? Uhm.. I can half change. But I do not think it's perfect. I have heard tales of half shifted dragons who could.. pull their wings out and fly in their human forms. I.. have not yet figured out how to do that. Sometimes I feel nubs.. precursor to wings. But.. I can change my hands, feet, legs, and arms. It is mostly used for climbing mountains or moving through the forest. When I use my power to fight.. sometimes I can feel it in my limbs. I once.. smacked.. an living dead and made it go flying. Like.. I felt it in my fist.. some burst of wind."His mind trailed back to Bern. To Gar. To the village of monsters. He shook his head.
"Sometimes when I need only a little bit of power.. like to find a certain smell. My ear tips change and my nails change color.. but it's mostly.. human appearance. I don't.. know.. how that translates to tiers."He wondered something.
"Have.. you heard of Arcadia? Locke mentioned it to me. He called it a safe haven for dragons. In the centuries I have been alive.. I have never heard of it."
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