The Meeting Of Two (Private Artemis)

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(Post Tempest Pyr Topic (Pyrrhus walked around the brisk outskirts of the Icewing territory. Here, trees could be found, which gave the reptilian proper protection and cover against dragons. He walked hastily under the trees, as to not be seen by any unwanted attention from above. He hurried around as in the distance he could see dark clouds, and that could only mean one thing, heavy snow.

He saw a cave in the distance, darting into it he made it to safety and out of harm's way. The little reptilian set down his bag, taking out a rather large bear fur and laid it on the ground. After this he took out some the rest of his dried meat rations, he'd have to get more food soon or else he'd end up starving here...

But then, instead of getting out and trying to find more meat before the incoming snow storm, he just waiting. Looking out of the mouth of the cave as it began to lightly snow he'd wait here until it passed.

However what he did not know was that he would soon meet eyes with a rather unwanted foe, an Icewing...

Artemise beamed, excited at the prospect of a flight and the chance to stretch her wings, which had felt stiff and cramped after staying in this tiny den for a day. And a night. Not noticing Pyrrhus's anxiety, she crouched down and flattened her midnight blue spikes against her back, letting the reptilian climb up onto her back and rest between her wings, at the bottom of her neck. Only then did Pyrrhus's safety occurred to her. "Don't worry," she said cheerfully. "You won't fall off. I promise. Even if you did, I'd fly down and catch you before you are even aware that you fell. Here, hold on to this." A spike that was in front of Pyrrhus rose, and it would serve as a... Well, a thing to hold on. "It's fine if you hold it very tightly. It won't come off."

Making her way out of the den and through the snow, she felt better when the cold wind hit her. She spread her wings and launched herself into the sky, tearing through the air effortlessly as if she was a thin spear. She did remember Pyrrhus, though, and craned her neck to the side to check on him. "Are you all right?" she shouted over the wind howling in her ears. It was a rather windy day today; the gales were strong, stronger than usual.

Pyrrhus slowly got onto the dragoness's back. No dragon had ever let him touch them before, none the less actually climb onto them. It was kind of like a childhood stereotypical vision he always had, Riding a dragon. But it was slightly awkward, He never had done this before, It must feel awkward for Artemis to have someone on them.

He used the gaps between her scales as a foot hold and positioned himself so his legs were just in front of where her wings met her torso and her neck ended. It felt strange being up so high on a moving object. He'd been to many high peaks and cliffs before, that must be what flying was like? Right? Dragons seemed to do it smoothly and easily, so it must be peaceful... Or so he thought.

Pyrrhus grabbed onto the spike in front of him as he began to walk out of the cave. His body filled with a tingling sensation. He was finally going to be flying! The reptilian anxiously waited on the dragoness's back. The wind blew in his face in massive gusts, but that didn't stop him, he would complete a life long dream!

What happened next, however, was not at all what he thought flying would be like. She spread her wings and took off in a quick and swift manner. Pyrrhus wrapped his arms around the spike, holding on as tight as he could, hunkering down on her back. He whimpered as the wind violently pressed against him, toying with him, making him think that at any given moment he would fall off.

The harder the wind blew the more scared Pyr was, this was nothing at all like what he thought it was. It was harsh, violent, and freezing. Even for IceClaw heritage his skin stung with a bitter coldness. He whimpered more, not being able to hear the dragoness over the intense calls of the wind.

The little reptilian was terrified, He couldn't even see what was going on. When he tried to open his eyes they quickly shut due to the harsh sting of the wind. This wasn't at all what it should be like, this was awful.

There was no reply from Pyrrhus. Either it was because the wind was too loud, or he had lost his voice from... terror, she assumed. She was right. She caught a barely audible whimpering sound from him, and his eyes were shut, for they were not adapted for strong, not to mention cold, winds blowing at them. Artemise did not want to give Pyrrhus any more fear, so she abruptly tipped her whole body downwards, and let herself spiral down at a speed which took her breath away from her. Spreading her wings to slow her fall, she gently landed, sending a puff of snow into the air.

She lowered her back to let the reptilian climb down, and she said apologetically, "I'm sorry for bringing you on a flight... I didn't expect the winds to be that strong today.. And I forgot that you aren't adapted for flying.... It sums up to a disastrous flight. Sorry for making you endure all that, Pyrrhus. It isn't that bad on a non-windy day, though.." She sighed as she watched the reptilian clamber down from her back. "Err... What do you want to do now?" Artemise watched the reptilian, a million apologies and regrets swirling round and round in her eyes. She didn't know what reptilians did. Explore, like her? Eat all day? Wander into other territory? Heck, she was clueless...

Pyrrhus held on as tight as he could when the dragoness suddenly did a downward spiral. He couldn't breath at all and the speed and G-force of it was too great for the little reptilian's body. His feet felt like they were about to explode and his head throbbed in pain for blood flow. He blacked out, it would be a miracle if he didn't fall off.

Luckily for him it was right before she landed, so his limp body lay in just the right position to not fall off mid flight. He lay there for a little bit slightly unconscious, before regaining consciousness. He climbed off her back as his head throbbed. What just happened? Why didn't it happen to dragons at all?

He let out a slight whimper as he walked on the ground, trembling and half stumbling. That was awful, he never wanted it to happen again. But apparently according to the dragoness that was rare, so what would happen on a normal day? Would he still feel that awful sensation of his feet about to explode? Would he not remember anything for a small time after that?

Then she wanted to know what he would do next. He wanted to explore and adventure, but his body ached all over, his skin stung, his eyes were sore and dry. "My body hurts all over, I... I just need sleep." He said in a whisper, hardy audible.

The little reptilian slowly walked over to the cave where the fire was now out. He tried lighting it with his flint and steel. He yelped as the rock split as he struck it, cutting his hand slightly. He couldn't tell though, his senses were numb and hardly there. The fire was so tiny yet felt like it provided such a large amount of warmth to the currently frail reptilian.

He stoked the fire making it slowly grow larger. Then he looked at his hand, some fur on it now beginning to turn red. He let out a sigh as an almost frown showed on his face. he curled up next to the fire and slept on the thick animal pelt on the floor.

Artemise sighed as she watched Pyrrhus first cut his paws, then burn it by accident. She pursed her lips, shaking her head slightly. This was all her fault, she shouldn't even have suggested flying in the first place...Heck, she hadn't even considered the consequences of bringing Pyrrhus for a flight. She should have known that his body wasn't adapted for flying... She sighed again. "Sorry, Pyrrhus.." she whispered to his sleeping body. His chest moved up and down in a gentle rhythm, and she knew that he was asleep. Hopefully he would regain his strength when he awoke again.. She went over and tried to stoke the fire, but her claws were too big and clumsy for the thing that Pyrrhus used to stoke the fire.

She grimaced and decided that cooking food would be the best. She went out to hunt elk, and returned with a fat male in her talons. She then tried to roast the whole thing over a spit, but it wasn't easy to spear it anyway.. Her claws were too big. Too clumsy. She glared at the iron stick which was apparently called a spit and wished that it was bigger, so she could use it much more easily.

After much of cursing, she finally managed to get the spit through the elk, and she put it over the fire, staring at it. She felt that something was off. Maybe it was because she hadn't even cooked before.. Eh. Poking the flames with the iron bar, she tried to stoke it and beamed when she succeeded. Proud of what she had done, she sat back, a satisfied smirk spreading across her face. Excellent. Now..to wait. She frowned when she realised that she would have to wait.

No..please no. She hated boredom and waiting.. and she was too restless to sleep, too, so all she did was to stoke the flames, which didn't need any more stoking and remained the same size, heat, everything. Finally, she grew bored. Putting down the iron bar and glaring at it, as if it had been the cause of her boredom, she exited the cave and rolled around on the snow that had gathered on the grounds of the field outside.

Her body sprawled on the snow, leaving imprints, and she gazed at the sky, a contented feeling spreading inside her. All worries forgotten, she got up and happily bounded into the nearby forest like a horse. The only thought in her head was: Enjoy your freedom! Of course, it was lame; she didn't have freedom, not exactly. She would never be freed from her responsibilities. But this was a rare chance to enjoy herself, for she didn't feel this relaxed often, and she would make the most of it.

Artemise had no idea why she couldn't exactly relax in daily life. All around her, IceWings were relaxing and doing all sorts of stuff, whereas for her.. Worries echoed in her head, and her brain always reminded her about what she had to do.

Do this, do that. Her brain never let her forget any one of her..well, chores.

It was a while before she suddenly remembered Pyrrhus. She cursed colourfully and took into the air, flapping her wings as quickly as possible. Fear gnawed at her. What if a dragon had passed by and eaten him???!!!

Pyrrhus stirred in his sleep as the wind blew. He felt a presence moving about him but didn't care to wake up and see what it was. It had to be Artemise, what other dragon would be near him and would be willing to take on a giant dragon as big as she was? He was safe, and needed sleep to recover.

The wind blew harder now, bringing the sore reptilian out of his sleep slightly. There was a slight tink but he didn't check to see what it was, it had to be Artemise anyway. But shortly after that he knew it couldn't be. He couldn't hear the crunch of snow from the giant dragoness's paws anymore.

Soon after Pyrrhus awoke to a foul burning smell accompanied with a large amount of smoke. Waking up the Reptilian realized that a rather large deer had fallen over from its spit and onto the fire, causing it to start to burn. The wind must of knocked the deer over into the fire... Or something of the like.

The little reptilian coughed as thick gray-white smoke filled the air, going into his lungs. In a hectic scatter he kicked over his gear bag, causing all its inner contents to fall out. He grabbed a hatchet and some rope from the mess, running outside and out of the cave that was now spewing smoke from the entrance.

He ran about 300 feet from the cave to where a side of the hill started. Going under a tree Pyrrhus took the butt of his axe handle and started busting away the icy snow. He quickly carved out a small pit like angled hole to protect himself from the wind and got in it. He built up snow around the entrance to make it not easily seen, alone with the tree in front to allow it to be much more hidden.

From here he waiting till either the fire died down or he saw Artemise again. Wait... Where was Artemise? He didn't recall seeing her in the cave. Maybe she left when the fire started... But why didn't she warn him? Did she leave him with food on purpose? Was she gone? Would he never see her again?

The questions raced through Pyrrhus's mind as the reptilian felt an empty sadness inside him. What if she just left him... A dragon would see the smoke and check it out. What if they thought humans were in the area or mistook him for food? He'd be dead out here alone at this rate.

The little reptilian let out a slight whimper and sunk deeper into the pit he was in.

Artemise landed on the ground with a thump and ran over to the cave, only to recoil when she saw thick gray-white smoke spewing out of the cave. She cursed, and retreated a few steps back, wanting to just turn tail and walk away and be done with this. But no. Pyrrhus might be inside, if he didn't have the sense to run, that is. He had probably escaped from this smoking hellhole already but she couldn't risk it. What if he was too injured, or dizzy to escape? To move, even? She sighed and closed her eyes, before charging straight into the smoking cave. She didn't open her eyes..until she accidentally burned her tail on the fire and yelped, her eyes flying open. She grimaced when she saw the source of the smoke; the elk that she'd tried to cook earlier.. Ugh. She'd never try to cook ever again. She looked around and spotted Pyrrhus's gear bag, its contents spilling all over the place. The fire was very close to it; already, the tips of the flames were licking the gear bag. She hurriedly used her tail to push the gear bag and its contents away from the fire, wincing when her tail came in contact with the orange flames, which left a black spot on the side of her tail, right behind the longest and last spike on her tail. Ugh.. She swept the contents into the gear bag with her slightly burned tail, still too lazy to use her limbs, and then coiled her tail around the gear bag and ran out of the cave.

Well..now to find Pyrrhus. She hadn't had a clue to how she should do that. Just then, miniature footprints on the snow caught her eyes; she grinned, knowing that she would have no problem finding the reptilian. Artemise followed the footprints, and soon came to a hill. Ehh.. there were many trees around.. Pyrrhus might have climbed up one of them??? Follow the footprints, you dummy. Oh. Right. She continued walking, and soon the footprints ended. And there was a pit right in front of the last footstep. She sighed in relief when she saw Pyrrhus curled up in the pit. "Glad you're alright," she said, a smile spreading across her face. Her tail dumped the gear bag on the snow, and she sat down. And then she noticed Pyrrhus's face. "What's wrong!?" she asked, looking around for something that could have scared Pyrrhus.

Pyrrhus let out a slightly growl as he heard someone approaching. His emotions changed rapidly, his muscles became tense as he became slightly angrier. If whatever was out there was going to attack him, he'd put up a fight at least. That way Artemise, if she ever came back, could know not to look for him anymore, the color of the snow could tell the story.

The little reptilian grabbed his axe and prepared himself for what may be next. The oncoming creature's footprints shook the earth, so it had to be a dragon... a big dragon... He would die if it wasn't Artemise. There was no way he could take on a dragon that was that big, with just an axe and no armor.

But what if it was Artemise? It was a possibility, a good chance that it would be. He put his axe down, for a second he was at ease. The thought of her coming back made him less angry, and back onto the scared thought that he had. His emotions took him off guard. A feeling like this had never happened to him before, especially not this rapidly.

He looked up, and there she was. Artemise, looking down on him. His sadness slightly stayed, but for the most part he was filled with happiness seeing as how he wouldn't die. "Uh... It's... It's nothing..." He said meekly, coming out of his small shelter. He looked at the cave that was now spewing out less smoke than before.

It was going to be a long time here...

Artemise's smile turned into a frown when she followed the direction of Pyrrhus's gaze. "I am really very sorry about that.." She glared at the smoke, as if it was at fault, instead of her. "I tried to cook some elk for you, so that you wouldn't have to wait for the elk to cook when you woke up.. But it turned into a disaster while I was..errr, frolicking outside. I'll never, ever cook again," she vowed, her tail thumping on the ground. She plopped down beside him, sending a puff of snow into the air. Then she noticed that Pyrrhus was shivering slightly. "I'm sorry but I can't warm you up," she said regretfully. "I'm an IceWing, you see..." Hmm.. Oh! An idea hit her, and she stood up, her tail snaking upwards. It coiled around a few tree branches and pulled, and with a crack, they parted with the trunk. She dropped them in front of Pyrrhus. "What about making a fire?" she suggested. Her tail reached up and grabbed some more tree branches, pulling them and dropping them onto the small pile.

She then settled on the snow again, laying her head on her paws and yawning contentedly. Snow surrounded her, and its cold seeped into her scales, chilling her and making her feel more comfortable. Artemise shifted her head slightly to look at Pyrrhus, worried for him. He didn't look that well..and to be stuck in the snow when you weren't in perfect condition.. She grimaced slightly and asked, "Anything else I can do for you?"

Pyrrhus looked at the cave some more. 'How was my stuff doing...' he wondered to himself. He'd need his gear to live out here, or else he would die. He looked back up to Artemise, who suddenly fell onto the snow, blasting a large puff of it into his face. He let out a slight sigh as the walls of his currently make due shelter for the time being collapsed in on itself from the sudden force of the giant dragon.

Climbing out of the hole the little reptilian sat down on the snow. The dragoness suddenly gave him a ton of sticks to make a fire from, due to his not so good condition from previous incidents. "I... I can't make a fire." He said meekly, not wanting to fail the dragoness's 'orders'. "I don't have any supplies."

He could tell she wouldn't hurt him for not doing it, but it was instinct after a while. 'Do what you're told or this happens' and 'do this and do that.' From a life of being pushed around it was just instinct to not fail others, or he felt he would be punished.

Looking at the ground the reptilian felt slightly sad, as if he had let down Artemise in a way by not making the fire. "No... I... I'll be fine" he said meekly again, this time hardly above a whisper. He felt bad that he couldn't help her, even though all she wanted was to help him.

Letting out a slight sigh the reptilian laid on his back, looking at the now setting sun from another long day in the wilderness. When the fire went out he'd get any of his remaining supplies from the cave and probably part ways, maybe never even seeing Artemise again. The thought brought a sadness to his mind, but it was what would happen. It's what always happened...

Artemise peered at him. "Why not?" she asked, using her tail to open the gear bag she had dumped onto the snowy ground earlier. "Don't you have stuff in here" --she gestured at the gear bag with her tail-- "that you can use?" She found that using her tail to do stuff was easier. Opening the bag, gesturing, and who knew what more. Better than using her claws, which were bound to cut something by accident. She should have used her tail to roast that elk earlier...speaking of elk, she realised that Pyrrhus probably needed a spit. She had no idea what he needed, but maybe the spit was something that could help him start a fire. "Stay here," she instructed the reptilian, and turned tail, running straight towards the smoking den. She skidded to a halt when she was a few centimeters away from the entrance, and eyed the smoke hesitantly. Ehhh..should she go in? She nearly turned around to go back to Pyrrhus, but a thought struck her.

Do you want to go back to him empty-handed? Those words rang in her head with a force that stopped her from running away from the smoke. She sighed. Oh well..Here goes. Mashing her lips into a thin line, she lowered her head and braced herself before running straight towards the smoking entrance. Her eyes were open this time, but they stung and watered as the smoke came in contact with her eyes; she kept them open, though, and soon she caught sight of the spit. She curled her tail around the rod and the spit and yanked it from its stand, before whirling around to flee from the smoky place.

--

"Here." Artemise dumped the rod and spit onto the ground and sat, her eyes still watering. Stupid, stupid smoke..Well, Pyrrhus would probably be able to make a fire and warm himself now, right? She watched him hopefully, praying that she had taken the right things. Praying that she wouldn't have to go back into that suffocating hole.

Pyrrhus looked on as the dragoness ran into the cave and came out with the spit for cooking. He could cook meat now, meat he didn't have, on the fire he didn't have. He needed his flint and steel, and he knew there was no way she could find it in the cave. It was way too small for her in general. More than too small, puny.

The little reptilian thanked the dragoness then ran off into the cave. Crouching on the floor he was fine as the smoke rose to the ceiling and was hardly there, heavily dissipated.
He managed to round up all his gear in his back again rather hastily and emerged from the cave, walking back to the spot Artemise was at.

He took his hatchet and splintered some wood. After that he put small cloth shavings in the bottom of it and struck his flint and steel a few times, the small molten fragments hitting and lighting the cloth on fire. From there he made it spread to the kindling and onto the small wooden fragments.

The fire eventually got bigger in the sub zero land and warmed the reptilian. He wondered how an Icewing was so comfortable to be near fire but didn't question it out loud, not wanting to instigate anything.

Artemise watched the reptilian run into the cave and back, returning with the stuff that he needed. Eh..so she went in there and literally choked inside for nothing.. A slight scowl showed on her face, but she quickly wiped it away. Nothing to get mad at. Her eyes followed Pyrrhus's movements, observing how he set up the fire and all that, and soon there was a roaring fire warming up Pyrrhus, who had been shivering violently from the cold. She was too close to the heat, and it was slightly uncomfortable, so she shifted a little to move back slightly. "Pyrrhus...Do you mind if I ask about your rank? And where your home is? And who you work for?" She looked at him curiously, but she heard leaves rustling, and she quickly stood up, scanning her surroundings for any sign of danger.

Only to see a pack of wolves walking towards them, their lips curled back to reveal pointy fangs. Apparently they had trespassed on the wolves' territory..But Artemise would show them who the boss was. She swiped her tail at them, sweeping them aside, sending them to the ground a few feet away. They stood and rushed at her again, and she roared at them, and they slowed, wariness clear in their hostile green eyes. She swiped a claw at one of them, and it jumped aside, only to be impaled by the claws of another paw. Seeing one of them getting killed, they only got more enraged, and charged towards her. Once again, she used her tail, not to sweep aside but to send tail spikes flying.

She watched in satisfaction as each spike sank into the white pelt of each wolf, staining it red. "Want some wolf meat?" she joked, for a moment forgetting Pyrrhus was probably half wolf.

Pyrrhus looked up at Artemise as she asked him the questions. "I don't really have a rank, or a home at the minute. I'm almost always traveling the world. I don't work for anybody." He said shyly, answering the questions promptly. He saw Artemise stand up and look around.

Just some wolves... Not really a problem there. If they'd attack he'd fight back, if not they would probably be on their way. Artemise had other plans apparently. He watched as she flung the wolves around violently. It almost gave him a sickening feeling in side. That easily could've been him being thrown around.

The wolf like reptilian watched one of the wolves be impaled, nearly torn apart by the dragon's large claws. The others kept being thrown around helplessly. At this point they would've run away if left alon-

Pyrrhus froze as he watched them all be impaled by Artemise's tail spikes. They laid on the ground bleeding and in pain. It was overkill... a slaughter... The scene would leave an imagine in Pyr's head forever.

He looked at Artemise with a frown on his face as she asked him if he wanted wolf meat...
He grabbed a shovel from his bag and began to dig a small pit, putting the now dead wolves in it and covering it up.

In life you kill for 2 things, to protect yourself if attacked, or to eat. This was just a ruthless slaughter in Pyrs mind.