Fraidy Cat and Scaredy Dragon [Art & Eliza]

"I have no idea where Bolarf is." she replied simply with something that sounded like a mix of a giggle and a snort. "And to tell you the truth I have no desire to really meet more dragons at the moment. First Asrai our resident dragon, now you, I will be happy not to meet another dragon for a few weeks or more." It didn't really occur to her that she was talking to something that wasn't supposed to speak English. After all, this place was more bizarre than any dream she'd ever had in her life up until that point. "This is quite a strange place..." she muttered.

She didn't know where Bolarf was? Rokam was somewhat taken aback, but he explained,
'It's in the west, a way north of Quinsilla. It's surrounded by cliffs; you can only get in and out by air. The Leviathan dragons are colossal, bigger than anything else. Bigger than a guardian. They ferry people in and out. Must be kinda hard to talk to, though.' He grinned at Rose, before regarding her thoughtfully.
'How many other dragons have you met? Really, two isn't many- there are plenty more of us.' Her last, muttered comment earnt a laugh from the dragon.
'Strange would be the word,' he agreed.

"I've never been that far west I don't think. And other than the dragon that scarred my back, just you and Asrai. Haven't formally met any others yet." She rested against the trunk of a relatively small oak tree and sighed. "I'd always heard terrible stories of dragons at home, but none of them depict dragons like there are here. Most humans not accustomed to the way of life here would be terrified to leave their houses." At Rokam's laugh she couldn't help but smile slightly. "If you want to introduce me to more dragons then who am I to refuse? The cats will fend for themselves till I can return."

'Never? Hm... I guess I haven't been everywhere, but I've been quite a few places. I don't have any reason to stay in one place, so I just wander around a bit.' He shrugged. 'Not sure I like it over there too much though, because I can't get out unless I ride on a Leviathan. Feels a bit confining. And everything smells like saltwater or fish.' He wrinkled his nose briefly, before getting to his feet and stretching.

'Three really isn't many... Especially when one of them was a nasty one. Doesn't let you get a good impression of dragons in general.' He looked thoughtful. 'I don't know if I know many dragons around here... Maybe some, though. I could tell where somebody was going to be, and we could meet them...' He looked at her. 'If you do want to meet some others, that is. We don't have to.'

"I'm bound to run into more dragons the longer I stay on this island anyway." she stated with a shrug. "I guess a little traveling around wouldn't hurt." She made sure everything was in order and looked to Rokam. "So can you tell me anything about the dragon species around here?" She was clueless about much of everything animal-related on this island. Even the plant life didn't quite look the same! With a silent sigh to herself she looked around. Being in a place that she knew nothing about made her uneasy, but it wasn't like she'd get to leave any time soon so she'd just have to deal with it.

'Mm, dragons are unaviodable on Dragons Cove,' Rokam agreed. 'You don't tend to find as many in cities, though.' Larger dragons often couldn't fit in the streets, although there were a few places which had been built to accomodate those colossal breeds. 'Dragon species around here...' He tipped his head back thoughtfully. 'Well, it's a bit of a vague topic. What do you want to know? The most common breeds, the most interesting ones, the most dangerous?' While he was sure he knew more than Silence, he was far from an expert on dragon breeds, and he hoped that she wasn't going to ask him for any information which was too obscure. 'Of course, you get every breed everywhere on the island,' he added. 'Though more ice dragons around the ice plains, desert chasers in the desert... Obvious things like that.' He smiled at her, kneading the ground with his claws.

"I'm clueless about this whole cursed island to be honest." She really didn't like this place all that much, she missed her home. "I just about hate this place but since I'm stuck here I have no other choice but to learn about it." It made little to no sense to her that she'd been here for so long and she was just now starting to feel homesick, but then upon rethinking it, the whole thing made perfect sense. She had been quite young, and traumatized, when she first arrived and it hadn't really set in until recently that she'd never see her home again. At least here she had new friends, which was the only positive to all of it.

At Silence's words, Rokam's horns drooped and he assumed a truly tragic expression.
'That's such a shame,' he sighed. 'Dragons Cove is an amazing place. There's so much to see, so many wonders... I know it's not like the rest of the world, and I understand that you could just miss the place you came from, but it's just so sad that you're unhappy here. If you don't mind answering... Why is it that you can't get back?' The pause he gave was only momentary before he continued on, 'You know, you should try to see some of the sights in Dragons Cove. It's a shame you don't get to choose where the circus goes.' Pulling a dramatic face, he continued, 'We're pretty close to the Azure Caves here. The crystals in them are magical. If you had free time and you wanted to, we could take a trip to see them?'

"Well I fell unconscious and woke up on a beach here. I'd have no idea which way to go if I even had the chance to leave." When he mentioned the caves she smiled a little. "Sure, I'd love to. Never seen caves before. We lived in the middle of the woods practically when I was little. Then some people decided to make a town out of it but we managed to stay on the outskirts." Magic crystals sounded like something she'd go looking for as a little girl, but at that moment her curiosity outweighed her dislike of nostalgia. Her mind then began to wander as she imagined what the crystals might look like.

Rokam frowned thoughtfully as Silence explained her history to him. It was strange; the cocoon of magic which Dragons Cove was encased in made it nigh on impossible to reach the island if you didn't know exactly where it was and how to navigate there safely- the sea around it was rocky, making another barrier between it and the outside world. But apparently it had happened to Silence; presumably, she had been taken to the island by natives.

"You've... never seen caves before?" Silence's lack of experience was surprising, but it only backed up the idea. "Well, that decides it then. We'll have to visit them. And they're really pretty inside- it's coated with these blue crystals, everywhere, and sometimes people put out all their lamps and a magician makes a completely white light instead, which makes it even better. It all goes through the crystals and everything looks blue." He stretched himself out again and then tilted his head enquiringly at Silence. "Have you got a horse?" he asked her, looking thoughtful. "The journey will take a long time if we both go on foot, but if you don't have a horse then you can ride me. I've had riders before, you know." His earnest expression turned to a glummer one for a few moments as his remembered his last rider, Yarri. Her death had been more than a little gruesome- she was eaten alive by two dragons, who Rokam had been powerless to prevent. The card was, however, a bright and optimistic soul, and he soon perked up again. "What do you think, then?"

"Don't own a horse just yet but I'm saving up." she replied. "I'll walk a little while and ride when I get tired, if that's alright with you." She set a hand on his neck and smiled. "Your personality does dragon-kind a good deal of justice you know." She paused and her smile dissipated a bit. "Actually, Rokam, I think I "do" have a card in this deck with the kind of dragon that killed my family."

She shuffled the cards and pulled one from the middle, showing off what was known as a Tribal Battle Blood dragon, but she hadn't any idea what the name was for it. "This is the dragon, I'm fairly sure of it. It's a mystery how I wound up on a beach though." The smile somewhat returned when he described the caves. "This will be a great adventure then if they're so spectacular." She moved around a fallen tree and looked around. She'd never been this way before.

"Sure thing," replied Rokam cheerfully, glancing around and trying to figure out which direction they needed to go in. "And... well, thanks." He had never been quite sure how to handle compliments and was quite glad when Silence called his attention away, obligingly trotting round behind her to look over her shoulder at the card. "Oh," he said at once upon seeing its illustration, with a shudder. "Well, I'm not surprised you had a bad opinion of dragons. Tribal Battle Blood... That's the nastiest type out there. There's never been a one which wasn't a vicious brute. I have no idea how you got onto the beach.. I'm sure it didn't put you there, though. Must've been somebody else." He shrugged, shook himself out, and then set off trotting after Silence. "It's going to be great," he agreed happily. "I hope you like the caves." He couldn't think why anyone might not, unless they were claustrophobic, but even then they'd surely be able to appreciate the beauty. And anyway, Silence would've mentioned if she didn't like small spaces. With high spirits, Rokam bounced over a log and threw a grin back at the woman.

"No clue what could have put me on a beach this far from home that didn't fly. Supposedly it's just about impossible to get here from the outside." She followed suit but instead had to climb over said log to get around it. "I don't think I have any extended family here. Even if I did who knows what they'd say if they found me. I hope I like the caves too or I'll be unhappy with myself for going all this way."

It must've been worth it because she agreed to go in the first place, but that was immaterial at the moment with the sun far from setting and she herself traveling barefoot. At least it wasn't raining, unlike with so many of her other adventures that seemed to go awry when it rained. This time, things might just go according to plan if she was lucky, but then fate never left her alone for very long.

“Oh, I’m sure it flew,” agreed Rokam. “While it’s not quite impossible, it’s certainly not easy. You have to know it’s here, really. Probably a dragon from here.” He couldn’t imagine how lonely it must be to not have any family; his own was vast, consisting mainly of gossamers. It was impossible for him not to feel out of place amongst them, but they were very warm and were extremely proud of his powers. “Trust me, it won’t be a wasted effort,” he told her of the caves, trying to stay off the difficult subject of her family.

~TIMESKIP~

It took them a while, trekking through the trees and then later up to the Azure Caves. After a while, matching the dragon’s longer strides tired Silence and he carried her for a time, flowing through a smooth run and making good time. Consequently, though they were both somewhat wearied by the time they reached the caves, the sun was only just edging down over the horizon.
“We should be just in time,” Rokam told the woman in high excitement. “Come on, we don’t want to miss it.” He dashed towards the entrance of the caves, which seemed entirely unremarkable- like any others, a lantern hung from a bracket on the wall lighting the section. “Some of the walls between rooms are made entirely of the crystals,” he explained, trotting bouncily as if the journey to reach the caves hadn’t taken anything out of him. “So when they get lit up from the centre, all the light which gets to those rooms has gone through the crystals. It’s really something to see.”

Even from the entrance of the cave she was in awe. "Words can't describe. . ." It was too beautiful for any word to describe. "For a first impression this is the best I've seen." She'd seen what light did with stained glass windows and that in itself was amazing, but prism-like crystals? That was a hundred times more spectacular! Especially since the cave was full of them.

She wandered off toward the mouth of the cave and smiled. "Reminds me of the first time I went forest exploring as a kid." After looking back at Rokam she wandered into the cave and felt a bit odd. It was a strange feeling to her to be in a cave, where unknown to her, magic basically sat like a layer of carbon monoxide. "Is there something particularly unique about this place, Rokam? It feels really weird standing close to the crystals." Though it did stand to reason that she shouldn't touch the crystals under any circumstances.

Once they had passed the dull and grey stone entrance of the caves and wound their way through a few passages, guided by faintly glowing blue spots set into the floor every few feet, the smooth, well-worn walls began to be dotted with the occasional crystal.
"You see them, Silence?" Rokam pointed out with excitement. "And more there, look..." He flicked his horns towards another cluster set into the stone, this time larger than the previous one. The deeper they went into the caves, the more of the crystals there were on the walls, until there was more blue than grey on them. The firelight of the torches shone off the facets of the stones, causing them to glimmer with bands of orange light. "It's because this bit's lit by lanterns that it looks like that, it'll be much better later on," the dragon assured his companion, putting on a small spurt of speed as they turned a corner and saw darkness ahead. "Aha, here it is- we don't want to miss this, be quick." The only light now being the glowing circles which told them their path, they continued for a short distance before they were met by a woman holding a lantern.
"Welc-" she began mechanically, but Rokam cut her off before she could continue, bouncing excitedly.
"Are there any chambers left with nobody in them?" he asked.
"Sure. It's not so popular this time of year; gets pretty cold down here." It was true; the air had a slightly bite to it, but this wasn't about to put off the dragon. Not having come this far. "Head down this way..." the woman continued, before muttering a few words under her breath and making a gesture at the floor. A new path of the glowing spots appeared, and she nodded at them with a smile before disappearing again.
"Well, this way then," Rokam said enthusiastically, hurrying away down the corridor. When they reached the end of the path of the blue dots, they found a single candle sitting in the middle of the chamber, obviously having been there for some time. After checking that Silence was still with him, he nudged the candlestick over to one wall- illuminating it and revealing that it was entirely made of the crystals- before blowing it out and then returning to sit next to Silence.
"Shouldn't be long now," he whispered.

And sure enough, a few seconds later light began to filter through the walls of the chamber, filtered blue from passing through so many of the crystals and reflecting off their facets to cast glimmering pieces of light, all different shapes, over the pair.
"Definitely beyond words," the dragon agreed, his head tilted back slightly as if he were sunning himself. "I've only been here once before, but it was just as good then." At her mention of a strange feeling next to the crystals, his expression changed from one of tranquil passivity to more of a thoughtful frown as he hopped to his feet. "I don't know," he said slowly. "I mean, there are always rumours that the caves are magical, but there's no firm knowledge on how they might be..." Lifting one paw from the ground, he reached out to touch the wall of the cave and closed his eyes as he did so, letting the possible futures for the crystals fill his mind. After a few seconds, he drew away with a sigh and simply gazed at the crystals once more. "I really can't tell... but you're right, there is something strange about them." Having said this, he rubbed his paw on the ground, wrinkling his nose slightly at the strange tingling which now filled it.

"If magic really exists then by all means I'd say that's what makes this place feel so weird. I keep hearing about crystals and stones and all this other crazy stuff from passersby." She reached out and touched the wall and her hand sparked up like a firecracker. "Whoa!" It took her a second to get used to the acoustics of the cave and checked to make sure she hadn't burned her hand, thankfully her hand was just a little warm from touching the crystal. "That's just plain weird."

She now knew what kept her from deliberately reaching out and touching the walls of the cave. "Thank you for bringing me here, Rokam, this place is wonderful." Now she was glad she'd wandered off that day. She didn't like getting sparked at every turn, but it was a risk she didn't mind. "How far in do these caves go? I've heard stories of people getting lost in caves and never coming out again."

After a couple of seconds of staring at Silence in complete shock, Rokam’s legs folded and he spent the next minute rolling around on the floor howling with laughter. Eventually, he swung himself back up into a sitting position and gave a deep sigh.
“Oh… Oh, I’m sorry, I don’t mean to be rude, but…” Another fit of giggles shook him, but he caught himself much sooner this time. “It’s just… ‘if magic really exists’. Believe you me, live on Dragons Cove for any length of time and there’s no denying magic.” He shook his head slightly, still smiling but making sure not to laugh again. “Sorry. I’m sorry. You know, the way your hand sparked when you touched the crystals…” He frowned slightly, moving closer to inspect her fingers where they’d made contact with the walls. “That was really strange. Are you sure you’re just human? No strange magic that might be clinging to you? I don’t know a lot about these things, but Jaden does, and I’ve picked some bits and pieces up off him.” He paused. “And, of course, you’re welcome. I’m glad you like it here.” Despite his mouth still aching slightly from the laughter, he smiled at her quickly.

Her next question gave him some thought; he stood and walked across the chamber a few time before returning to the middle and tapping the floor with one foot.
“Well, I’m not completely sure,” he eventually concluded. “But I’m sure they’ll all be explored and mapped out. These caves are such an attraction, they never get left alone.” He shrugged. “I wish they were, really; most places in Dragons Cove aren’t so busy, but for some reason people love coming her more than most places. They are really beautiful though, I do see their motivation. It would be nicer if it was empty, that’s all. I don’t think people get lost in the caves here too much, just because there’s always somebody else here.” With another shrug he sat once more, fanning himself ponderously with the large and flat club on his tail.

It was a couple of minutes before she spoke. "Well no, I'm a non-magic creature. Though given that I'm not sure who my father is, I guess it's safe to say that I could be half-anything." She sat down by him with a heavy sigh and tried to avoid the crystals again. "What, magic actually does exist?" she asked curiously. "If so then good grief I. . .I don't know what to say." Magic wasn't something she really thought of all that much anyway.

It seemed like a long while before she ever decided she was uncomfortable on the floor of the cave. "Shall we explore some more, or start to head home? Either way I'm fine with, just thought I'd ask what you wanted to do." As her legs started to cramp she stood up, and she put her hand on one of the crystals only to see said hand just about burst into flames. "Mother have mercy!" she shrieked yanking her hand away.

Rokam could still hardly believe what he was hearing- after all, Dragons Cove had abundant magic in even its most remote corners, and no outsiders ever reached the island- but he forced himself to accept that Silence genuinely hadn’t been sure.
“Yes, magic absolutely exists. Real magic, not little card tricks or sleight of hand. Magic which can change the world in ways nobody really understands.” His face was dead serious as he spoke- the kind of magic which he referred to was a type which was all too familiar to him. “I don’t know about you… A lifeblood would probably be able to tell, but I can’t see the past only the future. And… well, I try not to pry. People often don’t like it when I know what’s going to happen to them before they do themselves.” Looking embarrassed, he gave a slight shrug and hopped onto his feet yet again, prowling to the edge of the room where he rubbed himself along the crystal walls like a cat. He didn’t feel able to stay still, and the crystals were irresistible to him for some reason. Now that he’d become used to it, the tingling feeling which they left in him was simply invigorating. Oddly enough, it also seemed to stimulate his powers, leaving him with a torrent of flickering images and things which could happen.

Silence’s words were something of a shock, pulling him away from the stream of possibilities and back to the present.
“Oh! Well...” Rokam tilted his head, considering. Most of the other people had left now, but the caves were still illuminated by the orb of light- it would last for most of the night, and was enchanted carefully to shine through all of the crystal chambers. Most of the inner caves were made entirely of the clear blue stone, anyway, so that the ethereal light lit up every corner of the place. “It would be nice to go exploring a little. We probably won’t find anyone else, and… I want to go down.” Abruptly, he realised that he really did, something he hadn’t been aware of before. Now that he was, though, he was anxious to get deeper into the caves.

But their departure from the little room was delayed when Silence touched the wall and there was suddenly an orange glow to counteract the way everything looked blue. After letting out a little yelp of shock, he padded closer to see the fire vanish as the woman removed her hand. And… she didn’t look damaged in the least. Suddenly, he felt that he might have an idea as to the nature of the crystals.
“Touch the wall again,” he suggested. “But this time, don’t take your hand away.”

"I'm fairly sure I'm all human." she protested, but sighed. "I do have quite the affinity for fire though." That being said she put her hand up to the crystal again and watched it spark. "I'm human, only human." she repeated. To avoid panicking over the phenomenon she looked at Rokam. "I know you hate prying, but I'm curious about something. Is there anything you can see concerning my family?" Her parents were dead, that much she knew, but everything else was hidden in shades of grey.

After a minute or so she took her hand away from the crystal and rubbed it nervously. "If there's anything you can tell me that will help, I'd be grateful to know. I feel so lost." Being alone was a trial in itself, but finding purpose and a place to belong was just as much a task. Not an easy one either by her reckoning.

[OOC: She's going to start a search for her family soon, outcomes concerning that would be interesting if he decides to tell her anything.]

Silence did seem quite adamant that she was purely human, but then it was near impossible to know for sure what all of your blood was. It was true that she didn’t look non-human, but… Rokam drew in a breath as she placed her hand on the wall and the sparks began to fly from it once more.
“Well, you do get humans with magical powers, but… Hm. I don’t know, it’s unlikely but possible that one of your ancestors way back was some sort of fire spirit or similar. You say you have an affinity for fire? Have you seen this kinda thing before, then? Or somebody else in your family with any kind of fire powers?”

Her request took him by surprise. While there were plenty of people who wanted to know what their futures held, most of them didn’t want somebody else to know more about it than them. They’d rather have some vague card reading which didn’t necessarily work, which they could read their own meaning into.
“Well… I can try, but I don’t know if I’ll find what you want. Jaden can always choose what he sees, but I can’t, so I might get anything about your future.” It seemed that all cards had different talents which came naturally to them. He could learn more control over his powers, but it seemed unlikely that he’d ever be able to navigate the waters of fate as easily as the older dragon could. On the other hand, his abrupt and somewhat violent visions were something which seemed unique to him. And from their many detailed discussions of the matter, they saw the future slightly differently. The spade saw more of a neat layout, with different areas full of different possibilities which he could visit and examine at will. He even claimed to be able to hear something, though he’d never managed to pin down just what. For Rokam, it was more of a flood of information which ran constantly through his head, with far fewer possibilities and far more certainties- but also with far less control.

“So… yes. It might be anything, but I’ll do my best. If the bigger events and main choices in your future are to do with your family, then I’ll probably see more of them.” With a slightly nervous nod, he moved to sit directly opposite her and then sat back on his haunches, lifting his front legs to rest his paws on her shoulders and looking straight into her eyes. “Ready, then? Don’t move.” Without any further ado, he closed his eyes and let himself be washed away by Silence’s futures.

While he was receiving plenty of information, none of it was particularly useful or easy to pin down. Trying to examine something in detail was like trying to catch a fish in a fast-flowing river; you had to react quickly, lest it pass before you even had time to register that it was what you wanted. After a few snippets escaped him like this, he growled slightly in frustration and swung his tail round so that the club on the end was touching the crystals. Almost fully submerged in his magic as he was, it was about the biggest wrench he’d ever felt when he was abruptly pulled into a lucid vision of Silence.

After remaining statue-still for a few moments, Rokam let out a long rush of breath and dropped back to a normal standing position.
“Well, I… I saw a lot there. And a lot of it was relevant to your family. Hang on, just…” Simultaneously, he felt both exhausted and energised. In an attempt at compromise, he shook himself out vigorously and paced out the length of their chamber a few times, horns twitching. Eventually he sat down in his original place opposite Silence, paws all close together and his tail coiled tightly around them.

"If they did I wasn't told. As far as I know I'm the only one of my family that had any of these peculiarities at all." She could only watch while he concentrated, and he didn't look too happy either. Was it just getting too difficult for him? Or was it that anything to do with her was frustrating to see? When he finally moved and sat down she was almost afraid to get near him with the way he was sitting.

"What is it? What's wrong, Rokam?" she asked. "Are you alright?" After inching forward she put her hand out to pat him on the head and paused, wondering how he would react. Finally she sat down in front of him and waited for him to say something, quickly getting used to the quietness. The fact that the crystals reacted to her still gave her shivers though, and she figured that that'd never go away.

“No, I’m fine…” After Silence patted him on the head, Rokam shook himself out once more, sneezed and huffed out a breath before looking up and talking normally at last. “What happened was, I found it hard to get a fix on anything solid about your family. So… Well, I had a hunch about these crystals, and it paid off. Soon as I touched them, I got a really clear vision, mostly about you seeing as I was touching you. It’s hard to be precise in telling you what I saw, but the upshot is… You’ll find your family. It’s not going to be easy and not entirely pleasant, either. You’ll find some answers in a city, but…” he wrinkled his nose slightly in annoyance, shaking his head. “I can’t tell where. There’s a woman who might be important, though. I hope that’s helpful for you? I’m sorry, it was quite disjointed, there wasn’t a lot to follow.” He took a few moments to gaze apologetically at her, before getting back to his feet and moving over to the wall, allowing Silence a few moments to mull over the information he had given her. Sitting back on his haunches, he raised his front feet and placed them flat against the wall. As he concentrated, his eyes slipped shut, blocking out the glimmering blue light which filled the cavern. It was a few minutes before he pulled away again, looking perky but content and relatively calm.

“It really gives a buzz,” he remarked, shuffling his paws on the floor as he stood and turned away from the wall. “If you’re ready, we can head further on in? The light should spread all the way, I think.” Eager to be off, he glanced from Silence to the mouth of the cave.

Upon hearing that she'd find answers, the idea that it would be a long painful journey didn't even register. She hurried along next to him while still trying to avoid touching the crystals for fear of actually getting burned. "Guess life's going to get significantly more complicated in the coming months. . ." she muttered. In a moment of unfocused clumsiness she ran into a crystal outcrop and bright red sparks lit up the cavern. "Well, at least they don't burn."

She dusted off her arm where it touched the crystal and it felt like she'd held it next to a bonfire for about five minutes or so. To be short it felt hot, VERY hot. At least now she had some ideas on what she was going to do in the next few weeks. She stuck a bit closer to Rokam just so she knew where she was going, in part. After all that'd occurred in the prior few moments she suddenly felt the weight of her friend's revelation and the heat in her arm got steadily hotter. With a bit of a shaky hand she rubbed his neck and looked around as she walked.

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