Keeping up Appearances (Vilkas)

Hildrhilt lay within the confines of her cave, the morning sun only peaking into the entrance a mere hour before she arose. A yawn escaped her gaping mouth before she gazed out of the entrance with a set of tired, hazel orbs. It took her a moment to stand, stretching slightly before padding outside.

Hildrhilt stood in the warm sunlight and inhaled deeply. What could beat this? The tantalizing chill fo mountain air as it rose from the valley, the sounds of the bird's calls echoing across the butte, the sound of the creek below barely creeping above it all. Her eyes opened at this point, her tail flicking delicately, 'Water,' she thought to herself, spreading her wings, 'That sounds lovely right about now.' She thought before taking flight.

She glided down the sheer face of the cliff below her cave before leveling out with just a spread of her wings, cupping the air within her webbing. She flew for a moment before landing at the edge of the trees, folding her wings delicately against her side. She began her walk, enjoying the solitary feeling the forest provided. The scent of the trees greeted her nostrils, the upturned earth under her paws mixing to give it a very earthy tone. When she reached the water's edge, she leaned her head down to take a drink before taking a drink.

For once, Vilkas wasn't in his mutant form. He walked through the small bit of forest that marked the edge of the Twilight Survivors' safe zone. He had just been hunting and wanted some water to clean his muzzle. He came to the creek and discovered someone else getting a drink. Actually... was that..? It was. Hildrhilt. Vilkas hadn't seen the dragoness since that fight with the Dentem Magni. She made a point of avoiding him once he'd gotten free of his predicament, so he hadn't gotten a chance to ask her name--he had to ask his uncle. Vilkas walked up to the smaller EarthWing and offered a draconic smile. "Hi, Hildrhilt. Do you remember me?"

Hildrhilt continued drinking, lapping large gulps of water before she froze, the vibrations of an approaching creature picked up by her sensitive paws. She lifted her head quickly and looked about, the vibrations growing in volume.

Once the large dragon emerged from the treeline, she froze. She hoped and prayed that it wasn’t who she thought it was but to her dismay, it was indeed Vilkas. Hildrhilt sighed to herself as he approached her, her tail flicking in slight agitation, ‘Why Gods? Why must you haunt me with such things?’

When he spoke, Hildrhilt lowered her head in both respect and embarrassment, “Yes. It is hard to forget our first encounter.” She said in a soft tone, her voice dripping with spite as the memory played endlessly in her mind yet she attempted to keep it under control. He was a Demi-god, after all, and could easily kill her. With this in mind, she stood before him, only daring to look up at him on occasion.

Vilkas chuckled at a bit at the memory of their encounter. "Yeah... But it's okay. It could have happened to anyone. I wasn't exactly graceful on my paws that day, either." Vilkas lowered his head to drink a little and clean his muzzle. When he finished, he shook his head a bit before looking up at Hildr again. "Are you okay?" he asked when he noticed she was avoiding looking at him.

Hildrhilt groaned inwardly at his mention of her clumsiness, her heart sinking as he attempted to excuse her mistake. It honestly would have been more bearable if he was angered by the fact she clawed up his belly but this was not the case. With a quiet sigh, she shifted her weight and kept her eyes upon her own front paws, tail swaying in an agitated manner. Though she was not holding any begrudgement toward him, she was simply angered by her own nervousness before this drake. He was only a dragon, even if he were a demi-god, but the title alone made her nervous.

Upon his question, she slowly lifted her hazel gaze to meet his own, her gullet knotting slightly before she offered a small shrug, not able to lie to him, “You make me nervous.” She admitted simply before lowering her gaze once more, “And about that day….I am truly sorry.” She said in a hushed tone, attempting to relieve herself of the guilt she felt. That day was awful for her, not only harming Vilkas but embarrassing herself in front of her King when she was only trying to help. Goes to show just how inexperienced she was when it came to combat situations.

Vilkas was a little surprised to hear that he made Hildrhilt nervous. He glanced down at his reflection in the water. He wasn't the most approachable looking dragon in the world, what with his scales making him look like a porcupine. But he acted friendly enough, he supposed.. Vilkas looked at the female again. Maybe it was just the whole scratching his stomach up situation that bothered her. Vilkas offered a Draconic smile. "It's okay, Hildrhilt. I don't mind, really." He moved a little closer. "If it makes you feel better, I was pretty embarrassed about the whole thing myself."

The inner hatchling was flailing at the mere thought of simply speaking to this drake, knowing how she felt about him to begin with. She didn't understand her reasoning, but ever since the day she first met him she had developed small feelings toward Vilkas. Though she would never admit such a thing, it was far too embarrassing for her.

Upon hearing his last phrase, she turned her hazel orbs up to meet his own sheepishly, "Wait. Really?" She asked, unsure if she had heard him correctly. How could he have been embarrassed? He wasn't the one who crashed into a unmovable dragon to avoid a dive-bombing rogue then proceed to tear up the poor dragon's belly to get away. The thought caused her eyes to travel down to his chest, wondering if she had left a reminder in the form of scars along his belly.

"Sure. I mean, I got myself stuck right in front of a monster that would have killed me if I had been alone. More than that, I got stuck in a way that completely exposed myself to an attack with almost no way to defend myself. Who wouldn't be embarrassed about that?" Vilkas asked with a chuckle. He noticed Hildrhilt looking him over. "They're a little hard to see now, but I do still have a couple scars."

The dark dragoness stood before the drake and listened to him, a draconic smile slinking across her muzzle at his words, once again happy about her dark coloration, "Well, if I had better combat training, that whole situation would have gone a lot better than it did." She said softly, her voice taking on a regretful tone as she sighed.

Shifting her weight for a moment, her hazel orbs met Vilkas' "They weren't too painful, I hope?" She asked, the concern laden voice giving away a bit of her interest in the drake, though it would only seem that she was simply hoping that he didn't suffer on her account. As it normally would be for her, but in this case, it meant a bit more to her.

"They were, actually. But Uncle Dirak is a good Healer, so the pain didn't last too long." Vilkas' tone was reassuring as he spoke. "So, what are you doing out here?"