In Search of Adventure

[Eslakon]

“I know.” Eslakon said as he looked up, glancing around the clearing. He could remember with great detail the pain when her blade pierced his arm. If it wasn’t for magic, he would be dead right now. “If the blood were permanent, Zidane’s home would be stained with blood. Its very odd to see your arm fall off, and then wonder if it was real or not until it popped out of oblivion.” He recalled how many times that has happened, and then grimaced at the feeling. He stopped as Chara did, who was staring at a deer petrified in place.

Chara groaned, for she couldn’t pounce on the deer due to the bags draped over her neck, but instead watched hungrily as it fled through the woods, startled by Linwe’s whistle. Though she doubted the elf wanted to watch her brutally kill and devour a doe in front of her, and they needed to get to Zidane’s anyway.

She paused in the middle of her first step, holding her left paw slightly above the ground as her mood plunged. How was she going to hunt if she couldn’t fly, therefore not being able to crash down through the trees on top of her prey. She doubted that she would be able to catch a deer in her jaws, for she couldn’t navigate the forest quickly without knocking down a row of trees, she would have to burn them, which smelled awful and didn’t taste very well.

Though her mood suddenly turned pleasant at a thought, she would have Eslakon hunt for her. With a smug grin, she continued to the path she had torn from the trail.

[Kat]

Linwe smiled faintly. "Yes, that is odd," She agreed. "I think I might have lost it, had my arm fallen off. Or fainted," She admitted. That was hard for her to admit, but it was true. "Either way..." She shrugged. "Doesn't matter, nothing fell off." She smiled.

Linwe brushed a stray lock of hair behind her ear, wondering if she should tie it up in a bun to keep it from her face. She rarely did so, though when she did it was in case she needed to get somewhere fast, and her hair always impeded her when it flew into her eyes and blinded her.

She looked curiously up at Chara, and wondered if she had offended the dragon by whistling at the deer and breaking it from its trance. She sighed, feeling bad. It wouldn't have bothered her if Chara had attacked the deer, although with the bags on her neck it might have been a good idea to scare the deer away.

[Eslakon]

“It seems Zidane always finds my horrified face humorous, but I’ve never been able to hit him very hard, its always minor cuts and scratches.” Eslakon paused as he noticed Chara’s smug mood, who was now ahead of them as they made their way through the woods. He had to wonder what she was thinking that would cheer up, and he doubted the deer running off would cause such a mood. “It is an awkward moment when that happens.”

Every time he heard the clinks caused by vials hitting together he tensed, but Chara didn’t seem to notice anymore. They only needed to worry when she either tripped over a root, which was unlikely, or if a branch fell from above, which was also unlikely.

Chara’s gaze flicked around the forest, trying to find any trace of the trail or any signs of life, but she knew that they would be there soon, for it hadn’t taken them long to get through the forest even when she had to tear her way their. The only odors she could distinguish from the usual smell was the deer that had just ran off, and the vials.

Scattered light that shined through the trees above reflected off of her scales and lit up and spread out several more specks of light, which jumped around the trees as she moved. She snorted a leaf as if fell past her snout, sending it flying back up into the air only to inevitably fall back to the ground.

“So, what is your opinion of Spirda?” Eslakon asked, sliding his hand over the bark of a tree as he passed. “I like staying here. Because it is mostly quiet, and there are not very many crowds other than what is in the market. The Melar trees are majestic compared to those in the other parts of Drania.” He smiled at the thought of playing with Chara, when she was much younger, and several other dragons her age on the cobblestone streets.

[Kat]

Linwe shrugged. "I always found older elves harder to hit," She said. "Even with my tetsugin, which normally wins against most opponents simply because they do not know anything of my weapon and what it can do." She smiled at him. "I have many more tricks with it than I showed you. Like disarming someone by wrapping the wire around their weapon. It's harder with anything other than a sword or a spear though."

Linwe looked up at Chara, fascinated by the way the sun glittered off her scales. It was beautiful. She had rarely ever seen anything so beautiful than that before, and she was sure her fascination showed on her face.

She looked back to Eslakon when he spoke again and she smiled. "I love Spirda," She said. "It's quiet, and peaceful... At least until I found out about the Dark Elves," She said, frowning again. She sighed and shook her head, not dwelling on that subject. They weren't here yet, at least. "I used to live closer to the larger towns too," She said finally, breaking her silence. "But mother and I moved when I was younger."

[Eslakon]

“Yeah, and despite their age, they are just as strong as the younger elves. Zidane has shattered my sword with his axe before, which is why I had to get this one recently.” He lifted his sword out of its scabbard, and then let it drop back with a click. He looked to the Tetsugin on her arm. “I’m sure. Tis a very unique weapon. It would be very easy to pull an axe from someone’s hand, if they don’t break the wire.” He wasn’t sure how durable the wire was, but it held up against him well enough.

He stepped up on a high root, making it look as if he were very tall, and then dropped back down on the other side with a thud. A soft wind that blew through the forest ruffled his hair, but it didn’t make it worse than it already was. “Yes, that is one of the flaws of being here, but there are worse places. I remember visiting Leosta, the human capital. I’ve never been in such a crowded place, I actually had to jump from rooftop to rooftop just to get near the castle.”

Eslakon frowned at the memory, and how sore his legs were after that. “Its fun watching the dragons grow as well. How they go from being naïve to wise so swiftly. Chara has always been smaller than the rest, though, and black scales are uncommon among dragons. Though I think it is merely a small difference between her size and others. They are perhaps a few inches to a foot taller than her.”

Chara looked back at him for a moment, and then returned to her smug trot through the woods as she thought of ways for him to hunt for her. The subject based on her didn’t bother her, but mostly because of her current mood.

[Kat]

Linwe smiled down at the weapon on her arm. "Aye, it is unique," She said. She loved the fact that her grandfather made her mother one and taught her how to make them, and maintain them so they wouldn't break. "The wire is harder to break than it looks," She said. "Although I have had my wires break a few times so I've had to replace them." She smiled at the memories, and how many times she had cut her hands on the wire. She took off her gloves, lifting her hands to show him the criss-crossed scars. "From the wire," She explained. "It's rather sharp." She shrugged as she traced some of the scars across her left palm with her right fingers.

She looked up when she felt the breeze and lifted her hand, brushing her hair from her eyes and holding it up until the wind stopped blowing. She brushed her hair behind her ear again, it's dark black hue gleaming silver in the faint sunlight that streamed through the leaves.

Linwe looked up at him, sliding her gloves back over her hands and flexing her fingers to make sure she had them on right. "Was it really that crazy?" She asked. She had never been to a human town, they didn't seem to like elves much. Besides the fact that she had held a slight grudge against humans... Though only the ones who treated her badly though. Eslakon was nice to her though, so she wanted to be nice back. She didn't want to scare him away like everyone else was scared away by her.

She looked to Chara and smiled. "She looks like the perfect size, if you ask me. Not so large that she can't walk in the forest, but not so small that she can't carry her rider without trouble."

[Eslakon]

“Yeah, I noticed.” Eslakon said. “Though it never connected with my sword, only my arm, I believe you.” He grimaced as she revealed her scarred hand. He didn’t know fighting with a weapon had such consequences. The wire was very sharp, for it had cut open his forearm when they were fighting.

”I don’t see how you keep from hurting yourself while fighting.” Chara spoke up, glancing backwards for a moment, the clinking of vials filled the air again. Taut muscles rippled in her shoulders and legs as she walked, which allowed her to tear through trees or whatever was in her way if necessary.

“Yeah.” Eslakon replied to Linwe’s question. “I don’t see how the king manages to keep order, for a countless amount of crimes can happen without warning. That do happen.” He corrected himself. “I let Chara hold my gold when I go there, because I doubt that anyone would try to steal from her when she was in the streets.”

Chara’s gaze met Linwe’s as she glanced back towards them. ”Indeed, but I’m not small enough to navigate easily, and I’m sure a hatchling could carry Eslakon due to how skinny he is.” She joked, ”That is probably why he is still alive, the wild dragons wouldn’t consider him a meal, if a snack.”

“Hey!“ Eslakon said as he hit her hind leg with his palm.

[Kat]

Linwe lifted her gloved hands to Chara. "That's why I wear the leather gloves," She explained. "The leather is hard enough to keep the wire from slicing into my palms. Though I have to buy new gloves every year or so because the old ones always get sliced open." She shrugged, looking at the fingerless black gloves and flexing her hands.

Linwe smiled. "The human would truly have to be daft to steal from a dragon," She agreed. "Daft or completely mental." She shook her head, her silvery black hair falling in her face again. Frowning, she shoved it back, pulling a ribbon from the pocket sewed into her pants and tied it back to keep it from falling into her eyes. Her hair cascaded down her back in a silvery-black waterfall.

Linwe smiled and hid a laugh behind her hand when Chara teased Eslakon. "He is rather skinny," She said, smiling and dancing out of slapping range in case he decided to try to hit her too. Her eyes were dancing with the laughter she held back and she smiled kindly at Eslakon. "Not that anything's really wrong with that," She said, hoping she didn't offend him. "Smaller means more agile, after all."

[Eslakon]

“I see.” Chara nodded, looking at the leather gloves on her hand. They seemed to be worn down by the wire that was wrapped around her forearm. Eslakon didn’t have to wear gloves whenever he fought, but it helped to wear gauntlets just incase a blade hit his fingers. Though his hands were marred enough by clumsy mistakes.

”Yes, many of them were, for I’ve seen men get their arms torn off by dragons because they stole from their riders. Any form of crime, even something of little importance, dealt to our riders can make us very furious.” Chara snapped at nothing, imagining some stranger trying to steal from Eslakon. They wouldn’t last long, even though some would consider it cruel to take a limb along with what they stole, but most shouldn’t be stealing in the first place.

Eslakon raised an eyebrow as Linwe agreed with Chara, “I’m not that skinny.” He said as he stretched out his shirt, and then let it snap back against his chest.

”It is good to be skinny, in a since. Though I do not see how he is in such condition, for he eats more that any other human or elf that I have seen.” Chara grinned, slowing down until she was beside Linwe. She was enjoying such a amusing discussion.

Eslakon looked up, ignoring Chara and Linwe, towards the ever nearing path, “We’re almost on the path.”

[Kat]

Linwe blanched faintly and made a mental note to never steal from a dragonrider, if she ever had a reason to steal. "That does sound brutal," She said. "But if someone was foolish enough to steal from a rider..." She trailed off and shook her head. The thought of someone trying to steal from Eslakon while Chara was around was appalling.

She smiled and Eslakon and shrugged. "You are skinny," She said. "There's nothing wrong with it." She looked up at Chara and laughed at the dragons comment, moving aside so she could fall into step beside the beautiful beast. "Yes, most men I know do eat a lot," She agreed. "I've seen one skinner than Eslakon devour two small chickens and a huge helping of vegetables. It was rather disturbing..."

[Eslakon]

”Yes, it can be very brutal, but I would merely knock them into a wall with my tail, by Eslakon’s wishes. He thinks that they are stealing for a reason, to stay alive or keep their families alive, and killing them wouldn’t help anything.” She said with a snort. ”Though I agree with him to a point, many steal for greed. I like it here in Spirda, because there is no real need for money for people can merely walk into the garden and get something to eat. Thievery here would be redundant.” She said, looking ahead.

Chara spotted the path ahead easily, for it was no more than thirty yards off. She was glad, for the small area in the woods made her very uncomfortable, making her feel as if she were in a prison, only the bars were trees. She wouldn’t have to worry about the potions either, for the path would be much more clear and wouldn’t require any sudden movements.

“I bet.” Eslakon said, pausing at the thought of someone smaller than he devouring that much food, and then strode quickly to catch up, which didn’t take long. “I can go without food for a while, but when I do I tend to eat a lot, and never gain a pound, as Chara said.” The light blue sky came into view as they stepped out from the tree’s canopy, and the sun’s warmth washed over them.

Chara scales lit up slightly, sending little specks of light jittering across the ground and forest as it did the in slight shadow of the trees, “This should be much easier now.” Eslakon said, shielding his eyes from the sun as he looked up the path, which led to Zidane’s house and the city.

[Kat]

"Stealing at all is a horrible, and extremely annoying, thing to do." Linwe shook her head in distaste. "I don't like people who steal, and nor should they like me if I ever find them stealing my potions or poisons." Her face turned angry. "The last idiot that tried that went back with a severed finger." She would have cut off the whole hand, but the stupid elf had gotten away from her blade in time to lose only a finger. "Pity that. I was aiming for his whole hand."

She looked to Eslakon and nodded. "Yes he eats far more than he should," She said, frowning. "I have no idea how he stays so skinny. For an elf, he's rather lazy." She shook her head. "I've never seen that man get off his skinny ass," She snorted, more in annoyance than anything else. "I had to literally kick him out of my house to get him to stop eating everything. I haven't seen him since I threatened him either..." She smiled at the memory of threatening to cut his hand off, though she knew she wouldn't do it to him. He was annoying, but still a friend in a way. "Not that I would really have hurt him or anything," She said with a simple shrug.

Linwe relaxed when they reached the path and the trees weren't so dangerously close to the bags on Chara's neck spikes. She was worried about what would happen should one of them break open on the dragon, and she didn't want to find out.