RP:A Surprise At The Shore

Scandal goes to the shore to get away from some Razurath who are following hum, and ends up meeting Qindrephyss, who helps him out and might make fast friends.

RP

The waters just off of the coast were tumultuous, swirling and clashing about and sending up salty sprays up into the grey sky. In those waters dashed about a great serpent in hues of glimmering blues and shimmering greens, with little splashes of lavender on the underbelly. She frolicked about a long while, enjoying the cool water against her scales. She was quite pleased to rocket herself high up into the air before crashing back down into the waters below, hardly disturbing the surface at first, before catching a fish, and gobbling it up. This was usually followed with the source of the thrashing- her tail excitedly whipping about just at the water's surface as if to celebrate the meal. Eventually she grew tired and full of food, and so she dove down, and was gone a while, until she resurfaced in a much smaller form who walked on two pale human feet and stood at around five foot six. This woman now strode to a large rock, which she settled herself on, facing the sea. She hummed softly. Today had been quite the relaxing day. She was unfamiliar with her surroundings, but the oceanside felt like home nontheless.

It hadn’t been Scandal’s initial intention to have journeyed out this far into towards the ocean, But with three figures stalking him, he hadn’t had much choice in the matter. He wore a simple brown leather shirt, and green cloth pants, and brown leather boots, his ebony skin and fiery red hair almost a dead giveaway that he wasn’t drow. With but a few options left to him he pulled of his boots and dove into the water, and swam out to sea, until he came upon a beach separate from where he had started. While he hadn't seen the sea serpent, he was aware of young and, he mentally smacked himself for thinking so, a very beautiful woman. *Beautiful,* and aloud he spoke, "Ma'am."

Her attention jerked away from the sea, the song she'd been hearing played by the waves crashing along the pebbles all but forgotten as she turned to find the source of the twofold voice who spoke to her in both her mind and to her ears. She tilted her head slightly, her darkened cerulean hair shifting as she moved. It was still damp, giving away that she'd been in the brine just moments before. She gazed at him slowly- perhaps he'd note that when she blinked, her pupil would shrink in a vertical, serpent-like line before widening again to accept light, a thin film lowering over it for just a moment. She was silent a while. "Good day, sir." Her voice had a somewhat musical quality to it, yet it held a distinct tone of power to it that rumbled as if she spoke from deep within her stomach. "Or at least I hope it is good."

Scandal didn't boast, but his eye sight was keen, and he took in the way her eye blinked, and the film that covered it. Her voice as well caught him off guard, making him realize that she like him was different. Returning in a rich deep voice, and trying to silence the other mental voice. He also changed the direction of eyes so that he did not stare. "Its signifgantly getting better, as the day been thrill for you?" In his own mind she was very lovely and wondered if he slipped into his other form he wouldn't be so caught up in it.

Unfortunately for the male, Qindrephyss had already taken a particular note of his staring. Luckily for him on the other hand, she was an oblivious thing who had no idea what he could possibly be staring at. Luckier still, she wasn't the sort to try to pry into another person's privacy unless they truly gave her a reason to suspect them of being Too Interesting To Ignore. She adjusted her position a little and nodded slowly after considering his question for a while. "I've had a fine meal today. And the water was nice. I think I'm doing quite nice, yes." She hummed softly, eyeing him a little more closely. "Did it not start so happily for you? What is your name?"

Scandal chuckled, "A fine meal, a good swim, all things considered I agree, that does make things quite nice." Taking a seat on the sand, to try to make himself at ease, and forget the problem in his mind, so thinking on the how she had blinked prior, he'd start there, "So I have a question if I may," he said starting only a dragon might know this, "What polishes scales better, sand, or salt?"

She emitted a rumbling noise from the pit of her belly that was seemingly amused in tone. "You forgot my second question- but I suppose a question for a question is a fair trade." She turned to the water, tilting her chin at it as if to gesture slightly. Her movements were graceful. Maybe they could even be read as slightly prideful, like a beast that knows of its value and carries itself as such. "Salt I would say. Sand is too course, and if it slips under the scales I find it to be terribly itchy. Salt is much more soothing. Of course I prefer to be surrounded by it, in the water, that is. Sea salt is best if you ask me. Can be a nice cleanser, too. Hm. But rolling around in it at the bottom can be nice too, especially since the water could push out anyhing that were to get stuck. But I stand by sea salt, I do!" Something like a purr escaped her lips and she turned back to him. "Now I'll ask for your name again. One for one."

Scandal smiled while he mentally slapped himself for missing the second question. "Sea salt, I stand corrected, huh," Scandal spoke less like a being who knew his value, but he did know what he was and what was expected of him, though of course he didn't aqquire his name from his parents rather what they did and where, and how he being the result linked him to his own name. "My name is Scandal." If she stared, or laughed, he respond with, "I didn't choose my name." It had almost become a running gag. "My day, wasn't at the best start, I had some beings from across the land been following me for a while and I am unsure of their intent, I just hoped to lose them, which for now looks like i did." he leaned forward only to hear the bones in his back crack and pop, results of his transformation abilities still begining to fail. "Um, I hope you wouldn't mind but I need to get out of this form."

She seemed amused with his reply to her analysis of salt over sand. "Do you disagree? Perhaps you're the heat-loving type?" She didn't seem at all disturbed by his name, only perhaps slightly confused as to how a dragon had obtained such a human-sounding name. She repeated the name in her head a few times- after a while it started to sound like ssscandahhhl, and so she accepted it without question. "Being followed is never any good, unless you can turn round and give them a bit of a surprise to scare them off. Might be a little funny to see," she said wistfully. She was ever so fond of harmless jumpscares. "What did these pursuers look like? And of course, comfort is key, I think. There's plenty of room here, I'd say. A whole beach, even."

Scandal looked a little relieved, "Thank you." His form beginign to swell and morph taking on the appearance of dragon about 20' tall 45' long, and about 15' wide. with large wings that were tucked against his back, leaning back on his back legs he was almost twice his given size, and his forearms bent similar to actual arm formation. His scales as black as ebony over his body save for his underbelly which lacked in scales altogether rather being fleshy, and very bright red. His eyes were red and dragonish, though as one stared deeper one might find a saddness in them and deep lonliness. Surprisingly he lacked horns of anykind and the ridges were small, not nearly as large. Scandal had held back on his true size, but that was a curtesy to both woman and to cenril. Even the beach wouldn't have contained him. And finaly when he spoke it was soley by the mind, and not by movement of his mouth. *In all honesty, I wouldn't know, I was only told what not and never got to try it.* * As for scaring people off, I'd rather not risk scaring the wrong ones.* He paused, * These beings are Razurath, a species that this continant was not aware of until about a year ago, at least so i have read.*

Qindrephyss watched with a calm and patient gaze as his body changed. She wondered to herself if she was being unfair by being the only one hidden in form, but for now kept just as she was. She noted the look in his eyes, and for a moment, her gaze faltered. Intense emotions from others were somewhat foreign to her- she'd been alone at the bottom of the sea for so long that she'd only been accustomed to her own emotional sways. She blinked again and turned her gaze back up to meet his. She tilted her head again, the shells that were tied into the strands of cerulean clinking pleasantly together as she did so. If he didn't know any better, he might think her alluding to sea salt and scales a hint to mermaidhood- but again, her eyes were serpentine, and so too were those small blue-scaled freckles that glistened on her shoulders and under her eyes. "Razurath," she repeated. "I can't say I know what they are, or what they look like, or any other sort of thing about them." Her cheeks flushed slightly- it was not a red color, but instead a cool, silvery hue that seemed to glisten just under the skin, making her cheeks look almost like shimmering opals.

Scandal's claw stroked the bottom of his neck closest to his crop, something he strangely had found himself doing more and more often, maybe it was since he moved his hoard. *Few know of them, at least on this side of this land, venturil knows them the most, but honestly a book I found seems to know the most, and I still need to get it to the one it was meant for. They are Raptor like I guess.* He noticed her change of color, and found it cute, but kept that thought to himself, even though the red near his snout seemed to become a bit more purple like, He opened his mouth a bit, revealing the blue flesh of the inside of his mouth, and then closed it. He then turned and looked at the sea, *Salt huh,*

She noted that his blood might just be purple, and hummed softly. That's a lovely color to have, she thinks to herself, and then flushes slightly more, realizing that staring into someone else's mouth and right at their snout might be considered rude. She was silent for a few moments. "Raptors. I remember encountering those... good snacks." She hummed. "Father drowned one once, I think, maybe." She tilted her head. "Maybe it was something smaller? I don't really recall. So long ago." She was being dramatic- twenty years ago, when her sire and dam were still alive was not that long ago in dragon years. She followed his gaze as it turned to the place she had come up from. "Yes, salt. Delicious, nutritious, and excellent for exfoliation for flesh and scales alike." She hummed. "Nice to put on a wound too. Especially wounds that have pierced through or have left a hole of some kind."

Scandal shrugged,his tail impulsivily moving up and then down like somone were whacked a rope against the ground and it rose in a hill like formation before settling down again. *Forgive me for, wondering but I am getting the immpression your a sea dragon, or relative of the sea.* He looked a the sea. And back at her, "You wouldn't mind showing a flyer a good area to swim?"

There was a very brief moment of hesitation before she stood, and waded into the water. She did not show her transformation, but perhaps he'd see the traces of it, for as she swam depe into the water she emanated a glow of greenish blue light that shimmered and shone as if it were being reflected against a crystal. After a while she launched herself up into the air, spraying water everywhere. She shot high up into the clouds, her serpentine body coiling between them before she dipped back down, more slowly and gracefully. She didn't seem to really use the great fins she had to fly- instead she appeared to levitate slightly, as if by some strong magic. She was a magnificent beast that constantly moved, rippling like riverwater over stones. Mighty coral horns reached up from her temple, two long graceful whiskers reached down from either side of her horn-tipped snout, and her scales were an array of dark cerulean on her back- which, instead of spikes had the occasional clump of coral growing from it, or some sort of crystal here or there, teal on her sides, and lavender over her belly. A great fin spanned up from between her horns and down her neck that disappeared into the treasures on her back, and her arrow-shaped tail had a much smaller version of this same fin- if one could figure out what parts of her body were neck, body and tail, that is. She eventually lowered herself into the water, and swam across its surface at a startling speed, until she found a place that she, for one reason or another, deemed acceptable. It was a few miles off of the shore, but she assumed that he would follow, or at least be able to see where she went if he tried. She waited there for him, those same playful emerald eyes watching unblinkingly for his arrival. 'Come now, don't make me wait forever.'

Scandal found himself in awe of her, and now realized that at this point he didn't have anywhere he needed to be. using a finger to push his jaw back up, he launched himself into the air, moving swiftly he followed her, * Forever, lemme tell you something about forever.* he said in response as he neared her.

There was a merry laughter that escaped the dragoness' throat, and she dipped down into the waters once again, enjoying the feeling of the frigid brine as she always did. When she turned about, the crystals on her back reflected the light. These crystals were in marvelous colors in all shades of green, blue, and purple, just like the rest of her form. She lifted from the water slightly so that only her horns and eyes peeked over the surface of the water. Tell me about forever. What do you know of it?

Scandal tucked his wings to his sides and curled into a ball and skipped across the water like a pebble, towards and past her before using his tail to steer himself back. *I slept most of it, I went to bed almost 51 years old, aged not day but slept for, thousands of years, and then only weeks from awakening did I start to age to normally again. Everything I knew the dragons from then, they are all gone as far as i know. But never gladder, life was bad then, and life is again renewed for me.* Scandal said marveling at the many colors the crystal showed as she turned about.

As she twined about in the water, her movements may have resembled a riversnake, or perhaps even an eel. For a moment she dipped into the water a little more, a calculating gaze crossing her features. So he was much older than she- perhaps an elder at that. If he was- might he attempt to use senority as an excuse to steal her hoard or claim her territory? She decided to poke at him, but as she did so there was still the playful expression in her eyes. 'You went to sleep the same age that I am now. Are you some ancient soul, o decrepit one?' This was followed by a small laugh.

Scandal chuckled, *Hardly, I would say time has passed, age has not, though only thing I have to show for my time spent sleeping his my great size," Scandal didn't have territory, he had a hoard, but contary to what dragons should do with a hoard, he had often given away things, without expecting return, this came from his past, being scorned by other dragons. *if you wish I can show you, how big i got, i think we are far enough from civilization to do so.*

Her eyes narrowed a little, but after a few moments, she decided she believed him.' Come, then.' She suddenly darted off to the east, and then turned south, where the surface waters turned slightly warmer and more tropical. There were no lands here, save for those under the water, those coral shelves and sea coves that Qindrephyss treasured so dearly. Again she waited for him, gleaming and shining as she twined about in (very eager) patience. 'Come, let's see it then~!'

Scandal watched her swim out before he popped his head underwater making sure to know where to postion his feet before changing size, didn't want to break anything, and he was a consciencious fellow. Allowing himself to grow, he grew, swelling fast, he soon felt his feet touch the bottom, as his body continued to rise. his features taking on the appearance of young adult dragon minus of course for the size which offset the whole thing. his displacement of water did send a wave but not one to high, as he capped his wings to capture the runaway wave, preventing possible damage. Standing now rather than floating, Scandal stood over few miles high, a few miles wide and several miles long. His head and long neck much closer to qindrephyss now, but still within some limits, got give her some private space afterall. *So, this is the reason why I try to keep small.* he said, his voice oddly lighter but no less richer

She blinked up slowly and shifted in the waters, made briefly uneasy by his swift and massive change. When the initial shock relating to his magnificent appearance finally passed, she slowly began to swim around his form- but even at a decreased speed she could make it all the way his massive form in just a minute's time. What she lacked in size (though to be sure, she was still massive, compared to a human... or even a giant, for that matter. Eventually she slowed, once more in front of him as she gazed up at him. 'You could collapse all of Cenril with that bulk.'

• And that is why i try to avoid being this size* He smiled gazing down at her. He sat for a moment, * lets see I can transform twice more today, and then i got to wait, for 16 hours, lets try smaller.* He said shrinking rapidly down to his orginal size before the growth. Splashing down into the ocean. *Your lucky, you know.*

She watched him as he changed yet again, and thought to herself that it was a pity he could only change a few times a day. 'Smaller is good. I'm certain you've alerted every naval power in the world.' She is clearly teasing him again. 'Lucky how?'

• You grew up with the sea, surely in such a lively place you must have made many friends, and being around humans you knew how to appear as them far better than i did, your much better at being able to blend in then i have, I am living proof that at some point a dragons transformation abilities begin to run out.* Scandal said, eyeing her. *Your very majestic, I am very haunting* He smiled with some acknowldgement.

Her demeanor changed suddenly, shifting from playful and at ease to troubled and full of sorrow. For a while she was silent. 'I was never allowed to swim with the swarm. As a half breed, my father never recognized me as a fellow blue, and only spent time with me to strengthen me. There was no time to make friendships, and the only friend I ever knew was my mother, and I only saw her when father was away so that I could sneak up into the woods. She is long gone now too. In any case she floated about. You might be considered haunting to some mere two-legs, but you seem magnificent to me.'

Scandal listened, *I know that pain, I know that sorrow,* he memories flashing before of many terrible things. Thank you, its nice to know somone doesn't think monster when they see me.* He paused, "But perhaps I can give you a new experience, if your want one for memories.*

'What sort of experience?' She asked, eager to leave such sad thoughts of her past behind. Her tail thacked against the surface of the water, splashing eagerly as she waited for his answer.

Scandal smiled, * How would you like a ride back to the sandbar, I know you can levitate and all but, do you remember how i skipped across the water?* He said dropping a hint.

A murmurring laugh left her chest. 'Shall I wrap round your neck like a scarf, or shall I transform?'

A deep throaty chuckle erupted from scandal, * Come on wrap yourself around me,* If she did he would lift his wings and carry her up aways into the sky, before making the acceleration towards cenril.

Within a moments time she had coiled herself as he'd suggested, and let out a small chirping tone to let him know that she was prepared. She seemed pleased with the flight- he was as fast in the sky as she was in the water, and it was thrilling to her to be able to cut through the air this way.

As he flew within a few miles of the cenril shore he motioned for her to release, and when she did he wrapped himself into a ball. *Cannon balls, whatever those things are.*

Another merry laugh left her throat, and she released him from her grip. She followed suit in wrapping into a ball- though she more tied herself into a knot, which then plummetted down in to the waters below with a delicate 'plop'.

Scandal though more or less did a repeat of his earlier feat, skipping across the water, changing as he did so to save time, best to get in before the mermaids showed up. As he skidded to a stop he turned and waved. *What'd you think?*

She seemed pleased that he was having a good time, and followed after him, speeding to the place he'd stopped at and squirting a stream of water up at him suddenly. 'Very impressive, M'lord.' Her eyes twinkled merrily. 'You know, you never asked my name, Scandal. I'd say that alone is.. scandalous.' She splashed her tail at him.

Scandal chuckled feeling very silly. * I am sorry, I guess I was enjoying your company to much.* he smiled, and ducked a bit as she splashed water at him. He waved goodbye about say something by thought when the three figures stepped out just out of her reach but, enough scandal to get the message. The middle one pulled back its hood revealing that same bleached white look, with its yellow eyes staring at him, the same raptor like head, but with one thing most could recognize, that intelligence behind its eyes, something very few beings had, and yet somehow those eyes seemed to rest on scandal, who was turning as white as a sheet. The voice of the one said, "You have a nice swim?" it said crossing its arms its voice almost feral in speech. Scandal could make out but one word. "Meep."

Qindrephyss hummed softly, seemingly amused by his reply. 'You still haven't asked for-' She froze, following his gaze to those figures as they arrived on the beach. Her eyes narrowed, and a low, threatening growl formed in her throat as she gazed upon them. She glanced at Scandal and offered him a wink before suddenly lashing out, sinking her teeth (gently, for him, but with a certain ferocity) and suddenly jerking him down into the water. At the same time she summoned a single bolt of lightning which cracked down on the beach before the raptor-like creatures, as if to threaten them should they attempt to take her prey from her.

Scandal was startled out of his wits when she winked then grabbed him. He felt the rumble of thunder and then he found himself underwater. his top half inside * Oh my* Outside the two of the razurath shield their eyes as they observed their target being dragged down by the beast. The one in the middle, merely said, "well played." Turning he pushed his the other two and they moved off elsewhere. Scandal put his hand to the roof of her mouth. "I owe you, that surely must have sold it." he touched her tongue unaware that the familiar cinamon taste might have lingered there. "What is your name?"

He did indeed taste like cinnamon, but she released him anyways once she was certain the others were gone. She surfaced, and thrashed about angrily, making plenty of noise, so that the pursuers would know to stay away. 'Hmph!' She huffed, static fizzling at her nostrils. 'That ought to show them,' she muttered to herself, before turning to see that he was alright. 'My name is Qindrephyss, since you seem never to ask. Are you alright?'

Scandal examined himself, sure some his furs were damaged but he didn't care, "I am, grateful so very grateful." He empashis this more by doing something he had never done before. He wrapped his arms best he could around her. *Thank you Qindrephyss,* He paused, and then said. "There is a ball or party that is coming up, and um, I hadn't anyone to go with but, Would you be interested in coming, with me?" he paused awaiting her answer, if it had do with water and all he'd respond with, *Maybe there would be a way i could get you there if water is the concern.*

She hummed softly, and swirled about in the water for a moment, considering his question. 'I should like to go. As long as I have some token from the sea, I can survive and hide on land. It's why I wear so many shells, you see. That and they are beautiful to behold.' She hesitated for a few moments before speaking quietly. 'I have never been invited to anything, certainly not a party.'

Scandal realized she was sayng yes, "Then I will look forward to having you there, but I hope to see more of you even before then." he gave her another hug. And smiled, "If you are around tommorow, i'd like to show you something." he said having to hurry off because them mermaids were coming out, and fisherman beware they were hungry.

'I am always by some shore. You will find me.'