Love is Blind (Rylatha, Rihzome)

It, at first, had been odd for him. To walk among the towering trees he had once only heard about in stories and from books, knowing that somewhere buried far below his feet was an entire city… Smiling faintly, he lightly pawed the earth, breathing in the scent of just… earth. Was there any other way to describe such a basic and fulfilling scent? Damp, maybe… but it still smelt of earth. Smiling to himself, he patted it back down, as he tucked his wings to his side and continued his little… ‘adventure’. Of course, as a Nightwing, it was incredibly odd, to be traipsing around in territory that only a few short months ago had been held by humans, and before that, by Earthwings. Not wrong, not quite, but definitely as if he shouldn’t have been there. Regardless… It was shared territory now, was it not? Shouldering the rather large satchel he was carrying, stuffed with several important tomes on magic and associated artefacts, he slowly made his way towards Twilight Spire. Of course, he was far from any road or path, having decided to take a rather… extreme detour into the Earthwing’s old territory. Why… he really didn’t know. The thought of simply walking under those great trees, he assumed.

Wandering for what seemed like hours to him, he shook himself and slowly began to make his way, properly, towards Twilight Spire, musing over the fact that he was approaching it from the ‘Earthwing’ side rather than Nightwing, as he had been originally going to. He was still far from it, of course, a few hours at the leisurely pace he set for himself, but he had ensured, or he told himself that he had, that he was close enough to ward off any passing human or beast… after all, what kind of fool would attack a stronghold that densely populated…? Letting those thoughts of battle and fighting slip from his attention, guessing that too much of that had already happened on the soil he walked upon, he simply enjoyed the scenery, and sounds of nature… sometimes it was good to get away from others… Maybe he should set up a little reading nook somewhere around here… maybe in the branches of one of the trees… or maybe under one… with an entrance hidden by leaves and roots… It was in this state he continued to walk towards Twilight Spire, having not accounted for anyone leaving, or heading towards it from his same direction.

"Where is it?"

Branches snapped and grasses flattened underneath large paws as a slim, green EarthWing lumbered within the forest. Beautiful blades of golden sun sliced through the leafy emerald green canopy above, squirrels and birds skittering from tree to tree.

However, it wasn't like Rylatha could take in such a lovely sight. All she could experience of the EarthWing Territory's beauty were the songs of birds and the feel of soft leaves fluttering against her side. Sigh, the pains of being blind. . . But since when did the lack of sight stop this Wise One?

Rylatha had brought out her books out here about a day ago to read in braille. As she recalled the time, she smiled, and continued to search for the scroll she lost. She remembered this was the spot because of her own faint scent, and she 'looked' around, wings slightly spread and feeling her paws about in hopes of touching something that may feel like her story. What a shame. It was such a good tale too, and the female dragon began to wonder forlornly if she would ever get to finish it.

It was dangerous for dragons to be out here alone, with the Monsterlypse going on and raging around Pyyria. A blind dragon would be easy prey for a monster (or few). Despite her large size, Rylatha could be seen as a meal for monsters who lived in packs and hunted together. She could just ask around the Twilight Imperium if anyone had copies, but why would she do that? That would be the safest option. However, she didn't know of anyone in the FireWings, NightWings, and her own Tribe who were sightless like her. She never was someone to ask for help, either. Besides, Rylatha couldn't hear or smell any monsters around, and that was certainly saying something considering her other senses have become much more acute due to her blindness. So there the EarthWing was, rummaging around, mumbling in annoyance under her breath as she looked for her beloved scroll.

Slowing to a halt, his concentration interrupted, Rihzome frowned. Something had… Freezing mid thought, his body mimicking that, he stared towards where he had heard it. A voice… definitely a voice. The sounds of something large lumbering through the forest, taking no pains to hide or mask its movements, soundings as if it was attempting to snap and break every branch in the forest. Looking for a place to hide, he unsheathed his talons and quickly scaled the nearest sturdy looking tree, stopping at a low branch, before listening and reconsidering. It sounded far larger than he was… taller, as well. Frowning to himself, he climbed much higher, and curled against the trunk, balancing himself as he gazed downwards at the forest floor, examining, and waiting, as he slowly accessed those abilities, buried and hidden away. His mind questing out, gently prodding every living thing, attempting to find the creature that was causing this disturbance.

Much to his surprise, it wasn’t easy. So very few creatures were naturally hidden from him, the only ones routinely so those with godly power and those that had trained to do. Intrigued more than fearful, he pressed harder, finally finding it, thankful and relieved to find it was another dragon’s mind… and they were no more than a few hundred metres away! Of course, he doubted he would be able to see someone a hundred metres away… let along if they were dark or green scaled… Somewhat relived it wasn’t a monster of some description; he slowly climbed down from his ‘hiding’ place and began to move towards the mysterious stranger. "Hello…? May I ask what you’re doing out here on this fine day?" He asked, keeping his voice just a little friendlier than normal, just in case they were a rogue, who would react negatively to being found in claimed territory.

Still no sign of the scroll. Releasing a forlorn sigh from her maw, Rylatha flopped down on her belly, resting her head on her paws. She inhaled deeply through her nostrils before exhaling in a puff. She was both aggravated and sad, knowing she would never finish a good story. It was such a hard book to get her paws on in braille, too. What were the odds that Rylatha would be able to lay her talons on it once again? Scrolls in braille were quite hard to find themselves these days. . . How annoying.

Then she heard a voice. The voice of a male, and none she never heard before. Raising her head, the EarthWing blinked her pupiless orange eyes, trying to 'look' in the direction where the voice came from. Her nostrils flared as she tried to catch a scent. It wasn't an EarthWing. . . Yet at the same time, it didn't have a feral stench like a rogue may. Rylatha tried to imagine the dragon, but it had been so long since she had the ability to see, so her efforts were in vain. At least the tone of the drake's voice was friendly, which was good.

The EarthWing decided to stand and take a step forward towards the direction of the voice. "Just looking for a scroll I lost," replied Rylatha, her tailtip flicking. "Have you happened to see any lost scrolls laying around here?" She then wondered if that was rude-- to greet someone and not ask how they were, just went straight into asking questions so Rylatha could be aided. Feeling a little ashamed, she stammered, "Er, yes. I'm sure this is a very splendid day." She supposed it was. The birdsong sounded pretty, and that only seemed to happen on sunny days.

The answer to his question surprised Rihzome, giving him pause. A scroll? While it didn't rule out the mysterious dragon, or rather, dragoness as being a rogue, it definitely made him feel a little better about the situation. Giving a small pause at her stutter, as she replied to him, properly, a smile flickered on his maw, finding it… almost endearing, in a way.

Continuing to walk towards her, it took only a minute or so before he caught his first glimpse. Pausing, he gulped, quietly. An Earthwing… And a rather tall one at that. From where he was, she seemed positively titanic. It wouldn't have been a surprise to find she was easily two, maybe even three times his height… not to mention probably many times longer and heavier. Standing between the trees, he took a deep breath, as he mentally prepared himself. She was looking in his general direction but not directly at him, as he stepped forwards, into the 'open' between two rather large trees, giving her an easy view of him. Waiting a few moments longer, as her gaze didn't shift, he frowned, and coughed quietly.

"I've found quite a few scrolls, but if you mean around here, I'm sorry to say only one, and I doubt it would be the one you're looking for…" He told her, reaching into his satchel and pulling out a rather plain scroll case, scuffed and lightly damaged by rain and sunlight, but otherwise fine. He knew for a fact the scroll inside was in pristine condition, he had ensured that. But regardless, he doubted it was hers. After all, it was in braille. "Is this yours?" He asked, supposing that maybe she had been studying the language, or was a scholar like himself… the alternative, that she herself was blind, didn’t occur to him, especially as he wasn't close enough to properly discern her eyes.

The sound of small footsteps grew closer, and Rylatha inhaled deeply. No, he wasn't an EarthWing for sure. That would make him either a NightWing or FireWing. She remembered how her first mate, Vyur, smelled like. He was a FireWing. It was many years ago, but the female EarthWing came to the conclusion that this new dragon didn't smell like a FireWing. Would that make him a NightWing? He could be a rogue, maybe, wandering through these lands, unaware that it had been claimed by the Twilight Imperium. Rylatha didn't have much experience with other Tribes, except when she met Grafalda, who was a LightWing.

She wanted to ask what this dragon was. It would have been a strange question, but she was admittedly curious. Maybe she could ask if she got the chance.

There was a cough, followed by a bit of dialogue. Rylatha frowned. She assumed that the dragon she was speaking to hadn't realized she was sightless yet. If he had known, he would have given her a description of the scroll. She didn't blame him, though. Rylatha was rather tall, even for an EarthWing.

"I'm blind," she replied bluntly. It was better to just say it now than just to let the dragon find out on his own. Something about just letting dragons figure out the person they're speaking to is blind seemed kind of rude. "I can't see it. Is it in braille?" She drummed her claws on the earth, then finally decided to ask while she was at it.

"Also, are you a NightWing? I never had much experience with dragons from other Tribes, so I can't tell. Forgive me for being curious. I haven't met a NightWing before."

Blinking in surprise, Rihzome felt his paw drop a little, before falling to the ground and resting the scroll case against it. "My apologise." He quickly told her, partially bowing before it registered that she wouldn't be able to see the gesture. Quickly standing straight, he decided to start of the questions she had asked of him.

"It's in braille, yes, if I remember correctly, it was some sort of tale or story… quite interesting. The case itself is rather plain, and seems to be made of a simple material, leather or something close I believe. Sound like yours?" He asked her in return, before turning his focus towards the other question. "I am a Nightwing, yes." He informed her, absentmindedly nodding. Standing their awkwardly for a few moments, he continued. "My name is Rihzome." He kind of blurted out, before asking, "May I have yours, Miss?" He asked of her, standing a little awkwardly.

As he watched and, truth be told, admired her, he finally did notice her eyes. An alluring orange, that reminded him of a sunset, or sunrise, just peek above the horizon. Smiling absentmindedly at the mental image, he noted how, even though she was a massive being… she seemed almost… lithe. Graceful. Slim, even, he guessed, for her size. Not to mention her scales themselves were an enviable shade of emerald. But along with that, there was something nagging at him, in the back of his mind. A desire… almost to care for her. No doubt she could look after herself, he didn't think she couldn't… but there must have been things that were difficult for her if not downright impossible that she missed doing, or, more likely, had never done…

As the EarthWing listened to Rihzome's replies, her wings relaxed and a smile played upon her maw. She forgave the NightWing with a dip of her head.

"That is a very interesting story, isn't it?" Her voice softened, and she sat down, wrapping her tail neatly around her paws. She appreciated this dragon's kindness, and was happy that he treated her like he would any other dragon. . . Or so she assumed. She hadn't really, err. . . seen him interact with others, but she was at least happy that he didn't treat her so differently than he did before. Even though it wasn't much. . .

"Yes, that must be mine," spoke Rylatha, nodding. "If you could just set it riiiiight. . ." She reached out, putting her paw on a patch of lush grass right in front of her. ". . .here, that would be great. I would be able to grab it."

A purr rumbled in her throat. She was aware of how small NightWings could be, and she imagined that it was intimidating to be before a dragon much larger than they. "My name is Rylatha. It's a pleasure to meet you." She dipped her head once again politely.

Rihzome gave Rylatha a small smile and chuckled softly in agreement. "Definitely interesting… I think I might actually have a copy of it somewhere… not in braille, of course… After all, they're not a common thing…" He mused.

As she patted the grass, Rihzome may have got the wrong idea, or he simply thought it better, but regardless, he stepped forwards and gently placed the scroll case in her paw, his paw brushing against hers for the merest of moments before drawing back.

It was a second after this that she spoke, and he froze in his place. Rylatha. Taking several large steps back from the dragoness, he dropped into a deep bow, far grander and more fanciful than the simple respectful one he had pulled earlier. This one would be audible, as he dropped into a rough approximation of a kneel. "Duchess Rylatha." He said almost breathlessly. "My deepest regrets and apologises for not treating you with the respect and honour that your position commands. I truly did not know who you were until this moment." He rushed out. How had he been so stupid?! A Wise One, and king Baldiark's sister! And he had been so… common with her, as if she was simply an Earthwing, another commoner. By the goddess… He felt a fool, and an extremely rude one at that. Of course, it all made sense now. As far as he knew, Rylatha was the only completely blind Earthwing he knew of, and he had heard tales of her scales, those that could make emeralds weep in envy… He should have been able to put two and two together to figure out who she was, but nooo. He had to be thick-headed.

When the scroll came into her paw, Rylatha grasped her claws firmly around it to check. It had the familiar leather casing, and with Ry's own personal engraving on there at that, which confirmed that it was hers for sure. Smiling with a satisfied growl, the female EarthWing set it close beside her, laying very near the tip of her tail so she would feel it in case she moved. It was a thing she did sometimes so she wouldn't forget stuff. It didn't work all the time though, as shown as she lost her scroll the day before.

It was after she said her name when she heard the leaves and grass rustle slightly, and a little frantically. Surprised, the Wise One pricked up her ears with her eyes widened, about to open her maw to question what was wrong. But then she learned why.

She was slightly disappointed. This was how she was treated when she was a goddess, and don't get me wrong-- she was honored and appreciated all the respectful gestures. However, she was even more surprised than she was let down. She wasn't aware that other dragons knew who she was, especially those who weren't EarthWings. Rylatha wondered if Baldirak Sapiens Draco, her dear brother, had mentioned her once or if she was referred to somewhere in a scroll for those wanting to learn more of politics or the monarchy and family. Or maybe it was just common knowledge, and everyone knew her, and Ry just wasn't aware.

For a second she was stunned, unsure what to say. The last time she was spoken to like this was years ago. Finally, she said, "N- No, it's okay." She wondered if Rihzome was kneeling. That would explain the bit of noise she heard. "It is completely fine." She wondered if it would make him feel better as she added, "To be honest, I never expected others to know who I am!" That was a genuine statement. Although dragons bowing and grovelling before her made Rylatha uncomfortable, she kind of liked being known.