When Two Worlds Collide

[Leif & Corinth]

DATE & TIME : August 17th - Mid-day
WEATHER CONDITIONS : Cloudy- And a little windy
CHARACTERS INVOLVED : Leif & Corinth, Selene & Crystal
PREVIOUS THREADS ? None

Leif and Corinth trudged through the undergrowth, leaving it behind as trampled. The two were making their way to their favorite spot to relax; a small patch of short grass next to the river. The dragon wasn't more than a foot beside the boy, continuously watching his surroundings for sign of prey, or a possible attacker.

"Sky, there's no need to be jumpy. We're pretty much in the middle of nowhere, and the trees are too thick to allow larger dragons in here. So calm down already."

The dragon snorted in disbelief "There's always a chance to be attacked... you never know what could be lurking here...

He shivered and hid behind the boy. "Sky… You really need to get over this. There's nothing out here! And I'm pretty sure we'd hear it of an angry Nightmare came trudging through the forest!" Leif tried to explain.

Corinth huffed out a puff of air, and nudged the boy's side.
"Yeah yeah yeah… I love ya too. Now come on. I've got the perfect idea for another carving!" He made a rectangle with his fingers, as if he was trying to envision it.

Corinth rolled his eyes at his friend, and suddenly stiffened his muscles. When Leif realized the dragon wasn't beside him, he turned around to find him frozen to the spot. "Sky?"

The dragon inhaled deeply and smelt the air. "There's another dragon!" He sniffed again. "And a human!"

Leif smirked. "Well, let's see if we can talk them into a few carvings, huh?" He clapped and rubbed his hands together.

But his dragon whimpered at the statement. Leif groaned, "Sky, we've been over this. If we come across a deserter, we get to know them and then sell them carvings."

The dragon shook his head. "I-I can't! Y-you go. I-I can stay by the river." The boy sighed and ran his long fingers through his hair. "Fine, but I'd better be able to find you after."

Corinth nodded and dashed for the river, leaving the boy behind him. But when he burst through the tree-line and onto the beach, he froze in his tracks. In front of him, was the dragon he'd smelt earlier.

"Oh no… not again…please." He remembered his past experience with the Nightmare, and crouched into a defensive position.

[Selene & Crystal]

Crystal stood still as she listened to the forest around her. She held her head high when she heard a squirrel not too far away, and then lowered it when she heard something scurrying in the bushes. She snapped her jaws a single time, and pounced when she was sure she wouldn't hit any trees.

There was a small squeak or surprise, but it was cut short by Crystal's jaws. "Nice job there girl." Selene came from behind the dragon, with her bow around her shoulder. "Think you can share?"

The dragon picked up the squirrel, and placed it in front of Selene. "Now, let's find a good place to start a fire for this." She held the small furry animal by the tail.

Crystal nodded, and walked by her side. Selene at least knew that the dragon needed to walk slowly because of her near-blindness. So the girl led the dragon by placing her hand on Crystal's shoulder.

When they finally came to a small patch of dirt by a river, Selene tossed aside her bow, and lied the squirrel next to it. Crystal bent down next to the flowing river, and took a few good gulps of water.

"Okay girl. You stay here while I go look for some firewood."
The dragon huffed out a breath of air as acknowledgment. The moment the girl disappeared into the brush, there was a snap of twigs in the other direction. Crystal stood upright, and tried to hear more.

Snap

Snap

Snap

By the time Crystal realized it was getting closer, it as too late. The other dragon was already in the same patch of dirt as her. She could smell it was a male, probably no older than herself. And even through her blurry vision, she could see he was the same species as her, along with the scars along his neck.

She tensed her muscles and growled to scare them away, even though she wasn't sure he'd run, seeing as the scars meant he'd been in a battle before.

However, the other dragon already seemed frightened of her and was already lowered into a defensive crouch. She used this as an advantage, and growled deeper, "Who are you!"

[Leif & Corinth]

Corinth managed to get a good look at the other dragon before he skittered back a few steps. She wasn't an average Ironbeak at all. Her white scales reflected less light than a normal Ironbeak's would be able to do. And her unusual red eyes glared at him.

Corinth also noticed the scar along the left side of her face, crossing her eye. By the looks of it, she couldn't see out of it.

Corinth stuttered, "L-look! I-I don't want t-to cause any t-trouble… m-my human told me t-to wait here! He curled his tail underneath his legs, and lowered himself as close to the ground as he could, hoping the aggressive dragon wouldn't harm him.

----------

Meanwhile, Leif was carelessly walking through the forest, searching for the human Corinth had smelt. "Hello! Is anybody out there!?" He yelled, not caring if he awakened every living thing around him.

He ran both his hands through his hair, when no one answered. "Probably just Sky being scared…" He muttered. Leif stuffed his hands into his vest, and made his way back to the river. It was only a few minutes later that he heard the growling.

At first, he thought it was just another trick of the ear, but as he neared the river, the sound grew. Leif's eyes widened and stared to sprint to the river. "Sky!" He yelled.

He was stopped in his tracks by he sight. Corinth was backed up against a tree, while another dragon was slowly inching closer with an aggressive snarl the boy determined as "Leave!" Leif ran between them, and spread his arms out. "Calm down! There's no need to be aggressive! This is our camp and we have no intention of leaving!"

[Selene & Crystal]

Crystal snorted at the male, and inched closer. When the other dragon mentioned that there was another human, she hissed. Another human?

And then she took a deep breath, smelling the human he was speaking of. It was a male, and probably not too far away either.

"You're going to leave! Now! Before your human comes to find you!"

He had backed into a tree, unable to escape. He whimpered further, and curled his tail underneath him.

And just when she was thinking about letting him go, the sound of footsteps set her on edge. Her muscles tensed, and her jaws snapped.

The human boy froze right before bursting into the clearing. He wasn't too much of a threat, seeing as he didn't have too much muscle on him, but the glint of silver on his belt, made Crystal rear back to stand taller than him.

The boy ran between the dragons, and held his arms out. Crystal took a step back, to prevent the boy from possibly attacking her. When the boy spoke in response telling them to leave, she snorted in disbelief.
A human understanding dragonesse?She thought.

Crystal's curiosity got the better of her, even though she knew the possible consequences. She snapped her jaws, making the boy and other dragon flinch slightly.

She released the tension in her muscles, and took a few hesitant steps towards the boy. She sniffed his vest and hands, to see if there were any other weapons on him besides the dagger on his belt. "You understand me… how?"

Selene hadn't been able to hear the noise because of her one deaf ear, so she was returning from collecting the firewood, unaware of what was going on, and unaware of the danger.

[Leif & Corinth]

Leif saw the dragon's cautiousness, and removed his carving knife from his belt. At first, she growled the moment he touched the handle, but then relaxed when he had thrown it away.

"I can speak Dragoneese." He told her. Corinth inched closer to Leif's side, trying to stay as close to the ground as he could. "And we have no intentions of harming you."

It was then that Leif began examining the dragon. She was clearly an albino Ironbeak, but it surprised him that she was a full-grown adult. Corinth had told him that his breed depended on their iridescent scales to keep them warm and fight off predators. But if that were the case, this dragon has absolutely no defense.

"We'll leave as soon as I have a word with your rider."

Corinth whimpered and pushed his snout into one of my palms. I gently pushed him away and waited for the dragon to respond.

[Selene & Crystal]

Crystal snorted and growled further until his dagger was away from his body. Now that she knew there was less of a threat from him, she relaxed her muscles, but kept a wary eye on the other male dragon.

His scent gave away that he was cowering away in fear, but this didn't soothe Crystal. She knew from experience that a cornered dragon could be more likely to attack than any other.

She tilted her head to the left, just as a Nadder would, to see more clearly. As she lowered herself further to get a closer look at the two, she saw the male push its nose into the boy's hand.

Upon seeing the dragon clearly and utterly dependent on the boy for protection, she realized he wasn't a threat.

Crystal shifted closer at the mention of a 'rider'. "Rider?" She'd never heard the term before. Perhaps he meant friend... or mate? She thought.

But the boy had no time to respond, seeing as Selene walked into the small clearing with a bundle of wood in her arms. Crystal immediately stood between the girl and the newcomers, holding a defensive stance while doing so.