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Post by Kelathi on Dec 28, 2019 18:50:17 GMT
A lopsided grin then, perhaps surprising considering the situation. “Yes, but I’m much less obvious than you.” She pointed out, not unkindly. Valhael was small, fast and nimble. She was confident in her ability to evade her pursuers. The fact that she had been caught before had been an exceptional circumstance, and she was determined not to let it happen again.“Each of us is going to have to go out there eventually anyway, it’s no more risk than it would be for me than when we eventually split up.” She added, reasonably enough. Clearly, she was assuming the same as he, that they would go their separate ways soon enough.
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Post by Red Irish Dragon on Jan 1, 2020 3:02:10 GMT
Kaitan stilled a little at the lopsided grin, listening carefully as she went on. Finally, he took a step back, settling down to sit on one of the many outcroppings of rock, wings half folded down as he relaxed them. A sign that showed more than anything that he would stay there. What seemed amusing on his scaled face was the sheepish look at being taken care of like this, evidenced in how his tail curled about the rock’s edge.
“Take… in my bag, there’s a dagger. Better than nothing,” he half mumbled, perhaps most surprising of all. Offering a weapon? To someone who knew he was weak?
He really was desperate then. Or was he just trusting?
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Post by Kelathi on Jan 19, 2020 22:17:12 GMT
The elf didn’t seem surprised that Kaitan had offered her the dagger, in fact she was thankful, as it meant she wouldn’t have to improvise and make her own. After the display of power that she’d seen he possessed... if she’d known that he was in any way wary of her, she would have been shocked. She would have argued that she could hardly be a threat to someone like him, but of course, could not know that his wariness of her was down to the fact that he expected she might betray his presence to another.
She retrieved the dagger as suggested, tucking it with it’s sheath into the belt at her waist. “I won’t be long.” Were the words she left him with, before sweeping aside the curtain of green and disappearing from sight.
***
As promised, she was indeed rather swift, and she returned with three rabbits strung casually over her shoulder. She called out before approaching the den, so as to warn Kaitan, and, not for the first time, reflected on the strangeness of the situation as she entered the cave. Why had she chosen to help him, after she’d spent so long running away from everyone? Was it just because he had helped her, and she wanted to return the favour, or was it because she sensed that he wasn’t a threat, despite what he was capable of? She didn’t know for sure, but either way, she intended to make good on her word, and help him as he had her.
Grasping the rabbits by their hind legs, she revealed her kill with a hint of trepidation, unsure if she’d done right with the choice of prey, why becoming clear enough moments later as she asked, “Is this enough?” For, what did a dragon eat? How much? Did he eat the same amount when in this humanoid form? She had no idea, and certainly more questions than answers, although she forced herself to still her tongue and not overwhelm him with such an interrogation.
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Post by Red Irish Dragon on Feb 6, 2020 5:08:30 GMT
Offering the dagger may have not been surprising, but the fact that Kaitan was asleep by the time she came back certainly would be, given how long he had rested already.
He didn’t know how long he had sat there in the cave after she had left, waiting, listening, ever wary of a band of hunters suddenly appearing to destroy the evil dragon. But Kaitan was aware of how he came to as her voice rang out and through the short cave entrance, almost starting at the realization that he’d fallen asleep. How dangerous was that?! If she had wanted to, she could have easily slit his throat. Instead, she seemed shy as she offered the rabbits, questioning her own efforts as if afraid they were too meager.
For once, his emotions were not betrayed on his face as he looked over the rabbits. He didn’t know how long she had been gone, so he found himself impressed she was already back with such a catch. As for quantity… well, he’d shown a hearty appetite at the camp. As a dragon he could decimate most of a herd. But his body was crying out for more rest, more sleep. So rather than show any signs of hesitation about her catch, he offered a sheepish smile as it still felt rather odd to be taken care of in such a manner.
“That’s generous of you,” was all he said to her question, approving her offer if that was what she sought. His voice in this form still carried a soft undercurrent of a rumble, which only seemed to highlight the awkwardness with which he spoke. “Join me?” he added, pushing himself to stand even as his wings spread out to balance him. Of course he meant to cook the rabbits, he wasn’t about to offer her raw meat. “Kindling is easy to spark,” he added, starting out with the tone of a suggestion before his voice faltered a little. It would mean she’d have to go out again to find the wood… again, he was having to rely on her.
Kaitan dropped his gaze for a moment, with an uncharacteristic look of deep, troubling thought. Before, he had so easily dismissed her asking his name, not wanting hers in turn. And yet, in spite of his fears that she’d betray him to hunters, suspecting her at almost every turn… she hadn’t. She was still here, feeding him, watching out for him. She had protected him. And he still didn’t know her name.
“I… I don’t know… what should I call you?” he finally managed, embarrassed at his own dismissal earlier. And she knew his name already… to introduce himself in order for her to do the same would be awkward at this point. Not that his question wasn’t awkward to begin with…
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Post by Kelathi on Feb 7, 2020 23:44:14 GMT
A nod at his comment, and she had already turned, ready to go out and seek the kindling without further prompting, clearly happy to take care of him. The irony of this was not wasted on her, and if he had been a human she would not have been so eager to attend to him. The fact that he was something different actually eased her, for just like him, it was humans that had caused her the most grief in the past. And currently, if you count the people who would now be undoubtedly after her.
She paused as he asked her name, she had forgotten that she had yet to give it, and when she spoke she raised her chin a little- it was clear there was no small amount of pride there. “My name is Valhael Lavellan.” She announced, before leaving to collect the firewood. It was not likely a name that would mean anything to him, but it would to others. Her last name was a Dalish name, a clan of elvish nomads, the very same clan she had been searching for since she had escaped. The clan she had been stolen from as a child.
She returned soon after, the trips out showing that if nothing else, she was rather swift. Arranging them in a pile before Kaitan, it would be a lie to say that she wasn’t secretly hoping that he was not going to spark the wood with the traditional flint and wood method. He was a dragon, after all, so even if all the magic she’d seen him use so far were ice and electric based, she still assumed, and hoped, to see flames miraculously burst into existence.
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Post by Red Irish Dragon on Feb 8, 2020 0:35:18 GMT
Fortunately for Kaitan, the elf took his hesitance in stride. She showed great pride in her name as she offered it, showing it had meaning of some sort. Oh, right… the two-legs had a tendency to have a “family” name, didn’t they?
It didn’t take her long to gather the needed firewood, which was good, as Kaitan’s stomach was beginning to burn a little with hunger now that the idea of food had been introduced. He did hesitate at seeing how it was arranged before him, as if presenting him with it. Then, an almost expectant look. What what she- oh.
Oh.
She knew he was a dragon. Clearly, that meant she actually expected him to start the fire, rather than having to offer to do it. But arranged as it was, he wondered how much his breath would blow it aside, setting light to more than just kindling. So he reached down with one clawed hand, picking up one long, if slightly thin branch, holding it at arm’s length, and decidedly in the opposite direction of where the elf, Valhael, had situated herself. Awkward only due to the audience, Kaitan let out a soft growl as he let out a small blast of lightning, hardly the strikes he had used only days before against the black spike demons. But it was effective against the dry branch, indeed sparking a steady flame that he quickly brought down to the rest of the kindling.
The fact that even that little lick of energy was out of control enough to shatter the tip of the branch showed why he was reluctant to aim directly into the pile. The smoking pieces fell against the damp spots of the cave floor with a brief hiss, one ember glowing brightly before it used up the available fuel. At least now the fire would help warm them both.
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Post by Kelathi on Feb 19, 2020 23:12:55 GMT
Valhael did indeed gaze at Kai expectantly, waiting patiently but hopefully to see more magic. She had been exposed to magic many times in her life, even before she’d come across the mages at camp or been inflicted with this strange… power. Even so, it was something that fascinated her, probably because she had no magical ability herself. As the dragon set the stick ablaze, her eyes widened, the flickering of the flames reflecting in her dark, blue eyes. As Kai seated himself, Valhael joined him, but did not reach for her kill, instead leaving it to the dragon to help himself. She hadn’t realised she’d been staring at him, until his gaze had flickered up to meet hers, at which point she had quickly averted her own. Some awkwardness seemed to hang in the air, as if it harboured words unspoken, and after a few moments the elf broke the pregnant silence.
“So… do all dragons have a human form?” She had so many questions, and was not sure how they would be received. As she had spoken she had picked up a twig that had yet to be set alight, using it to poke absently at the fire, keeping her gaze on that instead of on her companion.
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Post by Red Irish Dragon on Mar 19, 2020 2:29:14 GMT
Kaitan was impressed at Valhael’s response to his electric breath, clearly more curious than wary. In fact, it was as his gaze lifted to hers that he saw her awkwardly avert her eyes, as if she’d been caught staring.
He watched her for a few moments, considering her wholly unexpected, but not unwelcome, response to him. Curious, even fascinated, and accepting. His gaze dropped again before he stared too long himself, noting that the rabbits were still left to the side. To serve himself was easy enough… it wasn’t like he needed the fire. But perhaps it would be better to not invite more distance between them, even in something as simple as how one consumed a small animal.
Picking up one of the rabbits, Kaitan began to skin it with his claws, clearly not completely unused to such an action even if it was a little clumsy. Whatever her intention in letting him reach for the kill first, his focus was to get them cooking and to share. His movement paused at her question, however, looking back up at her with surprise.
Of course… if she was curious rather than afraid, she would have questions, wouldn’t she? One thing he had learned early on was how little the two-legs knew about his kind. Of course, most would see a dragon and simply lump it in with whatever other creatures they feared. Valhael was different.
“My kind,” he began to answer, then obviously reconsidered his words, deciding to explain further. “Not all dragons are the same… two-leg- eh, y-your kind are used to seeing differences visually. Vinsomer… Hakkon… Ravager… but there’s others. How would you say… cousins? But we can change, we don’t make nests, don’t lay eggs…”
In spite of tripping over accidentally using his parents’ term for the other races as a whole, Kaitan managed his explanation with little issue, even going back to skinning the one rabbit before putting it down and starting on the next. His voice finally trailed off as he tried to think of other ways that his kind were different to the other dragon species, and only in that pause did he really recognize how much he had been talking. With a slight awkward shift as he tried to refocus on the rabbit he was skinning, his gaze darted up to the elf’s, obviously convinced that he had said more than she had wanted to hear.
Even though she had shown curiosity, been willing to help him, wanted to learn more… he was clearly not used to being the center of attention like this.
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Post by Kelathi on Mar 31, 2020 14:12:24 GMT
The corner of Valhael’s lips quirked a little at Kaitan’s verbal slip-up, he had revealed enough for her to be able to fill in what he had been about to say. Even so, she remained quiet as he spoke, listening intently. It wasn’t long before her companion trailed off, however, his wary gaze suggesting… shyness? In an attempt to put him more at ease, and in order to keep the conversation going, Valhael offered up her own comments. “I understand. It’s like with people, you have humans, elves and dwarves, all have similarities but all are different.” She sat back a little then, a faraway look to her eyes as she pondered on this, before speaking again. “And then within those groups there are differences. For instance, Dalish elves and city elves, and of course everything in between.”
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Post by Red Irish Dragon on Apr 4, 2020 0:09:17 GMT
Kaitan’s movements with the rabbit slowed as Valhael began to speak, filling the void he had left. As he watched her with interest, he recalled hearing some of the differences before. The distinction between the types of elves, just one of the many, many layers of complexity his own kind mushed together under one basic term. A slur, in all honestly, hence his hesitation at using the phrase with Valhael herself. He’d heard the phrase “people,” of course, but it was one he’d only ever heard of when around them. And even then, the different races might argue the idea of even being lumped that much together.
But there was something in the way she spoke that seemed to make him curious about something specific, and it was a question that made him all the more awkward as he considered. But what he had just said… compared to what she said, right after…
“You… people, you’re… like us?” he began with obvious and growing confusion, clearly intentionally using her own word before looking up at her, growing embarrassed to ask but in need of an answer. “Um… you don’t… people d-don’t… lay eggs… do you?”
In spite of having been in the company of a large group of fighters, the quick acceptance of his distinction between the common dragon and his own shapeshifting kind, simply proved just how little he had actually been around people. Able to hide among them, even fight alongside them… but he couldn’t be certain of what exactly she had meant by “like.”
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Post by Kelathi on Apr 28, 2020 21:35:17 GMT
Valhael looked at Kaitan blankly for a few, long moments, blinking with a look of surprise as she finally registered what he had said. Then, a small smile tweaked onto her lips, melting very quickly into explosive laughter, mirth rocking her frame at the absurdity of his suggestion. “S… sorry…!” She began between gasps, trying to halt the laughter and recollect herself, aware that it was not the most polite thing to laugh in someone’s face. A look at his perplexed expression, however, was enough to make her double over again, so that in the end she had to direct her attention elsewhere, clamping her hand over her mouth in an effort to stifle the laughter. Eventually, she calmed down enough to face him again, grin still quite prominent, but her countenance overall more collected. “Ah… that’s not what I meant.” She finally responded, but did not delve deeper into an explanation, lest he say something to start her off again. “You haven’t been around people like me very much, have you? Or humans.” She added, her eyes still glinting with amusement, but not unkindly. The impromptu laughing fit had relieved some tension she had not realised she had been harbouring, and she hadn't felt this light and relaxed in what felt like a very long time.
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Post by Red Irish Dragon on May 4, 2020 4:37:57 GMT
Kaitan jumped a little at Valhael’s unexpected laugh, but as she went on, trying to explain herself, the dragon figured out what was amusing her so greatly. So rather than continue to look flummoxed, he had settled back into an embarrassed sulk, cheeks distinctly red at his own misunderstanding.
This slightly curled up defensive posture was what met her as the elf finally controlled her laugh, noting the obvious. Having finished skinning the rabbit at last, he tossed it on the ground, as if now thoroughly uncertain what he was supposed to do. She was helping him, so he didn’t feel like he could just be rude. But still…
“Takes a lot of energy to not look like something every two-leg thinks is evil incarnate and must be destroyed,” he grumbled in response to her question, the sulk at being found out for being so innocently ignorant hardly befitting a high dragon. “Hard to stay that way for long. So I have to leave before I can’t hide anymore.”
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Post by Kelathi on May 4, 2020 23:21:46 GMT
His response sobered her up a little, and she was suddenly embarrassed at having teased him, laughing so openly in his face. Had she really spent so much time trying to avoid people that she’d forgotten how to act around them? Not that Kaitan was a human, but still. He’d helped her at the expense of his own safety, and she’d repaid him by mocking him.
She bowed her head, looking into the flames to avoid looking at him, growing silent for a moment. When she spoke again, she lifted her gaze to his sheepishly, attempting to smooth things over. “I’m sorry I offended you. I forgot myself.” She apologised, rather formally, showing her unease with how things had played out, and unsure how to rectify it.
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Post by Red Irish Dragon on May 5, 2020 4:23:46 GMT
Valhael’s apology drew Kaitan out of his sulk, looking over at her with… confusion?
“Forgot what about yourself?”
The question was asked as genuinely, if less hesitantly, as his question about eggs. He seemed to remember himself in turn, straightening out, wings uncurling a little as he smoothed out his own ruffled feathers. Her reaction had been striking, and not at all like he had been expecting. It made him want to correct the situation in turn.
“No offense. But… yes, I’m not used to… to people. I try to be around them, though... I like their food, their towns and-and parties… the harvest festivals. I like hearing the stories they share with strangers… I like hearing your laugh,” he went on, then paused, looking at her and immediately turning red. “Their. Th-their laugh,” he near stammered in at attempt to correct his ‘slip-up,’ gaze darting away with a completely different kind of embarrassment.
"Um. Let's cook the rats. Rabbits, um. Yes, how will we cook the rabbits? Rabbits..." he began rambling, seeking a way out of explaining himself.
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Post by Kelathi on Jun 3, 2020 22:23:19 GMT
Valhael was equally as trumped with Kaitan’s response as he seemed to be with hers. Her eyes flickered up to meet his at his admission, especially as he rushed to correct himself. Her expression was unreadable for a moment, but then it melted into a tentative look of curiosity, as if trying to figure out the meaning of his response. The dark pools of her eyes seemed to lighten as he tripped over his words, perhaps because she was then convinced that he was indeed being sincere. “Yes, lets.” She responded, a small, coy smile on her lips.
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