In the Footsteps of Dragons

[DragonSong]

Vara crept slowly and cautiously toward her unwilling companion, dagger clutched in her hand. "What is it?" she whispered, tense and ready to fight or flee at the first sign that either would be the best course of action.

[Kalak8538]

The hybrid snarled, keeping in his gaze on the creature.

"Bogane, I think..." he said, careful to speak as quietly as possible.
Being as brief as he could manage, he continued.

"Big mole... Not too bright, but its hide is thick. Doesn't look like it can see us..."

The creature let out some low rumbles, and began to advance inquisitively. The golden scaled man retreated at the same speed. His spear was trained on the creature, but he was careful to maintain the distance.

"But it can hear us."

[DragonSong]

"Well...maybe we can convince it we're friendly," Vara suggested halfheartedly, her fist clenching on the hilt of her dagger.

[Kalak8538]

The sounds of hushed voices was enough to send the Bogane forward a little quicker than before. It halted, trying to discern the location of the intruders to its lair. Sharp yellow teeth were bared as it sniffed the air. Luckily enough, the scent of heavy rain just outside seemed to mask the scent of the two smaller creatures.

"Be my guest..." the man retorted sarcastically.

By now, the half dragon stood practically in the mouth of the cave. His back caught some rogue drops of water due to his close proximity to the storm. He watched as the big heavy paws felt around for them. One landed on the still hot remains of the campfire, causing the beast to shriek and recoil.

[DragonSong]

Yikes!

Vara glowered at the half dragon as she backed up beside him, still white-knuckling her dagger. "Alright, well what's your idea?" she muttered out of the corner of her mouth. "Think we can take it?"

[Kalak8538]

The dragon man looked behind them, out at the storm.

"We're gonna have to, or take our chances out there."

He listened to the rumblings of thunder through the heavy rainfall. In a moment, there was a spark of inspiration.

"I may have an idea... but you will have to keep it busy."

[DragonSong]

Oh. Sure. Keep it busy. No problem.

Vara shot the strange a rather droll glare, but after a moment she nodded. "Fine. Just...whatever you're planning, do it quick."

[Kalak8538]

The golden scaled man nodded and turned. Then he stepped out of the cave into the storm. The rain pelted his hardened hide like tiny pebbles, and the wind attempted to throw him to the earth. Still, he walked on without hesitation.

He stopped a fair distance from the earthen opening, waiting for something. With his spear ready at his side, the half dragon looked to the violent sky above.

[DragonSong]

Grumbling to herself, Vara shifted her stance and tightened her grip on her dragon-tooth dagger. She bared her teeth and growled at the occupant of the cave, trying to coax it into keep its attention on her until the stranger did...whatever it was he was planning on doing.

[Kalak8538]

The man held his position, despite the storm's every effort to dislodge him. His scales rippled with energy. He knew what was coming for him.

The man raised his spear defiantly at the wild clouds above. He could feel it, and was ready to take the full brunt of nature's wrath. He could only manage to scream out a few words against the rain that buffetted him:

"Move... NOW!"

[DragonSong]

She didn't need more than that. Scrambling back from the angry creature who's den they'd inadvertently invaded, Vara threw herself back out into the rain, dashing to the side to give the stranger a shot at-- at whatever it was he was about to do.

[Kalak8538]

Electricity rippled from golden scales, and then there was the flash. A bright and piercing light partnered with a sickening crackling. A wayward bolt of lightning was drawn to the silver in the spear and now its power had enveloped the half-dragon. A shot that would have felled any normal man seemed disappointingly less potent. Inside the enormous ball of power he stood, bringing the spear down to point towards the cave.

With barely a pause, the energy was redirected. There was only a short and high pitched squeal from the beast inside. Then silence.

The rain continued to fall. The residual rumbling spreading through the clouds. Smoke rose from golden scales, though little could be seen between heavy pellets of water. This man still stood, his footclaws dug into the soggy earth, but was visibly weakened by the attack. Hesitantly relying on his spear for support, he slowly trudged back to the cave entrance.

There was still some room to hide from the elements, in spite of the crisped corpse that blocked the way deeper...

[DragonSong]

Vara cried out and dove to the side as the electricity exploded outward, raising a hand to shield her eyes. When the attack seemed to calm, she slowly lowered her hands and blinked, looking around.

Oh. That didn't look great.

"Ah, hells." Vara got shakily to her feet. "You, uh...you okay?"

[Kalak8538]

The man trudged onwards. He took the shortest path to the reclaimed shelter, letting nothing stop his forward momentum. Each raindrop dissipated with a hiss as it landed upon him. The bolt that had struck him left his body hot to the touch.

There were no words. No response. Only a grunt of effort with each labored step.
Once the earthen ceiling was once again above him, the man fell to one knee, weaker than he wished to appear.

[DragonSong]

"Hey. Hey."

Vara followed after him--slow and wary, neither wanting to invoke sudden ire or put herself in a dangerous position--but she couldn't manage to keep the concern completely from her voice.

Stupid. Weak. But she couldn't help it.

"Hey, uh...you. Really. You don't look so good, lemme--"

She started to reach out to him, then quickly snatched her hand back. She didn't think he'd take too kindly to her touching him without warning or permission. Grumbling under her breath, she started hunting through the little pouch at her side. "I have some, um, some herbs and things, wait a minute..."

First Fires, she could still feel the heat off him even from here.

[Kalak8538]

The scaled man threw one draconic arm out to his side. It was a motion almost resembling a forceful wipe across a vertical surface. Dismissive, not aggressive. He made no effort to face the woman behind himself.

"I'm fine..." he growled. "Just need to rest."

He took some heavy breaths, huffing with frustration at his current state. His nostrils took in the air that now held the odor of burnt fur.

[DragonSong]

"You just got hit by lightning," was Vara's incredulous reply to that clearly false statement. "I don't care who your dragon parent is--was--whatever. That's gotta at least sting."

She shuffled a little closer, wrinkling her nose at the smell of burning fur and cooked meat. She shot an almost apologetic glance toward the corpse of the massive mole. She'd make sure to take it home to Da, maybe, so the sacrifice didn't go to waste...

"Here." Finally locating her herbalist kit--a slapdash affair of what few medicinal herbs one could find in the Thunderblacks, a needle, and a small pouch of water all sort of bound loosely together with a length of twin--she shoved it out toward him. "The dark green ones that smell kinda minty are good for burns..."

[Kalak8538]

The man finally turned his head, just so one eye could observe the assertive individual. It also allowed him to convey an annoyed glare. Each statement offended for its own reason.

He was on the verge of releasing a verbal torrent, fueled by draconic rage. He could even find the strength to bare both fang and claw for added effect. Perhaps it was still possible to generate a small amount of natural electricity for emphasis. Yet, none of that came to pass.

The man blinked. He took a breath, and made a simple reply.
"Who... ARE you?"

[DragonSong]

The little wildling tensed, sensing the rising anger in him. She hadn't survived as long as she had with her foster father and his ilk without being able to read body language near instantly--the fact that the stranger had quite a few draconic features certainly helped with that.

She nearly expected him to flame at her, or throw lightning or whatever; that's what a dragon giving off those threat displays would have done. Instinct sent her skittering back, sort of ducking into an alcove in the cave wall for shelter.

But when he just stared at her, asked who she was, she found herself blinking in turn, simply staring back for several long moments.

"...Vara." Her voice took on a subtle accent when she said it, a hint of stone and fire made sound. It was how her Da had always said it: after all, her name was the draconic word for song. "I'm called Vara. It's not all I am, but it's a start...Who are you?"

[Kalak8538]

The half-dragon rose slowly, assisted only slightly by the spear. Thus, he was able to turn to face Vara.

"I did not ask for your name..."

It was clear that the man struggled to judge this Vara. While he maintained his stoic facade to the best of his ability, he was still perplexed about the nature of this stranger.

"Who are you that brings you so far into the wilds? This area is dangerous, but I think you knew that..."