Blue Amongst the Ash {Open}

[Eiry]

How long had it been since the great forest had held a single leaf, a little flower, or even a blade of grass... Even through the many years that the strange blue lived, she had never seen the forest with green but instead always a pale grey ash. Even the seeds that were planted by the occasional human could not grow in this death-filled forest. Large claws tapped against the soft ash and crumbling logs. The trees had withered and evidence of their falling was as evident as the horrid stench that filled the air. The blue narrowed her eyes at the sight; she had orignally come to see if the forest had yet to gain any of it former unknown beauty. She wanted to see what it may have looked like before the Great Death struck but unfortunately she was still in the capital waiting to find her rider when she heard of the news.

Seiryuu let out a sigh of thin blue flame. A little habit she did when she was bored. Her eyes wandered from wooden corpse to the grey ground as she walked. Her oddly shaped claws held a human shape minus one finger. Her four long antenna-like whiskers floated ever so lightly next to her on both sides. Sometimes she had to wonder why her curiosity always brought her to the oddest and sometimes the more dangerous sorts of places. Maybe she was once a cat in some past life or maybe she just never grew out of her adventurous state. Well she is still very quite young for a dragon, after all she's not even past two-thousand yet. In a way, she could be referred to a young adult just barely out of her hatchling years.

[S e n s h i]

R Y A N : C O O P E R

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Ryan was far from home, and he knew it. Yet what had originally led him on such a lengthy expedition had been an incentive far too great to resist -- being a hunter, Ryan had tracked one of the largest deer he had ever seen here; a massive stag whose mass would earn quite a handsome price at the marketplace. Ryan had seen the stag grazing on the coniferous undergrowth of the woodland nearby the town square, yet the animal had noticed Ryan, and had scattered, forcing Ryan to track him for several hours. Ironically losing track of time while following the tracks of the stag, Ryan had obliviously followed the trail here, to a place whose significance only registered in his mind when he was right in the middle of it - the Ash forest. And here he was, in a place he had heard tales of, yet never beeen in himself. A young, inexperienced man, in a dangerous place, permeated with ash as dark as the location's history. And, to top all the bad luck off, Ryan had lost the trail of the stag.

Crouching down, Ryan examined the ash-ridden forest floor once more, trying to regain the trail by searching for clues - a hoofprint, twigs trodden underfoot, disturbed foliage, anything. But, instead, he found nothing. "You can't be serious..." he mumbled miserably. The young hunter had spent so much time and effort tracking, only for all his work to amount to naught. Ryan let out a hollow sigh, and stood up, his tall form casting a shadow amidst the blackened, parched shrubs and grass. A cold, lifeless breeze brushed past Ryan, sending a shiver down his spine. Something did not feel right about this place. Maybe the legends and rumours about it were true...

'Well, maybe I had better head back. I'd rather not linger around here for too long...' Ryan thought to himself, strapping his longbow back onto his back and turning around to head back. Maybe there would be another opportunity to hunt game on his return trip, if odds were in his favour. Ryan certainly needed the money. Being a hunter, his income depended almost entirely on his success in hunting, yet chance plays a major role in catching prey. And, currently, chance did not seem to be in his favour. At least, that is what Ryan thought...

And that is when he saw the dragoness - a little more than thirty feet ahead.

Ryan noticed the iridescent blue of her scales, and their shimmer in the sunlight, first. Then, he noticed her figure was different to those of dragons typical described in tales and sagas - hers was long and slender. A mixture of beauty and power in all its glory. But admiration was not what came to Ryan first.

The hunter stood dead still, his eyes widened in shock, and his muscles locked, unable to move. Fear radiated throughout him - he had never been this close to a dragon before, and he did not know what to do. Would it attack him? Would it carry him away, his fate being that of a tasty morsel for a dragon? Would he ever return home? Ryan swallowed, his throat feeling dry, and took a few steps back, hoping the dragoness had not seen him. And, accidentally, stepped back onto a large, dry stick, making a fairly loud snap resonate through the dry air.

{{ OOC: Hope that was a satisfactory post. ^^; }}

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[Eiry]

Maybe it was about time to go home. She had not found any sort of the life she had been looking for, not even the sproutlings had pushed out from the dead land. It was just too sad a sight to see or at least that's what she thought before the sound of snapped twig practically boomed against the silence. The dragoness whipped her head around, expecting to see whatever was left of the forest's wildlife. Perhaps she even figured to see the land sink or something similar. Very random thoughts had popped into her head for just a moment and every single one was wrong. What she saw, she hadn't expected to see. A human. Although not a rare sight in this horrid place it was definitely surprising at how close this one had gotten.

It wasn't the smallest human she had seen but it still looked small to her. Well that was going to be obvious... He didn't look all that odd compared to most of the humans she had seen, in fact the only difference she saw was that he was much bulkier than the occasional human. (Then again almost all the humans she's see were ten to twelve looking for their dragon partner.) Her nostrils flared, by the scent she determined it male. If she went by sight well then they might as all be mixed up for how much they cover themselves up. Some much more than others. Even those horrid smelling scents they put on themselves made it hard for the dragoness to tell whether or not they even had a gender. Oh she wanted to whop every human who used those horrid smelling things... what did they call them, perfume? Who knew, who cared they smelt horrible.

She returned her mind back to what was in front of her. Such a bad habit she had, to blank out occasionally. That's how she lost her prey. And yet he had yet to run. Scared stiff? Most likely. That was indeed the most natural response that humans had been lacking ever since... well since she was first brought to the capital. A mischievous glimmer shined in the dragoness's eyes as she took one step, then another toward the human; ever so slowly. Her beast-like maw opened with her draconic laughter, little blue flames licked out from around her teeth. She approached ever so slowly, wondering to see if he would take flight first chance he got. Her tail flicked behind her like a cat ready to pounce on her prey. She even haunched her shoulders, her smooth muscle rippled as she kneaded at the ground with her human-shaped paws.

[S e n s h i]

R Y A N : C O O P E R

»----♦----«

Regret. That was the most prime feeling Ryan now felt. Mentally, he berated himself being so foolish as to allow himself to come this far into the wilderness. He was at home in the outdoors, and he had encountered many dangerous beasts, but a dragon was a being on a whole new level - seldom did humans survive aggressive dragon encounters, and it was considered suicidal to battle a dragon alone. And here Ryan was, alone - a seventeen-year-old against a powerful dragoness whose age could well have been in the thousands for all Ryan knew. Ryan was regretful, and idiotic. But that stubborn aspect of his personality did not shrink back - despite the fear he felt, there was an instinctive determination to emerge out of this encounter alive. But the question was - at what cost? And that was when Ryan noticed that the dragon had seen him. His blood ran cold.

Adrenaline began surging through Ryan's muscles, slowly loosening the taut fibres and allowing him his movement back. He took one step back as the dragoness took one forward, his unblinking eyes never leaving her massive figure. 'What am I going to do!? If I run, it'll catch me! If I try to fight with my bow or knife, I'll be torn to shreds!' Ryan thought hastily. Not that he wanted to engage the dragon in combat - he may have been a brave young man, but he was not that courageous. Or stupid. And then he heard her laugh.

Ryan felt a new wave of terror crash through him, and he stumbled back. It was an eerily beautiful laugh, yet terrifying at the same time, and its rich tone pervaded the otherwise dead silence of the Ash Forest. Ryan swiftly took a few more steps back, and tripped over a gnarly root, sending him toppling down onto his back, stirring up a small cloud of dusty ash from the parched ground. The impulse to leap up and sprint away was great, yet Ryan doubted he would make it very far if he tried. Then one thought hit him - maybe the dragoness could talk... It was his only option. Either that, or fight or flight. And neither of those options bore much chance of a successful outcome.

"W-What do you want with me?" Ryan stuttered, the fear evident in his voice. Perhaps he could reason with the dragon. But, at the same time, he felt so vulnerably weak. Compared to other humans, Ryan was quite tall and strong - a fine male specimen. Yet, before this large creature, Ryan was as helpless as a mouse caught in a trap. And the dragon was the cat.
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[Eiry]

The suspense of waiting for the human to run was becoming unbearable. She had seen the thought had definitely crossed that terrified mind of his; so that meant he was either being smart or just frozen with fear. For when he did not run, the dragoness relaxed her haunches. Her tail slowed to a graceful wave behind her. She let out a sigh of blue sparks, it was boring when the prey didn't run. Even if it was prey she wasn't going eat... Some dragons' may have thought them a delicacy or something more rediculous than that but this dragoness personally didn't even want to taste human meat. Just think of the poison she could ingest by doing so! Oh how gross...

With the thought the dragoness had actually gagged aloud, something she definitely hadn't meant to do. The action had awoken her from her little thoughts and she hastily brought a paw up to brush one of her long whiskers. One of the most human-looking sights one might see. It was probably only then did she realize the boy had fallen over, or backward, one of the two. She hadn't been paying attention. And so the question popped into her head, 'When had he done that'? Well at least all her attention was on the boy now. The cloud he had made was still visible in the air, though quickly dissipating. The dragoness couldn't help but let out another eerie laugh when he tried to speak to her.

She fell to her side, paw rested carefully over paw while her tail made a large arc into the air. This in itself was amusing, perhaps he thought she was bonded to him. A quick glance to her tail told her that was not the case. Her tail had not even changed colors. That was rather odd... Oh well, back to the boy. The first three words he spoke brought another laugh from the dragoness. What did she want? Well that should be rather easy to guess, as most humans thought dragons would only stalk them for - One. They were hungry - Two. They were toying with them, or - Three... There was no three. It seemed this boy thought 'Number One', the fear in his eyes definitely confirmed that. She would have answered him but even she knew that her beast-like maul couldn't produce the correct sounds the humans called words.

Instead the blue dragoness decided to allow her actions speak for her. She pushed her body over until she was on her back, showing her light blue underbelly. She had seen dogs do this when they wanted attention or to play. She figured it might work for her. One problem with this was the icky feeling of when she had to roll back up, her mane would be soiled with ash. She didn't look forward the cleaning that. She did look forward to see what this human's reaction would be. Maybe he would take flight while she was currently 'immobile' or perhaps he thought it a chance to slay her while she's 'defenseless'? Maybe he'll be like those mini-humans who try to pet her for some reason or another. Oh the many options were going to drive her nuts.

[S e n s h i]

R Y A N : C O O P E R

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Another laugh echoed through the dry air, sending another chill down Ryan's spine. In all honesty, he had been expecting a rational, verbal answer - he knew that dragons were intelligent beings, capable of communication. Whether through the rumoured "thought-speech" or actual speech, Ryan knew not, but, all in all, he had been anticipating an answer. Not another scare. Maybe the dragon was incapable of speech, or maybe she was purposefully remaining silent. Ryan did not know. He could hear his heart begin to beat faster, blood pulsing through its vessels, adrenaline surging through his body with it. Ryan began to re-evaluate his options - his attempt at conversation had obviously failed. That left him with the two alternatives: fight or flight. Yet neither seemed to make Ryan any more hopeful. And then the dragoness did a very curious thing.

The blue dragon rolled onto her side, exposing her underbelly. Ryan's fear did not dissipate, yet confusion entered into his mind. What exactly was the dragoness doing? It was quite an awkward sight, and Ryan was not sure what to make of it. He was just too glad that she had not attacked him. Slowly, and cautiously, Ryan got up, carefully standing, his right hand gripping the bow on his back. It would be a foolish endeavour to use the bow, but, if the dragon fought him, Ryan would not really have any other choice. After a few seconds of neither moving much, though, Ryan relaxed slightly, and let go of the bow, bringing his hands down to his sides. Curiosity and confusion gradually grew within Ryan. Just what was this dragoness up to? She had not attacked, and was now... playfully on her back. Ryan simply did not know what to make of this.

Ryan glanced over his shoulder. Maybe he could make a break for it - sprint away while she was on her back. It would take several seconds for her to regain her footing, and, hopefully, Ryan would be among the trees and bushes, where it would be hard for her to catch him. That sounded like a plan. But he did not know what this dragon was capable of, and, besides, her scorching flames could set the whole dry, arid forest alight, burning Ryan in the process. No, perhaps fleeing was not the best option. Fighting was no option, either. So... what about attempting to gain her trust, and then leaving when it was safe enough? That was Ryan's only choice, but it came with a hideous risk of him losing his life.

Slowly, and in the most non-threatening way possible, Ryan took several steps towards the dragoness. One. Two. Three. Four. The dragon was fewer than twenty feet away, now. Ryan stopped, his heart pounding against his chest. He was scared, alright, but also curious. Curious to find out more about this creature. Five. Six. Seven. Ryan stopped again, kneeling down on one knee before the dragon, narrowing his eyes as he examined her. "I've... never seen... your kind before. You're different to the other dragons. What... What are you? Who are you?" Ryan asked, more to himself than to the dragon, understanding that she most likely would not answer him.

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[Kantain]

~Maxie~ Small snap over the distance as a dead tree flew up with a rope attached to it. the tree began leaning back over from the weight it was carrying, Thud and the tree shook a little. a huff of excitement and Max came out of the bushes her face quite and strait, she lifted up the buck that another hunter had been hunting earlier, then she saw something blue behind the burnt branches of a bush she was standing behind. 'Could that be Seiryuu?' she asked herself. with awe she looked over the bushes and saw the blue dragon, 'what is she doing out here... what am i doing out here?!?!' she asked herself.

Max saw that Seiryuu was turned away from her however and looking at something, she couldn't see what it was because the dragon was obscuring her view. she tried to look paster her by moving left and right her brown hair waving around loosely. he eventually had the idea to get through the bushes to see instead of hanging behind. she took out her serrated knife and began sawing through the burnt wood. it was fairly easy since the bush was mostly ash. after making a small walkway she began walking towards the dragon.

[Eiry]

Oh? The blue dragoness thought as she watched the boy reach for his little human weapon. The projectile of human weapons... what was it called again? A bow? Yes that was it. How interesting. But that could not stop the two-thousand-year-old dragoness if he dared to use it. Her tail lifted enough to where it looked harmless and yet she could put enough strength in it to lung her into the air if the need appeared. She waited for the boy to bring forth one of the projectiles and loose it at her. She had seen humans loose their bows with projectiles before and she was certain that she'd be able to move quick enough to where it wouldn't even scrape her scales.

Yet he drew no projectile, much to the dragoness's curiousity. Instead he put his flexible stick away... Now that was certainly a more daring thing to do. Now he had truly peaked her curiosity. Maybe he thought he could take her with one of those iron fangs the humans were always so proud of... but he did not reveal his fang. No, his arms laid at rest at his sides. Perhaps he thought she was going to eat him? Completely gobble him up in a mere moment so he gave up knowing resistance was futile. Well if thats what he thought he was out of luck. She wouldn't even taste him, let alone eat him. Ugh, such a putrid thought... A shiver ran down her bright blue form.

The simple glance over his shoulder told the dragoness that another thought of fleeing had once again ran across his mind. The blue couldn't help but think of how much he reminded her of a stag. Wanting to run but not wanting to turn his back on her. Well of course he'd have to be a very couragous stag who probably didn't live long enough to get a six-prong rack. Oh how she could feel an excitement build up for a run, well she wouldn't run she'd probably fly with that wingless body of hers. Her muscles tightened for a jolt to her feet, anxious to chase him but that thought died like an ember that had water dumped on it. Instead of turning to run or whatever humans usually thought of, he took a step forward. Maybe he thought to pet her like those hatchling humans? Or maybe he wanted to catch her off guard and dig into her throat with his fang? Hm, we'll see.

Seiryuu moved her to where she could see him perfectly with one eye. She wanted to laugh again at how cautious he was. But he was taking a rather long time to walk. Did he not know how to walk? Well more like he was too scared to actually move at a decent pace toward her. It reminded her of a creature walking along thin ice, cautious and careful. Well she couldn't blame him... too much. One, two, three, four... And he stops... The dragoness thought to herself. Her whiskers floated in the air with an occasional impatient twitch. Five, six, seven... Oh he stops. She thought once more. He kneeled and she merely stared at him. He spoke and she let out a very soft chuckle, somehow she had to contain herself... Somehow... Breathe. A puff of breath came from her nostrils, disturbing the ash to move in a small wave.

She watched his mouth move, form the human language. It looked so complicated and yet he continued to try and get her to speak to him. Should she try? The worst that would happen is that she's end up sound like she'd be growling. The question was, what was she. Her tongue flicked out, had he never seen a blue dragon. There surely were plenty existing in the capital. Well might as well answer the simple question. Ryuu.[/b] She said awkwardly. Aoi Ryuu, Broo Rakon. That not only sounded wierd but definitely felt extremely awkward. She flicked her tongue out a few more times, trying to loosen for these forsaken human words. Well she answered that well enough, now the question could she even say her own name... Oh how she was regretting even trying this. Sei..?[/i] She flicked her tongue out a few more times, Sei-ryuu... Yeah she probably wouldn't do this again...

A thump made teh dragoness flick a long ear toward the brush. The scent of fresh kill filled her nostrils as she finally realized the other presense. Ash, kill, and... another human. This one smelt female. Hm, recognizable... Who? Name... name... Ah these humans had too many names... The sound of cutting made the dragon tilt her head to a strange position in order to keep an eye on both this boy and the nearby... hunter? Usually only hunters made kills. [/size]

[S e n s h i]

R Y A N : C O O P E R

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In all honesty, Ryan knew that, in the future, he would consider his current actions foolish. He could have turned and ran when the opportunity to do so was still available; he could have escaped, fled to safety. But, instead, he chose to try and communicate with this dragoness - something reminiscent of an inexperienced child attempting to investigate something that piques his interest. Yet, there was just something about the dragon that made curiosity forego safety - Ryan had seldom seen a dragon, let alone been this close to one. They had always been creatures distant to him - he knew more about them from stories and legends than from actual first-hand experiences. But, this particular dragon... She was an opportunity for Ryan to actually get just a glimpse into the world of these fascinating creatures. How long that glimpse would last, Ryan knew not, but he knew that he could not miss it.
And, here he was, trying to talk with her.

"Ryuu..."
Ryan's eyes widened in surprise. Was that the dragon? Of course, it must have been! It was the dragon! She was attempting to talk back!

"Aoi Ryuu, Broo Rakon."
Ryan was unsure of what to make of what he was hearing. What exactly was she saying? Was that her full name, or was she talking in some draconic language Ryan did not understand? Ryan tilted his head in confusion. Perhaps dragons had strange names, and that really was her name... But what if she was warning him in her language? Perhaps telling him to back off before she attacked?

"Sei..? Sei-ryuu."
'Sei-Ryuu?' Ryan tested the word in his mind. Was that her name? It sounded like a name. So, this dragon before Ryan was Seiryuu. Ryan nodded, smiling. He felt as though he were actually getting through to this magnificent creature before him. It was a feeling of accomplishment, of fulfilment, and Ryan loved it. Suddenly, however, the sound of a serrated blade, sawing through wood.

Alarmed, Ryan stood up, a hand reaching for his bow. Who would come this far into the Ash Forest? Already on his guard, Ryan took a few steps to the side, trying to see who or what exactly was heading this way. The sawing stopped, followed by footsteps. And Ryan soon saw who it was that made them - a young girl, presumably a teenager, walking towards Seiryuu. Ryan felt like warning her, but he did not want to alarm Seiryuu. That, and there was something about the way the girl walked - confidence. Perhaps she knew Seiryuu...

"Hey," Ryan called, trying to get her attention, "who are you?"

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[Kantain]

~Maxie~Maxie walked through the bushes that were sawed through and noticed that it was Seiryuu and began walking towards her, just to say hello and give her some of the deer she just caught. then she saw how Seiryuu had leaned back and over to see her but she was also looking at something else, Why hello there Seiryuu! she said, then she heard a sound coming from behind Seiryuu, the sound of a bowstring snap, so Seiryuu was trying to keep her eyes on another person or living being.

Maxie, startled, looked past Seiryuu and saw another human this one a guy, then the sound of his question reached her ears, my name is Max she said cautiously, 'Who is this guy?' she asked herself in thought, 'Nobody I recognize,' . She stopped Short of the boy next the Seiryuu. she examined him shortly.

[Eiry]

Suprise? Of course it was suprise. The boy's eyes widened with the very same attribute that this dragoness had to see that he could understand what hse was saying. Well at least she thought he knew what she was saying, if she really was saying anything other than some strange gibberish to his ears. Well at least she tried... sort of. Despite her wanting to grin, the dragoness moved onto her side as soon as the other human arrived. Ah, it was one she recognized. Of course she wouldn't remember the name but she remembered the figure and the scent. Seiryuu swiped her tail across the ash-covered land before raising in the air as a greeting.

After all, she remembered this human specifically because this one fed her. A small chuckle came from her in a humorous grumble; the sight of seeing this boy get all tense from a fellow hunter was amusing to her. Although, dragons weren't usually so lenient about other hunting dragons in their territory... That was one reason why this blue decided to stay away from the larger more terriying dragons. That was unless she was bored... Moving back to the humans.

She let out something similar to the sound of a coo in the direction of Max. Why? Well she was hoping that, that would help the boy relax if anything. Dragons didn't coo all that much unless it was towards hatchlings or other creatures they were fond of, which definitely wasn't many. And back onto her spine she rolled... with more ash covering her scales... She was definitely going to the river after this.

{Muse is dead... x.x}