Starting Date and Time: Jedayan 35th, 301DM

Starting Location: Western Kerawac traveling towards Pyresia

CS URLs: Raffey Silafin & Drachiathoryx

The days grew gradually warmer as Dibney carried Drache and Raffey south and east towards the City of Dragons, though the constant wind across the grassland held a chill that neither of the warm-blooded travelers much appreciated. The smooth scuttle of the huge beetle ate up mile after mile of flat plains, and Drachiathoryx soon decided that Raffey's company was worth the loss of speed that flying under the power of her own wings would have afforded her.

It was harder than she would have imagined to flee from the God known as Coria, and there were times that she nearly turned back, gazing with a painful frown over her shoulder until a word or touch from the Keremis drew her attention away from that vile pull.

The Kvaren had spared enough food to last them the first half of their trek, and the Kerawac provided the rest. Once or twice they spotted campfire smoke on the horizon, but Drache urged Raffey to steer Dibney away from the pinpoints of heat and light she could feel burning in the distance.

Trying to take her mind off of recent events, Drache asked Raffey to teach her more of his language, enjoying the sound of the words on his tongue. In return, she taught him some Draconic, and told him about her magic, about Pyresia, about her travels. It would become evident to the Keremis that although Drache had been born in the city she sometimes referred to simply as "The Mountain", she didn't have anything resembling a sense of 'home'. She didn't belong anywhere, an absence that lent itself well to a life of travel and a proclivity for wanting to immerse herself in new cultures, fleeting though her time there might be.

At night, the wind was cold, but the silk tent kept out the worst of it, and together they sat in the warmth of Drache's campfire, eating and talking. Now and then the half-dragon would work on her logbooks or write in her journal, sometimes drawing while surreptitiously glancing at Raffey out of the corner of her eye. Occasionally she would play with the fire, making it swirl and dance to follow the motions of her hand, but it reminded her of Laurel, which reminded her of Kraven, so it didn't last long. It was during one of these lazy evenings that Cinder awoke in Drache's hands as she idly traced her claws over the hard orb, blazing into life with a yawn in the shifting features of his tiny face.

And when they slept it was in the same bedroll, Drache's limbs coiled greedily around Raffey while he snuggled for warmth.

--

Early one bright morning, the travelers crossed over the edge of a rise in the grassland and they looked up to see a dark smudge rising on the horizon. Beyond this point, the terrain began to buck and roll, the waving fields of grass giving way to higher brush and the first real trees they had come across in a while. The dark hint of even thicker vegetation on the horizon beckoned.

Raffey enjoyed the rather easy travels that came as they headed southward. The winds were cold, but his curvaceous companion, usually pressed against his back atop Dibney, helped keep him quite warm. He could still see the sadness in her eyes, hear it in her voice, not only from losing one she called a friend, but leaving the others behind. He knew she was behind a wall now. And walls were meant to protect one's self. So he didn't push. For he was behind his own too, still blaming his weakness for the death of Kraven.

He could feel whenever she was considering turning to temptation and fleeing. In this regard she was much like a sand hare, nonchalant and then suddenly ready to bolt. Everytime she did, he'd place a hand on her thick thigh, or point out something in the distance. They both knew Coria would only make things worse, not better for the dragoness. Gods could never be trusted, new or old. Even with his injured leg, hunting in Kerawac was fairly easy for the seasoned veteran, especially with the age of a fiery dragon. He was more than happy to avoid the distraction of running into other Kvaren at her behest.

He remembered them talking about their homes, and her asking about his language. He wasn't the greatest of teacher, but he was fairly certain she just preferred hearing his native Auric over his butchered Common. "My home is one of the biggest secrets of the Auric deserts, one we guard very closely. My people are the masters of the desert. Our numbers are small, our money low, our weaponry not advanced. But we are the only ones that truly live with the desert rather than simply in it. Many armies have attempted to find and invade our city only to turn back or disappear entirely. Even when I take you there, it will be near impossible for you to find again on your own. Our secrecy, our bond with her sands is what protects us. We are the desert, and she is our mother." He chuckled before the next bit, "I hope my desert form doesn't startle you too much." He spoke slowly in his native tongue, then followed suit every few words in Common, for he didn't know any other way to teach it.

He learned a few words in Draconic, finding the language much more pleasant than Common. He learned about her magic, the places she'd been. She was a wanderer just as he was, as many of his kind were. But he had a home to go back to. She had a haven, but not a home. It sounded so lonely. At least she wasn't alone now.

He enjoyed their nights together, usually him cooking something they'd hunted, working on his weapons, or cleaning Dibney. They shared a bedroll out of warmth and comfort, but he suspected they both needed the company. She was quite soft to hold onto, and he often felt stirrings in his loins that he kept within himself. Her sadness didn't seem to want it, even as his yearning grew. Twice he'd woken in the middle of the night, tempted to just roll her over and take what he wanted, knowing she'd enjoy it as much as he. It didn't help that every morning he woke with something firm between them.

And this morning had been no different. He didn't know what it was, but feeling her thick breasts against his back felt more teasing than normal. He could see that it the plains were giving way to jungle and that they'd have to slow down. Dibney could still travel through foliage, for her strength and armor knocked over most trees easily, but it was still slower. He reached back, a hand on her outer thigh, a bit higher than normal, "Mus' be close nah, yah? Yah readeh? Why dun we tra' place. Dibneh will do jus' fine." This was partially because she'd need to do more finessed navigating, but also because Raffey needed to fight off this yearning within him. And her breasts against him did not make that any easier. He slowed Dibney to a stop, to make the transition easier.

Looking back, Drache would realize that she owed a lot to Raffey on that trip back to Pyresia. There was no doubt that if she'd had to make that trek alone, she would not have made it without turning back to Coria. He provided ample distraction, and if she hadn't been so gloomy and closed-off she might have explored him even more.

She did her best to pick up his language, but even though she had no trouble making the sounds, it didn't resonate with her as easily as Kvaren had. She tried though, and truthfully did love to listen to him talk. Riding behind him, she often tucked her snout against his back and just rode listlessly.

But when they finally passed into the glossy green of the jungle, the Ash Peak still distant and impossibly huge, she began to feel better. The terrain was rougher, the jungle reducing their sight, but it was warmer, more humid, and more comfortable. She glanced around, her tail flopping around with more excitement than she had shown in days.

"I don't think I'd want to visit there without you with me," she said simply, shrugging. She repeated a few words, a few simple phrases. When he mentioned that he had another form, she assumed that he had some kind of shape-shifting abilities like the dragons in Pyresia and didn't press for details, but her amber eyes darted over him carefully, as though looking for some hint of what this mysterious other form might look like.

It didn't escape her notice that Raffey was growing frustrated with needs, but he had shrunk away from her before, back before Coria, and now she was too despondent to consider that his interest might be directed towards her. So when he stopped the scuttling beetle and announced his wish to switch spots, Drache didn't argue.

"Mhmm...yes. There should be a road somewhere soon that will take us right to the city. The patrols will probably stop us at some point but that won't slow us much. We probably have four more days until we get to the city proper." The hand on her thigh earned a weak smile, but she did a double-take, perhaps seeing something of his discomfort in his face. She didn't say anything about it, however, moving to scoot in front of him. She tucked her tail down along one of her legs and adjusted her wings so that they wouldn't be in his way as much as he settled in behind her.

"There, is that better?" She glanced over her shoulder at him. The world around them had become noisy, birds and monkeys and insects creating a wierd organic symphony of sound. The colours would be much brighter in the summer, but the richness of the green leaves around them matched Drache's bright red hide much better than the dry grassland they had left behind. Drache tried a smile and found that just trying it made her happier. "I'm glad you came with me, Raffey. I can't wait to show you around."

It was not any better. Where her breasts had teased at his back earlier, now her ass teased at his groin. Why did she have to have such ample curves, and no issue tossing them about? This dry spell wasn't going to last. He listened to the many noises from the jungle to distract himself from the cushion of her body. He would pick out a specific call, in this case, some sort of monkey creature. He'd eaten a couple on the way up from the desert last time, not super tasty, but easy to hunt. Too smart for their own good. He focused on it, tuning out the other sounds, so as to distinguish it better. This was an old hunting trick. He could hear the monkeys talking to each other. They spoke a good deal more than other creatures he'd noticed. And it wasn't just mating calls. They coordinated group efforts, had sentries, socialized.

Raffey didn't notice that his hands that had sat at his sides had crept onto the tops of Drache's thighs, as if to hold on better. This was anything but the case, for he'd ridden Dibney enough that he could hold on his with just his legs in her saddle. As the giant beetle dozed a path through the jungle, Raffey's eyes always kept a watchful eye out. Several times snakes had dropped down on him and giant jungle cats considered ambushing him.

His hands rubbing up and down the lengths of her thighs absentmindedly, "So, Drrrrrrraackuh, wha' t'ings will ya show meh?" He had to admit the abundance of natural noise, and smell, and water, and color here was much more appealing than the days and days and days of nothing but grass of the Kerawac. And seeing mountain of fire would be nice too. He found himself wondering if it would boil up and erupt, as his hands slid down to the insides of her thighs. "Ees ih more ho' ihn Peeresya, ihn dah moun'ain, dan ou' he'e?"

At first, Drache was concerned that Dibney might be less than thrilled about having a half-dragon in the front seat, but it seemed that Raffey was able to steer perfectly fine from behind her. The rainforest was familiar to her, so the dragonkin took advantage of an empty lap and slid her satchel around in front. There were a few interesting things inside, and though her intent was to pull out the folded map to make a few brief notations, she found that the orange stone from the Fire Temple had been jostled free of the smaller pouch inside, and she held it in her palm, gazing unfocusedly at the dim angular shape of the mountain that flashed briefly through the rare gap in the canopy overhead.

Eventually she forgot what she was about to do and tucked it away, distracted by the sounds of the jungle. She took a more active roll in guiding them now, pointing, often with her wing, at the direction she wanted Dibney to go. Now and then they passed small trails through the thick leafy brush, water-filled wagon tracks lined with moss and brightly coloured frogs. The air was full of the smell of growing things, the perfume heady.

At one point Drache stiffened, her ear-frills spreading out wide with alertness as she peered sidelong at something in the trees. A Drakkoth lurked surprisingly high off the ground, his green hide nearly indistinguishable from the understory around him, watching them pass with a long spear in his hand. She turned to look over her shoulder, an amber eye rolling as she murmured to her companion. "We have company."

She had been traveling with the monster hunter long enough to trust that not only would Raffey be able to pick out the small band of large reptilians lurking around them. But though the creatures could be very dangerous, Drache gave a slow shimmy and relaxed, realizing that the bundle-laden creatures were not a hunting party.

It was supposed to be a nonverbal sign to Raffey that he didn't need to reach for his weapons, but unfortunately this move wouldn't do much to help his mood.

Later on, a tingle of pleasure slid down her spine at the way he rolled her name, and she grinned. "There is a lot to see in Pyresia," she began thoughtfully, "The peak itself is so tall that the summit is cold no matter what time of year it is. The dragon balconies ring the steeper slopes and most of the rest of the surface city is on the western side above the harbour. The Artisan District always has fun things to see, and then there is the Meteorena, which is actually on the west side. There are a lot of museums and the terraced gardens. There are several fun taverns and bordellos closer to the water." She turned and winked at him then. "And then there are the Gem Deeps. Pyresia is mostly famous for gem stones and you will see why! And the lava-ducts light the city at night."

It wasn't exactly clear when she realized that the light grip on her legs had become something more, but she waited until there were fingers dipping down towards her groin before she actually glanced back at him with a lifted brow, as if to say "Oh, really?"

"Inside the mountain there are places that only Ixen, or half-Ixen (she said with a haughty waggle of her wings) can survive. But the wind off the sea keeps the city much less stifling than here under the trees."

Reaching down, she caught his hands to stop him from dipping them further, bringing them up to her belly instead. The leather vest muffled the sensation of touch but didn't do much to reduce the natural heat that radiated from her body. Her long tail shifted, coiling loosely around his calf.

"Perhaps we should stop for a break. There's something up ahead that you should see." A moist smell in the air reminded her of it, and after another stretch they rounded a rocky ridge to find a pool nestled under an overhang of pitted black lava rock. A small white waterfall tumbled over the ledge from where it had meandered down from higher ground, spilling into a pool that steamed where bubbles rose up from the bottom. All around them, the wide glossy leaves and dark red bromeliads offered a sense of privacy and seclusion. Their only company was a pair of red parrots busily foraging on small fruits high above.

Drache's prior knowledge of this spot was explained by a tumble-down obelisk of basalt barely visible through the greenery, and as they approached, the dragoness escaped Raffey's grip and slid down to the leafy ground. "I fancy a dip. Care to join me?" There was something salacious in her gaze as she peered up at him. "As much as I like snuggling in the bedroll at night and riding with you behind me, I wouldn't mind a little time face to face."