Meeting the new fellow Leader (Private with Asailia)

Atlantis was quite agitated. A lot of things had happened in the tribe. Shine, his closest friend in the recent months, had now become a goddess. Atlas felt very happy for her, even though he was disappointed. Atlas will miss her company. Now, as the law of Seawings state, another female leader had to be choosen. The SeaWings always use a votation to do this kind of decisions. From the poll Asailia resulted the winner. Atlas didn't know much about her, but from the rumors he had heard, she was generally very kind-hearted, but also convinced and determined. All qualities required for a good leader Her power was also unique: she was capable of turning into pure water, a really surprising skill. Atlas was curious to see her in action. He was himself a water mage, but he has never developed a transformation skill like that.

Atlantis was lying on a lonely island, not far from the palace Seawings. There were a couple of palm trees and a bit of vegetation. That island was going to be the place of their first meeting. It was the perfect place where to start. From this island they would start to explore all the sea territories. So Atlas could show his new fellow leader everything to know about the territories and the duties to accomplish. Then they would move to the Seawings Forest. Finally they would finish with the palace, which was also the place where it has been planned the celebration of the new leader. The agenda was really dense. Atlantis looked toward the sea with a smile, his silvery eyes were impatiently scanning the water, wondering if Alisia would come soon. Atlas happily wagged his long tail, adorned by beatiful and large fins. He couldn't wait to meet her and have a new friend.

As the sun rose over the horizon, Asailia curled three into her nest, letting out a small groan much like a hatchling would make when refusing to wake up. The sun continued to shine in her eyes, however, so Asailia finally uncurled from the coil she slept in, opening a pair of bright blue eyes and peeking out at the world around her. Her little one-dragon cave was the same as usual. It always was, no matter what happened. The outside of the cave, however, was far more interesting to her.

Stepping outside, Asailia spread her wings and legs out, stretching the tiredness from her limbs. Halfway through this, she remembered. The day before, a messenger had come to tell her she had been chosen as the new SeaWing's female leader. As well as this, she has been told that she was to go to the palace the next day so Atlantis could show her the ropes. Sitting down, the soft horns on the sides of Asailia's face twitched as a little wave of nerves temporarily overcame her. Being a leader... That was a big job. Even if she would have Atlantis at her side to help her, the thought made her apprehensive. What if she messed something up? Ruined a plan? Unintentionally caused a war? There were a number of things she could do wrong with this position.
Forcing her thoughts to stop there, Asailia stood once more, taking a deep breath. Sitting here being nervous about it wasn't going to do much good, was it? And she wanted to be punctual when it came to getting to the palace on time, and therefore the island where she was to meet Atlantis.

That thought in mind, Asailia started across the sandy beach towards the water, splashing in happily, and letting out a little sigh when the water ran over her scales. When she was finally deep enough, she dove underwater, swimming like a fish and starting in the general direction of the island. Her cave was far from the island, but not enough that she didn't get there pretty soon. In fact, she nearly didn't notice the time, engrossed in watching the sea life below her as she was. She wanted to turn into water, and follow the schools of fish, but she knew that that would have to wait.

Popping her head above the water, Asailia spotted the island, much closer than she'd thought it would be, and started to resurface, her body following her out of the waves as she came on shore, dripping seawater as she went. Looking around, she spotted Atlantis waiting for her not far away, and made her way over to the other leader happily, the flower like spines on her tail twitching in excitement. "Good morning," she greeted him, feeling his excitement and impatience in the back of her mind. "I'm Asailia," After that she trailed off, not quite sure what to say for once. How do you greet your soon-to-be fellow leader? Was there a certain way? Internally shrugging, Asailia turned her gaze towards Atlantis.

Atlantis was lost in his thoughts as he impatiently waited for Asailia's arrival. He continued to wag his long and large tail, but this time more in agitation than happiness. He wondered if they would get along. it was a essential requirement to lead the tribe to prosperity. His eyes caught the figure of a white dragon approaching the island. There was no doubt that it was Asailia. Atlas was immediately fascinated by her bright colors, eyeing the beauty of the flowers spines, which gave her a unique and different aspect from other SeaWings. Among all the things he has heard about her, they haven't told him she was a beatiful dragon. Caught by a sort of enchantement, he forgot there was a inclined palm on top of him. So when Atlas stood up, wishing to meet her, he accidentally slammed his head against the palm's trunk. "Ouch!" He muttered in a moment of embarrassment for this distraction. He shook his head to recover, hoping to haven't done a bad impression. Atlas showed a friendly and kind smile. "Hello! Nice to meet you." He stretched his several fins, preparing himself to dunk into the water. "I think you already know me. My name is Atlantis, Atlas for friends." Atlas spoke spontaneously and without formalities, hoping to put at ease Asailia. "If you're ready, we can begin." He looked at her for a moment in her eyes, wishing to already reach an understanding with her. Although they were going to simply be partners, Atlas was interested in establishing a relationship, so it would be easier for both to lead the tribe.

At first, Atlantis had seemed almost untouchable to Asailia, so when he immediately slammed his head into a tree upon standing, she didn't react for a moment, completely dumbfounded. Had that just happened? Then her mind restarted, and ran over, looking worried. "Are you alright?" she asked worriedly, her head tipping to the side. He seemed to be so, as he lifted his head and smiled at her, though she could sense he felt embarrassed, which was understandable. She stayed silent while he spoke, her head tipping slightly to the side, still half preoccupied on whether he was okay or not. Even though the action had dragonized him in a way, which put her at ease, both mentally and physically, shown when her tail spines stopped twitching. Mentally, however, she simply stopped thinking about every little thing she did and wondering if it was too formal or informal, or a mess up in some way.

When he'd finished speaking, she nodded and smiled back happily. "Nice to meet you too." she replied, then paused at the second statement. Was she ready for this? She could only hope she was. The last thing she wanted was to be remembered as the leader who failed miserably on her first day. She wouldn't be able to show her face outside of her cave again if that happened. "Ready as I'll ever be. What exactly are we doing today?" She used her question to cover up her worry about her own adequateness, though she was truthfully curious about it. Other than the stuff that she'd seen Shiningwater and Atlantis doing for years, ceremonies and such, what did SeaWing leaders do? As long as battles weren't involved, she was excited to find out.

Atlantis blushed a little when she approached him to check his condition. "I'm fine." He reassured her, looking into her eyes, grateful of the gentlness shown by the other dragon. "You are kind." He gave her a sincere compliment, feeling already attracted by Asailia. Atlas was developing a new unexpected crush. He decided to put aside those thoughts, for now, and focus on the work to be done that day. If they woud finish soon, they would have some free time to spend together. Atlas couldn't wait to spend some time with her, away from leader duties. "Our main task is to make sure the Guardians do the Guardians, the Trackers do the Trackers, and so on." Atlas tried to explain in a simple and clear manner. "So we'll start by checking all the territories, making sure that everything is ok and there aren't dragons... lazy at work." He joked. Then he gave her a friendly nudge on her neck with his nose, showing confidence, exhibiting his desire to to be in tune with her. "Said that, let's go." He concluded while starting to dip his paws in the water. He glanced at her with a fond smile, inviting her with his gaze to follow him.

When Atlantis told her she was kind, Asailia found a blush of her own rising to her cheeks, and she quickly looked down at her claws. "Thank you," she replied, she soft horns on the side of her face twitching a bit. She wasn't quite sure why she was blushing. She usually didn't blush. It just wasn't a thing she did, usually. Yet, here she was, blushing. She hoped it wasn't obvious. Though, the lower half of her face was white, so it probably was. Dang it.
Atlantis's voice brought her eyes back up, and she listened quietly as she told her about, essentially, what they were to do in a nutshell. It seemed simple enough, but she had a feeling he was simplifying it so she wouldn't be overwhelmed. There's no way it could really be that simple, right? She let out a small laugh when he finished, partially because it was true, very true. She would know, she'd been a Tracker herself once. Though, she'd hated the job and the bloodshed it caused. Even if that bloodshed was far less than what Guardians were expected to deal with on a daily basis. She smiled when he nudged her on the neck, turning to follow him back into the water, her scales still wet from her first dip in. "Okay," she said good-naturedly, bounding after him into the water, lifting her head above the waves slightly and glancing over at him for direction on which way to swim.

Atlantis realized that she was blushing, the pink was clearly visible on the white snout. Perhaps he wasn't the only one to feel embarrassed. He decided to focus on their tasks. He jumped into the water, splashing her a bit, trying to keep a cheerful atmosphere. Then he opened his several fins and began swimming at a moderate speed, knowing that she would be at his side. "We'll start with the coastline." He explained as he approached the mainland. Atlas eyes patrolled the sea, observing the various groups of Seawings who performed their regular activities. Some of them greeted the pair of leaders before to return to their duties. "Everything is okay for now." He pointed out. Atlas cared a lot about order and discipline. With kind words and promises he could convince the Seawings to do their best. Therefore Asailia didn't have to do great things indeed. However, being the sea territories very large, it was important there were at least two leaders. Also, when a leader was away, another one had to stay at the palace to manage the tribe. "How are you feeling your first day as female leader?" He asked, curious to know her impressions. They had to swim a lot to visit all the territories, so they would have all the time to chat and meet each other.

Asailia laughed when he splashed her, bringing her head underwater to dodge it before popping it back up again. She saw he was already swimming off, so she made to catch up with him, moving through the water in an almost snakelike way, her tail rippling back and forth through the water. She glanced around them, wondering where they were going first. Probably all about the territory... mentally, she kicked herself for asking that question. As long as she hadn't asked it aloud, however, she was fine. She nodded when Atlas told her they were to start at the coastline, turning her gaze towards the area in question, having to lift her head a bit to see over Atlantis' fins. After a moment, she simply dove under, swimming underneath him and popping up on the other side, her soft horns twitching. She smiled when they were greeted a few times, greeting the dragons back, and saying their names when she knew them, which was more often among the trackers than the guardians.
"It seems to be," she replied when he noted that everything seemed to be okay. She paused, however, at his next question, taking a moment to think.
"Nervous," she admitted, looking down at the water a moment before glancing back up again. "But otherwise excited. And sort of relieved you're friendly. I wasn't sure how you'd take having a new partner, but you aren't mad or upset, which is a good thing." She wasn't sure if he knew of her ability to sense emotions, but for the moment she would assume he did.

Atlantis smiled amused when he saw how she was swimming around him, often changing side. She liked to be carefree like him. The coast seemed to end at a certain point, leaving only the open sea. However, if you would dare to swim further, you would reach another piece of land. It was the area inhabited by the humans. In fact there were some human vessels from a far distance. However they were really tiny dots. "Keeping an eye out on this area is very important, though you would rarely see a ship here." He explained in a tone of concern. The human threat unfortunately couldn't be ignored. Atlas changed direction with a sudden movement, heading now towards the beaches, to the internal areas. He lifted a wave with his large tail, looking to give some troubles to Asailia and have fun with her, so she wouldn't find the work too boring. "I'm very friendly indeed" He reassured her. "So feel free to insult me sometime, if you think I would deserve it." He began to joke around. "I'm open to accept criticism." He clarified while he accelerated the swim a bit, flapping his fins and wings faster, to cut the long distance that separate them from the beaches.

Asailia faltered when she caught a faint whiff of humans on the breeze, realizing where they were and unconsciously letting out a soft growl, turning her gaze towards the dots in the distance, scanning for any that were very close. None seemed to be more than little dots, however, so she relaxed, though the steady twitching of her tail tip betrayed her dislike at being within sight of any evidence of humans. She hadn't been one of the dragons to go missing during the reason episode of humans trying to capture dragons, but she had seen many friends go missing then, which didn't help her opinion of the humans in the slightest. She nodded in agreement to his statement, seeing no other way to reply to it. She went underwater for a moment as a wave went over her head, popping her head out of the water, and looking confused before laughing.

When he changed direction, she swam on for a moment, unaware, before lift iver head up in surprise and turning, her wings spreading a bit as she hurried to catch up. By the time she had caught up again, the humans were out of her mind. She laughed at his next comment, a clear, bell-like sound, and nodded. "Feel free to insult me as well," she said, flicking him gently with her tail flower in reply to to the wave he's created. "I'll probably agree with you."

Atlantis nodded at the words of his partner. "We'll get along well then." He smiled as he laughed because of her tail tickling his scales. "Yes, we'll get along very well." He lifted another wave against her, this time using his wing. In the meanwhile they were approaching the beaches. You could get a glimpse of Seawings patrolling the area meticulously, but also quite cheerful. They seemed happy to work for the tribe. Everything was ok also here. It was a very quiet day. The tribe was regularly doing all its tasks. Nothing to report. A worried expression printed on his snout. Atlas knew they should patrol the forest now, area that confined with the Firewings territories. it was the most dangerous part of the patrol. "Now we'll have to check the woods." He advised her, no longer showing the a carefree expression, but more serious. He changed direction again, now directly heading towards the mainland.

Smiling lightly in response to his first two statements, Asailia found herself once again under a wave of water, shaking her head when free of it, glaring at Atlantis playfully. She'd get him back later for that. She wasn't sure when or how, but it would happen. No doubt about it. Looking at the shore and their fellow SeaWings moving about, Asailia didn't notice Atlantis' change in mood until she glanced back and saw his dark expression, the fact that he was worried poking at her brain. Why was he worried? When she learned of their next place to check, however, she understood and her own expression of curiosity dimmed down to unhappy understanding. "Sounds like fun," she commented dryly, pulling her legs up as they neared the shore and the water became shallower. "Think we'll come across any FireWings today?" She had gone into the forest a number of times when she was a tracker, though not as much as any Guardian, or apparently Atlantis had.

Atlantis left the water to touch the land, shaking its body to get rid of the water, purposely splashing the other dragon. It was another one of Atlas jokes. Then he began to move towards the trees, still with a worried expression. "I don't think, fortunately." He replied as he began to stagger a bit, not being obviously used to walk on land. The numerous fins represented a great obstacle. Atlas was certainly a formidable swimmer, one of the best with no doubts, but on the mainland he was quite mediocre. As a sea dragon, Atlas has these disadvantages. "We'll need to take flight. Walking isn't exactly my speciality." He explained with a sheepish smile while he opened his wings, preparing to fly. In the sky you could already see some big Seawings. Those ones were much bigger than the others. They were clearly the best fighters of the tribe, able to handle in a duel a FireWing.

Crawling on shore, Asailia shook herself a bit to get some of the water off, spreading her wings to help them dry off. Only to get splashed by Atlantis. "Hey! she said, flicking her tail so the water on it sprayed onto him. She then shook herself off again, and lifted her head to see him wandering off. She started after him, better on land than he was due to the fact that she didn't have so many fins. She glanced at him worriedly when he began to stagger. She wasn't sure what to do, whether to comment that they should fly or just let him struggle on the ground. When he suggested flight before she could speak, however, she internally sighed, and nodded. "Okay," she replied, realizing he felt a bit embarrassed. "I like to fly better than walking anyway." She had said the second part to make him feel better, but it was also true. She spread her own wings, immediately taking flight, her claws leaving deep furrows in the sand.

Atlantis laughed when she splashed him back. He liked to play and have fun and Asailia shared the same playful attitude. Atlas perceived her attempt to make him feel better, and he consequently regained his happy behaviour. He took flight with a contented growl. It was so much better now to stay in the air. He flapped his wings to start a large circle and patrol the forest. Atlas wasn't very good at flying neither, but he was capable enough to not fall on the ground. His snout looked around to find any kind of activities, but it was all quiet. "No FireWings around." He stated with a sigh of relief. Atlas realized they have finished their tasks soon this day. They have patrolled all the territories of interest. Coast, beach and forest. He smiled towards her. "We have finished today. So we have some free time before to come back to the palace!" He playfully nudged her with his wing, provoking her a little. Then he flew away towards the water, looking as usual to play.

Flying just below him as they watched the forest, Asailia looked, but could see no FireWings. She continued checking, however, until Atlantis called a stop, and she was nudged with his wing. She let out a laugh, then dove after him. She was turning out to like this position much more than she thought she would. Had she been so worried for no reason at all? She remembered practically panicking that morning, and let out another laugh, this one at herself. She then dove after Atlas, shooting a little spray of water at his wing, making sure it wasn't hot enough to burn. She didn't want to hurt him, after all. When she got above the water, however, she smiled at him,  giving him a come-hither expression, closing her wings and diving straight into the ocean, swimming downwards in the water. She avoided the deeper, blacker water, never having been fond of it, but dicked towards the reef, curling up under a larger batch of coral on a rock overhang.

Atlantis gladly accepted Asailia's joke. Then he dived into the water after her, raising splashes of water. He noticed that Asailia was swimming away. Atlas began flapping his fins to accelerate, easily reaching Asailia. He managed to easily overtake her, swimming far ahead. Then he suddenly seemed to disappear, plunging deeper. In truth, he was keeping his eyes on her. He noticed that Asailia was on a rock now. Atlas, seeing the opportunity to plan another joke, he silently sneaked behind her, being careful to not do any rumour in the water. When he was finally behind Asailia, he joyfully jumped on her. He gently grabbed her with his paws, trying to drag her into the water, relying on his strength. It was the start of a friendly confrontation. He wondered how she would react to shake him off. His grip was strong, though it wasn't hurting her.

Asailia's attention had slipped worriedly towards the darker water when Atlantis went into it, and therefore didn't notice him sneaking up behind her. Curling tigher under the rock, she leaned forward slightly, her soft horns twitching slightly as she listened for any noise. When she instead was grabbed from behind, she let out a bubbly sounding yelp, wiggling like a hatchling would. She kept her tail away from both of them, knowing how sharp the flower petals could be, then, calming slightly, a small smile grew on her face and she disappeared. Well, she seemed to disappear. In actuality, she had dissolved into water, moving easily away from Atlantis and observing him amusedly, staying just above him in the water. She was curious at how he'd react to this, the only one who's seen her do it outside of battle was Arika.

Atlantis suddenly lost the grip. He was just grabbing the air now. He lost his balance and stumbled on his fins, falling into the water with a loud splash. He emerged confused, looking with his snout around. Asailia was apparently gone. He couldn't perceive her presence around. He remembered that Asailia had a special ability: to literally turn into water. Atlas has heard about this ability from other SeaWings, but he has never seen Asailia using it. "You're brave..." He complimented while trying to locate her position. However there was just water around. Asailia could be everywhere. "...it won't be easy to find you." Atlas was ready to receive an attack from behind. He knew that Asailia was probably going to play him a prank in response to his prank towards her.

As Atlas fell into the water, Asailia swooped down after him, disguising herself in the splash he created as he hit the surface. She watched him pop his head back up, moving away slightly, extremely amused but unable to show that or any other emotion, considering she didn't have a face. Or eyes. Or a body. Moving around him, she ended up doing exactly what he'd expected, and that was attacking him from behind. She moved quickly towards him, splashing on him almost like a wave would then morphing into a dragon, holding his wings down with her back paws and clapping her front ones over his eyes, her body shaking with her silent laughter. "Gotcha!" she cried out, spreading her wings halfway to keep her balance.

Atlantis felt the presence behind him, being prepared for that kind of attack. He would use his large tail to attempt to stun Asailia, but he decided to play along. Atlas allowed her to grab him, wanting to keep the playful atmosphere. He remained surprised when she used her paws to cover his eyes, obstructing his sight. "Don't cry victory!" He replied amused, deciding to finally react. He flapped his wings behind him, repeatedly splashing her with little waves. Atlas was having a lot of fun. Perhaps he wouldn't feel so much the absence of Shine, although Atlas knew she was irreplaceable. He was going to miss Shine. Atlas decided to focus on the game with Asailia, aware they didn't have so much free time. They had to return to the palace soon and carry out the usual bureaucratic activities. Very boring, but necessary to maintain order and control inside the tribe.

Shaking her head and spluttering slightly when water washed over her head, Asailia tightened her grip to stay on him, keeping her paws tight over his eyes. Her wings spread even more to keep her balance. At least, until she lost her grip, falling backwards in the water with a splash, wiggling around a few moments before coming back up, laughing. It had been a long time since she'd wholeheartedly played with someone other than her own family, so this time was making her happy. She knew it would be cut short soon, as he'd said earlier they had to be at the palace at some point, but she was enjoying the time she had now. Atlas was proving to be just as playful and fun-loving as she was, which was rare these days, considering all the missing dragons and kidnapped hatchlings, and tribe rivalries. This time was a ray of light in a world that was slowly becoming more troublesome. She could only hope that that ray of light would spread to include not just the SeaWings, but the other tribes as well. She would strive to make that happen. Shaking her head, Asailia pulled herself back to the moment and spread her wings, flapping forward to send a wave of water at Atlantis.

When the other dragon left the grip, Atlas immediately turned towards her to be sure she wasn't on his shoulders anymore. However he received a wave right in the face. He blinked his eyes a bit dazed. Feeling stimulated enough to play harder, he flapped his wings to leap at her. He grabbed Asailia with his paws again. Then he dragged her against a rock, but being careful to be delicate. Atlas leaned against Asailia to be sure she couldn't move, blocking her on the wall, but always taking care to not hurt her. Atlas felt embarassed for a few moments because he was close to her now. He was developing a crush towards Asailia. He liked her. They had a lot of traits in common. Atlas focused on the game, a grin was forming on his snout. He had a idea how to stop Asailia from using her special ability. He approached his nose to the side of her neck, starting to rub and tickle her scales, hopefully she would start to laugh. His goal was to distract her and at the same time to play another prank. Anyway Atlas was going to release her soon.

A small squeak escaped Asailia's throat when she was grabbed and pushed against a rock. She struggled to get away, though she didn't try very hard. Mentally, she was laughing at how gentle he was being, almost like she was glass that would break. It was sweet, in a way. He wasn't trying to hurt her. After a moment, she stopped struggling, her wings flopping out beside her, and her tail drifting harmlessly in the water. Her head tipped to the side, and she looked him in the eyes for a moment. With a start, she realized how fast her heart was beating, and without any conscious decision of her own, she blushed, looking down and away, her heart beating fast. Stop that, she told herself. It wouldn't do to have feelings for a dragon who probably simply didn't feel the same way. She jumped in surprise when Atlantis' nose touched her neck, her train of thought derailing faster than you could say 'mouse'. It took a moment for the tickling sensation to reach her mind, and when it did, she began wiggling once more, holding back laughter that simply burst out instead of staying contained.

Atlantis tickled her scales for a little, but stopped soon, not wanting to exaggerate. At the end he felt satisfied and pulled back his snout. He didn't release her yet, desiring to keep her as a sort of hostage. In reality the grip with his claws was more caring now. He looked at her, crossing their eyes. "Do you surrender?" He asked amused, but the expression on his face was becoming less playful and more sweet. The excitement was rising because they were very close, rather isolated from the rest, so they could have their own privacy. His feelings was leading him towards her. It was almost instinctive to approach his nose to hers in a friendly touch . Atlas was happy to spend time with a partner that was beautiful, brave and intelligent like him. He liked her a lot. Atlas happily wagged his tail, expressing his joy, raising inadvertently small waves left and right.