Birds of a Feather

[Anonymous]

As much as he hated staying in bitterly cold Terrin mountains, Ciss had to admit that he absolutely adored flying. Especially when he was about to fly over Connlaothian border on a bloody giant eagle! The mage had to resist the urge to make a spectacle out of it. Today was all about stealth, and even he had to bow down to that. He even dressed as a Connlaothian, which was absolutely absurd!

Fidgeting a little in his seat, quite unused to wearing trousers of any kind, the man grinned at his companion. "So. Remember: No spells while we're on the other side. We don't want the hounds to sniff us out." Ciss said with a teasing tone, knowing full well he was the only mage in this jolly little group.

His companion wouldn't try to slug him while they were flying, now would he?

[Lion]

This was not a good idea.  This was NOT a good idea.  THIS IS NOT A GOOD IDEA!

Dram kept telling himself that all the way from the mountains to the south.  Why?  Because it wasn't!  Cissaro was an idiot and he knew he'd only get himself killed if he didn't come along.  Dram wasn't particularly pleased with the thought of having to babysit this no-good fool!  He maintained a grip on Bane's feathers as they turned through the clouds.

"I don't have any spells, Ciss," Dram said bitterly and frowned at the mage.  "What's so important up here anyway?  Why did you have to go?  Or are you just trying to get yourself killed?"

[Anonymous]

"You don't?" Ciss said, seemingly perplexed. A moment later he had a smile on his face again, quite a contrast to Dram's frown.

"Why, that's a surprise!" The mage exclaimed at the questions. His bandit brother didn't seem to be amused, but then again he's been scowling ever since they had left the mountains, and even before that. "What? You don't like surprises?" The man teased.

"Alright, alright. Don't get your panties in a twist." Ciss added somewhat quickly, hoping to avoid at least some of Dram's anger. "I heard there was a nifty little market around here somewhere, with a lot of –interesting- things." He said with a dazzling smile. "I figured we could drop by and check it out. Maybe scare a few Connlaothians while we're at it." The man chuckled.

[Lion]

Dram's scowl became even more morose and unpleasant, but it was to be expected of the Umbraeon.  It wasn't often he went onto trips into Anti-magic land, and even though he didn't have any magic, he had his magic-wielding friend to worry about.  Hm, friend.  That was an interesting word in a situation like this and Dram half-considered pulling back and swooping back to base.  It was cold up here, and Bane didn't seem to mind it, and Dram didn't care for much for the weather.  Going back seemed like an all-too appealing idea, but Ciss no doubt would not listen and press on alone.  What a fool that rat bastard was, Dram thought grimly.  But this 'treasure' or whatever they were looking for, better had been worth the risk or he'd slug that damn mage into the next century.

"No, I don't!" Dram shouted back.  "Not when these surprises have every potential to get us killed!  You're a crazy man, Ciss.  A crazy man."

Yet still he had to keep running his mouth.  Dram's patience was wearing thin just like always.  He glanced down momentarily at the rock he clutched in his hand, a rock he'd taken from base in case he'd need it.  He drew his arm up surreptitiously and launched the rock at Cissaro's head with expert aim.  Even if he didn't hit him, he'd no doubt see the stone cross his vision.  "Let's get there quick, fool.  I don't want to be here any longer than I have to, alright."  Dram looked down and saw  the shapes of tiny, tiny buildings down on the ground below.  "Is that the market?... Or did you have something more secluded in mind."

[Anonymous]

Dram has always been a grumpy one. No matter how much Ciss tried, almost every time his attempts to cheer up the man had failed, and more often than not they ended up in violence against him. Granted, the mage has odd ways of cheering people up, but that wasn't the point, as he thought.  

Ciss anticipated yelling, and some act of violence. He saw the rock a split second before it was thrown at his head, and he ducked with a yelp. Still, he didn't manage to dodge completely, and though the rock merely clipped him across the face, the power behind it was remarkable. Ciss jolted to the side and nearly fell off his mount, latching onto feathers at the last minute. The giant eagle shrieked, tilting in an attempt to aid its rider, and breaking formation the two birds kept thus far.

After a moment, Ciss managed to climb back on the eagle, with a bleeding gash across his forehead. "I love you too, brother..." The mage groaned, pressing a hand against his face to keep the blood flow down. And still, he smiled through the pain, as if just to spite the elf.

The mage vaguely heard what the Umbraeon said, being too busy trying not to fall to his death. He heard the question, and looked down to the small buildings. Instead of answering, the mage let out a cackle and started swooping down into a landing. For a moment it must've seemed like he'd crash the way he headed straight for the ground, but at the last second the bird slowed down, pulled up and landed perfectly safely at a meadow not far from the little village Dram had spotted.

Ciss half climbed, half slid off the eagle, landing in a rather clumsy crouch. The mage stood up, grinned, and proceeded to fish through his incredibly bleak attire. Finding the piece of cloth he was looking for, he bundled it up and pressed it against the wound on his forehead. Then, he turned to see where his fellow bandit went.

[Lion]

Dram just laughed and grinned at the mage as he nearly fell of his giant eagle and fell to his death.  It wouldn't be the first time that happened to someone, for that was why only the Glint Hawk Captains had the eagles in the first place.  He laughed again when he saw the bleeding gash across his forehead and swooped down along with Ciss with easy flying rather than forcing Bane down like he did.

When they were low enough to the ground, approximately fifty feet in the air, Dram peered at the ground and slipped off when he was ready.  He fell the entire way to the ground, and appeared behind the mage a few seconds later, rolling to the ground and staying crouched in the tall grass of the meadow.  He waited a few seconds before pushing a hand out at the mage and rolling away quickly.

"Haha!  Surprise surprise!  Now come on, let's go look for this thing you want.  I might not want to be here, but as long as we are here, we're going to do this carefully, and intelligently.  No funny business.  If you get yourself killed, you're on your own."

[Anonymous]

Bane flew over his head, making the mage peer at the rider-less bird in confusion. He didn't see Dram dismount that thing, and only began to wonder where the elf had gone when he was propelled forth. In a moment, he found himself falling forward with a yelp, eating the grass quite literally.

"Well, now you're just being a bully." Ciss grumbled lightly, sputtering out blades of grass and clumsily getting back to his feet. Patting himself off, he shook his head at his companion. "You're such a child, Dram." The mage said with a teasing grin appearing on his face.

"Right. No funny business. Carefully and intelligently. Then you'd best leave thinking up to me!" He exclaimed, and mentally prepared himself for an onslaught, be it verbal or physical. As he did, he pulled up his arms into a pathetic excuse of a block, and rocked side to side on his heels, as if that would somehow help him dodge. And somewhere, in the back of his mind, Ciss remembered that he had dropped the cloth and that he was still bleeding.

[Lion]

Dram made a grimly humored face.  Well, it wasn't like the statement was entirely wrong.  Dram was not of supreme or even of notable intelligence.  But neither was he stupid.  At the least he was wise enough to know this was risky even for bandits like them.  He would let Ciss do all the thinking if need be, this way when the shit hit the fan it would be all the mage's fault.  Yeah, that logic worked perfectly in his head.

"Just keep us alive long enough to get back home, Cissaro," Dram said with some irritation.  He shoved the mage over just a little and pat him on the shoulder.  "Very well, fool, where and how far do we have to go again?  The better and faster we get in there the higher our chances to survive.  And that's really all I care about, no matter how much coin these...er 'items' you say might bring.  I will follow your lead."