Rider country

[Ember]

Issie now understood why the desert was a place only Riders dared to travel, even when there was peace. The large plains of sand provided a softer landing than that of the rocks of the mountains, or the hard Earth and thorns of the forest areas meaning the Riders could dare to practise without worrying about hurting themselves to much. The elven rider could feel the dragon under her eyeing up one of the large sand dunes which beckoned, inviting them to roll down it's length and play. It was like one of the sandpits humans gave to their children to play in except this sand pit was big enough for hundreds of dragons. If she closed her eyes, Issie could grasp at the memories of her mother and her dragon when she was still young. She could remember the dragon's playful remarks and her mothers laughter and she tried to picture them here, soaring above the sand with the other riders, playing, laughing.

Alive.

Tierar's mind brushed against her own and Issie pulled away from the memory, letting her mothers face fade away between her spread fingers like water. She sighed and turned her mind back to the present when the worry from her dragon began to suffocate her.
"I'm fine," she said softly and smiled, running her delicate fingers over the dragons scales. Tie made a disagreeing noise in the back of her throat but tipped her snout and brought her wings to her sides with a 'snap' making them plummet towards the sand. They broke through the clouds at a heart stopping speed and dropped towards the ground. Issie's knees pressed tighter to the dragons side and she ducked her head, pressing her body to the dragons back and hiding behind her scaly head. Streamline positions like that meant she could fly faster and wouldn't get bits of dust or dirt in her eyes. Tie had a third eyelid which protected her from the dirt but if an inspect landed in Issie's eye it would kill for a good hour. Free falling like this created a mix of excitement and fear causing her heart to leap up her throat in a desperate attempt to escape. A nervous, excited, bubble of laughter burst from her lips and she 'whooped' as Tie snapped open her wings at the last minute, twisted in a full circle and shot back into the sky. A large spray of sand was kicked up from the manoeuvre, landing in her hair and clinging to her skin but Issie couldn't think about anything other than that sheer joy of knowing how strong her dragon was. She marvelled at the beauty of the diamond dragon who had hatched for her and a sudden love broke through her heart. Tierar was the first person who had filled the hole in her heart that her mother and brothers death had caused to open up. In fact, she spilled out of that hole and burned right into her soul. The sudden realization made her shift in her position. She would do absolutely anything for her dragon. She wouldn't take careless risks anymore, even if she was ordered to. Tie came first every time.
You think to hard Isellmarie, the dragon hummed, turning her large scaly head over her shoulder to fix Issie with one deep blue eye. Issie's eyebrow hitched up and her eyes widened like saucers in a mock innocence.
"Even when I'm marvelling at your beauty?" she teased. The dragon snorted but didn't reply and instead began to dip again, though not in such a vertical motion this time.

The idea of being out in the middle of nowhere was to have some time away from the Varden, from the Empire. She had agreed to help the Varden but she wasn't swearing an oath or anything else to them. Which meant she was not inclined to wait for the Varden to travel at the tediously slow rate they were travelling. Slowly Issie untied the bonds around her legs and stood on the dragons back, crouched. The wind whipped around her, catching her hair and blowing it across her face, carrying the sand away from her face. Tie levelled out again though closer to the sand, enjoying the warmth it provided her with. The sun hit the diamond scales which threw spots of light onto the sand below which reflected it's sandy colour onto her dragons under scales. Rainbows danced all over the dragons back and Issie was over come with a feeling she was flying on a magical rainbow carpet like in the children stories. With a smile she began to practise her own movements on the dragons back. Elves were naturally agile creatures but even they had trouble fighting on a dragon which was flying fast and dodging to and fro. Bracing her feet shoulder width apart she bent backwards and flipped twice before running to the tip of the dragons tail, drawing her own blade. She went through the movements of the blade, basic kata's which they had been taught from a very young age. It was her brothers voice she heard as she went through them, quicker and quicker. Her mothers laughter after she had finally broken past her brothers defences and landed a scratch on his cheek. If anyone other than a rider was out here she would be worried, the scorching temperature and the wide stretch of sand was a death warrant for anyone. Even if there was another rider out here... she had no reason to tell them what side she fought on. It was peaceful and quiet. She really did not want to ruin the momentary lapse in fighting.

[Rhaxta]

Freki abruptly snorted; the sand that had piled on top of her over the last few hours jetted up and outwards, followed by the great shifting moutain of sand that rippled down her spiney back as she got to her feet. Her pupils narrowed to the thinnest of slits - revealing the intense bright green of her eyes in the relentless sunlight.

She felt very light, the heat from the suns rays beating down on her and baking her to an ideal temperature beneath her dark scaled hide. The dragons great wings snapped out and shook, displacing even more sand. Then she remembered what had happened. A strained, frightened bugle-like noise echoed down her throat and out of her gaping maw. 'Vulnar?! Where are you?''[/b][/i] She couldn't feel him - they hadn't seperated since she had hatched and now she felt deadfully alone.

She opened her maw and released a great shuddering roar that echoed out over the mass of desert, before pulling her wings down and flinging herself into the air. Her green eyes scanned the surrounding area to no avail- she could not see any movement that would be Vulnar. Her eye did catch, however, a great wave of sand being kicked up about a half mile from where she hovered.

Freki's muscles bulgded and she flew with great haste toward the movement- only action would prevent her from crumbling into the deep pit of despair she could feel growing in her chest.

[Ember]

Tierar was the first to spot the green almost black dragon that had suddenly risen out of nowhere and was charging towards them. The diamond scaled dragon made a valiant attempt at trying to dodge the on coming ball of fury but she had only seen the dragon at last minute. Dragons flew fast after all and a half a mile was hardly anything to the large reptiles who could cover most of Alagesia in a day at a fast fly. Tierar had snapped her wings shut in an attempt to drop under the dragons on ward flight. The oncoming dragon breezed just over the top of them and Tierar growled angrily, swirling onto her back to snap at the dragon, taking the onward rush as an assault. The problem with the sudden rush had been that Issie had not had any warning and had been in mid backward flip when her dragon had spun out of the way of the dragon. The elven woman was swept up the sudden manoeuvre off of her dragons back and she began to slide down the dragons side.

Tierar what on earth?!" it was then that the elf raised her eyes to meet the sight of the dark green dragon that had been the cause of the sudden change in mood. Her dragons response to her question was the quick glance to her side then the sudden movement of wings, breaking Issie's hold and sending her towards the sand below. She had known Tie's intention but that still didn't mean she was overly welcome of her dragons attempt at protecting her before the dragon could see her. Tie's idea was simply to keep her safe, nothing else mattered to the diamond scaled dragon who had swept her great wings in an arc and shot off towards the sky in an attempt to draw the other dragon away from her rider.
"Thrysta vindr," Issie hissed through her teeth, her palm facing towards the ground so as to slow her descent before she hit the sound. With a hiss Isellamarie rolled down the sand dunes and toppled into somebody else on her way down the large sand dune. Issie landed on top of the person she had hit on her way down, her hands planted either side of his head with her knees either side of his hips. Blinking she stared down at the man wondering how on Earth he had got to be this far out into the desert.

[Rhaxta]

A rolling, thunderous cry peirced out from between Freki's fangs, petering out to a discontented hiss as the diamond dragon came into view. Being in her right thoughts, Freki would have recognised the dragon as Varden - an enemy. Right now, all that concerned Freki was finding her own rider.

She arched up and over the other dragon as she was about to collide, allowing her to get a proper look at the creatures back. There was no sign of a two-leg upon the other dragon's back - so now she did not really concern Freki. Her wings gave a leather snap as she threw herself further into the air, her long serpent-like body corkscrewing behind her as she attempted to look all directions at once.

In desperation, Freki thrust her conciousness out from behind her usually well-placed guard. The embroiled mixture of fury and great fear was evident through any mental connection she established.

''Pale one! Please, have you seen a small human around here? Dark hair and a big nose? I seem to have misplaced him..''[/i][/b]

A very human trait - covering up fear and weakness with humour - which would usually bother Freki to the point where she felt an undeniable urge to wash in a finicky manner. All was forgotten now; including any rivalry bourne by her faction, nonsense like that could wait.

((Vulnar is unconcious so.. x]))

[Ember]

Tierar snapped her own wings with a loud 'thwap' and brought her whole form to a shuddering stop, hovering in the air and watching the other dragon. She knew that this dragon was not safe - she was on the Egg Breakers side and that was something Tie couldn't and would never get her head around - how could another dragon fight for a man like that? The dragons mind hurled against her and Tie was over come by her fear and anger. Rider gone? Tie took a moment to comprehend the very idea of this happening. One, she was not attacking her and was asking for her help and the second was that she had lost her rider. In this large expense of sand which a two legger could easily disappear in. Tie quickly cast her own eyes around to search for a shape when Issie caught the tail end of her conversation and flagged up she had found a man with dark hair.
You're very lucky, Tierar stopped her wing beats for half a second and began to tilt to one side to head toward the ground. She then flashed back an image of the unconscious male Issie had sent to her. My Rider has found him. Come on, She then winged her way towards where her rider and the Empire's dragon rider were resting.

Issie cursed under her breath when she realized the man wasn't awake. That was a bad sign when someone was out in the desert. She quickly unstraddled him and then felt his pulse, faint but steady under her slim fingers. She then began to get the coat off of his body - and his weapons. He needed to cool down, he was probably seriously dehydrated from having been out in the sun for so long.
"Come on," she grunted slightly and then began to fan him quickly with one had and reaching out with the other hand towards the ground. Issie dove down into the desert in an attempt to find the water she knew was there, somewhere. It took a lot of energy but she had a pool of water beside her in ten minutes - at the same time the two dragons blotted out the sun and came in to hand
"Wake up," she cupped her hands and thrust them into the water before splashing it over his face and slapping his cheeks - not to gently but it wouldn't leave a mark. She glanced up to the two dragons and swallowed at the bulk of the green dragon who was nearly double in size to her dragon. A tendril of protectiveness curled around her heart and then hardened into a lump in her stomach.
"Has he got any wounds? I need to know if I'm to heal him. Tierar," she had directed her questions to the Empire dragon with a very professional voice but when she spoke her dragons name it was a caress. The diamond dragon who had been fiddling with a saddle bag dropped it next to her rider and then lay her belly in the sand, blue eyes never leaving the green dragon. Issie rummaged through her kit and then brought out a large flask of water, shifted the man so his head was braced on her elbow and then put the water to his lips, pouring it over his tongue in an attempt to wake him up.

[Rhaxta]

Freki tore after the Varden dragon, the image of Vulnar lying, withering in the heat branded behind her eyelids and making a noose constrict about her heart.
'No, no..''

Freki landed with a huge thump, forsaking her usual grace for speed. Though she let the elf touch Vulnar without complaint, her pupils still narrowed to evil slits against her iris.
'I cannot feel him - I think..I think I crashed.''[/i]
Freki's tongue lashed out past the elf and flicked against Vulnar's face, tasting him. He was still alive, and lacked the clammy dampness of not-breath. She still fretted, though.

As the elf attempted to cool down Vulnar, Freki assisted by raising a huge wing to cast them in shadow, the other raised but wafting too and fro to move what little cool air there was. It took a minute to get her wings moving properly though, and Freki realised she had actually injured her left wing - it felt like she had landed on it. She turned her angular head on her long, sinuous neck to have a quick look - no obvious damage - and she turned back in time to see the elf pouring liquid from a skin into her rider's mouth. A harsh trumpet of objection escaped Freki - she after all did not know what was in the skin and was a mistrustful sort - but before she could act on it Vulnar choked on the water, sitting up abruptly and sputtering it out over his lap.

Freki moved closer and sat on her haunches as close to Vulnar as she could get. She reajusted her wings to keep the shadow of her wing over him, paying less attention to the elf.
Her eyes hovered over the pale dragon and her rider for a moment, before blinking slowly and bobbing her head. That was about as much thanks as they would get at the time, as Freki lay her man-sized head down along Vulnar's side posessively.

Vulnar awoke painfully, feeling like he was coughing up his lungs. His eyes opened but the intensity of the desert sun -even in the shade- blinded him. He gradually opened his eyes to see the very basic shades and colours around him.
''Ugh, what the f-'' Vulnar's words trailed off as he realised what the pale, blurred image that hovered above him actually was.
''El-elf?''

'They helped, Vulnar. They helped me find you. Do you remember what happened?'[/i]

Vulnar was sure he had banged his head, his mind was still fuzzed with heatstroke and dehydration. The attempt to link his mind to Freki's to reply made his head spin. So instead he spoke aloud. '..Lethrblaka.''

[Ember]

Issie scrunched her nose up very slightly when the man nearly spat water on her but she didn't complain and she didn't move away from him. She'd carefully propped him up against his dragon - being very careful not to get her hand bitten off - and crouched in front of him with the water skin to hand, a light frown the only thing that tainted her flawless skin. Though when he spoke she tensed and gently rocked to and fro on her heels, real worry in her eyes now.

"Really?" Issie asked in a very faint voice. Her mother had told her wicked stories of how a Lethrblaka would eat her if she wasn't careful on her own at night - she'd even used the threat when she hadn't brushed her teeth - but unlike the humans, Issie's childhood horror was real. The last time she had seen one had been when the Riders had fallen and how they had murdered a dragon and rider had stuck with her for life. She felt oddly cold despite the heat and rubbed her arms slightly. Terrified would put it mildly. A phobia was probably the better word for that terror which grabbed her heart and tugged it into her stomach when someone uttered the word. Issie thrust a hand through her chocolate brown and white hair before shaking it as if deciding against her idea of fleeing and then carefully moved closer to the other rider again.

"Drink, it will make you feel better. It's just water," she glanced up at the dragon who looked like she wanted to eat Issie, and then back to the man. "Do you hurt anywhere? Anything broken?" she asked tenderly. Out here she did not care about sides. He was a rider and he needed her help. Maybe her act of kindness would stay with him.

"My name's Issie by the way," she cleared her throat, feeling rather rude. "This is Tierar," she nodded to the diamond scaled dragon who had lowered her head so her snout was a few meters from the other dragon but so she could still be close to her rider and watch with curiosity what Issie did to him. She was also carefully watching the dragon opposite her. If she went for her rider, Tie would go for her, but she couldn't banish that feeling of happiness that there were other female dragons out there. She shuffled her wings ever so slightly and eyed the dragon's wing.
You're hurt Tierar stated and half raised her head to inspect the wound.

[Rhaxta]

A twitch rolled through Freki, from the base of her neck down to the very tip of her lashing tail. The light of the sun flickered off her scales and was accompanied by a hushed tinkling sound as they rubbed against one another.

Her long, dark-blue tongue flicked with a drawn-out hiss. Now she had calmed down bits of her memory were returning from before their accident.
'..Yes. I remember something colliding with me.' She forcibly opened Vulnar's mind to her to get more of an idea of what this 'lethrblaka' was.
'Ugly creatures.' she projected with a vain tone. Vulnar gave a weak smile and put his hand upon her nose.
''They certainly are. The King led me to believe they were gone - and on our side. Stupid of me to believe really..he can be a ...'' Vulnar paused and worked his mouth slightly before letting his sentance drop. No matter what state, bad mouthing the King was never really good.

His brown, amber-flecked eyes went back up to rest on the elf woman's face. Not that manners really bothered him before, he turned and - subtly as he could - spat out a tooth and some blood.
He looked back to the elf- his father had beat into him and his brother the idea that elves were terrible, evil creatures. This one had saved him, at least. But then again, Freki was stood over him with such posessiveness he didn't think anyone could refuse to assist.
He certainly wasn't in any state to protest - and it was [good water.

He took a few hearty gulps from the flask before handing it back to the elf. ''I am afraid so - or at least I think that was what it was.'' He rolled his huge shoulders experimentally and twitched his feet. ''No breaks, just sore and another tooth gone.''

Vulnar remained sulkily silent for a moment before Freki's nudge nearly pushed him over. Against his will a smile broke across his face.
''I'm Leiuten- Another shove from Freki, this one punctuated by a trail of smoke raising from her nostirls.
''I am Vulnar, this here is Freki,' he said with a more friendly tone before patting Freki on the cheek. Well, it was too hard to be a pat, but he couldn't hurt Freki even if he tried. At least she'd know his distate.
'Thank you for finding him. Whenever I take my eye off hi-'
''Yes! Thank you..and for the water. How far are we from anything that isn't f-...sand?'' Vulnar grumbled, hoping to change the topic before Freki turned into a mother hen.

Freki's head jerked up to look at Tierar as she pointed out her wound. Freki waved the still-hanging wing experimentally. Now she thought of it, it did sting. She twisted slightly and raised her other wing to cast the two-leggeds into shade before bringing the wounded one down to they might have a better look.

'I think that...creature might have grabbed it but I don't see why it is so stiff. Feels almost like there is something stuck in the mid-joint.''
Freki never really was one for showing weakness - she certainly didn't in front of any of the dragons at Uru^Baen - her being the only female.
With Tierar her sex made it both easier for Freki and slightly awkward; she had been told she would be the mother of the next generation of dragons. Finding more females - reguardless of their side - relieved Freki in a way.

[Ember]

Issie smiled at the man in front of her when he rambled about the King and then shrugged very slightly. She knew he was an Empire rider but out here she was choosing to think of it as merely 'complaining about your boss'. She wasn't going to jump down his throat about the fact he was an evil man and so she decided to begin to rip up little bits of her shirt, just off the bottom off it. She dipped them in water while listening to him and his dragon speak and then carefully laid them over his forehead and - as carefully and slowly as she could - moved his shirt slightly and laid them over his heart. Human's were fragile and she knew the sun could often cause heart attacks or stroke's which could end up being fatal to him. Besides, his skin was blistered.

"All Monarch's can get like that," she mused, thinking of her own Queen. They decided to tell you things you wanted to hear so you were not scared away. It was good, really, but warning them of an enemy was probably something you should know. "And those things do not have any loyalty apart from to themselves - even their children had sold out their existence and location to spare their own lives. No loyalty like found between humans or dwarves or elves," she shrugged, thinking of the story Eragon and her mother had told her.

"Here," she frowned when he spat blood and carefully cupped his cheek and requested him to open his mouth. On seeing his missing teeth she clicked her tongue and then murmured a spell under her breath, being careful not to harm him the teeth slowly regrew. "Don't get punched in the next 24 hours and they should be as good as new," she hummed in content and looked up into his eyes, shying up she quickly withdrew her hands from him face and took her own sip of the water.

"We're roughly in the middle so about a 5 day walk from anywhere without sand I think... And that's a brisk walk.... and with a map," she scrunched her nose up again. "Not many people come out here anymore," she shrugged slightly then glanced up on hearing her dragon's words and the other female's reactions. Teirar growled slightly at the idea of her being hurt and slowly stood up to inspect the wing better. Rather tenderly the young diamond scaled reptile licked the wound and then cast her eyes to her rider rather pleadingly. Issie rolled to her feet in a fluid movement and dropped the flask in front of the man encase he would want anymore.

"Can I?" she asked warily, holding out her hands to the dragon's wing. "I think you've broken it," she hummed, still inspecting it from a distance until the dragon gave her permission to heal her.

[Rhaxta]

Vulnar's eyes widened in confusion as the elf began tearing lengths of fabric from her top. He couldn't help but notice the pale taughtness of the skin beneath. He grumbled incoherently and lay his head back with his eyes closed; his headache had just gotten worse.
There was an audible click as he teeth ground together when the wet cloth touched his tender skin. It lasted only a moment before he visibly sagged.
He growled lowly as his jaw went numb, a brow twitching as his missing teeth regrew and ground up against their old partners.
''I cannot really make any promises about that...'' he murmured in response to her telling him not to get punched. He lifted his head and opened his eyes to meet hers, if he wasn't already at the point of frying, he might have turned slightly redder at this uncommon intimate moment. The last time anyone other than Freki had been tender with him..well. He liked to think his mother had been tender with him and his brother, yet that was more with blind faith than actually remembering anything.

Freki jerked from her silent observation as the glass dragon licked at her wing. She resisted the urge to lash out with a short, sharp snap of her wing, as was her habit whenever any of the male dragons of the Empire went to touch her. She gave a snort and went to twist and move her wing to it's maximum. Something surely was not right, but like hell was she going to be coddled like Vulnar.

'No, no I thank you. I have enough movement to get aloft, from that point I beleive the sun is my ally as much as it is Vulnar's enemy. I would rather we be on the move - a stiff breeze of a good flight will help him. Although there is the lack of shade..''[/i]Freki trailed off and looked slightly sheepish. She knew Vulnar didn't know any way of protecting himself from further damage from the sun.

Her head slightly lowered in a submissive stance, she turned to look directly into the eyes of the dragon beside her for the first time. ''Oh..you are really very shiney..''

Vulnar gave a hesitant cough and slowly, painfully, sat up. ''My Freki; the Magpie.''

The very tip of Freki's tail twitched dismissively, though she still didn't look away from the other dragon. 'But she is! I can't help it... it..-' Freki visibly strained for a decent response. 'It is perfectly normal behaviour for dragons, appreciation of shiney, pretty things.' she fabricated. As far as she knew it wasn't normal behaviour - none of the males seemed to have her appreciation for the pretty; then again none of them would ever be caught dead going 'Oooo shiney.'

'As I was saying - Vulnar is terrible with magic -'[/i] she said giving him a deliberate glare, ''- and has no way of protecting himself from more sun damage. The speed of flight shall cool him but I cannot help him burning further to a crisp. Do you know of any magic that would help - or even something to cover him you wouldn't mind exchanging for something of ours?'

[Ember]

Tierar ducked automatically when Freki tried to snap at her with her wing. She rocked back onto her hind legs and unfurled her own wings with a snort when the sand kicked up around her talons. Though when the dragon didn't attack her she lowered the scales and then crouched, prowling around the slightly older and bigger dragon with curiosity. She wanted Issie to heal her but she'd respect her if she said no - she wasn't sure herself if she'd like another rider tending to her wounds. But if Issie was not good at magic like this rider apparently was not... Then... She sat still on the other side of Vulnar and licked her talon as the others spoke though looked up when the female commented on how Shiny she was. Tie preened under the praise and sat up a little taller to enhance the sparkles.

And you are very strong she hummed and cast her eyes back over the dragons muscles in appreciation. It is true, dragons like... shiny things. Females more so, she sniffed. Males are not as appreciative of the beauty of things. Issie raised an eyebrow at the comment and couldn't help but laugh, shaking her head and moving past Vulnar to brush her hand over her dragons snout when she lowered her head to meet the gaze of her rider.

"I don't really have anything that I could give you as a shield from the sun.... I only know spells but I'm not sure if I can keep you covered for the whole of your journey.... back," she paused on deciding whether to say 'home' or not. Humans spread everywhere, he could simply be staying at the camp for now for all she knew. She hadn't brought much in her travels, some food and some water. Food. She clicked her tongue slightly and moved to Tei's saddle bags, rummaging in the pack she tugged out a bundle of small fruit with fine hairs over the surface. She rummaged further for a bowl and then she plonked herself in front of him with the fruits.

"Eat," she instructed absent mindedly before flicking out a knife and slicing the fruit up and dropping it into a bowl. Once she had done so with all the fruit she flipped the knife and ground it with the butt of her knife to turn it to mush. "You can smear this over your skin, it will keep the sun from burning your skin," she glanced up at him. "Keep drinking, you can take the water with you," she cast her eyes back down to her work which was near completion. Murmuring some soft words in the Ancient Language she rocked onto her knees and then began to smear the contents of the bowl over her skin like sun screen.

"You should really learn some spells," she mused as she covered his nose with the sweet smelling fruit. "I know some of your kind think magic and elves are horrible and murderers, that magic is an unfair advantage but it could really help you in things like this. You don't have to use it for bad things, it's like a knife, some use it for mundane cutting while others use it to hurt people," she smeared the liquid down his neck. "We're not all terrible people," she looked up to meet his eyes.

[Rhaxta]

Vulnar barely had energy left to seethe with anger at Freki's insistance of Vulnar's poor ability with magic. It was something he preferred to keep to himself- before he was a rider he was of the type to mistrust magic and it's users. Now he had little choice in the matter - his bond to Freki had woken something in his blood that most humans miss out on.

He still disliked it, and having become a rider at such an old age he struggled with the new language and mental drain. He was smart; when it came to planning attacks and working out weaknesses in people, armies and empires.

With magic it was a new way of thinking. Learning it had introduced a new variety of tired to the hard- bit soldier.

He watched but did not really register what the elf woman was doing until she was slathering his burned skin with the cool fruit-pulp. What started as a yelp became a slow, crooning sigh of relief. Normally, Vulnar was stubborn as an ox and about as friendly as one.
Now he was powerless - even Freki only bristled, immediately settling back down on her haunches as Vulnar's shout became a happier murmur.

She arched her long, sinuous neck like a coiled snake and her blue-black tongue flickered out, bobbing and tasting the air as the other dragon complimented her on her strength. She was quietly pleased she wasn't the only dragon to appreciate beauty and such - the males of the Empire fleet were lacking in the way of comeraderie so she knew little to nothing about them. Vulnar had a very brittle and unstable form of it with the King but Freki was always branded the brittle female - stupid male dragon's and their riders misconceptions of their own species pasted - onto her! Of all creatures!
'Thank you; all the better to carry that oaf around.'[/i] she said pleasantly. Abruptly Freki sat up and with a complicated twist of her long neck poked her nose into one of the saddlebags on her belly. She tried to rummage with dignity as Vulnar sat up.

Vulnar eyed the elf woman and it almost tickled as she applied the cool fruit pulp to his nose. He grimaced slightly and felt another rare tender moment as she looked into his eyes. He cleared his throat and focused somewhat intently on the earth.
'I am just no good with the words... they just don't seem to sit with me,'' he murmured.

'Because you're a slow old bugger - ah hah!'[/i] she exclaimed before Vulnar could reply and with a flourish removed a small bag that clinked and squelched at the same time. She lowered her head and gently opened her jaws so the small sack fell open revealing a small heap of small, shiny orbs slightly gelatinous in texture.

'Water orbs, they swell in water and shrink in the sun - but they do shine such a lovely way in intense light.''[/i] her words trailed off as she glanced at the small heap - about a human handful - of swampy green and deep blue orbs. She moved her wing and the sunlight lanced down at them where they struck out in a painful array of emerald green and cyan blue light. ' In exchange for the care and help you've given Vulnar.' she said, bobbing her head and nosing the pile towards Tierar.

Vulnar ignored Freki's remark and eyed Issie for a moment. ''Really..thank you. I would have died without you and...Tierar's help. Freki would have been stuck too, though she would never admit it.'' he said with a light hearted laugh.

[Ember]

Tierar's ears flicked forward when the dragon revealed the beautiful orbs. Slowly she lowered her snout to Freki's level while she nudged the orbs towards her and gazed over them curiously. They were stunning, rather beautiful actually. The lights reflected against her own diamond scales, creating small rainbows along her cheekbones and snout. She very carefully picked up the bag between her front teeth and then settled them into her own saddle bag. She was not really sure what purpose they held but they were pretty enough for Tie not to really care what they did.
Thank you, they're beautiful. And it is only right to help someone who needs it, especially a fellow dragon and rider, Tie raised her head in a rather proud and noble manner. She took helping people very seriously indeed and was always happy to do so, whether it was humans, Kull, elves or dwarves. She was genuinely that kind of a dragon, and Issie was that kind of a rider.

Issie hummed slightly when he admitted they did not sit well with him as she lathered up his arms, careful not to miss a spot. He'd probably get a weird question about why he was covered in fruit when he got back but it was better than not getting back at all.
"Don't think of them as words," she said rather simply. "A word is just the letters written on a page but a name is an essence of something. It is the very soul and core of an object or an action, of what you want to do. A type of science if it helps you to think in that way, the perfectly measured amounts you need to get your finished product. Fire sounds plain, boring, but Brisingr," at this a small flame sprung to life. "Brisingr is the essence of heat, light, destruction, power and beauty. You must feel the thing to own it," she dowsed the flame and stood up, happy with her work.

"You shouldn't burn to a crisp now," her eyes glanced to Freki's wing. "Though when you get back I suggest looking at your dragons wing. I was very happy to help and I think your dragon would have managed something if she is as stubborn as you say,"

[Rhaxta]

''Huh.'' Vulnar said lamely to her words on magic. ''I have..never had it described to me way before. Doesn't help that I am as stubborn as that dragon,'' he said, eyes resting on Freki. ''She seems to do well in female company,'' he added after a moments silence.
He then bit his lip, partly out of embarassment and partly because he had touched upon the lack of female dragons within the Empire. ''I shall get Shruikan to hold her if she fidgets as much as she did last time she got patched up.''

Freki snorted harshly at this and brindled her wings. ''IT won't be necessary. It wasn't very nice, being burned. Plus that witch made it so it couldn't be healed with magic.''[/i] Freki's words trailed off to a resounding growl.

For a moment Vulnar snapped out of his complacent mood to have it replaced with bitter anger. Freki had indeed been marred by the flame - only visible now as a slight distortion in the scales about her chest and up her neck with the pigment paling to a slight pearlescent grey-green.
He found himself wondering how much he'd get for getting her to the King - far more than her value within the slave trade. He eyed the elf nearby and found his anger momentarily stunted. He felt an uncommon emotion; shame, with what he had thought.

He blundered over the unpleasant feeling by uttering ''She would have dug me out eventually, yet I probably wouldn't have survived long where I was.'' he said meekly

[Ember]

Issie to had noted Tierar was a lot calmer in female company than around the males at home. But there were other females there, Sapphira for one, but then she was busy a lot of them time. Only one other dragon seemed to be female there. Tierar was still raking her eyes over the larger female dragon with slight worry, she wanted to help to heal her, to make her feel better. She had hurt her wing just this bad one before and Issie had been very gentle and calm with her. She was sure her rider would be exactly the same to another dragon. She suddenly opened her wings and then held one over the two riders so that Freki may have a break from doing so. She moved the scaled wing very slowly, fanning the pair as well. It was incredibly hot out here.

Will you be okay to fly all the way back?[//i] she directed her question to Freki, for dragons knew it was them who were really responsible and in charge of their riders, especially when it came to their riders being hurt or in danger. You could let Isamarie, look at your wing. She won't hurt you, her eyes slid to her rider who gave a short, curt nod as an affirmative. She would not hurt a beautiful creature even if soon they could be the ones fighting against one another in a few days. The thought of taking him back hadn't crossed her mind but as she looked back to the man she had just helped, she realized it was on his mind. It was as if out of the blue he had been seized by rage and was chocking upon it. Issie didn't move for a moment. Her bow and arrows had been dropped a few meters away, as had her blade and dagger in order to gain confidence of the green dragon he had been mated with. She was sure that he had at least a dagger on him...

And then he changed. Issie glanced up to her dragon. Tierar was keeping calm herself but she was a little edgy, more so from the feeling that they were being watched than the human males motives. Her blue eyes raked the sand slowly, searching for a sign of movement or life.

"I'm glad we could help you then Vulnar. Can you stand?" she looked back to him then, a crease in her forehead from concern. She offered him a hand to help him up. She too was beginning to get the feeling perhaps they were not alone.

[Rhaxta]

((Thanks Ember; I am so sorry for the wait :x ))

The flash of anger only lasted for a moment, before the elf's smile and his exhausted made it ebb away to nothingness. He gave a small smile before taking the soft elf-hand; if they hadn't been alone he would never take assistance from anyone; yet he was level headed when he wasn't in the company of soldiers, which was exceedingly rare. The pretty, gentle company was a refreshing change - for both him and Freki. Freki would never admit it though; she roughhoused with the male dragons in Uru^Baen and gave as much as she got.

Vulnar stood and swayed slightly as he reached the pinnacle - the heat making his head spin. It lasted only briefly as Tierar raised her wings and began to tease the air into movement around them, the breeze remarkably refreshing despite its dryness.

He gawped at Freki as she lowered her wings, obviously greatful for the break and succumed.
''Well..if you could help the stiffness any that would be a blessing. I would not want anything hindering my flight should that creature come back. Just the stiffness, mind. It is not all that painful.. Speaking of..we should be on the move soon. Who knows when it may return.'' At that she crouched slightly, her bright eyes resting on Isamarie cautiously.

''Well, I'll be d**ned.'' Vulnar said, watching Freki. ''You're never this passive, my dear. So it is the boy's bad influence upon you. She is right though..'' he paused, the uncommon urge to be protective despite his weakness cropping up.

''If I may without prying too much - which direction are you headed? Freki's wings make her good at long distances and this heat will keep her going with barely a wingbeat - maybe travelling together as far as we can will put off any second attempts?'' he gulped and scratched the back of his neck, as if bashful - nearly yowling as his nails clipped reddened skin. He felt perculiar and queasy. It must have been the heat.

''I would hate for you two to be harassed by it after helping us so; at least not without assistance.''