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David flew down in front of the mountain he turned human and caught Lidia as she fell. "we're here"

When near, it was evident the dragon was not in the best health or youth. Missing scales bore faded pinkwhite skin beneath. Others, like his nails, bore chips and cracks. Scales attempted to regrew, but more often ingrew. His teeth were strewn about awkwardly--missing, dented, or grown wrong. A once long neck had shortened and thickened to support the head. "*fekiikiri*, rekisixi! Si *Ra'alish zen'to* ar'darastrix hesjing! Svabol qe *wux*?!" hopefully someone spoke a lick of draconic, or he'd have to repeat in more difficult manner. The voice resounded. Tree leaves blew wildly, well before proper fall, and a poorly digesting stomach was detectable through the breath--but, somewhere past the grit and gravel there was a sound of energy. If they understood the gutteral *explosion* of inflection as more than potential threat, that is.

er, *regrow (sorry, can't edit.)

Lidia yelped as she fell the last few feet into David's arms, and then quickly tried to right herself. "Ah, um, thank you, David." She tried to ignore the burning flush that crept across her face.

She did so by distracting herself with this much older, much bigger dragon's appearance. He did not look good--well, assuming it was a he. And then there was the smell. And the sound.

It had spoken, or something. And Lidia couldn't quite help but take a half a step behind David because...well, he was a dragon and she was an all too likely morsel for either one of them. And if she was going to be stepped on, or eaten, she would prefer to have at least met the dragon first. Not that she wanted to be eaten--and she caught her wandering mind here long enough to stammer out:

"W-w-what did it just say?" Her hand fell to the whip at her side and she wished suddenly that she had something a little more...awe-striking than just a coil woven leather.

"I have no idea. I don't speek dragon"

He missed, with aged earholes, the words of the woman. The second one--the apparent dragon--was heard only due to him entirely lowering his head to the ground, ear low and eye right towards them. He chuffed, considering. Rather than opening his maw, a voice resounded; typically it merely reached the mind of a target, but his bounced even from the trees, audible; it was the chiming voice of a surprisingly young man. One old in body is not always old in mind or heart. ~Ah-hah. I thought so. You're dragon kin in guise only, aren't you?~ somehow the lips of the beast tugged back into an awkward smile, revealing cracked molars. ~I said 'greetings, creatures. I am Zento of the sapphire dragons, of the Ra'Alish. Who be you? I came to find dragons but there is a surprising lack! It was called a Dragon land. The name should be changed.~ Well, he was surprisingly pleasant. A mild quake came from his tail tip thumping against the ground like a wag.

"I'm David a half Dova. My kind does not know dragon language but only the human toungue"

Lidia nearly fell over as the dragon's tail thump made the ground move. But she clung to David just a smidge longer before daring to step out from behind him.

Slowly she was trying to master her slighly bewildered expression from before. "Zento?" She raised her voice so it wouldn't come across as a squeak. "I am Lidia." She frowned. "I have not heard of Ra'Alish." She stumbled over the unknown name. "Are there more dragons where you are from?"

If her hand was clamped over her whip, it was only because she needed something to steady her. She doubted the whip would do more than actually startle the giant dragon.

The half dragon commentary drew another foul snort. Still, the massive brows shifted as if to soften. ~I find myself jealous. My wife has proven unable to birth my children... Or perhaps it is I, incapable. Our blessed ones were lost.~ the woman drew a flit of the eye in her direction, with the pupil poorly focusing in and out. ~Not as many as before. It is why I venture as a delegate. While my people stand second strongest in their numbers, there are less than two score. The winds have fled, and the earth sleeps... and fire has all but burned itself out.~ he sighed, pulling back to rise. A powerful glow lit the figure in white, a beacon for miles. The jettisoning rays were cold, shedding flakes of snow in a sudden blizzard which coated the.. freshly fallen trees. The idea of a dragon became more vague. It shrunk, and somewhere within the storm emerged a figure; first haggard and old, with robes of the clergy obscured in light and snow--great beard and oddly shaped nose cast in shadows and light. (c)--

--as the light faded, a new effect entered--a shimmer of water, distorting the human avatar through illusion, and casting the short figure as quite young, sixteen at most, with unnatural blue hair shining into a bowl cut over silver balding. The wardrobe was an odd split of blue and white, almost jesterical in spite of priestly mantle. The eyes that stared ahead were broken blue, faded and greying. ...he sat in the center of the crater he had left, walking forward and tossing his hair over his shoulder. "That should make this easier. It's hard to hear you from up there." the skin had veins of cracklines, hinting still of the deception of his skin hiding something beneath. There was still a limp to his walk, minimized by a cragged silver staff with pointed tip, spirals housing bubble-shaped sapphires.

She let out a whistle when she heard how many were left. Forty dragons? That was hardly enough to salvage a population.

And just as she was getting used to the dragon--well, as used to one that's the size of a tree--Lidia found herself looking at the human avatar of the dragon. She held her ground, unsure whether the 'skin' of the projection would hold together, though she was in no way anxious to reach out and touch it.

"Zento? Less than two score? Can you-? Is there anyway to call the other dragons together? Surely if you gather everyone you can still save your population."

She looked at David. "There is a way, right? You're half dragon. Surely you can help?"

"there is a way to call dragons. Unfortunately I can't call them. I'm not full dragon. Zenthos might. If he knows their names. He calls them min his dragon language. They might take it as a challenge though"

"Ah, hah..." his laugh wasn't quite as spry as it used to be. The short figure... Only got shorter, due to the sinkhole trying to pull on him from his weight. That hadn't magically disappeared. "I think we will be just fine. Few of my ken are rogues. Half of the population of sapphires, like myself, live together. The others stay in the dragon valley, which still is full of diamonds. The wind hid itself away long ago, and the goddess there protects them--and they, her. ..." he paused, finger up, then curling. His lips pursed and eyes fell, as if forgetting his point. Oh, right. "I would say Ami looks far better than Inmi of the rubies. But water and fire mix poorly, and their burning pride prevents us from often coexisting. Poor lads, something like six left in their capitol--with their elder lost to his mind, and his heir dead young. Though... I too lost my gifted ones. It seems like the time of the Ancients is at its end. I suppose that's fair. It's more pointless bragging than anything. The problem (c)

--find is the sparseness of females for pure blood of any creed. We will weaken, but live on, likely in the wind. The dragon slayer was cruel and intelligent, hunting women and children when old wyrms were too stubborn or lazy to battle him. His son was no better, and took my twins away. And so..." he coughed, and that threw it off altogether. "Uh... And, so... I forage for such servants of the gods in nearby worlds. Uh... Ah, hah... I'm not sure where I was going with this. Where did we start from?" well, he was spry enough for a 5,000 year old man... Foggy memory was hopefully forgiveable. "Ah! Right. Only the sapphires would listen to my call, and many are together. I am their elder and their elder only. I know not the elder of the emeralds, who sleep in the earth; I fear he may have retired to the great sleep; the Krin has lost his mind and will not work with us, and Byakko will take better care of her people than I could." ...windbag.

Lidia had to almost pinch herself to stay awake; surely he had to be a dragon--longwinded as he was in speaking. And there was the mannerism of speaking as well.

"How old are you? And do you know who this dragon slayer was?" A bit of anger colored her tone at the dragon slayer. She knew all too well of the knights who boasted of their skill. Whether it was skill at all or dumb luck, she rather wished their luck would run out.

David looked at Zentus " I could help you if you want. I may not be a full dragon but I can help"

...shorter. The hole had sunk to half a foot, and his five foot two made it quite ridiculous. He pegged his staff into the dirt and tried to pull up, but it tumbled. Ngh. At least it made more of a slant to pull himself up on. "You're bold, aren't you?" he tried to spring up with merriment but... cracked. and not just any crack. Like a dragon compressed into human form still having its back crack, echo and all. His eyes widened, response muted somehow as he put a hand on his back. His eyes twitched, and a smile still tried, weakly, to claim his face. "...I stopped counting at five thousand." he admitted, trying to supress the sound of pain, which squeeked out oddly. Still, he became... Muted, dull and blind eyes lowering. "The dragon slayer is a very long story. His origins overflow the boundaries of time. I could speak for a week and never rightfully tell the tale. He was a demon, and yet a dragon, and yet none of the above." Still, the male caused his eyes to lift, even if they didn't focus on him. It (c)

--was clear how shallow the young ruse was. "If you wish. It is a long road to travel worlds, and longer still the search for the scattered dragons. What is it you offer help with?"

"anything you might have me do"

(sorry to tell you this here but I'm leaving for ten days. I'll try and RP if I can)