|
Post by Linyü on Oct 15, 2020 17:33:40 GMT -6
"Okay, okay," he said. "How about this?" Holding out a hand, he produced a posy of flowers, plucked out of the air. They bloomed in pretty, delicate shades not unlike the pale dragonet's own coloring, and he held them out to her. "A tithe for you, little princess."
"Flowers? Just flowers?" she said, but the gleam in her eyes belied her words.
Seveth smiled. "Go on," hes said.
Slowly, she reached for the blooms, but just before her floating claws made contact, they erupted into a burst of glittery sparks, which whirled upward into birds. Seveth concentrated, and whistled behind a hand, and the birds broke out into song.
The birds dissipated not long after, fading away into little puffs of smoke. The dragonets' eyes were wide, and all at once they clamored for him to do it again.
"I didn't know humans could do magic," said the pale dragonet.
|
|
|
Post by Linyü on Oct 15, 2020 17:37:01 GMT -6
"Ah, you spotted the trick," said Seveth, his smile a touch rueful now.
The pale dragonet puffed out her chest proudly. "Of course," she said. "I'm really smart, you know." Some of the other dragonets nodded in agreement. He could sense her watching him carefully for a response.
"I'm sure you are," he said, still smiling. "Which is why I'm petitioning you for help! I've paid up, haven't I?"
"I guess," said the pale dragonet. She deflated a little. "What do you want, then?"
"I'm sure you guys know everyone here," Seveth replied. "Are any of you good at magic?"
Honestly, with the way the conversation had been going, he half expected the pale dragonet to volunteer herself. The cleverer ones were supposed to be more adept with it, and if she was smart... But the pale dragonet merely sighed, as if resigning herself to disappointment, and pointed at something to Seveth's left.
|
|
|
Post by Linyü on Oct 15, 2020 17:44:46 GMT -6
"Her," said the pale dragonet. "She's the one you want. All of us are too young." The rest of the dragonets were subdued now too. The ones that approached him... Seveth suspected some merely wanted entertainment, or were going with the crowd, but to approach a human, the bulk of them must have wanted to be adopted into a family. There were, he now noticed, other throngs of dragonets who were playing happily without paying him any mind.
The dragonet pointed out by the pale one was more of a half-grown individual, which made sense, considering what the pale one had just said. "Viridi knows some tricks, since she's always playing around with it, so you had better talk to her."
"Thanks," said Seveth. The pale dragonet nodded gravely in reply. After a pause, he said, "I might not be the right person, but I'm sure someone else will come along."
|
|
|
Post by Linyü on Oct 15, 2020 17:49:26 GMT -6
The throng of young dragonets sent him off with a halfhearted chorus of goodbyes, and he waved at them as he made his way over to Viridi. Contrary to the earlier rabble, she didn't so much as look up at his approach, concentrating on something in the air. Seveth blinked, then found out a moment later what it was as sparks - real, painful ones - showered in all directions.
No words from this one, but the guttural growl of frustration said more than enough.
"Here," he said, and shot a quick bolt of lightning from his hands into nothing. That got her attention. Viridi still didn't speak, and Seveth was starting to suspect she didn't know how, though there was definitely a keen intelligence in that gaze. But she stared at him, and then at his hand.
"Well," said Seveth. "A little birdie told me you knew some tricks. I know some too."
|
|
|
Post by Linyü on Oct 15, 2020 17:53:47 GMT -6
He flashed her a grin, and her eyes narrowed. Sighing, Seveth shook his head. "How come everyone looks at me like that?" he muttered under his breath. Clearing his throat, he looked her square in the eyes and said, "Look, I'll cut to the chase if that's what you want." A pause, during which she nodded once, warily. "Alright - I'm looking for a, er... Someone to show me around the place. New in town and all. You know? And what I'm interested in is studying magic, so I thought it would be good if I found someone like-minded."
Viridi didn't, say, jump into his arms or anything, but she definitely looked as though she were considering him now. Seveth tried to sweeten the pot as best he could. "I'll stay out of your way, mostly. And I'll teach you what I know if that's what you're interested in, so long as you teach me a few things back."
|
|
|
Post by Linyü on Oct 15, 2020 20:39:04 GMT -6
He had thought that would work, but she merely inclined her head at him. Seveth blinked, then said, "Hey! I know plenty of things! You saw me do that just now, didn't you?"
She gave a shrug of her wings, at which point Seveth sighed and said, "Alright, if you're determined not to come with me, I'll ask someone else." The pale dragonet, maybe, though she might be insulted at the idea of being someone's second choice. He tried to think back to the throng of dragonets, if there had been another one with promise who had been a little less proud. He was just about to walk off when something blocked his path.
Viridi, with an expression of someone bestowing a favor on the undeserving, inclined her head toward the Draconic that had welcomed Seveth in.
"Change your mind?" said Seveth, unable to repress a grin spreading over his features.
|
|
|
Post by Linyü on Oct 15, 2020 20:42:35 GMT -6
Viridi rolled her eyes, but Seveth only laughed, much more at ease now that she had accepted his offer. There was still time for her to change her mind, of course, but he didn't really feel too concerned about that, somehow. "You remind me of someone I know," he said. At her narrowed eyes, he held up his hands. "No, really! Maybe the two of you would get along. Trade eye-rolling techniques, or something."
Viridi sighed, and looked as though she was already reconsidering her decision. But they still walked up to the big female Draconic together, Seveth beaming, and Viridi with a measured air, with only a touch of trepidation showing through. "We'd like to," Seveth began, before faltering, unsure as to how to phrase this. 'Go home together'? That sounded a little predatory. "That is. Um. Well, Viridi here is going to show me the ropes in these parts. If that's, y'know, alright."
(Adoption complete?)
|
|
|
Post by NPC on Oct 16, 2020 1:32:22 GMT -6
Acethylka watched patiently and quietly as everyone settled in. Her job was a tough one. There was a fine balance between ensuring their safety while not being too overprotective. For a long time, her fierce gaze was centered on Linyü. Magic, especially when wielded by foolish humans, could be very dangerous. When it became apparent that he didn't want to hurt anyone, she relaxed, but only a little. When they finally approached her, she nodded.
"I think that is wise," she said with a knowing nod. She had wondered when this little one would finally find someone she wanted to leave with. There was a hint of a smile on her face as she thought about it.
|
|
|
Post by Kadin on Oct 24, 2020 18:54:42 GMT -6
"Thank you." Kadin said gratefully as the draconic who oversaw the hatchlings lead him back to take a look at all of them. There were. A lot more then he was expecting. He could even see some adults further on, puttering around and apparently taking care of their own business, unconcerned with the goings on of the hatchlings. Kadin took in a deep breath and let it out slowly, trying to remember what he was here for. Intelligent draconic. Ones that would fit in with his others. Ones that he felt he might be able to form a bond with. He walked through, looking around at all the hatchlings busy with their various games. Further on, in what was sort of a corner of the room, three very different draconic were all standing together in a circle. Curious as to what they might be doing, Kadin wandered over to see. He didn't know all of the draconic breeds very well yet, but after some thinking he was able to identify them as a shalaya and makiyan who were gathered around another hatchling, one of those new ones. An eideon, he was pretty sure. Kadin stood by them, wading through what seemed like an entire sea of hatchlings, to listen in on their conversation. The makiyan and shalaya seemed to be trying to teach the eideon something. One of them, the maki he was pretty sure, snorted and pointedly pronounced something after the eideon seemed to stumble over the word and Kadin realized something.
|
|
|
Post by Kadin on Oct 24, 2020 18:59:47 GMT -6
They were trying to teach him how to speak. It was impressive, actually, how an eideon who'd hatched here in a nursery, surrounded by draconic and not too many humans, was apparently trying to learn human speech. Maybe to make it seem more appealing to anyone who would want to adopt it? Kadin listened in for a bit longer, but when the shal made a rather pointed remark, he frowned and found himself entering the conversation.
"Why are you guys even talking about spelling?" He asked, sitting down to join the partial circle the hatchlings seemed to have formed. "You guys don't even need to spell. You're draconic. Worry about speech first." He said, grinning at the eideon, in particular, who seemed like it needed a bit of a pick me up.
The maki snorted at Kadin, apparently unimpressed with his interrupting. "Well WE heard that knowing how to spell your and you're different is VERY important to humans who actually want to be respectable." It said, lifting up its little head so that its nose was in the air. Kadin had to choke back a laugh, figuring that it probably wasn't a good idea to antagonize these little guys so early on in getting to know each other.
"I get that humans care about spelling in order to be respectable, but you're draconic. What do draconic need to care about in order to be respectable?" He asked, in what he thought was a reasonable way. From the looks he got, he might need to rethink that.
|
|
|
Post by Kadin on Oct 24, 2020 19:03:54 GMT -6
"No one gives a poop what draconic think are respectable if draconic aren't the one coming to take us to our forever canyons!" The shal declared, wings rustling and raising up over its head, as if to emphasis the point. It was fucking hilarious how obviously it was probably just repeating something it had heard the older draconic saying. Kadin couldn't help but be reminding of some of the little kids he'd know, what seemed like a lifetime ago. It was nice to see that young draconic were pretty much the same as them.
"I give a poop what draconic think are respectable." He said this as if he were confiding in the hatchlings, leaning in to their little circle and lowering his voice so that all eyes were on him. The eideon leaned in especially far, almost stumbling over its own front feet before it caught itself and backed up a bit, looking embarrassed. "I used to go to the canyons all the time, you know." Kadin continued. "The draconic at home told me so. But then I disappeared for a while and they didn't know where I was for years and years. Now I'm back and I don't remember any of their names. So I need some draconic experts to teach me about draconic so that I can make friends with them again." Here he stopped, leaning back again and looking a bit sad. It was surprisingly easy to talk to these hatchlings about things he'd never tell an actual human.
|
|
|
Post by Kadin on Oct 24, 2020 19:07:48 GMT -6
Maybe that was why he'd been here so often in the past, he considered. Some of the draconic liked to tell him about how he raised them himself from hatchlings, teaching them all the things they knew best. Others told him about how he'd be their escort and friends on outing. Some didn't have anything to say to him at all. He suspected that those weren't actually from his canyon or had only ever been in the background, considering how quiet they were around him. But no matter where all of those draconic came from, he wanted to befriend them. Maybe bringing home some new blood was the first step in this.
"We're draconic." Said a quiet voice, interrupting Kadin from his musings. He looked over at the hatchling, nodding at the eideon for it to continue its thought. "We know about draconic. We're raised draconic." It said all of this very quickly, looking at the other two hatchlings as if waiting for them to interrupt it or tell it off. When they didn't, he turned back to Kadin and put a paw on his leg. "We can teach you."
"Thanks." Kadin replied, touched. When he looked at the other hatchlings they were nodding along, too, as if in agreement. Maybe he'd made a good decision coming over here. These were good kids, even if they were a little full of it on the first impression. Damn though. Now he probably had to think of things to ask them so they could 'teach' him.
|
|
|
Post by Kadin on Oct 24, 2020 19:13:49 GMT -6
Luckily the maki swooped in to fill the silence before he could worry too much about filling it with pointless babble.
"If WE teach you about draconic YOU have to teach us about humans! Including writing and stuff." The other two nodded along with this demand, even the eideon. Kadin had to fight back a smile, trying to maintain a serious expression on his face when he responded.
"Of course. I'll teach you anything you want to learn about humans, as long as you promise to teach me all about draconic. Do we have a deal?" He asked, putting his hand in the center of the circle. The hatchlings all looked like they wanted to agree, but then they were staring at his hand, clearly confused. Kadin had to fight back a laugh this time. "Lesson one. When we make deals, we like to shake hands. But since there are too many of us to shake hands at once, we can put one hand or, uh, paw together in the middle of the circle and agree on it." There was a flurry of activity as the hatchlings rushed to put their paws in the circle. Kadin winced a bit as a claw nicked him and the eideon threw BOTH its front paws in, but Kadin didn't say anything about it. Once everyone had a paw in, he said, "Great! Then we're all agreed. You'll teach me about draconic and I'll teach you about humans." He lifted his hand up in a mini cheer and let them all take their limbs back.
|
|
|
Post by Kadin on Oct 24, 2020 20:55:41 GMT -6
The deal was struck. Kadin waited, patiently, for the draconic hatchlings to stop scrambling over each other to 'teach' him all about draconic. Now that they were certain that he'd wanted to be included in their little circle, they seemed very eager to get him caught up on absolutely everything they thought was important to know.
"FIRST." The maki shouted, trying to be heard over the shal, especially. "We need to teach you about the temple!"
"Why would he need to know about the temple?" The shal hissed, raising its wings in annoyance. "He isn't a draconic! It doesn't matter if he knows about it or not!"
"Because most draconic like to go to the temple sometimes." The maki argued back, arching its neck and lashing its tail behind it. "He'll need to bring draconic to the temple so he should know about it! Plus, WE came from the temple so he should know about it even MORE!" They sure could talk pretty, but it was moments like this where Kadin was especially reminded of their age.
While the other two argued, the eideon placed its paw on Kadin's leg again. "Adults go to temple." It said quietly, scrunching up its nose for a second. "THE temple. They make clutches." It further explained, gesturing to the other draconic in front of them as if that explained it. Kadin was confused for a moment before he understood. That was where all of these offspring had come from. They were talking about the breeding rooms.
|
|
|
Post by Kadin on Oct 24, 2020 20:59:41 GMT -6
He supposed that made sense. They were still young, after all, and had never left the rookery before. All they would really know about would be the stuff in or around the rookery. Apparently that included the breeding rooms. "Thanks for telling me." He told the eideon solemnly. The draconic nodded back, pleased to have contributed knowledge, especially without the other two butting in. They seemed to be the loudest ones, but the eideon sure could sneak in there to get its two cents in.
It was around now that the maki and shal noticed that they'd been left out of the conversation, somewhat. They both turned to look at Kadin and the eideon, but especially the eideon. They looked suspicious and a little... fuck, did they look scared? Kadin couldn't work out why THAT could possibly be. But if he gave it a little bit of thought, he supposed it might make sense. There were... a lot of hatchlings in here. A lot of hatchlings that needed homes of their own. They could be nervous that he'd choose just to leave with the eideon and leave them here. He needed to head them off before they decided to get nasty about it.
"Is this the only rookery?" Kadin asked, addressing the shal specifically to try and distract both it and the maki from whatever they were about to say to the eideon. He needed to keep in mind that they all needed to be included so that none of them got jealous.
|
|