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 Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 2:45 pm
 It had been a terribly busy time for Forest and he felt run off his feet. It was early evening and an enjoyable breeze touselled his hair as he sat by the edge of the Pantheon's Lake. The moon had risen, its dancing reflection inspiring a smile in Glyph. To his side was a basket full of cookies and fruits his Aoide had prepared for him - a delightful mix of apples, peaches, and sugar cookies made super sweet.
With a puff he fell backwards into the grass and stared up at the twilight sky, a few of the new stars already visible. It was peaceful, and for that he was glad... it allowed one to forget for a moment the storm that brewed on the horizon.
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Posted: Sun Jan 15, 2012 8:53 am
It was, indeed, a lovely night for a swim. Xun Jiang hadn't felt the need to sleep yet, so had sneaked out of his rooms while Lindita was resting from their day.
He planned to be back well before the demoness awoke, less she wonder where her master had set of too.
He emerged from the lake and shook the excess water from his wild mane, sniffing at the night breeze a bit.
Smelled like... pine and greenery. And apples.
Hmm. He knew this smell well, even if he hadn't been in dragon shape most of the time he'd came upon it. And, well, if nothing else, he'd have to see how he could assist the newly-made council best.
Glyph would probably be a good start.
The dragon slid back underwater, letting his long body slide through his element like the Worldshield slid through the skies, toward the shore.
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Posted: Sun Jan 15, 2012 5:01 pm
The crunch of biting into an apple echoed in the air as he lazily brought one to his mouth and savored the morsel, a smile on his lips. His ears flicked at the sound of a form rising from the water, water splashing and the wet thup-thup of fur being tossed.
Curious, he sat up, apple still in hand, and caught the rippling of the water enough to guess it was either an exceptionally large snake come to eat him or one of his brethren. He sincerely hoped it was the latter and, to prepare, he took up an apple.
Feeling playful, he didn't wait for the dragon king to exit the water before he gauged the speed and sent the apple flying through the air to splash and bob on the surface, right in the other's path. It likely wasn't Tian Yue - the ripples would be more like waves... and he couldn't remember having ever seen the other dragons in the lake, which left only one reasonable guess - Lifewater.
So he sat grinning and munching on his apple as he waited for his friend to properly surface.
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Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2012 2:20 pm
The apple hit the surface of the water and slid for a second, and just as it was about to sink...
CHOMP.
The apple was gone, inhaled by large jaws. There was also a fair bit of water pulled at the same time, but... that was a bonus.
And then something surfaced, and no, it wasn't a large serpent out to have god for lunch.
"Sure, toss me apples like if I was a simple eel, won't you ?" He huffed with mock-affront, but seemed to be awaiting another apple.
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Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2012 2:55 pm
Glyph laughed and waved, still chuckling as he spoke, "Better to serve the conquering eel apples then forests, no?" Taking another, he tossed it high for the other to catch as he chose.
"No simple eel would complain about a free meal either." He quipped, finishing his own snack and selecting a sugar cookie, "Or would he prefer a peach? There are cookies too... but the water would make them soggy too fast." He made a delighted sound as he sampled the sweet, ears flicking down in his reflexive gesture.
"Enjoying the night, my friend? I had forgotten what stars looked like... they are beautiful." He looked skyward then, a quiet smile playing across his lips.
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Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2012 6:08 pm
"Forests are kind of hard to eat in one glup. It's not very practical." He was a tiny dragon, after all. Didn't stop him from catching the apple at it flew him by with a strong snap of his jaws.
"I hadn't remembered, either." He was swimming closer now, coils undulating along the water expertly. "Such a sight many much have taken for granted..."
And to think, there would be some who would never see what the sky had once been - living, breathing. Even he could not remember it.
He emerged from the water fully and stopped to sniff at the basket, looking like he might just snarf it all whole for a moment, mischief glinting in the dragon's blue eyes.
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Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2012 6:57 pm
"Very astute of you to notice these things. A friend indeed." He chuckled and followed the course of a low-drifting cloud as it blocked out the starlight for a moment, "I agree. Too much wonder resides up there... too many lives and stories to forget about."
The thoughtful tone trailed off as he watched the dragon emerge and arched a brow as he lowered his dripping muzzle to sniff at the sweets of the basket. Had that mischievous spark not been there, Forest might have interpreted it differently.
As it was, Glyph's eyes went big and a pout made his features most childish as he swept the basket into his lap and held it away, staring at Xun with mock indignation, "Don't you dare! King or not, you're not pinching all the sweets!" There was laughter in his voice as he arched a brow, daring the dragon to try to take one (or some).
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Posted: Sat Jan 21, 2012 4:40 pm
There was a low rumble, extremely similar to a chuckle, when Forest re-gathered his basket in mock-affront. Had he been more daring, he might have plucked it straight from the god's lap and ran for the hills - out of his element, but cookies were much better dry, for the most part.
But he didn't - while he felt much more confident, bolstered first by Glyph's acceptance and then Adrienne's, he still wasn't completely sure how far he could go, not just yet.
The only thing that could fix that was time. But at the same time, it was also so easy to settle, to partly enter the same rounds of teasing and affections that Forest and Illisia had so often gone through.
"Don't worry. I am very-well trained." He sat on his hind quarters for emphasis, tail curling around his slender body. "Council work finally giving you time for a snack, hm ?"
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Posted: Sat Jan 21, 2012 10:57 pm
He stared at the Dragon King a moment longer before laughing and returning the basket to his side, leaning over to pat a hand on the Dragon's cheek with an impish grin, "Good Dragon!" He fished a cookie from the basket and held it out for Xun, "Cookie?? They're delicious!"
At the mention of Council, Forest's smile evened out and he nodded, "Enough that I can catch a moment's respite, yes. There's so much to do... and I don't really know where to start." He sighed, gave a small shrug, "And I don't trust Phaedra. Her talents are useful, yes, but Greed is ultimately self-serving. I've hardly seen Nergal since he was elected too..." Glyph looked up, a sort of vulnerable honesty in his gaze that spoke of unquestioning trust, "I'm hoping we find some sort of bread crumb, some c***k in their armor - I don't want them to swoop in and scythe through our numbers, we've only just picked up the pieces. I'm Forest, Xun, not War or Law or Knowledge." He smiled suddenly, a self-critical expression as he looked out over the lake, and played with the star about his neck, "It's strange, to take up leadership - I don't want to fail.... I have a feeling I was too wild before the Fading."
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Posted: Sun Jan 22, 2012 3:38 pm
Xun Jiang sniffed at the offered cookie before gently sliding it out of Forest's hand, so that he could chew it where there was no risk of there being hands involved in his meal. Still, the dragon made a bit of a face. "How many cups of sugar did you dump in this ?" He asked, amused. A little too oversweet for his tastes, but not enough to dissuade it from finishing it.
"There's indeed much to figure out..." He admitted. "My brother will help you in anything you need, I am certain of this." There was a reason he hadn't stepped forward for the council - Tian Yue was much more suited to this than he, and much stronger to boot. "Before we can do anything, we need to figure out how to counter them. How to protect ourselves... It would do us no good to rush headfirst with no mean to ensure the wellbeing of those who will fight..." Maybe it was his nature speaking, here. Or perhaps even Illisia's - she had, after all, lead armies in the past...
"Someone had to." He said. "I am certain you will do all that you possibly can. If only I knew where Chien-Tang was..." He sighed. His brother would have been all over this, he knew. Tian Yue had spoken of him having an host, but his own search had been in vain.
"...I do not remember." He finally admitted. "Before the fading. I remember little." Concepts, rather than true memories. No images, no sound, no faces. Was his failed rebirth to blame ? Was it truly lost forever ?
He wasn't sure what to think.
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Posted: Mon Jan 23, 2012 8:32 pm
Laughter hung in the air as Glyph shrugged, "I don't know - Aisling made them. I nearly burned out the kitchen when I tried to bake last so I've been forbidden from cooking." He ran a hand through his hair, mildly embarrassed.
Nodding as Xun spoke, he bit his lower lip, "And we're doing just that - trying to gather information. There's got to be bread crumbs somewhere, it can't all be lost to the Ages. Agreed, I don't want to send our people to be slaughtered, we need some preparedness at the very least."
His gaze slid back to the dragon and he nodded, "Your brothers have been missing a long time... I'm sure they'll reveal themselves when they are able, you're a hearty group." Forest offered a smile he hoped was encouraging and laughed at the admission, "I don't remember much either. There's no names, places, or faces... just impressions, feelings, a knowledge of being so much more... vast then I am now." He quirked a lip, looking amused for a moment, "Sometimes I feel very much like a child."
He fell back into the grass a soft thump and grabbed a peach, pausing to speak before he bit into the juicy fruit, "Mmn, so how have you been Xun? Have you traveled much?"
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Posted: Wed Jan 25, 2012 4:30 pm
"I... have not tried, actually." Illisia had been both a skilled cook and baker, but he hadn't really thought about it. He'd been content with letting Lindita take care of all that.
...And well, she'd probably be a little put-upon if he tried it. Perhaps with Adrienne ?
He let himself flop down on the grass as well, curling his tail around his long body. "That is... actually pretty accurate. That is how I feel, most of the time. Like a child." A wyrmling who had to remember how to even wear scales...
Still, he couldn't let that stop him. He couldn't cling to that fact and refuse to try, to do, for fear of failure. If he allowed himself that leniency, then he would forever remain but a wyrmling, hiding in the safe shadows of his brothers.
As much as he loved them all, each of his brothers and sister, it wasn't what he wanted. He wanted to stand with them.
"I have not ventured too far yet, through I have gone out and met a few of the mortals. I wanted to stay close, in case my Master needed me once more." A foolish notion, perhaps - with the Pillar close, what was it that Harmodius would truly need ?
And if he did need him... Well, no matter if he was worlds away, he would hear. And he would come.
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Posted: Wed Jan 25, 2012 9:36 pm
A grin flickered across his lips at that and Glyph tilted his head to look back at his friend, careful not to gore the other, "That makes two of us then, at least we're not alone hey?"
That Xun wanted to stay close to Harmodius didn't surprise him. "Aah, understood. Have you tried to approach Him? I haven't spoken to Creation in some time... I need to, for a variety of Council items, but it seems I only speak to Him about matters of business. Perhaps we ought to call on him together?" The offering hung there as Glyph mulled it over then took another bite of the peach, "Perhaps even take a basket of fruit for Him. I wonder if he likes sweets."
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Posted: Fri Jan 27, 2012 10:03 am
"At least." He agreed. And they were likely not the only ones...
"I have. He was worn and tired, but well. Understandably so." He couldn't even fathom how his Master had even done what he had accomplished, even if all of his enfleshed dragons had lended their aid in the ways only they could have. To have been part of this event had been a pride he would not forget anytime soon.
"I am sure he would appreciate the visit, business or not. And bringing a gift might not be a bad idea..." Normally He had little need of such things - if He wanted something, it was easy for Him to simply do as He wanted. Right now, not so much so. "He'd appreciate the gesture no matter what, I am certain."
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Posted: Sun Jan 29, 2012 8:36 pm
"Then I say we both visit Him. Fruits and candies to help cheer him up. Maybe some sort of drink? I'm sure we could find enough berries to make a wine or cider or something." He gestured towards the woods.
Above a star streaked across the sky and he pointed to its quickly fading trail, "There! See? A young girl once told me that a falling star is a spirit come to earth from on high and was good luck if you made a wish..." He traced the star's arc with an outstretched finger and puffed out his cheeks, "You think wishes work for us too?"
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