Ilithyia

Fire Dragon | Female | Squad Leader's Dragon | Mentions: (directly) Nico, Kaia. (indirectly) Laika, K'issuk, Beollan

Ilithyia nodded in agreement to his observation before pausing at his challenge. An “Are you kidding me” look plastered on her face. Nico would pull that card because she couldn’t resist a challenge and he knew that. She met her companion's challenging smile with a smug expression of her own. "Perhaps I will," she replied through their bond, partially to prove to Nico that this dragon didn’t bother her but part of her was very curious about this dragon.

Ilithiya’s smug expression shifted when Nico brought up the students in the valley, “I am quite surprised no one has bonded yet,” as she spoke, a Storm dragon barrelled his way through the crowd of terrified students, causing them to scream in fear. He swiftly seized a girl from a small group by a rock. Within moments, Ilithiya blinked in astonishment as an Earth dragon followed suit, plucking another boy from the same group. The remaining two students were claimed by an eyeless Dark dragon and a stunning Light dragon. An approving rumble came from within the back of her throat as she watched the bonding process.

She shifted her weight, her wings rustling as she stared at Nico, empathy clear in her eyes as he reasoned why Anatolious wasn't here. Nico's concern for his half-brother was understandable. Ilithiya tried to think of any reason why Anatolious would be without Desmodus, but she couldn't offer anything. The conversation shifted away from Anatolious to the absence of Lara. Ilithiya didn't like the random absence of two people close to her and her rider.

It was possible Lara and Brordis were sent on a mission. She couldn’t help but agree with Kaia, they should've been notified of their absence, especially for missing something as important as today. Ilithiya's thoughts were preoccupied with concern for Lara and Brordis, considering all the possible scenarios. What kind of mission could be so secretive that it required such a clandestine departure? And why hadn't Lara or Brordis informed them or left a message?

A loud roar jolted Ilithyia into full alertness, and she swiftly rose to her feet. Her eyes fixed on the monstrous fire dragon landing in the valley – Beollan. Confusion and concern crossed her face as she gave Nico a worried look. His presence here couldn't possibly be for a new rider, could it? She barely registered Kaia's rambling, her attention fully on Beollan and the young woman who approached him. Before she could voice her concerns to Nico, her worst fears were realized as Beollan unleashed a devastating blast upon the woman.

Panic, screams, and chaos erupted in the aftermath of the explosion. Ilithyia roared in disapproval and horror, her scales igniting as she released flames. Yet, before she could react further or issue any instructions, Kaia and K'issuk were already in action. She watched in torment as K'issuk drenched the flames, saving the young woman's life. Kaia cradled the injured woman, who appeared to be bruised and suffering from burns.

Ilithyia's anger blazed as her hiss filled the air, her tail continuing to thrash with fury, and flames still crackling on her scales. "How dare he!" she seethed, her resentment unmistakable as she fixed her cold gaze on Beollan. She knew Beollan must still be grieving his previous rider but, the recklessness of his actions had nearly cost the young student her life. As she tried to calm her flaming scales, Ilithyia found herself trying to put herself in Beollan's position. She couldn't even fathom the thought of losing Nico, let alone having to rebond with another dragon. The bond between a rider and their dragon was a profound and unbreakable connection. Most riders don't come back from the loss of a dragon. Some dragons survive it, while others don't. Beollan was thought to have been lost since he never returned.

Despite her anger and the reckless actions of Beollan, Ilithyia had faith that K'issuk would deal with the male fire dragon. For now, her primary concern remained the well-being of the injured girl.

Laika Herriman || New Rider || Dragon: Beollan || M: Beollan, K'issuk, Kaia

The faint feeling of peace she felt was in stark contrast to the expressions flashing across the great face in front of her and the matching ones now racing through her mind. She could hear with extra clarity now. She felt the tree give way beneath Beollan's frame, felt the fragments go flying. It was strange; she could almost sense what the dragon was going to do before he even did it, though only a split second before it happened. It was almost as though he wasn't even really thinking about it, until that final pause where their eyes met and he parted his maw. That had been premeditated.

Laika knew she wasn't fast enough to move, that this would be the end. A wry smile crossed her features. Of course this would be the end; she'd expected as much. She raised her arm up across her face to shield her eyes from the brightness that gathered in Beollan's throat -- what a pathetic, fruitless last action that would be. Laika was tempted to laugh at how ridiculous it all was. In fact, as the flames hit her, she did release a laugh.

She never quite felt the pain. As soon as the molten air hit her skin, she was pummeled on the left side by a blast of water that forced her other arm up against her body and knocked her off her feet. It would have shot her across the forest, she was sure, but the firm grip of a tail that definitely did not belong to the fire dragon sent her in the opposite direction. She landed on some poor soul but could not find it in her to move, let alone utter an apology. The man pulled her up and set her back on her feet, which Laika was surprised to find still held her steady.

She blinked as all the water previously held back by lying down came cascading down her face, neck, arms,... She was drenched, but she didn't hurt. Laika knew it was shock. She saw everything with a perfect, calm clarity that she knew was inherently wrong. She raised her hand to wipe the rivulets from her face but stopped the motion when she saw the angry red and black skin all along her arm. It faded away just past her elbow, probably due to the sleeve that was no longer present. The outermost layer of clothing on her was practically dissolving in the front, too. She sucked in through her teeth in a disappointed manner. Her mother would certainly finish what Beollan had started.

"...even if she did blast you with water." Laika realized the man was talking to her, and as his words registered, she examined her other arm. It, too, was red, and her ribs felt bruised, but this redness was not from a burn. She hummed in mild annoyance and turned her eyes to look at the man -- Kaia. A mentor, he said. K'issuk was the dragon, the other dragon, and there were leader people somewhere.

"I'm not screaming," she stated, blinking rapidly as more water ran into her eyes. "Shock shouldn't last this long... Nothing too bad... medical check? I mean, at least he was nice enough to cauterize it."

A hint of irritation entered her dumbfounded tone as she sent a glare back at her steaming arm. A dry chuckle escaped her as she thought of the irony. Here most people were, begging deities to provide them with the honor of having a dragon companion, and here she was, hers having just attempted flat out murder. And she wasn't even mad at him? "I think my mental stability needs more checking than my arm, sir."

Desmodus Draculae

Male Primal Dragon || Rider: Anatolious Rosenberg || M: (Dir) None. (Dir/Ind) Anatolious Rosenberg. (Ind) None.

~

At the faint sound of footsteps, Desmodus Draculae only bothered to flick an ear at Anatolious. The dragon didn't feel like turning his head since his neck was aching and sore after he fell and twisted it at the stupid ceremony, and he didn't want to risk making it hurt more. The saddle might hurt it... After that thought, it turned the saddle idea into him hoping it didn't hurt, because if it did, he'd have to fly Anatolious all the way to the shop with a sore neck. Flying with pain is never a good idea, well, for dragons like him with low pain tolerance. Hearing the sound and smelling the scent of his big leather saddle, he leaned down so the human could easily place it on his back. Fighting would be the worse option, and making Anatolious' life hard by dodging the human when he tried to put the saddle, on was also, a terrible idea. He braced himself for the sudden weight to make sure he wouldn't fall over. He fell over last time he wasn't prepared and freaked out, so he didn't want another situation like that time.

Desmodus turned his head to the side, enough for him to angle his eyes and see the saddle being put on, but also not too much to the point where he might hurt his neck again. That's when he noticed how incredibly weird saddles looked on him. "Like, look at that thing. I look like a horse now." He complained as he stared at the disgusting thing on his back, his nose wrinkling as he bared his teeth in disgust. "I am not a horse." He turned his eyes to an incredibly ragged and unkempt Anatolious. Examining his human a bit more, he almost gasped at the way that his boots looked. They looked like they'd tear any minute if he did as much as step wrong, let alone walk through the whole town with them. He's probably gonna head to the bathhouse and get clean like he normally does when there's a thing he's gotta go to. Oh, wait, when is the last time he's had to go to anywhere but the barracks and the town? He still never got over how weird it seemed to be bathed by someone else; how did Anatolious seem so fine with doing that? He would've asked the questions, but decided that it was just incredibly random and should probably only be asked if that was the subject they were talking about in the first place.

Desmodus faintly felt the human pat his fur, causing him to emit a rumbly purr. He loved getting pats, especially after a long flight. He was hopeful for a second that Anatolious would give him more pats, but it turned out that his human only gave him a quick pat before beginning to ramble on, while also climbing up the saddle. Hearing him was easy, but focusing on what he was saying wasn't. He was never good at focusing when others begin to ramble on, but he did manage to keep focusing to understand what Anatolious was actually saying, even though he didn't process each word. "I'll drop you off at town, and then I'll wait in the forest, but around the edge. Come to me because there's a whole lot of new dragons this year, and who knows if one will try to eat you, and I, do not want to live depressed because you got eaten by someone that we're technically supposed to be training right now. I actually have to get back to the ceremony as soon as I can, because Illithyia and K'issuk have to watch all those dragons and make sure no one gets eaten."

When Anatolious told him to go, Desmodus' wings whipped open. He began to slowly flap them to maintain balance as he began to trot forward. The more he picked up speed, the faster his wings flapped to make sure that he stayed balanced. It was always difficult to take flight this way, but it's just the way he learned. He knew how to take off other ways, but for Anatolious' safety, it was better for him to do it this way. He jumped up a tiny bit before using his legs to shove himself up into the air, and his wings just angled a weird way so the wind would help him fly up. Taking off this way was never fun or easy, but if Anatolious fell, then they'd be delayed because he'd have to get back on the saddle. And now, they were off!

-[~|~]-

This is now after he dropped Anatolious off at the town.

-[~|~]-

Desmodus' wings flapped as he headed towards the ceremony. planning to land inside the forest. He could never present himself to the other dragons with all these branches and leaves stuck in his fur. That would be very embarrassing for him to arrive for the second time, covered in branches and leaves and walking weird because the sun was hurting him and annoying his legs and toes. The wind blew his fur around as he glided through the beautiful sky, but it happened to blow his fur in his face. He always had his fur in his face after a gust of wind came, and it was very annoying. Maybe if he asked nicely, Anatolious could trim his fur a little bit. The few clouds in the sky loomed above him, but they were so small that it didn't stop the sun from scraping at his fur and inflicting pain on his poor skin. The sun was always so painful to him, so waiting for Anatolious in the forest was a good idea. It would allow him to rest under the shade so when he emerges, the sun would just be a minor tingling feeling instead of like having tiny, sharp blades jamming into his skin.

The ceremony was only about two minutes away from the town when flying, so Desmodus already reached the wonderful forest that would get shelter from the horrible sunlight. It was such a beautiful forest in his opinion; the lush green leaves and tiny puddles really putting the forest on the beautiful side. Most forests in his opinion are ugly, but this one, was just wonderful. He dipped his head down, turning his body towards the ground and pulling his wings against his sides. His flight course had changed in seconds, and he was now headed towards the forest. His fur was in his face even more then before though, almost completely impairing his sight. He hated his fur sometimes, but other times, he thought it made him fabulous. Due to his large ears and superior ability to hear, his eardrums screamed at the loud snapping and crunching of branches and obstacles and the loud whooshing of wind that would probably seem minor to other dragons with normal hearing.

As the loud, continuous sounds finally ceased, one last sound from him echoed through the trees as his paws smashed the ground below him. The grass had completely crumbled under his crushing weight, some pieces even getting ripped in half. The ground was so weak, yet so strong at the same time. It made no sense. As he stepped through the forest, each spot behind him left a trail of prints as the grass crumbled and snapped beneath each paw. His head shook majestically as he waved the fur out of his face, ensuring that his wonderful style still remained in his thick obsidian-colored fur. At finding a good spot to observe the ceremony while remaining under the forest's cover, he finally sat on his haunches, watching the ceremony. He lifted up his wing to use his claws and gently peel each piece of broken stick or leaf out, but of course, he still left his amazing style behind his ear.