[IC] Age of the Draconides

[Kaga]

Dawn in the Kingdom of Sorenaye. The Inside woke as it typically did; no pressing concerns, nothing that pressured them to wake early, before the ones who hunted them. No, the Inside woke casually, only concerned with the frivolous affairs that kept the attention of the noble classes.

In particular, the Prince of Sorenaye woke without much care, ready to start another day filled with whatever he could find to entertain himself. “Good morning, Xavier.” He called to the Titan companion basking in the sun that came through the window as he entered his living quarters. The beast had lived in the castle for a few years now, living practically as a housepet as Prince Dominique made an effort to keep him as well-trained as possible. He’d received the creature when it was only a foot off the ground, and it had already grown to almost his own height. “You know, if you get much bigger, you won’t be able to just wander the castle anymore.” He spoke up, petting his Draconide between the two small horns that protruded from his head. “We’ll have to move you someplace else.” Of course, he knew Xavier would grow to an impressive size someday. His parents didn’t pay for the skinny build of a Raptor, after all. He just didn’t expect him to grow so rapidly.

Xavier rose to his feet as Dominique spoke, hanging his head in the windowsill, light from the sun peeking over the walls reflecting off of his dark blue scales. “You want to go outside?” he asked, retrieving the chain leash he always took the Titan out with. Xavier snapped his jaws excitedly, scurrying to Dominique’s side. “Guess so.” He grinned.

After securing the leash to Xavier’s bejeweled collar, he took the Draconide outside to see the Kingdom. Of course his presence on the streets always attracted some stares, though Dominique never was sure whether the looks were because of his princely status or the creature at his side. Dominique didn’t mind much, though. He was used to this treatment – but he didn’t care; all he wanted to do each day was explore what the kingdom had to offer. He kept his eyes open for some new excitement.

---

Meanwhile, on the edge of the Kingdom of Sorenaye, dawn rose on a relatively calm morning. Birds sang, families woke, and most greeted the morning from the safety of their homes, as sheltered as possible from the threatening wilderness, filled with creatures that could unexpectedly attack on even the calmest of mornings. However, while most Outsiders shied away from this danger, there was one in particular who embraced it on this fine morning, spending time with a rare visitor.

“Wooooww….! You’re so big!” Maya exclaimed, voice full of wonder. From her position on the ground, her neck tilted way back, and her gaze reached way, way up to take a look at her monstrous new friend. “We almost never see Towers around here! I forgot how big they can get!” she mused, watching the creature enjoy his breakfast of pine needles. “And… is that your nose on top of your head?” she asked almost as if she expected an answer, squinting as she tried to get a better look, silently wishing she could climb a tree or something, so as to stand at eye level with the impressive beast.

[Thundercat]

The morning sun shined through the windows of William's room as he sat at his desk, writing with a quill pen into his journal. This journal was kept with him at all times, as it contained much more information than one would perceive a 16 year old boys journal to have. He dabbed the pen into a small jar of ink and continued writing for a moment before closing the journal and placing it in his back pocket.

As he walked downstairs his family sat at the breakfast table, eating away, all with smiles on their faces as they conversed and laughed. "Where is Uncle?" William asked, even though he was part of the family he felt as if he was interrupting their breakfast. "Oh, my dear boy! William! Have a seat, Lucile cooked up quite the meal for us on this fine morning." Williams mother, Heloise, spoke with a smile on her face as she invited him to breakfast. "Mother, i've told you before I don't understand why you have Lucile prepare such a meal, we hardly ever finish the food and it's just thrown out. All of this could keep a family fed for a week." the Kendrick family ignored his words, and continued to talk amongst themselves. "William, you're being ridiculous, there will always be food in this house. Relax, please have a seat." William ignored her proposal "Where is uncle?" He asked once more.

As the words left his mouth a 35 year old man with long brown hair that reached his shoulders and a scruffy beard walked through the door. The man was Francis Kendrick, a proud warrior and nobleman of the Kendrick family. "You're late boy, let's get a move on," William walked out the front door, and Francis waved hello and goodbye to the rest of the Kendrick family before walking out, closing the door behind him. William walked beside Francis throughout the Kingdom of Sorenaye. "Is everyone there yet?" William asked as they moved about the crowd, many people greeted the two and wished them a good morning as they walked by, Francis would acknowledge them with a smile and a wave, William would nod. "We are to escort them to meet them at the gates and escort them to the Castle, at high noon we will be allowed to speak with the King himself."

Francis had persuaded the Sorenaye Council to schedule a meeting with the King himself. Francis, William, and three representatives from the outside would state their case, requesting that a guards barracks be built and maintained outside of the walls, taxes and the amount of food given to the Sword and Shield knights be lowered, and an armory be built for residents of the outside, as the state of their weapons are depleting, and few in number. It was Williams idea to meet with the King, and he had been looking forward to today for quite some time. Unbeknownst to the King and the Council, today marked phase one in a plan, also devised by William. "Today is the day." William stated, with ambition in his voice. "A lot is riding on this boy. I have faith in you," Francis said. The pair moved on through the Kingdom and to gates.

[DR_TRAPEZOID]

Waewyn manor. A large, elegant mansion, made of a hardy oak base with many glass panes adorning the angular walls. It is a pleasant colour, a deep maroon, slightly faded over time. The manor had many shrubs and trees surrounding it, emerald green vines crawling up the walls. The early sunshine shone through the stained glass window adorning the towers, spreading a pleasant array of colours across the grass. A gentle chime rang through the air, a gentle breeze allowing his wind chimes to produce the lilting noises.

Accompanying the ring of bells, was a violent clanging, emanating from the hedge-enclosed backyard of the manor. A warm glow bathed the flagstone coated patio, as Caedes stood outside, a thin rapier in his hand, the golden gem-encrusted hilt sparkling. The steely blade flickered through the air, swiftly disarming a dummy, made of straw. He sighed, turning to grab a piece of fresh fruit from a platter behind him.

He let out a brief whistle, and raised his leather padded glove. Surely enough, a high pitched caw sounded through the air, and a dark silhouette darted across the bright sky. It swooped down, whistling through the air, before unfurling it's rather impressive wingspan, slowing down to a gentle glide, before falling to a rest on Caedes' leather gauntlet. The Wyvern let out a smaller, less harsh caw, an endearing gesture. Chuckling under his breath, Caedes took out a piece of meat.
"Perhaps you need a treat, my small winged friend."

He said, tossing the succulent slice of steaming steak into the air. Skar, the draconide, flapped up swiftly to snag the meat from mid-air. He gulped it down, screeching with satisfaction. Caedes stroked Skar on his head, congratulating him. Taking a deep breath of the crisp, fresh morning air, Caedes made a decision to go out into town. He had very few servants, most of whom simply preformed the deeds of upkeeping the unused parts of the manor. He dismissed those who were working today, as it was such a nice day, and he felt that the manor could go a day without so much attention.

He strolled back into his house, grabbing a cloak, satchel, and money purse, then mounting his rapier back on his wall. He strolled out, headed to town, simply to mingle, and perhaps purchase some more nourishment, as he didn't purchase much food, and not very often. He whistled as he walked out, calling Skar to his side. He knew that Skar attracted attention- almost too much- but Skar loved going for walks, and was rather intimidating to potential robbers. As he left, the nest of Wyverns that had made their home in the spires of his mansion let out a screech, jealous of their pampered brother.

[Rakkety Tam]

The birds sang out lustfully at the new day, the wind washed through the trees causing them to sway lightly and gracefully, the clouds stood out a wondrous white against the pale blue of the sky, and Auri snored raucously. Many from the outside would question the sanity of anyone sleeping past day break when the draconides grew active, but for Auri they presented no problem. This was due to the fact that Auri was busy snoring the morning away near the top of one of the skinniest pine trees in the area. They had long ago figured out that draconides lack the agility and sleight weight needed to climb trees, sure some Raptors could manage the first few braches of thick sturdy specimens if the branches lay close to the ground but never any great height and never anything as skinny at this pine. So since this area lacked any significant wyvern presence, Auri slept on.

Slept on until a giant mouth chomped down on the foliage not a meter from their head. Auri was shaken into the waking world from the impact and let out a small scream that sounded not dissimilar to the startled chattering of a squirrel, the giant mouth of course chewed on without worry and Auri was forced to retreat hurling insults and curses to the uncaring giant. "You senseless, brainless home wrecker! Gutless, spineless coward! Who eats an Auri nest eh? Only fools and monsters you big... giant..." Auri flustered around for a word as they made their way down to the ground, hoping lightly from branch to branch deciding that if bigmouth up there had breakfast, they should have some too just to show it up. They paused at the last branch from the ground and shouted up towards the intruder "Leafy mug!" Giving a satisfied grin they turned to face the ground to see an adolescent staring up at the Tower asking it questions. Well Auri had seen stranger things, but this was the oddest in a long while. Of course they missed the irony of a poncho wearing, skull toting, grubby tree felon thinking that.

Auri's stomach growled. The young one was wearing clean clothes, not fancy like the ones that came out of the big walls from time to time, but clean. That meant they lived in a village or something, and that meant food that wanted to stay down. "Hey! You got food?" They yelled out at towards them, Auri had never grasped the subtleties of polite conversation "You should give me the food!" they added for clarity and mimed chewing and tummy rubbing just to make sure the message got across.

[Kaga]

Maya’s excitement increased for a moment when she spotted movement at the top of the tree, at first thinking yet another creature, maybe a Wyvern or something, had found itself a home atop the evergreen and was a bit startled by the Tower chomping away at its hideout. Maya’s excitement very quickly turned to confusion, however, as the being in the tree branches turned out to be… another human? Somehow? She’d never seen one climb a tree so well.

The young woman grew a bit nervous, too, as the mysterious man descended from the top of the tree with seemingly equal ease, then approached her without hesitation, asking for food. “W-well, um…” she stuttered. Maya never really knew how to deal with these types. As much as the lighthearted girl didn’t want to see anyone starve, she knew that her own family, while not exactly struggling to survive, still didn’t have a ton of food to just give away. Also, this man’s (or at least she thought it was a man?) wild appearance didn’t help. Despite her enthusiasm around Draconides, she was still sometimes a bit shy around other people. “I… don’t know, if I have any food to offer.” She answered awkwardly, backing away from Auri. “Are you… are you from Sorenaye?” she asked, not knowing whether this stranger was part of her own kingdom or someone who’d just wandered out of the wilderness. “If not, should I take you to my village?” As much as she wanted to keep observing the Tower, she couldn’t just ignore the man – and she certainly didn’t want to leave him out in the wild.

[Rakkety Tam]

Maya was stammering, awkward and backing away. To some this might be a queue to leave or a sign telling them to use a gentler approach, for Auri all that really mattered was the possibility of food, all these reactions went hand in and with the people they met so it was pretty much normal. "Ch! Silly silly, of course you have food" Auri chided as they slipped off the branch and smoothly grabbed it with one hand as they fell past it to hang a meter or two off the ground "And Auri's not from anywhere, Auri is from everywhere" They said matter of factly, as if that explained everything. And with that they released the branch and fell the last distance landing in a neat roll, partly to show off "but maybe the village is not such a good idea" they said a tad sheepishly "villages always mean trouble for this one" Auri added a smile at this, one with lots of teeth "they do have pleeenty of shiny though" the toothy grin grew wider, creasing the ochre red patterns painted onto their face.

Auri was definitely hungry, but the last village they'd been to had left a sour taste in their mouth and several deep burses on their back, and with these memories fresh in their mind they weren't particularly game to try it again "Bah food can wait anyway, whats one like you doing talking to big ones like that?" Auri said (ignoring the fact they had been the one to bring up food in the first place) as they pointed towards the steadily munching Tower "theyre not so good with the talking you know" they added in a voice people usually reserved for telling children that yes the fire was hot, no they shouldn't touch it.

[Kaga]

“O-oh, haha, I know they can’t talk back.” Maya responded, laughing awkwardly. “I just like talking to them – you know, trying to get to know them better. They’ve always fascinated me.” she told Auri, shielding her eyes from the sun as she looked back up at the creature, enjoying the subject change. “I always wanted to get close to them and learn more about them. I mean, I know there are some that are dangerous, so I can’t say they’re all friendly beings that we don’t have to defend ourselves from, but a lot of them don’t eat meat at all, like this one here.” She explained, smiling. “It’s a shame most of them are still too big to bring into the village without causing a commotion, though…”

[True Self]

"Davae!" A panicked voice shouted from up in the windy air. Two enormous wyverns, a black and a dark green one, glided in the sky above a little village on the outskirts of Sorenaye. From the looks of it, two humans rode upon the wyvern's backs and one of the humans was struggling to get the dark green wyvern to land. The monstrous wyvern bucked it's sharp head and shrieked loudly before flapping it's powerful wings in a violent manner. "DAVAE!" The panicky boy with long silvery dreads yelled once more as the other wyvern and rider landed gracefully upon the earth. The boy's wyvern would not listen and continued to buck it's head wildly before spinning it's whole body in mid-air and causing the boy to be thrown off of it's back! After landing painfully into the dirt on his side, the silver haired boy lifted his head and cursed savagely under his breath. He looked up with his grey, cloudy eyes just as he could feel a force lifting him up onto his feet from under his shoulder. The other rider with a sun blaze tattoo on his left breast had helped him from the ground. The boy with the silver dreads shook away from his helper's grip and responded "Thanks, but I warned you that I don't belong in the sky." An ear drum ripping screech came from above as the dark green wyvern hovered in air with the help of it's huge wings. The boy just looked down and tightened his fist, because he could not see to make a disgusted look toward the disobedient creature.

"Would you have preferred we walked to Sorenaye?" The other man asked the silver haired boy with a sarcastic tone. "It is best to embrace new things, Aleksu."He said, and placed a comforting hand on the side of the boy's upper arm. Aleksu mainly stayed quiet, because he knew that the man was right in a way and because he was too flustered for pleasant words. "He will follow his brother." The man said looking up to the dark green wyvern in the air and then down at his own black wyvern. "Terras sometime rebel against those who do not own them, but this one minded quite well for the majority of the trip." He looked over at Aleksu who was holding his injured arm from the fall. "You going to be alright?"

"My heart still beats." Aleksu replied, and then walked over to the man by following the sound of his voice. "I'm glad that I kept my guardians with you. I knew it wouldn't be a safe idea for them to be with me during first flight. Give them to me, please." Aleksu said with outstretched arms. The man responded by unlatching a basket from the side of his wyvern's saddle and opened it cautiously. A thick, blood, orange colored snake immediately slithered out of the basket and made it's way up Aleksu's right arm making itself comfortable while it twisted around the whole length of his darkly tanned arm. There was no other movement when the basket opened, but the sight of whitish gold scales were visible inside. "She's still dreaming." Aleksu said with a curled smile. "Lucky for you." He said to the man with a teasing grin. Aleksu reached into the basket with his free arm and carefully placed the golden, white snake upon his shoulder and waited as the snake subconsciously twisted underneath his arm to sleep hidden mostly beneath the dreads that dangled passed Aleksu's shoulders.

"We'll leave the Terras in the care of my trusted friend here in the village while we stay in the kingdom. She'll watch over them until we're done here." The man with the sun blaze tattoo said. His black wyvern waddled beside him with closed wings while the other wyvern remained in the sky.

Aleksu was just about to reply but then heard the sound of two small voices and the sound of a draconide's quaking steps. "Uorin-"

"It's ok. It's just a couple of kids and a harmeless grazing Tower." The man now known as Uorin responded. "Shall we go over and say a quick hello?"

"I dunno, you are my adviser, so advise me." Aleksu joked and then followed after Uorin's footsteps with the help of his orange guardian snake's guiding movements.

(I linked a character visual for Uorin, just as a reference to know what he similarly looks like)

[Rakkety Tam]

Maya's fascination with Draconides was lost to Auri who was of the opinion that if a creature cant eat you and you cant eat it then its not really worth worrying about. Still, they could appreciate having a passion for things. One of the few aspects Auri enjoyed about other people was when they got enthusiastic and zealous about something, often Auri had absolutely no idea what they were on about but just hearing it was nice. So they crouched down and listened as Maya spoke, only taking their attention away from her to jump a little at the sound of the heavy wing beats of a grown wyvern, a sound that chilled Auri to the bone when they were high in the trees. Luckily said trees were fairly thick here and it was unlikely that it would be able to get at them at all down here, but still... Auri shivered "Dont know how you can like monsters so much, dont know at all" they said in a small voice.

Just then Auri heard the faint sound of talking not too far away and froze for a split second before backing away a few steps in a ready stance "You know those voices?" they asked Maya in a whisper, their paranoia kicking in at the thought at being caught on the ground and off guard by two deeper voiced strangers.

[Kaga]

Dominique continued on his morning walk with Xavier by his side. Unsurprisingly, he caught a few people staring as he walked by. The sight of a member of the royal family walking around town would surely be enough to get some people's attention, but Dominique never seemed to care much, and his walks around the kingdom had become so routine that the Insider nobles had almost gotten used to it. ...Almost. As Dominique walked, however, there was one man in particular that he seemed to notice before the man noticed him - a man he thought he recognized, though he couldn't place where. "Excuse me, Sir," he called to William, walking Xavier towards the duo. "Do I know you from somewhere?"

[Kaga]

Interrupted from her rambling, Maya jumped at the sound of wyverns screeching in the distance, and instantly turned her head in that direction. That alone would ordinarily be enough to get her attention, but when Auri mentioned the voices that could also be heard, the village girl became even more intrigued. “No…” she responded quietly to Auri. “Let’s go see what’s happening!”

Maya ran off in the direction the sounds came from. She assumed Auri would follow, but completely forgot to look back or wait for him. Looking up, she stopped for only a moment to gaze at the wyvern flying over the land in front of her, before resuming her pursuit. Brushing shrubs and low-lying branches out of her way, her jaw dropped when she spotted the second wyvern waddling along the ground, with two humans walking in its shadow. “Are… are those yours?” she asked in wonder, pointing to the wyvern ahead of her and the one in the sky. “That’s… that’s amazing!!” she exclaimed. Sword and Shield Knights notwithstanding, she hadn’t seen a domesticated Draconide since she was a little girl. Excitedly, she ran towards the group, but hesitated as she got close, not sure how these men, or their wyvern, felt about strangers. “Does… does he have a name?” she asked, hardly taking her eyes off the beast.

[True Self]

Kaga said Brushing shrubs and low-lying branches out of her way, her jaw dropped when she spotted the second wyvern waddling along the ground, with two humans walking in its shadow. “Are… are those your's?” she asked in wonder, pointing to the wyvern ahead of her and the one in the sky. “That’s… that’s amazing!!” she exclaimed. Sword and Shield Knights notwithstanding, she hadn’t seen a domesticated Draconide since she was a little girl. Excitedly, she ran towards the group, but hesitated as she got close, not sure how these men, or their wyvern, felt about strangers. “Does… does he have a name?” she asked, hardly taking her eyes off the beast.

"Morning young ataela." Uorin greeted the unknown girl that ran up to them. He waited for her to finish shooting all of her questions before continuing, "Yes, they're both mine. I own many of their kind. Raised these two since they were hatchlings." Uorin dropped his hand into a pouch attached to his belt and brought out a handful of lengthy worm like organisms that were as thin as spaghetti noodles. He lifted the worms to his black wyvern and watched as the wyvern devoured them in a matter of seconds with his elongated beak. "This is Krixyth." Just as Uorin introduced the wyvern, the winged monster flung out it's wings and shrieked noisely. The black wyvern swirled into the air and glided around the group. Krixyth showed off it's massive wing span and swooped down to reclaim it's place beside Uorin. "And his hard headed brother is Skreyvur." The dark green wyvern finally landed beside Krixyth, but kept his wings open to reveal black coloring on the underside of his wings. Aleksu stayed quiet, because he didn't know what to say to the girl. She sounded much younger than him and most teens her age would just ignore him or ask him indecent questions about his blindness. He just stood there and smiled slightly, not at her, but because his orange snake was tickling his neck with a split tongue.

[Thundercat]

William stopped in his tracks and looked Dominique up and down. He had to conceal his bitter expression when he saw the Prince. They had never met formally, but William was familiar with the Prince and how he significantly abused and overlooked the everyday privileges he has that could be used to help those on the outside. It made William angry, and Francis could tell, he interrupted before William could say anything spiteful. "I think you have my nephew mistaken for myself, i'm Francis Kendrick," he said with a smile whilst extending his arm for a handshake. "Pleasure to meet you Prince Dominique, I find it very ironic we have yet to be introduced considering how close me and your father are, wouldn't you agree?" Francis spoke with a friendly tone. William held his tongue.

[Kaga]

“Oh, you know my father?” Dominique mused, shaking the man’s hand. “That would explain it. Sorry I never properly introduced myself before; I suppose I don’t pay as much attention as I should to my parents’ friends.” He laughed softly. Meanwhile, Xavier’s reptilian gaze landed on William, his mouth hanging open lazily. Following the creature’s eyes, the prince also glanced at William, noticing the boy’s irritated expression. “And, who is this?” he asked.

[Thundercat]

"Ah, I don't expect you too!" Francis said with a slight chuckle, "I imagine the life of a Prince to be filled with many 'important' faces and what not, Who could keep up?" He remarked. As Dominique's eyes fell on William, Francis couldn't help but feel nervous. The last thing both of them needed before meeting the King was word to get out that William insulted the Prince himself. "“And, who is this?”" Dominique asked. Francis put his hand on Williams shoulder and spoke with a proud tone, "Ah, this is the pride and next generation of the Kendrick family standing before you. William here is to inherit the family fortune when he comes of age, I expect him to accomplish righteous feats with that big mind and big heart of his." Francis smiled as he tightened his grip on Williams shoulder. "A pleasure to meet you, Prince Dominique," He said casually, extending his arm for a handshake.

[Rakkety Tam]

"Let's go see what's happening!"
Said the girl as she pelted off through the low shrubs. Auri on the other hand was more than unhappy to follow, when you hear a wyvern and strangers you run the other way. And yet they stayed where they were, standing on the balls of their feet, half turned to run but never doing so. Greed can be a powerful thing and Auri hadnt had a decent meal in a long time, the last village had kicked them out before they had had a chance to swipe anything and they were sick of downing potions designed to keep inedible things edible. Auri's stomach growled defiantly and they tch'd in response, shaking their head at their own foolishness, and followed the sounds carefully, trying their best to make as little noise as possible as they moved and keeping a hand underneath their poncho close to their more deadly vials.

Eventually Auri emerged in the clearing, crouching in the last shrub and unable to push themselves out fully into view. They would watch from here. If the girl died then there would go their food and Auri would have no reason to be near the wyvern any more, just the sight of it almost overcame their hunger and all but sent Auri fleeing into the relative safety of the dense forest.

As it was they did not flee and simply watched the exchange in a state of jumpy anxiety, wishing the conversation to be done with as soon as possible and the girl to lead Auri to some decent food.

[Kaga]

Maya watched the wyverns wide-eyed as Uorin spoke, hypnotized by their movements, by their exotic names. “Krixyth… Skreyvur…” she echoed as each creature was introduced, shocked that two strangers would appear out of the forest with their own, tame Draconides. She was so wrapped up in the spectacle, she didn’t even notice Aleksu’s blindness. “You guys… aren’t from Sorenaye, are you?” she asked, before noticing Auri hiding in the foliage behind her, as she’d heard him follow. “Oh… are you with them?” she asked Auri, not sure what other explanation there was for the strange man’s presence.

---

Dominique smiled pleasantly as he shook William’s hand, while Xavier shifted his reptilian gaze between the two of them. “Big mind and big heart, huh?” the prince echoed, sparking his own curiosity as he spoke. “Hmm, refresh my memory,” he requested as they walked. “What business did you have with my father, again?”

[Thundercat]

"Well..."

William hesitated to speak, and took a moment to collect his thoughts. The situation felt somewhat awkward, he would try his best to avoid his intentions to meet with the King. "Well, my uncle and I were going to escort representatives from the outside to the castle, and discuss various um, 'solutions' as to improve the state of the Outside. I'm sure you're aware that conditions aren't exactly decent. I'm trying to best to remedy that." William locked eyes with Xavier as the group walked, his gaze made him feel uncomfortable, as if the Draconide could read his thoughts, and what he was plotting.

"You can see his innovative spirit" Francis pointed out to Dominique "Surely it wouldn't occur to many that the Outside could be improved to benefit those on the Inside, but it did to William. A very unorthodox way of seeing things, right boy?" "Correct" William replied, he almost cringed saying the word. Francis was completely wrong, this was not in any form what William was trying to accomplish, but he knew why he was twisting the idea. William's proposals to the King weren't exactly the views many people expressed on the Inside, and would most likely make Dominique suspicious of him, something he didn't need at the moment. It could potentially jeopardize a certain plan. William decided to ease his tension and stray away from the current topic. "Your friend has sparked my curiosity, Dominique." William remarked before Dominique could comment on his meeting with the King. He gestured towards Xavier. [/b]"I don't encounter Draconide very often, and have never come across this specific type before. How old is it?"[/b] William was lying but it didn't matter, he just wanted to talk about something else.

[Kaga]

Dominique nodded, listening to William and Francis’ plans. “Improving the Outside to benefit the Inside…” he echoed. Though he found the concept mildly intriguing, he truthfully didn’t know much about the state of the Outside. Or, at the very least, he’d failed to pay much attention to it. Still, he didn’t quite understand how improving the Outside would help those on the Inside – directly or otherwise – and almost asked to know more, before William distracted him by asking about his Draconide. “Oh, Xavier here’s a three-year-old Titan.” Dominique answered, petting the beast between its horns. “I received him as a birthday gift when he was only a hatchling. I didn’t expect him to grow as fast as he did.”

[Rakkety Tam]

Leaned back into the foliage some more upon being singled out and sucked in a hissing breath at the attention "No, no, no, this one does not know of the place. I already told you, Auri is from everywhere" They said it quietly and with very little motion of their mouth, continuing to stare at the wyverns as they did, wide eyed. The beasts were much larger than anything Auri had seen away from mountains or other habitats suited to their kind, and being this close was mighty unsettling for them. Auri fidgeted with the hem of their poncho-cloak, keeping one hand safely on the vials hidden beneath for comfort. The bridals and packs attached to the wyverns had Auri, despite their better judgement and current fearful state, curious. Usually people had bridals on work animals and saddles on creatures they rode, the thought of riding something like that... well it was impossible. "Tch'a why the saddle-seats?" they called out rudely to the group, regretting it almost instantly but trying to keep a firm jaw.