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

[dark_to_dawn]

[Good job on waiting; he might have got water thrown in his face if he made that sound within earshot.

Riku's waiting for him beneath the surface, nigh-hovering in the water. But once Ven's down there, he spreads his wings and gives a push to get himself moving. Pay attention there Ven: wing use, but only because he'd be still in mid water. None of that awkward un-dragon-like crawling through the lagoon.

Then it's back to the tucked legs and serpentine motions. Body and tail. The head directed. {This is gonna cost you big time, making him teach you like this. Ugh.)]

[didneyworl]

[ He will pay you back senpai he promises!! Just give him a few hours and a dozen tries to get down basic wiggling through water down. He might not get great at it and he'll never catch a fish, but he's at least able to tadpole through the water at about half Riku's speed :> accomplishment! ]

[dark_to_dawn]

[Oh no. If he's gonna be staying here with him, he's going to learn to catch fish. Because there's times when the forest simply isn't the best place to go get food; put it that way.

Riku drifts past the other again, keeping himself in sight so Ven can pick up more tips and practice the motions. And this time, he's going to make sure to stay a little "above" him so that Ven can't just race back to the surface when he starts feeling the burn in his lungs. Sorry, little bit of tough love hard training.

But he's already noticing improvements... go you, goldie.]

[didneyworl]

[ He works hard! And only panics the first couple of times Riku tries to keep him under, bleating pleadingly as he struggles and flails.

But he gets the hint soon enough and by the end of the day he can wiggle around fairly alright through the water. He's just completely and totally bushed by the end of it. Congratulations Riku, you officially tuckered Ven out. He doesn't have any reserves left for this by the time he drags himself up onto the shore, flopping onto his side and rolling over on his back with a tired whine. ]

[dark_to_dawn]

[He certainly doesn't drown him. If Ven needs to go to the surface desperately, he lets him go. But there'd be no paddling back to the shore for a break. Take your breath and come back down here.

Training's not easy, whelp, but if you wanna live here...

He works him through the day, aiming at getting his motions in the water down enough he can make semblances of motions through the water and hold his breath longer than when he started. But as the small goldscale pulls himself from the water, he knows he's done well.

Which is why he'll do something nice for him. That tail=fish trick from before? Yeah. Right up on the shore. Silver scales brush by and a load of fish falls to the ground near Ven's head.

Congratulations as well, whelp. You earned it. Now, if you could stop lying there on your back whining like a cute little puppy, that'd be nice.]

[didneyworl]

[ Oh goodness, that he definitely didn't expect. He was pooped and weary, already thinking of how he'd find something to fill his aching belly...when Riku goes and solves the problem for him. Ven actually stops whining and lifts his head in surprise, tail thumping against the ground once with high hopes as he looks quickly to the older drake. ]

--For me??

apologies all around for taking so long to get back T.T

[dark_to_dawn]

[Whining stops. That's good. He merely casks a glance over his shoulder (and down) as he passes the grounded goldscale. That thumping tail is compliment enough and the curious look merely earns a dismissive snort.]

Yes.

[Honestly, you think he just throws fish up on the shore for no reason? Now be good and eat it. And no, he's not giving you any of his if you don't. Might wanna hurry too. Cause one's making a flopping break back towards the water. Stubborn fish.]

it's okay<333

[didneyworl]

Thanks! [ Ven perks up right away. Energy or no he practically scrambles onto his feet to chase after the floppy thing, earstalks held high and an excited chirp in the back of his throat when he finally catches the darn thing.

He's quick to waddle back further on shore and plop down on his belly to eat, holding it between his paws as he gnaws and chews on it. ]

<3

[dark_to_dawn]

You worked for it. [Perhaps that's a compliment disguised as a statement? Regardless, Ven's definitely done some good work today so Riku'll give him a small reward for his efforts. Don't expect it to happen frequently.

Though consider him slightly amused when Ven finds the energy to go chasing after the fleeing fish. To go from floored and panting to running and pouncing... Riku shakes his head slightly and climbs up on his stone again, curling around the obsidian and regarding Ven with transparent interest.]

We'll be doing more of this tomorrow.

[didneyworl]

More swimming...? [ He can't help not sounding terribly enthusiastic about that, but he's still crooning through his words even as he eats. The fish has got him too happy for him now to do that. ]

[dark_to_dawn]

You didn't think you improved that much today, did you? [Nope, sorry Ven, but there's a lot more. Sure, you can wiggle through the water now, but he's not going to call that "swimming" until you can make some decent turns.

Yes, he's going to make you a right water dragon, you aerial dragon.]

[didneyworl]

I can move through it a lot better than before...

[ Yeah, thanks for that one mom. YOU SHOULD BE NURTURING HIS FLYING SKILLS, that's what goldscales are best at; it was practically a requirement when their kind tended to search as high, low, far and wide as they needed to in search of draconic companionship. ]

[dark_to_dawn]

[He crosses one paw over the other, claws lazily clicking against the stone beneath him as he curls his tail around the base in a sweep of silver.]

Zero to two is a big improvement, but it's a long way from ten.

[Oh don't worry, runt. He knows you're good enough at flying. After all, you didn't crash into his territory. But we'll get to flying once you're better at swimming. Because he's not fishing you out of the water if you flop into one of the many lakes around his territory, thanks very much.]

[didneyworl]

[ You're just biased again air dragons )8 ]

If I get to ten can we do something else? [ He's not made for all this cold water stuff and being wet all the time mom! He wants to sun on a rock and chew on trees. ]

[dark_to_dawn]

[You see these wings, whelp? -_- Can it.]

Oh we'll do something else long before you reach that. [Don't say "all the time" when it's only a few hours in the lake. And nothing's stopping you from sunning right now, tree-biter.]

[didneyworl]

Like what? [ Hush okay if you have wings you should fly around instead of swim around! And he is eating okay sunning can come after his belly is fully. ]

[dark_to_dawn]

[And if you have legs and a tail, you shouldn't not know how to swim either. Air, land, water. Better know how to move in all three.] You're learning to fish; I'm not feeding you the rest of your life.

[didneyworl]

You mean the neat tail thing you can do??

[dark_to_dawn]

[He saw that one coming.] I doubt you've the patience for it. We'll see once your swimming improves.

[didneyworl]

Aww.... [ But mooooooom. ]

[dark_to_dawn]

Hey. [Don't "awww" him. He's teaching you to live down here, goldscale.] You'll never get a fish in your mouth at your level.

[didneyworl]

[ D: can't he teach you to live up on the mountains?? They are very picturesque this time of year! ]

I'm still learning! [ A little bark. ]

[dark_to_dawn]

[Oi, he's been to the mountains. Just prefers the woodlands, thanks very much. Far more game.]

I know that. [Consider the slight raise of his sail and cant of his head as an example of his amusement at that bark.] We'll go flying tomorrow.

[didneyworl]

[ His bark was totally manly alright, hush. And it's not at all childish the way he lifts his head hopefully and bats his tail against the ground. ]

Really?? Can we go up high??

[dark_to_dawn]

[Right... totally manly. He's quivering at your testosterone, whelp. That wagging tail isn't helping your case either, Ven.] Yeah. Probably not into your domain though. [He's not a mountain dragon, and that's by choice.]