Xanadu Weyr - Forest
This broad path that leads from the main clearing into the forest has been designed in such a manner so as to be not only wide enough for wagons to travel through, but also providing ample space for dragons. The path appears only worn in the center though, as most of the traffic moving through this area is that of the two-legged kind. Flowers sprout up and speckle the lush grass with bright saffron and cheeky rose, creeping all the way up to the bases of the trees that rise upward in their aged magnificence, gargantuan limbs casting often welcome shade, the general atmosphere and scent of the path is one of freshness and wild abandon.
The path winds its way leisurely through the trees, deeper into the forest and a number of less traveled paths branch away from it. Southwest leads to the forest's edge near the base of the tumbled rocks that mark the wilder areas of the forest and the mountains that rise behind Xanadu. West leads to the Firelizard Theater, northeastward the path leads to the feeding grounds and beyond that the gravel road that bisects the paddocks leading to the bovine complex. East leads to the meadow where it joins both the road that crosses the bridge over the river leading to the clearing and the the coastal road that leads out of Xanadu bypassing the beach and the Caspian Lake. Here there are secluded spots where one might picnic.
Kanekith is hungry. Lately, Kanekith is always hungry. Perhaps it's one of those 'growing dragon' things in which the stomach seems permanently empty. But! The silver lining is this: Kanekith is a pretty good hunter (granted, with penned animals, how could one not be?) and Ka'el needn't worry about having to provide food for him. In fact, if the bronze weren't so prone to wandering to satisfty his unsatiable curiosity, he'd likely send him off to hunt without supervision. But as it is, Ka'el has walked the bronze to the feeding grounds and left him there to do his thing while he spends a little quality time with another bronze. He, Alloy, and his bag of firestone have taken refuge in the forest to wait out Kanekith. It's dark out this evening, though the sky remains clear and the night warm. Ka'el has climbed a tree and lounge with his back against the trunk and a glow resting on his belly, illuminating him. Alloy zips in and out of the tree branches. And the firestone bag? Well, it's on the ground…being a bag of firestone.
It's a BFF! That'd be a Bag of … Firestone. Soriana has one too, slung over her shoulder as she and Luraoth make their way between the trees. It's getting difficult for the gold dragon to manage that as she grows larger, though recently Kanekith has begun to pull ahead in size once more. Must be all those herdbeasts he's eating! Still, Luraoth's growing as well, and it's only her natural grace that lets her still take these paths without lumbering into a tree. The dragon leads the way, and Soriana walks by her side, the two of them moving at an easy pace… the better to not crash into anything.
Seems like getting something to eat has been the mission of the day, Idrissa and Tahryth are making their way towards the feeding ground. The green's wings fluttering a few times while she bounces on towards the fence. « So.. Can I go now..? » Idrissa glances to her green and smirks a bit. "We're going there soon, promise." A slight grumble could perhaps be heard from the dragon a this but she follows along.
Somebody is coming through the forest! Somebody who is very large. Oh look! It's a dragon. Even though it's nighttime, that does not seem to render Ka'el suddenly blind to the appearance of a young, yet large, gold. He perks a little, brows lifting. He knows that face, and if Luraoth's here, then that means… He grins, glancing around, though alas he has nothing to toss down at her! Nothing but bark, which he flakes from the tree while attempting to dim the light of his glow by pulling the jar beneath his shirt. His eyes narrow, trying to get a good enough look at the human instead of the dragon before he takes aim. Toss. …Toss. …Toss. One of those is eventually bound to hit its mark, right? Maybe. Or maybe it'll hit Idrissa, who is arriving now too.
Luraoth is many things. Invisible… not so much. Young and small she may be, but those are both very relative terms here. Maybe Soriana on her own could have passed for invisible in the night… maybe. If she got lucky. With Luraoth, not so much - but she doesn't notice Ka'el at first, because she instead hears a voice! A voice that sounds… Idrissa-like? It's while she's looking around for the source of that that she gets a piece of bark bouncing off her head. Good shot? She turns around to stare up at the treetops for the avian responsible. But, wait! That's no bird. Nor is it a plane! "Ka'el!"
Idrissa is indeed very like herself! Her gaze turns to some movement in front of her and she tilts her head with a soft ah escaping her which is about all she can say before something hits her. She blinks and glances around trying to figure out what hit her. She leans down and picks up the piece of bark. Soriana's voice is then caught and her gaze turns towards them. "Soriana?" Tahryth warbles out looking towards her golden sibling, which she is easily caught sight off in the forest.
Ka'el! And Alloy! Don't forget about meeeee! The bronze, who in Ka'el's eyes seems to have shrunk now that Kanekith has joined their little mindbonded family and serves as a comparison, zips in with a chirrup of a greeting, circling above Soriana's head. Hello hello! He remembers you! Granted, he sees you in the barracks but everyone is busy busy busy or tired tired tired and he has been busy busy busy himself so hello and goodbye! Chirpchirp! And then he's off again, fluttering back into the trees. Ka'el snickers, quietly celebrating as at least one of his barkbombs has hit its mark, unaware that Idrissa has been bombed too. But he can't hide in the dark thanks to the glow that's glowing beneath his shirt like a muted beacon, and thus he pulls it out, illuminating himself more. "Yes?" he says innocently to Soriana, brows raised. "Something wrong?" His eyes turn at Idrissa's voice, and the last piece of bark that he has between his fingers (evidence!) is quickly tossed her way.
And Alloy! Soriana grins up at the littlest bronze as he flies past her. "Hi!" she says to him, and Luraoth sends a very delicate and gentle brush of mental warmth that, to the firelizard… probably feels kind of like sunbathing. At noon. At Ista. These things are relative. Soriana smirks up to the illuminated Ka'el. "Wrong? Of course not." She combs her free hand through her shortened hair, then gives it a shake back into place as she takes a step closer… and her toe nudges the firestone sack. A glance down, and then back up. "Not unless we count that." Nudge, nudge goes her toe at the bag. Abandoned! Left behind! Gasp. The greeting Luraoth sends to Tahryth is less cautious, and also it contains words. « Hello! We are here. » Soriana looks back, for… oh, yeah, there they are… and waves to Idrissa before realizing, right, dark. "Heya!" she calls.
Idrissa blinks and casts a glance towards the trees and then a glance back to Tahryth whom seems sure nothing is wrong. « How are you Luraoth? » The green is already moving over to her larger sibling, nosing against the other's side even in greeting. Rissa follows before another bit of bark is tossed her way and she grunts a moment. "Is that Ka'el doing then?" She seems amused more than anything; a slight smirk is sent to Soriana before she looks up at the tree.
That's one thing Alloy likes about his big kin: They are kind! Warm feelings are greatly appreciated, and he would, in his way, let her know that they are if he wasn't so busy popping between to go to who knows where to do who knows what with who knows whom, leaving Ka'el to fend for himself. He peers down at the girls, continuing to feign innocence by pretending not to notice Idrissa at all while he lifts his brows at Soriana. And his BFF that's been left so abandoned and forlorn down there. "What? That? .. That was a kindness done by me," he says as he crosses his arms across his chest and presses his back agaist the tree's trunk firmly. "If y'must know, my sack is afraid've heights. I tried bringin' it up here with me, and you should've heard the noise. It wasn't worth the racket, y'see. Plus, I didn't want to scar it for life. So, if left it down while I went up." Pretty legitimate excuse, right? He looks to Idrissa upon hearing his name. "Ka'el doing what? I'm not doing anything." At all. Honest!
Maybe Alloy can go cheer up Haruhi. The golden firelizard may have gotten over her initial surprise at Luraoth, but she's still rather annoyed at no longer being the biggest and shiniest around. Worse yet (according to Haruhi), the gold dragon doesn't even acknowledge that there's a competition to be had! Such a sulky firelizard. Worserer still, Toral's mostly hanging out with Inkfoot instead of doting on her. (Probably because he's smart.) An attentive firelizard or three to boss around would be just the thing for Haruhi's mood. For the moment, though, Soriana's got her firelizard mostly tuned out as she peers up at Ka'el. "Oh, is that so?" she asks, giving the sack another poke as she peers down at it. "S'shame. You better watch out, it might fall in with a bad crowd down here. There's some rough influences. I heard that rock's wanted for assault." She nods sagely, as Luraoth arches and nuzzles back at Tahryth, crooning softly. « I am well. How are you? » Her thoughts are a night sky ringed with sunset purple as the green joins her, and Soriana grins to Idrissa as the other girl joins her. "Ka'el is just sitting in a tree with himself." Pause, and then she looks up at him again. "Better watch it, do that too much and you'll go blind."
Idrissa wouldn't know anything about crazy things like firelizards, hers are doing fine, the three, wait no four of them. Yes FOUR. She lifts a hand to rub at her head a moment as another bit of bark baps against her. "Right, if he does anything that may make him go blind up there I think I rather not find out." This said with an amused tone at the idea. A slight shake of her head is seen while she grins. Tahryth warbles out. « I'm well, though very hungrey. I go hunting now! Mine comes with me.. So please excuse her leaving. » Idrissa glances to her dragon and takes in a slight breath before smiling at the pair. "See you all later." She offers and soon enough the two are heading on towards the feeding grounds leaving the two love birds alone in the dark it seems.
"Ah. Shards you're right," remarks Ka'el, brows knitted with concern. "I forgot about the influx've rotten rocks on our weyr. Think they all came from Fort or somethin'. Criminals. Renegades comin' to lead our good rocks an' boulders down the wrong path…" He frowns, giving a glare to the assault rock in question. "Not on my watch." He lifts his glow jar and tucks it beneath an arm before he carefully scales down the tree, one branch at a time before making the last few foot drop to to the ground. "Ha. If I was up there doin' somethin' like that, I.." Er. No wait. He pauses and shakes his head vigorously. "Shut up, Sori." He grins broadly at her, though his attention is soon turned by Tahryth's announcement and her and Idrissa's departure. He lifts a hand to wave at them both. "Kanekith's out there," he says in general…warning? Perhaps. "Do you think she'll do that all the time, forever?" he asks once the greenriding pair are out of sight, and hopefully earshot. "Speak to everyone?"
"I heard T'bor stubbed his toe," Soriana says gravely. "Twice." Once might've been coincidence, but twice? Definitely a bad craggy influence. "It's the cliffs there. They make 'em rough." Then, she grins wide as she's told to shut up, and her mouth opens (in flagrant disregard to that instruction), only… an announcement from Tahryth! So instead of whatever retort she was going to make, Sori says, "Seeya Idrissa." « Good hunting! » sends Luraoth, with a tinge of anticipation despite the fact that she's not actually hungry at this exact moment and she and hers have no plans to go to the feeding grounds tonight. Nevertheless! Hunting is fun, and young dragons are never far from hunger, just like certain rocks are never far from villainy and ill repute. Soriana glances after the departed pair, then back to Ka'el. "She'll probably grow out of it?" she says, though her tone's uncertain. "At least, out of doing it to everyone. I mean… she's better than she was." Relatively speaking.
"Like we're hopin' she grows out of lickin' people?" remarks Ka'el in an amused tone. "She hasn't licked me, an' I doubt she will, but I've heard stories of her tongue an' where it's been. I didn't even think dragons licked til I met this one." Granted, Ka'el's time spent with dragons has been rather limited. For all he knew, licking could've been all the rave! But if Kanekith's tongue ever lashed out toward someone, it likely wouldn't be for any good reason. Ka'el moves now to check on his satchel, purposefully kicking away any stray rocks and pebbles hat are nearby. "Shards! You were right, Soriana. They were closin' in. I'll never make that mistake again." A pointed glare is given to the innocent looking pieces of stone before he sets his glow jar down on the ground to approach her with free hands. "Hey, c'mon let's practice," he says, offering his hand to her. "We've got an exam comin' up on this whole .. which fork to use after salads but before soup thing comin' up, right?"
"She's not the first dragon I've known to lick things," Soriana says, then huhs. "…that was a green too." Fun facts! Not that all dragons of a color are alike, of course. Sori grins. "She is getting better, but… well… I don't think we'll be seeing her on Quasar anytime soon." Or ever. Tahryth the diplomat with her gift of tongues! …not so much. "Gotta keep an eye out," Soriana agrees with mock solemnity about those dastardly rocks, then tilts her head slightly to Ka'el as he comes toward her. Oh wait uh- "That's the fish course, right?" Or is it? Now she isn't sure. Why do they have to go and make eating dinner so complicated? It's… dastardly. Just like those rocks. She hefts her own sack of rocks - well, firestone - and tosses it over to join Ka'el's. It's a good throw, on account of she's been practicing. Their BFFs can hang out together for a while and watch each other's backs. "I haven't got long," Soriana says as she sets her hand in Ka'el's, in the elegant up and fingers curved down position that is (she has been assured) the proper and ladylike one. It took her hours of practice, and she's still not convinced it looks right. "We've got night patrols." In fact, she and Luraoth were just heading off to the wher dens… but then she got hit in the head with bark, and since she was running early… well. There's no point in being too early. It's impolite! And etiquette is so very, very important.
Ka'el takes her practicedly elegant hand and nods. "Me either, especially with Tahryth out there now. He'll kill everything on sight, just to show that he can. Then he'll overeat it all. Then … heh, yeah." A wonderful mental picture, that! A sea of blood and amputated limbs. An engorged bronze, sick to his stomach. And, likely, a green chastising him for it all! "And yeah, I think it's the fish." A pause. "At least, I'm pretty sure." Apparently he's in need of more studying when it comes to courses. Her held hand is lifted to his lips to press a kiss to before he grins and holds it up and out to one side, while his other loops around her to have his hand rest upon her back, just below her shoulderblade, her hand to his shouler, if she so pleases. Space is kept between their bodies, as would be appropriate for a dance between delegates. And thus, a classic and simple two-step ensues. Quick quick, slow, slow. Quick quick, slow slow. In time with an unheard melody, he leads her around in a small circle. Practicing their steps. Dancing with a smile. "Whenver this dance happens that V'dim (or was it Anoryn?) talked about, will you save one for me?"
Oh, yes, a lovely picture indeed. Torn limbs strewn carelessly across a field scattered with crimson blood and stark white bone… « Can we hunt after patrols? » Luraoth asks hopefully. Soriana laughs, and gives a mental assent that makes the gold chirp happily before settling down onto her side. "It is polite to eat what you're served," she says, and grins. "No sending it back." Especially not pre-chewed! While they have this charming conversation on matters of grace and style, Soriana tilts her head demurely (it's almost convincing) while Ka'el kisses her hand, then lifts her other one to rest upon his shoulder. As is proper, these touches of hands are the only contact between them, and she even lets him lead. Quick quick, slow slow, dancing in a circle in the soft light of a glow. "Of course I will," she says, with what's definitely a smile for the dancing - or was that the dancing partner? The smile turns teasing. "Whether etiquette permits it or not."
It isn't a lengthy dance. The invisible band doesn't play long, for they have another gig to get to. Soriana has her duties. And Ka'el has damage prevention to tend to. Everyone is busy, as they have been for months with no signs of slowing down, and although he'd love to dance the night away with her, and perfect these steps that he already knows and needs no further practice, he know that he cannot. And so with her promise of a dance and a grin to her additional comment, he slows and spins her once to end the session. "Good. But make sure you practice before then. Y've two left dragon feet," he teases as his hand draws away from hers only so that he can try to tackle her with his arms. Rawr, hug! And a squeeze laced with as much affection as playfulness, and a purposefully rough kiss to the cheek. "Have fun on you wher patrol," he offers with a grin before letting her go to retrieve his satchel, lugging it over his shoulder, and heading off to the feeding grounds.
One of these nights, the band will play until dawn and Soriana's dance card will be torn into confetti because she doesn't need it. Tonight is not that night. She spins underneath Ka'el's arm to make the skirt she isn't wearing swirl out just prior to being spread in an imaginary curtsy. The formal dance is over. "The better to step on yours," she retorts, and then… rawr! Hug! She laughs as her arms wrap around him in return, bridging all that delegate's distance to crush him against her for one firm but very brief moment. "Oh, I will," she agrees. "Long's you can keep Kanekith from bringing down the watch dragon with his massacre, anyhow!" And if he doesn't, well… maybe she'll have even more fun? "Seeya." And with that, she scoops up her sack-o-stone and heads off down the path with Luraoth following.