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 Posted: Fri Jan 30, 2015 10:56 am
Hebi padded through the snow, his paws cleaving marks along the way. The wet layer under the lightly fallen snow allowed for his footprints to appear darker than the rest of the ground around him. Stretching his wings the orange ulaya looked up at the gray sky and released a sigh, letting out a puff of steam with the warmth of his breath against the cold winter air. Giving his body a shake to brush off all of the little flakes of white that had started to accumulate on his scales, Hebi continued walking through the hillside. He admired all of the curves the land had to offer him, they were shimmering with the glow of freshly fallen snow. The air was cold and the ground was even more so. He searched for a tree to break apart so he could make a fire for the evening, it was going to get cold fast and he wanted to make sure he would be warm through the night.
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Posted: Fri Jan 30, 2015 12:38 pm
Within the dips and rises of the landscape there was a cave, it wasn't much of a cave, just some tumbled stones that happened to pile themselves just so and form a little shelter. Perhaps the shelter hadn't happened naturally, but when Kimi found it, there was no sign of anyone or anything else calling it home. He'd settled in to rest a while ago, although there was lots of daylight left at the time, he was too tired, too sore and much too cold to continue on.
With a soft sigh he settled his head on his paws and watched the snowflakes drift down from the sky, lost in thought. It had been a long time since he'd been home to visit his family, there was much more of it now with Ren and Belial having had a full litter. He was an uncle now and he hadn't seen the kits once while they were young. He knows he should have gone back much sooner, if only the thought of it didn't twinge at this heart so.
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Posted: Fri Jan 30, 2015 1:07 pm
 The sky got darker with every minute and Hebi was short finding any wood for kindling. The hills were wide open and offered little shelter from the cold breeze which would blow around his wings as he walked. Wrapping them tightly around his body the dragon proceeded onward, looking for any sort of shelter. He put his ears back to avoid the wind and looked into the distance, squinting because his eyes were cold and drying out. The sight of a slight shelter appeared in the shadows of a hillside, sticks and rocks built up to a cavern appearance. "Good enough." he said to himself as he began walking in the direction of the prospective salvation from this chilly winter night.
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Posted: Sat Jan 31, 2015 11:15 am
 As the cold breeze picked up and the snow began to fall in earnest, Kimi shuffled backwards, deeper into his little shelter. He had enough of snow and longed for Spring now. Before too long Spring would turn to Summer and he'd be another year older. It was coming on seven years now, he idly wondered if he'd make it back home before then.
A sigh escaped him in a cloud of visible air and his thoughts drifted back through the years. It wasn't as if he'd done a lot with his time, but at least what he had done, the places he'd seen and the ulaya he'd met left him content, content enough. Even after all this time he was still aimless as he'd been as a kit.
At least he'd left, he'd think, at least he'd traveled and seen the island instead of staying at home and pining away for what he shouldn't want and could not have.
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Posted: Sat Jan 31, 2015 11:25 am
Seeing the entrance to the cavernous shelter drawing closer, Hebi felt relieved as his body began to shiver. The sky drew dark faster than it would have in the summer and his large furless body made it impossible to fend off the winter chill. The snow drifted off from the top of the hills as the wind blew it about as the dragon finally came up to the darkness which was a small tunnel. Climbing inside he searched for something to lite that wasn't holding the foundation in place but only found a couple dry twigs that scattered about on the floor. Pushing them together the draco blew on them as if putting out a birthday candle only instead he let out a calm flame which ignited a campfire before him. Looking up he paused, suddenly seeing the other ulaya who had apparently been in there before he had rudely intruded. "Oh, I'm so sorry. I ... do you mind if I shelter here for the night?" It was too small to be a regular home so he figured it was also the other male's intentions as well. "I can provide warmth." He used the light to search the floor for more kindling and piled it onto the fire so it may last longer,
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Posted: Sat Jan 31, 2015 10:52 pm
Kimi's train of thought was derailed as the very large being entered the cave, effectively blocking the wind that had been swirling snow just at the entrance. He sat in stunned silence as the other gathered what sticks littered the cave floor and lit them before he was noticed. As his eye adjusted to the minimal light produced things became more clear, it wasn't just a ulaya, but a draco and none other than the very first he had met. He would know that voice anywhere.
"Don't apologize. You're very welcome to stay. Indeed it will be warmer with two, your fire not withstanding." Pushing himself to his feet, Kimi slowly gathered all the sticks and burnable bits from the back of the cave and nudged them forward with one paw, offering them to the draco's fire, bare ground was more comfortable to lay on than a lot of twigs anyway. He still moved in a wobbling way, his balance issues had only grown worse with time.
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Posted: Sat Jan 31, 2015 11:55 pm
Smiling at Kimi's assistance with the sticks the draco rested his body on the ground, huddling his limbs as tight as possible. "So how long do you think the storm will last this time?" He asked the pale ulaya as he thought about how long he might be calling this shelter a bed. Still shivering from a cold which came from an internal chill he blew a little more fire on the sticks. Hebi admired his companion, there was something about that eye patch that appealed to him but he just couldn't put his finger on it. For fear of coming off rude, he chose not to bring attention to it, maybe it was just him. The glow of the fire reflected a yellowish tint to is bright orange body, leaving shadows to detail each and every crevice between his scales. Heat was starting to fill their tiny, for him, room which started to bring Hebi out of his cold shutters.
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Posted: Sun Feb 01, 2015 3:41 pm
"Come towards the back of the cave if you wish, out of the wind. You're shivering." Kimi wasn't large, even for an adult, even if the space was small, it was all he could do to curl himself up smaller and hope the draco hadn't gained an issue dealing with close contact. If he never had one before.
He didn't know if he should say something about knowing him, it had been so long ago and although their short interaction had left an impression on him, it might not have been the same for Hebi, and Kimi didn't want to drive him back out into the cold with awkward reminiscing.
"I could not say, I'm not from the area, only traveling through it. Has it gotten too bad to fly through?" A shudder passed through him at the thought. If it was this cold on the ground, it could only be colder still up where the heavy snow laden clouds had formed. It was a wonder a draco was in this area at all.
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Posted: Sun Feb 01, 2015 4:21 pm
"If you don't mind, that would be wonderful." He lifted his large body off the ground and stepped closer into the lair where the warmth no longer escaped out the doorway but instead stayed around them because of the wall. He scanned the space between the two boys before deciding if he was going to move closer. He didn't want to crush the little one under his size but he also wanted to get into a more comfortable position. Sitting down before laying the rest of his body down on his stomach, Hebi lifted one of his wings and offered a warm spot for Kimi to sit under. "If you're not uncomfortable, it gets pretty toasty under my wings." For some reason he couldn't shake the feeling of deja vu.
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Posted: Tue Feb 03, 2015 1:51 pm
"Of course," he murmured after the draco lift himself to move, doing the same so that the larger ulaya could make himself comfortable first before he'd move to resettle himself. There was a bit of shuffling around, and Kimi only worried for a moment that a wrong twitch of that long tail would shift a support out of alignment and bring the cave down on them.
Paranoid thoughts such as that often flickered through his mind's eye, he did his best to ignore them. Hebi lifting a wing brought a nicer thought to the front of his mind.
"Just like when I was little..." The words slipped from his maw and he flustered a moment, tucking his tail as he sat against Hebi's side, keeping his gaze on the cave floor.
"Ah, that is. You probably don't remember, that was so many years ago."
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Posted: Tue Feb 03, 2015 4:03 pm
Hebi's face was struck with sudden realization when Kimi said his words. He looked down at the tiny ulaya as he shyly looked away from him. "Oh now I remember!" He smiled as he continued to watch the boy cower his head. Looking back up at the fire he closed his wing around Kimi and held him close so they had enough warmth to share. "My it has been a while, hasn't it?" He was curious to know what the little ulaya had been up to all these years but didn't want to overwhelm him with questions. The breeze blew snow in from time to time but the two were now nestled close and the draco didn't even notice the cold chill on his body anymore. Along side with the fire's warmth this was turning out to be a good night after all. It had been a long time since Hebi had met an old friend, or even a friendly ulaya in general, and to be able to spend a night with one was a blessing and a half.
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Posted: Thu Feb 05, 2015 4:37 am
Kimi looked up, his face warm but not so terribly that he could not meet an old friend's gaze. The large wing closed over his form and covered it just as well as it had back then. He'd grown. Years and change, and still Hebi could cover him. Somehow, it was just as comforting as it had been to the kit he was.
"Nearing seven years," Kimi agreed softly, resting his head against Hebi as a dizzy spell made it hard to keep his head up. He closed his eye as the world tipped before it, breathing slow until it passed. His ear on the wounded side tilting flat against his head the only outward sign of this familiar distress. "I hope they've found you well, Hebi..."
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Posted: Thu Feb 05, 2015 7:08 pm
He thought to himself for a moment about the years, have they been good to him? He pondered the ups and downs before closing his eyes and completely resting his body. "They have brought me back to a friend I didn't think I would ever see again. I would say that's good." He didn't consider his life either good or bad for it all depended on how one looked at it. He didn't mind that his travels brought him in the middle of this freak blizzard because it provided him with a friendly shelter and someone to enjoy the evening with. The night grew late and the little ulaya was clearly getting tired, just as the draco was finding himself. But he decided he would stay up as long as he needed to, he naturally wanted to make sure he was protected, safe and warm. "The years have done more for you than me, I'm sure." He lowered his head and nuzzled the boy a little. "Look how big you've gotten. When I last saw you I could hold you in one paw." He softly chuckled before lifting his head back up to watch the fire. "I'll protect you when you sleep just as I did so many years ago." He said, assuring the boy that he his personality hadn't changed one bit since they last met.
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Posted: Fri Feb 06, 2015 1:43 pm
Once he could hold his head upright again, he did, tilted just enough so that he could look up at Hebi, smiling gently. He was glad to hear that Hebi considered their meeting again good, although he suspected that answer left a lot unsaid. Perhaps it was for the best.
"I'm not so sure," he didn't mean to disagree so readily, he didn't know what Hebi had gone through after all, but Kimi wasn't exactly proud of what he'd done with his life so far. Kimi was happy to a point. He got to see and experience a lot, the island they lived on was vast and it would take more life than he had to live, he was sure, to see every bit of it and he wanted to. Although he couldn't deny that was all he wanted. The nuzzle brought him out of his thoughts and he laughed, just quietly at how Hebi spoke to him as if he were still a child. Bumping his head against the draco's, Kimi supposed that from Hebi's point of view, he was.
Indeed his next comment was telling, Kimi glanced down at the large paw, wondering that he'd even been that small... he was lost in his thoughts again for a moment but nodded when Hebi spoke. "I appreciate it Hebi, just as much as I did back then. I suppose, we should sleep."
Dropping his head down to his paws again, Kimi found he was tired, mind, body, spirit, but sleep didn't take him quickly. "You didn't just protect me, back then... you really opened my eye. If it wasn't for you showing me, I'd have never really understood how big the world was..." Tsu stories were just stories to him until Hebi had shown him there was much more than just the forest he'd been born in.
"For all I've seen, I don't quite know how to express my gratitude for that one flight. I still dream about it sometimes."
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Posted: Fri Feb 06, 2015 2:58 pm
Smiling at how cute the ulaya still was, he just couldn't help but think of him as a kit still. His size was so small compared to his own and, as much as he regretted it, he still hadn't met many ulayas, especially as kind as he was. "I hadn't realized my flight had done so much for you, Kimi." He rested his chin on the shoulder of his friend and closed his eyes. "It had a great impact on me as well, you know." He thought about the years that passed between now and then, so many to recall. So many stories he could tell and even more, so many times he wondered what the little kit was doing with his life. "You see, if it wasn't for you I would have still been afraid of ulayas and hidden from everyone along my travels. You showed me that there as kindness in the world and it's something that I will never forget." True words is all he spoke to the tan ulaya as they both slowly drifted towards sleepy minds. "I'll never forget."
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