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 Posted: Mon Sep 29, 2008 7:36 pm
 Navigating the continent of Hal'ia was a daunting task for any dragon, and thanks to a fight gone awry, Andromache was even less then any dragon, her eyes long since dead and useless. Her other senses made up for it, but not enough for Andromache to feel adventurous about seeking other lands aside from the Western grasslands that she and her kind dwelt in. Today was a regular day for Andromache, the blind and only partially-lame Chi'lin was resting near a stream running through the grasslands, her eyes closed beneath the white and slightly-dingy wrap over her eyes.
It was one of those days that seemed to be perfect in every way. Not too warm, not too cool. The sun was out but it wasn't overbearing, occasionally a cloud would float by... It was perfect, really. And all Andromache wanted to do was sleep through it. It was one of the ways she kept out of fighting with others. And old or not, she couldn't afford to lose another fight. Andromache was not quite ready to lay down and die.
Laying down to nap, however, sounded just heavenly.
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Posted: Mon Sep 29, 2008 8:25 pm
 Huang had decided to wander down to the Western Plains, where other Painters of his sort lived, to discuss things with them. Very important research and concepts he'd worked out while up in the mountains living near the p'an lun. Unfortunately, the water wasn't as sweet, cold, or plentiful down here on the plains as in the mountains, but he was thirsty enough by the time he came to the stream not to care.
The water was sweeter and cooler than he expected, but that was probably his thirst speaking rather than any virtue of plains water. He didn't even see the scarred chi'lin until he looked across the stream. Curious, he stared at her. It looked like something had attacked her many times over, but whether she'd won or lost, he wasn't entirely sure, though her survival implied that she had come out a winner much of the time.
Sighing in exasperation, he glared at the plants around him, wishing they would for once stop being excited around him and started quietly plashing over to the female, curious about her. He moved quietly enough to not disturb her, but he still ended up dripping water from the stream onto her from his wet mane.
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Posted: Mon Sep 29, 2008 8:32 pm
Amidsts her dreaming of victories long past, Andromache was aware that it must be starting to rain, because water was dripping down onto her nose. Still mostly asleep, her nostrils flared in a meager attempt to get the water off her nose, but it did no good, and she reached up to scratch her nose and get rid of the water with her good arm. This action woke her up moreso, and with a small huff, she started to sit herself up. It wasn't as difficult as one would imagine given that she only had one arm, so it must've been a very old wound, to have become so adapted to it.
Two things happened when Andromache woke up fully. First off, she realized that no, it was not raining. It was just as sunny as it had been when she'd fallen asleep. Which meant that somedragon had to be around, very close.
The second thing she'd realized was that said dragon must've been standing very close to her, probably near her face, because he'd been splashing water on her. She was undoubtedly sure it was a he, his scent gave him away. Her nose acted as her eyes in a lot of ways. As if she'd seen him, Andromache turned her head towards the intruder who'd woken her up, and bared her teeth. "Can I help you?" Her tone, while certainly not vicious outright, was anything but cheerful.
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Posted: Mon Sep 29, 2008 8:47 pm
Huang stepped back to a more respectful distance. Being raised by chi'lin parents who chose to live around p'an luns and encourage their offspring to socialize with p'an lun babies had definitely had an impact on his life and mannerisms. "I was just wondering how you collected those scars," he said mildly. "I hope I wasn't disturbing you, though I must say that I'm impressed at how well you manage, considering...." He intentionally trailed off, because he's been taught that it paid to never EVER insult a female, especially if she's likely to be in a bad temper, as he suspected this one was.
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Posted: Mon Sep 29, 2008 8:51 pm
Among the things that Andromache had become accustom to, questions about her scars was one of the first. She allowed herself a small smirk as the male asked about her scars, trailing off before he could possibly mention either her stump or her eyes. Smart boy. She thought to herself, nodding her head a little. "Carefully." She began dryly, remarking on just how she'd gotten her scars. Her smirk grew slightly wider, more genuine.
"You did disturb me," She chided idly, turning her head towards him again. "But the damage is done." She explained, itching where wrapping met her muzzle. "What scar do you want to know about?" She asked calmly, face still turned towards him. "There are many, and very few of them share the same story." She smirked. "Although, I'd like to know your name in exchange for my story." It was only a fair trade, after all, wasn't it?
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Posted: Mon Sep 29, 2008 9:09 pm
Huang rolled his eyes, silent and invisible for a moment. Greeeaaat. A sarcastic battle-scarred female. "Actually, I was curious about all of them," he said, the hints of the earliest frosts of autumn entering his voice. "My name is Huang." A name for so many stories? That was more than a fair trade, and he should have stated his name earlier, as was proper in introducing oneself.
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Posted: Mon Sep 29, 2008 9:16 pm
"All of them? You must have a lot of time to want to know about all of them." Andromache sounded more amused then anything. Sure, most dragons wanted to know about all her scars, but no one had ever outright asked. When she told them to pick a scar, usually a dragon would pick some random scar, and she'd recount the tale. "I don't think I have time enough today to tell you all of my stories, Huang." Andromache didn't offer to give him her name, though. She'd never said that was part of the deal, after all.
"Which are you most curious about? I think it's best to start there and work our way down the list, so to speak." Andromache shifted in her seat, to become more comfortable. Her stub flailed a little while she adjusted her balance, and then was still as it had been for their conversation. As an after thought, she frowned, and turned her head towards him again. "But I won't tell you about my eyes. That is a very personal tale, and one I don't share freely." She'd received enough questions about her eyes to last her a lifetime.
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Posted: Mon Sep 29, 2008 9:31 pm
"I have a lot of time, and don't mind listening for several days, ...?" he left an opening for her to introduce herself, hoping to cleverly trick her into politely introducing herself, since she seemed to insist on being impolite about introducing herself.
Since she wasn't going to discuss her eyes, which was what he was most interested in, he focused on her broken horn next. "Your lovely horn. Why is it broken?" He'd ask next about her leg, her tail, and and the rest of her scars. Hopefully, he'd get close enough to her by then to ask about her eyes.
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Posted: Mon Sep 29, 2008 9:35 pm
He was goading her into introducing herself. Well, if he was that curious, she'd have to indulge him. Wouldn't want to come off as rude, would she? Well, actually, she might... But there was no need for it with this dragon. He seemed like a nice male. "Andromache." She said, dipping her head in a greeting of sorts. Whether or not it was called for aside, instinct insisted she bowed her head in some show of respect.
When her horn became the topic of discussion, Andromache smiled outright. "Would you like a long recounting of where I left the rest of my lovely horn," she emphasized her horn by bowing her head to show more of the golden, jagged stump. "Or just the gist of what happened?" She pegged him as being someone who'd want a whole recounting, but it was probably best to ask just in case. Andromache didn't want to keep the poor fella sitting there for days listening to her prattling on.
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Posted: Mon Sep 29, 2008 9:45 pm
"Andromache." Huang bowed his head. "A fitting name for you, and quite surprising in a way no one else would think of." He'd eventually get around to discussing what he meant, but she didn't have to know just yet. "Yes, I'd like the long version." And with that, he settled down so he could really enjoy the telling of the story, lying peacefully on the ground, his legs gathered under him.
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Posted: Mon Sep 29, 2008 9:53 pm
Andromache watched him settle, pondering over his comment about her name. She wasn't sure if it was a compliment or a jibe, really, and decided to keep that to herself. If he did intend it as an insult, he didn't have much practice at them. Once Huang was settled, Andromache began to tell the story about her horn.
"I was younger. Much younger," She began, frowning a little. The details were a little fuzzy. "Barely an adult, I think. Foolhardy even then, I didn't like being challenged. I still don't, but I'm more likely to back down then go head long into a fight I cannot win." She smirked a little. "I barely won the fight that lost me my horn. It was another Chi'lin. We were always envious of each other, we were close in age." She explained, itching under her chin thoughtfully. "Every dragon in our herd knew that eventually one of us would run the other away." She snorted. "Never thought it'd be me running, though... Anyway." She waved off that train of thought, carrying on with her story.
"It happened right as we were becoming adults. She challenged me outright, and I wasn't going to simply back down. We fought long and hard." She motioned with her good arm to a couple scars along her tail, older ones that'd almost faded away. "We were wearing each other down, you see. And finally, finally, the girl was getting more tired then I was. I had my father's endurance, you see. I could go for days. As soon as I saw my opening, I took it." She lowered her head, jabbing it forward in a stabbing motion.
"Right through her neck." She growled a little, straightening up. "She died, I left a good portion of my horn in her throat. By all rights, I was going to stay with the herd." She snorted. "But I left anyway. Killing a member of your own herd... Chi'lin are peaceful dragons. I had my right to stay, but no one would really accept me for it, so I left." She smiled a little at the memory. "It was my first real victory, bittersweet as it was."
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Posted: Sun Oct 05, 2008 7:39 am
Huang was quiet for a time. Others would have been deeply saddened to do what Andromache had done, but given the choice of life or death...it was understandable to some extent. He couldn't really find anything to say about it, so he settled for simply nodding. "What happened to your leg?"
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Posted: Mon Oct 06, 2008 12:55 pm
"My leg?" As if she could see through the blindfold covering her eyes, Andromache began to 'look' at her perfectly normal forearm, and then her hindlegs, before raising her head and smirking a little at Huang. "Which one?" She asked quietly, sitting back. Whether Andromache was affected by his lack of comment on her story or not, she moved right along as he had. Chi'lin were mostly startled by her admission, at least Huang had the manners to not be rude.
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Posted: Fri Oct 10, 2008 5:13 pm
Huang paused to consider this. "Let's start with the one that's partially missing and go on to the bandaged one."
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Posted: Sat Nov 08, 2008 2:33 pm
"Oh, that leg."
Andromache nodded, scratching her stump with her good arm, and frowned a little, crooking her head. Her eyes hidden from view, it was harder to tell if she was thinking of not telling him, or trying to remember. Or making up a story in her head, for that matter. After a moment, she shook her head.
"I lost this leg doing something stupid." She said honestly, snorting. "It's not a very long story, I must say. I went after somedragon much bigger then I was. Not a Chi'lin. He was merciful, leaving me with a partially missing limb. Could've killed me, I bet." The way she spoke, there was no malice in her tone for the dragon that'd taken her arm from her. If anything, there was... admiration in her voice, pride at having fought such a foe and survived, even if she had lost in the end.
She grinned a little. "Not very exciting, eh? I think most dragons expect some heroic tale when they ask about my missing arm." Although most didn't outright ask, they usually just stared and then moved on.
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