Looking for adventures! (open to all)

Imperia was flying low over the outskirts of Skywing territory. The silver dragoness kept herself aloft with her ability to control the wind, she was utterly graceful and flapped her wings only because the movement relaxed her. At just under 15 feet tall (and about 40 feet long) she was one of the smallest adult dragons in the realm, but she was perfectly confident in going off alone. She was very quick and agile, she'd be fine.
She held a long golden spear, and she spun it carelessly about herself as she flew, whirling it around all four of her paws as well as her tail.
She flew low intentionally, seeing the ground rush by below her was soothing and there was always the chance she'd spot something interesting.

She'd been ready to leave Skywing territory and strike out on her own for a while now, and she'd brought her spear in case this was finally the day when she simply decided not to go back.

He was in the air. Always, always in the air. But wasn't that what SkyWings lived for? To ride the air currents, to feel the wind caressing their scales? To soar through the sky as if it were as natural as breathing? His wings spread wide, Tsukki's yellowish wings cut through the air as if it were a pair of scissors slicing through a piece of paper. A small smile lit up the SkyWing's face. Flying was one of the few things that he liked, one of the few things that made him smile. He was rarely seen smiling; usually it was a scowl, or a condescending smirk. When he did smile, though, it was often fake, or forced; a genuine smile rarely appeared on his face.

He closed his eyes, enjoying the feel of cool wind guiding him through the sky, but after a while, he felt a presence nearby and his eyes flew open, the smile immediately replaced with a scowl as a sleek, elegant body came into view. The female had silvery scales, but what caught Tsukki's attention was a spear, which she twirled around with her paws and tails with a familiarity that meant that she had been with the spear for quite a long time already.

Tsukki watched her warily, adjusting his wings ever so slightly so that he could dive down easily. If the female ever tried to attack him, he would just drop, plummet to the ground and escape from her. He wasn't good at combat, as he preferred to strategise and let the brutes do the rest, but if it came to it, he still could manage.

Imperia spotted the larger male in the distance and angled towards him, flying in a lazy loop to intercept with him. She didn't call out, but she did begin to smile, curious to talk to him. She didn't recall meeting this dragon before, not that this was surprising as she'd rarely gotten out very much before now.
She spun her weapon absently, not seeming to notice the slight wariness of the other dragon. She flew close enough to talk, and her smile didn't falter when she saw his expression.
"Hello there!"

Tsukki stiffened when the female drew closer to him, but he did not dive down. No, not yet - not until the other SkyWing proved herself as a threat. His eyes narrowed at her words. She seemed friendly enough, and there was no expression that screamed "I'M COMING AFTER YOU TO KILL YOU!!" So he responded, saying, "Greetings. May I know your name?" He might have seemed excessively formal, but that was how he liked it. There was no rule that forbid excessive formality to be used, right? He tilted his body, so that now they were both circling each other. To the eyes of others, they might have looked like they were going to engage in a fight. He kept his eyes focused on her, alert, ready to defend if needed.

Imperia finally took note of his wariness, she glanced down and at the same moment transferred her spear to her back foot so it was less threatening.
"You know if you're worried then it's always better to fly high. More room to move that way, without the ground to get in your way. Unless you're worried about long ranged attacks, in that case go downwards to get to hiding spots. Oh, but where are my manners? My name is Imperia, what is yours?"
She looked totally at ease, with a casual smile. She thought that their circling was more like the start of a dance, not a fight.

Chatting about where he should fly to avoid long-ranged attacks, especially in such a casual way, made him more wary of her, and Tsukki beat his wings, managing to slide a centimeter or two away from the dragoness. It was a while of careful consideration of whether or not he should give his name before he finally decided that Imperia's knowledge of his name would not lead to disastrous consequences. "Tsukki," he answered. It was obvious that "Tsukki" was not his full name - but it was more obvious that he wasn't going to give his full name, even if asked. Besides, he absolutely hated others to call him by his full name. There was once an annoying dragon who was a year older than Tsukki. The idiot taunted him and made fun of his name, repeatedly yelling "Tsukkishima! Oh, what a ridiculously weird name! Tsuuukishima~". He'd gone home with a broken leg, several scratches across his neck, and a black eye. Tsukki got the blame, of course, but all that mattered was that the idiot senior didn't get away with teasing Tsukki. Tsukki might have focused on studying, but that didn't mean he didn't have his own share of combat skill; it came in handy every now and then, especially for situations like that. He then pulled himself back to the present, and watched Imperia with wary eyes, waiting for a response...

"Tuskki..." She seemed like she was tasting the name as she repeated it, then she gave him a bright smile. "It's unusual. I like it."
She spun gracefully in the air, her body curving and looping seemingly with no effort required. She used the flourish to close some distance on him, hopefully without him feeling threatened. Her spear was held in her curled tail, it's blade nowhere near him.
"So why are you out here?" She asked curiously.

Tsukki, upon hearing that Imperia liked his name, raised an eye ridge; more specifically, he raised one of the light blue lines that were located above each eye, displaying his surprise. That was all the surprise he showed, though, and he maintained a neutral expression as he replied, "You're the first to like it." He allowed a small smile to tug at the corner of his lips, but it quickly vanished when Imperia did some loops and moved closer to him; if it were not for his observant eyes, he would not have noticed that she had slunk closer to him, for her true intentions were disguised by her loops and twirls in the air that were seemingly for show. He reflexively moved back with a beat of his white-tipped wings, a frown once again appearing on his face. Tsukki hoped that she got the message - that he did not want her coming close to him. Not until she gained his trust.

"I came out here to fly," he answered her question anyway, pretending as if nothing had happened in the past few seconds. "The weather's so fine - only an idiot, or sick, SkyWing would stay inside." That was the half-truth, actually. He had come out because of two things: One, to fly, as he had mentioned earlier, and two, to escape from the distressed wails of his brother. Recently his brother, who had once been cheerful, funny and fun to be around, had started acting odd. He no longer made jokes and socialised; he kept to himself in a dark part of their home, a cave on a sheer cliff, constantly wailing "Emerald! Oh, my dear Emerald..." with a depressed expression on his face. When Tsukki couldn't take it any more, he'd approached his brother, who had snarled at him and lashed out at him with his claws, giving Tsukki a deep cut on his left foreleg - something he had never done to Tsukki before, ever - and, not being able to bear any more wails coming from his brother, Tsukki had left.

Not that he'd tell any of that to Imperia, of course. His eyes, which had become less wary and more upset in the past few seconds in which he wondered about why his brother was acting so strangely, seemed to have an opaque iron wall clamp shut over them, leaving them expressionless again. "Well, what about you? What are you doing out here?" It was something to keep Imperia busy with while he pondered about the cause of his brother's distress; whatever bothered his brother would bother him. He was more concerned about his brother's health than about the wound his brother had given him; his brother had refused to eat for two days, and Tsukki was starting to get worried. Would he starve to death...? He hoped not. And what, exactly, was bothering his brother? While all these thoughts ran through his mind, his face took on a faraway expression, and he forgot all about Imperia. Until her voice broke into his thoughts, responding to his question, and that was what jolted him back to the present for the third time.

"Am I really? Well hopefully my opinion counters those who disagree with me, I certainly rate my own opinion highly."
She noticed him back away and didn't press him any further.

"I came here to fly too, although I may not go back to Skywing territory at all. I haven't decided yet really."
She noticed his eyes turn sad instantly, she was curious as to why it had happened. No doubt there was a story to be told, and perhaps her help was needed.

(sorry it's a bit short. I need to go. <3)

Tsukki was glad that Imperia didn't try to close the distance between them again. If she had, he would probably have snarled at her. He did not like standing close to others; for some reason, it made him feel extremely uncomfortable. Even the thought of it would send a shudder rippling through his body.

Imperia, after a pause, began speaking again in response to his question, drawing his attention from his thoughts to her spoken words. Upon hearing them, he raised an eye ridge in surprise. Well now, he thought to himself, that was unexpected. "Are you planning to go rogue?" he asked, a note of curiousity in his voice, despite his seeming reluctance to speak more than necessary earlier on. "If so, why?"

"I guess... I'm just looking for something to care about. I love the Skywings, don't get me wrong, but there isn't really anything that I've found here for me."
She shrugged, unsure how exactly to explain it, then she looked curiously at him.
"So... tell me a bit about yourself, you seem nervous but you can relax around me."
She smiled brightly.

Tsukki bobbed his head up and down thoughtfully as Imperia spoke, displaying his understanding, as thoughts of agreement ran across his head: I, too, nave not found anything interesting in the SkyWing Tribe...

Then:

I'm staying only because of my brother, who is currently rather depressed...

He brushed that thought away, jerking back to attention when Imperia asked him to talk a bit about himself. He had been growing less wary of her by the minute, but this question had him pulling up his iron wall again. He directed a glare at Imperia, and when he responded, there was a slight bite to his voice: "No, thank you." A few seconds ticked by, before he added, "Why not you tell me about yourself first?"

Imperia nodded brightly.
"Of course!"
She posed slightly, as if preparing to tell him a story.
"Well, I was born in a little village in the middle of nowhere, out near firewing territory, but it was wiped out in war and I became a refugee. Eventually I made it back to my native territory and was taken in by the skywings."
She eyed him to check if he was interested. She planned to finish her story either way, but she'd be much briefer if he looked disinterested.

Imperia agreed, and thus started her story. Which was a surprisingly short one. He didn't want to say anything about his past; however, there was this phrase he lived with, and that was: An eye for an eye. So if Imperia gave him information, he would do the same, albeit rather reluctantly. Tsukki sighed, and said, "My story isn't interesting either." A hint that hers wasn't interesting in the first place. "I hatched, and there was my brother, who raised me up. Parents were dead. That's all." He didn't mention that his brother hadn't told him how their parents had died...but then again, Tsukki didn't want to know. Tsukki beat his wings to keep himself in the air, and looked at Imperia coolly, waiting for her to continue the conversation, for he himself had no idea how to do so.

For a moment Imperia almost felt annoyed. This dragon was rather rude. But he simply didn't know any better, she was sure, he'd be nice enough once she figured out how to get through to him.
"I happen to think my story is very interesting. Although I can understand why you might disagree having not heard the details. I tend to cut out the bit where I got tortured for the sake of keeping the conversation friendly and not being a downer. Although you've managed to cast a sombre mood over the conversation despite my efforts."
She gazed at him thoughtfully.
"So what's troubling you? Your brother?"

Tsukki snorted. "Torture? Really? How interesting. Your scales look unblemished by scars, which is what you would have gotten if you were tortured. Unless they tortured you mentally?" His voice was literally dripping skepticism. "And if it's such an effort to talk to me, then don't. I'm not forcing you anyway, am I?" he said. Then, hearing her question about his brother, Tsukki's lips thinned and he shook his head. "No, not my brother." A lie — but his face and tone gave away nothing about it. He'd been lying for years, and eventually became an expert at it — who wouldn't? — so most couldn't tell if he were lying.

Imperia laughed lightly. "Both mental and physical. You disbeleive me? Have you never read about what happens to young females who are taken as prisoners during war?"
She glanced away from him and looked at the sky.
"I like talking." She took note of his derisive voice as he mentioned his brother. He might not have given away anything about his problem, but he had given hints about his thoughts on his brother. "You don't like him, do you? Either you left him as soon as you could or you plan to leave him when you can."

Tsukki shook his head. "No, I haven't read about it - mostly because I don't care. At all." He tilted his head, his curious gaze lingering on Imperia's unmarked scales, as he asked,"Why do you not bear scars even after being tortured physically?" Then, when Imperia mentioned his brother, he shook his head again. "Wrong first time. Most likely wrong on the second, third and fourth as well. But I suppose I could tell you this: I don't hate my brother."

"You care about my scales, but not about ways that someone can be tortured without being marked permanently? Let's just say my captors wanted to keep me pretty, and so made sure not to damage them seriously. Although I heal from most scars anyway, so even the ones that they did give me have long faded by now. Aside from mental scars, that is." Imperia giggled slightly.
She sensed a challenge in Tsukki's reply and raised her eyebrow. She had no intention of guessing wrong again.
"Oh you don't hate your brother? I think you're an excellent liar. But even the best liars can't hide everything."
She circled him lazily.
"You're upset, yet defensive. A cry for help, but also a test. You don't want just anyone to try to help you, they need to prove their worth somehow. Perhaps because you just don't like idiots... or perhaps because you feel let down by someone you thought you could trust, namely your brother. Is that closer to the mark?"

Tsukki smiled grimly. Sarcasm tinged his voice as he said, "Wrong again. I wasn't lying about not hating my brother - but you are lying about your so-called torture, I suspect. I've met many dragons who've come across dragons much, much more skilled at torturing than yours - and even after a hundred years, they still carry scars. So. Lies. Would you care to explain to me in detail how he tortured you? Oh, maybe your torturer peeled off your scales and tore your skin underneath into ribbons! Well now, that sounds interesting." He, too, circled Imperia lazily, possibly with more ease and grace than the dragoness who seemed to love herself. He was enjoying this. A female who made up stories about a pitiful maiden being tortured! Oh, how entertaining. "Your last guess is nearly correct. I'm not upset about anything, nor was I I let down by someone I trusted." Again, a lie, but a well-disguised one. Even if Imperia could scent his previous lie, she definitely would not be able to do so with this one.

"I'll explain in detail if you do. To start with I never specified that I was tortured by a 'he' and secondly I said captors, which is the conjugated plural noun of the word capture. That means more than one, so pay attention to what you're calling a lie before rushing to a conclusion." If he was going to be difficult then she would do the same. She could see by his evasiveness that he was a capable lair, and his arrogance made her certain he'd lied to her at least once already. She was quite sure that he hated his brother, and nothing he said was likely to convince her otherwise. He was copying her movements, so she flicked her wings, her body curving and twisting in place as her paws stepped on the air as if she was doing a dance step. Let him try to copy that. At exactly the same moment, to make it more difficult for him, Imperia continued with a smirk."Nearly correct is enough to work with for now, although as I've said we can trade for details if you're so interested in hearing about my suffering."

[I'll suspect him of lying almost every time he says anything I didn't expect him to say. But I have no way to know for sure.

Tsukki shrugged, his smile slipping as he said, "As you say, Master. I know you're gorgeous beauty who has a fabulous talent for language but no need to show off." A flash of pure white teeth as he smiled again; it was more of baring his teeth, actually, displaying his irritation at being lectured by a female he didn't like. He never liked being lectured, but he always let his brother do so, mainly because of his love for him. Tsukki was willing to throw himself in death's path if it meant saving his brother.

He buried his annoyance at being lectured deep within him, though, not wanting to show Imperia the pleasure of his ire. Then, when Imperia attempted to throw him off her track by doing some kind of fancy-fancy dance move, he just rolled his eyes and continued circling her, not wishing to waste energy just to show off. "I'm not interested in your details. I'd probably fall asleep halfway through your story." As if to emphasise his point, he yawned, then closed his maw again, regarding Imperia with contemptuous eyes. "However, for the sake of keeping the conversation interesting...perhaps you could help my brother."

"Ohh so it is your brother!? Now we're getting somewhere. Oh, and thankyou for calling me beautiful, I do try to look my best."
Imperia seemed to completely miss his annoyance and sarcasm as she instantly cheered up.
"What sort of help does he need?"

Tsukki hesitated. Should he do this? Imperia was a stranger, and he didn't really like giving information to strangers, much less asking one for help. But...he couldn't solve his brother's problem on his own. Who knows, Imperia could be able to help. A sigh of reluctance escaped his maw, before he began to explain. "My brother's upset about something. What that something is, I don't know, but he keeps morning the name "Emerald". Either "Emerald" betrayed him after falling in love or died." His tone was neutral as he spoke about his brother, not revealing his worry for his brother.

"Follow me," he instructed Imperia, then wheeled around, flying towards a cave set somewhere in the middle of the mountain. The cave had a small ledge stretching out from it, and Tsukki landed on it. Already he could hear his brother moaning and sniffling pathetically. Tsukki made a face and stepped into his home. His home was a large rectangular space, its brown walls bare save for the occasional hole every now and then (passages). Tsukki continued walking forward, and it was a few seconds before his brother, huddled against a corner of the rectangular space, came into view. Tsukki turned his head round and gave Imperia a gesture to hide in the shadows and listen. Then he attempted to speak to his brother. "Big brother, are you okay?" Akiteru's sniffling stopped, and now he stared at nothing in particular with blank, hollow eyes. Tsukki said again, with patience he hadn't granted Imperia when speaking to her: "I brought food."

Indeed he had, and he dropped the small squirrel he'd caught at the entrance of their cave in front of his brother, nudging the small body towards Akiteru, who said coldly and quietly, "Go away and leave me alone, Kei." Tsukki tried to ignore the fact that Imperia was most likely to ask later on whether his name was Tsukki or Kei and turned around, padding out, releasing another sigh. When he was at the tip of the ledge, he said to Imperia, who he assumed was walking towards him, "Heartbroken, or what? It's most unnatural of him to be so cold. He's usually quite...cheerful." Tsukki couldn't keep the slight desperation from his voice, and his upset tone gave away exactly how concerned he was for his brother.

Akiteru:

[Ask about his name! And make it awkward! xD]

Imperia watched and listened in fascination, starting to understand Tsukki's problem.
"He does seem heartbroken... What's his name, may I ask? Oh, and on the topic of names why did he call you Kei?"
Imperia gazed keenly at Tsukki, noticing that his cold mood seemed to be cracking slightly.