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Sheep in Wolf's Clothing

Started by DragonSong, May 02, 2016, 10:26:59 AM

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DragonSong

[Open by request, please PM! ^.^]


Alright. Just a pinch of dock leaf, and-

BOOM.

Alleya was knocked head over tail as the bubbling liquid in the small cauldron suddenly blew up in her face. She was sent rolling across the ground in a tangle of legs and wings until her back fetched up rather painfully against a tree trunk. For a few moments she simply lay there, dazed and bleary eyed.

Slowly, she clambered to her feet, wincing and grumbling as her body protested. Her eyes flicked to the scorched remains of the cauldron and the few sputtering fires that had started up around it.

"Ohhhh- hell's bells!" The dragoness snorted a jet of smoke and lashed her tail back and forth like an irritated cat.

She knew the potion had been a long shot, and after countless failed attempts she shouldn't get her hopes up, but she had. Cursing under her breath, she reached out and delicately grasped the twisted scraps of metal between two claws, smothering the little fires with a few sweeps of her tail.

Gods, she just wanted her old body back- was that really so much to ask. "Damned potions," Alleaya muttered. "Damned spells and magic and- and everything!"

She huffed a short jet of flame- luckily the foliage in the jungle was too damp to really burn, though she did manage to crisp the edges of a few vines that surrounded the small clearing where she'd set up shop.

Fukurou

Ah, jungles. Jungles are so much better than the endless, boring sands of the desert. Not only are they generally more interesting than a hot wasteland of nothingness, but they reminded Zaryn just a little bit of home. I mean, it lacked the swampy floor, the thick, dangerous smog, and the giant, poisonous everything, but hey, he'll take what he can get.

Unfortunately, it wasn't vacation that brought Zaryn here; he was sent here by contract to hunt down a group of bandits that fled south from Essryn, and they should be here somewhere....

Boom!

Zaryn drew his scimitars and dashed in the direction of the explosion. He took the high road, climbing up onto the branches and hopping from tree to tree, ready to dive at whatever threat he came across. What he actually came across took him by surprise: a small dragon, flailing angrily besides a smoking cauldron.

"Hey," Zaryn called out as he leaned against the trunk of the tree, an amused smile cracking across his face. "You need help down there?"

DragonSong

"Eek!"

Ally hadn't even known a dragon throat was capable of producing such a squeaky sound. Whipping her head around, she peered up in the direction of the voice. "Oh..."

Well. The dragoness had thought she was quite used to things that were out of the ordinary, but this took her a bit by surprise. Her scholarly interest was immediately piqued and she rose up onto her hind legs, wings flaring to help her keep her balance.

"Um- well, I'm not sure what you could do, but if you want to try to help...sure." She cocked her head to the side, puppyish. "What are you?"

If dragons could blush, she would have the instant the words left her mouth. She ducked her head and shuffled her wings awkwardly. "Er, ah- sorry. I just- ahem."

Fukurou

Zaryn pointed to himself. "What am I?" He didn't seem particularly irritated, but rather slightly entertained. "X'zyri." He pointed to the dragon. "What are you. More importantly, what are you doing?"

DragonSong

"X'zyri," she repeated, cocking her head to the side again. Huh. That sounded vaguely familiar- maybe she'd read it somewhere?

Whatever it was, she couldn't remember any specifics. She snorted and shook her head, then sighed as she glanced at the scorched clearing. "Well, I'm..." Hmm. That was a bit more complicated to answer than she would've thought.

"An alchemist," Alleaya decided after a moment, looking back to him. She blinked at him. "I am- or I was- attempting to create a potion."

Fukurou

"Oh, are you an alchemist?" He gave her a great big teasing smile as he hopped down to the forest floor. Zaryn walked up to the cauldron and peered inside it. Smoke was still billowing out of it. "Sweetheart, I'm not an alchemist myself, but I don't think you're doing it quite right."

DragonSong

Ally growled, baring her teeth in an unconscious gesture. She snorted a cloud of smoke. "I am quite aware that something went wrong, thank you," she sniffed.

She twisted her head around to delicately picked up a very human sized travel pack in her teeth, dropping it between her front paws to root around and pull what appeared to be a well-worn journal out with two claws.

"See?" She opened the book to a page somewhere in the middle and tapped it with the tip of a claw. "I followed the instructions exactly! I don't know what happened..." She huffed again and let her head hang dejectedly.

Fukurou

"Easy now," Zaryn chuckled and brought his hands up in front of his face. "I'm just teasing. I probably would have blown my face off if I were in your place."

He raised his eyebrows in bemusement as she dug through a very human-sized traveler's pack. It was rather odd to see a dragon with such un-dragonlike mannerisms, but he didn't question it. Oh, and to top it all off, she was carrying a journal. Weird.

"Uh-huh..." Zaryn brought his face up close to the journal and squinted his eyes as he examined what was written. "Yup. Just as I thought... I have absolutely no idea what it says, but," he brought his face back up and gave the dragon a thumbs-up. "I believe you." 

Zaryn eyed the book, then the cauldron, then the bag, and lastly the dragon. "I still have no idea what's going on."

DragonSong

With a sigh, Ally flopped down onto her belly, front legs crossed with her head resting on them. "It's kind of a long story," she grumbled with a dejected snort. The breath fluttered the pages of her mother's journal and she reached out to close it with a claw delicately.

"Suffice it to say, I really need to create a specific kind of potion. Problem is, no one's actually invented it yet- so I've been trying to cobble something together out of other potions and spells."

Fukurou

"Okay, then." A glint of sympathy shone in Zaryn's eyes as he watched the dispirited dragon. He sighed as he ran a hand through his silver-white hair. "I don't know how, but I can help you if you'd like."

DragonSong

Her head perked up a bit and she blinked at him, eyes strangely doe-like for a dragon. "Really?" Her drooping tail sort of curled around, seeming a little more lively. "Oh, that would be wonderful, thank you!"

Ally got to her feet and grinned. Which was a rather terrifying expression on a dragon, but she couldn't help it. "Actually, I think I know a way you could help me," she said excitedly. "See, I came to the jungles a few months ago because I thought I found a lead- there's these old ruins a few miles west of here, but I can't fit." Her tail lashed like an annoyed cat as she twisted and started packing her things away.

"If you're really willing to help- oh." Again with that sheepish little look and she sat back on her haunches, clearing her throat. "Um, my name is Ally, by the way. Nice to meet you." She dipped her head to him politely.

Fukurou

"Ally? That doesn't sound like a dragon name." Zaryn smirked and crossed his arms, giving her a look of curiosity. "But whatever. Name's Zaryn. So, you want me to go into some old ruins, eh?" His smirked disappeared as he rubbed the back in his neck. He really should be hunting down those bandits... "I don't usually do charity work, sweetheart, but I'll make an exception today. What do you need me to get?"

DragonSong

"Oh, well..." Her habit would have been to bite her lip, but that wasn't really an option. "It's Alleaya, actually, but I go by Ally... Anyway." She shook her head and eyed him up and down. "It, um, doesn't have to be charity. I don't have much, but I could pay you."

She glanced at her pack. There were still some coins in there, right. Clearing her throat, she continued, "And I don't need you to get something, exactly. There's, ah- there's supposed to be old alchemic sigils carved into the walls and floor of one of the underground chambers. If you could copy them down into the journal..."

She glanced at him hopefully.

Fukurou

"Wait, wait.. You want me to copy alchemical sigils? Me? Are you sure?" He shifted his weight uncomfortably and gave her an incredulous look. "I mean.... I'm not saying no, but... I have to warn you that I have absolutely no knowledge in alchemy. Hell, I can't even cast a spell to save my life." He closed his eyes and shrugged. "I mean, I'll try my best."

DragonSong

"Oh, that's okay!" Ally tried to smile at him. "Alchemy is more a combination of science and art than magic itself. You'll just be writing things down, you don't need magical talent to do that."

She darted her head forward to snap up the straps of her pack and twisted her neck around to hang it off of one of the spikes that lined her spine. "Oh." She suddenly froze, then twisted her head around again to look at him. "I'm sorry, I've been very rude."

The dragon cleared her throat, then carefully extended a paw and offered one foreclaw to him. "A pleasure to meet you, and thank you very much for offering to help."

Fukurou

"Yeah, no problem, darling." He reciprocated her handshake. "The pleasure's mine." Zaryn smiled and gave her a wink. He felt quite relieved to hear that no magic was necessary for the job, yet still felt a little nervous. Academic-related jobs are quite out of his comfort-zone, and he still wasn't sure what to expect.

"Say, do you know anything else about these ruins?"

DragonSong

Ally found herself not-blushing again and ducked her head as she pulled her paw back. "Well, I don't know much- I managed to get into some of the larger hallways that weren't totally collapsed and disabled the traps in there, but there might be more further in."

She twisted to make her way into the trees, then paused and glanced over her shoulder. "Um... It'll be faster if we fly..." She hedged a moment, then sighed and mumbled, "You can, ah, ride if you want."

Fukurou

"Sounds good to me." Zaryn climbed up onto Ally's back. She seemed kind of embarrassed to offer him a ride.

What a weird dragon.

"Oh, one more thing: will you be accompanying me as far as you can go?"

DragonSong

Ally tried not to squirm as he climbed up. She'd never carried someone before, it was an odd feeling.

"I'd like to, yes," she answered, backing up into the clearing so she had room to take off. Her wings fanned out to either side and she took a few bounding steps forward, flapping.

Because it wasn't her natural form, no one had ever actually taught the young dragoness how to fly. Her takeoff was a little shaky and clumsy, but she at least got them into the air, spiraling up over the trees and she tried to even herself out.

Fukurou

"Good, cause I get a little lonely," he said with a joking tone.

The rocky takeoff nearly sent Zaryn flying backwards, but he managed to to find his grip on one of her spikes. "Woah there!" Zaryn garbed a hold onto the dragon's neck. "Are you sure you're actually a dragon?" His teasing voice held a slight hint of unease at the way she was struggling to fly.

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