The Brave and The Blind (Altamago & Eruraina)

[Eruraina]

Admit it, you are lost the clear female voice rang clearly through the man's head as if it had been spoken out loud, but of course it hadn't, he was the only one who had heard it for it was said in his mind by his travel companion. Xavier rolled his sightless eyes as he walked down the small forest trail, barely large enough under the boughs of the trees to fit the dragon that followed close behind him.

"I am not lost, I know exactly where I am," Xavier told Runemir, and not for the first time that day. The trail had twisted and turned for hours, going back and forth through the woods. Of course, Xavier had noted how the dragon had specifically said 'you' and now 'we', for often times the dragon would fly up into the air, free of the confines of the forest and know exactly where they were at. Of course this forced Xavier to stop where he was and wait for her to return. Runemir knew that this slowed their progress, so she did not do this often, and was never gone for very long. The dragon hated being too far from her rider at any given time.

This would be the second day traveling through the forest, their progress slow because they were not in a hurry to get anywhere in particular. In fact, it's hard to be in a hurry when there's nothing behind you, and no destination ahead. But that was how Xavier liked it. No rush or hurry, just enjoying the walk with his companion, his only friend. His eyes.

Runemir didn't reply to Xavier, but went along with it. She always did. And so they walked in comfortable companionship for some time. Finally Xavier piped up, breaking the silence of the woods. Though it could hardly be called silence with the wind blowing through the boughs of the trees and the sounds of scurrying critters and the singing of birds.
"Wasn't there a village not far ahead? We should run into it at any given time," the man said thoughtfully. His grey eyes gazed off, unfocused, his shaggy dark brown hair nappy and uncared for. His cloths were light, yet durable for travel. The only thing on him that seemed to be of value was the decorated hand and a half sword at his waist, and even that was hidden under his forest green cloak that was clasp by a simple button. The dragon that seemed to always shadow him, watching every step he took. Her shoulder was inches from coming to Xavier's height, but with her head held high and proud she seemed to tower over him, her crimson scales standing out from the greenery of the forest. The webbing of her folded bat like wings, and her underbelly a rustic color, while her intelligent eyes shone a golden color like the talons on her four feet.

At Xavier's words, Runemir lifted her head and took a deep draft of air through her wide nostrils, then trained her eyes back down onto Xavier and the path before him.
Yes, and we are close. I smell fires cooking, and humans as well as.... blood, her voice went through Xavier's head. It held a wariness in it, a caution, but the feeling did not seem to reach Xavier, who simply nodded and continued on.

It wasn't long before the sounds of the struggle reached their ears, though Runemir heard them first. Yelling, screaming, clashing. Xavier picked up the pace to a light jog, the dragon following right behind him. It wasn't long before they broke free of the trees and found themselves quite suddenly among wooden buildings. Runemir swung her head around, taking in the sight. Scattered about were villagers, obviously trying to defend themselves against bandits, you could tell they were bandits by the bits of cloths they used to cover half their face.

Over there, Runemir said to Xavier, her gaze trained in a particular direction. It looked to be a girl with golden blonde hair holding off as best she could infront of a barn against three bandits who where slowly gaining up on her. Without a word, dragon and rider went trotting over there, the dragon on high alert, nostril flared and muscles tense, the man, hands in pockets, casual and relaxed. Before reaching them, the dragon stopped, staying back and slightly hidden by a building, but keeping everything in full view.

"Excuse me gentlemen, might I inquire-" Xavier began but was cut off. One of the men turned and slugged Xavier in the face without a word, causing him to stumble back a bit. "Now that was rude. I see that as a challenge, and I gladly accept," Xavier said, pulling out his sword. He ran forward, tripped, and his sword seemed to somehow find it's way into the bandit's chest. "Oops, sorry lad," Xavier said with an apologetic grin towards the other two bandits.

[Altamago]

It was the ringing battle cry that had torn Amalthea's focus from her task at hand. Just finishing the top of the list of her daily chores, she pursed her lips into a hard line as she turned away from the chicken coop and towards the center of town, where a conflict was raging. Most others would assume that when their village was under siege by bandits, that mass chaos and panic would ensue. However, Amathlea, as well as the rest of her townsfolk, weren't surprised or taken aback by the least at the abrupt attack by the moral-less fiends. Though she was somewhat confused at the timing of the pillage, she was expecting the thieves would be attacking at some point in the near future. They always did every so often, and they knew just as well as Amalthea did that there was little her poor, undeveloped village could do to prevent these occurrences.

Well, that wasn't exactly true. Amalthea's town of Dhurleer had a few lines of defense when it came to siege, whether it be from outlaws or royalty's militia, since both were popular. But the Centaur they were in close terms with were too far to give them aid this time around, and they're next best chance of defending themselves had to remain unnoticed by their attackers, and Amalthea had very little time to make sure that did not happen.

Taking off into a full sprint towards the barn across the way, Amalthea was thankful that the attack was focused on the merchant area of her village, as opposed to their supply of oil, minerals, or livestock. Though it was a selfish thought to take gratitude in the misfortune of others in her community, there was a justified reasoning behind the thought. In all actuality, what lay in the stable was worth more than the whole town- several times over. And if the livelihood of another was tossed up in exchange for the safety of the barn's inhabitant, then so be it. Priorities and settlements had to made.

Reaching the bar's sliding door, Amalthea secured it shut and she stood there several seconds longer, her expression showing that she was listening intently. Opposite side of the door, a series of thunks and heavy shuffles could be heard. Through her fingers, Amalthea could feel the door shifting before it felt more solidly in place. Testing it, she attempted to open the door once more, smiling in satisfactory and relief when the door did not budge. That is, before she heard a barrage of footfalls swiftly approaching her from behind.

"Storing something valuable, lassie?" a gruff, crackly voice rang out with a laugh. Amalthea had enough time to turn around and realize she was out-numbered one to three before the man added, "We'll take whatever you've got in there, and you along with it."

Narrowing her eyes, Amalthea saved the time she would have normally have used to spit out a snide remark to take note of the blur of vivid redness behind them a small distance away. There was enough of a moment for her to register that yes, there was indeed an adolescent dragon in her village before the man that had previously spoken reached out to grab her. Unable to react quickly enough to be able to pull off a more offensive maneuver, the petite blond sidestepped from the man's grasp, quickly having to duck to evade a second man's blade. She knew she just had to keep dodging until she found an opening to use their attacks against them since she had no weapons of her own on hand, but as several strands of her hair were trimmed by the third bandit's scimitar, she bemusedly admitted to herself that she may not be able to withstand their attacks long enough to do so- especially since these particular raiders had no conflict with fighting dirty.

[Eruraina]

Ah but while he had but busy accepting the 'challenge' from one of the bandits, the other two had gone to attack the woman. Xavier was very impressed how a seemingly helpless village girl was able to dodge and step away from most of the attacks. She knew how not to get hit. With the man with the scimitar down, there were two left infront of the barn. At least there had been only two left. Now two more came running up behind Xavier, enraged by seeing their fallen comrade. It wasn't that they were vengeful of each other, or really attached to each other. They didn't care what happened to others in their group. If anything, seeing someone fall was just a good excuse to get angry and destroy more stuff and kill more innocents.

The two charged Xavier from behind, one wielding a spiked club, the other a dull machete. They didn't cry out, because they were hoping to catch this man unaware. But Xavier, in a manner of speaking, had eyes on the back of his head. He crouched down as the spiked club flew through the empty air where his head had once been. Then Xavier pulled his arm back to catch balance, having lost it with the feel of the air over his head. Doing so, his elbow slammed into the club wielding bandit's family jewels, causing him to stop in his tracks and go down whimpering like a puppy.
"What were you standing so close behind me for?" Xavier said, acting offended despite the fact that hitting a man in that spot during a fight was considered fighting dirty. Xavier regained his composure and stood back up, twirling the sword that was in his hand expertly. Before the man with the machete properly attacked, a spout of fire seemed to leap from a nearby building and encompass the man. The bandit had no idea what hit him. One minute he was about to attack, the next he was in a raging inferno. "Thanks Runemir," Xavier said, turning back to the final two bandits and the girl.

My pleasure, came the voice in his head, filled with the purr of delight of setting something aflame. The two bandits were so focused on the girl at this point, they had missed the bout of flame. It wasn't until Xavier came close, and whistled that one of them turned to look. But at that point, Xavier's fist made contact with the man's nose. Through his glove, he swore he felt bone break. But a broken nose doesn't stop someone from retaliating. Enraged the bandit came at Xavier, flailing about with his short sword. Xavier was almost mechanical in how he blocked, there being almost a delay in reaction times to where he seemed barely able to block in time. But somehow he was still able to manage it. Finally an opening came and Xavier stabbed his sword into the man's gut, finishing him off...

(I figure Amalthea can steal a dead bandit's weapon and do some fighting of her own.)

[Altamago]

( If she didn't have the resourcefulness to think of that, then I would have to disown her as my character. xD )

A new face had emerged onto the scene, coming swiftly to Amalthea's aid, it seemed. She remembered seeing a glimpse of his figure close to the blood-toned reptile before she had to focus on the matter at hand. The raid seemed much more concentrated, much more vigorous. That could only mean a few things. One, the worst possible Amalthea could think of, was that Salerno's tyrant of a king's army would be close by soon, more than likely heading out to waver the boundary line once more at the appropriately named War Valley. This was considered a very bad possibility since Dhurleer was fancied by the king's army as a place to quarter and obtain resources- though Amalthea's people barely had enough to sustain themselves as it was. Not only that, but the closer Salerno's royalty was to her village, the bigger the possibility was of her secret being exposed- and consequently- taken from her. Or, at least, they would attempt to.

Bringing her thoughts back to reality, though she now had more time to think clearly thanks to the mysterious lad who had come to her aid, Amalthea turned her attention to the last bandit that was focused on her. As he lunged out to strike, she leaned away from his range, disarming him at the wrist and taking his short blade into her own hands. Clearly befuddled by the tactic, the bandit hesitated, which costed him his consciousness as Amalthea rammed the hilt of the blade against his temple. The man fell, going silent, and Amalthea turned to face the unfamiliar man.

"Funny you should arrive when they do," she said to him, her voice soft and fluid, holding a light accent that's origin couldn't quite be touched, "if it wasn't for your companion, I would think you were an enemy as well."

Though she surprised even herself at the calmness of the realization, she was still undeniably shocked at the arrival of the dragon and the man it accompanied. Such bonds were unheard of in this day in age, and those that held such a relationship with a dragon were certain to keep it a close secret. The sheer idea that this man and his dragon were traveling so obviously together brought fear to Amalthea. She desperately hoped this would not attract the king's attention, or a terrible misfortune would fall upon the man and his beast, as well as Amalthea and her village.

Unsure of what to say more, Amalthea observed her surroundings, finding that most of the bandits had been tended to, and were now either dead, dying, or unconscious. She the turned her attention to the creature overhead, watching the dragon with a fascination. Inside her eyes, a relief and even a joy could also be seen.

[Eruraina]

Xavier stooped and wiped the blood from his blade on the body of the bandit he had just killed. He was not being attacked for the time being. In fact, it seemed that all nearby enemies had been taken care of. The girl having made quick work of the remaining man. In which case, the dragon rider sheathed his weapon, the gilded hilt getting lost in the folds of his green cloak. Since it seemed he had no longer need of it for the time being.

His attention was pulled to the girl, who looked very sure of herself with how she stood. Somehow proud, yet a gentle radiance at the same time. Her voice was soft to the ears, in contrast to Xavier's voice, which was rather rough, weathered from travel. He kept his eyes moving about, scanning the surrounding, not looking directly at the girl as she spoke to him.

"I wouldn't call it funny, more like lucky," Xavier replied with a shrug. "I just so happened to be coming upon this place when you so happened to be attack by bandits." Xavier hesitated for a moment. "Now that sounds rather suspicious, now doesn't it?" he chuckled. "I'm not too good at dealing with people, bear with me."

Then something the girl said make Xavier perked his ears. It certainly drew Runemir's attention. If it wasn't for his companion. So, she had spotted the dragon. With a rumble coming from her throat, a noise Xavier knew to be curiosity, the red dragon stepped forward, tilting her head. She drew up beside Xavier, sniffing the air.

I smell another of my kind nearby. But I do not see one, her voice went through Xavier's head, making him frown a bit. But he didn't say anything about what his dragon said.

"So, you see dragons as friends, and not enemies? Most would run screaming if they saw my companion. That would be part of the reason I'm not too good with people."

[Altamago]

As she listened to the man's reply, she watched him curiously, taking in the detail of his grey eyes and green attire. He was clearly not from this area, which would make much sense. Someone who traveled with a dragon would have to do so cautiously, and they couldn't stay in one place for long. She pondered on where he was from, his appearance giving her no more clues as to his origins, or even his heritage. Though he did appear to be human. Appear, that is.

Amalthea giggled softly along with the man's own chuckle, her soprano pitch over an octave higher than his own. Their laughs together, Amalthea noted, seemed almost musical. Or, perhaps, it was just her musically-inclined nature seeping through. Eventually their laughter died away as he seemed to have an epiphany of sorts. As he paused in silence, Amalthea looked past him, and past the dragon that was now approaching them. Whatever bandits were left had dispersed, and the townfolks resumed to their prior tasks as well as cleaning up from the raid- Or, at least, that's what they normally did. But the unfamiliar man and dragon called in a massive amount of attention. Curious eyes looked on from a distance, but no one dared approach them.

The dragon stepped forward to them, her snout inhaling the air around them deeply. Amalthea was sure the beast could catch the scent of the inhabitant of the barn, but this didn't worry her. At least, not too much. Amalthea did not speak the reptile, or make any effort to confront it. Instead, she met the dragon's eyes with an open, respectful gaze before looking back to the man, who had spoken to her. He was frowning, yet she was unsure as to why.

"Humanity has taught itself to fear what it does not understand," she replied simply, turning away from the man to undo the locks set on the outside of the sliding door that was echoed by movement inside. She then added, "So yes, most will flee. But there are a few left who wish to understand, and a few who already know." She paused for a moment, seeming to listen to a voice that only she seemed to hear before she slid the door to the barn open. Inside, a large dark figure stood in the center of the compound, a length limb wrapped around it's body. A pair of bright azure orbs stared out from the darkness, the pupil of it's eyes wide to bring in the light. A soft snort came from the beast, but it did not move other than the slight narrow of his eyes.

[Eruraina]

Runemir watched the girl closely, eyes narrowing in on her hands as she undid the barn door. Xavier listened to her words, slouching a bit, showing a strange relaxed feel. His gaze followed Amalthea, though not as intently as the dragon did. His eyelids were almost half closed in an uncaring manner.
"There is truth in your words," Xavier replied to her. Runemir's nostrils widened as she breathed in more scents, becoming aware that something was inside the barn. And soon the door swung open to reveal the dragon who rested inside.

Xavier... Runemir said to him, nostrils expanding and contrasting as she smelt the air heavily, lowering and cocking her head to the side at seeing the other dragon.

"I know," Xavier said, the words meant for his dragon.

There's a dragon inside that building, the dragon continued.

"I see that," came his reply.

Another dragon! Another human imprinted dragon! The excitement couldn't be contained in the female dragon's voice, and she went to step forward, closer to the other dragon. Her neck was stretched straight out as if to reach out to the other dragon, though she seemed to dare not get much closer.

"All I can say is this is a day of strange coincidences. My dragon and I happen upon a town that happens to be under attack, and help out a girl that happens to have a dragon curled up in her barn. I suddenly feel inclined to introduce myself," Xavier said, and gave the girl a deep sweeping bow, and had going to his chest as his torso bent forward. He came back up to find dark brown hair in his grey eyes. He shook his head to the side and the hair swept out of his face. "I am Xavier Nanashi, and this is my dragon, the lovely Runemir. Travelers extordinair," he said with a charming smile.

Xavier! Runemir said to him, turning her face to look at her rider.

"Yes, Runemir?" Xavier asked his dragon, fully knowing that the woman would only be able to hear what he was saying, and that it was likely to confuse the woman. Or maybe, having a dragon, she would understand that he was having half a telepathic conversation.

You should invite them to travel with us. We need to keep moving, they will have to, as well. We should travel together. Safety in numbers Runemir told him. Xavier sighed.

"No, Runemir, I won't. Now settle down," Xavier said, and spoke again to the woman. "I am sorry about Runemir's eagerness. It has been some time since we have seen another dragon. If it's alright, might I ask your name?"

[Altamago]

The dark-scaled dragon inside the shelter watched the unfamiliars with scrutinizing eyes. The red dragon, that was named Runemir, showed much curiosity and interest in her kin, a friendly eagerness being obvious on her features. Amalthea glanced back to the dragon behind her, who returned her gaze. A short amount of time passed between the two before they both looked away to turn their attention towards their respective species.

Amalthea watched the man with a sharp gaze. She easily picked up on his careless nature and how much more laid back he was in contrast to his companion- but they seemed to balance each other out. Their personalities seemed to compliment each other nicely.
He had spoken a few times now outside now that seemed awfully out of place, but Amalthea made no outer note of it. She felt it was safe to assume that he had a similar bond to his dragon as she did to her own. He then introduced himself, bowing to her and shaking his hair from his brow as he rose once more.

"I am Amalthea," she spoke softly, letting her unidentifiable accent take her name with a silky flow, "Amalthea Dragomir. Behind me is Azazel." She then smiled upon hearing the telepathic message from her companion, though perhaps it would appear to Xavier that she was smiling in politeness.

Her expression turning to a more serious one, Amalthea added, "Since you are traveling, you are more than welcome to stay in the guest room of my home, I will brew us some tea. But for now, we should get out of the open. The townsfolk are not afraid of dragons- they are accustomed to Azazel, but I fear Salerno's army is nearby." Worry began to fill her features as she continued, "I fear some of the bandits may tip off the presence of dragons here." Amalthea began to move away from them, ushering Xavier to accompany her.

[Eruraina]

Xavier noted how glanced were exchanged between the black dragon and the woman. So it appeared they had the same mental connection that he had with Runemir. So Runemir was right in stating that this dragon was also imprinted to a human. This was definitely intriguing. It was rare enough to see a dragon, since they were growing fewer in number with every passing year. But to have another imprinted to a human... it was usually only heard of to happen once a generation. Or at least that's what Xavier had heard. So far he had to keep himself on the down low, so maybe there had been more and they had remained off the grid like him.

Speaking of which, with this attack, they could not tarry here, they had to keep moving. Too many were seeing Runemir was it was.

Xavier watched and listened as the girl introduced herself. "Amalthea, a beautiful name, my lady," he stated, then turned to the dragon behind her. Runemir also turned her head and looked back curiously at Azazeal. "And Azazeal... a strong name in my opinion. Well, I wish good fortunes upon you. It was a pleasure to have met you."

He was about to turn away, but stopped when he noticed, through Runemir's eyes, that Amalthea's expression went serious. She offered for him to stay in a room, and for some tea. Xavier thought about the idea for a long moment, mulling it over. Runemir was now too distracting, looking at the black dragon to say anything about it. He wouldn't mind some tea, he hadn't had some for a long time. But then on the other hand, going inside where his dragon could not fit comfortably, he would be a fumbling fool running into everything and he would have to reveal himself. And with how he lived, it was safest to keep his secret a secret. But there was one thing Amalthea was right about, it was not good to stay in the open, and the bandits would likely draw soldiers, which bode ill. A solution came to him.

"I would like to take you up on your offer, because I am quite fond of tea. But I would not part myself from Runemir, if I can't help it. If there is room in your barn for two dragons and a weary traveler, I wouldn't mind sleeping on a pile of hay. It's better than the cold ground. It might not be best to move on just yet," Xavier said, and heard a purr of pleasure coming from Runemir. She like the idea that if they could not come with them, that they could stay here, even if it was just for a single night.

[Altamago]

As the man named Xavier replied, Amalthea's gaze swayed between his and his dragon's. Runemir seemed fairly distracted as she focused in on Azazel, and didn't seem to hear either of them as they talked. Amalthea wasn't offended by his compromise, but instead- was confused. Sure, she and Azazel had a very close bond, but the one between Runemir and Xavier seemed much more...dependent. She was unsure as to what brought her to that conclusion, but her intuition told her that it was nothing to worry over, and to instead, direct the concern on the possibility of soldiers stopping by their village.


Amalthea nodded to both of them. "Very well, I'll collect you a warm blanket and boil the tea. There's plenty of room- and a loft if you prefer to have elevation. I keep the back latch undone so that Azazel could slip into the woods behind us if need be, but it should be shut and not let the cold come in." She paused for a moment to look to the sky. It was towards evening now, and she still had chores to tend to. Her near-nocturnal lifestyle was certainly affecting her work schedule. Looking back to the man, she added, "there's a stream a small ways into the forest if you wish to bathe. Normally I would suggest you go with others, since the woodland of these parts are unsafe, but since you have her," Amalthea looked to the crimson beast, smiling softly, "you'll have no trouble, I'm sure." With that, Amalthea gave them a small bow prior to leaving them, before noticing once again Runemir's fixation on Azazel.

"He's not cruel," she stated simply, "merely weary. We've never met others of his kind before." She then took her exit, walking briskly towards her home. The curled locks of her hair were brushed over her shoulder by the breeze as she closed the door behind her.

Still inside the barn, Azazel watched the newcomers with a fixed gaze. He inhaled deeply, the sound echoing through the hollow space, amplifying it. As he exhaled, it came as a quick snort- condensation mixed with a tinge of smoke. He was very much taken aback by the sight of another dragon, and he held some worry in his heart for his human. Neither of them knew what intentions the pair here may have, and this put him on edge. So much so that it made him unusually pessimistic.
Rising onto all of his limbs, he reached out to the sliding door with his front limb- which seemed anatomically to be more hand-like than the opposing dragon's- and widened the opening before stepping closer, breathing in deeply and analyzing all the scents his breath took in.