Roxanne Monroe
Rider || Eighteen || Female || Mentions: Lira, Mircea, Dan, Michael
"Hm?"
Her moment of serenity and nostalgia had been brutally interrupted, her gaze shifting to a woman shorter than her with brown hair. Did she say something? Blinking, Roxanne stared at the woman in a failed attempt to process what had been said. She felt compelled to say something, even ask for a repetition, only for the other woman to speak again asking why she was.. standing there?
"What, a woman can't stand alone?" She finally said, "oh, you mean why am I here." She could only assume that was the meaning, so, Roxanne went with it. "Well, the dragons." Motioning to the middle of the valley with a singular hand, she glanced back to the woman. Was she new around here? "Yanno, the annual ceremony and whatnot?" Staring at the woman for a moment longer, Roxanne leaned against the tree once more, crossing her arms in the process. It was not an act of dismissal given her gaze was still upon her, though it was clear that she wished to be alone with her thoughts.
Briefly, her eyes had scanned her vicinity, taking in the filtering newcomers. She had never thought that this many people were so intrigued, but she supposed it made sense. What other time could one see so many dragons in one space, nevermind be picked by one. On Roxanne's gaze swept, picking through the crowd, not in a judgmental manner, but a curious one.
Click, click, click.
Her ears had heard the sudden, rather obnoxious clicking appearing from her right. On it went, like somebody chewing something, or tapping against certain material.
Click, click, click.
Good lord, it sped up!
Roxanne had shifted away from the tree, prepared to confront the individual or whatever it was. Eyes upon the ground, the first thing she had espied when she turned were boots. Not simple one either, but heeled ones. Up the boots her eyes scanned until they paused at a familiar face. Her eyes had squinted for a brief moment before resuming to their typical state, her body backing up a step.
What surprised her most is that the man knew her name.
"Whose asking?" She had countered, gazing at the man with a wary look after a moment of silence. She was not shy when it came to studying him. Rather, Roxanne had given him a once-over, now focused on his face. Clearly the man knew her, but who had she known with long dark hair and amber eyes? Well, there was Arthur.. Mircea.. a Henry or two and..
"Mircea?"
All at once, it had clicked in her mind, her childhood instantly washing over her. Mircea, the Mircea. Of course this was him! It made complete sense. How could she forget? Now, Roxanne was rather delighted, her nostalgia only increasing, however, that wasn't the only thing growing. The memories of her family had as well, and that was something she wished to suppress. It was like a ghost of her past had appeared, bringing happiness with it, but also sad, sad memories. So, the only thing that escaped her mouth was a single: "Oh."
It wasn't as if she didn't know what to say, but moreso the fact that she was too surprised to say much of anything. That, and he reminded her of her childhood.. before the fire. But she couldn't simply stay mute, could she? Nor could she simply walk away.. Well, she could, and it was certainly something she was contemplating, but was it fair to leave without another word a second time? No, it truly wasn't, so, Roxanne would say hello, perhaps make small talk, and then she would leave.
She had noted a scowl upon his face when seeing her scar, to which she pointed at it with her hand and said: "the fire." She didn't bother elaborating. She didn't want to. She wouldn't. Instead, she stood, shifting her weight from left leg to right, teetering. "You've changed quite a lot." She finally managed to spit out, yet still delivering her words in monotone. "I mean.. the hair, and whatnot." The hair, the makeup, the piercings, the clothing, everything. He looked so different. It was still Mircea, but he was grown up. For so long, she had only remembered his childhood face. She had to remind herself that everyone grew up.
A sudden sound had caused her to turn her head abruptly, her eyes scanning the valley. There, in the midst of it, stood an earth dragon. Quite an impressive one at that, with unique coloring. When had it appeared? Had it started already? Pah, she was too busy conversing to notice. She had shot Mircea a brief look, as if it were his fault that she had missed it and had distracted her before glancing back. She watched with interest as the dragon sauntered forward, looking through the crowd for its unlucky rider. However, her eyes didn't remain on the earth dragon for long, as an air dragon soon followed, perching itself upon a tree.
"Remember when we wanted to attend as children?" She had suddenly asked Mircea, still in monotone, but hey, at least she was making conversation. She may have sounded annoyed, or dry, but it was still conversation. She hadn't truly focused any further, her eyes fixated on another dragon appearing..
Oh, hell!
A fire dragon! A big one!
All at once, Roxanne inhaled sharply, narrowing her eyes at it. Fire wasn't a.. thing she rather enjoyed. Why is that, you ask? Oh, no reason, simply that her entire family perished in one, which is why she moved and left Ederia in the first place. No biggie!
She felt for the poor fool who was paired with one. Almost laughed, even.
However, she couldn't tear her eyes away from it, a feeling growing in her chest. Ack, that thing was walking around now! As a response, Roxanne had taken a step back. This was some sort of PTSD, wasn't it? Why else was she feeling such a strong urge grow within her? She had forgotten about fire dragons, and especially didn't think that they'd be this close.
Oh god, it was running.
She had nearly clutched onto Mircea's arm in fright, but found herself standing in place, frozen in a sense. Fire dragons spewed fire. It would be her childhood all over again, but this time, she'd be the one burned! No, she wouldn't have it! "I think I'm going to head out," she had finally mumbled aloud, mainly to Mircea before taking all but a singular step. Despite the pull she felt within her, she was determined to leave. Maybe even sprint away. She would ignore the feeling. It had to have been a form of traumatic response, however, she paused once more when the fire dragon was sprinting in her direction.
It was going to burn her alive!
Fumbling around hers pants, her hands slapped her body in attempt to locate.. Aha! There it was! Pulling out a small dagger she carried, she clutched it in her hand. What was it going to do against a dragon? She didn't know, but she clutched it like a life source nonetheless as it approached.
It was going to burn her, and then eat her!
Why couldn't it have been a water dragon, or.. or an air one? Why must a fire one target her? Oh, the irony!
When the fire dragon neared, Roxanne let a small noise escape her throat as she closed her eyes, putting the dagger up in the air and pointing at it. For a moment, she stood in silence, feeling her hands tremble slightly. This wasn't like her to show so much fear, it was almost humiliating. And, when nothing happened, she peeled her eyes open, only to come face-to-face with the dragon. It was mere inches from her, the dagger falling to her sides as she stared at it.
Speechless was the word to best describe her at the moment. Any moment now, it would open its mouth, and out would come fire. The pull within her only increased, but it wasn't an urge to kill it or harm it. Rather, she couldn't explain it.
Then, it spoke.
Not normally either, but in her mind.
"Hi! I'm your dragon! Oh my Alan! We're gonna have so much fun!"
Roxanne simply stared.
"What."
Then, she repeated it.
"What?"
Before anything further was said, a large compass was dropped into arms, almost weighing her down. In the end, it did weigh her down to the point where she ended up on the ground with it in her lap. So heavy it was, that she couldn't move. She was stuck, unable to run! How was she supposed to flee now? Now, Roxanne should say something, possibly question the dragon. Yes, she would say something, perhaps see if the dragon made a mistake. So, she took a deep inhale, and spoke.
"What."
Maybe she was in shock, that would certainly explain it. Pah, she should have never come to this blasted ceremony! And this compass, it was so heavy. Ack, she needed to thank him in case he got offended!
"Thank you for the compass. It's very.. big," she finally managed to push out.
Curse her idiocy! What was she supposed to do now? The dragon had given her a gift. Was she supposed to bring something? Oh, god, what if he burned her because she didn't bring a gift? She needed to give him something! Anything! She refused to die!
What did she have? What did she have?
Ah, perfect!
Lifting her arm, she offered the dagger she held to him. Did she want to part with it? No. But it was either that, or risk being killed, so she had no choice but to offer it up, even if it looked like a splinter in the dragon's hand.
Blinking once more, she turned to Mircea, only to see a new individual that spoke something along the lines of.. Apple Tart?
Good god, what was happening?
Turning back to the dragon, she peered up at it. It was clear Roxanne knew hardly anything about dragons from her next question: "Are you going to burn me?" If it was going to, maybe it would have already? Besides, this dragon was oddly bubbly. Unless he was excited to burn her alive. However, this pull she felt within her.. something told her he wasn't going to harm her? But she couldn't rely on it.
Roxanne sat there for a few moments, collecting her thoughts before motioning to the compass, her eyes glued onto the dragon in fear that if she took them off, something bad would happen.
Could you.. help me pick it up?
Oh, snap! How did she do that? "Did you hear that?" She asked him, wondering if she was simply going mad or not. Maybe she was, who could tell anymore. Roxanne could hardly think clearly, which wasn't like her at all. Her main plan was simply to watch the dragons and leave, that was it. She didn't expect to, what, be chosen by one!
Especially a fire one.
Spring 
Day Weather: 
