Random Encounters (Open to All)

Wake flew over the Rogue Lands, keeping his eyes and ear sharp to anything that would attack him. He was definitely glad that that Thantos had taught him illusion magic. It was really coming in handy after... well... everything! Monsters roamed the lands now, and being a Rogue really didn’t help matters. He didn’t have anyone to watch his make, but at least he was good at running and hiding.

After some time, the wyvern landed and sniffed the air. There had to be some prey around somewhere. Even a goat would be nice right now. He would usually fish, but too many humans were fish off the coast for his liking. So here he was, trying to find any “normal” prey. His horn went limp and slid down his neck. Nothing.

Aura was laying on her back, her tail flicking lazily back and forth, her eyes closed, as she laid on a rock in a sunny clearing. She had managed to escape her mother's gaze for a little bit, and was now enjoying her quote on quote "Free time". She was suppose to be having battle training this morning, but she had ran off instead. She knew Gaea would be mad - this was the third time this week she'd skipped training - but what else was Aura suppose to do? Get beat up by her mom again? No, thank you.

The young ice dragoness made a soft grown, turning on her perch, and staring lazily over at the tall grass. She continued to lazily flick her tail back and forth. Maybe she should go hunting. She'd flown at least 60 miles from her cave, so it would take a bit for her mother to find her. But still.. she couldn't be too risky.

Yawning, she stood up, stretching. She then leaped off the rock, and began walking in a random direction, not sure what her intention was. Guess she'd go wherever the trees took her.

Aura didn't understand the constant supervision her mom gave her. She was nearly 23 now. Wasn't she old enough to make her own decisions? It infuriated her sometimes. But.... still. Where else did she have to go? She wasn't sure how long she'd last on her own, not with these monsters about, and she certainly wasn't going to ask any filthy tribe for help.

Aura perked her ears and sniffed the wind, stopping when she picked up the scent of a deer. She smirked. Finally, lunch. Aura got into a crouching position, her claws digging into the underbrush. Quietly, she began to creep through the darkness of the forest, her ears lowered.

However, as she crept through the darkenss, the deer just barely coming into view, a new scent hit her. The scent of.... another dragon? She tensed.

Stay low to the ground. Try not to make a sound.

The deer couldn't have been more than 10 meters from me as I slowly continued my approach; it wasn't yet aware of my presence, but with the scent of other dragons on the air I had to move quickly or lose my venison meal.

My mind moved at mile-a-minute with the potential strategies for take-down, but didn't have the luxury of time necessary for a fully thought-out decision.

I made the leap from not 5 meters away. By the time their legs finally began moving to carry them away from me, my weight was already buckling their knees. With simply resting stop them being sufficient to keep them pinned, I took a moment to survey my surroundings; I could still smell the other dragon--no; two dragons--waiting nearby. With time still of the essences, I dispatched my prey by obliterating their head (the quickest and least painful method I could think of, if done properly), sprayed my breathweapon to form a ring of contact irritant around me (useless against flight, but better than nothing), and quickly began devouring my catch. Mamma had recently finished weening me of her culinary assistance, and I'm still struggling to hunt for myself, so I needed to make sure I got my fill before anyone (or anything) else could take it from me.

Wake had finally picked up the scent of a deer, and was careful stalking the creature. Or at least he was before the scent of a... no. The scent of two dragons entered his nostrils. The wyvern’s horns flared slightly. He knew it was a better scent then monster, but still. These were the Rogue Lands after all, and many dragons weren’t quite friendly.

The wyvern slowly walked forward, trying to make as little noise as possible. His smaller size helped, but he wasn’t a hatchling. As the scent of the deer got stronger, so did the dragons’ scents. After some more time, he spotted the deer for a split second before a small dragon, not quite a hatchling, tackled it. Darn! So close! Sure Wake could scare the smaller dragon off, but he was better than that. But there was still another dragon somewhere. With that in mind, the wyvern let out a light screech before speaking.

”Beat me to it, kid.” Wake’s eyes looked left and right, trying to spy the other dragon. He sort of wondered who it was, and whether they were friendly or hostile.

Aura watched the deer with a trained focus, her eyes narrowed as she began to get closer. However, it seemed that she had been mistaken, for it was not one additional dragon she smelled, but two. This made her wince, and dip down a bit, and just in time, too, it seemed. From the trees sprang another dragon.This one appeared to be rather young, though, no older than perhaps an apprentice.

Aura cursed as the young dragon stole her catch. She had half a mind to attack her for it, had not another dragon decided to show his scaley face. This was another male, though he was an adult, roughly the same size as Aura, perhaps a little smaller. Aura tensed, ready for a fight, but instead, the draon simply congratulated the smaller one. Did they know each other? Aura was confident in her abilities, but she wasn't sure how confident. SHe growled. She also wasn't sure if a fight was worth it for onne deer. But, at the same time, she was pretty hungry...

Aura decided the best option would be to wait, so she slunk back into the forest, trying to remain quiet, yet keeping careful eyes on the two strange rogues...

Wake’s horns spread like a frill from his neck the moment a growl entered his ears. It was low, so there was a dragon trying to hide somewhere. He let out a slight hiss of his own as he looked around, focusing on where he heard the noise. The wyvern sniffed the air, trying to get what he could from it. The second dragon’s scent was close.

The small wyvern took a few steps forward, and made sure to place himself between the growl and the young dragon. His ghost grey eyes looked around the area. Where was this dragon. He finally noticed a light color in the woods, but he still couldn’t make out what the dragon looked like. Wake’s horns pressed back against his neck as he gave what he figured was the dragon a curious look. He then spoke with a friendly, but wary, tone.

”I can see ya. May as well quit hiding.”

After about five minutes, I had stripped the deer of it's skin and meat, but decided to leave the internal organ for the others; I wasn't yet comfortable eating them raw and lacked the equipment to properly prepare them.

Slinking back to the edge of the ring I made, I climbed up a tree to keep out of the others' way. Mama was right: I won't be able to do this for much longer. I'm already getting pretty big for trees.

"I'm full; you have the rest." There was a cautious anxiety to my voice. Not only had mama's talk about stranger danger put me on edge, but I've never before had to faced-off against more than dragon at time.

Aura continued to watch the strangers as they conversed, keeping her guard up. When the other dragon tried to address her, however, her hackles raised. She had been discovered! What was it her mother had always told her to do? Kill all rogues? Aura tried to peak through the brush to see the dragon. Her mother had always told her that eels were a diseased species, and that associating with one would be bad news. This dragon definitely looked like an eel, but not quite. Maybe it was a dirty gutter.

Regardless, Aura saw no reason to keep him alive. Her mother had always told her she was a superior species, with small... defects. She could take on both of these dragons easily.

But.... on the other paw, Aura had come all this way in direct defiance with her mother... So maybe she could stand to try to do something in direct defiance with her. Who knows, maybe she would even enjoy it.

Well, again, these dragons hardly seemed hostile, so Aura meticulously stood up, and walked out of the brush, her shoulders square, eyes narrow. Most of this was directed at Wake, "Who are you, gutter?" she growled tentatively.

(gutter is a derogatory term for half-bloods)

Wake eyed the dragon as she came into view. She looked like an Icewing of some kind, but something was different. She didn’t seem to act like the normal, Roguish Tribals. She seemed more... uppity? That worked. More uppity than a tribal Icewing. The wyvern could also tell by her face that she didn’t seem too fond of him or the hatchling. And than she called him a gutter!

At this, the wyvern’s horns partially opened, and a growling hiss came from his maw. He never liked the term, especially being a cross himself. After this aggravated moment. Wake then spoke to her with a hint of annoyance, his horns still flared. ”Ha. Ya call me a gutter and wanna know who I am?”

His horns lowered back against his neck before he looked at the leftovers. He looked up at the hatchling and nodded, and began to walk towards the organs. He then turned back to the dragoness with a more calm look. ”Name’s Wake, since you were wonderin’. And you?”

The two others seemed to have gotten into an argument. While the term "gutter" was unfamiliar to me, it was clearly a point of contention. I felt like nothing more than an observer, and the exit from the observation deck was locked from the outside. Actually trying to leave would only have drawn their collective attention back towards me. All I could do was sit and watch; quietly. Hoping the situation would diffuse or escalate enough to quickly escape.

"Aura," she scoffed, "Aura Winter." she said simply. Then she was caught in an awkward position. She wasn't entirely sure what to say to him in response. Sure, she could attack him, or still the food from them, but it didn't seem worth it. It wasn't like she couldn't just find a different meal. She thought for a moment. Guess she hadn't thought this far ahead. Well, regardless, she supposed she would try talking first.

"You know, It's rude to steal another dragon's meal," she said snidely, curling her tail around her leg.

Wake gave Aura a quizzical look, his horns opening slightly as he did. He could tell she wasn’t a normal Rogue, or a normal tribal Icewing. He also noticed that she seemed unsure about something. The wyvern wasn’t a mind reader, so he couldn’t tell what she was thinking of, but it made him curious. The dragoness then said it was rude to steal food. His horns frilled out more as he slyly smiled.

”Well, Aura,” Wake began, saying the ness’s name with a joking mimic of her own tone. ”The hatchling.... What’s your name,” he asked, turning his head to the hatchling. Once answered, the wyvern turned back to Aura, flicking his long tail as he did. ”He said he was done, and he never said who’s it was, but I was raised to let dragoness get first swipe at free meals.” He motioned to the left overs with his right wing and wing claw, but still did his best to hide the scar he had.

They were still keenly aware of my presence.  I wasn't sure what to do or how to respond.  I sure as the sky is blue wasn't going to give them identifying information; not while I was alone.  Then again .... no .... Mama wasn't that well known; was she?

I was paralyzed with both fear and indecision.

Aura flicked her ear, huffing. Alright then. She glanced over at the meal, and her eyes met those of the mutt. They narrowed. How on Pyyria had the world allowed such a monstrosity to come into being. She snarled, and turned her head away, "I'm not sharing a meal with a halfbred dirtyblooded pub like that," she said stubbornly. At this point she was just being stubborn to be stubborn. She got up, and circled around Wake once, glaring at him, "I don't understand how you can be so comfortable in its presence." she said in a low growl, not caring that Agree was so close.

Wake eyed Aura warily as she circled him. The wyvern hadn’t taken her harsh words and tone lightly, and his horn had frilled at again as he listened to her. But something caught his eyes. Fins? While not exclusively a Seawing feature, and many like himself lacking them, it was odd to see on an Icewing. Wake huffed and walked to the meal, eating some of the free meal before speaking.

”Seems to me you’re a bit too sheltered when it come to hybrids. Especially comin’ from a ‘ness that could be one herself.” Wake gave a sly smile to the dragoness before continuing. ”Think of this: What, in your mind, make a hybrid beneath ya?”

"HEY! That's not nice!" I couldn't help but blurt out at the Icewings comment about the hygiene of my heritage. "Mama loves me for being unique and not like anyone else." I paused as the two talked with each other, continuing without realizing that a question was asked, but not of me. "What so good about just like everyone else anyway?"

Aura's eyes immediately narrowed when Wake suggested that Aura herself might be a filthy hybrid. Her claws extended, and she slashed out at his face, snarling, "Don't you dare compare me to one of them!" she snapped diligently, her tail thrashing about, "I don't need to explain myself to you, filthy beast."

She didn't even acknowledge the smaller hatchling, though she flashed a glare at him when he snapped in defiance. "Purebloods are blessed with superiority. It's in their genes. You Pyyrian dragons are nothing but dastardly mongrels," she hissed.

The moment Aura slashed Wake’s horns frilled and the wyvern quickly stepped back and let out a screeching roar. After stepping back, the small dragon looked ready for a fight, and whipped his long tail as a slight warning. He then spoke with a surprising calm to his tongue. ”You’re right. Ya don’t have to explain anything.”

He then heard what Aura had to say to the little one. He just growled at this. Was this dragoness that thick-skulled? Also, she apparently wasn’t Pyyrian. Interesting. Wake then seemed to get an idea. ”So you’re superior? How about ya prove it?” He then looked at a distant tree. ”If you’re better, ya should be able to beat me to that tree on foot, right? I mean, I’m just a gutter eel.”

While the icewing's claims to superiority were technically correct, they were for different reasons: she seems to be older than me; though, not much wiser given her dismissal of biodiversity as though it didn't have the massive benefits that it does.

The wyvern suggesting a race got me to perk up before realizing they weren't doing it for fun. Shame; some simply wholesome fun might be what they need. All I can for now is watch, and wait for an opening to escape.

Aura raised an eyeride. A race? What a novel concept. A fight would be a much more exciting way to show off each others’ superiority. And… at the same time she found it kind of strange. Was it possible the challenge was some kind of trick? It simply didn’t make sense otherwise.

However, despite Aura’s better judgement, she scoffed, and grinned, “A foot race? Truly you really are foolish, to think you could best me in matters of agility. Alright, wyvern, a foot race it is then. I hope you don’t whine when I beat you,” she chuckled, waving her tail back and forth arrogantly. Two legs against four. Hah! What an ignorant beast.

She walked over to where the race would start as Wake directed, and readied herself. She continued to pay no heed to Agree, and one might wonder if he would wish to join or simply spectate, or perhaps even escape while attention wasn’t directed on him.

Wake horns lowered back to his neck as he listened to Aura. She sounded arrogant as ever, but it was kind of funny this time. The wyvern’s tail flicked with amusement. Did he really look that slow? Wake smiled, his horns slightly flaring again, be he responded to the ‘ness with ”I won’t whin if you won’t.”

The grey dragon then looked up at the hatchling. He still hadn’t mentioned his name, but Wake could pick out that he seemed like a very neutral dragon. Almost like he had no dominant species. Interesting. Either way, Wake figured that he may want to join in. With that in mind, the grey dragon quickly asked ”Wanna join in kid?”

Whatever the hatchling’s answer was, Wake soon lined up with Aura. ”Ok, Aura. On your mark. Get set. GO!” The moment he said this, the wyvern quickly sped up to 45 mph. It wasn’t his fastest, but it was as fast as he could go without being too tired out.

When the wyvern asked to if I wanted to join, I froze with ambivalence; on one hand, I really wanted to play, on the other, not with while they were trading vitriol. I eventually came to an interesting middle ground. "No, but I'll be referee!" At which point I bolted over to the would be finish line; a bit faster on the wing than I should have been if I wanted to keep my heritage a secret. Hopefully they wouldn't notice me already being in the tree before they were even half-way there.

Aura prepared herself to get ready to run, stretching her legs out, and digging into the ground impatiently. The mixed runt apparently came to the idea to be the referee, which Aura merely scoffed at. Polluted rat would probably just stare off into space while they passed the finish line. But the little thing had already flown off, and Aura wasn’t that invested to protest. She simply rolled her eyes in response, and her wings shook in agitation.

And then Wake began to count down. Perhaps it was Aura’s own arrogance, or her lazy overconfidence to the whole thing, but when the wyvern shouted go, and he went from zero to 45 in under several seconds, Aura was taken aback. She hadn’t expected the dragon to speed up that quickly, or to be that fast.

She quickly bounced back from that, however, and snarled, racing off after him. At first she trailed behind him, but after a bit of running managed to kick her speed up to about 50 mph, though it was quickly gnawing at her stamina. She let out a low hiss as she and Wake ran neck and neck, and suddenly her adrenaline began pumping. She would not allow herself to lose to a lowly halfbreed!

Wake smiled as the hatchling flew ahead, but he also chuckled to himself as he looked back and saw Aura’s face. Had she really misjudged his speediness that much? It almost felt good seeing the Icewing so shocked. But he was soon face with her being neck to neck with him.

Wake look at Aura, and a spark seemed to flash through his iris like heat lightning. Wake didn’t notice though. The wyvern then took a breath. If he was going to win, he’d have to use his Burst Speed. He took one more breath, and sped up to 55 mph. He started breathing harder, but he was gonna win!

is watching this from type of a hill and is confused why they going so fast