Forums » Fantasy Roleplay » The Lost Library (1x1)

After a long day of searching the forest floor for rare plants, Ixen took refuge in a deep cave to hide from the storm outside. As he sat by the glowing pile of wood he set about cataloging his finding, pressing them into the book or sketching them. He, unlike many of his kind, was not content with the little knowledge they had and wanted to bring what he could learn to his people, and show them why they should be seeking knowledge too.

Ixen sniffed the air, the aroma of cooking rabbit filling the cave, and realized just how much of an apatite he had worked up scouring the forest so far from home. Both light and aroma were hidden from outside of the cave because of the foliage that laid outside of it almost concealed the entrance. Although he knew he was safe here, he couldn't help but feel that something was wrong. He barely heard some sort of noises over the rain, but then thunder drowned it out. He stood, watching the entrance.

Jonquil stumbled through the woods, blindly pushing aside hanging foliage and tripping often over exposed, mud-slicked roots. She daren't glance over her shoulder, but she could hear the men on horses chasing her. Her body ached down to her bones, and the freezing rain wasn't helping, either. She wiped her soaked hair quickly out of her face, trying not to add to the scrapes and bruises that already covered her body.

A flash of lightning briefly lit up the area, allowing Jonquil--for just a moment--to see the rainy, dreary forest around her. She spotted lichen draping over some rocks, shifting slightly in the rain-induced wind. Perhaps an opening? She had to go for it. After tripping for the umpteenth time, the woman scrambled to her feet and used the rest of her remaining energy to head to the possible cave. If it was only a rock, she would be running head-first into stone, and most likely kill herself. If it was a cave, she may be able to hide until the men passed, or left entirely. Jonquil made a small sound of worry in her throat, but gathered her muddy, dirty dress skirt into her arms (what a day she had chosen to wear a dress!) and plunged through the trees, forcing herself not to hesitate. For a moment, she imagined herself hitting a wall, and the shock of pain coursing through her. But instead, she stumbled into an open cave, staggering slightly on the transition from muddy earth to hard stone beneath her feet. She immediately pressed herself against a wall, panting, peering out into the darkness from behind the foliage covering the entrance, trying to make out her pursuers. She didn't even notice the scent of hare or the light from the fire.

Ixen took a step back when a figure came rushing into the cave, hovering by the wall. The fire's light illuminated its features, portraying the human female with shadows dancing around her. He let out a small growl of hatred, remembering his last encounter with humans. He pulled out his hunting dagger from where it hung on his side the moment he recognized the race. "What do you want?" He demanded. His tail drifted back and forth, wings folded against his back. At six feet, he was taller than alot of humans, but similar in size to any taller people in their species.

Jonquil jerked around. She froze, staring wide-eyed at the creature before her. It... it couldn't be... A dragon...? She began to shake slightly, but she steadied herself against the wall. The combination of fear and fatigue had caused her mind to just go blank.

"I-I-" she stuttered, trying to form the words that could get her out of the mess she had found herself in. Jonquil quickly wiped her cheek (she felt mud smear across her skin as she did so), but paid no heed to her scarlet hair plastered to her neck and face. Had she truly escaped the humans just to be killed by a dragon? She had an overwhelming urge to just fall to her knees and sob, but she pushed it aside. It was foolish to just give up when she may still have a chance. "P-Please, I didn't mean to in-intrude." Her voice was trembling and hesitant, mostly from her panting and how chilled she was from the rain. "I can't let them f-find me... Please, don't kill me. I'm unarmed." She raised her hand that wasn't keeping her upright, showing that she didn't mean to pose a threat to the dragon.

"Be still fleshling!" Ixen said, his tone of voice reflecting his last encounter with humans. "Who hunts you for what purpose?" The noise grew a little outside the cave. "Be swift answering or I will feed you to your own kind!" The fire reflected off of his orange eyes, making it look as if the fire inside of him was actually real.

Jonquil grew rapidly more nervous. "The humans," she answered immediately, glancing cautiously towards the entrance. "Please, lower your voice. They will surely discover me here..." She pressed herself slightly to the wall. "I am... I am a wizardess. Magic is forbidden in my kingdom... They have found that I am a user of magic and know they seek to destroy me. I wish nothing ill upon you, sir Dragon." She began fumbling inwardly, searching for some sort of spell to aid her current situation, but she doubted she could even produce a spark with her current fatigue.

"Great, more human's. As if the storm wasn't impeding my research enough..." Ixen spoke more to himself than her, looking at his open book as he said it. He turned his attention back to her, pausing as the noise grew louder and then gradually died off. "Why have you come south to our dominion, fleshling?" Although Ixen did not appreciate being called 'sir Dragon', taking it as disrespect to his being of Dragon heritage, and raised a lip when she called him that, showing his sharp teeth, but not threatening her so much as showing anger.

Jonquil grimaced, seeing the disproval on his face. As if she enjoyed being called 'fleshling'... Would he rather her call him 'scaling'? Her title for him showed respect!...at least, it would show respect if they were in human society. "They captured me and bade me run, like pre-caught game being released for a hunt," she said. "I didn't realize I had already gone beyond our borders." Although her heart was still pounding, she couldn't help but be relieved as the sound of the men faded into the sound of the storm. She looked rather pitiful, and quick easily able to be killed.

Ixen snorted as he put his knife away. "And we were called uncivilized." The dragon shook head as he closed and put away the three research books he had out. They joined a pile of interesting finds, papers, and other books. "I believe your coast is-" Ixen's last word was cut off by a roar of thunder overhead. He looked up in the direction of the sky, which was just the cave ceiling, and then back to the pitiful looking girl. Although he had calmed down with the new information, he still was wary of a non-dragon. "You may accompany me through the night if you do not wish to brave the elements."

Jonquil watched him cautiously, still half-pressed to the wall. She was afraid he would lash out at her, although he moved so civilly and put away books and such things "civilized people" valued. At the deep growl of the sky, she shuddered slightly and gazed over him with curious yet untrusting eyes.

"You...are allowing me to stay...?" she asked, voice now very soft, as if she daren't ask him to repeat himself. True, she was exhausted and felt she could fall asleep on the cave floor as if it were the softest bed in the world, but could she trust her safety while unconscious to the creature? He had seemed rather quick to grab his knife when she stumbled into his cave. She opened her mouth a moment later to ask another question, or to comment, but another crash of thunder seemed to seal her longing to stay in the cave instead of subjecting her body to more torture of travelling through the yet, muddy forest to try and find her way to a safer place.

Ixen took a second to reply, as if questioning his own decision. From his side of the cave Ixen grabbed a log and tossed it onto the small fire. The flames flickered off his scales and skin. Although he did talk in a more sophisticated like way, it was one of the few civil seeming things about him. His pointed teeth was a resemblance of his meat preferred diet, although plants were still acceptable, Dragons do have molars. His clothing, or lack there of, was a lightly armored, pants like piece. His clawed feet, scaly back and arms, and tough skinned chest, were left exposed.

"Yes... you different from those I encountered last. More like a retainer than a soldier." Although saying someone looks more like a servant than a soldier in human culture was usually an insult, Ixen did not mean it to be offensive. Rarely did you find a dragon servant in this area, and the few that are were chosen for that position because they displayed qualities that the employer liked, and were usually seemed less likely to be violent. This later part was what Ixen meant by his comment.

Jonquil studied the creature for a long while after he spoke. He confused her; he spoke as a learned man, and yet he looked so... feral, only partially clothed and covered in tough scales. The sharp protrusions in his maw didn't help his case, either. Nevertheless, he seemed calm enough now, and as the adrenaline of being chased began to wear off, Jonquil found her legs much weaker than the yah d been a minute ago, and the warmth of the cave was more inviting than ever. She didn't seem to take offense to his comment, at least, seeing as she was just happy he didn't kill her on the spot. So she dipped her head slightly.

"Thank you," she replied softly. She went as close to the fire as she dared (which wasn't very close; she was still nearly against the wall) and let herself sink to her knees. Before anything else, she began trying to smooth out her muddy, soaked red-brown hair (ah yes, the vanity of humans, even before a stranger), so she ran her hands through it, pushing it off her flushed face and attempting--attempting--to pull it into some sort of bun to keep it out of the way until she could properly wash and brush it. Her dress appeared as though it may have been rather nice, but during her little chase bits had been ripped and torn, and mud splattered over the entire thing; Jonquil hadn't a clue as to what to do with her muddy skirt, as it was uncomfortable and her underclothes were just as wet. Oh, how Jonquil wished she had fled to a human city, where she could clean herself up and get clean, dry clothes...

Ixen went back to cataloging his finds as he had been before. He was almost done and just had a few more items to go. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the human doing something to her hair. The dragon looked up. "What are you doing?" Not having hair, a dragon would never understand what hair sometimes required, but he showed no reproof at the act. At another glance at the human he realized how wet she was and how miserable she must be. He would wait for her to answer and then would proceed ask, "Do you need to dry off?"

"Oh, my hair is just a mess..." Jonquil murmured, pushing a few more strands behind her ears. At his second question, she hesitated. "...I'll...I'll dry off in time." She didn't fancy getting any closer to the fire, and she definitely wasn't going to take off her clothes so they would dry; her thick skirt would certainly be wet until the next day, though. It was quite a predicament for her, being alone in a cave with a strange dragon, exhausted, and susceptible to any sort of attack because of her weakened magic.

Ixen gave a doubtful 'mhm' and tossed his blanket to the girl. He studied her for a moment before leaning against the wall and cataloging a fluorescent piece of fungus. He held the book with the price resting on it in one hand and had a dip pen in the other. His tail curled around the inkwell and held it beside him. His eyes looked over the pages as he studied her again. "What's your name?"

Jonquil grabbed the blanket, biting the inside of her lip. She adjusted herself a bit and reached to take off her shoes so her feet could warm up a bit. At his question, she cleared her throat a bit. "I am... I am Jonquil. Jonquil Smithe." She felt the blanket between her fingers for a moment, then tried warming up her arms with it. She hesitated, then looked up at him. "And yours, sir?"

He gave her a polite, toothy smile. "Ixen. Nice to meet you." He finished cataloging the fungus and set it down in the dark where it glowed green. He picked up a vial of a red substance from the vial of things to still be cataloged. "Can you show me an example of your magic? Dragons are rather magic less creatures, both using and being effected by it." The added information was definitely a warning.

Jonquil studied the Dragon, watching him quietly as he recorded various things. Was he some sort of scholar? However, at his question, she seemed hesitant. "...yes, of course." She shifted a bit uncomfortably, but tried to think of something simple she could do, something that wouldn't completely drain her of her energy. After a few moments, she spoke in an ancient language and held out her hand. Suddenly, her hand lit aflame. From her fingertips to her wrist, her skin was covered in a bright fire with the occasional lick of blue near her palm. It didn't seem to hurt her, as she sat calmly, looking at Ixen for a sign of approval, or something.

Ixen watched the fire dance on Jonquil's palm. "Interesting," he said, more to himself than anything else. He nodded approval before finishing cataloging the red substance and gingerly put it back down. The next page and next item was a simple old arrowhead. After a quick writing and sketch of it he put it into his pack for further study later, there was always more to a thing like that. Ixen moved to the floor by the fire and started inspecting a collection of different colored pedals from different plants. For the moment he showed no interest in the fleshling here.

Jonquil allowed the flames to diminish, and she moved on to try and wring out her dress, attempting to make it a bit less soaked. Ixen's lack of interest worried her a bit, but she decided it was good; he didn't think of her as a threat. She, of course, was still a bit frightened by the reptilian, but she hoped he wouldn't notice and take offense from her feelings.