The Sound and the Fury

[Lion]

[Tags to @Draconian ]

Hylea's swooping narrowly dodged the fireball that coursed their tail. Attila grasped the reins and squeezed his legs around her sides as she turned about and breathed in sharply. The heat from her belly was intense and Hylea spat a blast of fire from her mouth, roaring and twirling away to avoid the grasping claws of their enemy.

Feral dragons were much more common than those that agreed to having a bond with a dragonrider.  And here in the skies, the law of survival was all that they followed. Attila hadn't meant to ride over another dragon's den, and even he and Hylea made for the skies, the other dragon gave chase, seeing prey, a smaller one of its own kind, and human snack on top of it.

It's own size was massive, clearly well-fed from the size of it's body, spanning more than 30 feet in length, and a wingspan twice that, black and green scales cover it's belly. The emerald eyes of this beast glowed with fury, and the fire it breathed in words of hatred was greener than the verdant southern Thunderblacks.

"FLY FAR! FLY FAST, LITTLE INSECT! WHEREVER YOU GO, I WILL FIND YOU!" the dragon roared, wings beating the air like an unruly stepchild, coning around it's body until it darted closer to Hylea.

Attila kept focus and would have raised his bow, but anything launched at their assailant wouldn't do a gods-be-damned thing. So he bristled, ducking his head beneath a stray flare and pressing himself closer to Hylea, to dive into the trees.

But the other dragon was much faster than he calculated and Attila gripped the harness for dear life as Hylea suddenly swooped to draw her claws out to protect Attila.  The dragon reached out, snatching her tail with one clawed grip and Hylea slashed at his underbelly, cutting deep and spewing out green.  The dragon's face reached down and sunk teeth into Hylea's shoulder, wrenching her off to the side and separating Attila from the saddle.

Hylea was flung far off, and Attila spun wildly, dizzied in the fall and she disappeared from sight when he landed in the trees below.  He yelped and tried to brace himself as his body slammed and smacked into branches.  His right ribs slammed hard into the outstretched branch of a maple tree and he felt ribs snap, and the only thing that softened his fall was the damp undergrowth of leaves and detritus on the forest floor.

Whether he was dead or alive, he didn't know, but his ribs were broken, and his shoulder felt oddly out of place, then black stole his vision.

[Draconian]

At least this time it didn't taste like a boot.

Raizel had finished her meal, the taste of the stew still lingering in her mouth. Crouched down by the little stream as she washed the bowl, her camp not far from where she was. A nice little camp. An easy place to stay and rest for a day or two before she gathered her things and was on her way again. It had been a quiet day until the screams over head, inhuman and she stood up, staring at the sky, bowl in hand.

What was that?

The sight of streaks of black flying in the sky set her heart pounding. It wasn't fear. Still, her chest tightened and she stared up, mouth dropping open slightly before she shook her head and swallowed. Bright blue eyes caught a piece of the dragon falling off but... That wasn't a piece of the dragon. A rider? Raizel rushed back to her camp, breath short in her chest from the anxiety of having giant beasts fly over her head.

The bowl was disposed of and her sword was taken, buckled against her hip before she ran. Raizel ran as fast as she could through the trees, eyes wide, taking in everything. If someone had fallen then someone would need help, right? Ah. There. Panting, she pushed a hand through her hair, mixing the black and white of her bangs before she knelt and removed a glove. Cool hands pressed to his neck and she was as pleased as she was worried that there was a pulse.

Another glance up at the sky.

Was this man dinner?

Raizel smoothed her hand over his face, checking for gashes and bruises. So far nothing. Her hands moved over his chest, his arms his legs. For the most part he was remarkably unharmed for such a fall but there would be damage. Just she wasn't able to find all of it from the padding of clothing. Another hand pushed his hair from his face and Raizel looked down at him. How deep out of it was he? A moment to chew on her lips before she decided that it was worth it to move him now.

Great.

It took a great deal of effort but, she had his arms over her shoulders and she dragged him back to her little camp, placed him on her bedroll and added kindling to the fire. His shirt was removed and she sat across the fire and frowned. A soldier? A look at his uniform. A frown and she looked away, hating the strange ache in her head. Why did it look familiar? Raizel swallowed thickly before she shook her head, making sure there was water.

Once he woke up she'd bandage him. It was no use know but now that she had his shirt off obviously he'd hurt his chest. So after pulling the blanket over him, Raizel leaned up against a tree, sword over her shoulder, legs stretched out and with her ankles crossed and waited for him to wake up. It was kind of boring.

[Lion]

Attila did wake up with a scream, feeling pain radiating from his shoulder and his ribs and maybe his legs. He  couldn't really tell.  Hylea wasn't with him and she was flung far off somewhere, Attila could feel that connection between them, strained as it was on the wake of their assault. He didn't know where the other dragon was, or if it would come back.

He tried to sit up. A foolish move baded back by the anguish in his ribs.  "Hylea," he murmured, looking up and seeing a strange woman in front of him.  "Please. Help me find my dragon!  She's...gone...somewhere.  Ffffffuck."  The words scraped against his dry throat and the pain radiated up his side, making it difficult to breath.

He could move his arms though, and feeling them unbroken.  Then the pain must have come from Hylea, or was it all in his head?  Probably the latter.

"Who the hell are you?" he muttered.  "Not to...sound....ungrateful."  Whoops. Too late.

[Draconian]

The scream startled Raizel and she had a dagger from her boot out and in front of her before she realized what it was. Right. The boy. The knife was replaced back into the boot and she shuffled to him on her knees, an ungloved hand moved to rest on his cheek and she gently traced his cheekbone with her thumb. "Shhhh," she said softly sitting back on her heels, bringing a water skin to his lips in case he wanted to drink.

Luckily he hadn't been asleep that long or she'd have tried to wake up. A quick look at his eyes before she cupped one of them, watching them dilate. Good. "You feel" She said helpfully, "Do you remember that?" He hand moved around his face, checking for any extra damage and she sighed heavily.

"I don't know where your Hylea is but my name is Raizel," Her voice was smooth and she looked at his chest, frowning at the bandages, "Except for a few scrapes and cuts you're fine on the outside, you did a good job on your bones though," She nodded to his torso, long lengths of fabric cut up and tied tightly. Raizel was no doctor and while she was fine enough fixing herself, she wasn't too sure how to fix anyone else. "Do you know your name?"

[Lion]

Attila's lips met the water with small slurps and he felt his dry throat sated at least by what he could swallow. Slowly his delirium was leaving him, and reality was coming in. He couldn't remember falling quite like that before. If it weren't for the padding in his armor, and maybe even the branches that slowed his fall, he likely would have been scrambled eggs on his forest floor.  At least his brains would be no doubt.

"Raizel," he murmured, rolling the name she'd given him on his tongue. It felt odd, somewhat familiar, but not. Or was it just the voice that said it. Yeah, the timbre of it made his eyes look at her curiously. He stared at her as he slowly responded to her questions.

"Attila," he breathed outwardly. "Attila Armok, Dragonrider and Ranger of Adela, My dragon's name is Hylea...  We...we were attacked by a feral dragon in the mountains after...finding it's nest. Even as we fleed, it gave chase and attacked us savagely.  Somehow in the fight, I was thrown from my dragon....  And Hylea was wounded in the skirmish.  I don't know where the other dragon is, or if it will come back. That's all I can remember."

His side hurt something fierce, and he pushed himself up on his elbows with effort to admire her handiwork. Impressive.  Battlefield dressings, not sloppy either like he'd seen some other scouts do. Odd. Attila's eyes were glued to her face.  "Do I know you from somewhere?  You look really familiar."

[Draconian]

A solider.

Raizel felt her spine tingle and she closed her eyes for a moment, rolling her shoulders.

"Maybe Aki has seen your dragon," She said softly, grabbing a black cloak, balled up at the side of the bedroll and pulling it over him. It was probably a little chilly but it would be better than nothing. A moments pause, "Aki is my bird." While she was concerned for his well being, she didn't know or care about his dragon.

Though, she supposed if Aki was dead she would have liked to find his body.

Did this Attila think the dragon was dead? Slowly, Raizel got more comfortable, sitting cross legged and placing a hand on his chest to feel his heartbeat. Mentally timing it. Not too stressed out, she decided, a little worried about his dragon but... Well enough. She kept the water close at hand and brought it to him when he motioned for it.

The fire popped happily off to the side and she looked up for a moment.

Not a sound since the strange man had fallen from the sky.

"Maybe," She said simply, "I travel a lot," Another frown at him and she leaned in, blinking at him, brilliant blue eyes going wide and staring, "Why? Do I look familiar?" A tilt of her head and she pushed a hand through her hair, the white of her bangs mingling with her black hair before it fell forward again. "You hit your head pretty hard, Friend, you should rest more, I'll be here when you wake up and once you can move again I'll let you leave."

[Lion]

Great she was covering him, and the faint shivers that Attila didn't know he was having was. The air was chilly around them and he looked up at the clouds that covered the sky. Overcast, the sun dimmed, mist gradually coating the ground. Attila closed his eyes, letting her touch his chest, measure his heart beat and he took in a deep breath.

"I probably did hit my head pretty hard," he murmured, eyes fluttering open again.  But he wasn't tired.  And yet he was in no real condition to move.

"I....I do remember you," he breathed, turning his head to look at her with a frown. "You're....  Commander?"  The incredulity in his voice was thorough and he shuffled the cloak off his chest just enough, heart beating a little faster now. "Is that really you? Yes, it has to be. Your eyes.  I know I've seen them before."

Attila carefully lifted his arm to gently grasp at her wrist. Just to grasp that wrist was an honor and a risk all the same.