Chirang Forest

Ryuu was make his lazy, meandering way through the Chirang woods. He was fairly content and at ease with the world (though a bit hungry; stupid rabbits never did seem to be around when you needed them). It was a nice day. Not too hot, not too cold... Of course, the gloomy skies hinted at bad weather in the near future, but for now, all was good.

Though his better-than-human senses were keeping close tabs on his environment, the werepup's mind was wandering. Soon to be a dragon's bonded, hm? This might be cool. 'Sides, maybe being loyal to a companion wasn't as scary as it sounded. Might even be fun. At least he wouldn't have to chase rabbits by himself anymore. Actually, he could probably even have venison every night if he wanted.

With thoughts on dragons and food running through his mind, it was a little while before Ryuu became aware of the sharp, scaly, reptilian scent that lingered in the air this part of the woods. Maybe he was near the cave? That would be good. Maybe the Dragon in charge of hatching would have food..... Hatching.... This would be an interesting experience. What would the baby dragons be like? Would one choose him? Would the other two-legs be mean?

He hoped there would be something to eat.

Appearing almost like a gargantuan, finely made statue crafted from hammered copper, the only thing that marked the Great Dragon as a living creature was the breathing, which was visible if one looked closely, and the great, glimmering, golden eyes which took in everything. After a moment of regarding this first Marked, who had arrived in such an odd fashion, the reptile spoke.

"Greetings, Marked one. I am pleased to see you arrived safely, and trust the journey was not unpleasant." He gave a brief, polite nod, the tip of his tail twitching ever so slightly.

~~~~
Ryuu halted and froze in place upon hearing a loud rustle of leaves, head swiveling back and forth and nose in the air. His senses just weren't good enough in this form..... He could maybe... Yes. The sweetly familiar scent of a human being. It was almost comforting. He had grown up in human cities, after all.

He moved quickly ahead and trying not to let his footsteps be heard by the human he was approaching. After all, it wouldn't be any good to startle them or, if they turned out to be an enemy, alert them to his presence. Peering through a cover of bushes, the red haired child considered what he saw. Human with a map.... Didn't seem to be carrying weapons... Might have some food?

With the hope of food in mind, the boy stepped out into the clear, a grin on his puckish, freckled face. "Hello!"

Faquel gave a low moan of pain as he dragged himself to sit against the rough bark of a nearby tree trunk. Leaves, dirt and gravel clung to his cloths, making him shift repaetedly to get comfortable, if you even could with an arrow piercing your wing. Early that day, he had made the mistake of gliding over Richaaca to avoid being delayed in town. Someone had apparently gotten the image of an angel trophy mounted on their wall and shot an arrow at him. Having not seen it coming, the arrow struck cleanly into the muscle of his left wing, causing him to spiral out of control into the outskirts of Chirang Forest. With only one functioning wing and nearly drowning in pain from the crash, Faquel had fleed into the forest before whoever shot him came looking for him.

Now, certain that he'd lost his hunter, Faquel's thin chest rose and fell, his mind attempting to recover from his last few exhausting hours. In truth, his entire journey to this very place had been mentally and physically exhausting, sleeping on nothing but cold hard earth and eatting whatever he could scavange. Only eleven years old and unuse to such conditions, Faquel was still going thanks to complete mental determination. Being young didn't mean he could apply himself. His stomach roared loudly, complaining about the lack of food.

"Don't growl at me. Not my fault the supplies only lasted me three days," Faquel said, but only received another growl in return.

Biting his lower lip, Faquel lifted himself from his seat, digging into his lip until it began bleeding from the pain radiating in his wing. Blood was still oozing out around the arrow and even the slightest movement reduced him to writhering on the forest floor in sheer pain. Once Faquel was to his feet, he pulled out a crumbled map from a pocket in his tunic, smoothing it out until it was readable.

So close. Probably only a short walk from here...hopefully theres someone there who can takes this stupid arrow out.., he thought dimly, folding it up hurriedly.

Shiya could hear rckus outside her egg, she couldn't wait. The voices were closed off a bit, she knew that one was the one she knew as her parent. She shifted, trying to get a better source of where the voices were coming from. She turned herself around, noticing how the voices were behind her. Shiya could hear them almost clearly now, but didn't quite understand what they'd been talking about. She shifted again, feeling something close to her move. She emitted a light grumbling sound, signalling the egg next to her- saying, 'I'm awake' Her small claws scratched around a bit, not trying to break open the egg yet.

"Uh-huh." Ryuu gestured to the dark mark which covered most of his forehead and part of one cheek, eying her with clear, childish blue eyes. "Are you lost?" Generally, from his personal experience, people who looked so carefully at their maps didn't know where they were going. And she didn't seem like the type that traveled much..... Hm.

After a half second of considering whether to ask if she had any food, he went on. "If you are, I can help. I know the way. I can smell it." He beamed at her proudly, then stopped grinning to regard her with obvious curiosity. "Do you have any food?"

Well, he needed some vocal lessons and he wasn't rhyming, but at least it was something. Zurafina followed him deeper into the forest, and closer to the cave. She didn't bother to skip along beside him, deciding to walk at an even paced, slow walk. A few times Kyren would kick objects out of the way like a stick or something, much to her amusement. She kept her head raised and continued a low little tune, barely a whisper of noise. She could see the cave getting closer and closer to her, and she was feeling uneasy. This was going to change everything, and such a gigantic shift was tearing at her seams.

"Early one morning, just as the sun was rising. I heard a maiden call from the valley below." she mumbled-sang to herself as she kept on. Kyren did a little skip-circle around her and called out another complement before skipping ahead again. She could hear voices and sounds close down the path, a sign that they were almost there. Should she let the Half-Blood go? No. It was too much fun, and besides, it would be easier to enter together, make the two of them seem more confident.

She wondered what would happen if she just never showed up... if she just turned around and went home, Marked forever but never bonded. But... the dragon might be trapped in an egg until she arrived, and as self-centered as Zura might be sometimes, even she knew that wasn't right. She let out a large sigh and continued singing. "Oh don't deceive me, oh never leave me. How could you use a poor maiden so?"

Her parents hadn't been very eager to see her off, and offered to sent someone with her. Zurafina had declined, knowing that the someone was probably Arteus. She had spent her last day away from everyone, sitting up at a high peak that looked over the valley that held her village. To be brutally honest she slept away most of the day as it was so quiet and peaceful up there. When she finally woke, she made her way down and back to her house, but she did not enter. How could she say goodbye to all she ever knew? What words would she use? Not knowing what to do or how to go about things, she instead sneaked into the stables and rode off without a sound.

“Thus sang the poor maiden, her sorrows bewailing. Thus sang the poor maiden in the valley bellow.” she finished softy, just as she and Kyren broke from a cluster of trees and in front of the cave. Zurafina turned to Kyren and said “Enough.” He ceased the skipping and whatever praise he was just about to bellow, and looked around, blinking. “We're here, I think.” Zura motioned with hand to the cave. “Unless there are more than one caves... What do we do? Just strut right in?” she asked him.

Ryuu took the bread and began eating as if he had been starving for days, not really bothering to chew, but tearing chunks off and swallowing them. After he had devoured most of it in this fashion, he gulped down the last bite he had taken and grinned.

"'Course I don't mind. Actually, we're only a little ways away, now. 'Least, I think so..... Dunno, really, but as far as I can smell, it seems that way." He paused and thought for a moment, stuffing the last piece piece of bread into his mouth as he did so, then pointed in a seemingly random direction and swallowed. "That way. It probably isn't far, even if it is farther than I think."

And with that, the werepup started in that direction, pausing after a few steps to glance over his shoulder and make sure his new traveling companion was following. Of course, the path he had chosen wasn't very clear.... He was having to push bushes, small saplings, and other large plant life out of his way as he went. But he could smell the dragon... It wouldn't be far now.