New acquaintances [Nayelli]

[Mali]

Varden was currently alone. He was never alone technically. Taured was present in the back of his mind, not paying attention to what his dragon was thinking and doing. They had separated in search of dinner. Taured was able to enter the tavern while Varden was too big to be able to enter the establishment. It was a downfall for being a dragon. There was also the fact that the amount of food Varden would eat, Taured couldn’t afford to bring out to him.

So here he was, chasing rabbits for dinner. It should be easy to catch a rabbit! Then again, he’d never caught his food before; Taured had always been there to help him find their food. Even though most elves were vegetarians, Taured wasn’t which made finding food for both of them very easy.

“C’mon you silly rabbits, stay still and let me catch you,” Varden thought to himself. He was in a crouched position, mimicking that of a cat, his head held low and his tail swinging faintly. Wait, why was he swinging his tail? He wasn’t actually a cat! He stopped swinging his tail and his body itched to pounce on the unsuspecting rabbit. The rabbit’s ears twitched, still eating the tall grass it sat in.

He was about to pounce when the rabbit heard the rustle in the grass and bolted off. Growling, he chased after it, losing it in the burrow the rabbit lived in. Stomping his feet, Varden started to get frustrated. How hard could it be to catch an animal and eat it for dinner? Taured and he did it all the time! But then again, Taured was able to set snares and had an opposable thumb to help him with his hunting. Varden didn’t. But he couldn’t just give up, contact Taured and ask for his help.

A thought crossed his mind about burning the rabbits before they could reach their burrow. There was one main reason he wouldn’t do it though. He would set the rest of the forest on fire. He couldn’t just go around starting forest fires because he wasn’t able to catch a meal. That wouldn’t end well with the rider’s council.

It was then that he spotted a deer far off in the distance. He could easily catch that, there was no burrow it could hide in and he was far faster than a mere deer. He was about to make his move, slowly, over toward the deer when he noticed something shifting in the corner of his eye. It shimmered in the light and looked to be made out of gold. Moving away from his target, he slowly crept behind the moving shimmering object before he realised it wasn’t an object, but a tail. Looking in front of him, he noticed two eyes staring at him, the deer clearly the target of the creature hidden in the shadows.

“Hello?” Varden whispered, trying not to scare away the deer. Was this another dragon or some new species of reptile that he had discovered? The scales on the tail told him it had to be a reptile or a dragon.

[/blockquote][/blockquote]

[Nayeli]

’introducing
{sunglow*}
featuring--! --! ---! ---!
I don't know if you can see
The changes that have come over me
In these last few days I've been afraid
That I might drift away
I've been telling old stories, singing songs
That make me think about where I've come from
That's the reason why I seem
So far away today

The hunt, it was upon myself to get what I needed and I was tired of fatty cattle that were raised near the city. I allowed the air to run over my scales, the sun to bath me in life giving light until I got to forest not far from the City. It was still a good ways away, but I knew I was not too far from home. Tasia was enjoying dinner with Leilani Richards and Taeli, the Were-tiger and I knew she was good hands. I flew until I saw a good enough clearing and I landed, my body bending and hitting with a loud thump. I allowed my eyes to search the forest, my ears scanned for the sound of anything within’ the forest. I caught the scent of some deer and I moved towards them, going through the forest as quietly as I could before realizing they were too far for stalking. I needed to take to the skies!

My wings opened, my golden body moving through the sky quickly and heading towards the scent I had found. As I moved, the scent of another dragon was clear and I recognized it as the scent of Varden, a much older dragon that I found very handsome, but those were my thoughts and I did not need to bother anyone with them. I sometimes allowed Tasia to hear them, but I tried hard not to allow her to be bothered by them. As I flew over, I swore I saw him, but I did not pay attention, I was after the deer and he was probably hunting his own food. As the herd came into view, I began a dive towards them. They didn’t have time to react before I had grabbed two, one with my tail and the other with my sharp teeth. My tail held down the other one while I ate the first deer.

I had scared the others towards the forest and I just didn’t pay attention anymore. I was feasting on the remainder of the first deer when the sound of something touched my ears. I lifted my tail, causing my second meal to run off, but I moved silently through the forest. I licked the blood from my face and crouched down as I saw another deer, who’s eyes were full of fear. ”Hello?” The voice came to my mind and I flicked my tail. ”Hello, Master Varden… I see you are hunting.”

[/color] Only he would hear my thoughts, so the deer would not be frightened away.
[/blockquote][/blockquote]

Now I have moved and I've kept on moving
Proved the points that I needed proving
Lost the friends that I needed losing
Found others on the way
I have kissed the fellas and left them crying
Stolen dreams, yes, there's no denying
I have traveled hard, sometimes with conscience flying
Somewhere with the wind

’word count four. two. six.
’tagged varden
’song Caledonia--! Celtic Woman
’post status done or undone
’template creator nayeli

[/size]

[Mali]

Varden was surprised to find another dragon this far out and away from their rider. He knew a few of the younger dragons but didn’t have all their names committed to memory. Partly because he had yet to meet all the younger dragons and partly because there were so many of them. He knew most that were hatched within just a few years, but this dragon escaped his memory. Had he yet to meet this dragon? But this dragon seemed to know his name, she even called him ‘Master’.

Now he felt bad for not knowing this dragon’s name. He cleared his throat, standing up a bit more from his crouched position and looked the dragon over. She was beautiful. She shimmered in the sunlight looking as if she were made from gold. Her eyes caught his attention the most, the beautiful shade of a brilliant yellow mixed with fine pieces/flecks of gold.

He realised that he had been staring for a rather long time and looked away, only glancing back at her from the corner of his eye. He had had a talk with Ace about whether he would mate before. He said that he would prefer a dragon closer to his age, as it would make him feel less like a creepy, elderly dragon. However, looking upon this beautiful creature before him, he lost his concern for age. It was a good thing that he wasn’t able to blush.

“Hello, I regret that I do not know your name while you know mine...”

[/b] He trailed off for a bit, bowing his head to the female dragon out of respect for another of his species.

It was then that Taured entered his mind briefly and Varden had to push him aside and out of the conversation, stating that he was having an important conversation and that he would rather not be interrupted. This caused Taured to laugh and say that he wouldn’t enter his mind any time soon so go get ‘em.

Varden turned back to face the dragon before him with a smile about his features. It had been quite a while since he last had a conversation with another dragon without Taured or another rider being around. This would be a nice conversation.

“Yes, I am having a difficult time. I was chasing rabbits until I found one of the deer you seem to have frightened,”[/b] At this he couldn’t help but chuckle. Who’d have thought that he would need advice talking to females? He felt awkward and was glad that he wasn’t able to sweat right now. That would be embarrassing. If only Ace were here, so they could make a plan of attack at this conversation. He would just have to wing it and hope that he didn’t embarrass himself as he had watched Ace do while trying to talk to women.[/size][/blockquote][/blockquote]

[Nayeli]

’introducing
{sunglow*}
featuring--! --! ---! ---!
I don't know if you can see
The changes that have come over me
In these last few days I've been afraid
That I might drift away
I've been telling old stories, singing songs
That make me think about where I've come from
That's the reason why I seem
So far away today

I flicked the end of my tail, looking at the deer who knew she was being watched by two dragons but too scared to run away. She was trapped and I knew that. I was not sure if the elder dragon knew who I was, but I didn’t mind. I had made it my mission to know all the dragons, to be familiar with them and their scents. I had lived for five years and I made it my mission. And it didn’t help that the Persian green dragon was also very handsome. I seemed to have surprised him by knowing his name and that was nice in itself. I enjoyed surprising others, it gave me a leg up.

As the larger dragon stood, the deer jumped slightly, but was unable to move in fear. I looked over the handsome dragon and flicked my tail ever so slightly. I knew about courting, it came normal to most. The female always started it and it wasn’t very nice at first. But, right now, it was not exactly a good idea. I would wait for a bit, not wanting to, but I would have a civil side instead of my animal side. I looked at the deer for a moment and blew out some smoke. I was torturing the creature, but it would become my lunch. My tail was like a spear and I had learned to use it as such, like a scorpion.

As I noticed movement, I saw that Varden had turned his eyes away from me and I wondered why. I did not mind him looking at me, I wanted his attention and I would get it. He was so handsome, such a pleasure to be around and I barely knew him. ”Hello, I regret that I do not know your name while you know mine...” I allowed a deep chuckle to come from my chest and lifted my head, watching my lunch look at me before pulling my tail around slightly. ”That is fine, I am Sunglow, Dragon to Tasia.”

[/color] I said, flicking my tail against the ground, making things shake slightly from the force o it. I was not nearly as large as Varden, but I was still very big.

As I wondered what my rider was doing, I got a feeling she was probably helping Leilani with things, but I pushed the thoughts from my mind to focus on my new friend. Something seemed to have his own mind, but I did not ask, as it would have been rude. I was a civil dragon, I was the dragon of a rider and I needed manners. As I noticed a dragon’s smile upon his features, I gave my own smile. ”Yes, I am having a difficult time. I was chasing rabbits until I found one of the deer you seem to have frightened.” I chuckled, flicking my tail quickly and hitting the deer in the chest with the sharp point and causing it to fall over. ”Rabbits are not even considered snacks… This is a snack, but a meal is a few of them… Though, for you… You might need a herd.”[/color] I chuckled, stepping forward to the dead deer and placing my large paw on top of it. ”Diving on them is better… You can sometimes nail three or four at a time, that way you can eat one and hold the others.”[/color] I said to him as I finished off the deer quickly. I wasn’t going to go easy on the larger and older male… No, he was gonna have to fight for his own food.
[/blockquote][/blockquote]

Now I have moved and I've kept on moving
Proved the points that I needed proving
Lost the friends that I needed losing
Found others on the way
I have kissed the fellas and left them crying
Stolen dreams, yes, there's no denying
I have traveled hard, sometimes with conscience flying
Somewhere with the wind

’word count six. zero. one.
’tagged varden
’song Caledonia--! Celtic Woman
’post status done or undone
’template creator nayeli

[/size]

[Mali]

Tasia. He knew that name. He wouldn’t mention that though as it would be rude toward this beautiful creature before him. He couldn’t blurt out that he knew the rider but not the dragon. They were a matched set, just as Taured and he was. It would be incredibly rude to state he knew one over the other. But Tasia did remind him that the rider pair was on the council. He felt really bad now for not knowing her name. He should know all the dragons on the rider’s council but then again, it had been so long since they needed to stop in at the council to report back their findings. They couldn’t help being on the road all the time, it was their job.

“Sunglow... Your name matches you well. You shimmer like sunlight,”

[/b] Varden smiled to the female before him. It was a really good thing that dragons couldn’t blush or he would be doing that right now. He had seen Taured blush before and he understood how it happened, but as to the why, he was confused. Why would blood rush to your cheeks when embarrassed, happy, aroused, and any other sort of reaction. And why did Sunglow make him feel this way? Why did she make him feel like he wanted to blush? Wasn’t blushing another way to embarrass oneself?

Varden felt embarrassed now that she corrected him about chasing rabbits. Sure they were small but he’d never been hunting before. Taured usually killed their meals while Varden cooked it. It was a split effort. He couldn’t admit that he’d never been hunting on his own, could he? Would that make him appear manly and wise to this younger dragon? Probably not... Varden could feel himself salivating as he watched Sunglow maim the deer with her spiked tail before watching her again. His gaze pinpointed on her throat, watching as she quickly ate the deer and then swallowed. He looked up to her eyes before turning his head away, trying not to show his embarrassment.

“Well I have to say that I didn’t spot the herd at first.”[/b] A valid excuse for his reasoning on chasing rabbits. “And rabbits are much faster runners than I thought... you should try catching some, it’s hard business,”[/b] And that made up for his bruised ego. It wasn’t that what Sunglow said had particularly bruised his ego. It was that he was failing at appearing manly to Sunglow and that wasn’t good. Wait a minute, why did he want to appear manly to Sunglow in the first place?

Okay, playing it cool wasn’t working and there was no way he’d nail two or three at once since the herd had scattered. He would have to catch them one by one and that was time consuming. But if he had help gathering food, then he wouldn’t be adverse to sharing the spoils with her. But that meant that he would have to admit that he’d never hunted by himself before and that was nerve wrecking.

“Would I come across as weak if I told you I’ve never hunted before? Taured, my rider, eats meat and does the hunting while I do the cooking. I’ve never actually hunted for myself before...”[/b] He looked down at the ground sheepishly before dragging his paw through the dirt. Based on his talks with Ace, he had just failed his mission in talking to Sunglow and he should probably give up now, but maybe he could redeem himself somehow.[/size][/blockquote][/blockquote]

[Nayeli]

’introducing
{sunglow*}
featuring--! --! ---! ---!
I don't know if you can see
The changes that have come over me
In these last few days I've been afraid
That I might drift away
I've been telling old stories, singing songs
That make me think about where I've come from
That's the reason why I seem
So far away today

Everyone knew the name of my rider, for she was much older than I was and she has a thing about being a little rebel. That was one thing that I loved about my sister, she made a statement and she was herself. She didn’t change when she became a rider and she didn’t want to change for anyone. She was who she was and that was something that everyone grew to love about her. I was just her dragon, I might have been her sister, but she stuck with the elven diet and I was always gone hunting and sometimes, I was on my own missions sometimes.

“Sunglow... Your name matches you well. You shimmer like sunlight.” I could not help but smile slightly, knowing that it was the reason Tasia had given me such a simple name. I was the color of the rays of run hitting the lake or glass. I shimmered in the sun and I could disappear in the clouds over head. ”Thank You.”

[/color] I said, looking at my scales as the sun touched them and I could not help but slightly smile at that. I could feel the heat in my own cheeks from the complement, but it didn’t show like on humans or elves. I flicked my tail slightly and looked at him for a moment, wondering why I felt so… Well… Flattered…

As I finished the meal, I looked at him, licking the blood from my jaws and standing up to my full height now that I has finished my meal. ”Well I have to say that I didn’t spot the herd at first.” I chuckled, circling my tail around me and cleaning the small amount of blood that was on the tip. ”And rabbits are much faster runners than I thought... You should try catching some, it’s hard business.” I looked at him for a moment and chuckled. ”Burn them from their holes, that is all it takes. They are a bit crispy after that, but is better than nothing.”[/color] I said, lifting my head and looking around for a moment, sniffing the air as I smelt the deer were not far, but they were still scattered and would need to reform before another dive bomb attack.

”Would I come across as weak if I told you I’ve never hunted before? Taured, my rider, eats meat and does the hunting while I do the cooking. I’ve never actually hunted for myself before...” I could not believe what I was hearing, but it made sense all at the same time. I stood and moved over towards him, circling him slightly and chuckling. ”Then you need a lesson.”[/color] I said as I came around to his front and spread my wings before going into the air, fast and leaving him behind. My body sliced through the air, elegant and graceful, doing circles and going higher and higher until I knew it was best to stop.
[/blockquote][/blockquote]

Now I have moved and I've kept on moving
Proved the points that I needed proving
Lost the friends that I needed losing
Found others on the way
I have kissed the fellas and left them crying
Stolen dreams, yes, there's no denying
I have traveled hard, sometimes with conscience flying
Somewhere with the wind

’word count 0.492
’tagged varden
’song Caledonia--! Celtic Woman
’post status done or undone
’template creator nayeli

[/size]

[Mali]

Varden felt pride swell as Sunglow thanked him for the compliment. So far, things seemed to be going well. He had complimented her and she didn’t roll her eyes. Ace had tried complimenting a woman who rolled her eyes and eventually slapped him. Of course, Sunglow couldn’t slap Varden as easily as the woman had done to Ace, but it was nice to know that he had done something right so far. He did wonder why Sunglow continued to flick her tail like that. Was she irritated with him or something? Great, there goes his confidence about doing things correctly.

He considered burning the rabbits from their holes and decided that he couldn’t do that. He didn’t want to risk setting the entire forest on fire. Although, should he come across a rabbit hole that wasn’t surrounded by greenery, he would certainly take her advice. “What about possibly burning down the rest of the forest?”

[/b] He agreed that her way would work, but he wouldn’t want to risk the life of the forest just so he could eat a measly rabbit. There wasn’t that much meat on them to be worth burning down a forest.

He watched as she moved closer to him and he felt nervous, feeling his heart rate rising. He watched her circle him, his head whipping back to look at her as she moved around him. It was then that she said that he needed a lesson and took to the skies. Grinning, he spread his wings and quickly followed after her. He didn’t even need a moment to think before he followed after her.

He wasn’t doing fancy tricks as Sunglow was but he managed to follow her easily. He waited until she was done her tricks for him to speak. “Do we need to find a new herd or have they regrouped yet?”[/b] he was watching the ground as he spoke before looking up to sunglow. He was at a loss for words as the sight of her flying was amazing. He had never seen anything so magnificent.[/size][/blockquote][/blockquote]

[Nayeli]

’introducing
{sunglow*}
featuring--! --! ---! ---!
I don't know if you can see
The changes that have come over me
In these last few days I've been afraid
That I might drift away
I've been telling old stories, singing songs
That make me think about where I've come from
That's the reason why I seem
So far away today

I was sure that if he said the wrong thing, she could find a way to ‘slap’ him, but it would be with my tail and it might hurt worse than a hand. I notice his glance at the tail and I looked down at it myself. I chuckled slightly and flicked it again. ”I don’t like staying still for very long, I like moving… It is easier to move my tail constantly then my whole body.”

[/color] I said, flicking my tail once again, the sound of a thump easily hear. We were lucky to be in the Great Forest, as it was one of the only forest that had large enough trees to tower over dragons.

As I thought about the idea of actually hunting rabbits, I found it very weird and felt it would take hundreds of rabbits to even get all the food one wanted. I tried to shake the thought from my head, mentally telling myself that there was no point in dwelling over someone else’s hunting adventures. ”What about possibly burning down the rest of the forest?” I looked at him for a moment, thinking about it and chuckling. ”Well, I guess you have to be good with your aim… As long as you don’t go crazy about it, you should catch the area around the hole on fire and you can step on it and put it out.”[/color] I said, thinking about how if you aimed just right, the flame would go directly into the hole. ”But then again, rabbits don’t give much food, so… What is the point?”[/color] I asked, looking around for a moment before I circled him and went into the air.

The air felt so nice in my ears and going over my scale. The warmth of the sun was so nice upon my golden body and I flew high into the air. ”Do we need to find a new herd or have they regrouped yet?” I looked over at him and then turned my eyes downward towards the ground. ”Finding a new herd would be ideal… Let’s go south, some deer herds like to have room to move around.”[/color] I tilted my body, causing myself to dive and head towards the southern part of the forest, looking for large, open plains. As I got to a few, I circled, looking down until I found one. ”Your lesson begins… Dive down, use your tail and all legs to both catch and hold, that way you can eat one and then go to the next.”[/color] I could not believe I was teaching a much older dragon.
[/blockquote][/blockquote]

Now I have moved and I've kept on moving
Proved the points that I needed proving
Lost the friends that I needed losing
Found others on the way
I have kissed the fellas and left them crying
Stolen dreams, yes, there's no denying
I have traveled hard, sometimes with conscience flying
Somewhere with the wind

’word count 0.435
’tagged varden
’song Caledonia--! Celtic Woman
’post status done or undone
’template creator nayeli

[/size]

[Mali]

Varden nodded his head as Sunglow told him that she liked moving than staying still. It made sense, it just meant that she felt antsy staying still and put in one spot. He blamed that on her age. She couldn’t be more than seven years old. God, if Ace ever found out about how old Sunglow was, Varden would never live it down. But then again, what was there for Ace to find out about? Nothing had happened between the two dragons to warrant any juicy gossip. But the fact that he was already attracted to the female was something worthy of gossip.

He laughed nervously as she pointed out that there was no point in catching rabbits since there was barely any meat on them. Now he felt awkward again. He wasn’t doing so well at talking to her and it was clearly evident to both dragons. Hopefully, she wasn’t as aware of his inability to talk to females as he was. “You’re right, there isn’t much of a point catching rabbits.”

[/b] And there was the end of that conversation. He had failed and mentally berated himself for talking about rabbits for such a long time. He looked like an idiot, he had to. He just hoped that she wouldn’t notice. But she had to have noticed, maybe she didn’t care though. There, now he could have some hope of proceeding further with the female. Although, how much further did he want to go with her? He swallowed hard just thinking about it.

Nodding his head, he turned his body to the side and changed direction to the south where there were more open plains. As they reached the open areas, he kept his eyes peeled for a herd to appear. Sure enough, there was a herd just ahead of them. Sunglow told him to dive down and used all of his legs to catch as many as he could.

They were fast approaching the herd as Varden took a deep breath and started to dive down, leaving Sunglow up above. As he glided over to the herd, he reached out and grabbed one in his mouth. But he was supposed to use his legs! He hadn’t passed over the entirety of the herd yet when he awkwardly stuck his legs out and grabbed onto one deer. He pulled up then after passing through the herd which scattered. Returning to Sunglow, he finished the first deer before swapping it out for the second. He didn’t start to eat the second yet but started to feel anxious again. He hadn’t been able to grab as many as her, but at least he got two!

“Not as many as you, but pretty good for a first attempt,”[/b] The entire time that he spoke he wondered what she thought of him. Did Sunglow think him an idiot and stupid for not knowing how to hunt for himself? Did she think him weak for not being able to figure it out himself and having to ask for help? God, why did what she think matter so much?[/size][/blockquote][/blockquote]

[Nayeli]

’introducing
{sunglow*}
featuring--! --! ---! ---!
I don't know if you can see
The changes that have come over me
In these last few days I've been afraid
That I might drift away
I've been telling old stories, singing songs
That make me think about where I've come from
That's the reason why I seem
So far away today

I looked around for a moment, wondering what this male was thinking… This handsome, older male before me. I moved through the skies with elegant grace that allowed me to speed quickly. My feet were tucked into my body and then I dove, my wing went back both against by body and slightly behind. I watched my friend, he moved with me but not nearly as graceful as myself. It was possible because he was much bigger then I was. As we flew, the talk on rabbit continued and I found it very entertaining, mostly because my friend here had been trying to capture and feed upon the small morsels. It was funning, but I would not bug him too much about it… Not yet… ”You’re right, there isn’t much of a point catching rabbits.” I let my lips curl into a smile slightly as we moved the clouds, looking for the herd that would supply me with a chance to teach an old man.

As the plains came into vision, my eyes quickly spotted the herd that Varden would be going for. I circled above, watching as he dove down and smiled when he grabbed one. He realized that he had not captured more with his feet and then he grabbed on. As he came back up, I chuckled at him, watching as he ate on the way into the air. I flew onward, towards the west to find another herd, but I did not speed. ”Not as many as you, but pretty good for a first
attempt.” I chuckled slightly and looked at him. ”I only capture two at a time most the time… Better then injuring too many deer and then not eating them.”

[/color] I said, giving a smile before she spoke again. ”Come on rabbit hunter… Let’s see what you can do.”[/color] I moved quickly through the skies, my wings against my body as I dove and then I let them out to rise again quickly.
[/blockquote][/blockquote]

Now I have moved and I've kept on moving
Proved the points that I needed proving
Lost the friends that I needed losing
Found others on the way
I have kissed the fellas and left them crying
Stolen dreams, yes, there's no denying
I have traveled hard, sometimes with conscience flying
Somewhere with the wind

’word count 0.330
’tagged varden
’song Caledonia--! Celtic Woman
’post status done or undone
’template creator nayeli

[/size]

[Mali]

Varden was mesmerized. As he said that there wasn’t a point in catching rabbits, agreeing with Sunglow that it was rather pointless since there was hardly any meat on them, he noticed a smile curl at her lips. He had never seen something so beautiful before. With that said, he had never seen a dragon like Sunglow before either. A dragon whose age didn’t matter to him. He had said before that he would like to mate with someone closer to his own age but when he thought about Sunglow, that didn’t matter to him.

He would have blushed if he were able to. She had given him a nickname and even though it was an embarrassing nickname, it was still a nickname. That meant something, right? Varden followed after Sunglow as she dipped down, her wings close to her body before they spread out to rise again, gaining some speed. He wondered what they were going to do next. Were they going to find another herd to attack together? Or were they going to hunt something else now to teach him more skills?

“Are we finding a new herd or new prey?”

[/b] He was eager to learn from Sunglow. Not just because she was willing to teach him, but because he was able to spend more time with her if she were teaching him. He wanted to talk to her about other things aside from hunting, but he would take what he could get right now. And if that meant that they had to talk about hunting, then he would talk about hunting.[/size][/blockquote][/blockquote]