Advertise/Affiliate Other Forum Main Page The World Before You Play

The Red Peak [Marakai Trin]

Started by AevumEternity, November 23, 2016, 02:55:47 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

AevumEternity

Meeting his eyes, she nodded slightly, turning her head to comment," I'll just steal some laundry or something, no worries," she chirped simply, already pivoting upon her heel, walking bare footed upon the rough surface of the stone.

After several minutes, she turned her head slightly, asking," Yiu look down upon all others- don't you?"

Marakai Trin

Marak blinked, flicking his gaze to the side to look at her. "No. Not usually. But typically a cold personality pushes would-be conversationalists away. That usually works for me - a part of society, but only loosely. Seen, but forgotten. I don't mean to seem as if I'm looking down on you, but that's just the way I am now. I...try not to get too close to anybody." There was a story behind that statement, but one he likely wouldn't be sharing with anyone anytime soon.

"To be honest, this is the most I've spoken to anyone in about eight years. You should feel honored," he said, a slight smile curling his lips. He continued walking behind her and slightly to one side. Looking up, he noticed that the smells of village life were getting stronger as they steadily grew closer to the small village.

"I hope you're not expecting to find anything extravagant here. The clothes from a fishwife aren't going to be anything special." He turned his head and looked at her. "Do you want me to go with you, or shall I wait for you here?"

AevumEternity

Immediately upon his inquiry she countered with," Will you check on me if I do it alone?" She murmurs cautiously- narrowing her eyes at him. The last thing she needed was him to be a do gooder if things went awry.

Marakai Trin

Marak narrowed his eyes slightly, staring at her with a leveled gaze. "I'll leave you alone so long as I don't smell blood or hear any screams. That happens, I intervene. Otherwise, I'll stay here if that's what you want. If you want to stick with me, those are my conditions." He jammed his sword into the ground, leaning over onto it.

"Get in, get what you need, and get out again. If you're caught, act as human as you can. Find something to cover your eyes, pretend you're blind, beg if you have to. Don't hurt anyone, or it'll be me hunting you this time. And I won't be so nice."

His features softened slightly, and he looked off to the side. "I'm going to trust you this once. This will be your test, and I'll see if you're worth the trouble."

His gaze flicked back to her, and his red eyes flared brightly for a moment, the whites and pupils completely disappearing behind the sudden glare.

"Don't disappoint me, Aev'interna."

AevumEternity

" Trouble? Have I caused any yet?" She counters, snorting disdainfully before beginning to move ahead of him," Don't worry, I will be quite alright," flashing him a devious smirk, she slipped into the jungle once more- moving stealthily in this form would be easier. As well as having devoured one village already left her not particularly keen on feeding upon another.

Hmph- he was like an obnoxious brother, not that she would know of course.

Marakai Trin

"Hmmph. I can already tell this isn't going to end well." He pulled his blade from the ground, and turned around to walk a short distance away, out of eyesight from the village, far enough away that he could do what he needed to comfortably without causing a panic.

He finally picked a spot, safely out of sight and far enough out of earshot that so long as he wasn't roaring his frustrations to the sky, he wouldn't be heard. He leaned his blade against a particularly large stone, and took several steps towards the waters edge. In the middle of a large spot of empty sand, he stopped, looked toward the ground, and closed his eyes.

Even from beneath his lids, the light was brilliant, a red corona of light bursting forth. Internally, Marak could feel his other side, like a dark empty space beyond a thin curtain. He pushed, and began to feel his body change.

His black, hardened leather armor seemed to meld with his flesh, becoming a part of him. His neck elongated, and his head took an almost equine appearance for a moment before the skin darkened and exploded with horns and spikes. From the small of his back, a knot of flesh formed and expanded, finally exploding into a long, serpentine tail, lined with spikes and a long, fin-like appendage at its end. His arms seemed to snap at the joints, his wrists and hands elongated to form long, deadly taloned paws. His legs formed mostly the same way, longer and thicker. Huge, leathery wings exploded from his back, stretching to their full, huge span.

In a matter of moments, in the place of a Goliath of a man, there was a behemoth of a dragon, scales colored like coal and nightmares, ranging from a glossy jet-black to a dark, ashen dull gray.

The beast let out a low roar as his form finished shifting, stretching out as he hadn't in quite some time. He hated cramping his essence in that tiny form, but he couldn't stand dealing with the fear and horror from the lesser races. Hestood at his full height, and turned his head and neck to face back towards the village, concentrating his impressive senses to monitor the events there.

With a sigh that allowed superheated black flames to escape his dagger-filled maw, blowing across the white sand, almost instantly blackening it and turning it into glass.

As he couldn't possibly speak in this form, he settled with thought - there was no one in range for telepathic communication anyway. 'This had better go quietly and bloodlessly, or she'll have a nasty surprise when she gets back....'

AevumEternity

Seemingly on que to his grumbling, the silver haired girl reappears, looking at him in vague surprise as she clutched a large, ragged cloak to her chest. Pursing her lips at the massive creature, Aev'iterna approached him with a light skip in her step.

" Well aren't you just the handsomest little dragon on this whole island?" She cooes up to him, already slinging the cloak around her shoulders, the fabric thick enough to close about her like a black curtain. She stopped just below his large head.

" You know, if you really find me so distrustful, you might as well fly off now- you're stuck with me otherwise,"

Marakai Trin

He lowered his great head, tilting his face downward so he could easily see her, his snout barely a foot away from her face. He gave a bit of a sniff, scenting for blood he may have missed.

Apparently satisfied, he raised his head again, remaining in a laying down position on the sand, and looked down at her.

His mouth didn't open to speak - the muscles in his mouth and throat would never allow anything more than inarticulate grunts and hisses. However, he was still able to speak in one manner - he broadcast his surface thoughts directly into her mind, speaking through a form of telepathy typically locked to most races.

"Actually, as far as I can tell, I'm the only Dragon here within one-hundred miles. And it's not so much that I don't trust you - it can sometimes be very uncomfortable to cram everything that I am into that tiny form. I felt the need to stretch my wings for a moment...I see you at least managed to get something to cover yourself. It will do in the meantime."

He turned to look to the side, looking down the coastline, to where they had come. "I heard nothing. You did well, and I cannot smell blood in the air, or on you. You showed me that perhaps you can hold back your urges." With that, his head swivelled back to look at her. "There is no scent of life for quite some distance. I think travel should still go easily...."

His eyes closed again, and his entire form seemed to become covered in a smokey haze, quickly shrinking to a vaguely man-shaped silhouette.

Details began to emerge, first his leather armor, pushing the outline outward. Secondly, twin pinpricks of red light formed in the position his eyes would be, flaring brightly.

The haze of smoke burst outward in a shockwave rather dramatically, the rest of his form revealed. He looked to her, regarding her with a small smile.

"Well, then. Shall we go? Lead the way, Aev'interna. I shall follow you."

AevumEternity

Watching the transformation, she blinked and muttered something about wishing she could shift without tearing clothes before shrugging. The demon skipped up to him, reaching out and cupping his face in her hands with a bright smile," Yeah- lets go-" saying this even as she squished his cheeks,"- but you're just too good for this world, huh?" Giggling, she quickly released him, skipping past him as she does so- steely locks bouncinf enthusiastically

Marakai Trin

Marak blinked several times, and shook his head. What was that? Seriously?

He turned to regard her, crossing his arms over his chest.

Sighing, he shook his head again, and turned to walk to his sword. Taking it in hand, he lifted it to its place at his shoulder, and began to follow her.

"Yeah...a real piece of work, that one..." he mumbled to himself.

AevumEternity

The demon seemed to have wrapped herself in the oversized cloak rather comfortably as she plodded ahead, occasionally glancing back to make sure he was following her-

//Several Hours of walking later\\

Aev'iterna paused upon the white sanded beach, gazing at a rather busy port town a mere mile and a half away from them- the sun had long since set, causing the golden lights from the buildings to reflect off the water like fire flies.
The demon seemed to grow noticeably wary, seeming to sink slightly into the cloak, holding it tighter around her- knuckles white. Black eyes flickered to Marakai Trin, now only visible from the spots of light that gleamed off them,"... Lead on." she muttered in a somewhat strained voice.

Marakai Trin

Marakai stopped slightly behind her. He could see that she was tense, and it worried him that they were headed into a populated area with her in that condition. He did something that only a being as dangerous as him could do in that situation.

He lifted his hand, and gently settled it on a demons shoulder.

"....Listen, Aev'interna. It's been a long day and we've been walking for hours. If you're not comfortable right now, we can make camp. If you can stay put for a moment, I can get a fire started and hunt for something real fast."

He released her shoulder and stepped around to stand in front of her, his massive frame blocking the view of the city at night. His eyes, red and glowing, emitted enough light to illuminate his features.

"This is a large settlement we're getting close to. We can figure out what were doing in the morning."

AevumEternity

She stared through him for several moments before her face tilted toward his,"..." Aev'iterna nods gently, thanking the darkness so he could not read the hunger on her face. To have gone nearly 24 hours without shedding a single drop of blood was a bit of a stretch especially for her.

" Yes, lets camp- but... I can hunt, I need to," she answered quickly, glancing toward the jungles just to their left. Already she began to bounce slightly upon the balls of her feet, shifting her weight from one side to the other~

Marakai Trin

Marakai gave a small nod, and placed both hands on her shoulders.

"Fine, hunt if you must. But take care to stay away from the city. Once you've sated your hunger, I will hunt for myself."

He turned toward the jungle, peering into the trees with sharp eyes. "I know not what can be found in there for us, but I trust I can find out from you when you return. I'll be waiting by that cluster of boulders back there. Try not to be long." He gave her a long look before releasing her shoulders and turning away, headed to a rock formation behind her.

He stopped, looking around for a moment for fuel of some kind, before stepping toward a tree straggling from the jungle. With a crack, he was able to pull it down with shear force, it's trunk splintering and bark peeling back. With his sword, he quickly cut the trunk into several small pieces.

He dropped several of them on the sandy earth, and shifted as noiselessly as possible into his Dragon form. With a quick exhalation of superheated black flames, the logs ignited, dark fire gradually giving way to orange and yellow hues.

He laid down, and curled his entire body around the rock formation, his head rested atop the tallest one. His eyes, completely and utterly red and glowing continuously, stated into the small fire, his black scales absorbing the heat.

AevumEternity

Truth be told, his constant touching felt unusually nice- as Aev'iterna usually just took what she wanted, the voluntary mannerisms of this was rather... Sweet? Hm- weird. She quickly shed her cloak, not wishing to rip it upon her transformation, simply letting it slide into the sand as she disappears into the shadows.

Her transformation was almost too good to stay silent, alas, the massive manticore begins to rip through the trees- nostrils flaring, rubbery lips parting to drink in the scent of prey.

//Less then an Hour Later\\

The human form of the demon appears again, this time running like a... Well, a literal demon. Quickly scooping up the cloak and wrapping it around her throat," Why did you change?!" Her voice reaches him far before he does, soon smashing her fists rather harmlessly against his massive forepaw," They saw you! They saw you!!"

Sure enough, the town seems in turmoil- voices shouting in panic. From the demons actions, she had not seemed to have incurred the wrath of the populace- why would she? Especially with a hundred plus foot dragon settled upon a beach to do that instead~

Marakai Trin

Marak had actually dozed off, and was startled awake by the tiny creature beating uselessly against his paw, as well as her frantic shouting. It took a moment for coherent thought to catch up, and his great eyes widened.

"How were they able to see a black dragon in the middle of the night?" he asked, his mental voice directed at her. Never had this happened before. He thought he was careful, building the fire amidst tall rocks and then hiding the light with his huge form.

He quickly shifted to his human form - at least, as well as he could with his current level of stress. He still looked like a monster, being at normal height but with a single black spike jutting straight up from the side of his head, and one arm covered in scales from his fingertips all the way up to one shoulder.

Hell, he hadn't even managed to form his armor. He stood there bare chested, patches of scales crawling across his side, over his left pectoral, and reaching up to meet the base of the odd spike protruding from his scalp. Clawed fingers flexed instinctively on his misformed hand.

"This isn't good..." he said, his voice low and gravelly, as if his insides hadn't quite firmed correctly either. "I can't even speak to them like this. We have to go while there's still time." He grabbed his sword and gestured for her to run before him, into the trees and the dark jungle beyond. "We'll finish the night out amongst the trees. I'm in no mood to fry an entire city, and then have half the island down our throats by morning. Let's go!" he yelled, hid voice sounding like half of a roar by now.

AevumEternity

The demon stared at him, looking at his half-form rather strangely before seeming to remember her anger, huffing," The moon is bright- look-!" She pointed to the white orb that floated overhead, it seemed to have lit the sea with silver fire.

Shoving a finger in his face, Aev growls," And you're a big ass black dragon on an open beach, what'd you expect, huh??" Shaking her head, noticeable droplets of blood flying from- somewhere. Nonetheless, she quickly grabbed his wrist, dragging him into the forest.

Marakai Trin

Marak muttered something about being over a mile away, before shaking his hand free of hers - it was difficult to run stooped over, and doubly so without tripping over her cloak.

He ran slightly ahead of her, wrapping his free arm around her waist as he did. Curling his fingers in the thick material of her cloak, he made sure of a firm grip before lifting her off the ground.

"Hold on. I'm taking us up." He pulled her against his side and leapt upward, moving towards a thick tree. With one arm, he plunged his wide bladed sword into the thick wood, the blade positioned horizontally and creating an impromptu platform for her to stand on.

"....climb up and hide. I'll lead them away. If they don't come by here within an hour, move to the ground and transform. I'll track you by scent."

Hanging there by the hand on his swords hilt, he patiently waited for her to climb up.

AevumEternity

All this being picked up like a sack of potatoes truly caused her frustration to spike to unprecedented levels but pouting slightly, she balanced her bare feet upon the flat of the sword before pulling herself up into the branches- stomach audibly rumbling as she settled int the crook of a fat branch," You... Better not just leave me here or I swear I'll slaughter that whole village," she huffs in response, though the threat didn't seem nearly genuine.

Nearby the voices grew louder, as if they knew exactly where the monsters were hiding- the light of torches dancing amongst the tree growing clearer.

Marakai Trin

Marakai gave a small smile and a barely perceptible nod, saying, "Of course not, little one. Just stay quiet and out of sight. Keep my sword safe, I can't take it with me....if they're wanting a Dragon, then it's a Dragon they're going to get." He gave her a crimson wink and dropped out of sight.

Landing heavily on his feet, kneeling only slightly from the impact, he glared through narrowed eyes at the approaching lights. Leaning forward, he started forward at a run, leaping into the air and transforming in midair.

The behemoth that crashed through the trees was nothing that simple men could prepare for, not armed with their flimsy armor and pathetic steel. Glowing, blood red eyes lit up his draconic head, dagger-like teeth seemingly dripping blood as the crimson light illuminated his salivating mouth.

He had been hungry before. This could be a feast. The great black dragon gave a roar, a wave of heat escaping from his mouth. The platoon of armed men stopped in their tracks, gazing wide eyed at the monster before them.

If Marakai could have smiled at that time, his grin would have been bloodthirsty.

One foolish man raised his sword, apparently acting as the leader as he gave a cry and ordered the other men forward, and Marak raised his head as they surged forward. With a twist, he turned his great body partially to one side, his great tail following through with the movement, slinging forward to crash into a group of the closest.

They flew backward, into the foliage and out of sight, a loud clatter of metal signalling their landing.

Changing his stance, he brought his great body low, as if ready to attack them. He broadcast his thoughts to everything in range. "You fools think that a couple of armed men can bring me down? You have no idea whom you attack!" He crouched low, then, and suddenly pushed straight upward, leaving the ground and beating his great wings to push himself aloft.

One fool thought it'd be a good idea to fire a crossbow. A few more followed his example.

Four steel bolts flew up at him, and unfortunately, all four hit their mark - a creature like him made an easy target, as large as he was. He made like the damage was worse than it was, and crashed straight back to the ground.

Screw it. Him and Aev'interna would eat well tonight.

He pushed himself back up, charged forward, quickly taking one man in his massive, saw-toothed maw, and lifted, shaking him from side to side before flinging him against a tree. Three more crossbow bolts found purchase in his neck, and he gave a grunt of pain before whirling around to give them a second taste of his tail, bowling the lot of them over.

On the ground, they made an awesome target for dragonfire.

A high pitched whistling sound could be heard as he inhaled, creating a vacuum. In the back of his mouth, those that were watching for their deaths could see a swirling, flickering blackness before a plume of black fire billowed forth, cooking then remaining men in their armor.

----

A couple minutes later, Marakai walked back in his complete human form, clad only in his leather greaves and boots, and covered in what seemed to be buckets of blood, irritably pulling a crossbow bolt from his side. He looked up after tossing the offending object on the ground.

"Dinner is served, Aev'interna. You can come down."


Tags: