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 Posted: Sun Apr 19, 2015 10:40 am
This is a private RP between my Azami and Jurou, also featuring Jurou's wise cracking dragon friend Shouta. No posting please.   Shouta dragon familiar form
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Posted: Sun Apr 19, 2015 10:42 am
It was a bright spring day in the foothills of the Easterland Mountains but despite the sunlight the air was still chilled and the ground was still covered in a scant few inches of snow. The tracks of animals were clearly visible in the powder going all the way down to the bottom of the piled snow except for one particular trail. The trail in question was no bigger than six inches across and barely even dented the surface of the snow. It belonged to a mare with brilliant crimson wings and scales that was almost the size of a kitten at the moment. Not wanting to draw attention to herself while she was in the area she had shrunk herself down as small as the crossbreed could manage. This was not a safe area to be in. She had heard tales of a cursed tree just south of the mountains that birthed the terrible monsters known as skinwalkers. Many skilled fighters had come to the area looking to rid the world of the hellish creatures and many had fallen in their attempt.
It was those vanquished souls that had brought Azami out to such dangerous territory. She was no fighter; if she was attacked she would likely be killed but spirits of those killed in battle were known to her family to be more restless. Her relatives all had some great story of calling forth and soothing some poor ghost trapped in the world by their need to avenge their untimely deaths. In all those stories the spirit was always ravaging some herd or another and making life generally unbearable and soothing them always left her relatives known as heroes. Azami wanted to be a hero like the others in her family. There was just one little problem, she had never heard so much as a whisper from a ghost. She’d never felt the tiniest tremor or drop in temperature that hadn’t come from night falling. As far as mediums went she was a perfect failure. She hoped that coming out into territory of many restless spirits would awaken something inside of her and she’d be able to make her family proud.
There was just a small detail she didn’t know, her entire family was made up of frauds.
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Posted: Sun Apr 19, 2015 5:12 pm
“Why are we out here?” Shouta’s clipped tones gave away how annoyed he was at being out in the cold. Jurou couldn’t quite blame him. A few days ago they had been offered a long stay full of pampering and delicious, fresh food brought in whenever they wanted it all in exchange for a little jeweled crown they had swiped off the head of a sleeping mare. Unfortunately the directions they had received had dropped them nowhere near a hot spring.
“You know why we’re out here!” Jurou snapped back at the dragon riding his back figuratively and literally. “We went exactly where that guy said to go. ‘Head east’ he says. We went east. ‘Follow the trail marked by ribbon’ he says. We follow the damn trail and there was nothing there! You saw it Shouta, did that empty patch of rocks look anything like a hot spring to you?” Shouta began grumbling as he shifted on Jurou’s back. Jurou scowled as his partner in crime leaned his back against Jurou’s neck. It was more like pushing really and Jurou grew fed up with it quickly. He came to a sudden stop, planted his hooves in the snow and shook himself violently. Much to his satisfaction he felt Shouta slide right off.
“You really are your father’s b*****d ain’tcha?” Shouta spat as he sat back on his haunches and glared at Jurou. Jurou just snorted.
“What ya think that’s gonna offend me or something?” He asked as a snarky grin crossed his lips. “That old fart named me ‘tenth son’ did you think I was his precious baby or something? Nah, he’s glad I’m not there messing up his good name. Good try though.” Jurou watched as the dragon scrambled to find another insult; one that Jurou hadn’t heard so many times that he’d stopped caring. What did he care if he was illegitimate? He would have had nine brothers to work through before he meant anything and he doubted how legitimate most of those were anyway.
Not being in the spotlight just made slacking off a whole lot easier. It had made walking off in broad daylight without anyone sparing him a second glance possible too. Did they think he was dead now? Would they be relieved that their eyesore wasn’t troubling them anymore? Jurou laughed at the thought. Maybe he’d go back one day just to make sure they knew what an upstanding citizen he was now. He had his own rider now and everything, sure Shouta was no human warrior but it would be Jurou who managed to escape a life at the beck and call of some human in favor of a dragon no more virtuous than himself. He made a mental note to get a good haul and have Shouta ride him in sitting like a human just long enough to see the looks on everyone’s faces.
Jurou looked over at Shouta who was still grasping for something properly insulting to say and rolled his eyes. “C’mon noodle brain, I think we’ve been duped. Let’s go somewhere warm.” Jurou declared as he started his way down the hill. It wasn’t too much of a loss at least, they still had the crown. Jurou’d had Shouta snatch it back just as insurance that this wasn’t all some trick. Rule one in thievery: make sure you get what you’re promised before making a delivery.
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Posted: Sun Apr 19, 2015 5:50 pm
Azami wasn’t even halfway up the slope when she heard voices. He heart soared for the briefest of moments. ‘Why are we out here?’ one voice had questioned. Had she found lost spirits? Would she be able to commune with them at last? She had raced forward tracing the sound of the voices until she was certain that she had found their source. Unfortunately that source turned out to be quite solid and entirely alive. She sighed, initially disheartened but found her own spirits rising as she observed the pair. They were crass but they were also something special. Both of them had unusual black markings on their coats and faces that made them look as though they weren’t real. They looked like something she’d seen in an old scroll painting that her parents had brought with them from their homeland. Humans had made it with ink and brushes and it was pleasing to look at. The painting had depicted a creature that looked exactly like the white one.
“A dragon.” She whispered in awe. It was a real dragon and she tried not to be too disappointed that it was terribly rude. What did she really know of dragons? Only rumors and stories she had been told. Perhaps this was what dragons were really like when they were flesh and not legend? It was slightly upsetting to think but perhaps other parts of legend were true. Dragons were spirit creatures themselves, so perhaps this one could help her speak to the ghosts of the area?
Focusing her energy Azami willed herself to grow to her full size so that she might be heard with little effort on the part of the two men. She wobbled slightly as she stopped growing; changing sizes was always so tiring for her. Once at her full height she made her presence known by stepping closer. Even fully grown she still only just cleared the stallion’s shoulder, the curse of being born of two small creatures.
“Please excuse the interruption.” She said politely. “But… might you be a dragon?” There was no polite way to ask questions about what a person was or was not but she hoped the gentle tone she used would be sufficient enough.
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Posted: Mon May 04, 2015 12:37 pm
Jurou started violently at the sudden appearance of the flutter mare. It felt like his heart had just stopped before deciding to work double time. The long fur on his tail had started to stand up making it look even fluffier than it normally did and his ears had shot straight up. His initial fear had given way to annoyance once he realized that she was really only a little flutter.
“Don’t do that!” He snapped flicking his ears back and shooting the mare a dirty look. In his line of work people sneaking up on you never meant good news. Jurou looked over the mare more carefully. She was crossed with a breed known as a kirin and had a pristine white coat with unusual markings on her legs and red scales on her back. She had a fancy hair style that would take quite a bit of maintenance but she had no valuables to speak of. It looked like she belonged to someone who took good care of her but clearly didn’t have any money to decorate her beyond her unnecessary floofy hair. They couldn’t even afford to give her a clean wrap. The one she had looked like it hadn’t been cleaned for a while and it was stained with something that looked suspiciously like blood. Wait. Blood?
Jurou took a step back and looked the mare over again. She didn’t look dangerous but that was definitely blood. It had to be at least somewhat old though, since the mare herself wasn’t covered in it. Still, Jurou thought twice about brushing past her like he’d been planning on doing. No way was he going to present his back as a target if she turned out to be some psychotic butterfly killer mare.
“What do you want a dragon for?” Jurou asked looking at Shouta. For being such a rare and unusual creature everyone they came across seemed to know exactly what he was. He didn’t think twice about confirming that Shouta was a dragon in a roundabout way. The mare had asked if he was “a dragon” not “the dragon” or anything else that indicated that Shouta had gotten himself in hot water. There had been a few instances where people had come looking for Shouta but they’d always bristled at the sight of him and started cursing their heads off. He also hadn’t even considered for a second that the mare might be trying to kill Shouta. Judging from the glare that Shouta was giving him, however, that was exactly what Shouta thought she was here for.
“You ain’t gonna kill him right?” Jurou drawled rolling his eyes at Shouta. “Cause it’s not my style to hurt girls but I will if you try anything.” It really wasn’t his style to hurt anyone but it wasn’t like he’d kept too closely to that style. He just preferred not to have to put forward that level of effort in saving his and his dragon’s sorry asses. People just were a bit too reluctant to part with their valuables sometimes.
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Posted: Mon May 04, 2015 1:11 pm
Azami was forced to remind herself, again, that it wasn’t right for her to be disappointed that these two didn’t live up to her expectations. All she had to call on were the tales that she had been fed starting from the time that she was little. No one would tell a charming little girl stories of foul mouthed dragons and their rude companions, not if they wanted her to grow up a well-mannered and subdued lady like her parents had. All the characters in her parents’ stories had been perfectly well behaved and nothing short of noble. The mares were always beautiful with manners that were nothing short of perfect. The stallions were always daring but still gently hearted and entirely heroic. The dragons and other mythical creatures had always been wise, powerful, and just. After such wonderful characters reality was often disappointing for the young Azami. Why would meeting a real dragon be any different? At least he was a dragon, that was still something.
Unfortunately it seemed she was being met with no shortage of hostility. She had almost expected this sort of reception. She had, after all, been spying on them and then barged in on their conversation asking questions that could only be taken as rude. She flushed slightly but didn’t back down. They hadn’t outright shunned her and this could be her big chance.
“I was hoping that it could guide me.” She answered calmly and clearly making sure each word came out without any trace of a rushed slur. If she wanted to be taken seriously she had to not just seem composed, but be composed. Azami had been preparing to explain her motives when the next question startled her out of her own thoughts. She couldn’t quite process what had just been said nor could she quite comprehend why he had said it.
“Kill him? No, no I would never!” She exclaimed taking a step back. It hadn’t occurred to her to be worried by these two before, considering that one was a dragon, but there was no mistaking the threat that had just been delivered. True it was under the condition that she act hostile towards them first but that really wasn’t the point. At least it wasn’t for Azami. Her desire to be an accomplished medium outweighed her desire to get away from the two that immediately assumed she meant them harm.
“Look, I was only asking because I wanted a little help. I’m trying to speak to the dead, you see, and it’s a well-known fact that dragons are quite magical so I was hoping that your dragon could help me.” Her calm and clear demeanor had completely vanished she was so anxious to get the explanation out. At this point she just wanted a quick yes or a no from them.
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Posted: Sun Jun 07, 2015 4:27 pm
It was good that the mare didn’t want to kill Shouta. It wasn’t exactly a relief though; Jurou would have had to be worried that it was a serious possibility in the first place in order to be relieved. Still, he could tell that Shouta was relaxing, and that was the only thing that he’d been looking to achieve. With that mission accomplished he could focus on the fact that the mare was clearly a few leaves short of a salad.
“You want Shouta to guide you?” Jurou asked skeptically doing his best not to laugh outright. It was one thing for Jurou to let the dragon lead him around, the two had known each other long enough to know that purposefully leading the other astray was a dumb idea, but this mare was willingly putting herself in harm’s way. Maybe Shouta wouldn’t kill her but the odds of him guiding her straight into a foul smelling bog just for fun were high. Her actual reasoning for wanting to follow Shouta around were even more ridiculous than Jurou could have imagined. “To talk to the dead?”
Jurou and Shouta traded looks. Jurou quirked an eyebrow and tilted his head slightly. Shouta rolled his eyes in response before crossing them and sticking out his tongue. It didn’t take the pair long to burst out laughing. Shouta was writhing around on the ground with his dexterous paws clutching at his belly. Jurou was laughing so hard that he could barely breathe. After several minutes of deep belly laughing Jurou found himself on his side with tears in his eyes as he started to choke on his own cackles. Shouta had switched from grabbing at his stomach to slapping Jurou’s haunches with the back of his paw.
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Posted: Sun Jun 07, 2015 4:41 pm
Azami was less amused by the entire situation. She had never been forced to endure ridicule like this and she wasn’t sure how she was meant to react. Custom would insist on her remaining straight faced but she could feel heat rising to her face and she was certain that her cheeks were flushing beneath her snowy coat.
“Please, this isn’t a joke.” She pleaded feeling more out of her depth than she ever had before. It was worse than the first time she’d tried to contact a spirit in front of her grandmother and failed entirely. Her grandmother had spent hours consoling her after her failure but Azami knew there would be no consolation coming from the pair in front of her. It was enough to make her lose her temper.
“Enough already!” She shouted stamping one red hoof firmly into the ground. “If you are not willing to help me then I’ll go. I had only hoped to find some way to honor my family.” Azami had turned her head away from the two as though she were completely fed up with them, which she was, but every so often she would peek at them out of the corner of her eye. She still hoped that they would find it in their hearts to assist her but she was beginning to doubt it. They were nothing like the characters in her stories because she doubted anyone could have imagined a pair so rude to begin with.
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Posted: Sun Jun 07, 2015 5:01 pm
Jurou slowly managed to catch his breath but he didn’t bother to get back to his feet. Shouta was sprawled on the ground beside him still snickering and it nearly made Jurou burst out laughing once more. He refrained and instead peered up at the small mare from his place on the ground.
“Look, sweetheart, I don’t know what people have been telling you but dragons aren’t all that special.” Jurou said dismissively. The girl was beginning to get on his nerves with her attempts at ordering them about and her talk of family honor. It was a little too much of a reminder of literally everything he hated in the world.
“This one here,” he continued gesturing to Shouta. Shouta lazily raised a paw and waved it back and forth before snorting with laughter. He found the idea of being a spirit guide a lot funnier to him than is was to Jurou. “He’s a lot more interested in getting some warm food in his belly than he is in doing silly little girls from the sticks favors.” At this Jurou rolled onto his belly and pushed himself to his feet before pushing his way past her to head back down the mountain. “So do yourself a favor and go home kid. And stop pissing off strangers. You don’t know what they might do to you.”
Shouta stopped laughing at Jurou’s sudden shift in demeanor and sat up to look at him, his paws resting on his knees. Not wasting a second he scurried up onto Jurou’s back and tugged at his ear. “That’s harsh for you.” He muttered unable to keep the curiosity out of his voice.
“It’ll be good for her.” Jurou muttered back. “Gotta learn that not everything’s happy in the real world, right?”
Shouta shrugged and turned around to lounge against Jurou’s neck. “Sure, but girl like that probably lives in luxury, creepy as she is. We coulda found out where and checked the place out. “
“Maybe next time, general. Some other girl. That one’s a pain in the a**.” Jurou snorted with finality.
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Posted: Sun Jun 07, 2015 5:02 pm
Azami was stunned, heartbroken, and terrified all at once when the stallion stood and started speaking to her. She hadn’t expected things to backfire so badly on her. Never in her life had she met a person that wouldn’t help a stranger uphold their family’s honor, but then she had never been forced to endure the company of anyone like this stallion before. She felt like she might be sick when he pushed past her. He was easily twice her size and he was threatening her almost openly. Hadn’t he just said that it wasn’t his style to hurt women? Had it been a lie?
He passed without harming her but that didn’t stop Azami from shaking like a leaf in a strong wind. She had been foolish to approach them. She didn’t know anything about them, she’d only wanted to fix herself so badly that she’d ignored all rational thought.
Once the sound of the stallion’s hoof steps faded away into silence Azami slumped down and hung her head low. She couldn’t honor her family ways like this. Not charging into things blindly like a child. If she was going to learn how to speak to the dead she needed to approach it with more sense. (And possibly also with a body guard.)
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