Dragon Embers (Exellda and StainedCrimson) (Private) (18+)

[StainedCrimson]

Silvius' smirk grows a bit at the other's pouting and watches the smoke come out with bemusement. "Has anything occurred where I shouldn't be calm? I don't believe a mere kiss, a peck even, is much to get worked up over." He raises an eyebrow. "Or is that something that means more to dragons and as such is very exciting?" The unicorn intentionally goads the other a bit with his last remark as he finds it entertaining to see the other broadcast his emotions so easily.

 

As Gareth continues to huffs and clearly has thoughts going a mile a minute, he is willing to sit back and watch the show flitting cross the other's face. Seeing how expressive the other was, particularly when riled up, was most amusing and entertaining to watch.

 

When the dragon suddenly becomes verbal again, yelling 'wait' repeatedly, Silvius merely blinks at the sudden change. However, when the other clams that they are soulmates, the unicorn rolls his eyes and snorts as he stands up. Unmindful of doing so causes the dragon to be unceremoniously dumped on the floor. "You would be correct in the former, my people do not believe such, and incorrect in the latter. There are a few cultures here that do believe in such things, though many do not."

 

Soulmates. How preposterous. The only ones who believed in such things were romantics and idiots.

 

Even if one believe in such a thing, you only have the one with no guarantee to ever find or recognize them. Which seems to be somewhat self-defeating of the purpose of having one. At least in his opinion. How is anyone supposed to believe in such a thing when they have no way to know who their supposed soulmate is or how to find them?

 

"Now then, that's enough dawdling. You can continue to laze about here if you like, but I'm going to check the area you demolished." Without further to-do the unicorn grabs his one pack and begins to leave the cave.

[Exellda]

"H-Hey!" Gareth shouted when he suddenly found himself falling over. He hissed in pain as he fell backward, his back was still very tender from his injury. The dragon lays there for a moment as he collects himself, recovering from the fall. Once he recovered, he practically sprung to life again. He was on his feet in seconds, grabbing the nearby blanket- uttering a couple phrases he was able to morph the fabric to something he could wear. It was tunic-like with exotic patterns, tied at the waist.

 

Of course it had to be worse case scenario. Of course his soulmate didn't believe in such things.. Hah... how absurd... He probably wouldn't have believed it either if it hadn't been for the fact that it was a common occurrence in his home country, Sabbas. What should he do? Gareth knew that deep down... he couldn't let this slip. He was so certain. Gareth has kissed people before. This was different. That kiss made him feel like nothing he had felt before...

 

Gareth was on Silvius' heals before the man could turn his head to check on him. He approached him with arms crossed and a low grumble. "My back still hurts, you know. Just cause I sealed it, doesn't mean it stops hurting. It's tender still." On the bright side, Silvius was going back to the crash... "I hope you know I won't be dropping that conversation. It's rude of you to brush me off like that. Even if you don't believe in it, you could at least be open minded about it. If it's hard to take in, I certainly don't mind giving you time or space. But I'm serious about what I said. I'm not saying it to be flirty or funny, I genuinely believe that you are my soulmate." And he's not going to let his soulmate just walk out of his life so easily...

 

If it's not clear by now, Gareth intends to accompany Silvius to the crash site... What happened after that was unclear and uncertain. The afterthought made him uneasy. He couldn't force his soulmate to stay with him... Well, Gareth probably could do that but... he didn't want to. Maybe he could talk Silvius into some kind of agreement? There was only hope that he could hang onto. After all, he didn't actually know the man near him... not well enough to get him to come home with him... Which was a bizarre thought for him to have, but he guessed, somewhere deep down he knew that if he had ever found his soulmate, he wanted them to see his home... And, he hoped Silvius would come around to agreeing.

 

Knowing that he found his soulmate, Gareth knew that he could no longer sleep with another. He would be forever stuck with this stubborn man. Even if they didn't like each other at first, he knew, because he believed in the fact that they were soulmates, that they would somehow end up together. Or, he would just live his life alone now because in the back of his mind he knows that anyone else who was not his soulmate could never compare. Normally, in Sabbas, once you figured it out who your soulmate was, you'd pretty much settle in together and your life was already figured out.

 

The problem was, that Gareth apparently had a soulmate that... didn't believe in soulmates... So he was already fighting an uphill battle. Plus, Silvius seemed to be very cut off and secretive, who knew how long it would take for him to get closer... closer to a man who tossed him aside just like his belief so effortlessly without so much as a second thought. Good thing Gareth was stubborn in his own right, anyone else might have easily given up... but he is very determined to stick it out with Silvius in the hopes that he'll come around to the idea that soulmates do exist. Gareth never thought that it would be a hard task but... it looked like he would have to get this man to fall in love with him... somehow.

 

Since they were soulmates, it should be easy, right?

[StainedCrimson]

Silvius snorts when the other starts to lecture and nag at him. "It's also rude to try and persist your beliefs on someone else who isn't interested." He states while continuing to walk. As the other continues on the unicorn barely refrains from rolling his eyes. "If that's what you believe then so be it, but that doesn't mean I do or have to." The whole thing is starting to annoy him honestly, and he's glad when they leave the cave and can pick up the pace.

 

Settling into a jog, he focuses on getting to the dragon's crash site to see if there's anything worth noting. Well, beyond the smashed trees and gouge in the ground that is... Silvius thinks dryly to himself. He's not sure what he'll find, or if there is even anything to find period, but it never hurts to check things over when there isn't a storm coming down on you.

 

Even with the somewhat brisk pace, it still takes roughly an hour to reach the area. When they do there's no warning, just suddenly entering a large open area with broken trees and torn up earth.

 

"Well, here it is. Let's see if there's anything to find or take note of." He states lightly not even winded by the journey. If anything it was a nice little warm up for him. Carefully scanning the treeline, Silvius enters the open area to look at the entry point. They entered in about the mid-point of Gareth hitting the ground and sliding to a stop, and one end had a larger and deeper skid line with pile of earth where the dragon had stopped. The opposite side shows where he had hit the earth and from there one need only to look up to see where he had hit trees on his way down.

 

Frowning, a line forming between his eyes, Silvius slowly turns to go examine where Gareth had stopped. The dragon was wondering about potential items to recover and that seemed the best spot to check.

[Exellda]

Gareth lets out a frustrated growl. Silvius does have a point. Looks like he had a tough case to crack. This would be one hell of a journey. And when the other starts to jog, Gareth has to pick up the pace to catch up. His legs are a little shorter and he's still recovering from his near-death injury and so, he's panting and hustling to keep up. He might have been struggling a little to keep up, and even if he was, he wouldn't- defiantly ask for help. Gareth was good with his dragon magic, his physical prowess still needed work. It really didn't help that he was injured not too long ago...

 

Gareth wanted to collapse on the ground when they got there. It would have been ironic if he did, considering this was where he had fallen last night. Damn, he certainly did a lot of damage... Not only that, but the area reeked of his blood. Some of the food from the festival the other day was spilled, littered on the ground. Most of it wouldn't be good anymore thanks to the storm. Some of the fruit, though bruised could be salvaged. Gareth wasn't looking for anything in particular except for one thing. His ceremonial bag.

 

This little bag was supposed to contain the things he would need to bring back to Sabbas. He sees something glint and shine. His attention pulls towards it, and so does his feet. Gareth finds a couple scales of his that had fallen off. He picks them up and examines them. Damn, that hurt. Gareth had a good idea of where he fell, too. There was a lovely blood-soaked area. Even if the rain had washed most of it away, there was traces of it where his body had laid.

 

"You were here last night, did you recall seeing a small pouch, a little bag anywhere?" The dragon huffs and returns to Silvius' side extending his hand, offering the scales. "I hear scales can produce good coin over here. So you can have them as a form of payment. Or make them into weapons, like knives or arrow heads... Jewelry? Or keep them..?" He shrugged. "Whatever you decide, they are yours now." And so the dragon gives him the scales. They are shiny, almost reflective and seem to have a certain thickness and weight to them. After handing those over, he grabs one of the fruit that was on the ground, wipes it off on his clothes and then proceeds to take a bite out of it.

[StainedCrimson]

Silvius glances back when he hears Gareth ask him about a bag. Tilting his head as he pauses he tries to think. "I don't recall seeing one. It was dark and already starting to storm, so there is a good chance we wouldn't have unless it right next to you. What color is it?" He asks and also snatches up a piece of fruit to eat.

 

When the other offers him the scales, he tilts his head while frowning in confusion. "I suppose they would, but as we've never had any and refuse to trade in most likely illegally obtained items we have not looked into dragon scale pricing." He snorts lightly at the thought of needing to make additional weapons, but jewelry might be something. "I would normally deny these or need of payment, but as it will help to keep them from getting into the wrong hands and perhaps make interesting trinkets I'll accept them."

 

Although he may keep one to play with himself as the thought of making charms or decorations for his horn, mane or tail crosses his mind. After taking the scales and tucking them into his pack, he shoulders it again and returns to looking around the site to see if the bag can be found.

 

Once he reaches the area where the dragon came to a stop, he slips down into the torn up earth to poke around and see if he can find it. He finds more food, but the prolonged smell of blood has gotten rid of his appetite so he leaves it be. Kneeling he pokes and prods until he finds some cloth. Lifting it up to brush some of the dirt off, he holds it up. "Is this it?"

 

If so, it is a bit worse for the wear as it is now covered in dirt, somewhat torn, and just overall a bit sad looking. If not then Silvius isn't sure it survived the crash and storm. "Otherwise I'm not certain it survived. Or if it did something or someone else already found it and took it."

[Exellda]

The dragon had been wondering about when the other called out to him. At first he was hopeful that Silvius found what he was looking for, but then when he saw the pouch, he laughed, "Ah, forgot about that. It's suppose to be my money purse... In the event that I should desire to purchase things..." Gareth takes the pouch and examines it himself. After a moment he comes to the realization that nearly all the coins had fallen out. All but 2 left in the corner. "This is a really sad pouch." He comments softly before pocketing it and looking up. "I could probably smell it out, but my blood is everywhere." He pauses and after a moment he says, "I could burn everything. The bag itself is flame resistant..."

 

But burning the area did not seem like the best answer and he was certain Silvius would be against the idea. Plus, he didn't want to potentially harm him. And so, Gareths eyes glossed over the crash site, "I feel like I've looked everywhere... on the ground..." And that's when it occured to hin that he should look up. His head tilts back, eyes searching- until he spots it, dangling high up on a broken branch. During his transition from dragon to human it must have snagged onto one of the branches. The small bag was completely intact, hanging there by the strap. "Well what do you know..." Gareth hums as he weighed the options of obtaining the bag. It wasn't a question of if it was worth getting, which it was, it was a question of figuring out the best way to get up there or...? Something.

 

Gareth already knew that he could fly, but after his injury he wanted to wait on flying unless it was absolutely necessary- it would be later when he continued his journey but that was beside the point. He also considered climbing the tree, and if he had to, he could bring out his claws to give him a better grip. And lastly, he considered... tipping the tree over. He didn't have any magic that would simply bring the bag to him. It was too high for him to jump up and grab it. The easiest route would be to fly... but... It was strange to be hesitant to fly. Gareth neved would have imagined that he'd... The realization made him mumble, "Me...? Hesitant about... flying...?"

 

There was really something wrong with him. Normally he would just leap up, wings out and get the bag easy, no problem at all. Guess the dragon was worried that his flight might be different. And maybe he was worrying over nothing but he had never sustained a back injury that intense before- or any back injury ay all.

 

It was easy to see his uncertainty written so clearly across his face as he considered his options. In the end he would have to fly eventually and it would be better to know about any possible issues sooner rather than later. It was the least he could do, "....I'm gonna try."

 

And that's when wings appeared out of nowhere, coming out of Gareth's back, as if they have always been there. He gave them a little test flap and after feeling like they were good to go, Gareth crouched a little, eyes up, he shuffles his feet and then jumped. It was a beautiful leap, a transition from land to sky and it only takes a moment for Gareth to grab the bag and nearly float down. His wings fold in, almost disappearing instantaneously as his feet hit the ground again. Gareth looks relieved and happy. Flying always made him feel better and if his ability to fly was ever taken away from him, he probably would have been distraught. "Got it."

[StainedCrimson]

Silvius tilts his head at the reply of having found the coin purse instead of what they were looking for. Shrugging, he opens it to see if anything was left to the dragon. Spotting a few coins within the unicorn closes it back up and goes over to Gareth to give him the pouch. Part of him is tempted to take a coin or two, it would be much easier to use than a dragon scale after all, but having already been given compensation resists the temptation. It would feel too dishonest and the other male will be in greater need of it.

 

Stopping a small distance away upon seeing Gareth suddenly having wings, he watches the leap then looks around. It makes him uneasy as how casually and without concern it was done, no worry of anything being around to see and identify what Gareth is. Hopefully either no one is around or they have yet to arrive.

 

Although, a small part of him whispers to himself, those wings were eye catching and it was a nice little display of skill. Shaking himself slightly he moves over to the dragon once he lands. "Here. There seem to still be some coins in it and I'm sure you'll want to have them as you travel." He holds out the small pouch and waits for the other to take it. As he waits Silvius tilts his head to one side slightly as he eyes the bag in the other's hand. "I'm glad you were able to find your bag and it seems to be in one piece."

 

Glancing around, relieved but also on edge at not seeing anything, he dips his head forward in a slight bow. "Since things seem to be in order and you have found your belongings, I'll be on my way. Fortune and luck on your travels." He offers in a traditional parting before turning to try and catch up with his herd by nightfall.

 

Some part of him, a very small part that he ruthlessly stifles, is reluctant to part ways with the dragon and wants to stay around him longer. Given the very strict rules of his father and people in general, such would not be possible or welcomed. Especially not with attention grabbing dragons tend to be, or how many will be watching for them since the festival is going on.

[Exellda]

"Oh, hah, thanks." Gareth says when Silvius offers his purse pouch to him. It's not in great shape but it'll do it's job for now. All his anxieties from moments before had left him, only leaving the adrenaline of his flight. It felt so good to be able to fly. Gareth thought he would ask Silvius what he thought about his flying but before he could even ask the other man seemed to have collected himself and ready to move on- literally. Silvius was parting words with him.

 

"H-Hey wait up a second." The dragon catches up to the man, grabbing his hand on instinct. "You're just going to up an leave me here..? I feel like I have so much to say to you but..." He releases his hand. "I know I can't keep you from your family..." Gareth's brows furrow as he weighed his options, options that he didn't think he would ever have to decide on. He didn't want to leave Silvius but he had his traditions to follow. But... But... But Silvius was also his soulmate. And Gareth feared he would never get to see him again if he left. "Um... Please Silvius." He tries to form more words and finds it hard to sort them out with all his thoughts running rampant. He sighs heavily, realizing what he must do...

 

And so these words left Gareth instead, feeling as if the right words would leave him if he left it to his fate, "Wait for me, then. Two weeks about... I'll be back to see you in about two weeks. So don't forget about me, okay?" His biggest fear would be that Silvius died between leaving him and trying to find him again. Gareth believed that they were destined to cross paths, but that did not guarantee he or Silvius would live to see each other again. Now that he found Silvius, he dreaded leaving him. Yes, they just met but actually finding his soulmate was near impossible. So Gareth wanted to hold onto every detail, in case it was the last time he would see him. It pained him to do it this way, but Gareth knew that it had to be done.

 

"If you wait for me, I'll be yours. But until then, I'll take one for the road-" Gareth says before stealing a kiss from Silvius' lips. "You're not allowed to die while I am gone, okay?" Gareth mentioned offhandedly in a joking manner. With those words said he backs away to let Silvius leave him finally. "Remember, I'll be about two weeks..." And Gareth watched him make his way away from him.

 

When it was clear, Gareth shifted. A dragon roared and a puff of smoke poured out of his nostrils. His wings expanded as he took flight. Those dragon eyes lingered, able to spot a moving figure that belonged to his soulmate once more before he flies off. He feels uneasy about it, but Gareth believes that he will see his soulmate again. Under what circumstances, who knew? He hoped to stay with him longer next time. After the ceremony, Gareth knew that he could return and from then on, so long as Silvius would have him, they could be together for the rest of their lives, as sappy as that sounded. He couldn't wait to see him again... He couldn't wait to learn about him and to share about himself... He hoped to bring Silvius to Sabbas one day... So many things Gareth thought about while he flied away. The long list of things was sure to keep him moving.

[StainedCrimson]

Silvius blinks and stiffens slightly at suddenly having the dragon suddenly kiss him. He huffs at the whole 'If you wait for me' bit, but doesn't completely brush it off. "My loyalty and duty are to my people. I cannot promise we will still be here in two weeks. If I am, then perhaps you will find me. If I am not..." He gives a slight shrug.

 

He notices how the other lingers even after shifting and taking to the air. The unicorn keeps the flying form in the corner of his eye until he's covered by the trees and the sky is all but blocked by branches and leaves. Letting out a sigh to release the tension he'd been carrying before speeding up.

 

Soon the forest floor is being eaten up by his long and fast tread. It doesn't take him too long to catch up to his herd, a few hours with a few short breaks. The largest of the herd walks up to him and stares Silvius down before shifting. "Well? Were you able to get rid of the dragon?" He demands. The similarities are extremely obvious between the two, though for all the aggression shown by his father Silvius doesn't even blink.

 

"He's gone on to continue the festival." Silvius begins, to which his father gives a sharp nod to and is about to leave when the younger unicorn continues with a smirk at the chance to needle the other "However, he said he would be returning in two weeks to look for me. It seems he thinks we're soulmates. Most determined to convince me of it in fact."

 

The stallion whips back around and glares at his son. "If this is true, then either you meet him on your own and end things completely, or he meets the herd and we find out which is stronger. Dragon or unicorn." His father rakes a hard look over his son. "Or perhaps he'll take you away, though I'm not of the mind to allow a dragon to take my son." With that the leader of the herd shifts back and blows a few notes indicating they're moving on.

 

Two weeks pass by quickly but monotonously for Silvius. On occasion he wonders if the dragon will actually look for him, and then recalls his father's words and scowls.

[Exellda]

The sky was a new form of freedom the Gareth always adored. If he wasn't able to fly he felt like a part of him would die. It would be a miserable existence. Thankfully, the dragon's wings were still strong despite the damage he sustained the other night. It was a good thing he practiced his healing magic. The dragon new the signs from afar, almost on instinct, guiding him to another land. Once he was separated from his soulmate, he felt a sense of uneasiness. He didn't like to be away, but he knew, or at least he felt like he would see Silvius again. And so, Gareth continued with his travels.

 

Night travel was the best time for him to travel. Seeing as his dragon form was black, the midnight sky hid him very well. By the time he left the continent it was the middle of the night. Flying over the waters was also comforting because he knew that no one would see him for miles. On occasion, Gareth would fly low and brush against the water. It was like a fun little game.

 

Gareth spends time at the next location, hunted for food, gathered a couple things and found a nice spot to rest and hide. That healing spell still took a lot out of him. Gareth had passed out for several hours and woke up when he heard a boar squealed nearby and startled him awake. It was the late afternoon and Gareth took off again.

 

Basically, Gareth's travels went off without a hitch. In short, his travels consisted of Gareth wondering about the continents, exploring while he could, collecting things and eating things, sleeping, and then traveling to the next place. All in all, Gareth took about almost two weeks already to complete his mission. The last stop: Sabbas.

 

Being home put him at ease. Even from a distance his people called out to him and he folded his wings, immediately greeted by his people. Most greeted him with hugs, cheek kisses, happy hellos and so on. Now that Gareth was home... the festival could commence.

 

Upon his arrival, he learned that two of the other dragons have made their way back so far. He was still fairly early considering his injury. Prepping for the festival, which was like an ongoing party for two whole weeks, was fairly easy. Food was already prepared and so Gareth could sit down and talk about his venture outside of Sabbas. When he sat down to eat, he felt a hand on his shoulder and when he lifted his head he saw, "Ah, Ma." She wasn't really his mother, but the lady sure raised him like he was her son.

 

"Look at you, fully clothed. And the fabric is different? You must have taken it from another land, huh?" Gareth had hardly realized what he was wearing. "Oh... Yeah. Ha... I got this after I woke up from my injury-" Gareth had been pointing at his back and Ma went to lift his top to take a look. "Injury? Oh my-"

 

"Yeah. I was struck by lightning of all things and pretty much fell to my death. I was unconscious, and when I woke up I was in the presence of three people." Gareth laughs as he feels her hand brushing over the scars of his back. "I feel like I should have been more worried than I was but..." He looks over his shoulder, smiling, "I think I met him."

 

And Ma was quick to pick up what Gareth was talking about, "Your soulmate? Awe, Gareth, I am so happy for you. Tell me about him, please."

 

And Gareth nodded, pointing for her to sit while he talked about how he met Silvius, and just how handsome he was. The only issue he has was that his soulmate didn't believe in soulmates. "-and so I told him I would come back for him. He may be a nomad, but I know I can find him again."

 

"Ah, I feel that I should feel sorry for this man." Ma laughs, taking a drink. "Your determination will probably crack him, I am sure. I know how you are. You won't let him slip away so easily. No... I don't think so. Hah, hopefully he is a patient man." And when Gareth pouted of her poking fun at him, she laughed again and stood up, "I take it that you will leave us again once you are done with the festival?" And Gareth nodded, "As I thought. Well, do come by some time and let us know that you're still alive, okay?"

 

"Yes, Ma." Ma approached him and kissed his forehead before parting ways.

 

Gareth's day of celebrating included playing with the children, they climbed all over him. At some point he actually got into festive garbs. He ate lots of food and get a little drunk. He danced with his people and cooked food for people. There was a time where he hung around the mouth of the volcano, talking to it and almost fell in. He raced a couple dragons around the land. They lit up the sky with flame and fireworks. Gareth did all of these things and more, perhaps not all in that order.

 

Late night activities consisted of sleeping or fucking. In short, one might describe the late night festivities as almost an orgy. Drunks, mostly soulmates made love under the moonlight. There are few left out. Those who are uninterested, those who are too young to take part, those who are too old to take part, and Gareth... who found his soulmate, more or less forbid himself from fucking anyone except his mate, unless his mate had given him permission to do so. He would wait, Gareth thought that it was worth it to wait. Although, it was miserable to sleep alone again... knowing that almost everyone else was having a good time.

 

The next day marked the beginning of the second week. As much as Gareth would have loved to set out, he had to stay the next day to fulfill the last of his tasks for the ceremony. This also allows for some more much needed rest. Gareth is looked after, made sure that his back had in fact healed properly. The elders where excited to hear of his soulmate, but also sad to see him leave again. Gareth made sure to stay the night once more... And off in the early morning he left.

 

Gareth couldn't sleep, nor wait to venture out and see his soulmate again. Ma told him that he should be able to sense his mate, but he also had a keep sense of smell... Gareth had... more or less inhaled the scent that was left on the blanket Silvius gave to him. Those minutes together, Gareth had memorized his scent then, too. The dragon flew out of Sabbas and made out to find his mate. It's been just over two weeks and he hoped that Silvius had in fact waited for him. But if he hadn't, Gareth couldn't bring himself to be mad, seeing as he knew that Silvius was a 'nomad'... Yeah, Gareth didn't all the way buy that little bit, but, for now, he would take things one step at a time.

 

Silvius... Here I come..!