RP:A Brief Meeting of Marshalls
Characters:
- Mahri, Lycan, Druidic Assassin.
- Sora, Northern Phrenic Ice Dragon.
- Satoshi, Kit-Vampire, Frost Singer.
Mahri leans against the Tavern's outside wall, huddling deep inside the cloak and hood. Puffs of vapor expell from the depths of the fur lined hood and one might even see the irony of a lycan in a wolf-fur lined anything. Mahri doesn't care about irony, she cares about warmth. Unfortunately, her mount, Sora, adored the frigid temperatures of the North and demanded a trip once in a while. ~Mahri, I do not understand how you cannot love the cold~ Bemusement in that voice brings a smile and chuckle to the lycan's lips as she watches the young ice dragon frollick in a nearby snowbank. Patrons, giants and shorties alike, edge past the rolling lizard, tinted like a giant iceburge, to hurry into the Tavern for something warm to drink. "Sora, I dislike the cold because I was not made for the cold. You on the other hand.." A few glances are sent her way when she speaks aloud, forgetting that not everyone can hear the internal voice that belonged to Sora.
Satoshi is simply ambling down the road looking over paperwork when she's abruptly overwhelmed by a wave of snow and ice. Spluttering in surprise and alarm, the half-buried frost bard looks about hurriedly for the source--surely she'd have sensed another cryomancer in the area, how could she be ambushed?!--when she spots the playing dragon. Oh. Not an ambush, apparently. Now, ice dragons are a common resident of Frostmaw, but... "playing a little far from the den aren't you, youngling~?" Tipping her head sideways, the foxkin merely continues to eye the dragon, trying to place which one of Cryothain's broods it's come from. Seemingly, she's missed the cloaked figure by the door--or written them off as another visitor huddling against the cold.
Mahri :: Sora pauses mid-wriggle to peer at the newcomer with ice-blue eyes. The slit narrows as she brings Satoshi into focus. Upside-down, but in focus. A self-satisfied rumble might have been a purr as the dragon flips to all fours and lowers her snout to sniff Satie. ~Mahri, she smells cold. Can I taste her?~ At that, the lycan snaps her gaze towards the vampiric foxkin. A smirk pulls at her lips, not one that can be seen just yet. ~No Sora, you cannot.~ Pushing away, the lycan laughs when the dragon expells crystallized water from her nostrils in disappointment. Pushing away from the wall, the lycan says aloud, "She's with me, Kitten. Needed some refreshin'."
Satoshi matches Sora's look stare for stare, and even sniffs at the dragon in due turn, before she's distracted by the sound of Mahri's voice--as well as being veritably sneezed on by Sora. Whistling softly to coax the snorted ice off herself, the kit-vampire flashes Mahri a grin. "Puppy~. And is she now?" Satoshi offers the ice dragon a similar grin, "Thought you seemed a bit different from the little ones currently running about. You two... are with the Eyrie, non?" The faint frown lines creasing the bard's brow suggest she's trying to remember just who--and what--are part of that group. Pity Emiur's too far away to dutifully remind her, as he typically does.
Mahri , from the relative warmth of the hood, gives a nod, answering both questions with a simple vocal affirmation, "Aye. Sora, meet the Frost Maiden, Satoshi. Satoshi, Sora." Introductions over with, the lycan pushes her hood back, exposing her rosey cheeks to more cold. The only things not affected are the scar on bisecting the bridge of her nose and traveling down her cheek, and the missing thumb from her left hand. Jack had that in a nice jar, on her desk. Anyway, here we are. A wolf, dragon and foxkin. In the cold that one of them hated so much. "Portea brought me in when I found Sora here as a hatchling. An' I think there was talk of settin up headquarters up here. Hear anythin' about that?"
Satoshi gives her own nod, as both a greeting to Sora and answer to Mahri. "I have. Trying to find the right place for it. Too near town, and we'll have complaints from folks as well as the dragon brood nearby. Too far and, well, being out of the way makes for slow reactions, no~?" Glancing over her shoulder and toward the west, the Frost Singer adds in afterthought, "There's a rundown castle of sorts within the hunting grounds that may work. We've just got... some predator problems in the area at the moment. Makes surveying land tricky~." Understatement of the century, as this particular 'problem' has led to even the giants hiding behind their doors at night.
Mahri 's eyes narrow, hearing about these particular troubles. "Hmm. What sort of problem?" Sora, hearing the note of predatorial, even territorial, excitement in her Rider's voice ambles behind the lycan, her long body settling closer to the ground with her head hovering above Mahri. ~Are we hunting again, Mahri? I like hunting. It's better than fishing.~ A grin lifts her lips, the kind of grin she might give her prey just before the kill. ~I think so, Sora-love.~
Mahri :: Sora's claws knead the ground eagerly, the rumble near constant now in her excitement. Bloodthirsty ain't she?
Satoshi looks less than enthused as she wriggles out of the snow Sora's buried her in. "All I know for certain is that they're small, fast, aggressive, and very, very elusive. Intelligent too, from what I saw of them. They've killed a few folks already. I think..." the bard's normally dulcet voice drops along with her ears in a downtrodden fashion, "they got Ayras too. Cerinii's fairly certain she knows what they are, and seems scared by the idea. ... Not a lot scares that bird. That's what worries me." Amber-flecked eyes narrowing, Satoshi looks up at dragon and wolf, "I fought a group them in the snow, -in my territory-, and only escaped by sheer luck."
Mahri returns Satoshi's look with her own icey silver one. "You must not remember me very well, Kitten, i f you think tha's goin' to stop us." Sora growls in agreement, scaled eyes narrowing.
Satoshi dons a grin that can almost be called feral with the lycan's response. "I figured it wouldn't stop you. But it pays to be forewarned. Especially with these beasties." Another look is sent westward. "Stomp the ground in a steady beat, it calls them out quickly, like worms..."
Mahri follows that gaze, already moving to climb Sora's leg and up into the modified saddle. Strapping herself in, she queries, "Anythin' else y' can tell me?"
Satoshi nods again. "They screech. Not sure if it has a use, other than to be creepy as hellfire. Human-sized, too. They like to ambush and drag off what they catch. Watch 'em close, Puppy."
Mahri felt excitement and adrenaline course through her veins, warming from the inside out. "Will do, Kitten." And if she had to, hell, Mahri'd get help from the local packs of wolves..which may not be as easy, but it could be done.
Satoshi salutes the lycan. "Best of luck, Puppy. I've got the dragons hunting them too. But underground being hunted by flying creatures... doesn't work so well~."
Mahri smiles that smile that promises pain and returns the salute as Sora takes off. A blizzard of snow and ice forms beneath leathery white wings as powerful muscles lift the pair off the ground. Soon, they are nothing more than a speck in the sky, circling in search of those ruins.