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 Posted: Thu Aug 16, 2007 6:22 pm
It was hard to believe that four years had already past since Nall had first walked into Dorhaven. It was so strange to think back to that day… originally, he had believed that it would be a great fun adventure, with mystery around every corner and excitement in the air. There was supposed to be magic sparkling in the sky and had imagined himself as a great wizard!
He had learned several things in the past few years: One, magic didn’t sparkle usually. If it sparkled, then it was going to shortly explode. Two, the only mystery around the corner was how to get rid of that stain from the dragon dung. Three, he was, at best, a tepid wizard. Most of his time was taken up by either scavenging for jobs at the market or trying to figure out why a simple spell----like trying to get a plant to grow---would result in a rock nearby exploding. Oh, correction: going all sparkly and THEN exploding. It was one of those great mysteries of life…
Right now was one of those nice quiet moments that were all too rare in Nall’s life. He stretched out on the grass and glanced up at the fluffy clouds lazily crossing the blue sky. While the inside of the city was hustling and bustling, outside the walls there was this patch of serene meadow. It was very relaxing. The fact that the forest shadowed the meadow was mildly concerning, but he hadn’t heard of anything attacking anyone yet. He ran a hand through his blonde hair, dislodging any bits of grass or dirt that clung to the silvery-golden strands. Of course, this was completely useless considering that he just put his head back on the ground again anyway.
Carefully, he readjusted the glasses on his nose so he could see the clouds more clearly. Huh. That one looked almost exactly like a teddy bear… And that one looked like a little dragon… Oh! And there's a daisy! Or maybe it was more of a pansy. One of them anyway.
Xylia snorted and rolled over onto her stomach, fanning her bat-like wings so that the sun could warm the delicate membranes. She was bored. This was pretty much her usual mood. The only thing smaller than the little green dragon was her attention span. Normally, she was able to alleviate her boredom by doing things such as chewing on Nall’s socks or making sick in his shoes. Unfortunately for her, there weren’t any socks here to chew or any shoes to throw up into. This bothered her…
She clambered onto his chest and cheeped insistently at his face only to be brushed away with one hand. This added another mood; annoyance. Puffing herself up, she cheeped indignantly at him once more, trying to get some sort of attention. Who cared about the sky?! It wasn’t doing anything!
And that’s when Nall readjusted his glasses, making the sun glint off of the silver frame perfectly. Xylia’s ear flaps moved slightly and she inched closer, her eyes fixed on that shiny spot. Her butt wiggled slightly, like a cat who was preparing to pounce on her prey. Her tail flicked one more time and then she dashed up to Nall’s face, her jaws fastening over the glasses. With that, she bounced away, cheeping proudly around her burden.
Now that got Nall’s attention. He sat up, ignoring the grass and dirt in his hair, and yelled, “XYLIA! Get back here with those!” Everything looked all fuzzy. The teddy bear cloud now looked more like a… well, kinda like a sponge, actually. A sponge with things growing all over it.
Xylia cheeped from somewhere to his right; when he glanced over there, he could barely see her wing tips over the grass. “Xy… come on, I’m not in the mood for chase!”
He chased her anyway, trying to catch the tiny dragon.
Xylia, true to form, ignored him and continued bouncing around as best she could while carrying the glasses. They slowed her down---they were rather awkward for a small dragon to carry---- but she was faster and more agile than her human companion anyway. Whenever he dove for her, she was already gone.
Now THIS was fun!
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Posted: Sun Aug 19, 2007 6:58 pm
If you're going through Hell,
Keep on going. The sun was indeed bright and warm....just a pinch too warm for Vlasia, but oh well. Weather was not something she could control, only something she could adapt to.
The girl strode along the cobblestone path leading away from the largest of Dorhaven's several libraries, a book tucked under one arm. She wore a vest of deep red, the sleeves of a white shirt underneath rustling a bit with the breeze. It was probably not helping the whole 'heat' factor, wearing long sleeves...but they protected the skin underneath. The black pants she was wearing probably didn't help either. But she didn't like wearing skirts and dressed when she didn't have to. Normally. Whatever.
Stolz sat on her shoulder, chattering to himself...or to her, though he apparently either didn't know or didn't care that she couldn't understand dragon-speak. Suddenly, though, he stopped. Abruptly. Her burgundy eyes flicked sideways, curious as to why it had stopped. He was staring a bit of a ways off, and she followed his little blue eyes. It was another dragon...and a boy, chasing him. She hmph'd lightly. Another case of a 'rogue' dragon and a foolish owner....maybe. Regardless, she smiled.
"Well, go on then."
He hopped off her shoulder and took to the air, chattering loudly as he sped t'wards the other, apparently green, dragon bounding in the grass. The other dragon had a shiny....Stolz liked shiny. He landed rather roughly right in front of the other dragon, cheeping happily. Pfft, the other dragon could just hop over him...right? You might get out before the Devil even knows you're there.
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Posted: Mon Aug 20, 2007 2:47 pm
Xylia’s ear flaps twitched slightly as she heard something nearby, but she ignored it on the basis that, right now, Nall was right in front of her. She bounced away, but quickly bounded to one side as her path was suddenly obstructed by another dragon. Now, some dragons might have been annoyed by this sudden intrusion, especially since there hadn’t been a warning of any sort.
Xylia, on the other hand, thought it was absolutely brilliant. Chirping around the glasses, she hopped side to side, delighted that someone else had come to join the game. Proudly, she displayed her prize to the newcomer, trying to adjust the glasses so the sun would hit them just right.
Nall’s steps slowed slightly as he noticed the new dragon. Now, where had it come from? He hadn’t seen it before---not too surprising since he generally kept to himself--- and he was certain he would remember that distinctive red-and-white pattern. Well, whatever… the good part was that the feathered male was distracting Xylia.
Trying to be as quiet as possible, Nall crept up on his little green dragon, which looked more like a little green blob to him. As is the nature of people trying to keep quiet, he managed to find every single dry leaf, crackly branch, and sharp rock along the way, so he made even more noise than he did when he wasn’t trying to be quiet. He made a grab for Xylia anyway.
By the time he got there, she was long gone, dancing behind the red-and-white dragon with her prize.
Nall sighed and finally noticed another fuzzy blob coming closer. Only this blob seemed human. Oh God, had someone seen him doing all that? How humiliating…
“Umm… hi,” he said lamely, blinking into the bright sunlight, trying to see just who was over there. It looked vaguely female, but it was hard to say without his glasses.
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Posted: Wed Aug 22, 2007 4:08 pm
If you're going through Hell,
Keep on going. Stolz could not have been more delighted. As the two dragons danced around one another, he took brief chances at poking the prize, forcing the light to flash suddenly. It was amazing! Chattering, he skidded to a stop and crouched, before pouncing (or attempting to pounce) on the other dragon. Sure, he could miss and end up nose-first in the dirt, but...who could resist?
Vlasia, unlike her dragon, stood silent and still as the lacking-in-eye-wear boy approached. She took her time in watching the two dragons, even after he spoke....ah, but she could not remain silent forever. Not without making an a** out of herself, anyway. Currently, she was actually concerned about that.
"Hello." she responded, watching him and nodding in greeting...even though it was likely that he could not see her very well. "I see that you're having slight difficulty in...well...seeing? Would you like some assistance?" You might get out before the Devil even knows you're there.
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Posted: Wed Aug 22, 2007 6:36 pm
Oh, so it was a woman! That was a relief… since she had taken so long to answer, Nall had started to worry that maybe she was a bush or something like that. While he hadn’t ever talked to an inanimate object before, it was still a very real worry in his mind. “I…” he glanced over at the bouncing balls of fuzz that were the dragons. “I’m fine… Xy will get tired of them eventually and give them back.”
Or, more likely, she would just leave them on the ground, leaving Nall to grope for them. This was hardly the first time this had happened and it certainly wouldn’t be the last. Hopefully she wouldn’t scratch the lenses or anything… if she did, Nall would have to find another wizard willing to repair them.
“Umm… I don’t mean to be rude… but, do I know you?” It was a reasonable question. Sort of… it was completely possible that he did know this lady, but simply couldn’t recognize her without his glasses on.
Xylia chirped happily at her new friend, pleased that another dragon was playing with her. Since Nall spent so much time inside his room, the dragon didn’t get to meet many other dragons. Even so, when the red-and-white dragon leapt at her, she bounced to the side, dragging the glasses through the grass. Ha! He wouldn’t get this prize so easily…
Well, not unless he lunged at her now; since he could fly, he probably had an advantage there, and the glasses weighed her down.
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Posted: Thu Aug 23, 2007 4:14 pm
If you're going through Hell,
Keep on going. She raised a brow. Denial much? Ah, well. "Alright, if you insist."
Vlasia's eyes traveled down to watch the romping dragons, not surprised when Stolz backed up into her foot and squeaked, jetting forward like she had run into something dangerous. The dragon whirled, noting that there was no danger....and, thereafter, continuing to play with Xylia. He wanted the shiny thing! Keep-away was fun, though, so he made no attempt to jump into the air...not yet, anyway.
"I doubt it." she answered, looking back to the visually impaired boy. The girl flicked a few white strands of hair from her face. "Vlasia Aspera, of the House of Thorns. And you?" You might get out before the Devil even knows you're there.
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Posted: Tue Aug 28, 2007 1:00 pm
Xylia slowed down slightly at the squeak and she moved towards Stolz curiously. Was he hurt? If he was hurt, then they would have to stop playing… the green dragon loosened her grip on the glasses and moved just a bit closer to the red-and-white male. This time, she was just a bit too slow when it came to dancing back away from him.
Her jaw tightened once more on the glasses when she realized he was ok after all. Good! More playtime!
House of Thorns, House of Thorns… that seemed familiar for some reason. Nall brushed it from his mind. If he couldn’t remember immediately, he figured it wasn’t that important for the moment. He could think about it later.
“Nall Fox.” Compared to her name, his seemed so… drab. But, what could one expect? Where he came from, people generally only had two names: a first one, and a last one. People with middle names were generally just trying to be fancy and were usually considered ‘suspicious’. “And that’s Xylia,” he said, pointing at the green dragon-ish blob. Hopefully, it actually was Xylia and not a clump of grass… no, it was moving, and it had something shiny. Unless grass had taken up the habit of pick-pocketing, it was reasonable to assume that it was Xylia.
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Posted: Sat Sep 01, 2007 3:15 pm
 Vlasia smiled. "A pleasure, Nall, if I may call you by your first name." she said. It would be proper to hold out her hand for a hand-shake, but...well, she was not sure that he would be able to see it properly. Embarrassment of complete stranger was in no way gratifying. Unless they were a complete prude. Nall was not.
She glanced, yet again, down to the playing dragons. "Is Xylia a youngling? Stolz is not very old himself."
Stolz heard his name, but ignored it. He cheeped and bounced in the grass, following and trying to copy Xylia's movements. Perhaps it was time to take this to another level, though. Giving a "look at me!" squawk, he pumped his little wings until he was in the air, swooping around in a little circle over Xylia. Impressive, wasn't he?! Not all dragons could fly - he knew that. So he made a big show of it.
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Posted: Mon Sep 03, 2007 7:37 pm
Nall grinned a little sheepishly. “It’s nice to meet you too, Vlasia. Yes, Xylia is a youngling. She was only hatched a little while ago.” How long had it been now? He wasn’t quite sure… long enough, anyway. She was quite a handful and very much the outdoors type. In that, at least, Xylia and Nall could agree on. There was something nice and relaxing about the outdoors, unless there was a bear trying to eat you. Then it wasn’t relaxing at all.
“What affinity does he have? Xylia is a forest affinity.” For the last few weeks, Nall had been trying to figure out what that meant for his own abilities. He had discovered what it didn’t mean. It meant that he couldn’t do a single thing with fire, for one thing. Or water. Or rock. Or anything like that. Well, he had time. Plenty of time.
Xylia let out an impressed whistle as Stolz flew around her head in a circle. Now that was impressive… her wings beat as well, but she was unable to get off the ground, much to her annoyance. Her tail flicked a little. Well, at least she could swim… chances are, he couldn’t with those feathery wings.
Time for a new game! Abandoning the glasses, she bounced after Stolz’s tail, trying to nab it in her mouth like an excitable kitten.
“See? I told you they would get bored eventually,” Nall said cheerfully, noting that the shiny thing in his vision was no longer moving around and the green blob known as Xylia was cheerfully dancing away. Moving forward, he bent over and picked up his glasses.
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Posted: Mon Sep 03, 2007 8:08 pm
"Ah, I see...that would help explain the obsessive tendency t'wards shiny things, like your glasses." she stated with a bit of humor, a small smile flciknig the side of her mouth. This boy was charming, in a he-shouldn't-really-be-charming sort of way.
"He is primarily of the Pride affinity...but a friend of mine gave me a water stone, so now he has dual talents. Pride, and Water. An odd combination, I know. Somehwat difficult to maneuver as well." Well..somewhat odd. Water could be proud - oceans, for example. That's how she saw it at least. In any case, it helped her to further her own skills. She had hoped to acquire a second affinity by way of a second dragon, but..plans changed. Now, another dragon would mean a third affinity. Stretching herself thin? Maybe. But she could handle it, if she continued working as hard as she always had.
"Right you are," she said, burgundy eyes flashing with amusement as he placed the glasses back on his face. Ah, vision. What a wonderful thing.
Stolz screeched lightly the first time Xylia grabbed his tail. How rude! Or....well, it WOULD be rude. But they were playing. So it wasn't....right?
He flew just a bit higher...before turning and diving straight for the other dragon, cheeping happily. He had a feeling that this could end up in a head on collision. That was a great feeling
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Posted: Mon Sep 03, 2007 8:29 pm
Nall carefully cleaned his glasses off with his shirt before slipping them on. Instantly, everything became clear once more. That was much better. Finally, he was able to get a good look at Vlasia. Oh! He remembered her. Sort of… at least, he was vaguely convinced that he had seen her once or twice in the library. That wasn’t too surprising. Every mage came into the library at least once to find some long-lost book of some sort.
“Water and pride? Doesn’t seem that odd… think about it. People have been trying to tame water for centuries. Fishing and traveling on it… we still don’t know a lot about it. I think of that as a prideful thing.” Although, a slow algae-covered creek could hardly be termed ‘proud’… not unless you really thought about it. If Nall was the sort to really think long and hard about things----and he was---he would have found exactly how to explain how water was proud.
It took him a few extra seconds, but he managed it. “It can’t be held for very long,” he pointed out. “No matter how tightly you lace your fingers together, the water will eventually trickle out, no matter where it came from. There's something very proud about something that can't be controlled or contained.”
Xylia clicked jubilantly in response to the screech. Now this was another fun game! Funfunfunfunfun! As the other dragon started to dive bomb at her, she planted her feet in the ground and refused to move. Fine, he wanted to play Chicken, did he? Well, he would find out that Xylia didn’t shift for anyone! Besides, if they got a good wrestling match out of this, her day would be complete.
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Posted: Mon Sep 03, 2007 8:44 pm
Heh, if only he knew just how many times she had entered and left that library.
Vlasia raised an eyebrow. Wow....impressive. Very impressive, in fact. So rarely did profound words come out of the mouths of commoners (or...she assumed he was a commoner) who weren't going for money or esteem. He was completely and utterly correct, and that was the last thing she expected out of anyone. Especially a small man with glasses and a sun complex. In fact, that small bit of insight gave him the very thing that so few people got from her so quickly....not that he had earned very much of it, but progress was progress. She was simply a difficult person to impress.
"I do believe that you've just earned my respect, mister Nall Fox. That might not mean much, but I assure you that it is not an easy thing to earn from me. Just what roll do you play in this place, sir?"
If he was really one of the teaching scholars wrapped in a small package, she was going to be irritated.
Stolz ran head-first into his playmate, and the two went tumbling. What fun! Someone who didn't chicken out! Squealing in delight, Stolz came to a stop with his feet in the air and wings spread out around him. He blinked, the earth upside down in his vision...the earth AND his friend, that is. Wow. What a unique perspective. Wagging his tail, he did not yet move. The dragon did, however, cheep to Xylia as if to say "Heeeyy, do you know you're upside down?"
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Posted: Mon Sep 03, 2007 8:58 pm
Vlasia’s words sent a fiery blush across Nall’s face. If he was one of the teachers there, he shouldn’t blush that much… teachers had to deal with that sort of thing, right? She respected him? Well, that was something to write home about! Vlasia was completely correct in labeling him as a commoner. He was the type of commoner for whom it was a great honor to speak with any nobility, even if the conversation was on the level of, ‘nice day isn’t it, wish I could stay, ta’.
“Me? I’m just… I’m a student here,” he said, once his face had paled a little bit. It didn’t take much for him to blush and it generally stayed for a while too. “I’ve been here for a few years… I only got Xylia’s egg a little while ago as a gift from a favorite teacher. Up until she hatched, I spent a lot of time just studying.” That probably explained why they had never met before. “Are you a student too?”
With her age, she probably was. She didn’t look any older than he was. But, it was still polite to ask.
Xylia’s joyful chirps joined Stolz’s as they tumbled on the ground. She wasn’t afraid of getting her scales dirty and it seemed that he wasn’t either! Fun! She stood back on her feet once more and briefly shook her head once the world had stopped rolling around. Her first few steps were shaky and everything felt kind of light. Woo! Dizzy dragons!
Eventually, she relaxed nearby Stolz, her nose lightly touching his and she chirped, responding to his question with, ‘Well, that would explain the dizzyness’.
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Posted: Tue Sep 04, 2007 6:40 pm
Vlasia couldn't help but smile at the blush. Ah, so she had embarassed him. How cute. Either he wasn't a teacher, then, or he wasn't used to compliments.
...or maybe both, judging by his answer.
"Ah, I see...yes, I am also a student. Though I have only been here for a little over 6 months. I am almost always studying, so I suppose we are alike in that aspect. That, and we both have young dragons. It is odd that, since we both study so much, that we have not seen each other before...then again, that may be the very reason."
Studying. Hah. She knew every corner of that library like the back of her hand. Including the 'secret' parts...bah. they were no secret, people just liked to ignore them. She hadn't the slightest clue why. Information was information, after all.
He binked at her...before snorting, squealing at the feeling it made because her own nose was so close. This was so much fun! Rolling over, he made an odd sort of purring noise as he rubbed against her, attempting to show her that he considered her a fun new friend. It was probably one of the cutest things on earth, if their owners were even paying any attention.
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Posted: Tue Sep 04, 2007 6:59 pm
“I suspect the studying is the reason,” Nall agreed with a slight nod. “When I’m really studying, I don’t pay much attention to anything else. And when Xylia came along, she grabbed most of my attention. Very demanding little creature…” That explained it, pretty much. Before Vlasia had come along, Nall had been buried in his books and when she was there, he had been too focused on Xylia.
Well, at least Xylia was older now and could be trusted not to immediately eat everything in sight.
“Are you studying anything in particular?” Nall, for one, was somewhat eager to keep this conversation going. It was nice to actually talk to another human being. Well, one that wasn’t a teacher. He really should socialize more or at least try to talk to other students. “With Stolz, have you noticed that h…”
Nall trailed off as he finally noticed the scene of abounding cuteness that was occurring just a few feet away. There wasn’t a single person alive that could resist a smile at that. Nall promptly forgot whatever he was going to ask and instead grinned at the two little dragons.
Xylia let out a noise best described as ‘blort’. It was a vaguely confused interrogative sort of noise without, in any sense, being an actual word. Eventually, she rubbed her head against Stolz as well, making a similar sort of purring noise, although hers was on a slightly higher register. She sniffed at his wings curiously before biting one of the feathers gently, as if trying to see what it was.
Apparently, Xylia was at the age where her first instinct was to try and bite anything new.
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