The creature let out a yelp and flinched away from Kalli as if stung. "Please don't wave that around so carelessly, you could have injured someone!" he said, all aflutter until the girl managed to calm him enough with her explanation. Bipeds! They could be so touchy...
"Well then, glad that's settled - oh, but pardon me, I seem to be blocking your sun..." With a soft grunt, he plopped down on all fours to a more reasonable height of nine feet and took up a new position in front of the pair - as the light hit him full-on in the face.
What they saw was a healthy reddish-brown dragon wearing a slightly worried expression and several teacups dangling from various horns. He squinted pitifully in the suns' rays but still cut a menacing figure, if only from sheer size (the teeth and claws and other pointy bits helped as well).
"No tea, you say? I'm sorry to hear that. I'll just have to find someone else I suppose, probably closer to that lovely city of yours. Assuming you live there, of course? Oh, how I long to feel the cobbled streets beneath my paws! To experience the hustle and bustle of everyday life, to "window-shop" as your people say! ... Forgive me, I seem to have gone on another one of my tangents," he sighed. "Tea is all that keeps my dream alive, you see. A taste of civilization in those horrible Thunderblacks!"
The dragon's tail suddenly lashed out at a nearby tree, scoring a jagged line across its trunk. While bipeds were a tad on the moody side (nevermind the tree, he was in the grip of a powerful emotion - far, far different from primal 'mood swings'), he respected and admired them for their crafting skills - especially their fine china! - and would much rather spend the rest of his days among them than, say, his vicious cousins in the mountains.
"Excuse me, where are my manners. I'm Yestin - it's a pleasure to meet you, Kalli and...?" the elf had never stated his name. "If you're indeed thirsty, I know the location of almost every pond, lake and stream in this forest. Just... no tea..."
Yestin's eyes took on a dreamy look at Ayvuen's question, sinking into a happy reverie for some moments. He sighed and glanced up at the sky. "Flight? Oh, it's pure ecstasy. So much so, I get distracted and forget to beat my wings," he said. "Do you know how awful that is? I've landed on livestock, cottages, gardens, not to mention in lakes, rocky outcroppings and... and trees."
The coppery dragon shuddered.
"I'm sick of trees. I would be quite pleased to give one or both of you a ride, as it's much easier to find your way looking down on it all. Just, er... give me a pat every now and then, would you? I don't want any accidents as a result of my daydreaming. If you wish to fly, that is."
And Yestin very carefully did not let himself remember the last time he gave someone a joyride.
They lost their lunch.
Everywhere.
