{Spirit} An Antler and... an Antler {Artemis}

'Zhen, can we take a break? I could do with a drink.'
'Sure. I think it'd be good for me to stretch my legs, really.'
Rhynna angled her wings downwards, tilting slightly to the right, and began to glide in a smooth spiral to the ground. She landed lightly, running a few steps as she touched down before drawing to a halt, her wings still spread.
'Urrrghhh,' moaned Zhenya as she half-fell from the dragon's back, sliding down the smooth white scales and landing abruptly on the ground. 'You'd think I'd be used to long flights by now, but sitting still for so long is really unpleasant.' She went through her usual stretches, loosening her cramped muscles, before getting to her feet and walking across the valley to join her best friend at the stream. The girl cupped her hands and drank from them, then shook most of the extra droplets of water off them and walked over to the antler dragon.
'So cold up there,' Zhenya whinged, tucking her hands into her armpits to warm them after the achingly cold water of the river and shifting from foot to foot.
'Oh, stop complaining. You should wear warmer clothes.'

The pair's bickering was lighthearted, and once Rhynna had drunk her fill, they talked for a little while as the avian rummaged through her pack. She pulled out an oddly shaped, reddish dragonfruit and quickly cut it up with a small knife before beginning to eat her way through the white flesh. The second half she gave to the dragon before beginning to pack away her things, kneeling in the damp grass.

Ooc: Sorry if that's kinda crap, I should be sleeping atm and my brain isn't on top form. And, of course, if you don't like the setting or want anything changed, just let me know- I thought I may as well start, but I didn't know if you had any ideas so I just came up with something random. They can always fly somewhere else Smile

ALSO (yes I am rambling) I am godawful at titles, so sorry about that.

Dawn screeched in fright as Taya flipped over, flying upside down for just a moment, simply to startle her rider who had drifted off into her own little world. "Taya stop that!" the woman cried, holding onto her dragon for all she was worth. Flying was still not one of her favorite things, so obviously tricks were certainly not high on her list of things to do.

Taya righted herself with a chuckle that earned her a glare, not that the dragon cared. No, she knew her rider did not mean it. "Pay more attention next time," she commented, shifting slightly to one side so that Dawn's long brown hair flew into her face. Dawn sputtered, pushing it back, and sighed. Though she absolutely adored her dragon Taya could be so annoying sometimes.

"Look, there is a nice peaceful little valley," Dawn commented, pointing it out as though it were not completely obvious. "We should stop for a little while." Taya grinned, knowing that her rider simply wanted a chance to feel solid ground underneath her feet instead of air rushing by. Still she complied, circling down until she landed gently, waiting for her rider to slide off before folding her wings shut.

"I think someone might be nearby," she announced, sniffing the air quietly. Dawn looked around but did not see anyone at first glance. Still, Taya had not been wrong yet, so the woman was now slightly on edge. She did not like meeting strangers, though she often had no choice.
"Is there anyone there?" Dawn called nervously.

'Zhen,' Rhynna said slowly as the girl was packing her bag. 'I think there's another dragon up there. With a rider, too, I think.'
'What?' Zhenya immediately leapt to her feet, abandoning their possessions, and stared up into the sky. Sure enough, she could see a dragon flipping upside down. It seemed uncannily similar in appearance to the antler dragon who she rode, and her eyes widened as she drew closer to her friend.
'I think that's another antler. Do you think they've seen us?'
'Might have done- look, they're coming down now. Doesn't matter if they have though. You're always so suspicious of people.' She looked fondly down at her rider and blew a breath gently over her face. Zhenya smiled briefly, before returning to watching the other pair as they landed a way off.
'Maybe they missed us,' she murmured. 'What should we do?'
'Oh, let's go and see them!' said Rhynna pleadingly. The avian didn't look at all convinced. 'Come on,' the dragon wheedled. 'I don't know any other antlers, and it'll be good to make some friends. I bet I could outfly them if we needed to make a quick getaway, anyway.' The girl stared at her dragon for a few moments more before sighing and relenting, as the antler had known she would.
'Fine, fine, we'll go,' she sighed, dropping to the ground again and scooping the last of her things into the pack as her companion smiled happily behind her.
'Thank you! Oh, I hope they're nice. It'll be so good to make some friends.'

Zhenya rolled her eyes at Rhynna's enthusiasm as she swung the pack over her shoulder and beckoned to her friend.
'Come on, we may as well get this over with,' she said pessimistically.
'You make it sound like a chore,' was the sad response. 'You should look at things more positively.'
'Yeah, yeah, I'm sure.' She leant companionably against the dragon's shoulder as they walked along, feeling the powerful muscles flexing underneath the smooth white scales.

When they heard the voice call to them, Zhenya started and hastily took a few steps backwards. Rhynna, on the other hand, rolled her eyes and called back,
'There is indeed!' She stepped up her pace to more of a run, nudging her rider along with her nose, and soon the other two came into sight. She slowed when they did, staring at them with undisguised curiosity. Living with the circus as they did, they didn't get much chance to meet other dragons, apart from the few who were also performers, and rider pairs were even rarer. While the antler was keen to meet the other pair, the girl was warier, and she hung back by the dragon's tail, staring at the other rider with suspicion.

"Well now," Taya commented, seeing movement not far away. "It seems like I was right." Dawn smiled softly, having expected her dragon to be. When the pair came into view she was rather surprised to find herself looking at another antler dragon, almost the mirror image of her own Taya. Now that is interesting, she thought. What are the odds of that? Not good I would imagine. "Well her rider seems to be as afraid of you as you are of her," Taya said under her breath, so that only Dawn could here. That was not really too surprising to either of them. After all, people tended to be more wary than usual these days.

"Well greetings to you," Taya spoke up, her tail swaying from side to side as a lazy form of greeting. "What a pleasant surprise to run into people out here. We thought we were alone. What brings you two out here and what are your names? I am Taya, and this is my rider Dawn." The woman waved shyly, staying by Taya's side where she had been though if it had been up to her she would have run and hidden.

Rhynna grinned, delighted at the friendliness of the other dragon.
'We don't usually bump into others around here,' she agreed. 'We're with a travelling circus; when they move on, we always fly around for the day and we end up going a long way away from them. We're much faster than they are.' She smiled again, padding forwards. Zhenya followed reluctantly, still eying their new acquaintances suspiciously. 'I'm Rhynna, and this is Zhenya,' the dragon continued. 'Would you mind my asking what brings you here?' She cast her eyes over the other two. They really did match very well, with the two riders similar in height, both with fairly long brown hair, around the same age... They could practically be sisters, and the same went for the two antler dragons- of course there were differences within the breed, but Rhynna and Taya did look quite similar even for two antlers.
'It's nice to have someone to talk to who isn't just one of the other performers for a change,' the dragon remarked happily, shaking out her mane.

"Ooh, that sounds like fun," Taya commented with a short nod. "I think we have heard rumor of that circus actually, only good things of course!" Neither dragon nor rider had actually ever been to a circus, though they had made plans to do so eventually, so it was an incredible feat of luck that they should run into two performers. "So tell me, what do you two do in the circus?" Taya asked, before remembering that they had been posed a question as well.

"We are just looking around the country," Dawn replied for her dragon, smiling slightly. "I never really got that much of a chance to look around when I was younger, so I am doing it now." What they were going to do once they had seen and done everything they wanted to she was not sure. After all, it was not that easy to find the right man and settle down, get a good job, ect. Especially not for Dawn. But they were working on it.

'It is good,' agreed Rhynna. 'We do aerial acrobatics sort of thing. I'm a bit more agile than most antlers, and Zhenya's really gymnastic. We do stuff together. And we do a few other bits, plus Zhen does some stuff on her own. I love performing. I'm glad we've got a good reputation. You should come and see us.' She smiled at the other dragon, before looking down at Dawn when she spoke. She was curious as to how the pair had ended up together, but she didn't want to pry and besides, it was somewhat off-topic when the girl was talking about how they were travelling.
'Oh, that sounds interesting,' she said positively, surreptitiously pushing Zhenya forwards with one paw.
Come on, join in the conversation! she urged. Her rider never tended to be the most sociable, always suspicious of strangers and somewhat sullen to them. It was a mystery how she always managed to be so bright and cheery when she was performing. Despite her faults, though, Rhynna would never part from Zehnya. She didn't really know why she had become involved with the avian in the first place, but she had, and now here they were. Likely it was because the girl had so recently lost her wings... At the time, the antler dragon hadn't been able to imagine how hard it must have been for the distraught avian, but she had known that it must have been pretty terrible and taken pity on her.

A mental reply from Zhenya disturbed the dragon's musings.
Why should I? I never wanted to talk to them. The thought seemed a little weak, however, and the girl did indeed step reluctantly forwards to speak to the other two.
'What sort of places have you seen?' she asked, hoping to keep them talking so that she didn't have to as much.

"Sounds pretty entertaining," Taya replied, her tail swishing from side to side slowly as she spoke. "And yes, we will certainly have to come visit the circus soon. We were planning to, but had not quite gotten around to it yet. Maybe we should move that up the list."
"I agree," Dawn said with a nod, returning the gaze of the other Antler. Taya smiled faintly when she saw the dragon push her rider forward, sharply reminded of her own relationship with her rider. It was a miracle that Dawn was talking at all really, especially without prompting.

"What sort of places?" Taya repeated, considering the question. "Well, we have been all over really, from the mountains to the sea. We even went up to the north for a while, but we came back pretty quickly. It is seriously cold up there!"
"Which is the point of the north," Dawn commented with a smirk. "Anyway, I would imagine that you two have seen far more than we have, considering you travel with the circus and all." She could not really picture what sort of life that would be, never settling anywhere permanently, always moving from place to place. Granted that was what she and Taya were doing, but at least they were looking for a place to stay. These two were not. And while she and Taya could decide when they wanted to stop traveling, when one was working in the circus, that was not a luxury one had.

It was interesting to see the other pair together. Seeing Taya's amusement at her actions, Rhynna wondered if they had a similar relationship to Zhenya and herself. Certainly Dawn didn't seem overly talkative.

'Well, if you feel like coming very soon, you're welcome to come with us when we return to our next location,' she offered, ignoring the wave of annoyance which she felt from her rider at the thought of having to share their time off with two strangers. Be nice, she reprimanded the girl sternly.

However, when they mentioned the places they'd been, Zhenya couldn't restrain a sliver of genuine interest.

'The North? As in, the ice plains? We have been a lot of places... But only where there are big towns. Never there.' She tilted her head thoughtfully for a few moments before shrugging and subtly shifting a few steps backwards.

'I'm not sure that I'd like the cold,' Rhynna said musingly, taking up the thread of conversation. 'But it's supposed to be really pretty round there, with all the ice. And really clear nights, too.' She looked hopefully at the other two for confirmation, swishing her tail back and forth across the grass. Would she enjoy the North? Perhaps... It would certainly be more interesting than travelling with the circus. While it was true that they went all over, the places they visited tended to be very similar apart from the climates. Sometimes they got to visit an interesting city, but they never had much time in it. And the journeys were always so short, skipping from one place to another. A part of the dragon thought that long days of flying with her rider to the ice plains would make a welcome break; but the rest of her was perfectly content with their performing life in the circus.

Taya and Dawn managed to nod almost at the same time in response to Rhynna's offer. It almost surprised Taya to find that her rider was interested in seeing the circus, not to mention traveling with this pair to get there. Well that is good, the Antler thought, returning her attention to the semi-strangers. "We would be happy to go with you, if you would have us," Taya agreed, smiling softly.

Tilting her head to one side slightly Taya listened to what the human said, but Dawn beat her to speaking and so she lay down beside her rider, figuring that they were not going anywhere anytime soon. "We certainly did not stay there for long but yes we did visit the ice plains," Dawn replied. "Though yes it was pretty, but very very cold. Quite uncomfortable after a while to tell you the truth."
"The lightshow was beautiful," Taya reminded her rider, eliciting a rare smile from the woman. To the others she explained, "We saw the northern lights, and let me tell you it is every bit as amazing as they say it is." She neglected to mention the fact that they had been slowly freezing to death at the time, having been caught in a blizzard and forced to land. The storm had faded quickly thankfully, and the lights were the first thing they saw. Clearly it was not something they were going to forget anytime soon.

"But surely you must see interesting things all the time," Dawn said, turning back to the pair. "Although... I would imagine that at some point it stops being interesting and becomes commonplace." After all, surely they had seen so many wonderful things. However Dawn did not feel comfortable asking, and it did not occur to Taya to ask. Sometimes they were perfectly in synch, and other times it was the exact opposite. This was one of those times the latter was more fitting.

'Oh, it would be so nice to have somebody else to fly with,' Rhynna said happily as the other pair accepted her offer. 'I love having the chance to properly stretch my wings and I can't bear walking along with all the rest of the circus, they go so slowly... But it would be nice to have some company. And I never get to fly with other people.' Zhenya's face darkened and she looked down at the ground in front of her, stabbing at the loose soil with her toes.

The dragon continued to babble happily, not noticing her rider's new level of sullenness.
'The Northern Lights... Oh, I'd love that. And if you could fly right up in them...' She spread her wings slightly, ruffling the long feathers in them and tilting her head wistfully. Maybe one day, she suggested dreamily to Zhenya, whose only response was a small mental noise which would have translated to a muffled squeak out loud. Suddenly realising the problem, Rhynna felt a wave of guilt. I'm sorry... I didn't think. But her ride just brushed her away, before lifting her head again and looking across at Dawn.
'The things we see only tend to be cities where there are good audiences for the circus,' she shrugged. 'And we usually visit the same places again and again. So... there can be interesting things there, but really more commonplace.'
'No, we do see good things,' protested Rhynna. 'But... I guess nothing like the Northern Lights. And we can't really go there.' She sighed, folding her wings away neatly again.

Taya nodded in agreement, never really getting the chance to fly with other dragons all that often herself. Especially another Antler. In fact, she had never flown with another Antler before, and if memory served correctly they had not found another dragon rider pair that actually liked to fly. "It would be quite nice," she said, nudging Dawn with her tail to make her rider respond as well. Dawn simply smiled and nodded, not quite feeling up to talking yet. Especially after seeing the other rider's reaction. It did not seem as though they were wanted.

"We never did try that," Taya replied at the mention of the Northern Lights again. "Although I do believe it would be possible, not to mention incredibly interesting. I wonder what that would be like..." The Antler trailed off, considering this new idea, leaving Dawn to carry on the conversation.

"I would get tired of that after a while," she admitted softly, offering a faint smile. "As I suppose you do too, but then perhaps if it is for your job it is not so bad?" Still one had to wonder... Dawn was not entirely certain if she could go along with everything she was told to do in order to keep her job, assuming she had one, especially if it forced her into uncomfortable situations.

Last edited by Artemis on Mon Jun 11, 2012 6:21 pm; edited 1 time in total

'Oh, it would be possible? I wonder what it would be like inside them... Do you think they're magical? Surely they must be... Very strong magic to last so long, though.' Rhynna flicked her ears dreamily, once again preventing herself from being useful in the conversation.
'I do kinda get tired of it, yeah,' Zhenya told Dawn. 'I guess different things happen in the cirucs, but... Still the same places, same routine. At least it's an interesting job.' She glanced at her dragon, seeming to deliberate for a few moments before murmuring,
'I'm not sure that I really want to stay in this job for too much longer, though. Change might be coming to Dragons Cove, and I think change is exactly what we need.' Almost unconsciously, she reached round to her back and touched the place there where her wings had once grown. Her gorgeous, strong, capable wings, more beautiful and unique than Rhynna's by far-
Zhenya? I thought you'd agreed that it was a bad idea! The antler sounded truly upset, her mental tone distressed, and Zhenya shifted uncomfortably.
Well, I was just...
Don't bother, Zhen. Now's not the time to talk about it. Rhynna suddenly sounded almost weary, but the avian didn't miss the hurt in her mind, even if the dragon tried to hide it.

Dawn and Taya glanced at each other, considering this question. Dawn simply shrugged, willing to admit that she had no idea. "I am not entirely sure," Taya said, returning her attention to the pair. "Although magic would make sense. But I think some scientists think they can come up with a reason for it that does not involve magic. You know how most of those people are. There has to be a concrete reason for everything, or so they think."

Dawn nodded at Zhenya's words, agreeing with all of them. "I can imagine. Such a job seems as though it would be wearying after a while." Changes... yes it certainly seemed to be in the air, if the snippets of rumors they had heard in the cities were anything to go by. She could only hope that they would be good, but surely that would not be possible. After all, there would always be opposition, and where there was opposition there was fighting, and that never ended well. "Hopefully things will change for the better," Dawn said softly, causing Taya to nod in agreement.
"Of course, as long as we stick together and watch out for each other we should get out of this safely," the Antler commented, her tail winding around and wrapping around her rider's feet.

'Oh, I know,' agreed Rhynna. 'They can't just accept magic, they have to find their own explanations for the way it works.' She rolled her eyes before turning them down to the ground and the blades of grass and other small shoots which grew from it. After she frowned at them for a moment, a cluster of them grew taller than the rest, sprouting flowers and leaves ahead of their time. The dragon leaned back, making a pleased noise, and Zhenya bent with a slight smile to pick the blossoms.

'A bit wearying,' she confirmed, beginning the weave the stems together. 'Change for the better is exactly what I'm hoping for... I'm hoping that this will result in new powers ruling this land.' Rhynna was only becoming more distressed.
Zhenya, please- she began, but her rider ignored her.
'And I completely agree. We need to support each other and stay close.' At this, she threw her dragon a pointed look. The antler drew away slightly, her ears pressing back against her skull and her expression becoming something which has to be close to traumatised. Zhenya, however, didn't look too apologetic, but instead crossed her arms sulkily, the half-woven flowers dangling from one hand.
'What do you think?' she asked Dawn, shaking her hair back over her shoulders.

Taya nodded in agreement, thankful that they had never run into a scientist. No doubt they would have tried to examine Dawn, trying to figure out what made her able to shift. The last thing they needed was someone poking around inside Dawn, doing goodness only knew what kind of damage. They both watched interestedly as the plants bloomed, glancing at each other after the strange conversation that passed between dragon and rider. Neither of them had any idea what was going on, though it made them both a little nervous.

"I think a new government could help. Perhaps it would calm down the tensions spreading around," Dawn agreed softly with a gentle nod. "But I also think it could make things even worse." After all, who knew what would take the place of the current ideals. Everything had been all right until a few years ago, or so it seemed. Still, perhaps change would be for the better. And even if it was not Dawn knew she and Taya could always leave and find some far away place to hide. Sure it would be lonely, but they were both used to that.

"What worries me the most, and I have only heard vague rumors about this mind you, is the faction of dragons that has risen up. Apparently they want to remove the humans from Dragons Cove," Taya put in, glancing at Dawn worriedly. "I understand that not all humans are good, but not all dragons are either. I am just worried that innocent people are going to get caught up in this mess and end up hurt or worse."

'I think that it could do exactly that,' Zhenya agreed enthusiastically, lifting the flowers and beginning to weave them once more. 'I think what we need is somebody who will deliver punishment where its needed, and not favour those who can bribe them. The Council are as corrupt as Kaionarians; there's no way they should be in charge.' She poked the stems in and out of each other with a ferocity which seemed out of place next to the delicate blossoms. 'Don't you agree?'
I don't know, things have been alright for a long time time, Rhynna thought nervously to the other three. Change might not be a good thing. I wouldn't want lots of public punishments or anything... She shivered slightly at the thought of the whipping posts and gallows which could be found in some cities being used a lot more than they were already.

Dawn's next comment had both of the pair exchanging grim looks, agreeing on one faction at least.
What they do is horrible. It's so... unfair.
'Agreed,' nodded Zhenya firmly. 'Humans have just as much right to be here as the dragons do. Of course though, that's just rumours around Caspan and places... It's hard to tell how much of a basis they have in fact.' She shrugged, adding, 'Hopefully there's some sort of force on this island which could defeat a fairly small group of dragons, anyway.' She shivered slightly, terrified at the thought of being attacked by a horde of dragons despite her cocky words.

Taya and Dawn both jumped slightly at the voice in their minds, not having expected it at all. Once they got past that though they completely agreed with what was being said. "There must be some way to do it correctly," Dawn said softly, though she was not quite sure. Punishment was a tricky thing, and one had to be careful to do it properly, otherwise nothing good would come of it. But certainly things could not get worse than they already were... right?
"We do not pay attention to politics," Taya added, having been considering things more than her rider. "So in reality the most we can say is that something does need to change." Perhaps this is something we should look into, she thought. After all, not being up on the latest news would only hurt them.

"Yes, and it only hurts our cause," Taya agreed, eyes narrowing in faint anger. "Those of us who are compatible with humans and actually like them... we want to be able to stick around and be part of their lives and perhaps culture, but we will never get that chance until we can all get along. And I know that total peace is impossible, but something should be feasible." Dawn nodded slightly in agreement, feeling as though her dragon had spoken far better than she could have. This was the battle that they both faced every day, whenever they entered a new city or town, every time they met a stranger on the road, human or not. And it seemed as though it would never stop. Not until the war did. And who knew when that would be.

It’s a fine line to tread, but there must be a solution, agreed Rhynna, nodding slowly. She couldn’t argue that punishment was entirely unnecessary- and yet, she couldn’t bring herself to promote violence.
“Well…” Zhenya deliberated for a moment before giving a quick shake of her head, changing her mind about what she had been going to say. She allowed the other two to finish speaking before she replied. “Change is needed, yes. I suppose it’s your choice who you support… But think before you act.” Narrowing her eyes slightly, she looked from dragon to rider, and Rhynna stepped forwards with a worried glance at her own rider.
Yes, your choice, she repeated with great emphasis. These dragons are certainly tainting our reputation… Enough people are scared of us already, without bad publicity for us. Peace would be… nice. Not that Dragons Cove hasn’t seen its fair share of peace, of course. If only it had lasted. She looked very sorry for herself- and indeed the rest of the island- and Zhenya ran a comforting hand along her mane as she assured the antler,
“Everything will turn out for the best. That much I’m sure of. Any gods out there, and I’m sure there must be, will make sure of that.” As if there might be a deity hiding in the bushes nearby, she flicked her gaze about their surroundings.

((Oh goodness, I didn't see this had been replied to! So sorry! D= ))

Taya and Dawn said nothing further, since they could only agree with what was said. "Naturally, actions can have far reaching repercussions, especially in this time," Taya said softly. "But we are simply trying to stay out of things for as long as we can. No doubt a decision will have to be made eventually."

"We humans seem to have destroyed your peace," Dawn commented, looking more than a little guilty for no real reason. It was not her fault after all, and she could no more help being born a human that Taya could being born a dragon. There was nothing to be done about that now. Things simply had to be stopped before they got worse and one race wiped the other out completely. If anything, she almost hoped the humans would be forced to go. All they had brought was destruction and war it seemed, not good things like they should have. Like they could have. How on earth did all this start anyway, she wondered, before realizing she had fallen silent for too long, and now probably looked to be lost in thought.

"I agree," Taya said. "Things do seem to have a way of working themselves out in the end. It just might take a while to get there." And we might not like what happens in the meantime, she realized, head lowering slightly as she contemplated that. "Of course if a higher power decides than who are we to judge?"

The expression of guilt which was so clear on Dawn’s face embarrassed Rhynna no end. She hadn’t at all meant for the woman to feel any blame.
No, no, that wasn’t what I meant at all, she insisted. Humans have brought no end of wonderful things to Dragons Cove. And besides, it’s not like it was you who started the war.
“Rhyn,” Zhenya interjected. “Would you mind speaking out loud? I’m not built to speak in thoughts, it makes me feel weird.”
“Oh, whoops! I’m so sorry, I hadn’t even noticed.” The antler swished her tail apologetically, glancing sheepishly over at Dawn and Taya. “I know some people don’t like mental contact, I’m so sorry.” The avian smiled slightly, shaking her head, before turning back to the other two. Her mood had improved significantly, and her face remained cheerful as she replied to Taya.
“Balance does tend to win out, you’re right. I guess there’s not too much that we can do to change the fate of the world, but every little tweak could count, right?” Giving a little shrug, she executed a quick sequence of stretches before changing topic with a glowing smile on her face. “Now… We’ve been talking and resting for a little while. How about we fly?”

Rhynna fluffed up her wing feathers at this suggestion, turning towards her rider as she flexed her wing muscles.
“I’m happy to, as long as both of you are?” The dragon crouched, allowing Zhenya to lithely spring up her back and settle in the saddle there, her acrobatic skills serving her well as ever.
“Come on!” she urged the other pair, full of enthusiasm for the flight to come. To either side of her, Rhynna’s wings spread and beat up and down a few times, the antler warming them up before take off.

Ooc: Ack, I just lapsed into having Rhynna all thought-speech… Sorry about that >.<

Dawn smiled slightly and shrugged. "Oh well no not me personally but it certainly does not look good for my species now does it?" she had to laugh a little and then continued, "But those of us that I have seen bonded to a dragon... well that seems to be nothing but beneficial to both sides." That she had seen anyway, it could be different. Neither Taya nor Dawn had found it to be really strange, though certainly it was odd to hear someone speaking into their minds. Of course neither of them had any idea of how to talk back, and so did not dare to try for fear of it not working, leaving them standing there like idiots.

"It is no trouble," Taya replied, stretching her wings over her head, casting Dawn into the shadows for a moment before she realized what was going on and lowered them again, still leaving them slightly unfolded. Keeping them pinned against her sides made them get stiff, which caused flight to be difficult later, something that she certainly did not need.
"I agree, every little bit is good," Dawn commented, glancing over at Taya as flying was mentioned. It was certainly not one of her favorite things to do, though Taya naturally loved it, but she was not about to admit that in front of the pair, and so nodded gamely and climbed on her dragon's back, carefully settling herself in her own saddle, making sure she was holding onto the Antler's fur tightly enough to feel secure but not enough to cause the dragon discomfort. That was the last thing she needed.

Taya unfurled her wings again and simply powered off from the ground, taking off as vertically as she could in order to keep from being a bother to Rhynna when she too took off. Stopping her climb once she was just above the trees, Taya circled slowly, waiting for her fellow Antler to join them in the air. It could be interesting to see what happened, as Taya was not certain if they would want to race or something like that, which Taya was most certainly not good at and was a little fearful of attempting with her more land-bound rider. If they wanted to she would of course, but a more leisurely flight was what she was hoping for, though Taya would not deny that she also wanted to see some of their tricks. Certainly they had some, being in the circus and all.

“Oh, absolutely,” Rhynna agreed cheerfully. “I mean, I suppose Zhenya does bring a few troubles I wouldn’t encounter on my own, but I don’t mind them. The benefits far outweigh the costs. Just having that close a friend… well, it’s priceless.” Zhenya rolled her eyes at the dragon’s soppiness, but there was a fond smile on her face as vaulted into the saddle. She took a few moments to strap herself in, shimmying her way into a harness and hooking her feet securely through two tight leather loops before taking up long reins and twining them several times around her arms. While she didn’t really steer the dragon and they weren’t even necessary for communication due to mental links, it was sometimes useful just to help with physical coordination- and spectators at the circus expected it. They used much showier tack for their performances, but the practice gear obviously needed to work the same as the real thing- and it was easier to just use that for day-to-day flying as well.

As Taya took off, Rhynna held her wings out of the way to give the other dragon more room, before moving away from the river into the space and fanning her wings a few times more. She took off slightly less abruptly than the other antler, skipping a pace or two while beating her wings and gaining more lift on every stroke. All the same, it didn’t take her long, and she soared upwards at a slope to the same height as Taya. On her back, Zhenya shook back her cropped hair with a sigh of simple pleasure at the wind rushing by. They circled once, swiftly, over the trees which slanted up from the river at the bottom of the valley before swooping back to meet the other pair, the slightly smaller antler dropping onto the inside of Taya’s circle to fly alongside her.
“So, straight on to the circus?” Zhenya yelled across to Dawn. “Or anywhere you’d like to go first? We have plenty of time, they’re nothing like as fast as us at moving.”

"Oh troubles, yes we have enough of that," Taya agreed. "Why not that long ago Dawn got trapped in a fire, and she's forever tripping over things, but I love her anyway." Dawn was torn between laughing at her dragon or glaring, and so ended up doing a bit of both, laughing while giving her a stern look that Taya completely disregarded. She knew that her rider did not mean it, especially when she had only been joking and they both knew it. "I'll admit we don't get along all the time, but usually it's wonderful. We help each other a lot." In reality she probably helped Dawn more than the other way around. Not that she cared. Life was a lot more boring before Dawn had come along, since now Taya had to get her out of things, and into things on occasion, and could laugh at her without having to feel too bad because Dawn knew she didn't mean it in a rude way.

Dawn and Taya watched the pair's takeoff interestedly, not having seen another dragon and rider take off together before. All in all it was just the same as any other dragon taking off, Taya thought, having seen that enough though Dawn thought it was cool. It was certainly not something she had seen from that vantage point before, and she had to admit it was pretty neat. Zhenya seemed far more comfortable in the air than she did, which was a stupid observation to make in Dawn's mind. Just about every other rider on Dragons Cove had to be more comfortable with it, and Zhenya most of all since she worked in the circus. Speaking of which...

"I don't mind where we go first," Dawn replied, raising her voice slightly so that she could be heard over the wind and space between them. "I don't have anywhere I need to go or be." Taya said nothing since her rider spoke for both of them and she completely agreed. With no permanent home and no one looking after or for them they had free run to do whatever they pleased. It helped and was useful, but it was also sad at the same time. Which was why they tried not to dwell upon it too much. "Whatever you want to do is fine," the woman finished with a slight smile as Taya studied the forest below, wings beating slowly but steadily to keep them aloft. One could almost call her zoned out but she was still listening for the most part, paying attention absently now that her rider was conversing properly.

» Artemis] It's always better to be a bit crazy (Kassandra/Jittan) [Rogue
» Ceridwyn Yeriss:. -An elegant lady (Antler)
» [the JWOWWRAWR, the Green Scarf Ninja and the perv] Three maniacs and their maniacal charries (JWWOWR for short) [a.k.a. Artemis, Rogue and Kevvx]
» {Spirit} And who do you think you are? {Peer}
» A meeting in the City {Artemis~StormKatz}