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]

[ CLOSE ENOUGH alright, and Ven's right on Vanitas' heels after his beeline, coming up at his side and watching the other with clear worry. He'll chirr several times, both a comforting sound and a fretful one as he noses the other's shoulder and neck area. ]

Better?

[showmeanguish]

Yeah, some.

[He raises a paw and wipes it over his head again, further rubbing at his snout and eye ridges before he rinses again.

Then, he blinks and focuses on the smaller dragon, image still a bit blurry but much better than before as he bumps heads.]

Thanks.

[didneyworl]

...You mean it?? [ Ven perks up almost instantly, earstalks lifted and his own eyes bright for a moment as he takes as much she can get out of the bump. Those are even rarer than praise. ]

[showmeanguish]

Well, you didn't do bad.

[Meaning, he's proud of you, brat. |3] But don't let it go to your head.

[didneyworl]

I won't. [ but he's going to grin anyway (as much as a dragon can anyway) and chuff proudly. Totally defended mom, he's awesome c: and now that they're close to water, he'll lean his neck a bit so he can lap at the gashes on Vanitas' front legs]

[showmeanguish]

[Which earn him another small rumble, but Vanitas doesn't move away this time. The gashes are still oozing blood, but they're beginning to close and the water helps clean them.

He rubs at his face once more, dipping it into the water to make sure it's thoroughly cleaned before he turns and splashes his way through the shallows. Even though he's just now cleaned himself, he's eager to return to the site of the battle and see what the horses have on them.]

[didneyworl]

[ And Ven will toddle right along beside him, sticking a bit closer than normal after all that. Just in case B((( ]

...Why do you think they came out here? [ The humans, that is. It's been ten years since his last glimpse of one. ]

[showmeanguish]

[Ffff are you his protector now?? Vanitas notices, and almost almost thinks it's cute. But at his question, his voice turns a bit more serious.]

Who knows? Maybe they came here to hunt, or stole something and were looking for a good place to stash it. Humans do all sorts of stupid things.

[didneyworl]

[ SHH he is the littlest guardian okay ;^; mom got hurt now he is going to do the protecting thing and stick close like a dutiful goldscale. ]

Why did they attack?? We didn't take anything of theirs.

[showmeanguish]

They saw me before I saw them. They tend to attack first and ask questions later when dealing with us.

[didneyworl]

But why...? We didn't attack them first.

[showmeanguish]

[Vanitas snorts again at the question, and pauses to put a paw on the other dragon's neck, just behind his head. In an almost-imitation of a pat.]

Your sense of fairness is sorta cute, but listen. Neither side exactly plays fair. If I'd seen them first, I would've attacked too.

[didneyworl]

[ It receives a small chirrup from the smaller dragon, ears bending back and eyes closing with the gesture until he can lift his head again curiously. ]

How come? They don't smell tasty to me...and you squished them. [ So it doesn't seem like a territory thing to him. ]

[showmeanguish]

It's just the way things are.

[He lets his paw slide back to the ground, ruffling his wings a bit as he continues retracing their steps.] Humans fear most of us, and we know that. I guess you could call it a rivalry.

[didneyworl]

Huh...that's weird. [ But not a weird enough thing that he feels the need to interject or argue too much. If it's a rivalry that sounds familiar enough since dragons did tend to have those. But he doesn't think he has any reason to fight a human...not unless they make the dumb mistake of going after mom anyway 8T ]

Do you think they brought anything good?

[showmeanguish]

Dunno, but we'll find out.

[And speaking of, they're almost there! Only a couple more minutes of trudging through the undergrowth, before they happen upon the clearing again. The horses are still there, and have since calmed from all the excitement.

But they're more alert, and when they see the dragons approaching, they instantly begin pawing their hooves at the ground and snorting nervously.]

[didneyworl]

[ They definitely smell like prey, but for the moment Ven's less interested in that and more interested in finding things so he sends a searching glance Vanitas' way since he gets first pick and all, but he's obviously keen to start rummaging around through their belongings. Maybe they'll have something tasty C8 ]

[showmeanguish]

[Vanitas isn't too hungry, but he knows it's an easy kill and will feed them later. So he's less cautious this time as he just charges forward.

A few well-placed blows, and both horses won't be getting up anytime soon. Afterwards, he glances at Ven and cocks his head a bit, taking in the other dragon's eagerness. He moves to the side, plucking at the packs and fastenings on one mount while he leaves the other for the smaller to explore.]

[didneyworl]

[ Spoils, most excellent. A quick scratch to his side with one foot and Ven's hurrying to catch up.

He'll lick the smaller pack a few times just because it smells good with all that dead horse and blood on it. Once he gets down to it though the pack gets a few good sniffs before he starts to bat and claw at it, trying to figure out a way to see what's inside. Mostly he winds up dragging and batting it around until he just decides to take a bite and tug, ripping the thing right in half and sending supplies spilling out onto the dirt. ]

[showmeanguish]

[....GOLD STAR. Though no, it's effective enough and Vanitas isn't complaining. He also hasn't had any experience with this sort of thing, and after he bites through the straps connecting the packs around the horse's body, he tugs the whole thing free and rips it open as well.

There's not a lot that's interesting in the first side--mainly just tools and papers that he can't read. But on the other, his teeth rip into a pocket...

And immediately releases a small explosion of gold coins that come spilling out.]

[didneyworl]

[ Ven hears the soft clink they make when they fall to the ground before he see the gold glints, but when he turns from his own 'winnings'--bottles of some kind, not nearly as interesting as gold--he perks up and flaps his wings a little. ]

--Scales? [ :D JUST LIKE HIS he tried ]

[showmeanguish]

No, even better than that.

[Vanitas' whole demeanor seems to change upon the discovery. His tail flicks a little more excitedly, eyes lighting up as he scoops the spoils out of the dirt and cradles them in a paw.]

Treasure.

[didneyworl]

Treasure... [ He'll creep a little closer, curious, but not get overly-invasive or anything like that. At worst he'll just be a snoop and crane his neck around like a bother, but he'll shrink back pretty quick if rebuffed. ]

Like what's in the den?

[showmeanguish]

Exactly.

[But way more valuable than what he'd been able to collect on his own. A few shiny baubles and stones were one thing, but this was real gold, and his species was drawn to it like a moth to flame. As a tiny hatchling he'd played around in his broodmother's treasure hoard... easily fifty times the size of his own... even though the memory was faded the feel of the coins in his palm triggered a happy and content response.] This is really great.

[didneyworl]

.... [ Ven cants his head a little--the gold shimmer's pretty, but it doesn't hold the same fascination and wonder for him. He's already gold and shiny and it'd be pointless for goldscales to attract themselves to one another instead of diversifying. Baubles are much less their thing than other types of dragons, but if they make Vanitas happy...

He'll turn quickly back to his own pack and begin pawing at it again, trying to see if he can find any of the gold coins as well. Mostly it's just the bottles though, and although they clink pleasantly when they collide with one another there's nothing as fantastic about them as Vanitas' coins.

So Ven does the next best thing to make use of them and grabs one between his front paws and sits down on his belly to gnaw at the end of one with his teeth, gumming and licking at it as he watches the blackscale. ]

I don't think I got any.