Heaven and Earth United [Shiva & Jokers]

[XxWild-Eyed_JokersxX]

If you are not one of these two people, do not post here.

Shiva_Goddess
XxWild-Eyed_JokersxX

Characters involved:

[Shiva]
Varianna
Human Form
Dragon Form

[Jokers]
Ashur Morril

 

[XxWild-Eyed_JokersxX]

Ashur Morril

Emerald eyes stared down hard at the empty leather glove the young man held in his own hands. Just scant moments before now the item had an owner, but that seemed irrelevant at this point. Now, it just served as a grim reminder of how life could literally be pried from one's grasp in these dangerous lands. Rational thought told Ashur he had done his best; that while he had a firm grip on his comrade's hand there was nothing to stop the swooping wyvern from flying off with its next unfortunate victim. The slayer's expression remained vindictive as he reluctantly allowed the glove to drop to the ground. Mourning would have its time, but that time was not now. Not with three adult wyverns preying on the hapless residents of a rural village. As his thoughts focused back on the grim reality happening around him Ashur suddenly found himself yearning for a dragon to fight instead of a flock of scaled rats! At least then there would only be a single target!

Already he could see one of the wyverns being overwhelmed as it made the mistake of landing on the ground. That left two more. Ashur picked up the bow he had dropped prior to his failed rescue attempt and moved to find more elevated position. The roof of a wooden house seemed like his best option so he took it, scrambling up a ladder that had already been leaning against the structure. Once atop the modest building the male's lips contorted into a snarl as his free hand found but a precious few arrows remaining in the quiver strapped to his back. It was hardly enough to do no more than piss off one of the predators circling above, if he was lucky. He still had a sword sheathed on his belt, but it was a moot point unless one of the ravenous bastards landed! Notching an arrow onto the taunt string of his bow with the ease of experience the slayer waited impatiently for a clean shot. His anxious eyes narrowed as one of the wyverns lowered its altitude, no doubt hoping to snatch someone off the ground. Ashur's first arrow went wide, missing his target completely; though, his action didn't go unnoticed.

It wasn't until he heard the warnings from several of his companions did Ashur realize the third wyvern was diving down to greet him in the brutal manner its kind typically displayed for anything they considered food. Already in the motion of pulling his second arrow back on his bow's string the man shifted his aim up to meet the new threat. His shot hit this time, creating a hole in the thin leathery membrane of the creatures wing. The rushing wind flowing through the opening tore the gap even wider, and the injured wyvern shrieked as it fumbled through the air. Unable to guide itself the wyvern plummeted onto the roof Ashur had been standing on, and crashed through the wooden ceiling. The resulting collapse of the roof swallowed the human up as well as he released a colorful string of profanity at his bad luck.

It only dawned on Ashur that he had blacked out for a moment after opening his eyes. The sound of something large floundering around the debris in the house alerted him to the still very much alive wyvern thrashing around. Cursing under his breath the man scrambled to his feet and drew his sword in one hand. The door leading outside was behind the room’s other occupant, leaving him a bit stranded where he currently was. “..jeez, what a mess this day turned out to be. At least someone’s gonna get a good lunch, huh?”

OOC:
Let me know if this is enough for you to go on or not.

Shiva_Goddess

 

[Shiva_Goddess]

Varianna


Flames circling around, crackling and burning brightly. The sounds of humans giving out their battle cry and the anguished cries of dragons. Varianna remembered them well, the flow of time had done nothing to fade her wretched memories of when the birth of Dragon Slayers had caused the deaths of so many dragons. Including her own Father. She had just been a hatchling when it happened, and it was by her Father's sacrifice that she lived. His final words to her still rang in her mind, 'Forget not our vows. No matter what they have done to us, you must not kill the humans.' Bright red eyes opened of a golden scaled dragon that lay in a dark cave. "Father..." A deep sigh escaped past her mouth. He had risked himself in order to help her escape. She had never forgiven herself for that happening. Since then, she had remained hidden from the world, going as far as living among the humans in their skin in order to survive. She even had to watch what she ate as well, she didn't want to raise any alarms with the townspeople. She even had to travel very far just to get a meal. Most of the time it was either cow or chicken and their bones were in the back of her cave. Not a single human bone. She wouldn't break the vow, but she wasn't going to die like her Father had. The human body was resilient and could survive certain wounds. So when it came to slayers, she would fight. She would wound them, disable them, but not kill them.

Getting up on all fours, she flapped her large golden wings, but a sound stopped her from finishing her stretch. An annoying sound that she was coming to hate more and more lately. Stupid wyverns. The humans had no idea the amount of dangers that the dragons had protected them from. Wyverns were the most annoying. Since the number of dragons extremely dropped, they now thought it was safe for them to take over as the strongest creatures. They relished in knowing that the humans the dragons protected were the ones to turn on them and kill them. She couldn't stand humans, they deserved to be killed by the Wyverns for what they did. Growling softly to herself, she knew that she couldn't just leave it as it was. Hearing that cry, she knew that they had found humans to feast on. No matter what they had done, she still had to protect the humans. She expanded her wings and flew out of her cave. She was now a full grown dragon and her golden scales shined with the sunlight and her ruby eyes glowed from the reflection. The sound resonated not too far from where she nested, which meant she wouldn't cause as much of a panic among the humors she flew over.

She soon came across the corpses of some of the wyverns, at least humans were a little resilient. There was still one left though, she could smell the filthy thing. Locating where it was to a building with a collapsed roof, she landed with a thud before looking inside. Her eyes scanned for the wyvern, it wasn't dead. Yet anyway. Leaning forward, she opened her mouth and closed it around the creatures neck. She held it tight as she pulled it out of the house and off to the side. She reveled in seeing the pathetic creature squirm. She used this to vent her frustrations since she couldn't hurt the humans. After a minute, she finally crunched down on the creatures neck, effectively snapping it in two. She spat out the thing from her mouth, "Disgusting..." She sighed knowing that she would have to check on the human to see if he was alright. She returned to looking into the house before she suddenly felt sick at what she saw. The human that she had saved, was none other than that fool-hardy dragonslayer who had been after her for years. "Should have just let you die..." She turned away from him and began walking away looking for more wyverns. They really stuck up the place. Just to prove a point though, when she saw a corpse, she blew fireball at it from her mouth. It was a message to the rest of them. This was dragon territory and unless they wanted to meet the same fate, they would stay away. Too bad they were too stupid to get it.
 

[XxWild-Eyed_JokersxX]

Ashur Morril

In such a confined space there was only so much Ashur could do. Jabbing with his sword at the wyvern's snout would only keep it at bay for so long. So focused on dealing with the immediate threat, the dull tremor of the dragon landing outside didn't even register to him. It was only when a flash of gold snatched the wyvern away did he realize there was something bigger just outside of the house. The sounds of a desperate and futile struggle could be heard as the doomed creature screeched, helping Ashur decide that he was safer inside for the moment. Albeit just a little. The flash of gold had been a foreboding sight, however; and his lips pressed tightly together in anticipation. '..she wouldn't..!' hissed his paranoid thoughts.

By 'she', he of course meant that fire breathing witch of a being! The one dragon that got away, and managed to keep getting away! More often than not the young dragonslayer would be left wounded from their encounters as well, making her escapes even more agitating. The annoying thoughts forced his jaws to clench as he started to walk towards the door. However, his footsteps faltered as the face he had been dreading to see popped back in to presumably check on things. Under normal circumstances the human would have lashed out at her immediately, but he recognized the favor she had just done him. Despite his knuckles turning white from gripping the handle of his sword so tight he refrained from trying to maul the dragon's face as they exchanged less than pleased looks. What she then said left his eye twitching in indignation. There wasn't much he could say in reply, of course. At least not in an honorable manner. So as he stepped outside, he just glared at the back of her reptillian head as she walked away.

"Quit gawking, you morons! The village is still our priority!" he shouted towards several other warriors who had stopped to gaze upon Varianna with a mixture of apprehension and vague relief. It went without saying that there wasn't much of a fight after the dragon's timely arrival. Her addition to the defenses greatly influenced the continued survival of the village, though it pained Ashur to admit it. While he prided himself in his sense of duty and honor, he was a firm believer in the notion that humans could survive on their own. Thanks to the decline of the dragons, the point had been proven to some extent, but the independence came at high costs at times...

"..so you're leaving, just like that?" he asked the dragon in a tone the suggested he really wouldn't mind her absence. The last of the wyverns had been dealt with, and the villagers were now tending to their injured. Ashur had his own fair share of bandages, though they were mostly hidden under his leather coat. Tears in the animal hide revealed the medicinal wrappings where they had been placed, betraying his seemingly unscathed attitude. Gently folding his arms across his chest, as not to aggravate his own injuries, the human frowned at the scaled face above him. "The villagers are grateful for what you did," As was he, but Ashur wasn't about to admit that fact. "They... They were wondering if you'd be adverse to staying for supper tonight? Unless you're thinking of having humans on the menu." The last part had been quickly added in as a sarcastic jab, but the warning did hold some weight behind it.

They talked of having a small celebration of sorts in tribute to her. It was more than necessary in Ashur's opinion, but he wouldn't be footing the bill with his own livestock, so the slayer didn't object to the idea completely. This dragon in particular hadn't killed anyone as far as he knew, and if she started now? Well, he'd be the first one to say 'I told you so'. The sun would be setting in a few hours, and it would take just as long to clean up and prepare the food if the dragon decided to stay for a bit.

OOC:

Shiva_Goddess

 

[Shiva_Goddess]

Varianna


Varianna looked around at the destruction done by the wyverns, they were growing more violent from what she could tell. Not good. It meant that they were getting more comfortable being out in the open now. Without the dragons roaming the skies anymore, they were now next in line to become the dominant species. She couldn't let that happen. She would have to make herself more visible now, and take her spot as the new Dragon Lord. She had been hoping to make the humans beg for her to take the thrown in order to save them. Yeah, she was still bitter, she had every right to be. The humans had caused this whole thing to happen. They had forgotten the vows the dragons had made with them. It was one to guarantee that no one would be killed, it was a peace treaty.

She noticed that the humans were going about their duty of tending to the wounded and starting to rebuild. At least she had done her part of the deal, even long after it had been broken. She would not sacrifice everything she had left just for some frivolous revenge. To break the vow may not have meant much to the humans, but it was much deeper to the dragons. To break it would thrust upon the worst fate that could come upon a dragon. Unfortunately, most dragons that had tried to fight back, succumbed to both death and that fate. All they were trying to do was defend themselves and they paid the price for it. It made her blood boil just thinking about all of the dragons that had died on that day and humans had no idea what they had done. Some even came to her asking her to rise up and get revenge, they all thought she was crazy for sticking to the vows. It was her Father's last wish, and she was not going to go back on it.

Hearing the voice of the slayer behind her, she turned her head to him. He was always such a pain. And she went easy on him many times, when she didn't give others the chance. She didn't kill them, she warned them to leave her alone or else their ambition would kill them. Most of the time, they never listened and the wounds she had given them that were not fatal, became fatal since they never took care of it. She could tell that it didn't count as killing a human since she didn't feel any different, so nothing had been sacrificed yet. She looked at the slayer again and was still giving him a rather dry look because she was tired of seeing his face, "I came because those pathetic things woke me from my slumber..."

Then he offered her to stay for a supper tonight, at first she actually considered it, and then he opened his big mouth about humans being on the menu. She growled and turned her body around to face the slayer, "How disrespectful are you human? You, who slays dragons for a living and yet you know not a single thing about us. Besides, if all humans tasted like you did, we dragons would have gone extinct from starving ourselves," Granted, she hadn't actually meant to take him in her mouth. She had meant to just scare him off with roaring and he just...fell in there. She spat him out right away though. It wasn't exactly a fond memory for her, but she knew that it would strike a nerve with the slayer. She was toying with him, but since she was on territory where the humans liked her at the moment, he couldn't do a damn thing to her.

"I will stay for supper, but I'll slip into something a little more comfortable..." she grinned a bit. This was a new trick to her, one the slayer hadn't seen yet. Giving out a loud roar, her body began to changes its shape and shift smaller. It only took a moment, but before they knew it, she was now at the same height level as the slayer and in skin similar to his own. It was a form that those who possessed the Dragon Lord blood could take on, it was how her Father had gotten peace for that time, by getting down to the humans level. It was the form of a beautiful woman, and her scales took on the form of her armor. Looking like a dragonslayer herself, she was mocking him and she knew it. Her long blonde hair formed behind her and she had to admit, this form was rather constricting considering her normal size. She was still getting used to using this form. She continued to grin at the slayer as she walked up to him, her bright ruby eyes staring into his eyes, "Might want to switch professions, slayer," then she blew a smoke ring in his face as she walked past him towards the village.

XxWild-Eyed_JokersxX

 

[XxWild-Eyed_JokersxX]

Ashur Morril

Ashur held his ground, even when the dragon turned to face him. It was true, aside from possible ways to kill them, he really didn't know much about her kind. They were big. They were dangerous. They ate meat. That seemed like all he really needed to know, as far as he believed. His undaunted expression held up to the point where she reminded him of a rather... unsavory memory, however. The man suppressed a shudder threatening to crawl up his spine at the thought. He hadn't meant to trip, and it had definitely been one of the low points in his career. And, pointedly, he had all but forgotten about the incident by repressing it up till now! Not for the first time that day he looked up at the dragon with unbridled scorn. It was all just for show, of course. Attacking her was out of the question now that she was the guest of honor for tonight.

"..'comfortable'?" he repeated dubiously, arching a brow. Nope. He decided that he did not like that devious grin twisting her lips! Involuntarily, he took a step back when she roared, all too aware of the precarious situation he was in. The dragonslayer retreated another step when he noticed the dragon was shrinking! 'Damned sorcery?!' This was definitely a new trick. Ashur took a third step back when the transformation was complete, his mouth open to say something, but his words failing him in his surprise. A dragon taking a human form?! He had heard rumors of such things, but never once did he think the frightened whispers held any modicum of truth to them! She was even dressed like a slayer herself, of all things! But what really threw poor Ashur for a loop was how gorgeous she turned out to be as a human!'..no. I do not like this at all!'

Practically fuming as she approached him, the male clenched his fists and his jaw. He recognized that sharp pair of crimson eyes. It was definitely her. And of course, she would depart with the last word, pausing only to send a smoke ring buffeting his face! He coughed as she left him, still weak from the day's fight. A part of him just wanted to leave immediately, but he knew that would be irresponsible. He had to find out more about this new trick of hers. It made him suddenly suspicious of the villagers, and he wondered for a fleeting moment if some of them were dragons in hiding themselves, or if they knew about this to begin with. The theories of conspiracy were quickly cast out from his mind as he too wandered back to the village. There was nothing he could do but take things in stride.

That night, the dragonslayer avoided the blonde woman like the plague. All the villagers wanted to talk about was her; the complimentary chatter made his stomach churn. Not wanting to spoil the mood he ate away from the festivities, finding a log to sit on near the perimeter of the village. On his plate was a healthy slab of cooked wyvern. It held a distinct taste. The irony of his meal had dawned on him long before the first bite, and he ate with a certain satisfaction at the fact. He was relatively sure that the false woman wouldn't harm and of the civilians, so all the more reason for him to distance himself from her. Several times the townspeople had tried to coax him back, but he turned them down each time. There was too much on his mind to enjoy good company and food.

When he was done eating he rose too quickly and stretched some of his wounds open. His plate dropped as his hands raised up to catch a splatter of blood as he coughed. He only spared a passing glance at the unsightly fluid before casually wiping it off on his coat. Ashur had endured worse. "Ugh; she's going to be the death of me..."

OOC:

Shiva_Goddess

 

[Shiva_Goddess]

Varianna



Varianna felt rather confident at the moment. She had managed to alienate the slayer that had been causing her the most trouble and she took out some wyverns. That was considered to be a good day to her. She knew that her little transformation would throw him for a loop, she had only used it a few times. The first time was to test it out and how long she could hold this form before she had to change back. It wasn't a permanent change, but it was a welcome transformation. It seemed that the older she got, the more abilities of a Dragon lord she possessed. She still couldn't breathe ice yet, but she knew it wouldn't be too long before she did. Once she got that ability, the wyverns wouldn't stand a chance. She could attack their nest directly. To do so now would be suicide on her part. While she was strong, she didn't have the numbers to back it up. Wyverns were weak, but in great numbers, they could take down a dragon.

As she passed the slayer, she found herself surrounded with the villagers. They were being so grateful, but she still didn't buy it. Sure, they were grateful now, but if she did one bad thing, they would easily turn on her. She could never trust humans. Humans always claimed her kind to be monsters, when the real monsters were hidden deep within the humans. All they needed was to be scared of something that was different from them and that would be it. Instead of learning to live with it, no, they just killed what they didn't understand, not even thinking about the consequences. The wyverns were just the beginning. And she planned on stopping it at the wyverns before things got worse.

Speaking of wyverns, one of the villagers dropped a slab of it in front of her. She wrinkled her nose at it, seriously? Did they eat dragon too when they slayed them? She passed it off to someone else, she couldn't stand already cooked food anyway. It was just how her body was. Her food cooked on its way down, make it better, already cooked food turned to ash on the way down. Humans didn't have a natural fire-pit inside of them, so they had to cook it before they ate it. She would humor the humans by staying, but the second she left, she was taking a cow for the flight back. Cows didn't fight much, chickens were a real pain to eat. Speaking of a real pain, her nostrils flared a bit when she caught the smell of blood in the air. She knew the smell well, it was the damned slayer.

He had been doing well to avoid her, but the smell was hard to ignore. And she felt the pull of the vow again. I can't believe I'm doing this... She looked over at the goblet they gave her and she put her hand over it, using her clawed tipped fingers to p***k one of her own and let a few drops of blood to mix in with the drink. It wouldn't give him dragon abilities, just speed up his healing temporarily. Looking to one of the other humans around her, she handed them the goblet, "Give this to the slayer, the smell of his blood is making me sick," and before the human left, she also said, "And if he doesn't take it, shove it down his throat. It's for his own good..." she knew she was going to regret it. But, she took some gratification that if he refused, it would be forced down his throat. It wasn't like it was going to kill him. Just make him feel like a dragon for a few moments. So long as she couldn't smell his blood, it was fine with her.

XxWild-Eyed_JokersxX

 

[XxWild-Eyed_JokersxX]

Ashur Morril

He was surprised when a villager had approached him with a goblet, conveying the message that the drink was from the dragon woman. Still seated on the outskirts of the village, Ashur stared at the cup suspiciously as if it might be poisoned. For all he knew, it might have been if it was from her. What made him think twice about flatly turning the man away was the air of polite emphasis that was placed upon the supposed gift. It was clear that the villager didn't want to offend him, but the dragon slayer had the nagging hunch that this messenger didn't want to disappoint the blonde woman, either. Well, fine then. Let them have their damned hero if it pleased them! Taking the goblet in one hand, he waved the villager away with the other.

In the faint light of the rising moon, he couldn't make out anything visibly different with the drink; it looked and smelled like a cheap ale. There was no doubt in his mind that the liquid had been tampered with. To what extent or consequence was impossible to know. After a minute of dry arguments dueling back and forth in his mind, he decided to just get on with the damned task. The male had thought about dumping the drink out, but that damned woman- no, dragon would probably find out anyways and make him another drink. Probably in front of everyone just to force Ashur to partake if he wanted to save face. He let out an exasperated sigh as his last line of defense before raising the goblet to his lips and downing its contents.

It tasted like he expected it to for the most part; cheap ale was terrible no matter where it came from. There was a faintly metallic taste he recognized, the distinct tang of blood. He lowered the goblet just enough to stop its contents from flowing into his mouth as he pondered over the wisdom of what he was doing. He had never heard of anyone ingesting dragon's blood before. And if she was still in that human form, would her blood still be the same regardless? Questions begot more questions till his eyes rolled and he just finished the stupid drink. In the pit of his stomach he just knew that something was going to happen, so he remained out of sight and stayed where he was. True enough, his body started to warm up, and not from the poor alcohol.

It was a pleasant warmth, much to his surprise. A shudder jolted up his spine and prompted him to cough into one of his hands. Green eyes stared down at his blood free palm with mild trepidation. 'The hell..?' He then realized that his body wasn't aching anymore, either, even where he had been cut by wyvern claws. As a man who was adverse to things such as magic he was spooked, but managed to keep his composure. Careful thinking helped connect the dots one by one. Another sigh was released, or rather a growl, at the thought of being helped by the creature he had been hunting down these past few years. Dragons had the mental capacity for rational thought, that couldn't be argued. And it was about time he found out just what was on the guest of honor's mind.

His return to the festivities was met with jubilation by the townsfolk, who saw it as him finally lightening up. Maybe he was, to some degree. However, he made sure to bee-line towards the imposter of a human being while navigating through the crowd. Somewhere along the way he passed off his empty goblet to one of the villagers. His progress was hampered by people wanting to chat and what not, and one lively young woman even grabbed his hands for a short dance. Now that he could move, Ashur found the merriment somewhat enjoying, especially with someone pretty in his arms. For a few minutes he allowed himself to have fun before breaking away, wishing he could leave with more than just a kiss on his cheek. There would be other times, though!

Once he finally made it to his destination, he looked to the blonde woman squarely. "That drink of yours," he started flatly. "It was.. helpful." His tone hinted at the chances of her getting an actual thank you. They were practically nonexistent. "If you're done with this," at which point he paused to point a thumb over his own shoulder to indicate the villagers before continuing. "...I'd like a word in private."

OOC:

Shiva_Goddess

 

[Shiva_Goddess]

Varianna


Varianna only sat by as she watched the villagers celebrate, there was the occasional man who came over to her to ask her if she wanted to dance. She declined to all of them, and she had a good reason. The only reason these men wanted to dance with her was because she was both a dragon and the hero of the village. It was basically for bragging rights. That and she could literally smell the fear coming off of them. She never danced anyway, there would only be one time in her life where she would dance and that would be on the day she found her mate. She couldn't see that happening anytime soon, she knew most of the dragons that were left and they were either cowards or bloodthirsty killers. She wasn't picky, she just wanted to be with a dragon that she could care for, but they would also be a strong ruler to stand by her side.

Her deep red eyes began scanning around the village, looking for quick ways to get out and also, if there were any tasty looking cows to take with her for the road. She doubted the humans would kill one of their cows to give to her, especially raw. Humans had such weak stomachs. Looking around, she spotted the one she was going to take and she could feel her stomach growl in impatience. She did feel a slight tingle though and when she felt it, she looked over in the direction that it came from. The slayer must have drank the blood she had put in the goblet. Good, now she wouldn't be smelling that horrid blood. Maybe it would also give him a taste of how it felt to be a dragon. She doubted that he would learn his lesson, but it would be a start.

She sighed a little bit, starting to grow bored by the whole thing. She turned her head watching the humans dancing again and she noticed that the slayer was one of them. Good, he seemed to have healed nicely, now that annoying twinge would go away to help him. She didn't feel bad though for helping him and that was what surprised her the most. All she should want was for him to fall off a cliff and die, but she found that the vows that she took made her softer towards the humans. She even watched as the girl he had danced with kissed him on the cheek, who knows, maybe the slayer would settle down and leave her the hell alone. But she knew that was wishful thinking, he didn't quit then, and he wasn't going to quit now.

He then turned to her direction and for the first time since the celebration started, he had graced her with his presence. And he was actually thanking her, not the exact words, but it was a start. "You are welcome. The smell of your blood was making me sick, that and the irony of the situation was too good to pass up..." she grinned at him for a moment. Just because she helped him, didn't mean that she wasn't going to continue goading him. Then he asked her if she was done with the villagers and if she would speak with him in private. Her eyes narrowed a bit in suspicion before she spoke to him, "A word in private huh? Just a note for you...I may be smaller in this form, but I can still burn you alive. So, if this word involves that sword of yours, it will end badly for you..." She did stand up and looked at him with those red eyes of hers, the eyes themselves showing the red slits of her dragon eyes. "Let us go then..."

XxWild-Eyed_JokersxX

 

[XxWild-Eyed_JokersxX]

Ashur Morril

The smell of his blood had been making her sick. That comment nearly obliterated any pretense he had about playing nice, but he knew better than to try and strike her down here of all places. As for her comment on irony he pretended not to hear it. The brief change his body had went through still left him a little spooked, but he held his ground in the face of her jeers. Ashur then mimicked her narrowing eyes as she then responded to his request for a private talk. How he wished to gouge out those arrogant scarlet optics from her face! “If words were sufficient enough to kill, rest assured that I would already have exhausted every known dialect to smite you down,” he promised grimly. Saying nothing more the man turned and started to walk away, gesturing with a wave of his hand for her to follow him.

He led her to the spot where he had been eating, far away enough from the festivities to have some peace, but not too far as to leave the village entirely. In a very deliberate manner he unsheathed his sword so the dragon-woman would be aware of the action. Ashur kept his back to her though, and stabbed the dirt so the weapon would stand up on its own. “..the past injuries you've given me put aside, let's say that I don't believe dragons are out to burn the world to the ground.” The man took several steps forward away from his sword with his arms folded across his chest. As much as he hated to be left vulnerable he guessed that this conversation would go more smoothly if she knew he was unarmed. His light green eyes stared up at the moon as it continued its ascension into the evening heavens.

“That still leaves me with a question, though; what does a dragon desire?” At this point he turned his side to the woman, and gave her an inquisitive stare bordering on impatience. Up till today, he had found himself not really caring about or for the opinion of a dragon. He had seen through her lie earlier, of why she had appeared in the village. It was a thinly veiled deception and she knew it. “I understand you lot harbor a certain fascination for farm animals, but is that truly the end of your ambitions?”

OOC:

Shiva_Goddess

 

[Shiva_Goddess]

Varianna


Varianna was still enjoying mocking him, she knew that was a hobby of hers that would never get boring. She listened to him as he commented back to her that if his words were enough to kill her, he would have used all of them to kill her. She chuckled then as she looked at him defiantly, "I would have to agree, I would have died from boredom," she followed him still chuckling. She was still wary of him however, though not as much as she would be normally. He couldn't touch her here, at least for now, so long as she didn't attempt to hurt humans. It wasn't going to happen anytime soon, but at the same time, she would be careful.

When he lead her to the spot far enough away from the villagers, she crossed her arms to look at him, wondering what his angle was. When she heard his sword leave his sheath, flames shot out her nose in annoyance as she prepared herself for a fight. When he stabbed it in the dirt however, she relaxed a bit. He was purposely disarming himself. And when he spoke, her eyebrow arched, he was actually talking to her like he was ready to understand exactly the purpose of dragons in the world. Then he asked his question to her, and she can't believe he asked it.

"You make it sound like all of us dragons are the exact same. Like humans, we are individuals, we have our own desires. You can't put us all on the same page..." she scoffed at him turning her head away from him, "It is not a fascination, it's survival. The reason we eat farm animals is the same reason why I don't eat you right now..." her red eyes glowed as she glared at him. Sighing angrily, she looked at him, "My desire is for things to return to the way they were. You slayers and the rest of the human race have thrown the world into chaos by what you did. There was peace when the dragons ruled. But no, you humans broke the treaty between us and even when the slayers slaughtered my people, we still followed our end of the treaty and still do. You even turned good dragons into monsters with that attack. We never started the attack, it was humans..." her hands were clenched so tightly that blood was dripping from her hands from her claws piercing the skin.

She turned away from him and began walking back towards the humans before turning her head to look at him, "The wyverns are just the beginning slayer. Slaying the dragons will result in the end of the human race...And so you know, the reason I came here was not for the animals. Like I said, some of us still follow our end of the treaty..." she then turned her head away from him and continued to walk away from him. Her golden hair shined in the sun as she walked out. She looked down at her bloody hand and noticed it was becoming scaled, she only had a few more moments in this form before she changed back.

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[XxWild-Eyed_JokersxX]

Ashur Morril

The woman's blunt explanation to his question amounted to his own assumptions about her race. Having hunted his own fair share of dragons, he knew very well that they were not the same as animals acting on instincts alone. The notion of dragons having their own personalities had crossed his mind before, but he wasn't sure if he found the idea fascinating or horrific. If they were like humans, dragons had the capacity to become real problems. The issue of their destructive powers had been part of the reason for the persecution of their kind. The human simply shrugged his shoulders in reply to her outburst, remaining silent as he understood that she would shed some light on this ambiguous situation. She then glared at him; though the action was far less intimidating coming from a dragon in human form.

The only thing that caught his attention from her little rant was the mention of a treaty. He was not young enough to be ignorant of 'the old ways' as she claimed, and knew of the time when dragons did hold an air of reverence amongst his kind. The circumstances surrounding the two races interaction with each other did elude him, however; humans were a short lived race, and had a bad habit of losing knowledge from one generation to the next. Knowledge that could prove pivotal in such dire straits. As he brooded over her words keen eyes watched the drops of blood fall from her clenched fists. The sight reminded him of the drink she had sent him earlier. Ashur was still wondering how she had tampered with the beverage, and seeing her blood now made things a lot clearer to him about that.

She turned to storm off at that point, put paused only to put in one last word of advice to him. Or maybe it was a threat... The latter of the two seemed most appropriate he decided. The woman's logic couldn't be denied. It would take a lot of humans to raid a wyvern's nest. More humans than Ashur felt was worthwhile. Waiting for them to swoop down from the skies didn't seem like a promising endeavor either. Grabbing his sword from the dirt as he moved along, the slayer returned it to its sheath as he jogged after the indignant female. “Hold,” he called out to her as the distance closed. Unaware of just how long she had left in her human form, he stopped several feet behind her.

“I'm coming with you.” The declaration was boldly stated. His expression mirrored the seriousness of his words as well. “I've born witness to the capacity a dragon has for evil. If your kin are as similar to mine in varying temperament, I wish to see for myself the capacity a dragon has for doing good.” Yesterday's heroism could easily be written off as the dragon defending its territory against invaders, or protecting its source of food. The fact that the village was saved from a complete tragedy could merely just be a byproduct of the dragon's true motives. “If I am to avoid judging your race as a whole, then prove me wrong, dragon!” All too aware of the dangerous implications of his words the man still held his ground. What better way to learn of dragons than by observing one yourself? If she claimed to be right, what better way than to prove it?

OOC:

Shiva_Goddess

 

[Shiva_Goddess]

Varianna


Varianna had wondered if what she had told the slayer had struck a cord with him. Or at least made him understand that not all dragons were the same. More than likely, the dragons he had faced in his time were dragons that had turned against the treaty. Dragons who had lost their way and had become mindless beasts. She felt bad for those dragons, for they would never find peace. Another thing that humans would never realize, the weight that the treaty put on them to follow it. For them, breaking their end of the treaty, meant life or death to them. Humans never had such a consequence. That was why she fought so hard to not break the treaty, so she would not lose herself and so she could join her Father when she finally passed on, or was killed, whichever came first.

She paused in her step as she heard the slayer pick up his blade and sheath it. Then he proceeded to stop her from moving any further. He had better make this quick, she only had a few more moments left in this form, already the scales were spreading across her skin. Then she heard him speak again, and she had to admit, she was surprised by the sudden decision he was making. She turned to face him, her ruby eyes now larger and fierce, "Either you are being very brave, or that wyvern hit you harder than I thought," she folded her arms as she looked him up and down. The main question in her head was, should she trust him? The first answer that came was '******** no', but something made her think again. This could also be an opportunity too.

"Very well. But I warn you, you even think about slaying me in my own home and I'll launch you from my cave. It's a long way down..." she approached him with a bit of a sly smirk on her face, "But, I have a better way of making sure you don't try anything. Because, quite frankly, I don't trust slayers. And you should be grateful, a dragon hasn't done this to a human in hundreds of years..." she took her clawed hand and with her free one, grabbed hold of his wrist to put his palm out. She wasn't going to do anything yet, but she wanted to see his reaction to what she was thinking about doing to him. After all, for it to work properly, she would need his full consent to do so. "If you wish to stay with a dragon, you must bare the mark of a dragon. Specifically my mark. Baring this mark will mean that you cannot slay me without slaying yourself. Any pain I fell, you will as well."

This was her test to see his true intentions. If he said no, then she would simply leave him here. If he said yes, well...he had balls, she would give him that. Looking him in the eyes, she spoke again, her voice turning deep, "That is my only term slayer. Are you man enough to do it though? I will prove that not all dragons are evil, but whether or not you get to experience first hand is solely dependent on your choice. Now hurry up, it will be less painful for you while I'm in this form. I could do it in my other form, but then..." she chuckled a bit, "You might lose a hand."

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[XxWild-Eyed_JokersxX]

Ashur Morril

Ashur allowed her belittling of him to slide. Bravery and stupidity were often the two sides of the same coin. He liked to think that his decisions were based on courage and honor, but even he couldn't help but feel a bit daft at his own sudden proposal. Her spiteful gaze lingered a moment longer before she began to discuss their deal. At the mention of the sheer height of her home the human shrugged and offered his own smirk in reply. “Long enough for me to contemplate how best to haunt your hole as a ghost, I presume,” was his answer to her grim promise of booting him out of her abode. Her mistrust in slayers was well met. Ashur hardly trusted a dragon any farther than he could throw one, and his inability to perform that feat in particular was a bit telling concerning his patience for dragons.

He offered no resistance to the grabbing of his wrist, but shot her a suspicious look instead. The woman was quick to describe what she would do to him. Ashur promptly scowled. This pact of hers didn't seem to have any benefits aside from them being unable to kill each other. Why such a thing was held in a high regard was beyond his understanding. He didn't miss that he would be wearing 'her' symbol as well, whatever that meant. The slayer was still debating over the wisdom of making such a choice when she pressed him for an answer, adding in the threat of losing his hand if he waited too long. Liking his hand right where it was, the decision wasn't too hard hearing that.

"Till death do us part," growled the man begrudgingly. The irony of his words had lost all humor to him in this situation. It was something said when humans got married, and the serious connotations of this pact also reflected upon the bad joke. He would have wanted to learn more about the rules of this contract of hers. He would have rather watched someone else do it if possible. But that would be too easy, wouldn't it?

OOC:

Shiva_Goddess

 

[Shiva_Goddess]

Varianna


Varianna waited for his response, and she hoped that he hurried up, she couldn't hold her human like form for much longer. She may have been able to do this trick, but she wasn't a master yet like her Father was. Once she was done with the slayer, she would return to her normal form. Her tail was begging to be let out. It was so cramped being in this form. She hoped she didn't have to return to it for a while. Looking at him again, she was beginning to have her doubts about offering this chance to him. She had been told tales in the past of dragons branding their mark on humans, special humans. A time when humans and dragons were once allies, to the point that there were humans called Dragon Riders. It was the same ritual as she was doing now.

She wasn't going to tell him about that part though. It was going to bind them together, but she wasn't going to tell him that the mark branded him as a Dragon Rider. It wouldn't be a complete branding though, so she could remove it when she wanted to. Taking her claws, she began carving into his hand, making her symbol. She held her grip on his wrist so he wouldn't try to break away from her work. When she finished, most of what could be seen at the moment was blood covering the mark she had made. "Now to seal it..." she leaned forward and began licking the wound to seal it closed so it would scar properly. The metalic taste of his blood ran down her throat. It burned on its way down.

Pulling back from his hand, the mark could be clearly seen fading from the angry red of the wound to a black scar. Almost resembling a tattoo. "There, you now bare my mark," the mark was a sphere encased with dragon wings, "Each dragon has its own symbol. My Father's represented the Sword, a dragon who would fight for what he believed in. Mine, is the Shield. That anyone under my wings will be protected, my body as their shield." She took a step back from him and released his wrist, "You will probably feel a little strange for a bit. But from here on out, we are bonded. Everything I feel, you will as well and in vice versa, physically and emotionally. Also, no other dragon will cross you for fear of death. Not because you are a slayer, but because you bare the mark of the future Dragon Lord. Abuse this right and I will cut the bond."

She felt her body shift a bit, so she turned from him, "I will be waiting by the gate of the village. I need room for me to change back..." It would be nice to get back to her normal self, much better being in her own scales than this squishy human flesh. She felt practically naked with it. When she made it to the gate, she finally let her human guise go so she could change back into her dragon form. The relief she felt was amazing at being back to normal. She shook her head and then sighed contently, "Ah freedom..." she shook her tail back and forth and flapped her wings so she could get the circulation back in them. She wondered if she had done the right thing in giving him her mark. The last human to receive the mark had occurred hundreds of years ago, before she was even born. She just hoped that she wouldn't regret this.

XxWild-Eyed_JokersxX