Free Spirits (Zombie_In_A_Box X Pigeon)

[Zombie_In_A_Box]

Damian's eyes showed slight curiosity and surprise when he heard Arumi's title. "Prince?" He questioned with raised eyebrows before placing his hands on his hips. "You want me to bow or something?" The brunet grinned, however the grin soon turned to a frown. "You'd be desperate too if your kind was forced to hide and starve."

 

Damian sighed out softly before sitting down on the ground in front of the dragon. He really thought they'd take a bit of time here... "This one just adds some spice, best used in salads and all. Nothing special... At least for humans." He said with a light frown on his face. He had no idea if all these would work on dragons the same way.

[Kotorichan]

"I'm not your people's prince..." Arumi said, glancing at the human. "It would be strange if you treated me like one" he picked up a twig and blew a small amount of fire on the tip, just enough to turn it into charcoal. The dragon leaned over his book and wrote down a couple notes based off what the human said before flipping to a different page. "What about this one?" He asked, pointing to a collection of pressed leaves on the page. "I tried feeding one of these to a rabbit and it died immediately... But I'm not sure if it would have the same effect on a larger creature..."

[Zombie_In_A_Box]

Damian huffed softly at what the other said about him "not being his people's prince". That sounded dumb already, if he was to be honest. The brunet flinched the slightest bit when Arumi belw fire on the twig to make it into a charcoal. "I've always been curious... Besides fire, what else can you do in your human form?" He asked, then glanced down at the page while a grin spread across his face. "It wouldn't. For humans, small amounts can either block out pain or make one high... Dragons, I guess, could take more and get the same result. Again, too much will kill you, as those rabbits." The brunet explained and leaned back on his arms.

[Kotorichan]

"There's not much else we can do..." Arumi said as he made more notes. "We need our wings to fly and we don't have our teeth or claws in this form, so the only difference we have in this form is that I can breath fire..." he looked up at the human with a slight smile. "Are you trying to figure out my weakness so you can kill me?" He laughed and shook his head. "I can only hope that you aren't so stupid..."

[Zombie_In_A_Box]

Damian chuckled quietly and shook his head, playing with the knife in his hands. "I'm just curious. We wouldn't have weapons to kill you anyway..." The man said and sighed out quietly. "If you dragons had at least tried to think of a way to get along with us before taking our lands, none of the lives would have been lost." He muttered out and looked down. He couldn't even count how many heartbreaking deaths he witnessed so far. Husbands, wives, kids, siblings, friends... His own parents were dead, and that wasn't easy.

[Kotorichan]

Arumi's smile fell and he looked away, his expression almost ashamed. "Yes... I'm well aware of that... We are a very proud people and the idea of negotiating is often seen as worse than losing... Your people posed almost no threat to us and so merely served as a way for us to flex our power" he sighed. "Even now most young dragons treat a human's head like a throphy of skill, even if the human couldn't fight back" he lightly twirled a lock of hair around his finger. "I know an apology is worthless to you... But I am truly sorry for the things my people have done to your kind..."

[Zombie_In_A_Box]

Damian realized soon enough that he really didn't want to talk about this after all. Discussing such matters with someone he thought of as the enemy wasn't anywhere near pleasant. "Fine, now what else did you need?" The brunet quickly brushed off the apology, glancing at the dragon with a certain sense of coldness in his eyes. Hearing that a dead human was merely the proof of strength for young dragons honestly angered him quite a bit. Humans were like ants in the presence of dragons - what kind of strength was there to kill an ant? They couldn't do anything, not even bite. What could one knife do? A splinter? The man clenched the knife tightly in his hands, drifting away in his thoughts, his eyebrows scrunched up in anger.

[Kotorichan]

Arumi watched the human's reaction with a frown. He knew all too well how ridiculous it was that dragons found pride inlillong such harmless creatures. Humans were no more dangerous than deer, and yet it was such a sign of strength to have killed one. The dragon sighed and closed his book. "No, that is more than enough for today..." He began to put the book back into his bag. "Although if you know of any plants that are strong enough to kill a dragon with only a small amount... Please let me know" he stripped off his clothes and folded them up. "I'll meet you back here before sunset again, did I bring enough meat last time or would more be better?"

[Zombie_In_A_Box]

Damian began standing when the dragon put his book away. He was still most certainly angry, therefore he only shook his head when Arumi spoke about him knowing any more plants that could kill a dragon. He didn't. Or maybe he did, at the moment he couldn't get himself to focus properly. "Some people asked for softer meat, like rabbits or so. If you could get a few, that'd be great... Otherwise the amount was good." The brunet said quietly and looked up at the naked man. He had to admit... That was one nice body. Quickly shaking off the thought, Damian scratched his head and pulled the head of the boar over his own, hiding his scent.

[Kotorichan]

"Rabbits? Of course, I'll just make a pile here since its easier than carrying them around..." Arumi sighed and looked at the human again. "And I'm sorry that I brought up such a sensitive subject..." He bowed his head slightly before turning into his dragon form and taking off. He flew in a circle for a moment, looking around for the best place to land before swooping down into the trees to hunt.

[Zombie_In_A_Box]

Damian didn't reply to the apology in any way, irritation still all over his face. The human barely glanced at the dragon as he flew off, letting out a soft sigh. The brunet walked out into the forest, searching for both medical herbs and various wild vegetables. Maybe they could try to grow some at their hideout...

 

At sunset, however, he wasn't at their meeting place. The human had gotten into a little bit trouble - after accidentally stepping into a wolves' territory, along with the stench of a boar, he was attacked. Unable to completely fight them off, Damian was now at the top of a tree, holding onto the deepest wound on his right arm. Worst thing was, he couldn't hunt properly without the use of that hand...

[Kotorichan]

Arumi waited at the meeting place with a pile of rabbits, two deer and a wild boar. He kept listening for the human's call but he didn't hear it. When the sun went down and there was still no sign of Damian Arumi knew something was wrong. He changed to his dragon from and draped his clothes over the pile of dead animals. The dragon glanced around to make sure that no one was around to see before dropping his nose to the ground, breathing deeply to pick up the man's scent. It only took a few moments for him to pick up the trail and he began to follow it.

 

As he walked he began to smell wolves and soon he could hear them too. Arumi growled softly, knowing that the beasts could easily kill Damian. He picked up the pace and soon reached the tree that Damian was sitting in. The dragon bared his teeth in a slight smile at the sight of the human, relieved that he was alive. One of the wolves lunged at his foot, attempting to sink its teeth into the scales. It immediately jumped away wailing in pain and with freshly broken teeth. The rest of the pack jumped onto the dragon, all of which broke their own teeth and claws on the incredibly hard scales. Arumi shook them off like a dog shaking off water. He casually smacked a couple away with his claws, using enough force to break the animal's bones. He stepped towards the human, his feet crushing one of the wolves. The remaining wolves ran for their lives, howling in terror. Arumi sat up on his back legs so that he could see Damian. "you're injured..." he growled.

[Zombie_In_A_Box]

Damian was pretty certain that he'd have to spend the whole night in here. Until the people in his hideout realized he was gone for too long, no one would come... That was what he thought until the trees far ahead began rustling, as if something huge was passing by. A small part of him hoped that it would be Arumi... But maybe his hopes were too high.

 

The brunet got ready to accept the fate of being found by another dragon when the said creature finally appeared in his vision range. Words couldn't describe the relief he felt... While Arumi fought off the wolves, Damian attempted to check the wound on his arm. He could barely move it... Combined with smaller cuts, mostly on his chest and both arms, the man had lost quite some blood by now. "I could've told you that much myself..." Damian groaned out as he leaned against the tree, closing his eyes. "Can you help me get down?" While he did manage to climb up, that was mostly because of adrenaline rushing through his body. Now it was gone and all he felt was pain, throbbing pain that wouldn't go away...

[Kotorichan]

Arumi stared at the human for a moment. He really looked so small like this, stuck in a tree and wounded. The dragon lightly rested the tip of his nose to the branch Damian was sitting on. "climb on" he said, his voice a deep growl. "I'll carry you and your food to the entrance of your people's hideout... I know you don't want me to know where it is, but I would be able to follow the scent of you blood anyway..."

[Zombie_In_A_Box]

Damian scowled, but slowly and carefully got on the dragon's head, tightly holding onto the wound. "Fine." He just said quietly, closing his eyes while clenching his teeth. He didn't manage to collect a lot of herbs today, which was certainly dissatisfying... "Just hurry up, I don't want anyone worried." The brunet said as he glanced down. Out of curiosity, the man lightly tapped against one of the scaled with his foot, surprised by how hard it really was. "Woah..." He muttered under his nose, nibbling on his lip slightly.

[Kotorichan]

"Did you think my scales were just for show?" Arumi snorted, letting out a puff of smoke. "Hold on tight, I'm going to fly" He spread his wings and gave one strong flap before lifting up into the air. He flew just over the tree tops until he reached the clearing where they were supposed to be. The dragon gathered the dead animals in his teeth and claws, careful not to ruin the pelts if possible. He glanced up at the human, waiting to be told where to go next.

[Zombie_In_A_Box]

Damian shook his head, sighing quietly. "I didn't think they were that hard." He admitted, lightly nibbling on his bottom lip. Letting go of his injured arm, the brunet gripped onto one of the scales, his eyes going wide as they lifted up into the air. It didn't take long for a wide grin to stretch out on his face, a small laugh slipping out as well. "This is incredible!" He grinned widely, looking around while they were still in air. The view wasn't like anything he'd ever seen... It was amazing.

 

While the dragon collected the animals, Damian began thinking what was the best way. He couldn't show the entrance to their hideout at any cost... "Okay... Just fly in that direction, I'll tell you when to stop." The human finally decided, again holding the wound tightly to finally stop the bleeding.

[Kotorichan]

Arumi gave a slight nod before taking off again. He flew towards the direction that Damian had pointed. He doubted that the human would really show him the entrance, he didn't need to know but it was a little disappointing to know that the human still didn't trust him. He flew slowly so that the human could tell him to stop at any time. He didn't bother trying to talk, knowing that it would just make him drop the animals in his mouth.

[Zombie_In_A_Box]

Damian held onto one of the scales again, looking around in awe. When there were only a few hundred metres left to the hideout, the brunet glanced down and sighed. "Alright, let me down here." He asked, glancing at his arm. Too bad he didn't grab any pain numbing herbs today... The human closed his eyes, feeling his head throbbing slightly from the blood loss. The man breathed out through clenched teeth, trying to think of a way to get all the meat back without tearing his arm off.

[Kotorichan]

Arumi circled around for a moment before landing. He set down the meat and then lowered his body to the ground to let the man off. "Are we close enough for you to carry the meat back? I've already told you that I could easily find your hideout if I wished... I just don't want this effort to go to waste... I won't go inside of course, that would no doubt terrify all your people. I can just leave it by the entrance"

[Zombie_In_A_Box]

Damian listened to the other talk with a small frown, taking in deep breaths through his nose. "Fine, but... Can you be in your other form? If footprints that huge are seen, there may be complications." The brunet said with a sigh as he climbed down, letting out a soft hiss of pain. The brunet clenched his teeth as he leaned down, tearing off a part of the fabric from his pants to tie around the wound. He looked at Arumi with a steely gaze, his lower lip shaking slightly from the sharp breaths he was taking in.

[Kotorichan]

Arumi nodded and changed back to his human form. "It'll take me longer to carry everything..." he sighed and stepped towards the human. "I'll manage though..." he gently picked the man up, cradling him in his arms. "well? which way is it?" He didn't bother hiding the concern on his face, he really didn't want Damian to die. Humans seemed so weak, the dragon honestly didn't know if the man would survive the wound.

[Zombie_In_A_Box]

Damian just froze when he was picked up. Staring at the dragon with pure confusion on his face, his lips parted slightly in shock. "...Let me down." He muttered as he held onto the dragon's shoulder to step back down on the ground. "I can at least walk by myself." The brunet mumbled, trying to calm his heartbeat. At the moment it seemed like it was about to beat out of his chest. Taking a small step back, Damian grabbed the rope around his waist, untying it before passing it to the dragon. "Tie everything up and drag, it'll be easier." He muttered before leaning down to grab some of the rabbits with his good arm. Holding them all close to his body, the man began walking slowly, his other arm hanging uselessly at his side.

[Kotorichan]

Arumi frowned when he was told to put the man down. He hesitantly obeyed, watching him carefully. "You might bleed to death..." He murmured as he tied the animals together. "You humans are so small, a wound like that looks like it could be fatal" he straighten up and followed after the man, dragging the animals along behind him. "I'm sorry if I offended you, but I don't want you to die... Is that wound less serious than it seems?" He chewed his lower lip, he didn't know much at all about humans except that they were weak. So it was hard to tell if Damian was alright or if he was just pretending to.

[Zombie_In_A_Box]

Damian felt a bit confused, if he was to be honest. The dragon was really... Nice. Which was absolutely weird, since in his opinion, all dragons wished to kill humans - that's what Arumi told him, too. Maybe this one was just using a tactic? Still, the human felt a little offended at the worrying over him. "Worst case scenario, I lose my arm." He muttered and tossed a light glare over his shoulder. "Now stop worrying." He mumbled, his distrust in the dragon growing little by little. The more he thought about it, the better he realized this could indeed be a smart tactic to get inside their hideout... Or maybe that was just the pain speaking. As soon as they reached the entrance, currently hidden, Damian turned back at Arumi, letting out a soft sigh. "I doubt I'll be able to go out in those three days. If I do, I'll leave some kind of a sign at the clearing." He muttered, feeling somewhat uncomfortable with Arumi being so close to his people.