The Spark - IC

OOC Board:

A sword flew straight up as though reaching towards the vibrant blue sky, the blade sparkling in the brilliant sunlight as a wind blew past, rustling the leaves of the trees around the small clearing. As it descended, the final echoes of the clash of steel upon steel began to subside. The sword hit the ground with a clang, a few feet from its owner who was still pinned against a tree by the edge of a silver-blue blade on his neck. "Now that, is how you teach a master a lesson," muttered the victor.

The victor threw his head back and laughed a low musical laugh that seemed to stop the woodland creatures in their tracks. All elves, no matter how ill-tempered seemed to have that kind of effect on creatures when they laughed. The one pinned against the tree simply grunted and pushed away the tempered blade, picking up his own sword in one deft movement. "I haven't had a battle like that in a long time..." said the man. "En Garde!" yelled the defeated swordsman, attempting a surprise attack. The victor laughed and disarmed the man.

"I know well enough that I'm a great swordsman Derein, no need to make an effort to prove it to me" said the elf, his azure blue eyes, shooting a matter-of-fact look at the swordsman. "Is it not an honor to be defeated by someone as great as me?" asked the elf, no bit of humor in his voice, just raw, untainted arrogance.

"I guess so, Syurin" replied the man, although grudgingly. In his mind "I wonder why I put up with such a brat..."

"Good, now, you better get started, you have a lot more training to do. I'll head back to the manor" said Syurin, chin held high. A distasteful grunt from Derein merited a scoff from Syurin. With that, the black-haired, blue-eyed elf walked out of the clearing, blissfully unaware that the winds of change were blowing.

On the mountain overlooking the Aviendrii territory, a figure stood there, observing the landscape. From the view, he could see the children playing, gliding amongst the clouds. He could see the commoners, tiny as ants, moving about in the village, rebuilding houses and purchasing various goods. He then took a deep breath and let himself fall down on the jagged rocks below.

Instead of screaming out of sheer terror, the figure let out an excited squeal, and positioned himself so he can taste the mountain air. A few feet from the rocks, the figure arched his back, and did a somersault in the air, dodging the rocks. " That was fun!" the figure exclaimed as he flapped his wings and maneuvered himself to safe ground. " I should do this every day for the rest of my life." The Aviendrii lied down, letting the adrenaline dissipate from his system. He then heard a low growling sound, like an animal seeing prey. The aviendrii rose slowly, clearly annoyed at the noise. " What the?" The sound was louder, then the aviendrii looked down. " Oh, just my stomach. Guess I better hunt." He took his bow and arrow and started moving.

The Aviendrii descended down the mountain and into the nearby forest. After five minutes, he had in his shoulders a huge animal, arrows still lodged in his chest. " I didn't think it would this easy catching game." he yawned as he trudged back to the village.

He arrived in the village, blending among the other Aviendrii. When he reached his house, an elderly woman greeted him.

" Where have you been Evenus?!"

" You know, falling to my doom, hunting, the usual. Hey I'm hungry, can you cook this for me?" He said as he laid down the animal.

" Evenus you..." but Evenus was already in his room, on his bed, and trying to sleep.

The woman sighed. " What do I do with you Evenus?"

A muffled voice came from the room. " Make me my dinner. I'm starving."

the forest was oddly quiet today, or well it was now. a few minutes ago the clang of swords and the yelling of a strangely obnoxius boy had filled the air. the white dragon grumbled as she paced her clearing in a tight circle. finally those idiots, whoever they where had finished their practicing. Zana sighed as the clearing finally fell into silence again.
"always whenever i try to sleep, something wakes me up. never fails. i swear the fates are against me sleeping" she mumbled as she curled her body into a loose circle and laid down.

she spent the better part of an hour waiting for sleep to come as she watched the forest around the clearing. the grass on the ground and the leaves on the trees swirled and danced to the silent melody of the wind. a few little animals ran about between the trees. the bees buzzed from flower to flower. the scene was just so perfect. he gave a smile, her claws slowly and absentmindedly scratching the dirt. in the calm, slowly sleep made her eyes droop. she didn't fight it, and was soon asleep.

Zana lay curled in the center of the sunny clearing, her white scales glistening like gemstones. even from a distance the glistening scales could be seen through the tress, perhaps drawing the attention of a curious passerby

Syurin walked across the forest floor, not minding the crackle of leaves and twigs under his boots. Somehow, he hadn't soiled his fine clothes even after a strenuous spar. He stopped in his tracks and rounded on his heels, he had forgotten his whitewood bow and quiver, although the quiver held but five swan-fletched arrows with flint heads. As he bent down to retrieve the equipment, Derein was nowhere to be seen, he caught sight of a soft glimmer, an almost alluring glow in the distance.

Syurin moved closer, investigating the source of the enticing light. Once close enough, he saw it heaving rhythmically, as though breathing. Syurin drew in a breath at the sight. It was peculiar game for the area, even for someone as well versed in the forest as he was.

This beast was something of worth. If he was lucky, and he knew someone as good as him would not need any luck, he could add its head to his collection of hunting trophies. He knew he would be pressed to fight it in close counters, it was far too large for that. He wasn't a bad shot, but he knew one well-placed arrow could bring it down.

Syurin circled the beast, looking for any sign of a thigh and he found it, thick and muscled. He nocked an arrow, leaving him with only four, and let it loose. Unfortunately, the beast shifted and his arrow bounced off what seemed to be a layer of scales and with a burst of sparks, ricocheted and buried itself in one of the trees. He fervently prayed that the beast would not stir, yet he kept his hand on his hilt, slowly drawing the blade and readying himself should it do so.

supplies:

The reaction was immediate, it came no sooner than the arrow sparked off her hard scales. She yelped and unfurled as quickly as her body could allow. She jumped about a bit, her claws shredding the dirt about her. The Arrow didn't do any damage, but it hurt still. To her it felt like someone threw a rock at her... Really hard. He twisted her body about, raising her wide angellic wings to get a veiw of her her glistening white flank.

She snarled at what she saw. Amist her scales was a small slash that went across two scales. It didn't go deep enough to draw blood, but it hurt and it looked bad... This wasn't helped by some miniature black splotches on her scales... She sighed "oh come on I just took a bath..." she groaned, she didn't like taking baths on a more than 2-3 times a week basis. She couldn't see how most females forced themselves to bathe everyday, sometimes more than once a day.

She then snapped her head up, her flowing green mane flicking with her "OKAY, who did that?! Come out now and I won't hurt to badly!" she growled, scanning around the the clearing for movement

Upon hearing the words uttered by the Dragon. Syurin arrogantly strode into the clearing. "Well, well, well, I thought most of your kind were barbarians, unable to speak." He said with much scorn. He held his sword in front of him at a ready, should the beast make the mistake of attacking. He moved around the clearing, examining the specimen before him. He decided then, that taking it down would be easy.

"Let down your head beast and allow me to take it as a trophy. It will be an honor, killed at such noble hands. You shall decorate my trophy room most brilliantly" said Syurin, a cruel smile creeping upon his lips, hand tightening around his sword's hilt.

Zana blinked once... Twice... Nope not an illusion. She wished he had been a simple illusion, she hated stupid arrogant morons. She reveiwed the events. First he insults dragonkind, then he claims nobility and asks for her to just give herself up to him so he can have a new trophy. She sighed, lifted her paw to her face in a slow long facepalm... After a few moments she looked back at him again...

"wow... I've just met you and I can tell your not just being stupid this moment, but it's a mindset for you... Oh boy... This is going to be a long day. Okay..." she paused and looked over his attire. He seemed to have a thing for blue, she was surprised his hair wasn't dyed the same color "... Little boy blue, personally to your previous comments I can say thus 'bite me you arrogant pig'. Now that that's out of the way... No I will not just bow and let you take my head, personally I feel like living..." she paused and picked up a pebble the size of a marble.

"you've put me in such an off mood, that I guess I have to teach you a lesson" she paused to examine the trees behind Syruin... She popped the rock into her mouth, letting her cheeks filled with fire. Lining up her shot like a professional billards player, she spat the rock out like an arrow of fire. It sailed above his head, but hit a tree trunk and bounced backwards. It struck him in the rear... Also lighting his pants aflame

The sky was dark as it spewed out its worst abominations. Harsh hailstones, torrential rain, harsh, blinding sunlight, continuous lightning, sound shattering thunder, dark swirling storm clouds, whipping winds and blinding mist. All of it swirling around the plane. It was both a wonderful and terrible sight to behold. It was a maelstrom, and Evenus was in the middle of it.

It was hard for Evenus not to look at the sky, and see its horrors. Everytime thunder boomed and lightning crackled, he would hide and cover his ears, shaking away the sound. His only companions were the elderly woman, and two other aviendrii, both male, who can be considered as his father and brother. The roof of their house was blown by the wind, and the storm ripped their house into pieces, sending all but him flying to the sky. He saw them disappear one by one, winking out of his vision. He looked up, and saw the clouds swirling to form a semblance of a face, with dark eyes and a cruel smile. Thunder mimicked harsh laughter and Evenus screamed.

Evenus had woken up screaming, and was surprised he did such. He rarely screamed, and never in terror. His face was pale and in cold sweat. He had realized that he had fallen asleep, but he had no recollection of falling asleep, nor did he remember the nightmare he had. He smelled something delicious and went outside of his room.

Evenus must have slept for quite a while, for dinner had already been served. Chunks of meat from the game he had caught earlier had been roasted and served on a platter surrounded by various vegetables. The bones and leftover meat have been boiled into a broth mixed with various spices. The fur from the game had been turned into an elegant coat.

"Are you gonna eat or just drool at the food there?"

Evenus jumped and turned around to see the elderly woman standing behind him.

" Oh. Sorry, must have been really hungry."

" Dig in son, and don't worry, I already ate. Those are just leftovers. You caught a pretty big game today."

"Thanks." was all he could say as he already started devouring the food.

It all happened so fast, it took Syurin a moment to register exactly what happened. When he felt the heat from the fire in his breeches, his first instinct was to sit down. The grass, still wet from the morning dew managed to do a fine job of quenching the fire. Although, that still left the issue of the steam that rose in the air and that there was now a singed hole where the back of his pants had been.

Syurin flushed red in indignation, his eyes glaring at the dragon. He launched an arrow at its shoulder, and did not wait to see if it struck. He got up and ran, shouting at the top of his lungs "I will get my revenge!" The wind he stirred up was cold and biting on the irritated skin of his exposed bottom. Fortunately, his buttocks had not taken more damage from the fire than it would have warranted.

"Damn beast" growled Syurin as he ran up a stairwell just beside the back door of the mansion. He dashed into his room, hoping not to attract any attention. He stripped to his undergarments and sat on the bed, careful to conceal any evidence of his embarrassment and called up a servant to ready a hot bath for him, he commanded that a honeydew scented oil be placed into his bath. There was nothing that relaxed him more than the smell of honeydew.

When the bath was ready, Syurin ordered the servant to get out of his room, still fuming at the disgrace brought by the dragon. He stripped of his clothes and slipped into the bath. The warmth and smell relieved his muscles of tension and eventually, he found himself drifting off to sleep.

As syruin ran away, the sounds of melodious laughter interrupted the normal silence of the forest. the sound was not of scorn, but of mirth and haapiness. more like a laugh shared between two good friends after a joke, rather than the cold harsh laughter someone lets out when they have embarrassed their opponent. it took zana awhile to stop laughing, the expression on syruin's face had simply been to much. she dusted off her shoulder where another arrow had nicked her scales.

jollity gone, she now had to take another bath to get rid of the black burn marks on her flank and shoulder that had been caused by sparks from the arrow. using her claws to comb her flowing green mane back she headed off to find a good spring. after traveling a short distance she found a perfect spring. she smiled, it flowed with pure clean water surrounded by lush greenery... in her opinion, the spring itself was a a finer place to take a bath than even the most expensive baths built by elves or humans... or dwarfs... nothing could top the pure artistry of nature. but enough analyzing of the spring...

she crwled into the deep cold water, shivering as she did so. the water was quite cold after all. after a bit of swimming and getting used to the temperature, she began to work of scrubbing herself clean. as she did, he mind drifted back to that boy... he had never said his name, but Zana felt bad for what she did. yes he was rude, yes he did want her head for a trophy... but she should of been more sensible and simply talked her way out of the situation, rather than burn his behind and embarrass him like like that. sighing she stepped out of the water with a shiver "dam... i'm to nice for my own good... i guess i have to go apologize now" she shook herself free of water... resulting in her mane frizzing up "well... after i fix my hair... son of a..."

After eating the very sumptuous dinner, Evenus settled for a relaxing bath. He let water fill the tub halfway as he poured special oil into the bath. It smelled of mint and vanilla, his favorite scent. He undressed and stepped into the bath. He relaxed as he scrubbed off all of the dirt and grime from his body. He let his hair touch the water as he reclined in the tub and closed his eyes. This bliss only lasted for a moment though, as the image of the clouds forming a gruesome face, and mocking him with harsh laughter, the same from his nightmare, flashed in the back of his eyes. He stood up straight, water splashing on the floor. His usually carefree look was replaced with a face of terror. He hastily finished his bath, let the water drain and took a towel to dry himself.

He chose his usual outfit for the day, a sea green long sleeved shirt, black pants and a coat. He combed his still wet hair and let it dry before tying it up in its usual ponytail. He looked at himself in the mirror, making sure there were no sign of excess feathers. The sight of the face still horrified him so he went to his object of comfort, his bow and arrows. He touched the bow, feeling every single detail of it. The precise carving of the material to form the shape that was most suitable to him, the expertly fletched arrows that never break or shatter no matter what force is driven towards them. The intricate spiral design on the bow ... He stopped short, as a shock went through him, surprising him. It didn't hurt, but the shock was something new to him. He dismissed it and went outside, the terrifying image in his head already gave him insomnia.

Syurin barely noticed that he had fallen asleep. No dreams plagued his mind, perhaps due to the soothing effect of the honeydew. He stirred and a loud splash woke him up. He stood up, hands at the ready for an attack. He realized then that he had dozed off since the water was now cold. A cool breeze blew around his back and he tensed when it made contact with his skin.

Syurin nearly jumped when a set of delicate fingers caressed his arms and face. He shivered at their softness. Another soft breeze drifted past Syurin as the owner of the fingers placed herself in front of him. Suddenly realizing his stark nakedness, Syurin sat in the water, not that it did anything to cover him up.

A cold but musical laugh erupted and Syurin reddened with indignation. "Who do you think you are?! Why are you in my bath chambers?!" he yelled out in response.

"Who I am is of no consequence to you... What is important is who you are, or rather, who you will become..." said the Lady softly. She twirled and her gown of white took on a different level of elegance entirely. It was now no longer just white, but silvery-white and it practically gleamed. Syurin felt his jaw drop.

"Very soon you will face a choice. Do not disappoint the Hall." With that, the woman vanished.

Sellarie was now traveling for a long time. Maybe too long. And that made him really, really tired. The continuous boring sound of his exhausted steps was now slowing down, as he approached a stream coming from a refreshing spring nearby. He couldn't even think about the possibility to fly one inch more. The sound of the running water was almost hypnotic, making him feel even more sleepy. Reaching the water with his hands, he drank with great gulps and sighed, now that at least one of his necessities was satisfied.

He relaxed and sat in a thick root, exploring the surroundings with his senses. It was not a dense forest, and the breeze was constant. The different tones of green were refreshing to his eyes... Even in aviendrii form, the smallest part of his draconic senses was telling him that a diferrent scent was nearby. But he couldn't care too much.

Closing his wings, he settled himself recumbent in the tree, resolved to take a nap. His long hair was falling over his shoulders, touching the brown feathers, covering his face. The sharp golden eyes closed slowly. His hand moved to the inner part of the bag, where his spear was tied, and in a single move it would extend to it's full size, in a deadly swing. But maybe he could just sleep quietly, and search for a city with a library, or a little mission to fulfill...
In random thoughts, he fell asleep, unaware of the steps approaching him.

Zana laid by the bank, a little upstream from where Sellarie had just laid down to sleep. she laid there, softly humming to herself as she ran her claws through her bright green mane. she was basically using her claws the way most use a comb, and it seemed to be working pretty well for her. within a couple minutes she had tamed her once frizzed mane.

she stood, about to take her elven form so she could track down that boy, sneak in unrecognized and later apologize. then she stopped herself, her white scales almost turning a shade of pink at a sudden thought. she had just remembered, she had no clothes for her elven form. being raised by an elderly elf she had learned to do a lot of things... but many things most young dragon's learned at very early ages, she had not. she couldn't even speak dragonic! while taking a secondary form had come naturally, the transmitting of clothing had not. everytime she tried she shredded whatever she had been wearing. this presented the problem of having to put clothes together with magic, after all she couldn't stroll around stark naked.

reading a spell, she contempated what kind of clothing would be best given the situation. her normal boyish attire would be to out of place, and might raise suspicion when she tried to find syruin... after all he came across as a rich boy who had alot of servants... wait a minute, servants! thats it! she cast the spell, several green leaves flying from the trees and forming into a simple green dress (and undergarments), a common outfit for servant girls.
checking around to make sure no one was watching, she transformed. she became a young elven girl, looking to be about 17 years of age. long green hair flowed down her backside, which she quickly tied up in a ponytail. looking around once more, she quickly dress her nude form. once done, she decided to run along the path of syruin's scent to find him...

sadly she tripped on a poor sleeping aviendrii, falling over his legs and her face hitting the ground, most likely giving him a rude awakening as well. she groaned "oww, not fun"

Evenus had packed for a hiking trip, he didn't know why,as he was only planning for a short trip to the mountain. He had his knapsack packed with rations that would last for at least a month if he was careful enough, some spare changes of clothes, a good book to read, some sturdy rope, and about five canteens filled to the brim with water. He had his shortsword strapped to the back of his waist, and his bow and arrows slung across his back. He also wore his sturdy leather boots and leather coat. By the time he had left his house, it was almost midnight.

Getting to the top was easy, save for the winds that ruined his balance. He reached the top by midnight, surprised that he made to the top very quickly. He breathed deeply, taking in all of the mountain air, shivering because of the cold air, he loved it. he let go of his ponytail, letting his hair tumble down his shoulders. The wind whipped at his hair, sending it down his face. It almost made him forget about the face--- almost. He lied down, trying to shake off the horrible face from his mind. Unknowingly, he slept, but the face didn't invade his dreams. He only dreamed about a bridge, a very long bridge that connects two cliffs. He saw someone cross it, but that was all he could see, the rest of his dream was obscured by a thick mist.

Evenus awoke to harsh sunlight, that made him squint, He looked around and saw he was not at the mountainside, or the forest surrounding the mountain. It was a strange land, very far from his home, Evenus guessed, and he didn't know how he got here, or how to get back. " Good thing I brought my stuff." was all he could say as he started walking to the north, or at least what he thought was north to him,

The first thing was a deep gasp.

He felt the shock on his legs and heard the thud sound, waking him very quickly, but his hand was not fast enough to draw out his spear, specially considering how close the threat was. Moreover, how could he let himself sleep so deeply that he was so unaware of a possible menace? He could be dead! Well, he was in aviendrii form, so he looked pretty harmless, but maybe he was trespassing someone's domain...

His feather were all stiff, making him look like an young bird. Looking down he noticed the "threat" was in fact an elf girl, and not an evil assassin or maniac killer. Dressed like a servant, maybe she was confirming that this place should be part of the lands of a lord. But she was no ordinary elf, he could easily feel, being in alternative form himself. How could she serve to any lord?

He then realized that if he didn't let the air out, his lungs would explode.

"Are you hurt, miss? I'm sorry, I chose a bad place to sleep. I'm a foreigner here, and just gave up to fatigue." He offered his hand to help her stand up, so he could get up himself. "I'm Sellarie. Were you running?"

Zana blinked accepting the hand up. she paused to clean her face of some dirt. looking silently into the eyes of the aviendrii in front of her.... she could sense it, as well as smell it, she stood before a dragon much like herself. he was older though, she was sure of that. she gulped, shrinking back a step... she had honestly never met another of her kind before. thus she was understandably nervous, thank all the powers that be had hadn't started speaking in draconian, the native language of dragons.

Rubbing her neck, she nodded "hmm, me i'm fine, just fine. just a bit of a fall, i'm so clumsy, need to watch where i run you know? and yes, i was running" she paused, noticing he had been looking over her clothing choice "oh this? it's just a disguise, normally i don't dress in such girly clothing... when i'm an elf that is" she paused to explain the story about the obnoxious hunter, how she had 'defeate' him by setting his breeches on fire... then about how she felt bad about it and wanted to go apologize to him. "from both clothing choice and behavior, he was a noble of some sort that lives near here. i figured it was best t try and sneak onto his property if i was dressed like a servant. i can tell he doesn't keep track of all of his servants to notice a new one"

she shrugged, a bit more at ease now.. "though, really really sorry about waking you like that. incredibly rude of me... so as long as we're here, what about you? what's got a dragon like yourself traveling up this way?"
she mentally punched herself, she must look and sound like an idiot infront of this guy

The first thing that Evenus noticed strange were the clouds.

After trudging for the first few hours, Evenus was exhausted. The landscape was of a strange desert, with only sand and sun to see, and these were not great sights to behold. The desert stretched for miles with seemingly no end. His canteens of water had been reduced to nothing leaving Evenus almost dying of thirst. Then, as if fate were giving him a blessing, thick clouds appeared from the sky. One part of Evenus said it was strange for rain clouds to appear in the desert, even more strange for thick rain clouds to appear from nowhere. But the other part said there's water in the clouds, and that would relieve him of his thirst. He grabbed his canteens and went to the cloud. Sure enough, the clouds held huge amounts of water. Soon, he had refilled all of his canteens to the brim and even drank straight from the cloud itself. Once he had relieved himself, he had begun to notice the strange swirling of the clouds. The way they were swirling, it was as if they were forming a shape. The clouds formed three holes, and strange thunder resonated with the moving of the largest hole. Evenus was horrified at the shape. It was...

A face.

Evenus stood up and packed his things with haste.He started running, flying as fast as he can, away from the face, away from the nightmares.

Are'Zel frowned while hearing the story about the hunter elf. "Oh please, and you'll ask him to forgive you when he hurt you too. But you have a good plan, I must say."

She recognized him as a dragon just as quickly as he did. That sensation was new to him, since the only dragons he knew were his parents and his tutor, always in their natural form. But she was still talking in the common language, for any reason. He procceeded the same way, feeling comfortable with the idiom as well. He rustled his wings, taking out some twigs from the feathers.

"I'm just traveling, following an urge to find something, but it still remains a secret to me. I have no special place to go now, I just came from this city of the South, with a miserable library... Maybe this noble can give me any tip... I'll approach him searching for a job; I've worked as guard and teacher before." And I also need some good food and a better place to rest he thought, but kept that to himself. "He will not recognize you until you tell him, and he never saw me before. We'll do better staying in that form so we'll not rise his knight complex. I'll acompany you, if you don't mind. And please, don't worry about that accident, we are fine." He smiled and started walking in the direction she was probably running before. "Before you met this lord... I mean, are you from here? I don't have a clue about the lands where dragons live, without hiding or keeping secrets..."

Zana shrugged "he didn't actually hurt me, just nicked my scales, then expected me to just offer my head to him. Is he a moron? Yes. But I'm trying to be the better person here... Well make that, the better dragoness here" she laughed as he corrected herself.

She had to admit, she was glad that he would be going with her. It would be nice to spend some time with one of her kin. Perhaps he could help to expand her knowledge of her kin. She nodded as he explained where he was from. "yeah, I think you'd get a job as a guard. This noble doesn't seem the type to value knowledge or a good teacher to much, but a guard most likely. If nothing else I can clean and assist the cook until I apologize and you've gotten some food and a good rest" she winked and poked his stomach. He hadn't said it outloud but she could tell he had a second motive, and it was obvious what it was.

Just when she was feeling comfortable in his presence... He dropped the bomb, the one kinda thing she didnt want to talk about "err yes I'm from around here... But I wouldn't know where dragons live" she sighed, looking at her feet as she walked with him "I know next to nothing about my Kin... Your the only dragon I've ever met, I dont even know most skills dragons possess..." hanging her head in shame "I can't even speak draconian" she admitted with a depressed sigh

Evenus ran. He didn't know where to go, nor did he care. All he wanted to do is run away from his nightmare. Make it stop... Make it stop! Go away... Go away! GO AWAY! He tried moving to another direction, it followed, he tried going underground, it followed. He didn't even notice the change in the terrain. From the arid desert, to the humid jungle, to the thick forest, and finally the rugged rocks. Upon reaching the rocks, he had noticed that he was running, rather than flying. He tried flying once more, but he failed, much to his dismay. He continued to run until he reached the end of the path.

Facing him was a cliff. A sheer drop carved into the face of the rock. Connecting the two cliffs was a bridge. The bridge was made out of wood and rope. A typical rope bridge, yet this one looked old. The wood was rotting and the rope was losing its sturdiness. He had two choices: face the nightmare and possibly die, or cross the bridge and possibly fall to his doom. Naturally, he decided the safer way: he crossed the bridge.

Sellarie nodded smiling when Zana said about being a better dragoness, she was really unusually kind. And blushed a little when she poked his belly... were his intentions so obvious now?

But he was caught off guard when she said about this being her first contact with another dragon. He couldn't avoid laughing "I'm sorry! I was expecting to find everything in my travel BUT another displaced dragon like myself. My tutor gave me the wrong idea about dragons, I'm sure now..." he sighed, and explained better. "Once more, I'm sorry, I don't mean to be rude. It's just that I was not raised by dragons, but by an elf and a tutor. Yes, he was a dragon, the old and wise kind of dragon, but he was very busy, and just taught me some things when I was young."

He rubbed his chin "Oh my, there is so much to tell you! If I'm admitted in the lord's guard, we must find some time so I can teach one thing or two. There are things about us that my tutor was very vague... I was always suspicious that he never wanted me to know too much. But I can teach you draconian!" he seemed excited "If we find a safe place to take natural form, it would be easier. You see, there are some sounds very difficult for this little mouth and... short tongue" he grimmaced.

"And about magic... we can work with that, even if I'm not the most skilled in that subject. What is your element?" He stopped talking, a little surprised. "I'm just... talking too much. You're probably tired of hearing me chatter all the time." Sellarie looked to the ground, a bit concerned. He was very silent during his travels, and never talked to someone about being a dragon before. In his flights, he was sighted in natural form more than once, but only hearing "Hey, look! a dragon!" and that was it.

Evenus ran, trying to maintain his balance over the weakened bridge. The storm followed him, making the bridge move violently. The ropes started to twist and tear. The boards starting to shatter. If he didn't hurry, the bridge will shatter in a matter of seconds and he will fall to his death. He started sprinting, careful to keep his weight light, he make a heavy step, a floorboard would break and he would instantly fall. He silently cursed the bridgemaker. Why couldn't you make a sturdier bridge! As if making fun of him, the ropes that held the entire bridge snapped into two.

He acted fast. He took the rope from his knapsack and threw it to the other side of the cliff. By sheer luck, the rope had tied itself around a huge rock a safe distance from the cliff. He started climbing, the effort making his arms tire. halfway through, his arm slipped. He grabbed the rope fast and continued climbing. He managed to make it to the top, and rest on the giant rock. He tried to catch his breath. His vision started to become fuzzy, and suddenly, the sky became shockingly blue.

Evenus looked around, trying to think of a reason for what had happened. The landscape was the same, but instead of the red-gray color of the sky, it was clear blue. Not a wisp of cloud in the sky. The bridge was still there, the same rope bridge, now with strong wood planks and sturdy rope supporting the bridge. The strangest thing was, the face was gone. Disappeared in an instant. Was it all a dream? If it was a dream, how did I get here? This is so weird! He sighed, and started hiking away from the cliff. The more distance I get from that cliff the better he grumbled.

Algaisia, an elf, slung his bag over his shoulder. He was ready to follow his dream, as closely has he could. He always wanted to have a spark within him, to do good to the world. Unfortunately, he didn't have a spark and gaining one was impossible, so he made it his dream to help those that did, and helped the people with it. Unfortunately, it would mean leaving almost everything behind, taking only a few possessions and his memories. He walked slowly downstairs, lingering, remembering. This is where I always hid, when playing hide and seek as a child.... This is where I broke my arm falling... This is where I studied at night. The memories kept coming, and he basked for a moment in each and everyone of them, before saying goodbye for what might be the last time.
His mother was at the foot of the stairs, and she said, "You don't have to go you know!" They had been over this many times. He did have to go, it was his calling. Al hugged his mother goodbye, and murmured, "I left the herbs on the desk, in case you need them. I'll collect more on my journey." He owned a herb shop, past tense now, and was popular because of it. He picked the best herbs, and made wonderful poultices out of it, with many different uses. He fingered his knife, his only protection, which he wasn't skilled with. He supposed he could run if it came to it.
He walked outside his house, which was inside a tree. He was assaulted with memories once more. Thats where my and my friends tried to ambush my dad... He thought with a smile. His father lost, but it was evident, looking back upon it, that he knew we were there the entire time, and it was convenient that he lost his footing. He would miss them all. Already, the town seemed to line up, watching him go. The population was tiny, so everyone knew each other. As he finally left the borders, one person, he didn't see who, started a sad song, taken up by everyone. Al sang along under his breath, "Begone, but come back to me..." the song was beautiful, and even the animals contributed in their own way.
He turned and waved, then turned around the last corner, now out of sight. A tear streaked down, but it would be worse for him if he stayed. He knelt by a small tree, a sapling, and put a stone by it. He didn't know why, he just did. He stood, and walked away once more. He was a few miles away from the border of the land he knew, then it would be new territory for him. He dreaded and looked forward to it at the same time.

Zana stared at him silently for a moment, blinking as she processed the information. He was a bit like her, having limited contact with his kin, raised by an elf... Zana didnt have a dragon tutor, but in a way she did now. One who was more than willing to teach her everything he could about dragons, their magic, and even give her lessons in the language!
Unable to hold back her emotions, she jumped forward and hugged Sellarie. "oh thank you so much, your s truly kind soul to teach me, oh thank you ever so much!" she stopped realizing she was still hugging him. Turning red, she jumped back. She turned her red face away as she pretended to smooth out her dress..

Regaining her composure, she turned back to him "err, please do forgive me. My emotions ran away at the thought of having such a tutor and dare I say it, friend, of my own kin. I guess I lost control... Heh" she apologized, then switched gears. "hopefully you will be accepted as a guard, so we can begin my lessons as soon as possible, and so you can get some good food and rest" she winked... "and your right, we will need a place to take our true forms, not only to learn the language but also to just stretch out... Being in disguise feels odd after too long, ya' know?"

Zana turned and sniffed the air, motioning for him to follow she befan to follow the path of syruin's scents... "oh yeah! I never got your name, I'm Zana by the way"