Emberflame Ridge Clashing Dragons
41 Posts
Ooc — Nuru
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#1
All Welcome 
After making her way across a snow-dusted plain, Tohka turned southwest towards the mountains and entered a forest near the foot of those mountains. Through the treetops, she could still the dark, ominous storm-clouds that seemed to swirl around one of the taller mountain peaks to the west. She occasionally witnessed a blaze of lightning that arced between clouds or from the clouds to the ground. She felt that she was at a safe distance to admire the brilliant flashes of light that danced around the mountain, so she continued walking uphill among the trees.

The display of electricity reminded her of Taranau, the thunder dragon, the giant yellow lizard who was known to hide in the dark clouds and shoot bolts of lightning from her nostrils to smite the ground or water below. As she walked among the trees, uncharacteristically calm and quiet, she began to notice scorch marks on some of the trees, and she soon encountered a small patch of trees that had been charred, and she believed all of the damage to have been caused by lightning. Perhaps Taranau had been lashing out at some mischievous gremlins, or maybe she was just tormenting pixies. She could think of one other possibility, the one that scared her the most, and that was a scuffle between Taranau, the thunder dragon, and Taijo, the wood dragon. She did not wish to be caught between them. Her tail stiffened, and the fur along her back bristled slightly as she examined the charred remains of a tree.
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686 Posts
Ooc — remus
Away
#2

for the first time in a while he ventures from elysium's borders, though not far. after seeing mali and brilliance he'd needed to step away. he doesn't want to tell olive or lily or seabreeze -- not that he thinks they would be mad, but because he doesn't want their gentle concern right now, their reassurances that he'd done his best. bluntly, ariel had never done his best by his first litter, and though he is hopeful and willing to try again, he knows he must carry the burden of guilt; he never should have tried to be a father.

his attentions are stolen by the lightshow up ahead. ariel has never seen a lightning storm up close, but does not flee back to elysium yet, interested in the thin tendrils of smoke set up by some of the trees. he's not the only one interested it seems, as he is not the first to arrive at the scene of the charred bark. "anything on fire?" ariel calls as he draws close, noting the stiffness of her spine but assuming, incorrectly, it's from the threat of lightning-caused fire.
but we were worried that you'd fallen in the river, or worse
but then you sent us back a letter, it said in capital letters
"THE UNIVERSE IS GOING TO CATCH YOU"
[Image: 8jSCQgn.png]
41 Posts
Ooc — Nuru
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#3
Upon hearing the voice, Tohka started and jerked her head around to see the lean, dark wolf who unexpectedly spoke to her. It wasn’t that he scared her, as he didn’t seem threatening, but she had thought she was alone. She took a brief second to regain her composure and answered, “Naw, just a bit of smoldering bark is all.” There had been enough rain and snow lately and the woods were pretty green, so Tohka doubted that there was any danger of fire, though more lightning strikes could be another story.

“I was just caught up in a little fantasy is all. Lightning can be dangerous, but at the same time, it can be so pretty.” As she spoke, she turned to face the stranger with a friendly wag of her tail and asked, “Do you believe in dragons? I’ve never seen one myself, but who’s to say they’re not real?” She looked back at the charred tree, then turned again to the other and added, “I was just imagining a battle between a thunder dragon and a wood dragon. Of course my father never liked my daydreaming. He said idle fantasies don’t fill your belly or protect your home, but sometimes I just can’t help wondering about such things.” She looked expectantly at the other, half expecting him to echo her father’s reprimand.
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686 Posts
Ooc — remus
Away
#4

he smiles apologetically upon realising he has startled her, accepting her answer with a nod. daydreaming ariel is familiar with, though his are more of the gloomy, brooding variety -- he's not familiar with the concept of dragons"i don't think i've heard of them," ariel says, moving a step closer so that he can take a seat. he gives her a sympathetic nod. "sure, hence idle -- but i don't think there's anything wrong with a little fantasy from time to time."

it's more pleasant than he remembered to converse with a stranger. emboldened, he tilts his head and says, "why don't you tell me about dragons? i'm curious."
but we were worried that you'd fallen in the river, or worse
but then you sent us back a letter, it said in capital letters
"THE UNIVERSE IS GOING TO CATCH YOU"
[Image: 8jSCQgn.png]
41 Posts
Ooc — Nuru
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#5
Tohka was satisfied with the other’s comment about daydreaming, seeming to partly agree with her father, but still saying a little fantasy is fine. She was a bit surprised when he said he had never heard of dragons, but she was pleased that he showed interest in them and asked her to tell him about them. Although, she had never tried to explain them to someone who had no prior knowledge of them.

She slowly and deliberately sat down, mirroring the other’s pose, and buying a few seconds to get her thoughts in order before proceeding. Once seated, she began to speak. “My uncle’s been telling me about dragons since I was a pup. I guess they look something like the salamanders you might find under rocks near a river, but they’re not bite-sized. Instead, they’re huge- like, maybe the size of a really big elk, or perhaps even bigger, and some of them have have massive wings and can fly. They also use magic, and each one has its own element, like the fire dragon has fire magic, the ice dragon has ice magic, and so on. Of course I’ve never seen one so I’m not sure, but it’s what my uncle said, and he’s told me about ten different kinds, but they’re supposed to be very big and very powerful.”

She paused for a few seconds to take a breath, then continued. “Anyway, I was just thinking about two of those dragons just now. The thunder dragon is called Taranau, and her domain is the storm-clouds and she breathes lightning. The wood dragon is called Taijo, and his domain is the forests. The two are locked in combat, but neither one can defeat the other. Taijo is rooted to the ground, and the ground absorbs Taranau’s lightning, but he can’t reach Taranau because she is flying in the clouds and he can’t leave the ground to chase her. It’s a fight that’s so old that neither of them even remember why they fought in the first place, and the real danger is to the plants and animals that get caught in between them, like this tree here.” She gestured towards the tree that that was still smoldering from a recent lightning strike.

Tohka wanted to tell some kind of story about the dragons, but she had yet to come up with one. Everything she had just described was only background. She thought maybe the tree could be home to a fairy or something, but other than that, she hadn’t thought of much. “I was kinda trying to come up with a story, but I haven’t really thought of anything,” she finally admitted, looking down towards the other’s feet.