Private Tales Where We Belong

[Izerth]

As quietly as she could Izerth rushed through the forest blinded by fear. With no knowledge of where she was or any idea where she was heading to, the young dragon still felt smothered by the images of titans crashing before everything was set ablaze and everyone turned out to be scattered. Unsure if more of their enemies were hiding here she hurried. There were slivers of hope that her friends had managed to escape. Oris was a big dragon, a strong one, and he would always take care of Freya, in that there was no doubt in Izerth’s mind. The others were massive but so had been the moving trees. Having burnt as many as she could of the smaller ones, Izerth had passed out when a huge trunk did hit her in the side. Upon awakening and crawling from under the many layers of earth and leaves, she had found ash and smoke, twitching enemies, remains of the battle fiercely fought. And now she was running. Flying where she could, but her side was heavily bruised and prevented her from simply taking to the sky. White scales were painted black and grey by ash and smeared out mud. Still, she was alive and she planned to find the home they had been moving toward. First, however, she had to find a hiding spot, a hunting ground, and rest until she was able to fly without interruption once again.

*​

Sleeping in various places with eyes not only red from birth but from exhaustion, the dragon finally found a spot that reminded her of time long gone. A waterfall, with fish swimming around in the river, and small caves surrounding it. After a fight with one of the natives, some reptile creature half her size, she took its home after consuming most of her kill. The rest drifted away with the force of the water while she swam around to clean her body from the long journey. The water was as pleasant as usually. This time, however, for another reason than the refreshing current and the many fish she could hunt, it caused her bruised side to feel lighter and soothed it a bit. It’s why she spent a lot of time with only her head sticking out of the blue water while the thundering sound of the waterfall echoed from somewhere behind her.

*​

A couple of days passed, maybe a bit more. Time was vague as she slept, swam and ate a lot. Her bruised side had come a long way and she hoped to fly after a couple more days. The problem was that she still had no idea what direction to go. If judging by the sunset she had some orientation, but finding where her friends might have settled by now would take quite some time. If she would ever make it -- who knew how many of those monstrous trees were still lurking around.

Walking out of the water she shook off some of it until a soft pang reminded her not to move so rashly. Carefully stretching her wings Izerth was glad to feel no pain. This meant that gliding after gaining altitude wouldn’t be a problem. Perhaps she could move out today, she wondered, feeling impatient about meeting up with the others. Throughout the days here her hope to find them alive and well had grown. If she, one of the smallest, had managed, then surely the others would have too.

* * *
Szesh, I'm finally here ^_^​

 

[Szesh]

It had been a very busy time for Szesh lately. Back to back jobs and extensive travel had left his purse heavy, but his body and mind tired. It was time, he had decided, to take a break.

He had not spent much time in the wilds lately, and the forest was soothing. It was quite different from the high altitude woods of the Spine that he had grown up around, but it was much nicer than coarse sand or dull fields... and certainly much nicer than the unforgiving tundra. The dirt was soft and cool beneath his feet, and he had discarded his wool vest some time ago to a trader with "very large relatives," so he said.

He enjoyed listening to the forest. The birds, the drip of rain off of leaves. It reminded him of home. Or... what had been his home. The destruction of his home village still hurt bitterly, even in spite of the burning scar on his back. He had decided that it was natural to feel such loss, even those his home had cast him out decades ago. He felt shame for his exile, and that shame was rooted in love of his people, and knowing he had betrayed them. He knew he would never see them again regardless... but somehow this destruction felt more permanent.

In any case, it had been more or less and good vacation. He approached the waterfall, infinitely black eyes scanning the surroundings. Most of the pool was obscured by leaves, but when he got to the water's edge he saw her.

A dragon.

A small dragon, but a dragon nonetheless. Szesh froze. He knew they existed, of course, his people's mythology leaned heavily on them, and he had heard tales of the great black dragon of the west and some rumors of one made from stone and fire itself. Still, he had never seen one.

He certainly would not have sought her out. Dragons were sacred to his people and they were to be respected. That respect, however, came with a healthy understanding of their power, and knowing not to meddle in the affairs of gods.

He knelt by the river's edge, averting his eyes. He did not wish to disturb the creature and should move away, leave her to herself... but he gave in to his curiosity. She was beautiful, and he could not help but want to stay close. He leaned down and pooled the cool water in his hands, taking a drink. Perhaps she would simply leave him be. That was probably preferable, for she could just as easily kill him.

 

[Izerth]

Somewhat lost in thoughts the appearance of the stranger first went entirely unnoticed by Izerth. Soon, however, she lazily turned to head back toward the waterfall and noticed the stranger. Immediately tensing in case of the creature being hostile she found it drinking from the clear water. The stance and way he or she moved didn’t really make sense to the young dragon. They seemed so alike but she carried herself differently, less humanoid.

Who was this?

Those dark eyes were looking into the water, she assumed that this meant there would be no fighting. Still, with the memories of the battle quite fresh, she wondered if it was better to leave. The wings on the newcomer might catch up with her, but there was no reason not to try and get away. Unless they could bond.

The latter thought had her hesitating. After a few moments she turned to the water took a couple of quick steps, a leap, and sailed across the water until her wings gave her some altitude. Not too high, she went, but after a couple of long moments and the air pleasantly caressing her scales she gave into her curiosity and turned to make a circle.

“Who are you, stranger?” she asked, telepathically, after landing a third of a distance that’s been between them before. Closer now, she took in the appearance, the liquid silver, the figure. They might be the same in height if she was to walk the way he did, but he was broader. Too humanoid to be like Oris and her. Not like Freya, though. Far from it.

“I am Izerth the White,” there wasn’t much else she could reveal to him yet. First she had to find out what he was doing here aside from drinking. Perhaps, if he was a traveller, because he certainly looked like one with the human equipment, he would know more accurately than she did where they were and how to get to the Isles. To their promised land. To their new home.

Perhaps he, too, belonged with them?

* * *​

 

[Szesh]

He kept his head down, though he could see the edge of the dragon from his periphery. When she took flight he could not help himself stealing a few more glimpses. She was pearly white and seemed to glimmer in the dappled light.

Her voice in his mind startled him, and he looked up at once. She was still some ways off, but she was looking at him. Her voice was... younger sounding than he had expected, but she was small. Dragons came in all shapes and sizes, he knew, but he had witnessed precious few of them firsthand.

She gave her name, and it was unmistakable now that it was indeed the dragon who was speaking. He remained kneeling, and bowed his head low as he gave his name. "I am Szesh," he called across the way. He lifted his head so that he could see her more clearly, but he did not make eye contact. Not that she would have known, of course. His eyes were far too dark to betray any direction to his gaze.

His mind had all but stopped. He wished to know what celestial events had transpired to bring him to a Great One, but at the same time he was too astounded to think.

 

[Izerth]

As he continued to be calm she gained more courage and came as close as she thought to be polite. Only a couple of huge steps separated them now. From his voice she figured that he was male and older than her. The last bit wasn’t very hard, she was but a fast growing toddler among the dragons. A very curious one at that.

“It is nice to meet you Szesh,” she let him now genuinely. They were alike enough for her to feel glad that it was him and no other living being that had disrupted her peaceful haven near the waterfall. Aside from that she wondered if he, too, could fly. Perhaps spit fire like she did.

All the questions lingered while she started to circle him in order to get to know his scent. Apparently he had travelled on the ground, like she had. Her eyes studied his wings. He didn’t appear wounded, maybe he couldn’t fly or.. he preferred the earth above the sky. Which wouldn’t make sense to her, but everyone was different.

Coming back to the front where she watched his dark eyes as if looking at the night sky, Izerth then playfully slid into the water with her wings pressed tightly against her body. He might have noticed the bruise, a faint pink and a couple of missing scales, but she didn’t mind. Still underwater, she continued their conversation.

“If you’re willing to join a hunt, we could have a meal together.” The offer went while she swam and shower her ruby red eyes when floating up to catch a breath. “You can swim, it’s very pleasant, there is a lot of fish here, too. Though, I would prefer to catch something bigger, if you’re for that, Szesh?”

Izerth’s tail moved like a snake, zigzagging while she let him think on the offer. Having been alone for a while now, and being quite unaccustomed to that, she found the idea of company quite soothing. Hopefully he would accept the idea of sharing a meal after an exciting hunt.

* * *
Szesh​

 

[Szesh]

His heart thundered in his chest as she approached him. She did not appear to be hostile, in fact she was being very friendly. Still, the power of the creature in front of him could not be overstated, and he continued to avoid sudden movements. He did watch her as she circled him, gently turning his head to keep an eye on her, and he straightened up a little bit, though he still knelt by the water's edge. "It is... nice to meet you as well," he answered. This was not how the interactions were described in myth.

She gracefully swept herself into the water, and Szesh could feel his nerves relax a little. It felt like he had passed some sort of test, and he was pleased. He would have been content to gaze at her for hours. Her scales were stunning, an opalescent shimmer beneath the water. Her eyes burned like rubies, made all the more bright by the colorless scales around them.

He lifted his head still higher as she proposed a hunt, and his wings fell open just a bit. "Yes," he blurted out at first, his mouth speaking before his mind could catch up. Of course he wanted to hunt with her, to participate in such a thing was the stuff of legends, and to be invited... it was unheard of.

A touch of doubt entered his mind. He was outcast, exiled, shamed by his people. Was he worthy to hunt with a Great One? Would his very presence insult her? He quashed these thoughts quickly. No, she had seen his scar, she had made her observations and still offered. Besides, who was he to refuse an offer from a dragon? Surely the greater insult to her kind would be to decline.

"Yes, I would like that," he followed up, doing his best to compose himself and speak intelligently. "A large catch would be... very good." He felt very, very simple compared to this creature. 'Very good?' It was a profound understatement, but he could not think of more extravagant words at the moment. Truthfully, Draconian language was not as flowery as the softer-skinner races, with fewer words. They did not like to waste time speaking.

It suddenly dawned on him that he had been speaking to Izerth in his native language. She appeared to understand all the same, however. A small bit of pride filled his breast. Perhaps his people had kept their language close enough to the draconic tongues that it was understandable by their progenitors.