The Day of the Fateful Encounter ((Gala and Zephyros))

If anything, it was a normal day. No clouds were in the sky; Zephyros had sent them away over an hour ago, having wanted to patrol in the sunlight for once. He'd gone about halfway around the entire border, and it was barely midday. Sighing, Zephyros angled in for a landing, deciding it was about time for a lunch stop.

He swooped in low over the forest, his eyes looking out for any sign of prey. For a few minutes, nothing showed itself. Then a flash of blue crossed his vision, and the dragon immediately shot downward, his lightning flashing in front of him. By the time the resounding thunder followed, the allosaurus was already one the ground, the life slowly flooding out of it. Zephyros landed next to it, watching the fellow predator coolly for a moment before deciding to be merciful, sliding a claw across its throat, ending its misery. He then tucked into his meal, crouching low over the creature, tearing bits off of its flank. His nose filed with the scent of meat, it wasn't until almost too late that he caught the scent of the intruder. A low growl came out of his throat, though that quickly ended when a large tail smashed into his side, sending the SkyWing barreling into a tree. Zephyros let out a roar, looking up to see a large rogue standing above him. Narrowing his gaze, Zephyros opened his wings and took to the sky, the air around him crackling with electricity.

Gala was soaring in the sky gracefully, only a golden speck in the sky. Her shadow passed over the ground, and she glanced around, expecting to see one of her eagles following her. Sure enough, it was, and it tilted its head up at her with a sqwuak. Gala didn't really understand why giant eagles followed her. But, it could be a good thing, in combat. When dragons are small enough, the eagles could swoop down and pick them up by their limbs. If the dragon is too big, the eagles made a fancy for clawing at them with their talons and pecking with their beaks.
But they weren't much of an advantage when Gala was searching for potion ingredients. They would stoop down and eat the plants she needed, or start a game of toss with a special gemstone. It made Gala annoyed at times, but when she's in a good mood, she would join in the games or offer them some more plant.
Gala dived down to land, landing softly on a crag. The eagle landed on a perch beside her, and it ruffled its feathers. Gala glanced at it then began to look into the nooks and cracks in the rock. The Head Scholar had been angry with her when the very same eagle squalling at Gala now had tipped over a cauldron with a potion within. The words pierced Gala's heart:

~Flashback from 20 minutes ago~
"No, don't be mad at him!" Gala cried, hugging the eagle around its neck. She had gained a habit of calling every eagle 'he', and had become VERY protective of them as if they were her own hatchlings.
"How could I not?" the Head Scholar shouted, tossing his paws up in the air in a 'I'm sick'n'tired of all this' way. "Your stupid pet ruined my Night Vision Potion!"
"He didn't mean it!" Gala protested.
"Standing up for everything," the Head Scholar snarled. "You know what?!" He thrust his snout into Gala's face, and roared:
"YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY WORTHLESS!"
~End of Flashback~

Gala sighed at the memory. She continued to search.
She was distracted when she saw a flash of lightning on a perfectly sunny day somewhere in the forest. Confused, the gathered the sage and amethyst she gathered and put it in her satchel. She then spread her golden wings and beat them towards the forest, the soft breeze carrying her wings.
Gala gasped when she saw a dark purple and blue dragon battling a rogue. She was dismayed at her encounter, and swooped down. The blue tip of her wooden staff glinted, and lo and behold; a purple strike of lightning zapped out of it, hitting the rogue square on the snout.
Gala steered herself towards the SkyWing in the sky.
"Are you alright?" she asked him.

Not expecting another dragon to show up, Zephyros reared back when another dragon showed up, and a shock of lightning that wasn't his own slammed down on the rogues nose, causing him to roar in pain, crouching down and simply grabbing hold of Zephyros' catch before turning and flying off. Zephyros crouched  back against the resulting gust of wind, his eyes narrowing. He'd never been fond of large dragons. EarthWings were usually his biggest issue, but that rogue had been ridiculous. Could he not even eat around the border anymore without getting challenged for prey that could be taken down just as easily without having to steal? He growled once in irritation, some electricity crackling off of his wings as he hovered, forgetting for a moment his company. When he did remember, however, it was because of the female's voice piercing his thoughts, causing him to turn and look curiously at whomever had spoken to him. He was unsure whether to be grateful that she wasn't using the weird habit of being overly respectful that some of the SkyWings had yet to understand he didn't like much, or angry that she had jumped into such a dangerous situation. Finally, he just compromised and didn't show either emotion on his face, merely nodding. "I'm fine," He said. "Thank you for assisting me. Be more careful though, you could have gotten hurt just jumping in like that." Darn it, he'd shown one anyway. He needed to work on that...

Gala tilted her head at the SkyWing. Now that she could get a good look at him, she recognized him as Zephyros. She was an honorable dragon, but this seemed to be the first dragon that finally seemed grateful to her.
I'm not worthless after all, she thought, her heart swelling with an emotion of joy. Maybe he can be my first true friend here.
Of course, Gala didn't grovel around the semi-god like most would. Friends wouldn't care if the other was a god or a king or a chosen one in a prophecy.
Oh, of course Gala respected Zephyros! But... She didn't want to admire him because of his high ranking. If she did come to admire him, it would be because of who he truly was.
"Well, I couldn't let you fend off a rogue alone," Gala responded to him, smiling. "And two is better than one, after all!"

Two is better than one, huh? He'd heard it many times before, but this time for some reason, it made him smile slightly, nodding in agreement. "Two is better than one," He agreed, backing up slightly when a gust of wind came, so he wouldn't be blown in a direction he didn't want to go. He'd learned that particular lesson as a trainee....
"What is your name?" He asked, almost before he consciously thought of asking the question. He surprised himself; usually he wasn't that interested in others. He preferred to be alone, considering it was much more.... calm... and informal as well. He just hated formalities. But, the question was out now, so he mentally steeped himself for a long conversation and hoped that this dragoness, who looked to be a wizard, judging by her staff and weird eagle things, wasn't one to focus more on the sheen of her scales than the actually important things in life.

Gala beat her wings a bit harder as the gust of wind came. The breeze slightly backed her up a feww feet without her meaning to, but the golden SkyWing returned to her normal position. The wind continued to buffet her tail, but years of flying practice helped her focus more on the strength of her wings so the movements of her tail couldn't effect her flying without meaning to.
When Zephyros asked her for her name, Gala gave him a large bright smile and said, "Gala the Golden Wizard at your service!" She lowered the top part of her body to a playful formal bow in midair, and giggled when the breeze lowered her altitude with a jerk. She rose herself up again and asked, "It's nice to meet you. What is your name?" She knew, but she wanted to appear friendly and interested. Again, if Zephyros was to be her friend, she would appreciate him for the contents of his character, not because of high ranking, though she would be happy for him of the position.

Zephyros felt a smile tug at the corners of his mouth at Gala's antics. The informality of the whole situation was making him more comfortable around another dragon than he usually was. Her small jerk and giggle brought a full on smile to his face, and he replied,  "Zephyros the Storm Bringer," He said, imitating her playful bow best he could without going through a fall in altitude as she had. "And it is a pleasure to meet you as well. What brings you out to these distant borders, if I may ask?" Though he hated formalities, he often found himself speaking as so, used to needing to speak so around most other dragons. He usually came across as bored, but today the slight smile may have made him seem less bored, and more impish.

Gala chuckled as Zephyros echoed her playful bow, and remembering her Scholar assignment and the Head Scholar's words, her face darkened a bit, but only for a fraction of a moment. She returned with a smile playing along her mouth, and responded to Zephyros:
"I was on a VERY special mission," she said, smiling. She was using playful sarcasm to describe her 'quest'. "I have to collect sage... How cool is that?" She laughed good-humoredly, and asked her new friend, "And what's your epic assignment? Guardian patrols, I assume?"

Herbs? Why was a Scholar collecting herbs? Zephyros couldn't think of why, and he feared to ask, as most Scholars he knew tended to get affronted whenever he asked a question, as if he should have already known. As if every dragon was as all-knowing as they were.  So, he simply agreed with her, as he'd learned was best to do. "Very awe-inspiring," he said with a smile. When asked what he was doing, however, he lost his smile, and shrugged, his head tipping to the side a bit. "Same thing I've been doing since I graduated training. You caught me on the one day there happened to be something off going on at the border."

Before Gala could respond, she heard a sqwuak. She looked up to see that her eagle was rising up to the sky (it was actually there the whole time) and tilting its head at her as if asking permission. Gala nodded, and the eagle gave a mighty flap of its wings and soared off on the breeze, leaving Gala watching after it. She turned back to Zephyros and replied, "I'm glad to." She frowned. "That rogue had a body as he flew off. That wasn't your lunch, I hope?" She glanced around, desperate to help somebody and prove that she is worth something. "If it was, I'd be more than glad to help you get another."

Watching her interaction with the eagle, Zephyros couldn't help but wonder what it was asking, and what she'd told it in return. Had it been asking permission to hunt? He was curious, but his attention soon got taken over by her next question, about the rogue and his meal. "It was," He stated. "Most likely the reason I got attacked in the first place as well." His head tipped a bit too the dude when she glanced around, watching her movements. She seemed almost... nervous. Was that his doing? "I'd be grateful. If we can track down a larger one, you could eat some lunch as well, if you don't mind me as a meal partner."

Gala grinned. "I'd love to have a meal partner," she admitted. "It's rare when I eat with a friend, so I'm up for it."
She batted her wings and lowered herself down a bit. She clutched the top of a tree, and it bent under the weight of the dragon, but it didn't snap. In fact, Gala had muttered a strength spell to where it would get tougher for it to break. She fluttered her wings as she sought balance. Gala gazed up at Zephyros.
"Alright, this is embarrassing to tell anyone this," she began nervously. "But nobody ever taught me to hunt."

(My mouse isn't working, so I'm using touch screen, so my dialogue isn't highlighted this time)

Following her movement, Zephyros landed carefully on a tree, letting it bend under his weight. Luckily, the trunk was thick enough that it didn't automatically snap. He wrapped his tail around the trunk to hold himself steady, looking at her calmly while she spoke. His head tipped to the side when she mentioned not being able to hunt, his eyes widening slightly. As a dragon who hunted for his meals most every day, Zephyros found it hard to imagine life without being able to hunt. He didn't even know how she'd survived. "You need to learn," he said simply. "I can teach you, if you want. It's in you're blood, so it shouldn't her too diffucult."

((Sorry that was so short, I'm at school right now.))

Gala gave a bright smile, and fluttered her wings.
"Really? That'd be great!" She leapt unto the surface of the ground and thudded lightly, and gazed up at Zephyros. "Nobody ever bothered to teach me."

(Sorry, so short...)

Shifting carefully, Zephyros slid off the tree and carefully made his way to the ground, not wanting to get slapped by any branches. He sat down when he'd finally reached it, looking at her for a moment after she spoke. Nobody had taught her? That just seemed strange to him. And a bit cruel. Not teaching a dragon to hunt is like not learning to breath properly. Zephyros hadn't heard of it happening before. "There's a first time for everything," He said, not wanting to pry. "What do you know about hunting?"

Gala began by looking around, ears pricked. She murmured thoughtfully, and began her explanation slowly: "I know you must be quiet, and stealthy. You have to be able to distinguish different prey scents. You..." She looked at Zephyros, crestfallen. She realized she knew so little. She felt less of a real SkyWing... It made her feel horrible. What if she was turned upon by him, and many others because she only knew the only two facts she stated. She was sure there was more...

"You've got the two of the three main points. The third one would be speed," he said quickly, not liking how crestfallen she looked. It wasn't exactly her fault nobody had taught her. It was a bit hard to learn to hunt when you only knew the mental process of it. That was where mentors come in. "Your body simply hasn't learned to follow your mind," Zephyros said, standing up. He walked past her, gently touching her shoulder with his tail as he walked by. "Come on,"

Walking a few dragonlengths, Zephyros found a good clearing to take off. Glancing back at Gala, he opened his wings and took flight, ignoring the clouds that immediately began to follow him when he touched the sky. Hovering, he waited for her, his gaze down on the clearing.

Gala grinned at his reassuring words, as they comforted her. She followed him with a happy skip to her step, and as he took to the sky, she launched herself after him, her large golden wings propelling her upwards. Sunlight danced upon her metallic-colored scales as she beat her wings to fly beside Zephyros. She smiled as the rush of the breeze battered at her face, and fluttered the small spines on her back. The warmth of the sun was mesmerizing, and Gala was tempted to close her eyes and bask, but that would surely result in being knocked out of the sky.
Gala distracted herself as she noticed at Zephyros had followers: clouds. She smiled at them, awestruck. "Whoa, that's really neat!" she exclaimed, gazing back up at him. "They must really like you."

At Gala's words, Zephyros automatically glanced behind him at the offending weather forms, sighing. "I'm not sure if clouds can feel," He said, flicking his tail at then until they started on their way. "But being followed around by storm clouds can be a bit irritating at times. Especially when it is a known metaphor that if you're followed by dark clouds, your day is in a bad way. It makes people assume I'm angry or the sort." He wasn't quite sure why he'd just said that much; he usually didn't open up to other dragons that quickly. What was done was done though, so he looked over at her curiously. "Let's start with tracking," He said. "Tell me what you smell, see, and hear. All of it, even the smallest detail. You never know what could be important later on."

Gala nodded vigorously and she obediently pricked her ears, trying to detect something, anything. She scented a non-dragonic aroma, and she turned her head towards the source of the smell. It came from the woods, and as Gala tried to pry deeper into the 'mystery' by breathing in the scents, she noticed other smells that were animals. She couldn't tell what they were exactly just yet, but wasn't that the point of learning? To learn?
Gala pointed to the forest with a white claw, and said, "I smell a lot of animals in there, but none are dragons... I really can't tell what they are by scent though."

"That's fine," Zephyros responded, glad she could at least identify dragon from prey. If she hasn't been able to, this lesson could have taken weeks. As such, it was just a matter of information and practice. "Yes, you're right, there are no other dragons around here besides us. As for those scents, that's a matter of experience, and smelling those same scents often enough to distinguish them." Looking at the forest, he tipped his head to the side, taking a deep breath. Animals, she was correct. The scents themselves were rather blurred, considering the multitude and distance of them, which explained Gala's difficulty in identifying them. "Now, pick a scent," He said. "And start to follow it. That will be your pretty, so don't let it get confused between the others. Focus not only on your nose, but listen for the creature as well."

Gala went through the scents she could detect. Out of all of them, she distinguished an earthy musky scent, but she could tell it was alive by the aroma of it. She beckoned her golden tail to Zephyros for him to follow her, and tipped her wings down to the forest, the breeze carrying her down to the assembly of wood and emerald green leaves swaying gently in the breeze. She paused before entering the lush woods, frowning. Could she actually follow one scent out of all of those? She doubted it, but knew she must try. She took a deep breath and lowered herself to the ground, and began to walk into the woods. Gala glanced back to make sure Zephyros was following.

~Sorry for short post, I'm kinda rushed~

Zephyros watched her quietly as she took in the scents once more, his head tipping to the side as he flapped steadily to keep him places in the air. When she finished, and motioned for him to follow her, he leaned forward and glided after her, diving down into the trees and landing gently on the floor a few moments after his wings snapped out to catch him. Automatically, he checked the scents of the forest around him, and listened for any Rogues. Years of habit were hard to break at times. Satisfied that nothing was going to attack Gala while she was focused on the hunt rather than her surroundings, he walked carefully after her, staying a few dragonlengths behind, as his naturally electrically charged body was known to scare away prey at times. When she glanced back at him, he gave her an encouraging smile of a sorts, trying to look encouraging.

Gala smiled as she encouraged by Zephyros' grin. It motivated her, even. The golden SkyWing ducked her head and trekked into the forest silently. She had watched dragons hunt, and she knew to keep a soft step and keen eye. Her amber gaze darted around the undergrowth of the forest, and kept herself glancing up at the treetops in case what she was looking for was up there above her head.
Gala walked for a few moments, but stopped as she realized that the scent was terribly close. She rose her head and breathed in once more, trying to be exact and precise in her choosing.
The aroma was arising from a clump of holly bushes. Gala prowled forward. She lifted an extended paw and nudged the undergrowth.
Squeals shot out of the leaves all of a sudden, leaving Gala stunned and ears ringing. Stars began to dance in her vision. She shook her head rapidly, trying to clear it, and once they did, she stared down at what her prey was: a hog, trampling around her paws as if dancing a tribal dance.
Gala stared down at it, and her head snapped down and she grabbed it in her teeth. The hog stopped thrashing. Gala turned to Zephyros, eyes wide.
"Didth I do good enuffth?" she asked him, her jaws still clenching her kill.

~Bump ^-^~