Mhisty Talos's Story

Mhisty jumped nimbly from her tree branch and onto the ground, her knees bent slightly for the impact. Standing up, she wiped her hands against one another. When she was up in the tree, she was listening to what the birds were saying, trying to hear of anything that might have been said about the Akashinu. Nothing yet. Today was only the beginning of the day, so it wouldn't be too long until she heard of something.

Sighing, she glanced her purple eyes around, looking for the elf man she recruited not too long ago. They needed more if they had any hope. He was the first one to agree, so she, of course, just had to make him the second in rank! She only has ranks to keep things slightly more organized for success. If they didn't succeed... She didn't really want to think about it. To continue her search, she deemed it best to go back to the trees and do so.

Renth stumbled over a rock, the weight of a freshly killed Buck on his shoulders, the last thing he wanted to do was fall and get a concussion. He caught himself by grabbing a branch above him, so as he was extended with the weight of the deer on his back. Correcting his posture, he set out again.
Then he heard something. No, a person, and by the smell and how much the branches were creaking, An elf woman.
The one who had asked him to join her cause probably. To stop the evil demons from taking over the world. He had readily accepted, life was simple in the forest, but there was no sign of change! The woods themselves were subject to routine with the seasons, all of which he survived in. He was a ranger by trade. and anything to do would be interesting enough to partake in.

He threw a rope over a branch of an oak tree, tying the end that came back down to the ankles of his prize, he then tugged at the other end to raise it up to hang in the branches. Nobody else was going to eat that today. After securing it, he threw the line over the branch so nobody else could untie it. He would be back for it eventually. Before leaving he took a knife and carved an R in the tree trunk, then an arrow that pointed to where his cabin was.

Following the smells and sounds he quickly found her. She had introduced herself earlier as Mhisty Talos, and that she wanted to stop the evil that was arising from taking over the world, so she had wanted him as a freedom fighter. He watched her jumping from tree to tree until she stopped, looking for something. He climbed up a tree opposite her, making sure not to be seen, and then swinging around it to greet her in a raspy voice he hardly used.

"Nice seeing you again"

When Mhisty heard some rustling sounds nearby, she stopped moving and stood on her tree branch silently. Never hurts to be too cautious. The birds nearby didn't sound afraid, so she wasn't too on-guard. Hearing the familiar voice, her smile grew and she sat on the branch, her dainty legs swinging back and forth in the air. She couldn't see him directly, but she knew it was him.

"You too. Listen, I was trying to recruit some others, but it is like they don't believe me! It's kind of frustrating. I maybe got one other, but it's still undecided to them, and it sounded like they didn't want to leave their home." She sighed, her hand going gently to her cheek, leaning her face into the palm of her hand.

"I'm afraid we're going to have to find them once the Akashinu start growing and becoming more known. That'll be waay too bad, dangerous in fact, because they might grow at a faster rate than us," during her much blabber, she was using many hand motions. "I'm rambling on and on, probably making your ears bleed. I'm sorry, 'Ren.'" If the male elf, Renth, had any objections to that nickname, she felt he would tell her.

Her purple eyes swung from looking at her swinging feet into the direction towards Renth's voice, "Listen, thanks for agreeing to come. If you hadn't, I'd have thought I'd be going crazy by now." She smiled, a soft giggle escaping her lips.

"Hey, don't worry, Two crazy people are usually taken more seriously than one, I think." He made his way across the branches towards her, sitting down next to her as he pulled his hood back. "And if they don't agree well that's their choice. We will find more people though. Not everybody is a cynic."

His thoughts drifted back to just moments ago to when she had called him Ren. He hadn't been called anything in the woods before, to everything here he was the apex predator, and in the cities he was simply known as the ranger. It was good to be referred to as a being, and not some stranger or beast. The nickname was cute too. No stop this foolishness, where are your thoughts going idiot, you should be focusing on recruiting as well

Leaning back to hang upside-down he looked as Mhisty, with a face of amusement.

"Why don't we head to the nearest town, go to a tavern, and see if I can find some muscle, because face it, we're going to need alot of it."
To his astonishment he slipped and fell, grabbing a tree branch on his way down to save himself. Only to find himself a measly half-foot away from the ground.

"So where is the nearest Town anyways? I only know the Forest like the back of my hand, and I have no interest in maps"
He let go of the branch and landed, bending his knees to absorb the force of landing. As his cape fell the fallen leaves flew out from beneath him in a ripple, just in time for him to put his hood back on.

((thanks for waiting, I shouldn't be late again))

Mhisty thought about what Renth had said. He may have a point. Maybe they both would have to go around recruiting more, not just herself. "Thanks." Her purple gaze sweeped over to the male, who was now beside her with his hood down. At least he shows himself to her! It made her happy because he seemed to trust her enough to show himself around her.

She looked down at Ren when he started to hang up-side down and she waved in a silly manner. She moved her body in a way so her belly was on the branch, legs behind her and her head was where she was able to see Ren better. When he mentioned muscle, she looked at her forarm and poked it, "Yeah, I agree with you there. The leader of the Akashinu is a demon dragon, but that's about all I know. I've heard those types of creatures are crazy strong, not strong enough for an elf like me to take him or her down. Argh, I need to train my skills."

She flinched at first when she seen Renth slip, then she reached her arms out to try and grab him. It was on the unexpected side- how often to elves fall out of trees?- so she wasn't prepared. She slid down to the next branch, making sure her feet were steadfast on the branch. She glanced back down, seeing Renth had managed to stop himself from falling to the ground, causing her to sigh in relief. That might have hurt. She jumped down a couple more branches until she landed on the one Renth was holding onto. "You okay?"

Mhisty was great with practically the whole area around them, as she paid close attention to where she was. "Maps are kind of hard to find anyway. Humans seemed to just stop using them before they went 'poof.'" She thought for a moment about where they currently were, then thought of the layout around them. She spoke, her voice seeming far-off because she was thinking, "The nearest town is probably about two miles from here."

She jumped off the branch, landing carefully next to Renth. The jump wasn't too far for her to easily make it. She began to hear the birds chirping about someone being lost. Mhisty tilted her head as she began to think she heard something, a small voice.

"We can head that way... But first I want to see what all the birds are talking about. Do you hear the voice? I can't make out what it's saying, but I think whoever it is, is lost." An opportunity to help someone! Renth shouldn't have any objections, she thought. This lost creature might be a possible new recruit for them! She moved her blond hair from her shoulders, looked over at Renth, smiled, and walked in the direction of the voice that she had heard. The male could either follow her or go on with what he was doing earlier, it was up to him. Mhisty would be able to find him if it was the latter.

When she got closer, she seen a multi-tailed fox, a Kitsune she believed they were called. She tilted her head and smiled, "Hey there! I heard you were saying you were lost. If you want, we can get you to where you want to go?" She paused for a moment before continuing, "Actually I think the best bet is to head to the nearest town. You seem tired."

(( You're welcome. Don't worry, you weren't late. I just think Fortune and I were being a little fast. :P ))

Yokio had been locked in the forest for a while now, and he still had no idea where he was or if he was near the village. He made him feel small being lost in a forest, but he needed to be strong for Fume's sake. He decided that he should try to read the future.

In all honesty, Yokio didn't like telling hate future, it often came in glimpses or symbolism. It was even worse when the sun was out, but he figured that waiting for a faerie was something he wouldn't do. So, he sat down and his tails laid down as well, each one ram rid stiff and he closed his eyes. He tried to focus on getting an image, and then finally something came through.

In his mind, he saw a small flame, no ground, just a small flame that was floating, and it was circular in shape. Next he heard the voice. He wasn't too sure who it was, but it was either a woman who smoked all of her life, or had just had an allergy attack, because it was always throaty as hell. In the time of need, a face will occur, a face of a new. Battles shall be occurring, between chaos and order. Choose carefully young Kitsune.. Great, still as vague as ever.

He opened his eyes and his tails returned to normal, when he saw someone coming towards him, a humanoid shape. When it got closer, Yokio's heart began to race, it was Mhisty, his enemy, and she was walking to him with a smile on her face.

"Need to get away, damn you future vision!" He though to himself, because using it rendered him nearness useless, coupled with the fact that shifting so many times had already made him tired, he would be lucky if he could walk away, let alone run, also the flame he saw was likely referring to the elf.

Before he could become to worried, he saw what a great opportunity this was, get classified information about the enemy, but he remembered that she would likely travel with others, so killing was out of the way. Before he could talk, however, he felt the emotional breakdown occur. Visions took energy from spiritual and emotional stableness, and shifting from a physical one, so being tired in every way possible left him a crying mess.

He turned to Talos, his eyes showing the first signs of breaking down,and said in a shaking voice, "Thanks, I am lost and I just want to get out of this forest I don't like forest." He the began to cry and breath heavily, "Can you please just get me out, I don't care where I go, just please don't leave me here.". Was all he could muster before beginning to sob, he knew later he would feel stupid for crying infront of an enemy, but his emotions were entirely too unstable for him to stop.

At the first signs of movement, Renth had disappeared into the surrounding foliage. Mhisty probably didn't even know he had left. He waited to see something small and orange walk, if not limp over to them. It was a fox, with a shiny coat that ended in nine tails. His mind quickly fled to the thought of how much the pelt would be priced at if not pierced with an arrow. He would have to grab it and snap it's neck quickly. Crouching in order to leap onto it in order to snap it's neck. He dived from his hiding spot, tackling the animal at full force, fighting against the writhing vulpine's attempts to escape his grip. He took a line from his pocket and tried to tie it around the foxes neck, only to have it snapped in two by it's small jaws. He grabbed it's neck, only to have it slide out, leaving them at a standoff.

He drew his Hunting knife, weighted so he could throw it. Then he had an idea:
He slowly bent down, stuck his knife in the ground, and stood back up, raising his arms in the air.
"Alright, now I'm not going to try to hurt you anymore." He kept his tone of voice at a smooth register, trying to keep it calm, just to step back until he could draw his bow.

"I'm really sorry for all that, thought you might be dangerous, just protecting her" He motioned towards Mhisty, "But you can't be dangerous can you little guy, no, not you."

His hand was close enough to his bow and quiver would be just in reach so he could let off a quick shot if the fox tried anything funny, like blinking. yeah...if he Blinks I kill him. Win win win as they say. Nobody says that. I say it.

He synchronized his breathing with the foxes. Ready to strike.

Mhisty pouted her lower lip out when she noticed the cute fox appeared to be about to cry. She didn't like seeing creatures sad! She was about to go up to him and sweep him into her arms to cuddle like someone would do a cute puppy, until a blur of colour jumped out of nowhere, stopping her in her tracks, tackling the poor dear. It was Renth. Her face heated red in slight anger.

How could he just randomly jump out at a crying fox without at least waiting? She felt her hands growing hot with heat, wanting to get in between this fight that seemed useless. She flexed her fingers at her side, knowing her hands were probably glowing the bright red they can get. She's not usually angered easily, but this hit a nerve.

The heat she was carrying instantly dissipated and cooled when Renth stopped, saying he wouldn't hurt him anymore. She puffed one cheek, "Please make sure someone's a threat before jumping them." Her eyes went glossy, "but thanks for wanting to protect me." She walked around Ren, her hand gently swiping across his shoulder as she walked past, towards the fox, bending down to get eye level with him. "I'm sorry, little one. Let's get going." She held her arms out to him, wondering if he wanted to be carried. She wouldn't mind, not really. He did seem tired, and did just get attacked. If he didn't want to be, that was fine, he could follow as they would head toward the nearest villa, which was about two miles from where they currently stood.

She remembered something just then and glanced back at Ren, "I smelled deer earlier. Is it safe where it is for later or does it need to be stored somehow?"

(( Sorry if my reply was late! I'm trying to multi-task everywhere. :P ))

Irsire woke from his night terror with droplets of sweat running from his forehead down is brow. Another dark dream of his past haunted him while he slept. He pushed himself from off the bear pelt he used for bedding and observing the lush forest around him, lacing his boots and reattaching his cloak. Irsire was ready to depart in search for Lady Talos, snatching his blade from the stump he buried it with ease. He swiped it through the air, and practiced his form and composure continuing his morning routine. After sheathing his silver crafted long sword, Irsire began to cast simplistic lightning elemental spells. Slightly changing the weather in his area and blackening tree bark with swift lightning strikes. The powerful blows ripped through the tree bark with a bang, scattered wood chips flew in every direction. Once Irsire was fully wake He pressed on into the vast forest looking for Lady Talos.

He joined her cause not to long ago in attempt to stop the demonic dragon from ruling the world and enslaving all living things. He was appointed a higher position in her organization, in oversight of what will come next for recruitment and training. Irsire didn't think much of his rank, he thought of himself to be much more powerful than the second in command with nearly 200 years of training and work. Most living beings were just naturally weaker in Irsire's mind, that didn't mean that he underestimated his enemies. Irsire still fought with full fighting force no matter what. He drowned out his last thoughts and continued to walk nearly aimlessly in the forest using his sense of smell to track Lady Talos through the forest.

He watched Lady Talos extend out her arms to the downed fox, Irsire was a bit to far to hear exactly what was said but Ren looked slightly worried about the Lady's situation as he returned with the buck hanging from his back. Irsire pondered if it had anything to do with the fox, and made his way over to Lady Talos and Ren. He pushed his gray hair to the side and fixed his blade slightly beckoning out to Lady Talos "I am sorry my lady, I got lost and had to depend on my sense of smell to find you. I hope everything is alright, you look a bit shaken up Ren."

Yokio hissed at the wood-elf after he was released after being attacked from nowhere. One of the reasons he hated forests, his pelt was worth ALOT of money, and being attacked was not new, but in this case, he couldn't turn into a fire breathing creature. Keep a leash on your wood-elf He barked at Mhisty Talos in his head. He suddenly realized that she didn't want him to attack, and could use that against the wood elf.

When she first offered her hand for her to carry him, he wanted to reject, but seeing how he was still weak from his power and being attacked had drained more from him, he climbed into the Elf's arms. She was warm, and his tails wrapped around her chest and arms to gather heat. In total he weighed 9lbs, some figured this elf could carry him. Being part storm spirit had its advantages.

He scowled when the wood-elf returned with a buck, and wanted to do nothing more than wrap his tails around his neck, but doing so would look bad, not to mention he was still tired. He had managed to stop crying, if only,to be replaced with white hot anger, but nothing for nothing.

He then noticed the new player that entered. He seemed to know Mhisty, and he looked strong, probably the muscle or hgh ranked.

Looking up at the Mhisty Talos's face, he took in how young she looked to try and fight Fume. He decided that he should talk in as sweet of a voice possible. "I'm Pionee." Not entirely untrue, it was his third name, "Thanks for helping me. Who are you and where are you going?" Playing dumb, not a new skill he had done, best for them to not even think he know about Fume or anything of the like.

Mhisty tilted her head, having heard the fox's words. How could the fox think that Ren was someone she controlled? Oh well, but she better keep an eye out. When the kitsune crawled into her arms, she stood up, gently holding him. His weight surprised her, to be honest. When she had asked earlier, she was slightly afraid she may tire out too fast, but with what he feels to be... around maybe ten pounds, this was no problem. Her hands touching the soft fur of the fox were like silk in her hands, plus she didn't care that those many tails wrapped around her.

Not wanting to move from her spot, in fright that she might actually lose Renth, she stayed where she was. It didn't even take that long. When Renth returned, she noticed the buck. In truth, she was curious as to what he would do with it, but decided not to ask. In her mind, she was thinking food. Just as she was about to agree with leaving, she heard footsteps from behind. She pursed her lips and turned around, adjusting her grip slightly on the fox.

What she first noticed was the gray hair and the musculature. This told her it was Irsire. She was wondering where he had went to. She smiled, "Sorry about that, Irs!" Another nickname, for another of her friends. "I'm glad you found us. We were just about to head to the nearest town, try and gather some recruits and sorts." When Irsire hoped that everything was alright, she tilted her head, unsure of what could be wrong. Her mind flickered over to the fox. Maybe she should be a little more wary than she first thought about.

She felt eyes upon her, and swept her purple gaze to the little fox in her arms. She smiled, "Pleasure to meet you, Pionee. I'm Mhisty, we're going to be headed to a town about two miles from here, so then you may go and rest as you please." She decided it would be best not to ask this fox to join; he seemed still shaken up.

She turned to Irsire, "Also, please just call me Mhisty. Lady Talos is just so formal." She giggled and turned to Renth, "Let's get going!" She began to walk in a northern direction, Pionee in her arms, sure that Renth and Irsire were following her. She was just so happy now, sure wasn't sure would could quite kill the mood she was in. Further ahead of the path, she noticed a slight figure walked towards them. She focused her purple gaze on this figure, who appeared hooded. Friend, foe, or a person who just wouldn't care?

(( Another post for Fume will be up soon. I have to get to work on an art project of mine for school x.x ))

A gust of cold wind swept the forest where the Shira-Yuri were gathered. A second swept through them, then a third, fourth, fifth, and so on. From the skies above them descended a mighty ice-blue Dragon, whose wingbeats had whipped up the icy winds that swept the forest. As he neared the canopy, the dragon began to glow blue, shrinking in size and taking on a human form. The boy flew down, landing gracefully beside Mhisty and giving her a playful grin.

"Hope I'm not late to the party!" The boy said, grinning cheerfully. If it weren't for the slitted pupils, clawed hands, mighty wings, sharp teeth, dragon tail, and scaly, clawed feet, he would have seemed harmless, but the frigid air surrounding him like a biting aura would have quickly dismissed the notion. The boy was Leden Senka, a former spy and now high-ranking officer of the Shira-Yuri. Despite his carefree demeanor, he took his duties quite seriously, but nobody would have known that unless they had seen him when he was working.

Mhisty's cheerful demeanor calmed Irsire quite a bit, the charm and calmness that she displayed made him much more comfortable at the current situation. She stood proudly with the fox she held lightly in her hands, comforting it with her soft touch. She called out to him with her glimmering beautiful smile, "Sorry about that, Irs!" Mhisty told him. Nicknames where not really his thing, its not like he hated to be called "Irs" he just felt it to be incomplete. Irsire thought about why he was left behind, coming to the assumption that he was left behind for some reason unknown to him, or she just forgot he tends to slip between realms when asleep. He all negative thoughts vanished while he refocused on her. The news of finding new recruits was a bit unsettling, although fresh faces would be a good tactical move.

But still even with the foxes calm and kind looks, Irsire was still set off by its presence maybe Ren was on to something when he pounced but if the Lady was fine with the fox he would hold is tongue. It introduced itself as Pionee, and conversed with the Lady shorty before the Lady turned back to Irsire. Mhisty's request to die down the formality's was accepted by Irsire, he assumed the normal elfish custom of addressing members respectfully by last name." Understood my lady, if Mhisty is fine to address you by then I shall." As they continued on the path, a dragon hovered above the four slowly descending and landing beside Mhisty. It was the ice dragon the joined up with the group not to long ago, he was a bit to playful for Irsires taste, but he was a hard worker and a damned good fighter. He respected him tremendously and addressed him as so "Sir Senka, pleasure for you to join."

Irsire braced himself for the figure the mustered ahead in the forest. It kept quiet but it was obvious it was lurking in the shadows, "Who are you," he bluntly asked shrugging his shoulders and holding the hilt of his long sword.

Vee neared the group a few minutes later and now watched them with a small amused smile. Only the bottom half of her face could be seen due to the shadows of her hood. What a strange group of people. Seems to be a couple of elves, a kitsune, a dragon boy, but the gray haired one... I don't know.

"Who are you?" The question was blunt, but Vee understood why he asked the question. The middle of a forest wasn't always the safest place.

She tilted her head slightly to the side and gave Irsire and the others a friendly smile. In the villages when she had been trading in some valuable stones for clothes she had heard people telling their friends of them getting lost in the woods and being helped out by a greencloaked woman, she was curious as to why they gave her the title Tawariell. She didn't think it was such a big deal even if it was helping people out of the woods. She shook herself from her thoughts and turned her head back up towards Irsire. "You might have heard the names Tawariell or Girl of the Forest being spoken in the village though I wouldn't expect it. But the animals of the wild know me as Vee, I prefer that name to the others." She was using the same voice she used whenever she helped a lost creature or what might be a lost creature to help calm them. The voice she chose to use could only be along the lines of kind, melodic, misterious, and soft. She rose her hands in the air to show she had no intention to use weapons. "I mean no harm, I'm merely wondering if you are lost. If you are I can show you to your destination or to the right path, all you have to do is ask."

So much had happened, and Renth was getting tired of holding the damned deer the entire time, not saying a thing. The scents of brimstone, "Dragon shit", fish, and charcoal all had wreaked havoc on his nose, letting it sting as he fought back the tears that would be very questionable. He glanced at the "Fox" and centered the smell of the fish and, dragon excrement. He would have to take that dragon guy's word for it, seeing as Renth never really met any dragons before. He would say something about how if the fox was to be eaten, anybody would have to fight him for the pelt, but decided against it. There was enough testosterone in the small amount of men, and he didn't want a power struggle to destroy his home.

Then there was a new smell. Another elf? Too fair of a smell to be male, such a relief.

"Who are you" The man of ...Brimstone had asked. To which she had explained that she was THE Tawariell, she had lead people out of the forest to their safety after losing there way. He always felt guilty, not helping anybody when they were trapped, and scared, but he had never had consolation when he was lost, so it was better that she helped the travelers that strayed from the path. Raising her hands... smart move, but the fact that she might use magic instead would be a thought that some would be blind to, even if it was her. You know who she is, why do you not trust her? Oh dammit, I have a deer carcass on my back, isn't she one of those one-with-nature-nuts?
"Well I grew up here, so we are definitely not lost." The last thing he wanted to appear as in front of a dragon, Mhisty, and whatever Irsire really was would have to be a fool who didn't even know the eay around his own house. "I'm Renth, don't believe we've properly met. The only thing I know about you though Tawariell is that you have been downwind for the last few moments, and that you genuinely mean us no harm. Thanks for the offer though." Whoops, might have traded idiot for jerk there. "If you wish to keep us company though, you're welcome to. We're just making our way to the nearest town, we're we can discuss a couple of things for our...", He made a double-take of this "Multi-Tailed" Walking gold-purse. Obviously wanting to know who the group was had to lead to more suspicion of what it's true purposes are, but if Mhisty was going to hold onto that thing it was a drawn bow, he couldn't do anything about it.

"Well, shall we set off then?" He started to walk in the direction of the nearest town. West, so towards the sun? Yah, that should be it.

Yokio's heart actually stopped being for a moment when a bloody dragon landed beside Mhisty Talos, only for his anger to heat up again. "Leden Senka. Bloody turncoat" He though to himself. He was a valued member of Fumes organization, but defected, and appartly had a few secrets about them with him. He decided that the wood elf wasn't the creature he wanted to kill the most right now.

When he rubbed his head, and told him to clean and something about smelling like dragon shit, he panicked for a moment. "How can he possibly smell that on me?". He calmed down when he realized that Leden had never seen his true form, nor had he ever talked to anyone besides Fume, so there was little chance he would connect two and two together. The wood elf was more worrisome, already didn't trust him, and this might lead him to a conclusion, but that is giving far to much credit to an Elf's thinking abilities.

The other elf appeared, asking them if they needed help, and the wood elf introduced himself, but not without giving him a look that was hungry for gold. He tightened his grip on Mhisty Talos, partly because it is what his tails did when he was nervous, but mostly because it played into the cute card he was playing.

"You are a dragon?" He asked Leden in an unsure voice, " I though all dragons were evil. That's what Momma always told us." He wanted answers from the dragon, but asking straight out would cause people to raise an eyebrow at him, not to mention he could get details about the group, trying to justify why Mhisty Talos kept a dragon in her company.

Mhisty felt a breeze in the air. It wasn't exactly cold to her touch, as she purposely keeps her fire going to keep at a comfortable temperature, even if there was snow. So useful, fire is. She sighed mentally, wishing that the people of where she came from understood more that fire was not only destruction. Enough on those thoughts though. She looked up, seeing Leden. She can't thought of a nickname for him quite yet, but she would get to it eventually, she was sure.

"Hey, Leden, nice to see you again." She felt a greater pressure around her when the dragon had landed by Pionee's tails. She swept her gaze back to the figure that had now approached them. Irsire, so great he is, had to ask so directly. It was probably a good idea to have him around for sure, just in case she missed something. Naive she is at times and in love with giving people the benefit of the doubt. Her gaze snapped to the frigid dragon when he mentioned somewhere along the lines of eating the cute fox in her arms. She hugged tighter onto him, turning away slightly, "No one is hurting Pionee." He's given no reason to do so. She had to keep that in mind. Everyone around her was getting quite uncomfortable with this fox, either because of the fact he could be dangerous, or because she was giving him the attention. She turned her head to get a better look at this fox in her arms, "Not all dragons are evil. It depends on their character."

She was going to answer the other female elf who kindly approached them about being lost, but doing so would have only been redundant. She smiled however, towards this unknown elf. "We're heading over to the town north of here. This little fox here is so tired that we're taking him there, and we are on a mission for new recruits."

After hearing what Leden said next, about the stench of another dragon, she glanced over at Pionee. "Another dragon, Leden?" She had to trust his nose after all, a dragon knows another dragon's scent. "Do you recognize it?" She was curious. All the while, she decided she didn't want to stop walking, so she had continued onward, despite the fact there was someone here offering to show the way politely and all the testosterone around. All she wanted to do was get to this town, rest, recruit, and train there for maybe a day or so.

(( So much going on! I love it. I'm at school right now creating this post. xD It took me maybe twenty minutes to do so. If anyone catches any mistakes by me, as I'm trying to move sort of fast, please let me know and I'd gladly correct it. ))

Irsire smiled at Lenen “I guess the formalities is useless once you get to this age, it’s also nice to see you again. Had too much fun in the mountains?” He asked with a slight grin. Watching Lenen’s disposition change to something of disgust as he looked over to the fox Mhisty held gently in her arms. Irsire chuckled as he watched the dragon insult Yokio, comparing his smell to that of dragons shit. Lenen’s initial reaction was one of hate but then he quickly calmed down But Lady Talos was intent on keeping the little fox safe from the harm of anyone in the group, although he didn’t care much for the animal.

But the speech of another dragon was alarming, maybe this fox could be a problem for everyone after all. If this fox was around another dragon what could it have been doing to stay alive within its den. Irsire didn’t have such a powerful sense of smell he could only track humanoid creatures he had marked with his touch. It’s hard for him to distinguish some creatures from others.

The hooded figure that he had noticed earlier made her way onto the scene. She came off friendly at first giving the group a friendly and calming smile. “You might have heard the names Tawariell or Girl of the Forest being spoken in the village though I wouldn't expect it. But the animals of the wild know me as Vee, I prefer that name to the others." Vee spokely as she approached them.

Irsire smiled back and greeted her in the same respectable way, “My name is Irsire Xion: The lightning breaker. I’m sorry but I did not hear of your noble tales although you sound like a very respectable woman, it is my pleasure to meet your acquaintance,” Irsire bowed and then recomposed himself, Renth, entered the conversation conversing with the Vee speaking too her about the travel. Irsire didn’t have a problem with her coming with them, it would be nice to have another new face for travel. “And it’s the Lady’s choice, she wouldn’t mind you joining us for the trip.” Agreeing with Renth’s statement, Irsire gave another slight smile.

As Renth made his way away from the group holding the bucks lifeless body on his back. Irsire leaned against a tree close to Lady Talos, he awaited for words on the next move. A whole group he thought to himself, new faces and a renewed light in our possibility of winning against that damned dragon. If Irsire knew that things would get this bad, he would have killed the dragon when it was just in an egg. He wondered if the knights of the dark legion would even step in to stop the world from going to hell. Another demon realm would be very detrimental. He wondered even if he should tell any of them that he was a demon in the first place.

Pushing off the tree and following Lady Talos at a distance keeping his thoughts to himself.

(OCC: I will not be able to post till 5, I have to run track after school)

Leden smiled at Mhisty as he greeted her, responding by smiling and returning the greeting. "It's great to see you too, Mhisty. Unfortunately, no, I don't recognize the dragon's scent. I don't like it, but that isn't saying much. If I had to wager a guess, I'd say the pup's den is in another dragon's territory. Doesn't mean he had anything to do with another dragon. If he did, I could imagine it might get pissed next time he's near it. The little guy will smell like me for days, or at least to other dragons. You guys... well, I think dragons might be a bit more hostile towards you for the rest of your lives. Sorry, wish I could help more. I don't know the dragon's scent. I get the feeling I should, but I don't." Leden grinned, walking beside Mhisty with his arms behind his head casually. He was always happy to see her, not just because she was pretty. Mhisty was a nice woman, and, even if he didn't like to admit it, Leden didn't have many he could really call his "friend", but Mhisty was as close to it as anyone. Dragons did tend to be solitary creatures, and simply the word "dragon" could strike fear and hatred into the hearts of others. Unfortunately, Leden hated being alone, an unusual trait for his species. Upon hearing Irsire's response, Leden grinned, chuckling a bit to himself.

"No matter what you say, you're still a kid to me." Leden said. "I'm still almost eight hundred years your elder, even if you're more mature physically. And yes, I enjoyed my time in the mountains, thank you for asking." Leden laughed to himself a bit. From time to time, he would venture into the snowy peaks, away from the others. As much as he liked Mhisty, she was too hot for him. Fire users always gave off extra body heat, and warmth bothered the ice dragon quite a bit. Rolling in the mountain snow was the perfect way to cool off, taking a break from the unnatural heat. That was what he always told them, but it wasn't the only reason for it. Mhisty was the only other Shira-Yuri member who knew that he couldn't take so much masculinity. Dragons always compete with others, and a male dragon being in a group comprised mostly of males didn't help him suppress his instinctual behavior like he needed to.

When Leden heard Mhisty tell the fox pup why she thought dragons weren't always evil, he had to smile. He had to admit it was a bit naive to think that, and Leden couldn't deny the presence of his innate desire to conquer and destroy. It was just the nature of dragons; they desire to have power, wealth, and general superiority over others. But perhaps Mhisty was right. Leden had managed not to act on those desires for quite some time, and the desires were only a minor nuisance now. They didn't threaten to overwhelm him anymore, and he rarely needed to actively suppress them. He glanced over at Mhisty, grateful for the kindness the elf had shown to him. Not many would have trusted the word of a dragon so easily, let alone helped them in their endeavors to overcome their instincts. Mhisty had done both, and Leden was grateful for that. If she didn't want him eating the fox, then he wouldn't.

Any other dragon would have been disgusted by his loyalty to her, and Leden knew why. In the eyes of any dragon, even Leden's, he was nothing more than a pet to the elf, and a disgrace to all dragons. But Leden knew Mhisty, if nobody else, thought otherwise, and that fact alone allowed him to maintain that. If this was what being a pet was like, he didn't mind at all. Besides, most pets didn't flirt with their masters like Leden did with Mhisty. The fact that he had yet to do so since his arrival was something of an accomplishment for him. Flirting with girls was almost instinctive to Leden, but only because he had repressed his dragon nature and allowed a true personality to take its place. So what if he flirted with Mhisty? With her, it wasn't just flirting. Leden did it so often because she was a friend to him. It was a way he showed he trusted Mhisty and saw her as a friend. She could harness fire, and that fact alone meant she could kill Leden any time she chose to, even if she didn't mean to. He felt free to be himself around her because he knew she wouldn't, and because he didn't want her to think of him as anything other than who he was. The others, not so much. He didn't particularly care what they thought of him. As much as he liked them and wanted them to like him, they were still males like him. Dragons generally don't get along well with others of the same gender, and especially not during this time of year.

"Don't worry, Mhist, I won't hurt the little guy if you don't want me to." Leden said. "But if you're going into town, what would you like me to do? The last village we entered wanted to kill me because I was a dragon, and I don't think that would help us get new recruits." The memory was still painfully fresh in his mind, as was the scar running across his back beginning at his right shoulder and ending at the base of his tail. One of the villagers had attacked him while his back was turned, and he had flown off into the mountains to heal. The good part of being an ice dragon was the ability to heal by rolling in snow. He was glad it had happened when it did, though. If it had been a day later, there was no doubt he would've laid waste to the village. It was mating season for ice dragons, and he was exceptionally quick to anger right now. The constant odor of another dragon didn't help, especially because the fox that had covered itself in the stench was in Mhisty's arms, the smell clinging to her as well. What had the stupid thing done, rolled in some dragon's crap? It wasn't unlikely, but he didn't care what had made the fox reek of dragon to the extent that it did.

Even if he was young for a dragon, he was still fully matured. Had it not been mating season, he would've slaughtered the fox on the spot, recognizing Fume's scent. Leden assumed it was a male dragon's stench, even if it didn't smell like one- it pissed him off, like a male dragon's scent did, after all. Fume wasn't male, though, and that fact resulted in a much more mild reaction. Of course, Leden wasn't aware of this. All he knew was that the fox smelled like a dragon- a bad choice, given that it was mating season for most ice dragons- and that it was now covering his woman in the stench. Leden shook his head, chasing away the thought. His woman? Mating season could be quite the nuisance.

Yokio was spending his time in Mhisty Talos's arms formulating a plan for payback on Leden. "Poison? Too noticeable. Death by fire? Too hard to pull off. Struck by lightning? A dragon, so no." All of the thought s going through his head, not really paying attention to those around him, his tails still clinging to the girl who got warmer when the traitor got closer.

Then something came to him! He tried to remember what time of the year it was, and when he remembered, he remembered from an old book when he was little, ice dragons go into mating season. No wonder he was hanging so close to Mhisty Talos, he was infatuated with her. Being a reader, he knew how species showed affection and mating, but was still somewhat grossed out by the idea himself.

When that revaluation came to him, he formulated a plan, and a brilliant one if he said so himself. Everyone was watching him closely, and the traitor looked angry, due to Fume's smell. He decided to shift his tails so that his face was facing Mhisty Talos's, and he whispered close to her. "I know why I smell like dragon. Don't tell anyone, but feel my stomach." As he spoke, he shifted his stomach so that very little fur remained, and the skin looked burned and appeared to have a scar running across it, as if attacked by something large that insisted on torturing him. After a time that he thought she could take in the sight, he got closer and said in a equally small voice, "I can shift myself to look alright all the time," something he could really do, "but please don't ask me to go all the way back to my true form, I can't stand how I actually look, but please don't tell anyone, they already look at me oddly, can you please do that, Miss Mhisty? I am sorry for not Telling you about my ability, but hiding is how i survive from It." He was able to make his eyes water, but not cry, as this act required very subtle acting. He decided that one final bullet was needed to the traitor, and he knew which one was needed. He couldn't attack him, but he doubted that he told Talos about mating season, so this seemed like a good chance. "I don't want to worry you, but it is dragon mating season," he paused and looked at Leden who was near them. " And that guy has been giving you some funny looks. Just be careful of him, dragons are ruthless, and you are too nice to not know about something that might affect you."

While talking to Mhisty Talos, he made sure that his tails moved around her arms and torso, giving her Fume's scent, and would make Leden go insane or make her smell too bad for him to attempt anything. "Try and mate with her now, dirty traitor. He cursed inside of his head, and then shipphifted his stomach back to normal, and placed his head on her shoulder, getting a look at the travelers behind them. He started to use his tails to rub against her, which probably felt good, seeing what he had been told about his fur, and made sure that the manner seemed caring. He did this while eyeing the others, wondering how they would each pay for going against Fume.