Dragon and Gryphon collide! OPEN!
Who: Aara angha_firebird and Zhaneel bondedgryphon and OPEN.
When: Late afternoon, present day.
Where: The Green/the skies above the Keep ( Read more... )
When: Late afternoon, present day.
Where: The Green/the skies above the Keep ( Read more... )
"Aara, wha-" she begins, but the human turns on her heel and bolts. Zhaneel pulls up, having nearly touched down onto the ground, and beats her wings to gain altitude once more. She swiveled her head and looked beneath her, confusion and guilt knotting her stomach. What she sees beneath her draws a gasp from deep in her throat as she falters awning beat.
Where the girl once stood was now something dreadfully reminiscent of the cold drakes we had faced during the war. She skrees and shifts her path, confused while a deeper feeling curls in her stomach: fear.
A figure approaches at a run, catching the gryphon's eye and ear. She knew that voice, even if this were the first time she was putting a face to it. "Varric!" She calls down to him, moving toward him as she draws down closer to the ground. She did not miss the subtle irony that they had only JUST been talking about mages turning into dragons.
"I fear I startled her, but I did not know she could do this.."
She lands near the dwarf, golden eyes wide as they fall on the girl-turned-dragon. She had no idea of the connections Aara had made regarding her form and those she called Homa, nor the mortal enemies aspect of their relationship.
Reply
It was a warning to those around her--not that they knew the fear that pounded in her heart. Turning swiftly so her back was not to her foe, she noted the gryphon's descent toward the dwarf, missing their conversation entirely from the ringing in her ears, and dives.
She had to save him before the home strikes with beak or talon.
Reply
Trust him, Zhaneel, he didn't miss the irony, either. Though at least this was less 'loony suspicious mage who could turn into a dragon' and more 'friend who happened to neglect to mention she could turn into a dragon.' That's somewhat better.
Or at least it would be, if Aara hadn't decided it would be a good idea to attempt to divebomb them. Or, actually, maybe just Zhaneel, if she really was why Aara had been so freaked out. Which meant Varric moved to stand in front of Zhaneel, between her and Aara, and looked up.
His fingers twitched as he resisted the urge to grab Bianca that was now an automatic response to a dragon flying at him. Which was normally an incredibly good automatic response, but he really didn't want to shoot Aara.
Varric wasn't sure Aara'd ever actually seen him, so he called up to her, "Birdie! Come on, you don't want to attack us, we're friends!"
Reply
She might question the immediately earned nickname later, but was hardly going to do so now. "I did not intend to," she darts her gaze back to the dragon. "Certainly not if I expected thus."
She might have said more, but then the dragon .. Aara .. begins to dive toward them. She half turns so her back is not to her, wings slightly fanning as she debates quickly if she should take to the skies. She is the fastest of any of Urtho's gryphons, but she's never been against such a foe. Whether the dragon was larger or not held no bearing when Zhaneel knew nothing else about her.
Varric surprises her by moving in front of her, as if to defend her, and Zhaneel gaped for a moment, ears swiveling toward the dwarf. That he didn't think twice about defending the horse sized creature that now stood behind him left Zhaneel reeling mentally.
However, Zhaneel was also a flyer and there was no denying the path the dragon's flight would carry her. "Varric .. If she does not pull up now then she has no intention of it .."
She takes instep back from the dwarf, wings fanning halfway open as instinct practically screams at her to take to the air. In the same instant, however, she cannot leave Varric here to fend the creature off for himself .. but would she not do better good in the air than on the land? Had she and Varric not spoken of this exact thing, regardingthe benefits of her acting as an airborne scout?
She was ready to take to the air in an instant, hopefully quick enough to avoid the dragon's reach. She hadn't even stopped to consider if Aara had any breath abilities such as fire or ice. Oh dear!
Reply
She lay there, stunned and in pain for a moment before instinct courses through her and Aara attempts to gain her feet, one wing fluttering and having trouble as she favors her right forearm, pale eyes quickly searching for foes she was not entirely sure she should trust as far as safety went.
She makes no sound concerning any flashes of pain--continually attempting to re-fold or fully lengthen her injured wing.
Reply
"I know," he replied to Zhaneel's comment, and once again resisted the urge to reach for Bianca. He didn't take his eyes off Aara as he added quickly, "If you can dodge her in the air, I can dodge her on the gr-"
And then he cut off as Aara veered off, avoiding hitting them. He had a moment of brief, strong gratitude, but it faded a bit as he turned towards Aara and saw the crash. He winced slightly - he'd seen many a dragon injured worse than that, he knew how much it had to hurt. This was the first time he felt sympathy, though.
"Birdie?" he asked, taking a few cautious steps toward her. He didn't want to freak her out more than she already was. Aara was obviously at least somewhat aware, if she'd been able to stop herself from attacking them. He had no idea about her feud with creatures that look just like Zhaneel, obviously, and was assuming it was some predatorial instinct.
"We're not going to hurt you," he said, voice calm.
Reply
She exhales softly, her wings still fanned loosely open as she feels the urge to take to the air. She does not, however, and remains behind Varric as she peers at the downed dragon. Henpaces a few steps forward, but she chooses to stay where she is and not approach. If it had been she that had caused this in truth, then Aara likely would not appreciate her getting closer.
However, the threat still remains even if the dragon is grounded currently and Zhaneel cannot be at ease. She shifts her weight, ear tufts flicking forward and back again and tail giving a sharp flick.
"I certainly have no such intent." Though possibly swifter in flight, Zhaneel would not even try to pretend that she'd have tried to start this. Aara was larger than her and the size difference was enough that she'd never have made first contact; especially when she hadn't know the girl could change forms.
Reply
Slightly incredulous, Aara eyes Zhaneel over the top of Varic's head. If the homa was true to her word, however, and did not have any ulterior motive, then Aara had no qualm with her. The fact that Zhaneel was not simply attacking her now might prove the gryphon's words rang true, but fight and flight had been too completely trained in her. Aara had never met a peaceful homa in her life.
Reply
"See?" he said, nodding at Zhaneel's comment. "We're all friends here."
When Aara flinched away, he stopped moving towards her. "Okay, I'll just. Stay right here, until you're convinced that we don't want to hurt you, and you don't want to hurt us."
There was a pause, then he glanced back at Zhaneel and said, "I don think she can talk like that." He wasn't sure if that was better or worse. On the one hand, Aara's voice coming from a dragon would be incredibly unsettling. On the other, this would certainly go a lot smoother if she could actually talk. It also didn't help in his attempt to figure out how much of Aara was actually aware in there.
Reply
"I meant no harm," she says softly, her golden gaze on Aara. Her gaze shifts to Varric as he speaks, ears still trained on Aara should she move suddenly. "She appears to understand us, even if she cannot speak."
Again her golden gaze flits to Aara, "Can you speak, Aara?"
Reply
She sits a little higher, her head tilting slightly in one direction as she considers this. If Zhaneel truly wished to be her friend, she had certainly done a good deal to botch that up. But a homa? Could homa and angha ever exist peacefully?
Perhaps all it took was one homa and one angha--and a specific circumstance.
Hunching down into a sitting position to show she meant no harm, Aara lowered her head and slowly shook it back and forth to show yes--she understood them and no--she could not speak while in this form.
Reply
When Aara responded to Zhaneel's question with a headshake, he felt a little twinge of relief. "Looks like you're right."
At least they had that much. He turned back to Aara, taking a small, careful step towards her.
"Can you change back?" Not only will he feel a lot more comfortable talking to her when she was human, but it would also be a lot easier to figure out how badly she was injured.
Reply
Varric asks her if she can change back into her human form and the gryphon watches and listens expectantly, ear tufts perked forward. She then pauses, recalling a particularly human trait.
"Her clothing.." She rises and glances back in the direction Aara had taken off from. The quick look is enough to catch sight of the cotton dress laying just where it had been shucke off.
Wasting no time, Zhaneel pads off toward it, clearly moving away from the dragon and dwarf to retrieve the garment. She picks it up in one forefoot, golden eyes glancing over it and seeming to find it relatively unsoiled after being cast off. Then, she nearly takes to the air to fly back to the pair, pausing even before her muscles had collected.
No. Flying back toward Aara was probably a terrible idea for the time being. This being the case, Zhaneel has little other option by to carry it in her beak as she pads back over. Holding it in one forefoot would have her trying to maneuver evenly in three legs and such would not be easy or graceful at all.
Upon returning to Varric and Aara, she sits on her haunches and rears up, holding the garment in her forefeet. "I thought you might be more at ease with this .. should changing back be the choice you make."
Gryphons could give a shit about nakedness, but humans were ampeculiar lot. Some strutted about nude as the day they were born with nary a moments pause, while others could not even bare the thought of shown their lower legs.
Reply
At Varric's question and the conversation that follows, Aara tilts her head. She suddenly wished they were angha, so they would immediately be able to understand her through instinct alone, but she knew that was not the case, so instead she lowered herself to a crouch, closed her eyes, and concentrated.
The effort took much more concentration than it normally did. Her great jaw parted as she began to pant from exhaustion, limbs trembling as she slid to the ground. Clear-blue eyes slit open, the color the exact same as her human eyes, and she takes in the two standing before her, noting her clothing in Zhaneel's beak and Aara lightly unfurls her wings in gratitude, a deep humming emmiting from within her chest.
She would try to change again. She simply needed to relax for a moment.
Reply
Which he removed soon after when she tilted her head and began shifting. He backed away to give her some room, assuming she was going to change forms.
"Nice find," he said to Zhaneel when she returned, tossing her another smile.
He watched Aara, who was clearly putting a lot of effort and concentration into doing something, though he couldn't tell what.
"Maybe it's harder going back? I've only ever seen the person-to-dragon part," he muttered as an aside to Zhaneel.
When Aara opened her eyes, he asked, "Is there, uh. Anything I can do to help?"
Reply
The process seemed far more difficult than it had been for Aara to turn into a dragon and Zhaneel studies her for several moments, unblinking. She glances sidelong at Varric as he speaks, giving one nod of her beak in reply.
"I think, perhaps, that her initial panic aided in her speedy shifting from human to dragon. I do not doubt that instinct possibly had its own impact .."
Varric asks if there is anything he can do to help and Zhaneel waits expectantly. The magic of the Keep is far different from the magic of Valdemar, and as Aara was not from either it was more than likely that her own was different as well.
Reply
Leave a comment