Training Upon Tracks (Private Tempest)

As Rohkar waited on an overhang, his claws grasping the edge nervously waiting. Hearing that the leader wanted to train with him made him worry, not that he couldn't do it but the fact that it was his leader. Since most of the time he was alone also made him awkward with other people, yet his skills are clearly make up for his position. Sighing he rested his muzzle against the heated ground close by to an active volcano, enjoying the moment he suddenly felt a presence coming closer.

Tempest had wandered through many of the different volcanoes, by now, she was certain that she had gone through and past the FireWing. A small sigh escaped her maw, how could she become so lost in her own land..? Tempest had asked Rokhar for a bit of training, as she was rather horrible at tracking, which is something she really did need to improve with. Especially considering what was going to be happening soon.

That's when she saw him, a relieved expression crossing over her face. "Rokhar, my apologies for being late. I became lost when I was searching for you."

Hearing a voice, he turned his gaze towards Tempest. "Don't worry, I'm not the easiest to find after all" chuckling to himself, standing tall he bowed towards the leader, "So.. how can I help you?" tilting his head curiously as he eyes scanned the area, smirking slightly he quickly used his shadow teleport appearing towards her flank. "I can train you to act faster, or to track your prey... or perhaps something more advanced.." Quickly tapping her with his tail, looking to see how fast she can react.

Tempest nodded slightly, ruefully agreeing with his statement. It had taken her a long while to be able to find him, but maybe that was exactly why he was her assassin. She had opened her maw to answer his question, but suddenly he vanished. Instantly, she was alert, wondering if she had been talking to an illusion or something similar the whole time. Was this a trap?

A slight contact from behind made her pull away, spinning on her hind legs as she then came to rest, facing the assassin. However, in their seriousness, she was amused at their somewhat playful actions. "You're the assassin, what do you think I need to be trained in?" She inquired rather bemusedly, wondering why he would be asking her this. All she knew is that she wasn't really able to track when the dragons hid their trails rather well, which could easily end badly, especially if they were attempting to trap her. Or ambush her...

Looking amused he chuckled with a smile, "Well I can think of a few things, but I can help you inprove with everything" nodding he paused for a moment listening to silence. Without warning he quickly tapped his tail onto her snout, too quick for the eye to focus. "As you know I'm rarely with anyone.. Therefore I don't train with people, though since you asked its my duty to improve our Queen, so forgive me if I sound to harsh"

Sighing he closed his eyes, "Now first for you to improve you must see..Try to strike me, force me to the ground.." Waiting patiently he listened for any sign of her moving, any dragon would have thought it to be easy yet Rohkar was using his skills to judge incoming attacks.

Tempest chuckles quietly at his response, she knew that she was a bit rusty in a lot of areas concerning tracking. "I do have a lot of things which I can improve with, my main problem I find is tracking... And do not worry, your methods don't scare me too much." Tempest said with a light laugh, before turning her face seriously to him.

Was he serious? She could easily kill him... But what is he up to.. Tempest thought to herself silently. But she had to do as he wished. She quietly raised her tail, its extremely long form draping loosely in the air as she held it. She then used her front paws, going to strike at him with them and her tail from behind.

Just as she began her attack, he felt the air and her presence gain closer, jumping into the air he twisted his body dodging her attacks. Still with his eyes closed he used his wings to blast himself towards her head, grasping her horns with his paws he chuckled. "I'm not too easy to hit, though one strike would finish me quickly" Disappearing again into shadow as he moved onto the ground again. "I know you won't be able to do that, but I can help improve your awareness in battle and like you said tracking."

Tempest was rather astonished when the seemingly blind dragon managed to dodge her attack, even her tail. He spun around into the air, then managed to even grab her horns mockingly. She was about to shoot a fireball at him-just before he vanished again. A slight snarl came from her maw. He was right, she needed a lot of training...

But she noticed that he dissipated into the shadows again, but quickly reformed again. "You have rather quick reflexes... How do you do that?" Tempest asked, genuinely curious as to how he was able to do seemingly detect everything she did with closed eyes. It was something she was never able to do.

Nodding slightly at the question, "Its something which has saved me more than once, listening and feeling to the air around you. Leading to feeling a presence, its like predicting movements." smiling slightly as he thought about the times it had failed him, "Though it does have its flaws, of course I wouldn't close my eyes in a real battle but its like another sense". Thinking for a moment he thought of an idea to help her tracking, "Alright, well first lets get your tracking up to scratch. I'm going to leave some tracks for you to follow, though be warned some will be decoys but don't worry I will show you some key points" Walking over towards her he sat onto the ground looking downwards, using his claw he marked at the floor showing standard types of marks.

"Right.. A lot about tracking is luck, though your instincts will play a part, smell at the air look for signs of your prey which your hunting. All dragons and creatures smell differently its about picking up the difference, take your time I'm not expecting you to find me straight away. Before I go make sure you get my scent, usually I would hide my scent but for this test lets see how fast you can find me" Pausing for a moment incase she had any questions, "Alright good, for a general idea I will be over by the burned forest, I won't move from my spot" Teleporting away he quickly moved towards inside the forest finding a spot deep within he found a tree strong enough to support his weight, yet hiding in a tree was easy, instead he found a fallen tree covering a small enclosed space. Hiding inside after making some tracks around the area, Closing his eyes listening for Tempest.

Tempest listened to Rohkar, quietly watching and nodding at his instructions. She didn't speak much, attempting to transfer everything into her memory so that she would be able to have access to it later on when she would need it the most. This was becoming more and more important as time went on, especially considering the invasion which was literally just around the corner. But as she opened her mouth to ask a question, the tiny little NightWing/FireWing was gone. She sighed quietly, before scanning the grounds for any signs of where he could have gone.

Around five minutes later, she was able to pick up the first few steps and broken twigs which he had done. Slowly, she followed the trail, making sure that everything matched up to what the assassin had shown her earlier. Everything seemed to match, and slowly, she followed the trail to see where it would end.

A small smile appeared on her face as her voice rose, "I'm not sure if I should be impressed with myself or annoyed. It took me around 14 minutes to find you-I know you were only around five hundred meters away... But still, it's an improvement for me as I normally wouldn't have been able to find anything or anyone. What clues did I miss?" Tempest asked, watching the little assassin closely, but there was a fire of determination in her eyes to learn and improve.

Rohkar Chuckled as she spoke out, "Don't worry Tempest, your faster than most. I did leave quite a number of tracks, normally it wouldn't be as easy." Coming out of his hiding spot he smiled towards the dragoness, "You have any questions?" looking around he titled his head towards her, "Anyways.. lets try this again, but this time I will leave only 3 traces"

Tempest partially groaned, not really wanting to scavenge around and look for signs and trails behind the small dragon before her. However, it was to be expected as this was what she had asked to be trained with. Still, she didn't have to enjoy it one bit. Tempest was a dragon made for fighting, a dragon build for being at the front lines with her FireWings whenever they fought. She was definitely not a dragon who was made for tracking down the tiniest broken twigs and finding tracks that lead nowhere.

She nodded partially to Rohkar, a partially toothy grin on her face, "Make sure you take it easy on me, I'm not exactly the best at picking up tracks." Tempest laughed quietly, her black features partially blending in with the night creeping in on them.

// Time skip //

Smiling as she finished the last task he had set for her, looking upwards he replied "Great job Tempest! With those skills I'm sure you will make a great tracker" chuckling he gazed around as it was clearly dark now, as it became harder to see he continued "We should head back, otherwise it might be hard getting back" sighing he turned towards leaving the forest he waited for his queen. flicking his tail slightly brushing the dead leaves on the ground.

Tempest wasn't exhausted physically, but her eyes and paws were somewhat aching from thoroughly searching as many trees, boulders and basically anything that she could find. Her paws ached from walking so much through the shrubs and trees, but her bulky form had managed to pick up the small tracks and trails that Rohkar had left behind. Smiling slightly to Rohkar as he spoke, Tempest lowered her head in appreciation. "You do remember we are FireWings right? We have our own light. There's not going to be an issue with us going back home."

Tempest stretched her legs to ease their cramping, a bit of a smile on her face. "Do you wish to go straight back? Or would you like to stay here for a while-I mean, if you have pressing matters at home, then I understand... But if you don't then I'd like your company for a while." Tempest almost snarled at herself, her claws digging into the ground as she wondered why she was nervous around the smaller assassin.

Nodding slightly from her answer he chuckled about the light, "True.. but it can attract anybody, yet if you want to stay thats fine with me. After all your my queen so I have to follow your orders" smirking slightly he tilted his head slightly as he checked over behind her towards the trees. Moving over casually he checked a source of sound incase of a follower, nothing to be found he turned facing the dragoness again. Suddenly feeling a little nervous that it was true she was his queen as he felt embarrassed as he hasn't shown that much respect over the day.

Tempest raised an eyeridge to Rohkar, a smile partially on her face. "Have you not heard of me, little FireWing? I am a walking army without my FireWings by my side. Nothing would come near us if they knew what was good for them. I wish only for you to stay and then come with me if you would like to." Tempest chuckled quietly, before pushing her way through the trees. She remembered her way back rather well.Turning back to Rohkar, she gestured for him to follow.

She would lead him through the trees, to the ledge that overlooked the FireWing kingdom. It was a rather large area that it covered and being in the warm mountains constantly sometimes drained Tempest. Work, scheduling for walls to be built and other things that had to be done before she went to war against the NightWings. She sighed quietly, before laying down on the ledge, her paws overhanging the cliff. "Do you ever feel as if the weight of the world is on your shoulders?" Tempest asked him. However, she would only be able to ask if he still followed her to where she currently was.

As Rohkar followed Tempy as they eventually stopped he started to feel tired with his paws after moving around a lot. Resting against the ground not to far from Tempest yet a respectable distance. Smiling slightly he replied "Well... sometimes.. for example when I'm on a job, yet I can't imagine what its like for you" curling his tail against him he got into a comfortable position. "Sometimes I'm kinda glad I'm away from most of that.. even avoiding the tribe too.. with my small size most of them look ashamed, yet they know what I could do.." sighing he pressed his snout against his forepaws looking blankly towards the lands.

Tempest nodded as she listened to the small dragon next to her. He did have a point, most dragons around would frown upon him for his size, judging him for what he can and cannot do. However, Tempest had partially seen past that and seen his advantages when she saw the skills of an assassin in there. His tracking skills were incredible and his ability to move unseen even more so. Somewhat feeling bad for the little assassin, she raised her paw to gently pat his back.

"If I hadn't have been so loyal to my beloved FireWings in the past, then there is no way that I could have had a chance to cope with all the tasks they wish for me to do. I can hardly imagine what it's like for you though, some dragons look to you as if you are a terrifying figure. They just don't know what you are like." Tempest spoke softly, a small sigh escaping her. She didn't know why, but she just felt like talking to someone else who would understand exactly how she felt. And, surprisingly, what she had been searching for in that regards came across in the form of her little FireWing assassin.

Nodding smiling from her words he chuckled "True.. many do look towards me terrified. Yet I can see many fear you and look up towards you" breathing softly as smoke exited from his nose shaking his head, "So... are you planning to stay the night here?" chuckling as he continued gazing towards the mountains.

Tempest nodded silently to him. She had to agree, most dragons were scared of her, the Firelings and her hell form really putting the distance between herself and her FireWings. "They think that the beings I create aren't controlled by me and are afraid of them. I don't blame them, they do sometimes scare me as well... But they are completely under control." Tempest said in annoyance, flicking her tail.

"I think I need the night out... Will you be going back do you think?" Tempest inquired, partially hoping that he would decline and stay back with her.

nodding he quickly replied to her last question "Well.. I couldn't leave my leader alone..So would you let me stay?" raising his brow as he waited for her response. Rumbling his chest slightly as he spoke again "May.. I ask a question? A rather personal question.." nervously speaking he turned his gaze towards the queen, moving his tail slightly as his scales grazed against the rocky surface.

Tempest smiled at his question, lowering her head in acknowledgement to him. "I'd be honoured if you were to stay. I surely could use the company." She chuckled, before a small little purr came from her as she noticed a nervous growl coming from him. Tempest tilted her head to the side partially, a bit taken aback by him asking for permission to do something so simple as to ask for a personal question. She nodded to him. "Of course you can ask me. Ask me whatever you wish." Tempest said, smiling down to him.

Nervously continuing he replied "What made you choose to became leader? Like.. With our history" sighing he lowered his gaze feeling awkward for asking such a question. "Also... How come you havn't found someone to lead by your side.." Blushing slightly he avoided her gaze as he felt embarrassed.

Tempest lowered her head, acknowledging his question. She considered how to answer it, a sad expression taking over her face from her normal one. "It was a personal request, the old leader herself requested it from me. I was loyal, strong willed... She knew I would fulfill her wishes to protect her FireWings." She explained, her claws curling up into a fist, scratching at the rock beneath her. "And to answer your last question, I terrify too many of my FireWings for any to even consider being closer to me." Tempest explained nervously, chuckling to herself. "It's something I have wanted to change for many months, being alone and a queen is... extremely taxing." She mumbled quietly, feeling her cheeks flush. Tempest had never told anyone about this before, preferring to keep it a personal knowledge. "I... umm.. Why do you ask?" Tempest inquired, looking back nervously at the handsome little FireWing next to her.

Listening to her words he smiled as her voice told the truth, raising his brow at her last question he suddenly realised. "Gahh.. Nothing.. Its just I would have thought a strong guardian would have suited for you.." Sighing blushing brighter, his scales glowed a little more showing his emotion of feeling embarrassed. "As myself I try to stay clear of that stuff... With my position its not easy knowing that one job could go wrong.." Frowning slightly he turned his gaze back.