Some kind of dragon au

[occulthymns]

[Before you lies a picturesque kingdom of forests and fields and farmlands. Mountains rise up in the distance, and set at the edge of a massive lake is an elegant castle with tall spires. It looks out over the land - forests surrounding the lake, a small but pleasant medieval town pushed up against the castle walls, farmer's fields further out.

The land itself is fertile and full of wild game, unsual plants, and natural wonders like crystalline caverns and waterfalls. Rivers of all sizes wind their way down from the mountains, which alternate between covered in fir trees and bare, jagged rock with mazes of caves hidden within.

Dragon AU go!]

Comments

[didneyworl]

[ HE'S HAPPY WITH THE SCRAPS BECAUSE HE'S A MAN. And just just because he's hungry and happy to have something else to eat. The fact that Vanitas is sharing with him at all is a big thing from what he can understand, so he actually waits patiently (albeit restlessly) until the leftovers are tossed his way and he can dig into them.

Which is good because he probably couldn't have eaten much more, given his size and everything. Ven'll wind up licking his maw happily and fussing over his paws. ]

You're really great at hunting!

[showmeanguish]

[Vanitas takes a few moments afterward to groom himself as well, thoroughly licking his paws clean before he stands and stretches.]

Well I am still here, aren't I?

[didneyworl]

How long have you lived here??

[showmeanguish]

Around twenty years. Give or take a few.

[didneyworl]

Wow...that's a long time! [ Comparatively. It's about a third of the time he's been alive so it seems like a lot to him. ]

[showmeanguish]

Is it?

[Which yup, tells him just exactly how young Ven is. Not that he's that much older, since he left his nest (or more accurately he and his siblings were abandoned) just after their fiftieth year.]

It hasn't felt that long.

[didneyworl]

Well I think it's a long time. I haven't been alone that long. [ Obviously, considering how young he is. But that's not the point he's trying to make as he stretches his limbs out in front of him until they slide out from under him and he winds up comfortably sprawled on his belly. ]

Does it get lonely?

[showmeanguish]

[Vanitas watches him, snorting softly at his careless pose. It's odd to him how quickly the gold fell into a familiar and unguarded air with him--he didn't think he'd been that welcoming.

Though he had given him food, and let him sleep in his den. Hnn.]

It's challenging. But I don't mind being alone--less competition.

[didneyworl]

[ And you played with him, don't forget that C8

Ven's hind quarters wiggle as his tail darts from side to side. ]

If I don't compete, can I stay??

[showmeanguish]

[What is all that wiggling even. Why do you have so much energy?

But that question prompts a short, growling little laugh from him.] And freeload instead?

[didneyworl]

[ Because he is tiny and energy-efficient okay, STREAMLINED FOR BUSY BUSY. He's also young and just GO GO GOES...until he tires himself out. ]

I'll catch stuff too! And I won't wander off or anything.

[showmeanguish]

Or get mixed up with humans again?

[didneyworl]

[ Of course he brings that up, wheeze. Ven drops his chin to the ground and squeaks, unhappy. ]

No more humans again--ever.

[showmeanguish]

Good, because next time I'm not bailing you out.

[And he means it... sort of. He probably wouldn't just let the other get killed if he could help it. But only if there was a good reason for saving him.]

[didneyworl]

[ Hey man, one ten-year timeskip and you will have plenty of reasons to keep him around alright. ]

I'll be good... [ Mostly. Probably. At the very least he's not interested in getting any nearer to them than he is now, and that'll hold for a while. He can still see the remnants of his scratches to the other's forearms and it makes him deflate a little. ]

[showmeanguish]

[alfjlkj yes, many many reasons.

But in response, Vanitas eyes him a moment longer before he nods.]

And when you're old enough to survive on your own, I'm kicking you out.

[FAMOUS LAST WORDS.]

[didneyworl]

[ HAHAHA YUP....YUP.

But wow his little dragon day was just made if the expression on his face is anything to go by; he looks thrilled. ]

Okay! I won't be a bother at all, promise! [ Probably. Maybe. JUST PUT UP WITH HIM FOR A LITTLE LONGER VANITAS it'll be so worth it. ]

let me know if this timeskip's okay o7

[showmeanguish]

[IT HAD BETTER. Because hunting for two is a lot of work, especially as they both continue to grow. In another couple years, the rest of Vanitas' adult scales come in, and his hide goes from a duller black to a shiny, iridescent obsidian.

The two horns that curve away from the back of his skull lengthen, too, curling upwards until they resemble an antelope's. His muscles too become more pronounced as he goes from a relatively slender frame to something more robust and powerful.

And their shared den grows a bit, too. Vanitas allows the smaller dragon to build his own nest inside, in an adjacent limb of the natural cavern. In colder seasons though, it becomes routine to wake up with the goldscale half-curled against his side with his head resting against his back. At first it's annoying, but as it goes on Vanitas just accepts that the shared warmth isn't that bad on his end, either.]

rude hdu decide how much cuddling ven gives grumpybutt!!

[didneyworl]

[ Ven's good at worming his way into tiny heart-niches like that. Even outright rejection from Vanitas doesn't necessarily deter him for long; the harshest scolds and snarls only have him in retreat for a couple hours at most before the goldscale's back. But as he grows the number of times he manages to inadvertently get on the blackscale's nerves decreases.

He gets better at reading the other's moods and being less of a bother in general. He's still terribly energetic and a bundle of energy on the calmest of days, but he minds how much he pesters the older dragon with it and learns quickly to give the other space when he needs it. Adapting to fit Vanitas' moods and routine are probably where he tries to make the biggest improvements.

Because he isn't doing nearly as much as Vanitas is size-wise. He's still the runt of his clutch regardless of age, and while he he puts on some healthy weight and gains a bit of muscle it's abundantly clear he just isn't going to be a large hulking specimen. If anything he grows length-wise, gaining a bit of a sleeker form in place of his whelpish, rounded butter-ball self.

But he does get claws, not long but tough and sharp. He manages to go through several boulders every couple of years with them. Teeth too, once his adolescent ones start to come in. He's sure he chewed through practically ever log he could find when those came in. It was awful.

Having his big-boy scales come in is almost as bad because while they don't ache, they're itchy and Ven's had about enough of it. The process has only just started that season but he's already miserable, rubbing and brushing up against anything he can find to rid himself of the pup-scales so that his new ones can grow in. And those ones? Are definitely not the faded tin colour he'd been born with.

They're a bright, dazzling gold when the sun catches them right.

AND THE SUCK SO MUCH WHY IS IT SO ITCHY??? Ven practically whines (the sound more of a beastly bellow by this point) as he pushes his muzzle into the dirt and pushes it forward, dragging his face, neck, and shoulder across the ground in an attempt to alleviate some of the itch. ]

because I'M THE BOSS B)

[showmeanguish]

[He'd gone through the same thing with his scales, so when the smaller dragon begins to 'molt', he can sympathize to an extent.

...But when he sees the brilliantly rich gold of his emerging scales, Vanitas almost does a double-take the first time he lays eyes on them. Of course, he's seen golds from afar before, but never up close in such brilliant clarity, and well.

Gold is his favorite color. He's managed to amass a bit more treasure in his lair, and all of it has been shiny and of the yellower variety. But nothing nearly as shimmering as the other dragon's scales were when they caught the morning or afternoon sunlight. And for that reason, he'd suddenly turned extra attentive if not doting, catching Ven extra food and not minding the least when he paws and crawls on him when they're settling down for sleep.

And at the moment? He's simply watching the other with idle curiosity, paws flexing into the dirt and grass to rake his claws into shallow furrows. Because all he wants to do is reach out and touch that hint of gold peeking through the other's hide.]

Still itching?

talk to corporate like a boss approve memos

[didneyworl]

Yes! [ He whines again, coming to a halt as he turns his head almost completely upside-down on the ground to grind his head against it. It's short-lived because not a moment later he's just rolling onto his side and back to wriggle and scratch against it for several restless moments.

When he's back on his feet again he's left behind even more of his duller, murkier older scales in favour of brighter ones. It's still patchy at best. If anything he looks like a clump of gold that's still mostly covered in dirt.

A sad lump, because he's going to be shaking himself out before trying to rub his face into the ground again with a miserable groan. ]

This is the worst... How did you survive??

[showmeanguish]

It wasn't easy.

[Honestly, he'd almost been driven mad from the discomfort, but it'd only lasted a few weeks. A few weeks of torture, but at least it had finally ended, and he'd come out more handsome because of it.

Or at least, by his standards.]

You might try rubbing up against some trees. Works better, from what I remember.

[didneyworl]

It does?? [ Finally, some hope. Ven's head lifts and perks up with renewed vigour despite the dirt falls off of it from his latest coping method, right before he turns quickly to the treeline nearby. Honestly he couldn't look more excited to try Vanitas' suggestion as he all but bounds over and sniffs around for what seems like the sturdiest, widest tree he can find.

Really he doesn't spend too much time looking before he just picks one that looks like it has exceptionally thick bark and brushes up against it not unlike a feline would.

Older scales scatter to the ground like flakes. ]

[showmeanguish]

[Yes, good, make yourself prettier 8>

Vanitas takes his time in following, letting the slight wind ruffle his wings as he stretches. It's a nice day out--the chilled morning dew already burning off in the warmer sun. Big puffy clouds dot the sky, slowly making their way east in the higher air currents.

And when he finally catches up with the smaller dragon, he takes a moment to sharpen his claws on another tree, and using it at the same time to mark his territory.]

Better?

[didneyworl]

[ He's working on it!! The sooner his pup-scales are gone, the better. Ven's practically bent in half to rub up against the tree as he is, chirring and grunting happily as it rakes more of the old scale off and alleviates some of the impossible itch. ]

Uh-huh! Way better... [ A wheeze of relief, and he slides his back up against it until he can roll fully onto his side and lie down for a moment, tail thumping lightly against the ground. ] How long does this take??