[Cathy]

While this tense situation with the archer girl went on, Rosario slipped back into the sidelines and waited to see his reply.
“Truth be told, I’m as clueless as you.” Of course that couldn’t stand on its own with him. “I feel as if nobody here knows where we are. But let not let such a question plague us. Sometimes we must do and without asking why.”
Rosario smirked turning her head away enough he wouldn’t see it. Enough with this peacock, better make sure Ehud didn’t kill himself and/or everyone else. That was when the cave materialized in front of them. Night was coming on like a blown candle so the weird glow from its mouth gaped like a luminous muzzle. A test indeed. A trap more like it. She’d steer clear of it if she were alone. But with Ehud here…
I never should’ve gotten involved, I knew this was the eventuality; one of us would die since I’m still a danger. People like me should never get into a real relationship. That sort of crap, it makes me weak and it’s toxic for him. Sure, great for a while, makes you think you could be a good girl after all. Should’ve ditched him so many years ago, that wouldn’t have hurt him as much.
Right now he was chatting with pretty much everybody and seemed to have become quite attached to the blind girl. Ehud liked taking care of things, he compulsively adopted stray: animals, people, weird mechanics, repurposed toys (even the occasional mad gangbuster who was trying to kill him). It was as if he had a psychic sense like he knew her Papa used to take in just about every stray animal and her Mami loved it.
Letting out a slow, almost amused breath, Rosario walked over to them as easily as a shadow.

“Thanks you,” The royal-looking guy replied to Ehud curtly and turned his attention to the other two. “And no and no. Now, is this your country, or are you just passing through as well?”
Ehud got the hint and shrank out of the way. Whoever Mr. Mighty was he sure did look a lot to Pipe Man for approval. Reviewing his own outburst in his mind he could see how stupid he sounded, he really wished he could be more…normal? Everyone else seemed to have an easy time saying things with just a little deliberation and it took so much work to just barely reach everyone else’s standards.
Raking a hand through his hair, he finally caught sight to Rosario and waved. She nodded quietly and skipped over the scene.
“Riure, this is my best friend in the whole wide world, Rosy and Rosy this is Riure!” He said gently propelling the blind girl to Rosario who lamely patted her head.
“Ehm, hello,” Riure gave something like a curtsy, touching her dog.
“What are you doing now, idiota?”
“I’m adopting a complete stranger!” he announced cheerfully
Rosario looked the girl up and down and let out a breath. “No.”
Ehud could tell she was warming up to the idea anyway so he stared up at her with his most disarmingly sweet smile for about ten seconds or until she shifted her gaze uncomfortably. She twisted her folded arms before laughing awkwardly.
“Whatever,” She approved the pseudo-adoption. “It’s late, get to bed, carino.”
“But it’s still…mostly light.” he protested swinging Riure’s arm. “I’m not tir-”
“You talk for hours before you sleep finally.”
“I don’t talk for hours,” Ehud grumbled smothering a yawn already knowing he’s lost the argument. In response Rosario smirked and pushed him off by the back of his head.
“Noche-buena, ragazzo.”
Dropping to ground, he curled into the roots of an obliging tree and wrapped his jacket around himself.
“Good night.” Ehud muttered. He squeezed his eyes shut, yawned, and shifted position. “But I’m not sleepy!”
Casting him a mock withering look, Rosario turned her attention to the blind girl.
“So you’re Riure, are you?” Riure nodded. There was an awkward silence which the girl laughed at a little.
“Did I tell you about the books?” Ehud interjected drowsily, once again shifting position. So she didn’t answer. She had learned the hard way that if she engaged in any form of conversation or argument with Ehud he kept himself awake to keep talking.
“Mm.” Rosario frowned at Riure, trying to think of something to say. Ehud was good at materializing remarks and conversation-starters out of seeming thin air. But Rosario, not so much. “So what are you good at?”

To be a light to the world you must shine in the darkness.

[Cathy]

Brooke wrote:

I totally forgot that Ehud is the only remaining member of the original group! And seeing him having to be responsible for a person is really insightful, btw.

Mischievous Thwapling wrote:

OOOOhh yeah! I also totally forgot the Ehud is the only original one left standing… Hehe, this response it going to be FUN one… (You might just get Ehud’s dragon if all goes as planned)

Yeah, I only remembered because Ehud’s naturally a pretty clingy person so everyone disappearing really disoriented him. Thanks so much! btw I can’t wait to see his reaction to DRAGONS!!!

Well, thank you executing the idea and @mischievous-thwapling , thanks for having it, lol

Mischievous Thwapling wrote:

Ah, but Cathy, having the idea is only part of it. It’s much easier to come up with something than to execute it, which you did, so kudos to you. And Wingiby, no problem, lol.

heh, thanks! But you can’t start anything at all without ideas so kudos to you too!

To be a light to the world you must shine in the darkness.

[Joelle Stone]

Let’s see… Riure automatically did an assessment of the newcomer’s voice and sound movements. She was the one with the alluring accent, and kept using words that Riure didn’t understand. She wondered if Rosario spoke Amandril. Probably not. That would be funny, though, with her accent. A slight huffing laugh escaped her lips.

“Did I tell you about the books?” Ehud asked sleepily from someplace to Riure’s right. Rosario had sent him to bed, and Riure wondered if he was her younger brother. That would be neat.

“Books?” Riure murmured quietly to Sadiq, but Rosario didn’t seem to hear. Rubbing her arm, Riure realized that a warm glow was coming from her left. Fire? She didn’t smell smoke.

“Mm.” Tension grew as Rosario apparently shifted. Awkwardness set in. “So, what are you good at?”

Riure shrugged, barely stifling a chuckle. “I’ve never had anyone ask me that before.” She thought for a moment. “I’m not sure what gifts I’ve been equipped with. Since I feel called to speak of Adanyi and so far I’ve found all the help that I need, I guess…” she was aware that she was mumbling as she thought aloud. “Laughing. I’m good at laughing. And making dumb jokes that only I think are funny. What about you?”

—————————————————-

@this-is-not-an-alien

[Mischievous Thwapling]

@this-is-not-an-alien

Cathy wrote:

btw I can’t wait to see his reaction to DRAGONS!!!

If I’m honest, I can’t wait to see it either XD

Cathy wrote:

But you can’t start anything at all without ideas so kudos to you too!

Lol! Thanks, haha.

@joelle-stone

As always… I love seeing Riure’s perspective. (And what she’s good at. Is it weird that I wanna hug her?)

"I threw stones at the stars, but the whole sky fell."

[Cathy]

Mischievous Thwapling wrote:

As always… I love seeing Riure’s perspective. (And what she’s good at. Is it weird that I wanna hug her?)

(I wanna hug her…)

“I’ve never had anyone ask me that before.” the blind girl shrugged and murmured about gifts and speaking for Adanyi. “Laughing. I’m good at laughing. And making dumb jokes that only I think are funny.”
Rosario gave a small snort because that reply was just as applicable to Ehud as Riure. No wonder they hit it on that quick.
“What about you?”
“Ah..” Rosario let out a breath. “Good at surviving.”
She said finally, letting it be at that. Riure was too young and innocent for Rosario. Both she and Ehud seemed too idealistic to go into details with. It’s my job to shelter them from the world cos my hands are already dirty.
So I guess with a dry smile I followed an impulse to light one up. Ehud was already half-asleep so he couldn’t stop me and the girl wouldn’t see it so it shouldn’t harm no one but me. That being the same I twist the cigarette between my fingers without lighting it. Something about him being safe and sound right here made me think how close I’d been coming to getting off those.
That kid was still here and, after all, I still remember the nicotine poisoning from too many at once that left me hung over some more than I wanted. Can’t talk to a sweet girl like this one, I don’t have anything innocent to fill over.
“Well,” I told Riure, dropping the unlit cigar “good talk.”
I’m not her nanny, she can do what she wants. As long as she’s alive and healthy Ehud can handle the rest. Like social interact and all that emotion crap. I’ll stick around her but I don’t know anything about kids. Or actual small talk. Or whatever humans do to interact.

To be a light to the world you must shine in the darkness.

[Mischievous Thwapling]

“Don’t say that! Last time somebody claimed the castle it tried to kill us! The castle is Lord Castle, I named it, that’s its name. Nobody can claim the castle, it does not like that!” Ehud burst out. “I could guide you through the castle if it didn’t constantly change itself,” he added more calmly.

When Konyar saw Rilyn open her mouth, he knew what was coming next. He slapped his hand over her mouth. “Don’t do it,” he murmured.

She pried his hand off with an angry glower. “Do what?”

Konyar shot her his best don’t-play-dumb-with-me look.  “You know,” he whispered. “Fly off the handle.”

Rilyn straightened, clearly offended. Even standing tall, she was still several inches shorter than Konyar, and he couldn’t help grinning.  “I wasn’t going to do anything of the sort,” she hissed indignantly, crossing her arms. “I was going to grill the kid on what he was talking about, why he was dangling the prospect of our freedom in front of our faces before snatching it back, and the like.”

Konyar glanced at the curly-haired girl (she does have curly hair, right, @this-is-not-an-alien ? I tried to find her profile, but I couldn’t), who looked around the same age as Ehud. Ehud introduced her with his usual enthusiasm.

Rosaria–which apparently was her name–then ordered Ehud to bed. After some slight protesting, he complied.  Riure and Rosaria had a brief conversation that Rosaria appeared to cut off.

Konyar looked back at Rilyn, and alarm tightened his chest as he noticed what had previously slipped past him in the disorientating hysteria.  Sweat popped out on her brow as she folded her arms to hide their trembling.

“Don’t tell me,” he whispered. “You’re going to pop any second. You can’t maintain human form.”

Rilyn only  had enough time to part her mouth and start the beginnings of an answer before she exploded (figuratively) into dragon form.  A groan escaped Konyar’s lips as she nearly trampled the blind girl and jumped into flight, hovering above the group with loud wingbeats.

Konyar waved his hands in an attempt to calm the gasps that had erupted.  “It’s alright, everyone.  That’s still Rilyn.” He pointed at his friend, who appeared too flustered to explain it herself. “We’re just dragons. We can turn into human form.” Illustrating his point, Konyar hastily flashed into dragon form and shrunk back again to his human self. “See?”

“Yeah,” Rilyn called. “Please don’t freak out. Don’t be wimps!”

Konyar shot her a glare. “Not helping!” he mouthed at her.

*******
Tagging anyone. Btw, I’m still working out in my fantasy world exactly how communications between dragons in dragon form and humans work. I’m still deciding. But for our Character Castle, I thought it’d be best to keep it simple, so I simply let Rilyn speak to them easily in dragon form.

"I threw stones at the stars, but the whole sky fell."

[Mischievous Thwapling]

@this-is-not-an-alien

I bet everyone would wanna hug Riure if they could, haha.

 

NOW LET’S SEE HOW EVERYONE REACTS TO DRAGONS!!

• This reply was modified 5 years, 4 months ago by Mischievous Thwapling.

"I threw stones at the stars, but the whole sky fell."

[Joelle Stone]

DRAGONS!! XD Good thing Riure can’t see them; Sadiq is going to be enough trouble. 😛 And yeah, I’m starting to really wish I could hug her too… *sigh* BTW, the (figuratively) part seemed like it came straight from Wingiby’s comedy chamber. 😛 Well done!

——————————————————————-

Sadiq barked loudly, lunging to the side as something shook the ground, dragging Riure with her. Scales brushed against her arm as Riure fell to the ground, then wingbeats tossed her hair every which way as something colossal rose into the air on what seemed to be large wings.

Dragon. Riure had heard of them – plenty of legends of the mythical creatures existed in the Outer Realms – but she’d never actually seen one. Well, she’d never really seen much of anything since the disease took her sight. But still.

“It’s alright, everyone. That’s still Rilyn.” It was Konyar’s voice. Sadiq hauled Riure to her feet and trotted over to a tree, hunkering between the roots as Konyar continued. “We’re just dragons. We can turn into human form.” Riure ignored her dog’s persistent tugs, deciding rather to stand with one hand on the trunk of the tree, head cocked, listening and feeling for all her might. The air flowed in eddying currents around her, indicating something big straining to stay in the air. Gasps and whimpers ruffled through the gathered people, and the warm glow seemed closer than ever. “See?” Konyar said, and Riure stifled a snort. This was no time for laughter.

Sadiq barked once, sharply enough to bring Riure’s attention to her. “What’s wrong, girl?” Riure asked, kneeling by her dog and taking Sadiq’s pointed head in her hands. She could feel Sadiq’s teeth; she was growling. “Is it the dragon? I mean, dragons?”

Something brushed against her hair and a small hand landed on her shoulder. It must be the little person who’d helped her. Sadiq’s growl seemed directed in his direction. “Easy, Sadiq. Quiet,” Riure ordered. Reluctantly, Sadiq complied. Riure’s foot bumped against something, and she realized it was probably Ehud, obediently doing as Rosario had told him. Whether or not he was still asleep, she couldn’t tell.

She turned in the estimated direction of Little Person, flashing her easy smile. “Hey, can you tell me what’s going on?”

———————————————————————–

@rusted-knight

[Audra E. S.]

I was gone for a bit, guys, but now I’m out of quarantine and have the laptop back!! *rubs hands* Ooh, more dragons. And just so you know, I have a LOT of dragons in my fantasy WiP/series that are fairly major characters. Who’s the “archer girl”, btw?

Wen’s PoV:

She slowly rose to her feet, eyeing the man who had (truthfully or not? Idk, but Wen would have sensed the truth/lie) claimed to rule 19 galaxies, and the shapeshifting dragons. Eltar placed a hand on her shoulder. Calm. Don’t show off. We don’t know what strengths and weaknesses the new ones have. Obviously Rosario can be trusted, judging by her care for Ehud and Riure, and I know your instinct is to trust the dragons, but not all are kind and just, and these likely know not of the ancient treaty.

Wen nodded slightly, glancing about. She spoke softly, projecting her voice to reach Kami. “Ruler of 19 galaxies, Kami? I wonder how you would keep order in such a far-reaching kingdom. I am Wen, heir apparent to the thrones of Ibia and Avarya in the world of Elun. Greetings.”

Wen smiled at the dragons. “My family has long held a affinity for the dragons of our homeland, keeping them safe from dragon hunters, and partnering with them to keep the peace throughout the land.”

Could one steal past those watchful dragons? I thought I could.
-C.S. Lewis

[Brooke]

@mischievous-thwapling and @joelle-stone

BTW, the (figuratively) part seemed like it came straight from Wingiby’s comedy chamber.

Love it, Thwap, and thx, Kinnen, ha ha!

@backwardslivewriter

Yay! Oh, and the archer is Gwen. She’s @jasmine ‘s character, a spunky guard for the king from her world. Jasmine can explain a million times better, lol — it is her character 😉

@everybody

AND DRAGONS!!!

I will work on my post as soon as possible (also, has anyone noticed how this topic will suddenly erupt with posts, lol?)!

I light the arrow, pull the bow,
Shoot that fire right through my soul.

[Brooke]

Oh, and @mischievous-thwapling @this-is-not-an-alien @joelle-stone

Riure DOES need to be group hugged by all of us suddenly popping into the story and out again in the blink of an eye. 😛

I light the arrow, pull the bow,
Shoot that fire right through my soul.

[Joelle Stone]

@backwardslivewriter,

Hey! Nice post. 😉

@wingiby-iggiby,

Yep! Hm… something like this: As the dragon swooped through the sky, suddenly everything froze. Wingbeats paused. Mouths were left open. Someone halted midair. But Riure didn’t freeze.

“Alright, everything’s set,” someone unfamiliar said. “Let’s go get her, then erase her memory.”

“You can do that?” someone else asked.

“Sure!” the first voice said. “But we should hurry.”

Almost instantly Riure was enveloped in a warm, many-personed group hug. “Hi, I’m your writer!” a female voice exclaimed.

“And I’m Ehud’s writer!” another added.

“And I’m the dragons’ writer!” another put in. “They’re not going to kill anybody – yet.”

Riure didn’t know what to do. So she laughed.

Then suddenly the wingbeats were back, the voices had returned, and the writers were gone. Wait, writers? What in the world? How did that get into her brain? Riure had no clue, so she just shrugged, laughed at herself, and moved on with life.

Ok, maybe not, but that was fun to write. 😛 Nice (funny) quote, BTW!

[Brooke]

@joelle-stone

YES! That is exactly what happened. And of course we can erase memories — we’re the writers! Oh, and thanks! I like that quote too 😀

***

Kiark turned to Wylo, but just as he was about to open his mouth to say: “we should get a move on,” the air around them erupted with heavy, leathery beats and a hiss as of steam. Kiark whirled, his red cape flashing and curling around his legs as he drew out his sword and braced himself, snarling. What in aunt Jemimas great curdle is THAT? He thought.

Wylo had actually seen the transformation, and, startled as he was, he, too, grasped the hilt of his sword and drew it out. It is like one of the fabled silver-beings, he thought.

Then, adding more to the confusion, the fellow named Konyar started waving his arms, which soon turned into the waving of wings, and then back again. “It’s alright, everyone. That’s still Rilyn,” he called, as if calming a group of frightened children. “We’re just dragons. We can turn into human form. See?”

“Yeah! Please don’t freak out. Don’t be wimps!” Stated the other grey dragon, who was apparently the wobbly girl Rilyn.

Sure! Kiark almost retorted. I’ll stand here as useless as a pin while you tear my meat from my bones! He restrained the survival instinct to send his sword hurtling into her leathery stomach.

Wylo was disgusted with the she-dragon, and narrowed his brows. She was an impertinent thing, and most likely harmless unless she decided to be even more impertinent. He sheathed his sword again and crossed his arms. He’d let Kiark go with whatever he would do; it would be good for the prince — and it might be amusing.

“My family has long held an affinity for the dragons of our homeland, keeping them safe from dragon hunters, and partnering with them to keep the peace throughout the land,” said a man Kiark hadn’t noticed before. He carried himself with noble assurance. Well, that can be expected, since he apparently has these overgrown lizards hanging out in his yard. And did he say dragon hunters? That’s good. They can be killed, then.

Wylo glanced at the fellow who had spoken. He had a sort of special aurora about him. Maybe he was a sane, intelligent person — and he didn’t look like he wanted to harm anyone. But Wylo didn’t want to get to know any of the people — if they actually were all humans. He had once loved people, but that had changed.

Kiark lowered his sword. Things didn’t seem urgent; more like everybody was trying to introduce themselves. It was confusing. “Wylo,” he whispered under his breath, “let’s go while they’re distracted.”

The High-lord nodded, and then they backed away slowly, discreetly, until they were back at the tree line of the jungle. Then both turned and — face planted into a transparent wall set up in front of them.

“Of all the mothers of Hermit Halds, what is this?!” Kiark exclaimed, before lowering his voice. Wylo drew his sword again and drove it into the barrier. It was a jiggly, jello-like film that he couldn’t penetrate — and couldn’t see. Kiark punched it, and his fist made a dent that instantly sprang back into place. The two fellows looked at each other, both thinking,

Jak Arnoldsin’s jack-rabbits! Now we have to deal with caves and dragons.

I light the arrow, pull the bow,
Shoot that fire right through my soul.

[EmilyRemixed]

I want Kami to interact with the dragons, where exactly are they? 😛

One day you'll be someone's favorite author.

[Rusted Knight]

Ancient Dragons. Allen had heard the stories of the monsters. Named dragons included Fafnir, Ladon and Hydra. Giants that destroyed human cities and small nations single handed. To the fey that lived side by side with the human, the damage was far worse. Whole nations could be lost. A wealth of knowledge was lost and had to be rediscovered due to them. Hunted to extinction, these beasts were threats that the fey could not fight effectively.

And Allen found two of them. How he wished he had his armor. No, that would not be enough. If his regiment was here, they might injure one of them before being destroyed.

“We’re just dragons. We can turn into human form. See?”

The male returned to human form.

“Yeah. Please don’t freak out. Don’t be wimps!”  whined the other.

Allen shivered. They acted human. Where the Ancient Dragons truly extinct or were other hiding in plain sight like the elves and dwarves? If one should ever turn back to their violent ancestors for inspiration, cities would once more burn.

Turning, Allen saw Riure being led away by her dog. She was the weakest of this group of strangers. He had sworn to help protect the humans and Allen would hold to that oath. Landing on her shoulder, he rested his wings. He would protect her as best he could.

The dog growled at him. Hope he doesn’t like fey for snacks. But the dog is protecting his master in his own way.

“Easy, Sadiq. Quiet,”

Reluctantly, the dog turned away. That’s right, be suspicious of people. Let’s you always be ready for battle.

“Hey, can you tell me what’s going on?”

Riure was smiling weakly. Was she afraid of what she could not see?

“Well dear lady, two of our companions seem to be able to turn into Ancient Dragons. The talkative fellow is resting under the stern but protective watch of his friend.” Dropping his tone, Allen whispered into her ear. “I believe she is his girlfriend.” Resuming his normal tone, Allen leaned back. “And our magician and his friend seem to know a thing or two about dragons. With luck, they can settle matters without the need to draw swords.”

Allen let himself be boisterous. He had no need to worry. Dragons could be killed and there were enough people here to deal with them if necessary. He need not terrify the girl.

The Devil saw me with my head down and got excited. Then I said Amen

[Author]

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