Dragon tales (Rhythm)

[paganchick]

Sapheria sat on a ledge of a somewhat sturdy looking rock. Her dragon for was durable but she didn't want to fall honestly. She had almost forgot how this form felt. The power it offered to most would be mind numbing but she never liked it honestly. She liked to be in control and have exact precision, and with a body as big as the one she had, it was simply impossible. She was simply to big in her dragon form. No she would never give it up, it was a part of her, but yes, she didn't often wish she had been born something else. Who would want to be born something that was hunted down with a passion?

She opened her large wings, stretching a bit. She let out a loud, powerful roar before bringing her wings down in a powerful flap and taking to the air. Her roar was quickly echoed by near dragons and wyvern's. She loved the feel of the cool air as she swung her wings up, and back down once again, beginning to glide on the air currents above the ground. The one things she had that few other creatures did was this freedom. The freedom to fly and the freedom to change her face, to not appear as a dragon, she was thankful for both. 

[Rhythm]

The dragon forced his massive bulk onto his back legs, flapping his wings twice and twisting his downwards to glance at his reflection in the water so far below his place on the cliffs. There truly wasn't any form Orphis would rather take, as there was no form more suitable for a creature of his majestic qualities. A roar sounded from somewhere in the distance, and so he responded, his voice carrying throughout the valleys and bouncing off of the many mountains in the south. His roar was louder than that of many of his kind, though he still had thousands of years to go before the others would treat him with the respect that an ancient like himself deserved.

Heaving himself downwards, Orphis folded his wings and allowed himself to drop towards the glittering water of the lake. He allowed himself to enjoy the way the light reflected off of his golden scales for a moment before he snapped his wings open and lifted through the air. Within a few moments he was airborne, gliding on the warm wind with no real destination in mind. He simply flew, filled with a sort of contentedness, as he was by far the most beautiful creature in the sky. Rolling through the sky with the smooth skill that only comes with age and centuries of practice, he let loose a jet of fire, just because he could.

A hunger twisting his guts suddenly, Orphis lazily allowed himself to float towards one of the rolling hills of the valley below. Hurrying was for the young, the hatchlings; dragons like him had all the time in the world. The ground caved beneath his feet as he landed, his paws resting in shallow craters. The loud thump of his arrival scared a couple of beasts that had been hiding or feeding, and he set his gaze on two deer that burst from behind some shrubs and wildly ran off in the direction opposite Orphis. The dragon's eyes narrowing, he allowed the creatures a short head start before starting after them.

Within ten 'small' bounds he'd reached them, killing the pair instantly with a casual sweep of his over-sized paw. He picked up one of the corpses in his mouth, then tipped his head back and crunched. A leg fell out, and he snatched that up as well. Swallowing the deer, he moved on to the next, finishing it off in the same manner. Once done with his snack, he rolled his tongue around, scraping the remnants of flesh from his teeth. Satiated, the beast lay where he'd landed. He stretched his neck out on the ground and allowed the sun to warm his back, as it was a pleasant day, and his full belly made it all the better. He slept.

[paganchick]

Sapheria used her wings and tale to twist, turn and dive in the air. She knew she wasn't the biggest or oldest dragon, but she was one of the most agile. Her light weight but incredibly strong scales allowed that. The type of scales she had was one reason both her her parents were killed, they made armor that couldn't be matched by any metal. She folded her wings flat against her body, letting herself dive, her body dropping fast before she opened her wings and glided back up into the sky.

She was glade she hadn't heard of any more dragon deaths, it meant she could have more days like this. More days to just go to one form then the other, back and forth, back and forth with no one to say anything. No dragon to look down on her, no human to fear or want to kill her. It was nice and incredibly relaxing.

Sapheria wasn't paying attention as she glided in the air with seemed ease thanks to the strong muscles in her wings. She decided she wanted to walk a bit, and with the way the terrain was below it was much easier to walk as her human avatar form. She she dived once more, closing her eyes as she air rushed past her, opening her wings at the last second and opening her eyes. She let out a rather loud, "Oh shit sorr..." As she transformed into her human form and landed on a rather large golden dragon, how in the hell did she miss him? She rolled off of him knowing he would probably be mad and looking for a fight. It was never pretty when you woke a dragon.

[Rhythm]

Orphis dreamed in images, as most creatures usually did. The pictures were unusually vivid, however, and were usually revolved around the hunting and killing of beasts or flying high above the two-legged humanoids that seemed bound to the terrain beneath their feet. His pride always traveled with him into his unconscious state, as even when he was asleep, he considered himself one of the most regal creatures to ever walk the land.

The thud that awoke him was not nearly enough to rouse him from his sleep in itself, but the sudden burst of anger that came with it was. How dare a lesser creature strike him. They could at least have the decency to do so when he wasn't sleeping, and was able to respond appropriately. Snapping his eyes open immediately, he lunged to his feet and roared in fury, swinging his neck from side to side in search of the culprit. His gaze came to rest upon the small, humanoid-looking creature from down near his foot, and he moved to pin the being between his claws.

"What is the meaning of this?" he asked, emphasizing the anger in his thought-words with a deep, throaty growl. The dragon opened his jaws wide, displaying a set of sharp white teeth, each the size of a human's dagger. The fact that some humanoids weren't always what they appeared to be didn't even occur to Orphis, as all that was going through his head were his usual pride and the anger that the small creature's act of disrespect had aroused within him.

[paganchick]

Sapheria's eyes flashed before her body morphed into a dragon not much smaller than him beneath his claws. She let out a mighty roar, revealing her teeth to him as well. She wasn't afraid and she wasn't about to get bullied. Not by him, not by anyone. with a combined effort of the muscles in her body she quickly pushed him away and ended up in her feet, smoke rolling from her nostrils.

"It was an accident you gaudy fool" She mentally yelled, her head lowering and her muscles tensing as if ready to attack him. Her wings laid back, flat against her body, her tail raised a bit as if she was about to swig it around and use it as a weapon. She knew she would have acted the same way, but she also knew she wouldn't want to meet herself in a dark ally, she knew how hypocritical she could be, but this dragon just needed to calm down and relax.

[Rhythm]

The dragon was mere seconds away from roasting the woman alive when she changed form. Another dragon? The surprise was reflected in the way he jerked his head back, and didn't put any effort into keeping her pinned to the ground. Instead, Orphis was pushed back against his will, a fact that damaged his pride even further. However, even in her dragon form she was noticeably smaller than he was, and if he chose to, he was incredibly confident that he could overwhelm her with ease. A fight would be a waste of his time.

He hissed at her reply. He was convinced by her smaller size and the rate at which their kind grew that she was at least hundreds, if not thousands, of years younger than he. But there was no reason to speak of that, and so he simply bared his teeth in response. She was clearly not a respectful dragon, and her vocabulary and way of speaking was different from his. It was almost two-legged like, though he didn't think any dragon would stoop so low as to take on the qualities of a humanoid, whether or not they were lowly enough to disturb an elder's rest.

Perhaps she was not a real dragon. A test seemed necessary. With a deep exhale, the dragon allowed a flame to burst forth from between his powerful jaws and though the temperature was low and controlled, it could easily kill a weaker being whose skin wasn't accustomed to such heat. He allowed his anger to dwindle as he bathed the surrounding area in warmth. But there was no room in his mind for forgiveness, as this dragon was not yet one whose presence demanded his respect. He bit his jaws together, and forced the rest of the flame back into his belly.

[paganchick]

Sapheria shook her head in annoyance as he bathed her in his flames. He was an old cocky one, she could tell, dragons like him was one reason why dragons were often killed. They were full of themselves and saw themselves as unbeatable. She let him finish with his gentle flames, snorting in annoyance. No it didn't hurt her, it actually felt good, it was the way he did it, why he did it, not the action it's self.

Sapheria pushed an image of her roaring, to make sure he knew her annoyance. She then decided to test him in a similar way. She let a much hotter flame loose, hotter then most dragons could produce. If he had any weak scales he would feel the heat in a very uncomfortable way. She didn't let the flames last too long, she didn't want to actually hurt him, that wasn't her purpose. She snorted again, smoke rising from her nostrils. 

Her claws dug into the dirt, creating deep holes in the ground as she glared up at him. She was trying to figure out his problem. Why was he so stuck up? He definitely needed to get the high and mighty pole out of his butt.

[Rhythm]

So she hadn't been burnt to a crisp. With a snort that brought a thick puff of smoke, he allowed the dragon - for she was obviously a true dragon - to do her worst. Though the strength of her flame did not harm Orphis, for he carried the fire, as did the rest of his kind, it tingled something horrible in the few areas uncovered with scales. The itchy sensation did not die when she cut off the inferno, and so he turned his large neck and worked a single large tooth into the spaces devoid of scales.

When he swept his head back to face the female dragon, the rage had vanished completely. Though she reeked of humans, Orphis inclined his head in a universal, polite greeting. He spoke with a hint of respect in his voice, the thought-sound forming a deep rumble that caused the very ground to shudder ever so slightly beneath his feet. "Well met." It appeared that he had been wrong about her, and though he did not apologize for his actions, the decided to give his name first. "I am Orphis," he said, speaking through pictures.  Though the name could be spoken, he preferred projecting the images that formed his identity, his very being, for all to see.

[paganchick]

Sapheria sighed mimicking the gesture of greetings. She looked at him for a moment, deciding if she should return to her other form, trying to figure out exactly he would respond to this. She could tell that he wouldn't like it. He was definitely one of those dragons. One that hated humans, above all humanoids. She wondered how many demons or elves or angels even that he had met, it couldn't have been many. She couldn't understand his dislike of humans, they tended to be very simple creature, but they weren't the only humanoids.

She let her form slowly shrink into her Human form, looking up at him, still deciding to talking to him telepathically. "I am Sapheria" She mentally spoke, giving her head a slight bow of respect. She looked over his scales, he was a rather beautiful dragon, few could match him, even she didn't consider her dragon form quiet as beautiful, the gold gleaming in the sun.