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 Posted: Wed Dec 12, 2012 7:02 am
That's a funny looking rock...
It was after the Winter Festival and Samril was headed out on another dragon hunt. He hefted his backpack higher up on his back once more. Perhaps he should think about bringing less stuff with him. Or he could go turn in the orbs to Marcus since he was getting close to moving up. A few more Firani down and he should be about ready to move on up to Expert! Yes, perhaps he'd do that soon. Though, he'd like to have another Firani orb or two to give and show off with.
And thus, he was going out Firani hunting. The only thing he didn't like about these tougher dragons was how freaking long it took to get to them. At least he could camp out and try a few different times before heading back (unless he got really hurt or something). But, still, the trip was long and he was really starting to dislike walking through heated areas. The Peisio dragons were generally the next ones and he couldn't wait. Not only would it mean being in the cooler waters, but water was weak to lightning (as his brothers proved again and again) and those Peisio should be a piece of cake after these Firani.
But he didn't feel brave enough to try it out yet. While they were weak to his clan, the Peisio dragons were still very tough. After all, they were a healing dragon, so he'd have to overcome that ability and do more damage to them. So a few more Firani dragons for practice and he'd feel a bit more prepared to deal with the Peisio.
His thoughts on things other than where his feet were being placed, Samril stumbled and fell as his foot caught on something large and heavy. Startled, the Dovaa came up, lightning crackling at his fingers. But there was nothing moving nearby and Samril finally relaxed a touch and looked down.
There, sticking out of the sand, was the tip of a large stone. It was sandy colored as well so even if Samril had been paying attention he wouldn't have been able to easily spot it sticking up in his path.
The Kiandri Dovaa decided to rest for a moment and this rock here would make a convenient sitting place. He could just dig out a bit more of it and it would be perfect. So he started to shift the sand to give himself a bit more of a spot to sit. After a few seconds, though, he realized this rock wasn't as big as he'd thought. In fact, half of it or better had been sticking out already.
And it was oddly shaped. In fact it looked like... "An egg?" He'd seen the dragons nesting before. This was way too small to be a Kiandri dragon egg! Though, the sandy color was about right. The egg had a band of darker color around its middle, which was pretty neat looking.
Samril looked around, but this close to the edge of the desert, there were no Kiandri in sight. And no signs of a nest. That, plus the small size, convinced him that this was not a Kiandri egg. But... what was it then? Curious, Samril took off his backpack and emptied it. He took a quick drink from his canteen then carefully spread the pack out next to the egg/rock. He dug his fingers under it and lifted, grunting a bit. It certainly wasn't light!
Before long, he had the egg filling up most of his pack with the orbs and potions he owned carefully positioned on top. That would do for now, at least until he got to a place to set up a temporary camp. He'd figure out what to do with this thing then.
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Posted: Tue Jan 01, 2013 7:38 am
That was definitely not a rock...
Samril had not had great luck in finding any Firani and was rather disappointed. He'd been spending most of an entire week searching and searching and returning to his little camp where his odd looking egg/rock sat near the fire pit he'd dug. The desert was warm enough, but you needed a fire to cook on! Though, since he'd had rotten luck finding any dragons, Samril had been forced to eat what he'd brought along and what he could forage as well. The food had run out and he'd decided to give it one more try, but the Firani were apparently in a week-long Festival thing of their own and were always together.
With a sigh, the Kiandri Dovaa started to break camp. He was looking forward to getting back to the Celestial Plane and getting a nice big meal that someone else had prepared. As he worked, Samril paid little attention to his egg/rock seat he'd brought along. No point in hefting that thing along with him. While it was neat looking, he'd found nothing else of interest about it and it was heavy and he did not feel like lugging it all the way back to the Celestial Plane.
It was as he was taking down the tent that Samril heard a loud, sharp crack nearby. He jumped and quickly looked at the tent poles. No, those were all still intact. The Dovaa gave a sigh of relief. He would've hated to have broken a tent pole... But... what had made that sound? Crack! There it was again! Samril turned, prepared to see a dragon or some enemy bearing down on him... but there was nothing there.
Samril frowned, slowly looking the area over. There wasn't really even anything on the ground that could make that sound when stepped on... so where- Crack! This time, movement caught his eye, much closer than he'd been expecting.
"What the...?" It was that funny looking egg/rock thing. Samril slowly drew closer as the movement got more and more intense and the cracking sounds slowly lessened in volume and a soft, almost chirp-like sound could be heard coming from within the egg, for that was most definitely what it had to be!
All thoughts of packing were put aside as Samril knelt before the hatching egg, a bit scared. Was this really a Kiandri dragon egg? It was so small... perhaps a runt? But wouldn't it still try to kill him when it came out? Samril wondered for a moment if he should smash the egg now, but would he get a soul out of it...?
While the Dovaa's thoughts were scattered from here to the Celestial Plane, the egg started to show spots of great weakness and the small being trapped within focused its energies upon one of those. Moments later, a small sandy colored snout poked out and took deep breaths of the fresh outside air.
The sight of the small snout melted Samril. He couldn't kill something so small and innocent. He'd just finish packing and let the mother come back to claim her small offspring... Or so he planned, but he was unable to move from his spot next to the egg, riveted upon its progress.
The creature within took a few moments to rest once it had access to a fresher air supply but before long it went back to work and was soon a gooey mess flopping its way out of the egg shell and into the sand, where it was coated right away in the dry gritty stuff.
It gave a cute little sneeze and blinked the goo out of its eyes, looking around. The fiery eyes locked upon Samril almost instantly and both could feel something spark through them as the Bond set into place.
Samril reached out gently to touch the little Keinling's snout and a crackling spark formed at contact. Both blinked in surprise and the little hatchling sneezed again.
"Well... you're a bit sparky like me, huh? That's what I'll call you: Sparky." For there was no doubt in his mind now that he was taking this little creature with him. How could he leave it on its own? Samril caressed the newly christened Sparky for a moment before turning to finish packing. He'd better hurry. This thing would probably get hungry soon!
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Posted: Mon Jan 07, 2013 8:30 pm
Sit! Stay! Roll over!!
"Okay Sparky, listen. You can use electricity just like me to attack." The Dovaa generated several sparks around his hands to demonstrate. "See? Now you try!"
Sparky's face went through several expressions as the little Keindred tried to duplicate the Dovaa's trick. Eventually Samril burst out laughing at the variety of expressions, causing Sparky to give a little whine. "Can't. Hard."
Samril thought for a moment. "Hmm... well, you are still young..." After all, it took a Dovaa a while before they could use any of the inherent magics of the race, so why wouldn't these little dragon-like creatures be the same way? "Keep trying, but don't worry about it, Sparky. You'll get it eventually."
This was disappointing. Samril did feel bad about scolding Sparky so much for not doing anything in their recent dragon fights since the little Kiandri Keindred was not able to actually use magic yet, apparently. But perhaps the little one could still learn some basic attacks?
"Let's try this instead, Sparky. Use your claws like I use these." Samril held up the clawed gloves he owned, then put them on and flexed his hands for a moment. Then he gestured for the young Drakein to follow him to a nearby tree.
They were in Samril's usual practice field on the Celestial Plane and most every tree bore marks of Samril's previous practices. The Dovaa raised his hands and got into a ready stance, then slashed quickly at the tree's trunk, leaving new fresh marks on the poor thing. "See? Now you try."
Sparky gave a chirrup and walked closer to the tree. The Keindred reached out and tried to copy what Samril had done, but underestimated the force he would need to mark the tree in a similar fashion, his claws doing nothing to the bark.
"That's okay! Try again, Sparky!" Samril encouraged the youngling, grinning as the Keindred started to swipe at the tree again and again. It took a few tries before Sparky got the hang of things, but he was soon leaving his own marks in the tree's bark.
"Good! Better stop there, though," Samril added as he noticed that Sparky was slowing down. No sense in pushing the youngster. He could remember all the time he'd spent practicing in his own youth. It took a while to get into shape for fighting and it made sense that the Drakein were the same way.
Samril gave the Keindred a through scratching of the head, causing Sparky to thrum happily with delight at the attention and affection. "You rest for a while, Sparky. I'm going to practice a bit then we'll see if you feel up to a bit more practice."
"Rest! Rest!" Sparky parroted back, thumping his thick tail against the ground. He loved watching his Bonded in action and settled in as Samril selected another tree to practice upon.
Before long, Samril was a blur of movement as he jumped in and out, slashing and stabbing, shocking and zapping the tree that was his target. He even switched to the next tree over during the attacking, pretending in his own mind that the dragon he was fighting had jumped back and he was rushing back to teach it a lesson!
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Posted: Tue Jan 08, 2013 9:49 am
Of Orbs and Eggs
Once again, it was getting close to the time where Samril was going to move up in the hunter ranks and he hadn't yet turned in any orbs. He knew of some classmates that turned them in right away in hopes of being promoted earlier, but the teachers won't promote you until you're ready. And it seemed they felt that Samril was, since they were hinting around strongly about it recently.
But Samril had been so busy recently with Sparky and trying to actually get some decent sleep that he'd kept putting it off. And now it seemed that it was the only thing holding him back. Plus, he'd been meaning to talk to Marcus about finding Sparky's egg and their bond. He could not deny that there was a bond between them. He could even swear that he caught bits of the Keindred's thoughts from time to time and wondered if the Dovaa leader knew anything more about it. Perhaps it was just because he was a Dovaa. After all, the Dovaa could understand the dragons, so why not these other types of dragons?
Samril was still not quite sure what exactly Sparky was, but he was not a regular dragon. He didn't look like them, for one thing. And he was a lot smaller too, though he already towered as tall as the Adept boy.
"Come too? Come?" Sparky chirped as he saw Samril pull out his travel bag and look towards the orbs he had stored. When they were home for a while, Samril preferred to display the dragon souls on a shelf rather than keep them crammed in the travel bag he used. He still hadn't looked into making some little sacks for Sparky, but that was something he wanted to do before they traveled out to fight dragons again.
Samril grinned. "I suppose you should come, yes. I'm sure Marcus will want to see you." The Kiandri Dovaa turned his attention back to the orbs. Now... which ones to take? He was obviously going to take the Firani orb. That was his pride and joy and he was very proud of it. He'd just hoped to have more of them to turn in other than the one.
But what about the others? He was supposed to turn in five orbs. Should he turn in the two Gaili orbs he'd found? He hadn't actually earned them, but he had found them in his travels once with some potions. Surely Marcus wouldn't mind that he hadn't actually fought the dragons for them? Or should just just take four of the Kiandri orbs? He had plenty of those.
Samril grinned as he recalled when he'd showed those orbs to his family. They'd all about fallen out of their chairs in shock. Sure, the Kiandri weren't as tough to him as they were to his Peisio brothers, but they were still tough dragons and he'd had so many of the soul orbs!
His mind made up, Samril stuck the Firani orb and four of the Kiandri orbs in his pack, then turned to Sparky. "C'mon Sparky, let's go see Marcus."
The Kiandri pair made their way toward Marcus' office in the Celestial Fortress. They raised some attention as they walked the streets. Until now, Samril had tried to avoid the streets as much as he could. After all, you didn't usually see a little dragon trotting along!
Samril ignored any calls and questions and kept on until he and Sparky were standing outside of Marcus' office. It seemed someone had run ahead to alert the leader of a dragon walking the Celestial Plane, for Marcus was standing in the doorway, clearly waiting for them. "Come inside, young Baird. You have some explaining to do."
"Yes, sir..." Samril sighed. He really should have come to Marcus as soon as he'd returned from Eowyn with a newly hatched Sparky in tow, but the little Keinling had been so demanding and he'd been busy keeping the thing fed that more time had passed than he would've liked.
Marcus shut the door as the pair entered and sat at his chair behind the desk, staring at the young Kiandri pair. "Explain."
Samril took a deep breath then launched into the explanation of how he'd found the abandoned egg and thought it was really just an odd rock and then how he'd been about to leave Eowyn and Sparky had hatched and how there had been a... well, a spark that was more than a spark that had bonded them together.
The Dovaa continued on about how he'd been so busy caring for the young Drakein and then how they'd tried fighting some Firani dragons, but they hadn't quite figured out how to fight together just yet.
Finally, Samril finished with an apology. "Sorry, sir. I meant to come see you sooner, but well..." He looked sheepishly at the floor. He probably should've come to Marcus instead of making another trip to Eowyn, but he'd been so eager to get more Firani orbs to turn in that he'd hoped the fighting trip wouldn't last as long as it had. But it had been a complete flop.
Sparky sat next to Samril's legs as the Dovaa talked on and on. He could sense that his Bonded was sad and worried. And that this tall man was the cause. As Samril talked on and on and grew more and more worried that Marcus would banish him for befriending a dragon that is not really a dragon, Sparky started to growl a low, deep growl that grew in volume until, once Samril stopped speaking, it became noticeable.
"Sparky! Stop." Samril hissed at the Keindred, which made Sparky whine. This man was being mean and he did not like this.
"Hmmm, I recall hearing something of these many years ago. They had a name, but I have forgotten it. But they are different from dragons, I do believe. And this one certainly seems tamed. Just keep an eye on him, young Samril."
Samril glanced up, relieved. He wasn't going to be thrown from the Celestial Plane! And he would get to keep Sparky! Though, if Marcus had tried to make him get rid of the Keindred, Samril wouldn't have been able to. Banishment would have been better than leaving the young Drakein on his own. Samril couldn't even think of doing such a thing!
"I will! I will. I promise!" The young Dovaa let out a sigh of relief, reaching down to stroke Sparky's head. The Keindred, with his bonded now happy, was content and thrummed at the attention.
"Oh yeah! I almost forgot. I brought some orbs for you." Samril slipped the pack off his shoulder and carefully set the one red orb and the four golden orbs on Marcus' desk.
Marcus grinned. "Ah yes. You are ready to move up, aren't you? Well, these are some very fine orbs, young Baird. I will make note so your teachers will know they have been turned in."
"Thank you. C'mon Sparky, let's go." The young Dovaa waved to the older leader and the young Kiandri pair left for more adventures.
"Ah, the energies of youth..."
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Posted: Wed Jan 23, 2013 5:44 am
Another shopping trip
After Tyne's visit, Samril spent the rest of the day lost in thought and so his trip planning was pushed back. But a few days later, he was considering trying again, but now he wanted to go and find someone to make some little packs for Sparky to wear first. So the pair headed off to Astral City to find someone who would be willing to make something like that.
The Kiandri pair stopped in a few shops, but there was nothing that even came close to working, which Samril was afraid of. He could buy some rope and a few packs and make something but he was afraid that Sparky's scales would rub against the rope and fray it or that the rope would leave marks on Sparky's sides.
And so the pair continued on after each shop owner had the exact same idea. Very creative, these shop owners... Samril noticed that several people paused to stare at them and several whispers started as they walked. Oh well, he'd been accused of stealing Sparky's egg many times by now and was getting used to it in a way. It was still tiresome to have to explain about finding Sparky's egg, but what else could he do?
Before long, the two had walked out of the shopping district and were among the craftsmen. Perhaps here they could find someone who would make what they were wanting... Samril kept an eye open for a leather worker, though it seemed alchemists and healers were much more commonplace. Even a few blacksmiths were more easily found but eventually Samril spotted a place and grinned. "C'mon Sparky. Over there."
The pair made their way to where the small leather worker stall was set up. The owner, a middle-aged Ayrala Dovaa, spoke without turning as they drew closer. "I don't often get customers... unless you're lost like most people I get..." The man turned and blinked in surprise to see the young Drakein standing next to the Kiandri Dovaa. "Well, this is new. What can I do for you?"
Samril quickly explained what he was wanting and the leather worker nodded thoughtfully. "That shouldn't be too hard. I probably have some scraps of leather around here that will work for most of the straps and some small simple bags will work on either side. Though, without knowing how big he'll get as he grows, I'll just have to go with his current measurements. But when he gets bigger and you need them replaced, just come back to me." The leather worker continued on, more thinking aloud than talking to Samril. "I might want to get a head start on making several of these too... From what I hear, several people have been looking for these Drakein to get an egg..."
Samril didn't comment. He'd met the Drakein leaders and they had not been happy about their children being Bonded, so he wasn't sure how many young Drakein would be found around the Celestial Plane, but he wouldn't be surprised if several still appeared from time to time...
The leather worker had already turned back to his worktable with the measurements and was sorting and measuring leather pieces.
"How long do you think it'll take?"
The man answered without turning around. "Come back in an hour or so. This being something new, I might have to try it on him a few times to make sure it fits right..." He paused to jot down some notes as he continued sorting the leather.
"Okay. C'mon Sparky, we'll go look around a bit."
The two wandered around for a while, watching a few various craftsmen at work before they made their way back to the leather worker, who seemed to be ready for them. "Let's see how this fits. I've put a few buckles on so it can be adjusted a bit, but still not sure how long it'll last him."
Samril knelt and the two of them had it adjusted and on before long. "That didn't take you too long to make," Samril commented, giving a strap one last tug. "How does it feel, Sparky? Try moving around some."
As Samril straightened, the leather worker chuckled. "I happened to have a few small packs on hand that I hadn't sent to be sold yet, so it saved me some time." The two of them watched as Sparky carefully walked around, twitching his wings and shoulders around some.
"Tighter." He chirped as he returned to the two Dovaas. Samril quickly knelt and tugged on the straps that Sparky guided him to via their bond.
"There, try that." Samril stood once more and Sparky walked his circle again. Then the Keindred circled again, this time more quickly.
"If he's gonna run, he better do that outside!" The leather worker piped up before the Keindred could circle the small work area a third time.
Sparky heard and moved out before taking off at a run, then quickly turning and running back. "Good! Good!" He chirped happily as he rubbed his head against Samril, who laughed and turned to the leather worker.
"Thank you. This will come in handy during our dragon hunts. How much do I owe you?"
The leather worker tried to wave it off, knowing that with these measurements he'd be able to make several more and sell those easily, but Samril wasn't going to let him get away with it. They finally settled on Samril paying the price of the small packs that had been used in making the harness, though he still felt it wasn't enough.
Finally with the payment settled and complete, Samril and Sparky headed back to their dorm room to pack for a trip. He should look into getting a home when they returned, but for now he was more eager to go beat up some dragons with Sparky!
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Posted: Tue Feb 12, 2013 11:42 am
Moving out
With Sparky growing ever so slightly bigger and bigger, Samril had finally realized that they needed to get a new place to live. And sooner, rather than later. Now would be even better. And so he was stuck having to navigate that headache instead of hunting down Peisio dragons like he'd much rather do!
There were always a few empty homes around the Celestial Plane, either the result of a warrior dying and not returning home, the occasional banishment, or a wedding and the two moving into one home together. Several of Samril's friends had already moved out of the Celestial Fortress upon becoming Expert. Very few Experts actually continued studying and, while Samril did plan to continue working and studying, he would just have to commute back and forth from a much larger home than the dorms.
An older Ysali Dovaa woman was showing Samril and Sparky a few of the empty homes in the Dwelling Place. She'd met with the two Kiandri a week ago to discuss what was needed and had said she'd look around for some possibilities. Now, she was going to show the three homes she'd found that might work for the odd pair.
Samril had seen how large a Drakein could get and had wanted a place where Sparky wouldn't have to be outside all the time, which made things harder. Many of the empty homes were small, single-person dwellings. The type that were rather common and usually had a faster turn-over rate than the larger family dwellings.
"This first one is a bit iffy," the woman admitted as they walked down the cobblestone paths. "It has a nice large backyard, but I'm afraid it might be a bit small for your... friend, she told Samril. He'd noticed that she didn't speak directly to Sparky and treated the Keindred as almost a pet more than a companion. But she was supposedly good at finding homes and his friends had recommended her. He just hoped she found one quickly so he wouldn't have to deal with her for very long.
"Here we are," she announced as they stopped in front of a smallish home and started up the path. Samril could already tell it would be a tight fit with a full grown Drakein, which Sparky was close to reaching. But he kept quiet as they entered (Sparky having to squeeze in through the door and narrow hallway beyond).
The woman talked on and on about the good features (Samril counted her mentioning the large backyard multiple times) while the trio made their way slowly through the house.
Finally, Sparky had had enough. He huffed and squeezed his way out the back door and sent Samril a mental vibe of discomfort and eagerness to be away from this place. But the woman wouldn't shut up. Finally, after a good two circles through the house, she paused and glanced at Samril.
"No." He said and left it at that, heading out of the house so they could move on. The woman looked a bit upset at such a quick rejection, but hurried to lead the way to the second home as Sparky walked around the outside to meet back up with the two Dovaa.
The second home was a drastic improvement over the first. While still a bit small, it was more of an open floor plan which made it seem larger. It didn't have as big of a backyard, which was fine, though a large one would be nice.
Finally the tour of the home was finished and the woman looked to Samril. He paused for a moment. "This one is much better... How about we go look at the other and I can compare them." The woman nodded and they were soon on their way to the last house.
As soon as they walked up to the last home, Samril forgot all about the second house. This one was a bit larger and had the open floor plan once again. But it also had a huge backyard, complete with a fence. As they walked through the home, Samril wondered why the woman had even bothered to show him the first two homes. This was exactly what he was looking for! Sparky had plenty of space to walk around inside and the back door was double French doors so he could easily get in and out of the house.
"This... this is perfect." Samril stated before the Ysali woman could even look his way. Then he noticed her expression. "What?"
The woman winced and then told him the price. Samril nearly fell over. He knew he'd have to spend more than his friends and had been working extra hard to earn some coin so he could afford something larger, but he hadn't been expecting to have to spend this much.
Noticing his expression, the woman told him how much the second house was going for. It was much less, almost half of what this house was listed for. And much closer to his price range. In fact, he had a bit more than that but not enough to get this one.
"Can... can we have a few minutes?" Samril asked, his hand resting gently on Sparky's head. The Keindred crooned softly as the woman nodded. "We'll... be outside for a bit." He always felt he could think better outside.
The Kiandri pair made their way to the backyard and settled somewhere around the middle of it, facing the house. True, this home was a bit larger than they really needed for just the two of them, but Samril knew without asking that Sparky loved it just as much as he did. The Dovaa leaned into the Keindred's side, sighing a bit as Sparky wrapped a wing around his Bonded.
They sat that way for a bit in silence, their bond doing all the talking. Samril had noticed that he was getting better and better at reading what Sparky was thinking and feeling through their bond, which seemed to make the Keindred happy as he had a hard time expressing himself in words sometimes.
"Like." Sparky softly stated.
"I know. I do too. But we can't afford it. And won't be able to unless we work really hard for a while... and it'll probably be gone by then." Samril sighed. It would have to figure. They find the perfect place and it's too much for them. "That last one wasn't too bad. And we could afford it."
Sparky didn't speak, but his disappointment was easily felt. Sure, the other one was okay but this one was so much better. Samril felt the same way. Glancing up, he saw that the woman had come out and was standing just outside of the back doors. With a sigh, Samril stood, though Sparky stayed where he was.
Reluctantly, Samril approached the Ysali Dovaa. It took him a while to realize that there was another Dovaa standing behind the woman. This was another older Dovaa, though this Dovaa was from the Kiandri clan like Samril. Curious, he picked up his pace and met up with the two.
"Samril, this is Fyrian, the owner of this house. I told him that you were interested, but that his price might be a bit steep for you..."
The man gave the younger Kiandri Dovaa a smile, glancing past him to the Drakein in the yarn. "I've heard many things about you, Samril. My family and I lived in this home, but my children are all grown and I have no use for such a large home with just myself and my wife. I would like to see it full of life once more and a young man like yourself would be able to do that. So... for a fellow Kiandri and for a great fighter as yourself, how about... half?"
Samril's jaw nearly hit the floor. "Half? But... but, that's too cheap!" He shook his head in both rejection and shock. Sparky made a questioning chirp from where he lay, wondering what had happened to make his Bonded so startled like that.
The man smiled, firmly stating the deal once again. "Half. Not a single coin more." If he was honest with himself, he would admit that he'd give the house to Samril for free, but he knew that the young Dovaa wouldn't take it. Offering it at a discount was a compromise that he was quite willing to meet. For he had indeed heard many things of the younger Dovaa. And such a nice young man would soon have a nice young lady and they'd need a home for their family.
Samril was still shaking his head, but Fyrian's firm stance wasn't going to be budged at all. Eventually, the two came to realize this and Samril gave in, though reluctantly. He still felt it was too cheap and he'd find a way to help pay for it in a different manner.
But for now, he and Sparky had some work to do getting their new home set up! Like... finding furniture. The house was empty of it, but it wasn't going to stop the Kiandri pair from spending the night in it anyways. Samril figured they could curl up together on the floor for one night. They slept that way often enough on dragon hunts, after all.
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Posted: Tue Feb 12, 2013 6:25 pm
Making magic... and mistakes
Now that they had a place of their own, Samril was eager to try out some practice in their own backyard. He had some ideas for targets that he could make, but for now they'd make do without. "Let's warm up with a few laps," Samril commented to Sparky, who chirped an agreement.
The Kiandri pair took off and started around the edge of the backyard. As they jogged, Samril thought of something that they could do for practice. Sparky caught his Bonded's thoughts and agreed, so once they were warmed up, they headed for the middle of the yard.
They'd agreed to a gentle sparring match. Light contact and starting out very slow, they could gradually work up to speed a bit and both practice at once. They started off at a very slow pace and were each able to easily dodge and block the light attacks. As they grew more comfortable with the sparring, their Bond was able to communicate the gradual picking up of the pace.
Before long, they were moving at a pace that was still slower than a normal fight, but was quick enough to be a challenge. Sparky grunted as one of Samril's punches landed lightly on his flank and gave a snort. Samril's guard dropped as he felt the shock that ran through his system.
But Sparky was already retaliating from the punch and his eyes widened as he realized at the last moment that his Bonded wasn't prepared. "OOPS!" The Keindred tried to pull his attack but it was too late to avoid hitting the Dovaa. His claws made contact, slicing down Samril's jaw.
"Sorry!Sorry!Sorry!Sorry!" Sparky whined as Samril fell to the ground with a cry. The young Drakein hovered over the Dovaa as Samril shed his shirt and quickly pressed it against his jaw. He pulled it back and saw the amount of blood and quickly pressed it back harder, wincing at the pain.
"Sparky... Sparky, it's okay. It was an accident." He tried to stay calm to calm down the Drakein, but it didn't help much. Samril leaned heavily on Sparky as he got to his feet and took a few unsteady steps. "We better get to my sister's house...
The Kiandri pair set off unsteadily at first for Sarita's house. It wasn't too far away, but the walk seemed to take forever to the wounded Samril. Each step hurt as the vibrations moved up through his body to his jawline. He kept the shirt pressed against the wound, though the pressure hurt.
Soon, they were stumbling up the path to Sarita's front door. Samril eased himself from where he'd been leaning against Sparky to raise a hand to knock and the front door opened.
"Sammy! What happened?! Vynn saw you coming up the walk and I sent him to fetch Tyne. Tyne's been staying here, but he went out earlier. Come, come, I've got Triss helping me set up in the kitchen." Sarita took over guiding Samril as they walked through the entry and down the hallway to the kitchen, where she gently pushed Samril into a chair at the table and motioned for her daughter to bring some clean, wet rags over.
A pot was boiling on the stove with several rags floating within. Several of these were quickly fished out by the young girl, who looked at her uncle a bit apprehensively as she approached. Samril tried to smile reassuringly at her, but winced as the movement hurt.
"Keep your lips still, Samril. I need to see the damage." Sarita gently peeled the bloody shirt away from Samril's jawline, though the boy winced several times during the process as bits of the shirt had stuck to the open wounds. "Sorry, sorry."
Sparky whined and Samril glanced at the still worried Triss. "Triss... why don't you take Sparky outside while your mom works?" He whispered, trying not to move his lips too much.
Triss glanced at her mother, who quickly nodded and herded the two youngsters out the back door. She'd no more than closed it and turned back to inspecting the damage to Samril's face when the door slammed open and Tyne ran into the kitchen, out of breath.
Tyne's eyes widened as he spotted his brother's face. "What happened?! No, wait, don't talk." He added the second quickly as he caught sight of Sarita's face. Tyne turned to Vynn, who was entering the kitchen behind his uncle, out of breath as well. "You better fetch your grandmother too, Vynn," he spoke softly, then gently shut the door behind the young boy.
Sarita sighed in relief. "You lucked out here, Samril. The cuts are straight and shallow, though they're long. They're going to scar, but other than that they should heal just fine. I need to make sure they're clean before I start, though." She grabbed another wet rag and went to work for a bit longer on Samril's face while Tyne brought the pot of water to the table and sat it beside Samril.
Though it seemed to Samril that everything was taking forever, it wasn't long before Sarita deemed the cuts clean and gestured for Tyne to move back. "Facial cuts are very tricky and these go over the mouth too. Just watch for this one, Tyne." She made sure her pupil nodded before turning her focus to her healing magic.
Soon the water from the pot rose as Sarita's hands sketched across the air and then a cool gel-like substance settled onto Samril's face, startling him. He'd not expected it to be cool at all, but it felt so good.
By the time Damla slammed open the back door, Tyne was leaning over Samril and inspecting the cuts while Sarita slumped in a chair herself. "What happened?!" Their mother asked, which caused Samril to sigh.
Tyne spoke without looking up. "Samril's not supposed to talk right now. So not sure." There was a moment's silence before Tyne straightened up. "They've all closed up," he reported to Sarita, who nodded.
"Good. They're still going to scar, but the scars will probably fade over time, Samril." Sarita glanced at her mother. "Would you mind making some soup, Mom? Samril, you're not to talk whenever possible and no chewing. For several days at least, a week if you can. The longer you take it easy, the better the scar tissue will grow in and let the cuts heal."
Samril gave a nod and Tyne was back next to him with a mug of cold water. "Drink. You've lost a lot of blood." He helped his younger brother while their mother set about making soup for Samril to eat and take home with him.
Sarita glanced at her youngest brother with a grin. "Vynn will be glad to hear you're okay now. He was worried sick when he saw you stumbling toward the house. He really looks up to you, you know." At Samril's startled expression, she laughed. "He does. We're all proud of you, even if some of us don't want to admit it..." She grinned at her youngest brother.
Tyne gave Samril's hand a pat. "And some probably never will. But we are."
"Of course we are! You're the best fighter in our family, Sammy. The others know it too. And I don't think Vynn is the only one looking up to you."
"He starts his apprentice training soon. He can't wait to brag about you to all his classmates and friends. Though, I hate to break it to you, but Triss leans towards Nila." And the three older Bairds burst into laughter as Samril rolled his eyes.
"She should." He managed before they shushed him. Tyne grinned. This no-talking thing was going to be hard on Samril.
The back door opened cautiously and two small Dovaa heads and one large Drakein head poked in. "Samril better?" Sparky asked, more for reassurance than anything. He'd felt the pain from his Bonded almost disappear and that Samril was feeling better, but he had to see it for himself.
"Yes," Samril quickly reassured Sparky before the others could stop him. The Dovaa could feel the waves of apology and sorrow coming from the Drakein and he sent back waves of love and pride, which brought confusion from Sparky until Samril remembered the feeling of the shock going through him and Sparky sent back a startled feeling. He'd done magic? When Samril confirmed, Sparky blinked in wonder.
"We'll practice later," he commented, which drew confused looks from the Dovaa who hadn't been part of the bond conversation, but brought a look of eagerness to Sparky's face.
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Posted: Fri Feb 15, 2013 10:50 am
Practicing magic
One day of Samril sitting around while his mother and sister fussed about him was one morning too many! He'd been convinced to spend the rest of the afternoon and that evening at Sarita's house so they could keep an eye on his healing. But then it turned into an overnight stay and "oh, have breakfast with us" and then they kept trying to get him to stay longer and longer.
But with the enforced silence and bowls and bowls of broths and soups, Samril had had enough. He could rest just fine at home and promised to do so. Plus, he wouldn't have anyone to talk to at home and they could send food along with him.
So, carrying a large basket with various dishes of broths and soups, Samril was finally headed home. It was nearly midday, but he was glad to be finally back on his own. Well, okay, Sparky was there, but that wasn't the same as having everyone hovering over him. Plus, he was eager to get Sparky practicing his magic more. The Keindred had apparently come into his magic finally and Samril was excited. Another lightning user would be great against a Peisio dragon!
It wasn't long before they were home and the basket of food was placed in the kitchen. Sparky was already waiting in the backyard, having hopped the fence while Samril went inside quickly to drop off the basket. Now Samril came out the back door and paused, thinking. He quickly turned and went back inside. He found what he was looking for and dumped the contents that hadn't been unpacked out of a box, carrying the empty box back with him outside.
He placed the box in the middle of the yard, avoiding the spot where the two of them had been sparring. Sparky hovered, curious pouring from his body. Samril grinned and motioned for the Keindred to back up, which Sparky did, watching. The Dovaa generated a very mild spark and sent it at the box, then motioned for Sparky to try, reinforcing the idea through their bond.
Sparky caught on instantly and his tail swished happily as he stared down the box. Samril backed up, though he knew that a shock wouldn't be very harmful to him. But no point in stressing his poor body any more than it had been recently.
Sparky tensed up, clearly focusing. But nothing was happening. "Relax. Breathe and don't think so hard." Samril thought at the tense young Drakein.
While those exact words might not have crossed the Bond, clearly the message did and Sparky let out his breath in a loud huff and frowned. "Hard." He muttered, though Samril heard it.
"You did it yesterday without thinking." Samril thought again, but this message didn't seem to cross as well through emotions. Sparky was focusing on the box once more.
Remembering what had caused Sparky to release the spark the previous day, Samril looked down and found a small pebble not to far from where he was standing. He picked it up, moving slowly so as not to distract Sparky from the box. He moved just a bit so that his toss wouldn't be seen and aimed for the Drakein's flank.
The pebble hit and, startled, Sparky let off a spark, zapping the box. He turned and looked behind him, seeing nothing, and then back at the box, blinking. But now that he was more aware of it, the little spark was enough to trigger his ability, it seemed.
With a large grin, Sparky let off a few sparks tentatively, then more as he grew more confidant. Soon, the box was reduced to a crumbled pile that crackled from the lingering electricity in it. Sparky grinned and turned to Samril, who grinned back, then winced. The scars were still tight and tender. He'd have to remember not to grin so much...
"Good job," he praised Sparky, letting his pride flow through their bond. Now they could travel to Serenia for a Peisio hunting expedition!!!
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